《Dungeon of Pride, Laplace》
Chapter Chronicle
Chronicle
???Note- Since reading this before thetest chapters may reveal some spoilers, read at your own discretion.
Mana is a mystical energy thates from the itself. Like a heart, it pulses mystical energy generally called mana, to every corner of the world.
Mana can generally take five basic forms:- Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, and four rare forms:- Light, Dark, Time, andstly Space. The five basic forms of mana are more widespread in Althaea, few people and species can harness the four rare forms of mana.
These magic are further divided into three tiers:- Novice, Intermediate and Advanced.
Branches of Magic
Novice- Fire Wind Electro Earth Water
Intermediate- me Gale Lightning Tremor TBA
Advanced- Infernal TBA TBA TBA Permafrost
¡ª¡ª
Novice- Dark Light Space Time
Intermediate- Abyssal TBA Void Aeon
Advanced- TBA Divine Dimensional TBA
?TBA- To Be Added
? I already have the tiers of all the attributes of magic but unless it is been revealed in thetest chapters, I will not be adding it.
¡ª¨C
When one learns more than one branch of magic, they have a slight chance of gaining enlightenment in [Amalgamation magic].
Amalgamation magic is the product of adding two or more attributes of mana together.
[Mutated Magic]- TBA
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Types of ores that can be mined in the world of Althaea (in descending to ascending order in terms of quality)
Ordinary Metal->WhiteSilver->ckGold->Mythril->TBA->TBA
¡ª¡ª-
Demon Noble Ranks (From highest to lowest)
?Demon Lord
?Demon Archduke
?Demon Duke
?Demon Marquess
?Demon Earl
?Demon Viscount
?Demon Baron
Chapter 1: Year 2125
Chapter 1: Year 2125
It was the year 2125 the world saw an intense rise in technology at the end of the 21st century and it was further taken up a level in the 22nd century.
The year 2100 saw an intense rise in the gaming industry, many newpanies rose and fell; but onepany namely Astro Revolution stood strong among them. It released one sensational game after another and instantly captured the yer base of the whole world in the past few decades.
Thepany was renowned for its brilliant game mechanics and new elements it puts into its every game; furthermore, thepany is also reputed for employing young and talented groups of game developers. All these factors ensured its continuous hegemony.
Simon aged 35, unmarried; was employed by Astro Revolution in the year 2112 as an assistant game developer. Filled with intense passion and ingenious ideas for developing games, he quickly rose to be the head of his group in merely 5 years.
His group consistently and continuously delivered one popr game after another. And after ten years, the year 2122 Simon and his group took on a new challenge of developing a new game.
Now 45 years old, he put his heart and soul into developing this new game.
Simon nned on making it his most masterful piece of work that he could take pride in. Most of the time he slept and ate in his office, sometimes he got so engrossed in writing codes that he skipped his sleep and meals.
More often than not he would bber and keep on going through all the codes in his mind whenever he had free time. When his colleagues would take a break or a day off from their work, he would sit in his office racking his brain for ideas, run codes then debug them.
One could say this became the daily routine of the man named Simon.
¡ª¨C
In a spacious room, there were many disys of monitors runningplicated lines of codes, tables and their contents unkempt, tablets cluttering the floor, and in one corner of the roomy a mattress and pillow. The room was the very definition of messy.
Simon who delved deeper and deeper in his work was many times approached by his fellow developers to spend some time off of work.
But Simon would put their words in one ear and out the other. Months passed like this, his job became his life. His health was deteriorating but he paid it no mind. He put all his effort into developing the game he put his life and soul in.
Finally, in the middle of the year 2123, the game cleared all legal allegations and was set off for beta testing.
The initial reviews and testing were smooth and there were even talks about the game beingunched at the end of the year going on among the top echelons of thepany.
But the game was held off fromunch due to some of its mechanics failing from time to time and bugs appearing due to repeated failures.
As a result, the game failed to pass the beta test at the end of the year.
¡ª¨C
Simon was sitting on his chair in his office staring at the main menu of LAPLACE, the game where he put all his life and soul into. He was like a parent to this game, but the game couldn¡¯t pass the final phase of the beta test. It failed to take off.
Due to this shock, Simon started putting more of his time developing and fixing the game. He stopped going home and started living in his office.
Simon murmured, ¡°I will make this a sess I promise¡±. At this moment Simon looked the very definition of a maniac.
¡ª¨C
The year 2124, the month of June. In the blink of an eye 6 months passed and Simon like a fanatic devoted all his time of the year into the game.
And as result most of the bugs were cleared, thepany decided to put the game for beta test for the second time. All the problematic mechanics were reconstructed and received intense reactions from the reviews, and the game finally passed the second beta test with ease.
Thepany decided tounch the game LAPLACE at the beginning of the year 2125.
In this period, Simon passed out many times while working. Waking up only when his fellow developers called out to him. Clearly, he had umted too much stress and had overworked his body to its limits.
Many times he was told by his colleagues to see a doctor but Simon paid them no mind, all his attention now was fixed on theunch of the game which was just one month away.
By now Simon had a head full of white hair even though he was 48 years old and had be an outcast in his group.
Due to limiting his social interaction to a minimal, he spent most of his time near hisputer staring at the main menu of the game.
¡ª-
It was the year 2125, today marks the officialunch of the game LAPLACE.
Early in the morning when Simon¡¯s fellow group members came to the office, they found Simon in front of hisputer lying with his head down. It was like a daily event for them to find Simon in this state.
Some of his colleagues tried waking him up to no avail. Though he was sort of an outcast in their group, they were all aware of how much effort Simon had put into developing this game. If someone said the game was solely the work of Simon, nobody here could disagree.
So they tried shaking him as they reasoned it necessary for him to watch the officialunch of the game he had sacrificed so much for.
However, no matter how many times they shook him or called out to him, they got no response.
Later a piece of news spread among thepany Simon, one of the elite game developers had passed away in his office.
Chapter 2: The Beginning
Chapter 2: The Beginning
Simon opened his eyes to the gentle and fresh air tickling his skin which he had not felt for the past few years.
His body strangely felt refreshing and power surged through his muscles, clearly a contrast to his otherwise shriveled body. He tried getting up only to realize he was in apletely different ce.
He looked around his surrounding in amazement ¡°where the hell am I? I remember I was in the office in front of myputer¡and then..hmm, I dozed off. Then this should be a dream¡right?.¡±
He was staring at a forest filled with tall green trees. The height of the trees could easily reach over thirty meters. The air felt refreshing to breathe, indicating that the oxygen level here was very high.
Howls and cries of wild animals could be heard intermittently among the pervading silence.
However, the most bizarre thing was not the forest filled with tall trees and grass thickets nor the tall mountain valleys that could be seen at the end of the forest.
It was the moon; No, it would be proper to say moons, there were three moons hanging high up in the sky. It was nighttime and three moons hung in the sky, the three moons were lined up together with the middle one slightly above the other two.
Another thing noteworthy was that the two moons at the left and right were crescent and the one in the middle was a full moon.
¡°Wow this is quite a sight to gaze at¡.haha to dream about all the fantasy elements, my body must have been very fatigued,¡± Simon said marveling at the scene
Taking a deep breath of air, the wind brushed past his body rustling his long pitch-ck hair when suddenly he realized.
¡°Huh?¡ What? How did my hair grow this long..wait ehhh? What happened to my voice?.. It¡¯s so deep and heavy!!¡±
¡°Wait a minute this isn¡¯t my body, it¡¯s way taller and masculine than my actual body!¡± touching his body all over and feeling his rippling muscles, Simon shouted out in a panic.
He was stretching his body when suddenly his shoulder des made a peculiar movement and a magnificent pair of wings protruded out from his back.
Huge wings grow starting from his shoulder and end just past his shoulder des. The wings are scythe-shaped and scarlet ck in color, thick skin and eerie bone structures make up most of the wings and small sharp tips grow from each ending like spears.
¡°What the hell is wrong with this body? Am I no longer human? What a peculiar dream.¡±
He walked past the thickets and explored the area for a while, suddenly he stopped in his tracks.
¡°I can hear something. The noise ising from¡ that side.¡±
After listening for a while he started walking in the direction of the noise.
Walking for about a few minutes his body suddenlyes to halt, due to the scene that enraptured him. A few meters ahead past the thickets and oddly tall trees,y a river.
The river runs down from one end of the forest to another, the end of which cannot be seen with naked eyes. The width of the river easily crosses two hundred meters and whaty beyond the other shore were the tall mountain valleys.
The mountains looked majestic and strong, like a gigantic sleeping dragon crisscrossing around the forest. Its height was over three thousand meters and one could easily overlook the entire forest from its peak.
Simon walked over to the shore and gazed nkly at the scene.
The moonlight lit the area and the water flowing past the river reflecting the spectacle. But before Simon could marvel at this, he was jolted awake by another peculiar scene.
Reflecting in the water was a silhouette of what looked like a demon
Pitch ck hair like the night itself runs down his body till his waist. Two jagged horns adorn the oval head from two sides; both the horns were half a foot long and appeared absolutely menacing. His skin was pale white, eyebrows as sharp as a sword and a devilishly handsome face.
Chapter 3: Demon Baron
Chapter 3: Demon Baron
His eyes were Crimson red and where the white part of the eyes should be was instead pitch ck. He had a well-defined nose and a mouth, two canine teeth protruded out from his upper jaw.
The body in the reflection was fairly tall, lean, andpact with muscles.
Two ck tribal tattoos like aplex set of runes adorn the two sides of his chest and extend till his hands. A pitch-ck orb protruded from the center of his chest.
His upper half was buck naked, with only a simple pant that reached till his feet protecting the little bit of dignity he had left.
¡°What is with this body! Isn¡¯t it totally the body of a demon? This dream feels oddly realistic with this much of a detail.¡±
GROWL¡.Howl¡Grrrrr
¡°Huh? What was that sound¡±
Before Simon could ponder any further about his odd dream, he was jolted awake by the sudden sound that seemed to being closer.
He slowly turned his body around to find a creature who had approached so near him without him even noticing.
The creature was coal-ck in color, it had a bloodthirsty look with drool continuously dropping from its wide-open mouth. Sharp pointed teeth decked its wide-open jaws giving off a cold glint.
The creature had the same shape as that of a wolf, but Simon was more than aware that it was no mere wolf.
It had two tails instead of one and its size was more than twice that of a normal wolf.
He was staring nkly at this creature which could be called with another name, Direwolf. Although Simon wanted to know more about the Direwolf that he encountered in his dream. The Direwolf in question had some other ns.
Giving a low grunt, the Direwolf leaped at him. Simon instinctively positioned his hands as a shield in front of him and a pain like never before assaulted his senses.
¡°AHHHHHHH¡..aaaaaaaaahhhh..it hurts..it hurts dammit. This should be a dream..ahhh..so why is it hurting so much!!??¡±
Unable to support the weight of the Direwolf, Simon fell on his back.
The wolf on top of him gnawing and snarling on his arm. He felt fear and terror, his eyes identally met with the eyes of the Direwolf. Eyes charcoal ck and its pupil erged to the point where it was masked with insanity, and a naked thirst for blood.
At this point, he felt like prey in front of the predator.
Tears started welling up at the corner of his eyes from the unimaginable pain. Right now he wanted nothing more than to run away from this herald of death.
He started struggling with all his might trying to throw the wolf off of him, but to no avail. Its jaws and ws were firmly pinning him down restricting his every movement.
Every passing second felt like the jaws of death was slowly creeping near. Simon was sure that if this goes on for any longer than he would die, the thought that this was a dream was long gone from his mind. He knew he had to do something, but he had no idea what.
Seconds ticked away and the pain worsened.
¡°My mind is growing hazy I have to do something, anything..there must be something I could do..aaaaaaaaaaaah STOP CHEWING AT MY ARM YOU GODDAMN DOG!!¡±
Due to the intense pain and the quickly growing insanity within Simon, he started cussing at the wolf.
His eyelids growing heavier by the second due to blood loss, at this moment something within him was telling him to make the wolf disappear and so he roared.
Closing his eyes which had lost all their luster and shouted at the top of his lungs.
¡°DISAAAAAAPPPEEEAAAARRR¡°
At that moment there was an intense sh of heat along with a rumbling sound that assaulted his ears.
BOOOOOM¡ the shockwave pushed his body and he skidded and rolled across the ground.
When he opened his eyes, he saw smokeing out of the hand which was being gnawed by the wolf. Fresh blood continuously dripped down from his arm and the wound looked incredibly hideous.
Chapter 4: Althaea
Chapter 4: Althaea
Hurriedly turning around, Simon was stunned to find that the wolf was nowhere to be seen, what was left was a scorched ground extending dozens of meters towards the forest.
The surrounding trees were scorched into charcoals and the fire was quickly extending towards the rest of the forest.
¡°This is bad if nothing is done the whole forest would catch fire.¡±
But before Simon could do anything a new set of pain assaulted him. This was different from the physical pain he experienced earlier, the pain that assaulted him now originated from his mind. New bits and pieces of information were flowing in him like an endless stream.
The pain was so unbearable that he felt that his brain was being gorged from inside out.
Fortunately, this did notst for long, the oundish pain swiftly faded after a few couple of minutes. New lines of information that felt like new sets of memories have been imnted in his head.
He now knew what kind of existence he was, and what he needs to do from now on to survive.
But before he could dwell on this new set of information that he just received, savage howls and cries could be heard approaching from the forest towards him.
Soon enough Simon was surrounded by a group of enemies, these enemies were not foreign to him in fact he just defeated one a short while ago.
Growl¡Growl¡Awooooo..HoWl¡grrrrrrrr
A pack of Direwolves surrounded him drawn by the smell of blood, and the fire raging inside the forest.
Clouds of smoke rose high up towards the night sky, the mes lighting the sky in a crimson hue.
A fierce battle was about to erupt inside the forest, its witnesses were the stars and the moons hanging high up in the sky.
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The Althaea is an Earth-like, it is approximately twenty times bigger than the Earth, and its gravity was four times that of thetter. It is located in a thinly popted sr system with 9 others.
The is made up of nine continents with the Central continent being thergest and the Eastarth continent being the smallest.
That being said, Eastarth can easily dwarf the biggest continent on earth by four times thendmass. All the nine continent makes up for 65% of the¡¯sndmass.
Three moons orbit the and Althaea itself orbits a yellow sun in an elliptical pattern.
The existence of the energy called Mana which can be harnessed by every living being on the, helps Althaea set itself apart from the others in the sr system.
Mana is a mystical energy thates from the itself. Like a heart, it pulses mystical energy generally called mana, to every corner of the world.
Wide ranges of beings have ess to this mystical energy, due to this; studying and harnessing mana long overtook the other field of studies.
Knowledge and mystical energies pass from one life to another whenever one ends and another begins. If your ancestor happened to be powerful you are fortunate to be powerful too, as such nobilities and sses are more prevalent here.
Those who aren¡¯t born with powerful mystical energies use their determination as a driving force to propel themselves forward.
Due to the existence of mana the history of the was written in blood. War broke out many times in these past millenniums and peace was a delicate string. But it has also made the daily life of living beings more prosperous.
Mana is a double-edged sword, one that was difficult to bnce.
Chapter 5: Sign
Chapter 5: Sign
The living beings inhabiting the are of varying species; from humans to demi-humans, unicorns and bicorns to mighty dragons.
Many mystical beings that are yet to be seen or discovered roam the of Althaea.
One thingmon among the species was the mana flowing through them. Mana can generally take five basic forms:- Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, and four rare forms:- Light, Dark, Time, andstly Space. The five basic forms of mana are more widespread in Althaea, few people and species can harness the four rare forms of mana.
¡ª-
Central Continent, to the extreme east of the continent, lies the kingdom of Renard. It shares 70% of its border with the sea and the rest with the kingdom of Brumudus, the kingdom of Lunalith, and the rest to the tall mountains of Ashstorms.
The mountainous region also acts as a natural barrier and as a sentry post to guard against the neighboring kingdoms.
The kingdom of Renard mainly lives off with its trade with the neighboring kingdoms through the sea.
The capital city Renard was located at the heart of the kingdom. The city was fortified by tall ramparts that surrounded it, buildings reminiscent of the medieval period dotted the city.
Sparse fewvish manors could be seen circling around a castle which clearly outshined everything in the city.
The castle was built atop a small mountain and was surrounded by tall fortifications; obviously, this was the royal pce of the kingdom of Renard.
Currently, in one of the rooms inside the royal pce, a young man in his twenties was respectfully standing around facing a certain direction. He had chestnut brown hair which hung clumsily over his thin, friendly face.
The man was not overly handsome, but his looks could be said to be above average.
He was wearing a clean shirt that was fully buttoned up, a puff tie hung around his neck. On top of his shirt, he is wearing a chic vest. His pants simrly matched the color of his vest and an elegant pair of shoes to top it off. An aura of royalty radiated from the manner he carried himself.
Inside thevishly decorated room were two sets of sofas at the center of the room facing each other, a ss table with an intrinsic design was ced in between them. It was night time but the room was brightly lit by the chandelier on the ceiling.
Stifling silence permeated the room, its two upants were nheless unbothered.
¡°What a beautiful night isn¡¯t it¡Fourth prince of the Renard Kingdom, Richard Anchier Jocet Renard!¡±
The man with the chestnut brown hair standing in front of one of the sofas hurriedly turned his head towards the speaker. He was the fourth prince of the Renard Kingdom, and right now he had a fawning and respectful face as he looked towards the speaker.
¡°Yes my lord, it is indeed quite the extraordinary sight to behold.¡±
In one corner of the room was a double door made out of exquisite ss and wood, which led towards the balcony.
Standing on the balcony and gazing at the moons, was a young man who looked to be in his twenties. He was about as tall as the Fourth prince of Renard. His sleek, bright golden hair tied in a low ponytail reached till his waist.
A devastatingly handsome face, shining golden eyes set gracefully within their sockets watching the night sky. The man was wearing a white standard shirt and fully buttoned up to support the elegant tie he is wearing. A white long coat that had golden stripes around the cor and cuffs, was matched with the equally white pants he was wearing and an elegant pair of brown shoes to bnce it off.
It was perfectly tailored made for him, one could see that the man was quite extravagant.
After hearing Richard¡¯s response the manughed without tearing his gaze away from the moons.
¡°Haha..indeed you are quite right, but it is also a sign. A sign of impending change.¡±
¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t quite understand my lord¡± Richard voiced out, perplexed by the words of the man.
Chapter 6: Nether Moon Lunar Phase
Chapter 6: Nether Moon Lunar Phase
¡°It is quite understandable for you to not get it, Angel of dominion. After all, this is also my first time looking at it. This phenomenonst happened more than six thousand years ago, and even I, who inherited the blood of one of the Seven Seraphims have vague memories of it.¡±
Richard who was referred to as the Angel of Dominion right now had a bbergasted look on his face. He was so shocked that he couldn¡¯t help voice it out loud.
¡°Even you lord Lawrance are unaware about it?¡±
The man called Lawrance finally pulled his eyes away from the moons and pondered for a bit. But soon after they started looking at it again.
¡°It is not that I¡¯m unaware about it, it¡¯s just that I have very vague memories of it. Hmmm, thest time this phenomenon urred it was termed ¡®Heavenly Star Lunar Phase¡¯.¡±
¡°Heavenly Star Lunar Phase?¡± Richard parroted unsure about the words he just heard.
Lawrance was naturally aware of Richard¡¯s train of thoughts, so he exined further.
¡°This lunar phase where the two moons surrounding the one in the middle are in their waning crescent stage, and the one in the middle slightly above the others in its full moon stage is called the ¡®Heavenly Star Lunar Phase¡¯.¡±
¡°As far as I can recall it is a sign that represents a star will be born that will outshine all the other stars around it. Anyways all it means is that big changes are about to take ce¡± Lawrance squinted his eyes and said.
Renard could only nod his head as he was left bewildered by the sudden topic. He knew more than not to ignore those words as they came from the man who currently stood at the pinnacle of this world.
¡ª¨C
Somewhere in the Demon continent, a grand canyon spread as far as the eye could see. The ground was slightly red, it was as if the ground had seen centuries-long bloodshed and had absorbed all of into it.
Tall rocky mountains situated in one corner of the canyon rose as high as ten thousand meters. In one of the nted rock mountains that dwarfed all the others around it, a man could be seen standing on top of it.
The man had white hair with some amber-colored strands mix with it. Like that of a lion¡¯s mane, it flowed from his shoulders ending just before his waist. Two jagged horns protruded from each side of his head, he had a sharp pair of thick eyebrows and an overgrown goatee.
Bright amber eyes like two suns with vertical pupils set cozily within their sockets, his wide smile reveals 2 sharp canines.
His oval head sits atop a hulking tall body. Amber ck tattoos run down his neck and reach his hands and chest from each side. He was wearing an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt, short pants, and a flip flop.
The man was radiating an aura that was clearly overbearing to the extreme. His very presence made the space unstable and If one looked carefully, one could see that the air around the man seemed distorted as if afraid of touching the man even the slightest. Currently, the man was gazing at the night sky.
¡°Oi.oi.oi it appeared once again huh!..so what might it be this time the ¡®Heavenly Star Lunar Phase¡¯ or the ¡®Nether Moon Lunar Phase¡¯.¡±
¡°Hahahaha thest time it was the ¡®Heavenly Star Lunar Phase¡¯ and thatss was born. Truly humanity got damn lucky that time. Heh, the times are starting to change and I can¡¯t wait to ride the waves¡HAHAHAHA.¡±
His loudughter could be heard from miles away.
At this moment the space behind the man split apart and a circr warp gate appeared. A female voice could be hearding from within it.
¡°Lord Baal¡±
¡°Sigh, so you found me huh.¡±
¡°Lord Baal you still have lots of work pending that needs your approval.¡±
¡°Mannn cut it out will ya!..how many times have I said that I¡¯m not suited for it. Besides you do it much better than I do.¡±
¡°ttery will not get you anywhere and isn¡¯t it just because you don¡¯t want to work rather than not suited for it. Therefore you should hurry up and finish the work before it piles up.¡±
¡°Haaah¡¡± Baal dejectedly sighed.
Chapter 7: Ancestral Symbol Ignition
Chapter 7: Ancestral Symbol Ignition
Arge patch of the forest was burning, thick clouds of smoke rose into the air lighting the night sky in a pale red hue.
In arge clearance of forest, Simon was sitting on the ground breathing disorderly. His body was covered with blood all over making it impossible to discern whether it¡¯s his own or his enemies.
Arge pool of bloody beneath, seeping out from the mountain of corpses behind him.
Fallen burnt trees could be seen everywhere in a hundred-meter radius. The ground was gouged out in many ces, evident of a big battle that had urred here.
¡°Dammit it took everything I had in me just to survive, I can¡¯t imagine how tough the future battles will be.¡±
¡°Where is this ce? It doesn¡¯t seem like a dream anymore, if it was I should have already woken up by now.¡±
After Simon¡¯s head got flooded with new sets of memories, arge pack of more than forty Direwolves attacked him. From these memories, he knew that he was on a called Althaea, a worldpletely different from earth and filled with mythical creatures.
He also knew that he was currently in a body of a demon, a demon baron. One of the lowest ranking demon nobility, and if he wants to survive, he needs to quickly level up and raise his rank.
The enemies he was confronting were called Direwolves, a low-ranking monster. Individually they are not very strong and even a human, who has trained and leveled up a few times could defeat it. But troublesome to deal with if faced in numbers.
This species is not born with any magic, and their only weapon is to charge up to their enemies and tear them apart with their sharp fangs. They have low intelligence and are ruled by their instincts; clearly, they belong to the lowest level of hierarchy.
But to Simon, this number was a sign of impending doom. Yes, he managed to defeat one, but he was severely wounded in the process. Now faced with this number, he knew that his chances of surviving this was very slim.
From his memories, Simon hurriedly called out his status. A thin square film floated out in front of his eyes. There he could see his name, stats, titles, and everything.
¡ª-
Name:- Simon
Race:- Demon Baron
Titles:- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 1/5]
Level:- 17
Stats-
HP:- 3017
MP:- 7498
Strength:- 651
Defence:- 551 {Base:- 751]
Agility:- 685
Magic:- 885
Endurance:- 451 [Base:- 668]
Luck:- 434
Skills:- Language Comprehension, Analysis, Fire Magic Mastery
Inherent Skills:- [Dungeon Creation], [Main Menu], [Ancestral Symbol Ignition].
¡ª-
Looking at his status, his name remained the same but his race had changed to demon baron. His level was disyed 17 which must have increased when he killed the direwolf earlier. His stats were quite higher than a normal human due to his race, which had higher base stats to begin with.
All of this did not make Simoncent because he knew that he was still in the lower hierarchy of the food chain, and it was necessary for him to quickly level up and raise his rank to survive.
He quickly went through all his skills. [Language Comprehension] allows the user to quicklyprehend a foreignnguage.
¡°This skill seems very useful. It will help out whenmunicating with other races in the future.¡±
[Analysis] allows the user to gather information from the surrounding, the higher the level of the user the more detailed the analysis.
¡°Alright this seems useful, let¡¯s use it [Analysis].¡±
He quickly shouted the name of the skill. New sets of information started appearing in front of him wherever he looked. Thanks to that, he could see the level and skills of the direwolves surrounding him.
Most of them were around level 60-70, Some of them even surpassed level 70. The one with lots of battle scars seemed to be the leader and was the highest level among them.
Simon knew that he could handle three or four of them max, but thisrge of a number was clearly a problem.
With a piercing howl that rang across the whole forest, the leader of the direwolves initiated the hunt. The surrounding wolves immediately started charging towards him.
No more time to collect his thoughts, he started casting fire magic.
BANG¡ Bright light apanied with intense heat erupted from his outstretched hand and all the wolves in a ten meters area around him were burnt to crisps within seconds.
ck smoke rose from the corpses as the fire burnt them into ashes. Simon looked on with wide eyes as he witnessed the destruction brought forth from the magic with his own eyes.
¡°Awoooooo¡± the leader wolf howled and immediately the surrounding wolves dispersed and started their charge from all directions. The leader wolf was quite sentient and knew how to take advantage and surround the prey with their numbers.
Simon aware of what the wolves were trying to do started running adjacent to the river. Like this at least the wolves cannot attack him from behind.
¡°Fire magic, Fire magic, Fire magic¡Fire magic..huff..huff.¡±
Chapter 8: Ancestral Symbol Ignition (2)
Chapter 8: Ancestral Symbol Ignition (2)
He repeatedly cast fire magic left and right, burning all the wolves charging and encircling him along with the trees and ground behind. Many trees were burnt into charcoal, due to his high magic stats which was greater than his other stats.
But even this had a limit. His (MP) which was around 7000 had reduced to 3000 something. He knew that this cannot go on for long because as soon as he runs out of mana, he will bepletely defenceless.
He had toe up with something and fast. From all his skills that looked offensive, there was only [Fire Magic Mastery] and [Ancestral Symbol Ignition]. The former was the magic he was currently using, but he was hesitant to use thetter because of its skill description.
¡ª-
[Ancestral Symbol Ignition]:- ignites the ancestral symbol in your body to drastically increase both stats and skills for a limited period of time. Skill duration- [10 minutes], the duration increases as the owner ranks up.
Temporarily fuses all the skills the user has, leaving them unable to use any skill after the duration ends.
[Warning:- ces a heavy burden on the body]
¡ª-
It is kind of ast resort of sort which made Simon cautious to use the skill. He did not know what mighte after, which was why leaving the bodypletely exhausted was a bad idea.
Awoooooooo¡Grrrrrrr the leader wolf howled again. The surrounding wolves started charging towards Simon with increased fervour. Backed into a corner he was left with no choice but one, and so he did.
A wild gust of wind burst out of his body, sting the wolves and uprooting the surrounding trees along with it. His body became the centre of the storm. The tattoos which were on his body started lighting up with a golden-ck lustre, igniting and disappearing into nothingness
After the storm stopped, Simon slowly started walking. His body had grown a few centimetres, muscles brimming with energy and his hair which was previously pitch ck, now had few golden strands mix within them.
The entire aura around him had changed drastically.
He lifted his hand and cast fire magic once again. But this time the scale and power brought forth by the skill was on a whole different level.
BOOoooooooMM
Everything in the trajectory of the magic disappeared without any remains. Thend up to a few dozen meters was gouged out as the magic disyed its might. All the sounds echoing inside the forest disappeared at this moment and a scene of carnage unfolded soon after.
Simon started charging towards the wolves, the speed at which he moved was many times faster than before and the ground cracked wherever he stepped.
Before the surrounding direwolves could ascertain what had transpired, they were grabbed by their tails and smashed onto the ground with so much force that they instantly turned into a meaty paste.
Simon dished out a storm of punches and kicks powerful enough to kill all the direwolves that were unfortunate enough to run a step toote. BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ his body was filled with destructive power, and his mind felt refreshing to the extreme when ughtering these wolves.
Simon unaware of these changes that were happening inside him, continued his charge towards the pack of direwolves who up until now looked at him with the eyes of a predator. Though he now outssed them in stats and had gained an upper hand, he was still aware that once the duration of the skill ends their position would reverse and he would be the prey instead.
¡°let¡¯s start by reducing their numbers,¡± Simon said unaware of the wicked smile that crept up to his face.
¡®If fire magic isn¡¯t enough then let¡¯s add wind to it¡¯. Simon raised his hand high and imagined mesbusting with increased power as the wind propagated them even further.
Immediately a fireball took shape, it was rotating at a rapid speed pulling the surrounding air towards it. The intensity of the mes was so great that lit the surrounding area brightly. The air distorted and felt sizzling hot as the fireball started growing rapidly in size, and in a few instants grew up to a size of five-meter.
The wolves probably smelled the scent of dangering from the fireball and started retreating back towards the forest.
¡°Hehe after all this you still wish to retreat?..toote! Now then it¡¯s time to end this farce.¡±
¡°Fire-Wind magic [re Sun].¡±
With his shout, the fireball flew rapidly towards the forest. Everything that it touched was scorched into cinders. The fireball instantly caught up to the retreating direwolves after a while, Simon who was standing still, saw the scene with eyes of indifference and slowly clenched his hand. Immediately after the fireball exploded.
BOOOOOOoooooooooMMMM
A small sun appeared in one part of the forest, it looked dazzling in the darkness of the night.
Chapter 9: Dungeon Creation
Chapter 9: Dungeon Creation
¡ª-
Name:- Simon
Race:- Demon Baron
Titles:- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 1/5]
Level:- 87
HP:- 8017
MP:- 14410
Strength:- 861
Defence:- 961
Agility:- 1035
Magic:- 1235
Endurance:- 948
Luck:- 574
Skills:- Language Comprehension, Analysis, me Magic Mastery, Wind Magic Master
Amalgamation skills:- [me-Wind Magic]
Inherent Skills:- [Dungeon Creation], [Main Menu]
¡ª-
Lying on the ground, Simon was staring at his [Status Window]. His level rose from 17 to 87 which was quite a big leap, but he did not think as such considering what he had to go through. Another thing of note was that his [Fire Magic Mastery] had evolved into [me Magic Mastery].
Mana in this world can take five basic forms:- Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, Electro and four rare forms:- Light, Dark, Space, and Time.
These magic are further divided into three tiers:- Novice, Intermediate and Advanced. me magic is the Intermediate form of fire magic and Inferno magic is the advanced form of me.
When one learns more than one branch of magic, they have a slight chance of gaining enlightenment in [Amalgamation magic].
Amalgamation magic is the product of adding two or more attributes of mana together. Only a small number of people in this entire world have ess to this magic. His [me-Wind Magic:- re Sun] is the oue of him adding wind magic to his fireball, altering the magic in the process, making it much more potent and destructive.
¡°Sigh this [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] is very taxing for my body, not to mention the skill disappeared after one use,¡± Simon said while grinding his teeth as pain and exhaustion assaulted every corner of his body.
¡°I should rest here for a while and move when I recover some of my strength.¡± Unable to move his body even the slightest, he decided so.
Early morning Simon debated whether to climb the mountains on the other shore of the river. He thought of flying there, making use of his magnificent wings.
But no matter how much he tried, he couldn¡¯t take off of the ground, so he finally decided to swim to the other shore. The mountains were quite tall and it took quite a while for him to climb up to its peak.
The forest looked quite vast from up here, its end could not be seen. From his memories, Simon knew that he was in the Ghastly Winding Forest located on the demon continent.
Currently, he was on the east side of the forest where the tall mountains were located, the presence of monsters was the weakest on this side. He could sense moderately strong monsters on the north and south side of the forest, and the strongest ones on the west.
The presence of the monsters on the western side of the forest was so strong that it gave him goosebumps. Simon made a mental note not to wander there carelessly.
Now that he knows where he is, he immediately started making future ns. First of all, he needed to secure a ce for him to live in, a safe ce he could call home.
From the moment he arrived here, he was being persistently hunted down. It can be said that he was on edge all the time. Therefore he needed a base from which he couldmence all his operations; fortunately, he was given the perfect inherent skill for that.
[Dungeon Creation] the inherent skill of all demon nobilities. It creates a special dimensional realm for its user using the demon core. Once activated it bes a living entity connected to its master. The dungeon cannot be moved once created and will grow together with its master.
If the master dies, the dungeon will also copse, and if the dungeon core is destroyed the master dies.
The demon continent is mostly a barren piece ofnd, unsuitable for the cultivation of most of the corps, making it an unfertilend for the living being.
Surviving in the demon continent is quite harsh than most other continents, due to these factors, the demon nobilities in the demon continent use their demon cores to set up dungeons.
Chapter 10:- Dungeon Creation (2)
Chapter 10:- Dungeon Creation (2)
¡°Hmm, the demon core should be this right?¡± he said while touching the pitch-ck orb
The thing Simon was looking at was the ck orb the size of a quail egg embedded at the center of his chest.
The [Dungeon Creation] skill used the demon core embedded on his chest as a catalyst to create the dungeon.
¡°let¡¯s find a good ce to set a dungeon¡±.
With that in mind, he started descending the mountain. After exploring the forest for a while, he decided to set up his dungeon near the east side of the forest. During his exploration, he met many monsters along the way. But chose to avoid engaging in a fight because his priority now was to secure a ce for his dungeon.
¡°[Dungeon Creation] activate.¡± Choosing a ce where the density of manas was greater, he activated his skill.
Immediately after the orb on his chest glowed with a piercing ck light and disappeared. Soon after, a thirty-meter tall spiral tower appeared from the ground.
¡°Ooh, so this is my dungeon huh. Let¡¯s go inside and check it out.¡± Marveling at the tower which seemingly rose from the ground, he decided to enter it.
The entrance was wide and simple, its inside was like that of a dimly lit cave. The area was around fifty meters wide and was quite spacious. A new window appeared in front of Simon as soon as he entered the dungeon.
¡ª-
Dungeon Name:- [nk] Dungeon Rank:- [E]
Dungeon
Shop
Summon
Archive
Spawn
Main Menu
¡ª-
The new window that appeared was very different from the status. It disyed dungeon name which was set as nk, dungeon rank which was disyed as [E].
Apparently [E] is the lowest rank dungeon. There were 5 options:- [Dungeon], [Shop], [Summon], [Archive], [Main Menu].
The [Dungeon] option helps in remodeling, generating new floors and structures, and also facilitates movement between the floors. [Shop] as the name says, it disys a wide variety of items that can be bought with Dungeon Points.
There were even items valuing over 100,000,000 points, sadly right now he only had 10,000 points.
[Summon] helps in summoning subordinates for the master of the dungeon. Unlike shop this option does not use Dungeon Points; instead, it uses Dungeon Emblem which is generated by the dungeon every month. Subordinates that can be summoned have different ranks. Using one Emblem summons a [C] or [D] rank subordinates, two at once has a chance to summon a [B] rank, a maximum of three emblems can be used together at a time.
Using three Emblems together has a chance of summoning a powerful [A] rank subordinate or an extremely rare [S] rank. But the chances of one appearing are as rare as a Phoenix¡¯s feather.
[Archive] option provides detailed information about the inhabitants and intruders of the dungeon, and the dungeon master could see everything going on inside the dungeon in a three-dimensional structure. Currently, the [Archive] only disyed him.
The next option was quite peculiar; it felt out of sort in this menu, like something that clearly did not belong there. [Main Menu] this option was strangely decorated and a weird aura was being emanated from it.
A thought shed into his mind, when he came to this world he had three Inherent skills with him. One of them was precisely this [Main Menu].
Chapter 11:- Main Menu
Chapter 11:- Main Menu
Main Menu up until now, he had been ignoring this skill because the Status failed to provide any information as everything was covered in question marks. Even the Status did not know what this skill that Simon inherited was. And now it had appeared in his dungeon window.
A voice that came from within him beckoned him to open the [Main Menu]. Listening to the voice he pressed on the skill, and the moment he did, his body froze up in shock. He was so shaken that he felt like a lightning from the nine heavens had struck him. This new window that just appeared in front of him looked very familiar. It was the very same screen of the game that he spent three years like a lunatic to develop.
LAPLACE, the game that he expended all his life and energy into creating was again in front of him. The window that he couldn¡¯t be any familiar with appeared in this new world along with him. Indescribable emotions shed past his eyes. He spent countless sleepless nights, relinquishing everything, being ostracised by his team members. Everything he had done was for this game, at some point it had be his life.
¡°It¡¯s good to see you again.¡± He said while touching the screen.
The new screen gave a dark aura, a dragon coiled around the edges of the screen. There were ten options disyed.
¡ª-
[Main Menu]:-
Character
Party
Inventory
Armory
Shortcuts
Settings
Shop
Gacha
Heroes Altar
¡ª-
¡°Let¡¯s call this one [Main Menu] and the other one [Dungeon Menu].¡±
The menu was the same as he remembered. There were many options that were the same and at the same time different from the dungeon¡¯s menu.
For instance [character] which was simr to the Status, but had a few more features such as [Promote] and [Constetion] in it.
[Party] disys all the members currently on his team. [Inventory] is used for storing things, [Armory] for enhancing and leveling up weapons and artifacts. [Settings] and [Shortcuts] are currently blurred and unusable may be due to him reincarnating in a different world, some of the functions became inessible.
[Shop] option simr to the dungeon¡¯s menu lists a wide variety of items that can be obtained by using dungeon points. Maybe due to transmigrating with him, the currency needed to exchange items from the shop has changed to dungeon points and gold coins.
Other than the 10,000 dungeon points, he was dirt poor.
¡°There it is the Food & Beverage section. Hehe putting this section was a good choice if I say so myself¡± he put the food section in the shop to allow the yers to quickly restore their stamina during the exploration.
He immediately exchanged dungeon points for the food of his preference and a bottle of c.
[850 DP has been exchanged]
Though there was no change in his stats, his hunger was satiated from the food.
With that, the remaining DP ha had was 9,150 points.
While munching on his food, he looked up at the other items listed in the [Shop]. After a while, he finally found the item he was searching for, Elixir of Sacred Sanctum. When used, it permanently increases any one attribute by +1, can only be bought once per day.
This was one of the prized items along with few others listed in the main menu¡¯s [Shop], costing 100,000 DP each.
¡°Hmm damn it, I thought I could use the elixirs to increase my stats in one go but it seems it was too far-fetched. Until I have a stable ie of dungeon points I can¡¯t use it on these luxury items.¡±
Next option is [Gacha]. As the name suggests, it randomly spawns things out of it. The rarity of spawning decent and unique items depends on chance and the user¡¯s luck.
[Heroes Altar] is Lace¡¯s variation of summoning subordinates. When he was developing the game, he listed 12 powerful heroes of extreme rarity for yers to summon. He hurriedly opened the altar and sighed in relief, when he found all the familiar characters listed there.
After going through all this, Simon learned one crucial thing. That is he was severelycking in DP. Currently, he had a negligible amount of DP, and he must find a way to increase them.
¡°Now then, how do I Increase the dungeon points.¡±
Chapter 12: Grinding Dungeon Points
Chapter 12: Grinding Dungeon Points
¡°Now then, how do I Increase the dungeon points.¡±
When he thought till here, memories and information came crashing into his mind. ording to it, there are various ways of increasing DP. Firstly when an intruder invades the dungeon, they provide DP every minute (the amount depends on the level and rank of the enemy).
Secondly when enemies die inside the dungeon, bing nourishment for the dungeon (the amount depends on the level and rank of the enemy).
Thirdly when the dungeon and its master grows and rank up. Andstly, the dungeon itself produces DP every day by consuming the manas in the surrounding area.
Now that he knows how to get DP, all that is left is to start acquiring them. Standing up, he did some side bend exercise and bolted out of the dungeon. He inhaled a deep breath of air and searched for the presence of enemies nearby, luckily he found one not very far.
Charging towards the direction where he sensed the presence from, he came to a small clearance of forest. A small hill was in front of him and a wide cave entrance could be seen, a snoozing sound came from within. Clearly, the inhabitant of the cave was currently sleeping. He tried approaching near the cave but before he could get any closer, the being inside woke up and growled.
The entity inside must have felt his presence and growled at him as a warning. Telling him with its growl not to approach any further.
¡°Heh telling me to back off. Now I really want to see what kind of being are you!.¡±
Without heeding its warning, Simon slowly approached the cave. At this moment a furious growl along with a wild gust of wind came charging out of the cave.
The being inside was finally in front of his eyes. It had a towering frame at about five meters, battle scars decked all over its body, and it was standing on its hind legs. Its hands reached the ground even while standing and extremely sharp ws gleaming with a sharp light protruded out from it.
GRRRRROOOWWWWLLLL
The loud roar from it marked the beginning of the fight.
¡ª-
[Analysis] disyed Race:- Battle Bear, Level 92, Skill [Wind ws]
The enemy in front of him was five levels higher than him, and unlike the direwolves, it even had a skill. The Direwolves he previously fought, none of them disyed any skill.
¡°Wouldn¡¯t this make you a little special than the others?¡± Simon gave a wide smile and said.
The battle bear swung one of its wide arms in an attempt to tear him apart. Without holding back, he met the attack with a punch of his own.
BANG
A wild gust of wind was generated when both the attacks met. The battle bear¡¯s arm was deflected and Simon was forced a few steps back. Seeing its attack being deflected, the battle bear became increasingly frenzied. Ruthless attacks came raining down one after the other; Simon countered it with his own attacks. Forward punch, uppercut, roundhouse kick. He attacked again and again, showcasing the might of his powerful physical body.
BANG BANG BANG BANG
Fierce wind-generated whenever their attacks met. Simon¡¯s body became a little tattered, with small bruises here and there. The battle bear became increasingly irritated seeing that it couldn¡¯t gain any advantage in their fight.
GROOOWWWLLL
¡°Damn you are quite good. Let¡¯s continue this somewhere else shall we?¡±
He gave a fierce smile towards the bear, turned around, and started darting into the forest. Now that he fully captured its aggro on him, it was time for the next step of his n.
Chapter 13: New Floors
Chapter 13: New Floors
GRrrrrrroooooooowwl
Seeing its prey fleeing from the scene, it could no longer hold onto its anger. With a deafening growl, its massive body charged towards Simon. Wind current enveloped its right w as it ran, after which it swung its right ws towards Simon¡¯s direction. Right now it had activated its skill [Wind w].
Simon felt his back tingling, and he hurriedly turned and dived into the corner. Immediately after a fierce wind brushed past his back, cleanly bisecting everything in its path. Looking at the devastation, cold drops of sweat rolled down his back. He started running again, this time crisscrossing around the trees.
The battle bear continued its charge for a while until finally, its prey halted its steps near a spiral tower. Simon looked at his back, meeting the gaze of the battle bear. He taunted with his finger and immediately went inside his dungeon. A wide rocky cavey within, big and small rocks protruded from the ground here and there reducing the visibility somewhat.
Before starting his DP grinding, he remodeled the first floor and added another floor to his dungeon.
The battle bear came charging inside, looking left and right searching for its prey.
¡°Hehe, I¡¯m over here over here you stupid bear.¡±
Simon waved his hand from over arge rock protrusion. This was his territory, and in here the battle bear¡¯s movements would be limited.
The Battle Bear¡¯s tanky frame would get in its way in this environment. Wind current started enveloping its right arm again, after a while itunched another [Wind w] towards his direction.
¡°Heh, I must say that your [Wind w] packs quite a punch. But it is useless if it doesn¡¯t hit.¡±
He ducked around a corner and easily dodged the skill. Right after he cast his magic.
¡°me Magic Mastery- [me spear].¡±
mes gathered inrge quantity and shaped themselves into a three-meter-long spear. Scorching heat emanated from the Spear as it sped forward towards the battle bear. Sensing danger through its instincts, it tried to dodge the attack.
But its tanky frame and the protruding rocks got in its way, making it unable to dodge the attack.
The me spear squarely hit the bear right into its chest, mes igniting its body. A painful low growl came from its mouth; clearly, it took quite some damage from the attack just now. The battle bear which previously looked quite mighty now had quite a sorry appearance.
Simon sped both his hands together and said ¡°You are Dead.¡±. Immediately numerous me spears started appearing in the air above his head. Each of the me spears contained as much might like the one earlier.
¡°me Magic Mastery- [me Spear Barrage].¡±
.
[13000 DP earned]
Killing the battle bear earned him a whopping 13,000 DP, he felt like his hard work paid off. After resting for a while, he started his exploration again. Taunting and luring the monsters to his dungeon and repeating the cycle again and again.
Simon amassed quite the amount of DP and three days quickly passed amidst this never-ending cycle.
Simon was sitting on the second floor of his dungeon. The second floor was just below the first floor, it was a hundred-meter-wide maze. The walls were quite thick, which made brute-forcing the way quite taxing.
The walls also moved and repaired themselves, which made solving it quite difficult. But this doesn¡¯t make it impassable; there are many skills that can easily breach it such as- [Mental Mapping], [Path Finder], [Trap Detection], and more.
Right now this should be enough to stall the monsters here for quite a while. He had used 10,000 points to create this winding maze, and another 5,000 points to create a third floor. The third floor was an empty floor and was made to stop any monster that managed to breach the second floor.
Chapter 14: Elixir of Enticement
Chapter 14: Elixir of Enticement
Simon was currently munching on a chicken drumstick and looking at his status which has changed quite a bit after these three days of constant grinding.
¡ª-
Name:- Simon
Race:- Demon Baron
Title:- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 1/5]
Stats:-
Level:- 99
HP:- 10,124
MP:- 16,958
Strength:- 897
Defence:- 997
Agility:- 1095
Magic:- 1295
Endurance:- 996
Luck:- 598
Skills:- Language Comprehension, Analysis, me Magic Mastery, Wind Magic Mastery, Thought Processing, Regeneration.
Amalgamation Skills:- [me-Wind Magic]
Inherent Skill:- [Dungeon Creation], [Main Menu]
¡ª-
His level almost reached the hundredth threshold. He also got some new skills called [Thought Processing] and [Regeneration].
[Thought Processing]- this skill helps process the thoughts inside his mind faster. [Regeneration]- as the skill says heals his wounds faster.
The past few times he failed to notice, but he also had a title called- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 1/5]. He pressed the option for more details but couldn¡¯t get any.
¡°If the status is unable to disy any information about this title, then let¡¯s check it up with [Main Menu].¡±
He immediately opened his [Main Menu] window and pressed on the [Character] option. It was simr to the status window and didn¡¯t disy any information when he pressed on the title.
¡°Hmm that¡¯s weird I was very sure that the [Character] would disy the information rted to this title. If it¡¯s not here then where could it be..¡±
Simon tilted his head and was in deep thought for a while when suddenly he squinted his eyes and thought of something. He pressed on the [Constetion] button located just above the stats and below the title.
When Simon designed the game, he provided a power-up of sorts for the yers in the form of [Constetion]. Every yer can unlock 6 stars. Each star provides a massive buff to the yers, and the more they unlock in the [Constetion] the more powerful they be.
Call it a gut feeling or intuition of sorts, but he knew that the answer he was searching for is in the [Constetion]. When he pressed the button 6 Stars in a Cygnus pattern appeared in front of him. Out of the 6, only 1 star was shinning and the other 5 were dull and locked. The details of the star shinning were as such:- Constetion of Pride 1/6, increases the exp gained by the user manifold.
There were some differences, the status showed there were 5 fragments whereas the [Constetion] disyed 6. Either way, Simon finally found the details of his title disyed in his status.
Simon was sorting all the information in his head while staring at his status. He finally was aware of his quick level-ups and his title.
¡°So the first fragment allows me to quickly increase my level. Well, it¡¯s a good thing since leveling up faster will ensure my survival.¡±
¡°hmmm but no matter how much I searched, I couldn¡¯t find any clues on unlocking the other fragments.¡±
He had no inkling of how to unlock the other fragments. In the end, he had no choice but to give up and take things slowly. Now then it¡¯s finally time I start my new operation for grinding DP.
¡°Hehe the stage is all set I wonder how much DP they will award me,¡± Simon said while making a wicked smile that was inborn to his race
Chapter 15:- Elixir of Enticement (2)
Chapter 15:- Elixir of Enticement (2)
He opened the [Shop] option from his [Main Menu] and after browsing through the items, he finally found what he was looking for. Currently, he had a little over 90,000 DP after deducting the amount he spent making the 2nd and 3rd floor. He went through the details and quickly bought it.
[3000 DP exchanged]
He was notified of his purchase by the system. After some deliberation, Simon stood up and went out of his dungeon. The sun was hanging high up in the sky, the trees as tall as ever. Beastly roars came from all corners of the forest from time to time. After searching for a while, he finally found the presence of arge group of monsters.
Immediately he darted in their direction and soon after found arge horde of monsters surrounding a cave entrance. Analysis showed the race of the monsters. But Simon did not have to look at the results of the analysis to know which race of monsters they belonged to. This was because he got acquainted with this race the very moment he reincarnated in this world.
In front of him were a pack of Direwolves, theyzed around arge cave which appeared to be their den. This pack easily numbered over seventy. He could see forty to fifty wolves outside and as for the remaining, their presence could be felt from the inside. Right now he was on top of a branch of a tall tree a few distances away which overlooked the entire cave.
¡°That¡¯s quite a haul I just discovered. Alright, let¡¯s start the operation.¡±
As soon as his words fell, he manipted a small amount of manas and started casting me magic. Weak me spears came raining down on the cave, startling and enraging thezing wolves. Immediately they howled and started searching all around for the intruder. The remaining wolves also came out of the den and joined the rest in searching.
¡°Now then let¡¯s start with the next phase of the n.¡± Hended on the ground from the tree top making a loud sound in the process. The wolves immediately caught on to the sound and started howling and charging towards him.
Seeing all this a smile crept upon his face, immediately he turned around and started fleeing. The wolves chased him madly, enraged by his actions. Anybody would be mad when their home is destroyed and the culprit fleeing.
To further infuriate them he also cast a few weak fireballs while running. The fireballs smashed onto the ground wounding a few wolves in the process.
¡°Alright, this should secure their aggro firmly on me.¡±
Due to Simon¡¯s actions, he further infuriated them. Their charge continued unabated until finally, they saw a tall spiral tower and the perpetrator going inside through the entrance.
Seeing this they immediately charged towards the entrance and soon a wide winding maze came into view. A pink color substance drifted through the air and as soon as they inhaled some, their eyes lost focus and they started behaving strangely. A pinkish hue could be seen in all of their eyes. All the wolves that charged after followed suit. They started roaming around the maze in a daze.
Simon who was nearby looked at this scene calmly while tossing an empty vial around his hand. This vial was the item that he exchanged for 3,000 DP from the [shop] and right now its effect was on full disy.
The item he purchased from the [Shop] was called Elixir of Enticement. It was an item that was quite potent on weak monsters. It had a powerful hallucination effect on monsters making them inactive. Simon created this elixir for new and inexperienced yers to quickly gain experience this way.
Beforeing out of his dungeon, he altered the position of the floors bringing the second floor above and the first floor down. And after luring the Direwolves inside he emptied the contents of the vial around the maze.
¡°The elixir should take effect for a whole day. You guys are the first visitors to the maze, enjoy it to your heart¡¯s content.¡±
Chapter 16: Gacha
Chapter 16: Gacha
After all the seventy wolves came under the Elixir of Enticement¡¯s effect, he altered the position of the floors back. And after an hour the sound from the system that he wanted to hear most started ringing.
[1750 DP earned]
By doing the math Simon immediately knew that one direwolf was giving him 25 DP making a total of 1750 DP per hour, and since the elixir takes effect for a whole day that makes for a whopping 47,250 DP a day.
¡°Who knew that spending a measly 3,000 DP on it would me this much.¡±
He couldn¡¯t stop himself and burst into a peal of joyousughter. Sitting on the third floor he was looking at the direwolves on the second floor using his dungeon menu.
¡°I wonder this is how the farmers felt when rearing their livestock?.¡±
¡°It¡¯s quite sad that I cant use the elixir more than twice on them.¡±
The Elixir of Enticement bes less effective the more it is used on the same monsters. The most it can take effect for is another day, using any more would be pointless.
¡°Still two days worth of DP and their..¡± a devilish smile crept up to his face before he continued ¡°and their corpses would make a fine ie for my dungeon.
At this moment a demon sitting on a crude throne made out of stone smiling wickedly could be seen on the third floor.
Simon continued to use Elixir of Enticement on the direwolves and kept them inside the maze for two whole days. In these two days, he earned quite a bit of DP from them. When the elixir¡¯s effect was finally worn off, he made short work of the scattered wolves in the maze. The DP he earned from that felt like the cherry on top of a cake.
He repeated the cycle of luring monsters to his dungeon and using Elixir of Enticement for an entire week. A group of three-meter tall orcs that had pig-like features, a colony of lizardmen, battle bears, and a pack of stormwolves were some of the monsters that met their demise after being enticed inside the dungeon.
Out of all the monsters he lured inside the dungeon, the race called Stormwolves gave him the most trouble. That was because they could use a skill called [Wind st] a beginner tier spell of Wind magic.
During this time he also redesigned the third floor and added a fourth floor to his dungeon. The third floor was a five hundred meters wide cavern. Like an ant nest, the paths inside the cavern zigzagged and were filled with deadly traps and pitfalls. Due to low visibility, several monsters that didn¡¯t have Nightvision died in these traps.
The fourth floor was currently empty, it was used as his personal space. The dungeon core which was now the size of a football was also located on this floor.
Right now he had amassed quite a bit of DP. The amount he had was around 651,000. Looking at the number brought a smile to his face. With this amount, he could now use some of the features like [Shop and [Gacha] that he wanted to use before. But at that time he didn¡¯t have enough DP to pige on them.
Chapter 17: Gacha (2)
Chapter 17: Gacha (2)
Clearing his mind, he opened the shop from the dungeon¡¯s menu and started browsing through the items. There were quite a number of goods that caught his eyes but the DP required for their purchase was very high. musical instruments and notes along with few other items piqued his interest. After browsing for a while he closed the window and opened his [Main Menu].
The option he wanted to try next was [Gacha]. You can either do a 10,000 DP or a 100,000 DP gacha at a time. Since 100,000 was still a big amount for him, he tried his luck on 10,000 DP. He drew the gacha a total of 7 times and the result as expected was quite disappointing.
¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t expecting much anyway.¡±
In his first draw, he got a leather glove which increases strength by +12. Analysis disyed it as a [E] rank item. For his next draw, he got a porcin table set. When Simon was developing the game made many joke items, which he put in the gacha to make fun of the yers. One of them was this table. It was a three-meter-wide round table with an exquisite design.
Analysis disyed:- a table made by a master craftsman with great dedication and love. It holds great artistic value. Rank [B]. Reading the description, Simon¡¯s face heated up due to embarrassment. He felt like someone had jabbed him right on the face.
The other items that came out were a pair of boots rank [D], a rank [C] spear, and the rest were Amegdtide crystal used for refining weapons in the [Armory].
Tofort his heart after the unsatisfactory results from the [Gacha], he exchanged 100,000 DP for the item he had his eyes on from the [Shop]. Elixir of Sacred Sanctum which increases any one stat by +1. The effect of this item was frankly quite appealing and would spark a buying frenzy from the yers.
That is why during the development of the game, Simon increased its price and limited its quantity to one per day. But even he couldn¡¯t have imagined what kind of waves it would stir in the world of Althaea.
¡°let¡¯s keep on collecting it every day. Since I no longer have the skill [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] it can serve as my new trump card.¡±
After keeping the elixir in his [inventory]. He began his daily routine of grinding DP. Every day he lured a group of monsters, used Elixir of Enticement, slept, and ate his meal. The next day he would repeat the same.
Ten days passed by in the blink of an eye while Simon was living a monotonous life. In these ten days, he never forgot to buy the Elixir of Sacred Sanctum from the [Shop]. By now he had already explored more than 50% of the north side of the forest. He also became aware of the hierarchy of monsters in the Ghastly Winding Forest his dungeon was located in.
The west side of the forest is where the strongest monsters lived. The north side which was currently Simon¡¯s hunting ground and the south side is where the monsters who were defeated and chased out of the western part lived. The East side of the forest harbored the weakest monsters.
He became increasingly aware of his position in the hierarchy, and if he wanted to change it. He had to delve into the west part of the forest. But for now, he could only take it one step at a time. Leaving the west aside the north side sill contained some monsters far more powerful than the present Simon.
Which was why he had to first conquer the north before delving into the west part
Chapter 18: Hobby
Chapter 18: Hobby
On an oddly big porcin table, one man could be seen having a meal. The man had two jagged horns protruding from his head indicating that he was not human. He was topless and only had a simple pants on and a pair of leather boots that climbed up to his ankle.
Simon was currently having a cream stew which he exchanged from the [Shop]. The food could be said quite delicious, even though it was generated by the shop instead of hand-cooked. Right now he was browsing the [Shop] from the dungeon¡¯s menu. Looking for something of interest that could break his boring monotonous life.
¡°If I remember correctly this dungeon shop also listed musical items..hmm where is it?..ahh found it.¡±
What Simon was looking at was a piano. In his previous life, Simon learned piano as a hobby. But after getting employed by thepany, the time he could give to his hobby was very limited. After few years he stopped andpletely dedicated himself to his work.
Now that he saw a piano again many deep and once-forgotten memories came flooding back to him. Reminiscing in these wonderful wonderful memories he made a decision.
[500,000 DP Exchanged]
He immediately exchanged his DP for the piano, the remaining amount he had with him was 3,240,000 DP
The thing that appeared was a concert grand piano. It had an impressive ck ebony body. Its open lid reveals the remarkable tableau in gleaming gold. Simon marveled at its grandeur, a true work of art.
Its keys produced big beautiful sounds filling the entire floor. Looking at it he thought the 500,000 DP he paid was not exorbitant at all. He also bought a piece called Sound of the Vale along with the piano. Because his fingers grew unustomed It took him some time to y the notes in sync.
The music that came out was heavy yet light, it had an unconcealed fervor in it giving whoever listening to it a tinge of dread. He yed the piece for a while, the sound reverberating across the entire floor. Disyed at one of his corners were windows showing hordes of enemies on every floor enticed by the Elixir of Enticement. Some dying to the traps others stepping on their corpses roaming the dungeon in a trance.
Simon added two new fifth and sixth floors. The fourth floor was structured the same as the third but the ceiling and walls are bigger and are lighted by the phosphorescence above. The floor spans 600m across the ground. The fifth floor was simr to the fourth but due to the mist that endlessly drifts here. It makes visibility terrible even with skills.
The sixth floor currently became his personal space and also the dungeon core¡¯s current location. It was still the size of a football but the light emitted by it was more ethereal and lifelike. The concentration of manas had also increased on all the floors. Dungeon¡¯s menu still disyed its rank as [E], but Simon knew that he was making progress, and the dungeon was growing.
In these past few days, he also tried his luck on the [Gacha] but the oue was not satisfactory but it was still good. [C] and [D] rank items filled his [Inventory]. He was not worried about the space in his [Inventory] being full. That was because during the beta phase lots of yersined about the limited space in the [Inventory], which led him to expand its space substantially. Now it can easily house more than 10,000 items.
Another thing of note was that he got a new skill called [Mental Map] which allows him to map the outside world in his mind. This skill was quite useful as it allowed him to mark out ces with a high concentration of monsters in the forest. The north part ording to his [Mental Map] had three peaks, which were set quite far apart from each other.
Each peak had a very powerful presence guarding it. Clearly, the three peaks were the territory of the three most powerful entities on the north side of the forest. Whenever Simon explored the north side he made sure, not to delve too near these three peaks.
He was not being fearful of these monsters but was biding his time quietly. Because he knew that given enough time, he can easily surpass and defeat them.
Chapter 19: Flight
Chapter 19: Flight
Today Simon was exploring andpleting his [Mental Map] of the north side of the forest. He discovered a pond filled with hordes of monsters of varying racesing near to drink water. There were even races that he had not seen before like the blue-spotted Bucklion, with a deer head and a lion¡¯s body.
He was tempted to lure this horde into his dungeon but he quickly shook his head and discarded the idea.
¡°Today I¡¯m here to explore andplete my [Mental Map] and not to hunt. I shouldn¡¯t get sidetracked.¡± looking at the Bucklions he repeated once again ¡°must not get sidetracked.¡±
Clearing his mind he continued his exploration of the forest and after a while, he found a grove of towering trees hundreds of meters in height. What caught his attention was the gigantic honebs on top of those tall trees. It¡¯s not like Simon had never seen honebs in his previous life but the ones before him were humungous. Each of the hexagonal cells could easily allow a full-grown adult to pass through. A sweet scent permeated the air stimting his appetite
Without thinking much and mostly due to curiosity, he approached the vicinity of the honebs unknowingly. At that moment air started to vibrate and high-pitched buzzing noises could be hearding out of the honebs all around. What came out could only be called the monster size variation of the bees on earth. It had 4pound eyes and 4 wings made of keratin. The sound of its buzzing wings generated strong gusts of wind around it.
Analysis disyed its race:- Killer Worker Bee level:- 87
Simon did not have time to look at Analysis result as he immediately turned and started running. Large swarms of killer worker bees came out of thebs and instantly fixed theirpound gaze on him.
One did not have to think hard to know what would happen when these monstrosities numbering in the hundreds took to the air. Space distorted due to the intense pping of their wings and loud buzzing noises coalesced creating a terrible symphony.
He looked behind him to see arge patch of what looked like clouds made of hundreds of bees appear behind him painting a dreadful scene.
¡°%$&*..%$&*..%$&*.¡±
He incessantly cursed in his mind. Individually they aren¡¯t very powerful, but their strength lied in their numbers. Whenever any intruder appeared near their nest, they would swarm them with their absolute numbers. Many shriveled corpses were lying around the ground, their life force sucked out by the bees. This time he had dug his grave quite nicely and the way he would die would be like those corpses with his life force drained out.
¡°%$&*..¡±
Simon worked his legs to their limits hoping to try to outrun them. But this turned out to be futile because they were flying on their wings and he was running on foot trying to outpace them was foolish. Unbeknownst to him, he had ventured quite deep into the forest with the bees hot on his tail. Fortunately, this chase did notst long. After a while, they stopped their pursuit and retreated towards their territory.
Simon felt quite relieved after seeing them retreat. He stopped in his tracks and drew hurried breaths. He didn¡¯t know why they stopped chasing him, but he was honestly very thankful for it. After stabilizing his breathing he scanned his surrounding for a while. The area was eerily silent and not a presence of monsters could be felt till miles. This discovery made him alert and he raised his guard a few notches.
¡°The bees must have retreated for some reason. This ce is giving me the creeps, I should get out of here as fast as possible.¡±
When he was just about to retreat, from the corner of his eyes he saw a tall peak thousands of meters in height. Simon finally knew the reason why the bees retreated as if in a hurry
Chapter 20: Flight (2)
Chapter 20: Flight (2)
Without further dy, he started racing back to where he came from. But before he could take few steps ahead a towering force came battering him. He felt as if a great weight was pressing against him from above. Soon after a ck shadow enveloped him and his surrounding.
Turning around he saw what could only be described with one word ¡®Dragon¡¯. Large spiky rocks like scales protruded from its gigantic body, its two draconic eyes locked on his body firmly. A wide jaw and spear-like teeth could be seen from the slight opening of its mouth. Two sharp horns that looked like millennial old rocks protruded from its head. The top of its body is covered in rounded scales and a row of spiky rocks run down its spine. Its bottom is covered in smooth skin and is colored much lighter than the rest of its body. Four thick limbs carried its oversized frame emanating an aura of a sturdy mountain. Itsrge barbed tail is connected to a round spiky stone that looked like a il.
Simon¡¯s back was currently drenched in sweat, his instinct screamed of danger as he looked at the monstrosity of a being. He wanted to run but his legs felt like they were frozen. Analysis disyed its race:- Earth Splitting Lower Dragon, Level- 351. It had many skills but due to the level difference, it couldn¡¯t be disyed.
The Earth Splitting Lower Dragon looked at the ant that intruded its territory. Soon after it moved its eyes away losing interest and iled its tail as if swatting a fly.
Simon could see the humongous tail smashing towards him. He wanted to move away from its trajectory but his body refused to budge. The scent of death grew thicker as the tail moved closer.
¡°MOOOOVVEEE DAMMIIIT.¡±
Gathering all his strength he willed his body to move and bolted away from the ce. Seconds after a huge spiky meteor-like rock smashed at the ce he was a few moments ago.
The ground trembled as if an earthquake had urred. Huge swaths of earth rose into the air and the resulting shockwave blew his body back. Using the shockwave as a medium he retreated far back. Hurriedly turning his body around, he started bolting out of this goddamn ce.
He was keenly aware of the strength difference between them. Staying at this ce any longer meant nothing more than suicide. The current him was not its match.
¡°As I am now I cannot defeat it, but I will carve this humiliation into my heart.¡± He clenched his hands and increased his speed even further.
Looking at the ant that was getting away the Earth Splitting Lower Dragon opened its wide mouth. White light started gathering and condensing inside, brightening the surrounding with its intensity like a small white sun. A few momentster a gigantic beam of light was spat out. The beam traveled in a straight line decimating everything that came in contact with it.
Simon could clearly feel the danger behind him. But he didn¡¯t have the time to turn around and look because he could smell the scent of death closer than before. Instinctively he unfurled his wide bat-like wings and poured an enormous amount of manas into it.
And the next thing he knew he was flying in the air.
A white beam of destructive light passed by the ce he was moments ago. Leveling the forest for kilometers. Large clouds of smoke rose into the air from the devastated ground. If by any off chance that did hit him, he shuddered at this thought.
He nced at the Earth Splitting Lower Dragon one of the three overlords of the north side of the forest. Without further ado, he pped his wings and like a streak, he disappeared into the sky. The dragon looked at the scene but did not make any move. It was little surprised when the ant it thought could be squashed easily survive two of its attacks.
Nheless, the Earth Splitting Lower Dragon did not take any further actions after all it cannot be bothered with every ant, or else there would be no end to it.
Chapter 21: Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse
Chapter 21: Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse
Simon utilized all his strength and pped his wings, his speed was many times faster aspared to when he was running on foot. Even after leaving the dragon¡¯s territory, he did not slow down his pace and directly flew towards his dungeon. Today¡¯s event had reminded him again that without strength he was nothing more than ant for the other. If he wanted to survive he had to increase his strength so that no one can look down on him.
¡°I shall remember this day. Earth Splitting Lower Dragon we will meet again in the future.¡±
He clenched his hands as he made the deration an intense fire burning in his heart.
After this day Simon increased his DP grinding pace even further. He and the dungeon started growing at a fast pace, there was also the aid of the Pride fragment which allowed him to gain experience faster than any other. And like that, another ten days had passed.
In these ten days, Simon made significant progress. First of all his level rose to 157 and his stats showed his growth. He had also gained few new skills [Super Strength] which increases his Strength stat by a little for a short amount of time. [Body Enhancement]- the skill increases his physicalbat abilities even further.
He was confident that if he met the pack of Direwolves now, even without utilizing his high magic stats he could massacre them.
Andstly due to constant tangling and fighting with the Stormwolves in the past few days, he had made significant progress in his Wind Magic Mastery which has now evolved into its intermediate form Gale Magic Mastery.
¡ª-
Name:- Simon
Race:- Demon Baron
Title:- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 1/5]
Stats:-
Level:- 157
HP:- 15,364
MP:- 22,016
Strength:- 1071
Defence:- 1171
Agility:- 1385
Magic:- 1585
Endurance:- 1228
Luck:- 714
Skills:- Language Comprehension, Analysis, me Magic Mastery, Gale Magic Mastery, Thought Processing, Regeneration, Flight, Super Strength, Body Enhancement.
Amalgamation magic:- [me-Wind mastery]
Inherent Skills:- Dungeon Creation, Main Menu
¡ª-
If Wind Magic Mastery could bring forthrge gusts of wind then the Gale Magic Mastery could summon tornadoes that could devastate everything. When one advances from novice tier magic to intermediate tier there is a significant growth in the quantity and quality of the magic.
¡°I tried everything, but it seems quite hard tobine two intermediate forms of magic.¡±
Simon also triedbining the me and Gale magic but failed every time. Most often it would explode even before taking shape and other times would just disappear in smoke. From his constant failure, he did learn something valuable and that was different branches of magic needs different ratios of manas tobine. And that applies to the tier of the magic too. previously when hebined Fire-Wind magic he did it subconsciously in an 8:2 ratio. But whenbining the higher tier me-Gale magic the ratios bepletely different and that was why he was constantly failing.
This discovery lit a fire inside him and he knew that with persistence, soon he would be able tobine them.
In these past ten days, he also spared no effort in growing his dungeon. It now had nine floors and the sixth floor that he used as his personal space before was remodeled into three kilometers wide grassy ins. Hordes of Blue-spotted Bucklions inhabited this floor. They were a peaceful bunch of beings and as long as nobody attacked them they wouldn¡¯t be hostile.
Simon did not have to use Elixir of Enticement on them and since the dungeon still identified them as intruders he just left them be.
Chapter 22: Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse (2)
Chapter 22: Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse (2)
The seventh and eighth floors were wide mountainous forests muchrger than the sixth floor. Battle bears and Warring Mandrills that had sharp protruding ws and snake-like tails could be seen on these floors enticed by the elixir. The ninth floor was his current personal space.
After finishing his meal, he opened the [Main Menu} and tried his luck on [Gacha] again. These past few days he had dumped quite a few amounts of DP on it and the items he got were mostly [C] or [D] rank items.
He was hoping to draw something above [B] rank but the chances of them appearing is very low. Pressing on the 100,000 DP gacha he waited with bated breath for the result. After a while, the air around the ninth floor began to change, and a red magic circle withplicated patterns appeared above.
Thunder started spreading out of the edges of the circle this phenomenonsted for a while before something came out of it.
It had four strong forelegs and two hind legs. Wide draconic wings were attached to its horse body, a mane of fire ran down till its spine. It had 3 pairs of pitch-ck eyes and a red pupil in between. Two red horns that looked like antlers protruded from its head. The creature¡¯s six hooves were on fire along with its crimson ming tail. It waspletely decked out in ancient battle armor giving a sturdy and indestructible aura.
Analysis disyed
¡ª-
Race:- Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse
Rank- [B]
level- 1
Stats:-
Strength:- 3100
Agility:- 3000
Endurance:- 3000
Defense:-3100
Magic:- 3200
luck:- 3000
Skills:- High Speed Flight, me Magic Mastery, Dark Magic Mastery, Dark Magic Resistance, Detection, Super Agility, Super Strength, Super Defence, Super Endurance, Regeneration,
Inherent Skills:- Stampede, Hundred Mountains Charge, Bloodthorn
¡ª-
Finally, the [Gacha] gave him something good.
A warhorse from the infernal abyss. Only the bravest of the soul can subdue and ride on it. Its charge makes even the monsters stronger than it to run in fear. The horns on top of their head are their sharpest weapon and can prate even the sturdiest armor. When on the battle the horns feed on their enemy¡¯s blood strengthening themselves even further.
The analysis gave him detailed information on the warhorse. But even without looking at the information, Simon recognized it. That was because it was one of the popr steeds in one of the games developed by thepany he worked for in his previous life. Because of its poprity, he thought of importing it into the game he was developing.
While Simon was looking at it in a daze, the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse raised its four powerful forelegs and thumped it into the ground. The ground trembled a little as the horse neighed. Its voice sounded more like a roar than a neigh.
He gave a fearless smile and approached it.
¡°It¡¯s good to see you again Friend.¡± He said as he stroked its head. Three pairs of eyes looked at him but did not reject his approach. After a while, it bowed its head showing its subservience to him.
¡°Yeah let¡¯s get along from now on.¡± He climbed on top of it and said.
Both of them flew out of the dungeon and soared high up into the sky. The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse fully unfurled its majestic wings that were five-meter wide. A wild gust of wind was generated whenever it pped its wings, its flight speed terrifying. It can cover kilometers of ground in few seconds
Chapter 23: Walpurgis Invitation
Chapter 23: Walpurgis Invitation
Simon rode on top of the demonic warhorse for a while enjoying the fast-changing sceneries. They passed by numerous mountains and towering trees, hordes of monsters down below. He also saw the pond he discovered previously. Their carefree flightsted for a while before Simon decide to level up the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse. With that decided he immediately lowered their altitude to search for suitable groups of monsters.
They flew towards the east side of the forest where the weakest monsters could be found. After searching for a while they found a group of ten orcszing on top of a small hill. He decided to test its strength on them. Urging the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse to fly towards them, they directly charged towards the group. Alerted by the sound of air being torn apart they started waking up. Large clouds of dust rose as the warhorse pped its wing and roared at the orcs whilending in front of them.
Orcs were a low intelligent race that only knows how to hunt. Immediately they started charging after seeing themnd. Simon looked at this scene but did not make any move. He patted the warhorse and said, ¡°Let¡¯s see what you can do.¡±
After the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse heard what he said, it roared at the orcs charging at them. A dark baleful aura erupted out from its body and battered at the charging orcs sending them flying backward. ck smoke starteding out of the orcs as their bodies started corroding and turning into ash. Their anguished roars filling the surroundings.
¡°This must be the effect of Dark Magic Mastery. Honestly, it¡¯s quite dangerous. Hmmm? When it levels up wouldn¡¯t it be quite powerful and it¡¯s still ranked as [B]?.¡±
¡°Then how powerful will [A] and [S] rank be.¡±
As he thought till here he didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. He was curious as to what rank the Heroes he could summon from his [Main Menu]pared to the summon subordinates of the dungeon menu. On that note, a few days ago the dungeon finally created an emblem that it can only produce one every month.
The emblem was coin-shaped and charcoal grey. A ck demon with golden tattoos and wings unfurled was carved in it. Every dungeon produces its own unique emblems that can only be used by the dungeon master. There can never be two simr emblems produced by two different dungeons. They are used to summon subordinates for the dungeon master from the [Summon] option of the Dungeon¡¯s menu. The more emblems you use at once the higher the rank of the subordinates but the chances of a high rank is as low as the phoenix¡¯s wing and a maximum of three can be used at once.
Simon had something he wanted to try and was waiting for the dungeon to produce a total of three emblems. After a while all the orcs died due to corrosion and their only remains were a pile of grey ash. If the novice tier of dark magic was this powerful, he could only wonder how powerful the intermediate and advance tier was. Urging the warhorse they started looking for new prey as they flew across the sky.
¡°As expected of the four rare forms of manas, they are in a whole different league. Well since I¡¯m a demon now shouldn¡¯t I be able to use dark magic¡hmm?.¡±
The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse neighed as if telling him he too will be able to use it.
Chapter 24: Walpurgis Invitation (2)
Chapter 24: Walpurgis Invitation (2)
The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse neighed as if telling him he too will be able to use it.
¡°Yeah thanks, I¡¯ll work hard to get it.¡± He said as he patted the warhorse. Soon they found their next prey and just like before the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse used some of its skills and made short work of them.
A week passed amidst the constant DP grinding and leveling. But unlike before when he hunted solo, this time he had arade with him. In these few days, the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse grew up to level 77. It was partly due to his [Mental Map] which had markedrge groups of enemies living in the forest and partly due to his Pride fragment affecting the warhorse.
Simon himself had grown by 15 levels in these past few days. And most importantly he had finally gained the amalgamation skill:- [me-Gale Magic].
Currently, both of them were out hunting. Their prey was a colony of amenodactyl that had made a tall hollow mountain their nest. This race had a long pointed beak, bat-like wings, and a skeleton thin frame. Their levels were around 100 to 110 and each of them had a skill called [Wind Slice].
High up in the sky riding his warhorse he observed for a while and said ¡°Alright let¡¯s do this¡..¡± but before he couldplete his sentence a small window popped in front of him.
¡ª-
Walpurgis Invitation.
Demon Archduke Gareth had initiated a Walpurgis and is inviting the presence of all the demons. It will be held 7 days from now in the Castle of Avernus. A spatial gate will be formed near the invitee before the appointed time. A maximum of one subordinate can be brought along.
Enforced by Demon Archdukes:- Boros, Agares, Goliath, and Orca
¡ª¨C
Just when he was about to begin his grinding session, a window suddenly appeared in front of him. Reading its content he had a pondering expression for while. The invitation came from the Demon Archduke Gareth and was also enforced by four other Demon Archdukes. Making the underlying intention fairly clear that the invitee¡¯s absence will not be tolerated.
Simon thought that this was unnecessary as there were no demons alive who didn¡¯t know the power and position a Demon Archduke holds.
The demon hierarchy was defined and those on top hold absolute authority over the ones below. From his inherited memories Simon knew that a Demon Archduke was the second-highest rank after the Seven Demon Lords. That is to say, there are only seven people above them. Below the Demon Archdukes are Demon Dukes, Demon Marquess, Demon Earl, Demon Viscount, and Demon Baron.
Thinking till here Simon was reminded again that he was still at the bottom of the hierarchy and had a long way to go. He was aware that arge number of demons would gather for the Walpurgis, and many would try to step over the other to showcase their might and curry-favor the ones on top. As such he wanted to level up as much as he can in these seven days before the Walpurgis began.
Clearing his thought, he once again looked at the colony of amenodactyl down below and said ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± His voice had an added tinge of determination in it. The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse neighed as if sensing his determination, its ming body igniting brightly. A demon and a warhorse dived down among the groups of enemies, their motivation higher than before.
¡°me-Gale Magic- [Crimson Hell].¡±
Chapter 25: Preparations
Chapter 25: Preparations
¡°me-Gale Magic- [Crimson Hell].¡±
Simon immediately cast his amalgamation skill me-Gale magic. Hundreds of thousands of brightly lit mes the size of peanut came pouring down like a rain of storm. The magic covered arge area lighting anything and everything into mes. Arge group of anemodactyl burned and died others had severe injuries and some of the wiser ones manipted their skills dodging the oing rain of mes. They screeched and pped their wings, a storm of sharp wind came rushing towards him. Seeing this he did not dodge but instead stood his ground. Arge tornado started swirling with him as the center with terrifying momentum. The storm of sharp winds came rushing over and collided with the tornado.
There was no intense sound when the attacks met instead the storm of sharp winds silently and swiftly assimted with the tornado. The tornado grew in size and sharp winds could be seen swirling within.
¡°Heh have a taste of your own skill. Gale magic mastery- [Howl of the Storm].¡±
The tornado started moving and engulfing the amenodactyls within. After the tornado settled arge group of corpses split into many different pieces littered the ground a gruesome sight. Even after using tworge AOE spells their numbers were still quite high. The remaining amenodactyl started charging towards him but before they coulde any closer arge roar sounded across the sky.
ROOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR
What appeared were hundreds of Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse charging across the sky. The air and the ground trembled from their overwhelming disy of might as they charged and trampled over the remaining amenodactyl beneath their hooves.
The skill the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse used was called [Stampede]. It gives the illusion of hundreds of Warhorses charging and trampling over the enemies. The skill was very mighty and overwhelming and gave anyone watching a sense of dread. After using the [Stampede] all the illusions disappeared leaving behind a cloud of dust. When the dust settled all that remained was a pile of rubble, there was no sign of the colony of amenodactyls their corpses buried under the wreckage.
¡°You did quite well.¡± He patted the warhorse and climbed on its top. ¡°let¡¯s go find another group. We must raise our level as much as we can in these few days.¡± Simon said as he urged the warhorse. The warhorse neighed and responded by swiftly flying towards another group of monsters. They repeated this cycle every day for the past few days until they werepletely tired. And amidst this constant training and leveling seven days quickly passed by.
Simon was currently looking at the [Shop] option of the dungeon¡¯s menu deliberating over something. The section he was looking at was the clothes section which disyed a wide variety of fancy and formal clothes.
Since he was going to attend a banquet where arge number of high-ranking demons would gather, his current appearance would clearly stand out, and that too in a negative way.
From the day he reincarnated into this world up until now, he was only wearing simple pants, a pair of leather boots, and not a shred of cloth on his upper half. If he went out in his current appearance on earth, he would be marked as a pervert. Maybe due to the change in his race he no longer bothered with such formalities in this world.
Chapter 26: Demon Archdukes and the Banquet
Chapter 26: Demon Archdukes and the Banquet
Now that he was going to a high-ss gathering, his current appearance will not do. If he went out like that, his appearance would incur the ire and mockery of all the demons present. Simon wanted to avoid such a situation and that was why he was currently browsing through the clothes in the shop. He had also attended few gatherings in his previous life while he was working in thepany.
¡°A formal wear since it¡¯s a high-ss gathering but not too conspicuous because I don¡¯t wanna stand out much. Hmmm..the cheapest one which even a demon baron can buy..there it is.¡±
The one he selected was listed for 25,000 DP it had a simple white shirt, a in ck coat with three buttons on each side with a fairly deep v-line, the edges of the sleeves were narrow and reached just below his wrists. A simple narrow pants and a pair of shoes. The shoes are made from a rare hide but are otherwise a fairlymon type. Even with the cheapest clothes he still looked fairly remarkable.
¡°My wings have receded inside my shoulder des huh. Well, the invitation said I could bring one subordinate along. Do you want toe with me?.¡± He said as he looked at the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse. It neighed as if responding its willingness to tag along.
Simon made a few adjustments to his dungeon and spawned monsters from the [Spawn] option of the dungeon menu to safeguard it while he was gone. The dungeon would notify him if it was in any danger but he still felt it necessary to spawn monsters to defend it.
He made few other preparations and after an hour a ck warp gate suddenly appeared near him. It looked just like a ck hole that could devour anything and everything inside.
¡°So this is a warp gate huh.¡± After inhaling a few breaths of air he said to the warhorse beside him ¡°Let¡¯s go¡±.
As soon as he passed through the gate, what appeared before him was an enormous castle. It exuded a domineering and prestigious aura. Six grand towers surround the elegant castle from each side and are connected by huge thick walls made of crimson-ck stone. Elegant windows are scattered widely across the wall in a symmetrical manner. Two stone gargoyles holding a trident were ced near the huge gate with great metal doors.
¡°Woah so this is the Castle of Avernus made by the Seven Demon Lords during the Ancient times!¡±.
Simon was amazed at the grandeur of the castle. Looking around he saw demonsing out from the warp gates and marveling at the castle before heading inside. Simon with his warhorse flowed suit and headed for therge metal doors.
All around he could see demons of different standing walking in with their subordinates in tow. Passing through the door he could see a huge hall brightly lit by the many grand chandeliers above. Wherever his eyes led he could see demons with noble clothing around. Tables decorated with exquisite foods and drinks.
He could see higher-ranking demons near the front of the hall while the low-ranking ones were behind. He picked a ss of wine from the table and started sipping on it. The taste was not bad and had a unique vor different from the ones he had tried on earth. Before long Demon Marquess and Demon Dukes started appearing one after the other. Their presence was so overwhelming that he was forced to move his eyes away from them. It wasn¡¯t only him but all the low-ranking demons who felt incredible pressure whenever they looked at them Each of their levels were so high that the results of the Analysis were full of question marks.
Chapter 27: Demon Archdukes and the Banquet (2)
Chapter 27: Demon Archdukes and the Banquet (2)
While Simon was looking around gathering information, a group of three demons came near him. The man in front seemed like the leader of the trio. He was wearing a suit that screamed they were expensive. His short ck hair reached up to his shoulders and his pair of red eyes contained a tinge of haughtiness. The two men behind were decked in simr clothing as him. While he was observing them the trio was also observing him. After a while, the man in front introduced himself.
¡°Im Gelgar a Demon Viscount. I have never seen you in the previous gatherings, you must be a newborn demon.¡±
¡°Yeah, I was born a month back. I¡¯m Simon a Demon Baron.¡±
Demons unlike humans can also be born by the ample manas in the world. Demons born like that are always low ranked and are looked down upon by those birthed by proper high-ranked demons.
¡°You fool, you should bow your head when speaking towards sir Gelgar.¡± The man behind Gelgar¡¯s right barked out. ¡°It¡¯s alright Mike, there are always demons that do not know their ce,¡± Gelgar said as he raised his hand towards the man called Mike preventing him from saying anything more.
The words that came out of Gelgar¡¯s mouth were filled with mockery that annoyed Simon a little bit but he chose to ignore them. After a short while, many Demon Archdukes started appearing. Their mere presence was enough to disy that they were on apletely different level than those present here.
When Simon looked at them, a primal fear that originated from his bloodline made him aware of the vast difference between them. Even when restrained, each of them exuded a tyrannic aura that made everybody present in the banquet silent. They went in front of the hall and satfortably on the elegant seats reserved for them.
After seeing quite a number of Demon Archdukes gather. Five Demon Archdukes rose from their seats and addressed the crowd.
¡°Everyone I¡¯m very pleased to see quite a number of you gather today and would like to show my gratitude by starting this banquet¡¡± the man in the middle spoke for the rest of the group and went on and on with his words addressing the crowd. Simon had no interest in his speech so he focused his attention on the food.
¡°I guess a lowborn demon baron like you does not know who that exalted person is. He is lord Gareth one of the supreme Demon Archdukes and also the host for today¡¯s banquet.¡± Seeing Simon¡¯s disinterest Gelgar couldn¡¯t help but speak out, his voice contained extreme reverence. The man he pointed out was the one who was giving the speech.
Gareth looked like a middle-aged man with short ck hair with some whites mixed in between. He had scarlet red eyes and some wrinkles around the corner. His handsome face still retained some youthfulness and decked with luxurious clothes that matched his presence.
¡°It is rumored that he had lived for more than six thousand years and had survived the Second Apex War. The man to his immediate right is lord Boros and the man next to him is sir Agares. To sir Gareth¡¯s left is lord Orca and lord Goliath.¡± Gelgar went on and on with his monologue.
Simon silently listened to this new information. The man named Boros was a fairly handsome man with curly brown hair, a crafty-looking face, and a pair of green eyes. Looking at his face reminded him of a snake.
Agares had ming red hair and a pair of matching red clothes, his entire being was giving off a wild unbridled aura.
Chapter 28: The Auction and the Glutton
Chapter 28: The Auction and the Glutton
Orca was a short-statured fat man giving off a gentle aura but hidden beneath his eyelids were crimson eyes as sharp as a sword contradicting his bearing. Goliath was a tall bald man with a body brimming with muscles which even his clothes couldn¡¯t hide. He had a thick mustache on his face and was giving off a sturdy presence.
Simon analysed them from the corner of his eyes and as expected the results were all question marks. Seeing the indifference in his eyes Gelgar couldn¡¯t help butment ¡°Well a lowborn like you wouldn¡¯t know the difference between heaven and earth.¡± Heughed for a while before suddenly frowning ¡°Hmm? Hey you why can¡¯t I sense the presence of a demon orb from you.¡±
He looked at him as if he figured out something. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you created your own dungeon?. Haha¡ahahahaha a lowborn demon like you created his own dungeon I can¡¯t believe this.¡± Heughed out loud as if he had seen the most funniest thing in the world. The two men behind Gelgar also sneered at this.
¡°So what? It is my orb and I get to decide what to do with it.¡± Simon was clearly very irritated by his words and was starting to lose his patience. Did this mane here to irritate him?. ¡°Hmm? Truly the words of a demon who does not know his limits.¡± After giving him a derisive smile, Gelgar said ¡°Do you know why a low-rank demon always stays as a low rank?. That is because the blood in them is tainted and no matter how much they work hard and level up they will never rank up.¡± After saying that his face disyed unconcealed superiority as he added ¡°And I the son of a Demon Marquess have far pure bloodline than lowborns like you.¡±
Blood in this world held a special meaning. Those who had inherited the bloodline of their ancestors strongly would most certainly reach a high rank, and even their staring point was much higher than those of impure blood. This applied to all the creatures living on the, an unwrittenw. The bloodline does always make a person strong but there are always cases of irregrities.
There are cases when a person ranks up a few times even while possessing an impure bloodline. But the cases are few and far between and takes an extraordinary amount of willpower and dedication to achieve. Simon was aware of his impure demon bloodline but that did not mean that he would never be able to rank up. He had his own way of doing things and had a few tricks up his sleeves. The unwrittenw of the world? he did not care about it. If his impure bloodline is obstructing his rank up then he just needs to find a way to ovee that.
Looking at the brooding expression of Simon, Gelgar¡¯s smile became even wider. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so despondent. As I said earlier I possess a far purer bloodline than lowborns like you and may even have a chance to rank up to a Demon Marquess one day. What do you say isn¡¯t that amazing? And that¡¯s not all. When I rank up my subordinates¡¯ position would also increase among the demons.¡±
He grandly exined how he was league¡¯s above lowborn demons and his Demon Marquess ancestry. Simon was totally fed up with this guy shamelessly boasting. The two men behind Gelgar had their head held high clearly they have been enticed by his honeyed words.
¡°And here is the catch. Be honored that I¡¯m giving you a chance to be one of my subordinates. If you kneel before me and pledge your loyalty forever then I can forgive your previous transgressions and make it so that when I bask in the glory you too shall receive some of it with me.¡±
The words that came out of this egotistical man, made Simon stunned. Anger shing in the depths of his Crimson eyes. He was just about to speak when Gelgar raised his hand and said ¡°Well I know that this is a heaven-sent opportunity for you and that you cannot contain your eagerness to kneel and swear your loyalty. But I have a condition that I want to make clear.¡± Gelgar smiled as if everything was going all ording to n. Simon was so angered that he wanted tosh out and punch that smug face of his.
But the next words that came out of Gelgar¡¯s mouth made his eyes icy cold.
Chapter 29: The Auction and the Glutton (2)
Chapter 29: The Auction and the Glutton (2)
Simon was so angered that he wanted tosh out and punch that smug face of his. But the next words that came out of Gelgar¡¯s mouth made his eyes icy cold.
¡°I want that Warhorse of yours. A [B] rank Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse would make quite a steed for me wouldn¡¯t you agree. A lowborn demon like you having it would be a waste, that is you should gift it to me. I¡¯m confident in bringing out its full potential.¡± He said as he looked with greed at the warhorse in the garden adjacent to the hall. It currently sat there along with the other familiars brought along by the demons.
¡°Shut your @#$%^&* mouth trash.¡± This man was eyeing his warhorse all along. He could no longer take it ice-cold killing intent started leaking out from his body. Gelgar who thought that Simon would immediately agree became stunned. ¡°what did you say?.¡± The two men behind him immediately barked out ¡°You dare speak like that in front of sir Gelgar?,¡± ¡°You must be itching to die, you fool.¡±
Simon was not worried to fight against them. He only tolerated this so far was because one of them was a level 289 Demon Viscount. But now that they have stepped on his bottom line he could no longer hold himself back. Even if he couldn¡¯t win against them, he was sure he would not be defeated plus he had his warhorse with him.
If he rode on his warhorse and flew away they had a fat chance of catching up to him. He quickly discarded the idea that was because the banquet was still going and he couldn¡¯t leave as he willed. Additionally, they couldn¡¯t start a fight in this ce where the incredibly strong Demon Archdukes are having their banquet. If they did, there wouldn¡¯t even be a need for those Demon Archdukes to make a move, the other Demon nobilities present here would instantly crush them so as to curry favor the ones on top.
¡°You lowborn demon dare call me a fool. You think I don¡¯t dare to kill you here.¡± Infuriated by Simon¡¯s words Gelgar¡¯s body trembled, his face flushed red. The two men behind him were also angered when their master was slighted. They red at him like two bloodthirsty tigers.
¡°Yeah, leaving the matter about whether you have the ability to kill me aside. You won¡¯t dare to make a move at least not in this ce.¡± Simon said as he ignored the incurable fools and walked off towards a different table. ¡°You have a death wish. Sir Gelgar allow me to kill him¡± the man named mike spoke out.
But Gelgar quickly waved his hands and stopped him ¡°We can¡¯t make amotion here. He is taunting us because he knows that. Very well you insignificant lowborn demon I will remember this humiliation.¡± After a while, he remembered something as he shed a cruel smile ¡°I recall you creating a dungeon somewhere. I hope it grows well in the future hehahaha.¡±
¡°Whether it grows or not it has nothing to do with a trash like you,¡± Simon said as he continued his steps and did not bother with them anymore. He thought ¡®trying to threaten me? You will not be able to afford the price¡¯. It once again reminded him that without sufficient power you will only be trampled down by others. Clenching his hands tightly until veins started popping up he made his convictions anew.
Aftering over to a different table he sighed in relief, he no longer has to tolerate that egotistical trash. Picking a ss of wine from the table he thought that he could finally be alone.
But his hopes were soon broken as he saw a peculiar demon from the corner of his eyes. This demon was strange no matter how one looked at him. He was gulping down the food on the table at a frightening pace and showed no signs of stopping.
Chapter 30:- Subordinates of the Seven & the Demon of Envy
Chapter 30:- Subordinates of the Seven & the Demon of Envy
This demon was strange no matter how one looked at him. He was gulping down the food on the table at a frightening pace and showed no signs of stopping. He was wearing elegant clothes that matched his short hair and coffee brown eyes, a round chubby face, and a plump belly. A beautiful demihuman woman with fluffy wolf ears wearing warrior¡¯s clothing was following him around.
Using analysis on them as expected disyed question marks which indicated that both of their levels were much higher than him.
¡°You there I identally eavesdropped on your conversation earlier. You are quite the unusual demon aren¡¯t you?.¡± The fatty said while still stuffing his mouth with all the food on the table. Simon¡¯s eyes twitched as he thought ¡®Me unusual? Yeah right¡¯.
After finishing whatever was on the table he walked up to him extended his hand, and said ¡°I¡¯m Oswell a Demon Marquess. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±
¡°I¡¯m Simon a Demon Baron,¡± he said meeting the former¡¯s hand in a handshake. Oswell gave a wide smile and said ¡°You really are unusual. When a lower rank demon meets a higher rank they usually cower or try to tter them. That look of indifference as if ranks mean nothing is quite refreshing hehehe.¡± Simon did not say much after that and mostly kept to himself. ¡°That look on Gelgar¡¯s face was quite something to look at hahaha. Ahh man, I hadn¡¯t had such a goodugh in a long while.¡±
¡°Snort that egoistical fool was clearly over his head,¡± Simon couldn¡¯t helpment.
¡°Yeah, that is true. Demons like him love showing their bloodline superiority even though the bloodline he inherited is not pure. ¡®May even rank up to Demon Marquess¡¯? my foot. The most he could reach would be a Demon Earl and that too if he is damn lucky,¡± Oswell said as heughed out loud again.
At this time the host of the banquet came up to the stage and spoke ¡°I hope that everybody is enjoying the foods and the other delicacies we have prepared. Now I want to address the main issue for hosting this banquet but I have just received word that the subordinates of the esteemed Demon Lords are on their way, as such we would hold the auction till they arrive. The items we are auctioning are some of the precious items from my dungeon, and I¡¯m sure some of them would catch your eye.¡± He gestured with his hands and his subordinates quickly came up carrying items cloaked in a piece of cloth.
A beautifuldy in an elegant dress walked up to the stage and bowed towards Gareth after which, with a beautiful voice she started the auction. The first item that was auctioned off was a rank [B] sword, Grand Sabre, and had many skills worthy of rank [B]. it was sold off to a Demon Duke for two million DP.
Unlike humans who use a variety of currencies, demons mostly exchanged items with DP. After the sword came many [C] and [B] rank items that were quickly hoarded by the high-ranking demons for a hefty price.
Looking at this scene Simon fell into contemtion. Right now he had many [C] rank items stored up in his inventory which he got from the gacha. The auction sold each [C] rank item for around 500,000 to 800,000 DP. The 100,000 DP gacha guarantees at least one [C] rank item, which made him think that if he could auction all those items he gets from [Gacha]. He would amass quite a fortune for himself. Regrettably, he was very weak right now and would only bring disaster on himself if he suddenly dished out that many [C] rank items.
A person with a great fortune but no power to protect it would only invite trouble for himself after all.
Chapter 31: Subordinates of the Seven & the Demon of Envy (2)
Chapter 31: Subordinates of the Seven & the Demon of Envy (2)
Many [C] and [B] rank items and artifacts came up in the auction but were quickly hoarded by the Demon Dukes and Demon Marquess. There were even items such as the [B] rank eye of perception that could see through the status of someone higher level than them. There were many other [B] rank items that came up in the auction, but none could catch the eyes of the Demon Archdukes as they silently sat on their seats enjoying the show. To them, unless it was an [A] rank artifact, it wouldn¡¯t catch their interest.
The auction was starting to heat up when suddenly a voice sounded ¡°Ahahaha it seems the auction is going quite well.¡± The voice was not loud but could be heard clearly across the hall. At that moment, the very hall became silent and even those lofty Demon Archdukes who were cozily seating wore stunned faces.
Four people, three men, and one woman appeared out of thin air in front of the hall. The man that just spoke out had a butler¡¯s attire and wore an unusual half-red half-ck tailcoat. His face was half visible and the other half was covered by a sad face mask. He was releasing no aura and his presence was so feeble that he would just disappear if they didn¡¯t pay any attention to it.
¡°Ah! Sir Amon, I¡¯m grateful to Lady Lilith for sending you.¡± Gareth said as he gave a slight bow towards Amon.
¡°Gareth I hope we aren¡¯tte?¡± a stunningly beautifuldy with pointed elf ears and an icy cold face called out. She had mesmerizing curves that could instantly ensnare one¡¯s soul, skin as white as the early snow of a winter night. Her indescribably magnificent eyes seemed as if they could even outshine the moon itself. Looking from afar her physique was so perfect that she instantly caught the attention of all the demons present inside the hall.
¡°Not at alldy Zelda, you are just in time. Please send my regards to Lord Baal after all this is over¡± he said as he hurriedly averted his eyes from the woman named Zelda whose presence had enough charm to mesmerize all the demons present in the hall.
¡°Sir Ster I¡¯m grateful to Lord Astaroth for sending you in these difficult times,¡± Gareth said as he looked towards an old man with white hair and a long beard wearing a grey robe. Ster nodded and lightly thumped his long staff into the ground. Simr to Amon, the old man had no presence and appeared to be an ordinary person.
¡°Gareth it¡¯s been a long time.¡± A man in heavy warrior armor that seemed to be made of some mysterious material greeted. His face had many scars which added to his already scary face and he carried himself with an air of haughtiness. He was the only person among the four who was releasing some of his aura and his presence seemed as strong as the Demon Archdukes ¡°Indeed Deimos it¡¯s been a while. Is Lord Procell doing well?¡± Gareth replied as he shook Deimos¡¯ hand as if they were good friends.
After the greetings were finished, the four of them nonchntly took their seats and sat down. All the demons present in the hall had a reverent gaze as they looked towards the seats where the four were seated. Looking at this scene a smile bloomed on Gareth¡¯s face as he looked a the crowd.
Simon who was at the back of the hall was also staring at the four people that made their entrance. He had a vague idea of the position of the four as he looked at the reverent gaze of the demons around.
¡°Mann I was hoping to see Lady Lilith who is rumored to be one of the most beautiful women in this world alongside Goddess Vanessa, one of the Seven Seraphims,¡± Oswell said as he gave a sigh and looked very disappointed. The demihuman girl behind him shook her head and had an exasperated look that said she was already used to his antics.
Chapter 32: Subordinates of the Seven & the Demon of Envy (3)
Chapter 32: Subordinates of the Seven & the Demon of Envy (3)
Simon looked at the new entrants perplexed by their identity. Since he was a demon birthed by the ample manas of this world, he had an impure bloodline and the memories of the world that he inherited were also iplete. Hence, he didn¡¯t know why even those mighty and imposing Demon Archdukes were respectful towards these four people that had just arrived.
Oswell looked at Simon¡¯s pondering expression and exined ¡°Those three called Amon, Zelda, and Ster are the subordinates of the three Primordial Demon Lords. Out of the seven primordial Demon Lords, only three are alive namely the Demon Lord of Lust Lady Lilith, Demon Lord of Wrath Lord Baal, and the Demon Lord Sloth Lord Astaroth. The remaining four died during ancient times, throughout these thousands of years many demons filled their positions. But ultimately they were all weaker than their predecessor and ended up dying in these past wars.¡±
Looking at Simon who was listening intently he added ¡°Do you understand what I¡¯m trying to say?¡ Those three seating right there, are people who fought and survived the Apex War from the ancient times till now. Naturally, their position is the highest among all the demons present in the hall.¡±
Simon finally understood the reason behind the strange behavior of the demons and said ¡°Yeah thanks I understand now¡ so that means the one that came along with them¡ ¡°
Oswell as if understanding what he meant followed ¡°Yes that man called Deimos his master is the current Demon Lord of Greed Procell. The demon Lord of Greed Procell had only lived for around three thousand years, how can he bepared to the other three.¡±
While Simon and Oswell were having such a conversation, the three people seated in front were discussing their own matters.
¡°As expected the fragments have born again and have found new masters. There are two of them this time, hehe¡but there is one strange¡¡± Amon said but before he couldplete his sentence, Zelda¡¯s ice-cold voice sounded out ¡°That demon is indeed quite strange.¡±
¡°When I thumped my staff into the ground earlier, his was the only status I couldn¡¯t see¡very interesting¡± Ster said as he stroked his long beard and smiled.
¡°Leaving aside that strange demon the two that appeared are¡¡± Amon looked at the other two as if confirming something. ¡°Indeed it is the Envy and Gluttony fragments¡ it¡¯s quite rare for two of the fragments to appear at the same time.¡± Ster said as he mused.
Zelda who was keeping her eyelids shut the whole time finally opened them as two silvery crystal eyes came into view. She said, ¡°Times are starting to change again, two new Demon Lords are going to appear soon and those angels aren¡¯t going to sit still¡±. Both Amon and Ster nodded their heads in agreement. ¡°Well since the treaty is still in effect they won¡¯t make any obvious movement¡± Amon surmised.
Themotion erupted by the appearance of four Subordinates of the Demon Lords haven¡¯t ended when Gareth decided to go up the stage and drop another bombshell ¡°Everyone since all the participants are present I want to address the issue for hosting this Walpurgis. The reason is none other than to celebrate the birth of a new Demon Lord, a Joyful event for us all demon folk. I¡¯m pleased to say that my son Belial has been chosen by the fragment of Envy.¡±
WHOOOOOAAAAAA
Anothermotion bigger than thest erupted as soon as his voice fell.
All the demons present inside the hall were stunned as they heard Gareth¡¯s statement. Some immediately erupted in joy others were still shocked about the information they just received, and some felt jealous over not being the one to be chosen by the fragment.
Various emotions coagted into one as the cries of the demons were deafening as they rang out across the hall. The birth of a new demon lord was a joyous moment for all demonkind and the new Demon Lord is none other than the son of an already famous Demon Archduke Lord Gareth.
A handsome man sitting amongst the Demon Archdukes stood up and came in front of the hall, behind him followed the Four Demon Archdukes Boros, Agares, Orca, and Goliath. Even an idiot could now figure out that they belonged to the same faction and supported the new Demon Lord of Envy Belial.
The man that appeared had hair as white as snow and a pair of violet eyes stared at the crowd below. Two ram horns adorned his head and his wide smile added a devilish beauty to his handsome face. He was wearing luxurious white clothes with golden linings that matched his snow-white hair and suited him perfectly.
A regal aura was being emanated from him as he dered in a loud voice ¡°I¡¯m the new Demon Lord of Envy Belial. Though I¡¯m still weakpared to my other Demon Lord Peers, I shall work hard to not disappoint the previous holders of the fragment and bring a new world of glory for the demonkind.¡±
The crowd was still silent when a loud apuse along with thunderingughter rang out ¡°Your ideology is truly worthy of the fragment, Lord Belial. I¡¯m sure the predecessor of the fragment of Envy would be quite pleased to know that you hold such ideals¡± Deimos pped his hands as he congratted the new Demon Lord.
Immediately after loud mor started erupting from the crowd and hordes of demons started surrounding and congratting Belial trying to curry favor and reap some benefits.
Chapter 33: Armory
Chapter 33: Armory
The Demon Archdukes also made their congrattions known and just when the mor was starting to die down, the three subordinates of the primordial demons who were quietly watching the scene walked up towards the new Demon Lord. as soon as they moved, the entire hall became silent as the gazes of all demons were taut on the three of them.
¡°I give my regards on behalf of Lady Lilith. Demon Lord of Envy, Lord Belial. It¡¯s a pleasure meeting you¡± the first one to speak was Amon as he smiled. Since his face was half-covered with a sad face mask, it made it look quite contrasting.
¡°Ahaha what is Sir Amon saying the pleasure is mine. Please give my regards to Lady Lilith.¡± Belial replied courteously as he smiled towards Zelda and Ster and said ¡°Please send my greetings to Lord Baal and Lord Astaroth.¡±
The two of them nodded and also made their greetings. With the main event over the three of them soon left the hall disappearing in the same way as they entered.
Simon who watched this scene from the start till the end was just about to leave when three familiar figures seemingly blocked his path. They were the Gelgar trio.
Gelgar looked at Simon with contempt and shed a cruel smile ¡°Why are you in such a hurry lowborn demon?. As I said earlier don¡¯t think ill spare you, I don¡¯t know where you have hidden your dungeon but ill soon find it and¡¡± he made a clenching gesture with his hand and smirked.
Simon seemingly unaffected by those words simply walked past him and stopped after taking a few steps. He replied without looking behind ¡°Yeah I wee you inside my dungeon. But once you enter, don¡¯t ever think about leaving it alive¡± a malevolent look on his crimson eyes.
Without further ado, he leaped onto his Warhorse and was just about to reach the portal when Oswell¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°Hey, Simon you are really something. If destiny allows we shall meet again¡.Friend.¡± leaving behind those words he left along with the demi-human subordinate of his.
¡°Does little Oswell want to befriend that demon?¡± the demihuman girl behind Oswell said as they were walking towards their own teleportation portal. Hearing her call him little Oswell, he immediately red up and said in an outburst ¡°How many times do I have to tell you not to call me little Oswell; Briana¡±
The woman named Briana was an [S] ranked subordinate that Oswell summoned. She was a World Epassing Divine Wolf and right now, she was using her skills to mask her appearance so as to not stand out. if she had revealed her true appearance, all the eyes of the demons present inside the hall would be on her as it was on Zelda. Beforeing here, Oswell told her that she would gather too much attention with her absolutely stunning figure and hence told her to stay behind.
But she was all too familiar with Oswell¡¯s peculiar antics which invited trouble all around him, therefore she used her skill to mask her appearance and attended the banquet. Looking at little Oswell who was throwing a tantrum, she simply smiled.
¡°Look here Briana you can¡¯t call me little Oswell. It is not cool at all and would make the other demonsugh at me. you should never ever ever ever call me that¡± Oswell exined how he didn¡¯t like the way she called him along their way to the portal.
¡°Alright, alright I get it, you don¡¯t want me to call you little Oswell. But little Oswell you didn¡¯t tell me why you wanted to befriend that Demon Baron¡± Hurriedly changing the subject she asked.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Oswell exined making a serious expression that was out of character for him. The impression that he made now was totally different from the one he was making a few moments ago as he exined ¡°That¡¯s where you are wrong Briana¡ He is no ordinary Demon Baron. When I conversed with him, I didn¡¯t even feel the slightest presence of his aura nor was I able to see through his status. It was like his entire being was a peculiarity and everything was strange about him¡ it was like something that didn¡¯t belong to this world¡±
¡°Hohh¡± Braina made a pondering expression. She didn¡¯t converse with Simon and mostly kept to herself during the banquet thus she didn¡¯t detect any peculiarities on that demon. But if Oswell was asserting that then it might be true. ¡°Alright let¡¯s go back¡± just when they were about to delve inside their teleportation portal, Briana suddenly nced up into the sky for a fraction of a second before shifting them away.
Seeing that she was ncing towards the sky, Oswell couldn¡¯t help but ask ¡°Is there something wrong?¡±. ¡°Nope, there is no one up in the sky not even the subordinates of the demon lords¡± Briana said nonchntly as she went inside the portal.
High above in the sky, three figures appeared like a ghost. Below them was a faint outline of a castle, this castle was precisely the Castle of Avernus and the three figures were Amon, Zelda, and Ster. ¡°The new holder of Gluttony appears quite tactfulpared to the holder of Envy. What do you guys think?¡± Ster mused while stroking his beard. ¡°Snort¡± Zelda just snorted in return and disappeared. Amon kept staring at the castle below and replied with a faint smile after a while ¡°Only time can tell if they can ride the waves that are about to stir in all of the continents or sink on them¡±. Saying that he too disappeared into nothingness as if he was never there.
Chapter 34: Armory (2)
Chapter 34: Armory (2)
After passing through the warp gate Simon found himself back on the ninth floor of his dungeon. ¡°This warp gate is very useful and if I¡¯m correct it should be a form of space magic,¡± he said as he looked at the slowly disappearing warp gate.
The warp gate was able to traverse a huge amount of distance and was able to bring him from his dungeon to the castle of Avernus located at the far end of the Demon continent. The magic was definitely a top-tier magic and Simon could only hope to achieve the magic of this caliber someday. He wondered what kind of power and wealth one needed to create the many warp portals for all the demons to attend the banquet.
¡®Demon Archduke what kind of a realm was it¡ not to mention the Demon Lords that are above them¡¯ Simon wondered as he nkly stared at the ceiling of his dungeon. This trip to the Walpurgis had clearly shown him his current position in the demon hierarchy and re-ignited his convictions to get stronger. Other than a sense of urgency to get stronger, he also felt ecstasy that originated from his bloodline whenever he thought about increasing his rank. If he wanted to survive he has no other choice but to rank up so that demons like Gelgar can¡¯t step all over him.
Thinking about the conversation back then brought the rage he suppressed back then. He was aware that an egotistical man like Gelgar would not leave things be like that and would retaliate sooner orter.
Simon was not afraid of fighting Gelgar but the same could not be said for his dungeon. If on the off chance the dungeon core got destroyed it was the same as him dying. After the dungeon is created, it can never be moved. For that reason, he and his dungeon must grow and rank up alongside. After pondering for a while Simon finally thought of a way of increasing his strength without leveling up. The method he came up with was none other than to use weapons. Weapons can temporarily boost his strength and the various skills that it bestows would allow him to fight opponents many times stronger than him and having such weapons would be useful in crucial moments.
Right now he had lots of [C] rank weapons that he had drawn from the [Gacha]. He had seen how umon a [C] rank weapon was during the auction, where even the high-ranking demons like demon earl were frantically bidding for it. Unlike those demons, Simon had a ton of those items stored in his inventory. But what he wanted was not a mere [C] rank weapon that is sold in the auction instead, he wanted something even higher. Now that he knows how strong a [B] rank subordinate can be, he wanted nothing less than a [B] rank weapon. His appetite had increased but since he knew that his future path would be full of peril he couldn¡¯t be satisfied with anything less than that.
However, getting a [B] or a higher rank weapon was not easy. It could be seen from the results of his gacha, even after continuously drawing it every day other than the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse he had not gotten a single [B] rank. Forget about getting something higher, even getting a [B] rank was a tall order unless he had more DP than can he spend on the gacha. But Simon was not disappointed because he did get something that would help him get a higher rank weapon. He quickly opened his [Main Menu] and pressed on the [Armory] option.
When he was developing the game in his previous life, he was aware of the rarity of getting a high-rank weapon from the [Gacha]. For that reason, Simon added another feature called [Armory] that yers could use to refine their lower rank weapons into something stronger and possibly even upgrade their ranks in the process. After reincarnating into this world, today would be his first time using this option to refine a weapon of his choice.
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Main Menu
Character
Party
Inventory
Armory
Settings
Shortcuts
Gacha
Shop
Hero¡¯s Altar
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Armory had two options [Refine] and [Upgrade]. Refinement uses a material called Amegdite crystals to increase the strength of the weapon, thus increasing its refinement level. The Weapons can be refined a total of 5 times but after each sessful refinement, the amount of material that is Amegdite crystals required increases. Amegdite crystals weren¡¯t a rare item and can easily be drawn from [Gacha]. The crystal looked just like an ordinary ash grey crystal with no other features to speak of. It had no other uses other than refining weapons and as of now, Simon had umted quite a bit of it after drawing gacha for more than a month.
A refined weapon is stronger than a weapon of the same ss and can even output attacks a tier above its actual ss. If a [C] tier weapon is refined till its max refinement, it would be able to match a [B] tier weapon.
However, a [C] tier weapon no matter how many times it is refined, will always remain a [C] tier weapon and the skill it bestows would never be able to match what a [B] tier weapon can grant. And that was the reason why Simon did not want to use a refined [C] tier weapon when he could use the [Upgrade] option to get himself a higher rank weapon.
Chapter 35: Crimson Blazing Flame Blade
Chapter 35: Crimson zing me de
Refining a weapon was tempting but what he wanted to use right now was the [Upgrade] option. This optionbines the essence of all the weapons ced for upgrading to create a higher-rank weapon. Naturally, there is a chance of a failure and in that case, all the weapons ced for the upgrade disintegrates. The higher the rank of the weapons ced for upgrade the lower the rate of sess. Simon understood that there is no benefit without risk, if he wanted to upgrade a higher rank weapon, then he has to take the risk of failure associated with it.
The way the [Upgrade] option worked was very simple, one just needs to ce the weapons they wanted to upgrade in the slots and just press on the upgrade. once the upgrade starts, one cannot stop the process nor can they take out the weapons ced for upgrading. Hence one needs to be very careful before choosing the weapons they want to upgrade.
Simon took out four [D] rank weapons from his inventory and ced it for the upgrade, a maximum of four weapons can be ced at once and initiated the upgrade. As soon as the upgrade started a piercing white halo erupted out and blotted the screen. the white light settled after a while and the result was a sess, a [C] tier short spear called white Fang was created.
The spear was entirely white, the shaft had a beautiful pattern, and the tip of the spear, a sharp and piercing glint flowed on its remarkable de. Furthermore, like a row of teeth, tiny fangs lined up the de giving it quite a threatening look. Simon brandished the White Fang for a while and felt that the spear was quite good. It not only provided him with a huge boost in stats but also new repertoire of skills.
However, Simon was not content with a [C] tier weapon. He put another four weapons for the upgrade and after the white halo settled, the result was another sess. He immediately ced the next batch of weapons and repeated the process dozens of times.
(Sess, Sess, Failure, Sess, Sess, Sess, Sess, Sess, Failure, Sess, Sess, Sess, Sess, Sess, Failure¡)
Simon noticed that five out of six times the upgrade would be a sess and after upgrading for a while, he was left with sixty [C] rank weapons. If he took this many [C] rank weapons for auction, Simon imagined that he would amass arge amount of DP. Shaking the idea out of his head, he ced another batch of [C] rank weapons for the upgrade. He cannot auction all these items as he needed them to get himself a high-rank weapon. The upgrade took a while and when the white halo settled, with a bang smoke starteding out. this phenomenon was not new to him and he knew that the result was a failure, and all the weapons ced were disintegrated.
Looking at this scene made his heart ache a little. But he persisted on and quickly ced another four of them for the upgrade. The result was another failure, he ced another four and repeated the process.
After continuous experimentation, Simon learned that there was one-third of a chance for a [B] rank weapon to be created out of [C] rank weapons. The cycle of sess and failure continued and after upgrading for a while, he was left with twenty [B] rank weapons. Each of these weapons was quite powerful and if refined further using the amegdite crystals, their strength would no doubt increase manifold. However, it was still not the end of the upgrade process.
Simon¡¯s eyes were now focused as he prepared for the next round of upgrades
With his heart rapidly pounding Simon ced four [B] rank weapons and initiated the upgrade. Each of these [B] tier items if ced for auction, would make even a Demon Duke frantically bid for them not to mention that at present Simon had twenty of those at hand. As the rank of the items ced for upgrade increases, the time it takes for the upgrade toplete also increases. Seconds ticked away and time stopped into a crawl, with bated breath, Simon awaited the result. After the white halo settled, BANG¡ a loud sound erupted and all the weapons disintegrated; the result a failure.
Four [B] rank weapons disappeared into dust just like that. He felt a sharp twinge of pain looking at this scene, the weapons if auctioned would fetch more than two million DP each. Simon sighed inwardly as he forced himself to ce another batch of weapons and initiated the upgrade. This time his eyes were focused intensely as if trying to see the inner mechanisms of the upgrade. The upgrade went on for a while and after what felt like eons, with a loud bang another four weapons disintegrated into dust¡
With bloodshot eyes he witnessed another batch of weapons turn into dust. Out of the initial twenty [B] rank weapons, eight of them disappeared just like that. Leaving aside the amount of DP they could have fetched him, he truly felt that the [Upgrade] was a money-burning machine. But he couldn¡¯t afford to stop here now that he started the process he had to see the end with his own eyes.
Chapter 36: Crimson Blazing Flame Blade (2)
Chapter 36: Crimson zing me de (2)
Taking out another four [B] tiers weapons and cing them on the upgrade, he waited for a while before a loud bang sounded and smoke starteding out. The result without a doubt a failure. out of the twenty [B] tier weapons he had upgraded, twelve of them had already disintegrated. he couldn¡¯t exin the inner turmoil he was going through as he looked at the remaining eight weapons. This time he did not immediately start another batch of upgrades and instead closed his eyes and pondered for a while. He went through all the failures and tried to discover if he was doing something wrong.
It was only after a while that Simon opened his eyes, a weird glint shing deep inside them. He felt that there was something amiss during the upgrade process but he couldn¡¯t put his fingers on what that something was. Clearing his mind of all thoughts, he put another batch of weapons and initiated the upgrade. However, this time he didn¡¯t just ce the weapons as is instead, he inserted some of his manas into the weapons. The upgrade this time to Simon¡¯s surprise took longer than usual, and just when he felt that everything was going right, with a loud bang the weapons disintegrated into smoke. Sixteen [B] tier weapons was gone. If somebody had seen him disintegrating this many [B] tier weapons at once, they would have already gone insane by now.
But Simon did not panic and instead stood there in a daze. There was no trace of worry or pain on his face as if what happened before was inconsequential. His expression remained clear and he felt as if the fog that had been obstructing his vision all this time, had finally cleared a little. Recalling his previous failures, he learned something that could very well be crucial for upgrading higher-rank weapons in the future. Thinking about it like this he felt that the weapons that got disintegrated weren¡¯t wasted.
Simon took out thest four [B] rank weapons remaining but did not ce them for upgrade and instead decided to refine them first. Each of the weapons was already very strong and when refined further, their strength increased manifold. It took him some time, but all four of the weapons were refined till refinement level two and he then ced them for the upgrade. He did not know what would happen when refined weapons are ced for the upgrade, but he did know that it would spark something.
Without further ado, he initiated the upgrade and gazed at it intensely. The upgrade process was going on for longer than usual andsted for an hour before a peculiar blue light started shining but disappeared right after. A loud bang was heard and the weapons disintegrated.
He did not know what was that peculiar blue light but judging from the length of the upgrade, he vaguely felt like he was getting closer and closer towards upgrading a high-rank weapon. However, he was in a dilemma right now. He had used all of his items in the inventory and didn¡¯t have any more items to continue to upgrade. He felt like he was finally near something and discerned that it would be a waste to stop now.
Simon closed his eyes and opened it after a long while, a determined look on his face. He opened the [Gacha] from his [Main Menu] and immediately started drawing. After using the 100,000 DP gacha a total of twenty times, he had twenty [C] rank items on him. Each 100,000 DP draw guaranteed him at least a [C] tier items.
He refined all the items to refinement level two and used up all his stock of amgedite crystals. Now he had twenty [C] rank refinement level two weapons which he then ced for the upgrade. This time when he sessfully upgraded [C] tier weapons into [B] tier he could see that simr blue light appear again and immediately knew that it was due to refinement. After all the [C] tier weapons was upgraded into a [B] tier, he discovered that the sess rate for upgrading a [B] rank weapon had increased by 30% after refinement.
After the upgrade wasplete, he was left with eight [B] rank weapons. each of these [B] rank of weapons was upgraded from refined weapons and were stronger than an average [B] tier weapon. cing four of them inside the slots, he initiated the next round of upgrades, and with intense concentration, he awaited the result.
It was no surprise to him that the upgrade was longer than usual and took more than two hours. At the end of the upgrade, a bright blue light erupted and it seemed the result was a sess when the light died down. A loud bang and the result once again a failure. Simon inhaled a deep breath of air and closed his eyes and pondered. His mind went through all the upgrades, the sess, and the failures. Only after a long time passed did he open his eyes and ced thest four weapons for the upgrade. This time he also put some of his manas inside all four weapons before initiating the process.
The upgradested for more than three hours this time and a bright blue light erupted soon after. Watching this scene he involuntarily clenched his hands, as the light became brighter and brighter lighting the whole room. After a while, the light slowly died down and a crimson red sword came into view.
Chapter 37: Demon Viscount
Chapter 37: Demon Viscount
The de of the sword was long, thin, and made of mithril. It was radiating an intense heat capable of burning anything and everything. Its crimson light so blinding that Simon was forced to cover his eyes and when he used Analysis on the sword, he stood still in a ce dumbfounded by the results disyed.
-Crimson zing me de
-Rank [A]
-Refinement Level 1
¨C When equipping, all Stats + 600, Magic +1000
Skills:- Infernal Magic Mastery, Sword Mastery, Super Cutting Enhancement, Super Piercing Enhancement, Immtion, Crimson zing Infernal Body.
A sword forged in the very depths of hell. The sword purges and immtes indiscriminately making the sword hard to subdue. In all of ages, only a handful few managed to wield its immense strength.
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The Spriggan Continent housed one of the three great dungeons, the Dwelling of desires ranked [SS]. It is also the ce where one of the three primordial Demon Lords, the Demon Lord of Lust resided. Currently on the 647th floor of Dwellings of desire, in a dimly lit posh room sat a woman wearing a white faceless mask. She had an extremely alluring build and a head full of luminous red-colored hair. Half of it spilled over her shoulders and the rest sat cozily at the sofa she was sitting on. She seemed to be wearing a dress made of exquisite leather that tightly clung to her body that showcased her bewitching body.
Every gesture she made was so perfect and enthralling that she could mesmerize the whole world with just her movements. She had a voluptuous breast and a perky bottom so tantalising that it was perfect to the point of breathtaking. Her creamy white legs were shapely and seemed to hold an endless splendor, red toenails that matched her luminous red hair shed intermittently from the openings of her dress. Her entire body was dripping with a kind of allure and seductive charm that ate at one¡¯s mind and rationality.
At this moment Amon who was kneeling at her side and dressed in his usual butler attire said while looking down at the ground ¡°Mydy it was as you expected the fragment of Envy and Gluttony had born once again and together this time. Gareth hosted the banquet to announce his son Belial who was chosen by the fragment of Envy ascending to the position of Demon Lord.¡± Listening to Amon¡¯s report the woman parted the ss of wine from her cherry pink lips and replied, ¡°hmmm anything else?¡± the voice that came out was seductive to the extreme.
However, Amon wasn¡¯t affected the slightest, he pondered over her question for a while and replied, ¡°there was nothing umon other than the [S] rank subordinate of gluttony..ahh¡ I remember there was a peculiar demon present in the banquet.¡± ¡°Ohh! Peculiar you say?¡± the woman replied with a voice full of interest. ¡°Yes, Lady Lilith there was a demon whose status even I nor miss Zelda and sir Ster couldn¡¯t see through,¡± Amon said as he remembered the scene back in the castle of Avernus. ¡°Hnnn even you couldn¡¯t see through huh!¡± as if it caught her interest Lilith replied with great interest as she yed with her wine ss.
¡°Do you want me to investigate him? mydy.¡± Amon asked detecting her interest towards the demon. At this moment a beautiful woman wearing an angry face mask that only covered half of her face and wearing a warrior¡¯s clothing which entuated her mesmerizing curves spoke out ¡°we do not have time for that. The Seraphim of Origin Azrael of Patience is instigating the Azure Moon Empire into usurping the neighboring kingdoms.¡±
¡ª¨C
In the depths of the north side of the Ghastly Winding Foresty gigantic honebs on top of equally gigantic trees. Currently, the trees were on fire andrge colonies of Killer Worker Bees were swarming Simon from all sides. ¡°Infernal de Storm¡± with his shout, the crimson sword in his hand burned wildly as it turned hundreds of Killer Worker Bees into ashes. Ground charred ck for miles, and trees burned into charcoals littered everywhere.
Devastation spread as far as the eye could see and amidst all of this carnage was Simon with his wings spread open and a crimson sword on hand. After a month of progress and familiarizing himself with the Crimson zing Infernal de, he was once again here challenging the foe which gave him a lot of trouble previously.
If it was not for them chasing him to no ends, he wouldn¡¯t have intruded the territory of the Earth-Shattering Lower Dragon and be forced to pathetically flee for his life. Reminiscing about the humiliation he suffered back then, he brandished his Crimson zing me de andrge groups of Killer Worker Bees were incinerated into ashes in an instant. Utilising the power of the sword, even these enemies which previously could threaten his life, were no match for him.
The power that the sword bestowed to its user could be exined with only one word ¡®terrifying¡¯. And it was still refinement level 1, he could not even imagine what kind of power a fully refined Crimson zing Infernal de would disy.
Chapter 38: Demon Viscount (2)
Chapter 38: Demon Viscount (2)
Infernal magic the advanced form of the novice tier fire magic. The advanced magic is said to be so powerful that it can level an entire city and was very difficult to master. Additionally, it required a colossal amount of manas to cast. In the world of Althaea, you are already considered an elite if you can master advanced tier magic.
Not to mention that the people who can actually master the magic of this caliber are few and far between. Even the current Simon wasn¡¯t able to master advanced tier magic and was only able to reach intermediate tier me magic. He was aware that if the Crimson zing me de didn¡¯t bestow him with the skill [Infernal Magic Mastery], it would still be a long while before he could advanced tier magic
¡°Truly worthy of being [A] rank, all the DP spent on upgrading it had paid tremendously¡± heughed out loud and looked towards another battlefield. A ck warhorse burning in crimson mes and d in ancient armor was stampedingrge groups of Killer Worker Bees as it charged across the sky. Piles of rubble and corpses decorated the ground. It roared in a wild and unbridled manner and charged towards another group of bees. With a p of its wide draconic wings, it instantly covered the distance and used itsrge antler-like horns to pierce the enemies one after the other. In the past month, the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse had grown quite a bit, it had reached level 180 and also gained a few new skills.
Simon himself had also leveled up quite a bit since then and was now level 199. And currently, he was grinding experience and trying to reach level 200. Sounds of air vibrating and buzzing reached his ears as he refocused his attention on his own battlefield. Swarms of furious Killer Worker Bees surrounded him from all directions as they screeched. Watching this scene, Simon revealed a fearless smile and beckoned with his hand.
Immediately after the bees charged at him enraged by his taunting actions and revealed their pointed stings. The Stings of the Killer Worker Bees were said to be so sharp that they could pierce most shields and were excellent materials to forge swords with. He imagined that if he got pierced by this many stings at once, he would be turned into swiss cheese. Pouring manas into his wings, he carefully dodged all the stings that came at him and parried the ones he couldn¡¯t.
Swarmed by all directions, he was forced to dodge left and right. Even with his defense stats which was quite high, he didn¡¯t dare to take on their Stings carelessly and felt threatened by the sharp glints on their stings. Recalling all of the shriveled corpses whose life force have been sucked dry along the way, he didn¡¯t dare to underestimate their sting attacks. However, he was outnumbered and couldn¡¯t constantly dodge the attacks that came from his blind spots.
All the constant dodging made him annoyed as he loudly roared and forcefully broke out of the encirclement. On his way, he got pierced several times and blood wasing out of the injured areas. A paralyzing effect was also spreading from the ces that got pierced by their stings. Clenching his teeth and forcefully suppressing the effect, Simon charged straight towards the sky like a rocket, the swarms of bees chasing him like a ck cloud.
BZZZZZZ¡ Looking from afar, it just seemed like a ck cloud that was constantly changing shapes, chasing after a small dot. A vibrating noise that assaulted one¡¯s ear constantly came from the cloud and the air distorted wherever the ck cloud traveled.
¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m the same as thest time we met¡± Simon roared as he stopped his ascend. Gravity took its effect and his body started falling down. He pped his wings and increased the speed of his descend even further. ¡°Sword mastery, super cutting enhancement, super piercing enhancement, super strength¡ haaaaaahhhh..[Thousand Piercing Sword Storm]¡± he used his skills to boost his strength even further and with a loud yell, he hacked at the onrushing bees thousands of times with the Crimson zing me de.
Thousands of crimson sword shadows came flying down like a rainstorm and pierced all the bees like a hot knife slicing through butter.PIERCE¡ PIERCE¡ PIERCE each of the attacks was so strong that even after piercing the Killer Worker Bees, its momentum didn¡¯t decrease even a bit. Thousands of sword shadows mmed into the ground and filled it with tiny holes. Secondster, the bees that were pierced by the sword shadows burst into a bloody pulp and fell to the ground like a rain of blood and corpses, a horrific scene.
Simon who was high up in the sky looked at the sight with satisfaction as he inhaled hurried breaths of air. [Thousand Piercing Sword Storm] It took a toll on his body to activate all these skills together but the might disyed by the skill was enough to forget his exhaustion.
¡°Huff¡ huff¡ huff¡ It was a bit of an overkill to use it one these bees huh.¡± Turning his head he looked at the battlefield where the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was. The Warhorse was also done defeating its enemies as it hurriedly flew towards him. ¡°You did a good job. This should be enough for today let us return,¡± he patted its head and rode on to it as they flew back
Chapter 39: Demon Viscount (3)
Chapter 39: Demon Viscount (3)
After defeating the colony of Killer Worker Bees, he had gained enough experience. but since he was a low-rank demon whose bloodline was impure, he was stuck after reaching level 200. Urging his warhorse they rapidly flew from the north side of the forest towards the dungeon.
Simon was eager to return to his dungeon as he had something he wanted to try now that he was level 200. ording to the unwrittenw of this world, he was a lowborn demon birthed through the extremely rich manas of this world. There was no way he could level up any further as the impure blood in him barred him from ranking up. Other than a few exceptions, most of the inhabitants of the world who did not inherit a pure bloodline, find themselves reaching a bottleneck that they can never breakthrough from.
Unless they use some precious treasure that could purify their bloodline, most of them spend their whole life stuck in the same rank. However, finding a precious treasure of the world capable enough to purify one¡¯s bloodline was easier said than done, and even if it was found it would quickly go into the pockets of those wealthy and powerful ones. That would have been the case if it was any other ordinary demon but Simon was different, he was a reincarnated person from a different world.
Soon after, the silhouette of the dungeon came into view. By now the spiral tower above the ground was fifty meters tall and had intricate designs all over. the tower was mostly empty and only had a gigantic door that led towards the first floor of the dungeon. The dungeon itself had fifteen floors and monsters spawned on the floors that acted as a defensive mechanism for it. Starting from the ninth floor to the twelfth floor was a vast mudnd more than ten kilometers in area that made walking a treacherous task on this floor. Lizardmen and Pirodile that looked like gigantic piranhas spawned on this floor.
The Thirteenth and Fourteenth floor was a vast wastnd simr to the twelfth floor in size and was upied by the anemodactyl, a race he had already fought with on the north side of the forest. Some of which were spawned by the dungeon and some brought in by him from outside. After a month, they made a new colony on the thirteenth and fourteenth floors. And finally, the fifteenth floor was used as his personal space. His personal floor wasn¡¯t as empty as before and was decorated with plenty of items he got from [Gacha]. By now Simon had collected quite a lot of joke items, the jade sofa set, crystal chandeliers were some of the few that he put in the [Gacha] in his previous life to annoy the yers. But now that he was the one using the [Gacha], he couldn¡¯t help but curse his previous self.
Sitting on his jade sofa, Simon took a few deep breaths of air. Clearing his mind he opened the [Main Menu] and pressed on the [Character] option. The character option was simr to the status which disyed all his stats and skills, but the [Character] had two more functions that the status didn¡¯t and that was [Promote] and [Constetion]. Thest time he used [Constetion] was to get more details on the Pride Fragment that was shown in his title. This time the function he wanted to use was [Promote], which he created in his previous life to help yers break the level cap and reach new heights.
If the function performed as it was meant to in the game, then Simon was sure that he could rank up using this function and ovee the limiters set by his impure bloodline. He was aware of the impurity of his bloodline and knew that no matter how much experience he gets from defeating monsters, he would not be able to level up anymore and will always remain a Demon Baron. But with the help of [Promote] option, he felt that he would be able to break the restraints ced on him and step on a new and higher realm which would very well be impossible for others who did not have [Main Menu] with them.
With great hope and expectation, he pressed on the [Promote] option, immediately after which a new window appeared in front of him. Reading the details disyed, an iparably wild and unrestrained joy surged within him
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Character has met all the conditions for [Promote]. Use Purifying Crystal Essence to promote character?.
Crystal needed:- 10
On hand:- 0
YES/NO
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The window was the very same one he was expecting and the material needed to promote was also the same. Seeing that everything was the same even after [Main Menu] got transmigrated, Simon sighed in relief. If the [Promote] didn¡¯t work, he wouldn¡¯t know what to do anymore but that was not the case, the function worked as he programmed and his wildly beating heart finally rxed.
Purifying Crystal Essence are the materials needed to promote the character or rank up in Simon¡¯s case. The crystals can be bought from the [Shop] option of the [Main Menu] and cost 100,000 DP each. He immediately bought ten crystals for a whopping one million DP and hurriedly pressed YES. Considering that one million DP was able to help him rank up, he felt that the exchange was quite cheap.
Just after he pressed YES, a great sense of exhaustion hit him making it hard for him to sit still as the world around him kept on rotating, his eyelids growing heavier by the moment and his breathing became ragged. An unimaginable amount of pain started coursing throughout his body as he screamed out loud. A crimson light continuously pulsed inside him and drilled inside his skeleton, bones, muscles nourishing and purifying it.
¡°AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH¡this¡wasn¡¯t..what..i..nne..d¡± as his words fell, he immediately passed out due to the unimaginable pain.
Chapter 40: Wind of Change
Chapter 40: Wind of Change
The Draconic continent was the secondrgest continent after the Central continent. Itsndmass was only a little bit smaller than thetter. It was mostly popted by dragonkin, demi-humans, and humans nheless the true rulers of the continent were not them but the five ancient Dragon Lords. These Dragon Lords have survived since ancient times and were the ancestor of all the dragons that currently roamed the world. Although in the present timeline, nobody had seen them, bu their reputation and might which shook the continents in the ancient times was clearly written in the annals of history.
The Draconic continent was a peaceful continent where most of the kingdoms and empires live in harmony. Many races lived and intermingled with each other, even the races that have gone extinct in other continents could be seen roaming in thesends. The inhabitants here build shrines and monuments of the Dragon Lords and revere them just like gods. A utopia for all the species bnced and overseen by them. One could even say that they were the guardians of the draconic continent.
These Dragon Lords that have lived since the primordial times, were one of the strongest species alive. They mostly lived a life of seclusion and hardly bothered with the affairs of the world unless a cmity that could threaten the harmony of the world arises, they wouldn¡¯t willingly show their faces easily. Although there are a few people alive who can sense their presence, the knowledgable ones were tactful enough not to earn the ire of these behemoths of history.
In one of the tallest mountains in the entire Draconic continent, the Clouds Meet Mountain which was hundreds of thousands meters tall. The peak of the mountain couldn¡¯t be seen as it was hidden by the clouds above and the most amazing thing about the mountain was the bottommost part was levitating above the ground. The mountain was not connected and was hovering a few meters above the ground. A marveling sight that could make the onlooker¡¯s jaw drop.
Anyone that looked at the mountain would be amazed by its grandeur and mighty presence. However, that was if anybody could see it. The entire Clouds Meet Mountian was hidden by a powerful magical array iid at the base of the mountain. The array generated a thin film over the entire mountain that made it invisible to the onlookers.
High above at the peak that pierced the clouds was a grand castle that was carved into the very mountain itself giving off an imposing and imprable aura. The castle was gigantic to say no less and its craftsmanship spoke volumes of its splendor and might. The castle gave of the presence of indestructibility and was a relic from the ancient times. In one of the rooms of the castle which was hundreds of meters wide, supported by the tall pirs that reached up till the ceiling, an old man with a muscr build was seated in the center of the room.
The man had a head full of silver-white hair and wrinkles reminiscent of old age was in his otherwise sharp face, his eyebrows were like two unsheathed swords. Dragon scales releasing divine light dotted the corners of his closed eyelids looking just as menacing and when he breathed the air in the entire room trembled. The old man was wearing a simple gray robe and his body was uncharacteristically tall, sharp, and unmoving. The air trembled as the man breathed in and out and it seemed that he was in deep meditation and not even the slightest presence or aura of his leaked out.
Suddenly the eyebrows of the man twitched a little before his closed eyelids slowly opened, WOOOSH¡ the clouds suddenly darkened as they continuously churned around the mountain and at that moment the entire Clouds Meet Mountain trembled. Thunder rumbled as his two silvery-white eyes filled with a mystical light scanned the entire area, his might epassing the entire mountain and the surroundingnds. After a few moments the man abruptly stood up ¡°My granddaughter Lucine, I cant sense her presence here anymore!?¡±. The old man made a confused face and said ¡°That can¡¯t be I could sense her presence a few moments ago. What¡¯s going on?..did she use [Imitate Presence] to fool my senses to sneak out of here again!?¡±.
No longer able to contain his anxiousness, he stormed out of his room and roared ¡°DRAKE WHERE ARE YOU?.. COME OUT HERE THIS INSTANT¡±. His voice like a soundwave spread onto the whole mountain and even shook a few kilometers ofnd. Immediately after his thundering voice sounded, many people with extremely strong presences appeared out of thin air and kneeled before the man. Surprisingly each of their presence was no less powerful than a Demon Duke. After what felt like a few minutes, a fat man with a round belly wearing a well-designed cloth and luxurious coat that reached till his plump knees appeared using a spatial gate and hurriedly tied to kneel. But before he could, he was grabbed by the cor and lifted by the man. ¡°Drake you worthless fool¡didn¡¯t I tell you to notify me whenever Lucine sneaks out of the ce huhh?¡± ?¡± he roared as he questioned the man named Drake.
¡°L-L-Lord Morax please calm your anger¡I-I was told that she already got your permission and since you were in seclusion I did not dare to barge inside¡.I-I¡¯m sorry¡± Drake hurriedly pleaded with a pale face that was devoid of any blood as his whole body shuddered intensely.
Chapter 41: Wind of Change (2)
Chapter 41: Wind of Change (2)
Sensing that his life was in danger, Drake parrotted all the secrets and conversation he was told to keep to himself. Morax was quietly tall and on the contrary, Drake was a short-statured man. Being lifted by Morax, he was few feet above the ground. He was in quite a predicament right now, on one side was the unreasonable princess who one-sidedly ordered him to keep everything a secret and on the other side was an equally unreasonable grandfather of hers who wouldn¡¯t bat an eye to beat him down to open his mouth.
Saying everything he knew, Drake finally felt relieved but when he realised the consequence of his action when the princess returns, he shuddered like quail.
¡°You telling me that she has been gone for over a month¡ and you have the guts to bring this to my notice now!!¡± Morax tossed Drake aside as he burned with fury. ¡°IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO MY GRANDDAUGHTER I WILL START THE THIRD APEX WAR¡± with a loud voice he roared as if dering to the whole world. Immediately after he said that the surrounding people who were kneeling in front of him panicked and said in a hurried voice ¡°Milord calm down, nothing will happen to the princess. I shall immediately head out to search for her¡±. When Morax heard that, he immediately ordered the speaker ¡°Adalinda, Fafnir search all the continents and bring her back to me.¡±
A petite and delicate figure with ck hair and a snow-white face wearing an exquisite golden dress stood up from among the kneeling crowd, behind her was a tall warrior who looked so thin that even a slight gust of wind could blow him away. But the aura he was releasing on the contrary told others that he was among the strongest people present here.
Adalinda came forward gracefully bowed and said, ¡°Lord Morax please be rest assured that we will find and protect her even if we have to search all of the continents. No harm shalle to the little princess as long as we are alive¡±. Morax finally rxed a little after hearing the assurance from the two of his strongest subordinates. He nodded and replied, ¡°Hmm with you two taking action I can rest assured. But be careful, my granddaughter is wilful and wouldn¡¯t even leave a trace of her aura knowing that I would send people after her to bring her back. Take this transmission shell, If in the off chance something unexpected happens break it and I¡¯ll immediately tear the space ande to your aid¡±.
¡®Wilful? the princess is more than just alright. Sigh how many times has she run out by now? looks like as her master I have to finally teach her a lesson¡¯ Adalinda thought. She swiftly took the small conch that was as big as her palm and filled withplicated patterns and formations, before disappearing only to leave a shattered space in her wake.
A transmission shell is marked with a pattern that allows the user to transmit their message and location to the other party holding a transmission shell with a simr pattern. Fafnir bowed his head and simrly disappeared in a sh.
¡ª-
Simon slowly opened his eyes as he looked at his surrounding. He was still on the fifteenth floor lying face down. Standing up he tried to recall what had happened ¡°I remember pressing YES when all of a sudden my vision grew hazy and intense pain assaulted me.¡± He did not know what had happened after he passed out nor did he know if the rank-up was sessful or not. Checking his body all over to find any anomalies, he was stunned to discover that his height had grown a few centimeters in size and more importantly the golden-ck tattoos that had disappeared after he used the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] on the direwolves of his first day of arrival in this world have reappeared on his body again. He immediately opened his status to check on his condition.
¡ª-
Name:- Simon
Race:- Demon Viscount
Titles:- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 1/5]
Stats:-
Level:- 200
HP:- 25,889
MP:- 33,018
Strength:- 1700
Defence:- 1800
Agility:- 2100
Magic:- 2300
Endurance:- 1900
Luck:- 1300
Skills:- Language Comprehension, Analysis, me Magic Mastery, Gale Magic Mastery, Electro Magic Mastery, Thought Processing, Regeneration, High-Speed Flight, Super Strength, Body Enhancement, Fire Resistance, Wind Resistance, Sense Presence
Amalgamation Skills:- [me-Gale Mastery]
Inherent Skills:- Dungeon Creation, Main Menu, Ancestral Symbol Ignition
¡ª-
Simon clenched his hands after looking at his status, he had finally ranked up to Demon Viscount and broke through the restrictions ced on him by his impure bloodline. His stats also saw a sharp increase, some of which have even surpassed the 2000 threshold and delighted him very much. He also gained a few new skills and his previous skills have improved into superior skills.
Electro Magic Mastery was a novice tier magic one of the five basic forms of manas that he gained after he ranked up, he also gained resistance against novice tier fire and wind magic, and his Flight and Body Enhancement skills have improved into superior skills. Doing some light exercise, he felt that the condition of his body was much better than before and strength surged through every corner of his body.
The muscles in his body were much morepact than before and brimmed with devastating power. Feeling the intoxication of power that came from his rank up, Simon finally was aware of the immense gap between a Demon Baron and Demon Viscount. No matter how much a Demon Baron tried topete they were no match for a Demon Viscount. Now that he had ranked up he could feel that the bloodline within him and be purer by a significant amount.
Chapter 42: Onset of Dungeon War
Chapter 42: Onset of Dungeon War
Simon experimented with his newfound powers on the north side of the forest and quickly discovered that most of the monsters here were no longer any match for him. Even the experience they give him didn¡¯t feel as satisfying as before and the pace at which he gained experience had slowed down to a crawl. If he wanted to level up and reach the next rank, he had to either challenge the three overlords of the north side, the Earth-Shattering Lower Dragon being one, or delve into the west side of the forest where the strongest monsters lived.
Currently, his level was still quite lowpared to the Earth Shattering lower Dragon and if the other two overlords had simr levels or even more than challenging them with his current strength would be nothing more than a fool¡¯s errand. Hence he decided to avoid shing with the three overlords for now and instead decided to explore the western region of the forest. Simon was not afraid of these three overlords but was biding his time since he knew that given enough time he would be able to surpass them. With that said his only choice was to delve and survive amongst the strongest monsters of the Ghastly Winding Forest.
Now that he had already set his eyes on the west side, he immediately called his Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse and flew towards the west. A week passed by as Simon explored and continued grinding levels, his [Mental Map] had also helped him chart out the parts of the forest he explored. In thesest few days, he learned quite a bit about the monsters inhabiting the western region of the forest. The levels of the monsters he encountered at the edges of the region were lower than the Earth-Shattering Lower Dragon but their levels were still around 200-250 and the numbers in which they appeared were in hundreds which made them quite challenging in their own way.
These monsters did not just hunt in numbers but were all quite sentient and use tactics and tricks to immobilise their prey before going for the kill. Many a time during his exploration, Simon and the Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse were surrounded and pounced upon, exhausted fighting in addition to being chased by the monsters day and night they had to run back towards the dungeon.
This past week of exploring the western region, made Simon aware of how dangerous the western part truly was and why these monsters were the strongest monsters around. The perils and dangers hidden inside the western region of the forest couldn¡¯t even bepared to the other regions of the Ghastly Winding Forest.
He also learned that the monsters on the west side were very aggressive as they chased after him and even inside the dungeon. Moreover, since they weren¡¯t ssified as weak, the Elixir of Enticement didn¡¯t work on them. Hence, even after burrowing inside his dungeon he still had to fight against these monsters who were after his life.
The spawned monsters inside the dungeon also helped in repelling the invading monsters albeit the spawned monster were quite weakpared to the monsters that chased after him from the western region of the forest. Thus most of them ended up dying. Simon didn¡¯t feel any regret over their death as these monsters were supposed to guard the dungeon and since they can be spawned again using DP, he did not have to worry about their numbers being decreased.
Thankfully most of the invaders were repelled or died before they even reached the twelfth floor. however, it made him realise that how weak he and his dungeon was and if anything unexpected happened, he might have lost the dungeon core along with his life.
This event made him aware once again that how important the dungeon was to him, it was not only his home but also a ce that he must guard with all his strength as his life was connected to the dungeon. Therefore in the past few days, Simon renewed his efforts as he focused on increasing his level as well as added new floors and improved the defensive mechanisms of the dungeon.
After the improvement, the dungeon now had twenty floors and every floor was filled with deadly traps that could easily kill a lower-level monster if it was careless, winding paths that would keep interfering with your sense of direction and hidden areas filled with monsters and traps. The fifteenth and sixteenth floor was a vast forest with orcs, direwolves, and windwolves spawning on these floors. Their levels individually were low but the numbers in which they appear is what makes them a threat to any invaders. The seventeenth and eighteenth floor was a vast swamp loomed by rain clouds all the time along with the white fog that covers most of thend. The monsters spawning on these floors are adept to this habitat and make it quite a perilous task to breach this floor.
The neenth floor was a vast winding cavern that leads to the wide central colosseum. Simon made it so that if any invaders did manage to get past all the floors, they could have a final showdown here. Beyond this was the twentieth floor which had the dungeon core that made it all the more obvious to stop the invaders here before they could reach the core and destroy it.
¡°Well twenty floors should be enough to protect the dungeon for now¡± he made a satisfied smile but his na?ve thinking was soon broken as a new window popped in front of him.
Chapter 43: Onset of Dungeon War (2)
Chapter 43: Onset of Dungeon War (2)
¡ª-
Demon Viscount Gelgar has dered a war on your dungeon forcing each of the participants to fight a war of life and death. The time limit for preparations would be five days, during this period no party can attack the other. After the expiration of allotted time a spatial gate will be formed linking the two dungeons. Forces from each side can pass through the gate and attack the other party¡¯s dungeon, the war will end when the dungeon master is killed or when their dungeon core is destroyed.
Countdown:- 4days:27hours
¡ª-
Simon knitted his brows as he read the deration that suddenly popped up in front of him, his tightly clenched hands made cracking noises. How could he be not? this deration was an ultimatum of sorts which made it clear that only one party will survive the ordeal. It seemed that he was right about Gelgar, a person like him wouldn¡¯t let the matter be and would try to do things forcefully.
Simon was aware of Gelgar¡¯s gaol and that was to take control of the [B] rank warhorse of his. During the banquet back at the castle of Avernus, he could see the greed in Gelgar¡¯s eyes as he fantasised about bing the master of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse. Little did he know that subduing the warhorse was a more difficult task than climbing a mountain barehand. Additionally, the warhorse chose its own master and wouldn¡¯t allow anyone it didn¡¯t approve of to ride on top of it.
Exhaling a deep breath of air, Simon eximed ¡°So you can¡¯t wait any longer huh?¡very well then I shall ept this challenge. Destroy my dungeon?¡. fat chance!¡± with a fearless smile on his face, he stated, ¡°Gelgar you will pay the price for underestimating me.¡±
Further north of Ghastly Winding Forest was a vast desert region perpetually assaulted by sandstorms and monsters. These monsters that can even survive in these harsh environments were quite strong and were one of the true dangers of this great Dassha Desert. In one part of the desert was a huge pyramid with an unusual design highlighting the strange artistic sense of the creator. Despite all of this, the pyramid was quite sturdy and persisted through all the sandstorms that passed by. Moreover, if one looked carefully they could see a carefully hidden entrance at the bottommost part of the pyramid.
The pyramid was none other than a dungeon created by a demon. Currently inside the pyramid in avishly decorated room sat a man on his grand sofaughing as he looked towards his two subordinates and said ¡°That lowborn demon must be panicking and racking his brains out right now hahaha. The nerve of him to dare to speak to me a Demon Viscount like that snort.¡± The person was none other than Gelgar. He fiddled with his wine ss as he fantasized about the despairing face of Simon¡¯s after he got his deration and a cruel smile crawled up to his face. Obviously, he was enjoying the situation and loved ying with his prey and make them despair until they begged him for mercy.
¡°Sir Gelgar is right that lowborn demon must be cursing his fate by now¡± Mike who was present during the banquet spoke. Hearing what he said Gelgar fell into a deep burst ofughter ¡°Ahaha that is true. That lowborn demon was clearly out of him to have challenged me. Now look how I destroy that confidence of his and make him grovel at my feet. What do you think Berd?.¡±
The other man named Berd kept silent for a while before he replied ¡°I think he has no one other than himself to me for his inability to recognize kindness and overestimating his own abilities.¡± Another burst ofughter leaked from Gelgar before he stood up and looked out of the room. Beyond the room was a wide area where hordes of monsters stood still in a row and just like an army they maintained arge formation.
Looking at the hordes of monsters down below from the balcony of his room, Gelgar made a pleased smile. After deliberating for a moment he asked looking at mike ¡°It took us months to prepare this number. How many are there?¡±. Mike replied after musing over the question ¡°Sir Gelgar the dungeon was able to spawn 50 Armored Drillman, 100 Sandworms, 150 Big Poison Scorpion, 100 Scavenger Mummies, and 100 Corpse Eater Bird. Also adding in the [C] rank subordinate of sir Gelgar, our numbers including me and Berd are 503.¡±
Listening to the report Gelgar added ¡°We still have 5 days use all the remaining Dp and spawn as many monsters as you can. I want to crush that lowborn¡¯s morale by just our numbers alone and then when I kill him, I¡¯ll take that [B] rank warhorse of his hahaha¡±.
As if he could already see the defeated face of Simon, Gelgar snickered as he broke the wine ss on his hand, the contents of which fell onto the ground and spoke to himself ¡°I will make you understand the difference between our ranks, a Demon Baron going against a Demon Viscount¡ what utter foolishness. You shall realise how imprudent you were back then as I make you suffer humiliation worse than death¡±. Right after he said that, he ordered ¡°Mike, Berd make sure you guys lead the attack as soon as the spatial gate forms. I will too apany you guys after all I want to see his despairing and dying moments with my own two eyes hahahahaha¡±
Chapter 44: Dungeon War
Chapter 44: Dungeon War
5 days passed by in a sh and the day Gelgar awaited soon arrived. A wide spatial gate had formed just outside his dungeon which spun in an anticlockwise direction and looked just like an abyss that could swallow everything. This was the spatial get that connected both of their dungeons and allowed forces to pass from each. He knew that the other side led towards another dungeon but still wondered how it was made.
¡°Mike, Berd it¡¯s time. lead the army towards the other side of the gate and show that lowborn demon that his death has arrived hahaha¡± he ordered his subordinates as he stared at the gate. Now that he was so close to getting what he wanted, he couldn¡¯t wait any longer. plus when he imagined the despairing face of the demon on the other side, a twisted sense of pleasure like electricity ran through his whole body.
Immediately the two Demon Barons started givingmands and the monster army swiftly and steadily started marching towards the spatial gate. It was quite strange to see monsters making a formation just like an actual army but since they were spawned monsters loyal to the dungeon master, they obeyed allmands. The gate was wide enough to allow multiple monsters to pass through at once and even the huge Armored Drillmans that were more than ten meters in size and looked like a bipedal tortoise with spiky porcupine shells on their back, easily passed through the gate.
One after the other the monsters went in and before long all of the monsters passed throught the gate. After seeing that the army had almost finished passing through the gate, Gelgar swiftly followed suit. Just as he stepped inside the gate, he felt his centre of bnce shifting and a moment of weightlessness before everything became normal once again
After passing through the gate, he saw a wide forest with enormous tall trees and sensed a dense amount of manas pervading the air. The air was rich and the manas was so pure here that it couldn¡¯t bepared to the manas pervading his dungeon. Looking all around the forest, Gelgar knitted his brows as if deliberating something. He felt like he knew where this ce was but his memories were eluding him and he couldn¡¯t exactly recall where this ce was.
A few meters ahead in a wide clearance was a fifty meters tall spiral tower. It looked quite grand with all those intricate patterns and designs that spread all over its surface, a wide entrance pitch ck in colour prevented anyone from peering inside. The tower thaty in front of them was their destination and also a dungeon.
¡°Heh, so this is that lowborn demon¡¯s dungeon. Well, it¡¯s not half bad considering it was made by him. Hehe, it still won¡¯t be able to save him¡± Gelgar looked at the majestic tower and sneered. Though the tower looked grand and impressive, once he killed that demon or destroyed his dungeon core, everything would copse and be nothing more but ruin. Wasting no more time, hemanded ¡°Mike, Berd order the monsters to begin their march through that entrance, show that lowborn demon that is turtling inside his dungeon what it means to be on the mercy of others.¡±
¡°Yes, Sir Gelgar¡± the both of them replied in unison and roared at the hordes of monsters. The monsters roared back in a thunderous tter as if answering the call and started charging towards the entrance of the dungeon as ordered. Soon after all of them went inside the dungeon and a stifling silence pervaded the surrounding.
¡°Are you watching this? has your body started cowering and you want to run? or have you already fled from this ce?. It doesn¡¯t matter as long as the dungeon here, there is nowhere for you to run¡ Hahaha¡± Gelgar looked towards the dungeon and said before he too went inside.
¡ª-
Simon sitting on his jade sofa on the 20th floor watched the scene unfold from his dungeon menu and as soon as all of the intruders went inside, a wicked smile crept up to his face. ¡°It is time to see the effectiveness of the dungeon. You guys shall be my first test subject, it kind of reminds me of the beta testing of that game that I developed. My dear yers, do enjoy everything that I have set up for you¡± he said with a wide smile disying his sharp fangs and a crimson glow on his face.
¡ª-
[Entered Dungeon:- (BLANK)]
¡°A no-name dungeon huh¡± Gelgar snickered as a notification popped up in front of him right after he stepped through the entrance.
After entering the tower, Gelgar saw a wide empty area with a tall ceiling. Two flights of stairs that led straight up towards the top of the tower were on two opposite corners and at the far end of the area was a gigantic double door. Carved on its surface were depictions of angels and demons facing each other.
Looking at the splendour of the gate, Gelgar couldn¡¯t help butment ¡°That lowborn has quite the artistic sense if nothing else. But it¡¯s a pity that after I kill you, your dungeon will naturally copse along with you¡±. Right after saying that, He turned towards his two subordinates and instructed, ¡°Open the gate and head inside, destroy everything that he has set and watch out for any traps that may have beenid¡±.
Two Armored Drillmans went ahead and opened the gigantic double doors. Even with their build, they only reached one-third of the height of the gate.
Chapter 45: Dungeon War (2)
Chapter 45: Dungeon War (2)
Opening the door revealed a wide set of stairs that led downwards. With themands given by Mike and Berd, the monsters started charging downstairs. Soon after a dimly lit maze came into view.
The floor was a few hundred meters wide and thick walls crisscrossed in every corner, the passageway was quite narrow and only allowed a few monsters to pass through together at once. Gelgar tried punching through the wall and realized that the walls were further reinforced with manas, which made it rather difficult to break them. Even with his strength, he could only make a small crack that disappeared in an instant as the walls mended themselves whenever they were damaged.
¡°Tsk. I want all of you to quickly find the entrance to the next floor¡± realising that he couldn¡¯t just brute force his way, he clicked his tongue in annoyance and with an irritated tone he gave themand. Following his orders, the monsters soon spread towards all corners of the floor and started searching for the entrance to the next floor.
¡°Cheap tricks that is only good to buy time¡± Gelgar spat as he looked around the dim floor and couldn¡¯t help butment when he couldn¡¯t detect anything other than traps. There was no trace of monsters that were supposed to be guarding the dungeon.
¡°I guess that demon didn¡¯t have enough DP to spawn monsters to guard all the floors of his dungeon¡± Mike added after Gelgar sensing that there were no monsters nearby.
But they all failed to notice that in some corners of the floor a faint pinkish smoke was rising from the walls smeared with some pink fluids. The monster that passed by or inhaled some of the pinkish smoke, had a dazed look in their eyes as they fell in the trapsid for the intruders and quickly bing the nourishment for the dungeon.
Whenever a foreign entity that wasn¡¯t recognised or born in the dungeon dies inside, they would be the nourishment for the growth of the dungeon and converted into DP for the dungeon master.
The first floor wasn¡¯t big and only a few hundred meters wide. After the monsters spread all over the floor, even when the walls and routes changed periodically, they swiftly found the entrance.
In only an hour they found the entrance to the next floor and immediately started marching in. Gelgar who was a little irritated that they had to spend so long in the maze to find the entrance failed to notice their slowly declining numbers. A dimly lit path led towards a dark cavern that made the forward march of the monsters slow down quite a bit. Aftering down to the second floor, everyone felt their vision declining by a significant amount. That was because there was no source of light.
Though there was no source of light, Gelgar didn¡¯t feel any difort even he did not have the skill [Night Vision].
Mike and Berd immediately started orderingmands as they used fire magic to light up their surroundings. The monsters that innately have the ability to see in the dark such as the Corpse Mummies marched unhindered. Those that did not, had to rely on fire magic cast by their topmanders.
Though there was no source of light, Gelgar didn¡¯t feel any difort as he had the skill [Night Vision] which allowed him to see just fine even in the dark.
Since Mike and Berd didn¡¯t have a convenient skill to see in the dark such as the [Night Vision], they were using fire magic to light up their surroundings and surveyed the floor. A wide cavernous terrainy in front of them, many twisting paths interlocked and crisscrossed around each other, many tall and wide rocks protruded from the ceiling and floors. From these rocks, water seeped down making the floor quite wet and made a continuous sshing sound as the monsters marched over it.
in one part of the cavern, a group of twenty Sandworms that are individually five meters in length were frantically crawling and searching for the entrance to the next floor as per their orders. Their slithery bodies were drenched with liquids from the small puddles on the floor, as they crawled forward more and more of those liquidstched onto their bodies. though the sticking to their bodies was a little unusual, they paid it no mind as it didn¡¯t threaten their life.
After making a turn anding to new a area, the sandworms started scouting for the entrance. Hundreds of small rocks protruded from the ceiling as droplets of water seeped from them and crashed below. However, when these droplets of water fell on the liquid drenched bodies of the Sandworms, they ignited into a burst of mes.
SHRIEEEEEKKK¡.all the sandworms that entered the area, ignited one after the other as the water droplets dropped on their bodies. Their shriek of pain resounded over the area, as they desperately thumped their bodies into the ground in an attempt to snuff the mes on their bodies but to no avail. The more they thumped onto the ground the more water dropped onto them and increased the intensity of the mes burning them. Their shriek of painsted for a long while before all twenty of them sumbed to the mes.
It was not only the Sandworms but many other monsters simrly burst into mes in some corners of the cavern. It would be only after they reach the third floor when Gelgar and his subordinates realise the dwindling numbers of their monster army. But for now, they had no way of knowing what had transpired in these wide twisting caverns.
Chapter 46: Dungeon War (3)
Chapter 46: Dungeon War (3)
[Sandworms X10 had died, reward 117,000 DP]
[Sandworms X10 had died, reward 117,000 DP]
The system kept on notifying him of the DP that he has earned after the hordes of sandworms died on the second floor. These continuous alerts rang in his ears just like a beautiful song and he couldn¡¯t help but feel exhrated.
Pyrophoric Elixir an item avable for purchase from the [Shop] of the [Main Menu]. It is an item that contains liquid that ignites in me when ites in contact with water. Simon designed the item so that the yers could grind mobs of weak monsters in his previous life easily. But the item did not get a positive reaction from the beta yers as the might of the elixir was very limited and quickly diminished after some time. The Pyrophoric Elixir didn¡¯t work as nned however, this couldn¡¯t be said for the monsters of this world.
This time he used hundreds of those bottles of elixirs and smeared them on the ceiling of the second floor. One could imagine the effects of hundreds of these elixirs when used at once would have. The result was monsters gettingbusted again and again until they were nothing but a pile of ashes. No matter how they thrashed or tried to put off the fire, in this closed space where everything was covered in pyrophoric liquid there was no way weak monsters would get out of it alive.
One could even say that the way Simon used it was dirty and unscrupulous but who cares, it was his dungeon and they were the ones who were intruding. It was only natural for him to use any methods he thought suitable to defend his dungeon.
Looking at the numbers of the invading monster army which were quietly dwindling a smile crawled up to his face. He felt like he was being rewarded for the work he had done for the visitors as he listened to the continuous alert of the system.
[Corpse Mummies X13 had died, reward 53,000 DP]
¡°I couldn¡¯t have imagined for you to have prepared such a great gift for me Gelgar. Allow me to repay you for visiting my dungeon with utmost hospitality and make it more fun for you¡± Simon spoke to himself as he looked at the dungeon window. This was just the starting of a neverending nightmare that Gelgar would find himself into, unable to get out or do anything.
¡ª-
The invading monster group soon found the entrance to the third floor after spreading and probing the whole floor. Since the second floor was muchrger than the first floor, it took them more than two hours to find the entrance to the next floor. Under themands of Mike and Berd, the monsters quickly organized themselves before delving into the third floor. As Gelgar was about to pass through the entrance to the third floor, he suddenly turned around and looked at the empty, dark second floor. He didn¡¯t know but he had a feeling that something was amiss but couldn¡¯t pinpoint it. Thinking that it was just his imagination, he discarded the thought and swiftly descended the floor.
He soon found the anomaly that gued him as he reached the third floor. The monster army that organized itself before him was clearly fewer in number from when they entered the dungeon. He didn¡¯t even have to think about what happened to them as there was only one possible reason for them to not be present and that was they are all dead.
Gelgar couldn¡¯t contain the frustration in his voice as he roared out ¡°What is the meaning of this? how did our numbers decrease this much after only descending two floors¡±. They haven¡¯t even descended more than two floors and not even met a single guardian monster but their number was already starting to dwindle. How could he not be mad?
¡°¡¡± Mike who felt that something had gone amiss during the exploration of the second floor bowed his head and chose to keep quiet. He didn¡¯t want to enrage Gelgar any further by making any excuses or such.
Berd hurriedly tried to salvage the situation sensing that it was going downhill ¡°Sir Gelgar, the visibility of the second floor was pretty low which made the trapsid in the dungeon all the more effective. But since the third has plenty of visibility there shall not be any mistakes this time¡±.
Gelgar took a deep breath of air and hurriedly controlled his emotions. He waved his hand and said in a tone that contained a bit of annoyance ¡°Leaving the matter aside, quickly find me the entrance of the fourth floor, and this time make sure not to fall for those petty traps¡±. He turned around after leaving his orders behind and surveyed his surrounding.
¡°Yes, Sir Gelgar¡± Mike and Berd replied in unison and startedmanding the monster army as they spread and explored the third floor.
This time around the monsters were more aware of the traps iid and easily dodged most of them.
As Gelgar surveyed his surroundings he noticed that the third floor was simr to the second floor but was much wider and the ceiling had phosphorescence crystal protruding that lit the floor. ¡°Hmph I don¡¯t know how much DP you spent creating the floors but I know one thing that the DP avable to a mere lowborn Demon Baron cant be higher than mine¡± he said with his brows knit together and started walking and exploring the floor.
Chapter 47: Dungeon War (4)
Chapter 47: Dungeon War (4)
This time the group of monsters exploring the floor was more aware of the traps and due to the increased visibility from the phosphorescence crystals on the ceiling, they easily dodged all the traps set. The pit traps and acid swamps were easily avoided and passed through with no efforts to the point where the traps just felt like decorations to them.
Mike and Berd explored the area and soon found that there was no presence of any guardian monsters on this floor too. Though they found the matter quite strange, but since the exploration was progressing well, they didn¡¯t bother to delve into this matter too much. Looking at the monster army that swiftly explored the areas with ease and suffered no casualties, the both of them nodded towards each other and immediately started increasing the pace of their exploration.
The third floor was twice the size of the second which made fully exploring the area twice as time-consuming as before. Each of the winding areas was simr and kept on messing with your sense of direction. After surveying the surrounding for a while, Mikemented ¡°The floor is quite big and it would be a tedious work if we explored it at our current rate. Since the monster army can easily avoid the trapsid, we should increase our exploration pace.¡±
Berd who was beside him pondered for a while beforeing to a conclusion ¡°The limited visibility on the second floor was what increased the effectiveness of the traps. But now that nothing is restricting the visibility on this floor, there shouldn¡¯t be any casualties on our side. The monsters have already adapted to the traps and are able to avoid them without any effort. That being the case we should hurry up and increase the pace, if not I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll irritate Sir Gelgar even more.¡±
Mike had a simr thought process as Berd and immediately agreed. Unaware of the dangers thaty ahead, they startedying down orders and increased the exploration rate of the monsters as they spread throughout the floor probing and dodging the traps with ease.
Gelgar who was exploring on his own easily avoided a pitfall and swiftly dodged a swamp of acid. Jumping onto the other side of the area, he snorted and looked back at the acid swamp from which bubbles and smoke rose making it quite deadly for low-rank monsters. However, it was not worth his caution since he was Demon Viscount and even if he fell for these traps, there would hardly be any damage. A body of a Demon Viscount was very strong and their high defence stats made them impervious to such paltry tricks. Even if there was any damage, it would swiftly recover thanks to his innate regeneration.
Nevertheless, even though he would suffer no damage, Gelgar felt that it was beneath him to even fall for such petty traps in the first ce and would tarnish his image as a noble Demon Viscount. He swiftly dodged another pit trap and smashed the de that came slicing at his head from the walls with a punch. BANG¡ the force behind his punch was so great that it shattered the de that was aiming for his neck and made countless cracks on the walls. Just like on the other floors the cracks immediately mended themselves and the wall was back to its previous state.
¡°Do you think such petty tricks will work on me?. Well what can I expect more from the intelligence of a mere lowborn demon¡± he said as he promptly passed through areas after areas. no matter what trapsy in front of him, none of them was even able to touch the edge of his clothes.
As everyone explored the areas, all of them failed to notice small mushrooms growing at the edges of the wall. The mushrooms were so inconspicuous that they failed to attract any attention, even if someone did notice them, they eventually ignored it as something naturally grown from the abundant manas of the dungeon. That also goes for Gelgar and his two Demon Baron subordinates. who would notice some random mushrooms on the edges of the walls? As such most of their focus was on finding the entrance to the next floor and dodging the traps that were in front of them.
A group of fifteen Scavenger Mummies that were three meters tall each and had bandages wrapped all over them was exploring a certain part of the floor. Arge number of mushrooms dotted the walls as far as their hollow eyes could see. Some of them casually plucked the mushrooms and munched on them as they explored further. It began with some of the Scavenger mummies casually picking the mushrooms and munching but after some time most of the Scavenger mummies began frantically eating the mushrooms whenever they saw some growing on the walls.
what happened next was all of the fifteen Scavenger Mummies frantically rushing to eat more of the mushrooms whenever they passed by new areas and some of them even fell on the traps that they could easily dodge before due to their negligence. The ones that fell for the trap died slowly and excruciatingly while the rest ignored them as all of their attention was on finding the mushrooms growing on the walls and frantically start munching on them. A peculiar scene to watch.
This scene was not only ying in this part but also on the other areas of the floor. The monsters that could easily dodge the traps before were getting killed by those very same traps while rushing to eat more of the mushrooms, a frantic look in their eyes.
Chapter 48: Dungeon War (5)
Chapter 48: Dungeon War (5)
Mushroom of Appetite, a [D] rank item that popped up from the [Gacha]. As its name suggests, it is a mushroom that fills your appetite. Its seeds once sown will continue to grow until the mushrooms cover most of the ground and the only way to stop them is to burn them down. Once eaten, the mushroom will fill your stomach but at the same time increases your appetite to eat more and more of them.
It was an emergency food item in those popr games back on earth, that was used by yers in a crisis when the food in their inventory ran out. Of course, the downside of the item made it undesirable but the effects could easily be negated by using Elixir of No Ailment and such. Thus all of the yers made sure to stock one sort of as ast resort whenever they went for exploration. It was also one of the items imported from the other games and put into the [Gacha].
At present the third floor was full of Mushroom of Appetite which was the real trap set for these unaware monsters who were only concentrating on the obvious traps that were in front of them. Since they did not have any skills to negate the effect of the mushroom their only choice was to keep on satiating their never-ending appetite.
Simon who was lounging on his jade sofa made a wicked smile as he looked at the scenes disyed by his dungeon window. ¡°Just when you think everything is going alright and you let your guard down, that is when the dungeon truly bares its fangs¡± he said every word slowly and deeply. the mushroom of appetite was disying its full might in his dungeon right now.
¡ª¨C
Gelgar explored the areas for quite a while before frowning, that was because he suddenly found himself back in the same ce where he started. The paths were so much alike that even he a Demon Viscount was having difficulty navigating through. Suddenly he received a sound transmission from Mike and hurriedly started walking towards a particr area. Even before he reached the ce where his subordinates had called him, he saw groups of monsters lying dead around the area. Some cleanly split in half, others melted in a half-burnt corpse and some caught in pit traps and became swiss cheese.
A gruesome sight spread all over the area as he got close. He did not know what face he was making, but he was sure that it was anything other than calm. Veins bulged in his forehead, his eyes red murderously and his body trembled intensely as he looked down at his kneeling subordinates.
¡°What is the meaning of this? Why are all of them caught up in those pathetic traps and dead¡ are you guys even taking this seriously?¡± at the end of his sentence, he narrowed his eyes and questioned as killing intent leaked from his body. His killing intent was strong that it made the cowering subordinates shudder even more. One could imagine how much killing you had to do to materialise your killing intent.
His two subordinates were aware of Gelgar¡¯s cruelty and knew the amount of blood the man had bathed in. All of his enemies died after being subjugated to an inhumane torture and right now those crimson eyes were staring at them murderously. They had no doubts in their heart that if they were not useful, Gelgar would show no mercy even if they had served him for dozens of years.
¡°S-Sir Gelgar b-by the time we reached here they were already dead. We immediately rushed here after we detected a strange urrence among the monsters¡± Mike said as he lowered his head even more deeply due to the immense pressure weighing down on him. Everything was going ording to n when things suddenly started going haywire and even he couldn¡¯tprehend what had led to this incident. No matter how much he thought he couldn¡¯t figure out why the monsters would get caught up in such obvious traps and even if they did, the others could have easily saved them as the traps were not lethal enough to kill them in one hit. All of the behaviour of the monsters were peculiar up until the moment they died. The third floor that was supposedly easier than the second floor suddenly turned into a disaster zone.
¡°Sir Gelgar, I believe it is not that the monster became negligent but because they got caught up in another trap that was carefully set up for them¡± Berd knitted his brows together as he replied after pondering for a while. He flipped one of the corpses and saw it body covered in tiny mushrooms simr to the ones growing everywhere on this floor. these mushrooms were unremarkable and didn¡¯t seem poisonous; however, every corpse that he hade across had these mushrooms growing all over them.
¡°What do you mean speak clearly!?¡± Gelgar who was irritated due to the inability of his subordinates spoke out in an annoyed tone. One could even see that the man was barely holding onto his rage.
¡°When I sensed the disturbance among the monsters, I immediately rushed here to check on them. And to my surprise, I saw them ignoring all the traps and easily getting caught up in them. It wasn¡¯t that the monsters immediately died but those that could have helped them had ignored them altogether. I believe the trapid out was very obvious but at the same time extremely inconspicuous. It is that mushroom that is growing all over this floor that is the cause of this incident .¡± Berd exined as he got up and plucked a mushroom from the wall.
Chapter 49: Dungeon War (6)
Chapter 49: Dungeon War (6)
¡°Mushrooms you say?¡± Gelgar looked at the mushrooms growing in the surrounding walls with a puzzled expression. These mushrooms which seemingly grew everywhere on the floor was the reason behind the death of spawned monster? He couldn¡¯t figure out how were these insignificant mushrooms the cause of all these incidents.
¡°Yes, Sir Gelgar it is precisely these mushrooms that were the cause. I believe they are not some ordinary mushrooms you find growing everywhere but mystical mushrooms that have enchanting properties¡± Berd said carefully observing the monsters that have died inside the traps.
Mike listened intensely to what Berd was saying as he too plucked a mushroom and inspected carefully. The mushroom seemed unremarkable and didn¡¯t look poisonous to him.
Gelgar closed his eyes as he pondered for a moment. He wasn¡¯t a fool and figured out that they have been yed. The real trap wasn¡¯t those pitfalls and acid swamps but these extremely inconspicuous mushrooms. Those obvious traps were set to make their guard down while the real trap did its work when they were being negligent. It was only now that he realised why the floors did not have any guarding monsters. it was precisely because of these unorthodox traps that worked as a dual-edged sword, that there were no guarding monsters on this floor.
Berd continued ¡°when I rushed to the scene, I saw something strange. These monsters that were supposed to follow the orders and search for the entrance to the next floor, were frantically rushing to eat mushrooms on the walls. They had a feverish light in their eyes and an intoxicated look which made them fall into the traps that they could previously dodge without any effort. It was as if their minds didn¡¯t even register that they had fallen into a trap. But what was surprising was that even while they died they did not scream and even until their death, they didn¡¯t show any signs of struggle. Instead, these monsters still had that feverish look on their faces. ¡°
Gelgar narrowed his eyes at this point even a child could figure out what it was. ¡°So the more you eat the mushrooms, the more you crave for it. And the more you eat the deeper the effect it has on your mind¡± he surmised as he crushed one of the mushrooms in his hand. He must admit that even he had never heard of such a mystical mushroom in his three hundred years of life and this dungeon was full of such mushroom.
¡°It is as you say Sir Gelgar, the monsters that have died had eaten quite a number of mushrooms that have deprived them of their minds and ultimately¡¡± Berd did not finish his sentence but everybody understood the meaning without having himplete it. These monsters have fallen for the petty traps because of the effects of these mushrooms had on them.
¡°Tch, truly a wicked move, it seems like I have underestimated that lowborn demon. He is trying to reduce our numbers with these unorthodox traps. Make sure you pass mymand to all of the monsters that are not present here. They are not to randomly eat anything on the walls in the future¡± Gelgar¡¯s voice had an added depth at the end as hepleted his words. Looking at the corpses of the dead monsters, he admitted that even he didn¡¯t know that these mushrooms had such dangerous effects up until now. However, what he didn¡¯t understand was how did that low born demon get his hands on such a mystical item.
¡°We obey Sir Gelgar¡± Mike and Berd immediately fell on their knees as they said in unison.
¡°How goes the exploration? Did we not find the entrance to the next floor yet?¡± he asked as looked at the two of them, his mood quite sour. These mushrooms had reduced their numbers by quite a bit and if they stayed on this floor any longer, he didn¡¯t know how many more casualties there would be. Although to him, these monsters were nothing but expandables that would fight and die for his cause, he felt like losing them here would be a waste.
Sensing that the mood of their leader was quite sour, Mike didn¡¯t mingle any words and immediately replied ¡°We have almost explored all of the areas of the floor however since the paths always change their direction it bing a little difficult to pinpoint the exact location of the entrance. But given a little more time, we are sure to find it soon¡±.
Gelgar nodded and the two of them hurriedly left to ry hismands. Now all alone, he stood there in silence for a long time. After a while, he turned his head and looked at the mushroom covered walls ¡°Where did these mushroomse from? it doesn¡¯t look like an item that should be growing on a low-rank dungeon such as this¡±. He thought over it for a while before shaking his head ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter¡ though I must admit that you yed me there, but if you think such lowly traps are enough to stop us, then you are thinking too highly of yourself you lowborn demon¡±.
Soon after they found the entrance to the fourth floor and organized themselves before descending to the next floor. During this time there was no added death or injuries among their numbers as they became aware of all the traps thatid in wait for them. After all of them descended the floor became eerily silent, the dead monsters that dotted the floor slowly disintegrating, forever bing the nourishment of the dungeon.
[Scavenger Mummies X15 died, acquired 225,000 DP]
[Big Poison Scorpion X25 died, acquired 190,000 DP]
[Scavenger Mummies X20 died, acquired 300,000 DP]
Chapter 50: Dungeon War (7)
Chapter 50: Dungeon War (7)
The fourth floor was simr to the third floor but the walls and ceiling were much much wider and taller. Unlike the third floor, the visibility on this floor was restricted by an endlessly drifting white mist. The walls were of ash grey colour and the floor was uneven and irregr. The thick mist made it difficult to see whaty ahead and even the people near you. If one did not pay attention to their footing, one might even end up tripping due to the uneven ground.
After descending the stairs anding down to the fourth floor, Gelgar surveyed his surroundings and couldn¡¯t help but click his tongue ¡°Tch so now it¡¯s mist huh.¡± It was as he said, everywhere heid his gaze on, was covered in a thickyer of white mist.
After searching for a while, he quickly spotted the two subordinates of his that were waiting for him near the entrance. Mike walked up to him, put his hand on his chest, and bowed. ¡°Sir Gelgar, since the vision is obstructed by the mist and there are an unknown number of traps, we have decided to sendrger groups of monsters to explore at once so as to avoid falling for the devious traps that lowborn demon has set. Since we are not spreading our numbers, this may take finding the entrance to the next floor a little longerpared to the previous floors¡±.
He did not want tomit any more mistakes by spreading their numbers all across the floor like before. He was worried that traps that were carefully hidden inside the mist would end up taking more lives from the monster army and hence did not dare to thin their numbers when sending them to explore. but doing so would increase the time taken to explore each floor and would also dy finding the entrance to the next floor.
Realising what the other party was thinking, Berd chipped in ¡°Deliberately spreading and thinning our numbers would directly be ying into the enemy¡¯s hands and knowing that there might be even more traps like those mushrooms waiting for us, I believe it would be unwise for us to do so. Plus seeing these monsters spawned by Sir Gelgar¡¯s precious DP die for nothing would be a huge waste ¡°. Berd was aware that Gelgar saw all of them as nothing but pawns that are useful to him and do his bidding. However, he did not have the guts to oppose a Demon Viscount and he believed that as long as he was useful, he wouldn¡¯t be discarded easily.
Gelgar nodded and said after contemting over their opinions ¡°Very well do what you must but remember to be at your guard at all times. Immediately send a sound transmission if you find anything unusual.¡±
When the two of them heard what he said, they immediately nodded and sighed in relief. they were concerned that dying the exploration rate would make Gelgar displeased and would earn them his ire. After organizing the monsters and rying all of themands, they immediately dived into the mist. The moment they stepped in, their silhouette became blurry, then a shadow and after a while, theypletely disappeared into the white mist.
Right after they disappeared into the mist, hundreds of crimson sets of eyes looked at them from all across the floor for a split moment before fading into the mist.
¡ª-
Simon who was having a meal on his unusually big dining table looked at the scene disyed by his dungeon and smiled. ¡°Hmm, the fourth huh¡ its time to see how useful you guys are,¡± he said as he chewed on his steak.
The fourth floor was the territory of white-horned rabbits. Their piercing scarlet eyes could easily prate through the dense fog and their small frame and natural color make them hard to discern in this dense mist. This race has arge pointed horn on their head and unusually strong hind legs that make their charge terrifyingly lethal. Especially their horn, it was so sharp and sturdy that monsters with low defence would easily be pierced by those weapons. on top of that, the White-Horned Rabbits were a bloodthirsty race and loved feasting on its prey¡¯s blood.
But they are not the only predators present on this floor. The albino spiders that are a meter tall each and produce a sticky thread all over the walls and ceiling also inhabit the fourth floor. The thread theyy was transparent and very difficult to break.
Starting from the fourth floor, monsters spawn in the dungeon that naturally defends it from the intruders.
As Simon had predicted soon after all of the intruders dived into the mist some of them started getting killed by the horned rabbits and albino spiders. For these monsters, this floor was their optimum environment, and for the invading monsters the worst ce to be at. The horned rabbits pierced them with their horns as they leapt across the walls, the albino spiders captured their prey deprived of their freedom of movement with their stickys and bound them on the ceiling.
Arge number of the invading monsters died exploring and finding the entrance to the next floor. However, this didn¡¯tst long as the invading monsters quickly became aware of their presence and they soon started fighting back. Due to theirrge number, the tide soon started to turn and it was the guarding monsters of the floor, the white-horned rabbits and the albino spiders who found themselves at a disadvantage after a while.
Even though arge number of spawned monsters were dying, Simon did not worry much as they can be spawned again using the DP. As long as these monsters could dy the invaders and reduce their numbers a little, that would already be enough.
Chapter 51: Dungeon War (8)
Chapter 51: Dungeon War (8)
On the fourth floor in an area covered by thick fog, Gelgar walked around, suddenly he waved his hand towards his side and caught the horn of the charging horned rabbit in his grip. KIIIEEEEK¡ its piercing scarlet eyes stared at him unceasingly and its body iled wildly desperately trying to evade his grasp.
¡°Tch, the nerve of you monsters to attack me. It seems like I have been underestimated¡± he gripped the horn firmly and flung it towards another horned rabbit that was trying to pincer him from the side.
[Boom] the force behind the throw was so great that both the horned rabbits immediately burst into a bloody pulp that looked rather enthralling in this white space. Gelgar just finished dealing with those monsters when more and more piercing stares focused on him amidst the mist and surrounded him from all sides. KIIIEEEEK¡ their shrill cries rang across the area while their bodies were hidden inside the mist.
Looking at the scene with a frown, Gelgar bent down and ced his palm on the ground ¡°As I said it is useless Earth Magic Mastery- [Destruction Great Spike]¡±.
A ripple passed through the ground with his palm as the epicentre. Momentster, the ground started to tremble as small cracks like spiderwebs started to appear around him and swiftly spread all around the surrounding.
Immediately after the ground burst apart and pierced the horned rabbits that were hidden inside the mist. All of the horned rabbits were impaled from the spike emerging from the ground with none being spared. Each of the earth spikes hit their marks and it was as if Gelgar knew where all of these monsters were.
The Earth Magic [Destruction Great Spike] he used could scan the area in few dozen meters around him and alert him of all the presence that have their feet nted on the ground. It was a magic that allows him to find the location of his enemies regardless of if they were visible or not. The magic also pierces the hostile entities with an earth spike that emerges from below catching them unguarded at the same time.
After defeating all the monsters surrounding him, he suddenly lifted his head and looked towards the tall ceiling covered with white mist. Other than the endlessly drifting mist, there seemed to be nothing there.
¡°Do you think you are hidden¡ snort¡ Wind Magic Mastery [Wind st]¡± a burst of wind bringing along a destructive might, shot forth from his extended hand and smashed on the ceiling above dispersing the mist nearby. BOOM¡ A shriek could be heard and a white object dropped down on the ground, the dispersed mist soon covered it and the area around.
When he used his earth magic mastery previously, not only was he able to detect the presence of hostile entities on the floor but also on the ceiling too. Though he didn¡¯t get the chance to see it, he could still tell the race of the monster from its features. Albino spiders a low-rank monster that quietly lies in wait for its prey before baring its fangs.
Turning around, he explored the areas for a while before sending a sound transmission to his subordinates ¡°Mike, Berd how is the exploration going?¡ did you guys find the entrance to the next floor yet?¡±. During this time, he was attacked by monsters many a time but none of them were even able to reach a few meters near him much less deal any damage.
Before long a sound transmission came to him, it was from Mike ¡°Sir Gelgar after so long I believe we have explored most of the areas of this floor and will soon be finding the entrance¡¡±. Before MIke couldplete his sentence, Berd sent a sound transmission ¡°Sir Gelgar we have discovered the entrance to the next floor, I¡¯ll immediately send you the coordinates¡±.
¡°Very well, I shall be there shortly. You guys organize the monsters till then¡± he cut the transmission with his short sentence.
Before long all the monsters gathered near the entrance to the next floor and Mike and Berd could be seenmanding and organizing them. Gelgar walked through the mist and arrived at the coordinate given to him by Berd.
Seeing him arrive, the two subordinates of his immediately bowed and called out to him. He nodded and looked at his declining monster army which had decreased quite significantly from their initial numbers. His expression was soplex that nobody could tell what he was thinking.
Looking at the direction of his gaze, Mike hurriedly replied ¡°Sir Gelgar the monster army did not have trouble killing their enemies but since the opponent was adapt to this environment, some of them got caught up and died. However, this time we immediately took action and organised the army beforeunching a counter-attack to wipe out all the guarding monsters¡±.
As if realising he was making too many excuses, MIke hurriedly kneeled and implored ¡°your subordinate is ipetent, even though we were able to wipe out all of the enemies from their sides, our numbers were still reduced by quite a bit¡±.
Gelgar waved his hand and said in an annoyed manner ¡°They are just expendables, in the end It doesn¡¯t matter how many of them die. As long as they can fulfil their orders, their life and death isn¡¯t a concern. That being said it is still an unpleasant sight to see our numbers declining even before we get to see that lowborn demon. I was hoping to intimidate him into submission by just our numbers¡. but that¡¯s alright once I find that turtling demon, I will make sure to pay him for all this humiliation¡±.
Though he had suffered no real loss, it was still unpleasant for him, a Demon Viscount to fall for all those petty traps.
Chapter 52: Great Blood Ogre
Chapter 52: Great Blood Ogre
Gelgar and his army descended one floor after another and after three whole days, they reached the ninth floor of the dungeon.
The ninth floor was a vast marsnd more than fifteen kilometres in area. The entire floor was lighted up by enormous phosphorescence crystals embedded on the ceiling. Huge swamps andrge swaths of trees wreathed the area all around the floor.
By now the look on Gelgar¡¯s face was quite agitated as he looked at the new floor that he arrived at. His eyes concealed a trace of uncertainty that was never there before until he started descending one floor after another. An uneasy foreboding gued him for quite a while.
The grand monster army that he spawned using all of his DP and whose numbers were initially more than five hundred now had measly hundred or so who survived the ordeals till now. Each and every floor wasden with deadly traps and monsters that took out quite a lot of them. Plus the more they descended, the wider the floors became.
It was not only him but even his two subordinate¡¯s faces were clouded. After descending so many floors their bodies were haggard and exhausted, traces of intense battle and blood could be seen on their bodies.
They watched the vast marsnd silently, nobody knows what they were thinking. The morale of the monsters army was all-time low and their weariness and fatigue were on full disy. They didn¡¯t know how deep the dungeon went nor did they know how many more traps were lying in wait for them.
Snapping out of their daze, Mike and Berd quickly started givingmands and were ready to start the exploration once again when Gelgar spoke out. ¡°I can sense multiple presences hidden in this floor. Don¡¯t let your guard down, I believe this should be thest floor and after passing through this we¡¯ll get to see the despairing face of that lowborn demon.¡±
He snickered and added, ¡°I do not believe that he has any more DP left to create another floor or spawn any monsters.¡±
The enemy they were fighting was only a lowborn Demon Baron. No matter how much DP he had stocked up, there was no way for the dungeon to go any deeper. Gelgar was himself a dungeon master and was aware of how much DP one needed to create additional floors not to mention the cost goes up the wider the floor was. Even his dungeon which was simrly [E] rank, only had five floors. However, unlike the dungeon they were in now, the floors in his dungeon weren¡¯t as big.
After hearing Gelgar, a strange light started flickering in the lusterless eyes of Mike and Berd as renewed vigor and power started coursing through their bodies again. The more they thought about it the more it made sense after all to create all these floors of that size, an enormous amount of DP must have been used. Not to mention to spawn all those monsters to defend the dungeon also ate up quite a lot of DP.
Thinking till here, they increasingly started to believe that this was the final floor. After all, it was a newly emerged dungeon and the dungeon master was none other than a Demon Baron. They were so convinced by Gelgar that even if anybody right now told them that they haven¡¯t even descended half of the floors inside the dungeon, they wouldn¡¯t believe them. It wasn¡¯t that they were being negligent or underestimating their enemy, it was because they were aware of how much DP a low-rank dungeon could generate was why they felt that their conjecture was right. It was by no means their fault, the me lied solely on Simon for being the odd one and breaking all themon sense.
Little did they know that Simon had a huge amount of DP that was still increasing at this very moment saved up. If he wanted to, he could create a few more floors and still have enough to go on for a while. That was how much of a DP he had generated and if Gelgar and his subordinates knew that most of the DP avable to him came from them, they would have gone crazy and vomited blood by now.
During these three days, arge chunk of DP that the dungeon had generated, was due to Gelgar and his monster army that had died inside his dungeon.
With fires of hope being lit inside Mike and Berd, they started issuing outmands in a frenzy. Hordes of monsters started charging towards the marsnds with increased fervour and ferocity. Looking at the scene, a surreptitious smile crept upon Gelgar¡¯s face as he said in a voice that only he could hear ¡°No matter what you guys are just expendables, I can just spawn you back after I kill that bastard and win the dungeon war¡±.
His face distorted as heughed in an uncouth manner thinking about the real reward he would get after winning the dungeon war. The real motive behind him starting all of this.
While he was caught up in his delusion, the monsters started charging towards the swamp and spread all over. Their march soon got cut as their feet got fixated on the swamp and the more they struggled to get themselves free the more they got caught up in it. The traps that were set all around the marsh were quicksand and anyone that got caught in it will be dragged inside the more they resisted.
However, the quicksand was less of their worries as the real danger lied within.
Chapter 53: Great Blood Ogre (2)
Chapter 53: Great Blood Ogre (2)
The quicksand wasn¡¯t the only trouble they were faced with. The ninth floor was inhabited by a tribe of three-meter tall lizardmen called Scaly Lower Dragonlings, their unique feature was that they had a scaly armour all over their body protecting them and hundreds of Pirodile that looked like gigantic piranhas swam all across the marsnds.
Whenever the monster army got trapped inside the quicksand, they would surround it from all sides and tear the prey apart with their ws and fangs.
The huge frame and the heavy spiked outer shell of the invading Armored Drillman which allowed them to trample all the traps and monsters on the previous floors impeded their march on the ninth floor. Their heavy frame made them sink deeper into the marsh which made easy prey for the agile lizardmen and pirodiles to prey on them.
Even though they had a sturdy outer shell, their front was not as heavily guarded as their back. Hence once the pirodiles and lizardmen started wing their front, they just became sitting ducks unable to do anything.
For the lizardmen and pirodile the marsh was the most ideal environment to hunt whereas for the lunk Armoured Drillman the worst ce to be at. The feature of the Armored Drillman was their spiky outer shell which allowed them to tank through all of the attacks of their enemies. However, they were huge, slow and needed a steady footing to be of any use. All of which was absent on this floor.
The lizardmen and pirodiles swam underneath the marsh and used their sharp ws and fangs to tear their prey apart. By now most of the armoured drillman got entrapped by the quicksand and were reduced to nothing but meat shield for the guarding monsters. The other surviving monsters from the monster army weren¡¯t faring any better as they sank deeper and deeper in the quicksand.
Looking at this hellscape, MIke and Berd who had ordered the monster army to march were regretting their decision as they saw the army getting defeated one after the other. Their faces were ashen and their bodies trembled as they looked at Gelgar.
Many areas of the swamp quickly got dyed a crimson shade as chunks of meat and corpses floated here and there. Looking at the scene from up above, veins twitched and bulged all around Gelgar¡¯s face. Right now he had a murderous look on his eyes and his appearance was so distorted in rage that he looked like he could eat a person alive. Dark red bat-like wings protruded out from his back as he surveyed his surroundings from up above.
¡°Even if they are expendables, it still took more than a month¡¯s DP to spawn all of them. Yet they are getting butchered like pigs and cows¡. You bastard if I don¡¯t kill you with my own two hands, I will not be able to appease this hatred¡±. Three figures flew up to him and bowed slightly. They were Mike, Berd, and a muscr figure covered in tattered ck robes.
Just like Gelgar, they looked around at the scene of a massacre with a shockedced face and aggrieved eyes. The only monsters that were spared from this one-sided ughter are the corpse eater bird who could fly. They had pointed beaks and wings that were glowing with a metallic sheen and could use a skill called [Razor Wind], a novice tier wind magic.
But even when they dived and cast their skills to attack, the lizardmen and pirodiles would easily dodge them by diving underneath. Even though the guarding monsters had no way to attack them, the corpse eater bird simrly did not have any means to attack them while they were hiding underneath.
Those corpse eater birds that flew too close to the marsh would be pincered and dragged down by the pirodiles after that their only oue would be a slow and excruciating death. Just like an ox y entering the sea, they would never surface again.
Mike and Berd lowered their heads and asked ¡°Sir Gelgar what should we do next¡± they were out of options now that their monster army was all but gone. Though they wanted to salvage the situation, they did not dare to move without the permission of their lord. Their bodies were cowering knowing that even if they won the dungeon war, they would be receiving heavy punishment after this.
Gelgar did not answer them and continued to watch the scene in silence for a long time. It was as if he wanted to burn this scene into his eyes. Nobody knew what he was thinking. Strangely, all of the pent up frustration and anger inside Gelgar disappeared and an eery calm took its ce.
Noises of the monster army getting ughtered everywhere rang out everywhere across the ninth floor.
It was only after a long time when the scene of the massacrepletely died down that he roared out loud ¡°Alright until now you have given me quite a bit of surprise. It would be rather unfair if I don¡¯t give you a surprise of my own that I brought for you¡ GOURD¡±
ROAAARRRRRR
A loud roar came from the person in a ck robe, the air vibrated and trembled as it released all the power it had been holding in. The force was so great that arge shockwave was generated around that sted Mike and Berd who were near him few meters back. Due to the intense wind that was produced from unleashing all his power, the tattered robe that was covering his whole body was torn into shreds.
Chapter 54: Great Blood Ogre (3)
Chapter 54: Great Blood Ogre (3)
After the tattered ck robe was torn apart a bulky, masculine body came into view. Its entire body was crimson red and packed with explosive muscles. It had a demonic face with fangs protruding out from its mouth and a single horn on its forehead. Stout arms and sharp ws that looked like they could tear apart everything were releasing a dreadful aura. His entire presence was giving off a savage and bloodthirsty feeling, like that of a being who was addicted to killing.
It roared and pped its wide bat-like wings that generated an intense burst of wind in its wake.
Watching his subordinate full of vigour and eagerness to fight, Gelgar smirked and pointed below ¡°Kill them all¡±. He only spoke three short words but the intent behind was very clear and precise.
Right after his short sentence, the demonic being dived below and submerged itself into the marsh. BOOM¡ the momentum of his dive was so great that a huge volume of water rose up high into the sky and spoke of the great confidence the being had in its power to dive into the marsnd filled with Scaly Lower Dragonlings and Pirodiles.
Mike and Berd looked at the scene with astonishment. They weren¡¯t surprised by its power nor by its reckless charge into the marsh but by the act of their lord Gelgar who deemed it necessary to release it. They were well aware of its incredible might and knew that the guarding monsters down below didn¡¯t stand a chance, heck even if it was the both of them joining hands, they would barely be able to hold him down.
The demonic being that dove below just now was the [C] rank subordinate of their lord which was summoned through the dungeon a few years ago.
It was a race called Great Blood Ogre, a superior species of the ogre tribe. The Great blood Ogre exercised so much power that even Demon Barons like them were not its match. Its bloodthirsty and berserk nature made it a very difficult subordinate to control. And its stubborn temperament which refuses to bow to those weaker than it made it so that only their lord could control it.
Even though the great blood ogre joined Gelgar¡¯s dungeon after them, its position was higher than theirs and only below their lord. That is to say that not only was the great blood ogre more powerful than them, its position was also superior to them.
Gelgar was a demon who only valued subordinates who were useful to him. It didn¡¯t matter if the subordinate was serving for a long time, if they were ipetent he would quickly discard of them. And Gelgar valued the great blood ogre more than them. Why wouldn¡¯t he? unlike them who had reached their growth limit due to their impure bloodline, the great blood ogre was a [C] tier subordinate and the heights it could reach was far higher than them.
ROOAAARRRR a loud roar sounded from below attracting their attention. A flood of mud and water rose into the air and two shadows could be seen rising amidst it. The Great Blood Ogre named Gourd held a struggling lizardman in its ws that looked like a childpared to its tanky frame. Its mouth was munching on a lump of meat that seemed to be something out of a Pirodile.
For Mike and Berd, this scene was all too familiar to them and they knew that once Gourd starts its massacre, nobody could stop its rampage other than their lord Gelgar. In terms of brutalness, he was on par with Gelgar and in terms of power, he was only slightly below him.
After swallowing the content of its mouth, the Great Blood Ogre started tearing the lizardman limb by limb with its sharp ws. The lizardmen roared in pain and writhed its body trying to get away from it¡¯s grasp but to no avail.
The scaly exterior of the lizardmen that boasted a high defense was as thin as paper in front of it. As it tormented the lizardmen, a savage smile was nted on its demonic face that showed its incisive fangs. Its hideous mouth still had the remains of blood and flesh of itsst prey.
Finishing off the lizardman it dove down once again and started wing and munching on the pirodiles and lizardmen once again. Loud shrieks and angry roars could be heard intermittently while pieces of flesh and torn limbs surfaced after every few seconds.
There was no need to even say whose piece of flesh they were as the guarding monsters were one-sidedly ughtered. Hordes of monsters surrounded and attacked the great blood ogre from all directions but to no avail. The sharp ws and fangs of the guarding monsters which could previously tear apart the hard skin of armoured drillman and others with ease were ineffective against Gourd.
No matter how the lizardmen and pirodiles wed him, they couldn¡¯t put a single scratch on the crimson red skin of Gourd. With a deep grating demonic sound, itughed out loud ¡°Uahahaha it¡¯s all useless¡ all your struggles are useless in front of my power¡ scream as you die [Berserk]¡±. An extremely brutal aura that threatened to materialise itself, engulfed Gourd as soon he activated his skill and raised his power even further.
Great waves were rising above the surface of the marsh asrge bursts of mud and water rose into the air one after the other. The already crimson swamp was dyed even more crimson from the blood of the inhabitants of the ninth floor.
Chapter 55: Confrontation
Chapter 55: Confrontation
Before he could even marvel at the scene of so many monsters Simon who was lounging on his jade sofa looked at the window disying the ninth floor. He could see Gelgar, his subordinates, and the hordes of monsters that survived the upper floorsing down to the ninth floor. Simon shed a content smile after judging the condition of their state. Aside from Gelgar and few others, most of their army was exhausted and their spirit drained.
Everybody had a downtrodden look in their eyes and the morale was all-time low. After a while, Gelgar went up to the group and said something, he did not know what Gelgar had said since the dungeon menu only transmitted the events inside the floor and not the voice.
But he could see that the morale of the army was once again incited and all of them were ready to pit themselves against the ninth floor. The subordinates of Gelgar started givingmands to the monster army as they immediately started charging towards the marsh.
Looking at this scene, he couldn¡¯t help but knit his brows. It was a suicidal move to recklessly charge at an unknown ce even before surveying the area. He shook his head at this act beforementing ¡°These two fail asmanders. It wasn¡¯t a wise choice for you to give the rein ofmanding the army to both of them Gelgar¡±
He watched as the invading monsters wildly dove at the marsh and easily get trapped in the quicksand that wasid for them one after the other. The scene unfolding in front of his eyes was strange, it was as if they had forgotten that it was a dungeon.
Before the monster army could even struggle free of the traps, groups of Pirodiles and Lizardmen started wing and preying on them. These monsters that were spawned by the dungeon, were low-rank monsters but what made them dangerous was the environment of the ninth floor which made them just like a fish in water. if they were ced somewhere else, they wouldn¡¯t have achieved the same result.
It was truly the scene of a massacre where the invading monsters army couldn¡¯t even struggle much before getting killed en masse.
The entire marsh was turned crimson as blood, meat, and corpses littered everywhere. The scene continued until all the invading monsters were killed and only Gelgar and his three subordinates remained. Simon was deep in contemtion when Gelgar started shouting something again, immediately after one of the figures behind him roared and revealed its appearance.
Simon watched as that demonic figure dove down into the marsh. What happened next wasn¡¯t an intense battle or a one-sided massacre but a pure disy of strength. The figure demonstrated its powerful might as it started making short work of the lizardmen and pirodiles which previously had a massive advantage over the invading monsters.
Great waves spread across the whole marsh as the demonic figure went wild inside it and ughtered all of the Scaly Lower Dragonlings and Pirodiles inhabiting the floor. It had an exhrated expression whenever the blood of its prey scattered onto its body and appeared just like a bloodthirsty man.
Simon silently watched as the marsh became calm after a while. The figure revealed itself once again, its crimson body bathed in crimson blood as it exposed a savage smile andughed out loud.
He pondered for a while before standing up from his jade sofa, an intense battle intent shing in his crimson eyes. ¡°With their strength, there aren¡¯t any floors that could stop them. Guess it¡¯s finally my time to appear¡± Simon said after judging that the spawned monsters on the other floors would simrly be useless against the ones that were left of the invaders. The most the guardian monsters could do was to be a meat shield and dy the inevitable.
Simon patted the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse, a wicked smile on his face as he said ¡°This is a battle we cannot afford to lose. You are allowed to go all wild, no holds barred¡±. The warhorse gave an energetic neigh seemingly to disy its intense will to fight as the mes surrounding its body started burning with even more fervour.
¡ª-
Gelgar marvelled at the might of his [C] subordinate Gourd the Great Blood Ogre as it massacred all of the monsters spawned by that low-rank demon. He couldn¡¯t help but remark ¡°His strength has grown quite a bit since then, what a pleasant surprise¡ don¡¯t you guys think so too¡±. He looked back at his two Demon Baron subordinates who had their mouth agape at the scene of the carnage brought forth by Gourd.
Hurriedly collecting themselves they replied ¡°Haha as expected of the subordinate summoned by Sir Gelgar. Gourd is in apletely different league than those weaklings¡ hahaha¡± Mike ttered. Sweat continuously trickled down his skin after that disy of might. ¡°It is exactly as Mike says the strength of Sir Gelgar¡¯s subordinate is truly immeasurable¡ I think that turtling demon would be cowering by now after this show of disy¡± Berd added as he gazed at Gourd¡¯s crimson body which did not even have a single scratch even after going through a battle where the enemy had the home-field advantage.
This wasn¡¯t just ttery but what they truly felt. Even if it was them fighting all those monsters, they would have a very difficult time defeating those monsters in their natural environment much lessing out of it unscathed. Making it look so easy, they must admit that they were no longer its match.
Chapter 56: Confrontation (2)
Chapter 56: Confrontation (2)
While Gelgar and his subordinates were deliberating something, a clear pping sound rang through the whole floor. Looking around, they quickly found the source of the sound.
A Demonic Warhorse with majestic draconic wings and a ming body wearing ancient armour stood in the air above. Crimson me came out of its nostrils and mouth whenever it breathed, its three pairs of eyes stared menacingly at them, and its six powerful legs exhibited enough power to trample everything. ROOOAARR¡ emitting a powerful presence, the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse stood on its hind legs and reared.
Looking at the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse, greed shed across Gelgar¡¯s eyes and he couldn¡¯t help himself imagining riding on top of it. If he could acquire and ride it on a battlefield, his prowess would increase even more.
It was rank [B] familiar forget about him, even demons with higher ranking would have their eyes blinded by greed. ¡®After winning this dungeon war not only will I get that reward but even a [B] rank subordinate. Hehehaha looks like the fortune is shinning on me today¡¯ he thought in his mind as he deluded about the future.
Although he had suffered a huge loss after his monster army were all killed, butpared to the huge rewards that he was about to get after winning the dungeon war, the loss would amount to nothing. Just imagining about the rewards made him excited and his sour mood lightened up a little.
So what if the demon was able to get one up on him? the end result would still be the same. After all, he was a Demon Viscount and was far superior to a Demon Baron born from ample manas of this world.
But before he could continue with his thought process any further, a clear voice rang out across the floor ¡°Hehehe you guys did quite welling till here, honestly I must praise you all. However everything muste to an end and I believe I had said those words before ¡®if you want to enter my dungeon, you are rather wee but discard all thoughts about leaving it alive¡¯ ¡°.
The voice was not loud nheless every word rang out across the whole floor clearly and profoundly.
The voice came from the man riding on top of the warhorse. ck hair like that of the night which absorbed all the surrounding light and crimson pair of eyes, stared at them as if they could pierce your very soul. Two jagged horns protruded from his head and a wicked smile was stered on his devilishly handsome face.
The man was wearing a ck long coat that pped in the air even when there was no wind. His upper half had golden ck tattoos that madeplicated patterns on his arms and chest that seemed to hold an infinite depth was releasing an aura of dominance whenever one stared at them.
The person riding on top of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse and releasing an overbearing presence was none other than Simon. His face was all smiles as he looked at the uninvited guests who were staring daggers at him.
Looking at the person who arrived unnoticed, Gelgar grinded his teeth as all the humiliation, anger, and frustration that he had suppressed up until now came flooding over.
His body trembled all over as he pointed at Simon and shouted, ¡°So you are finally willing toe out of your shell? very good saves me the trouble of dragging you out myself¡±. Hisposure was all but gone and he couldn¡¯t wait to tear apart Simon as soon as he was in his sight.
Gourd, Mike, and Berd simrly had contempt in their eyes as if they were looking at a dead man and snorted at his arrogant words. ¡®What discard the thoughts of leaving alive? the one who was going to die was clearly him and he was still being obstinate enough to utter those words¡¯ simr thoughts were running in their minds.
Simon looked at them and smiled ¡°You are absolutely right, it saves the trouble for both of us after all it still takes quite a bit of DP to spawn these monsters. It still pains my heart to see them dying for nothing¡± he mocked beforeughing out.
Gelgar¡¯s face was distorted due to all the irritation and pent-up anger twisted even more after listening to Simon. The words of Simon were targeted at him who had lost all his army that he had spawned with much effort using all of his stocked up DP.
He pointed at Simon and furiously said, ¡°Laugh as much as you want to now,ter on when I tear that smile and torture you to death, I will see whether you have the ability tough at that time. but you can rest assured, after killing you I will take that [B] tier warhorse of yours as my own subordinate¡±.
Right after Gelgar¡¯s words sounded out, a weird feeling arose within Simon. Just like a tiny ember in a stack of hay, the feeling started out as a minute disturbance but momentster started overtaking all other emotions and overwhelmed him.
¡°W-what is going on?¡ arrrghhh¡± Simon didn¡¯t know what This feeling was but it was clearly rampaging within him and he couldn¡¯t control it.
[Pride has been activated. All other emotions will be overwhelmed during this period]
Just when he was struggling to keep in check the rampaging emotions, a strange notification popped up in front of him. Overwhelmed by it, all other emotions disappeared and it quickly overtook his whole body.
Three meters wide bat-like wings protruded from his back, as he jumped up from the back of his warhorse and stood in the air above. The entire aura around him changed, the golden-ck tattoos that were only on his chest and shoulders, spread onto his wide wings too. His entire presence changed in a split second and he seemed to be apletely different person than before.
Chapter 57: Confrontation (3)
Chapter 57: Confrontation (3)
Gelgar and his subordinates looked at Simon who all of a sudden started behaving strangely. Since the changes incited by the pride fragment was incorporeal, they failed to notice the vast change that Simon had gone through at that moment.
Thinking that Simon was getting cold feet after all his attempts to intimidate them had failed, Gelgar smirked as he said ¡°Why? Are you afraid now that death is this close to you ahaha¡ but don¡¯t worry I will not kill you so easily, after all, I will make you go through so much pain and agony that even death will be a luxury to you¡±.
He had so much pent up frustration that if he just simply killed Simon, he wouldn¡¯t be able to appease it. He wanted to make the lowborn demon experience the consequence of incurring the fury of a demon higher ranked than himself. But more than that, he wanted to indulge himself with the twisted pleasure of bullying those who were weaker than him and see them pathetically grovel at his feet.
Mike and Berdughed at Gelgar¡¯s words while Gourd showed a brutal smile as he licked his fangs. One could tell that the Great Blood Ogre wasn¡¯t content even after massacring the entire ninth floor as he looked at Simon and the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse with obvious intent to battle.
Simon observed the bunch with clear impassive eyes, the way he was looking down at them was as if he was looking at a bunch of insects. After all of his emotions were consumed, he weirdly felt refreshed and an inborn sense of superiority was silently welling inside him.
Crick¡ Crack¡ He moved his neck and shoulders as cracking noises echoed out. His attitude disyed that Simon wasn¡¯t the least bit fazed by the words of Gelgar as he pointed a finger at him and beckoned ¡°No matter how many words I use against you, it will clearly be wasted. Only by actions can I prove that I will be the one deciding your fates. If you are prepared then let¡¯s begin¡±.
Overbearing and arrogant to the extreme, each word that came out of Simon was condescending andced with egotism. Totally different from how Simon usually conducts himself.
Simon¡¯s attitude that seemed to look down on him ticked off Gelgar even more and his tant words made his whole body tremble as mes of fury threatened to burst out of him.
He wanted to ruthlessly teach that lowborn upstart, who he should mess with and who he shouldn¡¯t. After all, he was a Demon Viscount with a Demon Earl bloodline ancestry, and never in his life has he been slighted by someone lower ranked than him.
Forget about slighting a higher ranked demon, if a lower rank demon even dares to look straight at the eyes of a demon higher ranked than itself, that demon would be instantly taught a lesson. That was how defined the rankings of the demon were, in that regard Simon was clearly an abnormality.
Just as Gelgar was about to step forward, the sound of air being torn apart could be heard as Gourd pounced over at Simon with an insane speed. the speed at which he flew towards Simon was so great that it seemed like he intended to ram himself onto him.
Simon did not even spare a nce at Gourd and it seemed like he would be rammed in the next second when a roar of a warhorse sounded out across the floor.
BOOOOMMM¡..
Before Gelgar and his subordinates couldprehend what had happened, arge sound was heard as something hit the marsh at a crazy speed. SPLASH¡ arge volume of water dyed scarlet with blood, rose into the air and showered like rain.
Their eyes erged as they saw Simon hovering in the same ce without even taking a step back but what was different was that a Demonic Warhorse was now standing in front of him. Nobody knew how it appeared there in an instant.
SPLASH¡ a figure leapt out from the marsh, when Gelgar and the duo saw who it was their eye bulged even further. Gourd came out of the marsh as he puked out a mouthful of blood, his body made a sorry figure.
The physique he was so proud of and which was previously impervious to any attacks made by lizardmen and pirodiles, now had two deeply caved hoof prints on his chest. Looking at the wound from which smoke wasing out, Gourd puked out another mouthful of blood.
He looked back at the proudly standing warhorse in front of Simon. Earlier during the sh, in that split second he caught the shadow of a warhorse flying at a breakneck speed and ramming him with its fiery hooves.
Everything took ce in a few seconds and before his mind could even ascertain what had happened, the ramming force so great that he was rebounded back and sshed into the marsh. Looking at the deeply caved wound in his chest, Gourd¡¯s eyes turned crimson as he roared and was just about to pounce back when.
¡°Enough. You are not its match in a direct confrontation¡± Gelgar spoke out as he waved his hand to stop him. Gourd who couldn¡¯t take this humiliation lying down, roared unconvincedly ¡°but Sir Gelgar¡ caNNot taKe ThiS¡ MusT FiGht iT¡±.
Gelgar frowned at those words and ordered ¡°I know you do not have brains but you can listen alright. What I¡¯m saying is not to fight it head-on, separate it from that lowborn demon and keep it upied for some time¡±.
Gourd had a conflicting face and hesitated for a while before finally nodding his head. Though he was still unconvinced after that brief fight, he cannot defy the order of his master.
Gelgar sighed internally as he squinted his eyes and stared at the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse standing near Simon while clenching his fist. Gourd who was a [C] rank Great Blood Ogre and whose level was only a little lower than him had enough power to evenly match him. However, even that Gourd was not a match for that warhorse.
¡ª-
Name:- Gourd
Race:- Great Blood Ogre
Level:- 247
Rank:- [C]
Stats:-
Strength:- 2341
Agility:- 2835
Endurance:- 2588
Defence:- 2341
Magic:- 2588
luck:- 2111
Skills:- Fire Magic Mastery, Earth Magic Mastery, Berserk, Super Strength, Flight, Super Defence, Super Endurance, Blunt Resistance, Sharp resistance, Sense presence, Regeneration, Razor-sharp ws, Intimidation, Rugged skin
Inherent Skills:- [Ogre Blood], [Insanity], [Bloodlust]
Chapter 58: Overwhelming Pride
Chapter 58: Overwhelming Pride
Leaving aside Gourd, even he would have a hard time fighting the [B] rank Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse. At that split second when Gourd was rammed by the hooves, even he was unable to fully capture the shadow of the demonic warhorse charging out.
So even if they coordinated together, Gelgar and his team would have a difficult time defeating the warhorse.
However, there was no reason for them to fight it in the first ce, they could leave it behind and just go for its master who ording to Gelgar was the weakest one. Once its master was gone, it would be masterless and Gelgar could easily subdue itter on.
That is why he wanted to separate them and after he defeated its master, there would be no more reason for it to fight them.
After he made his intention known, Gourd immediately started casting earth magic [Earth Spike Missiles] as sharp ten-meter long spikes started taking form out of thin air. These earth spikes were made of the very earth itself and looked very heavy and sturdy.
Shortly after all the earth spikes materialised, he flung all those earth spikes towards the warhorse and flew back himself as if trying to lure the warhorse into chasing after him. The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was a [B] tier subordinate and its intelligence was evenparable to a human.
If they thought that they could treat it like any other low intelligence monster, they were seriously underestimating it. Not only did it not bite into the trap, but it was also aware of what Gelgar and his subordinates were trying to do.
WHOOOSH¡
The earth spikes whistled forward and travelled at a great speed but before the attack could evene any closer, the Bloodthorn demonic Warhorse pped its draconic wings. Wild winds generated by just the p of its wings and directly assaulted the earth spike, crashing into them just like a tidal wave.
BOOOOMMM¡
A huge sound echoed out when the attacks met, as they disintegrated each other. Rock and debris apanied by wind flew everywhere after the collision and a cloud of dust obstructed the vision. After the dust storm settled, the warhorse could be seen proudly standing in the sky and without a scratch.
Watching this scene made Gelgar click his tongue. He had honestly underestimated its power and if the warhorse stuck to its master, Gelgar would have to go all out and even get ready to incur some heavy losses in the process. That was how guarded he was against the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse and the result of Analysis solidified his reasoning even more.
But who would have guessed that the source of headache would willingly separate itself and make it easier for him. Gelgar was pretty much assured that once the demonic warhorse was out of the picture, he could easily take out Simon.
Simon was well aware of what these bunch of ruffians were thinking, he patted the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse who was loyally guarding him, and told it to target the Great Blood Ogre. Its three pairs of demonic eyes stared at Simon who was disying an aura of overflowing confidence before nodding its head.
Human-like intelligence shed from the corners of its eyes and it instantly understood the intention of its master. Immediately after it flew away and started chasing after Gourd.
Simon looked at the departing figure of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse before shifting them towards the Gelgar trio. There was nopelling reason for him to fight together with his warhorse because if he did so, Simon felt like it wouldn¡¯t be a battle anymore.
It wasn¡¯t that Simon was being overconfident or underestimating his opponent. It was just that his sense of pride was telling him that he was superior to those in front of him and wouldn¡¯t allow him to give his enemy a reason for their defeat other than the pure difference in their strength. After his rank increased, Simon could clearly feel the vast difference between a Demon Baron and a Demon Viscount and was clearly aware of how powerful the enemy in front of him was.
Gelgar silently watched as the warhorse he was wary of, chase after Gourd, a smile of ridicule on his face. He didn¡¯t think that the warhorse would be stupid enough to leave his master alone. From his perspective, it looked quite intelligent; however, it seemed he was wrong.
Of course, he weed this development after all this made his work all the more easier. Hahaha heughed and was just about to spring into action when the two Demon Baron subordinates behind him spoke out.
¡°Sir Gelgar there is no reason for you to waste your time and stamina on a foolish demon such as him. He is clearly not worthy of dying by such grace¡± Mike said as he stepped out. Wings spread wide as he looked at Simon, battle intent shing in his eyes. He wanted to prove his usefulness to his master and this was precisely the opportunity he was looking for. How could they miss it?
¡°Allow us to battle him, we will show him his ce and torment him for all the losses and humiliation we have suffered until he begs for his death¡± Berd imed.
They looked at Gelgar as if asking for his permission. They were both peak Level 200 Demon Baron but since their bloodline wasn¡¯t pure enough, their growth was limited to their current level and would not go up any further.
No matter what, a newly born Demon Baron wouldn¡¯t be able to outgrow them. They who were born more than a few decades ago and spent all those years grinding to reach their current level. Not to mention that two of them were attacking him at once, which ensured that there would be no opening that he could exploit to regroup back with his warhorse.
¡ª-
Race:- Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse
Rank- [B]
level- 180
Stats:-
Strength:- 3640
Agility:- 3900
Endurance:- 3720
Defense:-3640
Magic:- 4100
luck:- 3630
Skills:- High-Speed Flight, me Magic Mastery, Dark Magic Mastery, Dark Magic Resistance, Detection, Super Agility, Super Strength, Super Defence, Super Endurance, Regeneration, Blunt Resistance, Piercing resistance, Enhanced senses, Steel scale, natural recovery
Inherent Skills:- Stampede, Hundred Mountains Charge, Bloodthorn
¡ª-
Chapter 59: Overwhelming Pride (2)
Chapter 59: Overwhelming Pride (2)
Gelgar thought for a while before nodding ¡°Make sure not to kill him, I want to take his life with my very own hands¡±. He said as he clenched his hands into fists. No matter what, he wanted to be the person delivering thest blow. The pleasure he got just from imagining it made his whole body shudder in delight.
Mike and Berd looked at each other before immediately flying towards Simon. They had a tacit understanding of each other and knew what the other party was thinking. This was a chance to show their master their usefulness and also an opportunity to amend for all the blunder they havemitted until now.
Mike and Berd stopped at a few meters distance from Simon, faced him, and said ¡°Consider yourself unlucky for incurring the wrath of Sir Gelgar¡ hehe. There will be no salvation for you even after death. If you want to curse someone, curse your inadequacy for not knowing what¡¯s better for you¡± Mikeughed sadistically.
They both were Demon Baron with impure bloodline; however, from his perspective, Simon seemed dunce and arrogant enough to offend a higher ranking demon.
Berd chipped in ¡°If you had sincerely bent your knees, pledged your loyalty, and gifted that warhorse of yours to Sir Gelgar at that time, you wouldn¡¯t have to go through all this suffering. Truly a demon with a subpar intelligence¡±. Berd shook his shoulders and sighed exaggeratedly. Since he had seen his master oppressing many other lower-ranking demons like Simon, he could only offer his pity.
Simon with his pitch-ck hair fluttering in the air, stared at them with his indifferent eyes and beckoned with his finger ¡°Cut the crap¡ I don¡¯t have the whole day to waste my time on weaklings like you. If you are prepared then get ready to meet your maker¡±. Simon who was under the influence of the pride fragment was unable to take even the slightest insult against him.
¡°What?¡ You still dare to talk like that¡± Mike said as Simon¡¯s words ignited a violent fury inside him. Had this demon truly gone mad? he wondered.
¡°Heh I see. He is so traumatized by the fear of death that his brain is not working properly¡± Berd snickered. Rationally, he thought that Simon should be afraid now that two Demon Baron like him were facing him together. However, to Berd¡¯s surprise, he didn¡¯t even see a trace of worry on him.
¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Our job is to torment him before throwing him in front of Sir Gelgar¡ Berd assist me¡± Mike immediately cut to the chase after seeing that he couldn¡¯t affect Simon verbally.
¡°Yeah¡±.
They immediately started coordinating before casting a fire magic [Crimson Fireball].
CRACKLE¡
A huge fireball tens of metersrge took form in the air. The air started distorting as a red hue spread all over the marsh, as the temperature on the floor started to rise. Just the resulting heatwave that spread across the surrounding was hot enough to make the marsh below boil as clouds of vapour started to rise.
[Crimson Fireball] was a novice tier fire magic, which had enough power to severely injure an Armoured drillman with their high defence or even kill them.
Not to mention that the magic was being cast by thebined might of two Demon Baron who had reached the peak of their level. The resulting magic had more than quadruple the power of the original and was double the size. Looking at the fireball, they believed that this magic could even severely injure a Demon Baron until he could no longer stand.
Hahaha, Mikeughed as he roared ¡°You will pay for your arrogance and all the humiliation you had us suffer up until now¡±. How could he forget all the traps that the demon hadid out for them? It was only because of him that his master Gelgar looked down on him.
MIke and Berd nodded at each other before pushing the magic towards Simon with all their might. The huge [Crimson Fireball] that looked just like a miniature sun, flew over bringing along an intense heat that seemed like it could scorch anything and everything.
Gelgar watched as the fireball which had enough might to even make him serious for a moment, engulf Simon within. BAAANNNGG¡ the fireball contracted before lighting up violently and exploding.
The energy storm was so great that huge waves rolled across the whole marsh. me spread all over the area in a few dozen meters, scorching the air and the marsh along with it. A powerful shockwave spread from the epicentre assaulted everyone along with an intense heatwave.
BANG¡
Gourd who was sent flying into the marsh again by the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse surfaced from the water and watched the fireball explode onto Simon in delight.
Mike and Berd who were sent a few meters back by the aftershock reeled in satisfaction at the magic¡¯s might. Just when they thought that the demon was seriously injured, they sensed a strong presence from the ce where the fireball had exploded.
They looked at each other before suddenly turning their head towards the centre of the devastation, shock stered in their faces.
Amidst the mes, Simon was still standing in the same ce, without even taking a step back. His clothes were mostly burned but other than that there was not even a scratch on his smooth skin. Even after getting sted by thebined might of MIke and Berd, not even a trace of wound appeared on his body.
mes still lingered over his body without doing the slightest damage and added another depth to his fierceness. He clenched and unclenched his hands as he felt the power surging through his whole body. ¡°So this is the power of a Demon Viscount¡± he examined his body that took the full brunt of the magic and was still perfectly fine even after that and couldn¡¯t help but feel exhrated.
As he had expected, the gulf between a Demon Baron and a Demon Viscount was a big one that was difficult to bridge with just skills alone. Even if he stood here the whole day, Simon guessed that Mike and Berd wouldn¡¯t be able to harm him the slightest.
Chapter 60: Overwhelming Pride (3)
Chapter 60: Overwhelming Pride (3)
After feeling the power that was brimming inside him, he arched his eyebrow and looked towards the two Demon Baron before stating. ¡°After all that bark, is this all you have got?¡±, he shook his head andmented ¡°pathetic¡±.
If it was before his rank increased, Simon definitely wouldn¡¯t have chosen to take the attack head-on and would have instead tried to dodge it. However, what Simon didn¡¯t know was that even a Demon Viscount wouldn¡¯t have taken the attack lightly, his rank up was clearly unusual and the ridiculous increase in his power after was even more so.
Simon spread his wings to their limit ¡°Very well then, I believe it is my turn now¡± utilising his improved skill [High-Speed Flight] his body disappeared just as his voice rang out. Leaving behind a sonic boom in his wake, he quickly covered the distance between them. A whistling sound could be heard as his huge bat-like wings pierced through the wind barrier.
WHOOSH¡
Mike who couldn¡¯t believe what he saw said in a fluster ¡°What¡ You¡how did you¡ burgh¡± but before he could evenplete his sentence, he was punched in the guts and was sent flying into the marsh with a bang. His eyes failed to register the insane speed at which Simon moved and he didn¡¯t even know how he got attacked before everything started spinning and he smashed into the marsh.
Berd who was still in a daze after seeing theirbined attack failed to even scratch their target, couldn¡¯tprehend how Simon had appeared in front of them like a ghost. His irises contracted to their limit after seeing that Simon was already upon him.
Time seemed to halt to a crawl as he looked on with wide eyes as Simon¡¯s foot came smashing down on his face. CRACK¡ A crack sound was heard as the foot caved on his face and sent him plummeting into the ground. His nasal cavity was smashed and blood continuously trickled down from it.
SPLASH¡ SPLASH¡
Two shadows smashed into the marsh at a rapid speed and discedrge volumes of mud and water that had been dyed crimson with blood into the air.
After sending the two of them flying, Simon shed a cheeky smile and without giving them a moment of respite, he shot towards the two of them again.
¡°Bfffft¡ uwwargh. Huff huff¡ what just happened¡±ing out of the water, Mike looked around as he asked. The sh a moment ago was so fast that his brain failed toprehend what happened as shock and disbelief was stered on his face.
¡°Blurgh¡ urgh¡± a sound came from near him as he hurriedly turned towards it and saw Berd holding his face which had caved in, blood was spilling from all of his orifices.
¡°W-What Berd are you alright?¡± Mike was just about to fly over when he saw Simon shooting towards them at an unbelievable speed from the corner of his eyes.
¡°You, what are nni¡ gugh¡± without even getting toplete his sentence, his face was squarely grabbed by Simon and flung around like a sack of potatoes. From the edges of his vision, Mike saw the demon he had been underestimating all along, shing a wicked smile while baring his fangs. Simon had an expression of absolute joy as he felt the power surging through every corner of his body.
He grabbed Mike¡¯s face with his palm and flung him towards Berd who was still lurching in pain from the kick he delivered earlier. BANG¡ CREAK¡ a muffled sound rang out as the two were sted to the side.
Painful noises and wailing sounds rang out across the whole floor as the two of them reeled in pain.
Mike was holding his head as he screamed out loud ¡°Aarrgghh¡±. His head was bleeding and was in so much pain that it felt as if someone had cracked his skull open. Touching behind his head, he could feel that something was wedged inside his skull as blood continuously came out of it.
On the other hand, Berd¡¯s face which got caved quite a lot after getting kicked in the face deformed even more after getting smashed by Mike¡¯s head.
His front teeth were all missing and right now his face was in so much pain that he wanted to curse out loud but what came out of his mouth were instead his remaining teeth and blood.
Simon did not give them any time to collect themselves. After sending them flying to the side, he opened his inventory and brought the Crimson zing me de out. A two meter long and three inches wide piercing scarlet de appeared as if tearing through the fragment of space andnded on his hand.
The moment the de appeared all the eyes present inside the floor gathered onto it as a zing heat so powerful that it could even scorch one¡¯s soul, radiated out of it. ¡°W-what is that sword?¡± Gelgar asked in a trembling voice, even the scattered heat emitting out of the sword was enough to make his soul shudder.
Holding the sword in his hand, Simon felt his stats rising drastically from the buff provided by it. The sword bestowed an additional +600 to all his stats and +1000 to magic added to his increased stats after the rank up, Simon felt invincible.
Feeling the power rising in his body, he drew the sword and brandished it in a full swing towards the dumbfounded duo. The crimson de of the sword lit up in a piercing light that was so blinding that the very floor brightened for a second and wherever the de passed through, a crimson line would be left behind as if shing through space itself. if one looked carefully they would be able to see the very fragment of space was scorched in a straight line.
Mike and Berd looked on with their wide-open eyes as the crimson sword drew an arc across their body making a neat line. Everything happened in a few seconds and the beautiful light of the de was forever imprinted in their memories.
¡ª-
Crimson zing Infernal Sword ¨C Rank [A] ¨C Refinement Level 1- All Stats +600 ¨C Magic +1000
Skills:- Infernal Magic Mastery, Sword Mastery, Super Cutting Enhancement, Super Piercing Enhancement, Immtion, Crimson zing Infernal Body.
Chapter 61: Might of the Advanced Magic
Chapter 61: Might of the Advanced Magic
The sword drew a beautiful wide arc as it cut open the space itself. With their trembling eyes, Mike and Berd saw the marsh behind them cleanly split into two.
A crimson cut spread across the marsh and divided it into two, smoke continually rising from it showcasing its intense heat. mes started surging inside the duo¡¯s body until the cut made by the sword erupted with crimson light bisecting them into two.
Their eyes slowly lost focus and became dim before their bodies split in half, blood spraying like a fountain as they fell into the marsh forever bing the nourishment of the dungeon. Even until the moment they died, they were in disbelief, unresigned to their fate.
Gourd who was fighting the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse not far away, kept getting battered and beaten by it no matter how he tried to fight back. ¡°UAAAAAH [Fire Breath]¡± he opened his jaws wide as tongues of fire sprayed out towards the warhorse.
The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse swiftly dodged the fire breath and closed the gap before using its crimson antler-like horns to stab Gourd. The horns on its head were its real weapon so powerful that even those higher rank than it could be pierced without any resistance. However, the real use of the crimson antlers was its Bloodthorn ability.
Realising the danger within the horns, Gourd¡¯s instinct screamed at him to dodge the attack. He hurriedly pped his wings and moved his tanky frame out of the trajectory of the attack and quickly backed off.
After distancing himself from the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse, he sighed in relief. The crimson horn of the warhorse was giving him a bad feeling and his senses continuously alerted him of danger whenever he looked at it. Though Gourd did not know if they would be able to pierce his rugged skin, he sure as hell did not want to experiment it on his body.
Not after there were two additional hoof prints on his skin.
Even though he felt indignant to admit it, he was not its match in a direct confrontation. His repeated failures to evennd a blow on it, told him that. Even though Gourd was not its match, he was still unresigned to just back out. He was from the ogre race which was known for their powerful physique and ferocity.
Not to mention he was a variant much more powerful than the average person from his tribe. His sense of pride for being someone from the ogre race would never allow him to run away from a battle.
Just when Gourd thought that he had sessfully dodged the horns, a tinge of pain suddenly assaulted him. Looking at the area when the pain originated from, to his shock he immediately discovered a hole had been pierced in his abdomen.
Strange crimson markings appeared around the wound; however, no blood leaked out even though there was a big hole now in his abdomen. ¡®How is this possible, I clearly dodged the attack previously¡¯ he thought as he looked at the warhorse before widening his eyes to their limit.
¡°what the hell is that?¡± Gourd couldn¡¯t help butment ck-jawed.
The crimson antlers of the Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse moved like a whip and appeared like a sentient being that had a life of its own. The antlers moved as if alive and reverted back to their original form.
While he was in a daze, two screams rang out across the whole floor. Turning around, Gourd watched as the two Demon Barons who were fighting Simon were reduced into nothing but beaten dogs howling in agony as they licked their wounds.
Before the duo could even organise themselves, he saw the enemy holding a crimson sword that appeared in his hands tearing through the space. The de lit up with a brilliant crimson light so mighty that even gave him a sense of dread that was born from his soul as the enemy swung it in a wide arc, cleaving Mike and Berd along with the marsh in half. The scene was so terrifying that it left Gourd in a state of disbelief.
¡°E-Eh? Wha¡ you¡ what¡ puah¡± while he was distracted, he left a tiny opening. Utilising that, the demonic warhorse pierced him with its bloodthorns once again. Additional wounds appeared on his body but strangely no blood spurted out. How was that possible? his body was not bleeding anymore.
Gelgar was so baffled by the scene that unfolded one after the other that he couldn¡¯t believe it no matter how many times he rubbed his eyes. How can that lowborn demon be so strong¡ wasn¡¯t he a mere Demon Baron? Even when he used Analysis on him, it ended up giving him no information at all.
¡°Analysis was blocked?¡± Gelgar thought that he was going insane. After entering this goddamn dungeon, everything that happened didn¡¯t make sense anymore.
His mind spun around as he saw the corpses of his two subordinates that have served him for so many years, split in half as they fell into the marsh. Bing one with the many corpses that littered there.
¡°W-what happened¡? What did you do?¡± without even knowing, he screamed out loud. If only Gelgar could set aside his prejudice and sense the power released by Simon, you would have understood that Simon was no mere Demon Baron. However, his mind was already disorganised and wasn¡¯t lucid enough to think clearly.
Simon arched his eyebrows as he finally turned around to look at Gelgar ¡°What happened you ask?¡±, a crimson light shed on his eyes as he said, ¡°the same thing that is gonna happen to you¡±.
Gelgar had an incredulous look that told that he was unwilling or unable believe what happened. He bit on his lips as blood flowed inside his mouth and assaulted his sense with a taste of iron. With bulging eyes and trembling body, he pointed at Simon and barked out loud ¡°What did you do? What kind of trickery did you use? You lowborn demon what was that sword¡±.
There was no way a lowborn Demon Baron like him could defeat his subordinates in a fair fight. That¡¯s right, he must have used some underhanded methods to kill them like those mushrooms. Gelgar who suffered repeated setbacks in the hands of Simon was about to have a mental breakdown.
Chapter 62: Might of the Advanced Magic (2)
Chapter 62: Might of the Advanced Magic (2)
Gelgar was born of a Demon Earl mother and a Demon Marquess father but since he inherited far less pure bloodline than his siblings, he was cast aside at a young age.
Unlike humans, Demon can be birthed the proper way and also from the rich manas of the world.
For many years Gelgar was bullied by his siblings who had a higher growth rate than him and had also inherited the bloodline from their parents strongly. Compared to his limited growth, the height that they could reach was far greater.
One by one his siblings swiftly climbed up the ranks and left him in the dust as their growth elerated. He on the other hand was marked as the loser of the family.
His siblings received the love and care of his parents and he on the other side was seen as the burden. Even the level-up crystals he received were biased and inferiorpared to his siblings who enjoyed a bigger and superior share. The attention they received was what Gelgar yearned for.
Due to the constant harassment and bullying, his personality slowly started getting twisted, and as a result, he ran away from his family. In the past few decades, Gelgar made a new dungeon using his demon core, ckmailed and killed the lower-ranking demons before plundering their resources.
In a way, he was taking out all of his vexation and frustration out on the demon who were lower ranked than him. Gelgar knew that a lower-ranked demon wouldn¡¯t raise their heads in front of him thus he suppressed them unrestrainedly.
He even stole and coerced the subordinates of other demons for fun and amusement and Simon was just another prey caught up in his scheme or so he thought.
He couldn¡¯tprehend what had happened in thosest few moments. No, it would be right to say that he refused to believe what he just saw as everything was out of his expectation.
Gelgar had this weird feeling lugging at his heart from the start of this dungeon descend. And finally¡.
Simon stared at him indifferently and said in a tone that would give chills to anyone listening. ¡°You ask too many questions¡ the answer is quite clear, you are going to die that is what is going to happen¡±. Holding the Crimson zing me Sword in hand, a terrifying aura emitted out of him.
Listening to Simon¡¯s words, Gelgar finally blew up his fuse; after all, he could only take so much. Snarling in rage, his hair was dishevelled and the air of nobility that he carried himself with, was thrown out of the window as he roared out.
¡°Who do you think I am?¡ I am a Demon Viscount with a pure bloodline, a lowly demon like you dares to speak so outrageously to me, a higher ranking demon. Unforgivable¡± Yelling hysterically, his words were filled with bloodlust.
BOOM¡
Like a burst dam, Gelgar released all his strength as a shockwave spread across the whole floor. Wild winds raged around him and his aura spiked up all of a sudden.
He gave a hoarse roar as his muscles started inting, veins bulged all across his face, an effect of the [Berserk] skill. Before long, his body became a towering frame more than five meters in height.
[Berserk] was a skill that drastically increases one¡¯s stats for a short duration of time. However, the repercussions one suffered was also dire. Once activated [Berserk] continuously drains the Magic Point (MP) of the user and ces a heavy burden on their body.
Gelgar never expected to utilise this skill against an opponent he previously thought was beneath him.
Feeling the rise in power, Gelgar startedughing ¡°Hehahaha look at our power difference. The likes of you want to defeat me? Don¡¯t make meugh¡±. His face was masked with madness as tides of killing intent surged out of him.
Immediately after his voice rang out, Gelgar started casting earth magic [Earth Spike Missiles] and wind magic [Wind sh]. Both were novice tier spells.
Sharp howling winds carrying terrifying sharpness and huge earth spikes started taking form in the air. After a few seconds, dozens of earth spikes and wind des materialised before flying towards Simon at a rapid speed.
Gelgar learned two forms of novice tier magic wind and earth furthermorebined with the might of a Demon Viscount, the power disyed was far greater than what a Demon Baron could output.
However, the way he used magic was too barbaric and the output magic showed no signs of amalgamating with one another.
Simon watched as the storm of attacks approached him but he did not try to dodge nor get out of the range of the attack. Instead, he chose to stand his ground. If Gelgar wanted to pit heads, he found the wrong opponent.
Wild sharp winds raged as they brought along pirs of thick sharp earth spikes and struck towards Simon with a momentum of a tidal wave. Though crude, the magic released by a level 291 Demon Viscount in his berserk mode couldn¡¯t be underestimated.
With a calm face, he brandished his sword once again. But this time, he activated the one and only advance magic that the sword bestowed. ¡°Infernal Magic Mastery- [Infernal Heatwave]¡± as he shouted out the name, the edges of the de erupted in sparks by the friction and a blinding golden light covered the whole ninth floor.
Infernal Magic Mastery; the advance tier of fire magic was finally going to show its might.
An extreme heat iparable to anything before erupted out of the sword as it met the opposing attack head-on.
BOOOOOOMMM¡
A thunderous sound resounded as if a volcano had erupted spread across the whole floor as it assaulted the eardrums of everyone present.
Like moltenva, the advanced magic released by the sword vaporised everything. The howling winds, the earth pir everything melted in an instant. There was no sh as the infernal magic devoured everything one sidedly.
¡ª-
Name:- Gelgar
Race:- Demon Viscount
Level:- 291
Stats:-
Strength:- 2173
Agility:- 2700
Endurance:- 2464
Defence:- 2250
Magic:- 2700
Luck:- 1700
Skills:- Earth Magic Mastery, Wind Magic Mastery, Flight, Berserk, Sense Presence, Body Enhancement, Regeneration, Blunt Resistance, Cut Resistance, Fire resistance, Super Defence, Super Strength, Super Endurance, Super Agility
Inherent Skills:- [Dungeon Creation]
Chapter 63: Might of the Advanced Magic (3)
Chapter 63: Might of the Advanced Magic (3)
In front of the might of the infernal magic, the novice tier magic that Gelgar dished out was overwhelmed in an instant. Like a truck ramming into a block of rotten wood, everything that obstructed the infernal magic was vaporized, leaving nothing behind.
The might of the advanced magic was overwhelming as it easily swept everything. However, it was just the beginning.
After overpowering the opposing attack, the momentum of the infernal magic [Infernal Heatwave] didn¡¯t even drop a notch as it charged towards its next target Gelgar.
Gelgar was shaken to the core by the might of infernal magic and was in a stunned state.
BANG¡
Realising that the attack wasing towards him, Ggr hurriedly tried to get out of the range of the attack but failed to dodge in time due to the pressure enveloping him. The battering force alone was so great that he felt like a huge mountains thousands of meters in size was pressuring him.
Though he tried to shift his body out of the way of the attack, He was still hit by the edges of the magic. The attack struck him and continued on towards the marsh.
BOOOOOOM¡
The entire floor seemed to tremble at this moment, mightly waves rolled and tumbled across the whole marsh.
Scalding smoke rose into the air for hundreds of meters and burned down the faraway trees. Half of the water in the marsh had disappeared in an instant.
¡°Huff¡ huff¡¡± Simon who was previously as calm as the sea was now breathing in a ragged manner, perspiration rolling down his body and the manas around him in was in disorder.
Infernal magic the advanced tier form of the fire magic wasn¡¯t something a Demon Viscount like him should have ess to. If it wasn¡¯t for the Crimson zing me Sword bestowing him with such a magic, there was no way Simon would be able to use it in his current rank.
Reaching advanced tier in any form of magic symbolises pinnacle power of that level. Plus Simon was still hanging on the intermediate tier of the fire magic and had a long way before he could reach the advanced tier.
Furthermore, it was more so unimaginable for a Demon Viscount to even use infernal magic as the skills and manas required were farplex than what a Demon Viscount could output.
¡°Huff¡ huff¡ huff¡ damn it¡ it ate more than half of my MP in one go, it seems that I can¡¯t use it more than once¡± the infernal magic [Infernal Heatwave] took a ridiculous amount of MP to cast which made it impossible for the current him to cast it more than once. Since his MP was drained severely by that one attack, he felt a headache and his mind was dizzy.
More than half of his HP was gone and his aura had dropped by a lot. But he was quite satisfied by the might of the attack despite it being quite taxing to his body.
While he was contemting about the magic he dished out, Gelgar flew out of the boiling marsh. His clothes was all but torn, skin burned everywhere and a cut across his back, that was burned quite badly.
At this moment he had a very hideous appearance as he wailed in agony, his eyes were filled with dread and despair at the attack that almost took his life.
Gelgar was severely injured. If it wasn¡¯t for him shifting his body at thest moment, he wouldn¡¯t juste out of it as severely injured. Just thinking about thest attack, his soul quaked.
If more attacks like the previous onese hurling towards him, was there any reason for him to continue this battle? Fortunately for him, Simon was unable to dish out another attack of that calibre.
He looked at Simon who still appeared as calm as before and whose presence was so great that it filled him with terror. He pointed at Simon before roaring like a maniac ¡± you¡ you¡ you¡ aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh, you are not a Demon Baron¡ what is with that sword, who are youuu??¡±.
His voice cracked at the end of his sentence and even Gelgar himself did not know whether he was still sane or not.
Simon¡¯s indifferent eyes did not have any pity on them, that was because after reincarnating in this world, he was reminded time and time again that strength reigned supreme here. And if he did not want to be squashed like an ant, he had to increase his strength.
If Simoncked the strength in this battle, he would be on the receiving end of their attacks, suppressed and humiliated. Additionally, given Gelgar¡¯s character, his fate would be much more worse than just simply dying.
Therefore he did not show any pity for his enemies as his every attack was ruthless and filled with killing intent. These past few months in the Ghastlky Winding Forest where everything wanted to kill him, built his character.
The way Gelgar spoke and looked down on others, Simon guessed that his enemy had suppressed many demons before just like what he did to him before taking all of their possessions. A person like that disappearing would be like doing a favour to this world.
Just when he was about to charge towards Gr whose mind was in disarray, another miserable shriek sounded across the floor. ¡°Aaarrggghhh¡± turning around he saw the huge frame of the Great Blood Ogre impaled by the crimson horns of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse.
Gourd was besieged by holes all over his body and a strange crimson markings appeared to link all of them. Peculiarly though, no blood flowed from those wounds as his previous crimson body was now a pale ash grey.
It seemed as if all of his blood was sucked dry out of him and in contrast the crimson horn of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse shined brightly. Mysterious auras surrounded those crimson antlers before entering inside the warhorse strengthening it even more.
Gourd was in such horrendous pain that he begged for salvation and after struggling for a while, his body stopped moving and fell from the air. Thest of Gelgar¡¯s subordinates that intruded the dungeon, the level 247 Great Blood Ogre was now dead.
Chapter 64: Rewards
Chapter 64: Rewards
Gourd¡¯s lifeless body which was riddled with holes slowly fell onto the marsh. His dim eyes looked at Gelgar and his mouth moved as if trying to tell him something but ultimately failed as thest of his energy left him and his entire body became motionless. Slowly his body submerged and disappeared from view eternally.
It seemed that Gourd was trying to say something during hisst breath.
A notification rang out in Simon¡¯s mind as the window disyed that the Great Blood Ogre was now dead.
[Great Blood Ogre, Gourd died, acquired 7,500,000 DP]
Looking at the amount of DP he acquired, Simon wasn¡¯t very surprised as the Demon Baron duoted him each 3,000,000 for a total of 6,000,000 DP. The Great Blood Ogre being a [C] rank, far outssed the duo in terms of strength and growth. Thus the DP he would provide after his death would be much higher than the likes of Mike and Berd.
From the beginning of this dungeon war, Simon had been earning every hour and from their deaths. The DP he amassed was so great that someone like Gelgar would be thunderstruck to see the total amount.
That added with the DP acquired from Gourd was just the cherry on top.
Never even in his wildest dream would Gelgar have imagined that instead of harming Simon, he had rather helped him benefit even more. A major chunk of his DP was Gelgar¡¯s generous gift.
Gelgar¡¯s mind was already in disarray as he watched thest of his subordinates die at the hands of his enemy. Gourd was the [C] rank subordinate he summoned from the [Summon] option of his dungeon menu a decade ago.
His dungeon was the lowest rank dungeon and hardly produced any dungeon emblem over the years. And the only emblem his dungeon ever produced was used on summoning Gourd. Losing him was equal to losing the guardian of the dungeon.
Gelgar wasn¡¯t confident enough that his dungeon would produce another emblem through which he could summon another [C] rank subordinate.
Blood rushed onto his head as the little bit of sanity he was holding onto disappeared. The delicate string that was holding onto his rationality finally snapped.
ROOAAARRR¡
A grating voice that seemed toe from the depths of hell sounded out. Gelgar roared like an angered beast as all the reasoning flew out of his mind and his eyes turned entirely crimson. His body which was already buffed by the [Berserk] skill expanded even more as the power inside him wreaked havoc.
Like a maddened beast that only knows how to ughter, he charged towards Simon with a momentum of a mountain as if trying to smash him into bits even at the cost of his life.
¡°¡..¡± Simon on the other hand looked at the current Gelgar and snorted. When Gelgar had survived the infernal magic, even he was surprised. The next moment his eyes turned gloomy thinking that it would be hard to achieve victory. However, who would have thought that Gelgar would sink his own boat.
Now that his rationality was gone, he became much less of a threat than before. A beast that only knows how to kill brutishly, had no way of defeating Simon.
With a wild charge, Gelgar started throwing a storm of punches at him. BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ Each of his punches contained an extreme amount of energy and produced sonic booms whenever he punched out. Simon used the skill [Sword Mastery] to easily deflected all the attacks and countered with a sh of his own.
RIPP¡
Like a cloth being ripped apart, the sword shed through the defence of a Demon Viscount and sent Gelgar reeling back. The Crimson zing me Sword was a [A] rank weapon, the edges of the de glimmered with unparalleled sharpness.
Even without using the skill provided by the sword, it was powerful enough topletely neglect the defence stat of Demon Viscount. Even Simon felt his skin tingling whenever he looked at the sheen of the de.
Drip¡ Drip¡ Arge gash dripping with blood appeared on the already burned flesh of Gelgar that made him look even more horrendous. But without even mending to his wound or lurching in pain, he charged at Simon once again.
Just like a beast that wouldn¡¯t stop before killing his enemy, Gelgarpletely disregarded his life as he forsook all his defence to attack continuously.
Wild attacks that had no intent other than to tear his opponent apart was continuously dished out by Gelgar. [Earth Spike Missiles], [Wind sh], [Wind Cutter], [Earth Boulders]¡ he used a barrage of magic one after another without reserving any of his mana.
BOOM¡ BOOM¡ BOOM¡
The floor quaked and trembled wherever the magded. It was as if the only thing he wanted right now was to destroy and devastate everything. Huge earthen boulders, sharp earthen pirs apanied by piercing winds rained down across the ninth floor for hundreds of meters.
The scene was as if a great cmity had urred as the entire marsh toppled and tumbled. The might of maddened Demon Viscount was on full disy. Although Simon was aware that Gelgar wouldn¡¯t be able to keep this outburst of attack for long, but before that his ninth floor would be wrecked. He wasn¡¯t just going to let Gelgar rum rampant on his dungeon.
Utilising his Gale Magic Mastery and his [High-Speed Flight] skill, Simon cut a path through the onrushing storm of attacks and appeared in front of Gelgar.
The moment Simon appeared, a wild jab was already on its way towards him, but he swiftly sidestepped the attack and the punch prated through his afterimage. Swinging his crimson sword vertically, he immediately cut apart Gelgar¡¯s outstretched hand.
SHIIING¡
ROAR¡ Blood spurted out like a fountain from the sliced hand as Gelgar gave out a beastly roar and immediately threw a kick towards Simon. Crimson eyes masked with madness and insanity, locked into Simon. Even when his hand got chopped, Gelgar didn¡¯t show any signs of being in pain nor waking up from his trance.
Just when the kick came flying towards him, the de in his hand lit with crimson light as the sword and the kick met.
SPURT¡
Chapter 65: Rewards (2)
Chapter 65: Rewards (2)
SPURT¡
As the attacks met, there was seemingly no resistance. Like a hot knife cutting through butter, the sword swiftly sliced Gelgar¡¯s leg.
Blood sprayed like a fountain painting a beguiling picture.
What surprised Simon was that even after losing a foot and a hand; Gelgar showed no sign of pain or difort. Right after losing his foot, Gelgar swung his other remaining hand towards him.
Simon who was startled for a moment, hurriedly defended with his arms crossed. The fist that came flying had an enormous amount of energy poured into it.
BANG¡ Like a cannonball, Simon rocketed back and smashed into the marsh. The speed of his fall was so great that a huge column of water rose into the air showcasing the might behind the punch.
Though Gelgar paid a great price by losing his sanity, the strength he acquired was no joke. ¡°Pfff..ugh¡ huff¡ huff¡ damn it. A level difference of 79 is no joke¡± Simon spurted out a mouthful of blood and his entire arm became numb after he received the impact from the punch.
It was like a ten-ton hammer had hit him on the hand. Fortunately, his rank had increased to a Demon Viscount, if he was still in his previous rank, even his bones would have been crushed by that blow.
Even if Simon used the weapons and other secondary items to temporarily boost his stats, in the end, he was still a level 212 Demon Viscount. Whereas Gelgar was at level 291, an all-out attack from him still shaved a marginal amount of his HP.
The weapon can boost his strength but it was ultimately a borrowed power and not his own. Feeling the difference in their strength, Simon was once again reminded how important strength was. If he wasn¡¯t lucky and upgraded a [A] rank weapon, he wouldn¡¯t have been Gelgar¡¯s match.
Collecting his thoughts with [Thought Processing], Simon fixated all his attention on his enemy. Currently, Gelgar had a menacing aura around him and a pressure so solid that it bore down on everyone flooded out of his body.
Even if his opponent outssed him in levels, he could still bridge the difference with his weapon and his skills.
Simon inhaled a deep breath of air and focused. His mind became clear and all the unnecessary thoughts disappeared. ¡°Body enhancement, sword mastery, super cutting enhancement, super piercing enhancement, super strength..haaaaaahhhh..¡±.
His veins bulged, muscles trembled as a huge amount of energy that threatened to destroy his body circted within him. No matter how overwhelming the energy was, Simon still resiliently endured it all with his immense willpower and charged towards Gelgar.
Activating these many skills at once took an immense toll on his body as blood started dripping from his nose and mouth. Since he didn¡¯t have enough Magic Points (MP) to dish out another attack of that level, he could only use the risky manner of activating all of his skills at once to bolster his prowess.
The enemy clearly had the intention of taking him out along with him. How can he go down just like that? There was no way Simon was willing to die here.
With a p of his wide wings, he appeared a few meters above Gelgar and dished out the attack he once used to overpower and make swiss cheese out of the Killer Worker Bees.
¡°[Thousand Piercing Sword Storm] Haaaaaaaaaa¡± with an empowering shout, Simon hacked at Gelgar innumerable times with an immense speed that was impossible to see with naked eyes. Thousands of crimson de shadows rained down on Gelgar like a storm.
The attack packed an enormous amount of might plus with the unparalleled sharpness of the Crimson zing me Sword, there was no defence that cannot be pierced.
Gelgar who was akin to a beast was unbothered by the onrushing storm of des and charged towards Simon with a loud roar. ¡°A beast that has no mind of its own is no longer threatening¡± Simonmented after he saw that Gelgar willingly jumped into the storm of attacks.
RIP¡ RIP¡ RIP¡ RIP¡
The terrifying power behind each sword shadows easily surpassed any defence a Demon Viscount could put up and tore through Gelgar¡¯s body. Even before he could reach Simon, hundreds of sword shadows dotted his body full of holes.
¡°GUUuaarrgghh¡± a disturbingly loud roar of anguish finally came out of Gelgar¡¯s mouth as his life was swiftly being drained away amidst the rain.
The terrifying might behind the [Thousand Piercing Sword Storm] did not stop there, after piercing through Gelgar¡¯s body, they rained on the marsh with a momentum of a meteor shower.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOOM¡ frightening sounds continuously echoed out across the whole floor for a while as the whole ninth floor trembled. The very topography of the floor changed as the skill devastated everywhere.
Simon was dumbfounded. he was trying to minimise the damage dealt to the floor, but he ended up dealing most of the damage himself. Amidst the wreckage and clouds of dust, a notification silently popped up in front of him.
[Ding] even without reading the message, Simon knew that it ringing indicated that all of this was over. He was able to save his dungeon, save his life. He had won the dungeon war. Just as the realisation hit him, the repercussions from activating all of the skills at once came flooding onto his body and he was barely able to stay conscious.
After the onrushing storms of attacks settled and clouds of dust blew away, a disfigured body appeared at the bottom of the marsh. The figure waspletely indiscernible and was missing all of its limbs. Even if one examined the body carefully, no one would be able to link it with Gelgar.
Looking at the figure, Simon sighed in relief as a flood of exhaustion overtook him, and the strange feeling that overwhelmed him swiftly disappeared.
[Demon Viscount Gelgar died, acquired 8,250,000 DP]
¡°Huff..huff..huff¡ ugh¡± without any strength left to support his flight, his body rapidly fell below. But before he could hit the ground, he was swiftly caught by something. Opening his heavy eyelids, Simon found himself on the back of his demonic warhorse before dizziness overwhelmed him and he passed out.
Chapter 66: Rewards (3)
Chapter 66: Rewards (3)
It was only after a long time that Simon opened his eyes. Looking around, he found himself on top of arge rock as he propped himself up, he scouted his surroundings.
As he stood up, he realised that he was still on the ninth floor. The next second his eyes fell on his body only to find that his wounds had mostly healed and his depleted strength had recovered for the most part. Simon was amazed by the healing ability of a Demon Viscount.
Even the dungeon floor that had suffered so much damage during their sh, was rapidly mending itself. The floor, the topography¡ everything was reconstructing itself at a speed visible to the eye.
Calling the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse who was guarding him by his side, Simon swiftly teleported to the twentieth floor which was also the floor where the dungeon core was located.
The [Dungeon] option of the dungeon¡¯s menu not only allowed him to see all of the floors, but it also allowed the dungeon to swiftly teleport in any of the floors he desired.
Arriving on the twentieth floor he immediately flumped himself on his jade sofa. Even though all his wounds have mostly healed, his body was still too exhausted after that fight. Rxing his sore body, Simon looked at all the notifications that had appeared while he had passed out.
Looking at all those notifications, Simon was quite excited. Winning the dungeon war meant that his dungeon was strong enough to fend off enemies at the level of Gelgar. That in itself said that he and his dungeon was making progress.
[One of the hidden achievements for increasing dungeon rank has been cleared. Dungeon rank has increased from [E] -> [D] ] notification that indicated that the Dungeon¡¯s rank had increased was the most eye-catching one.
[New functions and new listings in the shop have been added. Maximum floors that can be added to the dungeon have increased to fifty. As the rank of the dungeon increases, new functions and listings would be added to the dungeon menu].
His efforts had finally paid off. The rank of his dungeon had finally increased from [E] to [D]. If anybody knew that the rank of a newly emerged dungeon had gone up in less than three months, they would be absolutely gobsmacked.
It takes dozens of years for the rank of the dungeon to go up and the time period increases as the rank of the dungeon go up. A newly emerged dungeon whose rank had increased in merely three months have never appeared in the history of Althaea.
Reading the contents of the system, Simon hurriedly opened his dungeon menu. But before he could explore the changes that had been added, his eyes were inadvertently attracted to the huge amount of DP that he had collected in these past few days.
The total amount of DP that he had with him was a staggering 454,955,000 DP. The amount was so great that Simon was dazed for a few seconds. The DP he used to earn before, seemed like pocket changepared to the DP he earned now.
Simon opened all the notifications that had popped up before quickly founding the source of the ie.
After defeating Gelgar, he had won the dungeon war and as a result, he was rewarded with a 100,000,000 DP along with a skill and an increase in the dungeon¡¯s rank.
Before today, Simon thought that the reason behind Gelgar starting a dungeon war was because of the [B] rank warhorse of his. However, it seems he was wrong. It all made sense now that he thought about it.
To start a dungeon war, one needed a huge amount of DP. It would be a huge waste to start a war just to get the subordinate of the other party if there was no other catch.
Not only was Gelgar eyeing his Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse, he even had his eyes on the reward that one could get after winning a dungeon war.
What Simon failed to realise was that Gelgar had it all nned. He might even have seeded if it was any other Demon Baron. Nheless in this world, there was no foolish Demon Baron like Simon to create his own dungeon.
Those who tried didn¡¯t have a good ending. A Demon Baron was the lowest ranking demon and due to their impure bloodline, they didn¡¯t have any growth aspect. If they created a dungeon using their Demon core, it would be like leaving their lives out in the open. if the dungeon got conquered, their lives would be forsaken.
Another thing of note was that after the rank of Simon¡¯s dungeon went up, the base rate at which the dungeon produced DP increased significantly. That goes to show that after each increase in rank, the rate at which the dungeon produces DP will also increase.
One of the many reasons to grow his dungeon along with his level. Not to mention that after the rank of the dungeon increased, Simon is now able to name his dungeon. All this while, the dungeon name was nk. It was only after the rank of the dungeon increases to [D] that one is able to name their dungeon.
Thinking about the name for a long time, Simon¡¯s mind slowly drifted towards the time while he was still on earth. He remembered those three years he spent painstakingly developing the game LAPLACE.
The one game for which he had forsaken everything in his life. He recalled how his health deteriorated day after day, month after month, year after year but he still kept going on. All for the day he could see theunch of this game however fate had something else stored up for him.
After he fell asleep in his previous world, he suddenly woke up to find himself in apletely different ce. Just when he was leaning towards thinking this was all a dream, reality struck him.
He was up for a rude awakening as his na?ve thinking was shaken off and reality dawned upon him. After that many other things happened and Simon vowed to live his life thoroughly in the new world he found himself into.
¡ª-
Dungeon Name:- [nk] Dungeon Rank:- [D]
Dungeon
Shop
Summon
Archive
Spawn
Main Menu
¡ª-
[Main Menu]
Character
Party
Inventory
Armoury
Shortcuts
Settings
Shop
Gacha
Heroes Altar
¡ª-
Chapter 67: Bug
Chapter 67: Bug
Relishing on the memories from his past life for a while, Simon finally arrived at a decision.
He decided on naming his dungeon Lace ¡°Since I wasn¡¯t able to fulfil my dream in the previous life, I will realize it in this life. The dungeon Lace, I will make it the greatest dungeon in this world¡±. Simon pledged with an unwavering will.
He had dedicated three whole years of his life to this game, Simon had always felt a special connection with it. Even when he died and reincarnated to a different, the [Main Menu] of the game Lace came along with him. It was enough to tell him how deep of a bond they had.
Without further dy, he set the name of his dungeon.
[Ding]
[Dungeon Name:- Lace has been set.]
After setting the name, Simon looked at the changes that had taken ce after the increase in the dungeon rank.
First of all, there were some new items added to the shop such as the Tree of Manas which gathers the mystical energy present in the surrounding before condensing and releasing them into the dungeon, nourishing it in the process.
Mystical energymonly known as manas is the essence of the world which nourishes and holds every being. All the creatures of the world increase their level so as to feel the mystical energy more strongly and utilise it. Those with higher levels have a greater grasp of the mystical energy and vice versa.
Even the stats were nothing but a representation of how much mystical energy one holds inside their body. The same goes for the skills.
The density of manas inside his dungeon was quite lowpared to some of the ces in the Ghastly Winding Forest. An area with a higher concentration of manas will have many mystical objects growing in it.
From his inherited memories, Simon knew that increasing the density of manas inside the dungeon is crucial in increasing its rank. The higher the rank of the dungeon, the greater the concentration of manas inside it.
Since the trees of manas were important to further increase the rank of his dungeon, Simon unhesitantly decided to buy it.
The thing that was listed in the shop were seeds of the trees of Manas. It costs around 500,000 DP each and can be bought in any amount. If Simon wanted to increase the density of manas inside his dungeon, he has to nt these seeds and wait for them to grow before they can disy their uses.
Since the Trees of Manas would take time to grow, he couldn¡¯t rush it. As such, Simon decided to shift his attention to the other things that were listed in the shop.
There were quite a few new items that were listed, but the one that caught his eyes was the pce. There was also the new function of spawning crystals and chests across the dungeon floors. Ores such as iron, ck steel, white silver can now be produced and mined across the floors. As for the higher tier ores like ck-gold and mithril can only be produced inside a dungeon where the concentration of manas has reached a high degree.
There were only a few ces and dungeons in this whole world which can produce ores of that level and higher.
Treasure chests on the other hand are used to lure human adventurers into the dungeon. From his inherited memories, Simon learned that humans are a good source of ie and can bring a stable amount of DP.
Humans who call themselves adventurers dive into the dungeons looking for treasures and riches. A dungeon is also a ce for them to increase their levels and hone their skills while at the same time a source of ie. The adventurers hunt monsters for their parts as well as mine the dungeon for treasure chests and ores.
Due to these reasons, adventurers all over the world dive into the dungeons even while knowing about the associated risks of losing their lives.
Birds die in pursuit of food, humans die in pursuit of wealth. The allure of treasure and riches that can be found inside the dungeon is so great that even while knowing the risks they still dive inside the dungeon.
Then again humans are a clever species, to mitigate the risks, they formrge groups of teams called guilds to tackle the problems that arise while diving into the dungeon.
The dungeon core in itself is a huge treasure. kingdoms and empires provide a huge amount of treasures and bestow peerage to people that have conquered the dungeon and brought the fragments of dungeon core back.
The higher the rank of the dungeon, the higher the value of that dungeon core.
While Simon did not know what use a destroyed dungeon core had, he was still aware that there had to be something that made it valuable to kingdoms and empires for them to put a huge amount of treasures in exchange for it.
¡°Earning DP through this way is like a dual-edge sword, you have to constantly fortify your dungeon so as to prevent the greedy adventurers from destroying the dungeon core¡±.
¡°Be that as it may, it still one of the fastest possible ways of securing a stable amount of DP and also one of the conditions for improving and increasing the rank of the dungeon¡± Simon pondered as he recalled all the memories and information he inherited after reincarnating in this world.
From these memories, he also became aware that after the rank of the dungeon increases, the monster that it can spawn also bes stronger and there is even a possibility of a variant or stronger species being spawned.
Organizing his thoughts, Simon bought twenty seeds of the Trees of Manas for a total of 10,000,000 DP. The seeds were as big as an egg and the analysis disyed that they were germinated and ready to be nted.
¡ª-
Name:- Simon
Race:- Demon Viscount
Titles:- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 1/5]
Stats:-
Level:- 262
HP:- 38,442
MP:- 50,555
Strength:- 2686
Defence:- 2886
Agility:- 3210
Magic:- 3610
Endurance:- 2948
Luck:- 2024
Skills:- Language Comprehension, Analysis, me Magic Mastery, Gale Magic Mastery, Electro Magic Mastery, Thought Processing, Regeneration, High-Speed Flight, Super Strength, Body Enhancement, Fire Resistance, Wind Resistance, Pain Resistance, Blunt Damage Resistance, Sense Presence, Demonic Eyes
Amalgamation Skills:- [me-Gale Mastery]
Inherent Skills:- Dungeon Creation, Main Menu, Ancestral Symbol Ignition
Chapter 68: Bug (2)
Chapter 68: Bug (2)
Simon chose to nt all the seeds of the Trees of Manas on the floor where the dungeon core was located and decided to call the ce the main floor. Since it was the ce of most importance and also the ce where he stayed and operated from.
He started by greatly expanding the area of the main floor and increased the height of the ceiling by a few hundred meters. Now the main floor was three kilometres wide and the ceiling was more than three hundred meters tall while big phosphorescence crystals dotted the ceiling, illuminating the whole floor.
Simon wondered if there would be any options unlocking in the future that allowed him to simte the vast sky in ce of this dark ceiling. Snapping out of his thoughts, he continued upgrading the main floor of his dungeon.
All these changes cost Simon a little more than 2,000,000 DP. Though the main floor looked empty, he could renovate it in his leisure time.
Next, he decided to buy the pce listed for around 35,000,000 DP in the shop. The reason for the pce being so pricey was because it nourishes the dungeon core and works as its final defence line. You can call it a fortification of some sort.
Although there were various other options avable in the shop that fortified and guarded the dungeon core, Simon decided to buy the pce as it had few other practical uses other than what was mentioned.
[Ding]
A white light so bright that it illuminated the entire ce came from the centre of the floor, a silhouette of a beautiful pce came into view after the light settled down.
The pce was more than seven hundred meters wide and sat at the centre of the room. Its exterior and walls werepletely white and were made of a rare stone. The grandeur of the pce was something to marvel at. Maybe it was his imagination but the pce he bought from the dungeon menu¡¯s [Shop] was exactly what he had in mind.
Before purchasing the pce, Simon had a faint outline, shape, and colour in his mind. Perhaps the pce was influenced by his vision and imagination and appeared exactly as he wanted it to be.
The main floor which was previously empty and only had the dungeon core and some of the collectables he got from the [Gacha], now had an impressive white pce sitting at the centre of the floor.
Simr to the floors of the dungeon, since the white pce was also part of the dungeon, it could be modified and expanded whenever Simon wanted.
That is to say that if Simon wanted to add more rooms or change the position of the pce somewhere else, he could do it through the dungeon menu. Once the pce was installed, it was now time to check it out.
Yes, other than acting as the fortification for the dungeon core, the pce also worked as a housing system. Now that the main floor was expanded by quite a bit, it would be weird if he slept and ate out.
Entering the pce, Simon was greeted by a wide hall. Paintings and nts decorated the ce. Sofa sets, ss tables, and a grand chandelier were ced at the centre of the hall bringing a unique kind of magnificence to the room.
Looking around, Simon soon found out that the pce had more than three halls, thirty rooms and two floors. All the decoration and interior designs that were on the pce were all influenced by things that Simon had seen in his previous life and which could only be found on earth.
For example one of the three halls had a big aquarium inspired by the memories from his time on earth. A huge kitchen with all thetest instruments, a big dining hall adjacent to it.
The library had bookshelves filled with books that he had read on earth and books that he had not even heard of. A wine cer filled with liquors that could only be found on earth, a wide game room with billiard tables, and a bowling alley.
An indoor pool and huge bathtub that could easily amodate few dozen people at once were some of the things that were influenced by what Simon experienced in his previous life.
It would be too much to say coincidence. However, it seemed that the pce purchased from the shop would borrow the ideal shape and memories from the buyer to create the pce of their desire.
Simon ced the Dungeon Core inside the facility of the pce that was specially built for fortifying and nourishing the dungeon. The area where the dungeon core was ced was wide and a multiyered intrinsic array that spun in an anticlockwise manner surrounded it.
It seemed that as soon as he ced the dungeon core, the mechanism was activated. Another thing of note was that the mechanism consumed DP to operate. Simon knew it because as soon as he ced the core, 100,000 DP was deducted from the total amount of DP he had.
¡°It seems that everything inside the pce can be replenished with the help of DP¡± Simon observed.
He ced all of the collectables also known as joke items that he got from the [Gacha] in one of the rooms before finding a wide bed toze on.
Now that he had started focusing on developing his dungeon, Simon had few other things he wanted to sort out before that. First was the insane jump of level. He was only level 212 when he fought with Gelgar, but after he lost his consciousness and woke up to check his status, he found out that his level had gone up from level 212 -> 262 in one go.
Even if he defeated Gelgar and his two subordinates, the level jump shouldn¡¯t be this insane. This is to say that there was another reason behind his level jump.
Looking at all the notifications, none of them detailed anything about his increase in level. Thinking about it carefully, Simon arrived at the answer that he thought was the most probable and that was the increase in his dungeon rank.
The dungeon core was once a part of him, then wouldn¡¯t it mean an increase in the rank of the dungeon would mean an increase in his level too, and vice-versa.
Chapter 69: Bug (3)
Chapter 69: Bug (3)
A thousand kilometres south of the Ghastly Winding Forest is the fortress city of Mountmend that connects the Central Continent with the Demon Continent.
The city of Mountmend was protected by tall ramparts all around which protected the city from monsters that asionally came out from the Ghastly Winding Forest. The poption of the city was around a million and the mayor of the city was just a baron (A title bestowed onto a person, marking them as a member of nobility).
Sixty percent of the poption were adventurers by profession who hunted monsters inside the Ghastly Winding Forest. The city mostly lives off from the trade of the monster parts with other neighbouring cities.
Since the city is the first line of defence against any monsters thates out of the Ghastly Winding Forest, many adventurers and guilds have established their branches in Mountmend in hopes of earning their livelihood from hunting and gathering monster parts.
The city wasn¡¯t rich but it was full of life with a lot of hustle and bustle as its inhabitants busied themselves with their daily life.
In one of the rooms of the most luxurious mansion in the city, three men were seated facing each other. The one seated opposite of the two was a middle-aged man and had curly ash grey hair and a wide moustache.
He donned a clean set of clothes and had an air of nobility around him. The man was none other than the mayor of the city of Mountmend and a baron, Alfred Eude Bergest. Three sets of teacups releasing white smoke sat at the centre of the table.
¡°Sir Godwin, I believe you are already aware of why I called you here?¡± Alfred gave a friendly smile as he spoke to one of the men facing him.
In contrast to the formal wear of Alfred, the man named Godwin was decked out in a heavy armour te that gave off a blue sheen whenever the sunlight shone on it. Indicating that it was no ordinary armour.
Even without a careful examination, Alfred was sure that the armour was made of rare metal. Although he was not abatant, he could tell. The peculiar lustre given off by that armour was something only the strongest of metals could have, that is to say, that the armour was either made of Mythril or the even rarer metal Adamantium.
Each of these metals had high defensive usability and were extremely sturdy. Because of their characteristics, the metals could only be mined in ces with an extremely high density of manas.
Their avability made them the costliest metals and it was rumoured that the metal was so unyielding that only a master cksmith could truly mould it and give it the desired shape.
Godwin was a fairly built man with sharp looks. His short dark brown hair and emerald green eyes along with his armour gave him a heroic aura. His entire presence was like a calmke with no ripples.
He nodded at Alfred¡¯s question and replied ¡°Lord Alfred I¡¯m afraid there is not even a single soul in this city who is not aware of the incidents happening near the borders of the city¡±.
It was as Godwin said, the entire news was a hot topic that the average poption gossiped about every day. They have to be deaf to not be aware of it.
The other man seated near Godwin bobbed his head, he had a hood covering his face and was wearing lightweight armour and carried two shortswords on his back. The man seemed like a shadow that could swiftly blend in with the environment with how little presence he had. Simr to Godwin, his gears were not any subpar.
Alfred wasn¡¯t shocked by this response instead, he gave a helpless smile and said ¡°The situation is exactly how Sir Godwin and Sir Raven have heard. A month ago we detected strange movements inside the Ghastly Winding Forest and not long after monsters started appearing near the outskirts of the city. It is normal for monsters to appear near the outskirts but the numbers at which they appeared was clearly unusual and different than before¡±.
Since the city was close to the forest, it was a daily urrence for a straggling monster or two to appear near the border of the cities. During those times, the guards ced nearby would quickly dispose of them. However, the situation was different this time.
Godwin narrowed his eyes as he organised his thoughts before inquiring ¡°Even if the monsters appeared in hordes near the outskirts of the city, with abilities of the soldiers stationed there, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. I believe that the reason lord Alfred called us here isn¡¯t about that right?¡±.
Godwin was a seasoned warrior and the vice guild master of the Sea God¡¯s Trident so he quickly noticed that what Alfred is concerned about wasn¡¯t just some monster outbreak. If it was just that, he could issue amission for the adventurers to dispose of the monsters appearing on the border.
On the other hand, the man named Raven seated beside Godwin just sat there silently, nobody knew what he was thinking.
¡°Haha as expected of the vice guild master of the famed guild Sea God¡¯s Trident. You truly live up to your reputation as one of the top five guilds within the entire Ellesmere Kingdom. It is indeed as you have said, what I¡¯m worried about isn¡¯t those hordes of monsters that ran away from the forest, but the ones they are running from.¡± Alfred looked at Godwin in the eye and said.
¡°The monsters that ran from the Ghastly Winding Forest were only at the normal and strong ss at the beginning but as time passes, even some elite ss are being spotted near the edges of the forest. My guess is that something huge is happening inside the forest and I want the branch of your Sea God¡¯s guild that is situated here to lead an exploration team inside the forest.¡± drinking his cup of tea, Alfred scrunched his brows and requested.
It was at this time that Raven who was silent all this time decided to open his mouth ¡°You could have just put up amission to our branch guild. whye to us?¡±
Alfred gave a friendly smile towards Raven before saying ¡°Rather than requesting it through amison with the branch manager of your guild, it would be much faster and effective if I had a talk with someone higher up don¡¯t you think? Besides I am aware of your goals foring to this remote region. I can permit the usage of the teleportation gate of our city of Mountmend for your main guild for as long as you want¡±.
¡ª-
Ranks given to monsters by the Guild
level ss
100 Normal
200 Strong
300 Elite
400 Super
500 Disaster
600 Cmity
700 Catastrophe
800+ ???
Chapter 70: Bug (4)
Chapter 70: Bug (4)
The next day, Simon woke up on top of hisfortable bed inside his newly installed white pce. Though there was a kitchen now, it was much easier to just use the [Shop] function of his [Main Menu] to choose the food of his liking.
After finishing his breakfast, he immediately set out on upgrading the dungeon. The dungeon core was inside the basement of the pce, protected by multipleyers of barriers and walls.
Not to mention the array that was inside, even the barriers and walls were so thick that a Demon Viscount like him didn¡¯t have enough power to break through them.
The size of the dungeon core after the rank up was now more than thirty centimetres. Simon was finally at ease leaving the dungeon core inside the pce. Even if he went out of the dungeon, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about someone or something destroying his dungeon core in an instant.
The pce not only protected the dungeon core but also nourished it. He felt that purchasing the pce was the right choice.
Aftering out of the pce, Simon was stunned to see the twenty seeds of the Tree of Manas that he nted in the backside of his pce had grown into saplings that were more than fifty centimetres in height. It was only yesterday that he had sown them and they had already grown so much.
Although he was amazed by the growth of these saplings, it was still too early for them to gather and condense manas as per their function. ording to his estimates, it would take more than five months for these Trees of Manas to mature.
A pond about a hundred meters wide sat in the middle surrounded by the saplings. The pond itself was one of the new features listed in the [Shop] after the rank-up called the Pond of Serenity. The reason for Simon installing the pond near the seeds of the Trees of Manas was because the pond provided a buff in the growth of any living organism near it.
The water that the pond of serenity produced was beneficial for the nourishment of these saplings and might even elerate their growth.
That is not all,ter when Simon tried to drink some water from the pond, he realized that the water had a calming effect. It took 10,000,000 DP to install it, but after looking at the growth of saplings, he felt it was all worth it.
After all, if he wanted to increase the rank of his dungeon in the future, he had to increase the density of manas that was present inside his dungeon.
He still had a lot of DP remaining even after purchasing all of that, therefore he decided to add some new floors. The 20th and 21st floor was designed simr to the north side of the Ghastly Winding Forest and spanned more than twenty kilometres. Sabrelions and ogres spawned on these floors.
Though these monsters were moderately strong, in front of someone above level 200 they were nothing more than ants. However, their numbers could still buy him some time. Since both races were aggressive, they started fighting each other as soon as they spawned.
These monsters were trying to build their own ecosystem here and thus Simon did not interfere and left to their own devices. Although he did spawn some weak monsters such as the white-horned rabbit for them to hunt.
The 22nd, 23rd, and 24th floors were simr to the previous floor in size but the ce was mostly submerged in water. The stairs were reced with teleportation gates that led to the next floor.
After the dungeon ranked up, he could now install low-grade teleportation gates that facilitated small distance warp simr to the ones in his dungeon that connected with the next floor.
Monsters such as Great Blue Shark and Serpent Tail were spawned here. These monsters were all aquatic and just like Pirodiles that spawned on the ninth floor, they were predators that hunted inrge groups.
The next three floors 25th, 26th, and 27th had low ceiling but was designed as an anthill that spanned tens of kilometres into the ground. The monsters that were spawned here were the Giant Beetle Ants with a defence even higher than the Armoured Drillman which were brought along by Gelgar during the dungeon war. Their outer shell was so strong that it allowed them to stop all those monsters on the upper floors.
The Giant Beetle Ants with their defence and numbers made them quite the tough wall to breach. Plus these monsters had a special sense of cooperation. When one of their members is attacked or killed, the whole colony will go into a frenzy and kill that individual.
The main floor was shifted below and became the present 28th floor.
While he was setting and modelling the floors, he saw the [Settings] function from the [Main Menu] which was previously blurred and inessible suddenly be usable once again. He did not know why and how it became functional once again but he did know that the changes must have taken ce due to the increase in the rank of the dungeon.
At that time all his attention was on the dungeon menu so he overlooked the changes that appeared on the [Main Menu]. Clearing his thoughts, Simon looked at the only option that was avable in the Settings, [Merge].
While Simon was developing the game in his previous life, he made the [Settings] so that yers could modify and change some aspects of the game to their liking. But now when he looked at the [Settings] once again, all that function was gone, and instead, there was this unfamiliar option [Merge].
If he had to take a guess, this would allow him tobine something but he didn¡¯t know what. Since he did not know, he could just find out. His curious mind got the better of himself and without further deliberation, Simon nonchntly pressed on the [Merge] option.
At that moment he felt as if the very fabric of the space trembled for a fraction of a second before the [Main Menu] disappeared. The scene felt so odd that Simon went into a daze for a few seconds. ¡°Huh?¡ it felt as if something was switched off¡±.
¡ª-
Dungeon Name:- [Lace] Dungeon Rank:- [D]
Dungeon
Shop
Summon
Archive
Spawn
Main Menu
¡ª-
[Main Menu]
Character
Party
Inventory
Armoury
Shortcuts
Settings
Shop
Gacha
Heroes Altar
Chapter 71: Bug (5)
Chapter 71: Bug (5)
Simon had a feeling that something went wrong the moment he pressed that option. He tried calling the dungeon menu but there was no response even after a few seconds passed. Cold sweat trickled down his body. If it was any other time, a blue window would have popped up in front of him immediately.
However, there was still no response even after he called it out a few more times. Simon was at a loss for a moment, he did know what changes urred after he pressed the [Merge] option but he was now unable to use the dungeon menu.
It would disastrous if he was unable to use the dungeon menu. The ess to the dungeon menu was what made one a dungeon master. If he can¡¯t ess the dungeon menu anymore then he wouldn¡¯t be able to perform his duty as a dungeon master much less modify the floors.
Heck, he would be unable to even leave the main floor if he didn¡¯t have the dungeon menu with him.
He was starting to panic and his heartbeat was beating like a drum as all the negative thoughts started bombarding his mind.
¡°What if the dungeon menu was permanently gone?¡±
¡°What if i am unable to leave the main floor for eternity?¡±
Maybe because he was no longer a human or maybe it was because of his stats, but he hurriedly collected himself as he controlled his breathing and his wildly beating heart. The change was so fast that even Simon himself was shocked by it.
Simon calmly pondered for a long while before calling the menu once again. The menu he called out wasn¡¯t the dungeon menu but instead, the [Main Menu]. Since the dungeon menu stopped working after he pressed that [Merge] option from the [Main Menu], he wanted to see if he could reverse it.
However, when the [Main Menu] popped up in front of him, Simon was stunned once again. The menu that appeared in front of him wasn¡¯t the dungeon menu nor did it look like the [Main Menu] he was familiar with.
The menu that popped up appeared to be a merger of the two. The [Main Menu] looked quite different than before and had some of the functions that were supposed to be on the dungeon menu.
Nheless, the [Main Menu] was not entirely different. It still gave off a golden-ck aura and a dragon coiled around the edges of the screen. The screen now disyed the dungeon name and rank, as well as all the options that should have only been on the dungeon menu, have now appeared on the [Main Menu].
There was no doubt, it was as if the dungeon menu had merged with the skill [Main Menu]. When his thoughts reached till here, it finally dawned on him what that [Merge] option did.
¡°Ah, so that¡¯s how it is. The [Merge] function in the settingbined the two menus into one. Ahahaha and here I was panicking about the disappearance of the dungeon menu¡± Simon sighed in relief after he realised that the dungeon menu wasn¡¯t gone but had actually merged with his [Main Menu].
Although his race and stats calmed his mind, he was still panicking deep inside. But it seemed that there was no need to in the first ce, the dungeon menu had not gone anywhere.
His respite onlysted for a few seconds before he was shocked by another discovery. ¡°Eh? Ehhh??? What going on¡ what happened to [Gacha], [Summon] and the [Hero¡¯s Altar] function¡±.
Simon was stunned to find that the two options were gone and instead, there was these two unknown options [Ga?????] and [???????] on the [Main Menu]. Simon who had created the [Main Menu] himself, never had seen these two options before. And most of all, these two options appeared in question mark all over, making it hard to know what the option actually did.
After the two menus got merged, it was as if they were bugged. He was now regretting his decision for using the [Merge] option.
However, there was still a silver lining and he hurriedly opened the [Settings]. But his hopes were quickly shattered as he couldn¡¯t find the option he was looking for. Simon thought that since there was an option for merging the two menus then there should also be an option to split them.
There was no other option other than the [Merge] which was now inessible inside the settings function. Now he had no choice but to stick with this new menu that appeared after the merger of the previous two. Simon couldn¡¯t help but curse himself for pressing the option without knowing what it did.
These three options were the pir through which he was going to build himself and the dungeon. But now they were gone and instead some unknown option that clearly looked quite shady appeared.
Staring at the [Main Menu] for long while, Simon sighed once again but this time it wasn¡¯t a sigh of relief but a sigh ofment.
¡°Hahhh, did the system get bugged after the merge?. [Main Menu] was something that I designed in my previous world and it was something that became my skill after I reincarnated into this world. Whereas the dungeon menu was something that came after I created the dungeon¡±
Simon pondered for a while. Why was it only these options that disappeared? And suddenly it struck him. Since the dungeon menu and the skill [Main Menu] became one, didn¡¯t that mean that his skill which had transmigrated along with him and which wasn¡¯t originally a part of this world, got integrated with it?
¡°I see. If something that wasn¡¯t a part of this world before became a part of it after the merger, then is that why it is unable to disy [Gacha] and [Hero¡¯s Altar] which wasn¡¯t supposed to be a part of the dungeon menu? but what about the [summon] option wasn¡¯t it part of this world?¡±.
There were a lot of questions, and the more he thought, the more puzzled he got but at the same time, he felt as if the fog of mystery that clouded the world was getting cleared little by little.
¡ª-
[Main Menu]
Dungeon Name:- Lace Dungeon Rank:- [D]
Character
Party
Inventory
Armory
Shortcuts
Settings
Dungeon
Shop
Archive
Spawn
Ga?????
???????
Chapter 72: Nine Revolution Immortal Ice Phoenix
Chapter 72: Nine Revolution Immortal Ice Phoenix
Two days passed just like that amidst the constant remodelling and addition of new floors. Although the menus have now merged; fortunately, the basic functions were still the same and worked like usual.
On the second day, the dungeon produced the third emblem. Emblems was something produced by the dungeon to be used by the dungeon master to summon subordinates using the [Summon] function.
Each dungeon produced its own unique emblem that can only be used on that dungeon. There can never be two simr emblems produced by two different dungeons.
His dungeon, Lace produced an emblem every month and including this one, Simon had a total of three emblems with him.
All the three emblems were simrly coin-shaped and had a vague demon with golden ck tattoos carved in it. Other than the design and the material with which it was made, the emblem looked quite ordinary.
It didn¡¯t look like something that was able to summon a powerful subordinate that would guard his dungeon. Although Simon was doubtful, Simon did not question it. During the Walpurgis night, he had seen many high ranking demons bringing along their powerful subordinates that were as strong as his Demonic Warhorse or maybe even more.
Subordinates that can be summoned have different ranks. Using one Emblem summons a [D] rank and if one is lucky they might even be able to summon a [C] rank subordinate. Two emblems at once has a chance to summon a [B] rank subordinate, a maximum of three emblems can be used together.
Although Simon got a [B] rank Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse, that was from the [Gacha] which waspletely different from [Summon] function of the dungeon menu.
Using three Emblems together has a chance of summoning a powerful [A] rank subordinate or an extremely rare [S] rank. But the chances of one appearing are as rare as a Phoenix¡¯s feather. Simon had already seen how powerful a [B] rank subordinate was and that was why he wanted a subordinate even more powerful.
Simon knew that to survive in this world, he needed strength. Therefore he couldn¡¯t be satisfied with just any rank, since he was summoning for a subordinate, he wanted the strongest [S] rank. But there was an extremely low chance of summoning a [S] rank subordinate.
He knew that his chances of summoning one were extremely low since he wasn¡¯t even able to get something good from the gacha other than the [B] rank warhorse even after drawing it every single day for the past three months. What he got was the joke items with which he wanted to annoy the yers, but it came back to bite him.
However, he couldn¡¯t just give up as he knew that his starting point was the lowest and moving forward he would have to face quite a number of strong enemies. At that time if he didn¡¯t have sufficient strength, he would be squashed like an ant.
That was why Simon was waiting for the third emblem to be produced as he had something he wanted to try. But fate had yed a cruel joke on him, now that the dungeon menu had merged itself with the [Main Menu], he wasn¡¯t sure anymore that the emblem would even work.
After all, the [Main Menu] was something that was not from this world and to make things worse the [Summon] option itself had disappeared.
If the emblems didn¡¯t work as they were supposed to, then he would have suffered a massive loss that would impact his and the dungeon¡¯s growth in the future. The [Summon] function and the emblems are essential factors for summoning subordinates that are important for defending the dungeon.
¡°What use will it have now that the [Summon] function itself had disappeared¡±. A dejectedugh leaked out from Simon as he contemted.
Soon after the gears in his head started turning, and his eyes focused once more, an inquisitive light shing in them. It wasn¡¯t like this was the first hurdle he found himself in. He had faced many obstacles after reincarnating in this world and even in his previous life. Simon was already ustomed to resolving his own problems.
Unlike the [Summon] function of the dungeon menu which used emblems to summon subordinates, the [Hero¡¯s Altar] function of the [Main Menu] he designed, used an exorbitant amount of DP to summon each of those powerful characters.
The amount was so ridiculous that it made it impossible for Simon to summon any of them in the short run or so it was supposed to be before the merger.
After both the menus got merged, it became a bugged mess disyed by [??????]. He did not even know if it was the [Hero¡¯s Altar] or the [Summon] or a merger of the two. It could be even something else entirely¡ he did not know.
Although the two options were bugged, it didn¡¯t stop him from opening them.
The first [Ga?????] turned out to be the gacha. But unlike before it did not disy the currency that was the DP needed to draw anymore. However, when Simon tried putting 100,000 DP into the option, it worked just fine as a set of [C] and [D] rank items appeared in front of him from thin air.
Though there were few unusual changes, the gacha i.e is the [Ga?????] worked just fine. Reliving in the sess of the first bugged option working the same as usual even after the change, he was hoping that the other [???????] would work just fine.
However, the reality was different and it turned out that thest option was the one that had the most defect.
Opening the [???????], he was shocked to see that the powerful heroes he set for the yers to summon were now all gone. Nor did it look like the [Summon] option through which you could summon subordinates using the emblem.
It was pitch ck darkness¡ Yes, in ce of those options was a ck spiral that looked like the eye of a ck hole that could devour everything when he opened the [??????] option. ¡°The bug is quite bad¡± Simon grimaced as he watched the silently rotating ck spiral.
Taking out the emblems, he wanted to try and see if the emblems were still usable on [???????]. After all, the situation couldn¡¯t be any worse than what it is now.
Chapter 73: Nine Revolution Immortal Ice Phoenix (2)
Chapter 73: Nine Revolution Immortal Ice Phoenix (2)
As soon as he tossed the three emblems inside, sparks starteding out of the main menu as the ck spiral instantly swallowed the three emblems.
The sparks started getting worse and worse as they started expanding in a few meters around and quickly spread towards the whole of the main floor. Simon was jolted back as he reeled in pain ¡°Uggh¡ -what¡¯s going on?¡±.
The ck spiral inside the [???????] spun faster and faster and after a few moments, whoosh¡ it suddenly stopped. Even the sparks that were wreaking havoc in the surroundingpletely disappeared as if it was never there.
The ce becamepletely silent. It was so eerily silent that he could even hear the sound of his breathing, seconds passed just like that but nothing happened. It seemed that the emblems didn¡¯t work on the bugged option.
Simon was downtrodden as the expectations that arose from the peculiar result werepletely shattered after nothing happened for a while. What was he thinking? there was no way the emblems would work on something that was already defective without repair.
¡°Haaaahh @#$% @#$% @#$%¡ why the heck did I have to press that [Merge] option¡± he pulled his long ck hair as he cursed out loud, he wanted to go back to that moment before he pressed that [Merge] option. But sadly there was no medicine for regret.
SPARK¡ SPARK¡
Just when he had given up all hope, inconspicuous sparks starteding from the ck spiral before he felt that the ground had trembled for a fraction of a second. The trembling was so slight that Simon nearly missed it.
While he was starting to think it was all just his imagination, the ground started trembling once again. RUMBLE RUMBLE¡ the trembling of the ground started intensifying until Simon felt that the whole dungeon was quaking.
The phosphorescence crystals on the ceiling started slowly dimming until darkness descended onto the whole floor as all of the crystals above stopped shinning. ¡°What¡¯s going on now¡± Simon who was already distressed, looked at the peculiar scene that was happening all around the main floor.
No, it would be right to say that the same scene was taking ce across all floors of the dungeon. He had never seen such an unexpected incident happening inside his dungeon before.
CRICK¡ CRACK¡ SHATTER
Simon who was the dungeon master of the dungeon could see just fine in this darkness as he stared at the strange sound that came from his front. It was as if cracks ran across a thin ss as the sound prated across the floor. The sound was so piercing that he felt his whole body had gone numb.
He stared with wide eyes as cracks started appearing on the space in front of him and momentster just like ss, spacepletely shattered. Whoosh¡ a ck spiral that silently rotated, appeared in the ce where the space was shattered a few moments ago.
Wind started blowing inside the main floor even though there was no breeze and felt quite out of ce. From the moment he tossed those emblems inside the [???????], these peculiar events started happening one after the other.
¡°Seriously what is going on?¡± Simon dazedly repeated. The ck hole like spiral that appeared looked exactly like the one that was inside the [???????] option of his [Main Menu]. Just many many times bigger. The ck spiral was so dark that it seemed like no light could prate through it.
At this moment, an azure light started shing out from the pitch-ck spiral and illuminated the whole floor. The ray of light dissipated the darkness and gently shined upon the floor.
The light was so brilliant that it seemed like a primal ray of light that shone during the creation of the universe. A phoenix cry that had the ability to soothe one¡¯s soul, came from inside the spiral.
¡ª¨C
At the exact moment, outside the dungeon.
Thick arctic clouds blotted the sky for thousands of miles with the spiral tower in the centre. The temperature of the entire Ghast;y Winding Forest started to drop like crazy and some ces even had frost umted over it.
Deep inside one of the areas of the western region of the Ghastly Winding Forest, a pair of amethyst eyes suddenly opened as resounding thunder noises erupted everywhere. The ce was on top of a tall mountain range that pierced the very dome of sky.
The pair of amethyst eyes looked at the artic clouds below and mused ¡°My bloodline is being suppressed!! To think that it would be able to even overwhelm me, one of the Seven Kings, who exactly is that being?¡±.
In one of three peaks of the north side of the Ghastly Winding forest, one of its overlords the Earth Splitting Lower Dragon was in a deep slumber. Suddenly its wide draconic eyes opened in a sh as it looked towards the eastern part of the forest with dread that couldn¡¯t be hidden. Its whole body shuddered intensely before it went inside its wide cave as if trying to hide from something.
¡ª¨C
On the main floor of the dungeon Lace
The phosphorescence crystals in the ceiling shone with a dim light as if affected by something.
The azure lighting from the spiral became brighter and brighter before a faint outline of a person could be seen. A jade white leg that was as beautiful as crystal and seemed to be carved by the gods themselves, passed through the spiral and stepped out.
A silhouette of a beautiful woman came into view, she had icy blue hair that fell to her willowy waist like a waterfall. Wearing azure blue clothes that closely stuck to her alluring body that possessed the ability to ensnare one¡¯ soul. Her features were all absolutely perfect and irresistible.
Her beautiful face, nted brows and phoenix eyes held an endless attractiveness to them. Simon was bewitched as soon his eyes fell on her.
The entire air around the floor appeared to have been frozen as soon as she stepped out of the spiral. The temperature rapidly plummeted and frost umted all across the main floor.
Her phoenix-like eyes looked around her surroundings in curiosity. It was also at this time that the phosphorescence crystals above returned to their former brightness as space mended itself and the ck spiral swiftly disappeared.
Chapter 74:- Nine Revolution Immortal Ice Phoenix (3)
Chapter 74:- Nine Revolution Immortal Ice Phoenix (3)
Appealing pink lips that glossed ever so slightly and an alluring body that had curves so perfect that they could spellbind anyone. Her pretty azure clothes covered her snow-white body, her sensational bust was so full and round that they could stir one¡¯s thoughts uncontrobly.
Her curvy buttocks were firm and seemed to hold an unbelievable softness.
Maybe it was because she sensed the intense gaze of Simon on her that she suddenly squinted her mesmerising crystal blue eyes. Her icy gaze fell on him and at that moment, Simon felt a bone piercing cold permeate through every pore of his body and gave him an illusion that he was frozen in a millennial old block of ice. Even his soul shuddered for some reason.
¡°Cough¡± he gave a forced cough as he hurriedly separated his eyes from her body. She was so beguiling that Simon had great difficulty controlling his wildly running thoughts and his eyes that were trying to sneak a peek.
After what felt like an eternity to him, his thoughts finally settled down and he finally remembered to use Analysis on her. However, the results was so peculiar that he had difficulty believing it.
Simon stared with wide disbelieving eyes at what was disyed. The result of the analysis was so ridiculous that he felt like it was some kind of a joke or maybe he was dreaming. After all, the woman in front of him despite being at level 1, held so many skills and power that broke all hismon sense.
Forget about him, even the analysis failed to detect her rank.
The atmosphere was quite awkward as both the parties kept their silence. The woman named Irene calmly stared at Simon as if trying to see through his very soul. He on the other hand was stunned silenced by her absolute beauty and the results disyed the analysis.
He had never seen a status as absurd as this, not only can shemand five out of the nine forms of manas, three out of the five are rare ones that only a few people in this entire world could utilise.
Even the mastery over the forms of manas she hasmand on has reached at the very least intermediate tier not to mention two of them have reached the realms of advanced tier.
There were skills in her status that he had never heard of and those that he knew had evolved into superior skills. Yes, even skills have tier of their own. once one reaches mastery over their skill, that skill has the potential to evolve into superior skill. Simon¡¯s [Flight] skill had evolved into a superior skill [High-Speed Flight].
How far a skill can evolve? even Simon did not know as the memories he inherited was too shallow because of his impure bloodline. He could only learn while improving and experimenting on his skills.
Her status disyed that she was also adapt in amalgamation magic of more than three forms of manas. Even amalgamating two forms of manas of intermediate tier was a difficult task but the women in front of him flipped all of hismon sense upside down. Not to mention Simon had not even heard of mutated skills.
Another unusual thing about her was that for some reason, most of her skills were disyed as locked. Was she unable to use those skills? or were they locked for some reason? Simon did not know, what he knew was that the women in front of him had to be at the very least an [S] rank.
Looking at the vast list of Amalgamation, mutated and Inherent skills, he was now finally aware of why analysis failed to detect her rank. It wasn¡¯t because analysis failed to detect her rank but rather it was unable to rank her.
The [???????] skill of his [Main Menu] summoned someone unbelievable. ¡®She is not one of the twelve characters from the [Hero¡¯s Altar] either. To have that kind of status, what kind of being this defective option had summoned?¡¯ Simon mused.
¡®If her status is this insane at level 1, I can¡¯t even imagine what would happen after she levels up¡¯ Simon thought before he hurriedly detected her gaze on him.
SILENCE~~~~
A silence that was quickly bing stifling, pervaded the area. He knew he had to do something. Simon cleared his mind of all rampant thoughts before speaking out ¡°Nice to meet you, Miss Irene¡ I¡¯m Simon the master of this dungeon¡±.
He wanted to clear this eerie silence by striking a conversation with her. But maybe it was too hurried or his voice was too stiff, there was no reply as the woman named Irene casually moved her gaze away. Just when he thought that she had ignored him, Irene silently nodded her head.
Simon was surprised for a second it seemed that the woman did understand him.
.
Five days passed while Simon was busy with the remodeling and construction of his dungeon. In these five days, he became aware of the personality of Irene. She was the cold and detached type who usually kept to herself and did not interact much.
Unless it was Simon who would start a conversation first, there would be no way she would even let out a sigh. Even then the most that he could get out of her was a nod. In the beginning, he thought that she was ill at ease after she found herself in a different and foreign environment.
However, it seemed that was no the case. Instead of Irene, it was him who was on edge all the time. He felt like a stranger in his own dungeon now that a block of ice that did not show any emotions crashed here.
There was also that message from his dungeon:-
[The dungeon has recognised Irene as one of its Guardians. Guardians are able to ess some of the functions of the dungeon menu.]
[Nine Revolution Immortal Ice Phoenix, Irene has been added to your party. Due to the user having the fragment of pride, its effects are extended to the party members.]
¡ª¨C
Name:- Irene
Race:- Nine Revolution Immortal Ice Phoenix
Rank:- ??? [Unrankable]
Level:- 1
Skills:- Permafrost Magic Mastery, Divine Magic Mastery (locked), Aeon Magic Mastery, Gale Magic Mastery, Dimensional Magic Mastery (locked), Spirit Control, Ultra High-Speed Flight, Nullification:- {me, Gale, Tremor, Lightning, Abyssal, Holy, Permafrost, Void, Aeon}, Ultra Enhanced Detection, Blunt Resistance, Sharp Resistance, Poison Resistance, Extreme Sense Presence, Super Heightened Agility, Super Heightened Strength, Super Heightened Endurance, Super Heightened Defence, Super Heightened Magic, Natural Recovery, Extreme Minimal Mana Consumption, High-Speed Regeneration, Form Maniption, Condense Energy, Super Increased Mana, Supreme Mana Lines, Supreme Manaflow, Reverse Manaflow,¡ª-(locked), (locked), (locked), (locked), (locked), (locked), (locked), (locked), (locked).
Amalgamation Skills:- [Permafrost-Aeon-Void Mastery] (Locked), [Permafrost-Holy-Gale Mastery] (Locked)
Mutated Skills:- [Heavenly Frost Eternal Ice] (locked) , [Absolute Space] (locked), [Divine Seal of Aeon] (locked)
Inherent Skills:- [Heavenly Phoenix Aura], [????????], [?????????], [????????], [???????], [????????], [?????????]
Chapter 75: Exploring the Western Region of the Forest
Chapter 75: Exploring the Western Region of the Forest
Simon thought that Irene was ill at ease after suddenly finding herself in a different and foreign environment. But it seemed to not be the case.
Immediately after arriving, she chose one of the rooms that was farthest from his own inside the white pce, as if it was the most obvious thing to do. Her attitude seemed to disy that she owned the ce. Whenever they met, she was always having an indifferent face.
Her aura was as cold as ever and it felt like all her emotions were frozen in ice. The only time she did show some emotions was during the meals. Even then the changes were so slight that it was easy to overlook if one did not pay enough attention.
Maybe it was because she had never seen the food that was listed in the shop as all of it came from his previous world, but it seemed that she did like them. ¡®Were all women fond of food?¡¯ Simon wondered. He watched her enjoying the food before silently leaving the dining hall.
Simon chose to not bother her too much as he wanted to give her the time and space she needed to adjust herself. While he was upgrading his dungeon with his new menu, he suddenly thought about the matter of the bugged options. Five days have passed since he summoned Irene and nothing unusual has happened since then.
¡°It turns out the options are working just fine. The gacha worked as usual and even the summon was sessful¡± Simon pondered. It cannot be ascertained yet that there were no changes after the merger; after all, the dungeon menu and [Main Menu] are from two different worlds. Additionally, he felt apprehensive whenever he stared at that ck spiral inside the [???????] option.
Simon did not know what other unusual urrences will take ce if he used the defective summon again, but one thing was clear that the emblem worked just fine.
He was quite thankful that the summoning worked and he got a powerful subordinate or else he wouldn¡¯t know what to do anymore. The summon function was after all a crucial key in strengthening his dungeon. But there were still some questions that kept pestering his mind, it was about that [???????] option.
Simon was sure that it wasn¡¯t the [Hero¡¯s Altar] as there was no such person called the Nine Revolution Immortal Ice Phoenix among the twelve characters that he had designed. He felt more aligned to think that it was the [Summon] option from the dungeon menu since the emblems worked on it.
Then again if Irene was summoned through the [Summon] option, then why wasn¡¯t the analysis able to rank her. Nheless, he was not entirely sure. After all, he had not seen anything as peculiar as that ck hole like spiral.
He didn¡¯t know what were the rules that dictated the new options. Were three emblems still the maximum that can be used at once? Would the option work without any emblems or were emblems the only thing that can be used to summon?
There were many such questions like that but Simon thought that the answer couldn¡¯t be rushed, as he had lots of time in the future he could use to explore and understand the options thoroughly. Above all, the options were going to remain the same since he didn¡¯t have any way to split the menus.
At the same time, he had this undescribable vague feeling that the two options were not simple anymore as they were before.
¡°Ah, I nearly messed up here¡± Simon said snapping out of his thoughts. He was looking at a screen that was disying all the floors of his dungeon.
Currently, he was focusing his attention on designing the floors of his dungeon for his future ns. Simon had decided to entice human adventurers into entering the dungeon now that its rank had increased. Although a [D] rank is still considered a low-rank dungeon, it was still enticing for those new and low-level adventurers looking to improve their skills and earn at the same time.
He had deliberated over this and came to a decision. The rate at which the dungeon was regenerating DP was insufficient to sustain the amount in which he was expending them. If this continues on, even therge pool of DP that he collected after the war against Gelgar, would run out.
Thus he needed to do something. Using the Elixir of Enticement would generate some DP but the process was too slow and the amount too less. No to mention that he had already spawned monsters on most of the floors and if he brought monsters from outside, they would just be fighting about themselves.
If the spawned monster dies, he would be losing either way since it took DP to spawn them and would destroy his purpose. That was why he decided to drop this idea.
Since Elixir of Enticement won¡¯t work on stronger monsters, therefore he decided that in the uing future, he should make his dungeon so that it is quite enticing for the adventurers to dive into.
Of course, he was aware of the dangers but sooner orter there are bound to be some adventurers who would find his dungeon. The Ghastly Winding Forest was near to the Central Continent after all.
Instead of just going with the flow until adventurers stumble upon his dungeon, he was trying to manipte the flow in his favour and make it so that his dungeon is prepared when that timees.
If any greedy adventurers are lusting over his dungeon core, he could just send them packing or even kill them if he must. But to do that he has to continuously increase his level, Simon did not be content after defeating Gelgar. That demon did not represent the strong. The truly strong ones wouldn¡¯t even bother to look at the current him.
If he did not want to be trampled by someone then he has to keep on growing and increase his level and that of his subordinates. He felt the urgency to get stronger more than ever. Those with bigger might reigned supreme here and are also in control of their fates.
Fortunately, Simon learned it earlier on and could make ns so that he doesn¡¯t end up bing a pawn in someone¡¯s ploy to realise their ambition.
Chapter 76: Exploring the Western Region of the Forest (2)
Chapter 76: Exploring the Western Region of the Forest (2)
To make his dungeon so that adventurers couldn¡¯t conquer it easily, Simon added six new floors to his dungeon in these past few days. He designed the 28th to 30th floors as forests covered with a thick mist that messed with your perception and sense of direction and at the same time made the visibility very low.
After the increase in the dungeon rank, some of the features have also improved. For example, the mist which only reduced the visibility previously, could now even disrupt skills such as mental map, sensor, pathfinder, and such to some extent.
It was not only the mist, even the traps had be more lethal and more varieties have been added. Simon could take his time and carefully set them up in ces that would have the most effect.
The new floors spanned more than thirty kilometres and had some rare flowers and herbs growing on them. Though they are not that precious, their effects are still something that would entice quite a number of adventurers into harvesting them. Some of the herbs even had the effects which could cure minor injuries.
¡°But it will not be easy for the adventurers to just plunder them asrge groups of Savage Warrior Monkeys and Chimera Bears spawned on these floors¡± Simon smiled wickedly his devious nature on full disy.
The nature of these monsters is quite unique in that they are treehuggers (meaning someone who loves nature¡ an environmentalist). They would absolutely not tolerate someone harvesting the nts and herbs from their territory. They would die to defend it.
These are the monsters that would defend his dungeon. Of course, Simon made some time to research them.
From the 31st floor till the 33rd floor begins the desert area. Ores that generate intense heat called the Crimson Agate are produced under the sand to make the atmosphere simr to the actual desert. This was one of the new features after the rank up.
The dungeon is now capable of producing ores in some of the areas. Obviously, the areas in which they can be produced are few since the density of mystical energy inside his dungeon is still very low.
ording to the memories that Simon inherited, the crimson agate was one of the popr items used as a heat source in the workshops for making weapons and armours in this world. Since they are not very rare, a sizeable amount of crimson agate can be mined from under the desert but the adventurers would also have to fend off the Desert Cactopus, Purple Poison Spider, and the numerous trapsid for them in the dungeon.
The main floor was shifted to the bottom as usual. After finishing his remodelling of the dungeon, Simon decided to visit the pond of serenity located behind the white pce. There he noticed the twenty saplings of the Tree of Manas that was growing quite well under the nourishment of the pond.
Though the analysis still identified them as saplings, they were already more than thirty meters in height. Their trunk was fairly wide about seven meters while branches and leaves have started to sprout from them. It hadn¡¯t been long since he nted them but their growth was quite astonishing.
Looking at their growth, Simon estimated that it wouldn¡¯t be long before they start to mature and begin condensing and umting the manas from the surrounding. The pond of serenity was starting to show its effets. He was quite curious to see what height they would reach and what changes they would bring to his dungeon.
Previously, he had only bought twenty seeds of the Tree of Manas from the [Shop] to look at the effects that they could bring, but if they turned out to be quite significant for the dungeon, then Simon was ready to invest quite a bit on them.
As these thoughts were running inside his mind, suddenly from the corner of his eyes, he noticed a beautiful figure quietly sitting by the shore of theke. Her crystal blue hair, pearly white skin, and her demeanour made her seem like a fairy that had descended into the mortal world.
Her hands that seemed like they were carved from the purest of jade, was gently holding an ice lotus. Her icy appearance made the surrounding space to silently snow; nheless, this did not dampen her beauty but instead enhanced it a fewfold.
Simon who got mesmerized by the scene thaty in front of him, went into a daze for a few seconds before he hurriedly shook his head to snap out of it. ¡®So she was here huh¡¯ Simon thought as he marvelled at this picturesque scene as she silently sat by theke.
At this moment, Irene had also sensed his presence as she turned towards him. Clearing his throat, Simon said, ¡°Uhm I¡¯m about to explore the forest outside the dungeon and at the same try to increase my level.¡±
It had been more than a week since hest went out of his dungeon. After the dungeon war, Simon was too busy with the construction and remodelling of his floors that he neglected his training and level. Now that he got a chance, he wanted to increase his strength. However, he realised that he wasn¡¯t the only one who needed to level up.
When her beautiful phoenix eyes fell on him, Simon hurriedly tried to exin himself ¡± Uhm¡ what I mean is since you are still level 1, do you want toe too?¡±. She could level up plus explore the outside world and he could use this chance to see her abilities.
Irene calmly looked at Simon, her silencested for a while before she nodded. Seeing that she was willing, Siimon was surprised a little. ¡°In that case, ill open a teleport gate outside the dungeon¡± as he said that, he quickly opened his [Main Menu] and quickly formed a teleport gate using the [Dungeon] function.
A dungeon master can easily conjure a teleport gate using the menu even without using Space magic. This function allows the dungeon master and the ones allowed to use the menu to teleport to any of the floors inside the dungeon.
Of course, the function has its disadvantages, that is you can only teleport near the vicinity of the dungeon. Once you leave the vicinity, you can no longer use the teleport function unless one learns to use Space magic, one of the four rare forms of manas.
Chapter 77: Undercurrents
Chapter 77: Undercurrents
The dungeon menu is meant to be used and serve inside the dungeon. hence the teleport function wouldn¡¯t work outside the vicinity of the dungeon. However, one thing was bugging him, Simon did not know what changes had urred to the teleport function after the dungeon menu merged with the [Main Menu].
Would the teleport work just like usual or would there be some new changes? Opening the [Main Menu], he called out to the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse who waszing around in the forest area of the 30th before teleporting out. Feeling the breeze blowing past him, Simon felt quite relieved. Next up, he experimented with his dungeon function and quickly found out that¡
¡°As I thought even after the merge I can only use it to teleport near the vicinity of the dungeon¡± Simon crossed his arms as he pondered. Suddenly, he noticed a strange thing that was he could still call out the menu even when he went a few distances away from the dungeon.
The dungeon menu was only essible to him when he was near the vicinity of his dungeon. However, it seems like that was not the case anymore.
¡°It looks like after the merger, I¡¯m able to call out the menu wherever and whenever I want¡± a content smile on his face. Ever since the dungeon menu merged with the [Main Menu], he was always anxious and trying to find a way to split the two, but after he found that all the functions performed as usual, he could finally put down this heavy burden from his mind.
Looking around, Simon saw the spiral tower underneath which his dungeon was located, had grown over a hundred meters tall. The spiral tower was distinctive in that It was quite wide about thirty meters and the designs and carvings on it had more impact than before.
It stood out quite a lot inside the eastern region of the forest and the mana that gathered near it was quite thicker. Simon believed that it wouldn¡¯t be long before adventurers who dive inside the forest spot it.
As he was marvelling at the growth of his dungeon, an alluring figure donned in azure clothes came out of the gate. Her icy pupils looked around the dungeon in curiosity. Her mesmerizing jade white legs stood on top of an ice lotus that was hovering in the air. The figure was none other than Irene.
Before long another figure rushed out the gate, it was the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse. The warhorse was a [B] rank subordinate and was as sentient as a human. It had already been tamed by Irene a few days after she was summoned. It was to the point where Simon had to doubt whether the Analysis was wrong about the demonic warhorse being very difficult to tame.
Even when Irene restrained her aura, it could still feel the vast, majestic presenceing off of her. It gave a low neigh to announce his presence before flying towards Simon.
Simon made an awkward face as he saw the subdued appearance of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse. He patted it to lift its spirit before riding on top of it. In a natural motion, he extended a hand towards Irene and was about to say something, when he realized the meaning of his action.
¡®What was I trying to do?! Was I trying to make her sit behind me?!¡¯ he thought as looked at his outstretched hand and Irene. Though the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was quite big, if the both of them sat at its back, their bodies were bound toe in contact a few times.
An awkward silence descended~~~~
Irene looked at Simon and his outstretched hand. Understanding the meaning behind his action, her eyes frosted over before she turned over and swiftly flew on her ice lotus. Simon slowly pulled back his outstretched hand and gave an embarrassedugh as he looked at the alluring back of the figure.
He hurriedly beckoned his warhorse as they dashed towards the forest after her.
*****
Far east from the City of Mountmend, was the barony of Morgress. Sixty percent of itsnd borders the tall Alps of the Snow Valley located in the demon continent.
The city of Morgress deals in ve trading and lives off from its various underhanded business with the surrounding cities. The entire city was awless area and the streets were gued by muggings, thefts and assaults.
Ten years ago, the guild called the Seven Swords, subjugated a newly found [D] rank dungeon which was located at the Snow valley at that time and presented the dungeon core to the kingdom of Ellesmere. The royal family thus decided to give the guild master of the Seven Swords a peerage and the surroundingnds near the Alps of the Snow Valley as a reward.
Thus, the barony of Morgress came under the rule of the Seven Swords guild.
The city of Morgress was neither big nor small and its poption was around three million. Sixty percent of the poption lived in the slum areas and the remaining forty percent whichprised of nobles, adventurers, and merchants lived in the white areas of the city.
Thew here was quite crude as the adventurers ran rampant and the merchants would indulge in hical tradings. Likewise, the ruling authority in the city, Baron Morgress did nothing to stop all this and made money through all these underhanded tradings.
New ves for auction would be brought here every day. Man, women, monsters of every race would be cored and enved if subjugated by the adventurers of the city. Even citizens here were not spared if they failed to pay their monthly taxes.
Every day, someone from the slum would be enved because of umting too much debt from those loan sharks before being sold to the ve traders for money. A gloomy atmosphere lingered over the slum areas all around, in contrast to that, the white areas looked quite vibrant as the people went with their daily lives.
Morgress mansion, the biggest mansion that was located at the centre of the city. The mansion was quite grand with lots of guards patrolling the area, the halls were decked with various luxurious items that reflected the tastes of the person that it belonged to.
Inside a meeting room that was closer to the balcony on the second floor of the mansion, sat a group of five people. Each of them wore a light or heavy warrior outfit which was by no means ordinary and made it clear that the profession of the attendees were adventurers. Their presence was just like their weapons giving of a ck-gold sheen.
At the head of the seat, sat a man wearing casual clothing. The man had a built of a warrior, a shapely brown beard, and an average-looking face. His eyes were as sharp as a tiger, and his body bore numerous scars from the numerous battles he had gone through. His presencepletely shadowed all the other people inside the room and was quite tyrannic. Two women with suggestive clothing and a cor on their necks sat at each of his sides.
Chapter 78: Undercurrents (2)
Chapter 78: Undercurrents (2)
The girl on the right had elf-like ears and short blonde hair, while the one on the left had cat-like ears and a furry tail, indicating that both of them were demi-humans. The Central continent was mostly popted by humans. However, there are still some ns and species of various races that can be found asionally in the central continent.
At this moment, the hands of the man roamed freely around the bodies of the two girls, but it did not evoke any emotions from them as their eyes seem to be vacant and hollow. Just like lifeless dolls, they quietly sat beside him, the cors in their neck establish their identity as ves.
The man fondling the bodies of the two women was none other than the lord of the mansion, Baron Morgress, and also the guild master of the Seven Swords.
At this moment a thin man with ck attire and a hood covering his face stood up from his seat and gave his report. ¡°Guild master Morgress it seems that the information provided by that man Miser was indeed real. We have found the location of the Forest Spring Spirits. From my intelligence report, it appears that Laris and his party finally found their settlement in the Ghastly Winding Forest¡±. The man gave his report and looked towards Mrgress who indulging in his own activities.
¡°They are at this moment trying to subjugate the Forest Spring Spirits, which made taking few big movements unavoidable as a result several monsters have charged out of the forest and fled towards Mountmend¡±. The man in the ck garb finished his report and sat down on his seat.
The others seating around the table digested the information. Indecent noises sounded across the room; However, nobody paid attention to Morgress¡¯ actions as they were already used to it.
Listening to the report from his associate Boris, Morgress stopped his phndering activities before he smirked and replied ¡°It¡¯s alright, that pathetic mayor of Mountmend, Alfred should clean up some of our mess. Make sure to tell them not to reveal their identities¡±. He disliked people such as Alfred who worked not for himself but for the people of his domain.
Morgress believed that people born with privilege should use their power for themselves. There was no meaning in helping the weak. However, Alfred didn¡¯t seem to agree with his ideas and even rejected his proposal of ve trading in the city of Mountmend. Now when the time came to get back at him, Morgress was naturally happy.
Heughed at Alfred¡¯s misfortune before suddenly adding ¡°Ah, I remember you giving me a report saying that a new dungeon has emerged in the Ghastly Winding Forest?!¡±.
The man in the ck garb who just gave the report was named Boris, he was also one of the Seven Swords of the guild. He nodded at those words and replied ¡°That is true guild master. A month ago when Laris and his team went into the Ghastly Winding forest, they identally discovered a dungeon. After that news came to my ears, I dispatched some of my underlings to scout that dungeon. ording to them, it was a newly emerged dungeon located at the eastern side of the forest.¡±
Morgressughed in derision after hearing that it was a newly emerged dungeon, after all, not counting some of the exceptional ones, most of the new dungeons start from the lowest [E] rank. It takes years for an average dungeon to rank up, not to mention that the newly emerging ones are always hidden in ces that are difficult to tread or find.
Other than some exceptional cases, the fate of the newly emerged dungeons which have been discovered too early, always ends up with getting subjugated and their dungeon cores destroyed by the adventurers.
It was nothing new to him, after all, he and his guild had simrly subjugated a newly ranked [D] tier dungeon a decade ago. It was also because they presented the remains of the destroyed dungeon core to the royalty of the kingdom of Ellesmere, that they were given this territory to reign.
Although he did not know what use the remains of a destroyed dungeon core had, it must have its usefulness for them to even bestow him a peerage and a domain. However, he was not interested in that.
Suddenly as if an idea struck him, Morgress gave a fierce smile as he asked ¡°Which Adventurers guild did Alfred request themission to?¡±.
¡°It was the branch guild of Sea God¡¯s Trident¡± Boris replied. Right after saying that, the man frowned and took out a small shell before a serious expression descended on his face.
Seeing Boris hold a small conch, the other members seated immediately knew that the man had received a sound transmission from his underlings. But what surprised them was immediately after listening to the message, Boris¡¯s expression became grave.
¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± they asked curious about the message Boris received.
¡°Hm? About that, a report just came in from my underlings ced in the city of Montmend that Godwin and Raven from the Sea God¡¯s Trident arrived at the city a few days ago¡± Boris shared the content of the message.
¡°What!!!¡± Morgress got up from his seat as he pushed the two women away. Shock and fear that was as clear as the day was stered on his brawny face.
Surprised by the intense reaction of their guild master, Boris and the other three seated didn¡¯t understand why the report would evoke such emotions from their guild master. Boris hurriedly asked, ¡°What is the matter guild master?!¡± he couldn¡¯t understand why Morgress had such an intense reaction after hearing his report.
But he was a cunning man, he immediately understood the reason was because of the names of the two men he just mentioned.
To induce such reaction from Morgress who was a level 500, Grand Lightning Warrior, Boris was shocked, to say the least not to mention the other three members of the Seven Sword.
Realizing his actions, Morgress calmed his mind and sat back in his seat. But no matter how much he tried to calm his mind, the turbulent thoughts wouldn¡¯t let him settle down. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that those two would appear in this extremely remote corner of the Kingdom of Ellesmere. Damn¡ why now of all times. If it goes on like this, things would be dire and my ns will all be thwarted. No¡ it can¡¯t be¡±.
Chapter 79: Undercurrents (3)
Chapter 79: Undercurrents (3)
Listening to their guild master bber on, all four of them realized that the situation was not looking good. A man wearing a gaudy robe, leather armour and a wooden staff with a gem iid on top, couldn¡¯t help but ask ¡°Guild master what is with these two names, why are you so afrai¡ I mean why are you so concerned about them?¡±.
The man had a crafty looking face and wrinkles around his forehead. He was thinly built and his posture was a little crooked. Realising that he had made a mistake choosing his words, a droplet of sweat trickled down his face.
Boris looked at the man who asked the question, he was one of the Seven Swords, Sable the [Crimson Scorching Sage].
Morgress red at Sable with bloodlust flooding out of his body, which put a formless pressure on all the four members present as he said ¡°Mind your words, I¡¯m not afraid of anyone¡±. One could imagine the kind of presence a level 500 [Grand Lightning Warrior] had.
¡°Forgive me guild master, this foolish one had spoken too rashly¡± Sable apologised, his robe drenched with sweat. The pressure earlier was targeted towards him and bore down on him like a mountain.
The invisible pressure disappeared after a while and Morgress added ¡°These two are very troublesome people. As you all might know that the Sea God¡¯s Trident is one of the top five guilds in the kingdom of Ellesmere. Their top-level officers are called the three tridents¡¡± he paused here for a while before continuing ¡°Boris are you sure that their names are Godwin and Raven? Because they are the names of two of the three tridents¡±.
Boris gulped, his face extremely serious after he heard the question from Morgress, before replying ¡°Yes, guild master these are precisely the names my subordinate had reported me¡±.
Morgress made aplicated face while clenching his hands into fists ¡°I see, then that means out of the three, two of them are present at the city of Mountmend at this moment. But for what reason?¡±
Listening till here, all four of them stood up from their seats as they couldn¡¯t believe what they just heard. Shock, anxiety, and even fear could be seen shing intermittently on their faces.
The name Sea God¡¯s Trident was already quite impactful but it didn¡¯t have the power to cower them. After all, the main guild of the Sea God¡¯s Trident is located in the capital city of Ellesmere. there was no way their influence would reach here.
Not to mention that there was no other guild stronger than their Seven Sword¡¯s guild in the neighbouring cities of this remote corner. However, it was a different thing altogether when the three words ¡®The Three Tridents¡¯ came forward.
Just those three words were enough to keep them on edge, their face distorted with distress.
Watching the reactions of the Four of the Seven Swords, he didn¡¯t feel like he could me them. After all, he had the exact same reaction when he heard these two namese up in the report. them reacting like that was within his expectation.
Raven one of the three tridents was rumoured to have broken through the 500 level barrier and have entered the renowned [Phantom Night Assasin] ss. Morgress himself was stuck on the level 500 barrier unable to go any higher for more than five years.
In these past years, he hade to a realisation that this was his limit and no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn¡¯t be able to break past the restraints ced on him by his bloodline.
Even Raven¡¯s ss the [Phantom Night Assassin] was a fabled ss of the legends, it is said that when an assassin reaches the night assassin ss and gainplete mastery over their skills and weapon, they could have a glimpse of reaching an even higher ss and that was the Phantom Night Assasin ss.
What is a ss? Just like how demon have their rank-ups, monsters have evolution. Simrly, humans have their ss change. When a human increases his level and decides on the path he wants to walk or is suitable in, he/she receives a ss based on their abilities.
As they gain more levels and umte and refine their skills, they have a chance to increase their ss to a higher and stronger one. Simr to how a demon¡¯s stat and skill increases with their rank-up, ss change does the same to humans.
As with all the beings living on Althaea, those who have inherited the bloodline of their ancestor strongly, have a higher chance of getting stronger, and those who did not, get stuck after reaching certain levels. This was the unwritten rule of the world.
The same applies to humans, those with a pure bloodline can attain powerful sses and increase their levels reaching a realm unimaginable to most people. And those who do not have a pure bloodline, get stuck in the same ss after reaching certain levels. Just like how Morgress had reached the limits of his prowess.
Raven attaining a ss that was in apletely different realm was a shocking event that shook many big names in the capital city of Ellesmere. The news quickly travelled to the other region of the kingdom and reached their city of Morgress.
Attaining a ss that was inessible to many was a big event for the Sea God¡¯s Trident, after all, each ss change drastically increases the limit and stats that one could reach. At the same time, a genius rising in their guild would make them even stronger than theirpetitors. Raven¡¯s talent was so high that he was quickly elevated to the ranks of the Three Tridents in his guild.
The presence of Raven in Mountmend was a big reason which made Morgress worried, but what made him rm was the other name that came up in the report.
Godwin, a man of a much higher calibre. The guild master of the Sea God immediately recognized the hidden talent within Godwin early on when he was just a child and hurriedly recruited and trained him personally.
It was told that after only a few years of joining the guild, he became one of its powerhouses andter went on to be the vice guild master of the guild. Subsequently, after bing the vice guild master, he raised the status of his guild to be one of the top five guilds in the entire kingdom of Ellesmere.
Chapter 80: Undercurrents (4)
Chapter 80: Undercurrents (4)
Godwin was also the man that saw the potential that Raven had and scouted him early.
That is not all, a rumour came from the capital city that he carries an unusual bloodline and his talent is so great that he is expected to join the status of the Rankers after a few years.
The word ¡®Rankers¡¯ sounded like a heavenly bell into Morgress¡¯ ears, he could only dream about achieving such a status. But Godwin was different, he had the potential to join the Rankers, and when he does, the Sea God¡¯s Trident won¡¯t just be in the top five of the Kingdom of Ellesmere, but would be renowned across the whole central continent.
That was how much weight the word ¡®Ranker¡¯ carried. It symbolised strength and authority that one would wish for even in their dreams.
What is a ¡®Ranker¡¯? Ranker is a title awarded by the Adventurers Guild to the top adventurers who have limitless potential and skills. The adventurers guild is the authority that monitors and regtes all the guilds across the Central continent.
Unlike the other guilds, Adventurers guild does not indulge in the same activities and is only there to monitor them. Although it does not vie for supremacy like the other guilds, its authority extends to all.
In this whole central continent, there are only a handful of adventurers who could reach the realm of Rankers. At current, there are only a little over ten thousand adventurers in the entire central continent to have achieved the title of a Ranker. And most of them are associated with the Adventurers guild.
Each of these Rankers are geniuses who have outshined various other geniuses and each and every one of them were a peerless talent. When a person is titled as a ¡®Ranker¡¯, they will have an unimaginable amount of authority and would also raise the status of the kingdom or empire they came from.
These Rankers are categorized in numbers, and the lesser the digit they belonged to, the mightier they were and exercised more power and authority across the central continent.
Even the king and Emperors of a kingdom have to show them adequate respect and fulfil all their needs. After all, the more rankers a kingdom or an empire had, the more militaristically powerful it would be and wouldn¡¯t have to fear the neighbouring kingdoms to move against them.
The presence of a Ranker made a huge difference in status between a kingdom that had one and a kingdom that did not. One ranker is enough to cower an entire kingdom into submission.
A Ranker in an itself was a powerful tactical weapon for each kingdom, and every kingdom would show its utmost respect and try its best to curry favour the Ranker. At the very least they would try their best not to incur the ire of the Ranker.
Their Kingdom of Ellesmere did not have a single Ranker for the past hundreds of years and was one of the bottom tier kingdoms amongst the thousands of empires in the central continent.
However, with the appearance of Godwin, the Kingdom of Ellesmere would finally be able to cast away its status as a bottom tier kingdom. One could imagine the amount of attention, the royal family of Ellesmere was giving towards the Sea God¡¯s Guild or to be more precise towards Godwin.
The arrival of such a man was by no means good news for Morgress and his guild. Especially now when he was only a few steps away from aplishing his goals.
The atmosphere around the meeting room was very tense as all the participants had grim and anxious faces. No matter how much they tried to act calm, their wildly beating heart and the anxiousness in their eyes gave themselves away.
Morgress pondered for a while before issuing amand ¡°Boris, I want all information regarding their objectives and reason foring to Mountmend. You hear me? Assemble all your underlings if you must. but you must find out the reason behind their arrival here. I refuse to believe that they had found out about our ns, it can be that they have a totally different purpose foring here¡±.
There was no way that their n was leaked until unless there was a spy inside their guild. Just as this thought came to his mind, Morgress looked towards the four members while squinting his eyes.
Simultaneously, the same thought ran through the heads of the other members of the Seven Swords that were seated as they hurriedly shook their heads, trying to shake off the usation.
Boris who had a pensive look all this while felt some relief after he saw that their guild master was not doubtful of them anymore. He immediately replied ¡°Rest assure guild master, I shall personally investigate this matter. It would be impossible to tail those two, but I think the guild members from the branch that they have in Mountmend, might have an inkling to their motive ofing here¡±.
Just as Boris¡¯ body began blurring and melding with the surrounding, Morgess hurriedly spoke ¡°Wait, you told me that the guild investigating the mass outbreak of monsters from the Ghastly winding Forest is the Sea God¡¯s Trident?¡±.
Boris¡¯ body which had partially dissappared, appeared once again ¡°Indeed the report says that the guild issued for investigating this matter was the Sea God¡¯s Trident branch. Is something the matter guild master?¡±.
Morgress caressed his beard for a while before saying ¡°Tell Laris not to make any more shy moves. If need be, he is to camp there in the forest for a few more months and send Dale¡¯s team to back them up. As for the members of the Sea God¡¯s Trident, lure them towards that newly emerged dungeon¡±.
Boris who was quietly listening to the orders, suddenly had a crafty look in his eyes as he said ¡°I see, the dungeon works as a perfect excuse for the discement of the monsters in the forest. It could stall the members of the Sea God¡¯s Trident for quite a while until we finish subjugating the Forest Spring Spirit n. The guild master is wise¡±
The other three members suddenly understood what their guild master meant after Boris exined it to them. With awe in their eyes, they said ¡°As expected of the guild master. If the guild master wants he could easily y the Sea God¡¯s Trident even without them realizing¡±.
Another one said, ¡°True. What top five guilds? Nothinges close to guild master¡¯s shrewdness¡±.
Chapter 81: New Goals
Chapter 81: New Goals
A beautiful figure wearing an azure dress moved her lithe body as if dancing. She looked as calm as ever, even while facing an enemy dozens of levels higher than her. Her well-rounded curves enthralled one¡¯s soul and vision, and every move she made had a noble grace and elegance.
Currently, a group of ten orcs five meters in height, with a tanky build wearing monster hide and crude armours, surrounded her. These orcs had boar-like snouts and moved as coordinated as an army. The Orcs in front of Irene were different from those Simon met in the eastern region of the forest.
They were another tribe of the orcs and an evolved species living on the west side of the forest called the High Orcs. Each of them had green skin and was above level 190, the one leading in front had four sharp fangs protruding from its jaws and was the most powerful of them all at level 200.
From the looks of it, the four fanged orc seemed to be the leader of the band. Its distinctive feature was the huge scar on the left side of its face that took away one of its eyes.
¡°Grrrrugaahh¡± a garbled voice that was very unpleasant to hear, came from the four fanged orc¡¯s mouth. It roared and smashed the huge spike club that its stout arm was holding onto into the ground. The club was made out of the bones of different monsters and gave off an eerie aura.
THUD¡
A dull heavy sound rang out and immediately after, the surrounding high orcs charged at Irene using their skill [High Orc Charge]. The way the orcs charged was very organised and whenever their heavy body moved, thend within the surrounding area would tremble along with them.
The huge frames of the orcs was just like a wall that came ramming towards Irene with a momentum of a truck.
But before they could even reach a few meters around her, an azure blue light shined out from Irene¡¯s pearly white hand as she swiftly backstepped and twisted her body around. The way she moved seemed illusory, just like a beautiful dance.
The hem of her clothes fluttered in the air as she made a graceful turn, the azure lighting out of her was gentle yet so piercing that it covered hundreds of meters ofnd in an instant.
WHOOOOSH¡
A clear freezing sound spread across the horizon and a chilling breeze blew past. Momentster, a wide span ofndpletely covered in a thickyer of ice came into view. Everything that the azure light shined upon got frozen till the core without any exception.
The tress, thend, and even the unfortunate monsters that were lingering around the forest got caught up in the radius not to mention the real target of the magic, the High Orcs were all frozen solid.
It was as if they were encased in ice for centuries and even the tiniest bit of life couldn¡¯t be sensed from them. At this point, they just looked like statues that were carefully and vividly crafted.
Frosty air rose all around the area while Irene swiftly turned around and left. Her calm and beautiful face carried a gracefulness and nobility that her simple dress failed to hide. Simon who was watching the battle from the backlines did not know whether tough or cry.
The might and the degree of skill that she disyed, was in apletely different league than him. Though he was aware of the disparity in their strength, he didn¡¯t think that the gulf would be this big.
Ever since they starting the exploration of the western part of the forest two days ago, she had repeatedly shown her overwhelming might. Even while facing opponents hundreds of levels above her, she disyed her massive superiority in magic and skills.
Even in the western region of the Ghastly Winding Forest where the strongest monster lived, most of them were just like sitting ducks in front of her. It was to the point where Simon was forced to realise that the monsters roaming around the outer region was no match for her. If they want to increase their levels, they could only head deeper.
It wasn¡¯t that the monsters were weak in the outer region, it was just that before they could even disy some of their might, they would be frozen solid in an instant. Just like those High Orcs who were not even able to swing their clubs and disy their powerful abilities.
When he said in an instant, he really meant a fraction of a second. For Simon tounch magic of that breadth, he would have to use intermediate tier wide-area magic that needed several seconds to cast not to mention the amalgamation magic that took even longer. However, Irene could dish out the magic of that level with just a swing of her hand.
Looking at the alluring back of the figure that was delving deeper into the forest, he could feel the immense gap between their strength. the gulf between them was as big as an ocean.
In the past two days, she had risen from level 1 to level 54. It was maybe due to his Pride fragment that provided a buff in experience when gaining levels that also affected her now that she was in his party, but mostly it was due to her constantly hunting higher level monsters inrge quantities, that she was able to leap levels.
The number of monsters in the western region that were turned into ice statues, before they could even utter a peep was in thousands.
As Simon saw her fleeting back and realised the huge gap that would only get bigger in the future, he couldn¡¯t help but clench his hands. He couldn¡¯t just allow himself to be left behind in the dust, he has to try even harder than before.
If he can¡¯t match her pace as he is now, then he has to start running at his full speed. No matter how big of a difference, Simon wasn¡¯t among those people who easily gave up without even trying their hardest. Even in his previous life, Simon was the type who tried his best to ovee any difficulty that came his way.
He remembered those times during his early years in working for the Astro Revolution gamingpany, he had to struggle hard to keep up. His seniors who had years of experience and knowledge in this field easily outpaced and outshined in every aspect possible. Barely hanging on was all he could do at that time.
The effectiveness and efficiency in which they did their work, was in apletely different realm than him. At that time, he had no choice but to recognize the immense gap between them. The difference between their skills did not dishearten him but on the contrary, motivated him even further. He bridged that disparity through his efforts and hard work. That was how Simon became one of the elite game developers of thepany.
The same goes for his current life, he couldn¡¯t just give up after meeting someone who had an overwhelming superiority in skills and magic over him. How could he just give up? That was not like him. If he did that, then wouldn¡¯t it mean that all the burden which I have to carry as a dungeon master would fall on Irene¡¯s delicate shoulders?
Even if Irene was a Guardian appointed by his dungeon to protect it, as a man, he couldn¡¯t forgive himself for shrinking away from his responsibilities. And ¡°Didn¡¯t I just dere a few months ago that I would make the dungeon, make Lace the best among all dungeons out there? How can I back out after all that?!¡±.
Simon Clenched his hands and renewed the convictions that he made after reincarnating into this world once again as mes of determination burned intensely inside him.
He looked at the beautiful figure that was so charming that she looked just like a goddess that had descended from the divine realm. No matter how transient she might look from his standpoint, he would keep trying his best to reach her.
Simon subconsciously lifted his hand in her direction and made a motion that seemed to be trying to reach her. At this time, even he was unaware as a different goal started sprouting inside his heart.
Chapter 82: Unconscious Little Girl
Chapter 82: Unconscious Little Girl
A week passed by amidst the constant exploration of the western region of the forest. During this time, Simon had discovered that the western part was humongous, it was so vast the other three regionsbined wouldn¡¯t even make ten percent of the western part of the forest.
Simon tried to map as much as he could with his skill [mental Map], but even he was amazed at the vastness of this ce.
The deeper they delved, the stronger the monster got. Tall wide trees that reached hundreds of meters blotted the sky and did not allow even a ray of light to pass through. Luminescent mushrooms and nts lighted the entire forest and even the moss growing around was glowing with a mysterious light.
A marvellous sight in this dark environment where not even a single ray of light could prate through.
In these past few days, Simon had levelled up quite a bit and even the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse had reached level 230. As for Irene, she was at level 89 right now, though her level was lower than the both of them, her actual strength couldn¡¯t be measured just by looking at her level.
Even though most of her powerful skills and magic were locked, she still dominated her opponents with her superior abilities and battle techniques. Each of her movement was precise with impressive delicacy and skill.
Simon looked on as Irene¡¯s beautiful figure shone with an enchanting azure light that froze the attack of her opponent. WHOOSH¡ A whistling sound was heard behind him, he hurriedly sidestepped and the next moment an attack came smashing towards him.
BANG¡ Tens of meters ofnd was uprooted as an enormous branch of a tree was smashed towards the ground. The ground cracked and the shockwave sent Simon tens of meters back. He looked at the enemy that was in front of him.
Right now, they were surrounded by three Elder Treants whose levels were around 220. They were quite huge and their height reached more than one hundred fifty meters. At a nce, they looked just like an ordinary tree and blended very well with their surroundings. But when a prey approached them unaware, they would bare their fangs.
When the elder treants are in their battle mode, their bark would shine with a metallic lustre and their leaves and branch would be sharp weapons. These treants had a ridiculous amount of defence that nullified low-level attacks and were a difficult opponent to deal with.
They had quite a lot of skills and were even able to use the novice tier earth magic. But the most annoying of all was their regeneration speed which swiftly recovered any injuries they received.
Clicking his tongue, Simon pped his wide bat-like wings and swiftly dodged the branch that was aiming to smash him. Immediately after dodging, he conjured hundreds of me spears using his intermediate tier me Magic Mastery and rained it down on the treants.
BOOM¡ BOOM¡ BOOM¡
Each of these me spears was much stronger than before and burned with an intense ferocity. Simon could feel his me Magic Mastery getting better and better.
But the retaliation didn¡¯t stop here, immediately after a giant back shadow of a demonic warhorse formed in the air. The shadow looked illusory but seemed to emit a threatening level of power. It had three pairs of crimson red eyes and bore some resemnce to the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse.
The ck horse shadow was releasing a dreadful aura that gave goosebumps to anyone looking at it and packed enough power to easily destroy anyone below level 100. It was the novice tier dark magic attack of the demonic warhorse. The ck horse shadow roared and looked somewhat lifelike as it charged towards the burning treants hit by his me spears.
Like ck smoke, the shadow enveloped the treants. KIEEEEEEEEK¡ darkness shrouded the surroundings as the piercing shrieks of the treants echoed out. Dark Magic was one of the rare forms of mana and not only does it have decaying properties, but it also corrodes the target from within.
TREMBLE¡ TREMBLE¡
The ground trembled for a while before huge swaths of earth rose into the air and dispersed the darkness and mes surrounding the treants. Although the dark magic did quite a lot of internal damage, it swiftly recovered due to their regeneration.
¡°As expected their [Steel Bark] Skill mitigated most of the damage and their [Root] skill is slowly but surely healing their injuries¡± Simon said as he looked at the treants regenerating from the damage they suffered.
The [Root] Skill was simr to his regeneration but many times more effective. As long as the enemies have their roots underneath the ground, they would be able to use the rich mana veins to swiftly recover their strength and injuries.
The skill may be more useful but it has its own disadvantages such as to avail the functions of the skill, the roots of the treants should always be near the mana vein or else the skill won¡¯t activate.
Judging from how quickly these Elder Treants were healing, they must have found a rich mana vein underneath. Simon knew that if this keeps going on, his side would be the one to be defeated first as they did not have an unlimited pool of MP and stamina unlike their opponent.
Since he was aware that it couldn¡¯t go on like this for long, therefore he decided to end it fast with an attack strong enough that not even their [root] skill would be able to heal in time.
Simon looked at Irene who was simrly having trouble keeping the enemy in check. Even with her superior skills, she was having trouble freezing them as they kept regenerating and thwarting the ice by manipting the earth using the earth magic.
No matter how strong her skills and magic was, due to her low level her mana pool was limited. Unless she freezes them to their root, which was hidden deep inside the earth, they would keep on regenerating.
¡°Stall them for as long as you can¡± after shouting out loud, Simon swiftly rose into the air and started casting his magic. Since me magic did not have enough firepower, dark magic couldn¡¯t decay them as they kept on regenerating, and freezing them was just dying the inevitable.
Then he had to dish out a magic powerful enough to prate through their high defence and destroy them from inside so that their healing couldn¡¯t keep up. Infernal magic could do that, but it ate up a lot of his manas plus the enemies this time was defence-oriented as such he did not know if his remaining MP would be enough, and also he did not want to always rely on external items to defeat his enemies as it was not his own strength.
A magic powerful enough to prate through their [Steel Bark] at the same time had enough firepower to swiftly kill them. What came to Simon¡¯s mind was lightning and me. Since he knew the novice tier electro magic, he wanted tobine it with the intermediate tier me magic.
But he had never tried the amalgamation of me and electro before, and this would be his first time using it in an actual battle. He knew that the consequence of a failure would be quite dire, therefore he had to make it a sess, there was no option for failure.
Chapter 83: Unconscious Little Girl (2)
Chapter 83: Unconscious Little Girl (2)
Simon immediately focused and threw all the unwarranted thoughts out of his mind and closed his eyes. He tried by conjuring the strongest me he could muster up in his right hand, next he tried to bring out the lightning properties of his electro magic in his left.
The two different forms of manas naturally repelled each other and the closer they got, the stronger they fought for dominance. me tried to subjugate electro and electro tried to subjugate me. However, since the me magic was a tier higher than the electro magic, it was able to dominate the other element.
Bringing out an equilibrium between these two attributes of magic became quite difficult, but Simon did not give up. He tried again and again, nevertheless each time the me magic came in contact with the electro, it swiftly suppressed it.
Sweat poured down his head as he focused intently on amalgamating the two elements. At this moment, Simon entered a profound state and time seemed toe to a crawl. He could neither sense his surroundings nor could he hear anything. At this moment, all his concentration was focused on the two elements, trying to make them reach an equilibrium.
Subsequently, at the same time Simon¡¯s body was bathed in mes and lightning. The two elements coiled around him as they vaguely took the shape of a dragon.
The heat and light radiating from his body was getting stronger and stronger and after a while, it reached a dangerous degree. The surrounding temperature reached a point where the very space itself started getting distorted. The lighting off of Simon was so strong that everything in a few hundred meters around him started burning.
SHRIEEEEEK¡ the treants realising the dangering from the magic, swung their thick wide branches towards Simon to stop him from casting the magic. But before their branches could reach him, hundreds of neighs sounded out across the whole forest before the ground started trembling.
Like rumbling thunder, galloping sounds of horses echoed out across the forest as hundreds of Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse charged towards the treants.
This was the [Stampede] skill of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse which allows it to create hundreds of illusions of itself. Hundreds of demonic warhorses charged towards the treants bringing forth clouds of dust.
The thick branches that were aimed towards Simon were smashed apart by their ming hooves as they charged forward. Their momentum was like that of a tidal wave. The treats sensing the danger from the oing attack wrapped their trunks with their branches and utilized all their skills to raise their defense even higher.
Before the illusions of the demonic warhorse illusions reached their target, they ignited into mes as they rammed themselves towards the treants. A loud demonic neigh was heard and all the treants burst into mes.
BOOOOM¡ CRACKLE¡
From within the mes, one could see the treants writhing in agony and their continuous shrieks rang across the forest. But just like the other attacks, the treants fended off the mes by manipting the earth and all the while continuously using the [Root] skill to regenerate the burnt trunks and branches.
After the mes died down, the three gigantic treants came into view once again. Smoke rising from all around their bodies as they shrieked, furious at their assant. The earth magic was a tier lower than the mes magic which was a intermediate tier magic.
However, the earth magic¡¯s speciality lied in its defence and control. If one hasplete mastery over this form of mana, one can even raise their defence to the point where even the strongest of attacks could be easily fend off.
Whereas the fire magic waspletely attack-oriented with destructive nature and did not provide much to the defence.
Whooooosh¡ RUMBLE¡
Thunder rumbled and an intense heatwave assaulted everyone. The mes coiling around Simon vaguely took the shape of a dragon that was more than twenty meters long. It had a fierce face and was radiating off a destructive aura from the mes it was made of.
Deep within the eyes of the dragon, one could see purple lightning rolling and rumbling. The me dragon was releasing a force that seemed like it could decimate everything and the lightning rolling within it, enhanced its destructiveness by manifold.
ROOOAARRR¡
A draconic roar that could shake one¡¯s soul, rang across the area. The entire aura around Simon changed after the dragon took shape but it appeared like he was still in a profound state and had yet to wake up.
SHRIEEEEEEEKKK¡ a loud shriek iparable to before came out from the three treants and for the first time since the battle began, they sensed danger to their lives. Without giving a chance for the magic to be released, they wildly swung their branches intending to squash Simon along with it.
However before the branches coulde near, a beautiful figure appeared in front of him.
Irene lightly stepped on the air below her and her alluring figure made an elegant movement before a ten-meter wide ice lotus sprang to life in front of her. The ice lotus gave an absolute sensation of frostiness and it looked like there was nothing in this world that it couldn¡¯t freeze.
Irene¡¯s pearly white skin became quite pale after releasing the ice lotus but she did not pay it any mind as she beckoned with her finger and the ice lotus slowly flew towards the oing branches.
Little by little, the ice lotus bloomed and the azure lighting out of it became even deeper. Just before the attacks met, the ice lotus fully bloomed and the azure lighting off of it was so piercing that it lighted the entire area for a few seconds.
WHOOSH¡
Momentster, a loud sound of something getting frozen echoed out across the whole forest. After the light disappeared, thend, forest, treants everything was frozen in ce. Icy air pervaded the surroundings and thend in a few hundred meters became cier.
In this icy world, the mes radiating from Simon¡¯s body were the only source of heat. The mes continued inting intensely and the purple lightning rolling inside the me dragon grew brighter. The power behind the magic seemed so strong that it threatened to destroy everything it came in contact with it.
Chapter 84: Unconscious Little Girl (3)
Chapter 84: Unconscious Little Girl (3)
Simon who was currently in a profound state, seded in bringing an equilibrium between the two elements. mes on his right hand and lightning on his left, the forces which repelled and tried to subjugate the other before now quietly revolved around him.
mes and lightning enveloped and empowered each other and it looked like the two elements were increasing one another¡¯s destructiveness.
Now that the elements had reached a profound equilibrium and were no longer rebelling, he supplemented the elements with more mana. The mes true to their attribute of destructiveness kept getting stronger and released an unparallel heat.
The electro magic disyed their piercing swift properties and made the amalgamation magic even stronger.
Like a bottomless pit, the two elements swiftly ate all of his MP as they kept getting stronger and bigger. It was to the point where half of his mana was swiftly drained. But Simon kept on feeding it even more.
Fire and electro magic are the two forms of mystical energy that held the purest and uncontaminated destructiveness among all the five basic forms of mana. The amalgamation of these two elements didn¡¯t just add to the strength but instead multiplied the might of the magic born by manifolds.
At this moment, all Simon could see was the magic being born in front of him as he kept supplying it with mana. A spectacr disy. The mes and lightning inted and contracted for quite a while before they reached a size of twenty meters.
He could feel that the magic was near itspletion as the mes and thunder pulsed with a wild and uninhibited power as if alive. After a while, it started coiling around him and vaguely took the shape of a twenty meters long crimson-purple dragon.
Looking at it, Simon could feel its destructive aura, he could only imagine its might after all the mana he provided to it. To create the magic, he had fully depleted his mana pool, and right now he did not even have enough MP to sustain his flight anymore.
As he looked at the mes and lightning, he gave a satisfied smile, and just when he was about to leave this profound state and disy the might of his magic, he suddenly heard a cry. The sound was that of a newly born infant and rang once before disappearing right after.
Simon had this strange feeling that the elements had called out to him. He tried to focus on this feeling but even after a while, nothing happened.
¡°It must be my imagination¡± he concluded shaking the thought off his head.
After Simon opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was and encased in a thickyer of ice. Wherever his eyesnded on, was and of ice. Beautiful and magnificent.
However, before he could marvel at the scene, his eyes were ensnared by the beauty who was so near him that he could even smell her fragrance. Pearly white skin, smooth icy blue hair, curves that were so perfect that anyone could be smitten in an instant, and an ethereal face that could immediately steal one¡¯s soul.
A peerless beauty.
Right after opening his eyes, Simon became gobsmacked. A sweet fragrance blew into his nose from time to time as he relished on it. This was the first time that Irene was standing so close to him, the distance was so near that he could touch her if he just reached out with his hand.
CRACK¡ CRICK¡ SHATTER¡ BANG
However, he quickly shook his head off the rampant thoughts and focused his attention on the enemies in front. Even after being encased in extremely freezingyers of ice, the treants still survived and were quickly regenerating their shattered branches.
It was as if unless they were destroyed till their roots or were uprooted from the ground, they would keep on regenerating.
Looking at the treants who were quickly thwarting her ice, Irene bit her soft pink lips and was about to attack once again when a voice called out to her and stopped her in her tracks. ¡°It¡¯s alright now. You all have bought me plenty of time, next leave everything to me¡± Simon said as he looked at Irene and smiled.
The moment Irene turned around, she became flustered. She realized that she was too close to Simon and could even smell his scent drifting with the wind.
Just when she was about to back away, Simon rushed towards the treants leaving behind his assuring words. She stared at the figure who was quickly flying towards the treants with her crystal blue eyes. Nobody knew what she was thinking.
Simon charged towards the treants who were struggling to free themselves from the ice. The twenty-meter long crimson-purple dragon that was hovering in the sky, emitted a thunderous roar as it descended.
The three gigantic treants who were more than a hundred meters tall and were half encased in ice shrieked in terror after they noticed the pulsing energying off from the me dragon.
BOOM¡ BOOOM¡ TREMBLE¡
Large swaths ofnd rose into the air and enveloped the treants as if trying to shield them from the oing attack.
Simon who was the caster of the attack sneered at their futile effect. He muttered to himself ¡°I must say you guys have an extraordinary defense and paired with the earth magic of yours, it bes quite difficult to prate your steel bark. However, that was up until now.¡±
The me dragon behind him opened itsrge mouth and roared, meanwhile Simon extended his hands towards the treants and dered ¡°Amalgamation magic:- Electro-me Mastery¡ [Crimson Lightning Dragon]¡±.
Immediately afterward, a piercing sound rang out as the crimson dragon charged towards the treants. It brought a destructive aura along as it rammed against the thick earth crust enveloping the trunks of the treants.
BANG.,. the earth crust without being able to put up any defence, crumbled down in an instant as thick spiderweb-like cracks ran across them. Right after prating through the earthen defence, the crimson lightning dragon easily bore through the treant¡¯s steel-like bark and exited from the opposite end of the trunk.
A three-meter wide gaping hole could be seen on the treant¡¯s thick trunk. The hole was slowly getting bigger as the insides of the treants were burning and melting down at an astonishing rate. The electro me was swiftly immting the body of the treant from inside and even bored through the earth, scorching their root.
Afterward, the entire trunk of the treant starting giving off an intense crimson light before its gigantic body sted apart into fiery cinders. Just like that, one of the treants was brought down in an instant. But the might of the crimson lightning dragon did not end there.
Right after prating through the first treant, the dragon turned around and pierced through the defence of the second treant as easily as before and exited through the other end of its trunk before charged towards thest remaining treant.
SHRIIIIEEEKKKK¡ An ear-piercing shriek echoed out. Thest treant shrieked and wrapped its branches against its trunk in hopes of stopping the crimson lightning dragon but to no avail. The dragon easily exited through its steel-like trunk and continued towards the horizon. A few secondster, the two gigantic body of the treant¡¯s was sted into fiery cinders just like the first one.
BOOOOOOOM¡
A huge shockwave bringing along an intense heatwave struck the area for hundreds of meters. Ice was melted down as thick clouds of smoke rose into the air, the burnt residues of the treants dropped down all around the forest like a meteor shower.
Simon whose entire strength had been drained out after the attack, was flung back by the shock wave as he rocketed towards the ground.
Chapter 85:- Unconscious Little Girl (4)
Chapter 85:- Unconscious Little Girl (4)
BOOOM¡
Simon whose entire strength had been drained out after the attack was flung back by the shock wave as he rocketed towards the ground.
Just when he thought he would violently smash into the ground, Irene¡¯s beautiful figure appeared in front and her icy energy enveloped him and stopped his momentum. He thought that he would smash headfirst into the ground but Irene had saved him in the nick of time.
A sweet fragrance drifted towards him. Right now, his body was strung so close to her that he could feel her breath tickling his skin. If she released her energy now, his body which was devoid of any energy was sure to fall upon her.
Simon¡¯s eyes fell on her body which seemed to be delicate yet alluring to the extreme. Her pearly white skin was just like the most beautiful jade and her ample chest that was covered by her azure clothes seemed so round and full. Her figure was so tempting that Simon involuntarily gulped a mouthful and hurriedly averted his eyes.
As if reading his thoughts, Irene¡¯s phoenix eyes squinted and she gave a low snort before disappearing. Leaving him suspended in the air.
BANG¡
The icy energy enveloping him disappeared and his body plummeted towards the ground with a bang. Fortunately, his momentum was stopped by Irene earlier and therefore he did not sustain any damage after his fall.
Simon stood up and dusted his body. Recalling the scene from earlier, his heart started thumping wildly. He did not know why his mind would wander whenever he saw Irene. It wasn¡¯t like Simon did not have any interaction with the opposite sex in his previous life and never during those times would his mind wander like that.
Of course, a transcendent beauty like Irene couldn¡¯t be matched with earth¡¯s standard however there was something in Irene that made his thoughts turbulent whenever her figure came into his mind.
¡°Haa¡ what am I thinking?..¡± Inhaling a deep breath, he focused his mind and looked around his surroundings. The forest was now aplete mess after their battle, mes burnt here and there and thick clouds of smoke rose into the air.
The ground In a few dozen meters area where the roots of the Elder Treants were waspletely scorched ck. Nheless, Irene¡¯s ice helped mitigate some of the environmental damage brought forth by the destruction of the treants blowing up after his attack.
Even he did not think it would be this powerful. Simon clenched his hands and smiled satisfyingly. The electro-me amalgamation magic packed quite a bit of strength and wasparable to the advanced tier infernal magic.
He was making progress and had taken another step forward. He stared at Irene¡¯s beguiling figure, the huge gulf between them did not seem impossible to cross. After the battle, Simon had levelled up once again, and he was quickly reaching the level 300 threshold.
He patted the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse and rode on top of it. Currently, he had drained all of his MP on hisst attack and was therefore unable to utilize any skills. As such he decided to ride on top of his warhorse and recover some of his mana in the meantime.
The Elder Treants dropped ash-grey coloured bark which spread all over the surroundings after their destruction. Simon collected and stored some of them in his inventory, after all, they had quite a difficult time prating through the defence of the treants which was covered in the exact same bark. One could imagine how sturdy they were to have withstood all their attacks.
Realising that it could be useful in the future, he stored quite a bit of them. He rummaged the area for a while and just when he thought that it would be enough and decided to go back, he spotted an emerald green lighting from behind one of the trees.
Beckoning his warhorse, he swiftly approached the light and was stunned by what he saw. A small girl with a delicate face and exquisite appearance was currently unconscious underneath the tree. She had bright emerald hair and matching green clothes which were currently dyed red from her blood.
Two pairs of fairy wings that were as soft as petals and gave off a rainbow light was protruding from her back. She was no more than a meter tall and looked just like a fairy that came straight out of a fairytale.
Her blood dyed the surrounding grass red and it seemed like she was in quite a bad shape.
An azure light shed behind him and Irene¡¯s beautiful figure came into view. She looked at the unconscious girl and knitted her brows, surprise shing deep within her crystal blue eyes. She watched as Simon took out a small vial, gently picked the girl, and fed her the contents.
Irene did not know what the content of the vial was but she was amazed once again as she saw the severe injuries of the girl was slowly but steadily healing.
After using the Restoration Elixir which he bought from the shop for 25,000 DP on the girl, Simon believed that her injuries which seemed quite severe would be fine after a day of rest. He noticed that the girl was unconscious and did not show any signs of waking up.
Looking at her condition, it was very obvious that the girl was physically and mentally fatigued. Simon pondered for a long while and decided to bring the girl along with him, after all, he cannot just leave an unconscious child alone in the forest.
Making up his mind, heid the girl on the back of Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse and decided to return to the dungeon.
While on their way, Simon decided to check on her using his analysis and was amazed by the result. She was a level 259 Forest Spring Royal Spirit and her rank was disyed as [S]. This was the first time Simonid his eyes upon someone who was ranked [S] as per the analysis, therefore he couldn¡¯t help but double-check the result disyed.
As for her skills and stats, it was being blocked by something on her which stopped any prying attempts from his analysis. Since Simon¡¯s blood was not pure, he did not inherit many memories about the world and hence did not know much about the race the Forest Spring Spirit n the little girl belonged to.
Chapter 86: Cecilia
Chapter 86: Cecilia
Simon carried the terribly injured body of the little girl on the back of his warhorse as he swiftly charted a safe course that had fewer monsters with the help of his [Mental Map] skill. The skill allows the user to map out the geography of any ce that the user had explored before.
The skill is quite useful as it not only maps the geography but also helps him understand and mark the denizens and their numbers in the area. The more area of the forest he explores, the more detailed the [Mental Map] bes.
In these past few days, Simon had explored a fair bit of the outer region of the west side of the Ghastly Winding Forest. Although he was still far from charting it outpletely, he still knew where the strong monsters and theirir were. Avoiding the areas where monsters were especially territorial, they flew over a path with very little concentration of monsters.
Irene silently followed behind as she looked at the both of them, emotions continuously fluctuated at the depth of her eyes as she observed Simon who looked as clueless as ever. But more than that, she was surprised to find a member of the Forest Spring Spirit n here. Not to mention that the girl that Simon found unconscious earlier, was no ordinary Forest Spring Spirit.
¡ª¡ª
She had a peculiar dream, a nightmare to be exact. Her n which resided in the Ghastly Winding Forest under the protection of one of the seven kings of the western region of the forest; the Ancient Titan Treant, was being cruelly subjugated by the adventurers.
The adventurers were all garbed in ck robes and wore masks to hide their identities. But it did nothing to cover their hideous nature as theyughed, taking joy in tormenting to make them more obedient. The scene was truly a hellscape as their house was burnt down one after the other.
Men, women, children, all of her n members were mercilessly being hunted and put under the cor by the vicious hands of the adventurers. Cries of agony rang across the whole ce.
Her Vige which was supposed to be hidden by the Arcane mist that made their vige unreachable to anyone but them, was revealed by the very same human who was terribly injured at that time and was brought into their vige for care and treatment.
Never did the Forest Spring Spirit n thought that the kindness that they showed to the human, would be betrayed in such a cruel manner.
Tears fell down her cheeks like an unending waterfall. Her friends and families were beaten and enved, those who resisted fiercely were killed to make an example for the rest.
It was truly a doomsday for her n, she could still vividly remember her mother self destructing her spirit orb to allow the n members escape as they ran towards the Ancient Titan Treant, one of the Seven Kings to seek its protection.
¡°My daughter, do not look behind and¡ run. You must never¡ allow them to capture you. Mother cannote along with you, but I will always be watching and praying for your safety¡ Live well, my daughter¡± Her mother said during herst moments before choosing to self destruct her spirit orb to allow the n members a chance to escape.
A brilliant emerald green light enveloped the vige which stalled the adventurers for them to get away.
¡°No Mother¡ Mother.. Motherrrr¡± She screamed in despair and could only look on helplessly as her mother used her very life in exchange to push back the adventurers.
She was pulled back and carried away as she cried a fountain in her father¡¯s embrace. Her father who simrly had a heartbroken face watching his wife self destruct her spirit orb. But as the patriarch of the n, he had the duty to lead his nsmen out of this hellscape.
She cried until her throat became dry and she no longer had any energy to wail. From this moment on, she would no longer be able to feel the warmth of her mother. Her mother who was the most gentle person, she cared and loved the whole n and the n in return respected her very much.
She didn¡¯t know how but during their escape, the human adventurers soon realised that a royal spirit was residing in this n and started hunting down the escapees. Her close friends and rtives sacrificed their lives in order to assist their escape.
They ran and hid for days, it was like a nightmare that wouldn¡¯t end. Even until the end, the adventurers continuously pursued them andughed merrily as they enjoyed their chase, before finally cornering them. One by one all of the people that she loved and cared for, died by self-destructing their spirit orb.
Thest of her n members who were with her gave up their lives in hopes of creating an opportunity for her and her father to escape. But the adventurersughed at their futile attempt. She saw her n members being toyed and killed amidst her overflowing tears.
Until finally they forced her father, the patriarch to eventually self-destruct his spirit orb so that she could escape. Her father now drenched in blood from the cuts and wounds, pleaded to her ¡°My daughter forgive your¡ father for not being able to protect you. Huff¡ Huff¡ It seems that father won¡¯t be able to apany you anymore, but¡ y-you must escape from here. Never allow the adventurers to find you¡¡±.
¡°Father¡Father¡Father¡± she cried in the arms of her father in a heartbroken manner. The warm hands of her father were slowly getting cold and pale as he caressed her cheeks and said ¡°Cecilia, I was d¡ huff¡ huff¡ to have you as my daughter. F-From now on you might have to face many difficulties¡ alone, but you must stay strong and live¡±.
¡°¡..¡± Before the light in his eyes dimmed, her father whispered some words into her before he smiled and said ¡°You are thest hope¡ of our n. Remember the w-world is vast, you must stay strong¡¡±.
And with that, bright emerald light started overflowing from her father as he used his Mutated Magic before the trunk of a nearby tree spread open to envelop her and swiftly transported her away. ¡°Nooooo I don¡¯t want this¡ Father¡Father¡ Fatherrrrr¡± she cried again and again until her throat became hoarse and she fell unconscious.
¡ª¡ª
¡°Huff¡huff¡huff¡.huff¡huff¡¡± inside one of the spacious rooms of the white pce, a girl was currently spasming and shuddering as tears continuously dropped down her eyelids while she slept.
Irene who was inside the room looked at the girl who was clearly having a nightmare and gently wiped her tears. Her usually indifferent eyes had pity andpassion as she lightly caressed the delicate cheeks of the girl.
As if feeling the warmth from her hand, tears glimmered at the end of the little girl¡¯s eyelids and her violent spasming finally settled down.
After her breathing became even, she fell into a deep sleep and it was only after a long while that she opened her eyes. Her eyes no longer held their previous childish light and looked dark and hollow.
She surveyed her surroundings before immediately getting up from the bed in a panic. Her first reaction was to check her neck and after finding that there was no cor on it, she sighed in relief.
Chapter 87: Cecilia (2)
Chapter 87: Cecilia (2)
Right after Cecilia woke up, her first reaction was to check her neck and only after finding that there was no cor on it, she sighed in relief. Next, she surveyed her surroundings and found out that she was on top of a bed in a foreign ce.
The room was very spacious and moderately decorated. As she looked around, her eyes were quickly drawn towards the woman who was as beautiful as a goddess.
Pearly white skin, hair as beautiful as the waterfall, and donned in azure clothes that seemed to entuate her beauty even more, she was the very definition of picturesque beauty. At this moment, the woman was sitting very close and was staring at her.
Snapping out of her daze, Cecilia immediately leaned behind her bed and tried to hide under the quilt. It was only after she discovered that the woman did not have any ill intention towards her, did she muster up her strength and asked ¡°Who are you miss? And where am I?¡± Midway through her sentence, she remembered that her father used his magic to teleport her far away from the adventurers that were chasing them.
The moment she thought about that, scenes from the past few days ago, came flooding inside her mind and her mood became gloomy and dark. Cecilia quietly hugged her knees and dazedly stared at the floor.
It was at this moment that the woman seated beside her bed, replied with a smile that had enough charms to steal the brilliance of the world immediately and said ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, we are not going to harm you. You were severely injured and lying unconscious in the forest¡±
When Cecilia heard her voice, she was immediately stunned. The woman¡¯s voice was just like her appearance soft and serene like a heavenly note that soothes one¡¯s soul and sounded very pleasant to the ears. Looking at the woman whose smile reminded her of her mother¡¯s she finally opened up a little and decided to ask ¡°d-did you¡ save me?¡±
The woman neither denied nor agreed with her words and simply said ¡°Hold onto your questions until he arrives¡±.. Just as Cecilia was trying to make sense of what the woman said, the door was knocked and a man soon entered the room.
The moment sheid her eyes upon the man, she immediately realized that the man was not human. He had pitch-ck hair that seemed to absorb all the light from the world, two jagged horns that protruded from his head, and a pair of crimson eyes that had enough power to suffocate anyone.
Cecilia had lived most of her life within the area covered by the Astral mist of her vige and other than the knowledge that her mother instilled in her about the various races of this world, she did not know much about the outside world. But even she could tell from the features of the man that he was a demon.
The man was a few inches taller than the woman and although he looked quite scary, the man did not disy any ill intent towards her.
¡°Are you alright? Do you still feel pain anywhere?¡± Simon inquired observing her injuries that had mostly healed.
Cecilia was surprised by the very first words that the man said since she could feel the consideration in his voice.
She did not know how to respond to that and ended up just nodding her head. As if realising her wariness, the man did not approach any closer and maintained his distance. She looked at the man who was trying his best to give his best smile but ended up failing miserably as she could only see wickedness in his smile.
¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, we are not going to hurt you¡± he assured her before introducing himself ¡°I am Simon, the master of this dungeon and the prettydy next to you is Irene¡±.
It took her a while but she finally mustered up her courage and said ¡°I am Cecilia¡ did you guys save me?¡±.
¡°Hmm? If you mean healed you then yes. We found you copsed and unconscious beneath one of the trees near the territory of the Elder Treants. At that time you were quite injured and it would be dangerous to leave you there and that is why I brought you here¡± Simon exined.
¡°I see¡ thank you very much for saving me. I do not have anything on me to reward you with so I can only bow my head and say my thanks¡± Cecilia bowed deeply to conceal the pain shing through her eyes as she said her thanks.
Simon scratched his head at the awkward reply of the girl and helplessly said ¡°Your thanks are enough I don¡¯t need any reward. In the first ce, I saved miss Cecilia in good faith without expecting any reward in return. So you don¡¯t have to worry about paying me or anything¡±.
Cecilia looked at Simon with big wide eyes stunned at what she just heard. She thought that since he saved her, he would want something in return or worse if he knew her identity and demanded to enve her?¡
While she was still in her stupor, Simon shed another wicked smile which he thought was aforting one and said ¡°Well we can talk some more after you arepletely healed. For now, you can rest in this room without worrying about anything. After you finish organising your thoughts, you cane to the dining hall and we can talk some more over a meal¡±.
Having said everything he wanted to say, Simon prepared to leave the room when Cecilia cried out ¡°Why are you being so good to me? Why didn¡¯t you just leave me to die?!. It would have been far better for everyone if I had just died and now since you harboured me, you guys will also get in troubl¡¡± before she could continue anymore, a voice interrupted her.
¡°Miss Cecilia if you think your death would make everyone around you feel better then you are just being selfish. From the moment I saved you I knew, you had gone through a lot of suffering. Getting distressed is one thing, but to think about death is just taking the easy way out. However, since I do not know about your circumstances, I might be just being nosy but I still think that simply dying would not aplish anything¡± Simon closed the door and left after he said his words.
Irene gently sighed and caressed the emerald hair of the dazed-looking girl and silently left after saying a few words of her own ¡°His words might sound harsh but they are right. I can only imagine the pain and suffering you have gone through so take your time and when you are ready to open up, we are naturally willing to listen¡±.
Tears fell down Cecilia¡¯s face like an unceasing waterfall as she hugged her knees and mopped.
Aftering out of the room, Irene found Simon standing still in front of arge hall and asked ¡°What do you n to do with her?¡±.
Simon was shocked when he heard Irene¡¯s voice. It was the first time Simon heard Irene¡¯s voice since she mostly kept to herself and interacted very little. It was only natural for Simon to get stunned after all he never thought that Irene would start a conversation of her own ord.
Chapter 88: Cecilia (3)
Chapter 88: Cecilia (3)
Aftering out of the room, Irene found Simon standing still in front of arge hall and asked ¡°What do you n to do with her?¡±.
¡°Well even if you ask me¡ I do not have any ns for her. I just helped her without thinking much since I couldn¡¯t just leave an injured girl alone. At that time it felt the most usible action to do.¡±
Simon gave a vague answer as he himself did not know about the exact reason why he saved an unknown girl. At that time, his body moved on its own. While he was quite flustered by his vague reply, he failed to notice Irene¡¯s lips which parted into a beautiful smile.
Suddenly as if remembering something, Simon asked ¡°You seem fairly mindful of her, due you perhaps know something about her?¡± He asked as he felt that Irene was suddenly acting strange. Her usual self would always act distant and aloof to the point where it would be a miracle to even get a word out of her.
Irene closed her eyes and kept silent for a while.
¡°It¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t want to say anything¡± just when Simon thought that he would not get any answer as usual, Irene replied ¡°I do not know about her but I¡¯m aware of her race that she belongs to. The Forest Spring Spirit n, one of the rarest and ancient beings living in the universe. It is said that they can harness a mysterious form of energy different from the mana system that you use and can grow the rarest and sacred of nts and trees¡±.
Simon was stunned. He was sceptical that there existed a different form of energy other than mystical energy. Although he had his doubts, he still quietly listened to her.
Irene further added as she crossed her hands on top of her full chest ¡°In some ces, they are also called the overseer of the forest and all the nt type monsters such as the treants that we met a few days ago receive many benefits from the forest spring spirits and have a duty to protect them as the Forest Spring Spirits are not a race suited forbat. However, that is not all. The Forest Spring Spirit is hunted all over the world for their spirit orbs, which can help increase the purity of one¡¯s bloodline and can even heal a severely injured person on the brink of death¡±.
Listening to her exin about the abilities of the Forest Spring Spirits, Simon was absolutely stupefied. What did it mean to cure a person from the brink of death? Such an ability would be coveted by many people.
Not to mention the absurd ability to raise one¡¯s bloodline. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that the object would be desired and coveted by the entire world.
The restraints of bloodline ced by the world on the billions of its inhabitants. A chance to break out of that restraints would even induce a massive war. an object like that would be regarded as a treasure no matter where he went.
Irene knitted her crescent bows, looked at Simon, and asked ¡°You should know what it means in this world for one to increase the purity in their bloodline. A person who can get their hands on a spirit orb can break the restraints ced on him by the system and step into a higher realm. The greed brought by such benefits would bring what kind of disasters for the Forest Spring Spirit n can you even imagine it?¡±.
Simon knitted his brows, sat on the sofa and pondered for a while. He couldn¡¯t imagine the kind of pain and tragedy the little forest spirit girl he just saved might have gone through after listening to the details provided by Irene.
Simon let out a deep sigh and fell into contemtion. He finally understood now why that little girl who appeared to be less than six years old, was so adamant about dying rather than living.
He remembered how terribly wounded she was when he found her unconscious under a tree. Clearly, she was being pursued. Simon felt a violent pain assaulting his heart as he imagined the pain and suffering a little girl like her had gone through until now.
As he was lost in his thoughts, Irene spoke once again ¡°it is even worse for the Forest Spring Royal Spirit, a royalty born in the Forest Spring Spirit n. There is one in a hundred million chance for a royal spirit to be born inside a forest spirit n. It is said that from the moment they are born, they are able to harness the essence of nature and are considered to be sacred spirits¡±.
Speaking till here, Irene¡¯s usually indifferent eyes had pain and sympathy shing in them as she continued ¡°However the heavens are truly unfair towards them. The Royal Spirit Orb of a fully grown Forest Spring Royal Spirit is considered to be one of the heavenly treasures. The benefits brought by an ordinary spirit orb are already incredible, do you know what heaven-defying benefits a Royal Spirit Orb can provide?¡±.
Simon opened and closed his mouth a few times, he had no answer to that. He remembered that his analysis disyed the race of the girls as Forest Spring Royal Spirit and not just Forest Spring Spirit. This meant that the little girl he saved, was a royalty amongst the forest spring spirits.
Inside one of the rooms of the white pce, Cecilia finally stopped sobbing and stared at seemingly nothing for a long while before a light of resolution shed in her lustreless eyes. The words Simon and Irene said previously continuously rang into her ears and the final words left by her father finally gave her the will to struggle.
She was the final hope of her n, how can she simply die? No matter what she has to survive if not for her, then for her n that had put so much trust in her. She got out of her bed and left the room.
Cecilia looked at the beautifully decorated interior of the pce as she tried to find her way to the dining hall. Suddenly she heard the sounds of conversationsing from ahead and hastened her pace but before she could step into the dining hall, her steps suddenly halted.
Cecilia heard the bits of conversation that she never wanted to hear,ing from the room. She felt as if her whole body was frozen and she could no longer take another step forward. Quietly ducking into a corner, she eavesdropped on their conversation as her tiny frame shuddered while fear gripped her whole body.
Irene¡¯s eyes stealthily nced at one corner of the hallway that led to the dining room and her voice increased a notch.
¡°If one gets their hands on a Royal Spirit Orb, they no longer have to worry about their bloodline being impure as there will no longer be any restraints holding them. Not only that but the orb allows a person to raise their talent to an extraordinary height and gain abilities that can easily manipte the forces of nature¡±.
¡°There are many other unknown benefits a Royal Spirit Orb can provide¡± Irene narrated as she deeply looked into the Crimson eyes of Simon as if trying to see through his very soul. However, even she did not expect that even after listening to all of that, his face would be still as impassive as ever with not even a tinge of greed in his eyes.
¡°Yeah, yeah I get it. Enough about this spirit orb that¡ spirit orb this already. I don¡¯t know why you are telling me this all of a sudden but it has got nothing to do with me¡±. Simon shrugged, bored of continuously listening to how amazing a treasure the spirit orb was.
She was stunned by this unexpected and t reply. ¡°You are telling me that you have no interest whatsoever in the Royal Spirit Orb that delivered itself to your doorstep?! From what I can tell, your bloodline seems fairly impure which will limit your future growth but if you can obtain the Royal Spirit Orb from that girl, your future achievement will be limitless¡± Irene stared at Simon with a peculiar expression in her eyes.
Chapter 89: A Girl’s Plea
Chapter 89: A Girl¡¯s Plea
¡°Are you telling me that you have no interest whatsoever in the Royal Spirit orb that had delivered itself right into your doorstep? From what I can see, your bloodline seems to be fairly impure and the heights that you can reach in the future is limited. The Royal Spirit orb can turn all that over¡± Irene said with a peculiar expression as she eyes Simon.
Listening to her words, it was the first time that Simon got annoyed at her. He said in an irritated voice ¡°Enough! I told you already I have no interest in this so called heavenly treasure of yours whatsoever¡±.
¡°Although I¡¯m not a saint, but if you think I¡¯ll fall as low as to try and snatch the spirit orb from a little girl who is already scared of the world? Then you are looking down on me too much. Besides, you didn¡¯t say it but wouldn¡¯t they die if their Spirit Orb is snatched from them? Isn¡¯t it the very core of their being?If I did something like that, I would no longer be human, what difference would there be between me and a beast!¡±
¡°You are right about my bloodline. As a demon, I was born with an impure bloodline in this world. But it was never able to daunt me, I¡¯ll choose my own path no matter how many setbacks or restraints I have to suffer on the way. Even if it¡¯s the very world it cannot prevent me from rising to the top and if it restraints me simr to how it restraints billions of its inhabitants, then I¡¯ll simply break through the chains. That is all there is to it¡±. Simon clenched his hands into a fist and said in a resolute voice.
He had his inherent skill [Main Menu] with him whose one of the functions allows him to purify his bloodline and break the shackles that would have limited his growth. Unlike the other, he was not bound by the unwrittenw of this world. He knew that even without using a dirty means such as using the spirit orb of the Forest Spring Spirit n, he would be able to keep on getting stronger.
A rarely seen look of appreciation bloomed on Irene¡¯s beautiful face as she heard what Simon had to say. His voice was full of determination and unyielding will to go against the restraints that have been ced on him.
When Simon saw her absolutely charming smile, he got stunned for a good while. At this moment Irene looked so beautiful that even the very light seemed dim when it fell on her.
He had never seen her smile once till now but now that he had seen it, he could not get the scene out of his head. Irene already had a soul stunning beauty but when she smiled, everything, even the stars, and moons in the sky looked mundanepared to her.
Her eyebrows curved into a beautiful arc as she quickly pointed out the fault in his sentence ¡°If I did that I would no longer be human! Hmmm?¡ but aren¡¯t you a demon?¡±.
¡°(£þ¥§£þ;)¡± The corner of Simon¡¯s mouth twitched as he forced a cough and tried to pretend he did not hear what she just said. But in his mind, he was sweating profusely ¡®This Woman is too sharp¡¯. Earlier he was too flustered and made a mistake, but Irene was quick to spot it.
On the corner of the walkway leading to the dining hall, Cecilia fell to her knees and sobbed unceasingly as she heard Simon¡¯s words loud and clear. Her crystal-like teardrops fell into the carpet. She had never felt this much warmth from someone who was not her family much less her n member.
Even while fully knowing the limitations he suffered and the heaven-defying benefits that the Royal Spirit Orb provided him, he still chose not to plunder it and rely on his hard work to ovee his limitations even though he could easily take the Royal Spirit Orb away from her and she wouldn¡¯t even be able to struggle.
Irene looked towards the corner where Cecilia was hiding, smiled gently, and walked towards her. Cecilia¡¯s small figure trembled when she heard someoneing near but rxed soon when she found out that a warm hand had been gently ced on her head, caressing her hair.
Her tear-stained eyes looked at the beautiful woman who had a warm smile exactly like her mother and she couldn¡¯t help but dive into her bosom. Feeling the warmth and softness, all her wariness disappeared away as she cried out loud till her throat became sore. All the while, Irene embraced her and softly caressed her hair.
Simon watched the heartwarming scene and couldn¡¯t help but smile. He finally knew why Irene had provoked him with her words like that. She was trying to see through his inner thoughts and at the same time give the girl eavesdropping in the corner, peace of mind.
At that time he was too focused on their conversation that he failed to notice Cecilia¡¯s arrival but how could Irene miss it. She was well aware that Cecilia was eavesdropping on their conversation and at the same time tried to gouge out what kind of a person Simon was through their conversation.
She was clearly baiting him. Simon felt his skin tingle the moment such a thought arrived in his head.
Coming to a conclusion, Simon felt quite relieved that he didn¡¯t fall for her trap. He was sure that given Irene¡¯s temperament if he had given a materialistic answer, she would immediatelysh out at him and take Cecilia away with her.
After all, there was nothing binding her to him. After the merger of the two menus, the [Summon] option and the [Hero¡¯s Altar] became bugged and there was no longer a way to summon subordinates who were absolutely loyal to the dungeon master.
He became aware of that a few days after summoning Irene.
Chapter 90: A Girls Plea (2)
Chapter 90: A Girl¡¯s Plea (2)
After a while, he saw Irene bringing Cecilia who was hiding behind her inside the dining hall. Simon couldn¡¯t help but smile once again looking at the cute action of the girl with bright emerald hair and wearing a pretty green dress.
Her face that still retained some of her childishness, looked very adorable. Grooowwl¡ a voice came from her stomach and the snow-white face of Cecilia quickly became beet red. Simon quickly opened the [Shop] and bought numerous dishes that lined up the table.
Cecilia looked over the table as an appealing fragrance assaulted her nose and increased her appetite. Food that she had never before seen was neatly lined up on the table and looked so delicious that she couldn¡¯t help but gulp audibly.
Simon looked at the sparkling eyes of the little girl as she stared at the food on the table. But was still hesitant for some reason. He pulled out a chair and told her to sit down. Cecilia after giving it some thought, came over as told and sat on the chair.
Irene pulled out her own chair and sat near Cecilia as she watched her glittering eyes when she looked at the food. Even Irene had to admit that the dishes Simon brought out, was always delicious.
¡°I know you must be very hungry so you don¡¯t have to hold back. Dig in and eat whatever you want. Don¡¯t worry about the food, I can bring out some more whenever I want¡± Simon said when he saw that the little girl was still hesitating.
Groooowwl~~~ Her face dyed a crimson red, Cecilia nodded and finally couldn¡¯t hold herself back in the face of the appetizing smell. She grabbed the strawberry sundae and brought a spoonful of it to her mouth. ¡°mmm~~¡± a sweetness along with a cold sensation spread across her whole mouth and her big wide eyes became stunned.
She hurriedly gulped down few more mouthfuls before moving on to the next items. Burgers, cream stew, shrimp fries, meat rolls. One after the other she tried all the dishes. It was so delicious that tears glittered across her eyelids and it was only after a while that her appetite began to satiate. Seeing her finish one dish after another, Simon had to wonder where she was putting all the food into.
After finishing her meal, she finally gave her thanks ¡°Thank you for the food and also for saving me¡±. Simon nodded ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it. I saved you because I wanted to so there is no need for you to concern about anything¡±.
Cecilia opened her mouth and tried to say something but words failed toe out of her. After struggling internally for a while, she finally said it out loud ¡°But now that you have involved yourself with me, trouble wille seeking you all¡±. Her eyes were trembling and her face was masked with worry.
Simon snorted and replied curtly ¡°Who doesn¡¯t have their own share of trouble. It is useless to worry about something that might or might not happen in the future. What matters is the will to tackle it.¡± He smiled and said in a resolute tone ¡°And even if trouble does knock at my door, I just have to get strong enough to smash through it all¡±.
Hearing Simon¡¯s confident reply did alleviate some of her worries but she still felt it was inappropriate to involve them in her troubles so she asked ¡°I don¡¯t want to burden you guys. It is something I must tackle myself so instead, will you train me so that I can get strong enough to beat those people back?¡±. Cecilia¡¯s eyes showed how determined she was.
Simon sighed helplessly and couldn¡¯t help massage his temple. He said ¡°Fight huh?! You better give up on that idea. I heard from Irene that your race is not suited forbat so even if you train, it would be hard for you to even kill a Direwolf as you are now. Look now, I know that you are worried about getting us involved in your troubles but now that I have saved you I have already gotten myself involved with you so those troubles of yours aren¡¯t just yours alone are they?¡±.
Although Cecilia was at level 259, ording to Irene she wasn¡¯t even strong enough to beat a level 100 direwolf alone.
Cecilia had a look of surprise on her face as she heard what Simon had to say. She couldn¡¯t believe that even after knowing that troubles and misfortune would befall him if he harboured her, he would still choose to get himself involved in it.
The first thing that came to her mind was why. Why would someone she just met, would choose to involve himself with her troubles instead of casting her away. Cecilia couldn¡¯t help but ask ¡°Why?¡±.
Simon reached out with his hand and caressed Cecilia¡¯s emerald hair and dered ¡°You don¡¯t have to think of yourself as a burden because I¡¯m not the kind of person who has it in him to abandon a girl who is suffering so much all alone and whose eyes clearly say that they need help¡±.
Irene was still as indifferent as before but if one looked carefully, one would see that her eyes were no longer as icy as before whenever they stared at Simon.
Cecilia became dazed for a while, she felt warmth and care from him who was so adamant on getting himself involved with her. Simon looked at her clear green eyes that shone as bright as a crystal and said ¡°Did you really think that you could convince anyone while having that look in your eyes¡±.
He could see the girl¡¯s pain and suffering in the depths of her eyes as they desperately pleaded and sought help. No matter how she masked it, Simon saw right through it. When she saw his determination, tears glimmered in the corners of her eyes and she finally nodded and gave a weak reply that was a mixture of gratefulness, sobbing and relief ¡°Unngh¡±.
Irene wiped the tears from her cheek andforted her. She knew that the girl who was less than five years old had gone through a lot and she couldn¡¯t bear to see her suffer anymore.
While hugging the girl in her bosom, Irene looked at Simon and said ¡°I have a proposal. The Forest Spring Spirit n have the innate ability to manipte nature and grow the rarest of nt and trees. Not only that but they are the best caretaker and overseers of the forest you could find in this whole world and lots of hidden abilities that even I¡¯m not aware of¡±.
¡°Therefore if you take the Forest Spring Spirit n under your protection as your subordinates, it will help you and the dungeon grow in the future. You, who need subordinates to maintain the dungeon for you, and they who need protection to live on, are a perfect fit don¡¯t you think so? If you harbour and protect them, the benefits that the Forest Spring Spirit n can provide you will far outweigh any cons that they might bring in the future¡±.
Simon looked deeply into Irene¡¯s eyes which wanted to protect the Forest Spring Spirit n. The benefits that the n can provide was just an excuse to make him shelter the pitiful n. However, even without her telling him the benefits he already made his mind to protect the little girl and her n.
He stared at Cecilia and asked, ¡°Where in the forest your n is located at?¡±.
Chapter 91: Seven Swords Guild
Chapter 91: Seven Swords Guild
Simon looked deeply into Irene¡¯s eyes which wanted to protect the Forest Spring Spirit n. The benefits that the n can provide was just an excuse to make him shelter the pitiful n. However, even without her telling him the benefits he already made his mind to protect the little girl and her n. He stared at Cecilia and asked, ¡°Where in the forest your n is located at?¡±.
From Cecilia, he became aware of the settlement of the Forest Spirit Spring n which was located deep inside the western region near the territory of the Ancient Treants. Their vige was protected by an arcane mist that was erected by one of their ancestors and no one other than them would be able to find their vige. Even the Forest Spring Spirits needed to use special means to enter their vige through the mist.
She also told him about the geography of the area where her vige was located and from her, he also became aware of the existence known as the Seven kings that divided the western region into seven parts and ruled their territories just like kings.
¡°Seven Kings huh! They must be the insanely strong presences that I felt deep inside the western region of the forest¡± Simon mused as he heard the details from Cecilia.
Unlike the three overlords of the northern region of the Ghastly Winding forest, the seven kings of the western region were on apletely different realm and were the true rulers of the entire forest. Their presence was what made the forest so dreadful that no adventurers dared to delve deeper.
In the future, if Simon wanted to conquer the forest, he had topete with these seven kings for dominance. Since his dungeon was located in the forest, he couldn¡¯t just sit still inside knowing that there are seven incredibly strong beings lurking outside that could destroy his dungeon.
However, that was all in the future, there was no point worrying about it now.
Cecilia told him about the circumstances of the Forest Spring Spirit n and the incident that unfolded before he found her unconscious beneath the tree. When she recalled the scenes from a few days ago, tears threatened to overflow from her eyes once again but she forcefully held them back.
Her body trembled and her eyes shed with sorrow but more than that, there was a fire burning within them. Fire to take revenge for her mother, father and her n.
Learning about the situation, Simon sighed out loud. He thought ¡®No wonder she looked so dead inside. A little girl less than five years of age lost everyone she held dear in front of her very eyes, how could she keep on living all alone. Death must have felt much easier an option. The heavens have been really unfair to her¡¯.
Even though Cecilia was suffering internally as she recalled the scenes from back then, she still continued.
It seems that the Ancient Titan Treant, one of the seven kings of the Ghastly Winding Forest protected them, but even then the Ancient Titan Treant was rooted in its territory and couldn¡¯t move as it wished.
Spotting the opportunity, the human that their n found heavily injured outside, and who was led inside their settlement for treatment betrayed them and disclosed their location back to the adventurers who were currently subjugating their vige.
Simon grimaced ¡°So that was how their location was found¡±. Simon believed that as long as that mist was around, their vige was impossible to locate. But if one outsider was led inside, he would naturally know how to get in and out through the mist.
Cecilia recalled what her father once told her long back ¡°My father once told me that during the ancient times, our ancestors were once the subordinates of the Primordial Demon of Pride. And it was only after his demise that our Forest Spring Spirit n lost the protection and was forced into hiding as we were hunted down for our spirit orbs¡±.
¡°It was only after the Second Apex War that our situation became a little better. The Dragon Lords led the coalition of the demi-humans and the Sea Tribe along with few other species to force the humans and demons into a peace treaty. And also made them sign a non-aggression agreement against the almost extinct species that were hunted all over the world for their materials. Our Forest Spring Spirit n being one¡±. Cecilia recalled the history that her father the patriarch of the n had instilled into her.
From her words, Simon finally became a little aware of the history of this world. As Simon was reincarnated as the lowest ranking demon noble, the information that he inherited was very limited and thus he didn¡¯t know much about the world he now lived in and its history.
¡®Hmm?¡¯ there were a few things in her sentence that he found quite intriguing. First of all, she said that her n was once the subordinates of the Primordial Demon of Pride during the ancient time. Was it fate or just a coincidence that he too found himself in a position where he wanted to protect them take them as his subordinates while having the Fragment of Pride with him?!
Secondly, she said that most of the inhabitants of the world signed a non-aggression agreement against the almost extinct races after the Second Apex War.
What was the Apex war in the first ce? and if the humans had also signed the agreement then the adventurers currently hunting Cecilia¡¯s n were doing it illegally and in secrecy. Because if they were doing it openly, they would be seen with contempt and even get retaliated and suffer serious consequences for disregarding the agreement signed by the rest of the world.
He felt contempt and disdain for the adventurers that had disregarded the agreement and chose to invade the Forest Spring Spirit n. They had fallen so low as to hunt down a peaceful n that had secluded itself from the rest of the world inside the forest just to get their hands on the spirit orbs.
¡ª¡ª-
Deep inside the territory of the Ancient Treants was a settlement that shined with multicoloured lights. The trees surrounding the settlement were quite robust and healthy and mysterious nts and herbs that shone with a peculiar light grew all around the surrounding. The man here was quite thick and birthed many magical objects.
Thick white fog lingered around the edges of the settlement and isted the ce from the outside. The ce would have looked truly marvellous and beautiful if not for the blood and corpses that littered the surrounding.
What would previously look scenic was currently a tragic sight to see.
In the center of the ce, was arge bamboo house and a small pond behind.
Inside, a man with a rough face and an average build wearing light warriors clothing sat on the couch. He had ck hair which reached till his neck and both of his ears had two earrings made of gold pierced into them.
Two short swords were ced near the couch. An insignia disying seven swords crisscrossing each other in a circle was patched on the leather armour that he wore. However, he wore a long ck coat so as to hide the mark from the outsiders. He walked towards the far end of the room with a cruel and mocking smile stered on his face.
The name of the man was Laris and he was one of the members of the Seven Swords Guild and also the one put in charge of the operation.
Chapter 92: Seven Swords Guild (2)
Chapter 92: Seven Swords Guild (2)
The name of the man was Laris and he was the guild member of the Seven Swords Guild and also the one put in charge of the operation. He walked towards the far end of the room with a cruel and mocking smile stered on his face.
On the far end of the room was a door leading towards the cer. Children wearing light green clothes and had a pair of fairy-like wings protruding from their back, could be seen inside.
Some had light green hair while the others had dark green, but the one thing inmon was that they all had a cor with strange runes and a gem inscribed on it. The gem shined with a dim light and seemed to be strengthening the cor.
Although the cor looked ordinary from a nce, if one forcefully tried to remove it, the gem would either explode or strangle the person to death. The children that were cored, belonged to the Forest Spring Spirit n and currently, they all had a hollow and vacant look in their eyes as they quietly sat hugging their knees.
The man named Laris looked at them from the window which was only a few centimetres big and only allowed the air to pass through with a big smile. ¡®A big haul¡¯ the man smirked to himself and was quite delighted. The way he seemed to look at the Forest Spring Spirits was as if he was looking at amodity and not a person.
In these past few days, they had captured quite a lot of Forest Spring Spirits and plundered a good amount of Spirit orbs from the adults. Whenever he looked at the spatial ring on his hand, he couldn¡¯t help but feel exhrated.
Of course, it wasn¡¯t easy for them to plunder the spirit orbs from the forest spring spirits as those incorrigible fellows kept self-destructing their spirit orbs. They had to kill some to make an example and also to unnerve their rebellious spirit.
After they set up a few examples the rest of the group quickly lost their will to fight. The Forest Spring Spirit race being unsuitable forbat also yed a huge part for them to quickly subjugate them, cutting their losses short.
Once their rebellious spirits were broken, they plundered the spirit orbs from the adults and enved the children with the Cor of Envement. How could the children have any thoughts about resisting after being cruelly enved by the cor?!
However, it wasn¡¯t smooth sailing from the get-go. He recalled that there were quite a lot of Forest Spring Spirits that rebelled very hard so as to allow some of their member to run away. Even to the point of casting some peculiar magic he had never seen before which threw them off.
Obviously, Laris would allow the treasures he just got hold of, running away from him. He selected teams of adventurers to give chase. But it was rather hard for his group to chase them all around the forest while they continuously ran towards the territory of the Ancient Treants.
He couldn¡¯t help clicking his tongue whenever he remembered how some of the Forest Spring Spirits immediately self-destructed their spirit orb and couldn¡¯t help but curse out hatefully. ¡°You damn foolish Forest Spring Spirits do you even know the worth of the spirit orbs. Self-destructing your spirit orbs is truly outrageous, I have gone through a lot of trouble to get my hands on them¡±.
Laris felt like he would vomit blood whenever he recalled the scenes. Those spirit orbs were supposed to be his or rather his guild. He could only imagine the anger and the consequences he would have to face if he returned with just these many Forest Spring Spirits and Spirit orbs.
Therefore he continued hunting the ones that fled towards the depth of the forest. Although his men created a huge ruckus and died at the hands of the monsters in the process, their deaths were irrelevant to him. Although Laris was told not to create anymotion, he couldn¡¯t help it since they were in a foreign territory where every monster they met wanted to kill them.
HIs guild had given him strict orders. He had to capture some of them alive and if it seemed impossible then he had to forcefully plunder their spirit orbs.
Laris had passed this message onto his team to prevent any Forest Spring Spirit that is about to self-destruct their spirit orbs. Although diving into the territory of the Ancient Treants was quite risky, but the allure of the spirit orbs was just too strong for them to let it go plus he was informed of a piece of news that he just couldn¡¯t simply ignore.
It was at this moment, a man entered the bamboo house and bowed in front in front of Laris. The man who had just entered, had a sly face and looked like he was in his thirties. He was wearing a worn-out magic robe and held a sturdy wand with a gem as small as a peanut inscribed on it.
The ss of the man was a [Wizard]. If Cecilia was present here at this moment, she would instantly recognize this man as he was the very same man who was brought into their settlement for treatment a few months ago and also the one that disclosed their location to the adventurers.
Laris looked at the neer with cold unperturbed eyes. Laris knew the man, he was called Miser and he was a level 215 [Wizard].
The man named Miser was an adventurer from the city controlled by his guild, the city of Morgress. He had umted quite a bit of debt and was on the verge of bing a ve himself.
However, a few months ago he came up with news that shook the entirety of the Seven Swords Guild. It was specifically because of the news that Miser provided to their guild, that the guild master decided to send his team to check its authenticity and pardon his debts.
Although Laris was doubtful at that time, but sure enough to save his skin MIser did not lie to them. When Laris and his team arrived at the location guided by Miser, they found the hidden settlement of the Forest Spring Spirits.
Laris nced at Miser who was giving him a ttering smile while rubbing his palm together. He asked ¡°Is the information that there is a Royal spirit among them is true? If you are making this up to save your hide then don¡¯t me meter for being merciless¡±.
Laris snorted and sat back on his couch once again.
Miser panicked and his face became grave when he heard Laris, he hurriedly replied: ¡°Sir Laris, I am speaking the truth. How can I lie to you, if I did It would be akin to digging my own grave¡±.
Laris squinted his eyes when he heard those words and said with a smile ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what kind of a person you are. I know every single damn thing that you did back in the city. Hehe, your soul stinks like those filthy gutters of the slum areas of the city.
¡°I know all about the dirt you have on your hand and It is exactly why I had been made in charge of this operation by the guild master. Don¡¯t forget that your life is in my hand, I get to decide whether you live or die¡±.
Chapter 93: Seven Swords Guild (2)
Chapter 93: Seven Swords Guild (2)
Even after being said all that, Miser still held onto his ttering face but internally he was quite shaken; after all, his life and death depends on whether he is useful or not.
As long as he disyed his worth, he won¡¯t be killed that easily. Miser wasn¡¯t lying when he said that there was a Royal Spirit amidst the Forest Spring Spirits.
MIser was an adventurer by profession. A month back when he and his group were trying to hunt the monsters on the Ghastly Winding Forest, they were chased around and identally stumbled upon the territory of the Ancient Treants. Completely outssed, they werepletely wiped out.
Miser was the only one who survived, at that time he thought that he would die from those severe injuries, but who would have expected that he would meet someone on the brink of his death as he desperately pleaded the person to save his life.
After he became conscious, he found himself bandaged and lying on top of a bed. Looking around, Miser saw that he was currently inside a simple bamboo house and sighed in relief after he knew that he had survived.
He got up and looked out of the window and was mesmerized by the beautiful and mysterious view outside.
nts and trees shining with an unusual light were dancing along with the wind. Speckles of light rose from the ground and circled the flower garden as they bloomed mysteriously. Miser was dazed by the marvelling scene and it was only when he heard a knock and the footsteps of a person entering that he came to his senses.
Turning around, he saw the person who had entered and became absent-minded once again. The man had dark green hair, a chiselled face, and looked quite handsome. However, what stole his attention was the man¡¯s features.
A pair of fairy-like wings, dark green hair, and bringing along a fragrance of nts and trees with him. It couldn¡¯t be said that Miser was a knowledgable man but even he could identify the species of the man from the rumours and records he heard from his fellow adventurers.
His eyes trembled fiercely as he tried to restrain the excitement and his wildly beating heart. His mouth twitched and at this moment he wanted tough out loud ¡®I FOUND A TREASURE¡¯. The man who entered looked at Miser smiled gently and said ¡°So you are fine. You were in quite a serious condition when you were found, but it seems that you have mostly recovered from your injuries. Ah, pardon my rudeness I am Cedar the patriarch of this n¡±.
Coming from his trance, Miser quickly realized that he was injured badly and had yet to recover his full strength. Understanding that trying to take any action right now would be foolish as he now, he calmed his mind and tried to gather as much information as he could.
¡°I am Miser, thank you for saving me¡± he gave his best smile and tried to appear as innocent as he could. He looked behind cedar for an instant before asking ¡°Forgive me asking this even though you have saved my life, but would you happen to see any wand near me when you brought my unconscious body here?¡±.
Miser was trying to find his wand because without a weapon, there was no way he a Wizard would be able to snatch the person¡¯s spirit orb from him.
¡°Hmmm, a wand you say?¡± Cedar Creased his brows and pondered for some time.
Thinking that Cedar was alerted due to his abrupt question, he hurriedly tried to exin and lower his guard ¡°Umm you see that is very precious to me. It was given to me by a very precious person and if I could I wouldn¡¯t want to lose it at any cost as it holds a lot of memories and sentiments¡±.
Of course, whatever he spouted was bullshit and a lie whatsoever which he came up with just now.
The wand was just a tool that he bought from the market at a cheap price and didn¡¯t hold any such sentiments to him. However, Cedar did not know that and fell for his trap ¡°I see, it must be a very precious wand to you I assume. I think I heard them mention a small wand that they found near, I¡¯ll get somebody to deliver it to you. You must not lose it again¡±.
Giving a smile, Miser thanked Cedar once again. In his mind, he wasughing at the naivety and foolishness of Cedar for believing him so willy-nilly.
What Miser did not know was that the Forest Spring Spirit n secluded themselves from the outside world since the ancient times due to their indiscriminate hunting. And due to living in seclusion for so long, their interaction with people outside of their n was very limited and hence they fell more easily to deception and trickery.
Seeing that Miser was ncing outside a few times, Cedar thought that Miser wanted to go out and check on his team members. He said with a painful expression ¡°I am truly sorry to tell you that we couldn¡¯t save the other members as they were already dead even before we could save them¡±.
Miser became absent-minded for a while before he realized that Cedar had misunderstood that he wanted to check on his teammates when in truth he wanted to check and gather more information on their n. He could only imagine the wealth he could amass from their spirit orbs.
Miser made a painful expression as he said ¡°I am a failure of a human, I couldn¡¯t even protect the lives of my teammates. Do you know where the bodies of my teammates are? At the very least I want to give them a proper burial¡±.
Cedar couldn¡¯t see his face as he bowed deeply towards him but if he could, he would see a mocking grin sh on Miser¡¯s face. Cedar thought for a while before nodding his head. To him, Miser looked like a pitiful human who had lost all hispanions on his journey and giving them a proper burial portrayed him as a justified and rightful person.
¡°Alright, we did bring the bodies of your teammates. Follow me they are on the north end of the vige¡± Cedar said as he led Miser outside. Seeing that his n had seeded, a wide smile appeared on Miser¡¯s sly face.
He followed behind Cedar as he took him out of the Bamboo house. Outside the house, he was amazed to see hundreds of Forest Spring Spirits. The adults did their daily jobs while the children yed around running andughing.
¡°So the rumours were true, there are still some ancient races remaining that are hiding themselves¡± Miser mused as he observed the vige with greed filled eyes.
He couldn¡¯t help but look at the far end of the vige which was protected by a thick white mist that surrounded the vige like a dome. He didn¡¯t know where this ce was but he was quite sure that the thick mist prevented the outsiders from finding the location of the vige.
Chapter 94: Seven Swords Guild (3)
Chapter 94: Seven Swords Guild (3)
Miser was led around all the way to the north end of the vige where a few bodies covered in simple clothes were kept inside a simple bamboo hut.
On his way here, Miser counted more than two hundred Forest Spring Spirits living inside the vige. That was not all, rare and precious nts, herbs grew everywhere in this ce.
There were even some that matched the description from the talks of the elite adventurers and some which he heard in rumours and legends. the ce was practically brimming with all sorts of treasures that could only be seen in some ancient treasury or in the lockers of a top tier guild.
He couldn¡¯t imagine how much wealth was hidden inside the vige. Even if he randomly took a stalk of grass from here and sold it in the shops or auction back in the city, he would earn quite a sum.
And that was not all, as all of this was just the tip of the iceberg, the main treasure was the Forest Spring Spirits themselves which was soon going to be his.
Cedar stopped in front of the bamboo house patted Miser on the shoulder and said consolingly ¡°The remains of yourrades are inside. We collected the belongings of yourrade and ced them on the side. If you need help I can..¡±.
However, before Cedar could continue, Miser immediately declined his offer saying ¡°It¡¯s alright, you guys already did me a great favour by bringing their bodies along. It¡¯s my job now to give them a proper burial¡±. His voice sounded sorrowful. Of course, all of this was just a show to make his lie seem more convincing to Cedar.
He honestly did not care much whether these guys had a proper burial or not; after all, even while they were alive Miser did not care whether they lived or died as he always prioritized his own life during their journey together.
But he thought that since they were useful even after their death and ultimately helped him reach this vige that was going to make him rich soon, he could at least give them a burial for their great service. At least this way he would be seen as a kind person in the eyes of these Forest Spring Spirits.
There was a cemetery nearby where the Forest Spring Spirits buried their own. Miser dug few holes and ced the bodies of his former teammates.
After the burial, Miser came back with Cedar to the bamboo house that was located at the centre of the vige.
When they reached the house, he was stunned to see a beautiful woman with Dark emerald hair, astonishing curves, and a gentle smile that had a mysterious power to heal one¡¯s soul greeting Cedar. With those features of her, the woman was a top tier beauty no matter how Cedar looked.
¡°Father!¡ Father, you are back!¡± suddenly Miser heard a clear jubnt voice and a small girl that had simr features like the woman came running from behind and hugged Cedar.
When Miser looked at the little girl, he couldn¡¯t help but frown, that was because the girl was quite different from the other children of her age that he had seen around the vige.
The girl had two pairs of wings, her emerald eyes shone as bright as a crystal and mysterious speckles of light followed her wherever she went. The moment she appeared, a clear fragrance of freshly bloomed flowers spread all around the surroundings. The girl was none other than Cecilia.
He couldn¡¯t help but find the girl quite unusual; nheless, he still believed she was one of the Forest Spring Spirits. It appeared that the little girl was Cedar¡¯s child and that woman was his wife.
Miser waited patiently on the sidelines as he formted his ns. Now that he knows that there are more than two hundred Forest spring spirits living here in the Ghastly Winding Forest, he had to bring arge group of adventurers to subjugate them or else given their number they would be able to put up a resistance or even worse escape from here which would foil his nspletely.
He had to prepare thoroughly and for any contingencies in case things go south. Although hiring adventurers for such a huge expedition would be quite capital intensive and more so when he needed those who would keep this expedition a secret. Having so many treasures in front of him, Miser was not going to give up on it so easily.
Seeing that the conversation between Cedar and his family was over, Miser decided to speak up ¡°Umm patriarch Cedar, I think that it is high time that I leave. I have already aplished my goals by giving myrades a proper burial and am mostly healed. It would be asking too much to stay anymore after all the things you guys have done for me. And that is why I ask patriarch Cedar if he could arrange someone who could lead me out of here¡±.
It was also at this moment that Cecilia noticed Miser. The moment her emerald green eyesnded on him, he felt as if his very thoughts were being seen through. Cecilia furrowed her delicate brows and her eyes were distressed as she stared at him. Pointing at MIser, she said ¡°You are a bad person¡±.
The moment he heard that, Miser started panicking as cold sweat drenched his back wet. Fortunately, his acting earlier had paid off since he was able to win the trust of Cedar. ¡°Cecilia don¡¯t be rude to the guest. He is already grieving over his deceased teammates, don¡¯t add onto his troubles with your pranks¡±.
Cecilia looked unconvinced and wanted to say something when her mother pulled her back into her embrace.
Saying that, Cedar looked at Miser¡¯s body and said with concern ¡°Your body is not fully healed yet. I can arrange for you to stay here a few more days, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem¡±.
Miser hurriedly declined ¡°No no no, I don¡¯t want to give patriarch Cedar any more trouble. You have already done enough, my body has already healed to the point where I can walk back home all the while avoiding the monsters¡±.
He wanted to know how to get in and out of this ce and his ns also required him to start preparing immediately therefore he couldn¡¯t just heal idly in this vige.
Cedar looked at Miser¡¯s determined expression and said ¡°Very well if you insist then I shall prepare someone to send you back¡±. ¡°Thank you very much¡± Miser replied. Soon a person dressed in green clothes came as per Cedar¡¯s orders and led him out of the vige.
Before leaving, Miser nced at the unusual little girl oncest time. At that time, even Cedar couldn¡¯t have imagined what kind of a disaster would befall the Forest Spring Spirit n by bringing Miser in.
¡ª¡ª
Inside the bamboo house at the centre of the Forest Spring Spirit vige, Miser snapped out of his daze and asserted with a bootlicking smile towards Laris.
¡°Sir Laris I¡¯m ny percent sure that the little girl I saw back then was a Forest Spring Royal Spirit¡± Miser recalled as he looked towards Laris and said.
After getting out of the Ghastly Winding Forest, he hurried back to the city of Morgress. He looked up the books pertaining to the records from ancient times and the long-forgotten races. After going through numerous books, he finally found a species having simr features to the little girl he saw back then at the vige of the Forest Spring Spirits.
The moment he read the description written in the book and the name of the race, He felt as if he was thunderstruck.
Recalling the features of the little girl from back then, MIser was quite sure that the girl he saw was one of the extremely rare species the Forest Spring Royal Spirit. It said that even among the rare Forest Spring Spirit n there is a one in a million chance for a Royal Spirit to be born.
A Forest Spring Royal Spirit was on apletely different realm than an ordinary Forest Spring Spirit. Not only that, even in the annals of history, it was mentioned that there appeared only one Forest Spring Royal spirit throughout the ancient time. One could imagine how rare the species was.
Chapter 95: Chaos
Chapter 95: Chaos
Miser was quite sure that the girl he saw was one of the extremely rare species the Forest Spring Royal Spirit.
Although he had no definitive proof, but even if she is not one of them, there are hundreds of spirit orbs to be harvested. Therefore he needed to act fast and gather allies to subjugate the Forest Spring Spirit vige.
However, before he could put his ns into action, he was caught and beaten up by the members of the Seven Swords guild. They had broken through his house and demanded that he pay back his debts.
Miser had umted a lot of debt and was on the verge of being enved if he didn¡¯t pay it back soon. Left with no choice, he disclosed the information regarding the forest spring spirit vige to the Seven Swords guild in return for a share and all of his debt being settled.
One could only imagine the kind of uproar the guild had gone through once they got hold of this news. Their first reaction was tough at him as if looking at a clown. But the allure of hundreds of spirit orbs was something that would even make a top tier empire covet it, much less their small Seven Swords Guild.
The guild immediately decided to send forth a subjugation team of more than forty people led by Laris towards the Ghastly Winding Forest where the settlement of the Forest Spring Spirits was.
The guild could only afford to send a small team of elite warriors as sending anymore would be attracting the attention of the surrounding guilds.
Laris looked at the fawning and sly face of Miser and couldn¡¯t help but feel disgusted. He hated people like him who could backstab you at any moment. Hence he decided to silence Miser after thepletion of their n.
However, he couldn¡¯t deny the usefulness of Miser up until this point. The man had nned out a safe route till the Forest Spring Spirits vige and even knew the hidden entrance that led towards the inside of their vige.
Without knowing that there was a hidden entrance inside the trunk of a dead Ancient Treant, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to capture the Forest Spring spirits so easily. The n that Miserid out, worked in the favour of their guild.
¡°Well since you are so sure that there is a Royal Spirit amidst them, then it¡¯s truly a piece of great news. If we are able to capture that royal spirit then our guild will be the strongest in the whole central continent¡ no the strongest in the entire world hahaha¡± Larisughed out loud as if he could already imagine the glorious days their guild would bathe in after the sess of their n.
The forest spring spirit orb is able to purify one¡¯s bloodline, allowing them to break the restraints ced on them and reach a whole new realm. The price of each of these spirit orbs could be said as astronomical and would create an uproar no matter where they appeared.
¡°Hehehe, it¡¯s as sir Laris said the Seven Swords would be the strongest guild in the whole world so please don¡¯t forget my share out of the loot¡± Mise gave few ttering words and reminded Laris of their agreement as he was afraid that they would forget it.
¡°Yeah I know, you don¡¯t have to remind me. The guild master promised you thirty percent share out of the loot we harvest. It will be handed to you after we return to the city. Don¡¯t worry the guild would naturally abide by its words¡± Laris smiled at Miser and said.
What Miser didn¡¯t know was that there would be no share for him. The guild master of the Seven Swords Guild, Morgress had instructed Laris to silence Miser here after thepletion of their n. The fewer people that knew about the operation, the better it would be for the guild, or else if the word of them having arge number of spirit orbs got out, there would be no shortings of trouble that would befall their guild in the future.
After all, hunting an ancient race like the Forest spring spirits for their spirit orbs is looked down upon by the whole world, a taboo. It is an act that is prohibited all around the world and if word gets out that their guild is secretly disregarding this, their whole guild might be wiped out in a single day and that is why he had to be extremely careful not to leave any loose ends.
Whileris was delving into his thoughts, suddenly a person in an assassin¡¯s garb materialized seemingly out of thin air in the corner of the room. The man that appeared did not bother with the stunned look of the onlookers and swiftly took out a scroll and reported ¡°Sir Laris, I bring words from the guild master¡±.
Laris looked at the man shocked by his appearance. Why will he be not? The man was the direct subordinate of Boris, one of the Seven Swords a top-ranking officer in the guild and his appearance here meant that something had happened back in the guild.
His mind churned and the worst-case scenario appeared in his head. He thought that their n had been found out. Laris took the Scroll and just when he was about to open it, he realized that Miser was still in the room. He ordered ¡°Get out of here. I have some other work to do right now¡± as he looked at Miser.
When he saw that Miser was gone, he finally opened the parchment and read its content for a while. Towards the end, he finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore, crunched the paper, and threw it at the corner of the room.
Laris looked at the man with anger shing in his eyes as he demanded ¡± what does guild leader mean by sending Dale¡¯s team as a backup. Does he think that I am unable to finish this job by myself?¡±.
The man was indifferent and simply gave a curt reply ¡°what does guild think? The likes of you aren¡¯t qualified to question him. Just know that the situation has changed and that you are to stay here for one more month as per the orders of the guild master. As for sending Dale¡¯s team, he is here to safeguard the goods. You are to not make any big moves until further orders are given. Is that understood?¡±.
Laris had an indignant face but he still replied with ¡°Understood¡±.
Seeing that he made himself clear, the man was just about to disappear when Laris asked ¡°what does my big brother think about this?¡±ris looked at the man who was the direct subordinate of his brother. Sending him here didn¡¯t it mean that even his big brother thought the same?
The man observed atris deeply from behind his mask and said ¡°Sir Boris is busy with another task that guild master had given him. You have to grow up, your brother cannot always look after you all the time. Besides sir Boris also consented with the decision of sending Dale here. It is in your best interest and also for the guild that you work together with him¡±.
Boris was not only one of the Seven Swords but also his big brother. Laris had always looked up to his brother and that is also why he had joined this guild. But now he was told that even his big brother thought of him as incapable of handling this task.
Laris couldn¡¯t understand why the guild had suddenly decided to send another team as a backup. He could vaguely feel that the guild was acting a little different and so he asked ¡°What is the situation is back in the city?¡±.
The man seemed to be deliberating for a while before shaking his head and said ¡°I have told you everything that I needed to tell you. As for other things, it is best that you do not question it. Focus on your task at hand¡±.
Although Laris did not get an answer from the man, he was still unresigned to give credit for all his hard work to someone else from the guild. He thought internally as he made his resolve ¡®I¡¯ll show you guys that I¡¯m not an incapable man. Soon I¡¯ll get my hands on the Royal Spirit orb and prove you all wrong.¡¯
Chapter 96:- Chaos (2)
Chapter 96:- Chaos (2)
¡°If there is nothing else then I¡¯ll take my leave,¡± the man in assassins garb said as he prepared to leave. His body was starting to distort and blend with the surroundings when an underling of Laris ran up to the house and hastily said while huffing ¡°S-Sir Laris¡huff huff¡ sir Laris are you there?¡±.
The tone of the neer was hurried and sounded urgent. ¡°I¡¯m there,e in,¡± Laris said as he ordered his subordinate to enter. The subordinate hastily entered as soon as he was ordered and found Laris standing near the couch.
Just when he was about to say something, he noticed that other than him, there was another man present inside the room covered in a ck assassin¡¯s robe from head to toe opposite Laris.
The underling looked at the man and deliberated whether it is the opportune time to ry the message or not. ¡°What is it? if you have something to report then hurry up and report or else get lost¡± Laris was already frustrated therefore he barked out at his underling.
The underling on the other hand was perspiring a lot as he kept on looking at the assassin, he knew that he couldn¡¯t dillydally as he could see the irritation on Laris¡¯ face. The underling reported ¡°Sir Laris it¡¯s about the task you told us about¡¡±.
Catching onto the hint, Laris immediately understood what the content of the report was about. He turned towards the man in assassin¡¯s garb and said ¡°If you don¡¯t have anything more to ry from the guild master then you can take your leave¡±.
Seeing that the assassin simply nodding and silently leaving the room, Laris was silent for a while before he searched every corner of the room trying to find any presence trying to snoop in their conversation.
After he found that there was no presence hidden in the room, Laris finally sighed in relief and told his subordinate to go on. The reason behind him chasing away his big brother¡¯s subordinate was very simple, he didn¡¯t want the man to know about the existence of Forest Spring Royal Spirit as it was the only hope for him to raise his ranking within the guild.
Returning back with a royal spirit orb, was his only chance to prove his guild wrong especially now when they have decided to send another team for backup.
What Laris didn¡¯t know was that the man other than giving him the message from guild master, was sent here by his big brother to look after him. The man used [Stealth] and appeared outside the house and silently eavesdropped on them from the rooftop.
[Stealth] was a skill exclusive to assassin¡¯ ss, and the more proficient the use is with this skill, the better they can hide their presence from the people nearby. The higher the ss of the assassin the more effective the skill.
Inside the bamboo house, the subordinate reported after he saw that it was only the two of them left in the house. ¡°Sir Laris the remaining Forest Spring Spirits seded in escaping towards the depths of the territory of the Ancient Treants. We tried to give chase but ten of them got injured and five of them are dead. Fearing that we might suffer more casualties, we didn¡¯t delve any deeper.¡±
The subordinate said with fear and trepidation still lingering on his face. Listening to the report, Laris¡¯s face became uglier and contorted severely. He was just thinking about raising his rank in the guild by earning merit from this operation only to see it almost fail right in front of him.
Suddenly as if remembering something, he asked ¡°what happened to the group that was after the Royal Spirit?¡±.
It was at this moment that the man who was eavesdropping from the rooftop had his eyes wide open when the name Royal Spirit came up. Although he was not very well informed, he still heard about the rumours regarding a supreme treasure.
Even if he did not know all the heaven-defying abilities that the royal spirit orb can grant, but he still knew that it was an absolutely precious treasure iparable to any treasures he had ever seen.
The underling of Laris who was asked the question seemed to lower his head at this moment and hesitated for a while. Realizing that something had gone wrong, Laris further pressured ¡°what happened tell me? Did the Royal Spirit self-destructed?¡±. He couldn¡¯t help but think of the worst-case scenario but even Laris couldn¡¯t have imagined the answer that he would get.
The subordinate finally replied with a pale face from the pressure emitting from Laris. ¡°The ones who went after the Royal spirit were all killed. Their bodies are so badly damaged that it is impossible to discern who is who anymore¡ gugh¡±.
However, before the subordinate could evenplete his sentence, he was kicked in the stomach as his body made an arch and smashed on the wall made of bamboo breaking it in the process. BANG¡ a loud noise of something being smashed sounded out.
After kicking his subordinate, Laris furiously roared ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit about discerning who is who from their bodies. What I want to know is the location of the Royal spirit and whether it is alive or not dammit¡±.
¡°Ugh¡± clenching his stomach, the subordinate said while crawling ¡°subordinate is incapable, we do not whether the Royal Spirit is alive or not¡±.
BANG¡ another loud noise echoed out as the table ced near the couch was smashed into bits by Laris.
Right now, he was so angry that he wanted to kill the underling of his right here but he controlled his anger and restrained himself from doing anything rash. Laris cursed ¡°Useless, useless all of you¡±, right after cursing he ordered immediately ¡°Call all the teams back I want to know what happened back there. Do you understand? Call them right now¡±.
The subordinate immediately got up while clenching his stomach and ran while saying ¡°Subordinate understands, I¡¯ll immediately call them back¡±. Although they were all members of the Seven Swords guild, Laris was much higher up on thedder and the likes of them were just ordinary members. Even if some of them died, it wouldn¡¯t affect their guild in the slightest as their numbers could easily be filled.
While this was going on, there were two people secretly eavesdropping on their conversation without being spotted by Laris.
One of them was the man on the roof dressed in assassin¡¯s garb, Ted. While the other was Miser who was quietly snooping on them from the corner of the house. The ce he was hiding was just outside the reach of Laris and couldn¡¯t be spotted that easily.
Miser was a shrewd man and always looked for opportunities to exploit. If not for his debt, he wouldn¡¯t have disclosed the location of the Forest Spring Spirits to the Seven Swords guild and would have instead looked for an opportunity to hoard it all by himself.
Even now he was making schemes of his own knowing that the situation of the Seven Swords guild didn¡¯t look good and there might arise an opportunity that he could exploit from all this turmoil.
Chapter 97: Chaos (3)
Chapter 97: Chaos (3)
Ted was the direct subordinate of Boris one of the Seven Swords. He had always carried out the shadier task that the guild cannot do upfront.
Killing, kidnapping, coercing was just like a daily job for him. His ranking in the guild was by no means low and there were only Seven Swords above him. That is to say, there are only seven people that he considers are above him in terms of strength and position.
Ted was considered a rather powerful entity in the guild, after all, being a level 379 [Killer Assassin], there were only a few people in the guild who could match him.
This time he was assigned with a mission to look and monitor the actions of Laris who was given a task that was considered extremely important for the guild. If not for the fact that sending a team of experts consisting of Seven Swords inside the Ghastly Winding Forest would attract the attention of all the guilds in the neighbouring cities, they wouldn¡¯t have only assigned Laris for the job.
Unfortunately, their city of Morgress had many spies and prying eyes ced by the guilds to monitor their actions. Ted even believed that there were some moles among the outer members of their guild. However, since they have no way of identifying them, they can only send those that have been deeply tied with their guild and whose lives are in the guild¡¯s control for the mission.
On top of the rooftop of the bamboo house, Ted silently observed the conversation between Laris and his subordinate and couldn¡¯t help but knit his brows.
That was because, from the report he could tell that even before he had arrived, the n set up by Laris had started going awry. The mission this time was extremely crucial for their guild as its sess meant taking a giant leap and ruling the continent as one of its hegemons.
All the Seven Swords had ced enough importance on it. Failing at this point was not an option.
Ted sighed at Laris¡¯ inadequateness and thought ¡®Why can¡¯t the little brother be like his elder brother. If he had even one-tenth of the talent of his elder brother, it would make my job a lot easier.¡¯
Anyways his master Sir Boris and also the elder brother of Laris had strictly told him not to interfere with the task and only help out when it is absolutely necessary.
That is why he only nned to observe the situation for now as for providing his help, he didn¡¯t think it was necessary after all Laris wasn¡¯t a weakling. Even among the guild, Laris would be ranked amongst the top twenty.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
In the far south inside the Ghastly Winding Forest, a group of ten people silently marched forth as they cut down any monsters that attacked them on their way. On the lead was a muscr man, who was a head taller than any of the people around him and whose body shined with a bronze lustre. The man had a bald head and was carrying a broadsword on his back. Unlike the warriors near him, he wasn¡¯t wearing any armour and used the broadsword on his back to quickly finish off a Windwolf that sprang onto him.
Ssh¡ Awoooo¡.
A cutting noise was heard and the Windwolf was cleanly bisected into two. After cutting the Windwolf, the man looked at the people behind which consisted of four [Sword Knight], two [Silent Assasins], three [Wizards], and him a [Berserker] for a total of ten people.
As the group after finishing the Windwolves stopped for some rest, one of the four sword knights decked in a heavy warrior outfit asked the man leading the group ¡°Sir Dale what are your orders,¡±.
The name of the man was Dale and one could see the insignia of Seven Swords carved in his belt. Dale deliberated on the question for a while before issuing the order ¡°We are gonna camp here for the time being. We cannot miss the expedition party sent by the Sea God¡¯s Trident guild if we stay on this side of the forest.
¡°Also send someone to tell Laris that we are here¡± the sword knight nodded and quickly executed his orders. Dale had a revolted face, in all honesty, he did not want to stay at the same ce where Laris was as he didn¡¯t want to take orders from someone he saw as his equal in the guild.
He was here on the strict orders of the guild master who conveyed that the sess of this mission assigned to Laris was quite important for the guild and they absolutely cannot mess it up. Hence he was sent here for backup.
Dale¡¯s job was to misdirect the expedition party sent by the Sea God¡¯s Trident to find the cause for the mass outbreak of monsters from the forest. ¡°It seems that despite the orders from the guild master to not make any conspicuous move, Laris had done exactly the same and now I was sent her to clean up after his mess¡ tch¡± He clicked his tongue and got more annoyed the more he thought
Dale was one of the high ranking members of the Seven Swords guild. He was aware of some of the finer details of the task and that is why he was assigned for this mission. Fortunately for their guild, they have a perfect scapegoat to put the me on for all the disturbance and that was none other than that newly formed dungeon.
His task was very simple and that was to lure the Sea God¡¯s guild towards the dungeon. Make them dy for as long as possible until Laris¡¯s team finish their task and moves out of the forest. It can be said that he was quite jealous of Laris because he knew that the task this time was kept very secretive and was very important. If Larispleted the mission sessfully, his contributions and ranking in the guild was sure to skyrocket in the future.
However, there was nothing Dale could do to stop Laris from hoarding all the merit since his big brother was one of the Seven Swords. The name seven swords weren¡¯t just for show, they are the top seven members of the guild who held enough power that their position couldn¡¯t be shaken inside the guild.
Having one of such people backing you up, Dale naturally felt jealous of that. In his view, Laris was just riding on the tailcoat of his elder brother. No matter in terms of levels, power, or achievement, he wasn¡¯t behind Laris.
¡ª¡ª¨C
Inside the hidden vige of the Forest Spring Spirit n, a group of people was currently gathered at therge bamboo house located at the centre of the vige. They were all donned in different clothes. But one thing that they had inmon was the insignia of the seven swords which was hidden inside their armours and robes.
They were the members of the Seven Swords guild and currently they all had a nervous and apprehensive face. Laris looked at his team members of which only thirty remained. Their initial number of forty was brought down to thirty after ten of them died, while the remaining had small while others had severe injuries.
He couldn¡¯t believe that they were so severely injured while hunting the Forest Spring Spirits who couldn¡¯t even bepared to a direwolf in terms of pure strength.
Laris thundered ¡°Are you guys so weak that you can¡¯t even capture Forest Spring Spirits who are even weaker than direwolves. Did I bring you guys just to make fun of myself? What is with this pathetic side of yours? I have never seen our numbers being cut down like this before. I don¡¯t want to hear any excuses, tell me exactly what happened back there in the forest¡±.
A man with his left hand missing and injured from head to toe, came up and reported ¡± Sir Laris we tied our best but the Forest Spirits were determined to self-destruct their spirit orbs to allow the remaining ones to escape. Though we couldn¡¯t stop the ones self-destructing their spirit orbs, we still went after the ones that escaped deep inside the forest. But the territory they escaped into was the area of the Ancient Treants. A single Ancient Treant was so powerful that even the ten of us were no match for it¡±.
Chapter 98: Scheme
Chapter 98: Scheme
ording to the underling, their group have suffered heavy losses as soon as they entered the Ancient Treant territory and were nearly wiped out if not for deciding to retreat immediately. The situation could have been worse had they delved any deeper.
Laris observed the condition of the man and couldn¡¯t help but curse out internally. Even for him, a level 311 [Dual Wielder] it was asking too much to handle a single Ancient Treant by himself. All he could do was stall it by dodging its attack, forget about dealing any damage much less defeating it.
An Ancient Treant was the next evolution of the Elder Treant which had lived for more than a thousand years and had umted a rich amount of mana from the mystical veins inside the earth.
A single Ancient Treant was so strong that it could evenly match with any one of the seven swords from their guild. The strongest entities in their guild. That is to say that a single Ancient Treant was as powerful as the top seven members of their guild.
Even their entire guild would be wiped out if they delved deeper into the Ancient Treant territory, forget about the lots of them.
If the remaining Forest Spring Spirits have escaped inside the territory of the Ancient Treants, he had no other choice but to give up on them. He wasn¡¯t going to take the risk of delving into their territory knowing their strength full well.
No matter how unwilling he was or even if his heart bled from the loss, he could only give up. But his main concern wasn¡¯t the normal Forest Spirits but rather the Forest Spring Royal Spirit that Miser told him about. A single royal spirit orb was iparable to any number of spirit orbs.
That royal spirit was his only hope that could make up for this blunder. The Forest Spring Spirit vige was brimming with more than two hundred spirits, but he was only able to umte less than a hundred spirit orbs. The rest either self-destructed their spirit orbs, got killed in the process or managed to escape inside the Ancient Treants territory. If he wanted to redeem himself, the royal spirit was his only choice.
Laris asked impatiently ¡°what about that Little girl? What happened to the team that went after that girl?¡±. He didn¡¯t want to reveal the identity of the little girl, that is why he asked in a roundabout manner.
There was no answer from his team members and just when he was starting to get annoyed, the underling that gave him the report earlier stepped out. ¡°Sir Gelgar the team that went after that little girl are all dead. We went to check the area where we found their bodies and discovered that they didn¡¯t die from the treants but from arge-scale explosion that urred in that area¡±.
Laris was stunned, he didn¡¯t expect to hear such an answer. ¡°Hmm? arge-scale explosion! What do you mean?¡± Laris immediately became concerned and asked immediately.
The subordinate gave him the full details seeing how grave the expression of Laris was. ¡°It was like this¡..¡±. After listening to the report, he became aware that the group that was after the royal spirit died near the ce where a fight had urred recently. Laris believed that the team that was after the royal spirit girl, most likely died after getting swept up in the range of the explosion that had erupted from a fight.
He couldn¡¯t help but make an ugly face when he thought about the cause of their death. ¡°Those fools¡± he cursed.
But thanks to them, he was at least now aware that there was a big fight that happened near the territory of the treants not so long ago. It seemed that other than them, there was somebody else deep inside the Ghatly winding Forest who had also infiltrated the territory of the treants.
¡°If that is true, then it is bad¡± Laris thought. If the actions of their guild was revealed, his head was sure to roll. Even if his big brother was one of the Seven Swords he would be able to do anything to change that.
Although the sight of the explosion was the only clue he had, he couldn¡¯t miss it. Laris immediately ordered, ¡°Thoroughly search the ce where the fight had urred. I want somebody to be there as a lookout all the time¡±.
After giving his orders, he sighed and fell inside his thoughts ¡®Was it Dale¡¯s team who intruded the treants territory?. If it¡¯s them then it¡¯s natural that they would be attacked by the treants and in that case, he might know about the little girl. If the girl wandered into Dale¡¯s team then the situation can still be salvaged. I must make contact with Dale¡¯. Thinking so, he immediately went inside the house.
Laris was quite close but even he couldn¡¯t have imagined that it was Simon¡¯s magic that had wiped out his team members. Even the person himself wasn¡¯t aware that he had identally wiped out the team that was after Cecilia with his magic while focusing on the Elder Treants.
¡ª¡ª¨C
Speaking of Simon, he was currently inside his dungeon making preparations to rescue the Forest Spring Spirits that had been enved by Laris. He looked at the participants- Irene, Cecilia, Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse before asking ¡°Are you guys ready?¡±.
Cecilia looked at Simon with amazement and her small mouth made an ¡®O¡¯ shape. Right now, Simon looked exactly like her, and even she couldn¡¯t spot any difference. If it wasn¡¯t for his voice still remaining the same, he would appear just like another version of her.
Simon had used the Elixir of Metamorphosis that he bought from the [Shop] to morph into Cecilia. Elixir of Metamorphosis was one of the items he listed in the shop in his previous life. Fortunately, even after the merger between the [Main menu] and dungeon menu, most of the items listed in the [Shop] such as the Elixir of Sacred Sanctum were still there along with the items from the dungeon menu¡¯s [Shop].
The Elixir of Morphosis just like its name, allows one to freely morph into anyone they want to change into. As long as they had seen them before, the user can morph into that person and take their appearance. Of course, there were some drawbacks such as the voice which couldn¡¯t be changed. However, it wasn¡¯t an issue this time.
To initiate their n, he needed to morph into Cecilia because only this way he would be able to lure them out of Cecilia¡¯s vige and rescue the enved Forest Spring Spirits in the meantime.
Simon who now looked exactly like Cecilia patted the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse and said ¡°Look after her alright¡±. He pointed at Cecilia.
The warhorse neighed loudly and thumped its forelegs into the ground as if saying ¡®leave it to me¡¯.
Simon was a little worried about Cecilia who had nobat abilities and had no means to protect herself. He had to make sure that no harmes to her during the process. Even while having Irene nearby, he still felt that it was better for the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse to apany Cecilia. That way she would have additional insurance. Irene who was quietly looking from the side had an aura as peaceful as a frozenke. But her eyes weren¡¯t calm whenever they looked at Simon.
For the past few days, she had been amazed by him again and again, and even now when he morphed into Cecilia. She looked at Simon, although he looked a littleical in Cecilia¡¯s appearance and with that voice of his.
But she was amazed by his resourcefulness and his determination to not put Cecilia into any danger and instead bing the bait himself.
In the past few days, she came to understand the temperament and nature of Simon quite a bit. He was the kind of guy who did things that others couldn¡¯t even imagine nonchntly and would write it of as something inconsequential.
Stubborn to the extreme, easy-going and had an unfettered will that wasn¡¯t bound to anything. He was the type of guy who would confront all his troubles without running away and when he puts his mind into something, he would never back away from it.
At this time even Irene didn¡¯t realise that she had unknowingly started paying more attention to Simon.
Chapter 99: Scheme (2)
Chapter 99: Scheme (2)
On top of a small hill inside the southern region of the Ghastly Winding Forest, a group of ten people could be seen camping. They all had the insignia of the seven swords and belonged to the same guild.
They were precisely the team led by Dale. Currently, inside one of the tents, Dale was sitting cross-legged on the ground. He had a pensive look on his face as he said ¡°What are you trying to say? Are you implying that I¡¯m deliberately hiding that girl from you? Don¡¯t joke with me. I have never seen any little girl you speak of. My answer shall remain the same no matter how many times you ask Laris¡±.
Though there was no one inside the tent, Dale was talking with someone. He had a small white conch on his hand that transmitted his voice to the receiver and vice versa.
The thing on his hand was called the transmission shell. It is marked with a small magic rune that allows the user to transmit their message and location to the other party holding a transmission shell with a simr pattern.
The higher the quality andplexity of the rune, the higher the distance one can transmit their message through. A transmission shell had varying costs depending on the quality of the rune iid. But even the cheapest one wasn¡¯t something an ordinary individual could afford. The transmission shell on Dale¡¯s hand was one of the cheapest ones avable on the market and couldn¡¯t transmit messages if the distance is more than three thousand kilometres.
Saying that he had nothing else to say anymore, Dale cut the transmission.
A man dressed in ash grey robe, holding a wooden staff with a gem as big as a marble iid in between, came up to him and bowed. He was one of the three [Wizards] of his team and was quite a capable man.
The [Wizard] said, ¡°Why is sir Laris putting so much emphasis on that little girl? Could it that there is something special on that little girl he talks about?¡±.
Dale squinted his eyes before saying ¡°There is definitely something that he is hiding from all of us. It makes me curious but unfortunately, I cannot get involved in all of that¡±.
He cleared his thoughts and asked, ¡°Did the exploration team dispatched by the Sea God¡¯s guild arrive yet?¡±. The [Wizard] immediately replied, ¡°They are at the borders and will soon be entering the forest¡±.
¡°I see¡± Dale nodded before asking another question ¡°are our preparations ready?¡±. His task was to lure the team sent by the Sea God¡¯s guild towards the newly formed dungeon located at the east side of the forest.
The Sea God¡¯s guild was one of the top five in the entire Ellesmere Kingdom, therefore he cannot go on with his mission with half-assed preparations.
The [Wizard] pointed at a steel cage more than ten meters big and said ¡°Sir Dale rest assured, the three beasts inside are fully in our control and can be let out anytime with your orders¡±.
Dale looked at the wide cage from which continuous roars and snarls came out. Three pairs of crimson eyes stared at others as if they would leap at them any moment.
¡°Alright, after they enter halfway through the forest, send these three chimaeras after them. Make sure that they follow orders and properly lead the Sea God¡¯s guildmembers towards the dungeon¡±. He stared at the three mix-match of beasts that were so hideous to look at that even he couldn¡¯t help but look away.
¡°It will be done as per your orders. This subordinate shall take his leave now¡± the [Wizard] said and immediately left to carry out his orders.
Now left all alone, Dale gazed at the further end of the southern region of the Ghastly Winding Forest and clenched his hands. He cannot fail his task. The sess of this whole mission depended on whether he could sessfully distract the Sea God¡¯s guild long enough to allow Laris¡¯s team to move out of the forest.
As for the demon living inside the dungeon, he did not pay any attention to it, after all, he believed that the newly formed dungeon would be taken down by the Sea God¡¯ guild quite easily and when the dungeon dies so will the demon living inside with it.
There was no need for Dale to pay attention to something that was about to be destroyed. It wasmon knowledge in this world that a newly formed dungeon is very weak and should be ced in an area that makes it difficult for others to find it easily.
There might be some exceptions but a newly formed dungeon is always ranked at [E], which made it quite easy to conquer.
Dale did not pay much attention to the dungeon, but he was a little concerned whether the dungeon would be able to stall the Sea God¡¯s Guild long enough for their guild to get out of the forest.
From the reports he got beforeing here, he was aware that it hadn¡¯t been long before the dungeon had emerged inside the forest, and to top it off the dungeon master did not even bother to hide it from others.
From the report, he could infer that either the demon thought that it was strong enough to push back any intruders or was foolish enough to not know about the consequences of not hiding a newly formed dungeon.
Dale believed that the demon belonged to thetter category and was foolish enough to not know about themon sense of this world.
¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. If you can at least dy them for a while, it would be plenty enough. You should be thankful that even a demon as foolish as you can be of use to our guild. Knowing that you were useful to our Seven Swords guild, you can at least die without regrets hahaha¡± Daleughed out loud.
Chapter 100: Scheme (3)
Chapter 100: Scheme (3)
Chuck was the head of the Sea God¡¯s guild branch located in the city of Mountmend. Though their branch was not very renowned within the Sea God¡¯s guild they were still a branch of one of the top five guilds across the whole kingdom of Ellesmere.
Hence they still had quite a few skilled adventures even in this backwater ce. A month ago, the main guild informed them of the arrival of Godwin and Raven, the two legendary figures of their guild and the talk of their everyday conversation. After all, those two were just too famous and being from the same guild; of course, they all felt proud.
At that time, Chuck was quite excited by the news, thinking that he would be able to meet with the figures that their entire guild held in high regard and possibly even get to exchange some pointers with them. An opportunity to cross swords with them wasn¡¯t something youe across every day.
Although he didn¡¯t want to brag but he was pretty skilled with the sword and given the chance, he would be able to raise his skills through their exchange. Chuck knew that if he could glimpse at their superior techniques, he would have benefitted tremendously.
However, his hopes didn¡¯te to fruition. The monsters started breaking out of the forest towards the city of Mountmend. Monsters breaking out of the Ghastly Winding Forest was nothing new for the city of Mountmend, but this time it was reported by the soldiers stationed near the borders that the movement of the monstersing out of the forest was rather unusual.
Seizing the opportunity when Godwin and Raven arrived at the city of Mountmend, the city lord Alfred immediately requested a meeting. The request was to explore the Ghastly Winding Forest and investigate the reason behind the mass outbreak of monsters.
The main guild sent Godwin and Raven to the city of Mountmend for another reason, therefore it became Chuck¡¯s responsibility to carry out the request. Although he was quite annoyed by how sudden the request was, he was in no position to reject it.
Chuck couldn¡¯t help but sigh when he thought about missing the opportunity of duking it out with Godwin and Raven to sharpen his skills. It is rumoured that their skill has reached a point where even the top brass of their main guild were no match for them.
¡°Cheer up captain. The circumstances were so that it couldn¡¯t be helped, there is no point dwelling on it¡± said a beautiful girl twenty or so years in age. She was wearing a white dress that augmented her lithe figure and had a beautiful face that could captivate hundreds of thousands of men.
Pink lips and bright eyes made her seem to be quite cheerful. Her name was Lina, she was the vice leader of this party and a level 325 [Sage].
[Sage] is the higher ss of [Wizard] and only those who can raise their levels and skill high enough, can achieve this ss.
Chuck couldn¡¯t help butugh helplessly and cheer up with her energetic voice. ¡°Yeah, you are right I cannot get distracted at this moment¡±. Currently, he was leading a team of twenty-five people into exploring the Ghastly Winding Forest.
Although he said he can¡¯t get distracted, he was already familiar with this part of the forest and knew the topography very well as well as where all the powerful monsters resided. It wasn¡¯t his first time delving into the forest.
After all, every adventurer residing in the City of Mountmend, relies on hunting monsters in the Ghastly Winding Forest to earn money for their living. Every part of a monster is useful, be it their meat, hide, fangs or ws, each has its own uses. Some are used in forging and enhancing weapons, while others are used in alchemy or could be sold to the merchants for a good price.
The mission to hunt down monsters help in culling down their numbers and keep the city safe and at the same time earns them a good amount of money.
For Chuck and his teammates, it was just business like any other day. Their goal was to investigate any strange happening inside the forest and report it back to the guild. Although the mission sounds easy, its grade was unknown.
Adventurers use grades to identify the difficulty of the mission. Various factors affect the difficulty of the mission such as the political, economical condition of the area or the danger level of the monsters residing in the area.
The grades start from [F] and go all the way to [S+]. An F grade mission was the easiest and in the same manner, the S+ was the hardest. That being said, in a backwater ce such as their city of Mountemend which was at the corner of the central continent and borders the demon continent, [B] was the highest grade.
If there is an adventurer or team of adventurers that could handle a grade more than [B], they would mostly choose to operate near the central area or the capital city of the kingdom. Themission that they could there, was many times morepared to the remote and border regions.
An [Unknown] grade mission was only assigned when the grade of the mission is not known or could vary depending on the situation inside. Though their current mission was an [Unknown] grade, the fact that the unusual urrence was happening inside the Ghastly Winding Forest was enough to warrant it a high-grade mission.
Even after searching the eastern part of the forest for a while, they did not find anything unusual. They hade to hunt in this forest many times before but they never chose to delve deeper towards the west side of the forest as they were all aware of strong monsters residing inside.
Those adventurers that let greed get into their heads and delve deeper into the forest never came back alive. The Ghastly Winding Forest is located in the demon continent and borders the central continent, therefore not only strong monsters but even demons could rarely be seen sometimes roaming the forest.
Just when Chuck¡¯s party was preparing to delve deeper into the forest, Chuck who was leading in front, raised his hand and stopped their march. All the team members were veteran adventurers and immediately became alert, searching the surroundings while covering each others back.
Grrrrrrrr¡.Kriiieeeekkk¡Groool.
A ferocious aura came from inside the forest and three pairs of crimson eyes stared at them with bloodlust. Chuck immediatelymanded, ¡°Get in formation. Do not allow any monsters to slip into the backlines. Warriors raise your shield we will mow them down¡±.
The warriors immediately took out their shields and took their stance defending the backlines.
SHHHAAAAA¡
Before the monsters even reached them, a bloodthirsty and frenzied aura filled with killing intent hit the entire group.
Some of them gulped anxiously and raised their weapon trying to fight off the aura that was pressuring them. ¡°Mere tricks will not work on us. Let the light shine upon all of you [Lions Heart]¡±
Lina shouted before casting her Light magic. A curtain of white light fell on all of the twenty-five people from the sky above and removed the effect of the bloodthirsty aura that hit them earlier. Light Magic, a novice tier magic and one of the four rare forms of mana alongside Time, Space, and dark.
The monsters that were releasing a ferocious aura finally revealed themselves. Looking at their forms, the team was dumbstruck while Chuck knitted his brows.
There was no need to use analysis on the monsters as he already knew what they were. Chimaeras, they are a type of monster that has features of other monsters in their body.
They are generally insentient and are ruled by their instinct or by the orders of their controller. Chuck did not expect to see a chimera here, much less three of them at once. The guild generally identifies them as Strong ss monsters but some of them even have the potential to reach Elite, Super, or even the Disaster ss.
¡ª¡ª¨C
Race:- Dark Marrow Tiger-python.
Level:- 289
Skills:- Dark Magic Mastery, Berserk, Blood Miasma, Enhanced ws, Strong Jaws, Blunt Damage Resistance, Cut Resistance, Regeneration, Intimidation, Pain Resistance
¡ª¡ª¨C
Race:- Falcon Wing Bull-Ox
Level:- 281
Skills:- Wind Magic Mastery, Earth Magic Mastry, Berserk, Head Charge, Enhanced Defence, Blunt damge Resistance, Cut resistance, Regeneration, Intimidation, Pain Resistance.
¡ª¡ª¡ª
Race:- Elephant Snout Wild Boar
Level:- 290
Skills:- Fire Magic Mastery, Fire Charge, Roar, Berserk, Enhanced Agility, Blunt Damage resistance, Cut Resistance, Regeneration, intimidation, Pain resistance.
Chapter 101: Scheme (4)
Chapter 101: Scheme (4)
Inside one of therge bamboo houses located at the centre of the hidden vige of Forest Spring Spirit n, Lariszily sat on his couch. His face was sour and wrapped in frustration. All his hopes had gone up in smokes. He believed that Dale¡¯s team had encountered the girl, but it turned out that wasn¡¯t the case.
Laris couldn¡¯t tell whether Dale was lying to him or not and more so he couldn¡¯t disclose the identity of the girl to the other party. Therefore he had to keep his questioning vague and short.
¡°If it wasn¡¯t Dale¡¯s team that fought with the treants then who was it? Is there someone else besides us in this forest?¡ Could it be the adventurers from Mountmend?¡± after considering the possibility for a while, Laris shook his head.
¡°No it can¡¯t be. If there were adventurers other than us in this part of the forest, then I would have already gotten a report from the guild¡±.
He massaged his temples as he thought about various other possibilities, but no matter how much he mused, he couldn¡¯t find the answer he wanted.
Laris in his sane mind could never have imagined that the one behind the incident was the demon residing inside the dungeon his guild nned to use as their scapegoat all along.
¡°Tch¡± He clicked his tongue and nced at the cer deep inside the house. It wasn¡¯t like that their haul was bad. On the contrary, it was quite the big haul. They had already collected more than eighty spirit orbs from the Forest Spring Spirit. If they include the children that have been enved, then the spirit orb they had in their possession would be more than a hundred.
As for the remaining ones that managed to escape, some of them self-destructed their spirit orbs while the rest sessfully managed to run towards the Ancient Treants Territory.
In the current timeline whereing in contact with even one spirit orb was extremely rare, one could imagine the kind of storm these many spirit orbs would bring. The Kingdom¡ No, the whole continent would be shaken to its core.
Hundred of spirit orbs harvested from the Forest Spring Spirits were by no means a small amount in the present world. Spirit orbs that sometimese up in auction secretly, go for more than eighty million gold each and maybe even more.
The allure that the spirit orb held for the people of this world could only be imagined. After all, every individual in this world wants to raise their bloodline and rise to a higher realm.
Even if Laris brought hundreds of these spirit orbs back to the guild, the guild would have immensely profited and it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that their guild would be amongst the top, even across the whole central continent.
However, Laris wanted more. He wasn¡¯t content with only these hundred spirit orbs. If he could get his hands on the Royal Spirit orb, he would immensely contribute to the guild.
His contribution would be so huge that nobody in the guild could outshine his achievement. At that time, ranking among the top seven would be an easy task.
¡°Do I have no other choice other than to lose the royal spirit orb?¡± Laris deliberated long and hard and just when he thought he had no other choice, a hurried sound of footsteps could be hearding near him.
Laris was quite amazed to see that the subordinate didn¡¯t even bother to knock on the door before barging in. The subordinate who rushed in while huffing, said with an excited face ¡± Sir Laris we have found the little girl. You were right, cing sentries in that same ce where she disappearedst time was a brilliant move. She came back again and fell right into your traps. We currently await your orders.¡±
¡°Wha¡?¡± Laris stood up from his couch, his face was so shaken that he even forgot about the misdemeanour of his subordinate and said with an agitated face.
¡°Keep a few to watch over the Forest Spring children, order the rest toe with me immediately. I shall personally take action this time and make sure that there are no further blunders¡±. Fate has given him another chance to make up for his mistake, how could he give up on it that easily.
He had decided this time to personally take action and ensure that the royal spirit cannot escape, this may be hisst chance after all. The subordinate bowed his head and immediately left to carry out the orders.
After a few minutes, more than twenty people assembled as per his orders and immediately set out towards the ce where the royal spirit was seen. After ten minutes of constantly zipping through the forest, Laris and his team finally reached the ce.
He immediately asked the sentry about the whereabouts of the girl. The sentry silently pointed towards the distant huge tree. There amidst the thick foliage of branches and leaves, sat a little girl on top of a tree.
The girl had emerald green hair and two pairs of fairy-like wings that were rather unusual than themon Forest Spring Spirits protruded from her back. She was dressed in bright green clothes and her eyes seem to shine like an unblemished crystal.
Laris couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the scene. This was the first time heid his eyes upon the legendary Forest Spring Royal Spirit that are described in so many ancient books and records.
Forget about him, even the guild master of the Seven Swords guild had never seen one. The Forest Spring Spirits are an extremely rare n that lives in seclusion, hidden from the outside world. Therefore ny percent of the poption of Althaea had never seen a Forest Spring Spirit in their entire lives much less a Forest Spring Royal Spirit.
¡°This is it. She is a genuine Forest Spring Royal Spirit. HAHAHA, the heavens are favouring me. Surround and capture her at any cost. Do not let her self-destruct her Royal Spirit orb at any cost, do you understand? The one who messes up, I¡¯ll kill them myself.¡±
With an energetic nod, the group of adventurers covered in ck robes immediately sprang into action. They silently crept near the tree where the little girl was sitting on and surrounded her from all directions, cutting off any escape route.
While all this was happening, the girl silently sat on the tree, clueless and unaware of the greedy adventurers creeping near her.
Simon secretly watched the actions of the adventurers as they silently surrounded him. Currently, he had morphed into Cecilia and one could say that he looked exactly like her.
A surreptitious smile crept up to his face as he saw that all of them had unknowingly fallen into his trap. But his work was not done yet. He had to lure as many of them as possible, away from the vige. Especially the stronger ones.
Therefore he patiently waited and scouted out the adventurers surrounding him. Using Analysis on everyone, Simon was surprised to find out that there was even a level 311 that got baited. He silently sat on the branch of a huge tree biding as much time as possible.
To the adventurers, Simon looked just like a clueless Forest Spring spirit, unaware of their surroundings.
Chapter 102: Scheme (5)
Chapter 102: Scheme (5)
To the adventurers, Simon looked just like a clueless Forest Spring spirit, unaware of their surroundings.
¡°They should soon be unable to hold themselves back¡±. It was as Simon had supposed, the adventurers soon began making small movements.
Laris finally lost all his patience when they were only a few dozen meters away. He signalled with his hands and adventurers immediately sprang up from their hiding ces. When the girl finally heard rushed sounds around her and turned to look, it was already toote as she was surrounded from all directions.
Laris smirked and gantly walked towards the little girl. He threw his head back andughed wildly ¡°Hahahaha, truly the heavens are favouring me. Not only was I able to get hundreds of Forest Spring Spirits Orbs but now I will also be able to get my hands on an unparalleled treasure. Hehe, little girl, you can¡¯t run anymore quietly give up and surrender¡±.
Simon had an impassive face all the while he was listening to the man¡¯s rambling. The man carried himself with poise and had an aura that could only be given off by a strong warrior. He was wearing light armour that was made from the hide of some monsters and carried two short swords on his waist belt.
One look was enough for Simon to know that the man was a seasoned warrior and the highest level among the adventurers currently surrounding him.
Simon was already used to facing enemies multiple levels above him. Currently, he was level 289 but even he felt quite the pressure facing him. Although Simon had an impassive face, his eyes were burning with cold fury as the man in front of him kept on talking about the Forest Spring Spirit n as nothing but objects.
Laris was expecting a distraught look on the little girl but was disappointed to find that she didn¡¯t disy any emotions even after all his rambling. To prevent her from self-destructing her spirit orb, Laris thought he needed to break her spirit which would ultimately reduce her resistance and allow them to easily capture her.
He couldn¡¯t help but click his tongue seeing that his n had no effect and at the same time felt like something was wrong.
Thining for a while, he still couldn¡¯t put his finger on what exactly was wrong and discarded the thought as nothing but him thinking too much. The top priority for Laris was now to capture the little girl in front of him without allowing her to destroy her spirit orb.
The guild members of the Seven Swords guild surrounding the Forest Spring Royal Spirit made cruel and mocking faces. They looked at her unemotional face and thought that she was so scared that she couldn¡¯t evenprehend what was going on.
For these outer members, this mission was also their chance to raise their ranking within the guild. They who were the lowest ranking members of the guild didn¡¯t receive many benefits from the guild and are seen as nothing but workforce.
It was only after one start gathering merits, umte contributions and raise their rank does the guild start giving some recognition and benefits to them. Hence this mission became their chance to climb up thedder.
They purged the Forest Spring Spirit n and harvested their spirit orb without any iota of remorse only so that they could increase their contributions towards the guild. They did not see the Forest Spring Spirits as people and on the contrary, they felt quite excited thinking about the number of spirit orbs that they have collected.
Simon stared at all their faces that were filled with greed and excitement and couldn¡¯t help but feel revolted. Blinded by their greed, they cruelly massacred a peaceful n that was doing its all to live in a secluded corner of the world.
They had shattered all the hopes and dreams of a little girl who was no more than five years old and plunged her to a cliff where dying felt better than living. mes of anger started ring within him and he even felt repulsed to breathe the same air as them.
However, Simon still restrained himself and controlled his emotions that were starting to take over him. he couldn¡¯tsh out at them yet, he must dy them for as long as possible until Irene finishes her task.
Giving a low snort, Simon immediately used his [Super Agility] skill that increases his agility stat by quite a bit and broke out of their encirclement.
Seeing that the girl was trying to run, Laris immediately leapt forward, and at the same time signalled his subordinates to charge at her from behind. The girl easily sidestepped the adventurers, leaving them to only catch her afterimage.
Simon¡¯s agility stat was second only to his magic stat and when he used [Super Agility] on top of it, his agility stat easily surpassed his magic stat. Using his high agility, it wasn¡¯t difficult for Simon to easily outpace these adventurers.
He utilized his superior agility and opened quite a bit of distance between them. He made sure that the adventurers kept following him and made sure not to pull their distance so far apart that they lost sight of him.
Laris blinked his eyes a few times unable to believe that he caught nothing but the royal spirit¡¯s afterimage. He was stunned by the fact that a little girl from the Forest Spring Spirit n is able to disy such high agility. Weren¡¯t they a n unsuitable forbat?
He didn¡¯t dwell on his train of thoughts any longer and immediately snapped out of his stupor before snapping at his subordinates who were simrly stunned. ¡°What are you bastard dilly-dallying for, quickly chase after her¡±. Laris said while chasing after the little girl as she delved deeper into the forest.
While Simon lured the adventurers away from the Forest Spring Spirit vige, Irene and Cecilia who was riding on top of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse sneaked into the vige. A few days ago prior toing here, Cecilia made her resolve to return to the vige to save her nsmen who were still trapped and enved inside the vige.
She looked at the devastated state of her vige which was once so beautiful and peaceful as her eyes glossed over. But she did not cry this time and made a determined face as they quickly flew over.
Irene who was beside her quietly sighed looking at the state of the vige. She scanned her surroundings and swiftly found a dozen or so adventurers still remaining inside the vige. She also found the location of twenty or so Forest Spring Spirits enved inside one of the bamboo houses and pointed out.
Cecilia looked in the direction where Irene pointed her finger and made a distressed expression. That was because the house the adventurers used to enve and prison her nsmen was none other than her own house.
She had many memories associated with the bamboo house and most of it still lingered in her memories. A loving and enjoyable atmosphere as the little her was pampered every day by her mother and father.
Scenes of such memories kept flooding her until Irene snapped her out of her stupor.
¡°Are you alright?¡± Irene¡¯s beautiful crescent brows made a frown as she asked with concern. Her jade white hands which seemed to be carved by a divine craftsman was gently caressing Cecilia¡¯s emerald hair.
Cecilia nodded but did not cry as her usual self did. She repeatedly convinced herself to be strong for her nsmen and for herte mother and father. Looking at the bamboo house, she said in a clear and determined voice.
¡°Let¡¯s go and free my nsmen from their pain and suffering¡±.
Irene looked at her and didn¡¯t say much, she could guess the reason behind her revealing such a distraught face.
¡ª¡ª-
Name:- Simon
Race:- Demon Viscount
Titles:- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 1/5]
Level:- 289
HP:- 42,549
MP:- 57,445
Stats:-
Strength:- 2767
Defence:- 2967
Agility:- 3345
Magic:- 3745
Endurance:- 3056
Luck:- 2078
Skills:- Language Comprehension, Analysis, me Magic Mastery, Gale Magic Mastery, Electro Magic Mastery, Thought Processing, Regeneration, High-Speed Flight, Super Strength, Super Agility, Super Endurance, Suoer Defence, Body Enhancement, Fire Resistance, Wind Resistance, Pain Resistance, Blunt Damage Resistance, Sense Presence, Natural Recovery Demonic Eyes
Amalgamation Skills:- [me-Gale Mastery]
Inherent Skills:- Dungeon Creation, Main Menu, Ancestral Symbol Ignition
Chapter 103: Cecilias Resolve
Chapter 103: Cecilia¡¯s Resolve
¡°Let¡¯s go and free my nsmen from their pain and suffering¡± Cecilia said with a determined look on her face.
Irene looked at her and didn¡¯t say much, she could guess the reason behind her initially revealing such a distraught face.
The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse neighed at Cecilia¡¯s request and reared its hindlegs before swiftly flying towards the bamboo house.
¡°Who is there? Who dares to barge in our territory?¡± the adventurers who saw the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse flying over from the distance became alert immediately and shouted out.
The voice of the adventurer was very loud and could be heard across the whole ce. Shortly after his voice boomed out, ten or so adventurers surrounded the trio of Irene, Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse, and Cecilia as theynded in front of the vige square.
The adventurers unsheathed their weapons and threatened ¡°W-Who are you people¡. and what motive do you have for barging here at this moment?¡±.
The adventurers were quite wary as they looked at the huge frame of the demonic warhorse. Its three pairs of crimson red eyes and its ming body was releasing a domineering aura. They were trying to cover the sense of dread that was trying to overwhelm them with their numbers.
But when they gazed upon the alluring and charming figure of Irene, all their wariness disappeared as if it was never there. The woman was so soul stunningly beautiful that she immediately stole all their senses and left them in a daze.
They who had never seen a beauty of this magnitude, immediately became smitten as desire and lust immediately overwhelmed them. The desires of the adventurers were quite tant and nobody bothered to even conceal it.
Irene¡¯s crystal blue eyes frosted over at this disy, she didn¡¯t even bother to nce at these pests surrounding her. A frosty aura pervaded the entire vige of the Forest Spring Spirits. However before she could make her move, one of the adventurers came out of his daze and looked at Cecilia, and pointed out.
¡°T-that little girl, isn¡¯t she the one that sir Laris and the others went out after? Howe she is here?¡±
Listening to the person, the other adventurers also snapped out of their daze and stared at Cecilia with wide amazed eyes.
One of them said, ¡°That is true. That little girl is exactly the one that the team that died went after.¡±
¡°Then why is she here? Did sir Laris and others lose her again?¡± another adventurer said.
¡°She might have slipped out and came here in hopes of saving her nsmen¡±.
¡°Hahaha what an idiot. Did she really think that she could juste and save her nsmen as she pleases?¡±.
Discussion of such rang out among the adventurers as they started to realize that the situation was in their favour and startedughing.
Some even revealed their lust-filled eyes as they stared at Irene. If they could capture them, then they would have made a huge contribution to the guild and their ranking would be raised quite high.
¡°Capture them. Do not let any one of them escape. If we make sir Laris happy, he might even allow us to indulge ourselves tonight¡± said one of the adventurers as he drooled looking at Irene¡¯s figure.
The adventurers nodded and revealed ugly smiles. They immediately charged at the group of Irene but before they could evene closer they were impaled by what looked like crimson thorns that protruded out from the ground.
ROOOAARRRR¡ the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse neighed and thumped its powerful forelegs into the ground shattering it and causing a small earthquake. It was given the mission to protect them by its master therefore it wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to approach near them.
Many of the adventurers couldn¡¯t dodge in time and had their arms or legs impaled by the thorns that out of a sudden appeared from the ground. The crimson thorns were so sharp that the defensive gears that the adventurers wore, was nothing but paper in front of it.
PUFFFFF¡ SPLAT
¡°Ahhhhh w-what is this?¡±
¡°My arm, my arm got impaled ahhhh¡±.
¡°Gugh¡ damn it what are these thorns, my legs got impaled I can¡¯t move¡±.
Shrieks of pain rang out among the adventurers, the crimson horns on the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse started shining a bright scarlet as the screams of pain and agony sounding out from the adventurers got even louder.
However, none of the bodies that got impaled died immediately. Since all the adventurers were around level 180¡ª200, they managed to shift their bodies in time and prevented the damage from being lethal.
Nevertheless, at this moment they only thought that they were unfortunate enough to dodge the thorn and felt like dying instantly would have been much more better. One could imagine the kind of pain that was being inflicted upon the adventurers by the crimson thorns for them to reject life.
More than five adventurers were impaled and screamed in agony as peculiar patterns started to appear in the ces where the thorns had pierced them. What was unusual about the scene was that even after impaling them, no blood flowed out of their bodies.
The remaining adventurers that were lucky enough to dodge the attack in time, sighed in relief as they watched with dread and trepidation at their fellow teammates who were now crying pathetically in agony.
The adventurers looked at the trio of Irene, Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse, Cecilia and shuddered. They no longer had their carefree and mocking grin on their face and their eyes trembled intensely whenever they looked at the overbearing frame of the demonic warhorse.
In just a moment, the sense of dread that they felt whenever they looked at the demonic warhorse, magnified manifold. Fear gripped their heart and the remaining adventurers started backing out. The exchange before clearly disyed that they were not its match. If they stayed here any longer, it would be their turn next.
However, they couldn¡¯t just run away as that would be akin to death for sure. If they faced the demonic warhorse, they had a chance they could die but if they ran away from here, their death was guaranteed and it would be their own that would reap them.
The only thought going around in the minds of these adventurers was that they must inform their leader Laris who was out in the forest of this situation, and dy the intruders here for as long as they could until he arrives.
But even they knew that it was not going to be easy. The adventurers that were left behind in the vige were the weakest ones and were left here as a lookout and also to watch over the enved Forest Spring Spirit children.
Those who had higher levels went out with Laris to capture the little girl who mysteriously appeared in front of them. They did not know what was going on?¡ was the report of the little girl being seen near the sight of the explosion false? what was clear to them was that the situation here didn¡¯t look good for them.
Some of the adventurers started sneaking back towards the exit of the vige and those that were near the ones that got impaled by the crimson thorns used their weapons to cut the thorns down. The adventurers thought that they could at least save their fellow teammates by cutting the thorns impaling them down.
But to their surprise, they soon realized that the thorns were as tough as steel or maybe even more. No matter how many times they hacked, they couldn¡¯t even make a single scratch. Even if they did manage to damage the thorns using their skills, the thorns swiftly recovered as they glowed a peculiar red all the while the screams of the adventurers impaled by it amplified.
After a while, they realised that it was their weapons that had nicks and dint on them.
while all of this was happening, a cold wind bringing along an arctic chill that could even freeze one¡¯s bones started slowly blowing across the whole vige. The environment became eerily silent as if all the sound were frozen and all the adventurers shivered when the cold wind brushed across them.
Irene¡¯s beautiful blue hair that was like a waterfall danced with the wind as she raised her jade white hand. Her hands and fingers were so perfect that one could instantly get mesmerized while looking at them.
An azure light shined across her palms giving her an otherworldy ephemeral look. Those that were trying to sneak back, and those that were impaled by the crimson thorns all looked in the direction of the azure light enthralled by its beauty, and before they could even realize what was going on, a shrill noise piercingly loud rang out.
SHIIIIIIIING¡
Momentster everything was covered in ayer of ice, the ground, grass, trees, the bamboo houses, and even the adventurers that the trio was facing were frozen solid. Frosty white smoke rose all over the ce and amidst them were the ice statues that still held the same expression they had before being frozen solid.
Cecilia¡¯s small mouth made an ¡®o¡¯ shape and her eyes were wide open. It was only a few moments ago that she had seen the amazing power disyed by the demonic warhorse she was riding on top of which left her stunned in disbelief.
And before the realization could hit her, she was once again bbergasted to see Irene¡¯s immense power that left the enemies frozen solid. She could never have believed that the absolutely beautifuldy and who had a warm smile just like her mother possessed this much power.
Chapter 104: Cecilias Resolve (2)
Chapter 104: Cecilia¡¯s Resolve (2)
Irene and the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse trodded forth the ice-covered ground towards the only bamboo house that was not covered in ice located at the centre of the vige.
She had exercised enough caution so as to not hurt any of the Forest Spring Spirits being held captive inside the house. ¡°Shit¡Shit..Shit..Shit¡ what do I do now? Those useless adventurers can¡¯t even dy the enemy long enough. If they take away the Forest Spring Spirit children, then all my hard work for these past few months would be gone. No, it cant be. These are my TREASURES, I was the one who found them. I must take them away and run¡±.
Miser who was inside the bamboo house watched the entire exchange that was happening outside through the cracks between the window.
He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes when these strong adventurers that were left behind to guard the enved Forest Spring Spirits, getting impaled by what looked like crimson thorns that sprang up from the ground out of nowhere.
But what made him doubt his eyes was that alluring woman who instantly froze a part of the vige along with those adventurers with just a lift of her hand. The entire urrence seemed disbelieving no matter how many times Miser rubbed his eyes.
He even pped himself once to check whether his brain was ying tricks on him or if it was a dream. His right cheek was currently red and swollen by how hard he hit himself, but the reality still remained the same.
When he first heard themotion outside, he was stunned to see three intruders bargaining inside nheless he was soon ted to see the Royal Spirit girl among the intruders. Those unusual characteristics of her that set her apart from the normal Forest Spring Spirits indicated that even amongst the rare and precious Forest Spring Spirits, she was special.
How could Miser not be ted after all the little girl that the whole Seven Swords guild was searching for had delivered herself right to their doorstep? If they captured her here then the cut he would receive from the share would be quite big.
However, his hopes were immediately shattered when he saw the other two members of the party easily sweeping away the dozen or so adventurers confronting them.
Realising that the situation wasn¡¯t looking good, he immediately started hurrying towards the room at the end of the corridor where all the Forest Spring Spirit children were being kept.
¡°This is bad¡ very bad. I cannot allow them to take away the Forest Spirits, I must harvest their spirit orbs and escape from this ce as fast as possible¡±.
Miser ran down the corridor and was just about to approach the room when a chilling voice sounded out near his ears ¡°What do you think you are trying to do?¡±.
Miser immediately stopped in his tracks and looked around everywhere but couldn¡¯t find anyone. Bing alert, he scanned his surroundings to find the owner of the voice.
Knitting his brows he asked, ¡°Who are you? How did you get inside?¡±.
His question was met with silence before an impassive voice sounded once again and this time from behind him.
¡°Did you really think you can just go in and plunder the resources of the Seven Swords guild?¡±
Sweat poured down his face as he realized that the voice sounded very near him and the owner of the voice wasn¡¯t one of the intruders but someone from the Seven Swords guild.
Miser gave a smile and said in a friendly tone ¡°So it¡¯s one of the good sirs from the Seven swords guild. Haha, the situation outside was looking quite dire therefore I came here to check if anybody snuck inside the house. The Forest Spring Spirits are quite the valuable treasure after all. If we just focus all our attention in front, we might get the mats pulled out under our feet from behind¡±.
¡°Snort, did you really think you change the situation around with just your words?. Weren¡¯t you trying to harvest the spirit orbs and make a run from here while the intruders hold us from the front?¡± the voice said.
Miser looked left and right as the voice continuously came from near him. Fear and trepidation were apparent on his face and he tried his best to salvage the situation ¡°N-no t-this esteemed sir misunderstands. This one did not have any such evil intentions and am solely here to check on the Forest spring spirits¡±.
Miser was aware that there are skills that can erase one¡¯s presence and make them disappear from the naked eye. Skills such as [stealth] used by some high-level assassins are one such example.
He knew that the owner of the voice was using a simr skill to juke his senses but what caused him to tremble was that the person was so skilled in stealth that even when he spoke, Miser couldn¡¯t detect his position.
One moment he felt like the person was in front, the other moment the voice came from behind him. He was clearly made aware of the gap between their strengths as well as the difference in their skills.
¡°Hoh is that so? Then was I mistaken when I heard you saying ¡®I must harvest the spirit orbs and escape from here as soon as possible?¡± Ted said as he circled around Miser while in stealth and looked at him with cold killing intent. He pulled out a dagger and silently stepped near him.
Miser was only a level 215 [Wizard] whose skills could hardly be called average, while he on the other hand was one of the top assassins of the Seven Swords guild. And he believed that if he went all out, there would only be a handful of people who could match him outside of the top seven within their guild.
Not to mention his skills were top tier and given a few more years, ted believed that he would be able to step on the level 400 threshold. There was no way Ted would take Miser seriously. He would y with him before dealing a lethal blow.
Miser gulped and dropped down all pretence knowing that it was useless to say anything now when the person had already learned about his intention. There was no way he would be able to take on such a person and only needed to bide for time before the intruderse knocking from the front door.
At that time he would be able to take the opportunity amidst the chaos to escape from here. It was a pity that he wouldn¡¯t be able to take the spirit orbs but his life was more important right now.
Only when one has their life will they be able to exploit the opportunities and enjoy the treasures of the world.
¡°I-its true that I got blinded by the greed for a moment, but doesn¡¯t the esteemed sir think that it is highly unwise to fight among ourselves when the enemy is in front of us?¡±.
Miser needed to bide for time for as long as he could and therefore he asked the question that ted couldn¡¯t ignore. He thought there was no way a highly skilled person such as him was not aware of the situation. Since the person was sent by the Seven Swords guild, naturally he could not ignore the intruders.
But Miser was disappointed to hear an impassive and curt reply ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about the intruders. After I¡¯m done with you, ill naturally deal with them too¡±. Ted said, his voice was filled with self-confidence and not a single trace of worry could be detected from his tone. Lacing the dagger with killing intent he plunged forward.
Miser felt a sharp killing intenting from behind him, he immediately rotated around and jumped back. Though he cannot be called strong, he was still an adventurer who had gone through a fair share of his life and death battle.
Clicking his tongue he cast ¡°[Electro Bolt]¡±, a thin purple bolt of lightning illuminated the corridor and charged towards the ce where Miser felt the killing intent from.
BANG¡
The electro bolt crashed into the wall lighting it ame. Miser looked around cautiously, he did not think he would be able to take out his opponent with one attack. Hence he started casting another [Electro Bolt] however before the magic could take shape, he felt a stabbing paining from his stomach.
Turning around, Miser was stunned to find that the person was right behind him.
Chapter 105: Cecilias Resolve (3)
Chapter 105: Cecilia¡¯s Resolve (3)
Turning around, Miser was stunned to find that the person was right behind him.
Puff¡ blood starteding out from his mouth and his vision started bing ck and hazy. He felt so lightheaded that it became hard for him to remain standing as his legs started to falter and give up. Turning his head, Miser looked at the cold mocking eyes of ted and felt a chill through his whole body.
Bang¡
His body fell onto the cold hard floor and his vision became ck.
¡°Snort, that¡¯s one down. Now then let¡¯s take care of those pesky intruders who dared to trespass in the territory of my Seven Swords guild¡± his tone wasced with bloodlust and before ted¡¯s voice could even fall, his body started blurring and disappeared into thin air.
¡ª¡ª¨C
Outside the house, Cecilia was staring at her home. Memories of her mother, father, and herself happily living inside the house came rushing towards her. The peacefulness and serenity of the ce was now all gone, her parents were no longer waiting with a warm smile inside the house for her return.
Instead, the ce had a sombre and heavy atmosphere, it no longer felt like her home anymore. It took her a while but she still mustered up her strength and stepped inside the house.
Irene followed closely behind Cecilia while the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse stayed outside the house. Itsrge frame prevented it from entering inside and it could only remain behind. NEEIIGHH¡ Although it was frustrated that it couldn¡¯t enter the house, the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse vigntly guarded the ce.
The interior of the house was very simplistic and was dimly lit by themps. From the furniture to the decorations adorning the room, was made or woven with hand and reflected the nature of the Forest Spring Spirits. Not only that, it also disyed their culture and simplistic lifestyle.
Or that was how it was supposed to look, but right now the rooms showed signs of being used recently indicating that someone was staying here. The most evident proof was the broken table and utensils littered all around the floor.
Gentle rays of moonlight shone on the corridor leading towards the room at the end where the Cer was. Irene could sense the presence of multiple Forest Spring Spirits inside the room.
She could see the desperation in Cecilia¡¯s eyes which wanted to save her nsmen as soon as possible. However, before they could walk any further down the corridor, the smell of blood assaulted their senses and they found a person lying face down on the ground.
Blood wasing out of his body and made a small puddle around him. GASP¡ Cecilia suddenly gasped in astonishment as she looked at the person lying down on the floor. Even if she could only see half of his face from her position, she could never forget the figure of the person that had betrayed the trust of their whole n and had led all those human adventurers inside their vige.
He was the first person she ever detested so much in her life and right now that person was lying dead in front of her. Nobody knew what sorts of emotions she was going on currently but one thing was clear that her mind was not calm anymore.
Irene looked at the person lying dead on the ground and squinted her eyes. Turning her head, her icy pupils stared at an empty space and immediately after, the space started freezing at an astonishing rate before a ck shadow hurriedly darted out from it.
¡°Hoh, to think that there was someone capable enough among the intruders to sense my location. Not bad, not bad at all¡± Ted who was forced out of his [Stealth]mented in appreciation.
Cecilia who was in a daze, snapped out by the sudden voice. Turning around, she saw a man dressed in a pitch-ck garb seemingly materialize out of nothing. The man had a chilling and bloodthirsty aura giving her a stifling feeling whenever she looked at him.
Ted had a twisted expression in his eyes as he looked at Cecilia and said in a pleased tone ¡°So you are that Royal Spirit huh? Hehe, it¡¯s good that you had willingly shown yourself, saved us the trouble for looking for you everywhere. It doesn¡¯t matter where you run, you can¡¯t hide from the Seven Swords guild¡±.
Cecilia¡¯s body trembled and her face quickly became pale when she heard what the person said. But when her spirit was about to falter, Irene¡¯s figure stood in front of her as if protecting her. Looking at Irene, Cecilia for some reason recalled the words that Simon had once said to her.
His determination to save her even while fully knowing that it would get him in trouble too. His courage that did not falter even in the wake of danger made her admire him very much and at the same time, it had also given her hope and strength to resist her fate.
Seeing the unexpected change in Cecilia¡¯s eyes, Ted couldn¡¯t help but knit his brows. He had hoped to break her willpower with his words so as to prevent her from self-destructing her spirit orb.
¡°It seems that you are quite determined to resist. Is it because of the woman over there? Haha don¡¯t be na?ve do you think she can protect you from me?¡± He sneered and immediately used [Stealth] to disappear from his surrounding. He circled around their back and threw a dagger at their blindspot
¡®Let¡¯s see how you protect yourself from this.¡¯ The dagger emitted a cold light as it flew towards Irene, its edges were glowing a peculiar light and it seemed as if the dagger wasced with poison.
However, Ted¡¯s tion didn¡¯tst long as the dagger that was supposed to hit its target was suddenly frozen in midair and fell to the ground even before reaching its target. He looked a the scene with wide eyes and immediately moved from his position as ayer of frost had umted in the space he was just moments before.
Coming out of [Stealth], he looked at Irene with increased wariness. He couldn¡¯t believe that not only was she able to find his location twice but she could even stop his attacks that wasing from her blind spot.
He couldn¡¯t help but re-evaluate the woman whose beauty seemed so ethereal and otherworldly that even he had difficulty moving his gaze away from her. For an [Assassin] it was crucial that they mask their emotions along with their presence so as to not give their target any trace that they are there. If they failed even that, then they are regarded as third ss. Ted couldn¡¯t believe that there woulde a day where even he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep his desires in check.
Before he could reorganize himself, he was assaulted by a rain of frost arrows that was incisive enough to even pierce him if he wasn¡¯t careful. Dodging all the frost arrows that materialized from thin air and held enough power to even freeze a mountain, Ted repositioned himself far away from Irene.
He had to change his ns and takedown the woman first before he could reach that little girl. ying with his dagger, he said ¡°I must admit you are quite skilled but don¡¯t think that it is enough to defeat me. I have not used all of my powers yet however, it seems that you are worthy enough for me to go all out¡±.
Chapter 106: Cecilias Resolve (4)
Chapter 106: Cecilia¡¯s Resolve (4)
Ted repositioned himself far away from Irene. He had to change his ns and takedown the woman first before he could reach that little girl. ying with his dagger, he said ¡°I must admit you are quite skilled but don¡¯t think that it is enough to defeat me. I have not used all of my powers yet however, it seems that you are worthy enough for me to go all out¡±.
Irene silently circted her powers, the air surrounding her started to freeze at a rapid speed and ayer of ice started to appear all around the house. Currently, she was wearing an ice blue phoenix mask and even though she tried to hide her face, her lustrous pink lips that could tug at one¡¯s soul were still in full disy.
After these past few weeks of continuous levelling, her level had risen to 103, but even though her level had increased by a hundred, most of her powerful skills were still locked. However, it was still enough to overwhelm Ted who ording to her analysis was a level 379 [Killer Assassin].
With a frenzied look in his eyes, Ted activated all his skills ¡°Frenzy, Super cutting enhancement, Super agility, Baleful aura, Super Strength, Body enhancement¡±. His body started making cracking sounds and the entire aura around him seemed to have been amplified.
With just a light step, the floor beneath him immediately cracked and his body sprang forth leaving a sonic boom in his wake.
FLASH¡ FLASH¡ FLASH¡ FLASH¡ he was so fast that he left many afterimages and it became increasingly hard to spot him for even an instant. ¡°Hahaha, ytime¡¯s over. Now then I wonder if you can keep up,¡± Ted said in a self-confident tone as he zipped around.
The dagger he was holding onto had a reddish-brown auraced onto it due to the [Baleful Aura] skill that was applied to it.
He zoomed around Irene and charged towards her from the side. ¡°Gale Magic Mastery:- Howling Wind¡± Ted cast Gale magic on his dagger and sparks immediately starteding out of them as they shed through the air.
An attack so sharp that it could even sh Whitesilver in half sped towards Irene. Whitesilver is a type of metal that is said to be ten times stronger than ordinary metal and is used for forging weapons and armours.
Ted was sure that the woman in azure blue clothing wouldn¡¯t be able to take on his attack which was up until now able to take down all his enemies in one shot.
However, the scene that unfolded after was so shocking that even Ted couldn¡¯t have imagined that in his wildest of dreams. The attack that was powerful enough to even slice Whitesilver in half was stopped in its path by a block of thick ice.
CLANG¡ a sound of metal colliding with metal echoed out as the thick wall of ice easily withstood his attack that had previously been able to take down all of his enemies. Freeze¡ before he could even organize his thoughts, he was forced to pull back as the dagger stuck to the ice wall was starting to get frozen.
Now standing a good distance away from the woman, Ted looked at his hand which had ayer of frost covering it with disbelief. The attack he was so confident of was stopped in its track by the ice wall, the moment his attack collided with the ice wall it was as if all the power behind the attack mysteriously vanished.
The power contained within that ice wall was so great that it was able to nearly freeze his arm the instant the dagger made contact with it. His mind was in disorder and his self-confident aura was deted but how could Irene give him enough time to reorganize his thoughts.
Lightly twisting her body, she immediately floated in the air as an azure blue light wrapped around her body, and her jade white hands made a profound seal. An icy cold wind blew across the entire Forest Spring Spirit Vige and the temperature around the surrounding sharply plummeted.
Cecilia who was standing behind Irene looked at their confrontation with wide-open eyes. The power disyed by the man was so great that she couldn¡¯t even see his movements and his attacks that were so pressuring was easily deflected by Irene.
Not only that but the man was slowly getting pressured instead as he faced Irene and was starting to get cornered.
¡°Permafrost Magic Mastery:- Eternal Ice Light¡± Irene¡¯s beautiful voice sounded out. Permafrost Magic is the advanced tier form of the novice tier Ice magic. Simr to infernal magic, Permafrost magic required an immense amount of mana to cast.
Fortunately, in these past few weeks, Irene had levelled up quite a bit and hence can barely sustain the immense consumption of the advanced tier Permafrost magic. The azure light surrounding her became piercingly bright in an instant before she released her magic.
rm bells were continuously ringing on Ted¡¯s head as he looked in terror at the logic-defying speed by which the woman was casting an advance tier magic. Though the advanced tier magic held enough power to tten a big city in an instant, it took arge amount of time to cast such magic.
Even a master tier [Grand Sage] won¡¯t be able to cast magic at this speed. It was precisely because the advanced tier magic required a long period of casting, that it made them vulnerable and opened up opportunities for others to disturb the flow of the magic.
However, he couldn¡¯t believe the spectacle in front of his eyes. The advanced tier magic that required a long period of time to cast was beingpleted at a speed that defied all logic.
The increased sense of danger snapped him out of his daze, he swiftly dashed towards Cecilia as he believed that the woman wouldn¡¯t be able to use her advanced tier magic on him if he captured Cecilia.
Nheless, he still underestimated Irene¡¯s prowess and skills that were at the pinnacle of this world. The advanced tier permafrost magic waspleted, the azure light filled the entirety of the vige except for the room where the Forest Spring Spirits were enved.
The light was so bright that Cecilia had to cover her eyes and when she opened them back, everything for as far as she could see was covered in a thickyer of ice. A few meters ahead of her was the manpletely covered in multipleyers of ice making a grabbing motion towards her.
Seeing that the man was so close to her, Cecilia panicked and tried to step back but her ankle slipped and she fell on the cold floor that was now covered with a thickyer of ice.
¡°Don¡¯t worry he ispletely frozen¡± Irene helped her get back up and assured. Nodding her head, she looked around the surroundings and seemed to be still in a daze. At this moment a cracking noise came from Ted¡¯s frozen body alerting the both of them.
Irene observed the frozen body carefully before she finally realized that the cracking noise wasing from the object that was in that person¡¯s hand. An unusual white light came out of the object that looked like a small shell.
The white light slowly broke through the ice and mysteriously disappeared. Irene creased her delicate brows, she was aware of what that peculiar light was.
It was a sound transmission sent by the shell that was in the hand of that person. It seemed that during thest moments of his life, the person decided that it was futile to dodge the attack and instead chose to send a sound transmission to someone.
It was exactly as Irene had surmised. Ted knew that he couldn¡¯t dodge the advance tier magic in time and thus decided to send the news back to his guild using the transmission shell given to him by one of the Seven Swords.
He had to make sure that the guild knows about the terrifying prowess of the women and hoped that they could take appropriate measures before things started getting out of control.
Cecilia was surprised when the ice statue started making cracking noises but was relieved to find that there was no further movement. ¡°What was that white light?¡± she asked as she had also seen the white light cracking out of the ice and disappearing.
Chapter 107: Cecilias Resolve (5)
Chapter 107: Cecilia¡¯s Resolve (5)
At this moment a cracking noise came from Ted¡¯s frozen body alerting the both of them.
Cecilia was surprised when the ice statue started making cracking noises but was relieved to find that there was no further movement. ¡°Don¡¯t worry he ispletely frozen¡± Irene assured.
Nodding her head, Cecilia observed her surroundings and seemed to be still in a daze. ¡°What was that white light?¡± she asked as she had also seen the white light cracking out of the ice and disappearing.
¡°It was a sound transmission,¡± Irene calmly said, one couldn¡¯t see even a trace of worry in her brilliant crystal blue eyes.
Cecilia made a worried face and asked ¡°A sound transmission? If the word gets spread there will be more trouble¡¡±.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, most of the content of the sound transmission was destroyed. Even if they received the transmission, they wouldn¡¯t be able to understand the main subject of the transmission¡± Irene gave her a gentle smile and assured.
¡°Now let¡¯s hurry and free your n members¡± She said as she walked towards the room at the end of the corridor which was the only ce that wasn¡¯t frozen.
¡°Un¡± Cecilia nodded and strode towards the room where she felt the presence of her brethren. She stopped before the door and took a deep breath, with a determined look on her face she opened the door and entered in. The atmosphere inside the room could only be said as sombre, dark, and gloomy.
The Forest Spring Spirit children had a deadpan look on their faces and it looked like all of them had resolved themselves to their fate. Looking at their miserable and sorry figure, Cecilia¡¯s eyes glossed over, tears threatened to leak out of her eyelids.
All of them had a cor inscribed withplex runes and gems on their necks. In the human world, the cor in someone¡¯s neck represents their position as a ve. Once one gets enved by the cor, they lose all their free will and are subjected as an object of their master.
Unless one gets their cors off, they can never betray their master nor can they go against their order. She tightly clenched her small hands and a cold fury started burning within her.
Cecilia looked at all their faces and called out ¡°Maya, Sara, Jarred, Zen¡ everyone¡±.
One by one all of them raised their head and looked at Cecilia with wide disbelieving eyes. One of the girls named Maya who appeared to be six or seven years old stood up and hurriedly ran towards her. Hugging her tightly Maya sighed in relief, however, the next moment she asked in a shaken and teary voice ¡°Cecilia what are you doing here? Did those adventurers catch you too?¡±.
Hearing Maya, many of them dejectedly sighed after all Cecilia showing up here suddenly meant that those hateful adventurers were able to catch her too.
Jarred who was the oldest among the children came up to the two of them and asked: ¡°Cecilia what happened? Did the patriarch and the others fail to escape?¡±.
Seeing that she became gloomy at the mention of her father, jarred hurriedly changed the subject. He clenched his hands and said with conviction ¡°Don¡¯t worry Cecilia, it was our parents and patriarch¡¯s wish to let you escape. So even if it costs us our life, we will help you escape from here¡±. His resolute voice lit a fire inside the other children who had a gloomy and sombre aura. They all agreed with him.
¡°Yeah we must protect her at any cost¡±
¡°I heard my father saying that she was the only hope of her n¡±
¡°Then we must protect her from those evil adventures¡±
¡°How do we do that?¡±
¡°Those adventurers might be lurking outside¡ we need a n¡±.
Discussion of such started sounding out among the Forest Spring Spirit children. Even while being aware that they might die, none of them backed out. Looking at their determined faces, Cecilia couldn¡¯t help but get emotional. She hurriedly shook her head and said ¡°It is not what you think¡±.
¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± Jarred asked making a confused face. It was not only them but even the other children and Maya who was a close friend of Cecilia made a simr face.
Maya held Cecilia¡¯s hand into hers and asked ¡°What do you mean Cecilia?¡±. Cecilia inhaled a deep breath of air and said in a firm tone ¡°Listen everyone it is not what you think. I haven¡¯t been captured by those adventures, I came here to rescue you all¡±.
Maya looked at her in surprise and finally noticed that Cecilia didn¡¯t have a ve cor like them.
¡°What are you saying, Cecilia? If they didn¡¯t capture you then why would youe back here on your own ord? Don¡¯t you know how dangerous of a ce this is?¡± Jarred pressed for an answer.
¡°It¡¯s true she doesn¡¯t have a ve cor,¡± Maya said, joy and relief apparent in her voice.
Hearing Maya many of them finally noticed that Cecilia had no cor but the next moment they became confused once again. If Cecilia wasn¡¯t captured by those evil adventurers then what was she doing here, surely she wouldn¡¯t be here to save them as she just said right?.
Many of them had such thoughts but they quickly extinguished them as there was no way a Forest Spring Spirit could match those adventurers after all their race wasn¡¯t suitable forbat.
She looked at all her friends and said in an unwavering voice ¡°I am here to save you all. Currently, there are no adventurers outside, we must get out of here as soon as possible¡±. Maya, Jarred, and all of them looked at her bewildered at what she was saying.
Maya tightly gripped Cecilia¡¯s hands and asked ¡°What do you mean that there are no adventurers outside Cecilia? There should be lots of them stationed outside, they are so strong that even our parents together weren¡¯t able to hold them back¡±. She had a distressed and pained expression whenever she recalled those moments.
Observing her best friend, Cecilia understood that she had gone through a simr experience. As if assuring Maya by tightly gripping her hands in return, she directly looked into her eyes and said ¡°Those strong adventurers are currently outside the vige and those who remained behind are already dead¡±.
She looked at the wide disbelieving eyes of the other and stated ¡°It is the truth. There are no longer any adventurers outside, so we must run away now. Come with me¡±.
Maya could see hope and pleading in the depths of Cecilia¡¯s eyes as she said those words. They were the best of friends and knew the other party very well but she still couldn¡¯t bring herself to believe that there were adventurers outside. She asked the question that was on everybody¡¯s mind ¡°How is that possible Cecilia? Those strong adventurers¡ how could they die so easily?¡±.
Cecilia was aware that she sounded ridiculous from their point of view and it was very hard for them to believe her. However, no matter what she couldn¡¯t back out now, she must make sure that they get out of this ce.
Chapter 108: Demon Noble
Chapter 108: Demon Noble
Cecilia was aware that she sounded ridiculous from their point of view and it was very hard for them to believe her. However, no matter what, she couldn¡¯t back out now. She must make sure that they get out of this ce.
At this moment Irene entered the room. The moment she entered, the ce becamepletely silent as all the children looked at her in a daze, charmed by her presence. The Forest Spring Spirits were a race blessed with good looks and pretty appearances and it could even be said that their race was among the top in terms of beauty in this world.
But even from their standards, Irene appeared to be an otherworldly gorgeous beauty. Even with the phoenix mask covering her face, she still radiated an ethereal and alluring presence.
They couldn¡¯t help but be enchanted the moment theyid their eyes upon her.
Irene could hear the discussion among the children from outside the room. It looked like it was difficult for Cecilia alone to convince the Forest Spring Spirits and that is why she decided to step up.
¡°What a beautiful person,¡± Maya said in a daze smitten by Irene¡¯s presence. She had spoken the words out of everybody¡¯s mouth and all of them agreed with her judgment.
Irene gave a gentle smile which snapped them out of their daze and asked ¡°Are you guys alright? Is anybody hurt?¡±. All of them shook their heads instinctively, even if they were enved, none of them were hurt as they were a valuable treasure in the eyes of the adventurers.
¡°I see, its good that you all are alright. Now then, what little Cecilia is saying is true. There are no adventures outside, I have frozen them all. If you still don¡¯t believe her why don¡¯t you go outside and have a look¡±.
Jarred who was the eldest of all saw that Cecilia was frantically nodding her head, and hence decided to brave it and have a look outside.
The moment he neared the door, a cold wind blew past his skin making him shudder all over. Looking past the door, he was bbergasted to find a world of ice. Everywhere heid his eyes were covered in a thickyer of ice, making it seem like a world encased in ice.
The other children who were waiting for Jarred saw that he had an astonished look in his eyes when he came back. They all became curious as to what happened outside and peaked out. Seeing a world encased in ice, they had the same astonished look as jarred in their eyes.
Cecilia who expected such a reaction couldn¡¯t help but smile in content. Maya was convinced by the looks of her friends that the beautifuldy in front of her was speaking the truth. She looked at Cecilia and Irene before asking ¡°Who are you and why are you helping us?¡±.
Her words were directed at Irene but also at Cecilia. She must havee here with that beautiful woman and it must be on Cecilia¡¯s behalf that the woman was willing to help them. It was Cecilia who answered the question instead of Irene ¡°She is the mistress of the dungeon master who resides in the eastern part of the forest¡±.
After that, she repeated the events that led to her meeting with Simon. This time it was Irene¡¯s turn to be shocked, she never thought that Cecilia would view Simon and her in that way and address her as his mistress.
Cecilia was a five-year-old child after all and wouldn¡¯t be able to understand theplicated rtionship between them. At most, she did admire his courage and kindness, his determined and stalwart behaviour did make him a likeable person, but it was only that.
¡ª¡ª
A little girl dressed in bright green clothes zipped through the trees as she crisscrossed around them and led those pursuers behind her deeper into the forest. A group of adventurers followed closely behind her as they cast numerous spells and skills to stop the girl in her tracks.
BANG BANG BANG¡ dozens of spells flew through the air and targeted the girl. But she effortlessly dodged all of them and increased her pace even further.
From the initial twenty or so adventurers who were after her, now only thirteen of them remained. The rest of them were caught up by the monsters and were forced to fight them. They were no longer calm as traces of weariness and exhaustion was starting to overwhelm them.
One of the adventurers couldn¡¯t take it anymore as this constant chasing had taken a great toll on him and fired a lethal magic [Fire Pir] onto the girl. A great ming pir dozen of meters in size took shape, the intensity of the mes was so great that it lit the entire surrounding brightly.
Radiating an intense aura the fire pir flew towards the girl.
¡°Stop you fool. Are you trying to kill her?¡± Laris who noticed the casting of the magic a step toote couldn¡¯t help but rage out at him. The [Fire Pir] was one of the strongest magic of the Novice tier fire magic. It had enough firepower to seriously hurt anyone below level 100.
Even a monster above level 100 and boasting high defense, wouldn¡¯te out unscathed after being hit by this spell not to mention a little girl from a race that had far lessbat power.
The [Fire Pir] sped on and quickly engulfed the area where the girl was into mes.
BOOOM¡. the ground trembled and a shockwave bringing along an intense heat pushed all the adventurers back. Those adventurers that were near the radius of the st even suffered some injuries and were forced to flee back.
All of them looked at the one who had fired the magic with hate and fury. It was already decided earlier that they are not to use any lethal skills or magic that could kill the little girl they were chasing but despite the warning, that guy had used a wide area lethal magic and disregarded the orderpletely.
Finally bing aware of what he had done, the man became pale white and it seemed like all the blood had rushed out of his body. His body started trembling from fear and horror when the consequences of his doing dawned upon him.
Laris looked at the area where the little girl previously was now covered in intense mes. He tried to spot the silhouette of the girl amidst the mes in hopes that he could salvage her Spirit orb before she died.
However, his hopes were cruelly smashed apart along with his lofty ambitions of bing the seven swords. The figure of the girl couldn¡¯t be seen as the mes consumed everything in a few dozen meters.
Turning to look at the man who fired the magic, he gritted his teeth and his face was so reddened with fury that he could puke blood any moment. Laris gave a venomous stare towards the man and walked towards him. Right now he wanted nothing but to y this man on fire alive.
Seeing that Laris wasing towards him, strength left his body and he fell on his knees ¡°L-Leader p-please forgive me, it was a mistake please¡ please¡¡±. Without waiting for him to speak further, Laris roared in rage ¡°You bastard, I¡¯ll kill youuuu¡±.
Unleashing all his strength, he erupted will storms of punches and kicks at the person. Like a ragdoll, the adventurer was flung around in the air and his body brutally skidded across the ground.
Chapter 109:- Demon Noble (2)
Chapter 109:- Demon Noble (2)
Seeing that Laris wasing towards him, strength left his body and he fell on his knees ¡°L-Leader p-please forgive me, it was a mistake please¡ please¡¡±. Without waiting for him to speak further, Laris roared in rage ¡°You bastard, I¡¯ll kill youuuu¡°.
Laris was a level 321 [Dual-Weilder] in contrast to that the man was only around level 250. The difference between their strength was vast and there was no way the person could even dodge one ofris¡¯ attacks.
BANNNG¡ without holding back even an iota of his strength, he plummeted the man deep into the ground with an axe kick. The appearance of the man could only be said as tragic as his whole body was beaten ck and blue while most of his bones were broken and blood leaked out from all of his orifices, but the man was still alive.
The other adventurers looked at the man and felt pity, even those that were caught up in the radius of his magic felt sorry for him. However, nobody sympathised with him as they were all aware of how much importance the leader had given to this mission. They weren¡¯t clueless about how relevant that little girl was to their leader and despite his warning, the man went up and used a lethal magic to kill the girl, he had thising.
All the adventurers looked at their leader who seemed so red with anger and frustration that he could even eat a person whole and gulped as cold sweat drenched their bodies. Now that their target had been swallowed by fire, the mission was already failed.
There was no way a Forest Spring Spirit could survive magic this strong not to mention that the target of the magic was a little girl no more than five years of age.
Surely by now, she must have turned into ashes. All the adventurers thought the same but nobody voiced it out. Who would deliberately put their neck on a lion¡¯s open mouth?. They were all waiting for their leader to calm down.
Laris clenched his fists tightly and looked at the area covered in mes with wrath and discontent. All his lofty ambitions had gone up in smokes because of one single mistake.
The heavens had given him a second chance but even then he wasn¡¯t able to grab it. To make sure that they catch the Royal Spirit this time, he even came up personally but even then the endeavour resulted in a failure.
Thend, the trees everything was consumed into mes. Just when everybody thought that it was all over, the mes started flickering and burning with intense fervour.
Stunned at this sudden change, they all stared at the area covered in mes. No matter how many times they thought, they always concluded that the little Forest Spring Spirit couldn¡¯te out alive from that attack.
However, they still hoped for a miracle. Though these adventurers did not know what a Forest Spring Royal Spirit was but given by the importance ced on her by their leader, they knew that the girl was special even among her nsmen. And such a precious treasure was destroyed right in front of their eyes. They could only imagine the feeling of loss that their leader is going through right now.
The mes flickered intensely and a ck shadow rose amidst the mes.
¡®Could it be that the girl survived the magic?¡¯ were the thoughts of the adventurers who were watching the scene with bated breath.
Laris looked at the area covered in mes with tion, if the girl survived that attack then there would be a chance he could harvest her Royal Spirit Orb before the girl ends up dying from the injuries. However, the ck shadow that could be seen asionally amid the mes was unusual, to say the least.
BOOOM¡ the mes spread apart and a silhouette of a person rose from within.
A lean bodypact with muscles was bathed in mes, his pitch-ck hair looked like the embodiment of night. Two jagged horns and a devilishly handsome face, protruding from his back were a pair of demonic wings that were more than three meters wide.
When the adventurersid their eyes upon the entity, they felt their whole body shudder for an instant. Its crimson eyes seemed to be prating through your very soul.
The figure of the five-year-old girl was no longer there and instead what appeared amidst the me was a demon. The way Simon appeared, to the observing adventurers it looked like he was born from the mes.
Laris had apletely gobsmacked face and his mouth was wide open. It was not only him but all the surrounding adventurers were also making a simr face.
The silhouette of a petite little girl had suddenly turned into a tall, lean demon. How could they not be surprised? If somebody right now told them that they were hallucinating, they would have no doubt believed that.
There was no way the adventurers would have believed that they were chasing after a demon who had morphed into a little girl all along.
Simon observed his body which was bathed in mes and couldn¡¯t help but knit his brows. He wasn¡¯t concerned that his body was bathed in mes after all he had fire resistance skill and wasn¡¯t afraid of being hit by a novice tier fire magic.
He was Demon Viscount and along with his high defence stat, there was no way he would be damaged by a single novice tier magic. What he was concerned about was his body reverting to his original form.
¡°It appears that the minuses of the Elixir of Metamorphosis are the same in this world¡± Simon surmised. During the times when Simon was developing the game, he had programmed the effects of Elixir of Metamorphosis to be cancelled when the user is attacked or when the user willingly dispels it.
It seemed that when he was hit by the novice tier fire magic, the effect of the elixir was cancelled.
While Simon was still delving in his thoughts, the observing adventurers came back to their senses. They looked at each other and murmured ¡°Hey do you also see a demon standing there or are my eyes ying tricks on me?¡±.
The other adventurers said, ¡°It seems my eyes are the same they must be ying tricks on me. The girl turned into a demon¡±.
¡°What are you saying? how can a little girl turn into a demon?¡± said the other.
¡°Then are you saying that you can still see the girl?¡± the adventurer asked.
¡°N-no, I see a demon standing there¡±.
¡°Did the girl really turn into a demon after being chased by us?¡±.
¡°That is ridiculous. How can a Forest Spring Spirit turn into apletely different race?¡±.
Discussions as such continuously rang among the adventurers. Simon turning back into a demon from a little girl was too much of a shock for the adventurers as they continuously rubbed their eyes and pped each other¡¯s faces to see if they were hallucinating or not.
One of the adventurers who had enough ps on his face approached near the demon and asked in a frustrated tone.
¡°Oi you demon, where the hell did you pop up from?¡± seeing that he was not getting any kind of response, the adventurer became bold and advanced closer to the demon. ¡°Hey, can¡¯t you hear me? Where did the little girl go? Did you devour that girl¡ Uggghh¡±.
Before he couldplete his sentence, the adventurer was grabbed by the demon and lifted up. The difference in their height was already quite a bit hence when he was lifted up, his feet left the ground and he was suspended in the air.
All of the surrounding adventurers reacted toote and couldn¡¯t foresee what happened next. RUMBLE¡ mes, and lightning gather between Simon¡¯s hand which was holding onto the adventurers, and like watermelon, his head was popped open as the amalgamation magic of mes and electro prated through it.
BANG¡ there was an intense sh of light along with a rumbling sound that assaulted the ears of everybody present. A streak of intense light and heat prated through the head of one of the adventurers and passed through the forest and into the sky in a straight line.
Everything in the trajectory of the bolt was sted apart into smithereens.
Chapter 110: Demon Noble (3)
Chapter 110: Demon Noble (3)
BANG¡ there was an intense sh of light along with a rumbling sound that assaulted the ears of everybody present. A streak of intense light and heat prated through the head of one of the adventurers and passed through the forest and into the sky in a straight line.
Everything happened in a matter of seconds. Although everyone present here saw it clearly, they couldn¡¯t move in time. Silence spread around the surrounding after the attack passed through and disappeared into the horizon.
Plop¡ the body of the adventurer who was now missing a head dropped onto the floor amidst the stifling silence. The sound of the body hitting the ground snapped all the adventurers from their daze. They immediately brought out their weapons and stood in formation.
There was no way they ignore the demon right in front of him; after all, the humans and demons had been waging wars since ancient times. And now that the other party had already attacked them and killed one of their own, how can they not retaliate?.
The thoughts about the little Forest Spring Spirit was long gone from their mind. Laris ground his teeth with hatred as he looked at the demon who just non chntly killed one of his men as if he just swatted a fly.
Laris roared in anger and pointed ¡°Vile demon how dare you kill one of my men? Do you think you can just bully us humans? I shall kill you and make you apany him in the afterlife¡±.
Simon looked at Laris who seemed to be the highest level among the adventurers and also their leader. He shed a mocking smile and said ¡°Humans? I don¡¯t see no humans. All I see are a group of animals wearing human skin¡±.
¡°You bastard, you dare to nder us?¡± the adventurers who had been told they were animals shouted out infuriated.
¡°The audacity of this demon¡ you all surround him and make him experience a pain worse than death for ndering us¡± Laris ordered his team. He was already on the brink of bing insane after he lost the royal spirit orb and after Simon ndered him, he lost all of his self-control.
The adventurers also wanted to vent their frustration and quickly executed the order. Five adventurers with heavy armour and shields surrounded Simon. He used analysis on them and quickly found that they all belonged to the same [Swordmaster] ss and were around level 280 each.
¡°Ramming Shield¡± shouting out the name of the skill, one of the swordmaster charged towards him and tried to ram him down with his shield.
Simon swiftly sidestepped and dodged the charge. mes lighted in his hands and just when he was about to retaliate, another swordmaster rushed out and blocked him. After blocking his offence, the swordmaster jumped back following which rain of magic came dropping down on Simon from the backlines.
[Fireball], [Electrobolt], [Wind st], [Earth Pir]¡ magic from every basic attribute targeted him. Knowing that he couldn¡¯t handle it with just his resistance, he countered the spells with his own ¡°Gale Magic Mastery- [Hurricane Wind]¡°.
Fierce wind instantly engulfed the area, making it seem like a ce hit with a typhoon. nts and trees were uprooted and thrown around the surrounding. The winds were strong that it bounced all the magic targeting Simon back towards their caster.
However before the spells could hit the backlines, the five swordmasters used their shield and tanked through all the damage.
BOOOM¡ all five of them were pushed back, seeing the opportunity Simon tried diving amidst the adventurers but instinctively jumped back when the space beside him distorted and out came a dagger.
Before Simon could organize himself, the space behind him distorted once again but this time instead of dodging, he punched the space with all his strength. BANG¡ The assassin that was hidden inside spat out a mouthful of blood as his body flew around and smashed into one of the trees.
Just when he thought he could finish off the assassin, a barrage of spells came targeting him and he was forced back once again. Simon clicked his tongue when looked back at the assassin who was being healed and hadpletely recovered.
The five swordmasters were back on their feet and had surrounded him once again. The situation had turned back to how it was before. Individually the adventurers weren¡¯t his match, but thingspletely change when they cover each other¡¯s shorings.
Simon can¡¯t find the opportunity to dive towards their backlines or deliver a finishing blow. Whenever he forced the swordmaster back, the assassins would target him from behind, if he focuses on the assassins then a barrage of spells woulde targeting him and over and over again.
However, it wasn¡¯t like he waspletely being suppressed. Laris observed the sh between his team and the demon that appeared out of nowhere and squinted his eyes.
He could sense that the demon was not going all out and was constantly vignt of his movement. He further creased his brows when the result of the analysis came up with ????? when he used it on the demon.
Laris was stunned to find that his analysis was unable to scan the status of the demon which implied that either there was a huge difference in their level or that the demon had a skill that blocked the prying attempts from the analysis.
Till now Laris had only met one person who was able to block the prying attempts of his analysis and that was the guild master of the Seven Swords. At that time he realized the huge difference in their levels just be sensing the auraing off from their guild master. However, this was different he thought that there was no way that the difference between him and the demon was so great that the analysis couldn¡¯t pry through.
Therefore it could only mean that the demon had a skill that was able to block all the prying attempts of the outsiders.
Laris believed that the demon was a low-ranking one, possibly a Demon Baron or a Demon Viscount, or else they would have already been wiped out. From what he knew, skills that could hide your status were incredibly rare and even their guild master didn¡¯t possess one.
But now he had met a demon who had one such skill. Since he could not pry the status of the demon, he couldn¡¯t figure out how powerful the demon was. His only option was to observe the demon carefully as he shed with his team.
¡°Snort, you really think you can just kill one of my men and get away with that little ability of yours?¡± after observing for a while, Laris realized that the demon was really a low rank and just happened to have a skill that blocked all attempts of analysis.
Simon forced two of the swordmasters back with a punch and sted the other three with his magic. He swiftly charged towards the backlines, the space behind him distorted and two assassins promptly appeared and plunged their daggers on his back.
Folding his wings, Simon tanked through it all and kept on charging towards the adventurers casting magic on the backlines. He could see that the adventurers behind weren¡¯t adept in closebat and needed a defence line to stop anyone from approaching closer to them. He smiled and just when he thought he had them, with a rumbling sound a blue de covered in lightning came piercing towards his chest.
Twisting his body at the nick of the moment, Simon was able to dodge the attack that came from Laris.
At this moment, blue lightning arched around Laris and his de was pointed towards Simon. The attack that just flew towards Simon came from him or more precisely from his des. His twin des were a [C] tier weapon that was gifted to him by his elder brother Boris.
The des allow him to manifest intermediate-tier lightning magic and infuse them with his de skill. His [Dual Wielder] ss allows him to wield two swords at once andpletely forgo defence to dish out lightning-fast attacks.
Laris smiled at the demon who had managed to dodge his attacks in the nick of time and said ¡°That was quite the fast reaction, but will you still be able to dodge my attacks if I close the distance?¡±. After saying that, Laris finally moved from his original ce disappeared with a sh of lightning.
Chapter 111: Intruders
Chapter 111: Intruders
Laris had the [Dual Wielder] ss, a rare ss even amongst the warrior sses which allows him to wield two swords at once andpletely forgo defence to dish out lightning-fast attacks.
He smiled at the demon who had managed to dodge his attacks in the nick of time and said ¡°That was quite the fast reaction, but will you still be able to dodge my attacks if I close the distance?¡±. After saying that, Laris finally moved from his original ce and disappeared with a sh of lightning.
The next time he appeared, he was already behind Simon and shed his twin des sideways ¡°Hell Lightning Slice¡±.
Lightning arced around the des making them appearpletely blue as they closed in on Simon¡¯s unguarded back.
Simon hurriedly turned around and used gale magic to distance himself from those des. CHIIIIIII¡ like a paper being torn, the hurriedly conjured gale magic was shredded in half.
BOOM¡ the aftershock of the attacks blew the surrounding adventurers far away. Picking themselves up, the adventurers hurriedly distanced themselves from the two.
¡°Hahaha, what happened is dodging all you could do?¡± Laris dished out one lightning attack after another. Simon met the attacks head-on with his own intermediate-tier me magic.
BOOOOOM¡ RUMBLEEEEE¡ the ground quacked and the surroundingnd was flipped outside down.
Devastating mes and lightning wreaked havoc and obliterated everything in the surrounding. All the adventures were forced back more than hundreds of meters as they watched their leader and the demon duke it out among themselves. Magic met magic and wreaked havoc everywhere. The scene was truly pandemonium. This was the first time they saw someone fighting toe to toe with their leader.
ZIP¡ ZIP¡ ZIP
Laris encased in blue lightning zipped around the surroundings and used his high-speed attacks to sh with the demon. To their surprise, the demon ignited everything into mes and stopped all the attacks that came from Laris. The intensity of the me generated by the demon was so high that it looked just like a setting sun from the distance.
mes devoured lightning, the lightning devoured mes in an unending circle. Simon was concentrating on his battle with Laris when suddenly a window popped up in front of him.
¡ª¨C
Intruders have entered the dungeon. All monsters have been cleared on Floor one.
Intruder Numbers:- 25
Current Progress:- 89% percent of the second floor has been cleared.
¡ª¡ª-
Reading the message, Simon got distracted for a second, and Laris wasn¡¯t someone who would miss this opportunity.
Immediately ceasing it, he delivered a lightning-fast attack ¡°Hell Lightning Lunge¡±. Lightning raced out of the des and lunged towards the unguarded Simon.
BOOM¡ this time Simon was unable to dodge the attack in time and was hit squarely by the attack in the chest. His body was blown back and smashed into the ground, the momentum of the attacks was great that his body dug a ditch along the ground beforeing to a stop. He puked out a mouthful of blood and hurriedly stabilized his wounds.
Simon somersaulted back and got on his feet before the connecting attacks coulde from Laris.
¡°That hurts dammit¡± he clicked his tongue and just when he was getting ready for round two when all of a sudden an azure light shed in the distant sky.
Simon stared at Laris who had a smile stered on his face and couldn¡¯t help but knit his brows in annoyance. He turned around spread his wings and flew into the forest. Utilizing his [High-Speed Flight] which had advanced from his [Flight] he was able to quickly disappear into the forest.
Right now he had other important things to focus on rather than fighting with the adventurers. The azure light that shed in the distant sky previously was a signal from Irene that their n had gone ordingly.
The adventurers who were pushed back far into the distance looked at the ongoing battle with wide eyes. They finally realized that when the demon was battling them, he was not being serious at all.
The demon was able to go toe-to-toe against their leader who ranked amongst the top twenty in their guild. They could feel the might contained within each attack of both parties even from hundreds of meters and couldn¡¯t help but shudder.
Just when they thought that the battle was pretty even, their leader delivered a devastating blow towards the demon and sent him flying back. BOOOM¡ the demon pummelled into the ground and his body dug a long ditch beforeing to a stop. One could imagine the might behind that attack.
¡°Heh, the demon is nothing in front of our leader,¡± said one of the adventurers after the demon was hit by the attack.
¡°Of course, did you really that demon stood a chance against leader?¡±
¡°That demon dared to kill one of our teammates look how sir Laris teaches him a lesson he will never forget¡±.
¡°Hahaha, you are right. That demon dug his own grave by showing up here¡±.
The adventurers remarked among themselves after seeing that the situation was in their favour. ¡°What? The demon got back up again¡± their thoughts were stopped short when the demon got back again. They looked at the demon and were stunned to find that the injuries he suffered after taking on that attack were not that big and he looked was mostly fine.
Right when they thought that there would another big sh, the demon turned around and quickly flew away from the scene.
The atmosphere becamepletely silent as all the observers had a dumbfounded look on their faces.
¡°Pfft,¡± the silence didn¡¯tst long before all the adventurers erupted into a burst of thunderousughter.
¡°HAHAHA¡ that demon just ran away from the fight¡±.
¡°He is fighting sir Laris after all. Running from him was quite the clever choice for that demon¡±.
¡°Yeah, you are right. I guess thatst attack did quite a lot of damage to him and he felt that there was no hope of winning¡±. The adventurersughed and snickered merrily after seeing that the demon made himself scarce after shing with Laris.
After the battle was over, they approached Laris and congratted him. ¡°Sir Laris, congrattions on your splendid win against that vile demonkind¡± one of the adventurers ttered. At this moment, Laris had a confused and doubtful look on his face. He didn¡¯t believe that the demon ran away because of hisst attack.
¡°There has to be something else¡± he deliberated for a while before suddenly he recalled that peculiar azure light shing in the distant light. Fighting head-on, he realized that the demon wasn¡¯t weaker than him. Even though he was not using his full strength, the demon was able to match him.
Aside from its strength, the way the demon appeared amidst the mes that engulfed the little girl was clearly unusual.
No matter how many times he thought, he couldn¡¯t figure out how the demon had appeared amidst those mes unless¡ Pushing aside his chaotic thought, he looked at the area where the Forest Spring Royal Spirit had been engulfed in mes and made an irritated face. Squinting his eyes, he ordered the adventurers to thoroughly search the area.
The adventurers immediately executed the order and fanned out to search for any clues for that little girl. Even they felt that the way the little girl disappeared and the appearance of the demon was unusual.
However, no matter where or how many times they searched, they ended up with no clue about the girl. ¡°Isn¡¯t she dead? I mean we all saw the mes engulfing her¡± one of the adventurers said. The adventurer near him quickly hushed him into silence ¡°Shh, don¡¯t you know that the leader is very distressed right now? Trust me, you don¡¯t wanna stick your head in this matter right now¡±.
Laris looked at the area where the demon had suddenly appeared. The scene repeatedly yed in his head before a bad premonition struck him. He did not know what but he felt like something was awry.
The sudden appearance of the girl, her ridiculous agility thatpletely contrasted with her race that had lowbat potential, and her disappearance amidst the mes. Up until the mysterious appearance of the demon, everything was unusual.
The more Laris thought, the more he felt like he was missing something. The foreboding feeling was starting to thicker and thicker. ¡± Why would the girl who was able to escape from them once decide to show herself once again?¡±
Chapter 112: Intruders (2)
Chapter 112: Intruders (2)
Laris looked at the area where the demon had suddenly appeared. The scene repeatedly yed in his head before a bad premonition struck him. He did not know what but he felt like something was awry.
The sudden appearance of the girl, her ridiculous agility thatpletely contrasted with her race that had lowbat potential, and her disappearance amidst the mes. Up until the mysterious appearance of the demon, everything was unusual.
The more Laris thought, the more he felt like he was missing something. The foreboding feeling he had from the beginning, was starting to be thicker and thicker. ¡± Why would the girl who was able to escape from them once decide to show herself once again?¡±.
No matter how he thought about it, it didn¡¯t make sense. To her, they should be a source of her trauma and given her age, there was no way she would be able to ovee thate in front of them once again. He was missing something¡ something very crucial.
¡°Even the way she reacted when she saw us again was unlike the time she ran away crying. Was she really the same girl?¡ ¡± Laris recalled the appearance of the girl which was exactly the same as back when he was subduing their vige. Even her description met with the records from the ancient times so there was no way she was fake.
However, he was starting to feel that something was amiss about the girl. ¡± Assuming that the girl was still alive before the attack consumed her, what is her objective for leading us all here?¡±. Even though the Ghastly Winding Forest was located on the Demon continent, it was a vast forest unlike any other.
Usually, when one delves deeper into the Western or crosses over the southern region of the forest does the chances of meeting a Demon Noble on the way increases. Though if you are extremely unlucky, it was not umon to meet a Demon Noble inside Forest but they hadn¡¯t delved much deeper. There shouldn¡¯t be any demon loitering at the edge of the western region of the forest
Suddenly he thought of a possibility that he didn¡¯t wasn¡¯t to believe and everything started making sense. The sense of foreboding he was feeling from that time, he felt like it was all pointing there.
Without dying for even a second, he shouted out the order to return back. Laris didn¡¯t wait for anyone and rushed back towards the Forest Spring Spirit vige at a speed that broke all his previous records.
He didn¡¯t want to believe that the objective of that girl was the enved Forest Spring Spirits in the vige. Yet all the peculiar events that had happened up until this point left him with no choice but to think of the worst-case scenario.
¡ª¡ª-
Simon continuously flew across the forest at a high speed and swiftly approached the area where the azure light shined from. Before the execution of their n, they decided to meet up in a ce after their n seeded and he told Irene to signal him with something after they arrive at that ce.
Utilizing his [High-Speed Flight] skill, it didn¡¯t take him a lot of time to arrive at the ce. ¡± We are here¡± as soon as he arrived, he could hear Cecilia¡¯s spirited voice as she continuously waved her hand towards him.
Landing past, he unfolded his wings and looked at the entourage of Forest Spring Spirits. He was surprised to find that they were all children and their numbers were only about twenty or so.
Though he didn¡¯t ask, he could guess what happened to the rest of them. The adults who could be troublesome if they resisted were plundered of their Spirit Orbs, and the children whose spirits were quite easy to break were enved.
Sighing out loud, he looked at all the children who had a mixture of terrified, anxious, and uncertain aura around them. Some of them even looked at him with caution and maintained some distance from him.
Simon didn¡¯t me the children for disying such emotions after all they had gone through a terrifying experience. Of course, they would be cautious of a stranger that came to their rescue out of nowhere.
Observing all of them, Simon didn¡¯t mask his words ¡°You all must be terrified right now and will be looking at everything with a disbelieving eye. You have every right to be cautious. However, let me tell you one thing, I am not after your Spirit Orbs.
¡°You guys must be already aware but I¡¯m the dungeon master of the dungeon we would be heading to right now. What I want from you guys is to be my subordinates and help me manage my dungeon. If you are willing to help me with that, then I promise to protect you all with everything I have¡±.
Simon¡¯s words rang across the whole area. There was no lie in his words and everything he said was clear and the truth. The forest spring children who had suffered so much were on guard against deception. And Simon¡¯s words which weren¡¯t masked with any deception or lie, made them see him in a new light. Though there were still some who had their guards against him, the majority of them didn¡¯t have their previous cautious and distanced look whenever they gazed at him.
Cecilia watched the emotions of her nsmen who had been awed by Simon and couldn¡¯t help but reveal a bright smile. The forest Spring Spirit have the unique ability to influence the nature and that goes strongly for Cecilia who was a royalty amongst the Forest Spring Spirits born every thousand years.
The moment she smiled, Spring bloomed across the whole area.
The trees rustled in delight, flowers bloomed and thrived, grasses swayed in joy. It was as if the flora and fauna came to life at that moment, a mystical scene.
Simon looked with wide eyes stunned at the powers of the little girl. Irene who was beside Cecilia didn¡¯t find the scene too shocking after all she was aware of the potential of Forest Spring Royal Spirit.
Though the Forest Spring Spirits weren¡¯t born with highbat powers, they were blessed with the power to manipte and influence the nature that no other species could. Influencing the area was like taking a bucket of water from the ocean, it wasn¡¯t even once percent of her power. Once she grows up, the abilities she could disy would outright be called heaven-defying.
Snapping out of his daze, he patted the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse that was carrying Cecilia on his back and said ¡°You did quite well protecting her¡±. NIEEGH¡ mes came out of its nostrils when it neighed as if saying ¡®She is perfectly fine in my protection¡¯.
¡°Haha, is that so¡± as if understanding what the demonic warhorse said, Simonughed and patted him again. Looking at everyone, he nodded and said ¡°The dungeon is still a little far from here. We need to cover some more distance before I could use the dungeon function to teleport us all inside¡±.
With that, he started leading everyone towards the dungeon. His [Mental Map] skill which had mapped out all the surrounding area generated a safe route where the monster was less prone toe out.
While they marched forward, Irene came up to him and asked ¡°What is with that wound in your chest? Did you engage in a battle with those adventurers¡±.
Listening to her clear and beautiful voice, Simon was honestly surprised a little. It wasn¡¯t like Irene to start a conversation first and from her tone, he could detect traces of worry and concern. He didn¡¯t know why but the moment he sensed that Irene was worried for him, he felt happy and all pain disappeared in an instant as if it was never there.
Giving a bright smile, he looked at Irene¡¯s crystal blue eyes and said ¡°Yeah, I let my guard down for a second and got hit from their attack. But you don¡¯t have to worry the wound isn¡¯t deep and would quickly heal after some time¡±.
Irene Didn¡¯t know why but she moved her gaze away the moment she realized that Simon¡¯s bright eyes were staring straight at her. ¡°If it¡¯s light then it¡¯s good, it should heal away in no time given your recovery skills,¡± she said in an impassive tone.
Chapter 113: Intruders (3)
Chapter 113: Intruders (3)
Giving a bright smile, he looked at Irene¡¯s crystal blue eyes and said ¡°Yeah, I let my guard down for a second and got hit from their attack. But you don¡¯t have to worry, the wound isn¡¯t deep and would quickly heal after some time¡±.
Irene Didn¡¯t know why but she moved her gaze away the moment she realized that Simon¡¯s bright eyes were staring straight at her. ¡°If it¡¯s light then it¡¯s good, it should heal away in no time given your recovery skills,¡± she said in an impassive tone.
Simon locked his brows in surprise because given the way Irene spoke previously and now, there was a huge difference. If previously her ice-cold voice pushed others far away then now it no longer had that distance feeling whenever she talked to Simon.
It might be him imagining things too much but he felt like he had closed the distance between them ever so little.
Though her voice still had that coldness that pushed people far away, it might be because of her inborn powers. Given how even Simon was able to tell the difference, it seemed that Irene herself was unaware of the drastic change she had gone through a few months aftering in contact with Simon.
Cecilia riding on top of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse looked at Simon and Irene from behind as they walked side by side. A cute smile bloomed on her face as she watched the two discussing something. To her, they looked just like a couple.
Irene was the most beautiful woman she had ever met and although Simon was a demon, he was far better than any human and coupled with his courage and headstrong attitude made him a perfect match for Irene.
The thoughts of the five-year-old girl spun as she observed the two of them and smiled. Maya who was beside Cecilia was also staring at the two of them. Simon¡¯s honest speech earlier struck a chord in her, he had not only helped her best friend when she was being chased by those adventurers but also risked his own life to save them.
A sense of gratitude rose from the bottom of her heart as she said ¡°Thank you for saving all of us master and mistress of the dungeon¡±.
¡°Eh?¡± Simon was walking at the forefront almost fell onto the ground when he heard what she said. Looking towards Irene who for some reason was avoiding eye contact, he couldn¡¯t help butugh awkwardly.
He didn¡¯t know what had transpired after he had left nor the reason behind them calling him and Irene in such a way. Of course, he didn¡¯t take the words of a child less than eight years old seriously
¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. Cecilia is one of us now, that being said saving you all who are her nsmen is a given. Anyways we are gonna approach near the dungeon soon¡± saying so, he hurriedly changed the subject.
However, Maya still bowed her head deeply in gratitude, it was not only her but all of the forest spring sprits were the same as they bowed towards Simon and Irene. To them who had lost all hopes of surviving, Simon did a huge favour by not only saving them but even rescuing Cecilia, the daughter of their patriarch from the evil clutches of those adventurers.
Even if Simon did not see it that way, as the eldest here, Maya clearly knew how big of a debt they owed to him.
Seeing their serious and haggard expression, a strange feeling that even he couldn¡¯t put into words welled up within him. ¡®Dammit, kids should be more carefree and free-spirited¡¯. One look and anybody could tell that they had gone through a terrible experience. He could see in their eyes worry, anxiety and defeat.
All of this was because of those adventurers who had discarded their humanity. Whenever he thought about those humans he met back near the ancient treants territory, he erupted with a belly full of anger.
Unbeknownst to Simon, the pride fragment within him started to affect his emotions ever so slightly and his eyes glimmered with an unknown light
¡ª¡ª
After marching a while, they finally approached near the vicinity of the dungeon from where he could use the teleportation.
Turning around Simon observed all of the Forest Spring Spirits and said ¡°Get ready everyone. From here, I¡¯m gonna teleport every one of you to my dungeon. Once inside, you all will be the inhabitants of my dungeon. As long as you help me manage the dungeon, I promise to protect you all with all my strength¡±.
Looking at the Forest Spring Spirits who became awed by his spirited speech, he nodded and opened the teleportation gate. Space became distorted and started rotating, a wide warp hole appeared that connected the outside with the inside of the dungeon.
Just when he was about to lead everyone inside, a boy who appeared to be one of the eldest among the children there came up to him and asked.
¡°Why did you save Cecilia¡ what notice do you have behind helping her?¡± without cowering, Jarred looked straight at Simon¡¯s crimson that looked like they could devour one¡¯s soul.
Looking at the boy who was staring straight at his eyes without blinking, he could see the boy¡¯s strong determination to seek the answer. Giving it some thought in his mind, Simon sighed and said ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of heroic answer you were expecting but I¡¯m not your hero, I¡¯m a demon after all. Even though I¡¯m a demon, I chose not to abandon a girl who had lost all hope and whose eyes sought help¡±.
Simon put his hand on Jarred¡¯s head and continued ¡°I don¡¯t know if this answers your question or not but I decided to live my life to its fullest. At that time I decided to save her and so with you all, I¡¯m a selfish demon after all¡± a wicked smile stered on his face.
The boy seemed to be stunned as he continuously looked at him. Simon thought ¡®Did I say something weird?¡¯ as he looked around and saw that everyone present had a stunned face.
Unsure, he turned towards Irene and was bewildered to see herughing while covering her mouth with her hand. Cough¡ with a forced cough, he decided to be thick-skinned and ignore the situation.
¡°Let¡¯s get inside¡± Simon couldn¡¯t delve into this any longer as he had other matters to look after. With that, all the Forest Spring Spirits went into the portal.
¡ª¡ª-
SPLASH¡ with a wide swing of his longsword, Chuck killed one of the wind wolves that jumped at him from behind the mist.
CLANG¡ CLASH¡ scenes of battles continuously rang out inside the wide cavern covered in thick mist. And after a while, the cavern seemed to bepletely silent and only the footsteps that echoed could be heard. ¡°Leader we have cleared all the monsters on this floor and I contacted the other team it seems they found the entrance to the next floor¡± one of the adventurers leading a team of ten people came up to Chuck and reported.
Currently, Chuck was seated on top of arge rock as he listened to the report, his hand was continuously fondling an object.
It wasn¡¯t long before the other team also joined them. Lina walked towards Chuck and with a cheerful smile, she reported ¡°Hehe, leader we found the entrance to the next floor¡±. She acted as if she wanted to get praised before she took something out from her ring and presented it to Chuck
¡°Look leader I found something and there is a lot of them in here¡±. The object she had in her was a small crystal glimmering with a silver light. Silver crystal, a material used by cksmiths all over the world to forge weapons and artifacts.
Though it is not a rare ore, it is still in high demand as all the cksmiths and apprentice cksmiths require a huge amount of these crystals every month to craft.
Not only that but the appearance of Silver crystals means that there would be a chance for Whitesilver, cksilver, and other such rare minerals to appear.
Chuck looked at the Silver crystal on her hand and that beautiful smile on her face. He couldn¡¯t help but tease her ¡°Do you mean this crystal? The other team found them a long time ago¡±.
¡°Eh?¡± Lina looked like she received the shock of her life. She red at one of the warriors who was the leader of one of the teams and pouted. Snort, she thought that since the mist restricted their vision, nobody would be able to spot the Silver crystals growing on the walls.
However, it seems that wasn¡¯t the case as the other team was also able to spot them.
Chapter 114: The [D] Tier Dungeon
Chapter 114: The [D] Tier Dungeon
Chuck looked at the Silver crystal on her hand and that beautiful smile on her face. He couldn¡¯t help but tease her ¡°Do you mean this crystal? The other team found them a long time ago¡±.
¡°Eh?¡± Lina looked like she received the shock of her life. She red at one of the warriors who was the leader of one of the teams and pouted.
Snort, she thought that since the mist restricted their vision, nobody would be able to spot the Silver crystals growing on the walls. However, it seems that wasn¡¯t the case as the other team was also able to spot them.
Seeing her pout, Chuck couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Alright cheer up, I was just joking. Other than me nobody else was able to spot these crystals that are growing everywhere on this floor¡±. It was as he had said, nobody else was able to find these crystals other than him and Lisa due to the thick mist covering the floor and obstructing their vision.
The mist was so dense that it made their surrounding field of vision quite narrow. Fortunately, they had skills such as [Trap Detect], [Location], [Mental Map] and were able to explore through the mist.
However, since the Silver crystals were naturally growing minerals and not a trap, they weren¡¯t able to detect it. If it was not for him and Lina identally stumbling upon it, they would have missed it entirely.
Although the Silver crystals are not that precious, given the quantity of them growing around and the size of the floor, there would be tons of crystals to harvest.
In addition to that, the Silver crystals were growing inside a dungeon. They could harvest the crystals every few days after they are replenished by the abundant mana inside the dungeon.
Up until floor five, it was smooth sailing as the monsters were weak and the traps could be easily avoided by their skills. On the fifth floor, they were besieged by Stormwolves. Though these monsters were stronger than the ones on the upper floor, they were still no match for their team.
Pondering over his options for a while, Chuck asked ¡± Did you guys find that chimaera?¡±
when asked such a question, all of them shook their head and replied with a no. After the three chimaeras charged at them, at the southern region of the Ghastly Winding Forest, a fierce battle erupted that went on for a while.
Though the Dark Wing Tiger-Python and the Elephant Snout Wild Boar chimaeras were strong, they were still overwhelmed by Chuck¡¯s group of twenty-five adventures as they beat them off with a rock-solid formation. After all, they all had a fair share of their own adventurers and were quite the veteran.
Magic and skills continuously flew from the backlines healing the allies and damaging the Chimaeras. The warriors surrounded the chimaeras and cut off their escape all the while the [Wizards] supported them from the backlines and bombarded the enemies with their spells.
After a while, only the Falcon Wing Bull-Ox remained which managed to escape deeper inside the forest. Thinking that the chimaeras could be the reason behind the disturbance that led to an outbreak of monsters out of the forest and towards the border of their city of Mountmend, they pursued the Falcon Wing Bull-Ox.
The chimaera flew through the forest and ultimately disappeared near a tall spiral tower. Even when they searched all around, not even a trace of its presence could be found. But that was not the only thing weighing in their minds.
Given the aura and demonic presence oozing out of the tower, one look and the adventurers were able to see that the spiral tower was no ordinary tower but a dungeon. A demon¡¯sir.
¡°Was this dungeon always here?¡± Chuck asked the question, the answer of which he already knew.
One of the adventurers from his party gave a deep look at the tower and the mysterious carvings on its walls before saying ¡°I came to the eastern part of the forest a few months ago to hunt some orcs. But at that time there was no signs of such a huge tower being there. If something so conspicuous was there, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have missed it¡±.
¡°I see¡ that is to say¡¡± Chuck knitted his brows and murmured. He could already guess that the tower, the dungeon to be more precise was a newly emerged one. After all, if there was a dungeon this close to the city of Mountmend, as the branch manager of the Sea God¡¯s trident guild located at the city, he would have already known.
If the dungeon was not there previously, then there was only one possibility that it was a newly emerged one.
¡°Earlier it was the Chimearas and now this¡ seriously what is going inside the forest¡± one of the adventurers spoke in concern.
Now that they had seen a dungeon, as adventurers they couldn¡¯t just ignore it. The dungeon could also be the one behind the disturbance and even the chimaera they were chasing disappeared around it.
Everybody was convinced that the chimaera went inside it and must be one of the minions of the demon that was living inside. The adventurers deliberated whether to explore the dungeon or not.
They did not have the necessary equipment and items to tackle the dungeon plus they had a pretty solid reason to believe that the dungeon was behind all the monsters running out of the forest. If they ryed the message back, they would have alreadypleted the mission assigned to them by the mayor.
However, since they were adventurers the best of the best the city of Mountment had to offer, they naturally wanted to explore it first. Who knew what kind of monsters and treasures was waiting inside, their sense that have been refined after years of adventuring, started tingling.
Chuck deliberated for a while before deciding on exploring the dungeon. He was the leader of the party and the branch manager of the guild thus his words possessed the most authority. Their party could have gone back without entering the dungeon and rying the message back to the mayor.
But given the strength of this team, Chuck believed that even if they explored a newly emerged dungeon they would be fine for a while. Plus he didn¡¯t want to leave a potentially dangerous dungeon without knowing it a little.
¡ª¡ª
On the fifth floor of the dungeon, Chuck yed with the Silver crystal in his hand before ordering ¡°Take out your equipments and harvest all the ores growing on the walls. We will mine this floor before descending, rest of you be on alert and protect the one¡¯s mining from any monster that may have survived¡±.
They have already collected all the valuables from the monster that they killed up until now. Chuck looked around the floor and the amount of Silver crystals being harvested before walking towards the adventurer who previously said that he came to the eastern part of the forest a few months ago.
Seeing that their leader wasing towards them, the adventurers thought if there was something wrong.
¡°Don¡¯t mind me, I¡¯m just here to look at the quality of the crystals¡± Chuch grabbed a chunk of Silver crystal that was bigger than his palm and inspected it. The purity of the ore could be said quite good, heck it was even better than some of the Silver crystals that are avable in the market of their city of Mountmend.
It made him think even more. ¡®How can a newly emerged dungeon produce Silver crystals¡ not to mention of this purity?¡¯.
All the adventurers were mining the Silver crystals with high spirit but they all forgot that the dungeon they are mining is a newly emerged one. The Silver crystal was one thing but the size and length of each floor that kept on increasing was another. Even the density of manas inside the dungeon was many times higher than any lower rank dungeon Chuck had ever delved into. The dungeon was clearly unusual.
After a couple of hours, the adventurers finished mining all the ores from the fifth floor and stored them inside their space rings. All the adventurers kept their instruments back and were in high spirits as they gathered near the entrance to the next floor.
When Chuck saw that all of them had gathered, he instructed ¡°Alright we shall descend a few more floors and end our exploration before retreating back¡±.
¡°Ehhh?¡± all the adventurers made confused and discontent faces before throwing outints ¡°
Why are we retreating so fast leader?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right it¡¯s only been a day since we delved inside the dungeon¡±
¡°We have plenty of rations and can easily hold on for as long as a week¡±.
Everyone was disgruntled by the sudden decision of Chuck and felt it was quite a waste to retreat now.
Chapter 115: The [D] Tier Dungeon (2)
Chapter 115: The [D] Tier Dungeon (2)
When Chuck saw that all of them had gathered, he instructed ¡°Alright we shall descend a few more floors and end our exploration before retreating back¡±.
¡°Ehhh?¡± all the adventurers made confused and discontent faces before throwing outints ¡°
Why are we retreating so fast leader?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right it¡¯s only been a day since we delved inside the dungeon¡±
¡°We have plenty of rations and can easily hold on for as long as a week¡±.
Everyone was disgruntled by the sudden decision of Chuck and felt it was quite a waste to retreat now.
Lisa looked at Chuck¡¯s serious expression before making up her mind ¡°We will do as the leader said. Is there anyone who still has anyints?¡±. She stared at everyone with a smile that wasn¡¯t a smile.
Nobody dared to make any moreints after her threatening gaze. Lisa knew that Chuck wouldn¡¯t havee to this decision if he didn¡¯t have something on his mind. Additionally, He was the leader of the party, she hadplete faith in him.
When the crowd settled down, Chuck asked Lisa ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know why I ordered to withdraw all of a sudden?¡±.
Lisa turned towards Chuck, gave him a cheerful smile, and said ¡°I trust you and I know that all the decisions you take are for the party¡¯s benefit and I believe nobody here would doubt it. Plus If there wasn¡¯t something bothering you, you wouldn¡¯t have ordered a retreat¡±.
Chuck was stunned by how percipient Lisa was and couldn¡¯t help but shake his head in defeat as he said with a smile ¡°You are right. I have had this bad feeling guing me ever since I stepped foot inside the dungeon. It might be only me but¡ have you noticed something unusual about this dungeon?¡±.
Lina tilted her head by this sudden question and asked in confusion ¡°Something unusual?¡±. She pondered over it for a while before replying ¡°do you mean the chimaeras?¡±.
Chuck nodded he wasn¡¯t surprised by her reply since he knew that the girl was an airhead. ¡°That too but don¡¯t you feel that the density of manas is quite thicker than what a newly emerged dungeon is supposed to have¡±.
He couldn¡¯t me her since all of his party members were the same and seemed to have not detected anything unusual about the dungeon yet. Chuck was the leader of their party and was responsible for their life and death hence he was more prudent and cautious than the rest of his team.
He took out arge chunk of Silver crystal from his space ring ¡°These Silver crystals too, they are not supposed to grow in a newly emerged [E] rank dungeon. Not to mention the purity of each of these crystals are much higher than those crystals circting in our city of Mountmend¡±.
After listening to his exnation Lisa finally became aware of the peculiarities surrounding the dungeon a little. Now that she looked around, she could feel the density of the mana. Thinking back, she noticed that each floor was starting to get wider and wider the more floors they descended.
¡°Is leader trying to imply that¡¡± she turned towards Chuck and asked.
¡°Yes, I believe that it¡¯s not a [E] rank dungeon but instead a [D] rank¡± Chuck said confirming her suspicion.
¡°But how can that be¡ wasn¡¯t it a newly emerged dungeon?¡± Lina asked shocked at what she heard. It wasn¡¯t only her but Chuck himself felt quite shocked at this revtion; after all, the dungeon must have formed not more than Six months ago.
It wasmon knowledge in this world that it takes a couple of years or even decades for a newly emerged dungeon¡¯s rank to go up. Not to mention the span of time increases the higher the tier of the dungeon.
Now he was inside one such dungeon that defied themon sense of this world. Lisa was finally aware of the true nature of the dungeon she had just entered with her guild. To her, it looked just like a maw of a sleeping beast.
She now understood why their leader looked so serious, he had this suspicion guing him and that was why he ordered the end of their exploration after a few more floors and decided to retreat.
¡°What should we do Chuck?¡± Lisa was quite shaken after she became aware of the peculiarities of the dungeon.
Chuck lightly smacked her in her head and said ¡°You are supposed to call me leader and not Chuck. There is no need to worry, though it¡¯s no ordinary dungeon we are adventurers after all. As long as we don¡¯t break our formation, nothing will go wrong¡±.
Lisa finally rxed after Chuck assured her. ¡°That¡¯s right we are the strongest guild in the city of Mountmend, even if it¡¯s an umon dungeon with all our team here we have nothing to worry¡± her voice became cheerful once again after she said those words to boost her morale.
Chuck looked at her who was back to her usual cheerful self and nodded his head ¡°Alright, go and regroup with your team. We shall start descending the next floor¡±.
With that said, Chuck¡¯s team descended a total of two floors and reached floor seven. It took them more than a day to reach the seventh floor. However, it wasn¡¯t because of the mist that eternally surrounded the seventh floor nor was it because of the Albino Spiders and White Horned Rabbit that assaulted them on some of the floors. It was because of therge quantity of ores that was growing on these floors
His team mined as many Silver crystals as they could until their space rings were filled to the point where they had to throw some useless items they had been storing in their rings.
Chuck looked at the content faces of his team beforemanding ¡°Alright, you all listen up. In these past few days, we had more than enough haul and were also able toplete our main mission to find the reason behind the outbreak of monsters from the Ghastly Winding Forest. Therefore, I am ending our exploration here. We will start ascending out of the dungeon and head back to the city¡±.
Everybody nodded and no one voiced theirints this time. They have mined arge number of Silver crystals and hunted monster parts till their space ring was full. The adventurers were starting to get tired after spending a few days inside the dungeon killing monsters and mining the ores.
They were starting to miss the sunlight and wanted to head back to the city and exchange their loot for money.
¡ª¡ª
Three moons lit the dark forest with their beautiful moonlight. Hurried sounds could be hearding from the forest as a group of ten people darted forth. Their destination is the Forest Spring Spirit Vige hidden at the edge of the Ancient Treant territory.
Leading them was a brawny man who had a bald head, it was none other than Dale from the Seven Swords guild. He and his team were sent here to assist Laris with the task that was assigned to him by the guild. He was to distract and lure the adventurer team sent by the Sea God¡¯s Trident branch guild located at the city of Mountmend.
Dale was eager and delighted to report back to the guild that he had sessfully lured the Adventurers from the Sea God¡¯s Trident inside the dungeon. The three chimaeras he had painfully gathered from the guild, worked marvellously and were sessful in leading the adventurers towards the guild.
Though he felt pain when he saw two of the chimaeras being killed by the Sea God¡¯s guild, thest one Falcon Wing Bull-Ox was able toe out of this alive.
Each of these chimaeras was not cheap and cost a fortune to prepare one even for their guild. The guild had provided him with three chimaeras which goes to say that their guild was using all their reserves for the sess of this mission.
Although two of the chimaeras ended up getting killed, the remaining was able to sessfullye out alive. But what mattered most wasn¡¯t the safety of the chimaeras but the mission itself.
And that is why Dale was pleased as his mission had gone exactly as he nned. After he saw the adventurer team heading inside the dungeon, he was preparing to camp in a distant peek and observe how long the dungeon was able to stall the elite adventurers from the city of Mountmend.
However, a few hours ago he was contacted by Laris with a transmission shell to urgentlye to the Forest Spring Spirit vige.
Chapter 116: Insane
Chapter 116: Insane
Dale was pleased as his mission had gone exactly as he nned. After he saw the adventurer team heading inside the dungeon, he was preparing to camp in a distant peek and observe how long the dungeon was able to stall the elite adventurers from the city of Mountmend.
However, a few hours ago he was contacted by Laris with a transmission shell to urgentlye to the Forest Spring Spirit vige.
Though he didn¡¯t like to take orders from someone who was not superior, he felt that something was wrong on the other side and hence decided to rush towards the vige.
On his way, Dale felt that Laris¡¯s tone sounded quite urgent and he couldn¡¯t help but think of the worst-case scenario of Laris messing up and failing the mission. ¡°He better not sabotage the mission or else¡¡± he cursed Laris while quickening his pace even further.
If Laris failed the mission, it would end up also affecting him and he didn¡¯t have any powerful backer inside the guild likeris¡¯ brother. That is why he couldn¡¯t mess it up or else the consequences would be more dire for him than what it is for Laris.
Before long he arrived near a gigantic dead tree, a wide hole inside the trunk led towards the hidden vige of the Forest Spring Spirits. ording to the intel, this was the hidden entrance that the forest spring spirit n used to travel around.
Even before reaching the vige, a cold burst of wind assaulted him and his team. They all shuddered as the extremely cold wind brushed past them making them feel as if they were in the snow valley.
The scene inside was more abrupt than what they have imagined. Everything inside the vige was covered in a thickyer of ice, the bamboo trees, the houses, thend. It was as if thend was encased in ayer of ice for thousands of years.
A man with an ash pale face came to greet before leading them towards the centre of the vige where the cold was more extreme than the rest of the vige. Sat at the centre of the vige was the only house that wasn¡¯t frozen. The atmosphere around the house waspletely silent and none of the adventurers inside dared to even let out a peep.
Heading inside, Dale saw the gloomy and lost face of Laris and immediately knew that the situation was more dire than he thought. He sat opposite Laris and asked, ¡°What happened? What is the situation?¡±
There was no point in hiding it anymore and thus Laris decided to reveal everything from the moment he was made aware of the Royal spirit and up to the events where he came back to the vige to find it encased in ice and the Forest Spring Spirit children missing.
¡°Dale, I ask you one more time. Did you see that little Forest Spring Royal Spirit running towards the eastern part of the forest?¡± Laris looked right into Dale¡¯s eyes while emphasizing every line.
¡°How many times must I say that I saw no such girl. Did you really think I would miss something so unusual as that little Forest Spring Royal Spirit girl?¡± Dale asserted. He grabbedris by the cor and shouted ¡°You bastard, you wanted to hoard the achievement of catching a royal spirit all to yourself and hid the fact from all of us. And now that you have made such a huge blunder, you want my help?. Isn¡¯t it all your fault to begin with, neglecting the security of the enved forest spring spirit and even falling for the trap¡±.
Laris broke free from Dale¡¯s and roared back ¡°It¡¯s not my fault. Who wouldn¡¯t want to hoard the achievement of catching the royal spirit to himself? You can easily join the ranks of the seven swords with that achievement in the guild. If you were in my ce you would have done exactly the same¡±.
¡°Y-you¡¡± Dale became speechless and couldn¡¯t refute the reasoning put forth by Laris. Changing the subject, he snorted and said ¡°Not only were you not able to catch that Royal Spirit, but you even lost the twenty or so Forest Spring Spirits that were to be enved and sold in the auction. Do you even know what kind of consequences you have brought forth upon yourself? Because of your greed, not only have you failed but you have sabotaged the whole mission. Even if it¡¯s your brother, he cannot save you from this blunder¡±.
Laris ground his teeth as he listened to Dale, if he could he would have silenced this man, but he knew that it wasn¡¯t the time to think like that.
Laris calmed his mind which was about to erupt in rage and said ¡°It¡¯s not the time to fight among ourselves. Do you really think I will be the only one held ountable for all of this? Nope, you too shall face some of the consequences and I believe that you don¡¯t want to shoulder something you didn¡¯t do right?¡±.
Knitting his brows, Dale asked, ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±. A crafty smile crept up to Laris¡¯s face as he said ¡°It¡¯s simple I want your cooperation in finding those Forest Spring Spirits back. If we work together then I¡¯m sure that we can make the situation so that this blunder never happened. What do you say?¡±.
Dale observed the arrogant smile onris¡¯s face that said that he was in control of everything and couldn¡¯t help but get annoyed. ¡°You really believe I will fall for that childish trap? Fine then, let¡¯s report it to the guild. I¡¯m ready to face the punishment for something I had not done, but mark my words the punishment you gonna face will be far worse than mine¡±.
¡°Tch¡± Laris clicked his tongue as his smile became sour. He thought that he could manipte Dale after that coercion but it seemed that didn¡¯t have any effect. Tapping his finger on the chair, he pondered for a while and finally made the biggest concession he could offer to salvage the situation.
¡°How about this, if you help me find the Forest Spring Spirits and that little royal spirit girl I¡¯m willing to share this achievement fifty-fifty¡±.
Dale deliberated at this offer and carefully observed Laris as if to see through any deception before finally making up his mind and saying ¡°This better not be one of your ploys. We share this achievement fifty-fifty regardless of whether we find the royal spirit or not. If you can¡¯t ept that, well then you should find somebody else to salvage this situation for you¡±.
¡°Alright, but I will not have you giving up on the Royal Spirit girl that easily¡± Laris made sure.
¡°Fair enough, but do you where those Forest Spring Spirits are?¡± Dale asked the main question that had been on his mind for a while. If they didn¡¯t even know where the forest spirits had disappeared to, then there was no meaning for them to join hands.
However, even he didn¡¯t expect to hear something this ridiculous from Laris. ¡°I have got a clue as to where they might be?¡± Laris said after he organized his thoughts for a while. ¡°Ooh, you have a clue you say? Do you know who the perpetrator is?¡± seeing Laris nod, he hurriedly asked, ¡°Who is it?¡±.
Laris hesitated for a while before saying ¡°It¡¯s that demon that I confronted at that ce¡±. Dale made a face that seemed to be saying ¡®you are joking right?¡¯, it was not only him but all the adventurers who were listening to their conversation made a simr stupid face.
¡°That demon? Why would that demon do something like that?¡± Dale couldn¡¯t help but ask as he held theughter that was trying to burst out of him. Laris knew what he was saying and going to say would sound ridiculously stupid and would even make others question his sanity but he was pretty sure that his conjecture was the real answer.
¡°It is the demon, or you could say it was the demon all along. He made us fall into his trap and he was also the one who took away the Forest Spring Spirits while our focus was diverted¡±. Everybody present made a dumbfounded face as if questioning his sanity, some of them even became red due to excessively holding onto theirughter.
Dale made an amused face as he asked ¡°Alright, assuming that it was the demon all along, then where did that royal spirit girl go? And if he was in front of you, then how did he steal those forest spring spirits?¡±.
The more they thought, the more ridiculous it sounded.
Chapter 117: Insane (2)
Chapter 117: Insane (2)
Laris knew what he was saying sounded ridiculously stupid and would even make others question his sanity but he was pretty sure that his conjecture was the right answer.
Dale made an amused face as he asked ¡°Alright, assuming that it was the demon all along, then where did that royal spirit girl go? And if he was in front of you, then how did he steal those forest spring spirits?¡±.
The more they thought, the more ridiculous it sounded.
¡°I¡¯m telling you it was that demon all along. He led us by our nose, I don¡¯t know how he did that but I¡¯m sure that the Royal Spirit girl we were after was that demon¡± Laris said as he thought about all those unusual events starting from meeting that girl in the forest up until that demon¡¯s appearance.
Pffttt¡ Hahahahaha¡ none of them could hold out any longer and burst out in a peal ofughter. Even the adventurers who were with Laris at the scene, held their stomach as theyughed loudly until tears started glimmering in their eyes.
The only one who was notughing was Laris himself as he expected this scene to y out. He looked at Dale to ascertain what the other party thought.
¡°So are you saying that little royal spirit girl was that demon all along? Are we after the demon or the royal spirit girl¡± holding onto hisughter, Dale tried to make sense of what the other party was trying to say.
¡°It¡¯s not that¡ how do I make you believe. There was no royal spirit girl there at that time, we were all running after that demon. Seizing this opportunity, he might have sent his subordinates to the vige to bring the forest spring spirit away¡± Laris tried his best to make sense of the situation.
¡°I don¡¯t get it. Have you lost your mind aftermitting that blunder? Wasn¡¯t it you who said that you were chasing after the royal spirit girl and now you say that there was no girl there and it was the demon all along?¡±
Daleughed atris¡¯ spection before saying in a mocking tone ¡°are you saying that the demon took the form of a little girl and led you around the forest?¡±.
All the adventurersughed after what Dale had said but not Laris, at this moment it was as if lightning struck him straight out of the heavens as realization dawned upon him.
Thinking this way everything made sense, that agility of her that was in contrast to her race, even the mysterious disappearance of the girl and that peculiar entrance of the demon amidst the mes.
It all started making sense to him and at the same time, he became frustrated when he thought about how the demon led him all around the forest by the nose.
¡°Right¡ you are exactly right. It is as you say that demon took the form of that little girl and lured us out of the forest so that his subordinates could sneak in while we are away¡±ris looked as if he solved something incredible.
All of the adventurers became speechless after what they heard. If earlier they wereughing because of how absurd this all sounded, but now they weren¡¯tughing anymore and looked at Laris as if he was a madman.
Some of them even started pitying him thinking that he had lost his mind. ¡°SIGH¡ all this is a big waste of my time. It sounds like nonsense you just cooked up¡± Dale spat those words and was just about to leave when what Laris said next made him stop in his tracks.
¡°Are you aware of some mysterious items and skills that can change one¡¯s form? In the ancient records and rumours, there were some artifacts that could allow one to freely morph into someone else¡±.
Dale turned around and asked, ¡°Are you saying that the demon you encountered is in possession of one such item?¡±.
Laris looked at the adventurers who were with him at that time ¡°Don¡¯t you all find it strange that Forest Spring girl was able to outrun us despite being one of the weakest races in this world? How did the demon appear in the exact same ce where the little girl was engulfed in mes?¡±.
All the adventurers appeared as if they were digesting what he said and Laris took this opportunity to solidify his words ¡°What if the demon used some artifact to morph into that girl. It would exin that ridiculous agility of hers that was in contrast to her race. And when she was hit by that [Fire Pir] and engulfed in mes, it could be that the effects of the item wore off and his true form was finally revealed¡±.
This time nobodyughed at Laris as they intensely listened to what he had to say.
Though it still sounded ridiculous and there was a possibility that it was just them thinking too much. However, they couldn¡¯t deny the possibility that the demon might have been in a possession of one such item that led to all those unusual events.
Dale was silent as he listened to him before asking ¡°If it¡¯s as you say, then there is the possibility that demon is in possession of one such item. But there is also the possibility that you have gone insane and it¡¯s all in your head. Do you have any proof to convince us all?¡±.
Laris knew that it was very difficult to believe him right now and all of these sounded like spection for them however it was a lead he had found after thinking so hard. He wasn¡¯t going to give up on it that easily.
¡°I don¡¯t have proof but I saw the demon retreat right after an azure light shed in the distant sky. And when I rushed back to the vige, all the enved Forest Spring Spirits were gone. It couldn¡¯t have been a coincidence¡±.
Dale felt that it wasn¡¯t like Laris to insist on something so much and therefore he finally relented ¡°Alright since you insist so much. Assuming that it was the demon, where did ite from in the first ce?¡±
Laris stared at a certain direction of the forest before turning towards him ¡°There is only one ce from where that demon coulde from and also the ce they most likely have taken the Forest Spring Spirits¡±
Looking at the direction where Laris was looking at a few moments ago, a thought shed in Dale¡¯s mind and he couldn¡¯t help but ask ¡°You don¡¯t mean that¡¡±. ¡°Yes, the dungeon¡± his words werepleted by Laris.
¡°There is no better ce to hide the Forest Spring Spirits than the dungeon and I believe it is the dungeon of that demon that messed with my n¡±. Seeing that Dale made an apprehensive face, Laris asked ¡°Is there anything wrong?¡±.
¡°The guild sent me here to assist with your mission, our task was to lure the adventurer team sent by the Sea God¡¯s guild towards the dungeon and distract them long enough so that your team gets out of the forest¡± Dale exined.
Laris looked shaken and his entire mind became nk for a moment. He repeated, ¡°The guild sent you to lure the other adventurersing here towards the dungeon? I wasn¡¯t made aware of anything about that¡±.
¡°By now the Sea God¡¯s guild might have delved deeper into the dungeon and might even be able to conquer it¡± Dale said as if stating the obvious.
Laris denied his thoughts saying ¡± They cannot conquer the dungeon that easily after all the dungeon master is a Demon Viscount¡±
This time it was Dale¡¯s turn to get surprised. He asked ¡°A demon Viscount?¡ are you sure that demon was Demon Viscount?¡±.
¡°Yeah, there is no mistaking it. He was Demon viscount, it was able to exchange blows with me so its level must be quite high¡± Laris said as he recalled his fight against the demon.
¡°Though it was Demon Viscount, I was still able to injure it. We must immediately head towards the dungeon too. I don¡¯t want those adventurers from the Sea God¡¯s trident guild to get their hands on the precious Forest Spring Spirits I have painstakingly captured¡±.
Laris was eager to immediately head towards the dungeon but was stopped immediately by Dale. He said ¡°The Sea God¡¯s guild is inside the dungeon, we cannot go in there carelessly lest we risk the word of us capturing Forest Spring Spirits gets out. Even the guild will not be able to save itself from destruction much less us who will be immediately disowned by them and hunted across the whole continent¡±.
Chapter 118: Insane (3)
Chapter 118: Insane (3)
Laris was eager to immediately head towards the dungeon but was stopped immediately by Dale. He said ¡°The Sea God¡¯s guild is inside the dungeon, we cannot go in there carelessly lest we risk the word of us capturing Forest Spring Spirits gets out. Even the guild will not be able to save itself from destruction much less us who will be immediately disowned by them and hunted across the whole continent¡±.
¡°Then are you suggesting that we do nothing and let the Sea God¡¯s guild get to those Forest spring Spirits first?¡± Laris snapped back and asked. He still couldn¡¯t believe that the guild didn¡¯t inform him of something so important.
¡°Calm down, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m saying that we should give up on those Forest Spring Spirits assuming that they escaped inside the dungeon. What I¡¯m saying is that we wait and see what happens¡±.
Realizing that Dale was nning something, Laris asked ¡°what are you trying to suggest?¡±.
Dale clenched his hand into a fist and said nonchntly ¡°I¡¯m suggesting that we wait and see what the Sea God¡¯s trident guild does. If they are able to conquer the dungeon and return above ground with those Forest Spring Spirits, then we kill them and snatch those forest spirits back. As you said earlier if that demon is a Demon Viscount then those Sea God¡¯s guild members would be quite exhausted after their fight and snatching the Forest Spring Spirits from them would be as easy as taking candy from a child¡±.
Laris heard Dale¡¯s n and felt that it was quite usible, he said ¡°Wouldn¡¯t killing them spell trouble for us? Even if those adventurers are from a branch guild, the Sea God¡¯s Trident guild is still one of the top five guilds in the Kingdom¡±.
Dale sneered at Laris and pointed ¡°Did you forget where we are right now? We are in the Ghastly Winding Forest of the Demon continent. Even if those adventurers died here, the Sea God¡¯s Trident would never suspect our guild and instead, all the me would fall on the demons. This is theirnd, after all, it wouldn¡¯t be too farfetched to think that they were killed by the demons¡±.
Laris deliberated for a while and felt that the n was quite good but suddenly he remembered something and asked, ¡°What if they don¡¯t conquer the dungeon and return without the Forest Spring Spirits?¡±
Dale caressed his bald head and slowly said ¡°We kill them regardless and conquer the dungeon ourselves. We have to take in the possibility that those Sea God¡¯s members might take out their Spirit Orbs rather than bringing the Forest Spring Spirits out alive¡±.
Saying that he turned around and addressed his team ¡°You lot get ready we are gonna ambush those people as soon as theye out of that dungeon¡±.
Laris gave a simr order to his team before the surrounding adventurers started all scurrying around and making their preparations.
Dale looked around at the vige which was now encased in a thickyer of ice andzily asked ¡°What the hell happened here? From the looks of it, somebody had used an advanced magic here¡±. He looked at the broken ice statues that were scattered around and smirked towards Laris.
Laris on the other hand could only endure the mockery after all it was his team that let the other party sessfully cast an advanced tier spell that had a long cast time.
¡°Those fools they deserved this¡± he cursed and shattered a frozen head that was on the ground with a stomp of his foot. It wasmon sense in this world to target the one that is trying to cast advanced magic and disturb their flow before they pull off their attack.
Once the advanced tier spell is sessfully cast, it can quickly turn the tide of the battle however, it takes an equal amount of time to cast one. Laris even in his wildest dream wouldn¡¯t have imagined that Irene had pulled off advanced tier magic in nearly an instant.
After a while, all the adventurers gathered near the centre and were ready to set off. The adventurers looked at the two leaders who ranked amongst the top twenty in their guild team up and couldn¡¯t help feel excited.
If they could sessfully aplish this mission, then the ranking of their leaders was sure to rise and even they would bathe in some of the glory.
¡ª¡ª
On the main floor of Lace, inside the white pce, Simon wasforting the Forest Spring Spirit children as he yed his piano for them. The atmosphere around them was dark and gloomy so he decided to y some light and uplifting music.
The tune was very soothing as it rang across the whole room quickly snatching the attention of all the children towards him as they listened to him with bated breaths. The music helped them put down their wariness as all the mental strain and exhaustion faded away and they quickly fell asleep.
Cecilia who was sitting beside Maya caressed her hair when she fell asleep. She was aware of how much pain and sorrow they had suffered as she had gone through the same thing. Looking at Simon who was silently ying his notes, she couldn¡¯t be anymore thankful.
Not only had he saved her, but he even risked his life to save her nsmen and got hurt in the process.
Though the wound had already recovered, she still felt a tinge of pain and guilt whenever she thought that it was because of her selfishness that he got hurt.
She came near him and gave him a deep bow ¡°Thank you very very much¡ because of you I was able to save my nsmen. My mother and father will now be able to rest in peace knowing that their nsmen are safe now, it¡¯s all thanks to you¡ thank you¡ thank you¡¡± Cecilia choked up on her tears and repeated the same words again and again.
Simon carresed her small head and gave his best smile which frankly looked wicked ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me anymore. I had my own selfish reasons for saving your nsmen¡±.
¡°Even then master you got hurt¡¡± as Cecilia was about to say he got hurt because of her, Simon quickly cut her off saying ¡°I got hurt because I let my guard down for a second, it won¡¯t happen again¡±.
He clenched his hands and dered but suddenly he remembered something.
¡°You¡ what did you call me?¡± Simon asked pointing at her. Cecilia tilted her and repeated ¡°Master! Should I not call you that?¡±.
Simon scratched his cheek and said ¡°Master is bit¡¡± how can he allow a five-year-old girl call him master. Though he was not even a year old after he got reincarnated in this world and theoretically that made Cecilia older than him, but his soul was still more than forty years old.
¡°Then what should I call you?¡± Cecilia looked at him with her bright emerald green eyes and asked. Simon deliberated for a while before replying ¡°How about big brother? That way we would be a family and you wouldn¡¯t have to feel indebted to me all the time¡±.
Seeing that Cecilia was looking at him with wide-open eyes which were about to erupt in tears, he hastily said ¡°If you are not willing then leave it, call me in whichever way you want¡±. Cecilia wiped her tears and said, ¡°Uhuh¡ Im happy, big brother is too good to me. Is big brother really a demon?¡±
Chapter 119:- Ambush
Chapter 119:- Ambush
¡°You¡ what did you call me?¡± Simon asked pointing at her. Cecilia tilted her and repeated ¡°Master! Should I not call you that?¡±.
Simon scratched his cheek and said ¡°Master is bit¡¡± how can he allow a five-year-old girl call him master. Though he was not even a year old after he got reincarnated in this world and theoretically that made Cecilia older than him, but his soul was still more than forty years old.
¡°Then what should I call you?¡± Cecilia looked at him with her bright emerald green eyes and asked. Simon deliberated for a while before replying ¡°How about big brother? That way we would be a family and you wouldn¡¯t have to feel indebted to me all the time¡±.
Seeing that Cecilia was looking at him with wide-open eyes which were about to erupt in tears, he hastily said ¡°If you are not willing then leave it, address me in whatever way you want¡±. Cecilia wiped her tears and said, ¡°Uhuh¡ Im happy, big brother is too good to me. Is big brother really a demon?¡±
¡°¡.¡± Simon was stunned and didn¡¯t know how to answer that. Hurriedly forcing a cough, he changed the subject ¡°Alright from now we are a family, and I¡¯m your big brother¡ so stop crying already. As your big brother, it is only natural that I save the nsmen of my little sister¡±.
Cecilia continuously nodded her head as her heart warmed up and she did her best to hold back her tears. She didn¡¯t want her big brother to see her as a crybaby.
Seeing that the knot in her heart has finally opened, Simon sighed in relief. Just when he turned around, from the corner of his eyes, he saw Irene silently standing there smiling.
Irene was an otherworldly ethereal beauty and when she smiled, Simon felt like the whole world became radiant for a second. He didn¡¯t know why but to him it seemed like Irene had changed quite a bit.
¡°Was she always like this?¡± Simon wondered. When he summoned her first time, she was cold and detached from everything around her and had an air of icy cold beauty. Now though she was still an icy cold beauty, there was still some warmth to her.
¡°Why are you smiling?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Why can¡¯t I smile?¡± his question was met with a question of her own. Seeing that he had no answer, Irene¡¯s lips drew a slight curve but she quickly concealed it.
Changing the subject, Irene said ¡°It looks like the intruders have stopped descending after the 8th floor¡±.
Simon nodded and opened the [Main Menu]. He could see a group of humans on the 8th floor and apparently, it seems they have decided to stop their exploration and ascend back outside. He didn¡¯t know why and how the adventurers have spotted his dungeon, but he knew that this group of people was not connected to ones that had subjugated Cecilia¡¯s vige.
After these adventurers entered the dungeon, they resided more than four days inside his dungeon which hadted him a significant amount of DP. Each of these adventurers was more than level 200 and the amount of DP each of them provided was quiterge.
They didn¡¯t seem like they were here to conquer the dungeon and were here just to explore. This group didn¡¯t care about their pace and was just mining and exploring the dungeon leisurely.
The twenty-five or so dots represented in his screen seemed to gather near the entrance to the 7th floor ¡°They are retreating back¡±.
Irene nodded and said, ¡°It appears so¡±.
The dungeon had already recognized her as one of the guardians, hence she is able to use some of the functions of the menu. On that note, a few days after he brought Cecilia to his dungeon, he got a message from the dungeon saying:-
¡ª¡ª
Name- Cecilia
Race- Forest Spring Royal Spirit
Has fulfilled all the conditions for a Dungeon Guardian. Do wish to add Cecilia as one of the Guardians of the dungeon?
YES/NO
¡ª¡ª
Bringing out the message once again, he swiftly pressed YES and Cecilia became the second Guardian of his dungeon.
The role of the Guardians is to protect and manage the dungeon on behalf of the dungeon master. Though Cecilia was unable to protect the dungeon with her strength, her abilities lied somewhere else. It was to the point where even Irene had praised her, Simon couldn¡¯t wait to see the full potential of a [S] rank Forest Spring Royal Spirit.
¡ª¡ª
Chuck and his team descended till the 8th floor. Unlike the previous cavernous floor, the seventh and eighth floor was a wide mountainous area. Even the monsters lurking around such as the battle bears and warring mandrils were much more stronger.
After the rank of the dungeon goes up, the level of the spawned monster also rises which makes even the weakest monsters on a high-rank dungeon difficult to kill.
Therefore the stronger guild usually decides to tackle the higher rank dungeon to earn more treasure as well as to level up.
Whenever a strong guild like the top five guilds of the Ellesmere kingdom decide to send adventurer teams on a high-rank dungeon, the expenditure of mobilizing the manpower, resources, equipment, and such is very enormous.
Hence if they do not tackle a higher rank that gives higher rewards, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to break even the cost they incurred.
¡°Alright, you guys pack up. Leave all the items we cannot store in our space rings or bags behind. I don¡¯t want you all to let your guard down until we get out of the dungeon. The monster on the above floors might have spawned again, we shall maintain our formation and ascend up¡± Chuck quickly gave out orders.
The adventurer quickly did as they were told and hurriedly kept the things they needed and discarded the ones they had no space for.
It took them one whole day to ascend back up to the first floor. Though they already mined the Silver crystals on the 4th, 5th, and 6th floor, the crystals had already started to grow back again.
The adventurers maintained their formation and swiftly dispatched any monsters that attacked them on the way. After reaching the first floor, they rested for a while before deciding to exit the dungeon.
Feeling the fresh air and sunlight through their skin, they shouted in delight.
¡°Hehe, we are finally out. I missed the sun and the fresh air¡± Lisa exaggeratedly said as she spread her arms to feel the warmth of the sun and the blowing fresh air.
Looking at the girl who was happy to see the sun once again, Chuck couldn¡¯t help but shake his head ¡°Don¡¯t be melodramatic, we have only been inside the dungeon for less than a week¡±.
Lisa pouted when she heard what he said and angrily pointed at him ¡°Leader please don¡¯t ruin my fun. The dungeon was so dark and we always had to be on alert all the time. Compared to that the outside world is so better, ah how I longed for it¡±.
All the adventurersughed as they heard their exchange.
Chapter 120: Ambush (2)
Chapter 120: Ambush (2)
Looking at the girl who was happy to see the sun once again, Chuck couldn¡¯t help but shake his head ¡°Don¡¯t be melodramatic, we have only been inside the dungeon for less than a week¡±.
Lisa pouted when she heard what she said and angrily pointed at ¡°Leader please don¡¯t ruin my fun. The dungeon was so dark and we always had to be on alert all the time. Compared to that the outside world is so better, ah how I longed for it¡±.
All the adventurersughed as they heard their exchange.
He sighed in exhaustion and stopped bickering with her ¡®There is no winning against her¡¯. Even though he said all that, Chuck couldn¡¯t deny her words about the outside world being better which even he was starting to miss.
The adventurers who were on guard all the time since entering the dungeon, rxed their guard as they conversed
¡°Miss Lisa is right the outside world is the best¡±
¡°Of course did miss Lisa ever say something wrong?¡±
¡°Hey stop trying to sweet-talk her, she wouldn¡¯t even give you a look¡±
¡°Are you saying that because you failed to court her? Hahaha¡±.
Conversation filled withughter and glee rang out amongst the adventurers as they made their way out of the forest in a rxed and unhurried manner. Even Chuck who was their leader and the branch guild manager rxed his guard and let them be.
Just as they reached a valley overlooked by a cliff on the side, mana started convulsing and swirling as they gathered on top of the cliff. Dark clouds swarmed over and blotted the sun, Chuck and his team were perplexed by the sudden change in weather.
As they were confounded over the situation, the answer soon arrived. Spells and magic conjured by dozens of level 200 [Wizard] and level 150 [Magician] rammed down on the cliff above.
BOOOOoooooooMMM¡ the sound was so deafening that it could be heard from miles away. Chuck had a bad premonition, they were right under the cliff, and if the cliff¡ without thinking any further, he roared out themand to retreat.
¡°RETREAT¡± however, his voice was drowned by the rumbling sound that came from above the cliff.
RUMBLE¡ RUMBLE¡ the entire cliff started trembling as chunks of earth and dirt started falling off from the cliff. Huge cracks started appearing before the entire cliff came falling down on the valley.
Turning around, he came bolting towards Lisa and shielded his team with the skill [Gaurdian Halo] using all his strength and power.
Chuck was a level 359 [Gaurdian Knight] and his ss boasted high defence and strength which could even keep people higher level than him in the bay. However, no matter how high the defence of [Guardian knight] was, he alone wasn¡¯t enough to defend all of them from the cliff that came barreling down towards them.
When the falling debris was right in front of them, the adventurers finally became aware of imminent disaster and hurriedly used their skills to protect themselves, but they were a step toote.
BOOooooMMM¡thend trembled and a huge cloud of dust rose as high as few thousand meters.
On the other side of the cliff, a few distances away were Laris and Dale who looked at this scene with indifferent eyes. There was not even a hint of remorse or mockery, it was as if they had done something inconsequential.
Behind them were groups of [Wizard] and [Magician] who had cast intermediate and novice tier magic on the cliff a few moments ago.
¡°Most of them should have died after this, let¡¯s go and clean up the mess,¡± Laris said as he and Dale walked towards the ce where the adventurers from the Sea God¡¯s guild got buried under the debris.
¡°Haaaaaaaaaaah¡± Chuck used all his strength to move a huge chunk of earth away. Behind him were Lisa and two other adventurers who looked mostly unharmed. Dust obstructed their vision and he couldn¡¯t tell if the other survived or not.
He was able to barely react in time and put up a shield however, his right arm got dislocated by the heavy impact that he had to endure.
Looking around, he hurriedly called out the names of the adventurers. Some of them reacted still stuck inside the debris barely alive, some were fortunate enough to survive and get out of the wreckage but with heavy injuries, others died from the impact.
Out of twenty-five people that he had brought, only thirteen of them survived including him.
Chuck clenched his hands in frustration and swiftly went to help the others get out of the rubble. All of them had aghast and lost faces, they were merrily enjoying their return from their exploration inside the dungeon when disaster struck all of them.
The people they were talking with a few moments ago were now dead, their corpses inside the debris. Most of the adventurers that survived were mainly warrior sses as for the mages, only two of them survived and one of them was Lisa.
Before they could understand the situation, pping sound started sounding out from somewhere amidst the dust as if adding insult to the injury.
After the dust settled, Laris and Dale walked towards the injured members of the Sea God¡¯s guild. Dale continuously pped and said in a mocking manner ¡°As expected of the branch guild of one of the top five guilds in the entire kingdom. To have survived that, I must say I am truly impressed¡±.
Chuck gave him an enraged stare and snarled out ¡°It was you guys who bombarded the cliff?¡±.
Enjoying his reaction, Laris saidnguidly ¡°Oh! Impressive, you truly are as the rumour say branch guild manager of the Sea God¡¯s guild Chuck Remington. You are truly extraordinary. Indeed, it was us; however, even we didn¡¯t expect you guys to be so defenceless to fall for that. I must say I am disappointed¡±.
¡°You shameless people, to think you would set up a trap for us and even have the audacity tough, I won¡¯t forgive you all for that¡± Lisa said in anger and disbelief.
Chuck ground his teeth hatefully as he stared at them and asked ¡°Who are you people? Why did you do all of this? I don¡¯t ever recall having any grudge with you?¡±.
¡°Hehehe, you are right. We have no past grudges nor any resentments. If you want to me something, then me your luck for encountering us¡± Dale ridiculed.
¡°You¡ do you think you can just get away after doing something like that¡± Chuck waspletely enraged after being mocked and ridiculed by them. Even though he was injured, he could still fight with the both of them even if it meant discarding his life in the process.
However, just as Chuck was getting ready to wrench the both of them of their life, he realized that they were surrounded. Those two were not alone and had brought many people along with them.
Laris gave him a derisive smile and taunted ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Didn¡¯t you say that you wouldn¡¯t allow the both of us to get away with this? Why don¡¯t youe now or was the talk earlier just some false bravado? Hehehehehe, don¡¯t make meugh¡ who isn¡¯t going to allow who to get away. Now then be obedient and handover your space rings before I make your death even more miserable¡±.
Chapter 121: Ambush (3)
Chapter 121: Ambush (3)
Just as Chuck was getting ready to wrench the both of them of their life, he realized that they were surrounded. Those two were not alone and had brought many people along with them.
Laris gave him a derisive smile and taunted ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Didn¡¯t you say that you wouldn¡¯t allow the both of us to get away with this? Why don¡¯t youe now or was the talk earlier just some false bravado? Hehehehehe, don¡¯t make meugh¡ who isn¡¯t going to allow who to get away. Now then be obedient and hand over your space rings before I make your death even more miserable¡±.
All the members from the Sea God¡¯s guild looked at Laris dumbfoundedly, they couldn¡¯t believe that these people did all of that just to rob them of their items in the space rings.
Seeing that nobody wasplying, Laris started getting impatient and roared at them ¡°GIVE IT to me now¡±. The adventurers from the Sea God¡¯s guild looked at each other and shed a knowing smile.
If they are going down nheless, why should they give their space rings willingly? They should at least make the life of their enemies miserable and take out some of them before going down. Chuck observed his teammates and saw their determination to fight.
But he was all so aware that they didn¡¯t stand a chance not after they suffered all those injuries. He tried to rack his brain to find some way to get out of this but no matter how much he thought, the situation looked quite dire.
If he was not injured while saving Lisa and the others, he might be able to bring some of them alive.
But the situation was now so that even he couldn¡¯t stand against these numbers for long. ¡®Am I going to die here¡¯ he thought. Yet when he looked back, he couldn¡¯t allow himself to die here not until he could make sure that Lisa was safe and back into the city.
Grabbing his dislocated hand, he twisted his shoulder to ce it back. ¡°Ugggh¡± an unimaginable amount of pain assaulted him but he endured it all. Compared to the pain of losing a loved one, this much of a pain was nothing.
He was aware of that after all Chuck had been an adventurer for a long time and had seen many people die along the way. Although dying here would be taking the easier way out, but he couldn¡¯t afford to.
Behind him was a person he held very dear to and he wanted to protect her no matter what. Therefore, he couldn¡¯t go down even if he has to burn the veryst of his life.
The surviving members of the Sea God¡¯s guild looked at Chuck and knew what he was thinking. They exchanged a knowing nce among themselves before turning towards the enemy with their weapon drawn.
The both of them did their best to hide it however, the whole guild was aware that Chuck and Lisa liked each other. Their constant bickering was not something new to the guild and they fought just like any husband and wife did.
All of them were heavily injured but despite that, they still charged towards the enemy hoping to stall the enemy and buy enough time for their leader and vice leader to get out.
¡°Chuck¡ we are d that you were our leader. We will never forget our times together in the guild. So you must make sure to bring our beloved vice leader back to the city¡ don¡¯t look back and go¡± the adventurers said as they made their mind and used the skills and magic to charge towards the enemy.
¡°What are you guys saying? We will survive this together and return back to the guild¡± Lisa protested weakly as tears continuously fell down her cheeks.
Seeing that nobody was replying to her, Lisa turned towards Chuck. However, when she saw his conflicted face, she couldn¡¯t help but weep even more.
Right now Chuck was going through a great emotional turmoil. On one hand, was his teammates who were willing to throw their lives for his sake, and on the other hand, was Lisa who had barged into his heart even without him knowing.
To them, the answer was clear as they didn¡¯t even hesitate to confront the enemy even while knowing that they would most likely die. He couldn¡¯t let thest-ditch effort of his brothers go to waste.
¡®Save their beloved vice leader they say¡¯ steeling his mind, Chguck turned around and grabbed Lisa before storming out of the encirclement.
Seeing that their leader had made the right choice, all of them smiled in joy and attacked the enemy with even more vehemence.
Chuck didn¡¯t look back, grabbed Lisa, and stormed out of the encirclement. He could hear the blood-curdling roars of his brothers as they gave their life to buy some more time for them.
Many enemies tried to block his path using their various skills and magic but he smashed apart through them all.
¡°Don¡¯t get in my waaaaay¡¡± with a loud roar, he brandished his longsword with one hand and protected Lisa with the other.
Magics of different elements such as the [Electro st], [Fireball], [Fire Pir], [Wind sh], [Wind st], [Earth Spikes] came raining down towards him. He used his earth magic to block as many of them as he can, the remaining which managed to get through, he used his body as a shield to tank through them all.
His armour which was made of ckgold ore was already broken into pieces and blood continuously dripped down his body.
ckgold ore was a material much stronger and rare than Whitesilver. However, no matter how sturdy the material is, it still couldn¡¯t tank through all of the magic.
Lisa who was hugged tightly by Chuck, felt the blood trickling through his armour as he used his body to shield her from any attacks that were aimed at her, and her eyes reddened.
Being in the embrace of the man she loved, made her blissful but at the same time tragic as the moment wouldn¡¯tst long and even more so she didn¡¯t want to see him get hurt for her sake.
¡°Chuck¡ Chuck look at me¡± as the situation worsened, Lisa who was in his embrace hurriedly called out to him.
Looking at her face that was as beautiful as a fairy, and her eyes which seemed to be only looking at him at this moment, he shed aforting smile and said ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡ it will be alright. As long as I¡¯m alive, ill never let anybody hurt you. Even if I have to use my life in exchange I¡¯ll make sure to get you back to the city¡±.
Lisa caressed his cheek, gave him an apologetic look, and said ¡°Leave me behind Chuck¡ if it¡¯s you, then you can make it back to the city. The guild needs a leader like you, don¡¯t waste your life for someone like me¡±.
Chuck hugged her more tightly as if afraid she would slip through his embrace. ¡°A woman like you is everything to me. I cannot live a single day without you¡ so there is no way I¡¯m gonna leave you behind¡± he fiercely denied her words and without slowing down, he continued charging forward.
Lisa looked at the determined face of the man who wouldn¡¯t leave her even when she begged him to. At this moment she felt like she was the happiest woman in this world.
However, fate was cruel to her, it only gave her moments of bliss only to shatter it in the next instant. She knew that if this continues on, the man she loves would no doubt die protecting her.
¡®I cannot live a single day without you¡¯ you say but doesn¡¯t it go both ways? How dumb can you be to use your life to save mine?¡ Lisa thought as she looked at the man who was desperate to save her.
BANG¡ Chuck couldn¡¯t deflect the [Electro Bolt] in time and it squarely hit him on his back. His whole body shuddered for a moment and his wounds kept getting worse but he still hugged her lithe body and didn¡¯t let go.
At this moment, the determination shing in his eyes was so bright that it burned like magma.
Chapter 122: Desperate Efforts
Chapter 122: Desperate Efforts
¡®I cannot live a single day without you¡¯ you say but doesn¡¯t it go both ways? How dumb can you be to use your life to save mine?¡ Lisa thought as she looked at the man who was desperate to save her.
BANG¡ Chuck couldn¡¯t deflect the [Electro Bolt] in time and it squarely hit him on his back. His whole body shuddered for a moment and his wounds kept getting worse but he still hugged her lithe body and didn¡¯t let go.
At this moment, the determination shing in his eyes was so bright that it burned like magma.
Two more spells came targeting Lisa, but none of them were even able to touch her as Chuck use his body to shield her from everything. The enemies knew that he was trying to protect the woman in his embrace and hence deliberately targeted her.
Another spell took shape but before the mage could cast the spell, he was cut down in half by a swing of Chuck¡¯s sword.
Turning around he was about to charge out again, that was when he realized that he was being followed by five assassins who kept chasing him even when he interweaved around the forest and tried to shook them off.
Seeing them fight so hard even while knowing that it was all a wasted effort, Laris was maddened to the point of being insane. Not only did these people not give up, but even while knowing that they would die, they were trying their best to stall for time to allow Chuck Remington to get out of here.
¡°Do you really think you can get away?¡± Laris barked and immediately tried to bolt towards the distant Chuck but was held off by one of the level 289 [Swordmaster] from the Sea god¡¯s guild.
¡°Where are you running to? Your opponent shall be me¡± the heavily injured swordmaster blocked his path and dered.
Laris noticed that the man was smiling and knew that he was going to die soon and so wanted to make the most out of it.
[Heavy Cross sh] the swordmaster roared and came charging at him with a wide swing.
Clicking his tongue, Laris swiftly deflected the attack with his des and counterattacked with his own. He looked at Dale who was enjoying ughtering the members from the Sea God¡¯s guild and couldn¡¯t help but shout ¡°What are you doing Dale? We can¡¯t let Chuck escape out of the forest¡±.
Dale shed a brutal smile as he wiped the blood that spilled into his face and said ¡°Rx he won¡¯t be able to get out of here. None of them will¡ I have already sent five assassins to follow after him. they will be able to stall him before we arrive¡±.
¡®Tch, taking it so easy¡¯ Laris inwardly cursed as he blocked another attack from the swordmaster.
¡°This is getting annoying¡ give me your space rings and ill make sure you die a painless death¡± he stretched one of his hands and gestured. Laris wanted their space rings because there was a possibility that they have harvested the spirit orbs from the Forest Spring Spirits and kept them into their space rings just like him.
These spirit orbs are priceless treasures, and as long as there is even a small possibility, he couldn¡¯t let them get away with their space rings.
The swordmaster seemed as if deliberating something before smiling in ridicule ¡°Since you are so interested, why don¡¯t you try and take this space ring from me?¡±. He shed the space ring in front of Laris before gulping it down.
It wasn¡¯t only him but all the surviving members of the Sea God¡¯s guild did the same after seeing how much importance Laris was giving to snatch their space rings. Their only salvation now was for their leader to get away from here and to achieve that, they were willing to do anything. And knowing that the enemy was after their space rings, what better way to stall for more time than to gulp it down.
¡°Y-you bastard¡¡± Laris finally had enough after watching them gulp their space ring down. Drawing the lightning magic from his [C] tier Twin des, he bolted towards the swordmaster at an insane speed, and before the adventurer could even react, Laris beheaded him.
His [Dual Wielder] was a rare ss among the warriors and after reaching level 300, he was fortunate enough to obtain this ss.
The [Dual Wielder] sspensated him for hisck of defence and other stats by marginally increasing his offence. Along with his [C] tier Twin des, he can dish outbursts of attack that can deal heavy damage.
Just when Laris bent down to cut apart the body and take the space ring out, Dale remarked ¡°Their motive is to dy us by gulping down the space rings. We can take their space rings after we finish off Chuck Remington¡±.
Laris nodded and immediately discarded what he was doing and ran towards the ce where the five assassins were stalling Chuck. Wrapped in lightning, he instantly covered most of the distance and arrived at the scene to find three of the assassins dead and the remaining two injured.
¡°Don¡¯t think that you can run away¡± Utilizing his lightning speed, Laris dished out a fury of attacks but all of them were easily deflected by Chuck.
Right when he was about to dish out another attack, the ground started trembling and his centre of gravity became unstable before a kick came sweeping towards his abdomen.
BANG¡ Laris was blown back far away and smashed into the surrounding trees. Using this opening, Chuck still embracing Lisa wanted to retreat but was cut off by Dale who arrived just in time.
Seeing that Laris was sent crawling onto the ground, Dale mocked him a little ¡°Hahaha, Laris the battle hasn¡¯t even started and you have already tasted the dirt¡±.
Splitting a clout of blood, Laris stood back again and red at Chuck whose body was riddled with injuries, and hurriedly said ¡°Shut up Dale, this guy is no pushover. He is a level 359 [Gaurdian Knight]¡ you better be careful or else you would be the one ending up defeated¡±.
¡°I don¡¯t need you to remind me that¡± saying that Dale looked back at one of the [Wizard] that was following behind him.
The [Wizard] quickly took out a broken whistle from under his robe and quickly blew on it. A resonant sound that of an eagle screeching rang out across the forest before a creature came sweeping down from the clouds above.
Looking at the creature swiftly diving down, Chuck and Lisa were both stunned. Why wouldn¡¯t they be? After all, the creature that appeared was one of the chimaeras that managed to escape from them previously. They thought that it was one of the minions of the demon residing within the dungeon.
Looking at the Falcon Wing Bull-Ox who like a puppet obediently followed everymand of the [Wizard] behind Dale, he finally realized they had fallen into a trapid borately for them.
Chuck couldn¡¯t understand why would someone go to such lengths when they didn¡¯t even have any prior enmity nor any grudge. Little did he know that the trap wasid out for the demon residing inside the dungeon.
But all of this changed after the demon took the Forest Spring Spirit away from the vige forcing Laris and Dale to modify the n.
Looking at the wound-ridden body of Chuck Remington who was still staring at them with the eyes of a tiger, Dale sneered and said ¡°Why don¡¯t you give up willingly? Why make it harder for yourself? With those injuries, it¡¯s a miracle that you are still conscious. I know you are strong but with those injuries, you are not going anywhere¡±.
Seeing that his words had no effect, he simply shrugged his shoulders. To be honest, Dale much preferred his cornered prey to struggle till theirst breath and his excitement only doubled seeing that his opponent was none other than the famous Chuck Remington from the city of Mountmend.
¡°Give us your space rings and I can let both of you die together or else¡¡± Laris nced at Lisa who was being hugged tightly by Chuck and threatened.
When he was threatened like that, Chuck became even more enraged and red at them as if telling him he would end anyone that dared toe forward.
¡°What is it that you so desperately want from our space ring that evenpelled you tomit a massacre?¡± Chuck roared, his eyes zing with hatred.
Chapter 123: Desperate Efforts (2)
Chapter 123: Desperate Efforts (2)
¡°Give us your space rings and I can let both of you die together or else¡¡± Laris nced at Lisa who was being hugged tightly by Chuck and threatened.
When he was threatened like that, Chuck became even more enraged and red at them as if telling him he would end anyone that dared toe forward.
¡°What is it that you so desperately want from our space ring that evenpelled you tomit a massacre?¡± Chuck roared, his eyes zing with hatred.
¡°Well if that¡¯s yourst wish then I¡¯ll dlyply and answer your question¡± Dalemented nonchntly.
Seeing that Dale was about to reveal the existence of the Forest Spring Spirits, Laris couldn¡¯t help but warn him ¡°Dale don¡¯t be a fool we can¡¯t reveal their existence to anyone. Have you forgotten the orders from the guild master?¡±.
¡°Huh? What do you take me for? of course I haven¡¯t forgotten the orders from our guild leader to keep our mouths shut. But you see, If these guys had already gotten their hands on the items, then there is no need for secrecy is there?. Besides he is gonna die here anyway what¡¯s the harm in fulfilling the wish of a dying man¡±.
Dale scoffed and said before turning towards Chuck and revealing a saintly smile ¡± Aren¡¯t I so generous? I don¡¯t know if you have gotten hold of them or not but if you wish to know why wemitted such an act, well I¡¯ll be d toply with thisst wish of yours¡±
¡°You see if you were in our ce, you might have done the same¡±.
His words made Chuck snort.
Giving it no mind, Dale continued ¡°The item we want is a priceless treasure in this world. One that can improve your abilities and purify your bloodline thus making you a genius that is looked upon by millions of people. It can transform one from a toad that roams in the pond to a dragon that soars high up in the sky. Hehe, you might have an idea of what I¡¯m talking about by now¡±.
As Dale said, Chuck was aware of what that priceless treasure was. There was only one item that matched the description, one that was rumoured to be so rare that it was considered a priceless treasure in this world.
¡°Forest Spring Spirit Orb¡± Chuck said.
¡°Right the Forest Spring Spirit Orb, a priceless treasure wouldn¡¯t you say?¡± Dale repeated looking extremely delighted.
There was no way nobody would be tempted after hearing those words. But Chuck was lost, he didn¡¯t understand why they were looking for Forest Spirit orbs in their space rings. It didn¡¯t make sense at all and on the contrary, made it all the more unbelievable.
¡°Do you think ill believe that nonsense?¡± Chuck cursed out loudly and held his longsword tightly.
¡°Nonsense or not we will soon find out. Now, make your choice¡ give me your space rings obediently and I shall make it so that you guys die a painless death. Disobey and not even your corpse will remain intact¡± Laris stretched his hand as if giving a verdict.
Toply or resist that was the only fate for them, either way, the enemy was hell-bent on killing them.
Chuck at this moment felt that all the doors were closed for him and the hope of surviving this was so bleak that in this dark tunnel he couldn¡¯t even see a tiny bit of light. Just when his spirit was starting to falter, he felt warmthing from his embrace.
Lisa who was being tightly hugged by him was at this moment looking straight at his eyes. She said ¡°Put me down you dummy, how long do you n to keep hugging me. You have done everything to protect me, now let me fight alongside you. We may not be able to survive this, but during ourst moments I wish to stand and fight beside you¡±.
Chuck matched her gaze and nkly stared at them. Her clear bright eyes seemed to be like a sparklingke, clear and unpolluted. To Chuck, they seemed to contain all the splendour of the world.
Gently putting her down, he released her from his embrace. At this moment he felt as if he lost a part of him and wanted to continue hugging her.
However, he respected her decision to fight alongside him. Frankly, if he was given a choice, he would rather not put her in harm¡¯s way. During all their previous expeditions, no matter how many times he would have to bicker with her, he would always put her in the backlines and he himself would be in the frontlines to soak all the damage just to make sure that she doesn¡¯t get hurt.
But now it seems that the situation was no longer so that he could put her in the backlines. Lisa stood beside Chuck and took out her golden-coloured staff decorated with blue jewels from her space ring.
Standing alongside Lisa, Chuck took a few deep breaths of air before reigniting his spirit and hatred for his enemies. Giving an energetic shout, he gripped his longsword with both of his hands and took a stance.
Seeing that the two had disregarded his merciful offer and instead choose the hard way out, Laris couldn¡¯t help but grind his teeth in annoyance. ¡°Very well then I shall make it so that you guys beg for death¡± blue lightning arced his body from his des and made him look like a person bathed in lightning.
¡°Dale no need to show them mercy anymore let¡¯s finish this up quick¡± leaving his words, like lightning he immediately dashed towards Chuck with a breakneck speed. The Electro attribute of mana was the fastest attribute amongst all the five basic forms of manas.
Not only that, but it was also one of the most destructive forms of mana. Lightning magic the intermediate tier of Electro magic was leagues above electro in terms of speed and destructiveness.
Utilizing his skills along with the Lightning magic, Laris delivered one lightning-fast attack after another.
RUMBLE¡ SPARK¡ Chuck was pushed back again and again. Each of the attacks dished out byris packed quite a punch and if he was careless, it could deal great damage to his body.
Blue lightning arced the ground and scorched it ck. No matter, if it was the tall trees or the grasses, whatever came in contact with the lightning, was destroyed until not even its ashes remained.
¡°Hahaha, Laris you can¡¯t hoard all the fun yourself¡± Dale said as a crimson light started emanating from his body. ¡°[Battle Hunger]¡± his body started getting bigger and bigger and his muscles expanded to a size that made him look just like a small giant.
¡°Kehehe, this feeling is the greatest¡± he said with a distorted voice, his eyes masked with insanity and naked thirst for battle. [Battle hunger] was one of the skills of [Berserker] ss that greatly increases strength and defence for a short period of time.
However, the user is overtaken by madness and their awareness bes limited. Simr to [Dual Weilder], [Berserker] is a rare warrior ss. After reaching level 300, a warrior if lucky can change their ss to a [berserker].
Feeling the power rushing and overflowing inside his body, Dale gave a coarseugh before fixing his attention on Chuck who was barely able to hold down Laris. Grabbing the broadsword on his back with his wide hands, Dale delivered a devastating wide sh towards Chuck.
Lisa watched as how Chuck struggled to keep up with their enemies lightning-speed attacks and brutal swings. She continuously cast Light magic, one of the four rare forms of Mana to cover any gap that the enemies might exploit.
[Healing Light], [Light Ray], [Light Barrier] she cast one spell after another without holding back her mana. But even then the injuries Chuck suffered earlier were far worse and as time passed, more and more wounds umted on his body.
She thought back to the time when Chuck used all of his strength to shield her from the copsing cliff.
If only Chuck wasn¡¯t injured while saving her, he wouldn¡¯t struggle this much against enemies of this level. Now that all of their teammates that have been with them through thick and thin were now all gone, Chuck was left with no choice but to hold the frontlines alone.
Chapter 124: Desperate Efforts (3)
Chapter 124: Desperate Efforts (3)
Lisa watched as how Chuck struggled to keep up with their enemies lightning-speed attacks and brutal swings. She continuously cast Light magic, one of the four rare forms of Mana to cover any gap that the enemies might exploit.
[Healing Light], [Light Ray], [Light Barrier] she cast one spell after another without holding back her mana. But even then the injuries Chuck suffered earlier were far worse and as time passed, more and more wounds umted on his body.
She thought back to the time when Chuck used all of his strength to shield her from the copsing cliff.
If only Chuck wasn¡¯t injured while saving her, he wouldn¡¯t struggle this much against enemies of this level. Now that all of their teammates that have been with them through thick and thin were now all gone, Chuck was left with no choice but to hold the frontlines alone.
¡°[Aiding Light]¡± Lisa cast a light magic spell and buffed the stats of Chuck for a short period of time. She watched as how even while alone, Chuck didn¡¯t back down and held his ground firmly. Even while injured, with every swing of his long sword, he was able to knock back his enemies.
Spells continuously rained down on him from the enemies on the backlines and bathed his body in blood. Clearly, his body had umted lots of wounds that couldn¡¯t even be imagined by an ordinary person and he was holding on with just his sheer willpower.
Looking at his state, Lisa¡¯s eyes glossed over, and tears continuously trickled down her cheeks. Even when her mana was running on a deficit, and pushing her body any further would definitely harm her, she still kept healing Chuck over and over again.
Just when she was about to cast her light magic once again, the tail of the Falcon Winged Bull-Ox managed to slip through Chuck and whipped Lisa smashing her into a tree.
BANG¡
¡°LISA¡ AHHHHhhhhh¡± seeing that Lisa got hurt by the tail of the chimaera that managed to slip through his defence, he shouted in concern towards Lisa and in rage towards his enemies.
Forgoing all his defence due to his fury, he charged up towards the chimaera and brought it down in one fell swoop. However, due to his rage, he was full of openings and his enemies weren¡¯t ipetent enough to neglect that opportunity.
Immediately after Chuck brought down the chimaera, rumbling lightning taking the form of hundreds of swords, berserker energy filled with bloodthirst and pure strength, along with novice tier spells of many different attributes came raining down.
Chuck wasn¡¯t afraid of being hit by any of them but what made him frighten and lose his mind was that all the spells weren¡¯t targeted at him and instead flew straight towards Lisa.
Lisa¡¯s ss was a mage which made her defence vulnerable than even an ordinary warrior. there was no way she could survive through the barrage of attacks.
¡°Ugh¡± enduring the pain, Lisa used her staff to get back on her feet. She was a level 325 [Sage], a ss higher than the [Wizard]. Her ss greatly strengthened her magic and luck but didn¡¯t provide much in the other areas of stats. Taking a direct hit from a level 281 Falcon Wing Bull-Ox, it directly shaved more than one-third of her HP.
Puffing out a mouthful of blood, she desperately tried to get back up. Her mind was currently hazy and a tingling pain kept assaulting her head due to overexerting her mana. She knew that Chuck would be in trouble if she didn¡¯t continuously heal him but no matter how much she tried, the haziness didn¡¯t disappear and the tingling pain in her head kept worsening.
Lisa could sense that the surrounding manas was in a turmoil and was rapidly convulsing. However, she was currently in a state, where she was not conscious enough to detect the imminent danger.
¡°LISAAAA¡± she heard a loud crying from Chuck which was filled with desperation and helplessness before everything was drowned by deafening noises.
BOOM¡ BOOOM¡ BOOM¡ BOOOM¡
Hundreds of meters of the area was instantly covered by the magic as they devastated around the forest and in the eye of all this magic was Lisa.
The power brought forth by thebined might of Laris, Dale, and dozens of level 200 [Wizard] was enough to make the ground tremble and it felt just like a small-scale earthquake.
Earth and dirt rose into the air for dozens of meters and covered everything in dust.
¡°Cough¡ cough¡ what happened?¡± after the haziness and the pain in her head finally receded a little, dust-covered all her vision and she couldn¡¯t see a thing.
¡°Lis¡a¡ are you..a.ll..right?¡± she heard a faint voice from amidst the dust which seemed to faintly resemble Chuck¡¯s. Sensing that the voice came from very near her, she tried taking a few steps towards him.
But her steps halted soon enough after she noticed chuck standing right in front with his back facing her.
However, what made her lips quiver and her heart break in sorrow was the figure of the person in front of her.
The man was drenched in blood from head to toe, his body was filled with wounds and he was missing an arm. Arge pool of bloody beneath him but the man was still standing just like a tall tree during a storm that refused to budge down.
¡°Chuck?!¡ Chuck!!¡ Chuck!!!¡± with a heartbreaking voice, Lisa ran towards Chuck and held him close to her.
The wide-area magic that was targeted at her, was stopped by him. He used his very life to shield her from the attack. His sword that was made of ck-gold, a [C] tier weapon that had apanied him for a long time was in pieces.
Currently, he felt no pain nor any difort, even the wounds he had suffered in his battle, hurt no more. It was as if his sense of pain was numbed to the point where he couldn¡¯t even feel anything. His body lost all its strength and was starting to fall back when his body was caught in a soft embrace.
With reddened eyes and tears continuously trickling down, Lisa held Chuck close to her.
¡°PHEW¡¡± Seeing that the pair had finally gone down, Laris revealed a satisfied smile and at the same time, he felt a sense of pride burning inside.
Chuck Remington his valour and aplishments were so great that it also reached the city of Morgress and Laris of course heard some of them. The man had umted so much merit that he became the guild manager of the branch guild seven years after joining the guild.
Laris acknowledged that the man was truly strong after exchanging blows with him and now, he had defeated that very same man.
As he was about to end the pair, Dale made a move before him. Overtaken by madness and thirst for battle, Dale¡¯s towering body sped towards the fallen pair.
¡°Not enough¡more¡ more¡± overflowing strength ran rampant inside his body and repeatedly invoked his hunger for battle. Until the duration of the [Battle Hunger] ends, Dale would be in a state where he would continuously seek to battle someone no matter friends or foes.
The side effect of the skill is that the mental state of the user would be unstable the more they used and relied on the skill before losing their mind. Despite that many warriors that got the [Berserker] ss after reaching level 300, mostly use it as it provides a massive buff to their stats which can allow them to turn any situation around.
Right now, it looked like Dale had lost his mind and was ruled by his hunger for battle. The consequence of using the [Battle hunger] skill.
Lisa tightly hugged Chuck who looked like he was hovering between the borders of life and death andpletely ignored the onrushing Dale. She didn¡¯t wish for such an ending but fate was cruel and unpredictable. It showed her moments of bliss only to drop her in the pits of hell the next second.
She embraced Chuck and caressed his cheek, the man who would always wear a stoic face and bicker with her in every opportunity he can find, currently had a peaceful face. She knew how desperately he wanted to save her and for that he worked his body so bad that it was truly a god¡¯s miracle that he still had a faint trace of life.
Victory and defeat didn¡¯t matter to her any longer. If they were destined to go down, she at least wanted to share the same fate as him.
Chapter 125: Interrupted
Chapter 125: Interrupted
Lisa tightly hugged Chuck who looked like he was hovering between the borders of life and death andpletely ignored the onrushing Dale. She didn¡¯t wish for such an ending but fate was cruel and unpredictable. It showed her moments of bliss only to drop her in the pits of hell the next second.
She embraced Chuck and caressed his cheek, the man who would always wear a stoic face and bicker with her in every opportunity he can find, currently had a peaceful face. She knew how desperately he wanted to save her and for that he worked his body so bad that it was truly a god¡¯s miracle that he still had a faint trace of life.
Victory and defeat didn¡¯t matter to her any longer. If they were destined to go down, she at least wanted to share the same fate as him.
¡°You are really a dummy you know. An idiot, always wearing a stoic face, constantly arguing with me. Pushing me into the backlines whenever we went on an adventure. Always prioritizing me over yourself, protecting me even when it means hurting yourself. You iparable fool why couldn¡¯t you just leave me behind!¡± Her words were softly spoken and only reached the ears of the two of them.
UOOoooHhhh¡ Dale covered the distance in a few seconds and red at the pair with eyes masked with insanity. ¡°More¡ More, fight me more Chuck Remington¡± with a thunderous roar, he brutally swung his longsword in a wide arc towards the pair.
The longsword glowed with a crimson halo which contained all the unrestrained strength and the thirst for battle came smashing towards the two of them.
Sensing that their end was near, Lisa tight hugged Chuck¡¯s body before closing her eyes and whispering into his ears ¡°Even though you are the greatest idiot I have met who makes me mad every time, you are also the one I love the most Chuck¡±.
BANG¡ a loud voice of something crashing rang out before everything went silent.
Just when she thought that everything was over, as she closed her eyes and given herself to her fate, to her surprise the expected attack never came. Instead, there was a loud noise and everything went silent after that.
For a moment Lisa felt that she was already dead and that was why the pain never came. But that was not the case.
Opening her eyes, she saw a huge crater a few meters ahead of them and a faint figure of a person standing inside. The loud noise she heard must be from the huge crater that person must have made.
¡°Did he Drop from the sky?¡± was her first thought
After the clear outline of the person came into view, she was stunned to find that the person was not human. Wide crimson ck wings that spanned more than three meters protruded from the person¡¯s back, two jagged adorned his head like a crown.
His pitch-ck hair seemed to be like the night itself devouring the light around him. His crimson pupils were so oppressing and menacing to look that Lisa was forced to shift her gaze away.
There was no doubt, the person that dropped out of nowhere was a demon. Though the Ghastly Winding Forest was located in the demon continent, it was unusual to see a demon this close to the central continent.
The humans and demons have waged wars uncountable times in their long history with both sides suffering huge casualties. Hence both sides hated each other. If it was not for the ancient treaty being in effect, Lisa had no doubts that there would be even more bloodshed and wars in their history.
The demon had crashed into the ce where she and Chuck who was in her embrace were about to meet their end. However, what she didn¡¯t understand was that where did the demone from. As soon as she asked herself that question, the answer naturally came to her.
She remembered the dungeon they hade out from a few hours ago. There was no doubt, it was hisir. A dungeon could only be made by a demon, that is to say, the demon standing in front of her was the demon that resided in that dungeon.
¡°Why did hee here?!¡ is he mad that we are fighting so close to his dungeon?¡± Her mind spurred as she thought about the motive behind the appearance of the Demon. It didn¡¯t matter to her if the demon was angry on the human in front of him and takes action to clean them up. Her fate was already sealed; after all, it matters not whether she died by the hands of humans or demons
¡ª¨C
Laris looked on with irritation shing in his eyes. Just when he was about to swiftly end the pair, Dale went ahead and lost his mind due to overusing his skills and lost all of his self-control, continuously trying to seek a battle.
It would not be a surprise to him if Dale ended up pointing his sword at his teammates next. If that happened, the situation would turn even more chaotic after all Dale wasn¡¯t any weaker than him and his rank was also among the top twenty in their guild.
However, the situation didn¡¯t turn out as he expected. It was not that Dale came out of his trance but that something hade falling down from the sky just when dale was about to finish the pair.
With an uncontrolled speed, something smashed on top of Dale head who had lost all of his sanity and created a crater due to its insane momentum.
The ground trembled and dust and dirt flew everywhere. After the faint outline of the person came into view when the dust settled, Laris was enraged and maddened to the point of clenching his hands into fists.
Laris didn¡¯t need a clear look to know who it was after all his figure was burned into his memory. The person had ruined his carefully crafted n and had taken things that belonged to him.
Not only that but the person had also made a fool out of him, leading him around in circles by his nose.
¡°Sigh¡ I have done it now. Well, it couldn¡¯t be helped since I don¡¯t want these people to taste any more victory¡± Simon said as he walked out of the crater.
In the middle of the crater was a burly man unconscious and deeply nted inside the ground. It was none other than Dale who had lost his mind due to the overuse of the skill [Battle Hunger].
Simon used him as a cushion for his free fall and directlynded on top of him. One could only imagine the momentum and inertia he had to create such a deep crater and Dale was the one who had absorbed all of that.
The pressure and force of the fall was so great that Dale immediately lost his consciousness. Of course, Simon did it deliberately as he elerated and descended from the sky at an insane speed.
His target was none other than Dale who was after the couple behind him. One might even say that he had sneaked upon his enemies and even question his methods. But Simon believed that there was no point in fighting fair and square with these kinds of people.
Purely by their numbers, he was at a disadvantage and therefore he used this opportunity when one of their leaders who seemed to have lowered their guard to bring him down in one fell swoop.
Stepping over the unconscious body of Dale, Simon jumped out of the crater. Fixing his gaze, he looked at the stunned adventurers who were so shocked by the sudden development that they were silent for quite a while.
¡°Leader¡¡± one of the adventures from Dale¡¯s team hurriedly called out right after he snapped out of his daze. Following him, many of them came back to reality and started calling out towards Dale.
Dale¡¯s team of adventures didn¡¯t recognize the demon in front of them, but that wasn¡¯t true for Laris and his party.
At this moment Laris was ring at Simon with bloodshot eyes while continuously grinding his teeth in hatred.
To Simon, his hatred filled gaze just felt like a passing nce not even able to faze him at all. Compared to that, he was the one who had a ton of grudge against them and an uncontroble fury that was difficult for him to hold back.
Chapter 126: Interrupted (2)
Chapter 126: Interrupted (2)
Stepping over the unconscious body of Dale, Simon jumped out of the crater. Fixing his gaze, he looked at the stunned adventurers who were so shocked by the sudden development that they were silent for quite a while.
¡°Leader¡¡± one of the adventures from Dale¡¯s team hurriedly called out right after he snapped out of his daze. Following him, many of them came back to reality and started calling out towards Dale.
Dale¡¯s team of adventures didn¡¯t recognize the demon in front of them, but that wasn¡¯t true for Laris and his party.
At this moment Laris was ring at Simon with bloodshot eyes while continuously grinding his teeth in hatred.
To Simon, his hatred filled gaze just felt like a passing nce not even able to faze him at all. Compared to that, he was the one who had a ton of grudge against them and an uncontroble fury that was difficult for him to hold back.
Not only did they destroy the home of his little sister, they even hunted and enved them like animals only seeing them for their spirit orbs. Their inhuman and bestial conduct earned his ire and it could be said that he despised these people down to the marrow of his bones.
He was not trying to y some hero of justice but now that he took Cecilia as his little sister, all her pain and worries became his. That also goes for the people she hated.
He couldn¡¯t let them be after all they did to her vige, parents, nsmen, and friends. They had viciously hunted her down and were the perpetrators behind the death of her mother and father.
Simon could still vividly remember the look in her eyes which desperately sought help and more so wanted to die. Remembering those scenes, brought cold fury inside him as he imagined the pain and wound they had inflicted upon the heart of a five-year-old girl.
If he didn¡¯t seek justice for her, how could he be worthy of calling himself her big brother? Though she didn¡¯t disy it, he could still feel that her heart wasn¡¯t healed yet, not until the viins that had massacred her vige were dead.
However, she didn¡¯t want her big brother who had saved her and her nsmen get hurt because of that and so she buried this desire deep in her heart.
Simon was a demon and especially sensitive to these negative emotions. Plus no matter how much she wanted to hide these emotions, there was no way she would be able to hide them from him.
Forest Spring Spirits are a peace-loving n and he didn¡¯t want them to be harbouring such emotions, that is doubly true for Cecilia who was a Forest Spring Royal Spirit. And ording to Irene, when she grows up, her abilities would be heaven-defying. If she harboured such emotions, she wouldn¡¯t be able to grow as she was meant to and it might even be her shackles.
Simon didn¡¯t want her to be bound by revenge or anything of sorts and live a carefree life inside his dungeon. And to do that, he must first clear these pests who had stained her pure heart and are continuously ring at him.
Saving the two humans behind wasn¡¯t in his n but since he was impressed by the strong will of the man and also because he didn¡¯t wasn¡¯t his enemies to have the sweet taste of victory anymore, he decided to step in and save them.
Simon was aware that it was uncharacteristic of a demon to save someone out of goodwill but maybe because he was a human once, consciously or subconsciously his decision had been affected by that and thus he decided to lend them a hand.
However, saving the two humans behind him didn¡¯t change what he was about to do. He was going to massacre the rest of the humans until not even their corpses can be identified and strangely enough he felt a sense of pleasure from it. His crimson eyes glowed with a brilliant light and a devious smile crept up to his face.
Right now Simon knew that he was giving in to his urges but that was alright, there is no need to y upright and just with these people.
Even if exacted a ughter here, his actions would bepletely justified. A thought that Simon would never have while he was still a human, started surfacing in the back of his mind. Nheless, it was still not time to act.
Restraining these instincts that were about to break out of his control, Simon turned towards the pair that were behind him and pointed ¡°Take that man and get out of here¡±.
Just to make it so that he was not requesting and instead ordering them, he released his violent and overbearing Demon Viscount aura.
Lisa¡¯s face became pale when she felt his wild brutish aura and her body shuddered uncontrobly. She looked at the enemies in front and the unconscious man inside the crater before supporting the man in her embrace with all her strength before slowly walking out of here.
It seemed that releasing his aura had worked. Simon saw the woman turning around and silently leaving at his orders. It was for the best, the two of them were already severely injured and they would get in the way of the battle that would erupt soon.
¡ª¨C
Everything seemed like a dream, they who were destined to die, didn¡¯t by some stroke of fate. To Lisa, It wasughable that their lives were identally saved by the demon who decided to jump into the fray.
As soon as the demon appeared, he immediately knocked one unconscious and turned the attention of all the enemies towards him.
Just when she felt like they had be the bystanders, the demon turned his attention towards and at that moment she felt all the blood inside her turn cold.
The relief she felt after dodging the jaw of death, was immediately broken and she felt that the feeling creep near once again. How could she be so na?ve to believe that they were safe, the demon would be viewing all the humans as his enemies regardless of which side they were in.
At this moment the cold voice of the demon rang out. Hearing the contents, she immediately became bbergasted. ¡°Take that man and get out of here¡± the demon said as he looked at her with those crimson eyes of his.
Lisa¡¯s mind went nk and she stood still in a daze for a while. However, it didn¡¯tst long as the demon used his aura to pressure her. Sensing the fiendish and dark aura released by the demon, her whole body which was already very weak due to exhaustion shuddered intensely.
Even while trembling, she forced her body to move and supported the unconscious Chuck before turning and leaving. Though her mind was still reeling in shock, she was more than happy toply with what the demon said as she didn¡¯t want to be on this battlefield anymore.
Though she hated the people who had ambushed and killed all of herrades, her priority was now to take the unconscious Chuck back to the city.
Chuck was barely hanging to life and all the wounds he suffered were mostly due to him trying to save her. Therefore he immediately needed healing and she couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else.
Although she felt that the demon was quite peculiar for allowing them to leave, she didn¡¯t think too much into it.
Just as she took a few steps, Laris¡¯s cold and unfeeling voice sounded out ¡°Where do you think you are going. Didn¡¯t I tell you earlier that I¡¯m not going to spare any of you, or did you already forget about it¡±.
Laris¡¯s face was masked with irritation and impatience. After being repeatedly obstructed, anybody would lose their mind in frustration. The demon had repeatedly foiled his n and even now he was messing around with the people he had to kill.
Without wasting time any further, and before the target could be aware, he used his [Hell Lightning sh] which was a culmination of [Swift sh] skill and [Lightning Magic Mastery] towards the enemy.
Before anybody could even blink, a piercing blue light erupted from the sword and flew towards them. With a thundering sound, a thick bolt of piercing lightning taking a vague form of a sword flew towards the pair of Lisa and Chuck who had their backs turned towards him.
Chapter 127: Clash
Chapter 127: sh
Laris¡¯s face was masked with irritation and impatience. After being repeatedly obstructed, anybody would lose their mind in frustration. The demon had repeatedly foiled his n and even now he was messing around with the people he had to kill.
Without wasting time any further, and before the target could be aware, he used his [Hell Lightning sh] which was a culmination of [Swift sh] skill and [Lightning Magic Mastery] towards the enemy.
Before anybody could even blink, a piercing blue light erupted from the sword and flew towards them. With a thundering sound, a thick bolt of piercing lightning taking a vague form of a sword flew towards the pair of Lisa and Chuck who had their backs turned towards him.
Lisa felt the surrounding mana convulsing and approaching towards her at a very fast speed. With their current state, there was no way they can survive an attack dished out by Laris with all his might.
Dread and fear apparent in her face, Lisa hurriedly tried to dodge the blue lightning sword but failed since her body was way too exhausted plus she also had to carry Chuck. Thinking it was toote, she closed her eyes and epted her fate.
However, just as she was about to surrender, from the corner of her eyes she saw a crimson light sh that covered her field of view in an instant.
RUMBLE¡ the crimson mes shed with the lightning sword and the force of the two attacks meeting was so great that her body was sent airborne and flew a meters back.
Embracing Chuck tightly, Lisa cushioned his fall with her delicate body. Seeing that he didn¡¯t suffer any more injury, she turned her head to look a the ce where the two attacks met.
A huge hole appeared where the mes and lightning met evident of the immense might of their wielders. Both the attacks packed enough power to neutralise the other and tten thend around them.
But what shocked her wasn¡¯t their might but the person behind the attack that blocked the lightning sword. It was the very same demon that dropped out of the sky and told her to get out of here.
There was no mistaking it, she saw it clearly. Just when the lightning sword was upon her, the demon ignited his mes to offset the attack that would have otherwise imed her and Chuck¡¯s life. The notion of the demon saving their lives sounded absurd to her.
¡°Leave,¡± the demon said in an indifferent voice without even turning back. Clenching her hands, Lisa once again struggled to get back up and supported Chuck before retreating back. If she was confused before, she waspletely sure now that the demon was deliberately helping them.
Thinking about it now, even his fall from the sky at the nick of time that knocked Dale unconscious before he could hack at them, was probably his way of saving them. The thought sounded so funny that she couldn¡¯t help butugh at herself.
If somebody had told her that she and Chuck would be one day saved by a demon, she would no doubtugh at that person questioning his sanity.
However, the exact same thing had happened right now. The demon had saved them not once but twice.
In her mind, she didn¡¯t even know who was the real demon anymore. The humans who had set up a trap to kill all herrades, at this moment seemed much more demonic to her than the demon himself.
If somebody had heard her inner thoughts right now, they would no doubt say that her mind was tangled and disoriented right now to think clearly, but she knew that her mind was clear and rational than ever before.
She retreated back, this time without even slowing down her pace because she knew that the humans wouldn¡¯t be able to make a move with the demon in front of them. It wasughable that she was scared of the people from her own race than the demon.
¡°Tch¡ how many times will you get in my way demon?!¡± Laris cursed loudly after he saw that his attack to kill the pair was deflected by the demon who was the root of all of his troubles.
Giving a low snort, Simon beckoned with his finger ¡°Your opponent is me¡±. Cold fury burned inside Simon¡¯s crimson eyes as he looked at Laris. the guy even dared to distract himself when he was standing right in front of him.
¡°Looks like the lessonst time wasn¡¯t enough that you came in front of me once again to seek some more. Be as it may I was going to look for you after all this was over, but I guess you saved me the trouble by showing up willingly¡±
Laris smiled before pointing the de towards him ¡°This time you won¡¯t be able to run away. But before that tell me demon before I make you regret being born in this world. Where are the enved Forest Spring Spirits?¡±.
Laris made a smug face as he looked down on Simon and questioned. The twenty and more adventurers behind him red at the demon with the eyes of a tiger. Each of them ready to engage with the demon at a moment¡¯s notice and all it took was a signal from Laris before they start casting their magic and skills on him.
Unfazed by all of their disy, Simon acted as if he didn¡¯t see anything and simply shook his shoulder. ¡°Forest Spring Spirits? Doesn¡¯t ring a bell. Why don¡¯t you go and search for whatever you are searching for deep inside the western part of the forest? I believe you have a better chance of seeding¡± Simon said with a wicked smile on his face.
The western region of the Ghastly Winding Forest is where the strongest monsters resided forget about him, even his entire Seven Swords guild would be wiped out if they carelessly entered that region.
Simon saying him to enter the western part to search for the Forest Spring Spirits, was nothing less of a humiliating remark one that was trying to make a fool out of him.
The western region of the forest was so dangerous that all the neighbouring cities were aware of it and all its adventurers whenever they entered the forest made sure not to wander towards the western region carelessly.
There were even some unfounded rumours going on among the adventurers that there are extremely rare treasures inside the western part of the forest guarded by some extremely strong monsters.
The rumours and tales might sound enticing to many but all the adventurers were well aware of how perilous the journey was. It was not worth losing their lives to search for treasures that may or may not be there.
Despite all the dangers and perils, there had been many adventures blinded by greed in history who had wandered deep inside the western region of the Ghastly Winding Forest and nobody heard what happened to them afterwards. No one after delving deep inside has managed to return back. It was as if they had disappeared.
There were even legends and lore told by bards and minstrels that all the adventurers that went looking for the treasure inside the western region of the forest were all dead. Others say that they were cursed and unable to leave the forest for eternity.
Such talks also flowed inside the city of Morgress and Laris was naturally aware of them. Even when he chased after those Forest Spring Spirits, he didn¡¯t dare to delve deeper inside the western region of the forest. Hence Simon¡¯s words were nothing but demeaning, a p to his face.
¡°I see¡ I see, it seems like you won¡¯t open your mouth that easily. But that¡¯s alright with me, I was itching to make you spill it all out. Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know that you used an item to change your appearance to lead us out of the vige while your subordinates could take those Forest Spring Spirits away¡±.
Laris smirked arrogantly when he saw Simon knitting his brows after he said his piece and he was finally sure of his assumption that the Forest Spring Spirits were inside the dungeon.
¡®So the attack from that time which washed away the effect of the Elixir of Metamorphosis gave me away huh¡¯ Simon thought inwardly.
However, it was no big deal for his enemies to find out it was him as he had already nned to take all of them out since leaving them alive would risk the possibility of the information about the Forest Spring Spirits reaching the ears of other adventurers.
Chapter 128: Clash (2)
Chapter 128: sh (2)
Laris smirked arrogantly when he saw Simon knitting his brows after he said his piece and he was finally sure of his assumption that the Forest Spring Spirits were inside the dungeon.
¡®So the attack from that time which washed away the effect of the Elixir of Metamorphosis gave me away huh¡¯ Simon thought inwardly.
However, it was no big deal for his enemies to find out it was him as he had already nned to take all of them out since leaving them alive would risk the possibility of the information about the Forest Spring Spirits reaching the ears of other adventurers.
¡°From your reaction, it seems that I was right. Hahaha, you tried your best to deceive us demon but it seems I was the better one. No matter what tricks you may use, you cannot deceive me, Laris¡±.
¡°After I bring you down and make you spill everything out from your mouth, I will dly take that item that you used to take the form of the royal spirit girl¡± Larisughed callously.
He imagined how after defeating the demon, he would be able to take those Forest Spring Spirits that were hiding inside the dungeon, return triumphant with a Forest spring Royal Orb, and also able to get his hands on the item that can change one¡¯s form.
He was sure that the item was no ordinary treasure as even his brother, one of the seven swords and guild master didn¡¯t have one.
¡°Aren¡¯t you celebrating too early? Don¡¯t you know about this saying? One shouldn¡¯t count their chickens before they even hatch¡± Simon said as he looked at the smiling face of Laris.
The man already thought he had won, little did he know that the situation would be turnedpletely upside downter on.
¡°Yeah, you are right, absolutely right¡ I should make this quick so that you don¡¯t run away again¡± saying that, Laris signalled with his hands, and immediately after the dozens of adventurers behind him started casting their magic and skills.
It seemed that Laris was nning to use their numerical advantage to suppress Simon without allowing him to utilise his abilities.
The air distorted as a huge amount of mana convulsed and gathered towards the adventurers. Fire, Electro, Wind, Earth different attributes of spells started taking shape and immediately flew towards Simon.
One could imagine the might imbued in all of these spells as they inteced with each other and became a huge conglomeration of spells before targeting him. However, before the magic coulde anywhere near him, a huge dark shadow of a demonic warhorse that had three pairs of crimson eyes and blood-red antlers could be seen forming in the sky.
The shadow was gigantic andpletely made of a ck haze.
The huge dark shadow charged towards the inteced magic cast by dozens of adventurers and fiercely rammed into it with a BOOM.
RUMBLE¡ the ck haze and the inteced magic met each other and generated a huge shockwave that sent all the parties dozens of meters back.
The huge energies in the sky kept on shing before the ck shadow started gaining more and more advantage beforepletely breaking through the opposing attack.
Puff¡ Many of the adventurers spew out a few mouthfuls of blood after seeing that their attack was broken through as the recoil from their magic being destroyed hit them. But before they could even reel in pain, the residual ck haze hit them.
Dark circles started forming near their eyes, and ck smoke starteding out of their bodies. Clearly, they were inflicted by the corrosive effect of the dark magic, one of the four rare forms of mana.
After the ck haze settled, a demonic warhorse that bore resemnce to the huge ck shadow came into view. It had a huge frame that was burning in crimson mes, wearing an ancient armour and a huge pair of draconic wings. mes came out of its nostril whenever it neighed and with a stomp of its ming hooves, the whole ground trembled.
¡°W-What is that?¡± with dread and fear in their eyes after they suffered a huge setback, the adventurers asked pointing at the Bloodthorn demonic Warhorse.
Laris who was also pushed back quite a few distances away by the shockwave gazed at the warhorse with shock apparent in his eyes. He didn¡¯t even feel the presence of the warhorse before it showed up not to mention its powerful might that was even able to overpower the collective of attacks conjured by his team.
After the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse appeared, it swiftlynded near Simon and stared menacingly at his enemies. After it levelled up continuously, the warhorse became quite powerful and its stats were so great that even Simon felt jealous.
Its power was so great that it was easily able to overpower thebined might of these human adventurers and make them cower with just its appearance.
When the warhorse nudged his hand as if trying to say ¡®How did I do?¡¯, Simon swiftly patted its head in affection.
¡°You did an amazing job, the adventurers seemed to be more afraid of you than me¡±.
The warhorse neighed and stomped its ming hooves on the ground once again as if expressing its irritation over the human adventurers for underestimating its master.
As he patted the warhorse, he said ¡°Alright, listen you take on these adventurers behind that guy, and I will take on the person in front¡±.
Simon didn¡¯t keep his volume down so the adventurers clearly heard what Simon said as they stared at him with enraged eyes.
Laris who was at the front of the group got irritated by how the demon was looking down and unsheathed his [C] tier Twin des. This sword had been with him for a long time and had gone thick and thin with him. Not to mention the huge buffs it provided to his stats.
As lightning erupted from the sword and arced his body, Laris felt his body bing lighter and lighter before eventually bingpletely weightless.
Thest time he shed with the demon, he was only able to injure him only when the demon had let its guard down, and utilizing that opportunity, he dished out a powerful attack. But that wasn¡¯t enough to keep the demon down for a while as it seemed that its defence was quite high and if Laris wanted to injure him, he had to use attacks powerful enough to prate through his defence.
¡®But so what, I didn¡¯t use any skills thest time. When I use skills, it¡¯s going to be a totally different story from back then¡¯ Laris thought inwardly as he reinvigorated his spirits before dashing towards the demon with lightning speed.
When Laris unsheathed his Twin des, Simon couldn¡¯t help butment after analysing the sword ¡®That¡¯s quite a good de¡¯. Thest time Simon didn¡¯t pay much attention to the de and ended up getting his defence prated by those very des in return.
However, now that he observed it carefully, he immediately knew that the de was a [C] tier weapon using Analysis, and not only that but the de was a cut above among the other [C] tier weapons.
Though the weapon was quite powerful among the [C] tier, as Analysis disyed it was still at refinement level 1.
Thest time when they shed, Simon didn¡¯t expect to have a dungeon notification pop up in front of him which made him let his guard down for a second. Utilising that slight opening, Laris was able to connect an attack that had enough power to injure him.
But now that he didn¡¯t have to worry about the dungeon, he can give all his attention to the battle. After all, you don¡¯t often get to fight a level 311 adventurer who had gone through numerous battles.
Simon was clearly aware of his weakness and that was heckedbat experience. Unlike the adventurer he was facing, Simon did not have a rich battle experience and even on earth, he had lived a peaceful life never associating in any physical fights.
However,bat experience can be umted and Simon was not going to miss this opportunity to improve himself. Suddenly, the beautiful and alluring figure of Irene came into his mind. He wanted to catch after this person who seemed to be in a whole different realm than him, he wanted to bridge that huge gap in their status and someday reach the same height that she was in.
To do that, he needed to surpass this opponent here and at the same time make the enemy pay for all the transgression he hadmitted against his little sister. With those thoughts in mind, Simon steeled his resolve and bared his fangs.
Chapter 129: Clash (3)
Chapter 129: sh (3)
Simon was clearly aware of his weakness and that was heckedbat experience. Unlike the adventurer he was facing, Simon did not have a rich battle experience and even on earth, he had lived a peaceful life never associating in any physical fights.
However,bat experience can be umted and Simon was not going to miss this opportunity to improve himself. Suddenly, the beautiful and alluring figure of Irene came into his mind. He wanted to catch after this person who seemed to be in a whole different realm than him, he wanted to bridge that huge gap in their status and someday reach the same height that she was in.
To do that, he needed to surpass this opponent here and at the same time make the enemy pay for all the transgression he hadmitted against his little sister. With those thoughts in mind, Simon steeled his resolve and bared his fangs.
Laris engulfed in lightning came charging towards Simon in an instant and hacked towards him in a wide vertical swing. ¡°Swift Lightning sh¡± he cried out as the lightning came shing down.
However, the sh swiftly passed through the demon and smashed on the ground. RUMBLE¡ the force of the attack smashing onto the ground was so great that it immediately created spiderweb-like cracks and the lightning scorched the ground ck.
The attack hit nothing but Simon¡¯s afterimage. Looking high up in the sky, Laris spotted the demon with his wings spread wide open. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he swiftly dished out one lightning sh after another that came flew towards Simon.
Each of these was a culmination of his skill [Dual Slice] bestowed by his ss [Dual Wielder] and the Lightning Magic Mastery provided by his Twin des.
As Simon had the advantage on the sky, he swiftly utilised his skill [High-Speed Flight] and nimbly dodge all the attacks that came targeting. He didn¡¯t dare to tank these shes as he felt a sharp piercing intent from all these attacks and even he with his high defence would be injured if any of these attacks connected.
Dodging all of the attacks that came flying towards him with a p of his wide bat-like wings. He conjured his [me Magic- me Spears] and shot them towards Laris.
As expected of lightning magic the intermediate form of electro magic,pletely engulfed in it Laris easily avoided all of his attacks.
Lightning magic not only held destructive properties but also was the quickest among all the five basic forms of mana. Even though Laris couldn¡¯t fly, in terms of speed, he was no less fast than Simon who could fly.
RUMBLE¡ RUMBLE¡ one me spear after another rained down like a storm, each containing an unimaginable might. Wherever the me spearnded, thended in a few meters area would be burned and scorched ck.
Crimson spears of mes dropped down from the sky carrying an unimaginable heat and bombarded the ground, the scene was the very picture of a doomsday. However, the target of the attack swiftly avoided all of the spears and it couldn¡¯t even touch the edges of his clothes.
Laris dodged all of the me spears cast by the demon and countered with his own strikes. But just like before, using the advantage of its flight, the demon nimble dodged all of the lightning attacks he sent towards him.
Clicking his tongue in irritation, Laris cursed ¡°This is going nowhere, I must get close to him to deal any real damage¡±. Right after saying that, Laris charged straight towards the airborne demon.
No matter how many me spears Simon threw at Laris, all of them were swiftly avoided by him as the lightning magic gave him quite the boost in terms of speed.
¡°Damn this slippery loach¡ none of my attacks are connecting. There is only one way to make sure that my attacks hit him¡±.
Seeing that Laris was simrly bing impatient, he knew that the one that shows any signs of opening will be the one getting up injured.
From how Laris moved and carried himself, Simon knew that the man had a richbat experience and battle sense. He dodged all of his attacks with minimal movements and countered at the very moment that Simon showed any opening during his attacks.
It was very difficult for him to matchris in terms of skills however when ites to pure stats, he had a huge advantage. Simon was after all a Demon Viscount a nobility amongst the demon. Thus his stats was much higher than an ordinary human.
Both of them shed once again in midair, Laris engulfed in his lightning magic brandishing his twin des and Simon covered in his wild crimson mes threw down ming spears.
mes and lightning intertwined around each other, suppressing the other and fighting for supremacy.
BANG¡ with a loud bang both the magic destroyed the other and disappeared, but this time it was Laris who was pushed back. The force of the two magic shing was so great that the resulting shockwave sent him flying back towards the ground.
Just when his body was about to hit the ground, he forcefully turned his body and effortlesslynded on his feet.
Simon used this opportunity to connect another attack and punched at Laris with all his might. Seemingly as if he felt the iing attack, Laris instinctively dodged towards the side just in time to barely avoid the all-out punch from Simon.
The moment he saw that his attack failed to connect with its target, with a p of his wings Simon swiftly jumped up dodging the following attacks that came from his sides. As soon as he moved away, two des arced in lightning came shing down at the ce that he was just moments before.
BANG¡
Lightning ran rampant and sted the very ground apart. However, the attacks didn¡¯t stop there, immediately after follow up attacks came flying towards Simon forcing him dozens of meters back.
Just as he stabilised himself, he saw a lightning sh from the corner of his eyes and immediately crossed his hands to shield himself. Seeing the smirk on Laris¡¯s lips, he immediately realised that he made a mistake.
The lightning attack made an arc and targeted him from the side. RUMBLE¡ with a rumbling sound along with an intense pain, the attack squarely hit him and blew him far back.
BOOOM¡ a long ditch was created as Simon¡¯s body skidded and rolled across the ground for the second time in their fight. Without missing a beat, Laris sped on and dished another round of attacks that came flying towards the fallen demon.
Simon jumped right back after being sent crashing into the ground and utilised his [High-Speed Flight] skills to swiftly dodge all of the iing attacks. Cursing himself for falling for that trap, he increased the speed of his attacks by a notch.
BOOM¡BOOM¡BOOM¡ mes and lightning constantly shed against each other and destroyed everything that was in their way.
Land gauged out for miles, trees burned into cinders and even the mana in the surrounding was starting to distort. That was how fierce of a sh both parties were engaged in.
The adventurers from the Seven Swords guild who were watching the battle from the distance, hurriedly tried use their own skills and magic to disturb the demon. However, just as they were about to throw their skills towards Simon, a warhorse covered in crimson mes stood between them.
The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse neighed and stood in front of the adventurers who were trying to get in the way of his master. Its ming hooves stomped on the ground and immediately the mes started encircling the ce around the adventurers.
A circle of mes was created with the adventurers and Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse in between. The warhorse stood mightily amidst the mes making the adventurers cower whenever they gazed upon it.
The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was very loyal and since its master told it to keep these adventurers busy, he wouldn¡¯t allow any of them to get in the way of his master.
With a loud roar, it charged straight towards the adventurers who now had their eyes locked on him. The warriors with their shields raised, stood in front of the mages casting magic from the backlines.
However, it was not a threat to the warhorse as it directly rammed towards the adventurers who were trying to stop its charge with their shield.
BANG¡ with a heavy dull sound, the adventurers were sent flying as they continuously spat out blood.
Chapter 130: Might of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse
Chapter 130: Might of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse
The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was very loyal and since its master told it to keep these adventurers busy, he wouldn¡¯t allow any of them to get in the way of his master.
With a loud roar, it charged straight towards the adventurers who now had their eyes locked on him. The warriors with their shields raised, stood in front of the mages casting magic from the backlines.
However, it was not a threat to the warhorse as it directly rammed towards the adventurers who were trying to stop its charge with their shield.
BANG¡ with a heavy dull sound, the adventurers were sent flying as they continuously spat out blood.
The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was a race that didn¡¯t belong to this world. It was a prized steed from one of the popr games on earth and was extremely rare to even get one.
It was due to the [Main Menu] that transmigrated alongside Simon that the Bloodthrorn Demonic Warhorse was able to incarnate and gallop thends of Althaea.
The inhabitants of this world were in the unknown, they had never seen such a race and that was why they weren¡¯t aware of its fierceness which made it covet by all the yers back on earth.
When the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse begins its charge, even those of much higher ranks and level wouldn¡¯t dare to stand in its way much less take the brunt head-on. It only spelt certain doom for those that did.
With four powerful forelegs and two hindlegs supporting its powerful bodypact with muscles, it was like the most powerful engine. Not to mention the momentum and speed it rams its target with can easily topple even a mountain.
It was nothing short of madness to stand on its path while it charged. As can be seen from the condition of the adventurers that were brave enough to take the full brunt of its charge. Their shields were broken, armours shattered and bodies seeping with blood as they silentlyy on the ground.
Nobody could tell if they were dead or alive as they didn¡¯t even twitch after getting rammed by the warhorse. The charge of the warhorse in front of them was so fast that even before their brain couldprehend what had happened, some of their teammates were already down for the count.
All they could see were the ming hoove prints imprinted on the ground after its charge. Evidence that everything that happened was reality and no illusion.
Seeing its might, the other warriors that were trying to stop its charge, gulped in dread as their bodies continuously trembled and sweat-soaked their clothes wet.
¡°What kind of monster is that?¡± one of the adventurers, a [Wizard] asked with a pale face. His eyes were clearly saying that he couldn¡¯t even see the charge of the warhorse before it appeared so close to them.
¡°I don¡¯t know, I have never seen something like this in my life¡± replied another [wizard] that was near him.
¡°There are no records of any beast such as this even in history¡± due to nervousness and fear, the adventurers started arguing among themselves.
¡°How can that be? A beast of such characteristic and might would be over a disaster ss, how can it elude the records¡±.
¡°I don¡¯t know¡ I don¡¯t know, there is no point in asking me¡± one of the adventurers with a weak heart, kneeled on the ground while clutching his head with both hands.
It was not only him but most of the adventurers had their spirit broken when they saw those warriors with their high defence dying instantly. How could they not?
Each of those warriors was around level 230-250 and were either [Sword Knight] or [Swordmaster]. The [Sword Knight] and [Sword Master] ss were two of the warriors ss boasting a high defence. Their stats were mostly focused on Strength, Defence and Endurance which made them the ideal ss to hold the frontlines.
Compared to the [Wizard] ss which didn¡¯t provide much in defence and instead gave a marginal stat boost in magic, warrior sses mostly had high defence and all-round stats to make up for the little agility and magic they provide.
Despite that, these warriors who had the highest defence among them, were unable to block the charge of the demonic warhorse for even a second and instead ended up dying by the battering force. Scattering and falling just like dominoes.
If these sturdy warriors couldn¡¯t hold the demonic warhorse down, how could they [wizards] with their paper-thin defence cast their magic without being worried?
The nearby warriors could still vividly recall the dull sounds of bones and armours breaking before their teammates were sent flying and whenever they recalled it, their blood would run cold. They who took pride in their defence and armours that made them as sturdy as a boulder didn¡¯t want to stand in the frontlines, not against the warhorse staring out at them.
The warriors that were remaining didn¡¯t want to experience the force behind the charge of the demonic warhorse in front of them. And the mage ss who had a low defence to begin with, didn¡¯t want to cast their magic without the warriors lining in front of them.
Since they knew that the warhorse would charge towards the mage that casts the magic first, nobody wanted to stand in front of the path of the warhorse. Just by standing there, it had made the adventurers cower into submission.
Seeing the wavering will of the adventurers and that nobody wanted to make a move first, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse gave a low neigh before charging towards them once again.
It was quite intelligent and was ranked as [B] by the Analysis. Even its stats were much higher than the current Simon. Hence one could imagine the might it held within its powerful body that gave chills to anyone looking at it.
The demonic warhorse was designed so that it could follow the yers in wars and battles therefore its battle instinct was quite sharp even though simr to Simon it had no prior battle experience.
Following its sharp instincts, it could see the dread and fear in the eyes of the adventures, even the rhythm of their wildly pounding hearts, didn¡¯t go unnoticed by it. It could clearly feel that the adventurers are disorganised and were currently in a state where they were nothing but easy prey.
Thus it charged towards them once again. But his time far from blocking its charge, the adventurers were fleeing away from it like headless chickens.
Nobody wanted to tangle with this herald of death who could squash them easily with its ming hooves and instead chose the much easier option and that was to run away from it.
Their formation waspletely in a mess and if anybody saw it, nobody would recognise them much less believe that they were first-rate adventurers from the Seven Swords guild looking at their pathetic disy.
they ran and dispersed everywhere, but how could their speed bepared to its charge? The warhorse instantly caught up to the fleeing adventurers and used the crimson horn-like antlers to impale them with it.
Those adventurers that were unlucky enough to get stabbed by the bloodhorn, screamed in pain while their bodies were still strung on the antlers as the warhorse kept on charging forward.
One of the adventurers that was about to get impaled by that dreadful horn, swiftly sidestepped to dodge the horn and just when he sighed in relief as if avoiding a cmity, the bloodhorn mysteriously curved like a whip and stabbed him from behind.
¡°Ahhhhhhh¡ save me, someone save meeeee¡± after getting pierced, his body was strung on the antlers simr to the other adventurers and was carried all over the ce as the warhorse kept on charging towards the fleeing others.
No matter how they struggled, they couldn¡¯t find the strength to break free from the antlers and slowly felt like all of their strength was seeping away from them.
The ones strung on its antlers roared in agony and didn¡¯t even have a moment to pay any mind to the other adventures suffering a simr fate as the horn that had impaled them, started glowing bright red.
An unimaginable amount of pain kept assaulting the adventurers from the area that got stabbed by the horn and peculiar markings started appearing on their skin. It wasn¡¯t just that, after the pain their mind stated getting hazier while insanity and madness started getting hold of them. They quickly put off any resistance they were trying to muster and wished to experience more of the pain.
¡ª¨C
Ranks given to monsters by the Guild
level ss
100 Normal
200 Strong
300 Elite
400 Super
500 Disaster
600 Cmity
700 Catastrophe
800+ ???
Chapter 131: Might of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse (2)
Chapter 131: Might of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse (2)
No matter how they struggled, they couldn¡¯t find the strength to break free from the antlers and slowly felt like all of their strength was seeping away from them.
The ones strung on its antlers roared in agony and didn¡¯t even have a moment to pay any mind to the other adventures suffering a simr fate as the horn that had impaled them, started glowing bright red.
An unimaginable amount of pain kept assaulting the adventurers from the area that got stabbed by the horn and peculiar markings started appearing on their skin. It wasn¡¯t just that, after the pain their mind stated getting hazier while insanity and madness started getting hold of them. They quickly put off any resistance they were trying to muster and wished to experience more of the pain.
The Bloodthorn demonic Waarhorse wasn¡¯t known only for its unstoppable charge but also for the crimson antlers like on horns on its head called Bloodthorn.
The Bloodthorn horns of the demonic warhorse was its strongest weapon and also part of what made it so fearsome and popr on earth.
Its crimson antlers were a dreadful weapon that allowed the warhorse to continuously increase itsbat ability on the battlefield where blood flowed everywhere. It was also the ce where the warhorse truly shined.
The Bloodthorn on its head were not actually horns but instead bones so sharp that it could pierce the strongest of defence. That was not all, after the enemy gets stabbed by the Bloodthorn, it was when the true nightmare starts.
The crimson antlers had to ability to continuously absorb the blood of its target making them continuously lose their stats and ability before bing an empty husk.
Peculiar markings start appearing on their skin and the stolen stats and abilities get transferred to the warhorse greatly increasing its powers for a short period of time. The shade of its horn indicated the number of stats it had stolen from its enemies and the more crimson the bloodthorn glowed, the more powerful it became.
The Bloodthorn ability of the warhorse was a fearsome weapon that made the enemies cower whenever it showed up on the battlefield.
These were some of the reasons why the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was such a popr steed in those games back on earth. Now when it was released in the world of Althaea, one could imagine what sorts of storms it would bring.
Soon after, the adventurers that were impaled and hung on its crimson antlers started bing motionless and not even a trace of blood could be seen in their bodies.
NEEIIGH¡ With a jerk of its head, it threw those adventurers on the ground as their pale bodies stopped moving after twitching a little. On the contrary, the aura and presence that the warhorse released increased manifold after it stabbed those adventurers with its horns.
It was to the point that it appearedpletely different than before. Its huge frame appeared more gant and the mes engulfing its body burned with even more intensity. Not to mention the antler-like horns that glowed with a striking crimson halo indicating the amount of stats it had stolen from those adventurers.
Though the bloodthorn ability was powerful, it wasn¡¯t omnipotent as the stats stolen were only temporary and with time, it would return to normal. That is to say, if the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse couldn¡¯t finish its enemies while they were vulnerable, the stolen stats would be returned to them and they would be back to their peak strength.
Another thing of note was that once the Bloodthorn ability was used on an opponent, it couldn¡¯t be used again on the same enemy for a while.
Seeing the dry and motionless corpse of their fellow teammates, terror gripped hold of the remaining adventurers that were fortunate enough to be out of range of those horns. After those horns stabbed at the adventurers, it started glowing brighter and brighter as it continuously absorbed the blood of its enemies.
Looking at them, the adventurers finally became aware of how dangerous getting impaled by those horns was. Not only will you suffer an unimaginable amount of pain, but it would also suck you dry of all your blood.
As if it was thest straw that broke the camel¡¯s back, all of those adventurers that saw this scene, gave up any hope they had of defeating it. The only thought running around in their mind was to get away from this demonic warhorse.
However, they had nowhere to run as the mes created by the demonic warhorse encircled them from all around.
If only all those adventures were a little calm and maintained their formation, they could have gotten away from the encirclement of mes using magic. but they did not have rity of mind to think of such methods at this moment.
It was clearly unnatural for these seasoned adventurers who had gone through many battles to fall into a state of panic. Nheless, their mind wasn¡¯t thinking clear enough to notice the effects of a skill that have been induced in their surrounding.
[Demonic Grip] one of the new skills learned by the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse after it levelled up. This skill allows it to influence the minds of the enemies who were already cowering in front of it. It stops all rational thought processes of the target and continuously induces them with fear and terror.
Hence the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was easily able to influence them and barred them from any rational thinking. Once they are unable to keep their formation, these humans weren¡¯t any threat and were just a bunch of ants it can easily squash.
Since it was ordered by its master to take down these humans, it wouldn¡¯t spare even a single one of them lest it displeases the master. Encircling them with mes from all sides and taking away their rational thoughts from them, it could easily take care of all of them without even leaving a single one of them alive.
Its loyalty to Simon made it a cruel killing machine that did not falter even while taking drastic actions.
After the enemy lost their will to fight, the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhose simply charged and rammed them down into the ground, used its crimson antlers to pierce them, or used its dark magic to corrode their bodies. It used every weapon in its arsenal to quickly take care of these adventurers.
The scene that unfolded after could no longer be called a battle but instead a one-sided massacre. These adventurers were finally experiencing the same cruel fate that they put the Forest Spring Spirits into.
Amidst the ring of me, their screams echoed around the forest as they continuously begged their fellow friends and adventurers to save them.
¡°Sirris!¡ sirris save meee, I don¡¯t want to die¡± one of the adventurers who was too afraid to die, cried out in anguish as his body was quickly eroding and turning into dust.
There were even some insane ones who thought it was better to die by the mes encircling them than by the warhorse. Many of them jumped into the mes and were burned alive or did as their mind corrupted by [Demonic Grip] said.
Some of the adventurers even started killing one another thinking that the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse would show mercy to them if they proved to be useful. Others just wanted to die a better death rather than to be squelched and rammed by the hooves of the demonic warhorse in which case not even their corpses remained intact.
Humans when backed into a corner would do the stupidest things, not to mention when their mind was being influenced by fear and terror. Not a single adventurer thought about getting into formation so as to even stand a tiny bit of chance in oveing this disaster.
The warhorse true to its demonic nature utterly stomped on the hopes of its enemies and showed them a nightmare straight out of hell. Its appearance was burned inside their memories before their very being dissipated.
In one corner of the eastern region of the Ghastly winding Forest, one patch ofnd was engulfed in a ring of fire that spanned for hundreds of meters and from which disturbing screams echoed out asionally.
Before long everything was pervaded by a stifling silence and only the galloping sounds of the warhorse could be heard. The Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse had made its presence known to the world of Althaea
Chapter 132: Difficult Battle
Chapter 132: Difficult Battle
The warhorse true to its demonic nature utterly stomped on the hopes of its enemies and showed them a nightmare straight out of hell. Its appearance was burned inside their memories before their very being dissipated.
In one corner of the eastern region of the Ghastly winding Forest, one patch ofnd was engulfed in a ring of fire that spanned for hundreds of meters and from which disturbing screams echoed out asionally.
Before long everything was pervaded by a stifling silence and only the galloping sounds of the warhorse could be heard. The Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse had made its presence known to the world of Althaea.
¡ª¡ª
RUMBLE¡ RUMBLE¡ mes and lightning wreaked havoc and in the sky, devastating a few kilometres ofnd.
Destion filled the area as far as the eye could see and everything was in total chaos.
The perpetrators behind all of this were currently tangled in a life or death battle with none gaining an edge over the other. With a p of wings, Simon quickly spun his body and dodged the lightning attack aiming towards his chest and swiftly delivered a roundhouse kick packed with all of his strength towards his enemy.
BOOM¡ the force behind the kick was strong that it created a sonic boom nheless, the attack didn¡¯t connect as the enemy swiftly flipped his body back in the nick of time before the attack could even touch the edges of his clothes.
Both the parties have been tanged in a series of back and forth battles for hours and it could be seen from the condition of their bodies that they were quite exhausted as they took hurried breaths of air.
Traces of wounds covered each of their bodies evident of the fierce battle that they were having and the atmosphere between them was so intense that even a slight mistake could decide the oue of this battle.
¡®Huff¡ huff¡ this damn demon should be nothing more than a stepping stone. I can see that he is full of openings but why is it that he still wouldn¡¯t go down after all those injuries¡¯ Laris took hurried breaths of air, his facial features were twisted in anger and annoyance.
He couldn¡¯t believe that the demon he thought would be no match for it after he used his skills was still shing with him neck and neck. Not only that, Laris could feel the demon was improving as they fought even while suffering all those injuries.
Suddenly a bad premonition struck him and he felt he shouldn¡¯t give any more time to this demon who was going through a transformation in front of his eyes.
Gripping his [C] tier Twin des, he inputted more of his manas and the channelled lightning magic was stronger than ever. ¡°It¡¯s time you go down demon¡ [Hell Lightning Fierce sh]¡°.
With a loud roar, Laris dished out a series of lightning imbued shes that made countless sword shadows as flew towards Simon from all directions targeting his vital points.
Simr to Laris, Simon was very exhausted from the battle and even up until now he couldn¡¯t get any edge over his enemy. It could be seen from the state of their bodies that in terms ofbat experience, Laris was far superior to him. Whenever he moved, he only used minimal movements to dodge his attacks and used the remaining time to dish lightning-fast counters to give no time to his enemies.
From the state of his body, which wasden with injuries, one could see how fierce their battle was.
Blood continuously seeped out from those wounds and dyed his fair skin red. However, the expression on his face denied all the serious wounds he suffered.
Wild joy and ecstasy to battle more was currently fueling every part of his body and even while being the one at the disadvantage, he didn¡¯t want this battle to end soon.
It wasn¡¯t like Simon was going insane after suffering all those wounds to have an ecstatic expression on his face even while going through a difficult battle. It was precisely because he was going through a difficult battle that he could feel that he was growing at a fast rate.
He could feel the void ofbat experience filling a drop at a time and knew that he was making progress. The distant silhouette that was always in his mind, the peerless beauty who was standing on a tall pedestal, to catch up to her he has to put his body through all this bloody battle. And only like this will he be able to someday bridge that gap between them.
If Simon wanted to end this battle, he could have just used his [A] tier Crimson zing me de which provided a huge buff to his stats and using the skill bestowed by the sword, he could have ended his enemy a long time ago.
However, Simon decided not to do so as he knew that stats and skills bestowed by the weapon were secondary and he couldn¡¯t rely on it all the time. The weapon might help the gap between his enemies at a critical time but relying on it too much would instead hamper his growth.
What was important was honing his skills and stats which was permanent unlike the temporary benefits provided by the sword. He could always depend on his own strength during dire times and that he would also be able to survive in this world and protect the things he held dear.
Nevertheless, the path Simon chose was filled with perils and he knew that he would have to brush through death many a time but if he couldn¡¯t even do that, it would just be a dream to catch up to Irene.
What Simon hated the most was the idea of him relying on her strength to pass through all the dangers he might encounter in the future. He abhorred the thought so much that he would instead put his body through all the dangers so as to one day he could be strong enough to shoulder all the burdens.
He knew that the world wasn¡¯t kind enough to those who didn¡¯t have enough power to protect their rights and that is why he wanted to, no he had to get stronger to make sure that those around him never get bullied again.
Suddenly a thought arrived in him, a thought about him protecting Irene one day. Though he didn¡¯t know why he would think of such an idea at a critical time like this, but he didn¡¯t dislike the idea.
He never thought about Irene needing his protection after all, since the moment they met she was able to do all the things by herself and even defeat enemies much higher level than her. Not to mention her ridiculous stats that was so unbelievable that he still wasn¡¯t able to get past the shock.
He couldn¡¯t see a future where Irene would ever need his help; however, if destiny ever decided her needing his aid, he would help her no matter the dangers.
With a coarse roar, Simon confronted all the attacks thrown at him. Compared to earlier where he was fazed by the attacks and was full of openings, this time however he was able to deflect most of the attacks targeted at his vitals and endured the ones that were off their target to dish out his own attacks.
Unlike earlier where he would just conjure the me magic and throw it towards his enemies, this time he conjured the me magic andpressed it to the point where it was many times smaller than its previous size.
Even the colour of thepressed mes started glowing a faint golden and the intensity of heat was swiftly approaching the advanced level of magic.
The space around him violently distorted from the conjured mes and the lightning which up until now maintained an equilibrium against his mes showed faint signs of being suppressed.
¡®What is happening? Why do I feel pressured whenever I look at those mes¡ what are those mes?¡¯ Laris thought. As soon as Simon conjured thepressed mes, a pressure like never before enveloped the surrounding making the atmosphere heavier than before.
The wind that was blowing before suddenly stopped and an eerily silence settled everywhere. ¡°What did you do demon?¡± Laris who could no longer endure this presence asked in a hurried tone. One could even feel a trace of wariness from his voice which he failed to conceal.
Chapter 133: Difficult Battle (2)
Chapter 133: Difficult Battle (2)
¡®What is happening? Why do I feel pressured whenever I look at those mes¡ what are those mes?¡¯ Laris thought. As soon as Simon conjured thepressed mes, a pressure like never before enveloped the surrounding making the atmosphere heavier than before.
The wind that was blowing before suddenly stopped and an eerily silence settled everywhere. ¡°What did you do demon?¡± Laris who could no longer endure this presence asked in a hurried tone. One could even feel a trace of wariness from his voice which he failed to conceal.
However, the reply that he got immediately made his face distort in anger.
¡°These are the mes that will defeat you¡± Simon said with an excited smile as he yed with the mes that was shinning a faint golden on his hand.
He clearly felt it, the moment he conjured thesepressed mes, the sense of pressure that wasing off from Laris disappeared like it was never there and instead the might of his mes spread all over the surrounding.
The attitude of the demon was saying that he not taking him seriously, this made Laris be even more enraged. The demon was nothing more than a mere stepping stone for him and his guild, how dare he be arrogant in front of him? Just because he managed to create some unusual me, the demon was now not even putting him in the eye anymore.
The very thought made him pissed and like a burst dam, his might engulfed all the area.
¡®The demon seems to have forgotten who he is up against¡ I might as well remind him that he doesn¡¯t have the ability to be arrogant in front of me¡¯. Laris thought internally as he activated all of his skills to fend off the intimidating aura released by those unusual mes.
From his perspective even if the demon was able to conjure mes that he had never seen before, there was no way in terms of experience and skills, he would lose out to the demon. He had the [Dueal Wielder] ss and even the [C] tier twin des with him. There was no way he was going to lose.
¡°Sword Mastery, Cutting Enhancement, Piercing Enhancement, Super Agility, Super Strength¡± after activating all those skills at once, his body started making cracking noises, an aftereffect from the body not being able to handle the skills.
Even with his level and ss, using all those skills at once ced a huge burden and an intense amount of pain coursed through his body. That was not all, if he kept recklessly using all his skills like that, it might even affect his bodily function.
Enduring all of the pain, Laris made a fearless smile as he looked towards the demon and pointed his twin des ¡°Be honoured demon you are going to be in by me Laris Hector someone who is going to rise to the top of this world¡±.
Right after saying that, the man burst intoughter, he could feel the energy pouring down every corner of his body and the intoxication of this made him feel invincible. Even if this method shaved a portion of his life, it was all worth it as long as he could defeat the demon.
Giving Simon a scornful look, Laris dashed like lightning as he poured all of his strength into the Twin des and swung it down so fast that the speed of his sh had reached an unimaginable speed.
SHIIIINNGG¡
The des were swung so fast that it could no longer be seen with naked eyes and the amount of time it took for the lightning sh to reach Simon was equally swift.
In just a blink of an eye, the de was already upon him. Arced in devastating lightning, the de glowed so bright that it could even be mistaken for a crystal. However, the might packed behind the sh was so threatening that it immediately made his instincts go bonkers.
Simon hurriedly pulled back and did not allow the attack to connect which could have otherwise dealt a devastating amount of damage. He could sense the changes that have urred insideris¡¯ body after he activated all of his skills and the spike in his energy levels.
Simon too had once activated many skills at once previously to kill those Killer Worker Bees and knew how ridiculous the power spike was. But he also knew the consequence of using too many skills at once and the burden it put on your body. There was no way
His previous experience had made him aware that his body was not ready to handle the strain of using all of the skills at once. Not to mention Laris who was just a human, how can his body bepared to a Demon Viscount? The man had not disregarded the consequences but was also drunk on his temporary powers.
Simon couldn¡¯t be any more delighted as this was precisely the opportunity that he was searching for. If he could survive the onught of attacks that wereing towards him, it would be easier for him to achieve victory after the duration of the skills end.
Nevertheless, even if there was an opportunity, it was a perilous one. Enduring all those attacks which have been enhanced to a whole new realm, was easier said than done.
Each of the attacks dished out by Laris could do a significant amount of damage to him and were powerful enough to overwhelm his defence stats.
Simon recognising the threat the man represented, pored all of his attention on him and felt his blood boiling from excitement. If it was Simon from the earth, he would have never felt something like that.
However, after he got reincarnated into the body of a demon, Simon could feel his mentality changing bit by bit and the characteristics of a demon were starting to get apparent. Feeling excitement during a life and death battle was one such feature. Eager and exhrated tomence the battle that would lead to greater heights.
RUMBLE¡ with a thunderous sound, Laris came spinning his twin des and shed against his ws that came protruding out from his fingers. Instead of ws, they were more like hardened nails that were strong enough to cut apart a boulder.
CLANG¡ intense sparks generated as the two weapons collided and each of their attacks was lethal and aimed at each other¡¯s vitals. The power and might contained in each of their swings was so powerful that it created sonic booms whenever they shed.
The fight was urring so fast that both thebatants moved at a breakneck speed. However, if one looked carefully they could see that one of them was fully offensive while the other was forced into defence.
BANG¡ a sound so loud that it could be heard from miles away rang out and Simon was smashed into the ground. Though the ws of his was powerful to cut apart a boulder and was stronger than an ordinary metal, it had still not reached the point where it couldpete with a [C] tier weapon.
Whoosh¡
Hurriedly flipping his body to the side, Simon barely dodged the attack that came down like a pir of lightning connecting the heaven and earth.
BOOM¡ thend quacked and the ground was cracked open for hundreds of meters and everything was scorched ck.
Lightning ran rampant wherever one could see and amidst all of this one could hear the wildughter of Laris. Though the pain coursing through his body threatened to blow his body up, but his skyrocketing powers was enough stimulus for him to forget all of his pains.
With a look of disdain, he looked at Simon whose ws were broken, appeared to be covered in wounds and seemed haggard and exhausted.
A feeling of superiority rose within him and a belittling smile spread over his face. ¡°Struggle as hard as you can demon otherwise it won¡¯t be fun anymore. After all, watching an ant struggle before squashing it underneath the foot is all the more amusing hahaha¡±.
As if resonating with the emotion of Laris, even the lightning in the sky rumbled along with hisughter.
At this moment, Simon was breathing quite heavily and the wounds all over his body worsened. Even though blood was dripping from them and he looked drained and exhausted, the bright glow in his eyes was telling something else.
His eyes were as clear as ever and didn¡¯t show any signs of being clouded even in the face of such great adversity. Currently, he was just like a sponge absorbing all the experience he could get from this battlefield and he could feel himself getting better every passing second.
Chapter 134: Difficult Battle (3)
Chapter 134: Difficult Battle (3)
Although his body was covered in wounds, they weren¡¯t lethal enough to hinder his fight and would recover naturally if given enough time. Stabilising his breathing, Simon looked at Laris and gave him a wide smile, trying to tell him that he was enjoying it.
As if getting the message, Laris mood immediately soured and he threw out a few more lightning bolts towards Simon. this battle was supposed to be over when he forcefully activated all of his skills and yet the demon doggedly dodged and hanged on. His temper was at its limit and it couldn¡¯t be anymore foul.
BANG¡ BANG¡ thend was already devastated to the point of being unrecognisable from the aftermath of their sh but thebatants even while tired kept dishing out one attack after another.
Simon cast his own me magic to sh with the iing lightning attacks and his body which was already battered, was pushed back even further. After he deflected those attacks, more of them came targeting him from all sides.
It could be seen from Laris¡¯attacks that he was losing his patience and was using all of his powers to suppress and defeat Simon as fast as possible. Keeping all those skills activated might be taking a great toll on his body.
Even when lightning came pouring down at him like a tide, Simon still hanged on like a boat that refused to topple down even during a storm. There was no way he was going down, not before taking down his enemy.
His resolve to be stronger was what made him keep on enduring the tempest of attacks that shaved away at his HP and bide for time. He knew that as long as he could endure for a little longer, victory would surely be his. There was no way Laris could remain standing after the duration of the skills are over.
As if realizing what the demon was nning, Laris squinted his eyes and immediately charged towards Simon with a sh of lightning. No matter what he has to finish the demon before the buff from the skills are over.
¡°You can¡¯t defeat me demon. I am far superior and powerful than the likes of a vile demon like you¡± Laris voice which was coated with malice and arrogance rang out all across the area. His lightning shes was so fast and powerful that whenever it grazed past his skin, it would leave a deep wound.
It was as clear as a day that Laris was trying to enrage the demon, disturb hisposure of mind and an opening to arise. Simon did not fall for such obvious provocations and did not show any openings for his enemy to exploit.
At this moment his high defence stat waspletely useless against Laris whose lightning enhanced attacks were powerful enough to ignore it altogether.
CLANG¡ CLANG¡ CLANG¡ powerful shes kept on ringing as sparks generated everywhere. Simon did his best to fend off all the lightning-fast attacks that were aimed at his vitals.
BANG¡ his hardened ws were once again broken and Simon was sent flying back from the recoil. Seeing the opportunity, a wide smile crept up to Laris face and he made an unusual stance that he hadn¡¯t disyed before in their fight.
Gripping onto his twin des tightly, he poured every iota of his strength and mana within the Twin des and paid an extreme amount of attention towards his movement.
Feeling a vague resonation between his energy and des, he swung it in a wide horizontal arc and at that moment, two bolts of dense blue lightning came gushing out of the de and charged towards Simon.
With a p of his wings, Simon killed the momentum and straightened his body which was about to hit the ground andnded on his feet. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he gave a fierce smile before bringing out his ws once again.
No matter how many times Laris broke them since it is part of his body, new ones appear soon after. This time he also conjured many me spears to bombard his enemy and create some distance.
Just as the me spears fully manifested using his me magic mastery, two dense bolts of lightning came targeting him. The two bolts of lightning showed faint traces of morphing into a dragon as it swiftly charged towards him.
Realising that he wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge it in time, Simon gritted his teeth and poured an enormous amount of mana on the dozens or so me spears. As he kept on pouring his mana on the me spear, the faint golden glow on the spears became brighter and more apparent.
The intensity of heat apanying the me spear had reached an unimaginable level. Clenching his hands tightly, Simon made a motion of throwing them towards the oing lightning dragon with all his strength.
Immediately after all the me spears flew towards the lightning dragon like a rain and fiercely shed against it.
BOOOOOM¡ a devastating energy storm erupted when the two attacks met obliterating everything and anything in a hundred-meter area.
Thend was flipped outside down from the shockwave and Simon¡¯s body which was already on the brink of exhaustion jolted back and only came to a stop after he skidded across the ground for a good long distance.
Laris also wasn¡¯t spared from the aftereffects of the shockwave as he too was sent flying dozens of meters. But contrary to Simon, his condition was much better and he coped with the shockwave hitting him much more easily.
Although he looked fine externally, he knew more than anyone how bad the condition of his body actually was. By now, his muscles were all internally bleeding, veins popped in his forehead, breathing ragged and he was preparing a lot.
Traces of exhaustion could be seen all over his face. Every Part of his body were currently screaming due to the repercussions of activating so many skills at once.
¡°Huff¡ huff¡ that damned demon is still alive even after this? This is bad my body won¡¯tst long I have to finish this battle fast¡± stabilising his breathing, Laris looked towards the other end of the crater and saw the demon desperately wing to get back up.
The demon was clearly inferior to him in terms of techniques and experience and no matter how many times he beat him down, the demon kept getting up. He could see that Simon was on itsst fumes and was hanging on with his sheer willpower but even then he couldn¡¯t grab the victory.
Gathering all of his power, Laris draped himself in blue lightning charged towards the demon once again. killing intent overflowing his body, he rushed to deliver the final blow with all of his strength.
RUMBLE¡ with a sh of lightning, he was already on top of the demon who was hanging on with just his willpower and seemed not to have noticed him. Realizing that he had won at this moment, Laris gave a victorious smile and plunged his [C] tier twin des onto the demon ¡°Hell Lightning Plunge¡°.
Maybe it was due to his instincts or his quickly growingbat experience, but the demon was able to put up a most basic of defence by crossing his arms and shielding his chest at thest moment. But it seemed that his efforts were futile as the des swiftly stabbed through his arms as well.
SCHUNK¡
Hehehehahah Larisughed, although the demon put up a defence, the plunging des that contained all of his strength prated through the arms and went inside the demon¡¯s chest.
SPLAT¡ blood dripped down unceasingly from the wound and painted the ground red. ¡°Hehehahahaha¡¡± feeling the sensation of his des stabbing through the demon, Laris burst into a wild joyousughter and a frantic look appeared on his gaunt face.
¡°I won¡ I won against the demon, I Laris defeated a Demon Viscount on my own¡ Hahaha¡±. Still grabbing on to the des, he twisted them around and shed a mocking smile when he saw the demon¡¯s face distort in pain.
¡°It seems I was the superior one, you vile demon. Hehe, after you die I will destroy all you have and snatch away the things you took away from me¡± Laris dered directly looking at the crimson eyes of the demon.
Chapter 135: Pride Once Again
Chapter 135: Pride Once Again
[Pride is being activated] [Pride is being activated] [Pride is being activated] [Pride is being activated] [Pride is being activated] [Pride is being activated] [Pride is being activated] [Pride is being activated]
¡®This damn buzzer won¡¯t stop ringing¡¯ While an excruciating amount of pain assaulted Simon as the de prated through his chest, his attention was diverted towards a series of notifications that continuously rang inside his head since he started taking a beating.
Although at first, he was able to suppress it using his will but now he no longer had the energy or willpower to do so anymore.
His pride fragment had been activated and he could feel all of his emotions was rapidly being overwhelmed.
Simon was too tired to even contest with it right now and so he let it loose. After a few moments, all of his emotions disappeared as if they had been consumed by something and what took its ce was unrestrained arrogance and a deep-seated superiority.
Just before losing all of his emotions, Simon could feel himself bing a totally different person. Though the body was still his, the personality was of a Simon that had never had the chance of surfacing back on earth.
¡°Uggh¡ ouch. Oi, puny human, it hurts alright! Get that disgusting smile of yours off my face¡± Spewing some words at the wildly smiling man, he garbedris by his wrist and gave it a twist¡
SNAP¡
¡°Wha¡ aaaaaarrrrrggghhh¡± before Laris could realise what had transpired, he felt his wrist being grabbed and forcefully twisted.
After Simon twisted the man¡¯s wrist, he used his other free arm to pull the des that were inserted in his chest. Blood trickled down from the edges of the des as they were extracted out, all the while his face was soposed and not even an ounce of pain shed on his face.
Fortunately, Simon had activated his [Super Endurance] skill just on time and shielded his chest with his hands, because of that the des were unable to dig deep inside his chest.
Laris whose wrist was still grabbed by the demon was unable to break free from his clutch. The duration of the power spike achieved by activating all of the skills came to an end right now and his power returned to normal. No, it would be more appropriate to say that his power dopped by quite a lot and he could not even muster even the tiny bit of it right now.
Rather than his powerless body, he was more focused on the demon whose entire aura changed and felt like apletely different person than before. However, what shocked him more was that even after getting stabbed in the chest, the demon was still standing straight.
Not only was he not disying any pain, but the demon even effortlessly pulled out the des from his chest. It was as if the attack did not prate him at all.
ng¡ the sound of his twin des which he had plunged inside the demon hitting the ground rang out.
¡°No, it can¡¯t be. I used all of my strength on to that attack, the demon must be feeling it. Yes, that right¡ he is just putting up a brave front¡ that must be it¡± his emotions jumbled, Laris was desperately trying to make sense of the situation.
¡°Hmm?¡± after pulling out the des from his chest, Simon looked at Laris who was bbering something and praised ¡°No, you are mistaken. The attack did really hurt, but that was all to it. Though your attack was powerful, it is not enough to bring me down. Well considering that you managed to push me to such a state, you did quite well human¡±.
Simon was already quite taller than Laris but after his change, Simon arched his body to look down on Laris. Even his heartfelt praise sounded nothing more than naked arrogance, and his voice wasced with unconcealed superiority.
Sensing the tone in which the demon was talking to him, Laris¡¯s chaotic mind immediately erupted into a maddened fury ¡°It¡¯s Laris¡ remember the name you damn demon¡±.
To Simon, Laris¡¯s roar sounded nothing more than a weak cry as he nodded his head and said ¡°You are right, that is indeed my mistake. I should at least give you courtesy by remembering the name of someone I¡¯m about to use as my stepping stone. I mean it would be a basic manner to do so¡ isn¡¯t that right?¡±.
Overbearing to the extreme and a deep inborn arrogance that looked down on the whole world. His words wereced with superiority while his tone was condescending as he shed a haughty smile towards Laris.
At this moment, Laris had a disbelieving look in his eyes as he stared at the demon whose entire personality seemed to be have undergone a 180¡ã change. He did not know what went down, but after he plunged the des inside the chest of the demon, he started to act strange.
What was more astonishing was that even after being afflicted with a fatal wound, the demon still seemed fine and standing.
Before he could ponder any longer about the changes in the attitude of the demon, the demon grabbed his other wrist and forcefully twisted it like a twig.
SNAP¡ ¡°Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh¡± Laris screamed in agony as both of his wrists were broken and twisted while his body was still recovering from the intense exhaustion and burden after activating all those skills.
He was already experiencing immense pain as the muscles in his whole was twitching and trembling. And now that his wrists were broken, the pain that he experienced was several times more extreme.
However, the torturous pain was just the beginning. Simon who still grabbing onto Laris¡¯ wrist, flung him down into the ground like a rag doll.
BOOM¡ BOOM¡ BOOM¡ as if once wasn¡¯t enough, Simon continuously smashed him onto the ground left and right.
Laris did not even have the time to reel in pain, as he was continuously tossed into the ground face first. Along with the churning blood, he also tasted the dirt on the ground as all of his teeth were shattered after being smashed like that.
¡°Wugh ahmd deeoon¡ wuh draa iuwwooh me (You damn demon, you dare humiliate me)¡± a garbled voice mixed with broken teeth and blood came out whenever he opened his mouth to speak.
¡°Hmm? Did you say something?¡± Simon cocked his head and asked looking at the wrigglingris. Right now the adventurer did not have the least bit of his former dignity and glory as he crawled pathetically onto the ground.
After getting beaten brutally, Laris¡¯s disarrayed mind finally became clear. He desperately tried to get back on his feet but the strength would always leave him no matter how he struggled. Turning his head around, he saw the demon who was slowly walking towards him in disbelief.
Laris couldn¡¯t understand how the demon was still not dead even after getting stabbed by his des. Puking out a mouthful of blood, he finally screamed out some coherent words ¡°You¡ how¡ why¡ No, who are you demon, how are you still alive?¡±.
Simon who was about to grab Laris by the neck stopped in his tracks after being questioned so vehemently. Making an expression that said that he was in deep thought, he uttered out an egotistical reply ¡°Hmm yes, it seems that I have forgotten to introduce myself. My apology for thete introductory¡ I am Lace the demon the world shall fear and respect¡±.
The moment Simon dered his name, the ck-golden tattoos on his body shined with a mysterious lustre.
¡°Well enough with the chit-chat, let¡¯s finish what we have started shall we?¡± right after saying that, Simon grabbed Laris by the neck and suspended him up.
Cough¡ cough¡ Laris continuously coughed as he was lifted up, ring at the demon with hatred he said ¡°How can I lose to you? I will not be defeated here¡±. He barked out loud, unsatisfied with the oue of the battle.
Simon looked at the man and was just about to say something when from the corner of his eyes, he saw Laris trying to hide something in his sleeve.
Ruthlessly throwing him to the ground, he pried the item Laris was trying to hide open from his hands.
¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this a ring?¡± an emerald green ring was pried open from the hands of Laris.
Chapter 136: Paying Back All Debts
Chapter 136: Paying Back All Debts
As Simon was inspecting the ring which seemed to give off an unusual sheen, a furious roar came assaulting his ears ¡°Ahhhhh¡ don¡¯t touch it demon, it¡¯s mine give it back to me¡±.
Seeing that Laris was getting infuriated with him inspecting the ring, Simon couldn¡¯t help but get curious.
He had never seen such a peculiar ring before that gave off a mysterious feeling.
¡°Could it be that this ring is some kind of artefact?¡ What!!??¡± while scrutinising the ring, Simon nonchntly decided to insert some of his manas inside his ring and was amazed by his discovery.
The ring had a three-meter wide subspace and various items and artifacts could be seen lining inside. Just as he was marvelling at the features of the ring, he suddenly sensed the vast aura that felt familiar to himing from the contents inside the ring.
Examining the items carefully, he soon noticed that the vast ocean like aura that excited every pore in his body wasing from the emerald green orbs inside. The aura that was emitted by these objects were quite familiar to him as he hade into contact with the same aura not too long ago.
It didn¡¯t take a genius to understand what those items were and where did theye from. Knitting his brows, Simon¡¯s eyes gloomed over and he looked at the grovelling Laris with revulsion.
BANG¡ a furious kick came smashing to his stomach and Laris flew a meters back. Even while he continuously puking out blood, his eyes were still glued to the ring that was in Simon¡¯s hand.
¡°Give¡ it¡ back¡± He repeated continuously. The ring had the Forest Spring Spirit Orbs harvested from the Forest Spring Spirits and was an incredibly precious treasure.
Simon could see that there was easily more than seventy spirit orbs inside the ring that was giving off a vast natural aura. How many Forest Spring Spirits did they kill to gather that many?
From Irene, he knew that once the spirit orb is taken from the Forest Spring Spirit, their body would naturally die after some time. It¡¯s like taking a soul away from the body, without the soul the body would naturally die.
The pain and suffering the little girl had gone through because of adventurers like them who were blinded by profits and didn¡¯t even bat an eye to resort to such inhumane tactics.
Simon wasn¡¯t a humanitarian in his previous life and now after reincarnating in this world, he was no longer a human but he could still feel the pain, cries, worries and various other emotions from these spirit orbs.
The spirit orbs of Forest spring spirits are considered a priceless and extraordinary treasure in this world, one that is able to increase the purity of one¡¯s bloodline and make them reach a whole different realm and level which was previously impossible for them.
Simon was aware that such an extraordinary treasure would incite the greed of all the inhabitants of this world; after all, once one gets the taste of power and authority, they would crave for even more.
The forest spring spirit orbs was one such item that could fulfil their desires. The Spirit Orb of a forest spring spirit might be an unparalleled treasure in the eyes of the people of this world but to Simon, they were nothing but dirty treasure obtained by massacring the peaceful Forest Spring Spirit n.
Sigh¡ after letting out an audible sigh, he looked towards the direction where the forest spring vige once was. The forest spring spirit was blessed with gifts bestowed by heaven; however, these blessings turned out to be the curse that shackled them and became the cause of their suffering.
As the saying goes if one did not have sufficient strength to protect their treasure, they would just be inciting trouble for themselves. The forest spring spirits were born with the treasure of nature but were a nonbatant race and didn¡¯t have the ability to protect themselves.
From Cecilia, he became aware of the treaty that the Dragon Lords along with several other races imposed on all the continents of the world to protect the species that were being hunted from the ancient times.
Despite all this, there are still many species in the world that are being hunted for their treasures, unaware and out of reach for the Dragon Lords.
These seventy or so spirit orbs were releasing an ocean-like vast aura but Simon didn¡¯t have it in him to possess such items. Thinking about it for a while, he decided to return it back to the forest spring spirits.
Seeing that the demon had kept the ring for himself, Laris became insane with fury and all the blood in his body rose up to his head.
¡°You bastard you dare take the treasure that belongs to me?¡ I¡¯ll kill yo¡¡± he shouted like an aggrieved beast but before he could utter another sentence, a foot came flying on his face.
¡°Puah¡¡± His face which was already beet red from all the anger became a deeper shade of red after being kicked on the face by Simon. Laris¡¯s nose cavity was smashed and all the remaining teeth he had left came apart.
Simon who was being heavily influenced by the pride fragment didn¡¯t have any mercy for a person who in his eyes was worse than a beast.
¡°I¡¯ll¡ kill you, I¡¯ll kill you, I¡¯ll eradicate everything you have¡± Laris roared out those words with much difficulty and tried to get back up. Just when he got to his knees, a foot came bearing down on his back and smashed him face-first onto the ground.
¡°Kuh¡ aaaaaggggghhh¡± No matter how Laris wed and struggled beneath his feet, he couldn¡¯t even move an inch. The foot that was bearing down on him felt like a huge boulder sturdy and unmoving.
Simon wasn¡¯t someone who liked inflicting torture on someone but he deemed it necessary for this human to experience the same pain and suffering he had inflicted on Cecilia who he took as his little sister.
Though subtly, his demonic nature wasing to light and even while tormenting Laris under his foot, there wasn¡¯t any change in his emotions.
Getting tired of all this screaming and cursing, Simon finally decided to end Laris.
mes, intense mes¡ mes that could burn everything and anything in its path, mes that burned like wildfire, mes of arrogance overbearing to the extreme.
His intense emotion was starting to influence the mana flowing within his body and as the mes werepressed, along with the tinge of golden lustre, the mes seemed more animate and lifelike.
Laris who was pinned on the ground could feel his whole body shuddering at this moment and a fear that he had never experienced in his hundred plus years of adventuring, assaulted his every sense.
Even without turning back, he could tell from the intensity of the mes and his screaming instincts that the mes were dangerous.
¡°Experience the pain and suffering before turning into ashes¡ [zing res]¡± Simon dered after conjuring the magic.
BOOOM¡ as responding to his deration, the mes erupted and was just about to engulf Laris when all of a sudden he cried out. ¡°Still not helping me?¡ DAAAALLLEEE¡± his piercing shout rang across the whole forest and disturbed the previous silence.
.
.
¡°Tch¡ you don¡¯t need to shout, I am not deaf. Dammit, you just ruined the element of surprise¡± right after the shout rang out, a rough voice that carried some resentment sounded from behind Simon.
The voice was none other than Dale¡¯s who had gone insane after activating his skill [Battle Hunger] and was knocked unconscious by Simon before he could kill the pair of Lisa and Chuck.
Judging by the tone of his voice, Dale hade back to his senses and was no longer in an abnormal state. However, what surprised Simon was that even before he could sense the presence of the guy, he was already upon him with his de drawn.
It seemed that he was already awake since a while ago but was hiding his aura in an attempt to catch Simon off guard.
Brandishing his long sword, Dale activated all of his skills and channelled the power into his swing. Immediately, the sword took on a crimson hue and berserk power along with a fierce wind engulfed his whole body.
Chapter 137: Paying Back All Debts (2)
Chapter 137: Paying Back All Debts (2)
Brandishing his long sword, Dale activated all of his skills and channelled the power into his swing. Immediately, the sword took on a crimson hue and berserk power along with a fierce wind engulfed his whole body.
¡°Haaaaaa¡± With a great shout, all the channelled power that Dale erupted with engulfed his long sword, making it appear even more menacing.
The sword which was previously two meters long, expanded to the size of tens of meters and was still getting bigger. Influenced by the berserk nature of his power, every inch of the de became a scarlet red exploding with tremendous power.
Even the air surrounding the ten-meter sword made up of Dale¡¯s berserk energy seemed to distort a little and a terrifying piercing intent emitted out.
¡°Guh¡ hehehe, demon I guess you didn¡¯t expect to be killed by the ones you looked down upon. Huff¡ huff¡ die as you regret in hell for underestimating me [Scarlet Berserk Sword]¡± Dale¡¯s entire body was dripping with sweat as he used the maximum output of power and activated all of his skills to dish out the attack he was most confident of.
He did not dare to look down on the enemy after seeing the condition Laris was in and hence used all of his power to deliver a sneak attack the moment he had a chance. He did not know what would happen if he confronted the enemy head-on; after all, the demon was able to bring down Laris, someone who Dale considered to be his equal.
Thus he quietly bided his time after he became conscious of his surroundings and looked for an opportune time to end the demon. And luck had favoured him, his patience was rewarded as the demon was suddenly agitated and showed a small opening.
Immediately grasping the opportunity, he leapt towards the demon from behind before activating all of his skills to dish out his most powerful attack the [Scarlet Berserk Sword].
The air vibrated as the ten-meter scarlet sword took form. Grasping onto the air, Dale made a motion of throwing the sword. Simultaneously, the huge sword in the air trembled a little before flying towards the unguarded Simon.
SHIIIIIINGGG¡
A scarlet streak of light would remain behind wherever the sword travelled and a swishing sound of air being pierced would echo out. The huge sword instantly covered the distance between them in a split second and was already upon Simon.
The might behind the sword was so great that Simon even while under the influence of the pride fragment felt threatened by it. However, earlier during when he found the forest spring spirit orbs inside Laris¡¯ ring, his emotions overwhelmed him and he was no longer calm.
It was also at that moment that he showed a slight opening that was instantly grasped by Dale. Even if he wanted to get out of the trajectory of the scarlet sword, he was still a step tote. The huge sword was already a few meters away from him and the piercing intent emitted by it stuck onto his body and made him unable to move.
Knowing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid the attack in time, Simon chose to take on the attack. Since he was under the influence of the pride fragment, all his other emotions were being overwhelmed and suppressed, even fear.
Activating all of his skills, he tried to endure through the attack with his body alone. He heard theughter of the two humans surrounding him right before the sword was about to hit him.
However, the sword never made contact and was still suspending a few inches away from Simon. It was also at this moment that theughter of the two humans stopped unnaturally as they gazed at the sword that was unmoving and was only a few inches away from taking the life of the demon.
¡°Wha-what is happening?¡ why isn¡¯t my sword moving forward?¡± Dale who was convinced that he had won after releasing his sneak attack became dumbfounded when he saw that the [Scarlet Berserk Sword] that he put all of his might into bing motionless midway.
No matter how he tried to force the sword to push forward, it wouldn¡¯t budge from its ce. It was as if the sword was stuck mid-air unable to move forwards or backwards.
¡°What¡ are you doing Dale? Finish this demon!¡± Laris roared as he saw the attack stopping right before it imed the life of the hateful demon. Since he wasn¡¯t the one who dished out the attack, he didn¡¯t understand that Dale didn¡¯t choose to stop the attack mid-way instead, the attack that contained all of his might became motionless on its own right before it struck Simon.
To Laris or maybe anyone watching, it would seem like Dale stopped the attack before it could hit the demon. But nobody was more surprised than the attacker himself, Dale didn¡¯t understand why his attack would stop and not listen to hismands anymore.
Unable to think of any reason, He pointed at Simon and angrily inquired. ¡°What is going on¡What did you do demon?¡±.
Simon did not reply to him and instead kept on staring at the sky dazedly. His eye were focused on a particr direction and it was as if he did not even hear Dale shouting.
At this moment, in the direction where Simon was looking at, stood a woman of ethereal beauty. Her mesmerizing figure was so brilliant that even the sky was outshined by her splendour.
Standing amongst the white clouds, her figure was awe-inspiring and every curve of her body looked perfect to the extreme. Her jade white legs seemed to be carved with the greatest of care and appeared to be delicate and soft.
The woman that could ensnare all the attention of the world, was none other than Irene. The moment she appeared, the entire forest for miles became icy cold. Soon after, the ten-meter huge scarlet sword that was inches away from piercing Simon, had ayer of frost umted on it.
WHOOSH¡
{t didn¡¯t take long for the entire sword to get encased in ice as a frosty might enveloped the whole surrounding. CRACK¡ small crisscrossing cracks appeared on the frozen sword before the entire thing shattered into tiny icy fragments. It didn¡¯t matter whether the scarlet sword contained all of Dale¡¯s power, it was frozen and shattered in an instant.
The ten-meter long sword burst into icy fragments and a bone piercing chill spread everywhere. The atmosphere became so cold that fog started appearing in the surrounding area.
¡°Hmph¡ as I thought you are too prone to let your guard down,¡± Irene said, her tone was cold as she snorted and shifted her beautiful crystal eyes from Simon.
Though her voice was indifferent and cold, Simon could still feel her concern through her voice. He smiled and faced Laris who was absolutely gobsmacked by the turn of events that he forgot to even close his open mouth that had no teeth.
Simon had to admit that the power contained within the scarlet sword was absolutely frightening and even with his physique, he might have been badly wounded and would have rendered unable to battle.
Fortunately, even before the attack coulde a few inches near him, it was frozen solid by Irene.
Beforeing here, Simon had asked Irene to stay inside the dungeon and protect the forest spring spirit children. But it seems that she did not listen to his request as she was too concerned about him. And she was right, Simon was this close to being defeated.
Now that Irene was here, Simon could focus on Laris without having to worry about being sneak attacked again.
Dale who was inwardly depressed that his attack had failed, gazed nkly at the frozen ice splinter that was scattered everywhere on the ground. He finally knew why his attack wasn¡¯t proceeding any further and was stuck in its ce.
The Scarlet Berserk Sword was wrapped by a powerful energy until it was unable to move forward or backwards before being frozen till its core. The sword that he was using for so many years, was instantly smashed apart like a fragile piece of ss.
It was no ordinary sword, the material it was made of was ckgold a material much stronger than Whitesilver and was evenparable to a [C] tier weapon.
Chapter 138: Paying Back All Debts (3)
Chapter 138: Paying Back All Debts (3)
Looking up towards the sky where the mysterious voice came from, Dale¡¯s heart that was aching from the loss stopped beating at that very moment.
His eyes were glued to the person standing amidst the clouds and his entire mind became nk. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder how can there be such a beautiful woman in this world as great waves were tumbling inside his mind.
His mind only came back to himself when the exquisite features of the woman were hidden behind the clouds and he finally snapped back to reality.
A cold chill ran down his spine as he realised the immense might of the woman to have frozen his most powerful attack in a fraction of a second. Droplets of sweat rolled down his body and instantly became frozen beads after they dropped into the ground.
The brain cells in his head churned and he recalled the frozen vige of forest spring spirits that waspletely covered in a thickyer of ice and he couldn¡¯t help but tremble as realisation struck him.
It was all done by this woman. Recalling how this woman proudly standing above the clouds was able topletely freeze his powers without even him realising, he finally started to cower.
It finally dawned to him, it wasn¡¯t like those adventurers back at the vige allowed the enemy toplete their advanced magic but were actually unable to stop the magic since it was cast in an instant.
Dale hurriedly tried to invoke the energy inside him so as to prevent repeating the same incident again, only to realise that he couldn¡¯t channel it anymore.
¡°T-this can¡¯t be¡ how is this possible?¡± he was making a disbelieving face and was unable to ept the reality. No matter how much he tried to channel his energy, it remained still and refused to budge even a little.
It was as if the very mystical energy inside him was frozen. There was no way one can freeze other¡¯s energy if the gap between them wasn¡¯t big enough. One had to be in apletely different realm than their opponent to make them unable to even utilise the tiny bit of their powers.
Dale startedughing hysterically as such thoughts went through his mind ¡°Hehehahahaha¡±. He looked back all around the devastated forest since a while ago he wasn¡¯t able to hear the shouts of his subordinates and even their presence had disappeared altogether.
Only a destend destroyed by the aftermath of their battle remained behind. Dropping onto his knees, Dale made an anguished face, his irises were erged and trembling as he thought about what went wrong.
What kind of enemy were they fighting?¡ how can they be so powerful to the point where he felt like an ant before them. He couldn¡¯t help butugh at their na?ve thinking beforeing to this battleground.
He must have been braindead to have offended an enemy of this level, even funny was that he and Laris deluded about defeating them. The enemy wasn¡¯t someone they could have afforded to offend and were now paying the price.
If he had known that the enemy was this strong he wouldn¡¯t have dared to provoke them. After all, who wanted to stir a ho¡¯s nest. Thinking back, if only he didn¡¯t get swayed by the rewards Laris promised him, none of this would have ever happened.
That right! It was Laris¡¯s fault for dragging him together into this deep marsh. If only he didn¡¯t allow the Forest Spring Spirits to run away, the situation wouldn¡¯t havee to this. Thinking about the guild, Dale couldn¡¯t help but get infuriated by the wrong information they provided him.
What newly emerged dungeon? what perfect scapegoat? Everything that the guild told him was bullshit. They said that the enemy was weak¡ snort, then howe there are such strong people amongst them? The demon before them who could defeat Laris one on one was one thing, but even those around it were abnormally strong.
Dale gazed at the distant battlefield that was razed to the ground by the mes and a silhouette of a demonic warhorse radiating an immense power that even suffocated him came into view.
Not to mention there was still her, the woman capable of freezing the mana within him showcasing the herculean gap in strength between them. He knew that the battle was already lost but he still felt unresigned to die here.
Dale was a person who sought power and authority from the moment he became an adventurer. He joined the Seven Swords guild only after he was defeated by the guild master Morgress in one of his adventures and was offered to join the guild. In return, he was promised power and authority to rule over thousands of men.
It was only because Dale saw prospects in the guild that he joined it. However, who could have guessed that after many years, the guild would push him onto a deep, dark well from which he could never return?
The guild master of the Seven Swords guild was powerful, but even he was unable to lock Dale¡¯s power and make him unable to even use a tiny bit of it.
This goes to show that the woman was much stronger than even their guild master. Then doesn¡¯t this mean that they have made an enemy that their entire guild couldn¡¯t dare to offend? The more he thought, the more depressed Dale became in his heart, the disparity in their strength was just too great.
Crestfallen, Dale looked on with daze as a small azure lotus silently bloomed in front of him. The lotus was mesmerising to look and the azure halo around it contained mysterious yet cold energy that seemed to rx his strained mind.
He let go of all his worries and felt like a great burden had been lifted off of him before a cold breeze soothing to the touch blew past before everything became serene.
CRACK¡ CRACK¡ frost gathered all over Dale¡¯s body and in a split second, he was frozen till the core. Extreme frost energy lingered around the surrounding before disappearing mysteriously leaving behind a frozen statue that was extremely lifelike.
Up amidst the clouds, Irene retracted her outstretched hand, her skin was pearly white and her fingers shapely. Even until the moment she froze Dale, she never spared a nce towards his direction.
Only asionally did she look towards the ce where Simon was. Although nobody present was able to detect her, she was present here from the very start of the battle and had seen how Simon struggled to achieve his victory.
Looking at his wound covered body, Irene did not know why but she felt a pang of pain in her heart. Her temperament was usually indifferent and her emotions were like a frozenke unable to make any ripple. However, in the past few weeks, Simon made her look at him in a new light.
These past events made her indifferent self unable to remain impassive and even more so when dealing with Simon. Unknowingly, Simon had made his ce in her heart regardless of how small. Although Irene herself was unaware of the changes in her heart.
¡°Hmph, truly a man that wouldn¡¯t let others be at ease¡± as she said that, she shifted her gaze away from Simon and turned towards the direction of the dungeon and silently left.
Simon faced the crawling Laris who was struggling to get away from this ce. His eyes did not contain any pity and only a trace of cold killing intent shed across them.
Silently, Simon walked towards Laris who was trying to w his way out of here. A huge pressure bore down on Laris as his whole body shuddered due to intense fear. Fear of losing his life in this goddamn forest where nobody could even find his corpse.
Only a few moments ago, his eyes lighted up in delight when he saw the attack from Dale about to take the life of this hateful demon. But his hopes were shattered like a fragile piece of ss when he saw Dale¡¯s attack being frozen.
Dale who was hisst hope in defeating the demon was now dead, frozen just like his attack. ¡°Curses¡ all of them are useless, every single one of them¡± Laris ground his toothless jaws and spat in anger.
He was left all alone on the battlefield, even the subordinates he brought along with him were all dead unable to defeat a single warhorse. Rage had already clouded his mind as he repeatedly cursed his ipetent subordinates
Chapter 139: Paying Back All Debts (4)
Chapter 139: Paying Back All Debts (4)
Rage had already clouded his mind as he repeatedly cursed his ipetent subordinates.
¡°I cannot die here¡ I am the man who will be one of the seven swords¡± as he frantically moved his tattered body away from the demon, he saw the demonnding right in front of him.
Panic and afraid to die, Laris tried to move away from the demon. However, his body was too battered to allow such movements. When he saw the hands of the demon wing at his neck he squealed like a pig about to be butchered
¡°Ahhhhhhhhh¡ don¡¯t kill me, don¡¯t kill me¡ if you kill me you will make the entire Seven Swords guild your enemy¡±.
Simon¡¯s hand which was just about to grabris¡¯s neck paused for a moment, intrigued.
¡°Hmm? Seven Swords Guild?¡± he inquired trying to get as much information from Laris.
Thinking that the demon was cowered by the name of their guild, Laris further exined like his life depended on it.
¡°That¡¯s right, the Seven Sword guild is the strongest guild that sits on top amongst all the guilds in the nearby cities and also the ruler of the city of Morgress. We have seven warriors so powerful that they can instantly defeat the likes of you, not to mention our guild master who has undergone four sses changes and reached level 500 [Thunder Striker]¡ Even the duke of the entire northwestern region of the Kingdom of Ellesmere has to show us some respect¡±.
¡°How is it demon do you now know how great of an enemy you would offend by killing me?¡±
Simon quietly listened to the bullshit that Laris was spouting before making an annoyed face and asking ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear all this nonsense¡ what I want to know is whether the Seven Sword guild was behind all this?¡±
Simon did not care how big or powerful their guild was or not. What he wanted to know was whether the Seven Swords guild was the one behind the operation of subjugating the vige of Forest spring Spirits.
If they were, then Simon couldn¡¯t leave them alone since they know the existence of the Forest spring spirits inside the Ghastly Winding Forest. Even if they are defeated here, the allure of a priceless treasure such as the spirit orbs would make them send more manpower to subjugate them.
Simon wasn¡¯t afraid of the powerful enemy that was the Seven Swords as he knew that with time, he could easily surpass them and at that time they would be no threat to him. He had the [Main Menu] with him, although it got bugged after merging with his dungeon menu, it worked all the same.
Simon did not have to worry about his impure bloodline or the limitation of his growth and with luck, using the summon function he might even be able to call forth strong subordinates to defend his dungeon.
That was how much of an edge his innate skill [Main Menu] gave him. So does he still have to worry about Seven Swords guild who was just a small tyrant in this remote corner of a region?
Not getting the expected reaction from the demon, Laris became gobsmacked and couldn¡¯t help but wonder how his brain was wired. Instead of cowering in front of an enemy that was so powerful that even a Demon Viscount had to think twice before offending them, the demon in front of him was asking whether the Seven Swords guild was behind all of this.
Though he was internally frustrated, he did not dare show it on his face since his life hanging on the hands of the demon¡ Knowing that he can¡¯t get around the question, Laris decided to answer it truthfully.
¡°Yes¡ yes it was the guild who ordered me to subjugate the vige of Forest Spring Spirits and plunder their spirit orbs¡±. Suddenly an idea shed inside his head and he made a sly smile as he stared at Simon.
¡°So what of it? These forest spring spirits orbs are incredibly precious treasures of the world that can purify one¡¯s bloodline and make them ascend to a whole new realm. They are so valuable that you cannot even imagine how much they are worth. What¡¯s wrong with the strong enjoying these treasures?¡±
¡°From what I can see, your bloodline seems to be quite impure and your current rank should be your limit. Even if you reach the peak level of your rank, you wouldn¡¯t be able to go up any higher than that. However, with the help of those treasures inside the ring, you can even reach a higher realm than what was previously possible¡±.
Seeing that he got the attention of the demon, Laris inwardly sneered thinking that Simon got hooked.
¡°How about it? Don¡¯t tell me you are not interested. If you let me go, I¡¯ll let you keep all the treasure in that ring and won¡¯t pursue this matter any further. You also have my word that the Seven Swords guild will not make it difficult for you and will each mind our own business¡± Laris exined grandly as he tried to convince Simon.
Pretending that he was very interested in the deal, Simon repeatedly nodded his head before suddenly arching his brow and asking ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say these orbs are incredibly precious? And you are giving all of this to me¡ wouldn¡¯t this make the guild unable to digest it?¡±.
Simon asked as if finding the w in the arrangement.
¡°Hahaha, what are you saying. Of course, the guild would be depressed after losing all those treasures but given that strength of yours, even the guild wouldn¡¯t want to make an enemy out of you. I¡¯m very sure the guild would be willing to gift them to you to soothe our rtionship¡± Laris gave him a bootlicking smile
Of course, whatever he said was bullshit and filled with lies. The guild would never allow such incredulous treasure to fall into the hands of a demon.
They might even assemble their whole force to snatch the spirit orbs back from the demon. He cooked up all the nonsense just to preserve his life and once he returns, he woulde back with an even stronger force to exact his revenge. There was no way he won¡¯t pursue the matter, Laris was a man who settles all his grudges and believed in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
Laris couldn¡¯t have imagined that Simon was just pretending to y into his hands, nor could he have guessed about the existence of [Main Menu] whose one of the functions allowed Simon to increase his rank without the help of treasures such as the spirit orbs.
However, there was no need for Simon to tell him that as the [Main Menu] was his deeply guarded secret and also the most important skill he had in his arsenal. All this while Simon was testing Laris. He didn¡¯t have any ns of sparing the man much less soothe his rtionship with their guild.
From what Simon heard, the Seven Swords guild seemed like a tyrant that was unting its powers and suppressing others unrestrainedly. There was no way such a guild would let Simon be in peace. Even if he did not start a fight with them, the Seven Swords guild would inevitably start one since he was holding onto the items that their guild took great endeavours to get.
In the same way, Simon couldn¡¯t forgive the Seven Swords guild as he deeply abhorred their actions and now that he had taken Cecilia and the other under his wing, he had a duty to protect them.
If the guild wanted toe then let them, all debts must be settled one day.
¡°Hey¡ Hey what are you thinking? Isn¡¯t it a good deal! You get to rank up and I get to keep my life. It¡¯s a win-win situation¡± seeing that the demon was lost in his thoughts, Laris couldn¡¯t help but snap him out of it, lest he changes his mind.
Simon nodded and looked like he was satisfied with their arrangement ¡°I can forgive all the offence against me¡¡± suddenly he locked his brows before saying ¡°However, I cannot forgive you for all the offence youmitted against the forest spring spirits and Cecilia¡±.
Just as his voice sounded, crimson mes with a tinge of gold erupted from his hands and engulfed Laris
¡°¡ aaarrgghh¡±.
Chapter 140: Unforeseen Changes
Chapter 140: Unforeseen Changes
On the main floor of the dungeon Lace
Cecilia who was inside one of therge halls of the white pce, looked at her n members who were sleeping soundly. After going through soo much suffering and countless sleepless nights, they finally let all their burdens down and slept peacefully.
She caressed Maya¡¯s hair who sleeping near her and wiped the tears staining the corners of her eyes. She knew Maya very well as they were the best of friends and always yed back in their vige. She was like an older sister to all of the children present here always scolding and tutoring them whenever they made any mischief.
However, Cecilia knew that Maya adored all of the children and that was why she was strict with all of them. Seeing that strong Maya like that, Ceilia felt a heartbreaking pain in her chest. Those carefree and free-spirited days were now all gone, they can no longer go back to their vige again.
Reminiscing about the warm smiles of her parents, rtives and nsmen, a small smile bloomed on her face. However, it disappeared soon after because whenever she recalled her vige, scenes of those adventurers cruelly subjugating and massacring them would always sh in her memories.
She tightly hugged her knees and her delicate body trembled as those scenes like a nightmare continuously gued her.
¡°Huff¡ huff¡± just when fear was about to grip hold of her entire body, she recalled her meeting with Simon and Irene. How she was brought here and how Simon was so adamant about saving her nsmen.
Even while knowing that their race held such precious treasure within them, not even a tinge of greed could be seen in his eyes. And even while fully knowing that harbouring them would only bring disaster and trouble to himself, he still resolutely took them in.
One by one those nightmarish scenes were shattered and a warmth spread to her whole body which was trembling non-stop a few moments ago.
¡°Hmm¡ let¡¯s see from now you can call me big brother¡±
¡°As your big brother; of course, I¡¯m duty-bound to protect my little sister¡±
She recalled the words that Simon had once said to her and a small light in her endlessly dark world suddenly popped up lighting the entire ce. Her trembling and so was her cowering. She would no longer be a coward and run away from everything as Simon had shown her the meaning of courage and bravery.
Steeling her mind, she got up from her seat and walked out of the pce. Looking all around the ce and feeling the density of mana, she was amazed¡ ¡°So this is a dungeon!¡±.
Ever sinceing inside the dungeon, it was her first time exploring it. Tilting her head, she saw a pond at the backside of the pce and became dazed. The scenery was just like her house which also had a small pond in the backside.
Curious, she lightly walked towards the pond which was releasing a calm and serene aura. The pond was the Pond of Serenity that Simon had installed which had a calming effect on the mind and helped in the growth of trees and nts surrounding it.
Coming near the shore of the pond, Cecilia quietly sat on a small rock and looked at her reflection. Emerald green hair, two pairs of ceratin wings that shined with seven-coloured lights and the mysterious orbs of light that always surrounded her.
She could tell that she was quite different from the members of her n. Her mother once told her that she was special even amongst their Forest Spring Spirit race in that she was a royalty. A Forest Spring Royal Spirit was born by the essence of heavens and earth, carrying the blessing of nature and unimaginable abilities.
When her mother told her all this, she was too small to make any heads or tails of it. At that time she only wanted the lectures of her mother to end quickly so that she can go out and y. But now looking back on it, she wanted her abilities to quickly blossom so that she can help her big brother who believed so much in her.
Unknowingly to her, minute changes started urring inside her and the mysterious orbs as if answering her prayers, glowed profoundly. The changes were so small that Cecilia failed to notice; however, the changes did ur.
Mystical energy from the surrounding flowed through the earth and into the pond of serenity. Like veins, they transferred the energy into the pond and nourished it continuously.
The Pond of Serenity assimted with the vast energy that was being continuously deposited into it and incredulous changes started urring at the bottom of the pond. Mysterious nts and tiny gems and stones that were releasing a powerful light started forming inside it.
Unbeknownst to her, Cecilia started influencing the area around her. It was not only the pond but also the saplings of the trees of mana that have been nted by Simon surrounding the pond also got affected. Though they were still called saplings, the trees of manas were already more than fifty meters tall and ten meters wide.
Feeling the rush of vast energy through the veins inside the earth, they swayed in delight and danced their branches and leaves to generate a gentle breeze that blew towards Cecilia, rustling her hair.
Cecilia furrowed her brows suddenly, she felt as if someone or something was saying their thanks. But it was just a fleeting feeling and it soon disappeared as if it was never there.
¡°Strange¡ what was that feeling? It was as if something was showing its appreciation towards me¡± Cecilia tilted her small head and pondered. There was no one here other than her, so there was no way she could hear someone.
Thinking that it was just her delusion she stopped pondering about it any further and instead focused on feeling the abilities that her mother and Irene told her that she possessed.
Time flowed constantly while Cecilia was focused on sensing her abilities by the pond side. An azure light suddenly shined before the alluring figure of Irene came into view. She was fond of the pond of serenity that was behind the pce and it was also the spot where she liked to spend most of her time.
Turning around she saw Cecilia quietly sitting by the pond with her eyes closed. Irene immediately understood that Cecelia was in a focused state and shouldn¡¯t be disturbed. She too quietly found a spot and sat on it looking at the pond in a daze, nobody knew what she was thinking.
Suddenly she furrowed her delicate eyebrows as she attentively studied the pond and felt the changes happening underneath. Irene couldn¡¯t help the shock that was revealed in her eyes after she finished examining the pond.
Massive changes were urring underneath the pond at this moment asrge volumes of mystical energy like crisscrossing rivers were flowing inside. The pond was being purified at a rapid speed as its content was being altered.
Why were these changes taking ce all of a sudden and at this speed? Now that she looked around, it was not only the pond but the surrounding trees of manas were also being affected as the rate of their growth was being bolstered at a rapid speed.
The mystical energy through the pond flowed inside the trees through their roots, altering their structure altogether.
Irene could sense the trees continuously purifying and gathering the surrounding manas, while at the same time bringing some unusual changes onto it.
Why these changes were urring? There was only one reason and that was it was being influenced by Cecilia. Irene was well aware of the heaven-defying abilities that a Forest Spring Royal Spirit possessed and right now that little girl was unlocking a small part of it.
Lightly smiling to herself, she marvelled at the changes that were urring all around her.
¡°Her abilities have already started to fester, it wouldn¡¯t be long in the future when she would be able to utilise all of the power granted by her race and disy abilities that would shock any onlookers
Suddenly a thought urred to Irene ¡®What would that man think after he sees all these changes?¡¯ A rarely seen curious smile bloomed on her lovely face when she thought about it.
Cecilia who was in a state of focus suddenly felt a presence not far from her and she slowly opened her eyes. Seven coloured lights of varying depth shed across her eyes before mysteriously disappearing
Chapter 141: Unforeseen Changes (2)
Chapter 141: Unforeseen Changes (2)
Cecilia who was in a state of focus suddenly felt a presence not far from her and she slowly opened her eyes. Seven coloured lights of varying depth shed across her eyes before mysteriously disappearing.
Seeing that it was Irene, happiness shed across her eyes before she quickly sprang up and ran towards her.
¡°Sister Irene so you have returned¡± Cecilia said as she trodded towards the rock where Irene was sitting.
Irene replied with a small nod ¡°Un I have returned¡±.
After hearing that, Cecilia tilted her head and looked towards the pce before asking innocently ¡°But why can¡¯t I sense the presence of big brother?¡±
During these few days, Cecilia had taken quite a liking towards Irene and had started calling her big sister.
Cecilia liked Irene very much and her gentle smile reminded her of her mother. Although she had lost quite a lot, she had also gained two important people that were very dear to her.
Hearing her question Irene looked towards the ceiling beforementing ¡°He should being soon¡±.
¡°Un¡¡± Cecilia said with delight.
Just as Irene said, it didn¡¯t take long for Simon to return back and as soon as he came, Cecilia waved to him and dashed towards his direction. However, she stopped in her tracks as her spring came to a halt midway.
¡°I have returned Cecilia. Those bad people that have tormented you and your n, big brother has made it so that they won¡¯t bother you anymore. You no longer have to be worried¡± Simon tried to give his best smile which he was so bad at to console her and lift all her worries.
¡°Un..b-but¡¡± Cecilia opened and closed her mouth many times, trying to form some words, but failed miserably. Tears glimmered in the corners of her eyes which she desperately tried to hold back.
¡°Huh¡ eh?¡± Simon did not expect such a reaction and was momentarily stunned. He didn¡¯t know why she would suddenly start crying just after seeing him.
¡°W-what¡¯s wrong? Was there any problem while I was gone?¡± Since he did not know what made her almost cry, he could only ask her about it.
¡°¡.¡± She shook her small head while wiping her tears before saying ¡°No, there was no problem. But big brother¡ y-you are wounded!!¡±.
It finally dawned on him as to why Cecilia¡¯s first reaction was to cry as soon as she saw him. She was already feeling guilty for involving him in all of the trouble so if she saw him injured all over while fighting the enemies that was after her, wouldn¡¯t she feel even more mortified after that?
¡®Ahhh why didn¡¯t I think of this before? I am an idiot to appear before her with my wound ridden body¡¯. Such thoughts were revolving inside his head as he hurriedly tried to think of an excuse to calm her.
¡°T-this is nothing, injury of this level will heal in a jiffy. See some of my wounds have already started healing¡± Simon thought that he could mend the situation but he was making it even worse.
Irene silently sighed before shifting her gaze away unable to see Simon embarrassing himself any further. ¡®Those are not the words you use to console others¡¯.
Cecilia came up to Simon with tear-stained eyes and examined his wounds. No matter how he tried to pass it off as light injuries that would quickly heal, one look and Cecilia immediately knew that he was saying all that so she doesn¡¯t me herself.
As she touched those wounds that looked quite deep, especially the ones on his chest, tears fell out from her eyes and dripped on his wounds.
DRIP¡ DRIP¡
At that moment something incredible happened. Boundless energy like that of an ocean circted through Simon¡¯s body. Every vein, muscle and bone in his body were quickly being submerged in that energy.
While the boundless energy was circting around his body, a calming emerald green light shined all across his wounds. What made Simon open his mouth wide open was that the wounds all around his body were swiftly closing at a miraculous speed. The boundless natural energy that was circting inside him had healing properties that even healed his internal injuries and also those scars that he received from his previous battles.
What was going on? How could his wounds regenerate at such an insane speed? Even with his natural recovery and regeneration skill, the speed was still exaggerated. The only exnation left was¡ Simon looked at Cecilia with surprise and astonishment in his eyes.
The ridiculous healing speed, not to mention the boundless energy that was rushing through his body was due to Cecilia. Or to be more exact, her tears contained that miraculous healing ability.
Even Cecilia herself was dumbfounded by the insane speed at which the wounds were closing. She lifted her adorable head and looked at Simon with admiration. Thinking that her big brother had used one of his abilities to instantly cure his injuries which put her mind at ease.
¡°Big Brother you are truly amazing, even the wounds closed in an instant,¡± She said with joy and relief on her face.
¡°Eh? Wha?¡ it wasn¡¯t m¡¡± He wanted to say that it wasn¡¯t him and instead it was her abilities that had healed him, but when he saw her make such a relieved and clueless face, he couldn¡¯t help but gulp his words down.
The only one who wasn¡¯t shocked was Irene. Although honestly, even she had underestimated the speed at which Cecilia was manifesting her abilities. ¡®At this rate, it wouldn¡¯t even take her a decade before she could utilize her heaven-defying powers¡¯.
She chose this time to step forward and ask ¡°What took you so long?¡±.
Simon widened his eyes at the sudden presence, he didn¡¯t know when Irene had arrived behind him. This woman was bing more and more mysterious.
Scratching his head, Simon replied, ¡°Well I went to check if this team of adventurers had another group stationed somewhere else in the forest and also to see if those two scurried back out of the forest or not¡±. The two he was talking about was naturally the pair of Chuck and Lisa who he had saved a couple of hours ago.
Though he put it as if he was trying to chase the two away, Irene naturally knew from his action that Simon had a certain level of respect for them to help them out in the first ce. The humans and demons were arch-enemies, but it did not mean that they were constantly fighting each other.
However, it was clearly unusual for a demon to help a human on his own ord. Irene was more and more convinced that Simon was unlike any other demon.
¡°Ahem¡± forcing a cough Simon decided to return back to his pce. While on the way, he nced at Cecilia and asked, ¡°How are your nsmen?¡±.
With a gratifying nod, Cecilia happily replied ¡°These past few days have taken a great toll on their body. Right now all of them are sleeping like a log¡±.
¡°That¡¯s good. After they wake up we shall have a feast. I know that all of them have not eaten for a long time¡± Simon said as he thought about the dishes that he had yet to bring out.
On their way back, Cecilia looked at the wide back of Simon which gave her a sense of relief before muttering in a voice that only she could hear ¡°Thank you¡ big brother¡±.
¡ª¨C
After the Forest Spring Spirit Children woke up, they came to the dining hall and saw a marvellous sight that stunned them for a good while.
A grand feast. Lines of food and beverages decorated every part of the table. tes lining up with delicious food of every kind released an appetizing smell. A sight to behold.
The wide porcin table that he got from the [Gacha] (now [Ga??????]) on his first day, was finally being used to its full capacity. The children after looking at the delicious food ced on the table, couldn¡¯t help but gulp a mouthful as they continuously stared at the dishes, mesmerized.
During their time in the Forest Spring spirit vige, they had never seen foods of this kind and variety. However, they weren¡¯t to be med; after all, these food were a cuisine from the earth.
¡°Hm?¡± Simon frowned after seeing that children were hesitating to eat. He had spent quite a lot of time picking out the varieties of food that they might like. Just when he was delving on how to convince them, Cecilia brought a few of them along before taking a seat and eating.
Since Cecilia broke the awkward atmosphere, following her example, the other children also decided to start eating. Looking at the delicious food on the table, their hunger could no longer be contained as they frantically dug in.
Chapter 142: Unforeseen Changes (3)
Chapter 142: Unforeseen Changes (3)
As soon as the taste of the food assaulted their taste buds, they couldn¡¯t help mumble in joy as their eyes became as big as saucers. Each of these foods had a unique taste that made children of their age crave it even more.
Seeing them rapidly empty one te after another Simon gave a satisfied smile, though it scared some of the children near him as they hastily shifted their gazes away and made him quite depressed.
In his mind, Simon decided to work on his smile. It¡¯s just that whenever he tried to smile, his fangs woulde out, giving him an evil or wicked look.
Simon looked at his side and saw Irene holding her chin with her hand as she watched the merry reaction of the children as they tried one dish after another. Even when she was dazed, she looked absolutely stunning. From her picturesque face to every movement she made was simply heart-stopping.
Suddenly as if noticing something, Irene arched her delicate eyebrows and her gaze shifted towards Simon. ¡°You are staring. Is there something wrong¡± her crystal blue eyes reflected the dazed look of Simon.
Snapping back from his stupor, Simon cheekily stole a few more nces before shifting his eyes away as heughed awkwardly. He had been caught staring at her. However, as fate had it, since Simon hurriedly shifted his gaze away, he failed to see the slight look of embarrassment that momentarily appeared on the pretty face of Irene.
¡ª¨C
The next day, Simon was suddenly startled by an unexpected situation that suddenly emerged on his main floor. He walked out of his pce and ran towards the ce where he felt the disturbance from.
Last night after the Forest Spring Spirit children filled their tummies with delicious food, they went back to sleep as their body was still too exhausted and battered.
Coming to the backyard of his pce, he was stunned to see the unexpected sight in front of him. The scene thaty in front of him was so astonishing and contrast from the usual that Simon didn¡¯t know where to start.
First off the pond of serenity that had clear sparkling water, now had a white mist surrounding anding out of it. Speckles of mysterious lights danced around the pond and when Simon peered inside, he could see many sparkling gems and flowers at the bottom of the pond.
Secondly, the density of mana around the area was so thick that they became a foggy mist that drifted around the area. Simon had never seen the mystical energy that pervades every area of this world bing so substantial as to form a mist.
Not only that, whenever he breathed inside the area, Simon could feel the thick density of manas, as well as the power inside him, bing stronger and more active. Simon was sure that if he used magic inside the mist, the output would be much faster and stronger than what he could usually disy.
Thirdly, the trees of mana which were previously fifty meters tall were now hundreds of meters tall. The leaves and branches of the trees were glowing, gathering and condensing the surrounding manas at a rapid speed.
The trees of mana were nted by Simon to increase the density of mana inside his dungeon. Increasing the density of mana very crucial in increasing the dungeon¡¯s rank. Not only that, many mysterious things and resources that are seen as treasures on the outside world, only grow in ces where the mana is heavily concentrated.
The difference in the density of mana was also why higher-ranked dungeons provided more resources and treasure than what a low-rank dungeon could provide.
Feeling the sheer concentration of mana around the area, Simon couldn¡¯t help feeling excited. However, the next second it dawned on him and he became confused. No matter how incredible the growth buff provided by the pond of serenity was, this insane speed of growth was clearly unusual.
ording to his estimates, it would have taken three to four months for the trees of mana to start growing and condensing mana from the air. But even then their growth wouldn¡¯t have been that exaggerated.
Carefully observing the area, Simon was sure that something must have happened while he was gone. Just when he was pondering over the question, Simon¡¯s gaze inadvertently went towards a scarlet crystal at the bottom of the pond.
The light of the scarlet crystal was so bright that it prated the fog and reached Simon who was above. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that?¡± he nced at the object with curiosity.
Since the pond of serenity had the highest concentration of mana, many mysterious objects have started growing at the bottom of it. The scarlet crystal was one of them. The mist covered the surface of the pond and hence Simon couldn¡¯t use analysis from here. If he wanted to know what it was he had to dive inside the pond.
Thinking for a while, Simon saw no harm in doing otherwise and quickly jumped inside the pond. SPLASH¡ the moment he jumped inside the pond, a frightening amount of energy rushed inside him through all his pores.
¡°Guh¡ bfftt¡± the energy was so pure and concentrated that he felt likeva was circting inside his body. The pain was so excruciating that Simon felt like if he stayed inside any longer, he would be scorched. His pale white skin had already turned crimson from just staying inside the pond for a few seconds.
¡°Kuh¡ just a little more¡± swimming towards the scarlet crystal, he hurriedly grabbed it and rushed out of the pond. There were many other things at the bottom, but Simon did not have the peace of mind to Analyse all of it.
¡°Huff¡ huff¡ what is going on? The pond of serenity wasn¡¯t supposed to be overbearing and contain such frightening energy!!¡± he looked at the pond with terrified eyes. At this moment, Irene¡¯s clear voice rang out from behind him ¡°How was the experience inside the pond?¡±.
Turning around, Simon saw Irene who had mysteriously appeared behind him. Making a bewildered face, he turned to look towards the pond again. The experience earlier was too shocking for him.
Aware of what he was thinking, Irene folded her hands across her ample chest andmented ¡°The pond of serenity that you installed from the menu is no longer the same. After those changes, the pond contains a frightening amount of mystical energy that is deposited inside it through the earth. Even now the energy is still increasing and who knows what changes might ur in the future. All I know is that this pond of serenity might be one of your greatest assets and pir for the dungeon¡±.
Even without Irene telling him, Simon understood that the pond of serenity had been greatly altered and had many mystical abilities. When he was inside the pond, an excruciating amount of energy circted inside him but at the same time, he could also feel himself getting stronger.
It¡¯s a pity that his current body was much too weak to go through such a baptism or else Simon would have chosen to stay inside the pond for a bit longer.
Though he was disappointed, he wasn¡¯t discouraged. If he raised his stats and physical body to a level that could endure that terrifying amount of energy, he would be able to avail the mysterious features of the pond. That was how much of a potential the altered pond of serenity had.
Simon sensed the marvellous changes that had urred inside his body by just dipping inside the pond for a few seconds and felt exhrated.
Staring at the pond of serenity with her crystal blue eyes, Irene said ¡°The pond of serenity will be a great help for you to increase your strength in the future. The mystical energy is far more concentrated here than what you get by simply defeating monsters and levelling up.¡±
¡°Not only that but it would also help in strengthening your physical body and skills¡±. Since even Analysis couldn¡¯t tell her rank, Irene was far more knowledgeable than Simon.
Gazing at the pond of serenity covered in mist, Simon silently nodded at those words. Suddenly he remembered the scarlet crystal in his hand and shifted his gaze towards it. The crystal had an irregr shape and fit perfectly in his hands. It was smooth to the touch and glossed just like a polished gem.
Chapter 143: Unforeseen Changes (4)
Chapter 143: Unforeseen Changes (4)
The crystal had an irregr shape and fit perfectly in his hands. It was smooth to the touch and glossed just like a polished gem.
This gem was releasing a scarlet light from the bottom of the pond which had attracted his eyes and that was why he dived inside. Touching it all over, Simon felt the terrifying amount of energy through which it was formed.
Irene who was beside him, rest her gaze on the crystal that he was holding and just when he was about to use Analysis on it, Irenemented with a slight shock in her voice ¡°Scarlet mutation crystal!¡±.
¡°Hmm? You know what this is?¡± Simon asked surprised by her knowledge.
Irene silently pondered for a moment before musing ¡°The pond was able to form a Scarlet Mutation Crystal after a single day. The pond might even be more of a treasure than I thought¡±.
¡°Scarlet mutation crystal?¡± Simon furrowed his brows and used Analysis on the crystal, the name he got was exactly what Irene had described.
Scarlet Mutation Crystal grade [1}:- a [C] rank crystal formed from the condensation of vast mystical energy and contains an enormous fire attribute. The entity that assimtes with this crystal will be able to undergo a mutation of the fire attribute.
Simon was stunned by the information disyed by the Analysis. It turned out that this crystal was able to mutate any entity suitable enough to assimte with it.
Mutation urs when a variant bearing distinctive features is born from a race. The variant is always stronger than the standard ones and are also higher ranked.
Simon had even met one not too long ago. Gourd the Great Blood Ogre who was the subordinate of the Demon Viscount Gelgar was also a variant from the ogre race. The Great Blood Ogre was much stronger than the average ones from its tribe and he was even a rank above at [C] tier.
Simon was in a state of disbelief, the pond of serenity could not only assist him with his growth but also produce crystals such as the Scarlet Mutation Crystal. Though it was just a grade [1] [C] rank item, the mutation crystal was much precious than what its rank signifies.
He could use these crystals to mutate the spawned monsters of his dungeon making them even stronger.
A spawned monster¡¯s strength was restrained to the rank of the dungeon. The higher the rank of the dungeon, the powerful the monsters that can be spawned.
As of now, Simon¡¯s dungeon was still a low rank [D] tier dungeon and the monsters he could spawn were all weak. They were no match for anyone level 180 or higher. From a point of view of Demon Viscount, they can only be considered as nothing but cannon fodder.
However, it would be a different case if he used this scarlet mutation crystal to make his spawned monsters stronger. The monsters in his dungeon would no longer be constrained to the rank of his dungeon and would be able to mutate as a stronger species.
Although these crystals were precious, with time his pond of serenity would be able to produce even more and there was a possibility that a higher grade crystal could also be produced. The crystal in his hand was just a grade [1] which meant that there are other grades too.
The altered pond of serenity turned out to be a great treasure and Simon could finally see its value.
A [D] rank dungeon spawning mutated monsters. If word of this got out, everybody would be gobsmacked and pass it off as nothing but a lie. After all, mutated monsters only start appearing in dungeons above [C] rank. There was no way a low-rank dungeon and a newly emerged one at that would be having mutated monsters inside it.
It wasn¡¯t that the pond of serenity that Simon installed was special since all the dungeons [C] rank and above might already have dozens of it installed. However, the pond of serenity in his dungeon was not the same as theirs and had been altered greatly.
Simon weed all these changes but what confused him even more was how did these changes ur. The progress of his dungeon was going smoothly but it wasn¡¯t enough to warrant such great changes.
¡°What could it be?¡± as Simon pondered over the question, Irene gave a mysterious smile before dropping a hint.
¡°It might be someone with great potential in your dungeon that you recently picked up¡± She turned around and did not bother to exin anymore before disappearing just like how she appeared.
¡°Someone with great potential¡ is she talking about Cecilia? But didn¡¯t she say that her powers haven¡¯t awakened yet¡ could it be that her abilities have already started to manifest?¡± Simon recalled the miraculous healing ability of Cecilia¡¯s tears and was convinced.
Other than Cecilia who was a Forest Spring Royal Spirit, no other can bring about such exaggerated changes in his dungeon. Her powers to influence the nature was starting to disy and it had already benefited his dungeon so much. He could only imagine what sorts of heaven-defying powers she would disy after all of her abilities manifested.
Simon finally understood why Irene had such great expectations of Cecilia. It turns out Irene was already aware of the power of a Forest Spring Royal Spirit.
Although Simon would be lying if he said that he did not care, but even if he was given a choice to rescue a Cecilia that had no such power, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to save her just like he did back then.
After examining the changes around the pond for a while, Simon decided to head back inside his pce.
By now, all the forest spring spirit children have awoken and were all jittery. How could they not be? After suffering at the hands of those adventurers, they were suddenly brought into this dungeon. They did not know what they should do or what would happen to them thus they were constantly on edge for what the future holds for them.
The only reason they weren¡¯t panicking was because the dungeon master has not treated them poorly after bringing them in and also because Cecilia trusted the other side.
When Simon entered the hall, he saw all of the children lining in attention as they anxiously stared at him. Seeing this scene, Simon gave an awkwardugh. Did they think this was some military drill and he was their instructor?
Forcing a cough, Simon thought of ways to dissolve this tension. Suddenly an idea struck. These children were on edge too much and need to rx. What better way to unwind all of your stress than a hot water bath.
Simon in his previous life used to be a big fan of a good bath until he started engrossing himself into perfecting thest game, the assignment he put his heart and soul intopleting.
Even the pce that he had installed, was influenced by a hotel that he was fond of. The bath of the pce was big and wide, it could easily amodate dozens of people at once.
Deciding on the action, he was just about to order the children to go take a bath, when he realized a problem. The pce only had one bath and amongst the twenty forest spring children, eight were boys and the remaining girls.
Thus he could only allow the girls to take a bath first while he had a chat with the boys. ¡°I know you guys have a lot of questions and so do I but before that why don¡¯t you all take a rxing bath first. Cecilia show these girls the way to the bath¡±.
Cecilia readily nodded then suddenly tilted her head asking ¡°What about the boys?¡±.
Simon pointed at the boys before saying ¡°They will take it after you guys finish with yours. Till then I would like to have a chat with them¡±.
Since there was no reason to deny, Cecilia took all the girls and headed for the bath. Right after they headed out of the hall, Simon looked at the boys who were the only ones remaining. As he looked into their eyes he saw them ring at him.
¡®Huh? Why are they ring at me¡ could it be they wanted to bathe together? There is no way that¡¯s true right? They aren¡¯t mature enough to think about all those things. Then the only possibility is that¡ they are wary of me¡¯ Simon thought.
Chapter 144: Ancient Treants Territory
Chapter 144: Ancient Treants Territory
¡®Huh? Why are they ring at me¡ could it be they wanted to bathe together? There is no way that¡¯s true right? They aren¡¯t mature enough to think about all those things. Then the only possibility is that¡ they are wary of me¡¯ Simon thought.
Especially the boy named jarred whose name he heard Cecilia mention once and who was the oldest one among them was tantly ring at him. It seems that the boy didn¡¯t trust him at all.
Well, Simon couldn¡¯t me him after all the suffering he and his nsmen had gone through after the betrayal of one human they had brought inside their vige.
Just when he was thinking about how to mask his words properly, Jarred spoke up first. ¡°Why did you help us? What motive do you have behind saving Cecilia?¡ please don¡¯t say something as hypocritical as it was your duty or how could I leave a girl behind? I want to know the real reason¡±.
As Simon thought this boy didn¡¯t believe a word that he had said earlier. Looking around, he could see all the boys having the same question shing in their eyes.
Jarred stared at the demon who had saved them from their predicament go silent. The demon had taken care of all of them and even provided them with shelter and food. As far as he knew, it could also be a trapid borately for them to let their guard down.
After what happened to their vige, Jarred¡¯s thinking turned a total 180¡ã and he didn¡¯t believe that there would be someone selfless who would help them with no strings attached.
The demon who was also the dungeon master of this dungeon opened his eyes and stared directly at his own. The crimson eyes of the demon gave chills down his spine and his body shuddered intensely. However, Jarred still resolutely matched the gaze of the demon and stared at the crimson eyes that could devour one¡¯s soul.
Simon found the determination of the boys praiseworthy and he couldn¡¯t help nod his head in approval. There was no such thing as a selfless person. Even if he told them the real reason was that he couldn¡¯t leave behind a heavily injured girl who was about to drown in her sorrow and sought help desperately, they wouldn¡¯t believe him.
That being the case, Simon just had to tell them the reason that would convince them.
¡°Of course the real reason I helped you guys was because of Cecilia. She is a royalty with a one in a million chance of being born in your race. As you can see I¡¯m a dungeon master, there is no way I would leave this chance to gain a precious subordinate. There was nopelling reason for me to save you guys but since it would gain me her favour and loyalty I decided that it was worth bringing you here¡±.
¡°As for your spirit orbs, I have no interest in these things that have been exaggerated by the people of this world as treasures. As long as you guys help me manage the dungeon you are safe¡±.
All of the boys had a stunned look on their faces after they heard the demon but at the same time, they looked convinced too. Since the demon believed that they were useful, he wouldn¡¯t hurt or plot against them.
Especially since he was trying to win the favour of Cecilia.
Once they knew the reason and were satisfied with it, they finally came to terms and rxed.
If the demon was speaking the truth, he would keep them as subordinates and in return, they had to manage the dungeon for him. If they did a good job, they might even be able to live a peaceful life inside the dungeon.
In the end, they were children after all. They didn¡¯t realise that Simon didn¡¯t have to do all those roundabout things if he wanted to harm them or plunder their spirit orbs. They were a race unsuitable forbat, how could they be a match for Simon? The only reason he saved and sheltered them was because he took pity in their plight.
Since they were satisfied with his reasoning, Simon didn¡¯t have to exin anymore. Now then it was his turn to ask the question.
¡°What I want to ask is that the lot of you are the only ones that survived from your vige?¡± his question immediately turned the mood in the hall sombre. Some of the boys even had a look of anguish whenever they recalled the scenes from back then.
How those cruel adventurersughed as they massacred their vige, their parents who gave their lives away to save them. The memories were so bad that they wanted to forget them if possible.
Even Jarred who was the oldest amongst the boys, had an agonizing face whenever those memories shed in his mind.
Simon knew that the question would bring their bad memories; however, he had to know if there were others from their vige who had survived. It would be best if there was any adult amongst them after all, the forest spring spirits that he had saved were all children less than seven years of age.
A presence of an elder is needed to educate and guide these children. These forest spring spirits were young and were not even aware of the abilities that made each of them a [B] rank ording to the result of his Analysis.
Simon couldn¡¯t guide them since he wasn¡¯t from the same race and as for Irene, well she had her own mysteries and might be able to guide them. However, that would consume all of her time and she would not be able to perform her duties as one of the Guardians of the dungeon.
Plus the children might not be willing to listen to her since Irene wasn¡¯t a Forest Spring Spirit. That left only Cecilia but she herself was in the stage of awakening her powers so how can she help the others?
If any other forest spring spirits managed to survive the massacre, Simon wanted to bring them into his dungeon. As for whether they would be willing or not, Simon would think of thatter.
Finally, one of the boys decided to answer his question as the boy nodded fiercely and said ¡°Our race is protected by the Ancient Treants. My parents once told me that if a cmity befalls us, the treants are duty-bound to protect us¡±.
¡°The ruler of the Ancient Treants lives deep within the territory and ording to rumours possesses the power to even trample a country single-handedly. I think some of our nsmen ran towards the depth of the forest thinking that the ruler of the Ancient Treants would protect us¡±.
Simon nodded, surprised by the knowledge of the boy. It seemed that some of the Forest Spring Spirits ran towards the Ancient Treants territory.
¡®The Ancient Treants territory huh¡¯ Simon mused. If that was true then it made the situation rather difficult. He had tangled with the Elder Treants once in the ce where he found Cecilia unconscious and knew how strong they were.
Plus Simon had to use all of his energy and even resort to using his amalgamation magic just to prate the unimaginable defence and healing of the Elder Treants. Although those treants were sitting atop a mystical vein, it would be just an excuse if he said they weren¡¯t strong.
Ancient Treants were the next evolution of Elder Treants and were dozens of times and maybe even more powerful. There was now stronger ones would be roaming at the edge of the territory. That is to say, if he encountered a strong Ancient Treant, he wouldn¡¯t be able to progress any further and would have to retreat.
The territory of the Ancient Treants was located in the western region of the Ghastly Winding Forest where only the strongest monsters lived. As for the ruler of the Ancient Treants, Simon suspected that it might be one of the seven kings of the west.
Simr to how the northern region of the forest had the three overlords such as the Earth Splitting Lower Dragon, the western region which was the strongest and the biggest region had its own territorial rulers.
However, it didn¡¯t mean that the Seven Kings and the Three overlords were on the same level. Previously when Simon explored a tiny portion of the western region, he became aware of the colossus presences deep inside the forest that were the Seven Kings.
Each of these kings monitored their own territory and didn¡¯t interfere with the others until unless their territory is intruded upon. In a way, these Seven Kings have formed a bnce that kept each other in check.
From their standpoint, the three overlords were nothing but children ying house. The presence of these Seven kings was what made the Ghastly Winding Forest so dangerous that the surrounding kingdom didn¡¯t dare to invade.
If the ruler of the ancient treants was one of them, then intruding on their territory would be quite reckless.
Simon audibly sighed. He didn¡¯t have any other choice but to give up on this matter. The existence on the level of the Seven Kings was far beyond the current him.
After the girls, it was the boys turn to bathe. After all of them took a good refreshing bath, they all gathered in one of the halls downstairs.
It seemed that his idea had worked as the children who had entered the bath were much more rxed and less wary of him. It might even be the work of Cecilia who had somehow convinced them.
Chapter 145: Ancient Treants Territory (2)
Chapter 145: Ancient Treants Territory (2)
¡°Big brother¡ what¡¯s the matter?¡± Cecilia noticed that her big brother was lost in thought as he made a difficult expression.
Simon who was indulging in his thoughts snapped out of it after he was called out.
¡°It¡¯s nothing¡¡± just when he was about to dismiss the issue, he thought about Cecilia¡¯s lineage and thought of a possibility that might help him enter the territory of the Ancient Treants. He believed that she might be able to aid him in that regard.
Although it was just a possibility, it was worth a try. Simon exined the situation and told her his idea of bringing the rest of her nsmen inside the dungeon.
Cecilia¡¯s eyes widened in surprise when she heard that Simon was nning to bring the other nsmen who have survived inside the dungeon. As far as she knew, some of her nsmen were able to escape since her mother paved the way for them by self-destructing her spirit orb.
She didn¡¯t know what happened to those who escaped inside the territory of Ancient Treants. Whether they sessfully ran away from their pursuers¡ she couldn¡¯t tell since even her group of escapees which consisted of so many Forest Spring Spirits failed to escape.
Though the possibility was slim, Cecilia wanted to believe that some of her nsmen were sessful in their escape and under the protection of the Ancient Treants. Thinking so Cecilia finally made her decision ¡°Let mee along with you big brother¡±.
¡ª¨C
In one area of the western region of the Ghastly Winding Forest, humungous trees with branches so long that they even covered the very expanse of sky, densely packed the area.
The foliage was so thick that not even a ray of light could pass through. The only source of light was the mushrooms and moss growing in the area shining with multi-coloured lights.
Mysterious nts and herbs grew everywhere and not even a trace of monsters could be seen in the area.
Simon with Cecilia in tow passed through one area after another. The deeper he went, the stronger the foreboding feeling became. It was as if thousands of pairs of eyes were watching him from every corner. And to confirm his suspicions, they had been walking for quite a while and had not even encountered a single treant.
Simon¡¯s instinct told him that something was up; nheless, he continued marching forward. If worstes to worst, he could just carry Cecilia and dash out of here.
Suddenly, the path ahead of them opened and a gigantic Ash-ck tree blocked their path. ¡°Big brother¡ that tree¡¡± Cecilia who was beside him tugged his clothes and said in concern.
Even while just standing there, the humongous Ash-ck tree emitted a heavy and sturdy pressure. However, even without her warning, he could tell that the gigantic tree ahead was no ordinary tree.
It was an Ancient Treant that had lived for quite a long time.
How could he tell? That was because the Analysis was barely able to show its race and level. A level 541 Ancient Treant was blocking his path.
From the surface, the tree just looked massively big with no other features to speak off. But to Simon, the tree seemed unmovable like a mountain. Its Ash-ck bark seemed ancient and withered, but make no mistake its defence was so high that one look and Simon was aware that all the magic in his repertoire wouldn¡¯t even scratch it.
Suddenly the earth trembled and all the surrounding trees started swaying. The trunk of the humongous tree cracked open and two dark green eyes came into view.
The moment its eyes opened, a pressure so heavy that it suffocated Simon emanated out of the Ancient Treant. Cold sweat trickled down his body and all his sense were in full alert ready to make a move from the slightest disturbance.
As of now, there was still too wide a gap between them and Simon knew that if the Ancient Treant decided to be hostile, he would have no choice but to run away at full speed.
The eyes of the treant shined with a green light as they inspected the two of them. Even though he said two of them, the eyes of the Ancient Treant was only focused on Cecilia. Momentster, the trunk of the treant cracked open once again and a huge spiny mouth appeared.
¡°I am Balsa, one of the loyal servants of the Ancient Titan Treant. Youngdy¡ we are ordered by our king to protect any Forest Spring Spiritsing here to seek help. Others from your race are already in our care. This is the territory of the Ancient Titan Treant, you need not fear anymore¡±.
An old voice like a bell sounded out across the forest.
Cecilia immediately got excited when she heard what the Ancient Treant named Balsa said.
She was relieved that some of her nsmen managed to escape and were safe. With hopes lighting up in her eyes she pleaded.
¡°L-Lord Balsa can I see my nsmen who are under your care? After our vige was massacred, those who managed to escape were pursued by humans. I don¡¯t know how many of them managed to survive. They must be worried about others, I wish to see and talk to them¡±.
Simon was standing on the side, since he didn¡¯t want to intrude, he could just silently listen to their conversation.
The old voice of Balsa sounded once again ¡°You don¡¯t need to add Lord. Since your Forest Spring Spirit n is a friend of our king, you don¡¯t need to address me as such. Just Balsa is fine. As the loyal servant of my king I¡¯m content with just that¡±.
Right after saying that, the Ancient treant went silent for a while before the trees started mysteriously moving and creating a path. It appeared that Balsa wasmunicating with the surrounding trees.
However, the scene raised goosebumps all across Simon. His Analysis was continuously ring, alerting him of the presence of multiple treants all around him.
The trees he thought ordinary, were actually treants that were hiding their presence. It was only now that he realised that they were being led towards Balsa. Even with his acute senses, he wasn¡¯t able to detect the presence of treants who were masking themselves as ordinary trees.
His body couldn¡¯t help but shudder when the realization struck him.
After what felt like a few minutes, a new path had been opened that led deeper towards the territory of the Ancient Treants.
¡°If you follow the path from here, you would be able to reach the ce where your nsmen are youngdy. It just so happens to be the safest ce in the entire Ghastly Winding Forest since our king also resides there. Because your race has the favour of our king, all the treants in this forest will protect you. Even if we musty our lives down in the process¡± Balsa said, his voice full of reverence whenever he talked about his king.
¡°Many thanks, elder. I will take my leave now and go meet with my nsmen. Our Forest spring spirit n will never forget this favour¡± Cecilia said as she tugged Simon and followed the path that was created for them.
However, just when they took a few steps, the old voice of Balsa sounded once again.
¡°Stop¡±.
Halting their steps, Simon and Cecilia turned towards the humungous Ancient Treant.
Cecilia asked respectfully ¡°Is there something wrong elder?¡±. She didn¡¯t know why the elder would stop them midway.
Balsa looked at Cecilia before his huge green eyesnded on Simon as he said, ¡°You may pass, but the demon must go back¡±.
Both Cecilia and Simon were stunned.
Creasing her delicate brows, Cecilia asked respectfully ¡°I don¡¯t understand elder. This person is my big brother who has saved my life and is simply here to protect me. There shouldn¡¯t be any problem for him to meet my nsmen along with me¡±.
Her tone even had a smear of anger as she insisted. However, The Ancient Treant named Balsa simply denied her.
¡°I cannot allow that. The king has only permitted the Forest Spring Spirit race to pass. The demon must go back. As for the matter of protection, you can be assured that as long as you are inside the ancient treants territory, nothing in this entire Ghastly Winding Forest can harm you. We treants are much more powerful than the likes of demon beside you¡±.
The old voice of Balsa was filled with superiority that looked down on Simon. Why wouldn¡¯t he? The demon in front of him was just a weakling and he on the other hand was a level 541 Ancient Treant more than two thousand years old.
And more than that, he took pride in being one of the loyal servants under the Ancient Titan Treant.
Simon panicked for a second thinking that the odd feeling originating from his pride fragment whenever someone slighted him, would take control of his emotions once again. Fortunately, the fragment didn¡¯t trigger.
It seemed thatment of that level wasn¡¯t enough to activate the pride fragment. This on the contrary made Simon wonder what the bottom line was to trigger the fragment.
Although Simon wasn¡¯t affected by that remark, the same couldn¡¯t be said for Cecilia. Anger shed deep within her eyes when her big brother who had lent her a helping hand during her most desperate times and had been so nice to her and her nsmen, was looked down upon by someone they had just met.
Chapter 146: Manifest
Chapter 146: Manifest
Anger shed deep within her eyes when her big brother who had lent her a helping hand during her most desperate times and had been so nice to her and her nsmen, was looked down upon by someone they had just met.
How could she just take it lying down? Stomping her foot, she pointed at Balsa and angrily dered ¡°Don¡¯t look down on my big brother. He is tens¡ no hundreds of times more stronger than any of you. I don¡¯t need you all to protect me¡ just my big brother is enough¡±.
Her angry face wouldn¡¯t even be able to scare off a mosquito. It doesn¡¯t matter if she was a Forest Spring Royal Spirit, in the end, she was just a five years old girl.
A child was always honest and upfront with their emotions, the same goes for Cecilia.
Simon who was beside her couldn¡¯t help but force out an awkwardugh. Although the painful truth was the current him was no match for that Balsa and in a frontal fight he would be squashed like an ant, he still felt happy that Cecilia had such strong faith in him.
However, spouting all that didn¡¯t mean that it would help in this situation and Simon was correct. Instead of making the situation any better, those words from her made the situation even worse.
Balsa the ancient treant after hearing Cecilia burst intoughter which echoed all across the floor. ¡°Young Lady you shouldn¡¯t be so impatient as to reject our protection. Since our king has ordered us to protect you lot, then we shall protect you no matter if you like it or not. As for the demon over there, I cannot be bothered by it any further. If he wants to live, he will return back otherwise don¡¯t me me for bullying the weak¡±.
He was after all a loyal guard serving under the Ancient Titan Treant, there was no way he put the words of a child to heart, much less confront with a demon he had deemed to be as weak as an ant.
¡°Uhhhnnn¡± Cecilia stared hatefully at the Ancient Treant as she ground her teeth. She had been truly and utterly angered by this treant.
Simon who was quietly listening by the sidelines was also having a difficult time. His objective foring here was to meet with the Forest Spring Spirits that have survived and if possible convince them toe to his dungeon.
If he couldn¡¯t even enter, this trip of theirs would end up as waste. Not to mention he would have to change his future ns based on whether he could enter or not.
If possible, Simon really wanted to enter; but at the same time, he didn¡¯t want to make enemies with these incredibly powerful Ancient Treants. Unlike the Elder Treants who were ssified as simple monsters, the Ancient Treants were highly sentient and were capable of human thoughts.
Not only that but these treants had protected and sheltered the weak forest spring spirits that have escaped from the clutches of the adventurers.
That act alone was enough to tell Simon that they weren¡¯t an awful bunch who suppressed the weak. He wanted to befriend them or have a cordial rtion with them at the least.
¡°I must see my nsmen but at the same time, I cannot leave my big brother behind. Since your king is on friendly terms with our race, you must believe me. I can guarantee his nature. If you are still not willing then I will speak to that king of yours and tell him how rude you were to me¡±.
Saying that, Cecilia crossed her arms and made a cunning smile.
¡°Hnn¡ hnn¡ If you don¡¯t want to get beaten by your king then let me and my big brother pass. Or else don¡¯t me me for adding some lies when I talk to himter on¡±.
Simon who was listening to their back and forth was shocked. It seemed that Cecilia finally had it enough and decided to outright ckmail the Ancient Treant instead.
How could the coercion of this level work on Balsa who had lived for more than two thousand years? If he fell for that wouldn¡¯t he have lived a long life for nothing?
When he heard what Cecilia said, the Ancient Treantughed out inughter once again. ¡°Hahaha, It will not be as easy as you think to meet our king youngdy. Be that as it may, even if the king decides to beat me up for this offence, I will dly take it. For there is no better reward for me other than to be graced by the presence of the king himself¡±.
It seemed that Balsa was quite the devoted servant. Even Simon got curious as to how great the ruler of the Ancient Treants was to have such a devote follower.
TREMBLE¡ TREMBLE¡
The next moment, the very ground started to shake as the humongous branches of the Ancient Treant started to creak and move. A solid pressure akin to a mountain thousands of meters big engulfed Simon and made him almost bend his knee.
Pointing his huge sharp branches at the demon following beside the Forest Spring Spirit, Balsa dered.
¡°Only the Forest Spring Spirit girl may pass. There can be no exception. Youngdy, you should think carefully. If you still insist on bringing this demon along with you, then I will have no choice but to crush him here and now¡±.
¡°Listen carefully¡ this is the territory of the Ancient Treants, demon nobles like you aren¡¯t allowed to trespass here¡±.
The pressure engulfing him was palpable and every bone in his body made slight creaking noises. It hadpletely slipped from his mind. Since the Ancient Treant named Balsa created a path for them and was friendly enough to chat, Simon totally forgot that he was still in a territory that may be hostile to him any second.
The ruler of the Ancient Treants ordered to protect the Forest Spring Spirits, it didn¡¯t count those that were along with them. Especially when they were being hunted down by humans. It was natural to not allow any intruders.
Simon was in quite a dilemma. After he heard from that forest spring spirit boy that the Ancient treants were duty-bound to protect the Forest Spring Spirit n in their need, he thought that bringing one of them along would help him get inside their territory.
However, it seems that he was being too naive. The treants appeared to be quite territorial and didn¡¯t allow the presence of species other than the Forest Spring Spirits near them.
The situation was quite difficult. On one hand he wanted to meet with Cecilia¡¯s nsmen that had survived and on the other hand, were the Ancient Treants that are protecting them. Since they didn¡¯t allow his presence, he couldn¡¯t force the issue. At the same time, he couldn¡¯t just leave Cecilia alone in the territory of the Ancient Treants.
When he took her in as his little sister, he promised to protect her. Then again, seeing how hopeful she was after she knew that some of her nsmen had survived and were inside, he couldn¡¯t just take her back with him.
This whole time, Cecilia was tightly holding onto his clothes refusing to leave his side. While Simon was lost in his thoughts, Balsa the Ancient Treant thought that the demon was adamant on refusing his offer and decided to make his move.
His old voice rang out as he said ¡°It seems you have made your decision. Then don¡¯t me me for bullying the weak. I initially left you a way out but it looks like you are determined to refuse the toast. That being so I shall bury you here myself¡±.
Ash-ck spikes started protruding out from its humongous branches and locked onto Simon. Each of these spikes were more than five meters long and glimmered with a terrifying sharpness.
A pressure so heavy that the surrounding ground cracked bore down on Simon. His knees trembled but even then, he refused to bow down.
¡°Ahhh~~¡¡± Cecilia who was tightly clinging onto his clothes was carried away by the sudden wind hundreds of meters away. The wind didn¡¯t hurt her in the slightest and just restricted her movement like a prison.
¡°No don¡¯t hurt big brother. We will go back, I don¡¯t want to meet with my nsmen anymore. So please let him go¡±.
Cecilia had a face that was masked with dread as she looked at the struggling Simon. Though she was not under the Ancient Treant¡¯s aura but looking at his expression, she could tell that her big brother was being pressured by Balsa aura.
It¡¯s true that she wanted to meet her nsmen very badly but not at the cost of her big brother¡¯s life. To her, it looked like the elder had snapped out because of her taunts and if she said sorry, everything would be alright.
However, no matter how many times she said sorry, the Ancient Treant didn¡¯t appear to loosen his pressuring aura on Simon.
¡°I cannot do as you say youngdy. Since it¡¯s our king¡¯s wish to protect every Forest Spring Spirit, I can¡¯t let you go back now that you are here. You must stay here with your nsmen under our protection¡±.
¡°From his orders, I can infer that the king holds your race very dear. Who knows when you will get killed if you stick with that demon¡ it might even make our king sad. From what I can see, that demon isn¡¯t strong enough to protect you¡± Balsa dered in a voice devoid of emotions.
Chapter 147: Manifest (2)
Chapter 147: Manifest (2)
¡°Since it¡¯s our king¡¯s wish to protect every Forest Spring Spirit, I can¡¯t let you go back now that you are here. You must stay here with your nsmen under our protection¡±.
¡°No¡ no¡¡± tears started welling in Cecilia¡¯s eyes and just when she was about to cry, Simon¡¯s voice that had an added depth of anger, rang out.
¡°Cecilia don¡¯t cry¡ nor do you have to say sorry anymore. You did nothing wrong. The situation is not as bad as you think¡±.
This treant had been continuously looking down on him from the start, he could endure that. But when the damn treant made his little sister cry, as her brother how could he take it anymore?
Simon finally snapped as anger shed within the depths of his eyes. If that piece of old tree thought that it could kill him and make his sister stay here, he was up for a rude awakening. Even if he can¡¯t kill that damn treant, unleashing his full strength he could still bring her along and escape from here.
In the first ce, their power lied in their strength and defence, they were a race blessed with tough hides and superior defence but were extremely slow and their movement was extremely restricted.
shing a fearless smile towards Cecilia, he stated ¡°If I don¡¯t want to stay here, no one will be able to stop me¡±.
Cecilia stopped her tears from welling and nodded; however, she still didn¡¯t look convinced.
¡°Hoho¡ no one will be able to stop you? You have quite a big mouth for a demon. Very well then let me experience how you will escape today from my grasp¡± the old voice of Balsa was full of conceit and mockery.
BOOM¡
The surrounding air visibly shook, the invisible pressure boring down on Simon intensified and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the ground for a few meters around him.
Simon just shed a mocking smile in return. ¡® Want to restrain me with just your aura? Fat chance¡¯. Activating the skills [Super Strength], [Super Endurace], [Body Enhancement] he resisted the pressure without backing down.
The moment he activated all those skills at once, the pressure on him suddenly felt a lot less restraining.
¡°Hohh, it seems like you are somewhat able to resist the pressure from my aura. Is it because you are a demon noble? However, it is still not enough to escape from here¡± Balsa said.
The hundreds of spikes on his branches emitted a shallow green light before swiftly shooting towards Simon.
¡°Haaaaaaaaahhh¡± when Simon perceived the danger, he gave a demonic yell and was just about to activate his trump card [Ancestral Symbol Ignition], when an emerald green light started radiating out of Cecilia.
The green light was so piercing that it instantly covered a few miles in an instant and spread towards the other part of the forest. The spikes that were shooting towards him, was engulfed by that green light and silently faded away.
Looking at this scene, Simon was shocked, Balsa was the same.
After seeing that his attack had been easily dissipated by the emerald green light, he couldn¡¯t help being stunned. However, the fact that astonished him was when the emerald green light brushed through him, he suddenly had this indescribable desire to bend and worship.
¡®How can that be? In all my life I have only bent myself to servitude only before the king. How can I have such thoughts?¡¯ his mind ran rampant as Balsa had a hard time believing what he saw.
Cecilia when she saw the Ancient Treant attacking her big brother, she became anxious. Although she had confidence that Simon won¡¯t lose, she didn¡¯t want to see him get hurt.
To make matters even worse, the Ancient Treant decided to make her stay here under the protection of the Ancient Treants which finally made Simon snap. The situation escted so fast that even before she could do anything, both the parties were ready to fight.
When she saw Balsa create thousands of spikes out of his branches she finally became desperate. Though she wasn¡¯t abatant, she could still clearly feel the terrifying amount of natural energy that each of the spikes contained within.
She was helpless, she could only stand on the sidelines and watch her big brother fight alone. Cecilia didn¡¯t want that and so she prayed. Her calls were so strong that the mysterious speckles of light surrounding her, immediately answered her call.
The power sleeping deep within her, like an awakened beast, erupted with a vast ocean like power as an emerald green light erupted out of her and quickly spread towards the surroundingnds.
The moment the emerald green light shined, the forest became vibrant, all the surrounding treants bowed in reverence as if in the presence of a deity.
It wasn¡¯t like the treants wanted to bow before Cecilia but because the natural energy with the emerald green light was so pure that they subconsciously followed their instincts. That vast power felt like an ocean grand and endless when it swept through them.
It was as if they were in presence of a being that was in apletely different realm than them and in front of it they felt just like an ant. It wasn¡¯t just the ordinary treants. Even the Ancient Treants that were dozens of miles away, felt a simr presence and a feeling of devotion rose within their heart.
Not to mention Balsa who was right in front of Cecilia who experienced that same power extremely clearly.
Whoosh¡ the gale magic which was restricting her, swiftly dissipated and Cecilianded on the ground stunned by the sudden change in the situation.
¡°Eh? What going on?¡± opening her eyes, she looked around her surroundings and saw that everything was still. However, she didn¡¯t delve much into it and hurriedly ran towards Simon. As long as her big brother was fine, she didn¡¯t have to worry about anything.
As she approached Simon she saw that even he had a look of astonishment as he stared at her. Blinking her crystal green eyes, she examined Simon and asked in concern.
¡°Big brother are you alright? Are you hurt somewhere?¡±.
It took a huge effort for Simon to snap out of his daze as he awkwardly looked at the stupefied treants.
Balsa the Ancient Treant pointed at Cecilia with his whole body shuddering and asked ¡°Youngdy, what was that power right now? What did you just do?¡±.
The power that came out of her was clearly unusual. To make an Ancient Treant like himself instinctively revere someone, even his king; the Ancient Titan Treant couldn¡¯t do it. However, no matter how he probed her now, he didn¡¯t feel the slightest presence of that majestic energy on her again.
What was going on? Just as he was lost in his thoughts, the earth shook once again, but this time the whole Ancient treant territory that spanned for hundreds of miles trembled.
The thick roots like a densework that interconnected with the ground below lit up with a green light. A heavy Ancient voice that seemed to havee from aeons ago, along with a gentle gust of wind reverberated across the whole territory.
¡°Balsa¡ let those two pass. I wish to meet with the exalted one that had released such pure natural energy. Hahaha, this ancient one will be awaiting your presence. Nobody is to make things difficult for them. They have my permission toe and go as they please within my territory¡±.
Right after saying that, the trembling of the earth and the green light that interconnected the roots inside the earth, disappeared along with the voice.
The ancient Treant named Balsa who heard the voice immediately restrained his aura and bowed its humongous body respectfully. Nheless, he was inwardly quite shocked. Even the ruler of Ancient Treants had addressed the youngdy as an exalted personage and showed her such favour.
Balsa didn¡¯t dare to disobey amand from his king. His gaze fell on Cecilia and he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what was the identity of the youngdy? Surely she wasn¡¯t some ordinary Forest Spring Spirit. Though he was curious, he knew better than to inquire.
Simon and Cecilia were also amazed by that ancient voice that came from the depth of the forest. A voice that had such prestige and power to make these treants submit surely had to be above even those Ancient Treants.
Simon guessed that the voice came from the ruler of the Ancient Treants himself. Since the ruler of the ancient treants interfered, he didn¡¯t have to worry anymore about these treants going hostile against him.
Now he can meet with the Forest Spring Spirits along with Cecilia without any trouble. Simon looked at Cecilia who was tightly clenching his clothes and couldn¡¯t help but pat her head lovingly.
¡°It looks like your powers had saved me back there¡ thank you Cecilia¡±.
Cecilia was confused by his words and blinked ¡°Eh? I saved big brother? But I was helpless and couldn¡¯t do anything other than pray¡±.
Simon stared at Cecilia crystal green eyes and nodded his head. It seems he was right. Cecilia power was starting to manifest though very inconspicuously that even she didn¡¯t feel it.
Simon didn¡¯t want her to rush with the process so he didn¡¯t tell her anything. As time passes, she would be aware of the power hidden deep within her body and know about her existence in more detail.
He didn¡¯t know whether the awakening of her powers would change Cecilia but he hoped that she would still remain the same.
Chapter 148: Forest Spring Spirits
Chapter 148: Forest Spring Spirits
¡°You two have the permission from my king to pass¡± after saying that, Balsa became motionless and did not dare block their path for the second time.
A path was cleared out by the surrounding treants and led to the depths of the Ancient Treant territory where the nsmen of Cecilia were currently taking refugee. Additionally, it was also the deepest ce of the Ancient Treants territory where the Ancient Titan Treant resided.
¡°Hmph, you shouldn¡¯t have obstructed us in the first ce. See how I tell your king about all your bad conduct¡± Cec pointed at Balsa and released all her frustration. She was truly annoyed by the treant who not only slighter her big brother, but also tried to harm.
Unlike before, the ancient treant didn¡¯t dare to retort and just stood there silently enduring all her verbal abuse. Right after releasing all her frustration, Cecilia hurried Simon as they trod on the path that was opened for them.
Nobody dared to obstruct them and before long, the thick foliage of the forest ended and the brilliant light of the night sky came into view.
The three moons hung in the sky, brightening the ce with their beautiful moonlight. Gigantic roots like aplex web protruded from the ground as far as the eye could see.
Arge clearance with a small settlement made out of bamboo that looked like there were recently made came into view in the distance. There was no doubt, this was the ce where the surviving members of the Forest Spring Spirits were living.
However, what stole Simon¡¯s sight was not the vige of the forest spring spirits but the titanic tree that towered everything around it.
If the Ancient Treants were humongous with more than five hundred meters in height, then the tree in front of them dwarfed even them and was absolutely a towering presence in and itself.
The tree at the centre was more than three times taller than the likes of Balsa and its trunk was so wide that it cast a huge shadow across the forest for miles. The enormous roots that spread for dozens of miles or maybe across the entire Ancient Treants territory was from this titanic tree.
However, what felt odd was that the tree was starting to dry out and die. It had very few branchespared to the other ancient treants and most of its leaves had fallen out. A deste aura seemed to radiate out of the tree.
This was the Ancient Titan Treant, the being which was able to make the likes of Balsa subservient to it? Though Simon had his doubts, there was nothing more striking than the tree near the surrounding.
¡°Big brother let¡¯s hurry¡ I can feel the presence of my nsmen there¡± Cecilia was so excited to find her people that she wanted to sprint there right now.
¡°Yeah¡± nodding his head, Simon hurried along.
The new settlemt of the Forest Spring Spirit was made from bamboo just like in their previous vige. What was different was that there were very few houses and the atmosphere inside the ce was quite solemn and gloomy.
The surviving Forest Spring Spirits no longer had their previous cheerful nature and their eyes were nk and aggrieved. Their race had suffered a huge cmity and lost many of their loved ones. They were distraught and didn¡¯t even know if there was anyone else who had survived from their n. Although they were now under the protection of the Ancient Treants, they had already suffered a loss so great that it was difficult to fill.
The current lifestyle of the Forest Spring Spirits was devoid of any life and couldn¡¯t be said as living anymore.
Simon furrowed his brows and looked at the lustreless eyes of the remaining Forest Spring Spirits. Although one of his goals of searching for the adult forest spring spirits was achieved, he didn¡¯t know whether they would be able to educate the children as they are now. To him, they appeared just like dolls who had their strings cut.
Cecilia who saw her nsmen in this condition, couldn¡¯t stop the tears from pouring down her eyes. She ran towards the settlement while shouting ¡°Uncle Agave, Aunt Daphne, Sister Aralia, Grandpa Fennel¡ everyone are you alright?¡±
Everyone who heard their names being suddenly called, turned their heads around from their seats and gazed towards the outskirts where the voice came from. Their lustreless eyes started to shine a little when the figure of Cecilia came into their vision.
¡°C-Cecilia is that you?¡± a middle-aged prettydy whose face held a bit of resemnce to Cecilia ran towards her and hugged her tightly into her bosom.
When Cecilia felt the warmth that was being transmitted to her, she cried like a broken damn. Tears stained her clothes but the prettydy didn¡¯t mind it and instead hugged her even tighter.
¡°Cecilia I¡¯m so d you survived¡ I¡¯m so d¡ so d¡± tears glimmered in her eyes as she held the figure of Cecilia close to her.
¡°Where were you? Are you hurt? It must have been difficult to survive all alone in this dark forest¡± the prettydy examined Cecilia, her voice full of worry and concern. ¡°Un-uh I¡¯m not hurt aunt Daphne¡± after hearing Cecilia, thedy named Daphne finally sighed relief.
It was also at this moment when the others also caught up to them as they bombarded her with questions. Their voice was full of worry and concern like Daphne.
¡°Cecilia so you had survived! I cannot thank heavens enough for this¡± An old man that seemed to be the eldest among here observed Cecilia, his aged eyes glimmered with relief. He was the one Cecilia called out as grandpa Fennel and was the only elder amongst the Forest Spring Spirits that managed to survive.
¡°Good¡ good it¡¯s good that you are back¡± He patted Cecilia¡¯s head and gave her a reassuring smile.
Gazing at the stars in the night sky, grandpa Fennel muttered ¡°Patraich your soul can finally rest in peace now. Your beloved daughter has returned back to us. All of you who have died protecting these young ones, you can now peacefully continue your future journey. Our n still has hope¡±.
Aunt Daphne propped herself back before saying with a smile ¡°You must be hungry? Have you eaten anything? Come insde aunt will make you a delicious meal and we can talkter¡ Eh?¡±.
Her voice jolted the other as they hurriedly looked towards the direction where Daphne was staring. It was at this moment that they realised that there was someone else who was following behind Cecilia.
Looking at his appearance and his striking features, many of them were frightened solid. Unable to make any noise.
The person following Cecilia had eyes so crimson that they were piercing in the darkness of the night. Pale white skin, a devilishly handsome face and a pair of tattoos that looked like some ancient runes shining with a golden ck radiance on his body.
His appearance was already conspicuous but the most striking part was the two jagged horns on his head. There was no doubt, the man was a demon noble through and through.
As soon as the forest spring spirits saw the demon, they became stunned before hurriedly raising their guard. To them, it didn¡¯t matter if it was a demon or a human. After suffering a tragedy where most of their nsmen were dead, these Forest Spring Spirit were guarded againts all the other species.
It was natural that they would look at Simon with unfriendly eyes. Nheless, Simon didn¡¯t mind it at all and on the contrary, approved of their behaviour. If only they were as guarded before, a tragedy like that wouldn¡¯t have happened.
Cecilia who saw her nsmen suddenly bing unfriendly towards Simon hurriedly tried to stop them. ¡°Everyone please rest assured big brother isn¡¯t someone who will hurt us¡± she exined.
¡°Big brother? Cecilia, what do you mean?¡± Fennel who was the only elder amongst them stepped out and ask.
Seeing that her nsmen were curious as to why she was calling him big brother, she exined further ¡°It is like this¡¡±.
Cecilia told them everything about what happened after they left the vige, how her father the patriarch sent her away using his skills and how she came to meet with Simon.
She excitedly told about the part where they grandly stormed into their vige and saved her friends who were enved from the clutches of those evil adventurers.
¡°And you know with a bang, big brother instantly defeated those viins¡¡± the vigers silently listened to her soliloquy, sometimes making a stunned expression, sometimes a trace of gratitude shed in their eyes.
After she finished her childish exnation, all the vigers were looking at Simon in a different light. They had never imagined that Cecilia had gone through a lot in such a short time. Not to mention the demon who had treated and sheltered her even while knowing that she was being targeted.
His actions to save the children enved back in their vige had won their hearts. The favour he had shown to them, couldn¡¯t be exined with just words. It didn¡¯t matter the person in front of them was a demon, it was exactly this person who had helped them in their most desperate of times.
The Forest Spring Spirits wanted to express their gratitude some more as they surrounded Simon. At this time, grandpa Fennel stepped forward and said ¡°Why are you all still not inviting the benefactor inside? Is this how our Forest Spring Spirit n shows their thanks?¡±.
Chapter 149: Forest Spring Spirits (2)
Chapter 149: Forest Spring Spirits (2)
The Forest Spring Spirits wanted to express their gratitude some more as they surrounded Simon. At this time, grandpa Fennel stepped forward and said ¡°Why are you all still not inviting the benefactor inside? Is this how our Forest Spring Spirit n shows their thanks?¡±.
His voice woke up the crowding vigers as they hurriedly tried to invite him inside. Simon was helpless as he was pulled inside by these many people and had no choice but to tag along.
Forest Spring Spirits were a peaceful race by nature and were never hostile to any beings. They harvested the gifts of nature and lived a life of seclusion. Showing favour to this race in their time of need was akin to earning their eternal gratitude and friendship.
Cecilia smiled as she saw how friendly her nsmen were being to her big brother.
Grandpa Fennel who was beside her nodded his head and said ¡°The heavens were watching you to have ordained your meeting with a person like him. You were truly lucky. Since he has taken you as his little sister, he must really care for you to protect you to this extent¡±.
Looking at Cecilia who was intently listening, he lovingly patted her head and said ¡°You have taken a wonderful person as your big brother. Make sure you take care of him¡±.
¡°Grandpa doesn¡¯t have to worry I¡¯ll take good care of him. Besides big brother has a beautiful wife who worries about him so much hehe¡± Cecilia enthusiastically nodded.
Fennel agreed, it was natural for a man of that calibre to have a loving wife. He smiled and said ¡°Let¡¯s go in, we have much more to catch up with¡±.
Inside one of the bamboo house, Simon was crowded by the Forest Spring Spirit people as he was showered by their gratitude and appreciation for him. Since they wanted to hear it from his mouth, he recounted how he saved those children who were enved by those adventurers back in their vige and sheltered them in his dungeon.
These children that he had saved were thest hope of the Forest Spring Spirits and some of them might even be their own child or rtive.
Simon was finally epted as someone who they can put their trust on. As he was chatting with them, he suddenly recalled the peculiar ring that he confiscated from Laris. The ring had a function simr to his inventory and was able to store things.
The ring that he was talking about was the exact ring that Laris had used to store the spirit orbs that he plundered from them. Though it was valuable for others, it held no meaning for Simon.
These spirit orbs rightfully belonged to the people from the Forest Spring Spirit n. It was thest remains of their people for which their whole n was hunted down.
Simon nned to give it back to them. He looked towards the elder named Fennel and passed the ring containing the spirit orbs to him.
¡°This is¡?¡± Fennel was confused.
¡°This is the ring I confiscated from the man responsible for the crusade in your vige. It stores the spirit orbs of your people that they plundered. Elder, I return it back to you¡± Simon said with sincerity.
All the Forest Spring Spirits that were inside the house were stunned. They were well aware of how much allure their spirit orbs was to the other races. It was because of the existence of this very orb that others considered as treasures, their vige was mercilessly subjugated. As they recalled those scenes from back then, the mood in the house became sombre once again.
The spirit orb was the core of the Forest Spring Spirit race that contains the essence of the nature. To others whether man or beast, a spirit orb is a precious treasure that can improve their bloodline and allow them to reach a whole new level.
During the ancient times, their race was quite thriving and they didn¡¯t live a life of seclusion like today. However, all of that changed when the other races came to know about the existence of the spirit orbs within them.
They were cruelly killed and subdued for their spirit orbs. For the Forest Spring Spirit race, it was a dark history.
It was only after a long never-ending nightmare, that during the second Apex War, the Dragon Lords decided to bind the people of this world with a treaty that punished anyone who hunted races such as the Forest Spring Spirits.
These people had only seen others taking the spirit orbs away, not the other way round. So when Simon returned back the spirit orbs of their people that were plundered from them, how would they not be shocked?
For a while, they even believed that Simon didn¡¯t know about the ability that these spirit orbs had. However, they quickly discarded that thought. Even if someone did know what benefits the spirit orbs can provide, one look and anyone could easily guess that they were not some ordinary item.
So why was Simon returning it back to them? Did he not lust over these spirit orbs? Or was he just pretending to be someone noble? The Forest Spring Spirit didn¡¯t have an answer.
Fennel who was passed the ring containing the spirit orbs that the adventurers plundered from their people, stared directly at Simon¡¯s eyes. It was as if he wanted to see through Simon, his thought process and whether he had any ulterior motives behind it.
But no matter how he looked, Simon¡¯s eyes seemed to be sincere and without mirth or deceit.
Could it be that the spirit orbs was meaningless to him? Grandpa Fennel looked at Cecilia who was currently beaming from the righteous action of her big brother. He couldn¡¯t help but shake his head. ¡®It seems that after that tragedy, I have be quite paranoid. So there are still virtuous people like him out there¡¯ Fennel thought as he nodded his head in approval.
¡°Sir benefactor are you truly willing to give these spirit orbs back to us? Do know how much of value these orbs are¡ they can bestow you with power and allow you to reach heights that you wouldn¡¯t even think was previously possible. Even then are you willing to return it? You should think about it one more time, I believe you are aware of the abilities that these spirit orbs can bestow you¡± Fennel said with an ambiguous expression.
All the Forest Spring Spirits inside had a dark and gloomy face. They were all aware of how much allure their spirit orbs is to others. In a world where your future limits and ability is dictated by your bloodline, having a chance to improve one¡¯s bloodline had an endless appeal to everyone.
How could the demon not know this? They all believed that Simon would stay true to his race and keep the spirit orbs back.
Cecilia, on the other hand, looked at Simon with expectation, she knew and believed in her big brother who even while knowing how special her royal spirit orbs was, rejected the thought process of plundering it from her.
However, this and that was different. Simon was now given a choice by the elder of their n to keep the spirit orbs with him or return it back as he initially wanted to.
¡°Big brother¡¡± she wanted to say something but failed toe out of her.
Simon looked at Cecilia and smiled. The forest Spring Spirit race never would have guessed that although the spirit orbs had an endless allure to others, they were meaningless to Simon. He had his [Main Menu] with him which allowed him to surpass the limitation ced on him due to the impurity of his bloodline.
As long as he was not dead and had the will to get stronger, there was no wall that he couldn¡¯t surpass in the future.
Simon wasn¡¯t angry at the provocative tone of the elder¡¯s speech nor how he was questioning his character. He knew that Fennel was trying to test and see through his character. He had no regret giving up these spirit orbs back to them and that was the truth.
Simon replied, his face earnest ¡°Elder must be joking. How can I go back on my words? These spirit orbs belong to the people of your n, I dare not hoard it. The moment I got these from the leader of those adventurers, I was nning to return them.¡±
¡°As for the ability and power contained within these spirit orbs, I am well aware. However, it is only one of the means to get stronger, there are several other ways. I, Simon have my own ways to get stronger other than by relying on these spirit orbs. Elder can rest assured, I have no desire towards them whatsoever¡±.
All the people inside the bamboo house were stunned. They never thought that the demon who Cecilia had taken as her big brother, would be so sincere. He would rather have their friendship over the chance to get the spirit orbs.
Even if Simon had chosen to keep the spirit orbs with him, they would have noints since he was the one to retrieve them back in the first ce. But his actions to return it back to them, have earned their full trust.
Aunt Daphne had tears glimmering in her eyes as she nced at Cecilia who had a prideful expression on her face. It was only now that she understood why Cecilia was so attached to this demon.
Chapter 150: Aldebaran
Chapter 150: Aldebaran
Grandpa Fennel had a face that seemed to say that he was defeated, but the smile on his face said something else. He had an appreciative look whenever he nced at Simon and couldn¡¯t help but acknowledge him genuinely.
The demon was worthy of their trust, not to mention that he was already their benefactor. Fennel could only thank the heavens for sending such a person to them.
Fennel bowed his head deeply and said his thanks to Simon. He was the only remaining elder of the Forest spring spirit n and it was his duty to show his gratitude on behalf of his n.
¡°I cannot tell you how grateful all of us are for you to lend us your help. Without you, sir benefactor our n would have no hope left alive. Please let me express my thanks¡± Fennel said as he bowed his body so deeply that it could almost touch the ground.
Simon was not used to this mannerism of others bowing to him as he tried to stop the elder. To his surprise, all the members of the forest spring spirit n were simrly deeply bowing their heads towards him.
Seeing that it was no use to stop them, he could only sigh in resignation and allow the Forest Spring Spirits to show their gratitude.
¡°Everyone please raise your heads. You are making this quite awkward for me. Since I have taken Cecilia as my little sister, it was only natural for me to save her nsmen or else she would always be a crybaby¡± Simon said with an awkwardugh.
When Cecilia heard what Simon said, she immediately stomped her foot and retorted back ¡°How rude big brother! I am not a crybaby¡±.
She pouted her lips and burned with fury. Their exchange immediately lightened the mood in the ce and even got someughs from the bystanders.
Even aunt Daphneughed when she saw Cecilia immediately throw a fit when she was called a crybaby. She was relieved that Cecilia¡¯s scar was being healded and she was still able to retain her previous personality.
Aunt Daphne couldn¡¯t bear to guess Cecilia, a five-year-old girl must have gone through after seeing everybody dear to her sacrificing themselves to save her. If it wasn¡¯t for Sir benefactor that Cecilia had found in between her escape, she would have probably even forgotten how to smile.
She was her own niece that is to say Cecilia¡¯s mother and Daphne were blood sisters. Cecilia was like her own child and she couldn¡¯t be anymore happier to see her smile and get angry just like back in that vige.
Daphne and a few others served tes of food for Cecilia and their benefactor and were relishing on the happy memories.
Simon was quite troubled as all of them wanted him to try out all of the dishes that they had prepared for him. Although he was a heavy eater, he wasn¡¯t a glutton capable enough to finish multiple tes of these foods and to make matters worse, they were still preparing some more.
It seemed that these people wanted to have a banquet. Simon had to admit that the cuisine of the Forest Spring spirits was quite delicious as everything was prepared out of trees and nts.
The vegetables and fruits were quite different from what grew on earth and to Simon looked quite strange. For example, a fruit that tasted like a banana had a shape simr to an apple but was yellow in colour.
A fruit that looked like grapes had the taste of watermelon. There were even some fruits and vegetables which he had never tasted before but was so delicious that Simon couldn¡¯t help but eat some more.
Looking at all the different types of food lining the table, he couldn¡¯t help but be reminded once again that he was on a different.
It seemed that the Forest Spring Spirits that were hiding here, were finally able to let loose some of their worries after they saw Cecilia return safely with the message that there were still some children from their n alive and in safe hands.
¡°It¡¯s quite good¡± tasting the wine that forest spring spirits had served him, Simon uttered. The wine in the ss was made out of some unknown fruit and was very much to his taste.
¡°Hahaha, Sir benefactor I¡¯m d that you like it. The wine is made out of banaro fruit and can only be grown by us Forest Spring Spirits¡± Fennel said as he sat near Simon and enjoyed the wine.
¡°The banaro fruit needs special care and conditions to grow. When they mature, the fruit that they bear contains a special effect that calms one¡¯s mind and can even restore the expended mana in a short period of time. We call it the banaro wine. We use to grow this along with many other things back in our vige. Drink up sir benefactor we have lots of it brewed out¡± like a drunkard, a reddish glow appeared on the old face of Fennel.
¡°Just Simon is fine¡± After saying that, Simon drank up all of the wine in his ss. He could feel his mind rxing and the mystical energy in his body rapidly circting through every vein and artery.
When he felt the changes taking ce within his body, Simon couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the mysterious abilities of the Forest Spring Spirits to have grown a fruit with such a wondrous ability.
He felt like if he used Amalgamation magic right now, it would be much faster than any other time. The effects could be said as shocking no less. Not to mention that it was just from one fruit, he could only wonder what other abilities the n which can harness the power of nature had.
If he could convince these people toe back with him to his dungeon, he would gain an immense help.
Suddenly Simon remembered something and asked Fennel who was seated behind.
¡°I wonder what your rtionship with the Ancient Treants are for them to protect your n to this extent?¡±.
He had already seen how protective the ruler of the Ancient Treants was towards the Forest Spring Spirit n. However, what he didn¡¯t understand was why would the treant who were a different race, protect them.
Fennel had a look of pondering as he stared at his ss of wine before replying.
¡°Sir Simon what I know are bits and pieces of what happened back during the ancient times. Thus what I know is limited. I can only tell you that the ancestor of our n and the Ancient Treants were friends even back then¡±.
¡°When we needed their help, they answered our calls. Perhaps it would be better if you asked this question to the ruler of the Ancient Treants, the Ancient Titan Treant. After all, he is one of being who had lived through the ancient times¡±.
Simon was shocked when he heard Fennnel¡¯s reply. He had guessed that the ruler of the Ancient Treants had lived for a long, but he didn¡¯t imagine that the Ancient Titan Treant was someone from the ancient times.
If he had lived through the ancient times, it was not surprising that hemanded such respect from his followers.
¡°Just like you sir Simon, he is the benefactor of our n although he always tries to deny it¡± Fennel said as he refilled his ss with wine.
¡°After our race fled from those adventurers to the Ancient Treants territory, he was the person who took all of us in and sheltered us here deep within his territory. Those humans who tried to follow us in were all killed by the ancient treants. However, by the time we reached this ce, it was already toote as most of us died on the way¡±.
Fennel¡¯s eyes had a deep look of sorrow as he recounted what happened after they ran from the vige.
¡°It¡¯s unfair that an old man like me gets to live while all those young ones sacrificed themselves and met their end to dy the adventurers¡ truly it¡¯s a pity¡± Hemented and gulped down his wine.
Simon who was listening from the side, shook his head in denial ¡°Although it is true that we are the ones who decide our value, it¡¯s not good to devalue oneself too much. After all, if all the elders from the n die, who will be the ones left to educate and pass on the knowledge to the young ones? wouldn¡¯t they be left to fend for themselves? Would you be able to rest in peace knowing that there is no one to guide those children?¡±.
Fennel had a look as if he waspletely sobered ¡°Sir Simon¡ what do you mean?¡±.
Simon pondered how to phrase his answer before replying ¡°I had some goals beforeing here. One of them was to see if there was still some elders who had survived. Someone who can impart the knowledge of the Forest Spring Spirits to those children. As for my other goals¡ I guess I would have to wait until I meet with the Ancient Titan Treant¡±.
He looked out of the window and saw the titanic tree that appeared like a pir connecting the heaven and earth.
Pausing for a second, Simon asked, ¡°What kind of a person is the ruler of the Ancient Treants?¡±. It seems like it was necessary for him to meet with the Ancient Titan Treant before he could convince these people toe with him to his dungeon.
It just so happens that the ruler of the Ancient Treant wanted to meet with Cecilia. He could use this opportunity to meet with the Ancient Titan Treant.
Chapter 151: Aldebaran (2)
Chapter 151: Aldebaran (2)
It just so happens that the ruler of the Ancient Treant wanted to meet with Cecilia. He could use this opportunity to meet with the Ancient Titan Treant. That was why Simon wanted to know what kind of person he was before meeting him.
Fennel was lost for words as he didn¡¯t expect to be suddenly asked this question. He looked towards the middle of therge clearance where a titanic tree was standing and said.
¡°From what I can tell, that person seemed to hold our race in high regards and is even willing to protect us himself. He is a wise and benevolent person. At the same time, he has lived through the ancient times and a powerful aura radiates off of him. It is truly unfathomable to measure such a being¡±.
He then shook his head and apologized ¡°Im sorry, I¡¯m not able to fully answer your question¡ but I can tell you that, he is by no means an evil person¡±.
Simon nodded ¡°Elder does not need to apologise, your exnation was plenty enough¡±. At least he had a little bit of idea with that.
¡°Is sir Simon nning to meet with that person? If so then I can arrange one. It just so happens that tomorrow is the day I was nning to go there and give my greeting to the Ancient Titan Treant¡± Fennel said while looking towards Simon.
Simon was excited when he heard that Fennel could arrange their meeting. He was deliberating over how to n his meeting with the Ancient Titan Treant, he didn¡¯t expect Fennel to solve his problem.
¡°That would be great. I was nning how to meet him but it seems that you made my work easier. You have my thanks¡± Simon thanked the elder.
Fennel hurriedly said ¡°What is sir Simon saying, if anything it is us who must be saying our thanks. Your favour to us is as big as a mountain. If you thank me then I won¡¯t be able to raise my head from guilt¡±.
¡°O-oh¡± Simon nodded, he didn¡¯t expect his causal gesture to thank Fennel would evoke such an intense reaction from him.
He watched the Forest Spring Spiritsugh and eat the meal merrily and in the centre of all of this was Cecilia who was imitating him. At this moment, she truly looked carefree and happy just like a girl of her age should.
Simon was content, this meeting would untie some of the knots in her heart. As her big brother, he wanted to see her happy and carefree just as she was now. And for that, he has to grow his dungeon and himself stronger.
The banquet continued for a long while before its participants became dead drunk and tired before going to sleep. Cecilia wanted to stay with her aunt and talk some more and Simon was left amidst the drunkards.
The next morning, the Forest Spring Spirits all woke up in a good mood and the atmosphere inside was totally different than before. They were no longer behaving like a lifeless doll and their eyes seem to contain some hope in them.
Of course, the hope came from the news that Simon had rescued the children from their n who had been caught by the adventurers and enved inside the vige.
Cecilia even told them how Simon had defeated all those bad adventurers who had hurt their n and made them cry until they remembered their mommies.
Along with Fennel and Cecilia, Simon decided to meet with the ruler of the Ancient Treants. ¡°Ehhh! Grandpa Fennel, why must we meet with that treant? I wanted to talk with the others some more¡± while on their way, Cecilia made an unhappy face andined.
¡°Silent now Cecilia, one must show respect their respect to their benefactor not to mention the territory we are currently staying in is his domain¡±.
Fennel exined. Even though the tree looked titanic from the distance, from close it looked even more so. By the time Simon and the others approached near, its shadow hadpletely covered the sky.
They had only reached halfway, but the gigantic tree had already blotted the sky. Its roots that protruded out from the ground was so thick and sturdy that it seemed to be connected with the very forest itself.
Its trunk was wide and covered in bark so ancient that it seemed nigh impossible to prate and hurt this titanic creature. All the treants that Simon had met before, had a defence so high that very few magic in his repertoire was able to hurt them.
However, all of that meant nothing in front of the Ancient Titan Treant. Its defence was superior¡ no it would be an understatement to say so. Its defence easily overshadowed even the likes of Balsa and was in a realmpletely impossible for the current Simon to even imagine.
Even if there were thousands of him releasing the full might of his magic at the tree for a whole day, he reckoned that he wouldn¡¯t be able to even scratch it. A formless pressure engulfed everyone as they approached nearer.
Although the aura was tyrannic, it was something naturally released by the Ancient Titan Treant. When they finally reached the base of the tree, Simon marvelled at the absurdity of its sheer size.
Whilst a deste aura surrounded the tree and it looked like it was dying, there was no denying the presence it emitted just by standing there. The colour of its trunk was that of the coal, and most of the leaves in its branches had fallen into the ground.
Its bottom half was covered with a thickyer of moss that shined with an emerald green light. Its appearance spoke of how ancient it was and the vicissitude of life the treant had gone through.
Cecilia made a wide ¡®O¡¯ with her mouth wide open as she looked at the titanic size of the tree. She pointed at the Ancient Titan Treant and said.
¡°Waaahhh, it¡¯s so huge. Is he the ruler of the Ancient Treants? He is much much bigger than that elder we met yesterday¡±.
Grandpa Fennel panicked when he heard that and hurriedly disciplined ¡°Don¡¯t be rude Cecilia. He is the person we Forest Spring Spirit owe our life to. Disrespecting him is equal to bringing shame to our race. Be quiet now, don¡¯t run your mouth wildly¡±.
Though his voice was stern, his eyes were still tender when they looked at her. At this moment, the ground started to tremble as if a huge earthquake was urring. A vast ancient aura started to descend before the branches and twigs of the treant started to coil together, taking a humanoid shape.
The humanoid that was born from the titanic tree was more than five meters tall and coal-ck in colour. A greenish light ran through its body just like veins and pulsed with natural energy.
Pair of eyes as deep as the ocean looked at the people that arrived before him. With a deep ancient voice, the humanoid figureughed.
¡°Hahaha, Fennel here is too stuck with the worldly matters. Youngdy you don¡¯t have to keep quiet, I will not take any offence¡±.
He gave a friendly smile and looked towards the other visitor ¡°You must be the demon who had taken care of her. I am aware of the matters that happened yesterday. Young man, I must admit even I was shocked when you chose to return those spirit orbs. Truly¡ a decent character¡±.
Simon was not amazed that the Ancient Titan Treant knew the events that had urred yesterday; after all, the new settlement of the Forest Spring Spirits was right near it.
Fennel stepped forward bowed his head before saying ¡°He is the benefactor of my n and not only did he save Cecilia, he also rescued the children¡¡±.
¡°I am well aware of the things that have urred inside the Ghastly Winding Forest¡± Right after saying that, he looked towards Cecilia and Simon before dering.
¡°I am the ruler of the Ancient Treants, Aldebaran the Ancient. You can me Alder. There is nothing in this entire forest that I can¡¯t sense through my roots. Haha, I have awaited your presence for a long time, youngdy¡±.
He had a reminiscing look whenever he nced at Cecilia.
Cecilia on the other hand tilted her head in confusion and asked ¡°Me? Why did Lord Alder want to meet with me?¡±.
This should be their first meeting so why was this Ancient Titan Treant spoke as if he was already familiar with her.
Aldebaranughed once again before replying ¡°I sensed your presence the moment you were born and from that time I was anticipating our meeting. Youngdy, you are special even amongst the people from your n. Don¡¯t you want to know more about your dormant abilities and your origin?¡±.
Aldebaran had lived since the ancient times and knew the answer to the mysteries that was shrouding the world.
¡°My origins?¡± Cecilia had a look that said that she was very confused, she was born and lived her entire life indie the Forest Spring Spirit vige what else was there about her origin?
Nevertheless, she wanted to know about her dormant powers. If she could harness those powers, she would be much more helpful to her big brother and her nsmen.
She excited nodded her head and said ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what lord Alder means by my origin, it is true that I want to know more about my abilities and master them as soon as possible so that I can help my big brother¡±.
Chapter 152: Origins
Chapter 152: Origins
Aldebaran was not surprised, he gave an understanding nod and smiled.
¡°A noble conviction. In that case, this ancient one may be able to help you understand more about your abilities. However, to understand your abilities you have to first know more about yourself and your origin¡±.
Simon who was listening from the sides, couldn¡¯t help but furrow his brows at those words. ¡®Wasn¡¯t Cecilia born in the vige of the Forest Spring Spirits? What does he mean by her origin?¡¯. Does the Ancient Titan Treant know something about Cecilia that even her parents and n did not?
Fennel who had simr thoughts running in his mind asked for rity ¡°Lord Alder, Cecilia is from our n and the daughter of our patriarch. From the moment she was born, she was living inside the vige and had never stepped out. All along, she was living with us. Although she was born with features that differentiated her from the average people of our n, she is a member of our Forest Spring Spirit n through and through¡±.
¡°Hahaha, you have misunderstood Fennel. I¡¯m not saying that she is not a member of your n. I¡¯m simply telling her of her origins before being born in your n. Her current self is indeed the daughter of your patriarch and a member of the Forest Spring Spirits.
¡°But do you really think it is so easy for a Forest Spring Royal Spirit to be born in your n? A Forest Spring Royal Spirit is born from the purest essence of the nature and the wishes of the world. An existence that is considered extremely rare and sacred.¡± Aldebaran exined.
Simon narrowed his eyes, he was now sure of his conjecture. Aldebaran definitely knew more about Cecilia than even her parents and her nsmen.
Fennel was speechless, although he was a little sceptic, he didn¡¯t dare to question the Ancient Titan Treant, an existence that lived since the ancient times. There was no reason for an existence like him to lie to them. Not to mention he was also their benefactor who had sheltered them saved them from their cmity.
Aldebaran looked into the starry sky and sighed. Memories from back then shed in his eyes as he decided to drop a bombshell.
¡°She is the reincarnation of one of the Eight Emissaries that used to once serve the Primordial Demon of Pride, Lord Samael¡±.
Those words struck like thunder to all those who were listening. Who was the primordial demon of pride? He was one of the demons that lived during the ancient times and a pinnacle powerhouse of this world. One could imagine what kind of storms those words brewed inside the hearts of the three listeners.
Simon widened his eyes to their limit in surprise, but what made him more shocked was the statement that Cecilia was one of the Eight Emmisaries that used to serve the primordial demon of pride at that time.
It wasn¡¯t only him, even Cecilia herself was stunned. She was the reincarnation of someone? Then why didn¡¯t she have any memories of that then? Thoughts such as that ran through her head as she tilted her head and frowned intensely. Her pondering face was extremely adorable.
Aldebaran saw the confusion in everyone¡¯s face and said ¡°It is natural for all of you to be sceptic about it. Nheless, it is the truth. I cannot be any more certain about it; after all, I Aldebaran was her loyal servant serving the same master at that time¡±.
He dropped another bomb casually and every listener was stupefied by it. What did his words mean? He just confirmed that he too was one of the subordinates of the primordial demon of pride and a loyal servant of Cecilia of that time.
¡°During the ancient times, that is approximately more than 13,000 years ago, the Forest Spring Spirit race was freely hunted by the other races all over the world. Needless to say, it was because of their spirit orb that had endless allure to those looking to strengthen themselves and purify their bloodline¡±.
¡°It was a dark age for them but that was until lord Samael decided to save and bring them under his wing. His powers were so great that every inhabitant of this world had to recognise and fear. He became the protective umbre for the Forest Spring Spirit and many other endangered ns.¡± his voice had an unconcealed pride whenever he talked about Samael.
¡°I was just an ordinary treant at that time, weak and insentient, unworthy of even catching a glimpse of our lord. However, it all changed when lord Samael summoned her¡± Aldebaran pointed at Cecilia who was curiously listening to him recounting the events from back then.
He narrated ¡°After she was summoned she quickly became one of the pirs supporting our lord. Though she had nobat potential, her abilities in itself were heaven-defying. Her radiance at that time was truly brilliant.
¡°Under her care, many of the races that were deeply connected to the natural energy started breaking through the constraints ced on them by the world because of their impure bloodline. I was fortunate enough to be one of them. Your Forest Spring Spirit race and our treant race were some of the few who served her at that time. It was also during that time that our race and yours became friends. Since your race was crucial to the sustenance of the dungeon but had nobat capabilities, she made us Ancient Treants your guardians with the duty to protect you with our lives. Although none of them are alive now, as long as I am alive, I will never let this bond that she had created be broken¡±.
Simon contemted as his gaze swept towards Cecilia. Deep astonishment and shock could be seen shing in his eyes. He finally understood why Irene was so shocked and protective towards Cecilia when she saw her for the first time.
Her abilities were already so shocking nheless, it was just the tip of the iceberg. No wonder her awakened abilities at that time were able to raise someone on the level of Aldebaran from just an ordinary treant.
The Ancient Titan Treant in front of him was so powerful that everything that the Analysis told about him was shrouded in question marks. Simon was not even able to catch a glimpse of his power with Analysis.
That alone told him that the difference in their level was too vast for the Analysis to even work.
At this moment, Cecilia raised her hand and asked a question ¡°Are you saying that I was alive 13,000 years ago? Then why don¡¯t I have any memories or recollection of any of that ever happening?¡±.
Aldebaran couldn¡¯t help butugh at her cute actions before replying ¡°It is natural that you have no recollection of it. Your memories have been locked along with your powers and because of that you cant harness your abilities¡±.
¡°But it is not like your powers are permanently gone, as long as your abilities start unlocking, so will your memories¡±.
Cecilia¡¯s power was already starting to manifest and if what Aldebaran said was true, then it wouldn¡¯t be long before she would be able to recall her memories.
Simon was conflicted, he didn¡¯t want the current personality of Cecilia to change and at the same time, he couldn¡¯t just deny her of her growth. He could only hope that even after recalling her past memories, Cecilia would still remain the same little girl that he was used to.
There were still many questions about the story of Aldebaran that made Simon sceptical like¡ if the primordial demon of pride was so powerful then how did he die? What happened to the other Seven Emmisaries and how did Cecilia reincarnate to the current timeline? there were many questions; however, it seemed that Aldebaran didn¡¯t want to reveal much information in that regard.
Simon did have one of his doubts concerning the rtionship between the Ancient Treants and Forest Spring Sprit race cleared. He had spected many ideas about their connection but who would have guessed that they were allies who served under the same master during the ancient times. The Ancient Treants were the guardians of the ancestors of the Forest Spring Spirits.
Cecilia who had a frown stitched to her face all this time, seemed unconvinced and voiced out ¡°I¡¯m me, I don¡¯t know who Lord Alder is talking about but I¡¯m Cecilia now. the daughter of the patriarch of the Forest Spring Spirit n¡±.
Aldebaran helplessly shook his head and chose not to argue with her ¡°Whether or not it is truth, you will have your answers with time. Regardless, you can just call me Alder. You need not address this servant of yours with lord¡±.
After beholding the figure of Cecilia, his eyes became mncholic and he muttered in a voice that only he could hear ¡°Back then lord Samael self-destructed the existential core of the fragment of pride to cast the Space-Time magic on the Eight of them before disappearing forever from this world¡±.
¡°During the ancient times, lord Samael had the highest assimtion rate with the fragment of pridepared to any other demon lords and their fragments. The other fragments have chosen different owners over this period time. But the fragment of pride was the only one which had disappeared along with sir Samael never to appear in this world again¡±.
Simon and others could not hear what he was muttering but they knew that if it was something that they should hear, he would have told them and if it¡¯s not, then Aldebaran wouldn¡¯t tell them even if they asked.
Chapter 153: Proving Ones Ability
Chapter 153: Proving One¡¯s Ability
Aldebaran sighed as he recalled those happy yet sad memories from the past. No matter how powerful he got, he couldn¡¯t see himself contending against those people. The least he could do was fulfil his duty of protecting the Forest Spring Spirit n
However, even that woulde to an end after a few hundred years. His body was slowly dying and an aura of destion emitted out of him. His lifespan was nearing its end and he had already reached the limits of his power.
In these thousands of years, he didn¡¯t hear any news about the Emissaries nor did he knew if they were dead or alive. However, just when he was nearing the end of his life span, Cecilia who was one of the reincarnations of the Eight, appeared before him.
He was delighted to see the mistress he had served once again and hence he had no more regrets. if there was any it would be a¡ Just when Aldebaran was lost in his thoughts, Simon stepped forward and spoke.
¡°Lord Alder, Cecilia being a reincarnation of one of the Eight Emissaries was a surprise. However, our purpose foring here is to request something from you. I wonder if lord Alder is willing to listen¡±.
Cecilia who was beside him also nodded her head after his words.
¡°Haha, what is it young man? You have done a great favour by saving her life. If there is anything you want to request of me ask it without hesitation. If it is within my power, I shall fulfil it no matter what¡±.
Aldebaran smiled as he looked at Simon. He was aware of the cmity that had befallen the Forest Spring Spirit n. However, since he couldn¡¯t move from his location, he couldn¡¯t save them in time, he could only hope for the Forest Spring Spirits to enter the area which he governed in time.
The young man in front of him protected the Forest Spring Royal Spirit in his stead. Plus his character was also to his liking. Therefore if there was a request that the young man had, he would try his best to fulfil it.
However, even he didn¡¯t imagine that Simon¡¯s request would be so oundish.
¡°Many thanks to lord Alder for his magnanimous words. In that case, I wouldn¡¯t hesitate anymore. Lord Alder may not know but I have created a dungeon inside the Ghastly Winding Forest¡± Simon said carefully phrasing his words.
¡°Ah, about that I already know. Haha, nothing stays hidden from my sight within this entire Ghastly Winding Forest. Every event and urrence that happened inside the forest, I am naturally aware of it. Your presence and dungeon is no exception¡±.
Aldebaran said as he gave a mysterious smile towards Simon. He was could connect with the roots of every tree inside the forest and see through them like it was his own body.
Naturally, the peculiar movements of a demon and the creation of a dungeon didn¡¯t go unnoticed by him. However, since Simon was just a low-rank demon, he didn¡¯t pay much attention. After all, there were six other beings of his level inside the forest that needed more of his attention.
In these past thousands of years, the humans that have wandered inside the forest were countless but those that returned alive were a handful. Those that managed to escape alive, spread the news about their existence and gave them the title, the Seven Kings.
Collectively, they were the true rulers of the Ghastly Winding Forest. It was also because the neighbouring kingdoms feared their existence, that they did not dare to intrude inside till this date.
By no means does it mean that the Seven Kings were united. Over the years, they had many territorial disputes and conflicts of interest. However, it never erupted into a full-blown war as the other kings were stalking them with the eye of a predator.
Nobody wanted their thrones to be stolen from them. Hence the seven of them formed a weird equilibrium of sorts where they kept each other in check. Although Aldebaran was one of them, he kept his neutrality and did not take action until unless his territory is intruded upon.
The next words that came out of Simon, made both Aldebaran and Fennel shocked.
¡°I see¡ so lord Alder is aware. Then that makes it easier. I want to bring the Forest Spring Spirits that are living here inside my dungeon. I am already sheltering some of the people of their race, but they are all children. They need the care and guidance of the adults to grow and know more about the abilities of their race¡±.
Simon said as he tried to exin the situation with all his sincerity.
Cecilia also added as she looked towards Fennel with expectation ¡°Grandpa Fennel you must convince others toe with us. Big Brother¡¯s dungeon is amazing, we can live there peacefully. When he bes strong in the future, nobody would be able to hurt us again¡±.
She then proudly puffed her chest and said ¡°To tell you the truth, I am already helping big brother manage his dungeon and it has already recognised me as one of its guardians¡ Hehe, how is it?¡±.
Aldebaran was shocked when he heard Simon, but he was absolutely stupefied by Cecilia¡¯s words. Did these people not hear him, or did his words just went out of their heads? He was duty-bound to protect the people from the Forest Spring Spirit race.
He was already regretting the fact that he wasn¡¯t able to protect their vige and was only able to shelter a small number of them. And Simon wanted to bring them to his dungeon, what was he thinking?
¡°Young man, you must be joking right? Even if I told you to request unhesitantly, you should show some restraints. On what basis do you think that you can keep them safe and protect them better than me? You can ask for anything else¡ treasures, artifacts, protection and even power. But your request is out of the question¡±.
Aldebaran¡¯s ancient voice had an added depth of severity. From his view, the demon in front of him had an impure bloodline whose growth was very limited. Even if he works hard and used various kinds of treasures to alleviate his limit, he would still be stuck in the ranks of Demon Earl.
The powers of a Forest Spring Royal Spirit only worked on members who were closer to the natural energy hence Simon would be unable to benefit from it as he did.
It did not extend to the member of the demon noble. Unless he goes back on his words and uses underhanded means like the spirit orbs, Demon Earl would be his limit.
A Demon Earl in the eyes of Aldebaran was nothing but an ant he could squash with just a thought. It wasn¡¯t like he was looking down on demons particrly since even the Lord he served, Samael was a demon.
But how can the weakling in front of himpare to his master, the primordial demon of pride? He was even more shocked by Cecilia¡¯s statement. Did she not understand a word he said? Even if her memories didn¡¯t awaken, she would be in far too danger if she stayed inside that newly emerged dungeon.
Although she was his master and his current achievement was all thanks to her, he couldn¡¯t go along with her selfishness to stay inside the dungeon.
After so many millennials, Aldebaran had finally found the reincarnation of his master. How can he allow her to go back into such a dangerous ce? Not when he was aware of the existence of those people.
¡®After her abilities awaken, those people woulde again. Lord Samael is no longer here, I must protect and hide her no matter what¡ even if it makes me look bad¡¯ Aldebaran thought as steeled his mind.
¡°I cannot agree with your request young man. The Forest Spring Spirit race must stay here under my supervision. If there is any other request, you can freely ask¡±.
Cecilia made an unhappy face when she heard that, pointing at Aldebaran she demanded ¡°What gives you the right to tell my n what to do?¡±.
Sticking out her tongue, she made fun of him ¡°Blululu¡ you are not our patriarch¡±.
Aldebaran unaffected by her antics, simply snorted ¡°I will not go along with your selfishness master¡±.
Fennel made a helpless smile when he saw how the two of them were acting. Simon knew that it wouldn¡¯t be easy to bring the surviving Forest Spring Spirits inside his dungeon after listening to Aldebaran¡¯s story. However, he couldn¡¯t just give up now as that would be akin to hampering the growth of the dungeon and his future ns.
Therefore, he couldn¡¯t back out. Simon insisted ¡°Lord Alder I don¡¯t have any request other than that. I am aware that from your standpoint, I seem no less than ant. But give me a few years and I¡¯ll show you that I¡¯m no weakling. I have already promised to protect them and I¡¯m willing to keep my promise till the end¡±.
Cecilia gave a lovely smile while Fennel was amazed at those wordsing from their benefactor.
Aldebaran stared at Simon¡¯s unwavering crimson eyes and felt his conviction. With an audible sigh, he shook his head.
¡°Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know what your ns are. I can see that you have lofty ambitions and it is true that you need the help of the Forest Spring Spirits to achieve it. However, young man no matter how high a goal one sets, if he doesn¡¯t have the sufficient strength to see through them, then it just bes meaningless ideals. I respect your wish to protect them but you are far too weak to promise something like that¡±.
Chapter 154: Proving Ones Ability (2)
Chapter 154: Proving One¡¯s Ability (2)
Hearing him preach, Cecilia wore an unhappy expression while Fennel had aplicated face.
Aldebaran continued ¡°Young man do you wish to see the same tragedy that had befallen them ur once again? The next time the enemies would be prepared and wouldn¡¯t be as weak as those fellows. Do you still think that you can win at that time? I know the current master has formed a deep bond with you. But you should also think about her, once her ability awakens her energy will start to spread across the whole forest and even beyond¡±.
¡°Once the world bes aware of the existence of a Forest Spring Royal Spirit living inside the Ghastly Winding forest, they would try to capture her or try to snatch her royal spirit by any means. If the Forest Spring Spirits stay here, naturally I would protect them at all cost or are you saying that you can protect them better than me?¡±.
Aldaebaran¡¯s words rang like an ancient bell that weighed heavily at the listener¡¯s heart but was unable to falter Simon¡¯s determination. Of course, he was aware of his limits that was set by his bloodline. If it was any other demon, they would have already been cowered by the towering presence of Aldebaran.
However, Simon was different, he had the [Main Menu] with him and as long as he was alive, he could reach the pinnacle of this world. His confidence couldn¡¯t be shaken by some words or enemies he had yet to meet.
Then again, he couldn¡¯t reveal the existence of [Main Menu] which was his top guarded secret to them and could only think of some other ways to convince the Ancient titan Treant.
¡°I know it might be difficult of Lord Alder to believe but given adequate time, I can break through the restraints ced on me by my impure bloodline. At that time, I will have the necessary strength to protect them. You are right, I have grand ns but that is why I need the help and support of the Forest Spring Spirit n. I hope lord Alder would understand¡±.
Aldebaran was silent as he looked at the resolute and firm eyes of Simon. He had lived a long long time and could easily see through the minds and hearts of other people, what they were thinking, what they desired¡ nothing goes unnoticed by him. He didn¡¯t know why but for some reason, the words said by Simon even made him want to believe them.
At this moment, observing Simon he was reminded of another person who was as resolute and determined as the young man before him. ¡®Their resemnce is too uncanny¡¯ Aldebaran thought inwardly.
¡°Young man, what makes you think that you can break through the restraints of your bloodline which simrly binds billions of beings of this world? If you cannot convince me, then I cannot agree to send master back to that dungeon¡± he silently stated.
Just when Cecilia was about to throw another one of her tantrums, his ancient voice sounded out once again.
¡°However, if you can convince me that you have what it takes to break the unwritten rule of this world and rise above others, I can consider it. Prove it to me that you have sufficient ability to protect them. In the case that you cannot, then forgive me for sending you away without allowing you to say your goodbyes¡±.
with a resolute voice, Aldebaran had said his piece and it seemed like he wouldn¡¯t change his mind until unless Simon proves what he said and disys his ability.
The Ancient Titan Treant was testing Simon, to see whether the young man in front of him was all talk or if he really had it in him. After all that talk, Aldebaran was curious as to where this confidence of Simon stemmed from.
Simon knew that he couldn¡¯t convince Aldebaran in any other way. That being so, his only way was to prove his ability to him. Simon nodded his head and replied.
¡°Alright, I guess it will be much faster to convince you with my ability rather than words. So how do I prove myself?¡±.
Seeing Simon readily agree, Aldebaran nodded his head in approval. If Simon showed any sign of hesitating, Aldebaran was nning to renege his words then and there. Although he did not know where the confidence of the young man wasing from, he quite like Simon¡¯s attitude.
If one did not even have a strong determination to go against the odds, then no matter how hardworking they are, they will never be able to break away from the restraints ced on them by the world. In that regard, the young man in front of him had passed splendidly.
However, that was not enough. The young man was trying to harbour the fates of the forest Spring Spirits on his shoulders. If he didn¡¯t have the necessary ability, there was no way he would allow Simon to bring them inside his dungeon.
¡°It¡¯s very simple. I shall test you myself and see whether you have what it takes to protect them¡± Aldebaran smiled deeply as he observed Simon.
On the other hand, Simon when he heard what Aldebaran said, he couldn¡¯t help but frown ¡°You don¡¯t mean that we fight right?¡±.
If that was the case, there was no point. Forget about proving his ability, he would even be able to make a scratch on the body of that Ancient Titan Treant even if he stood there all day.
After listening to Simon¡¯s worries Aldebaran couldn¡¯t help butugh.
¡°Hahaha, young man you don¡¯t have to worry. I will not fight you directly as there would be no point in doing this in the first ce. I will use my aura to suppress you. If you can move ten steps from the ce you are standing, then it¡¯s your win¡±.
Fennel was shocked, he didn¡¯t think that Aldebaran the ancient would test Simon himself. Not to mention give him a task that seemed impossible for Simon from his point of view.
Fennel did not know how strong Simon was but even if he had some ability, how can he match against Aldebaran who had lived since the ancient times. Who was Aldebaran? He was the treant who was once the subordinate of the primordial demon of pride.
Cecilia on the other hand wasn¡¯t worried at all. She was fully confident that Simon would be able to easily pass this test set by Aldebaran. Her confidence in Simon did not stem from nothing, after staying with him inside his dungeon for a while, she naturally became familiar with him.
¡®Even sister Irene said that big brother is no ordinary demon. There is no way he would lose¡¯ she thought.
Simon nodded and agreed with Aldebaran¡¯s request ¡°Very well, we shall do as you say. I just have to endure your aura and take ten steps right?¡±.
Aldebaran simply replied with a smile ¡°That¡¯s right. If you can endure my aura while taking ten steps from your original ce, it¡¯s your win. However, I won¡¯t go easy on you¡±.
Simon was aware that it won¡¯t be easy since even without being the target of the pressure, the vast aura that was naturally released from the Ancient Titan Treant and which enshrouded the area was already so strong. He didn¡¯t know what would happen if all that aura came crashing down on him.
Nheless, he wouldn¡¯t back down as this was the only chance to prove his ability to Aldebaran. Steeling his mind, Simon clenched his hands and dered ¡°Alright, when do we start?¡±.
¡°Now!¡± Aldebaran¡¯s ancient voice sounded out and immediately after, a vast ocean like aura came pressuring down on Simon.
¡°Gughh¡± the force was so great that Simon¡¯s knees immediately gave out and his entire body kissed the ground. Every muscle in his body trembled as tried to pick himself up. But the pressure bearing down on him was so great that he was barely able to lift himself up an inch.
¡°Haa¡ Haa¡¡± Sweat trickled down his face and fell to the ground. Drip¡ Drip¡
¡°What¡¯s wrong young man? Is this all you have got? I have barely used any of my aura and you are already on the ground¡± Aldebaran said in an indifferent voice.
Cecilia also had an anxious face at this time. She didn¡¯t imagine that the pressure would so great as to bring her big brother down immediately. However, her anxiousness didn¡¯tst long as she saw Simon standing up slowly.
¡°AAAaaaaaahhhhhh¡± with an envigorating shout, Simon propped himself up. His whole body trembled and his face was flushed red. The Ancient Titan Treant had barely used any of his aura on Simon but it was already enough to put a great burden on him. One could only imagine the kind of torture Simon would have to go through when Aldebaran consciously decides to use all of his aura against Simon.
The Ancient Titan Treant arched his eyebrows when he saw the young man getting back up. The aura he had released previously, was enough to make a person of Simon¡¯s level immobile. Though he was a tiny bit surprised, that was all about it.
¡°Damn it¡± the pressure bearing down on him made him unable to move an inch, it took all he had just to remain standing. He had to take a step or else there would be no meaning.
Clenching his teeth, Simon circted his mana all across his body before forcefully taking a step forward.
BANG¡ the ground immediately shattered from the weight as spiderweb-like cracks spread in a few meters area around him. The FIRST STEP.
Chapter 155: The Onerous Ten Steps
Chapter 155: The Onerous Ten Steps
As soon as he took the first step, he found his body immobilized once again. His knees trembled like a newborn fawn but Simon endured it all while gritting his teeth.
Just as he was about to lift his other foot to take the second step, the aura bearing down on him doubled and his knees immediately gave up. BANG¡ the ground cracked even more and Simon copsed face-first onto the ground.
However, just as his face was about to smack the ground, he supported himself with his hands. He was back to the same position once again after only just one step, there were still nine more steps remaining.
Simon could see the anxious face of Cecilia as she tightly clenched her hands and observed Simon.
¡®The test had only just begun and I¡¯m already grovelling on the floor. Pathetic! What would she be thinking seeing her brother in this state?¡¯ various thoughts ran inside his head as he tried his best to get back up.
Simon punched the ground with a great force and stood back up from its recoil. ¡°Haa¡ haa¡ haa¡± his breathing was ragged and every muscle in his body spasmed. Looking at the ground, he was surprised to see that even after taking the full brunt of his punch, the ground he was standing on was still very much fine with just a small fist-sized dent.
¡°The ground bears the weight of my titanic body. For thousands of years, my roots have absorbed the mystical energy from the mystical veins flowing inside the ground, nourishing it in the process. As of now, the veins of the mystical energy beneath your feet is so numerous that you won¡¯t even be able to count them¡±.
¡°Bathing in the presence of an incredible amount of mystical energy for thousands of years, the soil had be extremely tough. Obviously, it would be many times harder than any ground you have trodded. Even if you cast an advanced magic here, it would only be able to disce at most a few meters ofnd¡±.
Aldebaran exined when he saw the surprised face of Simon after his punch failed to damage the ground the slightest.
¡®So that¡¯s how it was. How could he have overlooked that? The ground that they were standing on, carried the weight of the Ancient Titan Treant, an existence thousands of meters in size. How can its toughness bepared with any other ground¡¯.
Simon thought as he stared at his fist which had be numb after that punch. Just as he was contemting how to take another step forward, an idea suddenly struck him.
¡°I see, so the ground can even take the full might of an advanced magic¡hehe. Indeed I have never trodded onto a ground this tough before¡± Simon repeated as a wicked smile crept up to his face.
His crimson eyes shining with a crafty light as he pushed the mystical energy inside his body to its limits. He aligned one of his hands behind him and towards the ground before bombarding it with his magic. ¡°me Magic Mastery- [me st]¡±
Boom¡ a crimson coloured heat that erupted out of his hands, came crashing towards the ground beneath with a thundering sound. The moment the magic erupted, a crimson sh covered the area before the ground trembled ever so slightly.
However, even after taking on the full might of his magic, the ground did not seem to be affected much at all. Thend could take even the full brunt of an advanced to say nothing of intermediate tier magic which was a tier below it.
Though the moss in a few dozen meters was burned and the ground was scorched ck, but those were some minute damage. mes spread across the area and covered Simon in it.
Seeing that Simon was testing the toughness of thend even after his words, Aldebaran couldn¡¯t help but snort.
¡°Young man, I already told you. Thend here is hundred of times sturdier than any other part of the forest. Even a wide-area advanced magic wouldn¡¯t be able to deal much damage to thisnd. Forget about your intermediate tier me magic. Instead of wasting your energy by testing the authenticity of my words, you should focus your efforts on trying to take the second step¡±. His voice showed that he was a little displeased.
It was not only him but even Fennel and Cecilia were confused by Simon¡¯s action. If he had that much strength to spare, he should have used it to take the second step.
mes bathed the area asyers of smoke rose into the air. Within the smoke, a vague silhouette of a person could be seen standing. When the mes died down and the smoke settled, Simon¡¯s figure came into view. His body was still trembling and it seemed like it took all he had to just remain standing. His clothes were tattered and the area around his ankles were burned. It looked like the attack earlier did nothing but damage himself in return.
However, Aldebaran was amazed. That was because Simon had taken another step forward.
The Second Step, the young man had taken the second step and had remained standing. Just as he was about to praise Simon, he received another shock.
BOOOOM¡ A thundering noise louder and more impactful than before rang out in the surroundings as mes rampaged across for dozens of meters. Just as it was about to reach the spectating duo, Aldebaran swiftly dissipated them.
The surrounding area which was already scorched ck became a darker shade after another attack. However, he had no mind to pay attention to that and stared unblinkingly towards the ce where the attack originated from.
Right after a few seconds of taking his second step, Simon had already finished his third step. The skin around his ankles and hands was burned as blood slowly leaked out of it. The two intermediate tier attacks earlier were used right next to him and his body received most of the recoil and damage from it.
Although he had [Fire Resistance], it was only a novice tier skill. How can it defend against me magic which was an intermediate tier magic? Not to mention, the user of the magic was Simon himself and he had used all of his powers when casting that magic.
¡°Huff¡ Huff¡± every bone in his body creaked from the immense amount of pressure that was bearing down on him. Sweat drenched his clothes wet and he was out of breath. Nevertheless, there was still a content smile stered on his face and his eyes were as sharp as ever.
After he took the third step, the aura bearing down on him tripled and it felt like even taking an inch was an impossibility. It was only because he used the full might of his intermediate tier magic that he was able to take the third step.
Yes, he was not mindlessly using the magic nor was he trying to check the authenticity of Aldebaran words. On the contrary, as soon as he heard that thend was many times sturdier, he came up with this n.
Simon used the recoil from the impact of his intermediate tier magic detonating right next to him to propel himself a step forward. Though he suffered injuries in the process, it was all he could think of at this moment to endure the huge pressure that bore down on him like a mountain with every step.
Aldebaran couldn¡¯t believe it. The young man in front of him was not only determined and strong-willed, but he was also cunning enough to use the environment in his favour. He finally understood why Simon used his magic repeatedly on the ground. It was not to check whether thend was as sturdy as he imed but to use the propulsion from the magic detonating right next to him to take another step.
Although this idiosyncrasy method would hurt the user in return, Aldebaran was quite impressed by Simon.
BOOOOM¡ BOOOM¡ as he was silently observing, the young man in question had used magic once again to propel himself another step. This time, Simon had simultaneously cast two intermediate tier magic of me and Gale.
The might with which they bombarded the ground was enough to send a slight tremor across the ground. me apanied by gales rapidly spread towards the surroundings and Aldebaran had to step forward once again to contain them.
BANG¡ Simon left a deep footprint as he stepped on the ground that marked his fourth step.
Deep cuts and burnt marks spread across his arms and legs as blood continuously trickled down from them and fell on the ground. The scorched ground was turned a shade of red from his blood.
By now, veins were pulsing on his forehead and he ground his teeth so hard that the pressure on his gums forced blood to seep out from them.
Right after he took his fourth step, he was brought right onto his knees as the aura pressuring down on him increased by ten times.
¡°Huff huff¡± Simon was already out of breath and no matter how he tried to move his body, it failed to listen to him. He could feel his muscles screaming in pain, trying to tell him that this was his limit. Going any further was impossible.
Simon smiled as these thoughts ran inside his head as he silently stared at the ground.
Aldebaran didn¡¯t say anything as he quietly observed the young man. ¡°They bear such uncanny resemnce¡ sigh, he is truly extraordinary¡± Aldebaran muttered as memories from long back came surging back.
He was truly amazed once again by the determination shown by the young man. Aldebaran had designed the trial so that it was impossible for Simon toplete it.
Chapter 156: The Onerous Ten Steps (2)
Chapter 156: The Onerous Ten Steps (2)
Aldebaran had designed the trial so that it was impossible for Simon toplete it. He had no intention of sending his master back to that dungeon in the first ce. The motive behind him designing such a trial was to make Simon give up willingly after realising his limits.
After all, if one did not have strength in this world, even if they have lofty ideals, it is all meaningless. Power reigned supreme, that was the absolute truth¡ no,w.
¡°Yes in front of absolute strength, you don¡¯t even have the right to decide your own fate¡± Aldebaran¡¯s ancient voice had a tinge of sorrow as he reminisced.
¡®Master, I hope that you can forgive my insolence. One day when your memories return, you will naturally realise the intention behind my actions today. The world is vast, at that time, we detected their presence toote. Not even lord Samael was able to foresee that¡¯ he muttered as he saw how anxious and distressed Cecilia was seeing the demon struggle.
At this moment, tears were streaking down her cheeks and if not tightly held by Fennel, she would have already run towards Simon.
The ten steps was a task to make Simon aware of his own limits and how powerless he was in front of absolute power. He could try unorthodox methods like using magic to take advantage of some of the ws in the rules, but it would ultimately bring him only this far. There was no shortcut to victory.
In front of absolute strength, every trickery and deception was useless.
¡°Hehehahaha¡¡± Just when everybody was silently observing him, Simon burst out in a peal ofughter. His voice was hoarse from how much out of breath he was, but even then he continuedughing.
Fennel who was quite a distance away and protected by a barrier erected by Aldebaran, closed his eyes and softly said ¡°So this is as far as he could go¡±. Hemented and shook his head.
Fennel was quite impressed by the character of Simon not to mention, their n already owed a big debt of gratitude towards him for saving Cecilia and the other children enved back in their vige.
However, there was nothing he could do. Although he felt that it would be righteous action to go back with their benefactor and help with his dungeon, he couldn¡¯t put his surviving n members in the mouth of danger once again.
Plus their numbers had already been cut down a lot and they need a strong backer just to survive. If they lived under the protection of the Ancient Treants, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about humans finding them again and that cruel nightmare repeating itself.
Even if agreed toe with Simon to his dungeon, Aldebaran might not agree with it. Fennel was convinced after listening to the story of the Ancient Titan Treant, he was especially careful around Cecilia the daughter of their patriarch.
Aldebaran had lived for thousands of years and there was no reason for him to lie to them. And ording to him, Cecilia was the reincarnation of one of the Eight Emissaries and also his master. Until unless Simon shows sufficient strength to convince him, there was no way Aldebaran would allow Cecilia to stay in that dungeon.
Simon kept onughing for a while, his hoarse voice ringing across the surrounding.
¡°Young man, there is no shame in defeat. On the contrary, those four steps proved that you are indeed quite outstanding. I must admit, I didn¡¯t even expect you to cross the third step.¡± Aldebaran said.
Even if it was a peak level Demon Viscount hovering at the edges of the level 500 barrier, they would simrly be unable to get past the fourth step. However, the young man in front of him had not even reached the peak of his rank and even with his low level, he was able to take the fourth step under his pressurizing aura.
From his perspective, Simon had already proved his determination and strength with that fourth step. Nevertheless, it was not enough. That level of strength was not enough to protect the Forest Spring Spirits and his master.
Just when Aldebaran was about to reject Simon¡¯s request and say some consoling words so as to not destroy his future, his words got stuck in his throats. That was because when he stared at the eyes of the young man, he could see them shining with intense fervour.
Simon¡¯s eyes contained incredible willpower that refused to sumb to his fate.
Looking at those eyes, Aldebaran had to redouble his view of the young man. ¡®Is he still going to try? Is he not convinced by the limits of his powers or does he still have something up his sleeve?¡¯ he mused and silently observed the young man who was doing his best to stand up.
Simon struggled repeatedly to get up, just when he lifted himself up a little, he fell right back. Tens of times, hundreds of times whenever he musters a little bit of strength to get up, the aura bearing down on him made him fall on his knees right after.
Simon did not know how many times he had repeated this action, but by now his muscles and every part of his body was screaming in pain. Trying to tell him to stop and do them a favour.
Even his thoughts were starting to lean towards giving up ¡®That¡¯s right just give up. There is no way you canplete the ten steps if you are this exhausted after taking only four steps¡¯.
¡®Haha, you are at the end just a Demon Viscount. There is no way you can endure the aura anymore. Just give up!¡¯
¡®Give up!¡¯ Give up!¡¯ Give up!¡¯ Give up!¡¯¡ the words starting to coagte and be his inner thoughts.
¡°Yeah, I have done plenty. Now I can give up without¡¡± just when those thoughts were starting to overwhelm him, memories from his past life came flooding him. His unfulfilled wish and his untimely demise. If he gave up now, everything that he worked hard for in this life, the convictions that he had made will be all over.
The scene changed and an azure blue silhouette came into his view. The figure was alluring and had a charm that could mesmerize every being of this world.
¡®Irene? there is no way she would be here?¡¯ he was correct that was all his imagination. ¡®But why now of all times?¡¯ as his thoughts churned, he suddenly remembered the resolve he made for himself. Back then looking at her fleeting image, didn¡¯t he vow to himself to get stronger no matter how arduous it would be.
He wanted a reach the same realm as Irene and stand beside her. Even he did not realise but unknowingly at some point, it became one of his goals. Giving up like this wasn¡¯t like him.
Even during his previous life, he had suffered many setbacks and had even thought about giving up. However, he held on until the moment he died in his previous life. At this moment, he felt like if he gave up now, then everything that he struggled for all the convictions that he made previously will be nought.
If he gave up now, his determination to get stronger will falter and he might not reach the level he thought he would one day.
¡°No that not right. I¡¯m afraid! Afraid of losing Cecilia who I took as my little sister here. Afraid of going alone to the dungeon. Afraid of meeting the questions that Irene would ask if Ie back without Cecilia¡±.
Simon finally knew why his heart was beating so fast, he finally had answers to his question. So it turned out that he did have a reason to not give up. Then what the hell was he doing grovelling at the floor looking so helpless and pathetic.
He turned to look towards Cecilia whose face was masked with tears and anxiousness. Simon shook his head and muttered ¡®I really fail as a big brother to make her worry over me like that¡¯.
A brilliant light shed in his crimson eyes and his muddled mind suddenly became clear. Six more steps¡ a smile that could only be described as wicked, crept up to his face.
¡°Haaaaaaaaaahhhh¡± with a hoarse roar, he lifted his spirit and discarded all negative thoughts.
[Body Enhancement], [Super Strength], [Super Agility], [Super Endurance], [Super Magic], [Super Defence] activating all the skills that increased his stats for a short period of time, he stood back up.
However, unlike those previous times, his body did not falter and even the trembling of his muscles due to the pressure he was under,pletely stopped. Though he stood tall and unmoving it did not mean that his muscles weren¡¯t screaming in pain. On the contrary, after activating all those skills the pain his body had to endure increased even further.
A body of a demon viscount wasn¡¯t strong enough to use multiple skills at once. He could only keep them activated for a short duration of time. After that time limit ends, his body is sure to break down under the internal and external pressure.
But Simon was alright with it. He needed the boost from the skills to keep on going. Although he could only keep them activated for a short period of time, that was enough. He has to¡ No, he willplete the ten steps before the skill ends.
¡°Wha¡¡± both Aldebaran and Fennel were stunned to see Simon standing back up again. Until only a few moments ago, he struggled to get up. However, a few secondster he stood tall and unmoving like a mountain.
They were shocked to say no less and were thinking that the young man would soon realise his limits and give up. Nor Aldebaran neither Fennel had predicted this turn of event.
But this was just the beginning, the next thing that Simon did, made them absolutely gobsmacked. ¡°Amalgamation magic, me-Gale Mastery [zing Hell]¡±¡ BOOOOOM.
Chapter 157: The Onerous Ten Steps (3)
Chapter 157: The Onerous Ten Steps (3)
¡°Amalgamation magic, me-Gale Mastery [zing Hell]¡±¡ BOOOOOM.
TREMBLE¡ the ground shook as a zing heat raced across the surroundings burning anything and everything. The heat was iparable to the previous mes that Simon had dished out and was even able to gouge outrge rubbles of earth from beneath him.
That was not all, the amalgamation magic of me and Gale, travelled at an insane speed and instantly covered hundreds of meters ofnd, scorching them ck. The damage output of the attack was on apletely different realm because of the multitudes of skills he had activated earlier.
His power had spiked up a lot but Simon was aware that it was only temporary. After the skill ended, he won¡¯t be able to even move his body much lessplete all the tens steps. That was why he had to hurry.
BANG¡ His footnded making a deep indent on the ground. The Fifth Step.
Right after taking another step, the aura pressuring down on him intensified by another tenfold that nearly made him bend his body and fall to his knees. The veins on his forehead spasmed and he hurriedly circted the mana all around his body.
CREAK¡ a cracking noise came from within his body that indicated that one of his bones had sumbed under the pressure and cracked. An incredible amount of pain assaulted his senses and even his vision blurred for a moment.
However, Simon did not pay it any mind and swiftly straightened his body. All the while, the smile still did not leave his face. Why was he smiling? That was of course because of Cecilia. That crybaby would burst her dam the moment he disyed a pained expression.
In his previous life, he had severed all his rtionships with his family and had led a lonely life. It was exactly because he had previously led that kind of life, that he realised how precious and important the thing he discarded was.
Now that he was reincarnated in this world, he had finally recognized someone as his family member. Simon did not want to make her worry and that was why he was smiling to reassure her and tell her that he can do this.
¡°How can that be? He was able to take the fifth step!!¡ It seems like I had underestimated the young man. He still had a few tricks up his sleeves. Interesting, let me witness how far you can go young man¡± Aldebaran said with astonishment.
How many years or millennials had it been since he was this excited by something. At this moment, he had already forgotten the reason behind why he set the trail. He just wanted to see how far the young man who had previously proimed that he would be able to break the restraints ced on him by the world, would go.
A part of him was burning with excitement to find a rare genius in him.
¡®If you can really do what you said and reach the pinnacle of this world, then letting the Forest Spring Spirits stay in your dungeon wouldn¡¯t be impossible¡¯ Aldebaran thought. However, he soon realised that it would be impossible for Simon to take the Tenth Step since even a newly ascended Demon Earl wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it much less a Demon viscount.
Even if he liked and was impressed by the young man, Aldebaran wouldn¡¯t deliberately make the trail easier as that would be going against his principles and would also put his master in danger.
Even if he had to be cruel, he wouldn¡¯t allow the Forest Spirit n and Cecilia to reside inside a newly emerged dungeon.
On the other hand, Cecilia looked on with tear-stained eyes at her big brother, who was giving his best. Clenching her hands, she stopped her crying and looked at Simon and decided to trust in his abilities.
She did not know where it stemmed from but she had absolute belief and confidence in him. Although they were from a different race and were not rted by blood, for some reason she felt very close to him. So how can she cry when her big brother was doing his best, even the smile that he put on his face while enduring that unimaginable amount of pressure was to relieve her of her anxiousness.
If she cried even after that, wouldn¡¯t she be mocked by him as a crybaby once again?
While everyone was busy observing Simon, with another explosion that sent a tremor through the ground he took his sixth step. That attack that was set off by Simon was enough to crack and break apart the surroundingnd which was hundreds of times sturdier.
One could imagine the amount of damage that Simon had received in return from his reckless and idiosyncratic methods.
At this moment, most of his clothes were burned and the pale white skin around his hands and legs were scorched ck from which blood continuously trickled down. It was not only his arms and legs but his entire body had turned red from burns and cuts.
Simon¡¯s clothes had been dyed a shade of red from the excess amount of blood they absorbed. However, even after injuring himself to this point, that smile of his refused to fade from his face.
His mind had be numb and his ears were continuously ringing. Everything disappeared from his line of view and the only thing that apanied him was his ragged breathing.
Right after taking the sixth step, the pressure intensified by another ten times and had brought one of his knees to the ground. His other leg that supported him, was shaking continuously and he could hear the creaking noises from it. He was aware that he had already exhausted his body by far too much and even the MP he had, was being expended at a rapid rate.
Nevertheless, he couldn¡¯t stop now. Now when he only had four more steps to tread. His sight was focused on the path ahead and the resoluteness in his eyes disyed his immense willpower.
With a jolt, he moved his immobile body and ced his charred hands on the ground before smiling like a mad man. His crimson eyes did not contain any pain but instead had a weird excitement that grew even more intense with every step.
At this moment, Simon looked very much like his race. A wide pair of bat-like wings that looked domineering, protruded from his back and unfolded in front of everyone.
Three meters wide bat-like wings extended from his back and appeared in front of everyone observing.
Even with all the stats enhancing skills activated, it was bing incredibly difficult for him to stand back up. His muscles were having internal bleeding and many of his bones were starting to crack.
He felt like a statue that was made of y unable to move. If he did move, he would crumble apart. However, that wasn¡¯t enough to stop Simon. His eyes had an intense fervour that was only looking towards victory.
Spreading his wide wings that were starting to bend from the pressure, he ced his charred hand on the ground and roared ¡°Haaaaaaaahhhh¡±.
His mana churned at a rapid speed before the magic was released out of his hands. BOOOM¡ All the other sounds was drowned by the explosion and arge amount of mes apanied by rippling gales wreaked havoc around the surrounding.
Thend that was supposed to be hundreds of times sturdier, was now full of small potholes and cracks.
PSSHH¡ as if a vein had been burst open, blood spurted out his charred hands as the recoil from releasing the magic directly onto the ground, was far too much for the current Simon to handle.
Nheless, Simon was not bothered by the pain as he had aplished his goal of standing back up. His whole body was trembling from the pressure that was heavier than a ten thousand meters tall mountain. His eyes were starting to grow dim and hazy intermittently.
But Simon gritted his teeth and endured it all. Aligning his trembling and charred hands towards the ground once again, he fired another round of Amalgamation magic that was strong enough to even burst apart the surroundingnd.
BOOOM¡PSSHH¡ blood sprayed like a fountain from his arms that was quickly turning a shade of ck and blue.
Aldebaran was astonished to his very core. He had never met a person as determined and strong-willed as Simon. The young man which he thought wouldn¡¯t even be able to go beyond the third step was able to reach the sixth step right before his eyes.
No¡ that¡¯s not right, the person had taken yet another step forward which marked his Seventh Step.
¡°How can that be? Isn¡¯t he just a normal Demon Viscount?¡± the Ancient Titan Tree couldn¡¯t understand how Simon managed to aplish that. The man had gone far beyond the strength of what his rank would allow.
At this moment, for the first time in his long years of life, he felt that he couldn¡¯t see through Simon. The young man in front of him had flipped his thinking upside down. Just taking the Seventh Step under his aura which kept intensifying manifold, was worthy enough to be regarded as an above-average genius.
Aldebaran had to admit with that ability and determination, Simon might be able to break past some of the barriers that would arise due to his impure bloodline. And might be able to reach a rank or two above what he predicted, but that was all.
Even if Simon reaches the rank of Demon Marquess one day thanks to his relentless willpower and determination, it wasn¡¯t enough to protect the Forest Spring Spirits much less Cecilia who was a Forest Spring Royal Spirit.
Chapter 158: The Onerous Ten Steps (4)
Chapter 158: The Onerous Ten Steps (4)
¡®Once her memories awaken, her abilities will start to unlock too. At that time, her aura will be released for hundreds of miles. Those strong demons and angels nearby will be able to instantly sense her. However, if her aura goes berserk due to her awakening then even those people might be able to sense her. At that time even I won¡¯t be able to protect her¡¯.
Aldebaran sighed as he remembered those scenes from the past. Observing Simon, for some reason he didn¡¯t know why but he felt like the young man in front of him resembled that person.
¡°If you can really prove that you have the ability to shake this whole world, then it would be best that master stays with you¡± Aldebaran muttered with expectations shing in his emerald green eyes.
He would be lying if he said that his hopes weren¡¯t ignited after seeing the intense determination of Simon to pass the trial. In some corner of his heart, Aldebaran wanted the young man to win and prove himself wrong.
However, he knew about the trial more than anyone; after all, he was the one who set it. And far as he could see, no matter what tricks or techniques Simon used, he wouldn¡¯t be able to take thest Tenth Step.
Cecilia who saw Simon fall down and bend till his nose touched the ground after the Seventh Step, couldn¡¯t help but tightly clench her snow-white hands. At this moment, his body was burned everywhere and blood-drenched his figure red. His majestic wings that looked so grand and mighty was bent in an unnatural way and bones could be seening out of them.
Seeing his ragged and beaten figure, Cecilia¡¯s face became pale and tears threatened to fall out of her eyes. However, she held onto her tears and observed Simon. She did not want her big brother to worry for her anymore and more than that, she wanted Simon to know that she had absolute belief and faith in him.
Fennel who was holding her hand tightly so that she wouldn¡¯t run towards Simon, finally released his grip. When he saw how anxious and worried Cecilia was for that young man, he couldn¡¯t help but pat her head consolingly.
¡°Grandpa Fennel will he be okay?¡± Cecilia asked biting her lips looking extremely concerned.
Fennel gave her a gentle smile and said ¡°He will be alright. That man is someone destined for greatness. Even I am impressed by his incredible willpower and resoluteness to pass the trial even if it meant harming himself to this state in return. Cecilia, you have found an incredible big brother who is willing to go through so much for you¡±.
Fennel closed his eyes and said. The next moment he opened them, it seemed that he had arrived at some conclusion.
¡°Huff¡ Huff¡± Simon couldn¡¯t hear anything other than his hurried breathing. His eyes were hazy and he could only see a few meters around him. Blood started to leak out from his nose and mouth and his whole face had be red.
At this moment, he was in so much pain that he could no longer feel any sensation from his body. It was almost like somebody had given him a dose of anaesthesia. Reality was trying to elude him and a dream-like state that could relieve him of all his pain and suffering was trying to overwhelm his mind.
Even he did not know how long his consciousness wouldst as he had already gone far beyond his limits. But he knew one thing and that was he was very close to passing the trial set by Aldebaran.
Three more steps, he only to needed to tread three more steps. However, thest three were bound to be the most arduous ones. The power spike from activating all those skills was starting to diminish and would be gone soon.
Once the skills were disabled, the repercussions from activating all of them at once wille assaulting his already tattered body. At that time, it would be impossible for him toplete thest few steps.
Therefore he must finish the trial and finish it fast before that happens. He tried to circte the mana inside his body but it felt sluggish and didn¡¯t respond to hismands well. His current state even failed to use magic and he couldn¡¯t even pick himself up.
Fixing his vision towards the front, a golden light started to sh within Simon¡¯s crimson eyes ¡°I guess I have no choice but to use that. I don¡¯t know what might be the consequence of using it in my current state but I guess it would be better than losing Cecilia here¡±.
Right after his words fell, theplicated runes like tatoos in his body started lighting up with a golden ck lustre. From dim to bright before igniting.
The golden ck tattoos on his body slowly started burning with a brilliant golden ck light before swiftly disappearing into nothingness.
Simon was forced to use his trump card [Ancestral Symbol Ignition].
As soon as those markings in Simon¡¯s body ignited with a golden ck radiance, Aldebaran widened his eyes in shock. His humanoid body made of coiling roots, shuddered intensely as if he had received the greatest shock of his life and he went into a stupor for a long time.
Previously, he didn¡¯t pay much attention to the markings on the young man¡¯s body since it was partially covered by clothes. But now that most of the clothes in Simon¡¯s body was burned and became tattered rags, he could clearly see the ancient markings on him.
¡°Aren¡¯t those Ancestral Symbols? T-That¡¯s impossible. How can it appear on him? Isn¡¯t he just a Demon Viscount¡±.
As Aldebaran stared at those markings, they suddenly started to ignite with a golden ck radiance.
¡°I am not mistaken, it actually is the skill Ancestral Symbol Ignition!! That brat had this skill? But how can it be¡ one needed to possess Ancestral Symbol to ignite them. Does that mean that those markings on his body were Ancestral Symbol?¡±.
He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes no matter how many times he stared at Simon. If his eyes weren¡¯t deceiving him, then those markings were genuine Ancestral Symbols.
What was an Ancestral Symbol? These were ancient markings possessed by only the holders of the Seven fragments. In other words, only those demons that are chosen by the fragments to be the next demon lord, can have those markings on their body.
Simon possessing one¡ what did it mean? Didn¡¯t it indicate that he was chosen by one of the fragments? Of course, Aldebaran would be stunned beyond belief.
He remembered his lord once telling him that the Fragments are highly intelligent and choose its own master and only those demons that have the potential to reach the pinnacle of this world, are chosen by the fragments.
The young man being chosen by one meant that he had the possibility of bing one of the pinnacle powerhouse of this world, a Demon Lord.
But Simon was just a Demon Viscount whose bloodline wasn¡¯t even that pure. Even with his incredible willpower and determination, the peak he would be able to reach was just a Demon Marquess.
Suddenly Aldebaran remembered those words that Simon had dered earlier. He couldn¡¯t help the wildly rising excitement in his heart to see the true limit of the young man in front of him.
Aldebaran who had thought that the trial would be impossible for Simon, at this moment started to believe that young man might be able to clear it.
Simon who was forced to kneel by the aura bearing down on him finally used the skill [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] that he only used once ever since reincarnating into this world. Thest time he used it was when he was just a Demon Baron and was surrounded by a pack of Direwolves. At that time, after massively boosting each of his stats for a short period of time, it disappeared after leaving his body exhausted and unable to move.
The skill [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] temporarily fuses all the skills the user has, leaving them unable to use any skill after the duration ends. It not only leaves him unable to use any skill but also puts a heavy burden on his body.
Simon had previously activated all those stats enhancement skills at once that put a toll on his body along with the aura that was pressuring him, his body was strained and could crumble at any moment.
He did not know what the consequences would be after this but at this moment, he needed strength to ovee the obstacle in front of him. He did not have the time and strength to think about the repercussion after.
As soon as those markings on his body ignited, he could feel a flood of strength rushing through his body. And the pressuring bearing down on him lessened by lot. Gathering his strength, Simon got back up and used another st of magic to take the Eighth step.
As Simon had predicted, thest three steps were the most challenging.
BANG¡ just as he took the eight-step, Simon felt as if he was hit by a huge tidal that instantly swept his body away. His mind became nk and he lost vision for an instant. The pressure bearing down on could no longer be exined with words.
Using one skill on top of another put an immense toll on his body and his bodily function was steadily deteriorating. It was to the point where Simon was finding it difficult to breathe. His entire body was burned with cuts all over and he was having severe internal bleeding. If it was any other Demon Viscount receiving this magnitude of injuries they would have already died or be unconscious.
Chapter 159: Mysterious Space
Chapter 159: Mysterious Space
BANG¡ just as he took the eight-step, Simon felt as if he was hit by a huge tidal that instantly swept his body away. His mind became nk and he lost vision for an instant. The pressure bearing down on could no longer be exined with words.
Simon¡¯s breathing was hurried and his vision was so blurry that he couldn¡¯t even see a few meters near him. His bnce was unstable and it seemed that he could fall down any moment. Simon bit his lips and tasted some of his blood to remain conscious.
Maybe he was hallucinating or because of his exhausted mind, but he could see huge chains that looked extremely heavy, binding his arms and legs. These heavy chains were connected to a huge boulder that was as big as a mountain, impossible to budge.
Even if he tried moving his body, the boulder behind him wouldn¡¯t even move a bit. Circting the immense amount of energy that he got after igniting his ancestral symbol, Simon released continuous magic towards the ground to use their recoil as propulsion to move forward.
But when he looked back, the huge boulder that the chains binding him were connected to only made a small nking noise. SNAP¡ the muscles in his right arm snapped and the veins burst open.
However, Simon did not pay any attention to it and kept on firing magic. SNAP¡ this time the muscles in his left arm snapped making it very difficult for Simon to move them.¡±Gugghh¡± Puking out a mouthful of blood, some rity returned to his otherwise blurry vision.
His body faltered and he was just about to fall when his wings which were bent unnaturally, pped once to stabilise his bnce. CRACK¡ under the pressure of the Eight-step, even pping once broke most of the bones of his wings. An intense amount of pain should have assaulted him, but his senses had be so numb and dull that he couldn¡¯t feel a thing.
DRIP¡ DRIP¡ Blood trickled down his body and fell on the ground dying it red. His chest fell up and down, but he still felt suffocated and out of breath.
Simon turned his head towards Cecilia who was watching him from a distance. Due to losing so much blood, he was unable to see her figure clearly, but he knew she might be crying her dam out looking at his figure.
He remembered when he brought her unconscious and injured body to his dungeon. Her crystal-like eyes were dead back then unlike her current clear and bright eyes. At that time even he didn¡¯t know that he would take her as his little sister.
Her concern and worry for him were heartfelt and before he knew it, he had started caring for her as his own little sister. She who couldn¡¯t even see a slight bit of injury on him would be worried sick looking at him now.
Previously he had promised her that he would make his dungeon so that she could live there peacefully and without any worry. Although he did not want to make her concerned over him, he had no choice. To prove the worth of his words and more so to show that he had the strength to protect Cecilia and her n, he has to push his body beyond their limits.
He can¡¯t afford to be stalled here by a mere trial. He wouldplete it and win the trust of the Forest spirit n and bring them into his dungeon.
¡°I will not be stopped here. Come to me¡ Crimson zing me Sword¡± apletely crimson-coloured sword as if tearing through space, appeared in his hands. The moment he held onto it a powerful flow of mana likeva circted inside his body and strengthened him even further.
The sword bestows an additional 600 points to all the stats and +1000 to magic. Combined with the effect of the skill [Ancestral Symbol Ignition], the level of power he could disy was beyond his rank.
Gritting his teeth, he moved his right leg forward. He could feel that the imaginary chains that were binding him to a boulder as big as a mountain, finally moving a little.
BANG¡ the ground cracked and a deep footprint was carved onto the ground that marked his ninth step.
The moment, the crimson sword appeared on Simon¡¯s hand Aldebaran was stunned. No matter how he looked at it, it didn¡¯t appear to be an ordinary sword that should be in the hands of a Demon Viscount. This goes to say that the sword in the young man¡¯s hand was quite a high tier one possibly higher than a [B] tier.
Although he found it odd butpared to the shock he got from the symbols on Simon¡¯s body, it was nothing.
¡°Possessor of a fragment, High tier weapon, his unyielding determination along with his amiable nature¡¡± Aldebaran observed Simon and nodded his head approval.
¡°My time is limited¡ it just so happens that I can see the rise of a genius today. Show me young man¡ prove it to me that you have what it takes to tackle the world and surmount eery obstacles¡±.
Cecilia whose eyes had bepletely red, clenched her hands tightly in prayer as she anxiously looked towards Simon treading one step after another.
[TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE] a continuous ringing sound echoed in his head and his vision started to be all white. The duration of the skills that have been boosting his powers was finally over and an extreme amount of exhaustion hit his body.
Crack¡ his right thigh bone cracked under the pressure and his whole body came smashing down on the ground. ¡°Huff¡ Huff¡± his breathing slowing down and his eyelids shut closed.
His body didn¡¯t feel like his own and an overwhelming drowsiness assaulted all his senses. Right after he took the ninth step, the pressure intensified hundreds of times and even breathing under it was a difficulty.
His eyelids felt heavier by the moment before theypletely shut closed. The pressure emitted by the aura was beyond what a Demon Viscount could endure.
¡°Huff¡ Huff¡± as he listened to his hoarse breathing, Cecilia voice intermittently rang in his head. ¡°bi¡.ther¡ get¡ brot¡ up¡± However, due to the ringing sound in his head, her voice sounded incoherent. He knew that she was worried sick after seeing him fall down onto the ground just before thest step. He knew that he had to keep on going, but his body refused to budge even an inch.
His body which was exhausted past its limits felt foreign and immovable. Just when he was about to sumb and doze off, Scenes from the past shed in his head.
¡°Master is a bit¡ you can call me big brother if you want. That way as your big brother, it would naturally be my duty to protect you¡±
¡°Ehhhhh? What¡¯s wrong¡ you don¡¯t want to call me big brother? T-then you can call me anything you want¡±
¡°Un-uh¡ It¡¯s not like that big brother¡ it¡¯s just that big brother is so nice to me¡±
Simonughed and patted her head. As those scenes reyed in his head, Simon wiled thest of his consciousness to move.
¡°I can¡¯t go down like this¡ at the very least I must take thest step¡± gaining a bit of momentary rity, Simon circted all his powers in ast-ditch effort.
[TEEEEEEEEEEEEEE] that was when the ringing noise in his head sharpened as if trying to split his head apart. This kind of pain is different from the physical pain he experienced earlier and was many times more painful.
¡°Ahhhhhhhhh¡± Simon howled miserably as he clutched his head. ¡°Stop¡ go away¡ ahhhh¡± regardless of what he did, the pain did not soothe before everything nked out and Simon fell into a dream-like state.
In this state, Simon was neither conscious nor unconscious. Just like an observer who could only gaze from the sidelines, he too was powerless to do anything.
¡°So I lost huh¡¡± he felt empty and disappointed in himself who couldn¡¯t do anything but boast to others. What peak level existence? What big brother? I can¡¯t evenplete the trial set for me, how can I protect others? Hehahaha¡ Simonughed like a maniac for a while before snapping at the ringing sound that rang out even after he passed out.
Suddenly, ¡°wait a minute¡ why am I experiencing the same buzzing sound even in my dreams? Does that mean that I haven¡¯t passed out yet? Then what is this ce?¡±.
Simon looked around at the endless white space that he suddenly found himself in. The ce waspletely white and had nothing in it. Its boundary couldn¡¯t be seen with just a nce and other than him, there was nothing in this vast space.
¡°Where am I?¡± the peculiarity of the event was out of his understanding. He who should have fainted by now, suddenly found himself in this vast white space of infinite nothingness.
Unfortunately, there was no one to answer his question. Looking at his surrounding for a while, Simon fell in silence. He contemted about all the strange events that had urred till he ended up here.
First of all, that continuous ringing sound that suddenly sharpened and gave him a serious headache, must be rted to this.
Secondly, the sound was still ringing even after he reached this mysterious space.
Thirdly, Simon vaguely felt that he was not fully unconscious yet. And thest of all¡ there was something here in this infinite white space that was calling out to him. It might be him jumping too soon to a conclusion but Simon was sure that the ringing sound was the one that called him here.
Chapter 160: Mysterious Space (2)
Chapter 160: Mysterious Space (2)
¡°Why did you call me here? What do you need from me?¡ I know it was you who called me here, who are you?¡± His voice echoes out everywhere and just like before, there wasplete silence.
Nobody answered his question and just when Simon was starting to think that this was all just a dream, the ringing sound in his head stopped before sounding out once again.
The noise was intermittent and was not as sharp as before. It was as if the noise was trying to tell him something but unfortunately, he did not speak thenguage of [TEEEEEEE]. There was little to nothing he could understand from it.
Simon could only try and guess what its intentions were for trying to call him here.
¡°Do you need something from me?¡± He asked and the answer he got was yet another [TEEEEE]. Taking that as a yes, he asked another question
¡°Were you the one who called me here?¡±.
[TEEEE]¡
¡°I see¡± It was quite a peculiar scene seeing Simon converse with a sound that was as monotonous as ever. But what was more astounding was that he was having a decent conversation with it. One might even wonder if Simon really did speak thenguage of [TEEEEEE].
¡°So you are telling that you were the one who brought me here?¡ So that¡¯s how it is. Huh! Go forward? Is there something there?¡±.
Simon started walking as per the request of the sound. After what felt like a long while, Simon arrived near a ce that was shrouded in a mysterious light. He couldn¡¯t make out the object that was there nor its shape.
But what he was sure about was that it was no ordinary object.
Ba-dump¡ Ba-dump¡ Ba-dump¡ the object pulsed as if alive and it was emitting an energy so pure that Simon had never felt something like that. The object was shining with a dull golden light that was so hot that it felt just like the core of the sun. the heat was so great that Simon felt that his body would melt if he approached any closer.
The moment he saw the object at the centre of this mysterious white space, for some reason the heart in his chest, started pounding at an insane rate.
Simon did not know why but for some unknown reason, the object felt very familiar to him. Even though he had never seen this object before now. It was also at this moment, the ringing noise in his head disappeared.
Simon did not know why that noise wanted to show him something like that nor did he knew its intention for bringing him here.
¡°What is that thing?¡± pointing at the object, he asked. However, unlike before there was no longer any sound in his head that was trying tomunicate with him. He tried to call it a few more times but to no avail.
It was as if right after arriving in this ce, that ringing noise mysteriously disappeared. Now left all alone, he did not know what to do, neither did he did not know how to get out of this peculiar space.
Simon couldn¡¯t help but worry about what might be happening outside at this moment while he was still stuck here. Would they think that he had failed right beforepleting thest step? Or was the trial still going on? He did not know how long had passed since he came to this mysterious space, but ording to his estimates, more than three days might have passed since he was stuck here.
During these three days, all the injuries on his body had healed and he was back to his peak form. Although it was just his astral body that was here. His physical body was still out there. Three days was a long time, by now even if he was unresigned to lose in such a way, he had no other choice.
The trial set by Aldebaran would have been long over by now.
¡°Dammit¡ Just one step. If only I was not stuck in this goddamn ce I would have willed all of my power to finish thest step even if I had to break every bone in my body in the process¡± Simonmented. ¡°Will I be going back to my dungeon without bringing Cecilia with me? Damn¡ if only I had enough strength¡ damn¡ damn¡¡±
He punched at the space below but his power wasn¡¯t even able to create a single ripple. The space here was even more profound and mysterious than thend near the Ancient Titan Treant. Without enough strength, he can¡¯t even get out of here.
Strength¡ Strength¡ Strength, if only he had strength, then all this would have not happened. Just as he was getting more and more frustrated, the dull golden lighting from the object at the centre of the white space, shined upon him.
His whole body felt as if he was bathing in an energy so pure that every pore in his body rejoiced in excitement. Just as he was rejoicing in this feeling, the mysterious white space disappeared and his senses returned to his body.
Right after Simon fell down and lost his consciousness, Aldebaran and Fennel who were observing him with their taut gazes sighed in regret.
He was so close to victory, if only Simon could take another step, he would have won the wager between him and Aldebaran. But it seemed that taking the tenth step was asking far too much from someone of his level.
Aldebaran felt a pang of guilt seeing that the man had sumbed under the pressure of the tenth step. He had finally found a genius that had been chosen by one of the fragments plus with a character like that his future potential was unlimited.
He regretted his choice of setting the trial so that even a peak rank Demon Earl would have difficulty taking thest step. Truth be told, Aldebaran quite liked the character of Simon after the repeated disy of his incredible willpower and determination. Along with the fact that his master the current reincarnation of Forest Spring Royal Spirit was the one who chose Simon, there was no way his nature would be evil.
Seeing that Simon was not waking up even after five whole minutes have passed, Aldebaran wondered if he should have relented when the young man was being so resolute about protecting Cecilia and the forest Spring Spirit n.
Cecilia¡¯s tears finally burst out of her dam after she saw that her big brother¡¯s body became unmoving after the ninth step.
¡°Just one more step¡ big brother you can do it¡± she desperately prayed. But no matter how long she prayed, Simon body that had fallen unconscious, refused to wake up. She saw how badly hurt his body was and couldn¡¯t help but get out of the barrier erected by Aldebaran and dash towards Simon.
He was hurt once again because of her. As these thoughts ran inside her head, she couldn¡¯t help but me herself once again. Due to hercking strength, it was always her big brother that got hurt because of it.
She had enough of watching Simon get hurt because of her. She wanted her powers to quickly awaken so that she could be of help to her brother instead of just observing from the sidelines. The seven-coloured tiny speckles of light surrounding her brightened a little as if following her wish.
The minute changes was so inconspicuous that it went unnoticed, even from the Ancient Titan Tree.
Just as Cecilia was about to reach Simon¡¯s unconscious body, a wave of energy so pure that it even gave them chills, burst out of him. The magnitude and purity of the energy was so profound that it wasn¡¯t something a body of Demon viscount could hold.
The burst energy generated a great storm as thick dark clouds suddenly loomed over the sky.
¡°Not good,¡± Aldebaran said as he hurriedly shielded Cecilia with his powers right before the storm hit her.
BOOOOM¡ dozens of kilometres ofnd instantly cracked. Thend which was hundreds of times sturdier cracked from the energy which simply passed by, showcasing its immense might.
Aldebaran was trembling, the titanic body of the Ancient Titan Treant was trembling. He was not shocked by the might of the energy, but by its aura. After all, he was very familiar with the aura that burst out of Simon.
¡°How can this be?¡ No this is impossible, I must have sensed it wrongly. There is no way the fragment that chose this young man is the fragment of pride¡± Aldebaran eximed, his voice quivering.
He tried sensing the pure energy that burst out of the young man once again. But no matter how many times he repeated the process, there was no hiding the truth.
Aldebaran went silent as myriads of thoughts ran inside his head. He couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. He never expected the fragment that the young man possessed was actually the fragment of pride. The very same fragment which his lord used to possess and disappeared along with him.
In his thousands of years of life, Aldebaran had seen many demons possessing the fragments to be the next Demon Lord. He had seen the fragments changing owner when the previous one died.
But never from the ancient times was there a new holder of the pride fragment nor was there any news about it. That was until now. The young man in front of him definitely possessed the Fragment of Pride, he was not mistaken.
Chapter 161: The Tenth Step
Chapter 161: The Tenth Step
The young man in front of him definitely possessed the Fragment of Pride, he was not mistaken. The aura that wasing out of him was exactly the same as the lord he used to serve, the primordial demon of pride, Samael.
But that was exactly why he was in a state of pure disbelief. He couldn¡¯t imagine the Fragment of Pride which had achieved an unimaginable rate of synchronicity with the primordial demon of pride and which refused to show up even when the other fragments were choosing new owners, suddenly acknowledging a new owner.
Just when the storm of thoughts was about to overwhelm him, from the corners of his eyes Aldebaran spotted Cecilia.
¡°Master¡¡± Just then a thought struck him like a lightning from the ninth heavens. ¡°Could it be¡ but there is no way¡ the existential core should have been¡¡±.
His turbulent thoughts didn¡¯tst long as he suddenly saw the young man whose body was severely injured and drained to the extreme, healing at a rapid speed from the golden light that was engulfing him.
WHOOOSH¡ It didn¡¯t take long and before Aldebaran¡¯s dumbfounded eyes, all the injuries in his body healed and Simon slowly got back up on his feet.
Looking all around him he saw that he was still in the same ce where he fell unconscious. Was he here for three whole days?
Simon contemted and found that everyone was still present here, there was no way the trial would continue even after three whole days had passed. So what did this mean? Was he mistaken about the passage of time inside that mysterious white space or was thew of time different in the white space than in the real world?
Simon did not have an answer but what he was aware of was that the trial was still going on. Another thing that amazed him was that his body had fully recovered from those terrible injuries he had suffered from the reckless use of his magic back then.
He remembered how his astral body healed in these past three days while he was trapped inside the mysterious white space. However, that was only his astral body, not his physical body.
¡°Was all this the doing of that mysterious space?¡± he pondered. The more Simon thought, the more puzzled he got. If all this was true then he had benefited immensely. Not only was his injuries fully healed, but even his mana was also back to its peak. Now he can focus onpleting his trial once again without any worries.
The moment he got up, Cecilia who was being protected within a field of energy brought her hands to her mouth and gasped. Her eyes were so excited that she even forgot all the worry and unease that she had a few moments ago.
¡°Big brother!!¡± She shouted and tried to get out of the field of energy when she was stopped in her tracks by Simon.
Simon stared at her tear-stained eyes and a pang of guilt and remorse assaulted his heart. He sought strength so that he could protect the ones he held dear and survive in this world. But in his pursuit of power, he ended up making them worry over him.
Simon silently pledged that he would never make a shameful disy of himself like that once again.
With his reinvigorated powers, Simon felt the pressure that was bearing down on him lessen. Although it was still suffocating and unbearable, the condition of his body was much better than before and he knew that he had a far better chance of passing thest step of the trial than before.
He picked the crimson sword in his hand which fell to the ground after he had fallen unconscious and felt the pressure on him reduce even further.
By now, even the buff from igniting his Ancestral Symbol was gone and he had no other trump cards remaining. But that wasn¡¯t enough to discourage Simon, on the contrary, zing mes of determination burned in his eyes as he set his sights on thest step.
Treading the tenth step was more difficult than the other stepsbined. Even lifting his foot by an inch was insanely difficult.
Simon smiled, he knew that after he took thest step, he would have won the wager he made with Aldebaran. Not only that, the trial itself helped him solidify his determination and reignited his conviction to get strong once again.
His body oozed with a newfound confidence that wouldn¡¯t dampen even if he was faced with a difficult obstacle such as this one in the future.
¡°You have my thanks¡ the trial will help me reach new heights¡± Simon slowly muttered and closed his eyes.
Swiftly, everything around his surrounding disappeared and even their presence and aura waspletely gone. He had reached a focused state where all the unnecessary things from his mind vanished and the only thing that was remaining was the remnants of the pure energy that he had felt back inside the white space.
Concentrating on that energy, he circted it all around his body and at that moment the pressure bearing down on himpletely disappeared and he trod thest Tenth Step.
Right after he took thest step, Simon turned around and looked towards Aldebaran and said ¡°Lord Alder¡ I havepleted the trial you set for me. Do I have the qualification to protect the Forest Spring Spirit n now?¡±.
His words like a clear bell rang out across the area. Fennel who was observing the whole event from start to finish, couldn¡¯t help but nod his head in appreciation. There was a smile hanging on his face as he looked at Simon pleased with his character.
¡°Being protected and regarded so highly by a person such as him, is a blessing for my entire n. It seems that this old one has to do some work and convince the others to go along with him inside his dungeon¡±.
Fennel tapped his aching back as he turned around and silently left.
Cecilia who couldn¡¯t hold her joy, rushed towards him and carefully inspected his body. Seeing that there were no injuries on Simon, she hugged him tightly.
¡°Big brother¡ you did it, you finallypleted the trial. Hehe, I knew it¡ big brother can do anything once he sets his sights on it¡ uwuh¡ I¡¯m truly d you aren¡¯t hurt¡± she started sobbing midway.
Simon quietly patted her and before long she stopped crying and was back to her confident self. She pointed towards Aldebaran said in an ted tone ¡°Did you see that? My big brother haspleted the trial you set for him. He has proved his ability and prowess¡±.
Aldebaran was still lost in his thoughts and was staring at Simon as if he had seen a ghost. This time he had clearly sensed the energy that was released out of Simon when he took thest step.
¡°There is no mistaking it. It is the power of the Fragment of Pride¡ did it return after being absent for thousands of years?¡± Aldebaran mused.
If he was notpletely sure before, now after that energy was released from Simon one more time, he was absolutely sure that the Fragment of Pride has appeared in this world once again.
¡°So the Fragment of pride has found a new owner¡± he sighed the moment the thought struck him.
A fragment choosing a new owner could mean only one thing and that was the previous owner of the fragment had died, leaving the fragment ownerless. Once the owner of the fragment dies, the fragment will automatically search for the next suitable individual worthy enough to be it¡¯s master.
He looked towards Simon onest time before closing his eyes.
¡°Out of all the seven, only the existential core of the Fragment of Pride was broken. It appearing once again¡ is this the choice you made lord Samael? If so then as your loyal servant, I shall see it through for as long as I live¡±.
Aldebaran nodded his head at Cecilia¡¯s words before saying in a booming voice ¡°Yes, he has indeed exceeded my expectation by far beyond andpleted the trial I thought would be impossible for him. Young man, you have truly proven the words you have said to me earlier. Indeed with your potential, given enough time you would be able to reach the pinnacle of this world. Keeping in mind your talent, it is not impossible to ept your request of sending the Forest Spring Spirit n to live in your dungeon¡±.
When she heard till here Cecilia immediately beamed in joy.
¡°Then let¡¯s hurry up and go. I want to tell everyone that we are moving inside big brothers dungeon¡¡±.
But before she could be anymore merry, Aldebaran¡¯s ancient voice which carried an added depth of solemnity, rang out.
¡°However, the current you is still very weak. You who was able to barely cling onto life under the pressure of my aura. It was only due to the power hidden within you that you were able toplete my trial¡±.
¡°Boooo¡± Cecilia pouted her lips and tightly clung onto the clothes of Simon worried that Aldebaran might put him into another disadvantageous situation.
¡°What do you mean by that? My big brother haspleted the trial fair and square. It is toote to go back on your words¡± She was angered the moment she felt that the Ancient Titan Treant was going back on his words.
Chapter 162: The Seven Year Agreement
Chapter 162: The Seven Year Agreement
No matter what she had already decided to follow her big brother back inside his dungeon. There was no way she is gonna listen to any more of Aldebaran¡¯s selfishness.
Aldebaran on the other hand simplyughed at her childish antics. He had lived for thousands of years, hisposure couldn¡¯t be broken by some words of a child. Or else he would have lived all these years for vain.
Fixing his gaze on Simon, he stated ¡°I know that you have unlimited potential and the level you would reach in the future would be even higher than mine. But to realise that, you still need time¡±.
¡°Right now you are just a hatchling of an eagle who has just broken out of his shell. There is no way you would be able to protect yourself much less her¡±.
He pointed towards Cecilia who was sticking close to him. Realising that Aldebaran was simply worried about the wellbeing of Cecilia and her nsmen, Simon spoke with an iparable determination in his voice.
¡°I understand what Lord Alder is worried about. However, you can rest assured that I will not stop getting stronger and keep on increasing my strength until finally, I¡¯m strong enough that nobody would dare to harm them¡±.
Aldebaran nodded and an aura so vast and ancient that it gave him the illusion of hundreds of mountains copsing at once, descended onto the area.
Simon was stunned beyond belief and his whole body was stiff just like a statue. The pressure of the tenth step was nothingpared to the aura that had engulfed the area. He felt like a tiny boat in front of a huge tide that could capsize at any moment.
It was only now that he had realised thatpared to now, Aldebaran had not even released a tiny percent of his aura during the trial. The difference in strength between them was too vast.
Simon was aware that Aldebaran was strong but he didn¡¯t know that he would be this strong. Just his aura was strong and overwhelming enough to engulf the whole Ancient Treants Territory which spanned hundreds of miles.
Every treant that inhabited the area, bowed in deep reverence to this aura.
¡®So this is the strength of one of the Seven Kings, the true rulers of the Ghastly Winding Forest¡¯ Simon thought feeling the vast presence. The Ancient Titan Treant was already this strong, he couldn¡¯t imagine how strong the other six kings were.
While Simon lost in his thoughts, Aldebaran spoke once again ¡°Young man in regards to your unyielding willpower and determination, I¡¯m willing to agree with your request. However, you must pass another of my trial¡±.
His tone was resolute and it seemed like he wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer. Simon widened his eyes when he heard that Aldebaran was willing to ept his request of harbouring the Forest Spring Sprits inside his dungeon. But the next second he immediately frowned when he heard that the trial was not over yet.
Although he wasposed, that wasn¡¯t true for Cecilia who immediately red in anger after she heard the shameless words of Aldebaran.
¡°Huh? Howe he has to take another trial? He has already passed the trial you have set for him. Are you trying to go back on your words now that you have lost? Snort¡ Big brother doesn¡¯t need to bother with this shameless old tree anymore. He is unwilling to ept defeat and that¡¯s why he is trying to lure you into epting another one of his nonsensical trials¡±.
Her words were sharp and didn¡¯t contain any mercy towards the Ancient Titan Treant. Aldebaran old face twitched a little, but he tried his best to maintain his usualposure.
Ahem¡ forcing an awkward cough, Simon lightly knocked on Cecilia¡¯s head. ¡°Oww¡ big brother why did you hit me?¡± Ceciliained.
¡°Be silent Cecilia. He is only thinking about the wellbeing of your n and family. Don¡¯t be rude¡± Simon said calmly. Cecilia simply snorted and didn¡¯t bother to speak anymore.
Simon stared at Aldebaran for a while and deliberated over his words. He couldn¡¯t sense any ill intent from him nor was there any deception in his words.
Nodding his head, Simon asked ¡°May I know what the second trial is? Lord Alder!¡±.
Aldebaran smiled, he knew that given the character of Simon, he wouldn¡¯t back down from achieving his goal. And he had seen that first hand during the trial.
¡°It is not a trial per se but an agreement between you and me of some sort. For your second trial, you must first subdue the three troublemakers of the north side of the forest within two year¡± Aldebaran said, musing a little.
Simon thought over it before nodding his head. He knew who Aldebaran meant by his words the three troublemakers of the north. Unwittingly, he remembered his previous shameful act of running away from the Earth Splitting Lower Dragon, one of the three overlords of the north.
At that time, he swore that he wouldn¡¯t take the humiliation lying down and would re-engage with his foe sooner orter. It just so happens that the goals Aldebaran set for him coincided with his own. There was no reason for Simon to deny him.
Nodding his head, he said ¡°Alright, I agree to your trial. Within a year I will subdue all three of them. But I believe that there is more to lord Alder¡¯s trial than just subduing those three right?¡±.
Simon smiled as he looked towards Aldebaran. The way he phrased his words, Simon was sure that there were multiple phases to this trial and knowing the concern the Ancient Titan Treant had for Cecilia and her n, there was no way the trial would be this simple.
Aware of what the young man was thinking, Aldebaran gave a loudugh. His voice booming towards every corner.
¡°Young man, I am aware of the big goals you have set. Naturally, how can the trial be this easy? But you must not get careless. I have seen your fight with the Earth Splitting Lower Dargon previously. If you think its strength is the same as before then you are sorely mistaken¡±.
Simon felt his face heating up when he heard Aldebaran mention that. Him saying it like that was just giving Simon face. There was no fight when he met the Earth Splitting Lower Dragon. Far from it, he was forced to run away pathetically from the scene.
Of course, Simon was shocked that he was being monitored by Aldebaran all the while without even being aware. The distance between here and the northern region where one of the three overlords of the north lives was truly vast.
However, given the strength of Aldebaran, that might not be impossible. Although he was concerned about what Aldebaran said about the strength of the Earth Splitting Lower Dragon, it wasn¡¯t enough to cower him like before. He had grown mentally a lot by then and even his rank and prowess had increased.
¡®The next time we fight, things would be different¡¯ Simon resolutely said.
Seeing that the mes of determination were burning intensely in the young man¡¯s eyes, Aldebaran stated.
¡°Secondly, within the time span of Seven years, you must reach the rank of Demon Duke¡±.
Simon was surprised nheless, he nodded his head in agreement. Simon was already a Demon Viscount and Demon Duke was two ranks above him i.e. above Demon Earl and Demon Marquess.
Although reaching the ranks of a Demon Duke with the time limit of Seven years would be extremely challenging, a herculean task like this was what Simon needed to keep on moving forward. Though it was difficult, it was not impossible.
To keep his promise and more so to protect those close to him, he must go beyond his limits and attain strength to protect them as soon as possible.
Aldebaran silently observed the facial reactions of Simon and seeing that there was no hesitation and only pure determination to seed, he couldn¡¯t help marvel at the young man once again.
¡°And Lastly within the allotted Seven years, you must be the ruler of the entire Ghastly Winding Forest¡ you must agree to these three conditions of mine¡±.
Aldebaran said in a solemn voice. He knew that he was asking for something incredibly unimaginable but precisely because he thought so highly of Simon¡¯s potential that Aldebaran believe that he could do it.
It may be impossible for other high ranking demons but Simon was not ordinary. He was the person that was chosen by the very same fragment that once belonged to his lord.
Ruling the Ghastly Winding Forest mean ruling over the Seven Kings. They were existence on his level and simrly ruled over their own territories. One could even say that they were the pinnacle existences in this forest. The task may be impossible for someone else but Aldebaran believed that it not so for the possessor of the fragment of pride
Simon was dumbfounded by Aldebaran¡¯sst condition. To subdue beings on the level of Ancient Titan Treant who view the three overlords of the north as nothing but troublemakers, was a monumental task to say no less.
If somebody else heard what Aldebaran had said, they would have a mental breakdown by now with how impossibly hard the task was. But Simon simply smiled.
¡®It seems he had seen through my ambitions¡¯ Simon mused, an intense me to ept the challenge rose within his heart. Bringing them all under his rule within the stipted Seven years would be an incredibly difficult task even for Simon.
Chapter 163: The Seven Years Agreement (2)
Chapter 163: The Seven Years Agreement (2)
¡®It seems he had seen through my ambitions¡¯ Simon mused, an intense me to ept the challenge rose within his heart.
Bringing them all under his rule within the stipted five years would be an incredibly difficult task even for Simon. However, even without the conditions that Aldebaran made, he already had ns to rule over the entire Ghastly Winding Forest and make it his territory.
Now though he just has to push his ns a couple of years forward. Anticipation was apparent in his crimson eyes as he made a wide demonic smile and met the gaze of Aldebaran.
On the contrary, when Cecilia heard thest condition that Aldebaran made, she couldn¡¯t help but widen her eyes like saucers. It was clearly an impossible task no matter how she saw it.
From what her mother told her back in her vige, these Seven Kings were incredibly towering existences that have survived the Second Apex War if not lived for thousands of years. And were beings that were on the same level as the ruler of the Ancient Treants. Aldebaran being one of them.
It was precisely because of their presence, that no empires dared to invade the forest. Just their title was enough to instil fear inside those leaders. To have her big brother subdue them within the time limit of just five years was insane.
No matter how she thought about it, Aldebaran was trying to give him an impossible task that could very possibly kill him. Of course, she was not going to stay quiet and let her brother be bullied.
But since she was told by Simon to remain quiet, she could no longer throw her tantrum. Tugging at his clothes, she looked at him with worry-filled eyes ¡°Big brother¡ it is too dangerous¡¡±.
Simon lightly patted her head and saidfortingly while looking ahead ¡°I had already decided to make the entire Ghastly Winding Forest my territory. Even if I ept his conditions, it¡¯s just a matter of putting my ns forward by a few years. Believe in me Cecilia, I¡¯ll be strong enough to protect you all. And to realise that, I can¡¯t back out now¡±.
Cecilia became silent, she could feel his intense emotions to get stronger and no matter what she said, it wouldn¡¯t change his mind. She convinced herself to get stronger along with her big brother so that she could help him one day.
Seeing that his words had sessfully persuaded her, Simon looked towards Aldebaran and nodded his head.
¡°Lord Alder, I ept the conditions of yours. I shall within the stipted time limit of Seven years, rise to the rank of a Demon Duke and achieve strength strong enough to subdue the Seven Kings of the Ghastly Winding Forest¡±. His voice was clear and unfettered.
Aldebaran hearing Simon¡¯s words, simplyughed in appreciation as he said ¡°Young man, you can just call me Alder, you don¡¯t need to add lord. But are you sure that you can achieve it? Subduing the Seven Kings means you also have to contest against me, the ruler of the Ancient Treants¡±.
The moment he said that the branches of the titanic treant swayed a little and a storm of wind like a gale, which had enough strength to clear the looming clouds above, was generated.
¡°Of course, I am looking forward to our next bout. At that time, our strength wouldn¡¯t be this far apart¡± Simon said with a resolute voice.
¡°Hahahaha, marvellous¡ young man tell me your name. I hope that the next time we meet, you won¡¯t disappoint me¡±.
Aldebaran said more and more impressed by the person chosen by the fragment of pride.
¡°I am Simon¡¡± he said answering Aldebaran¡¯s question.
¡°Hmm¡ very well, Simon from this moment on you are the friend of all the treants living inside the Ghastly Winding Forest and none of them will be hostile to you. You maye and go within the Ancient Treants territory freely. As for your request to move the Forest Spirits inside your dungeon, I approve of that too. However, it will depend on you to convince them to move into your dungeon. That is all, you both can return back¡± .
Aldebaran¡¯s ancient voice boomed across the entire Ancient Treant territory and all the treants inhabiting the area bowed their heads in response. The orders from their ruler were absolute and nobody dared to go against them.
Aldebaran¡¯s words solidified his position as a friend within the Ancient Treant territory and not only that, he maye and go inside it as he wished. What did it mean to freely pass through the Ancient Treant territory?
It meant that in future when he encounters any danger within the western region of the forest, he could quickly delve inside the Ancient Treant Territory.
¡°Thank you very much Alder¡± Simon bowed his head in thanks while Cecilia albeit a little unwilling, still chose to bow her head mimicking his action. They turned around and returned to the Forest Spring Vige.
¡ª¨C
It was only after a while when Simon and Cecilia left the scene, thick thunder clouds blotted the sky. One could see red coloured lighting streaking across them with a might that could instantly obliterate everything.
A humanoid person with sharp amethyst eyes like that of an eagle holding a majestic violet coloured spire descended from the clouds. He had unkempt wild hair and a beak for a mouth. He had talons at the end of his legs so sharp that they had a glint that indicated they were no less sharp than an [A] tier weapon.
Splendid purple coloured falcon wings arced in lightning. The moment he descended, the mana in the surrounding went into a turmoil and a booming noise of thunder reverberated everywhere.
With a resounding RUMBLE¡ the being looked towards the towering presence of the Ancient Titan Treant andughed merrily.
¡°We haven¡¯t met for a while Aldebaran. Won¡¯t youe to greet this old friend?¡± the man saidughing haughtily.
To act so in front of the Ancient Titan Treant; obviously, the man had a standing not inferior to the other.
At this moment, the roots and twigs coiled around and the humanoid form of Aldebaran appeared in front of the man.
¡°King of the Wind-Lightning Draconic Falcon, Vesgard. Indeed it¡¯s been a while. I assume you have been well¡± Aldebaran spoke as he measured the man in front of him.
The man was none other than one of the Seven kings of the Ghastly Winding Forest just like him.
The territory of Vesgard was far away from his own but to a being of his species, travelling thousands of miles in an hour, wasn¡¯t any big deal.
¡°Hahaha, It just so happens that I had some free time so I decided to visit an old friend. The forest is too silent and there had been no action going on for a while. Just staying holed up in my territory is too boring¡±.
Vesgard said cosily as he brought out two bottles of wine from his ring and passed one to Aldebaran.
Aldebaran nonchntly caught the bottle and sipped on it without standing on ceremony.
¡°Gulp¡ Gulp¡ Haa, an excellent wine. Where did you get your hands on these?¡± Aldebaran said delighted with its taste.
¡°Haha, I knew you would like it. A bunch of humans blinded by greed from the ancient rumours decided to sneak into my territory. Of course, they were all killed by my underlings. I found this wine in one of their inter-spatial rings. They had such a huge quantity, those people must have been quite the drunkard hahaha. If you like I can give you a few bottles more¡±.
Vesgard said he drank a few mouthfuls from his bottle.
¡°Yeah, I appreciate it. But I guess you are not here to talk about such silly things over a bottle of wine are you?¡± Aldebaran asked as he quietly thought about the purpose behind Vesgarding here.
¡°Of course, I am here to talk about that thing. Isn¡¯t it about time for you to open it. If we two can pair up, we would have a higher possibility of obtaining itpared to the other Seven Kings. What do you say?¡± .
Vesgard asked, excited by the possibility of obtaining that thing.
Aldebaran simply shook his head denied those words saying ¡°No matter how many times you ask me, the answer would still remain the same. It is not time yet. If we open that thing now, its aura would leak out and even with the slight aura, those pinnacle existences would be able to sense it and break the space to jump here. At that time, even if we wanted to get a share of that, we wouldn¡¯t even be entitled to a tiny portion of it¡±.
Vesgard looked unconvinced with this exnation. However, he did know the consequences of forcibly opening that thin was and since he couldn¡¯t force the issue, he could only give up on and wait for when the time is ripe.
Sighing out loud, he looked towards Aldebaran and suddenly realised that he looked very happy.
Vesgard couldn¡¯t help but ask ¡°You seemed to be in good mood did something happened?¡±. Aldebaran simplyughed nor agreeing with his words neither denying it.
Vesgard scoffed, there was no way he would believe that nothing had happened. Aldebaran acting in that abstruse manner, only fueled his suspicions even more. Suddenly from the corner of his eyes, he spotted a small vige not very far from here.
Beings of his race had superior eyesight and can even zoom on a tiny grain miles away. There was no way a vige that near to the titanic body of the Ancient Titan Treant would be missed by him.
Chapter 164: New Subordinates
Chapter 164: New Subordinates
¡°Ohh! You seemed to have some guests over. Is that why you are in a good mood?¡±.
Vesgard asked as he spotted the vige that the Forest Spirits recently made. Although he was a little amazed, it wasn¡¯t an unusual thing to find a rare race or two deep inside the Ghastly Winding Forest.
¡°Haha, it as you say. There are some promising individuals amongst the guests that makes me want o look forward to their future growth¡±.
Aldebaran smiled as he remembered his conversation with Simon.
¡°Hohh!¡± Vesgard said immediately losing interest. He wasn¡¯t bored enough yet to watch over the growth of someone else. Only a truly old man like the one in front of him would have the time in his hands to do something like that.
Although he was a little curious as to see who was this person that had caught the eye of one of the Seven Kings, he wouldn¡¯t deliberately ask it himself if Aldebaran didn¡¯t reveal it. The only thing he was interested in was to increase his own strength.
After reaching the realm he was in, every level forward would take many years unless he found some treasure that could immediately increase his level by a fewfold.
Aldebaran stared towards the distant vige before gulping the contents of his bottle down and said to the person seated beside him.
¡°I believe it wouldn¡¯t be long before we can open that thing¡±. As soon as those words came out of his mouth, Vesgard¡¯s emotions were riled up. Truly the man wore his emotions on his face.
¡°Hehh! you must have some basis to say all that right?¡± Vesgard asked.
Aldebaran continued to look towards the forest spring spirit vige and said with a mysterious smile ¡°At that time there would be no need for us to team up; after all, we would be on the same side¡±.
¡ª¨C
Simon with Cecilia in tow walked back towards the vige.
Cecilia was in a good mood as she tiptoed around and looked at Simon¡¯s wide back and felt a sense of reliance and safety. Even she did not know why she believed in Simon that much. Just that whenever she looked at him, she could feel a sense offort wash over from deep within her.
And being a Forest Spring Royal Spirit, she could easily sense the evil within a person. For some reason, she felt safe whenever she was around him.
¡°Hehe¡± Cecilia smiled as she followed behind Simon.
Seeing that Cecilia was smiling over something, Simon became curious and asked ¡°What is it that is making you so happy?¡±.
Cecilia smiled brightly and said ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡ I was just thinking that big brother and big sister Irene looks so good together¡±.
Simon stumbled and was about to fall face-first into the ground. He did not know what gave Cecilia such an impression. Ahem¡ forcing a cough, he increased his pace back towards the vige.
¡°Ah big brother wait for me¡± Cecilia said as she hurried along. It didn¡¯t take long for them to return back to the vige and as soon as he entered it, Simon was amazed to see the people inside busy packing their things.
Everyone was scurrying around doing something to the point where none of them were standing around for long.
¡°W-what is going on?¡± He asked Cecilia beside him. But just like him, Cecilia was also out of clues regarding the actions of her nsmen.
At this moment, Fennel came out of one of the bamboo houses and immediately spotted them. He came near Simon and immediately bowed his head and said.
¡°Congrattions lord Simon for winning the trial. It was truly a magnificent scene to have witnessed it with my own eyes. I hope that from now on, lord Simon can take good care of us¡±.
His voice was respectful and the way he seemed to look at Simon, was clearly reverential.
Simon was stunned by the way the elder of the Forest Spring Spirit was addressing him. It was as if the old man already recognised him as his lord.
¡°What does elder Fennel means?¡± Simon asked ncing at the forest spring spirit who were bowing towards him as soon as they spotted him.
¡°Hoho, lord Simon does not have to be polite. You can just call me Fennel. As for the meaning, I believe it is as clear as the day. All of us here have been moved by your valiant and sincere actions. Not only are you our great benefactor, but you are even kind enough to bring us into your dungeon and protect us. Us Forest Spring Spirits cannot be anymore indebted to you and are willing to serve you as your subordinates¡±.
Fennel exined why these people were looking at him with such reverence in their eyes.
Simon was absolutely gobsmacked. While on their way, he was thinking of various ways as to how he would convince them. Never did he imagine that he wouldn¡¯t even have to expend his efforts trying to convince them as they had already taken him as their lord and were willing toe back with him to his dungeon.
¡°Truth be told, we were already deliberating over whether we should move into your dungeon as there is no future to the Forest Spring Spirit n without the children. Once we learned that they were safely rescued and are inside your dungeon, I was thinking about when to bring this issue to you. I would have never guessed that lord Simon was already thinking the same thing¡±.
¡°We Forest Spring Spirits aren¡¯t good inbat but we can support lord Simon in various other ways and would be eternally loyal to you. Lord Simon can leave the management of the dungeon to us ¡°. Fennel said trying to clear up the confusion Simon had on his face.
Simon looked at all the surviving members of the Forest Spring Spirits and each and every one of them was bowing towards him. Appreciation and reverence deep within their eyes.
¡°All of you please get up. I¡¯m deeply thankful to you people to be willing toe to my dungeon. I shall promise you all, that once you be my subordinate, I shall not do you any unfair and protect you for as long as I live. I only hope that you all support me and help me manage my dungeon¡±.
Simon said matching the gazes of all the people that were staring at him. What he said was the truth and his sincerity was felt by the Forest Spring Spirits as they became excited and bowed their heads even deeper.
Fennel on the other hand smiled as he looked towards Cecilia who was grinning from ear to ear as if this was all her achievement. He now knew why Cecilia looked up to Simon since he himself couldn¡¯t help but admire the young man.
To have the protection of such a person who was destined to reach great heights was their fortune. This way, their entire n would gain a strong protection and can peacefully live inside the dungeon. Giving their service in return, was just a trivial thing.
¡°Patriarch can you see this¡ it was your daughter who had found this person. She really is the hope of our n¡± Fennel said as he looked towards the sky.
At this moment, the ancient voice of Aldebaran came from the distant and rang across the vige.
¡°It seems I was worried for nothing. Young man, your charisma is strong enough to even charm the people from the Forest Spring Spirit n. Hahaha, indeed I was not wrong you are quite the extraordinary fellow. I shall open a teleport near your dungeon. Consider this as my parting gift¡±.
Aldebaran said as a vast energy travelled through the earth and instantly crossed hundreds of miles ofnd. The energy that travelled through the ground felt quite simr to Cecilia¡¯s.
However, unlike her the energy that Aldebaran released was far less pure and felt simr to the energy released by a Forest Spring Spirit n member. The released energy from Aldebaran quickly travelled through thends of Ghastly Winding Forest and soon located Simon¡¯s dungeon.
The enormous energy that travelled through the ground quickly spotted Simon¡¯s dungeon and just when it was about to probe inside, a repelling force so strong that it nearly made the energy disperse came from inside the dungeon.
¡°What?!¡± Aldebaran who felt his energy being repelled immediately became stunned. Who was he? He was one of the Treants that had survived through the Ancient Times and was one of the Seven Kings of the Ghastly Winding Forest. The level and power of his energy was unimaginable and wasn¡¯t something that could be matched by anyone other than the seven kings from the forest.
¡°But the force that repelled my energy felt different than any of those six fellows that I am aware of¡± Aldebaran contemted as he thought about the force that came out of the dungeon and repelled his probing attempts.
He looked towards the distant vige of the Forest Spring Spirits and stared at the clueless face of Simon. Aldebaran had reached a level of power where he could seerge distances that would be absolutely impossible for ordinary people, from a bird¡¯s point of view.
¡°What could it be?¡ No, he is the new holder of the Fragment of Pride it would not be unusual to see strange things urring around him and his dungeon¡± Aldebaran thought. He credited the peculiar force that came out of the dungeon to Simon¡¯s fragment.
Chapter 165: New Floor: Forest Spring Spirit Village
Chapter 165: New Floor: Forest Spring Spirit Vige
¡°What could it be?¡ No, he is the new holder of the Fragment of Pride it would not be unusual to see strange things urring around him and his dungeon¡± Aldebaran thought. He credited the peculiar force that came out of the dungeon to Simon¡¯s fragment.
Although the force repelled his energy, strangely the force wasn¡¯t strong enough topletely disperse it. His energy formed once again and created a teleport gate near the dungeon and connected it with the gate he created inside the vige.
Simon was amazed to see a teleport gate being formed in front of his eyes. He wondered what level of mastery one needed over space magic to create a teleport gate like this. The gate formed was a revolving spiral that was as dark as the night.
The Gate formed was simr to the one that had formed inside his dungeon during the Walpurgis. Snapping out of his thoughts, Simon gave his thanks and immediately dived inside the gate along with the Forest Spring Spirits.
As soon as Simon entered the gate, dizziness assaulted his mind and the sense of gravity left him. After what felt like a few seconds, he was thrown out of the gate and his senses returned to normal.
It was not only him but all the people that had followed behind him experienced the same thing. Simon could never get used to this feeling. Strangely though when he looked towards Cecilia she appeared to bepletely fine as if she waspletely unaffected by the effects of the space magic.
Cecilia stared at the distinctive spiral tower ahead and said merrily towards her nsmen who were gawking from the change of scenery. One must know that these Forest Spring Spirits had led a secluded life deep inside the western region of the forest and had hardly wandered much distance from the vige.
To them, the scenery of the eastern side of the forest waspletely new as they curiously stared around. Due to Cecilia¡¯s urging, they came out of their daze and fixed their gazes on the spiral tower thaty ahead.
The Spiral tower which stood above the dungeon was hundreds of meters tall with intrinsic patterns and carvings all around that made it quite distinctive in the area. Although the tower wasn¡¯t very domineering, it had a strange feeling that was quite hard to describe to it.
Fennel muttered, ¡°So this is the dungeon of Lord Simon¡±.
Cecilia answered him for Simon ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s right this is big brother¡¯s dungeon and also our new home. But it¡¯s too early to get surprised¡ wait till you enter inside¡±.
Fennel, Daphne and the others couldn¡¯t help but smile as they looked at the excited and beaming face of Cecilia. It seems that Cecilia was already ustomed to this ce and had already started seeing it as her own home.
Simon silently opened [Dungeon] function of the [Main Menu] and swiftly transported all of them inside.
¡ª¨C
Inside the Main floor, Irene was apanying the Forest Spring Spirit children as they took care of the Trees of Mana which had grown more than two hundred meters in size and started to disy their abilities and gather mystical energy from the surroundings.
Suddenly Irene felt a minute spatial disturbance before a bunch of new presences entered inside. Irene wasn¡¯t surprised as she felt two familiar presence amongst them. There was no doubt, it was the group of Simon that had returned from the western region of the forest.
Irene smiled looking at the number of people that Simon had brought in. ¡®It seems that he was sessful in winning them over¡¯ She thought as she looked at the dozen or soForest Spring Spirits following behind Simon.
The moment Cecilia spotted Irene, she immediately ran towards her. ¡°Big sister Irene¡¡± Her sonorous voice sounded out as she immediately jumped into Irene¡¯s embrace.
After she had lost her father during their desperate efforts to escape, Irene and Simon became her moral support after they saved her. Unknowingly even to her, she became very attached to them.
Especially to Irene who took such good care of her and whose smile was just as beautiful as her mother.
The children who were helping to grow the tree of mana, saw Cecilia return and immediately ran towards her in excitement.
¡°Cecilia¡ you are back. What happened back there? Did you manage to find others on your trip?¡± Maya asked, expectations shing in her eyes.
Cecilia held the nervous hands of her best friend and nodded in assurance ¡°Un¡±.
She did not even have to say anything further as Maya¡¯s eyes trembled and tears started to overflow out of them as she looked at the silhouette that were standing at the distance.
¡°Grandfather!!¡¡± Her voice was quivering when she spotted her grandfather who she thought she would never get to meet in this lifetime, amidst the people. Simrly, Fennel¡¯s whole body shuddered as if he was electrocuted, when he saw his granddaughter.
Fennel was the parental grandfather of Maya. It was during their escape towards the Ancient Treants territory that his son and daughter inw were killed while his granddaughter was captured.
Fennel did not know how many times he had cursed fate for keeping him alive. But now that he had seen Maya well and fine inside the dungeon, he couldn¡¯t help but thank the heavens. He shed tears as he saw his granddaughter run towards him and he immediately hugged her.
A sense of relief washed over his body and tears started flowing from his eyes. It was not only them, simr scenes were happening all around them. Each of the children that Simon and Irene saved, was someone¡¯s family, little brother or rtive.
All of them shed tears as they hugged their dear one and rejoiced for their reunion once again.
Simon who was quietly watching the scene from the sidelines made a content face as he stared at the Forest Spring Spirits.
Suddenly out of the corner, Irene appeared beside him and said ¡°You did a good thing by reuniting them¡±. Her tone appeared indifferent but Simon who was ustomed to her could sense a slight trace of delight in her voice.
¡°You did all that just so you could make me protect them right?¡± Simon asked as he stared at Irene¡¯s pearly white face. Her crescent brows arced up a little but she still held onto herposure and remained silent.
Simon immediately took her silence as a yes and felt quite amused by her reaction. These past few weeks, he became more and more aware of Irene¡¯s personality. Though she appeared to be cold and indifferent on the outside which pushed others miles away, that was only a fa?ade.
Only those who truly knew her, would be able to tell that her personality wasn¡¯t as cold as she seemed to disy on the outside. Irene¡¯s brows furrowed and her face heated up a little seeing that Simon was staring at her. Even she herself was amazed by her reaction.
Cecilia who was rather in a fantastic mood, came running to them smiling as she said ¡°Big brother, big sister Irene¡ hehe, what are you guys talking about?¡±.
Quickly dispersing the thoughts in her head, Irene said while caressing Cecilia¡¯s hair ¡°Nothing much¡ we were just talking about some unrted things¡±. She looked at the group of forest spring spirits who were hugging and consoling each other and asked ¡°You don¡¯t wasn¡¯t to be a part of that group?¡±.
Cecilia simply shook her head and said ¡°They found their family and rtives that they desperately sought thefort of. I don¡¯t want to disturb their moment. If I go now, they would focus all their attention on me. Simply watching from the sidelines is enough for me¡±.
Her eyes were mncholic as she stared at her nsmen who were rejoicing after finding one another.
Simon was amazed, he didn¡¯t expect this level of mental maturity from a girl less than six years of age. Although she disyed a smiling front, internally he knew that Cecilia¡¯s heart ached and yearned for her parents.
Irene saw the pain in her eyes and silently hugged her. This little girl for the sake of not destroying the happy moments of her nsmen was hiding all her pain.
Sniff¡sniff¡ although she tried her best to act tough, Cecilia¡¯s eyes turned watery as soon as she was hugged by Irene.
Simon silently sighed and was about to leave the scene when Irene asked ¡°What do you n to do now that you have taken these Forest Spring Spirits as your subordinates?¡±.
Her crystal blue eyes that seemed to hold the brilliance of the ocean, reflected his image.
¡°I am going to make a new floor for the Forest Spring Spirits to live in peacefully. They can build a new vige there under the safety of my dungeon¡± Simon said and immediately teleported to a different floor.
¡ª¨C
The new floor that he created for the Forest Spring spirits was more than forty kilometres wide. Phosphoroscene crystals protruding from the walls and ceiling lighted the area. The ce was a forested area filled with greeneries and looked simr to the Ancient Treant territory the forest Spring spirit used to live in.
Of course, the nts and trees in the area were just ordinary and nothing as mystical as the one he saw in the area inhabited by the Ancient Treants. But Simon was least worried about that as he had the best subordinates who could grow even the rarest of nts. He had even experienced that first hand when he went to their vige that they built near the Ancient titan Treant.
Chapter 166: New Floor: Forest Spring Spirit Village (2)
Chapter 166: New Floor: Forest Spring Spirit Vige (2)
All sorts of rare fruits and nts that he had never seen, and which had effects that could even be said as outright magical was presented to him.
One must know that Forest Spring Spirits that were living there were the escapees that had sessfully managed to throw off their pursuers. The new settlement that they built there didn¡¯t even have the necessary recourses to grow rare nts and herbs.
But they still managed to do all that with what little resources they brought with them while escaping. Simon couldn¡¯t even start to imagine the rarity of nts and herbs that they used to grow back in their vige.
If he could provide the Forest Spring Spirits with seeds of rare nts and herbs, they would be able to grow them easily and without much effort.
Next, he purchased another pond of serenity and ced it at the northwest of the floor.
Staring at the pond of serenity, Simon fell into a deep contemtion. The original pond of serenity was supposed to look like this, clear blue and giving off a serene feeling that soothed one¡¯s heart.
The one that he had installed on his main floor behind his white pce had gone through mutation thanks to the slowly manifesting powers of Cecilia andpletely became something else.
The purity and concentration of mystical energy inside the pond had reached such a level that even with his Demon Viscount body, he couldn¡¯t endure it for more than a minute. Just the sheer volume of mystical energy that the pond was oozing with was on a whole different level.
He could understand why Irene said that the pond of serenity became a great asset for him that could make him stronger. Just immersing himself inside the pond for a minute was enough to make Simon realise that his base MP (Magic Points) had risen by a lot.
If not for the intolerable pain, Simon would have dived inside the pond a little more. Not to mention there were numerous peculiar objects such as the scarlet mutation crystals growing inside the pond.
If that was not enough, as of this moment the mystical energy inside the pond was still getting stronger and all of that energy was being funnelled towards the twenty or so Trees of mana nted nearby. Even without the need to check, Simon could feel the density of mana inside his main floor increasing day by day.
By now, the entire backside of his white pce where the pond was located, was covered by a thin white mist that endlessly lingered there. Although the effect was apparent only on his main floor, but Simon had already seen the magical effects of the Trees of Mana.
For his next step, he needed to nt the Trees of Mana on multiple floors to make the effects more ostensible.
Increasing the density of mana inside his dungeon was one of the crucial key points in increasing its rank. Fortunately, his n was going smoothly since he managed to acquire the help of Forest Spring Spirits.
Furthermore, he browsed for other items like the obsidian te from the [Shop] and ced them near the pond.
The Obsidian te is a type of rock that absorbs energy from the surroundings and fuses it with anything it is in contact with. In this case, the obsidian te will absorb the mystical energy present in the air and fuse it with the pond of serenity.
That is not all, the obsidian te is even able to absorb magic to some degree and release the mana stored back inside the pond. In other words, the obsidian rock will be able to absorb the residue energy from the magic used in the surroundings and deposit it back into the pond.
The te was ck in colour and had an unusual gloss to it. Simon bought seven tes for a total of 525,000 DP and ced them around the pond.
He further bought another twenty or so Tress of Mana and nted them across the pond. After finishing all the preparations, he teleported back to the main floor only to find the Forest Spring spirits making a neat row, waiting for his arrival.
Seeing Simon teleport in front of them, they all bowed their heads in unison. Simon nodded and dered ¡°Alright if you guys are ready, then we can move to the floor where you people can make your new vige¡±.
His voice was not loud yet it could be heard clearly all across the main floor.
When they heard his words, all the Forest Spring Spirits showed excited faces and just when Simon thought that they were all ready, Fennel stepped forward and spoke for all of them.
¡°Lord Simon we cannot even start to show how grateful we are that you saved us from this peril. We Forest Spring Spirits from this moment on will be eternally loyal to you and serve as your subordinates¡±.
He bent his body more than ny degrees and one could feel his sincerity through his tone. It was not only him, all the Forest Spring Spirits behind him were simrly bowing their heads disying their allegiance.
Simon was lost for words. Although he did save the Forest Spring Spirits, he did all that for Cecilia and his dungeon. But it seemed that it didn¡¯t matter to the Forest Spring Spirits as they were deeply grateful to Simon for saving the children, the hope of the Forest Spring Spirits.
Of course, Simon was affected by their sincerity as he nodded his head and epted their heartfelt allegiance. No matter what, now that they have be his subordinates, he would protect them with all of his power.
After dering his allegiance, Fennel earnestly added¡±Lord Simon does not need to worry Mistress has already told us about our duties and we shall do our utmost to help our lord¡±.
This time Simon was shocked, his brain failed to register some of the words that Fennel just said. ¡®Huh?!!¡ wait a minute¡ Mistress¡¯ Simon thought as his eyes involuntarily went towards Irene, who for some reason was not meeting his gaze.
It was at this moment that from the corner of his eyes, he spotted Cecilia smiling mischievously. Suddenly it dawned onto him.
¡®So it was all her work. She must have said something to Fennel and the others¡¯ Simon sighed internally looking at Cecilia who was trying to make a straight face. Shaking his head, he teleported all of them to the new floor.
The scenery around them changed and quickly became a ce filled with greeneries. The moment the Forest Spring Spirits looked at the floor, they became stunned while others became emotional.
The reason for this sudden change was because the new floor that Simon had modelled, looked exactly like the forest where their vige was located previously and from where they were forced to escape.
How could they not be reminiscent after being shown such a ce? Fennel¡¯s old eyes were trembling as he stared at the forest thaty ahead of him and he involuntarily asked ¡°T-This is¡?¡±.
¡°Hm? Ah! This is the new floor where you guys would be staying. I tried to make it as simr to the Ancient Treants territory where your original vige was located. Although the things that I could replicate was limited¡± Simon looked content seeing the reaction of the Forest Spring Spirits.
Fennel and the others looked at their lord once again, touched by his sincerity.
After being momentarily stunned, the Forest Spring Spirits soon began to work on building their new vige near the pond of serenity. Seeing them getting busy, Simon silently left the scene and teleported back to the main floor.
He left Cecilia there as she wanted to help her nsmen build a new vige.
ROAAAR¡ a loud demonic roar sounded out and the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse came running towards him. The guy mostly hanged around the 29th floor and was kind of like the boss to the Chimera Beers and Savage Warrior Monkeys that inhabited the floor.
Patting the warhorse that came running to him, Simon walked towards his white pce. There was arge difference between the mystical energy on any floor and on the main floor. A refreshing cool feeling assaulted his senses as he appeared closer to the white pce.
The mana inside him also started to resonate with the mystical energy outside and frantically started circting inside him. The rate of cirction was many times faster here than on the outside.
Simon had a vague feeling that if he kept on bathing in this energy, even without defeating any opponents; he would be able to level up soon. After defeating Laris, he was on the verge of breaking the level 300 hundred threshold.
And after going through the trial set by Aldebaran, he knew that he could increase to level 301 soon. Every hundred level represents a huge threshold that is very difficult to cross and more so when your bloodline is impure.
One needs a great amount of effort, dedication and increase their skills constantly to cross that threshold.
How does Simon know that? Well, after going through the trial that put an immense amount of burden on him, both physically and mentally, he had levelled up multiple of his skills such as the [Regeneration] which had evolved to be [High-Speed Regeneration], [Super Endurance] that had be [Enhanced Endurance]. He had also gained some new skills such as the [Minimal Mana Consumption].
¡ª¨C
Name:- Simon
Race:- Demon Viscount
Titles:- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 1/5]
Level:- 300
HP:- 44,991
MP:- 60,035
Stats:-
Strength:- 2800
Defence:- 3000
Agility:-3400
Magic:- 3800
Endurance:- 3100
Luck:- 2100
Skills:- Language Comprehension, Analysis, me Magic Mastery, Gale Magic Mastery, Electro Magic Mastery, Thought Processing, High-Speed Regeneration, High-Speed Flight, Super Strength, Super Agility, Enhanced Endurance, Super Defence, Body Enhancement, Fire Resistance, Wind Resistance, Pain Resistance, Blunt Damage Resistance,Sense Presence, Natural Recovery, Demonic Eyes, Minimal Mana Consumption
Amalgamation Skills:- [me-Gale Mastery], [Electro-me Mastery]
Inherent Skills:- Dungeon Creation, Main Menu, Ancestral Symbol Ignition
Chapter 167: New Floor: Forest Spring Spirit Village (3)
Chapter 167: New Floor: Forest Spring Spirit Vige (3)
The [Minimal Mana Consumption] skill helps the user to limit the mana consumption and help cast the magic more efficiently. In other words, a person with the skill [Minimal Mana consumption] can cast the same magic as the person without the aforementioned skill with less amount of mana.
Though the mana required for the magic has gone down, it doesn¡¯t mean that the power of the magic would also be reduced. Far from it, instead of going down, the power may even increase by a fewfold.
Simon remembered that he had seen an upgraded version of this skill in Irene¡¯s status. It seemed that he had acquired a skill that would help him bridge the gap in their power in the future.
About skills, Simon also became aware of another fact. Skills have the possibility of evolving into higher tier skills when used repeatedly or when one gains sufficient mastery over them. The higher the tier of the skill, the more powerful the effect of the skill.
For example, the rate at which his evolved skill [High-Speed Regeneration] heals his wounds, is many times faster than the [Regeneration] skill. At the same time, it is not easy to increase the tier or evolve the skill. One must know the kind of torment that Simon had to endure under the pressuring aura of the Ancient titan Treant. He had to repeatedly push his body to its limits and beyond.
He umted so many self-inflicted injuries that it was impossible for his [Regeneration] skill to keep up. It was under this situation that could make him crumble at any moment, that he was able to evolve his skills.
Due to his upgraded skills, he could distinctively feel that the threshold that was holding him back, was not there anymore. The trial set by Aldebaran had unexpectedly given him a pleasant surprise.
As he was lost in his thoughts, he unknowingly appeared in front of his pce and was unable to notice the presence of Irene in front.
¡°Hmm¡ it seems that I will need to evolve my other skills in some wa¨Cgagh¡± Simon crashed into something soft and fragrant.
BAM¡ He fell to the ground and felt something soft under him. Hmm~ if he had to describe it, the sensation he felt was as soft and cottony as the marshmallow yet as tangible and substantial as a water balloon.
Unwittingly, Simon grabbed onto it ? ¤Ä ?_? ?¤Ä.
¡°Ah~~¡± he heard a soft moaning sounding from under and his dazed mind finally returned back to reality. He looked down and was dumbfounded to find Irene under him.
Her pearly white face that could dawn even the brilliance of the moon, had a tinge of red onto her cheeks. Her crystal blue eyes appeared to be the most precious gem, were staring directly onto his own.
¡°Ehhh?!¡± Simon soon realised that they were in an awkward position. Right now, Irene¡¯s willowy and beguiling to the extreme body was pressed under him. Her breath which was as fragrant as a flower that had bloomed in the coldest of weather trickled his face. And her two full mounds that were pressed under his chest, changed their shape whenever Simon moved a little.
¡°Gulp¡± Simon audibly gulped and tried to contain his berserk desire that threatened to take over his mind.
However, he did not need to expend any effort to repress this emotion as a bone-chilling cold came assaulting him from Irene.
BANG¡ His body was pushed back and rotated in the air before falling face-first into the ground. Forst had umted onto his body and his teeth were chattering. Fortunately, the bone-chilling cold did notst long and swiftly dissipated.
Sighing in relief, Simon propped himself up and turned towards Irene who was avoiding his gaze. Simon gave an awkwardugh when he thought about what just happened a few moments ago. At that time, he waspletely engrossed in his thoughts to pay any attention to his surroundings.
Simon¡¯s eyes involuntarily went towards his hands, he could still distinctively remember the sensation he felt earlier.
From her perspective, it must look like Simon had deliberately bumped into her and taken advantage at that moment. Simon did not know what Irene was thinking at his moment as his own thoughts were muddled.
¡°Ah¡ that was I did not push you down¡ I mean I was on top of you but I did not deliberately touch you there¡ No, what I mean to say is¡ ¡± His eyes twitched as he himself did not know what his mouth was bbering on.
¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Simon thought that it was better to not make any more excuses and simply apologise.
Irene¡¯s cheeks were still burning red but her eyes were ice cold. When she saw that Simon had earnestly apologised for his actions, the chilliness in her eyes swiftly disappeared. Earlier it was also her fault that she appeared in front of him without letting her presence known. And she could see that Simon was lost in his thoughts and did not deliberately bump into her.
¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Irene said softly, her voice did not appear to be particrly angry. However, she was still avoiding his gaze.
No matter how she wanted to write it off, Simon had still involuntarily grabbed her chest. Even if she tried to pretend, it was still embarrassing for her. She could still feel the sensation earlier when Simon gave a fierce grab(???) and every time she remembered his actions, her emotions would be turbulent and her thoughts muddled.
~~~~~
There was an awkward silence between them before Simon hurriedly tried to dissolve it. ¡°You were looking for me?¡± He asked as he thought that Irene must have been looking for him to appear in front of him so suddenly.
Irene¡¯s face was back to her aloof self as she nodded her head and inquired ¡°I heard from Cecilia that to bring the Forest Spring Spirits with you, you had gone through a trial set by the Ancient Titan Treant and had even epted multiple of his conditions¡±.
Although she masked it perfectly, Simon still felt the slight concern in her voice.
Nodding his head, he replied, ¡°Yeah, it was the only choice I had to bring the forest Spring Spirits inside my dungeon¡±.
Simon remembered the seven years agreement between him and Aldebaran. The task might sound impossible and outright lunatic to most, but Simon did not doubt himself and his abilities. No matter what he would raise his rank to Demon Duke and subdue the Seven Kings of the Ghastly Winding Forest within these seven years.
Irene deeply stared at Simon¡¯s eyes that was burning with an intense determination and excitement. Her crescent brows made a frown as she asked ¡°Cecilia told me that you nearly destroyed your body in the first trial and now you have even epted something as ridiculous as raising your rank three times in the span of just seven years?¡±.
Her voice sounded exasperated as she added ¡°Honestly I don¡¯t know what to think anymore. Seeing how readily you agreed to those conditions, you must have something nned out. I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s bad to be positive but aren¡¯t you underestimating the ranks a little too much?¡±.
Simon was surprised as he looked at Irene. He never thought that she would be so concerned for him. He understood the vast gap in strength that the rank represent and frankly he was not underestimating it. Far from it, since he knew the level of strength that each rank up represents, he wanted to attain that realm of strength.
Although Seven years might be too short, Simon knew himself better than anyone. As long as there is a goal in front of him to achieve, he would not stop until he realises it.
If somebody heard the details of the agreement, they would mock him and see it as nothing but a ludicrous dream. Nevertheless, Simon was not concerned with what others thought about him.
Since he had already promised Aldebaran that he would raise his rank to Demon Duke, he would achieve it within these seven years and subdue the Seven Kings to be the true ruler of this Ghastly Winding forest.
Meeting Irene¡¯s gaze, Simon asked ¡°Do you also think that it is impossible for me to achieve it?¡±.
He wanted to know what she thought about him who had epted these conditions.
Irene stayed silent for a while and observed Simon, it was only after she felt the determination and resoluteness in his eyes, that she sighed.
¡°It is not about whether I believe in you or not. But seeing how determined you are to achieve your goals, it seems that whatever I say cannot change your mind. Hmph, as long as you still hold onto that willpower, it is not exactly impossible a task¡±.Saying that she separated her gaze from Simon and looked away.
Simon couldn¡¯t help but smile at her reply ¡°So you were simply worried about me?!¡±.
Right after he said that, Irene¡¯s brows twitched and her beautiful eyes widened a little ¡°Worried? Hmph, you seemed to be thinking too highly of yourself¡±.
Her reaction was as if somebody had seen through her inner thoughts. Simon was honestly surprised, he never expected his casual words would elicit such a reaction from her. He suddenly had a desire to tease her more but before he could do so, Irene spoke first.
She crossed her hands in front of her ample chest and those ample mounds of her whose softness was just like a quagmire one could endlessly sink in and whose fullness he had experienced firsthand, changed shape magnificently as they were pressed underneath her hands.
Even her simple azure clothes was unable to cover that devastating sight.
Failing to notice where his gaze was, Irene said ¡°How confident are you to increase your rank by a total of three times within the span of seven years?¡±.
Chapter 168: Skill Tiers
Chapter 168: Skill Tiers
¡°How confident are you to increase your rank by a total of three times within the span of seven years?¡±.
Tearing his gaze away, Simon cleared his mind from the unexpected blow he had received and said ¡°Thirty percent. I¡¯m thirty percent sure that I can achieve it¡±. His reply made Irene frown and at the same time, she looked somewhat surprised. ¡°It is higher than what I had expected. But regardless of that, it will be extremely hard to achieve. If you don¡¯t mind me asking, how are you going to achieve it?¡±.
It was not like she was underestimating him, but even without using her skills, she could easily tell that the bloodline that Simon possessed was fairly impure and it would be nigh impossible to achieve a rank as high as the Demon Duke. However, seeing his confidence, she did not want to dampen it.
Simon knew what Irene was thinking and deliberated for a while before revealing about the existence of his inherent skill [Main Menu] whose one of the functions allowed him to purify his bloodline and raise his rank.
Although the [Main Menu] was his biggest secret, he didn¡¯t know why but he didn¡¯t feel it ufortable to reveal its existence to Irene. Of course, he didn¡¯t reveal anything about him being reincarnated.
Irene was silent for a long while after being told something like that. Even she was hard-pressed to believe that something like that which broke all themon sense existed in this world. Although she was a little surprised, she wasn¡¯t in a disbelief as she was aware of heavenly treasures such as the royal Spirit orb that can remove one¡¯s restriction ced on them by their bloodline.
The fact that stunned her most was that the man in front of her was in possession of one that she had never heard of.
Exhaling a deep breath, she asked ¡°Is it alright for you to reveal the existence of such a thing to me? Isn¡¯t that inherent skill your biggest secret?¡±.
Simon simply smiled looking at her and waved his hands and said ¡°That¡¯s alright. Since I decided to reveal its existence to you, naturally I have enough confidence in you. I feel like it¡¯s alright to reveal its existence to you¡±.
Irene crystal blue eyes trembled and all the reasoning flew out of her head. She wanted to refute his words, but for some unknown reason, words failed her.
¡°Baseless confidence¡ you don¡¯t even know me¡¡± Irene silently whispered in a voice that only she could hear.
¡°Haha, anyways why did you suddenly ask something like that?¡± Simon questioned. He felt like Irene wouldn¡¯t have asked him such a question if she didn¡¯t have something in her mind.
Her state of mind returned to normal and her bearing was back to her aloof self. Instead of answering him, she asked a question of her own.
¡°How much are you aware of skills?¡±.
Simon fell into silence as he pondered over her question. Frankly, he did not know much about the skills and whatever he knew was from experimentation and trial.
He shook his head and said, ¡°I only know that skills just like magic should have different tiers since some of my skills have evolved into better ones after repeated uses¡±.
Irene nodded her head, her eyes shed with a mysterious light as she observed Simon.
¡°Correct, just like magic have different tiers, skills do too. However, just like gaining mastery over a form of mana, evolving skills to a new tier is equally difficult. There are three types of skills Normal, Rare and Lost skills. Each of these three types of skills has different tiers¡±.
¡°A Normal skill can evolve up to two tiers i.e Superior tier and Ancient tier. Whereas, a rare skill has the potential to evolve up to three tiers namely Superior, Ancient and Legendary tiers¡±. Irene paused here and nced at Simon who was intently listening to her.
She further added, ¡°As for the lost skills, they have a possibility of evolving up to four tiers:- Superior, Ancient, Legendary and finally the Phantasmal tier¡±.
Simon was amazed. The knowledge he inherited was limited, he did not know that there existed so many types of skills not to mention that there were even different tiers to them. But¡ ¡°Wait a minute¡ what do you mean by that they have a possibility of evolving? You don¡¯t mean that there is a chance that they might not evolve?¡±.
He asked befuddled by her exnation.
Irene was not surprised that Simon asked such a question. On the contrary, she was expecting such a question. She rified ¡°You are not wrong. Even a Lost skill has a possibility that it might not evolve. Skills are simrly restrained by ones bloodline. If their bloodline is not pure, they are unable to reach higher ranks and simrly, their skills are unable to evolve. One not only needed to continuously increase their proficiency with the skill but also need a pure bloodline to go forward¡±.
¡°You must have guessed by now but the type of skills represents how hard they are to acquire. A Normal skill is easy to acquire while a rare skill is difficult to get. The same goes for the Lost skill, they are the most difficult to acquire¡±.
¡°Not only that, Rare and Lost skills are more difficult to evolve than Normal skills since one needed a very pure bloodline and a high rank to increase their tiers. So even if one gets extremely lucky and acquires a Lost skill, they cannot evolve it their entire life if they possessed an impure bloodline¡±.
Simon who was processing all this information, couldn¡¯t help but mutter ¡°So that¡¯s how it is. The better the type of the skill, the more difficult it is to acquire them and increase their tiers. Does that mean that a Rare skill is stronger than a Normal skills and a Lost skill is stronger than a Rare?¡±.
Seeing Simon¡¯s enthusiasm to fill the void in his knowledge, Irene was quite pleased. She shook her head and said ¡°Not exactly. You have to also consider that evolving a Rare and Lost skill is more difficult than a Normal skill. If a normal skill evolves into a Superior tier, it should be stronger than a Rare skill that has not. And simrly, a Rare skill that has evolved into a Superior rare skill is more stronger than a Lost skill that hasn¡¯t evolved and so on so forth¡±.
As Simon soaked all of this knowledge, He felt his understanding of skills increase more and more. Suddenly though, a thought shed in his mind and he couldn¡¯t help but ask once again ¡°If there are only three types of skills, then what about inherent skill?¡±.
Simon opened his status and looked at the row which disyed his inherent skills. If ording to Irene that there only existed three types of skill, then what about the inherent skill that was disyed by his status?
Irene deliberated as to how better phrase her answer before saying ¡°Inherent skill is not a type of skill. It is disyed by the status that governs thews of this world, the various skills that are unique to you or your race¡±.
Simon finally understood as to why the [Dungeon Creation] was listed in his inherent skills. Dungeon Creation was a skill unique to the demon race.
¡°As of now, most of your skills could only be said as are Normal-type superior tier at best. The only Rare skill that you have in your possession is the [Demonic Eyes] skill¡± Irene said while observing Simon with that mysterious glow in her eyes.
Simon was a little surprised that Irene knew all about his skills but when he thought that she might be using Analysis on him, he soon rxed. What Simon did not know was that his status that even the subordinates of the Demon Lord couldn¡¯t see through, was easily read by Irene.
What Irene was using wasn¡¯t as simple as Analysis and was something totally different.
Simon was amazed by the vast knowledge of Irene, he was reminded of the vast gulf between them once again. He didn¡¯t doubt her words since he felt that her origins were quite mysterious.
¡°So it turns out that the [Demonic Eyes] skill that I got as a gift after winning the dungeon war was a Rare skill. Since I don¡¯t use it much, it would take quite a bit of time to increase its tier¡±. Simon mused as he brought out his status window.
He stared at all of his skills which ording to Irene was mostly Normal type of skills. Suddenly, out of curiosity, he asked the question that suddenly popped into his mind ¡°I get that most of my skills are Normal ones but what about my other skills such [Dungeon Creation], [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] and [Main Menu]¡±.
Simon was quite curious about the type and tiers of these skills that were listed in his inherent skills.
Irene looked at Simon, her eyes were strange as they observed his status. It was only after a while that she sighed, her chest heaved up and down as she said.
¡°No matter how I see it, it¡¯s clearly strange that all Demon Nobles have the skill [Dungeon Creation] which allows them to create a such as this. No wonder the status has listed it in your inherent skill¡±.
Irene said in a low voice after a deep contemtion. Simon¡¯s interest was piqued after he heard what Irene had to say. Although he asked the question out of curiosity at first, he didn¡¯t expect such a response from Irene.
¡ª¨C
Tiers of Skills-
Phantasmal [?????]
Legendary [????]
Ancient [???]
Superior [??]
Base [?]
Normal Skills:- Evolve Possibility [Superior, Ancient]
Rare Skills:- Evolve Possibility [Superior, Ancient, Legendary]
Lost Skills:- Evolve Possibility [Superior, Ancient, Legendary, Phantasmal]
Chapter 169: Skill Tiers (2)
Chapter 169: Skill Tiers (2)
¡°What do you mean by that¡ is [Dungeon creation] that much of an unusual skill for a Demon Noble to have?¡±.
Since Simon wasn¡¯t originally from this world, he didn¡¯t find it unusual having a [Dungeon Creation] skill as it was quite handy. Heck, even his very race had changed from a human to a demon so he had no mind to spare for that.
Irene blinked her eyes seeing the clueless look in his eyes and sighed in exasperation.
¡°What do you think¡ having a skill as convenient and amazing as the [Dunegon Creation] is all thatmon?¡±.
Being put it like that, Simon couldn¡¯t help but realise that the exclusive skill avable to all Demon Nobles was amazing after all.
¡°The [Dungeon Creation] skill is a Lost Legendary tier skill. I don¡¯t know how all the Demon Noble race got a hold of something like that but it¡¯s clearly unusual. A skill that helps you to create a dungeon with all those functions is an incredible skill to say no less¡±.
Simon was a little shocked, he never thought the [Dungeon Creation] skill of his was something so amazing. A Lost Legendary tier skill what kind of concept was that? If Simon looked at all the skills that he had umted until now, none of them could evene close to its tier much less match up to it.
From Irene¡¯s words, he understood that there is a vast difference between a Normal, Rare and Lost skill. Even after putting all that effort into increasing his strength, Simon had only gained Normal skills. The only Rare skill that he had on him was something that he got after winning a dungeon war.
He understood how difficult it was to gain a skill not to mention increase their tiers. And now all of a sudden, he was told that the [Dungeon Creation] skill with which he had created his dungeon, was a Lost Skill and a Legendary tier no less.
What he couldn¡¯t understand was how the entire Demon Noble race got hold of something like that. It seemed that even Irene was perturbed by that but since they did not have an answer for that yet, it was no use dwelling over it.
At best, Simon could only be thankful for having such a convenient skill from the get-go. Nevertheless, it was just the start. The next words that came out of Irene was even more shocking.
¡°As for the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] skill that you have¡ assuming that it is simr to my [??????????]in essence then it is a Lost Phantasmal tier skill¡±.
Simon felt as if he was thunderstruck and it took him quite a while to process what Irene had said. He was still digesting the fact that he was in possession of one Lost Legendary tier skill. But to his amazement, the next skill he had was even higher than the previous one.
A Lost Phantasmal tier, he didn¡¯t even know what kind of concept was that. ording to what he heard from Irene, a Phantasmal tier was the highest that a skill could reach and among all the types only the Lost skill had the potential to reach that.
It wasn¡¯t just Simon but even Irene was amazed by some of his skills that were so high in tiers. It wasn¡¯t until now when she used her abilities to check Simon¡¯s status was she able to find that he was not as simple as he appeared. Although his bloodline was impure, he had skills that were deep and unfathomable. It was also at this moment that Irene realised that she had greatly underestimated Simon.
¡®It might not be impossible for him to go up three ranks in a row in the span of just seven years after all¡¯ Irene mused as she reevaluated him.
Simon was out of sorts for a while before realising that he had some unbelievable skill. Two Lost skills and not only that, one was Legendary tier the other a Phantasmal. Simon did not know what to think anymore. Just as his mind was going nk, he suddenly thought of another possibility.
¡°What about my [Main Menu]?¡± if all his inherent skill was at least Legendary tier Lost skill, then what about his [Main Menu] skill that had transmigrated along with him from his previous world?
Irene made a troubled face when he asked that question and went silent for a long while. Her expression wasplicated and constantly changing.
Finally as if giving up, she shook her head and replied with a serious tone ¡°I don¡¯t know. From the description of the skill that you have told me, it is clearly a very unusual skill and not only that but it is even more unique than the other two inherent skills of yours to the point where even I am unable to see through it¡±.
Simon was stunned silent this time. Never would he have thought Irene who had such vast knowledge, would be unable to tell what tier of skill the [main Menu] was.
But when he thought about it carefully, it came as no surprise to Simon that she was unable to identify his [Main Menu] as it was a skill that didn¡¯t belong to this world in the first ce.
However, more than him, Irene was the more perplexed one. No matter how she tried to gaze into the depth of the skill, all her prying attempts were blocked. No, it would be more appropriate to say that even when she tried sensing it, she felt nothing but a vast emptiness that even made her feel threatened.
¡®Abnormal¡¯ she silently muttered. There was another type of skill more ancient and powerful than Lost skill. But Irene did not feel any need to mention it since she thought that there was no way such a skill would appear here not to mention on Simon that too.
The level and profoundness of such a skill appearing here was clearly an impossibility, that was what she thought up until now.
¡°To be able to summon me¡ it has clearly reached that tier. But at the same time, I¡¯m not getting the same impression from a skill that should be on that tier¡± Irene contemted and used some words that even Simon wasn¡¯t able to understand. What he did know was that even Irene was unable to see through his skill.
For the first time, Simon felt like he had won against Irene. [Main Menu] was a skill that he had designed back when he was developing a game in his previous life. He would have freaked out if Irene had seen through even that.
Although Simon did not know which tier the [Main Menu] belonged to, at least he knew that his [Dungeon Creation] and [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] was no ordinary skill. Having two of the highest tier skills, Simon couldn¡¯t help but feel pleased especially the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] which had saved him numerous times.
The description of the skill and the power it bestows was clearly on a different scale and Simon felt that the more he increased his rank, the more powerful the buff from the skill would be. A Phantasmal tier skill was on apletely different level than all the other skills on his repertoire.
All along, the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] skill was his trump. But it came with a disadvantage of its own, that is after it is used once, the skill disappears for a long period of time. Not to mention the skill ces a heavy burden on the user¡¯s body and the user is left unable to use any other skills after it expires.
However, ignoring the disadvantages, the power spike alone is enough to ovee most of the challenges.
That is not all, as he had mentioned before, the power bestowed by the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] skill increases as he ranks up. The power spike when he activated the skill when he was a Demon Baron and now when he used it as a Demon Viscount, was in a totally different realm.
The skill seemedpletely different now and even the buff the skill provided was longer and many times more powerful. It came to him as no surprise, the skill was worthy enough to be in the Phantasmal tier. But even if he said that, he did not know what makes a skill Phantasmal tier.
As if seeing through his query, Irene exined ¡°A Lost skill is a type of skill only a limited amount of people in this whole world have in their possession. It is called Lost skills because many of such skills are forgotten since the ancient times and not many people have seen them.
¡°Not only that, the skills that fall in this category are very profound and when one evolves their skill to the highest tier, that is the Phantasmal tier. The skill has unlimited potential and grows along with the user. That is what it means for a skill to be in the Phantasmal tier. Only a skill that has the potential to grow along side the user, has the qualification to be called Phantasmal tier¡±.
The words of Irene answered most of the queries and mysteries regarding the skill in his head. Simon at this moment felt quite enlightened. The veil of mystery that covered the world, dissipated a little at a time in front of his eyes.
Simon nced at Irene and deeply sighed ¡°It appears that there is much for me to learn about the world and its mysteries¡±. Although he muttered it in a tone that only he could hear, Irene who was near him clearly heard it.
She smiled and observed Simon with those crystal blue eyes of her that was as vast and deep as an ocean.
Chapter 170: Irenes Suggestion
Chapter 170: Irene¡¯s Suggestion
While Simon was stillmenting at the inadequateness of his knowledge, Irene took a few steps and came near him. A clear and pleasant fragrance drifted to his nose and when he looked up, he saw her alluring figure that had enough charm to momentarily stun all the people of this world, in front of him.
The distance between their bodies was only a few inches away and if Simon wanted to touch her, he just needed to extend his arms a little. He could hear the sound of her breathing and her ample chest heaving up and down.
The way she moved her body, her pearly white hands that tucked her hair behind her ears to the flutter of her eyelids. At this moment, her every action to the smallest movement was so beguiling that Simon was stunned silent.
He involuntarily remembered the scene that happened a few moments ago and couldn¡¯t help but rey that scene in his head once again. His hands twitched, reminiscing the soft sensation that they felt before.
Realising her own action, she quickly stepped back and nced at Simon who was in a daze. Even she did not know why she did that earlier. When she saw how Simon was ncing at his hand, scenes from earlier came rushing into her head.
Her pearly white face turned a shade of pink and her emotions became a mess. The atmosphere became silent and nobody spoke a word.
It was at this moment the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse who was roaming around the ce, neighed as if waking the two people who were in a daze.
Simon hurriedly shook his head and came out of his stupor. He silently cursed himself for recalling the scene from the past again and again. It was his fault for making the atmosphere awkward.
Ahem¡ forcing a cough, he looked at Irene who had regained herposure once again and asked ¡°Is there something you wanted to tell me?¡±.
Irene nodded and observed Simon with that mysterious ability of her once again and said ¡°Since you have already epted the conditions from Aldebaran, I have nothing else to say. But even with the existence of the [Main Mneu], it would extremely strenuous and hard to jump three ranks in just seven years¡±.
¡°You would have to put an insane amount of effort and willpower and it would still not be enough. Are you prepared?¡± She asked in a tone that seemed to suggest something.
Simon closed his eyes and clenched his hands into fists. He recollected his determination to be stronger once again to solidify his resolve. ¡®The reason I seek strength¡¯ unknowingly, the ethereal figure of Irene floated into his mind.
The ce she was standing on, was so high that it seemed unreachable at a nce. To reach her who was up there, Simon once made his resolve.
¡®Big brother¡ please don¡¯t get hurt okay¡¯ suddenly it was Cecilia¡¯s voice that came into his mind. Her delicate fairy-like figure and emerald green eyes that seemed to look up to him, appeared in front of him.
¡®That¡¯s right, I must be stronger for the sake of Cecilia. To keep my words and protect the safety of her n¡¯. Simon opened his eyes and looked at the dungeon that he had created and named Lace with so much care.
To protect his dungeon, he needed strength. He matched the gaze of Irene who was currently looking at him and said: ¡°Yeah, I know the task seems monumental but I made my resolve and I¡¯ll see it through¡±.
His voice was unwavering, clear and precise.
Hearing him put his determination out, Irene suggested ¡°How about I help you. The task might be too much for a single person to bear alone but if it¡¯s two, then we can easily endure through it¡±.
Simon was surprised, he didn¡¯t expect Irene to say something like that. He asked furrowing his brows ¡°What do you mean?¡±.
Without any change in her facial expression, she said in a serious tone ¡°What I mean is that I can help you train and increase your strength. Although you have the unusual ability of that [Main Menu] skill of yours, and might not be shackled by the bloodline limit. You should still be aware that with just determination alone, you cannot increase your strength by three whole realms¡±.
¡°Each rank requires mastery and acquisition of many skills before you can level up and move on to the other. Mastering those skills would require techniques and years of practice before they can evolve. Not to mention that there are various other factors involved the higher the rank you go. To finish all that in just the span of seven years would be impossible for a single person¡±.
Simon¡¯s eyes widened when he heard that. He had known that it wouldn¡¯t be easy but he wasn¡¯t aware of what he exactly needed to do to rank up. He had guessed that he needed to evolve his skill but he did not know where to start.
Understanding what she was suggesting, Simon asked to be sure ¡°You mean that¡¡±.
Irene simply nodded her head and rified ¡°I mean exactly what I said. I can help you achieve your goal. The skills and other requirements to rank up, I can help you train all that. It might be impossible if it¡¯s you alone but if it¡¯s the both of us, I have confidence that we can fulfil those conditions of the Ancient Titan Treant within the time limit¡±.
Simon was momentarily speechless and his mind went nk. Seeing him make such an expression, Irene couldn¡¯t help but ask ¡°What is it?¡±.
He blinked a few times and tried to put the words in his head ¡°It¡¯s just that¡ I don¡¯t understand why you would want to help me. I mean I was the one who epted the conditions. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want your help, for that I am more than grateful. I just don¡¯t understand what¡¯s there in it for you?¡±.
Irene furrowed her brows at his question and looked at him with her deep crystal blue eyes ¡°What kind of question is that? Aren¡¯t I one of the Guardians of this dungeon? ording to this title, I am obligated to protect it. The dungeon and the dungeon master are connected. As one of the Guardian, it is natural for me to help the dungeon master when he is in trouble. Plus since you saved the Forest Spring Spirits, we can call it equal¡±.
Simon dryly chucked at her reply. Although she pretended that it was all for the sake of protecting the Forest Spring Spirits, she wouldn¡¯t be so concerned for him if it was just for that. And also she didn¡¯t have to do it for them since he saved them on his own ord, not because he was told to do so.
Simon was able to find a cute little sister in Cecilia and also how amazing the Forest Spring Spirit race was. It should be him thanking them for all the benefits that his dungeon is going to receive, not the other way round.
Irene had a cold, noble and aloof temperament. It was also because she has such a disposition, that it sometimes got in her way and did not allow her to bepletely honest with her feelings.
Simon did not know and maybe Irene herself was in the dark that she helped Simon not because of her obligation as a Guardian nor for the Forest Spring Spirits but because of a feeling that she herself did not quite understand it.
Simon did not refuse her offer and nodded his head. He was aware of how strong Irene was. Her status that he had once glimpsed upon when summoning her, was so ridiculous that he still remembered it.
There was no better person to train him than Irene. She was clearly more experienced than him in this field and Simon felt nothing wrong being trained by her. It was also the same during his life on earth.
Being taught by a senior in thepany who had years of umted experience, hastened the progress of his learning and he quickly caught up to their pace. Simon did not think that his current situation was any different on the contrary, it was better to have someone to guide you rather than forging the way all alone.
Irene was even considerate enough to put it as her helping him to call it equal instead of him asking for her help. She was thoughtful enough not to hurt his pride and at the same time, provided a helping hand when he needed it the most.
¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be in your care then,¡± Simon said as he looked forward to improving his skill and techniques to increase his rank.
Irene nodded her head and said, ¡°Very well¡ Seven years is not a lot of time. Let¡¯s start the training as soon as possible¡±. Right after saying that, she turned to look in the direction of the pond of serenity where a thin white fog lingered endlessly.
Although the mystical energy around the main floor was quite thick, the concentration was more than ten times near the pond of serenity.
Simon followed her gaze and looked in the direction and asked ¡°Where are we going to train?¡±.
She pointed a finger towards the location of the pond and said ¡°We are going to train there. The pond of serenity after being tinkered by the abilities of Cecilia have changed massively. The concentration of mana near the area is quite thick and very beneficial for your training. Compared to the other areas, it would be much more faster to train there¡±.
Chapter 171: Training Begins
Chapter 171: Training Begins
Hearing her exnation, Simon immediately understood why she chose that ce as his training ground. Even he vaguely felt that the ce was far better to train in.
Irene¡¯s figure shed and with an azure light, she quickly appeared near the pond. Simon followed next and arrived at the pond shortly. While rushing here, he had once again noticed the disparity in their skills.
Irene had used a special skill or technique unknown to him and arrived near the pond at a pace that was hard for him to follow even with his evolved [Flight] skill. The [High-Speed Flight] that he acquired after his previous skill evolved was a Superior tier Normal skill.
After arriving near the vicinity of the pond, Simon was surprised to find that he and Irene weren¡¯t the firster. The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse who was roaming around the main floor, was the first one to arrive at this ce.
Looking at it snuggling around the Trees of Mana and quietly dozing off, Simon felt that the warhorse too liked the ce because of the abundant mana. Mana was beneficial to all the creatures and it came as no surprise to him that the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse would choose to stay in this ce and utilize its effects.
The next thing that caught his eyes was the growth of the Trees of Mana. They were now so big and robust that Simon thought that given a month or two, they would quickly touch the ceiling of the floor which was three hundred meters above the ground.
¡®It seems that I have to do some remodelling of the main floor in my free time¡¯ Simon thought as he made a mental note. The air around the area was refreshing to breathe, it was as if the ce was extremely rich in oxygen. And not only that, after Simon tried to circte his mana around his body, he was amazed by how smoothly it was flowing and mysteriously enough the mana around here had a soothing effect.
The ever-present mana that he felt everywhere around the forest did not have such properties and the soothing effect he felt should be exclusive to the pond of serenity.
¡®What is happening? Have the properties of mana been altered?¡ Is that even possible?¡¯ Simon felt the mana around the surroundings and distinctively felt that it was quite different. The only possibility that came into his mind that could trigger such a peculiar change was none other than the pond of serenity.
The more he observed the pond, the more mysterious it became. ¡®It seems Irene was right¡¯ Simon thought when he realised the profundity of the pond. Training around here would be many times faster than any other area of the dungeon.
Now that he was here, he wanted to quickly start the training but did not know where to start. Irene who was beside him, could see the impatience in his eyes and said ¡°Before we start the training, I want you to dive inside the pond. Try to endure it for a minute or so¡±.
Listening to Irene, Simon diverted his attention back to the pond of serenity which was releasing thick clouds of fog.
Previously when he dived inside the pond, he couldn¡¯t even immerse in it for more than a minute. The pond wasn¡¯t especially deep and one could see the bottom which had many different things growing in it from the shore. Although the fog obstructed the vision a little, it wasn¡¯t enough to hide the contents of the ponds.
¡°I must remind you that the pond has been continuously changing. The density of the mystical energy deposited inside the pond by the veins beneath the earth has reached a dangerous degree. Even if it¡¯s the current you, it might be impossible to even soak in it for more than twenty seconds¡±
Irene said as she carefully inspected the changes happening around the pond. Even without her telling him, Simon could see that the pond was not the same as before. A deep white light shed inside from time to time.
He understood the reason behind Irene asking him to try and immerse in the pond for a minute or so. She wanted to see where his limit was and could n the training ording to it.
Simon without further ado started undressing but soon realised that Irene was also there. Her face remained impassive and it looked like she was not bothered by his actions.
¡®Haha, what am I being flustered about¡ it¡¯s not like I¡¯mpletely naked¡¯ after stripping down to his shorts, Simon immediately dived inside the pond.
SHHHHHHH¡ the instant he jumped inside, his pale white skin turned a shade of red. He felt like he had lunged inside boiling hot water and the heat was searing his skin. However, the temperature inside the pond was normal and it was only his imagination.
Simon could feel the extremely rich energy sweep around him and entering his body through all the pores. The energy that had entered inside his body was so dense that it felt just like magma and was extremely hard to circte.
The temperature of his body went up like mad whenever he circted the energy and it was quickly bing hard for him to even stay still. Unlike the physical pressure that his body had to endure during the trial set by Aldebaran, the pressure now waspletely internal and depended on how efficiently he circted them.
Right after ten seconds passed, he felt all of the veins inside his body bulging from the abundant energy which was quickly going berserk. An unbelievable amount of pain that was so acute that they assaulted every inch of his body.
Simon felt like his body was extremely heavy and stiff, just like a stone that had no buoyancy. Each second felt extremely long and he could no longer keep his eyes open. The tremendous energy inside the pond felt just like lightning infused water, continuously electrocuting him.
rms were continuously ring in his head and the amount of energy stored inside his body was reaching a point of bursting out. This waspletely different from the trial. If he stubbornly held on any longer, his body would burst from the overflowing energy.
Realising that this was the current limit of his body, he quickly surfaced out of the pond.
¡°Huff¡ huff¡ huff¡¡± His breathing was ragged while steam continuously rose out of his body. The overflowing energy inside him slowly receded a little at a time and Simon finally sighed in relief.
He felt pain all over his body and an extreme amount of exhaustion hit him. Opening his status, Simon was shocked to find that his HP had been shaved by one third and his MP had beenpletely drained.
¡°How can that be? I did not suffer any injuries for my HP to go down by this much and even my MP¡ just until now, I felt that my body was filled with mystical energy and would burst out any moment¡± Simon muttered out loud as he stared at the pond with his trembling eyes.
¡°Twenty-five seconds. That is the current limit of your body¡± Irene silently appeared behind and appraised him.
¡°You don¡¯t have to be so shocked. With your current rank, your HP was bound to go down every second as for your MP, you were continuously depleting them while trying to circte the new energy that was wildly rushing inside your body. It is only natural that you won¡¯t have any after all the efforts you have expended while immersing inside the pond¡±.
Irene quickly dispelled the doubts he had in his mind.
It seemed that he made the correct choice by realising the current limits of his body and surfacing at the right time. Anyter than that and he wouldn¡¯t have MP to circte the overflowing energy continuously rushing inside his body and his remaining HP would have been immediately shaved off.
The moment such thoughts arrived in his mind, he felt a shudder through his soul. While soaking the energy inside the pond, Simon felt like his body was a small vessel that could break any moment if filled to the brim.
Twenty-five seconds was far too less, he had to increase the capacity of the vessel that is his body to endure immersing in it for longer periods of time. Although Simon was a little disappointed that he couldn¡¯t even endure for even half a minute, he quickly got over it.
Wasn¡¯t he training to get stronger? Once he is stronger, Simon was confident that he could break his current record.
Even if the pond was continuously changing, he had faith that he could ovee it. While he was lost in his thoughts, Irene who was simrly deliberating something, asked ¡°Do you feel some changes in your body after immersing yourself in the pond?¡±.
Her question woke him up from his train of thoughts and he quickly analysed his body. Simon was silent for a long while and just when he thought that there were no changes in his body, he was amazed to find that the mana cirction was a little faster than before.
The change was so slight that if he didn¡¯t pay any attention to it, he would have missed itpletely.
Nodding his head, Simon replied, ¡°I think the rate at which I can circte the mana inside my body is a little faster than before. That is all about it I guess¡±.
He did not know why Irene asked such a question nor what kind of answer she was looking for. But if had to describe the changes that had urred to his body after that experience, then it would only be that.
Chapter 172: Training Begins (2)
Chapter 172: Training Begins (2)
He did not know why Irene asked such a question nor what kind of answer she was looking for. But if had to describe the changes that had urred to his body after that experience, then it would only be that
Did he miss something? As Simon was deliberating his answer once again, Irene seemed content with his response.
She nced at Simon¡¯s askance face and said ¡°Right! Even if the change is minute, you must also look at the total time you had immersed inside the pond. All that change had taken ce after only soaking yourself inside for less than half a minute¡±.
Simon widened his eyes at that reply. Why didn¡¯t he think of that? The answer was right in front of him, in in sight. He was too engrossed by his depleted HP and MP that he failed to realise the wondrous changes that had urred inside his body.
What was more incredible was that he had soaked in that energy for only twenty or so seconds. What would happen if he was able to immerse inside the pond for longer periods of time?
Simon couldn¡¯t even imagine what kind of changes his body would go through at that time.
Although his body was still trembling from the experience, his heart was pounding like crazy with excitement. Seeing his reaction, Irene wasn¡¯t surprised and smiled to herself.
The pond changing to this degree was because of the many Mystical veins underneath the earth connecting with the pond. Being deposited with such rich energy, the pond was bound to undergo unforeseen changes.
All of it was thanks to Cecilia who had unknowingly manipted the trajectory of the mana veins. Even now when Irene used her peculiar ability to gaze underneath the ground, she could see massive mana veins interconnecting with one another to form a hugework.
The degree to which they were being altered, was truly a surprising sight. The true abilities of a Forest Spring Royal Spirit wasid bare in front of them.
¡°I feel like I understand now why you said the pond would be a great asset to raise my strength in the future¡± Simon said as he marvelled at the pond.
A smile blossomed onto Irene¡¯s face when she heard that; she replied ¡°You should thank Cecilia. That little girl is constantly thinking about how to be of some help to you¡±.
When he thought about the little girl he had taken in as his little sister who was constantly worried about him, Simon couldn¡¯t help rub his nose as he said ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll do so¡±.
Irene did notment any further when she saw how serious he was. But when she thought about Cecilia who was steadily awakening her powers, she couldn¡¯t help but remark ¡°Her abilities are slowly manifesting and it wouldn¡¯t be long before she canpletely awaken to her Forest Spring Royal Spirit powers. At that time, the Pond of Serenity wouldn¡¯t be the only thing that would undergo massive changes in your dungeon¡±.
Irene was well aware of how unusual an ability a Forest Spring Royal Spirit possessed. There were not many races that can manipte the forces of nature to such a degree and even amongst them the Forest Spring Royal Spirit reigned supreme. What she had shown right now, was just the tip of an iceberg.
¡°Yeah¡¡± When Simon heard that Cecilia was starting to manifest her powers, he was starting to worry a little.
Hearing his listless reply, Irene asked in a frown ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Your reply was awfully unenergetic¡±.
The words that Aldebaran said about Cecilia being a reincarnation of one of the Eight Emissaries of the primordial demon of pride, was still weighing on his mind. He was worried not because of her being a reincarnation of some Emissary but because of a possibility that she might be someonepletely different.
Although they were not blood-rted, Simon was starting to see her as his own sister. There was no way he would be happy knowing that she was steadily awakening her powers as that was akin to awakening her memories as well.
Theseplicated feelings of his had no outlet to go and seeing that Irene was still unaware of Cecilia¡¯s identity, Simon decided to spill all of it.
As Irene heard what Simon had learned from the Ancient titan Treant, she couldn¡¯t help but widen her eyes in shock. The more she heard, the bigger the turmoil in her heart was. It was the first time that Simon saw Irene being surprised this much by something and couldn¡¯t help but feel that she knew something.
When he asked her about it, she did not reply. No, it would be more appropriate to say that she was so absorbed in her thoughts that she failed to react to his question.
¡°What is happening? I have never seen her behave like this before?¡± Simon muttered as he observed Irene¡¯s reaction.
Although the noble and cold bearing that was inborn to her was still there, there was no hint of her gaining herposure back. Her eyes would be sometimes in a daze and sometimes focused, her crescent brows were locked in a frown and it looked like she was trying very hard to recollect something.
Her expression was constantly changing, sometimes it was in pain, other times it was happy, angry and sad. The expressions that Simon thought that he would never get to see from Irene constantly appeared on her at this moment.
It was also at this moment that Simon realised that Irene¡¯s temperament was not cold and aloof from the start. No matter how icy and noble one behaved, they would still have a time when they were as innocent as a child.
It seemed that Irene was going through a great emotional upheaval and all her emotions that had been encased in ice, was slowly surfacing.
¡°Kuh¡ ahn~¡± just when the emotional upheaval was starting to overwhelm her and she released a sound of agony, a resonant phoenix voice echoed out across the whole dungeon.
Simon who was starting to be a little anxious seeing that she was still not snapping out from her daze, was astounded to see the halo of an Azure phoenix appear behind her. The phoenix looked illusory and gave off a boundless aura that seemed to be able to epass the whole world.
In front of the phoenix, the world looked tiny and its divine might made one to bow their heads in reverence.
Simon had never seen such a beautiful bird as marvellous and celestial as the one before him. That was not all, a mark that looked like the phoenix appeared on her forehead and glowed with a soothing azure light. The mark looked beautiful with all those intrinsic patterns and seemed just like a crown decorating her forehead.
The pain that was assaulting Irene, was instantly calmed with that phoenix cry. At this moment, from her countenance to her very being looked extremely divine.
The illusory scene disappeared after a few seconds and Irene¡¯s tightly locked brows finally loosened. The next moment when she opened her eyes, it looked extremely confused and lost.
Simon wanted to ask what happened to her earlier but kept his mouth shut when he saw how wavering and unsure her eyes seemed at this moment.
Even if he asked her about it, Simon was sure that he wouldn¡¯t get any answer. It was also at this moment that he realised that he didn¡¯t know anything about Irene. Her origins and her past was aplete mystery to him.
¡®Does she herself not know what just happened a few seconds ago¡¯ Simon felt like Irene herself was unsure about what happened to her earlier when looking at her lost expression.
The mood quickly became ufortable and Simon did not want to probe her about it anymore. Therefore he hurriedly changed the topic to their training.
¡°So what do I do next to train my skills,¡± Simon asked trying to dissolve the weird atmosphere. There was no point worrying about something that he clearly knew nothing about. Instead, it was better for him to focus on getting stronger and raising his strength.
It seemed that his efforts were sessful as Irene hurriedly recollected herposure. Earlier he dived inside the pond as he was asked and realised the current limit of his body. He was also made aware of how important the pond was for his growth.
Irene clearly had some ns for making him do something like that. But even he didn¡¯t imagine the next words that came out of her. She looked at him and quickly shifted her gaze away before saying in an indifferent tone.
¡°How long do you n to stay like that?¡±.
¡°Huh?¡± At first, Simon was confused but he quickly realised the meaning behind her words. Right now, he was still only in his shorts and was wearing nothing. Previously before he dived inside the pond, he removed all of his clothes except for his shorts and ever since surfacing from the pond, the event that happened one after the other totally made him forget about his current appearance.
It seemed that no matter how unbothered she acted, Irene was still conscious of his appearance.
Simon quickly swallowed his embarrassment and hurriedly wore his clothes. When she saw that Simon was done changing, Irene observed him with that mysterious glow in her eyes and nodded before saying:
¡°When you were immersing inside the rich energy within the pond of Serenity, how well were you able to circte the energy that was wildly rushing inside your body?¡±.
Chapter 173: Named Monster
Chapter 173: Named Monster
Simon thought over the question for a while and remembered the sensation of the mystical energy that was rushing rampantly inside his body. At that time, he had to expend all of his mana to circte the energy within him.
¡°It was extremely difficult. The energy felt as hot as magma when it gushed inside my body and circting it was exceedingly challenging. There was even a moment when it felt immovable no matter how much mana I poured to circte it. It was as if it had clogged somewhere¡±.
Simon described the exact feeling he had back when he was soaking inside the pond. To his surprise, Irene lookedpletely unfazed and acted as if it was ording to her estimation.
¡°That is because you are yet to establish a mana line¡± Irene pointed out before adding ¡°Alright, your training will be focused to acquire a mana line as soon as possible¡±.
Simon asked in curiosity before Irene could continue any further ¡°This [Mana Line] that you are talking about what kind of skill is it?¡±.
He did not know why but this skill sounded oddly familiar to her. Thinking for a while Simon suddenly remembered that he had seen a skill that resembled the [Mana Skill] in Irene¡¯s status before.
¡°Did you ever observe the flow of mana inside your bodywhile casting a magic of any tier?¡± Irene answered his question with a question of her own. Simon mused over it before simply shaking his head. Most of the time when he cast magic, he was too focused on materialising and controlling the power of the magic to pay attention to anything else.
Hence up until now he never had any chance to observe the flow of mana inside his body. Irene extended her jade white hand, the instant she spread them an azure blue lotus madepletely out of ice bloomed in her hand.
¡°Mana Lines determines how fast and effectively you cast a magic.For example this ice lotus. It didn¡¯t even take me a second to cast it but if I were to cast the magic without using the Mana Lines, it would take me a few more seconds to cast it. Not only that, the output and power that can be brought forth is far greater than usual¡±.
Simon widened his eyes in surprise. What did it mean to have a skill such as [Mana lines]? Didn¡¯t it mean that he would be able to cast magic many times faster especially when ites to using wide-area intermediate tier magic and above which needs an enormous amount of time to cast?
The same goes for amalgamation magic which takes the same amount of time that you need to cast an advanced magic. In a life and death situation where even a fraction of a second counts, being able to cast magic even a millisecond ahead is a great advantage.
That was how much of a difference acquiring the skill [Mana Lines] would make.
Seeing Simon caught up in his thoughts, Irene exined ¡°Normally you would acquire this skill when you rank up to a Demon Earl. What we are trying to acquire is not just an ordinary [Mana Lines] but the superior tier of it [Innate Mana Lines]¡±.
Simon nodded his head in excitement, he couldn¡¯t wait to see the effects of the skill.
¡°But it won¡¯t be so easy to acquire this skill. [Mana Lines] is a Rare skill that makes it hard to acquire and even more so to evolve its tier. You who are trying to go up three ranks in a row in just seven years, this skill is absolutely necessary as it would bolster your prowess and help you reach your objectives¡±.
¡°All the strong people of this world have this skill at the legendary tier. Your goal should be to acquire the skill before you increase your rank to Demon Earl and evolve it to a superior tier when you reach the next rank and so on so forth.¡±.
Hearing the intricate details that Irene hadid out for his training, Simon was overwhelmed. He was amazed to find that Irene had thought so far ahead when she said that she would help him train.
The n that sheid out to train him, was borate and Simon could feel that Irene had put quite some thought into it. At first, he agreed on the training only because he thought that he could learn something from her top-notch skills.
But it seemed that it was na?ve of him to think like that. Irene had already prepared herself to train him and evenid out the carefully thought out n for his sake. He did not know what her motive was behind training him but seeing the determination in her eyes, it couldn¡¯t help but light a fire inside him.
Now that he knew which skill to acquire, Simon couldn¡¯t help but wonder how to acquire it. ording to Irene, one can normally acquire the [Mana Lines] skill when they rank up to a Demon earl. But it doesn¡¯t mean that one cannot acquire it before that.
¡®A skill that can normally only be acquired after level 500¡ what kind of a skill is it¡¯ Simon wondered as he thought about acquiring the skill.
A Demon Earl was a rank that could only be reached by those demons who have a fairly pure bloodline. When a Demon Viscount reaches the peak of his level that is Level 500, he has a chance to rank up to Demon Earl given that he has sufficient skills and bloodline.
Those who are born with impure bloodline, are forever stuck in the level 500 barrier never to take any more steps forward. Although there was only a level difference between level 500 and level 501 but the gap was insurmountable for many.
One could imagine what kind of skill the [Mana Lines] was for it to be avable only to those above level 500. Simon was currently on the verge of breaking through the level 300 barrier and step on level 301. His pace of levelling decreased quite a bitpared to before and it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that it hadpletely stopped after he reached level 300.
Each hundred level barrier represents a huge milestone that one needs to achieve before levelling further. The milestone that one needs to achieve can be mastery in skills, magic or techniques. In his case, it seemed to be his skills as Simon could already feel that he was one step away from breaking through level 301 after evolving the tiers of some of his skills during the trial set by Aldebaran.
The higher the level, the tougher the milestones are. Simon was a little excited to acquire a skill that was normally only possible when he breaks through level 500.
Irene carefully observed Simon¡¯s reaction and nodded her head when she saw his enthusiasm. The skill was definitely not going to be easy to acquire therefore she needed him to maintain this level of enthusiasm.
¡°That being said, [Mana Lines] is not the only skill we are going to focus on. You need to increase the tiers of your normal skills too. Though they are normal skills, but when evolved to the highest tier they can enhance your strength by a few fold. Increasing the tiers of your normal skills is by no means a waste¡±
Irene said to bring Simon out of his delusion. He was so concerned about acquiring [Mana Lines] that he almost lost track of reality.
Taking a deep breath, Simon snapped himself out of it. There was no point in being so focused on acquiring a skill that he neglects all the other skills.No matter if it was a Normal, Rare or a Lost skill, he needed to increase them to their highest tier to increase his strength.
Simon knew that it was easier said than done but if he couldn¡¯t even achieve this much, then there was no way he would be able to keep the seven years agreement with Aldebaran.
Seeing that his face had finally be serious Irene added ¡°Your magic and Normal skills is what your current strength is based on. For your training in the future, we would focus more on evolving your Normal skills to their highest tier and gaining new ones in your consecutive ranks¡±.
Simon nodded his head as he looked at Irene. It might be him but Simon thought that Irene had a knack for teaching.
¡°Alright, for theseing weeks focus on acquiring the [Mana Lines] skill¡± Irene knitted her crescent brows as she deliberated over his training regimen.
¡°About that¡ how do I go on about acquiring the skill?¡± Simon asked. Although he now knew which skill he must acquire to move forward, he was totally clueless on how to acquire it.
Irene was not surprised by his question and calmly answered it for him. ¡°Acquiring the [Mana Lines] skill when you are not even a Demon Earl yet would be extremely difficult. Even if that [Main menu] skill of yours allow you to surpass the restriction ced on you, the fact that your bloodline is still impure would make it quite challenging for you to acquire it¡±.
After saying her piece, she carefully observed Simon whose determination had not faltered even after listening to the limitation ced on him.
A rarely seen smile bloomed on her face as she pointed ¡°Although it is extremely difficult, it is not impossible especially when you have the perfect skill to practice on with¡±.
Chapter 174: Named Monsters (2)
Chapter 174: Named Monsters (2)
Simon who was carefully listening to her, couldn¡¯t help but yell out in surprise ¡°Huh?¡±. Herst words made him tilt his head in confusion. ¡®What did she mean by those words?¡¯.
As if perfectly reading his thoughts Irene replied ¡°What I mean is that you have something in your possession that can help you acquire the [Mana Lines] faster. The skill I¡¯m talking about is the one and only Phantasmal tier skill of yours¡±.
Simon stared with wide eyes at Irene¡¯s reply. It was the first time he heard something like that. A Skill helping in acquiring another skill what kind of ridiculous concept was that? Although it was hard to believe,ing out of Irene it sounded all the more believable. The only Phantasmal tier skill that he had in his arsenal was the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] Skill.
Irene observed his reaction before adding ¡°Right the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] skill of yours will make it easier for you to acquire the [Mana Lines] faster. The skill is all about establishing a set ofworks for your mana to flow in after all. Although it is a Rare skill and might be difficult to acquire, once one gets the feeling and sensation of the mana within them flowing in a set path, it bes easier for them to acquire it¡±.
The feeling and sensation of mana flowing in a set path¡ Simon repeated as he tried to feel the flow of mana inside his body.
The mana inside him was wild and rampant never flowing in a fixed direction. With just the slightest probe, a violent storm would erupt in his mana pool. How was he supposed to establish a set path for the mana to flow in?
Simon had no idea but from Irene, he knew that the skill [Ancestral symbol Ignition] was the key. However, what he couldn¡¯t understand was how was this skill rted to Mana Lines. Simon looked at Irene who was keeping silent for some reason.
Since she had not spoken any further, it could only mean that she wanted Simon to find it himself. [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] was one of the skills that temporarily gives a huge power spike for a short period of time by fusing all the skills of the user.
Naturally, the more skills the user had, the more powerful the effect but at the same time, it ces a heavy burden onto the body and leaves the user unable to use any skill for a short period of time.
The duration had increased and the cooldown of the skill after which he can use it again, had also gone down after his rank and level had increased. As of now, the skill had be an indispensable ace of his that had saved him from many pinch situations.
After hisst use of the skill back during the trial, two weeks had already passed and it was avable to him once again. It seemed that after hisst rank up, the cooldown of the skill had gone down significantly.
Now the very same skill was going to help him acquire another skill that would bolster his power even further.
¡®A skill that drastically increases my power and skill that establishes a set of path for the mana to flow in¡¡¯ Simon closed his eyes and thought about those times when he activated the skill. There was clearly a catch for the drastic increase in power whenever he activated the skill.
¡®What could it be¡¡¯Simon thought long and hard before a thought suddenly dawned onto him. What if activating the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] skill forcefully established a set path for his mana to flow in?
What if the insane speed at which he could conjure up magic during those times was because of the Mana Lines?
What if he could recall the flow and sensation of his mana while the skill [Ancestral symbol Ignition] is activated?
Wouldn¡¯t it mean that he can acquire a Rare Skill like Mana Lines early? Wouldn¡¯t it exin the heavy pain that his body experiences each time he activated the skill?
Since he didn¡¯t have [mana lines] yet, every time he activated the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] skill, a set of paths for the mana to flow in, is forcefully established. That way, the berserk mana within him flows smoothly and his strength is magnified manifold.
Simon tried to recall the sensation he felt when he activated the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] previously. At that time, he was too injured but he could still distinctly feel the volume, speed and flow of mana inside his body was many times faster than usual. The difference was as big as heaven and earth.
Seeing that Simon had realised the enormous help that his [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] skill provided for his training, Irene nodded in satisfaction.
After she heard the details of the skill from Simon, she was already aware of how powerful a skill like that which could grow with its user was. Not to mention it perfectly aligned with the next skill she wanted Simon to learn.
It was already extremely unusual for a low-rank demon to have such a high tier skill not to mention the skill was an augmenting one.
¡®If he can perfectly master the way the mana flows during the activation of the Phantasmal tier skill and recreate it, his powers will not just multiply but will increase manifold¡¯ Irene thought as she saw how hard Simon was trying to recall the sensation.
Even when he was thinking very hard, his face looked straightforward and determined.
BOOM¡ It was at this moment when she suddenly felt a drastic rise in Simon¡¯s strength. The aura and manaing off of him were on apletely different scale.
Irene immediately understood that Simon had activated that skill of his and was trying to memorise theplexwork of mana lines established.
Like a gale, the pressure emitted by Simon enveloped the area near the pond causing the dozing Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse to jolt awake. It was awakened by the disturbance it felt around the surroundings and the mana which became turbulent all of a sudden.
Looking around, it quickly identified the source of the disturbance. Concerned, it quickly approached Simon but was stopped by Irene who was beside him.
Looking at the warhorse, Irene said ¡°Don¡¯t worry he is fine. Right now he is trying his best to get stronger, it is better that we do not disturb him¡±.
The warhorse observed Simon with its three crimson pair of eyes and nodded. Its intelligence was already on par with humans and it understood that its master was currently in a state where he shouldn¡¯t be disturbed.
¡°From what I can tell, your bloodline seems to be a little special. Although it¡¯s slight, you seem to have a trace of that ¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö race. But your abilities and appearance ispletely different than theirs¡ it makes me curious as to where he summoned you from¡±.
Irene muttered when she saw how concerned the demonic warhorse was for its master. To have summoned a being that even she was unaware of, Irene once again reassessed the [Main Menu] skill of Simon.
The Bloodthron Demonic Warhorse was summoned through the [Gacha] and was the first-ever [B] rank subordinate that Simon had. Although its power was dwarfed by Irene, it was still a [B] rank that most of the powerful people in this world wouldn¡¯t dare to underestimate.
The eyes of the demonic warhorse glimmered after listening to Irene as it silently observed its master. After being with Simon for so long and levelling up, it became conscious of its existence.
Little by little, it was starting to be aware of the incredible power hidden within his bloodline. Although it was just a trace, it was powerful enough to break the restraints and surpass the limits of a [B] rank.
After being aware of its surrounding spending time with its master, its intelligence progressed at an unbelievable speed. Seeing strong beings like Irene gather near its master, it was no longer satisfied with the current limits of its power.
Right now, it was level 288, a level that the average inhabitants of this world wouldn¡¯t scoff at. But the warhorse wasn¡¯t content with that. It wanted to get stronger faster and be the most helpful subordinate of its master.
When it discovered the pond of serenity within the main floor and approached near its vicinity, it felt the bloodline in his body wildly thumping. Its intelligence told it that staying near the pond and basking in the presence of the overflowing mana from the pond, would be extremely beneficial for it.
If it can get more and more stronger, it can be useful to its master.
Irene who was simrly observing Simon from the sidelines, felt the determination of the warhorse and was quite amazed. It wasn¡¯t just the master but even his warhorse has the zeal to improve.
Irene sighed giving it some thought and replied tly ¡°Although it might be harsh to hear, but your limit was already set when you were assessed with a [B] rank. After your level reaches level 700, it won¡¯t increase further. Your master, Simon is a special case but usually one is eternally unable to break through the restraints ced on them by their bloodline. More so when the level barrier is that high¡±.
The Warhorse neighed in understanding but the glimmer in its eyes didn¡¯t darken a bit. On the contrary, it served to fuel its determination even further.
¡°Sigh¡ you are just like your master stubborn and persistent. But I don¡¯t think it is bad. These are exactly the qualities one needed to get stronger¡± Irene said in a serious tone
Chapter 175: Named Monsters (3)
Chapter 175: Named Monsters (3)
¡°Sigh¡ you are just like your master stubborn and persistent. But I don¡¯t think it is bad. These are exactly the qualities one needed to get stronger¡± Irene said in a serious tone
¡°Although the status had ranked you as a [B] rank, it was based on your current bloodline and predicted growth. The status of this world maybe be great but it is not omnipotent, it has its own ws and loopholes¡±.
¡°Your current status as a [B] rank didn¡¯t take into consideration the slight trace of the special bloodline that is lying dormant within you. You might have already felt it but if you can awaken that power, you can break through the obstacles limiting your growth. That being said, it is impossible for you right now to awaken that kind of power. If you keep focusing on it, you might limit your present growth. You can think about surpassing your limits when you near it. For now, I think it is good for you to do what you have been doing up until now¡±.
Irene explicated and walked near the pond, her crystal blue eyes resting on the reflection. The glint of determination in the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse eyes became even more piercing. It looked at its master onest time and went back to its original spot before lying down there once again.
The density of mana around the surrounding was very thick and beneficial for increasing its strength. Hence it would be a waste not to take advantage of it. The thick fog lingering around the area started enveloping the warhorse within it and after a few minutes, its figure waspletely covered by the white fog.
Irene who was seated near the pond, lightly brushed the surface of the water with her hands causing a slight ripple. She looked at her reflection and slightly knitted her crescent brows.
The scene that happened just a while ago where she suddenly had this incredible headache for some reason, appeared in her mind once again. She did not why this phenomenon urred when she suddenly heard about Cecilia being a reincarnation of some Emmicary.
Irene clenched her hands and did her best to recollect something. At that time, she distinctly saw something, it was like scenes from somewhere, intermittent and unclear.
She saw a figure of a person bathed in blood facing two shadowy figures who simrly had wounds covering all their body. She did not know why but she suddenly felt a familiar presence from the two shadowy figures and before she knew it, everything became a blurry mess.
It felt nostalgic yet unfamiliar at times. But how can that be? She clearly has no such memories like that.
What is happening? The very thought made her headache worsen and she instinctively froze the whole pond. The mark of the phoenix appeared on her delicate forehead once again and eased her pain, a clear resonant sound echoed out across the main floor.
The pond that had a ridiculous intensity of mystical energy, was frozen before one could even blink an eye. The pond that even the body of a Demon Viscount couldn¡¯t handle for more than half a minute, was frozen by Irene just like that.
One could imagine the kind of realm one needs to reach to do a feat like that subconsciously. SHHHHH¡ Frosty air surrounded the area causing a sharp decline in temperature.
Although the pond was frozen, it was just the upper half, the bottom half where the mystical veins were connected waspletely unaffected. This means that all the objects growing at the bottom of the pond, waspletely unscratched.
Realising her mistake, Irene swiftly removed her hands from the surface of the frozen pond and used her Permafrost magic to turn the water back.
Looking at the two who were doing their best to increase their strength, Irene discarded all those thoughts that floated onto her mind and paid more attention to their growth. ncing at Simon who had unknowingly entered a focus state, she mused.
There was another way to increase the rank of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse that she didn¡¯t tell it as this method meant relying on others. Perhaps she felt it wasn¡¯t required or perhaps she believed that they would find this method soon but she felt that it wasn¡¯t the right time to tell them this method yet.
The other way to increase the rank of the demonic warhorse was by naming it. Irene did not know where and how Simon managed to summon someone like it but one thing she was sure of was that even without being named, the Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse was already ranked at [B].
There was no telling what its rank would be after it receives a name. On top of possessing a special bloodline, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse was also unnamed.
It was already unusual for a being [B] rank or above to be unnamed since all the monsters when born, receive a name from the abundant mystical energy of the world.
Almost all of the high ranking monsters when born receive a name from the mystical energy. The Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse being without a name, was clearly unusual. Although there are some cases where a high-rank monster is born without a name, those are clearly the exception and only happened to those ssified as [A] rank or above.
What does a high ranking monster being born without receiving a name signifies? It goes to show that the everpresent mystical energy of the world, already thinks that the being is plentiful strong enough even without a name.
If the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse fell in the same category then there was no telling what its rank would be after it was named. Although not receiving a name was unusual, but Irene wasn¡¯t surprised.
¡®It seems that the mystical energy was able to sense the faint trace of bloodline sleeping deep within the warhorse¡¯ Irene could tell why the mystical energy decided onto not gifting a name to the warhorse.
¡®The faint trace of the special bloodline that it had inherited should be from that n¡¯ Irene crossed her arms as she deliberated. She was familiar with the beings from that n and knew how powerful they were. There was no doubt in her mind that if its bloodline is awakened, it would be no exaggeration to say that the warhorse¡¯s strength and bloodline would jump a few ranks.
That¡¯s what made it scary about inheriting a bloodline of one of the ns that sat at the pinnacle of power. Although awakening the bloodline sleeping within the warhorse would make it a powerhouse that stood at the pinnacle, it was easier said than done.
Even if the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse tried its best, it might not even be able toe in contact with the faint trace of bloodline within it much less awaken it.
That being said, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse not receiving a race might work out in its favour in the end. Other than receiving a name from the mystical energy, monsters can also receive a name from someone.
However, that someone must be a rank higher than the one who is being bestowed a name or else the naming process won¡¯t work or in the worst case the person bestowing the name might even die.
Naming is a process where a person grants a name to the other using the mana within them. The name bestowed is not just any ordinary name as it is the amalgamation of mana within the person transferred to the entity in the form of a name.
A monster named like this will forever be branded with a marking of the bestower and would be eternally loyal to him. The entity being named in return will receive a huge power in the form of a name, making them multiple times stronger than before.
Sometimes when the bestower is too powerful, the entity that receives the name receives a percentage of power from the bestower and ends up jumping one or two ranks. Although Naming is an unmistakably powerful tool, it is still considered a forbidden process as it needs a lot of control and incredible maniption of mana.
One mistake and the bestower might even lose their very life in the process. There are various other restrictions on the process such as if the entity is already named, the naming process won¡¯t work and will fail automatically. Or if the bestower is not a rank above the receiver, or if they are in the same rank, the Naming won¡¯t work.
Simrly, if the receiver is too weak or low ranked to bear the name, it would die immediately by blowing up from within. There are other considerations to be taken such as losing focus during the process and immature maniption or control over mana would result in your entire mana being stolen in return.
The most important of all is that the named entity loses some of its freedom and is branded with the mark of the bestower, making them eternally loyal and unable to refuse any orders from them.
Although it might sound like a ve contract, there are some differences. Unlike the ve contract where the life and death of the ve are under the control of its master, the Naming process doesn¡¯t fully bar the freedom of the named entity.
Though some of the actions of the receiver are restricted, it retains most of its cognition and thinking ability. Since the entity receives a huge increase in strength in the form of a name, the brand is essential so as to prevent the receiver from hurting the person who named it.
Chapter 176: Serenity Stone
Chapter 176: Serenity Stone
Since the entity receives a huge increase in strength in the form of a name, the brand is essential so as to prevent the receiver from hurting the person who named it.
After all, if the person who named it dies, the brand marking the entity also dissipates but not the name. To put it bluntly, the Naming process marks the entity with a brand of the bestower to control its actions that might be harmful to the bestower.
One needs immacte control of the mana within them to name others. Also one cannot name an entity many times stronger than it. The reason behind Irene thinking of this method was because of the loyalty and bond disyed by the warhorse towards Simon.
She believed that the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse would be more than happy to receive a name from Simon. However, since the Naming process needs the bestower that is Simon to be higher ranked than the receiver which is the warhorse, it wasn¡¯t going to work until unless Simon increases his rank and level to the point where he was higher ranked than his summon.
Simon currently was only a Demon Viscount and there was no way he could name an entity on the level of the Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse. Not to mention he would need to perfect his control and maniption over the mana within him.
He who hasn¡¯t even acquired the [Mana Lines] skill wouldn¡¯t even be able to invoke the Naming process in the first ce. which required aplex maniption of mana. For this reason, Irene didn¡¯t point out this method when she spoke to the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse.
She believed that it was still far too early for them to think of this process when the limit of the warhorse wasn¡¯t even close yet.
While she was caught up in her thoughts, the aura around Simon started welling more and more. Even he didn¡¯t know when but he had reached a transient state where all of the unnecessary thoughts dissipated from his mind increasing his focus and concentration.
A few minutes ago he was desperately trying to recall the sensation and the pattern in which the mana flows in his body when the skill [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] was activated.
Trying to feel theplexwork of mana flowing within his body was easier said than done. No matter how he tried to recollect it, he failed at every step as the process was tooplex for the current him to remember it in one go.
Seconds ticked away and Simon couldn¡¯t reach anywhere. He hade to an impasse where he couldn¡¯t make any progress. Simon knew that acquiring a skill wouldn¡¯t be this easy not to mention he was trying to get the hang of a Rare skill that was unlike any of the Normal skills that he got after levelling.
There was no way it would that easy to acquire a rare skill or else it wouldn¡¯t be in the possession of the powerful ones. Although Simon was aware of it, the faint hope that his Phantasmal tier skill provided in acquiring the [Mana Lines] made him rush all the more.
Since he knew that once he could recollect the sensation and the path in which mana flows during the activation of the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition skill], he thought that he could recreate it and learn the Rare skill [Mana Lines] faster.
Maybe subconsciously his mind was leaning towards that kind of thinking that he wasn¡¯t making any progress now. PHEW¡ exhaling a deep breath, Simon calmed his mind and nerves that was trying to get the better of himself.
Unknowing to even him, Simon had willed his mind to reach the self transient state. Where every thought he had was clear, where time had stopped into a crawl.
Feeling the change in his mental state, Simon was surprised by this sudden transformation. This kind of state felt oddly familiar to him and it didn¡¯t take him long to find out that it was his second time experiencing such a transformation.
The first time was when he was facing the Elder Treants at the border of the Ancient treants Territory. At that time, their group of three was overwhelmed by the defence of the Elder treants who happen to be sitting upon a mystical vein.
Every attack at that time, would be easily negated or endured through their [Root] skill and defence. Even Irene¡¯s magic wasn¡¯t able to freeze them albeit he knew that she wasn¡¯t going all out. But the treants were able to thwart out her eyes and regenerate from the damage.
It was because they were stuck in such a situation that Simon took the gamble of trying out the amalgamation between his intermediate tier me magic and Novice tier Electro Magic.
At such a dire moment where every second count, he took the initiative to do so which ultimately did work out in his favour. At that time he had reached a self transient state where his focus and concentration was increased manifold.
Thanks to that, he was able to bring out an equilibrium among the two attributes of magic resulting in a new amalgamation magic. The state of mind he had reached now was no different than before.
This means that he was able to enter the self transient state once again. A state where all unnecessary thought disappears and one¡¯s focus and concentration increases manifold was perfectly the opportunity he needed this time.
How could he waste it? To recreate the Mana Lines used when the [Ancestral symbol Igniton] was activated, he needed to first carve the sensation within his body so that he would be able to recall it at any moment. And to do that, what better way than to use the skill first hand.
Although the skill would take a heavy toll on his body and would go into a cooldown once again, Simon didn¡¯t hesitate to activate it. More like the current state of mind he was in was the perfect situation he could ask for to be in while activating the skill.
Now that the concentration and the focus he could put into each detail had increased manifold, there was no way he would be unable to make any progress. What he was aiming for wasn¡¯t to immediately acquire the skill but to try to get the hang of the path the mana takes while the skill was activated.
That is to say, he was trying to feel the sensation of the mana lines that is forcefully established. Perhaps due to this change of mentality, when he activated the [Ancestral symbol Ignition] he was able to feel the mana flow within his body more vividly than before.
Every skill in his arsenal fused together to be the fuel to push his strength forward and aplexwork like tributaries of a river crisscrossing around his body from which mana flowed in a set path, was formed.
Simon was astounded when he felt the ferocity and the volume in which mana circted within the mana lines. The sheerplexity of the mana lines formed from the Phantasmal tier skill was on apletely different level.
The difficulty of even sensing the mana flowing in such an intricate pattern was already exceedingly challenging not to mention he had to recreate it from the scratch.
Simon knew that it would be very tough to acquire such a skill in the short run after all he has to rely on his imperfect sensation and feeling from before to establish the [Mana Lines]. Even when he was in a self-transient state of mind each and every detail of the mana lines was just too overwhelming to remember.
Since that was the case, Simon shifted his focus to try and feel the sensation of as many paths where the mana flowed in as possible. Since he wasn¡¯t pressed for time, there was no need for him to strain his senses on acquiring the skill immediately.
Instead, it would be much more beneficial if he could learn something from this experience. Stabilising his mind, he focused all of his attention on the paths the mana took whenever he made a small movement. He paid attention to the finest details and as to how fast and slow they moved in each of those paths.
Without even him realizing it, Simon was so absorbed that hepletely forgot the flow of time and before long six hours had passed. His body was still seating near the pond with his eyes closed.
The outburst of power resulting from the activation of the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] skill was long gone but Simon was still too riveted on recalling and remembering the sensation. PHEW¡ exhaling a deep breath, Simon opened his eyes to find himself in the exact same spot.
The mana condensed in the form of mist lingering around the area was as dense as ever. He did not know how long had passed since he entered a special state of mind, but he believed that it must have been quite a while.
While he was looking around trying to make sense of the drift of time, Irene¡¯s figure silently appeared near the pond. She observed him for a while and from his expression, she could tell that Simon must have realised something.
¡°It has been six hours since you entered the self- transient state. By now you must have realised how difficult it is to acquire the Rare skill [Mana Lines]. But it matters not, as long as you keep on making steady progress, it wouldn¡¯t be long before you acquire the skill¡± Irene said in a tranquil voice while observing the changes in him.
Chapter 177: Serenity Stone (2)
Chapter 177: Serenity Stone (2)
Indeed, Simon had quite the change after just spending six hours in a self-transient state. The most noticeable change was the look in his eyes which have set their sights on a goal and his presence that spoke volumes of his boosted confidence.
In Irene¡¯s eyes, these changes were a pleasant and weing one.
Simon who was silent all this while nodded at herpliment and spoke ¡°I see so six hours passed just like that. Although I tried my best to remember the sensation of the [Mana Lines], I still failed to grasp most of it. I can see why this skill is only in the hands of those level 500 and above. It truly is a skill that couldpletely transform a person¡±.
Simon clenched his fist in determination, though he failed to grasp it this time, it did not mean that there was no other opportunity to grasp it. After the cooldown of the skill resets, he nned to activate it once again in hopes ofprehending the [Mana LInes] skill.
¡®It seems he does know his limits and even while knowing that, he strives to improve himself¡¯ Irene thought to herself. From what she could tell, Simon¡¯s talent wasn¡¯t that high and it took him a while to catch onto something.
But in the world where strength ruled supreme, talent alone wasn¡¯t the deciding factor. One needed a goal, unyielding will and determination to improve. All of which was present in Simon.
When she told him to try and sense the mana lines established during the activation of his Phantasmal tier skill, she wasn¡¯t hoping for him to grasp it since it was impossible to do it in one go.
The mana lines used during the activation of the Phantasmal tier skill wasn¡¯t any ordinary tier but the Legendary tier mana lines after all. One which is exclusive and original only to him.
What she was hoping from this experience was for was Simon to get a feeling of what a perfected [Mana Lines] looked like. Anything more than that would be asking too much from him since she herself knew how hard it is to acquire a rare skill from the scratch.
Simon able to grasp something out of this experience was a pleasant surprise. A Rare skill like [Mana Lines] has a possibility to evolve a total of three that is to say it has three tiers namely Superior, Ancient and Legendary.
What Simon had experienced from the activation of his [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] was the Legendary tier mana lines a Rare skill could possibly reach. It was no exaggeration to say that it was impossible to fully grasp such aplex mana lines in just one try even for a genius.
Not to mention there was no need for him to recreate the exact same mana lines formed inside his body during the activation of his skill. Even if he was able to recreate an imperfect version of it with lot less paths and pales inparison to the original, Simon would still be able to take the first step and acquire the skill.
Perfecting the mana lines to its Legendary tier should be his ultimate goal before he reaches the rank of Demon Duke.
Irene believed that Simon himself realised that after he sorted out all of his thoughts while in a self-transient state.
¡°Alright now that you have already seen how the perfect version of your mana lines looks like, it would be fine if you could slowly and steadily grasp the sensation of it. But first, you should focus on creating a mana lines that you have experienced for yourself as close to the original as possible.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry about making mistakes after all what we are trying to achieve is not the Legendary tier but the ordinary [Mana Lines]. You can work your way to that tier after you acquire it¡±.
Irene said as she used her mana to fork out something from the pond and passed it onto to him.
Looking at the control she had over her mana, Simon was once again astounded. The pond currently contained a ridiculous amount of turbulent and pure mystical energy that kept on increasing with time. It should be extremely hard for a person¡¯s mana to prate through it without being disrupted in the middle.
However, Irene had achieved just that so effortlessly that Simon was left speechless. He knew first-hand how atrocious the mystical energy inside the pond of serenity was since even his body was unable to take it.
It took every mana he had just to keep on circting the wildly rushing mystical energy within him. Though Simon was left speechless he wasn¡¯t surprised by Irene after all, he knew that she was on apletely different realm than him even if her level was below him.
¡®Will I be able to close the huge gulf between our realms even by just a single step if I acquire the [Mana Lines] skill?¡¯ Simon wondered as he caught the object that was tossed to him.
¡®What is this feeling¡ I¡¯m getting more and more excited¡¯ It maybe partly due to his demon ancestry and partly because he could clearly see his goal, but just the thought of getting stronger and taking another step towards bridging the gap in their strengths, exhrated him.
If earlier he was levelling up and increasing his strength because he wanted to survive and not get crushed under the overwhelming power of others. Now though it was as if another goal to get stronger had sprouted in his heart without even him knowing.
Shifting his attention towards the object in his hand, Simon carefully inspected it. The object was an oval-shaped white stone with no special feature to speak off. While holding the stone, he could feel a clear chilling sensationing off of it.
Simon did not what the stone was but since it came from within the pond, there was no way it was an ordinary item. The previous time when he dived inside the pond, he had gotten hold of the scarlet mutation crystal which induces a mutation on the monster consuming its essence and making it able to harness the fire attribute of mana.
Although he hasn¡¯t used the crystal yet, he still understood how precious those crystals were for his dungeon. If possible, he wanted the pond to produce some more of it and of higher grades.
Simon had no doubts that the oval stone in his would be as useful as the scarlet mutation crystal. And since Irene took the effort to fork it out of the pond and present it to him, it must mean that stone was beneficial for him.
Using [Analysis] on the stone, it showed him that the stone was called Serenity stone and its rank to his amazement was a [B]. What did it mean? It meant that the serenity stone was a rank above the grade of the scarlet mutation crystal he got from the pond.
That was not all, it was his second time getting a [B] rank out of something. Although he had upgraded his Scarlet zing me de from the multitudes of [B] rank items, it was the result of the [Upgrade] option of his [Armory].
Grabbing the stone tightly in his hand, he read the description provided by the [Analysis].
A bizarre shaped stone condensed from the pure energy of the mystical veins and holds the properties of the pond of serenity. When shattered, it creates an impromptu effect around the ce that helps a person to increase their concentration and focus.
Wait a minute? What kind of effect is that? Increasing the concentration and focus of a person¡ wasn¡¯t the effect mentioned just like what he had experienced when he had reached a self-transient state of mind?
Seeing the astonished expression of Simon, Irene silently exined pointing at the pond of serenity.
¡°I have already told this before¡ but the pond is going to be one of the greatest treasures in your dungeon. Honestly, when I saw the stone being formed at the bottom a few days ago, even I was surprised. That stone in your hand isn¡¯t something that should be in the possession of a Demon Viscount. As for its effects, it is as you read. The serenity stone will help you reach a self-transient state of mind more easily. That is why the stone is ranked as [B], its effect is just that beneficial for those who are in need of it. Since it is a one-use item, use it carefully in the future¡±.
After saying that, she beckoned with her hand indicating Simon toe nearer to the pond. After stepping closer to the edge of the pond, he matched Irene¡¯s gaze and also tried to pry through the bottom of the pond.
Since he knew there were all sorts of treasure growing at the bottom of the pond, he was all the more curious.
Gazing at the pond, Irene said ¡°Seven years¡ it is not a lot of time. If you are absolutely nning on keeping your words with the Ancient Titan Treant and aim for bing the ruler of the Ghastly Winding Forest, then you must train with even more intensity. I¡¯ll also help you in every way I can¡±.
Hearing her words, Simon clenched his hands and nodded in appreciation. He had to admit that with just a few words of her, Simon was able to see clearly what he needed to achieve his seven years goal.
If there was any doubt of hesitation in his heart before, now it was all gone. Irene had proved herself that she was plenty strong and knowledgeable enough to teach and show him the way.
Chapter 178: Serenity Stone (3)
Chapter 178: Serenity Stone (3)
Simon had a rather unique mindset, it matter not if the one teaching him was his own summon. As long as they have skills and knowledge that bested him in every aspect, he had no qualms being guided by them.
Simon remembered a memory back when he was alive on earth. It was during his second year of working for the Astro revolutionpany, he had met many kinds of people. Some of them were good to him and showed him the way, while there were also some who wanted to drag him down and put him in his ce.
Some of the senior game developer of thepany saw his quick rise and performance as a threat and tried to pressure him whenever they found an opportunity. Especially the ones who were in the same department as him in that year.
Just because they were working for thepany longer than he did, they were jealous of his performance and tried to shut him out of the circle.
Saying things like ¡°Juniors shouldn¡¯t try to outshine their seniors¡±.
¡°They who have worked for thepany longer had much more experience and knowledge than a greenhorn who was simply trying to gain attention from his subpar work and this and that¡¡±.
When in reality, they just wanted to take it easy and didn¡¯t want to expend more efforts on top of the years of work they already put forth.
At the same time, being a senior in thepany and all, it won¡¯t do if the juniors whocked skills and knowledge, performed better than them.
Simon still remembered that some of them even tried to pile their work on his desk, trying to suppress him in every way they can. They even shut him out from the social circle spoutingments like ¡®This should put him in his ce¡¯, ¡®it¡¯s a good opportunity for him to learn to respect his seniors¡¯ behind his back.
Their nasty work environment had be their ethics.
Although it is true that Simon had to face a harsh path to climb his way up, not all of the employees were like that. There were even some who while knowing that this would put the junior¡¯s performance above theirs, they still helped him.
Simon took pride in his tenacity to absorb knowledge from whomever it maye from. As long as they could help him be better and fill the gap in his knowledge, he had no qualms to acknowledge the person was better than him.
It was the same in this life too. It seemed that even when his race hadpletely changed after reincarnating in this world, his curious mind still had that insatiable thirst for knowledge. And Irene who had a far better grasp of skill and mystical energy than him was the perfect person in his view to guide him.
¡°The Serenity Stone although is ranked at [B], depending on the situation it can be far more precious than even some [A] rank items. It would have been better if the pond had produced multiple at once but from the looks of it, the rest are still in the early stages of being formed. It may take as long as a week for more of them to be produced¡±
Irene while still examining the bottom of the pond, decided to nonchntly drop a bomb.
Simon widened his eyes as soon as he heard that. Serenity stone, an item ranked as [B] by the Analysis was being produced at the bottom of his pond and that too multiple at once.
What kind of concept was that? And what was even more shocking was the casual attitude that Irene had adapted while talking about it. Although Simon had already guessed it, but to Irene, a [B] rank item was nothing.
Simon gave a helplessugh as he looked at the Serenity stone in his hand. Given the density of mystical energy inside the pond, and the thick mist covering the surface of the water, it became impossible for him to pry anything.
Even though he was curious as to what other items were being produced inside the pond, he could only give up for the time being. Once he was strong enough to immerse inside the pond for long, he could dive and have a look at them himself.
Clenching his hand and resolving himself to train even stronger, Simon asked the question he wanted to ask for a while ¡°What should I train in next?¡±. After having a taste of the sensation of the mana lines from his Phantasmal tier skill, he could no longer contain his wildly beating heart and excitement.
Looking at the overflowing enthusiasm of Simon, Irene¡¯s next words threw a bucket of cold water to calm him down.
¡°One shouldn¡¯t overdo things and bite more than one can chew. For the uing days, I think you should just focus on getting a hold of the sensation of the mana lines from your memories while soaking in the pond every day. The density of mana near the pond is beneficial enough for you to break through the level 300 barrier¡±.
¡°Once your Phantasmal tier skill is off cooldown, use the Serenity stone to enter the self-transient state once again as that would hasten the process of you acquiring the [Mana Lines] skill¡±.
Simon listened to what Irene had to say before making a mental note of it. He knew that mindlessly defeating monsters wouldn¡¯t get him anywhere since he couldn¡¯t get past the level 300 barrier by simply doing that.
Hence what Irene suggested sounded even more convincing than his way of single-mindedly gaining experience. Once he was past level 300, he can then once again begin his process of grinding experience once again till he reaches another barrier all the while focusing on acquiring the [Mana Lines] skill.
On this note, Simonpletely agreed with Irene to focus on one skill at a time as doing otherwise was simply too cumbersome and would eat up a lot of his time. At the same time, it did not guarantee any result and might even slow down his progress, thus affecting his growth.
Acquiring the [Mana Lines] was his immediate priority.
While he was absorbed in his thoughts, Irene¡¯s figure just like an illusion silently disappeared from the surrounding. Although one can say she had changed somewhat after meeting Simon, her usual cold and aloof temperament was still there.
Therefore, once she was done helping him for the day, she silently left the ce. Simon shook his head and sighed helplessly. While he can make up for the distance between the strength by putting in more effort, the matters about emotion couldn¡¯t be rushed.
It was today itself that he learned that he knew nothing about Irene, nor her origin or about the incident that happened a while ago. While he wished for her to open up, Simon understood well that whatever problems that Irene was facing, was something too much for the current him to handle or evenprehend.
There was no way the current him could even provide a sliver of help in any way. If he wanted to be any assistance to her then his only choice was to get stronger.
¡ª¨C
A week passed just like that and Simon just like how he was instructed, fully devoted himself to training near the pond of serenity. During this time, Simon tried many times to enter the self transient state without using the Serenity stone but failed every time.
It wasn¡¯t like he was not trying hard but no matter what he tried or did, the state of mind that he oh so easily achieved during the previous two times of his, appeared extremely elusive and difficult to grasp.
Clearing his mind of all its thoughts and achieving a state of tranquillity sounded easier said than done.
It was only now that he understood how precious the serenity stone that was ranked as [B] by the Analysis was and how special and difficult it was to enter the self transient state. He also understood why Irene said that depending on the situation, the Serenity stone might be even precious than some [A] rank items.
The previous two times when he achieved that state of mind, made him conceited enough to think that he could enter the state any time he want. This past week of constant failures was like a wake-up call for him who was living on a delusion.
While he couldn¡¯t reach the self transient state, he did quite well on his part of feeling the sensation of the mana lines from his memories and recreating it, albeit the progress was very slow.
During this past week, Simon dived inside the pond every day trying to break his record of enduring for twenty-five seconds even by an additional second.
The result was what felt like a pond filled with boiling hot water filled with electric currents, he was able to finally endure it for twenty-eight seconds. It might not sound impressive to others, but to Simon, it was an achievement he thought was worthy enough.
After all, just like him the pond of Serenity was also constantly evolving and the mystical energy being deposited by the huge mystical veins beneath the ground, was getting denser and thicker every day. One could even say that the pond of serenity was significantly different from what it was a week ago.
That was not all, his progress did not stop there. While it was true that he couldn¡¯t enter the self transient state which considerably slowed down his progress; nheless, he was able to finally break through the level 300 barrier.
Chapter 179: Obsidian Energy Exuder
Chapter 179: Obsidian Energy Exuder
With the help of the abundant mana produced by the enriched Trees of Mana and the pond, he was able to step at level 301. Although the difference was of just a level, it wasn¡¯t something any amount of hunting monsters for experience could cover.
His speed which had been reduced to a crawl after he approached near the 300 level wall, disappeared as if it was never there after he diligently trained his skills and soaked himself inside the pond every day.
The barrier that would have otherwise restricted a Demon Viscount for as long a couple of years, was easily broken apart by Simon in a week of time. If any high ranking Demon Noble knew what Simon had achieved within a measly time of a week, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to believe it.
Simon was not aware of it but Irene had precisely seen through the problem that he would have otherwise faced if he had simply concentrated on just increasing his level. His growth would have met the wall and it would have taken more than a few years to get past it.
During these past weeks, while Simon fully focused on achieving a self transient state and recalling the sensation of the [Mana Lines] over and over again, Irene had stealthily visited to check on his progress many times without even him realizing.
Although she pretended to be indifferent in front of others, those who were familiar with her would know that it wasn¡¯t her true nature and something that was born out of the innate prowess of her.
Simon had benefited tremendously from a week of training near the pond; however, he wasn¡¯t the only one who had gotten stronger. The Bloodthorn demonic warhorse who was hibernating near the area, benefitted equally from the dense amount of mana that shrouded the area.
Like a sponge, its body soaked all of the surrounding mana thus strengthening its body and increasing its level. Its robust body became even more vigorous and the me-like mane of its body burned a tinge of golden indicating that the intermediate tier [me Magic Mastery] of the warhorse, had reached quite the profound level.
It wasn¡¯t just the physical change but even its skills and stats had increased.
Although it had yet to reach level 300, there was no denying that the warhorse was steadily approaching closer. There was no telling how much stronger it would be after breaking through the level 300 barrier.
Just like a shell, the thick mist enshrouded the deeply hibernating warhorse within.
Slowly opening his eyes, Simon observed the changes in his body and clenched his hands. He could feel the power coursing through his body and the mana circting inside his body while erratic most of the time, was starting to flow in a fixed path.
The speed at which mana flowed within his body, was many times faster than what it was before.
The rate at which one can circte mana through their body also determines the speed of the activation of their skills and magic. In other words, Simon was able to cast magic, skills and disy the might of a Demon Viscount more efficiently than before.
While it is true that he had yet to achieve the [Mana Lines] skill, he could see the obvious changes urring within his body.
¡°[Mana Lines] it truly is a skill worthy of being a rare skill. The effects of the skill can make all the lower-ranked beings of this world covet for it¡± Simon said while looking at his status.
The [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] skill was off cooldown and could be used once again, he also has the Serenity stone which he had not used yet precisely for this moment.
The Serenity stone when shattered releases an effect that increases the focus and concentration of a person helping them reach the self transient state. These past few days of repeated failures had told him how difficult it was to reach such a state of mind.
¡°With the help of this stone, it would be possible to reach that state of mind once again¡± Simon said as he brought the stone out of his inventory.
[Inventory] was one of the functions of the [Main Menu] that allows him to store up to ten thousand items in a sub dimensional space. It was quite a useful skill that allowed him to store items without having him physically carry them.
He remembered Irene telling him that the stone was being formed at the bottom of the pond of serenity and it would take a week or so for another one to be formed. It was precisely because he did not know if the other had formed or not, that he was hesitant to use the one in his hand.
The serenity stone was a once use item which means that after being shattered, the effects inside the stone would be released and it would return to being an ordinary rubble.
Deliberating over the decision for a while, Simon finally decided to use it. While the stone was precious, it was an item meant to be used. There was no reason to hesitate over it.
In any case, acquiring the [Mana Lines] in a short period of time should be his top priority in which case he needed his mind to achieve a self transient state and the serenity stone was necessary for that.
The thought that the pond was able to produce more of the serenity stone eased up his mind a bit. Taking a deep breath, he focused his senses and was about to shatter the oval white stone in his hand when all of a sudden, Cecilia voice came from amidst the mist.
¡°Big brother¡ Big brother¡ can you hear me?¡± It had been two weeks since Simonst saw her after she went with her n to the floor designated as their vige.
For her to be here, something must havee up. Thinking so Simon kept the serenity stone back in his [Inventory] and stood up.
Turning around, he saw the figure of Cecilia as she ran through the mist. Finally finding him, she took hurried breaths before saying ¡°huff¡ huff¡ big brother I finally found you hehe¡±.
Her face at this moment was that of an excited one and no matter how she tried, she couldn¡¯t suppress the joy that beamed out of her.
Seeing her merry face, Simon rubbed her head before asking curiously ¡°What¡¯s the matter Cecilia? Why are you in such a rush¡ shouldn¡¯t you be with your nsmen helping them build a new vige?¡±.
Hearing his question, Cecilia couldn¡¯t help but pout.
¡°Big brother I was helping my n to build a new vige but a few days ago grandpa Fennel told me that they can handle the rest and I should head back to the main floor. Although I wanted to help till the end, they did not budge an inch and so I came back here. When I got back I was informed by Elder sister Irene that you were in the middle of training near the pond and I shouldn¡¯t disturb you¡± She protested.
After saying that, she looked at Simon and added ¡°Big brother I was waiting for you toe out of your training for so long¡±.
Simon was surprised a little when he heard that Cecilia was waiting for him to finish his training. He asked in concern ¡°Hmm? You were waiting for me? Did somethinge up?¡±.
Nodding her head, Cecilia said excitedly ¡°When I went to check on the progress of the vige yesterday, Grandpa Fennel told me to bring you along. Hehe, it seems that he and the other wants to show you the vige they made¡±.
Whenever she talked about the vige they made on the new floor, Cecilia¡¯s face beamed with joy that was difficult for a girl like her to hide.
As if suddenly remembering something, she looked at Simon and pulled his hands ¡°Oh right big brother are you done with your training? If so then we can go right now. Everybody is waiting for you to show up¡±.
Without even letting him answer, Cecilia pulled him as if trying to show from her action how eager she was to bring him to their new vige. Simon shook his head in defeat and instantly dropped his previous idea of training some more.
Given how excited Cecilia was, there was no way to stop her until she brings him to their vige.
¡°Why not go along¡ it seems that floor had changed quite significantly since thest time you saw it¡± It was at this moment that Irene¡¯s cold and aloof voice rang out from amidst the mist.
Unbeknownst to anyone, Irene had silently appeared near the area. The moment her figure came into view, it was as if all the splendor of the world was stolen by her.
¡°Elder sister Irene¡¡± the instant Cecilia saw Irene, she ran towards her and nuzzled in her embrace. It seemed that the both of them became even closer in this period of time when Simon was busy training.
¡ª¨C
Name:- Simon
Race:- Demon Viscount
Titles:- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 1/5]
Stats:-
Level:- 301
HP:- 45,241
MP:- 63,220
Strength:- 2803
Defence:- 3003
Agility:- 3405
Magic:- 3805
Endurance:- 3104
Luck:- 2102
Skills:- Language Comprehension, Analysis, me Magic Mastery, Gale Magic Mastery, Electro Magic Mastery, High-Speed Thought Processing, High-Speed Regeneration, High-Speed Flight, Super Strength, Body Enhancement, Fire Resistance, Wind Resistance, Electro resistance Pain Resistance, Blunt Damage Resistance, Sense Presence, Demonic Eyes, Super Agility, Enhanced Endurance, Super Magic, Super Defence, Minimal Mana Consumption
Amalgamation Skills:- [me-Gale Mastery], [Electro-me Mastery]
Inherent Skills:- Dungeon Creation, Main Menu, Ancestral Symbol Ignition
Chapter 180: Obsidian Energy Exuder (2)
Chapter 180: Obsidian Energy Exuder (2)
Irene gently ??r?ssed the emerald hair of Cecilia before observing Simon. Noticing the changes that Simon had gone through in the span of just two weeks, she couldn''t help but arch her brows in surprise.
Even she didn''t expect that Simon would be able to imitate the mana lines he had experienced when activating his Phantasmal tier skill so soon. Although it was still imperfect and nowhere near the original one, he was still able to recreate the paths for his mana to flow in from the bits and pieces of his memory.
From what she could tell, the mana flowing inside Simon''s body was starting to flow in a fixed path while still being irregr most of the time. When Simon is able to fully will the mana flowing inside his body to circte in a fixed path, will he be able to acquire the [Mana Lines] skill.
"Your training is going rather smoothly. You can take this chance and head for the Forest Spring Spirit floor for a change of pace. Even if you rush it, there is no guarantee that you would get the skill at the earliest. Instead, it may hamper your progress" Irene said as if seeing through the inner thoughts of his mind.
It was just as she said, Simon was consciously or subconsciously trying to rush things once again. Deliberating over her words, Simon calmed his mind and nodded his head. He agreed with her request and prepared to teleport with Cecilia when she pulled Irene along.
Irene made aplicated face but seeing the sparkle in Cecilia''s eyes, she knew that there was no escaping her clutches.
Opening his [Main Menu] which had merged with the dungeon''s menu and had be one, Simon used the teleport option of the [Dungeon] function to swiftly teleport them to the floor where the Forest spring Spirit vige was.
As soon as he teleported to the new floor along with Cecilia and Irene, Simon was astounded to see the view in front of him. The ce in just a short amount of time lookedpletely different than thest time he saw it.
The floor which he designed simr to the tall forested areas of Ancient Treants, had changed to be apletely different floor. The tall trees covering the area had varied colours and shapes.
Even their type and species was something that was unregistered in his [Main Menu]. That was not all, the nts and herbs growing around the area were filled with vitality to the point where they looked fresh and brimming with life.
Each and every grass had a utility of its own and the vast diversity in which they were growing, made Simon widen his eyes like saucers.
A breeze bringing along the fresh scent of fruits and nts blew across the area making it quite an appealing sight.
The path to the vige at the centre of the floor wasid out with stones that made treading on it quite easier and also disyed the taste of the Forest Spring Spirits that were said to be the overseer of the forest.
The farnds cultivated near the vige, had ample fruits and berries some of which Simon had seen back during the banquet they had in the Ancient Treants territory, releasing a sweet scent.
Just past the farnd was the bamboo forest and beside it was the new vige that the Forest Spring Spirit race had built. The ce was so beautiful that Simon was stunned briefly.
As with their previous vige, the houses they built were also made with bamboo which was decorated with their native artistic sense.
Wandering inside their vige, Simon felt like he had arrived in apletely different ce that was outside of his dungeon. While he was internally marvelling at the scene, the Forest Spring Spirits that spotted him hurriedly bowed their heads and showed their respects.
It didn''t take long for a crowd to gather near him and before long, the only remaining elder of the Forest Spring Spirits, Fennel came to greet him.
"Lord Simon, it is our p???sur? that you greet us with your presence in our vige. On behalf of all my nsmen, I wee you to the Forest Spring Spirit vige". Right after he said that, the rest of the vigers also followed suit.
"We wee you to the forest spring Spirit vige".
All of them bowed their heads deeply, Simon was not only their saviour/benefactor but from this point on, also their protector and lord. The respect and reverence they showed to him was no less than what they showed to their patriarch or maybe even more.
Simon who was not used to being held in such veneration, couldn''t help but make a troubled face. Although he felt uneasy, he didn''t stop them since their action represented their loyalty and conviction they held for him.
After the crowd settled down, he asked Fennel the reason behind calling him here. He did not believe that he was called here simply to marvel at the changes of the floor.
It was as he had expected, after hearing Simon, Fennel didn''t seem surprised. ncing at the centre of the vige, he smiled earnestly and said "there is indeed a matter I wanted to discuss with our lord about and something I wanted you to see".
Right after saying that, he turned towards the direction he was ncing and started walking. Simon did not ask any further and simply tagged along. Behind him followed Irene, Cecilia and rest of the vigers.
While on their way, Simon remembered that the direction that they were walking in, was where he had set up another pond of serenity beside the altered one he had on his main floor.
''Did some changes had taken ce in that pond of serenity too'' Simon thought as they approached closer and before the thoughts in his mind could settle down, the answer wasid in front of him.
Instead of the pond of serenity, it was the obsidian tes that he had ced around, that got affected. The seven or so obsidian tes that should be around the pond had disappeared and what was around was a huge ck stone tens of meters in size that appeared to be a gigantified version of the obsidian te at first nce.
''What was going on?'' was the first question that popped up in his mind when he saw the scene thaty in front of him.
The huge obsidian te sat at the centre of the pond and released waves of pure mystical energy that cleansed the surroundingnd and air. Even from this distance, Simon felt chills when the waves of energy brushed past his body.
If the energy is this strong even from this distance, he couldn''t imagine what the effects would be if he approached near the stone. Bending his body, he touched the surface of the water and felt that the density of mystical energy within the water was quite thick but other than that, it wasn''t affected much.
Simon immediately understood that the only thing that got altered was the obsidian te. That would mean that the meter and a half big obsidian tes that he had ced around the pond to absorb the excess mystical energy around the area had suddenly in the span of a few days had be tens of meters huge.
Obsidian tes although was able to absorb mana to some extent, it shouldn''t be able to expand in size. The sheer size of the ck stone made Simon unable to believe that it was the same meter and a half obsidian te he had ced around here.
"This?¡" even Simon was speechless when he saw the spectacle in front of him not to mention others who had no idea what the huge ck stone was in the first ce.
Fennel ??r?ssed his beard and added, "I don''t know what these huge ck stones that Lord Simon had ced here are but from the energy they are releasing, I surmise that it is something very precious¡ is it alright to keep them here?".
The way he spoke was as if he believed that everything that had happened was ording to Simon. Simon who was still out of sorts, felt embarrassed when he heard Fennel phrase it like that. If he had to be honest, even he did not foresee this kind of changeing.
Although he had guessed that there would be some changes after the Forest Spring Spirit n that can harness the power of the nature settled here, but even he couldn''t have guessed that the one affected wouldn''t be the pond and instead the obsidian tes he ced around it.
Simon''s mouth twitched and he was about to say something when he finally noticed the peculiarities in Fennel''s words.
"Wait a minute¡ what do you mean by huge ck stones?" Simon asked as if suddenly remembering something.
"Ehhh?¡ Does Lord Simon not know?" Fennel blinked his eyes a few times before saying "There are seven of these huge ck stones spread all across the floor. I thought it was Lord Simon who ced them there¡ isn''t that so?".
Simon was too focused on digesting the words that Fennel had just said than answering him. ''Seven huge ck stones¡ there is no mistake those should be the seven obsidian tes that I ced here.. But how did they spread all across the floor'' Simon had many questions that he wanted the answers for.
Chapter 181: Obsidian Energy Exuder (3)
Chapter 181: Obsidian Energy Exuder (3)
Spreading his awareness to their absolute limit across the floor, he was able to vaguely sense six powerful energy fluctuations simr to the one in front of himing from six different areas of the floor.
''It looks like Fennel is not lying. There are indeed seven huge stones spread all across the floor'' sensing the auras nearby, Simon concluded.
Although he knew that the huge ck stones should be the obsidian tes, the fact that he knew that, made it all the more difficult for him to believe it.
Simon used Analysis on the stone and the result he got made him widen his eyes in surprise.
Why wouldn''t he be? After all, the rank of the stone was disyed as [A] rank. Why kind of rank was [A]? it was the second highest tier after [S] rank and up until now, Simon only had one of them.
His Crimson zing me de was [A] tier item that he had upgraded after burning many of his [B] tier items. One could imagine the rarity of obtaining such an item.
However, this belief of his was flipped upside down when suddenly seven [A] tier items appeared on this floor out of nowhere.
Obsidian tes were by no means a high tier item and was only listed as [D] tier on the [Shop] or else he wouldn''t have been able to buy them in the first ce. For a [D] tier item to suddenly have be an [A] tier, what kind of ridiculous concept was that?
It was not only the rank but even the name of the object had changed. It was now called Obsidian Energy Exuder and when Simon tried to read further of its function, the result disyed made him even more astonished.
ording to information he got, the Obsidian energy Exuder had many uses which his Analysis failed to pry through due to it being a Normal skill at base tier.
The only useful information disyed stated that the object was a massive construct that absorbs the mana from the surrounding and from the mystical veins underneath the ground before discharging them across the surrounding area.
It was also because of this reason that the stones were spread all across the floor. Only one of the functions of these ck stones was already surprising enough but what made Simon stun was the presence of the mystical veins on this floor.
From the iplete memories he inherited, he at least knew that the presence of the mystical veins underneath the floor meant that the floor had reached a truly high level. It wouldn''t be surprising for the density of the mana and rare items to grow on the floor.
Only the high tier dungeons [B] rank and above had mystical veins in some of their floors. For a low-rank dungeon such as the [D] tier Lace to have mystical veins on two of its floor, the main floor being the first waspletely unthinkable and defied all logic of this world.
Though Simon was surprised, he wasn''t baffled by the changes that urred on this floor. This was the ce he specifically created for the Forest Spring Spirit race that were loved by the nature.
It shoulde as no surprise to him if the changes ur on multiple floors of his dungeon in the future. It had only been more than a week and the Forest Spring Spirits had already started to show their true powers.
One could imagine the kind of change this race would bring to his dungeon in the future. Although it was too early, but Simon had already started viewing them as one of his greatest ?ssets that would help him and his dungeon reach greater heights.
As long as he protected their safety and wellbeing, the benefits the Forest Spring Spirit one of the ancient and rarest races in the world would provide would be momentous. He could see why Irene insisted on taking the forest spring Spirit race under his protection. She had already foreseen this kind of developmenting.
Simon turned his head and looked at Irene beside him who was simrly observing the huge ck stone. He could see no surprise in her eyes and her attitude seemed to tell that everything that happened was bound to happen sooner orter.
Turning his attention towards the [A] tier Obsidian Energy Exuder, Simon couldn''t wait to see what kind of changes these huge seven stones would bring to this floor.
"Big brother do you want to see the other ones" Cecilia asked while tugging his clothes. She who had stayed on this floor to help her nsmen to construct their new vige, had already explored the entirety of the floor and knew where the other stone were located.
Although she had no interest in them, but looking at the surprising gaze by which her big brother observed those stones she ?ssumed that it must be important to him.
Shaking his head Simon rejected her offer and said "Its alright¡ I can feel the energy discharged by those stones even from here. They should be more or less like the one in front of us. There is no need to trouble ourselves by going around to each of them. That being said, it was quite the surprise to see the obsidian tes to grow¡ no alter by this extent. I can feel that these stones hold an absurd amount of mystical energy within them. Though even I cannot tell their exact uses now, having them around shouldn''t have any negative effects".
Saying that, he turned towards the crowd and dered "These stones were something I had ced when creating this floor. Perhaps it might make some of you uneasy to have them around, but I believe that it might be useful for your vige and this floor in the future".
Fennel immediately bowed his head and said "What is Lord Simon saying? These stones are something you have ced considering the wellbeing of this vige. How can it be a detriment to us? None of us hold such thoughts. As you loyal subordinates, of course, we haveplete faith in you".
It wasn''t only his but the belief of all the forest Spring Spirits as they hurriedly sounded their opinions.
Simon looked at Irene who was calmly observing the stone and asked "What do you think?".
Silently nodding her head, she looked at all the directions where the simr energy fluctuations areing from and affirmed "Yeah you are right. Although we are talking about a distant future, but its presence here would be an indisputable advantage for this floor and vige".
Listening to Irene''s vague reply, Simon understood that Irene was able to see the other functions of the stones and thus based her answer on that. Since Irene had confirmed that these huge obsidian stones would be beneficial for the Forest Spring Spirits, Simon no longer doubted it.
Changing the topic, he looked at Fennel and asked "What is the other matter you wanted to discuss with me?".
After the crowd receded, the elder nodded his head and suggested "Lord Simon would you care toe with me. This ce is not ideal for discussing such matters".
With that said, Fennel hinted something with his eyes to Cecilia and she immediately ran in a certain direction.
"Hoho, she is quite the impatient girl. Now if you will please follow me" Fennel ??r?ssed his beard and started walking in the same direction.
Simon and Irene silently followed behind Fennel and after walking for a few minutes, a beautiful bamboo house soon came into view. Stopping in front of the ce, Fennel turned around and smiled as he observed their reaction before speaking.
"I hope you like it. This house was specially prepared by us for you to stay in whenever youe to visit our vige. It is not much but on behalf of all of the Forest Spring Spirits, please ept our gift".
Simon was surprised when he heard the fine-looking bamboo house in front of them which overshadowed all the other houses in the surrounding both in size and splendour, was specially prepared to hold him whenever he visited their vige.
While the bamboo couldn''t bepared to the white pce on the main floor, the house in front of him had its own charms and aspects that made it no less attractive.
While Simon was still hesitating over what to say, the deeply polished wooden doors of the house were suddenly pushed open and from within came out Cecilia.
Dancing a little in joy, she marvelled at the surprise reactions of Simon and Irene before saying gleefully "Hehe, how is it big brother, Elder sister¡ amazing isn''t it? Let me tell you I helped a lot when building this house. Ufufu, your shocked expression tells me that my big surprise was quite the hit".
Looking at the willful her, Irene smiled gently while Simon helplessly shrugged his shoulders. He felt that from the moment Cecilia came into his dungeon, his life was never boring.. Although she was constantly unto something, Simon did not necessarily dislike it.
Chapter 182: Important Matter
Chapter 182: Important Matter
It seemed that she wanted to show off the house she helped build to the two of them and thus pulled them along the way.
Simon finally understood why the girl was so excited and eager to bring them here. The request from Fennel was just an excuse whereas her real motive was to surprise him and Irene with this house all along.
While Cecilia was still being smug about her work, Fennel coughed once before reminding "How long do you n on putting that act? Quickly invite the both of them inside¡ or do you intend to make them wait outside forever".
Being scolded by Grandpa Fennel, Cecilia immediately realised her mistake and made a flustered expression.
"Ah! Hehe¡ Big brother, Elder Sister wee to your new home. Quicklye inside, let me show you around" right after saying that she came skipping in front of them and quickly pulled them inside.
The house was gifted to him as casually as that and it seemed that as the master of the dungeon, Simon had no say in this matter. Releasing a sigh, he went with the flow and allowed himself to be pulled inside the house.
The interior of the house was no less beautiful than the exterior and was nicely decorated using all the things that could be found around the forest.
The area was wide, spacious and had plenty of room. A staircase in the middle led towards the floor above and a balcony that gave the view of the whole Forest Spring Spirit Vige. In fact, the house was not far from the pond and one could feel the refreshing sensation of the dense mana flowing with the breeze.
The backyard had many different types of nts and trees neatly arranged. From all of these, one could see how much importance the people of this n had given to making this house. Even without Simon having to pay close attention, all these sentiments were cleanly conveyed to him.
"Big brother, Elder sister, Grandpa Fennel¡ you all can sit on that couch and have a talk while I make some tea for you all".
After saying that, Cecilia turned around quickly dashed towards the kitchen. Although Irene tried to stop her, the excitement of Cecilia was clearly over the top.
''That little girl was finally picking the qualities of her mother'' Seeing how m?tur? she was acting, Fennel couldn''t but smile in satisfaction.
"Lord Simon,dy Irene please make yourselffortable after all, from this moment on it is your house" Fennel repeated pointing at the couch.
Complying with the request, Simon sat on the couch, Irene sat beside him while Fennel took a seat opposite them.
"The house is truly wonderful, you all have my thanks" locking his hands together, Simon said in a serious tone. The house was a gift from the entire vige showing how much and appreciation and respect they had for him. Rejecting such a gift would be like insulting their efforts and dedication.
Hence Simon had no choice but to simply ept their offer plus the house in his opinion was truly beautiful and he could use it every time he came to this floor.
Irene too nodded her head as if appreciating the attractiveness of the house and the efforts the forest Spring Spirits put into building it.
Being thanked by Simon, Fennel hurriedly shook his hand and made a conflicted face "It is just a small gift that cannot even begin to show how much gratitude and indebted we are to you. If you say thanks for such a small matter then it will just be a source of trouble for me".
Simon understood where Fennel wasing from and thus epted his words at face value. He was just a regr human in his previous world and now when he was suddenly regarded as their lord, Simon was having trouble acting the part.
He did not how the attitude of a lord over their subjects should be nor did he know how to act like one. It seemed that Fennel was somewhat aware of it and hence was correcting him whenever he acted too humbly.
"Coming to the main topic¡ there is a matter I wanted to discuss with Lord Simon and therefore I tasked Cecilia to request your presence here" Fennel''s voice turned solemn as he brought out the topic.
He put one of his hands on the pocket of his robe and brought out an item that looked oddly familiar to Simon. It didn''t take him long to recognize what it was.
It was the same peculiar ring he got from Laris that had a sub dimensional space simr to his [Inventory]. Simon remembered that when he defeated Laris, he found the spirit orbs of the deceased Forest Spring Spirits inside the ring.
Later when he met the surviving members of the Forest Spring n inside the Ancient Treants territory, he had chosen to return the ring containing the spirit orbs to them. His action at that time by no means meant to win their favour, in the contrary precisely because he loathed using this kind of dirty method to increase his rank, that he chose to return it to their rightful owners.
Seeing the emerald green ring once again, the same emotions came flowing within him and he couldn''t help but recall those adventurers who massacred the whole vige of Forest Spring Spirits for their own profit.
It wasn''t only him, even Irene frowned in contemtion when she saw the space ring. With her level of detection, it was impossible to not know the contents of an ordinary space ring with just a look.
Fennel had a pained expression as he held the space ring in his hand which trembled ever so slightly. Although there was no physical weight, knowing that the spirit orb of their deceased family and friend was inside the ring, made it quite heavy for him to hold.
Simon was tactful enough not to press for an answer and waited for Fennel to get over his emotions.
After a while, the elder stretched his hand and presented the ring to Simon with a happy yet sad expression.
"What is the meaning of this?" Simon creased his brows and asked. He did not understand the meaning behind Fennel''s gesture.
Didn''t the ring contain the spirit orbs of their nsmen, thest remaining memory of those they held dear? If so then what is the meaning behind Fennel passing it to him? Was it a test to see his character?
Simon stared directly at Fennel''s eyes trying to find the meaning behind his action.
"There is no meaning behind it. I am already well aware of Lord Simon''s character and disposition after the events that had happened back in the Ancient Treants territory. It would be presumptuous of me to say it but I quite like the current temperament of yours that is unlike any other rulers out there. Our loyalty will always lie with you and our faith in you is something that cannot be changed so easily".
Staring at the rings in his hand, Fennel stated "This ring containing the spirit orbs of our fellow nsmen is something that Lord Simon found it himself. By right it should belong to you and nobody will argue with it. You giving it back to us already showed us your sincerity and a mind that is not at all fazed by something that is regarded as a treasure all across the world".
"That in itself ?ssures us that Lord Simon will not treat our Forest Spring Spirit n poorly. I have already talked with the other members of the n and they all approved of my decision to pass it to you. I am aware that Lord Simon does not want to use such a method and rely on himself to increase his strength. We believe in your ideals; theless, we still insist that Lord Simon keeps this space ring containing the spirit orbs with him. It may be of help to you in the future".
Fennel deeply bowed his head after saying his piece, trying to implore Simon to ept his offer.
Simon who was intently listening up to this point made a face that was hard to read as he deliberated over Fennel''s words.
Irene, on the other hand, was shocked to see how much faith and devotion these Forest Spring Spirits had on Simon. Although she was shocked, she knew the reason why. Simon not only saved the children, the future of hope of the Forest Spring Spirit n from the clutches of the adventurers but also swore to protect the safety and peace of their n.
Adding this to his likeable personality and temperament, there was no way the Forest Spring Spirit n wouldn''t think of him highly.
"Elder Fennel, while I get your point, I cannot ept these spirit orbs. These are thest remaining vestiges of the people of your n, I cannot just simply take it away from you all. Besides even without relying on Forest Spirit orbs, I can get much stronger. So you should give them to the family of the deceased".
Simon said after carefully deliberating over the words.
Fennel had an incredulous look on his face before smiling happily "Lord Simon it is truly our good fortune that we have met a Lord that is as caring towards their subordinates as you. I cannot express how grateful I am feeling right now".
"However, Lord Simon is mistaken in this matter. These Spirit Orbs while precious to the rest of the world, hold no meaning to us and it is not something we would like to keep with us as it constantly reminds us of our dark past.. We would rather offer it to our lord than be misused by other people with evil ns".
Chapter 183: Important Matter (2)
Chapter 183: Important Matter (2)
Fennel stated as he once again stretched his hand containing the space ring towards Simon.
When Simon was about to reject the offer once again, Irene''s tranquil voice sounded out from beside him.
"I know that you have already felt the sincerity and honesty in his words. His decision to pass it to you represent the thoughts and voices of all the Forest Spring Spirits currently on this floor. Instead of simply rejecting it, why not keep it in your protection for the time being. That way, the spirit orbs would be in safe hands and they won''t have to worry about it being misused by someone. Plus there is no disadvantage in just keeping it with you is there?".
Even Irene was insisting that he keeps the spirit orbs, giving it some thought Simon finally decided to relent and keep the ring with him.
He was aware that Irene had said all that just so he wouldn''t be burdened by the ideals and convictions that he had set for himself. Simon knew that sometimes being too headstrong about something wasn''t a good thing.
Though he had no use for the Spirit Orbs, there was no denying that it might be helpful to him in the future. Taking the space ring from Fennel, Simon gave its contents a quick go through.
Inside the ring, there were seventy spirit orbs, low tier equipments, rations and gold. The spirit orbs were plundered from the Forest Spring Spirits while the rest were the possesions of Laris.
Simon simply kept the ring in his inventory. When their discussion was over, Cecilia along with a woman brought the tea for them. Simon remembered that the woman was her aunt Daphne.
A scented aroma came from the freshly brewed tea and ?ssaulted their nose. Looking at the tea, he was quite curious to find its taste as this would be his first time tasting tea aftering to this world.
He wanted to know if the tea here was simr to the ones he used to have back on earth or was it different.
"Big brother here is yours," Cecilia said serving the tea.
Holding the cup in his hand, Simon felt the familiar scenting off from the tea and before he even knew it, he was sipping off from it. Immediately, the fatigue he had umted from the past week of continuous training, started draining away from his body and his tensed mind rxed quite a bit.
To think that the tea would have such an effect, the tea leaves used would be quite extraordinary. Apart from that, Simon also felt that the water used to brew tea was from the pond of serenity whose water had the added effect of calming one''s mind.
While he was admiring the effects of the tea, he soon realised that his cup had been emptied. Cecilia who saw that her brother really liked the tea she brewed, couldn''t help but disy acent smile.
She pored out another cup of tea for him before asking "Big brother, Grandpa Fennel are you done with your discussion?".
Fennel who saw how eager Cecilia was to get apliment for her work, smiled and replied "Hoho, we are just finished with our discussion. You chose the best time to serve the tea".
"Hehe¡ Big brother, elder sister did you like the tea?".
Simon replied with an honest "yeah" while Irene nodded her head and silently drank her tea.
While Simon was thinking of taking some of the tea leaves they had grown back to his main floor, a window suddenly popped up in front of him.
Intruder''s Alert. A group of twenty outsiders have invaded the dungeon. Race- Humans, Current Progress- Floor 1. Average Level- 180.
It wasn''t only him, Simr windows had pooped up in front of Irene and Cecilia too since they were ?ssigned as the Guardians of the dungeon.
Simon creased his brows but didn''t seem fazed at all. He knew that his dungeon was bound to be discovered sooner orter especially after he let those two humans get out of the forest. It wouldn''te as a surprise to him if the words about his dungeon is already circting within the nearby city.
Irene didn''t have much reaction either when the window popped up but that couldn''t be said for Cecilia. The moment she read the information disyed on the window, she became panicked and her face was masked with dread.
Humans, to her who had lived most of her life within the confines of the vige, the very first human she saw was a terrible bunch. With the nightmarish experience she had, it was difficult for her to not panic when she knew that humans were going to invade the ce they are staying on once again.
Seeing her change her expression so suddenly, aunt Daphne who was beside her, couldn''t help but speak in concern "What is wrong Cecilia? Why are you suddenly making such a worried face?".
Even Fennel noticed the obvious change in her facial expression which up until this moment was beaming with joy.
Cecilia didn''t answer them immediately and instead looked towards Simon in worry "Big brother¡".
"There is no need to worry. My dungeon Lace is not that easy to conquer. Especially when I am already expecting their arrival. Although they came earlier than I expected, it makes no difference. Rest ?ssured of them will be able to pass through the floors above and you also have me to protect you all. There is no way things are going to turn like thest time".
Hearing his confident reply, Cecilia finally dropped some of her worries and her wildly thumping heart rxed a little. ''Big brother is here is with us, there is no way things would turn out like thest time. The adventurers have to descend down all the floors above us before reaching this ce''
The fact that their vige was now located inside the dungeon, gave her even more ?ssurance.
From their conversation, Fennel and Daphne became aware that something was going on and therefore they asked "Lord Simon if I may ask¡ what is the matter?".
Simon pondered over it before deciding to tell them about the situation. Now that they have taken him as their lord and have established a vige in his dungeon thus bing one of its inhabitants, the matter at hand also concerned all of them.
But since he already nned and prepared his dungeon for a situation such as this, he didn''t want them to panic over it for no reason.
Simon tried to describe the situation as positively as he could and reassured them that no harm woulde to the Forest Spring Spirits and their vige.
Fennel who was the eldest among here living for more than two hundred years, he took all of it in with a calm face. No hint of panic could be seen in his old wrinkled face.
"I see Lord Simon has already prepared for a situation such as this. Then that means that we have no need to worry. This is a dungeon after all; it is not unusual to see people delving into it. As your loyal subordinates, we are ready to help you any time if there is ever any need" hisposed voice rxed other around him and Daphne too eased up a little.
The dungeon was a ce filled with riches from the perspective of the humans and they frequently delve inside said dungeons to look for opportunities. The appearance of the humans was sudden this time but it''ll soon be a daily urrence.
More than that, the Dungeon Master himself said that the dungeon was perfectly prepared to receive the bunch of them. How can they doubt his words? By now, Simon''s position in the hearts of the forest Spring Spirits had already solidified to the point of blind faith.
Putting his teacup down on the table, Simon stood up. "Alright, now that the matters regarding which I came to the Forest Spring Spirit floor had been settled, it time for me to go back" saying that, he turned to leave.
Irene too silently followed suit, she knew Simon very well and thus was aware that this sudden situation had ignited the determination within him to get stronger once again.
Irene wasn''t wrong, Simon right now couldn''t think anything other than training himself to get stronger as soon as possible. The adventurers right now were around level 180, in the future, there might be¡ no, there will be even more stronger onesing to conquer his dungeon.
If he stayed the way he is right now, then when the timees he wouldn''t be able to save anyone. Much less keep his words with Aldebaran to protect the Forest Spring Spirits.
"Big brother I''m alsoing back. As one of the chosen Guardians, it is my duty to help the dungeon master protect the dungeon" Cecilia said intently, the girl that was cowering a few moments was nowhere to be seen.
It wasn''t only her even Fennel and Daphne bowed their heads and pleaded "Lord Simon if there is anything we can do with our powers please let us know.. We shall do our best to manage the dungeon and protect the peace of our vige".
Chapter 184: New Feature: Roles
Chapter 184: New Feature: Roles
They had already been forced to flee from their vige once and had to live a life of fugitive under the protection of the Ancient Titan Treant. This time, they were not going to flee anymore and defend their vige and people with their own power.
Simon carefully observed the expression of each of them and surprisingly each of their conviction mysteriously got conveyed to him. The adventurers this time were not a problem and the upper floors were prepared enough to halt them.
Just when he was about to say that there was no need and the dungeon was adequately prepared, the new feature of the [Dungeon] option came to his mind.
The new feature allows the Dungeon Master to designate aides for the dungeon called [Helpers]. The job of the [Helpers] is to ?ssist the dungeon master inpleting various small tasks that are crucial for the functioning of the dungeon.
The [Helpers] also enjoy some of the limited functions of the dungeon menu (now Main Menu) such as the teleport option, making slight alterations on the specific areas of the floors etc.
Basically, the [Helpers] ?ssist the Dungeon master by taking off some of their load. They enjoy slightly more privilege than an ordinary inhabitant of the dungeon.
The new feature got unlocked after the dungeon ranked up to [D] but since he did not have any inhabitant living inside his dungeon at that time, the function went unused. Now though there were more than forty Forest Spring Spirits living inside his dungeon.
He could use this chance to elect some of them as the [Helpers] and at the same time see how useful the function was.
Making up his mind, he looked at Fennel and told him to select five people that have the best potential and bring them here.
"They don''t need to be the best fighters, just good at using their abilities" Simon added.
Fennel quickly replied with a yes and hurriedly went to execute his orders.
Irene frowned, she thought over his actions before opening the [Main Menu] herself. Guardians were ranked second in the hierarchy after the Dungeon Master. That is to say, they were the second-highest authority inside the dungeon after the dungeon master.
Although not all, they have ess to most of the functions of the dungeon menu (now Main Menu) which included the [Dungeon] function itself. It didn''t take much time for Irene to realize that Simon wanted to use this chance to set up some [Helpers] for the dungeon.
Before long, Fennel brought over five individuals whom he thought in his view had the most potential. The five people entered the house and swiftly bowed before him.
Looking at all of them, Simon spotted two familiar faces. They were the two eldest children called Maya and Jared amongst all the children that he had saved previously. These two were the ones who had left asting impression on him when he met all of them for the first time.
One was quite mentally m?tur? despite being just eight to nine years old while the other had the courage to stand before any adversary.
"Lord Simon as you have told, I have brought over five individuals who have the best potential from our Forest Spring Spirit n" Fennel reported as he walked from behind them.
Nodding his head, Simon acknowledged his efforts before speaking towards the five "I know that you might have no idea as to why I have summoned you all in front of me. But know that I don''t n on being unreasonable. If you don''t like the proposition I am about to put forth, you are allowed to reject it. With that being said, the reason why I summoned you all here is to ?ssign the five of you the role of [Helpers]".
Everybody present excluding Irene, tilted their heads in confusion.
"[Helpers] is a role that is ?ssigned to those who ?ssist the dungeon master in various small jobs around the dungeon. Their job is to keep the dungeon functioning and be the arms and legs of the Dungeon Master. Once you be a [Helper], you will be able to teleport to most of the floors, extendmand over some of the spawned monsters and more" Simon borated to clear the confusion masking their faces.
Everybody looked as if enlightened, the same goes for Cecilia. The little girl had even forgotten that as one of the chosen Guardians, she is able to ess the [Main Menu].
"So that''s why big brother suddenly asked grandpa Fennel to bring them here. Maya, you should be one of the [Helpers] that way you cane to the main floor and we can meet any time" sping Maya''s hand, Cecilia said in delight.
At this moment, Maya had a stunned look over her face. She could hardly believe what she just heard. ording to their lord, [Helpers] was someone who would aid the Dungeon master in keeping the dungeon functioning.
From what she could interpret was that it was a very important role and Simon had chosen the five of them suitable for it. The position he had inside the hearts of these Forest Spring Sprits was already above their own patriarch not to mention he was personally asking them.
Her mind had already be nk from all the shock. It wasn''t only her; the same could be said for the remaining four of them.
"Does Maya not want to be one of the [Helpers]" Cecilia asked in a downtrodden manner. Being awakened by her sudden voice, all of them woke up from their daze and immediately knelt down.
"We graciously ept this offer from Lord Simon to be [Helpers]" they spoke in unison.
Being able to show their fealty so well mannerly and orderly, it must have been drilled into them by Fennel. From the corner of his eyes, Simon observed the old man. Although he did not care much about this kind of mannerism and conduct, but it seems that this was their way of showing their loyalty.
Just to make sure they are epting this out of their own will, Simon added "Just so you know, you can deny this offer. I wouldn''t mind a bit".
To his surprise, of them wanted to change their mind and insisted on bing a [Helper]. Jared who seemed to have the most courage out of them all, replied for the rest of them "Lord Simon had already given us huge honour by electing the five of us to be at your service. There is no way we would waste this opportunity by needlessly throwing it away".
Fennel who was behind them continuously stroked his beard and nodded his head. ''The boy is quite tactful and his talent isn''t quite bad, an excellent find amongst the children'' he thought internally.
"Lord Simon the abilities of these two children might beckingpared to the three ?du?ts but their talent is not bad and they excel at other aspects" Fennel stated, his voice contained a tone of appreciation.
Even without him pointing that out Simon was already aware of that. "It appears to be the case. Alright from now on I''ll be ?ssigning the five of you the role of [Helpers]. The position also allows you to ess some of the functions of the [Main Menu] including the teleport function" Simon said.
He called forth the [Main Menu] and swiftly used the new function called [Delegation] and designated the role of [Helpers] to the five Forest Spring Spirits.
As soon as he ?ssigned them the roles, the five of them felt their body heating up for a moment before a spiritual mark appeared within them. When they tried focusing on this sensation, a in window that had a few of the functions of the [Main Menu], appeared in front of them.
Simon vaguely felt that the connection that was established wasn''t that simple and there was more to it than just that. He made a mental note to experiment on that factorter.
Also from today''s exchange, Simon realised that he needed to install a teleport gate inside the vige that connected with the main floor. It would be quite inconvenient for them if every time they had to send Cecilia or the [Helpers] to get in touch with him.
With the instation of the teleport gates within their vige, Fennel and the others would be able to traverse to the main floor whenever they needed to get in touch with him.
A circle-shaped construct made out of peculiar stone appeared near the centre of the vige where the pond of serenity and the huge obsidian te was. The circr stone slowly rotated and a portal soon formed that connected this floor with his main floor.
Unlike the teleport gates on the other floors, the one on the Forest Spring Spirit floor was many times bigger, grandeur and special since it is connected with the main floor.
Precisely because the teleport gate here was connected to the main floor, the cost of instation was also high. It took 1,000,000 DP to establish one.
As soon as the construct appeared, it caused amotion within the Forest Spring Spirits and Fennel was forced to step out.. Rushing towards the ce where themotion erupted from, he was astounded to find a ring-shaped gate at the centre of the vige.
Chapter 185: New Feature: Roles (2)
Chapter 185: New Feature: Roles (2)
Rushing towards the ce where themotion erupted from, he was astounded to find a ring-shaped gate at the centre of the vige.
Up until this point, there was no such construct here so of course all the passersby were stunned to find something so unusual here all of a sudden.
"This¡" Fennel muttered creasing his brows.
"It is a teleport gate that is connected to the main floor where I reside" Simon silently appeared and answered his queries.
"As I thought, it is something installed by Lord Simon. Haha, it is embarrassing but it''ll take some time to get used to things suddenly appearing inside the vige" Fennel admitted after he dispersed the crowd that had gathered near the pond once again.
Simon affirmed, although it would take some time for them to adapt to it, he wasn''t particrly worried about it.
Now with all the matters settled on this floor, he looked towards the newly appointed five [Helpers] behind him before stating "Right, the five of youe with me".
"Elder Fennel the services of the teleport gate is avable all the time, you can use it to contact me" Simon said as he prepared to teleport. His destination was the 15th floor.
Simon along with the [Helpers] arrived onto a vast forest with tall trees and vines that covered most of his line of sight. Compared to the Forest Spring Spirit floor, the nt life here wasn''t full of life and vibrant.
Even the vegetation here was mostly a single type, a clear contrast to the previous floor he came from.
The [Dungeon] function although allows him to modify the floors, it did not have many options to add. It might be because the dungeon is still a low-ranking one, but Simon hoped to have an ?ssortment of options to tinker his floor with.
However, the reason why he arrived on the 15th floor personally wasn''t to modify the topography of the floor.
"Lord Simon, why are we here?" Jared asked as he curiously looked at the floor he had arrived for the first time.
"We are here to conduct some experiment" Simon smiled as he walked ahead. The Forest was quite vast, more than fifteen kilometres in area, though it didn''t take him long to find the objective he was looking for.
The 15th and the 16th floors were the same in that they are both forested areas and the monsters that spawned on these floors were Direwolves and Stormwolves. Their average level was around 80 to 130 and their numbers were in hundreds.
Thest time Simon had spawned more than 50 of them from each race and since then their numbers had significantly gone up.
Opening the [Archive] function of his [Main Menu] which allows him to see the floors and all the entities on it in a three-dimensional structure, he quickly found the numbers of the wolves whose numbers had drastically increased to more than three hundred.
The rate at which they were breeding and increasing their number, even astounded Simon. Looking at their distribution and how they were spread around the floor, it seemed that there were multiple packs led by different leaders.
It was precisely because Simon had discovered that while he was exploring the eastern region of the Ghastly Winding Forest that Simon did not just spawn the Stormwolves but also the Direwolves.
Since Stormwolves are stronger than the normal Direwolves who have no skill or magic, they are also costlier to spawn. What Simon was trying to achieve by spawning fifty of each of them was to crossbreed so that more variants are born.
That way he would be able to save up some of his DP without needing to spawn them himself.
As he had expected, the number of the Stormwolves in the area had gone up slightly. Though it was not guaranteed that the born wolves would be Stormwolves every time, the probability was high enough for Simon to not make use of this method.
"Alright time to see if this works on them too" Simon approached one of the packs which had the highest numbers and took out a crimson crystal from his inventory.
The moment he took out the Crimson Mutation Crystal, the temperature of the surrounding air although slightly started rising. The crystal was something that the altered pond of serenity on his main floor had produced.
ording to the description, the crystal has the ability to create a mutation on the monster consuming the crystal making it able to utilize the fire attribute of mana. That is to say, if a Direwolves or Stormwolves eat it, a new variant able to use fire magic will be born.
However, that is only if the mutation is a sess. The chances of failure are much higher than it is for sess and Simon did not how many of the crystal his pond had or can produce at a time.
He would have liked to experiment with more of this crystal in hand but right now he wanted to strengthen his dungeon in any way he can and so he decided to take the risk and use the crystal.
Since the dungeon had recognized them as the aides of the Dungeon Master, they have certain control over the actions of the low-level monsters.
Approaching near a small mountain, Simon saw the mouth of the cave and a Stromwolf standing in front of it. The Stormwolf was as big as two meters, had greyish fur and scars all over its body.
Just like the Direwolves, the Stormwolves also had two tails and their intelligence was quite low. They were ruled by their instincts and were very territorial.
Seeing that Simon wasing closer, the Stormwolf that appeared to be the leader of this pack, backed away allowing him to effortlessly ce the Scarlet Mutation Crystal on the cave.
Afterpleting his task, they silently left the territory of the wolves and appeared in front of a tall mountain overlooking the area. From here, Simon could clearly see the whole territory of the wolves.
He looked behind him and saw the confounding faces of the [Helpers] and asked "Do you want to know what the experiment is all about?".
Seeing them nod their heads, Simon exined "Well the reason I brought you here is because I want you guys to observe the wolves residing in this territory or more precisely the one that consumes the crystal I left back at their cave".
"The Crimson Mutation Crystal has the ability to mutate the monster allowing it to gain new abilities. The mutation will take a few days to a week of time and that is why I need the ?ssistance of the [Helpers]. Keep a tab on them and if you notice any changes, inform me. Ah right, you can take turns to keep a watch on them. The rest of you can use this chance to teleport and familiarize yourself with the other floors of this dungeon. Make sure not to teleport where the adventurers are".
After saying everything that needed to be said, Simon was just about to teleport away when Maya suddenly asked "Lord Simon¡ uhm that is can Ie to the main floor to meet with Cecilia more often?".
Nodding his head, he said nonchntly "Suit yourself".
After hearing his words, Maya sighed in relief and thanked Simon incessantly even after he left. She and Cecilia were best friends ever since they were little kids back in their old vige. She was used to seeing her every day before the incident with adventurers urred.
Now that she had been given the discretion to use the teleport function however she liked, she could use it to meet with her anytime.
Arriving back on the main floor, Simon quickly went back to his previous spot near the pond of serenity and sat down. Last time he felt like he was very close to attaining the [Mana Lines] and if he activated the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] skill a few more times, he felt like he would be able to grasp it.
Opening the [Main Menu] he surveyed the progress of the adventurers and saw that the progress of their exploration was very slow. It had only been a few hours and although the first few floors wasn''t that big, it was enough to stall them for a while.
Seeing that the new adjustments and trap that he hadid on the floors were working like usual, Simon made a satisfied smile.
After the dungeon had ranked up, the power of the traps had also been enhanced making it quite effective in situations when the invaders are careless. The maze on the second floor had been erged and could easily stall a few adventurers team.
That was not all, the paths, the wall everything moved so as to confuse the senses of the adventurers and to make things worse, there were pin wall traps, spike wall traps and others added. Also, the monsters starting from the third and the fourth floor got stronger making the dungeon even more difficult to conquer than what it was before ranking up.
The sound of notification that Simon eagerly waited to hear for so long, finally started ringing once again as chunks of DP started being umted.
Chapter 186: Mishap
Chapter 186: Mishap
Although he still had quite a bit of DP stocked up, he knew that piging them carelessly was a foolish choice.
Seeing that his dungeon was functioning as usual, Simon calmed his mind and concentrated on the object before. In the centre of his palm lied an oval white stone releasing a chilling effect. It was other than the serenity stone that Irene had forked out from the bottom of the pond.
ording to the description of the object, it can help in increasing one''s focus and concentration allowing them to reach a self-transient state.
Taking a deep breath, he clenched his hand and the serenity stone made a crick noise before crumbling apart. Whoosh¡ a chilling wind blew in a few meters around him and soon covered him in a transparent film.
Simon suddenly felt that his breathing had be even and his mind settling down. A mysterious feeling of being able to control every aspect and reaction of his body descended onto him.
Realizing that his mind had reached a tranquil state, he quickly used this chance to enter the self transient state. Closing his eyes and focusing on this mysterious feeling more, Simon was swiftly able to achieve the state of mind he previously had so difficulty grasping.
The stone true to its effect, was able to help him achieve the best state of mind for training. Now it was all up to him how he utilized this chance to make the most out of it.
At this moment, Simon''s body had been engulfed by a thin film in a few meters around him that worked as a barrier which trapped the contents of the stone within it. The thin film was in an inverted bowl shape andsted only for two hours before silently disappearing.
However, Simon seemed to be still in a self-transient state of mind and showed no signs of realizing that the effects covering him was now gone. Soundlessly, theplicated markings around his upper body started igniting into golden-ck mes.
The entire aura around Simon had spiked up dramatically and even affected the area around him. The dense mystical energy around the area started being su?k?d towards him and enveloped his body like a cocoon.
The tribal tattoo like markings on his body igniting could only mean that Simon had activated his one and only phantasmal tier skill the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition]. This skill was one of the most powerful trump cards of Simon, one which had saved his life many times.
It was only after Irene had pointed out, but one of the reasons behind the skill being so high tier and powerful was because the skill established an extremely powerful and intrinsic mana lines in his body which was unique to him.
Currently, it was impossible for him to fully imitate the mana lines the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] skill created as it was too high tier andplicated for him but it did not mean that he couldn''t achieve a small imperfect version of it with very less paths.
If he was able to feel the sensation and recreate even a small bit of the mana lines, he would be able to acquire the Rare skill.
Words of mouth spread amongst the adventurers and before long multiple teams arrived before the dungeon to seek its riches. Adventurers from all the neighbouring cities flocked towards the dungeon to earn their fortune, the same was also true for the adventurers from the city of mountmend.
The name Lace rapidly spread amongst the adventurers and it quickly became the talk of every nearby town. Those that had delved inside the dungeon, came back with various monster parts, ores, herbs that serve as resources for various kinds of products.
Every adventurer whether low rank or newbies formed parties to tackle the dungeon and increase their level. They did not want the others to only be the ones to reap all the profits.
It was not only the adventurers, even some merchants who could smell the money flowing from miles away, ?ssembled from other parts of the kingdom to buy the products brought back by the adventurers.
The economy of the neighbouring cities flourished and even attracted the attention of some of the big names of the Kingdom.
Thanks to Simon tinkering and preparing his dungeon for all kinds of contingency, the adventurers that delved inside the dungeon had to explore the floors for days to make any advancement.
That was not all, after the dungeon rank increased and thanks to the Trees of Mana slowly but steadily increasing the density of mystical energy across all the floors, many ores and herbs started growing in many of the areas of the floors.
It was not only that but even the strength of the average monsters on the upper floors had gone up and due to that killing and harvesting their monster parts became even more difficult.
Nheless, the dangers surrounding the dungeon did not daunt most of the adventurers as they repeatedly delved inside it. The treasures that can be found inside were enough to offset the risks ?ssociated with them.
The moment he inhaled, the mana around the surrounding surged and poured inside him like a wave. His crimson eyes seemed even more ring as they scanned his surroundings.
Propelling himself up, Simon stretched his body feeling the rippling energy within him. "Haah¡ I can feel it, the mana within me has started to flow in a fixed direction periodically. I havee very close, just a little push and I can acquire the [Mana Lines] skill".
He surmised after observing the flow of mana within. Unlike before where his mana had no fixed path to follow, chaotic and rampant all the time, now though it was like a calm river silently flowing in a set path.
These were exactly the signs of mana lines being formed. Satisfied with his progress, Simon looked at the area where the trees of mana were and quickly spotted the cocoon made by the dense mist perpetually lingering around the ce.
He knew that the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was being enveloped inside that cocoon and is currently in a state where it shouldn''t be disturbed.
"I don''t know how much progress it is going to undergo but I''m not going to get left behind" Clenching his hands, he stated. The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was his partner plus friend that he had identally summoned from the [Gacha].
Ever since he reincarnated to this world, the warhorse was with him most of the time and had apanied him in numerous battles. It''s presence also gave Simon a peace of mind and reminded him every time that he was not alone.
He couldn''t be any happier seeing that the warhorse was making progress on its own. Not only that, but seeing the warhorse trying its best to get stronger also lit a fire inside him.
"I have been holed up inside the dungeon for so long. Now that I have broken through the level 300 barrier, I should start grinding level soon" Simon said after observing that his level had been stagnant for quite a while.
He had been putting more effort towards increasing his skills because he hade across a barrier that couldn''t be broken through headfirst. Since he knew that mindlessly hunting monster and grinding experience wouldn''t help him cross through this obstacle that he chose to acquire new skills and increase the tier of the existing ones.
Acquiring and increasing the tier of skills also helped in improving his strength not to mention a must to break through every hundred level barriers.
As Irene had previously mentioned, to cross through some of the future bottlenecks, Simon would not only have to level up but also acquire new skills and increase their tier to a realm suitable for his level.
He for the past few weeks had been focusing only on acquiring the [Mana Lines] skill. Now that he thought that he was this close to attaining it, he also wanted to increase his level.
Simon turned around and headed for his white pce when he saw one of the newly appointed [Helpers] standing quietly in front of his pce. Changing his direction, he headed for that [Helper] andnded in front of him.
Immediately spotting him, the Forest Spring Spirit bowed his head before reporting "Lord Simon I have been waiting for your arrival back from your training. As per your orders, we have been keeping a tab on the wolves inhabiting the 15th floor and observing for any possible mutation".
From the [Helpers] report, Simon suddenly remembered that a few days ago he went to the stormwolvesir to ce the scarlet mutation crystal. He was so focused in his training that it hadpletely slipped his mind.
"How long has it been?" Simon asked.
"It has been more than ten days" the [Helper] respectfully replied. He was one of the three ?du?ts that Fennel had chosen amongst the Forest Spring Spirits that had the most potential named Coleus.
"I see, it has already been more than ten days. So how goes the mutation? Was there any change on the wolf that consumed it" Simon asked, excited about the potential of the crystal that was produced by the mysterious pond.
"About that¡" Coleus locked his brows and seemed hesitant over something.
Chapter 187: Mishap (2)
Chapter 187: Mishap (2)
Seeing his behaviour, Simon immediately understood that he had gotten his hopes up too soon. He himself understood how low the chances of a mutation being sessful were. There was no way he would be able to get the d?s?r?d results soon.
"The mutation was a failure, the leader stormwolf that consumed it, died." Coleus said trying to exin the situation as carefully as he could.
"I see¡ thanks for letting me know. Let''s go to their cave, I want to know about it in more detail" Simon opened the [Main Menu] and swiftly teleported the both of them to the 15th floor.
"Lord Simon" the five [Helpers] arrived before him the moment he teleported to the floor and bowed. The ce they were on was the exact same mountain that overlooked the wolves territory.
Currently, the ce looked deserted and not even a single wolf could be seen on sight.
"Tell me what exactly transpired after the stormwolf consumed the crystal," Simon asked while walking towards the cave entrance. The [Helpers] followed behind and recited the whole event starting from the day after the leader Stormwolf ate the Scarlet Mutation Crystal that Simon left at the cave.
ording to them, the stormwolf seemed fine for the first few days and didn''t show any signs of being affected by the crystal. It was only after three days had passed that the stormwolf started disying some obvious changes.
Its eyes and fur started turning crimson and it showed signs of going berserk, even attacking the members of its own pack. The leader wolf was the most powerful one out of the pack hence it managed to wound many of its kin.
After tasting their blood, the stromwolf became even more agitated and started ramming its head on the cave. Its peculiar behaviour and hostility towards its pack members drove the others out of the territory.
On the sixth day, its body had grown more than three meters and the fur on its body had turned a deep shade of red. However, the behavioural pattern of the stormwolf started getting more erratic and it even attacked other packs.
Due to umting many wounds, the wolf died on the seventh day. From their exnation, Simon understood that the crystal wasn''tpatible with the stormwolf and showed obvious signs of rejection.
Its erratic behaviour, hostility against its pack members and intense aggression showed that the mutation was a failure.
"I see the mutation was bound to be a failure I guess" What made Simon disappointed was that even until its moments, it showed no signs of being able to use the fire attribute of mana. While he was deliberating whether the effects of the crystal was too strong for a low-level creature like stormwolves when the [Helpers] reported him of another piece of shocking news.
"Lord Simon the situation has changed. Something has been eating the remains of the dead wolf and had instead undergone a change that could be said as a mutation".
The moment he heard that, Simon couldn''t help but blurt out "What?!".
¡ª¨C
A monster spawned from the DP, does not provide any DP when killed inside the dungeon. Its remains get swiftly digested by the dungeon unless¡
Entering inside the cave, the pungent smell became even more stronger and after walking for a while, they soon found the dead remains of the leader stormwolf.
Its body had erged by a lot since thest time Simon saw it and even its fur which was previously greyish, had turned a piercing red. The [Helpers] were right, the body was still there which could only mean that it was being eaten by another entity.
With a flip of his hand, gale magic was generated and easily flipped the three meters body of the wolf around and he could finally see.
The left side of its ribcage wasing out and pieces of flesh was dangling, evidence of something eating it. The scene was so gore that the [Helpers] couldn''t help looking away from it, hands on their mouth and holding themselves back from vomiting out.
Simon couldn''t me these Forest Spring Spirits since the smell was so pungent that even he felt spewing the contents of his stomach out. However, his attention was on something else right now.
He carefully observed the gorging marks on the flesh of the wolf and the entity that could have done it. "But who could do something like that?" Simon muttered out loud.
The Stormwolves and the Direwolves are the apex predators here, who could have the nerve to eat their flesh?
"I-It was a small mouse" Maya replied in a wavering voice.
A surprised look shed in his eyes, it was not only him but even the four [Helpers] that were beside her, were so. Why wouldn''t they be? After all, a mouse was an extremely weak monster, the lowest of the low an [E] rank.
It was supposed to be the prey of higher-level monsters, how could they have the boldness to dine on the flesh of their predator? Although they found her idea amusing, they couldn''t outright deny it. In any case, there might be a possibility that she might be right.
Simon pondered over what Maya said, judging from the marks left behind on the flesh it could definitely be seen as the work of a mouse. He was the dungeon master of this ce and knew about the monsters inhabiting each floor.
Other than the Direwolves and Stromwolves inhabiting this ce, there were few other low-level races spawned here as their prey and one of these species was exactly a mouse called Fanged Mouse.
However, just like the others, he found the thought amusing. A Fanged Mouse was an [E] tier monster with limited to nobat abilities. It was extremely weak and lived in huge numbers. This race usually survives on dirt and grass and was extremely timid.
There was no way a Fanged Mouse would be bold enough to eat the flesh of a Stormwolf. Although it was absurd, the possibility wasn''t zero. Simon observed the ce and soon found small holes on the floor big enough for a Fanged Mouse to pass through.
He turned towards the [Helpers] and asked "How did the mutated creature look like?". Beforeing to any conclusion, he wanted to hear from them who had supposedly spotted this creature.
"It had a long serpentine tail, crimson fur asionally zing with fire and a body as big as one and a half meter" one of the [Helpers] said.
Just when Simon thought that the description didn''t match with the characteristics of fanged Mouse, the other [Helper] Coleus contradicted the first one.
"What are you saying? The creature wasn''t even a meter big, not to mention it had a brown fur with crimson stripes. It had huge fangs and ws that glimmered with an incisive light that could easily slice through a boulder".
"Um¡ it had crimson fur" Maya said breaking the stalemate.
"See I was right" the helper who was the first to describe the creature, shed a confident smile towards Coleus.
"But it was very small¡ about this big" Maya said indicating the size of the creature with her hands. ording to her, it was a small mouse with crimson fur, a serpentine tail and not even half a meter big.
It was not only her, but each of the [Helpers] gave a different description of the mutated creature and there were so many contradictions that Simon couldn''t put his hand on what the creature was.
Nheless, there was no doubt that the creature had mutated after eating the corpse of the stormwolf that had consumed the Scarlet Mutation Crystal. What was surprising for Simon was that the mutation could ur even when the flesh of the monster was eaten by another entity.
"It seems that the flesh and blood of the monster can induce mutation on the other creatures eating it" saying that, he looked towards the small hole at the corner of the floor and squinted his eyes.
No matter what creature or which race it was from, as long as it was able to mutate, it was good news for him. Putting the corpse back to how it was, Simon excited the cave and asked "What happened to the rest of the pack the Stormwolf was leading?".
Jared who was right behind him replied "After being attacked by their own leader, some of them fled and those that stuck around, after seeing the corpse of their leader formed a new pack".
It seemed that the wolves had formed a new pack and had deserted this cave. "In any case keep a look around and investigate the creature that is eating the flesh from the corpse. If you find any clue, don''t hesitate to inform me" Right after saying that Simon teleported outside of his dungeon.
He could even see some shrewd merchants setting up some small shops and selling wares to the adventurers diving inside the dungeon.. Simon believed that the ce would bepletely swarming with adventurers and merchants before long.
Chapter 188: High Orcs
Chapter 188: High Orcs
It seemed that of the adventurers had noticed his presence since he was high up in the sky and was restraining all his aura.
He had invested quite a bit of time in remodelling the floors of his dungeon and making it more appealing to the adventurers. Seeing that his hard work had paid off, Simon flew off satisfied. His destination was the western region of the Ghastly Winding Forest where the strongest level monsters resided.
Coming out of the dungeon, he had only one goal in mind and that was to increase his level. What better way to aplish that than to hunt monsters in the western part teeming with strong level ones?
Although Simon was going there to hunt monsters, he wasn''t foolish enough to dive inside the territory of the seven kings, lest he angered them. The way he was now, he would simply be squashed like an ant without being able to make any ripples.
The Seven Kings were the true rulers of the Ghastly Winding Forest and strength wise they were on par with Aldebaran, the Ancient Titan Treant. Experiencing that kind of strength first hand, there was no way he wanted to incur the ire of one, not before he had the strength to defend against them.
At some point, before the seven years time limit was up, he would have to fight with them to im this domain for himself; however, right now it was still too early.
Simon zipped through the sky, utilising the full strength of his [High-Speed Flight] skill. His wide wings pped and the force of air brushed past his body rustling his pitch-ck hair. With the increase of his level, the mana he could freely pour into his wings had increased and his speed had more than doubled.
After a few hours of non-stop flight, he arrived at his destination. The ce was far away from the Ancient Treants Territory and the trees around here were sparse and coal-ck in colour. Even the environment here was quite deste and dark.
Simon had dived a little deeper in search of strong monsters and wanted to experiment his powers on the high orcs. He patiently waited for some time and before long, groups of stout bipedal creatures that had a boar-like snout, fangs protruding from their mouth and a sturdy looking build appeared in front of him.
Each of them carried weapons made out of bones and hides of other monsters that they hunted and carried around as their prized possession. Simon did not even have to use analysis to know that they were high orcs.
However, unlike the ones he had met previously, the ones before him looked more dreadful and their levels should also be higher than theirs. Each of the high orcs surrounding him, in terms of strength were on par with the high orc leader that Irene had fought with previously.
That is to say, the high orcs in front of him should be above level 230. When he used Analysis on them to gauge out their levels, Simon found out that he had underestimated them a little. Far from being level 230, all of them were above level 250 and there were even some who had reached level 280.
Currently, a group of twenty high orcs had surrounded him from all corners and snarled at him threateningly. They had a keen nose that could easily smell the scent of an outsider from miles away and an unimaginable level of coordination that made them quite a difficult opponent to tackle.
The leader orc spoke something garbled before swinging its club around with its stout arm. Although Simon did not understand what they were saying even with his nguage Comprehension] skill, the meaning behind the leader orcs action was quite clear and that was to charge.
As if saying that his guess was correct, the three high orcs holding a makeshift shield out of bones, came charging at him. The skill they used was [High-Orc Charge] and the momentum at which they came ramming at him was like that of a truck.
The ground trembled as they moved, however, even before they reached their target, the person had disappeared from their line of sight.
The leader orc snored looking all around before finally pointing his club at Simon who was high up in the sky. Just when it was about to give another order, a me spear with the speed of an arrow came smashing towards its face.
"Gughii"
BOOM¡ The leader orcs sound was drowned by the explosion and all the high orcs hurriedly looked towards their leader. The me spear that had hit the high orcs was the product of Simon''s improvement in me Magic Mastery.
With the mana inside him now following a fixed path, it became much easier for him to conjure magic. Even the power each of his magic disyed, was on a whole new realm than before.
The Leader high orcs did not expect a magic toe flying at him this fast and was unable to take appropriate actions. While the high orcs were in a state of shock, Simon himself was in a simr state.
Never did he expect that the result of his training to acquire the [Mana Lines] skill would be this effective. He had not even acquired the [Mana Lines] yet but he could already see some obvious changes in his strength.
The intermediate tier me magic [me Spears] that used to take him a second or two to conjure, did not even take him a second to release now. Not only that, the power behind it had also increased marginally. He felt like apletely different person before and after his training.
All of these results had only increased his expectation to obtain the [Mana Lines] sooner.
Whoosh¡ after the mes engulfing the high orc died down, a charred figure with minor burnt wounds came into view. Its body was continuously releasing smoke and half of its face waspletely scorched. The high orc leader was staring daggers at him but other than that, it waspletely fine.
Simon arched his brows seeing how tanky the leader of the high orcs was "I guess their race''s high defence isn''t something to sneeze at. Well in the first ce I never thought one me spear is going to do the trick".
While he was caught up in his thoughts, the morale of the high orcs surrounding him increased by a notch. It seemed that their leadering out of the enemy''s attack with just minor injuries had boosted their confidence.
"Geeegaaaahhh" the high orcs roared lifting their weapons before surrounding Simon in all directions once again. One orc after another charged at him and swung their clubs brutally, trying to smash him into pulp.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ each swing was counterattacked or deflected by him and of their attacks was even able to graze him. After fighting with Laris, Simon was now aware of how important feints were and how to make maximum use of your enemies opening.
The battle with the twenty high orcs above level 250 showed how he had grown since then. Although he still had many openings in his attacks and he could hardly be called a first-ss warrior, his closebat was slowly but surely being perfected.
Just when Simon utilising the opening in his enemy''s attack dealt a devastating stab with his conjured me spear and nearly finished him off an high orc with one more attack, his instinct screamed at him and he immediately stopped his connecting attack.
BOOOM¡ something huge with a terrifying momentum and bringing along a gust of wind, grazed past his body and smashed onto the ground immediately forming a huge crater. Just the aftershock alone disyed how much strength was imbued onto the object to create such a terrifying shock wave.
The thing that grazed past him was other than a club. "Gugha" the leader orc garbled before shing its fangs in a wide smile.
Moments before Simon could finish one of the high orcs, the orc leader saw this chance and quickly flung its club at him with all his strength. It had used its kin as a bait to bring him down together.
Fortunately, listening to his instinct, Simon was able to dodge it at the nick of time. The club that was releasing a faint eerie aura, didn''t even suffer any damage even after such a rough use which goes to say that the material used to make the club was from no ordinary monsters. Even with his high defence, he did not dare to take the force behind the club lightly.
"Hehehahaha¡."
"Gugha?!" the orc leader was surprised to find that his target had startedughing all of a sudden. It was not only him but all of the high orcs were the same. Their surprise soon turned into anger as they found Simon''sughter extremely unpleasant. From their perspective, they were the ones in control of the battle and not the other way round.
Simon did not bother to control hisugh and burst out loud, he was not bothered that the high orcs would find it annoying and offensive.
It wasn''t like he was trying to make them mad or change the tempo of this battle with hisughter.. It was simply that he couldn''t control it, whenever he thought about how satisfying the victory would taste against opponents like them, he couldn''t help being exhrated.
Chapter 189: High Orcs (2)
Chapter 189: High Orcs (2)
shing an excited smile, Simon''s fangs were b?r?d before his targets. The high orcs he was facing were no weaklings, they knew how to coordinate well and cover each other openings. Unlike the other monsters that Simon had faced previously who only knew how to follow their instincts, the enemy in front were sentient enough not to underestimate him.
Whenever he showed any openings they would hit him with all their strength. A battle like that was what he was craving and also the quickest way for his growth.
Without holding back even a little, Simon burst out with an unrestrained strength and cast one magic after another towards his enemy. His newfound speed in magic gave him an edge over his enemies and hisbat experience was being rapidly honed.
Not only was he able to conjure me spears instantly, he even had the time to throw gale magic into the mix drastically bolstering the power of the me spears.
BOOOM¡ BOOOM¡ BOOM¡ the power behind each of the me spears was something that even these high orcs with their high defence did not dare to underestimate and used all of their powers to fend it off.
But even if they did, they weren''t agile enough to block the other ones and were squarely hit by the spears.
Copying the actions of the leader orc, Simon grabbed one of the me spears that he conjured and flung it towards the high orcs with all of his strength. The result was a missile that flew towards its target with an insane speed before exploding with all that momentum.
No matter if it was the high orcs or their tough hides, wherever the me spears hit, it would shave off a portion of their body.
Simon used this chance to increase not only his mastery over mes, but also electro. His electro magic was still a novice tier magic far inferior to his intermediate tier me magic in both power and range. It was because of this reason, that he was mostly adept in using me magic and could feel his mastery over it reaching new heights.
Although he was also proficient with gale magic intermediate tier of wind magic, his preference leaned more towards destructive attributes such as fire and electro.
Simon mostly used his gale magic to augment the destructiveness of his me magic and in situations where his me magic was ineffective.
After the amalgamation magic he created using me and Electro to defeat the Elder Treants, he had seen how effective the magic was. The Electro magic was unrivalled in terms of speed and swiftness not to mention the Lightning magic which was the intermediate tier of Electro was even faster and fiercer.
Simon remembered his fight with Laris who was able to utilise the Lightning attribute of mana and wrap himself in it to dish out attacks lightning-fast and with enough destructiveness to severely injure even a Demon Viscount like him.
Although the man was using the intermediate tier Lightning magic imbued by his twin des, it was still a force to reckon with. From their fight, Simon had learned many important lessons. One of them was his me magic, while it had enough destructiveness and might, it was severelycking in terms of speed.
Sentient enemies and those that can think for themselves, would definitely try to capitalise on that and dodge his attacks that had power but no speed. He was aware that in the future battles, he couldn''t just rely on his me magic alone to best them all.
Because of all of these reasons, Simon wanted to increase his mastery over Electro magic now that he had the opportunity.
Electro magic- [Electro Bolt], [Electro st], [Electro Charge] swiftly flew towards high orcs damaging and electrocuting them. However, unlike his me magic, his Electro magic while it was many times faster, packed far less power.
The High orcs who were up until now conscious of his me spears, did not even flinch when taking the full brunt of his attacks. The Electro magic of his wasn''t able to pierce the thick defence of his enemies and since his electro magic hadn''t reached the intermediate tier and his mastery over this attribute was stillcklustre, he wasn''t able to willingly shape or condense them as he was ustomed to with his me magic.
Nheless, he repeatedly spammed them with his electro magic hoping to see some effects, his mana was big enough to sustain that kind of expenditure.
"GRUgaaaahh" the leader of the high orcs roared. A few moments ago the demon in front of it was throwing magic strong enough to deal heavy damage to them when hit. But after a while, the magic that came targeting them didn''t do much and wasn''t something they should be overly concerned about.
Thinking that the demon was getting weaker, the orc leader got bolder and ordered its kin to charge forward. The high orcs raised their makeshift shield and charged towards Simon with a ramming speed.
Electro magic continuously came their way but was easily endured through or was deflected by their shields, in any case, it did not have as much effectiveness as the me magic.
Simon''s insistence to keep on using electro magic allowed the high orcs to change the tide of the battle and close the gap between. Whooosh¡ one of the high orcs came crashing at him with its shield but was smoothly sidestepped by him.
However, even the wind that grazed past him due to the high orcs charge was enough to push Simon a few meter back. More attacks came flying at him before he could even stabilise his bnce and forced him into defending.
From the one attacking to defending was a quick transition and the high orcs disyed that they weren''t like any other opponents he had faced before. They knew when to press for more given the slightest opportunity and turn the battle upside down.
BANG¡ one of the clubs came flying at him with a terrifying momentum and smashed squarely on his arms that he hurriedly raised to shield himself. His body was knocked back skidded the ground and only came to a stop after hitting a few nearby trees.
Blood trickled down his arms from the wounds and from the splinters of the club that broke apart after hitting him. Flinching in pain, Simon looked at the smiling orcs and couldn''t help but click his tongue.
It seemed that the enemy wasn''t weak enough to let him practice his magic on them without retaliating. No in the first ce, there wouldn''t be an enemy who won''t capitalise on such an obvious weakness if shown in front of them.
To put it bluntly, he had thising. The current development was his fault, he had let his superiority get into his head and had underestimated his enemy severely.
"What am I doing? Since when have I be so strong to look down on these enemies? Had it been a life and death battle, I would have lost my life then and there. It''s time I snap back to reality, what I don''t have¡ I don''t have. Instead, I should focus more on strengthening the things I already have".
Simon calmly thought over it before regting his breathing. There was no way he could simply increase his mastery over Electro magic by just continuously spamming them. If things were that easy, this world would be full of people with mastery over different attributes of mana.
He felt foolish to think even for a second that he could acquire intermediate tier Lightning magic through this way.
After his mind settled down, and he came to terms with himself, Simon stopped spamming electro magic. BANG¡ with a loud sound, mes ignited on his hand and hurriedly engulfed his whole body.
The heat produced by the mes surrounding him had at this moment increased by a notch and just being near him, the surrounding sparse trees caught on fire.
Thend burned and was scorched ck and even the high orcs that were thinking of charging at him were pushed back by the heat, their skin continuously being scorched. The mes were no ordinary mes at they were the culmination of Simon''s mastery over me magic.
The scarlet mes burned with an intense fervour and there was even a tinge of golden mix with it indicating that his control over me magic had reached an astonishing degree. This phenomenon was the result of condensing the mes to their extreme and the intensity of the heat was quickly reaching the realms of the advanced tier.
"Grugh?" Seeing that the atmosphere around Simon had changedpletely, the leader orc hesitated for a while before ordering a retreat.
Without giving even the slightest chance, he bombarded them with hundreds of me spears that manifested in the sky within seconds, each imbued with enough mana and power to tten the surroundingnds.
But that was not all, Simon also activated his skills [Piercing Enhancement] and imbued them onto the me spears. The result was a technique that fell on the high orcs like a rain of spears exploding and dealing massive damage.
Adding [Piercing Enhacement] onto the me spears increased their deadliness while at the same time the momentum with which they fell onto the high orcs, was able to easily pierce through their defence.
Chapter 190: The Mutation Menace
Chapter 190: The Mutation Menace
A variation of his [Thousand Piercing Sowrds] that he had created.
BOOM¡ BOOM¡BOOM¡ thend trembled and quacked from the might of his technique and before long all the high orcs was engulfed by the mes. However, after finishing the twenty or so high orcs, Simon did not stop there and quickly flew towards a different area in search of new prey.
He continued with his hunt for as long he could or before he became tired. Time flowed quickly while he was engrossed in his training and five days had passed in a blink of an eye.
"Huff¡ huff" Simon was currently deep inside the high orc''s territory and a mountain of corpses could be seen lining behind. His breathing was ragged and his body tattered, evident of the gruesome battles had gone through in these five days.
Blood trickled down from all the wounds on his body and stained his skin red. Although he looked haggard and frail at this moment, the wide smile and piercing crimson eyes of his told a different story.
Even now the light in them seemed alive and raring to fight even more. Because of his demonic nature, he felt exhrated whenever he went through a difficult battle; however, the smile on his face was for a different reason.
These past few days of constant battles had given him a newfound enlightenment and he was finally able to nce on the mysteries and obtain the skill he was so eager for. Yes, Simon had finally acquired the skill [Mana Lines] that he had constantly trained for the past few weeks, now it was finally in his grasp.
He could feel the massive difference in the mana flowing within him in the manner that now they constantly circted in a fixed path without having him focus on it. A new set of lines had been established within his body when he acquired the [Mana Lines] skill and the mana flowing within him instinctively followed the path created.
The changes he had undergone before and after obtaining the skill was extremely noticeable. For instance, the speed of activating all of his skills and magic had increased drastically and not only that, but even their might have increased by a fewfold.
If before it took him a few seconds to cast hundreds of me spears, now it only took him an instant to manifest all of them. One could imagine how precious those few seconds were in a life and death battle where even a slight dy could decide the oue.
Him saving up those few seconds opened a brand new window of opportunity and also sealed any opening his enemy could capitalise on. During the time frame of five days, Simon had leveled up quite a bit and was even able to improve on his existing skills.
Currently, he was level 311 after defeating many high orcs, a stark difference from his previous level. Deciding that it was time to head back, he swiftly unfurled his wide bat-like wings before flying across the sky.
From his viewpoint, he could see multiple groups of high orcs rushing to the ce he was moments ago trying to pincer him with their numbers. In these five days, Simon had dived quite a bit deeper into the territory of the orcs and by now they were naturally aware of his existence.
They had quite the keen nose and were very sentient even amongst the multitudes of monsters residing within the western region of the forest. It would be quite unusual if they didn''t feel his presence even after he cut their numbers by so much.
While he was observing them on his way back, one group of high orcs that seemed to be different from the normal high orcs, also spotted him and stopped their march. The colour of their skin, height and even their weapons and aura had a different feel to it.
Leading them was a orc more than three meters tall, red skin and wearing various essories on its body. The extremely intelligent light in his eyes appeared to be observing Simon until he was out of their territory.
Midway through his flight, Simon felt an extremely piercing stare on him and hurriedly turned his head only to find that the feeling had swiftly receded. Locking his brows in a frown, he looked at the direction where he felt the stare from before discarding it in the back of his mind.
¡ª¨C
Dungeon Lace, on the main floor inside one of the halls of the white pce.
Cecilia and Maya were happily chatting when the door was knocked and Simon came in. Cecilia delightedly sprang up from her seat while Maya bowed her head and greeted him.
"Hehe¡ wee back big brother" Cecilia happily chirped. Patting her adorable head, he nodded his head and replied "Im back".
Opening the [Main Menu] he sat at the head seat and inquired "Did any problems arise while I was gone?".
Cecilia puffed her ?h?st and replied excitedly "Rest ?ssured big brother, I looked after the dungeon as you had asked me and watched over the progress of the adventurers. The dungeon big brother created is amazing, they still weren''t able to breach the 10th floor yet".
Simon observed with his [Main menu[ and saw that everything was working well with the dungeon "I see you did a good job".
Hearing his praise, it immediately went into her head and she haughtily said "At first it was very difficult to understand all of these options but elder sister Irene had taught me how to use the [Main Menu] and everything became easy".
Seeing that the little girl wanted to brag, he helplessly went along with her antics before asking "So where is Irene now?".
"Ah!!" Cecilia made a face as if she suddenly remembered something.
Maya made a helpless face before replying "About that my lord¡ Lady Irene went to the 15th floor".
Simon frowned, there could only be one reason for Irene to go down the 15th floor. "Did something happen on the 15th floor? Was it the variant?" he asked.
Nodding her head, Maya replied detailing the events that had transpired while he was gone "As per your orders, we thoroughly observed the floor for the traces of that creature and two days ago we finally found the one that was eating the flesh of the stormwolf. However, it seems we were mistaken, the creature wasn''t the only entity eating the flesh".
When he heard thest of her sentence, Simon couldn''t help squint his eyes, confusion evident on his face.
"I came here to report our discoveries and the peculiarities to Lord Simon but it seemed that you were away for a while. Hence Lady Irene decided toe and investigate it herself" Maya added.
Simon slightly nodded his head, he was finally aware why Irene was on the 15th floor while Maya who was one of the [Helpers] was here. After hearing the report, he could no longer sit still without knowing what the actual situation was on the 15th floor and thus Simon decided to check on it.
"Big brother I''lle too. It''s boring without elder sister Irene here" Cecilia said tagging along.
"Then allow me to guide you all there since the topography had changed quite a lot and also Lady Irene has tasked me with bringing you there upon your return" Maya stated appearing calm and collected.
It appeared that she no longer acted nervous and tense in front of him or maybe it was because of Cecilia presence. In any case, it was a weing change.
Opening the [Main Menu] he used the teleport function to swiftly teleport onto the 15th floor. Arriving on the floor, Simon immediately understood why Irene sent Maya to guide him. the entire topography of the floor had changed since thest time he came here.
The Forest was no longer verdant and lush, mountains had crumbled and mes ignited as far as the eye could see. The ce was so in contrast to what he was used to seeing that he couldn''t help but be at a disbelief for few seconds.
The entire floor had changed drastically in the span of just five days. Although the dungeon was doing its best and mending all the destruction, it just couldn''t keep up.
Cecilia opened her mouth wide ''O'' surprised by the scene in front of her. Her face looked embarrassed and she couldn''t help but scratch her head. Just a while ago, she confidently said to Simon that no problems had arisen while he was gone.
Now looking at the condition 15th floor that was experiencing an absolute disaster, she could only avoid her big brother''s questioning gaze.
''Well, it was not like I was beingx or anything. To my defence, it''s just that I''m still not ustomed to using all the functions of the [Main Menu]'' She thought nervously looking at the mess that was the 15th floor.
Simon nced at Maya and beckoned her to guide him where Irene and the other was.He couldn''t leave the situation be and must find the culprit behind all of these before it gets out of hand.
The ce to have be a disaster zone, what exactly happened here? Simon quickly spotted the two [Helpers] and Irene observing and inspecting the mess.
"What happened here? Did the mutated creature go out of control?" he asked while looking at them.
Chapter 191: The Mutation Menace (2)
Chapter 191: The Mutation Menace (2)
Irene who was staring at the [Main Menu], pointed out "It seems to be the effects of the mutation brought out by the Scarlet Mutation Crystal. The entire ecosystem had been flipped upside down, the Direwolves and the Stormwolves that you had spawned here are in danger".
Simon blinked his eyes unable to believe what he just heard. Putting thement about the ecosystem aside, the wolves are in danger? What kind of joke was that?
The Dire wolves and the stormwolves are the apex predators of this floor. For her to say that they were in danger, he didn''t understand what she meant by that. However, he knew more than anyone that Irene wasn''t the kind of person who would joke in this kind of situation.
So that could only mean that the wolves colony here are really in danger. "But they are the strongest monsters here, who could potentially be a threat to them?" Simon asked perplexed.
Even if it was the creature that underwent a mutation after eating the flesh of the stormwolf, it shouldn''t be able to threaten the colony of the wolves.
Hurriedly opening the [Archive] options, he saw for himself that the poption of the wolves had indeed gone down drastically. From their initial numbers of more than two hundred, only hundred or so remained.
That is to say, only after five days, their numbers have been reduced by half. It was as Irene said, he has to do something, the Direwolves and the Stormwolves were truly in danger. But before that, he wanted to know the cause of this mess, who and what was it that had created such trouble here.
Looking towards the [Helpers] for an answer, they looked remorseful for a while before pointing towards the heap of rubble. "Lord Simon we are truly ashamed to let the situation develop out of control, but even we weren''t able to exert control over those creatures".
Simon was stunned once again, even the [Helpers] weren''t able to exert control over it. [Helpers] although did not enjoy as much authority as a Guardian would, it was still a role ?ssigned by the dungeon to them.
It was only now that Simon realised the true extent of the ability of the Scarlet Mutation Crystal. And to top it off, the grade of the crystal he got from the pond was still the lowest at [C] rank, he couldn''t imagine what kind of storms higher grade crystals would bring.
Deciding that he couldn''t give a free rein to this unknown creature, he would bring it under his control. Simon was the dungeon master and no matter what he had absolute control over all the monsters inhabiting the dungeon.
The [Helpers] when they saw that their lord had no intention of ming them for their negligence in supervision, their mood lifted a little and the dreary atmosphere around them disappeared.
Coleus, one of the [Helpers] came forward and recounted everything that had happened after he had left the dungeon five days ago.
The monster or more like the monsters that were eating the flesh of the stormwolf was other the Fanged Mouse. However, it was not only one or two of them but their entire colony.
What was more surprising was that after eating the flesh of the stormwolf, all of the Fanged Mouse started mutating. Each of them had undergone so many changes that it was hard to tell which race they belonged to.
Some were as big as two meters, others not even half a meter. Some were golden striped, while the others were fully crimson. Every day a new mutated one would be spotted and it would be hard to discern which race they belonged to.
And before the [Helpers] even became aware that it was not just one or two monsters that had mutated, the situation had already be out of control.
The fanged mouse after eating the flesh of the stormwolf, started eyeing the apex predator of this floor as their prey. The mutation that they had undergone made it all the more possible for them to contend with the wolves and hence the predator and the prey on the 15th floor had changed ces.
The numbers of the mutated Fanged Mouse kept on increasing and before long the wolves found themselves in a position where their numbers were continuously declining. To make matters worst, when the [Helpers] approached them aiming to control their destructive behaviour, the Fanged Mouse werepletely unfazed by theirmands.
The colony of the mouse not only ran rampant on the 15th floor, due to their mutation wherever they went, their mmable body would light a fire and before long the entire forest was burning.
It was precisely because of this ability of their that the Direwolves and the Stormwolves weren''t able to defeat them as their bodies would burst into fire killing the wolves along with them. An ability that made the other cower to fight you.
Hearing the detailed report, a big frown was hanging on Simon''s forehead. There were many things in the report that didn''t make sense to begin with like how a single Scarlet Mutation Crystal eaten by a stormwolf was effective enough to mutate the entire colony of a Fanged Mouse.
How they were able to dismiss the authority of their [Helpers] and their high effective ability.
Simon could see why the wolves were beaten until half of their numbers were gone and if the situation continued like this they would go extinct on the 15th floor.
Opening the [Archive] function of the [Main Menu], he was befuddled by one more fact. The main culprit behind all the mess, the Fanged Mouse, their numbers were shown as zero. That is to say that their entire race had changed and because of that their current numbers had eluded the observation of the dungeon.
Looking at the heap of rubble, he pointed out "So they are living underground and this is theirir?".
"Right" Irene said as she answered his question before speaking in a spective tone. "Since the dungeon is unable to disy their race and numbers, it highly possible that their race is not registered to the dungeon yet and because of that, this race is also able to dismiss the authority of the [Helpers]. A species that had undergone mutation under very special circumstances and is yet to be recorded. It might be possible to register them back to the dungeon".
On that note, he agreed with her. The fact that he was not getting any DP from them meant that the dungeon still regarded them as its spawn. The Dungeon was an extension of his which meant that as long as he saw and recognised them, it would be automatically registered to the dungeon.
Once registered, they will no longer be able to dismiss the authority of the [Helpers]. But to do that, Simon has to see them with his own eyes.
"Alright, I''m gonna move the rubble away from here" He dered looking at [Irene] and the [Helpers]. All of them wore a strange expression on their face before backing down a little.
The most unusual reaction amongst them was Irene as she directly blinked a few meters back saying "You should be careful, don''t scare them by causing too many vibrations".
It was his first time seeing Irene behave so strangely. Simon did not know why she would say something like but he simply nodded his head.
"Cecilia it would be good if you back down too" he said addressing Cecilia.
Cecilia nodded her head and immediately ran to where Irene was. ''Alright, I don''t know what kind of species you are but don''t think that you can just crash in here without the permission of the dungeon master and destroy everything'' he thought internally before using his Gale magic to slowly lift the mountain of rubble.
As soon as he moved the rubble a little, an intense heatwave like that of a mouth of a volcano brushed past him and the entire temperature around the area started rising.
Slowly, a crimson glow starteding off from the bottom and a wide hole could be seen. When the rubble waspletely moved to the side, Simon was astounded till his eyes went wide at the scene thaty before him.
"Kyaaaaaaaa" Cecilia cried out loud, tightly hugging Irene beside him. A skin-tingling sensation ?ssaulted all the observers as they saw the scene.
In front of themy a huge gaping hole glowing crimson from the heatwave and inside it one could see hundreds no at a nce there were more than thousands of what looked like mice frolicking around.
The sheer quantity of them inside it made all of them wince their eyes as they slowly started backing down.
Simon was the only one who did not suffer from such symptoms as he carefully observed the monsters in the number of thousands inside the hole.. Some of them had golden stripes, other were covered in crimson furs, their features matched with the description of the [Helpers] just that each of them were describing a different one.
Chapter 192: The Mutation Menace (3)
Chapter 192: The Mutation Menace (3)
Each of these mutated Fanged Mouse were radiating an intense amount of heat from their body and made theirir very simr to an actual mouth of a volcano. One ould imagine the kind of heat the thousands of could emit together.
These Fanged Mouse inside the hole wereyering on top of each other with the small ones on top of the big. When they moved, Simon could see the huge ones quietlyzing around at the bottom of the hole.
Their size were massive, their tails serpentile and huge fangs protruded out of their mouth. They lookedpletely different from how a typical Fanged Mouse should look like which goes to show how much they have changed after the mutation.
Simon was convinced looking at their numbers and the huge ones down below that once they moved, even the so called apex predators of this floor the Direwolves and stromwolves would be no match for them.
Even from this distance, he could feel their might and the wild heat that their body was producing.
He used [Analysis] on them and soon became aware of their species. The small ones on top were called the Fire Fanged Mouse and the big ones were the Fire Eater Rat.
It seemed that the Fire Eater Rater was the next evolution of a Fire Fanged Mouse. The fire fanged Mouse was still an [E] rank monster while the Fire Eater Rat was disyed as a [D] rank by the analysis.
Generally, the Fanged Mouse spawned by his dungeon was an [E] rank monster, the weakest of the weak. However, after the mutation, the same could no longer be said for them anymore.
Although the fire Fanged mouse was till an [E] rank, they now had an ability to utilise the fire attribute of mana whereas the Fire Eater Rat had jumped evolutionary tier and had reached [D] rank, the same rank as the stromwolves.
Even their level were all above hundred with even the smallest Fire Fanged Mouse being at level 102 not to mention the huge ones at bottom were all above level 200.
[The Fire Eater Rat and the Fire Fanged Mouse had been registered, the authority of dungeon is now effective on them]. A notification from the system sounded out.
As soon as Simon recognised them with his eyes, the races of the mouse was registered by the dungeon and a message window pooped up in front of him, the Guardians and the [Helpers].
A mysterious effect passed over the thousands of Fire Fanged Mouse and the Fire Eater Rats as they stopped frolicking. Seeing that the dungeon had brought them under control, Simon silently covered the hole with the mountain of rubble once again.
When he did that, he could hear all the [Helpers] audibly sighing, the sight of thousands of gigantic mice frolicking on top of each other was too much of a sight for them.
Now that he had brought the troublemakers under his control, the ensuing question was how to deal with them next. Their presence hadpletely altered the ecosystem here and if he let them be, then the wolves wouldn''t be able to stay here anymore.
The 15th floor which was modelled after a forest, was unsuitable for these mutated mouse as they spread fire everywhere they go from their bodies. Even now from the corner of his eyes, he could see a quarter of the forest burning.
The reduction in the numbers of the wolves did hurt him a little economically; after all, it would need quite a sum of DP to spawn them back before the adventurers reach this floor in the future. But the addition of the mutated mouse increased and fortified the power of his dungeon even further.
Not to mention he did not have to spend a dime to spawn them and their reproduction rate made them self sustaining.A mutated species appearing in a low teir dungeon such as his wouldpletely change the way the adventurers perceives his dungeon.
Settling the mess on the 15th floor, Simon finally had a peace of mind. Now the next question that popped up was which floor should he shift them to. Leaving the small fire fanged mouse aside, the huge Fire Eater Rats were all level 200 which was enough to ce them on the same standing with the monsters on the lower floors.
Going by the standards, they were on the same level as the monster guarding the 31st to 33rd floor. If he ced them on the early floors, it would be like the difficulty going up through the roof all of a sudden.
No low-level adventurers would be able to pass through them and it might even hamper his future ns if this kills the motivation of the adventurers.
However, all the lower floors had already established their own ecosystem and if he put them there, the same event as the current 15th floor would ur once again. By process of elimination, the only choice left was to create a new floor specifically designed for them.
Making his decision, Simon looked at the [Helpers] before directing "The mutated monsters have been registered in the dungeon and as [Helpers] you authority also extends to them. They will no longer be able to dismiss your control like before so make sure they do not skirmish with the remaining wolves for the time being".
Just as he finished saying his piece, Irene appeared along with Cecilia and asked "What are you going to do with them?".
"Hm? Ah, now that the situation has developed this further, I''m going to create a new floor for them since them being here would make the wolves go extinct. A new floor built specifically for them would be the best choice since bodies continuously releases heat which would affect the surrounding terrain and their high reproduction rate make them quite self supporting" Simon replied giving it some thought.
Irene nodded her head while Cecilia made aplicated face. She looked like she was still on edge even after their of the mouse was covered and couldn''t wait to get away from here.
After giving the [Helpers] their individual orders, Simon along with Irene and Cecilia teleported back to the main floor.
Inside the white pce on the main floor, Cecilia immediately bowed her head and apologised for her error in monitoring. "Im sorry big brother, elder sister Irene¡ even though you taught me how to use the [Main Menu] I wasn''t able to perform my duty".
Irene sighed and gently consoled her by ??r?ssing her hair.
"It was not your fault Cecilia, it was a mistake on my part. I did not know that the Scarlet Mutation Crystal that I ced on the 15th floor would bring this much of a drastic change" Simon said.
It was true, he was not simply consoling her. Mutation urring to a whole colony of monsters, even he as a dungeon master couldn''t foresee it and because of that, the situation became what it was now.
Well, everything will be settled once he creates a floor specifically for the mutated mouse and there would be no need for anybody to brood over it. A terrain that would be suitable for the mouse having the ability to harness the fire attribute of mana.
What came to mind was a volcanic area filled withva and me but because those kinds of terrain was only avable to high-level dungeons and needed an enormous sum of DP to install, Simon could only give up.
The next option was a desert area like the 31st to 33rd floor which was vast a desert created by him using the crimson agate. The desert terrain was simrly only avable to mid-to-high tier dungeon and he was only able to imitate a simr feeling to it by spawning the crimson agate crystals that produce intense heat underneath the sand.
The ceiling was still of phosphorescence crystals. An area like that might be suitable for the Fire Fanged Mouse and the Fire Eater Rat. But Simon didn''t want the 34th floor to be the same as the floor above it.
Another thing he had to keep in mind was the high reproduction rate. The colony of the mouse was already more than thousands and this number was only going to increase further with time.
Therefore, he needed to create a floor big enough for their poption to reside. Hence the 34th and 35th floor was created with that in mind. The area of these floors made them currently the biggest floor of the dungeon by far.
The other name the adventurer gave these floors was The Pit but that was something for the future.
The 34th and 35th floors were a wide ins more that thirty-five kilometres in area with sparse mountains and trees. The ceiling was high but did not have any phosphorescence crystals to light up the ce.
The entire floor was dark and only the crimson agate that spawned underneath the ground which surfaces asionally was the only source of light.
Chapter 193: Diluvian High Orcs
Chapter 193: Diluvian High Orcs
The entire floor was dark and only the crimson agate that spawned underneath the ground which surfaces asionally was the only source of light.No, it would be wrong to say that the crystals were the only light as there was another source but the adventurers who were unfortunate enough to find it, wouldter go on to warn the others never to wander there.
Finishing with the creation of the new floors, Simon called the [Helpers] and ordered them to move the mutated monsters to their new habitat.
Since [Helpers] did not have the authority to teleport the monsters from one floor to another, it was ultimately him who migrated the Fire Eater Rat and the Fire Fanged Mouse. Their main job was to monitor them for a couple of days and see if the monsters were able to create their own ecosystem on the floor or not.
Now that the pressing situation inside his dungeon was settled, Simon nonchntly opened the [Main Menu] and observed the progress of the adventurers. As expected, most of the adventurers that were here to explore his dungeon, were weak.
Their average levels were around 150 and their motive was to simply absorb experience through defeating monsters and at the same time earn some money for their living.
These were the types of adventurers that constituted most of the numbers; however, that does not mean that all of the adventurers were here to increase their level. Some of the adventures team were here from the neighbouring cities specifically to mine the Silver Crystals growing on the floors.
These types of adventurers usually spend a couple of days to a week inside the dungeon mining. Various motives were fuelling the adventurers and thus it wouldn''t be surprising if there were some among them who were aiming to conquer the dungeon and eyeing his dungeon core.
Simon did not underestimate his enemies no matter how weak they were because he knew that the allure of his dungeon sooner orter would bring the strong adventurers here.
Next, he looked at the stockpile of DP that was increasing at a steady pace and smiled in content. His earning were finally keeping up with his expenditure and if this pace continues for a month or two, Simon believed that his DP would be doubled.
Creating a floor and increasing its area took a lot of DP not to mention the price goes up the more floors the dungeon had. Currently, his dungeon Lace not including the main floor and the Forest Spring Spirit floor, had thirty five floors.
His dungeon was a low tier [D] rank dungeon and the maximum number of floors he could create was fifty. That was not all, there were still many functions yet to be unlocked which ate an enormous amount of DP to install.
Even with his current stockpile of DP, he wasn''t eligible enough to touch those functions. Although the enormous sum of DP needed made them seem quite out of reach, but Simon knew that with time and when the number of floors and the rank of his dungeon increases, those sum won''t look as extreme as they were now.
After observing the progress of the adventurers for a while, he checked the spawn rate of the monsters before closing the [Main Menu]. Other than the incident on the 15th floor, there was nothing unusual going on with the other floors.
While Simon was busy monitoring the dungeon, Irene used the mysterious ability of hers to observe his status and the new skill [Mana Lines] on it made her widen her eyes for a fraction of a second.
The changes were so slight that it went unnoticed by the upants of the room.
"It seems that you were able to acquire the Rare skill [Mana Lines] in less than two months. I''m quite sure you can already feel the changes within you but don''t forget that your goal is to evolve the skill to the Ancient tier before you rank up to Demon Duke" Irene''s reminder snapped Simon back from his daze.
He nodded his head in acknowledgement of her words. It was as she had said, the difference between him before acquiring the skill and after was like that of a day and night. He could distinctively feel that the skill made him much more stronger even without the obvious increase in his level.
However, that was not the true power of the skill [Mana Lines]. The one that he had acquired after recreating was an imperfect version and it would only bepleted when the tier of the skill reaches the Legendary tier.
There is a huge gulp between a skill that had reached Superior tier than a one that hadn''t. The [Mana Lines] Skill was a Rare skill unlike the dozens of normal skills that he have. To increase the tier of such rare skill would be even harder than the normal ones.
After experiencing the huge increase in strength after obtaining the [Mana Lines] skill, Simon''s next goal was to evolve it to Superior tier before ranking up to Demon Earl.
Unlike the other Demon Nobles such as the Demon Baron and Demon Viscount, Demon Earl was a Demon Noble in a true sense of the word. Their Bloodline is quite pure and is renowned across the wholend.
Their might was on a whole different level than the low-rank Demon Nobles and are a true nobility among demons.
Those Demon Earl that show remarkable strength and talent, are even eyed by the high-rank demon to be their confidant or butlers. A Demon Noble can only rank up to Demon Earl after reaching level 500 and possessing a somewhat pure bloodline.
Their power was unimaginable to ordinary people and to humans, they were a symbol of terror that could destroy multiple cities in a span of few hours. The power of a Demon Earl was so great that it needed two humans who have broken through level 500 and had undergone at least six ss changes to even content with it. That was what it means to rank up to Demon Earl.
"What are you nning next?" Irene asked looking at him. Simon deliberated for a while before making up his mind.
"I''m going back to the western part of the forest to train and increase my level" Earlier he was only able to explore a little of the territory of the High orcs. This time he was nning to go a little more further in search of strong enemies.
Suddenly, he remembered the peculiar gaze that had locked onto him while he was on his way back. Simon couldn''t help but feel that whoever it was, it must be quite strong. He felt exhrated to confront such an enemy whose gaze was enough to tell how strong it was.
"Me! I want toe along. I want to get stronger so that I can help big brother someday" Cecilia raised her hands and insisted after learning that Simon was going out to train once again.
While it is true that Forest Spring Royal Spirit had nobat abilities, their powers lied somewhere else. Their Heaven Defying Auxry Powers to control and manipte nature made them a true royalty among other races. Allowing her to increase her level wasn''t necessarily a bad thing¡ Simon thought.
However, when he recalled the words of Aldebaran, he put a halt on his line of thought. ording to him, her powers were sealed within her and with time will slowly manifest. There was no need for Cecilia to put herself in harm''s way specifically to level up.
Her powers were sleeping deep within her along with her memories. This goes to say that her memories of her time as one of the Emissaries of the Primordial Demon Lord of Pride, Samael will also awaken. When he thought till here, he suddenly felt quite dejected.
"Cecilia as your big brother, I''m naturally happy with your decision to get stronger. But unlike me, your power rests deep within you, and as long as you try to recall it, you will naturally be able to get stronger without needing to defeat monsters to increase your level" Simon tussled Cecilia''s bright emerald hair and exined.
She hadplete faith in her brother and that was Cecilia simply nodded without arguing. Well, it wasn''t like she couldn''t feel the powers that sometimes appeared in front of her in her dreams. She tried many times to converse with it but every time that she did, it ended up in failure.
She could feel the presence of a deep unfathomable power sleeping quietly within her soul but she didn''t know how to interact with it nor a way to make it her own.
She wanted to help her big brother and share some of his burdens and to do that, she needed to master her abilities first. Giving a strong nod, Cecilia replied "Un¡ big brother, I''ll do my best and quickly get stronger so that I can help you someday".
"Irene how about you? Do you want to¡" Just as he was about to ask whether she would like to explore the forest and increase her level, he realised that if the both of them were to be absent from the dungeon, he would be quite worried. Especially now when there were quite a few number of adventurers frequently visiting and diving inside his dungeon.
Unbeknownst to him, the woman who always appeared to be icy cold, noble and calm, had too be an irreceable part of the dungeon that he couldn''t do without.
Chapter 194: Diluvian High Orcs (2)
Chapter 194: Diluvian High Orcs (2)
Looking at his concerned face, Irene immediately understood his worries and calmly replied.
"I will look after the dungeon, you can go out and train without worrying. As for my level, I''m about to reach level 200 soon".
Hearing her reply, his mind was immediately put into ease but when the realisation of herst sentence struck him, he immediately became surprised. After theirst trip from the Forest Spring Spirit vige at the borders of the Ancient Treant territory, Irene had never left the dungeon. It wouldn''t be surprising if her level had be stagnant for these past few months.
However, Irene herself said that she was soon about to reach level 200.
Seeing the surprise in his eyes Irene rified further "Just like Cecilia, my powers are also sealed and as long as I continue to bask in the rich density of mystical energy, I will be able to slowly gain my powers back".
Simon nodded absentmindedly; it was the first time had seen Irene opening up a little bit about herself. It made sense, Irene was someone he had summoned from the bugged summon option of his [Main Menu] and everything rted to her was a mystery.
He remembered when he analysed her status for the first time, most of her skills were disyed as sealed. It wasn''t unusual for her powers to be sealed just like Cecilia.
Simon breathed a deep breath of air before suddenly remembering the scene from back then when Irene had suddenly lost control of her emotions. He could still vividly remember the huge and beautiful Ice phoenix shadow that appeared just like an illusion when her headache was about to worsen.
Even if it was just for an instant, the might and divine aura that it had released, was enough to overshadow this whole world. If Irene''s powers were sealed just as she said, then there was no point for her to grind levels like him in the first ce.
Although he did not understand how basking in the rich density of the mystical energy would help her unseal her powers back, he knew that Irene had something on her mind.
Now that the safety of the dungeon was not weighing at the back of his mind, Simon bid the two of them goodbye before promptly teleporting out of the dungeon. Without stopping for a second, he zipped through the sky and flew towards the western region of the forest.
The ce where his dungeon was located was in the eastern region of the forest where the weakest of the monsters resided. It was quite far from the western part of the forest and even with his [High-Speed Flight], it took him a couple of hours to get there.
The destination he was heading for was the High Orcs territory, the area where he stopped his exploration thest time.
The [Mental Map] skill was quite helpful in that ord that it was able to map the territory out quite thoroughly. Simon just needed to follow hisst trail and he would be back to the exact same ce.
That being said, the High orcs had extremely keen noses and his scent would naturally not go unnoticed by them. He would pincered by their numbers the deeper he went and all sorts of garbled unintelligible words woulde ?ssaulting his ears.
The territory of the High orcs was as gloomy and dark as ever and by the time Simon had reached the area he stopped at thest time, he had already defeated four groups of high orcs that came following his scent.
"Huff¡ huff¡ I can feel that I am approaching deeper towards their territory" Simon took hurried breaths of air before regting his breathing. The monsters that came attacking him were clearly stronger than the ones patrolling at the border of their territory, which meant that he was steadily marching deeper.
After resting in that spot for a while to recover his expended stamina and mana, he quickly increased his pace and marched deeper in search of strong enemies.
A few minutes passed than ten and before long an hour had passed. Simon wore a frown over his face as he intensely stared at his [Mental Map]. ording to it, there was no mistake, he was steadily approaching closer towards the deepest part of their territory and yet he didn''t even meet a single high orcing his way.
He had also checked for traps that may have misled his sense of direction and made him march in circles. But it turns out that was not the case, the high orcs although sentient, weren''t intelligent enough to set traps and arrays for their prey.
Which led Simon to only one conclusion and that was the high orcs were already upied with something which had enough importance for them topletely ignore his presence.
The more he thought, the more curious he got and increased his speed in this freeway that was left open for him. After about an hour or so, huge buildings and constructs that were crudely made, came into view.
The houses were so big that they easily reached up to a height of thirty meters each, demonstrating that the residents of the houses were no ordinary beings. The vige was surrounded by tall fences and a huge gate made with various monster bones.
The settlement was still far from where Simon was but he still could still see several shadows gathering near the square at the centre of the vige. The distance was too much for him to see what they currently doing however, from the vague shadows he could still make out they were currently increasing their force.
Intrigued, Simon wanted to know what exactly were they pre-upied with to ignore his presence but if he approached any closer, their keen noses would be able to pick his scent and before long he would be surrounded by the hordes of them.
Although being besieged by them was his original goal foring here in the first ce, his inquisitive mind couldn''t help but buzz at the thought of what their objective was.
There was no way he could approach closer to have a look without getting spotted by them¡ as he was thinking just that, from the corner of his eyes, he spotted something.
The thing that caught his eyes or rather his nose was something that had a very disgusting odour and would make anyone scowl. Yes, it was other than excrement of some monster. The smell was so horrible that Simon had the urge to immediately get away from it when suddenly, an idea struck him.
''If I can''t hide my scent, why not cover it with something that is present everywhere'' he looked at the excrement and thought internally. It would work as an excellent camouge against these High Orcs who have a very keen nose and can pick up a foreign smell from miles.
Hesitating over his options for a while, Simon steeled his mind and decided to cover himself in it. Fortunately for him, the excrement had already dried up.
Smearing it all over his clothes, his whole body started giving off a rancid smell which made him cover his nose.
"Alright¡ this should do the trick. Even with their nose, it would be difficult for them to pick my scent now" Saying that, he started increasing his speed and rushed towards the distant high orcs vige.
After arriving at an elevation from where he could monitor them properly, he hid his presence behind a nearby tree. From this viewpoint, he could clearly see the figure and numbers of the high orcs gathering near the town square.
Another thing that he noticed was that the appearance of these high orcs was quite unusual than the ones he was used to seeing. The ones gathered inside the vige had rugged crimson skin and were quite brawny and taller than the normal high orcs.
Unlike the ones patrolling the border, these ones looked very intelligent and were wearing various crudely made garbs over their bodies. Even their presence was on apletely different realm than the normal looking ones.
Feeling their presence, Simon couldn''t help but feel excited as the blood within him started boiling. He couldn''t help but wonder how much experience each of them would give him once he defeats them.
The result of Analysis told him that the monsters in front of him weren''t just simple high orcs but a mutated species of them called Diluvian High Orc.
A mutated species is always stronger than its base species and are extremely powerful. The numbers of the Diluvian High Orcs gathering at the town square were in the fifties and each of their levels was above level 300.
Simon concentrated on listening to the conversation of these Dulivian High Orcs to understand what their objective behind gathering such a huge force was.
"I wonder why themander gave the order for all of us to gather here" One of the Diluvian High Orcs wearing a sturdy armour made of animal bones asked. He had a gigantic shield hung on his back which his brawny body carried with ease.
"It is because Sir Berigard has decided to move" Replied an Orc lining in front of him.
"You mean Sir Berigard who is one of three generals under our king and who is famous for his magic ising here? Is this why themander asked us to be at ready here?" Another Orc of simr warrior build said.
Chapter 195: Orc General
Chapter 195: Orc General
"The likes of us aren''t qualified to question the objective ofmander. Just do as you are told and don''t try to pry for information" One of the orcs standing at the front who seemed to be the leader of this group spoke in a harsh tone that shut the ones conversing. Even his presence was stronger than the ones behind him indicating that they were not on the same level.
Simon who was hiding behind a tree on an elevation at a safe distance was keenly listening to the bits and pieces of their conversation and became increasingly interested in their objective. He did not know what their motive behind mobilising so many warriors for but he did know that it wasn''t something simple.
At this moment, his original goal of hunting orcs for experience already flew out of his mind.
After all of the fifty or so Diluvian High Orcs mobilised at the town square, the one at the front who seemed to be regarded as themander by the other orcs, stepped forward and rallied the crowd ?ssembled in front of him.
The Orcmander had an impressive build and wore armour that outshined all the others around it. Even from this distance, Simon could feel the vast strength and presence the orc released.
He was sure that the gaze he had felt the other time while he was getting out of the territory of the high orcs was other than the orcmander''s. The orcmanders strength and level was by far the highest amongst the group at level 384.
After rallying the group, under the leadership of the orcmander the group set out deeper towards the forest. Simon who was silently following the group from a distance, kept at it for an hour or so before spotting another group of simr strengthing from another direction.
The one leading that group was simrly another orcmander. The two groups met with each other before proceeding forward, its twomanders at the forefront discussing something.
"Buhaha, Bellock it seems that the strength of your army is lesser than mine¡ buhahaha" the orcmander of the other group looked at Bellock andmented.
Bellock who was themander of the army that Simon had started to follow first kept his silence and did not bother to reply.
Seeing that Bellock did not bother to entertain him, Belmarch spat at the ground before changing the topic. "It looks like Sir Berigard wants to move forward his n and subjugate it before the other two generals make their move".
Belmarch said contemting over the instructions he had received a few weeks ago.
"We are Sir Berigard''s loyal servants and shall aid him in whatever objective he wants to achieve" Bellock who was keeping his silence finally opened his mouth and spoke few words with absolute seriousness.
Belmarch had a simr expression on his face as he nodded and said with great solemnity "Even if we have toy our lives down we must subjugate it to make the work of sir Berigard easier". The twomanders silently walked forward, their armies followed behind.
"Buhaha, speaking of which Bellock I heard some rumours saying an intruder had wrecked havoc at the borders of your territory?" Belmarch asked smiling.
Bellock did not answer and simply b?r?d his fangs in annoyance. He wanted to crush that intruderst time but before he even arrived, the intruder was already gone. At that time he had no choice but to look at the intruder''s departing back.
Since he allowed the intruder to return back unharmed, the rumours about him allowing an intruder to barge in so casually spread far and wide inside the high orc''s territory. Naturally, Belmarch who was of simr standing as him and governed a part of the territory for the orc king was aware of it.
The Diluvian Orc army silently marched forward and before long a huge mountain thousands of meters in height came into view. The mountain was extremely dark and stuck out like a sore thumb around the surrounding.
Hundreds of dead trees dotted the mountain and a steep stairs that led all the way to the top was carved into it. No matter how one looked at it, the mountain clearly looked very odd which exined that it was not natural.
The mountain was created by someone and wasn''t something that was naturally formed. The orc armies stopped at the base of the mountain and patiently waited for someone or something to arrive.
Simon who was following the trail made by the orc army, perked his senses and looked at the mountain covering his view. The moment heid eyes on it, he could feel a vast amount of mana surrounding it.
The phenomenon immediately made him aware that the mountain was created by someone''s magic.
"Is this the base of that orc general named Berigard? To have created this big of a mountain¡ how vast is the mana pool of that person?" Simon wondered as he carefully hid his presence. If his [Mental Map] was correct, he was already quite deep inside the high orc''s territory and it wouldn''t be surprising to find incredibly strong beings around here.
Revealing his presence here and at this moment, would be nothing short of suicide. There was an army of orcs in front of him whose levels were more than 300, not to mention the twomanders both above level 380.
There was also the unknown orc general Berigard whose might was powerful enough to subordinate all of them.
The two orcmanders bowed their heads and performed a salute with their weapons while the orc army behind them immediately kneeled.
The figure that descended the mountain had a lean and thin build that couldn''t even be matched with your average high orcs. Red skin and a head full of ash grey hair was tied neatly behind him. The person was wearing a high grade thin armour made carefully with some unknown monsters hide. It had pointy ears, humanised face and orc like features.
"We wee you sir Berigard" Bellock and Belmarch shouted with all their strength.
Simr to his hair, Berigard''s eyes which shined with highly intelligent light was also ash grey in colour. He was holding a wooden staff embedded with many ornaments and hung multiple talismans on his neck. He nced at the army od orcs before levitating andnding in front of the two orcmanders.
"Hmm¡ Bellock, Belmarch I hope that you lot are prepared. The enemy we are going to subjugate won''t be an easy one and there might be multiple deaths. Are you ready to follow me?" Berigard said taking a deep nce at the two warriors in front of him.
Bellock simply bowed his head while Belmarch bravely thumped his ?h?st and dered "There is no more question to ask. I''m ready to die to realise the grand ambitions of sir Berigard".
Nodding his head at those words, Berigard was just about to give his further orders when suddenly he knitted his brows. For a second there, he felt the presence and gaze of a foreign entitynd on his person. But it was very subtle and stayed on him for a fraction of a second before disappearing.
''Was it my imagination? No, there are no such thing'' realising that something was off, his ash-grey eyes scanned all around the surrounding and his snout nose smelled for any foreign odour.
Although his nose wasn''t as big as the other orcs, his sense of smell was even keener than the high orcs. Seeing that their general was suddenly acting a little strange, they voiced out to him. But their call elicited no reaction from Berigard. He kept on with it before his search ended up with no result.
''Strange, I definitely felt something¡ could it really be my imagination? Anyways I must focus on the more important things right now'' thinking internally Berigard dissolved his line of thought before focusing on his army.
"Alright prepare to march we are going towards the Northern region of the forest" immediately after dering that, he levitated up and started heading towards that direction.
ROOOARRR¡ the army of orcs roared before marching behind their twomanders leaving behind a huge cloud of dust.
THUMP¡ THUMP¡ His heart pounding like crazy, Simon who was hiding behind a distant dried up tree finally came out of his ce. Sweat rolled down his skin and a rare look of dread and excitement shed on his face.
Earlier when the orc general showed its appearance and descended down the mountain, Simon couldn''t help but get curious and matter-of-factly used Analysis on him. However, even he didn''t expect to get such a result not to mention evoke such an intense reaction from the orc general from this small action of his.
The moment he realised his action had been noticed by Berigard, Simon quickly snuffed his presence with his new skill [Hide Presence] and hid behind the shadow of the tree.
Powerful and concentrated mana spread all over the surrounding from the orc general and scanned the area for any traces of intruder before swiftly receding. The level and power of the orc general was so high that Simon for a second there thought that he had been found out and was preparing to charge out of this ce at a moments notice.
Fortunately, his unconventional tactics of covering himself in monster excrement had paid off andpletely covered his natural scent which would have otherwise given him away.
Chapter 196: The Hidden Objective of the High Orcs
Chapter 196: The Hidden Objective of the High Orcs
Calming his and wildly beating heart, he scrunched his brows before thinking over the actions of the orc general. From the pieces and bits of information that he had collected, he was able to know that objective of the high orcs or rather the orc generaly on the northern region of the forest.
However, what made him all the more confused was why did they need such a big army of orcs each of whose levels were more than level 300 and two orcmanders above level 380.
What and who was the enemy that the orc general was trying to subjugate with this much number? Simon pondered. An army of this size and strength was enough to easily trample multiple human cities and still have the manpower.
Even with the threat of the Orc general hanging over his head, he decided to silently follow the group. His inquisitive mind will never be content until unless he solves the mystery behind the high orcs mobilising so much power. It was to the point where he had totally forgotten his original goal of hunting the monsters for experience.
The orc army marched from the western region towards the northern part of the forest. Compared to the western region, the northern part of the forest was quite small and wouldn''t even ount for five per cent of the entire western region. That was how humongus the western region of the ghastly winding forest was.
An army of that size was bound to gather the attention of the inhabitants of the forest but their power and coordination that was unlike any other high orcs, was able to mow down anything and everything that came in their way.
No matter if it was the colony of the Anemodactyl, the pack of Stormwolves or the Killer Worker Bees, everything made way in front of their power. The same goes for the Adventurers that came delving inside the forest looking for the dungeon.
Those unfortunate and ill-informed ones who were brave enough to hunt monsters in the border areas of the northern region of the forest, attracted by the noise the orc army made while marching approached them carelessly and were killed instantly.
No matter how good those adventurers or their team were, in front of an army of hundreds of orcs above level 300, they were nothing but ants that came out of its hill. It couldn''t even be called a stomp as it was an instant wipeout.
"Why are there so many humans loitering around in the forest?" Berigard asked looking at the corpse of the adventurers. Whenever he looked at the corpse, his eyes would burn with intense emotions which asionally disturbed his calm.
The two orcmanders looked at each other before shaking their heads. Their territory was on the western side of the forest which was quite far from the North. Even if they wanted to, there was no way they would be able to gain any information on this part of the forest.
Be as it may, even they found it unusual for this many humans on the northern part of the forest. It wasn''t surprising to find humans on the eastern side of the forest as it was inhabited by the weakest monsters and the ones among them who call themselves adventurers dwell inside to hunt some of them.
But even if they did, they usually wouldn''t delve deeper. It wasn''t like the adventurers didn''t want to but they were afraid of the powerful existences that resided deeper within the forest.
Seeing that Bellock and Belmarch didn''t have an answer, Berigard dropped his question before moving on.
"Don''t let your gaud down and maintain your formation. We will soon enter its territory. Once it detects our presence, it wille charging at us" He said as he looked at the army behind him.
The twomanders raised their weapons high to rally theirs groups and increase morale.
Nodding his head, Berigard ordered his twomanders "Bellock, Belmarch you two will take the lead. Out of the lot, only the two of you are capable enough to endure the attacks from Lightning Draconic Serpent".
Next, he levitated up above the ground and used his [Tremor Magic] to create dozens of Golems made out of condense Earth. Each of these golems were more than ten meters in height and was releasing a sturdy aura.
Not only that, there were even some fine granules mixed with the earth to make them more powerful. SWISH¡ with the point of his staff, the eyes of the dozens of golems shined before they started charging forward mowing down any trees or foliage in their path.
ROOAAR¡ the orc army followed behind as to not get outshined. Far in the distance in one of the branches of a huge tree, Simon had an agitated look as he saw the army of orcs marching forward.
It was at this moment that he was finally aware of the objective of the orc General Berigard. His face visibly darkened as he thought about the target of their subjugation, the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
The Northern region of the forest was a dangerous ce because of its three territorial rulers also known as the three overlords of the north. The Earth Splitting Lower Dragon whose territory once Simon had identally stumbled upon, was one of them. At that time, he was too weak to contend against it and had no choice but to run away for his dear life.
Now although he had grown strong, it didn''t mean that the Earth Splitting Lower dragon was the same as ever. He wanted to battle against it once again but Simon knew that he wasn''t ready yet and that was why he was biding his time increasing his power and painfully levelling up every day.
He had the fragment of pride which allowed him to multiply the experience earned through hunting monsters manifold. As long as he was alive, his growth was sure to outpace the growth of the three overlords of the north.
He was extremely agitated not because of the orc general but because the target of their subjugation, the Lightning Draconic Serpent was one of the three overlords of the north which he had to subjugate to keep his words with Aldebaran.
If the Orc General Berigard gets to it first and manages to subjugate it, woulnd''t he ultimately fail his trail? To make matters even worse, Simon did not know how powerful the other two overlords were.
If they were only as strong as the Earth Splitting Lower Dragon was half a year ago or slightly stronger, there was no way they would be able to contend against the powerful orc army or the orc general.
''No from the looks of how concerned and alert that orc general was acting against the Lightning Draconic Serpent, it might not necessarily be weak'' Simon thought. Even though he did not how powerful the Lightning Draconic Serpent but given the preparation and prudence Berigard was showing, there was no way the overlords were weaker or else he wouldn''t have gathered such a power army.
Simon surmised, he did not have any proof but the presence of the orc army was evident of the might of the overlords. It wasn''t guaranteed that they will seed; however, he still decided to trail them and if possible disturb them from achieving their goal.
Now that he knew about their objective, there was no way he would allow them toplete it, not on his watch. The dozens of golems cleared a path for the orc army as they proceeded towards a distant peak.
The peak was so high that it easily overshadowed and overlooked everything around it like a tyrant. There was only three of those in the entire northern region of the Ghastly Finding Forest and also the ce where the overlord of the north resided.
None of the weak monsters dareding near the peak as it marked the territory of the overlords. The instant the master of the territory sensed the presence of the foreign beings, it issued a deafening roar from its peak.
ROAAAAAAAARRRR¡ the noise was so domineering that it instantly scared the monsters in a few miles away and froze the march of the orc army.
The Lightning Draconic Serpent did not even attack yet the orc army felt a powerful force battering their body that originated from their bloodline. A dragon Bloodline no matter how impure, was always superior and more powerful than an ordinary monster bloodline.
"Hmph¡ you think you can scare us off with just that. This time I brought all the power I have under me¡ I''m going to subjugate you no matter what" Berigard shook off the suppressing effect and cast a [Gale Magic] spell [Gale Arrow Storm] towards the distant peak.
Wild winds that spun like crazy generated into a huge column of arrow before flying towards the hill.
BOOOM¡ before the magic could evene closer, a huge breath of lightning came from within the cave of the peak and instantly dispersed each other.. A shockwave containing wild winds and rampant blue lightning wreaked havoc in a hundred-meter radius uprooting and scorching numerous trees in the area.
Chapter 197: Lightning Draconic Serpent
Chapter 197: Lightning Draconic Serpent
RUMBLE¡ the hill shook intensely from the aftereffect and the master of territory was finally forced to show its appearance. A sleek and slithery body like that of a snake, was covered entirely with ck scales.
Its entire body was more than thirty meters long and its shiny scales shone with a violet light. It had ttened skin on either side of its head and enormous fins on its back that allowed it to fly. Its violet draconic eyes pinpointed the attacker even from arge distance and red at them with menace. The Lightning Draconic Serpent, one of the overlords of the north was finally out.
The moment it appeared, the mana around the surrounding started bing more active and a vast lightning attribute spread around the surrounding. Even from this distance, Simon could distinctly feel the changes in the environment.
"Puny Orc, you dare intrude my territory once again?" the Lightning Draconic Serpent red at the intruders and threatened.
"Hahaha¡ Why shouldn''t I? thest time you and I fought, I was clearly at the disadvantage. However, now that I have brought all of the power under me do you really think you can win?" Berigard revealed his fangs and snickered.
He pointed his staff and loudly proimed "Be my subordinate or else I shall inflict so much pain upon you thatter on you will beg me to be my subordinate".
GUAAAHH¡ as if showing their willingness to even die for their general, the orc army loudly roared and stepped forward.
"Insolence¡ You dare daydream that this one shall bow its head to you? A puny orc like you doesn''t have what it takes to defeat me" The Lightning Draconic Serpent spat out thick columns of lightning angered by Berigard''s words.
RUMBLE¡ RUMBLE¡ Bellock signalled with his hands and five orc leaders carrying sturdy shields stepped forward to tank the attacks. BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ the rumbling sound of lightning crashing with the shields rang out continuously before silence returned once again.
Like a heated metal, the power within the lightning columns was so great that the shields of these five orc leaders was on the verge of melting down.
Shhhhhhh¡ thick smoke rose from their body and the ground in a few meters area was cracked and scorched ck but other than that, they had sessfully tanked through the attack.
RUMBLE¡ TREMBLE¡ the cloud suddenly darkened and roared with the appearance of the lightning. The Lightning Draconic Serpent coiled around in the sky attempting to manipte the clouds but before it could finish whatever it was doing, dozens of golems on the order of Berigard charged towards it.
The golems were the product of Tremor Magic the intermediate tier of Earth Magic and along with the skilful use of Gale magic, Berigard was able to float the golems as they charged towards the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
These golems were made of earth and even if they collided with lightning, they wouldn''t incur much damage. In a way, these golems of magic were the perfect soldier as they did not have any fear and always obeyedmands.
Thick lightning bolts erupted out of the draconic serpent and crashed onto the golems but other than stopping them for a few seconds, the lightning did not achieve anything. ROOOOAAAARR¡ shouting in annoyance, the Lightning Draconic Serpent jerked its tail and instantly smashed three of the golems apart. The remaining golems surrounded it and refused to give it any room.
"Now is the chance¡ [Gale Magic Mastery]:- [Galewave Hammer]" Berigard channelled an enormous amount of mana within his staff and generated a gigantic column of wind that was quickly shaping itself into a hammer.
The hammer formed was as huge as fifty meters and loomed on top of the Lightning Draconic Serpent. Realising what the orc was nning to do, the Draconic serpent tried to shake off the Golems and move out of the area of the attack.
"Don''t let it get away" Berigard shouted towards his twomanders. Bellock and Belmarch along with numerous high orcs took out their weapons that looked like chains connected to a spike head and threw them at the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
The Diluvian High Orcs with their incredible strength, easily wielded these weapon as if it was some children''s toy. CLANG¡ CLANG¡ dozens of spike heads smashed against the ck scales of the draconic serpent creating an intense spark in the process.
Even after the attacks of numerous high orcs, the Lightning Draconic Serpent appearedpletey unfazed. One could imagine how high the defence of the ck scales which it waspletely covered with was. Nheless, the objective behind throwing such weapons wasn''t to hurt it and instead to bind it in its ce.
As if realising this a step toote, the Lightning Draconic Serpent iled its body in an attempt to break through it. "Hold you ground" Berigardmanded the orcs holding the other end of the chain.
He knew that once the serpent escapes the bindings of the chain, it would be hard to lock it down once again. GUAHHH¡ the two orcmanders and dozens of others shouted refusing to budge down and sumb to the pull. They used all of their strength to hold to the chain as all the veins in their body bulged to their limit.
However, how could these mutated high orcs match the Lightning Draconic Serpent in strength? With just a twitch of its body, it was easily able to pull many of them airborne and break through its restraints.
BOOOM¡ the thick darkened clouds spread apart giving way to the giant hammer as it came falling down. The momentum of the forty meters big hammer was truly abnormal not to mention the might contain with it.
Just its appearance of falling from the sky was enough to cower all the orcs as they saw the hammere smashing down on top of the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
ROOOOAAAARRR¡ the instant the hammer made contact with the serpent, all the power contained within the hammer burst out making it scream in pain.
BOOOOOOOOM¡ a deafening noise along with something hitting the floor at a breakneck speed rang out for dozens of kilometres. Thend quaked in fear and dust covered everyone''s vision.
The impact of the [Galewave Hammer] was so great that all of the golems who were surrounding and restraining the movements of the Lightning Draconic Serpent were instantly turned into dust. By simply being near the area of the impact, the golems were already in such a state. This made one wonder what the condition of the LIghtining draconic serpent was who was the main target of Berigard''s magic.
When the dust finally settled down the appearance of the huge Lightning Draconic Serpent came into view once again. But unlike the other times where its ck scales was shining with violet light and gave it an aura of imprance, it couldn''t be said for its current appearance.
The gigantic body of the serpent was nted onto the huge crater it created after being sted onto the ground and many of its scales were cracked and broken. Its eyes were closed and its body did not make any further movements after that.
Seeing this, Berigard frowned and ordered his orc army to proceed with caution. He did not think hisst attack was enough to bring it down; nevertheless, now that it was down his orc army would be able to join the battle.
With themand given by the two orcmanders, the orc army that were itching to fight, charged towards the fallen Lightning Draconic Serpent with a mad fervour. GUAAAHH¡ brandishing their weapons that were each releasing a sinister aura, they came attacking the area where their enemy was hurt the most.
ROOAAAARRR¡ The Lightning Draconic Serpent opened its eyes and looked at the puny orcs attacking its body. Its once magnificent body that was covered in beautiful scales was now being battered by these orcs with their weapons.
Anger, intense anger and madness to bite down on its prey shed on the wide draconic eyes of its before suddenly its whole body started releasing blue lightning all over its body. Simon who was observing from the distance, was astounded at the level of battle that was unfolding before his eyes.
No matter if it was the Orc General or the Lightning Draconic Serpent, both of their level and skills were on a whole another realm. From how the battle was progressing, it appeared that his concern about the overlord was for nought.
Its abilities and level was something that even dwarfed the orc general it was facing. Thest time when Simon used Analysis on the orc general, he was able to learn some bits of information on the level and skills of the orc general.
ording to it, the Orc General was a level 439 Diluvian High Orc Aberrant with numerous superior and Rare skills. Not to mention it had mastery over two intermediate forms of magic: ¨C Tremor, Gale.
That was not all, since Simon knew that his level was not high enough, he wasn''t able to peer through all the skills of the Orc general.. That is to say that Berigard had many more skills in his arsenal that Simon wasn''t aware of.
Chapter 198: Lightning Draconic Serpent (2)
Chapter 198: Lightning Draconic Serpent (2)
His mastery over his skill and magic was so fluent that if any veteran adventurer saw it, he would be immediately identified as a special Superss or mistaken for a disaster ss itself.
Another thing of peculiarity was the orc general''s race. Simr to the others around him, Berigard was also a mutated species called the Diluvian High Orc but unlike the other, the status against his race had an [Aberrant] showing in it.
Although Simon was curious as to what that means, for the time being, he had no clue so he had to drop the thought.
While it was true that the Orc General Berigard was powerful, it was still no match against the Lightning Draconic Serpent who was regarded as one of the three overlords that reigned over the northern region of the Ghastly Winding Forest.
While the two of them were battling out among themselves in a series of earth shaking fierce attacks, Simon sneakily used Analysis on it to gain more information on the level and power of an overlord. The result that came out made him widen his eyes to their very limit.
Consciously or subconsciously he who had once seen the level of the Earth Splitting Lower Dragon which was also one of the three overlords of the north, started putting them in the same category.
However, who would have known that this thinking of his would be so childish and utterly nonsensical. Forget about the Lightning Draconic Serpent being in the same level as the Earth Splitting Lower Dragon who was at level 351 at that time, the difference between them was so wide that it wasn''t even aughing matter.
From the information he gained from his [Analysis], the Lightning Draconic Serpent was almost hitting the 500 level barrier. Its level disyed by the analysis was 491 and the multitudes of skills that it had made Simon''s eyes groggy.
Just like always, due to the level difference between them he wasn''t able to peer through most of the skills that the Lightning Draconic Serpent had. However, he was still able to take a small glimpse at its power.
Both the party weren''t going all out from the start and were preserving their strength and testing each other out. Even with the powerful army, he brought along with him, Simon believed that Berigard wouldn''t be able to defeat the Lightning Draconic Serpent that easily.
Just as he sighed in relief thinking that he wouldn''t have to step much less make a move, Bergiard created a huge hammer made ofpressed air that loomed over the sky and brought it down towards the draconic serpent.
An attack this big and slow would have been easy to dodge if not for the orc army throwing their peculiar weapon at the Lightning draconic Serpent and restricting its movement.
The fierce attack generated an intense shockwave that shook the verynd and made the Lightning draconic serpent drop from the sky. One could imagine the power packed behind thest attack as even the incredibly strong scale of its was cracked open in many ces of its body.
Simon started panicking a little, he thought that the battle would be a stroll in the park for the overlord of the north. But to his expectation, Berigard used the advantage he had in numbers to thoroughly suppress his enemy and cut all their openings.
Although the Lightning Draconic Serpent had wind magic resistance, the skill only helped negate attacks of novice tier wind magic. Gale magic which was the intermediate tier of Wind magic supplied by the powerful mana of Berigard was able to prate through the thick defence of the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
The wind of the battle now in their favour, the Diluvian High Orcs started attacking the fallen serpent with even more fervent. The wheels in his brain started turning as Simon was delving how to disturb the flow of the orcs when¡
ROOAAAARRR¡
The Lightning Draconic Serpent opened its eyes and looked at the puny orcs attacking its body. Anger, intense anger and madness to bite down on its prey shed on the wide draconic eyes of its before suddenly its whole body started releasing a berserk amount of blue lightning.
It had been truly angered by them. Opening its wide mouth, a series of well decked sharp and pointed teeth came into view.
WHOOSH¡ the wind suddenly picked up speed and the clouds started churning.
"GET BACK NOW" Seeing the unnatural phenomenon and feeling the disturbance in the surrounding mana, Berigard shouted inmand towards the orcs surrounding and attacking the Draconic Serpent.
An intense light shed around the surroundings and forced one to cover their eyes with their hands before a thunderous noise like that of a waterfall crashing into the sea rang out.
ZZzSSssHhhhh¡ a high voltage beam of blue lightning that had a few streaks of red was released by the Lightning Draconic Serpent and whizzed towards all the orcs surrounding its body.
Instantly, their tough bodies were melted down leaving nothing behind. The [Lightning Breadth] inherent skill of the Lightning Draconic Serpent was one of its strongest attacks that umtes a high quantity of Lightning in its nds condensing and building pressure before releasing it out.
The resulting attack was a heated beam of lightning that had enough power to drill through multiple mountains.
The [Lightning Breadth] scorched and gorged thend wherever it travelled and easily vaporised any unfortunate orcs that was in its path.
ZZzSSssHhhhh¡ the high voltage beam of lightning just like that imed the life of more than thirty Diluvian High Orcs before dissipating down.
A dreadful silence descended onto the ce¡ Gulp, the remaining high orcs in the backlines that were thinking of charging over, felt their throat drying over at the scene of carnage that only took an instant to unfold.
''How can this be? Even with all the power I have in my hand, I am unable to subjugate it? No, I refuse to believe I can''t win'' thinking internally, Berigard once again gripped his staff tightly before flinging it down.
A terrifying amount of wind started blowing all over and the ce for thousands of meters was engulfed within.
"Sir General, what is your order?" Bellock asked. The orcmander''s body although a little battered was still brimming with powerful might and energy. Unlike the average Diluvian High Orcs, they were on a different league and even their levels was much higher.
Their quick judgement of the situation prevented the worst scenario of everyone getting wiped out from happening.
"Bellock, Belmarch take charge of the army. I will engage the enemy with all of my power. Use the opening it will inevitably show during our battle to deal as much damage as you can. No matter how many fatalities we have to suffer in return, we must subjugate it. This is the only way I can overthrow the reign of the Orc king" Berigard announced while keeping his eyes on the Lightning draconic Serpent.
"Your wish is ourmand" The two orcmanders nced at each other before nodding their head.
No matter how much difference and prejudice they had against each other, they put it all aside for this instant. Rallying the remaining seventy or so high orcs of their army, they remained on standby ready to act in a moments notice.
Pointing his staff at the Lightning Draconic Serpent, he loudly dered "Come, I Berigard shall be your opponent".
The Lightning Draconic Serpent red at the orc general before sneering "Hmph, you? my opponent? Have you forgotten your previous defeat at my hands? No matter what reason you may have, I shall not bow my head in subservience to anyone".
But the dreadfulness of the dragon which made them reign supreme across all the continents was not only credited to their powerful bodies, but also because of their unimaginable regeneration rate.
A dragon as long as it had enough mana, it can quickly regenerate through attacks that would have otherwise been fatal. The Lightning Draconic Serpent was considered as the lowest member of the dragon family.
That is to say that the damage it had received from the previous attack of the orc general was already most healed and its ruptured scales was back to their previous splendour.
Berigard''s expression couldn''t be any more ugly as he observed all the damage he had preciously dealt to his enemy swiftly fading. His enemy was back to its full health while he on the other hand was slowly getting weaker as the battle progressed.
"Hehehe, this one shall remind you once again your previous humiliating experience" The Lightning Draconic Serpent hissed before quickly flinging its tail towards Berigard.
One of the weapons of the Lightning Draconic Serpent was its slithery body that made some impossible movements possible. The tail that came smashing towards the orc general had all the bodyweight of the Lightning Draconic Serpent behind it.
¡ª¨C
Race:- Lightning Draconic Serpent
Age:- 387
Skills:- Water Magic Mastery, Lightning Magic Mastery, Hardened Scales, Rugged Skin, Body Enhancement, Presence Detect, Super Enhanced Agility, Super Enhanced Strength, Super Enhanced Endurance, Super Enhanced Defence, Super Magic, Extreme Bite, Intimidation Aura, Evil Eyes, Weather Maniption.
Amalgamation Magic:- [Lightning-Water Mastery]
Inherent Skills:- Slithery Skeleton, Strengthened Physical Parts: [Fins, Scales, Tail, Jaw], Lightning Breath, Water Wave, Frenzy, Dragon Blood
Chapter 199: Ambitions Of The Orc General
Chapter 199: Ambitions Of The Orc General
With a supersonic speed, the tail smashed onto the ce where the orc general was. Just before the tail was a few inches away from him, Berigard uttered some peculiar words
" z?????????????i?????????g?????????a????????????? ??????i??????????????k?????????????????????a???????????????r????????? ????????????????????s????????????e???????????s??????????h??????????????????? ????????s????????????????p??????????????a?????????????c?????????????e??????????????".
BOOOOMM¡ dozens of meters ofnd was disced and the power behind the attack made the ground tremble for a good long while. A crater dozens of meters deep was created from the point of impact and tiny debris fell everywhere like rain.
The Diluvian High orcs were stunned, not because of the might behind the attack but because their orc general did not move from his spot and had taken the attack head-on. Did he think that he could take the attack ande out unscathed? Such were the thoughts of the high orcs as they looked inside the crater with their wide-open eyes.
Even with the Diluvian High Orc''s defence, it was impossible to take on the attack ande out without any damage not to mention the likes of them would be instantly killed if that attack of the LIghtning Draconic Serpent connected. The mere thought of it made their bodies shiver.
All the high orcs watched with horror at the aftermath of thest attack and the silhouette of the orc general that was not surfacing from the crater.
The ones that did not have a hint of doubt on their faces were the two orcmanders as they intensely observed the Lightning Draconic Serpent looking for any openings it may show. Their orders were clear and precise, they had enough faith for their general that they werepletely unfazed by thest attack.
"Hehe, it seems that this one had overestimated you. Did you think that the likes of you is capable enough to endure my attack?" the Lightning Draconic Serpent bellowed in delight. From his perspective, it was a foolish move for the puny orc to contend with it in the first ce.
Not to mention the orc general''s foolish ambition of subjugating it. Theughter of the Lightning Draconic Serpent rang across thend and pounded heavily at the hearts of the High Orcs who were starting to lose hope after their general was done in by that.
Although they were cowering, of them retreated and held their ground that was because their twomanders haven''t given them a single order.
"Hmm! What''s going on?" The Lightning Draconic Serpent pulled its tail back and looked at the crater it had created in confusion. Its draconic eyes narrowed as it searched for the presence of the figure that should have been squashed at the bottom of it.
However, to its surprise there was no one inside, the crater waspletely empty, the corpse of the orc general was nowhere to be seen.
"How is that possible? I remember seeing my attack connecting. There is no way that puny orc could have dodged it in time" The Lightning Draconic Serpent became confused and looked all around it in search of the figure that should have been inside the crater.
Nevertheless, the moment it detected the abnormality, it was already toote.
Thick amounts of mana convulsed up in the air and formed into a huge mountain hundreds of meters in size. Berigard''s figure could be seen high up in the sky holding his wooden staff and pouring an unimaginable amount of mana into it.
The force of the magic created in return was so great that the mana around the surroundings visibly took on a yellowish hue. that in itself was enough to tell how enormous the mana pool of the orc general was.
"It is too early for you to celebrate your victory Lightning Draconic Serpent. [Tremor Magic Mastery]:- [Falling Meteor]".
A pressure like that of a heavy mountain descended onto the ground. The moment the huge mountain of a rock took form, it immediately sumbed to gravity and started falling towards the Lightning Draconic Serpent who was right below it.
The momentum and velocity at which it was falling gave goosebumps to anyone watching the scene. Noticing the unusual behaviour of their enemy that was unlike any victor, the Diluvian High Orcs started connecting the dots and immediately understood that the fight was still far from over.
As if to answer their doubts, the voice of the orc general reverberated across the ce. Looking all around, they spotted their mighty orc general levitating high up in the sky. However, they did not have the presence of mind to question how their general had reached there as their gobsmacked eyes stared at the gigantic mountain that was simrly floating behind him.
The mountain was gigantic and nobody knew when it appeared there. It cast a huge shadow on the Lightning Draconic Serpent and before anybody could even catch their breath, it dropped from that height bringing down a devastating might along with it.
"NOW¡ attack its nk" The two orcmanders shouted at the top of their lungs snapping the daze looking orcs from their stupor. Themand that they were given might be suicidal when it was possible that they themselves might get caught up in the area of the attack and die.
But even then these Diluvian High Orcs obeyed their orders and charged at the Lightning Draconic Serpent leaving all of their fear behind. The two orcmanders also took their weapons out and joined the fray along with their army.
The High Orcs roared and immediately surrounded the Lightning Draconic Serpent not allowing it to move away from the spot. Clubs and axes came targeting its eyes and underbelly that had much weaker defence and far fewer scales making it the Lighting Draconic Serpent only weak spots.
CLANG¡ CLANG¡ SLASH¡ while it defending against the attacks that came targeting its eyes, some of the weapons thrown managed to cut its soft underbelly from which blood sprayed out like a fountain.
ROOOAARR¡BANG¡ Twisting and coiling its slithery body in anger, it managed to push back many of the orcs injuring them heavily in the process. These pesky orcs were truly getting on its nerves as they kept him from getting away every time.
TREMBLE¡ the mountain like meteor cast a huge shadow on the Lightning Draconic Serpent as it kept creeping nearer. Perceiving the danger of the meteor and realising that the orcs would do anything to prevent it from moving away, the Lightning Draconic Serpent decided not to run and face the attack instead.
The vertical pupils of its eyes glowed with a tinge of blue and subsequently, its entire body started erupting with lightning.
RUMBLE¡ It opened its jaws wide and started condensing a high voltage lightning breath one again.
ZZzSsTt¡ the [Lightning Breath] kept on getting brighter and before long a beam of blue lightning was spat out that swiftly flew towards the descending meteor.
The air vibrated even before the attacks met and the atmosphere trembled in front of their might. BANG¡ the temporary silence was drowned out by the deafening sounds of the attacks shing against each other.
The shockwave generated was so terrible that the surrounding orcs were immediately swept off the ground and thrown hundreds of meters back.
The attacks ate away at each other with able to gain an edge over the other.
ROAAAARRR¡ the deadlocksted for a while before the Lightning Draconic Serpent used its [Frenzy] and [Dragon Blood] skill each of which further boosted its power and strengthened the breath even further.
RUMBLE¡ the pressure of the [Lightning Breath] started building even further and started pushing the meteor back. CRACK¡ small cracks started running the surface of the meteor before falling apart.
Little by little, the meteor started breaking and its debris falling from the sky like rain. Due to the downwards velocity of the meteor and shing against a high voltage lightning breath, the debris that fell down were lightning charged and heated to the extreme.
One could imagine what happened next as these thousands of debris that broke out of the meteor fell onto the forest below. The scene that unfolded after was truly hellish, as far as the eye could see the hail of rocks bombarded everywhere.
Those orcs that were unfortunate enough to be near the proximity of these debris, were instantly blown into smithereens. Those that survived the impact, were badly scorched and on the brink of death.
Their numbers which had already been cut down short, was shed even further after this attack. The army consisting of hundreds of level 300+ Diluvian High Orcs which could easily destroy multiple cities in a few hours, amounted to nothing but impediment when against opponent hundreds of levels above.
The strength gap between them was truly gigantic that even their high numbers couldn''t make up for.
The meteor that was hundreds of meters huge in only a few minutes, was reduced to half the size.CRACK¡ at this point, the [Lightning Breath] had started to gain even more edge and managed to turn the situation in its favour.
Berigard who was manipting the meteor from high up in the sky, started to frown increasingly as the size of the meteor was slowly being broken down. The surprise attack he had put so much effort and mana into, was failing to aplish its job and breaking apart in front of his eyes.
He had not underestimated his enemy the Lightning Draconic Serpent and had even put enough precaution to attack when its guard was down the most. Nheless, even after all of that his attack was blocked and losing out in a frontal fight.
There was no doubt in his mind, if the situation developed as it is now, the meteor would bepletely broken apart.
Chapter 200: Encounter
Chapter 200: Encounter
There was no doubt in his mind, Berigard knew that if the situation developed as it is now, the meteor would bepletely broken apart.. Or that would be so if he was all alone, but that was not the case.
The two orcmanders that managed to sessfully avoid the debris falling their way, intensely observed the Lightning Draconic Serpent without tearing their eyes away. The moment they felt it lower its guard against them and concentrate wholly on the meteor, they used this chance to attack.
Belmarch brandished his club and nced at Bellock before nodding. Bellock immediately jumped on top of his club and was flung like a cannonball towards the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
One of the unique traits of the High orcs were their immacte coordination in battle. Their synchronisation with each other could be said to be on a level of an army that had trained for dozens of years.
Bellock brought out his sinister long de and quickly locked onto the underbelly of the Lightning Draconic Serpent who was still not aware of his rapidly approaching presence. He precisely targeted the spot where it was injured earlier by their storm of attacks and using thepse in the enemies defence, he cleanly sliced through.
CHIIIIII¡
ROOOAAAARRR¡
Blood sttered like a geyser and the Lightning Draconic Serpent screamed in pain. A wide gash more than five meters big could be seen on its underbelly that had previously suffered some injuries from the orcs.
Its body wreathed in pain and it could no longer support its [Lightning Breath] which was cut short. Intense pain that it had never felt before, started from the wound and spread through its whole body.
The Lightning Draconic Serpent''s eyes red in fury at the assant. The puny orcs flocking near its body that it thought was not worth its attention, managed to injure its body to such an extent. Losing its mind in anger, it repeatedly smashed its tail towards Bellock in an attempt to squash him.
However, all it managed to elicit was a smile from his enemy. It was only now that it realised it had fallen for their ploy; the objective of these orcs was just to distract him. The real threat was still the one facing him head-on.
Berigard knew that he was not the opponent of the Lightning Draconic Serpent and that was why he mobilised all the power he had in his hands. Although his sneak attack had failed, it was able to engage the enemy long enough for his subordinates to use that opening to attack.
The meteor now one-fifth of its previous size, without any obstruction to hold it in ce, the meteor came crashing on top of the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
BOOOMM¡the moment itnded, it immediately flipped dozens of meters ofnd into the air and generated a shockwave so great that it travelled for miles. Thend quacked and the sound was so deafening that it was akin to a weapon itself.
Dust covered the area and the silhouette of the Lightning Draconic Serpent was buried underneath. The orc army of which only had forty or so numbers remained propped themselves up and looked at the area of devastation.
The power behind the meteor was so great that it had created a huge crater. As they witnessed the power behind the attack of their general connecting with the Lightning Draconic Serpent, they started erupting with roars confident in their victory.
¡ª¨C
Simon who was forced hundreds of meters back due to the level of their battle being too huge, was reeling in shock. He knew the Orc General was strong the very moment heid his eyes upon him but even then he didn''t expect him to be this strong.
The Lightning Draconic Serpent, one of the three overlords of the north which he thought would be able to easily snatch the victory, was being forced to y on the terms of the orcs. There was no doubt that it was more powerful than any of the high orcs that it was facing; however, it couldn''t gain an edge over them nor could it grasp the victory.
On the contrary, thetest development looked like the Lightning draconic Serpent was losing out as a huge gash was cut open in its abdomen forcing it to stop short its [Lightning Breath].
Simon couldn''t believe his eyes when he saw the Diluvian High Orcs take the aggression of the Lightning Draconic Serpent onto themselves allowing the orc general a window of opportunity to breathe and continue with his attack.
If anyone asked him what the turning point of this battle was, he would no doubt highlight the attack from one of the Diluvian High Orcs that had changed the tide of the battle. Be that as it may, it would have still been impossible for these orcs to bring down the Lightning Draconic Serpent if not for its mistake to tear its eyes away from the highest level opponent it was facing.
Without the breath attack to hold the meteor back, it fell straight on top of it with a threatening amount of momentum.
Simon started panicking when he saw the meteor connecting with the lightning Draconic Serpent and burying it underneath. Even from his current hiding ce which was a few kilometres away from the battlefield, Simon felt the shockwave of the attack travelling all the way here and hitting him like a sledgehammer.
The level of their battle was beyond him and even a stray attack could easily decimate a Diluvian High Orc. With his current strength and not relying on any of the secondary items to boost his strength, it would take him a while to even defeat a single one of the Diluvian High Orcs.
One could imagine the level at which the battle was unfolding to not even give these powerful high orcs even a chance to show their might.
"This is bad. If this goes on, the Lightning Draconic Serpent might actually lose. I cannot allow the High Orcs to subdue it. Dammit, do I have no choice but to step in¡ but even if I do, I don''t know what I can aplish" Simon voice was a little agitated when he couldn''t see the figure of the Lightning Draconic Serpent surfacing from the dust even after a while.
"Hnnn~¡ so it is like that the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. However, I''m not sure you can be considered an oriole with your current level no?" It was at this moment that a clear voice of that of a woman rang from somewhere.
Simon suddenly widened his eyes to their absolute limit and looked around him. The voice that rang out appeared to be extremely close to him; however, no matter where he looked, he couldn''t detect any presence near him.
Sweat trickled down his face and fell onto the ground. The fact that someone had approached this close to him without even him noticing their presence until they revealed themselves spoke volumes about how powerful they were.
"Who is it?" Simon asked, his eyes scanning everywhere.
''Could it be that the battle between the Lightning Draconic Serpent and the Orc General had attracted the eyes of the others around? If so what is their objective behind revealing their presence now?''
''If they wanted to snatch all the rewards, they should have waited for an opportune time. Who is it and what are they thinking?'' his brain went into overdrive as he thought about the objective of the new entrant that had yet to reveal their presencepletely.
"Hehe, you should pay more attention to your expression. tantly revealing everything that you are thinking to a person that might be your enemy" the voice had a teasing tone and felt as light as a spring breeze.
"Well even if you strain your brain to their limit, you won''t find the answer because I''m not someone from this forest".
Simon''s thought spurned at the new information that was just revealed. The person had clearly said that they were not from this forest. Was it a lie or the truth? Is it one of the adventurers that hade to scout the dungeon?
Dozens of questions were flowing through his mind but of them could pinpoint who this person was nor their motive.
Gulping audibly, Simon sharpened his senses and used every auxiliary skill in his arsenal new or old to detect the slightest trace of the person.
[Thought Processing] which allowed him to run multiple thoughts in his mind together, [Detect Presence] revealed all the beings near him and the [Sharpened Senses] skill improved all of his senses for a short period of time.
All of these skills were base tier Normal skill and had yet to reach the superior tier. All of these skills either enhanced his detection or his senses; nevertheless, even after activating all of the skills at once, the entity near him couldn''t be detected.
"Would you give it a rest already? No matter how much you try it is impossible for you to detect my location unless I do so myself" The woman''s voice had a tinge of pride as she conversed with Shim.
Seeing that all of his skills were useless, he gave up trying and instead tried to gain more information from the person.
"May I know who you are and why have you decided to reveal your presence to me?".
There was no reply for a while and just when he thought that his question was ignored, the person''s voice rang once again, this time very close to him.
"Hnnn~ trying to gain as much information as we can from the enemy are we? Hehe, I can at least tell you that if I wanted to harm, you would be long dead.. Now have your question been cleared yet?".
Chapter 201: Mysterious Woman
Chapter 201: Mysterious Woman
It was not a lie, Simon truly believed that the strength of this mysterious woman was quite high topletely elude his senses and given her strength, it was not a surprising statement.
Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his wildly pounding heart. There was no point in getting anxious at this stage, if her objective was to kill him, he would have been dead already. The fact that she didn''t, shows that she had something else in mind.
While Simon was calmly evaluating his present situation, the mysterious woman decided to initiate the conversation "Let me give you a piece of advice¡ whatever you are thinking in your mind, do not let your expression reveal it. This is simply providing others with important information¡ ''what could be the objective of this person, why did she reveal herself to me?'' I can clearly read everything from your expression. Mind you I''m not using any skills¡ right let me show you something".
Simon felt a sudden gust of wind from his right and immediately turned his head only to find nothing. While he was contemting what the mysterious woman wanted to do, he suddenly heard a sounding from his left.
"You were constantly following the direction of my voice and looking right, it was inly obvious in your face¡ sniff¡ sniff¡ kyaaaaaaaaa~"
Midway through her sentence, the mysterious woman suddenly screamed. To his surprise, the sound came from his left however, what was even more astounding was that the sudden presence that he felt, came not from his left or right but instead from his front.
Turning towards the presence, he finally saw the mysterious woman reveal herself.
The woman in front of him could only be described as soul stunning beauty.
Lustrous white hair like the early snow of the winter night fell behind her shoulders and extended till her narrow waist. She had two pairs of magnificent glimmering eyes that seemed to hold the essence of the world within them.
Her two tangerine pupils, clear like crystals, held enough splendour to even outshine the radiance of the sun, her two white thin and curvy eyebrows, were simr to the pair of crescent moons. Her glossy white skin that shined under the sun, looked beguiling to the extreme.
Pink lips that looked like the petals of the most delicate flower and her nose that seemed to be sculpted with utmost care was high and mighty with an innate nobility.
Her body was voluminous and exquisite like ripened juicy peach ready to be eaten with a faint sense of danger seeping out. Each and every curves of her body was perfect to the point of breath-taking.
She was wearing a crimson dress made out of some exquisite material that tightly clung to her body and highlighted her curves even more. The lustrous white hair of her moved with every movement of her body and naughtily brushed her perky bottom.
The fullness of her breast and her splendid figure wasced with an allure that could mesmerise billions of people in an instant and her subliminal charm was hard to resist.
The moment Simon gazended on her body, it was hard for him to tear it away.
Her jade white legs was suspended around half an inch from the ground and her body was only a few meters away from him. At this moment, the mysterious woman was pointing at him with trembling hands and a shocked expression covered her face.
It seems at this moment she herself had forgotten the advice she was trying to impart on Simon.
"You¡ You¡ how shameless! What is with that repugnant smell? Don''t tell me you haven''t taken a bath for more than a year" right after saying that, she hurriedly distanced herself and stared daggers at him.
Ah¡ now that she had mentioned it, Simon remembered that he was still covered in monster excrement which he used to deceive the keen noses of the Diluvian High Orcs.
It was no wonder that the mysterious woman lost herposure and revealed her presence the moment the smell assaulted her nose. Although he himself felt the smell repulsive, there was no helping it. If he removed the smell using the wind magic, he would be under the radar of the High orcs with their keen sense of smell.
Unlike the mysterious woman who couldpletely mask her presence even while being so near, Simon had no such options avable to him.
The [Hide Presence] skill which was a base tier Normal skill, could somewhat mask his aura but it was impossible topletely remove his presence from the surrounding.
While he was still delving on his thoughts, the woman pointed at him annoyed by his calm reaction. "Hey are you deaf? What is with that smell? Do something about it". She was acting just like a little girl who had seen something unpleasant.
Finding the situation a little amusing, a craftly light shed deep in his eyes and he immediately came up with an idea.
"How very rude. This is my natural scent" Simon said as he approached a bit closer. Her face visibly paling, the woman''s whole body started trembling as she hurriedly tried to distance herself once again.
"Y-You dare make fun of me? Do you believe that I won''t end your pathetic life?". Her voice was panicked and her previousposure with which she was talking to him earlier was nowhere to be seen.
"Eh? Did this miss say something? I was so distracted that I couldn''t hear you properly" Simon said as he again approached a few steps closer. His n was working, now that the mysterious woman got a sniff of that repugnant smell, she was afraid of him approaching closer to her.
Her reaction alone told him that her current mind was tangled enough to not think clearly or else he wouldn''t have been able to pull this n. He was now sure that the woman in front of him though powerful, was a flower grown in a conservatory. She had nevere in contact with unscrupulous people.
The way she was behaving was just like a little girl who was afraid of insects. A woman like that no matter how powerful they were would they be able to kill the insect they are afraid of? The answer was clear to him.
Although Simon''s self-esteem took a hit when he thought about that, all was fine as long as he could scare her away.
As he approached her step by step, the woman finally gave up "Wait¡ wait I give up. Don''t approach any closer, I''m sorry for sneaking up against you". Her body was trembling non-stop and her face was as pale as a paper.
Now that he had achieved the desired result, Simon stopped in his tracks. His face was calm on the surface internally though, it was bleeding out from her reaction. If it wasn''t for the situation needing him to use such a method to hide his tracks, he would have never done it.
"Apology epted. Now would you care to exin what your objective behinding here is?"
Simon asked his question while using Analysis on her. The result was as he had expected, everything was covered in question marks and he couldn''t gain any useful information.
The woman red hatefully at him before snorting and ignoring his question altogether.
Her reaction made him arch his brows, he took another step when "Wait¡ wait I cannot tell you my objective foring here; however, I can at least tell you that I have no intention of meddling with the battle that you are eyeing. I came here out of curiosity and to kill some time".
The woman hurriedly replied trying to stop Simon from approaching any closer.
''No intention of meddling with the battle huh'' he squinted his eyes and thought whether the woman was telling the truth or not. If he took her words for face value, she was only here to seek some fun and stumbled across the battle between Orc General and the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
While Simon had encountered a mysterious woman who was silently observing the battle just like him, the battle started to progress once again.
The Lightning Drconic Serpent which was buried under the meteor, finally surfaced out of the crater and roared at its assants within uncontrolled fury. Its shiny ck scales were cracked and blood was seeping out from them continuously, the impact from the meteor dealt a heavy damage onto it and shaved quite a bit of its hp.
Its former regal appearance was now covered in dirt and battered while its aura had marginally decreased.
"Dammit it survived even after taking the attack of Sir Berigard head on" Belmarch shouted in annoyance as he observed the Lightning Draconic Serpent. Bellock was the same as it too had hard time believing that even after their attacknded on its body, it was still standing tall and menacing.
Unlike the other high orcs who had shocked expressions stered on their face, Berigard calmly observed his enemy beforementing "Lightning Draconic Serpent, I don''t believe my attacks did nothing but break your scales. You must be severely injured internally. If we continue this battle one of us is destined to fall".
"However, unlike you, I have many subordinates who are even willing to throw their lives for my sake. Even if it costs many fatalities on my side, I have a higher chance of winning. Why don''t you stop your meaningless struggle and quietly subdue to my rule? Once I usurp the orc king of his throne, I shall reign as the new king.. At that time your position will be higher than just an overlord of this small northern part of the forest".
Chapter 202: Fierce Clash
Chapter 202: Fierce sh
Berigard extended his hand and made clear his intention. His voice was clear and his words were precise with no hint of mixing things between.
RUMBLE¡ RUMBLE¡ thunder clouds gathered onto the sky and brightened the area with their lightning.
The Lightning Draconic Serpent red at Berigard before hissing "You puny orc, you dare look down on this one? Even if I die, I shall not subdue under anyone. Much less to someone who can only best me by using their numbers. If you have guts stop relying on your underlings and fight me one on one".
When the Diluvian High Orcs heard its remark, they couldn''t help but snicker. The intention of the Lightning Draconic serpent was tantly clear, since it was losing against their numbers, it wanted to fight with their general who was the most powerful one among them and get him out of the way first.
Only a fool would fall for such an obvious trap and put their advantage down.
"I know what you are thinking Lightning Draconic Serpent. But you are mistaken about one thing, having strength in numbers is also a symbol of power. Unlike you who is alone and has no one to rely on, I have my orc army with me. Even if their levels are low, when surrounded by these many, even you can''t afford to ignore them. I believe my two able subordinates have proven that"
Berigard said while pointing at therge gash on the lightning Draconic Serpent.
Being made fun of like that, how could the Lightning Draconic Serpent who was used to looking down on others, take it calmly. Baring its fangs, it roared at the sky above as if letting its frustration know and the sky in return rumbled in resonance to its feeling.
"You have truly angered this one. I shall show you what it means to fight against a dragon" the Lightning Draconic Serpent erupted with a vast amount of lightning and released it towards the clouds.
BOOOOMMM¡ the air vibrated and the dark clouds looming over the sky churned violently. Thick columns of blue lightning could be seen forming inside the cloud with a mix of red in between intermittently.
A destructive aura descended onto the battlefield and suppressed all of the High Orcs making it hard for them to even breathe.
"Hmph¡ it''s just a mere serpent with a little bit of dragon bloodline it had assimted with which it had found somewhere. To dare im it''s a dragon¡ this fellow does not know what''s good for him" the mysterious woman stated hearing thement made by the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
Simon rolled his eyes and ignored the woman, his eyes were intensely focused on the battle.
Berigard who detected a terrible amount of mana convulsing inside the clouds, couldn''t help but frown. His eyes were grave and his screaming instincts were telling him how dire the situation he was in now.
To be able to manipte weather one must have a ridiculous amount of mana pool and requires a skill acquirable only after level 500. The orc king was capable of doing it only because it had surpassed level 500.
However, the Lightning Draconic Serpent in front of him had yet to breach the barrier of level 500 but despite that, it was able to obtain the skill and manipte the thunder clouds this well. This alone spoke of how powerful and mighty the dragon bloodline was.
The thick dark thunderclouds spanned for thousands of meters andpletely shrouded all of the high orcs within the area. If he allowed those thick columns of thunderbolts to rain down, he wouldn''t have any army after this.
Berigard had no choice although this option was suicidal it was more feasible than doing nothing and getting wiped out.
"All of you lot, attack it with every bit of your power. Do not let itplete its skill or else it will be the end for us." Right after giving hismand, he flew towards the ce where the two orcmanders were.
The orc army obeying themand of their general, charged towards the Lightning Draconic Serpent will all of their strength and skill activated.
"Sir Berigard what is the situation?" looking at how grave the orc general''s expression was, the twomanders immediately asked.
"It has lost of all of its patience and is trying to wipe all of us out with a big attack. That might very well be the case if we allow it toplete its magic. Disturb the flow of its magic by hitting him where it hurts, buy me as much time as you can" Berigard tasked his twomanders with their jobs before quickly levitating off.
The magic that the Lightning Draconic Serpent was trying to set off was arge scale area attack that had the ability to devastate a vast patch ofnd and everything within it in a matter of few seconds.
It was precisely because the Lightning Draconic Serpent was trying to fuse its [Weather Maniption] skill with its lightning magic to create a powerful attack, the dy would be equally big.
It was no mean feat to aplish such an attack without pouring every bit of concentration and mana into it. The Lightning Draconic Serpent using such an attack at this moment would leave it wide open to attacks but because it was extremely enraged, it had paid no attention to it.
Berigard who had lived for more than a thousand years and had a vast knowledge of magic, was not going to miss that window of opportunity to exploit it.
The Orc army that had been ordered to attack the Lightning Draconic Serpent with all their strength, bombarded it with their skills, novice magic and weapons. Trying to break its concentration and disturb its magic.
However, no matter where they attacked or how much blood they spilled, they were unable to elicit any reaction from the Lightning Draconic Serpent. All of the shallow wounds they made would be healed quickly and the broken scales would mend themselves with time.
Even therge gash that theirmander cut open on its underbelly was swiftly closing and healing. At this rate, they would be able to unable to deal it any damage much less prevent it frompleting its magic.
"You fools attack where it is injured the most. Thatrge gash in its underbelly and the top of its head where the meteor had connected" Bellock roared and hurriedly instructed his army.
"Guhehe, the opportunity to attack a being who is hundreds of levels above me¡ this feeling is the best. I must thank Sir Berigard after we win this battle" Belmarchughed. He swung hisrge club and smashed it onto therge gash that Bellock had previously created.
Finally, there was some reaction from the Lightning Draconic Serpent as its body trembled fiercely. Seeing its reaction, the other high orcs also targeted the ce in hopes of disturbing the enemy.
RUMBLE¡ thunderous noise sounded out from the clouds and before long rain started to fall. SHHHHH¡ Although its body continuously trembled whenever any attacknded on top of its head which was severely injured after receiving the impact from the meteor and therge gash on its underbelly, the Lightning Draconic Serpent kept on preserving without losing its concentration.
It had fuelled the magic with all of its mana and it could feel itpleting. No matter how many of these pesky orcs were there, with its most powerful magic it could wipe them all.
On another side of the battlefield, mana churned like crazy and all of it was poured inside the staff Berigard was holding. The staff was a [C] tier item that he had plundered from a team of adventurers who were foolish enough to overestimate their abilities and wondered the western region of the forest a long time ago.
It was an item that had apanied him for a long time and had gone through many battles with him. It had a core stone as big as an egg iid inside the wood.
The core stone was from a mutated monster and had dropped after it was killed. When a mutated monster dies, it leaves behind a special crystal that adventurers like to call core stone. A core stone contains all of the power of the beast it was harvested from and are used as a catalyst to create powerful staffs.
Naturally, the stronger and the more special the mutated beast was, the more exceptional the core stone inside it. The existence of the core stone that helped facilitate and circte mana was what made the staff a [C] rank.
Currently, Berigard was pouring an enormous amount of mana inside the core stone to cause an overload. When an overload urs, the staff is able to dish out a magic of much higher calibre,
However, once the overload urs, the core stone will be permanently damaged and the staff would be rendered useless.
It hurt Berigard to use such a method and lose his staff, but at this moment he had no other choice. There was already a huge gap in levels between them and his opponent was other than the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
He could never win with half-assed magic, the only way to win against an attack of that magnitude was to use an equally powerful magic. And so Berigard decided to overload his core stone and dish out the strongest of his magic.
"Amalgamation magic- [Tremor-Gale Mastery]¡ [Imprable Stone Golem]".
CRACK¡ a distinct cracking noise came from inside the staff before the entire staff shattered into tiny pieces along with the core stone.. The staff was gone; theless, it had fulfilled its use and channelled all of that mana into the surrounding.
Chapter 203: Impassable Orc Rampart
Chapter 203: Impassable Orc Rampart
Immediately, all of the rocks and boulders within the area and inside the earth, was mysteriously pulled towards a single point. Boom¡boom¡boom all of the rocks present within the area whether it had fallen off from the meteor or was already present there, merged together to be a gigantic golem.
The golem was hundreds of meters big andpressed of countless stones big or small. Compared to the dozens of golems that Berigard had created before, this one was entirely made of rocks and was many times stronger and sturdier.
The Amalgamation magic [Impentrable Stone Golem] was a result of achieving harmony between the two intermediate attributes of elements. The Golem created was not only powerful but thanks to the gale magic added onto the mix, it could manoeuvre with speed beyond that of a normal golem.
You would expect a golem hundreds of meters big and entirely made of stones to be immensely slow. But that was not the case for the [Imprable Stone Golem], the gale magic applied to each and rock on its body made its body much lighter and along with the sturdiness of the stone, the golem was a force to reckon with.
BANG¡ arge imprint a few dozen feet wide, appeared on the ground. Thend trembled whenever the golem took a step and on the order of Berigard, the yellowish light shing on its hollow eyes fixed their gaze on the Lightning Draconic Serpent who was on the verge ofpleting its magic.
RUMBLE ¡ the clouds churned and booming noise continuously rang out. DRIP¡ DRIP droplets of rain started to fall and before long it erupted into a heavy outburst.
A bad premonition struck him and a destructive aura spread everywhere. Berigard immediatelymanded his golem to charge towards the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
The ground cracked whenever the gigantic golem took a step and a wide imprint would be left in its wake. Bringing along a ramming speed of a mountain, the [Imprable Stone Golem] ran towards the Lightning draconic Serpent and brought its fist down.
The fist that could have guaranteed the Diluvian High orcs the victory, came sweeping over when suddenly the whole cloud lit up and an enormous column of lightning came down on the golem destroying one of its hands in the process.
BOOM¡
It was at this moment that the Lightning Draconic Serpent stopped discharging lightning out of its body and red menacingly at the orcs surrounding it. Itsrge draconic eyes which were masked with madness, turned crimson red at this moment and a puddle of blood had umted under its body.
Under the orders of the orc general, the Diluvian High Orcs used all of their strength to continuously aim at its wounds in an attempt to disturb its magic. The amount of pain it had suffered during those few moments was something it had never experienced in its entire life.
"This one shall make you pay for your transgressions with your lives. [Weather Maniption], [Lightning Magic Mastery], [Water Magic Mastery]- [Lightning Rain]" with a loathing tone, the Lightning Draconic Serpent addressed its enemies and roared out loud.
The thick dark clouds looming over the sky reverberated with a booming noise and thousands of small and big lightning columns that looked like small serpents swam across the clouds.
A terrifying silence descended onto the forest before everything brightened out in an instant.
"Not good" Berigard made an ugly face when he realised how ridiculously powerful the attack conjured by their Lightning Draconic Serpent was. The attack had surpassed even his wildest estimation and if nothing is done, all their lives would be forsaken.
Although he had a pained expression when he did that, Berigard quickly tore off one of the essories from his ne and grabbed it in his hands.
The thing he tore off was an objectpletely white in colour and had an unusual shape. Looking carefully, it seemed to be the bone of some entity.
At first nce, it appeared extremely ordinary but when Berigard inserted some of his mana into it, it was as if the thing had suddenly be alive and an abrupt amount of mana started pouring out of it.
Unlike the natural colourless mystical energy, the mana that was pouring out of the bone was a slight shade of red and appeared to be extremely violent and berserk.
Quickly, all of that energy rushed into Berigard through all of his pores and after a few moments, his thin body became incredibly robust. Veins bulged all over his body and he couldn''t help scream out in pain. The energy that was inside him was running rampant trying to destroy him from within.
"Calm down Berigel¡ this is not the time to act out now. I promise we shall have our revenge sooner orter. Right now I desperately need your help¡ I need your powers to ovee this hurdle in front of me¡ please aide me Berigel" Grounding his teeth, Berigard seemed to bemunicating with the bone in his hand.
Mysteriously, the bone seemed to respond to his call and immediately stopped its violent rampage.
RUMBLEEEE¡ a deafening sound so loud that it could be heard clearly from dozens of miles, rang out. Thousands of small and big lightning columns that appeared like serpents struck down on the forest like a rain of lightning, ravishing and destroying all the lives present in it.
"Die" The lightning draconic Serpent roared and marvelled at the might of its attack.
BOOM¡ BOOOM¡ wherever the serpents struck, the ce would be immediately burned and scorched to the ground. The power behind each of these columns were so packed and dense that they immediately created small craters wherever theynded.
One did not even need to question what would happen if these serpents of death rained down on the bodies of the orcs. Regardless of how tough or what their levels were, their bodies were immediately turned into ash before they could even utter a sound.
The numbers of the diluvian high orcs which were around 50, was immediately cut down to around 20 in an instant and their numbers were continuously being reduced before merely a ten of them remained.
These ten orcsprised of the two orcmanders and those that were fortunate enough to be in the backlines. It had only been a few hours since they engaged with their enemy but their numbers were already cut down so much that they could no longer be counted as an army.
"Hehehe, Die..Die..Die" the lightning Draconic Serpent hissed as it enjoyed the feeling of sniffing its enemy out of its life. Its crimson eyes that was masked with madness finally fixed their gaze upon Berigard and the ones near him.
RUMBLE¡ dozens of lightning serpents rained on the spots where the remaining orcs were trying to sniff thest of the remains when Berigard who was holding the white bone cried out bloody loud.
"[Impassable Orc Rampart]" like a tidal wave, thick crimson energy erupted out Berigard and soon coagted together into be a huge rampart dozens of meters big thatpletely covered the area where the remaining orcs were.
The rampart formed waspletely crimson in colour and if viewed from afar, resembled a huge Diluvian Orc with only a single fang protruding from its mouth.
The rampart was extremely animate and stood there like a protective umbre storming all the lightning serpent that came striking down at them.
Thunderous noises and bright shes of lightning continued to rain down on the [Impassbale Orc Rampart]. However, was able to even make a single crack or dint on it.
ROOARRR¡ Seeing that its most powerful attack was not having any effects on the thing that the puny orcs had created in theirst-ditch effort, it concentrated all of the lighting serpents on the cloud and rained them all on the rampart in an attempt to break it.
RUMBLEEE¡ CRICK some visible cracks appeared on the rampart but other than that there was no other visible changes.
As the lightning struck, the dark clouds hovering over the sky gradually died down and after half a minute of raining lightning, theypletely died down. The rampart even after enduring all those attacks, appeared to be a little faded but was still holding strong.
Needless to say, the orcs underneath it werepletely unharmed and not even a breeze from the attack earlier could touch their body.
Berigard''s body slowlynded on the ground and he immediately coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood. His breathing was ragged and his body looked extremely frail, nevertheless, the light in his eyes was yet to die and was burning like a zing me.
At this moment, he extended one of his hands and the [Impassable Rock Golem] that had been stationary all this while, swung its other remaining fist towards the Lightning Draconic Serpent fiercely.
The Lightning Draconic Serpent just stood there and looked on in amazement at the orcs who had survived his strongest attack. It waspletely baffled after thest attack and hence did not have enough strength to dodge the iing fist of the golem.
BANG¡ with a loud sound of bones being crushed, the Lightning Draconic Serpent was squarely hit on the mouth and was sent flying far towards the distance.
CRASH¡
Simon widened his eyes when he saw the huge body of the lightning draconic Serpent came flying in his direction and only came to a stop after mowing down hundreds of trees.
His eyes hurriedly moved over to its body which was twitching and trembling in an attempt to get back up; theless, it failed every time as the wounds in its body was just too much.
Chapter 204: Ancient Draconic Compel
Chapter 204: Ancient Draconic Compel
Seeing the battered and beaten appearance of the Lightning draconic Serpent, Simon panicked and his brain immediately went into overdrive trying to think of some ways to salvage the situation.
If the Lightning draconic serpent was beaten here, it would be subdued by the orc general which means that he wouldn''t be able to keep his words with Aldebaran. He had to subdue the three overlords of the north and bring them under his rule within a year. If even one of them was missing, it wouldn''t be seen as him keeping his words.
All this while he had been thinking that he wouldn''t even have to step into this battle since he believed that the orcs were no match for the Lightning draconic Serpent. However, surpassing his expectations, the orc army, especially the orc general was able to overwhelm the overlord of the north and bring it down.
"This is bad, the Lightning draconic serpent looks like it is already weakened to the point that it can''t get back up. I have no choice but to get involved¡" Simon made a serious expression and hid his presence even further so that he could act at a moment''s notice.
"Hmm¡ are you by chance thinking of getting involved in all of that? Hmph, you are overestimating your abilities. Forget about that orc that brought down that serpent, you won''t even be able to handle those two orcs by his side. Not to mention there are eight more of those orcs simr to your level".
The voice of the mysterious woman sounded out once again.
It was also at this moment that Simon realised that she was still here and the orcs weren''t thest of his troubles. The situation had gotten so out of hand on the battlefield that he hadpletely forgotten about her presence.
He did not turn around to face her and continued to look towards the ce where the Lightning draconic serpent had fallen.
Even without the need of her telling him, Simon was already aware of the limits of his powers and there was no way he would overestimate himself. He was only taking action because the situation was dire enough to force him to do so.
Otherwise, he had no interest in meddling with the battle between two entities hundreds of levels higher than him.
"Hohh~ it seems that I am right. It is so easy to read your thoughts. Well it''s not like you are trying to hide it in the first ce. It is your wish if you want to stick your nose where it doesn''t belong. Even if you go out there it''s not like you can aplish anything" the mysterious woman snickered seeing his plight.
Finding her a little annoying, Simon couldn''t help but bark out loud "Shut up".
The mysterious woman immediately red up at hisment "Wha¡?? Why you little. You dare humiliate me¡ do you think that I''m as weak as those ants ying over there? Hmph¡ ah! what a waste. Here I was just thinking of telling you a way to turn the situation in your favour. Sigh~ But it seems that you don''t need it".
The woman folded her hand and said exaggeratedly. Her tone was condescending and looked down on all of them. Well given her power, she might have the right to do so.
Simon did not like it when someone who was not being helpful, acted so high and mighty.
"You don''t even know me¡ why would you even go out of your way to help a stranger. If you believe that I would beg you to help me, then fat chance".
"Hohh~ are you telling me that you have thought of a n other than to jump out and sneak attack your enemy to create a chance for that serpent to get away?" narrowing her eyes, the woman asked with a smile.
Simon''s face reddened a little when his thoughts were being read so easily.
Indeed he was nning to use all of his skill and powers at once to attack the orcs and create a chance for the Lightning Draconic Serpent to get away.
Blinking her eyes in surprise when she saw Simon being so serious, she couldn''t help but sigh out in exasperation.
"Let me tell you¡ your barbaric n has a 98% chance of failing. Even if you are sessful in diverting the attention of those orcs towards you, did you think that Serpent would flee using the chance that you created?"
"Do you even know what kind of existence the Lightning Draconic Serpent is? Even if it''s just a Serpent iming to be a dragon, it still possesses the bloodline of a dragon no matter how slight. There is no way a being like that would fall so low as to run away from the battle. It would rather choose to die than submit or run".
Although Simon found her haughty attitude that looked down on everything annoying, he had to admit that she was right. There was no guarantee that he would aplish something if he just jumped there at this point.
While he was wrecking his brain trying to think something out, a furtive smile appeared on the mysterious woman''s face before quickly disappearing.
"I know of a way that can help you out of this situation. Hehe, but I''m only willing to help if you apologise to me for what you did to me earlier" Making her intentions clear, the woman puffed her chest that was already threateningly big.
His eyebrows continuously twitching, Simon did his best to not get swept by her pace and impassively said "Forget about it. I''m not going to apologise, in the first ce it was your fault for sneaking up to me. Even without your help I can think something out".
Fat chance If she thought that she could manipte him by the nose. There was no way he was going to believe her who had suspicious intentions.
"Hmph, quite the prideful fellow aren''t you? But there is no way you can achieve your objective without my help. It is inly written in your face that you want to be the one who subjugates that serpent. Forget about what I said earlier¡ Just this once, I''m willing to help you"
The woman offered while still maintaining her distance because of that repugnant smelling off of Simon.
Narrowing his eyes, Simon observed the woman. He must say that the woman truly had a fiery body with well-defined curves and a face so beautiful that it wouldn''t lose out to the woman named Zelda he had met back during the Walpurgis.
Seeing the demon intensely scanning her body, she instinctively covered her chest with her hands. "Hey where are you looking at?" a dangerous light shed in her peach coloured eyes.
Tearing his eyes away from those desirable curves that could generate intense emotions from men, Simon asked "Why have you suddenly changed your mind? Didn''t you just say that you won''t help until I apologise? What are you nning?".
With a haughty tone that was inborn to her, she looked at Simon and stated "Hmph¡ you are so weak that I don''t need to scheme anything to snip your life out, all it will take is just a snap. The only reason I''m helping you is because I don''t like the way these orcs are ganging up on that lone serpent".
"Although it was more powerful than them, it couldn''t help but sumb to their numbers at the end. I hate it when someone uses their numbers to oppress others. You can rejoice! With my help, you can easily aplish your objective. Well, my assistance will just be a teeny tiny bit so whether you can aplish what you have in your mind or not depends on you".
Simon thought over his options and decided that he couldn''t dilly dally any more. In the end, he couldn''te up with any better n and had to take the woman up on her offer.
"Alright, I agree to you helping me. However, do remember that if you double-cross me and if I don''t die here, I''ll definitely make you regret this".
The woman scoffed and breezed through his warnings as a passing joke.
"So what is that n of yours that you are so confident of?" Simon asked looking at the distant orc general who was taking his time and trying to recover some of his stamina and mana.
"Hehe, it''s simple. Run towards that serpent and tell it to subdue to you" the woman said smiling beautifully.
Simon blinked his eyes a couple of times before asking in a dead-serious tone "Are you messing with me? The Lightning Draconic serpent denied so vehemently to be subdued by others. How on earth am I going to convince it otherwise?".
The woman smiled mysteriously and her tangerine coloured eyes suddenly lit up with a peculiar light "You can go and try it, leave everything else to me".
Simon did not know why he had chosen to believe this woman; theless, he still did what he was told and sneakily approached the Lightning Draconic Serpent while hiding his presence to their limits.
The previous prestigious body of the Lightning Draconic Serpent which was covered in magnificent scales and gave off a powerful aura, was now battered to the point where every scales in its body was broken and wounds littered every corner of its skin.
It no longer looked like the overlord that reigned supreme in these parts of the forest. Arge pool of blood that seeped out of its bodyy underneath it and stained the ground red.
Simon silently approached it¡ twenty meters.. fifteen meters¡ ten meters.
Chapter 205: Ancient Draconic Compel (2)
Chapter 205: Ancient Draconic Compel (2)
Simon silently approached it¡ twenty meters.. fifteen meters.. ten meters.
Just when he was about to reach five meters near it, the Lightning Draconic Serpent detected his presence and tried to move its tail in an attempt to squash him. However, it was already too weak and drained to even do such a basic movement.
Hissing menacingly, lightning¡ no weak sparks arced its body as it tried to scare off the unknown enemy that just approached him from behind.
"Rx, I''m not here to hurt you?" Realising that the Lightning Draconic Serpent was on guard against him, Simon spoke out.
"Snort, did you think your presence went unnoticed by this one? You were observing the battle from the start trying to be the fisherman who reaps all the benefits at the end. Your intentions were already clear since the moment you came here. If you want to kill me then do it, I won''t bow my head in subservience to anyone" the Lightning Draconic Serpent said staring at him with its wide Draconic eyes.
Simon frowned his brow and looked at the distant orc general and hismanders who wereing over here right now.
"Your n did not work what now?" He asked looking at the empty space a few meters behind him.
"What are you bbering demon¡ Wha-.. how did she? N-N-No w-who are you?" Just when the lightning Draconic Serpent thought that there was no one else in the vicinity, out of a sudden it felt an aura appear near him andpletely freaked out when it felt the person''s presence.
The moment the mysterious woman appeared, the Lightning draconic serpent started acting weird and its serpentine body which refused to bend down even after being wounded all over, bent to their limits until it hit the ground.
Its body was trembling and its wide draconic eyes violently contracted.
What was going on? Why did the Lightning Draconic serpent, one of the three overlords of the north and the one possessing a dragon bloodline suddenly be so docile and cowered? The only reason Simon could think off was this mysterious woman who definitely had done something to it.
"What did you do?" he asked.
"Nothing¡ hmm, if I have to say the reason, then it might be because of my presence" the woman stated looking down at the frightened and terrified Lightning Draconic Serpent.
''Presence! What presence?'' Simon thought, the woman was so good at erasing her presence that it was next to nil. There was no way he was going to believe that the woman did nothing.
"Well you should hurry up, that orc ising over here right now. And judging from the way he is hurrying over, it had definitely sensed you" the woman said teasingly as she savoured Simon''s troubled reaction.
Ignoring the antics of the woman, he asked "What do I do next? How do I make it subservient to me?".
Extending her milky white hands, shapely and perfect, she lifted a droplet of its blood without even touching it and pulled it towards her. Just when the droplet was a few inches away from her, it stopped.
At moment an unusual phenomenon urred, Simon blinked his eyes a few times, for a second there he saw the air around the woman vibrate ever so slightly. No, it was not just the air but the very space as if it was a thin transparent film, quivered slightly.
The changes were so minuscule that he would have missed it entirely if not for him paying enough attention to the action of the mysterious woman so as to not get deceived by her. Unbeknownst to him, tiny runic letters that was not visible to the naked eye, entered the blood and formed a strange array.
After what took her a second or two, her extended hand next pointed towards him and the droplet of blood came to rest near him.
Looking at the droplet suspended in front of him, Simon made a confounded face and asked "What should I do with this droplet of blood?".
She is not telling me to drink it is she? He thought as he inspected the blood for any peculiarities.
Hearing his question, the woman was the one who had a surprised expression. Blinking her eyes, she observed Simon with a peculiar look that seemed to say she was looking at an idiot.
"You don''t even know that?".
"Well excuse me for not knowing something so obvious. Now care to exin what should I do with this droplet of blood before that orc generales seeking my blood?" although that remark irritated him for some reason, he let that slide.
He was a demon born from the mana of this world with an impure bloodline and because of that the memories of the world that he had inherited, was also iplete.
As if it was not obvious, the woman had to say it loud "I see so you are a demon noble born from the ample mana of this world. Well, it makes sense now¡ you just have to make a slight cut on your thumb and allow your blood to assimte with that droplet of blood".
To be honest, it was natural for Simon to be doubting those words. You have to be aplete idiot to believe every word of a stranger whose intentions were unknown.
However, since he was running out of time, he cut open a small wound on his thumb and allowed the blood to seep out of it. Next, he extended his thumb and the droplet of blood quickly assimted with his own.
The moment the droplet of blood from the Lightning Draconic Serpent assimted with his own, a strange phenomenon urred. It was just like the time when he was reincarnated into this world.
New sets of information that felt like memories came pouring inside his head. But unlike the previous time, he had to go through a massive headache, this time the pain wasn''t that worse and easily endurable.
"What a powerful technique to be able to subdue a monster of this level. [Ancient Draconic Compel], a technique that can bind any monster that has a dragon lineage or bloodline within it to the user. So this was the method you were talking about. Did you create this technique?" marvelling at the absurdity of this technique that flowed in his mind, Simon asked.
The woman vaguely smiled neither denying nor agreeing with his words.
Anyways it did not matter to him where the technique came from, with this he would be able to subdue the Lightning Draconic Serpent who had the dragon bloodline.
Simon expanded his consciousness on feeling the Ancient Draconic Compel technique more strongly that inadvertently created a gateway between the lightning Draconic serpent and him using the droplet of his blood.
The gateway that was created by the technique, bound the Lightning Draconic Serpent to him in a master-servant rtionship.
The technique once formed allowed him a certain amount of control over it and made it unable to hurt him in return. That was not all, with this technique he would be able to influence the mind of the Lightning Draconic Serpent slowly and make it absolutely loyal to him.
The worth of this [Ancient Draconic Compel] technique that the woman had casually tossed out, could not be even measured.
"Wha-What did you do to me?" the Lightning Draconic Serpent red at Simon and roared furiously. It could clearly feel some form ofwork being formed inside its core stone that connected it with the demon in front of him.
To make matter worse, no matter how it tried to destroy or remove thatwork, the blood in his body would start churning and make it absolutely impossible for it to do anything.
The [Ancient Draconic Compel] was a powerful technique that once established is impossible to remove unless the master wishes it so himself.
Just when the Lightning Draconic Serpent realised that it was unable to remove thework created on his core stone and was about to flip out in anger, a flood of mana came rushing out of thework and poured into its exhausted and tired self.
Simon roared out in anguish when he felt the mana inside him was being rapidly depleted soon after thework between them was formed.
"Y-you¡ you were nning this?" Simon realised that at this rate his mana pool would soon be emptied, he ground his teeth, looked at the woman and asked.
Arching her crescent brows at the random usation, the mysterious woman said while snorting "Hmph so rude. I did not do anything, you are experiencing mana depletion because the technique had sessfully worked. Your mana is being poured inside the body of the Lightning Draconic Serpent; if you want to make it stop justmand it. But I advise you to pour all of your mana into that serpent, that way you would have a better chance to survive".
"What?" he wanted to ask what she meant by that but before he could even open his mouth, the woman which had appeared as mysteriously as she did, was already gone.
"Who is there?" before he could ponder over her words, one of the orcs that was marching towards here, felt the presence of Simon and roared out loudly.
"Sniff¡ Sniff.. this smell!" Bellock who was walking along with Berigard and Belmarch, couldn''t help butment when he smelled the odour.
"Guhaha¡ Bellock it seems you know this trespasser?" Belmarch asked when he noticed the reaction of his fellowmander.
"Sir Berigard¡ he is the trespasser that had intruded our territory a few days ago and managed to kill quite a few High Orc Soldiers" Bellock said without tearing his eyes away from the demon.
Chapter 206: Putting Up A Brave Front
Chapter 206: Putting Up A Brave Front
"So that''s how it is. I guess the presence I felt back then at the ck mountain was his after all" Berigard scanned Simon with his eyes before losing all interest. From his perspective, the Demon noble in front of him looked just like a weakling.
"Guhaha, a weakling like that managed to intrude so deep into your territory? Bellock, you must be quite the cker" Belmarchughed, he found it humorous that his fellow orcmander wasn''t even able to deal with such a weak enemy.
"Enough¡ we are not here to chit chat with that demon. It matters not what his objective behind tailing us was, I want you to quickly deal with him. We cannot allow the Lightning Draconic Serpent to recover its strength" Berigard cut the words of the orcmander off before giving his orders.
His eyes observed the condition of the Lightning Draconic Serpent and seeing that it was badly wounded and wasn''t even able to lift itself up, he sighed in relief.
However, the next second he for some reason, felt a bad foreboding wash over him. Berigard did not know why he would feel like that at this point when the enemy in front of him was already lying on the ground defeated.
Nevertheless, his prudent senses was something that was honed through many battles and he knew better than to ignore it.
"Guhaha¡ Sir Berigard allow me to clean the mess that Bellock had supposedly created due to his ignorance" Belmarch proimed loudly looking at the demon and brandishing his club.
Seeing that Berigard was not rejecting his offer, he took that as a yes before walking towards Simon.
Belmarch was a level 383 Diluvian High Orc Commander with great strength and incredible defence. His powers were so mighty that he was able to stand head and shoulders above other Diluvian High Orcs and there were only a few other orcmanders of his level who could match him in the entire High Orcs territory.
As the orcmander gradually came closer, Simon realised the difference in their strength and frowned his brows. Even if he used all of his trump cards and the Crimson zing me de, it would be a tough battle with a paper-thin margin of victory.
Simon would have chosen to stand his ground and fight if the orcmander was alone. However, that was not the case, although most of the orc army was obliterated by the Lightning draconic Serpent, ten of them still remained and out them, two were orcmanders with levels over 380.
There was no way these orcs who are ustomed to fighting in numbers and using their advantage to topple enemies higher level than them, would sit still and allow him to defeat one of theirmanders.
The battle between the Lightning Draconic Serpent and the Orc General was the proof. There was only one option avable to him in this situation¡
"Belmarch be careful. Though I doubt that Demon Viscount is higher level than you, he is definitely scheming something" Bellock reminded from the backlines.
"Guhaha, just stand there and watch, everything will be over in a jiffy. Sorry demon¡ I would have liked to take this slowly and break your confidence before killing you. But you see we are in a hurry, that beast beside you.. we cannot allow it to recover its strength anymore so I would like to take care of it fast".
Right after saying what he wanted to say, Belmarch wielded his club and rushed towards Simon with a speed that was unbelievable for a hulking fellow such as him.
Feeling the threatening charge of the orcmander, Simon chose the only option avable to him for surviving this and emptied all of his mana into the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
"Take as much of my mana as you need, Imand you to engage the enemy".
ROOAARR¡
The battered and beaten body of the Lightning Draconic Serpent at this moment lit up with a sh of brilliant lightning before rising up. It red menacingly at Simon before loudly dering "Don''t give me order".
Its voice was strong and full of vehemence; nevertheless; it still executed Simon order and flung its tail towards the onrushing Belmarch with a supersonic speed.
BANG¡ before one could even blink their eyes, a loud sound of bones crushing rang out and the body of the orcmander flew back like a cannonball and crashed into the gigantic foot of the [Imprable rock Golem], cracking it in the process.
The power and speed behind the attack of the Lightning Draconic Serpent was so terrifying that no one present here could believe that its body was badly wounded and beaten a few moments ago.
The remaining orcs looked on with wide eyes at the crippled figure of their orcmander stered on the golem. Never did they imagine that the orcmander who sounded so sure of his victory, would be put out ofmission in the next second.
The body of the orcmander twitched ever so slightly indicating that themander was still alive thanks to their innate high defence stat and the weakened state of the Lightning Draconic Serpent. if the Lightning Draconic Serpent was at its peak, he might as well not have survived it.
At this moment, Berigard was finally aware of why he was getting this foreboding feeling. The Lightning Draconic Serpent was still not defeated yet.
But how could that be? I clearly felt its aura weakening and myst attack should have dealt a great deal of damage. Something must have happened.
No, it would be right to say something had happened during the moments when he sent it flying. The sudden appearance of the demon and the Lightning Draconic Serpent obeying its order.
"That''s right it must be that demon" Berigard said as he looked at the demon hatefully.
Why wouldn''t he? Berigard had used all of his powers and had even incurred a huge casualty in terms of their numbers only to be snatched of his reward at the end. The amount of frustration he was feeling was difficult for him describe.
Cough¡ coughing out a mouthful of blood, he manipted thest strands of mana within his body and activated the [Imprable Rock Golem] once again.
BOOM¡ the huge golem took a step forward and slowly closed the gap between them.
When the rock golem cast a gigantic shadow over the ce, Lightning Draconic Serpent couldn''t help but hiss in annoyance. Before during their fight, it had prioritised the might of the magic on the controller rather than on the golem.
Hence due to that, the [Imprable Rock Golem] was most unharmed other than missing one of its arms.
Simon narrowed his eyes, he observed the movement of the rock golem and found out that it was much more slower than before. Well, it did make sense seeing that the controller was almost spent himself.
However, knowing that did not change the situation. The [Imprable Rock Golem] was still as threatening as ever.
Realising that the situation would get worse the more they waited, Simon ordered the Lightning Draconic Serpent to use all of its mana in onest attack. He, on the other hand, took out the Crimson zing me de out of the [Inventory].
A swordpletely crimson in colour, as if cutting through the space appeared on his hand. Feeling the buff in stats provided by the sword, the feeling of mana exhaustion washed over from his body.
ZZzSssTT¡ the Lightning Draconic Serpent unable to disobey the orders from Simon, opened its mouth wide and quickly spat out an attack.
This time though it wasn''t a blue streak of high voltage [Lightning breath] and instead an incredibly frosty [Ice breath].
The temperature around the surrounding quickly dropped as the [Ice breath] travelled through the air and in a few moments froze half of the [Imprable Rock Golem] and stopped it from approaching any further.
With thisst attack, the Lightning Draconic serpent hadpletely depleted the mana that Simon had poured onto it.
Cough¡ Berigard spat another mouthful of blood when his golem was frozen and his pale body trembled intensely before copsing. Right when his body was about to hit the ground, Bellock caught him and immediately ordered the rest of the orcs to create a barricade around them.
"Leave me be and go get Belmarch" the orc general ordered and forced his body to stand back up.
"But Sir Berigard the opponent is¡"
"Enough¡ go" Bellock wanted to say that the opponent was the Lightning Draconic Serpent, but Berigard had cut him mid-way and insisted on getting the unconscious body of the orcmander.
Bellock looked at the Lightning Draconic Serpent and the demon beside it who was now holding an unsusual sword that even gave him chills before hurriedly turning towards the half-frozen golem.
Belmarch was still stered onto the golem and was even suffered from being frozen from the Lightning Draconic Serpentst attack. If they left him be, there was no doubt that the orcmander would die.
Thus the orc general decided to save the orcmander first and refrained from incurring any more casualty. Berigard knew that the situation was looking worse for them, with himpletely spent and with the Lightning draconic Serpent mysteriously recovering its strength, there was no one left who could handle it.
Forget about subduing it, if they stayed here any longer, they would be the ones to disappear next.. It frustrated him extremely to see something that was almost in reach, to be suddenly snatched by someone else.
Chapter 207: Putting Up A Brave Front (2)
Chapter 207: Putting Up A Brave Front (2)
It frustrated Berigard extremely to see something that was almost in reach, to be suddenly snatched by someone else. However, he was level-headed enough to know when to press forward and when to retreat.
Never would he have guessed that the mysterious strength of the Lightning Draconic Serpent that he was talking about, was already spent and just like him, it was also running on fumes. But the absurdity of the situation was so great that Berigard did not have necessary information to know that he still had a chance.
Seeing that the orcs were making some peculiar movements, Simon prepared his body to react at any moment. He knew that the mana he had provided to the Lightning Draconic Serpent waspletely spent and with that his chances of defeating them had also gone down.
Although he knew it, his days of constantly fighting with monsters had taught him a very important lesson and that was to never show weakness in front of your enemy.
The orcs were not aware of the mysterious power that the lightning Draconic Serpent suddenly erupted out with was already spent and hence were being wary of them.
Just when Simon thought that the standstill wouldn''t continue for a while, from the corner of his eyes, he spotted the orcs bringing the unconscious body of one of the orcmanders that had been sent flying by the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
"Lightning Draconic Serpent it seems that you are shameless enough to fall so low as to takemands from a low-level demon. What happened to your previous words about not subduing to anyone? Did you not just do that to survive. Snort, It seems I was mistaken about you" Berigard spat on the ground, roared in anger and let out all of hisints.
Listening to the usation made by the orc, the Lightning Draconic Serpent hissed in irritation and felt extremely depressed internally.
It had no choice in all of this, before it could evenprehend what had transpired, the mysterious woman appeared and did something that made him submissive towards this demon. The Lightning Draconic Serpent had a belly full of frustration to say no less.
Simon narrowed his eyes and channelled the pitiful amount of mana he had remaining, ready to take any action necessary. However, to his surprise, the orc general after ring at him and the Lightning draconic Serpent, took out another mysterious bone from his ne and started spouting some peculiar words.
"S?????????????????p?????????????a????????c???????e??? ???????r????????????????e????????v????????????????e??????????????r????????????s???????????????e??????? ?????????????????l??????o????????????c?????????????a?????????t????????????????i???????????o????????????n??????? ???????????t???????????????????r???????????????a??????????????????n????????????s???????????????m????????i????????????????t?????????? "
Right after those iprehensible words sounded out, mysterious runes and markings started appearing around the surrounding air and quickly formed a circle around Berigard and the remaining high orcs.
The markings looked profound and ancient to the extreme and before anybody could even twitch their body, the space as if a whirlpool suddenly contorted before all of the orcs encircled in disappeared.
All it took for the peculiar phenomenon to ur was a second or two and all of the Diluvian High Orcs disappeared from the battlefield just like that.
Simon who was still in a battle-ready mode, blinked his eyes a few times and looked around the surrounding trying to find if there was any deception that his eyes couldn''t see. But to his surprise, he found out that the orcs were truly gone and not even the slightest of their presence remained.
Although he was still confounded by what just happened, for the time being he sighed in relief.
"Tch¡ this one knew it. That bastard knew Space Magic, that''s how he was able to dodge my attack thest time" The Lightning Draconic Serpent essed the situation before its towering body mmed onto the ground from exhaustion.
Hearing his words, Simon finally understood what had happened. That peculiar words and that distortion in space, he should have guessed, those were other the incantation for the activation of Space Magic, one of the four rare attributes of mana.
This was Simon''s second timeing in contact with space magic, the first time being the portal formed during the Walpurgis.
"The space magic is truly something¡ to allow such instantaneous movements, isn''t it like having another lifesaving card on your hand?" he said marvelling at the powers of Space magic.
"You there demon¡ what have you done to me? What was that technique that you used? What is your rtionship with that woman?" The eyes of the Lightning Draconic Serpent looked extremely depressed as it thought about the peculiarities rting to its body.
Simon thought over his words before addressing it. "Lightning Draconic Serpent, I know that you feel depressed and unresigned at the events that had urred. But I wouldn''t have likely used this technique if the situation didn''t force me to. The technique I used is called the [Ancient Draconic Compel] that allows me to form a master and servant bond with any entity that has a dragon bloodline. Honestly, even I''m surprised by how profound the technique is"
Simon said recalling the information he had received about the technique.
"As for who that woman was¡ even I do not know. She appeared and disappeared just like a mystery. I can''t even see through her motive behind imparting me such a valuable technique" He replied honestly.
Well, it was also true that other than this he did not have any other answer. The woman was an enigma through and through.
Listening to the name of the technique and his answer, the Lightning Draconic Serpent squinted his eyes in contemtion.
"What was your motive behind all this? Even if you have made me subservient towards you demon, I''ll never recognise you as my master. You have clearly used this opportunity and underhanded means to subjugate me¡ a person like that, I''ll never recognise them as my master" the Lightning Draconic Serpent cursed, its eyes were extremely resolute and vehement.
Simon sighed, he knew that the Lightning draconic serpent would not recognise him as its master. The [Ancient Draconic Compel] allowed him to influence its mind but that was over a long period of time, there was no way he could make it loyal to him instantly.
"Although its quite early and I must say that fate had also yed a major part in it, but I''m nning to bring all of the three overlords of the north under my rule within a year or atmost two" Simon matched the gaze of the Lightning draconic Serpent and made his intentions clear.
The moment he heard Simon''s boastful words, the Lightning Draconic Serpent couldn''t help butugh out loud.
"You a low-level demon is going to subjugate all three of us within the timeframe of a year? Snap out of your dream demon. Though I do not know how you are managing to block my attempts of Analysis, but given your weak level and aura, you are most probably not a high-rank demon. Hahaha, I bet your bloodline is also impure. Did you really think it would be so easy to subdue all of us? Not to mention the other two, if I was not taken advantage of by using such an underhanded technique, I would snap your head off myself".
Simon had expected this kind of reaction the moment he told his ns to Lightning draconic Serpent. He did not get angry nor was he fazed by it, he was already aware of how ridiculous the trails set by Aldebaran was.
And honestly even he would have thought it impossible if not for the [Main Menu] and Irene who was there to guide him. Her powers and knowledge were beyond what her level indicated.
There was no need for him to fall for the Lightning Draconic Serpents taunts nor tell him about the existence of the [Main Menu].
With an impassive tone, Simon addressed the Lightning draconic Serpent "No matter if you believe me or not, at the end of the day you have been subjugated by me".
The Lightning draconic Serpents eyes twitched when he heard those words, there was no way he could refute that as it was the truth.
"The n to subdue one of the overlords of the north was aplished a little sooner than expected. Call it an underhanded technique or whatnot, you should ept the fact that you had lost. Even if I did not subdue you, that orc general would have done it. Your fate was already sealed the moment you lost in that exchange".
ROAARRR¡
Simon''s remarks incited a violent reaction from the Lightning Draconic Serpent "You dare mock this one demon?".
The [Ancient Draconic Compel] disyed its effect and quickly suppressed the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
"I''d be a fool if I cancelled the technique that is binding you to me. Luck is also a part of a person''s strength wouldn''t you say?" Simon''s crimson eyes stared directly at its huge draconic eyes without backing away.
"While it is also true that in my current state I do not have what it takes to order you around. So for now, you are free to do whatever you want, you can keep being the overlord of this part of the forest. Other than when it is absolutely necessary, I would refrain from using the [Ancient Draconic Compel] technique on you".
He saidforting the depressed looking Lightning Draconic Serpent a little. While at the same time, he said those words so that he does not end up relying too much on its power.
Simon did not want to rely on the strength of the Lightning Draconic Serpent to ovee all of the obstacles that came his way and that was why it was necessary for him not to abuse this technique.
Chapter 208: Trees Of Mana Crystals
Chapter 208: Trees Of Mana Crystals
A part of him also wanted to bring the Lightning Draconic Serpent inside his dungeon, but its size which was so huge, wouldn''t fit through the front gate and even if he modified it, the adventurers above the ground would freak out and start attacking it.
He also cannot use the teleport function since the dungeon did not recognise it and unless he learns the space magic in the future, he couldn''t bring it inside his dungeon.
Saying what he needed to say, Simon turned around and was about to leave the scene when the Lightning Draconic Serpent suddenly stopped him.
"Wait¡ Tell me your name demon?" It asked looking at the demon who was now also its master.
Turning his head slightly, the demon replied "It''s Simon."
"Simon is it¡ very well, I hope you keep your words. I will look forward to see if you can subjugate the other two with your own strength as you said" the Lightning Draconic serpent said relieved after knowing that it wouldn''t have to live a life of submission under someone.
Nodding his head, Simon left a few parting words before swiftly flying off.
"You better find a secure ce for your wounded body to recover or else you will have your te full trying to fend off the monsters trying to hunt you down".
¡ª¨C
High up in the sky above the stratosphere, a woman with absolutely beautiful features appeared out of nowhere. Her clothes were exquisite and her well-rounded curves that had developed pleasantly, made her extremely tantalising.
Releasing a subliminal allure, the woman was other than the one that had met Simon a while ago. At this moment, her tangerine eyes were intently observing the back of the demon.
"Hohh~ so he chose to rely on his own strength rather than to depend on the power of his servant. He is quite the amusing low-rank demon I have met. Hehe~, still the punishment for messing with me must be handed out. By the time he realises it, it will be toote".
Her glossy pink lips parted to make a dangerous yet charming smile. Right after she put her words, she extended her index finger and her well-maintained nails gently drew an arc across the space.
Instantly, a huge gash appeared in the air and a different scenery could be seen on the other side. Gently stepping inside the tear in space, the woman disappeared from the ce leaving not even her presence or aura behind.
Simon did not directly return to his dungeon and instead huntedrge numbers of monsters using the [Mental Map] skill of his.
The main objective for himing out of his dungeon was to level up. Though he got caught up in the schemes of the orc general, now that he was free Simon decided to increase his level a few times before heading back.
He was now level 320 and even after huntingrge groups of monsters in the northern part of the forest for a whole day, his level only went up by one. This itself showed that how hard it was to achieve each level ups after level 300.
It wasn''t like the monsters he was hunting were weak, Evil Helix Bats were each level 180 and are one of the strongest colonies of monsters living inside the northern region of the forest.
At his level, if he doesn''t at least defeat monsters above level 250, he wouldn''t see much progress in his level.
Simon couldn''t go back to the high orc territory to hunt down some orcs since they were now aware of his existence not to mention he had even foiled the ns of one of their orc generals.
The moment he intrudes on their territory, their position would be switched and he would be the one being hunted. He did not know what kind of ns the orc general Berigard woulde up with next, hence he had to always be on guard.
Leaving the territories of the High orcs and the Seven Kings, there were only a few other areas within the western region of the forest where he could delve in. However, those territories were very far from where he was now and difficult to traverse.
Giving up on going there for the time being, Simon quickly took out any monsters colony that was marked on his [Mental map] as he made his way back to his dungeon.
On his way, he found a smallke and quickly dived inside to get rid of all the filth and mirth that was on his clothes. He did not want to return back with the disgusting smell stilling off of him.
The tortoise-like monsters called the tortacoasta living inside theke did try to attack him but their levels were only around 120-150 and so he quickly took care of them.
Arriving near the vicinity of his dungeon, he hid his presence using the skill [Hide Presence] and observed the groups and camps made by the adventurers around the spiral tower.
He had to say that the tower had be quite the splendidndmark for the adventurers to gather near. Loads of carts pulled by monsters that looked like rhinos with five horns were filled with Silver crystals and corpses of monsters harvested by the adventurers delving inside the dungeon.
They would beter sold onto the cities and would be the source of ie for these adventurers.
Not only them, but crowds of small and big merchants have also set up their shops looking to buy the stuffs the adventurers would bring from inside. At this moment, they seem to havepletely forgotten that they were inside the eastern region of the Ghastly Winding Forest where monster roams.
Although the aura emitted by the dungeon served a huge part, it was also true that the adventurers were capable enough to dispose of any weak monsters that were unintelligent enough to linger near.
Seeing the progress made by his dungeon with his own eyes, Simon couldn''t help but feel pleased.
¡ª¨C
Inside the dungeon Lace, near the altered pond of Serenity on the main floor.
Cecilia wore an anxious face as she walked around the ce. "There is no need to worry it wasn''t your fault. On the contrary, I believe he would be quite pleased to see all of these changes taking ce" Irene who was seating on top of arge rock, smiled beautifully tofort the Little girl pacing back and forth.
"But¡ but elder sister Irene.. those trees were nted by big brother himself. He might be sad or angry to see them suddenly change like this" Cecilia said as her eyes glossed over with tears.
Finding the needless worry of the little girl funny, Irene sighed and rustled her emerald green hair.
"Why don''t you ask your big brother himself whether he is mad or not after seeing the changes".
"Wha¡" Right when Cecilia was about to say something, Simon suddenly teleported near the pond.
"As I thought you people were here after all" Simon smiled when he found the two of them.
Irene observed him for a moment before immediately taking her eyes away while Cecilia constantly looked down, trying to avoid his gaze.
"Did anything happen while I was gone?" he asked as he too found a rock to sit on.
"Nothing in particr. Other than the adventurers being able to breach the 12th floor, nothing important happened that needs your immediate attention" Irene said after musing over.
"I see¡ so why does my little sister looks so downtrodden to not even greet her big brother like usual?" Simon asked teasing Cecilia a little.
Cecilia grumbled and fidgeted around trying to find her confidence.
Seeing her be so docile in front of him, Irene couldn''t help but speak out "Why don''t you look around yourself, see if you can spot any difference".
Being said something like that, Simon became curious as to what changes Irene was referring when his eyes immediately went towards the Trees of mana that he had nted around the pond of serenity.
It would be right to say former trees of mana since the trees in front of him looked nothing like the sorts.
The trees in front of him were as huge as he was used to seeing them but rather than having leaves and branches, the trees werepletely decorated in crystals and looked just like a crystal tree.
The trees of mana that he had nted near the pond of serenity to increase the density of mystical energy within his dungeon and whose growth even astonished him, had be something else.
What was going on? In his memory that he inherited, there was no mention of Trees of mana bing something like that.
If it wasn''t a natural change, then it could only mean that it was altered by someone. Simon did not have to guess as to know who could bring about such a change.
"I''m s-sorry big brother¡ I did not know that the trees would be like that" Cecilia said looking like she was about to cry any moment.
Simon observed the transformed trees for a while before using Analysis to better understand them.
The result he got was as such:- Tree of Mana Crystals (Saplings). An extremely beautiful tree born from the exceptionally rich mystical source and contains an enormous amount of mana. Their branches are made up of crystals and only grow in ces with a very high density of mana.
The tree if soaked continuously in the energy of the mystical veins, would be able to produce Mana crystals of varying grade.. The older the tree, the better the grade of the mana crystals it can produce.
Chapter 209: Trees Of Mana Crystals (2)
Chapter 209: Trees Of Mana Crystals (2)
Mana Crystals Grade [1] Tier [C]:- a crystal condensed with the purest energy of the mystical veins for a long period of time. When absorbed, it can generate an extreme amount of mystical energy and can help one quickly increase their level.
Simon was amazed the moment he read the description of the Trees of mana crystals and the crystals they produce. At a nce, he could see hundreds of mana crystals hanging on the branches of twenty or so trees.
Ignoring the incredible uses these trees have, they were so beautiful and the light they released were extremely pleasing to look at. Just like a tree made out of diamonds.
Simon was gobsmacked at the scene thaty in front of him. What did Cecilia do to trigger such a splendid change? Each of these trees were just any ordinary trees of mana that any [D] rank dungeon could purchase from the shop.
But now thanks to Cecilia, they have undergone a marvellous change to be incredibly precious Trees of Mana Crystals.
He immediately opened the [Shop] and browsed through the item before finding the option of Trees of mana crystals (saplings) being listed for 15,000,000 DP there.
ording to the [Shop], he could only purchase them after his dungeon reaches the rank [B]. Not to mention purchasing each of these took a fortune. Compared to the trees of mana that were listed for 500,000 DP each, the Trees of Mana Crystals were much more valuable and precious.
The Mana Crystals they produce were also something Simon needed desperately to increase his level. Compared to the easily avable Trees of mana in the [Shop], the Trees of mana crystals were much more valuable since he couldn''t even purchase them at this point in time.
His [D] rank dungeon able to exploit the benefits of the mana crystal so early was a blessing through and through.
Simon silently approached the downtrodden figure of the little girl who seemed to be anxious about him bing mad due to the changes she had triggered.
Seeing that her big brother had a serious expression as he came near, Cecilia thought that Simon was incredibly mad for ruining his trees. However, when she felt his rough hand lovingly caress her hair, she couldn''t help but look up at his face.
At this moment, his face seemed to beam with joy as he looked at her, there was no disappointment nor any ounce of anger on his person.
Tilting her head, she asked "Are you not mad big brother?".
"Haha, what is this silly girl saying¡ why will I be mad at you? On the contrary, I feel quite grateful to you. Do you even know how much of an edge you have provided to the dungeon by transforming these trees? Truly, if anything I should be thankful to you" Simon stated dissolving the concerns of his little sister.
"Hehe¡ really?" Cecilia rubbed her nose in delight when she was being praised by her brother who she looks up to so much.
"See I told you he wouldn''t be mad" Irenemented. When she first saw these changes happening, even she was surprised somewhat. Her abilities were that heaven defying after all.
"How did you do this Cecilia?" Simon asked looking at the little girl in front of him. He wanted to know whether she was able to now control her powers to some degree.
Putting her finger on her head, she pondered intensely before replying "It was when I was sitting here at the edge of theke. All of a sudden I felt like somebody was calling me, the feeling was like they wanted to talk with me. Sensing this feeling, I approached the trees and found out that it was them who wanted to converse with me. When I started talking to them, I could clearly feel their thoughts and emotions mysteriously conveyed to me".
Simon frowned at those words ''The trees talking? It wasn''t like they were treants!'' if it was someone else saying those words, he wouldn''t have believed them. But Cecilia was different, she was the Forest Spring Royal Spirit and also a reincarnation of one of the Eight Emissaries ording to Aldebaran.
"They were trying to convey their appreciation for me and at the same time their disappointment for not being able to give anything in return. I felt their pain and prayed for their wishes to be fulfilled and disappointments to scatter when suddenly these trees started glowing with beautiful lights and before you know it they had be something like this".
Cecilia pointed trying very hard to exin everything that had happened
Simon was stunned, the reason for that was not because Cecilia could hear the voice of the trees but because her abilities were starting to manifest more and be active.
Although from her words it was hard to tell whether she had any control over her powers, one thing he notice was that all these changes urred because she wished for it.
Cecilia did not have any control over her powers theless, there was no dangers of her powers going out of control.
Simon carefully observed her and saw that she was the same little girl he had taken in as his little sister and felt relieved. Next he went near one of the Trees of mana crystal and carefully inspected all of the crystals growing in it.
ording to Analysis all of them were Grade [1] [C] rank, the lowest tier of mana crystals. There were other grades but since the Trees of Mana crystal were only in their sapling stage, Grade [1] was the best he could ask from these trees for now.
Ordinarily, if he bought these trees of mana crystal from the [Shop], he would have to grow them from seeds which would have taken months of time to grow into saplings even with the help of the altered pond of serenity.
The fact that he did not have to take that long for them to grow was a godsend. However, it wasn''t without any issues, now that the trees of mana have transformed into trees of mana crystal, he had to nt the Trees of mana from the seed once again.
Each of these trees had a different function and couldn''t rece the other.
Thinking of peculiarities, Simon wondered about the Obsidian Energy Exuder, those [A] rank constructs that had been altered from the Obsidian tes that he ced on the Forest Spring Spirit Floor.
There was also the seeds of the Trees of mana that Simon had given to Forest Spring Spirits to nt. He made a mental note to visit the floor and observe any changes that had urred in the near future.
For now, Simon paid all of his attention to the mana crystals that were in front of him. Now when he hunted monsters on the northern and outer region of the western part of the forest, the experience he got even with the buff provided by his pride fragment, was so less that it can even be considered negligible.
He needed to at least delve a little bit deeper and find strong monsters to increase the pace of his levelling. However, it was not like strong monsters were easy to hunt. Many a times, they move in group which makes them increasingly harder to deal with and the higher their level were the more sentient the monster.
Hunting strong monsters in groups was incredibly risky and more so when Simon was in their territory where it would not be surprising for him to find their numbers increasing and him slowly bing the prey instead.
The altered pond of serenity was another option that could increase his strength but the power within the pond was so profound and vast that his body wouldn''t even be able to immerse in it for a minute.
Thest time he had dived inside, he was only able to endure inside it for half a minute which made the pond a less feasible option for grinding levels.
Now though, other than the pond, there was another source which could help him increase his level, namely the mana crystals.
Bending his body, Simon picked up one of the mana crystals that had fallen onto the ground. The crystal resembled a little bit like the shape rhombus and shined with multi-coloured lights due to the condensed mystical energy within it.
The mana crystal wasn''t that big and could be easily grasped within his palm. As he was feeling the mana crystal, a peculiar sensation passed through his body before he felt a vast amount of pure and unpolluted mystical energy flow within his body through the crystals.
Simon immediately used his [Mana Lines] to circte the mystical energy throughout his body and kept on repeating the process for a whole five minutes or until he felt that the energy pouring out of the crystal had somewhat slowed down before stopping altogether.
Crack¡ the mana crystal in his hand became transparent after the mystical energy within it was absorbed and shattered into tiny fragments.
Simon licked his lips feeling a little discontent at the unexpected end of the mystical energy. It had only been a few minutes since he started absorbing the mana crystal and he had already gone through one so fast.
He felt like he was enjoying a fine meal only to be forced to stop midway, it left a bad aftertaste in his mouth.
Sighing internally, Simon inspected the changes within his body after absorbing the mana crystal and vaguely felt that his mana pool and power had increased.. The changes were so slight that the status failed to disy it theless; the changes did ur.
Chapter 210: The Third Guardian
Chapter 210: The Third Guardian
Simon understood that one mana crystal of grade [1] wasn''t enough for him to level up. He needed at least hundreds of them to even level up once.
With a nce, he could see approximately 40-50 crystals growing in each of the twenty or so trees of mana crystals. These trees were still in their sapling stage and with time and adequate mystical energy, their growth might produce more of these crystals and even some higher grades.
Not to mention there was still Cecilia whose powers was like a mystery to him and might even induce some more changes like these in the future.
"Honestly, even I''m impressed by what this girl can do at her age. These mana crystals although they are only grade [1], they are still useful to you at this stage. There are more than 900 of these mana crystals and it seems that the numbers would go up every month. With these, you can gain a few levels".
Irene stated as if reading his inner thoughts.
Earlier it was that mysterious woman and now it''s was Irene. Was his expression that easy to read? Both of these women were absolute beauties and can endlessly evoke one''s desire.
If Irene was cold and icy beauty, then the woman he had met had a childish personality that wasn''t drowned by her alluring yet noble aura. Back when he met the mysterious woman that appeared and disappeared out of nowhere, he was able to keep his thoughts in check.
However, why is that when meeting Irene, his mind starts running rampant and his thoughts turbulent?
Realising that he became absentminded for a while, Simon hurriedly dissipated all his thoughts.
"What about you and Cecilia? Are these mana crystals no use to you" he asked perplexed.
"Yes, Grade [1] crystals are of no use to me. They at least need to be grade [3] or [4] to be useful to me" Irene said looking a little lost.
"As for Cecilia, absorbing mystical energy would mean nothing. To her, the thing that she needs the most is time. With time, she would be able to unlock her powers and with that, her level would also go up".
Simon nodded and did not ask any further, to him both of them were oddities with an unbelievable amount of power that the current him couldn''tprehend.
Speaking of them, he was reminded of the emblems that his dungeon produced every month. These past few weeks he had been quite busy with his training and remodelling his dungeon for the new inhabitants that hepletely forgot to use his emblems.
By now, he had collected four emblems that were sitting quietly in his inventory. Thinking that it was time he used the [???????] function once again and learned a thing or two about his new bugged function, Simon decided to inform his two Guardians.
When he brought this issue to them, they immediately seemed interested and decided to tag along. While they have the authority to use the [Main Menu], the Summon (now [???????]) and a few other functions can only be used by the Dungeon Master and no one else.
"Isn''t that the function that was able to summon me? Of course, I''m curious" Irene exined her reasoning for tagging along.
Although what she said wasn''t false, she also wanted to know more about this function and which tier it belonged to. This suspicion was guing her from the moment Simon told her about some of the special functions of the [Main Menu].
On the other hand, Cecilia''s intention foring along was inly clear. She had nothing better to do and just wanted to see what the summoning looked like.
Since they decided to observe, Simon did not stop them.
Coming to an area that was a little distant from the white pce and the pond of serenity, he came to a stop. The reason for himing here was so that in case of any malfunction with the [???????] option, the white pce that guarded the dungeon core and those precious assets of him doesn''t get destroyed in the process.
The Main Floor was ten kilometres wide and did not have much attraction other than the white pce, pond of serenity and the area near it.
Though Cecilia and Irene did some gardening and installed mountains in some of the ces, it was still mostly empty. And the ce he was in currently was one such area.
Simon took a deep breath and brought the four emblems out from his inventory.
"So this is the emblems that big brother''s dungeon produces every month. It is quite pretty" Cecilia said while looking at the emblems.
Simon did not know what was so cute about these coin-shaped, charcoal grey emblems with a demon with golden tattoos engraved in it.
Taking a deep breath, he called forth his [Main Menu] and stared at the [???????] option. The ck spiral that looked like the eye of a ck hole of the silently rotated inside and gave him chills whenever he saw it.
Clenching the four emblems in his hands Simon said "Here we go¡". Other than hoping for a good subordinate, he was also experimenting something.
Before the merger of the two menus, three emblems were the maximum one could use at a time. However, the merger changed all of that and the result was this mess. Now given the option, Simon wanted to see if the parameters of the summon function still applied onto the [???????] option or not.
Steeling his mind on whatever the oue may be, he tossed the four emblems into back spiral inside the option.
As if gobbling it down, the ck spiral easily devoured the four emblems without any difficulty.
Slowly, the ck spiral started rotating before getting faster and faster anding to a sudden halt after some time.
Simon knew what this phenomenon meant as it wasn''t his first time seeing it. Immediately after the back spiral in the [???????] option stopped, the space in front of him started cracking as if it was made of thin ss before shatteringpletely.
What appeared was a ck spiral exactly like the one in his option but many many times bigger.
The moment the huge ck spiral appeared in front of them, Irene suddenly locked her delicate brows and stared intensely at it. The mysterious glow in her eyes were more profound than ever and it seemed like she wanted to unveil every secret there was rted to this option.
Silently, the ck spiral started rotating, the space around the main floor trembled and the lighting from the phosphorescence crystal dimmed as if being devoured by the spiral.
There was no sparks of lightning generated unlike thest time nor was there any intense disturbance all around the dungeon.
Seconds passed and minutes became hours but the ck spiral kept on rotating. There was no hint of a new entitying out of it and the atmosphere around him became deathly silent.
Simon would have doubted the summon as a failure if not for the ck spiral slowly bing smaller and smaller with every passing second.
"Big brother¡ nothing is happening. Did the option really work?" Cecilia who was a bundle of excitement up until the back spiral appeared, asked with a tired tone when there was no other movements happening for so long.
While Cecilia was bored out of her mind, Irene seemed to be caught up by something as she intensely observed the ck spiral, her eyes never left the thing.
When the ck spiral shrank to a few meters in size after some time, her brows that was locked together, suddenly twitched.
Simon observed the shrinking ck spiral with bated breath, the phenomenon that urred waspletely different than what it was during when he summoned Irene.
He could not determine whether the summoning was a sess or not since the back spiral was still there; theless, this wait was killing him.
After what felt like a long time, the spiral finally shortened to a mere few meters. There was no way any person could fit through that and it looked like the summoning was a dud, when suddenly some changes started to ur.
The light in the floor starteding back to their former brightness and there was finally some movements with the ck spiral.
[Beep-Boop-Ping] a resonant sound like that of a sonar echoed across the whole floor and the being which it came from, soon exited out of the ck spiral.
The moment it appeared every one of the onlookers was stunned as they looked on with wide eyes at the being that just appeared.
The thing¡ yes, the thing that appeared was a ball of light that looked like a wisp. It was no more than half a meter big and appeared to be full of life.
The space mended itself and the back spiral disappeared leaving behind the ball of light behind.
[Beep-Boop-Ping] it made some noise and started bing more active.
"What is that?" Cecilia tilted her head, her emerald green eyes reflected the image of the ball of light.
Simon opened and closed his mouth many a time unable to even utter a word.
It was at this moment when the two of them were having a headache trying to figure out what it was, Irene softly mumbled.
"A Null Elemental¡ how can it appear here?". Her voice was shaking and her tone was full of disbelief.
Hearing her words Simon turned towards her, pointed at the ball of light that was levitating above the ground and asked "What did you say it is?".
Chapter 211: Null Elemental
Chapter 211: Null Elemental
Hearing her words Simon turned towards her, pointed at the ball of light that was levitating above the ground and asked "What did you say it is?".
However, instead of answering him directly, she continued to stare at the ball of light and Simon who had summoned it.
"It is unbelievable to see a Null Elemental at this level of ne".
" A Null Elemental?" Simon repeated and tried to use Analysis on it. The result he got was the most bizarre thing he had seen to say no less.
As Irene had mentioned, its race was a Null Elemental but the peculiar thing about it was not just its name but also it''s level and everything.
Analysis disyed that it was unable to level and it only had a few inherent skills of unknown capabilities.
Instead of helping, the Analysis made it even more confusing. How was he supposed to know what in the world he had summoned now?
Trying his best to remain calm, Simon tried to initiate a conversation with it only to get Beep-Boop sound like that of a sonar.
In that regard, the thing in front of him was quite simr to the thing he had seen in his transcendent state back during the trial of the Ancient Titan Treant. However, he was unable tomunicate with this one.
"Quick¡ ce your hands on it before it gains full spirituality.. hurry up" Irene said in an unsusually hurried tone.
Recognizing the urgency in her voice, Simonplied with her and ced his hands on top of the wisp of light.
The moment he touched it, he felt a sensation as if it was tangible and intangible at the same. While he musing over what was the objective behind cing his hands on top of it, he suddenly felt as if the whole world around him suddenly fade and change into something else.
The scene thaty in front of him was a vast universe with an uncountable number of stars dotting it.
[Beep-Boop-Ping] the null elemental made a noise and the surrounding stars greeted it by twinkling.
The scene around him changed and now he was in front of a huge sun that was about to explode in a supernova.
The scene changed once again and now he was in front of a gigantic back hole which gave chills all over his body.
Just like that, the scenes changed many times, and Simon found himself in different ces. Theplexity and profundity of the information rushing to his brain was so much that Simon had a splitting headache that threatened to tear his brain apart.
Fortunately, before he could get overwhelmed by its immensity, he was back on his main floor.
"Gugh¡ huff..huff" Simon staggered and hastily removed his hands from the ball of light. His body was drenched in sweat and he looked just like a person who had a nightmare.
"Big brother¡ big brother are you alright? Your face looks ce, what happened? You just ced your hand on that thing and started huffing all of a sudden" Cecilia supported his staggering self and asked in concern.
Well even if she asked him that, he himself did not know what just happened and the things that he saw was beyond theprehension of his current self.
"It seems you were able to establish a link with it. How was it experiencing the world of the Null Elemental?" a sweet fragrance drifted in the air and assaulted his nose.
Feeling a soft sensation around his arm, he found Irene supporting him.
"A link?" he asked confused by her words. The thing he saw supposed to be a link with that ball of light?
[Beep-Boop-Beep] the wisp of lightmunicated with sonar like sounds.
Huh? Strangely enough, for some reason, Simon felt like it had responded to his question.
"Yes, only a person that has created a link with the Null Elemental could see its world. And judging from your expression and reaction I''m pretty sure you have experienced it" Irene exined.
Although her exnation was simple, Simon felt like he did not understand a thing much like another someone who was tilting her head and looking at Null Elemental as if it was some kind of toy.
Seeing his dumfounded expression, Irene shook her and smiled helplessly "I''m the one who should be amazed. No matter exaggerated that [Main Menu] of yours is but to be able to summon a Null Elemental. I guess it is even more special than what you give it credit for. With something as ridiculous as this menu, no wonder you were so confident".
Irene''s crystal blue eyes carefully observed the man who seemed to have be more mysterious than ever.
Having the ability to summon her, have a Forest Spring Royal Spirit as his little sister and now even bonding with a Null Elemental. All these urrences and fate working in his favour didn''t feel like coincidences anymore.
Unaware of the inner turmoil in Irene''s heart, Simon continued to stare at the Null Elemental before asking "What exactly is that thing?".
[Beep-Boop-Beep] the Null Elemental once gain made some strange noises.
Smiling a little, Irenemented, "It seems it is offended by your remark".
"Offended? That thing?" his eyes twitching, Simon asked for rification.
"Yes, although it looks like a wisp, it is an extremely sentient spiritual entity. The Null Elementals are born in the cracks between the dimension of space and time. Their body have no origin and no end which you have already experienced a while ago".
"These wisps of light called the Null Elemental, are the creation of the universe full of life force, older than time and beyond theprehension of any mortal. It is abysmally rare to even feel their presence much less actually meeting one".
Irene exined throwing out every knowledge she had of it.
After her exnation ended, Simon felt as if he was better off without asking. Everything that she had said went over him and he felt like his head hurting even more from trying to make sense of it.
"In any case, it is alive right?" He looked at Irene and asked.
With a simple nod of her head, she answered his question which made him think inwardly. ''Why couldn''t you just say that instead of talking so roundabout?''.
Although her exnation was cumbersome and difficult to understand, it raised his expectation for the Null Elemental.
"So how powerful is it?" Something that is born in the cracks between the dimension of space and time, has to be incredibly powerful right?
Hearing his question, Irene went silent for a while before replying "In terms of strength it has no power. It can neither defend nor attack and is the weakest of all creation".
The words that came out of her mouth, immediately dropped a bucket of cold water on his excitement.
It has no power? The weakest of all creation? Simon''s face twitched and he didn''t know what kind of face he was making right now.
Look here, what was with that hype and lengthy exnation about it if it was so damn weak? He was an idiot to think for a moment that he got his hands on an incredibly powerful subordinate. ofc course all of this was his internal thought.
Looking at his demoralised face and knowing what he was thinking, Irene couldn''t help but sigh in exasperation. It was better for her to show him how incredible the Null Elemental was instead of giving him some lengthy exnation.
"I did say it is the weakest of all creation but that is true only if you look at it subjectively. Right now you are unable to fathom how incredible the abilities of a Null Elemental are. However, I''m sure in the future you would understand my meaning when I say how lucky you are".
"It is that amazing? Wow, Big brother you have summoned something so cute" Cecilia tried hugging the Null elemental but it swiftly evaded any of her attempts to do so.
Realising that there is no point brooding over things that have already happened, Simon decided to just ept it as it is. Well, it was not like he can send it back anyways.
The Null Elemental was summoned by using four emblems on the [???????] option, something that was previously impossible. No matter if the ball of light was incredible or weak, he was able to at least understand that the previous parameters of the Summon option no longer applied on this bugged option.
Three emblems were no longer the maximum limit.
So now it was time for him to see if there was anything else other than the emblems that might work on the option. The first thing that came to his mind was the various weapons and objects he had in his [Inventory].
Simon threw multitudes of weapons and items inside the back spiral but no matter what he did, it did not show any reaction. He stopped after a few attempts when he realised that it wasn''t working.
It seems that low-rank weapons and aritfacts were no good which made him want to try his luck with the higher tier items but since they were precious, Simon stopped his thoughts at that.
Finishing his experimentations, he nced at Irene, Cecilia and the newest addition in his dungeon the Null Elemental.
Now that he had summoned it, what should he do next? While he was pondering over his future actions, Irene approached him and said "If you are done with whatever you were doing let''s move on to a different floor".
Blinking his eyes a few times, Simon questioned her in confusion "Why do we need to go away from the main floor?".
Chapter 212: Flitting Moments Of Peace
Chapter 212: Flitting Moments Of Peace
Blinking his eyes a few times, Simon questioned her in confusion "Why do we need to go away from the main floor?".
"Of course, it is for the Null Elemental. You will understand once you create a floor for it and yes keep it extremely simple, a small floor will suffice" Irene said in a mysterious tone.
A floor for the Null Elemental? Simon did not know why Irene would ask something like that from him; theless, heplied with her request. He made a small floor less than a kilometre wide and made it extremely simple.
The floor was below the newly created 35th floor which was the territory of the mutated monsters, the Fire Fanged Mouse and the Fire Eater Rat.
Teleporting the four of them to the new floor, Simon looked at Irene and asked "We are here! Now, what were you going to show us with the Null Elemental?".
Irene observed the new floor and nodded "It is good enough. Now, you just need to ce your hand on it once again and think of a name." She replied looking at him.
The naming she was talking about was unlike the Naming process where you have to mark a monster with your brand by bestowing it a name.
The Null Elemental was a spiritual entity that was already linked to him and there was no need for Simon to mark it with his brand. Hence the name can be assigned without using ones mana and without any risk of it failing.
The Null Elemental refused to be touched by anyone other than him and only because he had formed a link with it, that he could touch it.
Simon thought that he would have to go through the same thing once again but to his surprise, when he touched it once again the scene around him did not change.
Next was to give it a name, he thought long and hard for a good name but in the end, he could onlye up with ''Wisp''.
The moment he decided on that name, the Null Elemental made some movement and brightened a little.
"Wisp? Is that the best name you coulde up with?" Irene asked rolling her eyes at the name disyed at its status.
"Hehe, big brother is so bad with names" Cecilia tried to suppress herugh but she still couldn''t hold it back.
Simon''s eyes twitched on their remark and he couldn''t help but think internally ''What is bad with the name Wisp. It fits, after all, it is a ball of light''.
While he was thinking all that, the Null Elemental started making some movements and slipped inside the ground as easily as something incorporeal.
"What!?" the Null Elemental just disappeared inside the floor.
"It has already started gaining its spiritual sentience. No wonder it disappeared inside the floor since it could read your thoughts and goals. Right now, it has formed a link with you that will gradually deepen and you will be able tomunicate with it more easily" Irene smiled without getting fazed by the Null Elemental''s action.
Simon looked like he was still out of the circle so Irene had to rify for him "The Null Elemental you named Wisp is linked to you. It can read your thoughts and naturally is aware of your goal which is to strengthen your dungeon".
"Since it has bonded with you now, your wish is the Null Elemental''s wish. It hasn''t disappeared inside the or something and instead is trying to assimte with this floor. You will understand what I mean after some time".
By now, Simon became so lethargic to the incredulity of events that he no longer had any energy to be surprised. Taking her words at face value, he decided to return to the main floor along with the two of them.
¡ª¨C
After observing the battle between the Lightning Draconic Serpent and the Orc General, he was once again reminded that strength was the most important factor in this world. If he didn''t have the help of the mysterious woman, the Lightning Draconic Serpent might have been subdued by the Orc General and he would have been unable to keep his promise with Aldebaran.
There was also the quickly rising numbers of the adventurers that were diving inside the dungeon. If he didn''t be strong enough and outpace them, he would put his dungeon along with its inhabitants at risk.
His dungeon, Lace was currently doing quite well and the DP it is generating every hour is fairly good. The density of mana inside the Dungeon is also bing rtively concentrated and the poption of the spawned monsters is steadily increasing.
Thanks to Cecilia''s existence, his dungeon was doing exponentially goodpared to any other low tier dungeon and if continues on, it wouldn''t be long before his dungeon ranks up.
Arriving at the main floor, Simon decided to use the mana crystals produced by the transformed trees of mana to increase his level as soon as possible. He also bought 50 seeds of trees of mana for a hefty 25,000,000 DP to be nted on another side of the main floor away from the pond.
Although staying away from the pond of serenity will limit their growth, he believed that as long as Cecilia was here, there was no way it was going to be of concern.
He has already seen the miraculous changes a Forest Spring Royal Spirit could bring, he would be an idiot to even doubt it anymore.
Increasing the ceiling of the main floor and installing a new mountain that was about five hundred meters big, Simon tasked Cecilia with sowing the seeds and taking care of them. Later on, the mountain would undergo such incredible changes and be a ce where many precious and rare treasures could be found but that is something for the future.
Taking care of the things he needed to take care of, Simon cleared his mind and sat at the stone near the pond of serenity. The thick fog of mystical energy lingering near the area became even more pure with time and the gathering of mystical veins beneath the pond became even more apparent.
These high number of mystical veins carrying pure and unpolluted mana was continuously being deposited inside the pond strengthening and empowering it every day. The previous trees of mana that has transformed to be trees of mana crystals were also being heavily benefitted by being near the pond of serenity and soaking in the abundant and unpolluted mystical energy.
Simon wouldn''t be surprised to find their rate of growth and mana crystal production elerating.
Beside the pond of serenity, covered in the thick mist of mana in a cocoon was the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse who was undergoing some changes. He could feel the strong life of the warhorse and its quickly growing aura.
It wouldn''t be long before the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse came out of it and disyed its newfound strength and power once again.
Simon continued to stare at the Pond of Serenity for a long time remembering how he was unable to even soak in it for half a minute.
The bottom of the pond was full of unimaginable treasures like the Scarlet Mutation Crystals, Serenity stone and many others. If he wanted to utilise all those treasures, he has to build up his endurance and body, slowly increasing the time he could soak inside the pond.
Now that he was level 320, he was confident that he could endure longer than half a minute but that was not enough. Harvesting all those treasures one by one would take more than a few minutes not to mention diving and surfacing also ate up quite a few seconds.
The depth of the pond wasn''t that big; however, the water inside the pond felt just like a concentrated fluid with very high viscosity making it quite difficult to move around.
Although the pond was currently too much for the current him to handle, he knew that it would be something essential in the future.
Simon opened the [Archive] function of the main menu and peered at the progress of the adventurers. The adventurer party that sessfully managed to breach floor 12th was a group of ten adventurers with a steady lineup of five warriors, three mages and two assassins.
The average level of their party was around level 200 and had undergone at least two ss change. After breaching the mudnds upied by Lizardmen and Pirodiles, they have reached the 13th floor which was inhabited by Anemodactyl.
The Anemodactyls are monsters with thin skeletal frame and are capable of flight. What made them special from the normal monsters was that these monsters were able to use [Wind sh] and [Wind st] skills.
The floor was more than fifteen kilometres wide and the ceiling was quite high. There are more than four hundred anemodactyl on this floor alone and are divided into many colonies.
Fighting any of them was like poking your head in a bees nest guaranteed to get stung. Previously when he was fortifying the dungeon in preparations for adventurers diving inside, he made it so that they can''t breach each floor easily and the difficulty to do so goes up the more they descend.
Every time any team of adventurers clears an area or a floor, the monsters get spawned back after only a few hours, ready to fill in the numbers and block the rest of the adventurers.
DP is generated from the adventurers who are seen as intruders every minute and when they die.. The DP earned this way is then used to spawn more monsters and the excess keeps piling on to be usedter on for the development of the dungeon.
Chapter 213: Flitting Moments Of Peace (2)
Chapter 213: Flitting Moments Of Peace (2)
Smiling in content at the progress of his dungeon, Simon closed his eyes and cleared all the residual thoughts in his mind.
He brought out ten mana crystals from his [Inventory] and spread them around him. Clenching one of it in his hands, he started utilising his [Mana Lines] skills and absorbed the highly rich and pure mystical energy from it.
A refreshing feeling spread through his body and reached every corner and cell. It did not harm him and instead benefitted him greatly and slowly assimting with him bing a portion of his strength.
The feeling was the same as when he defeated a monster and gained experience through it. Although it was mostly due to him being a game developer in his past life that he spoke in gaming terms, but there was no such thing as hunting monsters for experience in this world.
It was a simple concept, when an entity is killed by another, a portion of its strength is passed onto the one who defeated it in the form of mystical energy and thus bing its strength.
The status works in a way that simplifies the amount of mystical energy one can hold on their body in terms of levels. Stats disy how strong the vessel i.e. the body which holds mystical energy is and their bloodline defines their affinity with the mystical energy.
The mana crystal is the condensation of such mystical energy capable of raising one''s power when absorbed without having the need to necessarily hunt monsters.
Simon kept on absorbing the mystical energy within the crystal, he felt his body strengthening slowly and slowly until the rich energying from the mana crystal stopped midway.
The crystal in his had turned transparent and crumbled apart. He picked up one mana crystal after another and soon there were many empty or shattered transparent crystals on the ground.
Simon had in a span of half a day, had absorbed all the ten mana crystals.
"Ten mana crystals of grade [1] isn''t even nearly enough to level up once. I feel like I''m close to a level up yet I have already gone through ten of these" he said after feeling the changes urring within his body.
Taking out another ten or so mana crystals from his inventory, he hurriedly started absorbing all of them. A day passed by and Simon had undergone one level up reaching level 321.
However, that was just the start, after absorbing twenty or so crystals to level up once, he took out hoards and hoards of them and started absorbing the mystical energy within them.
This time, it took him more than three days and thirty-five mana crystals to achieve his second level up, one the fifth day he needed sixty mana crystals to reach level 323, on day ninth one twenty mana crystal for his fourth level up and two hundred ten crystals on the twelfth day to reach level 325.
¡ª¡ª
On a rock near the pond of serenity, Simon was sitting silently as hundreds of used mana crystals and their shattered remains littered the area near him.
Breathing a deep breath of air, he clenched his hands and felt the power from the level ups surging within his body. It took him a total of 12 days to level up five times and half of the initial 900 mana crystals he had with him was already gone.
From these level-ups, Simon understood one thing and that was that the mana crystal needed to level up after every sessful level increase, goes up the higher your level is and the more you rely on it.
It can be observed from his twelve days of training, the more his level went up, the more mana crystal he needed for an additional level up.
With each level, the mystical energy that he can house within his body, drastically increases which makes the finite energy within the mana crystal unable to keep up. The higher his level, the more mana crystals he needed and as of now, he only had around 455 or so mana crystals.
Although the mana crystals were incredibly useful in increasing one''s strength, it was also extremely precious. Not every organism in this world are fortunate enough to obtain mana crystals which are in the first ce rare to find.
If not for the special powers of Cecilia, Simon would have to wait for his dungeon''s rank to go up before even thinking about utilising the mana crystals.
Currently, he had twenty or so trees of mana crystals on his main floor who are in their sapling stage and can only produce 45 crystals each of grade [1]. These numbers might go up in the near future after the trees grow adequately but it is a slow and long process.
When giving Cecilia the fifty or so seeds of trees of mana, Simon was expecting some of them to transform into trees of mana crystals. That way, the number of mana crystals he could harvest would steadily increase with time.
The mana crystals were an effective method to level up but not the most efficient. One would need a vast amount of mana crystals to even increase their strength by a little bit the more their level goes up.
Because of that, Simon couldn''t entirely rely on it as he did not have enough ie of mana crystals to support his expenditure. For now, defeating monsters to level up was still the most efficient way since it also ensures improvement in his battle experience.
Fortunately for him, he was in the Ghastly winding forest, a ce filled with monsters; strong and weak.
That being said, investing in the Trees of mana crystals was by no means wrong as it was also another source of levelling much more reliable than hunting monsters which involved unknown risks.
Deciding to use the remaining mana crystals on some other asion, Simon got up from his seat and walked towards the pond. It was time he tested out his strengthened body and powers and what better way to do it other than the pond of serenity.
The pond of serenity was one of his or even possibly the greatest treasure he had inside his dungeon and just like him, it too was constantly improving itself.
The change was already bing obvious, the colour of the water had started to slightly be a pale shade of blue because of the presence of the mystical energy. The pond was so densely packed with mana deposited by the increasing mystical veins beneath the ground that it gave him chills.
There was no doubt in his mind that the purity and concentration of mana within the pond was far greater than what it was previously.
The best way to check on his progress was to pit his body against the pond of serenity. Clenching his hands, Simon determined himself before diving inside it.
SPLASH¡ His entire body shuddered intensely the moment he jumped inside, the pond felt cold and excruciating to the extreme. The high concentration of mystical energy present within the pond felt like high voltage electric currents as it repeatedly and continuously electrocuted his body.
Simon could have gritted his teeth and endured it if it was only that but the coldness of the pond multiplied the pain and made it even worse. Left with no option, he had to hurriedly use [Mana Lines] and channel all of his mana into protecting his body.
A vast amount of mystical energy like a river, rushed inside his body from all of his pores and immediately filled him to the brim.
The purity and concentration of mystical energy inside the pond was many times greater than what he felt while absorbing the energy from the mana stones. If the energy inside the mana crystals was like a gentle stream, then the mystical energy here was like the rapid currents of a river that wildly and rampantly crashed onto the rocks.
Other than that there was also the volumes in which they poured inside his body. The flow of the mystical energy from the mana crystal can be controlled at least the low grades ones but the mystical energy from the pond was like a rampant beast that refused to listen to anyone as it wildly rushed inside him.
Forget about controlling the flow, it took everything Simon had just to make sure that his body doesn''t blow away from the pressure.
Adjusting his mind to the pain, he opened his eyes and observed his surroundings. To his surprise, the water inside the pond unlike the surface wasn''t a pale blue and instead a deep ocean blue and the deeper he went, the more brilliant the shade was.
"Judging from the current condition of my body, I can hardly endure the pressure for forty-five seconds; one minute max if I push my body to their limits. Any more than that will be suicidal" Simon analysed checking the condition of his body.
The previous experience inside the pond had made him aware that it was foolish to stubbornly increase his limits in one day. Once inside the pond, the highly condensed water continuously depletes one''s mana and HP and it took everything one had just to remain conscious.
Realising that the current limits of his body was much more higher than what it was before he had even breached level 300, Simon felt pleased at his growth and decided to delve towards the bottom of the pond.
Even while electrocution and the coldness of the water had made his bodypletely numb, he still hanged on and slowly delved deeper.
Chapter 214: Trouble Comes Knocking
Chapter 214: Trouble Comes Knocking
The bottom of the pond was masked by the deep blue light of the water and if one wanted to see what was at the bottom now, they had to dive deeper.
Utilising the sturdiness and power that came with recent level-ups, Simon steadily delved deeper before prating through the blue dome of light that covered the bottom of the pond.
Words couldn''t describe the sight he saw, the bottom of the pond which was closer to the mystical veins had changed dramatically. Many treasures of varying shape and colours dotted the ce, mysterious bubbles and speckles of light roamed the area and the mystical veins underneath the earth could be seen pulsing with energy as if they were alive.
The Sight was so striking that Simonpletely forgot that he was at the bottom of the pond where the mystical energy was more concentrated than the surface. The moment, he pierced through the dome of blue light and arrived here, a great pressure the like of which he never experienced before came crashing down on him.
The mystical energy here was so berserk and pure that he felt this skin was burning just by being here and the cirction of mana within his body even with help of [Mana Lines] had slowed marginally.
Snapping his mind from the grandeur of the sight, Simon grabbed at the thing that was closer to him before hurriedly surfacing from the water.
"Huff¡ huff.. the mana on the bottom of the pond is even scarier than what it is on the surface. Good thing I surfaced before forty-five seconds were over any secondter and my body would have been burst apart" he mumbled out loud.
It seems his body was still not powerful enough to endure the bottom of the pond where the mystical energy was far more dense and concentrated.
Nevertheless, the experience itself was not that bad as Simon could distinctively feel his body and powers reaching new heights after only soaking in it for a few seconds.
Immersing in it every day was bound to make him more stronger and powerful steadily. The altered pond of serenity really turned out to be one of his greatest treasures.
Propping himself up, he checked the object which he had picked from the bottom of the pond. At that time he did not have enough time to give it a careful look but now that he was out, he had no other concerns guing his mind.
The object in his hand was circr shaped and as big as a marble with no particr colour to speak of. It was translucent, gave off no aura and appeared to be ordinary; however, an object harvested from the bottom of the pond, how could it be something ordinary?
Simon was sure that there was something more to this marble than what meets the eye.
Using Analysis on it, disyed the name of the object. Skill Crystal Grade [1] Rank [C]. A Crystal that is capable of storing any skill or magic of the appropriate tier for a long period of time or until the skill crystal is used.
Once the skill or magic is stored inside the skill crystal, anyone possessing it as long as they have sufficient mana, will be able to cast it. The higher the grade of the crystals, the more powerful the skill or magic it can store.
Note that once the skill imbued inside it is used, the Skill Crystal bes unusable until a new skill or magic is stoned inside it. Can be destroyed.
Simon blinked his eyes a few times and read the information disyed by the Analysis. The thing that he harvested from the bottom of the pond was called a skill crystal and it can store any kind of magic or skill inside it.
Well, not any kind as the grade of the skill crystal needed to be higher to store powerful magic and skills. But even then, there was no denying the usefulness of the skill crystal.
If one just looked at it objectively it might not appear so incredible; However, its usefulness depends on the user and how he uses it.
Depending on the situation, the skill can even turn the situation around. Thinking of it like this, a person caught in a precarious situation and is unable to get out might even change the situation with the aide of this Skill crystal which can store any kind of magic.
He can use this to his advantage and dish out an attack that the enemy has no knowledge of.
The skill crystal can serve as a great diversion or a tide turner depending on how it is used. Simon could already picture thousands of scenarios in which he could the skill crystal to his advantage.
As of now, the Skill crystal in his hand appeared translucent indicating that it was empty with no skill or magic stored in it. The bottom of the pond of serenity had many of these growing it and some of which were even bigger than the one he had in his hand currently.
That was not all, the bottom of the pond was just like an unplundered treasures trove brimming with all kinds of rare objects and treasures. Although it was asking too much from him to plunder all those treasures right now, but with time Simon was sure that he would be able to discern all of the secret hiding at the bottom of the pond.
Tossing the marble in his [Inventory], he focused on restoring his HP and MP that has been drastically shaved after his endeavour inside the pond before returning back to his pce.
These past twelve days, nobody came to disturb him and he was able to focus on increasing his strength worry-free. Now that he was free of his training, he naturally wanted to check on the other floors and see if there were any other changes urring besides on his main floor.
The first thing that came to his mind was the newly created floor for the Null Elemental. Previously when he brought Wisp to the floor, it disappeared inside the floor like an incorporeal being and he did not know what happened to it after that.
If not for Irene''s words that insistently praised the abilities of the Null Elemental, Simon wouldn''t have created a separate floor just for it.
Thinking that there might be some unexpected surprise waiting for him back on the floor, he couldn''t help feeling giddy. After all, the ball of light which he named Wisp, was something that had appeared from the ck spiral after he used four emblems on it.
It would be a lie if he said that he didn''t have a high expectation for it.
The next floor on his list to check was the Forest Spring Spirit vige that he made a mental note to visit in the future. These Forest Spring Spirits were a race loved by the nature and wield abilities that are far more mysterious and profound.
Their power to manipte nature to their will and aplish things that would have been otherwise seen impossible, made them an important race for the development of his dungeon.
Simon was aware of some of their incredulous ability and it would not be an exaggeration to find the floorpletely changed than before.
Entering inside the white pce, he searched for the presence of two other inhabitants that lived together with him in the white pce.
Sensing that the presence of Cecilia was nowhere to be found, he frowned his brows. "Is she not on the main floor? Well, she might be with her nsmen on the forest Spring Spirit floor" Simon mused and went up to the dining hall.
It had been more than twelve days since hest ate anything and honestly he was starting to miss some of the food he used to have back on earth dearly.
While it was true that he can go on without eating or sleeping for months since the mystical energy was enough to sustain his body, it cannot recreate the delicious taste of the food nor could it satisfy his appetite.
Arriving inside the dining hall, Simon made himselffortable in one of the seats before opening the [Shop] option of the [Main Menu] and ordering some food and desserts.
While he was busy picking the food of his choice, his eyes coincidentally went towards the kitchen adjacent to the hall. The kitchen had been lying vacant ever since he installed the white pce and everything inside it was left untouched.
Since all of the food can be easily bought from the shop, up until now Simon felt no need to enter the kitchen. However, looking at all of the gadgets and wear, he felt like it was quite a waste to not make use of them.
The kitchen was prepared with those entities from the 12 heroes in mind; but now that the menus have merged and the [Hero''s Altar] has disappeared, the kitchen was left with no more use.
In his previous life, Simon had created the twelve powerful heroes with much difficulty and various ideas in mind. Each of them had their own abilities and powers that set them apart from one another and were set in a way that they be the best ofpanions for the yers.
He sighed in disappointment at the thought of them disappearing for good. He had created them with all of his abilities, there was no way he won''t feel disappointed at their disappearance.
There was no point inmenting now that everything had already urred, he could only ept the situation he had no way of reversing
Chapter 215: Trouble Comes Knocking (2)
Chapter 215: Trouble Comes Knocking (2)
While having those thoughts in mind, Simon entered the kitchen and decided to make some tea for himself.
The pce that he bought from the [Shop], was designed so that everything is replenished after use. From ingredients to beverages or even the material things such as the ss and tes when consumed or broken, is set to replenish itself by using the DP.
Preparing the tea leaves, he was just about to make some tea when¡
"Umnn~ I must say the food you have prepared is quite good especially this fluffy and spongy thing". A voice that he had never heard before, a voice that shouldn''t be present in his dungeon and more so on the main floor, came from the dining hall.
The voice was rxed and had an added childishness to it. Turning towards the voice with eyes wide open, Simon finally saw who it was.
A girl who seemed to be a few years older than Cecilia, was currently sitting on the seat he was supposed to and eating the food he had prepared for himself.
Her figure was petite and delicate, just like a beautiful flower swaying with the wind. She had lustrous ck hair tied into twin tails, wore a bright golden dress that reached up to her ankles and carried an object that looked like an umbre by her side.
Her skin was pale white, beautiful face, cheerful eyes, cherry red lips and a small nose.
No matter how one looked at her, the girl appeared to be extremely beautiful and attractive. If Simon had to point, the only department she wascking was her ches¡
"Do you want to die?" Just when his thoughts reached there, a toneced with bone-chilling cold and killing intent rang out.
Of course, the speaker of the voice was other than the girl who was currently staring at him with a smile that didn''t seem to be a smile. It appeared that his thoughts which had been said to be easy to read, had been read by the girl.
Ahem, forcing a cough, Simon cleared his mind of any unnecessary thought lest he got called something he was not.
''Wait a minute.. why am I getting lectured by a girl no less than fourteen years old? She is the one who intruded my dungeon¡ in the first ce how did she enter the main floor?''.
Simon was so focused on her casual manner that itpletely skipped his mind. The girl had appeared so close to him without even him noticing and not just anywhere, but on the main floor of his dungeon which was also the ce where the dungeon core was located to say no less.
He suddenly felt his feet getting cold at the thought of how the woman aplished to do something as incredible as intrude his dungeon and reach the main floor without anyone noticing.
The girl crossed her pearly and shapely white legs, and dangled a shoe around looking extremely pleased with the food as she finished one te after another.
Turning towards Simon, she leaned her head on top of her hands and smiled "Oh~ are you making some tea? Excellent in that case I''ll have some".
His brows twitching uncontrobly, Simon tried to keep hisposure before asking in a serious tone "Who are you?".
Before he could get his answer from the girl, a freezing coldness descended onto the room before the space near him was torn apart and Irene''s figure came out of it.
Everything happened in just a fraction of a second and before he couldprehend what had happened even with his [Thought Processing], Irene was already here.
What was the same was that the girl still had a calm andid back attitude as she watched Irene make her appearance. Smiling brightly, the girl looked at the new entrant and Simon who was trying to make sense of the situation.
"Hehh~ interesting indeed. A Demon Viscount possessing such a powerful subordinate and sheltering so many Forest Spring Spirits. Colour me surprised, I did not expect to see all that when I decided toe here" the girl mumbled while one of her feet was still ying with the shoe.
Irene''s phoenix eyes narrowed and a bone-chilling cold that could even freeze the space spread around the surrounding.
Not paying her action any mind, the girl simply sat at her chair andmented "You do realise that if we make a move that demon there would die if he gets caught in between it right? Besides you are quite peculiar¡ why do I feel you are powerful yet weak at the same time?".
The girl asked observing Irene carefully.
Irene on the other hand narrowed her eyes but did not make any move.
While all this was happening, Simon was calmly assessing his situation. A girl that can potentially be an enemy any moment, had intruded his dungeon all the way to his main floor without the dungeon notifying him.
As absurd as it sounded, the reality was that the girl he had never seen before, was already here. To make matters even worse, she knew about the Forest Spring Spirits residing on one of the floors of his dungeon.
If she wanted to kill him or destroy his dungeon core, given theposure and strength she disyed up until now, it would be as easy as flipping a coin.
His most important priority here was to gather information from the girl who looked no more than fourteen years old. "Who are you and how did you arrive here?" Simon repeated.
"Hmm~ let''s see¡ I haven''t introduced myself, perhaps I can do that after a cup of tea" the intent behind her words were clear and that was she demanded a tea before the talk proceeded any further.
Simon''s heart became cold, neverthless he didn''t move from his ce. It was his ce, who was she to order something from him?
The girl''s gaze passed behind him andnded on to the ss he poured the tea for himself.
Whoosh¡ with a move of her fingers, the cup flew towards her.
SLURP¡ sipping on the tea, her eyes widened a little. "Thank you for the delicious meal, it was quite satisfying. Honestly, I didn''t expect this level of culinary whening here. Hehe, you have managed to surprise me in various ways" the girl smiled brightly looking very satisfied.
"I''m feeling quite pleased and as a reward, I''ll answer some of your questions. I''m Adalinda and as for how I arrived here, hmm it''s quite simple I just made a spatial tear, broke through the spacews of this dungeon and arrived here. Ah, even though I may not look like it, but I''m quite delicate so do you mind quitting with that intense re of yours".
Looking at the girl talking and acting coyly, Simon couldn''t help his face twitching.
What did she just say? Speaking about tearing the spacew of his dungeon as casually as if it was nothing but paper. Every dungeon is located inside a special space that has its own spatialws and the higher the rank of the dungeon, the more powerful the spatialws.
Even though his dungeon was a low ranked one, its spacews weren''t something that can be easily breached.
This little girl knows not the time and ce for acting like that. No one could me him for not believing her words.
"Now that I have answered one of your questions, it makes sense that you answer one of mine right? So¡ my question is what the hell are you?" Adalinda asked focusing her gaze on Simon.
The moment her gazended on him, he suddenly felt the entire ce crumbing and his body for some mysterious reason felt extremely heavy and sluggish. There were no abilities or power involved nor any suppression with aura, just the look from her eyes was enough to achieve that effect.
Simon felt extremely depressed, not only the girl not answer his question, but she started questioning of her own.
Even though he was reluctant, he dare to act out at this moment "I''m Simon, a Demon Viscount born from the ample mana of this world".
Hearing his answer, the smile on the girl''s face deepened, shemented "Hehh~ just an ordinary Demon Viscount huh. Well, if that was the case then the Demon Viscount these days are quite something to have such a powerful subordinate and a group of Forest Spring Spirits under him no?".
Simon frowned at those words, was the girl here for the Forest Spring Spirits? If so then was she an enemy? Various thoughts churned inside his head as he tried to make sense of the objective of this little girl.
Seeing that Simon was making a difficult face, Adalinda disyed a crafty smile before probing further "So sir Demon Viscount how did you manage to achieve something like convincing the Forest Spring Sprits to reside in your dungeon?".
Her eyes refused to budge from his body and seemed to pierce through his soul.
"Enough with your silly questions¡ tell us why are you even here?" the bone-chilling cold around Irene intensified as she released her own subliminal pressure.
Instantly, the atmosphere around the room was divided into two half as both the parties kept each other at bay.
The staredownsted for a while before Adalinda finally got up from her seat and silently approached Simon.
Simon who was well above two meters in height, had to look down at the girl who appeared just like a little kid less than fourteen years old.
She had a youthful face that might delude someone into thinking that but make no mistake, the aura that emitted out of her even while restrained, was monstrous to say no less.
This kind of absolute suppression, Simon only felt it from those peak ranked Demon Archdukes that were present during the Walpurgis.
Chapter 216: Adalinda
Chapter 216: Adalinda
This kind of absolute suppression, Simon only felt it from those peak ranked Demon Archdukes that were present during the Walpurgis.
Adalinda came near him before coyly tilting her head "Well I''m very much interested in how you a Demon Viscount managed to do that, but leaving it all aside, do you know the reason why I am here?".
Simon simply shook his head, how the hell was he supposed to know? He did try to guess her motive but he ultimately came up with nothing.
Adalinda pointed her index finger at Simon before continuing "It''s because of you".
Her answer confounded both Irene and Simon who were intently watching her every action.
¨ªt was because of him? What does she mean by that? he had not even seen her before today so howe she said that she was here because of him?
Irene narrowed her crystal blue eyes and seemed to be thinking something.
"Me? I have never even met you, why would you be here for me?" Simon asked.
"Hm? Don''t tell me you don''t know or are you acting innocent?" Adalinda revealed a slight tinge of surprise in her voice as she casually conversed with Simon.
"Well it doesn''t matter¡ I''ll eventually squeeze every information out from you. Hehe, so Mr Demon Viscount the reason why I am here is because of a familiar draconic aura I''m sensing from you".
Simon was getting increasingly confounded, what did she mean by him releasing a draconic aura? He was a Demon Noble and the draconic aura can only be released by those that are actual dragon, have dragon bloodline or from dragon ancestry.
Simon having of those, he wouldn''t be able to release draconic aura exclusive to the dragon tribe.
On the contrary, Irene revealed an expression that seemed to show that she finally put the two and two together.
Adalinda who carefully observed every expression of Simon, frowned at his confusion before enlightenment dawned on her.
"Hohh~ so that''s how it is. Sigh¡ that girl, she deliberately did all of this to divert my focus somewhere else".
She then looked at Simon and dispelled his confusion "The reason why I am here is because of my disciple who you should have met a while ago. You see my disciple ran away from her home and I''m tracking her all across the continents and when I finally arrived near this ce, I sensed a slight trace of something that led me all the way here".
Simon did not have to think hard to know who Adalinda was talking about, the mysterious woman that he had met back in the territory of the Diluvian High Orcs, perfectly fit her description.
He stared at the little girl in front of him with a weird look in his eyes. Why wouldn''t he, the girl named Adalinda imed to be the master of the mysterious woman when she herself looked no more than fourteen years old.
Nheless, the situation was solved and he no longer had to fret over the objective of Adalinda who somehow had barged on the main floor of his dungeon.
"As you can see your precious runaway disciple is nowhere to be seen.. so you should also make yourself scarce from here" Irenemented in a not so friendly tone.
Simon was also of the same notion, the girl appeared here uninvited not to mention on the floor which was the core of his dungeon. Even though they had an amiable conversation, there was no guarantee that Adalinda wouldn''t turn hostile on them.
If possible, Simon wanted her to go away as soon as possible.
"She is right; your disciple is not here so there is no reason for you to be staying here any longer".
Listening to his words, Adalinda smiled widely and shed her two pointy teeth "Hehe, It seems that I''m not weed here even after we shared such a delicious meal".
Her words immediately made Simon frown and his brows twitched increasingly. What share a meal? She was gulping down the food he had prepared for himself one-sidedly and even had the nerve to demand tea from him.
If not for her powers that he was cautious about, Simon would have thrown her out by now.
"Well it matters not because we are not done yet. Although my disciple was able to deceive me with that little trick of hers, it still holds true that she came in contact with you. The draconic aura lingering around you should be from the technique [Ancient Draconic Compel]".
"It is a powerful technique that I had created long ago which can subdue any monsters possessing dragon bloodline. The fact that she decided to bestow you with such a technique, you piqued my interest in various ways" Adalinda disyed a charming smile as she observed him.
When Simon felt her gaze on him, his whole body shuddered for an instant. In his mind though, he couldn''t help but curse himself for falling for the trap of the mysterious woman.
He should have doubted her from the moment that woman decided to help him with no strings attached. However, at that time the situation was so that he had no choice but to ept her offer.
Now karma came back to bite him.
"Hehh~ it seems that you have already used the technique on someone. How was it, did you like my technique?" Adalinda asked drawing closer to him.
Simon''s brain churned as he tried to estimate the level of this little girl whose age seem to deceive her powers. How much one''s level and mastery over mystical energy should be to create a highlyplex technique such as this?
The [Ancient draconic Compel] was so powerful that it can easily subdue the Lightning draconic Serpent with just a tiny droplet of its blood.
There was no denying it, the little girl in front of him was so powerful that she can even wipe out his entire dungeon without any difficulty.
Grinning mischievously, Adalinda continued "There is no point in keeping silent; I can see it through your eyes how shocked you are. Anyways, since you have benefited from something I had created once, it is only natural that you help me in return wouldn''t you say?".
Simon arched his brows while the temperature around Irene dropped a notch. A faint symbol of phoenix silently appeared on her forehead before disappearing in an instant.
Pondering over his options, he fixed his gaze on her and asked "What if I refuse?".
SILENCEE~~
A dreadful silence descended onto the main floor. Adalinda''s smile didn''t falter from her pretty face; however, the mood in the ce was no longer the same.
"Hehe, Mr Demon Viscount¡ I think it is better that I remind you early on, in this world only strength recognises strength. You who are at the bottom of the chain, have no right whatsoever in the first ce to even refuse. There is always a sky above a sky, a power above your own. It would be for your own betterment that you learn this early".
The eerie silence disappeared as if it was never there.
A clear threat, her words did not contain any bit of consideration and reminded Simon of what his position was. Her words clearly suggests that he was in no ce to deny her.
CREAK¡ CRACK¡
It was at this moment, a bone-chilling cold that seemed toe from the deepest pits of hell, erupted out of Irene and started spreading across the floor.
FREEEZE¡ Instantly, the ice appeared to have travelled across the dimensions and approached near Adalinda when Simon suddenly roared "STOP".
WHOOSH¡ the moment he roared, the ice that was about to reach Adalinda, arched across her before spreading across the edges of the floor.
Irene''s face held the sameposure, but her crystal blue eyes that were staring at him, seemed to be asking ''why did he stop her?''.
Inhaling a deep breath of cold air, Simon turned around to face her.
"It''s alright; I know that you are plenty strong but let me handle it this time" he said as he matched his gaze with her.
The two gazed at each other''s eyes for a while before Irene suddenly shifted them away. Nheless, the aura around her didn''t lessen a bit.
Sighing helplessly, Simon shook his head before turning towards Adalinda who still had that coquettish smile stered on her face as if the previous outburst from Irene had never happened.
Honestly, even he was surprised when Irene suddenly took action when Adalinda finished putting her words. If it was the Irene from when he summoned, an obvious taunt such as that wouldn''t even be able to faze her.
Her previous self would never act out like that especially when it was not even directed at her. It seemed that staying with Simon for the past few months have changed her drastically and she herself wasn''t aware of that.
While Irene''s haphazard action surprised him a bit, strangely there was a delight silently budding in his heart.
Simon did not know the depths of Irene''s power and from what he knew, most.. No, it would be appropriate to say all of her powers were currently sealed for some reason.
Even if she had confidence that she wouldn''t lose, he didn''t want to put her at risk. There was no way as a man he would allow that, his pride wouldn''t allow. Also, it was entirely his fault that they were in this disaster hence he should be the one to fix it.
As the Dungeon Master and also as a man there was no way he was going to shy away from his responsibility?
Chapter 217: Unreasonable
Chapter 217: Unreasonable
''A sky above a sky, a power above a power'' in truth, Simon was already aware of that since the moment he had reincarnated in this world. The encounters he had in this forest repeatedly told him that his powers were still far too weak and nowhere near enough to be considered strong.
His question earlier was just to test the water and see if he could find a way out of this.
"You are absolutely right; I''m in no position to reject your request. You are also right in that I met that disciple of yours back during one of the trips of mine to the deep regions of the Ghastly Winding Forest. At that time, she willingly imparted this technique to me and with it, I was able to achieve one of my objectives and since you are the creator of the Ancient Draconic Compel, that makes me owe you one".
Adalinda''s smile widened a little when she heard his affable reply "Is that so?".
"However, before I agree to your request, can I ask what this aide is all about? What I mean is since you are all that powerful, why would you need the help of someone as weak as me. There is no way I can aide in something that even you are unable of".
He wasn''t spouting nonsense, Simon was more or less aware of how powerful the little girl in front of him was. In terms of strength, she was a monster above all other monsters.
If there was something that even she couldn''t achieve with her powers, how was he to aide her.
Crossing her arms over her non-existent chest, Adalinda dered "You don''t have to worry about that, just your presence will be plenty helpful in finding that bratty disciple of mine".
Simon was stunned by her words. The help she was talking about was to search for her disciple who had run away from her home? If so then why was he needed?
There is no way he knew where that mysterious woman had gone after imparting him with this technique.
"Wait a minute¡ how am I supposed to help you when I don''t know where that disciple of yours had gone to?" Simon couldn''t help but voice out his doubts.
"As I said you don''t have to worry about that. Your task is just to apany me as for the rest I can handle it myself. Thatss thinks that she can evade her master? Hmph, she is still too wet behind the ears".
Simon couldn''t help but drop his hand in dejection, this little grandaunt was not willing to listen to him at all.
"Ah right since you wille along with me, pack your belongings and tasks that you need toplete. I''m willing to give you few hours of time for that¡ but don''t make me wait for long" saying everything that she needed to say, she sat herself back on the chair cosily.
Too much, the little girl was just too much. She was unwilling to listen to others and just kept rambling herself.
What did she say about giving him some time to prepare? Does she think that a job of a Dungeon master was something so easy that it could be done in just a few hours?
How was he supposed to finish all of his tasks in the span of just a few hours? Simon felt a severe headache just by conversing with the girl. He exited the hall and left the little girl all alone.
There was no way he was willing to entertain her anymore especially when he only had a few hours to prepare. His first priority was to make sure that thest two floors of the dungeon would be absolutely safe even in his absence.
"What are you nning to do?" Irene who had exited the dining hall alongside him, asked.
Simon simply shook his head and replied "It''s as she said, in this world only strength recognises strength. Without adequate power, I don''t even have the right to decide. For now, I can only go along with her. Take care of the dungeon and the Forest Spring Spirits for me".
Irene locked her brows at his resolute words "There might be other ways. You do not have to deliberately put yourself in danger¡".
"There is no other way¡ I know that you are concerned but believe me I will not let myself get killed so easily" Simon said shing a gentle smile at Irene.
Herposure faltered for a second and she stopped in her tracks. Finally snorting in a cold and distant manner, she turned around leaving a few words of her own "Who said I''m concerned about you? Also you should keep your words and return alive after this".
"Haha" Simon chuckled before a serious expression dawned on his face as he opened the [Main Menu].
The [Archive] option of the [Main Menu] allows him to see each and every entity currently inside the dungeon no matter which floor they are. However, no matter how carefully he looked, there was denying the fact that the little girl called Adalinda who had barged inside his dungeon was nowhere to be spotted.
Even though the girl was currently sitting cosily on the chair inside the dining hall, the dungeon still failed to detect her.
What was going on? How can one elude the detection of the dungeon and appear so close to the dungeon core? If everybody could do it then was there even a point to make multiple floors for his dungeon to guard the dungeon core?
Simon did not have an answer but what he was sure of was that this kind of ability shouldn''t be in the hands of many people and probably essible to a handful of strong ones.
What sore his mood even further was the fact that even when such a strong entity had currently intruded his dungeon, he was not getting any Dungeon Points from it. He could only imagine how abnormal the numbers would be if only it was possible to get DP from that little monster.
What wasn''t possible wasn''t possible. Clearing his mind, Simon focused on the progress of the adventurers currently inside the dungeon.
He observed that the group which had managed to previously clear floor twelve were sessful in clearing floor fourteen. However, they weren''t in hurry to proceed to the next floor and seemed to be retreating for now. It was a rational choice considering that the difficulty of the floor increases the deeper they went.
Simon had to admit that this group of ten adventurers were quite bnced and perfect for dungeon diving. They look after each other''s blind spot and ovee each other''s shorings together.
Additionally, their clothes seemed to have an insignia embroidered which indicated that they are from the same guild. A bow and an arrow lit in fire was the logo of their guild.
Simon did not know where this guild was situated or what was it called but seeing their teamwork and the trust they had in each other, he knew that it would be quite the reputed guild.
This group of ten adventurers weren''t the only one from their guild, there appear to be many other adventurers on the upper floors currently slowly making their way to the bottom floors.
Apart from the adventurers, there were also a team of miners, collectors who collected the in monsters by the adventurers, merchants and caravans waiting outside of the dungeon who were from the same guild.
From what Simon could observe, it appeared that the guild traded in diverse goods.
"Hmm, the 15th floor huh¡ from the looks of it the Direwolves and the Stormwolves have recovered fairly well from the menace created by the Fire Eating Rats and the Fire Fanged Mouse" Simonmented looking at the 15th floor.
A couple of weeks ago, the ce was turned upside down by just one Scarlet Mutation Crystal that he had ced on this floor. His initial intention was for the Storm or the Direwolves to consume the crystal; however, the Stormwolf that ate it sumbed to its death and its corpse was then eaten by the Fanged Mouse who should have been the prey of the wolves.
While the result was astounding and something he couldn''t have asked for, it still cost him the lives of multiple wolves residing on this floor. Thanks to that, their popce was spread thin across the floor and was still recovering.
"Although their reproduction rate is not the highest, I should still spawn a few more of them just in case" Simon deliberated.
Now that he had to leave the dungeon and he did not know when he would be able toe back, he couldn''t leave any stone unturned with the defence of the dungeon.
The adventurers might suddenly feel the difficulty of the deeper floor rising all of a sudden, but that wasn''t Simon''s concern. As a Dungeon Master, his job was to safeguard the dungeon to the best of his abilities.
The sudden rise in the difficulty of exploring the floors might cause many deaths among the adventurers and even lead to a drop in their motivation. But to tackle that, Simon also increased the number of treasures and chests, minerals/ores spawned across the floors.
That being said, his dungeon was still a low tier [D] rank dungeon and no matter how many monsters and trap he set, it still wouldn''t be a problem for strong adventurers who are used to exploring medium rank dungeons.
Even after spending an hour and tinkering with the floors, Simon was still not satisfied with the defensive mechanism of the dungeon.
Chapter 218: Preparing For All Contingency
Chapter 218: Preparing For All Contingency
Even after spending an hour and tinkering with the floors, Simon was still not satisfied with the defensive mechanism of the dungeon.
"Sigh, what else can I do so that my dungeon is still safe even if a strong adventurer does show up all of a sudden" It might be him being overly pessimistic but he couldn''t be assured leaving his dungeon wide open.
"Something that can even stop those that are trying to capture the dungeon¡Ah!" suddenly as if he was hit by an idea, Simon''s body jolted and a wicked smile crept up on his face.
Why didn''t he think of that? There was still an option of that guy. Although it would require the little girl''s help, there was no other option.
While he was distracted by his thoughts, Adalinda''s petite figure appeared in front of him as if cutting through the space.
Looking at his devious expression, she remarked "It seemed that you have finally found a solution for a problem that you have been brooding over for so long".
Simon''s eyebrows twitched at her sudden voice theless, he wasn''t in the mood to answer her.
''My biggest problem is you'' thinking internally, he opened the [Teleport] function of the [Main Menu] and swiftly teleported outside of his dungeon. His destination¡ one of the three peaks of the northern region of the forest.
Meanwhile, Adalinda decided to silently follow behind Simon. It was not that she was afraid that he would get away but because she was honestly very curious about the demon whose very being was a peculiarity through and through.
"Hehh~ interesting. Did Lucine find him amusing or was she able to see some of his potential to have revealed her presence to him despite risking the fact that once she does her presence can be sensed by me?" Adalindaughed as she followed Simon''s figure with her eyes.
"Hehe, truly I can see why she did that. That Demon Viscount is very unusual, not only can I not see his status but there is also something deep and vast hidden within him that makes even me curious" squinting her eyes, she licked her lips.
Simon zipped through the sky utilising the might of his [High-Speed Flight] skill and in a span of short time arrived in front of a peak which he was very familiar with.
Why wouldn''t he be? After all, this was the exact ce where a furious fight had taken not so long ago. Yes, this was the very same ce where the Lightning draconic Serpent resided and also where the orc general and it had a serious sh.
After the fight, both of the parties was seriously injured leaving Simon the fisherman to reap all of the benefits. Well, most of the credit goes to the mysterious woman who had imparted him this technique that he was able to subdue the Lightning Draconic serpent.
However, considering that she was the disciple of that little girl who had currently intruded his dungeon, all his appreciation for her went up in smokes.
Now that he thought about it, it was all an borate n of the mysterious woman to make him fall into such a predicament.
What''s done was done, there was no going back. At least he could utilise the technique he was imparted to gain as much benefit he could get from it.
The moment he entered the territory of the Lightning Draconic Serpent, it issued a warning roar that echoed out across the forest scaring many monsters.
Wild winds ensued and before long the gigantic body of the Lightning Draconic Serpent came out from its peak. Shiny ck scales with a tinge of purple shed all across its awe-inspiring body. Its slithers and elongated fins pulsed with lightning capable of devastating anything and itsrge draconic eyes held an inborn sense of pride.
It''s scanned the surrounding with itsrge draconic eyes before spotting the figure of Simon.
BOOOM¡ with a simple thought, its huge quickly went airborne and charged towards Simon. One could imagine the speed and power behind the charge of Lightning Draconic Serpent which is heralded as one of the three overlords of the north.
Although the changes were not that apparent, but its body was even bigger than before and even its scales looked more sturdier and a deeper shade of purple. It was not just its body but even its level which had increased by a total of three reaching level 494.
The Lightning draconic serpent approached Simon at a crazy speed but instead of barrelling towards him, it quickly came to a stop in front of him and bowed its head. The way it positioned its body and lowered its head in front of Simon, seemed to disy a subservient attitude, one which is shown by a subordinate towards its master.
Simon was stunned by this disy of the Lightning Draconic Serpent to say no less. Its 180¡ã turn of attitude made himpletely gobsmacked.
For a while, Simon couldn''t believe his eyes¡ Who was this guy who was currently bowing its head towards him? Was it the same mighty and prideful Lightning draconic Serpent that had previously refused to bow down its head to anyone?
While he was confounded by its change, the answer came from other than Adalinda who had followed behind him.
"So this little fellow is the one you used my technique on huh. Well, it does seem to have a fair bit of dragon bloodline within it. Hmm? You seemed to be confused about the change in its attitude. Don''t be, the technique I have created is very special in that it forcefully creates positive emotions for the master it is subdued to you see hehe" she said puffing her chest.
However, unlike her Simon had a dreadful look on his face.
What did it mean to have your emotions forcefully altered? Could it even be said that the Lightning draconic Serpent was truly free? Truly a devious technique.
Although Simon was aware that the technique would gradually make the Lightning Draconic Serpent more loyal to him, he didn''t expect the effect to be this drastic.
He couldn''t help but feel a littlepassion for the Lightning Draconic Serpent whose emotions was also not in its control. This also reminded him once again how important strength was in this world; even the strong Lightning draconic Serpent had no control over its fate.
"I see so you n on bringing this guy back to your dungeon. Well, I can''t say it''s strong but things might work in your case. However, how do you n on bringing it to your dungeon?" Adalinda said while tilting her head.
Simon did not reply and instead kept his gaze on her.
Finally realising what he was nning, Adalinda showed a rare surprised smile.
"Hehe, you are quite something indeed. You haven''t even repaid me for the aid of my technique earlier and on top of that, you are looking for another favour from me. I wonder where all this confidence of yours stems from?".
Simon maintained his gaze and answered sinctly "Well, it doesn''t matter if I owe you one favour or ten. The way things stands as it is now, I wouldn''t even be able to reject any requests you make of me. So I have decided to drop all pretence and ask your help once again".
Both of them maintained their stare for a while trying to gaze at each other''s intentions before Adalinda burst outughing.
"Hahahaha, I was not wrong, you are indeed quite an amusing character. I can see why Lucine would help you. Alright, I''ll help you teleport that luggage of yours back to your dungeon. But it wouldn''t be for free".
Simon wasn''t amazed; he knew that there would be some conditions attached for helping him.
"Good it seems that you are quite tactful. The condition for teleporting that guy will be that thing which you prepared for me along with the meal. That soft, spongy, sweet thing. If you can prepare ten of those for me, I will dly help you with this small favour" Adalinda stated smiling incessantly.
Simon immediately understood what Adalinda was talking about, the thing that he had prepared for HIMSELF along with his meal was a chocte voured cake.
It came as no surprise to him that Adalinda would like such a delicacy. The culinary of this world waspletely different from earth and the foods that he had listed in the Food and Beverage section, was something that couldn''t be found in this world.
Of course, a girl like her would be instantly smitten to something as delicious a cake. It cost him around 350 DP and even if she wanted to eat ten of those, it wasn''t a problem.
However, Simon couldn''t immediately agree with it, he has to show that he was making a very difficult decision, one that was truly hard for him.
"Alright, if you bring that guy back to my dungeon, I will prepare ten of those chocte cakes that you want" Simon audibly sighed, his expression said that he was losing out in this transaction.
Hearing his words, Adalinda immediately jumped in tion and behaved just like her outer appearance would suggest.
"Really? You are really going to prepare ten of those for me? Hehe, then I shall teleport that serpent to whichever ce you want. It is an easy task for me after all. What was it called again cholo¡?".
Now that the problem of teleporting this guy was solved, it was time to address the next issue.
Observing the subservient attitude of the Lightning Draconic Serpent, Simon spoke out "Lightning Draconic Serpent, previously I promised that I would only rely on this technique when absolutely needed. That time hase, you shalle with me and protect my dungeon from any invaders in my stead.. Do you have any opinion on that?".
Chapter 219: Preparing For All Contingency (2)
Chapter 219: Preparing For All Contingency (2)
The Lightning Draconic Serpent raised its head a little but did not dare to stare towards the direction where Adalinda was.
For some reason, it felt a strong suppression that originated from its bloodline and gave him an impression of being an ant in front of a gigantic mountain whenever it caught the slightest trace of aura leaked by her.
It did not know who that exalted person was but at least he knew better than to pry.
"Not all my lord. This one shall do as my lord says and fight anyone that dare intrudes my lord''s territory".
Its voice was reverent and from the tone of his speech, it could be interpreted that it already sees Simon as someone whose position is above him.
To have the ability to forcefully imnt positive emotions onto someone, the technique was truly dreadful.
Although from the memories he got along with the technique, Simon knew that the emotion of the Lightning Draconic Serpent would be affected over time, but even he couldn''t have predicted that the changes would be this dramatic.
Inwardly resolving to treat the guy better, Simon nodded to himself before turning towards Adalinda.
"Alright I can''t wait to eat more of those, so let''s giddy up and teleport that luggage of yours," Adalinda said as she quickly made a bizarre movement with one of her hands.
At that moment, space shook all around them for a few dozen meters and quickly epassed the huge body of the Lightning draconic Serpent before spreading all across.
Her well-maintained nails swiftly drew a wide arc across the air which remained suspended for some time. Like a line drawn on a board except there was no board and the line was drawn on thin air.
That was not all, what was even more astounding was that after some time, the line swiftly spread open disying the scene within it.
Looking at the scenery thaty within, Simon couldn''t help but be absolutely gobsmacked. That was because whaty inside was a white pce, tall mountains with trees that couldn''t be any more familiar to him and an areapletely shrouded in white mist.
What else could be the ce other than the main floor of his dungeon?
Simon took hurried breaths of air as he marvelled at the absurdity of the scene thaty in front of him, he could now finally believe the words of the little girl when the example was so meticulouslyid in front of him.
They were currently in the northern region of the Ghastly Winding Forest which was quite some distance away from the eastern region where his dungeon was located for god''s sake.
Additionally, the dungeon should be a special sub dimensional space with its own spacews.
To be able to do something like that so effortlessly, the term monster would sound rather cute whenpared to her.
"Alright let''s go¡ I can''t wait to eat more of those cakes" Adalindamented licking her lips and immediately dived inside.
Simon shook his head before following suit, the huge body of the Lightning Draconic Serpent also easily passed through the dimensional tear and arrived on the main floor of the dungeon Lace. Its huge body was clearly in contrast with everything on this floor and made it stand out a lot.
[Lightning Draconic Serpent {Unnamed} has been registered to the dungeon]
As soon as the Lightning Draconic serpent entered through the tear, it was registered by the dungeon.
Partly because it was under his control thanks to the Ancient Draconic Compel, but it was shown as one of his subordinates. This meant that the Lightning draconic serpent just like the other spawned monsters of his dungeon, wouldn''t be offering him any DP.
Simon turned around to address it "Wait here for some time, I will create a floor suitable for you to stay in".
The Lightning Draconic Serpent couldn''t stay here as that would run against the purpose of bringing it here in the first ce. A being of its level was more suitable to be a Floor boss which guarded the important floors below.
Simon believed that even if some strong group of adventurers managed to find his dungeon, they would have quite the difficult time defeating the Lightning Draconic Serpent. Not to mention there was still Irene whose strength even he couldn''t fathom guarding the main floor.
With this much security, Simon felt at ease leaving his dungeon.
Just as he was going to set about creating a new floor, he was pulled by his clothes and brought to the dining hall by Adalinda. Seating on one of the seats in the most natural way, she looked at Simon and demanded her ten chocte cakes.
Well that was what they agreed on so Simon did not have any qualms about her demand. He went to the kitchen and started busying himself in it.
Of course, all of this was for show, he couldn''t reveal the existence of the [Main Menu] to her so his only option was to pretend that he had cooked it himself. Although it would waste some of his precious remaining time, it was better than revealing his greatest secret to her.
One thing that Simon had learned from his experience from living inside the Ghastly Winding Forest is that the more the trump card he had in his hands, the greater the possibility of him surviving any trials that came his way.
"Hmmm~ is it not done yet?" Adalinda startedining after half an hour had passed and the dish was not served to her yet.
"You need to wait a little longer¡ how much time do you think it needs to prepare something as delicious as the chocte cake. Be patient if you want to eat ten of those delicious cakes" Simon said pretending to be out of breath.
"Uhnnn~" Adalinda pouted but stopped herining immediately.
Truth to be said, there was no need for Simon to make her wait for so long since he could immediately bring forth ten chocte cakes from the [shop] with just the push of his button.
But doing so would make it suspicious and that was why Simon was simply wasting time. No, it would be right to say that Simon was currently diverting his attention on creating a new floor for the Lightning Draconic Serpent rather than preparing any cake.
After a few more minutes when he felt that the patience of the little girl waiting in the dining hall would run out soon, Simon stopped what he was doing and quickly purchased ten of the chocte cakes from the [shop] and brought it out.
"Waaaa~ it''s finally here¡ the delicious cakes," Adalinda said with stars shing in her eyes and drool on her mouth.
Simon pretended to release a sigh of exhaustion before exiting the room. Now that he was done repaying one debt he owed her, it was time he finished with the iplete floor.
The new floor was positioned above the Main Floor, Forest Spring Spirit Floor and the Floor designated to the new Guardian Wisp (Null Elemental).
The new floor was designed as a vast wilderness with a tall ceiling lit by big Phosphorescence crystals and spanned for more than fifty kilometres. The trees here were extremely gigantic and tall mountains could be seen spread everywhere.
The floor was designed keeping in mind the earlier residence of the Lightning draconic serpent and also to make it so that it can disy its full power while in a battle.
The main purpose of this floor was to stop any and all intruders from proceeding any forward and be the wall that made his dungeon imprable.
Simon spawned multiple monsters of varying races like the Chimera Bears, Storm wolves, Savage Warrior Monkeys to inhabit the floor. Although their levels were around 200-230 their objective was just to be the meat wall for the intruders to waste their energy on.
As for the Lightning Draconic Serpent, it would indisputably be the ruler of this floor.
While it is true that spawning multiple monsters of varying races might invite scuffles every now and then, it couldn''t be helped. On the contrary, it might even strengthen the surviving ones making their level even higher.
Simon did not have to worry about these monsters baring their fangs on the Lightning draconic serpent as even they who were ruled by their instincts knew better than to scuffle with it.
Creating all of this took a marginal chunk of his DP; however, this did not stop Simon from installing all of them. The safety of his dungeon and its residents was more important to him than DP which he could easily earn back in a span of few days.
After he was done modelling the floor, Simon purchased more than thirty seeds of Trees of Mana and called the [Helpers] using the special link that had been established through this role.
He always felt that the role function was not something as simple as delegating some of his authority to them. There was much more to it than what meets the eye.
For now, Simon left it alone since he didn''t have the time to ponder over it and also because he believed that with time he would naturallye to understand it; After all, it was his dungeon.
Focusing on this link that had been created between him and the [Helpers] Simon was able to get in contact with them.. It didn''t take them long for these five [Helpers] to assemble on the Main Floor as they were able to ess the teleport function of the [Main Menu].
Chapter 220: City Of Mountmend
Chapter 220: City Of Mountmend
It didn''t take long for these five [Helpers] to assemble on the Main Floor as they were able to ess the teleport function of the [Main Menu].
He handed the thirty seeds of Trees of Mana to the [Helpers] and ordered them to nt the seeds all across the new floor.
One of the keys to quickly increasing the rank of the dungeon was to increase the density of mana on all of the floors. The higher the concentration of mana within the dungeon, the more likely it is to rank up.
And what better way to aplish it than having the Forest Spring Spirit who had the closest affinity to nature do it. Their role as the [Helpers] also made it so that their authority extended over the monsters and made them the most ideal person for the task.
With every preparation finished, Simon finally sighed in relief.
With the addition of the new floor, there was a total of thirty-nine floors in his dungeon. The maximum floor limit for an [E] rank dungeon was fifty floors and could only be increased further when the rank of the dungeon goes up.
The same goes with the functions that could be installed, level of the monsters and traps. Once the rank of the dungeon increases, so does all of these.
As of now, the toughest floors of his dungeon would be the 34th and 35th floor upied by theFire Eater Rats and the Fire fanged Mouse followed by the 31st to 33rd floor inhabited by poisonous Cactopus and Great Purple Scorpion.
Combat wise, they were not that powerful from the Chimera bears or the Savage warrior Monkeys but what made them a threat was their deadly poison which would be lethal to anyone not having any resistance or life-saving elixirs.
While it was not necessary that the upper floors would be breached anytime soon, in the off chance that they did and he was away, he could only count on Irene and the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
Simon couldn''t count on the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse as it was on a mysterious phase of undergoing some changes.
"It seems that you have prepared quite a bit. You can leave the rest to me, be assured that as one of its Guardians I shall not allow anyone harm the dungeon core or the Forest Spring Spirits living in it" Irene''s voice sounded out from beside him.
Unbeknownst to him, Irene had appeared near without even him noticing.
Simon simply nodded his head and stared nkly at her. Maybe it was because of the realisation that he wouldn''t be able to see her for a while, he kept on gazing at her figure.
Irene was a peerless beauty through and through and apanied by her noble and cold temperament, it gave her a unique charm that was hard to define.
A silent atmosphere descended as both the party kept on staring at each other without any word or perhaps there was no need for any.
Time flowed by for a while before "Ahem¡ sorry to disturb your intimate time but I think it''s time we head out".
All of a sudden, Adalinda''s voice sounded from one corner of the space breaking the silent atmosphere that the two had built.
Realising her own actions and hearing Adalinda''s words, Irene finally snapped out from her daze and quickly removed her gaze away. Her full chest heaved up and down as her heartbeat pounded crazily and a red flush quickly appeared on her face.
She did not know what kind of face she was making, but one thing was clear was that her state of mind along with her thoughts was no longer calm. However, all of thatsted only for a while before her cold and icyposure once again returned to her face.
She hurriedly condensed something with her mysterious powers before sealing it with her ice seal and pushed it towards Simon.
Irene gave onest stare towards Adalinda before silently flying towards the direction of the pond.
Simon did not check the content of the item that was passed onto him and he simply kept it on his inventory. He stared at the departing figure of Irene before collecting his thoughts "Alright let''s go and find that disciple of yours".
Adalinda who up until now had ackadaisical attitude, finally wore a serious expression on her face as she cut through space once again and quickly dived inside it.
Simon nced at the main floor of his dungeon onest time before swiftly following suit.
¡ª¨C
High up in the sky of the eastern region of the Ghastly Winding Forest, a huge ck arc silently appeared in the sky out of the vision of the average person.
The huge arc was shaped like a balloon ship and spanned for more than five hundred meters. It had more than fifty windows and three galleries on the front that gave the passengers riding on it a magnificent view of the outside.
The way it appeared in the sky was as if it had pierced through the space and wentpletely unnoticed by anything on the ground. There was a constantbusting noise as the huge arc operated and a distortion in space whenever it moved.
In one of the galleries of the ck arc, a manpletely decked out in a suit of magnificent armour that glinted a tinge of green, was at this moment looking below at the ground.
Even though the altitude he was in was very high which made it nigh impossible to make out anything down below, his eyes that were like the hawk refused to tear away from it.
"What are you looking at Godwin?" another man called out to him from behind as he also made his way on the gallery.
Godwin who was called out, did not respond and kept on silently staring at the thing on the ground with a frown on his face.
The other man was ustomed to this and hence did not press forward and instead matched the gaze of Godwin and stared at the thing he was looking at.
"Hmm? a dungeon? Isn''t that the one where the incident with Chuck and the other member of our branch guild urred? It has be quite the sensation back in the city. Look at all those adventurers gathering around it, if my memories serve right, the name of the dungeon should be¡"
"Lace".
Before the man couldplete his words, Godwin who had kept his silence finally decided to speak.
"Right¡ Lace. From the looks of it, it seems Chuck was right the dungeon doesn''t seem to be an [E] rank one indeed. But the rumours say that the dungeon hasn''t even been there for long so howe its rank has increased so fast? Do you want to stop here and investigate Godwin?" the man asked.
Godwin simply shook his head but still continued to stare at the dungeon below "No need Raven, our destination is not a low rank dungeon but a [B] rank one located at the farthest reach of the Great Dasha Desert on the Demon Continent. There is no need for us to waste our time on a [D] rank one".
Raven nonchntly shrugged his shoulders before confirming once again "Are you sure? Chuck was one of your favourite ones among the guild members and you hadpletely flipped when you heard his team was met with an unfortunate event. Do you not want to examine the ce where all of it had urred?".
Godwin did not answer and simply walked inside the arc.
"Well if you say so" getting the meaning behind his actions, Raven left it there before fixing his gaze towards their destination.
The dungeon they were going to explore was one of the famous ones even amongst the surrounding kingdoms and only those adventurers visited it who are confident of their strength or are looking to increase their levels even further.
You can even find some strong adventurers diving inside to conquer it while others were there to simply seek new challenges and riches.
This dungeon had been there for more than 2000 years and ording to legends and some sources, is their of a Demon Duke.
Conquering such a dungeon was easier said than done. Also one could imagine how difficult it would be to explore said dungeon.
Although [B] rank dungeon was by no means the highest, it is still considered as a high-rank dungeon along with [A] rank for its insane level of difficulty to explore.
The [C] tier dungeons are considered intermediate rank dungeons, [D] and [E] low-rank dungeons.
There are only a few [S] tier dungeons in the whole world and are considered Peak rank dungeons whereas [SS] rank dungeons of which only three of them existed is considered as the Great dungeons.
The dungeon they were going was by no means for weak adventurers, even the weakest monster in there was above level 200.
Not to mention the difficulty and level of the monsters goes up the deeper the floors they dived in, even the lethality of the traps there was enough to easily kill a low-level adventurer instantly.
Death lingered everywhere in a high-rank dungeon and your only hope of surviving it was your own strength.
It was not only about the difficulty, but even the concentration of mystical energy was so dense that it made it possible for precious treasures and ores to be discovered there.
Precisely because it was such a ce, it was lucrative for those adventurers looking to increase their levels as well as earn riches at the same time.. Their guild Sea God''s trident was the same as it too sought high ranking dungeon to tackle as well as seek profit from.
Chapter 221: City Of Mountmend (2)
Chapter 221: City Of Mountmend (2)
Their destination, the dungeon they were headed for was called the Desert Gorge. Thinking about the dungeon, made Raven squint his eyes and he involuntarily put his hands on the two short swords he always carried on his waist.
It wasn''t like it was their first time tackling it, but every time they did they would have to retreat back multiple times and could only progress in a snail''s pace.
The Desert Gorge was also the ce where multiple adventurers from their guild had died exploring thus paving paths for the other members of their guild.
Their guild, the Sea God''s Trident was considered one of the top five guilds both in terms of numbers and strength across the Kingdom of Ellesmere but even they were nothing in front of the [B] rank dungeon.
However, all of this was before Godwin and Raven joined them and climbed the ranks of their guild. It wasn''t guaranteed that their current exploration would ensue like all their previous ones.
Since his face was covered with a mask, nobody knew what Raven was thinking.
"Let''s go" from inside the arc, came Godwin''s solemn voice.
The space around the arc started distorting and a loudbusting noise starteding off from the engine of the arc. However, what was peculiar was that even though the arc made such a loud sound, no noise ensued out on the area a few hundred meters around it.
The space soon distorted and the huge back arc that was there a few moments ago, was nowhere to be seen. It was as if the arc was never there in the first ce.
¡ª¡ª
WOOOSH¡ Diving through the dimensional tear, Simon found himself high above in the sky in front of a vast field that spanned for thousands of kilometres.
Thend here was lush green with trees and grass growing all over. However, unlike the Ghastly Winding Forest, thend here had a very thin density of mana.
"Where are we?" was the first thought that came to his mind as he observed the distant few mountain ranges.
"Hmm? You don''t know the ce? Thisnd here is the one adjacent to the ce where you have built your dungeon. We are at the north-western borders of the Central Continent that connects with the Ghastly Winding Forest of the Demon Continent more specifically we are at the outskirts of the Kingdom of Ellesmere" Adalinda replied casually.
The moment Simon heard what she said, he couldn''t help widen his eyes in amazement. This would be his second timeing on and that was not inside the Ghastly Winding Forest, the First time being the Walpurgis held at the farthest reach of the Demon Continent.
Unlike the demon continent, thend here was lush and fertile, suitable for all kinds of cultivation. Also from Adalinda, Simon learned that thends here belonged to the kingdom of Ellesmere which was just one of the thousands of kingdoms and empires flourishing on the central continent.
The Kingdom of Ellesmere was not very influential and was one of the many bottom tier kingdoms out there on the central continent.
"Well even though I say weak, it is still not an opponent that you can look down upon," Adalinda said drawing peculiar ruins in the air. The ruins intermingled and circled around each other and pulsed with a mysterious light.
Even without her deliberately saying it, Simon was already aware of it. There was no way he was going to look down upon a kingdom whose strength was still unknown to him.
Suddenly, the ruins she carved out, started giving some response and Adalinda squinted her eyes.
"Alright hop in" ripping the space apart with her fingernails once again, she beckoned at Simon before delving inside the tear.
Simon too followed behind and arrived at a new destination. They were still high up in the sky, but thend below them was no longer lush green and empty. Instead, there was a city down below.
Tall ramparts that went as high as thirty meters, surrounded the city from all sides. The city was neither nor small and can be said to be average. The buildings dotting the ce were of varying heights and the roads could be said wide and big.
"Why are we here?" looking at the city, Simon couldn''t help but ask.
"Hmm? My readings show that my disciple must have stopped by here. Although I can''t sense any of her lingering aura, I cannot be wrong" Adalinda mused.
It seemed that her disciple hade to this city and thus they were here.
Simon patiently waited for Adalinda toplete whatever she was doing. It was not like he could go anywhere else since he agreed with her request of finding her disciple nor could he understand what she was doing.
"Hehe, if you think you can outsmart me, then you have underestimated your master too much" finally after a while, Adalinda muttered puffing her chest proudly.
Looking at her behaviour, Simonmented "Did you find something?".
Adalinda did notment and instead looked at him with a wide smile "What do you think? If it was so easy to find her, would I even need your help? She is my disciple after all; but she forgot one thing and that is I''m her master. I know every skill and technique that she can use, there is no way she can hide from me for long".
"Is that so" For some reason, Simon felt his skin tingling and he wanted to end the conversation there. However, how could Adalinda allow him to do so.
"It is time you disyed your usefulness. You wille down with me to the city and search for any tracks or clues she might have left behind mistakenly".
The moment he heard her words, Simon couldn''t help but be stunned for a while.
"Huhh? What do you meane down with you? It''s a human city for crying out loud. There is no telling how they will react if a demon noble like me descends on their town".
The city down below was upied by humans, there was no way they would just casually greet him who was a Demon Noble no less.
The humans and demons have gone to war many a times during their history, there was already so much bad blood between the two species that it was extremely difficult to make peace. If not for the non-aggression treaty signed by both the representatives of the species, there would still be war all around.
There would be dire consequences if he was to be found roaming around a human city. Simon had inherited all of these memories when he was reincarnated as a Demon Baron so he was more or less slightly aware of what went down in their long history.
Plus he was not like Adalinda whose appearance wasn''t any different from a human girl of her age. If not for that insane amount of aura she asionally released, she would appear any different than a human girl to the average human of the city.
"It is impossible no matter how you see it. A Demon Viscount like me would plunge the city in panic the moment I''m spotted".
Simon was not lying, his pale appearance, horns, crimson eyes, all these features that was extremely noticeable, would give him away as a member of a Demon Noble no matter how he tried to hide it.
While it is true that he can use the Elixir of Metamorphosis to transform himself to look like any human, there was no need for him to show his cards here.
Even after listening to his dilemmas, Adalinda didn''t appear to be fazed at all and appeared as rxed as ever. With a swift motion, she fished out something from her ring and passed it onto Simon.
"Have you ever heard of ancient artifacts that are able to change one''s appearance to their desire? As long as you have that locket with you, you will be able to change your appearance and mingle with the humans. With this, you can enter the city and as long as you do not wander near a high levelled being, they wouldn''t be able to see through the transformation" Adalinda exined.
Catching the item in his hand, Simon quickly inspected it with his Analysis.
Trinket of Grimlock- [A] grade item. The detail of the item was as Adalinda had exined and can change one''s appearance to their desire.
On that note, the item was extremely simr to his Elixir but unlike the limitations of his elixir which fades away when he attacks or when being attacked, the Trinket of Grimlock had no such limitations.
That is to say, the effects of the Trinket wouldn''t dispel even if he engaged in battle and would only do so if he willingly dispels it.
The item on his hands was so amazing that it can truly be called an ancient artefact. Simon was not amazed that Adalinda had something like this in her possession but what surprised him was her attitude of casually tossing it to him.
"Now then I assume you have no moreints right? If so then let us go down" Adalinda gestured while looking at the bustling city down below.
Without giving him any time to react, the invisible foothold that he was standing on disappeared and his body plummeted below.
WOOOSH¡ wind rustled past him and his entire body was in a state of free fall.. Simon had the skill [High Speed Flight] but whenever he used it, his wide pair of bat-like wings woulde out of his shoulder des.
Chapter 222: Creating A Ruckus
Chapter 222: Creating A Ruckus
There was no way he could use the skill in his current situation as there were no humans born with a bat like wings and would quickly give him away.
The ground approached closer and closer and just when he thought that his only option was to kiss the ground, a mysterious energy that was foreign to him, quickly got hold of his body and decelerated his speed before freeing him of its grasp.
BANG¡ Simonnded on his feet without any injury and dusted his clothes.
Looking around him, he found himself on a deserted alleyway that was far away from the main market. It seemed that there were no eye witnesses and their intrusion into the city was a sess.
"Hehh~ you don''t look half bad even in your human appearance" sounded Adalinda''s voice from out of the corner. Her golden dress did not have even a single crease and she was holding her umbre as usual.
"Alright, let''s go and find some slip ups that my naive disciple had left behind" saying that, Adalinda quickly walked forward.
Simon sighed in resignation and quickly matched her pace. The roads of the city were made of ordinary stone bs and had adequate drainage for the water and rain to flow.
On the busy street of the city, multiple shops were lined up selling wares and trading goods with the customers that filled up the ce. Various goods and essories could be seen on the roadside and on the shop attracting customer''s interest.
Two humans, a man and a little girl walked past the busy street and arrived near the fountain at the intersection connection three without causing any suspicions. Needless to say, the two were Simon and Adalinda.
There was not much change in Adalinda''s appearance, but in contrast, it was Simon that had changed a lot. He no longer had his usual horns, pale white appearance or his striking crimson eyes.
Other than that, his height which was previously above two meters, had shortened down to match the average height of the humans around him. What was same was his appearance that he disliked changing.
While Simon could be called devilishly handsome in his usual form, the human appearance of his had its own unique quirks.
On their way here, Simon had heard many bits and pieces of information from the individuals living in this city and came to know that the city was called Mountmend. It was a remote city located at the north-western corner of the kingdom and was the city closest to the Ghastly Winding Forest.
The city also served as a fortress from any monster outbreak from the forest.
"Were you able to find any tracks of your disciple?" Simon asked looking at the girl who height was only able to reach his waist even after he transformed into a human.
"Not yet, let''s look around some more. Given her character, she is bound to make some slip ups. If we search carefully we should be able to find her tracks" Adalinda murmured closing her eyes.
Simon did not know what she doing, but given her strength, he assumed that she was looking for clues in her own way.
Thinking that the process would take too much time, Simon decided it would be better to ask around. However, after being reincarnated into this world, it was his first timeing in contact with a human city and because of that, even he was hard-pressed to find a ce to ask the whereabouts of a person.
While he was observing the inhabitants of the city, Simon soon noticed that there were humans wearing different garbs than normal clothes walking around the city every now and then.
Some of them wore, armours, some light weight chainmail and some leather garbs; however, what wasmon in them was that they each had weapons sheathed in their waist or back.
Even without thinking hard, Simon immediately understood that those people were other than adventurers. Suddenly, an idea struck him. If he wanted to find some information, what better way than to ask the adventurers whose primary job was to explore?
"Hey where are you going?" Adalinda asked seeing Simon wandering off by himself.
He came near to a shop which was mainly selling different types of fruits, and initiated a conversation with the owner.
"Do you have a moment? I have a few questions I want to ask?".
The owner of the shop was a plump man with a short stature and a bald head. What was recognisable about him was his thick moustache that seemed to be very well taken care of.
The owner of the shop looked at him with disinterest before speaking dismissively "If you are not here to purchase something than don''t waste my?".
His attitude ticked off Adalinda and she was just about to storm off from the shop when she saw Simon standing still.
Understanding the hidden meaning behind the owner''s words, Simon immediately brought out some of the coins he had plundered from Laris, and tossed it towards the owner.
"How much are you willing to sell for this?".
The owner instantly caught the pouch in his hands and gave it a quick nce. Immediately, a bootlicking smile bloomed on his face and he redoubled his views on Simon.
"You are most wee esteemed customer. Please don''t hesitate to ask what you need". Seeing the 180¡ã change in the attitude of the man after receiving money from Simon, Adalinda couldn''t help but click her tongue in disgust.
Simon wasn''t bothered by this change of attitude and asked his question promptly "It''s like this we are looking for the whereabouts of a person and do not know where to begin searching for them. I was thinking if there was a ce we could specifically go and ask¡".
The owner intently listened to his words before making a peculiar face "Are you two by chance new here?".
Thinking that there was no point in hiding it, Simon willingly admitted it.
"I see, in that case are you here to request amission to the adventurers? If so then you should head to the Adventurers guild branch located near the centre of the city. Or you could also go the headquarters of the guild of your choice and personally make amission. Hehe, since you are an esteemed customer of mine, here is a free advice from me. Don''t make amission to the Sea God''s Trident guild".
The owner next looked left and right before whispering few more words.
"Although I do not know the full detail but ording to the rumours, in one of their recent expedition, all of their powerful members have been wiped out. It would be in your best interest to choose the other guilds that still retail all their best members. Personally I would advise you to pick the Blinding Arrow guild as they are the new and uing powerhouse of this city".
Simon silently digested the words that the owner had to say before walking away from the shop. He was much too familiar with the incident where a guild was ambushed near his dungeon and nearly lost all of its members.
After all, he was there and had interrupted the fight just in time to save the surviving two members of that guild. What he didn''t know was that their guild was named Sea God''s Trident and they were a guild from the city of Mountmend he was currently at.
"There is no mistaking it, it''s them" Simon frowned while silently walking the busy streets.
''If those two are here, then I definitely cannot get involved with them or else my cover would be immediately blow away'' he internally thought as he remembered the pair that he had saved.
Although the man had fallen unconscious, the woman had seen his face and would definitely be able to recognise him.
"Hey what are you brooding about?" Adalinda remarked seeing him creasing his brows and walking randomly.
"Do you really think these snotty nose adventurers will be able to find anything? If so then you have really underestimated my disciple. Forget about them, even their ancestors would be unable to find any of the clues that Lucine might have left behind. Hey are you listening?".
Simon who was walking towards the centre of the city, stated "Even if they do not know, there is a chance that your disciple might have visited those ces and have left some tracks unknowingly that you could collect. Also, there is no harm in gathering information from apletely foreignnd, who knows, we might even be able to know the destination in which your disciple is headed for".
Adalinda blinked her eyes in surprise at how level headed Simon was even when he was in apletely foreignnd.
"Hehh~ interesting! Let''s do as you say, although I doubt she is stupid enough to leave any such obvious tracks like that, but just in case there is no harm to check it out. So are we going to the adventurers guild or the one that fatty had rmended?".
Simon simply shook his head and replied "Since we are not going to make amission, there is no point in going to a private guild. That leaves only the Adventurers guild".
Adalinda nodded her head without much interest.
The centre of the city was a wide za filled with tall buildings and was the hub of the market. Various offices and workces were also located at this ce crowding with people who wereing and going out.
The ce was vibrant with activity as the inhabitants of this city went along with their daily life.
Chapter 223: Creating A Ruckus (2)
Chapter 223: Creating A Ruckus (2)
In one corner of the za, was a wide building that had enough presence that it attracted the eyes of any passer-by. At the forefront of the building, right on top of the entrance was a wide notice and written in that wide notice were few letters in a striking manner.
Although the letters were foreign to him, thanks to the ability of the skill [Language Comprehension], Simon had no qualms in reading what was written.
Adventurers Guild¡ was what the notice board on top of the building said. Simon and Adalinda arrived near the Adventurers guild before heading inside.
Inside, the entire interior of the building was made of polished wood and the very first thing that greeted their eyes, was a wide hall big enough to easily hold more than five hundred adventurers.
The smell of alcohol and food was very apparent here. Looking around, Simon spotted more than fifty adventurers currently sitting at different tables enjoying their meals and drinks.
While on other side of the hall was a big board with many parchments pinned on it. Quite a few adventurers could be seen lingering there.
Their entrance did not attract much attention other than a few nces from the nearby adventurers.
Simon did not bother with any of it, and directly headed for the counter where a group of humans dressed in neat clothes stood on the other side of the desk.
"How may I help you?" a woman probably in her twenties and seemed to look average in every way, greeted him with a polite smile. The smile was very practised and business-like.
Simon nodded, just when he was about to put forth his question, Adalinda spoke first. "You there missy¡ have you seen a girl about this big and having¡" she kept on going for a while providing a description of her disciple to the best of her ability.
Thedy on the counter made a troubled smile as she patiently listened to Adalinda''s words before replying "I''m very sorry I have not seen any such person. But if the person is very important, why not make amission? I''m quite sure some of the adventurers might have seen her".
Adalinda wasn''t amazed, on the contrary, her face seemed to say ''See I told you so'' as she stared back at Simon.
The woman that they were looking for was a master of hiding their presence. How can these average adventurers be able to even catch a glimpse of her?
Even Simon was able to detect her presence only when the woman decided to reveal herself in front of him much less these adventurers whose average levels were less 200.
Heaving a sigh of exhaustion, Simon shook his head before asking another question "We are not here to make amission; however, where can we buy some information?".
Thedy carefully looked at the two of them as they made quite the contrasting pair. One was a fairly built man in his twenties with striking features and a handsome face to speak no less, other was a petite girl who appeared to be less than fourteen years old and whose face had enough charms to mesmerise thousands of people with just a nce.
The pair was unique and not something that they saw every day in this city.
Thedy pointed at the bar on the other corner of the hall and said "If it is the information that you are looking for, you can buy it from there".
Simon thanked her before heading towards the bar. Right after they left, the other staff near thedy asked her in hushed voice "I believe I have not seen them here before? Are they from outside?".
Thedy nodded before writing something on the parchment.
Compared to the counter, the people gathered at the bar were clearly quite numerous. The group sitting around here could be said very boisterous, an effect of the alcohol doing its effect.
Taking a seat at the corner of the counter, they looked around the bar hearing bits and pieces of information ryed around before tearing their attention away.
"Hehe, you there friend¡ your face doesn''t look familiar? Are you by chance new to the city?".
The person seating adjacent to them suddenly initiated a conversation. He was a middle-aged man with short brown hair and a friendly looking face, his facial features could have been said handsome if not for the unkempt beard he had allowed to grow.
No matter how Simon at him, the man had an aura of a veteran who had seen his fair share of adventures.
"You are?" Simon couldn''t help but ask. "Ah! Where are my manners. The name is Scott, Scott Green¡ as for you my friend?" the man named Scott introduced himself.
Simon nodded before replying nonchntly "Simon, you can just call me Simon, this here is¡ um..".
"Hmph, I see no point in introducing my name to a human of no value" Adalinda snorted not bothering to give them any face.
''Human?'' Scott squinted his eyes at those words.
"Don''t mind her, she is not used to socialising with others" Simon said trying to lighten the mood. He felt it was unwise to disturb the mood of the room even before they have gained any information.
Scott waved his hands indicating that he did not mind it one bit.
"As you have already guessed, we have arrived in this city just today" Simon admitted as there was no point in hiding it especially when the other party had already guessed that much.
"I see¡ so what brings you to this city?" Scott asked trying to probe something out of him.
"We just had some business here. Anyways, we are here to buy some information¡ by chance do you happen to know some events that had recently happened around the city?" Simon brought out a pouch of coins from his inventory and slipped it towards Scott.
Scott gave the contents of the pouch a quick nce before smiling slyly "Hehe, this amount of money is nothing my friend. If you want to learn some information, you have to dish out double of that or at least a gold coin".
Simon frowned, truth to be said, he wasn''t familiar with the mary system of humans and whatever knowledge he had, was from his time on earth.
Earlier, he had provided a pouch containing fifty silver coins to Scott; however, it seemed that it wasn''t enough to buy him the information. The man demanded double of that or a gold coin¡ if he was to believe the man, then it meant that hundred silvers coins amounted to one gold coin.
The space ring that he had plundered from Laris had about a thousand copper coins, a few hundred silver coins and ten gold coins. Processing all of his thoughts with [Thought Processing], Simon dished out another fifty silver coins.
"Hahaha, that''s more like it my friend" Scott quickly hoarded the coins before continuing "Have you heard about the recent tragedy that washed over the once top guild of this city, the Sea God''s Trident?"
"It''s the talk of the city after all. ording to the news that I received, only the branch manager of the guild and a woman were the only ones that came back alive out of all those that went to that expedition".
Seeing that Simon wasn''t surprised by this information, Scott provided another piece of news "Well I''m not surprised that you have already heard of it. But here is the catch, the Sea God''s guild here is the branch of the main guild located in the capital city and is considered one of the top five guild amongst the whole kingdom. What the ordinary citizen doesn''t know is that the tragedy was nned by someone. Naturally, there was a mastermind behind all of that".
When he enunciated till here, Scott noticed an unnatural glint in the eyes of Simon before he continued "ording to some rumours, the people from the main guild were quite furious when they received the news. After all, they cannot stay quiet after what happened to their branch".
"As one of the top five guilds across the whole kingdom, they have a reputation to maintain. They dispatched a group of elite adventurers to avenge what happened here and do you know who they decided to send along?".
Scott lowered his voice even further and smiled widely "It was Godwin, the one who is renowned across the whole kingdom as someone who is going to join the status of the Rankers soon. There are even some witnesses who say that they have seen Godwin here in the city of Mountmend".
"Additionally, although it is not verified yet but it seems that the perpetrators of that event were from the barony of Morgress. ording to some of my sources, there was a big incident in the city of Morgress. The news has not travelled here since it is being tightly kept secret by the men of Duke Redcrest".
Simon digested all of the information that he got from Scott and ording to it, the situation that had developed near his dungeon, had blown up to be quite a big issue.
Who would have known that the party that was being massacred at that time, would be a branch of such a distinguished guild whose name was renowned across the whole kingdom.
Aside from that, the name which piqued his most interest was the name Morgress.. If his memories served right, during the final hours of Laris, he seemed to have mentioned his guild which was located at the city of Morgress.
Chapter 224: Creating A Ruckus (3)
Chapter 224: Creating A Ruckus (3)
Apparently, one of the main perpetrators behind the subjugation of Forest Spring Spirits, came up during the conversation. Simon was quite wary of them since they were aware of the existence of Cecilia and Forest Spring Spirits.
What happened to that guild? What was the incident that urred at Morgress all about and whether the information about the Forest Spring Spirits was leaked out? Simon wanted to know more about what had actually happened.
However, unfortunately even for Scott, the information was out of reach.
"This is all a big waste of time. What is this man babbling about from that time, of this information is useful to us".
While Simon was in trance with all of the questions bombarding his mind, Adalinda who was bored out of her mind,ined. All of this information was unnecessary to her who was only interested in finding her disciple.
Thus seeing that the man was simply giving irrelevant information she couldn''t take this anymore and voiced out.
Her cranky words snapped him out of his thoughts and Simon couldn''t help bute to terms with his present situation.
Adalinda was right, he was currently here to look for any clues or tracks that can lead them to her disciple. Worrying about something that he could do nothing about, was simply a distraction.
Scott Green locked his eyebrows at another piece of information that identally leaked out from Adalinda.
Simon gave a bitter smile before asking "Do you have any other information which should be of quite some interest or making waves around here?".
Scott closed his eyes and went into contemtion for a long time. It was then an adventurer who was intently listening to their conversation from the nearby seat, chipped in as he drank his beer from his mug.
"The Battle of the Finest¡ gulp¡ gulp¡ haa.. if you are talking about news that is making its wave all over the kingdom then it should the opening of the coliseum in the royal capital".
"The coliseum?" Simon repeated.
"Hey Berry don''t go stealing other''s customers" Scott said annoyed by the unwanted interruption from the adventurer.
"Oh shut up Scott, you can keep those money to yourself. I''m just providing some information to this friend here¡ you can also treat it as some drunkard''s ranting" saying that, the adventurer got up from his seat and exited the hall.
Simon couldn''t help but frown at this disy "What was all that about Coliseum?".
Scott sighed, Berry had ruined his business. He had nned to sell this information for a few more coins but now that the customer was more or less aware, he wouldn''t be able to dupe them anymore.
"It is as the title suggests ''Battle of the Finest'', apletion held by the kingdom every decade to test the prowess of the future and the uing heroes of the Kingdom of Ellesmere. Anyone who is above level 200 and is not more than 50 years of age, can participate in it. But the requirement is that they need to be a resident of the Kingdom of Ellesmere".
A never before hint of excitement shed in, Scott''s eyes as he talked about thepetition. "Various guild from all the ces of the kingdom, also visit this event looking to recruit some rare genius or in hopes of having their members make a name for themselves. Even the Royal Family, the top five guilds and the representatives from other kingdoms and empires would also be present there. After all, the ''battle of the Finest'' is the ce where the legends and heroes of the kingdom rise from".
Simon nodded, a peculiar glint shed in his eyes. While Adalinda grunted appearing to be frustrated out of her mind.
"The ''Battle of the Finest'' is an event that is eyed by the whole kingdom and various people that are now the heroes of the realm, made their name renowned through this very event. ording to my sources, this year''spetition is going to be even fiercer than the previous ones as there are many seeded candidates from each of the top five guilds".
"Not only that, as per the rumours it is said that the grand reward for winning thepetition would be something so incredible that it had never been heard of before in the history of thepletion attracting multiple people and raising the difficulty to unheard levels".
Simon tapped the table with his fingers as he processed all the information in his head. ''Battle of the Finest huh¡ it is worth keeping count of'' he thought internally''.
"Where is the food, why hasn''t ite yet?" Adalinda grumbled, she was no longer interested in the talks that was going around.
Ignoring her boorishness, Simon nced at Scott and asked curiously "So this ''Battle of the Finest'' when is it going to start?".
"Hehe friend it seems that you too are interested in it huh? Alright, I''ll tell you¡ there are still more than fourty days for the event. But if you n on attending the event, I suggest that you leave immediately and find a caravan for the capital. The attraction of thepetition is so that the capital would be flooded as the days go by and the day of the event approaches closer".
Simon did not deny nor agreed with his words and simply nodded his head. More than fourty days for the event, that is to say, that there are less than two months for the event held at the capital.
"Ah that reminds me, there was also another person asking the same question as you not so long back" Chuck suddenly uttered remembering something.
"Is that so¡ what kind of person were they?" Simon asked offhandedly however the answer he got, suddenly roused his interest.
"Haha, now that I remember it, even the swords that person used were the exact same. They simrly asked me ''if there was anything big or interesting happening around here''. Although I must say that person was quite peculiar. A ck robed covered their entire figure and their face was covered with a hood, even their presence was next to nil. However, from that person''s voice, they appeared to be a woman" Scott recalled while drinking the ale from his mug.
In the meantime, while they were conversing, a bulky man with a thick beard and sharp eyes who seemed to be the barkeeper, came to them before asking "Your orders?".
Simon carefully observed the man whose build was that of a warrior before replying in a casual manner "We''ll have anything you get us as a rmendation".
The Barkeeper did not seem amused and nodded before looking towards Adalinda "What about the child? Will a juice and apple pie suffice?".
At that moment, Simon instinctively felt that something that was already to their limit, finally snapped.
The barkeeper had no idea that he had unknowingly stepped on andmine, one which might even cost him his life. Hearing the words of the man, Simon who had a bad premonition, hurriedly turned towards Adalinda before making an ''Oh Shit'' expression.
His feeling was right, at this moment Adalinda had a murderous look in her eyes as she red at the barkeeper and her aura that she always keeps restrained leaked out just a little.
However, just that tiny bit of it was enough to bring a disaster onto the hall. The building trembled and a pressure like never before descended onto the guild.
The drunk adventurers who couldn''t take this pressure, immediately copsed onto their tables and the weak ones immediately fainted. Bottles copsed and spilled on the floor, the entire building creaked and there were cracks quickly spreading on the wooden floor everywhere.
"You¡ stop it right now before you make the situation even worse" Simon tried to snap her out of it. But it seems that all was for naught, the barkeeper had clearly earned her ire and she was not going to stop before she vented it out.
"Wha-what is going on?" Scott who was seated near them, sobered up and cautiously looked around his surrounding. However, how could an ordinary human bear the slightest bit of presence that Adalinda had allowed to emit out?
Right after saying his words, his feet staggered and he fell onto the floor unconscious.
As if all of this was not enough, the Barkeeper who was the main target of her ire, copsed onto the floor with frothing out of his mouth. The pitiful man did not even have time to realise what wrong he hadmitted.
The pressure enveloped the whole building and Simon was not spared from it, he distinctly felt that the whole ce slightly sinking down. Although he had difficulty resisting her aura, it wasn;t like it was his first time being under such a powerful force of suppression.
He hurriedly stabilised his footing, and resisted his body bending down.
"Hmph" At this time, he heard a snorting from Adalinda. She had a refreshed expression on her face as if her action had released all of her pent up vexation.
Being on the level that she was, she had a very haughty and prideful attitude, so how could she take this remark lying down? Releasing a tiny fraction of her aura, was her way of warning others not to take her lightly.
After what felt like a while, Adalinda finally withdrew her aura and basked in the silence. Well, with all of the adventurers down, it would be a miracle if it was not silent.
"W-what have you done?" Simon who could finally move his body as he wished, looked all around himself and saw the shocking condition of the ce.
Chapter 225: Branch Manager Gill
Chapter 225: Branch Manager Gill
. "W-what have you done?" Simon who could finally move his body as he wished, looked all around himself and saw the shocking condition of the ce.
The ce no longer looked how it was used to before with adventurers copsed all over the ce and the scene gave off a feeling of a disaster-stricken area.
The corner of his eyes twitching repeatedly, Simon hurriedly called out to the girl who was the instigator behind all of this "Let''s get out of here before the situation gets any worse".
"But I have not received my promised Apple Pie?" Adalinda groaned, looking extremely unwilling to leave the ce.
Simon who could no longer take her selfishness, grabbed her and hurriedly dashed towards the exit. However, a force of wind that came from the floor above, blocked his way and sealed off his escape.
The energy that blocked the exit, rippled with a strong light which could give even Simon a tough time.
With the exit sealed and a witness with a hidden level, there was no way they could get out of this mess with only an apology.
Turning towards the stairs where the energy hade from, Simon revealed a helpless smile. Everything was going smoothly until Adalinda decided to throw her tantrum. Now that they were found, there was no telling what would happen next.
Heck, with all the adventurers lying on the floor unconscious, bottles broken and floor cracked, it painted a very bad picture of them no matter how one looked it.
Creak¡Creak, the sound of footstepsing from the stairs started bing more apparent before an old man with white hair and a straight back came down.
He carried a cane with him that did not look ordinary and the gaze hidden beneath his thick white eyebrows were as sharp as an unsheathed de.
The old man scanned the floor and tapped the floor with his cane a few times. His brows that were locked together tightly, loosened a bit when he realised that all of the adventurers here were alive and simply unconscious.
Next, he fixed his gaze on the only two people remaining standing and observed them carefully.
The gaze of the old man was like a wave of energy that tried to see through his very being as it lingered on him for quite a while.
Simon sweated profusely when introduced to such probing, he immediately understood that the old man was using [Analysis] on him which made him stand on tenterhooks for his identity being revealed.
The aura that Adalinda had emitted out, had enveloped the whole floor and the old man that had endured that, should be quite high levelled or at least as strong as him.
Simon gulped, he was currently using the artifact that Adalinda had provided him to mask his appearance to that of a human. Although he had yet to dispel the effects, a truly strong person would be able to see through his fa?ade.
Fortunately, all of this was his needless worry, the old man other than giving him some confused looks didn''t spot anything out of ordinary on him.
The old man next gazed at Adalinda who appeared to be no more than fourteen years old girl. At that moment due to reflex or from the instigation of Adalinda, but the old man refrained from using [Analysis] on her.
"You people no matter how I see it, don''t appear to be ordinary? Who are you and what is the meaning behind all of this?" The old man asked, his gaze strangely fixated on Simon.
Simon couldn''t help butugh awkwardly at this, he had not done anything so why was he held ountable for something he had not done? However, there was no way with Adalinda around. he can scream that out.
Swallowing all of his dissatisfaction, Simon tried to scavenge their way around this. But before he could open his mouth to answer the question of the old man, Adalinda spoke first.
"Hmph, who do you think you are to ask me this question. It was all their fault in the first ce, you should be thanking me for not killing them on the spot instead of asking me questions" Her attitude was extremely haughty and it looked like she did not ce anyone in her eyes.
''Why are you making the situation even worse'' Simon screamed out internally.
Contrary to what he thought, instead of getting angry, the face of the old man told that he was extremely confused by her words and the gaze with which he was looking at her seemed to be looking at an unreasonable and spoiled child.
"Don''t mind her, she is just not used to socialising with others" Simon stepped forward trying to soothe the situation.
The old man frowned but did not mind much "So who are all of you? You don''t seem to be familiar faces that I''m used to seeing around here?".
Simon deliberated as to how better phrase it before replying "We are indeed new to this city and don''t know much about the ces and people of this town. We only came here to obtain some information".
The old man closed his eyes before opening them once again, there was a sharp glint in them which he used to stare back at Simon.
"Young man¡ if you only came here to obtain some information, then what is the meaning of this?".
The old man spread his hands and pointed all around the room.
"Don''t tell me that this is not done by you? I have indeed grown old but not so dpidated that I won''t be able to recognise the culprits when I see them. Did you think that all of this can be undone with you running?".
Simon did not know whether tough or cry, he himself wanted to ask the same question to the little girl beside him.
"We also didn''t want to create such a scene, it was all an ident. You can see that we meant no harm by our actions as of the adventurers are dead" He said trying to ease out the situation.
"Snort, whether you had killing intentions or not, the matter as it stands is clear to me. Young man, don''t think that you can simply get out of this" The old man''s eyebrows which were as sharp as sword refused to budge from his stance.
Hearing this, Adalinda''s eyes took a threatening glow making Simon who was beside her perspire.
"Hey old man Gill, what''s all this ruckus about?" At this moment, a voice that came from the entrance of the building rang out.
Following this sound, a fairly built man in a casual clothing hurriedly entered the hall. The man was not overly handsome but would give anyone looking at it him, a sense of ease and affability.
Looking at the face of the man, Simon hurriedly arced his eyebrows; that was because the man was not unfamiliar to him.
"Oh? It''s you Chuck boy¡ Has your body already healed? How is it, is the sensation on your right arming well?" The old man inquired with a friendly face that was devoid of any hostility he had been throwing at Simon up until now.
Chuckughed heartily at that question and replied "Yeah, although the feeling is still quite sluggish and foreign, other than that, it''s functioning quite well. Honestly, when I lost an arm, I did not think that I would have it back so soon. It''s all because of that mage you called out all the way from the capital, you have my thanks guild manager".
Hearing Chuck give his heartfelt reply, the old man who was called Gill, Smirked a little.
"Brat do you think that I can reject a request from Godwin? Besides even I''m unwilling to lose a person such as you and see your light dimming".
The high praise of the guild manager made Chuck''s expression somewhat embarrassed. He knew that because of thest expedition of his, many of the people had lost their lives and others had to go through quite some trouble.
"Brat I can see why Godwin regards you so highly. After that fall, it would not be surprising for many people to shut themselves out, reject the world and not do anything. I have even seen some people who had tendencies ofmitting suicide after losing all theirpanions".
However, you to get back on your feet I mustmend that willpower and spirit of yours. Remember take it slow for now, I know what you desire the most right now but you must hold back and bide your strength".
Gillmented observing the condition of Chuck.
Chuck who was repeatedly called brat by the old manughed and hurriedly tried to change the conversation.
"Leaving that aside, what happened here? Why are all these people down?" Chuck nced all around him and frowned.
"Snort¡ no need to ask such unnecessary questions since the culprits are right in front of me?" Gill''s eyes immediately became sharp when theynded on the two people who were standing at the entrance.
"Oh¡ but it doesn''t look like all of them are dead." Chuck approached one of the unconscious adventurers and searched for his pulse. Finding nothing unusual, he made a strange expression and looked at Simon and Adalinda.
"Like I''m trying to say it was all an ident" Simon repeated smiling bitterly in his heart. There was a ticking time bomb beside him and who knows what she might do next if did not resolve the situation fast.
Seeing her displeased expression, it wouldn''t surprise him if she decided to suddenly blow up this whole city.. Despite her innocent and childlike look, doing something like that was as easy as flipping her hands for her.
Chapter 226: Branch Manager Gill (2)
Chapter 226: Branch Manager Gill (2)
"Don''t think that you can deceive me and get away young man. I''m the guild manager of the Adventurers guild branch located in this town. No matter who you people are I must hold you responsible for this mess" Gill stated tapping his cane on the wooden floor.
Seeing the situation was going nowhere with both the parties, Chuck decided to interfere.
"These people have simply been knocked unconscious. I say, old man¡ why not let them exin themselves".
Inside a room that was above the main hall of the Adventurers guild, four people sat on two wide sofa''s facing each other. The room was not overly decorated but still gave off a feeling of mystery with multitudes of papers, books and weapons all around.
This was the office of the guild manager of the adventurers guild, Gill. One could see many bookshelves and paperwork lying all around the table waiting for his inspection.
"So how are you going to exin yourselves?" Gill brewed some tea for the so called guests before asking in a somewhat sour mood. His years of attitude towards his work, did not allow him to treat the guests without manners even if they were the culprits who hadpletely devastated his guild.
Simon spoke first before Adalinda could open her mouth and worsen the situation.
"As I have said before, we only came here to obtain some information. However, due to an umon skill we recently acquired, we weren''t able to contain it and it ended up backfiring and going out of control, knocking all of the adventurers that were inside the hall unconscious".
Simon tried to be as vague as possible andy all the me on a skill. When in reality it was all because Adalinda wanted to vent her frustration and knocked everybody out with her aura. Of course, he couldn''t say the truth and that was why he decided to lie.
Simon did not know how much of his concocted lie would be effective, but regardless, he still decided to try.
To his surprise, his words evoked an intense reaction from the guild manager and Chuck who was seated opposite them.
"A skill going out of control you say?" Gill mused as he thought about the strange energy that had enveloped the entire guild.
''It wasn''t impossible for it to be an effect of a skill going berserk'' he thought internally. Earlier when Adalinda''s aura descended onto the building, it only appeared for a moment hence Gill was unable to clearly identify the origin of that pressure.
Thinking back to what happened back at the hall, all of the adventurers appear to be just unconscious.
Chuck who was the branch guild leader of the previously strongest guild of the city of Mountmend and also an adventurer, pondered over the words of Simon. ording to his knowledge, it wasn''t like there were no skills that could do something like that.
[Intimidation], [Ruler''s Aura], [re], [Mystical Eyes], there were many such skills that could achieve such an effect and given that Simon had admitted that it was a new skill that they acquired, it made all the more sense for them to be unable to control it.
However, given his rich adventurer''s experience, what he couldn''t understand was that there were so many adventurers on the hall, although they couldn''t be said strong, they weren''t weak either.
This question was simrly rose inside the mind of Gill. A skill wouldn''t disy this much of an effect if the level of the user wasn''t very high. But sensing the presence of the two of them, Gill didn''t feel like they were overwhelmingly strong.
This was especially true for the little girl whose energy aura in his view wasn''t even above level 150.
"My attempts of [Analysis] are repeatedly being blocked¡ by any chance¡" The old man tried to probe but he was quickly cut off by Adalinda whose mood have be a little better after she was offered tea and some snacks.
"Nom¡ nom.. Isn''t it because he possesses some skill that blocks all attempts of probing by [Analysis]". Sitting on the sofa, shezily sipped on her tea andmented. Her answer naturally dissolved all doubts that they had.
It was rare, but not overly extreme to sometimes meet people whose level wasn''t very high but their status hidden due to them possessing a certain skill.
''Was it because the adventurers were drunk that they got easily affected by the skill?'' one could see a crease appearing in the forehead of the old man as he fell in deep thought.
"Well¡ at the end other than a few bottles of liquor breaking and floor cracking here and there, it appears there are no irreceable damage. Old man why don''t you let them go?" Chuck said aware of what Gill was thinking.
Guild Manager Gill immediately snarled when he heard Chuck''s words.
"Hah? I can''t let them go so easily after what they have done. Even if all this was due to an ident, they still have to pay a sufficient remuneration".
The old man was adamant; Simon had no choice but discard any thoughts of getting away from this unscathed.
"Ten ckgold coins for all the damage" Gill stretched all of his ten fingers and specified.
What was ck gold coin? Was it different from the gold coins? Simon was clueless. Unlike the Dungeon Points that all the Demon Nobles used for transactions, humans have various currencies that are being used amongst the numerous nations.
Thinking that the ck-robed young man was not from the Kingdom of Ellesmere, Chuck exined.
"The kingdom follows the denomination flowing in from the Viridian Empire. The money system used are mainly: Copper, Silver, Gold, ckgold and tinum. Most ordinary things can be bought with copper and silver coins but to buy weapons, armours and other various quality goods, you will need Gold, ckgold and tinum coins. 100 copper coins amounts to 1 silver coin, 100 silver coins= 1 gold coin, 100 gold coins= 1 ckgold coin and so forth".
Simon nodded his head in understanding; thanks to Chuck he was able to roughly get an idea of the mary system used by humans. But wait a minute¡ suddenly his head which was nodding, stopped in mid-motion as the realisation of the words from Chuck struck him.
If 100 gold coins= 1 ckgold coin, then wouldn''t it mean that 1000 gold coins= 10 ckgold coins?
The old man who was the guild manager of the Adventurers guild wanted him to spill out 1000 gold coins for the damage. Simon''s eyes twitched as he remembered the total amount of money that Laris had in his emerald ring.
The adventurer who imed to be from one of the greatest guild around here, only had a pitiful sum of 10 gold coins in his stash. He couldn''t help but curse Laris internally for boasting so much.
What Simon didn''t know was that, although Laris only had 10 gold coins, he had spent most of his fortune indulging himself on bars and seeking the pleasure of life. The only real treasure he ever had inside his space ring would be the spirit orbs that he forcefully plundered from the innocent Forest Spring Spirits and the [C] tier weapon.
Additionally, 10 gold coins were by no means a small amount and was the entire six months fortune of a low-level adventurer.
No matter who it was, they would have a hard time spilling 10 ckgold coins unless they were high-level adventurers renowned across the kingdom.
Even Chuck himself made a strange face when he heard the old man demanding 10ckgold coins. No matter how he looked at it, no adventurers died from the ident. The hall and the bottles of drinks might have taken some coteral damage, but they were by no means items which would cost that high amount of sum.
The guild manager asking such a price could only mean one thing¡
Simon made an awkward face as he looked at the old man and Chuck who was seated beside him. How was he supposed to exin them that he did not have any more than 10ckgold coins with him.
From the corner of his eyes, he spotted Adalinda who was quietly having her tea and snacks, behaving as if all of this had nothing to do with her.
"Is there no way the amount could be reduced any lower?" Simon asked thickening his face.
The thick eyebrows of Gill trembled, he said in a stern voice "Brat on top of all the damage you caused inside my guild, you even had the audacity of running away? Snort, I''m already being lenient by just charging you that much and you still have the gall to bargain? Ten ckgold coins.. no less".
His voice which did not have the slightest intention of negotiating, rang inside the room.
Listening to his words, Simon could only dejectedly sigh, there was many a times he thought about storming out of here but he ultimately suppressed such notion. If he really did that, it would be like burning the bridge, there would be no way of reconciliation.
Plus, he couldn''t make a scene lest he risked his identity being discovered by some strong individuals currently residing in this city.
"The thing is¡" Simon tried to exin embarrassedly but was cut off by Gill''s angry roar.
"What? Don''t tell me that you don''t have that much money".
Simon could only nod his head when his thoughts were already seen.
The old man clicked his tongue and tapped the floor with his cane a few times, he then closed his eyes and went into contemtion.. When he next opened his eyes, there was a stern and sharp look in his eyes with which he observed Simon.
Chapter 227: Provisional Adventurers
Chapter 227: Provisional Adventurers
Being the guild manager of Adventurers guild, he too was once an adventurer back during his prime, now although age had grabbed hold of him, the aura which only a veteran that had undergone numerous battles should have, was still present within him.
"Brat even if it was an ident, you cannot hide your guilty conscience since I saw you with my own eyes running away. As such you only have two choices, first either youpensate the guild by handing ten ckgold coins, or you ept a condition of mine. Which choice will you make is up to you, however, you can forget about running away without taking any responsibility".
A pressurising aura came from his body as he eyed Simon.
Simon on the other hand frowned over the words of the old man, as he quietly weighed his option. Previously during their conversation, he had quietly used [Analysis] on the old man and was shocked by the result he got.
Although the old man did not look like it, but his level was 434 [Yellow Guardian Knight] with many skills in his repertoire.
A level difference of over a hundred and not to mention his level was around the same as the Diluvian High Orc General Berigard whose might was enough to even shock Simon.
Plus there was also a 359 [Guardian Knight] named Chuck beside him. If he wanted to get out of this situation forcefully, it was likely that he would have to show some of his cards and even reveal his identity in the process.
There was no way he could count on this little girl who was the source of all this trouble in the first ce.
"Sigh¡ before we agree with you, can you tell us what this condition of yours is?" Simon asked appearing to be extremely calm.
Gill knitted his brows and red at Simon before revealing the contents of the condition he had previously put forth.
"The condition is simple¡ snort, since you weren''t able topensate the guild for the damage with money, naturally you have to remunerate us in another way. Oh and it''s very simple, you just have to ept a task that our guild is currently short-handed toplete. Of course, once the task isplete you naturally have no more obligation to pay us"
A peculiar glint shed in his eyes but was quickly concealed.
Chuck''s eyebrows twitched the moment he heard those words, it seemed that he was aware of what the old man was thinking.
Simon failed to notice that as he was busy delving in his own line of thought "And what is that task that we have toplete?".
He was no fool, there was no way he would readily agree to something that he knew nothing about.
Gill smiled, he was not surprised by the question of the unfamiliar looking man, on the contrary, it looked like he was expecting it.
"As I said our guild is currently short-handed toplete this task or else there was no need for me to ask the help of some strangers whose integrity is something that I doubt. The task is to guard the caravan at all costs till it reaches the capital from here".
"Naturally, you must also secure the life of members and passengers riding that caravan. The journey will take about a month, obviously you have to see it through the end. I can only tell you about the client and further details when you ept the task. So what will it be?".
Chuck silently shook his head, the moment he heard the old man bringing some task forward, he knew that was the real intention behind the old man Gill for asking such a high price. Though he knew it, he did notment, this was the matter between Adventurers guild and them.
When Simon heard the detail of the task, the first thing that he did was make an ugly face, that was because he was again tangled into something that he didn''t wish to be involved with.
As if the situation with Adalinda wasn''t enough, fate had to get him involved in something once again. Just when he was about to reject the condition, Gill added as if suddenly remembering something.
"It just so happens that the ''Battle of the Finest'', the tournament which is making quite a lot of uproar across all the region of the kingdom will be held on the capital 40 days from now. By epting this task you would be able to witness the tournament and have a look at the uing and rising heroes of this kingdom".
The old man stroked his beard and smiled vigorously when he thought about the uing event.
A bizarre light shed in the depths of Simon eyes as he mused for a moment. It was clear that the guild manager was trying to trick him intopleting a task that currently the guild couldn''tplete due to being short-handed.
However, there was something about the words that the old man and even the guy named Scott he met back at the hall had said that gave him a mysterious feeling. The feeling was something that Simon had difficulty putting his hands on.
Plus there were also those words from Scott.
"Ah that reminds me, there was also another person asking the same question as you not so long back"
"Haha, even the swords that person used were the exact same. They simrly asked me ''if there was anything big or interesting happening around here''. Although I must say that person was quite peculiar. A ck-robed covered their entire figure and their face was covered with a hood, even their presence was next to nil. However, from that person''s voice, they appeared to be a woman"
Simon nced at Adalinda who was for some reason behaving quite well before speaking towards the other upants of the room.
"Can we get a moment alone to discuss?".
His words had an added depth of solemnity which caused the other two to be quite surprised. After a moment of deliberation, the old man left followed by Chuck and the room soon descended into silence.
Simon closed his eyes and fell into a deep contemtion, earlier he had asked them for some time to discuss and weigh their options, but even after a while there was no hint of either of them uttering a sound.
Time passed just like that and before long Adalinda who couldn''t take this silence any longer broke the quiet.
"What are you thinking so hard for? Don''t tell me you are thinking of epting this task? Have you already forgotten for what purpose have I brought you with me? We have no such time to dilly dally for. Just reject them and be done with it. Hmph, if they think they can detain me Adalinda one the two vene¡ ahem anyways there is no need to speak nonsense with them any further".
Saying that, Adalinda got up from her seat and was just about to approach the door when Simon suddenly called out.
"Wait".
It was at this time that his tightly shut eyes opened and an intellectual light shed between them.
"Huh?" Adalinda couldn''t help but turn around while making a confused face.
"Our objectives may coincide¡ there is no reason for us to hastily reject this task" he said staring particrly at nothing.
The words he uttered, made the little girl even more confused, she tilted her head and looked at him for rification.
"What I''m trying to say is that we might be able to find your disciple in the capital" Simon stated, there was an unusual tone of confidence in his words. Adalinda trotted back and sat beside the seat near him and asked with big wide eyes.
"Really? My disciple is in the capital city of this Kingdom? But¡ even I''m unable to find any trace that she had left behind from here, how is it that you sound so sure?" Adalinda asked voicing her doubts.
She was unconvinced that he was able to find some traces about her disciple which even she couldn''t find any.
Simon naturally knew that it was very hard for Adalinda to believe him based on random person words and that was why he further backed his reasoning with some facts.
"As I have already said, I have met your disciple back inside the Ghastly Winding Forest. At that time, when the Lightning Draconic Serpent and the orc general were having an intense battle, if she deliberately didn''t release her presence, I wouldn''t even be aware of her existence".
"However, she chose not to hide her presence and show herself in front of me. At that time I didn''t have enough time to think over her actions but now when I look back, she seemed to have told me her motive behinding to the Ghastly Winding Forest was just to have fun. Additionally, she must have taught me that technique of yours just because it would be more fun to do so. The time I spent with her wasn''t long but even I could see that the woman had a very yful disposition".
Adalinda nodded her head when she heard those words, she was the most familiar about the nature of her disciple and knew that she was a very lively and spirited person who even dared to sneak out of her home because it was too boring.
"Indeed you are right but what has it got to do with her being in the capital?" Although she did not find faults in his opinion, it did not mean that she was convinced.
Chapter 228: Provisional Adventurers (2)
Chapter 228: Provisional Adventurers (2)
At this moment, a demonic crimson light shed past his now dull grey eyes.
Simon smiled and revealed his pearly white teeth "The ''Battle of the Finest'', your disciple who hade to this town ording to the traces you have found, wouldn''t miss this information and would definitely head for the tournament which this kingdom is hosting not long from now at the capital city".
"If we think carefully, a yful person such as her would surely be interested in this event. What''s more, given what I know about her, I can already see her making arrangements to arrive for this event".
Adalinda''s mouth was agape as she intently thought over it, even she couldn''t deny that the possibility of this assumption being true was zero per cent. However, this wasn''t enough topletely convince her hence she asked.
"What if she is not there?".
Simon simply shrugged his shoulders at that and replied with a ''we can only try our luck'' attitude.
Seeing that Adalinda was still hesitant, he asked in a little mocking manner "If you have any other leads then by all means please share?".
His words immediately shut any doubts that had welled up inside her and she could only forcefully swallow it. He was right, even after roaming the city and with all the techniques and skills she employed, she couldn''t find the slightest clue of where her disciple might have gone next.
Since she was clueless, she couldn''t deny the only possibility that he had appended together.
"Alright there is no harm in going there¡ so let''s go to the capital city right now. I can cut the space and create a tear and in a few dozen of minutes we will be there".
Adalinda nodded her head as her two ponytails iled. She was just about to create a spatial tear inside the room when Simon hurriedly grabbed her hand.
"Hold on a minute, why are you in such a hurry. Listen to my full conjecture before doing anything" he arced his brows and barred the little girl from being impulsive.
Her petite little hands which seemed soft to the touch, immediately broke away from his grasp, she looked at Simon and asked fumingly.
"Why are you stopping me? Didn''t you just say that my disciple could be in the capital city of Ellesmere? Then there is no reason to hesitate, let''s go there now".
Simon sighed, a little exasperated when he saw that the little girl whose monstrous strength allowed her to look down on all creation, getting her sight clouded over her disciple.
Ignoring the dangerous fact that she told she could cover the ginormous distance between her and the capital, in a few dozen minutes, he first calmed her down.
"Would you first listen to my full exnation? I''m not barring you from going there, on the contrary, I couldn''t be any more than happy to find your disciple as soon as possible" Simon dered curtly making Adalinda who seemed ready to rush out quiet.
Seeing that the little girl was finally willing to listen he exined further "I did say that she would be in the capital but I did not say she would be there now. There is still more than a month of time for the ''Battle of the Finest'' to begin. That disciple of yours who seemed to be enjoying the time of her life roaming the world after escaping out of her home, wouldn''t choose this time to arrive on the capital when there is nothing going on".
"I believe that she would be choosing the exact same date to appear when the event is going to start". This time, his voice sounded oddly convincing allowing even Adalinda to feel like his words were right.
"All the more reason to go to the capital right now. I would be able to catch her the moment she arrives there and beat her into submission fufu¡" she said shing a somewhat merciless smile.
At this moment, Simon asked a sudden question "How were you able to find the trace of your disciple here?"
Adalinda saw no harm in answering his question and thus satisfied his curiosity "That is because I felt her aura that she used while tearing through the space".
He silently nodded before adding "Then doesn''t it also mean that your disciple would also be able to sense your aura if you cut through space multiple times from here to the capital?".
His reasoning made the little girl silent and reflect on those words.
Simon observed her silence for a while before asserting "Try thinking like that¡ even if we arrive at the capital, there is no guarantee that we will be able to find your disciple before the event starts on the contrary, if she manages to detects your presence in the capital, that disciple of yours might not even show up. Being impulsive at this moment would not only hurt our n, but would also stop you from capturing her".
Adalinda fell into contemtion as his words had some truth in it. She was the master of that youngdy and knew her exactly well, if she detects the slightest presence of her master near the capital, it would be just like what Simon had said, she might not even appear there.
As her master, she knew very well how capable her disciple was hence there was no way she wouldn''t detect the spatial tear made by her or her aura.
Although a little frustrated that she couldn''t immediately go and capture her disciple this instant, nheless, she was still able to calm down and see the whole picture.
"You are right¡ so how do you say we go on about this?" she asked somewhat vexed.
Simon thought for a while before a thought rushed into his mind "Keep in mind that all of this is just a thought of mine at the end. With that said, this is where the proposal from that guild manageres in. We can use him to get ourselves to the capital a couple of days before the event starts".
"This way, the risk of us being detected by your disciple would be very low and during the event when she arrives, you would be able to quickly apprehend her".
Adalinda thought over his words for a while before nodding her head. Although this way it would seem that she was restrained into doing some human''s bidding, she had no choice since her top priority was to find her disciple.
She could only suppress all her vexation and go along with it.
"This is the only lead we have, so there is no harm to give it a try. Who knows, during this trip we might find a new clue rted to your disciple" Simon consoled trying to prevent the ticking bomb from blowing up.
After a few minutes when their voices died down, the door was opened once again and the old man walked in. However, unlike thest time, Chuck was not with him.
Gill tapped his cane and sat opposite them before gazing with a stern expression.
"So what will it be? Will you pay ten ckgold coins for thepensation or will you ept this task from the adventurers guild and ept my condition?".
Simon sighed and pretended that he had no choice but to give in "We ept your condition".
His voice sounded despondent as if he was really reluctant to ept the task.
Looking at him like this, a surreptitious smile appeared on the old man''s face before quickly disappearing.
"Hoho, I must say it was quite a wise choice. Now that you have epted this task from the adventurers guild, I am willing to forgive you for your actions earlier but it does not mean that our record is clear. As I said once you ept this task you must see it through the end".
The old man tapped his cane a few times and stroked his beard, his mood could be said quite good this time. He was no fool, with his experience and eyes that had gone through many adventurers and met various people, he could obviously see that the two were not ordinary humans.
The force that had descended onto the building earlier and that unknown skill going out of control, adding that with the fact that his attempt of [Analysis] were blocked previously, he could naturally sense that these two were not any weaklings.
He was convinced of this thought when they did not even flinch a little when faced with his aura.
Themission that was issued to their adventurer''s guild this time required powerful people and most of the ordinary adventurers were unsuitable for it. It also at the critical time when he was delving over what to do, these two appeared and caused quite a scene.
As they say, your wits increase along with your age, Gill had already decided to rope these two in this task the moment heid his eyes on them.
"Let''s go, I shall inform you more about the clients and the job you need toplete on our way" Gill got up from his sofa, pulled open the door and beckoned.
"Where are we going?" Simon couldn''t help but ask when they were all of a sudden to follow him.
The old man smiled and quietly led the two of them "From the way you two behave and act, I can already see that you two are not adventurers. But now that you have epted the task from the adventurers guild, it won''t do if we just sent some non-adventurers for the task.. Haha, that is why you two must be adventurers, provisional adventurers for the time being".
Chapter 229: Perusal Mirror
Chapter 229: Perusal Mirror
Simon''s interest was piqued when he heard that, being a dungeon master he was naturally aware of what kind of existence the adventurers were. There was no way he wouldn''t be interested about them now that he was given the opportunity of bing one.
The old man in the front led them indie a spacious hallway with many rooms on both sides beforeing to a halt in front of arge polished wooden double doors.
Without waiting for anyone, Gill pushed open the door and arge hall simr to the reception hall below, came into view. The room was well lit with many small and bignterns made from a type of crystal simr to the phosphorescence crystal to light the room.
The room other than having various kinds of things ced all around, was mostly empty.
The old man stepped inside the room before turning towards the two following behind him "This is the room we use for issuing adventurers cards and measuring their power and potential. It is also the ce we store all our equipments. Although I can see that you two are no ordinary humans, I can''t exactly guess what level and ss both of you are".
Following the old man with his eyes, Simon saw that he went straight to one corner of the room and patted arge oval construct that looked like a mirror at a nce. However, unlike any ordinary mirror, the surface of this one was a glossy ck which made it impossible to reflect anything.
After stepping inside the hall, the very first thing that had drawn Simon''s eyes was this very thing.
Adalinda made a slight nasal sound as she squinted her eyes and nced at the thing beside the old man.
"Since you two are not a registered adventurer, normally you would first have to fill out the details and personal information about yourself at the reception down below. Then only you would be called here to measure and verify the authenticity of the information that you had filled in".
"Based on the records of the test result, and if they are passable, then only you would be registered as an adventurer" the old man enunciated.
Nodding his head in understanding, Simon continued to look at the peculiar ck object as a crimson light stealthy shed between his eyes.
"Of course, the process that I just mentioned is what we use normally to register any adventurer, however, this time is an exception since we are only going to issue a provisional adventurers card to you".
"The difference between a provisional adventurers card and a permanent adventurers card is that the former is only issued to a person for a temporary period of time and cannot be used everywhere unlike the permanent one. Obviously, you are not recognised as a full-fledged adventurer and cannot avail all the benefits with it"
The guild manger of the adventurers guild exined while staring at the both of them. Next, he revealed a smile before continuing.
"Of course, the provisional card can be turned into a permanent one and you can be a full-fledged adventurer and roam the world but that requires merit and acknowledgement from a branch guild. After you sessfullyplete this job, I''m willing to change your cards to a permanent one".
After finishing all that needs to be said, the old man tapped his cane on the floor, turned and gazed at the object that was three times taller than him.
"Since my analysis attempts are blocked every time, we will use this thing to measure your level and potential as an adventurer with this. We call it the Perusal Mirror".
The Perusal Mirror was the peculiar huge ck mirror that was more than five meters tall and a hundred centimetres wide. It was standing on top of a slightly elevated pedestal that seemed to hold it erect.
"This Perusal mirror is a special device of ours that is used to measure an adventurer''s level and potential. How it is made is even unknown to us and only a few members from the headquarters of the adventurer''s guild is privy to it. Hence you can only find this device inside the adventurer''s guild only" Gill said proudly, his gaze flickering between the two of them and the device.
Seeing that the two were not moving from their spot after entering the hall, he couldn''t help but urge them.
"To issue you a provisional adventurers card, we need to test you with this mirror. Don''t just stand there, quicklye and measure yourself with this device".
Simon had a calm look on his face, but internally he sweating profusely. Why wouldn''t he after hearing the description of the device called Perusal Mirror?
Although he now looked like a human, that was just a fa?ade he used with the help of the trinket of Grimlock, his real race was a Demon Noble.
If the device functioned like it was supposed to, wouldn''t it mean that his cover would be blown and he would immediately be amon enemy of all the inhabitants of this city? Just the thought alone made Simon unable to proceed any further and he felt like his feet were glued to the floor.
"What wrong¡? If you are worried about your skills being disclosed, then don''t be. This device only disys a person''s name, race, ss, level and potential" the old man assured them.
He thought that the two were hesitant to use the Perusal Mirror because they were scared of their skills and other things being disclosed.
To anyone, especially adventurers whose skills are their trump card and most highly guarded secret, it would be unusual to see them willingly disclose it, after all, they rely on these very skills to fight and survive.
Hence it was not surprising to see people hesitate beforeing up to this mirror. A scene like the present was not surprising to Gill and thus he did not suspect anything.
Simon''s mind churned and he used his [Thought Processing] skill to their maximum extent. Many ideas and thoughts floated up to his head but were quickly discarded by him, he needed a solution that can allow him to skip the Perusal Mirror test without making the old man suspicious.
However, no matter how much he racked his brain, no viable option other than storming out of here came into his mind.
Right when he was panicking internally, from the corner of his eyes, he saw Adalinda walking forward nonchntly and approach the device.
What was she thinking? Although Simon did not know which race she belonged to, one thing he was sure of was that she was definitely not human.
ording to what the guild manger said, other than disying one''s name, level, ss and potential, the device would also show one''s race. That is to say, the fact that she was not human would be immediately revealed if she were to go through the test of the Perusal Mirror.
Everything proceeded so fast that before Simon even had time to freak out, Adalinda was already in front of the device.
Gill observed the little girl who looked just like a doll cute and adorable, and nodded his head.
"You don''t have to worry¡ just ce your hands on the ck surface of the mirror and gently insert some mana into it" he exined.
Using the Perusal Mirror was quite easy and the results were always urate hence it was used in every adventurer''s guild spread all across the continent.
Adalinda extended her snow white arm and gently ced her hand on the glossy ck surface of the device. A silence descended onto the room and everything¡ remained the same.
The mirror showed no signs of changes or working as per usual making the old man quite confused.
''What was going on?'' Simon thought internally as he eyed Adalinda. There was no way he would believe that it was not her doing.
Just when Gill frowned and came closer towards the mirror to check what went wrong, the glossy ck surface of the mirror started rippling as small waves spread all across the edges. The scene was as if a stone had been thrown on a mke inducing ripples on its otherwise still surface.
The old man exhaled a breath of relief after finding that the mirror was working as usual and halted his steps. His eyes then went on top of the mirror where a few words were starting to be disyed one after the other.
Observing the sudden changes that urred on the surface of the mirror, Simon clenched his hands and immediately prepared himself to dart out of the hall. However, when his eyes went over to the top corner of the mirror, all of his thoughts suddenly became nk and the mana circting wildly within himpletely dispersed.
Few lines of words have started to appear on top of the now still surface of the mirror and disyed themselves to the onlookers.
Name-Adalinda Quodriss Hornze,
Race-Human,
ss-{Dragonfire Adept}
Level-300,
Potential-High.
Simon became gobsmacked and his mouth opened wide when he read the information written on top of the surface of the mirror.
Ignoring the fact that it was his first time reading her full name, what was all that about her race being human and level 300?
He rubbed his eyes and double-checked the information disyed on top of the device once again, nheless, the words written there were still the same.
What was going on? There was no way that the monstrous little girl who can even make Irene serious, could be someone so low levelled and a human at that.
Chapter 230: Perusal Mirror (2)
Chapter 230: Perusal Mirror (2)
Though he did not know what she did, Simon at least knew that the information disyed on the device were false and something which she had manipted. When his thoughts arrived till this point, he couldn''t help but be amazed.
"Hmm¡ Adalinda, level 300, ss- Dragonfire Adept?¡ potential High¡ good, very good¡ incredible even" the guild manager stroked his beard and smiled broadly.
His old eyes went over her rare ss that he had never heard of, her potential and her level, his head nodded in satisfaction and excitement.
There was even a fierce glow in his eyes that was difficult for him to hide. A human with a high potential and strange rare ss ¡ how rare was that?
Potential referred to an individual ability to level up and the heights that they would reach in the future. Naturally, a high potential meant that the person would be able to reach greater heights and their achievement would be truly astonishing.
Those with high potential were also seen as a genius that was difficult toe by and there were only a few of them in this entire kingdom with a potential like that. How could the old man not get excited?
Even if he counted all the people currently living in this city, there would be no more than 2 individuals with a high potential. Counting the little girl in front of him, doesn''t that mean that there were currently three individuals with a high potential and an ability to reach unknown heights currently in their city?
Gill''s face was flushed but it boiled even more when his gaze went over to her level. Level 300¡ what kind of concept was that? Even when counting all of the veteran adventurers amongst all of the guilds here, those people who were able to reach level 300 wouldn''t even cross thirty.
Just this fact alone was adequate to lift his opinion of the little girl who doesn''t even seem to be more than fourteen years old.
The thick eyebrows of the old man trembled and his body quivered with excitement. ''An excellent find¡ an excellent find'' he repeatedly thought in his heart.
Adalinda shed a cheeky smile while reading the information disyed by the mirror before turning around and walking towards the baffled looking Simon. She couldn''t help but smile even brightly when she saw the expression on his face.
Simon eyes quietly followed the figure of the little girl as she approached him and it took him quite a while toe to his senses.
"You¡ that¡ how?" Maybe due to him receiving a rtively big shock earlier, but he was having trouble forming coherent words.
Seeing him tongue-tied, Adalinda proudly puffed her chest and dered "Of course, I have my own methods. It''s just a Perusal Mirror, even if the technology of the mirror has be obscured and difficult to create in present times, if they think that they can use that against me then they are sorely mistaken".
Simon blinked his eyes a few times after hearing her words, why did she sound like the Perusal Mirror which was viewed so highly by the adventurer''s guild, was nothing but a simple toy in front of her.
While the two were having their own secret discussion, the old man finally finished with the thing he was currently busying himself with before looking at the two of them. The eyes with which he viewed them was now less stern and more gentle than before.
How could he not, there was an individual with high potential and level 300 standing there and although he did not know what potential and level the handsome looking young man over there was, but from the way that they tagged along he did not believe that the potential of the young man was any less than the little girl beside him.
Shaking his head, Gill turned around and faced the Perusal Mirror once again, he stared at the information for a few seconds before taking out a transparent marble the size of a peanut from his space ring and throwing it into the mirror.
The transparent marble swiftly passed through the ck surface of the mirror without generating any ripple beforeing out of the other end. The marble was still transparent; however, there was a small light at the centre which was previously not there.
The marble which dropped onto the floor after passing through the mirror, was swiftly picked by Gill and kept tightly within his palm. He then looked back at the mirror and surprisingly, there were no longer any lines of words floating on the ck surface of the mirror.
The Perusal Mirror was back to how it was before being used.
"Alright, young man it''s your turn now" Gill turned towards Simon and beckoned him with a smile. Even the way he used to address Simon, had changed from brat to young man.
The young man in question hesitated for quite a while, he was not Adalinda and did not have mysterious powers like her. if he went up to that mirror, it was likely that he would be seen through by this device and his fa?ade would be immediately blown.
Should such a scenarioe to pass, he would no longer be able to stay idle as he would be constantly besieged by humans from all over the city.
Yes to start with, the old man in front of him would be his enemy first the moment his race was revealed. While such turbulent thoughts was churning in his head, he heard a soft whisper from Adalinda beside him.
"Hehe, don''t worry I have tampered that device a little¡ it is unlikely that the mirror would be able to tell your race" with her insight, she could clearly tell what Simon was worrying about.
After hearing her words, Simon finally felt a little relieved and his feet which were previously glued to the floor, moved. Being assured by someone on the level of Adalinda who could even tamper with the result of a device such as the Perusal Mirror, he felt his body rxing as he approached the mirror.
He nced at the guild manager standing beside the device and then at the mirror, the old man was not the slightest bit aware that the device had been tampered with and whatever results he got, was false.
"ce your hands on the surface of the mirror and quietly channel some of your mana into it" Gill said with a slight tone of excitement in his voice.
Simon nodded and followed the instruction without anyints. He ced his hands on the smooth glossy ck surface of the mirror and felt that it was quite sturdy. He then next circted the mana around his body before channelling some of it towards the mirror through his hand.
The moment his mana pressed on the surface of the mirror, it was quickly sucked in and before long, the previous phenomenon where ripples started generating spread all across the edges of the mirror.
Simon arced his brows when he felt the device quietly eating the mana he had channelled in it. He must mention that the amount he had inserted into it was enough to turn a boulder into fine granules yet the mirror looked perfectly fine with no hint of it shattering.
It would be a lie if Simon said that he was not at all curious as to how this device and the materials used on it were made.
By the time such thoughts passed through his head, the ripples on the mirror started dying out and before long few lines of words started surfacing on its smooth surface.
Looking at the information disyed on it, he sneakily spared a nce at the little girl who was currently giving him a bratty smile.
Name-Simon
Race-Human
ss-[Sword Master]
level-300
Potential-Low
The excited smile of the guild manager quickly became stiff when he saw the normal ss and the potential of the young man disyed by the Perusal Mirror.
His brightened eyes quickly became a little dull, nheless, he quickly hid it. In his heart, however, he was sighing intensely. Although the young man was also at level 300, due to him having a low potential his future was limited and the heights he could reach was not very high.
The potential disyed how pure the bloodline one inherited was, thus Gill couldn''t help but sigh when he saw that the limit of the young man was already set.
He was the guild manager and therefore he quickly hid such feelings and nodded at the young man. ording to him, the limit of the young man would be appearing soon and when that time came, he would no longer be able to level up.
Shaking his head, Gill started busying himself with his work once again and brought out a transparent marble simr to the one in his palm from his space ring.
Meanwhile, Simon walked back towards Adalinda who had difficulty containing her smile and stared at her with a hidden meaning.
He was unconcerned about her prank of putting his potential at low while her at high and was more concerned with how she achieved it. From the sensation he felt from the Perusal Mirror, he could immediately tell that it was no ordinary device, however, Adalinda had easily tampered with it.
This fact once again reminded Simon how insanely powerful this little girl who had a short temper was.
With her help, Simon was able to outwit the guild manager without being found out.. His race was disyed as human while his name remained the same, it seemed that Adalinda had also tempered with his level which should be higher than 300.
Chapter 231: The Colossal Known As The Adventurers Guild.
Chapter 231: The Colossal Known As The Adventurer¡¯s Guild.
As for his potential that was set at low, it was a prank by her. There was no way the potential of a Demon Viscount could bepared to a human with low potential.
Even if he did not have the help of [Main Mneu] just with his Demon Viscount bloodline alone his potential would be at medium. Simon could only sigh looking at the victorious smile of hers who had seeded in pulling a prank.
After a few moments, the old man walked over with two small marble the size of a peanut in his palm. The marble looked transparent at a nce but if one looked carefully, they could see a small white light at the centre.
"This is the Status Marble that the Adventurers guild uses to check on the level and condition of its adventurers. It will be inserted inside a temte and can be used as a identity card when travelling across cities".
"It may even help you avail some of the benefits once you be a high levelled and renowned adventurers. I shall hand you your provisional adventurers card once I insert it in a te. You cane and collect it tomorrow" The old man said while cing the status marble on a shelf that had numerous boxes to hold such marbles.
After they were done with the tests, the guild manager led them towards the hall below.
While on their way, Simon could hear bustling noisesing from the hall below. It appeared that the people that had been knocked unconscious by Adalinda, had finally woken up. They scratched their heads, looked around their surrounding in confusion and at theirrades who were simrly getting up after falling down.
By the time the three of them came down, he could see the guild''s staff repeatedly bowing their head due to the unknown cause of disturbance and hurriedly making repairs here and there.
When the staff saw that the guild managering down, they hurriedly greeted him and informed him about the disturbance.
Simon who was following behind him, could distinctly see the old man eyes stopping at them before he waved his hands and dismissed the issue with the cause being an earthquake.
Of course, most of the adventurers didn''t believe him but given the old man''s prestige and power, they could only drop the issue.
Simon shrugged his shoulders at that and looked at Adalinda, thetter wore a carefree attitude as if all of this had nothing to with her.
Even after dispersing the crowd, many of them still lingered around, not to mention some of them even started drinking again without a care.
After addressing the issue, the old man led them towards one of the corner of the hall where a huge notice board was located. Crowds of adventurers in different gears swarmed around the area, their eyes stered onto the board repeatedly scanning it.
When the adventurers saw the guild manager personally lead two people here, they couldn''t help but throw a curious nce at them as they made way for the old man.
Many conversations and private discussions immediately started sounding from the adventurers as they nced at them trying to figure out their identity.
From their outfit whichprised of only casual clothes, many of them were immediately able to tell that the two were no adventurers or newbies that have been newly registered. Most of the onlookers immediately lost interest.
Obviously, such conversation wouldn''t be able to go unnoticed by someone on the level of a Demon Viscount. However, Simon paid no such attention to their conversation and fixed his gaze on therge notice board that had many parchments of varying size pinned on it.
Stopping just in front of the enormous board, Gill nodded his head "This is the Quest Board of our adventurer''s guild that we use to issuemissions and jobs. From monster hunting, to searching and exploration everything that provides money, are put up in it".
"Unlike the private guilds, the adventurer''s guild does not restrain their adventurers from moving out or opening their own guild. We are just there to regte and monitor the guilds and all the adventurers within it".
"Every individual that wants to be an adventurer and join a guild, must firste to us the adventurers guild and register themselves. Additionally, those adventurers that did not join any guild, cane to us seeking jobs. You can find us in every big city and every kingdom of this continent".
Gill shed a wide smile and asked "How is it? Amazing aren''t we?" all the while his eyes still scanned every corner of the quest board.
Simon unwittingly nodded his, he had to admit that this adventurer''s guild was truly a gigantic organisation, one that was spread all across the continent.
What did it mean to have a branch in every city and kingdom? Doesn''t that mean that they have a wide area ofwork, and have hundreds of millions of adventurers under them? An organisation like that can be truly considered a colossal from his view.
"There it is¡" the old man stretched his cane and tapped on a parchment at the top middle corner of the quest board. Right after, the parchment came out andnded in his hand.
He then handed the parchment to the young man and gestured with his hand to follow him.
Simon and Adalinda with Gill leading them in the front, came towards the receptionist desk. The adventurers all around eyed them curious of their origin, some jealous of the favour shown by the guild manager. However, none dared toe in front of them and seek trouble.
"These two are the new provisional adventurers registered by our branch. Their testing and everything is already been done" Gill spoke towards the receptionist who hurriedly greeted him.
The receptionist was the same prettydy that Simon and Adalinda had previously conversed with when they entered the hall.
"May I know if they will be immediately epting a job?" thedy inquired.
Gill stroked his beard and nodded his head, he then handed the parchment to her. When the pretty receptionist read what the job written in the parchment was, her eyes immediately became wide.
"This¡".
The old man snorted and waved his hand "Fret not, I have personally tested their strength, they maybe provisional but they are no weaklings".
The receptionist hurriedly nodded her head "In that case, I shall allot them for the job".
The old man smiled, satisfied with his answer before turning towards the two behind him "Alright, you two have been registered for the job. Though I guess you are more or less familiar with the task after reading the parchment but I would personally rmend you two to go and meet the client who issued this job and gain more information for them. Also, remember toe and collect your adventurer''s card tomorrow".
The old man waved bidding them goodbye.
After tying up the problematic work, Simon did not hesitate to leave the hall and swiftly exited.
A man in a ck robe walked on the busy street apanied by a little girl. The handsome and striking feature of the man attracted many nces from thedies who came out to shop or for some other work.
Simrly, the cute face and the swaying two ponytails of the little girl who followed behind the man, garnered adoration and smiles all around the people. Little did they know that the little girl who they thought looked just like a doll was a monster among monsters whose power was enough to tten the whole city in an instant.
Who could the two be other than Simon and Adalinda?
"The ce of the client mentioned in this parchment should be in this street" Simon muttered looking at the brown piece of paper in his hand.
"Hey we have exited the adventurer''s hall and walked for quite some distance¡ shouldn''t you finally tell me what this job is all about" Adalinda grumbled.
The ck robed young man smiled helplessly before summarising the content of the job to her "The client is a merchantpany who has recentlye here to do some transactions. Their objective is to reach the capital after their work here is done while our job is to secure and guard the people and the goods inside the caravan that they are travelling in. It would take about a month to travel with a caravan from here to capital and we are to secure their safety during this time".
Adalinda pretty eyebrows twitched and her pupils became vertical due to the uncontrolled anger that had welled up within her after listening to the content of the job.
"Who do they think thisdy is? The nerve of them to order me to guard some small caravan for a month! It seems that they are tired of their life, very well then, I shall free them of their misery".
Adalinda stomped and was just about to rush back to the adventurers guild when Simon hurriedly stopped her.
"Wait¡ you will make the situation even worse like that and haven''t we already discussed about it? Or do you not want to find your disciple?".
He hurriedly reasoned, although the job seemed a littlecklustre and beneath her from her point of view, it at least allowed them to reach the capital before the tournament there started.
Adalinda made a discontent noise and could only suppress her frustration once again.. If only she was not worried about leaving a trace while tearing through space that her disciple could catch, she would have immediately travelled to the capital and not bothered with these ordinary humans.
Chapter 232: Serene Palace Merchant Guild
Chapter 232: Serene Pce Merchant Guild
Simon wiped the sweat off his forehead as he felt an increasing amount of headache dealing with her. Most importantly, he had to do something about the pent up frustration of this little girl before she ends up blowing this entire city into oblivion.
While it was true that the life of the inhabitants and the city had nothing to do with him, this city was still a precious source of ie for him.
He had already met an adventurer that had previously dived inside his dungeon back at the adventurers guild and due to this city being close to the Ghastly Winding forest, who knew this city might even be filled with adventurers who are looking to dive inside his dungeon.
Simon couldn''t bear to see such a huge gold mine disappearing from the surface of the.
He looked around before suddenly a delicious scent that stimted his appetite, came from one corner of the street. There he could see multiple stalls lined up and selling various food products.
With his nce, he could instantly see various meat, fish, vegetables being grilled and a delicious smell wafted from there. An idea suddenly struck him and he stored the parchment in his hand.
"Let''s go¡ since we are out here, we might as well try some dishes from this city" Simon pointed towards the food corner and led the little girl.
When the conversation headed towards food, her former somewhat cold eyes, immediately started shining with an unknown splendour. Her delicate nose sniffed the delicious aroma that came wafting towards her, controlling her movement.
After her mood brightened from the mention of food, the gloomy atmosphere around her suddenly disappeared. Although at the level which she was, she could go around without food and rest even for a year, this and that was two different things.
Simon smiled helplessly, he felt like an idiot for trying to think of various ways to calm the mood of the little girl, when in reality it was easily solved by bribing her with food.
He sighed beforeing in front of a stall. The owner of the stall gave them a business like smile before pointing out the food of his rmendation.
"This good sir and youngdy, you must try this meat skewer. The vour is my home made secret and the meat is none other than from a high level 60 monster. There is also the stew cooked with various meats and vegetables".
Gulp¡ Adalinda immediately swallowed a mouthful of saliva when the lid cover was opened and the delicious smell wafted out.
"Everything, serve everything that you have" she curtly replied.
The owner looked at the young man who nodded his head and he immediately started preparing. Buy everything, how often does onee across a customer like that, he could only thank his lucky star.
Maybe it was because the food was delicious or because she had built up quite a bit of frustration, but the appetite of the little girl was also monstrous. Even the owner of the stall looked at the little girl in a daze who emptied bowls of food like they were nothing.
Looking at the swiftness with which she was devouring the food, one had to wonder where she was storing all that food in.
Simon couldn''t control his curiosity and ordered one te of food too.
One man and one little girl could be seen on one corner of the food street gulping down one food after another and before long, they had almost tried out everything that the various stall around here offered.
After finishing their meal, the two departed from the ce with a delighted mood leaving the various onlooker amazed.
After returning to the busy main street, Simon and Adalinda followed the path mentioned on the parchment and after a while of walking, a huge mansion that gave off an ambience of luxury came into view.
The building had arge yard and various passer-by that walked from here, gave it a look at least once. That''s how grand the mansion in this corner was.
"So the client stays here huh" he was not mistaken, the direction in the parchment pointed at this building.
Taking a step, Simon walked towards the entrance of the mansion. The ce besides being a beautifulndmark, also served as a shop with various objects and items inside for trade.
The moment he entered the yard, he could feel various hidden presence all around the area who were working as guards. At a nce, Simon could tell that each of their levels was no less than 150 and there were even some with levels over 200 inside.
The tight security of the ce made Simon marvel internally as he slowly stepped inside. One had to say that the interior of the mansion was no less posh than its exterior. If one ounted the various artifacts and items showcased all around the room, the ce seemed to be filled with riches that could make any ordinary person eyes fill with greed.
Of course, if there are any idiots around with such thoughts, they would be met with an iron fist of the guards that were ced around carefully.
When Simon and Adalinda entered the building, a staff immediately came to greet them.
"May I know for what purpose this esteemed sir has visited us?" from the way he gave a practised smile, one could see that he viewed the two of them as customers.
"Its about this¡" he handed the staff the parchment of paper he got from the adventurer''s guild.
The staff read the parchment before giving Simon and Adalinda quite a bizarre stare. The staff couldn''t be med after all, given the garb of the two of them, they do not like adventurers at all.
The staff mused for a while then brought the parchment of paper with him and walked through the hallway before disappearing. After what felt like a few minutes, another person came out through the hallway along with the staff that Simon had seen first.
"Greeting I''m Alvara the person in charge here, may I inquire if the two of you are adventurers?" The person that greeted them was a charming woman that could immediately cause the surrounding gazes to focus on her.
She had a well-built body, and a poise that gave others a feeling of an unsheathed de. Her short ck hair reached till her neck and she wore leather clothes that tightly actuated her curves. Her figure was so shapely that it could make one gulp unwittingly.
At this moment, the sharp eyes of the woman was thrown in their direction as she scrutinised them.
Simon nodded his head in affirmation and answered "Indeed, we are sent here by none other than the guild manager of the adventurers guild".
Hearing the reply of the ck-robed man, there was a momentary shock that quietly shed in her eyes before she quickly hid it.
Alvara handed them the parchment back before turning around and nodding towards the staff beside her. At that moment, the multiple gazes that Simon had felt locked onto them, silently disappeared.
Next, the woman addressed them before leading them towards the interior of the hallway.
Simon who was following behind, inadvertently gaze at those wonderful curves of her buttocks whose shape couldn''t be hidden even with the help of her clothes. Heughed dryly before immediately shifting his gaze, he had to admit those long legs of her were quite alluring.
At the end of the well lit hallway, was a flight of stairs that led to the floor above and in front of the stairs, were multiple guards decked with armours and weapons.
The moment they spotted Alvaraing towards them, they performed a salute in unison by nging their weapons which were silvernces onto the ground. Just this performance of theirs, was enough to tell others that they were no ordinary guards and were highly trained.
All of these guards did not move from their position and only spared a few nces at the two new faces behind the woman.
Their entourage of three people swiftly climbed the stairs before being greeted by another hallway. There were multiple rooms with hidden presences, the three of them passed by multiple rooms before stopping in front of one such door.
Knock..Knock¡.Knock¡
The woman leading them knocked on one of the doors in a somewhat unusual rhythm.
It didn''t take long for a soft voice of that of a female toe from inside "Come in".
Alvara turned towards the two of them before saying sternly "Wait here". She then opened the door and disappeared inside.
Simon and Adalinda patiently waited outside for a while before the door was opened from the inside and Alvara gestured with her eyes for them toe inside.
The inside of this room was even morevishly decorated than any other ce of this mansion, the room had no window and only a single entrance at first nce. There were multiple hidden presences tightly surrounding this room.
At the centre was a set of sofa, sitting on it was a woman with a beauty that could easily overshadow Alvara next to her.
Her body had beguiling curves that made it hard for one to remove their gaze from it, violet hair that gracefully stuck to her back and reached her buttocks. Her eyes were like a cat mischievous and temping, red lips and snow-white skin.
She wore a dark purple dress that tightly stuck to her exquisite body and emphasized her beauty even further.. From the bottom of the dress came a straight cut that ran all the way upwards to her thigh, revealing and hiding those dazzling legs beneath.
Chapter 233: Serene Palace Merchant Guild (2)
Chapter 233: Serene Pce Merchant Guild (2)
After Simon and Adalinda entered the room, the woman seated on the sofa, closed the book that she was reading and got up from her seat to reveal a smile.
"So you two are the adventurers that old man Gill sent here to aid us? Nice to meet you I''m the client Cynthia". The woman who introduced herself as Cynthia looked at the two them.
Simon matched her gaze and greeted back "I''m Simon and she is Adalinda".
The little girl beside him rolled her eyes but did notment, her eyes kept on staring at the ample chest of the woman in front of her before clicking her tongue in annoyance.
What was she frustrated about? He thought internally.
Cynthia did not mind the behaviour of the two people and calmly nodded her head. Although she did not mind, Alvara who quietly stood beside her, knit her bows and her gaze became cold.
"If I''m not wrong, you two are here to inquire more information about your uing job right?" Cynthia asked, her gaze had yet to left the two of them.
Seeing the man nod, she invited them to sit on the sofa opposite her.
Simon naturally did not bother with any etiquette and unceremoniously epted her invite before sitting on the sofa, Adalinda sat beside him.
Alvara seemed a little discontent with his unmannerly conduct, but nheless, she did not voice it out. Cynthia too sat herself down, she patted at the seat beside her and looked at Alvara, the gesture was obvious.
However, Alvara simply shook her head and stated "I must be ready to guard you at all times. If I sit beside you, it''ll slow me down and it will be toote before I act".
Alvara did not hide her hostility and the hidden meaning behind her words was extremely clear. It was obvious that she did not trust the two and was on her guard.
Cynthia helpless shook her head before telling the two of them not to mind. She poured tea and prepared some snacks for them and passed one to the hesitant Alvara.
"Right mister¡ although I''m sure that the old man back at the guild had already told you, but the trip this time could be quite risky and that is why I havemissioned aid from the adventurers guild. At first, I thought nobody would ept it since there is too much of an uncertainty on the job even with high rewards. It is fortunate that mister and this youngdy have epted themission from my Serene Pce Merchant Guild" Cynthia exined with a little bit of surprise in her voice.
Simon arched his brows at those words, it was his first time hearing something like that. When the crafty face of the old man that had swindled him to be a provisionary adventurer he couldn''t but clench his hand.
Didn''t it mean that nobody at the adventurer''s guild was willing to ept this job because of it being too risky instead of them being short-handed?
Simon had a sudden urge to beat up the old man until he could no longer swindle anyone.
He smiled bitterly in his heart, the job had already been epted, there was no way he could reject it anymore. If not for the mysterious feeling that they would be able to find the disciple of the little girl in the capital, he wouldn''t have epted the job in the first ce.
Since he wanted to catch this runaway disciple as soon as possible, he even rejected the quickest possible route from Adalinda and had undertaken as much caution as he could.
Sighing internally in his heart, Simon steeled himself for whatever mighte. And as for the risk, other than few high levelled adventurers, he didn''t think that anybody could see through this fa?ade of his.
Taking their silence as their approval, the woman went on further to exin their task. She crossed her legs and from those slight opening of her dress, her jade white legs that had endless allure intermittently shed.
"Your mission would be to guard the caravan that will travel from here to the capital. You are to secure the route and deal with any trouble that may arise on the way. The trip might take a month depending on the situation".
"While the job might be risky, there are ample rewards too. Furthermore, you would also be refunded for any loss that you incur during the trip. Themission is issued by my Serene Pce Merchant Guild so there is no need to doubt its authenticity".
Cynthia smiled leisurely "If you have anything you want to ask, please do so..".
Simon closed his eyes and digested the information that he just got. A few moments ago, he sneakily used [Analysis] on the woman only to get his prying attempts blocked.
What did it mean? It could only mean that woman named Cynthia had some skills on her that blocked all attempts of [Analysis] on her. A skill that could do something like that was quite rare and other than a few powerful people that he knew, he had nevere across other people possessing such skill.
The woman in front of him was an exception. He was no fool, given the appearance of the ce and the fame and wealth of the Serene Pce Merchant guild, he could already predict that the trip wouldn''t be a peaceful one. There would be many trouble seekers on the way who would have their eyes blinded by greed.
He slowly opened his eyes and gazed at the cat like eyes of the woman which held enough charm to tug at one''s heart until they lost all reasoning.
"In the case that some trouble arise, am I free to deal with them as I wish?" a crimson glow shed in his otherwise dull grey eyes and made him look quite fierce.
The woman knit her brows before looking at Alvara beside her.
She who had kept her silence all this while, finally decided to speak at this time "If it''s an ordinary person, you may deal with him as you see fit but if it''s someone who cannot be easily offended, please wait for the p¡ ahem Miss Cynthia to make a decision".
Simon nodded his head at those words before getting up from his seat and turning to leave.
"The time of the departure is early morning as soon as the sun rises two days from now. The caravan will exit from the eastern gate" Alvara reminded gazing at theidback figure of the man.
After a while when they sensed that the two had exited the mansion, Alvara who was standing beside the woman all this time, couldn''t help butment in an aggrieved manner.
"Is the old man from the adventurer''s guild trying to make fun of us? How could he send such careless adventurers not to mention that theyck even an iota of manner? Does the guild manager not know how risky this journey will be for you? From what I could see, those adventurers don''t even look strong to me. How will they be able to secure your life when they can''t even guard theirs".
Alvara tightly locked her brows and stared at the seat where the two had sat a few moments ago. She had been observing them for a while and could clearly see that they were not on their guard, had she made her move right then, it was likely that the two would have lost their lives.
How could she notin during this crucial time when what they needed the most was powerful guards and instead they got two people with extremely negligent auras.
The woman named Cynthia on the contrary smiled and did not look fazed at all by the events. She looked at her dear subordinate and softly said:
"m down Alvara, the situation might not be as bad as we think it is. If those people think that my life is that easy to take, then they are clearly mistaken. Besides I feel like old man Gill was not mistaken. The eyes of that old man are even sharper than ours, he must have seen something in those two adventurers to have sent them to us".
She then revealed a helpless smile as she added "Also is it not quite good already that somebody had epted ourmission when most of the other adventurers have rejected? I did not expect that the influence of that person would reach till here".
When Alvara heard Cynthia mentioning that person, she had a smear of killing intent sh on her eyes, her expression showed clear signs of extreme hatred.
A sigh sounded in the room and the woman in purple dress got up from her seat. Although the situation looked dire for her, nheless, not even a trace of fear or anxiety could be seen on her face.
She gently tapped on a particr book on the bookshelf near a wall, and a secret passage was immediately revealed in front of her. The two quietly disappeared inside it.
¡ª¨C
"You have been quiet for a while¡ what are you so intensely thinking about?" as the two walked on the streets of Mountmend, Adalinda asked turning her head. Her mood was quite good after having eaten so many good things.
"Nothing¡ it''s just that we might have involved ourselves in troublesome matter. That woman back there, her position doesn''t seem to be something ordinary. I just hope that we don''t get tangled into something we don''t want to be involved into in the future" Simon shook his head and mused.
When he saw that Adalinda was staring at her chest and pressing with her hands, he couldn''t help but curl his mouth "Are you even listening?"¡
Chapter 234: Class System
Chapter 234: ss System
"Are you even listening?" Simon called out.
As if she suddenly got startled, her body jolted and she hurriedly removed her hands "W¡ wha¡ o-of course I''m listening¡ ahahaha, what are you afraid about? I''ll just smash anyone thates in between my objective of finding my disciple. It''s only a small kingdom at the extreme north-western corner of the Central Continent".
Her boastful words sounded out and her tone was full of arrogance but Simon did not doubt it since he was aware of how powerful this abnormal monster that has the form of a doll like little girl was.
"Hehe, now that we don''t have anything to do, why don''t we go and roam around this city a little more¡ I want to see what other delicacies they have here" Adalinda gulped as she looked around at her surroundings with stars in her eyes. She did not even try to hide her objective which was to try out various foods.
Simon followed behind, his eyes were awkward, this girl sometimes behaves very maturely and sometimes acts just like a girl of her age should.
The way she acted like everything near her, was brand new to her made Simon wonder the reason behind her disciple running out of her home. Was it not because she was bored of being holed up somewhere? This Master and disciple clearly had a simr fun-seeking disposition.
Nevertheless, Simon who had been spent most of his in the Ghastly winding forest after reincarnating, was also quite interested in this city that was so close to his dungeon.
He tagged along with Adalinda and explored every ce the city had to offer. This way, he was also able to learn bits and pieces of information from the average inhabitants of this ce.
He was quite surprised when he heard the talk of the town was mostly about the dungeon that had suddenly urred at the eastern region of the forest. Even the ores and herbs that were flowing in the market, Simon recalled that they were something that had grown inside his dungeon.
He shed a satisfied smile when some adventurers were praising so highly about his dungeon. From these pieces of information, he also became aware of the guilds that were currently focusing on tackling his dungeon.
Among them, the Blinding Arrow Guild was viewed as the most well-known and top guild around here. Simon wasn''t particrly worried about this guild conquering his dungeon since the information that he got from the informant, told him that the guild was a newly created one and its guild master has only gone through 3 ss changes.
Simr to the rank system of the demon nobles, human too have their structure through which their strength is ssified.
A person gains their first-ever ss when they reach a certain level and depending on how they have lived their life or the distribution of their stats or based on their constitution, they receive an appropriate ss.
This ss can be further upgraded or changed when the person reaches a higher level and depending on their bloodline, can gain a rare or powerful ss.
After reaching level 50, the ss can be changed again once one reaches level 100 and can gain new sses after every sessive 100 levels. Therefore, the more ss changes that you go through, the powerful you are likely to be.
While this trend is mostlymon, it only applies to normal sses. Rare sses have their own trend and depending on the rarity of the ss, the ss change coulde after sessive 100 levels, 150 or eventer.
Although a rare ss is hard to level up, the power and strength they provide are iparable to a normal ss. Forparison, a level 250 person who has a rare ss can fight with some who has amon ss multiple levels above him. That is especially so when one gains powerful skills thanks to their rare ss.
In the society of the humans, those who acquire a rare ss, are respected and seen favourably by the world. Hence all the people greatly covet and envy those that acquire rare sses.
While it is true that a rare ss is highly regarded, it is also equally hard to acquire one unless one has a strong bloodline passed down through their ancestry. Those people that are able to acquire a rare ss are one in thousands of people.
Although having a rare ss is an indicator of strength, it is not always necessarily true. If one does not put sufficient effort to level their ss, it is more likely for these people to forever remain in the same ss without ever going through a ss change in their lives.
Additionally, rare ss is just a broad term that incorporates all the powerful sses. It is likely that some sses are more powerful than other rare sses even when they all fall in the same rare category.
For example, the informant that told him about the rare ss, also told him about the [Phantom Night Assassin] ss held by one of the top adventurers of this kingdom, Raven.
ording to him, the [Phantom Night Assassin] is much stronger than its identical [Rogue Night Assassin] ss even though they are ssified in the same level category in the rare ss.
This information was not a secret in this kingdom as it made a hugemotion in the capital and all the surrounding regions when this news was revealed. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that the adventurer named Raven had be quite the idol amongst the adventurers and citizens of this kingdom and a strong deterrent for any foe.
From this information Simon more or less understood how powerful the ss systems of the humans were. He could deduct that the guild leader of the Blinding Arrow guild who had only gone three ss changes, was around the same level as Chuck more or less.
Even if they sessfully manage to conquer upper floors, it is likely that even this guild would have a tough time clearing the lower floors. That was especially so when it came to floors below 25th floor.
The lower floors were not only immensely big, but also had numerous strong monsters roaming around.
Well, even in the likely case that some strong adventurers do arrive in his dungeon, there is still Irene the Guardian appointed by the dungeon and the Lightning Draconic Serpent, one of the three overlords of the north.
Time flowed quickly and befoe long two days had already passed. During these two days, Simon gathered as much information about the kingdom and his surroundings as he could.
From the information he got, the Kingdom bordering the Ghastly Winding Forest was called the Kingdom of Ellesmere. It was located at the far north-western corner of the central continent that borders with the demon continent.
At one point in time in history, it was the battleground where the human and demon nobles had waged many wars but after the peace treaty that was signed thousands of years ago, thend began to flourish and many kingdoms were built.
During this period of two days, Simon was also led all around the city of Mountmend in search of delicious food.
****
The time was early in the morning, thick mist lingered around the city obscuring vision to some extent. The sky was clouded and the sun was yet to rise. Cold wind blew across the empty street and only a few people could be seen intermittently walking down the path.
At this moment, the city was yet to wake, however, the eastern gate of the city was unusually noisy. A convoy of well-crafted wagons could be seen lining up on a corner and the bustling sounds of activity rang out.
At the centre of this wagon was avishly built carriage that had an emblem drawn on it which made it easy to identify who it belonged to.
Who else could the luxurious lineup of the wagons belonged to other than the Serene Pce Merchant Guild? Currently, a group of armed soldiers carrying silver pikes, were surrounding the convoy of carriage and standing at guard, their eyes constantly scanning the area.
When they saw the shadow of two peopleing over, they hurriedly raised their pike and shouted in warning. "You two there don''te any closer. State your names and the purpose of your visit".
The figures shrouded in the early morning mist, stopped their approach before the tall young man replied in a somewhat indifferent voice.
"We are the adventurers that are hired for this job. We have been told to arrive at the eastern gate early in the morning where the caravans would be".
Hearing the exnation, the guard that seemed to be the leader stepped in front of the two and extended his hand "In that case show me your adventurer''s card".
The young man wearing a ck robe in the front, swiftly took out a card passed it to the guard wearing silver armour. When the leader of the guard shifted his attention on the card, he couldn''t help but frown when he read the three words ''Provisional Adventurer''s Card''.
"You two are provisionary adventurers?" he asked looking at the two of them.
"That''s right" the young man replied with a smile.
The guard leader''s eyes became dark as he sternly shouted "Young man¡ go back. This mission is not for newbie adventurers to meddle in.. If you want to gain experience and increase your level, seek some other tasks, the one this time is very risky and might even cost you your life".
Chapter 235: Heading For The Capital
Chapter 235: Heading For The Capital
The guard warned, from his view, provisional adventurer''s cards are only issued to those newbies who have only just registered and do not have any adventuring experience before. Hence, he couldn''t be med when he thought that the two in front of him were total greenhorns that have picked this task for its high reward.
After all, there are no shortage of novice adventurers who wanted to make it big in one go. The job this time required powerful and experienced people, even they the Silver Guards of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild weren''t certain that they could protect the convey until it reached the capital without incurring any loss.
It did not make sense to involve some newbies in this mission who could potentially be a burden.
The young man knitted his brows at those words; he still appeared to be somewhat fine. Though the same couldn''t be said for the little girl beside him. When she heard the guard in silver armour slighting her, a sliver of her aura suddenly leaked out but was quickly restrained by her.
When she thought that this trip to the capital might bring her closer to her search for her disciple, she couldn''t help but swallow her anger.
"What is happening there?".
At this moment, a sudden voice interrupted them. From the direction of the caravan, a figure could be seening over.
After the person approached closer, the silhouette of theirs came into view. An alluring figure that could make anyone gulp, a poise as sharp as a sword and those well-rounded curves that would evoke intense reaction.
The person that came over was none other than Alvara. When she was dealing with the staffs and preparing everything for the travel, she heard somemotion from the outer perimeter where the guards were and swiftly came over to check.
To her surprise, the ones that were held by the guards were none other than the two new adventurers, Simon and Adalinda that came over to their branch office a few days ago.
"It''s you two!" Alvara cried, startled.
"Hehe" Simon smiled and nodded towards the woman who was at this moment wearing a tight fit leather clothes and lightweight armours. Her garb was made in a way so that it made extremely agile movements possible.
While it gave her a warrior''s aura, it also made her figure more mesmerising.
"Commander do you know them?" the guard leader asked in a somewhat perplexed manner.
Alvara nodded before telling the guard to move back to his position. "It''s good that you have arrived early. Follow me, miss has been expecting you" throwing her words, she turned around and started walking towards the line of wagons.
Simon and Adalinda quietly followed behind and arrived near the wagons, all of which had the emblem of Serene Pce Merchant Guild carved on them. While on the way, he let his gaze roam and swiftly detected that there were more than thirty soldiers currently making a perimeter around this ce.
There were also a few groups of adventurers that have been hired by the merchant guild donning various armours and weapons. Other than them, there were approximately fifteen or so staff on the wagon not including the woman he had met two days ago who was also their client and Alvara.
Simon''s gaze scanned every corner of this ce before stopping on some few individuals with certain high levels. His eyes just finished roaming through the staff when suddenly his instincts red some signals.
When he tried focusing on where this feeling came from, a certain voice rang out halting his line of thought.
"Haha, it''s you guys. I knew it, that crafty old man nned on roping the two of you into this mission" a burly man wearing a somewhat greyish armour giving off a slight gold tinge walked over.
When Simon gazed at him, he immediately recognised the man as this wasn''t their first time meeting. He had met the man twice, the first time was when the man was surrounded by enemies in a mountainous gorge near his dungeon and the second time was inside the Adventurer''s guild.
The man that walked over was none other than Chuck the adventurer. At this moment, he was decked out in a full te armour and releasing a warrior''s aura. Following behind were two people whose strengths were all above level 300.
Looking at their outfit, it was clear to Simon that one was a mage and the other an assassin. Both had a unique set donned on that highlighted their sses.
Simon nodded towards the maning over and greeted back. Although it couldn''t be said that they were acquaintances, he at least had a favourable opinion of the man who had stood strong even while facing numerous enemies he knew he couldn''t defeat with his wound ridden body.
While he kept aposed face externally, Simon was panicking internally since he never expected a familiar face to pop up during this mission. Since Chuck was here, didn''t that also mean that woman who was the user of the light attribute was also here?
Though he had changed his appearance somewhat with the help of the item Adalinda had given him, his face remained the same. If that woman was here, she would be immediately able to recognise him.
Out of all of the people that has seen his true appearance, that light user woman was one of them. Chuck had fallen unconscious at that time and hence did not see his face.
Simon''s eyes roamed around his surroundings without letting the other party know his inner thoughts. Only when he couldn''t find any other presence nearby that matched with the light attribute of that woman, he sighed in relief.
"It seems that you two have be adventurers huh. Well knowing that old man, he wouldn''t leave you guys alone until he squeezed as much from you as he can" Chuck revealed a bitter smile when he remembered what happened back at the adventurer''s guild.
"Ah, that''s right¡ these two are my party members, Ken and Brim. You guessed it, our guild has also epted the mission on requested by the old man" Chuck introduced, the two people nodded their heads in greeting.
While their eyes seemed unfazed when they saw him, they immediately frowned when they saw a little girl who looked no more than fourteen years old tagging along beside.
Adalinda noticed their sudden stare, but did not spare them a nce.
"Are these all your party members?" Simon inquired, it would be quite troublesome if that woman were to join them on this missionter on.
Unknowingly, these words of his poked at their wounds and the mood of the three immediately became gloomy.
"It seems that you are not aware but¡ this is all the strength our guild has currently got to offer" Chuck shifted his gaze and clenched his hands while talking with much difficulty. He did not me Simon since he knew that thetter was new to this town and might not have heard about the events rting to his guild.
Although this did not answer his question, Simon did not probe further, he understood that the topic was a delicate matter for them. Especially when he was aware of what had happened to their guild.
He could only hope that light user woman would not be participating during this mission. Seeing the atmosphere surrounding them had be stifling, Chuckughed and broke the silence.
"It seems that you going there to meet with the client, it just so happens that the three of us are also heading there. Why not go together then?" the adventurer proposed.
Since there was no reason to deny, Simon simply nodded his head and approached the biggest wagon in the middle of the convoy that was surrounded by silver armoured guards.
At this moment, the early morning mist was starting to dissipate and the sun was beginning to rise as its gentle rays fell onto the ce.
When Simon and the other approached near the centre, they could see a beautiful woman dressed in purple dress busilymanding the people around her. Every move that she made, had a feminine charm and the slightest movement of her cloth entuated her breathtaking curves.
Her violet hair at this moment was tied with a silk ribbon and gave her an otherworldly look. After the staff left and she finally had a moment of respite, Alvara who was quietly standing beside her chose this moment to speak.
"P.. ahem Miss the adventurers are all here". Hearing the words of her closest aide, Cynthia arched her brows and gazed in the direction where she was pointing before seeing a couple of adventurersing over.
She nodded towards Alvara who matched her pace and strode towards them.
"Adventurers I thank you on behalf of my Serene Pce Merchant Guild for epting this mission. The travel might be full of peril this time but like themission mentioned, all your losses will be fullypensated and rewarded adequately, so I hope that you will guard the convoy with all your strength".
Being requested so politely by a beautiful woman, how could these barbaric adventurers that mostly only know how to utilise their strength, be unaffected? The surrounding adventurers roared intently as their blood boiled and they suddenly felt a strong intention to protect this beauty with their life.
Simon narrowed his eyes and curled his mouth at this disy. Only a short few words from her mouth was enough to make the blood of these adventurers boil.. He had to admit that the woman knew how to encourage and win over the hearts of these people.
Chapter 236: Newbies
Chapter 236: Newbies
Seeing the intense fighting spirit of the people in front, Alvara was not amazed, she knew that her Miss was an ethereal beauty and given her charms, no men could stay unaffected.
Cynthia nodded her head from the expected reaction before stating in a stern and serious manner.
"All of you get ready, the convoy is about to leave. I would like the adventurers to stride forwards and be the Vanguards".
Although telling the adventurers to be the front liners a little callous, nobody disyed any unhappiness at thatmand since they knew that after all of this was over, arge reward was waiting them.
NIEEGHH¡ the sound of dozens of horses neighing could be heard during this time and when Simon nced over, he was astounded to see that the horses used to pull the carts, were as big and tall as a camel. Their appearance was just like reindeers and they had a thick coat of fur around their neck.
"Haha, is this your first time looking at a Bane Moose? These are what we used around the north-western part of our kingdom. They are a kind of species bred with monsters and horses; the offspring is what we call a Bane Moose. They are an excellent steed and more powerful than any ordinary monsters".
"However, they are quite rare and expensive to have. Other than in the possession of a few rich people and nobles, I''m afraid that you wouldn''t see them anywhere else in this remote corner" Chuck who was walking beside him, saw him throwing a curious nce and exined.
Simon nodded his head and pulled his gaze away from the couple dozens of Bane Moose. With just a nce, he could see that they were multiple times more powerful than any ordinary horse, even some low-level monsters would be no match for them.
An offspring between a monster and a horse, it would be no exaggeration to say that the cost of even having one would be quite high. From this one could see how deep the pockets of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild was to enlist multiple of these Bane Moose into their midst.
Well no matter how powerful they were, Simon''s interest wasn''t piqued at all. That was because no matter how excellent a steed they were, could they evene close to the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse? The answer was obvious to his eyes.
Simon and Adalinda walked forward and was just about to board the wagon in the front when Chuck who had boarded the second wagon, called out to them.
"Hey, the both of you why don''t youe and sit with us?" to these words that suddenly sounded out from behind, Simon did not reject it and unceremoniously boarded the second wagon. Naturally, Adalinda sat along with him.
The rest of the adventurers either decided to board the first or the third wagon. There were more than ten wagons plus soldiers riding Bane Moose so there was no need to worry about not having ample space to sit.
The first few wagons at the front were unlike the ones behind which were fully covered and focused more onfort. The ones at the front that adventurers boarded, had ample space to look at the scenery outside and was wide enough to enable the adventurers to immediately hop into action. Apart from that, the wagon only had a few other necessities.
While the adventurers boarded the wagons at the front, soldiers that were not riding the Bane Moose, boarded those wagons at the back. Although it couldn''t be said that their wagons were like the ones at the middle, it was much morefortable than the wagons the adventurers were riding.
This way, the line-up of the wagons was like: adventurers on the front, the client, the staff and the nonbatants in the middle and the many guards wearing silver armour on the back.
One could say that the line-up was quite good keeping the safety of the client in mind.
With the neigh of the Bane Moose in front, the convoy of wagons started moving and soon exited from the eastern gate.
When they passed through the gate, Simon could see how high the rampart that fortified the entire city was. At a nce, it was more than ten meters high and was made of thick pirs of stonesyered together.
****
The noise of the wheels turning and the galloping sounds could be heard in the background, quite a while had passed since the convoy left the city of Mountmend and departed for the capital.
The road they were currently travelling on was a nd that has been in use for travel for quite a while and hence became smooth with the flow of time.
Simon leaned back on his seat and observed his surroundings. It had been an hour or so since they departed, by now the radiant light of the sun brightened the surroundings and signs of life could be seen springing to action.
Birds chirped as they flew around, and the fresh wind blew across brushing the petals of the flower covered in morning dew. Currently, they were in the intersection between two cities that were near the city of Mountmend.
Guards from these cities would sometimes petrol the area and pass by them on their way. Thus there was no need for the adventurers and guards of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild to be overly guarded.
It was only after they passed through this intersection would they need to survey their surroundings.
Chuck who was seated at the front, directed the driver who was unsure of the route beforeing over.
"Haha, the journey has only just started and will take a long while. Fellow adventurers, this might be our first time meeting for some of us, so why don''t we have a chat in the meantime and introduce ourselves?".
He smiled and tried to deepen the bond between the many adventurers seated at the wagon. His charisma as a leader and his friendliness to adapt to his surrounding wasid bare.
Simon couldn''t help but admit that Chuck was a very experienced leader and immediately saw through the weakness of this group.
While these people might be individually strong, they were divided into groups and segmented. During the journey when they needed to hold frontlines, they would have to leave their backs to these very allies who they do not know or are meeting for the first time.
When the moment for them to take action came and they couldn''t trust their allies, their strength would be more than halved.
Chuck who had a rich experience of leading a guild, swiftly saw through this and hence initiated a conversation to smoothen out the rtionship.
The adventurers seated unanimously approved of his decision and thus started introducing themselves one at a time.
Chuck had a big reputation among the adventurers of the city of Mountmend and quite a few adventurers knew about him, the guild that he belonged to was also famous kingdom wide.
Although his reputation after the incident back at the Ghastly Winding Forest had taken a hit and dwindled quite a lot, who among these adventurers had the guts to challenge the authority and power he had built through these years.
The adventurers after being instigated, started telling their names, the guild that they belonged to and some of their exploits which garner awe and praises from the surrounding adventurers.
These people were all adventurers and loved to hear the stories and battles of their fellowrades sharing the same profession. The atmosphere inside the wagon soon became a warm one as adventurers mingled with one another and shared stories of their great feats.
"Haha, mark my word.. this sword of mine is made from the bones of the Anemodactyl that I hunted myself alone when exploring the Ghastly Winding Forest" a man with quite a long nose said caressing the sword buckled to his waist gently.
"Brother Bignosio is quite brave to have hunted an Anemodactly alone. You must be quite powerful, I heard that they are pack hunters and even a youngling anemodactyl that is recently born, is at the least above level 100" an adventurer beside him, praised.
"Hahaha, is that so¡ that must be the case then" Bignosioughed while scratching the back of his hair.
The other reaming adventurers soon introduced themselves and shared some of their exploits which simrly received many praises and acknowledgement from the crowd. Although they did not reveal their sses, based on the outfit that they were donned on, it was not hard to guess what their general ss was.
Soon it was the turn of Simon and Adalinda who were quietly sitting in their seats in a corner with their eyes closed.
When Simon felt that the adventurers had suddenly be silent, he immediately understood that it was their turn. He opened his mouth to speak while still leaning back on his seatzily.
"Simon, provisional adventurer, this here is Adalinda, simrly a provisional adventurer". After saying what he needed to say, he closed his eyes and went back to his previous dozing state.
SILENCE~
Quite a lot of adventurers knitted their brows at this disy of attitude which showed no intention of blending with the others. When the mood around the wagon was about to turn sour, a loud snicker could be hearding from one adventurer as hemented.
"Ke ke¡ they are just newbies with no prior adventures to speak off. There is no need to spoil our mood because of some inknown provisional adventurers".
The man who just spoke was none other than Bignosio who up until now was the centre of limelight.
Chapter 237: Northern Outlaw Forest
Chapter 237: Northern Ouw Forest
All the other adventurers nodded their heads at those words, everybody was doing their best to smoothen their rtionship so that when the timees, they could rely on each other and strengthen their powers even further. After all, they could only do so much with their power and that is why they needed different sses working together to ovee any obstacles.
It was precisely because they knew the strategy of strength in numbers, that they were able to be veteran adventurers.
These people saw no need to bother with some adventurers that have been newly appointed. This journey was going to be fairly a risky one, if they couldn''t make a group before the time for them to act came, their life would be in jeopardy.
It was an obvious choice for them to ally themselves with already established adventurers with some exploits to speak off rather than minding the words of some newbie who did not know what''s best for him.
Additionally, the casual ck clothes of the young man told these experienced adventurers that he was just a poor beginner who couldn''t even afford to buy a set of armour for himself.
"Hehe, you are rather unpopr despite your looks" Adalinda who seated beside him gloatingly remarked. She was getting bored a few moments ago but now she had a fun time seeing Simon being roasted and looked down upon by these bunch of unaware adventurers.
"Leave them be" he indifferently said not bothering to mix his words. There was no reason for them to mix with a bunch of adventurers when their goals were different.
Unlike these people who had acted in groups ever since they became adventurers, Simon was used to acting alone. He had no one to depend on inside the extremely dangerous Ghastly Winding Forest and could only rely on himself.
During many asions, he had narrowly brushed past death and stood victorious. He had an unshakable confidence in himself and knew that no matter what happens, he could always rely on his powers and body that he had built over the time.
The words of Simon, naturally didn''t go unheard by these adventurers seated at the closed space of this wagon. They couldn''t help but click their tongues at this annoyance of a guy who had too much attitude even though he was just a novice.
While there were those that found him a bother, there was also those who couldn''t helpugh at his stupidity. They clearly knew how crucial a time it was for them to form groups now so thatter on they could rely on each other should any contingency ur.
The manner of Simon pushing everybody aside, was seen as something stupid, after all, the client herself had said that the travel would beden with risk.
The way these adventurers looked at Simon, was as if he was already a dead man.
Chuck shook his head and sighed when he observed that all of the adventurers seemed to look down on the ck-robed young man. With his eyes, how was it possible for him to not see the inner thoughts of these few people, with just a nce, he immediately knew what they were thinking.
However, Chuck knew better than to underestimate the fellow who was rmended for this mission by none other than that old man from the adventurer''s guild.
Additionally, that unknown skill of his that was able to block all prying attempts of [Analysis] and the mysteriousmotion of all the people getting knocked unconscious back at the adventurer''s guild told Chuck that the young man was anything but simple.
Leaving aside all those, just the fact that the old man had rmended the two for this task spoke volumes of highly he viewed them.
Since the adventurers were aware of the unusualness surrounding the ck robed young man, he couldn''t me them for looking down on him.
He quietly walked towards the row where the two were seating and quietly ced himself on the row opposite them. His twopanions also followed his lead and crowded around the two.
Naturally, this action of Chuck who was a renowned adventurer around these parts, didn''t go unnoticed by them. Many of them frowned over this act and some couldn''t help but be curious about the identity of the two adventurers they thought were newbies.
However, when they rted Chuck''s action as him taking care of the newbies and winning over them to recruit in his guild, these adventurers came to terms with themselves.
Bignosio, who had formed quite a big group of more than seven people, red at Simon in irritation. Initially, he thought that recounting the tale of his exploits will win over many adventurers and even possibly allow him to group up with Chuck''s team, but who would have thought that Chuck wouldn''t even spare their group a nce and tag along with someone random adventurers who he saw was unnecessary for this mission.
Bignosio was an adventurer above level 290 and had rather some feats umted under his name. Discounting Chuck and his team, he was the highest level adventurer on this wagon.
His self-esteem took a hit when the highest level team did not even look at him.
"Tch¡ you are after all, a failure who couldn''t even save his party members to return back alive from the expedition inside the Ghastly Winding Forest. Don''t think just because you are the highest level adventurer around here, you still hold the same prestige as before".
"The era of your guild is long gone and if not for the main guild still supporting you and the mayor of the city taking pity, currently with your little remaining numbers, you wouldn''t even have the rights to call yourselves a guild".
Bignosio cursed the man internally in his heart and his ugly face made. Only after cursing the man internally, did he finally feel good. He no longer bothered with other''s actions and decided to focus on the members of his group which included adventurers who had mostlye over after being awed by his strength and exploits.
The ill intent behind the gaze of the man, naturally couldn''t go unnoticed by Simon who was a Demon Noble in the first ce and very sensitive to negative emotions.
His calm brows arced a little when he felt that lingering gaze over him, although he felt a little surprised that he had already incurred someone''s ire, but other than that he did not look fazed at all.
Of course, if that man chose to seek trouble and shorten his life span, Simon would dly help him with that.
"Haha, don''t mind that fellow, he is after all one of the most dazzling adventurers currently in the city. It is normal to see other people who might be theirpetition cautiously" Chuck seemed to also feel the gaze of that big-nosed man and exined. Being a human, he wasn''t aware of the smear of ill intent within that gaze.
Simon simply nodded at those words of Chuck before asking in a somewhat uninterested voice "Shouldn''t you be making a group too, after all, this was all your idea?".
The adventurer seemed somewhat startled, he revealed a bitter smile as his gaze drifted over the scenery outside.
"I have thought over it and decided not to form a group. It''s not that I have absolute confidence in the strength of my group or anything it''s just that I''m not ready to take that kind of burden, their lives that they will entrust with me, I''m not ready to shoulder it once again".
His words were deep and mncholic; there was even a faint pain and helplessness within it. His two teammates also showed simr reactions and chose not to say any words at this moment.
Simon''s eyes twitched after unintentionally poking at the still fresh wounds of the man once again.
Chuck seemed to realise that he had made the atmosphere a little gloomy and hence he loudly thumped his hands on his thighs and changed the topic.
"That''s right, you don''t seem to be wearing any armour or some sort, is your ss a mage then?" Chuck inquired after looking at the casual ck outfit of the young man.
"Something like that" Simon replied neither agreeing nor denying with his words.
Seeing that the young man did not n on revealing his position, Chuck did not press further. However, it was easy for him to guess from Simon''s casual clothes that he was a mage.
When he nced over at Adalinda who was quietly taking a nap¡ his thought process stopped there. He couldn''t even begin to guess the ss of this little girl who seemed to be giving off a bizarre feeling.
Two days passed by quickly and the night of the following day, they finally crossed the intersection between the two cities and neared the borders of the vast forest region.
After they cross the borders, they would be outside the territory of Duke Redcrest who governed the entire north-western region of the Kingdom of Ellesmere. From there, they would have to travel through the vast forest region thaty between the territories of two baronies.
****
The time was of night and the three moons hung at the night sky illuminating the area with their beautiful luminance. At the edges of the wilnds, just before entering the vast forest, the convoy of wagons stopped near a brook to take a break.
Roars of wild monsters could be heard intermittently along with the crackling sounds of the fire burning. At this moment, the convoy was setting up camps and preparing dinner for the night.. Fish and meats were being grilled atop a big firece before being distributed to every member of this convoy.
Chapter 238: Comparing Knowledge
Chapter 238: Comparing Knowledge
Adventurers nked their sses with the guards who were at this moment sharing the same meal with them and conversed merrily.
Of course, there were some who were appointed as sentries around the ce, to perimeter the area and be on a lookout for any disturbance around them.
At this moment, Cynthia who was wearing a purple dress, was standing prettily beside arge table and giving instruction to a few adventurers and guards of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild alike. A woman wearing leather armour and lightweight gears and releasing an alluring aura, was standing beside her.
There was no need to mention who that woman was, other than Alvara who else had the authority to stand so close to Cynthia.
At this moment, there was another person who appeared to be standing beside her. An aged man with a butler''s attire and a head full of white hair, was standing a few steps behind her.
His gait was straight, his bearing and the way he stood like a sword, contrasted with his appearance. His face had many wrinkles that the passage of time had left on him but nheless, it couldn''t hide that unusual glint in his eyes.
The butler took out a big parchment of paper before spreading it over the table.
Cynthia nodded looking at therge map that was strewn on the table and her delicate hands that had well-maintained nails, pointed at some of the crucial checkpoints marked on the map.
These checkpoints were something that they must pass through before they could reach the capital. At a nce, there were more than six checkpoints marked with different colours.
She pointed at one of the checkpoints that was marked with a ring red colour.
"Everyone must stay on their guards after we enter the forest. We might not be able to enjoy the quiet that we have been up until now. On top of being full of monsters, the vast forest region is also a den of bandits that have gathered here from the surrounding regions. Many people, caravans and merchant guilds had their luggage stolen and their life taken by these bandits".
"We must stay cautious and it would be in our best interest to not underestimate them. Individually they might be weaker than you adventurers who have years of experience hunting monsters and exploring but you must remember one thing in your mind. That is, this is their den, their territory".
"Their poption here easily dwarves the small number of people on our side. So when ites down to a battle of attrition, we are sure to lose. With that in mind, it does not mean that we should fear them, on the contrary, if we give in to their demands, it might be us soon finding our backs into a corner. Kill them if they are being obstructive, I will leave the decision to deal with them to you all".
Cynthia looked over at the appointed leaders of each group of adventurers and her guard leaders. The way she gavemands and led people told other that the woman was used to being in an important position.
Her otherworldly beauty along with her devilish figure and her disposition made her an extremely desirable woman. However, when these people saw the line-up of guards around her and her position, they could only sigh and give up on those thoughts.
"Hmph, if these adventurers are indeed stronger than those bandits, we will soon find out. I just hope that for therge sum of reward that our merchant guild is paying to them, they would at least fight with all their strength".
The butlermented with a low voice. He had a sour mood and the tone with which he was speaking, was extremely unfriendly towards the adventurers.
While he chose to keep his voice low, how could these adventurers who had gone through years of training and battle, miss it? They disyed offended faces as they nced at that butler who had a disdainful look stered on his face.
However, before the situation could turn for the worse, a cold voice devoid of any emotion rang out.
"Be quiet Jeeves, it is not your ce here to judge the prowess of the adventurers. I need everybody''s unity, not someone who sows discord. If you get it then be quiet".
Cynthia red at the butler named Jeeves behind her with eyes containing some traces of anger.
The old man was usually not that rude and bold enough to look down on others, it was only a year or two ago that the old man''s personality turned at a total 180¡ã. The change even baffled her.
If not for the fact that her father had appointed the old man as her butler and the position he held was not important for their merchant guild, she would have long dismissed the person.
Turning around, she apologised for this unruly disy and hurriedly changed the topic. The discussion proceeded without any other passingment from the butler.
When Cynthia saw that all these people have digested the information, she then pointed at the vast expanse of forest thaty at the edge of this north-western region beforementing.
"Once we cross the vast forestnd also known as Northern Ouw Woonds, we would be entering the northern territory governed by Duke Montford. There we could take a moment of respite but until then, I am counting on you all to lend me your strength".
"Especially you adventurers who know about the monsters and their tendencies than any other people present here. I''ll be seeking your advice on how best to avoid the monsters when the timees, I hope that you would share your knowledge with us".
Cynthia bowed her head and her violet hair gently slid over her shoulders, her action immediately evoked many gasps of surprise from the people especially her guard leaders and Alvara.
After they saw their Miss bowing their head, they stopped struggling internally and simrly bowed their heads. The butler that was called Jeeves, had an ugly face when he saw that the miss had bowed her head towards the adventurers.
Although he felt greatly reluctant to bow his head to these adventurers, seeing that everybody from the merchant guild did the same, he couldn''t help but do the same.
These ruffians like adventurers who weren''t used to being asked something so politely, couldn''t help but feel giddy.
Nevertheless, the effects of their actions were clear and their sentiments got conveyed, these adventurer leaders nodded their heads one after the other and thumped their armours saying leave it to us.
They have been promised a hefty reward, of course, they need to show their worth. The various leaders of the adventurer''s group started discussing amongst each other.
Obviously, Simon was amongst the group and so was Chuck and that big nose guy. It seemed that the he was still not over the fact that chuck chose to befriend the ck-robed young man instead of him and so when it came to the point where they were allocating which group would handle what task, Simon''s group was given the task of being the sentry.
The job of a sentry was very tiring and the position was directly in the frontline where it wouldn''t be surprising if they were suddenly attacked by monsters and bandits.
Of course, there was no need to ask who had suggested this during the discussion. Bignosio was feeling pleased after taking out the frustration he felt in his heart. Because of him being a well-known adventurer and a seven-man group, he had quite the say during the discussion.
The other adventurers were tactful enough to not voice anyints. Who would speak for a newbie adventurer and dare offend someone who was already a powerful and established adventurer?
Simon was naturally unbothered by this childish disy of the big nose man. He even felt likeughing at the man who thought he could suppress him with such simple tactics.
Right now, his eyes were particrly focused on a person beside the purple dress woman without them realising. That old butler with white hair, for some reason, was ring rm bells from his instincts.
Simon could see that the old man despite his age was not simple as he looked. Even if the man was good at hiding his aura, it couldn''t evade Simon''s senses that was sharpened after many battles.
He did not use [Analysis] on that butler since it risked him bing alert. However, even without that, it was easy for a Demon Noble like him to sense the chaotic negative emotions within the man.
Simon made a wicked smile as he thought how the trip this time would not be boring at all.
While Simon was lost in his thoughts, the discussion amongst the adventurers had already proceeded forwards.
Seeing that the situation looked bad for the two new provisional adventurers, Chuck decided to speak up and distribute the task that Simon''s group had been allotted with his. His actions made the surrounding adventurer''s face awkward and their gaze was somewhat helpless.
They turned their eyes and saw that the man named Bignosio had an ugly expression at this moment and one could faintly sense the tension in the air.
Cynthia who was presiding over this discussion naturally did not think much of it and dismissed the adventurers. She sighed in exhaustion patted her well-endowed chest and went back to her wagon along with Alvara themander of the guards.
The butler had a dark and cold expression in his eyes when he nced at the adventurers, nobody knew what he was thinking.. He moved his feet and swiftly disappeared inside his wagon.
Chapter 239: Comparing Knowledge (2)
Chapter 239: Comparing Knowledge (2)
The adventurers dispersed and each went to do their own task leaving a few of them.
"There was no need for you to step up, this level of handicap is nothing" Simon said vaguely as he contemted the objective of this man who was trying to get on his good side.
"You don''t have to mind it, I just spoke up since I didn''t like how these adventurers were piling most of the dangerous tasks on your shoulder" Chuck said while walking towards the wagon.
"Is that so" Simon narrowed his eyes at those words, did thetter think that he was some na?ve young man to have believed those words.
"Ahaha, well besides that there is also another reason. You might not know but I am¡ I was a guild leader not long back. With my actions, I at least wanted to show you a provisional adventurer that not all adventurers are like that. I do apologise if I was being nosy".
Since the man was not looking in his direction, he couldn''t see what the expression of the adventurer was nor what he was thinking. However, from his words, Simon couldn''t perceive any negative emotions. Which led him to think that Chuck was doing all of this as a way of atoning for those guild members of his that he couldn''t save.
The adventurer went to his teammates and Simon was approached by Adalinda who was by now extremely bored.
"What took you so long? I was dying from boredom over here" sheined crossing her arms.
Heughed dryly at this haughty act and exined her the situation. Adalinda listened intently; her eyes glowed strangely when she heard about the various dangers associated with this vast forestnd. Simon could even see some excitement in those eyes of hers.
Her mood was like a swing as it fluctuated up and down, when she heard that some adventurer was trying to make things difficult for them, she couldn''t help but disy some killing intent.
"Hehh¡ that man is digging his own grave. Don''t tell me you will just leave things like that?" Adalinda asked with a smile that was not a smile.
A ferocious glint appeared on his eyes and for an instant, Simon''s eyes turned to their previous crimson colour.
"No way¡ if that man wants to y, of course I''ll y along".
Two pairs of wickedugh rang out as some devious ns were being cooked. The concerned man of their topic was unaware of it.
****
NEEIGHH¡ the Bane Moose roared and the convoy of wagons started moving at the first sign of suning out. The wagons marched with the adventurers taking the lead to scout out their surroundings as they delved inside the vast forestnd.
At a nce, the area spanned for thousands of kilometres with no sight of it ending. Tall trees and thick vines shrouded the area and covered most of the sunlight from entering in.
There would be intermittent cries of distant monstersing from unknown directions sometimes, nheless, the convoy stuck to the rough route and proceeded forwards. A coarse road went between the tall trees and thickets and disappeared deep inside the valley.
To cross the northern ouw forest, one must stick to this route so as to not get lost and risk diving into monsters or bandit''s territory.
The adventurers and guards surrounded the wagon as it silently marched on. At the front, a group of people could be seen riding on Bane Moose as they scouted the ce ahead.
Of course, Simon and Adalinda were amongst the group. Their task was simple and that was to monitor for any monster or unusual activities urring at the front and signal the other behind them.
Simon looked around his surroundings and narrowed his eyes, although this was his first timeing to these parts of thend, he didn''t feel any difort since he was adapted to exploringnds that were multiple times more dangerous than this.
Spreading his senses all around him and activating the skill [Detect Presence], he could perceive any unusual movements urring around them.
The adventurers were spread apart as they searched for any traces of monsters or bandits around them. Once in a while, they would gather in a spot and exchange information before passing it to the convoy following behind.
Of course, since they all sided with the big nose man, nobody paid much attention to the detail that the two new provisional adventurers had provided since they thought that whatever information their little ability had allowed them to gather was useless in their eyes.
Compared to the information of the newbie adventurers, it was much more reliable to base their decisions on the veteran and experienced adventurers.
Simon shrugged his shoulders and didn''t think much of the adventurers showing him cold shoulders.
Time flowed by and the sun was beginning to set. The faint light of sunrays that the adventurers were relying on to travel, soon began to disappear leaving the forest dark and gloomy.
With the arrival of the night, the nocturnal denizens of the forest began to wake up. The howl and cries of the monsters were more apparent now and there was a faint trace of uneasiness seeping within everyone''s heart.
Adventurers and guards carried torches of fire moved forwards for a while beforeing to a stop in front of arge clearance.
"Alright everyone we will stop here for the time being. Moving at night will be more dangerous since not many of us possess skills like [Night Vision]" Alvara the guardmander dered from the top of the Bane Moose she was riding.
The clearance that they decided to use as their temporary campground was big enough to easily hold the lineup of wagons and still have plenty of space to spare.
The faint moonlight seeped out from the clouds looming over the sky and brightened the area. Everybody except those acting as sentries, immediately started setting up temporary camps and fireces to cook.
Over at therge table, a beautiful woman wearing a purple dress and having a violet hair, could be seen looking at the map strewn on the table and pondering something. The woman was none other than the Mistress of the Serene Pce Merchant guild Cynthia.
At this moment Alvara, Jeeves, adventurers leaders and guards crowded around the table and were discussing something intensely.
A guard hurriedly came over and passed Alvara some object that looked like fur at a nce. She inspected it before showing it to the adventurers.
"This was found around here. It looks like fur of some monster that has been shed. Are you guys certain that this ground has been deserted?".
Her question was directed at the group of adventurers.
"Missmander need not worry, my team have searched the ce thoroughly and have found some traces of monsters once inhabiting this area; however, they have deserted this ground a long time ago and are unlikely toe back here".
The man who reported this was none other than Bignosio who had quite the smug face at this moment. With his years of experience, it was easy for him to tell some of the habits and tendencies of the monsters.
While that may be true, everybody was clear of the intention of this man who was trying to garner some attention from their client. They could see a fiery heat on the somewhat boorish face of the man with which he nces at Cynthia.
Bignosio would have made his move on the extremely beguiling woman if not for the order of guards and Alvara the guardmander who he was afraid of.
How could Cynthia not be aware of such nefarious gaze? However, the current situation was so that she couldn''t help but ignore it for the time being no matter how disgusted she felt in her heart. The adventurer may be depraved but he had his uses and his experience was what their convoy needed right now.
"The fur that is in Miss Alvara''s hand, if I''m not wrong, is from a monster called Mountain Bear, the fur being greyish brown is a proof of that. They are a kind of monster that usually prefer to stay and hunt alone, also they migrate to different hunting grounds during different seasons. Looking at how the scent of the monster is so faint here, this ground has been long deserted by them".
Bignosio described, putting the vast knowledge that he had umted over the years of adventuring, in front of everyone. His eyes continued to steal some sneaky nces at Cynthia.
Technically speaking, it was one of the guys from his group that had passed him this information while they were scouting. However, the man named Bignosio was shameful enough to pass it as his own knowledge in front of this crowd.
Awed and surprised sounds came from the various adventurers around the table, it was clear that they were impressed by his resourcefulness. However, the target of his impression did not spare him a single nce and only nodded at those words while still looking over the map.
Simon who was present amongst the adventurers crowding over the table, involuntarily arched his brows at those words from the big nose man.
He looked all around the ce and narrowed his eyes, although he did not have [Night Vision] skill, he could still many times better than an ordinary person in the darkness of the night.. Hence, it was easy for him to spot a few traces that could have been otherwise missed.
Chapter 240: Comparing Knowledge (3)
Chapter 240: Comparing Knowledge (3)
From his observation, he soon found out that this clearance was not something natural and was created by felling the trees. As if ascertaining that his thoughts were correct, he could see some distinct wide w marks at the trunks of some trees.
The marks were heavy and gouged deep within the trunk, one could even determine a little bit about the strength of the entity through this. These marks were by no means left behind by Mountain Bears, who are at the lower hierarchy of the food chain.
It would be no exaggeration to say that Simon who was a Dungeon Master and had spent most of his time exploring the dangerousnds of the Ghastly Winding Forest, was the most experienced guy out of all of the people present here when ites to monsters.
"This ce has not been deserted, the inhabitants of this ce should soon being back. If we camp out here, it would be no different than inviting trouble and causing unnecessary casualties".
Simon saidzily, his tone was sluggish making one believe that he did not pay much attention to whatever he was saying.
His words that contrasted with the arguments that Bignosio had put forward, instantly generated fiercemotion within the crowd present around the table.
Alvara who was still holding the fur, looked at the familiar young face and inquired "What do you mean by those words?".
Simon shrugged his shoulders and said indifferently "I mean what I said, this ce has not been deserted. The area we are currently in is their of the monsters. I believe that when the inhabitants of this cee back, they wouldn''t look at us favourably".
CHATTER¡ amotion erupted within the crowd after they heard those confident words.
Alvara who was standing beside Cynthia, discussed something with her, they nced at Simon and were just about to ask thetter if he could rify himself, a loud voice erupted from someone from amidst the adventurers.
Theughter contained a mocking tone and the person had difficulty holding it in. The man who had justughed out loud, was none other than the big-nosed man.
"Hahaha, did you guys hear that? Its been a while since I had such a goodugh¡ haha. Everyone let''s not just believe the random words that he had just spouted without any basis".
"You there¡ you shouldn''t intervene in something you have limited knowledge of. This ce was the hunting ground of one or two Mountain Bears but it has been deserted since a long time ago or else there would be quite a strong scent lingering".
Bignosio rubbed his nose arrogantly after putting his piece.
Simon narrowed his eyes, a cold and dark glint shed in the depth of his eyes after being dismissed like that. The man had been repeatedly looking down on him and had been repeatedly trying to shut him down at every chance he got.
Simon was starting to get a little annoyed by this conceited fellow who had some low self-esteem issues.
When everybody was starting to believe that those were some baseless words spoken by some newbie, the provisional adventurer stated once again.
"You cannot smell their strong scent, because it has been scattered by rain recently".
The provisional adventurer then pointed at the fur in the guardmander''s hand and inquired "Do you feel some moisture on that fur in your hands?".
His question immediately startled everyone and they hurriedly shifted their eyes on Alvara.
The guardmander wore a solemn look as she carefully investigated the fur in her hands and nodded her head not long after.
GASP¡ her answer immediately made the surrounding people widen their eyes and they couldn''t help but nce at the young man once again.
"Mountain bears are not the only monsters that have greyish brown fur, the Battle Bears that are a tier above them in the food chain, also have greyish brown on their bodies. Unlike the mountain bears, they are not migratory and only leave theirirs when the prey around has been lessened".
"Strictly speaking, they are quite territorial and aggressive when somebody approaches their territory. If you look around the ce carefully, you can see that this clearance in the forest that we are currently using as our campsite, was not naturally made. The trees around here show signs of being wed and roughed by the monsters quite a bit".
Simon exined sighing internally. He was not bluffing, he had already seen through the identity of this monster that he had fought with many times during his exploration inside the Ghastly Winding Forest.
The power behind that attack that could even chop these huge trees was not something a monster on the level of Mountain Bear could achieve. However, if it was a Battle Bear, it was not unthinkable.
These monsters that had even given him who was a Demon Baron at that stage, a hard time was much stronger than a Mountain Bear.
While the Battle Bear was strong, one or two of these monsters would have been no threat to their group, but looking at the signs all around, it was clear to him that their numbers were not small.
Especially during the night if they camped out here, they risked the chance of getting attacked midnight and incurring quite a heavy casualty. Simon was not a saint, the only reason he was helping them was because he needed them to navigate a way to the capital.
At this moment, themotion within the crowd gathered near the table became even more loud and intense. After the evidences and arguments provided by the ck robed young adventurer, everybody was forced to redouble their thoughts about camping here.
The arguments and the facts that he had provided, were so strong that they had to withdraw their condescending looks and view the provisional adventurer with a new light.
There was no one among the adventurers who was able to refute his arguments and just when it seemed that everybody was about to believe his words, Bignosio who wore an ugly expression on his face spoke out.
"Everybody it appears that all of us has forgotten one thing. No matter how convincing a story he has cooked up, at the end he is just a newbie adventurer with limited to no experience. How is it possible for him to have such knowledge at such age?"
"I implore everyone to not get distracted by his words. The darkness of the night has already spread all over, if we move from here, there is no guarantee that we would find another ce like this to camp. Who knows we might even meet some monsters if we travel at night".
After speaking all that he needed, he nced at Simon and shed him a disdainful smile. His attitude seemed to say that he has the weakness of the young man in his grasp.
These words from Bignosio immediately woke everybody out from their contemtion. They felt that he was right, it was known to everybody that Simon was just a provisional adventurer and from his looks, he did not appear to be more than twenty years old.
Their feeling of being convinced immediately dispersed with such a notion. Many of them even thought that the young man had just cooked up a story just to impress others. Some felt sorry for him thinking that the young man was just too scared in his first adventure.
An increasing number of people started agreeing with Bignosio. Seeing that no one was taking his words seriously, Simon stopped talking and nonchntly excused himself from the discussion.
Nobody tried to stop him since most of them thought that there was no point in including a novice adventurer''s opinion when making important decisions.
While most people agreed with Bignosio, there were still some people who had a sceptical look on their faces. Those individuals were none other than Cynthia, Alvara and the adventurer Chuck who had not spoken even once during this whole meeting.
"Although I cannot fully eliminate out the possibility that this ce may be the territory of the Battle Bears, I think it would best for us to remain vignt and increase the number of people who are performing the guard duty tonight".
Chuck said, his voice had a rare tone of authority in it.
The moment his voice rang out, all the adventurer leaders became quiet and listened to his input. No matter how his reputation had fallen during this past month, his valour that had once shaken Mountmend and the nearby cities, was still strong till this day.
Though most of them could see that his words inadvertently sided with that young provisional adventurer, nobody dared slight him. That was especially so for Bignosio who still being reluctant, was nodding his head.
Cynthia, her aid and the guard leaders fell into an intense discussion and after a while, decided to take the risk and camp here for the night.
Although it cannot be said that they sided with experienced adventurer, it was also true that they might not find a better ce than their current one thiste at night.
The words that Simon had said was still present in their mind and thus the Mistress of the Blue Moon Merchant guild decided to increase the number of night guards.
Cynthia who was donemanding her people, looked at the distant back of the ck-robed young man, her cat-like eyes that tugged at one''s heart and sanity, was at this moment curiously staring at him.
Meanwhile, in two different corners, Bignosio and the butler named Jeeves silently narrowed their eyes, a dark and solemn look shed deep within them.
Simon who was unaware that he had involuntarily attracted the attention of three different people, was quietly standing beside a tree not far from the campsite.
Chapter 241: Night Assault
Chapter 241: Night Assault
Adalinda was sitting on top of a branch munching on some snacks that he had given her, Simon was seated on a branch next to her. What were they doing? Obviously, they were acting as sentries.
Simon''s group was one of the many people that were assigned as night guards for tonight.
"Hehehe¡ cough..cough¡ hehehe" the little girl while almost choking on her snack, wasughing gleefully. Naturally, it attracted the attention of Simon who was caressing a small azure crystal that Irene had given him before their departure.
Putting the thing in his inventory, he locked his brows and asked curiously "What are youughing at all alone?".
Herughter that had a trace of excitement and anticipation, kept ringing out for a while.
"Hehe, I was right this trip is not going to be as boring as I initially thought. I get it now, you are the type of person who invites trouble wherever they go" her eyes stared at the demon who was currently masquerading as a human.
When being stared at by such bright crystal like eyes, Simon felt giddy and every strand of hair on his body stood on end. A premonition struck him and he vaguely felt that Adalinda was pointing out something.
He narrowed his eyes trying to figure out the hidden meaning behind her words when suddenly a loud noise that came from the opposite end of the campsite rang out.
BOOOM¡ ROAAAARRR¡
It waste at night and other the people acting as night guards, most of the individuals of this convoy, were peacefully sleeping. However, this peace was disturbed when all of a sudden thunderous roars of monsters rang outing from the forest.
Before these people even had a chance toe out of their camp, they could hear multiple hurried footsteps of humans rushing in from the forest.
"Everyone on your guard, there is a group of monsters heading towards our campsite" one of the adventurer bellowed nervously and quickly notified the sleeping individuals of this campsite.
As if this was the ember that lit a fire, the entire ce started humming with noise and every person rose up from their beds with quick session.
BANG¡ one of the particr tall trees behind the adventurer that ran to notify the campsite, was felled in one swoop by one of the monsters that had caught up to him.
The tree made cracking noises before falling down towards the nked out adventurer who seemed to be too nervous to move at this moment.
SPLAT¡ the heavy tree that was more than thirty meters in height, fell down on the pitiful adventurer and buried him underneath. The scene that happened need not be mentioned as the insides of the man was sttered everywhere making the scene quite gory.
It was also at this moment that the inhabitants of the campsite saw the appearance of the monster and the nearby trees igniting in fire.
People that were acting as sentries, were running towards the campsite with bloodied bodies and missing limbs. Their expression was covered with terror and fear as they tried their best to run away from the entity chasing them.
In the darkness of the night, the spreading fire became even more ring and illuminated the dozens or so figures encircling their camps.
A furry body more than five meters tall and packed with fat muscles came into view. The being was standing on its hind legs, eyes masked in crimson madness and drool continuously dropping down from their wide-open jaws.
A bunch of sharp incisive teeth were covered with the blood of the being that they have just eaten. Its entire body that easily dwarfed the humans, was releasing a fierce aura.
With the spreading of the fire, more and more of these beings came into view. At a nce, there were more than ten of them. The scene caused the entire campsite to descend intoplete stillness as an eerie silence gripped everybody''s heart.
"B-Battle Bears" the tranquillity was shattered by the sudden scream of one of the adventurers. The scream was the trigger that suddenly woke these people out of their daze.
Adventurers and guards hurriedly donned their equipment and the nonbatants swiftly fell back. Although the guards and adventurers were caught off guard, they were veteran warriors that have seen many bloodsheds.
"Miss you must retreat back. Guards form a perimeter around and allow none to pass through. Adventurers I''m counting on you all to finish these monsters" Alvara the guardmander rose up to her name and regained herposure before handing out orders.
The adventurer smiled bitterly as they saw the dozen or so Battle Bears encircling the camp. Themand to eliminate them was easier said than done, each of these monsters was individually very strong and although the guild ssified them as normal monsters, they were the strongest monsters in this category.
ROOAARRR¡
A loud roar that contained enough force to even extinguish the wildly spreading fire, came from the darkness behind the Battle Bears.
The roar seems to instigate the battle bears as they hurriedly charged towards the adventurers and silver armoured guards making a formation around Cynthia.
At this moment, each and every one of them suddenly recalled the words of the young provisional adventurer and couldn''t help but bitterly curse in their heart for not listening to his advice. The campsite was indeed their of the Battle Bears and have not been deserted as they had thought initially.
When their train of thought arrived till this point, they also red at Bignosio who at this moment had quite the amusing face and cussed him internally for spreading misinformation.
BIgnosio who had be quite the celebrity in the hearts of these individuals, had a green face and a tongue-tied expression. When he felt the piercing stares from all around him, his eyes twitched and he had a sudden urge to wring the neck of the fellow that had told him about this information.
Because of that guy, he had to take the me for all of this.
"Hold your ground" the adventurer leaders cried out loud and the warrior sses in the front swiftly raised their shields.
CLANG¡ intense sparks generated when the ws of the Battle bears collided with the shields and forced the [Sword Knights] and [Sword Masters] a couple of steps.
The assassin sses such as the [Killer Assassins] and [Night Assassins] threw their short swords and arrows from tricky directions to slow down these monsters and provide adequate time for the mages in the back lines to conjure their magic.
Spells bombarded the battle bears that were charging forward and dealt them quite a bit of damage; nheless, their speed remained unabated.
The scene around the campground quickly became one where blood was spilled everywhere and the fight came to a standstill after a while. Neither the humans nor the Battle bears could gain an edge over the other.
ROOOAARRR¡
Just when everybody was taking a breath to stabilise their condition, a thunderous roar that came from within the dark forest, rang out. The roar was so heavy and brutal that it had the effect of immediately immobilising a weak-hearted person.
After that beastly roar, to their surprise, the adventurers and silver guards saw that the battle bears had stopped attacking and were instead spreading out¡ No, it would be right to describe their behaviour as making way for someone or something.
As these people looked on with dazed gazes, out from the corner of the forest, came out a towering presence that was even bigger than the Battle Bears.
Its front paws were so wide that they could chop a tree with one swing. Its furry body wasden with numerous battle scars and it had a thick mane that ran down its spine.
The appearance of this battle bear instantly caused these adventurers to open their mouths in wide disbelief, the hand with which they were holding their weapons, also trembled for an instant. Their reaction was as if they couldn''t believe that such an existence was amongst the Battle Bears.
Battle Bears were a kind of monster that was born with a strong physique that allowed them to reign supreme in the Normal category. However, that assessment was a little faulty since it only ssified those Battle Bears that liked to hunt alone.
Those that formed packs, were clearly more powerful and high-levelled and their ability even had the potential to reach the Strong category. If the monsters they were facing was only in the normal category, these adventurers wouldn''t have a hard time disposing them.
But the Battle Bears in front of them were each at the peak of Normal category not to mention the one that had shown itself just now was a cut above.
"B-Battle Grizzly?" one of the adventurer who seemed to be a little cowardly, cried out with fear in his eyes.
The other adventurers weren''t like they were unaffected, their faces were pale and devoid of any colour.
"A battle grizzly? But that''s absurd? It should be deep inside the forest. Why would ite out here?" the adventurers crazily bickered.
Hearing theirmotion, the silver guards of the blue Moon merchant guild that were unaware of the race of this monster, cried out in surprise.
"Battle Grizzly? Do you mean the one that is one rank above the Battle Bears and is ssified as a strong monster by the guild?".
The warriors making a round formation to protect those in the rearguard, showed a dismayed expression as they looked at this being that was clearly the leader of this pack.
"Do not falter!! Brave your heart and prepare for the enemy. No matter the cost, don''t let it break the formation" Alvara shouted out loud, immediately dispersing the gloomy feeling that had crept up to everybody''s heart.
*****
Ranks given to monsters by the Guild
level ss
100 Normal
200 Strong
300 Elite
400 Super
500 Disaster
600 Cmity
700 Catastrophe
800+ ???
Chapter 242: Unexpected Turn
Chapter 242: Unexpected Turn
Hearing her shout, the silver guards and the adventurers quickly regained their footing. Although the enemy was a Battle Grizzly and dozens of Battle Bears, they too were veteran warriors and their number currently surpassed their enemies.
When it seemed that everybody had steeled their heart to duke it out with the Battle bears, the Battle Grizzly tossed out something which it was holding in its paws.
The object skidded the ground after it was tossed and appeared in front of them. Immediately everybody inhaled a cold breath of air as they stared at the thing that was flung casually by the Battle Grizzly.
The thing in front of them was not any object but a human with a wide gaping hole in his chest. On a closer look, the person was none other than an adventurer who was one of the many people who were assigned the task of night guard.
The bloody condition of the adventurer immediately dispersed any thoughts of backup these people were expecting from those sentries and nightguards that were outside.
ROOAARRR¡ the battle grizzly bellowed and the battle bears immediately started their charge once again.
Alvara who refused to move from Cynthia''s side, tightly gripped the sleek long sword in her waist and bit her lips. No matter how she saw it, the situation looked quite dire for them. They have just entered the forest and already met such a troublesome enemy, if they suffered heavy casualty here, their future journey would be even more troublesome.
There was no guarantee that they wouldn''t be attacked in their journey ahead. Alvara who was tightly gripping her sword ready to act at any moment, saw the indifferent face of her Miss and sighed internally in her heart.
She made a silent decision andmitted herself to protect the Miss no matter the cost.
The adventurers and silver guards did their best to stop the advance of the battle bears but even if they did, their mind was clearly more cautious of the Battle Grizzly that was not showing any signs of advancing forward.
Due to them not being able to pay their full attention to the enemy, they made more mistakes which would have been otherwise fatal if not for their level being much higher than their enemies.
The Battle Grizzly remained unmoving after that disy of power, its crimson eyes that had a slight tinge of intelligence, surveyed the formation made by the humans relying upon which they were able to stop its tribe.
Its eyes focused on a few high levelled adventurers and its beastly instincts emitted a low growl. When the fire had spread to one of the corner of the campground, the low neigh of the horses attracted its attention and its eyes promptly darted to where the Bane Moose were resting.
An intelligent light shed in his eyes and it once again bellowed with a heavy voice. The Battle bears that were having difficulty breaking through the defence of the humans, disengaged and gazed towards a particr direction.
The adventurers that were suddenly given a moment of respite, followed the gaze of the battle bears before widening their eyes to their limit.
Alvara cursed incessantly in her heart when she saw the direction in which the battle bears were gazing, her pearly white teeth, couldn''t help but grind against each other. That was because the attention of the battle bears, after the roar, was suddenly shifted towards the Bane Moose who had been taking a rest after a day of weary travel.
Seeing the battle bears shifting their attention to a different prey, Alvara''s pretty face was drained of all colour. The Bane Moose although stronger than some weak monsters, were no match for a battle bear.
If the Bane Moose were to be killed, they would have no means to travel to the capital and they would be stranded here in this forest.
"Silver guards, adventurers, form another formation around the Bane Moose. Do not let these battle bears kill them" she hurriedly cried out.
Her level was the highest amongst all the silver guards at around 349. However, she was duty-bound to protect the miss and couldn''t leave her position no matter the situation. She could only prey that these people would be able to somehow stop these battle bears.
Some of the adventurers and silver guards ran up to the charging battle bears and hacked at them with all their strength. Although they were able to spill some blood, the defence of the enemy was clearly very thick, these people weren''t able to cut the momentum of the battle bears.
Some of the people hurriedly tried to leave their position and provide support to those who went to save the Bane Moose but were suddenly stopped in their tracks when they felt a strong burst of wind and sharp cries of pain from the vanguard of their formation.
The [Sword Knights] and the [Sword Master] that were able to somehow stop the battle bears were struggling and no match against even a single attack from the Battle Grizzly.
A ridiculous force was currently generating in those powerful paws of the battle grizzly as it looked with savage eyes at the thinning formation of the humans.
"This is bad" Alvara hurriedly cried out, being stopped by the Battle Grizzly, she could already foresee the ending of the Bane Moose. In this situation, even the indifferent face of Cynthia, crumbled.
However, at this moment when everybody thought that the situation had gone from bad to worse, a small party rushed to the campsite from within the forest and stood in between the Battle bears and Bane Moose.
The adventurer''s team that had arrived, was none other than Chuck and his teammates who were positioned as a sentry not far away. When they heard the savage roars of the monsters and the hurriedly spreading fire around the campsite, they quickly rushed here only to see that the situation had already advanced this fast.
Taking the state of his surrounding in his eyes, Chuck inhaled a deep breath of air before taking out his shield from his space ring and positioned himself like a boulder between the charging Battle Bears and Bane Moose.
His two teammates quickly spread apart and covered each other''s blind spot. From their swiftness, one could see that they were very ustomed to fighting in a team.
An atmosphere like that, one cannot bring it if the other party was not very familiar with each other.
The arrival of chuck''s team instantly sparked wild cries of joy from the adventurer and their mood instantly lightened up. There was no need for these adventurers to doubt the prowess of Chuck and his team since they were all aware of his great exploits and feats.
When one of the battle bears approached the adventurer in greyish ck armour giving off a golden glint, a great shield with a momentum of a charging bull was smashed onto its face.
Chuck activated his Superior Normal skill [Great Shield Bash] and instantly stopped its charge and pushed it far back.
The battle bear that was smashed with a great shield that had a ck bull carved in it, growled in pain towards its assant. One move, just one move was enough to stop the momentum of these battle bears.
The scene instantly caused hurried gasps of awes from the adventurers and silver guards who had themselves experienced how hard it was to deal with a battle bear.
"Focus on the enemy in your front" Alvara the guardmander swiftly shouted and unsheathed the longs sword in her hands. The moment when the Battle Grizzly was about to release another burst of that devastating attack, a dense sword shadow apanied with howling gale pierced its paws thus redirecting the force of the attack.
BANG¡ the attack charged towards the trees and cleaved them in half. The attack had enough force and incision that dozens of thick sturdy trees were just like a twig getting smashed in an instant.
GULP¡ the scene caused the people on the frontlines to hurriedly gulp down a mouthful of saliva as cold perspiration ran down their bodies. They no longer dared to distract themselves and focused all of their attention on the battle grizzly in the front.
Wind rustled and engulfed the sleek long sword as Alvara took a battle stance from beside Cynthia. That attack that pierced the paws of the battle grizzly earlier was something that she dished out.
Although she was not in the frontlines, the distance was enough for her to send flying attacks.
The battle grizzly wailed in irritation when it was attacked and immediatelymanded the dozen or so battle bears to split up and charge towards the pesky humans fiercely. In its anger, it also activated some its skill and its fur immediately became the colour of crimson.
The battle bears from its pack also disyed behaviours of getting buffed.
Clearly, the leader Battle grizzly possessed some skills that strengthened those subordinates under him.
Seeing this change, the members of this convoy made bitter faces, even after the arrival of Chuck and his team, the situation was not looking any better.
ROAARRR¡ the battle grizzly snarled in a frenzied manner, the battle bears too became somewhat berserk and charged towards the human''s formation without any care for their life.
Skills met with skills, sword met with ws and magic devastated everywhere. These Battle bears were a species that were a cut above normal monsters and thus they were able to use a few skills like [Battle Charge] and [Wind ws].
Even without any skill, their physique was so that they could easily tank some of the weak novice tier magic such as the [Fire ball], [Electro bolt], [Earth Spikes] etc.
Chapter 243: Unexpected Turn (2)
Chapter 243: Unexpected Turn (2)
The Battle grizzly being a [D] tier and an evolution of battle bears, could use a few more skills than an average battle bear. Thus when an all-out battle started, the situation quickly developed where both the parties were taking sufficient damage.
Even with the intervention of Alvara, these people weren''t able to deal a fatal blow to their enemies and a stalemate of a kind was established.
On the other battleground, Chuck and his two teammates were dealing with quite a few battle bears and had difficulty pushing forward while also protecting the Bane Moose behind them. They could only take this slowly and chip away at the battle bears one at a time.
Meanwhile, on top of a tall tree not from the campsite, two people, one man and one little girl were standing on top of a branch overlooking the scene of battle. The two were none other than Simon and Adalinda.
"Hehe, the situation doesn''t look good for these humans. If they suffer so many casualties now, it would be no funter" the little girlmented as her eyes swept every corner of the battlefield.
"That might not be the case, there are still some individuals that are hiding their strength. If they decided to take action, wrapping up that level 259 Battle grizzly wouldn''t be a problem" Simon said as his eyes darted towards Cynthia, Alvara and that butler.
His eyes also stopped at Chuck who was fulfilling his duty as an adventurer by stopping all of the battle bears from approaching the Bane Moose.
From what he could see, the man gave a friendly and strong atmosphere to those surrounding him. He also possessed a strong leadership aura that attracted others to him and along with that willpower he had shown back at the Ghastly Winding Forest, the man was quite something.
Without following his gaze Adalinda was naturally aware of who these individuals were, she showed a crafty smile and a bizarre light shed in her deep pupils for a while.
"Ah! That reminds me, all of the hired adventurers are doing their best to fulfil their duty. Hehe, shouldn''t you also be there fighting along with them? If you keep on dilly-dallying, they might think you are dead or have been hiding due to fear".
Her words immediately woke Simon up from his thought process and he immediately realised that he was currently acting as a human adventurer and needs to be there with them. If he acted after all of this was over, the members of the convoy wouldn''t look at him favourably.
Although Simon did not care about their opinion, he still needed them to navigate a way to the capital for him. Plus he didn''t like the idea of others looking down on him. Thus he needed to at least show his usefulness.
On that note, this little girl too was currently masquerading as a human adventurer and ought to help out. However, since he knew about her personality after a couple of days of travelling together, it was impossible to make this little grandaunt to move even a finger of her for others.
That is to say, he has to make up for the contribution for the both of them by himself.
The battle immediately became heated after one of the battle bears had fallen in the hands of Chuck and his team. The member of the convoy rejoiced and immediately started putting more efforts on dealing with their side of the enemy.
The Battle Grizzly was also no longer stationary as it repeatedly attacked enemies with ws and skills, injuring quite a few of them in the process. If not for Alvara providing timely support from the backlines these people might have even lost their life.
However, a single person could only do so much, the other strong individuals, were currently had their hands full dealing with the surrounding battle bears. Additionally, she also had the duty to protect the mistress of the blue moon merchant guild at all times and couldn''t move away from her position.
If not for that, she would have already engaged with the enemy. But looking at how the others failed at locking down the Battle Grizzly, it did not seem like they would be able to defeat their enemy anytime soon.
Seeing the internal struggle within Alvara, Cynthia who maintained a calm face all this while, gently pushed her back.
"Miss?" the guardmander widened her eyes when she saw Cynthia nodding her head and gently pushing her forward.
"Do what you must to allow the convoy safely travel through the Northern Ouw Forest. We cannot lose these soldiers at this point in time" Cynthia said, her violet eyes were like two tranquilkes without any ripples.
"But if I move from your side and if something happens to you I cannot redeem myself even with my death" Alvara hesitated. Her first and foremost task was to guarantee the safety of her miss.
Cynthia gently smiled and held the hands of the guardmander who was also her closest friend.
"Do not worry about me; it''s not so easy to take away this life of mine. No matter what other ns my elder brothers have set up, if pushes to shove I''ll use that thing" Cynthia reminded.
Alvara finally nodded her head, turned around and focused her eyes on the Battle Grizzly that was acting rampantly on the front lines. She took a step forward, strong yet gentle wind stealthily surrounded her body and the next second she was already in the frontlines.
Intense sparks generated and the surrounding air burst apart when her sword met with the wide ws of the Battle Grizzly.
ROOARR¡ the force of the attacks colliding forced both the party to take a couple of steps back and disengage.
The Battle Grizzly who had gone on a frenzy, stared furiously at the woman that had interrupted its attacks. Its wide ws were wrapped with a dense amount of wind as it shed its paws towards her.
The attack that the Battle Grizzly used, was a skill called [Wind sh] that harnessed the attribute of wind to deal a devastating cut on anything that it connects with.
Ordinarily, the skill was just a Normal base tier skill but due to the incredible arm strength of the Battle grizzly and it being in the frenzy state which further increased its strength, the power the skill could disy was on the level of the Normal Superior skill.
Alvara did not slight the attack of her enemy and swiftly used her Gale magic to wrap around the edge of her sleek long sword. The sword was quickly covered in a greenish hue and started vibrating intensely.
Just when the momentum of the pulsating energy in her sword reached its peak, she took a stance and made a clean thrust motion.
Whoosh¡
Like a bullet fire from a gun, the Gale magic swiftly took the form of the long sword and sped towards the oing attack with an insane speed.
Two attacks of the same attribute collided and the force that was generated out of it created arge shockwave that sent the weak individuals airborne. Looking at the attacks negating one another, it seemed that the attacks of both the parties were on the same level.
However, Alvara who had yet to use the multitudes of her skill bestowed by her ss was superior when it came to technique.
Seeing the Guardmander engage the leader of the battle bears and even managing to contain it, the adventurers and guards immediately gave a signal to the reaguards to provide support.
Mana convulsed and different kinds of spells came raining towards the Battle Grizzly who was finally locked in a ce.
Meanwhile, at the centre of the formation where Cynthia was, the eyes of the old butler shined mysteriously when he saw the guardmander finally leave her post and leave the mistress of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild unguarded.
His eyes kept on staring at the purple-robed woman and nobody knew what he was thinking.
A painful howl was emitted from one corner of the battlefield and everybody saw another battle bear kicking the bucket with delight in their eyes.
There was no need to mention as to who the person was to take down another battle bear in a short amount of time. Who else could achieve such a feat other than Chuck''s party?
As if his actions had lit a fire in everybody, they redoubled their efforts and engaged with the enemy with a simr fervour.
Alvara''s pretty face revealed a smile when she saw the mood around the convoy lighting up and stopped diverting her focus on the other parts of the battlefield. She straightened her body like the sword in her hand and ced it in between her chest, her fingers gently swept over the beautiful de of the sword.
Immediately, fierce howling wind engulfed her and her eyes swiftly took an emerald tinge. Looking at her at this moment, one could see that her whole body of was wrapped in sharp howling winds and the de she held, was emitting a sharp de aura.
Tap¡
With a simple step, her toes pressed on the ground and her body immediately disappeared in front of the countless number of gazes. The next moment she appeared, she was already in front of the Battle Grizzly.
However, at this moment a peculiar event happened, the Battle Grizzly that had gone into a frenzy, came back to its senses as a peculiar greyish light enveloped its previous crimson eyes.
Even after sensing the approaching Alvara and the threating power behind her sword, it did not dodge and only moved its paws allowing the de to cleanly prate through.
PIERCE¡
Chapter 244: One Move To Awe The Crowd
Chapter 244: One Move To Awe The Crowd
PIERCE¡
This scene immediately caused wild shouts of joy from the onlookers, but the person in question who had dealt the blow knitted her delicate brows and felt something was wrong.
This act of the Battle Grizzly waspletely unlike its previously unintelligent behaviour. var felt something was out of ce, however, the Battle Grizzly did not give her time to think over it and immediately pulled its outstretched paws.
The Guardmander was surprised, from its action she could guess that the battle bear was intending on snatching her long sword which was currently inserted in its paws.
She acted swiftly but she was still a moment toote, the battle grizzly swept its other paw and forced Alvara to jump back without being able to retrieve her sword.
''This cannot be, the Battle Grizzly was acting in an extremely intelligent manner as if it was a human with tons of battle experience'' she thought internally but the next moment the action of the battle grizzly immediately dissipated all the colours from her face.
The moment the Guardmander stepped back, the battle grizzly suddenly tore his attention from her and focused its attention on the centre of the formation, more urately on the purple dressed woman.
Its paws were once again engulfed in a threatening amount of wind force that could cleave even a huge boulder apart. The battle Grizzly once again used its skill [Wind sh] and swept its paws in a huge arc but unlike the previous time where it was focused on Alvara, the [Wind sh] this time flew towards the centre of formation at a rapid speed. ''
''No'' the guardmander cried out loud in her heart and ran towards her Miss. But how could her speed bepared to the attack which already upon its target?
Cynthia narrowed her and the hem of her dress rustled from the wind of the iing attack. her finger touched the jade white space ring in her hand and a peculiar glow was starting to emit from it.
Just when everybody could only watch with wide-open mouth as the attack approached near their client, a sharp whistling sound like that of air being torn apart, rang out and a crimson spear covered in mes appeared in front of the [Wind sh] as if teleporting.
BOOOM¡
When the two attacks confronted each other, the space was immediately brightened followed by a burst of heat that was powerful enough to gouge out thend and scorch it ck. A violent hot air forced all the people at the centre of the formation back.
Cynthia took hurried steps back and looked on with a surprised face at the attack that had arrived to block the one intending to take her life. Maybe it was due to the intense heat generated by that spear, but her beguiling face at this moment had a smear of faint red making her even more beautiful.
"Miss are you alright?" Alvara swiftly approached her and asked in concern.
Cynthia who was momentarily surprised, finally regained her bearing and nodded her head "Un, I''m alright but that attack just now¡?".
The Guardmander too was pleasantly surprised when that [Wind sh] was negated and her eyes searched for the person that had helped them in times of need.
It was not only them, but even the adventurers and guards were looking around for the person who could deflect and attack from a level 259 Battle Grizzly. It must be said that even they who portrayed themselves as strong adventurers dare not take one of its head-on.
Not to mention them, even their entire convoy only had a few people that could match the Battle grizzly in terms of strength. Naturally, these people were quite curious to find out who this person was and why did they never heard his/her name.
While such thoughts ran in the heads of these adventurers, another crimson arrow swiftly pierced through the air and assaulted the Battle Grizzly.
BOOMM¡ the ground trembled and the air around the monster was immediately lightened up followed by a heatwave that hit everyone that was close to the battle grizzly.
These people coughed dryly for a couple of times before focusing their attention on the leader of the battle bears who at this moment appeared to have arge burnt wound on its chest.
Immediately hurried gasps of surprise rang out amidst the convoy as they feverishly searched the person throwing out such attacks. To be able to hurt such a monster with only one attack, what kind of person was he?.
"It''s him" one of the people who seemed to be a mage holding a staff, cried out. At that instant, all the eyes on the battlefield focused on one part of the campsite where multiple tall trees were located.
A ck figure quickly jumped down from the branch and appeared in front of many heated gazes.
A young man donned in casual ck clothes, nonchntly walked out and scanned the entire battlefield. His eyes which were dull grey would sometimes flicker with a crimson glint and his face that could only be described as devilishly handsome was unconcerned when these many gazes were fixated on him.
The moment the person revealed their appearance, the members of the convoy felt their jaws immediately hitting the floor. The young man who had injured the battle grizzly with a single attack was none other than the provisional adventurer which they all thought was already dead.
The newbie that they had slighted and looked down upon, at this moment shined the brightest as he disyed his frightening strength.
In one corner of the battlefield where the Bane Moose were located, Chuck''s team which had already disposed three battle bears, nced at the young man who became the centre of attention with only a single attack.
"Hahaha, I knew that crafty old man would never send a person with no potential for this mission. As I thought so, that young man had hidden his strength quite deeply" Chuck''s loudughter and his high assessment of that person naturally attracted the eyes of two of his teammates.
Simr to the feverish gazes that everybody was throwing onto the new entrant, Cynthia''s violet eyes and Alvara''s dark eyes also seem to be assessing the man at this moment.
Two pairs of alluring eyes that could make any man go crazy with excitement, was at this moment fixated on the tall and lean figure of the young man.
"Miss was right, one shouldn''t judge a person just by their appearance" Alvara bit her lips andmented.
She remembered the time when she met the young man at the branch office of their back in the city of Mountmend. At that time after he had left, she had even criticized him saying that he was weak and unsuitable for this mission.
She even doubted the eyes of the old man from the adventurer''s guild for providing such a useless person. However, it appeared that the one who was short-sighted was her, the man that she deemed weak, turned out to be strong enough to even injure a Battle Grizzly with a single attack.
"Un" Cynthia simply nodded her head and did notment further, her violet eyes that looked like pair of stars, was glimmering with an unusual light. The white light that was emitting off of her jade ring, also died down at this moment.
While some gazes were filled with surprise and excitement, naturally there were some filled with hatred and disbelief.
Bignosio who was having difficulty even defeating a single battle bear looked at Simon who had suddenly appeared and snatched all the limelight with naked animosity.
Simon obviously did not care about any of the gazes thrown towards him, his goal behind appearing in front of everyone was just to umte enough contribution so that he wouldn''t be seen as a burden to the convoy.
Plus if he did not intervene now, it was likely that the battle would soon end with them suffering great casualties. There was still a long way to get to the capital, Simon did not want to see the convoy already losing most of its strength.
Hence he intervened when he saw the battle was about to take a turn for the worst. Of course, he was not an idiot to disy his full strength. He did not activate [Mana lines] nor any skills, even the mana behind the me spears was much less than usual, however, it was enough for the likes of Battle Grizzly who had already been exhausted down by the group of adventurers.
Simon stretched his hand and immediately, three more me spears started condensing and taking shape in the air above him.
Each of these me spears were more than six feet long and burned crimson with a golden tinge in the mix. His mastery over the me Magic was starting to reach the peak and if he felt like he could change the shape of the attack from spears to something else.
The me spears that were conjured by him looked more materialistic than what it was before a few months ago and even the amount of me that could be condensed within one had increased drastically.
Smiling in satisfaction in his growth, Simon lifted his hand and pointed with his index finger towards the Battle Grizzly who seemed to be howling in pain right now.
Immediately, the three me spears obeyed hismand and swiftly flew over one after the other.
STAB¡
STAB¡
STAB¡
ROAARRR¡
the Battle Grizzly screamed miserable when the scorching me spears stabbed its abdomen, chest and neck respectively.. The stabbing pain it felt when the attack connected made it lose its mind in pain but that was just the beginning of its misery.
Chapter 245: Bandits
Chapter 245: Bandits
After the me spear inserted themselves within the Battle Grizzly, the temperature around them started increasing and all of the condensed me within the spears started erupting out in an explosion.
BOOOMM¡ a thundering noise reverberated across this forest enshrouded by the darkness of the night.
A few dozen meters ofnd around the monster was immediately gouged out by the fiery explosion and engulfed the area with its bright light.
The temperature around the battleground at this moment began to rise as everybody''s gaze was focused on the figure in between the mes. Even the battle bears stopped their attacks when they felt the frightening might behind the me spears.
After the fiery glow of the explosion dissipated, a burnt corpse with its upper body missing, slowly came into view and even its remaining lower body was slowly being incinerated by the fire.
The scene of the Battle grizzly being sted into smithereens caused a deathly silence to descend onto the ce, everyone whether they were adventurers or guards,batants or nonbatants, humans or monsters stared at the remains of the Battle grizzly with wide-open eyes.
What kind of mastery over fire attribute should one reach to deal that kind of damage? These people did not know but what they did know was that the fire magic of this young man did not belong to the novice tier.
The death of their leader sparked a series of terrified growls from the battle bears and after a moment, they turned around and fled back towards the darkness of the forest. The onlookers who came to their senses saw this scene, wanted to give chase but was quickly stopped by a voice that carried authority and prestige.
"Everyone stop! The battle is over, there is no reason for us to give chase, it is unlikely that they wille back again. There are still a few couple of hours for the sun to rise across the horizon. Use the remaining time to recover and mend to the injured".
Cynthia who had been silent up until now, opened her mouth to hurriedly givemands.
Everybody obeyed her orders and started cleaning up the mess. The fire that was raging around the forest was quickly put down and only then did the members of the convoy sat themselves and took a rest.
In one corner of the forest, in a slight elevation not far from the campsite, a group of people wearing different kinds of garbs and a ck cloth covering their face, could be seen looking at the devastation around the campsite.
"Boss, what do we do now? The battle grizzly was defeated and the battle bears ran away" a person with a huge scar on one side of his face said.
The person that this man was calling boss, had an impressive muscr build and was using monster hides and bones as armour.
The boss was silent for a while and spoke after he seemed to have seen enough of the campsite where the convoy was.
"Snort, although the battle grizzly being defeated so soon wasn''t within my expectation, these monsters have done plenty by exhausting and reducing their number by a little. It would have been easier for us had they suffered a little more casualty, nevertheless, this northern ouw forest is our territory. They cannot get away from us".
Theckey with the scarface repeatedly nodded his head before suddenly remembering something.
"But boss the brigand master had asked us to make sure that the convoy loses most of its strength. Looking at them, it seems that they still retain most of their manpower".
The boss of this group simply snorted at those words and mockingly replied "So what do you suggest? There are some individuals with incredible strength protecting that convoy. Unless the brigand master decides to acts himself, it is impossible for us to bring that convoy down. We can only use this technique of luring monsters and slowly chip away their numbers".
When he saw that nobody wasining after those words, he waved his hand and issued an order to the scar-facedckey.
"Go and report to the brigand master that we can handle them and there is no need to send reinforcement. Otherwise, he might send those fellows and we would have to share our achievement with them".
The scar-facedckey nodded his head, there was no need for him to ask who these fellows his boss was talking about were.
Their brigand was divided into four parts namely the east, west, north and the south; each region of this huge northern ouw forest was managed by a brigand leader who was only second to the Brigand master who oversaw all of the brigand leaders.
Needless to ask, the power of the brigand master was the strongest of them all which made him reign supreme and order the powerful brigand leaders around.
Just like his boss, there were three other brigand leaders who were continuously fighting amongst each other for dominance and recognition. If not for the presence of the brigand master, they might have even started killing one another.
And now they were all viewing their mission with the eyes of a tiger, ready to step in and take all of the achievement. The scar-facedckey did not want this and hence started running towards the depth of the forest when a sudden feminine voice rang out and made him halt his steps.
"You are not going to call the others? That is so boring, the fun had only just started and you all decided to dampen it. Hmm, if you are not going to call reinforcements then I cannot allow you to move away from here".
The group of bandits which consists of ten people immediately became alert and looked around their surroundings.
They frowned their brows when they were unable to find any presence near them. Never did they imagine that while they were watching over the convoy, they too were being observed by someone.
Many thoughts ran in their heads and they soon realised that the person sneaking upon them, should be someone from the convoy.
The brigand leader made a solemn face when he realised that all their previous talks had been overheard and a dangerous glint filled with killing intent shed in his eyes. He nodded towards his group and the group apparently understanding the meaning behind his gaze, nodded back.
They spread apart and immediately started searching for the person that had eavesdropped on their conversation.
"Hmph, I don''t know who you are but it is better for you toe out or else I''ll make it so that when I find you, I''ll torture you first until you beg for death" the brigand leader threatened.
His words that were filled with killing intent, evoked a smallugh from the person.
"Hehe, you are the first person that I have met in a long while who is foolish enough to say something like that to me. Alright, since you are all so desperate to see me, I shall fulfil thisst wish of yours".
A tone that had a deep childishness hidden rang out and by the time words ended, this group of brutish men felt a sudden presence appear right behind them.
A figure wrapped in a golden dress and had an exquisite figure, appeared in front of them. At a nce, the little girl with doll like face did not even seem to be fourteen years old, was standing unafraid and her hands folded behind her back.
These men who were ustomed to ruthlessness and treachery, were looking with dumbstruck gazes at the delicate figure of this girl who seem to appear just like a marigold shining in the darkness of the night.
After their initial astonishment, these brutish men suddenly revealed a ferocious smile as they observed the delicate figure and licked their lips.
"Hehe, who knew that we were up for some treat? I suppose today is our lucky day" the Brigand leader said looking at the figure of the girl lecherously.
Adalinda knitted her brows when she felt the inappropriate gazes of these men and chilliness shed in her eyes.
"Little girl, I don''t know how you managed to get here, but consider yourself unlucky for meeting us. If you obediently surrender we won''t hurt that pretty face of yours" the brigand leader took a step forward and then¡ stopped.
Seeing that their boss was the forest one to take action, the men behind him revealed foolish smiles, rubbing their hands as they said
"Hehe, boss after you are done ying with the girl, don''t forget about us brothers".
The groupughed merrily, however, theirughter was cut short when they saw that their boss was still unmoving after that initial step.
"Boss¡ brigand leader what''s wrong?" the men behind them asked, an eerie silence suddenly descended onto the ce.
The cold wind of the night blew over and the unmoving body of the man in front suddenly moved, however, instead of moving forward it listlessly fell down. There was no action after that and the man just seemed like a corpse devoid of any life.
"D-Don''t joke around boss¡ w-what''s going on?" the scar-facedckey asked in a somewhat tense manner.
"Your boss is dead, he will no longer move again" the eerie silence was suddenly broken when the words of the little girl sounded out.
However, instead of giving one a pleasant feeling, the voice was bereft of any emotions and felt like the sound of a grim reaper.
When these bandits tore their eyes away from the fallen body of their boss and gaze at the girl again, for some reason all of their bodies shuddered intensely at the same moment and a feeling of being near death swept over.
Chapter 246: Increased Reputation
Chapter 246: Increased Reputation
At this moment, Adalinda eyes were glowing a mysterious golden and her pupils had bepletely vertical. The childishness that was previously there, could no longer be seen and was reced with a dead serious face.
When the golden glow in her eyes reached a sudden intensity, they suddenly dimmed down followed by multiple sounds of something hitting the ground.
One by one, the bodies of these bandits silently fell down on the grassy floor and from their unmoving bodies, it was not hard to guess that they were no longer alive.
The chill wind of the night blew over and brushed past the delicate body of the little girl, rustling her hair in the process. After settling the matter, her face became jovial once again.
She puffed her chest and spoke haughtily "Hmph, that''s what you get for messing with me. Hehe, judging from their words it''s going to be more interesting soon. This boring trip will soon be heated".
Adalinda smiled cheekily before disappearing from the ce leaving behind a slowly mending space distortion.
The bright rays of the sun shone down onto the forest from the horizon, dissolving the darkness. Sounds of numerous footsteps and the churning of wheels could be heard early in the morning.
With the first rays of the sun, life sprang into action and the convoy of wagons after a few hours of rest started marching forward. At this moment, in one of the wagons at the forefront, a young man with ck robes could be seen sittingnguidly on his seat. Seated beside him was a little girl with doll-like beauty and exquisite features.
Simon unhurriedly moved his eyes towards the little girl beside him as he curiously asked "Where did you disappear to at night?".
After his intervention, the Battle grizzly was swiftly defeated and the remaining battle bears swiftly fled. Although his intention was only to gain enough contribution, he ended up impressing these rough tough adventurers and guards of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild.
Afterwards, he was surrounded and bombarded with questions and praises for his prowess that was able to take down a battle grizzly. Was it not for the client and Alvara dispersing the group, Simon surmised that their excitement wouldn''t have died down even until the morning.
When he finally had the room to breathe, he noticed that Adalinda was nowhere to be found around the campsite. This little grand aunt who was hell-bent on finding her disciple wouldn''t have left him alone if she did not have something else on her mind.
Hearing Simon bing suddenly inquisitive, she acted innocent and dodged his question. Her current self was too focused on savouring the chicken drumstick that he had purchased for her from the shop.
Of course, he made it seem like he had stored the food in that emerald ring of his. Needless to ask, the contents of the emerald ring, the Forest Spring Spirit orbs was stored in his inventory and the ring only had a few low tier weapons, money and ration provided by the convoy.
At this moment, whether it be guards riding on Bane Moose or the adventurers, they would all look at him with fawning expressions and greet him cordially whenever they passed by. That was how much of an effect, he had created with some simple me spears of his.
Naturally, there were some gazes that held ill intent but since he was currently the crowd favourite, they did not dare to do anything rash.
After the big fight yesterday, the rest of the journey went pretty smoothly and when the sun showed signs of setting, the group hurriedly dispersed to search for a good ce to camp.
The time was of dusk and the sky was coloured in the crimson hue of the sun. Around arge table groups of adventurers and guards alike were discussing something while looking at the map strewn over.
"Our team discovered a small pond around arge clearance not far away from here. Perhaps if we move now it is possible that we can reach there by night and use the ce as our campsite" one of the adventurer leaders whose ss seemed more suitable for scouting, reported.
The other members contemted the option discussed it over with one another. Bignosio who was aware that he had lost his standing after the misinformation he had provided, decided to take up this chance and provide some useful information.
"I say using the area around the campsite would be quite dangerous. We do not know how many monsters use that pond as their water source therefore if we set up a camp around there, we risk monsters attacking us at night".
His tone was a little conceited, nheless, his words held some truth. The other members around the table thought over it and felt the reasoning was quite usible.
All the eyes focused on the purple-robed woman who was also the person in charge of this convoy.
Cynthia arched her crescent brows and thought over her options, suddenly, her eyes drifted over a direction where a certain adventurer was. Everybody noticed her shifting her gaze and the direction where she was looking at, was the ce where Simon was standing.
Noticing everyone''s gaze suddenly focusing on him waiting for his input, the young man sighed internally before asking a bizarre question to the man who reported his discovery.
"Did you see any signs of monsters around or inhabiting that ce?".
The adventurer nked out when faced with such an abrupt question, nheless, he answered it appropriately.
"Me and my team searched that area for a long time but did not discover any signs of monstersing near the pond. Hence we thought that the ce might be ideal as a campsite".
His words made them consider the viability, they did not want to experience the same thing they did yesterday and get ambushed at midnight once again.
The faint rays of the sunlight was beginning to fade away and the darkness of the night started descending, everybody was waiting for Simon''s input. After the events yesterday where he correctly predicted the race of the monsters and even defeated the Battle grizzly solo, his words clearly had more sway.
The young man nodded and stared back at all the expectant eyes before sharing out his knowledge.
"In that case, we shouldn''t head towards the pond. No sign of activity doesn''t mean that the water source is not being used by any monsters. Normally, you would find no such urrences where the water source is not visited by any monster".
"This pond not having any signs of activity around it could either mean that the pond is contaminated or is already upied by something or someone already. And that someone is strong enough to intimidate all the surrounding monsters. Our convoy has already suffered casualties after the attackst night by the battle bears. It would be in our best interest to avoid any fight that we could, especially when we know that the monster in that area is quite strong".
The members around the table became silent after those words, their faces seemed like they were digesting the information.
Many sounds of exmation and approval came from the adventurers and guards alike. Avoiding monsters where they can, was the best choice they could make and hence everybody unanimously nodded their head.
"Mister Simon is not only strong but is quite knowledgeable when ites to surviving in this kind of environment. I also believe that we should avoid that pond" the adventurer, who had discovered the pond, said convincingly.
Seeing that there was no disagreement, Cynthia nodded her head and stated "Alright then we shall avoid the area around the pond and set our camps here. Although the ce is not as wide as our previous campsite, it is all as long as we don''t meet monsters at night".
After the discussion was over, Cynthia dispersed the meeting and went over to her wagon. However, instead of dispersing, these people instead crowded around Simon.
"Haha, young man you have my thanks, because of you we can now avoid getting involved in another trouble" one of the senior guards said showing his appreciation.
"As long as we have Mister Simon with us, travel this forest will be like a walk in the park" one the adventurer who had be Simon''s admirer said in a fawning manner.
"Haha, true¡ if not for sir Simon sharing his vast knowledge with us, who knew what might have happened?" another adventurer said.
While all of these people wereughing, one guy namely Bignosio had an ashen face when he heard thosest few words of the adventurers. He had also given the same information and told everybody to avoid the pond, however, his voice was drowned out by the young provisional adventurer.
What made his mood sour even more was that the reasoning that the young man had provided was the same as him. Nheless, all of the praises were directed at that provisional adventurer while he was being ignored.
Even those people who were up until now giving him a bootlicking smile, werepletely ignoring him or throwing some piercing res. Bignosio''s face was green due to all of the pent up frustration and he had the urge to strangle the neck of the fellow who gave him all that information.
Unfortunately, that person was already dead, squashed by the weight of an enormous tree. Remorse? There was no such thing within Bignosio, at this time all he felt was hatred and jealousy for Simon stealing his spotlight.
However, the current situation was so that the young adventurer, who was supposed to be beneath him, clearly had more influence than him. Snorting in contempt, Bignosio furiously red at Simon and the people surrounding him before reluctantly stomping out of there.
When he went back to the wagon where his party was waiting, he simply slumped himself in his seat and shut his eyes. Naturally, the ones attracted by Bignosio and formed a team, were people just like him.
As they say birds of simr feather flock together. These people did not need to think hard to understand the source of their leader''s foul mood.
One of his teammates nced at where a group of adventurers and guards surrounded a tall young man in the middle and narrowed his eyes. He then sat beside Bignosio before speaking in a somewhat suggestive manner.
"Don''t tell me leader that you are just going to give your position to some neer who hasn''t been in this profession for long just like that? All that provisional adventurer did was say some few words of advice which might not even have been his own knowledge.. How can he bepared to you leader?".
Chapter 247: Framed
Chapter 247: Framed
Bignosio suddenly opened his eyes andzily stared at his teammate "What are you suggesting? That young man right row is at the peak of his poprity and besides that, he is also strong enough to beat a battle grizzly alone".
Although it left a bad aftertaste in his mouth to admit, but young man as an adventurer was better than him.
"That''s where you are wrong leader" the astute looking teammate pointed.
"A Battle Grizzly is an existence ssified as a Strong ss and it is not unusual for some of them to even reach the Elite ss. How can that newbie defeat it so easily? Not to mention urately guessing the ce as their of battle bears. Doesn''t all that seem too much of a coincidence?".
The words of his teammate caused an unusual emotion to flicker in his eyes, he turned his head and asked curiously "What do you mean?".
The shrewd looking teammate shrugged his shoulders and replied "Don''t tell me leader that you don''t suspect it? The young man appeared after the campsite had already developed into a chaotic battleground. Where was he before this? Don''t tell me that he wasn''t able to spot the fire around the campsite and the sounds of battle?".
Bignosio finally straightened his back and his face looked like he had solved some puzzle.
"Do you mean that he purposefully lured the battle bears deep within the forest to our campsite?".
"Yes, and he did that so as make his story more convincing. As for taking out the Battle Grizzly, I assume that it was already quite tired and injured after being repeatedly attacked by the guardmander and all of us. He only came in afterwards to sweep all of the rewards"
The astute looking man smiled derisively.
CRACK¡ due to clenching his hands so tight, the aura around Bignosio became wild and caused his seat to crack in some ces.
"Bastard¡ so that''s how it was¡ no wonder. Tch, you will regret trying to make a fool out of me" a fury surged with his heart.
Seeing that his leader has finally decided to make a move, the shrewd man whispered something to his ears. Bignosio smiled after listening to it for a while.
By now, the sun had already set, the area inside the forest waspletely dark, hidden by the canopy of the tall trees. A perimeter was formed with the guards and adventurers as sentries around the camp.
A line-up of wagons was parked in one corner of the area and in the middle was arge firece surrounded by many erected tents. Bustling sounds of the people could be heard as they crowded over the firece and basked at its warmth.
Food was prepared and swiftly passed over to all the members of the convoy. At the seat of honour, sat Cynthia surrounded by her guards and Alvara beside. Sounds of activity rang out continuously and everyone present except those assigned with the task to monitor the surrounding area was present.
Simon however, did not partake in such activities and quietly lied down on his seat and looked at the canopy of trees that did not allow even a little bit of moonlight to prate through.
Adalinda beside him was chewing on the tip of her thumb and brooding over something. She muttered in a voice that only she could hear "What''s taking them so long? Those bodies should have been found out by others now".
While the both of them were minding their own business, suddenly they heard approaching footsteps and turned their head only to find a familiar adventurer.
"Haha, what''s with this silent and gloomy atmosphere here? The talk of everyone''s discussion is quietly sitting here all alone, why don''t you two join us there?" the adventurer that approached them was none other than Chuck.
Simon simply shook his head throwing some excuse in the mix.
"I''m not used to it and besides I''m quite enjoying this peace and silence".
Adalinda as usual ignored everyone''s existence.
"Haha, in that case let me enjoy this peace and quiet along with you" Chuck said as he passed over one of the mugs containing ale in his hands.
"Don''t tell me that as a man you don''t drink?".
Simon nced at the outstretched hand containing the mug and the silly smile of Chuck. This time he did not reject the offer and took the mug containing the ale before gulping down a mouthful of it.
Simon was quite curious about the alcohol of this world and how they fared against the ones from his world. The taste that he got was a little crude and unlike the mellow taste he was used to; nheless, the alcohol of this world, more appropriately the alcohol brewed by the humans of this world had a different taste altogether.
It might be because the process of brewing was different or maybe the ingredients used were unlike anything he had seen. All in all, the ale was pretty good in his opinion.
Just like his previous self, the current Simon who was a demon noble was also notpletely unaffected by the intoxication of the alcohol. A slight reddish hue appeared above his cheeks.
"That''s more like it" Chuck loudly proimed and gulped down the ale in his mug.
"Where is mine?" just when they finished drinking their alcohol from their mugs, a soft voice came from beside Simon.
Adalinda looked at the two people who were merrily drinking, her unhappy voice sounded.
Chuck seemed as if he was lost for words, no matter how he saw it, Adalinda looked just like a little girl no less than fourteen years old. Even if she was a provisional adventurer, how can a little girl demand to drink alcohol at such a young age? Little did he know that her real age was something he wouldn''t even be able to imagine.
"Why don''t you munch on this chicken drumstick?" Simon said pretending to take out a chicken drumstick from his space ring.
"Do you think I''m some little girl who will be happy with just some food?" Adalinda folded her hand and stared back.
"How about a c along with it?" Simon nonchntly added.
"C? What''s that?" The little girl immediately became interested and her unhappy mood dissolved like it was never there. After being given food, this little grandaunt who acted like a mighty being high above all others, silently munched on it.
Meanwhile, at the centre of the camp where therge firece was located, amotion had suddenly erupted.
Simon arched his brows as he detected multiple presences silently approaching his way. By now, he was quite familiar with everyone and knew that the ones who had approached him, were the members of the convoy.
The wagon where the three of them were seated was suddenly surrounded by seven adventurers wearing mocking smiles on their faces.
"Aren''t you the provisional adventurer Simon that everybody has been talking abouttely?" one of the adventurers surrounding their wagon came up to them and asked.
Seeing their peculiar behaviour and the sadistic look in their eyes, Simon immediately understood that something was going on. He nodded his head and questioned, "That''s right, is something wrong?".
Chuck too scanned the area and narrowed his eyes, with his rtionship with the adventurers, he could easily identify who these adventurers were. This group of people belonged to the same team as Bignosio.
What are they here for? While he was thinking that, the adventurer who was addressing Simon, licked his lips and smiled "Nothing it''s just that our leader is looking for you. Come with us to the firece where everybody is".
His tone sounded more like an order than a request.
Eyeing the centre of the campsite where themotion had erupted, a crimson glow surreptitiously shed in his eyes. Simon sighed in exasperation andzily got up from his seat.
"Sounds interesting I''lle too¡hehe" Adalinda unceremoniously decided to tag along.
Seeing that the provisional adventurer wasing with them without making any fuss, the sadistic smiles on the faces of these seven or so adventurers deepened.
"In that case, I shalle along too" Chuck smacked his hand on his thighs and got up. The adventurers revealed an ugly but they did not dare to stop him.
At the centre of the camp, near a big firece multiple groups of people were currently seated together as they merrily conversed with one another and enjoyed their meal when suddenly a loudugh sounded out.
The mood around the campsite was instantly broken. Bignosio wearing his armour made of Whitesilver and carrying his weapon, approached them.
Alvara the guardmander who was as usual seated beside Cynthia, immediately ced her hands on her weapon and inquired apprehensively "Shouldn''t you be acting as the sentry tonight? Why have you left your post?".
Bignoiso smiled when he felt all the eyes focus on him "The Guard Commander need not worry, I have asked someone to rece me for some time".
His words made everybody curious¡ what important matter did he have to leave his post and ce a recement toe here?
"Is that so then may I know what matterpels you to leave your post so abruptly?" Alvara asked while still maintaining her caution. With her keen eyes, she could naturally tell that the man was anything but good, even the way he looked at her Miss and herself, wasscivious.
Bignosio ran his gaze at the body of the guardmander and the extreme beauty beside her and smiled delightfully. "Of course, I have some important matter to discuss with everyone hence I ask you all to please listen to me.. Yesterday after the attack at our campsite by the battle bears, I did some investigation."
Chapter 248: Framed (2)
Chapter 248: Framed (2)
When he brought the matter of yesterday night, many people couldn''t help but scowl at him. It was obvious that they still remembered the contradictory words of his and med much of it on his head.
Bignosio maintained hisposure even while the corner of his mouth twitched.
"After the investigation around the campsite, to my surprise, I found some interesting discoveries that can lead us to the mastermind behind yesterday''s attack".
These few simple words were enough to spark gasps of exmation from everybody. They all stood up from their seat and looked at him sceptically.
Bignosio did not shy away from those gazes, he furthermented to solidify his words.
"It was indeed my fault to not have recognised that the ce was air of battle bears. However, given that the ce was empty, the monsters were out hunting. Normally, the battle bears are toozy to hunt but when they do, they stock up food for multiple days worth. For a pack thatrge, it would take multiple days for them to finish their hunt. However, they just had to rush back as soon as we set our camp there".
Finally someone who couldn''t take his long and winding exnation impatiently spoke up.
"So what are you suggesting, get to the point".
The sickening smile at the corner of his face deepened; Bignosio said in an exaggerated manner.
"Isn''t all this too much of a coincidence? After the battle, I found out that the battle bears were lured to our campsite. The question is who could have done it and for what purpose?".
He inwardlyughed, there was no such thing as tracks and most of the things he had spun was a lie to get the situation rolling. At this moment, multiple footsteps of people approaching came from the direction of the wagon and everybody could see Simon and Chuck being among them.
Bignosio when he spotted his group bringing over the provisional adventurer, he gave them sneaky nod before all of them spread around and encircled the three people of Simon, Adalinda and Chuck in the centre.
Naturally, all of this was observed by the other members of the convoy and they couldn''t help but tilt their heads in confusion as to what was happening.
"I believe that only someone who knows the location of our campsite can lure the battle bears there".
"What?".
Alvara locked her brows, a little irritation shed in her eyes. The man was really up to no good, didn''t his words just now suggest that there was a traitor among the members of their convoy.
"Please listen to me before you start spouting words of denial. The perpetrator behind this, clearly had a purpose¡ and that was nothing but to solidify the story the person had spun in the beginning".
At this moment, his eyes darted towards Simon who was currently being encircled by his teammates. By now, everybody could see that the person the big nose man was targeting was none other than the young provisional adventurer.
Cynthia observed all of this farce with a calm expression and her deep violet eyes would sometimes stop on Simon''s figure who seemed asposed ake.
"Everyone I believe that you are all being deceived. My action right now may seem forceful but I guarantee you that after this everything will be clear in your eyes".
"Don''t you all feel that it is weird for a newbie adventurer to know all this information? Even knowing the race of the monsters just by their habits and few traces is something that even us veteran adventurers might be unable to aplish".
"So how is it possible for a provisional adventurer, a newbie no less to know all of this? Unless he is already very familiar with this part of thend, the northern ouw forest. I believe that he is a spy nted by the brigand to slowly sow dissonance among us".
Bignosio revealed a malevolent smile as he stared at Simon.
"Bullshit, he is someone who was rmended by that old man from the adventurer''s guild. Are you saying that the old man who had recognised him is also someone associated with the bandits of the Northern Ouw Forest?".
Chuck barked out loud when he saw that the man was trying to frame Simon and iste him out.
Bignosio''sposure crumbled when he was confronted by Chuck but nheless, he still pressed forward.
"You are mistaken Sir Chuck, I''m not doubting the integrity of the guild manager of the adventurer''s guild and instead just saying that even he might have been deceived by this horrible person into rmending this job. Don''t you feel weird that a weakling adventurer was assigned such a risky task where only veterans like us have the ability toe?".
"Load of crap, what rights do you have to say that he is a weakling adventurer? His ability is something that even the old man Gill had recognised and even without me stating it, hasn''t everyone already seen how powerful he is?".
Chuck pointed out while looking at the big nosed man with a disdainful look. He was a man who valued rtionships and goodwill greatly, it was also because of this quality of him that he was able to be a renowned person around this region of the kingdom.
From what he could see, although Simon mostly isted himself from everybody and interacted less, he was not the kind of person who would do that.
"Haha, it seems that detestable person has even managed to trick. In that case, saying anything more will be of no use let me prove that the young man is nothing but a hoax with no ability to speak of. I kindly ask you to stand down and let me deal with that person".
Bignosio dered, grabbing a big axe resting on his back. Simr to his armour, the de of the axe was made of Whitesilver, however, the body was created from a material from the body of a treant.
Everybody revealed shocked exmation when they saw Bignosio taking out his weapon that wasparable to a [D] tier armament.
Chuck who ran out of patience, finally had enough of this man and took a simple long sword from his space ring. While it may not be his business to stick his nose, in someone else''s affairs, but after conversing with Simon these past few days, he felt like it wouldn''t be bad to befriend a person such as him.
Never would have Chuck imagined that this decision of his would be a great turning point in his life and affect his future in a way that even he couldn''t have imagined.
Although he was not wearing any armour, Chuck still had enough confidence in him to face the man without needing one.
"It seems that you have made your decision, in that case, please do not mind if I use the numbers to my advantage" Bignoiso had a dark and solemn eyes with which he stared at Chuck. With a nod of his head, the members of his team encircling the three, took out their weapons.
"Who said so¡ if you are hell-bent on opposing our leader then you should better look carefully at who your opponents are" two voices sounded out and immediately two people who were sitting around the firece, sprang up from their seats and jumped in between.
The two people who have just intervened, were none other than Chuck''s teammates.
The situation around the firece instantly became taut with swords and weapons drawn. A heavy silence descended onto the area and the atmosphere became tense with both parties ring at each other.
Many onlookers around the area had an uneasy look on their faces while others behaved like they were looking at something interesting and couldn''t wait for the show to start.
In one corner of the campsite not far away from the firece, the old butler observed the situation with an amused face before revealing a contemptuous smile and whispered a few words into a small shell that was inscribed with some runes in his hand.
Just when everybody thought that a full out brawl between these two parties was inevitable, the ck robed young man who had been ake ofposure, finally decided to step forward. He put a hand in front of Chuck and said in a nonchnt manner.
"There is no need for all of you to get entangled in my matter. I can handle it just fine".
After saying this, he nced at Boignosio and asked with a smile that was not a smile "You say that I''m weak and have been deceiving everyone? Do you have any evidence for all of that?".
The moment Bignosio''s eyes met with the young man''s, an uneasy feeling suddenly assaulted him and all the hair on his body stood on end for a split second.
"Heh, if you are innocent then tell me where you were and what took you so long toe to the campsite when we were all attacked by a group of Battle Bears. I recall that you have arrived quitete, don''t tell me that you were not aware of the attack and couldn''t see therge wildfire spreading around the forest?"
He suppressed the foreboding feeling that he felt at that moment and swiftly spat out some arguments. His words raised the curiosity of everyone present and all of them nced at Simon only to find the young man suddenly be quiet.
His reaction surprised quite a lot of people who were in his favour.. It was not only the members of the convoy but even Bignosio himself was stunned when he saw that the young man had no words to refute.
Chapter 249: One Move To Cower Them All
Chapter 249: One Move To Cower Them All
A dark smile crept upon his face and he continued to press the issue.
"What''s the matter? Don''t have any words to refute? I bet you were silently watching the campsite develop into a battlefield after luring the group of Battle Bears. If not, then tell all of us what were you doing yesterday night when all of us were desperately fighting the monsters?".
Simon narrowed his eyes and frowned in irritation. The man wasing up with one reason after another to frame him as the perpetrator. If he stayed quiet at this moment, the other party would no doubt choke him with their nonsensical arguments.
"That doesn''t prove anything. I might have beente but had I not arrived, someone''s life would have been in jeopardy. Additionally, I also did my part and took care of their leader, the Battle Grizzly" Simon indifferently pointed.
His words convinced those that were having some other thoughts. It was as he had said, the adventurers and the guard alike were having a hard time stopping the battle bears and the battle grizzly.
Chuck was busy defending the bane Moose whereas the guardmander couldn''t leave her post beside the client. In such a situation, if not the young man who knows how many casualties and injured they might have had.
Seeing the provisional adventurer shift the suspicions off of him due to his achievement, Bignosio couldn''t help but force out augh.
"You took care of the Battle Grizzly? Don''t overestimate yourself, the battle grizzly was already worn down by the many adventurers, guards and the guardmander. You just simply took all of the credit by attacking it when it was close to being defeated".
The onlookers went silent once again, his words made the ones who were in doubt of the young man''s strength think over it carefully. Those that were not knowledgeable about magic, felt that the battle grizzly died quite easily in the hands of the young man.
Alvara who was the most aware of how powerful the battle grizzly was, found those words absurd and full of ws. Though she found the situation a waste of time, she however did not intervene and simply stared at Simon waiting to see how he would resolve the situation.
"If you knew that the battle grizzly was in itsst breath, then why didn''t you give it a final blow? Or perhaps were you waiting for it to recover its strength before dealing with it".
The provisional adventurer''s reply immediately made the surrounding peopleugh. His words made Bignosio seem like a clown and also at the same time pointed out the w in that argument.
Bignosio'' s face twitched and hot air red from his big nose, he stared at Simon with a murderous look and pointed his axe at him. Now that words were not working against his opponent, he had no choice to take the crudest method and fight it out with him.
"Hmph, I''ll prove to everyone that you only have a sharp tongue and no ability to back it. Fight me, I challenge you in a one on one duel. If you run away from this fight, it''ll prove to everyone that I was right about you all along".
OHHHH~ everybody revealed an excited and interested face when they heard Bignosio issuing a challenge to the newbie. All of their gazes turned towards the young man waiting for his response.
The forest was a boring ce with not many things to entertain themselves hence all of these people wanted to see the two of them duke it out to relieve their boredom.
Since backing down from the issue would look like him running away from his opponent, Simon naturally did not reject the challenge and swiftly agreed to it. In any case, the adventurer was getting on his nerves and if he let him be, his words might even cause the pride fragment to trigger.
He wanted to avoid that kind of situation at all costs.
Seeing the young man nod his head, the intensity of the excitement around the area instantly rose to its peak.
While there were those thatmended the young man for his courage, there were also sighs of disappointment. From their perspective and the strength that Simon had shown yesterday, they thought that his ss was a mage and hence he did not need to wear any armour.
A mage fighting a level 289 [Sword Master] in a closed space¡ there was no need to think about the oue of the match. A warrior ss held an absolute superiority against a mage when ites to closebat, therefore these people thought that the young man had acted rashly due to repeated taunts.
Of course, there were some exceptions like the rare sses however, they were few and far between.
Chuck looked a little uncertain but chose to remain silent, he knew that the reason behind Bignosio challenging Simon, was because he thought that he held absolute superiority against him in this closed space.
"Hehe, if anything Imend your courage for not backing out. Let me tell you I''m level¡"before Bignosio couldplete his self-serving conversation, Simon''s annoyed voice rang out.
"Shut up, let''s get done with it".
The young man''s defiant and impatient attitude showed that he was not cowered even when he was fighting with a handicap. Bignosio''s expression was contorted in an extremely ugly manner, he ground his teeth and said in a vengeful manner.
"If I can''t defeat you in three moves, I will never call myself an adventurer anymore".
Immediately after his voice sounded out, he stepped forward and sped towards Simon with the momentum of a bull.
There was no faint, no special abilities used and was a clean frontal attack. Bignosio immediately closed the distance between him and the young man before bringing down his cherished axe.
The de of the axe made of whitesilver made an arc around the air as it came swinging down on his opponents head. Just when everyone thought the young man was unable to even move from his spot and his defeated figure appeared in their minds, the scene that happened next made them widen their mouth until it hit the floor.
When the de of the axe was a few inches away from him, Simon unclenched his hands and a small fireball that was created at an unknown time, gently brushed against the opponent''s body.
WHOOOSH¡ at that moment, Bignosio''s entire body became a human torch that zed with extreme intensity.
AARRGHH¡ a miserable scream sounded out across the campsite and all the onlookers had to hold their breath at that moment.
With a clench, the fire zed for a while before it was put down by Simon. A burnt figure with much of his facial hair burnt, appeared in front of everybody. From his looks a few moments ago to his current appearance, took only a few seconds and made it hard for everyone to discern who the adventurer was.
THUMP¡ BIgnosio''s body fell onto the ground seized a fetal position all the while his body trembled from burns he suffered all around his body.
The campsite around the firece, which was brimming with excitement just a few seconds, was deathly silent. Nobody expected this kind of result from the sh between a veteran adventurer and a newbie.
The scene where the young man was at a disadvantage due to him being a mage did not ur and instead, the result was him winning by andslide.
"Leader?!" the members of Bignosio''s team anxiously ran towards him and checked his injuries, they only sighed when they found that the damage he had suffered was not fatal. However, the next second they brought out their weapons and pointed at Simon.
"How dare you sneak attack our leader? Do you have no shame?" some of them angrily cursed. They were ready to pounce on the young man who faced them all alone.
Looking at the disy of these adventurers encircling a single provisional adventurer, Chuck clicked his tongue and was just about to step up with his team when Adalinda who was quietly watching all of this giggled.
"Hehe, these pests indeed do not know their ce. It wouldn''t be bad if you teach them a lesson". Her childish soft voice had an added depth of darkness onto it.
"What?" being looked down on by a little girl, how could these adventurers who were used to being held in veneration take it?
They immediately took a stance and activated their skill when a crimson light so ring that it even shook their souls shed in the depths of Simon''s eyes.
"Take one more step and I won''t show you any more mercy".
A coarse menacing voice that could give chills to anyone hearing it sounded out. A pressure that engulfed the area around the lot of them descended and immediately made their faces pale with dread. Their legs trembled like a newborn fawn and the weapons they gripped tightly in their hand escaped their grasp and fell onto the floor.
The member of Bignosio''s adventurer party fell on their butts and dared not utter a sound anymore.
Simon turned his body and simply left, following behind him was Adalinda who was giving them a gloating smile.
EXHALE~ at this moment, the members of the convoy who had forgotten to breathe, finally exhaled a deep breath of air after the situation that had escted so fast died down.
All of the people whether they be guards, adventurers or staff of the Serene Pce merchant guild all of them were throwing shocked gazes as they stared at the figure of the ck-robed young man. Who could have predicted that the provisional adventurer would hide this much of powers?
Chapter 250: Underground Space
Chapter 250: Underground Space
They then sent pitiful gazes at the bunch of clowns who had made a fool of themselves and swiftly dispersed from the site of the firece.
Inside a wagon not far from the firece a voice echoed out from the small conch that was on the hands of the old butler.
"Hmm? What was thatmotion all about?".
"It''s nothing, everything will proceed as nned Your Highness" Jeeves said, his eerie eyes staring at the wagon that Simon had disappeared into.
"Haha, with you there, no matter what the situation, I''m sure that nothing can go wrong," the voice said sounding extremely confident.
"Leave it your servant. I''ll make sure that none of them leave this forest¡ alive" Jeeves replied with his head bowed.
Inside the wagon where Simon and Adalinda were seated, the young manzily lounged on his seat and dozed off while the little girl who had been interrupted from finishing her meal, brought it out and started munching on it once again.
"Nom..nom..nom, you should have just killed them why bother intimidating?" Adalinda asked without giving it much thought.
"Sigh¡ have you forgotten that right now we are adventurers and need to maintain a certain reputation to reach the capital? If not for the fact that we can''t use your space magic and navigating a way ourselves would take quite a long time, I wouldn''t have bothered with such pretence" Simon replied from his seat.
It was as he had said, if he had applied any more mana on the fireball, the big-nosed man would have been instantly incinerated. That would have left a dark mark on the reputation of the adventurer who he was currently masquerading as.
Plus he would have lost it if those teammates of that man attacked him hence he used [Demonic Eyes] to cower them into submission.
The [Demonic Eyes] skill was a Rare Base tier skill that he got after winning the dungeon war against Gelgar. Since the skill did not have much use on a higher level enemy that Simon was used to facing in the Ghastly Winding Forest, it had nevere into use before.
But now looking at the result, Simon was quite satisfied to say that it was quite a useful skill that could save him a lot of time and trouble of dealing with the weaklings.
The [Demonic Eyes] skill as the name suggests, intimidates an enemy with the aura of the user making them unable to move or do anything for a short period of time. It has next to no effect on entities higher level than the user.
In other words, the skill makes the enemy go into a state of shock where they think they are paralysed.
"Hnn~" Adalinda pouted at his words but did not refute.
Inside the most luxurious and well-built wagon, a woman in tight leather armour carrying a sleek longsword on her waistbelt sat across a beautiful woman wearing a purple dress.
These two women were none other than Alvara the guardmander and Cynthia, the mistress of the Serene Pce merchant guild. Currently, Cynthia was seated in her seat cross-legged and a hand supporting her chin, a deep-seated frown appeared on her delicate and smooth forehead.
"What''s wrong p¡ miss?" Alvara asked noticing that Cynthia was lost in her thoughts.
Cynthia raised her head and gazed at her closest friend and aide with her deep violet eyes and questioned.
"Alvara if it was you, would you be also able to defeat the Battle Grizzly alone?".
The guardmander fell into contemtion after being asked such a question, a momentter she nodded her head and replied.
"If its just the Battle Grizzly alone, I am confident that I can deal with it. However, I would have to focus all my attention on it. It might have taken me a few dozen minutes but it is not an enemy that I cannot defeat. As for defeating it in a few moves, I think that as of now it is still impossible for me".
Alvara held her head down and said in a somewhat ashamed voice.
Cynthia hurriedly supported her friend and admonished her in a soft voice.
"You don''t know how much of your efforts had helped me these past few years, so there is no reason for you to bow your head in shame. It only means that adventurer is special or was hiding his strength".
After that admonishment which sounded more like consoling, Alvara revealed a smile and nodded.
"That is true, even from my observation, that adventurer did not seem to be special. But who could have guessed that his powers would be so great to immediately cower those tough into submission? I cannot begin toprehend where the bottom line of his powers lies".
Cynthia shifted her gaze on the ss of water in her hand, after some time, she changed the topic.
"Do you think that incident somehow had something to do with my big brother?".
Alvara looked a little surprised at those words before a solemnness dawned into her pretty face.
"We cannot deny that possibility, however, it can also be that we were simply camping at the wrong ce at the wrong time," the guardmander said a fewforting words to relieve the woman from some of her worries.
"Alright it''s quitete, Miss you should get some sleep" Alvara insisted.
Cynthia did not reject her offer andid down on her bed. When the first rays of the sun shone down on the forest, the vibrant life within rose into action. A convoy of wagons pulled by Bane moose galloped through thends as it travelled through the forest.
Groups of adventurers and guards formed a perimeter around the convoy and protected it from any potential enemies. The group travelled like this for a while when suddenly the adventurer who was adept in sensing the presence, held out his hands to stop the march of the wagon.
"Multiple hostile presences ahead, from the looks of it, they appear to a group of Vile Boars" the adventurer reported. He then gazed at the guards and adventurers behind him and nodded his head.
Those people swiftly rushed ahead and after what felt like a few minutes, returned with their des and armour slightly stained with the monster''s blood.
"Seems like we will have a satisfying dinner tonight" the people who went on ahead to subdue the vile boarsughed. The mood around the convoy brightened before they started moving once again.
Time quickly sped by and it was approaching evening, during this time they had encountered several groups of [E] rank monsters like the vile boars and swiftly dispatched them. They stored the things they could in their space rings and discarded the leftovers.
By the time sun was beginning to set, they had travelled quite a bit of distance and spread out to search for a suitable campsite.
"Good, I think we should also set out camp in that small peak up ahead. That way, even if some monsters do find us, it wouldn''t be able to sneak behind us" Simon gave his input.
The discussing adventurers unanimously nodded their heads and the convoy sped towards the peak to set the camp for tonight.
After his disy of strength yesterday, his position amongst the convoy had cemented. They no longer doubted his strength and instead sought his knowledge and experience at every opportunity they could get.
These people had never met a person so informed and knowledgeable about monsters than Simon who could easily see through the pattern and habits of most of the monsters. One had to wonder what kind of the life the young man had led until now to be soposed and skilled.
Of course, after they had tasted the bitter medicine yesterday, Bignosio and his group did not dare to seek trouble with the provisional adventurer again. And just like that, Simon had somehow be the de facto leader figure of this convoy.
"You seem awfully happy today¡ is something the matter?" Simon who was assigned the duty of the night guard for the day, looked back at the grinning Adalinda and asked.
"Of course I am. But there is no need to ask me because you will find out soon" the little girl said with a tone of mystery.
Simon scrunched his brows but did not question her further since he knew, he wouldn''t get any answer.
The night had already arrived and soaked the sky with its ck ink. However, unlike the previous times where they had to camp in a ce devoid of any light due to the thick canopy of trees, their current campsite which was on top of a small peak, allowed the gentle rays of the moonlight to brighten the area around.
The brilliance of the night sky, with infinite stars dotting the space, was finally in full view. From his current position, Simon gazed at the dark forest teeming with cries of monsters. His eyes swept all over the area before stopping in a ce covered in boulders big and small.
For some reason, he felt the flow of mana was a little unnatural there.
''What could it be'' Simon was a demon noble hence even in this darkness, his eyes were much better than an average human who did not have [Night Vision] skill.
"Wait here, I''ll quicklye back" his words sounded out before his body quickly darted off towards the area he felt the irregrity from.
Adalinda who was giggling and imagining some kind of scenario in her head, became stunned when she saw the direction he was hurrying towards "Eh? Wait a minute!!".
Simon who could jump agilely from one branch to another, didn''t take long to reach the ce covered in boulders.. With a nce, he immediately knew that the boulders weren''t naturally formed and were made by someone.
Chapter 251: Underground Space (2)
Chapter 251: Underground Space (2)
There were more than hundreds of said boulders ced in an unusual pattern. When Simon reached a distance that was only a few meters away from the area and was intensely observing the boulders when suddenly one of the boulders started shifting.
When the boulder that was more than 3 meters big moved from its ce, a wide dark tunnel that could easily allow more than two people to walk side by side appeared. Intermittent sounds of conversation could be hearding from the tunnel from time to time.
When Simon saw the tunnel and heard the conversationing from inside, he couldn''t help but reveal a surprised expression for an instant.
"Adventurers? No, they are¡ bandits" while these people had armours and weapons donned, they clearly gave a more rough and bloody atmosphere.
"So these boulders are used to hide the tunnels which lead to their hideout?" Simon mused, the peculiar flow of the mana around here was finally solved. From the looks of how these bandits were eyeing their camp, it didn''t take a genius to understand that they did not have any good intent.
Simon felt into deliberation, now that he had found out the bandits, should he leave them be even while knowing their objective? Or should he engage them with no benefits to gain?
He did not want to get involved in a fight that gained him nothing but then again if he left them be, who knows what might happen to the convoy. It might even hamper with his ns to reach the capital.
While Simon was intensely contemting his actions, the conversation of the bandits reached his ears.
"Hey do you think we should call the other two leaders?" one of the bandits with a bald head asked.
"What are babbling about? Our leader clearly said that he is more than enough to handle the members of that convoy" the bandit beside the bald head man replied.
"But even the leader of the southern brigade was easily killed? Do you think we stand a chance alone?" the bald bandit worried.
"Don''t worry, Boss told us that the other leader must have been killed because he underestimated the people on the convoy and brought a very small team. From the investigation of their corpses, it seems that they were assassinated when their guard was down" replied the other bandit.
After saying that, he patted the bald head man and walked back into the tunnel.
"You stay here and observe them, I''ll go and report to the boss that we have found their campsite. It is likely that we will make a move today".
When the bald head man nodded, the other bandit swiftly disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel. The bald head bandit observed the distant campsite for a while when he suddenly felt a presence reveal itself not far from this ce.
"Haa, screw it, I might as well bring them down now that I am already aware of them" a voice that sounded exasperated, sounded out.
"Who is there?" the bandit took out his weapon that was arge spiked club and roared.
Seeing that there was no reply, his look became even more cautious as he surveyed his surroundings. He just moved his eyes to the tunnel from where they came from, when suddenly he spotted a man wearing a simple back robe appear out of nowhere.
His instincts immediately warned him and he swiftly utilised his skill to dish out a [Wide sh] towards this unknown person.
BANG¡ before the attack could evene closer, it was swiftly dissipated by the man who utilised his Electro magic.
The moment the bald head bandit realised that the back robed man was a mage, he immediately closed the distance between them and was about to make this a meleebat when¡
PSSH¡ he noticed a hand that had easily prated through his armour and came out from his back. To his surprise, the enemy appeared behind him as if teleporting without even him noticing.
"Wha¡" the life-force from his body swiftly dissipated and the bandit listlessly fell down.
Simon shifted his attention towards the tunnel and stepped forward.
The tunnel was long and wide and there were even a few torches lighting the area along the way. At the end of the tunnel that spanned for more than a dozen kilometres, was a wooden door with bad craftsmanship and seemed hurriedly made.
One of the bandits that was with the bald head man, entered through the door and was greeted by arge cave that had many small tents made of clothes and wooden carts lining up the walls filled with rations and other various things.
Clearly, these were all the things that these bandits have plundered from the people, adventurers, and merchants that had taken this route to travel.
"Oi, Cloy why are you back so soon?" a bulky man with a protruding belly asked. Behind him were many bandits that were busy investigating the loots that they had plundered from somewhere.
"Ah, boss I came back with a report. We have found the campsite of the convoy" the bandit henchmen replied.
Hearing his reply, the bandit leader put the mug containing alcohol down and got up from his seat. A fiery heat zed in his eyes as he clenched his hands.
"Everyone get ready to act, we have caught a big fish today¡ hahaha".
The rest of the bandits cheered loudly when suddenly a voice that dampened their mood like a cold bucket of water rang out from the tunnel.
"I say it is quite regrettable that you won''t be able to enjoy going after this big fish today".
After that voice sounded out, the bandits who werezing around, became alert and gazed at one of the many tunnels.
"Looks like you brought some unwanted guests with you Cloy" the bandit leader narrowed his eyes and stated.
The bandit henchmen who was referred to as Cloy, immediately became bbergasted.
"Eh? But that can''t be I have stationed Dross to guard the tunnel. If there was any signs of fight, I would have heard the sound".
"Hmph, the intruder is already here".
The moment those wordsnded from the boss leader, the wooden door was kicked open with a bang. A young man with handsome features, slowly walked out through the tunnel and observed his surroundings.
The atmosphere around him and the way he carried himself, was so casual that it was like he was out here on a stroll. The attitude instantly pissed off the bandits who were looking at him with murderous eyes.
Simon who had entered the bandit''s hideout,zily strolled his eyes all across. From his observation, he could tell that the ce was just like an ant''s nest with many tunnels interconnected here and there.
Without even counting, Simon could feel the presence of at least fifty bandits currently gathered in this hideout.
"Oi, do you think this is somece you can casually stroll in?".
While he was busy delving into his thoughts, a supercilious voice that came from the bandit leader sounded out. Ignoring his call, the young manzily walked and checked the numerous wooden cargos that were filled with the loots plundered from others.
That attitude that disregarded his presence, rubbed the bandit leader the wrong way and he motioned with his hands to the henchmen to attack the ck-robed man from behind.
SHIING¡ immediately, the sound of a weapon being unsheathed rang out before a bandit came attacking Simon.
The bandit''s smile widened when he saw that the young man did not even notice him. Just when the sword was a few inches away from the young man, the scene before the bandit blurred for a second and a fist came smashing down on his face.
BANG¡ his teeth shattered and blood overflowing from his disced nose, the bandit was sent flying towards the wall where he smashed towards the many wooden cargos beforeing to a stop.
The moment when Simon had sent one of the bandits flying with a fist, another bandit that seem to have utilised this opportunity when his focus was somewhere else to sneak behind him. The bandit brought down his sickle-like weapon on top of the young man''s head only to be stopped midway by a sword.
No matter how much weight the bandit put behind his weapon, the sword did not budge. Although the ordinary sword in his opponent''s hands that he picked up from the ground, had many dings, it was just like a boulder that refused to move.
Realising that his attack had failed, the bandit was about to retreat back when purple sparks suddenly started erupting out of the sword and travelled towards his body.
"Aaaagghhhhh" in a swift motion the spark engulfed the entire body of the bandit causing him to issue a miserable scream.
THUMP¡ the scorched body of the bandit fell onto the cold hard floor and stopped moving altogether after a few seconds. The atmosphere inside the hideout had descended into a disturbing silence as all the gazes focused on the ck-robed man.
At that moment, they all realised¡ No, they all saw with their own eyes that the young man''s eyes were glowing a piercing crimson as he revealed a wicked smile.
All of them felt their body tremble for a second and a feeling of foreboding rose in their heart.
"Dammit, you bastard do you think you can just act as you wish in my hideout? All of you surround him and attack together. Let me see how long his staminasts".
The bandit leader said in an unpleasant tone.. He tapped the space ring on his hand and a wide butcher de appeared.
Chapter 252: Gains
Chapter 252: Gains
Simon was in no state of mind to pay attention to the actions of these bandits as he was too caught up in his own thoughts. Just a few seconds ago when he had defeated the two bandits, a notification rang out and a window disying a pleasant message popped up in front of his eyes.
[You have levelled up].
Simon stared at the message with a nk expression, it was not long since he levelled using the mana crystals and after that, he did not have any opportunity to hunt monsters, dive inside the pond, or use the remaining mana crystals to increase his level.
Naturally, he had quite the gap to reach the next level. Each increase in level after reaching level 300, was very tedious and hard and one needed to constantly defeat strong beings to even see minor changes.
However, these past few days other than hunting some weak monsters and the battle grizzly, Simon did not deliberately hunt strong monsters to level. So howe he levelled up so abruptly?
The only answer he could think of was the experience that the two bandits had provided him after being defeated.
These bandits weren''t strong and were only around level 150 and only a handful few were above level 200 not including the bandit leader. Was the experience provided by the humans after being defeated different than ordinary bloodline monsters?
While he did fought with Laris a human adventurer, it was a battle with his life on the line. Other than being superior in terms of pure stats, he wascking in every aspect. At that time due to being under the influence of the pride fragment, he did not have enough presence of mind to pay attention to his level.
He couldn''te up with an answer but what he did know was that defeating the two bandits had allowed him to gain enough experience to level up. Simon couldn''t imagine what would happen if he were to defeat these fifty or so bandits.
An excitement and a nature that had been deeply suppressed by him, fully red up at that moment.
An opportunity to level up like that doesn''te that often. The enemy were bandits that havemitted many heinous crimes and whose bodies were leaking with bloodlust, he naturally had no reason barring him to take them down. Especially when their target was the convoy he was travelling with.
His eyes were back to their crimson colour and a feeling to trample on his enemies rose within his heart. Other than the bandit leader who was around level 298, the rest of the group were of no concern to Simon.
His Demon Viscount body with its high Defence and Endurance, would easily be able to endure through any of their attacks. This meant that he could let loose without worrying much.
"Let''s get this party going shall we" the ck-robed young man said shing a wicked smile.
The three moons hung up high in the sky and lit the ce with their beautiful moonlight. However, this part of the forest was still covered with darkness due to the looming clouds that had arrived who knows when and the thick canopies of the trees.
A distant mountain that was covered with many tall trees and was a thousand meters big, stood mightily across the forest. However, the peculiar thing about this mountain was that there were many small and big tunnels craftily covered with bushes and foliage to hide them from view.
If one followed any one of these tunnels, they would be led to a wide underground space that is or was the hideout of one of the four brigand leaders.
No, it was not deserted, on the contrary, it was still being upied up until a couple of minutes ago. Then why it WAS a hideout of one of the four brigand leaders? The answer could be found at the scene thaty inside of that very mountain.
Many corpses littered the ce everywhere, their blood dying the ground a shade of ck. These corpses were none other than the bodies of the bandits who had encircled and attacked Simon.
Currently, the ce waspletely silent with a nauseating smell that had spread everywhere. A young man could be seen sitting on a wooden cargo that did not have a trace of blood smeared on it. His clothes were a little tattered and burnt, scars and cuts covered his body nheless, they couldn''t hide the brilliant shine of his eyes and his excited smile.
Even when a gory seenid out in front of, the man seemed unaffected.
"With a span of few hours, I levelled up a total of ten times. This speed can be considered quite scarypared to the slow growth I had been having inside the Ghastly Winding Forest for the past few weeks".
This experience today had told Simon how important it was to roam around and not be holed up in a ce. While it may be true that the Ghastly Winding Forest is the best ce for him to train and level up due to the strong and overflowing presence of the monsters, it was precisely because the level of monsters there was quite high that Simon was having difficulty defeating them.
Now that he knew that humans too gave him experience when defeated, he couldn''t get this feeling out of him. After this experimentation, Simon was clear that humans and monsters each provided a different amount of experience that is mystical energy when defeated.
An ordinary bloodline low-level monsters provided way less mystical energy to him when defeated than an average human who had trained their skills ardously and had gone through a few ss changes.
This theory of his might be wed and he needed to defeat a few more evolved monsters and humans with more ss changes to truly make a correctparison. But for now, Simon was quite happy with the gains that he had.
"Hmm? What was that silvery light that flew out from this small conch" grasping a small conch which hadplicated patterns that looked like runes inscribed on it, Simon spoke out his thoughts.
He remembered that in between his fight with the Bandit leader, the person had suddenly taken out this conch when he saw that he couldn''t gain an edge. After taking out this conch the man spoke a few words before the conch lighted up with a silvery light that swiftly disappeared into space.
The fight with the bandit leader was quite boringpared to the time when he fought with Laris the adventurer. Since the bandit leader did not have a battle rich experience and a good weapon like thetter, Simon did not feel the excitement and the only thing that caught his eyes during the battle was this silvery light that flew out of the item that was currently on his hand.
While he pose the question in a low voice and did not expect an answer from anyone, a small voice that had a tinge of anger rang out to clear his doubts.
"That light was a voice transmission that flew out from that transponder shell. It is most likely that bandit used this to send some message to someone" Adalinda folded bother her arms across her chest and said.
Sensing her sudden presence behind, Simon freaked out for a second. The feeling of her presence evading his senses, was something he wouldn''t get used to.
"You scared me there for a second. When did you appear?" he inquired.
"Hmph, I was already here before you started massacring these bandits. If I don''t want to, nobody here can sense my presence. There is no need for you to get surprised each and every time. But that is not important¡ how dare you ruin my fun?" Adalinda asked in a foul mood.
The sudden question startled Simon and he couldn''t help but utter an "Eh?".
The little girl''s ponytail waved like two whips when she saw that he did not even realise what his actions meant.
"Kuhh¡ seriously why did you have to go and kill everybody? I was so waiting for them to conduct their ambush on the campsite. Now you have done it and destroyed all of my fun".
"What?"
This time, Simon rolled his eyes at Adalinda. What did she mean by ruined by fun? Was she already aware of the presence of these bandits hiding inside this underground space? Didn''t it mean that she was looking forward to convoy and these bandits shing with one another? And all of that was just because she was bored.
His face showed a dreadful appearance when he thought how devious the ns of this little girl who had an innocent angel-like face was. Simon smiled bitterly unable to evenugh or cry.
Adalinda kept on throwing him a hateful nce when suddenly, she revealed a gloating smile towards him and mockingly asked.
"Do you know what the content of the message passed by that bandit was before he died at your hands?".
He simply shook his head, his eyes looked at Adalinda questioningly since he knew that she was aware of something to have asked this question.
"Kfufu¡ you deserve this for foiling my n. Next time I''ll prepare myself to enjoy the show thoroughly" the little girlughed at his nk expression.
Simon did not mind, from her words he was at least able to understand that the bandit leader deemed it necessary to send a message to someone during hisst moments. That alone gave him some idea.
He could guess that this group wasn''t the only bandits around and there were more of them.. Guessing from how Adalinda was acting, it seems that his action here has been reported to the other bandits and they would more likely be aware of him if they met the next time.
Chapter 253: Idle Talks
Chapter 253: Idle Talks
Getting up from his seat, Simon turned around and walked towards the tunnel from which he came from.
"Eh? You are not bothered by it? Don''t you want to know what the content of that message was?" seeing him simply walk off without pressing her for answer, Adalinda became startled and buzzed him about it.
When the two of them reached the tunnel, Simon manipted his mana and created a huge fireball [re Sun] before throwing it towards the ceiling of the wide space.
BOOOM¡
An enormous explosion rocked the walls and the ceiling instantly copsed burying everything within this wide space. The mountain trembled and a small earthquake shook the surrounding area disturbing the inhabitants of this forest.
It didn''t take long for Simon and Adalinda to exit the tunnel and reach the peak where their campsite was located. No disturbance urred for the rest of the night and the convoy started moving again at the first rays of sunlight.
The adventurers and guards moved around in formation and protected the wagons in the centre. The group was full of energy as they conversed and marched forward all at the same time maintaining their guard.
It appeared thatst night''s peace had bolstered their vigour. The journey inside the northern ouw forest was filled with unexpected dangers and monsters at every corner. But due to the spirited reactions of the members, the journey wasn''t very rough.
Inside one of the wagons that was on the front, Simon was lounging on his seat, his hands held a small bead the size of a thumb and azure blue in colour. It was the very same gem that Irene had condensed and given to him before his departure from the dungeon.
The motive behind him taking out the crystal was to figure out what it actually did. Knowing Irene, Simon knew that she wouldn''t give him something that wouldn''te to his use. He knew that the gem had more to it than just being pretty and hence he tried to incur some reaction from it.
However, no matter what he did the gem did not elicit any reaction. "Am I doing something wrong?" Simon brooded.
"Isn''t that¡ hehe, that girlfriend of yours indeed cares a lot for you to have created something like that" Adalinda remarked from her half- asleep state. The routine of this little girl aftering to the trip had be quite monotone andzy with sleeping and eatingprising most of her time.
"You know what this is?" seeing her nod her head matter of factly, Simon pressed "Then do you know how to use it? Even the [Analysis] was unable to disy anything".
Straightening the bed hair that came in front of her face, she scoffed "Hmph, what do you expect from a Normal base tier skill, this level of examination is beyond it. To answer your question, yes I do know how to use it however¡".
Adalinda closed one of her eyes and stretched out her hand.
As this was not their first time conversing, Simon immediately knew what she was getting at and hurriedly put the food that she wanted in her hand.
"Umu, seeing that you are being tactful enough, I don''t mind telling you how to use it. Nom¡ nom¡ it''s quite simple actually, you just need to put a few droplets of your blood into the crystal. Though I advise you not to try it here since there would be a hugemotion when that gem activates".
Saying everything that she needed to say in a single breath, Adalinda concentrated on her food.
Something that needed his blood to activate, just from this alone, Simon could see how precious the thing Irene had given him was. From his inherited memories, he knew that something that needed one''s blood to activate, was by means anything but simple and could even be considered an extremely precious treasure.
Simon caressed the crystal in his hands for a while before deciding to keep it in his inventory. Although he was curious to know what the thing Irene had given him was, he knew that this was not the ce to open it.
After travelling for a few more hours, the convoy decided to take a break and give rest to the Bane Moose. The adventurers and guards that came back after performing their duty, switched with others before taking their meal and gulping down on it.
They made a circle around a ce and started striking a conversation with each other.
"Hey, a few months ago I heard that there is a newly emerged dungeon near the city of Mountmend? Have you ever delved there?" a guard who had be quite ustomed and opened with the adventurers asked.
The topic that he chose to discuss, was a hot subject back in the city amongst adventurers and even some ordinary humans. So there was no way these guards wouldn''t be aware of it even though they had nothing to do with adventuring.
All of the guards perked their ears wanting to know more about it, the adventurers who clearly had more in-depth knowledge about it, puffed their chests.
"Of course, we do know about it. In fact, some of us even delved inside it. The ce currently is filled with resources, monsters and treasures that periodically pop up. The quality of the good that can be found inside, is far better than what is avable out in the market. Most of us delve inside the dungeon to increase our levels and earn some extra money".
"You are right. Honestly, if I didn''t owe the old man back at the adventurers guild a favour, I would have likely been delving inside the dungeon instead of being here" Another adventurer chipped in.
Simon who waszing in his seat after a night of guard duty, couldn''t help but eavesdrop on their conversation.
"So how many floors have been explored yet? Since it is a newly emerged dungeon, I bet it only has a few floors and will soon be conquered by somebody" the guards asked while having their lunch.
"Haha, since you haven''t dived inside it, that''s why you don''t know but the dungeon is quite peculiar in that the floors are quite big the more you dive in and filled with traps and monsters that are very difficult to deal with. It won''t be easy to conquer a dungeon like that even if it''s a low-rank one" the adventurer seated near the guard exined.
"Well, we will have to see if the dungeon is conquerable or not. Have you forgotten which guild is currently tackling the dungeon". The adventurer with the highest level present among the group dropped a clue.
The adventurer who have been suddenly reminded of something widened his eyes in realisation "You are right, the team from the Blinding Arrow Guild is the one that has conquered thetest floors, at this pace they might even be able to reach the dungeon core".
"Wouldn''t the dungeon disappear if its dungeon core is destroyed or conquered?" the guards who were not too familiar with dungeons, asked.
"Right, that is why I believe that the Blinding Arrows Guild is hesitating over mobilising their entire members to conquer the dungeon. Once conquered the dungeon will be gone and there will no longer be a ce to farm these treasures".
At this moment, their conversation suddenly came to a stop when they noticed a familiar faceing over. The man wore a grey armour shining with a golden tinge and carried a shield and broadsword on his back.
"You don''t have to mind me, I''m just passing by" Chuck said before taking his share of the meal from the firece and walking off.
The adventurers sighed, looking a little guilty. They were all aware of how sensitive this topic was for Chuck who had lost his entire party in that exploration.
After the short break was over, all of them scattered and started performing the job they were assigned and before anyone knew it, evening had arrived. A campsite could be seen in an area covered with rocks, sounds of water flowing could be heard from a nearby brook.
Members of the convoy were gathered around a table looking over the map. Cynthia ced her finger on one of the red markers that was on the northern ouw forest and stated.
"At this pace, it will take five more days to get out of this forest. However, we shouldn''t let down our just yet. As you all know this ce is filled with dangerous monsters and is also the hideout of the bandits. Frankly, it will be difficult to get out of here unscathed. Therefore I want all of you to not becent until we are out of the forest".
The signs of no bandits trailing their convoy made her all the more concerned about their objective; nheless, she did not mention it to them. Alvara who was beside her, knew her concerns and hence did not leave her side for even a moment.
they just need to hold on for a few more days and once they are out of the forest, they will be inside Duke Montford''s territory which was rtively a much safer ce.
All of the members scattered after the discussion was over, Bignosio whose body had healed mostly thanks to the potions and medicines, was just about leave when an old man in butler''s attire approached him.
"What do you want?" Bignosio turned his head and asked irritably.
Jeeves did not seem fazed by the former''s attitude and simply told him to follow along.
Bignosio hesitated for a while before following the butler and exited the campsite on his behest. His insights were telling him that something was up with thetter.
Time flowed endlessly like a river and two more days passed by without anything notable happening.
Chapter 254: Choice
Chapter 254: Choice
On the night of the seventh-day Tents were erected in the centre with guards patrolling in a perimeter around the campsite. Inside one of the wagons lined up in a corner, Jeeves sat in one of the seats; in his hands was a small conch inscribed with manyplex runes.
"Initiate the attack, we cannot allow them to travel any further," he said looking towards the conch.
"Tch¡ don''t give memand, I know what I have to do. Since you have already prepared an opening amongst the sentries and guards patrolling the area, I won''t be able to call myself a Brigand Master if I can''t even exploit that" mysteriously a voice travelled through the conch and sounded out inside the wagon.
"Remember there can be no mistake or else¡" a weird glow shed in Jeeves eyes before he cut the call.
A small distance away from the campsite, in the darkness of the night, Simon and Adalinda who were assigned as guards, patrolled the area. From time to time, he would see other guards or adventurers pass over, simrly patrolling the area.
"Why do I feel like something bad is going to happen from that grin of yours?" he suddenly asked noticing the little girl shing her pearly white teeth.
"Hehe, get ready to see something interesting, the fun is about to begin" Adalinda said not trying to hide anything.
Simon mused, his line of thought was suddenly disturbed when multiple presences showed up in his detection range. Their appearance was abrupt and swift just like a deadly snake that was hiding in its burrow ready to strike.
With his senses, he could easily tell that their numbers were in the hundreds and even more. However, what confounded Simon was how did this many people manage to approach so close to them without getting detected by the sentries.
"The direction where they areing from¡ is assigned to that guy''s team" Simon had an amused expression when he realised that they had been had. The area from where these multiple presences were oozing out from, was assigned to Bignosio''s team to guard.
BOOOM¡ a loud explosion rocked the area around the campsite waking the sleepy residents of the tents awake. The explosion also attracted the attention of all the guards and adventurers as they swiftly ran back to the campsite.
Simon did not immediately rush back and instead looked at the little girl with glittery eyes. The expression on her face seemed to disy that she was having an absolute st watching a soap opera.
Shaking his head, he audibly sighed and followed behind the others rushing back to the campsite. All of the members of the convoy at this moment had an ugly expression when they realised that they had been ambushed once again, this time by a group¡ No, it would be right to say by an army of bandits.
Without even counting, it was clear to everyone that, they were absolutely outnumbered this time.
"Why did nobody inform the camp and issued an alert when this big of a group was approaching? Who was assigned to monitor that area?" the guardmander shouted in a bad mood.
"Hehe, the guardmander does not need to be so much revved up, it was our team that was monitoring that area" Bignosio said slowly walking out amidst the bandits.
"You?!" all of the people of the convoy showed faces of disbelief when they saw one of the veteran adventurers team walking side by side with the bandits.
"How dare you betray us?" Alvara screamed in frustration.
"Hahaha, there is no point in saying any of that right now. Anyways I have already chosen which side I will stand on. I also want to make this clear to everyone that they should think about this carefully as to which side they should choose to side with. You can already see that we already have a great advantage over you all it is meaningless to fight a battle knowing the final oue".
Bignosio spread his hands and preached grandly. Hearing his words and looking at the numbers of the bandits encircling them, many people over on the side on convoy started having second thoughts.
Can they even win a fight when they already have such a big numerical disadvantage? Wouldn''t their oue be extremely bad if they were to choose the wrong boat; worse their life might even be forfeited?
During emergencies or during bad times, it was in human nature to choose the best for survival.
"You beast¡" Alvara couldn''t help but curse when she saw many of the members on their side have their minds swayed by those words.
"Kukuku¡ I must say you are quite the spiteful man. Swaying the minds of your formerrades to join us instead, can''t say that I dislike it" a man wearing a heavy and well-crafted armour standing in front of the bandits said.
He had a thick beard and unkempt brown hair, his body brimmed with muscles and he was a head taller than Bignosio who was beside him. The man was the Brigand Master of this group of bandits and also the strongest man amongst them.
Behind him were two men withnky builds releasing a strong aura that could overpower any veteran adventurers from the convoy.
"Don''t forget out deal, I must be the one to deal the death blow to that man" Bignosio said grinding his teeth in hatred.
"Hahaha¡ that will not be a problem" the Brigand Masterughed before ncing at his two subordinates.
"Where is that other bastard that killed my men?".
The two subordinates behind him squinted their eyes looking for the perpetrator that had killed two of their Brigand leaders and many subordinates.
"ording to the message that Whitman sent before his death, the person was a young man wearing ck casual clothes" one of the Bandit leader named Osbin said.
"You nipoop how will be able to find the person with just the description of his clothes" The Brigand Master barked. At this moment, Bignosio also perked his ears to listen.
"Other than that¡ Yes, Whitman also said that the man had handsome and striking features" The other bandit leader named Grime chipped in.
The Brigand Master had a somewhat peeved face listening to their description.
"I know who the person you are talking about is¡" Bignosio said, although he hated to admit, there was only one person that matched the description on this convoy.
"Heh! I didn''t think you would be this useful. So who is this man that has the guts to kill all of my men in their base?" the Brigand Master asked, his voice containing a smear of bloodlust.
"He is the same person that I told you about" the adventurer imed.
"What?!" the two bandit leaders, Osbin and Grime were startled whereas the Brigand Master narrowed his eyes.
"Heh so it''s him, no wonder you are so eager to want to remove him from your sight". He then directed his gaze and surreptitiously threw a nce at the butler who was standing on the side of convoy.
His gaze roamed the members and finally stopped on the two beautiful women, especially the purple-robed one whose charms was enough to make men go crazy. A nefarious me started to rise within his lower abdomen and an impulse to push those women down spawned in his heart.
"Kukuku, obediently surrender while this master is still feeling generous or else the ending of you lot won''t be good. Although the answer is already clear, I''m giving you a few minutes of time to decide which side you should join, after this time limit is over, do not me my men for going overboard" The Brigand Master licked his lips dering his intention.
"You!! There is no one here who would discard their pride and submit to a bunch of thieves like you. Those who do so should be ashamed of themselves" Alvara dered while unsheathing her long sword.
However, from her tone, one could see that the guardmander was no longer confident. She was aware that other than the silver guards, the adventurers were only here because they were promised a hefty sum of reward in return. They had no loyalty towards the Miss or the Serene Pce Merchant guild whatsoever.
It wouldn''t be a surprise if they chose to stand down in a situation where their lives were threatened. Though she felt nervous, she did not reveal it because she knew better than to show weakness at this crucial point in time.
After what the Brigand Master said, it naturally affected the frame of mind of the adventurers and guards alike; however, unlike the adventurers, the guards were duty bound and employed by the Serene Pce merchant guild.
Therefore even if their heart wanted to surrender they couldn''t do it from the fear of suffering the repercussion from the merchant guild.
"Kukuku, we will see about that" the Brigand Master scoffed. He then silently emitted pressure on the members of the convoy as he red at every one of them. Those that couldn''t take the pressure, shifted their gaze away.
Time ticked away little by little; finally, an adventurer who was too tense about losing his life in this scuffle, chose to walk towards the side where the bandits were.
The action of the adventurers was the straw that broke the camel''s back, one by one many adventurers started leaving the side of the convoy. The sounds of their steps was like the beat of a heavy drum as they heavily thumped within the hearts of those remaining.
Within a couple of minutes, the convoy that had more than fifty members initially, was reduced to only the staff, silver guards and a handful of adventurers that chose to stay.. The scene caused the guardmander to close her eyes and tighten the grip on her sword.
Chapter 255: Fight Against The Bandits
Chapter 255: Fight Against The Bandits
"Miss please forgive me for acting selfish but you must run when you have the chance," Alvara dered.
Cynthia''s delicate brows were tightly knitted together, her beautiful face was masked with an unconcealed worry. She knew that this moment woulde; however, even she didn''t predict that she would be this helpless when that moment came.
"Fools" the Brigand Master mocked looking at the ones that chose to struggle till theirst breath.
With just a nce, it was already clear that they had an absolute numerical advantage, not to mention they also have strong ones amidst them who could easily contest with any of the guards and adventurers on the other side.
Then there was him a level 374 [Panzer Fighter], a rare ss that he got after three ss changes. A ss that heavily boosted his Endurance, Defence and Strength.
Additionally, there was also the two bandit leaders who easily handle the likes of veteran adventurers such as Bignosio.
The oue of this battle was already clear to everyone. The adventurers that chose to leave, thought about this very possibility and felt their survival chance was better on the other side.
The convoy of the Serene Pce merchant guild on the other hand only had a few people that can fightpared to the bandits. Seeing that everything would be decided after this fight, Cynthia turned around and addressed the people that chose to fight by their side.
"Sigh¡ wish I could say something inspiring at his moment where we need it the most. But I''m not a warrior hence I could only say a few encouraging words. Guards, adventurers it is only natural that one would value their own lives that is why I do not me those that want to leave."
She paused and observed all those people that did not move even after being told so. She then continued:
"Since it is like that, I would like all of you to inform of a harsh truth. The enemy''s numbers are in hundreds and there are even some strong ones amidst them not to mention the adventurers that have decided to go over on that side. If they all join hands, the chance of our victory is very slim, nevertheless, it is not nil".
"Although I would have preferred to say it in a more confident way, if we do win this battle, I will increase the rewards of every individual by ten times. Additionally, I also promise that the Serene Pce merchant guild would remember this favour, we will also help and back you in the future in any way we can".
Right after finishing her words, she deeply bowed her head. She knew how precarious the position she was in right now and all the benefits and promises that she could give right now, sounded as simply empty words.
The people who remained, looked at each other and nodded their heads, they then brought out their weapons and took a formation. Naturally, Simon was with the members of the convoy, although he found getting involved in all of this bothersome, he couldn''t just allow them to get wiped out or else who will navigate a way for him to the capital?
His eyes scanned all the members who remained and stopped briefly on one particr person. The person was none other than the butler who was constantly triggering his instincts. Adalinda was quietly standing by his side enjoying the farce that was soon going to erupt.
After a few minutes passed, the brigand Master''s patience ran out. He took out arge bastard sword from his space ring and pointed it towards the convoy.
"Kill everyone else other than the women" his fierce words generated an intense shout from these ouws behind him who only knew how to shed blood. At hismand, dozens of bandits ran forward and charged towards the members of the convoy on the other side.
The adventurers and guards reinvigorated their spirits, ready to meet the bandits that were rushing towards them. At this moment, Chuck who had a rich battle experience and was used to managing a whole guild, stepped forward to take the lead.
"You people better give your all if you want to survive" with a spirited shout, the [Guardian Knight] held a wide shield with a bull carved on it in one hand and held a long sword on the other. His figure was just like a boulder giving a sense of protection to those behind.
"Yeah!!".
As if it was not their first time fighting in coordination, these people after being gathered by Chuck showed an airtight formation that came to them naturally.
Simon was ced at the centre of the formation since everyone believed that his ss was a mage. Hence he and Adalinda were stuck in the middle.
"Sigh, is this the situation you had in mind when you said the fun is just going to begin? You do realise that we need their help to reach the capital right? " he asked sighing internally.
"Hehe" the little girl simply acted coyly and smiled.
Simon shook his head and shifted his eyes away whichnded on the army of bandits. From his observation, he instantly found the strong ones mixed within them and when some of them charged along with the other bandits, he would target these bandits with his magic.
nging noises of metal meeting metal, weapon colliding with weapons rang out. In an instant, the previously peaceful campsite was instantly turned upside down.
In the darkness of the night where the only source of light was the moonlight that sometimes prated through the thickyers of canopies, a fierce fight was currently undergoing near an area not far away from a small brook.
CLANG¡ with a wide swing, one of the silver guards was able to push back a bandit with hisnce before another came charging at him.
WHOOSH¡ wind rustled and quickly formed a small sphere that rushed towards the iing bandits injuring and halting their momentum somewhat.
Other than Simon, there were three other people at the eye of the formation whose sses were mages. The magic just now was from one of them, Novice tier Wind Magic Mastery [Wind st]. The spells from the mages shaved some of the burdens off their shoulders and allowed the warriors to firmly hold the frontlines.
Whenever it would seem that the formation would copse, me spears containing an intense heat, would target that specific spot. Each of these me spears would urately hit the area where the charge of the bandit was too intense. It was like they had a mind of their own.
These repeated attacks, allowed the warriors on the frontlines to firmly hold their ground. Everybody looked with awe and appreciation in their eyes when they gazed at the caster. These swift spells that did not take more than a few seconds to conjure, came from a young provisional adventurer.
CLANG¡ Two sickle like des met a sleek long sword in the front lines that was covered in a green light and was instantly blown away. The female warrior with an alluring body and tight leather garb, used this chance to swiftly end the bandit that had perverted intention revealed on their faces.
The guardmander tightly kept the formation intact and helped wherever she saw the formation was about to break apart. This female warrior who stood tall in this battlefield, utilising her masterful sword techniques, skills and magic, was none other than Alvara the guardmander.
At this moment, she no longer stayed idle by Cynthia''s side and kept running around the battlefield killing as many bandits to reduce the pressure on the frontlines. Alvara was a level 359 [Skyguard Warrior], a rare ss with a high focus on Agility, Strength and Magic. Along with her mastery in gale magic, she was a force to reckon with.
Her light footsteps would immediately make her disappear from the line of sight of her enemies and her swift attacks could easily pierce through their armours like paper.
The sword that she carried was a [C] rank weapon called Sword of Twisted Vines and was bestowed to her by the mistress of Serene Pce merchant guild. The sword was discovered in a dungeon and ording to some master swordsmiths, made from the body of a particr monster that was no less powerful than a disaster ss.
One bandit after another fell at her hands in a fierce yet elegant manner.
On the other side of the battlefield, where the frontlines of the convoy were keeping the bandits away from the mages and nonbatants, Chuck and his group shined brilliantly. His rare ss that gave him a well-bnced stats and along with his defence oriented skills, he was like a mountain that stormed waves of bandits.
The battle quickly fell into a stalemate where the brigands couldn''t create a ripple no matter how many times or in numbers they charged.
"Dammit, those two are too much for your members to handle. At this rate, they won''t even be able to break through their formation" Bignosio cursed.
Despite having an absolute numerical advantage, they were still having difficulty dealing with the small numbers of the convoy.
The Brigand Master nced at Bignosio and snorted, with his experienced eyes, how could he not notice that the one keeping most of the pressure off of their formation was not the woman warrior nor the grey armoured adventurer but instead the young man in casual ck robes at the centre.
His mastery in me magic was something even the Brigand Master was forced to recognise and the way he urately halted the strong bandits to join the fray told others that the young man was extremely experienced in fighting groups of enemies.
Chapter 256: Fight Against The Bandits (2)
Chapter 256: Fight Against The Bandits (2)
''No wonder he was able to deal with two of my bandit leaders, I must kill that man no matter what'' recognising the threat that Simon represented, the Brigand Master thought internally.
"Hey, shouldn''t you all do something? At this rate, all of your members will get killed" Bignoisomented anxiously.
"Hmph, there is no need to fret over their lives, as long as they can diminish the stamina of their opponents, their lives wouldn''t have gone to waste".
The one to answer him was the bandit leader Osbin. He then took out his two stilettos from his waistband and mockingly pointed them at the adventurers who chose to stand on their side.
"Hehe, it''s time you guys showed your gratitude for sparing your life. Attack the convoy along with those bandits" Osbinmented while licking one of his stilettos.
"What?!" the adventurers were startled, nheless, they did not disy any impulsiveness and turned their gazes towards the people fighting the hordes of bandits who were once their teammates.
Although unwilling they still took out their weapons and charged towards the convoy. They knew that doing this will make them fall even low in the eyes of their formerrades; however, they still thought that saving their lives at this crucial moment was paramount.
The bandits that werezily standing behind the Brigand master,ughed at the adventurers who had decided to betray their own group in thoughts of saving their life. These people that were still not making a move, were each releasing a strong aura. Clearly, this group was the cream of the corps.
"Dammit, to think I have fallen so low as to take orders from a mere bandit. This is all your fault" Bignsoio cursed incessantly, his petty mind med every misfortune that had befallen him on Simon.
After their former teammates joined the bandits in attacking them, the members of the convoy started having an increasingly difficult time holding them back. Their fatigue that have umted after facing so many bandits, was starting to show its effect.
The des andnces of the people at the vanguard were starting to be dull and their movement sluggish. Not to mention the ones attacking them this time were their former teammates made the situation all the more difficult for these people.
SLASH¡ one of the Silver guards who was unable to dodge an attack, was blown away by the a skill. Finally, there appeared a gap in the formation through which the bandits poured in. The pressure on the other people in the frontlines increased and it looked the formation wouldn''t hold for long.
The bandits that had managed to enter the formation immediately darted towards the mages and the nonbatants at the centre trying to disturb the flow and concentration of the members fighting at the front.
However, before they could approach any closer, an alluring figure of a woman in leather armour, appeared before them. The long sword in her hand was shining a faint emerald and her short hair rustled along with the wind.
"[Sword Mastery], [Cutting Enhancement], [Super Enhanced Agility]" Alvara cried inwardly and pressed forward.
Instantly, her figure disappeared from the line of sight of the bandits, her speed was so fast that in a few seconds she appeared in front of the bandits who still had their eyes wide open in surprise before stabbing them with her sword.
THUD¡
The others only came to their senses when they heard the body of one of their people coldly hitting the ground. They pointed their sickle-like weapons at the woman, however, she was already gone by then.
Cold sweat trickled down their faces, the bandits looked all around their surroundings. Just then another sound of a body hitting the ground rang out and before long all of the banditsy on the cold grassy floor with dull eyes and listless bodies.
"Haa¡ haa" the guardmander took hurried breaths, activating all those skills earlier, took a little toll on her body.
After settling the matter of the bandits breaking in, she swiftly ran towards the injured guard before taking out a small vial from her space ring.
"Drink it, it''s a minor healing. potion and get back to your position. No matter the cost, we cannot allow them to break our formation" her words were cold, but right now she had no time to mask her words.
She knew that the enemy was trying to drain their stamina by pitting them against the weaker bandits. Even though she knew what the objectives of the enemies were, she could do nothing but grit her teeth and endure on.
While all of this was happening, the Brigand master threw a sneaky nce at the butler who was quietly standing at the other side with the nonbatants of the convoy. Perceiving the message the butler was sending through his gaze, the Brigand Master narrowed his eyes motioned and with his hands.
At that instant, the bandits that were standing still all this time, finally made their moves. Their powers that weren''t any weaker than those experienced and sturdy guards and adventurers, made everyone from the convoy unable to not notice them.
Their presence stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the bandits.
Contrary to the rejoice and delight of the bandits, the members of the convoy had a darkened face. Their face was haggard and their breathing ragged, it was already difficult for them to hold their formerrades back, but now to their dismay, they would also have to deal with these strong bandits now.
The hopes for victory looked extremely bleak now.
BOOM¡ BOOM
Just then two explosions rocked the area where the bandits were flooding from. When the members of the convoy turned around to looked behind, they saw a young man casually tossing out powerful magic one after the other.
The sight of the young man who stood valiantly without any trace of fear or worry, raised the morale of all the others. His actions were literally saying that the bandits weren''t the only ones having strong people at their side.
The reinvigorated spirits of their opponents made the Brigand Leader frown his brows and the mistress of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild to intensely look at his back figure. The white ring on her hand glowed with an unusual white light.
The magic that fell onto the onrushing bandits continuously and fiercely burned until their bodies became scorched ck. The strong ones that were able to doge in time still had minor burns from the intense heat released by those mes.
"Keep charging, I want to see how long their formation can hold" the bandit leadersmanded. The magic that was meant to stop their momentum from rising anymore, was broken apart by that call from their two leaders.
''That''s right, even if those people have a strong people with them, they still had the bandit leaders, and the brigand Master, there was no way they would lose'' the bandits thought internally before attacking the formation once again.
The pressure on the frontlines tripled, it wasn''t much for powerful and experienced fighters like Chuck and his team but it was just too much for these adventurers and silver guards to hold back.
SLASH¡
"Gurgh¡" one of the adventurer spat out a mouthful of blood when two scimitars like weapons managed to pierce through his armour and prate his chest. The light in the eyes of the despairing adventurer became dim before his cold body hit the floor.
After the first injury, the convoy had suffered their first casualty. Subsequently, one after the other adventurer and silver guards sumbed to the tension and fatigue. Before long, the entire formation came apart and bandits exploited that to flood in.
"Tremor Magic Mastery- [Heavy Earth Guard]" with a coarse roar, Chuck manipted the small pebbles and rocks around him. His body was just like a ma that pulled all of the rocks towards him.
They all stuck to his body like a tightly packed armour and before anyone could marvel at this scene, a five-meter tall human golem appeared in front of everyone.
"Haaaaah" with an energetic shout, he brought down the fist of the armoured golem down on the bandits.
BOOM¡ many of the bandits were blown away, their bodies were just like kites with their strings cut. A wide dent had appeared at the ce where the fist hadnded and the ground trembled from the force for a while.
When he was about to bring another of those attacks, two sharp attacks came targeting his face and legs. Chuck was forced to stop his attacks midway and defend his face from those attacks.
Although the [Heavy Earth Guard] gave him a strong defence, those parts that were still popping out from the golem like his head, were still vulnerable and hence can be exploited.
The Human golem that Chuck had transformed into, was just like a fortress, powerful and sturdy but at the same time, it was extremely slow. the Two attacks that came flying at the human golem, achieved nothing other than managing to carve some scars on it. Nheless, it was enough to halt the momentum of the golem.
The two bandit leaders after stopping Chuck''s attack, sneered at him.
"Why don''t you y with us Chuck Remington" Osbin stated while Grime repeatedly nodded his head.
"You know my name?" Chuck inquired maintaining his awareness of the surrounding.
"Haha, you must be kidding, who doesn''t know the fame of Chuck Remington from the Sea God''s Trident Guild," osbin said shrugging his shoulders.
"That''s right, I also heard a rumour saying that you had be toocent with your achievement and let it get into your head that led to the disaster of almost all of your guild members dying in an exploration. Seeing you bring only two people, I wonder if the rumours were really true?" Grime mocked
257 Chapter 257
"You dare to mock our leader" the two members fighting the bandits alongside Chuck, became immediately enraged when they heard the tant insult.
They shouted at their enemies and were about to engage with the two bandit leaders when Chuck hurriedly stopped them.
"Stop, there is no need to argue with them. I can handle these two, you two go and help the others" the former branch leader of the Sea God''s Trident said.
While they had absolute trust on Chuck, they still hated the fact that they couldn''t smash the enemies with their own, they turned around and obeyed hismand nheless.
"It won''t be easy for you all to take us down" Cuckmented offhandedly and prepared to engage the two when he saw the snickering smiles on their face. A bad premonition hit him but he did not know where it originated from.
"Is that so¡ but that''s alright, our job is only to stop you. As for destroying you, someone is already on to it" Osbin remarked.
Just after his words fell, a stifled cry of a woman rang out from the centre of the formation. In front of everyone''s surprised eyes, Cynthia the mistress of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild and also their client, at this moment had her neck tightly clenched by none other than the hands of her own butler.
"Ugh" Cynthia whose entire body was above the ground, couldn''t help but emit some painful cries. Her beautiful face that could instantly smitten any man, was pale white and masked with pain.
"Kehehe, Miss Cynthia please do not trouble others anymore and simply ept your fate. Your destiny was already sealed since the moment you entered this northern ouw forest" Jeeves smiled delightedly.
Perhaps his friendly smile gave others the chill, they all shuddered at this moment.
"JEEVES¡ you bastard how dare you betray the Miss?" Alvara who was busy pushing the bandits back, cried out loud the moment she saw Jeeves w the mistress by her neck.
"Kehehe, what is the guardmander saying, when did I ever betray the miss? I was trying my best but I couldn''t save her from the hands of the bandits. Kuh, it hurts me greatly to see the mistress die by their hands" the butler exined melodramatically his hands on her neck tightened slowly.
"You scoundrel, I''ll kill you" extreme winds generated around the guardmander and her pretty face was no longer calm. She hastily utilised all of her skills and her figure blinked towards Jeeves with the swiftness of a tempest.
The [C] tier long sword in her hand turned a denser shade of green when extreme amounts of gale magic was poured into it. A faint buzzing vibration spread from her sword and travelled across the air causing a faint noise to emit out.
The sword engulfed in wind magic, was hacked towards the chest of the butler with a piercing swift speed. The attack was so powerful that it could easily drill through multiplerge and sturdy boulders.
However, just when the sword was about to contact with his body, Jeeves used his hands like a pincer to grab the edges of the sword.
BANG¡ a muffled thunder-like sound rang out and instantly pushed Jeeves a few meters back. The power from the attack was enough to destroy the surrounding area until they were gouged out from the ground.
Nevertheless, other than having a severe bleeding from his hand and his tattered clothes, the attack from the guardmander did nothing else.
"Tch, it seems that I am still not used to my powers¡ argh dammit it hurts" the butler''s eyes became red with pain.
He red at Alvara and snarled "You stupid woman do you think that I won''t kill her? If you attack once again I will crush her throat" he pointing at the purple robed woman who was doing her best to escape his grasp.
"Y..you¡how did you..get this much¡power all of a sudden?" Cynthia barely managed to form some words from her anguish and asked.
"Kehehe¡ do you think that I will reveal something as important as that? Even if your fate is to die here, you still don''t get the privilege to hear all of that" Jeevesughingly mocked, his grasp on her neck tightened.
Cynthia''s snow white skin started turning a shade of red and made it harder for her to breathe. Even though she was slowly being choked, she still continued to re and question the butler.
"Is this what my Elder Brother nned?".
Her question, finally evoked a minute reaction from Jeeves who did his best to hastily hide it; nheless, Cynthia still managed to spot it.
Realising that he had let something important slip, his hands tightened and was just about to rupture her windpipe when an extremely piercing white halo erupted out from her ring and repelled his hand that was holding her neck.
On the other side of the battlefield, the situation hadpletely turned, the members of the convoy were getting pushed repeatedly unable to hold their ground in front of such odds. From this, one could see how disadvantageous the silver guards and the adventurers were against the bandits.
At this moment, two more people came from the side of the Chuck to support the other parts of the frontlines, nheless, it was just like a drop in a bucket of water.
"What do we do Sir Simon?" the mages in the backline who had involuntarily chosen Simon as their leader asked.
The young man analysed the situation around his surroundings and the people engaged in a fierce fight before giving hismand.
"You guys take some rest, recover mana and drink some potion. I''ll cover for the frontlines in the meantime, after you are done get back to your position and cast your spells and magic to support them. The only reason the convoy is still holding on, is because there are very few people on the side of bandits who could call themselves a mage".
Hearing his words, these people instantly understood how important their magic was at this moment in time. They swiftly sat on the ground and started taking out elixirs and potions that could help them recover their mana.
While they were doing that, they would throw some astonished nces at the young man who was able to easily cast one magic after another. His powers and mastery over the fire element was so high that even while not being the target of the magic, they could still feel the searing heat from it.
Their hearts would pound greatly when imagining the intensity of the me created within each me spear. What was even more astonishing for these human mages were that even after casting so many magic, the young man showed no signs of fatigue or slowing down.
"Is it me or does it feel like Sir Simon is enjoying this to you all too?" one of the mages asked hisrade in a hushed voice.
"What nonsense are you saying, can''t you see that he is also covering for us? If you are done recovering your mana, go and help him" the other mage reprimanded. He had stars in his eyes whenever his gazended at the valiant back of the young man.
Unknowingly to the person concerned, he had be an idol of worship for these mages. While the mages had shut the other person down, never would they be able to imagine that they couldn''t have been any closer to the truth.
Indeed, Simon was currently enjoying the rush of experience that he was getting after killing numerous bandits with his spells. He was surprisingly profiting after getting dragged on to the chaos between these two parties.
"Hehh~ quite shameless aren''t you? Reaping all the benefits that you can amidst this chaos" Adalinda remarked nonchntly, her eyes capturing the fight urring all around her. This was the situation she was hoping to see after getting bored out of her mind from this constant travelling.
Simon was sure that the little girl had already forgotten their initial objective of tagging along with the convoy in the first ce.
Suddenly, amotion erupted from behind where the nonbatants of this convoy were. Gasps of surprise and a pained groan of a woman who was suddenly grasped in the neck by an old man donning a butler''s suit.
Another blow was dealt to the already frail formation when the client that they had to keep safe at all cost, was suddenly taken as a hostage and that too by none other a person who was travelling with them all this while.
Simon''s eyes widened, If he wasn''t so busy enjoying the rush of mystical energy within him, he would have been able to react when the butler suddenly grabbed hold of Cynthia''s neck. Thus the moment he realised that the client''s life was in danger and the trip might have very well been forsaken it was already toote.
Even the guardmander who had reacted the fastest wasn''t able to snatch the mistress of the Serene Pce merchant guild from the butler''s hands.
The old man who had repeatedly given him a feeling of foreboding, had finally shown his true powers. Seeing the butler''s hand tighten around Cynthia''s neck, Simon couldn''t help but think of the worst possible situation.
p If that woman died here, it would take them longer if they wanted to reach the capital and find that disciple of this little grandaunt thus he couldn''t allow the woman to die.
Just when he was deliberating stepping over, the situation took another turn that surprised all the onlookers. A loud sound along with a white sh of light erupted out and forced the butler a couple of meters.
258 Chapter 258
BANG¡
Jeeves felt a powerful force hit his hand making itpletely numb. His astonished eyes looked at the white halo that had suddenly taken the form of a beast.
The creature formed from the silver-white halo, stood mightily in front of Cynthia like a guardian, its majestic aura overflowed around the surrounding giving it a kingly presence. Its ferocious eyes that could scare even some adults, were currently ring at Jeeves.
It stood well above seven meters tall and looked just like a lion, the king of beasts. Although it looked illusory, it''s mere presence was enough to warrant everyone''s caution.
At this moment, the swift figure of Alvara rushed in between.
"King Leo thanks for saving the Mistress once again" She bowed towards the illusory beast called King Leo and hastily ran to support Cynthia who was gasping for breath.
"Thanks" supported by Alvara, the mistress of the serene Pce merchant guild stood on her feet.
"Un¡ I leave the rest to you, this king shall go back to preserve his strength".
Leo''s majestic voice sounded out. Mysteriously, the illusory body of the beast called King Leo, dissipated and went back inside the ring on Cynthia''s finger. The white light emitting from the ring visibly dimmed down.
"Miss, you should get back. Let me deal with this ingrate first" Seeing that Cynthia was gently caressing the ring on her hand, she called out.
After her Miss backed down where she wasparatively safe, next the guardmander focused her gaze on the butler.
"What was that thing right now? Was it an artefact?" Jeeves asked peeved by the turn of the situation.
To his question, Alvara simply reiterated his previous words back at him "You are not privy to such information".
Simon who was about to take action, halted his steps. Thankfully the purple dress woman was notpletely unarmed; there was something on her person that was able to repel her assant at thest moment.
When the being that had helped Cynthia showed its appearance, even Simon was forced to give it a careful look, his eyes narrowed. That was because the illusory beast that had appeared, gave off a presence that even gave him a demon viscount a heavy pressure.
The moment it appeared, the chaotic battlefield all around, descended into aplete silence. Everyone stared with wide eyes at the beast that stood tall and mightily at around seven meters and released of majestic aura that seeped out at every corner of the ce.
What was even more astonishing was that this beast who was referred to as King Leo by the guardmander, could speak the humannguage. That alone told everyone that the beast that had appeared out of nowhere, was extremely intelligent and sentient being.
"Hohh~ I didn''t expect that woman to have such a thing around her. No wonder that ring kept on catching my attention, who knew this was a high ss soul ring" Adalinda murmured silently.
From her words, Simon could feel some slight amusement and surprise.
"Do you know what that thing is?" he asked intrigued by the sudden appearance of the beast.
Seeing the interest in his eyes, the little girl couldn''t help but snort.
"You don''t have to feel that amazed, that thing there is nothing but a mere soul fragment that obstinately refuses to die. It might have been powerful once in its prime when it still retained its body but now it''s just a soul without any of its former power that could die out any moment if not for the ring".
Simon''s eyes twitched when he heard those words from Adalinda, a beast that could suppress even a Demon Viscount like him even without any of its former power, was nothing? Only a person like Adalinda who couldn''t be judged bymon sense could utter such sentence.
While it may be true that Simon was curious about the soul that Adalinda had mentioned, he was more interested in the ring that she had focused more on. A ring that is capable of preserving a soul, how valuable of a treasure that must be.
While it may be true that he was engrossed by the appearance of that mighty beast, he didn''t neglect this chance when the bandits were distracted to swiftly throw multiple me arrows.
BOOM¡BOOM..BOOM¡this time, even those powerful bandits weren''t able to dodge in time and got hit squarely. Needless to say, an attack from Simon even though it wasn''t thrown using his full strength was enough for these bandits with Normal sses to be fatally injured.
In a span of a few dozen minutes since the fight started, multiple notifications alerting him of his level up, rang inside his head.
"Let us assist you Sir Simon, we have recovered most of our mana" the mages that were sitting down behind him after recovering their expended mana, said casting their spells at the enemy one after the other.
Although the situation looked dire for them a few seconds ago, it seemed that they were still not without any cards remaining. A faint ray of hope lit within the hearts of these members of the convoy who were doing their best to fend off the bandits.
Just when Simon was thinking of reducing their number even more, one of the silver guards who was unable to stop the bandit''s march, allowed some of them to slip through.
An attack that carried sharp de light and killing intent flew towards Simon, at an extremely fast speed. Seeing that, other people who were close to the area, hurriedly shouted in warning towards the young adventurer mage whose presence was extremely crucial in determining the victor of this battle.
A mage ss that focuses more on Magic stat, is highly vulnerable when faced with attacks in a close range. Unless they have a rare ss or are above a certain level, most mages are weak to closebat.
This knowledge was something that was amon knowledge to all humans hence even though they knew the young man was strong, they couldn''t help but worry when they saw an attack fly towards him from a sneaky angle.
Of course, Simon who had honed his battle senses in the extremely dangerous Ghastly Winding Forest, was able to perceive the attack even before it came near him. With a quick sidestep, he was able to easily dodge the attack with minimal movement that left no openings for his enemy to exploit.
After dodging the attack, his gazended on the assant who was grinding his teeth in annoyance at his failed attack. The person bore a massive grudge against him.
Who could the Person be other than Bignosio? After failing to kill Simon with a surprise attack, he clicked his tongue before he and his team came charging towards the young man with their weapons drawn.
"You guys step back" Simon ordered the three mages behind to hurriedly retreat. Though they looked hesitant, they still did not refuse hismand and obediently backed down.
On another part of the battle near the centre of the formation, Alvara was fiercely engaged in a battle with the butler after the guardian spirit retreated back into the ring.
Sword met fists and surprisingly made nging noises like that of two metals colliding together. Intense spark generated and the swift attacks of the two made the audience hold their breath.
CLANG¡ after a loud exchange that even made the air around them burst apart, the two of them disengaged.
Huff...huff¡ Alvara took hurried breaths, before arranging her posture and stance, in contrast to her, the butler was smiling in delight as he felt the vast energy within him.
"Little girl, you are no match for the current me, give up" Jeevesughed. His arrogant tone seemed to look down on her.
"Hmph, that is still yet to be decided. I won''t lose to someone who is using a borrowed power" the guardmander remarked cing her long sword in front of her.
Jeeves brows twitched at thatment and his eyes held a violent fury. He was more than aware of the state of his body, the strength that he had been disying until now, was not his own and could even be said as a borrowed power.
He knew his past self was just a weak old butler who had no power and battle experience. That is why after getting this strength and knowing the sweet taste of power, he absolutely hated it when others called it a borrowed power.
The attacks Jeeves erupted out in his fury, were ruthless and filled with killing intent. Each of his w attacks and punches, were filled with enough power to fatally injure Alvara if itnded on any of her vital areas.
Fortunately, the butler was a beginner at fighting and thus allowed Alvara to have a breathing room. She was trying her best to exhaust her enemy when from the corner of her eyes she saw a group of people who were their formerrades on this trip attack the young man whose magic even astonished her.
''This is bad'' the guardmander thought internally, thispse in her concentration allowed Jeeves who was single-mindedly throwing his attacks tond a blow.
BANG¡ Alvara was pushed a few meters back when a punchnded on her guts. A line of blood trickled down her lovely face.
"Little girl, don''t you know that you should focus on the enemy in front of you" Jeeves sneered.
The guardmander had no mind to pay attention to him, her eyes were focused on the young man who was currently being besieged by a group of seven people.
While inwardly thinking that she had to do something since they cannot afford to lose such a powerful mage at this point in time, the scene that urred next, made herpletely befuddled.
259 Chapter 259
Bignosio and his team who were trying to pincer Simon from all sides, were shocked to find that the person himself was charging towards him. Mocking him for a fool, Bignoiso brandished his axe made of white silver and utilised his skills to deal a devastating blow [Wide Berserk sh].
Instantly, the de of his axe took a crimson hue and his powers bolstered manifold after the multitudes of skills he had activated. Veins bulged in his forehead and he roared "Die".
The axe came smashing down on the onrushing young mana''s head like a guillotine, however, at that moment his figure hadpletely disappeared. The axe smashed nothing but solid ground and created a small fissure.
''What happened? He suddenly disappeared from my line of sight'' while these were bignoiso thoughts, miserable shrieks of people and dull thuds of something hitting the ground, rang out from beside him.
Turning around he saw two of his teammates lying down on the floor with blood sttered all around.
"W-what" Bignosio''s voice just fell when one more body hit the ground, a wide gaping hole on his abdomen that was not covered by his armour.
"Y-you how did you?" the disbelieved adventurer asked. Simon did not bother to answer, his cold callous eyes looked at them as if they were just a bunch of ants.
"leader, we cannot defeat him¡ let''s retreat" the other three who were alive, felt their hearts tighten whenever they saw the somewhat crimson eyes of the provisional adventurer.
''Retreat? After that shameful disy previously, will I have to run away once again? NO'' Bignoiso whose rationality was slowly seeping away from him due to the usage of [Berserk] skill was unable to just leave things like that. His eyes were starting to turn beastly when suddenly an ingenious idea urred to him.
"After joining hands with the bandits, do you think we will have any ce remaining if we retreat now? Just do as I say and attack that bastard together" Bignoiso roared, his voice wasced with hatred and grievances.
The other three remaining members of his team grounded their teeth, knowing that there was no ce for retreat, they pressed forward and attacked the young man as ordered.
Seeing that his team was doing as they were told and keeping the young man busy, Bignosio shifted his attention towards the little girl who always tagged along with that man. From his perspective or during their entire journey, the little girl never once disyed her ability which made him think that the little girl was the weak link of their opponent.
And as long as he captures her, the young man wouldn''t be able to retaliate. Thinking till here a cruel smile crept on his face and he couldn''t help imagining thetter''s helpless and begging face.
"You were the one who forced me to do it" cursing, Bignosio utilised this chance when Simon was momentarily held down by his teammates, to make his way towards the little girl.
Simon who was engaged with the three people, knew what the objective of his enemy was nheless, he did not try to stop him and instead allowed that fool to dig his own grave.
Reality was indeed as he had expected, Adalinda did not even spare the man who was rushing towards her with his de drawn a nce and simply observed the fights urring all across the campsite.
"Little girl quietly surrender before you experience the pain of being cut" Bignosio called out, his body was just about to approach a few meters near her when suddenly he saw her tangerine eyes finallynd on him.
At that moment, he felt his body halting all of a sudden and no matter how he tried to move it, his nerves wouldn''t listen to him. It was almost like the body was not his anymore.
"W-w-what did you do?" Bignoiso asked perplexed.
Adalinda spared him ast nce, before moving away, her departing words sounded beside his ears.
"Although your mind has been blocked by irrationality, your body is nheless honest. Your instincts detected danger and hurriedly pushed all breaks. Well, all of this exnation is meaningless to a corpse".
"Corpse?".
Bignosio parroted, feeling puzzled. Right after, his eyes became blurred and he lost all focus. Suddenly, his body erupted with blood and before long small pieces of his body fell on the ground.
Thud..thud..thud..thud..thud¡ the sound of flesh hitting the ground was dull and inconspicuous amidst this chaotic battlefield. However, to those that were eyeing this battle, the scene looked hellish and gross to the extreme and gave chills that originated from their souls.
Nobody, whether the convoy members or the bandits, could stop themselves from feeling afraid when witnessing a scene as abrupt as that.
Three more bodies fell onto the ground after Simon spotted them spacing out and made short work of them. However, he was not in the spotlight of everyone''s attention and his fight was a littleckadaisical whenpared to the little girl.
He smiled bitterly looking at the unrecognisable remains of the foolish man who had been cut thousands of times at that fraction of a second without anyone noticing. The power to do something like that, was monstrous, no it should be even above that realm.
Forget about others, even Simon a demon Viscount wasn''t able to see any attacknd on the big-nosed adventurer''s body, not to mention thousands of them. If it was him facing Adalinda''s attack, he had no doubt in his mind that he too would be meeting a simr fate.
That is how big of a power and level gap there was between them.
After the initial shock, the chaotic battlefield became a little more silent with very few fights happening all around, clearly, the scene from earlier was enough to cower all of them. Nobody dared slight the presence of this little girl who could do something as iprehensible as that.
The fight which ended even before it could start, wasn''t far from the centre of the formation where the nonbatants were. Cynthia who had watched the entire thing from start to end, looked on with wide eyes as a peculiar white shrouded her pupils.
The frontline of the formation where Chuck and the other warriors were, had developed into a meat grinding machine. Numerous bandits that came charging were impaled with spears, cut with swords or sted into oblivion by the magic.
Those former adventurers who now sided with the bandits, couldn''t help but curse themselves incessantly when they saw the situation. Although dire, the outlook didn''t look hopeless for the convoy after some people who were hiding their strength showed their true powers.
Their eyes which were initially drawn to Simon for being able to fight in closebat, even without using magic, was suddenly pulled towards the little girl who had made her move for the first time.
Even though they do not know how powerful the little girl was, the strength or rather the peculiarity that she had disyed, was enough to put her on the list of strongest people they had ever seen. Plus there was still the guardmander, the former leader of the branch guild of Sea God''s Trident and the provisional adventurer who not only was adept with magic, but even his closebat was on the level of a veteran or an expert.
If those strong people still stood on the side of the convoy, even if the probability were low, the convoy still had the chance to make aeback. Realising this didn''t make the situation any better for the deserters, all they could do was bite the bullet and do their best to survive the situation.
At the forefront of the formation, a seven-meter big human golem was fiercely engaged inbat against two enemies. The two enemies were in fact the two bandit leaders whose powers were only second to the Brigand Master.
BOOM¡nd trembled as a huge fist imprint appeared on the ground. The huge fists of the golem was enough to even crush a boulder much less the fragile and weak human body. After the attacknded on nothing but empty ground, Chuck pulled his hand back and looked at his enemies who were as slippery as a loach.
"Hehe, Chuck Remington though that battle form of yours is powerful, it is extremely slow. There is no point in having this much strength if the attack does not even connect" one of the bandit leaders named Osbin sniggered.
Chuck did not bother retorting and instead smiled widely. The wide hands of the rock golem that he had assimted with, dug into the soil deeply.
"Haaaaahhh" with a spirited shout, cracks started around the area and a few meters ofnd was slowly lifted up. Grabbing the piece ofnd with its two hands, the human golem threw it towards the rushing bandits at the distance.
BOOOM¡ the piece ofnd flew and crashed into the hordes of bandits that weren''t able to dodge in time. Clouds of dust rose up after the crash hiding the hideous bodies thaty within. Even without seeing with their eyes, anybody could tell the final oue of those bandits that were crushed by that huge piece ofnd.
"Even if you can dodge my attacks, your subordinates can''t. Soe at me if you don''t want your entire brigand to get wiped out" Chuck taunted. He knew that if the convoy wanted to grab the victory he had to keep these two busy so that they can''t go after his teammates who were already on the brink of exhaustion.
While he was busy engaging blows with the two bandit leaders, he always spared a part of his awareness around his surroundings. Suddenly, he felt a presence that he was keeping his eyes on all this time, disappearing.
260 Chapter 260
BOOM¡BOOM¡BOOM..
It would be a lie if Simon said that he wasn''t having st right now. The amount of experience or rather the mystical energy flowing within him was so much that it allowed him to level up multiple times.
Using this chance Simon also conjured his Electro Magic in hope of increasing its mastery. Unlike the orcs high defence, these human bandits were much more weaker with different allocations in stats.
Although there would be some who could endure his attacks, none of them managed to dodge his electro attacks that were extremely fast. Not only that, his novice tier electro magic was also bing faster and more lethal.
Feeling the changes, Simon was delighted, he finally knew which direction he should walk on to progress his Electro Magic. Unlike how he evolved his novice tier Fire magic to intermediate me magic by condensing and increasing the heat, electro magic relied more on swiftness and density of mana to evolve.
Excitement rose within his heart, when he felt these minute changes. Simon was just about spam a few more of his electro magic attacks, when something at an insane speed came charging towards him.
He hurriedly took a step back and was barely able to dodge the attack that swept by his face.
"Kuh, you can even dodge that huh? Seriously what kind of insane rare ss did you get?" a rough voice that had little do with manners, rang out.
A brawny figure wearing mismatched armours came in front of him. He had a bald head and carried a huge hammer on his back. The person that rushed up to Simon was none other than the Brigand Master who finally decided to make his move.
After sparing a nce at the still and silent Adalinda, the brigand master focused his gaze on the young man in ck robes and questioned.
"You are the guy who did a number on some of my bandit leaders right?".
Simon simply shrugged his shoulders at those words, he was now sure that the bandit leader he had killed a few days ago had indeed sent a message back.
"Don''t y dumb, I know it was you. Did you think that you can get away afterying your hands on my subordinate?" the Brigand Master dered. He then took out his huge hammer and wielded it with one hand.
"Did you think that just having a rare ss makes you much more stronger than us?" mming the hammer onto the ground, the banditmented.
A small fissure swiftly spread from the area of effect and rushed towards the spot where Simon was standing.
BOOM¡ like a geyser, mes erupted out from the fissure burning and scorching everything around.
The young man nimbly dodged the attack,nded a few meters back and observed the hammer on the hands of the bandit.
CHIII¡ at this moment, the hammerhead had turned crimson with heat and smokes continuously came out of it. The effect earlier was the due of the hammer on his hands.
When Simon used [Analysis] on the hammer, his guess was immediately proven right. The hammer was a [C] tier weapon that bestowed quite a few skills along with mastery in me Magic. That was how the brigand master was able to use me magic even though most of his stats were allocated on strength.
Comparing the Scorching Hammer, it was on the same level as the Twin des that was used by Laris.
Seeing that his attacks did nothing, the Brigand Master swung his hammer wildly. Muffled sounds of wind sting apart could be heard every time the weapon was swung against the wind showcasing the immense strength of the wielder.
That was not all, after every sessive swing, the friction from the air would heat up the hammer until its entire dull grey body became a ring red.
"[Heavy Scorching st]" the brigand master roared out internally, with another fierce swing from his hammer, a huge column of heat that was shaped like the weapon itself, came attacking the young man at a breakneck speed.
Everything about the attack whether it was power, heat, momentum or speed was on a different level. Even Simon with his high agility, felt it was nigh impossible to dodge the attack without suffering any recoil.
WOOOSH¡ the attack containing a terrible momentum, approached near gouging the ground along with it. Just when it was a meter away from him, Simon took out something from the emerald ring on his hand and brandished it wildly.
Immediately, thunderous noises rang out around the area and a sh of blue appeared amidst the ring red.
Simon''s hands which were tightly holding on to the Twin des, shed with the column of me, his mana that was poured wildly into it, was able to generate a column of lightning that was not any weaker than the hammer''s.
BOOOOOM¡
The two attacks collided and immediately caused all of the sound around the campsite to drown out. the air around the collision of the two attacks was burst apart and a huge shockwave containing mes and lightning, spread around the surrounding.
Those unfortunate enough to be in the proximity of the two, were sent flying as they reeled in pain. The battle between these two parties was nothing like the ones urring all around the campsite. If a weaker person got caught up in it, suffering heavy injuries would be the least of their worries.
After the power fluctuation from the two attacks died down, the two figures that were facing each other, came into everyone''s view. All their focus were strained onto the two, confronting each other since this fight very as well be the fight that decides the victor of this battle.
? "Tsk, you bastard it seems that you enjoy hiding your strength. Who knew that you still had a weapon like that. Not bad, after I kill you in the most gruesome way, I will keep those des as a prize" the Brigand Master dered arrogantly, supporting the huge hammer on his shoulder.
He did not bother to suppress his voice hence everyone was able to hear his deration loud and clear. The bandits especially, rejoiced after hearing those confident words from their master, their morale that was at its lowest, suddenly spiked.
Simon did not retort and calmly observed the des that he had kept with him after defeating Laris. The Twin des although [C] tier, was honestly not that bad but it stillcked heavily whenpared to his Crimson zing me de.
Nheless, it wasn''t as gaudy and eyes-catching as his [A] tier weapon and thus could be used in situations such as this. Clearly, if he had brought out his weapon, it would have attracted lots of unwanted attention towards him and might even caused him some future troubles.
The [C] tier Twin des although not as precious as the [A] tier weapon, it was still a highly valuable weapon that could be afforded strong and reputable people.
Simon swung the twin des a few times and tried to get familiar with it, the weapon was something that he had kept and refined to be used as his spare weapon. Thanks to him using [Ga??????] (previously [Gacha]) every single day, he was able to stock quite a bit of Amegdite Crystals that are used for refinement.
Using that, he was able to bring the refinement level of the twin des all the way up to tier five. Now the weapon, could be said much better and stronger than what it was previously.
Although refinement did not increase the tier of the weapon, it was still better than most [C] tier weapons out there and could even bepared to some low quality [B] tier weapons. To put it bluntly, after that exchange Simon was able to tell that his weapon was better than that Scorching hammer of his opponent.
Giving it a few more swings, Simon felt the shape and structure of the Lightning magic the weapon bestowed. The main reason for him taking out the Twin des was because he wanted to feel and experience more of the intermediate tier lightning magic to advance his electro magic.
Additionally, since he couldn''t use hisws in his human form, he could only rely on his spare at this moment. That is why he in his unteral judgement of things, forgot that there was one additional person present on the battlefield who recognised this weapon.
After a moment of silence, both the party started moving at the same time. From their sh, one could see that both of them had a rich battle experience with how they avoided or deflected each other attacks and counterattacked at the slightest movement.
The fierce battle attracted quite a few gazes and even Cynthia''s eyes were tightly locked into this sh. A crimson hammer and lightningced des made numerous de arcs and blunt attacks that tore apart the surrounding air,nd and forced all of the onlookers dozens of meters back.
those that were fighting in the distance, disengaged themselves and moved back. Nobody wanted to get entangled in a battle where they could die at any moment.
RUMBLE¡ BOOM¡ mes and lightning wreaked havoc and turned the whole area around the centre of the campsite aplete mess.
"To think that person would be able to hold off against the Brigand Master for so long¡"Osbin the bandit leader murmured something, his eyes continuously swept towards the battle between those two.
"Shouldn''t we help him?" the other bandit leader Grime who has been fretting over it, asked.
"Don''t be stupid if we head over there, we will only earn the master''s ire. Besides, he is not fighting seriously and has not used all of his powers" Osbin who had fought with the man for the position of the Brigand Master quite a lot of time, knew how powerful he was.
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He could tell that the Brigand Master was not going all out yet. While the two bandit leader were having their own thoughts, the Human Golem that Chuck had assimted with, also stopped its attack and observed the battle going on not far away.
His eyes which were always clear, at this moment, had a cloud of doubt covering them as they looked at the weapons on the provisional adventurer''s hands. Those des for some reason felt oddly familiar to him and he had a faint doubt that he had seen it somewhere.
If not for the urgency of the situation that did not allow him to think deeper, Chuck might have been able to recognise the weapon. The two bandit leaders after a momentary pause started attacking him together once again.
When everything seemed like it was progressing favourably for the convoy''s side, a loud beastly roar one that was extremely feral sounded out from one side of the battlefield.
When everyone turned their eyes to see where themotion had erupted from, a battered figure of a woman who had cuts and wounds all across her body came crashing down after skidding onto the ground.
The alluring figure of the woman whose clothes was now dyed with blood, was none other than the guardmander who had been fighting the butler.
"Hehaha, this is it, thIs feeling is the best" a voice that contained some beastly growl in between rang out. The figure of Jeeves walking towards the fallen vra came in sight.
At this moment, half of his clothes were cut and sword wounds could be seen all around his body. But what attracted the onlooker gazes were the peculiar glowing marks that could be found covering his hands, chest and back.
A threatening amount of energy fluctuations could be felting from them. Jeeves threw the half-torn tailcoat away and slowly walked toward the guardmander who was having difficulty standing back on her feet.
The moment she stood up, the butler charged in a full sprint and threw multitudes of wild attacks that had no patterns, at her.
Alvara dodged the attacks and skilfully attacked him whenever she found any openings. Compared to her, the old butler should be the one heavily injured as each and every attack of hernded on him squarely.
However, for some reason since a few moments ago, most of her attacks failed to deal much damage and was unable to prate deep within his skin. It was like his skin had be like steel. The feeling he was giving her was like she was fighting a monster not a human.
It could be seen from the mindless way he was attacking her, his attacks had no skill and only had raw power imbued within them. However, even then one couldn''t take an opponent like that easily, the condition of her body was the proof.
Though she had dodged most of his attacks, even the air that grazed her skin, was able to cut quite deeply. A grim expression descended onto her face, she tightened her hands which was numb and bleeding, before taking her stance once again.
She who was a [Skyguard Warrior] a rare ss that focused more on Agility and Magic, should be able to contend with a person whose stats seemed to be focused around Endurance and Defence. But for some reason, most of her attacks that were previously able to deal significant damage previously, was unable to bring out the same effect again.
If she had to take a guess, she would associate the strange behaviour of the butler with the appearance of the glowing marks on his body. Those strange marks seemed to hold a power that she was powerless against.
? Nheless, Alvara did not back down. Concentrating all her strength, she focused her mana on her sword. If random attacks were not working, she had to condense all her power to create an attack that could prate through even that steel-like hide.
Taking a deep breath, she aligned her sword vertically and allowed her mastery over gale magic to engulf it. The [C] tier Sword, Twisted Vines did not provide any mastery over magic like the scorching hammer or the Twin des and simply provided raw buffs and augmenting skills that could strengthen the user.
Along with the sturdy material with which it was created, the sword of Twisted Vines could absorb an immense amount of magic without being destroyed.
After the gale magic engulfed the sword, the de became a shade of green and if one observed carefully, invisible winds so sharp and fast that they could easily pierce through any defence were rotating around it.
The air around the sword seemed to distort at this moment and the very aura around Alvara had changed. A sharp and incisive sensation permeated every corner around the surrounding making it harder for anyone to breathe.
The only exception to this was Jeeves whose entire presence very much resembled a monster. Seeing him charge at her, she did not hesitate to put all of her strength on her sword and thrust it forward.
SHIIINGGG¡
CHII¡
A sharp cry of a sword prating through the air and striking something rang out.
Aaaarggghhh¡ a miserable shriek followed next. The sword of twisted vines managed to prate the steel-like skin of the butler ande out from the other end.
The power within the sword was so concentrated that even after prating through the butler''s body, the power within it was still able to drill holes on the many trees and boulders behind the man.
The butler screamed painfully, although he had managed to avoid getting hit on his vital areas, the sword had still managed to prate through him making a small gaping hole on his body.
The extreme pain that he had never suffered before, made him almost lose his mind and his eyes started resembling a beast''s.
It was at this moment when Alvara tried to pull her sword back and recover some of her strength, she noticed that she couldn''t pull the sword out and before she could even react, a hand had suddenly grabbed her neck.
"I''ll Kill Youuu" grabbing Alvara by her neck, Jeeves roared out loud. At some point, his skinny body had started bing increasingly brawny and those peculiar glowing marks, finally came into everyone''s view.
The markings on his body were drawn in a way that it resembled something¡ looking carefully it looked very much like an ape monster. Those same markings were not only on his back, but also on his elbows, chest and legs.
The abrupt situation of the guardmander suddenly bing the one being suppressed, attracted everyone''s attention. it was only a few seconds ago everybody thought that she was the victor of her bout when the butler had suddenly started acting weird.
His skinny body had be so buffed that he looked like apletely different person and the way he spoke, was grating to one''s ears.
"Kugh" Alvara tried her best to shake off the hand that wed at her neck but her struggles were futile. The strength that the butler had erupted out with was in apletely different realm and wasn''t something that she could match.
"So it was like that huh. Tch, that''s why I think humans are so foolish, they would stop at nothing to strengthen themselves. To think that detestable method is still being used and researched upon to this day" Adalinda muttered in a disgusted tone.
This was the first time, Simon had seen the little girl disy such intense negative emotions to something.
"Oi.. do you think that you have enough room to pay attention to someone else fight?" the Brigand Mastermented in between his attacks, displeased by the way how the young man was not paying full attention to their fight.
Simon did not bother entertaining him and simply deflected all of the attacks aiming at his vitals, his attention was on the fight between Alvara and the butler. With his experience, he could naturally tell that those sudden power buffs of the butler, was due to those glowing monster patterns.
Lightly stepping onto the ground, he opened a distance from his enemy and asked Adalinda who was simrly intensely gazing at those patterns on the butler''s body.
"Can you tell me what those patterns are?".
The little girl looked disgusted nheless, she opened her mouth to utter some surprising words "It''s not like I can''t tell you¡ but you should hurry up and stop hiding your strength or else that girl will die".
Simon arched his brows, it was a shock for him to realise that the little girl was aware of their circumstances. Although she pretended to be indifferent, her words were enough to give him the idea that she did not wish to see the whole convoy get wiped out.
Simon was surprised no less, though at the same time he was annoyed that Adalinda had put all of the problems on his shoulders. ''Do your own share of work dammit'' he cursed internally.
After being repeatedly ignored, the Brigand Master finally had enough. Since when was it that he had been looked down upon like that? The young man''s attitude to not bother much about their fight, made him incessantly pissed and when he saw thetter finding the time to converse with someone else, his patience had snapped.
A dangerous glint shed over his eyes and he activated all the augmenting skills he had and also the ones bestowed by his weapon. The burst of power that he had erupted out with, naturally attracted the surrounding gazes.
Needless to say, Simon who was keeping an eye on him, was naturally aware of the thought process of his opponent, a wicked smile crept on his face and he used the [Lightning Magic Mastery] bestowed by the weapon to conjure a huge column of lightning shaped into a crude arrow in merely a few seconds and threw it towards the unprepared bandit.
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He at this moment had finally stopped holding back and used the rare [Mana Lines] skill he had to dish out a swift attack.
The Brigand Master did not expect a magic attack to be conjured so fast and hence was caught unprepared. He was hit squarely by the Lightning arrow and carried along as it flew towards the distant forest.
The power behind the lightning arrow was so powerful that it gorged a straight line on the ground and crashed onto the distant trees with a thunderous noise. RUMBLE¡ dozens of trees fell onto the ground and ignited in a fire, smoke rose up in the air and obscured everyone''s vision.
No one whether the convoy or the bandits expected the Brigand Master to be the one suffering such a devastating blow. Their minds which should have been numbed from the repeated surprises, became baffled even more when they saw such a scene.
This was especially so for the bandits who had suffered a moral damage. They were just recovering from this shock, when another astounding event urred. The young man who had just sent the Brigand Master flying after one of his attacks, changed his direction and charged towards the butler who was about to crush the guardmander''s neck.
With a whistling sound of the wind, a foot came smashing towards the wide open butler sending him backwards in the process.
"Kugh.. hah..haa¡ thanks" Alvara who was now free from the clutch, took hurried breaths of air. She did not forget to thank the person who had helped her at her dire moment.
"Alvara" Cynthia face which was pale with worry, called out. She was just about to rush forward when she was suddenly stopped by thetter.
"Don''t worry Miss, I''m fine. I was just a bit careless that''s all".
ROAARR¡ a deep beastly voice that made one cover their ears, sounded out. The butler who was sent flying by a kick from Simon, stood up once again and red at its assant. His bulky body which was now more than two meters big, erged even more after the rush of power from those beast marks on his body.
Alvara narrowed her eyes and straightened her sword, she was just about to engage with the enemy when Simon stopped her.
"His powers are on another level, you are no match for the current him".
Those cold words from the young man made her unable to ept it, nheless, the reality was so. Even after using all of her strength, she wasn''t even able to fatally injure him. However, as the guardmander of all the silver guards and the one responsible to secure the safety of her miss, how could she back down?
She was just about to press forward ignoring those words, when Simon suddenly made his move. His body was like a rocket as it fiercely engaged with the butler who had increasingly started attacking like a beast.
Some might even find it difficult to associate him with a human after seeing him wing and trying to bite.
After exchanging a few blows with the butler named Jeeves, was Simon able to truly feel the dreadfulness of those glowing beast marks. Every time Jeeves attacked those marks would glow with a brilliant light making his strength multiply manifold.
Even with the stats of a Demon Viscount, Simon had to be careful, those attacks were enough to even ovee his defence stats.
BANG¡ BANG¡
Punches and kicks flew around andnded onto the body of Jeeves who was full of openings. Nevertheless, the butler seemed unfazed even after suffering those damage. After another heavy attack from a me spear, Simon sent the person flying back only for thetter to spring back up.
The young man''s sh with the butler naturally attracted many gazes onto them, even those at the frontlines, were keeping an eye on this battle. They wanted to see if the ck-robed young man who had repeatedly shown them many surprises, would be able to defeat the enemy in front of him.
"AHH¡ Kill, Kill¡I''ll kill you" Jeeves started charging towards him after throwing those words in between his snarls. The beast marks on him glowed even brighter and his energy level had reached a point where it even threatened Simon.
BANG¡ his body had be so heavy and bulky that with just a step, he caused the ground to shatter and cracks to appear.
WHOOSH.. with a speed that was unimaginable for such a heavy body, Jeeves appeared in front of Simon in a lightning-like fashion and furiously swept a w towards the former.
Simon widened his eyes in surprise, nheless, he shifted his body backwards just in time to dodge the attack. Although the butler had enough strength to overpower all the others in this campsite, he did not have enough battle experience or sanity to utilise his strength skilfully.
Hence Simon who was used to fighting strong monsters and adventurers over and over had quite the edge over him. That being said, if he wanted to defeat the butler, he had to go all out.
Obviously, if he did something like that, his fa?ade as a human would fade away. But if he still held back, Simon was not sure if he could defeat him before the person bes even more powerful. His thoughts showed how much he was wary of the peculiar glowing beast marks on the butler''s body.
Taking out the twin des, he exploited his advantage and dished out lightning-fast attacks to stall the enemy before kicking him backwards again. While it was a problem that his enemy was ignoring the pain, the damage was still being done.
ROAARR¡ a despairing voice like that of an anguished beast, came from the throat of the butler. The noise made ripples around the air and dissipated the lightning arrow that Simon had just created into nothing but particles of mana.
"W-what?!" the absurdity of the situation stupefied the young man who was unable to react in time when a fist came smashing towards him.
BANG¡ the fist was about tond on his chest when he hurriedly crossed his arm in front of him. the moment from the punch sent him airborne quite a few distance away.
While the damage was not much, the berserk energy from the fist still made the blood flow within him erratic. Simon swiftly got back on his feet, his eyes clouded by the matter previously. He was about to send a few more lightning magic attacks to better understand the situation when suddenly his instincts red up and sounded rms.
? He turned his back just in time to see the Brigand Mastere rushing at him with an extremely ring crimson hammer. The heat released by the scorching hammer was so high and packed with power that even with the [Fire Magic Resistance] skill, he was sure that he would be burned quite badly if that attack hit.
Determining his resolve to deal with two powerful enemies while still limiting himself, Simon was just about to show some of his powerful cards like the Amalgamation magic when suddenly he felt a rush of wind and the sexy figure of Alvara jump in between to engage with the Brigand Master.
CLANG¡ the wide body of the hammer collided with the sleek and elegant long sword, erupting in an intense spark. Wind that dissipated the heat, blew around the surroundings and instantly cooled the area.
Both parties disengaged after that attack and red at each other.
"We are even now" Alvara dered turning her head a little. After that she ceased talking and started attacking the Brigand Master who had previously been wounded by Simon.
Simon simply shook his head andughed helplessly, it seemed that the prideful girl didn''t want to owe and thus helped out even though she was not fully healed yet. He nced at her adamantly fighting the Brigand master before tearing his eyes away.
Though she was exhausted and had suffered minor wounds, the Brigand Master was simrly notpletely unharmed. The previous Lightning arrow Simon had dealt quite a bit of damage to him who was caught unprepared. His skin was scorched quite badly and half of his body was somewhat numb.
The level difference between them was not that high and unlike the butler who had some unknown source of power, the Brigand Master had no such thing. Hence, Alvara should be able to contend against thetter.
"Don''t get in my way woman. I must kill that man myself" the bandit roared aggrieved with shame and humiliation after being dealt such a sneaky blow.
"Snort, your opponent is me" the guardmander snorted coldly and stopped any sort of conversation with him.
She knew how important achieving victory against Jeeves who was the strongest amongst all the enemies was for their convoy. Therefore even if she had to put her battered body at the enemy, she must stop anyone from disturbing their battle.
A fierce sh between the Master of Bandits and themander of the convoy started. Meanwhile, on the frontlines, Chuck was fighting two bandit leaders with all his might. This way, the battle raging across the campsite, could be said to be divided into three main parts.
The fight continued to progress for a while before some changes started to ur once again, two of the bandit leaders who could no longer keep up with Chuck''s relentless attack were finally injured trying to suppress his attacks.
The bandit leader named Grime was lying down on the floor with blood spewing out of his mouth. His armour were in tatters and his skin ck due to receiving the impact from the adventurer. While Osbin was rtively healthypared to Grime, his powers had clearly declined showing signs of fatigue.
They would asionally nce at the area where two other fights were currently urring and click their tongue in frustration.
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The two bandit leaders never imagined that it would take this much time and effort for them to swallow the remaining members of the convoy. With the Brigand Master locked down in a fight with the guardmander, it was up to them to lead the bandits.
However, at this moment their morale was all-time low while the members of the convoy were still dearly hanging on using all their strength. Those adventurers that had deserted theirrades were sitting still and doing nothing.
Osbin wanted to shout outmands, but his roars were drowned out by deafening sounds of battle urring all across.
BOOOM¡ a thunderous noise apanied by an intense shockwave came from the ce where the young man was engaged in battle with the butler.
"Stop holding back¡ the [Beast Inheritance] isn''t something that you can defeat while keeping most of your powers hidden" even though the person herself wasn''t present, her voice sounded near Simon''s ears.
"[Beast Inheritance]?" it was the first time Simon had heard something like that which naturally caused him to be confused.
As if expecting this kind of reply, Adalinda''s voice sounded once again "Hmph, it''s not surprising that you are not aware of it. [Beast Inheritance] are a form of what can be considered ancient symbols and are used by some extremely strong ns of monsters and beasts. Those ns passed down the culmination of the strength and skills in the form of [Beast Inheritance] from generation to generation. This method is being used since the primaeval times".
"The existence of the [Beast Inheritance] was what made the beast ns so formidable. After the second Apex war, it waster revealed that some people and races that coveted the ancient symbols secretively researched on it only to end up in disaster".
"The ancient symbols are extremely powerful, how could it be easily researched, naturally there were uncountable deaths and pandemonium everywhere. Later on, it was dered as a taboo subject and researching it was strictly prohibited everywhere".
Simon nodded his head at the unexpected big revtion. At the same time, it all made sense now, no wonder the enemy he was facing was getting stronger and stronger every moment.
However, what he couldn''t understand was howe a human came into possession of [Beast Inheritance] and how powerful it was?
Adalinda seemed to be aware of what he was thinking and hence answered his question once again.
"The [Beast Inheritance] that man has, is iplete and a cheap copy that does one more harm than benefit. I didn''t expect something like that to pop up in such a remote corner of the continent. To answer your question, [Beast Inheritance] although exclusive only to beast ns, can be attained from a beast that had reached over level 700 and can humanise".
"One can get their hands on the [beast Inheritance ] in two ways. First, the beast willingly acknowledges the person as its inheritor and passes down its power. The second method is more crude and brutal in that one has to kill a powerful beast that has cultivated its own [Beast Inheritance] and scavenge the core stone from their body. If they are lucky the core stone might contain the [Beast Inheritance] of that powerful beast".
"In the case of the former, the inheritor receives the full andplete power of the [Beast Inheritance] and can also be called as the true inheritor. Whereas, in thetter option the [Beast Inheritance] that is forcibly received from the core stone, contains only a tiny fraction of the power of the original [Beast Inheritance] and are called false inheritor".
"That iplete copy of a [Beast Inheritance] seemed to be from a Warhammer Demonic Ape that had died a long time and its [Beast Inheritance] was extracted to research. Long story short, if yoiu continue to dilly dally, your opponent will be so strong that you won''t even be its match anymore".
Simon''s expression immediately became ugly when he heard those words. Currently, he was in no situation to reveal his true self. His brain went into overdrive before suddenly a thought struck him.
When he saw Jeeves rushing towards like a furious beast, he prepared himself mentally. The butler swung itsrge bulky hands with all his strength in attempt to smash his opponent apart.
BANG¡ a loud sound like a sonic wave travelled every corner of the campsite and everyone could hear the slight noise of the bone creaking. After preparing himself to get struck, Simon tasted blood within his mouth and felt pain from the area he was struck.
Nheless, he was still able to endure it thanks to his powerful body, he then grabbed his opponent and flung him towards the distant forest with all of his strength.
"[Super Enhanced Endurance], [Body Enhancement]" after activating two of his skills to stabilise himself, he gave chase and soon disappeared in the darkness of the forest and from everyone''s line of sight.
A petite little girl excitedly hoped and followed behind unwilling to miss the scene that would unfold soon.
Cynthia''s gaze lingered around the departing back of the young man, a white light shrouding her eyes.
Simon jumped from one tree branch to another in a practiced and agile manner and swiftly covered the distance where the butler was.
Jeeves was flung quite a distance away from the campsite, the inertia of the throw so great that he had to crash into many surrounding trees toe to a stop. Everywhere he looked, there were only the tall trees surrounding him and the intermittent cries of the nearby monsters that were scared away by his aura, could be heard asionally.
When he felt the sudden presence approaching him, the butler looked at that direction only to find the man responsible for sending him here.
"You¡ Kill¡ Blood" his words were started to be increasingly incoherent and more like the howls of a beast.
"Heh~ you finally used your brain. Now you can go all out without worrying about any human spying on you" Adalinda spoke after quietly following behind him.
Simon ignored her, he was more than aware that the little girl simply wanted to see his limits and know more about the skills he was hiding that she couldn''t gaze into. How could he just let her see all of his cards?
,m Although he was prepared to engage his enemy with all of his powers, he was not na?ve enough to simply disy all of his trump cards to her.
Simon wasn''t far away from the truth, Adalinda who couldn''t see through his status, wanted to know more about him and the peculiarities surrounding him. No matter how she saw it, the man did not appear to be a simple low ranking Demon Viscount. There was more to him than what meets the eye.
Simon took a deep breath before storing back the item, Trinket of Grimlock that was given to him by Adalinda to his inventory. Immediately, his figure started blurring, his height that was about two meters, grew even more, two jagged horns protruded from his head and his eyes turned blood red.
Looking at his appearance, one could associate him with only one race, Demon Noble. Seeing his appearance, some rity finally returned to the butler''s eyes, his facial expression told others that he was in a state of disbelief.
The lucidness was shrouded once again by the [Beast Inheritance] and insanity overwhelmed him once again.
Simon used [Analysis] on the man only to find his level spike up to 391 temporarily. It would be one thing if it was just that, but his level and powers were still continuously spiking.
"Super Strength, Super Agility, Super Defence, Super Magic, High- Speed Flight, Mana Lines" activating all of his skills, Simon burst with an unimaginable amount of strength that was not at all inferior to his opponent.
Using all of the skills at once, exhausted and put a great burden on his body; however, he was in no mood to pay attention to it at this moment.
Jeeves who had started losing most of his rationality, didn''t wait any longer and started throwing storms of attacks. His attacks were simple and consisted of mostly punches, ws and kicks with no added skills or consideration.
The intent behind all of his attacks were inly obvious and had no fakes mixed in between. Whereas, inparison to the butler, Simon''s attack was a mix between magic and physical attacks. His methods consisted of many faints and tricky angles that were harder to dodge and continuously struck his opponent''s body.
BOOM¡ BOOM¡BANG¡
Two figures crisscrossed around the forest like mad decimating and erasing all life around them. Each shockwave and energy collision from their attacks was enough to brutally change the entire topography of the area.
Land was scorched and gouged out in many ces, trees had be burned charcoal, corpses of monsters littered here and there, their howls distant as they ran away from this ce.
After exchanging blows with the man for a while, Simon was surprised to find that even when his opponent''s body was beaten ck and blue, his abnormal endurance would allow him to ignore all of that.
Additionally, his high defence that was even above Simon, made it harder for thetter to deal any significant damage. The magic that was having any effect, was the me arrows condensed to their limits that were able to pierce the steel-like defence of his enemy.
This battle with the enemy made him recognise how powerful the [beast Inheritance] was even if it was an iplete copy. As time went on, the battle became increasingly harder because of his enemy getting stronger and stronger.
It was to the point where Simon felt like he was fighting with a zombie that had no sense of pain or exhaustion.
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Simon utilised his only advantage and unfurled his wide bat like wings to open a gap between himself and his enemy. He then bombarded his enemy with a wide variety of magic to buy time to conjure an Amalgamation Magic.
His highest stats were his Magic followed by his agility and others, thus Simon was more confident of his magic than his physicalbat. Novice tier magic assaulted his enemy with the only goal of buying him some time, nheless, even when they did hit the butler it achieved no effect other than burning or scratching his skin a little.
Jeeves snarled, his behaviour started bing increasingly agitated when he felt the surrounding mana convulse as if being willed by someone. Even while shrouded with insanity, he could still feel the vast amount of mana that made him threatened.
The pace of his wild attacks started increasing and he was even throwing huge rocks and boulders that were around the surrounding. Nevertheless, Simon would continue to dodge all of them while maintaining their gap and keeping his focus on the slowly forming amalgamation magic.
Amalgamation magic is the branch of magic that fuses two elements of mana together to form a highly powerful and advanced technique. Only a few people in this world have ess to this kind of magic.
Even with the help of [Mana Lines] and [Minimal Mana Consumption] skill, it was a struggle for Simon to cut the casting time short. Not to mention what he was trying to achieve was not something as simple asbining two novice tier forms of mana.
He poured his mana and the two intermediate magic immediately answered his call, extreme gales apanied by a scorching heat, started spreading all around his surroundings.
The sharp winds that carried a scorching heat, started blowing faster and faster and even the colour of the wind started taking a faint crimson. All the moisture around the surrounding dissipated leaving only a kind of destion behind.
The amalgamation magic started showing signs of nearingpletion as the two elements started reaching equilibrium. zing heat revolving around a sharp howling gale, coborated into forming a kind of crimson storm that sucked and burned everything within it without even leaving the ashes behind.
[Crimson Hurricane] Simon internally roared out the name of the technique before shifting its direction towards the butler.
The [Crimson Hurricane] cast a crimson light across the surrounding and brightened the area for hundreds of meters. In the darkness of the night, the [Crimson Hurricane] that was dozens of meters big, was extremely eye-piercing and could be seen even from a few miles away.
ROAAAR¡ Jeeves issued an agonising cry as his bulky body was pulled towards the centre of the storm, the zing crimson winds, continuously cut and burned his skin. Trees and boulders were continuously pulled towards the centre of the [Crimson Hurricane] before disappearing into nothingness.
Not being able to oppose the suction power of the storm, Jeeves was pulled towards the centre of the storm, his agonising screams was like the melody in the silence of the night.
Meanwhile, Adalinda who was standing not far away from the storm, seemedpletely unharmed by the pulling force of the storm, even her clothes didn''t rustle from the wind. The way her small and petite body stood in the air without being affected a bit by the scorching wind was at a contrast to everything else around her
"Amalgamation magic of two intermediate tiers of me and gale. To achieve a harmony between these two elements sounds easier said than done. Even for some Demon Earl, they might not be able to achieve something like that not to mention doing it in between the battle".
"There is also the rare [Mana Lines] and [Minimal Mana consumption] that only a person above level 500 should have. And to top it all, he is still somewhat holding back. Hehe, the more I get to know him, the more interesting he bes" Adalinda murmured narrowing her eyes that was glowing a brilliant tangerine.
Simon took hurried breaths of air to stabilise his breathing. Combining two different intermediate attributes of man was extremely taxing for the current him who also had to activate most of his skills to fight with the butler.
If not for him increasing his level after defeating groups of bandits continuously, this much exhaustion of mana might even have been fatal for him.
His eyes locked onto the area inside the crimson hurricane where he felt the felt the presence of Jeeves. Right now, the man must be going through a hellish pain of suffering a thousand cuts and burns.
Even if his opponent had abnormal endurance, this kind of slow torment should be able topletely exhaust them. Since he didn''t want to take out his [A] tier sword nor did he want to resort to activating the phantasmal tier skill, his only option was to use everything in his arsenal and go even beyond to defeat his enemy.
The amalgamation magic [Crimson Hurricane] was his answer for the abnormal endurance stat of his enemy. The screams of the butler amidst the [Crimson Hurricane] was as loud as ever and the scene went on for a while when suddenly Adalinda decided to approach him.
She looked at Simon deeply before casuallymenting "It seems that you are not all talk but if you believe something like that is able to stop a [Beast Inheritance] then you are sorely mistaken".
Right after her words fell down, some changes had started urring within the storm. A ck shadowy figure could be seen at the centre slowly trying to dissipate the storm caging it inside. The gales of the crimson hurricane started swaying and a berserk power was swiftly spreading all around it.
In just a couple of minutes, the dozens of meters huge [Crimson Hurricane] started inting and bing bigger before exploding out.
BOOOM¡ the amalgamation magic that Simon had prepared after exhausting so much of his mana, was broken apart after only a couple of minutes. The repercussions from the [Crimson Hurricane] blowing apart spread around the surrounding scorching thend ck and raising the temperature to an unimaginable degree.
Simon hurriedly guarded himself by folding his wide bat-like wings in front of him whereas the little girl simply ced herself behind him using the former as a shield.
The shockwave from the explosion brushed over tingling and scorching the back of his wings. He then focused his eyes and gazed at the area which was previously the eye of the storm.
A ck figure covered in fur and packed with explosive muscles, came into view. Its height was more than five meters, bipedal body and a huge horn on its head. The creature had blue eyes and sharp incisive fangs and ws that could give chills to anyone looking at them.\\
A threatening amount of berserk energy was pouring out of the bead at the centre of its chest that was guarded by some kind of exoskeleton. Simon was bewildered by the scene thaty in front of him, the entity that appeared from within the explosion wasn''t a human but a monster.
"So it has finally reached the [Beast Possession] stage huh! Looking at its appearance, I''m sure now¡ " Adalinda mentioned observing the creature with a stern eye.
"What?" Simon asked noticing the direness in her voice.
"That iplete [Beast Inheritance] is from the Warhammer Demonic Ape. A beast with the power to crumble mountains and tten kingdoms in just a few minutes. But that is not the least of your worries, from what I can tell, that imitation of an ancient symbol, still has more power within it. That is to say, that transformation isn''t thest one".
She said observing the beast mark on the body of the beast that was once the butler.
Simon bit his lips and made a grave expression, he had already used Analysis on his opponent only to find their level skyrocketing to level 409. If this still wasn''t the limit of the [Beast Inheritance] then didn''t it mean that he has no chance?
How can one call this an iplete copy when it was already so powerful?
Adalinda read his thoughts and replied mysteriously.
"If it was the genuine one, forget about contending against it, it would be a miracle if you couldst a second or two given the powers of the Warhammer Demonic Ape. You don''t have to brood too much over my words, although there is still much power in that beast mark, how can it be so easy for a human to use [Beast Inheritance].
"In the first ce, he cannot even be called a false inheritor since he had to at least get the [Beast Inhertiance] from the core stone. However, the one this idiot has is an imitation of which was deemed as a failure thousands of years ago".
"Trying to utilise the powers of ancient Symbols, how can it be that easy? though it is an initiation, one has to pay appropriate price. That human there had unknowingly burned all or most of his lifespan trying to grasp a power that was never supposed to be his. If you wait this out long enough, you might win this match but I suppose you don''t want a victory like that".
His current facial expression told her everything that she needed to know. Adalinda gazed at the distant campsite and threw some final words in a fed up and exasperated manner.
"Stop trying to hold back your impulses and desires. Let it go wild, you are a Demon Noble not a human, a race that could be said to be the avatar of desires".
The petite figure of the little girl disappeared leaving only a few words that shook the very core of Simon. He couldn''t find a single word to refute her.
265 Chapter 265
Since before his reincarnation he was a human, consciously or subconsciously, he was trying to suppress the demonic side of him. However, doing so he was also suppressing his desires along with his strength.
One''s desires and cravings were directly rted to how strong one was or could be. this was especially true for the demon noble race who followed and abided with their desires closer than any other race.
Since Simon was suppressing his emotions along with his desires, he found himself somewhatcking and unable to show the true potential of his race. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind of all thoughts and allowed that which was deeply suppressed in his heart, to flow and rage out.
The feeling at first started out as a small ember before ring out to be a huge wildfire that prickled every nerve of his body. His blood felt like it was boiling and an innate urge to destroy his enemy flooded him.
There was no way he was going to lose to an enemy who has lost his rationality and life to a mere skill. Heck, he even felt a tingling sensation of excitement to fight against an opponent multiple levels higher than him.
This was his chance to fight someone above level 400 and increase his strength even further.
A notification sounded out in his mind, this was the first time that Simon had consciously activated the pride fragment. All the other times it was the fragment that had ruled his desires; however, after he stopped reigning in his emotions, he was able to activate it willingly.
With ring crimson eyes, Simon nced at the beast charging towards him.
ROARR¡ with a deafening cry, Jeeves who had now turnedpletely into a beast ruled by instinct, came punching towards Simon. His speed and strength were on a whole different realm and whenever he stepped, he would immediately leave a deep imprint on the ground.
A punch came towards the demon breaking the speed of sound.
BOOM¡ a force equalling that one was met by another force and the air was immediately burst apart near that area. Two fists, one huge and small collided with each other neither showing any signs of backing away.
A muffled creaking noise sounded and Simon felt his shoulders discing, he took a vial from his inventory and immediately gulped it down.
[Elixir of Healing X1 had been used].
Storms of punches and kicks started pouring out like a wave as thebatants engaged themselves in a fierce battle.
At a nce, it seemed that the two were on par but if one looked carefully, one of them seemed to be at a disadvantage every time a punch or kicknded on him. He would then take something out from somewhere and instantly gulp down on it.
[Elixir of Healing X1 had been used]
[Elixir of Healing X1 had been used]
[Elixir of Healing X1 had been used]
[Elixir of Healing X1 had been used].
The process repeated itself again and again before the flow of the fight was broken apart when one party suffered a devastating blow. The beast was blown back by a fist that was covered by crimson and golden mes and crashed into dozens of trees snapping them in half.
Most of its furs were burned and there was a deep fist indent on its exoskeleton that protected the bead at the centre of its chest.
Compared to the butler, Simon was not better off, most of his clothes were torn and his skin was ck and blue in some areas revealing the damage he had incurred from the exchange. Nheless, those injuries visibly and swiftly healed themselves after he drank the contents of the vial.
"I finally understand it now" Simon murmured something¡
RUMBLE, a muffled thunderous noice echoed out and blue lightning promptly started gathering on his left hand. ZzzSSTtt¡ sparks emitted out of his hands and quickly shot out to target a nearby tree.
BANG¡ the tree was instantly zapped and erupted into a fire.
Simon''s gaze nextnded onto his opponent who was for some reason starting to struggle. The numerous pain and damage that he had dealt, was finally catching up to it.
"It seems that even when one turns into a mindless beast, one still understands the concept of pain. Then let me make it easier for you" Simon said before closing his eyes.
The mes on his right hand instantly disappeared, reced by the blue lightning. At this moment, he fell into a state of deep concentration where he only felt the presence of himself and his enemy.
CHIIII¡ slowly, the lightning covering his hands, started taking the shape of a bow. Although at first it was unstable and crumbled very fast, the bow was able to take shape after repeated tries.
At this moment, Simon opened his eyes, straightened his hands and pulled on the bowstring. An arrow made of lightning was swiftly conjured and strung on the bowstring. He then next pointed the arrowhead towards the beast ape and released it.
RUMBLE¡ the speed of the arrow was shocking to say no less and far surpassed any attacks that Simon knew in terms of speed. After transforming into a partial beast, Jeeve''s sense of rationality waspletely gone, all that he obeyed was his instinct that at this moment told him to dodge the attack no matter what.
The beast ape thumped its injured body and used its powerful hind legs to jump high up. The moment its figure moved from the ce an arrow half a meter big came piercing at the now empty ground.
CRACKLE¡ a high pitched crackling noise echoed out, the arrow quickly bore through the ground and disappeared. Small pieces of rubble scattered everywhere after being blown away by the arrow.
From this attack, one could see how concentrated and devastating each lightning arrows were. Simon turned his gaze away only to see the beastnd a few distance away. The attack earlier seemed unable to daunt it as it charged towards him, unfazed.
Simon pulled the bowstring and conjured one lightning arrow after another when suddenly the beast opened its wide mouth and howled in a wild and rampant manner. the ripples spread from its roar, dispersed the mana powering his lightning bow and arrow.
It was the same mysterious attack that it had used against him not so long ago. However, unlike the previous time, he was prepared for such an event. When the beast charged at him and swung its wide hands in an attempt to pummel him to the ground, Simon instead of backing away, closed the distance between him and his enemy.
He exploited the difference in their body frames, aimed for the gap between his enemy''s elbows and body to pierce him with his horns.
STAB¡ his horns that were as sturdy as his bones, swiftly pierced through his opponent''s coat of fur and exoskeleton to pierce the bead at its centre.
The force from using a method of attack he was not used to, made his neck almost unable to bear the force. Nheless, this unexpected attack of his was able to do the trick and catch his enemy off guard who was only cautious of his magic attacks.
CRICK¡ CRACK... small cracks appeared on the bead and made the beast ape cry in agony. From this Simon was able to tell that his opponent''s weakness was the bead on its chest. The effect was extremely palpable, after that attack on its bead earlier, the attack of the beast had noticeably slowed down.
Even when it attacked, it would spare some of its strength to guard the bead which had now lost the protection of its exoskeleton.
How could such an obvious action go unnoticed by Simon? He immediately conjured multiple me spears and a lightning bow to give it no time to counterattack. The beast howled and utilised its peculiar skill to disrupt his magic, nheless, with his swiftly increasing mastery in lightning magic, he was able to conjure them faster and faster.
At this moment, the sky was clearing up and the horizon was starting to brighten up little by little indicating that the daybreak was soon. Two particr part of the forest was especially busy and had not even seen a second of rest.
In one part of the forest, arge patch ofnd could be seen burnt ck with charcoals littering everywhere. Thick clouds of smoke shrouded the area released by the object that was seared by the remnant mes and lightning.
BANG¡ with a noise like the muffled thunder, an arrow pierced through the shoulders of the beast and exited out of it. A small gaping hole dripping with blood, was opened up in its already scorched and battered body.
The beast ape emitted a painful howl before sumbing to its death, its figure was riddled with small burnt holes, evident of the innumerable attacks it had suffered.
THUD¡ with a dull sound, Simon''s body kissed the ground, his breathing ragged and he was covered in wounds and bruises. Nevertheless, the shine in his eyes showed that he had achieved something that should have been an inconceivable notion to him before today.
Lying face first opposite him, was the body of the being above level 400. Although it was just power borrowed from an iplete imitation of some ancient symbol known as the [Beast Inheritance] it was still a power to reckon with.
He shed a smile of content thinking about the progress he was making and his attempt on bridging the gap between him and the truly strong was slowly shortening.
Simon opened his [Main Menu] and swiftly purchased a vial containing a liquid from the shop and gulped it down.
[Elixir of Healing used X1].
266 Chapter 266
The Elixir of Healing is an item that he had listed in the shop while making the game. It stimted the growth cells of the body allowing it to heal any wounds faster.
Unlike the Restoration Elixir, which slowly and gradually heals the wounds without straining the body much, the Elixir of healing puts a great strain and induces extreme pain on the body to swiftly close the wounds.
Due to this, the item was only meant to be used during extreme moments that concerned one''s life and death. Even its cost was much higher than the Restoration Elixir which was the better option if one had adequate time to heal.
During his fight with the transformed Jeeves, he had to repeatedly rely on this elixir to heal any injuries he had suffered to continue fighting. The number of healing elixirs he drank during this period of time was higher than counting together all of the other times he had to drink it.
The healing allowed him to continue fighting but at the same time, it also put a great burned on his already strained body. One could imagine the amount of pain and bacshes that his body is going through after activating numerous skills and gulping down elixirs like that.
Simon felt his body was a wooden log, heavy and with no sensation. The only part of the body that he could move was his eyes that scanned his surroundings. Bing the prey of a stray monster was thest thing he wanted to be.
After resting for an hour or two, the [High-Speed Regeneration] ability of his finally kicked in and restored some of his strength.
Simon propped himself up with much difficulty, the first thing he did was take the Trinket of Grimlock out of inventory and wear it. His appearance as a Demon Noble was swiftly covered and masked to be more human-like.
Of course, he did not forget to collect his spoils of war, the corpse of the butler who had turned into a beast ape with him. Although the [Inventory] didn''t allow him to store living things, a corpse of a beast or a person wasn''t a problem.
The more than five meters body of the beast was swiftly stored in his [Inventory].
With that, hemanded his tattered body towards the campsite where the noise of battle had started to die out by now. It would be a lie if he said that he was not worried about the situation of the convoy back at the campsite.
He cannot allow them to die since they were his ticket to the capital. And since Adalinda couldn''t use her spatial magic lest it is detected by her disciple, it would take them a long and winding time to manually navigate their way. Thus Simon had to prioritise at least the client''s life.
The little girl''s presence there did not help a bit to soothe his worry and instead gave him a big headache especially so when he was aware that the little girl viewed all of this as a source of her entertainment.
Straightening his ragged body, he rushed towards the campsite where only a few presences that he could sense were left alive. The first thing that greeted his eyes as soon as he entered the campsite, was the human golem crumbling down.
Beneath the rubbles were dozens of bandits and two bandit leaders that have been turned into a meaty paste after suffering devastating blows from Chuck. The adventurer was seated on top of the rubble breathing disorderly, his two teammates were simrly in not a very good shape.
Corpses of bandits littered everywhere mixed with those adventurers and silver guards who had fought till theirst breath. From what Simon could see, the vanguard hadpletely copsed after being besieged by numerous adventurers.
Some of the nonbatants at the backlines had died and those that had survived were severely injured. Simon''s eyes scanned the surrounding trying to find the little girl and that purple dress woman. When he spotted them, he saw them sitting near the campfire, a figure covered in blood was lying on the ground.
The figure was none other than Alvara who had suffered grave injuries that her healing was unable to keep up. Her head was tightly held by Cynthia whose eyes were currently glossed with tears. Without a mage with mastery in Light magic, there was no way she would be able to recover from those serious injuries.
Alvara opened and closed her mouth in an attempt to say something however, every time she did, she would cough out a mouthful of blood. One could see that her injury was not only external, but also internal.
Adalinda was next to these two intensely brooding over something. At this moment, the three of them heard the sounds of approaching footsteps and shifted their gazes up.
The one that came near was none other the provisional adventurer who was fighting against the butler. Simon arched his brows and looked at the scene in front of him.
"What happened here?" he asked confounded, no matter how he thought, the Brigand Master shouldn''t have this much strength to push someone on the calibre of the guardmander to the brink of death.
"After seeing that his end was near, that bandit bastard activated the [Self-Destruction] orb he got from who knows where. This girl here was seriously injured trying to save those nonbatants who were caught up in the vicinity of the attack" Adalinda said while sighing.
Simon nodded his head in understanding, it was finally clear to him as to what had actually happened. It was not that the Brigand Master was too much for the guardmander to handle and instead it was because she tried to help the innocent nonbatants that she was gravely injured in the process.
"Miss¡ these ordinary healing potions won''t help me. Just leave me here, with my current state¡ I''ll just be a hindrance to this journey. Huff..huff.. take the guards¡ and adventurers that are alive and¡ quickly get out of the forest. You will be rtively safe after you reach the territory of duke Montford. Huff.. huff.. even that person wouldn''t dare to start something there".
Alvara pleaded with a pale face, she was losing blood very fast and her eyes were starting to lose their faint lustre. If her wound was not closed soon, there was no doubt that she would die.
Simon looked at the heartbroken figure of Cynthia who was doing her best to stop the wound of her by giving some first aid. However, her first aid was amateurish at best and didn''t stop the blood from flowing out.
Simon sighed and took out a couple of elixirs of healing and passed it onto Cynthia. The woman looked at him with surprise in her eyes.
"These are not your ordinary healing potions. Make her drink it if you want her wounds to close" after leaving those intructions, he turned around and left the scene. While observing the battlefield on his way, he was surprised to find that the casualty rate of their convoy was quite lowpared to the bandits most of whom were wiped out.
Given the strength of the convoy, a scene like that would be utterly inconceivable even to Simon However, he know that the campsite had a certain abnormality that could easily flip such logic upside down.
Locking his brows, he threw a random remark to the girl who was following beside him. "It seems that you finally decided to interfere".
Adalinda retorted back in an aggrieved manner.
"Did you really think I would let them die before they guide us to this capital? Hmph, no matter who it is that wants to kill them, they must first ask permission from me. I would have saved that girl even if you didn''t interfere¡ just that her body was too weak and my powers were much too strong for her".
Her two twin tails danced like snakes disying her mood that was a little sour.
"So you managed to defeat the one with the imitation of a [Beast Inheritance] huh? I''m surprised that you can walk so soon. Ah, you must have used those elixirs on yourself too".
Adalinda quickly inferred how the demon was so lively even after going through a fight against the [Beast Inheritance]. Her eyes lingered on him for a while, a light of surprise shed on them. She was more than aware of how powerful the [Beast Inheritance] or rather the ancient symbols within it was.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that in this world, only the strong ones possess the right to have it. Even if the [Beast Inheritance] on that person was an imitation and a failed copy, it was a copy of ancient symbols that one cannot look down upon.
"No wonder that woman is together with you" Adalinda silently murmured thinking about Irene in her head. That woman whose powers eve she couldn''t fathom was together with this demon in his dungeon. If there wasn''t anything strange or special about this man, she wouldn''t believe it.
"Did you collect the corpse of that beast? The core stone on its chest is something that might be useful to you" she reminded before drawing some peculiar markings on the air.
Simon nodded his head while consecutively asking her what she was doing.
"Hm? Ah! Raising a protective barrier that will repel anyoneing over here with bloodlust. With all the blood here, it would be surprising if no monsters shows up. Do you think the convoy is in any condition to fight monsters in their current state?"
Adalinda replied without stopping the movements of her hands.
After a while, an invisible fluctuation spread from the centre of her palm and swiftly covered the entire campsite.
267 Chapter 267
''Is it done?'' Simon wondered, he used his [Detect Presence] skill and spread it all around to search for any monster that wasing near. His eyes widened when he saw multiple monsters like the direwolves and warring mandrills which were initially heading towards their direction, suddenly stop their charge and look around the surrounding in confusion.
They tried to utilise their strong nose and sense to sniff the blood in the air but the moment, the barrier was raised, all the scent and presence drifting off from the campsite was cut off leaving the monster bewildered.
With no signs of prey or food, these monsters naturally dispersed off to different directions. Seeing the amazed look in his eyes, Adalinda lightlymented.
"Hmph, you don''t have to be surprised, with the barrier I have raised, even if it''s a monster above level 700, it won''t be able to detect it. Though there aren''t any in this Northern Ouw Forest".
While they were having their own conversation, Cynthia intensely scrutinised the vials in her hand. At this moment, she had forced back her tears and was trying her best to heal her friend who had lost her consciousness due to her wounds being too severe.
"I have checked the contents of these elixirs, it is indeed much more potent than those healing potions on you. There is no need to be cautious, quickly feed it to her".
The majestic voice of King Leo sounded beside her ears.
Cynthia nodded and gently opened the small mouth of her friend, pouring the contents of the elixirs little by little.
Gulp¡ after drinking a small mouthful of it, to her surprise some visible changes had started urring on Alvara''s wounded body. Her wounds swiftly started to close and some rosiness started to appear on her previously pale face.
Seeing the effectiveness of the elixir, Cynthia couldn''t help but widened her eyes in surprise, her cherry red lips opened and closed in contemtion.
"The effectiveness of these elixirs are even better than some of the healing potions avable at the capital. I wonder where that man got these kinds of elixirs".
"Urgh" a pained groan came out from the guardmander''s throat and her body started moving a little, her eyelids fluttered and it seemed that she would awaken soon.
Cynthia smiled in relief when she saw that the condition of her friend was better now. When her eyes turned towards the distant figure of the man, a peculiar glint shed on her otherwise violet eyes.
"What do you think of that man Leo?" she muttered in a voice that only she could hear.
The voice within her was silent for a while before replying "What do you mean? I have already told who that man actually is".
Cynthia did notment any further, she silently sat beside the exhausted figure of her friend near the firece. The morning rays of the sun shone down on the ce, devastated by the big battle that had undergone under the darkness of the night.
Those people that could move around, checked the condition of the wagons and the Bane Moose under the order of their mistress. Some of the wagons have been destroyed in the aftermath of the battle and were no longer usable; fortunately, even the bandits were sensible enough not to hurt the Bane Moose as they were incredibly useful no matter whose hands theynded on.
A bane Moose was already rare around these parts of thend not to mention there were so many of them. Perhaps the bandits thought that the bane moose would be their property sooner orter that they did not hurt them.
Now that the wagons and Bane moose were unharmed, the convoy could continue their journey; however, the campsite was currently covered in an atmosphere of gloominess and solemnity.
Those adventurers and guards who were in a rtively better condition, burned the corpses before the smell could bring the monsters towards them. At the dawn break, there was finally some activities around the campsite and Simon who had slumped himself on top of a seat on a wagon, opened his eyes sensing the approaching presence of a person near him.
After that tiring battle with that butler, his body was screaming with pain from the numerous injuries and healing elixirs that he had consumed. His eyes opened only to be greeted by the beautiful figure of Alvara who at this moment was having difficulty looking straight at him.
"Is there anything the guardmander wants from me?" he asked initiating the conversation.
The warrior who always acted headstrong and noble, was surprisingly acting like ady for the first time and was having difficulty framing her words.
"That is¡ I heard from miss that you were the one who gave me those healing potions. I wanted to¡ thank you. If there is any request that I am able to aplish for you, please don''t hesitate to ask" her voice became a little mellow at the end of her sentence.
Simon smiled, to him a few elixirs of healing were nothing. Just when he was about to disperse the issue, the guardmander clenched her hands and reported.
"Our Miss would like to meet you to discuss over some urgent matters. Will you pleasee with me to meet her?".
Simon arched his brows and pondered, while he was not sure what these urgent matters are, he had some idea about what it could be. Springing up from his eat, he dusted his clothes before nodding his head towards the guardmander.
Alvara eyed the man who had fought and won against the berserk Jeeves who even she was unable to beat and led him towards the wagon where her mistress was waiting for him.
Feeling the respectful gaze of this female warrior, Simon couldn''t help butugh dryly. Aftering near thergest wagon with the mark of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild, a voice that told him toe in rang out.
Alvara nodded and invited him in, the interior of the wagon was much morefortablepared to any other wagons of this convoy, even the space inside was ample to move around. A feminine scent lingered around the air and the interior was decorated ording to the taste of the owner.
At one corner of the wagon, was a set of chairs facing each other and seated on one was the client of this job, the mistress of the convoy.
Cynthia was dressed in her mesmerising purple dress, got up from her seat and greeted Simon when their eyes met. She then pointed at the seat opposite her and invited him to sit down.
Simon did not stand on ceremony, he sat down on the seat and made himselffortable. Contrary to their first meeting, the guardmander this time did not choose to stand at guard and rxed herself on a seat beside her Miss.
Before starting the conversation, Cynthia brewed some tea. After pouring it on the teacups, she passed it over to them. The trio sipped on their tea for a while before the woman in purple dress nodded and asked a random question.
"How is the tea?".
"Hm? It''s quite good" Simon lightlymented.
Cynthia smiled, a graceful aura emitted from her every movement "I''m d it is to your taste. Before we start, I wanted to thank you for saving my friend and my closest aide".
She bowed her head, her soft violet hair flowed down her shoulders revealing those delicate and smooth neckline.
"Now then, about the reason I called you here, is to discuss something with you," Cynthia said taking out an empty vial from the corner.
Simon arched his brows at the object that was none other than the empty bottle of the elixirs that he had given her at that moment. With that, he finally came to an understanding as to what this discussion was all about. Though he had already guessed it, he still maintained a poker face.
"This is the potion mister adventurer had given us, thanks to that it saved my guardmander''s life. It might be pretentious to ask of me after everything you have done for us but could you tell me where you got your hands on something like this?".
Feeling the two pairs of expectant eyes gaze at him, Simonughed dryly. Even if he wanted to exin it to them, how was he to tell them that this was just an item he had designed back when he was creating a game on earth.
He simply shook his head, keeping the origins of his elixirs secret.
"Can I ask why the Mistress of the prestigious Serene Pce Merchant Guild is interested in it?" Simon asked tilting his head a little. From what he knew about this world, Healing elixirs wasn''t something that was rare amongst the ordinary popce, even adventurers kept a few stock with them in case of emergency.
Cynthia''s eyelid''s blinked, in the first ce, she did not hold high hopes to get the information so easily. She exined:
"Healing potions are not that rare after all, there are quite a lot of shops that sells them back at the capital. However, among potions there are grades and even the best alchemists back at the capital, could only make High grades potions. Ordinary healing potions wouldn''t have interested me but the elixirs that mister had provided me back then, was at least a master grade, to say the least".
Hearing those words, Alvara''s eyes widened to their limit, even she did not expect that the elixirs used on her was of such a grade.
How could she not be surprised, after all, an alchemist can create elixirs of six varying grades starting from Basic, Intermediate, High, Master, King and Supreme. The best alchemists in their capital could only create elixirs up to High grade.
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To take out Master grade elixirs to heal someone he barely knows, naturally, it woulde as a surprise to her.
on the other hand, although Simon kept aposed exterior, even he was surprised internally.
After exining till here, Cynthia looked at the provisional adventurer once again and beseeched.
"The number of people injured or have suffered grave injury after thest battle are quite a lot. They would inevitably lose their life if they are not healed. As the client for this job and also the mistress of the Serene Pce Merchant guild, I''m obligated to help those that have fought for me. That is why I ask if there is any chance that you can sell those elixirs to me. Of course, I will give you the best price for each of them".
From the gravity of her words, it was clear that she felt responsible for all the deaths and injuries that their convoy had suffered. Alvara too bowed her head, they knew that after the favour that Simon had shown them earlier, it was asking too much from him to sell his elixirs to them.
Nheless, they had no other choice. They cannot possibly discard these brave warriors who stood with their convoy even when the odds were against them. If they did not heal them, they cannot continue their journey.
Simon knew what they were thinking after the topic about his elixirs came; however, he still shook his head. His denial disheartened the two but before they could be any more depressed, the next words that came out from Simon''s mouth, gave them a new hope.
"How about we do it like this¡ I''m willing to give you my elixirs but I am not simply selling it to you".
Cynthia made a serious expression and matched the adventurer''s gaze "You mean to say that you want to do a transaction with my guild?".
Simon smiled, he knew that the woman in front of him was a cunning businesswoman, just a few words from him was enough for her to interpret his intention.
"That''s correct, I will sell my elixirs to your Serene Pce Merchant Guild in return for a satisfiable sum of money and a promise" he added.
Alvara kept her quiet and observed the two parties, her mistress who she knew was a calcting woman when it came to business and the ck-robed young man who had saved them multiple times and had enough prowess to even contend against Jeeves who she had lost to.
After pondering over it, Cynthia exhaled a deep breath of air and said "Since you are a benefactor of ours, my Serene Pce Merchant Guild will not argue with you, however, can I know what this promise is beforehand. If it is something beyond my reach, I would have to reject..".
"Don''t worry about it, the condition isn''t something beyond your reach. It''s just that I want you to promise me that you will help me in the future no matter what when the timees and I ask for your aid".
His expression was reced by a stern and firm gaze. Since he was not a human, he did not have much attraction to these denominations of money that they use for transactions. Instead, Simon thought that it would be much for useful for him if he can make the mistress of the Serene pce Merchant guild owe him a promise.
He was a cautious person by nature and this would be his first time going to the capital of a human kingdom, a ce filled with powerful people. There is no way to tell if his preparation would be enough at that time and hence he wanted additional assurance.
Since he was already entangled with the Serene Pce Merchant Guild, why not make use of them? Simon could tell that they held quite a bit of power back at the capital, it would not be bad to have such a backer behind him when he entered the capital.
Cynthia bit her lips and contemted over her options, with her years of experience of doing business with a variety of traders and people, it is not impossible to guess the real intention behind the man''s words but the problem was that¡
"Alright, my Serene pce merchant guild promises you. You will be rewarded adequately for the contribution on top of the reward we already promised to give you" Her slender body made a graceful arc after she was done putting her words.
Simon nodded his head and without further ado, purchased thirty elixirs from the shop and brought it out on the table in front of the two shocked gazes.
"These are all the elixirs I''m currently willing to sell to your merchant guild please have a look" Simon smiled, he wanted to increase his value to them even more so that when the time everes when he asks their aid in return, they wouldn''t be able to reject.
Thirty elixirs whose grade was at least a Master tier, was kept in the table in front of them so casually. Cynthia and Alvara couldn''t help but widen their eyes when they saw these many numbers, they had expected the adventurers to take out a dozen or so elixirs but never did they think that the man had this many bottles with him.
It should be known that Master grade elixirs are only avable in the market of the capital very rarely and are always hoarded by those rich and influential ones first. Their Serene Pce Merchant guild also had quite a few of them in their inventory but the market for the elixir was always less supply and excessive demand.
Hence there was never a stock left after an auction. It could be seen from how even Cynthia did not have many master grade elixirs with her and the ones she had with her, wasn''t for healing.
Although she was taken a bit for a while, she was extremely meticulous when it came to business. Herposure returned to her and she was back to her previous self.
"Alright I will calcte the price and give you an adequate form of remuneration" right after saying that, she handed him a purple card that had the number 1000 on it.
"There are 1000 ck gold coins in it, you can use this card to store your ck gold coins. As for the remaining sum of money, I would like to pay it after we reach the capital" Cynthia said tucking her violet hair behind her ears.
1000 ck gold coins? Simon was shaken internally. From what he understood from Chuck back then, was that ck gold coins were quite a bit of money for even the veteran adventurers. 100 gold coins= 1 ck gold coins and he had thousands of them inside this card. Didn''t it mean that he had 100,000 gold coins?
Compared to the small amount of money he had plundered from Laris, it was like the difference between a small puddle and argeke. After collecting his thoughts with the help of recently evolved [Super thought Processing] skill that increased the processing ability of his brain multiple times, Simon nodded and got up from his seat.
He was not particrly worried about not receiving the remaining sum of money since he didn''t have much use for them as of yet anyways. Just when he was about to turn around and leave, the mistress of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild stopped him and handed him another emblem.
"This is?" Simon asked observing the emblem that was made of some unknown material, carving a mighty white pce in between.
"That is the VIP pass which would allow you to go inside in any of our auction houses in the capital without needing to wait in the queue. It also has various other privileges that the average popce of the capital cannot enjoy. Keep it with you".
Alvara answered the question for him as she led him outside. Internally though, even she was surprised to see her mistress give out the VIP emblem to the man. One must know that only a few influential families and noble houses in the entire kingdom had the right to possess a VIP emblem of their Serene Pce Merchant Guild.
After the two of them exited the wagon, a white illusory light drifted off from the jade ring on the woman''s hand.
"Why are you trusting him that much? I already told you that man is a Demon noble didn''t I?" King Leo''s voice came from the white smoke-like substance.
Cynthia nodded her head and replied "I know but I feel like that Demon Noble is quite peculiar and different from the others".
? "Huh? What is this na?ve little girl saying? A Demon Noble masquerading as a human¡ what good intentions could they have?" the guardian spirit thundered.
"I know but after all the things that have happened; I just want to see where this development would lead to" she replied with a vague answer. Suddenly she knitted her delicate brows and remembered something.
"You told me you would tell me about the ability Jeeves hadter".
King Leo became silent after those words and only opened his mouth after a while "[Beast Inheritance]....".
After Alvara led him outside, they strolled for a while before she thanked him again and went back. When he returned to his wagon, he found Adalinda who was excitedly waiting for him.
"Where did you go?" she asked without missing a beat.
Simon frowned "I should be the one asking you? When did you disappear from the campsite?". Earlier when he was recuperating from his injuries, he felt the presence of the little girl darting off to somewhere.
As if waiting for this question of his, Adalinda started beaming and excitedly told him about the thing that she found in the norther ouw forest.
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"Hehe, after you dozed off, I sensed a very vague spatial interference that was left a couple of weeks ago, a hundred miles away from here at the edges of this forest. From the turbulence and the faint mana lingering, I interfered that it was my disciple. You were right, my disciple has headed for the capital".
Her excitement was over the top when the topic came to her disciple. Simon also nodded in delight, it was best if they found her disciple in the capital that way he wouldn''t have to tag along with her everywhere and he can go back to his dungeon in relief.
"That''s right, when is the convoy leaving? We cannot waste our time here in this forest, we should quickly get moving" Adalindamented. In her enthusiasm, she had forgotten that the convoy was in no shape to move right now.
Simon told her about the injuries of the members of the convoy and how he had sold some of his elixirs to the client. Although not being able to move immediately bothered her, she disyed an unexpected level-headedness and did not pester more about it from him.
Soon, at themand of the guardmander, those silver guards who could rtively move around, started distributing a vial of potion to everyone who was severely injured. Needless, to say the vial of potion was the exact same elixir that he had sold to Cynthia.
The members of the convoy at first were sceptical about the promised over the top effectiveness of the potion when all other low and intermediate-grade potions failed to heal them. However, after the first person who had received a fatal injury in his abdomen experienced the efficiency of the elixirs, he couldn''t help but squeal in joy.
After the others saw the healing ability of the potion, they naturally discarded all thoughts of sceptics from their minds and hurriedly drank the potion.
,m It wasn''t long before the surviving members of the convoy started erupting in joy and delight of being healed of injuries. They collectively crowded near the wagon where Cynthia was resting and incessantly thanked her.
The calctive woman naturally knew how to draw the favour of others towards her and her Serene Pce Merchant Guild. She then promised these people who were already won over by herpassion to distribute such a potion to them, to diligently follow her and they would not be treated unfairly.
Like this, even these adventurers who have seen many bloodshed, felt a me of loyalty sprout within their hearts. After the crowd was dispersed by her order, they started digging graves for their fallenrades and cleaned the area.
Others started preparing food on the firece and just like that, the silent and gloomy atmosphere surrounding the campsite, lightened up a little with the activity of the people.
"We checked the area for a few kilometres, there are no signs of any monsters nearby. even the traps we have set, shows no signs of intrusion" A group of adventurers and guards, who went to scout the area around their campsite for any signs of beast reported.
Alvara who waspiling their report, made a confused face. ording tomon sense after this much blood had been shed, the smell should be extremely conspicuous. So why weren''t the monsters attacking them?
This question was bothering her for a while and no matter how she thought about it she found it extremely strange.
"Did you check the area properly? Could there be any monster that avoided your traps or is just adept in hiding itself?" she confirmed.
The group ardently shook their heads. They have investigated the area many times and even used their skills to check for any monster that has potentially wandered near their camp.
After being told the same by her other subordinates, Alvara could only drop the issue while being cynical a little. Never could she have imagined that, there was a powerful barrier that had been erected by Adalinda, protecting their campsite. Even if it was a powerful monster, it wouldn''t be able to sense them.
When the sun was suspended overhead and the time was high noon, all the members of the convoy was gathered near the firece to discuss their next move. By now, all the people were familiar with each other and had no qualms talking freely with one another.
"We don''t know if there will be another bandit attack or if there are different brigands targeting us. Therefore we need to get out of the forest fast but ording to the route charted on this map, it would take us at least three more days to get out of here".
"But that is if we follow this map, there is another route that is less trod upon and might be filled with monsters and unknown dangers. Though it is dangerous, it will only take us a day and a half to get out of the Northern Ouw Forest".
Cynthia spoke analysing the map strewn over a table. She looked at the different expressions of the members and added "I cannot make this decision alone and that is why I seek all of your opinions. We shall take a vote to decide on our next route".
The vote started and unsurprisingly, there were many people who were in consent to tread the shortest but dangerous path. The people that wanted to continue on the same path were very few.
From the voting, it was clear that they didn''t want to go through another bandit attack and hence decided to take the path with many monsters. Although defeating monsters won''t be easy, they weren''t like bandits who would sneak attack them when their guard was the lowest.
If they took appropriate measures and utilised their years of hunting monsters, it was easier for them to survive if they travelled through the shortest route. After that unanimous vote, the members of the convoy started packing their stuff and bid goodbye to the graves of their friends.
-----
The route for the convoy was set and with the neigh of the Bane Moose, the wagons started moving. Now that there were more vacant spots for the riders of the Bane Moose, those people that didn''t have the chance to ride it before, rode it and surveyed the surrounding.
Simon was on top of one such Bane Moose positioned at the vanguard. Since all the people of the convoy acknowledged his aplishment and knew how experienced he was, they inadvertently obeyed any movements or orders he made.
Their faith started bing more and more strong when they sessfully evaded entering the territory of more than three groups of strong monsters in the space of a few hours of their travel. This once again reminded everyone how dangerous the uncharted route was.
-----
In a spacious dark room, there were multiple bookshelves and furniture made of polished wood. ced at the corner of the room, was a wide desk and a chair with many documents and scroll strewn around. Clearly, this was the study room of some person.
Faint moonlight seeped out from the open windows and illuminated the room and highlighted the figure of the person seated at the chair. Brown hair and decked in a well-defined ck suit, the young man emitted the very air of being an important person. He had a charming face and a soft aura that could make one drop their guards around him.
Currently kneeling in front of him was a person donned in grey robes and face hidden with a mask.
Listening to the report of his subordinate, the brown-haired man couldn''t help but frown, his fingers tapped on the ring on his hand and a small white conch the size of an egg appeared in his palm.
When the man entered some of his mana, the manyplex runes inscribed on its surface, lit up before dying down after a while.
"What? How can this be" as if he couldn''t believe it, he tried poring mana onto the conch once again, the process repeated and after a while, the light died down.
"I speak the truth Your Highness, Jeeves is dead," the grey-robed said in an anonymous voice.
THUD¡ the dull noise of the conch hitting the ground rang out and the brown-haired man addressed as his highness took heavy breaths. It appeared that the man had thrown the transmission shell in his anger.
"How can this be? After all the careful preparations and even with the aid of the [Beast Inheritance] skill, he still couldn''t take her out? That useless dog does he not know how much I had to spend to get him that skill? That ipetent mongrel".
Seeing the man throw a fit, the grey-robed man called out "Your Highness please calm down".
These nonchnt words caused the former to rage out even more "How can I calm down? He had only one job and for that, I even provided him with the [Beast Inheritance]. Now not only had he died and failed his mission, but he even wasted the skill".
"Ypu were called Eight right? Didn''t you say that it is an extremely powerful skill? Then why even after selling you that artefact in exchange, the mission had still failed?".
The grey-robed subordinate who was called Eight, internally snickered, he knew that the man was trying to put the me for the inadequacy of his subordinate on him. Nheless, he did not show it in his behaviour.
"Your Highness the [Beast Inheritance] cannot be med, it is still a skill after all and depends on how the user uses it. Jeeves dying could only mean that he had not assimted with it properly or had not activated it in time. But that is not something your highness should be worrying about right now and instead think about how to clean the mess that butler of yours might have created".
270 Chapter 270
"Hmph, you don''t have to worry about it. Although he turned out to be a useless dog, he was nheless extremely loyal. There is no possibility of him revealing any information about us" the man snorted at those words of Eight.
"I hope that is the case your highness, the fewer people that know about the existence of the [Beast Inheritance], the better" after reporting everything he had to, the grey-robed man excused himself.
A grey smoke drifted from him and his body quickly turned into a gaseous form and unobtrusively flew out of the window.
"Tch these people do they think that they are important? They are just merelyckeys of those Cerberus" His Highness spat his frustration out after he was the only one remaining in the room. He then walked in front of the mirror and practised his soft andforting smile before walking out of the room.
-----
After travelling for a day, the thick foliage of the forest started thinning out and the presence of the monsters had also decreased noticeably, indicating that they were at the edges of the forest. And finally, after another day of journey, the path led out of the forest.
A vast fieldy in front of them, devoid of any presence of monsters or bandits. The convoy rejoiced after escaping the hellhole that was the northern ouw forest alive.
The wagons stopped for a while to navigate their way, after rerouting their course they had to find their way back to the main road.
"This should have been the path we had to travel from that connects with the main highway. However, we had to change our course halfway through because of the bandits. Because of it, we are quite far from the main road that leads straight towards the dukedom of Montford" Cynthia opened the map and showed it to everyone present.
Next, she pointed with her hands on a small crisscrossing line across a vast patch of green.
"We should be currently here. To travel to the main road, we have to pass through multiple viges and ridges. Although the path cannot be saidpletely risk-free, it should be rtively safer than the forest. I want everyone to not let their guard down until we reach the Castledor city".
The members of the convoy immediately nodded and set forth. The Castledor city was the biggest city in the Dukedom of Montford, and also the city where his grand caste was located hence the name Castledor city.
The city was bigger than one could imagine and its grandeur could only be outshined by the capital. The popce here lived with a smile on their face, and merriness overflowed from the walls of the city.
Although the wealth difference was evident here too, but even the poor citizens got plenty of opportunities to earn their bread.
After passing through the gates and paying the toll fees, the convoy finally entered the Castledor city and sighed a heavy breath of relief. These few days of constantly being on guard had taken a strain on them and they couldn''t help erupt in joy after finally entering the safe confines of the city.
After the line-up of wagons entered the city, they attracted quite a lot of attention and when they stopped near a high-ss inn, it even garnered some awes from the passer-by. The hotel that the convoy had stopped onto was one of the most luxurious hotels in all of Castledor city called the Centre Point.
After the guardmander went to check-in, the entire hotel was booked by them showcasing the enormous wealth of their guild. The staff of the hotel took care of their wagons and the Bane Moose before leading them in.
Simon and the others got off from the wagons and entered the hotel to rest their tired bodies. The Mistress of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild made sure that everybody got a personal room or a room spacious enough to easily amodate a group of them.
ording to her, they would be resting here for a day or two before continuing their journey. They would be leaving the wagons here and continue through a different means.
After Cynthia passed a few relevant information, everyone dispersed. Simon entered his room and flumped himself on top of his bed. He was a Demon Viscount and hence his constitution was much stronger than an average human, even his wounds had long been healed.
Unlike the others, he did not need to rest but since he was travelling with them, he had to go with the consensus of the mass. Closing his eyes, he concentrated his attention on his body that was brimming with energy.
He had to admit that after the battles he had gone through in the Northern Ouw Forest, his level had spiked quite a lot. His level was now 347, he had gone through a total of 22 level-ups after departing from his dungeon.
Even some of his skills had evolved after that intense fight against the person with the beast inheritance. He had also gained new skills and was able to increase the tier of his electro magic to intermediate tier.
All in all, the trip was quite beneficial for Simon since he was able to improve a lot. After analysing his body, he got off his bed and took a bath. The High-ss inn lived up to its reputation; each individual room had its own separate bath and toilet. Although it cannot bepared to the luxury of modern day hotels of earth, the inn was still very good.
The fire attribute magic stones inserted around the bathtub heated the water and made the bath all the more enjoyable. Simon was curious as to what Adalinda was doing right now. Since they both had achieved quite a lot of achievements from the previous battles, they had received individual rooms.
He was quite sure that the little girl would be bugging him to hasten their journey to the capital. However, to his surprise, this little grand aunt showed an unexpected level-headedness.
''Has she calmed down after finding traces of her disciple?'' Simon wondered feeling the warm water sweep away his fatigue. After changing his clothes, he came down to the hall below only to meet Adalinda who had simrly taken a bath and was now gulping down the food provided on her table.
The bill would be added to the ounts of Serene Pce Merchant Guild and thus the little girl was ravenously eating any delicious food she could find.
''Ah so that was why'' looking at his sight, Simon immediately found his answer, it was not like the girl was keeping herposure or anything, she was just busy enjoying herself. He was increasingly starting to believe that the master and disciple were of simr nature with how flippantly they behaved.
When Adalinda spotted Simon, she beckoned with her hands for him toe and join her. Walking towards the table, he pulled out a chair opposite her and ordered something from the menu.
Soon, the previously empty hall started bing boisterous when the other members of the convoy starteding down. Noticing the familiar figure of the two of them, they sat around the table beside him and merrily initiated conversation.
The topic of discussion was of course the battle with the bandits that they had recently gone through and the people who had shown their remarkable powers. When they started increasingly praising him and showing bootlicking smiles, Simon couldn''t take it anymore and headed back towards his room.
CLACK¡ closing the door, he sighed a breath of relief. After lying down on his bed doing seemingly nothing, he took out the azure bead that Irene had given him back then from his inventory. He wanted to check the contents of it before but Adalinda barred him by telling him it would attract too much attention.
Thus he had no choice but to keep it back in his inventory. Now that he was all alone in his room, he could see what the item actually did without worrying about causing amotion.
Cutting his index finger a little, a droplet of blood seeped out and dropped on the item. At that moment, a brilliant azure light overflowed from the bead covering the entire room. Along with the light, came a bone-chilling cold that swiftly epassed the entire ce.
The light was so bright that Simon had to instinctively close his eyes, when he opened them back, a seemingly infinite blue space came in his view. A gasp of breath inadvertently leaked out from his mouth as he marvelled at the absurdity of the bead.
To affect his surrounding to such a degree, it was indeed not an ordinary item. After looking all around him, Simon found three objects suspended in the air not far from him. Looking at the things, he immediately understood that they were prepared by Irene for him.
A warm feeling washed over him when he thought about the ice cold beauty back at his dungeon. Simon beckoned with his hands and the thing was immediately pulled towards him.
Out of the three objects, one was a scarlet orb the size of a fist, the other was an emblem in the shape of a beautiful phoenix shining with a brilliant light. Thest object was quite peculiar in that variousplex arrays encircled the object making it next to impossible to guess what it is.
Even [Analysis] was unable to recognise the item.
*****
Name:- Simon
,m Race:- Demon Viscount
Titles:- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 1/5]
Stats:-
Level:- 347
HP:- 45,241
MP:- 63,220
Strength:- 2941
Defence:- 3141
Agility:- 3635
Magic:- 4035
Endurance:- 3288
Luck:- 2194
Skills:- Language Comprehension, Analysis, me Magic Mastery, Gale Magic Mastery, Lightning Magic Mastery, High-Speed Thought Processing, High-Speed Regeneration, High-Speed Flight, Super Enhanced Strength, Body Enhancement, Fire Resistance, Wind Resistance, Electro resistance Pain Resistance, Blunt Damage Resistance, Sense Presence, Hide Presence, Demonic Eyes, Super Enhanced Agility, Super Enhanced Endurance, Super Enhanced Magic, Super Enhanced Defence, Minimal Mana Consumption, Sharpened Senses, Mana Lines
Amalgamation Skills:- [me-Gale Mastery], [Electro-me Mastery]
Inherent Skills:- Dungeon Creation, Main Menu, Ancestral Symbol Ignition
271 Chapter 271
Simon fiddled with the object the size of his palm and covered in arrays, before shifting his gaze away. The next thing that attracted his eyes, was the emblem of phoenix.
No matter how he observed it, the shape of the phoenix in this emblem appeared to be the same as the one he had seen on Irene''s forehead when she suddenly acted weird. Although he had no conclusive evidence, he guessed that the thing was somehow rted to her bloodline or her race.
Simon tried to grab the emblem only to feel a bone-chilling cold that even made his soul shudder transmit from it. Just this sensation was enough to tell him that the item was anything but ordinary.
His guess was not wrong; however, when he used [Analysis] on it, the result he got even made him bewildered. Why would he not, the item was ranked [S] tier by the [Analysis], a grade that not even his highest tier item the Crimson zing me Sword couldn''tpare to.
What did it mean to own an [S] tier item? Didn''t it mean that he held one of the highest-ranking items in this world whose worth even he couldn''t begin to guess, currently in his hand? Even those noble and highborn Demon Archduke, would go crazy over the item, there was no way Simon wouldn''t.
Calming his wildly beating heart at this shocking of a gift, Simon read the description of the item.
Item- Ice Phoenix''s Sigh, Grade- [S]... A dew born from the mncholic sigh of the Divine Phoenix. It contains some of the essence of the supremeherfrost ice that is said to have the power to even freeze the entire world. When one puts their mana into it, a unique fog capable of tempering with thews of this world is generated.
The extreme divine and ice properties of the dew makes it an excellent item to erase one''s presence and make it seem that the person hadpletely disappeared.
Simon opened and closed his mouth many times unable to even speak a word. Ignoring everything else, just the part about it being able to erase his presence, was something that was unthinkable for Simon. Even his [Hide Presence] skill could only mask his presence with his surrounding a little so an item canpletely erase one''s presence was so absurd that he had a hard time believing it.
Nevertheless, it was an item from Irene and even his [Analysis[ testified the authenticity of it. Simon was overjoyed, with this item, he had one more life-saving artefact in his arsenal
With ecstatic and excited feeling, he rested his gaze onto thest item, the scarlet orb. Out of the three, only this item induced a wierd reaction from the [Analysis].
Item- Philosopher''s Stone, Grade- unknown... A mystical item highly valued by all beings. It is made of an unknown substance and holds the ability to store any kind of magic no matter how powerful it is. Once the magic stored within it is used, it takes a long period of time for it to be usable once again. Note- the magic can be used without the caster''s mana. Cooldown period:- 1 Year.
Simon''s eyes were widened to their limit when he read the description written about the stone. At first nce, the usage of the item appeared to be the same as the skill crystal; however, unlike thetter, the philosopher''s stone does not need the caster''s mana to use the magic nor does it have any limit of the magic it can store.
Just these two aspects made it far superior to any skill crustal of any grade.
When he held the stone in his hand, he felt a vast amount of power emanate from it, indicating that the magic stored within it was not ordinary. Without having a need to think over it, Simon knew that Irene had stored some magic in it already.
Even the slightest trace leaking out of the stone was already so frightening; he wondered what kind of terrifying magic was stored in it.
With thest item now in his hand, the illusory space around him copsed and he was back in his room at the inn.
"Haa¡ haa¡"Simon took hurried breaths of air before calming his wildly beating heart. Currently in his hands were three items, the first was the Ice Phoenix Sigh, the second was the Philosopher''s stone and thest one was the mysterious item covered in multyered andplex runes.
Just when he kept the items on his inventory, an uproar sounded out from outside his room, people who were jolted awake by the sudden burst of bone-chilling cold, came to investigate where it originated from.
Knock¡knock¡ His door was knocked and Simon had no choice but to open it.
"Sir Simon are you alright? We felt the invocation of an incredible magic from here" the members of the convoy asked him in concern when they felt the energy was leaking out from his room. It seemed that he had underestimated the energy that leaked out from the bead, even after secluding himself in a room, the energy still managed to travel outside.
Dispersing the issue as nothing but the invocation of his magic, he was able to somehow deceive these people; nheless, they still kept sceptical looks as they eyes the frost covered room of his.
-----
A day passed with the convoy members resting their tired bodies. The morning of the next day, Cynthia who was dressed in an elegant ck dress and apanied by her guardmander and some of the silver guards, took her wagon to visit a ce.
While on their way, the striking appearance of the Bane Moose attracted a lot of eyes but when these onlookers saw the direction where the wagon was headed, they gave up all thoughts of investigating the origins of these people.
Not long after, the carriage stopped in front of arge gate beyond whichid the grand castle of the Duke Montford. Guards wearing sets of armours were stationed around and patrolled the area. When they saw a group of people surrounding a wagon approaching near, they stopped them before inquiring about their identities.
The gate was opened and the carriage swiftly entered in. The personal residence of a duke was truly huge, even the area around his castle was well maintained with many small gardens and big buildings here and there.
After what took a couple dozen minutes, the wagon finally stopped in front of the entrance of a grand castle emanating a sturdy and powerful ambience.
Cynthia along with Alvara who was donned in her battle garb, climbed the stairs to meet a maid and a butler who were already waiting for them.
"Wee Your Highness, I''m the head maid assigned by lord Montford to take care of any of your needs. Pleasee in" the maid made a gesture with her hand.
Cynthia nodded her head before asking "Where is His Grace Duke Montford?".
The head maid elegantly bowed and replied "His Lordship is currently busy with a guest from the Adventurer''s Association, he wille down to meet with you soon".
''A guest from the Adventurer''s Association?'' the words of the head maid made her frown nheless, she allowed them to lead her to a hall. Apart from the guardmander Alvara, all the other silver guards were asked to stand stationary outside the castle.
The interior of the castle was no less impressive than its exterior with each room decoratedvishly. After waiting for a while in the hall, the door to the room was opened and a man who looked to be in his forties with ageing grey hair, walked in.
He was wearing a tailored suit that matched the colour of his hair and his stoic face and sharp eyes, gave him an aura of a person of authority. Who could the person be other than the duke of this castle?
Following behind him was a handsome man in his twenties wearing lurid red robes. He carried himself with a smile and held a long cane imbued with a big core stone on top. The man was a mage through and through.
Cynthia and Alvara greeted the duke before seating back down on their seats. Duke Montford gestured with his hands and he and the man following behind him sat opposite them.
"Let me introduce him to you. He is Lucas ckwood, son of the prominent Marquis family and also the youngest man to be the guild manager of the Adventurer''s Association of our Castledor city. Additionally, he will also be participating in the uing ''Battle of the Finest''petition held in the capital"
Duke Montford introduced, the way he gave such high praises for the man, seemed to say that he held the other person in high regards.
Lucas smiled, appearing amiable and friendly to speak to.
"And Lucas this is¡" Duke Montford motioned with his hands and was about to introduce the other party when Lucas stopped him.
"Your Grace does not need to expend his effort, who doesn''t know Her Highness the youngest princess of the Kingdom of Ellesmere. It is said that her intelligence and her beauty were the greatest and the most precious gems of this kingdom. It seems that the rumours were true indeed"
Lucas smiled, his handsome face could instantly smitten any noblewomen. However, Cynthia simply nodded. With her intelligence, how could she not see the intoxication in his eyes and his attempts of leaving an impression on her?
She was aware of her beauty which was coveted by many of the noblemen and famous adventurers who repeatedly sent her gifts trying to court her. Nheless, all of it was a failed endeavour on their part, as nobody managed to sway her.
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After exchanging a few words with him, Cynthia shifted her attention back toward the duke.
"Your Grace I believe you are already aware of the intention behind my visit so I will not beat around the bush. I wish to borrow your Air Engine to travel back to the capital".
Her indifferent words did not induce any reaction from the duke as he simply closed his eyes and pondered for a bit.
"Well, I guessed that much the moment you decided to enter my territory. It is not a problem to lend you my Air engine to travel back to the capital; however, as you know it is very difficult to manufacture and there is only one in my entire territory. You see this young man also came to me with the same request as you and I had already promised him to lend the Air Engine".
Duke Montford said pointing at Lucas who was currently lost in his own thoughts. Cynthia made a difficult expression when she heard those words, she had entered the territory of the duke hoping to utilise the Air Engine he had to travel back to the capital.
But now that he had already promised to lend it to someone else, she cannot just tell him to go back on his words. Just when she was brooding over what to do, Lucas who had thought something up, suggested.
"If I may princess... how about we travel together since our destination is the same? As you can see, I am also in need of the Air Engine to participate in the ''Battle of the Finest'' held in the capital. The Air Engine his grace owns, can only carry less than twenty people and excluding the driver and the members who will operate it, we only have twelve seats avable".
"Fortunately, if we include his grace, myself and some of his personal guards there are still five seats avable. What does her highness think?".
Cynthia fell into an intense contemtion and weighed her options. She cannot simply travel on a wagon as it would be too dangerous and takes up a lot of time. Then was her only option to travel with them? But then again her convoy consisted of more than twenty-five people who came with her all the way from city of Mountmend from the remote northwestern corner of the Kingdom.
Seeing that the princess had fallen into deliberation, Duke Montford couldn''t help but speak out.
"There is no need for your highness to make a decision now. The Air Engine will leave tomorrow morning from the south field of Castledor city. Take your time and think over it".
Duke Montford stood up and Lucas after throwing her beautiful face onest nce, exited the hall.
Alvara who was simrly pondering over their options, asked "Princess what shall we do now? If we don''t take the Air Engine, we wouldn''t be able to reach the capital before the coliseum opens".
To those words of hers, the princess of the Kingdom of Ellesmere, simply smiled "Let''s go back, we can decide what to do after we get back to the hotel. Also, contact the branch office of our Serene Pce Merchant Guild located in this city and ask the person in charge toe meet with me as soon as possible".
-----
The time was noon; Simon who was forcibly pulled out of his room to stroll the market of the Castkedor city by Adalinda, wasing back to the inn after spending loads of money on foods and other various attractions.
Of course, All this money went from his pockets, the little girl acted as a freeloader all the time without spending even a dime. There was a moment when Simon asked her why doesn''t she pay for her own share of food? The reply he got was absurd to say no less. She felt it was a waste of space to carry these trinkets of metals that held next to no value to her.
Just as they approached the hotel, he sensed a sudden tensioning from within. Curious, he opened the entrance only to be greeted by the members of the convoy who were currently assembling in one of the halls.
''What is going on?'' Simon wondered, he was about to follow them when from the corner of his eyes he spotted Chuck. It seemed that thetter had also spotted him as the adventurer greeted with a simple nod of his head before hurriedly excusing himself.
Simon creased his brows, for the past few days some reason he felt like the adventurer was consciously or subconsciously avoiding him a little.
"Hey let''s go, there seems to be something interesting going on over there" Adalinda called out and before he could even ponder further, he was pulled along.
In one of therge halls of the Centre Point Hotel, a group of people gathered. Standing in front of them was Cynthia her guardmander and a few new faces.
"I believe everybody is gathered here? If so then let me tell all of you the reason behind assembling here".
The Mistress of the Serene Pce went on to detail how they would travel from here to the capital and also revealed the Air Engine that they would use to travel. When everybody heard that there are only a few seats avable and they all cannot go, many of them became disheartened.
After travelling with each other for a while and oveing numerous dangers, they all developed a sense of camaraderie. They started treating each other as good friends and people they could trust, the news of them not being able to travel together came out as quite a shock.
"The Serene Pce Merchant guild keeps its words and rewards those that have worked hard and have incurred heavy losses in the process. Although I believe this isn''t enough, I have prepared your rewards with your achievement in mind" .
"Additionally, for your help this time I would like to give you all a position of honorary member and this badge that shows your position in our guild" Cynthia signalled with her eyes and the middle-aged man behind her swiftly brought out numerous boxes containing items and pouches of gold.
From amongst the group, Simon squinted his eyes. The woman was quite calctive, although the circumstance didn''t allow her to bring these adventurers along with her, she nevertheless, didn''t want to lose these powerful and loyal warriors and wanted to keep having them as her pawns. The honorary member and the badge was just a decoration.
Seeing that the rewards were handed out appropriately she further added.
"Other than myself and the guardmander there are still three vacant seats avable. Rting to these three avable seats, I will select three individuals based on their achievements from our travel up until this point".
"Of course, you have a right to reject this spot in which case, you will still receive the promised rewards and benefits from my guild. The vacant seat will then be filled by the next suitable candidate".
Cynthia''s eyes roamed across the crowd and swiftlynded on the three people she had decided to take with her.
----
Southfield of the city was a wide area ofnd specially used for holding military drills and training for soldiers of the duke''s personal army. The field was mostly empty with only a few instruments here and there used by the soldiers during their training.
This part of thend of the Castledor city was restricted for most people, hence only soldiers, could be seen walking around. The morning light of the sun began to fall onto thend and brightened the ce, an airship in the shape of a blimp more than a hundred meters big andpletely covered in ck could be seen stationed in the middle of the field.
A group of people could be seening and going out of it, investigating every corner of the airship. The airship owned by Duke Montford called the Air Engine had numerous windows and a single wide gallery for people to view the scenery outside.
It had four huge engines, two located at its bottom and two at its rear end. Loud noises echoed out whenever the engine started and powerful vibrations travelled through the ground.
Seven people observed the air engine from a ce not very far away. Out of the seven, one was Duke Montford and the other Lucas ckwood. The rest were soldiers and adventurers appointed by them to guard their safety.
At this moment, they were discussing some important issues when out of the corner they discovered a group of five people approaching near.
"Hmm¡ they havee," Duke Montford said focusing his attention on the other party. He then stepped forward and walked towards them, following behind him was Lucas and the others.
"It seems her highness has made her decision. In that case, let us not wait any longer, the air engine is ready to take off" duke Montford greeted the beautiful woman walking in front.
The group that just arrived was none other than Cynthia and the members of the convoy. Lucas too greeted the princess of Ellesmere Kingdom with intoxicated eyes and sweet words. He then roamed his eyes on the people that she had brought along.
His gaze first went over to the female warrior with short ck hair and having an alluring body, closely following behind Cynthia. She was the very same person who had followed the princess yesterday too.
Then he observed the burly adventurer fully decked out in an armour made out of ckgold. When his gaze went over to the remaining two person, he couldn''t help but frown.
Lucas who prided himself for reaching a high level and his achievement of bing a branch manager of Adventurer''s association at such a young age looked at the young man with pith ck hair who appeared to be simr to his age.
Chapter 273
Not only that, the man was as handsome as him or maybe even more with those devilish looking aspects. The fact that he couldn''t see through the status of the other party with his [Analysis], told him that the man was not simple.
What surprised Lucas even more was the little girl who was nonchntly walking behind. From her doll-like appearance, she seemed like she was less than fourteen years of age; nevertheless, her presence was something even he couldn''t fathom.
The two of them clearly stood out with the aura of unusualness around them. After Cynthia''s announcement yesterday at the hotel, the three people that consisted of Simon, Adalinda and Chuck, were selected out of all the other people from the convoy.
Simon guessed that it was because of their aplishments but he was quite relieved that they were chosen; after all, their destination was not the Castledor city governed by the duke but rather the distant capital of this kingdom.
The mistress had also dodged a disaster by selecting Adalinda. Who knew what this girl would have done if she wasn''t given a spot.
No one from the convoy voiced any disagreements nor show any discontent towards the selected individual as they were all aware of their powers and valour. They simply epted them as the most deserving candidates.
Although Chuck was about to decline the offer because his two teammates were not selected, hisrades worked him out of it saying that they will find a way toe to the capital soon and he should just go ahead. the man must have somepelling reason to go to the capital. However, his behaviour was a little peculiar this past few days thus Simon found it a little hard to initiate a conversation with him.
After exchanging a few words with the Duke, Cynthia epted his goodwill and swiftly walked towards the air engine along with her people. After everyone boarded the airship, a loudbustion noise erupted from it before it took off the ground.
The airship hovered over a thousand meters for a while before its altitude started rising and only stopped after it reached beyond 7000 meters. The other pair of engines at the rear of the ship activated and propelled the airship forward. And in a few moments, therge air engine, became a small ck dot on the horizon that was getting further and further away.
-----
City of Mountmend, in one of the big buildings that are constantly swarmed by people going in and out. A logo of a burning bow and arrow was beautifully carved on this building that attracted the onlooker''s attention and also symbolised who this building belonged to.
Burning Arrows Guild, the organisation that came to rise after the downfall of the Sea God''s Trident branch guild in the city of Mountmend. They were currently by far the top guild in this city and received an average of a hundredmissions per day. They were reputedly number one and no other guild came closer.
Currently, on the fourth floor of the building, in one of the rooms that was used as the personal room of the guild master, a man with curly brown hair sat on his seat going through one document after another.
His eyes were lively, his build was that of a warrior and he kept that unkempt facial hair that gave him a rough look. The man wearing light leather armour over his burly body, was none other than the guild master of the burning arrow guild.
After arranging the documents, his eyes went over to thest remaining one kept on his table and his brows locked in a grimace. Thest remaining document was more like a letter that was addressed to him the guild master.
Reading through the contents of the letter, the frown on his forehead deepened, that was because the letter requested of him toplete a particr task. Normally, he would have ignored such a request that was not made officially, but the sender this time was not ordinary.
The Head Branch of the Adventurer''s Association had requested him to explore the dungeon that have recently emerged near their city and report every detail and their findings back to them.
The man had the urge to tear the letter apart, asking them to report every detail of their exploration and findings, it was the same as the other party asking them to hand over all their contribution and knowledge for which they have shed blood and sweat, to them for free.
He was just about to throw the letter in some corner of his desk when he saw the name of the sender which matched exactly to that of the Head Branch director of the Adventurer''s Association.
They were a colossal existence whose reach extended to every corner of the central continent. Each Kingdom or Empire, had a head branch and many divisions spread all around their territory. Since the main headquarter did not have the time to monitor their each and every division, the head branch that is located at the capital of each kingdom, is responsible for that.
Thanks to that, the head branch of the Adventurer''s Association held enough power and authority that was no less than the top five guilds of their Kingdom. A letter with the name of the head manager of such an organisation was something that he couldn''t ignore.
The guild leader of the burning arrow''s guild sighed and massaged his forehead, he felt a headacheing after reading the letter.
"It seems that I have no choice but to go along with this" the man mockingly smiled before taking out a small conch from the drawer of his table. Inserting some of his mana into it, the runes around the shell lit up and a voice from the other side sounded out.
"Guild Leader? Is there something you need from me?".
"Yes, gather everyone other than those members that have dived inside the dungeon and assemble in the main hall tonight. I have some announcements to make" he said before ending the call. After that, he stood up from his seat and looked out of his window from the fourth floor.
The elevation he was in, gave him a clear sight of the city and also the distant vast field. If one travelled down the city and crosses the vast field, they would soon be treading upon thends of the Demon Continent, the Ghastly Winding Forest. The newly emerged dungeon that was the talk of the town, was located there.
-----
The interior of the air engine, was unlike its simple ck exterior and was made in a way that provided its passengers''fort. Even the noise of the engine from the outside did note in.
Simon roamed his eyes all around the airship, this was his first time after reincarnating into this world that he was using a different means other than his wings to fly around in the sky. Not only that, but even the way the engine of this airship operated with the help of magic stones, intrigued him.
The ship was controlled by a group of eight mages with each of them having mastery over Fire magic or wind Magic. Then there was also the mysterious runes supplied by thousands of magic crystals in the cockpit of the ship.
ording to Adalinda, this was just a third ss ship at best and she had seen much much better ones.
"The client said that it would take us four days of travelling by the air engine to reach the capital" Simon said, the client he was talking about was the mistress of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild.
Adalinda who was standing not far from him smirked, her gaze pasted at window. "Good, the more early we reach the better, this way not only will she fail to sense me since I''m travelling by an airship, but I can even make some preparations before shees to the capital".
She then looked at him and said "Anyways, that woman turned out to be a princess of this kingdom. As you had guessed, her origin was not that simple. It also makes sense now that she has that Soul Ring. It might be one of their most precious treasures".
Earlier when they met with the other group of passengers, one of them who turned out to be the duke of this territory addressed their client as the princess. Therefore it was no longer a secret to them that the mistress of the Serene Pce Merchant guild was the princess of this kingdom.
Simon walked around the cabin for a while before opening the door to the gallery outside. A transparent barrier was erected here that blocked the wind and gave the passengers a wide view of the sky.
When Simon entered followed by Adalinda, his eyes spotted a couple of familiar figures. Two beautiful figures that could instantly steal one''s attention towards them, were sitting on a row of chairs.
"Oh if it isn''t sir Simon" Cynthia said, turning around.
The moment he discovered them, he too was noticed by them. Other than them, there was also the duke and a young man wearing a lurid red robe and holding a cane embedded with a huge core stone. It seemed that both the parties were in between their talks when he came in.
? "Princess, they are?" Lucas asked, observing the two of them.
"Ah.. let me introduce them, they are the adventurers who had helped me fight off the bandits and the dangerous monsters of the northern ouw forest. Sir Simon and Miss Adalinda" Cytnhia said smiling gracefully.
"Oh, so they are the adventurers who managed to defeat those pesky bandits and their Brigand master?" Duke Montford after hearing that, got up from his seat and approached Simon.
Chapter 274
"Young man, you did us a lot of favour by taking care of them. Previously no matter how many times I sent amission to a guild or sent my personal soldiers, those irksome bandits would always hide some corner of the forest making this whole venture a huge headache for me".
Even when a duke approached him, the young man didn''t seem fazed and simply nodded his head.
Duke Montford did not mind hisckadaisical attitude andughed it off. Though the same wasn''t true for Lucas who was beside him. It seemed that he didn''t like the attitude of the adventurer that didn''t respect royalty. After sparing the other party a few more nces, he didn''t bother with them anymore.
"That''s right, why don''t you sit with us Sir Simon, Miss Adalinda. We have plenty of seats vacant here" Cynthia sped her hands and invited.
Duke Montford nodded, he had no qualms with adventurers sitting beside them. Simon was just about to reject their offer when Adalinda pulled him along and sat on her designated seat. After being pulled along and brought near the seat by her monstrous strength, he had no choice but toply and sit with them.
''This little girl, she definitely thinking of some mischief to relieve her boredom'' Simon was already used to her antics after travelling with her for a month. Hence he could somewhat guess what thetter was trying to do.
Simon felt a headacheing, How did he end up in this situation? He was just trying to observe how the scene outside looked from the gallery and know more about the air engine. Little did he know that he would be dragged between these two parties.
"So what happened to your convoy when you were attacked by a group of battle bearste at night?" Lucas asked trying to shift the conversation. Even he did not notice that his tone had be a little sour after the two new entrants sat beside them. His eyes constantly gazed at the princess, trying to initiate a conversation with her.
Cynthia looked at Alvara beside her who decided to reply him on her behalf.
"Yes that is right, we camped at the ce without knowing it was the nest of the battle bears. No, I guess sir Simon did inform us about that but because we were too tired to search for a different campsite and due to our negligence in determining the gravity of the situation, we got ambushed by the Battle bears and a Battle grizzly that night".
"However, before we incurred any more casualties, Sir Simon defeated the leader of the battle bears, the Battle Grizzly and forced the rest to flee".
She recounted, a small smile appeared at the corner of her lips when she thought about how many times they were saved by the adventurer and his vast knowledge.
"Hoh¡ to be able to not only recognise the nest of the battle bears with simply a few signs and to defeat even a Battle grizzly, is quite the feat if I must say so¡ hahaha" Duke Montfort caressed his beard and said.
He then tapped on the table and added with a serious face.
"Young man I hold talents like you in high regard. If you ever think about quitting the adventurer''s profession, I would be d to have you as my soldier and offer you the position of amander if you want? Anyhow, the doors to my Castledor city will always be open for you".
Simon shook his head and tactfully rejected the offer from the duke. There was no way he was going to work as a soldier after spending his previous life working for someone else. In this life, Simon had decided to do what he wanted and stay true to his desires.
While everybody was having a pleasant conversation and a decent time, there was someone who did not share such sentiments.
Lucas was annoyed by how many times the adventurer''s name came up during their conversation. ''Simon this...Simon that'' the conversation that he had changed shifted back to the young man once again.
What annoyed him, even more, was that the princess whenever she gazed at the adventurer, would reveal an interested expression which was unlike the indifferent gaze she threw towards him.
''What is so special about this peasant adventurer? If I want to, I can easily incinerate a group of Battle grizzly. Just because he defeated a single battle grizzly, he is allowed to act so haughtily?'' Lucas cursed internally.
A seed of emotion called jealousy that he had never felt before sprouted in his heart at this moment. Suddenly, he remembered something and a crafty light shed in his eyes as he smiled.
"That''s right, since adventurer Simon is so strong, then is he participating in the ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament that is going to be held in the capital?".
If Simon participated in the tournament, he would be able to show the princess that he was more powerful than the peasant adventurer who had no proper education and mentor and whose bloodline made it questionable if he could be any stronger.
Simon simply shook his head at those words, he was not going to the capital to participate in thepetition and instead he was going there to search for the disciple of this little grandaunt. He had no interest in this tournament called ''Battle of the Finest'' whatsoever.
"Ah, is that so? Well, that''s a shame because this year many powerful individuals are participating and it will be a good experience to know where exactly your power stands. Other than that there is also the enticement from this year''s reward which is rumoured to be a powerful Skill Grimoire amongst the many other rewards" Lucas exined while internally snickering.
Simon processed all the information that was provided by Lucas, he would be lying if he said that his interest wasn''t piqued when he heard about the reward and some unfamiliar terms.
Duke Montfordughed loudly before dering in an excited voice.
"Right, it is as Lucas said, this year''s rewards and the people who are participating, are something else. Although a handful of people are privy to it, but the rewards this time was given by the Adventurer''s Association, so it cannot be ordinary. ording to what I know, many guilds and their guild leaders would be paying a close attention to the winner of thispetition".
He then looked at Cynthia and smiled mysteriously "Even the royal family of Ellesmere is sparing no efforts to nurture their members and prodigal young people from their side¡ isn''t that so princess?".
At this moment when all eyes focused on her, Cynthia sighed and replied.
"Indeed it is as you have said, currently royal father and everyone in the pce is quite busy with grooming the third brother for the uingpetition. I must say that your informationwork is quite wide, Your Grace".
Duke Montford waved his hands and shook off the remark.
"No such thing your princess... although I was aware that the royal family was doing its best to nurture some people, by buying all of the elixirs and mana crystals they could find all over the region, I couldn''t have guessed it was for the prodigal third prince. However, even if it is the third prince, it won''t be so easy for him to take the number one spot with how the top five guilds are eyeing the top reward".
"Plus, this year Lucas representing our northern region of the kingdom, would also be participating at the tournament. He is someone who at the mere age of twenty-one, was able to reach level 300 and be the youngest branch manager of the Adventurer''s Association. Haha, I cannot wait to see whoes out as the final victor".
Duke Montford stated positively, his hands patting the young man in red robes beside him.
Lucas smiled "His grace is exaggerating, all of this was more than ten years ago. I''m sure that the third prince''s achievement is already far greater than mine".
.
.
After exchanging a few more words, Simon and Adalinda were the first ones to excuse themselves followed by Cynthia and Alvara.
The journey with the air engine was extremely smooth and they had covered a vast expanse ofnd in two days. Something that would have been previously impossible to cover with wagons. The travel these past few days was unexciting with nothing much happening.
On the third day, a disturbance that worried the passengers of the air engine urred. Out of the eight crew of the airship two fire mages that were above level 200, copsed due to overexerting their mana.
"What is happening?! How could something like this ur?" Duke Montford thundered. His face was masked with anger when he was reported of such a crisis in between their journey.
"Y-your grace ording to our calction three fire mages and four wind mages would have been enough to keep the air engine running for four days. However, due to the airship not being used for a while, the engine might have gotten clogged and ate more mana than usual" the pilot who was sweating profusely replied.
At this moment, the other passengers also entered the cockpit drawn by themotion.
"You idiot I''m not asking for your stupid excuses. I want you to quickly find a solution through this crisis" Duke Montford shouted, his prestige cowered the crew members.
"What is wrong your grace?" Cynthia asked with a frown.
"Haaah¡ apparently, two out of the three fire mages that were operating the fire engine, copsed due to over draining their mana. Currently, only a single fire mage and four wind mages are keeping the airship operational" Duke Montford replied with an ashen face.
Simon, Adalinda, Alvara and the others knitted their brows when they heard that. From his words, they could interpret that the journey that they thought would go smoothly wouldn''t go as such anymore.
Chapter 275
BANG¡
With a loud creaking sound, the airship trembled intensely. The ship started slowly falling from the altitude scaring some of the crew members and passengers silly.
At this moment, Simon who was worried about their swiftly decreasing eleration asked "What about the other four wind mages? Are they all alright?".
Duke Montford looked towards the pilot, he too wanted to know the answer to that question. Since the air engine was malfunctioning and eating more magic than usual, then doesn''t that mean that all the crew members operating the ship, were affected the same.
The pilot wiped the sweat from his face and replied nervously "Although the pressure on the wind mages is low due to them having more numbers, it couldn''t be said how long they can hold on".
Everyone''s eyes widened when they heard that. Losing two out of the three fire mages was already a big blow to the functioning of the airship; however, now they would also have to worry about the other mages who were somehow keeping the air engine floating.
Seeing the tension in the cockpit reach a boiling point, the pilot suggested a solution with a pale face.
"There is a way to resolve this crisis; however, it would require your assistance. If any of the passengers who use fire or wind magic could lend us their help, then it would be possible...".
Everyone present when they heard his words, made a pondering face. Duke Montford nodded his head all the while wearing an intense frown on his face.
"Lucas please lend us your strength". He looked at the young man in red robes and asked.
Lucas stepped forward and spoke dissolving the tension in the air "What is his grace saying. It is natural that I help out when all of us are in this crisis".
Duke Montford nodded his head, he then directed the pilot "This young man has incredible mastery over fire magic, make use of his powers as you see fit".
The pilot hurriedly obliged, he then looked at the pale faces of the other four wind mages and asked "Is there anyone with mastery over wind magic?".
Seeing everyone''s pensive look, Alvara nced at Cynthia before stepping forward.
"I use Gale magic to strengthen my attacks. Although my ss is a warrior ss more focused in agility and magic stats, I''m quite confident over my mastery of the gale magic". The guardmander stated, her voice was neither hesitant nor boastful.
The intense frown on duke''s face finally receded a little "Quick pilot direct them what to do before the whole ship falls down".
BEEP¡ BEEP at this moment, the airship was fiercely shaking, its hull making creaking noises. The pilot gulped and immediately set forth to direct the two towards their position in the magic arrayid in the cockpit.
"Sit in your respective seats and channel your wind magic through thatrge magic stone in front of you. The principle behind keeping the airship afloat is the same as how you engulf yourself in your magic. In this case, your body is this airship and your magic is this formation".
Alvara and Lucas nodded their head before sitting in their seats and channelling their magic.
BANG¡ the shaking of the ship intensified and it was hard to keep bnce with the ship tilting left and right every now and then.
The passengers of the air engine audibly gulped, the tension only faded when they felt the altitude of the ship was stable now. Little by Little, the air engine started to rise and reached its top altitude once again.
The journey that became rickety for a while, seemed to have be smooth for a while when eventually the remaining four wind mages ran out of mana. It seemed that the consumption from the air engine was still too much for them.
Fortunately, they did not faint like the two fire mages and simply got up from their seat to rest.
"Will the airship be alright with the support of just the two of them for a while?" Duke Montford asked.
The pilot who was holding the staring wheel, seemed to look at the multitudes of gauges and meters on his dashboard before somewhat hesitantly nodding his head.
"Although our speed would be reduced marginally, the air engine will still remain floating and work nheless. If we want to increase our speed, we would need another mage or a warrior with a high level who can support that miss with the wind magic".
Cynthia crossed her hands in front of her ample chest and pondered. The ship would still work even if it''s only the two of them working together, however, their journey would be dyed and they would be arrivingter than expected. It was not only the princes but all the passengers including Adalinda who thought the same.
Simon who made an expression like he had no other choice stepped forward, and decided to use this chance to offer his help.
"I can use wind magic too¡ with my help and after the recovery of the other mages, how long will it take us to reach the capital?".
Hearing his question, the passengers and ship''s crew, focused their eyes on him. They were all rejoicing internally that they had another person with mastery over wind magic with them.
However, those who have travelled with Simon for the past couple of weeks, looked at him with gobsmacked eyes. If they were to believe the young man, then didn''t it mean that not only was he adept with fire and electro magic, but was also proficient in wind magic?
A person with mastery over three different kinds of elements, how rare was that? Even in the capital, they thought that there were only a handful of such skilled individuals.
"Hoh¡ you can also use wind magic? That is great news, pilot do you think our speed will increase now?" Duke Montford stroked his beard and asked.
The pilot mused over it for a few seconds before replying in a relieved tone "In that case it will only take us half a day more than the estimated four days of journey".
Everybody nodded in rejoice after knowing that the voyage wouldn''t take more than four days. The trip after that was extremely smooth without any more hups, with the help of three people with enormous mana, even the ship''s crew could take it easy and preserve their mana.
On the morning of the fourth day, they approached near the capital which was only half a day''s distance away. From their elevation, they could see multiple air engines in the distant skies arriving from different regions of the kingdom.
The allure of the tournament that is soon going to be held in the capital was so great that it brought people from every corner of the kingdom.
Simon who was watching the many air engines dotting the distant sky from the gallery, noticed that all of them were gathering in a certain direction. After the mages of the airship recovered from their mana drain, they held their respective positions once again which made Simon, Alvara and Lucas free to do whatever they want.
"Since the capital city of Ellesmere is a no flying zone, the air engine has tond at the airfield a few kilometres away from the capital. That is why all of the airship will be heading there".
"Look over there, beyond the vast mountain range that you see, lies the capital" Cynthia who had entered the gallery at some unknown point in time, exined after seeing the direction he was looking at.
Simon nodded his head and nonchntly inquired gazing at the distant mountain range "So you were a princess huh?".
Cynthia tucked her violet hair behind her ears and smiled "It was not like I was hiding it, it''s just that the situation at that time did not allow it. Besides I never wished for such an identity". Her smile had an unknown depth of emotion in it.
"We will be reaching the capital soon and your job as my escort will also end. What will you do after that?" She asked turning her gaze towards the man who was lost in his own thoughts.
Simon focused his eyes, an unusual glint shed in them as he replied "We naturally have our reason foring to the capital so we will be parting ways after this".
Cynthia tilted her head and pried "You are not here for the ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament that is going to open soon?".
The young man simply smiled neither agreeing nor denying her words. Well, it was not like the reason they were here in the capital was not rted to the ''Battle of the Finest''; after all, the disciple that they are searching for is headed for the capital with the exact same reason.
"Hnn~ anyways our Serene Pce Merchant Guild is going to open their auction two days before the tournament. Obviously, there is going to be many good items and rare artifacts. I''m sure all of the participants of the tournament are looking forward to the opening of the auction to increase their powers. If you have time, you should visit our auction, I''m sure you won''t be disappointed".
Cynthia leaned against the railing of the gallery and rested her hand on her cheek. At this moment, the evening sun cast a reddish hue across the horizon painting the sky with its brilliant colour.
It had been more than four days since they had boarded the air engine and amidst a couple of hups in between, they were finally about to reach the capital of the kingdom of Ellesmere.
Simon spread his senses and was astounded to find hundreds of thousands of presencesing from the direction of the distant mountain range.
Chapter 276
From the readings Simon got from his senses, the poption of the capital they were about to enter, outmatched all the other cities that he had been to.
At this moment, Adalinda, Alvara and Chuck also entered the gallery after sensing the air engine change direction suddenly.
The little grandaunt excitedly waltzed towards him and pulled him into a corner.
"What''s wrong?" Simon asked.
"Hehe, that stupid disciple, I found the aura left behind by Lucine when she tore the space around here" Adalinda excitedly reported, her eyes were like that of a predator that had found its prey.
"Can you find her?" Simon asked, he too wanted to find her disciple as soon as possible and repay the favour he owed her.
Meanwhile, Chuck approached Cynthia and gave her a courteous bow "Your Highness, I would like to excuse myself after we reach the capital. My fiance is waiting for me there and I also have to report back to my guild".
Cynthia nodded and turned towards Alvara who handed her a badge from her space ring.
"Take this token with you. You can use this to exchange for your reward from our merchant guild and also be able to enter our auction without any invitation. Also, I''m very grateful for your assistance up until now, adventurer Chuck Remington".
The adventurer unconditionally epted the token, kept it in his space ring and turned to leave.
"What about Sir Simon and Miss Adalinda? Will you also be leaving after we reach the airfield?" the princess inquired.
Hearing her question, the two looked clueless and unsure. To which, she offered her assistance "In that case, how about you two leave with me? the capital is very bustling with hordes of people and activities everywhere, it is very easy to get lost. I can drop you to themercial district where it would be easy for you to find a good inn and rest"
As she said that, her gaze diverted towards the marvelling site that appeared in front of them. A gigantic city that lived up to its name as the heart of the kingdom, the capital city of Ellesmerey beyond the mountain range. Even from their elevation, they couldn''t see the full extent of the city which was full of vibrance.
Tall spires, buildings of various shapes that showcased architectural advancement, dotted every corner of the city giving it a unique look. Added with the abundance of hills, the capital''s grandeur was something to marvel at.
The city was not only full of activity, but the amalgamation of different cultures mixing together, gave it the look it has now.
A powerful barrier that even gave Simon a sense of dread, engulfed the city like an inverted bowl. ording to Cynthia and Duke Montford, the barrier wasid by a powerful mage to protect the city from any unknown threat.
At the centre of this city,y the grand castle that outshined all the other manors around it. Its splendour was one of a kind and could be seen as one of the points that added to the attractiveness of the city.
Thousands of soldiers patrolled the city donned in their shining armours carrying the symbol of the royal family. The townspeople depended on these very soldiers to resolve any dispute and keep their city safe and sound.
The glory and grandeur of the city far outmatched any of the city that Simon had seen up until now after his reincarnation.
"Wee to the capital city Ellesmere" the pilot said reducing their altitude. The air engine turned around and followed the path the various other air engines were following and silently drifted towards the mountain range.
Arge field that seemed to be made out after cutting the mountain in half, was where the airships werending. Various kinds of air engines in multiple shapes, were parked in this field.
Naturally, those who could own an air engine were not ordinary people and were nobles and influential people just like the duke. They were apanied by their line-up of guards, as they boldly walked forward boldly and dignifiedly.
Simon''s eyes roamed andnded on those guards, each of their levels was no less than 300 and some were even above level 400.
,m After their airshipnded with a heavy thud, the staff members of the air engine opened the exit for the passengers.
Landing off the air engine, Simon saw the others following a path and entering the air station that was built to receive the guestsing from the airships.
"Your Highness, I will be troubling you to send a letter to the minister. I will be going to my vi first before meeting up with his majesty" Duke Montford said passing a nearby soldier a badge that holds his mark.
After the soldier inspected the mark, he hurriedly ran outside the station to ready a carriage for him. Because the identity of each guest arriving from the air engine is very powerful, the station provides multiple guards along with the carriages to carry these personages.
Duke Montford nheless, rejected the offer of the soldiers and boarded the carriage that was prepared by the soldier along with Lucas and his guards. Since he brought guards from his dukedom, he did not see a need to trouble these soldiers who were diligently doing their work.
Princess Cynthia enjoyed the same privilege as the duke when the soldiers spotted her. Her beautiful face and reputation that was renowned across the capital was something that these of the city, were not unaware of. They swiftly prepared a carriage and assigned soldiers to guard her.
Cynthia too rejected their offer initially, only to be insisted on fervently by these soldiers. Since Simon and Adalinda counted as Cynthia''s guards, they obviously boarded the carriage with her. Adventurer Chuck found himself a different carriage and went off his own way.
With everybody in, the two carriages carrying the Princess and the Duke, departed for the capital which was only a few kilometres away and located at the base of this mountain range. One could see the city more clearly from the windows of the carriage and its vibrant life.
"Do you all have a destination in mind? If not then Alvara here can rmend you some good inns. Since the capital is flooded by peopleing from all of the regions, due to the tournament, most of the inns will be already pre-booked. It would be very hard to find an empty inn and a good one at that" Cynthia said looking at Simon and Adalinda.
Simon deliberated over it before epting her offer, the capital was brimming with people as she had said. Therefore finding a good inn might be very difficult than one would assume. Adalinda too did not have a reason to refuse since she was yet to find her disciple who was hiding quietly in this city.
Before long, the carriages appeared in front of a tall rampart surrounded by many soldiers who were checking the identity of the passengers.
"One must pay a toll fee to enter the city and register their name; however, since you all are travelling with me, there would be no need to do so this time. If any soldier asks you to show your identity, simply show them the badge of my Serene Pce Merchant guild, it would be enough proof for your identity" Cynthia said.
Meanwhile, the guardmander passed a badge engraving the emblem of the royal family to the soldier who hurriedly saluted and made way for them.
The moment, the carriage entered through the gate, Simon felt a vast energy that was from the barrier protecting the city, wash over his body. The power contained within the barrier was so strong that he felt like even the strongest magic in his arsenal, would only be able to create a small ripple in it.
The carriage passed through the gate and entered the city, a tidal wave-like liveliness enshrouded the city at this moment and one could see that every inhabitant in this ce, was in a festive mood.
The roads connecting the city were very wide and allowed more than four carriages to pass through simultaneously at once. People in different garbs, walked on the pavement of the road, each going through their own routine for the day.
Troops of soldiers patrolled the area after every few minutes and the security of this ce was top notch.
The carriage containing the duke, after bidding the princess goodbye, headed for a different intersection in road. Whereas their carriage headed for themercial district of the city. Which was also where most of the businesses and inns were located in.
After travelling for a while in the extremely busy streets, the carriage stopped in front of a hotel that was no less than the one they had stayed in when they arrived in Castledor city.
It seemed that the hotel was run by the Serene Pce Merchant Guild which made it easier for Simon and Adalinda who were apanying the mistress of the guild, to get good rooms.
Simon had honestly underestimated the merchant guild, he didn''t think that they would have their branch in every corner of the kingdom and different chains of business. After dropping them off, the carriage left for the royal pce.
"Esteemed customer, your room has been prepared on the third floor and these are your keys. Your food would be provided to your rooms or you can dine in the hall¡ if you need anything please don''t hesitate to tell us. I hope you enjoy your stay" the manager of the hotel brought out two keys from the drawer and spoke to them cordially.
Simon took the keys and passed one to Adalinda, he was just about to climb the stairs at the corner of the hall, when he noticed that the little girl was locking her brows in a frown.
"What''s wrong? Did you sense the aura of your disciple nearby?" he asked.
Chapter 277
Adalinda shook her head, she then nced at Simon before narrowing her eyes and remarking "Don''t you think that princess was too kind and hospitable to us?".
"Eh?" being asked something like that all of a sudden, he became speechless. He thought over the actions of the violet hair woman who also turned out to be the princess of this kingdom. Although her actions might seem as being too kind to others, Simon who had increased his value in front of her and saved her precious friend and aid didn''t think much about her action.
He told Adalinda not to worry over it too much and climbed up the stairs before disappearing inside his room.
Now left all alone in front of the door of her own room, she pursed her lips and softly mumbled "Did that beast soul say something to her¡ Anyways I hope that you are right and this is just me thinking too much".
A carriage travelled through themercial district of the city, passed through many luxurious manors and castles, before appearing in front of a fortress that surrounded the royal pce in the centre.
The royal pce including the fortress and the surrounding areas, covered almost 3% of the entirendmass of the city. The soldiers guarding the royal pce were much more stronger than the ones patrolling the city and each and every one of them was releasing a strong presence.
Seeing the carriage that had arrived, was carrying the princess, the leader of the soldiers allowed the carriage to pass through. After meandering around the front yard of the castle. The carriage finally stopped in front of the royal pce where the royal family of Ellesmere resided.
The maids and the servants of the pce, made a neat line to wee the princess who had just stepped down from her wagon.
"Wee back your highness" all of them performed a graceful bow simultaneously.
Cynthia nodded her head and walked in alongside her guardmander. The interior of the pce just like its exterior, gave off an aura of ambience with many artistical designs and decorations filling up the ce.
"Oh dear sister¡ ah, it''s such a relief to see youe back safe and sound. Your first brother here was worried sick when I heard you were travelling back without waiting for the royal escorts".
Just as she reached the wide hall of the pce, an emotional voice carrying warmth and concern, sounded out. Turning her head, Cynthia spotted a man with reddish-brown hair and wearing a neat ck suit, approaching her from the other entrance of the hall.
The man was of average height and apanied by his handsome face and the amiable aura he released, he was the bane of many nobledies. At this moment, he was apanied by his guards as he walked towards her.
"First brother, thank you for your concern, I was able to reach the capital safe and sound"Cynthia smiled her elegance was not the least bit out shadowed by the person in front of her.
"Haha, It''s all good as long as you are fine. your brother is quite busy with the uing events that our city is going to hold so I will not apany you any longer. We shall have a talk some other time".
Saying that, the first price walked past her and disappeared from the hallway.
Cynthia looked at the back of the man who she had just referred to as her first brother. Alstin Elrand Ellesmere, he was her half-brother and just like her, born to a mistress.
He was a man who carried himself with grace and was popr amongst the royal servants and guards. Although in terms of martial prowess he cannot bepared to her third brother, he still had quite an attainment at his age.
Aftering out of the hall, the next person to cross their path was¡ "Big Brother!?" Alvara shouted delightedly from beside Cynthia. She rushed towards him and nestled in his embrace.
The middle-aged man in front of them was the very own brother of the guardmander and also the strongest royal guard of the pce responsible for guarding the safety of the king.
He was donned in an armour that gave off a blue sheen whenever the sunlight shone on it and carried arge greatsword that was one of the treasures of the kingdom. Draping over his back was a red mantle with the mark of the royal family engraved on it.
"You little girl¡ do you know how worried I was these past couple of weeks" the royal guard said tousling the hair of his sister who was a head shorter than him.
Alvara pouted and acted just like a little sister would in front of her brother.
"But big brother Cyrus is always busy with work and does not even have time to look after his little sister".
Looking at his little sister who was brooding and trying to ac cute, Cyrus could help butugh bitterly. He patted her head when he was relieved that she had suffered no injuries before turning his attention towards the princess.
The royal guard got on one of his knees and bowed "Please excuse the rudeness of my little sister you highness. Usually she does not act like this but it appears that I have spoiled her a tad too much".
His words immediately made the face of the guardmander beet red and she couldn''t help stomp her foot in annoyance.
Cynthia smiled seeing the sibling bicker the moment they met and also at the same time her eyes became mncholic. Looking a the familial love and the care the two had for each other, she was once again reminded how iplete and alien her family felt to her.
There was no such unbounded love and even the slight concern her brother showed towards her was all a fa?ade. It would be a lie if she said that she wasn''t jealous of her friend who could enjoy something like this without having to struggle for it.
"I don''t mind the least on the contrary I quite enjoy seeing you two like this. It''s a rare opportunity to see my guardmander who always appears to be apathetic and cold to others, act like that. That reminds me, Alvara there was missing you quite badly during our trip saying things like ''If only big brother was here then all of this would amount to nothing'', ''was I able to close the gap between me and my brother even a little bit with this level up'' and so on and so forth".
Cynthia exined grinning wildly.
At this moment, Alvara felt like dying with embarrassment and her entire face till her neck was a shade of red.
Cyrusughed at those words from the princess and exchanged a few more greetings with her after which his expression became serious. His earlier attitude of easy-going and friendly, was nowhere to be seen taken over by the solemnity and aura of a warrior.
"Your Highness, although it is not my ce to inform you about this, I still feel indebted to you for taking care of my sister and that is why I ask of you to remain vignt even if you are in your personal quarters".
His sudden change in expression and tone, alerted the two as they knitted their brows.
"Did something happen big brother?" Alvara asked hurriedly. If he the strongest royal guard is saying that something was up and they should remain vignt, they cannot simply ignore it.
Cyrus made a difficult face and shook his head saying "I cannot say any more than this. If the princess wants to find out more she can employ those fellows from her guild to dig out more. Additionally, now that the princess is here, you should visit his majesty. There are bound to be a few more changes to the tournament".
After saying what he needed, he patted the head of his little sister before excusing himself. He was after all, the leader of all the royal guards tasked with protecting the safety of not just the king but also all of the royal members.
During this time when hordes of people are arriving from different regions of the kingdom and possibly even from foreignnds, he was bound to be busy and his days hectic.
Alvara made a frustrated face and badmouth her brother who had left without exining the whole thing "Kuh, he is always like this. He never exins the whole thing and shrouds everything with ayer of mystery".
p Cynthia smiled bitterly and consoled her friend who rarely showed such emotions other than when in front of her brother.
"Don''t say like that. He is your big brother and is very concerned about your safety. There must be a reason for him not being able to say the whole truth to us directly. Nheless, he still told us to remain cautious and dropped a clue".
Though she did not know why she needs to remain vignt even in her personal quarters, she had an inkling as to why even the captain of the royal guards couldn''t say a word about it to anyone. Other than the king himself who else had the authority to make the royal guard to remain silent.
''I must deploy the shadow guards and get to the root of it'' Cynhtia thought internally before walking towards the study of her father, the king where he spends most of his time.
The study room of the king was located at the edge of the hallway and one must pass through many line up of soldiers to arrive before the room.
"Royal father I''m back. Can Ie in?" Cynthia knocked on the door that was more than three meters wide.
Chapter 278
"Let her in" a coarse voice of that an old man sounded from inside the room. The guard that was standing by the door, pushed it open allowing her and Alvara to walk in.
A wide room with numerous bookshelves came into view. An old man with white hair and beard, sat at the table in the corner of the room. He wore tailored white clothes embroidered with crimson linings and donned a ck long coat on top.
His face had many wrinkles, brows like two sharp swords and his eyes carried the might and presence of a king. The man was none other than the King of this Kingdom of Ellesmere. A wide map of the Kingdom, was hung on the wall behind him.
The old man wore spectacles and was looking at the parchment of paper in his hand. After Cynthia and Alvara entered, they chose to quietly sit on the sofa ced in the centre of the room.
SIGH¡ the king sighed putting the parchment down and walked towards the set of sofas ced to receive any guestsing to his study.
"Father"
"Your Majesty"
Cynthia and Alvara addressed.
The old man who was the king and also the father of Cynthia nodded and nced deeply at her before closing his eyes. Though he did not say it out, but he was relieved to see his only daughter return safe and sound.
"Father is your health alright? Are you still taking your medicines properly?" Cynthia asked in concern after looking at the thinning figure of the old man. While it is true that she had not received any familial love since young from her sibling and others, she at least knew that her father was the only one who truly cared for her.
However, he was king of a kingdom, he did not have much time on his hands to look after all of his children and thus the rtionship between them never grew any closer.
Though that may be true, the man sitting in front of her was still her father and seeing his depleting health, how could she not feel pain. Despite her cold and business-driven exterior, she only holds the best interest for her father and this kingdom at heart.
That is why she still cannot get over the suspicions that her father might be poisoned. Although all the doctors and alchemists failed to detect any poison on his body, Cynthia still firmly believed that was the case. Or else how could her father''s body which was already above level 500, be so frail and weak?
On an average, a person''s lifespan increases with the increase in their level. It is especially so when they cross a high threshold like her father where their powers multiply manifold. Essentially a person who has broken through level 500, has peeked into the mysteries of mana and has reached a realm where it would not be unusual for their life expectancy to go up by hundreds of years.
That is to say, her father who was only above two hundred years of age, shouldn''t be reaching the limit of his lifespan. Although she was suspicious, there were too many suspects and no evidence.
"Haha, you don''t have to be so concerned my daughter. Even though my illness has suddenly red a few days ago, Doctor Norm has diagnosed me already and given me medicines. He said that it''s because of the old injuries that I have umted on the battlefield, taking its effect now. He is not wrong, I had indeed left those injuries unattended thinking that they would heal on their own".
Her father reminisced leaning back. He then waved his hands shifting the topic from his waning health to something else.
"Hmm¡ Cynthia for you to have directlye to my study after just arriving, you must have met Cyrus. Did he inform you about anything?" the king inquired, his eyes deceiving his body were filled with power and authority.
Cynthia shook her head and replied with only a few words stating that he had only told her to stay careful.
The king nodded and muttered, "He¡sigh. It cannot be helped, he is a brother and extremely loyal to me after all. It is understandable where he ising from".
Cynthia saw her father crease his forehead in worry before getting up from his seat.
"The reason I called you here is because I have been informed that our neighbouring kingdoms, the Kingdom of ckthorn and the Ingolf Kingdom are also attending the event and have requested the headquarters of Adventurer''s Association to make an exception this time and allow their young geniuses to register for the tournament too" her father walked back towards his study table and passed her, who was following behind, the parchment.
Cynthia carefully read the contents of the letter which was addressed to the head branch of their Adventurer''s Association, more urately, the branch president.
ording to the letter, the kingdom of ckthorn and Ingolf want to hold a joint cooperation by making the tournament that their kingdom of Ellesmere holds every decade, an international event.
ording to them, doing so would increase the cooperation and peace between nations. They petition for the ''battle of the finest'' tournament to also include young geniuses from their kingdom.
"Those foxes, they are clearly after the reward that the Adventurer''s association has prepared for this event. Peace and cooperation are all nonsense, a fa?ade they are using to get themselves involved in this tournament" The King mocked looking at the wide map on the ceiling.
The Kingdom of ckthorn and Ingolf were their neighbouring nations with a geography of more or less as big as them.
"Has this petition been epted?" Cynthia asked creasing her delicate brows.
The reward that person from Adventurer''s association had prepared for them, was for their kingdom. No matter whose hands it fell onto as long as that person was the inhabitant of their kingdom, it would be their nation who would get stronger in the end.
However, all of it will be moot if this petition were to be epted.
Her father did not answer her and simply sighed, from his behaviour, it was inly obvious that the petition was already passed and epted.
"What is father thinking? Wouldn''t everything be alright if we are the ones who win the tournament?" Cynthia thought over it before suggesting.
Alvara who was standing behind the princess, also nodded. Even if it was the Kingdom of ckthorn and Ingolf participating in this tournament, it was not like their kingdom had anyck of talents topete with them.
With the participation of their prodigal third prince, they had a strong possibility of winning no matter who the other kingdoms or the guilds brought forward.
The King, Henry ric Ellesmere sat on his seat and said in a somewhat unsure tone "Things wouldn''t look that bad if it was only those two neighbouring kingdoms; however, from the information that I have received, there would be some guests arriving from the Sanguine Empire too. I can only put all of my hopes onto your third brother".
"What?" those words immediately caused the two listeners to widen their eyes.
Unlike their kingdom and the two others who were just bottom tier kingdoms in this vast Central Continent, Sanguine Empire was a genuine powerhouse and a middle-tier empire at that. In terms of military power, they were dozens of times more powerful than them.
''Did the allure of the first ce reward also attract the attention of the Sanguine Empire?'' Cynthia thought internally, even she wasn''t privy to the information rted to the reward for this year''s tournament other than her father who seemed unwilling to disclose it.
Although she knew it was not an ordinary item, even she didn''t expect it to be so grand as to attract the attention of the surrounding kingdoms. They cannot lose the reward to them at all costs.
"Royal father, I have not seen the third brother around, is he not in the pce?" Cynthia inquired.
King Henry supported his chin with his hands and nodded "He is currently training inside the Chamber of Guidance and is yet toe out. I have currently restricted anyone from approaching near the area and have ced guards just in case".
The Chamber of Guidance was a special space left behind by their ancestor who was a Ranker and their founder to train the future genius of their family. It is a room engraved with manyplicated runes and arrays to draw in the surrounding mystical energy to achieve a special effect that helps one to train.
Most of the things rted to the Chamber of Guidance was a tightly kept secret and Cynthia only knew that the room had an extremely beneficial effect in training one''s skill and level. Since the array and the mystical effect need a lot of time to restore, the room wasst opened more than 30 years ago and only the future kings of the kingdom had the right to enter it.
However, it could be seen from how important the uing event was for the royal family to even open the chamber of guidance for the third prince, a change that had never ben done before since the establishment of their kingdom.
She nodded her head and only excused herself after she saw her father busying himself with his work. After they got out of the king''s study room, Cynthia directly headed for her pce.
"Order all the leaders of the shadow guards to assemble in the guild by today also ask the silver guards to remain cautious for these past few weeks".
Cynthia directed after they reached a moon-white pce that was the symbol of her merchant guild. Alvara bowed and left her side to perform her orders. The situation was so that it needed her immediate action.
Chapter 279
In one of the hotels of the Serene Pce Merchant guild, Simon sat cross-legged on his bed, his hand sweeping through the thin film of window in front of him. Items such as boots, canes, wrist guards and rotten sandwiches littered the space around him.
What was he doing? Currently, he was using his steadily increasing DP to get something out of the [Ga??????] (Previously [Gacha]). Everything that was littering the room presently, was something that came out of the option.
After his dungeon started getting a steady ie of DP, Simon had made a habit of using [Ga??????] every day. However, getting a good item from the option was so astronomically low that the [B] rank Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was still the best he got out of it till now.
It would be a lie if he said that he was not frustrated but he had no one to me for this other than himself; after all, he was the one who had put the probability so low. Though, at that time he had no way of knowing that he would reincarnate with the system that he had created.
By now, he had used the [100,000 DP] option more than ten times and the highest rank items he got were still the [C] ranks. So why was he still using [Ga?????] and drawing items from the option?
The reason was simple, Simon who had survived the extremely dangerousnds of Ghastly winding forest, knew how important it was to have lifesaving items and trump cards. If he could draw something useful from the [Ga??????], he would have another card in his arsenal that he could use during dire times.
Especially now when he was in a foreignnd where his strength and the things he had was the only thing he could rely on. He couldn''t be med for wanting to have a few additional cards up his sleeves.
Simon had a belly full of anger at the things he was drawing out. And after using the [100,000 DP] another ten times, he was just about to give up when the option lit up with a brilliant golden light.
The lighting out of the window was so piercing that it brightened the entire room and forced Simon to cover his eyes. His heart nheless, was pounding furiously in anticipation of the thing that was about toe out.
The phenomenon was different than when he had summoned the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse, a [B] rank subordinate. The light this time was not any weaker which naturally rose his expectation of the thing that was about toe up.
The golden light only settled after a few seconds passed thus allowing Simon to remove his hands covering his eyes. Suspended in the air, in front of his wide-open eyes and wildly pounding heart, was a row of golden stones the size of a fist.
Each of these stones, were engraved with a rune that looked extremely striking with the way it was carved. When using [Analysis], this was the result he got.
Golden Guardian Stone, [B] tier. A protective stone that was crafted by a divine craftsman as a way to pass his time. Though the name of the craftsman is lost in the annals of history, his creations still remained.
The Golden Guardian stones are forged after condensing every advance tier attribute of mana making it an incredible defensive artefact. Creates a golden shield around the person when shattered and protects them from every skill and magic under a certain level. Duration:- 1 second.
The stones were an incredible artefact with their protective ability to create a shield around the user. Although the description did not say how powerful of an attack the shield can take, seeing that the stones were analysed as [B] tier, they were definitely not an ordinary item.
With ten of these stones in his hands, Simon had an additional lifesaving card. The value of the Golden Guardian Stones, were well worth the 2,000,000 DP investment he had put into the option.
The gag and frustration of drawing boots and rotten sandwiches was long gone from his mind. If he had something toin about, it would be that the stones were a single-use item and their duration was only 1 second.
However, he who was only drawing these garbage items before did not have the leeway to have such thoughts.
Knock..Knock¡Knock¡ suddenly, his door was knocked and the excited figure of Adalinda rushed in mming the door open even before he could open it. ''What is the point of even knocking if you were just going to break in?'' he thought internally.
"Simon.. she is nearby, I used a special technique which showed me that she is in this city¡" Adalinda tedly said; however, her sentence was stopped short when she saw the messy room and the rotten smell drifting around his room.
"Geez, this room stinks¡ you better clean up before Ie back again" she pinched her nose, threw her selfish words and darted off the room.
It was only now after Adalinda had made him aware that he became conscious of the smell that was currently upying his room. He was so engrossed with the item that he had got from the [Ga??????] that he totally forgot about the heaps of stinking boots and rotten sandwiches.
Simon opened the windows to clear out the air and tidied his room. He gathered all of the boots and sandwiches in his space ring and decided to throw them when he went out. it would be too weird if he asked the staff to do it since h did not want to be subjected to their dubious and questioning eyes when they find all of this.
There was once a time when drawing this rotten sandwiches, he thought that they might have some special abilities hidden and used analysis on each and every one of them only toe out disappointed.
These were the gag items that his colleagues from his department had added onto the option to annoy the yers a bit and make it so that one does not get a good item easily. But with a stroke of fate, he was the one who had ended up drawing the short end of the stick was him because of this system.
After stretching his body and looking at the bustling streets of the royal capital, Simon had an inexplicable feeling to roam the roads of the busy city.
In corner of the city, one could see multiple oldpartments neatly lining up together. The building were not very tall and only three stories, their architecture was old and moss could be seen growing on the walls.
Clearly, this ce was the residential area of the middle-ss people. At this moment, a man wearing a grey robe that covered his figure from head to toe and a mask concealing his face, appeared on the empty street like a ghost.
The person looked around himself as if trying to see if they were being tracked before walking towards a dark alleyway. TAk¡ TAK¡ the sounds of footsteps rang out before the person stopped in front of a sewer hole, carefully opened the cover and jumped in.
Contrary to one''s expectation, the sewer hole, was for reason kept quite clean and had not been in use for a while. The light inside was dim and as the person walked for a while, a wide space soon opened up.
"Eight¡ what took you so long?" A voice came from the other side of the ce. The person in grey robes who was referred to as Eight, nced at one of the many pirs of this ce and spoke.
"Eleven¡ nothing specifically, I just finished my work and arrived. How about you, did you finish what you were told?" Eight asked. The pir Eight was looking at, distorted a little before a person in an off white robe and wearing a mask, walked out.
Eleven took silent steps towards eight beforeughing casually "Haha, who do you think I am, of course, I am done with the task on my end".
From his loud and husky voice, It could be ascertained that the other party was a man.
Eight nodded his head and inquired "Has that person arrived yet?".
Hearing Eight mention that person, the atmosphere around Eleven turned serious. He didn''t speak anymore and simply beckoned Eight with his gesture to follow him. After crisscrossing through a long andplex route, the two stood in front of arge concrete door in the shape of a circle.
If one wanted to pass through, they had to push open the door themselves with their own strength. The concrete door or more exactly the cover was more than 3 meters in diameter and looked extremely heavy to move.
Nheless, Eight grabbed it with a single hand and slide it open as it was made of thermocol. Behind the doory arge space big enough to be called a small stadium. The numerous pir supporting the ce, was each a meter thick and had fire torches on them to light the area.
The two of them immediately used their fire magic to light up those torches and illuminate this wide and dark area. After a few seconds when the entire space was finally lighted up a ck figure that was currently leaning against a pir came into view.
The distance and the light were not adequate enough to see the full figure of the person on the other side. However, it was not a problem for the two of them.
The being; yes, the being in front of them was not a human, it had two jagged horns, a pale white skin and ring crimson eyes that were terrifying enough to even give them a sense of dread.
Chapter 280
The pair of crimson pupils silently watched them before revealing a hard to describe emotion.
Eight silently gulped andpelled his body to move to forward, Eleven followed his lead and arrived in front of the being who can only be described with two words Demon Noble.
"Your Lordship" they bowed their heads and got on one knee.
As if liking their etiquette, the Demon noble smiled and slowly walked towards them. When the figure of the demon Noble came in front of the torchlight, they could finally see his face and expression that seemed to be smiling.
In terms of purely looks, the man in front could be certainly called devilishly handsome if not for the heavy foreboding and dark aura that he was constantly releasing.
"Hoho, I thought I would have to wait a little longer but you two have arrived earlier than I have expected" the Demon Noble said observing the two.
Eight hurriedly shook his headmenting "How can that be, even if we have ten times the gall, we would never dare make a Demon Earl such as your lordship wait".
The Demon Noble who was in the truest sense a nobility amongst the Demon Nobles,ughed.
"It seems that the city above is in a festive mood? Their happy peals ofughter, joy and merriness makes me want to¡ plunge the city in despair hehehe" the Demon Earl looked at the ceiling or more specifically, the city above him and a twisted expression surfaced on his face.
Hearing those words and feeling the presence the demon was emitting, Eight and Eleven had their nerves taught and their faces under the mask, had gone pale. The demon did not hide his desires and said them in an extremely offhanded and trivial manner.
"That.." Eight tried to form some words, but felt like his throat was so dry that he couldn''t even speak.
"Hehehe, rx I''m just kidding. I have no desire to start a war with that guy".
Eight felt his nerves that had been stretched taut by all the tension, rx at that moment and he surreptitiously released a breath of relief. He was more than aware that if not for the presence of that person, this twisted demon would have certainly done what he have said.
Eight gave a dry cough and moisten his throat before asking in a hoarse voice "I''m sorry if my words seem impudent, but has your lordship been discovered when entering the city?".
The Demon Earl who was up until now enjoying teasing them, knitted his brows all of a sudden. His extremely ring eyes radiated an even more frightening aura that pressured the two in front of him.
"Hmph, at first I thought sneaking into this city would be as easy as flipping my palm, however, the barrier that is surrounding the city, appeared to be more of a challenge than I thought. Since the barriers restricted any intruders, I had to break it forcefully".
The demon narrated clearly a little angry that he was not able to deal with a barrier of such level.
The two humans kneeling in front of him, Eight and Eleven, had shocked expressions stered on their faces if one could see through their masks. Why wouldn''t they be? After all, the barrier that had been set by an ancestor of this kingdom and one of the strongest humans around this area, was evaluated by this demon as only challenging.
Although the barrier had been created and iid for more than 800 years ago, it still retained more than 80% of its power to this day.
Those words once again solidified how insanely powerful the demon in front of him was. However, in the next second, the implication of forcefully breaking a city-wide barrier dawned on him and he hurriedly asked:
"Your Lordship, please pardon my offence but since you have broken the barrier, that must mean that¡ you have been discove¡?!".
Before Eight couldplete his sentence, he felt a terrifying set of eyes pause on him. His body, no his senses at this moment told him not to speak even a word more if he wanted to live.
His guess was spot on since the mood of the Demon earl was fluctuating like crazy whenever he mentioned the barrier.
"Tch, the likes of you do not need to worry about that. How can the puny brains of you humans be able to understand the greatness of a demon earl? Even if they felt the vibrations of me entering forcefully through the barrier, I was careful enough to mask my presence. With their intelligence, they should only be able to find insignificant clues" The demon earl boasted, his words wereced with disdain for the race.
Eleven clenched his fists tight, he felt extremely indignant when the race he belonged to, was ridiculed like that. Nheless, he was not so na?ve as to act out on those emotions or else he wouldn''t have reached the position he was currently in.
Although he felt unresigned and repulsed internally, he did not allow it to show through his bodynguage and suppressed the feeling internally. Right now his topmost priority and order was to get the item from the demon.
The Demon earl looked at Eleven enthusiastically but lost interest after a while when he saw thetter not falling for his bait. He then shifted his eyes on Eight who had been meticulous enough to keep his emotions in check from the start.
"I have already ascertained that you have been sent by that guy. Tch, the nerve of him to send hisckeys to me instead ofing personally. Anyways, you are here for that item right.. then did you bring the thing I asked?" The Demon Earlined in a foul mood.
"Please appease your anger, your Lordship Demon Earl Avrox. Our master would have certainlye to receive you but himing here would cause a chain of events in the city and hence he had sent the two of us instead. As for the item, it is here" Eight replied tactfully and passed a space ring.
The Demon named Avrox, scanned the contents of the ring once and a wicked smile inborn to demons, crept up to his face.
"Not bad¡ that guy has kept the end of his bargain. It is natural that I do so too but given the strength of you two I can simply kill you here and make my way back".
Eight stood still, the way he seemed unfazed, told Avrox that his teasing did not work.
"In that case, our master will give a visit to your dungeon when the timees" he replied calmly.
Avrox revealed his deck of sharp incisive teeth and smiled widely "You are quite cheeky for an underling. Such a waste, if you were a demon noble, I wouldn''t mind taking you as my own subordinate".
Saying that, Avrox brought out a small box the size of a brick and tossed it towards the grey-robed man.
Not minding his words, Eight caught the box and gave its contents a go through before immediately keeping it inside his space ring. He then along with Eleven bowed towards the demon onest time before turning around to leave through the entrance they came from.
"Wait..."
Just when they were about to reach the Circr concrete lid, the coarse voice of the Demon Earl echoed around the empty space. The two of them turned around unsure why the Demon would them all of a sudden.
ZzzSssTT¡ with a burst of thunder, a ck figure suddenly appeared in front of them as if teleporting. The speed was so absurd that they did not even have time to blink their eyes before the very person who was supposed to be more than a few dozen meters away from them, was suddenly in front of their face.
"Hmmm?!" Avrox caressed his chin with one of his hands and his eyes intensely observed the grey-robed man. An unknown pressure that made it difficult for Eight to breathe, descended onto his entire body making him feel like wax in front of a me.
"W-what''s wro.." Eleven tried to interfere; however, with just the gesture of the hand, he was mmed into the wall by Avrox.
"Why is it that I feel the aura of Demon Noble on you? Judging from its purity, it should be a Demon viscount no less" He questioned, pressuring the other party with his gaze. It was clear that he would not take any excuse as an answer.
Eight who was suddenly thrown into such a bizarre situation thought over the question carefully. Nevertheless, nothing seemed toe to his mind.
Looking at his confused face, Avrox frowned and mumbled "It looks like you are not lying. But how is it so that I can feel the trace of a Demon Viscount on you? Although the trace is very faint, it was left not more than a month ago".
When the Demon earl gripped him by the neck and suspended him in the air, Eight replied in between his gasps for air.
"Y-your Lordship... I haven''t¡met any¡Demon Viscount¡..recently".
"Hehh" Avrox put him down before absorbing his aura back. It seemed that he had used a skill to determine the authenticity of Eight''s words.
The Demon earl then disappeared into the dark room while mumbling something. Soon all the torches that were illuminating the ce, went off one after the other and not even a trace of light could be found in this wide dark space.
"Cough..cough¡ you alright?" Eight propped himself up and walked his exhausted body towards Eleven who had been stered onto the wall quite deeply.
Seeing that hispanion was still conscious, he sighed a breath of relief. A deep sense of exhaustion of avoiding a crisis, brushed over his body.
"Still what did he mean by those words? When did Ie in contact with a Demon Viscount?".
Chapter 281
On the busy streets of the capital city of Ellesmere, a man roamed around in his casual ck clothes. His hair was just like the night itself absorbing all of the light and his handsome face evoked peals of exmation from thedies walking by.
"Where did that little girl go? From her over the top excitement, I would not be surprised if she ran all around the city in trace of her disciple" Simon remarked looking at the hundreds of stalls set up around the corner of the street.
It seemed the stalls were in preparations for the uing tournament. Since the tournament attracted people from all walks of life and region to the capital; naturally, there would horde of customers looking for food and drinks during this time.
The time right now was when these businesses will boom. There was still more than a week remaining for the uing ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament hence these stalls were still being set up and were not functional yet.
Feeling that he had not eaten anything for a while, Simon searched for a good ce to eat. However, since he was new to this ce and every street was crowded with people, he didn''t know where to go or where he was.
"Haha, I can''t believe a grown man like me has be lost. Should I ask somebody for directions?" the only silver lining was that he knew the name of the inn he was staying at.
Simon walked cluelessly for a while trying to find a restaurant where he could eat, he crisscrossed around many winding streets and before he knew it, he had ended up on a street devoid of any people.
The ce here reeked of a pungent smell and gave off a gloomy vibe. Even the building here were broken and dpidated, made with whatever was avable and no n in mind.
Looking at the ce, it seemed that he unknowingly arrived at the slum district. Just when he nned to walk back to where he came from, a gang of people with brusque faces, surrounded him from front and back, cutting off his path of retreat.
Seeing each of them give him a mocking look, Simon suddenly understood what kind of situation he was in and sighed in exasperation.
"Haah¡ so they are trying to mug me huh. Well given that I am walking all alone and clueless, I cannot me them. But seriously what is with this cliched trope".
The scene was the very same where the main character from a novel or a movie suddenly finds themselves lost in a narrow backstreet and encounters hoodlums who try to make life difficult for them.
Simon couldn''t believe he was experiencing the very same thing. He looked at the thugs who were surrounding him, currently each of them wore a ck tank top and carried a wooden bat with nails sticking out of them.
Looking at their appearance, it was like they were screaming ''Look at us, we look like thugs''.
While Simon was observing this group of men, they too were silently snickering and examining him. Their eyes showed a greedy glint when theynded on the space ring in his hand.
Space ring was not umon in thisnd and many people had it, however, no matter howmon they were, they were still out of reach for the poor as they needed at least a hundred silver coins to even purchase the lowest grade space ring.
It was no surprise that these thugs would immediately have their eyes on Simon''s space ring.
"Oi Oi~ do you see this? A fatmb had just stumbled himself in front of us. Hehe, how can we not feast on it?" the thug who had the most muscle out of the group and seemed to be the leader, licked his lips andmented.
The other thugsughed and yed with their bats trying to intimidate the other party. Perhaps because Simon was alone and his human appearance made him look like a son of some noble or wealthy family, these thugs had mistaken him as an easy target they can fill their pockets with.
"Tch¡ look at him cowering so much that he can''t even speak..Kehehe" the other thugs remarked andughed.
"Look here fatmb, there is no need to be afraid. As long as youply with us and hand over everything you have with you, we won''t mind letting you walk back¡ naked that is hahaha" the leader of the thug revealed their intentions beforeughing out loud.
From how smoothly they talked, it seems that were used to this line of business. Simon pondered intensely; he was thinking about what to do with these thugs. Although fights would break in the capital in some corners, killing someone was strictly prohibited. This was something that he had learned from Cynthia who had told everyone not to kill even if they were provoked.
"Not kill them huh¡ that would seem difficult" he used [Analysis] on these group of thugs and the result he got was utterly disappointing. Each of them were below level 60 and the leader was barely level 80.
They were so weak that if Simon did not control his strength well, even a simple punch from him would end up killing them.
"What the hell is this guy mumbling? Throw everything you have on the ground and kneel if you don''t want us disfiguring that pretty face of yours" Mistaking his silence as him scared out of his wits, the thugs started to be even bolder.
One even tried to push him on the ground only to realise that he couldn''t even flinch the other party.
"Eh?! Why is this guy not budging?" the thug put more strength on his arm that was pushing down on Simon''s shoulders from behind. However, even after using all of his body strength, the other party was just like a huge boulder that refused to move from its ce.
When the other thugsughed at him, the man''s face flushed red with embarrassment and he couldn''t help take it out on the young man. The thug brandished his bat and smashed it on Simon''s back in a fit of anger.
SMASH¡ the bat broke apart and its splinters flew around in the surrounding.
"What?" the thug who was holding the other end of his now broken bat, looked at his opponent in disbelief. His lips repeatedly opened and closed, it looked like he wanted to say something but before he could, Simon turned around and flipped the man upside down before smashing him on to the ground.
BANG¡ the road shattered when the thug was imnted on the ground and small cracks appeared in a few meters area around them.
"O-Oi¡ Buno?" the other thugs called out to the thug buried on the road. Buno''s unmoving body told them that he was knocked unconscious in just one move.
Everything happened in a couple of seconds which made this ragtag group of thugs unable to believe their eyes. When they pulled the thug named Buno out, they saw several of his teeth shattered and his nose bent in a weird way. His eyes were rolled up and he was turned into a vegetative state where it would be impossible for him to continue with his current profession in the future. After all, who would be afraid of a thug with several of his teeth missing and having an out of shape nose.
Nevertheless, seeing their friend beaten like that, all of the reason flew out of the other thugs and they all pounced at Simon together¡
"Stop right there".
When a shout that halted their advance came from behind them. Judging from the depth of the voice, it seemed to be from a boy, a rtively young at that.
When Simon and the thugs turned around to see who it was, they saw a boy no less than thirteen years of age, wearing a ck uniform and a navy hat appear out of nowhere.
The face of the boy was delicate, he wore a smile around the corner of his lips, and carried a rapier buckled to his belt. From his unique appearance to his feeble presence that was even able to escape Simon''s senses, it could be seen that the young man was anything but ordinary.
At the same time, the royal pce of the capital city of Ellesmere. A knight who seemed to be quite high up in the ranking, ran through the corridor and approached the study room of the king in a hurry before being stopped by the other knights and soldiers stationed there.
"Haa¡ haa¡ I have an urgent message from the knight captain Lord Cyrus. I need to see the king immediately" the soldier reported.
Just by mentioning the name of the Knight Captain, it was enough for the other soldiers and knights to understand the gravity of the situation. One of the soldiers stationed outside went in to notify the king before beckoning thetter toe in.
The king who was seated on his chair glossing through the documents on his table, put the document down and looked at the soldier. It must be because he had run all the way here without stopping, that the soldier was perspiring a lot.
The king first told him to catch his breath before continuing with his report.
"Your Majesty¡ haa.. haa¡ they are here. The delegates from the Sanguine Empire are here" the soldier reported.
"What?!" the king eximed dropping the document on the table.
"When did they arrive?" he questioned pacing out of his table.
"Lord Cyrus is currently meeting with the delegates. He sent me to inform your majesty to send someone from the royal family to wee them" the soldier detailed.
Chapter 282
At the same time, the southern gate of the capital city of Ellesmere, was particrly bustling for some reason as the inhabitants of the city peeked at the carriage that was being received by multitudes of soldiers and knights.
These people might not have been that shocked if it were any other knight; however, the one that came to receive this entourage, was none other than the strongest knight captain of their Kingdom Cyrus Skyler.
The name carried such weight that there was not even a single soul in this city or perhaps this entire region who have not heard of his name. His valour of single-handedly erasing a guild that could even take ce in the list of top ten guilds of their Kingdom, ying a Disaster ss monster along with various other achievements still rang to this date.
It was because of the existence of this man, that the royal family was able to somewhat keep the top five guilds of their kingdoms in check.
If not for the name of Godwin from the Sea God''s Trident, making its wave during this past couple of years, perhaps the name Cyrus Skyler would be on the lips of every individual of this city.
For a man of such calibre to havee personally to receive the guest in this carriage, it would be a lie to say that these average citizens of this ce were not curious about the identity of the people sitting inside.
Their shock of personally witnessing the Knight captain had only just subsided when another shock hit them out of the corner. An entourage led by the first prince of the Kingdom of Ellesmere, Alstin Elrand Ellesmere was also here to wee these people.
Amotion immediately erupted amongst the crowd, people who were normally very difficult to meet or eveny eyes on, wereing here one after the other.
Ignoring the ordinary mass who were crowding all around them, the first prince got down from his ride which seemed to be a different breed of horse like the Bane Moose from the north-western territory.
Alstin after getting down from his horse, approached the entourage and saw the Knight captain who was already here to wee them. He performed a courteous bow that was expected from his royal standing and introduced himself to the people inside the convoy.
An old man wearing a ck robe that carried the insignia of a castle and a sword in blood-red colour, stepped down. He was holding a staff that was engraved with arge core stone and used it as a support.
Behind him followed a lovely youngdy whose appearance was just like a flower delicate yet beautiful to the eyes. She released a calm presence that gave others a feeling of a serene and tranquilke. Just like the old man, she too was wearing a uniform like ck robe and carried a staff that was a little less impressive than the one in the hands of the old man.
After the two got down from the carriage, the dozen or so guards apanying them, stood quietly a few steps behind the two. All of the were wearing red armours with the insignia of the Sanguine empire.
"Hoho, we are quite honoured to be greeted by the First prince and the renowned Knight captain of the Kingdom" the old man thumped his staff on the ground and nodded at the two people who hade to greet them.
"What is Sir Vouves saying, it is our honour to meet with the royal court magician of the Sanguine Empire and a world-renowned Ranker," Alstin said smiling brightly.
The old man in front of them who had tied his white beard in dreadlocks was not only a powerful Ranker of the Adventurer''s Association but also one of the three protectors of the Sanguine empire. As long as these three giants stood by the empire, they wouldn''t topple even if dozens of low ranking kingdoms like the Kingdom of Ellesmere or Ingolf attacked them.
"Haha, all this means nothing to an old man like me," Vouves said before propping the lovely youngdy behind him forward.
"This is my disciple that this old one is proud of, Alice introduce yourself¡ haha". His carefreeughter rang around the surrounding which had turned silent at some unknown time.
The prettydy beside Vouves, gave a bow of courtesy and spoke in a dreamlike and sonorous voice.
"Nice to meet you all, I''m Alice Elma Sanguine".
The first prince and the knight captain wore shocked expressions as they gazed at the prettydy who appeared to be less than twenty years old. However, what shocked them was not her appearance but thest name that she carried. Sanguine, this single word was enough to tell them that thedy was from the royal family.
"So it''s Princess Alice, forgive me for not being able to recognise you," Alstin said in a tone that sounded humble yet not servile.
The princess did not reply and simply stood there motionless Seeing her attitude, the royal court magician, Vouves exined.
"Please don''t mind her, her temperament is like that, other than magic, she does not hold interest in anything".
Alstinughed and shook it off as nothing; however, internally he was thinking ''So the princess of the Sanguine empire being an oddball was true after all''.
There were many rumours floating about the only princess of the sanguine empire being an oddity, despite being born into royalty, she had no such regalness. Her behaviour was unlike what would expect from a person of her standing. The rumours were so peculiar that they even reached their Kingdom of Ellesmere.
While these were the thoughts of the First Prince Alstin, the knight captain was considering something else entirely. While it may be true that she was an oddity amongst royals in the way she carried herself, the powerful aura she released, told others something else.
Even from his view, the girl standing prettily beside Vouves, was a huge clump of talent to the point where even he dreaded her a little.
''Well if she wasn''t a genius, there was no way old man Vouves would have made her his disciple in the first ce'' Cyrus sighed. He then ordered the dumbstruck knights and soldiers of the kingdom to create space for the delegates to pass through.
"Sir Vouves, Lady Alice allow us to escort you two to the pce" Cyrus stated. He was just about to lead the carriage driver when the royal court mage of the sanguine empire spoke up.
Vouves revealed a bitter smile "About that, we are waiting for one more person".
"Hm? One more person?" the knight captain scrunched his brows and repeated.
Old man Vouves nodded his head and said with a heavy sigh "That troublemaker ran out somewhere the moment we entered the city saying that he wanted to explore this ce on his own. Haaah¡ it seems that Cedrick did not teach him anymon sense or manners at all".
Cedrick¡ the moment that name came up, it was not only the knight captain but even the first prince of the kingdom wore an astonished face. Why wouldn''t they? After all, Cedrick Just like the old man Vouves, was one of the three protectors of the empire and a strong ranker whose name thundered across these parts of the continent.
However, they had no time to react to that as the meaning behind those words from Vouves finally dawned on them. It was no longer a secret that Cedrick the [Sword King] had epted a disciple not too long ago. That disciple had an unimaginable amount of talent when it came to swords and was even rumoured to be groomed as the next [Sword King].
The news spread like wildfire to the surrounding kingdoms and the reason for that was because the disciple that he had chosen was none other than the young crown prince of the sanguine empire.
"What?!" As expected, the first prince and the knight captain could no longer keep their emotions in check and voiced out.
-----
The young boy wearing a ck uniform and a navy hat looked at the gang of thugs surrounding a man in ck robes and smiled. His energetic face and that cheeky smile of his, gave others a friendly and harmless presence.
"No matter if it''s the empire or the kingdom, you are bound to always have hoodlums like them" he said without trying to mind his words. Since he did not keep his voice low, of course, these rough and tough thugs heard him clearly.
They made a face as if asking who forgot their kid here.
"Now now, I''ll give you three seconds to scram from my sight. I cannot guarantee anything after that" the young boy whose height could only reach till the waist of these thugs, waved his hands and dered nonchntly.
These thugs who were already in a bad mood after one of theirpanions was knocked unconscious, did not have the patience to go along with the antics of a child and snapped.
The leader amongst them, took heavy steps towards the boy as if trying to appear more intimidating and pulled the cor of thetter.
"Listen brat¡ run back to your mama if you don''t want us to break those milk teeth of yours. This is not the ce for kids like you to run your mouth" the thug snarled bringing his face closer towards the boy.
He thought that this would scare the boy andpel him to run, but contrary to his expectations, the boy seemed to be unfazed.
"One¡" he suddenly heard a wording out of thetter''s mouth.
"Two"¡
"Three.."
Chapter 283
Just as those words came out from the young boy, the thug leader tried to kick the boy with his knee and teach him a lesson, when suddenly he realised that his entire body had be numb and a chill rose from the depth of his heart.
His body temperature fell and he started shivering as if he was suffering from a cold. Before long his entire vision became white and the thug fell down on the floor unconscious.
From the moment those words sounded out from the boy to the situation where the thug was knocked out cold on the road, only a few seconds passed. The other thugs looked at the boy and the absurdity of the situation with wide-open eyes.
Nevertheless, before they could make sense of the reality, a chill wind that came out of nowhere, seeped into their bodies and just like their leader, they too fell onto the road out cold.
The boy patted his clothes and fixed his cors before walking forward towards the only person that was standing still.
Simon who had kept his eyes on the boy from the moment he appeared till now, silently observed him approach closer. The peculiar phenomenon that knocked the thugs out cold, was due to the activation of some skill from the other party.
A skill that attacks other''s spirits and make them fall unconscious; fundamentally, the skill used was simr to his [Demonic Eyes] in the regard that both can intimidate an enemy and exert pressure on their spirit.
Since he was not the target of the skill, Simon couldn''t guess what tier the skill used belonged to nor what the skill was.
The boy carried himself without a hint of disorderliness, his posture was straight and his gait was like a sword. Even from a nce, it could be seen that these qualities were drilled onto him since young.
What was even more astonishing about the boy was that no matter how many times Simon used [Analysis], it would always get blocked by something. The young boy stopped a few inches away from him and looked at his surrounding excitedly.
"Hehe, brother there can you tell me where I am? I was curiously looking around my surroundings and following the crowd when suddenly I ended up here".
The boy scratched his hair and said in an embarrassed tone. Looking at his floundering eyes, it did not appear that he was lying; however, Simon who himself was lost had no answer to that. He could only shake his head and disappoint the boy that he did not know the answer.
Since he was getting this bad feeling of being caught up in some trouble from the moment this boy appeared in front of him, he thus chose to turn around and not get involved in it.
"Hey wait up, where are you going? You can''t leave me here and go away¡ didn''t I just help you before" the boy hurriedly followed behind him and protested.
"Your help was unwarranted, I could have easily taken care of those goons" Simon replied nonchntly. His dispassionate words immediately made the boy shut his mouth.
A tall young man and a boy, weaved around the alleyway of the slum district for some time beforeing to a stop.
"Why are you following me?" Simon asked impatiently, from the looks, presence and aura the young boy was releasing, he could tell that thetter''s identity was anything but simple. Even though he had told the boy not to follow him, they still followed him no matter which turn or crossroad he chose.
"Hehe, don''t be like that, I''m not following you because I want to. Just lead me out of here and I''ll be gone before you even know it" the boy said not missing a beat. He then looked around his surroundings before remarking.
"Didn''t we just pass by this signboard a few moments ago? Are you by chance also lost?".
Simon tried to maintain a poker face, he was a grown-up, at least mentally. There is no way he would admit that he was lost. Ignoring the words of the boy, he turned around towards another corner beforeing to a stop once again.
At this moment, he felt his face heating up that was because the road came to an end. There was a wall at the other end of the path, a dead-end to be exact.
The boy following behind him, narrowed his eyes getting suspicious. Simon felt his piercing gaze on his back, he was just about to tell him to find his own way back if he was so confident when he heard the boy''s stomach make a growling noise.
Seeing the boy''s face turn red like tomato, Simon smirked but the next second another growl sounded out. This time, it came from his own stomach.
At this moment he realised, that he had not eaten anything for quite a while. Although being a demon viscount he can make do even without eating anything for a few days, it was not like his body did not need any nutrients to sustain itself.
The boy leered; but maybe he was too hungry, he didn''t have the energy to rub it on Simon. When Simon was internally debating whether he should buy something from the shop to satiate his hunger, the boy who had gone unusually silent squinted his eyes and pointed at the distant signboard that was at the end of the road.
Following his gaze, Simon was able to spot an obscure signboard on one of the dpidated buildings that read ''The Nifty Table''.
The sign was so murky and ced in a way that made it extremely difficult for someone to spot it if they didn''t pay a lot of attention to their surroundings.
Though the cement of the signboard was odd, it wasn''t the only unusual thing. The signboard read The Nifty Table, but couldn''t see anything neat or attractive about this rundown shack.
However, maybe he was not thinking clearly or he was just following themands of his stomach, he had unknowingly stopped in front of the building.
From the way there were spider webs and moss growing at the corner of the building, it could be seen that the ce was not doing well. It was already surprising for Simon that the ce had not shut down yet.
''Do they even get customers?'' while thinking that internally, Simon slid open the old fashioned door and entered the ce which only had two story.
The moment he entered the ce, a stale and a musty stench from improper venttion, assaulted his nose. The inside of the ce was dim with wooden tables and chairs which had seen their fair use during their time, strewn around the ce.
Perhaps because he had misjudged the ceiling, he had knocked his head on one of the wooden nks which made a creaking noise.
"Wee" the noise must have alerted the owner, a weary and old sound came from the counter which had varying bottles of liquor in the showcase.
The head of an old man wearing a cap popped up from the other side of the counter. He was wearing a round sunss even in this dim and gloomy interior of the ce.
"What would the two of you like to have?" the old man whose height could reach till the table of the counter, asked.
Only when the old manid it down, that Simon realised the boy in ck uniform was still following him. At some unknown time when he was not paying attention, the boy had sneaked towards the counter and was ordering something while looking at the bunch of papers that was the menu.
Obeying the signal of his growling stomach, he too plopped himself on a seat near the counter. Next, he ordered a dish called Braised Pygmy Drumette, Pinecore Bread and Innewi beer when the old man passed him the menu.
After taking the orders of the both of them, the old man then went into the kitchen adjacent to the counter.
Now when he had nothing upying his mind, Simon observed his surroundings and fell in thought. There were more than a few bizarre points about this shop which was located at an extremely shady corner of the city where people were less likely to travel.
Doubting the business n of the man and how he was still profiting from it, when the door to the shop was opened once again.
Simon who couldn''t that the store was getting customers other than the two of them, turned his head slightly to observe the neers. Yes, there were not one but two people who had entered the shop which he had deemed should go out of business soon.
Out of the two people, one wore a grey robe, and the other an off white. Both of them were covering their faces with a mask. What was more peculiar about them was that the moment those two entered, they stopped in their track after seeing that there were already customers inside.
Even if their faces were covered with a mask, their behaviour at that moment seemed to be saying that they didn''t expect other customers in this goddamn shack of a building in this secluded corner.
Their reaction was exactly the same as him when he realised there were other customers besides them. Simon who was about to shift his gaze away from them, frowned at that moment when he felt the intense re of one of the two neers on him.
How should he put it, the re was not hostile nor did it have any ill intentions, it was the kind of stare that one would give when they unexpectedly met a familiar face.
Chapter 284
Simon arched his brows, he had never met a peculiar person who liked to cosy as them and hence he discarded such thoughts from his mind and turned around.
"What''s wrong Eight? Why did you suddenly stop?" Eleven asked gazing at the counter. Though it was a surprise; No an astonishment to see customers here, it was still not a valid reason for Eight to freeze his steps all of a sudden.
"It''s nothing. Let''s go up" Eight said before climbing up the stairs to the next floor. The way they acted, seemed like they were not new to this establishment and had visited it quite a few times.
"Old man we are going up, prepare the same food as usual" Elevenmented following behind eight.
Right after the two disappeared, the old man came out of the kitchen and gave the two new customers a sidelong nce.
Putting two bowls full of food that they ordered, he brought two more tes and passed them to Simon and the young boy sitting beside the counter.
Looking at the food that was passed to him, Simon first scrutinised it with the eyes of a connoisseur. From the presentation of the meat to the piping hot broth wafting with a delicious smell, was something that would evoke the appetite of anyone looking at it.
Added with the toppings of different kinds of sliced vegetables gave the food a unique kind of charm. The Pinecore Bread looked like any other loaf of bread with the exception that when eaten a different kind of taste that gave the bread its uniqueness came out. Pinecore, perhaps amon fruit or a nut of this world that he had never eaten before.
When Simon who was immersed in tasting the food lifted his gaze, he was met with the questioning eyes of the old man. His aged eyes seemed to be asking ''How is it brat?''.
Simon only had praises for the culinary skills of the old man. To be truthful, he did not expect this level of food when he entered this rundown shack. He opened his mouth and the first thing that came out of his mouth was "It''s delicious".
Hearing that, the old manughed and got up from his seat to bring the beer that Simon ordered from the drawer. TAK¡ he put the mug of beer on the table in front of Simon and gestured with his chin.
How many minutes passed by? Simon and the young boy he met identally in an alleyway focused on devouring their food silently. There would be chewing and gulping soundsing from time to time.
With a satisfied burp, Simon kept his mug back on the table and nced at the old man who was currently sitting at his chair ying a board game that he had never seen before.
"Thanks for the food old man" he said patting his stomach.
"It''s just business, you don''t need to thank me. Well, in any case, I''m d that you liked it" the old man said without tearing his eyes away from the board game he was ying.
Curious, Simon leaned his body closer towards the other side of the table and watched the old man ying. At a nce, the t board and the pawns on it looked just like chess. However, there were many unusual pieces and the whole game itself only had a tiny resemnce to it.
"It''s called Blender and is a very famous game in Viridian Empire" after moving a piece that looked like a mixture of a horse and a wyvern, the old man looked at Simon and exined.
Simon nodded his head and appeared calm on the surface nevertheless, he was burning with curiosity inside.
"You look like you have some question for this old man. No need to bottle it up, just ask".
His intention being seen so inly, Simon gave an awkwardugh before asking in a straightforward manner.
"Old man how can you still run your shop with so less customers? I mean the appearance of the establishment is one thing, but even its location is in a very obscure corner".
The old man was silent for a while before releasing a sigh "Young man you don''t really hold back do you? Haah¡ I am very much aware of the public opinion of the shop that I''m running, there is no way I wouldn''t know".
"However, just like every human has their own reason to keep struggling till the bitter end, I have my own reason to keep the shop open. Whether I get any customers or is secondary".
Simon nodded his head at those words and stopped probing. He then nced at the seat adjacent to him before jolting in surprise. The young boy who was supposed to be seated next to him, was nowhere in sight.
''Did he just dine and run?'' he thought internally, he knew next to nothing about this young boy so it was only natural he would think so.
Seeing Simon''s confounded face, the old man while keeping his attention on the board game, said "If you are looking for the boy then he sneaked upstairs".
"What?!" Simon was surprised not at the fact that he was unable to detect the boy sneaking onto the floor upstairs but because the old man was able to do so when even he failed to notice it. A kind of suspicion that the old man of this dpidated establishment, wasn''t an ordinary person rose within his heart.
"Is that alright? Aren''t those two people upstairs your regr customers?" Simon inquired to which the old man simply shrugged it off.
"What regr customers? These two are just troublesome kidsing and going out of my establishment every day as if they own the ce hmph".
Looking at the vexed attitude of the old man it didn''t seem like he saw the other two as his important customers which made his previous words all the more believable.
"Who are those two anyways, their garbs and masks make them look quite the chary person" Simon nonchntly asked, he was not expecting any reply particrly; however, the old man blurted whatever he knew as if it was not his problem.
"Well, you are not wrong. These two have beening and going around this shady corner quite a lot. One look at their behaviour and I can tell that they are up to no good. Well, as long as my shop is not at the risk of getting destroyed, it doesn''t really bother me much".
''Aren''t you indirectly also calling this shop a shady ce?'' Simon wanted to retort but held himself back. He remembered the moment when one of the mask-wearing guy was intensely looking at him.
Was he right to suspect that one of them knew him from his familiar gaze? While he was internally debating something, the young boy stealthily stepped down the stairs leading to the floor above.
He had a bratty smile stered on his face as if he had done something mischievous without getting caught.
"What were you doing there?" When Simon asked him, the boy simply smiled saying he heard something interesting. The notorious intention that he had in his eyes was apparent.
Well, whatever he did was none of Simon''s concern and thus he got up from his seat and asked the old man what his bill was.
"One Braised Pygmy Drumette, Two Pincecore Bread, a bottle of Innewi Beer and one honey mushroom pud. Let''s see the grand totales to three silver coins". The old man took out something akin to an abacus and started calcting.
"W-wait a minute old man¡ what do you mean honey mushroom pud and two pinecore breads?" he stopped the owner midway and asked.
The old man gazed at him with confused eyes before pointing at the boy next to him and said "Those were the food ordered by that boy that came along with you".
Simon nced at the boy smiling embarrassedly at him and rified "Old man it seems you are mistaken, we are two different customers, the boy will pay for the food he had eaten himself".
The boy scratched his hair and seemed somewhat troubled, he opened his mouth a few times before squeezing out a few words. "Um, I did not bring money with me".
Simon eye''s twitched when he heard that, who goes inside a restaurant and orders whatever they want without having money with them? It was unrealistic, from the appearance of the boy, he didn''t seem poor then what was the reason that he was not paying for his own food?
When the boy saw his disbelieving eyes, he couldn''t butsh out as if he was used of something he was not.
"Hey what''s with that look of yours? I don''t carry such trivial things on me, there are already people there for such kinds of menial jobs".
"Oh? Then why don''t you tell all those people to pay the bill for you" Simonmented, from the words of the boy, he understood that thetter did not even have a single copper coin with him. What was even more intriguing was his attitude towards money as if it was something extremely inconsequential and he had never had a shortage of it.
''What is the background of this boy? He couldn''t be a prince of this kingdom could he?'' Simon thought internally.
"Um¡ can mister not pay the money for me?" the boy asked tilting his head. His clueless behaviour and appearance seemed to suggest that he was still too na?ve about how the world works. If Simon had to use an appropriate word for him, then it would be sheltered.
"Why should I pay for you? We don''t even know each and have only just a while ago" he asserted trying to see what the boy will do next.
Chapter 285
Will he finally use his authority to pressure Simon or would he use force to cower the old man? However, what the boy did next was totally beyond his expectation and surprised him greatly.
After fidgeting and looking conflicted for a while, he took out something from his space ring and passed it to Simon. When Simon observed the item in his hands which was a short sword, he couldn''t help but frown.
That was because the [Analysis] was showing him that the short sword was a [B] tier weapon and was imbued with only one skill, [Indestructibility]. No matter how Simon saw it, the cost of the food was nowhere near what a [B] tier weapon would cost.
He carefully observed the boy who had a determined expression at this moment on his face. to be willing to take out something like, what was he thinking?
"This a very special weapon passed on by my master to me. Other than the weapon I use myself, this is the only thing of value on me currently. I''m giving it to you in exchange for the money I owe you. Hold on to it and do not sell it, also there is no point in running with it since my master can track it back. I wille to buy it back from you"
The boy spoke with some difficulty. It was clear to any onlookers that he was extremely unwilling to part with it and only did so because he had no other choice.
Simon sighed, he didn''t expect the boy to go so far as to sell a keepsake from his master just so he could pay back his dues when he had so many other forceful methods avable to him. Especially, given the presence the boy had at such a young age, Simon could tell that he was strong.
It wouldn''t be surprising if the boy thought that martial prowess could solve everything. But the approach he took, left a good impression of him on Simon.
Simon nced at the fancy looking short sword a few more before passing it back, he then waved his hands and rejected the offer from the boy. If he had to state a reason, then it would be because he had the [Armory] and [Ga??????] option with him thus weapons had the least appeal to him.
Other than that, Simon was currently masquerading as a human and didn''t want to take something as troublesome as the short sword that could be constantly tracked by someone.
Handing over the three silver coins from his space ring, Simon got out of the establishment and started walking when the boy hurriedly followed. Before he could get annoyed at him, the boy ran in front of him and bowed his head in thanks.
His straight poise and well mannerism, made it seem like that too were drilled onto him.
"I sincerely thank you for paying my share of the food too. Although you have rejected the short sword, I don''t have any other valuable thing on me. So at least let me state that I, Denzel Caius Sanguine owe you one".
Simon nonchntly nodded his head at those words and started walking once again. He wanted to get away from the boy as soon as possible since he could tell that the boy''s background was anything was simple and also because he didn''t want to get epassed in all of it.
"Ah wait mister since you have been so nice to me, I''ll let you know about something interesting," the boy said while looking at his back.
"You can earn a massive sum of money if you report it back to the authorities of this kingdom" the boy pressed on but Simon did not stop, he simply waved his hands back in an attempt to get away from this kid when the next words the boy said made him stop in his tracks.
"Demon"¡ Simon''s eyes widened and his body had frozen on the spot.
"Those people upstairs were saying something about seeing a Demon Noble" the boy iterated grinning ear to ear.
Simon turned around and carefully observed the boy, his genuine expression told him that thetter was telling the truth.
The trinket of Grimlock was still working and he didn''te across a truly strong person that could break the effect. If that was the case then how? While Simon was wondering that, Denzel approached closer and spoke lowering his voice.
"What do you say mister, do you want to track those two and see what they are up to? Looking at their dress up, I''m pretty sure that they are goons of some organisation. Who knows we might even be able to find that Demon they were talking about".
His mischievous character was on full disy.
Simon fell silent for a while, it would be a lie if he said he was not curious about the Demon they were talking about and thinking back to the gaze the grey-robed guy threw at him, he knew that something was up.
Was he too confident and overly reliant on the trinket of Grimlock that his identity was busted without even him realising? But then again, this was an item said to be an ancient artefact and given to him by Adalinda. How can it be so easy to see through it?
Sorting all of his thoughts using the evolved Superior tier normal skill [High-Speed Thought Processing], Simon decided to follow the boy and investigate more about those two people who were regarded as troublemakers by the mysterious old man.
In any case, now that he was aware of it, he couldn''t just ignore it.
-----
Inside the royal pce of Ellesmere, in one of the halls specifically made to receive guests.
The room was spacious with windows spread open to provide plenty of sunlight and air toe in. ced in the centre of the room, was a set of sofas. Seated in those sofas were the royal family of this kingdom and the delegates that had arrived from the Sanguine Empire.
King Henry, smiled and exchanged a few words of pleasantry with the royal court magician of the Sanguine Empire. Vouvesughed at the ttering words of the king of Ellesmere, given his position as a Ranker approved by the adventurer''s association, he was used to people trying to get on his good side.
"Haha, I''m truly sorry to trouble you all with this matter" he said humbling himself.
"What is Sir Vouves saying, helping to find prince Denzel who has gone missing in our capital city is only natural and what we should be doing. There is no need for you to be worried, we will find him soon before he gets into any danger" Alstin said.
Alice seated beside her master, kept her eyes closed and sat elegantly without trying toment. However, the guards that came with them tried to stop theirughter from leaking out at those words.
"What is elder brother saying, how can the sole disciple of the [Sword King] and one of the two greatest talents of Sanguine Empire, get into danger?" at this moment a clear sound of heels cking on the floor rang out and the beguiling figure of Cynthia came into view.
She first addressed her father, brother and the people from the foreign nation before finding a seat.
"Hoho, so she is that exceptional daughter of yours who at the tender age of just thirteen managed to create a merchant organisation of her own and established herself as a sessful businesswoman" Vouves caressed his bear andmented.
"Sir Vouves praises me too much, I just did what I excel at the most. Setting aside all that, the Serene Pce Merchant guild has still not reached the stage where I can be proud of it yet".
Vouvesughed, whereas King Herny nodded his head. Her words meant that establishing an organisation that was able to set its foothold all over the kingdom, was still not big enough of an achievement for her to take pride in.
Her temperament and attitude, pleased them greatly.
Alstin''s brows twitched ever so slightly; however, he never allowed the amiable smile to falter from his face. He said:
"Dear sister is right, prince Denzel''s martial achievement is something to be awed at. However, it is still not good for a royalty to roam around the streets without any escorts. Who knows if people with evil intentions would try to trick him or not? That is why I have sent my soldiers all around the city to find the prince".
King Henry watched all of this with a peaceful face, it was clear to him that his eldest son wanted to have the support of Vouves which would help him in the future to im the throne.
''His mind is sharp and his determination does notg behind anyone else. However, his martial prowess and temperament leave much to be desired'' King henry thought internally.
,m ''Now then should I probe around their intention behind bringing their two greatest talent here?'' although the answer was clear to him, he still wanted to hear it with his own ears.
Was the reward item this time which even he knew very little about, tempting enough for even the mid-tier nation such as the Sanguine empire to send two of their best talents?
"As Sir Vouves can see we are quite busy at this moment with the preparation of the uing ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament that our kingdom holds every ten years and is something the citizen of the whole kingdom keeps an eye on. Can I ask to what do we owe the pleasure to for a person of your standing giving us a visit?".
Chapter 286
The royal court magicianughed at those sophistries of words. With his age and experience, he hade into contact with hundreds if not thousands of said nobles trying to use their eloquent tongue against him.
How could he not see through the hidden intention behind the words of King Henry? The other party might already be aware of their objectives thus there was no need for Vouves to mix his words.
"Your Majesty must have already received a report from the Adventurer''s Association. We are here to participate in the uing tournament of your kingdom".
King Henry narrowed his eyes a little, he was already aware of their motive behinding here but hearing it from their own mouth made him realise once again how incredible the first price reward that the Adventurer''s Association offered was.
The royal family of Ellesmere interacted with the delegates of the Sanguine Empire before leaving a few parting words and allowing them to rest.
"Our soldiers are looking for prince Denzel all around the city. The moment we find him, we will bring him here".
King Henry took heavy steps as he walked out of the room, his expression grave. Behind him followed Cynthia and Alstin his two children who were simrly not saying anything, understanding the gravity of the situation.
The motive behind the Sanguine Empire sending its two greatest prodigies here in this kingdom was to achieve two objectives at the same time. First was to get their hands on the reward that the association was providing and the second could be said as a show of force.
They wanted to show the surrounding kingdoms the power of their younger generation and establish a diplomatic situation with them.
"What should we do father?" Alstin asked in a somewhat apprehensive tone.
"Sigh.. what can we even do at this moment? The proposal was epted by the headquarters of the Adventurer''s Association themselves. Now I can only hope for your third brother to do his best" King Henry shifted his gaze in a certain direction of the pce.
Soldiers wearing the armour engraved with the insignia of the royal family ran across the city and searched it''s every nook and cranny; nheless, prince Denzel was nowhere to be found.
The person in question for which the whole city was being disturbed was currently trailing two men who were making their way across the mountain range overlooking the city.
To escape the detection of the soldiers around the city, he even deliberately changed his clothes to a more casual one. What was same was that he still wore his ck navy hat and strapped his rapier around his waist.
Simon who was also following the two men together with the boy, was looking at his surroundings with a hint of confusion. The two men after leaving the restaurant followed a particr path that led deeper towards the alleyway of the slum district before dropping down inside arge unused manhole.
They followed the path the two men took closely and after winding long hours, a path opened up that led outside of the city directly.
The discovery of such a route that evaded all the patrolling and detection of the soldiers and even the protective barrier of this city, stunned Simon. He was sure now that the two people definitely had something to do with the underside of this society.
At the same time, the feeling that he shouldn''t involve himself with them was getting stronger and stronger. However, his curiosity to know who that demon they were talking about, ruled his other various emotions.
During their long hours of trailing, the two men used various crisscrossing paths and methods to throw off any pursuers following them.
After finding that there was no presence following behind them, they finally decided to drop their guards a little and started rushing off in a certain direction.
Simon who was hiding behind a thicket, used the item Ice Phoenix''s Sigh given by Irene to erase his presence to a minimal.
"[One Sword]" He heard a silent mumbling and then looked at the little boy whose aura had be very thin, if not for the fact that the person was still visible to him, he would have thought that the boy had disappeared entirely.
Denzel opened his eyes and let go of his sword that he was clutching in his hand. He then eyed Simon and said, "As I thought, mister is not normal. To be able to erase your presence to such an extent, other than my master, I have never seen anyone capable of doing it".
After a brief moment, they started tracking the two men once again for hours and just when the sun was about to go down, they halted their steps in front of a cabin located at the deepest ridges of the mountain.
The cabin was so well hidden that they would have entirely missed it had they not followed those two people closely.
The two shady men stepped towards the cabin and at that moment, Simon noticed that their figure undted for a second before their whole body disappeared.
They hurriedly approached the cabin and stepped forward just like the two men; however, no peculiarities happened and their bodies were still there. Simon looked at the cabin in front of him and silently opened its door only to find a dusty ce that have not been in use for a while.
''What was going on?'' thinking that there was something that they had missed, Simon thoroughly checked the ce upside down trying to find if there was any hidden entrances or such. But no matter how long they searched they couldn''t find anything unusual.
"This can''t be¡ where did they go?" Denzel flopped himself on the ground tired after relentlessly searching the ce upside-down to no avail.
Simon was simrly also frowning, he had seen them stepping towards the cabin and suddenly disappearing. If there was no hidden entrance then how to exin the situation earlier? There must be an exnation.
Just when those people stepped near the cabin, their body suddenly started¡ undting!
''That''s right, if we want to enter we need to find how did they do that'' Simon deliberated. He walked outside the room and surveyed the cabin intensely.
Seeing him behave as if he solved something, the boy propped himself up and asked "What wrong mister? Did you find something?".
Nodding his head Simon replied, "Search for a hidden teleportation item or formation around. Those two people must have used that to teleport somewhere".
"Oh!" the boy nodded and did as he was told.
The sudden disappearance and undtion that he had seen earlier was definitely the signs of space magic involved. Although he was not sure, he had seen a simr scene before where the orc general had used the space magic which distorted and created a ripple around the space to teleport himself and his subordinates away.
During his travel with Adalinda, Simon got a certain understanding of the space magic and he would even try to learn it in his spare time. Thus he knew a thing or two about space magic and that''s how he could tell that the space magic was involved here or else there was no way to exin the sudden disappearance of those two people.
After spending some time thoroughly inspecting the ce, they finally found an area engraved with peculiar runes hidden by dried up leaves.
This was the exact same spot that the two men had stood on before their bodies started undting and they disappeared. They followed the previous example and stood themselves in between the formation.
However, even after a while, nothing happened and the scenery around them remained the same. The boy who had no knowledge about space magic, poked the formation as if trying to invoke some sort of reaction from it.
''Hmm, even putting mana onto it is not working than does that mean that there is some criteria involved to pass through it?'' Simon thought as he tried to recall how easily the two men passed.
''Does the formation require them to have space magic? No if that was the case those two wouldn''t have taken such a long and winding way instead of just using space magic to teleport here''.
Just when they were pondering what to do, the formation lit up and one of the men in off white robes that they were following, came out of it.
The moment Eleven saw two strangers in front of the cabin which should be well hidden, he first became stunned then alert and finally killing intent overflowed from his body.
Simon and the boy named Denzel were the same, they didn''t expect to see one of the two men that they were following,e out of the formation.
"Who are you two and how did you reach this ce?" Eleven asked taking out a longbow from his space ring. He tugged on the bowstring and an invisible arrow made of mana, immediately formed which he used to point at the two of them.
The pressure that flowed out of his body, was enough to stop the rustling of the trees and halt the blowing wind.
Simon observed the man using [Analysis] which showed his level to be above 400.
A level 402 [Nightfall Ranger] was currently pointing his arrow towards them and Simon who was considering his options, was stunned to see the boy make the first move.
SHIING¡ even before one could blink their eyes, the boy had unsheathed his rapier and charged towards the opponent with a ridiculous amount of speed that one wouldn''t expect from a boy of his age.
Even though Denzel did not use any wind or electro magic to augument his speed, his swiftness wasparable to or even excelled those that do.
Chapter 287
The floor would crack wherever he stepped from the sheer force applied by his feet onto the ground powerful enough to leave afterimages behind.
"Shit" Eleven immediately shifted his bow towards the boy and shot consecutively. Each of the mana arrows that he shot, was highlypressed and could easily turn a boulder into fine granules.
Nheless, none of them managed to even touch the hem of the little boy''s clothes.
"me Magic Mastery- [me Imbuement], [One Sword], [Piercing Enhancement]" Eleven heard the silent mumbling of the young boy who had appeared behind him like a ghost. His rapier which was almost as tall as him, had at this moment, turned a ring crimson.
Denzel used his vast speed and mastery over the sword, to deliver a swift attack that even his enemy would have difficulty avoiding at this range.
It was just like he predicted, instead of running, Eleven used his abilities to counter the sword. A blue light condensed into an arrow and immediately set forth to sh with the tip of the rapier.
RUMBLE¡ a loud rumbling noise reverberated across the surroundings and pushed the two of them back.
ZzzSssTttt... Eleven stabilised his footing and pulled on the bowstring again which had sparks of electricitytched onto it. The arrow that he had shot previously, was also imbued with his mastery over Lightning magic.
Hoping to see some effect on his enemy, his eyes nced over at the boy who had nimbly deflected the force from their sh by performing a few summersaults while in the air. Not even the edge of his clothes was harmed by the attack.
Whereas he on the other hand, was forced to take a couple of steps back and even his mana was slightly contaminated by the me magic the boy had used. If one was a high levelled master, they could see the difference between their skills from that sh alone.
Grinding his teeth at this unexpected loss that he suffered, Eleven conjured one more Lightning arrow but this time he had also applied multiple of his skills onto it.
The dreadful aura around the arrow went up a notch and there was even a faint roaring sound like that of a wild beasting from the arrow.
"Little boy don''t think you can run wild just because you have some attainment at your age. Since you all are unwilling to answer, I have no choice but forcefully open your mouth" Elven barked and shot his arrow at the boy whose gaze was a little hollow.
"Feel the attack, sharpen your senses, empty your mind [One Sword]" Denzel muttered in a trance unaware of the impending arrow that was the size of a snake targeting him.
The arrow which to Simon''s surprise had taken the shape of an animate snake was just about to hit the boy when the scene that happened next, broke every misconception he had about the boy like a ss.
Stretching his left arm that held the rapier, Denzel brought it towards the snake. The moment the sword that contained no power connected with the arrow, instead of all the condensed power inside the arow erupting out creating a huge shockwave, ittched on to the sword.
The boy simply iled his rapier and deflected the attack as if it was nothing.
BOOMM¡
The lightning arrow charge toward the distant mountain and created a huge trench, rocking the ce for a few seconds. Cracks spread around the steep mountain wall and rocks fell down from above.
The lightning attack just now could be said to be ten times more powerful than any other lightning arrow the white-robed man had used earlier; nevertheless, the boy deflected the attack effortlessly.
Simon had to; No, he was forced to admit that when it came to attainment on the sword, he wasgging far behind the boy. At the same time, this moment also served as a wake-up call of some sort telling him who was overly reliant on his stats and magic to also train his sword skills. Or else, the scene that had just unfolded, would also happen to him if he met a truly strong person in the future.
Knowing the areas he had to work on, Simon intensely observed the boy''s battle with the masked man.
After deflecting the attack of his opponent, Denzel shed a cheeky smile.
"It appears I''m still far away from the state of being [One with the Sword] teacher was talking about. I need to concentrate all of my being just for that moment".
His mumblings was only heard by him. Straightening his sword once again, he looked at the bbergasted expression of his enemy and felt delight welling up within him.
"This is fun¡ let''s fight more" me Magic Master- [me Imbuement], [Super Enhanced Agility], [Precise Senses], [Piercing Enchancemnt], [Cut Enhancement], [Super Enhanced Magic], [One Sword].
Denzel activated all of his skills at once and steam starteding out of his body. His fair skin had turned a shade of red and brilliant light mix of crimson and gold radiated from his rapier.
STEP¡ the moment he stepped forward, the grass near his foot, was burnt into ashes and his entire figure disappeared at this moment.
Eleven was jolted awake by the imusible scene that was urring in front of his eyes one after the other. Before he could even recover from the shock he had received earlier, his instincts that he had honed after numerous battles, started acting up.
The moment he saw the boy disappear from his line of sight, he hurriedly used all of his escape skills and increased his agility to duck to his right.
CHIII¡ Immediately, the moment he stepped aside a crimson rapier stabbed at the ce he was just a fraction of a second ago. The air around the sword was distorted, indicative of how high the temperature around the sword was.
Simon gaped at the boy''s mastery over me magic. His attainment was not any less than his and was on the verge of breaking through to the Advanced stage.
The stab was just the start, the speed of the boy even without the augmentation of Wind or electro magic was so fast, that the Lightning magic user Eleven, was having a hard time dodging it.
Although the rare ss he got after the ss change was categorised as an Assassin ss, his defence was weaker than all his other stats due to his high magic and agility. But even the agility he was so proud of, was slowly being encroached upon and trampled by a young boy less than 16 years of age.
The tip of the battle as time went on, started favouring the boy as his attacks were finally starting to connect with his enemy inducing screams of agony.
Simon who found no need to interject in this battle, silently observed the fight between the two. If he was asked, how the battle looked from his point of view, he would say that it was incredibly one-sided and the strength and weaknesses of each parties wereing out at this moment.
On one hand, was the masked guy whose ss might have been that of an assassin but the way he fought was like that of a mage and on the other was this highly trained and meticulous boy whose every movement was polished so that he did not have even a single wasted second.
Simon did not know what the level of the boy was, since he couldn''t use [Analysis] against him, nheless, even if he wasn''t level 400, his skills and attainment over sword made up for it.
Additionally, Simon instinctively felt that the boy was holding back a lot of his power.
"[me Light]" mumbling something once again, the boy charged towards his opponent once again and hacked at him dozens of times. This time, instead of simply piercing, the mes imbued on the rapier took on the form of the rapier that charged towards their target.
Eleven was panting desperately to dodge the attacks that left him with no time to counterattack. His clothes were burned and his skin was singed all around, looking at his appearance, it was obvious that he had suffered quite a lot of injury.
At this moment, he was cursing the heavens for making this annoying kid his opponent. Utilising his ss-specific skill [Night Step] to dodge yet another stab from that rapier when suddenly, there were nine more crimson rapiers headed towards him.
Gawking at this kid for stepping up his game yet again, he used all of his skills in a desperate effort to dodge the attacks.
STAB¡ However, unlike the previous times the rapiers this time were not following themand of their user and were just like speeding bullets intending to take the life of their target.
Elven was unable to dodge all of the rapiers in time, two sword projections managed to pierce his abdomen and leg. That was not all, each of these sword projections were created through the high concentration of me magic, thus his insides were burned quite badly.
Eleven unable to maintain his centre of gravity, fell hard on the floor, blood continuously seeping out of his wounds.
"FUCK¡ I''ll kill you brat" Eleven shouted and attempted something in his rage that he would have otherwise never done it.
Pouring all of his mana into the bow in his hand, he overloaded the core stone inside to create a lethal attack that would destroy the weapon along with its target.
The mana in a fifty-meter area around them started convulsing and trembling before gathering towards the bow. The mana being released out, was so potent that even the air took on a bluish hue.
RUMBLE¡ space distorted severely when the lightning arrow started forming, even Simon who was standing around in the distance, felt the severity of the situation.
Chapter 288
When he looked at the next action of the boy, he was surprised to find that the boy was standing still and not doing anything.
''What does he intend to do? Don''t tell me he wants to face against the attack his enemy is conjuring?'' Simon thought, the boy not making any move when this was the perfect time to take out his opponent who was going for a powerful attack that needed a couple of seconds of channelling.
The motive of the boy was inly obvious, even Eleven understood the intention of the boy and called him na?ve internally. He smiled widely as if this was his victory when suddenly an indifferent voice rang out from behind him.
Eleven turned around only to momentarily see a ming fist strike his lower jaw, the next second his entire vision nked out. The dreadful mana releasing out of the bow also swiftly dissipated.
Simon who had knocked the man out, walked towards him and checked his belongings to find if he had any escape items on him.
At this moment, hurried footsteps sounded out and the figure of the boy stood in front of him. His face flushed with anger and he was ring at Simon.
"Why did you do that? I was going to defeat his attack even without your help" Denzelined, he was indeed nning on taking the attack head-on and dispitate thest hopes of his enemy. But before he could, the mister in front of him, knocked the enemy out, drowning his hopes of facing the attack.
Simon nced at the fuming boyzily andmented "We never decided that he was going to be your opponent, you just arbitrarily ran at him. Besides, the attack he was just conjuring, would have created argemotion even if you could win against it".
"At that time, the uproar would have attracted the soldier or sentries of the kingdom around the mountain. Would you be able to take the responsibility then?".
Hearing his words, the boy''s mouth immediately became shut and deeply contemted over his actions, a quality that even Simon was impressed with.
"Anyways our goal is to interrogate these guys and see what''s on the other side of this teleportation circle; fortunately we found ourselves the perfect person to ask these questions. It will be too much of a shame if you kill him here"
SImon reminded before unarming the enemy. He took his space ring and everything, leaving him with just his clothes. Although Simon deliberated over whether to tie the enemy, he refrained from doing so because unlike earth, all the people here were superhuman capable of easily tearing through a rope.
He didn''t have to worry about the enemy suddenly running or attacking them since thetter was already heavily injured and after he disrupted thest attack, even their mana should be in a state of turmoil where they won''t even be able to properly conjure a novice tier magic or invoke any skills.
The two of them waited patiently for the man to wake. The moment Eleven woke up, he found himself being stared at by two people. He tried to get his body up only to flop back down, his current state could only be described as miserable.
"Don''t try anything funny or else I can guarantee that your ending won''t be a nice one. You won''t be able to find peace even after death" the one who said those words, was the tall man who had used a sneak attack to knock him out before he couldplete his attack.
Eleven tried searching for his weapon only to see the man sh him a wicked look and take out a longbow from his space ring that belonged to him.
"Are you perhaps searching for this?" the man asked to which Eleven only gave him a hateful re.
"You bastard do you have no shame to sneak attack a person and even snatch his belongings" Eleven cried in injustice.
"What was that? Since when did it be amon sense to wait for the enemy you know is going for a powerful attack that takes a long time to channel? Sneak attack? Don''t make meugh. You think we are all chivalrous knights here?" Simon pulled his ears forward and asked.
He was tired of enemies talking like they were wronged. It was okay when they did it, but they can''t take it lying down when they suffer the same blow.
"You" Eleven was so angry that he felt like he was about to blow up from the pent up frustration.
"Who are you all why are you doing this?" leaving all things aside, he did not even know who they were.
"Shut up, we are the ones who will do the questioning. If you refuse to answer or give us wrong information, I''ll make sure you die a long and excruciating death" Simon barked back taking out the [C] tier Twin des from his inventory.
Eleven disyed a fearless smile in front of such an act, his defiant attitude was saying do it if you can.
STAB¡ Simon stabbed one of the des in the man''s torso and activated its lightning magic.
"Aaaaarrrrggghh" the man whose whole body was already battered by his own mana going rampant, howled in agony as he was repeatedly electrocuted. His body jolted up and down, like a fish sshing in a puddle of water.
The process continued for a while and just when the enemy seemed that he would faint, Simon would stop and let him recover for a while before continuing.
"Stop..stop..stoooop. I''ll speak" after a while, the willpower of the man finally broke down and he decided to spill the beans.
Simon smiled and pointed at the cabin behind with his de and asked "We saw the two of you approaching this cabin and suddenly disappearing. How did you achieve that?".
Eleven opened his eyes wide when he heard that, so they were indeed being followed. He contemted whether he should tell them, the man in front of him for some reason looked just like a demon who would do anything to get the answer from him.
After hesitating for a while he decided to came out clean and told them about the teleportation formation.
"As I thought, that formation was indeed a teleportation one"
"Right" Seeing the man and the boy look unfazed at his answer, Eleven realised that they had long found the teleportation formation that was hidden outside the cabin.
"So how do we enter it?" And as expected a question he was hoping toe, soon arrived.
"You can''t" Eleven replied. Just when the other party narrowed his eyes and was about to stab him with those des, he rified.
"Wait, listen to my whole exnation, I''m telling the truth. The teleportation formation was set up by a powerful space mage and only allows people from our organisation to pass through. This means that no matter what you do, you cannot pass through" Eleven looked at the two people hoping that they would understand.
"What should we do?" the boy asked.
Simon intensely observed the man, from his behaviour and words, it didn''t seem like he was telling a lie. Plus earlier when he was investigating the formation, he did find that there were some parameters set for the formation to activate.
Eleven observed the man and the boy, from what he could tell, they seemed oddly familiar, even their voice was something that he heard recently.
He watched their expression change a few times and just when Eleven thought that they had no choice but to give up this time, the question the man asked next, boggled his memory and he remembered where he saw them.
"You to were the other customers inside that run down shack!"
"Correct, sadly you don''t get anything. Now answer my question, who is that demon you were talking about?" Simon red at the man intending to torture him until he gets his answer.
Eleven hesitated, them asking him this question meant that their earlier conversation inside that restaurant was overheard. He wanted to answer them but whenever he remembered the Demon earl who pummeled him like an ant, he instinctively closed his mouth.
Simon narrowed his eyes after seeing the man refuse to talk, it seemed that the dose of lightning he had given the man earlier, was not enough.
Five minutester---
"Alright, Let''s go in, now I''m quite curious to see what''s on the other side" Simon said propping himself up and stretching his body. Lying on the ground beside him was Eleven whose whole body was writhing with electricity nheless, he was still conscious.
"But how? ording to him, the teleportation circle only allows their members to go in and out" The boy asked sounding perplexed.
"Since we can''t go on our own, we can just take someone with us who can pass through the formation?" Simon mused over the idea.
The boy looked surprised, even he felt like the idea was usible.
"W-wait" Eleven started panicking, he knew what his end would be if he allowed the intruders to pass through.
Simon nced at the panicked and terror-stricken expression of the man and knew that his guess was on the spot. Without waiting for a second, he grabbed the powerless man and walked towards the formation, the boy silently followed behind him.
When they reached the formation and inserted some of their mana into it, some changes finally urred. He could feel a mysterious energy scan his body and the two other people around him, the runes on the formation finally started glowing.
A kind of energy that was different from the elemental energies engulfed their surroundings and a peculiar sensation of being weightless assaulted them. Before they knew it they were in some unknown ce.
Chapter 289
They were no longer in the mountainous region surrounding the capital and were inside what looked like a basement of some building. The ce was dark with very less lighting, instruments, artifacts and books strewn around the surrounding messily.
The ce was quite big but most of it was upied by things that Simon had never seen before.
"Woah, what is all that" Denzel nced all around him excitedly.
Looking at the enthusiasm of the boy Simon couldn''t help but smile bitterly, he too had the same reaction.
"You guys shouldn''t havee here. Now not only you guys are destined to die, but even I''ll die because of you" As if to dampen their mood, the gloomy voice of the man sounded out.
Simon did not ignore the warning of the man and kept it in the back of his mind. If worsees to worst, he will use the man to teleport themselves back again. Since the man could go back to the cabin, that must mean that the teleportation formation below their feet worked both ways.
In a way, it was just like the gate he had installed in his dungeon. Simon first knocked the man unconscious so that he couldn''t run away before investigating the ce.
There was still one other person who had used the teleportation formation along with the man. That grey-robed guy that was giving him an uneasy feeling at the restaurant. He wanted to know why that person had given him such a look.
"Is it because he is involved with that Demon earl that he was able to recognise me?" Simon who had heard the whole details from the mouth of Eleven contemted.
ording to the man, they went there to take something from the demon as for that what that item was, he had no clue since he was not higher up in the rankings yet. Something that the humans wanted from a Demon Noble... what could it be?
As he roamed around and observed his surroundings, he soon came in front of a huge mechanical thing that was in the shape of a pot. It had many tubes, gauges and meters connected to it and was the most eyes catching thing out of all the artifacts in this basement.
His thoughts were also shared by the boy who was also staring at this peculiar artwork with amazed eyes.
As Simon observed the thing, he noticed that it had a big radar protruding out from its top and in the centre of its body, it had a ce which meant to insert something.
90% out of curiosity and 10% because he felt like he knew the item that was ced at the centre of the mechanic, Simon extended his head to peek only to stand gobsmacked in ce.
Seeing the peculiar behaviour of the mister, Denzel too peeked at the thing that was ced inside only to get confused. He did not understand what the thing that looked like the remains of a broken dark ck orb was.
Though the boy did not know, how was it possible for Simon a Demon Viscount to not know what that item was? After all, he too has one of those sitting in the basement of the white pce of his dungeon.
Yes, the thing that was ced inside the mechanic was none other than the shattered fragments of a dungeon core. As absurd as it sounded, Simon couldn''t be mistaken about it since he felt a sense of familiarity with it.
Only after staring at it for a while and organising his disorganised mind, did he tear his eyes away from the thing.
''What was going on, what is that thing doing here?'' he thought internally. His thoughts was answered by no one; however, he soon arrived at the answer himself.
From his inherited memories, he knew that the reason behind humans diving inside the dungeons created by Demon Nobles was to gather resources and riches. However, the fuel driving their motivation was not these small benefits but the dungeon core, the highly guarded and the life of the dungeon itself.
Simon cursed his iplete memories again. He did not know why but for some reason unknown, powerful kingdoms and empires seek these dungeon cores and even go to such lengths as to provide immense benefits to those humans who are able to conquer one and bring the shattered core back.
They must have apelling reason, a motive that had enough enticement to throw awayvish rewards and destroy an entire dungeon just to get the remains of its shattered dungeon core.
''Did that Demon Earl Avrox give them this shattered dungeon core? Is this machine rted to that objective of theirs? If so then what did it do and how did it work'' thoughts like a stream were constantly running inside his head.
Simon now had one more reason that he must investigate foring here.
"What are you doing?" Seeing Simon look so interested and spent on the machine, Denzel couldn''t help ask.
Although the machine at the corner of the basement was the most eyes catching of all, it wasn''t like it was the only thing around here. There was many other peculiar things stored inside here that ordinary people couldn''t evene in contact with it their entire life.
Simon did not answer him and kept on examining the artefact which should have a use and a way to activate that he didn''t know.
-----
In a spacious room that was filled with many training dummies and cracked walls, a middle-aged man with his upper body bare, could be seen standing still. His body had many scars reminiscent of the battles he had gone through and the aura he was releasing was as sharp and ferocious as a tiger.
His face had slight wrinkles and his long ck hair was mixed with some white in between. At this moment, a man in grey robes walked inside through the door and hurriedly bowed towards the man.
"My lord everything has been prepared. The machine has been set up and as a sign of goodwill for us working together, we even got you that item". Eight stated, his face was covered with a mask so there was no way to tell what his expression was.
,m "Hmph, you dogs of Cerberus only know how to wag their tails in front of clients you deem important. Did you really think I would believe you all that easily?" the man opened his eyes and a palpable pressure descended onto the room.
Eight was ustomed to being exposed to this kind of pressure, simplyughed and did his best to sound sincere.
"What is lord saying? We will not dare to trick the guild master of one of the top five guilds of this kingdom or should I say the number one guild of this country. We simply speak the truth, the dungeon core has been acquired and the machine is installed in the basement of your headquarters as per our agreement".
Eight asserted with an aura of confidence.
Perhaps the so called guild leader of one of the top five guilds of this country was affected by this news or maybe because the thing eight mentioned held too much enticement, the man revealed a shocked expression.
"Leaving aside the coordinator prototype, how did you get your hands on the dungeon core?".
"Hehe, please forgive this one for not being able to answer your question. As you know, in our line of business, we do need to maintain some secrecy and identity of our clients" Eight replied sounding a little troubled by that question.
The guild leader simply snorted and dropped the practice sword on his hands. He then reached out for his shirt kept on the table and walked towards the exit at the other end of the room.
Eight who followed behind, remarked, "Please don''t forget our conditions. Our leader would be quite sad if you failed to hold the other side of your bargain and in that case, the higher officials from Cerberus will give you a visit".
The guild leader who was walking at the front, stopped and turned around his head to face the grey-robed man "Are you threatening me?".
Eight did not cower at this disy of strength and simply stood still as if saying he was just simply stating the truth.
The guild leader of one of the top five guilds made a scowling face before turning around to leave the floor. Walking out of the training room, they followed a corridor before taking the stairs down.
The building had a total of five floors, hence they had to walk down a couple of stairs to reach the basement. Just as they were about to reach their destination, a loud rumble that shook the entire building generated from the basement followed by a burst of extremely wild and chaotic mix of energy.
The shockwave that burst out of the ground floor, was so terrible that itpletely wrecked the building and forced the guild master and Eight to use their powers to hurriedly guard themselves.
However, even after all that they were blown back like a ragdoll and smashed into the walls. When the disturbing energy and the smoke settled, the guild leader and Eight looked at each other with shocked expressions before hurrying towards the basement only to find that everything was a mess.
The ce looked just like an area where a disaster had stricken.
Eight looked around and only sighed in relief when he saw the coordinator was safe and sound but the next second his face became ugly.
Eleven, hisrade from Cerberus, who should have gone back to the city, was lying down on the floor unconscious.
"What happened here?" the guild leader asked knitting his brows. He could see many members of his guild lying on the floor, some knocked unconscious on the floor, some buried by the debris.
Chapter 290
The building was owned by their guild and hence he knew that it didn''t look like that from the start, his anger was warranted.
"G-guild¡ leader" one of the adventurer who was barely conscious, reached out unable to get out from the debris.
The guild leader walked towards the other guy and stretched his hands to get the person out of the debris.
"Oi, you alright? What happened here? Who did this to you all?" he repeated.
The adventurer opened and closed his mouth and finally squeezed out a few words before losing consciousness.
"Intruders?" the guild leader had a face as if he couldn''t believe what he heard. They were currently inside the headquarters of their guild, the security around here was so tight with many barriers deployed that leave alone intruding, nobody would be able to even step foot around their area without them noticing.
Him being unable to notice could only mean that¡ the secret teleportation formationid out in the basement and known only to a handful few had been used.
Naturally, his first suspicions went towards the grey-robed man who was simrly astounded by this series of events.
"Who did this? Who has the gall toe to my guild and injure my members?" the guild leader barked unable to take this incident lying down.
Eight sighed before taking out a healing potion from his space ring and scattered it on Eleven.
"It''s not an attack. The coordinator was activated, this was the result of the spatial portal closing".
"What?!" Before he could go recover from this blow, another shocking news hit him out of nowhere.
Eight didn''t pay attention at the man who was going insane with fury and was instead intently looking at the coordinator, more precisely the shattered dungeon core ced in the centre of it.
He could sense that the vast energy within the fragments, had gone down by a lot and that is why he could tell that the coordinator had been used. In any other case, this could be seen as a sess since the prototype was working just like the original without any ident happening or loss of life.
However, this time, the coordinator was used by an intruder and the number of times they could dive through it had also gone down by one. With only a limited number of uses left, if they still couldn''t achieve their objective, they would have to look for a new dungeon core.
Anyways they couldn''t do anything now that the intruders were gone and could only wait for Eleven and others to wake up to know what had actually transpired here.
-----
WHOOOSH¡ snow, as far as the eye could see, thick arctic snow covered the area. A snowstorm was currently raging on at this ce and made it difficult to even see a few meters of area around you.
Where was this ce? Simon did not know, he found himself here after being teleported by that peculiar machine.
But currently, that didn''t matter. He was fuming, he was not fuming at this world of snow but rather at a woman who had followed them inside.
Yes, currently besides Simon and Denzel, there was one other additional person along with them. Lustrous white hair thatplemented with the world of snow itself, tangerine pupils and a voluminous body overflowing with temptation.
This was not their first time meeting so how can Simon forget her? In fact, he was only in this situation because of this woman. The alluring beauty in front of him was none other than the Disciple of Adalinda and also the one who taught him the [Ancient Draconic Compel] technique.
How was she here? Well when Simon was tinkering and investigating the pot-shaped construct all over, he felt a sudden resonance from the shattered dungeon core and unwittingly inserted some of his mana onto it. Causing a reaction which even he didn''t expect.
At that moment, the machine started bing alive and trembled intensely causing vibrations to travel through the ground and spread over the whole building.
Simon had a face that said he had fucked up, themotion was so obvious that it would be surprising if nobody came down. Soon, the people in the building who had heard themotion rushed inside only to find two people that they have never seen before.
The boy was also surprised by the chain of events that he did not know what to say, his n of intruding inside the base of the two shady people and know more about their work, had gone up in smokes now that they were discovered.
Just when he was about to shout that this was all Simon''s fault for touching something he shouldn''t, the machine started acting weird once again.
All the mana around the basement was sucked dry and more and more was flowing in from the surrounding outside. The rotors around the two sides of the machine, started spinning and a fluctuation of energy so wild and berserk that it even caused him to be scared witless, started emanating from it.
"What are you two doing? This is the territory of the¡"
BOOM.. the people who rushed in were about to say something when their voices were drowned out by a deafening noise. A shockwave spread through the pot like machine and pushed everybody back.
Every eye was now focused on the machine whose energy had reached such a level where if anything goes wrong, it could erase a few kilometres area with them as the centre.
Finally, when everyone thought that the only eventual ending would be the machine blowing up, all that energy flowed into the radar on top of the machine. Next the radar lit up with a brilliant light and condensed all that energy into a beam that broke through the space and travelled to some unknown destination.
SHATTER¡
After that, it was just one event after another, the space above the machine was shattered where the beam had dug a hole in space and what came forth was a dark portal that led to who knows where.
The portal that appeared, had the attention of everybody present as they cautiously stared at it. They who were just ordinary members of the guild, did not know what it was since they were not privy to such information. If they knew, they would have immediately apprehended Simon and the little boy before theymitted more shenanigans.
At this moment when nobody moved an inch due to the iprehensibility of the situation, a powerful presence could be sensed approaching closer. The aura was so powerful that even these members who usually acted so high and mighty had to drop their noses.
The presence couldn''t be any familiar to them after all, this was the headquarters of their guild and other than those few members who are currently outside, there was only one other person present who could release such a powerful aura, their guild leader.
"This is bad" Denzel mumbled, this was the first time he had a grave expression on his face. The presence approaching closer, represented that serious of a problem.
The teleportation formation through which they came from, was currently being surrounded by the members of the guild. Just when the boy was panicking internally, Simon''s calm voice rang beside his ears.
"On my mark, get ready to dive inside the portal".
"Wha¡"
The boy did not have the time to retort back when from the corner of his eyes he saw a faint figure dash towards the portal.
It was also at this moment when Simon saw another person dive inside that he gave his signal "Now".
Without saying anything further, he dived inside the portal whose energy had started to be vtile. Although the boy appeared apprehensive, he still followed behind him.
Why were some kingdoms and empires collecting shattered dungeon core? What uses did the machine have? Where did the portal lead to? Who were these people who were working with a Demon Noble?
Simon had many questions running through his mind; instinctively, he knew that some of them will be answered once he dived inside the portal.
ZIIING¡ right after they disappeared, the machine started trembling and making noise once again. The powerful energy supporting the portal started to be more and more vtile before the shocked eyes of the members of the guild and before they knew it, the portal burst apart causing a powerful shockwave to hit each and every one of them.
When Simon came to himself, the next thing he found was this vast snowy world all around him. He examined his body to see if he had suffered any damage by forcefully diving inside the portal but to his surprise, there was not even a scratch on his body.
Just as he propped himself up to see where he was, out from the corner of his eyes he spotted the boy who had dived inside the portal with him and was yet to be awake and a woman who couldn''t be any familiar to him.
Well, that was what led to the current situation.
As Simon continuously eyed her, Lucine couldn''t help but re back at him only to get momentarily surprised the next second.
"It''s you?! What a surprise, I didn''t expect to see you here".
? Those nonchnt words of hers served even more to fume Simon; however, when he thought about how she would be soon captured by her master and forced to cut her trip short and return back home crying, his heart was finally consoled a little.
"I''m the one who is surprised, what are you doing here?" he asked trying to probe about her motive behinding here instead of roaming the capital which was currently teeming with festivity.
Chapter 291
Perhaps because she did not care or because she was in a good mood, she truthfully answered his question.
"A week ago while I was getting bored roaming around the city, I suddenly sensed the coordinator not far from the capital. As I patiently waited there to see what they were nning with it, you people barged in and activated the coordinator".
There were several things he wanted to retort her about but before that "What do you mean by the Coordinator?" he enquired.
Lucine didn''t seem amazed at his question. The knowledge about the coordinator was limited to a small number of people after all.
"The machine that you had activated in the basement, is called the coordinator".
Simon nodded his head, just as he was about to ask what the shattered dungeon core was doing sitting at the centre of this coordinator, Lucine stopped him from continuing further.
"I cannot tell you that but if you want to know you can search fro the answer yourself. Just know that knowing it will do you more harm than benefit".
After ending her exnation offhandedly, she looked at her surrounding with amazement and muttered in a voice only she could hear.
"This ce, there is no mistaking it. To think that the prototype would work and create a portal that actually connected with one of the few inds lost in history. That thing is definitely here and it has resonated with that Demon".
She then gazed at Simon with an incredulous glint in her eyes. At this moment, thest person to enter the portal, finally woke up. Denzel opened his eyes only to find himself in a ce covered with eternal snow. He only sighed in relief after seeing that he had his rapier buckled to his waist belt.
"Where are we?" he asked turning towards Simon only to widen his eyes in surprise at the unknown person beside him. Seeing them bicker back and forth, he couldn''t help but wonder if they knew each other.
Simon opened his [Mental Map] skill to try and see where they actually were only to find that the skill was not working. For some reason, something was interfering with navigating skills.
He immediately thought about the hallucinating mist on his dungeon which simrly had such a function and could disrupt skills such as [Pathfinder], [Mental Map], [Echolocation] etc. With no lead to know where to go, Simon could only shake his head.
Walking around heedlessly in this endless snow and wasting their stamina, was more dangerous than staying still. However, it also wasn''t like they could stay in this ce forever. It might be his imagination or him being too cautious, but he felt like with every stroke from the snowkes, his mana and physical abilities were decreasing.
"Eh?" Suddenly, the boy''s body jolted as if he was electrocuted and his face had an incredulous look.
Seeing him like that Simon asked "What wrong? Did you find something?".
"No.. umm yes but how should I say it, it''s just one of my skills reacting to something around here alerting me of danger" Denzel said confounded. No matter how he saw it, there was not even a single presence amidst this endless snow other than the three of them.
Simon fell into contemtion, he felt that something was wrong and now it was even confirmed by the boy. He did not know what skill was that; however, one thing was clear that they couldn''t stay put in the ce.
At this moment when the two of them started getting ready to move forward, Lucine who was pretending to be mute all this time, finally spoke.
"That boy is not wrong, it is the snow. You are getting danger alert because of this snow which is very slowly but gradually decreasing your battle prowess".
"What?!" Denzel erupted in shock whereas Simon narrowed his eyes. His intuition that was repeatedly warning him about this ce, about this snow was right.
In any case, they couldn''t stay here in this open field or else after a few hours, they wouldn''t even have the strength remaining to walk. They must find a ce where the snow can''t reach them; however, looking at this endless snowy ce, finding something like that could be said next to impossible especially when they can''t even use their navigating skills.
Simon''s eyes unwittingly shifted towards Lucine, this woman clearly knew about this ce more than them.
Feeling the gaze of the other two on her, she gave an audible sigh before exining.
"The ce we are currently in is one of the forbidden grounds of this world filled with extreme dangers where it would not be surprising to lose your life at the slightest mistake. You cannot use navigating skills nor can you physically map the ce out because of its vastness that is unless you destroy the formation that is creating this phenomenon".
Simon widened his eyes, from her words he could interpret that there was some kind of mechanism into y that is making the snow around them like that and if they wanted to proceed forward, they had to first deactivate or destroy that.
Although it sounded easy when voicing it out, it was bound to be exceedingly difficult. After all, a defensive mechanism that is capable of creating snow like that, would be hidden extremely carefully.
Nevertheless, they had no choice but to find the mechanism and deactivate it first or else this snowy ce will be their burial grounds.
"How do we find it? Do we need to search this entire ce?" the boy asked the question that even Simon had on his mind.
Lucine crossed her hands in front of her ample chest, her white hair like the snow fluttering with the wind as she surveyed her surroundings.
"A mechanism capable of covering this vast of an area, must take a lot of size. Even if it doesn''t it is bound to leak some aura in a few dozen meters area around it. You just have to find that and destroy it before you sumb to the effects of this mechanism".
The two of them could only pray that the mechanism was huge in size, or else finding something small in this vast snownd would be next to impossible. They discussed among themselves which direction they would search before heading out to leave.
Before leaving, Denzel handed them three transmission Conch so that they could contact each other through it. Time was of essence and thus they hurriedly dispersed.
After walking for a while Simon turned around to see Luvcine following him. "What do you want?" he asked.
"I had this question for a while but did something happen after we parted ways back in the Ghastly Winding Forest?" Although she asked it subtly, Simon was more than aware that the woman wanted to know if her master hade by or not.
How can Simon answer her so willingly when all of this trouble he got caught into up until now was because of her schemes and the technique she had taught him? While it is true that the technique had helped him out a lot, it had also brought him many troubles in the form of a little girl.
Since his facial expression was easy to read, Simon acted as if this was the first time he had heard about anything like that and denied her words saying nothing unusual happened after she left.
He tried his very best so as to not drop any hint of her master currently being in the capital city of Ellesmere and was in hot pursuit of her.
"Hnn~" the woman narrowed her eyes and made a nasal voice. Her behaviour was just like a wife who was sceptical of her husband who had returnedte after his office.
"Is that so? Then what are you doing here and how did you change your appearance to a human?" her beautiful tangerine eyes that could mesmerise one''s soul, focused on him.
Instead of feeling pleasant for having the attention of such a beauty, Simon was sweating profusely and was inwardly cursing the woman for being too suspicious. Nevertheless, he had his answers prepared and just had to iterate them.
"Well, it''s because I heard from those humans diving inside my dungeon that there is going to be a tournament held at the capital city of the kingdom nearest to me. As for my appearance, I changed it using an item that I had found. I can''t go roaming inside a human society with that appearance of my can I?".
They say that the best lie consists of some truth at least in some parts. Simon concocted a lie that was not far away from the truth, part of the reason he was here was because he knew he would find her here who was interested in this tournament.
The same went for his appearance which had indeed been altered by an item but he didn''t dare to mention its name in fear of her recognising it. Maybe it was because his lie worked or perhaps she couldn''t find any faults in his words, Lucine nodded her head and went off in a different direction than him in search of the mechanism.
Although if she wanted to, she could easily break through such restrictions which was the most easiest hurdle of this ind. Nheless, she restrained from doing so as it would make the trials difficult for the other two.
Additionally, the portal was opened by the Demon which could only mean that the thing inside had recognised him as one of the worthy sessors. Thus it was only natural for him to go through the trials.
WOOO~ the infrequent winds carrying along the falling snowkes brushed past his body. This time, though the change was very minuscule, Simon still felt strength being seeped away from his body a little.
Chapter 292
Simon hurried his steps and spread his senses all around him, now that his [Mental Map] skill was gone, he could only rely on his strengthened senses to detect any oddity around the surroundings.
The perpetual snow on the ground was so thick that a crunching sound echoed out whenever he took a step forward. His vision was blurred by the asional snowstorm and gales. Simon tried avoiding ces where there was an artic storm raging out and only walked in areas where the weather was fine.
Whenever he nced at the distant gigantic storm, fear would grab hold of his body making him unable to breathe for a while. Even from this long distance, he could tell that his powerful Demon viscount body would be shredded into bits and drained of all of his strength once he was engulfed by that snowstorm.
It was not an exaggeration to say that the storm appeared just like a dull grey pir of hurricane, a force of nature so powerful and terrible that you feel just like an ant in front of it.
Instinctively distancing himself from that storm, Simon searched for the mechanism all the while having his strength drained beforeing to a sudden halt.
He looked at his left, right, front and back. His [Detect Presence] skill which had its range cut more than half after entering this snow region, alerted him of some presence that seemed to be drawing near him.
He strained his eyes and scanned the area all around him only to find nothing out of ordinary. However, Simon knew more than to ignore his instincts which had currently be extremely acute.
Whoosh¡ snow continued to fall unendingly, a chilling breeze brushed past his body. That was when some movements finally urred, the thick ciers beneath him, started trembling before a ck shadow burst out from it.
Fortunately, Simon who was on his guard, dodged the entity with a timely backflip and carefully observed the being from a distance.
The thing or rather the monster that came out from the cier, was three meters tall, standing on its powerful hind legs, had a dorsal fin on its back, their sharp spiky tail was connected to a caudal fin.
When the being opened its mouth, more than one row of sharp incisive teeth, just like a shark, came into view. What distinguished the being was its red and ck colour, at a nce the thing looked just like an orca.
Simon who had dodged the enemy''s attack, used [Analysis] on it.
----
Race:-Red Killer Orca
Level- 311
Skills- [Berserk], [Tail Axe], [Ultra Smooth Swim], [Enhanced Sensitivity], [Swift Water sh], [Water Torpedo], [Hydro st], [me Magic resistance], [Enhanced Agility], [Enhanced strength]
Inherent Skills- [Enhanced Deadly Jaws], [Predator Aura], [Slippery Body].
----
The multitudes of skills that the enemy possessed, made Simon widen his eyes. The enemy was clearly a race that he had never seen in the ghastly winding forest and was on a level that even he couldn''t look down on it.
To make matter worse, the being was clearly hostile to him and in this environment where his strength was continuously being chipped away, he decided it was better to escape from the enemy rather than fight it.
FLAP¡ with a push from his shoulders des, a pair of magnificent bat-like wings came out from his back, utilising his [High-Speed Flight] swiftly opened a distance between him and his enemy.
Now that he was all alone, he did not have to keep the pretence of being a human. Along with the appearance of his wings, his looks also changed, the powerful appearance of a Demon Viscount was on full disy.
FLAP¡FLAP¡
? After flying for a while, Simonnded on the snow-covered ground or rather the cier and unfolded his wings. There were two reasons that made flying in this ce an absolute stupidity.
First was that the rate at which the snow was falling on his body had increased marginally due to him flying at a high speed which made the effects of this ce all the more apparent. The second was because he was flying at such speed even while restraining his flight skill, that he couldn''t search the ces for the mechanism at all.
Therefore he had no choice but to give up on his hope of using his [High-Speed Flight] Skill to scout the area faster. Just as Simon was frustrated at the absurdity of this ce, his [Detect Presence] skill started acting out again and before long a scene that had happened not so long before, repeated again.
The Red Killer Orca that he had used his flight skill to open up a distance broke through the cier and appeared in front of him again.
"You got to be kidding me, it has not even been five minutes since I left the ce but it has already caught up to me?" heined but there was no one to listen.
He utilised his flight skill once again but the Red Killer Orca was able to track him back once again. Once is an ident, twice is a coincidence and thrice is a pattern. Simon did not have to repeat it thrice to know that there was no way he would be able to escape it.
The Red Killer Orca clearly had a skill that allowed it to track him even from a few miles away. Thinking that there was no point in running, he decided to bite the bullet and defeat the enemy in front of him before anything else.
The Red Killer Orca seemed to perceive his intention and bared its sharp rows of teeth. Its powerful legs dug deep into the surfaceyer of the snow as it initiated its charge.
FWOOSH¡ just like a jet of water, its three-meter body was covered in water and it charged straight towards Simon like a torpedo. The momentum and power behind the attack of the Red Killer Orca was so great that Simon had no leisure to go easy on it.
Dodging the attack [Water Torpedo] with a quick sidestep, he invoked his [Lightning Magic Mastery] and quickly dished out lightning attacks on his opponent.
Thanks to his habit of using [Analysis] on his opponent, he was able to see that the being had the [me resistance] skill that made the me magic that he was most proficient in, mostly ineffective. If not for that information, he would have mostly like opened this initiation with his me magic.
In a situation where he couldn''t depend on his me magic, his efforts of evolving his Novice tier electro magic into Intermediate tier Lighting magic was finally paying off. Thick bolts of blue lightning clustered together to form a crude weird bolt and flew towards his opponent.
Perhaps it was the right choice to begin the attack with a Lightning Magic, the enemy''s reaction to it surprised Simon.
KIEEEKK¡ recognising the danger, the Red Killer Orca dug deep into the snow and bore through the cier and into the water below.
Its response to his attacks stunned him for a while before he came to a realisation. The Red Killer Orca although had resistance to me Magic due to it being an aquatic monster, its weakness was also obvious. It was weak to Electro attribute of mana.
Simon stood still for a while, gobsmacked at the sudden turn of events. He who had thought that he would have to engage in an arduous battle, didn''t expect the situation to turn 180¡ã all of a sudden.
Anyways, now that his opponent had run away, he could now search for the mechanism with an ease of mind.
High up above the sky, a woman of ethereal beauty could be seen looking down at the snow-coverednd below. Her hands were crossed above her bounteous chest and her tangerine eyes examined a certain figure down below.
A transparent circr shield that was difficult to spot with normal eyes encased her within and blocked every single snowke from touching her body. The thick arctic clouds behind her, even seemed to be afraid of her.
"From their appearance, they resemble the Demon Spirit Orca race who are one of the members of the sea tribes. So does that mean that this ind is hidden near the Chaotic Sea Continent? If so then why did those sleepy old farts didn''t say anything about it?" Lucine muttered to herself.
From the dubious look in her eyes, it could be seen that even she was amazed by the appearance of the Red Killer Orca.
"Anyways, I didn''t expect him to have also mastered lightning magic! No wonder that fellow ran away. However, if he thinks that the matter has been settled, then he is up for some surprise. It has almost been one hour, the effects of this ce should soon be taking effect".
Down at a certain corner of the snowynd, multiple figures could be seen entangling and encircling a person in the middle. From the intermittent muffled booms and the breaking down of the ciers, one could see that this group was currently engaged in a battle.
Simon took hurried breaths and stabilised his breathing, at this moment he was surrounded by four Red Killer Orcas radiating a bloodthirsty aura. The Red Killer Orca that he had thought fled away after he disyed his Lightning magic, came back but this time brought multiple of itsrades along with it.
Each of them were around level 310-320 and their skills were mostly the same. Two of the Red Killer Orcas behind him used their skills [Water Torpedo] which swiftly covered their bodies in ayer of water and came barrelling towards him in a pincer.
Chapter 293
FLAP¡ with a small p of his wings, Simon was able to smoothly dodge the two attacks and counter with a lightning attack. Thick bolts of lightning umted and swiftly took the form of a bow.
When Simon grabbed onto it, he felt a slight dissonance which arrived from him not being able to give it the shape of his desire. Nevertheless, the lightning bow was powerful enough to dish out attacks that were no less powerful than his me spears.
He swiftly condensed two lightning arrows and let loose onto the Red KIller orcas who had their backs currently facing him.
SWISH¡ SWISH¡ suddenly two des containing a berserk energy materialised and collided with his Lightning arrow dissipating each other spectacrly.
Simon looked down and spotted the other two Red Killer Orcas swinging their caudal fin-like tails. The attack that dissipated his attacks from connecting, was definitely one of their skills.
Clicking his tongue at their unusual coordination, Simon circled around them and utilised his advantage of having wings to attack them from behind. No matter how good they were at coordinating, how could they be as good as the Diluvian High Orcs who could seamlessly cooperate with each other as easily as breathing?
One of his lightning arrows managed to dodge past their counterattacks and hit one of them severely injuring it in the process.
KIEEEK¡ After one of them was injured, the rest immediately went berserk, their eyes glowed a bloody crimson and the [Predator Aura] they were releasing, got even stronger.
''Since my opponents cannot fly, I can use this to my advantage and deal damage to them from a distance'' while fundamentally, this kind of thinking was not wrong. However, opponents who can think for themselves can break this kind of advantage with some of their skills and ovee this edge he had as if was never there.
The Red Killer Orcas unable to reach their target, did something unexpected. They bore through the ciers below them and swiftly returned to the water below.
Just as Simon thought that they had fled, four columns of water that broke through the ciers and like a fountain, rose hundreds of meters high. These four columns surrounded Simon in between and using the water as a medium what appeared amidst them, were none other than the Red Killer Orcas.
They had utilised their skills [hydro st] which they can only use while they are near a water body, to reach their prey who was flying in the sky. That was not all, in front of Simon''s stunned eyes, they used another ability of theirs [Swift Water sh] that utilised the dorsal fin on their back to create a wide sh attack that came from four different corners and left him with no way of escape.
[Swift Water sh] an ability of the Red Killer Orcas that they use when hunting for prey deep down on the ocean floor. Although the might of the attack was far less on the airpared to when in the ocean; nevertheless, four of these attacks were deadly enough to bisect even a Demon viscount who had reached the limit of their growth.
Not underestimating the attacks of his enemy, Simon brought out the twin des from his inventory and shed at the attacksing from four different directions. His [A] tier Crimson zing me de although retained its sharpness, was mostly useless against these foes who were resistant to mes.
Additionally, since each attack from the sword eats up a lot of his mana, it was unsuitable for this kind of situation where his energy, stamina and stats were constantly being drained.
He positioned the twin des and focused all of his attention on the iing attacks. From watching how the little boy fought, Simon became aware of another area where he wascking. When it came down to a simple sword fight without any skills or magic involved, he was sure to lose against the boy who had wholeheartedly trained in the way of the sword.
Perhaps he had beenckadaisical or overly reliant on his power physical stats, that he ignored training his sword skills even though he was a swordsman just like Denzel.
The four attacksing from four different directions, was redirected by him amidst not so effortlessly and crashed onto the snow below. Each carved a deep cut through which the seawater seeped out.
Ssh¡ seeing that their attack had failed to connect with their prey, the four red Killer Orcas dived back onto the sea below and utilised the same tactic once again to reach their enemy.
This time, Simon was prepared; he allowed them to dive inside the sea because he wanted to try something.
"[Sword Mastery], [Piercing Enhancement], [Cutting Enhancement], [Super Enhanced Strength], [Super Enhanced Agility] [Lightning Magic Mastery], ¡Thousand Lightning Misery" the moment he saw them resurfacing, he shed his twin des thousands of times down below onto the holes quickly being formed on the ciers with a superhuman reaction.
Though the [C] tier twin des did not provide much in terms of stats and skills, it was still a weapon that was on the upper tier of [C] rank weapons and after the upgrade, its power and the feeling it gave Simon increased much more.
He brandished the twin des thousands of times in a matter of a few seconds, utilised his powerful body and mana to dish thousands of Lightning charged shes.
At this moment, feeling the sensation of the des cutting through the air, Simon finally became aware of how to use the twin des. The figure of Laris shed briefly through his mind, the way he wielded his swords to his every movement and skill, one could see the hard work and practice he had put into it.
The Thousand Lightning Misery attack that Simon had dished out was fundamentally a little simr to Laris'' [Hell Lightning sh], just that it had his own variation mixed onto it.
After all, everybody learns like that, they utilise their past experiences, mix different variations and styles to create their own technique.
Each of these thousand lightning shes were half a meter in size and carried destructive lightning and an incisive aura with them. The moment four columns of water rose up from the sea, they were bombarded with thousands of lightning shes and created a beguiling spectacle in this colourless white world.
THUD...THUD¡THUD...THUD¡
Four figures that were badly electrified, fell on top of the ground and repeatedly writhed around. Their bodies were scorched with blood and smokeing out of them; nheless, they were still releasing a ferocious aura.
The moment they tried to move their body and return back into the sea, Simon came swooping down like an eagle and fiercely stabbed at their vitals with all of his strength.
The four red Killer Orcas quickly stopped moving after their heads got pierced, and sumbed to their death. In some other cases, Simon would have celebrated his victory, however, right now, there was no joy on his face that a victor should have after winning a fight.
All one could see was a gloomy face. The reason for that was because, during their sh, he could constantly feel his strength slowly draining away from him whereas his enemies didn''t seem to disy any signs of being under the same effects whatsoever.
That is to say, the red Killer Orcas, the inhabitants of this ce, werepletely resistant or the restrictions ced on this ce did not have any effects on them.
Although the fight with the Red Killer Orcas allowed him to level up once, Simon did not have an ounce of joy, instead the urgency to find the mechanism, went up even more.
From this fight, he became aware of beings that were residents of this ce and from their perspective, he was the intruder. It made sense that they were hostile to outsiders. At the same time questions like, where this ce was, who set up all these mechanisms and for what reason, piqued his interest.
For starters, he knew that this ce did not look like this from the start and was tinkered by someone. These arctic clouds, snowkes and the vast ciers upon which he was standing on, was created by someone or something, and the way they set it up, seemed almost like a task or trail that they wanted someone to undergo.
He might be wrong, but Simon felt like he had unknowingly triggered a chain of quests that he had toplete before he could get out of here.
Simon hurried his steps and did his best to find any trace of the mechanism, it had already been more than three hours since all of them went their separate ways in search of it. The only reason they have not contacted him yet might be because they haven''t found the mechanism yet.
His eyes looked at the thin window in front of him, though his status did not show it, Simon could distinctly feel his strength had gone down. This foreign feeling of something restricting him from disying his full strength, was distressing to say no less.
Thus he wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible; however, as if tough at his resolve, his [Detect Presence] skill started warning him. This time, the scale of rm was much bigger than previously and he could detect multiple presences swiftly approaching him from underwater.
The cier all around him started cracking and soon beings that looked like Red Killer Orcas, surfaced out. They showed up in double the numbers of what they previously appeared in and surrounded him from all directions.
Simonughed bitterly, forget about searching for the mechanism, these beings did not allow him to move around much before they came hunting him in droves.
Chapter 294
Defeating them ones did not mean that it would be easier the next time, especially when his strength was slowly going down and their numbers up. He forced his mind to calm down and used his [High Speed thought Processing] skill to think of a way out.
The enemy for some reason, can quickly detect his presence and surround him from all directions. This uncanny ability of their resembled the High orcs of the ghastly winding forest. However, unlike them, these Red Killer Orcas were clearly using something else.
''Is it because of the [Enhanced Sensitivity] or does it have something to do with the natural trait of theirs'' Simon thought, it was not like he couldn''t take a guess. After thest time he was pincered by four of them, he used the item Ice Phoenix''s sigh to cover up his presence though.
But it seemed that the enemies were using something else to locate his position. Suddenly, he looked at his feet and that was when it struck him.
The ground, more urately the cier he was standing on can also be considered a water body that is floating on the surface of the sea. So if he walked on top of the cier which was connected to the sea, there was bound to be some vibrations and if the orcas were using this, no wonder they could locate him so easily.
Simon made an ugly face at that realisation, though it was just an assumption, he knew this was much closer to the truth. Making his decision, he hurriedly unfurled his wings to disengage with them and quickly opened up a distance.
If he were to believe his senses, his stats were already lowered by more than one fifth. Simon didn''t want to tangle with them here, leaving aside whether he could win them with their numbers, it would severely deplete the limited amount of time he had before he ran out of strength.
Like a ck streak cutting through a white dome, Simon flew using his full speed beforeing to a stop. The flight skill had increased the rate of snowkes umting on his body and thus shortening the amount of time left before he ran out of strength.
However, he did not directly drop onto the cier below and kept his flight skill activate just enough so that he levitated a few centimetres above the ground. Just like he expected, this time the Red Killer Orcas did note chasing after him because they couldn''t feel the vibration caused by his footsteps.
The method that he had discovered, was a temporary one nheless, it gave him sufficient time to search for the mechanism.
Time flowed by endlessly and before long twelve ours had passed. By now Simon could feel that his power had gone down by more than half and he could feel that his stats was back to when he was still a Demon Baron.
Unable to support his flight, hended on the ground and took hurried breaths. Other than depleting their strength, this endless colourless world also yed with their mind and exhausted their mental fortitude.
Stranded in this ce and unable to find a way out, you are bound to get a little paranoid and impatient. During this time, he had searched for the mechanism everywhere; however, he got nothing to show up for it.
Forget about finding any peculiarity, there was nothing out of ce in this goddamn ce. If not for the fact that he could still somewhat contact the other with the transmission conch, he would have thought that he was the only one alive here.
He was not worried about the boy since he knew he had his sword skills other than his me magic to rely on. Even though that was the case, the effect of this ce was the same for all of them and by now he should also be running on fumes.
Never in his wildest imagination would Simon have thought that in his pursuit of knowing the truth behind what the shattered dungeon cores were being used for, he would end up on this ind.
Regret was a bitter pill to swallow, but Simon was already used to the absurdities of life. Although he was cursing out a lot, he was still keeping a rational mind.
"There is bound to be a mechanism that is creating this kind of effect. You only need to find and destroy that thing to get out of here" these were the words that Lucine had said before they all had parted their ways in hopes of covering arger area.
There was no reason for her to lie to them, therefore it could only mean that even after searching for this long, they were overlooking something. Just as Simon was about to delve deeper into his thoughts, his face suddenly darkened.
That was because he could feel multiple presences hurriedly approaching him from below. There was no need to even ask who these presences were as the red Killer orcas swiftly surfaced from the sea boring a hole through the cier.
"Jeez, can''t you guys take a break or something?" Simonmented. From his looks it didn''t seem like he was fazed by their appearance; however, internally he knew that the current him was not their opponent.
The only rational choice here was to run away again but Simon was tired of that. No matter how he saw it, even if he ran away now, he would only be dying the inevitable.
He was gloomy though it did not mean that he had given up all hopes, even now he was thinking about how to clear this absurd trial. If there was one area that he didn''t search, it would be that huge snowstorm brewing at the centre of this white world.
Simon had been instinctively avoiding that ce because of the colossal amounts of berserk energy that it was releasing. The energy was so powerful and berserk that not even hundreds of him would be able to contend against this force of nature.
But now that he was left with no choice, he did find it weird. The snowstorm that was at the centre of this area twelve hours ago, was still sitting at the same ce as if it has no intention of going anywhere.
It was at this moment when Simon was caught up in his thought that the group of red Killer Orcas maddened by the death of their brethren, charged. The twelve of them surrounded him from all sides and used their caudal fin like tails that were as sharp as a de, to dish out multiple sh attacks.
The [Tail Axe] ability of theirs was not unknown to Simon and he disyed surprising level-headedness by dodging the attack before they even came. Call it a unique trait of his that he had built up while surviving inside the ghastly winding forest, but he had an ability that allowed him to predict the attack and behaviour of a group of enemies that he had already fought with once.
Perhaps because he had not fully understood this ability of his that it had not manifested itself as a skill on his status. Anyways, the point is that after fighting with them for so long, he could somewhat predict the attack pattern and behavioural traits of his enemies.
Though understanding your enemy is one thing and having enough strength to contend against them is another. Simon quickly utilised his flight skill, the only advantage he had over them before swiftly flying away.
However, unlike the previous times where he tried to throw them off with his speed, this time he allowed them to follow him. Matter of factly, the ce that he was leading them in was also the most dangerous area on thend.
The huge hurricane-like storm that seemed like it could devour anything was brewing at the centre of thisnd radiating terrible energy that struck fear onto anyone that gazed at it.
These Red Killer Orcas, that only had a little bit of intelligence to start off, gave chase the moment they saw their prey running away. While they were an aquatic tribe much more proficient and faster on water rather than onnd, they still managed to keep up with Simon.
Of course, they were only able to do so because thetter had purposefully slowed his speed. Their [Slippery Body] came into handy as it allowed them to slide through the ice and use their body just like they did underwater.
The chase continued for a while, the red Killer Orcas were hell-bent on killing their prey apart and thus were hot on his tail. Only when they were a few kilometres away from the disastrous snowstorm, did they slow down their chase.
Fear apparent in their eyes, their body shuddered intensely before they bore through the ground and swiftly fled underwater.
Simon narrowed his eyes at their intense reaction; nevertheless, he did not stop his momentum.
"There is definitely something there, the possibility of the mechanism being inside that snowstorm is also very high" he mumbled trying to keep his quickly stiffening body straight.
Even the slightest energy leak that came out of the storm, was enough to raise goosebumps on his body not to mention what he was trying to do was extremely suicidal.
Following his gut feeling, Simon utilised his flight skill and quickly approached closer to the storm. Being near it, he felt like an ant trying to survive through the storm, the hurricane like snowstorm was truly that colossal.
The moment he approached a hundred meters of what seemed like a speedily rotating wall of cloud, he felt like his body was grasped by some humongous entity that was quickly pulling him towards the storm.
Chapter 295
The updraft was so powerful that Simon felt like his wings and flight skill was useless here. His body was flipped up and down, left and right before being finally sucked into the centre.
At the same moment, Denzel who was fighting hordes of Red Killer Orcas dozens of miles away from where the snowstorm was, took hurried breaths of air. His body tattered by the numerous battles he had gone through and his left hand that was holding the rapier, was trembling ever so slightly.
If not for the fact that he had trained the way of the sword diligently as if his life depended on it under the guidance of his master, he would have long fallen prey to these monsters who suffered next to no damage when he used his intermediate tier me Magic.
Though his mastery of the sword had saved his life numerous times, it was still unable to beat the effects of this ce that was slowly chipping away at his strength.
"Argh dammit, what is wrong with these guys? Why can they chase me even when I use [One Sword] to cover my presence" Denzel who was currently running away from a group of six red Killer Orcas,ined at the injustice.
When in the beginning only a single of these monsters appeared, he swiftly disposed of it thinking of it a quick exercise. However, after a few hours passed and there was no contact from his teammates nor any news of the mechanism, he had started to be a little impatient.
His frame of mind that was still a bit immature, started taking out the anger on these Red Killer Orcas and before long he found himself surrounded by dozens of them. His strength had decreased over time and he had also failed in his job to scout the areas.
Somehow the training that he had undergone through childhood, was able to snap him out of this trance before the situation went any more downhill. Realising that he had no chance if he simply wasted time fighting them, Denzel utilised his swiftness to open up a distance between him and his enemies and ran like mad.
Though he did not act like one, he was still a child and couldn''t help the tears pooling around the corner of his eyes when he thought about how he might possibly die here where nobody could find him.
He did not know how long had passed since he only focused on running and after a while, he was out of breath. The fact that he couldn''t see the two other people who had entered with him through that portal, weighed on his mind.
The transmission conch that he gave everyone, didn''t ring which could only mean that just like him, they too failed to find the mechanism that is generating this snow.
Left with nowhere to go and enemies surrounding him from all directions, Denzel was just about to give up all hopes when he saw the terrible snowstorm at the centre of this white world that he was indirectly avoiding, show some faint disturbance.
The pir of colossal snow that was rotating in the centre of this ind at an insane speed started to show some disproportion in between and the thick arctic clouds on top of it, glowed with peculiar lights.
Denzel did not know what was happening, but he could tell that his enemies, the red killer orcas were clearly afraid of it. When they saw the huge snowstorm show some weird movements, they started cowering and dived back into the sea without even looking back.
The way they swiftly retreated back was as if¡ "Are they afraid?" Denzel asked ncing at the holes on the ciers that connected with the sea below. He then looked back at the snowstorm at the centre before deciding to slowly walk towards it.
Although the terrible energy fluctuationing from it was still too fearful; nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and walked towards the ce. That area was the only ce which the red Killer orcas were afraid of and hence did not approach it.
Thinking that he might get a moment of respite he slowly paced towards the distant snowstorm only to realise all of a sudden that his strength was no longer being sapped by the falling snowkes.
"What is happening? Did someone deactivate the mechanism?" Denzel asked feeling the unknown sensation that was restricting his stats, dissipate away.
-----
"W-what is with this ce?".
,m Simon involuntarily uttered when he saw the scene thaty in front of him. He was currently inside a dark gloomy ruins filled with an aura of destion and antiquity.
Recalling back to what had happened, he was pulled inside the colossal snowstorm and experienced a strong energy fling his body round and round. The next thing he knew he had lost consciousness and appeared inside the ruins when he opened his eyes back.
To be frank, after the centrifugal energy tossed him around inside the storm, he thought that the choice he made with his life on the line, was the wrong one and was regretting it internally.
"Did the storm at the centre of that snow world an entrance to some portal that threw anyone here who was sucked in?" Simon wondered as he observed his surroundings. As far as he could see the wall had cracks, filled with peculiar writing and weird paintings.
There was moss all over the walls indicating that the ruins he was in, was very old and had seen the vicissitude of time. The ceiling reached as high as twenty meters and water sometimes leaked out from some of the cracks.
He was currently standing in a wide hallway with a road leading straight forward, behind him was just a wall and not any gate or portal that he thought brought him here. With only a way forward and no path to go back, the decision was fairly simple for Simon.
He first tried to activate his skills and only then did he risk going forward. It was also at this moment that he realised that he was no longer under the effect of the peculiar phenomenon where his stats were gradually being suppressed.
Feeling power return back to his body, Simon felt his mood improve and he hurriedly took out the transmission conch from his space ring to call the two people on the other end.
Surprisingly, the transmission got through which told him that these ruins was somehow connected to the snowy world.
"Oh~ as I thought, you were the first one to discover the mechanism weren''t you? So where are you right now?" the first one to pick up his call was Lucine. Her teasing voice rang out from the transmission conch and from her tone, he could perceive that she was not the slight bit surprised with him finding the mechanism first.
Simon told her about the snowstorm in the middle of the snowy world and how it was a portal leading to the ruins that he was currently in.
Surprisingly, the moment he mentioned the ruins, her tone became a notch serious and she hurriedly ended the call leaving only a message that she would be swiftly there.
Next, it was the boy who picked up the call and his high spirited voice came in through the other end of the transmission conch.
"Mister thank god you found the mechanism, I was so fed up fighting those fish monsters. It seemed that the mysterious effect of the snowkes stopped, did you destroy the mechanism already?".
Simon tilted his head at that sudden question from the boy, his face showed that he was confused by those words. "Wait a minute, what do you mean by the mysterious effects of those snowkes stopped? I did not find any mechanism but I did find a portal that led to a ruin".
Perhaps he expected too much critical thinking on the little boy''s part, but the answer he got was fairly straightforward.
"Oh if it''s not mister¡ then perhaps it is thatdy who found it. Ah! Right, the snowstorm at the centre, made some bizarre movements before the mysterious effect of the snow disappeared. Anyways this ce no longer suppresses our strength anymore".
Simon knitted his brows and digested the information; it seemed too much of a coincidence that the stats suppressing effects of the falling snow disappeared when he reached this ce.
"It''s like whoever created this ce, designed it in a manner of a trial where you have to proceed with one hurdle to get to the next " Simon mumbled, the suspicions that he had about this ce being some trial of a kind, was getting stronger and stronger.
"What??" the boy who was on the other end of the transmission conch, asked confoundedly.
"It''s nothing. Anyways, if you don''t want to get chased constantly by those fish monsters, you better run towards the snowstorm. It''s a gate that leads to the ruins I''m currently at" he quickly told the boy about the existence of this ce before ending the call.
Simon did not dislike the honest to a fault personality of the boy and although he held a minor grudge against her for leading her master towards him, Lucine never did anything directly to harm him.
In his previous life, when Simon had fully immersed himself in creating the game neglecting even his health, he had a friend who would always call and visit him. That friend of his would always try to persuade him not to overwork himself till he ruined his health and even go as far as to visit his house sometimes with homemade food that his family had prepared.
However, that was until Simon had shunned even him. He didn''t pick up his call, stopped going home and even avoided him when he came in person.
Chapter 296
. Now that those memories that he locked up deep inside his heart flooded out, he couldn''t help but regret. A friend who genuinely cared about your health and wellbeing, was hard toe by but no, the him at that time had to adopt a personality that pushed others back and shun one of the few people who showed him kindness.
The more he thought about how he fell into that pathetic state due to his own negligence and denial, the more the regret welled up within him.
Simon took a deep breath, a strong musty scent of the ruins went inside through his nostrils and calmed his beating heart and dissipated that wistful feeling. He cannot right the wrongs that hemitted back on earth now that he was dead.
However, he can still make up for his regrets now that he had a fresh new start in this world. Never again would he fall back into that state where he rejected the world and shut himself to his work.
Simon made a resolve that he would pay kindness back with kindness and ill intent with a hard fist. At that instant, after that deration, he actually felt changes urring to his mind and body which felt refreshed for some reason.
Simon explored his surroundings in the meantime while he waited for hispanions that had entered the portal together with him. It didn''t take long for the first person to arrive and seeing themnd, he finally understood how he entered these ruins.
A one-way tunnel that connected these ruins to the snow world, formed on the ceiling and spat the person out before disappearing.
The person who had arrived first, was none other than Lucine, her beguiling bodynded gracefully as she stared at the unknown ce she found herself with curiosity.
"To think that the mechanism was hidden inside the snowstorm, what kind of lunatic created this ce" she lightlymented and waltzed towards Simon.
She observed him for a while before speaking with a smile "Great job finding this ce".
He nonchntly nodded his head and epted her words since he could feel that she was genuinely praising him. After all, to discover this ce, one must first conquer their fear and even gamble with their life.
The snowstorm at the centre was so frightening that had it not been for the pressure of getting cornered, he would have definitely not chosen to dive inside.
The woman after praising him, started observing her surroundings and investigated the peculiar writing on the wall. Since his [Language Comprehension] couldn''t decipher it, he believe that those writing were so ancient that it was beyond the level of his skills.
"Can you read those?" Simon asked without expecting and reply in return.
To his surprise, Lucine, vaguely nodded her head "I can somewhat¡ but myprehension is nowhere nearplete and I can only understand a sparse few words".
Simon nced at the wall which depicted strangely dancing letters and pictures. Thinking that the letters might mean or indicate something like a clue, he was just about to ask her what did it say, when the tunnel that brought the two of them here, suddenly opened and threw another person out.
THUD¡ with a heavy thud, that person crashed onto the ground and lost consciousness immediately. Simon''s eyes twitched when he looked at the little boy sprawled on the ground.
? He finally understood why he was unconscious and lying on the ground when he entered the ruins, it turned out he had experienced a simr fate like that boy. Shaking his head off the thought, he turned towards Lucine and asked her what the letters said.
"Hmm~ let see it says¡ [Every hour, every minute, every second counts¡ directions are never-ending flowing like a river yearlong¡ go right or left¡ right or wrong?]" She iterated locking her brows.
Simon too frowned his brows when he heard those words, the words sounded like a clue but was very vague and written in an ancientnguage very few people in this world can read.
At this moment, the boy finally woke after getting knocked unconscious from that fall and immediately ran towards them in high spirits. He looked all around him with wide eyes and asked.
"Are we inside a dungeon?".
He had heard his master telling him about how dungeons were the best ce to increase ones skills, level and a ce where riches can be found. Denzel had been travelling with his master to different kingdoms and forests to increase his level and mastery over the sword.
When he heard his master mention that over one of their trips, he couldn''t help but get curious and decided that he would one day dive inside a dungeon just like those adventurers and challenge himself.
Simon was just about to deny him when he thought that the possibility of this ce being one, wasn''t zero. His suspicions of this ce being some kind of trial made him unable to not consider this possibility.
However, it seems that his suspicions was for nothing since Lucine who was clearly much more knowledgeable and experienced about the ce than them, shook her head at those words.
"This ce is not a dungeon¡ but hmm it can be considered a little simr in that it is one of the few Forbidden trial grounds that was once part of this world. It was connected to Eastarth but had disappeared due to certain events in history and pulled into a different ne".
"Although I said disappeared, they do surface sometimes and choose suitable inheritors. The other way to enter it is by using the coordinates."
Lucine said looking at Simon, she knew from their nk faces that if she were to start exining from the start, even a few days of time wouldn''t be sufficient.
"Anyways, what I''m saying is that this ce is not a dungeon. You guys have already experienced the first trial so do not mistakenly think that our path ahead is going to be easier than before" She warned them before walking forward.
Simon who was looking at her back, caressed his chin. Was he overly conscious when he felt like he saw Lucine smiling excitedly as she stepped forward? Was she enjoying this trip to this so-called lost trial ground?
Shaking his head, Simon cleared his mind, one of his suspicions was finally cleared, this ce was indeed a trail ground, one that was designed during the ancient times.
The three of them walked for a while before arge passage that led deeper towards a hall lit by huge torches appeared. Even from this distance, the three of them could sense the smell of danger that permeated every corner of this passage.
Huge statues that were made of what looked like dark indigo stones carved astutely, stood on two sides of the hall overlooking two doors.
"There is something written over there?" Denzel said squinting his eyes, the ce where his finger pointed, was below the statues and near the torches. Inserted inside the wall was a stone b with neat writings drawn on them. Right after pointing it out, he hurriedly dashed towards the hall.
Simon wanted to stop him; however, he was a step toote. The moment the boy ran, he had stepped on a switch which activated something and they all clearly heard the sound.
Suddenly, the entire passage started shaking violently, it was not only the passage but the entire ceiling felt like it woulde crashing down.
At this moment, Simon regretted not having a [trap Detection] skill, he hurriedly shouted everyone to run towards the hall. Fortunately, his decision was right as the entire passage copsed down revealing a bottomless hollow ground below.
How did they know it was bottomless? Because no matter how much time passed, there was no sound of the rocks hitting the ground. From a distance, it just looked like a huge dark pit with no end.
Additionally, due to some interference from the ruins, skills such as his [High-Speed flight], was unusable here. That is to say, had they not run away in time, they would have fallen into that¡
Simon sighed a breath of relief before looking all around him. For some reason, he felt slight simrities between this ce and a dungeon.
''Those people in the ancient times couldn''t have thought about recreating the dungeon exclusive to demon nobles could they?'' heughed at the silly notion that supposedly popped up in his head.
"It''s here" Denzel said leading the group towards the tablet in the middle of the hall.
[The two were once brothers, fighting and protecting the empire side by side, their powers unparalleled. Until one day, one of the brothers was led astray by his powers and ughtered hundreds of thousands of innocent lives until the other brother had to step in].
[The Jury was angered and sentenced the two brothers to engage in a life and death battle. The crowd watched jeering at the two brothers killing each other. The two doors depict the path that they have taken up until now and the convictions they hold].
[ELIGE PLUDENTER]
Lucine scrutinised the writing before telling them the gist of what it said.
Simon calmly observed the stone tablet, the two statues and his surroundings. Only now did he notice that the ce they thought was the hall, actually looked like the arena of a coliseum.
"So what big sister is saying that we need to find out who the brother thatmitted the crime was and ignore that door?" Denzel asked.
Lucine nodded before falling into contemtion. The trial cannot be something as easy as finding the correct door, there definitely has to be some implications, something that they can''t see right now.
Chapter 297
The two doors that represented the path and convictions of the two brothers was located at two different corners of the hall overlooked by two gigantic statues of warriors.
One had a huge sword in its hand, the other only had a shield. Aesthetically, they looked visually marvelling. Needless to ask, the statues that stood tall in this ce was the depiction of the two warrior ins the tablet.
The group sat down and calmly investigated their situation and their options. It was clear that just with the trials earlier, if they made any mistake, their life would be in grave danger and thus they need to make a right choice as to which door they should open.
Who knew whaty beyond that door? The tablet at the centre of the hall other than telling them the history of the two warriors and reminding them to choose a door wisely, didn''t give them any other clue.
The only inference they could make was from the story. The torches in the hall flickered with the flow of time; however, the group was unable toe to a decision. They searched the room all around in hopes of there being more clues hidden somewhere; however, it turned out to be a wasted effort when all they found was dust and moss left by the passage of time.
It was at this time when it seemed like the group would require additional time to make a choice, one of the torches died down. Since there were so many torches hanging below the ceiling, the change was so subtle that it was unable to attract anybody''s attention.
It was only when more than three torches went out and the lighting around the hall dimmed down ever so slightly, did Lucine stretched her head to look up.
At first, the dying of the torches didn''t seem out of ordinary; however, the way they were dying out in a sequence was what seemed suspicious.
Counting all of the torches, there was 36 of them out of which seven had already died down. The torches were ced in a neat row with 36 of them covering all the sides. Weirdly enough, the seven torches that died down, went out in a clockwise sequence starting from the centre.
As if to prove her right, one more torch that was next to the seven in a clockwise direction, went out. Lucine narrowed her eyes, she did not know what these torches signified; but whatever it was, it was giving her a feeling of foreboding.
This time she waited patiently and counted the time it took for the torch next to the eight to go out. From what she noticed, the torch onlysted 3 minutes before dying down. It might be just her thinking too much but the torches looked like a countdown to her.
Seeing that Lucine was distracted by something else, Simon couldn''t help but voice out "Hey you seem sidetracked, did you find something?".
Nodding her head, the woman told the other two about the peculiarity that she had identified. Since what she told was the truth, it didn''t take long for Simon and Denzel to believe it.
They too focused their attention on the torches as they thought about how it may or may not be rted to the trail they are about to go through.
"Say Miss, don''t you think the dying down of the torches seemed to be like the countdown of a clock?" Denzel pointed out tilting his head.
"Hmph, who are you calling a Miss? If you want my advice address me as big sister?" Lucine said begrudgingly.
The little boy scratched his and did what he was told.
"You are right, they can indeed be seen as a countdown to something. But to what, even I don''t have a clue. Though my instincts are telling me we should make our choice before that countdown hits zero" the woman remarked.
Simon who was lost in his own thoughts, suddenly widened his eyes at those words. He nced at the tablet in the middle, the two doors guarded by the two huge statues before clicking his tongue.
The hall, the story, the riddle, everything made sense to him now. He finally understood what choice they had to take and the meaning of the riddle they had encountered back at the start.
"Quick open up the door to the right" Simon did not have the time to exin it to them hence seeing their clueless face, he couldn''t help but ask them to hurry it up.
Perhaps in their mind, they thought this was the right answer and that Simon had found it, they chose the door with the statue holding the shield.
Simon nced back and looked at the thirty-six torches out of which only twenty-two remained lit before heading in with Lucine and Denzel.
Whaty beyond the door, was a wide path of stairs that led towards the ceiling of this hall. The walls around the staircase had drawings illustrating how the shield-bearer lived his life, dedicated his time to train his shield, his techniques, years of battle and his time with his brother, the sword bearer.
Simon observed the drawing as he went up the stairs without stopping, the group hurriedly followed behind him.
''His techniques are beyond that of a King Pin, he must have touched the level 900 Sovereign Stage'' Lucine mumbled observing the various carvings depicting the exploits of his life.
From these drawings, one could see how powerful the shield-bearer was; No, the two brothers were as they ran rampant and unstoppable on the battlefield with theirbat prowess.
No matter who the enemy or their size was, they would be impartially mowed down or brought down to their knees in front of the two of them.
"Hey, don''t you think you have some exining to do? Why did you tell us to choose the door on the right? Did you figure out something?" Lucine asked gazing at the figure of the man in front of her.
Ever since she met him back at the Ghastly winding forest, he gave her a mysterious feeling even though he was just a low-rank Demon viscount. Then and even now when he activated the coordinator and was chosen as a potential inheritor by that thing, the feeling he gave her wasplex.
The more she tried to see through him, the more she felt like she was diving inside an abyss with no beginning and end in sight.
The little boy nodded his head, he too wanted to know the reason.
Simon exined while not stopping his feet even for a second "Remember the riddle written at the start of this ruins, [Every hour, every minute, every second counts¡ directions are never-ending flowing like a river yearlong¡ go right or left¡ right or wrong?]".
"Yeah, what of it?" Lucine asked.
"I believe, the riddle wants to say is that there is no real answer, both the answers are correct and at the same time incorrect. We should believe in the choice we make is right because if we keep on dying making a decision, we would never be able to take any action" he answered recalling the situation.
"The hall had a countdown in the form of the torches which goes out after a fixed interval. It didn''t matter which door we choose, we had to finish the trail within the time limit".
The two people who were following behind him, were shocked. They didn''t think that the trail would disguise itself like that. If they kept on dilly-dallying until the time limit was up, they would have automatically failed and in that case, who knew what might be the consequence they had to suffer.
Thinking about the consequences, the bottomless pit and the effects of this ce that made them unable to fly came to mind.
"If choosing any of the doors didn''t matter, why did you make us choose the door on the right?" Lucine asked, the more she conversed with him, the more she understood why he was recognised by that thing as a potential inheritor.
After climbing the stairs, they found themselves in a small room that could barely amodate more than ten people. The space was narrow and a peculiar energy fluctuation covered every corner of this room.
The moment they stepped foot inside the room, the ce started moving, the walls and ceiling started shifting mechanically and before long, the floor that they were standing on arrived in front of the hall suspended in front of the huge bottomless pit below.
It was also at this moment that they realised that the entire hall was hovering above the pit. Inside these ruins which restricted their flight skills, they would have only one ending if they failed this trial.
"You asked me why I chose the door to the right? That is because we have less than 22 torches worth of time remaining and in that time limit we would have to defeat¡" Simon couldn''t get toplete as his voice was drowned out by the trembling noises of the two huge indigo statues suddenly moving.
As evident from the booming noise they made whenever they moved, the stone statues were incredibly heavy and made of a material that made them appear very sturdy.
BANG.. BANG¡ the two statues moved stepping towards the centre of the hall. From the closeup, they looked like two giants who had woken up from their slumber and were about to stir up a storm.
"W-w-what?!" Denzel couldn''t help but stutter an exmation when he saw what he thought were dead statues, suddenly start moving like a golem.
"So we have to defeat that?" Lucine who was good at adapting to her situation asked, her eyes had a peculiar glint with which she observed the two statues.
Chapter 298
"Yes but¡" just at those words left Simon''s mouth, the warrior statue brandished its sword and started moving towards the other statue.
BAM¡ with just the slight movement of the statue, wild winds started generating at the centre of the hall as the sword-bearer swung its sword.
Inparison, the statue with the shield seemed to be just standing still.
BOOOM¡ a loud cking noise echoed out, the sword hit squarely on the shield-bearer statue and knocked it back towards the other side of the hall where it kicked up a cloud of debris and rocks.
"What? Why are they fighting among themselves?" Denzel asked sounding perplexed.
"They are not fighting among themselves but rather us. Since we have decided to open the door of the shield-bearer and have chosen to follow the conviction and path he walked on, we became the shield-bearer himself".
"The hall that you see, actually looks simr to a coliseum which might be the ce where the two brothers once fought each other. I think to pass the trial, we have to follow the y and defeat the sword-bearer" Simon exined.
At this moment, the sword-bearer statue walked towards the shield warrior, grabbed him out of the wall and flung him towards the centre of the arena. The shield-bearer crashed and rolled into the ground, unable to swiftly get up on its feet.
The way the statue behaved unresponsive, was as if it was waiting for something. Without missing a beat, the sword-bearer thundered down towards the shield-bearer one again and pummelled him all over the ce.
The area was devastated with clouds of dust and debris falling everywhere, the condition of the shield-bearer was also so, it had cracks and dents in its previously neat indigo body.
The way the scene yed out, was quite a contrast to the picture and drawings of the valour they had seen of the shield-bearer when they opened his door.
"Did we make a mistake? Why isn''t he fighting back?" Lucine asked seeing that their situation was not looking good. If the shield-bearer lost, they will fail the trial and be forced to fall into this bottomless pit where they can''t even fly.
Although the restrictions ced by that thing was unimaginably strong, she can still somewhat bypass it if she used all of her strength. However, the trial grounds are known to have spiritual intelligence and the moment they detect a powerful invader, the entire ind would go into a self-destruct mode annihting every being on it.
This was not umon as there were many cases in history where the powerful Sovereign sses forcefully entered the trial grounds only to have their entire members annihted and them receiving serious injuries.
There were so many cases that nobody dared to underestimate the trial grounds anymore and Lucine was aware of that. Thus, unless she wasn''t backed into a corner, she wasn''t willing to use her powers.
Simon was silently biting his teeth, he was able to guess the trial up until now but even he had no clue as to why the shied bearer was not doing anything.
''Did I really make a mistake? Should I have gone for the sword-bearer instead of the shield? But then with the defensive prowess of the shield-bearer, we wouldn''t have been able to win against it within the time limit''.
The reason behind him choosing the shield warrior was because with the limited amount of time they had, it would be increasingly difficult to defeat the shield warrior had it only focused on defending.
p His many years as a game developer and his instincts as a dungeon master, were telling him to pick the shield warrior if they wanted to scrape up a victory. However, looking at the current scenario, he couldn''t help but have double thoughts.
Just as he thought that the shield warrior would be bashed up by the sword-bearer, to his surprise, the statue that had been taking a beating all this while, finally took a stance and blocked the sword with itsrge shield.
BOOM¡ CLANK¡ a heavy nging noise along with a burst of shockwave spread towards every corner of the hall, even reaching the tform that three of them were standing on.
The sudden movement of the shield-bearer, stunned Simon and Lucine, their eyes widened with shock and pleasant surprise. The shield-bearer after stopping the sword with its shield, deflected it to a side and mmed its body onto the sword-bearer pushing the statue away.
"Hehe, so that''s how it was" as Simon was confounded over the sudden activeness of the shield-bearer, a cheeky voice sounded beside his ears. Turning his head, he spotted the little boy taking the same stance as the statue and holding onto a shield that looked like the replica of the one the huge statue was holding.
Denzel who attracted the attention of his tworades, smiled brightly and scratched his hair, the statue imitating his movement.
"Uhm, I found this shield levitating at the corner of this room and couldn''t help but touch it out of curiosity. However, to my surprise, it linked me with the shield-bearer and I can use my movement to connect with it" the boy exined his discoveries.
Simon as well as Lucine, were pleasantly surprised, it was only now that they realised that they were caught up in the situation so much that they did not even bother to check the room for any such possible device.
The boy utilised the replica like a shield to deflect the constant iing attacks from the sword-bearer and ram the other guy back whenever possible. However, even though they found a method to use the shield-bearer, defeating the sword-bearer, wasn''t going to be an easy task.
From the carving on the staircase that he saw when they opened the door, he could tell that the two brothers were immensely strong during their time. Although what they were facing right now was only a trial, a recollection of something that had happened long ago in the past, the statues still held some of the powers of the two no matter how minuscule.
Simon''s eyes darted towards the torches up on the ceiling, their constantly diminishing numbers, was giving him a bad premonition. Even after they had chosen a door and the fight with the sword-bearer started, the countdown represented by the dying down of the torches had not stopped.
By now, less than half of the previous thirty-six torches remained lit, showcasing how much time they had left.
The fight continued for a while, the sword-bearer living up to its name of being a gant warrior of the ancient times, brought forth storms of attack on the shield-bearer.
BANG.. BANG..RUMBLE¡ the scene of two gigantic statues fighting each other, was just like two natural disasters trying to engulf each other. The beautiful walls and floor of the hall, was wrecked upside down until the point it was no longer recognisable.
Pieces of broken rubble fell from the ceiling and dust littered everywhere.
BANG¡ with a huge sound of collision, the shield-bearer crashed on the walls for the fifth time. Its body was now battered with numerous crisscrossing cracks and gashes everywhere. If It was the genuine shield-bearer, it would have no trouble defeating the statue of the sword-bearer in a matter of a second.
However, Denzel was not the shield-bearer, even the primary weapon that he had trained in, wasn''t the shield. As such he was having an increasingly difficult timending a blow on the sword-bearer statue who still retained some of the original skills of the ancient warrior.
"Dammit, if only it was a rapier or even a sword, I wouldn''t be losing this badly" the boyined trying to get the shield-bearer back on its feet.
Simon agreed, if they still had time in their hand, it wouldn''t have been a bad choice to choose the sword-bearer. However, they were restrained by time and had they not picked the shield bearer, given thebat potential of the two brothers the statues were based on, they would have lost automatically.
As the time passed, some cracks also started to appear on the shield the shield-bearer was holding, the same was with the sword-bearer. The sword in its hands had even more dents and cracks than the great shield held by the shield-bearer and had it not been for the strong durability of the material that is the indigo coloured stone that they were made of, any other ordinary rocks would have already crumbled.
However, other than the sword in its hand, its body was perfectly fine, unlike the shield-bearer statue. By now, there were only a handful of torches that could be counted in one''s hand that remained burning.
Other than disying the remaining time they had left, they were the only source of light that still illuminated the arena where the two statues of the great warriors were intensely engaged in a fight.
The previously bright and beautiful hall, had now devolved into a dark and dreary ce filled with the aura of destruction. Like an unstoppable tide, the sword-bearer kept on pressurising the other statue and brought it to its knees multiple times.
Simon, Lucine and Denzel were intensely watching the scene, racking their head to see if the sword-bearer had any weaknesses. The lighting around the hall was quite dark adding to their already disadvantageous situation.
Denzel lowered his centre of gravity and positioned his shield in front of him in such a way that he could tank the attack without taking a step back from the recoil. When suddenly, the sword that he expected toe down on him from above, slither to the side and attack his defenceless arms.
BOOOM¡
Chapter 299
BOOOM¡ with a deep rumbling noise like that of a mountain crumbling, the right arm of the shield-bearer was cleaved from its base.
The statue of the sword-bearer finally disyed one of the original skills of the warrior it was based on and easily outsmarted Denzel who was still a swordsman in the training.
The arm rotated in the air before falling down into the huge bottomless pit opened during the destruction of the passage.
Simon widened his eyes, held his breath and clenched his hands. He did not expect that they would suffer such a disastrous blow even before the time limit was up.
BANG¡
The gigantic statue of the shield bearer crashed onto the ground after losing one of its limbs. However, before he could even grasp the severity of their situation, Denzel crouched down and howled in agony while holding his right hand.
"Aaaaaaaaaahhh".
Lucine who was beside him, immediately removed the shield replica from his hand and threw it on the side. Only then, did the little boy was finally able to grit his teeth and endure the pain.
"What''s going on?" Simon supported the boy into lying down and looked at his flushed face and bulging veins. The way he acted was as if he was the one who had suffered the blow of having their arm severed and not the statue.
"I.. d-don''t know¡ huff..huff. The moment the statue''s arm got cut off, I felt an excruciating amount of pain from the shoulder joint of my right hand" Denzel exined while still trying to hold back the pain.
Lucine''s eyes noticeably widened when she heard those words, she nced at the shield lying on the floor and mused something.
Simon told him to rest for a while before picking up the shield himself. The moment he did so, Lucine cautioned him.
"Be careful, the shield is not just a high-grade artefact, but also a [Spirit Sharing Device]. It not only allows you to control the stone statue, but any damage that it receives will also be sent back to you. If you use the shield, you cannot allow the sword-bearer to deal you a fatal blow or else¡".
Her words drifted off at the end as she nced at Denzel who was barely able to endure the pain that was sent back to him.
Nodding his head at her concerned words, Simon ced the shield in front of him and took a stance. Just like the little boy, he too was not used to using a shield but with his ample knowledge of games from his previous life and his growingbat experience, he believed that he could hold his ground.
No, he can''t just simply defend, he has to think of a way to defeat the sword-bearer before the remaining three torches go out.
The hall was extremely dark with the limited lighting from the torches falling onto the only standing figure of the statue. The indigo body of the sword-bearer appeared to be even more intimidating at his moment as it slowly walked towards the fallen shield bearer.
The story yed on, the two brothers who once had to engage each other in a life or death battle, fought for more than three days and three nights. Their arena was no longer limited to the coliseum instead, the entire empire was their battlefield.
Before anyone knew it, Land, forest, cities, humans and even beasts were engulfed in the mes of their battle. The Jury, the Empire, nothing remained when the two brothers were hell-bent on drawing each other''s blood.
Quite poetic considering that the very guardians who were supposed to protect the empire ended up bing the tide that swept it away because of none other than the people of the empire themselves.
KLIIIIINNG¡ the sound of the sword scraping the ground rang out, the sword-bearer who was confident of his victory after severing one of the hands of his opponent, slowly approached closer.
It positioned its swords in an overhead stance and brought it down towards the shield-bearer in an attempt to behead thetter in one fell swoop. As the sword approached closer, Simon urged his remaining hand to grab the shield and defend his head.
CLANG¡ sparks erupted like crazy when the two weapons collided with each other. The power behind the swing was so great that the shield-bearer was forced on its knees, unable to bear the great weight with only one hand, itsst remaining hand showed distinct signs of cracking.
The force from the attack and the cracks appearing on the statue, got transmitted to Simon in the form of pain. Even the mana inside his body was in a haywire just from a single attack from the sword-bearer.
It was only after exchanging a few blows that he realised how problematic the sword-bearer that Denzel was fighting all along was.
Seeing that its attack had failed to finish his opponent, the sword-bearer repeatedly shed at thetter from all directions, exploiting the weakness of his enemy only having a single arm remaining.
CLANG..CLANG..CLANG
Simon defended like crazy, every time the sword shed with his shield, he would feel a powerful bacsh trying to enter his body and wreak havoc. Fortunately, his body was that of a Demon Viscount, much more powerful than an ordinary human.
Inhaling a deep breath of air, Simon tanked through the storm of attacks, his eyes glowed a brilliant crimson as he searched for an opportunity to counterattack.
"You must hurry, we do not have much time left" Lucine who was equally concerned about the consequences of failure, reminded from the side.
Even without her telling him, he was aware that they were running out of time. Compared to the battered appearance of the shield-bearer, the sword-bearer lookedpletely unscathed other than his sword.
At this moment, a brilliant idea struck Simon and he couldn''t help but sh a wicked smile.
The lighting around the arena was extremely dim with only two torches providing the illumination. Loud noises of heavy objects colliding with each other, repeatedly echoed out. The sword-bearer as if a little annoyed that his opponent refused to give up, attacked the shield-bearer even more feverishly.
Time tickled down slowly and before long, the entire hall became dark with only a single torch lighting the ce. Perspiration flowed down Simon''s face; currently, he was under a heavy pressure to finish the battle before the remaining torch went out.
However, his opponent didn''t give him a single opportunity to counterattack and the only thing he could do was defend to his utmost. The situation would have seemedpletely hopeless to others but the heated gaze and the odd smile of his told others that the situation was still not as hopeless as it looked.
Perhaps because a part of her believed in the bizarreness and the repeated surprises that Simon had given her, Lucine quietly observed the scene unfold before her eyes.
CRASH¡
With a loud crashing noise, the shield bearer for the umpteenth time was forced to grovel on the ground. This time though, it got back up immediately and shed with the sword-bearer intensely. Even though she said sh, all that the shield-bearer or rather Simon did was defend.
Just when she was having a sprout of doubt grow in her heart, the scene that baffled even her appeared next. Simon smiled widely, the moment he was waiting for finally came.
CRACK¡
With a dull cracking noise, the sword of the sword-bearer which had up until now been abused brutally and had suffered numerous assaults from his shields, finally gave in and snapped in half.
The attack that should have otherwise been enough to guarantee the sword-bearer the victory had the sword been in top condition was unable to achieve such results. The weapons of the warriors just like their body, was also made of the same indigo stone.
No way can it bepared to the legendary weapons of the original ancient warriors which apanied them to mow down battlefields and their enemies alike.
BAM¡ the upper half of the sword made a full arc in the air for a while before falling down on the floor. The sword-bearer who held the memories or maybe the minuscule amount of will of the ancient warrior, was bewildered by the scene of his sword snapping in half and thus was unable to predict the unconventional movements of Simon.
Commending the shield warrior for its tenacity, Simon willed the warrior to tackle his stunned opponent and lock them in ce. The statue even though it held just a tiny amount of memory or will from the warrior of the past whom they were modelled upon, had their own pride and obstinacy to not lose from the other.
The sword-bearer repeatedly thrashed around in an attempt to break away from the lock whereas the shield-bearer held the former in a tight bear grip refusing to allow them to get to get away.
With the sword-bearer locked in ce, Simon finally initiated the n he knew was extremely risky but nheless their only choice when they only had a few sparse seconds to spare.
"Aaaahhhh" with a spirited roar, Simon who was being transmitted the exact same sensation back to him thanks to the [Spirit Sharing Device], lifted the sword bearer from the ground and charged towards the other side of the hall where the bottomless pit was.
Realising the intention behind the action of the man beside her, Lucine couldn''t help but be pleasantly surprised. But at the same time worry that the repercussion that he would suffer from doing something like this, would be many times higher than what the little boy resting on the floor behind them had to.
A n like that was truly a make or break with a very high chance of risk that only a true madman would do.
Chapter 300
She couldn''t help but nce at his face that had not even an iota of fear of death in them. Unknowingly, a curiosity to know more about the demon, budded in her heart. Suddenly, she saw the demon cough out a mouthful of blood and try to supress the pain by grinding his teeth.
The sword-bearer at some point unable to get away from the grasps of the shield-bearer, plunged his half-broken sword onto the shoulders of thetter. Pain like that could make one flinch or even give up midway; nheless, Simon did not allow his stance or his lock to break and steadily carried the sword-bearer towards the edges of the cliff.
"Are you alright?" Lucine asked, her tone had unknowingly be a little softer when she saw him hurt.
"Doesn''t matter if I get hurt or not, I must throw him onto that bottomless pit" Simon roared hoarsely in determination.
BANG¡ BANG¡ the heavy footsteps of the shield-bearer charging towards the pit rang out across the hall. Even though the shield-bearer only had a single arm remaining, it held on tightly to the other statue unwilling to let it go even when its entire body crumbled from the repeated assaults of the sword-bearer.
Finally, when everything seemed a race against the time, Simon willed the shield bearer statue to jump towards the pit making it to the edges at the nick of time.
SWISH¡ thest reaming torch that illuminated the small expanse of the hall, finally died down as the entire ce descended into darkness. The only sound that resounded in the area was the heavy breathing of Simon and his pained filled gasps that he tried to quash with his breath.
Lucine hurriedly came to his aid and helped him remove the shield out of his hand. Immediately after the shield was taken out, his body that was creaking from pain and exhaustion, copsed onto the ground.
"Haa.. haa.. did it work, did we win?" Simon asked looking at the dark space all around him.
"I don''t know" Lucine shook her head and nced at the two people sprawled onto the floor after giving their all to clear the trial. ording to the message written on the tablet, they had to choose between the way of life walked by both brothers and open the door they thought was right.
As for how to defeat the other warrior statue, there was no such mention in the texts. While Lucine was deliberating if she could save the both of them in the case that they failed, aplex runic circle made of many interconnected circles, suddenly propped up under their feet.
"W-what is this?" Denzel who was resting on the floor, suddenly stood up from his position spooked by the sudden appearance of the circle.
"Rx it is just a high-level multiyered teleportation circle. It appearing here could only mean that we have¡ cleared the trial?! We cleared the trial" Lucine who was frowning after looking at the teleportation circle, suddenly squealed in delight.
Her joy-filled words, immediately caused the other two to also get excited. If they were to believe her words, it could only mean that they have sessfully cleared the second trial. The multiyered teleportation circle below them, started glowing bright and bright and before long, its luminance covered the three of them.
Simon felt a slight difort and a weightless feeling that arises when one travels through space. When the light settled down and he opened his eyes, he found himself in a totally different environment than previously.
There was no longer a hall, a tform which they were standing on, nor was there a huge bottomless pit below them.
Their current location was a cavernous area with fire torches here and there lightning the area. When he saw the fire torches once again, Simon couldn''t help but frown his brows. The trial earlier, created an aversion of troches in him.
Fortunately, this time they were not on a stopwatch and the troches did not blow out on their own. While Simon and the little boy rested and recovered from their wounds, Lucine took it on herself to scout their surroundings.
"As I thought, this ce is the third trial ground and is humungous. Even with my senses, cannot chart the entirety of this cavern" Lucinementeding out of one of the tunnels.
After a couple of minutes of rest, Simon could finally will his body as he wished. He propped his body up and scanned his surroundings. It was just like Lucine had said, the cave was so deep and winding that finding a right way out of this would be quite a hassle.
But the good thing was that, unlike the previous trials, skills that could be beneficial for this trial, wasn''t blocked. He could use his [Mental Map] skill to chart out the cavern.
The group sat on a nearby boulder and decided how they would proceed forward.
"Another trial? I don''t know how long has passed in the outside world. Is there no way to get out of this ce?" Denzel asked.
Although he loved adventuring and wanted to be like those adventurer''s, not being able to see and end or exit, he was starting to have ustrophobia.
His question piqued the interest of Simon, he too wanted to know if there was any way out of this. Unlike dungeons which have gates or a way to travel across different floors, the trial they were in, only had an entry point appearing whenever they cleared the trial.
It was normal to worry if they can''t see the exit.
When Lucine saw them looking at her, she sighed in exasperation before exining. Since she was the one more knowledgeable about the ce than anyone else, the task of being a guide, fell on her.
"That is not quite so. While the Trial grounds are different from the dungeons build by demon Nobles, fundamentally they are a little the same. Instead of having exit gates or staircases to the other floors, the trial grounds have something called transit rocks that transports you back to the ce you came from. While there might be some spatial turbulence on the way leading you to end up in different areas from where you came from."
Those words finally elicited a good reaction from the listeners as the mood of the group brightened a little. Now that they knew that there was a way to get out, the tension that was gripping their bodies, subsided a little.
"But how do we find those transit rocks?" Simon looked all around the cavern and the numerous rocks and pebbles scattered around. If they started to examine the rocks one after the other, there would be no end to it.
Lucine became silent for a while, she crossed her hands, closed her eyes and glossed through the information she knew about the trial ground.
"Every trial ground has its own way of spawning transit rocks. In the case of this trial ground, I do not know; however, after clearing the previous two trials, they should be starting to spawn soon. A transit rock is very unique than an ordinary rock, so when you are near them, there is no chance that you would miss it".
She recalled, though her words sounded a little unsure because this was her first time entering a trial ground and the information she had, was from the memories of her master and grandfather.
The group nodded before proceeding forward. Each of the cavernous tunnels wasn''t big and barely allowed three to four people to walk side by side.
While the group walked, they paid special attention to the walls and ceilings of the caverns in hopes of finding some clues or drawings that might help in their next trial. However, even after walking a long distance, there was no such indication of any drawings or carvings on the wall until they reached a three-meter big metal door that was tightly shut.
"It''s not opening," Denzel said after failing to pull the door open.
"Obviously, unless you deactivate the runes or blow it away with a powerful Amalgamation magic, the door won''t open," Lucine said examining theplicated runic letters carved on the door.
When she put some of her mana into it, the letters started glowing and bing more apparent. Simon and Denzel sat near the door while Lucine interpreted the words. Since they had someone who was adept in ancient letters, there was no need for them to open the door forcefully, they can simply enter after decoding the letters.
"How does Mis¡ ahem big sis know these letters? Even my master would be amazed by your knowledge" Denzel uttered dazedly.
"Hehe, are you by chance impressed? Hmph, this much is nothing for me you know" Lucine shed a boastful smile, her mood bing brighter by a little.
Simon blinked his eyes in amazement, this master and disciple were the same in that they get easily ttered even by the simplest of praise.
"Alright, I have decoded the words written on the door" Lucine said turning towards the two of them. Although they found no clue whatsoever about their uing trial, it at least gave them a slight idea.
The three of them after nodding at each other, carefully pushed open the door. The heavy metal door that might have not been opened for centuries or maybe even millennias, made a loud creaking noise when it was pushed open.
Darkness loomed over the other side of the door; however, the moment they stepped in, the torches around the walls, started igniting one after the other. The tunnel they were in currently, was broader than the one that hade from.
A rail track that had seen its fair share of use, wasid on the middle and went deep inside the cavern.
Chapter 301
Looking at the loads of carts that have now be rusted at the corner, it seemed that the mine was used for excavating something.
"Let''s follow the track, we can use it toe back here in this ce in case we get lost," Simon said taking a step forward.
"You all should be careful. Although the message on the door did not say anything about it, but from the eeriness and the faint smell of iron, there, might be monsters lurking inside this ce" Lucine warned.
Simon stopped in his tracks and deliberated over her words, though she did not say it clearly, he who was aware of her origins knew more than just to simply ignore her words. Since she had put it like this, there might really be monsters inside.
"Why don''t we do it like this. Instead of spreading out and going our individual way, we can group up and scout the ce together. The trail this time does not have that annoying snow nor are we on a countdown. If there really are monsters lurking inside, it would be foolish to divide our strength" he reasoned looking at the two people.
Perhaps, they too felt like his reasoning was usible, Lucine and the little boy agreed with him. The group had just taken a few steps in when the heavy metal door automatically closed with a bang.
When Simon turned around to see if there was anything out of ordinary with the door, from the corner of his eyes, he spotted something that looked like shallow w marks on the backside of the door.
Presuming that it was made by some monster lurking here, he increased his gaur and spread his senses while proceeding forward.
The cavern was truly deep and gigantic just like a catb. Even after walking for over more than an hour, Simon and the others couldn''t find anything out of ordinary that marked the start of their trail.
Simon opened his [Mental Map] skill, by now he had marked quite arge portion of the cavern and was in the midst of mapping more. The ce somehow reminded him of the cavernous floors of his dungeon which was simrly also designed like this to confuse the sense of the intruders and brimmed with monsters that finish off the ones stranded behind.
However, unlike his dungeon, this ce showed no signs of monsters even after they entered the ce for so long. His [Detect Presence] and [Heightened Senses] skill that was on high alert, couldn''t even find a single hostile or foreign presence near them.
''Were they mistaken in thinking that there would be monsters here? Or was the trial about something else entirely?''. As these thoughts hovered up in his mind, Simon suddenly noticed arge room ahead of them.
An invisible barrier just like the one in the hall back during the second trail, enveloped the entrance and the entire room within it. The moment the group spotted the entrance, they immediately knew that once they stepped through it, the trial would start immediately.
Another noticeable thing was the rail track that they have been following up until now, ended at this point. There were also marks and hints of being used left behind a long time ago.
The group stopped in front of the entrance, looked at each other before entering in.
ZZzzz¡ a static sound echoed within Simon''s mind and before he knew it, his entire vision was enveloped with a white light. When the Light settled, he found himself in the very same ce with his two teammates beside him.
However, what preupied his mind was not this but the illusory state of their body. At this moment, the three of their bodies were in an incorporeal and ethereal state like a ghost with no form.
He wasn''t the only one who was amazed by this scene as the little boy beside him was gawking and touching his body with a stunned expression.
''What was going on?'' before Simon could think further, he felt voices of peopleing from behind him and hurriedly turned around. The moment he did, his eyes widened beyond their limit at the scene thaty in front of him.
Seated not very far from here on top of arge boulder, was a group of children wearing ragtag clothes. They each had a loaf of bread and a cup of water in their hands as they hastily ate it. One could say that the food that they were having was extremely nd with no taste whatsoever.
Nheless, with the way these children were eating them so happily, told otherwise. Loud tter ofughing and chatting came from them as their voice filled the room.
"Mister is so good, he not only saved me from starving in that alleyway and brought me here, he is also providing us with food," said a boy with a bob cut hair.
"Hehe, Bell is right, mister is the nicest person in this world," a thin girl with ck hair said.
The boy who was called as Bell, nced at the tall guy in the middle of their group and asked "What do you think Glenn, isn''t Mister very nice? I heard from Chloe that you were left behind by your parents in a monastery because you have some illness. Did the mister bring you here to also treat your illness?".
Glenn the tallest boy amongst the group of children, nodded his head a little shyly. He was brought here not too long ago and hence felt a little embarrassed to talk in front of them.
The ck-haired girl named Chloe kept on throwing furtive nces at Glenn and would immediately break it away when their eyes met like a frightened rabbit.
Noticing this Bell made a silly smile and poked fun of her "Don''t tell me Chloe that you like Gle¡ gugh".
However, before he could continue, a punch came digging his abdomen from the girl.
"Hey, why did you do that?"
"Hmph".
The silly back and forth quarrels of the trio attracted the attention of the other children as theyughed merrily and made fun of each other. The other children just like the trio, were wearing ragtag clothes which indicated that they were simrly brought in here by the mister they were talking about.
In this gloomy space, where not even the rays of the sun could reach them, their carefree and pureughter brightened the surrounding.
Simon and Denzel wore stunned looks in their eyes as they gazed at the children who seemed unaware of their presence.
"What is going on" Simon couldn''t help but utter the words he previously said once again. No matter how he stressed his senses, he couldn''t detect even the slightest presence from them.
Contrary to their stunned looks, Lucine made a distressed expression, her eyes held a slight trace of sadness within them.
"Chronos Magic- [Historia]" she silently mumbled.
Maybe her words reached him, Simon turned around and questioned her with his eyes as to what she meant.
"[Historia], a powerful advanced tier time magic that recounts the tale of what had transpired in the ce a long time ago. It is a highlyplex spell that only a handful of people in this world can cast".
"Remember, not to mix reality with what is going to happen next. You must absolutely stay away from the time rift and not get caught up in the endless flow of time or else you will forever remain here" Lucine took a deep breath of air and cautioned everyone with a serious stone.
It was the first time Simon had seen the woman who always had a yful character, make such a serious face. That in itself told him how grave of a situation they were and cannot afford to make even the slightest mistake.
The scene yed on as the three of them were caught up in a situation, a group of men wearing a white bloated suit that covered their bodies from head to toe walked in. The children delightedly began lining around them as these men did a headcount.
"Alright, there are fifteen of them. Inform cardinal Royce that we can start the experiment once again" one of the men said to his colleague near him.
"Say, when is that good mister gonnae?" Bell asked trying to find the person who had saved his life and his friends amidst the group of men.
"Cardinal Royce is a little busy but he will make sure toe and visit you all. So you all should also do your best and help us okay?" One of the men in white suit said.
"Un" all of the children delectably nodded.
"Alright now, those who will do as we say, will be given new sets of clothes. Make a line and those numbers that we call out wille with us".
When the group of men called out ''3153'', ''3167'' and ''3172'', three children two boys and one girl stepped forward before being escorted towards a different section of the room that led further in.
It was only now that Simon and the others noticed that all of the children were imprinted with a number on their shoulders.
"Are they being taken away to get treated? Will theye back again?" Chloe asked, one of the two boys that were called, was her friend Glenn who was brought here not too long ago.
"Yes..yes, they are going to get treated so that they won''t have to suffer from illness anymore" one of the men in white suit patted her head and said smilingly.
Simon nced at the smiling expression of the men and narrowed his eyes. For some reason, he had a bad premonition that something was going on over here.
Chapter 302
He looked at the three children who were being escorted by these men in hazmat suits and wanted to follow when he realised that the barrier enveloping the room did not allow him to go out.
This was the first time that Simon had experienced the wonders of the time magic and he couldn''t help but marvel at it with amazement when he realised that the flow of time around them started to flow faster.
In a few short moments that felt like a couple of minutes, two days had passed. The children that were kept inside this room, were restricted from stepping deeper inside the cavern. They passed their time mining, ying and eating before going to sleep.
At a nce, one could see that the children were being used as miners to dig up ores from the surrounding tunnels which were then transported to the surface through the rail track. But Simon had a suspicion that something else was going on over here.
That was because out of the three children that were taken in, only the tall guy came back and instead of looking healthy like before, hisplexion was palely ill. It was not like his friends did not notice but they had enough faith in the white suit men that they believed that it was because of his illness and he would be cured soon.
The scene yed on as if someone had pushed the fast forward button and before long it was the seventh day. The white group of men came back again to take three more children with them for treatment.
"Chloe I''m going inside to get treated, I''lle back soon. We can continue our game then, next time I''ll win" A girl with curly brown hair and faint pockmarks on her nose, held the hands of her friends before being escorted inside.
"Un, I won''t lose Risa," Chloe said waving her hand.
p..p¡
"Alright children you have been very obedient in the past few days as a reward, we are handing out new sets of clothes. Wear them when Cardinal Roycees to visit you in a few days" one of the men pped his hands to get their attention.
"What? Mister ising to see us?" Bell asked, from his facial expression one could see that he was very excited to meet this person.
All of the children shouted in joy when they heard that the person who had saved their life and brought them here, would soon give them a visit.
Time flowed on and in the blink of an eye, three days had already passed. During these past few days, none of the children returned from the facility deep inside the tunnel and the only person who did, started showing peculiar behaviours.
Glenn would be in an irritated mood all the time and the slightest of argument with anybody, would erupt into a fistfight. One time he had beaten up a boy simply because the other person was concerned about his health a bit too much.
If not for Bell and Chloe who were kind of the tacit leaders of this group, the situation might have escted. On the fourth day, Glenn started showing behaviours of not being able to sleep and his skin started to take on a unique shade of blue.
When all of the children started panicking that something was wrong with him, mysteriously the white suit men appeared at that exact moment and took him inside the facility once again.
"Will he be alright?" Chloe asked looking worried.
Bell followed the white-clothed men taking Glenn inside with his eyes before they were no longer visible to him.
"Don''t worry, mister is a nice person. Glenn is simply ill, he wille back soon" he assured the girl beside him.
The next day, there was some movement from the surface, a man wearing ceremonial clothes, entered the room. The moment he stepped in, the children wearing their new sets of clothes crowded around him.
"It''s the good mister, good mister is back" the children bustled.
The man who was referred to as good mister, was a middle-aged man with a kind smile. He had grey ageing hair, was wearing a pristine clergy robe and carried a staff that had a huge core stone embedded on top.
The way he carried himself and the aura he released, gave others a good impression of him.
When he was ying with the children, the white suit men (Hazmel suit) came out of the facility inside to greet him "Your Eminence, Cardinal Royce".
The good mister referred to as Cardinal Royce, nodded his head at their greetings.
"I hope they have been taking good care of all of you? Do you eat your meals everyday?" he asked looking at the starry eyes of the children.
,m The children nodded their heads like baby chicks at those words of the cardinal.
"Mister is kind, we have been living good, we have a ce to call home and we even get meals two times a day" Bell said adding in from the side.
Cardinal Royce nced at the children and noticed the boy with the bob haircut. "Ah you are that boy I saved from that alleyway¡e here".
Bellplied after being beckoned by the good mister and felt his hands caress his hair. Immediately, the boy who was foreign to these affectionate touches, became happy and rub his nose..
The other children too huddled around the cardinal in hopes of receiving his affection.
Cardinal Royce caressed the hair of every child while having aforting smile on his face. Seeing one of the girls acting nervous and uneasy in the distance, he called out to her.
"What happened, you don''t seem too happy to see me?".
Chloe fidgeted around a little before gathering her courage to speak up.
"U-um mister¡ that is¡ my friends¡ they have gone inside to receive treatment and haven''te back yet".
Her voice was soft nheless it was audible for all the children and the good mister to hear it. Cardinal Royce made an expressionless face, his eyes deeply observed the little girl in front of him before a smile popped up on his face.
"Hehe, little girl, don''t worry. Your friends have already received treatment and were taken to a different ce. You will be able to meet them once your treatment is over".
"Really?!" hopes ignited in Chloe''s eyes as she asked for confirmation.
Cardinal Royce smiled, waved his hands towards the children before walking towards the interior of the cavern with the men in hazmat suits.
This time, she clearly saw it. The barrier that was stopping them from going further inside the cavern was easily dispelled by a triangr badge these white suit men carried with them.
Days passed just like that, every few days the white suit men woulde to take a few more children with them and before long, out of the initial fifteen children, only six remained.
During this time, the loudughter and chatter that the children would make, have died down a lot with the decrease of their number. They would eat, work sleep and repeat the same thing over and over again until the appointed time arrived and the white suit men came once again to pick three more children.
This time, one of the numbers that was called out, happened to be the boy named Bell. He and two other boys were picked out amongst the remaining six children, one of which was Chloe.
Seeing her dejected and gloomy face, Bell couldn''t help but poke fun at her saying that she was a cry baby and all. However, when even these methods which usually worked didn''t help out, he patted her head and told her not to worry too much.
After they get treated, they would be able to see each other again. Chloe nodded her head, though she was not fully relieved yet.
She observed the white suit men, for some reason, there were only two of them this time who came to pick them up. She walked towards one of them before suddenly arching her body and assuming a fetal position.
"Wh-what''s wrong? Are you sick?!" the white suit man freaked out not expecting a scene like to y in front of him.
"Hey Milese over here, we have a big problem. One of the kids is sick".
The other man named Miles, immediately dropped what he was doing and came near "Dammit, if she is really sick then it will be us who will be med for this. Tch, I told you to be careful with their meals, now see what you have done".
Hearing Miles put the whole me on him, the other guy couldn''t help but defend himself in an aggrieved manner.
While the two were bickering back and forth, the other children also came near worried for their friend. Nobody saw a small hand surreptitiously going into the pocket of one of the white suit men and pickpocketing something.
Chloe clutched her stomach for a while and herplexion only rxed and came to normal after she took a rest on her bed. Seeing this, the white suit men sighed in relief and left with the three children.
Ba-dump, ba-dump¡ when they reached the barrier leading further inside the facility, Chloe''s heart pounded like a drum. She opened her eyes slightly only to see them passing through the barrier without suspecting anything.
She propped herself up and immediately got out o her bed evoking a squeal of surprise from the other two girls. When they asked her if she was alright, she told them that she was just pretending.
The two girls were shocked at her response; however, when they saw Chloe take out a triangr badge for her clothes, they immediately understood what she had done.
Chapter 303
"Chloe wait, don''t do this. If you sneak in like this, they will surely be mad" the girl with the blonde hair said.
"Alice I know. But I cannot just wait for my friends to disappear one after the other. I have made up my mind, you two can decide whether to follow me or stay behind".
After saying whatever she wanted she walked towards the interior of the room where a wide tunnel covered in a translucent barrier led towards the deeper part of the facility. Chloe brought the badge which even she did not know was the token to pass through the barriers and observed it.
Carved on the badge, there was a cross and a beautiful staff depicting purity and holiness. The moment the barrier came in contact with the token, it fluctuated with many ripples surfacing on it and after a moment, like a thin cloth, the barrier spread apart.
Chloe immediately stepped in but when she turned around, she saw the other two girls also tag along with her. It seemed that they too were anxious about all of this and hence made their choice.
The moment all of them disappeared inside the tunnel, Simon, Lucine and Denzel who were watching the scene from the sidelines, felt a jolt and opened their eyes wide only to realise that the room that they were currently in, although looked the exact same as the one they had seen in the [Historia], its current appearance was dingy with destruction and an unknown putrid smell drifting everywhere.
The three of them hurriedly pinched their nose and watched their surroundings in solemnity. Everything had been eroded by the expanse of time so there was no evidence or anything to be found.
However, the foreboding and eerie sensation that they were feeling in their hearts only multiplied. While only a couple of hours had passed, they had seen months and days of life of these little children.
"Let''s go" Simon said walking towards the tunnel that the three girls had taken.
Previously inside the [Historia], they couldn''t pass through the ce because of the barrier engulfing the room. However, now that it was gone and they have returned back to the current timeline, there was no such restrictions barring them from entering inside.
On the contrary, Simon felt like the trial was telling them to proceed forward and witness the rest of the story. Lucineplied without a word, while Denzel looking a little hesitant, he knew he had to finish the trial and stepped forward.
The moment they stepped inside the tunnel, the same feeling as before where a white light covered their vision and they soon found their bodies in an ethereal state. In front of them, a little distance away were the three girls who had sessfully managed to sneak in deep towards the facility.
Perhaps because it hadn''t been long after the white suit men entered the tunnel, they could hear multiple footsteps echo out from the depths. The three girls followed their footsteps while Simon and the other silently walked behind them.
After an hour of walking and crisscrossing turns, they finally reached a wide area with numerous pirs holding the ce from copsing. At the end of the area was a five-meter big double doors carved with the same sign as the one in the badge.
When the white suit men came near, the door automatically opened, allowing them and the three boys behind them in. Seeing them disappearing inside, Chloe followed by the two other girls, sneakily trailed in.
This was the ce they called home after being taken in by the good Mister; however, even they did not know what was deep inside the cavern. Matter of factly, none of the children did. They were always told by these people wearing white suits, not to step away from their room and those who disobey, would be punished by having to sleep hungry at night.
They had once tried to ask Glenn what was deeper inside the cavern, the answer they got was nd and not out of their expectation. Beyond the door, was a well-lit room with many equipments, peculiar machineries and big capsules that seemed to contain something within it.
Although Chloe and the girls couldn''t see what the things inside the capsules were, they could hear the bubbling and gurgling of water from inside. The three girls hid themselves behind one such capsule and eyed the two white suit men taking the boys into a different section of the room.
"What are those things? Are we going to receive treatment here?" Bell who was silently following the two men in front, asked after observing the room.
One of the guy whose name was Miles, dully answered "You don''t have to mind what those things are. You all will be taken to a different room where there are multiple people waiting to treat you. Although the process might be a little painful, you must hang on if you want to get better".
He walked up to the in metal door in front and inserted his badge into the slot. Immediately, with the sounds of some gears turning, the metal door slid open.
"Come on, let''s go in" Miles beckoned and slightly pushed the three children in. following which, the doors shut closed as if already programmed like that.
The moment they disappeared, Chloe and the others came out of their hiding ce and inspected the room in curiosity. They had clearly heard Bell asking what this ce was but rather than giving a reply, those people directly changed the subject.
"Aren''t those things¡?" Simon narrowed his eyes when his gazended on those capsules. They who were following the three girls, entered the room at the same time as them.
Lucine silently closed her eyes but did notment further; whereas, Denzel was a little agitated when he realised what those things inside the capsule was.
It was at this moment, when the three girls were observing the ce trying to figure out what these equipments were used for, another door leading to a different section of the facility, opened once again and a group of three people wearing the same old hazmat suit from head to toe, came out.
"See I told you we werete, those three new children have already been taken to the transntation chamber. We could suffer some serious consequences in the next inspection if we don''t hurry up before the operation start"..
"Don''t worry I don''t hear any screams yet which could only mean that it hasn''t started yet. Did you already forget the beast heart assigned by Cardinal Royce for this lot of children"
"You don''t mean? I see, you are right, if the operation to transnt the heart of the level 590 Dark Abyss Tiger had already started we would have already heard them wailing and screaming".
"Haha, you are right. We did have a lot of trouble getting a sessful assimtion with the previous batch of children as well. The Dark Abyss Tiger and the Infernal Scaled Python have a too strong of a life force".
These men came near one of the capsules and inserted crystals the size of a thumb and of varying shapes and colours into the slots of a nearby mechanism. Following which the murky water-like substance in the capsule cleared up to reveal a person; No, it would be right to say a being.
Yes, the being in the capsule was half-human and half-beast. It had the upper body of a human and the lower half of a goat. The goat part of the being was covered in a thick ck fur and thorns grew out of its hands and shoulders, giving it a menacing appearance.
Although the appearance of the being would give anyone a scare, from its size it could be easily recognisable that it was a child. The moment it appeared, the three girls who were spying on their conversation from behind a mechanism not far away, took shocked gasps of breath.
It was not only them but even Simon, Lucine and Denzel had a shocked look in their eyes. That was because the being or rather the child inside the capsule, was one of the children they had seen in that room who was taken away by these people more than a month ago.
"Glenn..mmph" Chloe who was too shocked by the appearance of one of her friend appearing in this unseemingly condition was about to shriek out and hurriedly tried to suppress it by pressing her hands on her mouth.
"Hmm? Did you hear that? I heard a girl''s voice just now" one of the white suit men said.
"What nonsense are you spouting? There is a barrier separating their room and this facility. Without the entry pass, they cannote in here. Besides these stupid children are naive enough to think that they are being treated here and if they don''t behave, they won''t get any food.. hahaha"
"You are right, it might be me hearing things¡ haha"
"You two don''t get distracted from our objective. This specimen here by far showed the highest rate of assimtion with the level 650 Three-Tail Demonic Faun. If he fully assimtes with it, we will have our 8th sess in dozens of years."
The three men fell silent, they knew how important having a sess was for their facility and for their life.
"Let''s go, today''s test subject is a little special in that even cardinal Royce has its eyes on him. If we can sessfully create two hybrids, we can easily cover for decades of our failure and please his eminence at the same time".
While casually chatting, the three of them opened the sliding metal doors and disappeared into the same passage where Bell and the others were led into.
Chapter 304
Huff¡. Huff¡ perspiration mixed with tears, dripped down the trembling and horrified faces of the girls. They who had gathered up the courage to sneak inside the facility, were finally aware of what kind of ce this was and what these people were doing to them using the excuse of treatment.
They were so shaken by the words of these white suit men who they thought were a group of nice people who helped homeless and abandoned children like them. However, reality seemed to be far different than what they thought. They were being used as test subjects and experimented upon by them.
"Uwaaahh.. sniff..sniff" One of the girls broke down into crying, following which the other girl too. Chloe was no exception, the picture of the white suit men that she painted as kind people, was immediately broken down.
Days after days when these people came over and took her friends away using the excuse of treating them, when in reality they were being exposed to such experimentation.
Knowing this broke her heart and she couldn''t find the strength to stand back up. Her knees trembled and tears continued to drip down her face. She was about to give up and break down like the two girls beside her, when she realised that her close friend was taken inside the facility and if she did nothing, that fellow who kept on believing in that good mister would no doubt have the same cruel ending.
Making up her mind, Chloe grit her teeth and stood back up using the capsule as a support and started walking towards the door beyond which her friend who waspletely clueless about the schemes of these cruel people was taken in.
"Ch-Chloe? Where are you going?" the blonde girl named Alice cried.
"I had this feeling for some time but I wanted to believe that it was false; however, when things are put so inly in front of me, how can I still live in my own bubble of dream?" Chloe said wiping away her tears.
"I''m going in to save my friends no matter what. You guys can sit there crying all day and me yourself and everything or you guys cane with me and save those idiots who have been taken inside".
Chloe''s words like an arrow, struck deeply towards their heart and mind. Their pale white faces turned a little solemn and amidst their indecisiveness, they made up their mind.
Just as the three girls approached the door that led to the transntation chamber mentioned by those people, a sudden noise that almost made them shriek out, came from one of the capsules.
When they turned around to see where the noise originated from, they saw the capsule inside which Glenn was held captive, writhe around. The way he spasmed sporadically, made it seem like he was alive somehow.
"Glenn... he is alive! What do we do?" Alice asked seeing that one of the boys she knew was somehow still conscious even when his body was turned into something like that.
Chloe bit her lips and pondered for a while, she then stepped towards the capsule where Glenn was and looked for any mechanism that can free him out of it. The other two girls simrly searched the ce for anything that might help the boy get out of the capsule.
"I found this that looks like an iron bar," the girl named Sophie said holding a thick iron bar that seemed to be aponent of some machine.
Chloe''s eye lit up when she saw that, she took the bar from Sophie and banged it on the capsule. DONG¡ a dull sound echoed around the room, making them anxious about the noise pulling the attention of those white suit people.
Although Chloe was not a warrior and did not even receive her first ss, she was still more than level 30. After seeing the cracks on the surface of the capsule, she kept on banging it with the iron bar a few more times until the ss-like substance broke apart and its contents flowed out.
THUD¡ Glenn''s body fell limply on the ground, if not for his ragged breathing they might have considered him dead with how different he appeared from a month ago.
"GUH..BEGH¡" Glenn threw up a mouthful of liquid and painfully opened his eyes. The moment he saw the light, his eyes teared over and he cried with a tone of desperation.
"Please no more¡ it hurts".
"Glenn, Glenn¡ it''s us. Don''t you recognise us? What happened to you?" Chloe shook his body trying to wake him up from his trance.
After hearing the voice he have not heard for more than a month, some reasoning returned to his otherwise nk and hollow eyes. The moment he saw Chloe, he understood that he was not in that chamber any longer.
"Chloe?!" he uttered.
"That''s right it''s me. Thank god you can recognise us" Chloe and the two girls sighed in relief. However, before they could be toocent over saving their friend, the words that he spoke next, turned the atmosphere in the roompletely silent.
"Run¡run away. This ce is not what it looks like, they are not treating our illness here. It is very painful, the good mister is conducting some research on us. All of our friends who have been taken inside, have either been killed during the test or turned like me. Run¡".
As tears and snot dripped down from his face, Glenn curled his hands into fists and started bawling. The room became silent with none of them uttering any words. It was just like those three people in hazmat suit had said, they were nothing but experimental subjects for them.
All the children that have been taken by them, were not cured and taken to a different ce but rather have be like Glenn or died.
"How could they do that to us, I thought that the good mister was a kind person" Alice mumbled, her voice cracking at the end.
"Glenn calm down and please listen to me. Have you seen Risa? What happened to her?" Chloe asked while tightly clenching her hand. She was the third batch of children who had been taken inside the facility. Thereafter, there was no news of her.
Even with all the evidence in front of her, she still wanted to believe that her friend was still fine and alive.
Glenn looked lost for a while, his eyes unfocused and his brows locked. He appeared like he was thinking very hard about something.
"I am not sure, all the others that have been brought here had either died or be something like me. That''s right, there is a special assembly room here where they bring children who have already gone to the transntation chamber to contain us. If Risa survived she might be there".
Hearing his words, some hope finally returned to Chloe''s eyes, she appeared to be thinking very hard and finally reached a decision after a long contemtion.
Seeing her quickly changing expression, Glenn couldn''t help but ask "You aren''t thinking about going there are you? Don''t, if they catch you, they will throw you inside the Transntation chamber. Just run".
Midway through his sentence, he suddenly realised how stupid he sounded. There was no point in running, even if they sprinted out right now, there was no way they could pass through the barrier.
"Wait¡ how did you reach this ce? Were you also brought here by those people to be sent to the transntation chamber?".
Whenever he mentioned the chamber, his body would visibly tremble and his eyes would be frightened.
"No¡ I stole this pass from those people and sneaked behind them toe here" Chloe exined how they were the only ones among their group remaining in that room and how worried she was after seeing her friends disappear one after the other.
"Wait¡ I don''t see Bell with you, don''t tell me he was taken inside by those horrible people". Chloe could only bite her lips and look dejectedly at the ground.
The nightmare that she was having for the past few days, had really be the reality. Had she known this earlier, she would have stolen the pass earlier to prevent her friends from being made into something like that one after the other.
Glenn did not have to think hard to know what her silence meant, he simply nced at the ceiling absentmindedly.
How and where did everything start going so bad for them? They were just children with no parents or whose parents have abandoned them. Day by day they used to live by scrounging the trash thrown by the rich and powerful, some even resorted to stealing and some simply epted their fate and died of disease or hunger.
One cannot say that kind of living a life, but they were somehow getting by day after day even with that kind of lifestyle. Although they troubled the others simply by being around or trying to live their life, were they bad enough to have this kind of ending?
"Glenn¡ please help us, I must save that idiot, Risa and everyone".
While he was drowning in his sorrows, a soft voice that still held hope and refused to give up, sounded.
Glenn looked up and saw the determined eyes of the girl. The room descended into silence before it was broken by the noise of Glenn trying to stand up.
His body was now very different from how it was used to before, thus he was having difficulty standing still on his goat-like legs. The moment he stood up, he towered over everyone else around the room.
His height which was previously tall for a child, had now reached the point where he wasparable to an average adult. Even his thin andnky body had be bulkier.
Chapter 305
"Let''s go¡ I don''t know how helpful I can be but just like you, I hold the same sentiment of wanting to save my friend" Glenn dered before walking towards some of the capsules and breaking them with just a simple punch.
SHATTER..SHATTER¡ the capsules were sted apart and two bodies that looked like a mixture of a beast and human, dropped down onto the floor. On a closer look, their faces seemed familiar and it didn''t take time for others to realise that they were their friends who had been taken to the facility to be experimented upon.
"They are...?" Sophia asked covering her mouth, her face pale.
"They are the ones who had been experimented on alongside me. I don''t know if they are alive or not since have been discarded as failures by those white suit people".
"Alright, before we go and save them, you all must promise me one thing. No matter what you see inside, you must not break down" Glenn said turning around to face the three of them.
Only after seeing them nod, did he proceed forward towards the door leading to the Transntation Chamber. He never thought that he would willingly visit the ce he abhorred so much and even had nightmares of.
"Are we just going to leave them like that?" Alice asked.
Glenn nced at the two bodies lying on the floor and made a pained expression, he then shook his head stating his intention "Let them rest here, taking them with us in this condition might slow us down plus we don''t know if they are still alive or themselves or not"
Although the reply Alice got, didn''t exin much, from those words many things could be interpreted.
Chloe observed their group of four and felt relieved, she was now even more determined to save all those friends of hers with which she had spent such splendid times with.
Taking out the badge she stole from those people, she was just about to insert them in the slot on the door, when a scream filled with agony and bloodcurdling pain, resounded from inside.
The hand that was holding the badge, stopped midway and Chloe''s face which was already pale from being anxious, whitened even more after that wail.
"W-what was that?!" the two girls muttered nervously.
Chloe turned towards Glenn only to see thetter make a contorted face that was a mix of all the emotions.
"It seems we are a littlete, the operation has already started," He remarked looking a little sorrowful at the girl beside him.
"No..no it can''t be" Chloe hurriedly opened the door and was just about to run through the passageway when suddenly a hand that was as ugly as a beast grabbed her shoulders and stopped her.
"You promised me not to act without thinking" Glennmented, his eyes glowed a mysterious blue.
After being reminded like that, she could only dejectedly hold her impulses even though her heart was worried anxious about the boy.
Glenn stepped forward, his towering build, unlike any child, appeared absolutely menacing. The rest of them followed behind him.
Simon sighed heavily and closed his eyes, they who were in a ghost-like form, watched the scene with aplicated expression. They observed the room, witnessed the decision of the children to brave forward even while knowing the risk and rescue their friends.
When the [Historia] ended and the ce returned to its current state, a sickening and nauseating sceneid in front of them. Hundreds of broken capsules lined up the room, blood and gore that had already dposed and left behind some stains, filled the ce.
Corpses of the white suit men who were no more than skeletons now, littered the ce. A dreary and heavy aura lingered in the room with none of them uttering a word.
"Huff¡ huff.. where can I find the Transit stones? I don''t want to continue this trial" Denzel broke the silence sounding gloomy and tired.
Nobody med him for backing out, the trial this time was very peculiar in that, it heavy exhausted them both mentally and emotionally.
Lucine did not reply, she did not know where the transit stone was and where it spawned, she simply knew it existed.
Denzel clenched and unclenched his hands a few times, before walking towards the door that the children used without waiting for anyone. Simon and Lucine did not speak and silently followed behind him, they could tell what the boy was feeling as they were all currently experiencing the same thing.
The feeling and the emotions the children were feeling, thanks to the Chronos magic [Historia], were transmitted to them, weighing heavily on their conscience.
STEP..STEP¡ with Glenn taking the lead, the children proceeded forward. While on their way, they heard many death screams and wails of desperation.
The passageway from where they walked from, had many adjacent rooms with transparent crystal windows. The scene and the things inside them were so disturbing that some of them immediately threw up.
Hooked in the ceiling of one of the rooms was a hybrid with human, beast and some of the races that they were not even aware of into the mix. The entity had a wide pair of bat-like wings, a base with six bulky legs giving it a strong centre of gravity, a scaled tail just like that of a dragon.
The monstrosity had the barely recognisable upper half of a human with green scales covering most of its body. It had no skin and its muscle was visible through its scaly exterior.
Since it was restricted with hooks and chains, they couldn''t tell if it was dead or alive. Before they even reached the transntation chamber, the scene thaty in front of them was enough to dishearten these children and break their wills.
Perhaps the owner of this facility nned it like that or wanted to achieve this reaction, that he decided to put things like that.
The transntation chamber was a huge hall at the end of the passageway guarded by two humanoid metallic golems designed like knights.
[Searching for key¡ key found. ess Granted] a t mechanical noise sounded out from the golems as they approached near and a ray of light scanned their bodies and resonated with the badge like thing on Chloe.
Although afraid at first at the sudden activation of the golem, the children steeled their minds and continued on without stopping.
The door to the hall opened without them having to show the key again. A heavy scent of blood along with tired wails and cries of children created a disheartening euphony.
The hall was divided into different rooms that were adjacent to each other with numerous white suit men walking around busily.
GRrrrr¡ a beastly growl leaked from Glenn and his eyes inadvertently took a murderous glow, a desire to rip these horrible men apart, sprouted in his heart. But fortunately, he managed to somehow reign in his impulses and sneakily stepped inside.
Chloe was the next to enter followed by Alice. When they turned around to look at thest girl Sophie, they saw that she was trembling from head to toe and was too afraid to enter.
Chloe beckoned with her hands but thetter was to terrified. Sofie shook her head and ran back towards the room they came from.
Running away, though it was the most cowardly choice, it was the easiest and the most simplest to make out of all the choices. At this moment, every one of them wanted to run away, their consciousness was telling them to escape from this ce.
Nheless, they advanced while holding their fears because the friends they had spent precious time with, were inside.
Hiding behind one of the walls of the room where they kept the massive corpses of the beasts, they peeked through the window. A group of five people were dissecting a nine meters huge beast that looked like a tiger with striking azure stripes all over its body.
From its appearance to its body, it looked absolutely intimidating. Currently, these people were dissevering its innards, blood, core stone and everything. A huge red crystal about half a meter in size that was pulsating with a berserk and brutal energy, was kept on a table nearby.
"Its galldder is quite huge for the boy, we might have to reposition some of his organs to make space".
"Don''t be in a hurry, we have just transnted the heart and injected the spinal fluid. But in my entire life, I had never seen the level of assimtion the boy had shown"
"I can see why he is his Eminence''s favourite".
"Rightpared to the other two who failed to even endure the pain, that boy might really turn out to be our greatest sess".
The group of white suit men discussed while dismembering the bloody corpse of the beast. The pungent smell that lingered around the surrounding of the room, made the three priers want to barf their guts out.
Since the room was not soundproof, the two girls clearly heard what those people said and theirplexion became pale white.
"Let''s move," Glenn said indifferently,plex emotions shing in his eyes.
They sneakily moved from one room to another and finally found one of the boys that was taken along with Bell.
The trio hurriedly entered the room seeing that there was no one inside. The room the boy was kept in, was in with a simple bed, a few equipment and trays filling up the ce.
Glenn came forward and observed the boy with whom he had yed once and shared a meal with. The condition his friend was in, could only be described with one word, horrible. He was missing all of his hair, his hands and legs were switched with that of a beast and veins bulged all over his body.
Chapter 306
From the way he was bandaged all over and from the lingering scent of blood, it could be seen that he was just recently finished with his transntation.
Glenn shook the guy but did not receive any response.
"He has been tranquilised and had already gone through the transntation. If we move him right now, he might die" he said with a contorted face.
The two girls wore distressed faces as they saw the horrible condition of their friend.
"Bell¡" Chloe silently mumbled the name of her friend who she hoped would be alright.
"Let''s find Bell and Tim first," Glenn said looking at a room where the smell of the blood was the heaviest.
The two girls nodded and silently followed behind. As they approached near one particr room, they couldn''t help but pinch their nose because of the nauseating bloody smell permeating from that room.
The dreary aura lingering around this room was on a whole different level. The children peeked inside the room from the transparent window only to see their friend Bell restrained on the wall by a piece of huge scary equipment.
His body was hideous to look at to say no less, his eyes were like that of a beast ready to pounce at anyone, even his height and width seemedpletely different than before.
Crowded around him were the horrible people in white suits that had made him like that. They maintained a distance from the boy and noted any reaction or activity he made whenever they injected him with something.
ced in a container on top of the machinery, was a deep crimson colour liquid and judging from the thick smell of ironing from the room, it was none other than blood. From the volume, it could be easily guessed that blood was from an entity much bigger than a human.
Numerous incisive needles connected to the machine, repeatedly injected him with that liquid after fixed intervals evoking a beastly scream from him.
"Bell?!!" Chloe covered her mouth with her hands as she watched the scene thaty beyond the window. The boy who waspletely fine and normal up until a few hours ago had been reduced to this state after being taken into the facility.
From the droplets of blood and that hateful expression on his face, she couldn''t even imagine the kind of torturous experiment he had been subjected to.
"Those Bastards¡ Grrrrrr" Glenn who couldn''t keep his calm after seeing his friends being experimented upon one after the other cursed loudly with a deep feral voice.
The blue glean on his eyes resonated with his body and his ck furs started standing out with electricity zipping around him.
"I''ll distract them, you two get Bell out of there," Glenn said and stood up from his hiding position.
Chloe wanted to stop him; however, before she could even utter a word, he had already stormed out.
ROOAARR¡
A beastly roar that could shake one''s soul and make the body go numb resounded across the transntation chamber.
Inside the room where Bell was held captive.
"W-what? Where did that noisee from?"
"I-I don''t know, but for some reason, I got goosebumps from it"
"Yeah, I felt the same. It couldn''t havee from the Transntation chamber right?".
At this moment when these people in hazmat suits were stillprehending what had transpired, a loud booming noise echoed around the room and the entire ce trembled for a second.
BOOM¡BOOM.. as if announcing that the previous noise was just an introduction, repeated bombarding sounds rang out across the ce.
STEP..STEP¡ sounds of numerous footsteps could be heard approaching the room and before anyone could do anything, the door was hurriedly pushed open.
Seeing their colleagues panicking in fear as they entered the room, the people inside immediately understood that something had went wrong and the booming noise that they have been hearing, wasing from the transntation chamber.
"Huff¡ huff deputy head¡ its that guy, its subject number 3099" one of the men who had rushed inside the room, reported.
The person he was calling as deputy head, went silent for a while before speaking in a dismissive tone.
"Don''t be ridiculous, ording to my estimates he would still need a long time to wake up not to mention use his powers to rampage around".
It wasn''t just a baseless statement, as the deputy head of this facility, he was more experienced in this field than anyone else and had been conducting this research for dozens of years. It could be even said that he was an expert in his field.
Little did he know that three girls had sneaked into their facility and broke the capsule the test subject was in. Nevertheless, from the sounds of destruction, he could tell that these people had no reason to lie.
The deputy head removed his mask and a face that had seen through the vicissitudes of life, came into view. His aged face and white hair, told others that he was the senior-most official in this ce. He pushed the people crowding around the door aside and came out only to see the scenes of destruction and the one responsible for it with his own eyes.
The deputy head when heid his eyes on the form of the half-human- half-goat being that was close to beingplete, he couldn''t help but shout in joy.
"A sess, test subject 3099 is really a sess. You see that, I have done it. I have finally seeded in recreating the Lost Legendary Tier Skill. It is so beautiful" the old man looked as if had gone insane and even started crying in between his sentence.
ROOOAARR¡ the being opened its mouth wide to reveal a pair of sharp incisive teeth. A blue sh of lightning intermixed with bright crimson mes was spat out destroying everything. The way the being was devastating things around it, was as if it was venting out its vexation.
"Sir deputy head, this is no time to marvel at it. What should we do? From the looks of it, that subject clearly retained his memories and is here to vent its anger" the people behind him urged waking him out of his trance.
The old man cleared his throat and pondered, he then nced at one section of the chamber that led to the control room of this ce and his eyes lit up with an idea.
"You are right, we cannot allow it to destroy this precious ce. Make two teams and intercept that thing, stall for as much time as you can before I can reprogram those things outside. Although it''s obvious, I''ll say it again. Do not kill it" saying that, the old man made a beeline towards one particr direction.
Hearing the words of the Deputy head, the fearful eyes of the white suit people changed from surprise to realisation. They who were just some officials of the facility, did not have much attainment in the field ofbat prowess. So asking them to engage the monster in front of them, was clearly suicidal and foolish.
However, it was a different thing if they were asked to stall it. They who were geniuses in their field, have their own way of protecting their life, which meant that they had their own unorthodox weapons to protect their life.
Soon after, they left the room in preparation to engage with the monster. Seeing them leave the room one after the other the two girls who were hiding behind the walls, came out from their ce and nced in the direction where Glenn was.
To create them an opportunity to save Bell, he had decided to reveal himself to the people who had made him like this and attract all their attention to him.
Chloe determined her will to save her friends once again and entered the room with Alice. The moment they approached a few meters near Bell, he started bing agitated and his rubellite eyes looked at them as if they were his mortal enemies.
His brawny body which was now more than double their size, coupled with the pressure of a beast he released, petrified them from stepping any closer.
"Bell it''s me Chloe¡ wake up. I know that they have done some horrible and painful things to you but we must get out of here. Glenn is out there risking his life to help you so please Bell¡ wake up" Chloe urged trying to bring him to his sense.
However looking at his body that had been tampered with so severely, even she felt it would be a miracle for him to remain sane after all of this. Nheless, she kept calling his name trying to bring back his memories since there was nothing else she could do.
Perhaps, her voice got through him but he showed slight signs of calming down and his beastly eyes had slightly less killing intent on them.
Seeing that, Chloe''s eyes lit up, the two girls approached near the machine to unloose Bell who had been tied to it for who knows how long.
ROAARRR¡
Glenn roared and incinerated everything around him, the ce reminded him of the horrible experiments those people conducted on him. He loathed this facility, this transntation chamber very much and hence he instinctively wanted to erase everything in it.
Possibly because the facility was built inside a cavern, the infrastructure was extremely sturdy and withstood all of his attacks with minimum to moderate damage.
The tests and experiments these people had done on his body, made him able to dish out powerful attacks and erupt with strength unimaginable to him before.
At this moment when he was just about to release a powerful breath attack and incinerate one of the beast corpses kept in a room, a powerful st of energy came from his side and hit him squarely.
Chapter 307
Simrly, two other attacks targeted him from two different sides and managed to hit his back resulting in a powerful shockwave.
Twenty or so white suit men surrounded him with each holding a piece of weaponry that looked like a ster with a hose connected to a huge cylinder behind. Whenever they pulled the trigger, the ster would shoot out a condensed beam of me that was generated by the core stone of a fire attribute monster inside the cylinder.
Waves of attacks continued to be released out from those sters and targeted Glenn pushing him back. The ck fur on his body was burned and his skin was scalded red from the heat.
BANG¡ with the power of the five sters, he was mmed into the wall unable to go against its powerful force.
His gleaming blue eyes when spotted the white suit men firing something like aser on him, he couldn''t help but get even angrier. Thick amounts of killing intent that materialised itself permeated the ce and every single one of these people felt his intimidating re on them.
"ROOAARRRRR" Glenn''s chest inted sucking all of the air in, he spat out a deafening roar so powerful that it actually made cracks in the ceiling and walls.
The crystal sses of every room in this chamber, was shattered into pieces and anyone or anything that was in the immediate proximity of his, was blown back.
The white suit men reeled in pain as they hurriedly removed their masks and covered their ears. Droplets of blood could be seen leaking out from their ears from suffering the full brunt of that roar.
Nevertheless, the main purpose of the shout was not to decapitate them but to¡
KLACK...KLACK.
"T-The sma me sters have stopped working!!"
"What?!"
After these people barely steadied themselves from that nerve-racking attack, they were flustered by another surprising event. The core stone ced inside the cylinder had be unresponsive with numerous cracks on it.
The core stone was the very power that was fuelling their weapons, now that they were rendered useless, these officials without any an iota ofbat prowess or experience were just like sitting ducks.
Glenn roared, he felt a vast amount of power hiding within him and the more he tapped onto it, the more powerful he became. His height which could be said as very tall for a child, grew even taller and before he knew it, he was a hulking fellow more than three meters in height.
His pitch-ck fur emitted a crackling sound simr to thunder and he left deep hoof prints on the ground whenever he moved.
Seeing the monstrosity that they had created approach closer and closer, these people in white suits started panicking and dispersed everywhere like a headless chicken.
Glenn''s beaming blue eyes murderously looked at these people and he lifted his foot to squash one of them beneath his foot.
SPLAT¡ blood and gore sttered everywhere on the ground painting the scene extremely unsightly. However, that was just the beginning.
Glenn who felt the presence of a powerful strength within him, allowed its beastly nature to surface. He felt delight in killing them, relief in venting his anger out and the sweet taste of power flowing within his body.
BANG.. BANG¡ he repeatedly stomped his foot and mmed his hands breaking and killing everything in his sight. How many of those evil men did he kill? He did not know, what he knew was that he was enjoying this very moment.
As he was getting drunk more and more on his newfound powers, from a different direction of the chamber, he heard a panicked filled shout of a voice that couldn''t be any familiar to him.
Glenn immediately came back to his senses when he heard Chloe shout, he shifted his gaze towards the room where Bell was held captive and hurriedly ran there only to see an unimaginable scene ur.
Bell his best friend was ring and snarling just like a wild beast, his hands clenched onto the neck of Chloe who was desperately gasping for breath. The scene was so surreal to him that he was stunned still for a while.
"Bell¡ pleasee back to your senses, it''s me Chloe," she said in a coarse voice.
There was a look of intense struggle shing inside Bell''s deep rubellite eyes as he gazed at his friend. For some reason, there was an extreme amount of anger currently rampaging within his body and he was grabbing the neck of the girl who was one of his closest friends.
He tried to release her, but his anger which seemed to be in possession of his body, wouldn''t let him. Scenes from the past shed in his mind, their time together ying, eating and even making fun of each other.
However, all this scene was broken abruptly by a sudden memory influx where he was taken to a revolting ce and subjected and experimented upon even while he screamed his guts out. He saw his other friends getting simrly getting experimented on and discarded in case they failed to endure.
Yes, they killed his friend. His friend Tim, who he had formed a strong bond with, was thrown away like a bag of garbage when they saw his heart was no longer beating.
These people in hazmat suits, they were not the nice person he had thought. They made fun of him while he cried his heart out, made jest of dead friends all the while continuously experimenting upon them.
''Stop¡ don''t hurt Chloe'' Bell struggled to control his body which felt strangely foreign. Right now, he had so much power rampaging within his body that with just a twitch of his fingers, he could snap the neck of the girl.
"Chloe¡ run" he helplessly called out, tears streaming down his face as he slowly unclenched his hands.
"Cough¡cough¡" Chloe repeatedly coughed after being released from being choked but instead of running, she stood still and resolutely looked at Bell.
"I can''t leave when my friend is suffering so much. Didn''t you always used to say ''It will be alright, don''t worry''. Bell you can rx, everything is alright now".
The boy widened his eyes, his body that was stretched taut, rxed a little and his overflowing anger receded. The moment the emotions driving him all this time vanished, his body shuddered and he fell face-first onto the ground.
Seeing that Bell hade to his senses, the two girls hurriedly helped him and were shocked to find how much his body changed during this couple of hours he was kept here. His muscles felt like steel and his weight was way over what a child should have. The same went for his height which almost reached two meters.
"Those people they used us, we are nothing but test subjects to them" Bell said dejectedly, his voice contained no energy.
Looking at the gloomy eyes of her friend which previously used to be spirited, Chloe consoled "I know, they were bad people who did horrible things to our friends".
She knew how much he used to look up at good mister who picked him up who was abandoned in an alleyway. The revtion and the evidence in front of him might have been too much for him to take at once.
Glenn who came over after hearing themotion, sighed in relief when he saw Belle to his senses. He was just about to step closer and greet them when suddenly his instincts which have be extremely acute after the transntation, sent warning signals of approaching danger at him.
BANG¡ BANG..
With deep dull sounds, he saw two humanoid golems that were standing guard near the entrance of the chamber, enter inside. Their intricately manufactured body, was as big as his and radiated with a destructive light that even gave him chills.
"Hahaha, hahaha¡ as expected of my creation, to be able to harness the power of the Doombringer Faun to this extent, marvellous" the old man who was the deputy head of this facility,ughed.
The surviving personnel who had barely dodged their doom from pursuing them, gathered near him.
"Deputy head¡" they wanted to ask him something but the old man stopped them with a gesture of his hand.
"I know what you want to say¡ don''t worry I have reprogrammed the Custodian Golems, they are now under my control" the old man to prove his words, pointed with his finger and the golems immediately started moving.
The researchers rejoiced after seeing this, these golems were no ordinary golems and were thetest model that showed the advancement their empire made in the field of magical engineering.
Each of these golems were capable of dealing with a level 500 monster or above and had enough power to tten a small city. Cardinal Royce ced them here in case their facility ever faces a crisis like their current one.
"Engage that beast" the golems stepped forward and charged towards their enemy which had already noticed their presence.
"You all don''t just stand there, take out the Ice sters and restrict its movements" the deputy head ordered and the group immediately dispersed to carry their orders.
BANG..BANG..
The chamber trembled as the huge golems charged towards the Doombringer Faun, their momentum like a fierce tornado that swept everything around it.
Faced with the charge of the two golems, Glenn summoned the power hiding deep within him and his body immediately erupted with numerous lightning bolts.
BOOOM... He sent forth a lightning charged punch towards a golem and sent it flying back a few steps but because he was still not used to his new body, the other golem manage to ram into his body.
Chapter 308
BOOM.., with a loud crashing noise, his three meters body fell onto the ground crushing the various equipment and machineries beneath him. Glenn immediately tried to stand up, but was hit by a cold st of beam that froze a part of his skin and arm.
GRRRR¡ growling in hatred, he shot lightning bolts at his assants and fixed his gaze on the golems.
RUMBLE¡ RUMBLE..
"What is happening? Why is the ce shaking so much" Chloe asked feeling the tremble that reached till their room.
"It''s Glenn, he is fighting those golems" Alice replied looking out of the room.
"What Glenn is?" An out of ordinary rming voice sounded out from Bell and he willed his tired body towards the exit of the room. There he could clearly see the silhouette of his friend that had changed so much that he could barely recognise him.
However, rather than his form, what he was more concerned about was the golems he was fighting. Those Custodian Golems if he were to believe the words of those evil white suit men, they were made of Mythril, were incredibly powerful and never tiring constructs.
As long as the power source of this entire facility remains intact, they will never run out of energy. When he told the two of them what he heard from those people, their eyes couldn''t help but cloud over with worry. They did not want Glenn to be injured and at the same time, if he lost there was no way they would be able to get out of here.
Recognising this, Bell nced at his friend fighting for their sake and the two girls who were brave enough to risk their lives toe to his rescue. He immediately made up his mind and ran out of the room while leaving a few instructions for them.
"Run towards the assembly room at the end of the facility. There must be an exit point there, I will bring Glenn and meet up with you all there".
Although he wasn''t sure if there was an exit there, but recalling the time when cardinal Royce visited this facility, he never exited from the same ce he entered from. That is to say, there had to be a different exit separate from the entrance.
If they could find that exit, they wouldn''t have to go all the way back to that room all of them were kept in and dwindle their time solving the winding tunnels of the cave.
"What do we do now?" Alice asked sceptically, now that the situation had be so chaotic, they had no other choice but to get away from here. With their power and levels, if they stayed, they would only get in their way.
Chloe observed the situation analytically for a while before running towards the room beside them where another one of their friends was held uncosncious.
"We cannot leave him here, let''s carry him to the assemble room and leave this ce together," she said looking at the unconscious boy who was brought here along with Bell.
The two of them shared his weight and carried him towards the door at other end of the chamber. Meanwhile, Bell who had joined the battle, saw the injured body of his friend and increased his pace.
"Glenn are you alright?!".
Glenn turned his head in surprise when he heard Bell''s voice, he was just about to tell him to run away from here while he holds them down, when two beastly roars sounded out from the entrance of the chamber.
GROWWLLL:¡ two beasts more than three meters huge, entered the ce and emitted their intimidating aura.
One was a huge buffalo with part rhino in the mix and the other was a spotted leopard with wings and having three tails. The only thingmon between these two beasts was their crimson eyes and the thick bloodthirsty aura they released.
Their fangs and mouth were covered with the blood of the meal they just had. The moment they entered, all the attention was attracted to them. The ce descended intoplete silence and every eye focused on the two beasts.
"H-how did theye out of their capsules?" the eerie quiet was broken by one of the white suit men who was shooting at Glenn with an Ice ster.
The old face of the deputy head contorted, from the looks of things, the situation did not look good for them. It was fine if it was just the host who had achieved a sessful integration with the Doombringer Faun.
However, the two beasts before them, the Gale Demon Leopard and the Storm Charging Bull had clearly failed to achieve so with their hosts and were considered a failure. Test subjects that have turned into the beast that they were integrated with and had no mind of their own..
They were killing machines meant for ughter, if they were not put down, they would end up destroying the whole facility. The deputy head ordered one of the golems to keep the two new beasts busy while he and the other officials took out their ice sters and aimed for the Doombringer Faun.
No matter what, he cannot allow the first sessful test subject that he had in dozens of years to hurt itself.
While he was mentally preparing himself to incur some loss, out from the corner of his eyes, he spotted the test subject 3093 who had shown the most resilience during the transntation and was by far the most ideal subject, approach the Doombringer Faun.
As far as he knew, there was no way the boy could move away from that machine after the surgery unless someone releases him. At this moment, the old man finally realised that there was someone else other than them inside the chamber who had sneaked in.
''But who could it be? There is no way anyone would dare to intrude in a ce owned by Cardinal Royce'' while he was busy thinking who the main culprit behind all of this was, the two beasts started attacking the charging golem and quickly overwhelmed it with their numbers.
Although unlike the Doombringer Faun, they were fully taken over by the beast they were assimted with, but the power they erupted out with, couldn''t be underestimated. Even the ice ster that managed to freeze a portion of Doombringer Faun''s body, was easily shaken off by them.
Overwhelmed by the sudden turn in the situation, the other officials also tried to fire their ice sters at the beasts only to get outmanoeuvred by them.
They were just about to fire a second round of barrage when two powerful beastly roars that shook the very foundation of the chamber, sounded out destroying the core powering their weapon. The scene was just like what had happened with the Doombringer Faun, the roar was definitely a skill that disrupted the mana around the surrounding.
Now that their ice sters were rendered useless and their most powerful weapons, the golems were locked down in a fight, these officials who never had to worry about their life, started fearing the worst.
The deputy head threw the ice ster in his hand and with an ugly face, he ordered the officials near him who were scared witless.
"Wake up test subject no 2777".
The moment they heard the deputy head bark those words, these people couldn''t believe their ears. They nkly looked at him before asking for confirmation.
"But Sir, the subject no 2777 was deemed as a failure by you. If we wake it up, the tragedy from all those years ago, might happen again".
"I''m well aware of the consequences. However, we do not have the leeway to think about all those things if we don''t contain the situation right now, we might not have a future to worry about. No. 2777 is the most powerful test subject my predecessors ever created, only it has the power to contain the at present." he shouted in annoyance.
The officials nodded and finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Two people immediately went to a certain corner of the chamber to execute the n.
"What is happening? Where did those two beastse from?" Bell asked perplexed by the sudden turn of events.
On the contrary, Glenn didn''t seem all so well, when he looked at the stains of blood on their mouth and ws. Sophia who ran back to the capsule chamber must havee across the two of them, which could only mean that... his eyes had unknown sadness and emotions whirling within them.
"They are not beasts but our friends who have been made to look like that" he said looking at the two beasts who were his friends. Them turning like that could only mean that they have failed to endure the pain.
"What?! How can this be aren''t they fully¡" Bell''s eyes widened as he stood stupefied.
"Not everyone is like you and me who can still retain their human form and memories. Those two were brought in the batch after me, I have seen them subjected upon and turned into something like this. I still had hopes that they would return to themselves when they were kept inside the capsule; however, it seems that I was far too na?ve. There is no way to revert back the cruel changes that these people have done on us".
Glenn exined closing his eyes at the end of his sentence.
Bell did not speak, he observed his body that still looked like a human but he himself knew how much changes he had gone through in the past couple of hours he was here.
"What do we do? Now that those two are also here, if we team up we might be able to defeat the golems and get out of here" Bell suggested; however, his suggestion was quickly rejected by Glenn.
Chapter 309
"The situation has not changed, we are still surrounded by enemies. Those two beasts that you see there, are not our allies. After the integration, they havepletely turned into mindless beasts that are ruled by their instincts. They will attack anyone and everyone indiscriminately regardless of friend or foe".
Glenn stood up preparing to respond to any attacks that mighte their way. Fortunately, after the two beasts entered the pressure of the golems on him has significantly reduced leaving him enough time to steady himself.
Bell was also about to join in the fray not knowing what he can do in with his body that somehow felt foreign, when from the corner of his eyes he spotted Chloe and Alice waiting near the door to the assembly room.
He felt his brain being able to process numerous parallel thoughts at once and came up with an idea to make use of this situation. He shared it with Glenn and after a brief discussion, the two decided to follow through with it.
Glenn used a powerful lightning attack that pushed the golem confronting him a few meters back and used this opportunity to run towards the door. Partly due to his inexperience and partly due to his newfound powers, the attack he used in his attempt to blow the golem away, was so powerful that 30% of the area around the chamber was instantly obliterated.
"Hurry" they could see the two girls beckoning them to hurry up. Just as the two of them reached the door, a presence so powerful and distorted that all the hair on their body stood on end came from behind them.
The two turned around in the nick of time to nce at its appearance before the door shut closed.
-----
A revolting sighty in front of them, even after the [Historia] had ended, the three of them remained silent. No, it would be more appropriate to say that they were forced to don on the silence by the scene that had yed in front of them.
A ce where humans were experimented on like animals would be quite disturbing for anyone to see especially when the test subjects were the innocent children who did not even know they were being experimented upon until the very end.
Although they knew the facility was nothing good, even they did not expect the scenes thaty inside to be so disturbing.
"What is this ce?" Denzel asked gritting his teeth. He could no longer remain calm after seeing those poor children be experimented upon and tortured like this.
This trial had affected his mentality and if not for the warnings that Lucine had given him at the start of the trial, he would have already dashed out to sever the heads of those white suit people.
Out of the three of them, the boy was the only human so it was all the more natural that he felt a strong revulsion from seeing his kin experimenting upon their own.
Lucine sighed seeing the lost and forlorn expression of the little boy.
"I have already told you, these are nothing but scenes from history, a shadow from the past. It is being recreated as a trial in front of us through the advanced tier Chronos Magic ¨C [Historia]. Do not let yourself get lost in the scenes of the past."
"As for your question, this ce seems to be one of the many facilities built during the ancient era to research and develop a particr skill. I don''t know if you are aware of it but the purpose of this facility is to try and recreate the skill [Beast Inheritance]. A taboo that would end up leading them to their own destruction".
Denzel was a little surprised, he had never heard of this skill nheless, theplex emotions within him did not subside at all even after hearing the reason behind all of this.
On the contrary, Simon had a stunned look on his face when he heard Lucine say those words. [Beast Inheritance] he was quite aware of the skill, in fact, he even battled with someone who used the very same skill against him not too long ago.
Adalinda had once told him that humans in their endless pursuit for strength, tapped on the power they should never have involved with and ended up destroying themselves. They not only affected themselves, but even encapsted others around them.
[Beast Inheritance], a skill exclusive to the beast n and could only be passed down to others through the beast''s own will or from their core stone which sometimes contain their beast inheritance.
She also told him that the [Beast Inheritance] was the manifestation of an Ancient Symbol and how humans during the ancient times tried to imitate it. Their actions are still affecting the world as some of the research and techniques that they have developed, are still flowing and built upon to this very day.
Simon remembered his battle with the butler and how the iplete skill of the [Beast Inheritance], he used, hadpletely turned thetter into a mindless beast. The children that were experimented upon, disyed the same signs as the butler which further solidified Lucine''s words.
The three of them observed the ruins of the transntation chamber which was once used to conduct many inhumane experiments. The ce was a total mess with many broken equipment and machines that had corroded with time, lying around.
There were no indications of any transit rocks being around and the only thing that lingered around was the dark and dreary aura.
Unlike the previous times, Simon did not hurry the group to proceed forward with the trial and gave them time to sort out their thoughts andpose themselves.
Other than the aforementioned reason, he was also confused as to why the trial was showing them all of this. Was there a particr reason they had to know all of this? Was knowing the events from the past necessary to clear the trial?
He did not know, what he knew was that they had to proceed forward to clear the trial.
Lucine nced all around, her tangerine eyes narrowing a little. This particr trial had given her a pretty good hint about what that thing was that had created this trial ground.
''Its abilities definitely matches that thing, I''m sure now. The power and ability it had disyed up until now, is enough to attract the attention of all of the powerhouses in this world. No wonder, Grandpa told me about it'' she closed her eyes and felt a strong time rift surrounding the ce.
She then turned her head and looked at Simon who was chosen as one of the inheritors.
''To be allposed like that, he definitely has skills'' Lucine remarked. The third trial unlike the first two, was testing the mental fortitude of theirs by recreating the scene that had transpired in this facility long back in the past.
Although Simon was fine, the same couldn''t be said for their otherpanion. Denzel was tightly clenching the rapier buckled to his waist and his eyes nkly stared downwards. It seemed that the scenes from earlier were still ying in his head making him unable to calm down at all. Perhaps it was a bit too much for a boy like him to take all of that at once.
"We can wait if you need some more time to collect yourself" Simon said standing beside the boy.
Denzel shook his head "No need for that, I''m fine now. We should proceed forward without wasting time". After saying that, he started walking towards the door that led towards the assembly room.
Simon looked at the little boy who seemed to be giving off a forlorn atmosphere and sighed. This was the kind of trial that one had to ovee with their own ability and willpower, others won''t be able to help you.
It wasn''t like Simon wasn''t affected, a part of him that was previously a human felt a deep revulsion towards this kind of conduct that was done to these innocent children. He wanted to st this ce to smithereens but because Lucine had told him that all of this was just an illusion, a recount from the past, that he was able to barely hold himself back.
He could only imagine what the boy who appeared to be less than seventeen, was currently going through. From their previous conversation, he could guess that the identity of thetter was not ordinary and this kind of darkness that was hidden deep within a society, was something that he hade face to face with for the first time.
The three of them stepped forward and entered thest stage of the third trial.
As soon as they entered, they saw a great hall triple the size of the transntation chamber and came to a halt. That was because the scene in front of them wasn''t something that they could take all in at once.
Although they had already guessed from the numbers assigned to the children, but the ce was still too revolting of sight for them to see.
Thousands of children unknown whether dead or alive, were kept in a frozen cer in a particr section of the hall and arranged numerically by the number carved on their bodies.
At a nce, it looked just like a huge register depicting the numerous experiments the facility had conducted throughout the years. As if the sight was sickening enough, there were hundreds of beast corpses hooked on the ceiling giving off a pungent smell.
The four children that had entered the assembly room, stood frozen in ce after seeing the horrible sight in front of them. At this moment, they have finally and fully seen the true horrors of the facility that they were kept in.
Chapter 310
It also dawned on them at this moment that they weren''t the only group of children that have been experimented here. At a nce, they seemed to be thousands of others who have simrly suffered a simr fate.
Chloe who was frantically looking for her friend, gasped in anguish and sorrow when she saw her badly disfigured body frozen in the ice. Tears streamed down her face and her body trembled intensely, if not for the support of Alice behind her, she might have fallen down onto the floor crying.
Bell and Glenn looked at the scene with eyes of fury and disgust. All the children frozen on the wall like a crypt, were simr to their age group and had been likely brought to this facility with the excuse of being treated only to suffer such a cruel fate.
"Can we break this wall of frost?" Bell asked cing his hands on the thickyer of frost covering thousands of bodies.
Glenn did not reply; however, his eyes narrowed when he saw the damaged body of some of those children that have fully transformed into beasts. If one looked at them carefully, those wounds came from a fight and haven''t healed yet because of being frozen.
He had seen many of his friends go crazy after transforming like that hence it wasn''t hard for him to know what would happen if they break the wall.
"We cannot. From the conversation of those people, this ce stores those children that have failed to assimte with their beast or have transformed into one. So if we break it, all of them will be set free".
Hearing Glenn''s indifferent reply, Chloe couldn''t help but re at him amidst her tears.
"Are you saying that we leave our friends and escape all by ourselves?". Her friend was currently suffering inside that frozen wall, so how could she just run away by herself. Unknowingly, her tone had be a tad sterner.
"You haven''t seen the moment when they were being experimented upon so you don''t know. They are no longer your friends and have turned into apletely different thing" Glenn argued back.
Perhaps because she was anguishing too much or because she was too angry at things turning out like this, but in the heat of the moment, she said something she shouldn''t have.
"Are you able to say that to others when you yourself are like that".
Chloe realised the meaning behind her words and immediately regretted saying it. "Glenn¡ I didn''t mean to.."
"It''s alright, I know how I look right now. This monstrous body makes me no different than them but even then I still insist on not breaking them free" He started adamantly at Chloe.
While the both of them were bickering, the door behind them started making noise and slowly opened. The children became startled and immediately backed off.
As they stared fixedly at the slowly opening door, a huge shadow thatpletely dwarfed even the towering figure of Glenn, walked from behind the door. A monstrosity walking on six legs and having aspects of different races, walked out of the door.
It had a wide pair of bat-like wings, a scaled tail just like that of a dragon and an upper body of a human. The moment the four of themid eyes upon the monstrosity, their eyes widened to their extreme.
That was because they had seen the being kept restrained in one of the rooms in the hallway leading to the transntation chamber. At this moment, the human upper half of the being was munching on the meat and gore of the two beasts that it had just killed.
The Storm Charging Bull and the Gale Demon Leopard that had wreaked havoc inside the transntation chamber, were dead, their corpses lying on the ground.
The two golems entered the assembly room next followed by the group of white suit men.
"I was right, some rats did manage to sneak in after all" The deputy head slowly walked in and mockingly nced at the four children.
"Oh dear, it seems like our facility has been seen through. We can''t let this slide now can we? You people not only destroyed our transntation chamber which holds things whose value couldn''t even be measured with money, but also freed my precious test subjects. Sigh, such a disaster. I want to know who was that ipetent who allowed these children to sneak in".
He spoke with a smile stered on his face. However, to those who know him, the meaning behind that smile was inly clear, the deputy head was mad, enraged to be more precise.
"Run" Glenn said slowly, his eyes glued to the monstrosity in front of him. Even when just standing still, it released a tremendous presence that made every hair on his body stand on end.
"Run? There is no escape for you all. The moment you were brought inside here, your life belonged to me and I get to decide what to do with it" the deputy head interjected. He waved his hands and the monstrosity and golems immediately started moving.
Glenn stepped forward and shielded the other three behind him, he opened his mouth wide and spat out a thick column of lightning that smashed heavily on the monstrosity. Intense light along with clouds of dust, covered the entity inside it.
Glenn did not bother controlling his strength and utilised the power within him that he could currently harness and threw it towards the monster. He thought that it would at least damage it if not push it back far away.
However, when the dust settled, to his surprise, he saw that the beingpletely fine with not even a scratch to be found on its body. Its hollow eyes seemed unfazed from the attack earlier as it stood perfectly still.
The officials were amazed by the toughness of the entity, it was only now that some of them who had seen it restrained in that room every day, disy its powers.
"Hehe, subject number 2777 although a failure, is one of our predecessor''s greatest creations. Even if it''s the host of Doombringer Faun, unless he could harness its true power, won''t be able to defeat it".
The deputy head arched his chin and said smugly. There was pride and reverence whenever he gazed at its presence.
Contrary to the surprised and delighted expressions of the white suit men, the children wore worried faces as they saw the beinge out unscathed from the attack of their friend. This in itself was enough to tell them how dire of a situation they were in.
Bell clenched his hands and grit his teeth in anger, whenever he saw the faces of these people, an unimaginable rage would boil within him and a desire to tear them apart would surface in his heart.
With his emotions going into a turmoil, he decided to fight without putting much thought into it. With a burst of mysterious power which originated from deep within its body, Bell rocketed towards those people he hated and was about to release his anger on them when with the snap of the Deputy Head''s finger, the two golems came in front and stopped him from proceeding further.
His attacks in a fit of anger, was easily stormed by the golems and whatever damage they received, got restored in a matter of seconds.
Although the golems weren''t as powerful as the subject number 2777, their true powersy in the fact that they are inanimate, aren''t afraid of anything and due to them being able to restore continuously, a perfect soldier that one could find.
BOOM... with a punch from the golems, Bell was sent back and crashed onto the wall on the other end of the hall.
Glenn immediately tried to cover up; however, he was easily overwhelmed by the monstrosity and his body repeatedly suffered multiple wounds.
Seeing the situation turn from bad to worse, Chloe tightly clenched her hands, she fixedly looked at her friend encased in ayer of ice on the wall before turning her head around. There was no way with just the two of them they will be able to hold all those people down, they had to find the exit before the situation turns anymore worse.
BOOM¡ breaking a good portion of the wall, Bell extracted himself out, his body glowed a strange purple and there were even some red markings on his body.
"He formed it, my god¡ he really formed it. Those are exactly the markings of early stages of [Beast Inheritance]. Hahaha, I have finally done, I have surpassed my predecessors" the deputy head who was closely observing the Doombringer Faun and Bell who Cardinal Royce had an eye for some reason, saw his changes after only undergoing the surgery a few hours ago.
To rte this to a miracle, would be an understatement. The levels of synchronicity the boy''s body had achieved with the beast merged within him, had reached an unimaginable degree and was even higher than the Doombringer Faun.
"Listen to my orders, do what you have to but I must absolutely have those two back. Those two are the most sessful test subjects we ever had, if we inspect their bodies and find the reason behind them being able to assimte so well with the beast, we might be able to improve our sess in the future".
The deputy head bellowed, the way his eyes trembled with excitement, was as if he had gone mad.
The two girls face paled when they heard the old man dere such and immediately started running in search of anything that could lead them out of here.
The deputy head mocked their attempts of running away, however, he never said anything about there not being any exit here, if they could find that exit, they would be able to leave this ce.
Chapter 311
ROOOAARR¡
Bell roared, his eyes turned a striking purple along with his skill and the markings on his body pulsed with a devastating power.
Feeling the disturbance in the mana he created just by his sheer presence, finally, there was some reaction in the hollow eyes of subject number 2777. An eerie glow shed in its empty sockets and its body moved slightly even without being given any orders.
BANG¡ stomping his feet on the ground, Bell flew like a cannonball and punched one of the golems with all of his strength.
CRACK¡the mythril exterior of the golem that was said to be even harder than ckgold, shattered from the force of his punch and for the first time in a while, the heavy body of the golem was sent airborne.
He stretched his hands on top of his head and easily stopped the smashing foot of the other golem. At this moment, Bell felt a rush of unimaginable power fuelling his body and he felt like he could do anything he wanted.
Dark smoke started being released out of his body and quickly spread around his surrounding. The mythril foot of the golem started losing all colour when that dark smoke spread all over it and before long it gotpletely corroded.
By applying just a little strength to his hand, Bell was able to easily shatter it. After losing its footing, the golem crashed onto the ground. The restorative ability of the golem which allowed it to rebuild its body again and again, failed to do as such this time making one of the golems partly useless.
The deputy head had an ugly expression on his face, the power that subject number 3093 erupted out with, astonished even him. In any other case, he would have jumped from his seat in delight seeing this scene however, right now the timing could only be said as worse.
The beast that test subject number 3093 had assimted with, was kept strictly under a special room in their facility since the time it was first built. It was not per se unused up until now, but because the beast was too powerful when it was alive and its remnant will still remained, it almost rejected every host resulting in them going out of control and a violent deathter.
There were more than hundreds of test subjects that ended up bing casualties and deemed impossible to use by the other researchers. It was only because of the insistence of the cardinal that he decided to use it again after more than 50 years.
He who had expected another rejection from the beast and the host and surgery falling apart, was stunned to find a steady incorporation of the cells of two different races and instead of taking over, the two different blood swiftly agglomerated to be something entirely new.
The discovery was somethingpletely new to them and after that no matter how new transntation they made on the test subject that was now the host of the beast, the remnant will never rejected nor did it act up.
And finally, the result of their research and test, was standing in front of them. Although the boy had changed a lot, he still retained his human appearance and even managed to forge the beast marking on his body which was the first step of acquiring a [Beast Inheritance] an ancient skill that had shaken the world during the Second Apex War.
"If nothing is done, he will cause enormous mayhem to my facility which would be difficult to recover from" the deputy head cussed and mentally initiated hismand.
Immediately, a never before seen flicker started shing deep within the monstrosity''s eyes and its six powerful legs started charging towards Bell.
After pushing back the two golems the boy fixed his gaze on those researchers but the enormous frame of test subject number 2777 covered his vision. The hollow eyes of the being was fixed on him and with a ramming charge of hundred bulls, it came stomping down.
The monstrosity, whose mass and height was more than four times his, could easily squash him underneath those bulky lizard-like feet. But that is only if he stood still, the being true to its frame, was no doubt extremely slow.
By the time the foot came smashing towards Bell, he had already disappeared from the ce and appeared on top of itsrge scaly tail. Dark smoke released out of his hands and swiftly spread from the point of contact to the entire tail.
Just when it seemed that the scene with the golem earlier would repeat once again, the greenish scales all over the being''s body started shining and absorbed the dark smoke. The corrosive effect of the dark smoke failed to achieve the same result and instead became the nourishment for the entity.
The monstrosity started bing more active and even its movement which should be under total control of the deputy head started bing a little bizarre. It was as if shing with Bell was somehow stimting its sleeping will.
"Not good" the deputy head narrowed his eyes, how could he who was controlling the subject number 2777 not feel its resistance?
The fear of the other researchers was finallying true, the being was starting to get out of control once again. It was already a failed subject to begin with; however, due to its incredible sturdiness and resilience, some of the senior researchers at that time thought that it would be a waste to simply discard it and hence thought of a way of controlling it.
But the technique proved inefficient and the subject got out of control and eventually destroyed a portion of their facility. In a way, waking up subject number 2777 was kind of a double-edged sword guaranteed to also hurt the user.
All of the researchers looked at the deputy head with pale faces, from his anguished expression, they could tell that the monster was revolting. If that really were to happen, they couldn''t imagine what would happen to this facility.
Bell dodged left and right making the beast incredibly annoyed, it opened its mouth wide and munch down on him but its speed was simply far too less. Meanwhile, Glenn was busy holding back the two golems one of which was partially damaged by Bell.
If it was before, he would have a tough time dealing with two at once but since one wasn''t able to recover its lost foot, it became easier for Glenn to hold them down.
Though fighting them was annoying for him since he didn''t have any attacks that could deal permanent damage to them. From the corner of his eyes, he spotted Chloe and Alice frantically searching for the exit point which should be somewhere in this ce.
At this moment, the situation turned even more chaotic as Bell who was confronting the monstrosity, got caught in the hold of its tail. He who was getting used to his newfound powers and body, failed to allocate his strength properly and ended up tripping.
The monstrosity which was hot on his tail, didn''t miss this moment and immediately caught him with its tail which was more agile than its body.
GRRAAOORRR¡ the monster growled and an emerald glow emitted out of its body. Bell who was engulfed by this light and the deputy head who was controlling it, screamed miserably, blood continuously seeping out from their nose and mouth.
"I-It''s using [Essence Absorb] again to try and devour subject number 3093¡pfttt.. urgh" a mouthful of blood was spat out of his mouth and his control on the monster was getting fainter and fainter.
"Bell?!" Glenn tried to help his friend when he saw he was in trouble but was stopped by the rampaging energy the sickly emerald light was releasing.
The monstrous body of the subject number 2777 started inting and bing bigger and bigger until it became a towering presence more than twenty meters in size. Its hideous looks became even more gruesome as a secondary pair of head started forming beside his neck.
After the second head formed, it quickly opened its mouth revealing sets of sharp incisive teeth and sucked all the air out of the room like a terrifying typhoon.
"Not good it''s going for a breath attack¡ custodian golem stop it" the deputy headmanded urgently and the two golems immediately changed target to the abomination.
Nevertheless, they were a step toote. A huge greenish-ck sphere of energy more than five meters in diameter, formed and was spat out.
The power packed within that sphere was so terrifying that space was torn apart wherever it travelled and the mana around the room became unstable.
BANG¡ BANG.. the two golems that tried to stop the attack, were blown away and carried along by the sphere. The mythril exterior known for its toughness was as fragile as a paper in front of the greenish spherical attack and cracked immediately on contact.
The custodian golems only being able to stop the powerful attack for a few couple of seconds before falling apart.
The monstrosity after absorbing Bell''s power, became even more powerful. The previous attack after reducing the golems into pieces, crashed onto the frozen wall that was the crypt for all of the failed test subjects.
BOOOM¡ CRACK¡ in front of the horrified eyes of the deputy head and the researchers, the wall of frost started cracking up little by little. The thing that they feared the most, finally urred.
The Assembly room which stored all of the failed test subjects that they have experimented on and kept here for future reference, fell apart in front of their eyes. However, the look in the eyes of the deputy head was not that of suffering a loss but instead fear.
Chapter 312
At a nce, the assembly room seemed to be the most important room out of all the ones inside the facility, though that statement is not false, it was also not true. The whole ce was built in a way so that the assembly room was situated at the bottom end and kept isted from the rest of the facility.
It was not only the most important ce, but also the most dangerous ce. The thousands of test subjects that have been kept inside the frozen wall for hundreds of years, were not actually dead.
Since each of them had been transnted with precious materials that were too good to throw away, they brought over a powerful ice mage to create this advanced spell [Frozen Coffin] to keep all of them in a state of suspended death.
Never in the history of their entire facility, did such a massive blunder where the spell was destroyed ever ur. Therefore even the deputy head who was the senior-most and had the most experience of working here, knew nothing about what would happen next.
Though he did not know, he was not an idiot to not understand what this entailed. That attack earlier from the subject number 2777 had truly broken the backbone of their facility and there was no way they can recover from it.
Forget about recovering, it would be a miracle if they could even save their life. With his knees giving out, the deputy head fell on his buttocks and startedughing maniacally looking at the ceiling.
Why wouldn''t he? After all, their worst nightmare was finallying true.
SHATTER¡ SHATTER¡ sounds of ice blocks shattering into tiny fragments, repeatedly rang out in the background with the being encased within it breaking out.
The reason behind them being called failures is because, they the host have beenpletely taken over by the beast they have integrated with making them no different than a mindless monster. Their rationality haspletely dissipated and the only thing they excelled at was killing.
KIIIIEEERRRKKKK¡ a heavy unsettling aura spread around the room with hundreds of beasts growling at once, their eyes bloodthirsty and enraged.
"D-Deputy head what do we do now¡ Deputy Head?!" the researcher tried calling out to the senior-most official only to find that the old man had gone senile.
KYAAA¡
Glenn who was nervously watching all of this unfold, hurriedly turned his head after hearing that cry. His eyesnded upon the two girls who were currently being chased by fully transformed beasts with bizarre appearances.
Willing his body to move, he hurriedly ran towards them and engaged with any beasts that tried to attack them. Perhaps because he was getting used to his new body more and more or maybe because he still retained his rationality, he was able to easily overwhelm them.
Nheless, when more and more started breaking out of their ice encasement and joining the fray, even he was hard-pressed to block them all.
The abomination watched all of this without any emotions, its eyes only moving asionally. The hundreds of beasts made a huge ck tidal wave that could swallow everything and dropped the temperature of the room to the pits of hell.
"Arrrgghhh¡ save me¡save me custodians golems" the researchers that were the first target of these beasts, squealed like a dying pig about to be butchered. Their colleagues that were near them, tried to run away from this room only to be targeted first.
Their wails of help echoed across the room; however, no matter how many times they cried, the custodian golems that have been shatteredpletely needed a long time to restore themselves.
Some tried to shut the door only to find that beasts were pouring in from everywhere. Nowhere was safe, even the test subjects that were kept in the capsule room and other sections of the facility, at this moment broke out of their encasement.
The scene was aplete pandemonium with blood and guts spraying everywhere. It was as if this was the very same picture from hell. Cries of agony echoed everywhere as these people in hazmat suits saw the blue wall of ice that caged the monsters that they themselves had created, crack apart.
ROOARR¡ with lightning running rampant around him, Glenn created a huge imitation of himself with magic and brought its arms down towards the beasts trying to pincer the two girls.
BOOOM¡ his attack immediately blew them away.
"Are you two alright?" he asked shielding them behind him.
"Y-yeah" the girls replied struggling to keep their voices from trembling. Glenn nodded his head, he observed his surroundings and to his amazement found that most of the beasts were attacking those white suit men and only a few came their way.
It was weird that none of them tried to attack the abomination as if they already had a tacit agreement not to mess with it. What was more peculiar was that even the beasts attacking him were only trying to hurt the ones behind him and not himself.
Glenn came to an understanding, these beasts who were previously human like them, still retained some of the anger and frustration from the past. They weren''t hostile towards him and the abomination who were simr to them in nature. Glenn did know if this was a good or bad thing.
"We found the exit, that thing over there is the only oddity out of all the things ced here" Alice said pointing at a weird piece of construct that looked like a big cylinder ced horizontally.
He looked at the thing for a while, unsure whether the thing was really what they thought. It was all good if their guess was right but the problemy in the ce it was at. The huge cylindrical object which they thought was the exit out of here, was near the area where the abomination was standing.
"What do we do, that thing is standing over there" Alice asked fearfully.
Glenn nced at the cylindrical construct behind it and Bell who was being constricted by its tail. No matter what they had to engage the abomination to free their friend.
"I''ll distract it and save Bell, you two use this moment to figure out how to use that thing" He said closing his eyes and trying to feel that vast power deep within him. When he opened his eyes again, a vast field of electricity radiated out of his body that repelled any beasts near him.
After setting his eyes on the abomination, he charged towards it with the momentum of a giant charging bull.
Doombringer Faun an ancient beast race that was said to have mowed down battlefields with their powers and every time they stomped onto the ground, the veryndmass would tremble. Their power was so great that many races feared and worshipped them.
It is said that they are distantly rted to the continental storms, the Giants.
Glenn''s body which was only three meters big, started growing bigger and bigger until he was 1/3rd the size of the abomination.
The abomination who seemed disinterested in everything around it, spotted Glenn charging at him. Its hollow eyes disregarded his presence and iled its tail as if squatting a fly.
BANG¡ even when charging with his full power, Glenn was still overpowered by a half-assed attack by the abomination. His body felt numb from the sh and blood leaked out from his mouth but the surprising thing was he endured it all and grabbed hold of the tail.
The abomination tried to il its tail left and right trying to throw him off nheless, he didn''t let it go and hanged on. His hands which had transformed into ws of a beast, pierced into the gap between its scales and muscles, finally incurring a violent scream from the abomination.
It instinctively loosened its tail and Bell who was constricted by it, fell down. Glenn immediately caught his friend and tossed him towards the two girls and then immediately ran in a direction opposite them.
Now that the abomination had its eyes on him, there was no way his friends would be safe if he stayed near them. Thus, the best option would be to lead it away from them.
"Glenn!!" Chloe tried to call him but he had already run too far for her voice to reach him.
"That idiot¡kuh.. he is trying to save us all by himself" Bell who hade to his senses after being defeated by the abomination said. His body was heavy and he felt like all his strength was drained from him. He tried to stand up but his knees would always give up midway.
"Your body is too tired, you need to rest. We found the exit, we just need to activate it and escape" Chloe reprimanded the boy for his recklessness.
Bell smiled bitterly, escaping here was easier said than done, even if Glenn diverted the attention of that abomination, there was still hundreds or even thousands of fully and partially transformed beasts.
After they are done preying on those people in the white suits, they would be next.
BOOMMM¡ a resounding boom echoed across the room, Glenn was sted away by one of the attacks from the abomination and crashed onto the floor face first. When he picked himself up from the debris, he saw one of the white suit men sprawled on the floorughing maniacally.
There was no way he wouldn''t know the man who was the big shot who ordered the others around here. Perhaps because he was in his line of sight or simply because he felt something, but the old man shifted his gaze to him.
The next moment, the old man startedughing in a fit "Hehehaha¡ run as far as you can, struggle as much as you want, there is no escaping this ce".
Chapter 313
"You think this old one does not know what you all are up to? Hehe, it is funny but at the same time understandable that you all would think of that. Has it never urred to you that if there really was an exit, why would we be stuck here and not escape?".
The deputy head kept on talking about things that gave him a bad premonition and as if to prove it right, he heard Chloe and Alice''s anxious voice.
"It''s not activating, the gate pass is not working".
The deputy head arched his chin and looked at the ceiling "The facility is a forbidden ce to begin with, its existence is something that only a few individuals in the Empyrean Empire are aware of. There is no way those old stuck up people would ever allow the true colours of this facility to surface up".
"One could only imagine the consequences of releasing these failed test subjects into the outside world. That is why, there is no exit to this ce. The only way out is through the permission of Cardinal Royce who runs this ce and activating both the transponder warp gate here and at the endpoint".
Glenn had a distraught face when he heard that, the final hope that he clung on to escape from here, was ruthlessly blown into bits by this revtion. There was indeed an exit here; however, it was multteral. That is, it needed two sides to activate together to create an exit.
"Bell¡ stop you will kill yourself" he heard the two girls shout his name and saw that his friend whose body that was already battered and tired, halting the advance of the beastsing after the two behind him.
Although it pained him, with a heavy heart and red eyes he roared at them to get away "Run all of you, there is no exit here".
The scene was hellish, the situation looked for these children who were caught up in the cruel ys of fate. As the scene yed on in front of their eyes, Simon and the others knit their brows. They who were witnessing the hisotria, felt like they were inside the facility at that moment and it was very difficult for them to take it all.
There was no way any of them weren''t affected after seeing and witnessing all of this with their own eyes. After the children knew that they couldn''t exit from here, they tried to make their way to the entrance of the assembly room only to find hordes of beasts that have already finished preying on the researchers, waiting for them.
Huff¡ huff¡
"STTOOOOPP¡" Denzel roared unsheathing his rapier, the navy hat that always sat on top of his head, was blown away by the aura he released. He who couldn''t take this anymore, decided to act up and rescue the ones in front of him that were in desperate need of help.
In his brashness and impatience, he forgot that he was inside the [Historia]. Even if he jumped in front of the children to fight off the horde, there was no way he would be able to do anything as these all were just a recollection, a memory of the past.
It would have been fine if it was just that, but ording to Lue if one fails to recognise the past from the present allowing oneself to immerse in these memories, they would be forever be caught in the time rift without being able to get away.
The boy who was just about to rush into the forefront, was stopped by Simon who appeared in front of him and blocked his path.
"Step aside, what are you doing?" Denzel barked without caring to mind his words.
"That is what I should ask you? Have you lost your mind, everything in front of you is all just a illusion. Did you get swayed by it so much that you can''t differentiate between reality and illusion?"
Simon said unable to keep hisposure. He did not know if individual actions would affect their overall progress of the trial but he sure as hell didn''t want to try it out.
"Are you saying that all of this is made-up, do you have any proof? What if this is actually happening¡ can you take the responsibility for all their lives?" They boy retorted shouting back, his sword looked hesitant a little but he was unwilling to unsheathe it back.
"You little¡" Simon who for some reason felt like he was not acting like his usual self red up and was just about to forcibly hold him down when Lucine interjected.
"Both of you need to calm down, you may not realise it but we all have been affected by the magic. Close your eyes and block your senses if you can''t take the scene, the trial is all about testing your mental fortitude and check your limits. I know it is hard but we all can''t just break down here".
Her voice like a tranquil and coolke, dissipated the heavy and dreary sensation that they have been feeling in their heart.
Denzel buckled his rapier back to its sheath and Simon felt his mind instantly clear up. Now that he was back to himself, he could tell that previously he was not acting like himself and have been unknowingly caught up in the effects of the [Historia].
If not for Lucine''s presence and her timely interjection, who knew what might have happened. After seeing the boy close his eyes and turn away, did Simon back down.
The rest of the [Historia], was a tragic scene to say no less. Fortunately, it did not show them the whole scene and ended right at the crucial juncture where the children were surrounded.
A bright light epassed Sion, Lucine, Denzel and before they knew it, they were back to the present timeline. The room unlike in the [Historia], was entirely dark and an unnerving atmosphere shrouded the room.
A window immediately appeared in front of the three of them.
[Make your Decision¡ Time Remaining- 1:29 sec].
At this moment, Simon realised some unknown force was restricting his movement and until the countdown ends, he couldn''t move. He looked at the window telling them to make their decision and the countdown.
The [Historia] has ended, therefore it''s time for them to face the true trial. Just as the countdown hit zero, the force binding them in ce disappeared. It was also at this moment that Simon was alerted of multiple; No numerous hostile presences around them.
There was no need to question who these presences belonged to as they had seen the scene through the [Historia] themselves.
When the mechanism illuminating the room activated, the state of this ce came into their view. Gross, that was the exact word that could describe the scene thaty in front of them. Dozens of dried of corpses littered the room and a putrid smell that had yet to dissipate lingered everywhere.
Hundreds of beasts that were lying dormant inside the room, woke up to the foreign presence and immediately bared their fangs. Simon finally realised what the decision the trial asked him to make earlier was.
"Indeed, it''s a difficult decision to make after you have seen that [Historia]. Does that mean that whatever choice we make affects whether we pass or fail the trial?" he muttered observing the beasts surrounding him from every corner.
These beasts were not just any ordinary monsters, but pitiful children who were experimented and subjected upon in this very ce. To y them who have lost all of their sanity or not was the decision that they had to make.
GRRRRRR¡
A crimson beast with the appearance of a hyena, pounced upon Denzel who currently had a dispirited look in his eyes.
Although he was absent-minded, it did not mean that he let his guard down. His years of training and his diligently built instincts acted up the moment the beast pounced on him. With a swift sidestep, Denzel dodged the attack from the beast but the next second when he pointed his rapier at it, his sword trembled for some reason.
Simon couldn''t me him for hesitating to attack the beast especially when he knew they were once children just like him. Simon conjured a me spear and fired it towards the beast impaling and incinerating it.
These beasts who have survived for thousands of years in this closed up environment, have be extremely weak and even their levels have regressed. It was extremely easy for Simon to prate their weakened defences with his intermediate tier magic.
Individually, each of these monsters were all above level 400 but due to being confined, their status bar showed they were in a weakened state. Taking out his twin des, he dispatched any beasts that came attacking him and swiftly reduced their numbers.
Although Simon did not know if this was the correct answer, it was no doubt the only way to proceed with the trial. Plus when he put himself in the shoes of these test subjects he felt like releasing them from this long nightmare was the right thing to do.
He did not feel any tion or excitement from finishing them nor did the notification of him levelling up evoke any pleasure. Simon swiftly and efficiently ended them in one strike so that they did not suffer any more pain.
Denzel who was still hesitating over his actions, saw Simon make his decision. He who was still uneasy over his actions and thetter who had made up his mind. Even though they had experienced the same thing, the same trial, the other party was able to move on while he was stuck.
Denzel tightly clenched his rapier and stepped forward. With every sh from his sword, a beast would fall.
Chapter 314
He too followed Simon''s example and finished them without making them suffer any more pain. By the time an hour had passed, corpses of best partially and fully transformed, lined up the floor. The two of them had sessfully finished all of the beasts that were in this room.
"That''s weird, why isn''t the abomination here? ording to my evaluation, there shouldn''t have been anyone among those children that was its match. After all, it was only a step away from reaching level 700".
Lucine mumbled looking all around the dpidated room. She was looking out for any possible traps when from the corner of her eyes she saw Simon bringing the corpses of all the beasts and burying them in one corner of the room.
Lucine was astonished, even though he could just leave them lying around, he still decided to give them a proper burial. She was finally aware of why that thing had chosen him as one of the potential inheritor.
Every action taken during this trial affected the overall result thus Simon''s actions was bound to be noted.
After he was finished giving them a burial, a teleportation circle appeared beneath each of their feet and swiftly teleported them to a different ce. Simon opened his eyes to find himself in a closed space at the end of which was a rusty double door.
Two other teleportation circles shed and Lucine and Denzel appeared beside him. The fact that they were teleported here could only mean that they had passed the third trial; however, there was no excitement on their faces.
DING¡ a window notifying them of their sessful clearance of the third trial, appeared in front of them.
[Congrattion on passing the third trial, you may enter the treasure room].
Finally, they were rewarded for their efforts up until now. The room with the rusty door in front of them, was the treasure room.
Simon tried pushing the doors but to his surprise, no matter how much strength he applied, the doors did not open. Funnily enough, when he injected some of his mana into the doors, it opened as easily as if it were wooden doors.
The moment the three of them stepped inside, the numerous torches lining up the wall, lighted up illuminating the room. The brilliant shine of various kinds of ores, coins and artefacts covered their line of sight.
At a nce, the room was full of different kinds of armours, scrolls, books, mana crystals, artefacts and coins of varying grades. If amon man saw this kind of treasure in front of them, they would have already gone crazy.
The value of all of this treasure if it was brought to the auction or market, was unimaginable.
"Hnnn~" Lucine made a nasal voice and pointed her index finger to beckon something. Immediately, that item floated up from the heaps of treasure and flew towards her.
Catching the item in her hand, she stated "This is the Return Transit Rock, I only want this item, the two of you can share the rest among you".
Simon saw the ck hexagonal rock in her hand and nodded his head. He did not argue with her for having the first pick since he could see a few more of them lying on the floor.
Her disinterest towards these treasures was also understandable, with the background and realm she was in, these treasures might as well be as good as stones to her.
"Since Mister has done most of the work, how about he takes his picks first" Denzel said modestly. It was not like he was not interested in the treasure but because when hepared his achievement with the two others, he felt it was a littlecking.
Simon had practically solved most of the riddles in their trials and lead them till here while the beautiful big sister tranted all of the ancient writings for them. He on the other hand helped asionally a few times.
Denzel who was brought up in a strict environment by his master, knew when to act modestly and when to press for more.
Simon did not reject their goodwill, he used analysis on the various items. He wasn''t greedy, he only wanted those items that might be useful for him in the future and left the rest for the boy.
Scrounging for treasure amidst this heap with his gaze, Simon finally noticed something that piqued his interest. It was a bracelet shining with a gentle sea-green light. Other than its unique build, the bracelet didn''t look that extraordinary with a nce but Simon who read the description of the item thanks to his [Analysis] knew better.
Stone Guard Bracelet- Temporarily grants the user immunity to Tremor Magic, the intermediate tier of Earth magic. Duration- 10 minutes, cool down- 27 Hours.
Immunity was different that resistance, the former provided absolute negation of damage from the said element while thetter only made you able to take less damage from it.
Simon had resistance to fire but it did not mean that he waspletely unaffected by the element of fire and only had a partial protection from it. if a high-level person used a strong novice tier fire magic, they would be able to hurt him only that damage would be very minimal.
The stone guard bracelet was an item that could very well break the stalemate and prove extremely helpful during times of need. Although he did not know if there would be a time when he would be able to put it to use, having something of a trump card was never a bad thing.
Simon unceremoniously picked the bracelet and equipped it on his right hand. He then glossed over various artifacts, ores and mana crystals before hoarding a portion of them in his space ring.
While he was glossing over the treasures, he also found some useful items such as Grimores, Transit Rocks and a few [C] tier armours. Grimores were extremely rare items that granted a particr skill to the user of the item.
Unlike the Skill Crystal, which allows one to store and use a skill or magic, Grimores permanently bestows a person that particr ability or skill. Because of this, they are extremely rare and highly sought out after.
Most of the skills in those Grimores were unsuitable for him or were something that he already had. For example, one of the Grimore bestowed a skill called [Heavy Shield Bash] a higher tier skill of [Shield Bash] that a warrior ss used.
Since the skill had ss restrictions, it was unsuitable for Simon who had never used a shield before. Just like the other various items and artifacts, Grimores too have their own grade. They are divided in categories based on their colours.
Starting from bronze, they go as high as tinum or even diamond. Most of the Grimores here were silver with a sparse few golden in the mix.
After filling his space ring with coins of varying grades, Simon was satisfied with his loot and kept the rest for the boy. Even with him filling up his space ring, there was so much treasure remaining that it could baffle anyone.
"This is thergest share out of all three of us. Are you sure about giving it all to me mister?" Denzel asked seeing that he got thergest portion of the treasure. Since he knew his achievements weren''t up to par with them, he was hesitant to take all of it.
Simon shrugged his shoulders and indicated that he was fine with it, he got the treasure that he wanted and honestly their value was much more higher than the coins strewn here. plus he got his [Ga??????] option with him thus artefacts, armours and weapons had no allure to him.
The same went for ores and mana crystals, his dungeon would soon be able to spawn them.
"In that case I will not hesitate" Denzel did not stand on ceremony and swiftly hoarded the treasury clean. After the treasure room was emptied out by them, a teleportation circle started shining at the edge of the room. If they stepped on the circle, they would be led to the fourth trial.
"I think I would like to use the Transit Stone and exit the trial here. I have been gone for so long that mypanions might be worried for me" Denzel voiced his wish to end the trial here. His mind was a little tired especially after the third trial.
Simon contemted if they should proceed with the trial with just the two of them before looking at Lucine and asking her opinion.
"It''s fine isn''t it¡ we all have return stones with us so we cane back here any time we want. There is no harm to end the trial here".
Simon felt she was right, the trial ground was not going anywhere and since they have the return stone, they cane back here anytime. Although a part of him was curious as to who built this trial and for what reason, he could just solve it at ater time.
Currently, he had much more pressing issues on his hands, the disciple that he and Adalinda were searching for, was right next to him. He had to bring her back to the capital before the little girl goes crazy.
Simon did not know how long it had passed in the outside world since they entered the trials grounds but to his estimation, it would have already been more than two days.
There was no guarantee what might have happened to the capital while he was gone. He must hurry and bring Luince back to her Master.
"Alright, then let us all end the trial here" Simon dered before taking out a ck hexagonal rock from his space ring.
Chapter 315
"How do we use it?" Simon asked holding the transit rock.
"It''s simple; you just need to shatter it. But remember, the spatialws in these rocks are unstable so you might not be transported to the exact ce from where you came in" Lucine said breaking the Transit rock in her hand.
A ck halo engulfed her body and in the blink of an eye, the space around her distorted. The phenomenon was the same as space magic, just in this case the same was achieved with the medium of transit rocks.
"Mister¡ we shall meet again" the boy said before breaking his own transit crystals.
Simon followed suit, a ck halo enveloped his body and his vision was swept away. He felt his body bing weightless and a sense of incongruity hit him and before he knew it, he was on top of a vast mountain range.
The ce he was on, was not far away from the capital and he could sense arge amount of presence gathering at a spot few distances away.
Simon observed his surroundings, there were no signs of Lucine or Denzel being near, it was as she said, the transit rocks really did throw them in different ces. Nheless, now that they were out of the trials grounds, they were bound to meet in the capital.
Which meant that Lucine won''t be able to run away from her master anymore. Laughing gloatingly at her predicament for a while, Simon ran towards the entrance to the city as per his memories. After a while of meandering around, he finally spotted the gate around which a line-up of wagons were waiting to get entry.
The capital city was truly bustling and with the tournament approaching nearer it was bound to be even more jam-packed.
Simon descended the mountain and joined the queue of people trying to get in. Perhaps because the security was tight with them checking each and every individual and their possession, the line was taking a long to move forward.
As Simon was waiting, from the corner of his eyes he spotted a man and a woman wearing gaudy clothes approach the soldier at the gate from the other side of the queue. What astonished him even more was that the soldier let those people in after checking something that the man handed him.
"Tch, those people just because they have some connection in the capital, they can cut the line as they wish. Goddamn¡ if only I had some connections like them, I wouldn''t have to wait here for more than five hours" A cranky middle-aged man with shoddy clothes lining up in front of him,ined.
Simon who heard his words, was stunned, they had to wait here for so long? Seeing the queue not move even an inch, he became a little impatient. He did not want to spend hours of his time just to get in.
As he thought about what to do, suddenly an idea struck him. Simon jumped to the other side of the rope much to the surprise of those near him and slowly walked towards the soldier near the gate.
When the cranky man saw the actions of Simon, he couldn''t but sneer in derision. Did he think that just anyone was allowed in? From the clothes of the other party, he could see that it was made of ordinary materials which made him think that the other party was just inly stupid.
However, when he saw the soldier let that guy in after checking something he handed, the cranky man couldn''t help but be stupefied.
"Hehe" Simonughed, tossing a badge in his hand.
"It was a good thing that I had this with me. That woman said that it would perfectly work as an entry pass" the thing on his hand was none other than the Serene Pce Merchant Guild VIP pass that Cynthia had given him.
He just showed the badge to the gatekeeper and he immediately became humble and allowed him, thanks to that he didn''t have to toil his way in through the crowd.
"Now then I have to find my way back to the Inn but first let''s eat something" sniffing the delicious smell of foods wafting from the various carts across the streets, stimted his hunger.
Also with the treasure he got in the trial and the ck gold coins that Cynthia had given him in return for his elixirs, he could eat as much as he want without worrying about it running out.
Simon tried the food from each stall and gave them a rating mentally based on his preference. Why did he do that? Because the connoisseur within him wanted to do so.
Due to the constant influx of peopleing to the capital, the business around the stalls was booming. Decoratives were ced everywhere and the mood around the city was festive. It also went to show how much importance the people of this kingdom gave to the uing tournament.
No matter which stall or which corner of the city he went to, everybody was talking about the ''Battle of the Finest'', the coliseum that was about to open in five days.
After having his fill, he walked back towards his inn. He wanted to know how the little girl was doing during the time he was absent and thus brought some snacks along with him. Also, he didn''t forget to ask the stall owner the direction to his inn which was why he didn''t lose his way this time.
Opening the door of the inn, he was greeted by the friendly staff. Just as he climbed the stairs and reached the third floor, he felt a shadow loom over his head. Arching his head up, he saw a petite yet delicate figure of a girl with twin tails standing in front of him.
She wore a brilliant golden dress that matched with the colour of her eyes. Who else could this doll-like girl be other than Adalinda? At this moment, she was staring menacingly at him.
Sniff¡sniff¡
"Hnn~ it seems someone really did have fun in these past few days while I was busy searching everywhere for my disciple. The foods and everything around here must be really good for you to note back for more than three days no?" She shed him a smile which had thorns hidden within it.
"Eh?! Three days¡" Simon''s voice went up a notch involuntarily. Although he had guessed quite a time must have passed in the outside world, he didn''t think that it would be this long.
Three days¡ no wonder Adalinda seemed angry at him who disappeared for this period of time without telling her anything.
"Haa¡ are you acting now? Did you really think if you act shocked, I would believe whatever excuse you make?".
Adalinda greeted her teeth. She hurriedly turned around before her eyes glistened with tears.
"Hmph, do you have any idea¡ how hard it was to search the ce all alone¡ also..also¡ how hungry I was for these past three days".
Hearing her rant, Simon finally realised why she was so angry. Though a part of the reason was because she couldn''t find her disciple, but a major part of it stemmed from not being able to eat anything for these past few days.
Without him who was her free credit card, she couldn''t eat or buy anything since she disdained keeping such triviality with her.
Simon made a smug face and stretched his hand holding the bag full of snacks and food.
Sniffing the aroma of the food, Adalinda immediately turned towards him and grabbed the bag without any shame. She looked at his smug face and asked in an annoyed tone.
"What? Do you think I will just forgive you because of a bag of food?".
The smile on Simon''s face deepened "Nope, I know a bag of food isn''t enough but what if I tell you that your other worry that has been bugging you will soon be solved".
Hearing his words and his assertive tone, Adalinda locked her brows and tilted her head in confusion.
"Huh? What are you talking about? Did you hit your head somewhere?". She was just about to make fun of Simon when suddenly her eyes went wide and her whole body trembled.
She was not mistaken, the lingering aura around Simon that she just felt was definitely¡ her disciple''s. Earlier because her attention was on the food in his hands, she failed to recognise it but now that her head was clear, she could definitely feel it.
"You met her?!" she asked to confirm her guess only to get an affirmative nod.
Seeing Adalinda stand astounded in ce, Simon couldn''t help but relish in this rare moment which might hardly ur again. He thought about giving her the details of meeting with her disciple, when suddenly a strong force engulfed and levitated his body.
At that moment, Simon felt like he was unable to move an inch as if a gigantic mountain the height of which he couldn''t fathom, pressing down on his body.
"Calm¡ down.. you are letting your aura out" he hurriedly reminded her; fortunately, no one was involved in the aftermath of her aura. Simon did not want what happened in the adventurer''s Association back at Mountmend to repeat itself in the capital again.
After entering the room, Simon told her all of the details starting from how he met her and their adventure to some mysterious trial ground.
It took quite a while for Adalinda to calm down, she reacted extremely intensely when he told her about the trial grounds that they suddenly found themselves teleported to and the trials they had to go through.
Taking a deep breath, she deeply observed Simon before giving him a piece of advice "On ount that you gave me a pleasant news about my disciple, I''ll tell you this. Never mention what you told me to anyone".
Chapter 316
"You might not realise the gravity of the ce that you have been to but those that do, won''t leave you alone when they get to know about this. That is why you must tread with care, do not share this information carelessly".
The weight of her words and her tone, told him that the ce they were teleported to, was anything but ordinary. Simon nodded his head and made a mental note to research more about these forbidden grounds.
After devouring all of the food that he had brought her, Adalinda got out of the room saying that she wouldy down some array to capture her disciple.
The room immediately became silent after she left, Simon plopped down on his bed. Although he was not physically exhausted, he was mentally drained. Advanced tier Chronos magic- [Historia] was not just some illusion, it makes you feel the exact same emotions the characters in the memory are going through and make it seem like you are living in it.
Unable to simply sit still, Simon opened his status window and nkly stared at it. This journey to the forbidden trial grounds, turned out to be quite fruitful. His level increased by a total of ten and he got his hands on quite a few treasures.
Leaving aside the incredibly useful Stone Guard Bracelet, the Mythril ores and Grade [2] Mana Crystals were also quite the treasures. Mythril ores were used to make weapons and artifacts whereas a Mana Crystal is the purest and condensed form of mystical energy that when absorbed, allows one to increase their level.
The Mana crystals trees in his dungeon were at the stage where it only produced grade [1] of these crystals. Inparison to that, the grade [2] was a little bigger and more heavier.
*****
A vast iny beyond the city of Mountmend marking the end of the territory of humans and the start of the Demon Continent. A huge forest could be seen between the boundaries of the two territories, line-up of wagons and people wearing different kinds of garbs came in and out of it.
The forest which was known to every kingdom and empire around the north-western region of the continent as the most dangerousnd, was at this time flooded by humans.
Adventurers and merchants entered the forest, their destination, the newly emerged dungeon that was the talk of the town.
On the eastern region of the Ghastly winding Forest was a tall tower more than fifty meters in height. It stood tall and imposing and has long since be thendmark around this ce.
A small town was set up around the tower with people busily entering and exiting the towers. Various shops and establishments were buying the different goods and items, the adventurers brought from the dungeon.
Around one of these shops, a group of men were currently in a heated discussion.
"Are you telling me that there are no potions avable?" A man with a fiery temper, shouted at the clerk inside the shop.
"We are extremely sorry customer, all the potions have been bought this morning. We currently do not have any on stock" the clerk replied bowing his head in apology.
The shop sold elixirs and potions to those adventurers seeking to dive inside, it was amon knowledge to refill your stock of potions and other various items before entering a dungeon.
A potion was something that was an absolute must to have for an adventurer, not being able to get it would make it difficult for them to enter it after all, not every team had a light mage [Healer].
"What do you mean all the potions were bought? Are you fucking with me¡ ye punk?" the man with the fiery temper was about to grab the clerk with his cor when his teammates hurriedly stopped him.
"Stop it Bn, it''s not his fault. Every elixir shop is out of potion it seems¡ he is not lying". Bn after being called out by his teammates, calmed down a little, but his face still showed how irritated he was.
Spitting on the ground, he asked "The fuck do you mean?".
His teammate sighed before pointing at a group of adventurers camping not far from the dungeon. From the insignia on their clothes and armours, all of them seemed to be from the same guild. Even the quality of each of their gears was so high that Bn had to widen his eyes in surprise.
Seeing the look in his eyes, Bn''s teammate smiled "They are the subsidiary attack team".
"What?!" the moment he heard those words, he couldn''t help but shout out loud. Those people whose gears and even the individual strength were greater than his, were not the main attack team of a guild?
What kind of stupid concept was that? A group of that level was enough to clear multiple floors in a single day ande out without a single casualty. To be the subsidiary attack team¡ Bn did not know what to think anymore.
A guild especially a moderately big one, divides its members into multiple teams so that they do not crowd the dungeon and create conflict with other guilds. A guild usually has its best members in its main attack team and other subsidiary teams are there to raid and aid the main attack team when necessary.
The Main attack team also shows how powerful the guild was and is responsible for maintaining its reputation and image. Usually, when a guild decides to do a big raid, the subsidiary teams are positioned as a backup and clear the upper floors so that the main attack team can conserve their energy and explore the lower floors.
A subsidiary attack team like the one in front of Bn, could only be maintained by a top guild. Suddenly the realisation struck him and he asked his teammate that was more informed than him "Which guild do they belong to?".
His teammate looked at him as if he was some country bumpkin unaware of the custom and knowledge around here.
"Huh? what kind of question is that? Of course they are from the Burning Arrows Guild. They are also the reason why all of the potions around here are sold out".
Bn looked ck-jawed, he thought that the insignia looked familiar but never could he have guessed that they were from the number one guild of Mountmend.
''A Big guild like the Blinding Arrow Guild¡ no wonder they were able to keep a team like this as a subsidiary attack team'' he thought internally. To be a member of a big guild, one needs to be a talented adventurer or have aplices that could allow you to get into one.
There are also many perks of joining one, such asrge ie, higher degree of safety during exploration and recognition thates with joining an already well-reputed guild. Basically, joining a guild is like joining a big family which protects the safety of its members and interests and bes a big shield for them.
For Bn and his teammates who belonged to the lowest hierarchy of adventurers if there was any, could never hope to get into one. They who usually make a small team to dive inside the dungeon, usually loiter around the upper floors and kill those beasts that give them a handful sum of money.
"Why did they buy all of the potions around here? it couldn''t be because they want to stop the other guilds from exploring right?" Bn asked.
"I don''t know but seeing that they have assembled the entirety of their members, I believe they want to unlock new floors or¡ conquer the dungeon".
-----
Floor 10¡
A crowd of adventurers consisting of more than thirty members divided into groups of three, tread forward. Whenever they stepped a squelching sound woulde out and their feet would always sink in.
Floor 10 was a vast mudnd filled with swamps and quicksands making it extremely difficult and slow to proceed forward.
Whoosh¡ sounds of wind being blown away rang out and three figures with a pair of illusory wings behind them could be seen flying forward. On the lead was a man with frizzy red hair that reached till his shoulders and wearing an armour that shined with a ck gold radiance.
On his left was a woman whose outfit tightly entuated her body and gave her a beautiful yet heroic look. Held tightly in her left hand was a staff which had two moderately big core stones imbued in the middle.
Thest person was a man wearing clergy robes and holding a mallet. The man with the frizzy red hair stretched his hand and the group immediately came to a halt mid-air.
"What''s wrong ke?" the woman who seemed to be the mage asked.
ke observed the swamp below him and narrowed his eyes "Enemies down below, their numbers in the hundreds. They are currently assembling in a spot... this is our chance to take them out before they pincer us from all directions".
"Frida, prepare a big spell while I distract them. Kody ready a light shield just in case any of them slips away from my skill".
Right after giving orders, ke rushed towards the swamp and hovered just a few meters above it. Frida immediately started conjuring a spell, her lips chanting continuously. Mana like a flood, poured out of her and quickly took the form of fire.
The space around her started heating up from the incredible temperature and her surrounding became a ring crimson.
ke who was standing still on top of the swamp, smiled at this moment when he felt multiple presences swiftly approaching him from the bottom.
Chapter 317
SPLASH¡ something rushed out of the water and approached ke with an insane speed. When heid his eyes upon the entity, he saw that it was a fish-shaped monster more than hundred centimetres big that looked like a piranha.
Its rows of teeth were so incisive that, it could give chills to anyone looking at it. However, ke simply shifted his body a little and dodged the attack effortlessly.
"Pirodiles huh¡ but the numbers do not count up, there must be other monsters too" As he was contemting something, from behind another ssh sounded out and a being much more bigger than Pirodiles jumped out of it to tackle him.
ke nonchntly stretched his hands backwards and performed a shing motion. The space ring in his hands lit up and just when the monster was a few inches away from him, it was split into two by the great sword.
"I see¡ Lizardmen and pirodiles, no wonder the subsidiary team took some time previously to clear this floor".
After cleaving the lizardman into two, he nced at the huge number of ck shadows that was swiftly approaching him from the bottom of the swamp and smiled.
SPLASH¡SPLASH¡ by the time he could even count their numbers, he was surrounded by Lizardmen and pirodlies.
"Goode at me all of you¡ [Berserker''s Howl]" ke brandished his sword and used his ss-specific skill that taunts his enemy and diverts their aggression towards him.
A hoarse howl that reverberated across the entire swamp made the Pirodiles and the Lizardmen angry. They focused all their attention on him as if he was their arch enemy.
Seeing the skill taking effect, ke nodded satisfyingly. The skill would only make them keep focusing on him for a little more than two minutes; however, that was more than enough for Frida to let out a big explosion.
Due to the enemies being low levelled, the effects of the skill on them was quite strong thus they jumped on quite aggressively. With reddened eyes, the Pirodiles and Lizardmen charged at him intending to rip him apart with their sharp teeth and ws.
ke agilely dodged all of their charges, multiple enemies would fall wherever he swept his greatsword. From his motion to his rxed appearance he made it so simple as if he wasn''t actually surrounded by enemies and rather was out on a stroll.
Numerous Lizardmen and pirodiles tried to jump him together to no avail, like a slippery loach he would always manage to find a weak spot and get out of their reach.
ke sensed numerous presences approach the swamp, without turning around, he knew that his team was already here. The swamp was full of monsters and was the natural habitat of lizardmen and pirodiles. Therefore unless they cleared the swamp clear of them, treading on it would be extremely foolish.
ke brandished his sword and counted the time needed for therge area attack from Frida toplete.
"I guess I have no choice, I''ll get a little bit serious now¡" right after his words sounded out, his ck gold armour started bing a bright crimson and the area around him became fiery hot.
A few of the pirodiles tried to bite him from behind only to find their bodies ignited the next second. The monster feeling the heat in the air, started backing out but because they were taunted by the skill [Berserker''s Howl], they couldn''t back far away.
"The swamp is the problem huh¡ hmph once Frida''s magic isplete there will be no more water to save you". ke said charging towards the hordes of pirodiles and Lizardmen popping their heads out from the surface of the swamp.
His armour which had turnedpletely turned crimson, radiated an intense amount of heat. The heat was so powerful that the water around him was starting to boil.
On top of being extremely sturdy, it had the effect of stopping the advance of the enemy. Lizardmen and pirodiles died in droves in front of him, no matter where they tried to jump him from.
Their ws and fangs werepletely useless against him and his crimson armour burned them every time they approached close to him. Although they were not his opponents, their numbers were in the hundreds, probably more than five hundred and he alone would take a long time to finish all of them.
At this moment, a smile crept up to his face and his head turned around to look up. It was true it would take a long time if he a warrior was to battle all of them; however, to finish off a bunch of enemies in a short period of time, there was someone more qualified in this field in his party.
Looking above, he saw a gigantic ming meteor take shape the size of which easily crossed more than thirty meters. It radiated an intense amount of heat that caused the surrounding air to distort and mana to be unstable.
A feeling of devastation and dread assaulted one''s heart whenever one looked at it. The lizardmen and pirodlies clearly sensing the changes in the mana, nced at the ming meteor that threatened to destroy this ce and immediately went into a panic.
Due to their state of mind being disturbed, some of them managed to escape the grasps of his taunts, their next target was obviously Frida the caster of the magic.
A few of the priodiles huddled together and dived deep inside the swamp, they then shot towards the stationary mage that was high up in the sky like a dart. The way the lots of them moved, was a beautiful sight to see at a nce; however, knowing that these were bloodthirsty pirodlies, made it a lot less pleasing and more rming.
Dozens of pirodlies shot towards Frida, their incisive set of teeth were on full disy. Just as they were a few inches away from sinking their teeth on her glossy skin, a thin transparent membrane like a shield appeared in front of her body and stopped the advances of the pirodlies.
The monsters bounced off the shield unable to get any close to her. Frida smiled and winked towards Kody who was dutifully standing with a mallet beside her. The transparent membrane like shield earlier was a skill of his that he uses for defence.
"Alright let''s rock this ce, my magic is about to beplete," Frida said waving her staff towards the huge meteor in front of them.
She nced at ke and knew that his skill that was taunting them for so long, was about to disappear. The moment it does, it was her job to finish off all of the monsters now that they were all clustered together.
If they were to fight these monsters inside the swamp, there was no way of telling how long it would take them to clear the floor nor was it possible to tell that they can do so without suffering any injuries.
For the sake of their exploration, she has to finish off them with one powerful strike.
TREMBLE¡ the air trembled from just the slightest movement of the meteor.
Six seconds¡
A droplet of sweat trickled down her face, her cherry lips chanted thest sybles of her magic "Amalgamation Magic¡me Earth Mastery- [Falling Meteor]".
One second¡
The moment the effects of the [Berserker''s Howl] ended and the monsters finally regained their senses, the destructive meteor that has been hanging in the sky for so long, started descending.
RUMBLE¡ the air screamed and the space trembled as the meteor slowly started to gain momentum.
ke who was at the surface of the pond and inside the area of impact, felt the terrifying pressure pressing down on him. Even if it was him, he did not have the confidence to take it head-on and still be in unharmed.
With his job to distract the monsters long enough for Frida to cast her spell aplished, he pped the illusory wings behind him and swiftly got out of the range of the attack.
The thirty or so adventurers gathered near the swamp looked at the embodiment of destruction falling down. Their eyes widened in surprise and fear as they braced for impact.
The lizardmen and Pirodlies sensing the danger, obviously tried to hide beneath the swamp; however, this choice of theirs was useless since the meteor had enough firepower topletely evaporate the swamp and change the topography of this ce.
Their only option out of this was to disrupt the magic frompleting, now though it was already toote.
BOOOOOOMMM¡
The meteor dyed the whole floor with its crimson hue, the swamp reflecting the scene like a mirror. The moment the meteor collided with the swamp, a loud noise of a huge amount of water being disced echoed out followed by clouds of vapour rising as high as the ceiling.
The swamp was easily evaporated along with the organisms hiding inside it, nothing remained in front of the might of the amalgamation magic [Falling Meteor]. A magic that could be said to be above the levels of the intermediate tier and approaching close to the advance tier.
TREMBLE¡ thend trembled and cracks appeared from the bottom of the swamp. The vision was dyed white and the shockwave bringing along a scalding heat, hit everyone.
Fortunately, these adventurers had plenty of time to prepare and erect shields that covered all of them. When they removed their shields to see what happened to the swamp, they were shocked to see a huge crater taking the ce of the swamp.
The ground for a few hundred meters was dyed red from the heat and released clouds of smoke from the moisture that remained underneath. That was the power of one of their three leaders, the strongest mage in their guild, Frida the [Hellbringer].
Chapter 318
They heard consecutive sounds of pping and their three leadersnded in front of them. ke, the guild master of the Burning Arrow Guild, Kody the radiant healer and the aforementioned Frida the [Hellbringer].
Together, the three of them were the cornerstone of this guild and as long as they remained, their Burning Arrow''s guild would be the top guild in the city of Mountmend.
ke whose armour had returned to its usual golden ck colour, flumped himself down on top of a nearby rock and observed his teammates. The journey from top floor to here, was moderately an easy one with the subsidiary team clearing most of the monsters for them.
Starting from the ninth floor was when the difficulty went up by a notch; nevertheless, it was still not a problem for his guild whose average level was above level 200.
''Floor fourteenth huh'' ke inwardly thought. The fourteenth floor was the highest floor that they had explored up until now and was also thetest floor that had been discovered by anyone yet.
"Chuck was right, this dungeon is indeed not a [E] rank" ke muttered feeling the density of mana in the air which was so dense and the quickly restoring dungeon. These were all signs that the dungeon was already a [D] rank and was swiftly on its way to evolve up a rank.
His dozens of years of adventuring told him that. At this moment he heard approaching footsteps and saw Frida walking towards him.
"What are you pondering about so much ke" Resting herself beside him, she asked.
"It''s just that it''s hard to believe a newly emerged dungeon could evolve so fast," ke said shaking his head.
Frida rested her chin on her hands and made a brooding face.
"You are right, it hasn''t even been a year and the dungeon seems already ready to go up another rank. I had once explored a [C] tier dungeon before I joined this guild and I can tell you honestly that I see more and more simrities between the two".
"I see¡ what do you think Kody" ke asked turning towards Kody who had approached them at an unknown time.
The person with the clergy robe mused for a while looking at the distant entrance to the next floor.
"This dungeon is an anomaly for sure¡ isn''t that why the Branch director asked you to investigate it personally. Though, in my opinion, you made the right choice by epting the request. A dungeon like this which deviates from all the norm, might be a disaster that threatens our city in the future if we don''t explore and understand about its limit right now".
ke nodded, the words of the healer was right, it was not only about the demon noble that was the master of this ce, they needed to understand what rank he was and the potential of the dungeon increasing up a tier.
All of these factors yed a huge role because the difficulty of the dungeon is closely rted to its rank. The Adventurer''s association needs to know about the rank of the dungeon and its future potential to evolve so that it could grade the dungeon as high, intermediate or low.
If they mess up with their judgement and evaluate a dungeon poorly, the negligence would cause the death of thousands of adventurers.
It was not something unusual to see adventurers disappearing inside the dungeon without surfacing ever again. Most often than not it happens because they underestimate the difficulty of the dungeon, especially the floors.
This event had repeated so often in history that many times adventurers have med the Association for evaluating the dungeon wrongly. Because of this, the Adventurer''s association makes a detailed evaluation of all the dungeons and grades them ordingly.
"Alright after we reach the fourteenth floor, let us move very prudently. We do not know how many floors this dungeon has, if we approach too close to the core, there is also the possibility of us encountering the master of this ce".
"In the case that they are a Demon Earl, our only hope is to run" ke stood up and hurriedly roared out orders.
He then looked at Frida before asking "What are the updates on the Subsidiary Attack team?".
"They are currently resting in the tower town, do you want me to call them down?" Frida said.
Nodding his head, kemanded, "Tell them to camp here so that they can immediately respond to our aid".
Although he did not say it loud, he knew that the association was using them as disposables. After a while, the subsidiary team came to the twelfth floor just in time to see the main attack team proceed forward to the next floor.
With the three leaders personally taking charge of the exploration this time, the progress they made was smoother than they expected. T
he fourteenth floor which was a vast wastnd spanning for dozens of kilometres seemed empty at a nce with no presence of monsters found anywhere. But make no mistake, the monsters here are aerial predators and fly so fast that it is difficult for a low levelled person to see them.
The members of the blinding Arrow''s guild were experienced and well-trained individuals, though they made some mistakes that led to one or two of them getting injured, they swiftly mended their errors, ceasing frommitting any more blunders.
Corpses of Anemodactly littered the ground as more and more of them dropped onto the floor dead. While it is true that their opponent was extremely fast in mid-air and knew mid-range attacks like [Wind sh] and [Wind ws], they who were used to their patterns, could shoot them with their skills as they approached near.
Unlike their enemy, they were capable of coordination and teamwork which made handling them all the more easier. These adventurers looked up and saw their three leaders who were capable of flight, easily ying multiple Anemodactyl at once.
They made it so easy that for a second these adventurers thought that they weren''t fighting a bunch of level 130-150 monsters but some low-level weaklings. The Blinding''s Arrow guild was a top tier guild around these parts and with them bringing their finest members, they stomped one floor after the other.
Fifteenth floor, Sixteenth floor, they slowly cleared one floor after the other. Although the monsters there were a problem, thanks to having arge number of healing potions and the subsidiary attack team aiding them from time to time, the team suffered no casualties.
For this exploration, the Burning Arrow Guild had spent arge sum of money on acquiring weapons, elixirs, armours and various other things. By the time they arrived on the neenth floor, two days had already passed.
As the group descended onto the neenth floor, they observed that the floor was extremely peaceful with luminescent trees, grass and various odd flowers dotting the ce.
Since they were an experienced team of adventurers, they did not let their guard down but even after a while of searching the ce, they did not sense any presence of monsters on this floor.
"Let''s take a break here. The gate to the next floor is open, recover your expended strength and stamina before we move forward. However, don''t let your guard down. Although there are no presence of monsters on this floor, we do not know that it is a ''Safe Floor'' yet" kemanded after surveying the floor.
Safe floor is a term that the adventurer use when naming a particr floor of the dungeon which spawns no monsters making it an ideal ce for adventurers like them to rest and recover from their fatigue.
Inside the dungeon where they had to be constantly on guard and fight monsters to clear a way, rest was a luxury thus the adventurers took a break every now and then. The group found an open in and sat down to recover their strength; nevertheless, they did not disband and sat ordingly in a way that left very few to no openings.
"I can''t believe a safe floor exists in this dungeon. Isn''t it only a low ranking one?" a group of adventurers seated at the centre of the formation discussed.
"Yeah, you are right. ording to the adventurer''s association, only dungeon intermediate tier or above should have a Safe Floor" They argued.
While they were right in saying that, what they didn''t know was that adventurers'' association based their evaluation on the fact that low tier dungeons which did not have many floors and are more prone to being conquered by the adventurers do not have a need to create a Safe Floor.
Whereas, High and Intermediate tier dungeons which have numerous floors, strong monsters and are more hard to conquer, have Safe Floors to keep the morale of the adventurers from breaking down.
Of course, the dungeon Lace that Simon made, deviated from everymon knowledge and the pre-established notions of the adventurer''s association.
"What are you all babbling about, didn''t you hear the guild master say that we are still not sure this ce is a Safe Floor?" an adventurer whose ss seems to be a mage, walked towards them and said.
As he approached them, there were many murmurs from everyone. The man who had approached them was after all a powerful mage second only to Firda one of their three leaders. His mighty spells had destroyed many Stormwolves and Battle Bears on the previous floors.
"Hmph, there is no way a low ranking dungeon could have a Safe Floor. In my opinion, we are very close to the dungeon core and there are no more monsters strong enough to hold out against us. If we keep mounting the pressure, we might be the first guild in Mountmend to conquer a dungeon. Do you know what that means?".
Chapter 319
His rosy words immediately uplifted the spirits of the adventurers and they couldn''t help but imagine such a scenario. a future where they conquered the dungeon.
What the man said wasn''t false, they had yet to meet a strong monster on any of the floors and if everything favoured them, they could really try their luck on conquering the dungeon.
At this moment, the fear of the Dungeon Master being a powerful Demon Noble, was out of their mind. In their opinion, they were a powerful bunch of people capable of defeating hundreds of Stormwolves and Battle Bears easily. What does a single Demon Noble amount to?
"Sigh¡ these people are getting drunk on their recent sess, aren''t you going to stop them?" Frida said looking at her teammates who were getting needlessly excited.
ke shook his and refused toment. These people obviously haven''t encountered a demon Noble nor have they seen their powers so it was no surprise that they were saying all that.
Although he wanted to burst their bubbles, he felt like this level of enthusiasm and passion was needed to tackle the uing floors plus, even if they encountered the Demon Noble, they still had that thing with them.
At this moment, Kody apanied by a few guildmates, walked towards them aftering back from their patrol.
"What do you think?" ke asked narrowing his eyes.
Kody nodded his head and replied, "I believe this is a Safe Floor".
Frida had an incredulous look in her eyes "Even your [Trail of Light] Skill didn''t pick up the presence of any monsters around?".
The Skill [Trail of Light] that Frida was talking about, was a ss-specific skill of Priests, a rare ss just like the Sage, adept in Light Magic. The skills detects the presence of any monsters or possible tracks they left behind in a particr ce.
If even the Trail of Light skill was unable to detect the presence of monsters here, it could only mean that this ce really was a safe Floor.
ke closed his eyes and took a deep breath after a while, he stood up andmanded his team to get ready to march forward. Their goal, the twentieth floor in front of them.
-----
In a ce surrounded by speckles of light and gentle mist, sat an ethereal beauty. Her crystal blue hair was as beautiful as ice gently flowing down her shoulders and her creamy face which was reflected on the pond in front of her, was beautiful beyond belief.
At this moment, Irene who was staring at a window in front of her, blinked her eyelids and turned around to gaze at the beautiful crystal trees shining with a multi-coloured light.
Amidst the thick foliage of the trees, was a figure who had just currently woken up from its slumber.
NEEEEIIGGHH¡ it gave a coarse roar and reared its front legs. Power overflowed from its body, its three pairs of dark baleful eyes could give nightmares to anyone gazing into them. The being''s powerful legs carried it towards Irene and it bowed its head in front of her.
Irene softly caressed its fiery mane while looking at the window. At this moment, the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse nudged Irene and told her about its intention.
"You want to go there? Hmm~ Alright, it''s time we show them, who are getting carried away with their sess, the true terrors of this dungeon. Remember, do not kill them, just scare them away"¡
-----
The Burning Arrows Guild after resting on the neenth floor for a while, started arching towards the twentieth floor. As the group assembled in front of the twentieth floor, they opened their eyes wide in shock at the scene thaty in front of them.
As far as their eyes could see, was a ce filled with tall trees and grass that came all the way to their waists. Presence of monsters could be felt all around the ce but more importantly, the thing that bothered them was that the density of mana around here was palpable.
The twentieth floor of the dungeon Lace was a vast forest with all kinds of monsters present. They made their own ecosystem here and have established a food chain. The cycle of Death- Rebirth continued all day here.
However, at this moment the forest that was usually filled with the cries and howl of monsters, was unusually silent to the point where it felt odd.
While an ordinary person would not be able to feel it, how could these adventurers who had loads of experience, miss it? The moment they arrived on this floor, a heavy and dreary feeling enveloped their bodies and a sense of foreboding assaulted their hearts.
Droplets of sweat trickled down their faces and they were having difficulty moving forward.
"Give strength to mypanions and dispel all evils [Brave Heart]" a white light radiated out from the mallet in Kody''s hand and like a dome, encircled all the members within it. Immediately, they felt the sinister feeling overwhelming them disappear.
The priest turned towards ke by his side and said "There are signs of dark magic being used here".
The man who was the guild master of the Burning Arrow Guild nodded his head, he did not question hispanion''s words since he knew that Kody as a Light magic user was much more sensitive to dark magic than anyone else here.
"Can you pinpoint the location from where it is being released?" Frida asked furrowing her brows.
Kody shook his head in consternation, the whole floor was currently being affected by it, there is no way of knowing where it wasing from.
"Do you think it''s the master of this dungeon personally making his move?" Frida remarked while tightly holding onto her staff.
The dungeon was a low tier one so they should be approaching closer to the dungeon core, it wouldn''t be surprising if the Demon Noble decided to act personally. the density of man being heavy here was evidence enough.
ke had a serious expression on his face, it was up to him to decide whether they should move forward or retreat. With how contrast the twentieth floor seemedpared to the previous floors, there was no denying that they were about to face a difficult enemy.
To go or not go?¡ ke had the option to end the exploration here and go back to the surface, even if the Adventurer''s association pressed them for an answer, he could always create some excuse.
However, retreating was not like him, especially when all of their members had excess energy and were in almost perfect condition to proceed forward. Thus he made up his mind, raising his hands he gave orders for his team to proceed forward albeit extremely carefully.
Now that they were already there, they should experience the power of the dungeon themselves, it would be not toote to retreat after analysing the power of their opponent.
His confidence stemmed from his teammates and his defence he took so much pride in. Even if it was a Demon Earl, ke believed that he would be able tost a few exchanges before going down.
The members of the Burning arrows guild marched forward but felt something was amiss when even after a while, they weren''t being attacked. Typically, monsters would immediately attack them the moment felt their presence and would not hesitate to charge towards them.
However, the scene in front of them broke all theirmon sense and at the same time gave them an ominous feeling. These adventurers who were high on alert as they proceeded forward, halted their steps when they saw their leader stretch his hands towards the broad sword on his back.
The forest felt extremely creepy with the ominous silence, there was no one talking and only the infrequent gulps of the adventurers rang out.
RUSTLE¡ suddenly, there was the rustling of grass and the noise of something approaching them.
"Get ready to engage" the moment their leader shouted that, all the adventurers hurriedly raised their weapons and strained their eyes in the direction they could hear the noiseing from.
THUK¡THUK¡THUK¡
The cold noise of something stepping on the ground came as the entity appeared in front of numerous pairs of eyes from amidst the thick foliage. The moment it appeared the sinister aura around the surrounding became even more stronger.
The entity in front of them looked so menacing and demonic that multiple people started trembling on the spot. Its three pair of eyes that was as dark as the night, observed them and its body that was writhed in fire, gave it a unique look.
"W-what is that thing?" one of the adventurers asked the one beside him. However, just like him, hisrade too did not know what they were looking at.
When something iprehensible is presented before humans, it is almost instinctual for them to start questioning and whispering about the absurdity in front of them and in some cases, even deny it.
Nobody knew what the being with three pairs of powerful legs, wide draconic wings and donning a battle armour was? The same went for the three leaders, they were looking at the thing with wide-open eyes.
The stare-downsted for a while only to be broken by someone falling down on his buttocks. The adventurer that fell down had wide disbelieving eyes and a terrified face with which it was gazing at the entity.
"Level 568¡ how is that possible?" his mumbling was heard by everyone present.
All the adventurers revealed a shocked expression, those that had [Analysis], hurriedly used their skill only to stand stunned the next second.
Disaster ss, there was no other way tobel the being in front of them.
Chapter 320
Adventurer''s association ssifies a monster ording to the threat level it represents to the humanity and gives them an appropriate ss. If the monsters they have met up until now were only around normal and strong, then the being in front of them whose level surpassed 500, fell in the disaster ss.
A ss that could bring disaster to arge number of humans, towns, or arge city. There weren''t even that many high-level adventurers in their kingdom and those that were could only be seen near the capital.
A disaster ss being could only be subjugated by those adventurers, even their guild master who was the highest level among them, was only around level 360.
The moment when the race and the level of the entity in front of them was revealed, the morale of these adventurers immediately faltered and they couldn''t but cower in front of the enemy.
Right when they were about to lose all will to fight, was when a shout that reinvigorated their spirits reverberated in their ears.
"Do not waver, do not let your resolve die down. Even if the enemy is stronger than us, they are only but one. As long as we remember our training and experience, we won''t be defeated".
After roaring out everything he had in his mind, ke for the first time took out a long shield from his space ring and wielded his broad sword with one hand. Just like earlier, his armour and even his shield started glowing a ring red, raising the temperature around.
"I don''t know what skill that thing is using but it is definitely Dark magic. Kody, wake those idiots up. Frida get ready to back me up with a big one, I don''t know how long I can stop that thing. If worsees to worst, I leave the judgement of using that thing to you".
Right after saying that, he raised his shield and charged towards the entity in front of him. The ring hot shield was right about to make contact with it when the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse reared its two pairs of powerful forelegs and thumped onto the shield.
BANG¡
ke felt a powerful force hit his shield and nearly lost all sensation in his arm. His body skidded back a few meters and only came to a stop when he used his sword to dig into the ground and kill the momentum.
ke took hurried breaths and observed his shield which now had four hoof prints imprinted on it. From that sh alone, he clearly felt the difference between them.
The entity after sending him flying, did not move from its ce and simply observed them with its ominous six eyes.
Kody who had finished chanting a light magic spell that dispelled all kinds of Mental dark magic, cast a small healing magic at him. Feeling the sensation of his left arm return to him, ke was just about to rush it once again when he saw multiple warriors from his guild encircle the entity.
Their years of exploring and working together, allowed them to coordinate seamlessly together and read each other''s patterns. Various fire magic formed in the air above as the mages in the backlines, casted their spell.
It was not like they did not have mages who had mastery over other attributes; however, since their prioritised fire magicians, they had more of them. Dozens of [me Spears], [Fireballs], [Fire Bullets], [Wind sts], [Earth Spikes] shot towards the immobile Bloodthorn demonic warhorse leaving it with no ce to dodge.
The warriors encircling it, hurriedly backed away and saw the entity being engulfed in the aftermath of the magic.
BOOOMM¡ a huge explosion that rocked this part of the forest for dozens of meters, spread out tearing down all the trees and grasses on the way. The adventurers rejoiced after seeing all the magic hitting the entity squarely, even if it was above level 500 andbelled as a disaster ss, it must have felt it.
mes engulfed their vision and burned the entity within. ke, Frida and Kody who had the highest levels among the group, wore apprehensive faces as they gazed at the scene of explosion. They could tell that the entity had deliberately chosen to take on their attacks instead of dodging.
Even if it was just novice tier magic, there were more than dozens of them. Was the entity that confident of its defence? Even the three of them had no idea, this was the first time they had seen something like it and had no way of knowing what it specialised on.
They could only hope the attack from earlier would give them some clue.
The fire that was raging out, suddenly flickered and dispersed into tiny embers before being snuffed out. The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse who had been engulfed in a barrage of attacks, slowly walked out in front of multiple stunned gazes.
Even after taking on all of those attacks, it''s body didn''t have a tiny scratch.
"T-That''s impossible" the mages in the backlines had wide disbelieving seeing their attack do no damage.
ke walked towards Frida and gave her a meaningful nce, he then next led the warriors into encircling the entity in the middle like a.
Surrounded by all front, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse gave these people a derisive nce. Thick ck smoke started emitting out of his body painting everything ck. The ck haze like a deadly poison, corroded everything and anything until they were tiny particles.
Seeing a ck haze spread out of its body, the guild master of the burning arrow guild hurriedly gave the warriors the order to back away. His instincts that had been polished through years of efforts and battles, was ringing rm bells at this moment.
And as if to prove him right, the ck haze like a gue corroded everything and anything that it touched until not even their remains were left behind.
A white light that brought along a soothing and cleansing effect collided with the ck haze and pushed it back swiftly nheless, it was unable to dissipate all of it.
Kody who was chanting one spell after another, suddenly felt his heart tighten when he saw the gaze of the entitynd on him. Cursing inwardly, he was just about to retreat to the backlines when suddenly the remaining haze turned into an arrow and shot towards him.
Everything happened so fast that before anyone could get the chance to interfere, the ck arrow was already upon him. Unable to dodge it, Kody gritted his teeth and took out a pendant from his clothes.
The moment the ck arrow approached a few inches near him, a transparent membrane-like shield encased his body and protected him from the iing attack. He sighed in relief when he saw the attack bounce off but the next second, his eyes widened to their limits to see tiny cracks appear on the shield.
The pendant on his hand was a [B] rank artefact that upon activation created a shield of light that had the ability to block all kinds of attacks. Even if it was Frida, she would have a lot of trouble conjuring up an attack that could actually break his shield.
Nevertheless, even a casual attack from the entity in front of him, was enough to nearly break his shield. Kody felt a cold wind brush past his body thinking what would happen to him had he not used the artefact.
He swiftly fell back to the backlines and chanted one healing spell after another.
With ke and the warriors keeping the entity busy, Kody providing support, the responsibility of leading the mages and the others fell on Frida. Seeing them nkly staring at their enemy without casting any spell, she had the urge to smash them with her staff.
"What are you idiots doing standing there in a daze? Yourades and friends in the vanguard are fighting with their life on line. You all on the other hand had your will to fight broken after casting a single spell. Are you still the members of the Burning Arrow Guild?".
Her fiery words woke the mages up from their daze and they felt their spirits lifting once again. So what if their attacks was unable to scratch their enemy? They could just keep bombarding it with their spells, over time the entity is sure to feel it.
Frida smiled satisfyingly after bolstering their morale, she then cleared her mind and focused on chanting her own spell. As the highest level mage of this guild, she had the most damaging power. Her rare ss [Pyro Mage] allowed her powerful mastery over fire attribute of mana leading her to her nickname the Hellbringer.
As she raised her staff, thick volumes of mes started materialising and coagting together bing a one huge ming ball. The power behind her attack was so great that the surrounding air visibly distorted.
The intense heat from her magic made all those mages behind her who were confident of their fire magic lower their head in despondence.
BOOM¡BOOMM¡BOOMM¡ one magic after another bombarded the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse nevertheless, none of it managed to do anything. The constant attack and encirclement was starting to annoy it and so it opened its mouth and neighed.
NEEIIIGHH¡an ominous and coarse roar that could give goosebumps to anyone listening to it, echoed out. The roar was so loud and powerful that adventurers in the front had to cover their ears.
BANG¡BANG¡BANG¡ what followed after the roar was a series of multiple muffled explosions. . When ke and the other looked behind them, they were stunned to find multiple mages falling onto the ground coughing out a mouthful of blood.
The magic that they have been conjuring, was suddenly disturbed by that roar leading to it self-destructing. The bacsh from the mana going haywire, caused them to suffer internal injuries.
Chapter 321
Compared to others, Frida fared rtively well. Though the mana within her was still erratic, she managed to sever her will from the magic before the roar arrived. Thanks to that, she was not coughing out blood like the other mages.
"Are you alright¡ what happened?" ke hurriedly ran towards her and supported her up.
"Haa.. haa¡ it''s the [Disruption Roar]" Frida exined with a pale face, the shout earlier was a specific skill of a high-level beast that allows them to disrupt the mana around their surrounding with a roar.
The skill was very troublesome in the sense that none of the mages would be able to cast their spell when the roar hits them. Worse, the bacsh thates from having your magic disrupted, is simr to suffering a severe blow for a mage.
ke''s eye became grave when he heard those words, he now understood the severity of facing a beast multiple levels above them. With Frida''s magic out of the picture, they lost a marginal amount of their firepower.
"Go to the backlines and rest¡ leave the rest to.." before ke couldplete his sentence, Frida vehemently shook her head in denial.
"Are you stupid? With me gone, who will deal damage to it. If you are the wall that stands before our enemy like a mountain, then I''m the cannon that brings them to their knees. Don''t worry, I don''t think it can use the same skill again and again. It must have a long cooldown¡ trust me" she asserted looking straight in his eyes.
ke contemted for a while and decided to leave her to her own devices. Her presence was something that even he couldn''t fill in this guild and if she were to step down at this point, the void that she would left would be too big for any of them to cover.
He arranged a group of [Sword Masters] to guard her while she rests and joined the frontlines. After the previous attack, it was clear that if they want to defeat this beast, they would have to do so physically, magical attacks on the level of novice tier and short-area intermediate magic were mostly useless against it.
Unless it is a powerfulrge area magic that takes a long time to prepare, it is unlikely to be enough to pierce its defences.
There was no need for him to worry about the mages in the rear guard as they had Kody backing and healing them. Clearing his mind and setting his sights on the entity in front of him, ke stood between the entity and his teammates who were behind him.
Ever since the beast appeared in front of them, it did not move an inch from its ce. It wasn''t because the entity did not have the leeway or was forced by them into a corner, it was simply because there was no need for it do so in the first ce.
From its point of view, they must look so weak that it did not even have to move to deal with the lots of them. However, now that most of the mages were down, if it wanted to attack or make its move it would be now.
ke along with the other warriors stood in an arrowhead formation with their shields raised, their attitude seems to say that no matter what they wouldn''t move from there.
As if to mock their resolution, the entity neighed once, scraped the ground with its foreleg and charged towards them. Its charge was neither fast nor strong but for some reason, the moment the entity charged the entire aura around it changed.
It was a very drastic transition and was witnessed by all of them. The moment when the beast was about to collide with their formation, they saw all saw it, an illusory image of a humongous mighty being that looked somewhat simr to the warhorse, appeared overhead.
BANG¡with a powerful force of a battering train, the warhorse crashed into them. A heavy dull thuds of metals colliding and bones breaking, rang out followed by miserable screams of many adventurers.
The warriors that tried to stop the charge of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was sent flying and rolling on the floor crying. Their shields were crushed and their bones shattered into powder after that collision.
Those that observed the scene from the rear, were astounded by the scene thaty in front of them. They who knew how reliable and sturdy their teammates were, couldn''t believe the oue. These [Sword Master] sses were specifically buffed with high defence and Strength stats that made them as sturdy as a boulder.
sses like that were ideal to be the tanks of any team; nevertheless, these trusty teammates of theirs, did not evenst a move against the beast in front of them. Slowly, an invisible fear started creeping into their hearts and started affecting their minds.
NEEEIIIGGGHH¡ the Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse marvelled at the result of its actions before shifting its gaze towards the backlines. It repeated the same action of scraping the ground with its foreleg before starting its charge once again.
The backlines which have lost the protection of their vanguards, started panicking the moment they saw the entity charge at them.
"Miss Frida what should we do?!" the mages asked the woman in front of them who was one of the pirs of their guild. To their surprise, the woman fearlessly stood in her ce and started chanting her spell-like a beautiful hymn.
There was no worry on her face nor was there any kind of anxiousness, only a calm focused expression could be seen on her face. The same went for their one and only Light magic user Kody who cast his healing spells on the warriors on the frontline.
Due to them being disarrayed by an intangible sinister force, they failed to realise that amongst the warriors, there was one more person who was yet to go down.
"HIYAAAAAAHHH" With a loud spirited shout, a man with ky red hair and donning an crimson armour stood between the entity and them. His back was wide enough to give people a sense of assurance and protection. The man was none other than the guild master of their guild, ke Gunvald.
ke who stood in front of the Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse felt the incredulous power behind its charge. The sh earlier where all of their front-liners were sent flying, was still fresh on his mind and that is why this time he did not dare to hold back any of his power.
"Super Enhanced Strength, Super Enhanced Defence, Super enhanced Endurance, Harden Skin, Greater Shield Guard, Fortress, Body Enhancement, Scorching Armour¡ [Fortification]" Activating all of his skills, ke stood still like a mountain unwilling to move.
His ss [Crimson Guard] allowed him to tank arge number of hits and his defence was second to none in the city of Mountmend, matching evenly with Chuck.
His skills bolstered his already superior defence and even if it was someone hundreds of levels above him, they would at least need to spend some effort to bypass his defence. That was how abnormal his defence stat had be.
Therefore, it was only natural for ke to think that he could at least stop its charge. From the corner of his eyes he could see Frida and the other mages channelling their magic and preparing to attack.
If he could stop the charge of the beast, he had no doubt in his mind that hisrades would be able to damage it. However, what he didn''t know was that standing in the path of Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse''s charge was extremely foolish.
Even beasts multiple levels higher than it wouldn''t dare to stand before it when it charged, forget about a human multiple levels below it. While it may be true that the warhorse was plentiful strength with its magic and defence, its true powery withing those explosive six legs of it which were like the most powerful engine.
Once its charge began, there was only one oue.
THUD..THUD...THUD
When the galloping sound of the warhorse rang out, the fearful cries of monsters as they hid themselves deep within the forest could be heard.
ke who was standing at the path of its charge, at this moment felt the shadow of death grasping his body. Perspiration trickled down his face and seconds before they collided, the man realised how foolish his decision was.
A powerful force so brutish and ridiculous that it crushed every bone in his body, hit him making him lose his consciousness immediately. He was just like a twig in front of a car unable to stop its rush.
BANG¡ CRACK¡ an extremely dull sound echoed out followed by a man being sent airborne and crashing onto the ground limply.
SILENCE~
A stifling silence descended onto the area where the adventurers were. Their eyes opened wide at the incredulous, non-sensical scene that unfolded in front of their eyes. ''Impossible'' that was the only word revolving around their heads.
The guild master, who they all thought would be able to easily tank the charge of the beast, and whose defence was stronger than anyone they knew, was defeated just like that. How could they believe such a scene?
Many of them even rubbed their eyes thinking that they were hallucinating and all of this was just an illusion. But no matter how much they rubbed their eyes and reject the possibility, the evidence was right in front of them.
ke Gunvald was lying on the floor bleeding heavily with his armour and shield broken.
NEEIGHH... the roar of the beast woke them up from their daze, it''s simple shout was enough to disturb their frame of mind.
Chapter 322
The mages who were casting their spell forgot to channel their mana leading to the magic dissipating in the air, while the warriors who were trying to get back on their feet after receiving healing and taking a potion stood motionless.
"It is Impossible after all, we can''t defeat it" having their morale broken after seeing the condition of their guild master many of them fell on their buttocks unable to remain standing.
"Kodyyy" Frida''s sharp cry, woke the priest who was still in a daze.
"[Healing Light]¡ [Ailment Heal]¡" Kody chanted one healing spell after another without worrying about conserving his mana while Frida who hadpleted her magic, sted it towards the beast.
A huge ming ball like a miniature sun dropped down on the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse and engulfed it in an explosion that epassed dozens of meters of area. The intermediate tier me magic was enough to rock the surroundings and cause a miniature earthquake.
Using this opening, she unfurled her illusory wings and swiftly carried ke away. Kody hurriedly approached them and inspected the condition of the man.
"How is he?" Frida asked anxiously.
"Multiple bones broken, numerous fractures, organs disced and heavy bleeding. We need to treat him immediately or else he might go into a concussion".
He said with a grave face. Never in his wildest dream would he have believed that ke whose defence was something that made him the steel wall that protected this guild, would get knocked like that.
Frida bit her lips, her eyes misted over when she saw the bloody condition of the man. She clenched and unclenched her hands before making her decision.
"I''m going to use the [Scroll of Return], you takemand over all of them".
Right after saying all that, she brought out an old scroll from her space ring and pulled it open. The scroll had many crisscrossing andplicated lines and diagrams which lit up after she inserted some of her mana onto it.
When the scroll started burning and turned into ashes, those diagrams floated up in the air and formed an intricate array.
Seeing Frida busy herself, Kody gritted his teeth and held the mallet in his hand in determination. Taking out multiple vials of mana recovering potions, he gulped down on it before casting a wide area Light Magic.
"Cleanse thisnd of all evils¡ [Purification]".
From a distance, a bright light could be seen surrounding a part of the forest like a barrier illuminating the ce with its milky shine. If one looked carefully, the barrier had a mysterious symbol that gave others a strong suppressive feeling.
When the snowkes like light fell onto all those adventurers, they felt their bodies mysteriously lighten up and couldn''t help but look at the barrier over their heads.
"Sir Kody? What is he trying to do?"
"He is expending hisst bits of precious mana on erecting a powerful barrier that heals you over time if you are inside it".
Just as they wondered why one of their three leaders was doing something like that, the heated roar of the priest that usually stayed silent and calm, echoed out.
"Since when did the burning arrows guild have spineless cowards like you all? We came here fully knowing what kind of dangersy ahead and now that our leader is down trying to save all of us, but instead of holding the frontlines in his stead, you people are lying on the floor like some spineless cowards".
As the snowkes of light continued to drop on their body, ck smoke starteding out of them and they felt like their mind clearing. The instant their mind cleared up, they got up on their feet and frowned.
From the moment they entered this floor, they have been sensing that their mind was being affected slowly by something. That feeling just got confirmed when they say ck smokese out of their body.
Nobody retorted against those words of Kody, it was by their own mistake that they had fallen prey to this sinister effect. Also when they saw their leader being defeated, their morale had indeed hit rock bottom.
Seeing them wake up from their trance and clench their weapons tightly, Kody spoke.
"Frida is invoking the [Scroll of Return], buy her as much time as you can. As long as you stay inside the barrier, the beast''s mind corrupting abilities won''t be able to affect you".
Everybody nodded their head and got into formation, all of them were aware of the [Scroll of Return] which was their final trump card that could get them out of this dungeon.
The scroll of return that they got for epting the request from the Branch headquarter of the Adventurer''s Association was a powerful item that contained thews of space and could connect two ces together.
That is to say, with the scroll they could get out of here. However for the effect of the scroll to invoke, it needed a long time to prepare and an enormous amount of mana to fuel it. On top of that, the caster has to constantly focus on evoking the magic contained within the scroll leaving thempletely defenceless.
That is why it was up to them to stop the advance of the beasts who would clearly not miss this big of an opening. The enemy was clearly just one, if it was just buying time, they could throw their numbers at him.
As the adventurers were thinking that, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse who was staying unusually silent after defeating ke, sulked seeing the light barrier. The mental effect that its [Demonic Grip] skill was having on all those people who had invaded his master''s dungeon, was purified by this damn light barrier.
The adventurer that was responsible for it, had created it big enough to engulf dozens of meters ofnd around this area. For some reason, being under it made it feel ufortable, but since Irene told him not to kill them, it couldn''t attack them with its other skills leaving it with only one option.
Just when everybody wondered why the entity had gone unusually silent, it opened its mouth and gave a coarse ominous roar.
NEEEIIIGGHHH¡ a huge shadow of the warhorse manifested itself exerting its aura all across the forest. The adventurers hurriedly closed their eyes worried that the scene from before would repeat once again.
However, when they saw none of the mages having any problem, they wondered what the roar was all about.
Frida and Kody narrowed their eyes, they knew that something was up, the unsettling feeling they had, won''t go away. And if to prove them right, they immediately knew why they had this feeling.
The ground rumbled and the distant noise that seems to being closer, echoed from every part of the forest. Adventurer that had detection skills, immediately knew what was going on, their face going pale white.
Before the others could wonder what was going on, cries of monsters and their approaching footsteps, rang out. It was not only one or two but wasing from every direction and in hordes.
After a while, the adventurers found themselves encircled by monsters all around with nowhere to run. The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse used its roar to dominate all the various monsters spawned around this floor and obey its orders.
After it had woken up from its slumber, its level had increased marginally, it had gained new skills and even became self-aware. There was no way these ordinary monsters would be able to endure the bloodline suppression it had exerted.
"This is bad" getting sandwiched by all these monsters on top of also having to face the unknown beast was extremely dangerous. If nothing is done, their guild might very well be wiped off just like that guild¡ Kody thought internally.
He looked behind him and saw Frida who was doing her absolute best to invoke the Space magic inside the [Scroll of Return]. From her looks, it seemed that it would still take some time before the magic wasplete.
That is to say, they had to fend off all of these monsters during this time. The absence of their guild master who would calmly assess the situation and give orders at this crucial time, became all the more apparent.
''No, we can''t lose hope now. Other than that Beast, all the other monsters are no threat. If I can just¡'' at that moment, an idea struck him. Kody nced at his teammates and tightly clenched the mallet in his hands.
The enemies that surrounded them, gave no time topose themselves and pounced at them. The warriors at the front, did their best to keep the droves of monsters away while the mages in the centre of the formation cast one spell after another to reduce the number of their enemies and lighten the burden on the frontline.
With just a single roar from the warhorse, the previously silent forest had be a chaotic mess with blood and magic flying everywhere. After descending neen floors, the Burning Arrows guild found themselves face to face with an entity they had no chance to win against.
Worse, their current situation was where it would not be surprising to see their whole guild get wiped out.
Why weren''t they calling upon the subsidiary team waiting for them on the floor above to help them? That is because there was no point in doing so, the beast had made it clear that be it one or hundreds of them, it made absolutely no difference.
The gap between their strength was just that big.
Frida who was channelling her mana onto the [Scroll of return] looked at the scene in consternation. The life of her guild mates, was a heavy thing to shoulder.
Chapter 323
From time to time, she could see some of them getting injured and falling on the ground before getting back up healed by the light kes dropping on their body. The only reason they could hold on for so long was because of Kody who used thest of his mana to create the [Purification] spell.
Where did it go all wrong? Did they underestimate the dungeon too much? An existence of that level would definitely raise the difficulty of the dungeon. The fact that the being might be an underling of the Demon Noble, weighed heavily on her mind.
Forget about the task assigned to them by the Adventurer Association''s branch, if they did not get out here, all of their life would very well be forfeited. After ke got defeated so easily, Frida could now clearly see it, the entity was ying with them and was not serious at all.
From the level it had reached, they might as well look like ants to it. A being of that level was the underling of the Demon Noble¡ then didn''t it mean that the Demon Noble residing here was even more powerful?
The moment she realised that, she felt her body getting cold. They had made a serious mistake of underestimating the dungeon, the potential of this dungeon was beyond her imagination and wasn''t something the likes of them could think about conquering.
Gritting her teeth, shepelled herself toplete the [Scroll of return] faster when from the corner of her eyes she saw Kody running out of the barrier and into the storm of enemies outside.
''What is he trying to do?'' Frida''s eyes went wide, the man was a [Priest], a ss just like the mage with more focus on Magic stat. The condition he was in, with his mana drained and without the help of his pendant, would make him unable to withstand an attack even from the weakest of monsters.
So what was such a man trying to aplish running out of the protection of his barrier. As her mind ran at full throttle trying to figure out what Kody was trying to do, the man in question raised his mallet squeezed out thest bits of mana remaining within him and cast a simple light magic.
The light magic was so weak that it seemed like it would dissipate at any moment. Kody smiled widely and sent the light spell that looked like a small orb of light flying towards the warhorse.
Everybody who witnessed this act of his, was stunned silent not knowing what to do; however, to their surprise when the light orb touched the entity, for the first time in a while, their enemy showed an aggravating look.
NEIIGGHHH¡ the angry shout of the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse rang out, even with its high defence that was unfazed by other magic, light magic managed to deal it some damage.
Kody smiled, called out his illusory wings and used his [Flight] skill to fly over in a different direction. Only now did everybody realise what he was trying to do.
''No¡'' Frida called out anxiously but she was in no position to go and chase after him. She knew that the action of her friend was unusual nevertheless, even she couldn''t have imagined that he would use himself as a bait to lure the enemy¡
FLAP¡ at this moment a loud sound of wings pping could be heard and the beast used its wide draconic wings to chase after Kody who had managed to hurt it.
Kody looked behind and to his delight, saw that his n had worked. His vision was bing blurry by the second and he felt a severe pain assault his head nheless, he still held on and continued to fly.
In a few minutes, Frida would be able toplete the spell and they all would be able to go back. Although they are surrounded by monsters all around and there might be some injuries, the Burning arrow guild isn''t something that can be done in so easily.
He looked behind and saw the beast following him, with the entity distracted, they would somehow be able to fend off the other monsters.
"That is good, this is how it should be. ke when you wake up, you would still be able to see your guild and all its members" he gulped down a vial of mana recovering potion and continued to fly around aimlessly.
From the moment he thought of this tactic, he had epted his fate. After being chased by a disaster ss beast like that, there was no way he would be able to get away from this alive. But that was fine, he had done his task as one of the three leaders of the guild and ensured its survival even at the cost of his life.
How long had passed? Kody couldn''t hear anything, the battlefield was too distant. His ears kept ringing and his health was quickly deteriorating but he kept on flying determined to buy as much time as he could for his guild.
Suddenly his vision went white and he felt his body crashing down. His body mmed and skidded on the ground heavily; however, his senses were so dull that he felt no pain.
THUD¡ lying on the ground motionlessly, he heard the sound of something elsending on the ground. Needlessly to say, it was the beast who had followed him.
With his fuzzy consciousness he heard it approaching him and just when he thought that he had epted his fate, he heard Frida''s courage filled and loud cry.
"Now!" the moment her voice sounded out, multiple rumbling noises sounded out and he felt somebody grabbing his body and taking him along with them.
With his blurry vision, Kody saw hisrades bombarding the beast with their spell and backing away immediately.
"Why?" he asked dryly.
There was no need for them toe back for him and take this risk, he had done all of this just so his teammates could get away from here safely. There is no point in him doing all of that if they put themselves in danger once again.
"You idiot, did you think we dly ept your actions and allow you to sacrifice yourself? Did you forget what kind of person our leader is? Even if he had toe back to the twentieth floor again, he would take your corpse back with him".
"If he was conscious right now, there was no way he would allow your sacrificial attempt to buy us time".
Frida replied, her tone a little angry, a little sad. Now that she had given up on using the Scroll of Return, their only option out of this was to use the stairs that led to the upper floor of the dungeon.
However, with all those monsters and the beast standing between them, it was unknown how many of them would survive.
NEEIIGGHH¡ the angry roar of the beast sounded out in the distance. The various monsters of this floor heeded its cry and became even more fierce. A dark dreary aura quickly filled the room dropping the temperature to the pits of hell.
Everybody could feel a shadow of death grip their hearts and made a run for the exit together. Casualties were bound to arise with the monster horde going berserk like that.
Battle bears, Stromwolves, Orcs threw themselves onto the adventurers without caring about death. Many adventurers were torn apart by the savage ws and teeth of the monsters, their cries of agony echoing across the floor.
There was no formation and the only thing everyone focused on right now was to make a beeline towards the exit. The Bloodthorn demonic warhorse watched all of these with cold eyes, its gaze fixated on the man who could use light magic among the bunch.
It was just about to unleash its true might and decimate all of them, when a cold energy shrouded its body and stopped it from doing so.
Frida who was carrying two people while flying towards the exit, looked behind her and frowned when she saw that the beast was not chasing after them. There was no way it had given up. When it released its might, she could clearly feel its anger, they were no match for it so why?
Frida shook her head and turned around to fly towards the exit as fast as she could. It didn''t matter why the entity was not moving from its ce, it was a good thing for them. When the exit was in sight, she handed the two unconscious bodies to her guildmates and took out her staff.
"Keep running, I have already contacted the subsidiary attack teams, they are on their way to aid us" After saying that, she started casting multiple me and earth magic and dropped it down on the chasing monsters.
With her magic as the backup, she stopped any further casualties from urring and hurried her teammates to keep on running.
With Kody down, the dark and dreary around swiftly spreading around every corner of this floor was too much for them and if they came in contact with it, they were sure to lose their mind and get mentally encroached upon once again.
Huge earth pirs, me arrows dropped down on the monsters killing and barring them from advancing further. Frida kept on casting until she found her mana running out and only stopped when she saw all of them had reached the stairs they used to enter this ce.
Just before exiting, she gazed at a certain part of the forest where the beast was standing and saw an illusory and beguiling figure appear next to it.
------
Seeing that all of them had left with some dying from the attacks of the beast, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse couldn''t help but ask.
"My Lady was it alright to leave them alive. That man is dangerous" the voice of the warhorse was deep and firm giving others an impression of a battle hardener warrior.
Chapter 324
Irene''s crystal blue eyes gazed at the retreating humans onest time before she shifted her eyes. She gently patted the warhorse beside her and smiled.
"It''s alright, showing them your presence is enough to buy us plenty of time. By the time your existence leaks out and powerful humanse flocking inside, the dungeon will be even more stronger. The third Guardian has already started moving, it won''t be long before our defences gets even more strengthened".
The Bloodthorn demonic warhorse nodded his head and asked "What about that man?".
Irene knew who he was talking about and exined "That human used Light magic, as a being with strong affiliation to dark attribute, no wonder you were damaged and feel a strong repulsion to it".
-----
It wouldn''t be long before the news that the Burning Arrows guild was destroyed on the twentieth floor and had to retreat with their tails behind their back, spread everywhere around the tower town and the city of Mountmend.
With few members returning and their guild master and Priest heavily injured, there was no way they could hide the evidence. At the same time, the news that the dungeon was unconquerable even by the number one guild around this part, would travel far and wide, attracting the attention of all the big guilds of this kingdom.
-----
Two days had already passed since Adalinda stormed out of his room saying that she would prepare something to capture her disciple. Simon who had nothing to do roamed the capital for the past few days.
During this time, he learned that the Serene Pce Auction was opening soon and that more and more people were flocking into the capital. The capital was bustling with hubbub and activity every day as the day of thepetition was approaching closer.
Hearing themotion outside his window, Simon got out of the inn and walked towards themercial district of the city. One of thergest and awe-inspiring building, was owned by the Serene pce merchant guild and used for holding auctions.
A huge crowd of people lined up against it trying to get inside. Today was the day when the auction was finally going to open and thanks to the approaching ''battle of the finest'' tournament, the things that would be auctioned off was bound to be precious and extraordinary items.
Not only ordinary people, but even those participants, powerful guilds and adventurers were guaranteed to be present. Simon who had nothing to do now that Adalinda went off on her own, decided to attend the auction.
Currently, he had donned a long robe and a hat to cover up his appearance. There were many entrances that one could use to get inside the auction; however, most of them required money or needed a special invitation or token from the merchant guild.
Guards donning the insignia of the Serene pce merchant guild maintained order around the ce. Of course, it was not just their presence but their weapons and stern gazes thatpelled people to do so.
Simon estimated that all of them were above level 200 with some of them even reaching level 300. A lineup like that was assigned as outer guards, the influence of the merchant guild could be seen just from that.
Theirwork and wealth were so wide that nobody wanted to offend them. Everyone that went inside the building, did so very calmly and politely. Simon didn''t line up where the ordinary people were queuing and instead took a different entrance.
That was because Cynthia had handed him the VIP token of their guild which allowed him to have certain privileges when entering any of their establishments. A guard near the entrance checked the token he passed and immediately double-checked it.
After checking the authenticity of the token, his attitude also became mellow as he respectfully bowed towards him. Simon was taken aback by the attitude shift of the guard.
He looked at the VIP token in his hands, Cynthia did tell him that this was a special token of their Merchant guild given only to a handful few. After the entered the building he was stopped by a prettydy with a charming smile standing beside the corridor to lead all the guests and see to their convenience.
When he passed her the VIP token he had, her eyes immediately became the size of the saucer. After giving him a polite bow, she led him up the stairs and into a room that had a clear wide view of the hall below where the auction would be taking ce.
The hall was very huge being able to amodate more than ten thousand people with rows of seats and gallery booked for VIPS. At the centre of the hall was an elevated stage and a basement connected to it.
"Esteemed guest, I will be waiting outside. Please call upon me if you need anything" right after saying that, the prettydy exited the room and closed the door.
Now left all alone inside this room, Simon saw people swarming inside the hall like ants. In a mere hour or so, the huge action hall was filled with ck bobbling heads of the crowd and various noises and hubbub started spreading from all directions.
Simon calmly sat in his room and closed his eyes, until every noise was blocked off by him. There was still some time until the auction starts. As people started filling up the seat and the noise was starting to reach its peak, when suddenly everything went silent.
This was because an aura so strong and wild that it intimidated everyone into silence entered the hall. A man wearing clean red robes, haughtily walked towards one of the VIP seating arrangements and flumped himself on the seat.
From his appearance, it seemed like he was around twenty five years old.
"Isn''t he the son of the guild master of savannah beast guild, Marcus?"
"He is¡ it seems like he wants to use this opportunity to buy something that might increase his strength in the tournament".
Simon opened his eyes and observed the man, from the hubbub around him, he knew that the man was named Marcus. However, what interested his eyes wasn''t the man or his powers but the guild he belonged to.
Savannah Beast Guild was one of the top five of this Kingdom much more powerful than any guild in Mountmend.
At this moment, Simon''s eyes was jolted to another surprise, a group of men hiding their faces with ck robes entered the ce and pushed back the wild aura Marcus had released. Leading the group was a tallnky man with an unhealthy face, he carried an old staff with him and wore a sly smile.
The moment they entered, the crowd started bing silent as hushed voices could be heard everywhere.
"The Kingdom of Ingolf are also here. It seems that they too are interested in the auction"
"That tall man who is walking forward, he is the crown prince of their Kingdom, Oman Dercis Ingolf".
During the past two days, when Simon was collecting information, he got to know that there had been some changes to the Tournament and that the surrounding Kingdoms were also participating in it.
It didn''te as a surprise to him that they were also participating in this auction. After all, the best items would always end up in the hands of the powerful and wealthy who might also be your opponent in the tournament.
The auction is the best opportunity to know your opponents and bar them from getting any items that might make them more powerful.
With only a few minutes remaining, the VIP rooms were getting filled up one after the other. Among them were some of the familiar faces like Duke Montford and Lucas who he travelled with on the Air Engine.
There was a representative from each of the top five guilds and other various guilds from different regions of the kingdom.
At this moment when the excitement of the auction had reached its peak, a beguiling woman with silky violet hair and wearing graceful purple clothes slowly walked up to one of the VIP rooms. Her beautiful skin and glossy lips mesmerised the crowd and her ample curves took away everyone''s attention.
The crowd immediately became silent as if a charm spell had been cast on them. The woman who just showed up, was none other than the mistress of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild and also the princess of this Kingdom.
All of the people seated inside the VIP room greeted her with their gaze or nod. She made herselffortable in her seat and indicated the auctioneer to start the event.
The old man on the podium bowed his head and enthusiastically started the auction.
"First of all, I thank everyone for attending this auction held by the merchant guild of ours. This old man is called Alfonso, pleased to make your acquaintance".
The old man carried a good-natured smile that could give anyone a good impression of him and had an aura that said that he was a master of his profession. The old man beheld the crowd before pping his hands once.
At that instant, several pretty girls walked up the stage with silver tes on their arms. In each of the silver tes was an item that was draped over by a red cloth.
The red cloth was made of a material that did not allow the aura from the item inside to leak out nor did it allow any prying attempt from others.
"I know what everyone is eagerly waiting for, so let us start this auction without wasting any more time".
Chapter 325
The old man nodded his head and the first girl removed the drape from the silver te in her hand.
OHHH~ a noise of exmation came from the crowd down below as they gazed at the item that marked the beginning of the auction. Lying on the silver te was a dagger less than fifteen-inch in size and made with a peculiar material that gave its de a crimson sheen.
"This item was found from a [C] tier dungeon and its name is [Rogue de]. A [C] tier item that further enhances your strength and bestows you with many powerful skills. Feel free to [Analyse] the item and see for yourself how good the weapon is. The starting bid for the item would be five hundred ckgold coins".
ckgold coins were more in cirction in their kingdom of Ellesmere than the higher denomination tinum coins. Thus, the auction mostly used ckgold coins to trade.
The result of the analysis wasn''t far away from what the old man said, the item was indeed a [C] tier item, Refinement rank 2 and gives +200 buff to your Agility and Endurance stats when equipping.
It also has quite a few skills like [Dagger Mastery], [Cutting enhancement], [Piercing enhancement], [Lethal Strike] and [Faint sh].
The crowd immediately became awed by the appearance of the dagger. This was the first item that went up for auction, one had to imagine what sorts of treasures were sitting around to be auctioned forter.
At the same time, some of them became disheartened by the astronomical price. There was no way they who had brought a limited sum of money, would be able to contest for it.
A fierce bidding war started for the [Rogue de], the bid started with 530 ckgold coins and immediately inclined up to 850 coins. Some of the people in the hall who were still bidding for the dagger when they heard a voicee from one of the VIP rooms on top.
"1200 ckgold coins".
The man who spoke out was the crown prince of Ingolf Kingdom, Oman. Hezily sat in his seat and took joy ncing at the unhappy faces of the crowd below.
Simon who was watching this scene from his own VIPpartment, closed his eyes. Although the dagger was not a bad weapon, it wasn''t something that he was interested in especially when he had the Crimson sword and the twin de with him.
Plus, dagger techniques were different from sword techniques and even their reach and way to use were different.
Perhaps because the people seated in the other VIP rooms were thinking on the same line or had their own agendas in mind nobody increased the bid after Oman and the item was sold to him.
Simon leaned against his chair and supported his head with his arms. He knew that the first few items would be appetizers to fill the hunger of the ordinary mass below, the true highlight would only appearter.
With hisidback attitude, Simon appeared to be enjoying a show as he saw one item after anothere up the stage and be fiercely bid for. During this period, he did not participate at all.
As time passed, the artifacts and items that were being auctioned, gradually started bing valuable and some of them even started holding his interest. For example, one of the artifact that just came up now, bestowed the wearer with a [Flight] skill.
Although the skill had a duration and a long cooldown time, it must be said that humans unless they reach a specific skill do not manifest a flight skill. Thus when the item came up, it stir quite a war between different parties, each eager to win the item no matter what.
Simon was a Demon Noble born with a pair of wings thus he had no interest in these items. Nheless, it was not like none of the items was able to catch his interest.
Satina''s earrings, an item that gave the user Wind resistance for a fixed period of time. There was an intense bid for this item before being auctioned to Lucas who had offered the highest bid for it.
As Simon was observing Lucas, the person in question seemed to detect something and hurriedly nced towards him. However, since Simon was covering even his appearance with a hat and a ck robe, Lucas wasn''t able to notice anything peculiar.
"The next item for sale is an old scroll containing spacews within it. But because it was recovered in an extremely rough condition, it was damaged and may or may not be able to work like usual. The tier of the item is [B] and the starting bid is 2000 ckgold coins, let the bidding begin".
The audience voiced out sounds of exmation when they heard it was a scroll that contained some kind of space magic within it; however, when they heard that it was damaged and might not work, they immediately lost their interest.
Space magic was one of the rare forms of magic even rarer than the Light and dark magic. There might be a few light magic users in their kingdom; however, they had no person capable of using space magic.
That was because to learn space magic, one needed a very high level of aptitude and talent. One had to be a genius at controlling mana and have a teacher who is willing to bestow his knowledge upon them.
,m That is why, there is no space magic user in their kingdom. A few seconds passed; nevertheless, there was none from the audience who wanted to bid for an old damaged scrol for that amount.
The old man auctioneer knitted his brows, he too knew that the item might not be bid for at all but because he couldn''t reject the supplier, he took his chances though it seemed that it was all for nought.
Just when it seemed that the item would go without getting any bid, "2000 ckgold coin" from inside one of the VIP rooms, came a voice.
The crowd was stunned for a moment, they couldn''t believe that there was someone from the VIP rooms foolish enough to go for a damaged scroll. In 99 % of the cases, a damaged scroll would always end up being a dud not to mention a space type scroll would cost a lot.
One had to know that a scroll type artefact engraved with a magic can only be used once before it gets destroyed. The old scroll for auction even though had the incredibly rare space magic, it can only be used once not to mention there is a high possibility that it might even not work.
No matter how they saw it, the item was not worth that amount of money. All the eyes turned towards the ck-robed man with a hat, the bid came from his room.
Cynthia who was observing the auction calmly, gazed at the ck-robed man. Her beautiful eyes lingered on him for a few seconds before she shifted them towards the auctioneer.
The old man getting the hint was just about to auction the scroll to him when an unexpected bid that came from another VIP room stopped him from doing so.
"2500 ckgold coins"
A cold mocking voice sounded out from the VIP room designated for the guests of Ingolf Kingdom. The one who spoke out was none other than Oman. He was lounging in his seat and had a yful smile on his face.
The crowd was thrown into surprise once again, there was someone who was willing to offer even more for something which did not have any value in their eyes.
Those with sharp eyes and intuitive ones could see that the crown prince of Ingolf Kingdom was deliberately making this harder for the person in the ck robe. Some looked at the scene with amused eyes, ready to see a good show.
Simon nced at Oman and narrowed his eyes. There was no way he would not understand the intention of the other party, they just wanted to make it difficult for him by increasing the price and making a counterbid.
"3000 Balckgold coins" Simon calmly raised his offer.
"3500" Immediately after which came the counter bid of Oman.
"4000"
"4500"
"5000" Simon narrowed his eyes and dered, his heart bing cold.
"5500" Sensing the atmosphere, Oman raised the price once again, a ruthless smile on his face.
"Your royal highness, it would be foolish to spend this much amount of money for a damaged scroll. Instead, we should save the money for the highlight of this auction, the Serene Pce Merchant guild is sure to bring out something good for this asion" an attendant behind him, suggested.
Oman red at the attendant before dismissing him with his words.
"You think I don''t know that idiot? I''m just livening up the atmosphere of this auction by providing everyone a good show".
He wasn''t interested in the thing anyway, he just wanted to goof around and make the other party look like a clown. With his identity as the crown prince of Ingolf Kingdom and his deep pockets he could easily achieve something like that.
"6000" When Simon raised the price once again, Oman snickered andzily yawned on his seat. His attitude seems to say that he was no longer interested in the item.
The auctioneer had a bright smile on his face as he observed the audience for any possible counterbid before tapping the hammer in his desk thrice and selling the item to Simon.
"Congrattion to this sir for buying a Gold Scroll for 6000 ckgold coins, truly an extraordinary treasure" as if to mock him for his idocy, Oman pped loudly from his VIP room.
Simon shed a smile from under his hat but his eyes were frigid cold. If not for the man, he would have been able to buy the scroll for 2000 ckgold coins.
Chapter 326
But now he was forced to spend 4000 coins more which was clearly too much for a damaged scroll. Although human money was just some numbers to a Demon viscount like him, it still didn''t mean that he was okay with how the other party had yed him.
If not for the fact that he was interested in learning space magic and that Irene who knows space magic, might be able to fix it, he wouldn''t have bothered spending so much money on it.
In the following turns, there were many good items that were auctioned but none managed to catch the interest of Simon as he simply became an observer. However, that did not mean that there was any less buyers, each and every item that came in the next rounds, evoked a fierce bidding battle amongst the audience.
"The next item we have here is something our merchant guild merchant guild personally got hold off and we can guarantee the power and toughness of it" the auctioneer hyped up the crowd with his words before bringing out something huge and heavy.
The moment the item came in front of the audience, a fiery heat enveloped the ce and everyone took hurried breaths of air. ced in front of them was a huge crimson hammer radiating intense heat and giving off a pressure that turned everyone silent.
When the item came up, Simon was momentarily surprised. The reason being that the weapon being auctioned was something that he had seen in the possession of the Brigand Master back at the northern ouw forest.
He who had exchanged blows with the Brigand master who was utilising the weapon, he knew how powerful the item was.
"Hoh" Oman arched his body and fixedly stared at the hammer which was like a wild beast ready to pounce and smite anyone.
"The name of the hammer is Crimson Warhammer and as you all can see it a [C] rank item. However, this hammer here is a cut above even amongst the rest of the [C] rank since it has been refined twice by our craft smith".
"It gives a marginal boost to your strength and endurance stats and alongside with the numerous skill it bestows, the hammer is sure to raise your powers to new heights. The starting bid for the item¡"
"7000 ckgold coins" Before the auctioneer could evenplete his sentence, the agitated voice of Oman sounded out. He had directly raised the price of the item to 7000 ckgold coins.
The crowd immediately became silent, 7000 ckgold coins was no means the best amount for the Crimson warhammer but because they were afraid of the identity of Oman, that they dare not bid against him.
Oman nced at the audience down below from his VIP room, his eyes threatening and his intentions clear. His attitude was clearly saying to everyone that this is my weapon, they should stay away from it if they knew what''s better for them.
"8000 ckgold coins" the silence didn''tst and was broken by another man sitting inside one of the VIP rooms.
"The weapon is well worth buying, my Savannah Beast Guild will also participate in this bid" Marcus who was keeping quiet all this time, finally spoke up. Although his words were neutral, everybody who heard that, could easily tell that he was indirectly jabbing at Oman.
After Marcus bid for the weapon, the representatives from other top five and renowned guilds across the kingdom also started to put forth their offers.
As the bid kept on rising higher, Oman grit his teeth and made an angry face. This was not the kingdom of Ingolf where he could assert his dominance. Although he could easily cower the ordinary popce, it was hard for him to try and suppress the top five guilds of the kingdom of Ellesmere with his influence alone.
While reluctant, he could only join the battle with his bids.
"12000 ck gold coins" Oman stated.
"12500" Marcus joined in.
When the price reached a whopping 14000 coins, it was finally won by Oman, though his face told that he did not look all that pleased.
Simon did not participate because he already had better weapons with him. The sessive items that came, were won over by Marcus, the representatives of the five guilds and Lucas who was apanied by Duke Montford.
"The next item is arge core stone that was recovered after ying a fierce beast that had transcended level 500, a Disaster ss so as to say".
One of the pretty girls behind him removed the embroidered cloth from the te she was holding and a sparkling sapphire gem that was bigger than one''s fist, came into view.
The moment the cloth was lifted off, everybody no matter where they were seated inside the auction, could hear a faint rumbling sound echo out in their ear.
WOAH¡ the noise immediately bbergasted the audience and they couldn''t help but give the sapphire core stone a deep look. To be able to resonate and hold the attribute of the beast it previously belonged to so well, it definitely was a high-grade core stone.
Expecting the kind of reaction from the crowd, the auctioneer gave a bright smile "Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe you already know but this item is something that is extremely desirable for lightning attribute mages. So without further ado, let''s start the auction¡ the initial bid for the stone is 2000 ckgold coin".
"Sigh it''s a pity that the core stone is a lightning attribute one, if it was a me attribute one, it would have strengthened my attacks even more" Lucas spoke regretfully after examining the core stone.
Duke Montford who was seated behind him, simrly made a remorseful face "Yeah, if we could get our hands on arge me attribute core stone, your chances in the uing tournament would significantly increase. It truly is a pity that the stone that came up was a lightning attribute one. Other than for a mage of the same element, it is basically useless for everyone else".
It was as he had said, although the lightning attribute core stone could be considered a good treasure, it was only a treasure for those who could utilise the same element. Lucas whose mastery lied in me magic, could only sigh in dejection.
"2000 ckgold coins" when the crowd was silently deciding whether they should buy the core stone or not, from one of the VIP rooms came a voice that was unhesitant on bidding for it.
"OH~" Omar turned his head and saw the ck-robed man donning a hat, bidding for an item once again. Immediately, his sour mood recovered and a mocking smile appeared on his face.
"2500"
There was no need to even ask who the voice belonged to, Simon turned and saw the smiling face of Oman. With a frustrated huff, Simon raised the price only for thetter to increase it once again.
The scuffle went on like that until the price reached 6000 ckgold coins which was clearly too much for an intermediate attribute core stone.
The crowd down below looked with pity at the ck-robed man since he had unwittingly attracted the attention of Oman.
Oman smiled derisively, with the way the other party was quickly increasing the price and seemed agitated whenever he increased the price, he inferred that the other party was a lightning attribute mage or was in a dire need of one.
How could he let such an obvious w pass by? Omar immediately raised his offer bringing the bid to a striking 7000 ckgold coins. The auctioneer on the stage, was having the time of his life as some of the items he hadn''t expected was going beyond their estimated price range.
Oman was waiting, the crowd was waiting for Simon to increase the price once again but when they heard no bide even after a while, they got curious and looked towards the VIPpartment only to see him himzily stretching his hands and feet while yawning. They immediately understood what had happened.
The crown prince of Ingolf was yed by this mysterious man, who got back at him for what he did previously.
Oman had an ugly face as if he had just swallowed a fly. He was not an idiot, he immediately knew that his attempts of ying with the other person had backfired. The ck-robed man had deliberately pretended to be interested in this item only toy a bait in which he splendidly got caught in.
"Your Highness¡" the attendant behind wanted to say something but when he saw the murderous face of Oman, he gulped down his words and backed off.
"Bastard¡" hostility overflowed from his eyes as he looked at the ck robed. Never in his life was he the one who was yed by others like that. He who was born with a golden spoon from birth, was always the one toying with others and did things that always benefitted him.
Even if they were scammed or cheated, nobody had the guts to say it out since he was the crown prince. However, this ce was not their kingdom of Ingolf and his authority did not reach this ce or else, with his personality there was no way he would take this lying down.
"Heh~ are there some people too afraid to bid higher or are they too poor I wonder" Omanmented trying to induce Simon into bidding once again.
However, the reply that he received, made his face green from the insult.
"Haa¡ 3000 ckgold coins is already enough for this intermediate tier core stone. Only an idiot would buy it for 7000 coins" Simon said scratching his ears.
The crowd was sent into aughter after those words, they who were unable to bear the overbearingness of Oman secretlyughed at his plight.
Chapter 327
The people sitting inside the VIP rooms smirked before looking towards the ck-robed man whose background was unknown to them.
"Okay¡ you will regret this" Oman mumbled some words, gritted his teeth and sat back down.
Since nobody was willing to increase the bid, the lightning attribute core stone went to the crown prince.
As one item after another went up for auction, the event soon neared its end and the things that were being sold became more and more valuable. And soon, the highlight of the event was brought up to the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I sincerely thank you for attending the auction on behalf of our Serene Pce Merchant guild and I hope to have the same cordial rtionship with you in the future too. For the Highlight of this auction, our guild had put quite some effort to acquire it. So without further ado let us present you the item".
The auctioneer this time presented the item and lifted the cloth. Seated on the golden te was a small crystal the size of an egg and shining with a pale green light.
The moment the item was brought up in front of numerous eyes, amotion immediately erupted. That was because the item in front of them was something they all had heard or seen.
"I guess you can already tell but this skill crystal is not of any ordinary grade and is of grade [3] which in itself makes it very rare and difficult to stumble upon. However, that is not all, when we found this crystal our expert [Analysed] it and found a powerful advanced tier storm magic sealed inside it. That is to say, when someone acquires it and if they have sufficient mana, they could unleash a devastating advance tier spell".
The audience sucked a deep breath of air after listening to the exnation, their gazes seemed to tell that they were in a state of disbelief. A grade [3] skill crystal was already very rare to chance upon but to also have a powerful spell of advance tier sealed into it, what kind of concept was that?
? The value of this skill crystal could only be imagined now. No wonder this was the highlight of this event as the item held far more worth than any other items auctioned in this event.
The crowd was thrown into disarray, an item like that appearing now could immediately upset the result of the uing tournament and those that came here seeking to increase their chances for the tournament wouldn''t let this chance slip by.
Duke Montford seated in his room with Lucas, shifted his gaze towards Cynthia at this moment.
"What is the princess thinking bringing such an item at this point in time? Wouldn''t it benefit the royal family more if she kept the item for the third prince?".
Lucas too thought over the issue and focused his gaze on the beauty releasing a tranquil presence.
A fierce bid like none other immediately started for the item when the starting price was dered. In just a few moments, the price was raised so high that the ordinary audience seated in the hall sucked a cold breath of air.
All of the top factions present in the auction, participated in it. Simon too was no exception; however, how could the money he got hold of, beapred to the years of fortune of these big factions? he had to soon give up his hopes of acquiring it.
It was also now that he realised the amount of money he got after selling the elixirs to Cynthia which he thought was a lot, was nothingpared to these giants with their deep pockets.
Although he got hold of a mountain of coins in the treasury after clearing the third trial, their values and denomination were different. if he wanted to use them in the kingdom of Ellesmere, he would have to first convert it.
ckgold coins might be a lot when buying ordinary things and stuff but when it came to buying treasures and artifacts, having tinum coins gave you much better chances.
After a heated war, the skill crystal was sold to a representative from the Sanguine empire who had offered an astonishing price of 400 tinum coins (100 ckgold coins= 1 tinum coin).
Although Simon was unable to participate in it, he had quite the joy watching the frustrated and regretful face of Oman.
Simon wasn''t the type of person who would provoke the other person first but if the other party thought that they could take advantage of him because of this, they were up for some rude awakening.
While it might be true that the other party was a crown prince of some kingdom, Simon too wasn''t just some ordinary person and was a Demon Viscount. As he gazed at the auction which had reached its peak, he stretched his body and propped himself up from his seat.
Although he was only able to buy a single damaged scroll, he who attended the auction only to pass time, was content with it. Just as he opened the door, he stumbled upon a pair of familiar faces.
"Hmm?" the moment he discovered them, he too was seen by them.
"This sir, do we know each other?" Duke Montford asked. The two familiar faces he mentioned, was none other than Duke Montford and Lucas who he had travelled with from Castledor City to here.
Simon shook his head and was just about to step away, when from the corner of his eyes he saw a group of people wearing ck clothes approach them.
"Well, Well¡ look who do we have here? Isn''t that the same person who had the galls to challenge me during the auction".
Of course, the man who was leading them was none other than Oman Dercis Ingolf.
Simon creased his brows and gazed coldly at the approaching men. Indeed, enemies are bound to meet on a narrow road.
"Oh, isn''t this Your Highness the crown prince of Ingolf Kingdom?" Duke Montford spoke.
An attendant behind Oman whispered some words into his ears "Hoh so you are Duke Montford¡ so that must mean he is¡" Oman shifted his gaze towards Lucas who was simrly observing the former.
"I''m Lucas ckwood, it''s a pleasure to meet you Your Highness" Lucas extended a handshake as a friendly gesture only to be given a cold shoulder in return.
"Hmph, it would be good for you if you gave up on any silly notions of winning the tournament. In any case, we shall meet during the tournament" Oman brushed past Lucas and stood before Simon who was donned in a ck robe.
"Good.. good, you seem to be quite the fearless man. But let me tell you this, do not think that you are safe just because you are within the confines of the city. Let me see how long you can keep up with this appearance of yours".
After saying whatever he wanted to, he leisurely strolled out of the exit of the building.
"This sir, you have incurred the ire of the man. If it would be good if you watch your back from now, do not just blindly rely on the security of the soldiers since they already have their hands full from the tournament".
As Simon was just about to walk away, Duke Montford reminded.
Simon nodded his head and walked out of the auction house. Now that he was somewhat familiar with theyout of the city, he wandered around the market beforeing to a sudden halt in between.
That was because he could feel multiple presences following and tracking him. Their aura was hidden; however, the open hostility that they disyed how could it go unnoticed by a demon viscount like him?
"Two..three.. No, a total of five people. From their familiar aura, it seems like they are theckey of that guy. So you can''t wait any longer to dispose of me huh" Simon''s cold eyes flickered with a crimson light.
From the way they tracked him from the auction house, it seemed that the goal of these people was to take him out in a secluded corner.
Simon fulfilled their wish and deliberately walked into a corner of the street that had very less people. Suddenly, he saw two shadows jump in front of him, his back was simrly blocked by two other people.
"Is thest person thinking of observing the situation? If so then¡" he closed his eyes and spread his senses all to find the position of thest person.
"Hehe, I thought it would be difficult to assassinate him with all the people around but who knew he himself would make our job easier," one of the men carrying a short sword said.
"Let''s not waste time and quickly finish him before the soldier arrives. We can''t afford to get ourselves captured here" the other man beside him hurried.
The four people nodded their heads simultaneously and pounced at Simon from all directions. However, before they coulde anywhere near him, a silent gale dense and incisive enough to even sever a thick tree in half, appeared around him and cut them in half.
There was no sound nothing as the gale cleanly bisected them in half. These people who were only around level 200 and whose stats were more focused on agility, were no match for his intermediate tier gale magic.
After his sessive level up in the trial grounds, he was now level 357 and added with the powerful stats of a Demon viscount, these ordinary goons were just like ants to him.
After the events in the trail ground where he found himself in a situation where his me magic was mostly useless, Simon started focusing on advancing his other attributes too and gale magic was one of them.
Chapter 328
He had been neglecting his gale magic because he was more fond of the destructive attributes but now that he knew how useful the other attributes can be in different situations, his thinking changed.
Because of his affinity with the gale magic, he was able to silently dispose of these goons without anyone noticing.
"Found you" Simon who had been keeping his eyes closed all this while, suddenly opened them and conjured a gale de that had enough mana imbued in it to be able to easily pierce a thick steel te.
The gale de that was half a meter long flew at an extreme speed on the rooftop of a nearby building.
THUK¡ a noise sounded out and a body with a huge gaping hole on its stomach fell down. Thest person who was tailing him, was sessfully dealt with before they even had the chance to run away.
After finishing off his pursuers, Simon burned their bodies with his me magic and hurriedly left the scene. Killing inside the city was prohibited and strictly dealt with when found. He had to get away from here before the soldier arrives and investigate the scene.
Fortunately, Simon was careful enough to bring these people to a secluded ce where nobody could see him.
-----
The time was of night, inside one of thevish buildings that was specifically booked for a group of people, Oman was seated on his couch listening to the report of his subordinate.
At this moment, his expression was extremely unsightly as he kicked the subordinate who hade up with the report.
"You people are all useless. There were six of you and you couldn''t even handle a single person. What''s the point of even keeping you around if you can''t even aplish a single task of mine?".
The subordinate writhed around the floor before mustering up his energy to speak in a faint tone "Your Highness, that person was extremely peculiar, his aura was bizarre and his strength was difficult to measure. He might have some skill like your Highness that blocked all attempts of analysis. Also¡ he could use multiple attributes of magic".
The people who went after Simon were not five but actually six, one of them was tasked with monitoring the situation from a distant ce and report everything back.
Oman had a pondering face just as he was about to say something, he felt a sudden presence from the balcony of his room and hurriedly dismissed the subordinate.
The beautiful moonlight of the moons hanging high up in the sky, cast a shadow on the being. Yes, the being who had entered Oman''s room was not human, it had a wide pair of bat-like wings, ring crimson eyes and jagged horns that protruded from his head.
The being was tall enough to dwarf most humans.
"You were listening to our conversation all along huh?" Oman said looking at the demon who had appeared in his ce at an unknown time.
Avrox smiled andzily lounged on the sofa, an eerie presence radiated off of him.
Seeing that the demon had no intention of answering his question, he brought out a different topic.
"Did my father inform you about the n?".
Avrox suddenly got up from his seat and approached Oman, he only stopped when he was a few inches away from him. The sharp ws of the Demon Earl threatened to tear apart the neck of thetter.
"It seems that you don''t know who you are talking to boy. Let me remind you of the hierarchy once again" his words just fell when Oman felt a strong clench in his neck and before he knew it, he was suspended in the air.
"Ugh" the crown prince struggled, his entire face was red but no matter what he did, he felt powerless in front of the being whose power was beyond his imagination.
"If you think a Demon Earl is the same as those Demon Baron subordinates that contacted you, then you are sorely mistaken. If I want to, I can decimate your entire capital in a single day and nothing can be more enjoyable for me than this".
"Me not doing so is simply because your father, the king of Ingolf kingdom and we Demon nobles are on the same side. If you understand that then be careful how you address me" Avrox whispered into thetter''s ear in a coarse husky voice.
BAM¡
Cough..cough¡ Oman was mmed into the ground and coughed repeatedly. Only after taking a few long breaths was he able topose himself. There was no longer any haughtiness in his behaviour nor was he acting like a prince anymore.
"Your Lordship" Oman after that experience, got on one knee and bowed.
Seemingly finding his current behaviour much more pleasant, Avrox smiled and nodded "That''s more like it, remember to address me like that from now on. As for the thing, WE agreed with your father, will be done. You just need to keep your end of the bargain. Oh right, here is a little present from our side, use it wisely".
Avrox tossed something towards Oman and was just about to leave through the balcony when his crimson eyes suddenly widened.
"Hmm? That''s weird this aura is not something that I recognise yet why does it feel so familiar?".
Seeing the demon earl who was about to leave, stop so suddenly made Oman anxious and he hurriedly asked "Is there something wrong your lordship?".
"Did you recently meet with someone?" Avrox questioned without turning around.
"Eh? Ah¡ if your lordship means those Demon Noble subordinates of yours then no. I was attending the auction before this" Oman replied after pondering for a while.
Avrox shed a wicked smile when he heard those words "Auction huh¡ interesting".
Right after he said that, his body was covered in a ck haze and the person disappeared just like he appeared.
Now left all alone, Oman punched the floor hard causing crisscrossing cracks to appear on it.
"Dammit" as he cursed, he looked at the item tossed by the Demon Noble and his eye immediately became wide.
-----
In another part of the city, located at the heart of themercial district was a huge building that out shadowed all the other ones around it whether it be in magnificence or importance.
ced in front of the building was a signboard that read Adventurer''s Association Main Branch. Inside one of the rooms of the building, was an old man seated at his desk glossing through a document.
Knock¡Knock¡ suddenly, the door was knocked and a beautiful girl probably in her twenties, came inside.
"Father you called me?".
The old man put down the documents and removed his sses before smiling adoringly towards his daughter.
"Can a father not see his daughter? Ah that''s right, now that you are engaged with that man, you don''t have any need for your father anymore is that right?" the old man teased.
"Father!" the girl shouted bashfully.
"Haha, this old man is just kidding. Indeed I called you Lisa" the old man picked up the document from his table and passed it to her.
"Here is the document pertaining to the thing you asked me to investigate. The messenger Krowl brought it just a few hours ago". Krooo¡ the old man caressed a bird that resembled an owl.
Lisa read the contents of the documents and her expression was immediately masked with surprise.
"You have already investigated that dungeon?".
"Yeah, it was a request from my darling daughter, how could I ignore it? I employed every means possible in my power as the Branch President of the Adventurer''s Association. However, even I was surprised by the contents of the message".
The old man looked wearingly at the ceiling and sighed:
"To be honest, when you said that demon helped you and your fianc¨¦, I couldn''t believe it so I used everything I had to investigate the case. The result I got was surprising to say no less".
"A Demon Noble helping humans, powerful subordinates and a dungeon that is rising in rank too fast. All of it sounds so absurd that I would discard it as some joke had it not been for the authenticity of the message".
Dungeon Name-Lace
Possible floors-Above twenty
Discoveries:-Disaster ss subordinates, Powerful monsters, Rich rewards, Dense mana
Exploration party-Burning Arrow guild
Average guild level-300,
Numbers-Upper 30
Exploring members:-ke Gunvald, Frida Braun, Kody Barton¡
Floors Explored-Twentieth floor
Exploration status-Failed (forced retreat), reason- appearance of disaster ss monster
Casualty-4 dead, 11 injured, guild master rendered unconscious,
Approximate threat level of the dungeon-Abvoe C or C+
Lisa had a serious expression on her face as she read the contents of the message. She who had experienced the dungeon first-hand and had seen the Demon noble and his subordinate with her own eyes, was not surprised by the result of the investigation.
Though the answer she wanted to know was still a mystery to her¡ why did the demon noble help them?
"Do you still resent them?" the old man asked.
"How can I not resent them who took all of it from me, my friends, my guild, even the condition Chuck is in currently is because of them. Do you think I can take this pathetic excuse that they escape?"
"Is the great name of Godwin just for show, a hoax only to scare the enemies? Wasn''t he at the city of Mountmend at that time? To think that he wouldn''t even be able to capture a single high ranking member of the Seven Swords Guild".
Lisa spoke in a dispirited but more so in a frustrated tone.
The branch president of the adventurer''s association looked at her and sighed.
Chapter 329
Indeed, after the event where most of the members of their branch guild were wiped out, the Sea God''s Trident retaliated against the Seven Swords Guild, the main perpetrator of the tragedy by sending their main members there.
However, for some reason before the members of the main guild arrived and even before Godwin got there, most of the high ranking members of that guild had escaped with just the ordinary members remaining.
Although their guild building was destroyed and their guild dissolved, for those that were directly rted to the event, it couldn''t be seen as a closure.
"My daughter, you know I can''t see you heartbroken like this. I have already discussed this with Duke Redcrest, he is doing his best to monitor the territory and find any clue rted to the escaped members of the Seven Swords Guild" the old man said consolingly.
After his daughter left the room, his doting eyes suddenly became sharp.
"It is too much of a coincidence, I can only think of someone tipping them about the movements of the Sea god''s guild before they arrived in Morgress¡ possibly an insider".
SIGH¡ he sighed once more and massaged his temple, there were too many things on his te right now.
-----
The morning of the next day Simon got out early from the inn and roamed the marketce. Today was the day when the coliseum would finally open and the excitement of the people was over the top.
Other than the stalls outside the arena, most other shops and establishment was closed, nobody wanted to miss the tournament. Lines of crowds could be seen near the coliseum that was located on the north side of the city.
The security around here was extremely tight with soldiers patrolling everywhere and the queue of people trying to get inside was so big that it was mindboggling.
Adalinda was yet toe back from her mission of capturing her disciple thus Simon was extremely free. Since there was nothing for him to do, he decided to attend the ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament and see what the hype was all about.
Plus it would be a lie if he said that he was not interested in the first price reward. The coliseum was extremely big,prising of more than ten percent of the entire north district. Hoards of people could be seen everywhere trying to get in.
There were numerous gates and soldiers standing in front checking the identity of the people and maintaining order. With the tournament about to start, the craziness and excitement of the people were on a different level.
Simon casually strolled towards one of the empty gates and passed the VIP token of the Serene pce merchant guild to the soldier. Cynthia had once told him that this VIP token would also work simrly like an identity card thus there was no problem for Simon to get in.
The soldier after checking the VIP token, respectfully invited him inside and requested him to go to the highest rows of seats reserved only for the most important guests.
On his way up, Simon felt many strong presences possibly from the participants of the tournament. After climbing up a flight of stairs anding out of a dark hallway, he was greeted by the magnificent scenery of the coliseum.
The gallery where the audience sat, was so big that it could easily fit more than a hundred thousand people. The coliseum had one main stage at the centre and thirty-six smaller stages all around. Each stage was around sixty meters while the main stage was more than three hundred meters long.
Currently, the audience seats down below were already packed with most of the poption of the city present to watch the show. On the top row which was reserved for important guests and participants, were ques in front of each seat indicating the group that was allotted to sit there.
Among the numerous ques, Simon found the one that belonged to the royal family of Ellesmere. Currently, the seats were empty with most of the participants yet to show up.
As time flowed by and it was high noon, powerful presences were starting to arrive and fill up those seats. Among them were some of the faces he had seen yesterday at the auction. Duke Montford along with Lucas who was currently donned in his battle garb from head to toe, were also seated in their seats.
At this moment when the hubbub of the audience reached its peak, a group of people as if prearranged, decided to walk in together. The moment they came in, all the people in the audience erupted in wild joy, their roar like thunder echoing across the entire coliseum.
The group of people who had received a warm wee, were all renowned people in their kingdom and most of the individuals living knew their names and their valour.
The Top Five guild of the Kingdom of Ellesmere had finally shown up.
"Hoho, so they are finally here. What a grand entrance" A chubby man with a protruding belly and who seemed to be a well off merchant, said. The man was seated with his otherpanions who seemed to be merchants too.
Since they were conversing not far from Simon, he could clearly hear them.
"Look at that, the guild masters of the top five guilds are walking side by side altogether. What a rare disy"
"Isn''t that Benny Beckerman, the guild master of the Sea God''s Trident? He has be even more ripped"
"Woah, Miss Karina Lowell is as hot as the rumour says. If I was a mage, I would have definitely joined her Magician''s Guild"
"Heh, the Beast Savannah Guild led by Sir Brutus Sarge is a haven for all the warriors seeking to make a name for themselves. I heard his son is also participating this time¡ Oh, speak of the devil, he is walking right behind his father".
From the hubbub of the people around him, Simon was able to know the identity of the people walking in.
The guild leader of the Sea God''s trident was a bald man with an extremely ripped body whereas, the guild master of the Magician''s guild was a charming woman with a well-defined figure.
The Savannah Beast Guild master, had a ferocious face and a built like a lion. Out of the two other people walking beside them, one of them was a short-statured man donned in a gaudy crimson robe and carried a staff much taller than him, the other was an ordinary man with nothing remarkable about him.
However, out of the five of them, he was the one with the most ability to control their presence. With all the five most renowned guild leaders of the kingdom walking in together, it was sure to attract all the eyes of the audience.
"Hehe, what a disy, to think that the renowned guild leader of all the top five guilds of this kingdom would make their appearance together, what a feast for the eye" a voice rang out followed by a group of people entering from a different entrance.
The people who just entered in, all had an emblem of a ck tree sewn in their garbs, from their attire; it could easily be attributed to them being from a different nation.
"So the Kingdom of ckthorn are here too. It seems that you have brought over quite promising individuals for the tournament" the guild master of the Magician''s Guild Karina Lowell said.
They exchanged a few pleasantries with many hidden meanings behind them before each taking their allotted seats. Each guild had brought a minimum of five participants with them who would bepeting in this tournament.
Soon after, the Kingdom of Ingolf also arrived and took their seats in front of the que reserved for them. With almost all of the participants and seats full, the crowd was waiting for that moment which soon arrived.
With the whistling sound of something piercing the air, a sword could be seen hanging high up in the sky. It levitated in the air and released a sharp piercing aura that stunned the audience into silence.
As the sword descended down, a silhouette could be seen standing on the sword. After a moment, the figure of the person finally came into everyone''s view. He was donned in a mythril armour that gave off a sturdy sheen and carried a sword that was hailed as the treasure of the kingdom.
"Sir Cyrus is here" the audience cried.
Cyrus slowlynded on the main stage and beheld the crowd, he then nodded his head and addressed all of them.
"I am the Royal Knight Captain tasked with the duty of protecting the king and the royal family, Cyrus Skyler. I am extremely pleased to meet all the heroes of the realm and the outstanding youths gathered here in one ce today".
"On behalf of the royal family, I along with a few subordinates of mine shall be the moderator of this tournament. However, before we start this magnificent tournament, let us all wee the special guest sent by the headquarters of the adventurers association, the royal family of Ellesmere and the Royal Court Magician of the sanguine empire".
As his words fell down on the audience which took their time to absorb it, a gathering of people riding a fierce Warhawk, descended from the sky andnded on the seats of honour.
"Ohh, look at that, that Warhawk is the guardian beast of the royal family. The rumours say that it is extremely powerful and can even go toe to toe against Cyrus".
Simon''s ears picked up a few details from the audience seated around him. He looked at the magnificent warhawk who stood fifteen meters in height and whose body radiated a powerful aura.
330 Chapter 330
What surprised him was the fact that his attempts at analysis was repeatedly blocked by the beast. If Adalinda was here, she would have been able to give him a detailed information with some words of condescension in the mix.
,m "Including the royal captain and the people who had just arrived, all of them possess a strong aura" Simon noted, the ce was filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons.
As he was observing the new entrants, he spotted two familiar faces within the group. One of them was Cynthia who stood prettily and whose appearance was enough to evoke a burning emotion within the hearts of all the men, the other was the guard captain, both of whom he was acquainted with.
After the new entrants took the seats of honour, Cyrus and the old man that seemed to be the king of this kingdom, exchanged knowing nces with each other.
"On behalf of everyone, it is my greatest honour to wee Sir Davis Hall, an officer of the Adventurer''s Association" Cyrus dered.
All the attention of the audience was now focused on a thin middle-aged man who had no remarkable features about him other than the luxurious suit he was wearing.
Davisughed and waved his hands for the crowd, his gesture evoked a huge roar and apuse from the crowd. The man was from the Adventurer''s Association, an organisation that was like a behemoth that had its foot all across the central continent.
Another reason for his warm wee was because the audience knew that the reward set for this year''spetition, was presented by this man. All the top guilds of the kingdom, foreign nations participating etc all of this was because of the reward this man had provided. How could the audience not show their appreciation?
"Ladies and gentlemen, let us start this event by revealing the rewards for this tournament". Cyrus''s words made everyone focus their gaze on him once again and listen earnestly.
Every decade, the prize for the tournament was different. This time though it was a little unique with the headquarters of the Adventurers Association providing the reward. Rumours was still rumours, the audience wanted to hear it with their own ears.
"The top ten participants will each receive hundred grade [2] mana crystals and three bronze grimoire. Third ce of the individual ranking of this ''Battle of the Finest''tournament will recieve ten grade [3] mana crystals, one Silver Grimore".
"Second ce in the individual ranking will receive refinement [5] [C] tier weapon Trembling Earth and one Gold grimoire¡"
As Cyrus said till here, the audience below was already filled with cries of shock, they couldn''t believe what they just heard.
The grade [3] mana crystals, refinement [5] tier [C] weapon, not to mention the gold grimoire were each objects that were difficult to obtain even when one had enormous wealth.
Grade [3] mana crystals were something that could only be found near an adult Mana Crystal tree which is very hard to find in the first ce because they only grow in ces abundant in mana. They contain the pure, unpolluted mystical energy.
A grade [3] mana crystal can raise a person''s level even if they were above level 400. It could be imagine how much allure it had for those who were stuck around this level for ages. Tens of them could be seen as an amazing reward.
As for the weapon, although a [C] tier was not extremely difficult to acquire, getting a master craftsman to refine it to refinement five was the difficult part. Professions such as alchemist and craftsmen is highly valued in the world of Althaea and only a Master Craftsman who is very rare to find even in their kingdom of Ellesmere, can refine a weapon to refinement five.
From this it could be seen how rare and valuable the weapon was, it would be surprising in itself if the crowd wasn''t surprised. Especially for the still budding heroes of the realm, these rewards are something that can drastically increase their power and raise their ceiling.
All of the participants present, including those from major guilds, were staring nkly as they imagined themselves winning the tournament and holding the rewards in their hands.
However, this dream of theirs was short-lived when they stared at the participants around them. Each decade the participants in the tournament would increase and winning it would be harder and harder.
This year though, because of the extremely lucrative rewards given by the headquarters of the Adventurer''s Association, the level of the participants had gone up marginally. It would be a steep dream for them if they thought that they could win this tournament easily.
The entire crowd intensely held their breath as they waited for the moment when the first price reward would be dered.
Feeling the anticipation of the crowd, Cyrus smiled and widened his hands in a grand fashion to dere the first price reward of this ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament that every people in this coliseum were eager to know.
"The First ce ranking for the ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament that is held in the capital city of Ellesmere every decade, will receive one grade [4] mana crystal, one [B] rank artefact and one tinum skill grimoire".
His words like thunder, reverberated at the still silent coliseum. There was no sound nothing for a few seconds as the crowd was busyprehending the lines of words the royal knight captain had just uttered.
WHOA¡ Soon after, like an erupting volcano, the audience stood up cheering, their mour like a hot oil on a pan, refused to cool down even after a while.
One Grade [4] mana crystals and One tinum grimoire¡ what kind of concept was that?
"Goodness gracious, I thought it was just an exaggeration, a rumour for the first price reward to be something so precious that it had never been offered in the history of the tournament. However, now that I hear it with my own ears, I cannot not believe it"
"Idiot, did you think the kingdom of ckthorn and Ingolf, not to mention the Sanguine Empire would participate in this tournament for nothing? Had it not been for the reason that they had their eyes on the first price reward from the start, they wouldn''t have bothered showing up. Even the royal family wouldn''t have put so much effort grooming their young generation for this tournament."
The group of merchants seated near Simon, discussed.
"A grade [4] mana crystal and a tinum grimoire. The Adventurers Association is really humongous titan far beyond the understanding of anyone to grant something so valuable so freely" Benny Beckerman, the guild master of the Sea God''s Trident said.
"A grade [4] mana crystal is something that has not appeared in the kingdom of Ellesmere for centuries. Every single grade [4] crystal is the condensation of an extreme amount of pure mystical energy capable of even raising the level of someone stuck in the level 500 barrier for years. Thus allowing them to reach a height far greater than what they thought was previously possible."
"Not to mention a tinum skill grimoire is even rare in that it can permanently grant a person rare or even a lost skill of Ancient tier or higher depending on thepetence and aptitude of the user" Karina Lowell remarked.
"Listen up Marcus, the reward as the informant told is something even your father wouldn''t dare use on himself. However, you are different and your limits are much higher than your father''s. That is to say, there is no candidate that I can think of who is better suited to use these items other than you. You must give it your 200% to win this tournament and get the first prize reward".
Brutus sarge, the guild master of the Savannah Beast Guild said looking at his son who was seated beside him on the seats booked for his guild.
Marcus nced at the main stage which was more than three hundred meters big, a fire zed in his eyes as he said.
"Don''t worry father, this son of yours won''t lose to anyone even if my opponents are from the top five guild, the royal family or the foreign nations. I will give more than my hundred percent in every match".
Hearing his deration, Brutus nodded.
At a nce, there were more than five thousand participants out of which all the dregs will be filtered out and only the best of the best would be allowed to stay and fight their way through the Battle royale round until the final winner is decided.
Sensing the excitement of the crowd reaching a boiling point, Cyrus waved his hand and dered the start of the tournament.
"This session''s ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament has a total of seven hundred and forty guilds and families participating each bringing maximum of seven of their best talents. Which makes up for an astounding five thousand and one hundred eighty participants".
"The age of every single participant must not be greater than fifty and their levels below two hundred. Failing to meet these conditions, the participants would be immediately kicked out. Now we will draw out the lots and check the strength of every participating individual through the help of this Perusal Mirror provided by the adventurer''s association. Those individuals whose name I call out,e to the stage for the assessment and lot drawing".
Perusal Mirror was a device that the whole audience was familiar with, it is something that urately esses a person''s Age, Name, Level, ss and their Talent.
Even if a person has a [Analysis] blocking skill, they still wouldn''t be able to fool an ancient device that had been in the care of the Adventurers association for eons.
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Strength Assessment Test, this process had always been an important step to filter out any dregs who refuse to follow the instruction till the bitter end.
"Lightning Shaper''s seven participants, pleasee to the stage"
The seven people participating from the side of Lightning shaper''s guild, immediately stood up from their seats and walked down a path of stairs to the main stage. Following which, they were told to put their palms on a smooth ck mirror.
After their results matched the criteria set for participating in this tournament, they were asked to draw a lot from a box kept near and returned to their seats.
"Sky shing de¡"
"Six River''s Streax"
"Tyrant Mountain¡"
Waves and waves of participants whose guilds were called out, came down to the stage for strength assessment and lot drawing. Unlike the previous tournaments where the quality of the participants would be a little low, this year''s tournament saw a drastic improvement in both the quality and quantity of the participants.
The people who were assessed were mostly around 40 years of age and their levels were above 250. Though very rare, there would be sometimes people below 40 years of age and above level 300.
As for someone below thirty years of age, there was none yet.
The result of the perusal mirror was also disyed to the audience so that they could enjoy this moment of excitement and tension.
While the participant''s level and age were the criteria for participating in the tournament, what the people really had their eyes on was the Participant''s potential and their ss.
Even apletely talentless person could be groomed to have a level above 200 if one had immense wealth to buy the resources needed to level up. However, it is all useless if the potential of the person is not high since they would be meeting a ceiling they can''t break this way.
Simrly, a ss represents one''s strength, it was directly rted to one''s ability and power. If their ss was toomon, they wouldn''t be able to rise high in the rankings. What they were expecting to see was not low or medium potential or amon ss but high potential with a rare ss for their future heroes of the realm.
However, it did not mean that one could neglect their levels, a perfect mixture of potential, ss age and level was necessary to win this tournament.
Groups after groups of participants came down to assess their strength, those who did not meet the criteria was immediately kicked amidst the jeer andughter of the crowd.
Before long, half of the participants have already been essed but none of them had a high potential. Moreover, 70% of these participant''s strength was centralised around level 250 all withmon warrior ss and low potential.
Those with medium potential and above level 300, were far and few between. A person below age 40, with a medium potential and above level 300 would already be considered a genius in any guild or even in the capital city.
However, because of the standard of this year''s tournament that had risen too drastically, the current results of the participants appeared too normal. In previous tournaments, these results could already be considered very decent and worthy of a high ranking; however now they looked all too mediocre.
"Castledor City, Adventurer''s association branch, one participant... Lucas ckwood" the moment the name Castledor city was announced, the entire audience abruptly became quiet.
Castledor city was the territory of one of the four Dukes of their kingdom and was rather well known across all the regions. Its governor, Duke Montford was also a renowned person liked by the masses.
In fact, many people who lived in the distant north-western region, also came here to watch the tournament. For one of the four dukes to endorse a person, how could that individual be ordinary?
A young man wearing fiery red robes, walked down the stairs and entered the main stage. With the way he carried himself and the inborn noble aura that he exuded, told others that he was unlike any other participant who hade down to the stage before him.
Name- Lucas ckwood, Age- 38, ss- Pyroblitz Magus, Level- 400, Potential- High.
The moment the result was shown to the audience, a burst of exmation came from their mouths and their eyes widened to their limits. Those participants and geniuses of their guilds that havee before him or are yet to show up, felt a great challenge from his result and couldn''t help but be dispirited after realising the difference between them.
Finally, there was someone whose potential, ss and age was in the realm of the heroes. Lucas ckwood, someone who came from the remote north-western region and whose results shocked the entire audience.
During this entire process, Lucas was extremely calm as he drew his lot and silently returned to his seat. With Lucas''s result as the start, more and more geniuses of the prominent guilds across the kingdom, came down to the main stage to be assessed by the perusal mirror.
Although there were some promising results with a few having a rare ss, none of them managed to surpass the record set by Lucas.
"Crimson Demolition Guild''s Seven Participants, pleasee down"
Finally, the moment that everybody was waiting for, the top five guilds that inspired awe and reverence from the masses, finally began to enter the stage.
Seven participating members from the Crimson Demolition Guild, walked out from the seating area they were allotted to and in front of the eager eyes of the audience, took the assessment.
Name- Kenan Lantz, Age- 45, ss- Arch Wizard, Level- 393, Potential- Medium.
Name- Jason Lantz, Age- 42¡ Potential- Medium.
While it cannot be said that their results were bad, it did not live up to the expectations the audience had for them who were from one of the top five guilds.
The seven participants from the Crimson demolition guild assessed themselves one after the other and when it was time for the youngest two amidst the group to assess themselves, the result they got finally evoked some exmations from the crowd.
Name- Tyler Rees, Age- 30, ss- Berserker, Level- 390, Potential- High..
Name- Conor Rees, Age- 30, ss- Battle Spellcaster, Level- 391, Potential- High.
The entire audience was pleasantly stunned by the result, one of the top five guilds indeed lived up to its reputation, it not only produced one but two members with High potential. Five members with medium potential and two with high, not only that, they also had a few with rare sses.
The geniuses from other big guilds looked at this awe-inspiring line-up and couldn''t help but feel shocked in their hearts. They who had heard about the reputation of the top five guild, had with their own eyes witnessed the dreadfulness of the top five guilds.
The seven participants from the Crimson demolition guild did not seem surprised by the audience''s reaction and smiled in content after looking at the result shown in the perusal mirror.
After the Crimson demolition guild, the members of the Assassin''s guild also went down to the stage. The name top five wasn''t just for show, the quality of their participating members weren''t any inferior, each and every one of them had decent talents with some genius in the mix.
After the Assassin''s Guild, it was Magician''s Guild''s turn.
Karina who was calmly seated on her seat, shed a mysterious smile towards the seating area where the Guild master of Sea God''s trident and Savannah Beast guild were.
"Hallie it''s your turn now, make our guild proud".
The girl seated beside her nodded her head. She had a beautifulplexion that could enrapture any man, smooth ck hair that was tied with a silk ribbon and a lithe body that made her seem just like a fairy.
She wore icy blue clothes that entuated her figure and had a pretty strap tied to her mesmerising waist. Looking at her from afar, she radiated a charming and proud aura that was detached from this world.
"Magician''s Guild three participants pleasee down"
The moment Cyrus called out the name of the guild, all eyes were focused on the seating area where the Magician''s guild was. That was because, amongst the top five guilds, only the magician guild sent the least number of participants.
Not only that, when the Magician guild recruits, they have a strict restriction of only taking female mages whose aptitude and talent are very high. At the same time, each and every member of the Magician''s guild were extremely pretty.
Karina the current guild master of the magician''s guild for example held the hearts of many reputed nobles and guild masters from the various regions of the kingdom.
Three girls with an ethereal appearance, descended the stairs and arrived onto the main stage.
The young geniuses from the various guilds who had never seen such temperate beauties and had spent most of their time and hour training, doingmissions and diving into dungeons, how could they keep theirposure? The moment they saw them appear, they were instantly smitten.
Name- Tiana Lowe, Age- 29, ss- Great Magus, Level- 395, Potential- High¡
Name- Anna White, Age- 29, ss- Arch Wizard, Level- 394, Potential- High.
The first two females to ess themselves got a result that silenced the audience, the strict requirements they heard for getting into the Magician''s guild, was not for show indeed. Although they had the least number of participants, the quality of each of their members was not inferior to any guild''s top tier talent.
"That Karina¡ she indeed has eyes for diamond in the rough" Benny Belcrow said ncing at thest girl that was yet to assess herself.
"Sadfully, this year we do not have as good of a talent like her. If she is allowed to grow, she might take her guild to new heights in the future".
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On the seating area of the Savannah beast guild, Brutus patted his son and smiled fiercely.
"Son, wouldn''t you say the tournament is extremely boring if there is no challenge? This event is getting more and more fun".
Like father like son, Marcus too smiled fiercely and looked ready for a challenge. On the main stage, Cyrus who was the moderator for the event, noted the power levels of each girl. His gaze thennded on thest girl and his eyebrows arched for a minuscule of a second.
"Karina Lowell¡ you really did bring out a monster this time. It seems like the third prince can''t just keep his eyes only on the sanguine empire" he thought internally.
Everyone''s eyesnded on thest girl who was yet to take the assessment for the Perusal Mirror. As they patiently waited for her result, it was soon disyed in the mirror.
Name- Hallie May, Age- 22, ss- Blizzard Magus, level- 400, Potential- Very High.
At that moment, the entire crowd was stunned silent for a couple of seconds before a huge mour erupted from every corner of the coliseum.
The King of Ellesmere, Henry ric Ellesmere got up from his seat and intensely observed the results written on the perusal mirror before sighing heavily. A 24 years old level 400 mage with a very rare ss and a potential that outssed all the other participants before her.
It would be not an exaggeration to say that she is one of the top ss contenders for this tournament. A boy calmly seated beside him also looked at the results disyed on the perusal mirror, a hard to describe emotions shed in his eyes.
The guild master of the Crimson demolition Guild and Assassin''s guild looked at the girl, unable to keep their calm.
"Where did the girle from, why was it that we never heard her name?" simr thoughts floated in their mind, their eyes inadvertently shifted to Karina. The woman must have done everything in her power to keep any information about the girl in tight check.
A very high potential, this was the first time someone was assessed like that by the perusal mirror. None of the participants from the top five guilds that came before her, were able to get such a score.
Simon who was calmly seated in his seat, was also a little surprised. Compared to the ones he had fought up until now, the people who came with the desire to win the tournament, were clearly in a different realm, even the aura they naturally released was much stronger.
Their age was young and their potential and high level made it so that the ceiling they could reach in the future was also higher.
After the Magician''s guild, it was time for the guild that everybody had their eyes on, the Sea God''s trident. Standing up to its name, three out of the seven participants it sent, had rare sses and high potential with age below 40 and levels above 390.
There was only a single person below age thirty amongst them. While the result may be better than the other top five guilds,pared to the girl from the magician''s guild, it was a littlecklustre.
However, even then nobody dared to underestimate the guild which had produced the unprecedented genius Godwin during thest tournament. It must be said that the training and experience the guild provides for its members was truly exceptional. If one underestimated a participant from this guild, they were sure to have the rug pulled out from beneath their feet
"Savannah Beast guild, seven participants pleasee down"
After the Sea God''s trident, it was time for thest of the remaining top five guilds to assess themselves.
"So the rumours were indeed true, he really is participating" such murmurs and cries rang out across the whole coliseum. All of the crowd had their eyes on the seven people descending onto the main stage or more exactly the person leading the group.
Since the guild master Brutus sarge did not bother to keep this a secret, the whole audience was aware that his son Marcus Sarge was also participating in this year''s ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament.
The participant that everyone had their eyes on, ced his hands on the mirror.
Name- Marcus Sarge, Age- 23, ss- Beast Warmaster, Level- 402, Potential- Very High.
WOAHHH¡ the audience erupted in a huge mour of awe, every lips had the words ''As expected of the son of the guild master of Beast Savannah guild''.
The crowd was no doubt surprised but even the guild masters of other various guilds and factions were too. The royal family and the delegates of the foreign nation had a shocked look in their eyes as they observed the young man whose aura seemed wild and rampant like that of a beast remove his hand from the mirror.
He was one year older than the girl from the magician''s guild but his level was more than her and he was simrly assessed by the perusal mirror to have very high potential.
Karina''s crescent eyebrows arched a little, she had long heard that Brutus''s child was a genius and had a talent that was greater than his father; however, even she didn''t expect him to have a very high potential not to mention breach level 400.
It must be mentioned that each hundred level was a barrier that was as difficult as ascending a mountain. The difficulty increases the higher the level one reaches. Innumerous geniuses who think they are better than the others, get stuck in such barrier for years or even decades unable to proceed even a little.
For someone to breach that barrier at such a young age, they could only be considered as the top tier talent, a genius amongst geniuses. However, one cannot just simply attain such a level, from this result it could be seen how much effort Marcus and the guild behind him had put throughout the years.
Cyrus on the main stage smiled wryly, he thought that the greatest challenge for the royal family woulde from the side of Sanguine Empire and the other foreign nations never did he think that the top five guilds would produce more monsters like Godwin, making it more difficult for the third prince.
"There is no way of telling which way the tournament might go this time".
The remaining participants were assessed with medium with only one high potential. However, it was hard for that person to gain attention after Marcus''s extraordinary result.
"As everybody knows, this year''s Battle of the Finest tournament is different from the ones held before. Participating in this tournament would not only be the guilds from our kingdom, but also the delegates from our surrounding nations. We believe that this event will foster better rtionship and cooperation between our nations and also lead to continuing peace".
Cyrus spoke what he was told to say to make the audience see the participation of other nations favourably.
''Sigh, I feel for his majesty. Politics is indeedplex'' he thought internally.
"With that, I request the Kingdom of ckthorn''s four participants toe down to assess themselves and draw lots".
"Hehe, it seems it''s finally our turn" a man with a long ck hair tied into a ponytail, walked down to the stage along with three other people wearing an insignia of a ck tree on their clothes.
Name- Ivan Mavis ckthorn, Age- 47, ss- Battle Knight, Level- 400, potential- High.
A few perceptive people in the audience, immediately narrowed their eyes when they saw the surname ckthorn disyed alongside his name. that was the name that the royal family of the Kingdom of ckthorn carried.
A foreign prince participating in the tournament, how could it go unnoticed by all of them? But since the person himself had kept his identity quiet from the moment he came to their capital city Ellesmere, they did not disclose his identity and simply kept quiet.
Cyrus nced at the audience stands where the royal family was seated. Seeing the king nod his head, then only did he proceed with the other participants.
The results of Ivan from the kingdom of ckthorn was astonishing, but not as shocking as the results of Hallie May and Marcus Sarge from the top five guilds. Aside from Ivan, the results of the other participants from the kingdom of ckthorn didn''t seem all that dazzling.
Although it might appear so to the normal masses, observant ones could see that the levels of all the participants from the kingdom of ckthorn on average was higher than any other individual faction.
"Kingdom of Ingolf''s sole participant, pleasee down¡"
After the kingdom of ckthorn, it was the Kingdom of Ingolf''s turn to send their participants. Hearing that they only sent one participant, the crowd became ck-jawed. Many spections flew around as to why the kingdom of Ingolf only sent one person to participate in the tournament.
''Are they so confident of their victory that they only sent a single person?'' even the guild master of the top five guilds were having such thoughts.
There was no need to beat around the bush, all those words said by Cyrus about how the tournament would help increase cooperation and friendly ties with the surrounding nations was all bullshit.
The only reason the other nations wanted to participate in this years tournament was solely because of the dazzling rewards presented by the headquarters of the Adventurer''s association.
That being said, if their goal was to win the rewards through the tournament, why would they send only one participant¡ unless they have absolute faith that he would win.
Lazing in the seating area reserved for their kingdom, Oman gave a wide smile.
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"Finally, I was kind of getting bored from all the wait" Oman turned towards the person behind him and said, "Go on, it''s your turn. Show them what you have gone through all these years".
The person beside him was donned in a ck robe from head to toe, nodded his head and walked towards the main stage.
Name- Graydon Brown, Age- 35, ss- Tainted Knight, Level- 401, Potential- Medium.
The audience gasped, this time the reaction they had was different than all the other times. Instead of getting surprised by the result, they were more surprised by the fact that the kingdom of ckthorn decided to send a single person with medium potential to participate in the tournament.
While it is true that his level was high, that was all there is to it. Cyrus nced at the person once before shifting his gaze, there was no way of telling what the other nation was thinking hence it was useless to mull over it.
Taking a deep breath, Cyrus next gazed at the stands where the delegates from the Sanguine Empire were seated. He was just about to call their participants on the stage when he saw Vouves, the Royal Court Magician, stand up and cup his hands.
"This old man is extremely regretful to ask such a bizarre favour, but would it be alright for the participants from the royal family to go first since one of our participants is runningte. It seems that this old man has failed to properly educate that child, I request his majesty to overlook it this once".
The King of the Kingdom of Ellesmere, Henry ric Ellesmere was silent for some time before nodding his head. He could see that one of their participants was indeed missing plus, he cannot not give face to a Ranker whose power and authority, probably even surpassed him as a king of a low tier country.
With the approval of the king, Cyrus moved on to the participants of the royal family from their very own Kingdom.
"Four participants from the side of the royal family, pleasee down to the stage".
"Father, I''m going" a young man wearing white clothes embroidered with red lining, said.
The king nodded before reminding in a subtle tone "Remember, do what you can, no need to push yourself too hard".
Cynthia wished him luck while Alstin patted his back. The young man nodded and headed down towards the stage along with three other participants. As he stepped down the stairs and reached the stage, all eyes were focused on him.
The entire coliseum was so silent that it felt like the crowd was waiting for this very moment. If Hallie May and Marcus Sarge represented the top five guilds of their kingdom, then the young man on the stage currently represented the kingdom and the royal family that ruled it.
There was no way they wouldn''t be excited to know the results of the person the royal family regarded as their greatest genius. The various guild master had their eyes on him too, whether the royal family could achieve victory in this tournament or not, depended on the shoulder of this very person.
TAK...TAK...TAK¡
A boy hurriedly ran up the stairs, his mouth was continuously mumbling and huffing "This bad¡ this is bad, I''mte".
He wore ck clothes that looked like a uniform, a navy hat on his head and carried a rapier strapped to his waist. At this moment his clothes were messy and his hair dishevelled.
"Haa¡ haa¡ I can''t believe I got lost again".
The person was none other than Denzel who got teleported along with Simon and Lucine to the forbidden trial grounds. Currently, he was running up a flight of stairs in a hurry.
After following the direction the soldier had told him, he finally reached the VIP rows and came out just in time to see the gallery erupting in a huge mour that overwhelmed every other sound in the coliseum.
Denzel was stunned, he wondered what was going on when, a voice mixed with concern and fury, rang beside him.
"You Brat¡ you are finally here. Do you know how much inconvenience you have caused me? Look how Iin to Cedrick after we go back" Vouves got up from his seat and approached him.
Having nothing to say in return, Denzel could only helplessly scratch his hair. After he was pulled along to his seat, he looked at the odd expression of the crowd before asking a question.
"What happened here, they all look like they have seen a ghost?".
Vouves smiled and pointed his finger at the main stage, more specifically at the young man standing gantly on the stage.
"Hoho, what a surprise. It seems the Royal family of Ellesmere spared no efforts nurturing this child" he caressed his beard and light-heartedlymented.
The girl seated beside him, Alice also nodded. Seeing his sister agree too, he observed the young man and his gaze finallynded on the perusal mirror on the stage.
Name- Erwin Curtis Ellesmere, Age- 20, ss- Arcane Spellcaster, Level- 407, Potential- Very High.
There was no way he wouldn''t know what the mirror was, thus he immediately knew what was going on.
"What do you think?" Vouves asked vaguely.
"I can''t wait to battle him" the reply he got was more enthusiastic than he expected.
The audience was reeling in shock after the mind-boggling results from their third prince. They who thought that Marcus''s result was already the greatest for this year''s tournament were given a pleasant surprise.
''No wonder he was hailed as the greatest genius of the Ellesmere family, to achieve such a height in the mere age of twenty, his achievement might not be lower than Godwin'' Benny Beckerman thought.
Cyrus who had personally mentored the young man, nodded his head at his achievement.
''Looks like training in the Chamber of Guidance for the past couple of weeks have benefitted you immensely. With your result I believe his majesty can put down some of his worries'' he thought internally and nced towards the king whose mood seemed to be much more rxed now.
Why would he not? His son had achieved a result that outshined all the other geniuses of his age group, an aplishment that was worthy of praise. The other participants from the royal family were equally matched with the rest of the geniuses of the top five guilds.
"It looks like the third prize would win this tournament, the first prize reward would be won by the royal family it seems" one of the spectatorsmented.
"That is not guaranteed, Marcus and Hallie May are also there. Although their levels are lower than the third prince, one must also look at their abilities, background and the experience they have gone through up until now. Nothing can be decided yet"
"You are right, it looks like these three would be the top contenders for the First, Second and Third prize for the Battle of the Finest'' tournament this time¡ haha".
The audience discussed pleased with the result of the new generation of heroes. Now that all of the teams were done drawing lots, they could move on to the next stage, the battle royale or so they thought.
However, Cyrus reminded them that there was still one team that was yet to go down the stage and assess themselves.
''The greatest challenge for the third prince might very well be him'' Cyrus nced at the audience seat and saw that the delegates from the Sanguine Empire were all seated in their seats. His gaze especially focused on the young boy whose age seemed to be less than their prince Erwin.
Seeing that their participants were ready, he called them onto the stage.
"Sanguine Empire''s two participants¡".
A boy and a girl wearing a back uniform mixed with some red, walked down to the main stage and ced their hands on the mirror in front of the eager eyes of the audience who wished for the first round of the tournament to start.
Name- Alice Alma Sanguine, Age- 16, ss- Multicast Spellcaster, Level- 400, Potential- Very High.
At that moment, the eager crowd was stunned; a girl whose age was even younger than thatss from Magician''s guild, attained a result that was no less than her.
However, before the shock from the result could register in their brains, another blow that shattered their previous preconception was shown to every eyes present in the coliseum.
While the crowd was befuddled as to how to react, Alice smiled brightly and congratted Denzel.
"Congrattions big brother, you have be even more stronger. Uncle Cedrick will really be delighted".
"Haha" Denzel smiled bashfully, the next second though his face was clouded by some emotion she had never seen on him before.
After cing their hands on the mirror, the duo calmly drew their lots and walked back to their seats. Without any care for the audience whose faces were masked with utter disbelief, they returned to Vouves'' side.
The royal court magician calmly weed them, his unfazed attitude seemed to say that this was all expected.
Back on the main stage, a few lines of words were written in the perusal mirror.
Name- Denzel Caius Sanguine, Age- 17, ss- Hellreaver, Level- 420, Potential- EX.
The first person with a potential that was measured as Exceptional (EX) even by the standards of the perusal mirror had appeared in the strength assessment stage.
Moreover, this was the second time in the history of the entire ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament, that someone got assessed with an EX (Exceptional) potential, precedented only by Godwin. Other than his potential, his level was also the highest amongst all the participating members of this tournament making it clear cut who was the real genius.
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Denzel''s result was just like a bomb exploding in the eyes and hearts of all the participants, causing them to bepletely stunned. His level and potential was something they could never begin toprehend.
To them, it felt like they were suddenly doused in a bucket of cold water and they felt all the hair on their body stand on end. It was not only for the participants, even the guild master of various guilds and faction, felt the same.
They couldn''t understand how the boy was trained to be able to reach such a high realm at the tender age of just 17 years. The name the boy carried, Sanguine was finally carved onto the hearts of each and every member of the crowd.
Why the Sanguine Empire was a mid-tier nation was disyed in front of all the eyes. To be able to raise such a monster, no wonder they were much more stronger than their kingdom of Ellesmere.
Level 420, wasn''t something that one could underestimate. In their kingdom of Ellesemere, there were countless people above level 300; However, those who actually breached level 400, did not even make a hundredth of that number. In their kingdom, one could be considered a true elite if they breached level 400.
From this, one could see how difficult it was to reach such a level not to mention at such a young age. This made one wonder how high the boy would reach in the future if he continued to put effort like that.
Perhaps, the only one to not be surprised amongst the crowd would be Simon who had already met the boy before and knew how powerful he was. Seeing his results, Simon couldn''t help but sh a wicked smile.
His suspicions were correct; the boy was indeed above level 400 and possessed a rare ss and talent. However, even he didn''t know that the boy was a foreign delegate from the Sanguine Empire who came to participate in this tournament.
"It is boring if victory is already guaranteed to you, a true victory only tastes better when there is a true challenge in front of you. Who can be a better opponent for you on your path to victory than that prince? Ain''t I right son?" Brutus said as he patte the shoulder of his son.
Amongst the few participants who weren''t daunted by Denzel''s result, Marcus was one of them. He gave a wild smile and nodded at the words of his father.
In contrast to the astonishment of the crowd, the surprise in the eyes of the top five guild leaders onlysted for a few moments before they calmed down. To them, this result was notpletely uneptable, there was no particr reason for that, it was just because he was from Sanguine Empire.
"Erwin, the look on your face seems to say that you have already epted your defeat. While it is true that levels matter a lot, in a battle it is not the only thing that can solely determine an oue. If you believe you have lost even before the battle began, you wouldn''t be able to win against himter on".
Erwin who was lost in his thoughts while looking down at the ground, opened his eyes wide at those words of his father.
"You are the greatest genius of our family, have faith in yourself some more".
After the shock from Denzel''s result subside a little, a new wildfire begin to rise within the crowd as they eagerly waited for the first round of group battles to begin.
"With every participant taking their lots, we will now move onto the first round of the tournament, the ''Battle Royale''. The format of the round is extremely simple, you just have to defeat five enemies from your group to advance to the next stage".
"If you push them out of bounds, it will be considered your victory. Of course, killing someone or dealing a death blow is not allowed. Any person that is found viting this rule would be eliminated immediately and dealt ordingly".
"Within a group, an average of sixty participants would bepeting for the spots to the next stage. There are a total of 85 groups who will bepeting in the thirty-six secondary stages in turns. The winners from each group will then bepeting in the next stage of the tournament. That''s is all, let us begin thispetition".
With Cyrus''s loud deration, the ''first stage of the ''battle of the finest'' tournament finally began. The first thirty-six groups of participants jumped down onto the secondary stages and the battle Royale finallymenced.
All you needed to do was defeat five opponents, the instructions sounded fairly simple however, one needed to also keep in mind the diverse strength of the crowd. There were people above level 300 while there were also people below level 300, that is to say, it would be an easy victory if they just went after the weaker ones.
Simrly, they were bound to be defeated if a strong opponent set their sights on them. The strong ones would prevail and the weak would be trampled upon, there was all there is to it.
As the audience watched on, it didn''t take long for those participants with levels below three hundred to be targeted and be the stepping stones for those above level three hundred.
"WHOAA.. look at the twenty-third stage, that guy who is sweeping the stage is from the Thunder fortress guild". Someone from the crowd bellowed.
Simon looked in the direction the person was pointing at and noticed a man who had defeated a total of twenty participants with just a single skill of his. This was one of the things about Battle Royale, although Cyrus mentioned that all you needed to do was defeat five opponents to move to the next round, there was no such mention about defeating more than five.
That is to say, some participants are bound to disy their might and sweep the floor with the other participants. There was no way that every stage would have the set number of winners.
While Simon was thinking all that, his eyes suddenly went to a stage where he saw a familiar figure. Lucas was standing still on the stage with battles urring all around him. A few meters area around him was empty indicating that all the participants who had seen his results, were wary of him and did not dare to step near lest they lost their chance to move onto the next stage.
Level 400, he was on a realmpletely different from them.
"Haha, Lucas ckwood it seems we are in the same group. I''m Lark Sea from Absolute Sea Guild, let me test my strength on you".
Of course, there were bound to be some opponents with overinted egos who tried to bite more than they can chew.
"Oi, Oi¡ isn''t that guy from the Sea Absolute guild, one of the top tier guilds from the south-western region?"
"I think his level was around 380 with a rare ss. He has already defeated more than seven participants so why is he throwing his chance to move onto the next stage by challenging someone higher level than him?".
"You idiot, this is a battle royale where you have to fight in a confined space and a warrior holds absolute superiority in this kind of stage. No matter how you look at it, the other guy clearly seems to be a mage".
Simon inwardly snorted, while what they said might be true in most cases, there were clearly some exceptions and as far as he knew, Lucas was one of them.
The guy named Lark Sea smiled widely, brandishing his spear he charged at thetter without giving him any time to chant or conjure any magic. Just when he was a meter away from him, he dished out a routine of quick shes and thrusts.
However, before the attack could even reach Lucas, a wall of fire, surrounded him like a protective wall and blocked all of the attacks.
BANG...BANG..BANG¡
"What?" before Lark could even stabilise his stance, the wall of fire suddenly started rotating and picking up speed. In the blink of an eye, it became a huge fiery whirlwind that covered half of the stage.
"me Magic Mastery [me Strom]" Lucas nonchntly mumbled the name of his attacks.
The me storm raged and engulfed half of the participants on the stage. It only died down after seconds, the thirty or so participants who were unlucky enough to get sucked into the storm appeared extremely miserable with most of their skin burned and thrown out of the stage.
Nevertheless, the most miserable one out of them was Lark Sea who was the target of the magic. His clothes and hair was burned and his appearance evoked pity from the spectators.
Lucas after destroying half of the participants from his group, silently walked down from the stage. No one dared to stop nor call out to him.
"Was he venting his anger from that attack?" Simon mused, he clearly felt the emotions of angering out of his magic.
"He is clearly more worked up for his own good," Cyrus said looking at Lucas.
The battles on the other stages were boring with little to no unexpected events urring. The participants from the top five guilds swiftly took down their targets and walked out off the stage gantly.
With that, the first thirty-six group battles was concluded with only 200 or so people moving up to the next stage.
The number was far too low when one considers that there were 60 participants in each group. The groups who would battle in the thirty six stages next, came down and the audience immediately boiled with excitement.
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That was because some of the star participants from the top five guilds would bepeting on the various stages.
"Oh look at that, the battle urring on the eleventh stage is already in full heat. Most of the participants are already out"
"Yeah, those guys¡ they are from the kingdom of ckthorn. It seems that they were in the same group and thus tagged together to defeat all the other opponents".
With so many participants in the tournament, it was not umon for a guild or faction to have multiple of their members in the same group. The kingdom of ckthorn who had three of their members in the same group, wiped the floors with their opponents.
Even some big guilds had some of their members failing for being unlucky enough to be in the same stage as them.
"Sigh it''s so unfortunate for that young man from the Thunder fortress guild to be in the same stage as them. Truly unfortunate, I was hoping to see uing rounds some more"
"You think so. Well I pity the ones who are on the same stage with Marcus, Hallie, and the other from the top five guilds".
When the matches were filled with so many spices, how could the audience be able to resist gossiping? Of course, the same went for the group of merchants that were seated near Simon. They were fervently discussing as to who would win from each stage.
OHHH¡ suddenly the crowd eximed, their eyes glued to stage three and fifteen where a particr particiapnts confronted each other.
On stage three, was a participant from Crimson Demolition guild, Kenan Lantz confronting an opponent from the Kingdom of ckthorn, while on stage fifteen were members of the top five guild, Assassin''s guild and Magician''s guild confronting each other.
Sparks generated everywhere and the atmosphere around the coliseum became instantly heated. The participants confronted each other in a short exchange before each realising that they cannot defeat the other in a short period of time and thus disengaging to find other targets.
"Well, Well.. would you look at that, aren''t you very eager to sh with the participants from my guild, Grey" Karina said smiling towards the area where Grey, the guild leader of Assassin''s guild was seated.
Grey smiled but did notment further, it was just the first round of the ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament, there was no need for them to go for a difficult opponent right now.
The participant from the Crimson demolition guild and kingdom of ckthorn did the same, after dishing out a few blows as a way of greeting, they each went to find their own prey.
The audience who were looking for a heated battle were left a little disappointed but that small sh of strength was enough to give an appetizer of what wouldeter.
The matches on the other stages were just like the previous ones, were the weak were quickly filtered out and the strong moved on to the next stage. Most of the small region guilds who brought their participants over, had all of their participants defeated while some of the medium-big guilds had a few of their members moving onto the next stage.
Obviously, the top five guilds had all their participating members in this round move onto the next stage. Hallie May, Marcus Sarge and a few members of the Sea god''s trident wlessly achieved their victory and stepped from the stage.
The strong devours the weak, everything was going as the audience had predicted when the moderator monitoring one of the stages, dered the elimination of a certain guild from this tournament which nobody expected.
"Absolute Sea Guild¡ Eliminated".
"Ah, my apologies, I did not know that you were thest participant from your guild" Ivan Mavis ckthorn said looking down at the unconscious opponent he just defeated.
"You are kidding me right... the absolute sea guild got eliminated?" the audience couldn''t believe what they heard.
One of the big guilds of their kingdom, a faction that had taken the seventh ce in the previous "battle of the finest'' tournament, had all their participants defeated. What kind of concept was that?
The crowd was in a state of disbelief, even the guild master of the Absolute Sea guild looked bewildered, unable to ept what had just transpired. Earlier it was Lark Sea who had underestimated his enemy and now even Marvin welch was defeated.
The top two remaining participants of their guild who had the highest talent out of all the others, were defeated. The Absolute Sea guild was eliminated in the first round of the tournament. Nothing could be more humiliating for a guild that ced seventh in thest tournament.
The audience sighed, it was truly an unfortunate disaster for their guild which held so many expectations from the audience and the people of their region, to be eliminated like that.
Lark Sea and Marvin Welch were both individuals with levels above 380 and a rare ss, to see them dropping out on the first stage, was truly a pity.
The Second Round of the First Stage "battle Royale'' concluded with 210 students moving on to the next stage. And now finally, thest round of the ''Battle Royale'' would start.
Out of the 85 groups, 72 groups have alreadypeted in the 36 secondary stages and the winners have moved on to the next phase leaving only 13 remaining groups topete. Though there would only be 13 groupspeting in the secondary stages, the hype of the audience for this round was much for than the previous ''Battle royal'' rounds.
The reason for this being the ''princely round''. That was what the audience were calling it. In this round, two princes, one foreign and one their own third prince, would be participating in their own group battles.
There was no way the audience wouldn''t be excited to see the top two participants in action. The 780 participants from the 13 groups, stepped into their prearranged secondary stages and waited for the battle to start.
They observed their opponents and at the same time prayed that they weren''t in the same group as the two princes.
The first prince of the kingdom of Ellesmere, Alstin sighed in relief when he saw his third brother walk up to a different stage than the one from the Sanguine empire''s prince.
"It''s a good thing that they are in different groups. It is far too soon for them to sh in the first stage".
The third round of ''battle royale started when every member got onto their stages. Just like every round, the participants with the weaker level were quickly filtered out and before long it was only the strong ones still standing.
All the participants avoideding near the two princes and only targeted those opponents that they have a chance to win against.
As time ticked by, multiple winners started to arise, Princess Alice from the Sanguine empire calmly walked down the stage after pushing five of her opponents out of bounds with her magic.
The members from the top five guilds and the big factions were also starting to emerge victorious one after the other.
"It''s time he moved," Vouves said caressing his beard tied in a dreadlock.
The moment he said that, he saw Denzel positioning two fingers of his right hand as a sword and sh down. The move though very imperfect was still a skill that the [Sword King] Cedrick had taught to his disciple.
A two meters big de shadow was created from Denzel''s movement and was controlled by him to target exactly five people. Those five people did not even know what had attacked them before they were shed and sent out of bounds.
WHOAAA.. the audience cheered like crazy when their eyes were fed something so exciting. On another stage, they saw their own third prince achieving a victory effortlessly by defeating five people.
Satisfied with the performance of their future heroes of the realm, the crowd was just about to move on, when a huge explosion that rocked every corner of the coliseum, rang out.
Every eyes present in the audience stands, was drawn to the stage where apletely unbelievable had urred. Every participant on stage 1 was blown away and defeated except for a single person. The crowd couldn''t follow what had transpired in the few seconds when their eyes were drawn to a different ce.
"This is a lie right¡ a single person was able to defeat all the other participants? There were even some members from those big guilds on that stage"
"Isn''t that guy the representative from the Ingolf kingdom?"
"That bastard is looking down on our kingdom. Even though he could obtain a victory and move onto the next stage by just defeating 5 members, he had to deliberately wipe everyone out of the stage and unt his powers"
"I wish the third prince or somebody from the top five guild takes him out in the future round".
The crowd moured, they were obviously enraged by this disy of power. The moderator of that stage looked at Cyrus asking what to do next. The Royal Knight captain thought over it a bit before nodding his head.
Although it was a little uncalled for, there was no such rule abstaining someone from defeating all of the participants on the stage. That is to say, Graydon Brown did not do anything that went against the rules of this tournament.
Thus he was moved on to the next stage of the tournament. When the moderator announced so, the audience was a little disturbed while Oman, the prince of Ingolf Kingdom smiled derisively.
Right before Graydon went onto the stage, he told him to knock all the participants of that stage out and disy the might of their Kingdom of Ingolf to everyone. The crowd''s dismayed reaction was very much to his satisfaction.
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"Hehe, it''ll be problematic if you all get disturbed over just that after all, there are too many surprises left for you people from the Ellesmere Kingdom to see," Oman thought internally.
The final round of the ''Battle Royale'' concluded with a slight twist. Out of the initial, 780 participants, only 70 went up to the next stage. Cyrus walked up to the main stage and dered in a loud voice.
"With the conclusion of thest round of the first stage of battle royale, I now announce the end of the first stage of the tournament. The second stage of the Battle of the Finest tournament will begin tomorrow".
"The 480 or so brave participants who will be moving onto the next stage will be divided into 5 groups. Allpetitors in each group will have to participate in 3 fights and the top ten most outstanding participants from each group that is 50 in total would be selected for the next stage of the tournament".
"In the second stage, you will be ranked based on your performance and the number of your wins. Therefore I suggest you to give your all. Anypetitor who is dissatisfied with any of the fifty chosen participants may challenge them in a one on one duel. In the situation that they win, then that participant can take the other''s spot".
"The second day of the tournament will conclude with all the fights and the name of the 50 chosen participants that will be moving onto the third stage of the tournament. With everything said, I request the participants to take ample rest and preserve their strength for the uing battles tomorrow. That is all from me, the First Day of the Battle of the Finest tournament ends here".
After those words from Cyrus, everybody from the crowd gave a loud cheer for all the participants before moving in an organised way towards the exit.
Simon who was seated in the VIP rows, got up from his seat, the sun was about to set and had painted the sky with its orange hue.
He wasn''t surprised that the first day of the ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament ended with just the strength assessment and battle royale since he knew that the tournament goes on for multiple days and provided a kind of festival and holiday for the people.
The guilds that have won and the guilds that have lost, each faction sorted out their feelings before exiting the stage. The participants and the VIPs had their own exit gate with soldiers stationed everywhere to ensure no fighting broke out.
Exiting the coliseum, Simon went back directly to his inn. While on his way, all he could hear was the events of the tournament that had happened today and like a wildfire, it was gossiped by one person after another.
Even at the dining hall of the inn, all Simon could hear being discussed was the tournament. After having his dinner, he silently went up to his room and flumped himself on his bed as he recalled the events of today.
Since his dungeon was near the central continent, Simon felt like it wasn''t a bad idea to get an understanding of the kingdoms around him. The ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament was a good asion for him to know more about the ss system, adventurers, their strengths and how they fight.
It was not like Simon wasn''t enjoying the tournament, in all honesty, he was. The tournament was a good testbed for him to see and learn from those higher levelled than him.
There were so many skills and sses that he wasn''t aware of, his inquisitive mind naturally wanted to know about them more. Add that with his precautious nature, he had a tendency of wanting to know more about the strength of the people of this kingdom closest to his dungeon.
He knew that one day these adventurers might set their eyes on his dungeon and when that time came, the information that he gathered today, would be extremely useful.
Other than that, Adalinda who had gone off in search of her disciple after Simon had informed her that she was near the capital, was yet to return.
As such, Simon decided to wait and see the conclusion of the '' battle of the finest'' tournament. While he was having such thoughts, a sudden voice that came out of nowhere, disturbed his train of thought.
"Hey Simon can you hear me?".
"Wha?!"
Simon jolted up from his seat when he heard Adalinda''s voice in his head. He looked all around him and spread his senses everywhere to see if she was around.
"Good, it seems that you can hear me. Listen up, I finally found my disciple; however, she immediately ran the moment she saw me. Hmph, this na?ve disciple of mine thinks she can outsmart her master a second time? Anyways, I am currently chasing her, so I want you to wait in that city".
Her transmission ended as abruptly as it started out leaving Simonpletely stunned. She had justmunicated with him inside his head, leaving him some instructions before quickly disconnecting.
"What was that all about?" Simon thought, at the very least he knew that she had found Lucine and is currently chasing her.
With nowhere to go, he could only attend the tournament to relieve his boredom.
The next day started off early with the inhabitants of the city unable to calm down from the excitement of yesterday. However, the eagerness they had for today''s event was even higher.
The inhabitants of the city started waking up and became active even before the sun rose and filled the city with their hustle and bustle. This excitement was contagious and spread onto everyone.
Queues to get inside the coliseum started out very early and was a few kilometres long. Nobody wanted to miss the second day of the tournament and thus wanted seats that had a better view.
Thepetition unlike yesterday would start early, right after the dawn break. When Simon reached inside the coliseum, he saw that most of the audience and even the VIP seats were mostly packed with people.
They were all waiting for the royal family and Cyrus to initiate the start of individual matchups today. Unlike the ''Battle Royale'' from yesterday where they could see the full extent and strength of the winning individuals, they would be able to do so during the individual matches.
Every participant would have to fight a total of three matches which would be scored by the moderators based on their performance and only the top ten from each of the five groups would be selected for the next stage.
That is to say, most of the participants would show their true skills and power today to win their matches. Even without having to think, the crowd knew that they were up for some thrilling moments.
Right when the radiance of the sun started spreading to every corner of the city, the moment that the people were waiting for, finally arrived. The royal family and all the participants had arrived, it was finally time to start the second day of the ''Battle of the finest'' tournament.
With the call from the moderators, the participants called out dropped down to their stages and the match finally began.
All 36 secondary stages had eyes dazzling battles going on that only served to foster the hunger of the audience even more. With stars in their eyes, they would erupt in joy when the participant they were rooting for won or sit down dejected when they lost.
The series of events continued, participants after another came down to the 36 secondary stages for their battles.
Some matches were bound to attract more attention from the audience with the matchups than the others. Some crafty people in the audience stand even made a temporary betting counter to profit from the event and the crowd willingly got baited into it.
Gambling was something that cannot be separated from the people especially when they have some money to spare. There was no way they wouldn''t bet on the participants they thought had a higher chance of winning.
And so, the second day of the ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament, started off with a st.
"Look at that, it''s Vin Borseki from the Assasin''s guild vs the guy from the ckthorn Kingdom. Who do you think will win?" the audience moured.
"Hmm, it''s hard to say, they both had won their first match and didn''t have to put all their efforts into it. I guess, it will all boil down to who has more skills and experience"
"That may not be true. Although that guy from the Kingdom of ckthorn has a few levels higher than Vin Borseki from the assassins guild, it is because he is older. One shouldn''t underestimate the top five guilds, I''m sure he has something up his sleeves even if he is not the star participant of his guild"
"I see¡ wait aren''t those two who are going up the eleventh stage members from the top five guilds?".
The attention of the audience was immediately stolen by a particr matchup on another stage of the coliseum that was sooner orter bound to happen. Yes, the participants from the top five guilds of their kingdom were finally shing against one another. Something that the crowd was intensely waiting for.
The two participants who went up to the eleventh stage, were both below age 40 and around level 390. One was from the Crimson demolition guild, the other from the Sea God''s Trident.
Although both of them were not the star participants from their guild, the audience couldn''t wait for members of the top five guilds to sh with each other and disy their strengths.
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The battle went on for more than half an hour and it was every bit of a roller coaster and eye dazzler as the audience had expected before the participant from the Sea god''s trident won the match.
The audience wasn''t surprised by the oue of the battle and gave a huge apuse for both the participants. Though the participant from the Crimson Demolition guild had lost, he had done his utmost and used every bit of his skill.
"That was a good fight, for a second I thought the Crimson demolition guild might secure a victory against the Sea God''s Guild"
"Haha, I thought so too. As expected they are the number one guild for a reason" the audience was enamoured by the battle and continuously chirped about it.
Their tion didn''tst long and was stopped short when the moderator dered a particr participant''s victory. The crowd was shocked to see the participant from the Kingdom of ckthorn walk down the stage unscathed after defeating his opponent.
"Vin Borseki lost? How did he lose?"
"I-I don''t know, I wasn''t paying attention to their match"
"How could this be, Vin lookspletely spent while his opponents seem more than ready to fight another bout"
The audience seemed lost as to how the participant from the kingdom of ckthorn achieved a victory against a participant from the top five guilds. They asked people beside them only to get the same answer, they too were not paying attention to this match.
"That energy feels oddly familiar" Simon narrowed his eyes as he watched the participant from the kingdom of ckthorn slowly walk away. Including him, only a few people saw how he won and simrly furrowed their brows, the people from the Assassin''s guild were the same.
The audience brooded over this for a while before they moved on, there were plenty of other eye-dazzling matches for them to feast on and everything was going on simultaneously that they wished they had more eyes.
The participants from the big guilds and factions went all out and disyed their skills to defeat their opponents in hope to catch the eye of the moderator and get selected for the next stage.
The enthusiasm of the audience was all-time high when it was raised even further when participants such as Marcus and Hallie May starteding down to the stage to face their opponents.
Needless to say, they achieved aplete and wless victory without spending much efforts. Their opponents cursed their fate for having to go through a matchup like that before finally epting reality and giving their best.
The crowd too pped for them, although inevitable, they did their best and gave everything they had. After these matches more and more star participants from the top five guilds and foreign nations came down to the stage to battle.
Everyone was enjoying the second day of the battle of the finest tournament when suddenly they heard a miserable screame from the direction of one of the stages. The spectators that were watching the battle unfold, had dreadful looks in their eyes as they watched the back of the man who had brutally defeated his opponent.
Fresh blood syed everywhere and the condition of the other participant didn''t seem to be good.
"Hehe, this is how a true battle should be. Not like those pointless fights going everywhere. It''s too bad that the rules don''t allow us to kill an opponent" Oman said, his tone sounding a little regretful.
"Isn''t that participant Graydon Brown from the Kingdom of Ingolf? To think that he would be this heavy-handed even while he had so big of an advantage"
"Yeah, he was the very same person who defeated all the other participants on his stage during the ''battle royale''".
Talks about the man named Graydon Brown and his savagery spread wildly amongst the crowd. They had seen how he hadn''t given his opponent a chance to admit defeat in the beginning and beat him until he fainted.
The rtionship between the two countries wasn''t good in the first ce, and added that with the unseemingly conduct of the man, it was only natural for the audience to jeer at him.
Especially the guild Graydon''s opponent belonged to, looked at him with hostility in their eyes. However, as if to say that he wasn''t fazed by it one bit, he calmly walked past them.
The crowd which was set agitated, suddenly went silent when they saw a young man no more than twenty years old, wearing white robes embroidered with red and holding onto a staff, walk up to the stage.
"What do you think? Will it be another surrender in the beginning by the opponent?"
"You bet. Even if the opponent is from a big guild, they wouldn''t dare fighting prince Erwin and risk being unable to fight in the other matches".
The spectators chatted, they who had seen his previous two opponents surrender at the start of the battle were predicting if the same would happen once again or not.
"Participant Bastille from Baskerville guild admits defeat, with 3 wins participant Erwin obtainsplete victory in the second stage" the moderator announced loudly and with pride in his tone.
The words of the moderator, proved the audience right. All of his opponents surrendered at the start of the round allowing the price to win without having a need to move.
Although the crowd was disappointed a little, they knew that the other factions didn''t want to fight the third prince and risk being put out ofmission for the rest of their battle. Being knocked out and being unable to continue with the remaining matches would be a humiliation for any guild.
The action to concede defeat could be seen as a tactical retreat and everybody would understand, after all, their opponent was the third prince, someone above level 400.
Above level 400 and below level 400 were two different realms that was incredibly difficult to gap. The people who achieved victory by default due to their opponent surrendering, were Erwin, Denzel from the Sanguine empire, Marcus and Graydon whosest opponent conceded defeat right at the start.
In the case of Marcus, he only had to fight once while the rest of his wins were by default. By the time sun was about to set, all the matches were concluded and the audience was tightly rooted in their seats, patiently waiting for the names of the top fifty participants from the five groups to be announced.
These fifty participants would be the main show of the third day of the battle of the finest tournament. Everybody knew that most of the spots in this ranking would be taken by the participants from the top five guilds.
Nevertheless, the other big guilds and factions were still hoping that some of their star participants who managed to attract the eyes of the moderator, would be able to get into the list.
After a considerate debate where all of the moderators came together, the list of 50 participants who would bepeting on the main stage of the coliseum on the third day, was handed to Cyrus to announce to the crowd.
The crowd settled their murmuring and ced their undivided attention on the royal knight captain who was about to call out the names of the selected participants now.
"The fifty participants with the most potential that are selected are... Erwin, Denzel, Marcus, Hallie, Alice¡"
As expected, he called out the names of the participants who had established their powers right at the start of the strength assessment test. The audience wasn''t surprised, they were the strongest participants in this tournament and were bound to get to the main stage.
The names that came afterwards were from the top five guilds, foreign nations and a few from the big factions. There were also a few dark horses from the other regions who had shown boundless talent and strength in the previous rounds getting into the list.
"These are the fifty participants who would bepeting on the main stage tomorrow. The format of thepetition would be the same, each of the fifty participants would have to fight a total of three battles out of which only the top ten participants would be selected for the final day ranking tournament."
"I wish all the participants all the best for their uing battles. With that said, it is time to close today''s event; however, before that, as I had mentioned yesterday, if there is anypetitor who is unsatisfied with any of the top fifty selected, they may challenge them for a battle and in the case they do win, they might rece the other in the rankings".
His words reminded everyone that he did say something like that yesterday. The crowd, the guilds and the participants that had lost, fell silent. Getting into the top fifty the words may sound very enticing; however, the condition was that they had to defeat the other participant in a one on one duel.
These words might sound easier said than done since all of the participants that have been selected, were the cream of the crops and have been sifted from 5000 other contestants. Plus they have experienced first-hand how powerful each of them were.
The silencested for a while and just when Cyrus thought that everybody was content with their standings, apetitor who looked like he cannot ept it, suddenly raised his hands and step forward.
"A moment please sir knight captain. I would like to challenge somebody".
The crowd was stunned, so there was someone gutsy enough to challenge these fifty participants. When they shifted their gaze towards the direction they heard the voice from, they saw a man donned in a ck armour, looking unsatisfied.
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Behind him were the other participants from his guild and from their surprised expressions, it seemed that they did not expect their teammate to suddenly step up and challenge someone.
Cyrus gave a deep nce at the man before nodding his head. He waved his hand and said:
"In that case, you may challenge anyone you wish to rece. However, I would like to point out that you cannot challenge the same opponent you had suffered a loss against. If you ept the condition, you may proceed forward".
The person seemed determined even after Cyrus''s warning and fiercely red at one of fifity participants standing on the stage.
"You, ept my challenge" he pointed at the participant and loudly dered.
WHOAAA¡ the spectators moured, they who thought that the show was over, got an unexpected surprise by this sudden issue of challenge.
This excitement was not because they would get to see another fight but because the one who had been challenged by that guy was none other the Graydon Brown, the participant from the kingdom of Ingolf.
Due to his unseemingly and brutish conduct, he was very infamous amongst the crowd and they couldn''t help but cheer for the guy who had the guts to challenge him.
"Isn''t that guy Levin Field, the big brother of the participant that was destroyed by Graydon?"
"Yeah you are right, he was unlucky enough to be matched against that prince from the Sanguine Empire. It seems that he wants revenge for his brother"
"Well he might be able to do it after all he is the star participant from his guild which is quite renowned in his region"
"Ohh... Beat that bastard back to his country"
"That guy has been getting on my nerves, put him in his ce"
"Yeah beat him and you get to rece him on the rankings. Show him that this is not his kingdom where he can act as he wish"¡
It was to be expected, the crowd loudly jeered for Graydon who had been acting impertinently up until now.
Graydon''s face could be said to be the very definition of calm, even amidst the loud jeer and cusses, he maintained hisposure and stood tall on the stage. He nced at the audience stand where the people were seated and saw Oman stretch his hand and slowly make a fist.
The intention was clear, the way he motioned it seemed to mean crush the other party.
Cyrus after contemting for a second, requested all the other participants to get down the stage. He then asked the concerned two participants to climb onto the stage.
"I hope that you all already know the rules. Killing someone is strictly prohibited or dealing a death blow. If you push the other party out of bounds, it is also counted as your victory. You can give either by saying it out loud or staying down on the ground for more than ten seconds. Now let the match begin".
Even after Cyrusmenced the match, the people on the stage did nothing but re at each other for a while.
"I''ll make you pay for what you did to my brother," Levin said hatefully.
After that match with Graydon, his little brother was in a serious state where multiple of his bones were broken, organs ruptured and severe internal bleeding. Even after taking multiple healing elixirs and spells, he was yet to wake up.
Seeing his brother being beaten to the brink of death, how could he as the elder brother take it. Levin saw this as his duty to beat this opponent down and take revenge for his brother.
In contrast to Levin who seemed to be raring to go, Graydon looked extremely bored, his eyes seemed to be indifferent of the opponent in front of him.
His opponent''s unconcerned attitude appeared to have rubbed Levin the wrong way, he brought out a sharp de from his space ring and rushed towards Graydon while roaring loudly.
"I''ll Destroy you".
From the viewpoint of the crowd, Levin''s rage was justified since his opponent had badly beaten his brother to the point where it wouldn''t be surprising if he couldn''t continue with the career of an adventurer anymore.
"With just you? you are not qualified" Graydon said cleaning his ear with his pinky finger.
In front of many shocked gazes, he stretched out his hand and empty handedly greeted Levin''s sharp de. His arms smashed onto the back of the de and with an intense nging noise of that of a metal colliding with metal, the de was shattered in half by him.
Levin''s sharp de that he had been imbued with abundant energy, and which was made of whitesilver was easily broken in half by his opponent with just his bare fist.
Before Levin even had a chance to scream from shock, Graydon''s right foot had already flown up and kicked him squarely on the chest.
BANG¡
With a loud muffled noise, Levin''s armour was broken as easily as if it was made of rotten wood. The momentum from the attack pushed him back several meters and he couldn''t help but vomit out a mouthful of blood.
That kick earlier had such brutish energy that even after destroying his armour the wild energy within was wreaking havoc inside his body. Stumbling on his steps, Levin stabilised his body; however, when he shifted his eyes in the direction where his opponent should be, he noticed that the guy was no longer there.
BANG¡
Another muffled sound echoed out followed by the dull sound of a body skidding and rolling across the stage. ''What had happened?'' before Levin even had the chance to think why he was sprawled across the floor, he saw a foote crashing down on his right hand.
CRACK¡ AHHHHH¡ the sounds of bones being broken was very apparent and the crowd could feel the pain in his scream. They were reeling in shock when another pain-filled scream echoed out.
CRACK¡ this time, Levin''s left hand was broken.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ he did not even have the time to scream as a foot came repeatedly stomping down on him. His right leg, left leg, head, back all these areas were targeted. The man was stered onto the ground by Graydon.
The audience was horrified by the scene that was ying in front of them. This was no longer a match but a brutish disy of strength and torture.
"STOP" the guild leader of the guild Levin belonged to, got up from his seat and thundered loudly. From his furious expression, it could be seen that he waspletely enraged and if nobody stopped him, he would jump down to the stage.
Graydon''s foot that was just about to smash on top of Levin sprawled on the floor, stopped mid-way. He turned his gaze and looked at the furious expression of the man, a sadistic light shed in his eyes.
The foot that had stopped midway, came smashing down on Levin one again.
CRACK¡ sounds of bones being shattered echoed out.
"YOU DARE¡" the guild master bellowed, he was just about to jump down to the stage when somebody from his guild stopped him. Jumping down to the stage when a match was going on was strictly forbidden and was looked on with contempt by everybody.
Besides if he did so, then ording to the rules set in this coliseum, the moderators would be bound to step in and the guild that hadmitted that felony, would be banned for future tournaments.
The other guy knew that and thus stooped his guild master from doing something reckless. Graydon smiled derisively, he was just about to continue with his parade when Cyrus'' cold deration sounded out.
"Levin Field is down for more than ten seconds of time, winner Graydon Brown from the Kingdom of Ingolf. Please step down from the stage".
His deration announced the winner of this match and at the same time, spared Levin from being tortured anymore.
"Hmph" Graydon snorted, his fun was ruined by the referee. Without taking another nce at Levin, he expressionlessly walked down the stage.
"What a savage fellow. He already knew the disparity between their strength and could knock his opponent in one hit. However, he had to torture thetter and ruin the mood for everyone. Sigh¡ let''s go, there will be no changes in the participants. Staying anymore will only sour your mood further".
Karina Lowell, the guild master of the magician guild said. The members from her guild nodded their head before proceeding to exit with her.
Only after a while when the results was dered, did the crowd woke up from their daze. The battle earlier was too horrible for them as such they couldn''t help but pity Levin who had been put into that state.
Levin was two years older than his brother and was also far stronger than him. Nevertheless, the result of this match was just the same, aplete oppression from Graydon.
Although it angered them to admit it, but the participant from the Kingdom of Ingolf was strong enough to be ced in the current standings. Probably, only the participants from the top five guilds could defeat him.
They were upset however, more than them the ones who were more aggrieved were the people from the Phantom Light guild whose two brilliant participants had been put into such a miserable state.
They immediately ran towards the stage to check on Levin the moment the result was dered. They all made an ugly face checking the condition he was in.
Healing teams that were already stationed nearby hurriedly provided first aid before taking him inside in a stretcher.
"Young man don''t think that you can get way after doing all of this just because you are with the entourage of a foreign prince," the guild master of the phantom light guild said turning towards Graydon.
Thetter ignored him and nonchntly walked past without any care in the world.
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After such a horrific incident, there were no longer anypetitors who were dissatisfied with the standings and thus the second day of the ''Battle of the Finest'' concluded right when the sun was about to set.
The event of today spread like wildfire to even the surrounding cities and regions. The influx of people trying to get inside the city to witness the third day of the tournament increased even further.
Simon came back to his room after filling his stomach on the way. He sat down on his bed, closed his eyes and recalled all the battles that had happened today. It was spectacr how each and every participant disyed their skills and powers to face against their opponents.
These matches were extremely informational for Simon who was a Demon noble and a dungeon master. Who knows he might even have to face them in the future when his dungeon grows further.
From what he noticed, levels yed an important role in this battle; however, what it boiled down to at the end was the ss they each had. A human in terms of pure stats was inferior to a demon noble but to make up for it, they have ss and ss-specific skills.
Though even amongst ss there were some rare sses that more than made up for these differences and Simon had witnessed a few of them with his own eyes. His earlier preconception that he would be able to win against any humans simr to his levels with just his stats alone, was brutally destroyed during the matches today.
The top 50 participants all had rare sses and disyed abilities that showed people why they were better than the others.
"There are sses that focus on a specific stats and sses that boosts all your stats in general. It would be obvious to see thetter win over the former with andslide margin. However, that was not the case".
"The people with sses that focused on specific stats clearly had more of an edge on people with sses that gave an increase to all stats in general. It was not because they had skills matching their stats, but also knew what their weak and strong points were and used it marvellously against their opponents".
Simon contemted, he felt like he too was improving as he retrospected what he saw today. Unlike the ranking system of Demon Nobles, the ss system of humans was varied and each gets the kind of ss depending on their mastery, suitability, the path they have walked on and their vision.
sses were sses at the end, it wasn''t the only factor that made these participants strong. One also had to factor in their years of experience and training and also their potential which represented theirtent talent and how high their ceiling was.
It also showed the purity of their bloodline and how powerful they can be in the future. Most of the top 50 participants had high potential with a handful of few having been assessed with very high.
It would be not an exaggeration to say that people with very high potential will have less difficulty moving up the levels and are more likely to get more rare sses during ss changes in the future.
Additionally, Simon noticed that the stats from the previous ss get stacked with the stats that one gain after they ss change to a new ss. That is to say, a truly powerful human would have high stats suiting to their level.
If one looks at it like that, they were powerful opponents even for Demon nobles. As Simon was lost in his thoughts, suddenly the voice of Adalinda rang inside his head.
"Hey can you hear me? Hehe, I have finally caught my disciple but since she ran too far, it will take some time for us to reach the kingdom of Ellesmere. Wait for us there".
Simon got up from his seat but unlike the previous time he was looking cluelessly all around, this time he did not seem too surprised. Just like always, she ended the transmission after leaving a few words of instruction for him.
Well, he had already decided to watch the ''battle of the finest'' tournament to its end so there was no problem on his end to wait for a few days.
Additionally, he did not have to worry too much about his dungeon since Irene and the Lightning draconic Serpent was there. Thus he could take his time to explore the outside world and train in the meantime.
After all, an opportunity to get outside the Ghastly winding forest doesn''t present itself every time. This trip to the capital city Ellesmere was proving to be very beneficial for Simon. His level was not stagnant anymore, he was getting a change of pace and he was also constantly learning by watching these talented and young geniuses who were the future of this kingdom.
BOOM¡ BOOM¡ the morning of the next day started with firecrackers going off. Even before the sunlight greeted thend, the people started bing lively with activity going on all around. Stalls lined up everywhere, inviting customers with the delicious aroma that was wafting off.
Today was the third day of the ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament and the mood of the people was festive. The coliseum was already jam-packed with people when Simon entered.
Looking all around, he noticed that the main stage was a little different than yesterday with peculiar mechanisms ced at the four corners of the stage. These mechanisms had huge mana stones (shouldn''t be mistaken for Mana crystals) powering them.
After a while, Cyrus arrived on the stage and dered the start of the third stage ''Individual Ranking'' that would be held on the main stage.
"To protect the safety of the people and to prevent the rampaging energy to reach the audience stands, we have ced barriers around the stage so that everyone can watch the battles without any worry. This barrier was created with the help of dozens of level 450+ mages and is even capable of withstanding an attack from someone above level 500".
With Cyrus revealing the purpose of the weird mechanism ced at the corners of the stage, the audience finally understood why they were there for and at the same time also understood that the matches would be unlike all the previous battles and would be so fierce that a barrier would be needed to protect them from the aftershock.
"The name of the participants whose name I call out, pleasee down to the stage. First battle, Roscoe Ironwood from the kingdom of ckthorn¡ªVs¡ªMarcus Sarge from Savannah Beast Guild".
The moment thest name came up, the audience erupted in a huge mour. This was the first battle of the day and who else was better suited to start it off than one of the strongest participants favoured to win the tournament.
Cheers of encouragement and support, sounded out for Marcus as he walked over to the main stage. His opponent was someone from the Kingdom of ckthorn who have a unique way of fighting.
"Listen up Marcus, that prince from the sanguine Empire, Erwin and that Lass from Magician''s guild is one thing, but you must also be careful of those participants from our neighbouring nations. Particrly those participants from the kingdom of ckthorn, the weapons and artifacts they used during the second stage of the tournament for some reason make even me unsettled".
As he observed his opponent, he remembered the conversation that he had with his fatherst night.
"Even father thinks those weapons are dangerous?".
Brutus Sarge nodded "Right¡ though weapons are weapons at the end, depending on the person who uses, it makes them strong or weak. Remember, you must end the battle as soon as possible if youe around any participants from the Kingdom of ckthorn. If you draw the battle for long, you will expose your skills and strength to that monster of a prince and Erwin".
These were thest few words of caution his father had given him before the match. Cyrus looked at the two opponents who were raring to go and signalled the start of the battle.
As soon as the whistle was blown, Marcus rushed towards his opponent. [Gale Beat w], he utilised his ss-specific skill, a huge green w materialised in his right hand and came sweeping down of Roscoe.
CLANG¡
A loud grating noise of metal colliding with metal sounded out and in front of their astonished eyes of Marcus, his beast w was stopped from proceeding any forward.
"Hehe, it seems that even an opponent of a level higher than 400 is no match for these weapons that prince Ivan gave us".
Roscoe said smiling widely, his hand held a peculiar sword that had curves around the de and had a dull edge. The sword was pitch ck in ck in colour but other than that appeared ordinary at a nce.
Marcus narrowed his eyes when he saw his green w slowly bing weaker and losing ground against the sword until finally it was pushed back. Marcus dished out a fierce leg sweep however, his opponent swiftly dodged it by jumping back.
After opening some distance from Roscoe, Marcus observed the former, more urately the weapon he was holding. From what he could tell, his attack bing weaker was due to the sword.
The weapon must have some ability that chips away at one''s strength during collision.
"Father is right, that weapon indeed is bizarre. But that does not mean that it is omnipotent, if I can''t touch the sword, I''ll just have to target your body" Marcus thought inwardly before pressing forward once again.
A storm of punches and kicks assaulted Roscoe and forced him into defending.
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Seeing the scene of Marcus suppressing his enemy with just hisbat skills, the crowd was in awe. The title of the greatest genius of Savannah Beast guild was indeed something that belonged to him.
Each of his attacks was ingrained with his experience and was extremely tricky that repeatedly targeted the vital spot of his opponent and gave him no chance to retaliate.
"AHH¡ this is getting annoying. [ck Hazard]" tearing himself away from his opponent, Roscoe brandished his ck sword in a wide arc.
Immediately, the air around him seemed to darken a little and a ck de shadow that gave one chills was sent forth towards Marcus.
Marcus who thought about intercepting such a simple but changed his mind thest second and nimbly dodged it by stepping to the side. The ck de shadow brushed past him and crashed onto the stage.
SHHHH¡ a ck energy dispersed out of the area and corroded that part of the stage. Looking at this scene Marcus''s eyes were grave. No matter what he couldn''t allow this energy to hit him.
"Hehe, so you dodged it huh¡ so what, I can send dozens of those your way. Let me see how you dodge all of these" Roscoe cried out hysterically.
He swung his sword and send those de shadows towards his opponent in droves. He knew that the difference in their actual battle strength was huge and if it came down to a frontal battle, he was sure to lose.
After all, his opponent was level 402, someone who had breached the level 400 barrier. His only chance to win against such an opponent was by making use of the advantage that he had and that was none other than the weapon prince Ivan had given him.
Before they left the kingdom of ckthorn, they were each given an artefact or a weapon like his sword that marginally increase their power and help them go against opponents higher level than them.
Roscoe didn''t think that he would be meeting Marcus, one of the strongest participants in this tournament on his first battle. But what of it? it seemed that he was needlessly wary of thetter, in front of the might of his sword, all his opponent could do was dance and dodge around helplessly.
The crowd spectating the match and hoping for an absolute suppression from Marcus, couldn''t believe what was happening.
In front of their eyes, Marcus was forced to dodge left and right, his clothes were torn and his body which looked tattered was evidence that this was reality and the scene was actually happening. Whatever that ck attack was, it waspletely dominating Marcus.
Simon: "Isn''t that¡" Vouves: "¡.."
Brutus: "¡."
The perceptive ones like Simon, Vouves and the guild leaders of the top five guilds were able to tell the nature of that energy apart. They were more befuddled than surprised as to how this participant was in possession of such a weapon.
After all, the nature of the energy the sword released was simr to dark attribute of mana, one of the four rare forms of mystical energy. Although it was far less pure and weakpared to dark attribute, it was unmistakably derived from it.
CHI¡ CHI¡
As Marcus repeatedly dodged the attacks that showed no signs of stopping, the edges of his clothes was corroded and some of the energy seeped into his body draining him of his power.
BANG¡
He materialised a dark green beast w and counter-attacked; however, his opponent immediately backed away and opened a few meters distance from him. The other party knew that he would be in trouble and thus was avoiding closebat with Marcus.
"Dammit¡ making it needlessly hard aren''t you. Tch, I nned on using this on those two, but I guess I have no choice".
Unable to get close to his opponent, Marcus mumbled. He stopped rushing towards his opponent and nted his foot on the ground.
"What is he nning to do?" Ivan furrowed his brows looking at the peculiar action of Marcus.
Thetter was a warrior so most of his attacksprised of close distance with a few medium range attacks. Even if thetter has a rare ss that he was not very familiar with, this fundamental fact remained the same.
That is why, not him but all the spectators were surprised by Marcus''s action except for the guild master of Beast savannah guild who had a calm face from start to finish.
"Using it now takes away the element of surprise in your future battle but I guess against such a persistent enemy you got no choice but to use it" Brutus said staring fixedly at Marcus.
Seeing that his opponent was starting to act different all of a sudden, rm bells starting ringing inside Roscoe''s head. He knew that he shouldn''t give his enemy time for doing whatever he wanted to do but because in his attempt to avoid closebat with Marcus, he had opened too big of a distance for him to cover at once.
? Even if it cost him quite bit of strain, he repeatedly send those ck de attacks in an attempt to disrupt thetter.
"If my attacks gets weaker the more ites in contact with the energy around your de, all I have to do is use an attack that your de cannot touch".
Marcus sucked the air around him and his chest inted a little. An emerald glow also appeared around his adam''s apple and before anyone could even blink their eyes, he opened his mouth wide and roared.
ROOOOAAAARRR¡
A loud coarse noise like that of a lIon''s roar came out of Marcus''s throat and assaulted everyone''s ears. The crowd hurriedly covered their ears, they felt like the whole world was crumbling down in front of them.
The barrier had no effects against attacks like that and did not provide any protection to them. Some of the weaker spectators, directly fainted after spewing out a mouthful of blood. If the condition of the audience who were seating so far away, was like that, one has to wonder what happened to the participant who was the main target of Marcus''s attack.
Roscoe who hadn''t predicted an attack like that woulde at him, was caught unprepared. The roar like a tidal wave, easily passed through the multiple de shadows he sent towards Marcus and hit him squarely.
It was as his opponent said, the energy around his sword might be able to weaken physical or magical attacks but an intangible attack like that was something his weapon couldn''t do anything against.
Roscoe was hit squarely by the attack and at that moment his vision went nk and he could hear anything. The attack was so powerful that his eardrums had burst and he was bleeding from all his orifices.
After immobilising his opponent, Marcus easily dodged the iing de shadow and rushed toward his opponent. Up until now, Roscoe would never allow him to close this distance but because he was currently immobilised he could do anything.
"Gale Beast w¡ ".
Marcus roared and sent forth a powerful attack that sted his opponent right towards the audience stands.
CRACK¡ with a cracking sound, dozens of Roscoe''s bones were broken and he spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying.
BANG¡ his frame smashed onto a translucent yellowish barrier that protected the audience from the aftershock of the attack. Roscoe''s body slid down the barrier and fell onto the floor below where he stopped moving altogether.
It was clear that he had lost consciousness after just a single attack from his opponent.
"Roscoe Ironwood is down for the count, Marcus Sarge from Savannah Beast guild Wins".
Everyone in the audience took a deep breath of air after such a shocking turnaround. From that initial loud roaring attack to the connecting w attack, it did not even take a few seconds and before they couldpose themselves, they saw Marcus''s opponent get sent towards the barrier, heavily smashing into it.
Marcus who they thought was having difficulty against his opponent, had won after just a single exchange. But was it them or did he look somewhat unsatisfied by the result.
Marcus was indeed a little disgruntled, he had actually saved this skill to use against prince Denzel and prince Erwin. However, his first opponent of the third stage of the tournament, proved annoying enough for him to resort to use this skills.
Now that he had disyed such a skill, his opponents would naturally be worry about such an attacking and have some guard against it. There was no way he would be able to defeat his opponent with just a single attack like how he did now.
Although, this victory was because his opponent was unaware of him possessing such a long-distance attack and hence was caught unprepared. Because of this, they couldn''t muster an iota of defence before they were blown out of the stage.
Marcus nced towards the area where Denzel and Erwin were seated before tearing his gaze away.
"Hmm that roar attack earlier could it be that he has¡ this young man does indeed have incredible potential. His disposition that does not cower even when faced with an opponent like you, is worth apuding. It''s a pity that, he was born in a low tier kingdom such as this or else his future potential would have been something worth keeping an eye on".
Vouves said after observing Marcus.
"Eh? What is gramps saying?" Denzel asked seeing that the old man was bbering something.
"Hoho, do you not see it. that participant on the stage was ring daggers at you, it is obvious that he sees you as a rival"
"Is that so? A rival huh¡ hehe" Denzel smiled, there was a fire that wanted to immediately go down and battle an opponent like him inside his eyes.
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Vouves shook his head seeing just how unaware the boy was of his surrounding gazes. But it couldn''t be med on him since he knew that his master hadpletely ignored teaching him all these aspects and only drilled him with what was necessary for a battle.
"[Howling Beast Roar] to think that a young man like him could master such a difficult skill, it seems Brutus has drilled all his skills onto his son".
Henry ric Ellesmere, the king of Ellesmere kingdommented. The young man beside him named Erwin, nodded his head and said with a solemn tone.
"Even if it was me, I would have also got caught off-guard by that skill. It seemed that he was holding onto it all this time but had to use it because of the persistence of his opponent".
"Haha, it was a good thing that he did. Now with this additional information, third brother can take precaution if hees across Marcus in the future rounds" Alstinughed andmented off-handedly.
Cynthia on the side, sighed at those words of her big brother. He was underestimating the top five guilds too much. Since they have shown one of their skills, they would naturally have some preparations for the future rounds and Erwin was yet to fight a single battle.
Each participant had to fight a total of three battles out of which the top ten would be selected to participate for the final day. These top 50 participants were selected after sifting through thousands of participants and were a genius above a genius.
It wouldn''t be easy to grab three victories against them without revealing some of your hidden cards.
After the first battle, a few more participants came up the stage, some of them were even from the top five guilds. While their battle cannot be said as very enthralling, it was still very eventful for the audience.
The star participants of their guilds and factions also went up to the stage. Erwin Curtis Ellesmere, Alice Alma Sanguine, Hallie May, Graydon brown each of them participated in a series of breath-taking battles.
In the case of Erwin, Alice and Hallie, they each met a difficult opponent in their third battle forcing them to reveal some of their hidden cards. The crowd was taken aback by their mastery of skills, the level of this year''s tournament, hadpletely preceded all the previous tournaments.
Vouves in particr, was amazed by the skill level of Hallie May from Magician''s Guild. Her mastery in magic and her rare ss that made her able to use powerful frost magic, made even him surprised.
Alice and Hallie were both around level 400 although thetter was a few years older than the former, her talent still couldn''t be denied. Vouves couldn''t help but look forward to the final day where these two mighte face to face in one of the matches.
After his first Match, Marcus stopped holding back and swiftly disposed all his opponents no matter if they were from the top five guilds or any other faction. Of course, he wasn''t foolish enough to disy all of his cards; nheless, his opponents weren''t easy enough to allow him to win without giving his all.
With that Marcus, secured his three victories and a spot in the top ten. The next ones to move up were Erwin and Denzel, the prince from the Sanguine empire whose level was by far the highest amongst all the participants and who made his fights seem all too easy.
Though the same cannot be said for his opponents who seemed to be in a state of shock and self-contemtion after their battle.
"Ah! Rival" Seeing that Marcus was looking at him, the boy gave an energetic smile.
"Hmph" Marcus snorted before shifting his gaze. With those three as the start, more and more people started moving up.
Obviously, it also meant that more and more participants were also being eliminated. Members from the top five guilds other than their star participants, were dropping out one after the other unable to keep up with the skill level of their opponents.
By now most of the participants from the big guilds and other various factions of the kingdom were all eliminated or became the stepping stones for others. Most of the 50 participants had all gone through their three battles with only a few remaining.
"Next battle, Connor Rees from Crimson Demolition Guild¡ªVs ¨C Ivan Mavis ckthorn from the kingdom of ckthorn".
The audience who thought that they could take this chance to breathe after witnessing one spectacr battle after another, nted their buttocks on the seat once again. The opponents who were walking up to the stage, were participants whose powers were already proven and known by most of the people. Hence the enthusiasm level of the people was also high.
"The kingdom of ckthorn huh¡ it seems that those peculiar weapons are about toe up again"
"You are right, although most of the participants from their kingdom are eliminated, those peculiar artifacts and weapons of theirs did give a lot of trouble to others"
"Well, even if that was the case, they cannot win against one of the two youngest genius of Crimson demolition guild"
"Right, right¡ I heard Connor and Tyler are both brothers and the guild master of the Crimson Demolition guild is trying to groom one of them as the future guild leader".
Murmur and hubbubs of the audience could be heard from every corner of the coliseum making the members of the crimson Demolition Guild proudly puff their chest. Although they did not have a super genius like Marcus or Hallie May, they still had the two young brothers whose age did not exceed thirty years.
"Guild master, do you think he can win?".
Kenan Lantz who was eliminated on the second round by a participant from the Kingdom of ckthorn holding those peculiar weapon, asked.
The guild master of the crimson demolition guild deeply nced at Connor on the stage, and said with confidence.
"While his level may be lower than his opponent, Connor and Tyler have exceeded all of you in skills. Not only are they a genius, but they are also more hardworking than anyone else. What they arecking in, can be made up with their skills and this tournament will allow them to grow and reach new heights".
"Though it will be good if he can get into the top ten, that way we will be the only guild upying two spots which no other factions, and the top guilds were able to do. At the very least, I know he can do it".
Seeing their guild master speak with so much confidence, the members from the Crimson demolition guild couldn''t help but get excited.
"Whew, look at how the crowd is going crazy. I didn''t think so but it seems you really are popr" Ivan whistled and lightly remarked.
"I will win" Connorid down his conviction.
"Hehh, are you that type of person, the type ''No nonsense and always serious''. Ahaha, am I being ignored now? Well it can''t be helped I guess ¡ let us have a good match then".
The two of them exchanged a few words before the referee blew the whistle. The no-nonsense type Connor, immediately opened up a distance between his opponent and started casting one spell after another.
His ss was a rare mage ss called [Rapid Spellcaster] while his opponent clearly had some rare warrior ss. In which case, he would be at a disadvantage if he let his opponent freely cross the distance and utilise his skill.
Other than that, he also had to be careful of those peculiar artifacts these people from the kingdom of ckthorn possessed.
"me Magic Mastery- [me Bullet barrage]"
With a spirited shout from him, multiple me balls the size of an egg, materialised before spinning at a rapid speed. With a single thought from Connor, the hundreds of me balls started flying towards his opponent with the speed of a bullet.
Ivan who was the target of this attack was yet to move away from his spot, his lips held that small smile from start to end.
BOOM¡ BOOOM¡ BANG¡
A rain of me bullets wreaked havoc in one area of the stage andpletely devastated it. The whole stage trembled and the vibration could be felt even from the audience stands.
GULP¡ the crowd involuntarily gulped, it hadn''t even been three seconds since the battle started however, it was already so heated.
After the barrage ended and the dust settled, a figure could be seen standing still at that exact same ce. When the spectators looked carefully, they saw he was holding a ck shield that looked very grotesque.
All the attacks earlier from Connor was easily defended by that shield.
"Tch" Connor clicked his tongue and started casting new sets of spells. His opponent having a defensive artefact rather than an offensive one made him all the more troublesome to face.
One magic after another came targeting at Ivan, however, none of them managed to even touch the edges of his clothes. The shield in his hand, defended him from every attack.
"These people from the Kingdom of ckthorn do really possess some peculiar weapons. That shield, possesses the same energy as the sword your opponent had used but it is much more stronger than that sword".
"That young man from the Crimson demolition guild made a right decision to open up the distance between them considering the other guy was higher level warrior. Nheless, the existence of that shield changes everything"
Brutusmented locking his brows. Beside him, Marcus was intensely observing the match.
"Hehe" Ivanughed, now that he has shown the other party that using long-distance attack was useless, that left only one other path for thetter open.
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And just like he had predicted, his opponent closed the gap that they themselves have created to bombard him with magic all around.
"Smart move; however, you are still too inexperienced¡ [Battle Protection]" Ivan used one of his ss-specific skills thatplemented with the shield he was holding and the area that the ck shield covered increased at that instant.
All the magic even the ones targeting his bind spots and tricky angles was easily defended by just a single rotation from Ivan.
"Is that all you have".
Connor''s eyes was enraged hearing the taunt from his opponent and in his fury, he cast a spell which could easily be disrupted given the distance between them.
"That idiot" the guild leader of the Crimson demolition guild smacked his fist on his seat.
"What''s wrong guild master?" Kenan Lantz hurriedly asked. From his point of view, the situation was still fine as long as Connor could find a way to get past the defence of that shield, he didn''t expect the guild master to react otherwise.
"That fool he fell for such an obvious Taunt"
"Eh? That was a skill?"
"Most likely it is a [Derogatory Taunt], a ss-specific skills of [tainted Knight] ss and such. For Connan to be using a powerful intermediate tier magic that requires a long time to prepare at this moment, there is no other way to see it".
The guild master exined sounding a little serious.
Only after chanting the spell midway, did Connor realise that he had fallen for a taunt skill. This realisation hade a step toote, if he stopped the magic midway he would suffer some dire internal injuries but if he did not stop it, he risked getting attacked by his opponent.
"Tainted Shield Bash" Ivan immediately grabbed this opportunity and smacked his great shield towards Connor''s head.
Thetter realised that he cannot get hit by this ss specific skill of a warrior that immobilised and pushed the enemy back for a second or two. In an actual battle, where even a second can decide the oue of a fight, it would be fatal to get hit by such an attack.
p Steeling his will, Connor made up his mind, before the attack actually hit him, he stopped his chanting and put his staff in front of him.
BANG¡ a powerful force hit his staff and then his body before his entire self was sent airborne a few meters away.
"Hohh, you managed to stop that attack fromnding huh. However, I wonder what price you paid for that".
Ivanughed after seeing the former spit out a mouthful of blood. He kept his shield in his space ring and brought out a crude ck sword instead.
The audience was stunned when they saw such a scene, Connor was already having a hard time getting past the defence of that shield but now, he also has to care about his opponent''s offence.
A series of ck de shadows came flying at Connor whose energy was currently rampaging inside him. Forcefully gulping down the mouthful of blood, he conjured a novice tier magic just in time.
"[sh Fire]".
Three to five fireballs that had an intense shine to them flew forward and burst apart. Just like a sun, they brightened the whole stage and forced everyone to cover their eyes as the light was just too much.
A few secondster when they opened their eyes again, they saw the participant from the kingdom of ckthorn stand in the same ce while Connor was a few meters away from him now. However unlike the former, thetter looked clearly tattered and a little tired. Obviously, some of those ck de shadows managed to hit him.
"That was quite the circus trick, I am amazed. You have sessfully managed to open up a distance between us so what now?" Ivan asked smiling gleefully, he continued to mount pressure by swinging that sword and sending those ck de shadows at his opponent.
"Haa¡ haa¡ don''t think that you have won yet. That strength from those weapons of yours is just secondary, it is not yours" Connor retorted dodging left and right.
"Haha, what a poor excuse. The power of the artifacts belongs to the one who wields them" Ivanughed.
The tournament did not bar the participants from using their own weapons and artifacts. In a way having powerful artifacts disyed one''s capability and power. So Ivan was in no way viting the rules.
Connor looked back at the audience stands and coincidentally their eyes met. His brother Tyler who had already moved up to the final day, was looking with a tinge of worry at him.
Connor gave a smile and shifted his gaze back towards his enemy. He was not like Marcus who had a skill that attacked one''s mind and couldn''t be blocked physically. He had only one path for him to take from the beginning.
"I''ll show you that just by having a strong weapon doesn''t make you powerful¡" right after he dered that, mana like a broken damn poured out of his body and flowed inside the staff inside his hand.
The mana around the surrounding started stirring up indicating that a big magic capable of covering arge amount of area, was invoked.
"Hohh, I didn''t expect a participant of his potential to have learned that skill, your kingdom of Ellesmere does indeed have some unpolished gems" Davis Hall, the special guest and the officer of the Headquarters of Adventurer''s Association,mented.
As a mage who had climbed his way up on his own, he couldn''t help but rte with the young man on the stage.
Henry ric Ellesmere seated beside him, smiled and nodded. These young participants were the future of their kingdom, hearing them being praised by a man of Davis Hall''s calibre who had been watching the battles in silence all along, made him happy.
Feeling the disturbance in the surrounding mana, Ivan narrowed his eyes. As a warrior, he knew not to give a mage enough time to cast their spell, if he did they could dish out a spell powerful enough to change the tide of the battle and this was one of the instances, a basic rule of thumb.
He brandished the sword in his right hand and sent a few of the ck bale shadows towards Connor in an attempt to disturb him only to receive another surprise.
SHH.. SHH.. SHH.. all of the de shadows crashed onto the ground with none being able to hit their target. It wasn''t like Ivan''s precision had gone down, his attacks simply missed because his opponent had dodged.
Yes, Connor was dodging his attacks even while being in the midst of conjuring a powerful spell. Immediately, the audience was sent into a frenzy as they couldn''t believe what they just saw with their own eyes.
The same went for Simon and the guild leaders of the top five guilds. Karina Lowell, the guild leader of the Magician''s guild even got up from her seat.
"[Concurrent Chant]" her cherry red lips silently uttered.
"To think that there would be one other person other than you and thatss from the Magician''s guild, it seems that this old one had underestimated this kingdom too much" Vouves said with a smile.
The prettydy seated to his right, gazed at the battle urring on the stage with interest.
"Eh?! Gramps, are you trying to say that this guy is as powerful as Alice?" Denzel asked in doubt.
"What do you think? That young man right there has mastered one of the Rare Superior Skill just like your sister. Although from his crude way of using it, it could be seen that it hasn''t been long since he learned it and is putting it to work somehow" Vouves answered it for him.
On another corner of the audience stands, Simon stood rooted in his seat, his eyes widened with surprise. [Concurrent Chant] a rare Superior skill that had the potential to reach the legendary tier was one of the skills that Irene had told him to master before he reached level 500 and went through a rank up.
The skill allows a person to do multiple things at once just like the parallel thought processing skill which allowed a person to process multiple though at once. Well, the concept was simr, just in this case, one can do something else physically even while they were already busy with a task at hand.
If one acquired the [Concurrent Chant] skill, they would be able to conjure a powerful magic and would still be able to move or do something else in the meantime. Something that normally would not be possible without the skill.
Irene''s Advanced tier Permafrost magic was the prime example. Even while conjuring an advance magic, she was capable of moving and performing other tasks all at the same time leading her enemies by the nose.
Though the skill she had was much more evolved and cannot bepared with the one shown by that participant from the Crimson demolition guild, it was still something that was derived from it.
"[Concurrent Chant] huh" Simon iterated, his gaze stered on the battle that was currently urring.
Storms of de shadows flew towards Connor and targeted him from every direction, some missed, while some barely managed to scratch him. Even though suffering a minor scratch from these de shadows which contained a powerful corrosive energy simr to the dark attribute of mana would be extremely painful, Connor held onto it by gritting his teeth.
With every passing time, the mana around the surrounding raged even more. By now, even the most stupid of the audience could tell that Connor was upto to something.
rm bell started ringing in their heads and if not for the fact that Cyrus had told them that the barrier erected around the stage to protect them is even capable of withstanding an attack from a person above level 500, they would have already started panicking and running for their lives.
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Members from the Crimson demolition guild wore pensive looks as they gazed at the stage.
"Keep enduring Connor, that sword and that shield must consume an incredible amount of mana from their user, as long as you can hold on, you can end it with your own magic. Do not let someone whopletely relies on secondary items to strengthen themselves beat you" the guild master of the crimson demolition guild thought inwardly.
After seeing the medium-range attacks from his sword is unable to disrupt his opponent, Ivan stopped swinging his sword randomly. The mana consumed by the sword to release that kind of energy was truly huge, even if he was level 400, that kind of consumption was still too much for him.
"You do know the consequences if you lose right" he remembered a memory beforeing to the kingdom of Ellesmere.
"Do what you have to, but you must win the reward. If you cannot aplish it, there is no need for you toe back".
Ivan grit his teeth, why of all times did he have to remember that conversation right now.
RUMBLE¡ the air was starting to distort and the surrounding mana was going berserk. The temperature around the stage was rising up and the area was dyed in a crimson hue.
Looking at Connor who was in the middle of all this, a never before seen seriousness reced his previous goofy expression.
"Amalgamation Magic me Wind Mastery- [Rapid Bullet Storm]".
The moment his magic nearedpletion, fierce wind carrying along an intense heat started generating around the stage and quickly dried all the moisture around from this ce.
Hundreds of fireballs the size of an egg materialised in the sky above the stage and was swept away by the wind further increasing the speed and rotation of the fire bullets. The wind picked on speed and quickly covered the whole stage before narrowing down on Ivan leaving him no ce to dodge.
It encased him in the centre and stormed him with me bullets everywhere.
,m BOOM¡ BOOOM.. BOOM¡ like a drum, sounds of continuous explosion rang out from within the storm which kept on getting stronger and faster with time.
Unlike the intermediate tier [me Bullet Barrage] magic, the [Rapid Bullet Storm] this time was the culmination of me and wind magic and also the most strongest magic that Connor was currently capable off.
The magic not only increased the speed and deadliness of his already powerful me bullet, but as the time goes on, each bullet dodged would gain even more power and speed.
Simon arched his brows seeing this spectacle of a magic being created in front of him. This fellow from the crimson demolition guild had used the amalgamation magic of me and wind in such a way that his me magic was beingplemented by his wind magic.
The magic borne this way made his me bullets have even more firepower and was far more deadlier than simply mixing the two elements to create a me storm.
The audience was struck with awe as they witnessed the most powerful spell of a level 391 participant from one of the top five guilds, the Crimson demolition guild.
"As expected from a member of the Crimson demolition guild, their fire magic is indeed top tier in our kingdom"
"Yeah, I would have nightmares if I was the one being targeted by that attack. Seems like the participant from the kingdom of ckthorn had drawn the short end of the stick this time" the crowd gossiped, even from this distance they could feel the might and power of the attack.
They had no doubts in their mind that after that attack even if the participant from the kingdom of ckthorn was defeated, he would be rendered unable to battle.
WHOSH¡WHOOSH¡
Ivan hurriedly dodged the iing me bullets by manoeuvring his body in every way he could and cked those that he couldn''t with his shield. The corrosive energy released by his shield, was able to block the bullets initially but as the time passed and the storm got narrower, the angle, power and speed of the bullets got trickier and faster.
Added with the fact that he did not have room to move his body around, some of the bullets managed to hit. Each of these me bullets after being encased in the storm and being swept around, got much more powerful.
Fortunately, as the prince of the kingdom of ckthorn, the quality of the armour that he wore wasn''t low, it was made of ckgold ore and was quite expensive. However, after being bombarded by hundreds of me bullets repeatedly and in a quick session, even the armour was giving out.
BANG¡ CRACK¡ the force of one of the bullets hitting him on the back was so powerful that Ivan fell face-first on the ground, his armour cracked. Now that he was immobilised, the rest of the bullets hailed down on him dying his body red.
"You do know the consequences if you lose right" those words from his memory for some reason kept on repeating itself at this moment making him even more furious.
"Like hell I will lose... HAAAAAHHHH" Giving a spirited shout, Ivan activated one skill after another.
[Super Enhanced Strength], [Super Enhanced Endurance], [Super Enhaced Defene] [Berserk]. An unimaginable amount of power flowed inside his body, his frame expanded and he became more wider and bulkier.
"[Battle Fury]" roaring out the name of one of his ss-specific skill, he brandished his sword in a wide arc. All that energy was channelled into the sword and a de shadow so huge and powerful that It was iparable to the earlier attacks, manifested.
RIIIIIPPP
The moment the huge ck de shadow came in contact with the storm encasing him all around, a ripping sound like that of a paper being ripped, sounded out. And in front of the astonished eyes of all the audience, the powerful magic was torn apart before being swallowed by the ck corrosive energy.
A hideous figure covered in blood and broken armour, surfaced from inside the stone. He looked so different than before that the crowd had difficulty identifying who he was.
After scattering the pesky storm of me bullets, Ivan''s eyes shifted towards Connor who was puking out blood from the repercussions of his magic being destroyed and had a stunned expression masked all over his face.
Without missing this opportunity when his opponent was in a daze, Ivan rushed towards the gap between them in a few seconds. Due to intuition or from his experience, Connor''s body jolted awake the moment he felt his opponent''s presence near him.
However, it was already toote, before he even realised Ivan was already upon him, charging at him with his shield raised high.
"[Brutal Charge]" a ss specific skill of [Tainted Knight] which allows them to channel all their energy in charge and shift all that energy towards the shield right at the moment of impact.
BANG¡ a berserk force hit Connor right in the chest breaking a few of his ribs and like a ball, sent him flying towards the barrier.
BAM¡ the momentum with which his body collided with the barrier was powerful enough to create ripples in it. After rebounding back against the barrier, his body fell limply to the corner of the stage.
The members of the Crimson Demolition guild, all stood up seeing Connor get hit by an attack like that when his defence was the weakest. They all knew in their minds that after suffering such a blow, getting back up would be a miracle.
"You did your best, yourst attack was praiseworthy. Go and bring him back, make sure he receives proper treatment" the guild master of the crimson demolition guild closed his eyes andmented silently.
It was as he had said, Connor had lost consciousness and Ivan was dered the winner. Seeing his opponent being taken by his guildmates, Ivan mumbled in a voice that only he could hear.
"Yeah, I felt your emotions from your magic loud and clear. Weapons and artifacts cannot always measure the true prowess of a person. But I cannot lose here, I have my own circumstances for using them". He silently disappeared in a corner after saying that.
"Winning 3 out of his three battles and showcasing his might to everyone, Ivan Mavis ckthorn moves onto the top ten" Cyrus dered in a booming voice.
With eight of the top ten spots for the final day of the tournament taken, the remaining participants started battling even more fervently. However, their matchcked a little zing after the previous match and most of them also had a defeat in their score.
Win three out of three matches, that was the condition to grab one of the top ten spots. The participants that currently had 2 out of 2 wins in their score, were only a handful few and out of them, there were two participants who the audience knew were sure to move up and grab the top ten spots.
That is if they do note across each other. Fortunately for their guilds, their opponents had been decided.
The first to take thest two reaming spots with his three victories was¡
"Park Garrett from Sea God''s Trident guild moves to the final day of the tournament after achieving his splendid three victories".
The audience cheered loudly when the name of the participant from one of the top five guilds came up. Marcus, Hallie and Tyler each participant from their respective top five guilds had secured a top ten spot for themselves, the ones who were still yet to move up, were Sea god''s trident and assassin''s guild.
Park Garett with his victory took one spot and brought his guild to the final day of the tournament proving that Godwin isn''t the only genius they had in their guild.
344 Chapter 344
"That was quite the splendid match indeed. That young man if I dare say, will be the next star for their Sea God''s Trident"
"Truly, after the Connor¡ªVs¡ªIvan match, I didn''t think that there would any more enthralling match for the day, but it seems that I was wrong. If I was the guild master of the Sea god''s trident, I would nurture that young man to be the pir of the guild".
Talks like that, was going around everywhere. The audience was filled with hubbub after the match.
"Park Garrett¡ Sea God''s trident. They are a guild that cannot be underestimated. That fellow, although he made it seem like he achieved a victory after a difficult battle, I can see that he is hiding much of his strength".
"To create a setting like that while in between his battle, he must have an insane control over his mana and skills. Having raised someone like him, it''s no wonder their guild is the head of the top five guilds" Simon acknowledged.
Park Garrett on the stage was one thing, but he was also curious about the person named Godwin, the crowd wasparing with Denzel.
That boy by far was the most dazzling and talented human that Simon had met in his opinion. For the crowd to beparing the two of them, it was natural that he was curious. After the stage was repaired by a mage capable of using intermediate tier tremor magic, the next set of battles continued on.
"The next participants will decide who will be the one to grab thest of the top ten spots. Each of them have two victories in their score and have gone through one tough battle after another to reach this ce. Participant Gallio Stard from the Assassin''s guild¡ªVs¡ªLucas ckwood from Castledor City".
The spectators cheered in wee of the participants, they all had their eyes on the one wearing a normal looking leather armour and carrying two short swords. He was someone from the top five guild, his mere presence attracted eyes from all around.
In contrast, Simon was more interested in observing Lucas who he was somewhat acquainted with during his trip from Castledor city to here in the Air Engine. Even though he had said acquainted, the both of them had only exchanged a few words.
Simon was curious to see what the youngest branch manager of the adventurer''s association was capable of.
After the two participants got on the stage, they exchanged a few words of greeting.
"I didn''t think that the Castledor city from the remote north-western region, would be able to produce someone like you. Nevertheless, it seems your luck ends here for you to end up being my opponent" Gallio Stard said measuring his opponent.
Lucas on the other hand, did notment much and only narrowed his brows. He knew that the participants from the top five guilds would be arrogant; however, he didn''t think that they would be this overconfident.
Perhaps in his opponents eyes, he didn''t even see Lucas as his opponent. Lucas was a level 400 [Pyroblitz Magus] with a high potential. Compared to that, his opponent Gallio Stard was level 397 with a rare ss and a high potential just like him.
Though he was a few levels above his opponent, if one factored their age then the same cannot be said any longer. Plus, one cannot judge a participant from the top five guilds simply based on their levels.
Lucas bent his head and looked at the audience stands were the royal family was seated. There in one of the seats, sitting prettily was Cynthia whose appearance was enough to beguile the crowd.
The princess of the Ellesmere kingdom, the first time heid his eyes on her when he came to the capital for the first time, he was instantly smitten. He knew the vast status quo between them and his one-sided infatuation for her.
Thus he worked hard to get where he was right now and earned her recognition. During their trip to the capital city, he was fortunate enough to travel and familiarise himself with her. And now he was here participating in the ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament where she can clearly see him.
"I''ll show you the results of my years of hard work" Lucas silently mumbled.
The moment the referee started the battle, a fierce sh that blew away the crowd''s preconception of the top five guilds, began. After an arduous long battle where the barrier was rocked again and again and where the stage waspletely destroyed, the final results that shocked the spectators came out.
The one to remain standing even while looking haggard and tattered was Lucas ckwood from the Castledor city while his opponent was knocked out cold. The entire coliseum was silent for a while and only woke up when the referee dered the winner.
"Lucas ckwood from the castledor city with his powerful performance defeated Galliio Stard and earned thest spot for the top ten. With that, the top ten participants for the final day had been chosen".
The crowd was set into an uproar; this was the first time in history that amongst the participants who had moved up to the final day of the tournament, one of the top five guilds was missing.
Lucas ckwood managed to create an upset and defeated the participant from the Assassin''s guild who was one of the favoured candidates for the top ten spots. With the defeat of Gallio Stard, the Assassin''s guild also failed to get into the top ten, something that had never urred before.
It was amon pattern, immutable even that the top five guilds always entered the final stage. However, that custom has been broken today and had been achieved by none other a participant from the remote north-western corner of a region.
By defeating a star participant of one of the top five guilds, he had proven his skills and qualification to rightfully be in the top ten. The audience was reeling in shock but the ones more shocked than them were the members of the assassin''s guild who did not expect such an oue.
"Sigh¡ it was unexpected that there was still such a rough diamond hidden within the participants. Go and bring Gallio back, he has done a good jobing this far".
The guild master of the Assassin''s guild did not look too upset or mortified by the result and simply epted the fact as it is.
"But guild master the top ten spot¡" before the member could say any further, he shut his mouth feeling the sharp re of his guild master.
The fourth day battles have concluded with numerous surprises and epic battles where the top fifty participants fought nail and tooth against each other.
The audience that hade to see today''s battles, left satisfied. The events that they have witnessed would be passed onto with their mouths and circte across the whole kingdom.
Simon exited the coliseum; on his way out, he unwittingly bumped into someone. Since it was his fault for being lost in his thoughts, he felt it appropriate to apologise to the other party; however, when he turned around, they were nowhere to be seen.
Befuddled, he scratched his hair "Strange, why do I feel a sense of incongruity from that person?". Shaking his head off the thought, he left the scene.
Simon was lying on top of his bed aftering back to the inn. His eyes were closed and he was in deep contemtion. The battles that had been fought today, was something that was very instructive and gave Simon a far clear image of what humans with their ss system were capable off.
Their battle strategies and how they used their skills to counter each other. Simon was currently going through a simted battle with each of the participants in his mind based on what he had witnessed today.
It would be a lie if he said that he wasn''t interested in some of the ss-specific skills that they had, like the roar skill that participant from the savannah beast guild had or the Rare Superior skill [Concurrent Chant] Irene had told him about.
There were also battles that told others that one shouldn''t just overly rely on their weapons and artifacts to be strong. At the end, they are just secondary items that augment your powers and not the real representation of your strength.
Simon got up from his bed and sighed, his body was itching to fight all those geniuses of this kingdom. Fighting them in a simted battle in his mind was different than actually facing them. Only when one goes through numerous difficult battles, was when one truly grows stronger.
Simon who knew the way to be stronger, couldn''t help having his blood boil after seeing so many strong opponents. The battle of the Finest standing up to its name truly brought only the best ones onto the stage.
As Simon was having these thoughts, Adalinda''s voice sounded inside his head once again.
"Hey did you miss me? Hehe, my disciple and I areing to the capital. Wait for us tomorrow.". Just as always she ended the transmission right after saying her piece.
Simon frowned, from her words he could interpret that they were still far from the capital.
"How far did she run?" he thought internally. For Adalinda who could cut space and travels dozens of kilometres at once to be travelling for more than three days to get back? Simon could only wonder.
Shaking his head off the unnecessary thought, he got out of the inn to go roaming around the city.
-----
Northern part of the city, many luxurious mansions lined up around this corner. The ce was used to hold and receive the foreign delegates and was only a few kilometres away from the coliseum. The security around here was extremely tight with many high level knights and soldiers patrolling the area from time to time.
Inside one of the rooms of said mansions.
"Hehe, this is starting to be more fun. Sadly, I have some other ce to be so I won''t be able to witness it" a being whose appearance gave others a chill, and whose aura was so fiendish that they could cower anyone with just their re, said.
The being had a wicked smile stered on his face, Crimson eyes and pale white skin. The being was none other than Avrox.
"Hehe, [Imitate Presence] release. With that I wonder how long you can stay hidden Demon Viscount. Hmm? So that old man has noticed huh. Let us meet again if you are still alive by then".
Right after saying that, he took out a [Scroll of return] and quickly started conjuring the spell. A pool of blood could be seen behind him.
345 Chapter 345
Simon returned to the inn after having a satisfying dinner and was just about to lie down on his bed when suddenly, he felt a presence outside his door. Immediately, he became alerted and prepared his body to act at a moment''s notice.
The presence that had approached his door, was unknown to him.
"Who goes there?" Simon asked, since the person decided to reveal their presence, there must be some reason for it.
Indeed, it was as he had guessed. The moment he asked the question, the person behind the door spoke at a volume that only they could hear.
"Ie on behalf ofdy Cynthia. She has tasked me with rying you a message".
Cynthia? As Simon wondered what message did she want to give him thiste at night, the message that he got, befuddled him.
"Lady Cynthia told me to tell you to be careful and leave the capital as soon as you can. That is all". Right after rying his message, the person disappeared just like they appeared.
[Stealth], Simon immediately recognised the skill the other party used. However, his mind right now was caught up in something else.
"What did she mean by those words? Be careful and leave the capital?" since she did not provide any context or anything else to exin what she meant by those words, it was difficult for Simon to understand what she meant.
Cynthia didn''t strike him as someone who would joke like that, which could only mean that something had happened and she was trying to warn him off.
His rtionship with her could be said as cordial which exined her trying to do something like that. Plus Simon had also saved the life of her guardmander/friend and had also sold those elixirs of his to her in time of need.
As much as he appreciated this kind gesture from her, he had his own reason for staying in the capital. It wasn''t though he hadpletely ignored her warnings, he did stay on his guard the whole night and was more cautious than before.
The night of the fourth day of the tournament was particrly noisier than it was the previous other nights further enforcing the fact that something had happened. He could hear the footsteps of the soldiers running everywhere all night.
When the morning of the next day came, themotion of the people was more apparent. Today was the final day of the Battle of the Finest which will decide who will be the winner of this year''s tournament.
The top ten participants contesting in it were the finest of the finest and the battle were sure to be extremely exhrating.
As Simon walked down the street towards the Coliseum, he noticed that knights and soldiers were stationed everywhere and were on high alert. Even the soldiers near the entry of the coliseum were extremely careful when allowing people in.
Nobody was allowed to wear any mask or cover their appearance, those who did notply were directly apprehended. Everybody could feel the tension in the air and that something was different today.
Simon who used the VIP entry pass to enter the coliseum, heard bits and pieces of information from the people walking in front of him.
"Why the hell is there such a tight security today? Even if it''s the final day of the tournament these many soldiers are clearly too much"
"Did you know my rtives who came today all the way from the other cities to watch the final day of the tournament, weren''t allowed inside the capital? The soldiers have barricaded all the entry and exit points of the city. Everywhere around the walls, you can see soldiers stationed"
"What? Is that all true?".
Simon knitted his brows in consternation, something really did happen. However, the general popce had no idea.
''So whatever it was, it was kept a tight secret huh'' he thought internally. To be barricading all the entry and exit points and to station guards everywhere, Simon couldn''t help but have a foreboding feeling.
The seats inside the coliseum was packed with people who were simrly talking about the unusual activities of the soldiers. Looking around, Simon noticed that other than the royal family, top five guilds and all the other factions were present.
No, it would be wrong to say that it was only the royal family, the delegates from the Sanguine Empire were also absent. Usually, the tournament would have started right after the dawn break; however, for some reason, it was being dyed today.
Simon wasn''t the only one who had some inkling that something was going on, the guild leaders of the top five guilds who had their own informationwork, were furrowing their brows in contemtion.
"Hmm? Isn''t that guy¡" when Simon was observing them, Simon noticed a familiar face seated beside the guild leader of Sea God''s Trident.
The person which looked familiar was none other than Scott Green who he had met in the city of Mountmend. It was also thetter who told him about the Battle of the Finest tournament in the capital.
After an hour-long wait or so, the royal family of Ellesmere along with their guardian beast Fierce Warhawk descended onto the stage of the coliseum. What surprised the audience was that the Warhawk was not only carrying the royal family, but also the officer from the adventurer''s association Davis Hall and the delegates of the Sanguine Empire.
''What was going on?'' the entire crowd had the same question as they continuously murmured.
After these people got on the stage, they discussed among themselves for a minute or two before Cyrus as the moderator for this event step forward and dered.
"Everyone, we are extremely sorry for dying the final round of the tournament; however, something extremely important has urred and until we address this issue, we cannot move on to today''s finale. I hope everybody understands and cooperates with us".
The crowd silently listened, this sudden change in situation piqued their interest. they were all dying to know what the Royal Knight captain meant by those words.
"I am ashamed and devastated to say that some of our top ten participants were attacked yesterday".
? The moment Cyrus said that, the audience erupted in a loud mour. It wasn''t unusual for the participants to be attacked or targeted by some factions they have had grudges with, but such happenstance only urred after the tournament when all the participants left the capital.
No matter who it was, nobody dared to do something like that inside the capital, after all, doing so would be slighting the authority of the royal family. Due to the royal family intervening and the soldiers maintaining thew there was never a case of a participant being attacked so openly in the capital.
Though that was only the case as long as they were inside the capital. Once they were out, the royal family did not bother with the personal affairs of the different factions. Because of this, the fact that somebody was attacked inside the capital came as a huge shock to the audience. They couldn''t help but wonder who that insane person was to do something like this.
Cyrus locked his brows and seemed a little angry as he said "Unfortunately, participant Ivan from the ckthorn kingdom was injured but the assant had already left the scene when our soldiers were alerted. Even our third prince was targeted by the very same assant. Thankfully, the prince wasn''t injured that badly and was swiftly healed by our [Priests]".
The crowd was thrown aback, they didn''t expect the assant to go after a delegate from the foreign nation and even their third prince.
The perceptive ones were even more rmed, a foreign prince being attacked and harmed was no joke. Depending on the situation, this might even be a political issue for a war between their two nations.
Had the assant gone mad to do something like that? Not to mention hurting the third prince meant that they would have a less chance of winning this tournament against the Sanguine Empire.
"Who is it that dares tomit such a crime within the confines of our capital Cyrus?" Brutus Sarge, the guild leader of the Savannah Beast asked.
Touching a participant inside the capital while they were still there, meant that the assant was also making light of them, the top five guilds.
Brutus'' emotions were shared by all the other guild leaders of the top five guilds and they all had a look that said they were all dying to know who was this intrepid soul that did not fear them.
Fortunately for them, the next set of words that Cyrus said, basically guaranteed that they had found the assant.
"The assant that attacked the third prince and participant Ivan had used some peculiar means to evade all the securities and measures we ced for the safety of the participants. However, they forgot that a ranker above level 700 was currently residing in our capital. With their help, we were able to identify who that assant was" Cyrus dered in a serious tone.
"Sir Vouves, Lord Davis if you will please" King Henry requested to the two people beside him.
Vouves and Davis nodded their head before stepping forward. "I didn''t think that a member of their race would be so active despite our presence" Vouves sighed.
"Hmph, they were never a clever bunch and only know how to hide like that. Now that it hase to this, it matters not why it is here, we can first bring it down before questioning itter" Davis said taking out his staff.
346 Chapter 346
"Alright" Vouves nodded.
BADUMP¡
Simon felt his heart suddenly pound, from the moment they started announcing about how some participants were attackedst night, he was getting a bad feeling. His intuition had be extremely acute and his senses alert, he knew that something was very wrong but didn''t know what.
And as if to answer his queries, the old man with a head full of white hair tied into a dreadlock dered who that person or rather the being was.
"Yesterday this old man was alerted of a sudden presence of a foreign race. When this old man arrived at the scene, I found young participant Ivan and prince Erwin injured. The assant may have fled the scene but he had left a crucial clue, their presence".
"Together with Davis Hall from the Adventurer''s association, we have concluded that the presence was none other than of a Demon Noble".
The moment thosest few words sounded out, the whole crowd had be silent. The words Demon Noble wasn''t something that they get to hear everyday not to mention many of them had not even seen one their whole life.
It came as a huge surprise for them that a member of a Demon race was here and they were also the one who attacked their third prince and a participant from the ckthorn kingdom.
Simon sat silently on his seat, his heat growing colder by the second. He now knew where the feeling of foreboding came from and why Cynthia sent a message telling him to get away from the capital yesterday.
p Something was very wrong here and he could feel himself getting tangled into something that he had no control of. It was as if he had already fallen into a trap the moment he had decided to stay in the capital.
Simon looked at the people on the stage and noticed that Cynthia was not present amongst them. Why did she sent such message to him? Was she aware of his identity? If so then didn''t it mean that his ruse had been seen through? Thoughts like a flood bombarded his mind.
Strangely enough though, he didn''t panic even though he knew his situation would only get worse from here. He who had gone through numerous life and death battle in the ghastly winding forest found his mind and heart growing calm.
After that deration from Vouves, the crowd started getting agitated, it was only to be expected, after all, there was just too much bad blood in the history of the two races.
"I want everyone to calm down and listen to what the royal knight captain has to say" Davis Hall said, the man was an officer of headquarters of the adventurer''s association and naturally exuded an aura that made the crowd silent.
Cyrus Skyler made aplex face and admitted in front of the whole crowd.
"A few days ago before the Battle of the finest tournament started, we felt a breach in our city protection array and found out that it was made by a Demon Noble. We put our every effort into finding them but it was as if they had disappeared into thin air in broad daylight with no information to be found about them until yesterday. I apologise to everyone for keeping this a secret; however, I had no choice".
This was a blunder of the royal family, but the man was taking all of the me on his own shoulders. He was trying to save the reputation of the royal family by being the bad guy.
Henry sighed, he was just about to stop his royal knight from ruining his reputation permanently when a derisive voice that contained some contempt rang out.
"Haha, so what the royal knight captain is trying to say is that the soldiers of this kingdom are ipetent and useless enough to be unable to find a single intruder in their own city?".
Everybody looked on with anger in their eyes at the owner of the voice. If it was some other person, he would have immediately been crucified or thrown into a prison; however, the identity of the speaker was a little special.
Oman ridiculed, but that was just on the outside. Internally, he was panicking thinking that the Demon Earl was caught. He couldn''t be med for thinking so after all, there were currently two people above level 700 in this city.
If they were to investigate the demon and if he spilled their connection, it would spell doom for his kingdom
At another corner of the audience seat, Scott Green narrowed his eyes and seemed to be in deep thought, nobody knew what he was thinking.
Cyrus did not get mad at this slight of ament, on the contrary, he nodded his head and dered in an unwavering voice in front of the crowd.
"It is true that the fault lies with this city''s soldiers. That is why allow me on behalf of all the soldier to amend for this mistake and erase it forever".
His intention was clear, he had basically dered that he would be fighting that Demon noble. Cyrus Skyler was someone whose reputation was only preceded by Godwin, even the guild leaders of the top five guild respected him.
It came as no surprise that the people were awed by his deration.
"A noble aspiration; however, leave it to us old fellows. We cannot allow it to think that it can do whatever it wants in the central continent. if it thinks that it can just hide amidst the humans than let us teach him a lesson"
Davis looked at Cyrus and dered. He then nced at Vouves beside him "I might need your help old friend".
After saying that, their two bodies started floating mysteriously and before long they were standing at the middle of the sky high above the coliseum. The crowd curiously looked up from their seats, wondering what the two were nning to do.
If the demon noble had indeed hidden himself amidst the humans, it would be very hard to find it unless they have something that would reveal his position to them.
Davis Hall, tightly held his staff that was made from an ancient treants body and swiped it towards the sky a few times. Immediately, a vast amount of mana, deep and powerful was released from his body and in an instant covered the sky.
The weather started changing and so was the mana in the surrounding which was starting to coalesce in the sky above the coliseum. Wild winds were generated and in front of many astonished eyes, a highlyplex multiyered magic circle that covered one-third area of the city was formed.
The sky suddenly darkened and thick clouds appeared out of nowhere.
"You are overstraining yourself again," Vouves remarked.
"Haa¡ haa.. shut up and help meplete this magic circle" Davis retorted.
The former shook his head and stretched out his old hands. With the motion of his hands, the multiyered magic circle in the sky slowly started rotating and the runes in it started moving.
"You are going to use that skill aren''t you?" Vouves asked to which he only got a small nod.
Davis started floating higher and higher until he could almost touch the enormous circle with just the stretch of his hands.
"Holy Magic Mastery¡ [Eye of Luminesce] [dius]".
At that moment, the resonant sound of a bell could be heard echoing out in every corner of the city. Every person no matter where they were or what they were doing, saw innumuerous rays of light like a shower of rain fall down upon them.
The shower of light epassed the entire city and was even able to pass through walls and fall on people underneath it.
They looked at the incredible sight and at themselves who were covered in light. The people inside the coliseum were the same, they each were bathed in a shower of light which calmed their minds and gave them a feeling of warmth.
However, that wasn''t the same for everyone. Simon who was seated on his seat, cursed seeing this sight. He didn''t expect the man to be so powerful as to create such a huge spell that epassed the entire city.
Though that may be the case, that wasn''t his problem right now. Unlike the others who were having a pleasant expression on their faces after being exposed to this light, Simon on the other hand was having a difficult time.
He felt like his body was being burned by boiling hot water and ck smoke wasing out of him, making him stand out quite a lot.
"Hohh, I didn''t expect it to be amongst us inside the coliseum. Well, it spared us the trouble of chasing after him" Davis said as they slowly descended.
By now, the entire attention of the crowd was on Simon whose body was continuously releasing a ck smoke. Seeing this scene, some of the young members couldn''t help but ask their guild masters what was happening.
"Light magic is considered the weakness or perhaps the bane of all the creatures that have a strong affinity to darkness. A demon noble is no exception. Holy magic is the intermediate tier of light magic and is even more effective on them. To us, it would cause no harm but for a Demon Noble, it was no different than having to suffer a baptism where their body is continuously burned"
Brutus Sarge said getting up from his seat. It was not only him, all those people in the coliseum that knew what the ck smoke entailed, got up from their seats.
"That man?!" Scott green who was seated Benny Beckermann narrowed his eyes when itnded on Simon. But before he could ponder any further, the person beside him whispered something into his ears which made his expression extremely peculiar.
"Are you sure that he was the guy that knocked you out that day?".
347 Chapter 347
"He was one of them, I am sure of it" the person who said those words to Scott, was not wearing a mask but if he was, Simon would have immediately recognised him as the guy he had met back at the rundown shack of a restaurant.
"It''s not Avrox? So there was another Demon Noble here?" Oman made an amused face and watched with interest as to what was going on.
"So you have been hiding amongst us all along? Hmph if nothing I praise your guts for not trying to run away already. Your cover is already blown, there is no point in putting with this fa?ade. Vouves¡"Davis asked.
"I know. [Dispruption]" the royal court magician said invoking one of his skills that made the mana around the surroundings go into a frenzy.
The artefact trinket of Grimlock on Simon''s neck started trembling and making unusual noise before going off. The effect that was keeping his appearance as a human dissipated off.
In front of everyone''s stunned eyes, Simon''s body turned taller, grew horns and became more muscr. The features exclusive to demon nobles appeared on his body.
"I-It''s a Demon Noble¡" nobody knew who said it first, but the moment someone shouted that, people started running away from Simon and in the blink of an eye, the area around him had bepletely empty.
Simon''s eyes were grave as he looked all around him, everywhere he saw, soldiers surrounded and blockaded the ce. It wouldn''t have been a problem if it was only those soldiers; however, the ones he was most alert of were the two old men hovering in front of him who released a vast ocean like aura just like the Ancient Titan Treant.
"There is no way for you to escape, give up willingly ande with us" Davis Hall said. His tone was condescending as he measured Simon. Even without his analysis just purely based on the aura that the Demon Noble was releasing, he could tell that thetter was not very strong.
"A Demon Viscount?".
p Vouves furrowed his brows, he could tell that something was wrong, the presence that he felt yesterday indeed matched the Demon Viscount in front of him. However, the aura he felt was far more pure than this.
As his thoughts reached till this point, from the corner of his eyes he saw Denzel looking somewhat unusual.
Give Up? There is nothing more stupid than doing something like that. Even while knowing the difference between him and his opponents, Simon did not willingly surrender because he knew that once he gets caught by them his situation would only be worse.
WHOOSH...
In front of everyone''s astonished eyes, Simon unfurled his wide bat-like wings and rushed towards the sky with all his strength. The soldiers have blockaded every other exit point of this city leaving the sky the only path he can escape through.
However, the sky above the capital was a no flying zone for a reason, the hundreds of magic cannons ced on the city walls, would target and shoot down any flying object that tries to do so. Though Simon knew it, he had no other option but to take his chances.
The demon noble was flying away yet the two old men did not take any action and simply saw it happening from a distance. Everybody who was present inside the coliseum was astonished by their actions.
"Shall we do something father?" Marcus asked.
Brutus shook his head and simply told his son to watch. Amongst the two old men, one was a ranker renowned across this region while the other an officer of the headquarters of the Adventurer''s Association.
There was no way they would allow a mere Demon Viscount to get away from this ce in front of their presence.
Simon was careful of the magic cannons; however, he was more bothered by those old men who weren''t trying to chase him for some reason. While thinking about that in the back of his head, he increased his speed even further. whatever it was, he must get away from this ce as soon as possible.
Simon with the help of his skill [High-Speed Flight], quickly became a dot that was disappearing at the horizon.
Davis Hall who was watching all of that from the skies above the coliseum smiled at this moment and stepped forward. The moment he did, an invisible ripple passed through the air as if it was water and the figure of the man disappeared.
The next time he appeared, he was directly a few meters in front of Simon who was almost about to escape the confines of the city.
"Now now, if we allowed a single Demon Viscount to escape in front of our presence, will we still have any face left to show in public?" Davis stated, he stretched his fingers and pointed behind him.
"Well you can try passing through that ce and see if you can escape or not for yourself".
Right after saying that Davis pulled his hands back and assumed a carefree posture but other than that, he did nothing else.
Simon nced at the man, for some reason, the words that he said, was giving him a bad premonition. Nheless, he did not slow his speed and swiftly passed by the man.
Simon utilised all the strength in his body to increase his speed even further, he became a ck shooting star cutting through the dome of blue sky. Just when he reached the edges of the city walls and was about to leave its confines, he knocked into something cold and solid.
BANG¡ the force from his flight, rebounded Simon back.
Hurriedly stabilising himself, he looked in front of him only to be surprised to see nothing there. Earlier when he crashed there, he definitely felt like there was something akin to a wall there.
Simon flew forward and stretched his hands only to realise that he was right. There indeed was a wall solid and sturdy to the touch and at the same time invisible to the eyes.
"The wall that you are touching is the holy barrier [dius]. Others might be able to pass through it as they wish; however, you the denizen of darkness aren''t allowed to. The Holy barrier [dius] repels darkness and is one of the strongest magic against the dark attribute of mana".
"As long as you have an affinity to it, you will not be able to get past the barrier. Do you get it now? No matter what you do, from the start, it was already predetermined that you won''t be able to escape" At some point, Davis Hall appeared behind him and leisurely exined.
Simon''s eyes became grave as he heard the exnation of the other party. Was this the reason why the two old men did not bother to chase after him when he tried to escape through the sky?
In the first ce, when did he cast this spell? Simon recalled that the man was casting the holy magic [Eye of Luminesce], there was no indication of any other magic. What was going on?
Davis hall nced at the perplexed expression of the Demon viscount and smiled. He knew what thetter was thinking; he was indeed casting [Eye of Luminesce] but it didn''t mean that it was the only magic he was casting.
The holy magic [Eye of Luminesce] was the magic that he was casting in front of everyone''s eyes but simultaneously in the background, he was also casting the Holy barrier magic [dius]. Something which is only possible because of the skills [Multi-Cast] [Shadow Chanting] and a few other skills in the mix.
However, there was no need for him to tell that to the Demon Noble in front of him. It wasn''t simply the difference between their levels, but also between their experience and skills. He who was above level 700, an existence like the demon viscount was no match for him.
BANG¡ BANG¡
Simon did not simply give up, although he did not know when and how this barrier magic was evoked, he did not believe that he wouldn''t be able to pass through it.
BANG¡
Simon activated all of his augmenting skills and punched the invisible barrier real hard. Nevertheless, other than creating some small ripples, his attacks managed to do nothing.
Did he have no choice other than to give up willingly? Simon refused to believe that, he attacked the barrier with all of his might a few more times only to be rebounded back by the barrier every time.
"It seems that you really are a foolish demon. Did those self-centred superior ranking demon nobles teach you nothing?" Davis sighed at the sight of the Demon Viscount butting heads with his barrier.
A demon Viscount was a powerful demon noble capable of destroying cities on their own. They are usually the subordinates or one might say the hands or legs of high ranking Demon nobles who mostly sit inside the safety of their dungeons and show their faces very rarely.
From Davis''s perspective, thetter looked like a subordinate of some high ranking Demon Noble who was the brain pulling the strings from the shadows.
As long as he captured the one in front of him, he could slowly squeeze all that information out of him.
Little did Davis know that Simon was a low ranking Demon Baron who was borne from the ample mana of this world who evolved to the rank of Demon Viscount. He was not a subordinate of some high ranking demon noble.
Though the cases of someone like that appearing are so rare that most people of the Central continent aren''t even aware of it. Davis Hall couldn''t be med for thinking so.
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While Davis was observing the demon viscount, he suddenly saw thetter bing silent all of a sudden. Just when he though that the demon had finally give up after recognising the immensity between their strengths, he saw the demon noble taking something out from his space.
It was a crimson de so ringly red that it was as if it was forged with blood. The moment it appeared the surrounding air started boiling as a golden halo was cast upon the case. This time, it was Davis''s turn to be surprised, he did not expect the demon viscount to suddenly pull out a weapon of such a high tier.
With his perceptive eyes, he could easily tell that the weapon was out of the ordinary and he was further proven right when he used [Analysis] on it.
The skills and the buffs that the sword bestowed made it a peak [A] tier sword which was rare even in the maind of the central continent.
Simon called out the crimson zing me Sword from his inventory and felt the drastic increase in his stats when holding onto it. Since the sword was too conspicuous and mostly because there was never a need to, he did not use it much.
It also had to do with its enormous consumption of mana before. However, now that he found himself backed into a wall, he cannot be bothered about such stuff. He fed the sword with a humongous amount of his mana and the sword roared out as if alive.
CHIIII¡ the sky was heated up and the space was starting to distort from the unimaginable heat the sword was releasing. Earlier all his attacks failed to do anything to the invisible holy barrier in front of him.
Now though, he was also holding the strongest weapon in his arsenal in his hands. Simon refused to believe that the barrier won''t budge even after that.
"Infernal Magic Mastery¡" he roared out. The sword responded to hismand and became brighter and brighter until it turnedpletely golden.
"[Infernal Heatwave]"
ROOOARRR¡ a golden fire zed out of the sword increasing the temperature to a threatening degree.
"Infernal Magic?" Vouves who was watching all of this from above the skies of the coliseum, narrowed his eyes at this moment. Even he was caught off guard by this sudden appearance of golden mes.
Themotion happening around the western skies of the city, gathered the attention of every people of the city. They could all see a golden me, no a golden sun at the distance that evoked a deep fear in their souls.
Even from this distance, they could feel the heat which was scalding their skin.
Simon after activating the Infernal Magic mastery skill bestowed by the sword, used one of the infernal magic and shed down at the barrier blocking his path. A crimson line would be left behind at the end of the trajectory of the de which refused to die down even after a while.
KLINK¡
The moment the de of the sword met the barrier made of holy magic, a loud noise like that of a metal scraping against metal echoed out. The holy barrier [Galdius] rippled intensely showcasing the might of the Infernal Magic.
"HAAAAHH" Simon roared out, he exerted even more pressure and willed the golden fire to burn hotter than before.
Intense sparks generated and in front of the astonished eyes of Davis and the distant Vouves, a small tear started appearing in the barrier. The sword managed to cut the barrier and burn a small hole in it.
The hole became bigger and bigger but at the same time, the intensity of the mes was also reduced to tiny embers. Nheless, Simon''s attacks finally had some effect. The sword managed to open up a hole just big enough for him to pass through.
He pped his wings and was just about to escape through it when suddenly he heard the pping of clothes. Davis Hall behind him finally donned a serious expression and pointed his palm at Simon.
CLANG¡ the huge multiyered magic circle in the sky rotated a little and as per hismands sent fort a beam of light that mmed into the hole that was made by the Demon Noble. In the blink of an eye, the tear that Simon had made after much difficulty, was mended back.
Shock, perhaps that would be an understatement to what Simon was feeling at this moment. His eyes which finally saw some light at the end of the ck tunnel, darkened once again.
"There will no escaping for you demon" he heard the voice of the old man before a strong force powerful enough to crack some of his bones hit squarely in his chest and sent him flying back towards where he came from.
BOOOM¡ Simon crashed back in the coliseum like a meteor dropping on earth, creating a big crater in the process.
The ordinary audience were stunned silly when something came crashing on the stage with an insane speed. However the more perceptive immediately knew that it was the demon Noble who was sent flying back here.
Simon spat out a mouthful of blood, circted his mana around his body and expelled the foreign energy rampaging inside him. That attack earlier, even though the person held back a lot, shaved out a marginal amount of his HP.
Willing his body, he pped his wings and got out of the crater only to find that he was surrounded and back at the coliseum again. Everywhere he looked, he saw humans that were looking at him with hostile eyes.
Perhaps he made the wrong choice bying; however, it was toote to regret.
The sky was blockaded just like all the other exit points in this city, there was no ce for him to run. He could sense multiple strong presence locking onto his aura, needless to say they were the guild leaders of the top five guilds and the faction leaders from the other regions.
Suddenly, Simon felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu, the coliseum, the battle of life and death and the jeering audience.
Simon had seen the picture of the memories of the Shieldbearer, one of the two ancient warriors back at the forbidden trail. His current situation was quite simr to the two brothers who were forced to fight a battle of life and death.
But unlike the two powerful ancient warriors, he was far too weak and his opponents far more powerful than him. Even if he struggled, he didn''t see any hope of escaping this ce.
Then was his only option to give up?
Just as those appeared in his mind, Simon violently shook his head and rejected the notion. No matter what he cannot allow them to capture him. He who was alone before, now had people who depended and were waiting for him back at his dungeon.
So giving up was never an option from the start. Thus he could only struggle, struggle until the bitter end. Simon bought three vials of elixir and quickly gulped it down.
[Elixir of healing used X3].
He then looked at the sky above the coliseum where the two old men were currently standing on and reinvigorated his spirits. Clenching the crimson de tightly in his hands, he looked defiantly at them.
"Those injuries healed faster than I thought, those elixirs he took must be Master grade or above. Honestly, first that [A] rank sword and then these elixirs. This demon noble is full of surprises" Davis Hallmented.
"Un, I''m starting to feel like this Demon Noble is no ordinary one. That artefact he was using to mask his appearance was also a very high-grade artefact" Vouves replied observing the demon.
"Hohh, a low ranking demon noble having such high-grade weapons and artefacts, even if he was a subordinate of superior ranking Demon, I cannot understand how he is in possession of these items. Well, it matters not since I will be squeezing all the information out of him when I take him back to the headquarters".
Davis smiled and started making some symbols with his hands. ordingly, the gigantic magic circle in the sky started rotating and theplex runes in it crisscrossing.
"There is no way that you don''t feel it, the humongous gap between our powers. I''m far more powerful than you. It will be much more easier if you just surrender and stop your futile struggles" Davis iterated.
The demon noble silently red at the old man wearing a suit with its crimson eyes and finally opened his mouth. However, the words that it spoke, only seemed to incite them more.
"Right now indeed you are more powerful than me. But that power gap will not remain the same forever. I know someone far more powerful than you and me, the power level between us was simrly very vast. However, if one gives up hope before they even start trying they will never be able to reach that height, no struggle is ever futile".
Simon barked back, a powerful savage aura radiating out of him like a tsunami.
It was not only Davis and Vouves near him who were surprised, people like the guild masters of the top five guild and faction leaders from the various regions who were keeping an eye on the Demon Noble were also astonished.
Even in front of a huge mountain-like presence such as Sir Davis Hall and Sir Vouves, the willpower of the demon refused to crumble down.
"Such sophistry, it seems you are even eloquent with words. Allow me to witness then how you will bridge this gap" Davis remarked, stretched out his index finger and made a pressing motion.
Immediately, a loud sound of a bell was heard and a curtain of white light fell from the sky and on top of the Demon Viscount making him kneel on the ground.
Simon grit his teeth, his Crimson eyes zing like fire.
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[Super Enhanced Strength], [Super Enhanced Magic], [Super Enhanced Agility]¡ all of his augmenting skills were activated at once and channelled into the infernal magic bestowed by his sword.
"You will not be swinging that sword once again" but before he could even dish out an attack, a white ray surpassing the speed of light, prated his left hand forcing him to drop the sword.
Davis Hall who had seen the might of his sword, swiftly knocked it out of his hands. The pressure on Simon increased fourfold and he couldn''t help but crash into the ground headfirst.
The curtain of white light on top of putting extreme pressure on him was also gradually drained him of his energy. Simon tried reaching for the sword but it was knocked away by thetter who was looking at him with eyes of indifference.
Anger, humiliation, hatred, self-loathing, a wild influx of emotions raged inside Simon. The other party was so strong that he did not even have the strength to raise his head. In front of absolute power, every other trick was useless.
At this moment, he was once again reminded of words that Irene and Adalinda had said him once. In this world, only strength recognises strength. If you are weak, your fate will be controlled by someone else. Power reigns supreme, that is thew of this world.
Simon knew that there was another demon Noble other than him and they were the ones who had attacked the participants. However, since he was weak, he did not even have the right to prove his innocence.
Simon looked at all the indifferent eyes currently observing him from a distance. What did he expecting to a human kingdom without having sufficient strength? He had no one to me for this other than himself.
"Remember that feeling from before, try recalling it again" pressed face-first into the ground and unable to move an inch, Simon tried recalling the time when he activated the fragment of pride himself.
''Let your feelings flow, stop trying to restrain them instinctively'' he allowed himself to be overwhelmed by them and just like that¡ [Pride has been activated].
Simon was able to activate the fragment of pride. The moment the fragment was activated, he felt the pressure on him lessen by a whole lot; however, it was still not enough for him topletely resist the curtain of light which was swiftly depleting his strength.
''[Ancestral Symbol Ignition]'' since even activating the fragment of pride wasn''t enough, Simon also activated the ancestral symbol. Igniting the ancestral symbol on top of activating all those augmenting skills would put a huge strain on his body and would leave him unable to battle after the duration ends.
Nheless, he had no leeway to think about what would happenter since his current situation was worse enough to force him to use any and all skills in his repertoire.
The moment the ancestral symbol ignition skill was activated, Simon felt his body heating up and every cell and muscle in his body started trembling. The tribal-like golden marking on his body that was covered by his clothes, started shining with a brilliant light and his powers rose to a whole new different realm.
The change was so drastic and extreme that Davis and Vouves who were the closest to him, couldn''t believe what they saw.
BANG¡ crisscrossing cracks appeared all around the stage and for the first time the demon Noble stood straight without being forced to kiss the ground by the curtain of light.
The audience that were watching all of this from the gallery, eximed. They could feel a wild and arrogant energy burst forth from the demon.
Feeling this unusual energy, Vovues to his surprise felt a sudden sense of dread and couldn''t help but narrow his eyes.
"This Demon Viscount is not ordinary. Let me help you suppress him¡ Tempest Magic Mastery- [Hand of Zephyrus]". As soon as Vovues thumped his staff in the air, an invisible ripple passed through the space and in front of many gobsmacked eyes, a huge green hand prated through the clouds and fiercely pressed down on the demon noble on the stage.
Wild winds generated across the whole coliseum or perhaps the whole district. Those that knew about the magic, widened their eyes and at the same time realised that the ranker and the court magician of the sanguine empire was finally serious.
"Gramps.." Denzel called out. At this moment, he had aplicated look in his eyes that seemed uncertain of what he should do.
Alice and Vovues who knew him the best, were surprised by his unusual behaviour; nheless, thetter did not stop his magic that kept pressing down on the demon.
In one corner of the coliseum where the members of the Sea God''s trident guild were present. Benny Beckerman squinted his eyes in realisation after he heard the report from Scott Green. He turned towards the man beside him and confirmed.
"Is that true Eleven? Was that demon one of them who entered inside our base and used the coordinates?".
He kept his voice low enough so that other than the members of their guild, nobody else would be able to hear them.
"That is true my lord. That brat from the sanguine empire along with that demon were the ones who ambushed me at the exit point".
Eleven reported with a face filled with grievance. Because of them, he had to face such humiliation.
Benny Beckerman nodded his head before ncing back towards the demon.
"If what you said is true, then doesn''t that mean that they have been to that ce? Sigh¡ it''s a pity that demon won''t be able to escape the grasp of those two old monsters today or else I would have liked to capture him myself and torment every information out of him" he said with a tone of regret.
Other than that, he was also amazed by the fact that a member of the Sanguine empire and a prince no less, was involved with a demon.
"Find out everything you can about that demon. I want to know how he entered the capital and if he has any aplices inside" He ordered.
Scott nodded his head before adding "About that, I think I have met the demon when he was masquerading as a human back in the city of Mountmend¡".
"I cannot believe that young man was a demon noble? He was right under our nose and we could even recognise him" Duke Montford stated angered that he had been taken advantage of by a demon.
"It''s not your fault your grace, that demon must have used an artefact to deceive all of us. He must have also used something to fool the princes or else how could he be her escort".
Lucas said, internally though he was smiling gleefully knowing that after today he wouldn''t have to worry about the princess developing any feelings for the other party during their month-long travel.
BAMMM¡ with a loud crashing noise, Simon who got back on his feet, was mmed deeper inside the stage once again. The huge hand made of berserk wind, made hundreds of cuts on his body until blood leaked out of those cuts.
"Hmm? He doesn''t have a demon core. Don''t tell me¡" Vovues noticed that the Demon did not have the core on his chest and couldn''t help butment.
"What?!" Davis was simrly surprised by those words of Vovues and observed the demon carefully. Seeing that the other party indeed did not have a demon core, a peculiar glint shed inside his eyes.
Low ranking demons like a demon viscount usually did not make their own dungeons since it was easily conquerable and worked mostly under higher-ranking demons. It came as a surprise to Davis and Vouves to see a demon viscount foolish enough to create their own dungeon.
"What do you n to do with him now?" Vouves asked, now that they know that the demon had created a dungeon, it changed everything.
Davis smiled, a never before seen glint on his eyes "We are not breaking the treaty if the demon came to us himself. Now I have all the more reason to take him back to the headquarters".
Vouves nodded but did notment further. There was no pity in his eyes even while knowing what future awaited the demon.
ROOAARRR¡ Simon roared in frustration, even after activating the pride fragment, [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] and every skill he has, he was still not able to resist the pressure from the two people in front of him.
Cracking sounds repeatedly came from his body as every bone in his body was being cracked by the pressure he was under. Since the two in front of him did not bother to keep their voice quiet, Simon was clearly able to hear what they were discussing.
However, at the same time due to being under the effects of the fragment, all emotions other than pride was suppressed. Now that it hade to this point, he did not care what method he had to use to get away from here.
Simon opened his inventory and his eyes went towards one of the items, a peculiar ck hexagonal rock was sitting in one of the slots. The ck hexagonal rock was none other than the Return Transit Rock that he got from the treasury after clearing the third trial.
ording to Lucine, if he used the item again, he would be able to return to the forbidden trial grounds. This item currently was one of the things that could currently help him in his predicament.
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The reason for him not using it yet was because Simon knew how dangerous the trail ground was and he wasn''t sure that he would be able to clear it by himself. However, now that he was pushed to the edge, it would be foolish not to use it.
Other than the return transit rock, his eyes also went towards the golden guardian stones and the Philosopher''s stone. Irene had stored a powerful magic inside the philosopher''s stone. Simon had no doubt that he would be able to change the situation if he used them and using the return transit rock, he would be able to escape this predicament.
Simon red at the two old men with his crimson eyes, just as he was about to use the items, a familiar voice rang inside his head unexpectedly.
Vouves had a bad premonition seeing the demon noble re at them so defiantly even at this point. And so he pressed Davis beside him to stop ying and knock the demon out. Holy magic was the best magic to use against a Demon noble after all.
"Haha, Vouves it seems that your age has caught up with you. The Demon ispletely immobilised and cannot do anything other than re at us. But since you are insisting so much, let''s end this".
Davis said, his eyes suddenly turned white and with the gesture of his hand, the huge magic circle in the sky started turning once again.
"[Holy Dissension]" along with those words, a clear noise of the bell rang out.
DING¡ the sound of bell was so loud that it could be heard from every corner of the city. A huge curtain of light started descending down from the sky and top of the coliseum.
The curtain of light was packed with so much power that all those that were watching it knew that once this dropped on the Demon Noble, everything would be over.
Bringing along a palpable pressure, the curtain of light soon arrived in front of the coliseum. However, what surprised everyone was that in front of its certain doom, the demon noble seemed unafraid and was even smiling.
Just as the huge curtain of light was about to engulf him, somethingpletely out of ordinary and beyond someone''sprehension happened.
The dozens of meters of space around the demon suddenly shattered like a ss and a void appeared in front of every astonished eyes watching from the distance.
The instant the void appeared, the sky turned dark as if it was the time of night.
Swiftly, the void devoured the descending curtain of light and disappeared right after as if it was never there in the first ce.
The space mended itself and the sky was back to normal. However, the demon that should be knocked out by that curtain of light, was standing therepletely unharmed, telling everyone that whatever happened a few seconds ago was not their imagination.
The incredulity of the situation was so bizarre that they couldn''t help but doubt their eyes.
"What actually happened father?" Marcus asked.
But just like him Brutus too was clueless as to what had transpired even when he watched the whole thing with his own eyes.
The other guild leaders of the top five guilds were simrly clueless too. But how could Davis and Vouves who were above level 700 be unaware of what was going on.
Immediately, the two of them looked up at the sky, fear was apparent in their eyes. Why would it not, the huge magic circle in the sky made by Davis with all of his power, was cleanly cut in half.
"May I ask who this esteemed person is? This matter is between our Adventurer''s Association and that demon Viscount" Davis asked, his tonepletely different from his usual haughty tone.
With his words, he was trying to ascertain the identity of the one who just broke his attack and at the same time remind them of his background, the colossal standing behind him.
It was only at this moment that the audience realised that something had urred that warranted even the caution of the two giant-like presence. Moreover, from those words from Sir Davis an officer of the Adventurer''s Association, they could tell that interference at thest moment, was from someone else.
Just as they were wondering where this person was, a presence abruptly appeared high above the skies of the coliseum.
"Hmph, you are not qualified to know thisdy''s name. You are still a fledgling if you think you can scare me by mentioning the adventurer''s association. If you want to have a talk with thisdy, go and bring over Vincent" a childish voice full of haughtiness rang out from the sky.
The moment the name ''Vincent'' came out of her mouth, Davis Hall felt his whole body jolting and cold sweat running down his spine. This name was not something anybody could spout from their mouth and only a handful few people in this entire world knew this name.
Yet, the person who had just appeared, used the name so casually that even he didn''t have the authority nor the guts to do so.
''Who exactly is this person?'' Davis couldn''t help but wonder.
Ten minutes before this whole thing started, high above the skies of the capital city of Ellesmere, a rift in the space suddenly appeared and two people could be seen suddenly teleporting there like ghosts.
"Master, please¡ I don''t want to go home so soon. Can we please just roam around a little more; this world is just so much fun. There are lots of ces to visit and things that I have never seen before. Even if I go back home now, there is nothing to do and it''s boring there. Grandpa is too protective and never allows me to go out. You can understand right master? Please allow your disciple some more time to travel around this world".
A woman with pure white hair and whose beauty could out shadow even the prettiest things in the world, said as she pouted. Beside her was a girl whose age looked no more than fourteen-fifteen years old.
"Hmph, you have the audacity to request something of your master after running the moment you see me? Girl, do you think I''m so easy to take advantage of? No means no¡ No matter how many times you ask me, my answer will remain the same. Who knows what trickery you will use to run away from me this time? I am not taking any more chances and bringing you back with me".
"Umnn~¡ if only I sensed your presence sooner. It is all that dastardly demon''s fault. See how I teach you a lesson for fooling me" Lucine mumbled.
"Hmm? Did you say anything? Anyways, since we are might as well watch this ''Battle of Finest'' tournament or whatever they call it. Isn''t this the reason why you were hanging around this part?" Adalina said trying to liven the mood of her deste disciple.
"Really?! Thank you master. I always wondered how the humans conducted their tournaments, I will finally get to see it today" Lucinemented smiling brilliantly, her previous sour was nowhere to be seen.
Seeing her disciple like that, Adalinda surreptitiously smiled. It was too easy to please her disciple, not realising that she too was the same as long as food was involved.
"Ah I should contact him too".
Just as those thoughts floated over Adalinda''s mind, from the corner of her eyes she spotted a huge holy magic circle being formed in the skies. The mana and techniques supplied into that magic circle was so powerful that even from this distance they could feel it.
"A dual magic circle has been invoked, it seems there are people capable of doing that even in this remote corner of the central continent".
She remarked; however, the next second her brows locked in a frown when she saw a rain of light fall down on the people of the capital.
"Why would that person use [Eye of Luminesce] on ordinary people? Does he not know that it won''t have any effect on¡" Before Lucine could finish her words, her eyes were suddenly attracted to the ce where the coliseum was.
There amidst the hundreds of thousands of people, she spotted a familiar person. In fact, she hadst seen him not long back. At this moment, when the rain of light fell down on him, his body started releasing ck smoke, attracting the attention of everyone around him.
"What is that Demon Noble doing there? Uh-Oh, he is busted. Hehe, now everyone will find out that he is a Demon Viscount. Hmph, see what happens when you plot against me" Lucine snorted and folded her hands as if watching a good show.
While Adalinda had a face that said she couldn''tprehend what had transpired in thest few days that she was absent for him to get himself in so much trouble.
Two people whose levels were far above him, locked him down and even blocked the artefact that he was using to mask his appearance.
"Sigh, how did ite to this? How did he end up making these people his enemies" Adalinda said exasperated.
"Why don''t we wait a little and see. I believe that demon noble is not ordinary and is hiding much of his strength" Lucine said narrowing her eyes when she saw Simon breaking away from the pressing aura of those two people and making a beeline towards the sky.
"What are you saying? it is still too early for him to face those guys" Adalinda shook her head, when she saw Simon not realising that it was not just one spell that the other party had deployed. There was also the holy barrier [dius] epassing this whole city and blockading the sky.
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It was as she had expected, Simon crashed headfirst into the barrier. The two people he was facing, was hundreds of level above him, it couldn''t even said a battle since the other party was one-sidedly oppressing him.
[Multi-Cast] and [Shadow Casting] weren''t skills that he would be aware of at his level. it was no wonder that he would find the situation incredulous. He wascking in every department whether level, skills or experience.
Just when Adalinda thought about stepping in, she saw Simon taking out a crimson sword that she had never seen before. What was more surprising for her than the fact that he was hiding such a weapon, was its power.
Even without using [Analysis], she could tell that the Crimson de that looked like it was made of blood, was a top-tier [A] rank de. Using the power of his weapon, the demon noble was able to tear a hole in the holy magic barrier [dius], a feat that should have been impossible for him.
Lucine narrowed her eyes and smiled "See I told you, that demon is not ordinary. His fate is destined to be not simple, or else how could he be chosen as one of the inheritors of that thing in the forbidden trail ground".
When Adalinda heard those words, her eyes immediately went wide "You mean to say that he was chosen by¡".
She was so shocked that she couldn''tplete her words. Simon was pummelled back into the coliseum, and stamped into the ground by a curtain of white light. One could imagine the kind of emotions he was going through after being put into such a state.
His opponent can easily defeat him with their powers; however, instead of doing that, they were just pressuring him with their aura, intending to break his will and enjoying his struggle. His hands were targeted making him unable to keep holding the weapon.
Nevertheless, those ring crimson eyes of his, never got clouded over with despair. His eyes still shined with the light of making it out of this predicament.
"Is this it?" Adalinda mumbled silently, her eyes sceptical.
It was true that Simon was a little special in his own way but it was nowhere enough to gain the acknowledgement of that thing from the forbidden trail ground. As her thought process reached till here, her preconception was brutally broken apart by what she saw next.
The demon who she thought had reached his limit, suddenly had this ridiculous power spike and was even able to somewhat resist the pressure from his opponent who was well over level 700. That wasn''t all, the feeling and aura he gave off, made him seem like apletely different person.
No matter who it was looking at him, they could feel a heavy oppression that originated from deep down their soul. Even Adalinda and Lucine who were watching all of this from high above the skies, were no exception.
"What did he do? This kind of feeling shouldn''t being off from a low-ranking Demon Viscount. This kind of oppressing aura, I only felt it against Lord Morax and a handful of few people in this world".
Adalinda uttered unable to contain her shock.
"What?! Same as Grandpa?" Lucine asked shocked by the revtion.
Though Adalinda wanted to jab at those words of her disciple, another surprise came from the side of Simon. The moment Simon activated his [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] she was able to instantly recognise it and was no longer able to stay calm.
"Ancestral symbol?! Are those ancestral symbols carved on his body".
Adalinda stood there motionless, she felt like today was just one surprise after another.
"Ancestral symbol¡ then that means he is one of the possessors of the fragments of Sin. A demon viscount who was chosen by a fragment, what a freak" Lucine said, her golden eyes was constantly fixed on the figure of Simon.
Everything, from his peculiar behaviour to her not being able to see his status and even being chosen as one of the inheritors by that thing, everything made sense now.
The Demon Noble who these two people were looking down upon, was someone who had the potential to be one of the strongest and stand at the pinnacle of this entire world. It wasn''t an exaggeration or some biased opinion of hers but simply the truth.
If this demon was given enough time, those aforementioned words of her would turn into reality.
''To think that a low ranking demon I casually met back in the ghastly winding forest, would be hiding so much potential¡ is it really a coincidence?'' Lucine thought internally.
Meanwhile, Adalinda remembered the conversation she had with Irene back in the dining room of that dungeon.
"Why do you stick around that demon? From what I can tell, you possess a power that is no less powerful than my lord¡ So why?" Adalinda asked, perplexed by the concern the woman showed for the demon.
"He is someone whose fate and destiny ispletely tangled and obscured like an abyss. He himself doesn''t know who he is but I think the day he finds out, he would be able to undergo aplete transformation".
At that time, Irene''s reply, made no sense to her and was very vague for her to understand anything. But now that she had seen and witnessed what the demon was capable of, she couldn''t help but agree with those words.
At this moment a clear sound of a bell rang out across the entire city and a huge curtain of light thatprised of an unimaginable amount of holy energy, dropped down from the sky and onto Simon.
Seeing that, Lucine moved immediately. She extended her hand and was just about to swipe down, she was stopped by her master.
"Seriously, I have a boat load ofints for that guy. Let your master deal with those two nipoops" Adalinda said while in her head she was constantly cussing Simon for seducing her disciple.
As he master, how could she not see it, the light in those eyes with which she gazed at Simon. Although right now it was just admiration and affability, it would take time for these feelings to develop into something moreplex and powerful.
''I knew it, every demon lord are a bad news''.
"Seriously, what are you thinking tantly shing all those abilities of yours in the public" Simon heard a voice that was full ofint and fury in his head and a smile immediately appeared in his face.
Adalinda stretched her hand and with a gesture of clenching her hands, the space above the entire city distorted and just like that her powers prated through the barrier and shattered the space in front of Simon before the attack hit him.
----
Davis after hearing the name ''Vincent'' was surprised for a second before his surprise turned into anger. He did not know the identity of this mysterious presence that had just shown themselves but using that name so casually, cannot be forgiven that easily. Not to mention the other party even made light of their Adventurer''s association.
"This esteemed guest, please do not mistake my generosity for my weakness. This matter does not concern you, it will be good for you if you do not interfere in it" Davis said, looking high up in the sky.
The crowd too finally became aware of it and matched his line of sight to gaze at the sky. There, they could see a petite figure proudly standing in the sky. Her golden dress, porcin white skin and her lustrous ck hair made her seem like a beautiful doll.
"Hoh~ I must say you have quite the guts to threaten me brat," Adalinda said arching her brows, an intimidating look in her eyes.
The audience doubted their ears, a girl that looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, was actually calling Davis Hall whose age was well over 500, a brat? They felt their lips twitching but no one had the guts tough at an officer of the Adventurer''s Association.
Davis Hall felt his face heating up after that remark and saw the funny way the audience was looking at him. In his shame, he immediately used the huge magic circle in the sky to send forth a white beam of light thrice as big as the ones that dropped on the coliseum.
Snort¡ he snorted, the twofold magic circle that he had created, was his most powerful technique and the culmination of skills that he had gathered. As long as he had this technique, he wasn''t afraid to fight someone even if they were a few levels above him.
However, even in his wildest dreams, he couldn''t have imagined that the one he had enraged this time wasn''t someone he could afford to in his impatience.
? Simon smiled, this guy was really over his head, if he thought that attack would be able to even faze Adalinda. Out of all the actions that the guy could choose from, he had chosen the option where he was most likely to die.
During the course of their journey, Simon slowly became aware of how powerful the little girl was, that is why he could tell that even if there were hundreds of Davis Hall present here they wouldn''t even be able to put a scratch on her.
That was how powerful Adalinda was. And as if to prove him right, Adalinda did not even bother to dodge or move from her ce and simply allowed the beam of light to attack her.
Seeing the attacknd squarely on the girl, the audience wasn''t surprised and shifted their eyes. They all knew what the oue of getting hit by such a powerful attack would be. Though they pitied the girl, nobody dared say anything.
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After sending his attack flying at the girl, Davis turned around to face the demon noble who still had a smile on his face for some reason. Thinking of it as nothing, he was just about to finish what he started, when Vovues who was beside him suddenly cautioned.
Immediately, Davis shifted his attention towards the sky to see an unbelievable sight.
Even after taking an all-out attack from him, the girl was still standing unscathed and perfectly fine in the same spot.
"Did you think a pathetic attack of this level would even be able to touch me? Brat, I wonder where this confidence of yours to challenge I, Adalinda stems from".
Adalinda stated with her cold callous eyes that could give chills to anyone. She looked up and spotted the huge twofold magic circle silently rotating in the sky.
"Perhaps because of this".
The moment those words came out of her mouth, she extended her hand and pinched towards the sky. At that instant, every watching eyes to their disbelief, could see the sky being shattered in half along with the huge magic circle.
The sky above the city had a huge crack that refused to disappear for quite a while. Everyone present in the coliseum, was silent for a good long while, they only came back to themselves when they heard Sir Davis coughing out a mouthful of blood.
Having his magic circle shattered ruthlessly like that, gave him quite the bacsh and severely disturbed the flow of mana inside his body leading to him coughing out mouthfuls of blood.
Barely stabilising himself, Davis nced back in the sky, this time with dread in his eyes. He couldn''t believe that the little girl would be able to break his magic circle with just the pinch of her hand as if it was some persimmon.
Vouves beside him also had a pale face, from that previous exchange, he could tell that the strength of the other party was far beyond what they can even imagine. He observed the little girl carefully and tried to recall any information he had about her but ultimately came out with nothing.
Though he knew nothing about her, he still felt that it was in their best interest not to earn her ire any more.
"Snort¡ I guess that puts you in your ce. You are lucky that I''m in a good mood or else snuffing your life would be as easy as squashing an ant for me".
After ruthlessly stomping on the face of Davis in front of hundreds of thousands of people, she shifted her attention to Simon.
"What are you still standing there for,e back here" shemanded.
Simon did not have any reason to refuse, unfurled his wings and flew up. Now that he has used multiple skills and even ignited his ancestral symbol, the repercussion he would suffer after the duration ends would make him unable to continue standing. He had to get to a safe ce before that.
Seeing the demon casually fly away, Davis hesitated for a while and after much contemtion, he decided to speak up. He believed that the other party destroying his two-fold magic circle was just to showcase the vast difference in their strength, he did not believe that the other party would kill him knowing his background.
"A minute please, this esteemed guest. I don''t know what your rtionship with that demon noble is but he has broken the treaty by invading the kingdom of Ellesmere and even attacked its prince and severely injured a participant. Our Adventurer''s Association cannot simply just overlook it, we must punish this demon for this aggression. I hope you understand".
With his words, he reminded the other party of the ancient treaty and that they were in the right, while at the same time making it seem like the severity of the situation was more than what it looked.
Davis smiled, he knew that after this the other party cannot just simply take the Demon Noble away since doing so would make it seem like the little girl was making light of the treaty and the adventurer''s Association at the same time.
However, what he didn''t know was that Adalinda simply did not care about all of that.
Lucine who watching all of this from high up in the sky couldn''t control herugh.
"What an idiot. To think that he would try to threaten a member of the race that enforced the very same treaty with it."
Adalinda had an irritated face from the start to finish, she was doing her best not to kill this ant who kept on pestering about irrelevant things. With her intelligence, how could she not see what the other guy was plotting? This seemed to infuriate her even more.
She sighed audibly, turned her attention back on Davis and stared at him as if he was a dead person.
"From that moment you have been continuously spouting nonsense. It seems that keeping you alive was a big mistake. Let me do you a favour and help you shut your mouth forever".
Her cold and indifferent words just sounded out when her hands swung down in a cleaving motion. Davis had a hard time understanding her words but before he could even contemte on it further, his body was frozen stiff by an aura of death that came swinging its scythe on him.
"Tempest Magic Mastery- [Materialise Zephyrus]" Vouves roared out loud and used every bit of his skills and mana to create a huge emerald bird made of wind.
The attack that can tear apart the very firmament of space, collided with the huge bird and in front of every gobsmacked eyes, was cleaved in half before exploding out in a big boom.
BOOOOMMMM...
The resulting energy storm was so ridiculous that it could have potentially wiped out the whole capital if not for the fact that turbulent energy was wreaking havoc in the sky. Though it wasn''t like the capital had suffered no damage, many buildings copsed and people were knocked out unconscious.
The coliseum simrly had suffered severe damage, and its conditions was in ruins. Other than a few high-levelled people, most of the spectators were blown back and rendered unconscious by the aftermath.
After the dust from the destruction settled down, two people who looked extremely miserable could be seen rolling on the ground, barely able to stand again. They had a terrified look in their face and a body covered in injuries.
The two people were none other than Davis Hall and Vouves. At this moment, the whole of the main stage was gone and they were pushed back into the ground by hundreds of meters.
Davis was stupefied, that attack earlier would have taken his life if not for the timely intervention from his friend. But even then, the most Vouves could do was stop the attack fromnding on the capital knowing full well what would have been the consequences otherwise.
He had misjudged the entire situation, the other party wasn''t someone he can afford to anger and more so hackle with them. He was almost about to lose his life for that and had endangered the whole capital along with him.
Adalinda looked at the sight of destruction and clicked her tongue, she did not attack further nor did shement anything. She nced at the two miserable old men before slowly flying away.
Simon silently followed behind her, he nced back at the coliseum and deeply etched everything that had happened today in his heart.
The usation, pain, humiliation and everything else he had to suffer, was because he was weak. He was so powerless that Adalinda had to intervene on his behalf. If not for the fact that she had arrived in the capital in time, Simon would have likely been captured today or forced to use the return transit rock.
"Thank you" he expressed his gratitude on their way out of the capital. Adalinda simply snorted and did not say much in return.
Back in the coliseum, everyone sighed in relief after they saw the little girl, the incarnation of destruction, go away. For the first time in their life, they felt the threat of death clearer than ever. Had the attacknded on the coliseum, they had no doubt that they would have perished.
"Who would have thought an officer of the Adventurer''s Association and a powerful Ranker of the Sanguine empire would be reduced to this state by just a little girl" Scott green said, fear apparent in his words.
"Power dictates everything, it gives you the right to decide other''s fate and allows you to look down upon the world. As long as you have power, you can do anything" Benny Beckermann clenched his fists and said.
"You said that he is the very same man you have met in the city of Mountmend right? Then that means the dungeon that recently appeared in the ghastly winding forest is his?" a peculiar glint shed in his eyes.
Scott looked at the guild master of Sea God''s trident and couldn''t help but ask curiously.
"You don''t n on chasing after that demon do you? Did you not see what happened to those two when they tried to go against her? As long as she is with him, forget about getting the information out of that demon, you won''t even be able to go near him".
Hearing those words, Benny Beckerman looked back at him with a smile.
"Do you really believe a Demon Viscount could possibly have someone like that little girl whose level is higher than those two old fogies as his guardian?"
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"I believe that girl did all of this because of some puny favour she might have owed to that demon. After all, a being of her level would hate to owe someone. Now that she has repaid her debt, she is likely to go on her own path".
"You mean to say is that¡" before Scott couldplete his sentence, he heard the sea god''s trident guild leader give orders to one of his nearby subordinates who was barely able to stay conscious after all that.
"The direction they are flying to, will eventually lead them to fortress Volkan. If that demon wants to go back to the Ghastly Winding Forest, he has to take this route. Contact those two, tell them to stop in the fortress city on their way, also tell them that we have found one of the perpetrators behind the tragedy that unfolded with Chuck".
The subordinate immediately understood what his guild master was nning and hurriedly left the coliseum to carry out his order.
-----
After leaving the capital behind and traversing the mountainous region for a while, the two finally stopped. Adalinda who was silently flying in the lead, finally turned around at this time and faced Simon whose body was continuously twitching and trembling, possibly from the repercussion of the skills that he forcible activated.
She first sighed at the condition he was rendered to before dropping down on the ground for a stop.
''I can''t believe a demon who can''t even defend himself would be a possessor of the fragment of Sin'' Adalindained internally nheless, she did not continue with their journey.
"Seriously, you have no awareness. What would you have done had I not arrived at the capital on time?" she grumbled looking at the clueless demon.
"He probably would have used the return transit rock to teleport back to the forbidden trail ground right, Mister Simon?".
Adalinda''s question was answered by another voice, Lucine appeared out of thin air startling the Demon Viscount.
"Why are you acting so surprised? Hmph, weren''t you the one who lead my master here. It is all because of you that I have to cut my trip short".
''It is because of me? Weren''t you the one that led your master to me first? If she didn''t insist on bringing me along, all of this wouldn''t have happened in the first ce''.
Simon wanted to retort but right now his body was suffering through so much pain that he felt like if he opened his mouth, he would involuntarily scream out.
He bought a few elixirs of healing and quickly gulped them down; however, how could the repercussions from activating so many skills, igniting ancestral symbol and abusing his body go away that easily?
Simon knew that he would have to suffer like that for a couple of hours or possibly even a day.
"Enough bickering, since he is not feeling well, let him rest here," Adalinda said creating a barrier that separated them from the outside.
Knowing that he can rest here without worrying, Simon found a rock to sit down nearby and allowed his nerves to rx. The moment he did that, his body immediately erupted with more pain.
Seeing that, Adalinda nced towards Lucine who pouted for a second before relenting to her re.
''Hmph, he should suffer more. Why must I be the one to help him'' though she thought that internally, Lucine still found a rock near Simon and sat beside him.
Simon''s eyes were closed; nheless, he still felt the presence of Lucine approach him. She gently ced her hands on his back and an energy so vast and pure that it opened every pore in his body, flowed inside him swiftly dissipating the pain around his body.
Simon did not stop her from whatever she was doing, since he knew that she won''t harm him. Even he didn''t know where this confidence of his stemmed from.
"You might think that your body is suffering so much because of the repercussions from you activating all those skills and pushing your body to its limit. However, that is just partly the reason. The main cause of this severe pain is because your body was basked in holy magic for too long and some of it managed to seep inside your body".
"Your body is naturally now rejecting the holy energy and this is causing an internal sh in your mana lines. It would no doubt heal on its own if you give it some time but it will also leave some permanent damage" Lucine exined.
Her vast energy that he felt flowing inside his body, told Simon how precise her control over her mana was. Pouring one''s own mana into another body sounded easier said than done, it needed an extreme amount of knowledge of the mana system, mana lines and an acute control over mana.
Even Simon did not know how to do it, since his control over mana was still very crude. Perhaps, her level of control was no inferior than Irene''s.
Simon inferred, as he felt her energy do a full cirction around his body, the foreign energy that had seeped inside him unknowingly, slowly but surely dissipated. At the same time, the pain that his body was feeling, also subsided a little.
After helping him remove the holy energy from his body, Lucine snorted and grumpily walked away.
If she was mad at him, then why did she even help him? Simon found that he can no longer understand the reasoning of this woman.
Time passed by swiftly and before long Simon felt like his body was back to normal, he had also recovered 80% of his expended mana and most of his pain was gone.
Sun had already set by now, when he opened his eyes, he saw Lucine and Adalinda seated on a rock not far away from him, discussing something.
"Oh, so you woke up from your meditative state huh. Quite impressive of your body to recover from all of that in just eight hours" Adalinda said observing his body.
Eight hours? Simon was stunned, when he was in that state, he had lost the sense of time. He guessed that a couple of hours must have passed but he didn''t expect more than 8 hours to go by just like that.
Seeing his surprise, Adalinda snorted "What did you expect? You not only activated all your augmenting skills without any regard but also ignited the ancestral symbols in your body? You would have to meditate for far longer if we didn''t expel that holy energy from your body".
Simon widened his eyes, he didn''t expect Adalinda to recognise the skill he had used back then. The [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] skill was one of his trump cards, naturally, he wouldn''t feel too good after it was exposed.
"What''s with that look of yours? Did you think it would be a secret after you used it in front of hundreds of thousands of people? Hmph, let me tell you one thing, you were lucky that this ce was some remote corner of the central continent and many people aren''t aware of it. Had it been the maind, you would have to forget about leaving the ce".
"I know I have said this many times but that skill of yours, don''t go around unting that skill of yours around others until your level is high enough" Adalinda warned, she was exasperated by how low themon sense of this Demon Noble was.
Simon nodded, he knew that thetter had said all of that due to her concern for him.
"If you don''t mind me asking, what is your ancestry, Mister Demon Viscount?" Lucine initiated a new conversation, staring intensely at him with her golden eyes.
Simon had a clueless look on his face for a second before he realised what she meant. He shook his head and answered truthfully.
"I am a demon that was born from the ample mana of this world, I do not have any demon ancestry".
When he finished his words and nced back at them, he saw the dumbfounded look that was stered on their face.
"This is unprecedented, a low-born demon being chosen by a fragment" Adalinda muttered in a voice that only she could hear. She was starting to think that themon sense did not even apply to this Demon Noble in front of him or maybe it was her who was going crazy.
He was an anomaly that cannot be judged. Lucine was of the same thought, she felt like from the moment she met him, he never failed to give her one surprise after another.
"SIGH¡ I feel like I would lose my ownmon sense if I probe anymore. Leaving that aside, I''m dying to know how did you attract the attention of those two people?" Adalinda asked with a tired look on her face.
"About that¡" Simon was suddenly reminded of the reason behind the two old men wanting to capture him. He told the two in front of him the whole truth and how he was med for something he didn''tmit.
"So that was how huh. I was right when I sensed the aura of a Demon earl around this part when I arrived here" Lucine confirmed.
Adalinda nodded her head and said, "He must have felt your presence and used you as a perfect scapegoat for whatever he wanted to aplish here".
"Do you know who that demon is?" Simon asked. He was plotted against and almost captured. He didn''t know what his future would be if he did get caught but he did know that it wouldn''t be anything bright.
How could he just let it be? He wanted to find that demon to pay back this debt.
Adalinda shook her head, telling him that it would be difficult to know who that Demon Earl was just based on their aura.
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"Do not be impatient, a Demon Earl isn''t a rank that you could challenge yet. If we strictly talk about demon lineage, a demon earl is in the truest sense a true noble. Whereas, Demon Baron and Demon viscount are only considered false nobles. The reason being that a Demon earl''s bloodline is very pure, their potential and strength are also very high. Many a times in demon hierarchy, you would find them as a closed subordinate or a butler of a superior ranking demon noble".
"If we talk in terms of strength, not even a dozen peak levelled Demon Viscount would be able to defeat or injure a Demon earl. You should know by now how hard it is to cross each hundred-level barrier. A Demon earl is someone who has breached level 500 and is on a realm far higher than you. I can tell you now, even if you used, that [A] rank sword of yours and even ignite the ancestral symbol at the risk of exposing it, you still won''t be its opponent".
Adalinda stared him in the eye and reminded.
Simon kept his calm and did not say anything even after being made aware of the vast disparity between the ranks of a demon viscount and a Demon Earl. He knew that he wasn''t a match for the demon earl; however that was only true so for right now, he believed that the disparity between them wouldn''t remain the same in the future.
After resting for a while they decided to move. Now that Adalinda had found her disciple, there was no reason for her to keep staying on the central continent and since Simon had fulfilled his obligation he was free to return back.
"You sure you don''t want me to return back to your dungeon?" Adalinda asked.
Simon shook his head and rejected her help, he already owed her a big favour for rescuing him from that situation, his pride won''t allow him to keep being reliant on her. Plus after that disy from Adalinda, he was sure that no one woulde following him.
And since he knows the general direction for the way back to the city of Mountmend, he can just make the trip himself.
Lucine observed Simon and read his thoughts like an open book, she wanted to tell him something; however, when she thought that it would be good for him to realise it himself, she restrained herself back.
"Since you believe so, allow master to at least create a spatial tear for you. This way, you would be far away from the capital and out of reach of any possible pursuers and those two old fogies. Just take this favour from master and return it some other time, you don''t want them to capture you again right? Using the spatial tear, you will be able to easily outrun them".
Hearing Lucine say all that, Simon finally decided to rely on their help onest time. He did not believe that someone who valued their life woulde after him knowing that he had a powerful backer like Adalinda.
Then again, he did not want to meet those two humans over level 700, especially when his most powerful skill and trump card was in cool down.
Adalinda swiped her finger and created a spatial tear that covered dozens of kilometres. With this much distance between him and his pursuers, he was sure to be fine.
Just as he was about to jump into the tear, Lucine''s soft words rang in his ears.
"Remember the humiliation you had to suffer today and use it as a driving force to be strong. If you want to strength, you might want to risk your life clearing the forbidden trial ground. I''m sure we will meet again, mister future demon lord".
When Simon turned back, the both of them were already gone. thousands of meters above the sky, the figure of Aidna and Lucine came into view once again.
"You sure you don''t want to tell that simpleton of demon? from what I can tell he is taking the situation very lightly" Adalindamented.
p Hearing that, Lucine was surprised for a moment before saying in a flustered manner.
"H-Huh?! Why should I tell him all that, it is all that demon''s fault for making light of his situation in the first ce. Anyways, that demon isn''t someone who will drop dead that easily. This might be a good wake-up call for him to realise his mistakes".
-----
After taking a deep breath, Simon dived inside the tear "Alright now, its time to go back".
A vast field of grasnd with small and big mountains here and there,y in front of him. There was also a few small town and viges spread over the area. Simon pped his wings and decided to avoid them.
He opened his [Mental Map] skill which he used to chart the ces on his way to the capital. Now he can use the same path to navigate his way back.
Utilising his [High-speed flight] Simon covered dozens of meters ofnd in a few hours and just like that, he kept on flying for half a day. He did stop in between to restore his mana.
Right now, he was resting on a small hilltop overlooking a river.
"I''m still yet to get out from the territory directly governed by the royal family. If I keep on going north, I should soon enter the fortress city Volkan. Once I passed through there, I would be out of the central area of this kingdom".
Simon said looking at his mental map. At this moment, his [Detect Presence] skill suddenly detected a few presences that were hurriedly approaching him from distance. Immediately bing alert, Simon concealed his aura using the Ice phoenix''s Sigh and hid behind a nearby boulder.
Even after a while, Simon couldn''t see anyone, the area waspletely devoid of any person. Though he couldn''t see anyone, Simon knew better than to ignore his skill which was alerting him like crazy.
He did not release his concealment and waited for some time, when he moved his gaze towards the sky following his ring instincts, he was finally able to notice some peculiarities. A few thousand meters up in the sky was something that was travelling at a very fast speed. But since it was hidden by some mechanism at work, the thing couldn''t be seen.
"Air Engine?!" Simon immediately recognised what the thing chasing after him was, it also made him realise why he couldn''t see them and how they were able to chase after him so fast.
Unlike the one he had travelled in, which was owned by duke Montford, the air engine in front of him was muchrger and grand.
The Air Enginended in the field not far away from the small hill Simon was hiding, before continuing on its path. A group of no less than twenty people got down from it and started investigating and searching the area.
From their aura and the garbs they were wearing, they were definitely adventurers. At that instant, Simon understood what was happening, these people were definitely out for him and searching for any tracks or clues he might have left behind.
The worst possibility that he thought had a negligible chance of urring finally came true. There really were pursuers after him. But why?
"Didn''t those two not give up yet even after receiving an attack from Adalinda?" Simon wondered as he saw them approaching the small hill he was hiding in.
When they were only a few meters away from him, Simon jumped up from his hiding ce and rushed towards them. Using his [Analysis], he was able to tell that this group consisted of people whose average level was around 250.
The moment he acted, he was spotted by the group of people and they immediately took out their weapons to engage with him.
"He is here, quickly notify the other groups," the warrior donning on a sturdy-looking armour said to his teammates at the backline who took out something that looked like a transmission conch from their space ring.
"me Magic Mastery- [me Spear Barrage]" Simon decided to take them out with his magic.
me arrows that packed enough power to level the entire ce rained down on the screaming adventurers who couldn''t muster up any defence in front of a super-fast magic. Before long, they were sprawled on the ground with many wounded and dead.
Simon did not care to control his strength since these people were his enemies. After cleaning them up in a matter of a minute, he looked at the insignia these people were wearing. It was trident, a blue trident that looked majestic and powerful.
"Sea God''s Trident" the name of the guild the insignia belonged to, immediately pooped up in his head. At the same time, he became confused as to why this guild was after him.
It was true that he was a demon noble and can be considered their enemy; however, it was still not a definite reason to chase after him with all their strength.
Simon unfurled his wings and hurriedly left the area, his detect presence skill was warning him of multiple presences that were quickly approaching this ce. He had underestimated the tenacity and the number of his enemies, they were everywhere.
Simon was starting to get a little annoyed, he had wiped out multiple groups that came chasing after him but no matter how many he cleaned up they would still being after him in hordes.
He could tell that something was wrong, the Sea God''s Trident guild was deploying all of its members to chase after him for some reason. There was no prior grudge between them nor did the reason that they were doing all of this just because he was a demon, was right.
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If the aforementioned things aren''t the reason they were after him then it could only mean that they were after something that he had.
Simon did not bother to interrogate these groups of adventurers after him since he knew that they were just outer members and aren''t privy to the actual objective of the guild. The only silver lining in all of this was that this constant chase had increased his level by a total of two.
He did not know what the guild was nning pitting their numbers against him and sending low levelled adventurers, but he could at least tell that their objective wasn''t any good.
The sun was about to set, itsst rays shone down painting the area in a crimson hue. Simon dived inside the forest and crisscrossed around, trying to throw off his pursuers who were relentless and persistent in their chase.
Currently, he was looking at his mental map skill and navigating his way to the fortress city Volkan, when suddenly he detected multiple presences approaching from his front.
Simon narrowed his eyes, his heart growing cold by the second. The enemy had somehow managed to pincer him from his front and back. He halted his steps and readied himself to engage with his enemies, when he noticed that the group appoaching him this time, were a little different.
All of them were masking their faces and wore ck robes to hide their identities. What was more surprising was that the target of their assault wasn''t him but the adventurers chasing after him.
A fierce sh began in the middle of the forest at night. Spells and skills flew everywhere making the scene extremely chaotic.
Although it confounded Simon as to why these groups were fighting each other, he didn''t stop to think and continued marching towards the exit of the forest. On his way, multiple teams of adventurers belonging to the sea god trident guild tried to ambush him but were stopped every time by another group that wore ck robes and masks like the previous bunch.
"Who are you people?" Simon eyed his front and asked a question even though there was no one near him.
The buzzing of the insect in the area stopped at this moment and the space a few meters in front of Simon, distorted a little to reveal a person. Their face was just like the others, covered with a mask and they wore a robe so as to not reveal their identity.
"You don''t need to know that. We are assisting you because of our master''s wish. Anyways I am here to ry a message ''Don''t go near fortress city Volkan'' that is all. Right, take this¡ a parting gift from our master".
As soon as that person ryed his message, he disappeared into thin air using the skill [Stealth]. From their androgynous voice, it was hard to tell whether they were a woman or a man.
Simon caught the thing the other party had tossed towards him and nonchntly opened it. It was a map that was more intricately detailed than the ones that could be found at the shop in the capital.
Simon fell into contemtion; he couldn''t tell what motive the other party had behind helping a demon noble like him nor could he tell whether their intentions were good or bad.
But given that they had gone through the trouble to stop some of his pursuers and even send him a message and a map, he could tell that the other party wanted to help. The other party had told him to avoid fortress city Vkn which meant that the city was currently a red zone for him.
The worst possibility that he had thought of, hade to pass, the fortress city Volkan was an important junction that he must pass through to leave the central area. The central area was the region controlled by the royal family and was also the heart of the kingdom.
If the enemy knew where he was headed at, they would definitely try to set up an ambush there.
Simon finally realised what the sea god''s trident was trying to achieve by sending these groups of low levelled adventure at him. They were trying to contain and lead him towards fortress city Volkan where most of their stronger levelled adventurers are stationed.
Now that he knew what his enemies were nning, the question remained whether he should head there even while knowing that there is a trap set up for him or should he avoid that area while knowing that he must pass through the city to get away from the central area.
Simon clenched the map tightly in his hand, the other party knew this would happen and thus provided him a map. When he looked at the map, he saw multiple colours marking the central area where he was currently at.
With how they were drawn and the colours used, Simon could tell which areas he should avoid and the ces that were rtively safer. Red was for danger, yellow was for caution and green used to denote safe areas.
"There is only one person that I know would go through such trouble to help me. It seems she intends to keep her promise" Simon said, smiling helplessly.
This map could basically be considered a life saver for him right now. Without even knowing, he was about to march into an area that was marked in ring red.
After reading the map for a while, Simon locked his brows. The map was extremely useful, but the problem was that the whole area near Volkan city is marked as red. He can''t go anywhere near it.
The entire ce around the city and even the mountainous regions around it were marked with red and yellow. The only green area that he could see, diverged away from this ce and took him towards the extreme western border of the kingdom.
Thinking for a while, Simon decided to believe in the map and immediately changed the direction he was headed. Just like the map indicated when he avoided going near the areas marked with red, the fewer people were on his tail.
Capital city of Ellesmere, inside one of the rooms of Serene Pce, the personal quarters of the princess.
Cynthia sat on a chair while reading the reports from her subordinates. After that disaster that unfolded in the coliseum, almost all of the spectators and participants were knocked unconscious and injured.
In this condition, there was no way they could have continued with the ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament. Hence as a result of an anomaly appearing, the final round of the tournament was postponed.
The royal family and soldiers were especially busy rescuing and tending to the injured. The sh previously, not only affected the stadium but damaged the entire capital.
KNOCK¡ KNOCK¡ KNOCK¡ at this moment she heard a knock on her door and her most trusted aid and friend, Alvara walked in.
Cynthia looked at thetter and asked "Did the shadow guards send any further reports?".
Alvara nodded her and reported "It''s been more than six hours that the Sea god''s Trident guild lost track of the Demon Noble. The main attack team of the guild that was stationed there are getting impatient, some of them were even trying to leave the scene".
"But because their guild leader has issued a new order stating that those that leave the city, will be punished severely and might even be removed from the main attack team, nobody dares to move from their position".
Hearing the report, Cynthia bit the nail of her thumb with her pearly white teeth.
"For Benny Beckerman to go to such lengths as to deploy his whole guild just to capture a single demon noble. What is he thinking? He is the type of person who never does anything unless it benefits himself or his guild".
"Can it be that demon has also made enemies with them?" Alvara mused.
Cynthia looked at her and rolled her eyes "Are you saying that after travelling with him for over a month".
Alvara opened and closed her mouth, it looked like she had tons to say, but did not know where to start. In the end, she could only helplessly ask.
"Why are you helping him, Princess? If the information that we were the ones who brought him to the capital got out, it would endanger your position and might even give your brother an edge over you. That demon has betrayed us, princess".
Alvara grumbled, she who did not know that Simon was Demon Noble, got quite a surprise when she heard the reportsing in.
Contrary to her, Cynthia seemed more calm and collected to differentiate the situation "He did not betray us, Alvara".
Seeing that the princess was taking his side, she suddenly realised something and could help but ask "Did the princess already know about his identity?".
After thinking that there was no point in hiding it, Cynthia nodded her head.
"Leo was able to see through his disguise the first time he came to meet with us in the branch office of the city of Mountmend".
"If you knew about it then why did you take him with us, your highness?" Alvara had a face that told that she was utterly surprised.
"At that moment, even I was confounded by the situation. I wanted to know the reason behind him approaching us on his own ord even if it meant risking my life. Nevertheless, it worked out in our favour didn''t it?" Cynthia said looking at thetter.
If not for the demon, they would have probably died in the northern ouw forest or worse be a ything for the bandits.
"Even then, if you help him now, it would make you his aplice. The people of this kingdom might not see this in a good light" Alvara stated, her face distressed.
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"He saved your life, to me this was a favour that I cannot possibly not repay. Even if it meant destroying my reputation, I''m willing to keep my promise".
SIGH¡ Alvara sighed, she knew that there was no way the princess would change her mind. Although it made her anxious, it also made her happy a little knowing that Cynthia cared so much for her.
"Saving him won''t be that easy princess; even if he isn''t the one who injured the third prince and a prince from the surrounding nation, the people will only believe what they see and hear. ording to another report that I got it seems the two other tridents are returning back".
Cynthia scrunched her delicate brows, the situation became a whole lot worse now. If it wasn''t already hard enough for Simon to escape from the clutches of the Sea god''s trident, with the addition of the other two tridents, it was now almost impossible for him to escape if he got caught.
"Tell the shadow guard to do whatever they need to dy the Sea God''s trident until the demon gets out of the central area. Also, investigate the motive behind that guild doing all this for" Cynthiamanded.
After Alvara left to carry out her orders, she once again fell into contemtion. One of the top five guilds making such a big move, was sure to attract attention. But because the attention of the whole kingdom was now currently on the capital that almost got wiped out, they were able to swiftly carry out their mission.
Though it wasn''t like no one had their eyes on them, the other top five guilds who were situated near the capital, simrly had their eyes on them but because after what happened to Sir Davis and Sir Vouves, nobody dared to make a move against the demon in fear of getting their whole guild wiped out.
The royal family was in no condition to do anything in this situation and had their hands full right now. Benny Beckerman, the guild leader of the sea god''s guild knew this very well and hence knows that he would get away even while making such a big move.
What Cynthia couldn''t understand was that even while knowing and seeing with his own eyes how an officer from the adventurer''s association and a powerful ranker was reduced to such a miserable state by that little girl apanying him, they still dared to go after that demon noble.
"It''s almost like they believe that¡".
-----
Fortress city Volkan, one of the oldest cities that was around even before the kingdom of Ellesmere was found. Tall ramparts surrounded the city from every corner and multiple magic cannons were stationed on the wall giving it a strong and imprable look.
The city was situated in the middle of two valleys and was an important checkpoint that anyone must pass through if they wish to get in and out of the central region. The poption of the city was around three hundred thousand with ny percent of the poption being traders.
The city of Volkan was also called the trader''s town with variety of goods going in and out of the town every day. The reason for it was the many air engines thatnded and took off from the city every day.
If one wanted to travel the different regions or out of it, they muste to the fortress city Volkan to get a ferry. Usually, due to various goods and peopleing and going out of the city, the security around here would be heavy.
However, today it was just too unusual with hoards of adventurers crowding the city. What was even more surprising was that they all belonged to the same guild and were heavily armed and ready.
If one looked at them, the first impression they would give was as if these adventurers were going on a war. In any other case, seeing this many adventurers would have resulted in a panic from the citizens but since they know the guild these adventurers belonged to, they weren''t overly rmed.
Inside one of therge buildings that belonged to the Sea God''s trident guild, Benny Beckerman could be seen seated on argefortable sofa listening to the reports given by his subordinates.
Picking up the teacup from the centre table, he sipped on it and asked "Are we still unable to find any tracks rted to that demon even after three whole days?".
His tone was neither angry nor happy.
The adventurer with the thief ss, shook his head "Unfortunately, we are still unable to find the demon after we lost track of him back in the forest. Our adventurers are still searching for him all around the ce".
Hearing the report, Benny Beckerman locked his brows and stated "Search every nook and cranny if you must, the demon will have to go through the volkan city if he wants to escape the central area quickly".
The subordinate nodded his head in understanding before asking something "Guild leader, what of the group that is hindering our move?".
Benny closed his eyes, mused for a while and said "Leave them be for now, since we cannot identify which group they belonged to, we will just engage them if we must. There is no need to back down".
He knew that there were many factions big and small, that have their eyes on their guild right now, but what of it? they were one of the top five guilds, just their name was enough to daunt most of them.
The fact that one of the group was moving against him despite knowing who they were, could only mean that the other party was also from the top five guilds or had power equivalent to theirs.
''There is no way they found out about my objective, then could it be these continuous attacks on our members are just to probe our intention?'' Benny Beckerman thought internally. He saw the subordinate about to exit the room when suddenly he remembered something and asked
"Why didn''t I get any reports about those two arriving in the city yet? Where are they? Did they not get my message?".
Seeing that the subordinate was tongue-tied, he asserted further.
"That¡ uh ¡ they have already¡".
After hearing what his subordinate had to say, he got up from his seat in surprise.
"You are telling me those two went there without even telling me anything? But why would they go there out of all ces?" he mused, when suddenly something struck his mind and he took out a map from his space ring.
''Although it is unlikely, if someone really is helping that demon, then they might have told him about the other route''.
Benny Beckerman got up from his sofa and started donning his armour."Prepare my air engine, I''m leaving for the Sea city Aqualin".
Hundreds of kilometres north-west of Volkan city was a vastnd of loess eternally shrouded in dust and sandstorms. One must traverse through this ce to get to the city of Aqualin also known as the sea city.
It is one of the important trade hubs of the kingdom of Ellesmere. Many ships that dock here bring numerous goods and cargos that are then transported to the rest of the kingdom.
"Once I pass through the sea city Aqualin, I would be able to reach the Northern ouw forest. Once there, the Sea god''s trident won''t be able to pursue me any further" Simon said flying at high speed.
Since he kept his altitude low to check where he is going, he left clouds of dust at his wake. Northern ouw forest was a ce filled with monsters and bandits, even if it''s one of the top five guilds they would have to put quite a lot of resources and manpower if they wanted to search for him there.
Anyways, reaching the sea city Aqualin, would take quite a lot of time even with his [High-Speed Flight] skill. Simon had been flying at full speed while taking stops in between to reach the city as fast as possible but even then, he did not even cover one-third of the distance.
Two days passed just like that and on the night of the third day, when Simon felt he was closer to the city, he suddenly stopped his flight abruptly. The reason for him doing so was because he felt that something was wrong, his instincts that have been honed through numerous battles in the Ghastly Winding Forest, was ringing rm bells in his head right now.
Simon took a deep breath and focused on spreading his senses all around him, but no matter how long he waited, there was nothing unusual around him. He shook his head and continued flying for a while before stopping once again.
He was sure this time, something was definitely wrong. This sensation he had felt many times when he was up against a strong monster from the Ghastly Winding Forest, the feeling of being at the edge of a knife.
Simon looked all around him and narrowed his eyes, whatever or whoever it was, it was definitely following him. What surprised him was their speed that was not inferior to his. He unfurled his wings andnded on the yellowish-brownnd.
Since he can''t outrun his enemy, he decided it was better for him to take care of them first. He took out his Crimson zing me Sword and looked at his surrounding in alert.
The cold wind of the night carried the dust along with it and other than the noise it made intermittently, the ce was extremely silent.
"Hohh, so you were able to notice me huh, it''s praiseworthy I must say" it was at this moment that a voice suddenly rang beside his ear and Simon instinctively swung the sword behind him.
CLANG¡ a fierce noise of metal colliding with metal rang out before a figure that had dissolved with its surroundings, appeared.
357 Chapter 357
It was a person decked in ck leather armour from head to toe, half of their face was covered with a mask and they carried two sharp swords that seemed extremely lethal. From their aura to the way they handled Simon''s attack, it told others that they were extremely experienced and a first-ss fighter.
Simon narrowed his eyes, with that sh earlier he was able to tell that the strength of this person was no less than his. He immediately tried using [Analysis] on them only for his attempt to be blocked by a skill.
"Hey you are quite rude to use [Analysis] in my face all of a sudden" the person said sarcastically as they measured him.
Simon felt a probing attempt from the other party which was quickly dispelled by his body. "Interesting, you have [Analysis] blocking skill too huh, I guess that''s a given with how unique you are. It''s not a surprise that guild leader is interested in you".
When Simon heard those words he immediately realised who the other party was "You are a member of the Sea god''s Trident?".
"DING DING DING, Correct. Congrattions for guessing that I am from the Sea God''s Trident. As a reward, I will answer one of your question" the person said exaggeratedly.
Simon locked his brows, from thetter''s attitude he could tell that the person was not at all daunted by the fact that he was a Demon Viscount. He did not know why the other person had initiated a conversation with him nor their motive, thus he pretended to y along with them and asked:
"What is the objective of your guild for going after me?".
The person donned in leather armour from head to toe, squinted his eyes "Do we need any other reason than the fact that you are a Demon Noble? Haha, I guess this reasoning won''t work huh, too bad I can''t tell you the real reason".
"Stop talking nonsense with that demon, Raven. If you can''t do it then I shall do it myself" At this moment another voice sounded out and a presence quickly showed himself.
The person who just appeared, was standing in the sky with a pair of illusory wings protruding from their back. They were donned in an incredible-looking heavy armour that gave off a bluish-green sheen and radiated a heavy mountain-like aura.
When Simon heard the name that the new entrant used to describe the person in ck leather armour, his eyes widened for a second. There was no way he wouldn''t know the name of one of the three tridents, Raven the [Phantom Night Assassin] who was one of the pirs of the Sea God''s Trident after staying in the capital for a while.
At the same time, it also made him realise the identity of the other person. There was no doubt, the description he inadvertently heard from the people of the capital every day, matched with the man in front of him emitting a heroic presence.
He was finally face to face with Godwin, whom the people of the kingdom of Ellesmere regarded as the legend and their greatest genius. However, unlike the ordinary mass, Simon did not have any good feelings about meeting the man at this moment and ce.
His premonition was indeed on the mark, the other person was here to capture him. Simon did not even have the time to wonder how the other party was able to find him as Godwin came charging at him as soon as his words fell.
Like a falling meteor, he let the gravity pull him down. His heavy armour along with the momentum from his free fall, was enough to create a small crater where hended.
Simon swiftly jumped back and avoided the attack, or so he thought when suddenly he felt a foreign energy enter him and he felt extremely enraged and had an urge to charge at Godwin.
[Fragment of Pride is reacting, effects from the Champion''s Taunt have been removed]
Thankfully, due to him possessing the fragment, the taunt wasn''t able to grab hold of him. A droplet of sweat trickled down Simon''s face, he couldn''t even realise when the other party had used a skill. This fact in itself told him that he cannot afford to let his guard down even for a second.
The man he was facing right now, was different from any other opponent he had faced up until now so much so that a moment of distraction might decide everything.
Without giving him a moment to think anything, Godwin who maintained an indifferent face, kept pressing him with one attack after another as f probing his strength.
He took out a wide de from his space ring and sent dozens of de shadows that had enough power to easily cleave a person below level 200 in half, at Simon.
To counterattack, Simon materialised dozens of me spears which met his enemy''s attack head on.
BOOM¡ BOOMM¡ the silence of the ce was immediately broken by the continuous explosion sounds from their sh. At a nce, it would seem that the two attacks were even; however, when one looked carefully, the me spears were actually being pushed back by the sword shadows.
After sending forth dozens of de shadows, Godwin sheathed his de inside the ground, stretched his hands and pointed at Simon. Immediately, the wind started picking up and in the blink of an eye it made aplex magic circle that was two meters in diameter and emerald green in colour in front of Godwin.
"[Howling Tempest Fist]" roaring out in vigour, Godwin punched towards the magic circle and created a huge vacuum fist that flew towards the demon.
When Simon felt the iing attack, all his hair stood on end and his instinct started alerting him of danger. No matter what, he couldn''t allow the attack tond on him.
Simon unfurled his wings and hurriedly took to the sky but the fist as if it had a mind of its own followed closely behind him.
"Haha, that fellow really thought that he can dodge your attack by flying away from its trajectory" Ravenughed from the sidelines as he saw the Demon Noble flying left and right trying to dodge an attack that locked onto him.
Simon after an unsessful attempt of dodging the attack, understood that there was no way he can evade it and instead chose to face the attack.
The vacuum fist created by Godwin packed so much power that it was basically on par with the [Infernal Heat wave] attack of his sword. Even with the Defense stats of a Demon Viscount, facing an attack like that would be devastating.
Just as the Vacuum fist was upon him, he took out something golden from his space ring. BOOOMM¡ a huge st that basically pushed all the clouds in the sky hundreds of meters back urred in the sky and created a huge twister dispersing dust and soil everywhere.
The attack was so powerful that the noise travelled for dozens of miles and even reached the soundly sleeping inhabitants of the sea city Aqualin.
-----
Capital city Ellesmere, in the backyard of the branch headquarters of the adventurers association was a huge construct that looked like some sort of device.
"Lisa helping that demon noble will negatively affect your reputation and standing in the guild. Is there no way your mind can be changed otherwise?" the branch president asked thedy beside him.
"Father, no matter how many times you ask me, I will not change my mind. That demon has helped me and Chuck when we were almost about to die in that ce even though he had no obligation nor did he stand to gain any benefit from it. Now that he is in danger and is being pursued by my own guild, how can I not help him despite knowing that?".
Lisa argued back, she wanted her father to open the teleport gate that is managed by the adventurers association and is installed in a handful of important cities.
The cost of operating a teleport gate is so much that it is only used during dire times or a crisis. But now, Lisa wanted to open the teleport gate, as the branch president of the adventurers association, he did indeed have the authority.
With how doting he was to his daughter, he would have opened it any other case but right now, there was an officer from the main headquarters of the adventurer association located on the maind and the person his daughter wanted to save was none other than the demon Noble who was behind all this destruction in the capital.
If the news reached back to that person it was sure to bring back some huge repercussions. That is why, he was trying his best to change the mind of his stubborn daughter.
"Lisa, listen to me. He is a demon noble, if we look at history our two races can be considered arch-enemies with so much bad blood between us. There is no need¡" the old man tried to reason but before he couldplete his sentence, Lisa interjected.
"The demon noble that you are calling our arch-enemy, was the one who had saved the life of your daughter back then. If not for him, you would have already lost your daughter back in the Ghastly Winding Forest".
"If you are not going it''s fine, I''ll go there by myself and stop them from killing that demon even if I have to step in front of them," Lisa said, adamant on going there.
"What? Absolutely not" the old man jumped up, he was given a huge scare.
358 Chapter 358
The branch president of the Adventurer''s Association was given a huge scare. At this moment, he had the urge to strangle the neck of the subordinate who came to report him about the activities of the Sea God''s Trident at such an inopportune time when his daughter was inside the room.
Since he knew he cannot change his daughter''s mind, he threw all the caution to the wind and decided to apany his daughter to the city of Aqualin.
-----
Dozens of kilometres away from the city, in the middle of thend of Loess, a huge st erupted pushing the onlookers dozens of meters back.
"Seriously Godwin, do you not know how to hold back? What if you also caught us in that st? You didn''t have to use such a technique on a Demon Viscount. What if you killed him? Did you already forget what the guild leader''s orders were?" Ravenined choking out on dust.
Contrary to Raven''sckadaisical attitude, Godwin had an indifferent and unperturbed expression.
"It''s fine even if he dies, with how many members of our guild he had killed, I see no reason to keep him alive. Though it doesn''t seem like he died from that attack earlier".
Godwin said, his narrowed when he thought about the peculiar action of the demon noble just before the attack hit him.
"What?" Raven was surprised, he didn''t think that the demon was powerful enough to survive an attack like that from Godwin, even on the off chance they did survive, their condition after taking a hit would be extremely serious.
After the twister in the sky dissipated, a silhouette came into view. Simon pped his wings and red at his enemies with his crimson eyes from the sky. Just before that huge emerald green fist connected, Simon shattered one of the Golden Guardian Stones that created a shield around him and protected him from the attack.
Had it not been for the Golden Guardian Stones that he had summoned from the [Ga??????] (previously Gacha), he would have definitely been severely injured from that attack.
''That vum fist was extremely unusual, I have never seen something like that'' Simon mused as he clenched his [A] tier crimson de tightly. that attack earlier felt like a magic but was more closer to a skill or a technique so as to say.
In any case, even with the buff from his Crimson zing me de, he was barely able to match the other party. His [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] skill was still on cool down and needed more than a day toe active.
With one trump card down and one trump card already used, the situation didn''t look good for him.
There was finally some reaction in Godwin''s face when he saw the Demon Nobleing out unscathed from his [Howling Tempest Fist] attack. he didn''t know what that thing thetter took out just before the fist connected but he could tell that it was the reason the Demon Nobe was unscathed.
"Intereting" Godwin said as he pulled the sword that was inserted on the ground, recalled his wings and took to the sky.
With one hand holding a shield and other a wide sword, he charged towards his opponent. On his way, he was bombarded by his opponent''s me magic that came at him from every direction.
"Champion Shockwave".
Nevertheless, with just one of his ss-specific skills that generated a powerful shockwave around him, he was able to repel all the attacks.
? Covering the distance between him and the demon, Godwin brought down his wide sword in an overhead swing.
Simon matched his enemy''s aggression with a swing of his own sword.
CLANG¡ intense sparks generated when the two powerful weapons collided with none wanting to give an inch to the other.
CLANG¡ CLANG¡ CLANG like a brilliant firework the sparks from their sh lighted the read around them showcasing how powerful each of their de was.
In the blink of an eye, they exchanged dozens of moves. Seeing his attacks being blocked and read by his opponent, Godwin put forth more power. Battle intent shed deep within his eyes and he started chaining his attacks with feints and even used his shield to bash his enemy.
Simon on the other hand used his ws and [Mana Lines] skill to conjure magic fast enough to cover any shoring he had in his defence.
Watching all of this from a distance, Raven couldn''t help but whistle in surprise "To think that the Demon Viscount would be able tost so many exchanges against Godwin? Even though I know he isn''t serious but still".
"That demon Noble is full of surprises. What is more amazing is that sword of his, its grade is definitely not low to be able to sh against Godwin''s sword which is made from Mythril. This demon holds a lot more secret than I expected¡ what do you think Chuck".
At this moment, Chuck walked out from behind. He had aplex expression on his face as he watched the two duking it out in the sky.
"What''s wrong Why do you look so lost?" Raven asked as he looked at Chuck.
Chuck hesitated for a while, thought over his words and said "Do we really have to do this?".
"What are you saying Chuck, did you not listen to the guild master say how many members of our Guild he killed? Other than that wasn''t he also responsible for the tragedy that unfolded with that branch guild you were managing? Just leave this to Godwin, he will make sure that demon doesn''t go anywhere" Raven stated.
BOOM¡
At this moment, something at the speed of a missile came crashing down on the ground raising a cloud of dust in the air. When the dust settled down a silhouette of a person could be seening out.
Cough... cough
Simon coughed a few times, patted the dust off of his body and got out of the crater he created. When he looked up, he saw Godwin standing perfectly fine in the air and looking down at him with cold indifferent eyes. Not even a trace of exhaustion could be seen on his face.
He lost that exchange of might earlier and was pummelled to the ground by thetter. This bout with Godwin had also told Simon that whether it be skills, stats, orbat experience, he wascking in every frontpared to his opponent.
"Give up you are not my match," Godwin said conjuring a advanced tier Tempest magic and sending it flying towards him.
Simon clicked his tongue in annoyance and conjured a infernal magic of his own. Both advanced magic shed and created a huge outburst of energy that devastated hundreds of metres of area and pushed all the parties back.
Using this chance Simon utilised his high-speed flight skill and charged towards Godwin.
[Thousand Piercing de Storm] activating his augmenting skills and the skills bestowed by his sword, he brandished the crimson sword thousands of times and sent forth a storm of de shadows towards thetter.
The situation was too unfavourable for him, not only was he facing an enemy whose levels was multiple times higher than his, but he was also outnumbered by them as well. Not using all his powers in a situation like this would be truly foolish.
Godwin stood in front of the storm of de shadows without backing down, his red mantle continuously pping with the wind. There was no signs of anxiousness nor any worry in his eyes.
Just as the thousands of des carrying a sharp sword intent were a few inches away from him, he adapted a weird stance, took a deep breath of air and swung his sword.
"[de Heart Sword Mastery]- [Emotion Severance de Formation]" Godwin murmured brandishing his sword in a mighty yet profound way.
The [Emotion Severance de Foramtion] created an illusion of him holding dozens of swords. Godwin, using the formation deflected all the thousand de shadows. His concentration was high and his mastery of the sword was close to being perfect that no matter who looked at him right now, they would undoubtedly open their mouth wide in awe.
Chuck was the same, looking at the scene of Godwin bravely and effortlessly deflecting all the attacks of his enemies, he was once again reminded of why he joined the guild.
At that time, Godwin was just a rising talent of the Sea God''s Trident, he neither had the authority nor the power to scout someone. Nevertheless, he still extended his hands towards Chuck who was still a nobody at that time and convinced all the senior members of their guild to at least consider him for the uing recruitment test.
Even Chuck at that time did not know why the former was so adamant on scouting him, who was just a no-name newbie adventurer at that time. However, it all soon changed when Chuck passed the guild''s test, became one of the Sea God''s Trident''s member and started going into dungeons and adventurers with Godwin and the others.
He realised how talented Godwin was and at the same time knew that his destiny was different from theirs. To Chuck, Godwin was a friend, a mentor and also a kind of rival that he wanted to surpass.
And ever since then, he trained with the objective to get as strong as thetter one day. Nevertheless, now that he looked at thetter''s skills after a few years, he once again admitted how monster of a genius Godwin was.
"Not Bad¡ to be able to make Godwin use the [de Heart Sword Mastery] skill that the guild leader only taught him, that demon noble is not bad. From his movement and skill, it could be seen that the demon has quite the experience of fighting adventurers" Raven stated.
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"But if he thinks that he can match Godwin with just that, he up for a rude awakening," Raven said with anguid smile.
Simon utilised this chance when his opponent was busy deflecting all the de shadows to approach closer.
"[Sword Mastery], [Body Enhancement], [Infernal Sword Mastery" he activated and stacked even more skills on top of the augmenting skill he already had activated to dish out a clean shing attack towards his enemy.
Although the material of the armour his opponent was wearing, didn''t look simple, Simon was sure that his Crimson zing me de that he upgraded from the [Armoury] after many failed attempts would be able to pierce through that defence.
Godwin noticed the Demon Viscount approaching near in the midst of him intercepting all those de shadows and instantly understood his enemy''s intention. Nevertheless, he did not try to dodge it nor raise any defence against it.
His opponent''sck of intention to guard against this attack of his, although it raised a brow from Simon, he did not stop and executed his attack all the way.
Using the chance when Godwin swung his hand in a wide swing to deflect one of the de shadows, Simon shed his sword with enough momentum and strength to ensure that his de cleaves through the armour and his body.
Intense sparks generated the moment the crimson de came in contact with the armour but thanks to his strength stat and momentum, he was able to swing his de all the way.
Simon stopped after sessfully shing Godwin''s armour but there was no joy in his eyes and instead, a grim look clouded them. When he shed his opponent''s armour, he had clearly felt it, some kind of resistance barring his de from cleaving all the way.
He turned around to see a green aura envelop Godwin and materialise into armour. The way it was pulsating with energy, it was clear that it was a skill. A skill that manifests an armour around you.
"As I thought so, much of your strength ising from that sword of yours. Not only is it Rank [A], a rank that is extremely rare to see around these parts, but it also bestows you with many skills and stats" Godwin said touching the deep gash in his armour.
"You look surprised, I guess you weren''t aware of the [Mana Armour] skill huh. When one steps beyond level 500, the mana in their body will harden to form a cloak around their body drastically increasing their defence".
"And when one reaches level 600, the mana in their body will be solid enough to be an armament just like this.." Godwin said as he conjured a dense blue sword and threw it towards Simon.
BANG¡ the speed at which he threw the sword, broke the speed of sound and approached thetter with a supersonic speed.
Before Simon had the opportunity toprehend those words, the counterattack from his enemy forced him into a defensive state once again. He brought the crimson de in front of him just in the nick of time before the blue sword could pierce his heart.
CLANG¡ there was a solid ear-piercing noise of a metal colliding with metal and Simon was forced dozens of meters back.
pping his wings to dissolve some of the power behind that attack, he somehow managed to keep himself in the air. Simon''s expression at this moment, was extremely ugly, his hand which was tightly holding onto the crimson sword, was bleeding.
That feeling earlier that he got when the blue sword shed with his [A] rank crimson sword, was so real that it was no different than an actual weapon. When his eyes went onto the blue sword which fell to the ground, they froze for a second.
Even after shing against his Crimson zing me sword, it only suffered a minor crack. From this, one could see how dense and solid his opponent''s mana was. The armour and the mana sword right now, told him that the guy he was facing was beyond level 500 and possibly even 600.
"Do you understand the difference between our levels now? No matter how much you try, you won''t be able to put a scratch on me. If anything, I praise your courage for not running away the instant you saw us" Godwin extended his hand and immediately, the blue sword dissolved into mist.
"Hey now, it''s rare to see you conversing with someone and that too with your enemy. Are you perhaps trying to capture the demon just like the guild master told us?" Raven from the side asked.
It was also when Simon realised that there was an additional person there other than Raven and it was also someone he knew.
Chuck was trying to avoid Simon''s nce as aplex emotion currently masked his face.
"So that''s how it is¡ haha" Simon silentlyughed. Why would he not, even the person he had saved once and travelled with had ended up bing his enemy once his identity was revealed.
He found the situation so funny that he couldn''t helpughing. At the same time, the slightest reservation that he used to feel towards humans whenever he killed one because of him being a human in his previous life, was slowly snuffed outpletely in his heart.
At this moment, he no longer felt any attachment nor connection with them any longer and only a deep loathing. With his reservation gone, a unique change urred deep within Simon that even he wasn''t aware of.
"Don''t be ridiculous, there is no way I would allow this demon to live that long after killing so many of our guild mates. The only reason I have kept him alive is to know what happened that day. How did Chuck''s teammates die and why was he and that fianc¨¦ of his the only ones toe out alive. Tell me demon?".
Chuck stopped holding back his powers and his aura flooded out like a typhoon. It was so powerful that it was enough to blot the sky and lock Simon down in ce.
By the time he went to the city of Morgress, most of their senior officials of the Seen Sword Guild had already run away. The low-ranking members of the guild he caught, did not know anything while Chuck''s fianc¨¦ refused to speak out about that day''s event leaving Godwin with no way to confirm what had happened that day.
Chuck was like a little brother to him ever since he made the other join their guild. How can he just let the matter be when his little brother and his fianc¨¦ were almost killed? This issue had always been a thorn in his heart and he always felt guilty for not being able to help Chuck that day even though he was in the same city at that time.
Now that he was made aware of the demon noble that had made a hugemotion back in the capital and killed dozens of their members, was the very same demon who had created that dungeon in the ghastly winding forest, how could he let the one responsible for it all escape?
The events of that day? As he recalled that, Simonughed in the face of that question from Godwin. Did the other party really think that he can make him talk by pressuring him with his aura?
In the first ce, the person he should ask that question was right with him. Chuck must have been informed something by that girl who was beside him at that time. Why would he ask that question from a Demon Noble that he was trying to hunt?
It was true that he had saved a couple he admired back in the ghastly winding forest when they were about to be killed. But that was at that time, now that he looked back at his action, he couldn''t help but find it extremely funny and nonsensical.
A Demon Noble intervening in a skirmish between parties from the same race. What was he even thinking?
Even though he was from a race that was enemies with humans, he was being empathetic towards them. Was he trying to create a friendly rtionship with them? or the fact that he was once a human subconsciously influenced his mind?
Even though he always rejected that thought, he knew clearly in his heart that it was the truth, so much so that Irene and even Adalinda had to point it out that he was a Demon Noble.
"Truly Pathetic" Simon muttered.
"What?" Godwin asked unsure what he heard.
"I said, why the fuck should I answer you? Do you really think that you have me cornered?" Simon snarled, his demonic side bing more and more apparent.
Godwin and even Raven narrowed their eyes when they heard that, there was a cold glint in their eyes.
"I change my mind, I don''t want to be a spectator any longer. Let me fight that demon and cut that tongue of it''s so that it can''t make this kind of bad jokes any longer" Raven said with a smile that wasn''t a smile.
Nevertheless, Godwin stopped Raven with a gesture of his hand and fixed his gaze back on the demon.
"I guess you leave me with no other choice but to show you your ce. I will beat you until you beg me and squeeze out every information from that bbering mouth of yours".
Contrary to their expectation, instead of getting angry, the demon kept onughing as if everything seemed very funny to him. Simon clutched his stomach andughed until he came to terms with his situation.
"You want to kill me because I killed those guild mates of yours? Haha, what a pathetic excuse. Isn''t the real reason you want to kill me is because you see me as a threat. I''m quite sure some of your guild members have their eyes on some of the possession of mine" Simon mocked.
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Godwin no longer spoke anything and simply extended one of his hands to create multiple of those mana swords which came flying towards his opponent from tricky angles.
It took everything Simon had to fend off those mana swords that were as deadly as [C] rank weapons themselves. It was like each sword had a mind of its own and even if Simon deflected them, they would keep on targeting him like homing missiles.
However, that was not the full extent of Godwin''s assault, after creating mana swords, he applied his [de Heart Sword Mastery] skill on top and even rushed at his opponent himself.
CLANG¡ CLANG¡
Simon deflected the swords left and right and dodged where he could, but how could the [Sword Mastery] bestowed by his sword, bepared to the higher version of the skill that Godwin had attained after putting years of his effort into mastering the sword.
In the first ce, other than his magic, Simon hadn''t put much attention on his sword techniques and training. it was no exaggeration to say that he was severelycking behind in this forte.
Godwin''s mana sword kept on putting pressure on him and after a while, he was riddled with cuts and stabs everywhere. To make matters worse, the wounds for some reason weren''t healing as fast as he expected.
Contrary to him, Godwin did not have a single scratch on him and his mana armour stopped every attack that the demon noble threw on him even at the cost of lowering its own defences and suffering more damage in return.
It was a difficult pill for him to swallow but Simon knew that his opponent was still not fighting him seriously and had yet to use his full power. Whereas, he on the other hand was approaching his limit. The buff from the skills he had activated was about to wear off and once it did, his power would drop by a whole lot.
The disparity in their strength would be even more apparent. It wasn''t like he didn''t think about running, he had been doing that all along since his humiliating escape from the capital. It maddened him to no extent that in the face of a strong enemy, all he could do was escape.
However, right now he didn''t escape because he knew that the moment he did, the man in front of him wouldn''t hesitate to deal him a fatal blow.
WHOOSH¡ Simon pped his wings so fast that he left afterimages behind. Dodging Godwin''s sword that came swinging down at him from behind, he turned around and deflected the mana swords that barred him from moving around too much.
This time, when he dodged the sword swing from Godwin, he clearly saw it. That wide de of his, shimmering with a yellowish-green light.
"Hmph, it seems that demon is perceptive enough to see it but it is toote now, he has already suffered too many wounds from that de" Ravenmented a small snicker hanging at the edges of his lips.
"What do you mean Sir Raven" Chuck asked unable to understand those words.
"Hmm? Ah, you weren''t there at that time I guess. You see Godwin and I got the opportunity to travel to the maind once. There in one of the empire, we found a Master Craftsman to forge a special sword for Godwin that was made of Mythril and some part of the disaster ss monster that we had killed".
"As a result, the sword that was forged, other than being extremely sturdy and being able to handle that dense amount of mana from Godwin, it also possesses the unique ability to dy any kinds of regeneration ability once a cut was made from that sword. That is to say, even if you drink potions or have regeneration skills like that demon noble, cut made by that sword would have difficulty healing" Raven exined.
It was as Raven had guessed; Simon recognised the peculiar ability of his enemy''s sword and that was why he wasn''t even drinking the Elixir of Healing since there was no point to it.
CHIII¡ unable to stop Godwin''s rush, Simon got cut by the sword again. If it was a human, they would have already be unconscious from the numerous wounds they had suffered. However, Simon was a demon noble and his stats were much higher than an average human.
Thanks to his defence stats, those cuts from Godwin weren''t fatal enough to render him unable to battle. Though that might not be the case now, the timing was slowly but surely approaching.
After a while, the duration of the skills ended and the repercussion from activating all those augmenting skills at once, caught up to him, putting an immense pressure on his body. Not only that, but his power level also dropped by a whole lot.
"Tempest de".
Not missing this chance where his opponents aura had suddenly dropped, Godwin channelled his sword with his powerful advanced tier tempest magic, turning itpletely emerald.
One of the features of Mythril was that it was an excellent medium that can store and channel mana very well. Because of this property, Mythril was sought out after by all the strong adventurers of this world.
A dark emerald de was created after Godwin poured all of his mana and magic into it. The sword vibrated and distorted the very space itself. One could even feel its destructive aura from miles away.
After creating the [Tempest de] Godwin released a deep breath of air and nced at the demon viscount who was clearly suffering from the repercussion of his own skills.
[Tempest de], a skill that he created afterbining his Tempest magic with his sword mastery skill. The skill was one of his most powerful skills and the culmination of years of his hard work and practice.
Using the skill meant that he was not only serious but also ready to take down his opponent.
SHIIIIINNNGG¡ the moment he swung the sword, all the air around the surrounding stopped blowing and a huge greenish gash appeared in the sky. The green gash was so bizarre that it looked like some kind of cut that was made in the space.
It stayed stationary in the ce for a second or two before rushing towards the demon viscount, distorting the very space in its wake. The speed at which the gash travelled, was so fast that before Simon had the chance to see it properly, it was already upon him.
The bacsh from activating so many skills was already putting a huge strain on his body, there was no way he would be able to dodge an attack that surpassed the speed of sound.But then again, he couldn''t allow an attack like that tond on his body.
The power and mana behind the emerald sword energy was so great that rm bells started ringing inside his head. His instincts was screaming and warning him not to get hit by it.
Gulping down the blood that came to his mouth from forcefully stabilising his mana that was in a state of turbulence, he poured everyst bit of it into the sword.
"Infernal Heatwave" with a vigorous shout, the de of the sword lit up with a beautiful golden light so radiant that it blinded the eyes of everyone watching it.
A golden sword energy carrying along an intense heat that was powerful enough to even sear the space, was dished out from the crimson sword as it travelled forward and met his opponent''s attack head-on.
"Let''s get back," Raven said hastily as he grabbed Chuck before recalling his wings and retreating from the area.
BOOOOMMM¡
When the two different elements of energies shed, the resulting aftermath was a huge big bang so thunderous thatnd for hundreds of meters was instantly obliterated. A fierce storm carrying intense heat and berserk winds, was generated and rose as high as three thousand meters towards the sky.
The violent storm was even visible from the city dozens of miles away. At this moment, all the inhabitants of the city were out of their homes and watching the distant terrible storm. the shockwave from the sh just now was so powerful that it travelled as far as their city and if not for the barrier raised by the local adventurers and magicians, the city''s wall might have copsed.
At this moment, on the northern corner of the city, around a wide clearance was a bizarre construct that was maintained by the adventurer''s association branch of the city of Aqualin. Right now, the construct was lit up with a bluish-ck light and a couple of figures could be seening out of it.
Feeling the terrible energy storming from outside the city, thedy in the frontined "See I told you father, they have already started fighting. If we don''t rush there soon, it might very well be toote".
Thedy in the front was none other than Lisa and the old man she wasining to was her father, the branch president of the Adventurer''s Association.
The old man looked at the huge storm that was dozens of miles away and his eyes was immediately clouded with a grave look. No matter how he saw it, this ferocious and berserk energy that they could feel from this far away, was a result from two extremely powerful advanced tier magic capable of even levelling a city, colliding.
If they got caught up in such a terrible storm, even with the adventurers he brought, they wouldn''t be able toe out of it unscathed.
"Listen to me Lisa, although you have forced me toe with you here, you must also promise me one thing. Regardless of whether we are able to gain enough time for that demon to run away or not, you will not move too far away from the reach of these adventurers" The old man stated with a serious face.
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Feeling the severity of the situation, Lisa involuntarily nodded her head. Nheless, her mind was somewhere else ''Chuck, you cannot hurt that demon, he was the one who saved us''.
Back at the ce where the violent storm was still brewing.
PUFF¡ GUGH¡
Simon spouted out a mouthful of blood trying to prop his body up from therge gorge he had created on the ground. Visibility was extremely low with the dust still falling from the sky. The shockwave from the attack had pushed him thousands of meters back where his body skidded the ground and remained motionless for a while.
With thest attack, he had used everyst bit of his mana and if it still did not manage to damage his enemy, then there was nothing he could do.
For a second, he thought about using the 200+ Elixir of the Sacred Sanctum that he had been buying ever since his dungeon started to produce a good amount of DP.
The elixirs were an extremely important item that would be the cornerstone for his growth and something he knew would be crucial for his future. The elixir of Sacred Sanctum was an item that could basically be his lifesaver and could turn around any situation and predicament he might find himself into in the future.
Using it right now, seemed like a huge waste and other than increasing some of his stats, the elixir won''t be able to have much of an impact. In the end, he rejected the idea.
As he was sprawled on the ground unable to get up, many memories came crashing inside his head like a tidal wave. One of them was what Lucine had said right before she disappeared. She had gone out of her way to specifically mention the trail that they had gone through.
"If you want to be stronger, you might want to risk your life clearing the forbidden trail" was what she said. As absurd as it sounded, it was true that the forbidden trail did increase his level significantly in the few days he was inside.
if he had that mich growth from just a couple of days of being inside, one could imagine what would happen if he spent a week, or even a month inside.
As enticing as it sounded, it wasn''t gonna be that easy since even with the help of Lucine and Denzel, they were barely able to pass some of the trials. Simon did not even want to imagine what would have happened in the case that they failed one of the trails.
''Bear this humiliation in your heart and use it as a driving force to get stronger'' he reminisced taking out a ck hexagonal stone from his [Inventory].
It was also at this moment that he felt two auras lock at him. Needless to mention, it was from Godwin and Raven. At this moment, the both of them were standing in the air with illusory wings protruding from their back.
When Simon saw the unscathed appearance of Godwin, he couldn''t help but groan internally and tighten his fists. Since it hase to this point, there was no other way than to use it.
"Allow me to deal it the death blow for you".
Raven said looking at the demon sprawled on the ground, bathed in the pool of his own blood. At this moment, his expression was extremely serious and there was no longer that condescending smile on his face.
But before Raven could proceed forward, Godwin extended his hands and created two mana swords that dug deep inside the demon noble''s wings and pinned him onto the ground indicating that he was not done yet.
In the face of these powerful enemies, Simon at least wanted to stand on his own feet, his pride didnot allow him to appear pathetic while sprawled on the ground and being looked down by them. Thus he willed his body to get up but his attempt to do so was met with Mana Swords that pinned his wings on the ground.
"I''ll ask you for thest time, tell me demon what happened back in the Ghastly Winding Forest".
Godwin asked straining on every words. From his tone to his attitude, it could be seen that he was dead serious. Though it might have been effective had it been somebody else; However, the one he was up against right now, was Simon who became extremely stubborn at certain times.
Even while blood continued to flow out from his wounds and the burning anger raging within him, the cheeky smile never left his face. He looked more like red Godwin directly in the eye and pointed his middle finger at him.
''You think you have me pinned?'' Simon roared internally and used his immense willpower and his remaining strength to pull himself up. All the while, a CHII¡CHIII¡ sound continuously came from his wings as he forcefully tried to rip his wings from the mana swords that pinned him to the ground.
His actions that suggested that he wasn''t the least bit afraid of them, surprised Godwin and Raven. This was the first time in their countless adventures, that they met a demon who refused to bow down even in the face of death.
''As I thought so, this demon that does not fear death, cannot be left alive. Although it would hamper some of the ns of the guild leader, but keeping him alive would bring too much of a risk in the future'' Raven mused, his eyes shed with a hidden killing intent.
Right now, the demon was no threat to them; however, the same couldn''t be said for the future. His willpower coupled with his unyielding temperament that did not cower even in front of death might actually allow him to rise in power in the future. A potential threat like that was better to be nibbed as early as possible.
"I see so you remain adamant to stay silent. Then there is no longer any need for this conversation" Godwin summoned his [Tempest de once] again and was just about sh the demon in half once and for all, when suddenly he felt multiple presences approaching this ce from the direction of the city.
Baffled, he turned his head only to see a group of people who he was familiar with,ing towards this area.
"What is the branch president doing here?" Seeing the old man flying in front, Raven asked.
"Haha, this old man is here to settle some personal matters. What about Mister Raven and Godwin, what brings the two of you here?" the old man said indolently.
Raven''s crafty-looking eyes narrowed a bit at those words as he replied "What a coincidence, we too have some personal matter we came here to settle".
At this moment, Chuck who was silent all this while spoke out "Lisa?! What are you doing here?". It was quite a surprise for him to see her here when she should have been in the capital.
Just like him when Lisa spotted him, she immediately rushed towards him and nestled in his embrace.
"Wow, two couples reuniting once again, what a dreamy scene. But do you mind taking it somewhere else, we are in the midst of something" Ravenmented, snapping the two out of their daze.
"Ah!" Chuck hurriedly tore himself from the embrace, looking a little flustered.
Godwin was unbothered by their arrival, he was just about to swing his [Tempest de] towards the demon and finish what he started when a few people stepped in front of him.
"What are you doing? Move" Godwin asked, raising a brow towards the branch president who was silently standing in front of the path of his de.
"I''m afraid, this old man can''t step out of the way" the branch president smiled helplessly.
"Does the branch president intends on defending that demon even while knowing what it did to the capital? This demon not only made a huge mess by sneaking into our kingdom but also killed so many of ourrades" Raven on the side, had frigid cold eyes as he put his hands on his des. "
If the word gets out that the branch president of our kingdom of Ellesmere is siding with the demon, do you know what kind of chaos you would create?" he pressed for more. No matter what, he cannot let the demon live especially after what he had managed to aplish.
"Wait you can''t kill him" Lisa cried out and joined her father who was barring Godwin''s path.
Thetter was surprised to see a member of his own guild oppose him; however, the one who was more surprised was Chuck who didn''t know why Lisa was suddenly acting like that. Worried that Godwin might misunderstand; he stepped forward and tried to reason with her.
"Lisa what are you saying, he is a demon noble who is responsible for turning our capital upside down like that. Step aside from there".
Nheless, the girl did not step aside and only shook her head.
"I can''t let you kill the demon who saved you and me that day," Lisa said, her voice quavering a little from the pressure Godwin and Raven exerted.
"What?!" Chuck couldn''t help but utter in shock. After he woke up from that disaster he always asked her about the events of that day and how did they manage to escape.
However, no matter how many times he asked she never opened her mouth and always kept it a secret from him.
"I''m sorry, I wanted to tell you earlier but when I thought that how it might negatively affect you, I couldn''t bring myself to tell you the truth" Lisa apologised.
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? Lisa apologised, the reason for her keeping it a secret from him was because she understood Chuck''s character the most. Once he realises that he was saved and that too by a Demon noble, a race that they considered as their enemy, he would be disheartened and it might even leave a shadow that he cannote out from.
Even if it made her a little cruel to keep him away from the truth, she didn''t want the talent of her man, his shine to diminish like that. Lisa though that she could keep it a secret from him; however when she heard that Chuck was taken along with Godwin and the others to hunt down the demon noble who was responsible for saving them, she couldn''t keep herself out of it.
"W-Why are you telling this to me now?"
It was as she had expected, Chuck''s mind was suddenly thrown into a disarray. He didn''t know what he should do anymore. He was already feeling guilty knowing that the person he had travelled with all along from Mountmend to the capital, was a demon.
But now that he was made aware of the one who saved him was also the very same demon noble he was trying to hunt, his mind suddenly felt lost.
It was not only him, even Godwin was surprised when he heard what Lisa had to say. The [Phantom de] that he was about to swing down, trembled ever so slightly. After that event back in the ghastly winding forest where chuck''s guild was almostpletely wiped out, he made many investigations and assumptions.
One of them was that the demon noble, master of the newly emerged dungeon was one of the main perpetrators along with the seven swords guild behind the tragedy.
Feeling the hesitation in Godwin''s aura, Raven was once again certain that he couldn''t allow the demon to live. Not only was he very unusual from the demon noble they knew but was also able to turn his enemies into his ally.
Although he had no basis for that, but he had a feeling that the demon was not ordinary. Raven wanted to snuff this growing bud of concern within his heart, as soon as possible.
"Hahaha, what did I just hear, a demon saving humans? Demon Noble, a race that is hostile with us humans, suddenly acting all saintly and saving people? Do we really believe that? Lisa this is not the time to tell jokes".
Raven said trying to shift people''s opinion away from what Lisa said about the demon.
"Are you saying that my daughter is lying? This old man can personally testify to it" the branch president said making those that were having a sprout of doubt in their hearts, consider her words once again.
The prestige of the old man couldn''t be doubted, he was the branch president of the Adventurer''s Association and one of the senior-most person in their kingdommanding respect from hundreds of thousands of adventurers.
Even if it was Raven, one of the rising stars of their kingdom, he did not are to challenge the authority of the old man.
"That''s not what I''m saying old man. This demon noble had killed hundreds of our members and has now be a personal matter of our Sea god''s Trident guild. Our guild master has also specificallymanded to apprehend the demon but since he was resisting, we simply made sure that it doesn''t go anywhere" Raven asserted.
Although Godwin had covered it up, Raven who was watching their fight closely, saw it. The moment the two huge attacks shed, Godwin had a trail of blooding out of his mouth after he retreated back to dodge the aftershock.
Since the both of them were partners, it wasn''t unusual for him to see Godwin bleed or injured while clearing dungeons. This small of an injury might be nothing for Godwin but the shocking thing was not the injury itself but the one who did it.
A Demon Viscount, someone whose power level wasn''t even above level 400, managed to hurt Godwin who was above level 600. If he hadn''t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn''t have believed it.
The fact that the demon was able to do so, was one of the reasons why he wanted to finish off the demon as soon as possible.
The branch president fell into a conundrum when Raven mentioned Sea god''s trident, the head of the top five guilds and its guild master, Benny Beckerman. The adventurer''s association in the kingdom of Ellesmere was in no position to contend with the private guilds who has years of umted resource and manpower.
The fact that the top five guilds hoarded most of the powerful adventurers of their kingdom of Ellesmere, proved it. This ce was not the maind, the Adventurer''s Association branch in their kingdom did not have many strong adventurers who were willing to stay with the association and reject the enticement from the private guilds to join them.
The thing about the demon killing their members and it bing their personal matter was clearly a craftily spun plot. The branch president locked his brows, he knew the kind of person Benny Beckerman was.
For a person as clever as him to send their branch members at the demon knowing fully well what would happen, if somebody said that this wasn''t the situation he desired, he wouldn''t believe them.
The thing about them apprehending the demon was bullshit, as long as thetter fell into their hands, his life and death would be dictated by them. There was no way the demon would be able to escape the Sea God''s Trident guild once he fell in their grasp.
Seeing that Godwin was still pondering, Raven decided to take things into his own hands. He unsheathed the short swords made from the same material as Godwin''s sword and rushed towards the Demon Viscount who was being uncannily silent for some reason.
"Mister Raven you cannot".
But before he could approach near, Lisa stood in front of him obstinate on protecting the demon. Ignoring her words, he circled around her but was stopped once again, this time by the adventurers the branch president brought.
Being blocked again and again, Raven was clearly irritated. He applied more power and sent the adventurers blocking his path, reeling back. He was one of the three tridents of Sea god''s trident guild, the man who acquired the legendary [Phantom Night Assassin] ss after breaching level 500, seven years ago.
How could these adventurers stop him if he wanted to proceed forward?
The branch president narrowed his eyes, he didn''t expect Raven to suddenly take action. He was just about to step forward himself when he saw Chuck block Raven''s path this time.
Not wanting to hurt his own guild member, Raven somewhat restrained his power at thest moment and shed with thetter.
CLANG¡ unable to bear the power behind Raven''s charge, Chuck was forced to take a few steps back. Nevertheless, his [Guardian Knight] ss allowed him to stand tall like a boulder in front of the other party.
With aplicated expression, Chuck looked at Raven and said:
"Please wait Sir Raven. I know that demon has killed some of our members but it is also a truth that it saved my life. Please just this one time, let this demon go".
Godwin was surprised when he saw the action of the man, Chuck was bowing his head as he said that. Raven was conflicted, just like Godwin, he too was fond of Chuck. Had the matter been something else, he wouldn''t hesitate to agree with thetter; however right now other than him, nobody else could see the threat the demon represented.
If they allowed the demon to grow, who knows what kind of cmity it might be. Their sea God''s trident guild had already fallen out with him and had formed a deep grudge that cannot be rubbed off easily with the demon.
When Raven looked at those ring crimson eyes that was filled with hatred and maliciousness, he had no doubt in his mind that the demon would seek revenge against their guild sooner orter.
As he saw it, it was for their own good that they nipped the disaster in the bud even if he had to fallout with them. Raven sighed, activated his [Phantom Night] skill and rushed towards the demon who looked like he was watching a good show.
The speed he erupted out with, was so fast that other than Godwin and the branch president, for everyone he seemed to have disappeared.
Brandishing his short sword, he activated a few more skills that changed the colour of his short sword to a bright yellowish-green. Raven was not ying around anymore and waspletely serious to take down the demon noble.
He was just a few meters away from it when a voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Stop" unable to believe his ears, Raven turned towards Godwin who looked like he made his decision.
Godwin who was hovering in the air, stepped down and unfolded his illusory wings. He then looked towards everyone and said "Since it was that demon who saved Chuck and Lisa, a part of me wants to let it go".
When everyone heard what Godwin had to say, they momentarily became surprised but the next words that he said, brought them back to reality.
"However, it is also true that he killed dozens of my guild members, its bloodthirsty nature cannot be changed. Chuck, he may be someone who saved you once because of some whim but he is an enemy nheless".
363 Chapter 363
"Additionally, our Guild master has ordered us to subjugate the demon which as a guild member, you two are obligated to follow" Godwin emphasised in amanding tone.
"But" Lisa wanted to say something but the former was yet to finish his words.
"As such the greatestpromise I can make is not killing that demon. I Godwin promise all of you that, nheless, it muste with us. This is the extent of the concession I can make. Is the branch president fine with that?".
Lisa looked a little unsatisfied, while the branch president wore an intense look of frown. He pondered about it for a bit before sighing helplessly. Even if he was the branch president of the adventurer association, this is the limit of how much he can help his daughter with her will.
He cannot not give face to a powerful adventurer who was destined to join the status of the rankers in the future. Thus, he backed out even though he knew his daughter wouldn''t be happy with it.
CLAP¡ CLAP¡ CLAP¡
As they were discussing all that, suddenly the sound of someone pping rang out. When they turned their heads around, they saw the demon pping while wearing a smile on its face. In their midst of conversation, they had almost forgotten that the demon was right near and could hear them.
"What is so funny demon?" Raven who was the nearest to the demon, asked.
"Hahaha, how is it not funny? Since when did you all start thinking that you can decide my fate? Who the fuck died and gave you the right to decide? Do you puny humans really think that you have the ability to keep me here?".
Simon dered with a coarse demonic voice, his face had that symbolic demonic smile of his.
"Just a bluff. Hmph, you think I don''t know that powerful protector of yours is gone. Why isn''t that girl helping you yet? Call her out, let this guild master also witness how we can''t keep you contain here".
At this moment, a huge Air Engine could be seen approaching from the distant sky. At the helm, on top of the air engine was a bald man decked out in Mythril armour and carrying a golden spear in his hand.
The aura he realised was no less powerful than Godwin and he carried himself with an air of authority. The voice that just rang out, was from him.
As his figure became clearer, everyone was able to tell who he was.
''So he even came himself huh. It seems that there is no hope for the demon to escape today'' the branch president thought as he nced at the distant man. To be able to release this kind of domineering aura of authority, who could it be other than the guild master of sea God''s Trident, the head of the top five guilds.
"Guild Master Benny" the branch president greeted.
Benny Beckerman nced at the old man with bemused eyes before extending a greeting himself.
"So it''s the branch president of the Adventurer''s Association. I guess our movements these past few days have troubled you, please ept my sincere apology".
At this moment, the air engine stopped a few dozen meters away from them. Benny Beckerman, from his vantage point, observed everyone who was present there.
Godwin and raven nodded their heads, while Chuck and Lisa looked a little flustered as they bowed their heads. The rest found their bodies stiffen whenever Benny Beckerman''s gazended on them.
After observing everybody, the guild master of the Sea god''s trident finally shifted his eyes to the tattered and weary looking demon. There was no need for him to think why the demon was so battered; it must have battled with those two to end up like that.
After seeing that his job here was mostly done, he put down some of his worries. He had blockaded the fortress city of Volkan thinking that the demon woulde from there, however, it turned out that the demon noble was actually travelling from the north-western side.
Good thing, Godwin and Raven were perceptive enough to rush to the city of Aqualin to intercept the demon or else he would have escaped them once he got through the city and into the northern mountains.
The fact that the demon would take such a long route, further ascertained his suspicions that someone was supporting the demon noble from behind.
''Is it the branch president? No, he won''t do that since he owes me one. Who could it be then? Is it that battle junkie?'' as his thoughts spun, from the corner of his eyes noticed the air around the demon was a little unusual.
Thinking that it was nothing, he took out his transmission conch and was just about to call the other guild members stationed in the Volkan city here when suddenly the space around the demon started distorting and behaving peculiarly.
All of the people present, were stunned by this sudden ripple in the space and in front of their astonished eyes, the body of the demon started undting. It was only when a ck halo appeared around the demon noble''s body did they understood what that phenomenon was.
"Stop that demon, he is invoking a space magic".
Immediately, Benny Beckerman shouted out.
Raven who was the closest to the demon, unsheathed his short sword once again and plunged towards Simon. However, his de passed through the ck halo as if it was made of air. Raven''s attack wasn''t able to damage the ck halo surrounding the demon at all.
"Physical attacks don''t work in that case¡" Benny Beckerman said clenching his golden spear tightly before hurling it towards the sky.
At that instant, the whole sky turned dark with ck clouds suddenly looming over from nowhere. In the blink of an eye, the sky for hundreds of meters was covered by the dark clouds that were brimming with a frightening destructive energy.
Seeing this phenomenon, Simon smiled. No matter how powerful an attack the guild master of the Sea god''s guild invokes, as long as it doesn''te down in time, it was useless.
He unclenched his hand and a hexagonal ck crystal floated over. The distortion in the space, the rippling in the air and the ck halo were all because he had activated the Return Transit Rock.
Normally, to activate the return transit rock, you would have to channel your mana inside it for a long period of time. Thanks to these people arguing and forgetting about him which bought a sufficient amount of time, he was able to activate the return transit rock without a problem.
RUMBLE¡ the sky trembled with a devastating energy so powerful that thend shuddered from it.
Seeing all of the lightning bolts gather at one spot, more specifically the spear, all of the people inside its range hurriedly retreated. Godwin manifested a few more mana swords and send it flying towards the ck halo surrounding the demon noble; nheless just like Raven''s attack it simply passed through it.
RUMBLE¡ at this moment, a huge column of thunder in the shape of a dragon peeked its head from the clouds. The dragon was made of red lightning and was so lifelike that one could even mistake it for a real one.
if one looked carefully, they would be able to see the golden spear in the middle of the dragon''s head. The moment the lightning dragon formed in the sky, a never-before pressure descended onto thend and covered the onlooker''s face with dread.
The might of the attack conjured by the guild master of the Sea God''s trident, a man whose level was above 600 and who stood at the pinnacle of their kingdom, was disyed in front of them.
Forget about marvelling at it, the adventurers brought by the branch president and even Chuck and Lisa saw the full might of the person they call their guild master for the very first time.
"Thunder Magic Mastery- [Thunder Dragon Fang]" Benny Beckerman roared and dished out his strongest attack.
If physical attacks don''t affect, then what about magic on the level of advanced tier. There was no hesitation in his attack, if the demon died then it died. If by chance it lived, he would be able to know the secrets of the forbidden trial ground.
ROOAAARR.. the huge lighting dragon opened its mouth and roared causing thend for miles to tremble before dropping down on the demon.
BOOOMM¡ a loud deafening sound reverberated across thends and even reached the Aqualin city frightening its citizens.
The lightning dragon was like a huge bolt of red lightning connecting the skies with thend. The bolt of lightning was so bright that even from this distance, the people had to cover their eyes. In their hearts, they incessantly wondered what kind of monsters were fighting there.
Perhaps this was the first time in their life that they got to witness such a spectacle.
ZzzSssTtt¡ ZzzSssTtt¡ after the residual lightning died down, everyone in the area to their amazement saw a huge dark pit with an unknown depth appear where the demon should have been.
Everything around that area was scorched and destroyed beyond recognition; there was not even a trace of the demon to be found. No one knew if he had died or survived.
Benny Beckerman looked at the huge empty pit in consternation, now that he couldn''t get the information from the demon, he could only try his luck onto the trail ground regardless of the casualties they would have to suffer.
364 Chapter 364
The forbidden trail ground that Benny Beckerman had read about in some ancient texts and writings that he found on the maind, was said to be a ce filled with danger and death in every step. However, despite all the dangers, what made it so enticing for the others was the numerous treasures that it held.
It wouldn''t be weird for a guild as powerful as theirs to get wiped out there, that is why he wanted the information from the demon noble who came back alive from it. However, even after mobilising the entire strength of his guild, he wasn''t able to catch the demon who was stranded alone in their kingdom.
Although it annoyed him to no extent, he had no other choice but to give up for the time being and change his ns.
The Sea God''s Trident guild monitored the area for a couple of days but after finding no clue about the demon, they left the ce. The events and the fight that happened near the Aqualin city would be a piece of huge news that would spread like a wildfire across the whole kingdom.
People woulde and see the traces of destruction, get some information from the locals about the battle before drawing their own conclusions and spreading it to the rest of the regions.
The demon noble that managed to invade their kingdom, became a hot topic that would be discussed by every single individual of this kingdom.
He was not only able to turn their capital upside down but was also able to outwit the Sea God''s trident guild who pursued him to the distant western borders of the kingdom.
Amongst the many rumours floating about him, some even go as far as to say that he has a strong subordinate capable of defeating a powerful Ranker and an officer of the Adventurer''s Association. Others say that he was powerful enough to contend with Davis Hall.
With the word of mouth, each rumour was exaggerated to the point where the whole truth seemed to have be obscured. Before long, the Demon Noble and his dungeon, would be a piece of gossip that the people of the kingdom of Ellesmere talk about every day.
Adventurers would head towards the city of Mountmend closest to the ghastly winding forest. Some seek to dive inside the dungeon for its riches while others have their own motives in mind. Nheless, the dungeon Lace would no longer remain an obscured dungeon known only around the remote north western region.
-----
"Ugh" Simon groaned in pain, as heid down on the groundpletely exhausted. His eyes nkly started at the sky and his body remained motionless for a while. "Hahahahah" suddenly he burst intoughter and continued tough out loud like a madman for a good long while.
When hisughter stopped a strong malevolent and evil aura burst out of his body like a broken dam. Simon extended his hand towards the sky and swore "I''ll fucking kill those guys".
It was truly a close call, had the teleportation not activated by then, he might have died by thatst attack from the guild master of the Sea God''s Trident.
The thunder dragon summoned by Benny Beckerman was powerful enough to kill him instantly. Advanced magic, after all, was the pinnacle of an element and in the hands of someone high levelled, they would show an unimaginable amount of power.
This venture to the capital, finally made hime to term with himself and at the same time resolved any attachment he had towards humans. The illusion he had been harbouring inside his heart, was finally gone and he finally saw himself for who he was.
Simon chuckled, seemingly at nothing.
"That peculiar ability of that sword seemed to have finally dissipated" Godwin''s sword that carried a special ability to dy or slow down any healing or regenerative abilities when cut by it. Fortunately, now that some time had passed and he was far away from them, his [Super Regeneration] skill finally kicked in, swiftly healing his wounds.
Simon also took multiple Elixirs of healing to increase the healing rate before closing his eyes and resting for a while. His body was so exhausted that even making light movements seemed an impossibility at this moment.
When he opened his eyes again a couple of hours had already passed. All of the wounds on his body had mostly healed and he had recovered more than fifty percent of his strength. Simon would have liked to rest some more; however, he was in the forbidden trials where danger lurks everywhere. He couldn''t just rx his guardpletely and focus on healing.
Since that was the case, he decided to survey his surroundings. Currently, he was in the middle of a vast wilderness with hot winds blowing from time to time. The sun overhead was in full heat, raising the temperature quite high. As far as his eyes could see, he was surrounded by the same scene.
"This should be the fourth trial"
The scenery here was quite different from the ones he had explored so far, thus it didn''t take him time to draw the conclusion that it was the fourth trial.
Simon strained his senses trying to detect any enemies or monsters nearby. However, there was no one around. Although there were no presences around him, it did not mean that he put his guard down, on the contrary, being unable to sense any presence, made him alert even more.
Picking a direction, Simon travelled for hours taking a few minutes of break every now and then. During these past few hours, he had discovered that finding your direction here was an impossibility.
Just like the first trial, skills such as [Mental Map] or any other navigational skills didn''t work here. Added that with the same scenery all around, it would be a wonder if he didn''t get lost.
The forbidden trial grounds was a ce that he had difficulty clearing even while he had the help of Lucine at that time. Now though he was all alone here and without any way to get back. The return transit rocks only allows a person to teleport in and out of the forbidden trail once before crumbling.
That is to say, if Simon wanted to return, he would have to find another transit rock.
"Seems like there is no other choice but to clear this trial," he said making up his mind. Though it is true that the choice to return here was something he had made in a moment of desperation, in some corner of his heart he wanted toe here again.
The reason for that being none other than the growth he had in the past few days while he was here. The forbidden trail ground was no doubt dangerous, a ce where he would have to risk his life at every turn but so was the world outside which at every point reminded him of how important it was to have strength.
Without power even if you were innocent, nobody would hear you nor would you have the right to decide your fate. Without sufficient strength, you would only be trampled down upon by others more powerful than you.
Simon was sick of it, he wanted to be powerful as soon as possible and thankfully, the trail was able to help him.
After a while of cluelessly walking around, he stumbled upon an area that had nts that looked like weird Cactuses growing around. The reason for him calling them weird was because they were purple in colour and other than having a body simr to a cactus, they had a flower bud on top.
Another thing he noticed was that the cactus was huge, probably more than five meters tall. Simon was about to nonchntly approach the cactus but maybe because of his prudent nature or just out of habit, he used [Analysis] on the nt only to get a big surprise.
The cactus that he thought was a simple-looking nt, was in fact a type of monster called Carnivorous Desertvine. Theyy in wait for the prey to approach closer to them before opening their huge mouth to gulp down the prey or strangle them with its body.
When Simon looked at the details provided by his analysis, he was very surprised when he saw that its level was around 407 having multitudes of skills. It was a good thing that he did not approach it carelessly and used his [analysis] beforehand or else he would have be prey for that Carnivorous Desertvine to munch on.
As Simon was examining its skills, he noticed that the Carnivorous Desertvine had [Water Magic Nullification] as one of its skills. This means that water magic waspletely useless against it.
Simon deliberated whether to fight it or go around it but when he saw that there were more than hundreds of them spread evenly across the distance, he choose to take his chance and see if he can defeat them.
No matter what, he has to explore that area and avoiding them every time seemed like a pain in the ass, plus if they were going to attack him, it would be best to know about their attack patterns and whether he would be able to defeat them or not.
Making up his mind, Simon slowly approached closer to it. When he was about three meters near it, the nt suddenly awakened and the bud on its top swiftly spread open to reveal a bewitching yet deadly-looking flower.
-----
Race- Carnivourous Desertvine
Level- 407
Skills- [Sweet Scent], [Hyper regeneration], [Super Enhanced Defence], [Super enhanced Endurance], [Strangle], [Bite], [Water magic Nullification]
Inherent Skills- [Root], [Thorny Bpdy], [Vine Trap], [Acid Spray], [Needle Spray].
365 Chapter 365
The moment the flower blossomed, a sweet purple fragrance drifted over making Simon intoxicated to it. Fortunately, he was on his guard and hurriedly able to get out of its intoxication. Using a novice tier wind magic, he dissipated the intoxicating fragrance.
"So this is one of its skills [Sweet Scent] that it uses to attract preys towards it".
Seeing that its sweet scent failed to lure its prey towards it, the carnivorous desertivine next used the numerous needles on its body to spray Simon with it.
Simon used his flight skill to dodge left and right, he took out his crimson de and deflected those needles that he couldn''t dodge in time.
Each of the needles was so sharp that it raised goosebumps on his body. Other than that, the tip of the needle was alsoced with something acidic that melted the ground and produced a burning sound.
[Needle Spray] and [Acid Spray] each of these skills would be disastrous and extremely painful if they hit him.
The Carnivorous Desertivine spun like a top and sprayed a few more rounds of those needles. By now the ground all around him was decorated with those needles. Nevertheless, the nt as if saying it was nothing, grew more of it in the blink of an eye.
Deciding that it was too risky to approach the nt with the threat of that needle spraying at him at any time, Simon decided to see if he can fight it from a long distance. He conjured a few me spears and threw them towards the cactus.
Though the desertivine tried to dodge it, Simon whose me magic was only a few steps away from reaching the advanced tier, controlled it skillfully. The me spears dug deep into the body of the Carnivorous desertvine resulting in an unexpected frenzied writhing from the nt.
Although it did not wail, from its action Simon was able to tell that his me magic was working. But just like the elder treants he had met in the ancient treant territory back in the Ghastly Winding Forest, the carnivorous desertivine was able to regenerate from all the damage it suffered through the help of [Root] and [Hyper Regeneration] skill.
[Hyper Regeneration] was the higher tier of [Super Regeneration] while [Root] was a race specific skill that allows nt-type monsters to borrow the energy from the mystical veins beneath. As long as it borrows the energy from the mystical veins it would be a troublesome enemy to defeat.
Simon was reminded of how all his attacks were useless against those treants who were able to recover swiftly from that damage. Even Irene''s advanced tier Permafrost magic and Bloodthorn demonic warhorse''s dark magic were only able to dy their regeneration for a while.
Though unlike the elder treants, these desertivines did not have those super steel-like defences, they were a troublesome opponent on their own.
"Seems like if I want to defeat them I will have to the amalgamation magic of Electro and me and eradicate them from the roots".
As long as their [Root] ability was active, using the [Hyper Regenerative] ability of theirs they would be able to heal through any damage.
Though that may be the case, he was also not the same he was back then when he was fighting the Elder treants. His level was higher and his magic stronger. In fact, his electro magic had even increased up a tier and became intermediate tier Lightning magic.
However, Simon did not believe that he would be able to use the amalgamation magic of Lightning and me handily. Amalgamating magic of two intermediate tier magic was different than doing the same with novice tier magic. The difficulty, the risk and the power needed to achieve something like that was on a whole new league.
If it was so easy to amalgamate two intermediate tier attributes, there wouldn''t be so few people in the world capable of using amalgamation magic. And from the ''Battle of the Finest'' Simon was also able to understand that amalgamation magic can take different forms based on the insights and understanding of the elements.
Even if there were multiple people casting the magic with the same elements based on their understanding of the magic, they would be able to create a somewhat different magic. The magic created cannot be said unique but at the least, it disys the person''s understanding of that magic.
For example, Connor Lantz from the Crimson Demolition Guild had mastery over me and Wind magic with me magic being his prime focus. He was able to create an amalgamation magic that bolstered the prowess of his me magic instead of one elementplementing the other like Simon does.
In this way, it also goes to show how different the insights of Simon and Connor were when it came to the understanding of the same elements. Anyways, just because he was able to achieve an amalgamation between me and electro before, didn''t mean that he can do the same with lightning magic this time.
Simon could use his old me and electrobination to defeat the Carnivorous desertivine but he who knew the importance of strength wasn''t satisfied keeping one of his newly evolved and strongest magic unused.
"Since this is the perfect opportunity, let me try it on you" Simon said getting out of the range of the nt. Only after he opened up a few dozen meters distance between them and saw that it had gone back to its hibernating state, did he sigh in relief and sat down.
To create a new amalgamation magic of me and lightning was easier said than done especially when thetter was a magic he got hold of not long ago. Though it was difficult, it was not impossible and Simon had just the perfect item for it.
Taking out an oval shaped white stone from his inventory, he grinned. The unremarkable looking thing in his hand was none other than the Serenity Stone. Before going out on this trip with Adalinda, Simon had made many preparations.
Naturally, most of them pertained to keeping his dungeon but some of them also included him. He dived inside the Serenity pond and took a couple of serenity stones that had newly formed before departing.
There was no need to even mention the usefulness of the serenity stone and how rare entering self-transient state was. keeping the serenity stone on the ground, Simon first tried to feel the magic more closely.
,m He conjured me magic in his left hand and lightning magic in his right and slowly brought it closer. The element on his left hand was giving him a feeling of wild and rampant, mes that wanted to devour and burn everything while the element on his right was like a fierce beast arrogant and powerful who wants to dominate everything.
When these two elements with vastly different natures came together, it wasn''t hard to imagine them repelling each other. The feeling of resistance whilebining them was so intense that Simon had his whole body perspiring.
Nevertheless, he kept going on and supplied them with his mana trying to achieve any reaction when suddenly they created an explosion sending him reeling back.
COUGH¡COUGH¡ Simon coughed out a mouthful of blood, the explosion from the two elements negating each other had sent his whole mana in a state of turmoil. He sat cross-legged, calmed his mana and contemted.
He sat like that for a while before reigniting me and lightning on his left and right simultaneously once again. He tried bringing them closer but just like his first attempt they exploded resulting in another failure.
Simon kept on trying tobine the two elements again and again. Every time he failed, he would take some time to recover, contemte and start it all over again. Seconds became minutes and minutes turned into hours.
BOOOM¡ mes crackling with lightning burst apart resulting in a huge explosion. From amidst the explosion, a tattered body with burnt marks everywhere was sent flying until it rolled on the ground for a couple of times before stopping.
Who else could the person be other than Simon? Currently, he had a painful yet excited expression on his face. After his repeated failures, he was finally able to prompt some reaction from the two elements.
At a nce, this attempt too seemed like a failure; however, Simon who tried tobine these two elements clearly felt their struggle to negate lessen a little. Although the negation had reduced by just a little, he was still happy that he was progressing.
It was true that achieving an amalgamation of mes and lightning seemed a little vague at this rate; nevertheless, it was not a dream. It must be said that creating an amalgamation magic of two intermediate tier elements, even if it was a person closer to level 500 they have would find it very difficult.
Simon on the other hand had not even breached level 400 but had mastery over not only two, but three intermediate tier magic and was now even attempting to create a new amalgamation magic using his two most destructive elements.
If Vouves, the Royal Court Magician of the Sanguine Empire who was renowned across these regions as a powerful ranker and magician, saw this scene, his whole perception of genius, would turn upside down.
While it was true that some races including the demon noble had more affinity with magic, this level of mastery was uncanny and was downright abnormal.
The reason for Simon achieving so much so fast was because he was applying some of his previous world''s knowledge here. He was by no means an unparalleled genius, in fact, Irene had also once told that Simon was not any genius but just a hardworking person who did not know when to give up.
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After recovering his mana, Simon did not get down tobining the two elements again and instead used the serenity stone. He did not use it sooner because the serenity stones were precious and he only had three with him.
Now that his understanding ofbining the two elements had increased, he deemed it worthy to use one serenity stone to try his luck on the amalgamation magic. A transparent, inverted bowl like barrier appeared around him and he was soon covered with an aura that imed his mind, cleared him of his unnecessary thought and increased his concentration.
Simon had entered the self-transient state. mes ignited on his left whereas lightning appeared on his right. His hands slowly starteding together causing a repelling force to spread out which disturbed Simon''s internal flow of mana, his mana lines.
But thanks to the serenity stone, his level of concentration was at its peak and he was soon able to calmly channel his mana once again.
ZZZzzzzz¡ the air started trembling and even the sky above the forbidden trail was affected. The mana around the surrounding was set into a turmoil and the very weather was beginning to change.
Thick grey clouds apanied by winds, loomed over the sky and just when it seemed like they would turn into something they dissipated like they were never there.
[Weather Maniption], a lost ancient tier skill that only a handful of people acquire after breaching level 500. It was an extremely powerful skill capable of changing the very weather in a way that further augments their power.
It was by no means a skill that should be disyed by a demon noble whose level was below 400. The lightning draconic serpent was able to use it because of its race and the little bit of powerful dragon bloodline that it possessed.
Simon was currently in a self-transient state and hence was unaware of the changes that he had created. Right now, all his focus was on the two intermediate tier elements on his two hands that showed an unusual calmness even when they were just an inch away from each other.
Perhaps, they might reallybine this time and find an equilibrium? Simon was having these thoughts as he brought the elements closer and closer. However, how could it be this easy tobine two intermediate tier elements, not to mention both were of destructive nature.
Another huge explosion echoed out in this vast wilderness for the umpteenth time and a body rolled on the ground for dozens of meters beforeing to a stop.
Sprawled on the ground, Simon nkly stared at the sky of the forbidden trial. This time, he even used a serenity stone and had the elemental riot in control. However, despite all that, this attempt too ended up in a failure.
Though Simon was disappointed a little, he wasn''t discouraged. It wasn''t like this entire endeavour turned out to be a failure, by attempting tobine the elements again and again, he was unexpectedly able to gain insights on the [Concurrent Chant] skill.
Thanks to his persistence for repeatedly trying tobine the two elements, he was somehow able to gaze into the foundation of the skill that Irene had once told him to acquire.
Just like [Mana Lines], [Concurrent Chant] is one of the basic or fundamental skills that one must acquire and further evolve them as they level up in the future to be truly strong. It''s not just the level that makes one strong, it is their skills and experience that they umte and train over the years, that bes their foundation in the future.
For Simon who wanted strength, acquiring these basic, fundamental skills was a must. He got up from his seating ce and started walking towards the Carnivorous desertivine.
One thing that he learned from his repeated failures tobine the two elements is that he cannot be impatient when it came to magic. Since he was not making any further progress, there wasn''t any need for him to push things right now.
Besides, not being able tobine the two intermediate elements also meant that his insights on them were not enough for him to achieve that yet. Simon looked at the nt whose bud slowly spread open to reveal a hideous mouth and teeth.
Fortunately for him, he was presented with perfect opponents that he could use his magic on. The carnivorous Desertivines spread across this vast wilderness as far as his eyes could see.
"There is no need for me to waste time meditating when I can deepen my insights by fighting them," Simon said as he hurriedly opened up a sufficient distance between him and his opponent.
mes lighted up on his left hand while Electro came to life on his right. That''s right, although he had reached a bottleneck in his Amalgamation magic, he had not given up yet. He was trying to further deepen his understanding of these two elements by using the Amalgamation magic of me-Electro that he had already mastered.
Lightning was the intermediate tier of Electro, there was bound to be a few simrities between them.
Either way, he cannot just sit here and do nothing, to clear the trail the trail he has to proceed forward and for that, he had to defeat these numerous Carnivorous Desertvines blocking his way which can only be defeated by the strongest magic in his possession and that was the amalgamation magic of me and electro.
Though he had the aid of Infernal Magic from his [A] tier Crimson zing me de, it wasn''t his own power. Simon who knew the importance of building his own strength, he knew that he cannot always rely on his weapons to get him out of a pinch every time.
me and electro, two destructive elements that had enough power to destroy these pesky opponents from their roots. However, how could the desrtivine allow him to simplyplete such a powerful spell?
Feeling the distortion of mana in the air, the Carnivorous desertivine reacted by writhing its body and firing the numerous needles on its body towards him. Not only that, it even threw acid from its flower that was also its mouth.
Even though it had low sentience, it could still tell that the magic being conjured, was dangerous and could threaten its life.
Simon dodged left and right, back and forth. That right, Simon was dodging the attacks that was trying to hinder him from conjuring his magic. Previously, when he used to cast amalgamation magic, he would need multiple seconds to even a couple of minutes based on the intensity and size of the magic.
Additionally, he would have to stay still and focus hisplete attention on the magic. Thest time he used the amalgamation magic of me and electro on the Elder Treants, he needed the protection of Irene and the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse to guard his body until hepleted the magic.
After all, amalgamation magic needs arge amount of mana and focus to conjure, if one wasn''t careful or attentive enough the magic might even self-destruct harming the caster in the process.
Now though, he was casting the amalgamation magic and dodging the attacks from the Carnivorous Desertivine all at the same time.
Since he had gained some insight into it, he was trying to acquire the skill by forcing himself into a situation where he had no other choice but to do it.
mes carrying extreme heat swirled around like hands like a vortex followed by a swift purple light that had a threatening intensity to it. Slowly, these two elements started equalising andbining together.
ZZZssssTTt at that moment, the very space started bing turbulent and a heavy pressure descended onto thend.
Slowly, the crimson me mixed with purple, started taking the vague shape of a dragon. The carnivorous desertivine writhed more, it could sense the powerful magic that was on the verge of beingpleted.
ROAR, the dragon that materialised, roared. Forcing even those desertivines that were in the distance, to wake from their slumber.
The Amalgamation magic, Electro-me Mastery [me Lightning Dragon] was many timesrger and more powerful than when he had used it against the Elder treants.
It was not only more animate and destructive, but it also packed more mana. The might of this magic couldn''t bepared with its past self. After all, Simon''s level was not only higher now, he also had many new and improved skills and his understanding of the elements was also greater.
The Desertivines in the distance, writhed in panic showing how much fearful and wary they were of the magic. Nheless, they couldn''t do anything since Simon was out of their range of attack.
Though it wasn''t like Simon was able to conjure the magic unharmed, multiple needles had dig deep inside his body, he was bleeding severely and his skin was scarred by the acid. No matter how you look at him, he was clearly at worse just trying to dodge the attacks from a single desertivine.
Even though he was suffering and bleeding so much, his face had an excited and cheeky expression stered on him. That was because, he could feel that he was incredibly closer to acquiring the [Concurrent Chant] skill.
ROOOAARRRR¡ a devastating roar mixed with me and electro echoed out, as the magic finallypleted itself. Space distorted like crazy in the wake of the thirty meters huge dragon and the temperature around the wilderness which was already high, rose even higher to the point that the ground felt like a hot pan.
The moment the magic waspleted, Simon willed it towards the cactus in front of him.
367 Chapter 367
CHIII.. the Carnivorous desertivine desperately tried throwing needles and everything at the crimson dragon only to have all of its attacks burned into nothingness. The dragon made from the amalgamation magic of me-Electro, opened its mouth and passed through the desretivine, destroying and devouring it into tiny cinders.
In front of the might of the new electro me magic, the [root] skill wasn''t able to achieve many effects. Though that wasn''t all, after devouring one of the desertivines, only 20% of the power of the crimson lightning dragon had dissipated as it flew towards the other carnivorous desertivines nearby.
Just like the first one, all the other cactuses were immediately devoured by the magic unable to even muster up a resistance. It was only after decimating five level 407+ Carnnivoures desertivines that the magicpletely dissipated.
The magic not only disyed how effective it was against the nt type monsters, but it also showed how much improvement Simon had made after that day.
Haa¡ Haa... Simon took hurried breath of air, with his vision that was quickly bing blurry, he saw his attack taking out five of those cactuses before dissipating. Relieved, his exhaustion and pain caught up to him making him unable to support his body any longer.
THUD¡ he fell on the ground. His sight was getting dark and his regeneration was starting to slow down all of which hinted that he was poisoned. If he didn''t take care of the poison soon, he might even die.
Thus, Simon hurriedly bought an elixir that healed all kinds of poison from the shop and gulped it down.
"That was too close, my HP almost ticked down to red" sprawled on the ground, he muttered. If Irene was here she would have sighed in exasperation and berated him for being too reckless.
Simon knew that he was being impulsive and rash; however, he who was made aware of how important having strength was in this world, knew that he won''t be able to be strong without putting his life on the line.
Simon did not want to be trampled or be called weak therefore he had no other choice but to continue on this path of his.
It wasn''t like he was being thoughtless; he had a form of n in mind and knew that he was very close to acquiring the [Concurrent Chant] skill. He neither had talent nor was he a genius, if there was any defining characteristic about him, that would be his persistence.
After taking a rest to heal his wounds and restore his mana, Simon started walking towards the Carnivorous Desertvines once again. Why was he doing that? that was because he had no other choice. He had walked this wilderness for hours and this ce was the only area that was full of monsters.
Given the peculiarity, Simon believed that a path that would lead him towards the fourth trial was present somewhere here. In any case, if he wanted to move forward he had no other choice but to defeat these nts.
Seconds became minutes and minutes turned into hours. Just like that, a day passed by. During this time, Simon hunted down the Desertivines, took rests in between and proceeded forward. Much like what he was used to doing back in the Ghastly Winding Forest, his time here was mostly spent grinding.
Since the enemies are all above level 400, they gave him a delicious chuck of experience allowing him to reach level 362. That was not all, his understanding of the lightning attribute was also deepening further and further from his battle with the carnivorous Desertivines and he would every so often try to amalgamate the two intermediate tier elements.
Though it failed still now, he knew that he was making progress. Additionally, he felt like he had a clear image of the [Concurrent Chant] now and it would manifest as one of his skills in his status any moment now.
Simon wasn''t wrong, after only two hours he was able to acquire the skill much to his delight. The [Concurrent Chant] just like his [Mana Lines] skill was a Lost Superior tier and had the potential to reach the legendary tier.
There was no way he wouldn''t be delighted after getting the two skills Irene had tasked him to acquire before reaching the rank of a Demon Earl. However, his delight didn''tst long when even after a day and a half, he wasn''t able to find any inkling of what the fourth trial was all about.
"It can''t be that the trail wants me to eradicate all of these cactuses right? Does it think I''m its gardener or something?".
Simon made a pun, he was starting to get annoyed after making no progress with the trail. By now, he had delved quite deeper inside the territory of the Carnivorous Desertivines and yet there was no clue as to what he should do in this vast wilderness.
Even the levels of these cactuses were starting to appear was getting higher and higher at around 450- 500. Although he was yet to meet any evolved form of these Desertivines, it did not make them any less difficult to deal with.
? After preserving on for a few more hours, he finally saw some changes in his scenery. In front of him was a peculiar stone structure that looked like a memorial at a nce, stationed in the middle of the wilderness.
All around him, other than the recurring Desertivines, this was the only unusual thing he found. Thinking that the stone structure would hold some clue towards the fourth trail, Simon approached closer.
From what he could tell, the stone structure was very old with cracks and decay everywhere. As Simon was inspecting the structure, he involuntarily touched it and at that moment, a window prompt appeared in front of him.
[Fourth Trial- Find the Glistering Jewel from all of the three Tomb of the Starved. Warning, Ozymandias'' powerful curse lingers around to this day and will try to harm any and all who are seeking to piece the crystals together. Once entered, you cannot leave the temple until it is cleared or you be one of the starved]
[Do you want to start the trial? YES/NO].
GULP¡ Simon gulped, after spending a day and a half wandering this endless wilderness, the fourth trial was finally near his sight. But rather than looking happy, his face was more dire than before.
There was no other reason for that other than the text that was written in front of him. This was the first time, the trail was warning him of something, his instincts were telling him that it would be anything but easier.
Unlike thest time when he had Lucine and Denzel backing him up, this time he was all alone where even a single mistake might cost him his life.
Simon deliberated for a while before pressing the YES button. In any case, if he wanted to leave this trail, he had to get the return transit rock and to get them he has to proceed with the trial.
The instant he pressed YES, thend around him started trembling, and the sands around him shifted to reveal a small part of the tomb. From this, one could tell that the temple was buried underneath and from its design, it seemed prehistoric.
The part that surfaced, was the very corner of the temple and it only had one door and a passage that led deeper inside. Simon took a deep breath of air, draped over a serious face and unhesitantly jumped in.
The moment he jumped in, thend started shifting again and the temple disappeared underneath the vast wilderness once again.
The passageway was dark and arid; however, it was no problem for Simon since he could use the me magic. He ignited a small fireball in his hand and used it as a torch to navigate his way forward.
After what seemed like a minute or two of walking, the passageway suddenly opened to reveal a huge altar made of bizarre stone. There were some ancient writing and runes on the altar which might have meant something but since Lucine wasn''t there to trante it for him, neither was the tier of his [Language Comprehension] skill high enough for him to understand what it meant.
Beside it, were two huge doors that led towards the other areas of the tomb. Simon looked around him and only sighed in relief when he saw that there was no such thing as a torchlight that can be used as a countdown.
He stood in front of the altar and inspected it, trying to see if he could decipher anything. However, he soon gave up seeing that it was all just a wasted effort.
The absence of Lucine and his inability to read these letters, made him realise how important raising the tier of his [Language Comprehension] was. Though he knew it, he had no idea of where and how to even begin trying to evolve it.
Should he just learn some ancient texts or would it evolve automatically once hees in contact with more of these texts? Anyways, now was not the time to think about all that.
There were two doors in front of him, the logic dictates that he opens one of them. But then again, he had no idea which door leads to where and if he was making the right choice or not. If the doors were like the second trial, then choosing the wrong option might spell doom for him.
Simon sighed, leaving everything to fate, he ced his hands on the door on the right. Immediately, the numerous runes on the stone door lit up and with a light tremor spread open. The dusty and arid air inside, indicated that the temple hadn''t been in use for a very very long time.
When Simon entered inside, he was greeted by a huge hall the size of a stadium. Like a catb, there were human-sized rectangr holes all around the hall and on the other side of the ce, was a big firece on top of a small elevation.
The moment Simon stepped inside, a window promptly appeared in front of him.
******
Name:- Simon
Race:- Demon Viscount
Titles:- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 1/5]
Stats:-
Level:- 362
HP:- 47,477
MP:- 67,037
Strength:- 2986
Defence:- 3186
Agility:- 3710
Magic:- 4110
Endurance:- 3348
Luck:- 2224
Skills:- Language Comprehension, Analysis, Mental Map, me Magic Mastery, Gale Magic Mastery, Lightning Magic Mastery, High-Speed Thought Processing, High-Speed Regeneration, High-Speed Flight, Super Enhanced Strength, Body Enhancement, Fire Resistance, Wind Resistance, Electro resistance Pain Resistance, Blunt Damage Resistance, Sense Presence, Hide Presence, Demonic Eyes, Super Enhanced Agility, Super Enhanced Endurance, Super Enhanced Magic, Super Enhanced Defence, Minimal Mana Consumption, Sharpened Senses, Mana Lines, Concurrent Chant,
Amalgamation Skills:- [me-Gale Mastery], [Electro-me Mastery]
Inherent Skills:- Dungeon Creation, Main Menu, Ancestral Symbol Ignition
368 Chapter 368
[You have enteredb of depraved. Objective- Survive the ten hordes and keep the firece ignited. The moment the firece goes out, the powerful curse of Ozymandias will activate strengthening all the creatures whose alignment lies with evil].
Right after he read the instructions, the entire hall started trembling. The trial did not even give him enough time topose himself before creatures that looked like rotten corpses, dropped down from those numerous holes on the wall and immediately started running towards the firece and throwing themselves in it.
Looking at this scene, Simon was in a state of daze, trying to understand what these corpses were trying to do. Throwing themselves in the firece deliberately¡ at that moment, he saw the fire in the firece flicker and dim a little.
"No way are they trying to¡" at this instant, he finally understood what these creatures were trying to do. They were trying to snuff the fire out by piling their bodies on top of the firece.
Simon recalled thest few lines of the instruction. [The moment the firece goes out, the powerful curse of Ozymandias will activate strengthening all the creatures whose alignment lies with evil].
He did not know what this curse was, but he knew more than to ignore it. Simon ran towards the corpses, took out his Crimson zing me de and started hacking and shing towards them.
No matter what, he cannot allow the firece to go out. This was just the first horde, there were many more toe. After he pushed them away from the firece, he took this opportunity to analyse them with his skill.
Race- Common Zombies
Level- 200,
Skills- Insatiate, Super Endurance, Super Strength, ws, Bite.
The monster this time, was none other than zombies who were supposed to be a low level mob in many of the games from his previous world. However, the ones in front of his were all around level 200 and at a nce, there were more than hundreds of them and that number was still increasing.
What astonished Simon was that even after being shed in half by his sword, these zombies were still alive. He used me magic to burn them although it worked, it took a lot of time for them to sumb to their death. Their HP was just abnormally high.
"It can''t be that their weakness is the same in this world too," Simon remarked observing the zombies. This time, instead of targeting their bodies, he used his sword to drill a hole or bisect their head cleanly.
Like a puppet that has lost its string, the zombies immediately stopped moving.
''It''s a bit clich¨¦ but I guess zombies as a general have the same weakness no matter the world'' he thought internally.
Now that Simon knew how to dispose them off quickly, he stood in between them and the firece swiftly ending any zombies that came near. Time passed just like that and before Simon knew it, he had defeated more than three hundred of them.
The numbers were too absurd but what was more absurd than it was the fact that it was just the first horde. There was still nine more hordes remaining. While Simon was taking a break to recover his lost strength, from the corner of his eyes he saw the fire of the firece dim by a whole lot.
Panicked, he swiftly approached the firece only to find that there was nothing wrong with it. Simon carefully observed the firece, he was sure that the light of the firece had dimmed a little and if to prove him right, it dropped again after a while.
[The second wave will start shortly, timing until it arrives- 30secs].
,m Right now, he was in no mind to pay attention to the alert that had popped in front of him as all his attention was currently on the firece which for some reason, was dimming down.
Was it set like that or was there some reason for it ding out like that? Simon did not know but what he knew was that the firece going out was bad news for him. By the time he could think of anything, the thirty seconds had already passed and zombies were starting to drop down from those numerous holes on the wall.
What was different about them was their levels were around 230 and some of them were a little unique with a few more skills.
Feeling the advent of the zombies behind him, Simon turned around. Since he did not know for what reason the firece was dimming down, he could only put it aside for now and concentrate on the situation at hand.
In any case, he could think of some solution after he was done with this wave. Just like usual, the numbers in which the zombies arrived was so absurd that for a second Simon thought that they wanted to drown this ce with just their numbers alone.
SLASH¡SLASH¡ with every sh from his sword, a head would drop down. The zombies other having a high HP and endurance, were nothing special if their weakness was targeted. They had no techniques whatsoever and weren''t using their brain at all.
Disposing them and not allowing them was an easy task or so he thought. However, he couldn''t be any more wrong. This time the horde not only consisted of normal zombies there were also some umon ones mixed in between.
They wore helmets and gears around their body and moved in a way that was much more agile than the rest. Simon identified a few amongst the crowd and took them out when they approached closer.
While shing against them he noticed that unlike the rest, they were clearly a little sentient. Others were trying to simply drown him with their numbers, wing and trying to bite. However, the umon ones mixed themselves with the crowd and only attacked when he dropped his guard.
Though that might be the case, dispatching them was still easy for Simon as their level was still not high enough to threaten him. Half an hourter, there were heaps of corpses all around the hall.
Huff¡huff...
Simon took deep breaths of air as he sprawled himself near the firece, he had a few minutes of window to recover some of his spent energy and prepare himself. This time the second horde consisted of more than five hundred zombies and while it may be true that their levels weren''t high enough, they were still a huge pain in the ass when one considers their numbers and the fact that he had to protect the firece behind him.
This was still the second horde and the number would keep on increasing. He could feel his mana as well as his stamina depleting at a fast rate after every horde. There was no condition or special effects in this trial, it was simply due to the number of enemies he had to defeat.
Nevertheless, Simon wasn''t demoralised, on the contrary, he looked at the fourth trial as a training. He wanted to use this opportunity to learn how to adjust his energy and use only the minimum to defeat the enemies so that by the time thest horde arrives he still had plenty of energy to spend.
The fourth trial was not all bad, although the numbers of the enemy was a problem the fact that they provided a bountiful experience cannot be denied. In just the span of an hour or two, Simon had levelled up by a total of five times.
Though this might be beyond the expectations of the one who set the trial, thanks to the fragment of pride, the experience he got after defeating every zombie was bolstered many times.
Lying on the floor, instead of despairing about the uing hordes, Simon couldn''t help but have his expectations rise up and his blood boil with exhration. If there was anything worrying him, that would be the dimming light of the firece.
As Simon was waiting for the next horde to arrive, from the corner of his eyes, he spotted a small crimson bead. Intrigued, he approached the bead and tried inspecting it with his [Analysis] only for his eyes to widen the next second.
That is because the description of the crimson bead said that it was a trial item.
Simon grabbed the bead that was as big as a marble and contemted. There definitely had to be a reason for the bead to be here and the analysis telling him that it was a trial item further solidified this conjecture of his.
"But what could it be used for? Damn if only the [Analysis] provided a little more information¡" Simon cussed, on top of everything, he also had to solve what purpose these beads served.
As he was busy deliberating what it might be, the third wave arrived and just like he had predicted, the numbers and levels in which they appeared were much more higher than before.
The average level of the zombies was around level 250 with many umon and special zombies in the mix. Seeing the horde, Simon snapped out of his thoughts and kept the bead in his space ring.
It seemed that it would take some time for him to figure out what it was used for. He propped himself up and engaged his enemies.
SLASH¡ SLASH even if their levels were higher his [A] tier sword was still able to cleanly bisect their heads. Simon used his sword mastery skill and made short work of them while trying to regte his energy and keeping his expenditure minimum.
With so many hordes yet toe, he cannot just burn out at the start and has to learn pacing his energy.
369 Chapter 369
He was having these thoughts as he held down the zombies from proceeding towards the firece when suddenly he saw one of the special zombies jump from amidst the crowd and dive towards the firece.
The power from its jump and its sentient mind that took advantage of when Simon was inattentive, indicated that it was totally different from themon and umon zombies he had fought until now.
"Making me spend unnecessary energy are you?" Simon said conjuring a me spear towards the special zombie.
He thought that might do the trick; however, the next second he was amazed when he saw how the special zombie dodged the me spear mid-air.
"What?!".
Simon couldn''t help but utter out loud. The special zombie''s back was clearly turned against him and he shouldn''t be in any position to see his attack than¡ how? As if to answer his question, the back of the special zombie''s head grew an eye that was extremely hideous to look at.
After an unsessful attempt to dive towards the firece, the special zombie redirected its attention towards Simon and bared its fangs trying to bite and w at him.
Simon did not have to worry much if the zombie was just targeting him, but the problem was that there was not only one special zombie. Mixed into the crowd, there were quite a few special zombies who were jumping here and there trying to dive towards the firece.
"This is getting annoying" Simonmented and used his crimson bale skilfully to puncture a hole in the head of one of the special zombies. At that moment when the body fell to the ground, he noticed a peculiar glint from inside its body.
Since he did not have time to investigate the thing carefully, he made a mental note of it. The zombies came at him in droves and in frenzy, their intention was no doubt to tear him apart and snuff the fire in the firece out.
Special zombies tried jumping here and there trying to use any and all opportunity to dive into the firece or to kill him while the umon andmon zombies just bombarded him with their numbers.
Nheless, Simon refused to move out of their way and stood tall, he kept every wasteful movement to a minimum and only used enough mana and strength necessary to y his enemies.
The experience he was collecting from this trail, was crazy whether it bebat experience or his level, both were showing a sharp incline in growth. The numbers in which the zombies appeared on the third horde, was absurd and it took more time and effort to kill them.
After an hour or so, the piles of bodies on the hall, made a small mountain. Seated on the tform where the firece was, Simon was looking at a crimson bead radiating a strong fiery light. The crimson bead on his hand, was something that he had scavenged from one of the bodies of the special zombies.
He extended his hand and from the inventory and took out another simr crimson bead.
"So the bead that I had found after the second wave, must have been dropped by a zombie. Since I was too busy ying them, I might have not paid enough attention" Simon surmised.
He had checked all the other bodies, and couldn''t find any other beads on them which meant that these two beads were the only ones that had spawned during the wave.
Now that he knew where they spawned from, the question of what their purpose was, still remained. Simon pondered, but before he could think any further, his eyes suddenly went towards the flickering mes of the firece.
The lighting out of the firece was very dim and it looked like it could go out any second. Even though he did not allow a single zombie to drop down on it and disperse the me after the first round, the lighting out from the firece was still dying out.
Recalling thest few instructions before the trial started, Simon frowned. He cannot allow the fire to die out or else some kind of curse will trigger that will strengthen his enemies. He tried using his own mes to elicit some reaction; however, it was all for nothing.
While he was pacing back and forth pondering intensely, he suddenly noticed that the shine of the crimson beads got brighter the more closer he got to the firece. At that instant, an idea popped in his head and he tossed one of the beads inside the firece.
[Trial Item] this was the description he got when he used the analysis on the crimson bead. He did not what would happen if he did something like that but it was worth the try now that the firece was about to go out.
In any case, the crimson bead was a trial item and where would he use it if not in the trial.
The moment, the crimson bead came in contact with the mes inside the firece, it erupted into brilliant light and became the fuel that kept the mes burning. The firece that was about to die out, started shining brighter after the crimson bead was tossed into it.
"So that''s what its purpose was" Simon muttered. Thankfully, his idea had worked out and the crimson bead did exactly what he thought it would. Now that the firece was stable, he sighed a breath of relief and yed with the other remaining crimson bead.
Now that he knew what the purpose of this bead was and how to get it, new questions popped inside his head. ''Did the bead spawned with zombies every round?'' ''how long can these beadsst'' and so and forth.
He had many questions whose answers he knew, he would get with time. After a minute or two, the fourth horde arrived.
The fourth horde numbered more than eight hundred with many umon and special zombies in the mix. Their levels were around 280 and little by little they were starting to be a problem.
Although Simon tried his best, it still took him an hour and a half topletely dispose of all the zombies of the fourth horde. If he didn''t have to worry about saving his strength for the uing hordes that would be more powerful than the previous, he would have used powerful intermediate tier AOE magic that uses an enormous amount of mana to defeat them.
However, since he was thinking ahead and pacing himself, he couldn''t just go all out. Anyways, the fourth horde showed him the answers to some of his questions.
First, every horde only spawns one crimson bead which is mainly with the special or umon zombies. There is no other way to find them other than defeating them individually.
Secondly, the crimson bead after you toss it inside the firece onlysts around two hours or so before it starts dimming down again.
The me in the firece was still there, but Simon could see it dimming down little by little. This was a problem, with every horde the time it took for him to clear it only kept on increasing. His level and strength was no doubt increasing at a fast rate but so was the level of these zombies.
If it kept on going like that, it would take more than three hours by the time the eighth or ninth horde arrives.
"It cannot go on like this¡ I must find a better way to defeat them" Simon clenched his hands and resolved himself.
The fifth horde arrived and then the sixth. Simon was lying on the floor beside the firece, huffing and puffing for air. The light of the firece drew a crimson hue on his face showing how exhausted he was.
By now, the best clearing time he could achieve was around two hours, far from what he considered an ideal timing.
The sixth horde was unlike the previous hordes where the wave mostly consisted ofmon zombies with some umon and special zombies in the mix. That was not the case any longer, the hordes now consisted of thousands of umon zombies, with special zombies and even unique zombies showing up.
Yes, there were new types of zombies that was identified as unique zombies by the [Analysis]. They not only had different appearances, but even had some annoying skills such as [Acid Spray], [Wind de], [Cut resistance], [fire resistance], [Charge] and so on...
Though these Normal skills might not be a problem for Simon, their levels were definitely starting to be. The sixth horde consisted of umon zombies with an average level of around 330.
Up until now, he was able to defeat themon zombies with a single sh of his Crimson de however; the umon zombies took a little more effort not to mention the special and unique zombies who were able to tank quite a few hits.
To be honest, the unique zombies were a pain in the ass with how sentient they were. They not only leveraged the annoying skills they have, they even knew when to attack and retreat, unlike the umon and special ones.
Simon did not know how many times in the course of the sixth horde, he was forced to use his magic on the unique zombies. Even if he was a demon viscount with far more stats than an average human, he also had a limit which he knew he would hit soon if he continued to expend his mana and strength like that.
This conundrum and the window of time till the next horde arrivedpelled Simon to think and find an efficient way of defeating these zombies so that hests till the tenth wave.
Various events and memories floated up to his mind and just when the seventh horde was about to arrive, an answer finally dawned onto him.
370 Chapter 370
Simon remembered the battles that he had watched in that tournament back in the capital. While it was true that the events back then had left a mark on him that he wouldn''t be able to easily forget, on the bright side it served as a good learning experience from him.
The tournament especially, allowed him to see how humans fought. Their fighting style was mostly based around the ss they had and their unique way of using skills to outsmart their enemies.
Mages had their own way of fighting while Assassins and warriors have their own. Even high-levelled humans like the royal court magician of the Sanguine empire and the officer of the Adventurer''s Association, were not an exception.
In any case, that was how humans fought; however, he was not a human but a demon noble. Demon nobles have no such concept of sses, their race was blessed with good overall stats and a gift for magic that made them strong.
But herein lies the problem, Simon had never seen a high-ranking demon noble fight. Sure he had once fought with Gelgar, but he was just a Demon Viscount with a big dream and an overinted ego. He was no help at all.
[20secs remaining before the seventh horde arrives].
Simon opened his status window and nced at his stats, it was true that his magic stat was the highest among all the other six stats followed by his Agility and Endurance. His Strength stats was not up there but if hepared his strength with other warriors with rare sses around his level, it was no way inferior.
On the contrary, thanks to his racial benefits and the points he gains after each level up, his stats might even be higher. He was notcking in the stats then¡ as he thought till here, he remembered how good Denzel was with the sword.
It was not just pure stats that the boy was using, it was technique. At that moment, Simon finally realised what direction he should make advancement towards.
His sword Crimson zing me de an [A] tier sword and one of his strongest trump that still remains till this day to be used till its full potential. An [A] tier sword, how many people in this entire world of Althaea can boast that they have such a sword in their possession.
It not only had an unparalleled sharpness, but it also bestowed its user with additional stats and skills. Up until now he only used the sword for the skill [Infernal Magic Mastery] that it bestowed. However, the sword had much more than this to offer.
"Sword techniques" Simon recalled his battle with Godwin, thetter used skills in a perfect harmony with his sword techniques.
The reason for him not being able to cull these zombies easily even while having a major advantage in stats, was because he had neglected his training in the sword.
Even though the crimson sword bestowed its user with [Sword Mastery] it was just a normal skill. ''The two of them definitely had the evolved tier of this skill'' Simon thought internally as he tightly clenched the crimson sword in his hand. He was in a situation where he must sparingly use his magic, he might as well use this chance to try to master the sword and acquire the [sword mastery] skill.
Simon needed any kind of advantage he could against these hordes of zombies. While thinking that, he stepped forward.
The seventh horde was finally here. Amidst the wave of umon zombies, he spotted the unique zombies that had given him a hell of trouble previously. Brandishing his sword, he expanded more on the feeling when he activated the [Sword Mastery] skill bestowed by the sword.
His senses started spreading out, his surroundings got silent and the sword became a part of him. Simon''s aura at this moment, became as calm as ake.
Thinking that it was an opportunity, the unique zombie charged towards him. It had stone like hard skin, a hulking body and a disproportionate figure. It''s powerful charge that made the ground tremble, gave Simon quite a hard time previously and because of its rugged skin, it took more than a few swings of his de to cull it down.
Seeing it charge towards him as soon as it appeared, Simon closed his eyes loosened his shoulders and tried learning the way the skill [Sword Mastery] worked. The moment the unqiue zombie was a few inches away from tackling him, Simon hurriedly side stepped and performed a clean low sweep from his sword.
The rugged skin of the zombie made it so that the de wasn''t able to cut it in half nheless; it still got arge gash on its abdomen.
The sentient zombie wailed, it was just about to use the cover of the umon zombie to hide when Simon performed a shing motion from his position.
A de shadow a meter big was created and flew towards the unique zombie bisecting its head.
PSHHH¡ a sound of liquid being sprayed, sounded out. Simon hurriedly jumped to his side and the moment he did, an acid came spraying on the ce he was just a few moments ago.
CHIII¡ the ground immediately dissolved showing how potent the acid was. The zombie that threw the acid, was tall and had a bloated throat just like a frog in which it keeps its poison.
Simon observed the zombie from his position and swung his sword. a de shadow just like the previous one, was created and flew towards the unique zombie who used the umon zombies around him as a shield to dodge the attack.
That action in itself said how sentient the unique zombies were. Simon did not falter and kept hisposure. One thing that he learned after going through numerous battles was that, no matter what the situation, he must always maintain hisposure. The sword bes dull the more anxious the user was.
Simon culled one umon zombies after another endlessly. The average level of the zombies of the seventh horde were around level 350, a level he cannot look down upon. Their numbers were also high and the fact that he must always protect the firece so that it does not go out, made the trial all the more hard.
And to top it off, he must also find the zombie that had the crimson bead within it before the time limit of two hours was up.
Why two hours? It was because two hours represented the time the crimson bead can keep the firece lighted up. Simon who had found an answer to his predicament, dedicated himself fully to understand the mystery of the [Sword Mastery] skill. And after a grindingly long two hours, he was finally able to clear the seventh horde.
It must be said that it was still not the best time he could clear the horde considering the firece was just about to go out. If not for the fact that Simon had an additional bead, he would have be anxious and his sword dull.
After a few minutes of rest, the eight horde arrived bringing along higher number and levels of zombies. Simon who was pacing himself ording to the horde was forced in multiple asions to use more of his mana and energy.
Even finding the crimson bead was bing more and more hectic. The eight horde also made him realise that finding the crimson bead won''t be as easier in the uing horde.
GULP¡ GULP¡ Simon gulped down a couple of elixirs of Healing and his wounds swiftly recovered. Although the elixirs of healing can heal his wounds, they cannot recover his expended mana or huis stamina.
"Huff¡ huff.. two more hordes to go. I have already used the extra bead to keep the firece lighted. If I cannot clear the ninth horde or find the zombie that has the crimson bead, it is game over for me".
His clearing time for the eight horde was two hours, thirty minutes. Far more than what he considered ideal. Because it became trickier to find the zombie that had the crimson bead and he had exceeded the time limit, he had to use the extra bead to keep the firece ignited.
While it was true that the situation looked dire, it was also a boon in disguise. Perhaps Simon had not realised it yet, but he tends to do better in the worst of the worse condition.
He does more well under pressure then when in not. The trail was no doubt very difficult; however it also pushed Simon beyond his limit and allowed him to break out from some of his restraints.
The growth he was having in these couple of hours, was many times fasterpared to the time he came here with Lucine and Denzel.
[15secs reaming before the ninth horde arrives]
Simon looked at the prompt window and then at the sword in his hands. After fighting so many hordes, he was getting more and more used to how to swing his sword more efficiently. It wasn''t like the [Sword Mastery] skill was providing him with some advanced level techniques or something, it was just simple sh, hack and cut.
Nevertheless, each of these actions and movements can be performed in hundreds of ways and each of these movements and actions has its own strength and shorings.
One has to perform every single action and movement thousands of times to understand which better suited them and which was better in which situation. And under the immense pressure of having to fight thousands of zombies whose levels only get higher and higher and having to protect the firece at all times, created the most ideal situation for Simon to acquire the [Sword Mastery].
Even without the need to activate the skill from the sword, he could feel that the sword had be an extension of his now.
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The ninth horde arrived and just like usual he used every bit of his focus and attention on culling these zombies down. The clearing time of the ninth horde was two hours and thirty minutes. The timing may be the same as the eighth horde, but one must know that the numbers and levels of the zombies were higher than in the eighth horde.
There was a time during the ninth horde were the firece almost died out because of the time limit. Fortunately, he was able to find the zombie that had the crimson bead just in time to toss it into the firece.
As heid down near the firece waiting for the tenth and the final horde to arrive, Simon was checking his status and grinning. He was currently level 377, not far away from reaching the level 400 barrier.
In the span of a few hours, thanks to the trail he was able to jump tens of levels. This level of growth once again solidified his impression of the forbidden trial and how it can affect one''s advancement. If one wanted to be strong, there was no better ce than the forbidden trail.
Simon was not wrong, however, that was only if one can survive the trail. Not everybody is like him who can do well under extreme situations or has a cheat like fragment which increases the experience he earns manifold.
It was because it was him that he was able to endure this long. But all his struggles and growth will be for nothing if he can''t clear thest horde which would be the hardest of all the hordes.
Simon took a deep breath andposed his mind and body for what is toe. Even after pacing himself ordingly, he was still left with less than 30 percent of his mana, his stamina was also the same.
If he can''t clear the tenth horde even after this¡ No, he must clear it, he has to clear it no matter what. There were many people waiting for him back at the dungeon, many reliant on him. There was also many unsettled responsibilities and grudges to be settled.
There was no way he can drop dead here, he will not allow himself to. The countdown ticked down to zero and the tenth horde finally arrived.
The ground trembled intensely making the dust fall down from the ceiling and an invisible pressure surrounded the hall. This was the first time after facing so many hordes, that Simon was feeling like that.
The heavy aura that was shrouding the ce, clearly told Simon that the tenth horde was different from the previous hordes he had faced up until now. The shaking of the ground intensified making it clear that whatever it was it was near.
Just when the sound seemed that it wasing closer and closer, it abruptly stopped. Simon narrowed his eyes and immediately prepared himself.
That was when the walls on his left, right and front was suddenly broken down and something appeared from it. He did not know what the entity was but he could tell that it was huge just from its sheer size.
At a nce, it looked bipedal and had a humanoid shape. However, it was so hulkingly huge and buffed that it seemed more like some beast than a zombie. It was covered in rugged skin and released a brutish and berserk aura that can make a weak levelled person faint on the spot.
"One, two¡ three" Simon counted their numbers.
There were three of these hulkish huge entities in front of him. There seemed to be no other zombies spawning, it was only the three of them for the tenth horde.
Feeling their powerful energy, he immediately used [Analysis] on them.
Race- Zombie Attacker (Unique),
Level- 450,
Skills- [Brutal Charge], [Ultra enhanced Strength], [Ultra enhanced endurance], [Super Enhed Defence], [Super Agility], [Berserk], [Super Throw], [heavy Punch], [Fire resistance], [Cut resistance], [Blunt resistance], [Brawling], [Stomp], [Predator Aura], [Brute Force], [Attacker''s Roar], [Drum Beat].
The moment he read the information given to him by his [Analysis] Simon''s expression became grim. No to mention the numerous skills it has that was purely based for attack, its level that was the highest amongst all the zombies he has faced up until now, made it a huge problem.
Add that to the fact that there were three of them, the situation cannot be any more worse. If Simon was in his peak condition and was not so exhausted he might have been able to do something about them.
But right now, the situation only looked grave for him. Perhaps he could take one or two of them if he went all out and burned everyst of his power. But if he had to fight three of them and all together while at the same time keep an eye on the firece, it made the situation much moreplex.
UWROOOAAHH¡ the moment the huge attacker zombiesid eyes on Simon and the firece behind him, they roared in a deep guttural voice. They then started charging towards him creating a storm of wind around them.
"Shit'' Simon cursed, even a Demon viscount like him felt threatened by that charge of theirs. He wanted to move away from their path but since the firece was behind him, he couldn''t move away from his spot.
Conjuring dozens of me spears, he sent them flying towards them hoping to stop their charge. The me spears as intended, directly hit their targets but because of their skill [Ultra enhanced endurance], [Super Defence] and Fier resistance, the attacker zombies did not suffer much damage.
Nheless, the me spears were still able to somewhat halt the momentum of their charge.
UWROOOAAHH¡
As if annoyed by thest attack, the attacker zombies roared and their auras locked towards Simon. Judging by how easily they were taunted by thatst attack of his, Simon inferred that the attacker zombies even though they have heavy attack power, their intelligence was very low.
Having their aggro locked onto him, Simon started dodging and kiting them around. He would attack with his wind and lightning magic at every opportunity he got to find out their weakness.
However, he cannot stall for them for too long since he also has to find which of the attacker zombies had the crimson bead before the mes in the firece goes out.
BOOM¡ one of the zombies who was near the wall, threw a punch at it resulting in the entire wall copsing. The zombie then grabbed some big pieces of stones and hurled them towards Simon.
Simon used his sword and his fastly growing sword mastery to deflect any and all attacks. But each of their attacks packed so much power that his hand became numb every time he cut a piece of rock.
[Ultra enhanced Strength], it was the higher tier of the skill [Super enhanced Strength] and provided a marginal buff to one''s strength stat. These hulking attacker zombies already had a huge amount of strength but if you add the [Ultra Enhanced Strength] on top of it, they really became monsters to reckon with.
While one of the zombies was hurling rocks at him, the other attacker zombies continued to charge at him.
BAM¡ Simon hurriedly dodged to the side, avoiding being body-mmed to the wall. Using this opportunity when one of the zombies was stuck to the wall, he performed a horizontal sh. However, because of its rugged skin and high defence, the sword did not manage to dig deep into its body.
"Tch" Simon clicked his tongue, before he could continue with his assault, the other zombies caught up to him forcing him to retreat.
The zombie that was just cut, roared in agony and in the blink of an eye, its skin started turning red. ''Berserk'' Simon identified the skill the attacker zombie had used. Now due to the effects of the skill, the power of the attacker zombie was bolstered even further.
But that was good enough, if he stalls the zombie long enough, there woulde a time when the duration of the skills runs out and an opportunity to attack would present itself.
The berserk attacker zombie jumped into the air and using that momentum brought its humongous fists down and mmed it into the ground, creating a shockwave attack that was directed towards Simon.
Simon hurriedly unfurled his wings and flew up dodging the shockwave. However, now that he was up, he was open to the attacks of the zombie that was hurling rocks at him. A big pir came flying at him blocking his sight and forcing him to have no choice but to cut it down.
The moment he cut down the pir, his instincts screamed alerting him of danger but it was already toote. Because the pir had covered his sight for a second or two, he failed to realise that the berserk zombie was right behind it and now its huge fists was only a few inches away from him.
BOOOM¡ CRACK¡ it was as if a cannon was fired, the sound of the attacker zombie punching Simon was that loud. Like a bolt, his body crashed onto the ground destroying and raising a dust of cloud around him.
Simon tasted blood in his mouth, the punch was just like a ten-ton sledgehammer powerful enough to break multiple of his bones. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he hurriedly pped his wings and got out of the pit.
The moment he did so, the other attacker zombies came mming down on that ce. Not only were they powerful and their punch packed quite some damage, but even their jumping ability was also absurd.
Using that explosive power of theirs, the attacker zombies could fly as high as ten meters and easily reach the ceiling in a second.
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This means that even if Simon used his only advantage, his wings to fly around, they would still be able to reach him.
FLICKER¡ at this moment the mes of the firece flickered announcing that they wouldn''tst long if another crimson bead is not supplied soon. The situation now had turned, Simon did not have time to stall anymore and have to raise his game.
"This will be a gamble but I have no other choice" eyes zing crimson red, he uttered some determined words.
[Super enhanced strength] [Super enhanced Agility], [Super enhanced endurance] [super enhanced defence], [super enhanced magic], [Body Strengthening] Simon activated his augmenting skills and drank a few vials of elixirs of healing before starting round two.
Time was of essence, this time the concept of using his mana and strength sparingly was out of his head. These attacker zombies were unlike any other zombies he had fought up until now in the previous hordes and weren''t an opponent he can defeat by pacing his strength.
The fact that even with the help of his [A] tier sword and its stats buff, he was still constantly on the back foot was proof enough that if he did not go all out, he can forget about defeating them.
mes and lightning wreaked havoc around Simon. Now that he had acquired the [Concurrent Chant] skill and along with his [mana Lines] skill he can fight physically while simultaneously casting magic.
The magic he was going for, was a powerful AOE lightning magic which had the highest flexibility, swiftness and had enough destructive power to pierce through the defence of these tanky attacker zombies.
Simon shed with the attacker zombies head on and showed them that they weren''t the one dictating the tempo of this fight.
Simon deflected all of their simple attacks with ease and countered with his sword attacks that were much more powerful after the buff from his skills now. Even though there were three enemies attacking him, their attacks were simple enough for Simon who had a fair share of battle experience, to dodge it.
After suffering setbacks repeatedly, the two other attacker zombies skin had also started to be red indicating that they too had gone berserk. Now Simon was up against three attacker zombies that would stop at nothing to tear him apart.
In this wide hall of the tomb, destruction spread everywhere. As far as the eye could see mes and electro wreaked havoc and the mana around here was in turmoil. Four entities crisscrossed around the ce at a speed that was difficult for an average person to see with their eyes.
At a nce, the battle looked extremely chaotic with punches kick and sword attacks flying everywhere. However, if one looked carefully, they would be able to see that three of them were currently engaged with an individual who looked like a demon in the truest sense of the word.
His crimson eyes, jagged horns, blood-drenched body, bat-like wings and the way he bent the elements to do his bidding, gave him a fierce appearance. Time slowly ticked by and before Simon knew it, half an hour had already passed.
The mes in the firece was almost about to die out yet he was unable to determine which of the zombies had the crimson bead inside it. This exchange with the attacker zombies, once again reminded him how troublesome of an enemy they were and how high their HP bar was.
Even after suffering so many magic attacks, cuts and shes in their head, they were still able to stand back up again. The [Ultra enhanced Endurance] of theirs was so ridiculous that Simon wondered if they were really zombies or not.
Clenching his sword tightly, Simon brandished it in a flurry creating a storm of sword shadows that rained on the attacker zombies that were trying to charge at him with [Brutal Charge]. Next, he pped his wings and created some distance from them.
Right now, his body was encased in mes and electro. While fighting with the attacker zombies he was also simultaneously channelling the amalgamation magic of me- electro. Even though conjuring such a magic would eat up his already depleted mana pool, he had no choice; no, he was left with no choice but to use it.
Even his most powerful intermediate tier lightning magic was unable to damage them much. Simon nced towards the firece and noticed that the mes were so dim that even a gentle blow of air can snuff them out.
In this situation where he was barely able to fight against these zombies, it would be bad if the curse activated and made them even stronger. He did not have the confidence that he would be able to handle them then.
Thus he had to take the gamble and expend all his mana for onest attack that had the potential to defeat them.
ROARRR¡ bright crimson mes mixed with purple electro roared as they mingled and spread around the surroundings and covered every inch of the hall. The attacker zombies had very low intelligence but even they could tell that the magic conjured was extremely dangerous.
They stopped their wild attacks and started fighting back against the elements that were going crazy. The three attacker zombies started beating their chests in a rhythmic order. Their powerful beat was enough to cause the air to ripple and set the mana in disorder.
The quickly spreading mes and electro, suddenly halted their advance at this moment and slowly started backing down. Seeing this phenomenon, Simon locked his brows. The way they were beating their chests, he could tell that it was definitely a skill.
[Drum Beat] he quickly recalled one of the skills they had in their status. To be able to disturb the flow of mana and set it turbulent, the skill was definitely like the [Disruption roar] that he had seen a few times.
First was against that butler who had turned into a beast after over-exerting his iplete Beast inheritance skill and the other in the ''battle of the finest'' tournament where a human named Marcus had used a simr kind of skill to stun his opponent.
DUM¡ DUM¡ DUM¡ the dull beating started spreading and quickly overpowered the mes and Electro that he had set around the hall. Simon''s expression was grave, this was the worse skill they could use against him at this time.
Amalgamation Magic required an enormous amount of mana and control to conjure, if his mana was suddenly disturbed there was no doubt in his mind that the magic would fail and he would suffer a severe repercussion.
Not to mention he had dumped all of his mana into this attack hoping that this would be thest. No matter what, he cannot allow his mana to be disturbed at this moment but then again, he had nothing on him to stop an intangible attack like that which only left him with one option and that was to endure.
shing a defiant smile to trick his mind and heart, Simon gave up all resistance and instead started channelling his mana into the amalgamation magic even more fiercely.
RUMBLE¡ the elements which had been halted, started bing active once again and rebelled against the turbulent mana.
DUM¡ DUMM¡ DUM¡ the sound echoed out across the entire hall and brushed past Simon making his entire mana pool go haywire and his mind go nk.
BITE¡ Simon bit his lips and tasted iron in his mouth, he used the stimulus of the pain to forcefully stay conscious. It would be all over if his mind faltered now. Activating [High-Speed Thought processing] skill he forcefully made the turbulent mana within him flow through his mana lines and kept on feeding his mana to his magic.
Resisting a disruption skill without any artefact or ability and only with sheer willpower and persistence, was something only a madman like Simon would do. Doing something like that would no doubt put an extreme pressure on his mana lines and might even leave him with permanent damage.
However, Simon had no mind to pay attention to these details right now as all of his focus was on enduring the [Drum Beat] skill that kept on disturbing the flow of his mana.
Fortunately, for him, the skillsted a couple of seconds before the drum beat stopped allowing his mind that was strained to its limit, a moment of respite. Simon had survived through the disruption skill and had managed to keep his magic from going out of control but it did note at no cost. C
urrently, his entire face was beet red, eyes bloodshot, and blood flowing from his nostrils and ears. It took every bit of his energy and mental endurance just to keep channelling the mana to fuel the magic.
ROOAARRR¡ and finally the magic was near itspletion, the ten meters long crimson dragon made of mes and electro, opened its mouth wide and roared towards the attacker zombies.
Usually, the dragon formed from the amalgamation magic of mes and electro would be around twenty meters long but because he waspletely spent and the disruption skill had dissipated much of his mana, the magic was formed albeit a little less powerful.
Using all of his mana into this onest attack, was a big gamble and something that had to be done to win the round. Simon had absolute confidence that this attack would be able to defeat his opponents.
He let out a spirited shout and willed the dragon formed from his magic, to proceed forward. "Electro-me Mastery]¡ [Crimson Lightning Dragon]".
RUMBLE¡ As the magic started moving, the whole hall trembled and an aura of destruction spread everywhere.
GROOORARR¡ the attacker zombies roared and hurled the huge debris onto the crimson dragon in ast ditch effort. However, how could these attacks be able to stop the magic? The crimson dragon proceeded towards the attacker zombies unabated by the debris and swiftly reached them.
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Like water released from the dam, the magic swept away the three attacker zombies who tried to muster all sorts of resistance against it.
BOOOMMM...
The crimson dragon carried their bodies, crashed onto the opposite side of the hall and bore a deep tunnel through the wall. The entire ce rocked like crazy as if it would cave in any moment.
Fire and electro spread everywhere depicting the intensity of the destruction. Only after a few seconds passed, did the disruption stopped.
"This should do it" Simon fell on his butt, wheezing heavily. After thatst attack, he waspletely spent. The duration of his various augmenting skills had also ended right now leaving him with heavy repercussions to suffer.
At this moment, even moving a finger sent a jolt of pain all across his body. Simonid on his back as he waited for the notification telling him of his sessful clearance of the tenth horde to arrive.
DING¡ the notification arrived; however, it wasn''t about his clearing of the tenth horde and instead the firece going out.
[The fire in Y''s sacrificial crematory had gone out. Warning, the light binding Ozy has been removed, his powerful curse is now able to reach all around the tomb].
The moment he read the information, Simon''s breath got stuck in his throat and he hurriedly turned around to look at the firece. Indeed, the fire there had gone out, since he failed to find the crimson bead in time.
p But it shouldn''t matter now that he had defeated thest of the hordes or that should have been the case unless the attacker zombies hadn''t¡ Simon turned his head towards the dark tunnel that his magic bore through the wall and strained his ears and senses. He could hear a low growling sound akin to a beast that was on its deathbed.
"They are not dead yet?!" Simon realised to his surprise that one of the attacker zombies although was mortally injured, had failed to die from hisst magic.
"Was the power not enough to kill all three of them" he mumbled in shock. He had used everyst bit of his mana and stamina to conjure that magic; however, it was still not enough?
"Dammit" Simon cursed punching the ground. He willed his body up and was barely about to keep his exhausted body standing. There was no point in questioning and spiralling in the mire of self-contemtion.
The firece or the Y''s sacrificial crematory as per how the trial called it, had already gone out which mean that the effects of the curse would soon be taking effect. He needed to do something before his opponent got even more powerful but what?
If he couldn''t defeat the attacker zombies even with his most powerful magic, how was he to defeat them now when he was all exhausted and their power boosted even higher?
At this moment, as if to mock him an eerie aura that could give nightmares to anyone, started seeping out from the walls and the ground. The wicked and fiendish energy, quickly started spreading and entered the dark tunnel where the bodies of the attacker zombies were.
WHOOOSH¡ a cold wind appeared in the hall out of nowhere and snuffed all the remnant mes and electro away.
GROOOAARRR¡ a deep guttural sound that was a mix of insanity and brutality, came from inside the tunnel.
[The mighty Ozymandias snarls at the one who harnesses the light, his powerful curse carries his deep-seated grudge for the one who trapped and tormented him for thousands of years. Warning- All beings under his depravity, will have their strength restored and power buffed by 300%].
Another notification popped up in front of Simon informing him about the effects of the curse. Even without trying to sense it, he could tell that the attacker zombie that had survived was feeding on this energy and was quickly getting stronger.
However, instead of cowering in front of this absurdity or cursing at it, right now his mind was upied with something else. The eerie energy that was filling up the entire hall was somehow¡
TREMBLE¡ TREMBLE¡ the entire ce trembled with the footstep of the attacker zombie and before long, it once again showed its appearanceing out of the tunnel.
If previously it was a hulking fellow at around five-meter, right now it was more than seven meters and looked even more menacing than before. All of its wounds were healed, it had grown four more hands and its body was emitting the very same ck aura of the curse.
At a nce, the attacker zombie appeared as the very incarnation of carnage. There was no need to mention its power level which was many times higher than before. Even from a distance, Simon could feel the vast power that was overflowing from it.
The current attacker zombie was above level 500, a level that was even above the Lightning Draconic Serpent that could change the weather from its power. if hepared the current attacker zombie with the previous three, it was a difference between day and night.
Level 500 was a different realm in itself and one that cannot be understood if one hadn''t reached such a level. There was a reason why millions of beings get stuck here unable to make even the slightest progress even after decades or millennia.
Once one reaches this level, they would start toprehend the true concept of mana and how to better harness it. Their power won''t just be bolstered by a little but would magnify by a whole new realm.
If the difficulty of facing the three level 450 attacker zombie with all the constraints and time limit could be said as extremely difficult, then now it was next to impossible even without any added factors.
Forgetpleting the fourth trail, the possibility of himing out of this tomb alive was so low now that it was not even aughing matter anymore. Nheless, why was it that instead of having his face covered with gloom, Simon looked unfazed, excited even?
The reason for that was none other than the malevolent curse that was covering every corner of the hall. The powerful curse of Ozy, had a deep seated grudge and intent within it, it abhorred light and was filled with evil and hatred.
The curse energy was so full of negativity that anybody would be affected by this curse and their powers might even plummet due to it. But Simon was an exception, there was something on him, something deep, that resonated with this curse energy.
Thanks to it, he did not feel any sense of difort, on the contrary, when his body was exposed to this energy, he felt exhrated. It was as if this energy was extremely docile in front of him and instead of harming him, it was aiding him, healing his wounds and restoring his energy.
"Hahaha..." Simonughed like a madman at this sudden incredulity of situation.
Just when he thought that everything was over and he was done for, the curse instead of affecting him in a negative way, through some strange coincidence that was beyond his understanding was actually benefiting him.
Simon felt his whole body lighten, his exhausted body started filling up with power as he was exposed to more and more of this curse energy. This was an opportunity, one that might not present itself again, and Simon took full leverage of it.
"If the energy can increase the attacker zombie''s power, then there is no reason to think that it can''t do the same with mine" Simon muttered as he started focusing on absorbing more and more of this energy.
The curse energy that he was absorbing was fundamentally very different from the mystical energy he was used to and both shared no resemnce to each other. Normally, it shouldn''t be possible for him to absorb this energy which he had no prior knowledge of but due to some reason he had no problem circting this energy as a substitute for his mana.
As he activated his [Mana lines] and started channelling this energy all around his body, he started feeling a little different. His body started getting bigger, his horns became denser, and the ancient symbols on his body started shining a bright golden ck.
That was not all, out of all the parts of his body, the one to be heavily influenced was his mind which wanted to bathe in blood and stomp on his enemies. Feeling the changes in his body, Simon gave a wicked smile disying his two sharp canines.
[Your level is being temporarily bolstered by the curse energy. All your basic abilities and power are increased by tenfold].
Simon clenched and unclenched his hands feeling the enormous power that was brimming inside him.
TREMBLE¡ TREMBLE¡ feeling the ground beneath his feet shake, he looked up only to see the humongous fist of the attacker zombiee flying at his face.
"Too slow" Simon said as he casually extended his hand and caught the fist.
BANG¡ a dull sound rang out and just like that, the powerful punch of the level 500 attacker zombie powered by its skill [heavy punch] was easily stopped by Simon. if it was the previous him without the buff of the curse energy he would have no doubt been caved inside the wall and heavily injured by that attack.
However, the current him facing the attacker zombie that was above level 500, felt nothing. No, saying that he felt nothing would be wrong as there was a smile of pure pleasure on his face right now.
Simon extended his other hand, grabbed the huge fist of the attacker zombie and hurled it airborne before smashing him to the ground.
BANG¡ the force and power with which he did so, was enough to shake the entire hall and create a deep depression on the ground.
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,m Simon observed his hands, just like the attacker zombie, his body too was giving off a surge of curse energy. Smiling, he relished on the feeling that the curse energy was giving him right now.
From his expression to his appearance, it couldn''t be said anymore as to who was more menacing, the attacker zombie or him.
GROOARRAR¡ the attacker zombie bellowed, it tried to stand back up only to be kicked to the wall by Simon.
BAM¡ Whatever was left of walls after the destruction, caved in from that kick. He did not even use much strength yet the force from his causal kick was enough to cause this much damage. This once again showed how powerful he was right now because of the curse energy circting within him.
It wasn''t like this was his first timeing in contact with an energy that deviated from the standard mystical energy. Cecilia the Forest Spring Royal Spirit that he had taken in as his little sister also used the power of nature''s energy that was different from the mystical energy.
He remembered Irene also telling him about how there were different types of energy. Nevertheless, the one that was more abundant and widespread in the world of Althaea was the mystical energy.
The curse energy might seem more powerful, but he had no way of harnessing it nor any knowledge about it.
Shaking the distracting thought out of his head, Simon checked his status. There he could see his level was currently bolstered to level 488 temporarily along with his stats and basic abilities. No wonder he felt so powerful, the curse energy had directly boosted his level by a total of a hundred.
Although there was still a couple of levels and an entire realm gap between him and the attacker zombie, one also had to factor in the race they both belonged to. Simon was a Demon Noble with a rank of a Demon Viscount, how could a mere zombie who managed to breach level 500 thanks to the effects of the curse energy be able to match him?
On top of that Simon from the beginning was used to defeating opponents that were dozens of levels higher than him, this much of a difference was basically non-existent to him.
BANG¡ the attacker zombie got up after pushing the debris aside and immediately charged at him bellowing loudly. [Brutal charge] the skill was way more powerful now; nheless, Simon did not feel like there was a need for him to dodge or get aside.
He simply extended his hands and said condescendingly "me Magic Mastery- [me Spear Barrage]".
But the next instant, he frowned his brows when he saw that nothing happened. He was unable to use or invoke any response from the me Magic that he was so proud of.
"Gale Magic Mastery¡ Lightning Magic Mastery" What was happening, why was he suddenly unable to use any of his magic? Just as this thought surfaced in his mind, a notification popped up in front of him.
[Due to using a different form of energy other than the mystical energy, you are unable to harness the elements. A different method is needed to invoke the cry of the elements].
"What?!" that was the first reaction Simon had after reading the instruction and boom, the next thing he knew, the world was spinning around him.
Simon''s body crashed onto the ground and only stopped after breaking a few big pieces of debris on the way. It seemed like he was tackled and sent airborne by the charge of the attacker zombie while he was distracted.
The situation had changed it was all cool and good when he was overpowering the attacker zombie with just his physical ability alone. However, to defeat it he needed to use his magic which he was unable to due to him using a different form of energy.
All along, he had been using the mystical energy to harness its different forms but it seemed that the same wasn''t possible while using the curse energy. Simon tried channelling the mystical energy nheless, it failed for two reasons.
First, there was no mystical energy within the hall and secondly, his body can only absorb one energy at a time. That is to say, as long as his body hosted the curse energy, he cannot use mystical energy.
If he cannot use the mystical energy or his magic, then what should he do? Simon was pounded onto the ground and on the air like a ragdoll as he contemted as to what his next set of actions should be.
Thanks to the powerful effect of the curse energy, that bolstered all his stats temporarily, his body had be so strong that he didn''t feel much damage even when hurled like that.
[Your level is being temporarily bolstered by the curse energy. All your basic abilities and power are increased by tenfold]. He recalled the notification that had popped up when he absorbed the curse energy.
"I guess there is no other way than to use my physical prowess to best it" Simon used some force and easily got out of the grasp of the attacker zombie and sent it flying away just like it did to him.
Since the curse energy was boosting all his basic abilities by tenfold, then didn''t it mean¡ at that moment, a wide pair of ominous bat-like wings and incisive ws that was coursing with curse energy, simultaneously protruded from his back and hands.
BOOOM¡ a debris that broke the speed of sound, was hurled towards him by the attacker zombie.
Simon who was still getting used to this newfound energy, extended his hand and casually swiped it down.
SHIIING¡ PSSHH¡ At that moment, a powerful incisive curse energy came out of his ws shing the boulder like debris and the attacker zombie in the distance in one go.
GROAARRR¡ blood like a fountain erupted out of the zombie as it reeled back, fazed by the attack.
"So that''s how the curse energy works" Simonmented looking at his ominous ws and the scene of destruction caused by his simple action. It seemed that he was wrong, he did not need his magic to kill the attacker zombie, his physical powers and basic abilities were enough to do the work.
shing a wicked smile, Simon pped his wings and with a dull booming sound, he disappeared. No, that was not right, he had not actually disappeared but simply moved at a speed that was difficult for the eye to capture him.
The attacker zombie with its low intelligence was unable to tell where its target was. It looked all around when suddenly it felt a presence directly behind him.
The attacker zombie hurriedly turned around and extended his six hands to grab and mash its target when they suddenly fell down on the ground limply. It took a few seconds for the zombie to realise that its arms had been severed.
When it looked back up it saw Simon smiling sadistically at him. The next second a foot came flying at its face and sent it flying back in the distance.
BOOM¡ though the next it got back up once again.
ROOARR¡ the attacker zombie bellowed and regenerated its arms in a grotesque way and started hurling everything that was near it towards Simon in anger.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ dozens of small and big debris came flying at him with the speed of a missile. Nevertheless, none of them managed to hit their mark as Simon was so fast that it seemed like he was teleporting and dodging all of the attacks.
FLAP¡ with every p of his wings, he would cover the distance between him and his opponent in an instant. Now that he was somewhat familiar with the curse energy he finally understood some of its uses.
It could be seen from how strong his flight ability and ws had be just from channelling curse energy into it. So what if he can''t use his magic? His current physical prowess was enough to go against even a Demon Earl.
What was a attacker zombiepared to it? Although it would be a little troublesome given its uncanny regeneration, he still had the confidence to kill it given that its weakness should also be its head.
Simonughed, he was sure that whoever set this trail, did not expect this kind of change to trigger.
Zipping through the barrage of debris, he appeared in front of the attacker zombie and threw a storm of punches towards it. The entire hall rocked with criss-crossing cracks appearing everywhere and soon even the ceiling was starting to copse.
The scene had transitioned from him losing to suddenly having the upper hand was so drastic that even Simon had difficulty believing it.
After the rain of punches, the attacker zombie had a badly disfigured body with fist size holes dotting its figure. Nheless, its regeneration triggered swiftly repairing its body.
Simon smirked, this was precisely what he wanted. After fighting with the attacker zombie for a while, he finally understood how its uncanny regeneration worked. Since it instinctively only defended its head not allowing any attacks to pass through, it knew that was its weak point and any damage done to the other parts of its body could be swiftly healed by the regeneration.
However, as someone whose regeneration was simrly bolstered by the curse energy, he knew that when the body suffers too much damage, most of the energy within the body gets directed towards the wounds to close it leaving one defenceless for a moment.
Simon was waiting for that exact moment when the attacker zombies regeneration kicked in to deal it the final blow.
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Simon circted all of his curse energy towards his ws and extended his hands in a stabbing motion towards his opponent''s head.
The attacker zombie realising the danger, raised all six of his hands in an attempt to block his attack. However, now that all of its curse energy was directed towards healing its wounds, its defences were naturally lowered which made it easier for Simon''s ws to prate through all six of its arms and reach its brain.
SPURT¡ as if a watermelon had been smashed apart, the content of its brain sttered everywhere. The body of the attacker zombie became motionless before dropping down to the ground.
Huff¡ Simon took a breath of relief and sat down on a rock. He had finally defeated all of the three attacker zombies which meant that he had finally cleared thest horde. As if proving his words, the notification popped in front of his face.
[All ten hordes have been sessfully cleared, the powerful curse of Ozymandias recedes. Insert all of the crimson beads to proceed forward with the trial].
The moment the notification arrived, Simon noticed that the powerful curse energy within the hall swiftly receded away. Even the one that was within him and the body of the attacker zombie, scattered into thin air.
He sighed when he felt his body revert back to his original exhausted state. The curse energy, the sensation of overwhelming power and being the one in control was like a powerful drug one that was hard to resist once you get the taste of it.
Simon felt a little regretful once the curse energy left his body; however, he knew that it was only a borrowed power and was not something that was his own. If he wanted overwhelming strength and be the one in control, he must get stronger and achieve that level himself.
That was why he was here of all ces in the first ce and after he got the taste of what he could with that much power, his craving for strength was stronger than ever. Simon took a rest to recover from his exhausted state before looking around the destroyed hall for the crimson bead.
While he doing that, he was also inwardly contemting as to why he was able to utilise the curse energy which should have only affected the zombies.
''Was it because I am a demon noble? No, that doesn''t sound right''. The curse energy waspletely different from the mystical energy which meant that it should have also affected the demon nobles.
Simon recalled the sensation when he was exposed to the curse energy, it was... yes, it was as if he was already familiar with it. The more Simon thought, the more unlikely it seemed.
Before entering theb of depraved, he had nevere in contact with the curse energy. So how can it be that it felt familiar to him? In the first ce, the curse energy originated from the being named Ozymandias.
Simon shook his head unable to find an answer and concentrated on the task at hand. After a while of searching, he found the crimson bead inside the body of one of the attacker zombies that had died in the tunnel created by his amalgamation magic.
Simon picked it up and tossed it into the firece. The moment he did so, the firece became alive. The mes inside the firece burned intensely and in the blink of an eye, it became a huge fire that took the form of a woman.
Simon was surprised for a second before hurriedlyposing his mind.
[Y''s sacrificial fire purges the evil curse energy and pushes it back temporarily. However, it is not enough to stop Ozymandias'' powerful grudge. Find the other two glistering jewels and insert them back into Y''s crown to stand a chance against Ozy''s onught].
As he read the instructions, Simon immediately understood that the woman in the mes was Y.
Y sped her hands in prayer and the fire around her immediately started converging and taking the form of a golden glittering crystal. Simon extended his hands and the crystalnded on it giving him a clear look of what it was.
Other than being pretty, Simon couldn''t see any practical use for it. However, [Analysis] told him that it was a Quest item (1/3) which meant that he needed to find two other crystals just like this one and insert them into the crown toplete the fourth trial.
When he looked back up he saw that Y''s form had disappeared after she handed him the crystal. Now that he got the glistering crystal, it was time for him to leave this hall. Looking around he saw that the entrance from which he hade inside, had opened up indicating that this was also his exit.
Exiting the hall, Simon was back to the ce where the Altar was. Since there was no other exit out of the hall, it meant that the other door which was yet to be opened, was the exit.
He was proven right when he opened the door to the left, there was a teleportation circle right in the middle of the room.
Simon did not know how to read the ancient text but if he had to guess the text written on the altar it would read as such. In front are two doors, the door to the left leads to the exit while the door to the right takes you to theb of depraved. Obtain the glistering crystal from theb to unlock the left door and exit the tomb of burial.
It did not matter if he was wrong and the text on it meant something else, in any case, he had cleared this tomb and got the quest item.
Simon unhesitantly walked in the middle of the teleportation circle and a few secondster he found himself back in the middle of the wilderness where he found the stone structure. Though the stone structure was now gone, he could still somewhat recognise the ce.
-----
The Northern Ouw Forest, home to many monsters, bandits and all the ouws. It spanned for hundreds of miles and was an excellent ce to hide for those who are wanted or have been branded as a criminal.
Deep inside the forest, there was a town of some sorts ruled by the various factions that had emerged here called the ''ck Town''. Naturally, the town attracted all the criminals/ouws from all of the regions of the kingdom of Ellesmere.
You would find no good person walking in this town that was filled with crime and murders everywhere. Perhaps you cannot find any other ce more barbaric than this town.
There was now binding anyone within this ce. If there was one it would be thew of the jungle that prevailed here. In other words, it meant that the weak were the prey for the strong here. The one with the bigger fist, had the final say, it was that simple.
This ce was like a utopia for the rough and tough ouws where they can do anything they please, kill, steal or rape, they were was no one stopping you as long as you have sufficient strength.
Of course, even if the town was ruled by the primitivew of the jungle, there are certain factions that have rooted themselves deeply here that you cannot dare to offend even if you have hundred times the gall.
Otherwise, you wouldn''t live to see the sunlight of the next day. These factions are the true ruler of the northern ouw forest so much so that their infamy had even spread to the surrounding regions.
It was not like the nobles and the governing authority of the regions surrounding the northern ouw forest didn''t try to eliminate them given the threat they represented. However, the forest was their territory and they banded together to form a big coalition whenever the surrounding region assembled a force to eliminate them.
Thus, they were able to survive the onught and be a hegemon in this vast northern ouw forest.
Other than this aforementioned reason there was another additional reason that the coalition forces never really tried topletely eradicate the town. That reason was none other than the usefulness the town had.
The ck Town was no doubt a dangerous ce and a gathering of ouws. However, it was also an important information exchange point for the kingdom. With all of the ouws gathering from the various regions of the kingdom and probably even from outside, the town was bound to be circting with many big and small information.
Even the ck market where most of the stolen things, some of which can even be considered treasures flowed and exchanged hands every day was located here.
Of course, there was no reason to mention as to who bought these things. The strong and the governing authority of the surrounding regions might show their disdain openly for the town, but deep down they were the one of the parties profiting from this business.
It was in human nature to love chaos and to seek any possible profit from it. How could they let go of this big temptation that was the ''ck Town''?
Although on the surface they showed that they periodically sent forces to cull down the numbers of the bandits and ouws that was gathering inside the forest, it was just an act to fool the ordinary mass.
Therefore even though people knew that the ce was full of danger, there were still many people that swarmed into this ce with various motives in mind.
The ''ck Town'' was full of spies and assassins sent by the neighbouring regions.
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Inside one of the pubs located at the centre of the town, a man donned in a shoddy looking ck robe was quietly drinking when another person with a rough appearance, sat down beside him.
The establishment was full of people; however, it was still not packed to the brim for another person to suddenly sit on a bench already upied by someone else.
As barbaric as the town was, a fight would be inevitable and not a single person would be fazed by it after all, fights breaking out was like a daily urrence in this ce.
"This is my seat, find somewhere else to sit" The man in ck robe said, he was not in the mood to fight and tactfully shooed the other person away.
However, thetter didn''t seem to have any intention to move away from here and even initiated a conversation.
"The fuck with you? Can''t you see that I''m minding my own business, get the fuck out of here" unable to contain his irritation any longer, the ck robed men threw his drink and barked out loud.
Contrary to him, the other person seemed the very personification of calm and ordered his own drink from the bartender.
Seeing his attitude, the ck robed man had it. When was it thest time that a person disrespected him like that? he grabbed thetter by his cor and was just about exert strength and throw him out, when he realised that he couldn''t move the man.
Usually, no matter who the other party, he would be able to easily flip them over. However, the guy with the rough appearance was different from those other thugs and emitted a solid presence that was no less powerful than his.
''How could this be possible? I am a level 500 warrior with a rare ss. There shouldn''t be many opponent that can match my power even in the entire northern ouw forest. But his face isn''t one that I recall'' the ck robed man thought internally.
"Well, why don''t you settle down for a moment, I have something I want to talk with you" the other guy grabbed his hands away from his cor and initiated a conversation once again.
Understanding that he cannot take the other party lightly, he sat back on his bench and waited for thetter to continue.
"Good, it seems that you are perceptive enough to understand your situation. It also makes it easier for me¡"
Passing over a badge on the table, the guy asked "Do you perhaps recognise this badge?".
At this moment, the bartender also brought the drink, the rough looking man sipped in his drink and smilednguidly.
"This?!... You are" the expression of the ck robed man turnedpletely pale the moment he saw the insignia on the badge. He was just about to dash out of this establishment when he heard thetter mumble lightly.
]"There is no point in running, do you think that we tracked you all the way here without any preparations".
GULP..GULP.. the rough looking guy gulped down his drink in one mouthful andzily wiped his mouth with his sleeves.
"What do you want?" Seeing that he cannot hide from them, the ck robed man sat back down and asked in a grave tone.
"Oi..Oi, don''t tell me you already forgot what you did to us? Do you want me to make you remember it" the other party teased, battle intent shed deep inside his eyes.
"Hehe, anyways I didn''te here to say all that, I was asked to bring you up. Somebody is waiting there for you there".
The ck robed man frowned, for all he knew it could also be a trap. However, he was in no position right now to reject the offer and could only nod his head.
The man with the rough appearance led him upstairs to one of the sound proof room on the second floor of the building reserved only for VIPS.
In this ce, information meant money, hence there were many such establishments like the building designed to keep any or all noise from being overheard by somebody else.
The other guy, stopped in front of one such rooms and knocked on the door in a pattern before signalling towards the ck robed man to get in.
Thetter did as he was told and entered the room to see a person sitting on the couch awaiting his arrival.
"Why don''t you sit down" the person said as he started brewing tea.
"Y-you are Raven one of the three tridents" the ck robed man shouted in shock realising who the man waiting for him was.
"Correct¡ it''s quite a coincidence that we found you here Morgress or should I say the former guild master of the Seven Swords Guild" Raven smilingly said, he took out a transmission conch from his space ring and put it on the table.
"Gavin Morgress, level 500 [Grand Lightning Warrior] I guess this would be our first time meeting each other¡ I am the guild master of the Sea God''s Trident, Benny Beckerman" the voice from the other side of the transmission conch said.
SIGH¡ seeing that his cover was blown, the ck robed or rather Morgress took of his robe and sat on the couch opposite to raven in resignation to whatever his fate was.
"How did you find me?" He asked.
He or rather his seven swords guild was hiding in the northern ouw forest that was filled with ouws from all over the kingdom. Given how vast this ce was and the various factions in it, it was quite a difficult task to find them when they are living a life of exile.
"Hmm? It is as raven said, finding you guys here was truly a coincidence you see. The northern ouw forest is vast, even if we knew that you guys were hiding here, it would take quite some time, effort and manpower from us to find you".
"However, due to some turn of events, some of our members who were sent here on some other mission found a person from your guild. The surprising thing was that he came to us on his own ord. Thanks to him we were able to locate your hideout and each and every one of you within a day".
The voice said, from his tone it could be said that he was in a good mood. Though, the same couldn''t be said for Morgress who had an expression that said that he couldn''t believe what he just heard.
"That is not possible, you are lying" Morgress retorted in a flurry. At his moment, his expression wasplicated.
Why would it not? If he were to believe the other party than didn''t it mean that someone from his team had sold them out. He would rather believe it was a lie cooked up by them instead of actually believing it.
"Oh dear it looks like you don''t believe us. As a leader of a guild myself, I can understand why you refuse the truth. But you know, you cannot have a blind faith on them without realising what they want. You say that is not possible? Of course it is possible especially when you neglect a wish of one of your subordinates. Raven, bring that guy".
As Benny Beckerman''s voice fell, two powerful assassins that have been lying in wait in the room from the start, finally showed their appearance aftering out of their stealth. One of them was a member if the sea god''s Trident and a subordinate of Raven while the other someone Morgress knew very well.
"How can that be? Out of all the people, I can''t believe it is you that betrayed us Boris" Morgress said springing up from his seat. His breath was uneven and his face was flushed red in fury.
"Now¡ now, there is no need to be so impatient guild master Morgress. Why don''t you first listen to what your subordinate has to say?" as if enjoying the situation, Benny Beckerman remarked.
"Why? Why would you do this Boris?¡ tell me!!" Morgress demanded, enraged by the betrayal of one of the seven swords and his most trusted subordinate.
Boris looked a little hesitant and struggled internally for a while before making up his mind.
"I had no choice since you were not willing to listen to my wish".
"What did you say?" Morgress asked back.
"You spared me no option, you did not listen to me when I said that I wanted revenge. My little brother Laris died in the Ghastly Winding Forest, killed by that demon. How can I sit calmly and hide here like a coward when I should be out there taking revenge for him".
Boris barked back, his body trembling from the emotions that he had suppressed all this while. Laris was Boris'' little brother who had joined the Seven Swords Guild because he looked up to thetter.
And had it not been for him, who allowed Laris to take charge of that mission with the Forest Spring Spirits, his little brother wouldn''t have died.
If not for the fact that his subordinate Ted managed to send a sound transmission telling them of the events that happened in the Ghastly winding Forest just before his death, they wouldn''t even be aware of what had transpired there.
Knowing that his brother had died in the hands of the demon, how could he just let it be? But instead of seeking revenge for his little brother, Morgress instead decided to hide and live a life of exile in this dark and gloomy northern ouw forest.
How can Boris who sought revenge, possibly ept that? He was living his life tormented by these thoughts every day when one fine day he saw a member of Sea God''s Trident roaming around the ck Town.
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Boris gave it a lot of thought and decided that this was his only chance to take revenge and approached them thinking that it was worth a try.
When Morgress heard all of that, he had a face that said he was absolutely baffled by the idiocracy of his teammate.
"You goddamn moron".
Boris wasn''t the only one who had suffered a loss that day, their entire guild had. Not only did they have to discard their base that they have been using for like a decade and run here to live a life of exile, but Morgress himself was also stripped away of his peerage.
Their guild had made an enemy of one of the top five guilds, an existence that they cannot dare to offend and was being chased all over by them. They couldn''t use their adventurer''s card any longer since they were branded a wanted men and had no choice but to live a life of exile.
All of this was because of Boris''s little brother who had annihted the entire branch guild of Sea God''s trident located in the city of Mountmend. That good for nothing made the situation worse for them, how could Morgress have the heart to take revenge for someone like that.
However, it seemed that he had failed to see Boris''s attachment to his little brother which made him go as far as to betray his own guild.
"See, I told you guild master¡ah, I mean former guild master Morgress, you cannot neglect the wish of your subordinates like that. See what that led you guys to" Benny Beckerman said from the other end of the transmission while Raven was sipping on his tea with a delighted expression.
Morgress had a resigned face and sat back down powerlessly. Now that the Sea God''s Trident guild had found them and even went as far as to send Raven, they were done for.
Escape? That was a foolish choice given the opponent they were facing wasn''t any ordinary one but the head of the top five guilds of their kingdom. The fact that they had many powerful members on the level of the seven swords made it so that escape waspletely impossible.
Perhaps he who was level 500, could give them a fight but even he wasn''t a match for the one sitting opposite him. Although Raven had restrained his aura till the point that he just seemed like an ordinary person, a veteran adventurer like Morgress could easily tell how dangerous the man was.
Even now, he felt like a dagger woulde targeting his throat the moment he made a rudement.
"Since you have already found us, there is nothing else I can do. Kill us if you want to and get it over with" Morgress said epting his fate.
"Kill you? Well, that may as well be an option in the future; however, it is too much of a waste to do it now" the voice from the transmission conch said making Morgress confused.
"What do you mean?" if the other party wasn''t here to kill them then why were they here.
"Hahaha, you see our first intention was to kill you all and settle the score forever but I couldn''t help but have a change of mind once I heard the offer from that subordinate of yours. I must say I was quite surprised when I heard the deal he wanted to make with us after all, the information he offered was too much of an enticement to reject".
"Wanting to keep all of them to yourself, won''t you say that you are quite greedy former guild master of the seven swords guild?" Benny Beckerman pointed out something in a vague and roundabout way.
Listening to his words, Morgress couldn''t help but have a feeling of foreboding. It was further proven right when he looked at Boris who was standing at the side of Raven.
"Don''t tell me you told them about it?" he asked, more like demanded.
"I had no choice" Boris replied.
Morgress finally realised why the Sea god''s trident wasn''t fighting and how Boris managed to strike a deal with them. He must have told them about that ancient n living deep within the Ghastly Winding Forest.
"Now that the cat is out of the bag, there is no need for us to mask words. The only reason I haven''t ordered my guild members to kill all of you yet is because I want to take possession of the forest Spring Spirits myself and your Seven Swords guild will help me in that".
Morgress closed his eyes and sighed, it was as he had expected, to convince them Boris did indeed tell them about the Forest Spring Spirits that they had discovered living in the Ghastly winding forest.
This was also the reason why they had spent so much manpower, time and resources on it but even after that, fate didn''t want them to get hold of it.
"Well, I at least understand the reason now why that little brother of that subordinate of yours killed so many members of my branch guild. But you know the fault mostly lies with that guy, not only was he ipetent enough to contain the forest spring spirits in their vige, but he even allowed the demon to trick him and get hold of them before him".
"Frankly, I don''t understand why would you put him in charge of such an important mission guild master Morgress. Thanks to that guy, our reputation was hurt and our entire branch guild was almost wiped out. Isn''t it only natural that youpensate us with something? Fortunately, thanks to this teammate of your we know now where the Forest Spring Spirits are residing".
Benny Beckerman said mocking Morgress for his short-sightedness.
Raven too sneered at thatment. The seven swords guild almost managed to have them but because of one individual, the whole mission waspromised. Had that individual been in their guild, Raven would have killed the guy himself.
"You mean to say is that we should¡" Morgress said but before he could, the voice from the conchpeted his sentence.
"Raid that dungeon for us, all seven of you".
"But that is impossible, leaving the fact that we are wanted men and the soldiers of duke Redcrest is searching for everywhere, we cannot get the clearance to raid that dungeon from the adventurer''s association in the first ce".
"Plus we will need a few more members to raid a dungeon that has beenbelled [D] tier by the Adventurer''s Association" Morgress tried to reason but it seemed that his opponent came prepared with all the answers.
"You don''t have to worry about that¡ I can pull some strings and get you the clearance from the Association branch located in Mountmend. You also don''t have to worry about adventurers, I know a few that would get into any kind of job for a sum of money. As for how to evade the soldiers of Redcrest, do something about it yourself. How about that, are you willing to raid the dungeon now?".
''If the other party was going so far as to provide him with all that support, there was no reason to deny. But he wasn''t a fool, he knew precisely well why the guild master of the Sea god''s Trident was pressing this job on them.
They were the bait, or in other words the guinea pig to test the powers of the dungeon. Morgress had no intention of being a test bed for someone, he was just about toe up with another excuse when Raven muttered in a low voice as if reading his thoughts.
"I hope that you don''t make an immature decision, guild master Morgress. You and your teammates'' life hangs by a margin of thread".
A clear threat, there was no other meaning to it.
"Haha, don''t be like that Raven, I believe that people are more useful when they are alive rather than death. I know guild master Morgress will make the right decision. While I''m at it, let me make this clear for you".
"I not asking, this is an order and also an opportunity for your guild to get back to that demon who foiled your n. Don''t you want to tear that bastard apart who foiled your n? You have one day to think over it, Raven would be waiting for you all here".
Benny Beckerman put down his ultimatum now it all depended on Morgress whether he followed the order or turned Raven into his executioner. Seeing that the other party had one-sidedly ended the conversation, Morgress was frustrated but he could only suppress it down given his circumstances.
He nced at Boris onest time before turning around and leaving. Thetter too left after a while.
Watching their expressions one could easily guess that a fight was inevitable; however, it did not matter to Raven nor did it concern the Sea God''s Trident.
"Fate works in mysterious ways, who knew we would stumble upon such great information while searching for traces of the Demon. Forest Spring Spirits, a sacred race blessed by the essence of nature. It is said that they can easily manipte the nature and hold one of the greatest treasure known as the Forest Spring Spirit orbs in their body".
"It not only increases the purity of your bloodline, talent and aptitude, but can also heal a person from near death. There are so many myths and legends about them in the annals of history, some even say that they were all extinct, who knew that they were still living inside the Ghastly winding Forest".
The voiceing from the conch was filled with anticipation.
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Raven who had been keeping to himself all this while, asked sceptically.
"Guild master, do you think what that assassin told was the truth? Can there really be Forest Spring Spirits in that dungeon?".
The conch went silent for a while before Benny Beckerman spoke from the other side of the transmission.
"While I cannot be certain, the story does indeed make sense if the forest spring spirits are involved. Ask this to yourself, why would a guild that has a solid foothold in their city, be willing to take such a risk and send most of their forces to the Ghastly Winding Forest if they weren''t searching for something?"
"I don''t think there is any guild in this entire kingdom who is willing to make us their enemy¡ even if they do they must have some extraordinary reason like the forest spring spirits. In any case, I feel like Morgress didn''t have the intention to embroil our branch guild in all of it from the start. the situation turned into this mess because of the ipetency of one singly subordinate".
"Is guild master saying that Chuck got caught in the trap that wasid for that demon?" Raven asked.
"Right. Anyways, even if this whole thing is just a lie, we can still use them to probe and see how dangerous that dungeon is. Once they are done scouting it for us, finish them off. That demon is sure to be hiding inside his dungeon. Send a few adventurers to monitor that newly formed town in the Ghastly winding Forest".
"Additionally, keep all of this secret from Godwin. Since his character is too upright, I don''t want him to get involved in this".
After saying all that, Benny Beckerman cut the call.
Raven thought for a while as to how to proceed before directing the assassin subordinate beside him.
-------
BOOOOMM¡ ROOAAARRR¡
A huge crimson blue dragon made of magic, opened its mouth and roared towards the heaven. It was so powerful that the space around it was distorted and the mana around the area turbulent.
Facing it were a couple of Carnivorous desertivines that had a crown made of leaves around their petals marking that they were a little different from the ordinary Carnivorous desertivines.
Nevertheless, in front of the might of the crimson blue dragon even they were trembling.
Simon who was hovering in the sky, extended his hands and willed the huge Crimson lightning dragon to proceed forward. Immediately with a loud thundering noise, the thirty meter long dragon charged forward and towards the Carnivourorus Desertvines that were spraying needles, acid and doing everything they could to stop the magic.
However, everything was useless in front of the might of his powerful amalgamation magic of mes and Lightning. There was no point in mounting a defence, even with their [Hyper Regeneration] and [Root] skill, the magic was able to destroy them from their very foundation leaving not even their ashes behind.
The crimson lightning dragon continued forward and just like that evaporated four more Carnivorous desertivines in the distance.
More than a month had already passed since Simon had entered the forbidden trial grounds. By now he was already used to seeing the same view again and again and fighting the same monsters day and night.
During this period of time, his level had seen a drastic advancement and he was only a few levels short of reaching level 400. Countless numbers of carnivorous desertivines and zombies had perished from his hands and countless more were being added to that number.
It wasn''t like he wasn''t making any progress with the trail, currently, he had sessfully cleared two of the tombs and had gained two glistering gems from them. And right now, he was proceeding towards thest tomb to find the remaining glistering gem andplete Y''s crown.
Although his progress might be slower than when he was with Lucine and Denzel, one should also know that he was alone right now. He was clearing the trail all alone using nothing but his own powers.
Well, the circumstances and fate was also favouring him so if he counted that factor, it was quite a good speed.
The reason for him saying that the circumstances was favouring was because after the second tomb, Simon was sure that the curse energy of the being names Ozymandias couldn''t harm him. On the contrary for some reason, he was able to harness that power and use it in his favour.
Simon was quite sure that the trial did not mean for any challenger to be unaffected by that energy much less use it in their favour. In that ord, it could be said that he had broken some of the rules but since even he did not why this was the case with him, he did not think it as him deliberately breaking the rules.
It just ended up with him being able to benefit from that energy along with the trail monsters.
Knowing that the curse energy cannot harm him, Simon was a lot more confident moving forward, he felt like he was a gamer who suddenly found a cheat.
The second tomb was cleared by within a week of clearing the first tomb and now he was proceeding towards the third tomb that was deep within the territory of the King Carnivorous Desertivines.
This species was the evolved form of desertivines with more hideous-looking features and power. If the levels of the carnivorous desertivines he had fought until now ranged from between 407-450, the king Carnivorous desertivines levels were above 480 with some even reaching 495.
His most powerful single target magic which was the amalgamation of me and electro was far less effective on them.
If previously he could kill four to five of them with it, against the king carnivorous desertivines which could utilise the novice tier water magic to attack and defend, he could hardly defeat even one.
However, just like the previous times when under pressure, Simon would rise up to the challenge. After many unsessful attempts and tries which ended up harming himself, he was able to finally managed tobine his two most destructive intermediate tier attributes and create a more powerful spell that could even turn a powerful king carnivorous desertivines into nothing but ashes.
Yes, he was now finally able to amalgamate his two intermediate tier magic of me and Lightning allowing him to create a much more powerful and solid magic.
If one wanted to know the reason for him being dyed for so long, it would be because Simon was busy learning and experimenting his two intermediate tier magic. Although it had ended up taking a lot of time, if one looked at it objectively, the befits he got far outweighed the cons.
In any case, without learning the amalgamation magic of me and lightning he would be able to defeat these evolved species and proceed forward. After resting for a while, Simon conjured his crimson Lightning dragon magic, took out a bunch of them before proceeding forward.
The levels of the king carnivorous desertivines kept on getting higher and higher indicating that he was close to thest tomb.
After spending more than a month of time here, Simon was bing a little impatient to get back to his dungeon. It has been a long time since he left the dungeon and given the rapid increase in his DP, he sensed that more and more people were diving inside his dungeon now.
During this period of time, the growth of his DP was so absurd that it had reached half of the total DP that he had umted up until now and that number was still increasing. Even if he left his dungeon Lace in the care of Irene, as a dungeon master how could he not be concerned for it?
Especially after he created such a ruckus outside, he knew that many powerful would be targeting his dungeon now. Aside from that, he wanted to know how they were doing and what the situation of his dungeon was.
Since that was the case, Simon involuntarily increased his pace. Creating another Crimson lightning dragon he cleared a few more of the carnivorous desertivines and finally in the distance he could see the vague figure of a stone structure.
Simon immediately ran towards the structure and in a couple of seconds, he was standing in front of it.
[You have discovered thest of the tomb of the depraved. Find the Glistering gem and insert it into Y''s crown before Ozymandias'' subordinates destroy it. Warning, once entered you cannot leave it until you clear the trail or be one of the depraved].
A prompt window appeared in front of him, Simon skipped most of the content of it since every one of them were mostly the same. If others saw his attitude right now that was making light of one of the trails of the forbidden trial ground, they would have called him a fool, a conceited person that was digging his own grave.
However, there was a reason for Simon being so full of confidence and that was none other than the presence of Ozy''s curse energy. As long as the trial had that, Simon was certain that he can clear the fourth trial.
To confirm his theories, Simon had allowed the timer to run out on the second trail but instead of being defeated like the trail intended to, he was able to ovee the obstacles with the help of the curse energy.
That is to say, as long as he did not y by the rule, the cruse energy would invade the tomb as intended powering all the monsters inside it.
Simon took a deep breath of air before pressing the Yes button in the window [Do you want to enter the trail now? YES/NO].
Thend trembled and a part of the tomb that was buried underneath surfaced.
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Simon used the entrance to dive inside the tomb and found himself on a dry and dark pathway. Igniting his me magic, he proceeded forwards and soon arrived in front of a big hall in the middle of which was an Altar.
Although Simon couldn''t read those ancient writings, it seemed that all the tombs had an Altar which had the exact same letters written on it. It might have some specific meaning but since he can''t interpret it, there was no point dwelling on it.
Behind the Altar, he could see five doors each of which had a different letter written on it. Simon walked in front of one of the doors and tried opening it; however, it was locked. He tried opening the door near it but just like the other one, it seemed to be locked too.
It was not like he did not try opening it using other means, he even channelled his mana into it nheless, it remained locked.
Since that was the case, Simon tried opening all the doors and the one on the leftmost corner was the only door that clicked open. He narrowed his eyes, checked the marking on the door before boldly walking inside.
[You have entered the first vault of numerals, Ozymandias is furious at the one who seeks the crown and sends its subordinate to destroy it. The crown is inside one of the doors that lead to Y''s crypt].
]Find the zombie that has the key to the door before the time runs out and Ozy''s subordinates destroy the crown. Warning, each wrong zombie that you kill will strengthen the other zombies. Time limit- 5 hours].
As soon as he entered, a window popped up in front of him notifying him of the rules of this trial. There were many information to take from that but first, what did it mean that he had entered the first vault of numerals?
Were the mark on different doors numbers? If that is the case then did it mean that the door he opened was numbered one?
There were many information given but Simon got the general gist of it. He just needs to find the zombie that had the key to the door that leads towards Y''s crypt where the crown was before the time runs out.
Additionally, he couldn''t kill the other zombies since it will only strengthen the others. The information was fairly simple, Simon even felt that the time limit was too much just to find a key.
But when the zombies started spawning in this wide hall, he had to retract this preconception of his. There were thousands of zombies flooding the ce all of whom were unique zombies with abilities that made them quite annoying.
Additionally, what he didn''t mention yet was that the trail was set in a way that the zombies became stronger along with the growth of the challenger. That is to say, the unique zombies that are spawned, were much more stronger and higher levelled than the time when he was clearing them in the second and first tomb.
If previously the unique zombies were around 350-380, now after his growth, they were all above level 400.
TSK¡ Simon clicked his tongue, although finding that one zombie amongst these hordes of zombies was annoying he still felt like the time limit was just too generous. He had this foreboding feeling as if he was missing something.
GRAAAHHHH¡ the moment the unique zombies spotted him, they pounced on him using their unique attacks such as ws, acid spray, grapple and various other skills. After fighting so many of them and for so long in this trial, Simon was used to their attack pattern and dealt with them ordingly.
He took out his crimson de and cut off their torso so that they couldn''t move for the time being. By now he had also acquired the sword mastery skill himself and was much more adept and confident in his sword swings.
Simon immobilised one special zombie after another but there were thousands of them and there were still many more spawning from the ground. It was just like an endless horde and the worst thing about it was that the zombie that had the key, was hiding with the horde.
However, since Simon was for some reason immune to these effects, he did not have any problems, on the contrary, he even felt a sense of familiarity with it. His gaze shifted andnded on the hordes of zombies that showed no signs of stopping being spawned.
p He would have agonised about the unfair condition of this trail otherwise if not for him being able to use the curse energy. Now though, he did not find them being spawned all that unpleasing.
Simon used his ws that was being augmented by the curse energy in a wild flurry of attacks as he culled down numerous zombies one after the other. The curse energy that would seep out from their body would be absorbed by him making him stronger by the second.
"[Cursed w Fury]".
After familiarising himself with the curse energy over the first two tombs, Simon was now even able to create some skills with it. A huge hideous looking w that was three meters big and made of curse energy, materialised itself.
With his will, it flew forwards and easily bisected any and all zombies that were in its path. Now that he had found the w in the system, he no longer needed to y by the rules. That is to say, there was no reason for Simon not to kill all of the zombies that spawned instead of just killing the one that had the key.
And just like that, a huge massacre started with the demon noble going wild, culling the number of the zombies which kept on spawning. More than an hour had passed by now and Simon was engaged in a frenzied battle with the zombies when suddenly he saw a zombie that had a key tied to a locket on his neck, getting spawned not far away from him.
"The Key" Simon yelled and immediately started clearing a way towards that zombie.
A few secondster, the key was finally in his hand.
"With this, I can now open the door that leads to Y''s crypt" holding the key in his hand, Simon rushed towards the exit of the vault, not caring about the zombies whose numbers kept on increasing by the second.
As soon as he came out of the first door, he started unlocking the doors with it thinking that the door that the key unlocks was the one that was Y''s crypt but to his surprise, the very first door that he tried opening with the key clicked open just like that.
[You have opened the second door of the vault of numerals and find an empty ce. The doors will be reset, tries remaining ?].
Before Simon could question the information, he found himself back inside the first vault of numerals.
The zombies immediately pounced on him the moment he was sent here. As he culled the number of his enemies, he pondered about the information that popped in front of him when he opened the second door of numerals.
It was empty which meant that he had opened the wrong door and was thus sent back here again. At this moment, he finally realised his oversight, something that he was seeing clearly previously.
In the first ce, the information never told him that there would be only one key that would unlock the door leading to Y''s crypt where the crown was. There were multiple doors there for a reason, since the first door was open and the others locked, it meant that he had to find the key to unlock those doors.
But he cannot just randomly open any doors as it could be seen from hisst attempt. Excluding the first door, three out of the reaming four doors were hoax ced to eat up his time.
"That''s right, time!!" when Simon looked around at the window disying the time he had reaming, he immediately narrowed his eyes.
The time limit was now less than 4 hours and in that time limit, he had to find the correct door and key from the hordes of zombies that were continuously spawning. Additionally, from the information, he knew that the logic that the second door was a hoax, wouldn''t work anymore since the information clearly told him that all the doors of numerals would reset.
Which meant that he cannot count on the second door being hoax again. It was all fine up till here but what bothered Simon the most was that he only had a limited amount of tries.
Out of the four tries, he had already used one and now he only had 3 more chances. Simon did not want to think about what would happen after all three chances were expended.
Unlike the first two tombs where the worse that happened when the time limit ran out was the influx of curse energy seeping out from the ground to cover every corner, the third tomb was different in that it involved Y''s crown.
If the time limit was up, Y''s crown, a quest item that he needed would be destroyed and he would fail the trail. Just thinking about that soured Simon''s mood and he couldn''t help but curse the one that made this forbidden trail ground.
Simon continued to cull the numbers of the zombies and absorb the curse energy to prevent the zombies from getting stronger. However, there was also a limit as to how much curse energy he can absorb, once that limit is passed, he would have to tread more carefully.
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As Simon was worrying about that, from the corner of his eyes, he saw a zombie being spawned with a key. He immediately made short work of it and held the key in his hand, his eyes wondered whether this was the right key or not.
Unlike thest time, Simon did not immediately rush out to try the key and instead waited for some time. The reason for that was simple, he wanted to know whether there would be another zombie that would spawn with a key while he was holding onto one.
His inquisitive mind wanted to solve more of the mysteries of this trial. His patience had proven right after a while, another zombie that had a key on its waist, spawned from the ground.
Simon used his ws that was buffed by curse energy to immediately dispose it.
Now, the next thing that happened surprised Simon. When he grabbed the second key, the first key that he was holding onto, scattered away like dust indicating that he can only hold onto one key at a time.
Was this the correct key? Simon did not know but until unless he tries he would never know.
Holding onto the key, Simon rushed out of the vault only to find that the positions of the door had changed probably even the numbers on them was reset, there was no telling.
He observed the key carefully and observed that there was a number corresponding to one of the doors carved in it.
The door that the key matched with, was right most corner. Simon deliberated for a while before looking at the time limit which was slowly ticking down.
He cannot dilly dally anymore and decided on staking it on his luck. He inserted the key and pushed the door open only to get another disappointing result.
[You have opened the fourth door of the vault of numerals and find an empty ce. The doors will be reset, tries remaining 2/4].
It was yet another empty room. Who was he kidding, his luck was never good from the start, staking his chances on it was a big mistake on his part.
Well at the very least, he opened a different door in his second try, this can be seen as progress right?
Simon tried thinking positively so as to keep his mind cool until he figures out an answer.
Just like the first time, he found himself back inside the first vault that was spawning zombies like crazy. However, Simon did not go crazy and start another one sided massacre and instead only immobilised them by cutting off their torso so that they weren''t able to move.
Although doing so would only strain his mind and body, he had no choice but do so because if he killed any more zombies, he would be unable to absorb the curse energy they release and it would only end up harming rather than benefitting him.
As he busied himself in supressing them, Simon finally realised why the trail had given a time limit of five hours. He couldn''t help butugh at himself who thought that the time limit was too generous at first.
Now though, no matter how much time he was given, he would still think that it would never be enough to solve this trail.
At least for him, he could somewhat cheat and make use of some of the ws within the system. However, for an ordinary challenger who had to follow the rules, this trail was nothing sort of nightmare.
What Simon failed to realise was that the forbidden grounds doesn''t just invite anyone and those that it does, bring along group of teammates with them who they can clear it with.
The trail was design in way such that the challenges can only be ovee by working together to share the burden and the reward. It was by no means meant to be cleared alone.
It was not like there was no case of somebody trying to clear it alone, blinded by greed, many conceited ones who were over confident of their strength, entered the forbidden trails alone.
However, none of them managed to clear it. Those who managed to clear the forbidden trails had the aid of their subordinates or teammates, even then they were exceptional even among extra-ordinary and were now the tyrants of this era.
There is a reason why high levelled people cannot enter the trails, each of the forbidden grounds have a powerful barrier protecting it that repels any or all high level beings that try to enter it.
Lucine managed to enter the forbidden ground because she had utilised a special technique and locked her strength. Though if the trail had detected her true level, the consequeses she would have had to suffer would have been disastrous.
Thus, there weren''t many fool who tried to use such an advanced technique to slip inside the forbidden grounds.
In that regards, Simon was an anomaly even amongst anomaly. He wasn''t all powerful nor did he bring a group of subordinates to aid him, yet he was clearing the trail all by himself.
As time ticked by, the spawning rate of the zombie started bing higher and higher leading Simon to cull some of the few even though he knew that would strengthen the other zombies.
"This one doesn''t seem like the key, not this one either" Simon discarded one key after another. Though there could be a high possibility of the correct key being amongst the few keys he had discarded, he just instinctively felt like those were just hoax keys meant to waste his time and reduce his number of tries.
TICK..TICK..TICK¡ the time limit kept on ticking down and there was less than half an hour remaining now. The curse energy inside the vault was quite dense now leading to the unique zombies bing quite stronger.
Nheless, Simon himself was also buffed by that energy and hence managed to somehow coup up with their number. But his real enemies was not the zombies, but the time.
By now, he had killed at least a dozen of key zombies and could have used those to try his luck on the doors outside.
Nheless, he did not do so and waste hisst two chances. The trials are not that much different from a dungeon, the clue should definitely be in that information.
As a game developer before and a dungeon master, Simon just knew it.
"What is that I am missing??" he racked his brain and recalled the information again and again all the while fighting a horde of level 480+ unique zombies.
[Ozy is furious at the one who seeks the crown and sends it subordinate to destroy it. The crown is inside one of the doors that lead to Y''s crypt. Find the zombie that has the key to the door before the time runs out and ozy''s subordinates destroy the crown. Warning, each wrong zombie that you kill will strengthen the other zombies].
As he was thinking about that, Simon culled another key zombie with his ws. While he was holding the key deciding whether he should risk it or not given the limit was now less than twenty minutes, from the corner of his eyes he curse energy seep out from the body of the key zombie and spread around the surroundings.
At that moment, it finally donned onto him and what was that he was missing. The information said that each wrong zombie that he killed would strengthen the other zombies which meant that all of the wrong zombies had curse energy within them.
That is to say, the key zombie that did not have curse energy within it, was holding the correct key.
The moment Simon realised that, everything suddenly started making sense. There was no need for him to find the correct key from the numerous key zombies, there had always been only one correct key from the start.
The clue was right there in front of him all along, the other information was just there to divert his mind.
Simon looked at the time limit and cursed, sweat tickled down his face. Now that it had to this, he had no choice but to take on the entire horde find the right key zombie that was hiding within it.
ROOOAAARRR¡
Simon issued a loud demonic roar and with a reinvigorated spirit, dived amidst the horde. He activated his augmenting skills and further buffed his already powerful physical body.
Since he was using the curse energy instead of the standard mystical energy, he had no way of harnessing the element. Although he can''t use his magic, it did not mean that he couldn''t use his basic skills.
Instead of powering them with mana, he used the curse energy to achieve the same effect.
With outstretched ws and wings and the overflowing curse energy oozing out of his body, he looked extremely demonic.
With every swipe of his ws, dozens of zombies would be culled and mowed down underneath him.
''Not this one¡ this one is no good either'' Simon muttered internally after seeing that the key zombies he had defeated release curse energy from them.
Time ticked down and just when Simon was getting anxious, he noticed a peculiar zombie standing still at the back of the horde for a long time.
It had a belt on its waist which had a key hanging on it. There were many zombies with key all around him but for some reason, that zombie which had been acting atypical from the other zombies around it, attracted his attention.
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Not to mention it also had the key and was standing at a distance that was rtively safer from the assault of Simon.
Staking everything on it, Simon decided to use all of prowess to clear a way towards that zombie.
Fighting the horde of more than six thousand zombies which continued to spawn endlessly without the aid of his magic, was extremely strainful and exhausting. Nheless, he was still able to reach that peculiar zombie standing at the back of the horde.
The zombie staying true to its instinct, attacked him the moment he approached closer but was ultimately fell at is hands after an attack or two.
When the zombie was dismembered by his ws, Simon intensely observed his body which expelled no curse energy not even after a few seconds. Holding onto the key, Simon was now sure that this was the key.
He had the urge to roar and thunder out loud in triumph. However, when he saw the timer which only had 3 minutes remaining, he made haste and bolted towards the exit of the hall.
Simon did not stop even while the zombies attacked and endured their every assault with a steel like willpower and resolve.
BANG¡
Simon kicked open the door without minding about any manner right now, looked at the mark on the key and the corresponding door.
The door the mark on the key matched with, was the one that was currently positioned in the top left corner and the door that he came out with was positioned directly at the middle.
BADUM¡ BADUMP¡ as he approached closer to the door, his heart started beating faster and faster. He had two tries remaining but he had staked all of his time and tries into this one key which would ultimately decide his fate.
Pushing the key into the keyhole, the door unlocked with a click and without waiting, Simon pushed it open.
DING¡ at that moment, a notification prompt up in front of him.
[You have opened the third Vault of numerals where Y''s crypt lies. Ozy''s subordinate Fifth Finger, is on the pursuit of the crown. Defeat it before it destroys the crown].
PHEW¡ Simon who holding his breath until now, released a deep breath of air. The first few line had almost scared him to the death but when he read the next para, he was finally relieved.
The time limit had stopped and he was sessful in locating the correct door leading to Y''s crypt.
His guess was right, the zombie with the key that did not have the curse energy within it, was the correct one. His overconfidence for thinking that the third tomb will turn out to be just like the first and the second tomb led to his negligence and almost to his failure.
It was too na?ve of him to think that he had the the trails of the forbidden ground in the palm of his hand even if he could make use of some of the ws and cheat a little.
This horrible experience had woke Simon up, there was no way he was willing to make the same mistake underestimate the trails anymore. Thinking so, Simon stepped forward and found himself in a long narrow passage that led deeper towards the tomb.
He proceeded with care and checked for any traps or setups that could possibly be there. When he reached the hall at the end of the passage, it turned out that his worry was for nothing as there was no traps ced there.
Still maintaining his vignce, Simon stepped inside the hall and the moment he did, his whole body froze and he couldn''t make even a tiny movement.
It was as if time had stopped.
Simon had felt this sensation before too, and it was none other than on this forbidden grounds, the third trail to be exact.
While he was lost in his thoughts, another notification window popped up in front of him.
[The Historia- Wrath of Ozy will now begin. Time Remaining- 2minutes 59sces].
It was another historia, a powerful advanced tier time magic that showed the events that had happened here in the past.
That is to say, whatever he would be shown, was relevant to the trial. Seconds ticked away and before long, the time was up and Simon felt his body be illusory, just like a ghost.
When he shifted his attention in the front, he saw an ethereal like beauty with shiny golden hair and pearl like skin, hastily run to the depth of the shall.
She was wearing a speckle less white dress, no it would wrong to say that since there were bloodstains on her beautiful white dress.
From how blood wasing from her mouth, it was clear that she was injured.
Multiple people wearing priestly robes, ran towards her and immediately started channelling their light or holy magic to heal her wounds. Nevertheless, a strong negative energy that held an intense aura of madness and brutality, exuded out of her body and shed with the iing light and holy magic.
CHIII¡ the moment the two energy came in contact with each other, they started eroding one another.
But it seemed that the negative energy was clearly much stronger and denser than the magic of the priests and hence was able topletely dominate them.
PFFFT¡ a few of the priests fell on the ground puffing out blood from their mouth, a simr negative energy could be seen on their face and body as well.
''?urse Energy?!!'' Simon muttered internally, the moment he saw the negative energye out of the pretty woman, he was able to immediately recognise it.
However, the curse energy that wasing off thetter was on apletely different realm than the one he hade in contact with in the tomb. Whether it be in terms of density, power, or profoundness, the residue curse energy released from the body of that women was extra-ordinary to the point where Simon felt all the hair on his body stand on air.
"Leave me be, I was exposed to the curse energy for far too long, it has now invaded deep inside my body. Conserve you mana, there is no point in using you magic on me".
The woman said, her beautiful face was slowly being masked with the anguish of the negative energy. A golden crown sat on her hairplementing her beauty to a whole new level.
It had three bright gems fixed on it. When Simon saw it, he had doubts in his mind that the gems on it was the glistering crystals he had been searching for across the tombs.
"If they really are the glistering crystals, then that means that woman is" as if answering his query, the priests that had fallen on the ground, raised themselves up and said weakly.
"Even if that is the case, we still must try, Your Eminence, Cardinal Y. You are the only one who is capable of holding back that monster. If you fall, the entire Empyrean Empire will copse, there will no longer be anyone who can stand up against it".
The priest that spoke up, was the youngest one amongst the all, he had curly blonde hair, thin charming face and lively hazel eyes. A gentle atmosphere surrounded him and he gave others aforting and friendly feeling.
The pretty woman who was addressed as cardinal, looked at the boy who seemed no more than fourteen years old and said:
"That cannot be allowed to happen. This empire was left in my care after master left this ce, I cannot let it fall in my watch. Listen to me carefully Royce, as the other student of my master, you must take care of the empire in my stead".
Y said holding the cheeks of the boy whose eyes streamed with tears. She then collected her breath and stood up with a resolute expression on her face and handed him an insignia that had a golden staff and six pair of wings carved on it.
Seeing her Eminence handing out the insignia to Royce, the rest of the priests were shocked: nheless, no one doubted her judgement and simply epted it.
"Elder Sister this¡ don''t tell me you are going to¡" Royce asked, his face was a mess with tears and unwillingness.
Y knew what Royce wanted to say, when they were both under master''s care she looked after him as if he was her own brother.
She understood his pain but no matter she had to do it, or else the empire her master had created would be destroyed by the hands of that Monster.
"Go now, this ce is deemed to fall. Take Royce with you and use the teleportation circle at the bottom of this mausoleum, he is your Cardinal and ruler now. GO¡".
Y said with a stern voice, she turned around and refused to face her little brother.
The priests had devastated face nheless, they obeyed her orders and performed ast final bow before dragging the unwilling Royce away with them.
"This is good, this is the only way. With me gone, you have to charge of this beautiful empire that master had built" Y muttered, her pretty figure painted a lonely scene.
Simon who was observing everything from a distance, narrowed his eyes when he saw the boy being dragged towards the other room of this hall.
There was no pity on his eyes and only a cold ruthless look. There was no way he would forget the name Royce uttered by that woman in white dress.
Although he looked much younger, that face wasn''t something that Simon would forget, especially after what he had seen on the third trial.
What confounded him though was what this woman was trying to do and what was going on. However, it seemed that he did not have to wait long to understand what was going on.
382 Chapter 382
TREMBLE¡.
At this moment the whole ce started shaking as if a terrible earthquake with a richter scale higher than10 hit the ce. The walls of the hall, the pir crumbled and fell one after the other.
The statue in the middle of the hall depicting a man with six pairs of wings had numerous cracks nheless, it was the only thing inside that refused to fall down.
"So he has reached this ce already".
As soon as Y''s voice fell, five gigantic pirs inserted themselves onto the roof of this ce and tore it down like it was made of paper. With the roof gone, the night view of the sky with numerous stars twinkling came into sight.
Looking at those five huge pirs, Simon finally realised what they were. They were gigantic figures connected to a hand that was protruding out from arge tear in the sky.
Simon was tongued tied by this astonishing and mind-boggling of a scene that he was witnessing right now. A ginormous being was extending his hands from the tear in the sky that spanned for who knew how long.
"ZiZiZiZi¡ I have finally found you, you should know by now that running from me is useless. Because of your pointless running and resistance, millions had to die¡ ZiZiZiZi" a deep grating noise that seemed toe from the abyss itself, rang out from the tear in the sky.
"Hm? It seems that you have been left behind. ZiZiZiZi¡ how truly noble of them. Give up little girl, every struggle you can put up is futile, you must know that you are not my match by now. I might spare your life and this empire if you obediently hand over that item".
The voice continued with a booming noise that could instantly dispirit any low levelled person. However, even in front of an enemy whose might Simon couldn''t even begin to fathom, the woman stood tall and heroic.
Y arched her head and looked up at the gigantic tear in the sky and the being that was gazing down from it. She shed a smile and snorted at those words.
She then extended her hand and a golden sword with a sleek design appeared in her hands. At that moment, her body started floating up and the very air around her started changing.
"Hmph, you think those words are enough to cower me? I know very well that you cannot enter our world due to the restrictions ced on thews of space. I chose to stay behind to face you and banish you from our world. You shall no longer corrupt our empire and this world with your presence".
Y said, her hair and clothes started shining with a brilliant golden light. Four pairs of beautiful white wings appeared behind her giving her an otherworldly angelic look.
"ZiZiZiZi¡ it seems that you have no intention to hand over that item. Little girl do really think the was you are now, you can stop me? Even if I can''t enter this world, this single-arm of mine is enough to beat you and decimate this empire of yours¡ ZiZiZiZi" the eerie voice froming from the tear bellowed.
Instantly, the gigantic hand, started moving and bore down on top of the hall they were in, bringing along an armageddon like power.
Y moved at the same time, she positioned her golden sword perpendicr to her body and erupted forth with blinding golden energy. That was not all, ancient markings started appear on her body and a huge avatar of an angel with four pairs of wings materialised behind her.
Just as the gigantic hand of the being was about to tten down this ce, Y extended her hand which was holding the golden sword and hacked forward. The huge avatar of the angel mimicked her movement and hacked towards the enormous hand with its sword.
CLASH¡
Their attacks had not even touched yet the sh of energies was so terrifying and powerful that space was shattered apart as if it was made of ss, dozens of miles ofnd was instantly ttened down with earthquakes and natural disaster urring everywhere.
And when finally the two attacks connected, there was no sound nothing. With a bright sh, everything in thousand kilometre radius had be silent.
The scene that appeared after, could only be described with one word, Armageddon. Simon who was watching the scene was awestruck by the power of the two beings.
Space fissures appeared all over the sky, with natural disasters appearing all around. The shsted for a while before both of the parties were pushed back.
Y held her chest, blood leaking from the corner of her mouth. Her expression was of anguish as traces of negative energy could be seen permeating out of her body.
On the contrary, the enormous being that was peeking out from the tear in the sky, other than not expecting his hand to be pushed back, seemedpletely fine.
"ZiZiZiZi¡ looks like my World Decaying Curse Poison is tormenting you. Do you want me to relieve you from its torment? ZiZiZiZi, hand over that item and I promise to take that poison back. Little girl, you should know by now that after being afflicted by my poison, you cannot even use thirty per cent of your power. You have no chance against me give up".
The eerie voice of the being mocked. However, even in the face of such anguish and despairing situation, Y held onto herposure and did not falter. Her bright golden eyes which contained no mirth, nced towards the being hiding inside the tear, a smile hanging on her lips.
p She knew that with her being afflicted by the poison, there was no way she was a match for the atrocity in front of her. Despite that, she chose to stay behind because she knew that other than her, there was no one else in the Empyrean Empire who stood a chance against the Atrocity.
If she didn''t stand her ground and confront it, the empire and all the people along with it, wouldn''t survive to see the next day.
The world decaying curse poison was a technique that tormented the being it was inflicted with little by little until they were truly on the gates of despair. It was so potent and powerful that even she a being with a level above 900, fell victim to it and have no way to cure it.
Although the method was a cowardly one, it more or less guaranteed her opponent the victory. However, if the atrocity thought that she would go down without a fight, it had underestimated her, way too much.
While suffering the onught of the poison internally, Y''s eyes continued to shine brighter and brighter. The ancient symbols on her body too ignited with a brilliant golden light.
At this moment, Y stretched her hands and lifted the crown off her head. With one hand holding the crown and the other the sword, Y''s head turned towards a distant direction and became a little mncholic.
She closed her eyes and said. "Master was right, the nature of evil can never be changed. No matter who it is, they will fall in its grasp as long as they have an affinity with it. Begone Atrocity, I do not know of any item that you seek. For the crimes of massacring millions of innocent people of my empire, you will be punished for it".
The moment, the being inside the tear heard what she said, it couldn''t help but erupt out inughter, its grating voice was excruciating to the ears.
"ZiZiZiZi¡ such a na?ve and foolish girl. It seems that you have lived a sheltered life all this time to not know the true colours of this world. Have your master never told you anything about it? What a hypocrite" the voice contained traces of anger towards the end.
Y did not bother what the Atrocity was talking about, for all she care the being responsible for massacring millions of innocent life was evil through and through and she must purge it before it could extend its hands any further.
The World decaying Curse poison was so¡ there was no way she was falling for another of its tricks.
"Master, little brother Royce, I hope you can forgive me for being selfish, but I must see it through" Y mumbled, a tiny droplet of tear trickled down her face.
At this moment, she did something that waspletely unexpected. Simon''s eyes widened to their limits, when he saw Y stab her heart with her own sword.
He had been witnessing their conversation and knew that the pretty woman was inflicted by a power poison by the entity indie the tear and hence cannot use all of her powers. As shocking as the fact that the sh earlier was not even their full power, that was not the point.
From the way she stayedposed and even stayed behind to face it, told Simon that she had some kind of n in mind. Never did he expect that she would suddenly stab herself in the heart in the midst of the battle.
Simon had no way of knowing what was going on inside her head nor could he tell what she was thinking doing something like that.
It was not only him, even the being inside tear seemed surprised by her action but it onlysted for a while before a jubnt voiceced with mockery rang out.
"Hmph, it seemed that you chose to end your life own on your own. A cowardly choice but one that is understandable. Being afflicted by my poison, you would have died the most horrible death there is".
383 Chapter 383
Y stayed silent, her eyes closed as her beautiful white dress was painted with the colour of her blood. The scene had its own unique artistic charm to it.
DING¡ abruptly, the sound of a celestial bell rang out across the entire expanse of this vast world and resonated with the heartbeats of millions of people of the empire.
The sound of the bell was heavy and profound but what was more incredulous than that was the fact that the entire night sky at this moment seemed to be painted a colour of gold. That was not all, the huge avatar of the angel behind Y as if spurred by an unknown power, continued to grow big until it dwarfed even the enormous handing out of the tear.
A heavy pressure so palpable and frightening that Simon had even difficulty breathing descended onto thend. This kind of pressure made even the powerful Ancient Titan Treant seem like an ant.
Fortunately, for him, he was inside the Historia and not present physically there or else no matter how many lives he had, it wouldn''t be enough to survive the aftershock from their attacks.
While he was thinking all that, he heard the voiceing from the tear which seemed to be a little fearful now.
"That can''t be¡ you are clearly afflicted by my most powerful poison so you shouldn''t be able to use that much power. You¡ did you just ignite your soul along with your Ancient Symbol?".
Y did not answer but from her silence and that abrupt power capable enough to change the phenomenon of the world, was proof enough that she had done just that.
"Evil cannot be allowed to roam freely. You shall now face your punishment Atrocity" Y yelled out loud, her entire body started shining brighter and brighter and looked just like a star shining with onest brilliance before dying out.
There was no way she could use her entire strength with her being afflicted with the world decaying curse poison. Therefore to stop the Atrocity from destroying the entire empire she had no other choice but to ignite her soul the core of her powers.
Burning her soul and the ancient symbol on her body bestowed by her master, meant burning her life too. It might be ast resort but doing so, gave Y so much power that stopping the Atrocity seemed no logger impossible now.
"Your sins for killing millions of innocent life will be judged. Get purged by the light that judges all Mutation Magic- [Cherubim Descent].
BOOOM¡ the light from the golden sky started shining on the huge angel with four pairs of wings and in front astonished eyes of Simon and the being inside the tear, the angel finally opened its eyes.
The moment it opened its eyes, the pressure on thend multiplied by dozens of times making even the Atrocity fearful.
"Hmph, you foolish girl to think that you would even ignite your soul. Fine, I will withdraw this time but don''t think that your empire will survive the onught of my subordinates. I won''t stop Until I get that item" the voice said haphazardly.
Simon who was watching all of this from inside the mausoleum was stunned to see the abrupt change in the attitude of the entity. if he had to put it, it was as if the entity was afraid; No, it was terrified of something.
As soon as the Atrocity''s voice fell, it tried to retract its hand back into the tear. However, how could Y who had ignited her soul and staked her life for this, simply allow it to get away?
She extended her hand andmanded the gigantic avatar of the angel which was now even bigger than the entity hiding inside the tear to rush towards it.
The being sensing the approach of the angel, was clearly very afraid and hurriedly tried to retract its hand back into the tear. Nheless, the angel was clearly much more faster and powerful than it was.
An enormous golden sword made of light, that seemed it could even cleave the very sky in half, was brandished by the angel and swiftly sliced the hand before it could enter the tear.
CHIIIIIIII¡
One could imagine what happened next when a hand as big as that, was cut down. Yes, it was a rain of violet-coloured blood flooding everywhere. But what was more shocking than the scene of blood and the entity''s loud scream, was the scar in the horizon that extended as far as the eye could see.
There was a golden line on the horizon that was slowly getting bigger and bigger. One swing from that angel was enough to cleave the horizon itself and everything in its path.
ZIIIIEEERRKKKKK¡ the entity inside the tear screamed with an ear piercing noise but Y seemed to remain unfazed. She willed the angel once again and it immediately extended its hand into the tear to grab the being that was inside.
The moment the angel''s hand reach the Atrocity, Y slowly clenched shut her own hands resulting in an enormous power storm generating inside the tear that managed to even affect the sky of this part of thend and make cracks appear in.
ZIEERRRKKK¡ another miserable howl echoed out, nobody knew if the being inside was dead or not.
As the angel retracted its hand back from the tear, there was something inside its hold. At a nce, it looked like a heart with the way it was pulsing and beating. But make no mistake, it was not any ordinary heart as it was hundreds of times bigger than an ordinary heart and looked grotesque.
After the angel pulled its hands back, the tear started healing itself and thews of the space was back to normal.
Simon who was watching the entire scene from start to finish, felt incredulous, he marvelled at their absurd power which was enough to generate natural disaster just from a simple movement from them.
He had finally seen how the people sitting at the highest level of this world fought. Their battle was beyond his wildest imagination and was in a realm that the current him cannot even begin to imagine.
Nevertheless, he wasn''t discouraged by their powers, instead, it just strengthened the yearning he had for strength even more. It could be said that after witnessing this armageddon like battle his horizons were broadened and he felt like a frog that had suddenly jumped out of its well
From the battle, it was clear who had won and who had lost, but at what cost? Can it be really called a victory? Simon did not know what it meant to ignite one''s soul but from sensing how feeble Y''s life was bing by the minute, it meant that the energy she erupted out with, was something that was from burning her life.
At the same time, it also said how powerful of an enemy the being inside the tear in the sky was topel a person as strong as Y to ignite her soul to defeat him.
BADUMP¡ BADUMP¡
Just as he thought that the battle was over, the heart in the hold of the angle''s hand started beating like a drum and pulsating with a negative miasma that quickly started spreading around the surroundings.
The speed and volume in which the negative miasma was spreading, was so dramatic that in a span of a few seconds it had already covered thousands of meters of area. The sky turned back to night and the huge angel seemed as if it would dissipate at any moment.
Nheless, with sheer will, Y who seemed as pale as snow, held on and did not allow this negative energy to spread all across her empire.
"Even after its death, it seemed that it is unwilling to let go of its evil. Then so be it, with thest embers of my life, I will seal your heart here forever to be forgotten by the people of thisnd" Y dered.
The crown on her hand, more specifically the three glistering crystals on it started shining with a brilliant light from which a bizarre andplex set of runes came out andpletely covered the heart inside it.
It formed a kind of peculiar monolith around it which was then transferred deep inside one of the chambers of the mausoleum where the Historia had initially started.
"You will be forever imprisoned here for your sins," Y said, she was just about toplete the sealing ritual when suddenly, the severed hand of the being which was exposed to the negative miasma, started moving.
It attacked right before she couldpletely seal the heart and sieged her repeatedly trying to break the crown in her hand.
Y spat out a mouthful of blood, her life was fading by the second and she could no longer maintain the huge avatar of the angel.
The condition she was in, it was no longer possible for her to deal with the hand of the atrocity andplete the sealing ritual at the same time. It was her negligence to not expect the baleful intent within the heart to spread around the surroundings leading the severed hand to be possessed by it once again.
She knew that if she doesn''t seal the heart, millions more would die from its corrosive aura and the possibility of other getting possessed by it. Thus she had no choice but to break the crown that was a powerful artefact and borrow the power of its three glistering jewels toplete the sealing ceremony while holding back the hand at the same time.
She divided therge mausoleum into four parts, one part held the heart, and the other three the glittering jewels, the crown and herself.
Before Y closed her eyes and sumbed to her eternal sleep, she scatteredall the four parts of the mausoleum in four different directions and sunk them deep into the ground and out of reach of the hand.
384 Chapter 384
As Simon witnessed all the scenes, he felt his body revert back to its physical self and instinctively knew that the historia had ended. He was finally aware of the events, the trail was trying to convey and at the same time got a glimpse of what had urred here in the past.
However, even when the Historia ended, there was still a concern in him that still remained. His concern was rted to none other than the hand which now had the self-consciousness of the being.
No, calling him being was inappropriate when he knew its name. Ozymandias, that should be the name of the entity that had fought with Y and also the source of all the negative curse energy inside the tomb.
After Simon sorted out his thoughts, he finallyid his eyes on whaty in front of him. The wide pristine hall with the statue of a six winged angel in the middle, was something that he had seen in the historia.
This ce was precisely where that Armageddon like battle took ce.
"The Roof?" Simon muttered as he looked up towards the ceiling only to find ayer of soil recing the wall as the ceiling. There was no mistake, this ce was definitely one of the part of the mausoleum which held Y''s crown.
Simon stepped forward and started carefully observing the ce. In the memories of the Historia, this ce looked extremely clean, white and pristine. However, right now its condition could only be described as dpidated with dirt and cracks spreading towards every corner of the ce.
Simon kept examining the ce before his steps ultimately led him towards therge statue in the middle. He did not know how or why, but the statue was the only intact thing in this ce.
When Simon gazed at the vague figure of the angel in the statue, for some reason, he felt ufortable leading to him frowning his brows in consternation. Observing the statue carefully, he sensed a vast power that made one bow their heads in worship involuntarily,ing off from the statue.
What was the reason for it? Why was it ced here and who the person was? Simon had no idea; however, for some unknown reason, he did not have any good impression of it.
After walking past the statue, Simon saw a path at the end of the hall which led deeper towards the mausoleum. As he approached closer, he felt a terrible amount of curse energy gushing out from inside the path.
Recalling the information before the Historia started, Simon knew that whatever was inside there, was the subordinate of Ozymandias. A being who could tear the sky and cause natural disaster just by a few simple movements.
There shouldn''t be any doubt that its subordinate who is on the search of Y''s crown will be extremely powerful too.
Simon took a deep breath,posed himself before walking inside the path that led deeper towards the mausoleum. The moment he was exposed to that unending, overwhelming negative curse energy, he felt all his pores open up and a sense of dread grasped his heart.
The energy kept on getting stronger the deeper he went which spoke volumes about the being inside.
After walking through a narrow dark pathway for a while, a heavy double door appeared in front of Simon. From the way it had dents and was heavily disced, it could be seen that somebody had entered through it forcefully.
There was no need to question as to who that being and how powerful it was. Just from the mere whiff of its aura, was enough to tell Simon that its strength was beyond the capability of the current him to contend against.
His senses were on high alert screaming him to run away from here immediately; nheless, he suppressed those emotions and calmed his strained nerves.
No matter what, he has toplete the trail to get a transit rock to return. He had no path other than moving forward. Plus, how could he just give up when he was so close topleting the trail.
Simon thought over it for a bit before deciding on using the Ice Phoenix''s sigh to cover up his presence and proceed with extreme caution. He stealthily opened the door and peeked inside only to see a grey figure banging on a barrier thaty ahead.
What was bizarre about the grey figure was that although it had a humanoid appearance, it was entirely in grey and had no eyes or mouth whatsoever. It looked so creepy that if someone called it a humanoid piece of flesh, no one would argue with that.
It could also shapeshift a part of its body creating something like a huge hammer with its hands and legs.
BANG¡ BANG¡ SPARK¡ it continued to m its fist on the barrier creating intense sparks in the process.
"That must be the subordinate of Ozymandias" Simon said sensing the vast amount of curse energy it was releasing.
When he sneakily used the [Analysis] on it, he was astonished to find that the thing was called Fifth Finger. Since the entity''s level was many times higher than him, his skill failed to provide any other information.
No, it would be wrong to say that it did not provide any other information, since it did tell him that the entity was currently in a weakened state right now. Though even if it was weakened it would be foolish for him to even assume that he can defeat it.
After Simon finished observing the entity, he shifted his eyes on the barrier which was holding an entity of such level, outside. It must be said that whoever created this barrier must be insanely powerful themselves.
BANG¡
ZZzzTTtt¡ the entity named Fifth finger, shape shifted one of its arms into a huge hammer oozing out with curse energy before ramming into the barrier. Although the barrier did not break, due to the entity''s relentless effort, there were some minor cracks starting to appear on the barrier.
Simon was sure that if the Fifth Finger kept on attacking the barrier like that, it would soon copse.
Beyond the barrier, was an untouched coffin. The moment, Simon saw that coffin, he immediately knew that was where Y''s body and the crown was stored. However, what was troubling about the situation was that the entity had appeared here before him and as long as it was there, Simon had no chance to get the crown andplete the quest.
Worse, if he did nothing the barrier would break and Ozymanidas'' subordinate will get the coffin where Y''s crown was before him and break it leading him to fail the trail automatically.
He cannot fight it since the power difference was just too much nor did he know if he can distract it. In the first ce, even if it was possible to distract it what was he supposed to do about the barrier protecting the coffin.
No matter what he could think of, all his options seemed to be closed andpleting the trail seemed almost next to impossible.
Simon was just cursing about how insanely hard the difficulty level was when suddenly he noticed that his space was starting to heat up. Searching inside the subspace of the space ring, he soon found the thing that was inducing this reaction.
At the same moment, looking at the item, he finally understood how to clear this round.
Just like always, the trail was set up in a way which always left an option for the challengers to clear the hurdle and in this case, it was the glistering crystals he had gathered from the previous two tombs. To be more exact, from the previous two parts of the mausoleum.
Simon took out the glistering crystals from his space ring and observed them using his [Analysis] skill.
Item- Glistering Crystal, Quest Item.
Just like Crimson Bead, the Analysis was only able to provide him with the most basic information. Although it did not say anything else, it was enough for Simon to understand where to use the item. And from how the crystals were reacting, he was sure of it.
The trail made him gather the first two glistering crystals before he could get thest crystal and the crown for a reason. Deciding to trust his reasoning, Simon entered through the door and disabled the effects of the item Ice Phoenix''s sigh.
The moment effect of the item disappeared, his presence was immediately sensed by the entity in front of him. What''s more, the pressurising aura that it released naturally was now turned towards him.
This kind of pressurising aura, was much more powerful than Davis Hall and was on par with the Ancient Titan Treant.
The Fifth finger stopped what it was doing and turned towards him. Since it had no face, Simon couldn''t tell if it was staring at him or not, but from the hostility and killing intent it was releasing, it was clear that it was ready to fight.
One of its hands that was shape-shifted into a hammer changed shapes once again and became a huge de of a scythe. The scythe radiated off a huge amount of curse energy and was incisive enough to even contend against his [A] tier Crimson de.
''No good'' Simon thought internally, he cannot allow the entity to make the first move or else it will be game over. He had to be the one to make the first move.
Before the entity could swing that menacing scythe of its, Simon who was holding onto the glistering crystals, shed it in front of his enemy.
At this moment, the glistering crystals which had been acting unusual all this time, released a bright golden light that shed against the vast amount of curse energy the entity was releasing dissipating it little by little.
385 Chapter 385
Not only that, the moment the entity sensed the glistering crystals in his hand, it was as if it had gone absolutely crazy. A terrible amount of hatred and grudge flowed out of the entity and it pounced at Simon without any warning.
The speed at which it charged at Simon, was too fast for him to react even with his [High Speed thought processing] skill active. Before he knew it, the entity was already in front of him and its enormous scythe on top of its head.
Just when it seemed like Simon''s head would be chopped in two, the glistering crystal erupted out with a brilliant radiance that pushed the subordinate of Ozymandias back until it mmed onto the wall.
''?hance''¡ Seeing the opportunity that he had been waiting for when his enemy''s guard was down, Simon hurriedly ran towards the barrier.
The glistering crystal was the quest item that was absolutely necessary to have to clear this round. No matter how many teammates or subordinates one brings, one cannot clear this round without the crystals that were a part of Y''s crown.
That is why, Simon was sure that the glistering crystals had a part to y in his current trial. And he was right, the crystal was an absolute lifesaver and the only option to hold the subordinate of Ozymanidas back.
Arriving in front of the barrier, Simon shed the crystals towards it. When the light from the glistering crystals touched the barrier, a path big enough for him to pass through, opened up in the barrier before swiftly closing.
After he was inside the barrier, Simon sighed a breath of relief. The barrier was there to protect Y''s crown from falling under the hands of Ozymandias'' subordinate and from what he had seen previously, the entity wouldn''t be able to break in anytime soon. Thus, giving him a moment of respite to n his future actions.
BANG¡ BANG¡ seeing the entity swiftly get up and bang the barrier in fury further proved his deduction.
"Now then, it''s time for me to clear this absurd trial. As per the information, the crown along with thest remaining glistering crystals should definitely be here" Simon said looking at the pristine white coffin thaty silently in front of him.
From what he had seen in the Historia, the body of Y was also resting here. The woman was someone who hadid her life to protect the people of her empire and even managed to defeat and seal the heart of the being while poisoned.
Someone like her, deserved her rest and if not for the quest asking him to get the crown, he wouldn''t have disturbed her sleep.
With the banging of the barrier providing a unique kind of symphony, Simon stepped near the coffin and slowly opened its lid. Inside ity, the skeleton of someone who was a beauty when she was alive.
She was wearing that blood-stained white clothes which he had seen in the historia. Though now, with the passage of time, the colour was mostly faded. On her left hand was the item that he needed toplete the quest, the crown.
Simon did not know how many years back the event''s in the historia took ce, but Y''s crown, even after all this time still looked the same. Though it was missing two of the three glistering gems which were previously embedded in it.
The crown was not some decorative item but a powerful artefact capable of sealing the heart of ozymandias and dealing with the curse energy. Out of habit, Simon used [Analysis] on it only to be shocked by the results.
Item Name- Radiant Crown of Brilliance, Rank- [S] (Damaged), Buff- Magic +2000, Skills- [Divine Absolution], [Infinite Imprisonment], [Damaged], [Damaged], [Damaged].
An [S] rank artefact, this was the first time Simon had seen an artefact of that rank. Even his Crimson zing me de was only an [A] rank de, how can he be not shocked. Although, it was currently damaged, Simon was sure that when it was in perfect working condition, the skills it had was many times more powerful than his Crimson Sword.
BANG¡ CRACK¡ hearing the dull cracking noise of the barrier behind, Simon snapped out of his daze and swiftly took the crown out from the coffin. He noticed that there was two depression on it meant for the glistering crystals.
As soon as he ced the crystals andpleted the artefact, Simon thought that the condition of the crown would be restored back from its damaged state and he would get himself an [S] rank artefact.
However, how could it be that easy to stumble upon an [s] rank artefact that easily? All his hopes were drowned when he found out that the crown was still damaged and unusable.
SHATTER¡ it was at this moment, the barrier behind him was shattered and he could feel the entity''s aura lock onto him. There was no time to stay dejected about a possibility that may or may not havee true in the first ce.
His first priority was toplete the trial and get transit rock to return back. Simon turned towards the entity with the crown in his hand. From the heavy menacing aura it was releasing, it would not wrong to say that it was absolutely mad at him.
How could it not? Its job was to destroy the crown but because of Simon''s interference, who in its perspective was just an ant, not only he failed to get to it first, but he even allowed thetter toplete it.
If it had a mouth, it would have been spouting curses at him. Nevertheless, even in front of such heavy oppressive aura, there was not even a tinge of worry in Simon''s mind. The reason for it was simple, now that he hadpleted the crown, he had almost but cleared the trail.
If the crown in the historia was able to suppress the heart of Ozymandias, then it should easily be able to deal with a mere subordinate in its damaged state. And he was right, as soon as the hostility of the entity was directed at him, an information window popped up in front of him.
[Do you Want to use Y''s crown to invoke [Divine Absolution] to purify the Fifth finger of all evil? YES/NO].
Yes, of course, yes. There was no reason for him to press NO unless he was a mentally retarded person. As soon as he read the information on the disy, he pressed YES.
At this moment, the air around him started to ripple and an invisible energy flowed out of the crown, locking the entity in ce. Next, a golden light seeped out from the crown that was so radiant that Simon had to cover his eyes with his hands.
The golden light swiftly took the form of a golden sword that drove itself inside the entity which struggled to free itself. Unlike how creatures bled when shed or hacked, the entity in front of him, did not bleed whatsoever even when the golden sword inserted itself in its body.
Though it did not bleed, it was not like the golden sword had no effects, thick clouds of curse energy came out of its body and was swiftly being purified by the golden light.
Seeing this sight, Simon instinctively felt a little revolted. It was not due to the entity or the clouds of curse energy it was releasing, he had repulsion because of the golden light.
The reason for it was simple, the radiant light was none other than the higher form of Light and holy magic.
The entity struggled intensely under the purification of the golden sword and it continued for a couple of minutes when suddenly, something came out of the body of the entity and made a run towards the exit.
However, how could it run from a skill that was meant to purge it? Immediately, the golden sword transformed into golden chains, that kept on following its target until it was tightly bound by it. When the golden chains brought the thing that tried to escape, Simon wore a confounded face as he looked at the thing that was covered in the gas of curse energy.
It was as big as a golf ball and it continuously changed shape. Sometimes it was a ball, sometimes a cube and sometimes something unknown. Whatever it was, it was an enigma, even [Analysis] did not work on it.
The skill did not even activate when he tried to analyse the thing. While Simon was looking at the thing with consternation, another window appeared in front of him.
[Do you want to use Y''s crown to invoke [Limitless Imprisonment] to seal Ozymandias'' remnant intent? YES/NO].
p "So this was a remnant intent?" Simon had an amused face. Nheless, he still pressed YES.
Just like in the Historia, when Simon pressed,plex sets of runes came out of the crown, binding and forming a monolith of some sort around the intent. Simon caught the monolith that was in the shape of a rhombus and as big as a tennis ball.
Inspecting the monolith which hadplex carved on it, he found no signs of the intent breaking out. Relieved, Simon fell on his butt and looked around him. It was then, that he noticed the entity''s body turn into a shape that looked very much familiar to him, in fact, it wasn''t long since he had seen it.
After the intent left the body, the rest turned into a gigantic grey finger that was as big as a pir. the mmoment Simon saw the finger, he was stunned, if his memory served right, it was from the gigantic hand of Ozymandias that was cut off by Y.
The thing that he thought was the subordinate of Ozymanida''s turned out to be one of the finger of its hand.
386 Chapter 386
At the same time, it made sense why the [analysis] identified it as the fifth finger instead of its subordinate. Well in a way with Ozymandias dead it can be considered it''s subordinate right?
Anyways, Simon was too tired from the events to think about anything else, so he let things be and decided that he would think over itter. Right now, he wanted to take a little break and catch his breath.
"With the sealing of the fifth finger, the fourth trail should bepleted, right?" he spoke to himself.
From the corner of his eyes, he could see a teleportation circle being formed not far from him. If he guessed correctly that was the teleportation circle that would lead to the treasury where he would get his rewards, just like how it was on the third trail.
[Congrattions you havepleted the fourth trial, Proceed towards the teleportation circle to receive you rewards].
He was right, it was the teleportation circle that would lead him to the treasure where the return transit rock was.
Simon did not directly leave for the teleportation circle and instead took some rest to recover some of his stamina and mana.
Right after clearing the third tomb, he had to experience the scene in historia and his encounter with the finger of Ozymandias, put a huge strain both mentally and physically on him.
If there was anything that he wanted badly right now, it would be some rest. However, Simon knew that it was not the right time and ce to take a rest.
After taking a small break, he propped his body up, just as he did so, Simon noticed that he had kept the lid of the coffin open and fell into a conundrum.
This mausoleum was Y''s final resting ce where sheid her life to protect the people of her empire. She in no way deserved her grave to be robbed and sacrilege by anyone like that and although Simon wanted to take this [S] tier crown away with him in hopes of restoring it one day, it was Y''s crown, her possession and something that she used to drive away a cmity from this world.
Although he knew that it was a waste to leave such a precious artefact with the dead, he still chose to keep the crown in the coffin lest he triggered some curse that would make the angered corpse of Y,e after him.
Was he thinking too much? Well with how much curse energy this ce was exposed to, was he too cautious to think that something like that might also happen?
In any case, nobody can use him for being a grave robber. Thus, Simon though a little unwilling still put the artefact back to where it belongs.
After that, he silently closed the lid back so that Y could rest peacefully.
What about the monolith that had the intent of ozymandias? Of course, he was taking that with him. This was his spoil of war, something that he had achieved himself. Well, the crown aided him for the most part but he was the one thatpeted it, got all of its glittering jewels and went through all that struggle.
Besides, he could tell that the intent sealed inside the monolith was something special and if he could learn a thing or a two from it, it would be an incredible thing for him.
With how inquisitive his mind was, how could he just let it be? Deciding that he would take the intent to further research it, Simon stored it in his inventory.
He was just about to step foot in the teleportation circle leading to the treasury when he noticed the gigantic finger silently lying on the floor.
The hand of Ozymandias was so strong that it was able to devastate dozens of miles ofnd just from a simple movement.
Although the finger in front of him, was just a small part of the power of that hand, it was still so powerful that Simon felt goosebumps whenever he looked at it.
At a nce, the gigantic grey finger appeared so powerful that Simon reckoned even his [A] rank de won''t be able to make a scratch on it.
Now that the intent was removed from it, it became a powerful item without any master.
Seeing the dense amount of curse energy originating from it, he felt it was a little wasteful to just discard it here.
From this trial, Simon was aware of how powerful and beneficial the curse energy can be to him. Not only can it bolster his basic abilities by dozens of times, but it can also help him when he faced an enemy against whom he had no hopes of winning.
Looking at the finger, Simon fell into deep thought. Since the finger was not like your usual items or artefacts, it cannot be stored inside the inventory or the space ring.
If he wanted to take it away with him, he has to think of some other way.
As he was deliberating over how to take it with him, he involuntarily approached near the finger.
In the first ce, why was it that he was able to store the intent in his inventory but not the finger? The finger if he generally put it, was a part of the corpse of the entity named Ozymandias, which was the reason why he was unable to store it inside his inventory.
If by that logic, shouldn''t the intent should also be considered a part of Ozymandias? so then why?
As Simon mused over it, he arrived at a conclusion that it was because of the monolith that was covering the intent.
Theplexyer of runes sealing the intent made it so that it was considered an item to the inventory. He who had designed the inventory knew how it worked and most of its inner details.
That is why, he could tell that it was because of the monolith that intent was recognised as an item.
This realisation brought him an idea as to how to bring back the finger with him.
If he can somehow just change the finger to be somehow recognised as an item, it wouldn''t be a problem anymore to store it.
But the question was, how should he go on about doing it? he can''t use the crown now because it was damaged and was just a showpiece now.
"If it needs to be a seal then¡" As he thought over it for a while, Simon suddenly had this idea of using the philosopher''s stone that Irene had given him.
The philosopher''s stone was a mystical artefact that holds the ability to store any kind of magic for a long period of time. What''s more, one can use the magic stored inside the stone without having to expend their own mana.
During this period of time he spent inside the forbidden trial, Simon was able to pry inside the Philosopher''s tone and tell that the magic stored inside by Irene was a powerful Ice sealing magic.
Fundamentally, permafrost magic was different from the divine magic; however, if onepared the two elements purely in terms of having the ability to seal, Permafrost magices out on top.
Additionally, for some reason, Simon felt that the magic stored inside the philosopher''s stone, wasn''t just some advanced tier magic.
Although there was no guarantee that sealing the finger with ice magic would make the inventory recognise it as an item, it was worth a try.
Especially given that the item he would get in trade was this finger.
Deciding so, Simon took out the Philosopher''s stone from his inventory.
A scarlet orb that radiated a powerful chilling aura, appeared on his hand. Using the Philosopher''s stone, was simple, one just had to probe it with their mana.
"Frozen End Absolute Seal" the moment, Simon probed it with his mana and recited out the magic inside it, a bone chilling freezing energy that seemed as if it could freeze the entire world and bring ice age, erupted out from the philosopher''s stone.
The magic inside the stone was so powerful that he had trouble controlling it somewhat. Nevertheless, once he directed it towards the gigantic finger at the middle of the room, he was able to rx a little seeing the two energies duke it out among themselves.
The curse energy inside the finger shed fiercely with the magic that Irene had stored inside the philosopher''s stone.
The stalematested for a few seconds before the ice energy started holding absolute dominance as it froze the finger in a thickyer of ice along with the curse energy.
The Frozen End Absolute Seal magic created a coffin of ice around the finger that in a nce looked impossible to melt.
From the intensity of the magic Simon could tell that other than Irene, even the infernal magic bestowed by his sword, won''t be able to melt this seal down.
Now that he was done sealing the finger, it was time to see if the inventory recognises it as an item or not.
To his delight, he was right about the loophole of his inventory, the finger was recognised as an item now and was easily stored inside.
Now that he was done taking all of the loots that rightfully belonged to him, he stepped on the teleportation circle and was teleported to somece else.
Simon could have taken his loots and left without arranging the burial chamber, however, he did not choose to do so and left the room as it was before.
If Lucine was here, she would be amazed by his action once again. After all, the thing that had set the forbidden trials, was watching the challengers closely and every action and decision of theirs, did not go unnoticed by it.
Perhaps a few people in the world and those that have cleared one of the forbidden grounds, may know about it, but Simon waspletely oblivious to it. He didn''t know that every actions of his, had drastically changed the reward that he was set to get.
387 Chapter 387
The next moment, Simon opened his eyes, he found himself in a small room full of shelves with different kinds of items and treasures lining on top of it. There was no doubt in his mind, this was the treasury room of the fourth trail.
Just as he was about to move and check these items, to his surprise he realised that an invisible energy was holding him in his ce and he was unable to get out of its hold.
"What is going on?" he murmured. Why would the trail stop him from getting his rewards?
He was thinking all that when suddenly a window appeared in front of him.
DING¡
[The Challenger''s rewards are being altered. Calcting the merit points earned during the trial].
A different kind of window, one that he hadn''t seen in the third trail, appeared in front of him. Reading the notification, Simon was a little confused as to why his rewards were being altered; nheless, he still waited patiently for his trail to calcte.
It took a little time for Simon''s contributions and actions to be calcted, since this was the very first someone had cleared a trial by themselves without the help of others.
DING¡ the trail finally finished calcting his merit points as a notification sound popped in his head and his rewards materialised in front of him out of thin air.
[Received, Radiant Crown of Brilliance], [10 Grade [5] mana crystals], [3 ck Corbius Stone], [1 Cmity ss Core Stone], [1 Zedar Wood Extract Elixir], [5 Blocks of Mythril Ore], [1,000,000 Empyrean tinum coins], [1 Return Transit Rock].
Leaving the many items that he never heard of or seen aside, Simon was a little amazed when he saw that he was gifted the crown as a reward. It must be said that it was an [S] rank item, though it was damaged, it could still be repaired in the future.
Additionally, the trial information referred to it as Radiant Crown of Brilliance instead of Y''s crown which goes to show that the possession of the item no longer belong to Y now and he can take the item without worrying about any curse going off.
Simon stored all of the things whose value cannot be measured by money into his inventory. with the Return Transit Rock in his hand, he can now leave the Forbidden ground.
Now that he thought about it, it was almost more than a month that he had spent inside the forbidden trial grounds. Not only was this trip extremely beneficial for his growth, but he had also acquired many items and treasures that would be the foundation of his strength in the future.
Although there were many a times during this period that he was pushed back into a situation where he was about to die, Simon doggedly held on and survived all his tribtions. One could even say that he was born anew after all the hurdles he had to go through.
Grabbing the return Transit rock in his hand, he inserted some of his mana into it and immediately the air around him started rippling and a ck halo enveloped him. A feeling of weightlessness grabbed hold of Simon and before he knew it, the scenery around him had changed.
Feeling the fresh air of the night sky brush past his body and a scenery different from the vast wilderness and old tombs, Simon felt refreshed.
Next, he took out a map that Cynthia had given him and checked his position. If he were to believe the map, he was not far away from the Northern ouw forest and if he kept true, he would soon reach its borders.
Simon unfurled his wings, donned on his Trinket of Grimlock, and descended onto thend of loess. Additionally, he also wore a ck robe that covered most of his body and a bamboo hat. There was no way he would forget the humiliation he had to suffer in this ce.
The area where he fought the Sea God''s Trident Guild was not very far away from here. Simon did not know how long had passed in the outside world thus it was better for him to mask his appearance lest there were still members of their guild searching around this ce for him.
-----
Five dayster, inside the ck Town, in one of the bars located near the centre.
CREAK¡ a tall man donned in a ck robe from head toe, entered the bar full of drunkards and rough people before finding a seat and unceremoniously seating down.
It was not unusual for a person to wear a grab like that, in fact, if you just look out you would find many such people masking their appearance like that. However, the man''s height was more than enough to turn a few curious heads towards him.
The bartender approached the tall man and asked crankily "State your business and your order".
"Information" thetter tossed him a pouch which the bartender caught easily. When he looked inside the pouch, he was dumbstruck to find that the coins inside were not your silver or gold but tinum.
What''s more, there were a couple of them inside the pouch. Seeing the wealth that was casually tossed out by the man, the bartender was forced to re-evaluate thetter. When he nced at the man''s crimson red eyes, his body involuntarily shuddered and his back became cold with sweat.
''This man is dangerous'' The bartender thought internally before dissolving all thoughts of trickery from his mind.
"F-First floor¡ room 07" for some reason his voice shuddered and he had difficulty maintaining hisposure.
The tall man immediately got up as soon as he heard that and started walking towards the stairs.
PHEW¡ the bartender sighed a breath of relief seeing thetter walk away. Room 07 was one of the soundproof rooms that was used to exchange information in this ce. After all, in this ce where information from all sorts of regions flowed in, information meant money.
The door to the room 07 was pushed open and a tall man in a ck robe, walked in. The room wasn''t very big and could only amodate a few people at once.
At the centre of the room, were a set of table and chairs on which a person was already waiting there. He had a sly face with the right half of it burnt.
Seeing the tall man enter, thetter asked "So what is that you want to know?".
The man in ck robes did not reply immediately, he walked towards the centre of the room, sat himself opposite to the other party and then opened his mouth.
"Everything you know about the event that happened in the capital city and any other thing rted to it".
The scar-faced man wasn''t surprised by the question of the other party on the contrary; he knew that the question would be rted to that. After all, many people hade to him with the same question.
The events that had happened in the city of Ellesmere was just too big of a sensation.
"Well, are you aware of the ''Battle of the Finest'' tournament that took ce in the capital almost two months ago?".
The tall man had a peculiar reaction when he said that nheless, he nodded his head his head indicating that he was aware of it.
"It seemed that a demon noble from the demon continent snuck in at that time. He not only made a huge mess of the tournament, but also tried to assassinate the third prince and a participant from the foreign kingdom. Fortunately, Vouves the royal court magician of the Sanguine Empire was present in our kingdom at that time and sensed its presence.
"Together with Davis Hall, they discovered the identity of the Demon Noble. It was quite a surprise, the demon noble was able to morph its appearance and look just like a human. You would expect the demon to be caught when faced with titans such as Vouves and Davis Hall. But the surprising thing was that, it not only stood its ground, but also had a powerful ally capable of pushing the two of them back".
"After devastating the entire capital¡" the scar-faced man stated, he was just about to continue on when thetter stopped him by saying he already knew all that and he wanted to know what happenedter.
"If that is the case, then are you aware of the huge sh that took ce in the sea city aqualin? It is rumoured that the Sea god''s trident was chasing after the Demon Noble in full force, even their guild master is said to have been involved".
"Nevertheless, they still weren''t able to catch him. In the end, though they came out empty-handed, they were at least able to identify the dungeon of the Demon Noble".
When the scar face man saw thetter show some interest in the second half of his story, he started contemting about the origins of the man.
"The name of that demon seems to be Lace and its dungeon is located inside the Ghastly Winding Forest. Hehe, it''s not a secret anymore, and all the people of this kingdom know about it. What''s more, manyrge guilds and factions are establishing their branch in the city of mountmend to tackle the dungeon".
"Though this information is not verified yet, but I got a report saying that the top five guilds of this kingdom are also thinking about getting involved. How about it? Did you get the information you wanted?" the scar faced man smiled and asked.
The ck-robed man nodded his head, turned around and started walking towards the exit.
''All this information should bemon knowledge by now to the people of this kingdom. Does that mean that he is a Foreigner or perhaps¡''
388 Chapter 388
The scar faced man thought. From the moment he met the tall man, he felt like he had seen his face somewhere. He racked his brain to recall the information and that''s when it suddenly dawned onto him.
A month ago, his faction sent him a poster of a person¡ well, saying it was a person was wrong, after all, it was the human appearance of the being that wreaked havoc in the capital, Lace.
The scar faced man silently took out a transmission conch from his hand and was just about to contact someone through it, when suddenly the tall man who was about to exit out, stopped in front of the entrance.
"Ah I forgot to say something," thetter said.
"W-what is it?" The scar faced man asked, hiding the conch behind him.
"Nothing much, it''s just that you should try to maintain a poker face when you are thinking something since your face was a giveaway to all your thoughts".
As soon those words fell, the scar faced man stood up from his seat and was just about to dash out from a hidden exit when suddenly, a me de bringing along an infernal amount of heat, materialised who knows when and stabbed him right at his heart.
THUD¡ the scar faced man fell on the floor and vomited blood, his agonising scream did not echo out from the room as the ce was soundproof to begin with. After a while, the tall man exited the room and silently disappeared among the masses.
Simon who got the information that he wanted, couldn''t help but worry about his dungeon. It had been a long time since he left the dungeon and he was not starting to miss it a little. Of course, he was also missing the ones who were waiting for him there.
Thus, he swiftly exited the ck Town and travelled through the forest before arriving in front of a vast foliage of trees and stopping in his ce.
Why was he stopping here when he must make haste? Well, the reason for that was simple, a group of people were closely following him from a distance. Their presence were so low that if Simon wasn''t being particrly alert, he would have missed them entirely.
After stopping in a ce, he conjured a small fireball in his hand and sent it flying towards a tree in a particr direction. Immediately, that tree got on fire but thanks to it, a couple of figuresnded down from it.
"Hehh, it seems that you are quite skilful to have sensed us. but did you really think this level of magic can kill us?".
The person who said that, was a woman who was dressed in tight ck leather grab meant to showcase some features of her body. Behind her, were a few more figures dressed in light leather garbs.
Simon nced at the people who just showed themselves before shifting his gaze to their right and asking "Is the ones over there not going to show themself?".
"Hahaha, to have detected the presence of all of us, you are indeed not bad. Zena, there is no point in me continue hiding when he has already spotted us is there?" A man dressed as an assassin slowly manifested himself out of thin air as he addressed the woman in ck leather garb.
"There are always some fool who think too highly of their powers and mess with those that they cannot dare to often. Did you really think you can just kill a member of our organisation and just leave?" the woman named Zena criticized him in a condescending tone.
Simon did not reply, his face was the very definition of calm. From this conversation, he at least knew that the other party wasn''t aware of his identity and was only here to avenge the guy he had killed not so long ago.
The trinket of Grimlock, although a powerful artefact, also had its own shorings. To state a few, it could be said that it was an artefact that was heavily dependent on a steady supply of mana. If you are out of mana, it naturally means that the effect of the artefact would also dissipate.
Additionally, skills such as [Disruption] which induces the mana in the surroundings to be turbulent, can also dissipate the effect of the skill. He was painfully made aware of that when the Royal Court Magician, Vouves used the skill against him.
The other shorings of the artefact would be that once you have chosen your transformation, you cannot change it again. That is to say, Simon who had decided on his transformation as a human, cannot change it again.
In this forte, the trinket of Grimlock was a far cry against his Elixir of Metamorphosis. Each had its own shorings. Nevertheless, the trinket of Grimlock allowed him to fight even while under metamorphosis which made it a better choice to use than his elixir whose effects dissipated the moment he took damage or attacked.
So even if his face was known, as long as he hid it with a robe or hat, he would still be able to pass through some of the cities without a problem. But it seemed that he had underestimated the events that had happened in the capital, his face seemed to have be widespread everywhere.
Although he hates the chain of events that started because of it, Simon doesn''t regret killing the information broker from before, after all, he was done with people who wanted to backstab him.
Seeing that the ck robed man was unfazed even when outnumbered and surrounded Zena was a little alerted. She wasn''t an amateur who had lived in the ck town all those years for nothing.
Usually, a person would only remain calm in this situation if they were a truly strong person or a madman whose overinted ego got the better of him. When she conversed with the ck robed man, he did not strike her as someone who would do something reckless unless he had confidence in his abilities.
''Which is it?'' Zena pondered internally before looking towards the man who was recently hired as a hitman by their organisation, Levin.
"How about we work together and share the credits this time?" Zena asked. The assassin Levin thought over the proposal before nodding his head.
He did not know what his chances were against the ck robed man, but from the aura that was naturally released by him, he could tell that the other party wasn''t an easy opponent to pick.
"Alright" Levin said taking out his [C] rank shortsword buckled on his belt and rushing towards Simon. He was a level 389 [Night Killer] with a rare assassin ss, it was only natural for him to believe that he could test the other party''s skills without using his full power.
Seeing Levin rush towards the ck robed man, Zena ordered her subordinates to provide backup and block all the escape routes of their opponent. However, before she couldplete giving out orders, she heard a spurt sound and a dull noise of something falling on the ground.
When she shifted her gaze back towards the ce where the ck robed man was, her eyes widened to their limits and her body started shuddering nonstop.
The reason for it was because of the scene thaty in front of her. The ck robed man was still standing where he was without moving even a step. However, what was different about him was the head that he was holding in his hand.
The head belonged to none other than the now dead Levin whose bodyid on the ground, blood spurting out from his neck.
''What happened?!'' her brain couldn''tprehend what had happened in the few seconds she shifted her eyes from the front. She wanted somebody to tell her what exactly had happened but just like her, her subordinates too were frozen in fear.
Yes, the feeling that was spreading all across their body, straining their nerves and making their blood run cold, was none other than fear.
The balck robed man in front of them took out Levin, someone who had made a name for himself in the ck town. His strength was beyond an ordinary adventurer and he would be recognised as an elite no matter which region or guild he wanted to join.
Even their faction leader was extremely careful when dealing with him. However, now that very person was lying on the ground dead. The shock these people got at that instant, could only be imagined.
Simon tossed the head in his hand before throwing it away as if it was some worthless rock. After that, his crimson eyes below his bamboo hat, set their sights on the people in front of him.
The moment he did, those people shuddered intensely. He might not have realised it, but after the mental and physical transformation he had gone through in these couple of months he spent inside the trial, his body now carried a ruthless blood thirst so dense and distressing that it was capable of demoralising a person just from getting exposed to it.
Feeling that vast demonic auraing from that ck robed person, Zena immediately realised which of the earlier two categories he belonged two.
This was a huge mistake, they had made a terrible mistake bying after him. the moment she realised this, it was already toote. Before she knew it, at some unknown point in time dozens of me spears and lighting spears had manifested in the air.
BOOOM¡ BOOOM¡
Simon extended his index finger and pointed it down. Immediately, a rain of mes and lightning started dropping from the sky wreaking havoc in this part of the forest.
There was no need to even ask what happened to the pursuers that were following after him. After that attack from him, not even their ashes would be left behind.
389 Chapter 389
Simon turned around and swiftly left the scene. It took him a total of thirteen days to traverse the vast northern ouw forest. During this period of time, he encountered many bandits and monsters that came after him. Though, all of them were swiftly disposed of by him.
After another day or two, Simon was in front of a vast field that spanned dozens of miles. To his front, in the distance, he could see a ck gloomy forest that was like a dark line on the horizon and behind him on top of a mountain fortified by tall ramparts, the city of Mountmend.
He was back, after that trip that took him more than five months, he was finally back.
Simon pped his wings, increased his speed even further and darted towards the distant forest. The moment he approached near the forest, he was alerted of a stream of foreign presence that was constantlying and going out of the forest.
Needless to say, these foreign presences belonged to the same race. What''s more, Simon could see that the majority of them wereing from the direction his dungeon was located in¡ i.e... the eastern region of the forest.
A little concerned, a little excited, Simon descend onto the ground, masked his appearance with the trinket, robe and hat before following the stream of humans that were diving inside the forest.
To his amazement, the line of adventurers he saw, only got bigger as he approached closer to his dungeon. And when he finally reached the location, Simon was stunned to find a small booming town around his dungeon.
Wherever heid his eyes, he could see a steady flow of adventurers, buildings being made, line-up of wagons and so on and so forth.
Looking at the scene thaty in front of him, Simon waspletely gobsmacked. Thest time he had seen this ce, it was not that big and could hardly be called a town. Now though, it was sorge with building sprouting up everywhere, that it could hardly be recognised.
Adventurers, merchants, simple workers or ordinary people, the town had all sorts of peopleing from different walks of life walking around the town. At the centre of the towny a huge tower that had grown even more since thest time Simon had seen it.
As he walked around on the road randomly, he was approached by a few people in adventurer''s garb. The leader of the group of adventurers that approached him seemed to be a person named Bn.
He did not have any particr feature that would make one remember him nor was his presence strong enough to give asting impression. The word average seemed to be the perfect word to describe him.
Bn approached him because they were looking for a person or rather an adventurer who could join them in their endeavour to the eighth floor of the dungeon.
After the adventurer''s association set up a small building here, they established a set of rules and regtions that one must follow to enter the dungeon. And one of them was the necessary headcount of adventurers, or their rank to be equivalent to the standards they have set for each floor.
Since Bn''s party members were all [D] rank adventurers, they needed a total of six members to tackle the floor. However, they only had five members on their team and were looking around for someone who could fill up thatst spot.
As they were a low rank party, they did not have much incentive or money to offer a strong adventurer thus seeing Simon''s shady yet ordinary clothes, they thought he might be a rookie adventurer who appeared in the tower town for the first time and thus approached him.
Listening to their story, Simon fell into contemtion. Looking at them, it does not seem like they recognise him nor did they act in a way that made him suspicious. Them not recognising his face, could only mean that his face hadn''t spread to this part of thend yet.
What he couldn''t understand was why though? The news that the demon who was the master of the dungeon located in the ghastly winding forest should have spread every part of the kingdom by now so why weren''t these adventurers able to recognise his face?
Were they two low levelled to know that or was there some other reason. No matter what it was, Simon decided that he needed to know what was going on and acquire more information about the past few months he was absent from here.
"Alright, I ept your offer," Simon said.
"Oh" Bn who thought that he would be rejected once again, was surprised to hear the other party agree. Though the next second his eyes got clouded with doubt.
"Heh, it''s good that you have agreed but are you even an adventurer?" He asked.
Simon smiled before casually taking out the provisional adventurer''s card from his space ring. The card was something that he had gotten from the old man of the adventurer''s association branch in the city of Mountmend.
Simon had his own motive behind handing them his adventurer''s card, he wanted to try and see if this could induce ant reaction from them. Although he did get a reaction from Bn and his team, but not the one that he was expecting of.
Bn looked at the other party''s adventurer''s card and immediately made a disappointed face.
"What the hell?! Ye are a provisional adventurer? No wonder ye just readily agreed without hearing thepensation and reward. Forget what I said before, we don''t have time to carry a total newbie with us".
With that said, Bn turned around and was about to move away when one of his teammates hurriedly stopped him and started reasoning with him. Although they were whispering in a voice so that the provisional adventurer couldn''t hear them, how could it escape Simon''s acute senses?
"Bn wait, I know it is extremely risky to bring a greenhorn with us but if you think about it carefully we got no one else with us and if we do not bring another person with us we might not be able toplete themission".
"Besides bringing a greenhorn has its own advantages. We could simply give him less share of the reward in return for carrying him all the way to the eighth floor."
Hearing what his teammate has to say, Bn made a thoughtful face and nodded his head in understanding. It was true that bringing a total greenhorn with them would be a considerable risk, but they were a team that was able to clear up till the 7th floor amidst with some difficulty themselves.
It shouldn''t be too hard to bring a greenhorn with them to the 8th floor, besides just like his teammate told him, taking a greenhorn in their team had its own benefits. Thus, Bn turned around and addressed the ck robed man behind him.
"Alright, ye cane with us newbie, but ye won''t be getting a cut of the loot that we gonna farm from the dungeon. Instead, ye will get a few percentage of the money we gonna get afterpleting themission. Ye fine with that?".
Simon nodded his head, he did not care about the reward or the loot these people were talking about. With that out of the way, the six of them started walking towards the huge tower.
As he walked around the town, he noticed that there were many high levelled adventurers wearing different insignia that denoted their guild, walking around.
Seeing the newbie''s gaze roam all across the ce, Bn smirked and exined "There is no need to be so surprised; this dungeon is pretty famous now. I''m sure you have alsoe here after hearing all the rumours. Haha, the Lace''s dungeon is the talk of the town now".
Bn felt as if he was a senior who was showing the ways to his junior.
"Lace''s Dungeon?!" Although he didn''t wish for it toe out loud, Simon couldn''t control his volume when he heard the other party.
"What? Don''t tell me ye haven''t heard the name of the demon that wreaked havoc in the capital? Which boonie of a region did ye pop up from?" Bn asked, surprised that the provisional adventurer did not even know that.
Simon gave him a random excuse and shifted the conversation. Though he would be lying if he said that he wasn''t curious as to how his name became Lace when he did not even reveal it? In the first ce, it was the dungeon that he named Lace and not the other way round. It seemed that people had mistakenly associated the name of his dungeon with himself.
"Was there always this many adventurers here?" As they approached a building which was eye-catchingpared to all the other ones around it, Simon asked.
"Hmm? This vige of your you mentioned, the news does not circte there easily I believe. Well, never mind that, the town was not like this from the start. It all started three months ago when the top guild of the city of Mountmend was handed a disappointing result with them having to retreat after reaching the twentieth floor and losing a few of their members in the process."
"When the adventurer''s association received a letter from them, a peculiar rumour started to spread around this part of thend. Later, the various other guilds from the surrounding regions tried their luck and further proved the fact that there really were strong entities inside guarding the dungeon. Not only that, as new floors were explored, more treasures and monsters to challenge surfaced" Bn exined.
The six of them entered the building which was the adventurer association''s newly established branch and each handed their adventurer''s card.
The receptionist at the front desk checked their cards and inserted into a peculiar instrument before handing them back.
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Simon was watching the receptionist all this while, seeing that she had no reaction whatsoever after checking his adventurer''s card surprised him a little.
"Did the adventurer''s association not find my identity as a provisional adventurer yet? No there is no way that can be true" Simon was confounded, the more he thought about it, the more confused he became.
After taking their adventurer''s card, Bn discussed hismission with the receptionist before moving towards the dungeon. Unlike thest time he had left the dungeon, there were too many changes there now.
The size of the tower was so, but even the carvings and paintings around the wall of the tower was more detailed and dynamic.
A flood of adventurers could be seen going anding out of the dungeon. The six of them entered the huge tower and were met with a huge hall at the end of which was an enormous open gate that led towards the dungeon underground.
The hall was popted with adventurers, huge monster corpses, loots and various other things. Even after that, the ce was still so enormously big that it could still contain dozen times the poption there was now.
Simon was a little amazed, the entrance to the dungeon had grown so much bigger than before. Misunderstanding his emotions, Bn dered boisterously.
"Is this your first time entering a dungeon? Don''t ye worry newbie, our team is powerful enough to tackle the lower floors¡ Hahaha".
Although Simon found his constant chattering and boastful words a little annoying; Bn was a punctilious person and paid attention to the mood of his teammate. This little joke from him, raised the morale of his team and at the same time uplifted the atmosphere around his team. Though it cannot be said he was good yet, he was a decent leader.
With that, the team descended the stairs and arrived on the first floor of the dungeon, a huge maze that kept on changing and messed with your sense of direction.
"Hehe, this is the first floor of the dungeon, the maze. The walls and the floors around here are ever-changing so if you don''t have any navigation skills like pathfinder, you will just roam around in circles and take a long time to find the exit or hope to stumble upon a different adventurer team and hope that they take you with them".
"Well the case that they take you with them is very unlikely though. Fortunately, we have an assassin in our team with the navigational skill. Normally, this floor is for newbie adventurers like you since the monsters that spawn here are all around level 50"
. Bn exined, it seems that he really believed that Simon was a Novice adventurer.
''So she already sensed me huh'' Simon smiled, the moment he stepped inside the dungeon, it looked like his aura had been locked.
The group didn''t take long to navigate through the maze and arrived on the second floor in an hour or two. The monsters that spawned on the first few floors were goblins and hobgoblins, the ideal monsters for newbies to hunt.
There was no way, it could stop Bn and his team which had years of experience hunting them. Although it took their team a while, they slowly but surely proceeded towards their destination, the eighth floor.
"All of you brace yourself, the White Horned Rabbits areing. Attack on my mark" Bn said, taking out a simple-looking shield and sword. Around him, were his teammates who were simrly warriors with the exception of one assassin.
where is a mage? There was no way they who barely earned their keep every day would be able to afford the cost of employing a mage in their team. After all, a warrior can take only a few opponents at once whereas a single mage''s spell is powerful enough to sweep through a horde of enemies.
Anyways, Bn''s team did not have a mage and was mostlyprised of melee warriors. [Forward sh] executing a warrior''s basic normal skill, Bn managed to cut thest of the five white horned rabbits down.
HUFF¡ HUFF¡ sprawled onto the ground, Bn and his teammates huffed. The corpse of the white horned rabbitsy around them. Currently, they were on the Seventh floor or otherwisebelled by the adventurers as the mining floors.
Floors sixth to eight were cavernous floors with a dense amount of mystical energy filling every corner of the ce. Thanks to that, it grew ores such as WhiteSilver, and Bronze inside them.
Themission that Bn and his team undertook from the adventurer''s association this time was to mine the whitesilver ores on the eighth floor.
Why the eighth floor? The reason for that was simple, the deeper and the more closer the floor is to the dungeon core, the more dense the mystical energy it is exposed to. It wasmon knowledge for the adventurers of this town that the quality of ores was far better on floor eight than on the upper floors.
That is, if one could fend away these pesky white horned rabbits and the albino spiders that hide inside the mist. Even Bn and his team were quite wary of these monsters which could really injure them given that their guard was down.
"Haa¡ that should have cleared the area of monsters, we can rx for a while. Take your potions if ye are injured, we will soon descend onto the eighth floor" Bn said, the average level of the monster here was above level 80-100, something that they cannot afford to look down onto.
In a dungeon, the deeper the floor one descends to, the stronger the monster. The group nodded their heads and took out potions from their bag. Since not everyone can afford to buy a space ring, they bring their own bagsrge enough to store their equipments and any moderate size loot they find.
However, this time, their job was to mine the ores from the eighth floor thus the bags they brought with them were quite big.
As the group was resting for a while, one of Bn''s teammates came near him and whispered something near his ears.
"Hey Bn do you see that? Don''t you find the atmosphere around the newbie a little strange? He is not even tired after reaching the seventh floor and from that time, he had been grinning and taking it easy for some reason".
Bn did not have to hear it from his teammate to notice the provisional adventurer''s unusualness. That guy since the moment he entered the dungeon, he acted carefree and undisturbed as if he was out for a stroll.
Although he was a little strong, capable enough to hold a horned rabbit or two on his own, he was just acting way too casual. A typical mistake that all newbie did and which led to their untimely demise.
Being a full-fledged adventurer and all, Bn felt it was his responsibility to make the greenhorn aware of some of the rules of the dungeon.
"Oi newbie¡ why are ye acting all dazed? Ye do know where we are right?" Bn asked approaching the provisional adventurer who was silently sitting on the floor looking at the air in a daze.
In reality, Simon wasn''t in a daze, he was just looking at his [Main Menu] and the changes that have urred to his dungeon. Being called out, Simon snapped out of his thoughts and stood up.
When the provisional adventurer stood up, he almost dwarfed Bn who for a human was quite tall. Seeing the intimidating stature of the newbie, Bn coughed once before shaking the thought of his head.
"Listen here man, ye can''t act like you own this ce. Do you even know what this ce is? This is a dungeon, a ce filled with dangers at every step, if you are not careful enough, you will be its food. I know this is your first time and the reality might not hit you, but act a little more carefully will ya?" Bn said patting him on his shoulders.
After resting for a while, Bn and his party prepared to descend to the eighth floor. On their way, they defeated a few more monsters before finally arriving at their destination.
A thick white fog lingered endlessly and hampered their vision. Bn took out themission parchment from his bag and looked all around him.
"ording to themission, we need to go a little more deeper to get the best quality WhiteSilver ores".
The team nodded, then proceeded forward amidst the mist and culled down any monster that approached. When they finally arrived at the location, they saw a few teams already mining that ce.
Since this ce was a dungeon, the ores grew here many times faster than in any other mines. However, it did not mean that there was no friction among the parties that wanted to mine the ce.
This was the first time that Bn and his party arrived on this floor, naturally, they were fazed by the crowd which was already there. But since there were plenty of areas for them to mine the ores from, they did not mind the presence of other parties much.
"Hoh isn''t that Bn and his team? So you guys finally reached the eighth floor... huh" Out of nowhere, a person from one of the teams already presents here started talking with them.
It seemed that Bn knew the other party but from how his face was twitching with irritation, it was clear that he wasn''t very fond of thetter.
"So it is you Harris¡ I did not think you would be on this floor too".
"Haha, you are right, our team has already reached the ninth floor. Theplexity of the floor and the strength of the monsters there isn''t something that your team can tackle right now. Well, I guess by the time we clear new floors you will be able to reach the ninth¡ hahaha" the man named Harris said with a smug face.
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Bn''s expression was red, he had the urge to punch the face of thetter, however, he controlled his anger and asked "Hoh, is that so? Good luck with that. Anyway, why are you all who have reached the ninth floor doing on the eight floor?".
The moment he was asked that question, Harris'' expression became ugly and his mood became sour.
"We are on the eighth floor became we have somemission that we mustplete or else we wouldn''t bother to be here".
A lie, anyone listening to it, can clearly tell that. he must have suffered a devastating defeat on the ninth floor and scurried back up on the eighth floor.
Nevertheless, Bn wasn''t interested in the other party''s business and thus did not probe much. He looked all around the ce, found an empty spot far from the other teams and started directing his teammates.
"Newbie you also go there and start mining. Remember this is a dungeon, you don''t know when you will be attacked so stay on your guard".
Simon did notment much, took the pickaxe and started mining. From the moment he created the dungeon, this was his first time looking at it from the perspective of an adventurer. Him deciding to join Bn''s party was precisely to know what motive drives the adventurers to dive inside his dungeon.
After a while, when Simon was starting to get bored of mining, he saw the man named Harris approach Bn from the corner of his eyes. As his sense of hearing was much sharper than an ordinary human, he could hear them just fine from this distance.
"What are you doing here? The ores in this ce are being farmed by my team, find somece else" Bn said dismissively, he wasn''t pleased with Harris approaching the ce his team was already mining.
"Haha, don''t worry. We have already mined plenty and have no room with us to bring more. You can mine as many ores as you want from this ce. I''m here to ask you about something else".
Hearing that the other party wasn''t here to hog their mining ce, Bn gestured with his head for Harris to go on and state his business.
"Have you heard of this rumour of a strong adventurer team that was newly spotted in this town?" Harris asked.
"There are lots of new and strong adventurers teaming and going in this town every day. You think I keep a tab of every single one of them?" Boris said swinging his pickaxe hard.
"That''s not what I''m saying¡ don''t tell this to anyone, but my informant told me that in just a week this team cleared more than twenty floors. Not only that, but they are also the ones that are currently leading the exploration to newer floors".
Bn stopped swinging his axe and nced towards Harris who had a serious expression stered on his face.
"Which team are you talking about?" He asked, since there were so many strong teams arriving in this town, that it was hard to tell which team harris was talking about.
"You know the team who all uses a mask to cover their faces and have no insignia on their armours?" Harris exined.
"You don''t mean the No Named Party? Hasn''t it only been a week since they arrived here? Are you telling me that they have already cleared more than twenty floors?" Bn asked, disbelief was apparent on his face.
The team he just mentioned did not have any name when registering with the adventurer''s association which was already a peculiarity since one cannot dive inside the dungeon without registering a name for their party.
''No Name'' was a name that the surrounding adventurer gave them since they always covered their faces with masks and wear robes to cover themselves. Because of this, the No Name party garnered much of the attention of the town.
Harris nodded "Yeah, that''s what my informant told me. However, that is not the point, what is even more astonishing is that one of the rumours that he told me, said that they have already breached the thirtieth floor and are on their way to explore the next one".
SILENCE¡ the moment, Harris reported that the two of them became silent, only the continuous sound of pickaxe hitting the cave walls rang out in the surrounding.
Bn''s face continuously twitched, his eyes and mouth wide open. One couldn''t me him, he was an adventurer who belonged to the lowest hierarchy amongst the adventurers. He who had spent months of his time reaching the current floor, couldn''t believe his ears.
Apart from that, there was also this weird chill in the air that made one''s hair stand on ending from somewhere.
Bn was just about to say something when he realised that he was suddenly feeling lightheaded and dizzy. The world around him started spinning and he fell on the floor. What was bizarre was that before fainting he noticed that it was not only him but also his teammates and the other teams simrly fainting on the floor.
Simon who was listening to their conversation, was also exposed to this sudden chilliness in the air but because he was much higher level than the ones around him and because of him being a demon noble, he was able to easily fend off the effect.
"Did somebody break the effects of my artefact?" a foreign voice came from the distance.
The moment Simon heard the voice, he narrowed his eyes, took out the phoenix''s sigh and hid himself.
STEP.. STEP¡ a few secondster, sounds of footsteps approaching near could be heard before a group of people showed their appearance from amidst the midst.
"Hmm? That''s weird, it''s gone. I definitely felt the presenceing from here?" a person wearing a mask and a robe to cover themselves said.
"You must be mistaken there is no way, an adventurer capable of only roaming on the upper floors would be able to break the effects of an artefact like that, Sable" The person who was also dressed simrly like the former, stated.
When Simon who was hiding in a corner, saw who it was, a frown hung on his face. As per theirments, it looked like they used some kind of artefact to put everyone around this part of the dungeon to sleep.
More importantly, that mask and that appearance, there was no doubt in his mind that the No Name Party Bn and Harris were talking about just a few moments ago, was definitely the ones in front of him.
What was their objective behind doing something like this?
The person addressed as Sable, nced at the bodies lying around the floor before nodding his head. For some reason, he felt like the numbers did not add up. There were twenty-three people lying around the floor in total.
As per the guidelines set by the adventurer''s association, a minimum of six people was needed to tackle this floor. That is to say, if there were four teams around this part of the floor, there should be one more person.
Just as Sable was getting suspicious, his teammate beside him called him out.
"Hey, are youing or not? If we arete, the guild master will not leave us be. You already know important this mission is for us, we cannot screw it up. he is already waiting for us on the thirty-first floor"¡
"I Know, I know... you don''t have to repeat it every time. I tell you, it is all because of that traitor Boris and his ipetent brother. If not for him spilling out the secrets of Forest Spring Spirits to them we wouldn''t have to go through all this trouble" Sableined, with his hands clenched and eyes burning with anger.
"Hey didn''t I tell you not to mention that? What''s the point of us being so secretive in diving inside the dungeon if you simply start shouting our objective" the other personined.
"Rx, there is no one around, you said it yourself. Besides, it''s not like walls have ears"¡ the voice kept oning from the distance before it disappeared altogether.
The Mist suddenly shifted as if being willed by someone and Simon''s appearance came into view. Right now, his crimson eyes were glowing brightly, and his horns and fangs protruding out threateningly.
The effects of the trinket was deactivated and a thick amount of bloodlust surrounded his body. The reason for that was none other than the conversation the people who had just travelled from here had.
From what he heard, these people were here for the Forest Spring Spirits that he had taken under his wing. How did they know they were here? Who were they? Simon had many questions.
Suppressing the urge to just charge at them this instant and spill all the information out of them, Simon took a deep breath before muttering [Teleport].
The scene around him changed and he was back to the ce he was most familiar with. Or that should have been the case given that the ce he was now, looked very different than thest time he left the ce.
"Is this Main Floor?" there was so much change that Simon doubted his eyes. For starters, the mountains he had installed here, were now full of greeneries and various kinds of mystical trees.
The gardens had beautiful flowers with speckles of multiple coloured lights roaming around. What''s more, when he looked towards the centre of the floor, he saw a splendid canopy of crystals. The trees of mana crystals had grown up to a height of twenty meters and surrounded the pond in the centre magnificently.
The pond itself looked more mythical than before. However, it was not all of this that was the most mind-boggling thing that he saw, nor was it the white pce beside the pond but the clouds looming over the ceiling of his main floor.
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Yes, there was no mistaking it, there were actual clouds in his dungeon covering the phosphorescence crystals on the ceiling. When Simon examined them carefully, he noticed that they weren''t just ordinary clouds but condensation of thick amounts of mystical energy.
That is to say, the mana around the main floor had turned so dense that they formed clouds.
"What was going on?" Simon was confounded, just as he was marvelling at the changes that had urred on his main floor, he felt a sudden presence that was quickly rushing towards him.
Simon was quickly alerted sensing how powerful it was; however, when he saw the being that released such an aura, all his guard rxed and he couldn''t help but make a delighted smile.
WHOOSH¡ the ckthorn Demonic Warhorse quicklynded in front of him and greeted him with a bow of his head. Simon smiled and patted thetter "It seems you have improved dramatically since thest time I saw you".
The warhorse was not only releasing a powerful aura, but even its appearance and temperament had changed a little. Of course, it looked as nightmarish as before, donning an ancient armour and mes erupting out of its body. But now there was also an aura of nobility around it too.
"You tter me my Lord"¡
Simon blinked his eyes, just now he heard the warhorse utter something. Was it his imagination or did the warhorse really speak? As if to answer his question, the warhorse spoke once again.
"Is there a matter my lord?".
This time, there was no mistaking it, the warhorse was actually speaking!!
"Y-You can speak?" Simon asked baffled.
The ckthorn Demonic warhorse finally understood why his lord was acting surprised and answered.
"Indeed my Lord, after my first evolution, I am now capable of speech".
Simon nodded his head, now that he thought about it, it wasn''t anything unusual for powerful beasts to speak. In fact, many strong beasts that he had seen in the Ghastly Winding Forest were sentient and capable of speech.
The fact that the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse could suddenly talk was what took him by surprise. The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was undergoing its first evolution when Simon was yet to leave the dungeon.
p Now after its evolution, its powers and abilities had soared to new unimaginable heights. Just like how Demon Nobles have their rank up and humans their ss change, Beasts have their own way of getting stronger and that was through evolution.
From the memories that he inherited, Simon knew that whenever a monster or a beast undergoes an evolution, the physical structure of their body, levels, skills, abilities and bloodline receives a huge buff.
For example, a Battle Grizzly who is the evolution of Battle Bear was far more stronger and physically different than thetter. Even their skills and basic abilities are on another level.
Different Beasts or monster have their own evolution chain and the higher the bloodline the Beast possessed the more evolutionary path it has. In Battle grizzly''s case, its evolutionary chain will only take it till level 300 before it reaches a limit and because its bloodline isn''t pure, it could be said that it won''t undergo any further evolution.
The chains of bloodline binds every being of this world whether it be humans, Demon nobles or Beasts, no one was an exception. In any case, the Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse had undergone its first transformation. Even though it did not have much change in its appearance, one cannot discount its huge buff in level and skills.
Right now, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse was at level 548 with powerful advanced tier magic and Lost tier powerful skills. Simon had a pleased expression stered on his face, why would he not? It was not only him that was progressing but even his subordinates.
As Simon was catching up with his buddy whom he hadn''t seen for some time, a jubnt voice full of life and innocence rang out from the direction of the pond.
"Big Brother!!" Cecilia called out while rushing towards him in a tackle.
Simon hugged thetter and tussled her emerald green hair.
"Big Brother, you are finally back," Cecilia said, her bright green eyes excited to finally see her brother.
Simon smiled with affection too, in these past few months Cecilia had grown a little mature and an inch taller. He also noticed that some of her powers that were sleeping inside her were starting to awaken.
The vast natural aura that she released was much more denser than before. Even amongst the Forest Spring Spirit race, she was an extremely rare and sacred race. Thus no matter what, he must protect this little sister of his who treated him just like her own family.
"Where is Irene?" Simon asked unable to sense the presence of Irene on the Main Floor.
"Big Sister Irene went up to the thirty sixth floor to talk with Sir Lightning Serpent" Cecilia reported, expecting to be patted for being able to use the [Main Menu] properly.
Cecilia was one of the three guardians of his dungeon thus she is able to enjoy some of the functions of the [Main Menu] excluding the exclusive options that need special permission from the Dungeon Master.
Patting Cecilia for doing a good job, Simon started walking towards his White Pce that was located at the centre of the floor and also where his dungeon core was stationed.
Approaching the white pce Simon noticed that it was a little different than before. In terms of appearance, it looked the same but the aura the walls of the pce and the thick clouds of mana looming over it, suggested something else.
In any case, the white pce looked more majestic than before and since it was a special mechanism that needed a constant supply of mystical energy, Simon could tell that these changes weren''t a bad thing.
Simon opened the door and stepped inside only to be bathed by a burst of refreshing energy that came flooding towards him. He felt his body soar, all his pores open up and the mana inside him circte at a faster rate.
Simon took a deep breath of air and relished in the feeling and familiarity of finallying home. The trip back outside was harsh on him but it also gave him the opportunity to grow both physically and mentally.
He was no longer that amiable Demon noble who subconsciously felt closer to the humans. Nor was he easy and gullible enough to be taken advantage of again. He had embraced who he was and fully epted himself.
Simon did not know if these changes were good or bad for him; however, after he shed those emotions, he felt like he was finally true to himself and have undergone a spiritual change of some sort.
Shaking his head, Simon arrived in front of a hugevish hall and flumped himself on one of the sofas. The Bloodthorn demonic warhorse with huge size, decided toy down on the floor beside him while Cecilia sat next to him curdling in his embrace.
For Cecilia, Simon''s absence was very significant, not only was he the one who saved her and her nsmen from their nightmare, he was also the pir that she relied on to live. Not being able to see him every day scared and even tormented her inside.
Seeing her delicate body tremble like that, Simon patted her head tofort her.
"Big brother, please don''t leave like that. It is scary, I''m scared that I will end up alone once again¡ please" Cecilia said with a trembling voice.
Simon could tell that the scar that was left deep inside her heart was yet to fully heal.
"Yeah, I will not leave like that again" Simon apologised, he was so concerned to keep his dungeon safe that he totally forget to bid Cecilia who was in the Forest Spring Spirit vige at that time, to bid goodbye.
He felt partly responsible that she felt like that. Simon knew how big of an existence he was for her and her nsmen that depended on him. No matter how selfish he acted in the future he must always bear this in mind that he carried the life of dozens of forest spring spirits on his shoulders.
''One more reason that I cannot die'' Simon muttered in his heart. While he waited for Irene to arrive from the thirty sixth floor, he looked around the vast hall which was just one of the many halls of the white pce and felt this sudden sense of destion¡
Hmm, if Simon had to put this feeling in words, he felt this emotion of emptiness when ncing at his big white pce. Make no mistake, the pce had many pieces of decorations and furniture and stuff that filled the ce.
Nheless, Simon still felt it was a little empty. What was itcking? The answer arrived to him in that instant.
What made a ce wholesome was not inanimate things of decorations but people. Simon wanted more subordinates that he could trust living along with him inside the white pce.
He did make a floor for the forest spring spirits and if he wanted to, he can just go and live in the house they made for him. However, that was different from the thing Simon wanted.
It was not like Simon did not trust the Frost Spring Spirits, he did; but at the same time, he also had some reservations towards bringing them here on the main floor where his dungeon core was located.
They were a n that could be considered a foreign race from the perspective of his dungeon before they were epted as its inhabitants.
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Now that he looked back, it was a huge risk on his part to bring them on the main floor at that time. If by any chance they had some malevolence hidden, his dungeon core would have beenpromised.
Although he had the white pce to protect his dungeon core it was still a considerable risk. It did not matter if the race was the Forest Sring Sprits considered to be the blessings of the nature and had nothing to do with violence, he cannot be acting all trusting and gullible and have to consider many factors before allowing anyone to his main floor.
To put it bluntly, Simon did not trust the [Role] function of the dungeon fully yet. Thus he only wanted those subordinates living on his main floor that he could wholeheartedly trust.
This notion did not ur to him when summoning Irene or when he brought the Forest Spring Spirits here. It was too inconsiderate of him and would have put his life in jeopardy had any of them bore ill intent towards him.
In the end though, fate worked in his favour and after living with them, he could trust them fully. However, it did not mean that he wouldmit the same mistake again, the current Simon was different, he had undergone a huge shift in character and temperament and was no longer as trusting as before.
That is why¡
"I guess I''ll make new floors to summon new subordinates and when I have any visitors in the future" Simon stated looking at the five emblems produced by his dungeon sitting on his inventory.
His dungeon produces an emblem each month, five of them meant that it had been five months since he was away from his dungeon. Though for a demon like him who had a considerable lifespan, it couldn''t even be considered much.
However, he who had lived the life of a human in his previous world, felt it was a long time.
''Five emblems.. huh'' Simon recalled the time when he summoned the Null elemental now named Wisp and frowned. The [???????] function of his [Main Menu] had be something unique by summoning weird beings after another.
Null Elemental for the case, who in Irene''s perspective was something exorbitantly rare and wasn''t something that should exist in their ne of world. However, to Simon, it did not strike as something super broken and only seemed like a ball of light with an ego.
In any case, his earlier experiment to see if the option can take in four emblems at once was a sess. So this time, Simon wanted to try his luck and see if he could get something good with five emblems.
"Come to think of it, on Irene''s insistence I created a floor for it, I wonder what happened to it".
Thest time he left it there, it disappeared into the ground. After that, the events unfolded in a way that left him no choice but to leave the dungeon. Now that he was back, there were lots of things to pay attention to, the Null elementals floor and the forest spring spirit vige was some of the few amongst them.
Just as he was about to open the dungeon function of his [Main menu] and see if there was any change that he could spot in theyout of the floor, Irene''s beautiful figure abruptly appeared in front of him.
A lovely fragrance that could make one delve in it endlessly, wafted from her. It has been more than a month since hest saw her figure, it would be a lie if he said that he didn''t wish to see her once again.
Now face to face once again, her crystal blue eyes which for some reason felt distant,nded on him. Her gaze scanned his body for a second or two before she shifted it away without saying anything.
What was with that behaviour, why did she suddenly act all distant and cold, Simon was confounded.
On the contrary, Cecilia understood why Irene was being like that. Sheughed and muttered "Fufu, Big brother, it seems that big sister Irene is angry at you".
''What?!... But why'' Simon thought internally, he had just arrived in the dungeon not long ago so how could he possibly anger Irene?
Looking at his puzzled face, Cecilia pouted and tugged his clothes.
"Why does big brother looks so confused? It''s your fault, it''s because you were absent from the dungeon so long that big sister is angry. And even when you came back, you decided to roam at the upper levels without even bothering toe to the main floor. Naturally, I''m angry too¡ hmph".
Cecilia crossed her hands and looked away.
Ah!!¡ Realising the reason behind why they were angry, Simon felt guilty and at the same time, this sudden foreign feeling of warmth gushed over his body. He lightly apologised before telling them that he would make up for it by cooking something delicious for them.
Although he could just use the [Shop] function of the main menu and dish out some food, Irene and Cecilia who had the authority to use the function were already used to eating such foods. Thus, buying food from that option wouldn''t work for them.
In that case, the only option he had left was to cook himself. Additionally, if the matter could be solved with food, he was more than willing to cook.
It''s been a while since he came to the kitchen, thest time he cooked something was when he was still a human and had yet to undertake the game that would be his legacy.
Recalling all those days, Simon smiled, he donned an apron which by the way he got as a gag item from the [Ga??????] in one of his pulls and entered the kitchen. What effects did the apron have? Obviously, there was none. It wasn''t like it increased the efficiency of cooking or the taste of the food, it was just a normal apron.
Cecilia and Irene as a matter of factly, made themselvesfortable on the dining table while the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse exited the pce to guard it. Although there was no need for it to do that, Simon''s felt its loyalty through its actions and allowed it to do whatever it wanted.
Plus, the build of the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse was different thus it did not eat the same food as them.
Under the curious gaze of two pairs of eyes, Simon took out the ingredients from the kitchen and supplied the rest from the [Shop]. Sea Crabs, Potatoes, garlic, onions, mushroom and pork lined up as the ingredients.
Since the white pce was set up in a way that replenished the items inside it on its own, Simon did not have to worry about running out of ingredients as long as he had DP.
Simon took out the knife from the holder and skilfully wielded it evoking a peal of surprise from Cecilia. Although he rarely cooked, he had no shame in saying that he was a skilled chef.
He thinly sliced the meat, and chopped the vegetables while simultaneously boiling the crab in a pot of water. After about seven to eight minutes of boiling it, he left the crab to cool.
Next, he took out a pan, put it on the burner, poured oil and heated it up at the right temperature for a while before frying the ingredients. He didn''t forget to boil the pork and season it too.
Seeing the figure of Simon diligently cooking them a meal to quench her anger, Irene couldn''t find it in herself to stay angry at him any longer. A beautiful smile that hardly appeared on her face, bloomed at this moment but was quickly concealed by her.
She supported her chin with her hand as she gazed at the back of the man who seemed to have grown dramatically from this trip outside. His back was wide, his shoulders broad and his eyes carried an unconcealed determination.
Also, the way he conducted himself now, spoke volumes of his renewed confidence. Unknown to even herself, Irene found herself lost in her thoughts as she gazed more and more at the back of Simon who had undergone a pleasant transformation of some sort.
Looking at that expression of hers, Cecilia smiled craftily, her notorious eyes were knitting their own ns.
After about half an hour, Simon decorated the tes and served them to the two eagerly waiting customers of his.
Sniff Sniff¡ a delicious smell wafted in the air enticing their appetite. Cecilia, grabbed her silverware and smiled blissfully, she had long awaited for a day where they dined together like this.
Seeing the eagerness and the drooling from the corner of Cecilia''s mouth, Simon nodded in appreciation and presented the dish he prepared for them.
"Crab Stuffed Pork fillet with spring sauce" Simon recited the name of his dish like a master chef who was proud of his work.
Pffft¡ seeing his goofy attitude, augh leaked out from Irene.
"Nom¡ Nom¡ Big bobur dis iz delizaous¡ Spring Fillet Crab sauce" to his surprise, Cecilia had already started munching on her food.
Simon wanted to retort that she hadpletely butchered the name of the dish, but when he saw her enjoying her food, he felt the name of the food didn''t matter anymore.
Unlike the voracious style of Cecilia, Irene was much more refined in her conduct while eating. She grabbed the crab tongs, carefully dissected the meaty parts of the crabs before dipping it on the sauce and taking small size bites.
Simon too served himself a te, grabbed a seat and sat down. The three of them sat around the dining table, peacefully enjoying their food.
"Hehe¡ I must say, big brother is quite thecook" Ceciliamented finishing her te clean.
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Irene nodded in agreement. After they all finished their food, their anger seemed to dissipate into thin air.
"Alright, leaving the fact that you didn''t bother to say anything aftering back to the dungeon, what took you so long? And where is that sassy little girl?" Irene asked in an indifferent voice.
However, to Simon who was already familiar with her, he could detect a touch of concern from her tone. Simon recited his adventure from the time he left the dungeon all to the point where he reached the capital city Ellesmere.
Of course, he left some details such as the forbidden trials and events that happened on the final day of the tournament. The reason for him skipping on some of the detail was because he didn''t want them to be worried and secondly, if he went to exin all of it, it would have taken a long time.
Right now, there were other pressing matters that needs to be addressed before anything else.
Simon asked how their days were inside the dungeon for the past few months before moving on to the main topic.
"How is the dungeon been faring?" Simon asked, as Guardians responsible for protecting the dungeon there was no one else who would be better knowledgeable about the dungeon while he was absent.
The look on Cecilia''s face immediately turned a little dire while Irene had aplicated face. She pondered over how to answer his query and started stating the events that started happening after he left the dungeon.
Simon was amazed to find that only two months after he left the ce, his dungeon was besieged by the strongest guild from the city of Mountmend. How the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse who was responsible for ending their advance, became a topic for the adventurers and the constant flooding of adventurers from all the nearby cities after that.
The guilds that came targeting their dungeon after hearing the news were initially as strong as the Burning Arrows Guild; however, as time passed by many more strong adventurer teams and guilds starteding to their dungeon and before anyone knew it, established a small town around the dungeon.
Irene restructured some of the floors and the monsters there; however, it was still too easy for the veteran adventurers to clear the upper floors. With the passage of time, more and more floors were being cleared at a rapid speed and when it seemed like they would reach the floor where the Lightning Draconic Serpent was, the third guardian awakened.
It sent its troops which were strong enough to sessfully stall even those veteran adventurers to different floors. The matter was still manageable at that moment in time; however, for some reason unknown to them, an even greater flood of adventurers started diving inside their dungeon a few weekster, their levels and power even greater than before.
Their powers were so great that the spawned monsters couldn''t even hold a candle to them leading Bloodthorn demonic warhorse to interfere on multiple asions and scurry away those greedy adventurers targeting his dungeon core.
It wasn''t just one or two groups that wereing after his dungeon, but hordes of them. It hadn''t been long since the third guardian awakened and thus even it had difficulty sending enough troops to deter all of them.
Thanks to Irene''s management and efforts they were still able to hold the adventurers around floor thirty but to make matters worse, a week ago another incredible team of adventurers appeared in the tower town and cleared the floors of the dungeon at an astronomical rate.
Their clearing rate was so fast that in just a week they reached the thirtieth floor and were on their way to attempt the thirty-first floor. Normally, Irene would have sent the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse to scare them away and to think twice before attempting to proceed forward.
However, the team that was attempting to clear the thirty first floor was unlike all the other teams and had more than fifteen members each above level 400 with some even approaching level 500. Sending just the warhorse was a foolish choice thus Irene was forming a n, to restrict the advance of the adventurers on the floor where the Lightning Draconic Serpent was.
This floor was theirst defence line after which came the third guardians floor, the Forest Spring Spirit vige and ultimately the Main floor where the dungeon core was. Thankfully, before the situation could get any worse, Simon had appeared.
After listening to the overall situation of his dungeon, Simon couldn''t help but make an ugly face. His dungeon was exposed to such dangers and he was so far away that he wasn''t even aware of it. Fortunately, he returned back before the situation developed till that point.
Simon calmed the anxious Cecilia down before opening the [Archive] function of the [Main Menu] that showed a three dimensional structure of his dungeon, the floors and all the inhabitants/ entities currently inside it, to monitor the status of all the adventurers.
It was as Irene had stated, all the floors from twenty to thirty were currently being besieged by adventurers and if nothing is done, soon they would reach thest floor. It was a good thing that he the dungeon master was here now, only he had the authority to make huge changes to his dungeon such as adding new floors and such.
Even the guardians like Irene and Cecilia didn''t have this authority. It was true that their dungeon was being besieged by strong adventurers and was in danger now, but if one looked at it another way, the dungeon was also being benefitted from it.
The DP these hordes of strong adventurers provided was also marginal and couldn''t bepared with the average adventurers. Thus, even amidst all this chaos, there was still this silver lining.
Simon saw the huge amount of DP that has been umted over the years and a smile crept over his face. Where else would he use his DP if not on his dungeon to advance it? It was not only his home, but also a part of him.. so much so that he even named it after the game he was so proud of but was unable to see it sailing off.
With this amount of DP that was more than twice what it was previously, he could add dozens of new floors, new mechanisms and monsters to slow down the advance of the adventurers.
The adventurers diving inside his dungeon had gotten stronger? So what, As long as he advanced his dungeon and himself, it was not a problem that he couldn''t handle. Hisposure during moments of crisis and his problem-solving line of thought, even surprised himself.
It turned out that the trip outside had helped develop his frame of mind and made it stronger and firmer than before.
Simon exined his decision of adding new floors to his Guardians dissolving some of their worries. Especially Cecilia who still had a scar in her heart from herst experience where her vige was invaded.
"Anyways, you don''t have to worry, no intruders will be able to make it past the thirty sixth floor" Simon assured.
"If you say so" Irene looked a little sceptical; Nheless, she didn''t question him any further.
"By the way about the Bloothorn demonic warhorse when did it¡"
"Start talking?" Irenepleted his sentence seemingly reading his thought.
"Sentient Beasts with powerful bloodline gain the ability ofmunication and speech as they reach closer to level 500. That is not all, as they keep growing and advancing their level, they can even gain the ability of humanisation and transform their body into a more humanoid form".
"You shouldn''t be surprised at the growth of your own subordinate? From what I could see, this change was bound to happen given the purity of its bloodline. Its diligent character that wants to be stronger just like its master, will push it to new heights".
Simon nodded his head at Irene''s exnation. Given the fact that he saw beasts such as Lightning Draconic Serpent and the others talk, he expected the warhorse to talk one day. It''s just that he didn''t expect that it would be able to do so right after he came back to the dungeon from his trip.
He always felt a special bond with it and was happy that it could talk now. If he had to point out something, it would be the warhorse''s voice that sounded just like those headstrong ancient samurai with their atypical virtues.
There was nothing bad about it, just that it felt a little weird when it came from a warhorse.
p Now that he had discussed about the issue of his dungeon and also the warhorse, it was time he asked the question that was eating away at his mind.
"What do you mean that the Third Guardian had awakened and had sent troops to dy the adventurers?" Simon had to get the question out or else he wouldn''t be able to calm his heart.
The third guardian recognised by the dungeon was none other than Wisp the Null Elemental who had mysteriously disappeared inside the floor he had created for it.
"Why don''t you use the [Main Menu] and close in on the floor below the thirty sixth floor" Irene said with an air of mystery.
"It was amazing, the whole floor moved¡ little wisp is awesome it can even create those things and they are super powerful.. I even tried to y with it but it always runs away from me" Cecilia added to Irene''s exnation.
However, her words were so fragmented that Simon couldn''t take anything from it.
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Curious about their words, Simon opened the [Dungeon] function of the [Main Menu] which was crucial for the management of the dungeon. It institutes all of the necessary functions such as upgrading, adding and altering floors, traps and various setups to his dungeon.
In any case, it was a very important option. After Simon opened the [Dungeon] option, he zoomed in on the floor below the thirty-sixth floor and was amazed to find how different the floor was than how he left it.
When he initially created the floor for the Wisp, he only made a small floor and kept it as simple as possible on Irene''s insistence. Now though, the floor had changedpletely so much so that he can''t even recognise it.
It was not only the exterior that had changed, but the whole structure of the floor was different. That was not all, even now, he could see the structure changing little by little. What was more amazing about it was that all these changes had ured without expending any DP.
Yes, all these changes that took ce on this floor, did not cost him even a single dime.
"What is going on?" Simon asked gobsmacked.
"It is just one of the many abilities of the Null Elemental. I told you before didn''t I, how incredibly lucky you are to even see one of those not to mention subordinate it. This is just the beginning, the Wisp is one of the most mysterious beings in this universe".
"Once it starts to awaken more of its spirituality, abilities improbable to us will start manifesting and you who had established a bond with it, will benefit from it the most" Irene exined.
Then she muttered in a voice that only she could hear "Perhaps with its help you really can stand on the top".
As usual, her words were too cumbersome and deep for the current Simon to understand. However, from all of this, he did realize one thing and that was how the Third Guardian''s power didn''t lie inbat, and instead its abilities were based on utility.
"What about the troops that you were talking about?" Simon asked to which he only got a simple answer.
"You will have to visit the floor to understand it".
Simon nodded, he along with Irene and Cecilia, teleported to the floor where the third guardian was. Even though he was expecting a totally different floor, the moment heid eyes on the ce, it still stunned him how much it has changed.
If previously, the floor was a small and empty ce with nothing to see, then now it was dozens of kilometres big with mountains and rivers popping up everywhere.
These changes were not something installed by Simon nor did he expend any of his DP onto it but instead something that appeared from the abilities of the Null Elemental. The Null Elemental was capable of altering the whole topography of the floor.
"What happened here?!" Simon muttered out involuntarily. His shock was warranted, a dungeon was something that could only be altered by the Dungeon Master or through the use of menu. However, something incredible that defied all logic happened here on this floor.
"Hehe" looking at his shocked expression, Cecilia puffed her chest and smiled proudly for some reason.
Simon shook his head and walked around the floor. Proceeding forward he noticed how all of these mountains were mineral mountains and how tunnels have been dug inside them from which a rail line connected them all.
These rail lines spread like aplexwork and all connected at the centre of the floor where a volcanic mountain was.
The scene was astonishing as it is; however, there was also an enormous structure erected near the base of the mountain. These structures looked just like factories and at a nce, it was all around the mountain.
All of these rail lines went inside through the entrances of those structures and into the mountain.
As Simon wondered how they were carrying something through this rail line, he saw a freight care out through one of the tunnels of the mountains and move towards the factories in the centre.
It was carrying unprocessed and mined ores and was automatically driving itself. As if this marked the start, dozens of other freight carts came in and out of the factories and mountains.
if it wasn''t obvious looking at it through the [Dungen] option, now standing in front of it was inly obvious. The current floor was an industrial area.
As Simon, Irene and Cecilia proceeded towards the factories in the centre of the floor, they found many gigantic and weird equipments finished or unfinished ced on the ground. From what he could see, each of them looked like aponent of some machinery used to manufacture something.
As they approached closer to the factory, the temperature started rising up due to the proximity of the volcanic mountain and also they could hear constant metallic noiseing from inside.
"Isn''t that" Stepping in through one of the doors, Simon was shell shocked to find a huge workshop that was manufacturing something that could only be called an Andromeda.
Andromedas were powerful war machines from one of the games called Rise of the Demolishers that Simon had worked on in his previous life. In that game, yers would have to tackle an army of these dreadful war machines which were built with the most advanced technology thatbined physics with magic.
These machines were equipped with all the leading edge weapons and were a force to reckon with even from the perspective of the yers. They were designed in a way to have a more humanoid appearance, sleek design, high mobility and high firepower.
These war machines operated like an AI andbined with their tough defence, they were always a tough opponent to beat.
In the Rise of the Demolishers game, yers would have to defeat hordes of these war machines with new and upgraded versions of them appearing after every sessive quests or storyline.
The one that was being currently manufactured here on this floor, was the lowest grade, Andromeda Mark 11 and there were not just one or two, but thousands of them being manufactured at once.
''What was going on? Why was something, that should have been in a game, doing here?
It was true that the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse was also something that came out of the game but the Andromedas were from apletely different genre of game that he had once worked on in his previous life and was unrted to Lace.
"Andromeda Mark 11¡" Simon muttered, he was finally aware of the troops that Irene had mentioned.
If it''s the Andromeda Mark Eleven, they would no doubt be able to stall the adventurers for some time.
"So you do know what these things are. When you formed a spiritual bond with the Null Elemental, you were connected through a special ne with it. Because of it, the Wisp was able to tap into some of your memories and is currently executing the best course of action to protect your dungeon ording to your will" Irene stated dissipating some of his confusion.
"Are you saying that it is doing all that as per my orders?" Simon asked.
"Merging with the floor, creating all these soldiers, altering the floor, is all ording to what you willed it. You might not have ordered it directly or consciously, but the Wisp who is linked with you understands what you want the most. That is why, it prioritised defending the dungeon more".
Hearing Irene''s exnation, he was amazed for two whole new reasons. First how incredible the Null elemental was to be able to create something from his memories and secondly because of how knowledgeable Irene was about the Null elemental.
As Simon observed the factory that was carved inside the volcanic mountain, he noticed that it was divided into many sections which created differentponents of the Andromeda, starting from the extraction room where the raw ores were processed to the final assembly room from where the Andromedas are deployed to the various floors of the dungeon.
It was wondrous how the magma and the water from the rivers were funnelled into the various halls of the factory ultimately being used in the manufacturing process.
As he roamed all around the ce, he noticed that the ce was still slowly expanding with new areas, mountains and buildings slowly being formed on their own just like a living floor. A phenomenon that should have been otherwise impossible without the Null Elemental.
''Where is this guy?'' Simon thought internally, by now he had searched most of the areas of the factories but he was still unable to see even a glimpse of the third guardian of his dungeon.
The moment he thought about wanting to see the Null Elemental, he felt a resonance from thetter that came from beneath him. More specifically, from the ground on which they were standing on.
To his surprise, a few secondster he saw the Wisp permeate out of the ground just like how it disappeared thest time he left it here.
[BEEP-BOOP-PING] Looking at the floating ball of light that released continuous sonar sounds, Simon felt like he could somewhat understand the thing. There was a deeper level of connection between them now than a few months ago.
Simon extended his hands and the ball of light swiftlynded on his palm. Even though he saidnded, Wisp was a spiritual entity and thus had no mass.
p [BEEP-BOOP-PING]
"Yeah, it''s good to see you too. I see that you have put quite some effort into defending the dungeon¡ I''m truly grateful. Please keep on supporting my dungeon just like how you did up until now" Simon said thanking the third Guardian.
[BEEP-BEEP-BOOP] the Wisp acted flustered, happy that Simon was relying on it.
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"Waah, it''s little Wisp!! Big brother no fair, I too want to y with it" Cecilia squealed the moment she saw Wisp and pouted her lips in frustration when she saw itnding on her big brother''s hand whereas it never did so when she tried to y with it these past few months.
"Oh yeah!¡" Simon suddenly remembered something and asked "Are all these Andromeda Mark Eleven controlled by you?".
[BEEP-BOOP-BOOP]
"I see in that case can you send one of them here, I want to test how strong they are myself".
The Andromedas from that game can be pretty strong or weak depending on which version you are fighting. The Andromeda Mark Eleven that is being manufactured right now, was the weakest version of all the Andromedas..ie. based on the standards of that game.
Now that it has been manufactured in this world, Simon wanted to see for himself how strong they are.
[BEEP-BOOP-PING] the Null Elemental readily agreed andmanded one of the finished Andromeda in the assembly room to fly over.
Yes, the Andromedas were capable of flight through the help of jet boosters located on their feet and back.
WHOOOSH¡THUNK¡
The Andromedanded in front of Simon and stood tall. It was almost as big as him and was ring red in colour. Looking at the thing, that should have been in the game, Simon couldn''t help butment how well the Wisp was able to replicate it.
The Andromeda in front of him had no difference from the one in his memories. Its powerful mechanical noise, sleek design and appearance made Simon''s expectations of it rise up.
If it was his previous world, the design and the build of the Andromeda would be able to capture the hearts of millions of boys and the mecha-loving society.
"Alrightmand it to attack me, I want to see for myself if it is alos as strong as in my memories," Simon said.
"Cecilia let''s move back a little" Irene on the side wasn''t amazed that Simon would try to check the battle strength of the Andromeda on himself. She held Cecilia''s hand and moved back a little giving both the parties enough space to run wild.
The Null Elemental''s body which was a ball of light, shone brighter for a fraction of a second and immediately, the Andromeda started making noise and locked onto Simon in front of him.
"If I''m not wrong, the long-distance weapon for the Andromeda Mark Eleven is its Light sters, st missiles, Light chainsaw and a few others. If it''s this distance, it will definitely¡" Simon simted the battle in his head and recalled the information he knew about the game.
ZIIING¡
ZSsssTTT¡ He was right, the Andromeda initiated the attack by immediately bringing out its light sters and firing them on him.
Woosh¡ woosh¡wooosh¡ Simon easily dodged the three light st attacks that came targeting him. Each of these attacks had enough firepower of some strong novice rank magic. Of course, the attack was fundamentally different from the magic and skills of this world andprised of the technology and logic from that game.
The light sters also had enough speed to match up with the agility of an adventurer around level 200. Not to mention it can keep firing those light sters without stopping for some time.
While dodging the continuous attacks from its light sters, Simon closed the gap between it and himself so that he can see how the Andromeda would react.
''As expected, its reaction speed is quite fast¡ hmm maybe around level 300 adventurers'' he observed.
The Andromeda standing true to its technology and being called a powerful warmachine reacted splendidly. It observed Simon''s agility level, ran many algorithms and increased its own speed by bringing out it''s jet boosters and redirecting more energy to its attack systems.
Just like how Simon was observing and learning the Andromeda, it too was scanning Simon and sending back the report back to Wisp. That was not all, if the Andromeda worked just like how it did in the game it should be able to adapt its attack patterns and itself ording to the enemy it was facing.
"Hehh¡ not bad!! Then how about this, how will you deal with this¡" Simon said extending out his ws and raising his speed even high. He was just a level or two short of reaching level 400 thus even with the Andromeda increasing its power output, its attacks were still not able to touch Simon.
Dodging left and right, Simon covered the distance between them and made it a closebat match thus rendering the light sters useless.
To his delight, the Andromeda adapted well and brought out its Light chainsaw in preparation to engage with its enemy''s ws.
CLANGGGG¡ a deep grating noise echoed out whenever their weapons collided and intense spark would generate from their sh. Nheless, it was still Simon who came out on top in that sh.
''Those st chainsaws are not bad perhaps as good as weapons made of WhiteSilver or even better'' Pushing the enemy back with his powerful strength, Simon analysed. He was just about to follow up his attack when he realised that his enemy was now using its B;ast missiles which had the added function of tracing its target locked onto him.
Whoosh¡whoosh¡whoosh¡ ten to fifteen missiles came his way and attacked him no matter where he went or how he tried to dodged.
BOOOM¡ BOOM¡ BOOM all of them found their mark and detonated one after the other. A huge chain of explosions urred and Simon was caught in the middle of it.
After the dust and the smoke from the destruction settled down, his figure appeared in front of everybody once again. There were a few scratches on his body but other than that, he looked perfectly fine.
"Each of these missiles pack quite some punch and together they might even rival an AOE novice tier magic" Simon deducted after using his body to test their firepower.
"Alright, it''s time to finish this" now that he was done examining the Adnromeda, it was time he finish this fight that he started.
BOOM¡ Simon unfurled his wings and zipped in front of the warmachine, grabbed it and hurled it around before it could even process what was going on.
BANG¡ thend trembled fiercely and a deep depression appeared after he mmed the Andromeda into the ground.
"Its defence is also good¡ is it because of the ores that are being used as itsponent when manufacturing it" Simon musednding on the ground.
The Andromeda was no longer in the condition to continue the battle. Thus, it was an easy victory for him.
After hended on the ground, Irene and Cecilia appeared beside him.
"What do you think?" the snow-white beauty asked.
"Hmm¡ Although there is still a difference in actualbat experience, it is no problem for the Andromedas as they are still in their development process. The more information and data they collect from the adventurers, the more stronger and better they will be. Thus it could be said that their true potential is yet to be unveiled".
"Other than that, their firepower and their judgement is also not bad andbined that with their agility and defence, it is not wrong to say that they can easily content against a level 250 adventurer" that was his observation after fighting with the Andromeda.
Irene and Cecilia nodded their heads, Irene did so because she understood his words while Cecilia only nodded because Irene was doing so.
ZIIING¡ THUNK¡ while they were talking, two Adnromedas simr to the one Simon had fought with,nded on the depression made on the ground, picked up the disjointedrade and disappeared inside the factory.
[BEEP-BOOP-PING] Now that the fight was over, Wisp appeared in front of him and made his usual sonar noise.
"Yeah, they are every bit like how they were in my memories. I''m not surprised that they were able to hold back the adventurer for so long" Simon praised. He was not lying, individually the Andromeda mark eleven might be around a level 250 adventurer but right now there were thousands of them being manufactured.
One also has to factor in the might of these warmachines which lies not only in their individual strength but also in their numbers. Plus, the fact that they are able to get strong through the help of data and information that each Andromeda sends back to Wisp, makes this robot army the worse enemy to face.
"Uh!.." Simon suddenly realised something and asked, "Can you also manufacture the Mark Ten, Mark Seven and the others that were in that game".
His words were iprehensible for Irene and Cecilia who hadn''t witnessed the Rise of the Demolishers game. However, how could Wisp who was linked with him through a special bond, not know about it?
[BEEP-BEEP-BOOP] it made sonar noises to exin things to him.
"I see, so you need time to set up a better manufacturing hub, equipments and materials to produce them. You are right, WhiteSilver is just too fragile to make anything higher than Mark Ten".
Simon understood how hard it was to produce a higher and stronger versions of the Andromedas and the other warmachines. Not only did they need stronger raw materials that were rare and hard to find, one also needed a super high tech and cutting edge workshop to build them.
Both of which cannot be essed at this current moment in time. Even in that game, yers rarely met the higher version of the Andromedas and the other powerful warmachines.
Since even for that Mecha Empire it was hard to make them. Nevertheless, Simon wasn''t disappointed. Knowing that there was a possibility that higher versions of the Andromedas can be replicated in this world, was enough to raise his hope.
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It might be impossible for others to build such money burning machines but not for Simon. After all, where was this ce? This ce was inside the dungeon that was created by him.
A dungeon is a ce filled with riches ad unknown dangers ording to adventurers; However, Simon disagreed. A dungeon was not some ordinary ce but a special dimensional realm that can only be created by the demons.
It has its ownws and rules and is separate from the world outside which makes it a pretty special ce. For a demon Noble, a dungeon is just like an extension of themselves and reflects its master.
Based on it, a dungeon can both be a ce filled with riches or extreme dangers at every point. Anyways, the point is, as long as he keeps on growing the dungeon, it won''t be long in the future when his dungeon will be able to produce all those materials required to manufacture the Andromedas on its own.
Right now it was just a [D] rank low-tier dungeon but that too will change soon enough in the future. When it does, all those things and options locked to him right now in the [Shop], will gradually open up.
Feeling the density of Mana inside his dungeon, Simon reckoned that he wouldn''t have to wait for long. Not to mention, he also had the help of Cecilia and the Forest Spring Spirit race with him. That is why, it riled him to no extent that somebody would eye something that already belong to him.
The Forest Spring Spirits Swore an oath of isubordination to him which also made them his subjects. It was only natural that he protected them.
"Should I help you in upgrading the floor?" Simon asked, he as the dungeon master had the ability to do so. In fact, before the wisp came into the picture he was the only one capable of doing such massive alterations to his dungeon.
[BEEP-BOOP-BOOP] the answer he received was a negative, the Null Elemental wanted Simon to leave this floor to it. It wanted to share his burdens and not add to them, that is why, it told Simon to focus on the other issues of the dungeon.
"Alright then, I''ll leave it to you".
Simon nodded his head feeling the emotions of the Wisp and left the management of this floor to him. Besides, even if he wanted to, the changes brought over by the Wisp was already beyond what he could currently alter with the help of [Main Menu].
The rivers, volcanic Mountains and those factories were already updates beyond the current rank of his dungeon.
After he was done monitoring the floor, Simon saw the Wisp permeate inside the ground and disappear again. Currently, it was merged with this floor and was busy creating more of the andromedas to stop the adventurers.
Thus it cannot leave its ce for long or else the entire production will stop. Although Simon wanted to see how it was doing whatever it was doing, he instinctively felt that the Wisp was at a critical juncture of producing the andromedas and shouldn''t be disturbed.
Each of these Andromedas Mark Eleven was capable of holding its own against a level 250adventurer which was a massive aid for the dungeon to stall down the progress rate of the adventurers and the best thing about it all was that producing them did not even need DP.
After observing the floor for a while, Simon along with Irene and Cecilia teleported back to the hall they were in on the Main Floor.
"So how was it, did you see how useful the Null Elemental was?" Irene asked enjoying his reaction.
"Yeah, I was wrong¡ the Null Elemental; No, Wisp was far more stronger and mysterious than I imagined" Simon replied honestly. His earlier misconception that it was just a floating light of ego, was gone reced by the scenes that he had seen back on that floor.
The third Guardian was so much more amazing than he thought., not only did it have strong utility abilities, it was even able to merge with his floor and produce things that were not even from this world.
Simon was sure that if it continued to create more and higher versions of those Andromedas, he will soon have himself an army of powerful warmachines just like that Mecha Empire that controlled them in that game.
In any case, Simon was very thankful that the wisp was able to stall the adventurers long enough for him to make more changes to the dungeon.
"Un.. un.. little wisp is amazing" Cecilia added not understanding much of the stuff that was said. Irene smiled seeing the attitude of the little girl, she was clearly very fond of the third guardian and thus became ted whenever someone praised the Wisp.
"What are you going to do now?" Irene asked changing the subject.
"Ah, about that¡ Cecilia can you go and call all of the [Helpers] for me?" as if remembering something, Simon suddenly asked.
Cecilia immediately nodded and left to carry out the orders of her brother. The moment she left, a grave look appeared on Simon''s face and his crimson eyes became dead serious.
"So what is it that you cannot tell in front of Cecilia?" Irene inquired tactfully understanding the gravity of the situation.
"Why would you think that?" Simon asked back to which he only got an eye roll from thetter.
"If you wanted to call the [Helpers], you could have just done it so using the [Main Menu]. However, you went through the trouble to send Cecilia out which means that whatever you are going to say next has to do with her or her nsmen".
This time it was Simon''s turn to roll his eyes, this woman was just too perceptive. She not only had beauty going on for her, but even her intellect and powers were on par with her looks.
Simon admitted with a nod of his head and added "A while ago, when I was on loitering on the eighth floor with those adventurers, I came across another team of adventurers, the one that you were talking about who managed to clear thirty floors in just one week".
"They used some weird artefact to make all the other adventurers unconscious so as to cover their steps inside the dungeon. In any case, I hid myself in one of the corner and was able to learn about their objective behind diving inside the dungeon".
Hearing his words, even Irene''s crystal blue eyes had some severity appearing on them "Are you trying to say that their objective is not to conquer the dungeon but the Forest Spring Spirits?".
Simon nodded "I don''t know how they knew about it, but if I had to guess, it has to do something with the guild that was after Cecilia''s n".
"Could it be it''s them?"
"Could be... I was wondering where that guild disappeared to all along. If it''s really them, then they spared me the trouble to go look for them. Since they decided toe inside my dungeon I will show them how grave of a mistake they made. Let them continue to struggle and rack their brains, descend all they want, the thirty-sixth floor will be their final resting e".
Right after saying his piece, Simon started walking away, a baleful demonic aura radiated out of his body.
-----
The ce was an empty floor with no features to speak of. It had nothing installed on it and was as simple as can be. The floor was a newly created one and was just there to serve one purpose.
"Hmm, this ce is good enough" Simonmented teleporting to the centre of the floor. His hand held five charcoal grey emblems that were produced by his dungeon every month.
The reason for him teleporting to this new floor which was positioned right after the thirty sixth floor and above the Wisp''s floor he decided to call the [Workshop] was precisely because he was going to use this ce for summoning.
Now that he was more cautious and aware of his surroundings, he knew that it was not a good idea to do the summoning on the [Main Floor]. After all, from his experiment of summoning from the [???????] option he knew one thing and that was after the merger of the two menus, his summoning option was altered and became somethingpletely different.
As can be seen from the beings that were summoned from it, there was no guarantee that the beings that wille out of it will be loyal to him and won''t harm his dungeon.
That is why, it was better to do summoning far away from the [Main Floor] from now on.
Simon had created this floor so that he can summon a subordinate using the emblems without any worry.
"Alright,st time I used four emblems to summon the Null Elemental. Let''s see what happens when I toss five emblems into it".
Simon always felt excited whenever he used the option, after all, an addition of a powerful subordinate was always a happy asion. The option had been giving him quite the quirky subordinates from the start, it naturally goes to show that his expectations were quite high this time too.
Simon took a deep breath, opened his [Main Menu] and clicked on the [???????] option. The moment he clicked on it, the window changed and a dark revolving abyss that seemed like a ck hole that could devour the whole world appeared on the screen.
Simon tossed the five emblems into the abyss and observed it silently. It seemed that five emblems were still not the upper limit for this strange messed up option.
The abyss inside the option spun faster and faster before suddenly halting.
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Simon was already familiar with the phenomenon and thus was not surprised when the space in front of him was torn open and a pitch ck abyss like the one in the option just many many times bigger, appear in front of him.
Space shuddered like crazy and intense sparks started generating around the floor. This continued for a while until the whole dungeon started trembling and peculiar phenomena started appearing around the Ghastly Winding Forest.
Thend for a few hundred kilometres around the tower, was in a state of turmoil as the monsters and the humans living in the tower town both felt a peculiar heaviness in the air.
"Did you feel that? is it an earthquake?" One of the adventurers who was just about to dive inside the dungeon asked his teammate.
"Yeah, I don''t know for some reason my heart seems to be unsettled".
Such talks were going amongst all the adventurers inside or outside the dungeon. No matter who it was, whether humans or monsters both felt this weird chill in the air.
At the same moment inside the newly created floor, Simon was standing not very far away from the abyss as it rotated intensely. By now he was already used to the unusualness of the option and was prepared for anything and any result toe out of it.
Fortunately for him, this time he did not have to wait long for the spiralling abyss to halt and the being inside toe out.
KLACK¡ a foot wearing a ck high heel came out of the abyss andnded on the dungeon floor. Following which, a creamy white leg wearing fis and a figure of a person appeared in front of his eyes.
The being that just appeared, was wearing a tailored maid outfit that entuated her mesmerising figure beneath the armour she had. If one looked carefully, they would notice that the outfit and the armour she was wearing, seemed to be made of some high quality material.
It was not only the dress she was wearing that appalled one''s eyes but even her beauty was so. Her pearly white skin, ck supple hair that was casually bound by a hairpin and her eyes that seemed to be analysing everything around her in aposed way, gave her a unique intellectual look.
Coupled with the fact that her body had the right curves in the right areas, gave her even more destructiveness and charm. No matter who it was looking at her, they would no doubt have a nefarious thoughts appear in their minds and an urge to immediately pin the beauty and ravish her.
However, Simon was stunned for a whole different reason. As he looked at her, he couldn''t help but have his eyes widen and his mind overwhelmed by the memories that flooded in.
That appearance and that presence, they was no doubt in his mind¡ the person that just appeared, was someone he created himself while he was working on the game Lace in his previous life.
To be more specific, the woman was one of the Heroes that was meant to be summoned by the yers from the [Heroes Altar] option of the menu. However, after the merge when the option itself disappeared, Simon assumed that he would never be able to see them, who knew that on his third try at using the bugged option, he would summon a character from the Heroes Altar.
At this instant, the eyes of the woman who was curiously analysing her surroundings,nded on Simon and the moment it did, they turned wide and mncholic with emotions. Just like how it was with Simon, she too seemed surprised but more so delighted to see him.
The surprise did not stop there, after the woman who was the first one to step outside, more and more figures came out of the abyss andnded in his dungeon with every one of them donned a simr battle maid outfit.
,m Five women with cmitous beauty stepped out from the abyss and observed their surroundings with their curious eyes. If it was anyone else, looking at this line up of women who each had their own unique points and beauty, they wouldn''t be able to resist fantasising and wanting to possess them.
Simon would too, if his mind wasn''t overwhelmed by the series of events that unfolded on his third attempt at summoning.
"Valkyries" Simon muttered looking at the five maids that are a part of the twelve heroes that he had set to be thepanion of the yers when adventuring inside the game. Never did he think that he would be meeting with the characters he had created inside a game, in real life.
CHIII¡ at this moment, the ck abyss started bing smaller and smaller and along with the shattered space, itpletely disappeared.
The ce descended into silence with the two sides eyeing each other. The stiffening silencested for a while before it was shattered by the woman who was the first one toe out from the abyss.
"Master?!" she said, her eyes had a genuine surprise and glee in them.
"HUH?!!!"¡
------
Inside one of the halls of the white pce, a group of women wearing maid clothes underneath their armour, could be seen seated on one side of the sofa while Simon, Irene , Ceilia and the [Helpers] were on the other.
"So you are saying that all of you are his creation and that makes him your master?" Irene asked rifying things right from the start.
"Yesdy Irene, Master is the one who created us sisters and gave the moniker of ''Valkyrie''".
The woman who spoke up was the second eldest of all the sisters, her name was Ate. Incidentally, she was also the first one who came out of the abyss.
"I see, so what do you think?" Irene nodded her head and turned her question towards Simon.
"Indeed, they are my creations, all five of them. It''s just that I didn''t think they would recognise me" Simon stated. He was amazed when he found out that they recognised him after all, when he created them, they were just characters meant to be in the game.
Now that he was reincarnated in this world and that too with the menu he had created for his game, it came out as a surprise to him that the characters remembered him.
"What are you saying Master, there is no way we will forget you who created us with such love and care" The one who spoke now, was the youngest among them named Alice. She had short blonde hair, rubellite eyes and the charms of a young girl. Her smile was like blooming flowers and she radiated a youthful, carefree aura.
"Alice is right Master, your feeling was conveyed to all of us even though we were not in the same ne," Bea said, she was the third eldest amongst the sisters and came out from the abyss after Ate.
Just like thetter, she was a mature beauty radiating off a gentle yet sadistic aura. Her hair was the colour of peach tied with a hair band on her head.
The other two sisters were Emma and Bianca who were both older than Alice. Emma was an odd beauty with droopy ck hair, sleepy eyes and released a gloomy aura. She was anti-social and always avoided eye contact.
Contrary to her, Bianca was like a doll that hardly showed any emotions. She wore her beloved hat underneath her long brown hair designed by Simon.
Ate the second eldest, Bea, Emma, Bianca and Alice. Looking at all the five sisters, their appearance and how they acted, Simon had no doubt in his mind that they were the Valkyries he had created.
He was sure of it, not only because they acted how he initially set them as but because he could feel a special bond between them and him. This kind of bond was like the one he had with the third guardian.
Just that in this case, the bond was formed as soon as they were summoned and without any initiation from him. It was also due to this bond that he could tell that the battle maids were absolutely loyal to him.
This factor was very important since it ensured that they won''t be able to harm him or his dungeon in any way. The Valkyrie sisters were no longer simply characters from the game whose loyalty was already set to be with the yers but actual living beings who can think and move for themselves.
They might no longer be bound by the setting and mechanics of the game.
For a Dungeon Master, it was very important to have subordinates who are loyal to him. The dungeon and the Dungeon Master are like one entity, in times of need or when in danger, they depend or rely on these very subordinates to defend the dungeon.
It can be said that the subordinates are like the pir of the dungeon who hold it in ce for them. That is why, the [Summon] option given to the Dungeon Master always summoned subordinates loyal to them.
Think of it as like a defensive mechanism of the dungeon to protect itself, the stronger the subordinates, the more difficult it is to conquer. One could even say that rank of the dungeon is directly or indirectly rted to the number of subordinates the Dungeon Master has and their power levels.
That is why the [Summon] option is such an important function of the dungeon menu. Unfortunately for Simon, the merger of his two menus cost him both the [Heroes Altar] and the [Summon] function.
Or that''s what he thought until he summoned the ''Valkyries'' who were a part of the ''Twelve Heroes''.
After the option was bugged, he thought that the [Heroes Altar] had disappeared permanently. Who knew that it was still possible to summon the ''Twelve Heroes''.
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''Could it be that both the function hadn''t actually disappeared and just got incorporated with the new option instead?'' Simon pondered. He thought that he might get some clues if he discussed it with the maid sisters.
"Ate¡ you said that you all were in a different ne and were aware of my existence after I created you? What kind of ne were you in before I summoned you?".
"Yes Master, the ne we were in after you created us, was a void that had nothing. There was no concept of time and space and things would always be stagnant there. Everything was in a state of suspended animation".
"While we were conscious and aware of our surroundings, we couldn''t move. Nheless, things weren''t all that boring since we all could see master from there, experience his feelings, memories and the things he was going through". Ae replied, her tone was respectful and filled with adoration and devotion for Simon.
The other sisters nodded their heads agreeing with her.
Simon closed his eyes and mused, ording to Ate, they were in a void-like ne fully aware and conscious of their surroundings after he created them. He did not know whether these changes urred to them who were supposed to be characters from the game Lace because of him reincarnating in this world or due to the merger of the two options.
He needed more information to arrive at a definite answer. Nevertheless, the experience today at least told Simon that the Twelve Heroes from the [Heroes Altar] function he created, might not havepletely disappeared.
Just like the Valkyrie sisters, they too could be in a special ne waiting for him to summon them. The reason for him being so fixated with the option was because they were the character he had created after days and weeks of deliberation and efforts.
Although they were meant to be characters to be summoned by the yers to aid them in their journey, in a way they represented the people or friends that Simon wanted to have in his life when he was all alone.
Simon did not think that Ate was lying since he could easily tell so when they do because of the bond he had with them. Furthermore, those words made more sense when she said that they could see him from where they were; after all, they seemed to know about Irene, Cecilia and the dungeon even before he introduced it to them.
Irene who was listening to their conversation, made an amused face. She was no stranger when it came to [Main Menu] and its bizarre functions; after all, she herself was summoned through the [???????] option.
"Could it be¡"Irene narrowed her crystal blue eyes and mumbled in a voice that only she could hear.
At this moment, the five sisters that were sitting on the sofa, stood up in perfect synchrony and got on their knees to perform a bow.
"Master, it was no coincidence that the portal that opened in the void led us to you. On behalf of all my sisters, please allow me to say this. ''We want to devote our lives to you, Master Simon. Please allow us to serve you".
"Please allow us to serve you" All the Valkyries said in a unison.
The target of their devotion, Simon silently observed them. Thanks to the bond that was established when he summoned them, he could tell that they were being absolutely sincere which could also be seen from their conduct and how they looked at him.
Simon nodded his head and epted their fealty. He used the option in the first ce to summon powerful subordinates, there was no way he wouldn''t ept them especially when they were so loyal to him. He would be a fool not to do so.
The Valkyrie sisters that he summoned using the five emblems, were not ordinary maids but instead one of the ''Twelve Heroes''. They were incredibly powerful and trustfulpanions for the yers.
After Simon epted taking them in, the sisters got up looking extremely delighted, one could even feel their excitement and happiness from their aura.
DING¡ [New Role has opened up, the ''Valkyries'' are now eligible to be the administrators of Lace. Set the Valkyries as Administrators? YES/NO].
Of course, just like how the Forest Spring Spirits were taken in as the inhabitants, the moment he epted them, a prompt came from the dungeon.
Administrator was a role that was two levels lower than Guardians which was the most powerful position after the Dungeon Master. It granted them many ess and control of the dungeon and was only given to those subordinates that are powerful and are trusted by the dungeon master.
Some of the privileges that include in this role are the usage of [Teleport] to any floors of this dungeon, altering areas of the floors, absolutemand over all the spawned monsters and over the role that are lower than it.
Just like the Guardians, the Administrators are also able to use some of the functions of the [Main Menu] such as [Shop], [Archive], [Dungeon] and [Spawn]. Although their degree of ess is a little lower than Guardians like Irene, Cecilia and Wisp.
Simon pondered over bestowing them the role or not for a while before pressing the YES button. In any case, they were loyal subordinates summoned by him to guard and take care of the dungeon. How else were they supposed to do that if they were not given any authority?
Not to mention from his recent experience ofing back to find the dungeon in peril, he understood how important delegating some of the authority over the dungeon to others was. It was a good thing he came in time, if he was a few dayste, the adventurers might have been able to reach the thirty sixth floor, theirst line of defence.
Worse, if they breached it, it would be the workshop and the Forest Spring Spirit vige next that would have been in danger.
His Main floor was protected by Irene so the dungeon might not have been in immediate danger but the inhabitants of his dungeon would have been endangered. Therefore, Simon decided to make a mental note to increase the degree of authority of his Guardians and make it so that they are also able to add, update and install new floors and mechanisms to the dungeon.
Right after he pressed the YES button, Simon felt a new link establish between him and the Valkyrie sisters. It was not only him, but Irene, Cecilia, the [Helpers] and the sisters themselves felt this link establish.
Simon always felt that the [Delegation] feature of the [Main Menu] wasn''t simple, it was not only about simply handing down some of the ess of the dungeon to others, but had a lot more areas about it that were yet to be understood.
For example, when he granted the role of [Helpers] to Coleus and the other Forest Spring Spirits. At that time, he felt as if his influence and even his control over them increased a lot. That link, as days passed was growing stronger and stronger.
Simon felt like in the near future, he would be even able to influence and read some of the memories of the [Helpers]. Although right now the effects he could achieve could hardly be called influencing, Simon could tell his authority over them was getting stronger with the strengthening of the link.
p Perhaps he was not the only one who felt that, Irene who was also connected to this link via the role of Guardian, felt that too. As the second highest position after the dungeon master, even she could influence the roles under her if she wanted to in the future.
There was so much more about the role that was yet to be understood and discovered. However, what Simon did know was that the link that was established through the role, cannot be broken unless he relieves them from their role.
From this, one could see how mystical the function was.
"Master Simon is truly benevolent. Not only did he take us in, he also bestowed us this incredible position of the [Administrators]. I, Ate on behalf of all us sisters, am truly grateful for being thought so highly by Master. We shall work hard to be worthy of this position" Ate stated performing a deep bow of gratitude followed by the other Valkyrie sisters.
It seemed that they had received the notification of them being appointed as the [Administrators] of the dungeon.
Simon who was not used to such mannerism and formality, told the Valkyries to raise their heads up and disperse with the ceremony only to be turned down in return.
"How can we do that, Master Simon is our lord and must always be addressed with respect at all times. As your battle maid who has sworn to serve you till myst breath, I cannot forgive anyone that disrespects you" Bea spoke, her second nature that was masked underneath her gentle appearance wasing out.
"That''s right¡ that''s right, Master please don''t worry about all this minor stuff. As your creation, it is only but normal for us to bow to you¡hehe". Alice the youngest amongst the sister, added innocently.
While Ate, Emma and Bianca repeatedly nodded. Seeing that things were progressing nowhere, Simon decided it would be quicker for him to adapt and get used to their form of address.
After the issue of how they will address him was resolved or more like forced upon him, Simon changed the topic of conversation.
"I don''t see Mercedes, was she not there with you on that ne?".
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Mercedes was the eldest of all the sisters and was the leader of the Valkyries. She alone took one of the spots from the ''Twelve Heroes'', that was how powerful she was.
"Elder sister was along with us in that void. When the portal that brought us here opened, Elder sister was the one who sensed it and told us to go inside it as it would lead us to the ce where master was".
"When we asked why elder sister was noting with us, she said that the energy of the portal wasn''t powerful enough to bring her too. Thus she chose to send us first and decided to wait for master to summon herter".
Ate exined, a little sad that their elder sister had to stay behind in that void.
Simon nodded his head in understanding, although Mercedes was also one of the Valkyries, she was designed by him to be far stronger than all her sisters. It came as no surprise to him that he wasn''t able to summon her along with the Valkyries.
The five emblems that he had initiated the [???????] with, was used to summon the five of them, the number of emblems corresponded with the number of Valkyrie sisters that were summoned.
Given how strong Mercedes was, Simon reckoned that he needed to at least save up two to three emblems to summon her. That is, given the premise that the next time he summons, the [???????] will be able to connect with that void again.
"I see, you don''t have to worry about her, I will summon her at the earliest after I have sufficient emblems" Simon said dispersing their worries.
"We are very thankful, Master" the Valkyries sisters thanked sincerely.
"Alright, this is now your home, you all should get familiar with it. Cecilia, why don''t you show them around?" Simon looked at Cecilia beside him who was eager to talk with them and tasked her with this job.
The moment he called her name, Cecilia jumped down from the couch, puffed her chest and said energetically "Leave it to me big brother. Miss Ate, Miss Bea, Miss Emma..umm Miss Bianca and Miss Alice please follow me".
The battle maids performed a courteous bow and followed behind her "It is our honour princess Cecilia".
"Eh?! P-Princess?" Cecilia fumbled on her words, shocked by their form of address.
"Hehe, you are the little sister of our lord and creator. Given his status, of course that makes you a princess" Alice who had a yful nature just like Cecilia, exined.
"I-Is that so.."
Their voices that kept on sounding from the distance, disappeared at this moment.
"What are you thinking?" Irene asked seeing that Simon looked a little lost. Simon snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head saying it was nothing much. He was just wondering how mysterious the [???????] option was.
The abyss inside that looked extremely dangerous at a nce was capable of connecting two different ces separated by worlds or even dimensions. Not only that, the option was powerful enough to breach even a void where there is no concept of space and time and summon the battle maids from there.
The conversation he had with the Valkyries, made him wonder how the option actually worked. If he were to believe their words, the option created a portal of sorts that connected his dungeon with some other ce using which the summons were able to enter this world.
Are summons beings that are called forth from a different ne or do they get summoned from this only? Simon had many questions, the answer of which could be found gradually with time.
After sending the Valkyries and Cecilia, Simon turned around and addressed the [Helpers].
"It''s been a while, Lord Simon. We are truly delighted and d to see you safe and sound" Coleus, the head of the [Helpers] said.
Simon acknowledged their concern with a nod of his head. All the five helpers were currently assembled here in the hall of his Main floor.
"I assume that all of you have been well these past few months?".
The five [Helpers] nodded their heads "It''s all thanks to Lord Simon and Mistress Irene providing their protection".
"I just provided you with a ce to live. In any case, I called you here not to discuss all that. Tell me about the progress of the floors that you have been monitoring" Simon stated getting to the point immediately.
The role of the [Helpers] was like the staff of apany employed to take care of its dealings and businesses. In this case, thepany was his dungeon and he was the CEO of it. It was only natural that he inspects and monitors his employees and see whether they were doing a good job or not.
What about the payment and stuff? Ahem, Simon decided not to fret about the small stuff now.
"Floor one to ten is in excellent working condition, there have been no problems so far. Though it seems like there is a need for increasing the number of monsters spawned on floor nine and ten. That way, I believe the progress rate of the adventurers will slow down".
The first one to report was Coleus. From how he suggested a solution, it seemed that he was being very observant in his job.
Simon nodded his head and then looked at the others.
"Due to the swamp in floors eleven and twelve, the pirodiles and Lizardmen are somehow able to stall the adventurers for some time. However, it seems that the Anemodactly on floors thirteen and fourteen are too easy of a target for the veteran adventurers in a wide ne".
"I believe the numbers are not the issue but the terrain. I request Lord Simon to give me permission to install some mountains and trees so that the anemodactly can have more room to manoeuvre".
Birch one of the three adult Forest Spring spirits said. He was attentive enough to understand which of the floors he was given to monitor worked fine and which needed changes.
"L-lord Simon, floor twenty to thirty needs the most changes. It seemed that the adventurers are far too powerful for the current monsters to take them on" the one to speak after Birch was Maya.
Since most of the adventurers diving inside those floors were from powerful guilds from the surrounding regions, the dungeon was in quite a mess.
"Thanks to Mistress Irene and the golems the third guardian provided we were somehow able to stop their progress. However, the root of the problem is still unsolved and if we don''t address it soon, they will be able to breach through these floors in a few weeks of time" Fay who was the only other girl other than Maya, added.
Simon nodded his head and looked towards thest person who was yet to speak.
"Beforeing here, I was monitoring the team that has dived inside the thirty-first floor. Therefore I can tell pretty much that the Desert Cactopus and the Giant Purple Scorpion won''t be able to stop them for long."
"Although the desert works out in the favour of the monsters and their poison can be deadly, the average level of that team is just too high and one of them even has mastery over water magic" Jarred straightened his back and reported.
Hearing their first hand reports, Simon once again realised how dire the situation looked for his dungeon. At the same time, he felt pleased that his [Helpers] were doing a magnificent task by looking after the floor in his stead.
As the dungeon master, he had the most authority in the dungeon. However, it was not like he was omnipotent and can solve every problem before it even arises. Heck, he wasn''t even aware of some of the changes that needed to be done before it was mentioned by his helpers.
He realised that he cannot always devote all his time looking after all of the floor of his dungeon. After all, he was just one person.
That is where the Role functiones in. They who were assigned as [Helpers] had the duty to shave some of the load from his share. And from their reports he listened so far, they have been doing an excellent job.
Not only were they far more detailed on the problems happening all around the floors of the dungeon, they even know what changes needs to be done. ''It was a good call to bring them here and listen to them'' Simon thought internally.
Even in an organisation, the top level management cannot always know what happens at the lower and middle levels of the organisation. Thus it is crucial tomunicate and take the output of those who are engaged in that area first hand. "
So what do you suggest we do?" Simon asked, wanting to know how well they could solve the problem at hand.
Coleus: "Perhaps we should increase the spawn rate and the number of monsters".
Birch: "I believe structural changes are necessary to blend the monster with their natural environment".
Maya: "Umm we can increase the traps and make it trickier to progress?".
Fay: "The treasure chest and the rewards that are spawned, are too in in sight. Maybe we could stall more of their time if we make it spawn in risky andplex ces".
"Even if we deal with the current batch of adventurers, more are sure toe after the news spreads. At that time, they will only be stronger. That is why I think we should increase the number of floors my lord" Jarred said looking straight at Simon.
Listening to all their suggestion, Simon nodded his head. The solutions they provided weren''t bad, perhaps it was necessary with how fast the changes around the dungeon are urring. But the thing that was the most necessary was what Jarred said.
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Even if they solved the problem at hand, it won''t matter in the long term if they don''t address the root of the problem. From this point on forward, the adventurer that would dive inside his dungeon would perhaps only get stronger and if he wanted to defend the dungeon, he needed to add new floors.
The maximum number of floors a [D] rank dungeon can have was hundred. His dungeon Lace on the other hand did not even have half of it. Previously, before the influx of adventurers, he had to worry about his DP expenditure; however, right now he had amassed so much DP that adding ten or even fifteen floors wasn''t a problem.
Due to the level of the adventurers diving inside his dungeon increasing all of a sudden, it also brought a storm of DP to his dungeon. Now it was time for him to harvest his reap and put them to use by upgrading his dungeon.
Simon thought over it for a bit before a allotting some DP to his [Helpers] so that they can modify some of the aspects of the floor. Although they did not have as much authority as Guardians or Administrators, with this DP the [Helpers] would be able to at least install those changes that are absolutely necessary for the dungeon.
"Use it however you see fit" Simon ordered the [Helpers] to return to their stations and keep monitoring the floors as usual, especially the team that was clearing the thirty first floor.
After they dispersed themselves Simon and Irene were the only ones left in the huge hall.
"You have changed quite a lot" Irene suddenly said observing him.
Puzzled, Simon turned towards her and asked "What do you mean?".
"What I mean to say is the journey this time had developed you more as a person. You are far more decisive and calm that it also rubs off on to others who look up to you. You have learnt to rely on others more and are starting to act more like a leader now. I think it''s a good thing".
Irene exined, her deep eyes staring straight at Simon. She wasn''t na?ve, she knew for a person to change so drastically so fast, they must have had to go through incredibly hard and risky trials. And given the way how Simon''s entire outlook and conduct changed after he returned, she felt like the tribtion he had to go through was very tough on him.
Looking at those deep crystal blue eyes that was masked with concern, Simon felt a feeling that he had long forgotten about. Just when he felt like he wanted to stare at those eyes a little longer, Cecilia and the Valkyries arrived from their tour of the White Pce.
"Big brother¡ we are back"
"Master"
Cecilia dered her presence while the maid sisters mannerly performed their bows.
Irene hurriedly shifted her eyes, looking a little bbergasted; Simon on the other had a helpless smile on his face.
"What were you all talking about?" Cecilia asked finding a seat in between them matter of factly.
"Nothing much, I was just about to go see the changes that have urred to on the main floor while I was gone," Simon said putting his head straight.
"Oh Oh!!¡ I want toe too" the little Forest Spring Royal Spirit showed her willingness toe with him. What''s more, she grabbed Irene''s hand and forced her to tag along.
Simon pondered over a bit before deciding that there was no harm to bring them along. He then nced at the silently standing Valkyries before asking "Do you want to join us too? It will be a good experience for you all to familiarise yourself with the structure of the main floor".
Since he was already taking Cecilia and Irene there was no harm to bring the maid sisters. Plus he felt a little bad to ask them to just stay in the hall while they are gone.
"It will be an honour to see our lord working," Ate said agreeing readily.
"Ahhh~ to witness our master working with our own eyes, I cannot tell you how excited I am" And of course, Bea added sensually, not even trying to hide her second nature.
The group exited the white pce, strolled around the backyard before heading towards the tall crystal trees in the distance.
"I have been meaning to ask this for a while, why are there clouds on the ceiling of the Main Floor? I remember those kinds of features can only be added after the dungeon bes [B] rank or higher" Simon asked turning his head up and looking at the looming white clouds on the ceiling.
"Hehe, Big brother let me tell you, those aren''t clouds but actually the mystical energy. Those clouds that you see up there are actually the condensation of the dense amount of mystical energy that was produced on this floor".
"The mystical energy on the main floor had be so substantial that the mist transformed into clouds thus pouring down as rain onto thend as a part of precipitation and then evaporating to be new clouds, therefore forming a mystical cycle" Cecilia said proudly puffing her chest.
Simon blinked his eyes and looked at Cecilia beside him in amazement. Was she really the easy going, carefree Cecilia that he knew? Who was this knowledgeable person talking beside him?
"Wow princess Cecilia is so amazing she knows so much about the main floor" Alice walking behind them, added. Her eyes seem to be idolising Cecilia.
It seemed that it was not only him that was amazed by Cecilia''s sudden outburst of knowledge. Also, at some point it looked like the two had be good friends.
"Hehe, Big Sister Irene also said that these are all signs of the Mystical veins underneath the Main Floor evolving" Cecilia added beamingly.
''As I thought, it was Irene who told her all that'' Simon thought internally.
The thing about the mystical veins on this floor evolving really intrigued him. Mystical veins are like a huge invisible river running through the earth that nourishes the life and fills the world with mana. The more concentration of mystical veins a ce has, the more rich it is in mystical energy.
One does not even need to exin how important and wondrous a ce can be if it is rich in mystical energy. Take the serenity pond for example, after Cecilia altered it with her abilities and connected the mystical veins with it so that all that energy from the earth is deposited in it, the pond started changing drastically.
Not to mention it started producing many extraordinary items like the serenity stone, scarlet mutation crystal and so and so forth.
Simon could tell that the concentration of mystical veins underneath his [Main floor] was so high now that they are starting to undergo some changes and the mystical clouds on the ceiling was just a resulting effect from these change that are happening.
ording to the memories he had inherited, these changes should only ur after his dungeon evolves up to be [C] rank or above. But for some reason, it was already happening now.
When the concentration of mystical veins reaches a certain threshold, they evolve to be Heart Veins. Needless to say, the Heart Veins are much more rare and rich in mystical energy than the mystical veins.
If the mystical veins are spread out like small brooks, then the heart veins are like tributaries of a river spread out all across the floor in a vastlyplexwork. They carry mystical energy that is far more purer than mystical veins.
And currently, the mystical veins on his main floor were on their way to bing heart veins.
Simon was pleasantly delighted by these changes as he nced at the innocently smiling Cecilia who was the main perpetrator behind all these alterations taking ce on his main floor.
No one, not even the high ranking demon Nobles from the demon society would ever believe that a low rank dungeon that emerged not so long ago, having heart veins on its main floor.
Smiling in contentment, Simon believed that it wouldn''t be long before his dungeon evolves up to be a [C] rank.
The group walked around the white pce before moving towards the garden that was maintained by Irene.
"What''s all these?!" Simon asked looking at the marvelling scene in front of him. As far as his eyes could see, the garden was filled with varieties of flowers, shrubs, vines and speckles of light arranged in a neat and tasteful way.
That was not all, the things nted in this garden were all incredibly rare herbs and flowers that could only be found in ces rich in mystical energy.
"Wow"
"What a lovely view"
"This is breathtaking"
The captivated voices of the Valkyrie sisters sounded out. It seemed that they were smitten by the view of the garden.
"Did Mistress Irene do all of this?" Ate asked looking at the colourful garden all around her.
Irene nodded her and showed the sisters around. Of course, as a member of the Forest Spring Spirits, Cecilia had much more knowledge about the nts and flowers that was growing around here than anyone else. Her description were always detailed and was informative to hear.
Seeing the group of girls getting excited and carried away, Simon could only smile helplessly. It seemed no matter what world, beautiful things always appealed to women.
Simon sat on a bench that was made of vines and leaves while the girls went ahead and had a tour of the garden. Simon wasn''t much interested in gardening and stuff; however, from the breathtaking sight around him, he could see the efforts Irene and Cecilia put into nting them.
As he arched his body andy on the bench, the fragrant wind carrying along a wondrous effect brushed past his body.
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At this moment, he felt his body rejuvenated, refreshed and filled with energy. He felt as if he had toe to a legendary ce that soothed his heart and healed his mind.
Shocked, Simon opened his mind and examined the flowers and nts around him. If he was not mistaken, some of the nts and flowers around here should be the seeds that were brought in by the Forest Spring Spirit n.
No wonder he felt a sense of familiarity, he had seen these nts before when he went to the Ancient Treants territory to get the Forest Spring Spirits.
The effects that he felt in the breeze just now was because of these rare nts and herbs. A unique effect must have been triggered when so many varieties of these nts and flowers were blended in one garden.
What these changes entailed, Simon had no idea but given the fact that Irene and Cecilia had a hand in it, he was sure that this ce would be something incredible in the near future.
After the girls came back from their trip to the flower garden, the group slowly strolled towards the distant mountains which were allotted to Cecilia to grow mana trees. Standing true to her race, Cecilia delivered a lush and Verdant canopy of mana trees growing all around the mountains.
Even before the group arrived near the ce, they could feel the vast amount of mana being released by those mountains. A thick amount of mist lingered around the ce and covered the mountains, giving it a more mystical look.
"Hehe, Big Brother, everyone let''s go up¡ I''ll show you something," Cecilia said arching her nose high and started walking in front of the group.
Seeing her antics, Irene smiled probably aware of what she wanted to show to others.
''So there was something else up in those mountains other than the juvenile Mana trees?'' Simon thought internally as he followed behind the little girl curiously.
It had only been around five months since the time he gave her the seeds of mana trees. During this period, the mana trees had not only grown from their seed to be sprouts, but turned into young juvenile trees growing up to a height of ny meters on average.
Mana trees were extremely important for a dungeon as they produced and even synthesised mystical energy all across the floor. The density of mana inside a dungeon also indicates how closer it is to increase up a rank.
Naturally, the higher the rank of the dungeon, the denser the mana it has within it. And the denser the mana, the better the plunders. This is also the reason why high ranking dungeon are so lucrative to adventurers as it provides simply more rewards than a low ranking dungeon could.
In any case, if he wants to increase the rank of his dungeon, it is important that he nts Mana Trees all across the floors. Usually, the Mana Trees would have taken a long time to even grow into a sprout and producing and synthesising mystical energy would be a long dream, especially for a low ranking dungeon with limited features.
But thanks to Cecilia, a member of the forest Spring spirit race who is known for being close to nature and having the ability to manipte it, the mana trees in his dungeon had grown at an astonishing rate iparable to the ones growing in any other dungeon.
Although he knew how amazing Cecilia''s abilities were, he was still a little amazed to see mountains full of young mana trees.
Following Cecilia''s lead, the group trekked up the mountain and arrived in front of a cave. Seeing Cecilia stop in front of it, Simon couldn''t help but ask "What is it that you want to show us?".
Seeing Juvenile Mana trees was already plenty surprising¡ could it be that there was still something inside the cave?
"Hehe, big brother weren''t you discussing about materials required to produce those golems with Little Wisp? Guess what, some of it is currently growing inside this cave" the little forest spring spirit girl dered rubbing her nose.
Hearing what she has to say, Simon''s eyes contracted for a fraction of a second. The materials needed to manufacture higher versions of Andromeda weren''t something that are easily avable and needs to be procured using various other means.
Simon believed that given enough time, his dungeon would naturally be able to produce some of it. However, even he didn''t expect that he would be hearing that his dungeon was already producing some of it.
Without waiting for anyone, Simon stepped forward and walked inside the cave only to stand rooted the next moment.
All around him and as far as the eye could see, minerals were protruding out from this ce like stgmites and stctites. They were in so much quantity that if one wanted to mine them, it would easily take quite a few weeks of their time.
Not to mention the cave was just starting out and looked very deep. As Simon walked further in, he was astounded to find the quality and quantity of the minerals increasing. There was not only one type of ores to be found here, but different varieties of it.
For example, there was BrightSilver, a mineral that was a little more stronger than WhiteSilver, ckgold and Neo steel growing in it. NeoSteel was one of the materials required to create a higher version of Andromeda and although ckgold would be a little difficult to process given the mechanism of the factory was yet to be fully built, it was a good enough substitute for now.
At this instant, Irene and the other also caught up with him and seeing his excited face, they couldn''t help but smile themselves.
"Are these minerals what you were looking for?" Irene asked not understanding what was so engrossing about these inanimate stones. She had seen the golems and experienced its powers herself but it did not strike as much emotions within her as Simon which led to her wondering what was so amazing about those metal golems.
It was not only her but even the Maid sisters had nk or puzzled expressions in their eyes. It was only Cecilia that was having a genuine happy face. Though in her case she just wanted to be praised by her big brother.
Hearing Irene''s question Simon nodded his head, these were indeed some of the materials needed to manufacture the Andromedas.
"How did this¡" he asked, puzzled and delighted by the discovery.
"You should thank her for this, this little girl had altered the trajectory of the mystical veins and created a path that flowed internally through the mountain. Thanks to that, the mountain itself had drastically changed and transformed into one that produced minerals" Irene exined.
Since Cecilia herself did not know much about her powers, she was more or less clueless about it just like the other.
Hearing her rification, Simon understood what had happened here, this forest spirit girl had once again used her iprehensible powers to induce changes around her without herself being aware about it.
Simon looked at Cecilia who was smiling smugly and patted her head. Although she always did these kinds of absurd things, it had always ended up involuntarily benefitting him.
Mineral mountains Grade [C]- Mountains with a deposit of Mystical energy that produces minerals and ores over time. Therger the deposit of the mountain, the higher the quality and ratio of ores.
Simon could install these mountains from the shop, in fact, he even did so on some of the floors. However, the ones essible to him currently in the shop, were all below grade [C] and only had WhiteSivler and low ranking ores growing on them.
Far from what he needed to build better marks of Andromeda. Simon was getting excited just by thinking how he would be able to have those powerful warmachines from that game at his disposal.
He was a game developer and game maniac in his previous life, of course he loved mechas.
"Big brother are you happy?" Cecilia asked wanting to be praised.
"Yeah, I am very happy, thank you Cecilia" Simon thanked Cecilia and along with the others, descended down the mountain. Now that he knew there were NeoSteel and ckGold growing inside those mountains, he made a mental note to tell the third guardian about it so that it can send some of the Andromedas here to mine it.
Also, he would like to see if Cecilia can induce the same changes with the mountains on the workshop (the Third Guardian''s floor).
Now that they had toured almost all around the main floor, it was now time to go check out the main showcase of the floor located at the centre. The pond of serenity and the beautiful tree of mana crystals around it.
The pond of serenity had always been the most mysterious and precious treasure on his main floor. Not only was it the ce where all the mystical energy from the mystical veins are deposited, it was also the ce that produced the serenity stone, scarlet mutation crystals and various other things that were yet to be discovered lying on the bottom of the pond.
Thest time he dived inside it he was able to endure for as long as one minute, Simon wanted to test his limits and see how long he can endure inside the pond now that he was much stronger than before.
As the group approached the centre of the floor, the density of the mystical energy in the air became so high that it was palpable. A dense amount of mist lingered around this ce produced by the pond endlessly and gave others a chilly yet pleasant sensation.
Amidst the mist at the centre where the multi-coloured lights wereing from, was a beautiful pond straight out of a fairy tale.
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It was surrounded by wide trees of mana crystals that were each as big as fifty meters with branches spread over a wide area. What was beguiling about those trees was that instead of having leaves, the trees grew beautiful crystals that shone just like a diamond.
Naturally, seeing the mystical scene in front of them, anybody would be enraptured, the same was so for the maid sisters who were looking at this scene for the very first time.
"Wow this is beautiful"
"Indeed"
"Un.. Un"
The maid sisters couldn''t keep their voices down and each expressed their opinions at the sight in front of them.
Simon who was walking in the front smiled, he too was just like them when he saw the sight for the first time. Leaving the awestruck girls to their own devices, Simon approached the pond which had evolved even further in the span of five months.
The pond of serenity due to the tinkering from Cecilia had bepletely different. It was now much more precious than a mere pond of serenity and was a valuable part of his dungeon.
Since arge volume of pure mystical energy is deposited in the bottom of the pond constantly, it was bound to evolve in time. Even Irene whose favourite ce on the main floor was the pond, was of the same opinion.
In fact, it was her who told him about the changes taking ce inside the pond. Simon came near the shore and set his gaze at the depth of the water that was shining with a bright azure colour. It looked quite beautiful and serene to look at but make no mistake, it was no ordinary water but actual mystical energy condensed into a liquid form.
It was because of the presence of this energy that was so dense and pure that many mysterious and powerful things were growing inside the pond. No to mention that energy itself was very beneficial for Simon; after all, the water at the bottom was the purest form of mystical energy itself.
If Simon can adjust his body to the tremendous pressure it puts on him, he can actually benefit from it. Smiling fiercely, he dived inside the pond without any further thoughts.
SPLASH¡ hearing the sound of sshing water, the girls turned towards the area where Simon was just a moment ago. They all were surprised by his sudden action to dive inside the pond except for Irene who expected Simon to do something like that.
From the moment Simonid his eyes on the pond and observed it so carefully, she could tell what was going inside his head. It came as no surprise to her that he would decide to dive inside it the moment he approached the pond.
"Umm master¡ we should follow after him" Ate stated, anxious from the abrupt action of their master.
The Valkyries were just about to follow in the footsteps of Simon and dive inside the pond when Irene stopped them.
"It''s alright, he knows what he is doing. Although the level of mystical energy inside the bottom of the pond is at dangerous levels, he wants to experience it himself and test the limits of his current body. Let us wait for him outside".
The Valkyrie sisters nodded their heads without anyints, they were watching Simon from the void thus they knew the position Irene had in this dungeon. They respected her not because she was powerful and earned her own ce in the dungeon but because of how much time she spent with Simon, guiding and standing beside him.
The girls waited by the shore of the pond discussing various aspects of the main floor when the sshing of the water sounded again and Simon came out of the pond.
"Wee Master" Bea passed him a towel she procured from who knows where.
"Three minutes fifty seconds, you were close to enduring it for whole four minutes. So how was it inside?" Irene asked.
"Huff¡ Huff¡ it was a good experience. I can tell that my body is far stronger and durable than before. Thanks to soaking in the effect of the pond of serenity, I feel like my body has rejuvenated and be a little lighter" Simon said observing his body.
"That is because the mystical energy has the effect of nourishing all life, due to it all the hidden wounds that you have suffered through your journey, was healed. Not only that, if you keep on soaking inside it like that, it will also improve your talent and aptitude gradually".
Irene added before changing the subject.
"So did you find anything useful inside there? I know your goal besides testing the limits of your body was to see the things that are growing inside the pond".
Seeing that he cannot hide it from Irene, Simon decided to just take it out of his inventory. A crimson stalk of a nt that was around half a meter big, was held in his hand.
The moment Irene saw the thing, she immediately recognised it.
"What are you going to do with this?" She asked curiously.
"Well, our guest took so much trouble toe to our doors, it would be inappropriate of me, if I do not give them a good wee. As the dungeon master of this ce, I should extend my hospitality towards them" Simon said shing a wicked smile.
Looking at his face that was nning something, Irene sighed. Knowing the effects of that stalk she now felt bad for the adventurers who were going to suffer because of it.
''Really, the moment he returns back, hees up with stuff that makes you wonder who the real bad guy is'' Irene thought internally.
"You should wipe that grin off your face, you look like a viin right now," she said finding a nearby rock to seat on.
"What?!" Conscious from that remark, Simon touched his face. Was he really making a face like a viin?
Seeing the two get lost in their own conversation, Ate and the others tactfully decided to take their leave at this moment, leaving the two to have their moment.
"Master please excuse us, we shall return to the pce". The Valkyrie sister bowed and exited the ce taking along Cecilia who had found a friend in Alice.
Simon frowned his brows wondering why they were in such a hurry to leave the ce. Nevertheless, he didn''t think much about it and discarded the thought.
"Ah! Before I forget, there is something I need your help with" Simon asked turning towards the peacefully sitting Irene near him.
"Hm? And what that might be?" Irene asked a little surprised. This was the first time Simon had ever vocally asked her help with, of course, she would be surprised.
Simon stepped a little back, opened his [Inventory] and dropped a huge block of ice that looked like a coffin.
The moment the ice coffin came out, it rapidly decreased the temperature of the air and almost solidified it.
Seeing the ice coffin, Irene''s eyes went wide. "So you used the Philosopher''s stone huh" she said, there was no way she won''t recognise the magic she had stored inside the philosopher''s stone that she had given Simon as one of the parting gifts.
It did make her uneasy that he was forced to use her magic; nheless, it was all good now that he was here safe and sound.
Irene did not know why, she felt a tinge of anger at Adalinda for not keeping her promise to keep Simon safe. Shaking her head off the thought, Irene decided to focus on the thing that was currently sealed inside her magic.
The moment sheid her eyes on it, she was stunned once again. Sealed inside the magic, was a gigantic grey finger that was around ten meters big. Seeing the size of the finger, one would have to wonder how big the entity this finger belonged to was.
However, the reason Irene was shocked was not because of the size of the finger but because of the great amount of curse energy it had inside it.
"What is this?" Irene uttered locking her brows.
This was the first time Simon had seen Irene so confused thus he decided to tell her about it. In any case, Adalinda knew about his adventures on the Forbidden trail ground so there was no reason or him to keep it a secret from Irene who was one of his guardians.
Additionally, he knew that she cared about him or else there was no exnation for her behaviour and the precious gifts that she had given him.
When Simon recounted his tale of entering the forbidden trails, Irene did not react like how Adalinda did. Though she showed more concerns when he mentioned how he was cornered by the Sea god''s trident guild and his near death encounters in the trails.
Simon thought that she would react more from the name of Forbidden trial but given that she did not show even a tinge of reaction, he wondered if she didn''t know about the ce. Which brought him to his earlier thought about whether summoning brought subordinates from other worlds or not.
Anyways, back to the ice coffin in question. After Simon finished recounting his story of the fourth trail of the forbidden grounds, Irene became silent all of a sudden.
Wondering why she was like that, Simon nced at her eyes and realised that it was icy cold. Even the aura she was currently releasing, was frosty. After living with her for some time, he had learned how to read the expressions of this ice cold beauty and given that ability, he could tell that she was currently angry; No, furious.
"????!" Not realising what triggered that reaction Simon locked his brows in consternation.
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Irene looked at him with icy cold eyes then got up from her seat and approached him. The way she came forward one step at a time, made her look menacing which ultimately dropped the temperature of the surrounding even further.
Simon thought that it was his imagination but the pebbles lying on the floor getting covered with frost, indicated otherwise.
Irene stopped when she was just a few inches away from him. From this distance, Simon could even feel her breath and smell the fragrance that always surrounded her.
Since the moment he summoned her, she always held a special spot in his heart. Not because she was the first guardian he had ever summoned, but because of some reasons even unknown to him. He had met many other beauties on his trip to the outside world; however, none of them ever manage to make his heart and thoughts turbulent like she did.
On any other asion, he would have enjoyed thepany of a beauty so close to him. But right now, her icy cold eyes made him feel like he was being threatened at the gunpoint.
Irene took a deep breath and released it, her bountiful chest rising up and down. Her icy cold gaze that was locked onto Simon dissipated a little at this moment as she asked "You don''t even realise your mistake do you?".
"Huh?!"
"This clueless attitude of yours is still the same. You don''t even realise how close to death you were. It pisses me how carefree and easy you make your adventures sound like. Do you not know or just don''t think about it? if any of those factors were missing in your story, you would have likely been captured or died".
"How many times did I tell you not to act recklessly, do you ever listen? Or everything that I say just goes to one ear and out the other? Have you any clue how concerned Cecilia and the forest Spring Spirits were after you were out there for more than five months?"
"You didn''t even send any words making us all anxious whether you were safe or not. And now this¡ Did you really think you can up make up for all this by cooking us a meal? I thought it was weird how you were out for so long leaving your precious dungeon like that. But who knew that you were out there enjoying putting your life at risk¡"
Irene kept on going on for a while giving Simon an earful of her pent up frustration.
Simon opened and closed his mouth a few times trying toe up with something. But in the end, gave up on it seeing how concerned Irene was.
He was not a god, there were many things that he didn''t understand or things beyond his capability. Sometimes he was dumb to stuff happening around him, other times a crafty fox. However, even he could realise from her words that she was genuinely and truly concerned for him.
BA-DUMP¡
At this moment, Simon had this sudden urge to embrace the beauty in front of him and so without thinking anything else, he did what his guts told him.
SQUEEZE¡
Before Irene couldpose herself, she was suddenly grabbed by her waist and her body was tightly nestled into the embrace of Simon.
BA-DUMP... BA-DUMP... at that instant, Irene''s mind became nk and she could no longer think things straight. Feeling the broad and hard chest filled with muscles that her body was stuck to, her heart started beating like crazy and she felt like a captured rabbit.
When she looked up and gazed at the deep crimson eyes of the man that was embracing her, her face immediately became beet red and she couldn''t help but distance herself by pushing with both of her hands.
Simon suddenly felt regretful and empty the moment Irene escaped his embrace. Just until a few moments ago he was relishing on the feeling of her soft and lithe body that felt like it would melt from his touch.
Even though due to her abilities, her body exuded an extreme amount of cold, he felt the heat of her body at that moment. Her crystal blue fragrant hair that was like the waterfall, her snow white skin that was so smooth to touch, and her wildly pounding heart, Simon vividly remembered the sensation.
He wanted to embrace the beauty a little more; however seeing the redness in her face reach till her beautiful neckline, it finally dawned onto him his own actions.
Simon couldn''t help but make an awkward face realising that he had taken advantage of her when her guard was down.
The two looked at each other and Irene hurriedly shifted her gaze as if escaping his. Her heart and mind was a mess right now and no matter how she tried to calm it down or don her indifferent expression, she felt as if she was not in control of her own emotions anymore.
She would be right in her ce to be angry at Simon; however, for some reason, she couldn''t get furious at him. On the contrary, this other foreign emotion that she had no control was currently ruling her mind.
In the distance amidst the plentiful foliage of the Mana crystal trees, three people were currently spying on the couple that was just a few seconds ago embracing each other tightly.
"Hehe, way to go big brother, hug her again" a certain girl with emerald green hair, fairy like wings and having a doll like appearance said grinning widely.
Beside her, was another girl a few years older than her, with short blonde hair, rubellite eyes that was masked with excitement over watching the adventures of the couple.
Thest person with them was a mature beauty with peach hair that was tied with her hair band releasing a sensual aura. "Ahnn~~ not fair master, I''m too avable for you to embrace me anytime".
Who could the three be other than Cecilia, Alice and Bea? As the three watched the embarrassment of the couple andughed, out of nowhere from the shadow, a person donning an armour over their maid outfit, appeared.
Ate looked at the three stalkers who had suddenly disappeared from the pce and grabbed them by their ears.
"Ow¡ ow¡ ow¡ elder sister it hurts it hurts," Alice said pleading mercy.
"Ahn~ what are you doing elder sister, only master is allowed to torcher this body of mine," Bea said twisting her tantalising body.
"Hmph, I was wondering where you were gone off to but to think you are spying on our master. It seems that you all need discipline¡e back with me. You too princess Cecilia, peeping on someone is a disgraceful act".
Ate said, setting the three troublemakers straight. After that, with her strength, she pulled the unwilling trio back with her.
"Ehhh.. I want to see big brother hug big sister more"
"That''s right.. that''s right elder sister Ate please let us watch master some more"
"You must be kidding me¡ just when we have reached the best part. I must witness what happens next".
Simon and Irene turned their heads and listened to the ruckus made by a certain group of people which quickly disappeared into the distance. From the look of the things, it seemed that they were being spied upon.
Hearing their words, Simon''s eyes twitched continuously. The same was so for Irene who had trouble looking at him with her gaze. There was no way either party was not thinking about what happened a few moments ago.
With the current situation being the stimulus, of course, the memories from what happened a couple of months ago, also surfaced up at this moment.
Simon instinctively felt his hand twitch, that bountiful and full sensation he felt when he identally fell on top of her and grabbed her chest. That soft pink lips that was a few inches away from his. All those memory from before flooded his mind.
Irene too was no exception, with the way she was covering her chest, there was no way she was not thinking about that moment, that little ident that happened a few months ago.
At this moment, the environment around them turned absolute silent with neither party saying anything. Just when it looked like it would continue, Simon thickened his face and coughed to disperse the silence.
''Goddammit, why does she has to be so stimting even when embarrassed'' Simon cursed internally seeing how red Irene looked at his moment. Her snow white skin coupled with her glossy eyes and the red hue on her gave her an otherworldly unique charm.
"Ahem¡ about the ice coffin, can you do something about it?" Simon tried to change the subject.
The mood was already destroyed by the spectators that were spying on them thus it was best to avoid the topic. Plus with the change of subject, he wanted to see if Irene was furious at him or not for his previous transgression.
As he had mentioned before, he was not good at everything, there were obviously things that he was bad at and reading Irene''s emotions at certain times was one of them. Though from his perspective she didn''t seem particrly angry to him.
Fortunately for Irene, the change of subject finally provided her with the opportunity topose herself. She took a deep breath of air and quelled the emotions that was running rampant inside her.
She decided to go with the pretext that Simon had thrown at her.
"I don''t know what you were thinking bringing this thing here? The finger contains an extreme amount of curse energy that is beyond your current level".
405 Chapter 405
Do you even know what harm it might bring if you can''t control that energy? The curse energy ispletely different from the standard Mystical energy of this ne without the appropriate knowledge, technique and affinity, one shouldn''t even be able to harness it. I don''t know if I should be amazed anymore or simply get used to your unusualness".
Irene quipped admitting defeat. From her perspective, Simon shouldn''t even be able to survive an encounter with the curse energy, much less be able to harness it.
The fact that he could stay sane even when exposed to it would already be a miracle but to even control the energy, Irene had given up midway and decided to just ept his unusualness.
"I was thinking maybe you could tell me if there was a way for me to use this thing. Now that it no longer has any intent of its own, it''s just a dead piece of flesh that produces its own supply of curse energy. After experiencing how dominant the energy was, it felt like a waste to just leave it there" Simon exined his reasoning behind bringing the thing with him.
Hearing his words, Irene narrowed her eyes and approached the finger sealed within her magic.
"How did you even bring the thing with you?" she asked, technically it could be considered a corpse and one cannot bring a dead body inside the subspace of a space ring. Unless Simon carried it physically, it was impossible to bring the thing with him.
"About that¡ I found a loophole in my [Inventory]" this was not the world of his game, there are bound to be some bugs and loopholes popping up now that he had reincarnated in a world with his menu.
Irene arched her crescent brows, although she did not understand what he meant by loophole, she got the gist of it.
"What do you think?" Seeing Irene carefully examine the finger inside the ice coffin with her phoenix eyes, Simon asked. The earlier awkward atmosphere between them was long gone and an air of seriousness had taken its ce.
"I didn''t think it was possible for you who haven''t even mastered the true essence of the mystical energy to manipte the curse energy. However, if you say that you are somehow able to harness its power, it''s not like there is no way you can''t use the finger" Irene said finishing her examination of the finger.
"Is there really a way I can use the finger?" Simon asked back excited. He only brought the finger with him since he felt it was a waste to leave it there after he had worked so hard to clear the fourth trail.
He basically did not have much hope for using it as a weapon. However, Irene''s words ignited a new hope within him.
"How much do you know about techniques?" all of a sudden, Irene asked him a peculiar question.
-------
A couple of hourster¡ inside the white pce.
The moment Simon and Irene walked inside, they were greeted by the line-up of five maids, each wearing a beautiful maid dress underneath their armour.
Simon was a little astonished by this wee, his previously empty pce was starting to be a little more alive now with the addition of the Valkyries. Also since they were absolutely loyal to him, he had no qualms with them staying here.
The white pce had more than enough room to amodate them. On the off chance that it was still not enough, Simon could always add a few more rooms to the white pce.
"Master please excuse us, we took the liberty to enter the kitchen and cooked a meal for all of you" Ate said stepping forward.
Simon was not amazed, the Valkyrie sisters besides being good atbat, had excellent housekeeping skills. He designed them in a way that they not only aided the yers in their adventures but also served them in doing all the menial chores.
Some of their skills were also created keeping them in mind. Be it from cooking to taking care of the pce, perhaps there was no one better than them. Simon was not surprised that they had already familiarised themselves with the kitchen; after all, he was the one who created them thus he knew how seriously they took their work.
He thought over it before deciding that he would have the mealter, right now he was just too tired from his training and needed a warm bath to rx his fatigued body.
When he mentioned that to his maids, they immediately replied by telling him that the bath was ready.
"We thought that after training for so long, Master would want a bath. That is why, we had already prepared the bathhouse for you".
The moment Simon he heard that, he was stunned. "All of it?" he asked.
"Yes Master, all of it".
The bathhouse of the white pce was enormous and a ce of extravagance. Not only was it based on the things he experienced on earth, but it might also be one of its kind on Althaea.
The bathhouse was divided into sixteen zones in total and was further subdivided into nine for the two genders. Not only did it haverge changing rooms, but it also had different kinds of baths starting from the Roman Bath, the Jungle Style Bath, Carbonated bath, Jazuzzi and so on so forth.
The reason that the bathhouse of his white pce was so extravagant was because Simon was a huge fan of bathing in his previous life. Thus when he installed the pce, bathhouse was one of the things that he vividly pictured in his head.
Since there were so many baths and there was no telling which one Simon would use, it came as a surprise that the valkyries prepared all of them.
It seemed that he had underestimated the work of efficiency of the maids, it had even been one day since he summoned them, but they have already started taking care of the pce.
HAAAA...
Simon was thinking all of that while lying inside the Roman bath. Ten golden statues of the lions that constantly released water from its mouth were ced around the bath.
As he allowed his body to lie inside the tub, he felt all his exhaustion dissipate away as if it was never there.
After he was done taking a bath, he went to the dining hall where they all had a meal. Simon asked the maid sisters to join them but it seemed that they were too stuck up with their work ethics.
After that, Simon went back to the pond of serenity to continue his training. As a demon viscount, his body didn''t need much sleep, simply taking rest was enough for him to recover from his fatigue. Thus Simon trained near the pond of serenity day and night and just like that three days had passed.
During these three days, Irene would be constantly guiding him and showing him all the mistakes hemitted in his training.
"Alright, it seems like you more or less got it. With that, you should be able to control it. Now you just need to...".
As usual, today too Irene was beside him checking on his progress. She was just him some advice when from the corner of her she noticed one of the [Helpers] hurriedly walking towards them.
Even before they gave their report, Irene immediately understood what it was about and narrowed her eyes. She looked at Simon who was calmly sitting on a rock after finishing his training.
"Huff.. Huff¡ Lord Simon, I have an urgent message¡" the one who came to report was Jared.
Looking at the distressed face of the boy, Simon first told him to calm down before giving his report.
Jared did as he was told, took a deep breath to calm his anxious heart and reported "Lord Simon the adventurers you have told to keep an eye on, have reached the thirty-fifth and will soon arrive on the thirty sixth floor. Sir Coleus and the others are on the thirty sixth floor, awaiting your orders".
So the time has finallye huh, the opponents were about to reach theirst line of defence, its time he made his move too. Simon stood up and steadily recited out orders.
"You all did a good job monitoring them. Tell coleus and the others that I''ll be soon arriving on that floor. Do not do anything and stay in your stations till then. Additionally, avoid bringing the news to the Forest Spring vige, your nsmen will be needlessly troubled because of this. You may leave now".
"Yes" Jared bowed once before walking towards the teleportation gate located on the main floor.
"What are you nning?" Irene asked standing beside him.
"Since the enemy has gone through so much trouble to arrive on the thirty sixth floor, naturally, I will wee them with our full force. Make them understand that dungeon Lace isn''t a ce that they can simply conquer on a whim" Simon dered, his crimson eyes burning with a brilliant radiance.
Seeing him raring to go, Irene sighed and stated "In that case allow me toe with you too".
Simon turned towards Irene who wanted to follow him in theirst stand at defence on the thirty sixth floor. As one of the Guardians of the dungeon, it was only but natural for her to safeguard it and given that she was the strongest being inside the dungeon, Simon felt more safe when she was guarding the main floor.
He wanted to change her mind and tell her to protect the dungeon core instead but when he saw her determined eyes, he gave up on the thought and nodded.
Simon knew how protective Irene was of the Forest Spring Spirits, there was no way she was just going to sit there and do nothing while he and the other fought for the survival of their dungeon on the upper floors.
406 Chapter 406
"In that case, I have a task for you¡" Simon discussed a few matters of relevance with Irene before using the [Teleport] function to move away to a different ce.
Irene saw him off with her eyes before moving toplete her own task assigned to her.
------
[Grand Lightning sh] a huge broadsword covered in red thunder came shing down bisecting a monster that looked like a huge rat covered in crimson furs.
"What the fuck are they?" a man with a body filled with scars said. He had the build of a warrior, kept a shapely brown beard and was taking the charge for his teammates.
"We have no idea Guild Leader Morgress, this is the first time we came across a monsters called the Fire Eater Rat" Sable the [Crimson Scorching Sage] and also one of the sevens swords said. Beside him were the other members of the seven swords and also a few other people whose levels were not below them.
"What about you guys? Don''t you have any information on these monsters?" Morgress asked cutting another mouse and stopping the others from encircling them.
The people he was talking to, were members that were sent here by the Sea God''s Trident guild to aid them on their conquest to capture the forest Spring Spirits. Obviously, they weren''t the members of that guild and were people that were hired by them.
Morgress had no idea who they are but from the heavy bloody aura lingering on their body and their rough characters, he could tell that they were no adventurers but criminals. For what reason they were following the orders of the Sea God''s Guild didn''t matter to him. As long they are useful or could be used as a meat shield, he had no qualms to work with them.
"KuKu¡ you seriously think when adventurers like you don''t know what these monsters are, we will know that? Besides, I''m more amazed that you all call yourself adventurers when you can''t even recognise the race of these monsters without the aid of your skills" one of the people holding the charge with Morgress in the frontlines said.
"Is that so¡" Morgress made an irritated face and quickly disposed of one of the mouse that was trying to get past their defence.
"How long do you idiots want us to hold the front lines for you¡" he shouted out towards the backlines where the mages were currently conjuring their spells.
Right after his words, sounded out, various spells and magic took form in the air and flew towards the hordes of crimson mouse surrounding them.
Currently, they were on the thirty fifth floor, inside a gigantic pit that was filled with these monsters. The entire ce was dark and hot with nay a light to be found anywhere. The pathways were narrow and the entire ce was like abyrinth, difficult to navigate.
The only illumination this ce had were the monsters who released a scorching fiery energy. They had fought these monsters on the thirty fourth floor too but their numbers and levels weren''t this high.
Additionally, they wouldn''t have been in this pinch where they were surrounded from all sides had they not fallen inside the hole that was their of these monsters.
There were all shapes and sizes of monsters surrounding them. Some were as small as a few inches, while others were as big as the entire pathway. Leaving the big ones aside, the small ones weren''t that much of a threat but what made them obnoxious to face was the heat that surrounded them.
Each of these mouse released a huge amount of heat which made it all the more difficult to bear in these narrow pathways. Not to mention when they die, they burst into fiery cinders damaging everything in the surrounding.
If things went on like this, they would be dead tired before they even reach the thirty sixth floor. It didn''t matter that their teamprised of all elites, it was all the same if they were all out of energy fighting thousands of these monsters.
It was the worse move one can make in a dungeon. Therefore, they needed to find an exit out of this pit soon. Fortunately, they had many people with assassin ss for the job.
In fact, their sevens swords also had one but that person was a betrayer and Morgress didn''t want to associate that person with the seven swords any longer. The fact that he didn''t kill the person yet was because they needed his might for their current mission and because the person himself was strong.
The assassin he was talking about was none other than Boris who was being ostracised by his teammates for selling them out.
Currently, he was on the frontlines tanking most of the damage. Nheless, he did not make anyints and skilfully did his job. But it did not mean that he was okay, right now his eyes were burning with anger and his body filled with hatred which he was taking out on the monsters.
The reason he was here was different from the others, Boris was here to avenge his brother Laris who had died at the hands of the demon who was the master of this dungeon. The scorn filled eyes of his former teammates and their re didn''t matter to him anymore. As long as he can kill that demon with his own hands and settle this grudge, he was fine dying here.
What''s more, given the years of partnership he had with them, he knew that they were nning to leave him here to die anyways.
Activating his skills and abilities, Boris brandished his dagger killing any mouse that tried to get past him.
Mages from the backlines would provide timely aid with their magic and like this, the team of fifteen people in total progressed. They would stop from time to time and switch ces to recover their energy and drink potions to restore their health.
But not Boris, he was being constantly pushed to be on the frontlines and rapidly deplete his reserves of potions.
"Kuku¡ your teammates are really callous, they don''t care about your life and death" a guy who was an assassin just like Boris, said. He wielded two short swords instead of daggers and tied his hair back into a ponytail.
"The name is Bryan" the assassin said trying to initiate a handshake. Nevertheless, he was ignored and shown the cold shoulder by Boris who didn''t even bother to look at him.
Bryan shrugged his shoulders without minding it, from his perspective he was bored of constantly fighting monsters and thus initiated a conversation. It matter not if the other party was being cold to him or not.
A few big spells came from the backlines and took the big ones down which were always a pain to face against. Each of them were all above level 300 and had multiple skills at their disposal. The thing that made them annoying was not their levels or numbers, but the heat they radiated.
Whenever they killed one of the big fellows, it would burst apart in an explosive fashion and radiate enough heat simr to a bomb. In this narrow pathway there was no way to escape it thus it made it a very irritating ability for the warriors.
The team depended on the mages to take them out whenever a big one showed up.
Bryan just finished taking care of one of the moderately sized Fire Eating Rat when suddenly one of his skills [Guide], acted up.
[Guide] was a skill exclusive of his rare assassin ss [Temr Assassin] that gave him a few instructions every now and then and was a skill he always relied on to get out of any difficult or pinch situation.
Additionally, [Guide] was also a Rare Ancient skill that took him quite the effort to learn.
Reading the instruction provided by his skill, Bryan turned towards one of the pathways and strained his senses. It was then that he felt it, the feeling of wind brushing past his skin. The feeling was so light that he would have otherwise missed it had he not paid enough attention to it.
However, that was not the point here, the presence of wind here could only mean that this pathway was connected to an exit that led out of the pit.
"I found the exit" he said out loud immediately gathering the attention on him.
"It''s this way" Bryan pointed out with his dagger.
"Alright let''s move" Morgress dered acting as the proxy leader. He didn''t trust the outsiders; however, he had no choice but to do so this once given the situation they were in didn''t look good.
The fifteen of them turned around the corner and fought the monsters for a while before an exit finally showed up. The group got out of the pit, took a rest for a while before marching forward.
The ground above the pit did have monsters roaming around but the numbers were far less than what was inside the pit and even the heat that they released when dying could be avoided.
It didn''t take long for these elites to explore the current floor and soon found the entrance to the next floor.
"I must say, when I was asked to do this mission by Benny, I thought it would be an easy task to conquer a [D] rank dungeon. But seeing that we have descended all the way down to the thirty fifth floor and have yet to meet a single powerful subordinate of the Demon Noble , makes me wanna reconsider if this really is a [D] rank dungeon or not" one of the people sent here by the Sea God''s guild said.
407 Chapter 407
"True that, the fact that the monsters here are all above level 300 contradicts with what the adventurers associations said".
"Now now, even if there are hundreds of these monsters blocking our path, they are not a threat that we can''t face. The guild master of the Sea God''s Trident told us the demon, the master of this dungeon, no longer has the protection of that person that destroyed the capital".
The group discussed outside the entrance to the thirty sixth floor as they recovered their expended mana and stamina.
"Tch, don''t you guys go cking now, I don''t want to babysit eight individuals. If I must, I will not hesitate to throw you guys as bait".
Morgress said a little irritated with the idle chatter of the people. His mood had been sour since the moment he entered the thirty fifth floor. For some reason, he had been having this weird unsettling feeling as if something big was about to go down.
Naturally, as a level 500 [Grand Lightning Warrior] he had absolute confidence in his abilities to block any obstacleing his way. Nheless, why is it that his nerves were all tensed when he had yet to meet a single strong opponent that could contend with him?
The rumours about some nightmarish looking warhorse that was a cmity ss, did evoke some concern from him but given the fact that the full line up of seven swords was present at this moment boosted his confidence even further.
It was not like this was the first time they were trying to conquer a [D] rank dungeon, since they had already seeded once a little over ten years ago for which they had received a domain to rule and a peerage from the Ellesmere royal family.
However, the [D] rank dungeon that they had conquered in the snow valley waspletely unlike the one they were facing right now, and was much more easier and had far fewer floors. Even the monsters there weren''t as unusual as the ones here not to mention the density of mana as they descended the floors got much more palpable.
As an adventurer who is at the doorstep to be one of the powerhouses, he had fought many monsters in his adventures. However, none of them were as peculiar as the one he had met on these past two floors.
His instincts were telling him that the dungeon was unlike any other one and cannot be underestimated at all costs. Gathering the seven swords except for Boris, he told them his n and asked them to be cautious at all times.
After the group was fully ready to move forward, they stepped towards the entrance to the next floor.
The thirty sixth floor was unlike the past few floors as it vast a huge jungle with gigantic trees and diverse flora and fauna. The mana around here thanks to the prosimity of the floor to the dungeon core and the many mana trees nted here, was so dense that it had turned into mist and covered the entire floor within it.
There was not only one type of monsters that spawned here but different races of them that continuously fought against each other for dominance and territory.
Nheless, the aforementioned things weren''t the only reason that set this floor apart from the others. There was another factor to this floor and that was the presence of the apex predator, a boss monster of sorts with power iparable to ordinary monsters.
Yes, the thirty sixth floor was home to the Lightning Draconic Serpent that Simon had subjugated on one of his trips to the ghastly winding forest.
Before leaving the dungeon, he using the [Ancient Draconic Compel] technique subjugated the Lightning Draconic Serpent one of the three overlords of the north and brought it inside his dungeon to safeguard it from the intruders.
And today was the day it will finally going to show its appearance to the adventurers and make its presence known to the entire inhabitants of the tower town. It will be one of the strongest boss monsters present inside the dungeon Lace and an element of fear for the adventurers but that was for the future.
Presently, on the tallest mountain shrouded by mist, a group of five individuals were currently waiting on top of it. Their faces were masked with anxiousness and a dreary aura surrounded them.
What wasmon about them was that they all had light green hairs, slightly pointed ears and released a vast natural aura. The people waiting on top of the mountains were none other than the five Forest Spring Spirits appointed as the [Helpers].
At this moment, they were all looking at the window that disyed the progress of the adventurers.
"They are here¡" Coleus said narrowing his eyes.
"Jared did you inform our lord about it," Birch asked turning towards the boy named Jared.
"Yes, Lord Simon is aware of it, he would be here any moment".
Hearing his words, Maya, Fay and the others [Helpers] all nced towards the huge Teleportation Gate that was set on this floor.
"Worry not, our lord is on his way. No matter how powerful the intruders are, they will not be able to pass through my floor. I will ensure that they regret ever trespassing into the domain of my lord".
A deep oppressive voice that made one''s eardrum ring sounded out from the mist surrounding the mountain and the gigantic figure of the Lightning Draconic serpent could be seen descending down.
The reason why the thirty sixth floor was unique was because of the presence of this fellow. His appearance and his aura alone was strong enough to cower these meek Forest Spring Spirits who did not have muchbat ability to begin with.
The fact that the Lightning Draconic Serpent was on their side, gave them a sense of assurance. Even without it telling them, the forest Spring spirits had absolute faith in Simon and wouldn''t waste even a second doubting him.
He was like a pir of faith to them to which all their devotion lied, just his presence inside the dungeon gave them the confidence to ovee all obstacles.
"You are right, instead of just standing here let us do what we can. Jared, what order does Lord Simon has for us?" Coleus asked trying to lift the spirits of his nsmen.
"Lord Simon told us to wait here" Jared replied.
"Alright, you all heard him, we wait for lord Simon to arrive here".
While he made a joke of himself with those contradicting words of his, he did end up lightening the mood.
ROOOARRRR¡
At this moment, the Lightning Draconic Serpent looked towards the distant end of the floor and roared. His roar also marked the beginning of the battle.
"So this is the next floor huh¡ I must say that the mana around here is quite dense" one of the warriors said after descending down the stairs.
"Don''t let your guard down, this floor is unlike the other ones we have explored up until now. Even though it''s very far away, I can still feel its presence from over here. Whatever that thing is, it is strong" Bryan said activating his detection skills.
"Is it that warhorse?" one of the Seven swords, a warrior decked out in full ted ckgold armour and carrying a gigantic hammer said. His name was Lombus and along with Morgress, Kendric and Boris who had betrayed them, they were the front liners of the team that held the enemies at bay.
After listening to all the various rumours about how strong and menacing the warhorse was from the adventurers, Lombus always wanted to have a go at this beast. He believed that no matter how exaggerated they made the being in the rumours to be as long as he could reach it with his hammer, he would be able to tten it into the ground.
His confidence was given, after all, he was a level 483 [Viking Warrior]. Just when the group of fifteen all stepped onto the floor, a distant draconic roar that had the ability to shake one''s soul, rang from the distance.
Immediately, the mana around the surrounding became turbulent, and howls of monsters started sounding intermittently from the forest. It was as if amand had been given to them by their king as all the monsters started heading towards the adventurers.
"Get into formation, they areing," Morgress said taking out his broad sword and standing in the front.
The ground rumbled and when the mist finally cleared a little, they could see hundreds of different monsters charging towards them. There were hordes of Battle bears, Battle Grizzly, Sabre Lions, Warring Mandrills each extremely territorial and savage, charging at them.
Thus the humans and the monsters shed like a huge messy meat grinding machine. Spells and skills flew everywhere killing dozens of monsters and raining blood everywhere.
The monsters might be ferocious from the point of view of average and strong adventurers; however, this team was different in essence in that even when they were all from different groups and backgrounds, they were all elite warriors capable of easily handling dozens of these monsters each.
Plus, unlike the mutated Fire Fanged Mouse and Fire Eater Rat, these monsters were just too ordinary for them and something they had faced many times before.
It didn''t take time for the mages in the backline to conjure huge AOE magic to clear hordes of them and warriors in the front to clear up the rest. If one looked at how efficiently this team worked, they wouldn''t be able to tell that they all belonged to different groups and were a ragtag team that was put together a week or two ago.
It wasn''t like they were used to working together after diving inside the dungeon for a week, it was just that being all elite themselves with levels over 400 they just knew when to use their skills and abilities in coordination.
*****
Name- Lombus
Age- 237
ss- Viking Warrior
Skills- Analysis, Super Enhanced Strength, Body Enhancement, Fire Resistance, Pain Resistance, Blunt Damage Resistance, Super Enhanced Endurance, Super Defence, Sharpened Senses, Hundred Brutal Hammer Mastery, Berserk, Reinforcement, Brute Force, Brutal Swing
ss Specific Skills- [Viking''s Heavy m], [Viking''s Shout of Courage], [Viking''s Force], [Viking''s Indomitable Will].
408 Chapter 408
"Haaaaaahhhh!! [Viking''s Heavy m]"¡
BAM¡ a heavy hammer was swung around and mmed onto the ground, making a meaty paste of the Sabre Lion that was caught in it.
"Hahaha¡ easy, too easy. If the monsters of this dungeon are at this level, I think we have already conquered it" Lombus said resting his hammer on his shoulder. While the numbers of the monsters did make them work up a sweat, all was good after taking a potion or two.
"Lombus don''t get careless we still don''t know what lies ahead and where that creature is¡" Thiago said putting his bow down.
"I know but this is what makes diving inside the dungeon so exciting, one cannot tell what will happen next. But in this case, I do. We are gonna conquer this dungeon after I beat the crap out of that cmity ss monster¡ Hahaha".
Lombus made jokes, however, his guard was still up so Morgress didn''t bother toment. Now that they had all but defeated all the monsters on this floor, it was time they faced the being that was releasing that terrible aura.
Fortunately, they had Bryan''s [Guide] and other people with varying detection skills thus they quickly found the mountain where the being was. It was then that they noticed the being that was hiding within the thick mist.
If one had to describe it, it was gigantic and had a long slithery body covered fully in ck scales just like a snake. It was flying around using its fins and its huge violet eyes stared at them menacingly.
The moment the group noticed it, they became alert and got into formation.
"Incorrigible humans who dared to trespass into the domain of my lord, your greed knows no bound. Your actions have infuriated my lord and thus you shall now face his wrath" The Lightning Draconic Serpent hissed, a terrible amount of thunder started generating from it.
"Hmm? This one doesn''t look like a warhorse to me. Were those adventurers so scared that they made a run without even looking at the appearance of the entity?" Lombus remarked ignoring the words of the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
"That cannot be, it''s not just one or two adventurers whose ount of the being matched up with the warhorse but dozens of them. They all cannot be lying at the same time" Morgress said thinking things through.
Nevertheless, that was not the point here.. the appearance of the being in front of them meant¡
"So you are telling us there are two of those cmity ss beings in this dungeon?" a mage said looking a little worried.
Cmity ss, a term used and given by the adventurer''s association to address those beings whose powers were enough to bring cmity around the world. Their powers were just like forces of nature, capable of destroying everything in their path and cause mass destruction. Hence the term Cmity.
"Hehh.. so there are two of them huh. This makes things a little more interesting but it is not something we can''t handle" Lombus said brandishing his huge hammer.
On the sides, Bryan locked his brows and used his [Guide] ability to see what his skill had to say about this situation. Suddenly, his eyes opened wide and he looked towards the mountaintop where he saw a few people standing there.
His actions naturally didn''t go unnoticed; the people around him too looked towards the mountain top and were immediately stunned.
"A-aren''t they¡" Their voices shook as they pointed up with trembling hands.
When the others heard that and looked up, their eyes too went wide with shock. There was no mistaking it, that appearance and that aura around them clearly matched with the description they were told about.
The beings standing on the mountaintop were their target and the reason behind them diving inside this dungeon, the Forest Spring Spirits.
Morgress and the Seven Swords immediately narrowed their eyes when they saw the Forest Spring Spirits standing on the mountaintop. For them, it can be said that they have quite a bit of history with this n.
When they saw them with their own eyes, it naturally evoked some emotions inside them. If not for that mistake, their guild would by now be enjoying the rewards of their efforts and all the spirit orbs of those forest Spring spirits would be now in their possession.
Be that as it may, one cannot turn back time and redo their mistakes. Their Seven Swords guild has no choice but toplete the mission they had once started.
"Tch, so they are the ones that fucked our guild? Why have theye out on their own ord? Are they already conceding defeat?" Lombus said mockingly.
"Wrong"...
It was then that they heard another voice. A brilliant light lit up from a huge oval structure on the mountain top and a couple of figures arrived from within. What was amazing about the situation was that their arrival instead of making the group of humans tense, made them excited.
Some even started to droll and leer with their eyes looking at the figures that came out of the peculiar construct. A lineup of beauties were currently standing on the mountain top, each so pretty and beautiful that they attracted gazes from all around them.
Naturally, for these rough and tough bunch of group who have been suppressing their urges for this mission, to be served such a delicacy in front of them, how could they resist it? Except for a few, all of them were immediately smitten as they stared lewdly at thedies, their eyes roaming all around their well-endowed curves.
Seeing the sickly gaze of these people, Irene and the Valkyrie sisters naturally felt disgusted as a faint bloodlust appeared in their eyes. The one who had just spoken now was Irene who brought the Valkyries along with her on Simon''s order.
"Hnn~ really now, I want to gauge their eyes out and add it to my collection," Bea said with a smile that wasn''t a smile. Her eyes had a dangerous glint about them and a crazy aura was subconsciously released by her.
"I know how you feel but you must wait for that is master''s order" Ate said coldly.
"KuKu¡ hahahaha¡ what is this? I thought this mission to dive inside this dungeon would be a boring one, who knew that at the end of it such a treat was waiting for us".
"Right, look at each of them, they are all so beautiful that I want to immediately push them down and make them my ve".
"Don''t worry, we will get to enjoy all of them. After we conquer the dungeon and the Demon Viscount residing here, they are all but ours".
Such talks were going on amongst the adventurers as they eyed thedies on the mountaintop with a heated gaze.
Morgress who was a hedonist to begin with, was no exception to their charm. He even started imagining of a future where he was enjoying all these beauties.
"Forest Spring Spirits and even these beauties, I must say guys we have lucked out incredibly by taking this mission," He said smiling at his teammates.
"I would rather say that you have run out of your luck by entering this dungeon" At this moment a coarse demonic voice rang out across the floor and at the same time, the teleport gate located at the mountaintop lit up again.
''So you are finally here'' Irene smiled, the Valkyries and Forest Spring Spirits immediately became happy the moment they heard the familiar voice.
The fifteen humans as if all manipted by an invisible will, focused their eyes on the peculiar construct at the same time.
What came out of it, was a demon with long ck hair and pale white skin. His crimson eyes that was ring at them, was ruthless and filled to the brim with bloodlust. His two jagged horns looked like a crown decorating his head and he was holding a crimson sword that seemed like it was bathed in the blood of thousands of his enemies.
Just by standing there, the demon emitted a solid presence so wicked and bloody that it gave chills to others. That was not all, he was riding on top a nightmarish looking warhorse that radiate mes out of his body like a mane and had three pairs of demonic eyes that stared at them with menace.
The rider was so, but even his steed was as diabolical as him.
The moment Simon riding atop his Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse appeared, he instantly stole the attention of everyone present here towards him. Without even bothering about the humans who had their eyes fixated on him, he marched towards his subordinates and stood in front of them.
The Valkyries, the Forest Spring Spirits and even the lightning draconic serpent bowed its head weing his arrival. Simon nodded his head and asked them to raise their heads.
"I hope I''m not toote".
"Not at all my lord, you are just in time. It just so happens that these puny humans were getting on my nerve and I was about to show them their ce" The Lightning draconic Serpent said locking its aura at the humans.
"You are told to stay your hands before my Lord gives the order. Are you trying to go against it?" The warhorse spoke asserting its dominance and silencing the former.
The beasts had their own hierarchy and the Bloodhtorn demonic warhorse being who he was, was telling it not to get ahead of itself.
******
p Name- Thiago
Age-209
ss- [Sharpshooter]
Skills- Analysis, Far Sight, Mana Ergement, Sharpened Senses, Piercing Enhancement, Super Enhanced Agility, Super Enhanced Endurance, Sharpshooter Bow Mastery, Intuition, Hide Presence,
ss Specific Skills- [Object Enhancement], [Invisible Arrows], [Swift Notch], [Rapid Fire Arrow], [Unlimited Arrow], [Swift steps].
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As amazed as Simon was, he found it unnecessary to meddle in the affairs of his subordinates. He believed that the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse would be able to solve it without any skirmish. That being the case, it was time for him to show the intruder what they were up against.
"So you are the Master of this dungeon? the one who killed my brother?" Boris who was trying to restrain himself, finally couldn''t hold himself and spoke out loud.
Hearing his words, the first reaction that Simon had was tilting his head in confusion. What was the other party going on about, when did he ever kill somebody''s brother? In the first ce, he did not even know the other party.
,m Ignoring the words of Boris, Morgress stepped forward and spoke on behalf of everyone "I assume you are the Demon Noble, the Master of this dungeon?".
"Indeed it is me" Simon acknowledge cing his gaze on the man who clearly emitted an aura stronger than anyone.
"Good, then I will not beat around the bush. I know that you are hiding the forest Spring Spirits inside your dungeon don''t try to deny it, those five behind you are already proof enough. They are the property of our guild which you have forcibly taken, it will be better for you to surrender them before its toote or else¡" at the end of his sentence, Morgress shed a mocking smile.
Simon was unfazed by those words, he looked towards the Five Forest Spring Spirits and gave them aforting smile to relieve their worries.
"Or else what¡?" Simon asked entertained by the choice of words of his guests.
Morgress shrugged his shoulder and said nonchntly "Or else we will simply have to take them back with force. If we do waste our effort on that, we not only stop at the forest Spring Spirits but even take those beauties from your side and conquer the dungeon while we are at it".
Everyone present on the mountaintop starting from the Valkyries to the forest Spring spirits and the Lightning draconic serpent were infuriated by thatment. Even Irene who always had a calm and cool atmosphere about her, was showing signs of silent fury as her body was starting to release a terrible amount of cold aura.
Perhaps it was only Simon and the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse he was riding that remained unaffected. Thetter was so simply because of his loyalty towards the former and being his steed it also carried the dignity and honour of its master. Thus it had to remain calm and collective no matter how infuriated it felt inside.
Simon on the other hand simply found thement amusing, he was treating the person who said it as a child, na?ve and ignorant.
"Hehe, really now, people are starting to take me and my dungeon lightly. As the master of this ce I can''t just sit around and let that happen can I?" Simon shed a wicked smile that was very much so like the race that he belonged to.
However, if just words were enough to daunt Morgress and this elite group, they wouldn''t be able to reach this floor in the first ce.
"You say some truly amusing stuff demon. It is true that you have two cmity ss subordinates under you but so what? If you think that this is enough to stop us, then you are sorely mistaken. Haha, it is still not toote for you to beg for mercy and surrender to us. Perhaps once we are done enjoying ourselves with those beauties around you, we might just leave you with the dungeon"
Morgress said evoking a burst ofughter from the humans around him. Finally, there was some changes in the eyes of Simon, his crimson eyes that up until now found it all amusing, had an aura of seriousness to them.
He was not the previous him who could tolerate being underestimated like that. Simon opened his hands wide and dered.
"When did I ever show the true extent of the might of my dungeon to you all? This is my dungeon and I make the rule, you are not just fighting against us, but all of us¡ [Wisp send all of them here]".
The moment Simon dered that, the teleportation gate started acting up once again and lit up with a brilliant light. In front of the astonished eyes of everyone, beings that had a humanoid appearance, started pouring out of it.
"W-what?!!" Morgress who had a mocking smile stered on his face all this time felt it crumbling down right this instant. He was so shocked by the things that were happening right in front of his eyes that he had difficulty believing.
That''s right, in front of hi stupified eyes, out of that peculiar construct dozens no hundreds and even more of what seemed like golems made of metals were pouring out of it.
As someone who had reached this floor after tackling all the other floors, they knew how powerful each of these golems were. Not to mention how annoying each one was to face. And at this moment in front of their very eyes there were hundreds no thousands of them assembled on the mountain.
How could this not shock the living daylights out of anyone? Given that they were all elite, one or two or even a couple of them might not be a problem for them to face each individually. However, that number was clearly just too ridiculous.
It was like they were facing against a small army of golems made out of technology even unknown to them.
The advent of the Andromedasing out of the teleportation gate, was enough to wipe that condescending smile off the face of these humans who thought they had everything in their hands already. And an expression of disbelief and even fear could be sensed from them.
Although Simon did not want to admit it, he really did feel good seeing their faltering confidence and feeling their fear. He was enjoying it so much that, it was almost like these feelings were being fed to him and it tasted like a delicacy that one couldn''t get fed up off.
But this was just the beginning, he was going to savour it till thest bit.
Seeing that expression of Simon, Irene couldn''t help smilinglyment "You really like to make a grand entrance don''t you?".
With how he appeared activating his [Demonic eyes] skill and riding on top of his warhorse and even bringing along thousands of those Andromedas from the [Workshop], there was no way to convince her otherwise.
"I had to imnt this feeling of fear within them or else they would start running rampant thinking the dungeon was too easy to conquer" Simon willingly admitted.
There was no way he going to allow them to do that. He needed to be a factor of fear and what better way other than bringing an army with him. Now then, it was time he showed these adventurers who dared to covet the things that are his, their ce.
He lifted his hand and pointed his index finger towards the humans who no longer had their previous carefree attitude and made the same mocking smile they had towards them.
"Attack!!" with those simple words, the thousands of Andromedas started making mechanical noises and their eyes locked onto the fifteen humans down below.
Whoosh¡ Whoosh¡ Whoosh¡ like missiles beingunched, these Andromedas activated their jet boosters and jumped down towards the base of the mountain.
Morgress already had an ugly expression but it distorted even more when he saw the army of golems being given themand to attack them.
"Get into formation, even if they outnumber us greatly, they are still no match for us. We just need to conserve on till we cull down their numbers" Having no other choice the former guild master of the seven swords decided to engage the enemy and quickly shouted out orders.
Even if these people were suddenly fazed by the numbers of their enemy, they were still an elite group of humans with levels above 400 and years of experience under them. Thus, they quickly regained theirposure and got into formation.
So what if their numbers were far beyond them, they who had fought against these golems before, knew how to handle them. They believed that they wouldn''t be defeated simply by the numbers of their enemies.
Thus when the Adromedas descended down, a chaotic battle started that would decide who would survive till the end. Whether it would be the cold and unfeeling golems or would it be them who are individually far stronger than the golems.
When the battle started, it seemed like the humans had a clear advantage, they knew how to coordinate and attack and retreat together thus pushing the golems back.
However, things did not go as it was supposed to, the golems that could adapt to their enemies and learn continuously through the shared informationwork of theirs.
Soon they started spotting the faults and problems with the formation of the humans and targeted that specific areas. Thus rendering their formation useless after some time.
With the copse of their formation, the humans started spreading out thus giving the golems even more room to attack them. Although individually they were no match for the humans who were all above level 400 and could destroy them after a few moves, every little damage and the energy that they made them spent chipped away at the adventurer''s strength.
Humans were after all not machines and only had a limited amount of mana and stamina. Their stats made them powerful; however, they still needed time to rest and recover their energy.
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Though they could use potions and elixirs, it was just dying the inevitable. Unlike them, the Andromedas can continuously pressure them without tiring out and the more time passed, the more stronger the Andromedas became.
Of course, the Andromedas weren''t actually bing stronger, it''s just the humans slowly running out of stamina. Additionally, the Andromedas were continuously scanning them, their attack patterns and skills, and processing all that data to find the optimal strategy to fight them.
After a while, the Adromedas started adopting the tactic of attacking from the distance and mainly targeted the mages in the backlines providing powerful AOE magic.
"It''s a chaos down there. It''s too bad, I wanted to show them hell myself but from the looks of it, there won''t be many of them surviving after this" Bea said enjoying the show that was going on at the base of the mountain.
Every time a person was injured and blood flowed out she would have an ecstatic expression and her body would wiggle continuously.
Except for Ate, Emma and Bianca who stayposed during all of it, Alice was no different. She would imitate holding guns with her hand continuously and utter pew pew pointing at the humans like a gunslinger.
"Those ones look different, when did you ask the Wisp to build all those?" Irene came near him and asked.
Still sitting atop the warhorse, Simon smiled at her question and asked a question himself.
"So you could tell huh?".
"Hmph, who do you think took care of your dungeon while you were gone? Although I don''t know much about these golems that you call Andromeda, I can tell that those ones over there are different than the others" Irene remarked.
"You are right, those ones are Mark Ten and are different than Mark Eleven. Not only are they more stronger, but they are also far more agile and better atbat" Simon exined.
He who was the most knowledgeable about them, knew them inside out. A few days ago when Simon discovered the mountain that was producing all those ores on his main floor, he contacted Wisp and asked him to send a few Andromedas that could mine them.
Additionally, he also ordered it to start manufacturing other versions of Andromeda as soon as the workshop and the assembly line is ready. Though it was a tough order, the Null elemental still managed to exceed his expectation and produce twenty of them in the span of a few days.
If it''s the Andromeda Mark Ten, they would be able to handle a person above level 350 and could contend against these people for a while or at least drain them of their energy.
"Huff.. Huff.. their numbers are just too much" one of the mage a powerful one at that said, by now he had taken out a few dozens of these golems and had used up all of his stock of mana recovering potions.
However, the number of Adromedas was just too much and the pressure did not seem to be reducing. He fired one more intermediate-tier gale magic and lowered his staff to take some rest when suddenly his teammate shouted from behind.
"Watch out you fool".
But it was already toote, one of the Andromedas mark ten broke out of the frontlines and used its chainsaw to attack him.
"Dammit¡ Gale Magic Mastery- Gale Wrath" a huge tunnel of gale was formed capturing the golem inside it before shooting it towards the distance like a cannon.
"Are you alright?" his teammate came towards him but was stunned the next moment. The mage who was just attacked had a huge chainsaw inserted in his stomach from which blood was continuously pouring out.
THUD¡ A few secondster his body hit the floor and stayed motionless there forever.
With the fall of the mage marking the first casualty, the humans started bing more frantic and one could even feel their panic from the mountaintop. Even if the Adromedas were not their match, a thousand of them was simply just too much for them to handle given that their formation had already fallen.
It was so impossible that it was straight up bullying. As more time passed and the Andromedas fell, the reserves of potions the humans brought was running out and along with that, their energy too.
Some of them who were not careful enough, died under thebined st Missiles from dozens of Andromedas who were spamming their missiles from the distance.
BOOOM¡BOOMM¡ no matter where one looked, continuous sounds of explosion echoed out and destruction spread everywhere. The death on the human side continued to skyrocket until there was only twelve of them remaining standing.
These eleven people were far stronger than the ones that died and were on the upper spectrum in terms of levels. Most of them were above level 450 and around the borders of level 500.
"This is stupid, there is no end to them. We are simply exhausting ourselves by fighting them. You all follow me, we are gonna break through the encirclement and dash towards the mountaintop" Morgress said swinging his broadsword and generating a powerful amount of thunder reducing the attacks of the few of the Andromedas into nothing.
Lombus, Thiago, Sable, Kendric and Orson, all of the seven swords excluding Boris, nodded their heads and followed behind Morgress who tried to make a beeline towards the mountain.
On another corner of the battlefield, Bryan was simrly dealing with the Adromedas that came his way, his stats that was centred around his Agility, gave him quite the edge on the Andromedas and his tricky skills came at an angle that was hard to avoid.
The way he fought, seemed like he was more adept in dealing with humanoid beings rather than monsters. [Swift Backstab] appearing behind one of the Andromedas like a shadow, Bryan plunged his sword into the gap between their armors and destroyed their circuits internally before jumping back and avoiding the st.
"Phew, that makes twenty three of them. But holy moly, there are just way too many of them. Hmm? What are those guys nning?" seeing that the Morgress and his team were making a formation and running towards the mountain top, a mysterious glint appeared in his eyes.
"[Temr Stealth]" reciting his skill, Bryan''s body melded with his surroundings and disappeared from the Andromedas range of observation.
It was not only Bryan who found the weakness in the detection ability of the andromedas but also Boris who was an elite assassin bordering around the edges of level 500. He deployed a simr stealth skill and disappeared from the surveince of the andromedas.
"[Storm Hammer] [Brutal Swing]" Lombus with his wild charge, brandished his huge hammer and pushed back any and all Andromedas trying to block their way with his overbearing skills. He along with Morgress and Kendric would hold the frontlines, Thiago would provide timely aid with his sniping skills, while Sable and Orson provided backup with their magic.
The members of the seven swords were used to working together and knew each other''s skills and magic well, thus their coordination was far better than the rag tag team that was put together by the sea god''s trident.
Even amidst the pressure of hundreds of andromedas, they were somehow able to reach the mountaintop where Simon and the other were. And the moment they did, the constant barrage from the golems stopped.
CLAP¡ CLAP¡ CLAP¡
"That was a splendid disy of teamwork; I must say you people are quite good" They heard the jubnt voice of the demon that was enjoying their struggle and his mocking apuse.
As angry and impulsive Morgress was, he still restrained himself from immediately charging at the other party and took a deep breath of air to calm his heart.
"You have achieved your objective and reached the mountaintop so whates now? Need I remind you that there are still more than eight hundred Andromedas remaining for you all to fight" Simon snapped his finger and the Andromedas spread around the surroundings immediately flew towards the mountaintop.
Looking at their line-up, one wouldn''t be able to help but cower and at the same time marvel at their numbers that made them look just like a wall in the sky.
At Simon''smand, they all activated their light sters, st missiles and locked on to six humans who already looked quite tired.
Seeing that they were targeted and surrounded by an army of golems, Morgress raised his hands and uttered words that made the teammates around him astonished.
"Wait.. wait¡ we give up, the numbers on your side are clearly too much, we surrender".
"W-what are you saying guild master? How can we give up just like that when we are this close to the demon?" Lombus shouted, angry and in disbelief that his guild master would decide to give up when they were so close to victory.
From his perspective, as long as they can kill the demon controlling the golems, they would be able to easily achieve the victory in this fight.
It was not only Lombus who was stunned by Morgress''s decision to surrender, but all the other seven swords were too. However, when they observed his eyes and behavior, they immediately knew he was nning something and decided to go along with the pretense he was cooking without any question.
Though Lombus with his muscle brains was the only one to not get the clue and behave like an absolute moron.
The Valkyrie sisters looked at the group of humans who suddenly had a change of behavior after reaching the mountaintop and narrowed their pretty eyes suspiciously. It was not only them but even the Lightning draconic Serpent and Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse had a dubious look on their face.
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Perhaps it was just the gullible Forest Spring Spirits and Simon who believed them.
"I see¡ Alright, I ept your surrender" Simon stated and ordered the Andromedas to lower their weapons.
The moment that happened, a grin surreptitiously crept on Morgress'' face but he was quick to conceal it. Irene locked her brows at Simon''s decision; nevertheless, she did not question it and quietly stood by his side.
"Since you have already surrendered and epted your defeat, why don''t you throw your weapons?" Simon askedpletely ying at the hands of his enemies.
"PFFTT¡ What an idiot, as if we will surrender to a Demon Viscount" Morgress said with a face of ridicule. Before anyone could understand the change in his behaviour and expression, they all heard a voice that was filled with anger and hatred.
"Die Demonn!!!.. [Swift Backstab]" A person manifested behind Simon out of nowhere and plunged his dagger onto the defenceless back of thetter.
It was only when they saw who the assassin was, did the seven swords finally understood what their guild master was nning. He knew that Boris had a blood debt to settle with the demon and discerned that the former would attack given the opportunity.
Thus all Morgess had to do was keep the demon upied and distracted. As long as the demon died, the more than eight hundred golems will be useless and they would only have to deal with the two cmity ss monsters. After which everything would be for them to enjoy.
As Morgress smiled thinking about how he had won the bet, he saw the people around the demon remain unfazed even after the appearance of the assassin. What''s more, they did not even look bothered when the life of their master was being threatened like that.
"Is that all you were plotting? If you have something else stored up, now is the time to use it" Simon calmly dered, a golden halo of light surrounded his body.
It was only now that Morgress realised why these people acted all undisturbed even when an assassin crept so close to their master and attacked. It seemed that the demon was already aware of the presence of Boris hiding with stealth nearby and deliberately chose to y into his hands so as to bait him out.
''Dammit'' Morgress cursed and grit his teeth in anger. It appeared that the one that was being yed was him all along.
The golden halo of light around the demon stopped the dagger from inching closer to Simon and pushed Boris back. It stayed around his body for a second before disappearing.
If one paid enough attention to his body, they would be able to see the shattered pieces of a golden stone in his hand. The golden stone was none other than the Golden Guardian stone that created a shield around him and protected him from all kinds of physical attacks for a second.
Simon knew what Morgress was nning, he was much too familiar with the backstabbing nature of the humans and thus pretended to y gullible and ept the surrender of thetter. All of it was just a bait to see what the other party was trying to plot.
Simon had to admit that the assassin that just tried to kill him, was highly skilled with the stealth skill so much so that Simon did not even feel his presence using all of his detection skills. He would have been done for given that it was some other ce.
However, this was his dungeon and as its master, he was aware of all the presence and beings currently on this floor. Unless, they werepletely new and unregistered beings like the fire eater rat and the fire fanged mouse nobody would be able to hide from his Main Menu.
It was a pipe dream for that assassin if he thought he would be able to kill Simon when they were inside his dungeon much less when surrounded by his subordinates.
The reason why Irene and the others didn''t stop the assassin wasn''t because they were unable to sense the presence of thetter but because Simon told them not to interfere. He wanted to thoroughly crush all the hopes that these intruders were harbouring and show them what true despair was.
After his failed attempt at assassinating the demon, Boris jumped back and tried to go into stealth once again to reposition himself. However, how could it be this easy for someone who had just attacked the lord of the dungeon to get away?
RUMBLE¡
The Lightning Draconic Serpent who thanks to the effects of the technique [Ancient Draconic Compel] had bepletely loyal to Simon, was absolutely furious at this offender who tried to attack his master.
It roared furiously and sent forth bolts of thunder towards Boris and forcing thetter to run like a pathetic dog to save his life. This time, the Lightning Draconic Serpent did not take action on its own, it turned towards Simon and only moved when he got a go ahead from thetter.
Simon did not even turn around to see who was the assassin that attacked him, with the nod of his head, he gave the Lightning draconic serpent the permission and at the same time signed the assassin''s death warrant.
"That useless fool" On the other end of the mountaintop, Morgress and his team cussed at Boris incessantly for failing to aplish his task. What good was an assassin if he can''t even assassinate someone?
Morgress sighed and unwillingly gave up on his thoughts on defeating the demon without a fight. It was a mistake on his part to try and deceive a demon noble using trickery. Now that it hase to this, there was no other option remaining but to fight the opponent head on.
"It seems that you are all out of tricks, in that case, the fight continues" Simon snapped his fingers and the hundreds of Andromedas once again activated their weapons and took aim at the group of humans.
"Wait¡ I have a proposal to make" Just when the army of golems was about to fire their weapons, Morgress spoke out again. It seemed that he was up to something yet again.
With just the point of his finger, Simon couldmand the hundreds of Andromedas and tire these intruders to death. Yet Simon decided not to do so and entertain the other party in whatever they were plotting.
The reason for that was simple, Simon wanted to crush every hope and confidence his enemy had until they were on the edges of despair. Simon was smiling not because he wanted to, but because he was absolutely furious that these mongrels were eyeing the things that belonged to him.
"There is no fun if you simply use your numbers to squash us. Of course, the golem army of yours is more than enough to handle us but there is no excitement in doing something as boring as that isn''t it?"
"As a Demon Noble don''t you want to fight your enemy and bask in their blood? How about we do it this way then, me and you fight in a one-on-one duel. The winner gets everything¡ do you dare? Or are you afraid that without your golem army you are nothing".
Morgress bellowed in a thundering voice so that everybody could hear it loud and clear, even the ones at the base of the mountain.
An obvious taunt, a pitiful attempt at grasping at thest straws. There was no way any sane person would ept that and willingly discard the advantageous position they had. However, herein lies Morgress'' trap.
The demon was surrounded by these beautiful and breath-takingdies, being a man himself, he of course understood how a man thinks. Being taunted like that in front of them, any man would try to salvage their image and pride by epting the duel like a man.
And in this case, Morgress was trying to take advantage of this very emotion from the demon noble and force him to ept the duel in front of hisdies. What he didn''t know was that Simon did not care about something as superficial as that.
All the people around him were loyal to him and weren''t amongst the ones that could be swayed by something like that. But Unfortunately for Morgress, by saying all that, he had triggered something that practically guaranteed his death.
[Your authority has been challenged]
[Pride has been activated, all your other emotions are being suppressed at this moment].
Although Simon had learned how to activate the fragment of pride, it did not mean that he has learned how to control it. The moment the pride fragment activated, all of his emotions disappeared and he felt like apletely different person. there was no resistance from him, he just let it overwhelm him.
"Very well then, I ept this duel" Simon stepped down from his warhorse and dered in a calm voice.
The moment he epted the duel, a hideous smile appeared on Morgress'' face. ''I got you now, you fool'' he thought internally. From his perspective, the demon Viscount epted the duel because he had no choice but to do so to save his face around thedies.
"Even though I wanted to fight him, I give this chance to you. Guild leader smash that mush and make it so that he never dares to show it ever again" Lombus said smiling widely.
The others around him were also of the same opinion. Now that the demon had epted a one on one duel with their guild leader, victory was practically guaranteed. After all, who was Morgress, he was a level 500 [Grand Thunder Warrior] who was just a step away from bing one of the powerhouses of this kingdom.
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Not only that, he was also someone with much more experience in adventuring than everyone else here. This was not the first time Morgress had done a one on one duel before, he did it so many times when they were adventuring around the kingdom.
Each time, it ended up with his victory. Therefore, the thought of him losing never even urred to them.
"Alright remember, this is what you wanted. You can''t go back on your words when you lose" Morgress asserted trying to hide his fear of the incredible line up of Andromedas in the sky.
"Rx, I won''t be needing their help to deal with the likes of you" Simon said dispassionately.
"Heh, I like your confidence, let''s see how long you are able to maintain that" Though the demon''sment made Morgress angry, when he thought how the other party was saying all that to maintain his image in front of thedies, he thought it was pitiful,ughable even.
There was a reason why he initiated a duel with the demon noble, from what he could tell and from the rumours going around the kingdom, the rank of the demon noble in front of him seemed to be just a demon viscount.
A rank fit only to be the subordinates of higher ranking demons and from the aura he was releasing, it was clear that the demon was yet to reach the peak of his rank. That is to say, the demon wasn''t his match
Compared to fighting with hundreds of golems, and the two cmity ss beasts beside him, it was much more easier to take on the demon viscount who was somehow the core of all of this.
Morgress was by no means initiating a fight that he has no chance of winning, in fact all the fights he had ever fought were thoroughly calcted and one where he had the highest chance of winning.
It was a simr case this time too, from his years of experience in adventuring, he had developed a sixth sense of some sort that allowed him to see through some of the potential and the level of the threat his opponent represented.
In the demon''s case, though, he was getting no readings of danger from his sixth sense which made Morgress all the more confident in his victory.
Simon raised his hands and on hismand, the hundreds of Andromedas looming over the sky deactivated their weapons. After that, he turned towards his subordinates and asked them to step back so that they can have the space to themselves for their duel.
Be it Irene or the Valkyrie sisters, none of them doubted his decision and moved back swiftly.
"You guys should move back too" Morgress did the same and told his team to move back. Though in their case, they werezy enough to even lie down on the ground and rest assured of their victory already.
"Now there is no one to interfere between us" Morgressughed taking out his great sword from his space ring.
Simon did the same and brought out his [A] tier Crimson Sword from his inventory. The moment each of them gripped their weapons and took their stance, the entire aura around them changed.
While Morgress gave off a feeling of a seasoned warrior that had stormed through many battles, Simon gave off an oppressive and bloodthirsty vibe. His emotionless eyes and his sword were so crimson that it seemed like they were soaked with great amounts of blood from their enemies.
The two of them stood absolutely still with no one moving an inch. The situationsted like this for a while when suddenly Morgess swung his word behind him deflecting and stopping a spear made entirely of mes.
The first one to break this deadlock was Simon as he used his mastery over mes to gauge the abilities of his enemies out.
Morgress gave a derisive smile after easily deflecting an attack that came from his blind spot. However, the next second his irises became narrowed when he felt a dozen more of the same me spears targeting him from all around.
Clicking his tongue, he invoked his advanced thunder magic and infused it with his skills. "Great Thunder p" with a loud roar, a powerful amount of thunder generated from his sword and sted all of the me spears apart.
Right after he finished executing his skill, Morgress charged towards his enemy, throwing one skill after another on thetter. [Great Horizontal sh], [Great Vertical sh], [Great Thunder sh], each of these attacks were powerful to cleanly bisect a huge boulder and prate through low tiers armour made of WhiteSilver.
However, how could simple skills like these be enough to stop Simon? He stood his ground and deflected all of the attacks with his own sword skills.
The forbidden trial ground not only helped him to grow physically and mentally, it also showed him the areas he wascking. To counter the hordes of zombies and to regte his mana so that he doesn''t run out before thest horde arrived, Simon had to learn the Sword Mastery Skill.
Although the skill was still at Basic Normal tier,bined with the powerful stats of a demon viscount, it was still enough to face these simple attacks.
After he deflected his opponent''s attacks, Simon unfurled his wide bat like wings activated his [High Speed Flight] to get away just in time to avoid an overhead wide sword attack from Morgress who had closed the distance between them.
BOOOM¡
Morgress'' swordnded on the ground and destroyed a part of it demonstrating the amount of power that was imbued on it. After failing tond his surprise attack that should have been the blind spot of his enemy, Morgress grit his teeth in annoyance.
He had to admit that the demon he was facing was quite experienced to have dodged his chain attack. If it was any of the opponents he had faced before, they would have a hard time deflecting all of those attacks from him not to mention dodge his surprise attack so easily.
Be that as it may, his opponent must be struggling a little with his attacks for them to use their racial ability to fly and dodge hisst attack. In that case, there was only thing that needed to be done and that was to pressure his opponent even more so that they make an error in judgement leading to their ultimate downfall.
"[Super Enhanced Strength], [Super Agility], [Super Enhanced Endurance], [Body enhancement], [Thunder Drive], [Battle Instinct]".
Morgress activated his skills that augmented his powers even further and dished out more powerful attacks that constantly pushed his opponent on the back foot.
"Hoh, so guild master is finally getting a little serious. Hey, why don''t we all make a bet to see how long that demon noble canst against him" Sprawled on the ground, Lombus saidzily.
"That''s a good option, so what are the stakes for this bet?" Sable asked, simrly assured of their victory.
Lombus gave a vulgar smile and said "How about the prices that are soon going to be ours?".
There was no need to even ask what was the price he was talking about as every single one of them were aware of what he was thinking.
"Hehe, interesting in that case I say he wouldn''t be able tost more than thirty exchanges. I''m willing to bet that girl that I want so badly" Sable said licking his lips. When they all looked towards who he was pointing at, they couldn''t help but make a knowing face.
They were all aware of his fetish thus it came as no surprise to them that he would select the youngest one with the blonde hair out of all thedies standing there.
"For me it is definitely those three, hehe I would bed them day and night," Lombus said controlling his drool and looking at the icy cold beauty and the two beside her.
How could Irene and the Valkyries not feel their lustful gazes? Though they were sick and disgusted by those looks, they did not start anything as this would vite the rule of one on one duel that Simon had peted.
While these adventurers were having such talks, the situation where the duel was taking ce, changed. Both the parties had disengaged from each other and opened up a wide space between them.
"Kehehe, It seems like you have lost Sable, that demon is still standing even after thirty exchanges" Lombus made fun of his teammate but the next second he became silent when he saw his guild master suddenly resort to using one of his strongest abilities.
What stunned him even more was that the demon who was standing still een after feeling that strong vtile energying out of his opponent.
"Ah! I take my earlier statement back that demon is going to go down now" Lombus remarked looking at the scene. His teammates around him nodded their heads in agreement.
The ability that Morgress was using was his advanced tier Thunder Magic which was further bolstered by his skills and his ss [Great Thunder Warrior] which provided buffs to his already powerful thunder magic.
To his teammates the fight seemed to be progressing well in the favour of their guild master. But to the person in question who was fighting the demon, the situation looked anything but favourable to him.
The reason behind Morgress using such a powerful attack now was because he was unable to gain an edge over his opponent even after activating all his augmenting skills. He thought that he could pressure the other party into making a mistake; however, it seemed that the one who was getting pressured was him.
Due to him activating all those skills, his mana and stamina was being drained at a rapid rate plus against the annoying ability of flight that his opponent had, he had to exert himself even more and throw extra attacks just to keep the demon noble in check.
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Unless one was born with the racial skill that granted them the ability from birth, [Flight] was something that can be gained by humans after they breach level 500 or through artifacts that bestowed the ability.
But in the case of thetter, it was very hard to find an artefact with that ability in a small kingdom like theirs. In any case, Morgress did not have the ability of flight thus it made it all the more difficult for him to reach the demon who was utilising all of his advantages.
He had no choice but to make an impact by using a powerful skill even though he knew it would just drain him faster.
"[Great Thunder Fang]" Morgress allowed his powerful mana to go rampant and coil around his sword like a beast. His sword which was made of ckgold, turnedpletely red at this moment with thunder erupting out of it like crazy.
It radiated so much power and light that space itself trembled and a heavy atmosphere descended onto the surrounding. It took a while for the rampant thunder to settle down and take the form of a crimson dragon coiling around his sword.
The dragon formed was only a meter big; however, it was powerful enough to create ripples around the air.
A droplet of sweat trickled down Morgress'' face as he marvelled at the powerful dragon. With this, he thought there was no way the demon viscount wouldn''t go down. Usually, the best way to handle an attack as powerful as his [Great Thunder Fang] was to disturb it before it even forms.
However, the demon for some reason after disengaging from him, did not move from his spot allowing him to sessfullyplete his attack. He did not know what his opponent was thinking but he was grateful for it, with thepletion of the dragon coiling around his sword, his attack was unstoppable.
''Even if you rely on that ridiculous agility of yours, there is no way you can dodge this'' Morgress thought and swung his sword allowing the dragontched onto it to charge towards the demon.
Whether it be his teammates or the people at the base of the mountain, they were all astonished at the power of the attack released by Morgress. The one meter long crimson dragon was just like a miniature thunderbolt, so fast and bright that it was already upon Simon in the blink of an eye.
To all the humans watching from the base of the mountain, it looked like the demon wasn''t even able to react in time. But Morgress and his teammates who had a better view of the duel from the top of the mountain, were clearly able to see that demon did not move from his spot not because he couldn''t but because he chose not to.
Given the level of attacks they had seening forth from him, the seven swords were all but sure that this would be the end of the duel.
However beyond their expectation just when the crimson dragon was about to strike him, out of a sudden a golden halo appeared around his body before everything was covered in a brilliant sh of crimson.
RUMBLE¡ the [Great Thunder fang] attack of Morgress, was powerful enough to destroy a part of this enormous mountain and shake it to its very core.
The shockwave that resulted from the st, reached the base of the mountain and pushed the dense mist covering the whole floor far away. The people on the mountain top were not spared from the aftershock either.
For the seven swords, they had to pull far back while Irene simply extended her hand and negated all of the damage. However, all of the attention and eyes of the humans were glued to the area where the st had just urred to notice this peculiarity.
Usually, Lombus would be the first one to celebrate their guild master''s victory after thatst attack. Though right now, all of them had a sceptical expression on their face unsure of what had happened.
They weren''t your run of the mill adventurers, each and every one of them had a rich experience in battles and were considered an elite. There was no with their sharp eyes they wouldn''t be able to spot the peculiar golden halo engulfing the demon right before the thunder dragon arrived.
They had all seen the golden halo stopping the attacks of Boris who tried to assassinate the demon from behind but was stopped by this very same golden halo.
Nevertheless, they all believed that even that golden halo wouldn''t be able to stop an attack as powerful as this. After all, the two attacks weren''t evenparable. However, like an omen what they thought wasn''t possible really dide true.
After the dust from that berserk aftershock dissipated, they were all astounded to find the demon standing there perfectly fine and without a scratch.
"T-that is not possible, a demon viscount like you shouldn''t be able to block that attack" though the one who was most shocked by it was none other than the caster of that attack, Morgress himself.
He was so in disbelief that, he did not even sense dozens of me spears manifesting behind him.
BOOOM¡ another explosion rocked the mountaintop and a figure burned by mes appeared in front of everyone. Morgress who took the attack unguarded, appeared extremely miserable at this moment with severe burns everywhere.
"Dammit" he cursed and quickly drank on a vial of potion. Had it not been for his armour and his stats, he wouldn''t have just simply suffered this level of burns.
After his wound healed a little, Morgress red towards Simon and used him for using unfair items and even med him for cheating.
His frame of mind waspletely shaken after witnessing his most powerful attack not even managing to scratch his enemy.
SIGH¡ facing the usation, Simon audibly sighed, his face looked extremely bored and disappointed.
"This duel turned out to be just a huge waste of time. Are you done yet or are you gonnain some more?".
"What?" hearing his condescending voice full of arrogance and pride, Morgress became even more furious.
"When you proposed the idea of a duel, I was honestly thrilled. But now that I look at you bitching at every single wrong that''s been happening to you, I think it was a mistake on my part to have taken you seriously".
"When have we decided on not using artefacts? You say I''m cheating and using unfair items while you yourself are using a [C] rank armour and weapon made of ckgold? This duel isn''t some children''s game so stop crying like a baby. You know, if you really wanna call something unfair, then have a taste of this..".
Simon dered indifferently, and raised his sword high. The moment he inserted his mana into it, the sword lit up with a radiant golden fire that roared out as if alive.
The temperature around the surrounding rose up drastically to the point where it was scalding hot even from the base of the mountain. The golden mesing out of the sword was so powerful that it gave the illusion of being near the sun to every observing eye.
"Infernal Magic?" Sable the [Crimson Scorching Mage] stood up immediately the moment he saw the bright golden mes. As someone who also specialised in fire magic, it was his dream to one day be able to master infernal magic.
And being as close as he was to evolving his me magic, it came as a surprise to him that the Demon Noble who was just a Demon Viscount, was able to utilise the magic.
"That Sword¡" Morgress with his sharp eyes, was immediately able to attribute the powerful magic to the sword.
When he used [Analysis] on it, he was stunned further to find the tier of the sword.
"A rank?" Morgress''s expression was at this moment a sight to look at. It was so distorted with disbelief and astonishment that it couldn''t be any more ugly.
"Infernal magic Mastery- [Infernal Surge]" Simon muttered and directly poured one third of his mana into it.
The resulting magicing out of the sword was so powerful that the mana around the mountaintop was set in a scorching frenzy. That was not all, the powerful magic vaguely took the form of a demon''s face as it charged towards Morgress.
Morgress, feeling the power of the Infernal magic, [Infernal surge] which was no weaker than his [Great Thunder fang] attack, had apletely serious face.
He still remembered the earlierment made by the demon who waspletely looking down on him. As a level 500 [Great Thunder Warrior] and someone who was used to looking down on others and not the vice-versa, chose not to back down in front of the attack.
"Don''t you dare look down on me!!!" he roared loudly, took out a shield from his space ring and in front of all the stunned eyes, took the attack head on just like what the demon did earlier.
WHOOSHH¡ the golden fire bringing along an infernal amount of heat, engulfed Morgress within and brightened the entire mountaintop making it hard for anyone to see what was happening.
After the mes disappeared, a hideous looking figure with a half melted armour and ckened skin appeared in the ce where Morgress was supposed to be.
"Guild master" Lombus shouted, he was just about to charge there when Thiago stopped him.
"Calm down, he is fine. Although he looks injured, those are just superficial injuries. As long as he has that skill, he won''t go down that easily".
The skill that Thiago was talking about was theyer of bluish green energy that covered Morgress like an armour.
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"[Mana Armour]" Simon narrowed when he saw the bluish green aura around his opponent that saved him from being utterly burned by his infernal magic.
''When someone breaches level 500, their mana will start to be more dense and solid and can be used to form a cloak of some sorts giving them increased defensive power'' as this was not his first time facing an enemy who is able to use [Mana Armour] Simon wasn''t fazed by seeing his enemy surviving an advanced tier attack head on.
However, the Mana Armour he knew off was much more powerful than this which shows that Morgress'' Mana Armour wasn''tplete. It could be because he had yet to breach level 500.
Whatever the case maybe, the Mana Armour ability of Morgress wasn''t something that was impossible to deal with.
"Hehehe¡ How about that, there is no way I''m weaker than you demon" Morgress drank a few vials of potions and shouted hysterically. He was trying to hide the feeling of uneasiness in his heart with his shout.
The attack earlier was so powerful that it melted [C] tie armour and almost burned him alive. If not for the fact that he had the [Mana Armour] skill he would have beenpletely done for. But even then, Morgress was more aware of the limitation of this skill that could at most be called a proxy [Mana Armour].
The [Mana Armour] was a technique that can only be utilised by someone who has stepped through the boundary of level 500.
However, Morgress was someone who was stuck at the level 500 barrier for more than a decade unable to progress further because of his bloodline limitations.
He thought that if he could learn some of the techniques such as [Mana Armour], that bottleneck would loosen. To his disappointment, he was still stuck at his current level with a cheap imitation of a higher level technique.
That is why, he coveted the spirit orbs of the forest spring spirit race so much. Not only was it considered one of the greatest treasures in this world, it was also one of the few items in existence that is able to increase the purity of one''s bloodline, talent and aptitude thus allowing one to breach their current limits and reach greater heights.
In the end, the sad truth was that not only their guild fail miserably to get their hands on the spirit orbs, they even made an enemy out of the Sea god''s trident which led to the events up till here.
Morgress had a bottle full of resentment and frustration that he wanted to take out on somebody. Fortunately for him, the reason and the source of all of his troubles was right in front of him. However, they weren''t an opponent that he could take on lightly.
As could be seen from their battle, the demon not only had an army of golems, two cmity ss beasts under him, he also had this powerful [A] tier sword that could shock anyone, in his possession.
Not only that, the demon was also constantly studying him, poking for any weakness in his guard. But the most frustrating thing about the demon was his experience in dealing with adventurers.
It wasn''t like Morgress was going easy on the demon viscount or something, in fact he had fought with a demon viscount just like the one in front of him many years ago in the snow valley. However, that demon wasn''t as annoying as this one to deal with nor did he have these incredible line ups of followers.
But most of all, that demon wasn''t as adept at dealing with the adventurers as the one in front of him.
His heart skipped a beat when he heard the demon identify the technique he had used. Nevertheless, when he saw him frowning, his confidence returned back to him.
''That is right, this is an advanced technique only those who have stepped into the realms of true powerhouse can use. There is no way any attacks that a demon viscount who hasn''t even reached the peak of his rank could throw that will be able to surpass my [Mana Armour]'' Morgress thought internally.
He also believed that the infernal attack like the one earlier should be very taxing and cannot be used consecutively.
He was not wrong, in fact, Simon had to use one third of his entire mana pool to dish an attack as powerful as that. But the thing that Morgress forgot to ount was that Simon wasn''t going all out from the start unlike him.
"Interesting [Mana Armour] huh. I have quite some history with this technique. No, this is a good opportunity, now I will be able to see if my current abilities are strong enough to get past that [Mana Armour] of yours or not" Simon said shing a wide wicked smile for the first time since the battle started.
A terrible amount of bloodlust flooded out of him which was so palpable that one could feel their skin tingling. This amount of killing intent and bloodlust wasn''t something that could be faked and could only be released by one who have killed thousands of people.
Feeling that powerful amount of bloodlust and hearing those words, Morgress wondered what the demon was talking about when he suddenly realised that the aura around thetter suddenly start to rise; No, skyrocket to whole different realms.
It was not only him that felt the changes, everyone who was observing the demon, felt that change. In front of the astonished eyes of every humans and even his subordinates, Simon''s body started buffing and increasing in volume starting from his height to his muscles.
The next change was the weird markings all around his arms and chest that started lighting up and igniting his upper clothes revealing his lean and packed muscles along with the ancient symbols on his body.
With the change in his physical state, his aura and stats also started rising to whole new levels. The skill that Simon used, astonished everyone. After all, a skill on the level of Lost Phantasmal tier was something that only a few individuals including Irene knew that Simon had.
That absurd of a change warranted that incredulous of a look from the observers.
BOOOM¡ the moment the changes finished taking ce, Simon pped his wings and disappeared.
From the start of this fight, Morgress had kept his opponent in his sight; however, after that peculiar change, the demon moved at such an incredulous speed that he practically disappeared for a second or two from his opponent''s line of sight.
The next time he appeared he was already behind Morgress and was in mid motion of swinging his sword.
Sensing the demon behind him, Morgress'' eyes opened wide, he wanted to turn around and defend but it was already toote.
CLANG¡ a heavy grating noise echoed out and Morgress was sent flying to the base of the mountain where he crashed ultimately creating a small crater.
BOOOM¡ BOOMM¡ BOOM¡ Before he even had the chance topose himself and get out of the crater, dozens of me and lightning spears came targeting him from the sky.
A barrage of me and lightning hit his body that was lying on the ground generating intense reactions from the onlookers. The demon''s assault did not stop there, after that intense disy of magic, it dropped down onto the crater where Morgress was like a meteor.
BOOOOM¡ the ground in a few meters area trembled and from amidst the dust, a figure could be seen flying out.
The person who just rolled out of there was none other than Morgress who looked quite worn out. He was covered in dust, his hair and skin burnt in many areas and his ckgold armour was almost but gone.
Looking at that state of his, whether it be his teammates or the people teaming up with him, they weren''t able to believe that this person was their guild leader, the man with the highest level in their party.
Before their brain couldprehend what was happening, the figure of the demon appeared out of the pit and released an aura that kept on getting stronger.
''As I thought so, the [Mana Armour] technique this person is using is notplete. In that case..'' Simon thought internally and decided to boost his powers even further by activating all of his augmenting skills.
Added with the fact that he was under the effects of his [Ancient Symbol Ignition] skill and the buffs provided by his sword, the power he erupted out with was ridiculous to say no less.
BOOM¡ right after boosting his powers even further, Simon charged towards Morgress not intending to give thetter a single moment of respite.
Thus, a brutal fight started with Morgress being thrown all around the thirty sixth floor like a ragdoll being mmed with all of the magic and skills of his opponent. He was being so utterly overwhelmed that it did not even look like a fight any more and more like a one sided beating.
Morgress was a human who had one foot in the level 500 barrier for many years. Usually, it wouldn''t have been this easy for Simon if he wanted to suppress him. However, Morgress failed to ount one thing when he challenged Simon on a one on one duel and that was the current state of their bodies.
Compared to Simon who was brimming with energy, Morgress was battle worn from descending so many floors, clearing monsters and fighting so many golems. It was only natural that he would be expended and would be unable to fight like in his peak state.
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It was his conceit and overconfidence that led to him challenging Simon in a state where he was not even half of his peak state. The result was thisplete bashing from the demon viscount he thought was weaker than him.
After only a few seconds, he was reduced to a pitiful state and looked quite wretched. Nheless, If it was just that, Morgress wouldn''t have such an ugly face, the thing that was eating him up alive was the cracks that had appeared on his mana armour after every sessive attacks from his opponent.
The skill that he was most proud of and was his magnum opus was being broken in front of his own eyes by the demon. The despair that he felt at this moment was on a whole different level.
CLANG¡CLANG¡BOOM¡ sword shes and magic like a rain poured onto him disintegrating his [Mana Armour] slowly as if it was made from cheap material.
SHATTER¡ finally, that dense mana surrounding Morgress body like an armour gave up andpletely shattered in front him.
PFFFTTT¡ Morgressid motionless onto the ground and looked at his dissipating [Mana Armour] in a daze, his eyes were dim and he seemed dead internally.
"Guild Master¡" at this moment, a voice rang out and a couple of figures could be seen rushing here from the distance. Lombus, Thiago, Sable all of the seven swords assembled near Morgress at this moment.
Hearing their voice, Morgress turned towards them only to be baffled by the sight of the huge mountain in front of him. Their duel started at the top of the mountain andter epassed the whole floor.
To his surprise he was being dominated so badly that he did not realise up until this point that the demon was just toying around with him.
"That can''t be¡ I can''t lose, I will not lose!! You all help me kill this demon" Morgress bellowed out in anger. At this moment he did not care about the rules of the duel, or the disdainful look of his opponent and the other humans looking at him from the distance.
Right now, he had to kill this demon, this being that was cannot be measured bymon sense or else he would be able to quell the anger that was trying to burn him from within. Never in his life was he so pathetically stomped upon nor was he looked down like that, on the contrary, he was always on the other side and not on the receiving side.
His mind was in chaos with fear, confusion, disbelief and all the emotions running rampant that he couldn''t think straight anymore. All he wanted right now to erase this demon who was like an eyesore in front of him even if it meant breaking the rules of the duel and throwing away his face.
The seven swords as stunned as they were, nodded their heads and took out their weapons to engage Simon. If it was before in the kingdom of Ellesmere, this strategy might have worked leaving Simon no choice but to run pathetically for his life.
However, this ce was not the kingdom, this was his dungeon, his home and he was not alone here.
WHOOSH.. WHOOSH¡ multiple figures breaking the sound of speed, appeared around him. Irene, the Bloodthornn demonic warhorse and the Valkyries, stood beside him. If Morgress thought that he could win by outnumbering Simon, he was sorely mistaken.
"Master, there is no need for you to waste your precious time on them any longer. Allow us to dispose them on your behalf" Ate said fuming with cold fury.
"Right, to dare toy their dirty hands on master, I want to tear their whole body apart at a time and torment them until they beg for death" Bea said with a violent furious face.
Nevertheless, Simon shook his head and rejected their help. Even when facing the almost full line up of the seven swords, Simon was still as fearless as ever.
"Are you going to use that?" As if reading his mind, Irene asked. She only backed down when he gave her a nod.
Although the others wanted to know what the two were talking about, they chose to stay silent and believe in their master.
"That bastard is still looking down on me. You all forget about conserving your mana, go all out with me and kill that demon first" Morgress grit his teeth so hard that he might have even shattered a few.
Whatever reserves of potions he had, he used it all on healing his wounds and recovering some of his mana at this moment.
"Don''t worry guild master, that demon is all over his head right now to challenge all of us without his subordinates. His pride shall be his downfall... hmph" Lombus said brandishing his hammer.
The other seven swords got into their formation, their eyes werepletely serious and were no longer looking down on the demon.
"Attack now" with Morgress'' yell as the mark, all of them simultaneously dished out their attacks or conjured their magic with the demon as the target.
[Great Thunder Fang], [Hundred Brutal Hammer Mastery- Hundred Brutal Beating], [Leaping Beast sh], [Sharpshooter Bow Mastery- Dead Notch Arrow], [Amalgamation Magic, me-Gale Mastery- mes of Hell], [Tremor Magic Mastery- Boulder Copse].
Crimson Thunder, hundreds of hammer shadows, sword shes in the shapes of a beast, invisible arrows, fiery mes fanned to the extreme by gales and huge boulders bigger than a man, all flew towards the demon.
One could imagine the kind of pressure all of these elite techniques, magic and skills dished out by the people whose average level was above 450 was. Thend and air around the entire mountain trembled, the space distorted wherever the attacks went and a dreadful heaviness that bore on everyone descended onto the ce.
BANG¡ far in the distance, a huge draconic tail mmed into the air causing a person who was blended with the environment, toe out of that space and crash into the ground.
COUGH¡ COUGH¡ Boris coughed a few times and picked his battered body up. He turned around, looked at the Draconic Lightning Serpent and said begrudgingly.
"Don''t get in my way beast, I have no grudge with you. I must kill that demon who killed my little brother with my own hands and solve this hatred".
[Shadow sh], a de shadow that boomerangs back towards the target when their guard is down the most. An exclusive skill of the [Night Shadow Assassin] ss and a Rare Ancient skill.
Nevertheless, in front of the powerful Lightning draconic Serpent and its draconic scales, the attack managed to deal only a negligible amount of damage. Thetter did not even bother to dodge the attack and took it head on demonstrating the level of confidence it had on its body.
"Is that all you can do? Hmph, with that level of strength you think you are my lord''s match. Let me tell you something, you are weaker than those Diluvian High Orcs that held the delusion of subjugating me when I was ruling the northern areas of the forest".
However, now that I have grown stronger and surpassed my limits, you are nothing but a pebble on the roadside, insignificant and trivial. There is no way I will allow you to trouble my lord as I alone am enough to deal with tens of you".
The Lightning Draconic Serpent dered proudly. It was not lying when it said that it had grown stronger since then, after it was subordinated by Simon and brought here on the thirty sixth floor where the density of mana was getting denser by the day due to the many mana trees nted all around the floor.
Thanks to the ample mystical energy it was able to feed on, it broke through the level 500 barrier and became a cmity ss. Additionally, being subordinated by Simon meant that it was also under the effects of the pride fragment that allowed one to grow many times faster.
However, it was unaware about it and thought that it was some kind of blessing from his lord. Now that it has broken through its restraints, it was dozens of times more stronger than before.
Forget about Boris, if Berigard along with his diluvian high orc army were to be the one facing it right now, they would be obliterated in a few minutes of time. Let alone a single human assassin who was already tired from fighting all those monsters and golems.
Boris huffed and tried to regte his breathing, he checked his space ring but realised that he was all out of potions. He spat in frustration and was just about blindly charge towards the serpent in his anger when suddenly his body stopped moving altogether.
His sharp senses that he had honed till now as an elite assassin, warned him of a terrifying amount of energy that was brewing in the distance. It was not only him, even the Lightning Draconic Serpent stopped its movements and turned around to look towards the direction of the huge mountain in astonishment.
That energy in the distance was so evil and negative that even from this distance, just a whiff from it was enough to overwhelm its very soul. The direction where this tremendous negative energy originated from, was where its lord was.
At some unknown point in time, there was a huge greyish object that looked like a gigantic finger at a nce, floating beside his lord. When the Lightning Draconic Serpent tried to observe the thing more carefully, it felt a burst of negative energy try to enter its body and crush its mind and soul.
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rmend and Panicked, the Lightning draconic Serpent hurriedly shifted its eyes and only felt relieved when it felt the effects of whatever that thing was, dissipate.
Even though it was so far away and the pressure of the miasma that the finger released wasn''t on him, the thing was so powerful that just by looking at it, it gave the illusion of being crushed under a mighty energy.
It wasn''t only him that felt the abnormality of that thing by his lord, at this moment, whether it be beings who were the inhabitants of this dungeon or the intruders all felt a mighty pressure that bore down on all.
Simon who was flying in the air, made some peculiar hand gestures and circted his mana in a way that evoked some peculiar runes to arrive on the giant grey finger suspended beside him.
The moment those runes arrived, they interlocked with each other and spread across the entire finger. Surprisingly enough, those exact same runes also appeared on the index finger of his right hand.
With the processpleted, Simon very slowly lifted the index finger of his right hand and pointed it towards the barrage of iing attacks dished out by the six humans.
Following his gesture, the huge greyish finger started moving. Although to the onlookers, it looked like the giant finger was moving at a very slow pace, in actuality it was moving at a speed so fast that their brains were unable toprehend it.
It covered dozens of meters of space in a fraction of a second and tore the space around it wherever it went. A powerful miasma exuded out of it eroding away at the shattered space.
In just a few seconds, the finger was already in front of the onrushing storm of attacks dished put by the humans.
There was no need to even mention the difference in power level between the two. On one side was thebined power of the most powerful attacks of the seven swords whose level was around 480 and on the other, the finger of a being whose entire existence was an enigma, Ozymandias.
Ozymandias was so powerful that just with the simple movement of its hand, it was able to create a storm not to mention its powerful curse energy and the Armageddon like battle it had with Y.
Even though what Simon was currently controlling, was just a finger from the hand that was culled by Y, it was still something that belonged to a being that broke all concepts of the current power level.
Forget about these humans who had yet to breach level 500, even if it was someone above level 600, they would suffer a devastating defeat against it.
When two attacks of totally different calibre collided, there was no expected collision and a huge explosion thereafter. When the finger was just about to collide with the storm of magic and skills and when it seemed like an explosion was certain, everything got drowned out by the curse energy and thereafter shattered into tiny fragments from the force of the finger.
Like a stone that had shattered a mirror, the finger directly crushed everything in its path whether it be the space around it or the storm likebined attacks of the seven swords, nothing could stand in front of its might.
Naturally, the shock of seeing their attacks be crushed so one-sidedly had a deep impact on them however, before their mind could process what had actually transpired, the fierce bacsh from having their attacks shattered like that and the curse energy that they were exposed to, made them fall on the ground and bleed from all of their orifices.
Their faces were pale, bodies continuously spasmed and they had a traumatised look on their face.
The finger stopped after destroying their attacks and retreated back towards Simon''s side as per his will. The result of this battle had concluded with his overwhelming victory.
As he looked at the despair ridden face of the humans that tried to intrude on his home and take what belonged to him, Simon finally showed a content smile. With thatst attack of his, he had finally and utterly broken any and all hopes harboured by these humans that tried to go against him.
He must admit that he very much liked the current expression these people were making, it gave him a sense of euphoria when he broke their hope and trampled them underneath.
Simon never thought that he would feel this good when oppressing others like that. Perhaps it was due to his demonic side that had brought these changes on him. Nevertheless, he did not care about it anymore since he had already embraced that side of himself.
Demon nobles are a race that acts true to their desires, in a way they can be said to be the very incarnation of desires. Havingpleted his desire to feast on their despair, Simon turned his focus towards the giant grey finger levitating beside him.
When he rejected the aid of his subordinates and decided to take all the humans on his own, he wasn''t being conceited or anything. On the contrary, his confidence stemmed from his abilities and knowing what his current limit was.
That is why he decided to face the humans alone because he knew how powerful of a weapon sitting inside his inventory was.
"This technique imparted by Irene is quite profound" Simon muttered looking at his index finger which had the same runes as the giant grey finger. As he looked at the mysterious runes, the image of Irene floated in his mind.
A few days ago near the pond of serenity, Simon had asked Irene''s help with the gigantic finger that he had brought back from the trial. At that moment, she told him that it was not impossible to use the finger as a weapon.
"How much do you know about techniques?" Irene asked.
"Not much, but I do know that it''s different from skills and magic and it''s not something that can be disyed on a status," Simon said exining whatever little knowledge he had about techniques.
Irene nodded her head, she was not amazed that he was unaware of it since Simon had already exined to her how his inherited memories were iplete.
"Although you are not wrong in saying techniques are different from your skills and magic, you are not entirely right either. The reason why techniques are not shown in your status is because they are made up of your skills and magic which are already there in your status".
"A technique uses your magic and skills in a manner that creates a whole different effect than what was previously possible while using them individually. Obviously, the effect depends on the nature of the skills and magic and whether they arepatible and can be blended together".
"Techniques are a whole different branch in itself and require an equal amount of time and focus as in with the skills and magic" Irene rified.
Simon pondered over her words for a while before asking a question "What about techniques that don''t use your skills and magic?".
The Ancient Draconic Compel for example was a technique taught to him by Lucine. There was no need to even mention how mysterious and powerful the technique was which meant that the skills and magic needed to use it should be equallyplex and powerful.
However, Simon neither had those skills or magic to create an effect capable of subjugating a member of the draconic race. This is why it raised a question in him when he heard her exnation.
Irene smiled in the face of his question and further exined. "Right, just like there are some techniques that need the usage of your skills and magic in a specific way to work, there are also techniques that work without you needing to have those specific skills and magic".
"For example, that [Ancient Draconic Compel] you used to subdue the Lightning Draconic Serpent. That kind of technique that can be passed down to others are called Legacy techniques and are more precious and powerful".
"A legacy technique is something that has been polished through the years until it reached the realm of perfection. The skills and magic to create that effect, get assimted with the bloodline over time thus removing the requirements needed to cast the technique. Although one would need the bloodline of the being that created the legacy technique to cast such a technique".
"Usually, you wouldn''t see the legacy technique being used unless you are facing a truly powerful enemy".
Simon nodded his head in understanding, he did receive a droplet of blood from Lucine when she passed him the technique.
"Are you saying that a technique is needed to use the finger?" Simon asked. There could only be one reason for Irene to initiate a conversation on technique right now and that was that they were relevant to using the finger.
"Right, if you use a technique called the [Dominator''s Control], you should be able to use the finger as a weapon. [Dominator''s Control] is a powerful technique that allows one to dominate and control things marked by them".
"Using this technique you can move things without having a need to touch them physically. Additionally, the technique is so powerful that its reach also extends to living beings. Though, you need to have aplete mastery over the technique to dominate something with a will of its own".
"Though the finger that you brought has its will separated from it, it still exudes a heavy curse energy that makes it impossible to dominate unless one can harness the curse energy".
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"Normally, it would be impossible for anyone but since you said that you are not affected by its miasma and are somehow able to harness it, you should be able to dominate the finger with this technique" Irene mused looking at the gigantic grey finger encased in her ice magic.
A plethora of emotions overwhelmed Simon at this moment, from her words, he was almost certain that there was a way to use the finger as a weapon.
[Dominator''s Control] as powerful and absurd the name of the technique sounded, the effects it created were equally or even more absurd. To control objects or even living beings without touching them physically what kind of ridiculous concept was that?
p Nevertheless, if he can use this technique he would be able to dominate the finger and control it as he wants.
"Since you told me about this [Dominator''s Control], then does that mean that you know this technique?" Simon asked only to get a positive nod from her.
"That is great, so how do I acquire this technique".
Seeing him eager to want to learn this technique, Irene smiled delightfully. She extended her hand and extracted out a droplet of blood that emitted a phoenix cry before flying towards Simon.
Learning from his experience, he was not as clueless as before and knew what to do with the droplet of blood. He made a slight cut on his thumb and allowed the droplet of blood to assimte with him.
It took a few seconds but the moment the assimtion wasplete, Simon felt a vast amount of knowledge pour into his brain like a river.
"So that''s how it is¡" Simon took a deep breath and muttered. Next, he looked towards Irene and was just about to say his thanks when thetter suddenly shifted the topic.
"Although I provided you with the [Dominator''s Control] technique, it''s not like you haveprehended it yet. Unlike that technique you used to subdue the Lightning Draconic Serpent, the [Dominator''s Control] is more of a technique that depends on an individual''s abilities".
"You have to grasp some of the mysteries behind this technique to even begin using it. Let''s see, if you use the serenity stone and meditate near the pond, it will take you around a week or two to get a rudimentary understanding of the technique".
"However, seeing that you decided to ask my help now of all times, means that you want to add the finger to your repertoire in the uing defence of the dungeon¡ isn''t that right?" Irene asked looking straight into his eyes.
Simon did not know if it was his facial expression but boy he was easy to read. He had no intention of keeping it a secret from her in the first ce and thus nodded his head telling her of his intentions.
Even if the possibility of grasping this technique in a few days was next to impossible, Simon still wanted to give it a try. There was no telling what might happen during the battle to defend their dungeon. Thus it was crucial that he increases the number of trump cards he had at his disposal.
Plus, thinking about the future, he thought that this was the best option he could take right now. If he could use the technique to control the finger, it would be an incredibly powerful asset for him.
Therefore, Simon immediately sat on a nearby rock and was just about to close his eyes andprehend the knowledge that was imparted to him, when he saw Irene sitting nearby him.
Thetter sighed seeing his action and told him "I knew you would start doing something rash again and carry all the burden on your shoulder. Although I''m not saying that it''s a bad decision, but you should rely and trust your subordinates a little more, just like you did a few moments ago. But I guess saying all that is useless to you now, since you have already made your decision, allow me to help you".
Simon reflected on those words of her and epted her help.
"I don''t know how much of the technique you will be able to grasp in a few days but let us try our best".
Simon recalled the training he had gone through under Irene in the past few days. Fortunately, he was able to grasp enough of the [Dominator''s Control] technique to test the abilities of the finger on the intruders.
Right now, he can only use the finger of ozymandias to press down on his enemies in the most crude and unrefined manner. However, with time as he grasps more of the mysteries of the technique he would be able to achieve much more with that finger.
Finishing what he had set out to do, Simon flew back and was greeted by his subordinates.
"Wee back my Lord"
"That was a splendid match, as expected of our master".
The Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse and the Valkyrie sisters voiced out their opinions.
"You can take care of the rest, remember not to kill them all. I still need to get information out from them" Seeing the fire of eagerness to battle in their eyes, Simon dered giving his approval for them to run amok.
While most of the Valkyrie sisters reacted in a more calm way, Bea released a great amount of bloodlust towards the intruders that slighted her master.
The Bloodthorn demonic warhorse was no different, it too was itching with an intent to fight with them.
"In that case, does master have anyone in his eyes he wants to keep alive to interrogate" Perhaps it was only Ate who was viewing everything in a more analytical way.
"Let''s see¡ those ones over there. From their movement and coordination, they definitely seemed to be from the same party or a guild. Leaving a few, you are allowed to kill the rest" Simon dered casually signing the death warrant for the humans.
Since they did not bother to keep their voices silent, of course, the adventurers with their keen hearing were able to hear everything. They were already in despair of having to face so many golems and their rapidly decreasing reserves of potion.
If not for the fact that they still held a tiny bit of hope in the strongest people amongst them, the seven swords who were trying to defeat the master of this dungeon, they would have tried to escape from this floor already.
However, the hopes that they held onto, was brutally snuffed out by the demon when he disyed his overwhelming might by defeating the entire line up of the seven swords by himself.
Unlike Morgress and his teammates, the demon stood by the rule of the duel and defeated all of them with just his own powers. Looking at that gigantic finger standing beside him, they could still vividly remember the tremendous amount of negative energy that gave them chills, released by it.
They were sure that if that thing was pointed towards them, they wouldn''t even survive the attack. The delusion that they had of conquering the dungeon was already gone reced by only the will to survive somehow.
As such the moment they heard the master of this dungeon set lose his subordinates to kill them, they started running and escaping from this hell. However, how could it be this easy to escape from the Valkyries who were one of the ''Twelve Heroes''?
FLAP¡ with a pping of clothes, a maid wearing armour over her dress appeared in front of two adventurers who were dashing towards the exit at their full speed. She had a pretty face that could mesmerise any man and a curvaceous body.
She would have been extremely desirable if only she did not have unkempt long hair and sleep deprived eyes. Though her beauty made up for her ws.
Nheless, these adventurers were not in the right mind to pay attention to a beauty right now as all their focus was on escaping from this ce alive. Thus when they saw the woman block their path, they did not slow down and instead drew their weapon out.
"Get out of our waaay" the adventurers roared and jumped trying to run past the woman. However, to their surprise the moment they stepped to the side, they found their body be stationary all of a sudden.
Confused, they tried to move their body only to realise that they were unable to no matter how much force they used.
"What is going on¡ what did you do to us?" the two adventurers barked in anger and panic.
"Hiii¡I''m sorry" Emma said in a feeble voice.
"If you are sorry then release us right now" seeing that they cannot break out even while using their skills, the adventurers became even more frustrated.
"Im sorry¡ im sorry" the woman apologised slowly creeping closer.
"You goddamn dumb woman, release us this instant" her apologising attitude only seemed to me them more.
"Im sorry¡ you must have been very hurt¡ is it painful?" Emma asked.
"Fuck, what is this woman saying" one of the adventurer roared, he was just about to apply more force when he realised that his hands and legs were free again.
Normally, he would be happy that he can move again however, that was not the case this time. His limbs were moving on their own and without his control.
"You can move? Hey¡w-what are you doing with that sword?" it was only when his friend pointed it out that the adventurer realised his hands had picked up his sword and his legs were taking him towards his friend.
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Realising what was going on, the man tried to stop himself only to realise that he had lost control over his body.
"Have you gone mad? S-STOPPP¡" his friend squealed but it was already toote as the sword was already swung towards the defenceless him.
CHIII¡ the man watched in horror as blood sprayed out from his friend''s neck, their hatred filled eyes and their head which rolled down onto the floor.
"AHHHH" the adventurer screamed in fear, he wanted to run, he wanted to deny everything that happened today, he wanted to escape from this goddamn dungeon. However, it seemed that fate had some other ns for him.
"Im sorry¡" he heard the voice of that woman again and realised why she was apologising so incessantly. She was apologising because it was already destined that they would die at her hands. even the way she looked at them was as if she was looking at a corpse.
"Haha.. ahaha" the manughed, his neck slowly twisting a full 360¡ã like a screw. CRACK and finally his neck made a cracking noise and hanged down losely.
"Im sorry¡ [Marite y]" Emma said mourning at their death.
Remaining Humans- Ten.
"FUCK.. FUCK¡ FUCK¡ I knew it, it was a huge mistake to dive inside this ominous dungeon. I told you we shouldn''t have epted thatmission from Benny Beckerman".
"How is that my fault? Didn''t you say that we can''t defy that guild and make an enemy out of that man?".
Two humans were bickering with each other as they hurriedly moved under the cover trying to hide from the cmity ss beasts they thought woulde after them.
"Shut up everything is going downhill¡ if only I never epted thismission". The two of them hid underneath a foliage and tried to hide their presence as much as possible.
CREAK¡ at this moment, they suddenly heard some twigs breaking and their bodies immediately became alert.
"Do you think it''s those golems or is that cmity ss beast?"
"Don''t speak so loudly, what if they hear us?" the two of them talked in a hushed voice.
When thetter peeked from the foliage only to see a maid standing there, he sighed a breath of relief. His heart almost came out his mouth thinking it was those annoying golems or those powerful cmity beasts.
"Who is it?!"
"Rx, it''s just a maid. I don''t think she has noticed our presence. This is our chance let''s slowly move away from here"
"Wait¡ I think this is a chance, we should capture that woman"
"Have you lost your mind?"
"Think carefully, our survival out of this dungeon is already very low that it is almost 0. But what if we capture this woman and use her as a hostage till we get out of here? Once we are out, the demon wouldn''t be able to do anything to us".
Hearing his n, the other person too thought that it wasn''t a bad move. In fact, it might really be their one and only opportunity to get out of this dungeon. The two of them nodded their heads and came out of the shrubs.
"What a coincidence, if it isn''t one of the maids of the master of this dungeon. What brings a beauty like you here? Don''t tell me that you have fallen for one of us?" the humans tried initiating a conversation, slowly creeping closer towards the maid so as to not alert her.
They thought that the maid would react by either running or trying to call for help. However, when they saw that she did not even react, they felt like something was wrong. Nevertheless, they did not stop their advance and just when they were a few meters away from her, they started charging towards the maid not intending to give her a moment to react.
"Got you!!" One of the humans dived towards her trying to pin her down while the other blocked her way. However, contrary to their expectation, the maid still held onto her emotionless expression even in the wake of their assault.
Just when they were only a few inches away from her, she performed a simple punch followed by a roundhouse kick in a swift motion. These movements of her might seem simple but to them who were the recipient of the attack, it was anything but simple.
BANG...
BANG...
The punch and the kick that the maid performed packed enough power to easily shatter the defensive gears the humans were wearing and send them flying back. What was amazing about it was that the maid moved so fast that up until the point they were hit, the two people did not even see an attacking.
Bianca approached the two people who were lying on the ground squirming and puffing out blood. Amongst the Valkyrie sisters with the exception of Mercedes, she was the most powerful when it came to pure physical abilities.
Coupled with her level, these humans who were trying to pounce on her might as well be as good as ants. Additionally, amongst the sisters, Bianca had the least emotions due to her race being a homunculus and also because of her settings which made her to be a little dunce.
Thus when she was using her ck glossy heels to step on the part frightened, part disbelieved face of the two humans and smash them like watermelons, all the while, her face was the very definition of calm and emotionless.
There was not even a single ripple in her eyes when killing these people.
Remaining Humans- Eight.
On another corner of the forest far from the mountain where Simon and the others were, an assassin was sprinting around the trees at an incredible speed dodging the bolts of lightninging his way.
He criss-crossed around the ce and on numerous asions tried to outsmart the Lightning draconic serpent and rush towards the distant mountain where his target was.
By now, Boris knew that he wasn''t a match for the Lightning Draconic Serpent and more so of that demon who was able to single handledly defeat his former teammates. He knew that it was impossible for him to avenge his little brother but even then, he did not want to give up because if he did, he would no longer have a reason to struggle.
"That fucking demon doesn''t even know who my brother is¡at the very least I must at least kill someone dear to him. that way, he will understand the pain I''m going through" Boris cursed hiding behind a tree.
His state right now could only be said as wretched with blood and wounds covering his body. His reserves of potions were already out and he was on hisst legs.
"Do you think you can hide from me? Your petty tricks can only buy you so much time" the Lightning Draconic Serpent hissed. It was starting to get a little annoyed with the puny human that was trying to continuously avoid him instead of fighting directly thus extending the battle.
If not for that, it would have already closed this fight and by now it would be near his lord.
Seeing that the man was still noting out even after his warning angered the Lightning Draconic Serpent even more and thus it decided to use the skill it was hesitating up until now.
RUMBLE¡ all of a sudden, wind started picking up and dark clouds loomed over the sky for a few kilometres. The mana around this part of the forest was set in turbulence as they raged around haphazardly.
Sensing the danger in the air, Boris'' face became ugly. He did not know what the beast was trying to do but given the mana and thunder that was flooding out of it, it knew that it was bad news. He weighed his option and decided to run away instead of trying to stop it from conjuring whatever attack it was trying to conjure.
He thought that given the intensity of the attack it would take quite a while for it toplete and given his agility, by the time the attack wasplete, he would already be out of its range.
Boris was not wrong in thinking so but he had underestimated one thing and that was the range of the attack the Lightning Draconic Serpent was conjuring. It was trying to use a skill called [Weather Maniption] and conjure thunder clouds in a few kilometres of area.
Boris wasn''t even half the way out of the forest when a loud boom echoed out from the clouds above. Following that, the clouds started churning and turning red from the numerous bolts of lightning that were brewing in them.
"Thunder Rain" With the bellow of the Lightning draconic Serpent, the entire forest lighted up as crimson thunder like bolts of snakes dropped down from the sky.
BOOOMMMM... thend trembled and the sky cried pouring thunder like rain. The forest for a few kilometres was burned and devastated with no presence of life to be found around. The same was true for Boris the assassin whose entire body was turned into ashes by the thunder rain.
Unlike Berigard who had numerous resources and cards at his disposal, Boris was just a second-rate assassin in a third-rate kingdom. Even up until the moment he died he had an unwilling face that was unresigned to his fate.
After finishing the annoying assassin, the Lightning Draconic Serpent flew over to his master''s side only to see that the others have already finished their task and were now surrounding the six humans who dared to attack their master.
All nine of Simon''s subordinates excluding the [Helpers] were gathered around his side at this moment.
--------
Name- Emma
Race- ck Widow Spider
Rank- [A]
Level- 699+[???]
Skills- Analysis, Ultra Enhanced Detection, Blunt Super resistance, Cut Super resistance, Piercing Resistance, Poison Immunity, Ultra High Speed processing, Parallel Thoughts, Ultra Natural Recovery, Ultra Minimal Mana Consumption, Ultra enhanced Endurance, Ultra Enhanced Endurance, Ultra Enhanced Defence, Ultra Enhanced Magic, Battle Instinct, Essence Mana Conferment, Ultra High Speed Regeneration, Ultra High Speed Mana recovery, Five Senses Ultra Enhancement, Ultra Acute Control, Future Attack Prediction, Golden Mana LInes, Cooking, Cleaning, Sewing, Housework.
Racial Skills- [Marite Master], [Supreme Thread Reeling], [Supreme Thread Production], [Supreme Thread Weaving], [Supreme Thread Control], [Telekenisis], [Colourless Concelment], [Reverse Powery], [Will Distribution], [Poison Synthesis], [Nether Poison Mastery], [Ultra Precise Poison Control], [Ability Ovey], [Ability Conferment], [Binocr Vision], [Unification+++].
-------
Name- Bianca
Race- Homunculus
Rank- [A]
Level- 699+[???]
ss- [Imperial Aegis Knight]
p Skills- Analysis, Ultra Enhanced Detection, Blunt Ultra Resistance, Cut Ultra Resistance, Piercing Ultra Resistance, Poison Resistance, Ultra High Speed Thought Processing, Parallel Thoughts, Ultra Natural Recovery, Minimal Mana Consumption, Herculean Strength, Herculean Endurance, Herculean Defence, Herculean Agility, Seismic Magic Mastery, Ultra Battle Instinct, Ultra High Speed Regeneration, High Speed Mana Recovery, Five Senses Ultra Enhement, Essence Mana Super Burst, Tyrant Aura, Dense Mana Control, Future Attack Prediction, Golden Mana Lines, Cooking, Cleaning, Housework.
ss Specific Skills- [Imprable Tectonic Wall], [Tectonic st], [Golden Body], [Titan Buff], [Barrier], [Barrier Ovey], [Aegis Knight''s Call], [Battle Hunger], [Counter], [Imprable Aegis Mastery], [Ability Ovey], [Ability Conferment], [Aegis War Beat], [Aegis Imprisonment], [Helix Crush], [Defence Boost].
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"These puny humans dared to attack our master, their sins are absolutely unpardonable. I will skin them alive and torcher them until they die regretting that they were ever born" Bea dered in a violent rage.
Her words were so extreme that it made the others frown. Just when Bea was about to make her move, Ate stopped her saying "Did you already forget what master ordered us to do? He needs them alive so you of all people who doesn''t know how to hold back shouldn''t step up for this task. Besides, there is still the ¡"
At the end of her sentence, Ate volume became so low that only Simon and those near him could hear her. Although Bea was a little unwilling that everyone got their chance to shine except her, she still decided to listen to Ate and step down for this one.
"In that case, allow me to aid you" Bloodthorn demonic warhorse stated stepping forward. Now that he was relieved of his duty as the steed of his lord, he could go wild and take some of his built-up frustration on these people a little.
"Then I''m counting on you," Ate said nodding her head. She looked towards Irene and Bea beside Simon onest time before moving towards the area where the six adventurers were.
The sevens swords after being handed a devastating defeat at the hands of a single demon viscount,y on the ground with a face of disbelief. It took them a while and the deaths of the people that came with them to make them realise that they were still in the enemy''s territory and if they did not move or escape from here, it would be their turn to die next.
RUMBLE¡
Thiago turned his head and saw thunderclouds brew in the distant forest and pour down like rain. His eyes immediately went wide when he realised¡
"Boris is dead, his presence is gone!!".
"What?!"
The other seven swords reacted with aplex expression on their face. Even if Boris had betrayed them by revealing their position and information to the Sea God''s Guild, he was still their former teammate, a person who was one of the seven swords.
His strength was something that they could vouch for themselves. A person of his calibre to die at the hands of someone other than the demon, made them finally realise how dangerous the dungeon they dived inside truly was.
There were other power beings other than the master of the dungeon himself capable of killing them.
"W-we must get out of here" Morgress said clenching his body. Out of all the others, he had suffered the most damage. Even the potion he took from his teammates did not have much effect.
Nobody objected to his decision, in fact, they all unanimously approved of it. After all, being shown such an obvious difference they would be a fool to stay here and continue to fight. A decision that could be said to be the most correct one.
But how could Simon allow them to escape just like this? The decision to dive inside the dungeon was up to the humans; however, the decision to get out of here depended on the master of the dungeon, Simon who has already decided to capture them alive.
"RUN!!" Morgress shouted at the top of his lung seeing the subordinates of the demon arrive beside him one after the other. The seven swords obeyed hismand and together made a beeline towards the exit.
But the exit was covered by the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse and Ate who were already standing there.
"Lombus" Morgress cried out, immediately the warrior wielding his huge hammer charged out and brandished his weapon in a wild, unimpeded manner.
BANG¡BANG...BANG¡ as if a chain of explosions had gone out, each swing of Lombus was powerful enough to create bursts of winds that pushed everyone back and uprooted the surrounding trees.
Huff¡ Huff¡ after Lombus stopped his wild attacks, the entire area in front of them was covered in dust. It was only after the dust settled, that they could see a silhouette of a six legged warhorse standing perfectly still in front of them.
What''s more, it had endured every attack from Lombus'' hammer without even suffering any damage.
NEIGHH¡ the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse roared, reared its legs and stomped down onto the ground hard enough to create a small earthquake. Its three pairs of dark eyes looked at the adventurer in front of it as if saying ''Is that all?''.
Lombus wasn''t a genius but even he could see the mocking look in its eyes.
"Don''t underestimate me beast!!! [Hundred Brutal Hammer Mastery- Hundred Brutal Beating] ORAAAA!!!¡ " angered, Lombus used his most powerful hammer mastery technique.
It was around this technique that his entire self-confidence was built. Although it was quite a big shock to see theirbined attack thwarted out like it was some kind of child''s y earlier, he still believed the hammer techniques that had brought him this far and made him one of the seven swords, would be able to disy its effects against the cmity ss beast.
But to his utter despair, it seemed to disy no effect.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ the hammer bringing along a tide like power mmed onto the warhorse''s body, horns, and face. Nheless, none of it managed to even shake its body much less do any damage.
"H-how can this be?!" Lombus stopped swinging his hammer and dropped it on the ground. His face wasden with despair at this moment and faint ck smoke wasing out of it.
Seeing Lombus'' attack fail to even faze the enemy, all of the seven swords wore an incredulous on their face. They were nevertheless, an elite adventurer and thus they swiftly recovered from their daze and prepared to engage with the enemy in front of them.
"me Magic Mastery- [me Tsunami]" Sable roared out and started casting a powerful intermediate-tier me magic.
While Thiago pulled his bowstring and released multiple arrows towards the warhorse targeting its weak spots like eyes and nose "Tch.. Sharpshooter Bow Mastery- [Swift Notch Strike]".
The mes roared out, the magic was just about to beplete and the arrows about to reach the warhorse when suddenly the mana around the surrounding was disrupted causing the magic cast by Sable to go out of control and explode in front of his face.
As for the arrows, before could reach a few inches of the warhorse a greenish barrier encircled its body deflecting the attacks.
"Essence Mana disruption, Tempest Magic Mastery- Tempest Guard" Ate recited out from behind the warhorse. It was only now that the rest of the group noticed Ate''s presence. That magic just now was something that was cast by her.
COUGH¡COUGH¡ Sable coughed and needed the help of Kendric to support himself.
"Are you alright?" the warrior asked.
Sable nodded with a pale face and pointed at the maid in the distance "Be careful, that woman is no ordinary maid. Not only can she use disruption, but she can also cast magic without any dy".
Hearing his words, the group''s expression became even more uglier. As if the presence of warhorse wasn''t threatening enough, even the maids around the demon weren''t simple. To be able to cast magic so fast, one would need multiple rare and lost skills not to mention they also have a disruption skill in their arsenal which made them all the more troublesome enemy to face.
Imagine a scenario where you aren''t able to cast any magic because of the disruption but your opponent is continuously throwing magic at you. There was no need to even say who wille out on top given the situation.
Thus when the seven swords heard Sable mention the skill disruption, all of their faces twitched. They realised that even against a subordinate of the demon, they would have to work together if they wanted to get out of here alive.
"Lombus get back¡ Kendric, us three will attack the warhorse, Thiago you keep the maid busy and don''t allow her to cast her skill. Sable and Osborn use all of your mana if you have to, but keep on casting multiple small magic to create a disturbance. Listen all, we must get past the two of them before other subordinates of the demon arrive here".
Morgress issued orders one after the other. He thought that as long as the demon himself did not take action, they could work together to defeat any subordinates. But he couldn''t be any more away from the truth.
The Bloodthorn demonic warhorse was already a powerful cmity ss beast while the five Valkyries were each an [A] rank summon. Seeing that Lombus did not respond even when he called out to him, Lombus frowned and called his name again.
Nheless, Lombus refused to turn around which made the group notice that something was different about him. ck smoke wasing out of his body at this moment and he had that silly look on his face as if he had gone insane.
He had thrown aside his hammer into the ground and was just standing there in a daze. What they didn''t know was that Lombus after losing out in the contest of strength that he was the most proud of had be mentally vulnerable and was easily susceptible to the mental encroachment skill of the warhorse.
Now that his guard was all down, how could the warhorse miss the opportunity? It neighed, reared its powerful forelegs and stamped down on Lombus cracking his armour and imprinting four deep hoof prints on his chest.
BANG¡ the man flew back dozens of meters crashing down on a few trees on his way and only came to a stop after rolling on the ground a good long distance where hey motionless. Nobody knew if he was dead or alive.
-------
Name- Ate
Race- Superior Spirit
Rank- [A]
Level- 699+[???]
Skills- Analysis, Tempest Magic Mastery, Infernal Magic Mastery, Thunder Magic Mastery, Spirit Control, Ultra Enhanced Detection, Blunt resistance, Cut Resistance, Poison Resistance, Herculean Magic, Ultra Super Enhanced Endurance, Ultra Super Enhanced Agility, Ultra Natural Recovery, Ultra Minimal Mana Consumption, Ultra High Speed Regeneration, Battle Instinct, Shadow Chant, Dy Chant, Concurrent Chant, Super Body Strengthening, Golden Mana Lines, Cooking, Cleaning, Housework.
Racial Skills- [Essence Mana Compression], [Essence Mana Maniption], [Essence Mana Strengthening], [Essence Mana Anthem], [Chant Connection], [Essence mana Disruption], [Magic cast Annulement].
Amalgamation Magic- [Infernal- Thunder Mastery], [Tempest- Thunder Mastery]
Mutated Magic- [Locked], [Locked], [Locked].
420 Chapter 420
An eerie silence descended onto the ce and bore down on the seven swords out of which only five stood standing.
"Now!!" Morgress roared in a grave tone, he along with Kendric rushed towards the warhorse while the rest of the group kept the maid busy.
The scene was quite messy with skills and magic being thrown around everywhere causing serious destruction around the area. At a nce, the five humans seemed to be even with the subordinates of the demon.
However, the adventurers weren''t actually trying to defeat them instead their main objective was to creep closer towards the exit.
"Hmph, do you really believe that such an obvious objective would go unnoticed from unnoticed from elder sister Ate?" Bea folded her hands andmented. She along with Simon, Irene, Valkyries and the five [helpers] were watching the whole show from the mountaintop.
"Ouch¡ that must have hurt a lot, mister warhorse didn''t show any mercy when stomping down on that human" Alice said empathising with the unfortunate adventurer.
Emma: "I-I''m sorry".
Bea: "Sigh, why are you saying sorry for, it is all the fault of those humans, they deserve it".
"But wouldn''t it go against our master''s order if that human died?" Alice asked tilting her head.
"Hmph, it would be too merciful to kill him just like that. The warhorse held back enough and simply knocked the human out" Bea exined.
While they were talking about all that, Simon called Coleus out who bowed in front of him.
"Did youplete the task I told you to?" Simon asked.
"Indeed my lord, I have nted that thing you told me to in all of those floors" Coleus reported.
Simon nodded and dispersed the [Helpers]. Irene beside him heard the conversation between them from start to finish but did notment since she was already aware of what he was nning.
At this moment, the situation in the distance changed once again, the remaining humans frantically tried to use each and every skill and ability in their arsenal to get to the exit. However, their hopes and attempts were brutally smashed apart by Ate''s impossibly quick tempest magic that made a huge AOE vortex in the area that pulled all of the adventurers into one ce.
The bloodthorn demonic warhorse used its [Demonic grip] ability to encroach their unstable mind and break their will just like how it did to Lombus. When it all seemed like escape was impossible for the adventurers, they did something which even surprised Simon.
Having realised that escape was impossible for all of them, thest of the mage of this team, Orson decided to at least allow his guild master to escape from here. He was able to somewhat resist the mental encroachment from the cmity ss beast due to having mastered light magic and was the only person sane enough to think properly.
The wind was pushing them opposite of the exit thus even if he ran with Morgress in tow, he wouldn''t be able to make it. That is considering that their enemy even allowed them to run in the first ce.
If running towards the exit was impossible, then there was only one thing he could do in this situation. He grabbed his staff that was a [C] rank item tightly, and overloaded its core stone to reinforce the magic he was casting.
"Gale Magic Mastery- [Gale Tunnel]" Orson cried out loud, his staff made a cracking noise and broke apart into numerous splinters.
The energy that erupted out from the destruction of the core stone, was infused with the magic. A powerful gust of wind that spun at high speed sted Morgress who was affected by the [demonic grip] skill and carried his body all the way to the exit.
Fortunately for Osborn, Morgress'' body was facing the exit.
Realising what the enemy nned to do, Ate tried to use her disruption skill at thest moment to break the magic; nheless, she was a step toote as even she didn''t expect the light mage to suddenly use an offensive spell on his teammate like that.
The Gale tunnel that was created, opened a hole in the AOE vortex created and went unimpeded carrying Morgress through the stairs and all the way to the thirty-fifth floor.
THUD¡ sessful in his attempt to at least allow his guild master to get away from this floor, the mage fell onto the ground on his butt huffing and puffing.
He then used this moment when Ate and the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse were momentarily stunned to try and cast a quick novice tier light spell to dispel the mental encroachment skill. But his hand were quickly shot down by a bolt of thunder that came from dozens of kilometres away from the distant mountaintop.
Alice having used one of her skill, blew at her hand that was gesturing as a gun right now.
"Alice do not use any more of your skill¡" Bea stated turning towards the blonde girl next to her.
Alice tilted her in confusion then suddenly realised the words Ate had whispered to them.
"Ah!! Right.. right¡ hehe, I''ll be more careful".
"It''s alright, we have shown them plenty of our strength, they should make their move soon" Simon said moving towards the ce where the adventurers were with his entourage. Seeing their mastere over, Ate and the demonic warhorse bowed their heads.
"I''m extremely sorry master, because of my negligence one of them escaped. Please allow me to make up for it by going after that human immediately" Ate said, dejected at her failure.
"There is no need¡"
"Hehehe, my magic sent guild master far away, even if you pursue him right now, you will not be able to stop his escape" Before Simon could answer Ate, the mage responsible for the blunder, spoke out delightfully at this moment.
The wide grin on his face rubbed the subordinates around Simon the wrong way as they made a murderous face.
However Simon himself was calm even after thatment, he arched his brows and even entertained the mage n a little chit-chat.
"Why do you think he will be able to escape from us?" Simon asked.
Orson looked at the demon''s crimson eyes and felt his body shudder. Nheless, he still fearlessly answered him.
"Do you think we dived inside this dungeon without any preparation? Don''t underestimate our guild we still have thest resort of some sort to escape from this ce. Once guild master escapes from this ce, he will disclose the actual strength of your dungeon and at that time powerful adventurers wille flooding and you won''t be able to stop them¡ hehe".
p The man had a wide grin of victory written all over on his face but it didn''tst long and quickly crumbled apart after thement from Irene.
"Thest resort you are talking about must be a return scroll right?" She said after musing a little.
"What''s a return scroll?" Simon asked curiously.
"Ah, it''s a scroll enchanted with thews of space. Although it is useful in certain times, it is extremely cumbersome to use and needs a fixed transit point and exit to be set beforehand" Irene exined nonchntly.
"H-how do you know about the return scroll?" Osborn asked in a grave tone.
"Hmm? Well, it''s not like you guys are the first bunch that tried to use a scroll of return" Irene dispersed the questioning of the man with a few simple words and turned towards Simon.
"You don''t have to worry, that man is not a mage and with the condition and the mana pool he has, it would take him a long time to set all the parameters for the scroll to activate. The thing you have nted on the floors above will be able to easily stop that from happening".
Simon nodded his head and nced back at the man whose face seemed to be frozen at this moment as a faint ck smoke came out of his body. It looked like the man had finally sumbed to the [demonic grip] skill after that blow.
Now that all of these humans have been apprehended, it was time they dealt with thest of the intruders.
Remaining Humans- One
"I believe you have seen enough, isn''t it time for you toe out?" Simon said gazing around his surrounding.
Soon after his words rang out, the air in a few meters distance away from him, trembled and a silhouette of a person came out.
"Hehe, so you were aware of me huh?" Bryan said smiling ear to ear.
Simon looked at the man with an illusory pair of wings protruding out from his back, he did not know how the man was able to trick the system of his dungeon and disappear from the [Archive]. Nevertheless, he knew that the man was dangerous and had some other goals in mind.
"It seems that you are not with them¡ What are you after?" Simon asked.
"Hehe, why do you think I''m not with them?" Bryan asked back intrigued.
"Isn''t it obvious, you have been hiding your presence and observing everything that was happening here as if it doesn''t concern you" Bea was the one to answer him, she observed him with her eyes ready to make her move the moment thetter showed any movements.
The reason for them prolonging the conversation was because they knew that the man was hiding his true strength from the start and coupled with his bizarre ability to hide from the sureince of the dungeon, it made the man quite a troublesome opponent to face.
"Indeed, you are right, I was not sent here by the guild that employed these guys. I''m Bryan, you can also call me number 007, a senior executive from Cerberus. The reason I came here was to observe the source of the rumours that has been making its waves all across this kingdom" Bryan gave a polite greeting before making known his objective.
421 Chapter 421
When he was given a report by his subordinate eight and eleven, a month ago, he couldn''t believe it. That is why, he personally came to the kingdom of Ellesmere to check its authenticity. He hid his identity and pretended to work under the Sea god''s trident just to dive inside the dungeon of the demon who was the source of all these rumours.
To his surprise, whatever he saw in this dungeon today only seemed to make him even more astounded and broke all of hismon sense. A demon viscount controlling so many powerful subordinates, cmity ss beasts, an army of golems and even the sacred n of forest Spring spirits that have been recorded in legends was under him.
Not to mention the power he disyed when facing thebined might of the seven swords.
Everything that was rted to the demon, was so exaggerated that Bryan was having a hard time to believe that the one in front of him was really just a low ranking demon noble.
Simon narrowed his eyes the moment the other party mentioned the name Cerberus. He had heard the name previously from Eleven, the mysterious person from the Nifty Table.
He and Denzel had pursued the man and during the investigation, the name Cerberus came up. It was thanks to them that Simon was introduced to that peculiar machinery called the Coordinate and was teleported to the forbidden trial grounds.
From all of this information, Simon was at least aware that the organisation Cerberus had some rtion with the Coordinate.
''Is he here to get my dungeon core?'' Simon thought internally as he examined the person. the thing that powered a Coordinate, was none other than the shattered fragments of a dungeon core. thus it was only natural for Simon to believe that the person in front of him iming to be from Cerberus was here for his dungeon core.
"It looks like you are aware of the name of our organisation. I wonder how much Eleven has told you? Anyways, I''m not here under orders to conquer your dungeon or anything. I came here on my own ord to confirm something".
Bryan said taking out something from his space ring. He then threw it towards Simon but Bea who was on alert for all kinds of attacks moved first and appeared in front of Simon as if teleporting. She caught the thing, examined it for any kind of trap before passing it towards her master.
"A badge?" Simon looked at the thing that had the mark of a fierce three-headed beast. No matter how looked at it, it was just a badge. Apart from having an aesthetic value, the badge doesn''t seem to have any other use.
"Indeed, it is the insignia of our organisation. I have deemed that you are a person worth coborating with or more like we don''t want to get into your bad side since it would be too much of a hassle. That is why, with the authority bestowed on me as one of the senior officials 007, I invite you to our organisation. How about it?" Bryan asked looking straight at Simon.
Thetter looked at the badge and the person before shaking his head in refusal.
"I refuse".
"Haha, I thought so. But don''t be so eager to deny the proposal, I believe our organisation can be quite the help to you. From what I can see, your ambitions are quite big and won''t be stopped at just this third rate kingdom".
"You will be hearing the name Cerberus quite a lot in the future, I believe there will be plenty of opportunities for us to work together. For now, you should keep the badge with you, you will understand its importanceter. Now then, I have observed plenty and have achieved my objective, it''s time for me to get out of here".
Having said whatever he had to say, Bryan prepared to take his leave.
"Do you think you can just leave my dungeon without my permission?" Simon arched his brows curious that the man thought he can get away from them.
"Hehe, I know you and your subordinates are strong but if you want to keep one of the seven Cerberus with three digits to his name like me here, you would need much more than that. Since my skill [Guide] is telling me not to use the scroll of return, I will be using that thing although I''m somewhat reluctant to use it. But given that the [Guide] skill has saved my life multiple times, I believe that is the right choice".
Bryan murmured to himself without caring if the other party could clearly hear him. At some unknown point in time, his hand was holding a weird artefact that looked like a grail.
He was just about to pour the contents of the artefact on him when suddenly he realised there was a presence right behind him.
"Hehh, you say that we aren''t strong enough to keep you here? Very well then, allow me to see how you shall escape from here" Bea said teleporting behind Bryan without even thetter noticing it.
p Bryan hurriedly turned around and parried the knife that threatened to dig into his skull with the artefact in his hand.
CLANG¡ an intense nging noise echoed out and Bryan was sent smashing down onto the ground.
Whoosh¡ Though it didn''t seem like he had suffered any damage as he swiftly picked himself up from the dent he had created on the ground. His body waspletely unscathed though the same couldn''t be said for his expression.
Right now his face was masked with a kind of disbelief as he watched a small crack appear on the artefact that he was holding.
"Hnn~ that artefact on your hand is not bad. To be able to parry an attack from me and still not crack" Bea appeared behind him once again like a ghost and muttered.
This time, Bryan wasn''t able to dodge the attack in time and was hit squarely in the guts by a kick from Bea.
BANG¡ he crashed into a distant huge tree and stayed like that for a few seconds.
"Ahaha really, the surprises just keeping. Who knew there would be such a powerful subordinate around? Ring of Discordance release" Bryan murmured and released the effect of the artefact that was suppressing his powers.
The moment he did so, the entire aura around him changed and his powers rose to a whole different level. That was not all, furs started growing in some part of his body and his arms and legs had elongated a little.
Simon who was observing this change from the distance, widened his eyes a little at this moment. Those long arms, fur and the change in the irises, these characteristics were definitely not that of a human.
What was going on? Was the man not human? Simon was quite curious, with that change the man had directly breached the level 600 hundred barrier and was now around level 650.
The man named Bryan was powerful; however, if he thought that it was enough to best Bea, then he was sorely mistaken.
"What kind of transformation is that, you became even more ugly" Beamented appearing in front of Bryan at a speed that even he had difficulty spotting.
"Hmph, you are fast but so what? In terms of power, there is no way I will lose" Bryan said, his mana wrapped around his arms bing a gauntlet of some sort which he used to punch at the maid.
BOOOM¡ one could imagine the burst of power released by a person above level 600. Just a simple punch without any skill involved from him, was powerful enough to create a berserk storm of wind within a few dozen meters of radius.
"Hnn~ really?! Is this the strength you were so proud of?" Nevertheless, the maid easily blocked his attack with her palm, without even being pushed back.
Next, she tightly clenched his outstretched hand and mmed him onto the ground like a ragdoll.
BAM.. BAM¡ BAM¡ It was a funny scene, after that transformation of Bryan, he was more than twice the size of the maid. One could even say that in front of his towering stature, the maid looked just like a child.
Being manhandled like he was some toy, the scene cannot be any more absurd.
BANG¡ after being mmed into the ground onest time, Bryan swiftly picked himself up and opened up a distance between him and the maid. Looking at his body, it didn''t seem like he had suffered any physical damage but that couldn''t be said for his morale.
''It can''t be, am I being overwhelmed in pure strength even when I am partially transformed?'' Bryan had an incredulous look on his face as he thought internally. Even though he was not fullymitting his fight since he also had to be aware of the other joining in, but even then.
"That maid is quite good. Although shecksbat experience just like the others, her senses and abilities are powerful enough to cover for her weaknesses" Irene remarked observing the fight beside Simon.
"Right, when ites to pure physical strength, she is only behind Mercedes and Bianca amongst the Valkyries. Though it seems like she is not being serious at all, after all, Bea''s strength lies in her agility which far outmatches all the other Valkyries by far" Simonmented.
When it came to absurd inter-dimensional entities like Null elemental, Irene might be far more knowledgeable than him but when it came to the twelve heroes, no one was more well informed than him.
Hearing Simon''s words, Irene''s crystal blue eyes started shining with a mysterious light which she used to examine the maid. Convinced by her findings, Irene nodded her head.
She did not know how Simon had created these maids but even when their true potential was locked due to the limitations of the summoning, the maid was doing a good job handling that person without using most of her current powers.
''If in the future the Valkyries can break those restraints locking away their powers, the valkyries would be in the upper tier of the [A] rank subordinates''.
------
Name- Bea
Race- Night Amazoness
Rank- [A]
Level- 699+[???]
Skills- Analysis, Extreme Enhanced Detection, Blunt Super resistance, Cut Super resistance, Piercing Super Resistance, Poison Immunity, Extreme High Speed processing, Parallel Thoughts, Ultra Natural Recovery, Ultra Minimal Mana Consumption, Herculean Endurance, Ultra Enhanced Strength, Ultra Enhanced Magic, Herculean Agility, Superior Battle Instinct, Ultra High Speed Regeneration, Five Senses Ultra Enhancement, Ultra Acute Control, Future Attack Prediction, Ultra Body Enhancement, Essence Mana Disruption, Golden Mana LInes, Space Magic Mastery, Cooking, Cleaning, Housework.
Racial Skills- [Spatial Manuevering], [AnnihaltionEyes], [Annihtion sh], [Twelve Stride], [deless Dance Mastery], [Ability Ovey], [Ability Conferment], [Night Amozoness Aura], [False Change], [Eclipse sh], [True Shadow Concealment], [Eclipse Steps], [Sword Gullotine], [erged Perception], [Unification+++].
------
422 Chapter 422
What''s amazing is that all of them had this restraint ced on them''. While Irene was thinking all that, the situation had progressed with Bryan being overwhelmed by Bea at every turn.
SLASH¡ SLASH¡ SLASH¡
CHIIII¡ hundreds of sh wounds appeared on Bryan''s body the moment he lost vision of the maid. Thankfully though because of his tough defence, the dagger did not manage to dig deep into his hide and because of his skill [Ultra Speed Regeneration] the wounds swiftly closed back.
Bryan nced back at the weapon in the maid''s hand, the quality of the dagger she used could only be said to be subpar. Their rank was so low that had it not been for the user, they wouldn''t even be able to make a scratch on him.
Why was she using such a low tier weapon? Bryan did not care what he did know was that if he didn''t use his full transformation, he would be able to best her. However, it was not the time and ce to reveal that power here thus, he took out the grail from his space ring once again and poured out its content on himself.
The moment he poured the silvery liquid on himself, his body started giving off a strong spatial energy fluctuation making the surrounding space to distort around him.
Knowing what this phenomenon meant, Simon widened his eyes. Though he didn''t have to do anything since Bea reacted faster than him. She used her abilities to move even faster to bring forth a storm of attacks that targeted Bryan from everywhere.
? "You should keep that badge onto you, I''m sure we shall meet again," Bryan said turning towards Simon. His hand held a peculiar golden stone that was marked with runes. The moment he shattered it, a golden shield appeared around him and defended him from the attacks of the maid.
The moment Simon saw the golden shield appear around that man, he was immediately reminded of his Golden Guardian Stone. Both of them created a halo of shields around the user and defended them from all kinds of physical attacks.
Right after the words of the man sounded out, his body started twisting and distorting as if being sucked into a spatial rift.
"You bastard!! Do you really believe you can get away from here" Bea screamed, she was so furious that the words Ate whispered to the Valkyries about hiding their strength, was gone out of her mind.
At this moment, she was done holding back and used one of the skills called [Annihtion sh]. The dagger she was holding that had nicks and cracks all around the de, was at this moment enveloped by a powerful, dense dark green energy.
Without wasting a second, Bea erupted out with an absurd speed that was basically like high speed teleportation, and plunged her de at the shield and onwards towards the man/beast inside it.
STAB¡ blood flowed out from the stab wound that barely missed Bryan''s heart by a few inches. The dagger might have actually stabbed his heart had he not reacted fast and positioned his hand in between.
CRACK¡ the poorly made dagger unable to bear the burden of such a powerful skill, shattered apart at this moment.
"Too bad" Bryan smiled at Bea just before his body was sucked into the rift. One of the intruders, the man named Bryan who also called himself one of the three-digit numbers of Cerberus, sessfully managed to escape from his dungeon.
Right after he disappeared, Simon and the othernded at that exact ce, they too were a little surprised that someone had managed to escape from their grasp.
"What was that thing?" Simon asked turning towards Irene.
Even without asking, Irene knew what Simon was talking about. She mused for a moment before answering his question.
"I''m not sure but from what I can tell, that grail was a high ranking space artefact probably around [S] rank. but since Bea was able to make a crack on it so easily, I would say it was an imitation. Whatever the case may be, the content of the grail contains powerful spatialws".
"By pouring that content on himself, he was immediately sucked into the location as set on the grail. I am not sure about the exact usage of the grail but it should be somewhere around it".
Simon nodded his head, even though she was uncertain of her answer, that was a plentiful observation from her given that she was only able to observe the thing for a few seconds.
"I have failed you master, I wasn''t able to keep the person from escaping. I shall bear whatever punishment you have for me¡ even if its death" Bea fell on her knees and said agonisingly.
From her attitude, it was clear that she med herself for allowing an intruder to get away in front of her so much so that she was ready to make up for this blunder by sacrificing her life.
Exasperated by her extreme emotions from just one failure, Simon sighed audibly and told her to stop speaking such nonsense.
"There is no meaning to forfeiting your life in exchange for your mistake. I would even go as far as to say it''s the most cowardly choice. One can only make up for their mistake while they are alive. So get up on your feet and learn from your mistake so that it never happens in the future."
"It doesn''t matter if that man got away, we can deal with him when the timees. More importantly, the reason behind me sending you guys to deal with the adventurers is for you to get experience. There will be plenty of times in the future when I will be relying on you all. That is why, I want you all to not get daunted by your mistakes and learn as much as you can from your experience".
Simon spoke, his intention might have been to sound strict but to these Valkyries and his subordinates, his words sounded merciful andforting.
Hearing his words, Bea had a red flush appearing on her face but so was Ate and the rest of the Valkyries, their eyes glistened with tears hearing their master''spassionate words.
"I will work harder so that this mistake never happens again my lord" the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse said resolutely.
Not wanting to be outdone by it, the Valkyries, [Helpers] and the Lightning Draconic Serpent too said in unison "We shall work harder master/my lord".
Satisfied by their reaction, Simon nodded his head. In the first ce, it was also partially his fault for sending the Valkyries without even giving them proper weapons. He was always busy at improving his own strength that hepletely forgot about improving the weapons of the Valkyries.
Yes, they were supposed to be one of the twelve heroes. However, without their powerful weapons also called as heirlooms they cannot even show their full power. When creating the game, Simon set the menu in a way so that yers who have summoned the heroes, have to summon their corresponding Heirloom from the [Gacha] as well.
And mind you, due to the instruction from thepany, the summon rate of the Heirlooms for the corresponding hero in the [Gacha] was very low. It was set as such so that thepany could ensnare the yer into spending more of their money on the game.
Simon being one of the lead developers at that time, knew what thepany wanted and thus created many games like that, Lace was no exception.
The reason behind thepany using such a tactic was to grow thepany and pay the sry of their researchers and developers. One of the few plus points for working for thatpany was the high sry that they offered to their employees.
Simon who had enjoyed this benefit at that time, couldn''tin now that the role had interchanged and he was put in the yer''s shoe.
The [Gacha] already had an incredibly low rate of summoning those Heirlooms but to make matters worse, the option was now bugged after the merger. He didn''t know if the Heirlooms was still there or not or whether their summoning chance had increased or decreased.
Whatever the case may be, Simon at least knew that he would have to dump a lot of his DP into the option to even stand a chance to get something good. Just thinking about it made Simon''s mood sour. Though fortunately for him, the DP that he was gaining was increasing every day.
Not to mention the adventurer who died here also provided him with a bountiful amount of DP. Thinking so, Simon focused his attention back on the remaining unconscious adventurers. The reason he left them alive was so that he could interrogate them.
These people clearly belonged to some group or some guild and had information about the forest Spring Spirits living in his dungeon. Simon wanted to know where and how they got this information from, how were they rted to that guild that attacked the forest Spring spirits and who else was privy to this information.
There were many information that Simon wanted to spill out from these people and that is why he was still tolerating their presence. It was a good thing that he had summoned the Valkyries this time since one of the maids was a specialist in torturing and getting the information out of the enemy.
"Bea take these people to the empty floor. Get all the information I told you about from them" Simon ordered opening the [Main Menu].
"As you wish master" Bea replied immediately, a sadistic look on her face.
423 Chapter 423
Huff¡ Huff¡ inside a dark ce where the only light came from the enemy in front of him, a man could be seen hacking and shing with his broadsword.
"Don''t get in my you god damn monsters" the man covered in wounds, was none other than Morgress who was carried all the way up to the entrance of the thirty fifth floor by that tunnel of wind.
Currently, he was surrounded on all fronts by Fire Eater Rats and Fire Fanged Mouse who were currently pouring out in droves from the underground.
KIEEEKK¡ their loud scream reverberating on this dark floor like an ominous symphony. As someone who had fought them before, Morgress could tell that something was wrong with these monsters at this moment.
Right now, they were being just too aggressive and violent that they did not even care about their own lives and threw themselves onto him trying to take him out in any way possible.
That kind of mad behaviour was as if these monsters had gone insane much like a warrior who had utilised the skill [berserk] too much. It wouldn''t have been a problem if it was just a few of them but the entire colony behaving this way was much too unusual.
It was almost like their behaviour was being induced by something. Morgress did not know what could have possibly brought this change; nevertheless, it was not a good thing for him. If he wanted to escape from this dungeon, he had to invoke the scroll of return.
But to do that, he needs to channel all of his focus and mana onto the magic. However, in a situation where the enemies were diving at him in a suicidal manner, it was clearly impossible for him to use the scroll of return at this point.
Additionally, hiding was also not a good option since these monsters for some unknown reason are able to sniff him out. Alone and outnumbered, it was only a matter of time before he ispletely devoured by these monsters.
Not to mention, he was already mentally and physically fatigued from the fight on the thirty sixth floor.
"GODDAMMIT¡ I will not die here¡ AHHHHH!!!" Morgress roared in ast ditch effort to mount up a resistance.
A couple of minutester, Simon teleported onto the floor that was currently frolicking with berserk Fire Fanged Mouse and Fire Eater Rat. As he walked, he soon reached the ce where monsters were currently encircling something.
Looking at the thing, more specifically the person that was lying in the middle of all of it, Simon locked his brows. At this moment, the state of the person was so wretched and ugly with wounds, burns, bite marks and scratched that it waspletely impossible to recognise the person.
Although the person was in a dire state, he was nheless, still alive. Simon did not pity the person, nor did his eyes have any emotions, it was simply indifferent as they gazed at the man.
The monsters spread aside making a way for him to walk in. Simon approached the man, picked him up and teleported back. Right before he telported, he looked towards the centre of the floor where a single tree was silently standing.
What was bewitching about that tree was that it waspletely crimson in colour and wreathed in mes.
The next time he appeared, Simon was in Forest Spring Spirit Vige where most of his subordinates had gathered to. After delivering that man to Bea for interrogation, Simon appeared in the Forest Spring Spirit vige at Cecilia''s insistence.
The floor was very different since thest time he saw it, not only the forest here gave a vast verdant feeling now, but even the ambience of mana here was very rich pointing to the formation of many Mystical veins underneath the ground.
Aside from that, the entire floor had various kinds of trees and nts growing in a neat and arranged manner. Each of these trees and nts was unique and could only be grown by these forest spring spirits.
If any alchemist saw this floor, they would go insane by the rare and precious variety of ingredients that could be found here.
The entire floor no doubt looked very mystical and colourful but the thing that attracted Simon''s eyes the most was the big fat tree on top of the mountain overlooking the vige.
"Big brother you are finally here! Quick,e with me. Everybody is waiting for you" Before Simon could tread towards the mountain to know more about the tree, Cecilia who spotted him teleporting, approached him at some point and pulled him towards the vige.
The current vige of the Forest Spring Spirits was much more lively and active than before. There were many more buildings built out of bamboo and up on the trees. The size of the vige as a whole was twice as big too.
As Simon being pulled by Cecilia, walked the streets of the vige, he noticed that every building and corner was decorated nicely. There were beautifulmps ced all over the ce and the Forest spirit people who greeted him were all wearing a traditional type of cloth.
The two of them walked around the vige marvelling at the lively atmosphere before reaching the most magnificent house on a hill that was built by the forest spring spirits for him.
"Wee My lord" the moment they arrived at the gates of the house, he was greeted by Fennel the elder, the [helpers], and a few other forest spring spirits.
"Before anything else, I want to congratte lord Simon for his splendid victory against the intruders," Fennel said in excitement.
Simon nodded his head and looked towards the [helpers] with a questioning gaze.
"I know lord Simon did not want us to worry for nothing and this is why you told them to keep the skirmish that urred on the thirty sixth floor a secret but it is not their fault. It just so happened that Cecilia was able to make them talk even when they were unwilling to" Fennel said with a helpless smile on his face.
Hearing what the elder had to say, Simon wasn''t fazed. The [helpers] did indeed obey his orders and intended to keep it a secret. But because it was Cecilia who was one of the Guardian of this dungeon and much higher in rank than them who was asking the question, they couldn''t disobey the authority that came with her role and thus spilled out everything.
At this moment, Simon felt his clothes being tugged and looked down to see Cecilia pouting her cheeks in anger.
"Big brother I was very angry at you for keeping it a secret from me. You fooled me when you sent me to the vige didn''t you hmph. Big sister Irene told me that the intruders were all big bad people and you were only trying to protect me by sending me here so I''m no longer angry at you. But I still feel left out¡".
"Cecilia don''t be like that, did you forget what day is today?" Fennel from the side said disciplining her a little.
"Oh right! I will not be angry at you today brother because today is the Spiritus Fortuna festival that our n celebrates every year" Cecilia said beamingly, forgetting about her anger in an instant.
''Hey are you angry at me or not? Make up your mind'' Simon wanted to retort; nevertheless, he was more curious about this festival the Forest Spring Spirits were talking about.
"Spiritus Fortuna?" he asked.
Fennel smiled in a simr festive excitement like Cecilia and exined "That is right my lord, Spiritus Fortuna is a festival where we pray for the continued prosperity of our n and offer our harvest back to the nature that nurtures us all".
"It has been an ancient tradition of our n to celebrate this festival every year and dates back more than ten thousand years ago. Last year it was her father, the patriarch that initiated the festival. This year, we hope lord Simon will be the one to do it".
Right after he said, that, he looked at Simon in expectation. It was not only him, but all the other forest spring spirits were also holding the same expectations in their eyes.
Seeing their faces filled with anticipation, Simon did not find it in himself to reject them and ultimately nodded his head. He was already here, might as well attend this festival and see what it is about.
"Alright, but even though you say that I should initiate the festival, I have no idea how the event or how to go on about it" This was the first time he was attending any festival in the world of Althaea after reincarnating. Thus he had no idea whether their festival here was simr to the one from his previous world or something totally different.
"Lord Simon does not have to worry, we all are here to help you. But first how about lord Simon go inside his house and change into the clothes our n has prepared for you" Fennel said smiling at the end.
"Oh right right, brother hurry up and change into those clothes, I want to see how you look in them. Big sister Irene wore her own and she looks very pretty" Cecilia said jumping up and down in excitement.
Hearing her words, Simon was involuntarily curious. His mind couldn''t help but imagine that icy cold beauty in those clothes.
Simon felt his hand being pulled and before he could do anything, he was led by everyone inside the house.
424 Chapter 424
Even though he mostly lived in the white pce on his Main floor, the house here was kept neat and clean with not even an iota of dust anywhere to be found. This goes to further show how dedicated the forest spring spirits were towards him.
Although not as big as the white pce, the bamboo house still had many rooms and halls. When Simon entered the house, he was greeted by the Valkyrie sisters who were already waiting for him there with the exception of Bea who was currently busy with the task that Simon had given her.
"Huh?! you guys are also here?" Simon asked.
"Princess Cecilia invited us here saying that you would be attending the festival in their vige. Hence we came here to attend to your needs" Ate said gracefully.
"Is that so" Simon nodded his head, his eyes involuntarily trying to find a figure amidst them.
How could his actions go unnoticed by the Valkyries, they immediately knew who their master was looking for and spoke.
"Master, Mistress Irene is currently in her room trying out her clothes. On that note, we have already put your clothes in your room. Do you need our help to change master?".
"That won''t be necessary" Simon rejected their offer much to their dejection.
"I asked them to change too, but they keep on saying that they can''t change out of their uniform since it was given to them by you. Big brother, why don''t you tell them to change too, I''m sure that they will listen to you" Cecilia insisted.
Simon considered his little sister''s words and thought that it was not a bad idea for the Valkyries to also get a change of pace and thus ordered them to also wear the clothes provided by the forest spring spirits for the festival.
"But master, we are your maids, we must always be ready to cater to your needs" Ate voiced her opinion.
"Are you saying that you won''t be able to fulfil your responsibilities as a maid while wearing other clothes?".
"That''s not¡" having no words to retort, Ate and the other finally consented much to Cecilia''s delightment.
"In that case, I''ll be showing lord Simon to his room," Fennel said leading Simon to his room that was on the first floor.
"Lord Simon please call on me if you need anything," the elder said waiting outside.
Simon entered his room which was not quite big not small. It was moderately decorated with crafts made by the forest Spring spirits themselves and gave a cosy feeling to the room overall. On the bed, were a pair of clothes made of materials that Simon had seen for the first time.
Kept on the bed were, simple flowing robes, that included an under tunic and an overtunic, cloak and a belt. On the touch, these clothes seemed extremelyfortable and soft, there was no doubt that these clothes would give the wearer a rxed feeling.
Simon quickly changed into these clothes and came out of his room.
"Un¡ My lord, you look very regal in those clothes. The colours emerald green and ck really do suit you well" Fennelmented a little awestruck with how the clothes and the colour matched Simon.
"The Forest Spirit robes is made of Aesilk Furvine, the colour was chosen by Cecilia herself. Does Lord Simon like it?".
"So they are called the forest spirit robes huh? The clothes are veryfortable and easy to wear, along with their traditional design and colour scheme, they are quite good" Simon gave his feedback.
On their way down, he asked fennel what exactly was this material Aesilk Furvine and how were they produced.
"My lord I''m extremely delighted that you are curious about it. The Aesilk Furvine is actually produced by grafting two specific types of trees that each produced their own unique types of material together. Both of these trees are parasitic and each tries to take over the other and in the result produces a type of material that when further processed is called the Aesilk furvine" Fennel exined making Simon curious and wanting to see this so called tree.
"Hehe, big brother you look amazing¡" While they were talking, Cecilia came out of the corridor wearing her own forest spirit robes.
"So do you Cecilia".
As expected of the traditional dress of the forest spring spirits, it really matched them. Hearing Simon''s praise, Cecilia rubbed her nose and went back inside where thedies were dressing.
After a while, they came out looking all pretty and mesmerising.
"Big brother tada¡ how do they look?" Cecilia asked mischievously.
Simon''s eyes fell onto the four Valkyries who looked very different in their current garb. If previously they looked beautiful and heroic with that armour and maid clothing, now they looked elegant and charming.
Their clothes were a little different than the robes he was wearing, the one they had donned on was a straight seamed garment that wrapped over their bodies and tied together by a sash on their waist.
Each of them were crafted extremely well and along with the colourbination, itplimented them well and enhanced their beauty even further.
"You all look very beautiful" Simon praised seeing how good the clothes were looking on them.
"We are undeserving of such praise" Ate spoke a little embarrassed. This was the first time they were wearing something that was not their uniform, naturally, it made them a little nervous.
However, when they heard their master''s praise, they were d that they wore these clothes as a smile bloomed on each and every one of their faces.
"Hehe, big brother you should save some of your praise for when big sister arrives" seeing her grinning andughing like that, Simon didn''t know why but he felt like she was up to something.
And he was right, it didn''t take long for Irene toe out of her room wearing the dress that seemed to be just made for her. She was already a peerless beauty to begin with, but those clothes that were far from the usual ones she used to wear around him, made her look beguiling in a whole different way.
If previously the simple clothes made her seem like an ethereal beauty from a celestial realm that one could only gaze from afar, the current her was more like a goddess that had descended to the mortal realm far more realistic and closer to them than before.
BA-DUMP¡
Simon felt his eyes widen and his heart beat erratically at this moment.
Irene too naturally felt his gaze on her, she tried to keep herposure but for some reason, her heart was beating like a drum and a crimson flush appeared on her cheeks. Her phoenix eyesnded on the clothes that Simon was wearing and they immediately became stunned.
There was no doubt that Simon with his demonic charm looked very handsome in those clothes but the reason why Irene was a little astonished was because she and Simon were wearing the same colourbination of clothes.
Even the embroidery they had on their clothes was a little simr.
"Cecilia¡" Irene called out, her crystal blue eyes staring menacingly at the little girl.
Cecilia felt her body jolt at this moment, she moved her body around very mechanically and scratched her head.
"Hehe, I thought big brother and big sister would look very good in matching clothes".
Seeing her silly smile, Irene no longer found it in herself to be angry at her.
"T-That''s right¡ Big brother, how does big sister Irene looks?" Cecilia said shifting everyone''s attention away from her.
Seeing that Simon did notment and just kept on staring at her, Irene couldn''t help but ask "What is it?".
"You look stunningly beautiful" Simon stated his honest opinion but even then he felt like those words still did not do any justice to her beauty.
"You too, those clothes look very good on you" Ireneplimented back. The two continued to stare at each other when Fennel from the side coughed.
"Ahem¡ I''m extremely sorry to disturb the moment but my lord everybody is waiting for you to initiate this festival".
"Right, let''s go out then" Simon snapped out of his thoughts and turned around. When he came out, he was stunned to find the entire n of the forest spring spirits gather at the vige square, each of them holding amp in their hand.
The square was full of people and with rows and tables of food and drinks. Everything that was there, was prepared by the forest spring spirits themselves using the techniques that had been passed to them from their ancestors.
The moment Simon and his group arrived near the square, all of the forest spring spirits whether they were adults or children performed a ceremonious bow towards him showing their dedication and loyalty.
Simon knew that even if he told them to disperse with their formality, they wouldn''t agree thus he simply didn''t bother to raise the issue this time.
On Fennel''s insistence, he, Cecilia, Irene and the others around him, were brought to the centre of the square where a big firece was set up. Beside it, was a staff that was made of a very old wood having six rings made of vines around it. The top of the staff was wide and was shaped like a torch.
Simon stopped in front of the firece and turned towards the forest spring spirit n that were looking at him with eyes filled with pious zeal. Although, it still made him a little ufortable, being around the maid whose eyes showed a simr fanaticism, he was starting to get used to it.
425 Chapter 425
The Forest Spring Spirit n had sworn an oath of subordination to him and were now an inhabitant of his dungeon. As long as they continued to be loyal to him, he as the dungeon master had the obligation to protect them and shelter them from all harm.
The battle that urred on the thirty sixth floor and even now he was interrogating the humans so that he could protect the safety and prosperity of the n.
"People of Forest Spring Spirit n, please raise your heads" Simon dered, his newfound confidence along with the regal aura he was emitting at this moment, made him look just like a king who was addressing his subjects.
The Forest spring spirits, raised their heads as they were told and looked at Simon fervently. Currently, whatever little prosperity they had it was all because of Simon. He was not only their saviour, but had be a symbol of some sort for them. It wouldn''t be wrong to say that the position he held in their heart was higher than that of a king.
"Lord Simon, please hoist the spirit staff to start the event" Fennel from the side instructed.
Since Simon had no idea of how to start the Spiritus Fortuna festival of the forest spring spirits, he asked Fennel to guide him. The spirit staff that Fennel was talking about was the old wooden staff that was kept beside the firece.
Simon strode forward, extended his hand and picked the staff up. The moment his fingers touched the wood, he felt as if a vast deep energy, pure and soothing, brush past his body. The feeling onlysted for a second or two before it disappeared.
Amazed, Simon observed the staff in his hand more carefully. The thing was so light that he basically did not even feel its weight.
Seeing his expression and knowing what he was thinking, fennel smiled and said "The spirit staff is an ancient treasure of our n passed to us by our ancestors. It is made from the branch of the World Tree and contains a vast amount of natural energy. Only our patriarch or someone recognised by our people can raise the staff".
"That''s right, I remember my father saying that it was a treasure bestowed to our n by the Primordial Demon Lord of Pride in the ancient era" Cecilia added. She became a little mncholic thinking about the words of her father.
So that was the energy he felt before and why the staff seemed so light, Simon nodded his head. He was curious about the world tree that they mentioned and wondered if it was what he was imagining in his head.
He made a mental note to ask about itter, right now he had the task to start this festival on his hand. Anyways, after he picked the spirit staff, he heard the sounds of aweing from the forest spring spirits.
It looked like the staff held some kind of special spiritual meaning to them since their gaze became even more reverent the moment he picked it up.
"Lord Simon, in the Spiritus Fortuna festival we offer our harvest to the nature and pray for the deceased near the spirit tree. Would you please lead everyone to that giant tree on the distant mountaintop".
Fennel pointed out at the distant tree on the mountain near the vige. The tree that he pointed out was also something that Simon was also curious about and had attracted his gaze the moment he arrived on this floor.
The tree was extremely conspicuous with its numerous branches and how wide it was. With him in the lead, followed by Irene, Cecilia, his subordinates and the forest spring spirits on the back, they tread forward and after a while appeared in front of the wide tree.
Now in front of it, Simon stood rooted for a good few seconds as he marvelled at the tree that was like a piece of art. No, calling it a tree was incorrect since it was a cluster of trees that wrapped around each other to form one huge unit.
The thing was already amazing with how incredulous it looked; nevertheless, the most amazing thing about this tree was not its shape nor its numerous branches spreading chaotically but the vast amount of mana that it was releasing.
It was so dense that the ground around the tree had be moist. Looking at that cluster of trees, Simon had no doubt in his mind that all of those trees were mana trees grown from the seeds that he had given to the forest spring spirits to nt. since then, they have undergone some form of mutation and had be something else entirely.
Simon tried to use his Analysis only to be stunned the next second to find that it was blocked by the tree. Yes, his attempts at analysis was blocked by none other than the tree itself.
"The Tree of Spirits, so it has finally grown to be a sprout" Irene muttered from beside him.
Hearing her words, Simon turned towards her and asked "What is a Tree of Spirit? And how did it block my analysis?".
"Tree of Spirits, an ancient tree that is said to be able to connect the spirits of the deceased with that of the living. The more spiritual significance the tree has, the more spirits will gather around it. It could be seen by the number of pale white leaves on its branches"
"It is no wonder that it was able to stop your attempts of analysis; after all, the tree itself is a spiritual entity. It usually takes a very long time and special conditions for the tree to grow and once it does, it will be able to show abilities far beyond your imagination. One of those abilities for instance is the ability to talk with the deceased".
"Although to do that, the tree would have to fulfil many conditions one of which is to grow to its adult form. The current tree of spirit is like a baby that needs constant care and attention. Fortunately, you have the aid of forest spring spirits, their natural energy and the abundant mana on this floor is the perfect source of nutrients for it" Irene exined looking at the tree of spirits.
Hearing her words, Simon was gobsmacked. It was already shocking for him to know that the tree can bock his attempt of analysis but it can do what now?
Connect and talk with the deceased, what kind of concept was that? It was the first time that Simon was hearing something like that, not to mention the thing that can do that, was right in front of his eyes.
The huge wide tree that caught his eyes when he arrived on this floor, turned out to be a thing of immense value.
? Simon hurriedly opened his [Main Menu] hopped over on the [Shop] option and checked all the features that were still unavable to him or in other words would only get unlocked when his dungeon evolves up to a new higher rank.
In any case, even after searching the lists of features, there was no mention of anything about something called the tree of spirits which goes to say that what he has here is something unique that even the [Shop] option of the [Main Menu] didn''t.
That in itself was enough to tell Simon the value of the tree of spirits. If the tree can really do what Irene said, then he had lucked out incredibly this time. The thirty or more seed of mana trees was nothingpared to the benefits the tree of spirits can provide in the future when it grows up.
This brings to mind¡ "What are the conditions that needed to be met for the tree to grow up?" Simon asked realising that there is a catch here.
Irene mused for a while before replying "First of all the tier of the dungeon needs to be at least a [B] rank, it needs a high density of mana constantly to even stay alive. Then the forest spring spirit floor itself must have numerous heart veins growing underneath it. There is the need for someone to constantly take care of the tree but that issue is solved by the forest spring spirits".
"There are many other conditions that even I''m not aware of but the ones I told about are the ones that are somehow achievable in the future. Perhaps, Cecilia would know more once she fully manifests the sleeping abilities within her".
At this moment, Simon''s expression looked like he had swallowed a fly. Just a few seconds ago, he was so excited thinking that he had lucked out but who knew that the conditions to grow the tree of spirits would be this stringent?
Even the most simplest of the condition required him to evolve his dungeon to [B] rank, have numerous heart veins on the forest spirit floor. These conditions were already enough to snuff all of his excitement out, not to mention there were still more conditions there that even Irene did not know about and could only be found out when more of Cecilia''s ability starts to awaken.
All in all, it could be said that even though he got himself an incredible thing, it was still too early for him to utilise it.
"Is something wrong Lord Simon?" Fennel asked from behind. Simon and the others had suddenly stopped the moment they reached the tree thus Fennel couldn''t help but ask if something was wrong up there.
Simon shook his head saying that it was nothing and proceeded forward, his subordinates and the entire n of forest spring spirits carryingmps in their hands, followed behind him.
When they reached the mountaintop, they kept themps all around the tree and decorated it with white and purple clothes made of the same material as their garments. After they were done, they circled around the tree, closed their eyes and prayed for the deceased.
426 Chapter 426
Cecilia was no exception, she was amongst the forest spring spirits that were dressed differently. If he had to say, her attire was more like that of a priestess.
After the forest spring spirits were done praying, Fennel came to him and exined "Lord Simon, the tree we are in front of is called the spirit tree and ording to the records our ancestors have left behind holds special significance to us. It seemed that they used to perform a prayer for the deceased around this tree during every Spiritus Fortuna festival".
"Unfortunately, after that dark history where our n had to desert our home and live in seclusion, our race had never seen a spirit tree again. That was up until a few months ago when suddenly the tree that was mentioned by our ancestors, sprouted by the seeds that lord Simon gave us".
"The tree must have sprouted because the Spiritus Fortuna festival was drawing near, I believe it was an indication from the ancestors of ouring prosperity. Everything is starting to fall back in ce, it is all thanks to lord Simon".
At the end of his sentence, the elder even became a little emotional.
"What is elder Fennel saying, I had nothing to do with it. Though I do agree with your words, the forest spring spirits will prosper and thrive just like how it was in the ancient times, you have my word" Simon dered, looking at Cecilia diligently tying a thin purple cloth in one of the branches of the tree and sping her hands together in prayer.
He remembered the time when he first found her wounded and unconscious near the territory of the ancient treants. From then to now, not much time had passed yet that delicate doll-like girl, was able to stand on her feet after suffering through that terrible experience and smile along with her remaining nsmen once again.
From aplete stranger, she had inched closer and closer to bing an existence that was like his little sister. Her presence and the changes she brought to his dungeon were so incredible that they could be seen on every floor.
Although at first, it was just on a whim, he told her that she can address him as big brother. But at some point in time, he just naturally epted her form of address and even started to think of her as his own little sister.
Even if the festival was just a myth their ancestors had cooked up and the tree of spirit had no special meaning, Simon was determined to have the forest spring spirits continue to prosper inside his dungeon.
From Fennel''s words, Simon could tell that the elder did not know about the tree of spirits and what it did. His knowledge came from the iplete memories that their ancestors passed down.
After Cecilia and the others dressed like a priestess finished tying the many clothes onto the branches of the tree giving it a vivid colourful look, they stepped back and stood neatly in a row.
"Lord Simon please start this event by lighting a fire on top of this staff from thosemps" Fennel instructed.
Simonplied without any question. The staff that he thought looked like a unique torch indeed turned out to be one. The moment he went up to the manymps ced near the tree and brought the top of the staff on top of it, it lighted up in a brilliant emerald green fire.
Simon had never seen this colour of fire before and it was beyond his logic why it did not produce any kind of heat. Nevertheless, he redited this uniqueness to the staff since it was said that it was a branch of a world tree and held an immense amount of natural energy.
Weirdly enough, seeing the forest spring spirits praying silently like that and him holding the staff, he felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu for some reason unknown to him. He tried to recall if he had seen this kind of ritual anywhere else before or perhaps in his previous life.
However, nothing came to his mind leading to him discarding this thought. Now that the forest spring spirits were done cing themps, tying the clothes on the branches of the spirit tree and with their prayers, Simon as asked by Fennel, carried the staff and led them back to the vige.
Back at the vige square, Simon ignited the firece with the fire from the staff and started the Spiritus Fortuna festival. Basically, as an inaugurator, all he had to do was carry the staff, lead the forest spring spirits and ignite the firece from the emerald green fire of the staff.
The festivity started the moment he ignited the firece. People started dancing around the fire, chatting, drinking, and eating from the lines of dishes ced on the table. They brought out the ample harvest they had and started making unique kinds of dishes to keep the festivity going.
Simon did not shy away from participating in this festival as he tried out every kind of dish that was like a paradise for his taste buds and the unique kinds of wine that can only be brewed by the forest spring spirits.
It must be mentioned that he wasn''t the only one enjoying the festival as Irene and the Valkyrie sisters could be seen roaming around the vige square and trying out different kinds of foods, chatting,ughing merrily and enjoying the recreation.
Cecilia aided her aunt Daphne in preparing various kinds of foods all the whileughing and giggling with her friends.
He did not know about others, but for the maid sister that he created himself, it was the first time that they had attended any festival. Their joy and curiosity could be seen on their faces.
Simon sat down on a chair with a ss of wine in his hand and looked at the merry faces of each and every one of his subordinates. He felt like this kind of festival was a good opportunity for his subordinates to let loose sometimes, especially after the fight they had on the thirty-sixth floor.
Inside the dungeon it was not every time that they could celebrate a day like this, thus it was important that they enjoyed this day. The festival today also reminded Simon how crucial it was to have a day like this. The dungeon was their home and they who live in it should have a few days in a year like this to celebrate and enjoy.
p Simon decided to make a mental note of this and just like that, the dungeon Lace would have various festivals the inhabitants of this ce would enjoy. But that was something for the future, right now, Simon delved on the slight feeling of intoxication and the atmosphere of festivity around him.
The wine brewed by the forest spring spirits was unlike all the other ales that Simon had before, it must be mentioned that the unique types of fruits and vegetables that only a race like them can grow had mysterious effects and properties even in the simplest of their food.
The wine that he was drinking right now, seemed to be made of the extracts of some berries that grow underground. It had a strong burning taste along with the mysterious effects of increasing your physical abilities for a short duration of time.
As Simon silently immersed himself in this peaceful time, Irene approached him and sat next to the chair beside him.
Although this icy cold beauty always maintains aposed face like ake, at this moment even Simon could make out that small smile hanging at the corner of her lips. Her face was a little flushed with how much she was dragged around by Cecilia who wanted her to try all of those dishes that her n prepared.
"Here..." Irene said passing over a te of food that looked like some kind of dumpling.
Simon looked at her with his questioning gaze only for thetter to shift her eyes and state "Cecilia told me to pass this to you. It is something that she made it herself".
Simon picked out one of the dumplings and asked "What is it called?".
"Hmm, she mentioned it was made of five fruit balls so¡ five fruit balls?!".
Simon smiled at her uncharacteristic reply and put the dumpling down his mouth.
"It''s good!! why don''t you try some?" He said nonchntly.
Irene nodded her head, picked a dumpling and chewed on it "You are right, it''s good".
"Haha, who knew that girl can cook".
Immersing in the festive moment, the two shared a te of dumplings when suddenly, Simon narrowed his eyes.
"Where are you going?" Irene questioned when she saw Simon suddenly standing up.
"The new floor where the prisoners are. It looks like some of them have sumbed to the pain and are now willing to talk" Simon answered he was just about to open the [Main Mneu] and teleport to the floor when Irene suddenly said.
"Let mee with you, I want to know how they knew about the forest spring spirits".
Seeing her insist, Simon thought about it for a bit before shaking his head.
"Looking at how happy she is, I can see that Cecilia has been looking forward to this day. I''m sure that if the both of us disappear, she would feel hurt. That is why, at least you should stay here with her n for their big day".
"Also, you don''t have to worry I know how much you care for Cecilia and this n, I will make sure to get all of the information out of them".
Simon reasoned for Irene to stay while he teleported out of the forest spring vige. The next time he appeared, he was on the newly created floor he used to summon the Valkyries. Currently, the floor was turned into a cavernous area where the intruders are held captive.
427 Chapter 427
The floor was not so big thus it didn''t take time for Simon to arrive at the proxy prison where the intruders are.
Bea was standing there waiting for him.
"Wee Master".
"What did you find?" Simon asked striding forward.
When he saw the condition the intruders were in, even he couldn''t help but turn his gaze away. After all, it was all too gory for him with their hands and limbs missing like that and their bodies tied up and crucified.
While it was true that he was the one who had set Bea''s character to be a sadist that enjoys inflicting pain on others and is extremely good at torturing and extracting information from others. At that time he was just creating a game and thought that the concept was fun. Who knew that he would be reincarnated in the world of Althaea with the system of the game he made?
"Fufu¡ I found out everything that you asked me about, on top of that they even told me who they are working for and where they came from" Bea stated proudly, hoping that Simon would praise her.
How could the twinkle in her eyes go unnoticed by Simon? He nodded his head and said "You did a good job".
When he saw that Bea didn''t seem partirly happy from his praise and was even a little dejected, he couldn''t help but ask "What''s wrong?".
"Eh?! Ah, it''s nothing. I just thought that lord Simon would reward me after Ipleted the task" Bea replied looking at him with saddened eyes.
"Is that so? Alright, What do you want as a reward?" Simon asked gullibly falling for those eyes.
"Kiss¡"
"What?"
"Pat... pat me on the head" Bea said looking all dejected and downtrodden.
"Oh! alright" Simon nodded, for a second there he thought that he heard something else. Shaking his head, he extended his hand and patted Bea''s head as a reward for doing a good job.
"So who are these people and how do they know about the forest spring spirits" finished spoiling his subordinate, Simon turned serious and asked.
"It was as master expected, these people are from the same guild that attacked Princess Cecilia''s vige not too long ago. Their guild is apparently called Seven Swords guild and is located at a nearby city and is named after their guild master Morgress" Bea reported, with a pink flush on her cheeks.
The moment Simon heard that they belonged to the guild that was responsible for hunting down Cecilia''s n members, an unimaginable amount of anger rose within him. He wanted to incinerate and turn their bodies into ashes this instant, nevertheless, he suppressed his thoughts and continued asking questions.
"How many members are in their guild and how did they know about the forest spring spirits residing in this dungeon?".
Simon asked taking a deep breath. Even if he despised these people, he still needed them alive to get all the information out of them.
"I asked them about the number of their members but it seems like they had disbanded their guild not very long ago due to making an enemy out of a strong guild. The current members are only them¡ ah! Right, there was one more but it seems like he was killed by the lightning draconic serpent".
"It was that hateful assassin that tried to attack master. As for how they knew about the forest spring being brought inside this dungeon, it appears that one of their guild members at that time sessfully managed to send a sound transmission to them before dying" Bea thought over the information she got from them before answering.
Simon nodded, he was not surprised that they had dissolved their guild after involving one of the top five guilds in their mess. He was not worried about the guy who was killed by one of his subordinates since he had enough people to investigate the information out of.
"Right master, there is something that I must tell you. It''s about that guild that chased after master all the way from the capital of that kingdom. It appears that they are also involved in this" Bea reported, her tone contained killing intent when she mentioned ''that guild''.
From the time they became self aware, she and the other Valkyries were stuck in a void unable to move or do anything other than wait. The only salvation they had there was that they could see and experience what Simon was going through. Thus they knew about his grudge against that guild.
Simon who had maintained aposed face up until this moment, felt it crumbling at this moment at the mere mention of that guild. There was no way he would forget the feeling of helplessness and frustration he had felt at that moment.
He was utterly overwhelmed and falsely used just because he was a demon. If not for the fact that he had a return transit stone in his hand at that time, his fate right now would have been very miserable.
Seeing her master''s anguished face, Bea felt as if her heart was being crushed and couldn''t help but get even angry at the prisoners who trembled from head to toe just from her gaze.
"Continue..." Simon said calming his nerves.
"Master it looks like they were here on orders from the guild master of sea god''s trident who found them hiding in the northern ouw forest. Although they say it was not them who revealed the secrets of forest spring spirits to that guild, I cannot trust them since they me it on the guy who had already died" Bea looked at her master with a concerned face and reported.
As she had expected, the instant he heard the sea god''s trident was behind all this, his face was masked with hatred and anger and at the same time, the fact that they knew about the forest spring spirits that resided here worried him.
From what he had experienced and saw with his own eyes about the guild, left him with the opinion that they were extremely biased and greedy. The incident this time also showed how poisonous and crafty they were.
If not for the fact that he had arrived in his dungeon in time, he did not know what consequences his dungeon and its inhabitants the forest spring spirits would have to suffer.
''Benny Beckerman, Sea god trident, Raven and Godwin¡ very good, you have truly managed to earn my ire. Now that things have reached this state, only of us can exist in this vast sky'' Simon clenched his hands, his crimson eyes radiated his emotions.
"Did they sell this information to anyone else?" Simon asked.
"It was only the Sea god''s trident it seems. I have tortured them till they were begging for death to confirm it from them" Bea said trying to release some of his worries. Nevertheless, it did not manage to have any effects as Simon''s brows were still locked in a frown.
Even if he believed the words of these humans, the fact that the information of the forest spring spirits have reached one of the top five guilds of this kingdom was already concerning enough. He did not know much about the sea god''s trident guild so he was not sure if they would spread this information to other guilds or if they would try to hoard this treasure for themselves.
Even if Simon did not see the spirits orbs of the forest spring spirits as a treasure, it wasn''t true for others. Something as alluring on the level of forest spirit orbs would no doubt bring all the top and big guilds of this kingdom running over here to try to get their hands on it.
When he brought the forest spring spirits out of the territory of the ancient treants, he had promised Aldebaran that he would keep them safe and protect them from those trying toe after their n. Thus it concerned him very much that this information was released.
HUFF¡
Simon took a deep breath to calm himself. What was done was done, there was no point brooding over it. What matters right now was how he countered it.
"Master are you alright?" Bea asked.
"Yeah, I''m fine now. Sorry to make you worry. You did a splendid job investigating them, you can now go to the forest spring vige and enjoy the festival with your sisters" Simon said in a solemn voice.
"What about master?" Bea asked still a little concerned.
Simon smiled to relieve some of her worries before saying "I will stay here and take care of these guys . Don''t worry, as soon as I''m done here, I will being there".
Bea nodded her head and teleported away from the floor.
Now left all alone, with these people whose condition could only be said to be extremely miserable, he entered their prison and nced at them.
His eyes were cold and not at all sympathetic at their state. They were his enemies and there was no pity in his heart for his foes. It might be harsh but it is a fact that one shouldn''t pity their enemies because they wouldn''t if their positions were interchanged.
Simon who had survived in this extremely dangerous forest alone, wouldn''t make such a novice mistake as to take pity on his enemies.
"P-Please save us¡ we will not do it again, we have already told you everything, please have mercy".
A man with both of his hands missing said. His body was so pale that it looked like he had no blood inside him. Other than that, his nails and teeth were missing too and the state he was in, could barely be called alive.
From what he could recall from the features of the man, he was one of the two mages among the group who was adept in me magic.
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"Where are your arms?" Simon asked causing the man crucified next to him puke the contents of his stomach out.
When he saw the man who had just vomited, there was dread in his eyes as he nced at a particr ce in the prison. Following the other guy''s gaze, Simon''s eyes went wide when hended his sight on the thing.
There, on top of a firece skewered by daggers, were many pieces of what could be called meat. Looking at their expressions and the burning smell of meat, Simon immediately knew what had happened here.
All of the six people here were missing their limbs and their faces were as pale as a paper, some had already passed out from the shock while others had puked out the contents of their stomachs out.
There was no need to even ask what kind of horrible experience they had to go through. Bea after inflicting physical torture on them, forced the barbequed meat of their fellow teammates down their throats to break theirst line of resistance.
Though Simon found it a little disturbing, he did not forgive them that easily.
"Do you know why you are in this condition?" Simon asked the man who had just asked for his forgiveness.
The man nodded his head and said in a hoarse voice "This is our punishment for intruding on your dungeon. Please forgive us, we know our mistakes, we will never do it again".
If the man could move, he would have already grovelled on the floor and banged his head to perform a kowtow.
Looking at how afraid these people were, Simon could see that Bea did a splendid job in breaking the will of these people. After Sable started begging, one by one all of the crucified people started doing the same with snot and tears on their faces.
They were much afraid of Bea and more so afraid of being subjected to the same cruel torturous experiments again.
"No, you are mistaken. Although I''m very angry at you guys for intruding my dungeon, I wouldn''t torture you like this for that, at most I would kill you then and there. The reason that I am doing all of this is because of the forest spring spirits that you guys tried to kill and subdue" Simon said in a cold indifferent voice.
"W-We did not do it, it was all that bastard''s fault" the one that spoke and pushed all the me away was none other than the leader of this group who tried to use various means to defeat Simon but still failed in the end, Morgress.
Simon looked at the man and couldn''t help but make a disgusted face. Even when everything was out and even after all of this, the man was trying to deny all the usations. His attitude made Simon all the more disgusted of him.
"Even if you weren''t the one that personally harmed the forest spring spirits, the subordinates that you sent to extract their spirit orbs were on your orders. Now too, the objective of your team diving in my dungeon was to get the forest spring spirits".
"The people of the forest spring spirit n are now under my care which makes them my subordinates. It is natural for your to suffer when you are trying to take away something that belongs to me".
It was only now these adventurers understood why they were being tortured so brutally like that by that demon. It was not because his dungeon was intruded but because of the spirit orbs of the forest spring spirits they tried to get their hands on.
Perhaps because of the torture, the humiliation, the defeat or maybe because of all of it, the moment he heard the demon mention those ipetent subordinates of his, he forgot the situation he was in and started shouting and throwing curses hysterically.
"It is all that bastard''s fault, if only he could do his job properly, we wouldn''t have been in this mess. No, in the first ce, I shouldn''t have given him that job, I should have found someone more capable".
Simon did not know who was the person that Morgress was cursing so frantically but he could more or less make a guess. The twin lightning sword in his inventory was something that used to belong to that person after all.
Looking at how disgracefully the man acted, Simon lost all interest in them, now that he was done investigating and extracting all of the information out of them, he had no more use for these people.
He could simply kill them or keep them inside the prison so that they keep on producing DP for his dungeon. Although the second option sounded cruel, like livestock being kept alive only to be butcheredter, these people did not deserve better.
The second option will keep on providing him with a steady amount of DP, one could imagine the points these elite level adventurers whose average level was above 470 would generate.
Nheless, it was a hassle to keep them alive and he wasn''t much interested in the second option since his dungeon already had a marginal amount of DP and was producing more by the second. Even if he reared them as a DP generating livestock, it would be like adding a few buckets of water to a well.
What he wascking right now wasn''t DP but levels. In that case, it was much better for him to kill them and gain the experience points from them. Perhaps, it would also be best for them to die rather than be kept alive in that condition.
Simon turned around to face the exit, he snapped his fingers and multiple me spears appeared behind him and pierced the heart of these mentally broken humans.
AHHHHHHHH¡ their screams resounded on this dark cavernous floor before like a dark symphony being snuffed out with the mes. Only their ashes remained after a while.
SHINE¡
"?"
At this moment, something shined from the ashes of the adventurers. When Simon turned his gaze to see what was it exactly, he found a couple of space rings dropped on the floor. Needless to say, they belonged to these adventurers.
Although Simon had no interest in their belongings, he out of habit extended his hand and pulled their space rings towards him. Even if there was nothing special inside it, it was still his spoils of wars and the reimbursement for his troubles.
As Simon checked through the contents of each space ring, he found some decent artefacts around [C] tier and a few vials of elixirs and potions. The quality of which could hardly bepared with the ones he could buy from the [shop].
"No wonder that princess was so inquisitive when I took out my elixirs" Simon mused.
After sorting through five space rings, Simon still did not find anything that attracted his attention. When he just inserted his mana into thest space ring and was about to be done with, his brows suddenly locked together and he took out the contents of the ring outside.
An old parchment of paper, a scroll, a few weapons and a pouch of coins floated in the air.
Simon immediately lost interest in the weapons since all of them were [C] or [D] rank and instead focused his gaze on the two papers. The first thing that he grabbed was the scroll which was marked with many ancient runes and letters.
When he opened the scroll, he saw that it had manyplex drawings and magic circles inscribed on it and a spatial ripple radiated out of the scroll.
"This should be the scroll of return that Irene mentioned" Simon observed, even without using [Analysis] he could tell that it was the scroll of return that the adventurers wanted to use to get away from here.
When he used the [Analysis] this was the result he got.
Scroll of Return Grade [1] Rank [C]- A scroll enchanted with the spatialws of space magic. Only an alchemist with mastery over space magic, can create a scroll of return. It requires extreme concentration and understanding of space to chart out theplex runes on a scroll. It needs a fixed transit point and exit to work and cannot be changed once set.
Reading the information provided to him Simon kept the scroll of return in his inventory. Although, it was no use to him since its transit points were already set, the scroll was nevertheless something that had to do with space magic.
Simon who was extremely interested in space magic found it a waste to just throw it away. After he kept the scroll of return in his inventory, his gaze went towards the pouch filled with coins.
When he opened it, he was a little surprised to find that it was filled with tinum coins. At a nce, there were more than hundreds of them inside the pouch. This amount of sum was by no means small, if he took the amount to any auction he would easily be able to grab some good stuff.
It can be seen from this how rich the guild master of the seven swords was. Simon put the pouch in his space ring without any shame and fixed his gaze on thest item.
Honestly, thest time was quite peculiar and was different from all the other items inside the ring. It was a parchment of paper quite worn from the wear. It looked ancient and was missing another half.
When Simon observed the paper, he realised that it was some kind of map. The drawings in it was very old and some part of it had already dissipated. Simon tried to turn the map upside down, front and back nheless, it was still too confusing to say where this ce marked on this map was.
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? Although Simon didn''t know where this ce was, from the legends marked on this map he could at least tell that it was leading towards some kind of graveyard marked by enormous bones.
"Could this be some kind of treasure map?" Simon thought internally, the fact that he got this from an adventurer, further backed this idea.
If it really was some kind of treasure map, then there must be another piece to this map somewhere else. He tried checking the other space rings once again; however, it looked like the other piece was not there. Without the other piece, it was hard to tell where the ce marked on the map was.
''Maybe this is why even their guild couldn''t get their hands on it?'' there was no telling where in the world the ce marked on the map could be without the other missing piece. Thus Simon kept the map in his space ring without wasting his time any further and exited the ce.
Days passed by and just like that, and a week had already gone by.
Inside the adventurer''s association branch of the tower town. The building was not very big with only two stories. Though one couldn''t say that it was small since it was still under construction.
The first floor was the lobby where the bar and the quest board was located. At this moment, people were chatting and drinking with their fellow teammates, drowning in the sess of their recent adventures.
"Gahh¡ that was a nice drink, another one"
"Haha, drink up... the drinks are all on me today!!" Harris said gulping down the alcohol from his mug.
Although they were being boisterous and noisy, nobody cared since it was just like a daily urrence inside the building. Wherever the adventurers went, the ce was bound to be noisy after all, these people weren''t bound by anyws or rules like the knights.
The table where Harris and his team sat, was particrly noisy today as they merrily sang and drank. Seated not far away from their table was, Bn and his group but unlike the other group, the atmosphere at their table wasn''t that bright.
"Is it safe to assume that¡" Bn asked.
"Yeah that guy is already dead" his teammate seated by his side,pleted the sentence for him. He then shrugged his shoulder and said "well, we did our best and searched for him all around the floor but we couldn''t find a single of him. Given that he does not have any adventure experience, it is only natural to assume that he had already died".
The person they were talking about was the provisional adventurer that they had recruited to go along with them to the eighth floor around a week ago. The mission was fairly easy and was just about mining the WhiteSilver ores growing on the walls.
Although the monsters on that floor might be a problem, if one stayed in group and avoided getting lost in the mist, they would be fairly safe.
They all thought that if it was them, bringing a newbie to make up for their headcount won''t be a problem. But due to some unknown cause, their team ended up fainting while mining the ores. It was not just their team but all of the people there at that time became unconscious.
After a while when they came to themselves, they asked around as to what had happened, what was the cause of this mysterious sleep. They even filed this issue with the adventurer''s association who told them that they would investigate this cause.
However, since there were no casualties, the mystery behind it was yet to be solved. No, saying that there was no casualty would be wrong since the provisional adventurer who was there with them at that time went missing after they all woke up.
Naturally, Bn and his team wasn''t among those people who just discarded people like that, they tried to ask other teams that were on the eighth floor at that time and even searched for him around.
Nevertheless, their search bore no result, no one had seen the provisional adventurer on the other floors nore out of the dungeon.
There was no need to even mention, given the clues it was obvious that he had died and was eaten by the monsters.
"Sigh¡ that guy did not even have a map nor a navigational skill to walk out of the mist. To have lost a guy as soon as we recruited him, what a bad omen" Bn said not being able to enjoy his ale.
"Team leader, it''s not your fault or ours" another one of his teammates tried to console him.
"You are guys right, it''s not our fault but it does reflect on our team doesn''t it?" Bn stated.
The other guy went silent unable to say anything in return. It was as Bn said, losing a newbie right after recruiting him said a lot about a team. The Adventurer''s association especially, who kept a record of every adventurer, team and guild, could give a good or bad review of their team which might even ultimately lead them to disband it.
Unlike guilds which are registered by the adventurer''s association and are considered a fixed entity, teams are a group of people forming a party. The aforementioned party can be temporary or permanent depending on its members.
Nevertheless, unlike a guild, a party can be dissolved at any time, it can be due to a collision of interest from the members or simply because the party had run its course. In any case, it is not unusual for a team to disband suddenly.
There are many parties being formed and dissolved on a daily basis, the adventurer''s association does not have the leisure or the time to keep registering and tracking all of them thus the adventurer''s association only registers those party that has been in existence for more than three months and inputs it in the adventurer''s card and based on it, the association can give the party their verdict.
If they find a party using trickery and hical means, they would immediately order the party to disband or in the case of a temporary party bar their entry from the dungeon. It is because of this reason that Bn was worried.
Their party was a registered one and he was afraid that the adventurer''s assocaition might ask their party to disband in the future.
Although it is not umon for a newbie to die inside the dungeon, the fact that it happened when he had just joined their team changed this conception. Now the me for the provisional adventurer''s death was naturally, ounted to their team.
How could this not upset Bn and the others?
HAHAHAHA¡ from the other side of the hall came the loudugh of Harris and his team being merry. This seemed to further irritate Bn.
"What the hell is wrong with that guy today, why is he being so loud?".
"You cannot me him leader. I have heard that they have just sessfully cleared the ninth floor and are now amongst those few teams and guilds who have explored floor up till two digits" his team member exined the reason behind Harris thereughing and drinking so much.
"Tch" Bn spat and shifted his eyes away. Though he hated the guy, he still recognised his abilities.
As he was frustrated over his teamgging behind, the entrance of the association was pushed open and a group of people in expensive adventurer''s gears entered inside.
The moment they entered, their presence drowned the noise of the crowd and suppressed all the other presence within. Their powerful aura along with their armours and gears, told others how strong they were and not to be messed with.
The instant they entered, they garnered the attention of every adventurer present inside. Hushed chatter and mutter could be heard from the people as they discussed about the identity of the group, Bn and his team were no exception.
Given that these people seemed to be of the same profession as them and given their powerful auras, it was only natural that they were intrigued.
"Who are these people?" Bn asked looking at them walking straight towards the receptionist desk.
The adventurer''s association branch in the tower town was set up not long ago and was only a small unit, thus it did not have a branch manager and was considered a sub division of the branch located at the city of Mountmend.
"How can leader not know them? They are one of the big guilds from the southern region of the kingdom, the Tyrant Mountain. I heard that a few of their participants managed to secure a ce in the top hundred in the battle of the Finest tournament" his teammate reported.
Tyrant Mountain, Bn suddenly recalled hearing the name of this guild. From what he could tell, the guild wasn''t as powerful as the top five guilds but every year they were slowly but surely inching closer. The groups of adventurers in front of him were proof of that.
As all eyes were stretched taut on them, they arrived in front of the receptionist''s desk, had a talk with them and passed over the contents of their spatial ring. The receptionist took it inside for analysing by the other specialist staff of the association beforeing outside and nodding her head at them.
After that, the receptionist in front of the puzzled eyes of every adventurer removed one of the Red Notices from the quest board.
"What?!!" the moment the Red Notice was taken off, it was as if a storm had hit the adventurer''s association with all the adventurers going crazy.
There was no need to doubt the authenticity of the actions of the adventurers association; after all, they wouldn''t move without confirming the facts a few times. Plus the guild that had provided this information was one that cannot be looked down upon.
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After removing the notice, the receptionist announced in a voice that was audible across the entire hall "Everyone, the red notice, had been removed, areas starting from thirty-first floors are now good to explore again".
CHATTER CHATTER¡
People started chattering the moment she said those words, some even ran out to ry the information to others, while some ran up to her to bombard her with questions.
In any case, the adventurers association was extremely shaken right now. The notice that was removed by the receptionist from the quest board was about the peculiarity of natural orders inside the lower floors of the dungeon.
It was stated by some of the elite adventurers that the lower floors was shrouded with a crimson haze that made the monsters on those floors extremely aggressive and violent. That was not all, the disorder even affected the state of mind of humans if they were exposed to it for a long time.
The rumour came up around a week ago and was further confirmed by many other guilds and parties. Naturally, the adventurer''s association took note of it and asked the adventurers to avoid those floors for the time being seeing that the number of casualties was starting to pile up.
The red notice detailing the peculiarities of the lower floors posted on the quest board was now removed. People were bound to be curious as they asked the association for the cause of such peculiarity.
Bn and his team after finishing up their meal went up to the quest board, since whatever was happening on the lower floors was of no concern to them who were just [D] rank adventurers. They checked themissions post in the quest board trying to find a suitable one for their team.
As Bn was looking at the quest board, his eyes inadvertently went towards one of the freshly ced parchments. The job was to seek and report of any sighting of the no named team who have disappeared inside the dungeon for more than a week.
The task wasmissioned by the Adventurer''s Association themselves and the rewards were not that bad. Since it was just to report any sighting of the no named team, it wasn''t a difficult mission even by their standards.
However, the no named team was a powerful group of adventurers who always covered their faces with masks and robes and mostly delved on the lower floors unlike them. It is unlikely that, Bn and his team whose strength can only take them to single digit floors be able to find any clues about them.
''Come to think of it their disappearance strangely coincides with that disorder that was going around on the lower floors and that newbie''s mysterious disappearance too'' Bn thought internally before shaking his head.
His team members found themselves a suitablemission from the quest board and started making preparation to dive inside the dungeon once again. Perhaps if Bn thought over it a more, he might have been able to unveil more clues and approach closer to the truth.
In any case, the news about the no named party getting massacred inside the dungeon will soon find its way to the adventures causing huge waves around the tower town.
-----
Main floor of the dungeon Lace, inside one of the halls of the white pce.
Simon was seated on a sofa, standing in his front not far from him, was Coleus who was currently giving a report.
"I see so you have removed the crimson aggression stalk. How is the situation with the adventurers now" Simon asked resting his head on his hand that was on the armrest.
"Yes, because we have removed the crimson aggression stalk that has been stopping the adventurers so far, they have started their exploration from the thirty first floor once again. Currently, they have reached the thirty third floor and seemed to be from a guild called tyrant mountain" Coleus reported.
"Hmm? Tyrant mountain you say?" Simon narrowed his eyes and asked mid-report.
"Is there something wrong my lord?" Coleus asked perplexed.
"It''s nothing, continue on" while Coleus kept on reporting about the various activities of the adventurers spread over the various floors of his dungeon, Simon tried to recall where he heard the name before.
''Tyrant Mountain'' as he repeatedly uttered this name in his mind, it finally came to him. The battle of the finest, in that tournament one of the big guilds that came from the southern region was precisely called the tyrant mountain.
''To think that they woulde all the way here to the northwestern borders. It seems like my infamy is starting to attract all of the big shots from the kingdom'' Simon thought internally.
The distance from here to the southern region of the kingdom was quiterge thus it made no sense that they came all the way over from there just to dive inside a [D] rank dungeon.
''Their goal should definitely be me. In that case, it wouldn''t be long before even they arrive here too'' the ones he was thinking about were the top five guilds of this kingdom. Whether it be in terms of strength or fame, the top five guild far surpass all the other guilds in this kingdom.
Simon had seen a good chuck of their strength during the tournament. Frankly, he did not want them toe over here right now. However, it was only a matter of time before they knock on his door.
Now that he had taken care of Morgress and his team members, other big guilds will soon target his dungeon. Soon was an understatement since it had already started. Tyrant mountain, one of the big guilds from the south was already here trying their strength on his dungeon.
A week had already passed since the defence of the thirty sixth floor. To counter the constant flow of adventurers in his dungeon Simon had added ten new floors and had restructured the lower floors a little.
For example, the current thirty sixth floor was no longer the floor inhabited by the lightning draconic serpent and was instead home to Blue lizardmen and terodactayl both of which are the evolution of the monsters inhabiting his upper floors.
Their power level were around level three hundred and their colony was in the thousands. Of course, it took quite a lot of DP to spawn so many of them but currently since his DP ie was more than his expenditure, he could easily afford it.
Also, Simon discovered that the individual cost of spawning these evolved monsters was more than their post evolved form. Well, the cost may be high, but one also had to ount for theirbat strength and levels which was higher than the post-evolved monsters.
Until now Simon did not spawn these monsters since the cost of these monsters was higher than his ie earlier. Now though with so many adventures constantly flooding his dungeon, it would be a miracle if his DP did not increase.
At the same time, with the increase in quality and quantity of adventurers it was crucial that he spawned monsters that had the ability to stop them or somewhat resist them. Thus it was necessary to spawn the evolved species of the monsters to halt the progress of the adventurers.
That being said, dungeon Lace was still a [D] rank dungeon and the monsters that could be spawned by him using the [spawn] option right now was limited in race and levels.
Simon had the DP to summon ogres, soul catchers, Blood hounds and other superior races of monsters, he knew that they would easily be able to handle the current level of adventurers.
However, a [D] dungeon was extremely limited with the type and species of monsters that could be spawned inside it. Nevertheless, it was not like Simon had no way to go around this restriction. Especially given the cheat that was Cecilia and the pond of serenity, it was only a matter of time before stronger species of monsters could be seen roaming in his dungeon.
During the passage of a week, Simon had dived inside the serenity pond and had unveiled many mysterious items growing at the bottom of it. The Crimson Aggression Stalk, Cerulean Mutation Crystals, Viridescent Mutation Crystals, and Attribute Blossom Moss were some of the things that he had found.
Of course, since the pond of serenity was also in its growth stage, there were many other things still in their initial stage of formation and are still not usable yet. In any case, Simon was happy with the harvest he had from his trip to the bottom of the pond.
The crimson aggression stalk just like its name, was a stalk thatter grew into a burning tree when nted. It had the effects of releasing a substance that induced any entity to go berserk. The effects of the crimson aggression stalk had a fixed period of time and was a one-use item.
The Crimson Aggression Stalk was the thing that stopped the progress of the adventurers for the past week.
Cerulean and viridescent mutation crystals on the other hand, were condensed crystals whose effects were simr to the crimson mutation crystals.
Unlike the crimson mutation crystals which induced a fire elemental mutation on an entity, making them able to use the attribute of fire, Cerulean and Viridescent crystals on the other hand induced water and wind attributes of mutation respectively.
Just like the crimson mutation crystal, he found growing on the bottom of the pond at that time, the cerulean and viridescent crystals he found were of the same Grade [1] rank [C].
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Simon had already seen the sort of effects the crimson mutation crystals was capable of bringing thus he did not waste any time experimenting with these crystals on the fanged mouse and other monsters of his dungeon once again.
The result was after a week, various new species were registered to his dungeon and the new floors that he added were frolicking with these very types of monsters.
Of course, it was not like the experimentation was all a sess, there were many failures and many deaths on the side of monsters that cost him quite a lot of DP. However, Simon wasn''t discouraged, he saw every failure as a step forward to sess and due to this quality of his, new species of monsters were born in his dungeon Lace.
Amongst the new species, some had the ability to use water and wind attributes while those which already had this attribute, to begin with, became even stronger after the mutation.
For example, amongst one of the monster species that was experimented upon, were the lizardmen and pirodiles that are spawned on upper floors. These aquatic races already had the affinity with water attribute thus after the mutation, they evolved into a new type of species with increased strength and basic abilities.
Looking at their pre-mutated form and post-mutated form, one cannot evenpare them anymore since the strength brought by that change was just too drastic. And of course, just like with the fire fanged mouse and fire eater rat, Simon had to personally see them with his eyes to register them to the dungeon.
Unlike thest time when they were caught unprepared by the powerful effects of the crystal, which brought a menace on the upper floors, this time they were ready and had stopped any problems before they arrived.
That is... not counting the number of monsters that were sacrificed during the experiment. The experiment as a whole might be a sess but it cost a lot of DP and other than Simon who had amassed a lot of DP in a short period of time, even a high ranking demon wouldn''t expend so much resources on simply mutating low level monsters.
After all, with the amount of DP that Simon had used to spawn the monsters and experiment on them, they might be able to create a couple of floors.
To others, it might look like Simon was being too extravagant with his experiments but he himself knew how much his heart bled whenever colonies of monsters died unable to assimte with the effects of the mutation crystals.
Ultimately though, his efforts had paid off and an unknown number of sacrificester, new and powerful species of monsters were born. These new species cost as much DP as their pre-mutation species so in a way, Simon had benefitted from this experiment enormously.
While he was thinking all that, Coleus who was reporting him about the events urring around his dungeon furrowed his brows at his moment.
"Alright, I will report this to lord Simon immediately". It seemed like he had received a message from his fellow [Helpers].
The role feature created a neuralwork amongst the associated parties thus it was possible tomunicate with one another without having a need to be physically present near. It was also through thiswork that Simonmunicated with his subordinates.
Coleus after receiving the message from his associates, gave another report to Simon.
"Lord Simon, I have received a message saying ''that thing'' has woken up. Maya and Fay are currently monitoring it".
The moment he heard those words, Simon''s indifferent crimson eyes shone a bright ring red for a moment. From his appearance, it seemed like he was extremely interested in that ''thing'' that Coleus mentioned.
Simon got up from his couch and said with a wide smile "In that case, let us go there and greet it".
Coleus obediently nodded his head and along with Simon they teleported to one of the new floors. The ce they teleported to was a wide rocky terrain filled with gravel, boulders and mountains as far as the eye can see.
The floor was the forty-fifth floor of the dungeon which was recently created by Simon and was rtively very smallpared to the floors above it. The reason it was small was because there was no monster spawned in this area yet and was currently used for something else.
On a side note, the previous thirty-sixth floor ruled by the lightning draconic serpent was shifted below and was the current forty-sixth floor.
The moment they arrived on the forty-fifth floor, their aura was detected by the people that were already there as they came forward and bowed towards Simon.
Simon looked at Maya and Fay and told them to raise their head. His gaze roamed around seemingly trying to spot someone "Alice is not with you?".
"Reporting to Lord Simon, Miss Alice is currently locked in a fight with that thing" Fay stated looking at a particr direction of the floor where continuous noise of the dull explosion wasing.
"It was as lord Simon had expected, as soon as that thing woke up, it started attacking and became hostile to everything around it" Maya added.
Just a day ago, Simon had tasked Alice with protecting the [Helpers] just in case the thing turned out to be hostile. Looking at it now, it was a right decision to send her here since his suspicions came out to be true.
The four of them with Simon in the lead, rushed toward the base of a rocky mountain where the battle was currently going on. As soon as they arrived near, they could see a petite blonde girl valiantly fighting a scary entity multiple times bigger and bulkier than her.
RAWRR¡ the being smashed its ws and easily shattered a huge boulder. It had a massive body crossing a height of eight meters, four stout arms long enough to touch the ground and stumpy legs providing it a good centre of gravity.
It had a head of an ape, elongated fangs and a bipedal body filled with raw muscles. The fur on its back, hands and legs were burning in fire but strangely, it did not harm the entity.
The aura released by it was enough to scare these [Helpers] into submission and given its scary face it was only natural that evoked a sense of dread in others. However, no matter how powerful or scary the being was, the petite figure fighting it held no such feelings as she nimbly dodge its attacks and lead it by the nose.
Her attacks were not as heavy as thetter and were only used to keep the being in ce.
RAWRRR¡
Seemingly frustrated for not being able tond an attack, the fire around the being''s entire body started zing, quickly increasing the heat around the surroundings. Following which, it opened its mouth wide revealing its sharp fangs and firing a stream of condensed fire.
"Eh?!" the petite figure seeing that a column of fire wasing towards her, swiftly dodged to the side and counter-attacked by firing two bullets made of lightning from her fingers.
BAM¡ BAM¡ although the bullets were extremely small, it still managed to scar the being as could be seen from its face that was writhing in agony.
"Hehe, be obedient or else I''ll keep firing at you with those bullets until your entire body bes sore" managing to do what she intended, the petite figure blew at her finger that was positioned in the shape of a handgun.
The jubntly smiling figure was none other than Alice, the youngest of all the Valkyries.
"?"
Seeing that the being was ring at her in defiance, she was just to teach it a lesson when she sensed a familiar presence approach her. Her mood immediately became happy and her face bloomed just like a sunflower.
"Hello~ master".
Simon gave a helpless smile seeing that Alice was waving her hands towards him and turning her back towards the enemy during a battle.
Normally, he would have scolded her for doing something like that but since he knew how strong thetter was, he decided to refrain for now and reminded her to keep her eyes on the enemy.
The Valkyries might be [A] rank subordinates, but theyckedbat experience thus they were prone to making mistakes in battles. Simon knew that he had to address this issue sooner thanter thus he created a new regime and ordered all of his subordinates to have a spar with each other on the forty-seventh floor every day.
The forty-seventh floor simr to the prison floor, was an empty floor but it was much wider, spanning for more than thirty kilometres.
Currently, all of his subordinates were diligently training there, Alice was also there until yesterday. When he raised this issue about training to his subordinates, to his surprise he got a favourable reply from them.
The maids true to the moniker of Valkyries showed extreme enthusiasm. Gainingbat experience was a continuous process, one cannot be a master in it overnight. Even Simon who had umted a rich experience of fighting from his adventures, did not dare say that he was a master in it.
On the contrary, he was always looking for an opportunity to increase hisbat experience. That is why, he felt that the training floor he had created, might not show its effectiveness now but with time, the difference it makes will only get apparent.
Anyways, he didn''te here to the forty-fifth floor to preach all of this to Alice instead he was here to check the being who was engulfed in a coat of fire.
Race- Fire demon Ape
Level- 423
Rank [D][?]
Skills- Fire Magic Mastery, Super Enhanced Strength, Super Enhanced Defence, Super enhanced Endurance, Blunt resistance, High Speed Regeneration, Body Strengthening, Berserk, Demonic Roar, Brutal Charge, Heavy Punch, Brute force, Demonic Strength, Cannibalism, Taboo.
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The result of his Analysis showed him the race, level and skills of the being.
"It looks like it jumped quite a few levels, though its rank is still [D]. What happened to the others?" Simon observed the Fire demonic Ape and asked.
"Reporting to Lord Simon, out of the five demon ape, only this one survived the mutation, about the rest¡ uh, it ate all of them" the one to report was Maya, who had a dreadful expression in her eyes whenever she nced at the monster down below.
When Simon heard what it did, he frowned and nced at thest two skills that the being had, [Cannibalism] and [Taboo]. There was no need to ask how it got that skill. After it sessfully mutated and woke up from its slumber it ate the other members of its species that failed.
Simon did not know why it did that but he could tell that its aggression and behaviour was probably influenced by the mutation crystal.
Yes, the reason the forty-fifth floor was empty because Simon was conducting an experiment on the [D] rank Demon Ape that he summoned not from the [Spawn] but from his [Ga??????] on one of his daily draws.
It was around the day before yesterday when Simon was tired from creating the floors and listening to all of the reports from his subordinates, he tried to use a little bit of his DP on the [Ga??????]. It was a routine of some sort for Simon to use the option every day since he believed that as long as he was being persistent, something good was bound to appear.
Although, he did end up drawing something far from the usual socks and junks, it was not something great too. It was the second time after Bloodthorn demonic warhorse that he had drawn a living entity out of it.
However, unlike the former, the Demon Ape was only a [D] rank and was another quip that he and his former team members inserted in the [Gacha] while creating the game Lace.
The Demon Apespared to the one in front of him, was much smaller about half the height of an average human and did not look as intimidating as the Fire Demon Ape. It could be seen from this mutation alone how powerful the mutation crystals were.
While it is true that the crystal used on the Demon Ape was a Grade [1] Rank [C] crimson mutation crystal, its effects were still powerful. Out of the five crystals used on the five demon apes, only one survived the mutation.
Since the pond was in its development stage and did not have an unlimited supply of these crystals, five crystals was still a lot. Nevertheless, Simon never shied away when experimenting and as a result, the Fire Demon Ape was born.
From this week of constant experimentation with the mutation crystals, Simon made quite a few discoveries and felt like he was approaching closer towards increasing the sess rate of the mutation.
The mutation crystals can be assimted with the monster in various ways and the sess rate varies depending on that.
The first way to induce a mutation in a monster was very simple and direct and that was to give it the crystal to consume. Just like what he had done with the Stormwolf previously. However, as could be seen this method had a lot of risks and the sess rate was also very low.
The Storm wolf that consumed it ended up dying.
The second method was by diluting the effect of the crystal. Although this method drastically reduces the power of the mutated monster; nheless, it showed the highest rate of sess.
Simon thought of this way when he saw how the fanged mouse that were supposed to be the prey of the Stormwolves on the fifteen floor mutated after biting into the flesh of the dead Stormwolf that consumed the crystal.
The second method was the most surefire method to induce mutation in arge colony of monsters. However, just like everything had its own ws, the second method too showed its shorings when used on the Pirodiles and Lizardmen.
The aforementioned monsters were much stronger and higher in the food chain than the likes of monsters such as fanged mouse and thus the second method which dilutes the effect of the mutation crystal was not very effective and was nowhere enough to induce mutation in the whole colony.
So what did Simon do to tackle this issue?
p He divided their poption and made separate feeding grounds where he brought in the flesh of monsters higher ranked than them that died from the mutation andmanded the lizardmen and pirodiles to feed on it.
Although the number of monsters that mutated this way made a slight improvement, it was nowhere near enough to induce alteration to the entire colony.
Simon believed the reason for no change was the grade of the crystal. He believed that higher grades of crystals were needed to induce a mutation on monsters such as lizardmen and pirodiles using the second method.
As for inducing a mutation with the first method, forget pirodiles and lizardmen, even monsters higher up in the food chain than them aren''t able to handle the powerful effects of the crystals even if it was just a grade [1] rank [C].
The third method that Simon discovered that can induce mutation was through breeding. Like the fanged mouse, the reproduction rate of the lizardmen and priodiles was also high thus it made quite a sense to use the method of breeding to try and see if the offspring born were mutated or not.
The result was fifty-fifty when a mutated monster reproduced with a non-mutated one, and a hundred percent when both the parent monsters are mutated ones.
Since the failure rate of the first method was just too much, Simon used the second and third methods to popte his new floors with mutated monsters.
Another thing of note was that the sess rate fluctuated depending on what attribute of the mutation crystal was used on which monsters. Monsters with an affinity for a particr attribute, will have far less sess rate of mutation when assimting with a different attribute of crystal.
For example, the priodiles and lizardmen, since they were aquatic monsters they had more affinity with cerulean mutation crystal than crimson and viridescent crystal. Though they had an affinity with it, it didn''t mean that an individual from their species can assimte with a crystal alone and survive.
Simon thought that he would be able to induce different elemental mutations from the same species of monsters bymanding them into assimting with different kinds of crystal. But it seemed like his hope of creating fire attribute lizardmen and wind attribute lizardmen was a pipe dream for now.
Even though he had wasted a lot of DP spawning and destroying colonies of monsters like that, it was still not enough to daunt Simon. He firmly believed that as long as he kept on researching, there will be a time when multiple elemental monsters mutated from the same species would be roaming his floor one day.
Although Simon did not notice it, he looked just like a mad scientist conducting research that would be seen as hical and frowned upon had it been in his former world.
The research on the Demon Apes he was doing on the forty-fifth floor was also on mutation. The five demon apes that were summoned by the [Ga??????] option, were each introduced to a different attribute of crystals.
Simon used the first method of direct consumption to try and see if the race of Demon Ape was capable of handling the powerful effects of the mutation crystals.
The result that he got, was astonishing to say no less. Out of every monster that can be currently spawned by his dungeon, the demon ape showed the most resistance and willpower to survive than all the other monsters.
In fact, just a day prior, all of the five demon apes were frantically trying to control and assimte with the berserk effect of the mutation crystal in their body.
The demon ape which mostly did not have much attack power and only had their uncanny experience points which they provided to the yers when defeated going for them, was the monster that showed the most resilience and flexibility.
It was a pity that he only had five of them to experiment with or else Simon would have liked to experiment with more of them.
In any case, it looked like out of the five demon apes one had sessfully managed to mutate. Though even Simon didn''t expect it to eat the members of its own race right after waking up.
What''s more, even though Simon was looking at it and had registered it to the dungeon, the being was strangely ring and resisting his control. Amazed, Simon tried to exert his control on it a few more times only to find it that it was impossible to bring the being under his control.
What was going on? He was the master of this dungeon and ording to that rule, every being registered in this dungeon shouldn''t be able to resist his control. His authority was absolute and should extend towards every monster that was spawned in his dungeon, whether it be the old or mutated species.
Howe the one in front of him still red at him as if he was its enemy?
A being that was somehow able to resist the authority of the dungeon master, what sort of concept was this?
Was there some kind of glitch, did the merger of the two options also tempered with the effects of the other functions too?
Concerned, Simon used the [Spawn] option to spawn a random monster only to find the creature submit to him unconditionally which meant that the function was not the problem.
What was going on?
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He dispersed the monster and observed the Fire demon Ape once again. This was the first time something like that had happened and Simon had no idea what led to this.
How and why was this being able to resist the control of a dungeon master which should have otherwise been impossible?
Was it because of the mutation? But that shouldn''t be since all the other mutated ones no matter the race, had submitted to him. Then were the demonic ape race a special case or the one in front of him was just an abnormality?
There were so many questions floating up in his mind, no matter what he had to find the answer for all of them lest it became a major problemter.
Beckoning the [helpers] to stay behind, Simon strode forward and approached Alice and the Fire Demon Ape who were just until now locked in a battle.
"Master, what is yourmand?" Alice asked tilting her head.
She could see that her master was frowning for some reason looking at the monster in front of her. Thinking that it had displeased her master, she was just about to dispose it off when her master extended his hands and stopped her.
"Wait, I want to try out something on it. Step back and protect the helpers" saying that, her master casually waltzed towards the monster who had fully recovered from its injuries.
Alice did not know what her master was nning, even if she was an [Administrator] she was new to the dungeon and had yet to understand all of the functions of the [main menu]. She obeyed Simon''smand and jumped back towards where the [Helpers] were.
"Miss Alice" the forest spring spirits bowed towards her. As she was a direct subordinate of their lord and someone higher in the hierarchy than them, it was only natural that they showed their respect.
Alice wasn''t particrly bothered by their manner of address and casually greeted them. Her eyes that were glued on her master, never left him.
Seeing that he was extending his hands and mumbling something in front of the beast, she became even more confused. Suddenly, her eyes widen when she saw the fire demon ape raise its four arms and bring it down in an attempt to smash her master.
"Master watch out!!!"¡.
BOOOM¡ her voice came a second toote and was drowned out by the booming noise. The attack of the fire demon Ape was powerful enough to break the ground that was made of rocks and created a mini earthquake.
After smashing the one that was inducing a massive headache from it for some reason, the fire demon ape looked at the cloud of dust to affirm its victory. From the time, it had woken up from that agonising pain that threatened to burst its body apart, everything around it was shrouded in a colour of red and a will to destroy everything was splitting apart its head.
It knew nothing other than to obey thatmand and so it did. It first ate the corpses that were lying around it to satiate its hunger and then started rampaging all around.
It did not know how it knew that, but it was aware of the exit that would lead it up and out of this ce. It obeyed its instincts and exited the cave where it was only to be obstructed by a tiny entity that was shrouded by a mist of red.
Everything around it was covered in that colour but the entity was just too ring red. It blinked and rubbed its eyes still the red colour refused to fade away making it angry.
RAWRR¡ the will to rampage took over its mind and it started flinging its arm in an attempt to destroy whatever that thing was. However, like a slippery loach, that tiny thing always managed to avoid its attacks.
What was more annoying was that the other party''s attack was hitting him while its own failed to connect.
BAM¡ BAM¡ BAM¡ something hit it on its ankles, knees and thighs making it fall down on the ground.
RAWRR¡ although the damage wasn''t much, for some reason it felt more painful. As it was reeling in frustration and pain, another one of them came.
Just like the one it was fighting, that being was also shrouded by a ring red colour in its eyes. However, for some reason the headache it was having intensified by a few proportions when that new being came.
"!@#$% %^^&*( %$^*$#?><:" it seemed like the new entrant was saying something. But to the fire demon ape it sounded nothing more than gibberish and only served to strengthen its headache and will to destroy even more.
RAWR¡ now that its wounds were healed, it brought its four arms and smashed them towards the being creating a cloud of dust in the process.
Whoosh¡ a ck figure could be seen jumping out of the cloud of dust and standing on top of a boulder. The figure was none other than Simon and other than his clothes being a little dirty, he waspletely unharmed.
"Master are you alright?" Alice asked from the distance.
Simon nodded his head, at this moment his eyes were looking at the fire demon ape with a peculiar look. The mutated monster was not only resisting him, the authority of the dungeon master, but also perceiving him as an enemy.
Simon did not know why it was acting as such? Earlier when he tried tomunicate with the being thinking that his words might have an effect, it snapped and even attacked him.
Simon could see that for some reason the monster was clutching its head in pain as if it was having a severe headache. Its hostile behaviour indicated that it looked at them as its enemies.
He checked the [Archive] fuction of the main menu and confirmed that its name was registered inside the dungeon. Heck, it was not even providing any DP which could only mean that the dungeon perceived the monster as a part of it which made its current hostile behaviour towards him all the more confusing.
Simon had done many experiments with many monsters using the mutation crystals, but this was the first time that something like this has ever urred.
''No, when I summoned the Demon Ape, they were very obedient, it was only after the mutation that it changed. Could it be because of a skill?'' Simon thought internally. As he was thinking all that, the prompt from the dungeon finally came.
DING¡
[An aberrant is born, Dungeon is unable to exert control over it].
Reading the prompt Simon was stunned. So it was not because of some glitch or bug in the [Main Menu] but because it was an Aberrant?
What was an aberrant in the first ce, Simon wanted more information.
This was one of the times that he cursed his iplete memories. Nheless, with this information from the dungeon, he at least understood that it was impossible to control this creature.
In that case, there was only one thing left to do. Simon jumped to the side and easily dodged the punch from the Fire Demon Ape which was currently going on a rampage.
From its aura, Simon reckoned that it was more powerful than the attacker zombie (Not buffed by Curse energy) he faced in thest horde of the tomb of depraved. And given its numerous strong skills and the size of the floor, if he let the being go wild, the [helpers] behind him will get caught in it.
Thus the sooner he takes care of it, the better.
"Alice, help me take it down" Simon said. It was not like he cannot take the fire demon ape down alone but for that, he would have to use the crimson zing me de or resort to using his [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] which has juste off cooldown.
Simon was level 405 after the battle that urred on the thirty-sixth floor and after killing those adventurers and taking their experience. The fire Demon Ape was level 423, it was not a gap that he couldn''t cover.
Simon was confident that he could beat it but it would take some time and might even destroy the entire floor in the process. That is why, he asked the help of Alice whose abilities made her the bane of melee opponents.
"Of course, leave it to me master. I''ll destroy it in one fell swoop" Alice answered patting her chest.
Delighted that her master needs her help, she was just about to go for a big one when¡
"Wait¡ wait, if I let you do this alone, you would be the one to end up destroying the floor. Aim your attack up when I send this guy there" Simon said pointing up.
He then conjured dozens of me and lightning spears that rained on the fire demon ape to keep it busy and rushed towards it.
BOOOM¡ BOOOM¡
RAWR¡ Due to its giant frame or perhaps because it was still not used to its new abilities, the fire demon ape was unable to dodge the attacks as some of them even managed to pierce its weak spots.
Roaring in pain, it tried to regenerate its wounds using its [High-speed Regeneration] skill. But how could Simon give it the time to regenerate from its wounds? He rushed towards it and started pummelling the giant body of the fire demon ape with his bare fists.
In response, the mutated monster also used its four arms and [Demonic Strength] to send a wild flurry of attacks. However, Simon easily avoided these simple attacks from his opponent that had no depth.
In just a few seconds, Simon gained the edge over his opponent and activating the [Super Enhanced Strength] skill, he sent the fire demon ape into the air. His fist smashed squarely at the unguarded chest of the fire demon ape and sent it airborne.
"Now!" Simon shouted.
434 Chapter 434
He had dominated the fire demon in closebat but it didn''t mean that thetter was defeated. Far from it, it still had much more life left in it. During their exchange, Simon realised that the Fire demon Ape stats were mostly lopsided towards its Strength and defence attribute thus even if most of his punches and kicks connected, it didn''t manage to deal it much damage.
Far from it, it still had much more life in it. During their exchange, Simon realised that the Fire Demon Ape''s stats were lopsided or focused towards its strength and defence attributes. Thus even if most of his punches and kicks connected, it didn''t manage to deal much damage.
Alice was standing ready near the [Helpers], at some unknown point in time, her hand held an ancient bow that was made from a branch of a unique tree. The moment she heard her master givemand, her fingers that were holding the outstretched bowstring let go of it.
PANG...
A dull sound was heard and an arrow made out of an unknown energy was released from the bow. the speed of the arrow was so fast that it ripped apart the air and space around it and was upon the fire demo ape in the blink of an eye.
The aberrant was unable to perceive the extremely fast arrow and was hit squarely on the head which spurted apart like a watermelon.
"Headshot... hehe"Alice smiled proudly though the next second she stared stupidly at the arrow that still retained most of its power and crash into the ceiling above.
BOOM...
A huge explosion erupted out rocking the entire floor. Pieces of rocks dropped down like rain all around the forty-fifth floor demonstrating the terrifying power that was imbued in the arrow.
After the rumbling floor and the rain of debris settled down, a huge hole appeared in the ceiling in front of every astonished eyes. Nobody could believe that an arrow as small as that was able to cause such terrifying destruction.
Looking at the hole in the ceiling that was swiftly being restored,Simon realised that if the power of the arrow was a couple of times more powerful, it might have opened a hole in the ceiling that connected with the floor above. As absurd as the notion sounded, the proof was right in front of him.
Simon did not know if it was possible to destroy the floor of the dungeon or not. but the matter today made him think of this possibility. He made a mental note to investigate more about this possibilityter and turned his gaze towards Alice who for some reason was also acting surprised.
feeling the gaze of her master, she scratched her head and gave a silly smile. "Ehh... uh... umm.. master¡ª that was¡ªhaha... even though I limited my power that arrow was..." Alice dejectedly dropped her head unable to find any excuse.
Seeing her like that, Simon sighed. He could tell that Alice did not do it knowingly, she even tried to control the output of her power but it seemed like she still needed much more practice.
"Master I''m sorry" Alice apologised, her beautiful face coupled with her youthful aura would make anyone sympathise with her.
"It''s fine, the damages to the floor can be quickly restored using DP. Make sure you reflect on your powers and try to gain more control over them during the training" Simon waved his hand dispersing the issue.
He approached the fallen body of the Fire demon Ape and observed it carefully. For Some reason, after the mutation, it had be an aberrant that was outside the authority of the dungeon.
He did not know what an aberrant was but from the reaction he got from the monster itself, he could tell that the entity was dangerous to his dungeon. Apart from that, there were also those skills that it had.
"Sigh¡ there was no other option. Had I not sent Alice here beforehand, who knew what might have happened by now" Although it pained him a little to kill the mutated beast, there was no other choice.
"I''m going to spawn the Fire Demon Ape. Alice, be ready to act at a moment''s notice" Simon called out to the downtrodden girl who recovered immediately after his call, her eyes zing with resoluteness to notmit the same mistake again.
While it was true that Fire Demon Ape was dead, the species of the monster was now registered to his dungeon as a spawnable monster. Thus he could use the [Spawn] function to summon them again.
Since the fire demon Ape belonged to the upper spectrum of [D] rank monsters, it cost a lot of DP to spawnpared to the other monsters. But to Simon, that amount was nothing. Simon opened the [Spawn] function, scrolled over the list of monsters and clicked on Fire Demon Ape, the monster that was hostile to him and was recognised as an aberrant.
Why was Simon doing something like that even when he knew that he cannot control the entity? The reason was simple, he wanted to check whether that particr fire demon ape was a special case or whether their whole race was considered an aberrant.
There was only one way to find that out. As soon as Simon pressed the option, the bones, the muscles tissues of the monster formed and before long the fire demon ape manifested in front of him out of nothing.
Simon who was on high alert, rxed his guard at this moment. The monster unlike the previous one, was very docile and submissive in front of him.
"Master??" came the confused voice of Alice who was ready to take down the fire demon ape.
Simon raised his hands and motioned her to put her bow down. The spawned fire demon ape was not recognised as a hostile entity anymore. To be absolutely sure he gave some simplemands to the fire demon ape to check whether it was under his authority or not.
As he had thought, the fire demon apepleted all of hismands without any question. Next, Simon summoned a few more of the fire demon ape and just like the first one they were all submissive and under his control which solidified the fact that the race of fire demon ape was not an aberrant but only the one that was killed by them.
He waspletely certain of it after checking the skills of these monsters with his [Analysis]. None of the spawned fire demon apes, had these dangerous sounding skills like [Cannibalism] and [Taboo].
"So my guess was right, that one was a special case" Simon muttered narrowing his eyes.
"Lord Simon¡ they" at this moment, the [Helpers] who he ordered to say behind, approached him.
"It''s alright, they are under the authority of the dungeon and are no longer a threat" Simon stated and asked the [helpers] to check it themselves. Although the [Helpers] were much lower in hierarchy, they were nheless, above the spawned monsters of the dungeon.
Thus their authority also extends towards most of the monsters of the dungeon.When these [helpers] saw that the fire demon apes were following all of their instructions, they finally rxed and put down their worries.
"What is lord Simon going to do with them?" Coleus asked.
Simon thought over it a bit, initially he just wanted to test on the demon ape that he had incidentally summoned from the [Ga??????]. He didn''t think that the end result would be a fire demon ape that was this strong.
Individually, the level and the strength of the fire demon ape race made them the strongest monsters that can be spawned at this moment in his dungeon. Their powers were enough to hold their own even against the adventurers at this point in time.
Thus it would be a waste not to use them. Simon made his decision, he was going to spawn them on the forty-fifth floor and have them make a colony here. It was always best to have monsters breed on their own and increase their numbers. That way, the strain on his DP consumption will be less.
Seeing that Simon wanted to use this floor to colonise them, Fay who had been pondering something all this while, spoke up at his moment.
"Lord Simon, since you intend to spawn these monsters here anyways, I have a suggestion to make".
"Hoh?" Simon who didn''t expect a suggestion toe out of nowhere was a little surprised. Even Coleus and the other [helpers] were surprised, it seemed that even they didn''t know what Fay wanted to talk about.
"You are free to speak up, I appreciate every suggestion" Simon smiled trying to relieve the worries of the forest spring spirit that just spoke up.
Although she had spoken up at the spur of the moment, she was now a little afraid. Seeing their lord Simon and hearing his appreciative words, fay mustered her courage and said.
"L-Lord Simon, from what I could see, the fire demon ape is quite powerful, it would be a waste to just spawn all of them here".
Hearing her words Simon locked his brows and asked "Are you saying that I spawn them on the upper floors too? But that way there would be too much casualty and might even drop the favourability of the dungeon amongst the adventurers".
What Simon was most afraid of was his DP getting reduced due to the adventurer refraining from entering his dungeon. Even if he had umted quite a sum of DP, it was nothing in the long run.
-----
Name- Alice
Race- Wood Elf
Rank- [A]
Level- 699+[???]
ss- [Gunslinger]
Skills- Analysis, Ultra Enhanced Detection, Blunt Resistance, Cut Super resistance, Piercing Super Resistance,Poison Immunity, Ultra High-Speed processing, Parallel Thoughts, Ultra Natural Recovery, Ultra Minimal Mana Consumption, Ultra Enhanced Endurance, Ultra Enhanced Magic, Ultra Enhanced Defence, Herculean Agility, Battle Instinct, Essence Mana Conferment, Mana recovery, High-Speed Regeneration, Five Senses Ultra Enhancement, Future Attack Prediction, Telescopic Vision, Gun''s zing Mastery, Thunder Magic Mastery, Tempest Magic Mastery, Golden Mana LInes, Cooking, Cleaning, Sewing, Housework.
ss Specific Skills- [Ability Ovey], [Ability Conferment], [Hawk Eyes] [Long Distance control], [Blink Steps], [Mark], [Rain of Bullets, [Gunmaster], [Ultra Essence Mana Condensation], [Materialisation], [Ammunition Unlimited], [Combo Star], [Indomitable Pierce], [Neglect Armour], [Permeate], [Unification+++]
435 Chapter 435
p If he wanted to grow the rank of his dungeon, he needed a steady supply of DP and adventurers to enter his dungeon. Additionally, given that the enemy he would have to face in the future would only be stronger, he needed DP to add new floors, monsters and install various other traps and mechanisms to his dungeon.
Thus the idea that he spawns a monster that could potentially wipe out a low ranking party on the upper floors, didn''t seem appropriate to him.
"I know what lord Simon is thinking, it is dangerous to spawn them on the upper floors but what about the middle floors? The adventurers there might be able to do something ande up with ways and strategies to defeat these monsters".
"What I''m suggesting to lord Simon is that we won''t just spawn it in a random ce on the middle floors but in a specific area that is secluded from the other parts of the floor. Furthermore, to entice the adventurers into entering these areas, we can also spawn treasure chests that can appeal to them and have the fire demon ape guard it".
Fay was expressive, excited even as she put her ideas out. Listening to her, it was not only Simon but even the other [helpers] who were surprised. From her words and how detailed she was, it could be said that she had thought things through before speaking up.
"So you are saying that we will set up a trap that will lure any greedy adventurer or a party of them to specific area where we would spawn the fire demon ape and if they manage to defeat it, they would be rewarded by the treasure chest it is guarding?... hmm interesting; No it is a very viable idea, it will be like a side boss chamber".
The more he thought, the more this suggestion made sense to Simon. He was a former game developer and a dungeon master at present, the idea of making a hidden chamber of some sorts filled with monsters and treasures, like in those games boiled his blood.
If you are powerful enough, you will be rewarded or else your greed will be your downfall. Simon shed a fierce smile and looked at Fay, if he was not wrong, she had suggested something simr not too long ago when he came back from his trip.
"The treasure chest and the rewards that are spawned, are too in in sight. Maybe we could stall more of their time if we make it spawn in risky andplex ces".
If he was not wrong that''s what she said at that time. Now, she even came up with this idea.
Seeing that their lord liked it, the other forest spring spirits praised her, making Fay blush a little. Simon smiled and immediately approved of this idea, furthermore, he even awarded a certain amount of DP to Fay and made her in charge of this project.
"Use this DP to alter an area of the floor as you see fit. Also, I will give you specific ess to spawn the Fire Demon Ape and a few other monsters for the time being. Additionally, you don''t have to worry about the contents of the treasure chests, there are tons of [D] and [C] rank artefacts and weapons sitting in my inventory, some of them can be considered treasures from their view".
There was also the items the adventurers that had died inside the dungeon that are left behind. If he counted those items too, then there was no shortage of rewards that can be put inside those treasure chests.
With those words, Simon handed the authority of creating a special side boss chambers to Fay who came up with the idea in the first ce. All the other [Helpers] were happy to see her being praised so much by their lord and basked in her happiness together.
"I hope you all keep on doing a good job," Simon said raising the spirit of the other [Helpers].
They hurriedly raised their voice saying that they will work harder to deserve such praise. Not long in the future, adventurers would be surprised to find new chambers that would lead them to a secluded corner of the floor where treasure chests could be found.
The news would make waves around the adventurers, many would make their way to those hidden chambers blinded by greed. Some would be able to gain vast riches while others would meet their end by the guardian that protected the chest.
The allure of the [D] tier and asional [C] tier weapon would make all the adventurers no matter their rank drool and would soon be a hot topic amongst the adventurers. However, that was something for the near future.
Now that the thing he came here to do was finished, Simon along with Alice teleported back to the main floor. While on their way to one of the chambers of the white pce, Simon nced towards Alice and asked "How long are you nning to sulk like that?".
"Unnn~" Alice had a face that said she was jealous of someone.
"Sigh¡ you see that suggestion was quite something, that is why she deserved my praise. You don''t have to be jealous of her, both Fay and your strength lie in different areas" Simon consoled the downtrodden girl.
Amongst the Valkyries, Alice was the youngest. Although Simon can''t guess her age she seemed to be a few years older than Cecilia.
"But master I couldn''t show my usefulness thest time, this time too, I couldn''t control my strength properly and ended up destroying a part of the ceiling," Alice said still looking at the ground.
"If you say it like that then isn''t it partly my fault too since I was the one who gave you that weapon? Although it''s a far cry from the Heirloom made for you [Heroes], right now these are the only weapon I can give you" the bow that Alice used to snipe the Aberrant was something that Simon had given her.
During this past week, Simon tried his luck on the [Ga??????] every day, although he managed to get a few good items such as the golden guardian stones and a few [C] rank artefacts, but the overall result was disappointing to say no less.
Getting the heirlooms for the Valkyries seemed like a far-off dream right now. Thus he had no choice but to make a custom made one for them.
He used the [Armoury] function of the main menu and burned through [C] tier weapons like oil and produced a few good weapons that he gave to them for the time being.
"H-How can that be??" Hearing Simon''s words, Alice frantically shook her head and hands saying that it was not his fault.
"In that case, you should stop ming yourself too. Honestly, I''m more delighted than saddened by the incident. A part of the ceiling being destroyed is something that can easily be fixed by using a few DP. But more so than the damage, it gave me something to think about. If it is what I think it is, then you might have coincidentally discovered something that even I didn''t consider was possible up until now" Simon continued to speak as he walked forward.
"Something that even master didn''t know about?" Alice asked tilting her head.
"Yeah" Simon replied, if not for her identally damaging the ceiling, he would never have thought about this possibility or perhaps he would have discovered it muchter when it started bing a problem.
Up until now, Simon was always analysing and evaluating things at his own power level. If not for Alice''s coincidental action, he wouldn''t have thought that destroying a floor was possible. Just a single arrow from her was enough to create a huge hole in the ceiling.
Had she used her full strength, Simon had no doubt that the ceiling might have copsed. Thus opening a hole to the upper floors.
How was this important? Think about it, if a being on the level of Alice can destroy it, then it was possible for other powerful beings to destroy it too. It doesn''t necessarily have to be his subordinate, even adventurers, the truly strong one can use this possibility to open a hole in the floor to descend down the dungeon.
Though the floors swiftly recovers the damage dealt to it, it still means that there was a way to swiftly descend the floors other than clearing and going through each and every one of them individually.
Simon cannot be sure since he hadn''t tried destroying a floor yet but he felt like the possibility was plenty after seeing the scene today. It was a good thing that he was made aware of this possibility at this point in time or else the result would have been disastrous had this method been shown to him by the adventurers first.
At that time, even if Simon could keep his calm, he would be hard pressed to find a solution. Thankfully, now that he knew that something like this was possible, he could trying up with ideas and solutions to counter that.
"Hehe, if master says that I was helpful then I am truly happy" Alice smiled, her previous gloomy and sulky aura was gone reced by a jubnt atmosphere.
On his way to the main hall of the white pce, Simon thought about every possible way to counter this method; however, he came out empty even after a while. It might be true that he had no solution for this problem, but it was not like he waspletely out of options.
As far as he knew, every increase in the rank of a dungeon, apart from increasing the maximum floors and unlocking new options in the [main menu], it also increases the defensive power of a dungeon as a whole.
That is to say, the walls, floors and the ceiling bes much stronger and harder to prate with each increase in rank.
436 Chapter 436
This change was something that Simon had personally noticed when his dungeon evolved to a [D] rank after his war with Gelgar. Yes, the only option that he could think of right now was increasing the rank of his dungeon.
Fortunately for him, it was not so easy to destroy a floor and the current adventurers weren''t powerful enough to do something like that. He had enough time to upgrade and increase the rank of his dungeon before powerful adventurers came swarming inside his dungeon.
When Simon opened the door to the main hall, he saw that Irene and the other Valkyries were already present there and were engaged in a discussion of their own. Seeing them smile and converse like that, Simon was pleased that the closest people to him were getting along with each other.
The Valkyries, were set to have their own unique personality and temperament but they were all proud and upright characters, to begin with. The only reason they were talking so respectfully to Irene was because they respected her.
The same went for this noble icy cold woman, she would only talk and converse with those who gained her recognition. Even Simon had a lot of trouble dealing with her at first.
In a way, it was quite a sight to see all of them converse like this.
The moment the door was pushed open, all eyes focused on him. The Valkyries hurriedly stood up and weed him while Irene calmly nced at him walking inside with Alice.
Simon looked around and saw that Cecilia was missing, thus he asked "Where is Cecilia?".
"Princess Cecilia is currently with her n, it seemed like elder Fennel called for her to check on the Spirit Tree" Ate answered while brewing a tea for him.
Simon nodded his head and made himselffortable on the couch.
"You look quite worse for the wear, did the experiment on the forty-fifth floor not go as expected?" Irene asked ncing at his clothes that were a little dirty after he came back from the forty fifth floor.
"Ah! About that¡" Simon received his tea from Ate and recited the event that urred on the forty-fifth floor. How the mutation led to an aberrant being born and the fact that a monster was able to resist the authority of the dungeon, surprised them quite a bit.
Their eyes became a little concerned when he told them that he had fought the fire demon ape who was rampaging around the floor.
"Alice did you protect master well?" After his story was over, Bea from the side asked Alice who was grinning ear to ear. The little girl was started by the assertive and serious tone of her elder sister, she was just about to answer when¡
"Yeah, she helped me quite a lot. In fact, she was the one who took out that monster and protected the [Helpers]. She was a big help" Simon spoke on her behalf.
Hearing their master''s high praise of Alice, all of the Valkyries became surprised for a moment before smiling adoringly towards her. They were proud that their little sister was able to earn such high praise from their master.
"It looks like the monster rejecting the control of the dungeon has something to do with the mutation" Irene stated analysing the information she heard from Simon.
"At first I thought so too but there was no problem with the new race since the ones I spawnedter were obedient and submissive to me" Simon discussed.
"Are you saying that monster was special?" Irene asked perceiving what was trying to say.
"Right, the one fire Demon Ape that managed to undergo the mutation, ording to the [helpers] ate the other members of its race and was behaving quite peculiarly ever since waking up. I also noticed that it had some dangerous sounding skills such as [Cannibalism] and [Taboo]" Simon exined.
Although it was just his guess and he had nothing to back his words, Simon believed that the dungeon notifying him about the aberrant was somehow rted to these skills.
"I see, then there is no other choice but to eliminate it. Fortunately, you sent Alice there in time and the [Helpers] weren''t injured in the process" Irene closed her eyes and sighed in relief.
Simon nodded his head in agreement, then he turned towards her and asked "Enough about my side, tell me how is everyone''s training going on".
"How about you guys tell him that yourselves" Irene smiled mysteriously and looked towards the Valkyries standing on the side.
"Master''s suggestion was wonderful, after fighting with others I know now what I amcking in and what areas I should make progress towards," Ate said trying to avoid his gaze.
"Master, I will try my best to not embarrass myself again" Beamented, one could feel her frustration from her words.
Except for Alice, all the Valkyries acted strange, even Emma and Bianca who had little to no emotions were no exception. How could Simon who was their creator and knew them extremely well, not see through their peculiarity?
"Did something happen?" Simon asked frowning.
"Uhh!!"
"Guh!!"
"You see they are frustrated because they lost during the training" Irene exined shaking her head.
"What?!" Simon''s eyes went wide when he heard that the Valkyries had lost. He was right to be surprised, after all the Valkyries were all incredibly powerful [A] rank subordinates. Except for Irene, Simon didn''t believe that there was anyone else in this dungeon who could possibly defeat them.
When she felt his questioning gaze, she shrugged her shoulders saying "Its not me".
"Then¡?" He was now even more confused, if it was not her, then who? Surely it can''t be that the valkyries ended up defeating each other right?
"It was the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse" as if to answer his query, Irene exined with a peculiar smile on her face.
"Huh?! Bloodthorn demonic warhorse? But that is not possible, even if he has be powerful after his evolution, he is still not the Valkyries match" the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse was around level 540, whereas the Valkyries were all level 699.
Even if he used some tricks, he was still not their match. Perhaps due to the disbelief that generated from his trust in them, the Valkyries became even more strange with their conduct.
"You are right in thinking that, normally it wouldn''t be possible for that child to defeat them. However, the premise of the training that I set for the valkyries to gainbat experience restricts them from using more than twenty percent of their strength and their racial or ss specific skills".
"Under this condition, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse who has been honing his strength every single day was able to gain an edge over them. His diligent and hardworking personality is very much like certain someone. Even now it''s training with Lightning Draconic Serpent not wanting to be outdone by anyone" Irene exined.
It was only now that Simon finally understood why the Valkyries behaved so peculiarly when he mentioned the training and how the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse was able to gain an edge over them.
Though even he was surprised when he heard that thetter was able toe out on top against a Valkyrie. Even if their power and skills were restricted, the Valkyrie''s basic stats and abilities were still the same.
One had to wonder how much effort and training the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse had to go through to defeat a Valkyrie.
"Kuhh" hearing from the sounds that the Valkyries made intermittently, it seemed that they were still not resolved to this defeat.
"I see, I guess that works in the favour of Valkyries. That way, they can gain experience inbat first hand while the others can also grow at the same time" Simon nodded understanding what Irene was trying to achieve with this method of training.
Anyways it looked like the training floor that he had created seemed to be working wonders since he could see the fire of not wanting to lose and the frustration from a defeat zing inside the eyes of the Valkyries.
Simon discussed about the other aspects of the training floor with Irene and the Valkyries before moving onwards to something else.
"By the way, didn''t you use your provisional adventurer card to enter the dungeon from the front gate? Will it be alright if you are missing for so long?" Irene asked picking up a subject he had almost forgotten about.
Now that he thought about it aftering back from his trip, he had entered the dungeon as a provisional adventurer with the pretence to go and mine the ores from the eighth floor. After that one thing led to another and now he was back on his main floor.
Since to the adventurer party, it might look like he had disappeared, there was bound to be some people looking for him. However, a week had already passed since then, the adventurers association might think he had died inside the dungeon already.
Even if they didn''t it was not a problem since Simon could always use the identity of a provisional adventurer to see and roam around the town built around the tower on top of his dungeon.
"It''s shouldn''t be a problem, I will asionally show my face around the town. That should be enough to get off their list of deceased people" Simon said after thinking for a while.
There was also the events from the capital and his face being known, thus he cannot be toocent and rely on his alternate identity too much. Since Simon himself said that it was not a problem, Irene didn''tment further.
437 Chapter 437
Simon was sipping on his tea when suddenly he remembered something "That''s right, do you think this can be fixed?". He said taking out a scroll from his inventory.
The scroll that he took out wasn''t the scroll of return that he got recently from the space rings of those adventurers but something that he had bought at the Serene Pce Auction House. Yes, it was the same damaged space scroll that he bid a whooping 5000 ckgold coins to buy.
Although it was in a damaged condition and cannot be used, it was still a scroll that had the spatialws in it. If it can be restored, the scroll was capable of teleporting someone anywhere within a thousand-kilometre radius.
The difference between a space scroll and a scroll of return was that unlike thetter, the former did not need a pre-established transit point and exit and can be used to teleport anywhere. Of course, there was always the factor of the uncertainty of not knowing where the scroll will teleport you.
In that aspect the scroll of return might be better however in the case of the scroll of return once the transit point and exit were set, it cannot be changed and thus it was useless anywhere else. On the contrary, if one can deal with the uncertainty factor, the space scroll can be a life saving tool in some critical circumstances.
Other than that, the space scroll also doesn''t require extreme mana and concentration from the user, it activates as soon as one tear the scroll. There were many other reasons why a space scroll was seen as an incredible treasure; however, the main reason for Simon buying the scroll was because he wanted to learn more about the space magic.
Ever since he saw Berigard use the space magic, Adalinda opening spatial tears and the usefulness of the magic, he was fascinated by it. Simon would always try to understand or learn space magic in his free time because he knew how mysterious and versatile the magic was.
If he was able to learn the space magic he would be able to get another life saving card. That is why, when he saw a space scrolle up on the auction, he didn''t think twice and quickly grabbed the item.
He thought that he might get some clue from this space scroll which is why he didn''t bat an eye on using most of his money to buy the item even if it was damaged.
Irene observed the item before extending her hand to take a closer look. Of course, since the item was damaged, [Analysis] won''t work on it. Hence, it depended on the individual''s knowledge and ability to understand what was wrong with the scroll.
Irene spread open the scroll, looked at it for a while before asking "What about it?".
Hearing her bizarre question, Simon wondered if she was unable to see the problem with the scroll.
"You see that scroll is damaged and I was thinking whether there was any way to fix it" the reason why he was showing the scroll to Irene was because he knew that she was adept with space magic.
When he had seen her status the first time he summoned her he saw some absurd sounding magic listed there. One of which was the advanced tier of space magic.
However, even after exining things so carefully to her, Irene seemed to look even more confused from his words. She gave him that ''What are you talking about?'' look.
Just when he was getting suspicious, whether Irene was doing this deliberately when the person in question turned the scroll horizontally and said "This thing is not damaged. In the first ce, this is not a scroll but a page from a space attribute grimoire".
"What?!" The words that Irene said, instantly made Simon''s eyes widen, he took the page and looked at it horizontally. Now that he thought about it, it does look more like a page from a grimoire than a scroll.
All along he had been thinking that this was a damaged scroll and that is why it cannot be analysed. In the first ce, the item in his hand was not even a scroll and was actually a page from a grimoire.
The reason why it was releasing a spatial aura was because the page was from a space attribute grimoire.
Then doesn''t that mean that he was fooled? No, it couldn''t be said that he was fooled since even the auctioneer wasn''t aware about it. Very few people in this world are knowledgeable about space magic thus it wouldn''t be wrong to say that the page managed to fool everyone at that auction.
Even Simon would still be living in that misconception had he not shown this page to Irene.
After hearing that it was not a space scroll but instead a page from a grimoire, Simon sighed in dejection. There goes his hope for thinking about restoring it.
There was no doubt a space grimoire was more valuable than a space scroll by a matter of magnitudes. One cannot learn the magic itself from a space scroll but that was not true for a grimoire.
Both were a one use items however, unlike the former, a grimoire was a special item that allowed the user to learn the magic stored in it. Grimoires are divided based on their colours, each colour showcasing their rarity.
There are Green, Bronze, Silver, Gold, tinum and tiers that even Simon was unaware of. A single tinum grimoire was able to create huge waves and make even those renowned guild masters of the top five guilds of the kingdom of Ellesmere go crazy about it during the battle of the finest tournament.
It could be seen how valuable a grimoire was from this. Not to mention the page that Simon had on his hand was from a space grimoire, that in itself was enough to put the rarity of the grimoire above a tinum colour.
However, the thing was that, the item on his hand was only a page and not the whole grimoire itself. One cannot learn the magic inside a grimoire with just a page. What''s more, if even a page is missing from a grimoire, the entire grimoire bes useless.
Thus it could be said that even though Simon identally got his hands on something incredible, it was also useless at the same time.
Thinking that he had just wasted his time and money buying this, Simon was just about to keep the page back inside his space ring when Irene who had just thought of something stopped him.
"Wait a minute, could the page on your hand be the principal page of the grimore?".
"Principal page?" Simon asked looking at the page in his hand.
"Yes, if the page on your hand is the principal page which is the most important page inside a grimoire and is kind of like its nucleus, then it might be possible to gather the rest of the pages of the grimore" Irene answered.
She was not only adept with space magic but had advanced it to several levels. No wonder when she saw the page that was from a space attribute grimoire, she was able to quicklye up with this idea.
"With the principal page even if you do not have the whole grimoire, you would still be able to locate it using that page" she added.
"How do I know if this is the principal page or not?" Simon asked. Truth be told, he cannot understand even a single syble or a word that was written on this page. His [Languageprehension] skill was having no effect whatsoever on it.
"A principal page other than detailing the most crucial part of a grimoire, will also have a faint magic circle enchanted on it" Irene mused. She looked at Simon and said "turn it towards the light and see if it has any".
Simon nodded his head thinking that it was kind of like a watermark. When he turned the page towards the chandelier, he saw aplex magic circle big enough to cover the entire page.
Irene, and the Valkyries all gathered beside him and peered into the page.
Irene: "I thought so, it really was a principal page".
p Ate: "With that master will be able to gather the rest of the pages andplete the grimoire".
Listening to the two of them talk, Simon became curious and asked "How will this principal page will lead me to the rest of the grimoire?".
It was true that the one in his hand was the principal page but how was it going to help him gather the rest of the grimoire?
Irene smiled, extended her jade white hand and pointed at the faint magic circle "This is not just an ordinary magic circle but the seal of the creator that made this grimoire. It was put into this page when the grimoire was made thus when it is near the other pages, or the grimoire, naturally it would try to seek it. The page would resonate with the other ones and at that time you would be able to sense their location".
So that''s how it was, unexpectedly he still had the chance to get his hand on the grimoire itself.
"That''s great master" the Valkyries said basking in this happy moment.
"Anyways, where did you get this page?" Irene asked arching her crescent brown in a frown.
"Hm? This page was something that I bought in an auction. At that time it was auctioned off as a damaged space scroll. I had no idea at that time that it would be a principal page from a space grimoire"
438 Chapter 438
Simon answered thinking back to the time when he entered the auction.
"Then do you know where it was recovered from? Perhaps that ce might have some clues as to where the rest of the grimoire is".
Simon thought over what Irene said and tried to recall the words of the auctioneer when he brought that item at that time. Although that old man did say it was recovered from somewhere, he didn''t specifically mention where.
It looks like if he wanted to know more about the space grimoire, he would have to go to the auction house which meant going back to the capital of the kingdom of Ellesmere once again.
If it was some other demon viscount, after going through that horrible experience, they would never even think about stepping into a human kingdom again. However, there was not even an ounce of fear in Simon''s eyes, only an endless determination and fires of revenge burning in those crimson eyes of his.
''The next time we meet, things will unfold differently'' Simon clenched his hands in resolve.
Seeing him get swept away by some different emotion, Irene did not press for an answer. She knew what kind of experience and adventures Simon had gone through when he was outside. Thus she could somewhat tell what he was thinking about.
The same went for the Valkyries who had been watching him from the void. "Master¡" they called out in concern.
Simon smiled at them and told them not to worry.
"Right, how about I use the training floor too" Simon dered boldly, his face had a wide grin stered on it.
"Eh?! Wait master me too, I want to train with you" Bea who was the first one to react, immediately made her request to tag along.
The other Valkyries not wanting to be left behind, huddled around him. Simon nced at thest person and coincidentally she too was looking at him.
Irene smiled affected by the atmosphere around him and nodded her head. With that, the group teleported to the new training floor.
-----
Ten days passed by just like that.
Tower Town, Adventurer''s Association. In the lobby where all the adventurers gather. Near therge quest board, Bn and his team were searching for an idealmission for themselves.
They discussed as to which one would be best for them now that they had reached the ninth floor. In the past few weeks, they had recruited a new adventurer who coincidentally was also a newbie just like that guy who disappeared inside the dungeon.
After working togetherpletingmissions and fighting monsters, their group was able to work in coordination to some extent. Thus they were deliberating whether they should risk fighting the monster on the ninth floor or should stick with themission on the upper floor.
The group was in a dilemma as to what to do when another team of adventurers arrived near the quest board.
"Have you heard that the guy who was presumed dead by the adventurer''s association, was recently spotted on the town?" A warrior said to hispanions.
"Huh? For real? To have survived inside the dungeon for so long, that guy must be really powerful" one of thepanions replied.
They weren''t very far from Bn''s group, naturally, they could hear the other party. Bn was intrigued by that so called adventurer the other group was talking about and thus approached them.
"Wait a minute!! Are you guys perhaps talking about someone this tall, with long ck hair and an uncannily handsome face?".
Bn exined trying to describe the physical appearance of a particr provisional adventurer. Perhaps the other party didn''t expect for Bn to suddenlye butting in between their conversation, they looked a little fazed.
"Eh?! Ah! I don''t know, I haven''t seen the adventurer in person. I have only heard a few rumours from some of my friends who have spotted him" the adventurer who raised the topic, exined.
Bn seemed to be a little unconvinced by those words from the other party, thus he pressed for more.
"What did your friends say? Did he tell anything about that adventurer? Like how he looks if he was a newbie or something?".
"Ah.. that".
"Leader, you are troubling them. How many times will you inquire about that guy? There is no way he would be alive after disappearing for so long. It''s time you give up" Bn''s teammates came and pulled him away.
"Ehh?!¡ who is leader talking about?" the newbie adventurer asked.
"Hm? Oh, you didn''t get to meet him huh. Well, he was a newbie adventurer who came to this town just like you. He teamed up with us for a miningmission to the eighth floor but disappeared due to some unnatural phenomenon that urred on that floor that day".
"So there was something like that".
Bn group conversed they were just about to exit the adventurer''s association with Bn in tow, when the other party approached him.
"Ah! Wait, I didn''t know the person you were talking about was your teammate".
"He wasn''t a teammate... but someone who teamed up with us for a mission. Well, i guess you can call him a teammate" Bn''s group answered.
"I see anyways, as I told you before I do not know much about the adventurer my friends were talking about but I recalled them mentioning that he was quite tall and was wearing a ck robe. He was seen near Marley''s pub, he still might still be there".
The other adventurer looked at Bn who seemed interested in this information.
"Thanks for that information" after thanking the other party, Bn and his team made a round to Marley''s pub; however, they were a step toote. ording to the bar master, the adventurer left just a few hours ago.
"So he really was here"
"I can''t believe he survived more than two weeks inside the dungeon" Bn and his team discussed. It was not like they came out empty handed when they arrived at the bar. ording to the bar master, the guy who was here looked exactly like the provisional adventurer who had teamed up with them.
"Well, at least he is alive. With that, the association shouldn''t give us a bad review" Bn sighed.
"Right, now leader can put down his worries" his teammatesughed.
"Alright, let''s go finish ourmission, newbie don''t you dare stray too far from us"
"Yes leader" Bn and his team proceeded to dive inside the dungeon.
Far north from the tower town, deep inside the lush overgrown trees, a figure of a person could be seen dashing forward in a fast speed. The figure was wearing a ck hood and a bamboo hat to cover his features.
After diving deep inside the northern region of the ghastly winding forest, the figure stopped on top of a tree and removed the hat covering him.
The person underneath that hat was none other than Simon who had activated the trinket of Grimlock to mask his appearance.
NEIIGHH¡
TAP¡ TAP¡ TAP¡ Simon turned his head towards the sound to find the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorseing out of the bushes.
"I hope you didn''t have to wait long" Simon said caressing thetter.
"Think nothing of it my Lord" the warhorse answered "Was the objective that my lord set out to do in the tower townpleted?".
It asked looking towards the eastern direction of the forest where the dungeon and the town was.
"Yeah" Simon nodded his head. The objective that the warhorse was talking about was none other than Simon showing himself in the tower town and getting off the deceased list of the adventurer''s association.
Of course, with his visit to the pub, he also wanted to see if his face would be recognised or not. Weirdly enough, although the news about the demon that wreaked havoc in the capital had spread to this ce, the demon''s poster and his features were still not known here yet.
Simon thought about it on his way here but he was still not sure why it was so. He shook his head, got on top of his warhorse before tapping thetter saying "Let''s go".
The Bloodthorn demonic warhorse spread its wings and with a st of wind soared high up in the sky.
Whoosh¡ Simon looked below at the quickly changing scenery before setting his eyes to the front. The rate at which the Bloodthorn demonic warehouse was travelling was many times faster than its previous speed. After it had gone through its first evolution, its [High-Speed Flight] skill have evolved into [Super High Speed flight] skill.
That was not all, it has also gained many new skills and magic that made it much more stronger and worthy of a disaster ss being.
p "My lord, we will be arriving there swiftly," the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse said increasing its speed even further.
Simon nodded his head and spread his senses all around. He could feel that the number of monsters around this part was quickly getting lower and lower the further they went in, this also indicated that they were on the right path.
Why were they diving inside the northern region of the ghastly winding forest when most of the strong monsters were on the western side? The reason for it, was simple, Simon was here for one of the three overlords of the northern region of the forest.
The promise that he made with Aldebaran was drawing near, thus Simon was here to fulfil one of them. In the span of a year, he had to subdue all of the three overlord of the northern region of the ghastly winding forest. It had been almost six months since then.
That was one of the promises he made with Aldebaran at that time. Right now, Simon and the bloodthorn demonic warhorse were heading towards the territory of the Deep Sea Alligator king, one of the three overlords of the north.
439 Chapter 439
A few days ago, Simon realised that he was not making any advancement towards the agreement he made with Aldebaran, thus he decided to make a move soon and paid a visit to the floor where Lightning Draconic Serpent was.
The reason he went to the Lightning Draconic Serpent was because he wanted to know more about the other overlords of the north that he needed to subdue.
"My lord, it is my incredible honour that you thought about me. Of course, I shall tell you about everything that I know about them" the lightning draconic serpent said wiggling its tail in delight.
Simon nodded his head and said "Out of the three overlords of the north, I know about you and the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon. However, even I am unaware of thest one".
Although he heard of the three overlords, in truth he had only met the two he mentioned above. As for thest one, though he did feel its presence when he was exploring the northern region, he never had the opportunity to meet it.
"It''s no wonder that my lord doesn''t know about thest one. After all, among the three of us, that guy is the most cautious one and does note out of their territory easily. The Deep Sea Alligator King unlike me and the Earth shattering Lower dragon, rules over arge number of subordinates who do most of the work for it".
"Personally, I think it''s just azy bum who sleeps around all day. Out of the three of us, he is weakest but due to therge number of subordinates that guymands, it''s quite a hassle to fight it".
The lightning draconic serpent said with a loathing tone. From its voice, Simon could tell that it looked down upon the deep sea alligator king, after all, the lightning draconic serpent took pride in its own strength while the former just used its numbers to suppress its enemies without confront them himself.
"The deep sea alligator king huh¡ does it mean that to subdue it I will have to first fight all of its subordinates?".
Simon mused, he did not know the exact number of subordinates the deep sea alligator kingmanded. Thus if he were to start fighting all of its subordinates, by the time he reached it he would be all spent.
"That is not true my lord, you just need to lure its subordinates away. That guy, he is quite territorial, he would no doubt try to swarm you with their numbers the moment you intrude its territory while he himself willfortably lie inside hiske".
"If my lord can lure the others, you would be able to fight that guy while he is all alone. How about lord Simon takes me with him, I know every tactic that guy might use" the lightning draconic serpent proposed.
Simon thought over the proposal, and looked at itsrge draconic eyes that were filled with expectation. It was not a bad idea to bring someone who was more knowledgeable about the overlord with him.
However, its size was just toorge and eye-catching. The moment it teleports out of the dungeon, it would cause panic and rm to spread amongst the inhabitants of the tower town. It would be the same case even if Simon teleported it a little away from the town.
Therefore Simon had no choice but to reject its proposal this time and take the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse with him. Unlike the former, thetter''s size was much more manageable.
When Simon exined his reason, the lightning draconic serpent became a little disappointed. Nheless, it understood that its huge frame was just too eye catching and thus it had no choice but to give up in the end.
Simon asked a few more information about the deep sea alligator king, like its skills or any abilities that needed his attention.
"My lord, if you can do not fight it inside the water. I do not exactly, but it has a skill that increases its power drastically when fighting inside a water body. If possible, my lord should drag it outside itske and fight it on thend. Additionally, my lord should be careful of its breath attack. Although it does not have any dragon blood, it is still capable of a breath attack".
The lightning draconic serpent informed everything that he knew about its former rival. Simon thanked the lightning draconic serpent before moving out with his warhorse.
He teleported the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse a few kilometres away from the tower town while he himself went to the tower town.
"It looks like it has sensed our presence" Simon stooped his train of thoughts when he felt a mighty pressure and an aura lock onto them. Needless to say, the aura was from the Deep Sea Alligator King.
The territory of the Deep Sea Alligator King was located in the far north lof the forest where a hugeke could be seen. Thend around here was damp and the height of the trees a little low. There was not a single presence of other monsters around as all of them were scared away from the presence of the deep sea alligator king.
Simon and the Bloodthorn demonic warhorsended a few kilometres away from theke.
"Remember, do not release all of your aura or else the deep sea alligator king will just hole up inside itske. You just need to attract its attention and lure away the subordinates it sends your way" Simon said going through their n once again.
The Bloodthron demonic warhorse was a genuine disaster ss being while the Deep Sea alligator king was yet to reach such a height. Thus if the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse really did release all of its aura, thetter might be scared shitless and just hole up inside itske.
Simon was cautious about the thing that the Lightning draconic Serpent said about not fighting it inside theke. Thus if possible, he wanted to tempt the deep sea alligator king into stepping outside.
"Don''t worry my lord, I ensure you that nobody will get in your fight against the deep sea alligator king" The Bloodthorn demonic warhorse said thumping loudly on the ground. After that, it unfolded its wings once again and flew towards the direction of theke while Simon hid his presence using the Ice Phoenix''s Sigh.
BOOOM¡ BOOOM¡
The Bloodthorn demonic warhorse did not hesitate to let its presence known by firing a few huge fireballs into theke. Hot steam rose from theke and with thest attack as the catalyst, ripples started appearing across the entireke and before long, a deep guttural noise came from the depth of theke.
Whoosh¡ Whoosh¡ Whoosh¡ hundreds of water pirs rose from theke and from it surfaced hundreds of lizardmen.
Simon who was looking at this scene from his hidden ce, immediately identified the species to be an evolved form of lizardmen that spawned in his dungeon. Unlike the mutated ones he created himself using the mutation crystals, the ones in front of him were standard evolution of lizardmen.
Race- Elder Lizardman
Level-391,
Skills- water magic mastery, Cut Resistance, Blunt Resistance, Super Defence, Super Strength, Hard Skin, Berserk, Strong Bite, Tail m, hydro st, Swift Swim, Spike, Deadly ws.
When he used [Analysis] on them, this was the result he got.
"So they are called Elder Lizardman" Simon recalled that they were on the list of monsters that can be spawned inside the dungeon. However, the option was greyed out since his dungeon was still too low ranked. If he wanted to spawn monsters like Elden lizardmen and bloodhounds, he would have to wait until his dungeon ranks up to [C].
Anyways, even if there were hundreds of them around level 390 to 399, they were still not a match for the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse. However, the point was not to eradicate them all but to lure them away.
The Bloodthorn demonic warhorse fired a few big fireballs at theke enraging the lizardmen and the overlord that was hiding inside it.
GRRRUUHHHH¡ the water on the surface of theke started trembling intensely and a huge entity peeked its head out of theke.
Pointed snout, elongated jaws riddled with razor-sharp teeth and a menacing appearance enough to scare anyone away. ckish grey skin covered with bony te-shaped scales showcased its incredible defence.
The being was enormous, just its head that was peeking out of the water was more than six meters. There was no mistaking the creature, the Deep Sea Alligator King finally showed its appearance.
''So it''s out'' Simon who was hiding his presence a few kilometres away looked at the Deep Sea Alligator King. He did not use his [Analysis] on it because there was a high chance that it would reveal his position.
After the Deep Sea Alligator king peeked its head out of the water, it looked at the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse flying in the sky and roared. With its roar that was enough to shake the surroundingnd, all the Elder Lizardmen started baring their fangs at the assant.
Hundreds of them charged towards the Bloodthron demonic warhorse who remained unfazed by their numbers. To make sure that he had the attention and aggression of every lizardmen present, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse used its downgraded version of its infernal magic to take out a few lizardmen charging towards it.
BOOMM¡.
The lizardmen who got consumed by the mes issued a deep wail before sumbing to their death.
SHAAA¡ the other lizardmen seeing their nsmen die in front of their eyes, became enraged and started charging towards the Bloodthorn demonic without regarding anything else.
440 Chapter 440
Using this chance to secure the aggression of the subordinates of the Deep Sea Alligator king towards it, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse pped its wings turned around and ran. The hundreds of Elden Lizardmen were behind it in hot pursuit.
GRUUHH¡ the sandy yellowish eyes of the Deep Sea Alligator king were still locked on the warhorse who appeared and disturbed its sleep out of nowhere.
At first, when the Deep Sea Alligator king saw the appearance of the warhorse and how fearless it acted in front of hundreds of its subordinates, it thought that something was wrong.
It ruled the northern region of the ghastly winding forest as its overlord for over more than fifty years. Over the period of time, it faced numerous opponents many of which were from the western region of the forest.
But because its power wasn''t enough, it was chased away by the other powerful monsters from that region and came to the northern part of the forest.
Even though the concentration of mana here was far less pure and the size of theke was very small, it had no choice but to make this ce its territory. It chased away the former residents of this ce and ruled over this area like an overlord for dozens of years.
It fought with a few others that were around its power level and finally secured its position around the northern region of the forest. Thus it was cautious when it came to enemies that did not show any fear in front of it.
Just when it was considering whether the enemy was hiding its strength, it saw thetter turn tail and run away. The Deep Sea Alligator immediately lost interest, even if its intelligence was high, it never considered the possibility that it was all a plot.
It let its subordinate chase the enemy away and was just about to dive back inside theke when dozens of me arrows came manifesting out of nowhere and targeted it.
BOOOM ¡ BOOOM¡ the water on the surface of theke shook and a deep guttural noise came from the Deep Sea Alligator king. Although it did not take much damage from thest attack, it was still enraged by the hidden attack.
It scanned the surroundings but was still unable to find the location of the hidden enemy.
Right at this moment a few more attacks, this time of lightning attribute, came flying from its blind spot. Nevertheless, it was prepared for an attack this time and hence intercepted the attack even before it came closer to it.
A long spiky tail appeared out of theke dispersing a massive amount of water that blocked the iing attack.
GRUHHH¡ after easily dealing with the attack, it looked towards the forest and roared. Because of the attack earlier, it was now aware of the location of the hidden enemy.
The deep sea Alligator king swam till the shore of theke and finally came out of its abode. Looking at its broad wide body which was decked with spiky ted skin like an armour, short legs and powerful jaws, one could only say that it was menacing to behold.
After it appeared out of theke, it extended its short legs and mmed it on the ground making huge spiky rocks emerge out of it in a straight line. The attack from the Deep sea Alligator King travelled at a high speed and targeted one of the particr trees amongst the sea of trees.
BANG¡ the tree was quickly skewered by the numerous spiky stones that emerged out of the ground. However, seconds before the attack hit the tree, a shadow dashed out of it and dodged the attack just in time.
The Deep Sea Alligator King narrowed its eyes and roared causing the trees in the path to be uprooted and blown away. After everything barring its vision of the hidden enemy was removed, it was finally able to see who it was that dared to sneak an attack on him.
Pale white skin, crimson eyes and horns. That dark and malevolent aura released from its body were the signature characteristic of a particr race. There was no doubt about it, the one in front of it was from that race.
BAM... BAM¡ BAM¡ the Deep Sea Alligator King walked forward, its enormous body along with its weight made it so that the ground trembled whenever it took a step. It lowered its head and stared menacingly at its enemy.
"What is a Demon Noble doing here?".
A wicked smile was hanging in the corner of his lips, hands folded, the being was standing tall even in front of its presence. Simon who was now face to face with the Deep Sea Alligator was only a few meters away from it.
The distance was so close that the Deep Sea Alligator King can open its mouth and just eat him. Nevertheless, Simon did not back down and reacted by releasing his own aura.
"Indeed, I''m a demon noble. You must be one of the overlords of this region, the Deep Sea Alligator king?" Simon said using [Analysis] on the being.
Race- Deep Sea Alligator King
Level- 476
Skills- Water Magic Mastery, Earth magic Mastery, Bunt Super Resistance, Cut Resistance, Super Enhanced Strength, Super Enhanced Defence, Super Enhanced Endurance, Sense Presence, High-Speed Regeneration, Body Enhancement, Berserk, Raise Guard, Body m, Overpower.
Inherent Skill- [Swift Swim], [Hydro Breath], [Tail m], [Hardened Scales], [Poison Touch], [Brutal Bite], [Spill], [Spike].
"Hehh, to stand and face me even after knowing who I am, Demon Noble I apud your courage. However, you are not my match. If you run away now, I will overlook your previous transgressions¡ now scram" The Deep Sea Alligator King roared and bared its spiky teeth threateningly.
Even though it hadn''t yet reached level 500, due to its intelligence being higher than other creatures and close toplete evolution, it was somehow capable of speech.
Simon smiled in front of its intimidating behaviour, instead of backing down in front of an enemy that was multiple times stronger than him, he pressed forward and even tried to incur the ire of his enemy.
"Haha, It seems like I''ll be disappointing you in that case. I am not here to run away but to subdue you. From this moment forward, I im the northern region of the Ghastly Winding forest as my own territory. You who are living in it, have two choices, either be my subordinate and swear unwavering loyalty to me or die".
After finishing his sentence, there was a silence of a good few seconds before the Deep Sea Alligator King became furious. It extended one of its legs and tried to smash Simon underneath it.
BANG¡ "You puny ant dare to have thoughts about subduing me?!! Who do you think I am??".
A deep depression formed on the ground and cracks appeared within a few meters of area. Just from this attack, one could see the raw strength the beast possesses.
Simon who had dodged the stomp without any problem, appeared a few meters away from it.
"Does this mean that you are defying me?" Simon asked with a haughty attitude that was meant to irk his opponent even more.
As he had nned, the Deep Sea Alligator King became more furious after it saw this attitude.
"Taking im of the northern region? Know your ce puny Demon Noble!!!" It started chasing after Simon who kept dodging its attack and backtracking.
To make sure that he had the entire focus of his opponent on him, Simon did not shy away from using his powerful and mana consuming attacks and bombarded his enemy with them even when he knew that thetter was taking hardly any damage from it.
Those ted scales of the Deep Sea Alligator King were so durable that they easily shook off most of the intermediate tier magic attacks from Simon.
Whoosh... a powerful tail sweep came from the left side that cleanly cut all the boulders and trees behind him.
Managing to dodge that attack somehow, Simon fell back and observed the tail in dread. A droplet of sweat trickled down his face, his expressionpletely serious.
That attack earlier, that tail sweep from the Deep Sea Alligator king was so fast and fierce that had it not been for his increased levels and battle practice with the Valkyries for the past few weeks, he would have beenpletely decimated or seriously injured by that.
That long slither tails packed enough power to even crumble a mountain and bypass Simon''s defence stats. The Deep Sea Alligator King, most of its stats were focused around its strength and defence.
However, it was extremely slow. Other than a few parts of its body like its tail, its other attacks were extremely slow.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡
Perhaps it learned that its attacks weren''t connecting and it started swinging its tail in a frenzy more and more. For it, the demon was an annoying bug that was difficult to swat.
Simon would doge its attack and lead it deeper towards the forest while simultaneously trying to figure out its weak point from his magic attacks.
Even though it was to keep all of its attention on him, Simon wasn''t just blindly bombarding it with attacks. If one looked carefully, Simon never attacked the same ce twice and was continuously observing and analysing his enemy.
Thanks to his battle experience, and his high mana pool that made it possible, Simon finally noticed a pattern. Whenever he attacked the Deep Sea Alligator king''s lower body, or any attacks that specifically targeted its underbelly, it would always lower its body and use its back to endure all of the attacks.
This pattern was so frequent that it was on the level of a behaviour. Since the Deep Sea Alligator king had a streamlined body that was t to the ground, Simon was unable to see its belly.
However, from its behaviour, he could tell that its weakness or something that it did not want to exposey there.
441 Chapter 441
This was further proven true when Simon started using low altitude attacks. The highlypact me and lightning spear were conjured closer to the ground and unless the Deep Sea Alligator king learned to jump, it would be unable to dodge these attacks.
However, it was simply asking too much for its heavy body to make a movement such as that. Thus just as Simon had predicted, it took all of the attacks by lowering its body once again.
"Pesky demon stop running and fight me!!!" Possibly because it waspletely enraged, the Deep Sea Alligator King did not realise that it was lured far away from itske.
At this moment, Simon finally stopped backing away and turned around to face the beast. A crimson sword appeared in his hand at an unknown time and his gaze was firmly locked on his opponent.
GRRUUHHH¡
The Deep Sea Alligator King grunted, its eyes that shone with an intelligent lightnded on the sword. It did not know how powerful the sword was but from the aura of the demon that changedpletely after they held the sword, it could tell that the sword was dangerous.
Nheless, it was one of the three overlords of the north that reigned supreme over countless other monsters in this forest. There was no way, it would back just because of a sword. From its perspective, the demon noble in front of it was weaker than him, the aura the former released and also the exchange earlier was enough for it to realise that.
Thus the Deep Sea Alligator king thought that it can take the demon down. With a deep roar that was enough to scare the monsters in a few kilometres area away, it started charging at the demon.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ the ground trembled with its march as it left deep footprints.
Although its charge was slow andical even, one cannot look down at the momentum a body as gigantic as that created. The charge of the Deep Sea Alligator King gave the illusion of a mountain crumbling down.
Simon waited till thest second before unfurling his wings and dodging the charge. He flew by its body and was just about to target its lower belly, when suddenly the Deep Sea Alligator king turned its upper body towards the side mid-charge.
A movement as agile as that and something that was only possible for a streamlined body such as that, took Simon by surprise. An enormous jaw big enough to swallow a mammoth, decked with razor sharp teeth came to bite him.
The powerful jaw of the Deep Sea Alligator king was enough to crush even a block of metal let alone Simon. To him, that attack was like a maw of death, something that he had to dodge no matter what.
CRUNCH... the huge maw of death closed upon him and bit down.
The Deep Sea Alligator King leered with its eyes, thinking that the demon was over its head to think that it can conquer the northern region of the forest not to mention to defeat itself. However, its eyes became wide the next second when it realised that it cannot close its mouth.
A circr golden halo was barring it from closing its mouth. No matter how strong the pressure it applied to close its gaping maw, the circr golden halo refused to budge down.
BANG¡ SHATTER¡ at the end though, the barrier like halo sumbed down and shatter in front fo the might of its bite.
The golden halo did shatter but it managed to buy Simon precious time and allowed him to escape the maw of death. Had it not been for the golden guardian stone, that attack would be enough to im his life.
It was a good thing he hadn''t underestimated his enemy and was prepared for all sorts of attacks. The Deep Sea Alligator King might be slow, but its streamlined body made movements such as before extremely easy.
Now apart from its tail, he also had to be careful of its [Butal Bite] skill when approaching closer to its body. Fortunately for him, he had lots of golden guardian stones to spare.
In these past few weeks,dy luck had shined upon him a couple of times and he was able to draw out a few sets of golden guardian stones with each set consisting of ten stones. That is to say, Simon had more than thirty Golden guardian stones currently sitting in his inventory.
Even then, he still has to be careful, the Deep Sea Alligator King was not an opponent he can look down upon. The golden guardian stones might be able to stop all kinds of physical attacks and magical attacks under a certain level.
However, its effects onlysted a few seconds. Thus he had to use that few seconds of invulnerability to make an impact.
Simon pped his wings and using his [High-Speed Flight], flew around the Beast trying to find its blind spot.
After itsst attack failed, the Deep Sea Alligator King became wary of the demon that was using some kind of unorthodox items to fight. Its [Brutal Bite] skill that was powerful enough to crush enemies multiple levels higher than him was stopped by something on the person of that demon.
As careful as it was, it was naturally wary of the counter-attacks from that demon. Although it was cautious, it did not mean that it was afraid. Especially after fighting with the demon, it knew that thetter was not its match.
It used the same method again and started charging towards Simon. This time though it also used its mastery over earth magic to create spiky rocks of sorts that erupted out from the ground and barricaded the demon and limited its movement.
If the demon tried to take its charge head-on, they will be crushed, if they tried to dodge, the Deep Sea Alligator King can simply bend its body to the side and bite with his powerful jaws.
As it had expected, the demon flew left and right trying to dodge the spiky rocks, but when they got surrendered they tried to avoid his charge by moving to the side or so it should have been.
However, the demon acted differently this time and did not move away from the path of its charge.
Did the demon think that they can survive its charge head on?
"Idiot¡ if you wanted to die so badly, then I will fulfil your wish" the Deep Sea Alligator king roared and dashed towards the demon with even more momentum.
Feeling its powerful charge, Simon nted his foot strongly into the ground and arched his body forward and circted his mana all around his body. The Deep Sea Alligator King''s stats might have been higher than his in some areas but that was before he used the Crimson Sword.
With the buff that was provided by his weapon, the difference between their stats wasn''t that big any longer. On the contrary, Simon might even surpass him in some aspects. The fact that the Deep Sea Alligator did not know it was the key factor here.
BAM¡ BAM¡ BAM
The ground trembled and the wind whistled, just when the huge frame of the Deep Sea Alligator king was upon him, Simon utilised his [Sword Mastery] skill and swung his sword with all of his strength.
CLANG¡ an intense metallic noise rang around the surroundings and intense spark generated from the collision.
His sword shed against the erged snout of the beast that was covered with a defence so strong that even his sword had difficulty cutting in.
SCREEE¡
Simon''s feet scraped the ground as he was pushed back a few meters by the momentum and strength behind the charge of the Deep Sea Alligator. Nevertheless, even if he was pushed back in the process, he still stopped the charge of the beast dozens of times bigger than him in the end.
Simon used the outstretched rocks behind him that was meant to blockade him as a foothold to cancel the force pushing him behind and jump towards the dazed Deep Sea Alligator king.
? Thetter who didn''t expect the demon to be able to stop its charge was in a state of disbelief and thus was unable to react when they rushed at him.
Simon used this chance when his enemy wasn''t ready to slip past their body and attacked the ce they had been guarding so thoroughly.
"Infernal Magic Mastery- Infernal ze" Simon executed one of the infernal magic that condensed the golden mes around his sword making it seems just like an erged golden sword.
As he had expected, the underbelly of the Deep Sea Alligator King was much more softer than the skin on its upper body and back that was protected by ayer of ted scales.
The erged golden sword dug deeply into the skin of the Deep Sea Alligator king and even burned its innards with an infernal heat.
GRUUHHHHHH¡ the Deep Sea Alligator king roared once again this time its roar was filled with mind numbing pain and agony.
At the same time, the pain was the catalyst that woke it up from its daze as it turned towards the demon to bite and force him away from its underbelly.
BANG...
However, how could Simon who had gained the advantage let go of this opportunity to deal more damage and back away? The maw of death approached and shut close on him but at that exact moment, a circr golden barrier appeared around him and stopped the jaws of the Deep Sea Alligator King for the second time.
Using this time, Simon dug his sword even deeper. He poured more of his mana into the sword and mess the internal organs of the beast with its infernal heat.
-------
442 Chapter 442
Simon swiftly backed away after he opened a deep gash on its underbelly.
SHATTER¡ the Deep Sea Alligator King feeling the pain and the burning of its organs, bit down at the barrier with even more strength and shattered it into nothing but light fragments. However, it was already toote as the assant had already backed away.
Blood flowed out of its mouth, it looked at therge wound on its underbelly, its eyes were absolutely enraged.
GRUHHH... a deep guttural roar emitted out of the Deep Sea Alligator King and in front of Simon''s eyes, its skin started to change colours. Thest attack from Simon had dealt it a considerable damage and burned multiple of its internal organs. The pain was so excruciating that it had lost its mind in pain and activated its [Berserk] and [Overpower] skills at the same time.
Its ash grey skin started turning the shade of red and in the blink of an eye, it grew twice its size. Even its eyes which were a sandy yellow before, turnedpletely crimson at this moment. Clearly, the beast had lost its mind and had be even more dangerous.
GRUHHH¡
In the face of its change in behaviour and that hatred filled roar, Simon smiled. He had a fair share of experience of fighting beasts that have gone berserk. He knew how dangerous they be once they enter this state. Thus instead of growingcent, he stood sharp and ready to deal with any kind of attack that came his way.
The Deep Sea Alligator King now under the effects of [Berserk] and [Overpower] two stats boosting skills, repeatedly mmed its tail in an attempt to crush the demon. It did not care about anything else as it used all of its power to erase the demon from its eyes.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ the tail now strengthened even further, generated a storm of wind as it mmed into the ground and devastated a few meters ofnd every time.
It was only to be expected, a monster right around the boundaries of disaster ss. Every time they moved or fought, they caused huge environmental damage.
Simon dodged left and right and utilised his advantage in flight to outmanoeuvre the outstretched tail. However, even if he dodged the tail, the earth magic from the Deep Sea Alligator King woulde targeting him.
Although these spiky boulders forming out of the ground didn''t do much damage to him, it was enough to stall for some time before the tail arrived. Simon would counter attack by firing his magic at a low altitude. However, after suffering an attack on its underbelly, it now deeply guarded that ce.
Unlike its front, upper body and back that was protected by hardened skin and multipleyers of ted scales, his underbelly only had ayering of soft muscles thus making it its weakest spot.
Simon understood that long range attacks wouldn''t be able to damage the deep Sea Alligator king which is why, he was only using the magic attacks as a diversion to attract its attention towards guarding its weak spot.
p His main objective was¡ using the skill [High Speed flight] to their limits, Simon made a beeline towards the Deep Sea Alligator king. "Infernal Magic Mastery- Infernal Heatwave" the sword lit up but before it could erupt out in brilliant golden mes, an enormous tail filled with ruthless momentum came attacking Simon from the side.
BANG¡
However, instead of the demon''s body being flung back into the distance, a golden barrier stopped all of the momentum of the tail.
''Got you'' Simon disyed a wicked smile, wildly poured his mana into the crimson sword and threw it towards the Deep Sea Alligator King. More specifically, he targeted its eyes which was yet another weak spot for the Deep Sea Alligator King in a sense.
A de covered in golden mes, drew a golden line across the sky and distorted the space whenever it travelled.
STAB¡ caught by surprise, the Deep Sea Alligator King tried to move its eyes away. However, it was just toote as the de of the sword managed to dig into the corner of its left eye. Although it was painful, this kind of damage was something that could be healed over time using its [High speed regeneration].
Nheless, the sword was imbued with arge amount of golden mes that severely burned its left eye making it impossible to regenerate through the damage in a short time.
GRRRUHHHH¡ the Deep Sea Alligator king roared in agony, shaking the nearby mountains. SHATTER¡ as time was up, the golden barrier gave up. Simon was just about to press forward with his attacks when he realised that the tail of the Deep Sea Alligator king hadn''t moved an inch from its spot and had instead circled around the barrier in a grip/hold.
Now that the barrier was gone, Simon was unable to get away from its clutch in time even if he tried to fly away.
GRAB¡
Caught, Simon was now solidly under the grasp of its tail.
The Deep Sea Alligator King looked at the demon with its remaining right eye while smoke and puss came from the left. It gnashed its teeth in absolute hatred and tightened its grip onto thetter in an attempt to squash it.
CRACK¡ CRACK¡
Simon grabbed the tail with his hands to try and pull himself free from its clutch but even he could hear multiple of his bones breaking and creaking from the pressure.
GRUHHH¡ a furious roar that drowned all the other noise around the surrounding came from the Deep Sea Alligator king as it flung the demon into the distant walls of the mountain with all of its strength.
It was like somebody fired an enormous cannon and Simon who was the ammo of this artillery, broke the barrier of sound and was sent flying towards the mountain. He struggled, pped his wings and even fired some magic behind him to offset some of the force.
However, the momentum his body had was just too much for him to solve in one go.
BOOOM¡ Thus his body was mmed and stered into the walls of the mountain, causing it to tremble intensely. If one looked carefully, there were deep cracks running through the mountain showcasing how much force there was behind that toss from the deep Sea Alligator king.
Puff¡ Simon puffed out a mouthful of blood and tried to regte his disoriented mana and blood flow. His entire body creaked from pain and multiple of his bones hadpletely cracked. Other than that he had also suffered multiple internal injuries and his wings and been bent at weird angle.
With his wings in such bad shape, there was no way he would be able to utilise his flight skill for a while. Simon coughed out a few more mouthfuls of blood, pulled one of his hands out and quickly drank on a few elixirs of healing.
This along with the [High Speed Regeneration] skill of a demon viscount was enough to offset the damage for a while.
''Damn, I let my guard down at thest second'' Simon thought internally as he surveyed his surroundings and saw how far he was flung.
At thest second, he had dealt a blow to the deep Sea Alligator''s King''s left eye that should have been excruciatingly painful for it. Even he didn''t expect this much tenacity from thetter to not even move from its ce even while enduring that hellish pain of burn from the infernal magic.
What was more surprising was that, it did not even pull back its tail and instead chose to press forward at that time. Simon wouldn''t have been in peril had he used another golden guardian stone.
However, the golden guardian stone had a fixed time period before it can be used by the same user again. Even though Simon had more than thirty golden guardian stones with him, he cannot use them consecutively to ovep the effects of all thirty of them and gain a moment of invulnerability.
After every use of the golden guardian stone, that same user had to wait for some time before he can use another golden guardian stone. If he had to estimate the downtime it would be around ten seconds. That is why, whenever the golden barrier shattered, Simon would always distance himself from the enemy or reposition himself.
TREMBLE¡ TREMBLE¡ thend started shaking and debris was starting to fall down from the mountain. Simon did not have much time to reorganise himself since he could see the Deep Sea Alligator King charging towards him from the distance.
He pulled himself from the dent he made onto the wall of the mountain and jumped away just before the beast could crash into him.
BOOOM¡ it was as if dozens of explosives had gone off together, the mountain that was multiple times bigger than the Deep Sea Alligator king crumbled down unable to bear the power of its charge.
Of course, it was buried underneath it which gave Simon a few seconds of time to reorganise his breathing. Or so he thought, but the next second he saw the light seeping out of the debris and a powerful st that travelled in a straight line, blew away everything in its path.
When Simon finally gained rity as to what happened, what was the thing that travelled at such a high speed was high, his eyes contracted and he hurriedly broke a golden guardian stone.
At that instant, a pressurised cannon of water crashed onto the golden barrier surrounding him. Everything around him, was swept through by that st of water and even his golden barrier had many cracks running through it.
Simon''s eyes which never left the Deep Sea Alligator king, clearly saw it opening its mouth and shooting something.
Breath Attack!!!
443 Chapter 443
"Ah, another thing my lord. Although that guy does not have any dragon bloodline, it is capable of breath attacks" At this moment, he recalled the words of the Lightning draconic Serpent.
Breath attack, an exclusive racial skill of some high level beast and monsters. It is said to be one of the most powerful attacks, an ace in the hole that can turn situations around.
There was no doubt about it, the skill that the deep Sea Alligator king used, something that made rm bells ring inside his head was none other the breath attack, the lightning draconic serpent told him to be careful of.
GRUUHH¡ the deep sea alligator king growled, its erged body and crimson colour slowly returning to its original state. The effect of the [berserk] and [overpower] skill was over.
Simon looked up and saw that his word was still dug inside its left eye. Without the buff from the sword, he was not its match. Thus he had to get his sword back but there was no need for him to physically go there to retrieve it since he was capable of that technique.
Simon extended his hands towards the sword and with the emergence of strange runes and marking on his hand, the sword stuck in the eyes of the Deep Sea Alligator king started trembling and moving.
GRRUUHHHH¡ the beast gave a roar of agony. If one looked carefully, the sword that was impaling its left eye had the same marking as the one on Simon''s hand. As if obeying his will, the sword slowly pulled itself out from the beast''s eye and flew back to him.
Simon caught the sword in his hand and smiled. The technique he just used was none other than [Dominator''s control] that Irene had taught him. ording to her, one can dominate any animate or inanimate objects with this technique.
After Simon got to experience how useful this legacy technique that was passed down to him was, he practised andprehended the technique to increase his mastery over it in his free time. Thus one day Simon decided to practice this technique on his sword and to his delightment, he was able to mark and dominate the sword even without Irene''s help.
From his experience, he understood how important the buff provided by the sword was when fighting an enemy multiple levels stronger than him. If he drops the sword or it is knocked away from his hand, he immediately losses the buff.
In fact, that person named Davis from the adventurer''s association, did the same thing and knocked the sword away from his grasp to contain him. In the future, there would be enemies who would be able to see through the power buff of the sword and recognise its tier.
They would no doubt try to knock the sword away to weaken him. Hence, Simon came up with this idea after he deliberated over it.
Now, using this technique, even if the sword was knocked away from him or he himself uses it as ammunition just like what he hurled the sword at the left eye of the deep Sea Alligator king, he would still be able to recall the sword back.
Feeling the change in his stats brought by the sword, Simon set his sight onto his enemy. Seeing that they were not shooting any more of those breath attacks, Simon was about to initiate his own assault when suddenly he realised his vision was going blurry and everything around him was starting to move.
What was going on?
Huff¡ Huff¡
Simon had difficulty breathing, even standing straight was starting to be a problem. He tried shaking off this feeling by biting his lips when from the corner of his eyes he saw thin green smokee out of the water puddle around him.
Poison?!
It suddenly struck him. This diforting feeling that was raging inside him was none other than poison. The area around him was filled with a greenish gas at some point.
Simon hurriedly covered his nose and stopped inhaling any more of the air. When he looked around he finally realised that the poison wasing from the water puddles and the droplets of water that remained after that breath attack.
At this moment, rm bells rang inside Simon''s head once again and he hurriedly dodged to the side while struggling to keep his senses together. The instant he moved to the side, a highly pressurised, high-velocity breath of water passed through the ce he was at just a moment ago.
What''s more, other than having the power to even crumble down mountains, that pressurised st of water also contained poison.
,m Simon was sure of it when he saw greenish gase out of the puddles that remained after that attack.
He took out a vial and quickly gulped down its content.
[Elixir of Antidote X1 consumed].
The thing that he just consumed, was an antidote that he purchased from the [Shop]. It healed all kinds of weak poison and onlysted for a while.
After feeling the effects of poison dissipate and his vision be clear again, Simon started moving again. He cannot afford to stand still and let that breath hit him. Apart from that, he was also worried about how long the antidote wouldst since he could see this part of the forest slowly getting covered by a greenish gas.
Sure he can blow them away using his gale magic but the Deep Sea Alligator king can simply produce more. Plus topletely get rid of the poisonous gas, he had to get rid of the puddles of water that had spread all around this part of the forest.
BOOM¡ BOOOM¡
The Deep Sea Alligator King fired one breath attack after another dealing severe damage to the environment. However, it did not care about it all as its rage filled eye was locked on the demon who looked very miserable while dodging all those attacks from it.
"Seven seconds interval¡ although it''s not a lot of time, it is still somewhat doable" Simon muttered in a voice that only he could hear.
Perhaps if the Deep Sea Alligator king was a little saner, it would have realised that the demon was not just simply dodging but counting down the internal time between the breath attacks it can release.
Even if it made him look pathetic, with dirt and grime covering his clothes, Simon dodged the attacks like his life depended on it. He gulped down a few more Elixirs of Healing and Elixirs of Antidote and waited until his wings had recovered.
The attacks that he was unable to dodge, he would use the golden guardian stone to cover up for it. Like that, Simon stalled the Deep Sea Alligator king long enough for his wings to heal.
If he wanted to damage thetter, he had to get closer and without his wings and flight ability, it was just too dangerous. Thus the moment, his wings recovered enough to use the flight skill again, he rushed towards the Deep sea alligator king right after it fired its breath attack.
Using the seven seconds window, Simon flew towards the beast as fast as he could without wasting even a second. Taking the breath attack head-on and in close range was suicidal thus he had to make it so that it cannot fire those breath attacks anymore.
Simon pped his wings and exerted the entire strength of his body to inch closer as soon as possible. However, how could the deep Sea alligator king just allow him to approach closer to its body?
It mmed its stumpy legs into the ground and numerous spiky rocky emerged out of the earth to impale him.
''There is no time to dodge all these attacks'' Simon reckoned, instead of dodging and going around the rocks that would eat away at his window of time, he decided to brave through the attacks.
While still using flight, he activated all of his augmenting skills and sword mastery skill to erupt forward with hundreds of de shadows that shed with the onrushing stones.
BOOOM¡
Numerous collisions sound echoed out and a cloud of dust formed up front. The Deep Sea Alligator King narrowed its remaining eye and observed the cloud of dust carefully, trying to detect where its opponent went.
Whoosh¡ at this moment, piercing the cloud of dust, a highly condensed me spear came targeting its eye. This time though, the Deep Sea Alligator King was prepared and simply moved its head to the right a little so that the magded on its temple that was prot4ected by ayer of ted scales instead of its right eye.
However, the next second it realised its mistake, due to turning its head to the right and its left eye unusable, it had no vision of the left side of its surroundings.
FLAP¡ Simon pped his wings harder, his jet ck hair wildly swaying with the wind. He was flying so fast that the muscles in his wings started creaking and tearing a little.
Using the me spear as a diversion, Simon was able to utilise this gap in his enemy''s vision to approach closer to its body.
The Deep Sea Alligator King''s breath attack was a long-range attack and covered a wide area. Its earth magic and enormous tail gave it a good medium range attack and its bone-ted scales provided it with a solid defence.
The only weakness it had was its underbelly which had the lowest defence. Thus Simon had to make it a close range battle to deal it any damage.
444 Chapter 444
The Deep Sea Alligator king was able to conquer a part of the northern region and reign as one of its overlords. Its experience and power was for nothing, it immediately realised the demon was trying to target its underbelly. So even while not having any vision around its left side, it instinctively swept its tail in that direction.
SHATTER¡ it felt a resistance and heard something shattering and a momentter it felt a sharp stabbing pain on its underbelly.
Just before the tail that came like a tidal wave to sweep him away, Simon shattered a golden guardian stone and using the time when its tail was momentarily blocked by the barrier, to hop over it.
SKIDDD¡ he dashed madly towards the body of the deep Sea Alligator king and staked every bit of his energy into thisst attack.
STAB¡ the crimson sword without any obstruction stabbed its underbelly and with that, arge amount of infernal mes was poured wildly inside it.
BOOOM¡ GRUHH¡ a dull bang and the painful roar of the Deep Sea Alligator King echoed out. Its body started releasing smoke and blood flowed out in droves from its mouth. Clearly, the beast took a significant damage from that.
He did not let this go into its head and continued to pour a great amount of mana into his sword to channel the infernal magic to burn its inside. Even if does look like the beast had taken so much damage, in actuality, it had a muchrger HP pool than Simon.
Thus until he saw its HP bar go down to red, he kept his relentless attack going. At this moment, he sensed something approaching from the sky and realised that it was the Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse.
Thetter after spotting him and the Deep Sea Alligator King locked in a battle, immediately hovered down to the ground and spoke in concern.
"My lord, you must hurry up. The Deep Sea Alligator King''s roar was a call for help. Its subordinates that were following me, disengaged with me and are quickly rushing here".
Simon hearing what the Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse had to say, wildly poured his mana inside his sword that was plunged inside the underbelly of the Deep Sea Alligator King to thoroughly burn its insides and chip away at its health pool.
He only pulled back when he saw thetter was near the brink of death. When the Deep Sea Aligator king fell to the ground Simon climbed its face and approached its only working eye.
He drew his sword close to its iris and said in amanding tone "So what it''s gonna be Death or Submission?".
The right eye of the beast quivered in fear, its entire body was in so much pain that it did not even have the energy to muster up a resistance. Whenever it tried to move its body a little, the severe internal burns that it had suffered from the hands of the demon, made it spurt out blood.
It was defeated and by none other than the one it looked down upon.
It saw the demon climb to its face, point that sword at its eye and give their ultimatum. Two choices wereid out in front of it, either to submit and be a subordinate of the demon or die by their hand.
And seeing how ruthless the demon was, he had no doubt that thetter would really kill him.
Nevertheless, who was it? It was one of the overlords of this part of the forest and a being that had lived for more than 600 years. How could it just let itself be subordinated like that? Since it cannot defeat that demon and now even that warhorse is here it only had one choice.
Thus it tried to dy answering until its subordinates were here. once its enemies were surrounded, it use this chance to run back to itske and hide inside.
The Deep Sea Alligator king was an amphibian monster. However, it was most powerful when inside water than onnd. Even monsters stronger than it wouldn''t mess with it inside water.
"W-wait¡ wait a minute. I don''t understand one thing, why is that you want to subdue me? We do not have any past grudges or enmity nor does my territory intrudes upon yours so why?".
The Deep Sea Alligator King had lived in this part of the forest for a long time thus it knew the races that inhabited this ce and the demon noble in front of it was not amongst them.
"I have already told you didn''t I? I am going to im this entire forest as my territory starting from the north".
What Simon was saying was trying to say was that conquering the north was just the start. He was going to take control of the entire ghastly winding forest by conquering the west.
p The moment, the Deep Sea Alligator King realised what the demon was saying, its only remaining eye erged widened to the limit and it was silent for a good long while. Then it suddenly startedughing amidst its pain.
"Haaa?! What did I hear? You are going to take control of this entire forest? Are you out of your mind demon? GUHAHA¡ did you really think that the Ghastly Winding Forest is so easy to conquer? Haa, let me tell you something demon. Stop dreaming!!"
"There is no way you, a low-ranking demon can do it. Do you know the heights of those idiocratic words that you said just now? forget about you even if there were hundreds of you it would just be a pipe dream"
"Let me tell you this for your own good. Why do you think we are the overlord of the north and not the entire forest? That is because beings with strength iprehensible to even us, reside there. They are the true kings of this forest, it is because of their presence that the forest remains unconquerable for thousands of years¡ haa¡ haaa".
At the end of its sentence, the deep sea alligator king puked out a mouthful of blood. Nheless, its eyes still obstinately red at Simon.
The Bloodthorn demonic warhorse felt offended by its words and wanted to charge towards it but was stopped by Simon who took a deep breath. His clear crimson eyes still held their former light as they red back at the gigantic eyes of the Deep Sea Alligator king.
"I know what you are trying to do. You are trying to buy time with your meaningless question and call your subordinates here. Be that as it may, let me clear this doubt for you. I am already aware of the strength of the seven Kings".
The eyes of the Deep Sea alligator king which had been obstinate up until now, trembled at this moment when it heard Simon mention the seven kings. It hadn''t told the demon about the seven kings which must mean that thetter was aware of their existence.
The demon was aware but even then it held such lofty ideals? Was it not aware of their strengths?
As if the demon could read the inner turmoil of its mind, they leaned closer to its eyes and dered with absolute conviction.
"The strength of one of the seven kings, I have experienced it for myself. They are definitely strong, far stronger than the current me so much so that it cannot even bepared. But you know, they aren''t the strongest, they aren''t the peak".
"Sure the seven kings are strong but there are beings stronger than them. Compared to those guys, the so called seven kings are just frogs in a well. You might think they are undefeatable but that is not true for everyone. Defeating the seven Kings and taking control of the forest is just another stepping stone in my path to bing stronger".
Simon tightly clenched his hands, he was telling this not only to the Deep Sea Alligator King but to himself too. In a way, this was a kind of pledge for him.
"Now that''s enough stalling for time from you. So what''s it gonna be?" Simon pushed his sword right in front of its eyes once again.
Unlike earlier when the Deep Sea Alligator king was being stanch and unbending, its belief was greatly shaken after it saw and heard what the demon had to say.
''Frogs in a well'' he had dered the seven kings who were like unreachable existences for it, frogs who doesn''t even know the vastness of the world. It was even more astonished when it heard the demon say that it had experienced the power of one of the seven kings in person.
But instead of despairing and cowering like it did when it came to the northern region after being shooed away from the west and living the life of a defeated dog here, the demon''s eyes burned brilliantly like jewels whose shine refused to dissipate.
For the first time, the Deep Sea Alligator King looked at the demon for who he was and asked "Are you saying that you can defeat the seven kings?".
Simon narrowed his eyes thinking that the Deep sea Alligator king was still nning on dying the time, but when he saw the earnest look in its eyes, he decided to answer honestly.
"Well that was the promise I made with the Ancient Titan Treant, Aldebaran. So it''s not a matter if being able to do it or not rather I will do it".
"My lord¡" the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse stated but stopped after seeing Simon nodding towards it.
"I know¡ Deep Sea Alligator King make your decision now. I will no longer tolerate any of your attempts to stall for time" right after saying that, he started channelling thest bit of his mana into the sword.
445 Chapter 445
The Deep Sea Alligator king was now convinced when it heard the name of one of the seven kings that ruled the n of ancient treants. A Being so powerful that it could never hope to match. To hear their ruler''s name directly from the demon, proved that the demon was not lying.
That is to say, he really did experience their strength and was working his way towards defeating them. Compared to itself who gave up after suffering a devastating defeat from the subordinate of a seven king, the demon was looking forward and working his way.
The Deep Sea Alligator King did not know how the demon was going to achieve something like that, but right now it did not have any other choice. Its subordinates still needed a little more time to arrive which meant that he was out of options.
Neverthless, the Deep sea alligator king didn''t n to stall for time anyways. It looked towards Simon and dered "Very well, I ept your rule. I''m ready to be your subordinate. In any case, I was defeated by you¡ as the victor, you have the right to decide my fate".
At this moment, Simon released an inconspicuous sigh he had been holding for a while. Although he did not show in his face, in all honesty, he was quite nervous.
Yes, he had managed to defeat the Deep Sea Alligator King; however, he was powerless to do anything if thetter was still hell-bent on refusing his offer.
Unlike the Lightning draconic Serpent who had the dragon bloodline and could be subdued using the [Ancient Draconic Compel], the beast in front of him not was from dragon lineage thus if it refused to be his subordinate and give its essence blood to form the contract, even Simon won''t be able to do anything.
It was not he can really kill it, since he had to subdue thetter to keep his promise with Aldebaran. Thus when he saw the Deep Sea alligator king finally submit to him, he felt a weight drop down from his shoulders.
He took a deep breath and felt his back drench with sweat from the tension. Without wasting any more time, Simon asked the Deep Sea Alligator King to give its essence blood so he could seal the Blood contract.
A blood contract was a pact between two parties that sealed them into a master-servant rtionship. ording to the memories that Simon had inherited, only a demon noble could initiate a blood contract and it needed the essence blood of the one being subordinated.
There were different types of contracts a demon could perform but for a low ranking demon viscount like him, most of them were still out of reach.
It is said that when a demon performs a contract with the other party, only some special means or the death of the demon could break it. If someone tries to break it forcefully, they would suffer from intense repercussions that might even lead them to their death.
However, the blood contract that Simon performed wasn''t that strong and had to be renewed after a set period of years. Even the authority and binding power he had over the Deep Sea alligator King was much weaker than the one he had over Lightning Draconic Serpent.
Although the blood contract technique was weak, it worked fine for now. If in the future the Deep Sea Alligator King ever tried to break out of its bindings, Simon could always show it its ce. By then, he would be much more stronger than he was now and capable of performing even more powerful contracts.
Right after Simon initated the blood contract, a deep crimson magic circle withplex runes appeared in front of him and swiftly absorbed the essence blood of the beast. Following which, the pool of blood underneath the Deep Sea Aligator King started shining and churning.
The phenomenonsted until thetter felt a mark of some sort form deep inside its blood. When the Deep Sea Aligaotr King tried to focus on it more, it felt an overwhelming pressure and a force that shouldn''t being from a low-raking demon, from the mark.
Disturbed, the Deep Sea Alligator King opened its eyes and looked at the demon again wondering what kind of power was that just now. That kind of oppressive feeling could onlye from beings someone much stronger.
"You that¡" it tried to ask something but seeing the clueless look of the demon, the words got stuck in his throat.
Was it imagining things? Could that power be something of a mistake on his part?
"You are being rude to your new master. Not you¡ªfrom now on address him as my lord".
The Bloodthorn demonic warhorse who was standing beside Simon reprimanded in a harsh tone. It did not like the attitude the newbie adopted towards their master just now. Thus, it couldn''t help but remind it who was the master of its fate now.
The deep Sea alligator king shifted its eyes from the demon towards the warhorse. Now that it looked at the other guy carefully and from this close, it could sense an oppressive feeling that generated from its bloodline from the warhorse.
Its eyes which had already submitted to its fate, went wide with surprise once again. For beasts like them, they could determine each other''s strength through the suppression they felt through their bloodline.
If there is no suppression, it meant that the other party was weak and vice versa if the suppression is too strong.
From this, the Deep Sea Alligator King realised that the warhorse in front of it was much stronger than itself. Perhaps it was already a disaster ss? A ss that was close yet somehow out of reach for the Deep Sea Alligator King.
What''s more, such a being was subordinated and absolutely submissive towards the demon even going as far as to threaten someone who disrespects its master.
While the Deep Sea Alligator king was lost in its thoughts, Simon and the warhorse conversed.
"It''s alright¡ it''s not like I care about how it addresses me or something. As long as he is loyal to me, there is no need for me to persecute him".
The Bloodthorn Demonic Wahrose did not like the idea of its master being addressed like that thus it voiced out¡ª
"But my lord even if you say so, one must at least address their master with a proper title of respect. This guy was just beaten by my lord but still had the audacity to speak like that. Now that my lord is also its master, I believe it should show respect by calling you as such. Even the Lightning draconic Serpent who is much more stronger than this guy is respectable when addressing you".
Simon: "Well¡".
''Lightning Draconic Serpent?!'' when the word came up in their conversation, the Deep Sea Alligator king who was thinking to himself, immediately snapped out of his thoughts.
"Wait are you guys talking about that Lightning Draconic Serpent, one of the three overlords of north alongside me?" it couldn''t help but butt in.
Simon nodded his head at his question and added with a shrug of his shoulders "You are the second so called overlord of the north who has submitted to me. The first one was being the Lightning Draconic Serpent".
The Deep Sea Alligator King blink its eye a few times before muttering to itself "how can that be? as much as I hate to admit it, that guy was indeed stronger than me and even has the dragon bloodline. To think even he was subdued by this demon".
Simon did not care what the Deep Sea Alligator King was thinking, after he was finishedpleting the contract, the beast was now his subordinate.
Simon stored his sword back in his inventory and pointed out "I''ll give you a few days of time, inform you subordinates about who their lord is now. If they dare to show any discontent I''ll kill them. After a few days, I wille to take you to your new ce".
Seeing the demon dere so and turn around to leave with the warhorse, the Deep Sea Alligator King hurriedly asked out.
"What do you¡ ahem, what does my lord mean by that? Are you asking to move out of this ce?". The query of the Deep Sea alligator king was only natural, from the demon''s words it could tell that his new master was nning to move them away from here.
Since it was mostly holed up around this area, It did not know about Simon''s dungeon. Thus it was sceptical when thetter said that he would take them away. As far as it knew, there was no otherke big enough for it and its subordinates around these parts..i.e... except the western region.
However, it was scurried away by the other races living there thus it chose thiske which was barely to its liking. It has been living here for more than 200 years, suddenly being asked by its new master to move out of here, it would obviously have some misgivings.
"Ah, I almost forgot to exin that part. I''m a demon noble you see so of course I have my own dungeon. I''ll prepare a floor big enough for you and all of your subordinates to live in. All you have to do in exchange is to defeat any intruders thate your way. That will be your duty as my subordinate".
Simon did not wait for thetter, after leaving his words, he along with his warhorse flew into the sky and out of their sight.
A gawking bloody alligator could be seen hanging down its mouth as it looked at the sky in a daze.
446 Chapter 446
FLAP.. FLAP¡ the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse pped its wide draconic wings and sped towards the eastern region of the forest where their home was. The altitude of their flight was high and thend below them looked just like a patch of dark green with small bumps which are actually mountains propping up in between.
"My lord, if I may ask. How do you n on bringing a guy as big as that into our dungeon?" Since it was undergoing an evolution during the time when Adalinda visited, it did not know about how the Lightning Draconic Serpent was brought in. It only knew what it was told by Irene and Cecilia after it woke up.
"About that¡Gulp.. gulp¡" Simon drank an elixir and continued "Naturally I''m going to employ the assistance of someone who knows space magic".
-----
Inside a fortress situated not far from the capital city of Ellesmere, was the territory of the Sea God''s Trident guild. Adventurers wearing the insignia of the guild, could be seening and going out of the grandiose fortress that disyed the prestige of this guild.
The fortress was the headquarters of the guild. Around the fortress, was a vast field specifically used to conduct training for the new recruits and storage houses. At this moment, a sky engine gradually arrived from the horizon, covering the sunlight and casting a huge shadow on the field.
When the air engine slowlynded on the field and its cabin door opened, a man with broad shoulders donning exquisite looking clothes, could be seening down from the air engine.
When the many recruits whose eyes were inevitably drawn to the air engine, saw who it was, they immediately bowed their heads in respect.
"Wee guild master" an assistant who was already waiting there for the man, called out.
Obviously, the man who canmand such respect and awe from all the guild members, was none other than the guild master of the Sea god''s trident Benny Beckerman himself.
Benny nodded his head and looked at the parchment of paper passed to him while they walked towards the guild headquarters.
"How was your travel maind?" the assistant asked.
The maind that the assistant was referring to was used to represent the hundreds of countries that were situated around the middle of the central continent. It is an enormous ce with its own sets ofws and rules.
The factions there were numerous andplicated with new powerhouses emerging there every day. Even a top-five guild such as the Sea god''s Trident would be considered nothing there.
Most of the experts and high levelled individualse from there. It could be said that experts are like clouds there, only those that could stand at the top of the maind could be said to be the true powerhouses of this world.
Their Sea god''s trident guild was only a top guild in a third-rate kingdom, it did not have any standing there. However, it did not mean that Benny Beckerman made a useless trip to the maind. His main objective behind going there was to meet up with a friend.
"I have asked him to take care of Godwin and Raven for me. If possible also take them in a few of their dungeon raids. You should already know, our guild does not have the capital nor the manpower to tackle high ranking dungeons. Our power can only bring us around the upper middle floors of a mid rank dungeon".
"In the first ce, it requires the clearance certificate and lots of capital to even get an approval letter from the adventurer''s association to dive inside middle and high ranking dungeons. The criterias are especially stringent for guilds like ours, so we can never even get a clearance certificate for high ranking dungeons".
"Staying with a guild such as ours will only suppress his talent. That is why, I want him to experience the vast wide world in the maind, broaden his horizons and see for himself what true experts are like" Benny Beckerman said smilingly.
"It seems the guild leader dotes on his foster son very much but please don''t show it in front of everyone. Or else, people might say you are being biased" the assistant reminded, shaking his head.
It was true that Godwin was a talent like none other that their kingdom has ever seen before but it was not like he was unparalleled. Take the third prince of Ellesmere for example, he was also a talent that wasparable to Godwin.
ncing at his assistant and knowing what he was thinking, Benny Beckerman sighed and stared at the sky.
"I not telling you to believe everything that I say, but I think that boy is special. When I first found him abandoned in a forest on the maind, I sensed a special powering off from him. It was something so brilliant and unique that all the monsters that were there in that forest, did not dare to approach near that boy".
"It was also because of that power that I was able to find him in that dark gloomy forestden with danger. I must have been out of my mind to have approached him when even those powerful monsters beyond myprehension were afraid of him. At that time, he was not more than three years old and he was unconscious and badly hurt. I don''t know who or what was after him so I took that boy back with me".
The assistant who heard Godwin''s origin for the first time was stunnedpletely, he hurriedly matched Benny''s pace and asked "You are telling me that Godwin is someone from the Main Land? Then does that mean he knows where he came from?".
Benny Beckerman shook his head and exined "When I brought him back he was severely injured and on the verge of death. Had it not been for those expensive elixirs I brought from there, that boy''s life would have been in danger".
"Anyways, it seemed like he had gone through some post-traumatic experience and since then has lost all of his memories. When he woke up, he did not who he was and what he was doing in that forest injured. If not for that ne on his neck having his name, it would have been impossible to tell what his name was".
"Ever since then his memories remained locked and with that the power I sensed back then. I do not know who his enemies were back then but I have entrusted him with a good friend of mine. As long as he stays with them he should be out of danger even if he is on the maind again".
"Who knows this experience might even help him remember his memories from that time and help him awake that power. Besides, Raven is also with him, that child''s talent is not bad too, if he stays on the maind his powers might improve by leaps and bounds".
At some unknown point, while they were talking they had arrived in front of the entrance of their guild headquarters.
"Guild Master" everybody that saw him would bow their heads with respect. The two of them stood in the middle of a teleportation circle carved in the lobby and were swiftly teleported to a room.
"I-I did not know there was such a background attached with Godwin," the assistant said a little speechless after what he heard about the guild master''s foster son.
"Don''t think too much about it. I kept it a secret at that time to protect him. Now that he is almost as powerful as me, there is no point in me keeping it a secret from you all. Anyways, give me a report of what happened in these past few months while I was away from the kingdom" Benny Beckerman lounged himself on a sofa and asked.
"Yes, first I will start with the battle of the finest tournament that was halted because of the Demon. A couple of weeks after the incident, when the order in the capital was back to normal, the tournament resumed. Of course, some of the participants who were injured fatally failed to partake in it".
"The result of the tournament was as predicted by the guild master. Prince Denzel from the Sanguine Empire took the first ce, his sister Alice was second. Third ce was a tie between Erwin and Marcus, followed by Hallie and the others¡".
Listening to the report of his assistant, Benny was a little surprised. The first ce result was already predicted by him thus it did not faze him. What he was surprised by was the second ce holder, Alice.
From what he knew, that girl''s level was around level 400 and was yet to breach it. Compared to her, the level of the third prince of their kingdom was much higher than her. Yet somehow, she was the one who grabbed the second ce.
Benny was a little astonished but when he remembered who her master was, it all made sense. "That old monster must have deliberately stopped her from level to make her focus more on her skills and magic. it''s no wonder Erwin lost to her. On the other hand, that son of Brutus has shown quite the potential to be tied with Erwin for the third ce".
Benny muttered seemingly to himself. He did not expect he would get an unusual reply from his assistant.
"About that, it seemed like Marcus was able to tie it with Erwin because thetter was tired after going all out against Denzel. Marcus knew that and thus rejected his ranking saying that he did not deserve the third ce".
(...)
"Hahaha" Benny Beckermanughed loudly. He could imagine Brutus doing the same thing during thepetition long back during their time. It was no wonder that even his son had that same flippant attitude like his father.
447 Chapter 447
"What about the participant from our guild?" Benny asked although they did not have any star participants this time, they did have a few good seeds that were worth nurturing.
"Reporting to the guild master, there was only a single participant from our guild who managed to secure the top ten position".
"Hoh? Who is it?" Benny asked, curious that there was such a talent in their guild.
"His name is Max, he is one of the children who was brought in by Godwin''s rmendation," the Assistant said.
"Ah, so it was that child. His talent is not bad, tell him that if he wants to get stronger I am ready to take him as my disciple".
"I''ll be sure to ry the message from the guild master to that child. Now onto the second report, about the adventurers from the guild named Seven swords, that were sent on a reconnaissance mission to that dungeon in the Ghastly Winding Forest. It seemed like they have wiped out, the reports up until floor thirty-fifth floor are here".
The assistant passed him a transmission crystal that showed him the visuals of the adventurers and the things that were inside that dungeon.
Transmission Orb, just like its counterpart transmission conch, allows others to send a long distancemunication back to where another of this orb marked with the exact same inscription was. However, unlike the transmission conch, it was also capable of sending images and not just sounds.
Because of this, it was many times more valuable and expensive than a transmission conch. In fact, you can buy a good transmission conch that can send audio back from thousands of kilometres in the capital but one can only buy the transmission orb from the maind.
When sending a few contracted people along with the members of the seven swords inside that dungeon, Benny had asked Raven to give them the transmission orb which their guild only had one in possession.
The transmission showed images and visuals of those people fighting the hordes of monsters and the various traps inside the dungeon. Themunication abruptly ended after the group reached the thirty fifth floor which could only mean that the guy recording either forgot to record events or was killed instantly.
There was no way the guy who was recording everything from start to finish would suddenly forget recording after the thirty-fifth floor. That is why, the scenario where the guy was killed was the only viable possibility.
"Guild master¡" Seeing that Benny was frowning his brows in consternation, the assistant couldn''t help but call out. It was not a secret anymore that their guild had pursued the demon that wreaked havoc in their capital to the distant north-western city of Aqualin where a huge battle had unfolded before the demon got away.
The images of the dungeon inside the transmission crystal belonged to that very same demon. Thus seeing that even a teamprising of all elites was wiped out, would give anyone a surprise.
"As I thought, that demon is not ordinary. For a Demon Viscount of that level to survive in the forbiddennds, they must possess some special abilities or something. This dungeon for example, from what I heard from the association branch manager, it hasn''t been a year since the dungeon emerged".
"To be able to create so many floors and those monsters¡ that demon he must have gotten his hands on some treasure from the forbiddennds using which he is doing all that. I should have used all of my power back then and captured him".
Benny Beckerman said with a little irritation in his tone. At that time, he had taken a big risk by sending the members of his branch guilds towards the demon because somewhere in the corner of his mind he was worried about that mysterious presence who turned the capital upside down and make people like Sir Davis and Sir Vouves whose power which even for Benny was difficult to fathom, miserable after just a few attacks.
It was because of this that he didn''t go all out into capturing the demon right from the start and only took action until he waspletely sure that the mysterious presence was gone. However, he didn''t expect the demon to even escape his grasp even when he came in person.
What''s more that peculiar space artefact that demon used, it was capable of protecting the user from all kinds of attacks and something that should definitely be from the forbiddennds.
The more Benny Beckerman thought about it, the more it made sense to him. It was a good thing that he sent those people to scout the dungeon first. To him, the information they sent, was more valuable than their lives.
In the first ce, those people were all criminals or someone who owed him a debt. It matter not whether they returned alive from this trip or not, he was nning to kill themter anyway. the Demon just made it easier for him by killing them all.
''With this, I guess we can call it even... right Morgress?'' Benny thought internally and reyed the visuals inside the crystal once again.
"Guild master what are we going to do?" the assistant asked, the meaning behind his question was inly obvious. Now that their guild has made an enemy with the demon, there was no way it was not going to affect them in the future.
In fact, given that the other party was a demon, it was guaranteed that they would retaliate some way or another. If they wanted to protect the guild and the safety of their inner members, they had to wipe out this factor of concern.
Their Sea god''s trident guild did not just be a top guild in the kingdom of Ellesmere out of nowhere. To arrive where they were now, they had to trample on many other guilds, use underhanded methods like bribing the royals and nobles and even resorting to using monsters to raise their fame.
Thus they knew better than to let a demon noble survive now that they had made an enemy of one.
Benny Beckerman closed his eyes and became silent for a while, he then kept the transmission crystal in his space ring, got up from his seat and said¡ª
"For some reason, I have this foreboding feeling that if we do not take this demon out soon, they would turn out to be a huge hindranceter. However, we currently have our hands full with exploring that ce and cannot divert our full force to that dungeon".
"But there is no need to worry, the visuals in this transmission orb would prove incredibly useful to convince those guys. As long as they move, even if we do not do anything it will be fine".
The assistant looked sceptical but after he understood the full scenario of what his guild master was plotting, he couldn''t help but think that it was a good n.
Benny Beckerman looked out of the window towards the direction of the distant capital ''The fact that you are from a race hostile to us for millenniums will work in my favour even more''.
"Leaving that aside how is the progress going on with our current mission?".
"About that¡ we were somehow able to get to the second trial but it came at a very heavy price" the assistant reported with a heavy tone.
"How many casualties did we suffer?" Benny Beckerman asked after a pause.
"Out of the initial fifty members that we sent through the coordinator, more than forty of them had already died".
Forty people, these were no ordinary people or outer members of the guild, but adventurers that were the blood and soul of the guild, the inner members that were the foundation of this guild. Even for a top guild like them, it was by no means a small number.
Additionally, this casualty was just from clearing the first trail, one had to imagine how hard the uing trails would be. The forbidden grounds were a ce filled with extreme riches and dangers.
ording to some information that was written in some history books, the forbidden grounds was a legendary ce sought by people all over the world since the ancient times. Those that were able to clear it, would find unimaginable strength and treasures capable of making you stand at the pinnacle of this world.
There was no way anyone wouldn''t droll in front of such an alluring prospect. Benny Beckerman who sought strength all his life, was no exception to this. For this opportunity, he had even dedicated most of the capital his guild had amassed over the time into getting the coordinates and even going as far as to coborate with those hateful people from the Cerberus.
All of it was for a chance to explore the legendary forbidden grounds mentioned in those texts. However, as with everything, how could a ce that contained extreme treasures not beden with dangers?
He thought that as adventurers who were used to risking their lives and fighting monsters inside dungeon, they would be somehow able to cope up with the dangers in the early trails of the forbidden ground.
But it seemed that he had underestimated the dangers of the trial grounds too much. The death toll just from clearing a single trial was already that high, it didn''t take a genius to know that the future trails would only be more harsher and difficult than before.
"I see¡ By the way who is currently leading the exploration?" Benny asked turning towards the assistant.
Thetter sorted the reports in his hand before passing him a paper that showed the list of adventurers currently engaged in tackling the forbidden grounds.
448 Chapter 448
"So Kemper is the one leading the charge huh. Good, assign him the adventurers he needs. Our top priority right now is to explore as many trials and pave the way for those two. I''m pretty sure, the one that the forbidden ground is waiting for is Godwin. After all, he was the only one who managed to activate the coordinator".
Benny Beckerman said envisioning a bright future for their guild.
? "It will be done as per yourmand" the assistant bowed simrly thrilled at those words.
"Ah right, I''ll be staying in the capital in the meantime, arrange for a meeting with ''Them''".
------
STEP¡ STEP¡ hearing sounds of faint footsteps approaching closer, it raised its head and nced outside. The Lightning draconic Serpent who peeked its head out of the cave from the top of the mountain, was delighted to find its master walking towards it.
"My lord, you are here does that mean that the Deep Sea Alligator King has been subdued?".
"Yeah, because of the information that you provided, subduing the Deep Sea Alligator king went much more smoothly, you have my thanks," Simon replied standing on the mountaintop of the now forty-seventh floor.
"My lord I don''t deserve words of appreciation from you for something so trivial. If anything, I''m grateful to be of use" The Lightning Draconic Serpent fidgeted in panic and hurriedly stopped his lord from bowing his head.
"Even if you say that, your advice did seem to have saved my life quite a few times. Let me at least thank you for that".
Even though he was addressed as Lord, Master and other various forms of respect, Simon never saw himself as some kind of ruler. Counting his previous and the present life, he was only an ordinary person.
Even if his circumstances have now changed, it did not mean that he had be ustomed to being someone who was used to sitting at the top. After thanking the Lightning Draconic Serpent, he asked thetter a question he had been meaning to ask for a long time.
"By the way, Lightning Draconic Serpent. I''m sure you know by now but your change in attitude towards me is something that was induced by the technique that I used on you. I don''t know how you feel about that?".
It wouldn''t be wrong to say that the loyalty and the favourable attitude the Lightning Draconic Serpent showed towards him, was all due to the effects of the [Ancient Draconic Compel].
The eyes of the Lightning Draconic Serpent glowed a brilliant purple as it nced towards the phosphorescence lit ceiling. It looked in a daze at seemingly nothing before shaking its head and saying¡ª
"My Lord might be right, this favourable attitude might be because of that technique. However, now that I think about it, that statement is not entirely true. My devotion and loyalty isn''t just because I''m affected by that technique but because I myself hold that ideology now".
"To be honest, when you subdued me using such means, I was utterly upset and even thought of ways of how to escape from this binding. However, when I was brought into this dungeon and saw how narrow my thoughts were, I realised it might not be a bad thing to be subordinated by you. Additionally, thanks to the blessing that my lord had bestowed upon me, I was able to step into level 500 threshold and be a true disaster ss being".
"Is that so¡" Simon sighed in relief hearing the words of the Lightning Draconic Serpent. He thought that thetter might now have a good impression of him who forcibly subdued it and even forced it to work inside his dungeon.
Even though Simon knew that as long as it was bound by the technique it won''t be able to rebel and stay forever loyal to him, it still bothered him. Nevertheless, now that the Lightning Draconic Serpent had confessed that it had epted being his subordinate, Simon was relieved in some way or other.
He did not know what brought that change or what kind of blessing it was talking about, but he was d to hear the true thoughts of his subordinate.
"My lord, now that you have subdued two out of the three overlords of the north, are you looking forwards to thest one?" the Lightning Draconic Serpent asked. It remembered the deration that Simon had made about subduing all of the overlords of the north before iming the entirety of this forest as his own.
As farfetched and absurd it sounded, the Lightning Draconic Serpent had witnessed the miracles brought forth by his lord himself. It believed that if it was his lord, it might be possible to even subdue those insanely strong being residing deep inside the western region of the forest.
"Yeah, this was also one of my reasons for visiting you. I was hoping if you know some information about the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon" Simon asked, his eyes reminiscing the events from the past.
During the first few months after he was reincarnated into this world, he was like an ignorant demon with iplete memories. He viewed the world like a frog inside a well unaware of its vastness.
It was only after he was chased inside the territory of the Deep Sea Alligator king by those Killer worker Bees andter forced to confront the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon, that he knew that he wasn''t the top predator in this food chain.
All of the conceitful thoughts that he held about him being the strongest in this world were thrown out of his head. His reincarnation wasn''t like the protagonist from those novels who are born or reincarnated into a different world with cheat-like abilities that made them insanely strong from the start.
Yes, Simon did have something simr, the Menu of Lace that transmigrated with him. However, it was still not something that could make him powerful early on. If he wanted to be strong in this world he had to endure and go through each and every trails and tribtion that fate threw at his way.
The incident where he was forced to run from the Earth Shattering Ground Dragon made him realise that he cannot underestimate his enemies, the world was much more vast than he had thought.
"My lord, please forgive me if I sound insolent but I think it would be best not for my lord not to confront it right now. That is before you be more powerful" The Lightning Draconic Serpent said choosing his words very carefully.
Seeing that thetter was hesitant to speak freely, Simon asked him not to worry and speak his mind. In any case, he came here with the intention to know what the Lightning Draconic Serpent had to say about this.
"My lord, amongst the three overlords of the north, the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon was someone who joined ustter. In fact, the three overlords were initially just two overlords, me and the Deep Sea Alligator king who were chased out by the other powerful inhabitants of the western region of the forest".
"The Earth Shattering Lower Dragon showed up all of a sudden in the northern region of the forest and in a few years rose up to be one of its overlords. My lord, if I may be blunt, out the three of us, the Earth Shattering lower Dragon represents the highest level of danger to you".
"Even though it is just a lower dragon, it is from the dragon n nheless. The bloodline it contains is much purer than mine. In fact, I once coveted its dragon bloodline and tried to bring it under me. However, in the end, even though its level was so much below me, the me at that time wasn''t able to deal it much damage".
"If I had topare, its defence is much higher than the likes of Deep Sea Alligator King. Even now, after bing a genuine disaster ss beast, I still do not have the confidence to fight it".
Listening to the Lightning Draconic Serepent''s recollection, Simon remembered the time when he stumbled upon the territory of the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon. At that time its level was around 370, which is to say that even though the Lightning Draconic Serpent had such arge gap in levels, it was still not able to win against it.
This fact alone was enough to tell Simon how powerful the Earth Shattering Dragon was. Unlike all the enemies he had faced up until now, thetter was in a league of its own. Even if it is a lower dragon, it is from the dragon n nheless.
Now after a year, the earth Shattering Lower Dragon was bound to be more powerful than before. Even the lord of the Ancient Treants warned him to be careful of that one. It told him not to underestimate its strength.
"My lord, I have lived most of my life inside the Ghastly Winding forest, that is why I can assuredly tell you that it is a foreign entity to this forest. My guess is that it was sent here by someone or something. Even though it is just a lower Dragon, its power... if it is allowed to grow like this in the future would be enough to match some of the Seven Kings. A dragon is a dragon, their bloodline is much purer than any other beasts here".
The Lightning Draconic Serpent said a little embarrassed thinking how it was foolish enough to challenge such a being in the past.
Simon took a deep breath and nodded his head.
"You don''t have to worry, I don''t n to challenge it right now. I still have a couple of months before the end of the agreement draws. It is plenty of time to raise my strength" No matter how powerful the earth Shattering Lower Dragon was, Simon had to confront it one day.
449 Chapter 449
He believed that even if his opponent was a part of the dragon n, he would still be able to prevail if he yed his cards right. Currently, Simon had no intention of fighting an enemy he had very less chances of defeating.
In the first case, he had decided to subdue the Deep Sea Alligator King because of the information he had on it. He knew that he would be able to beat thetter even if he fought it head on.
"By the way, what do you mean it was sent here by someone?" Simon asked noticing that the Lightning Draconic Serpent was aware of something.
"My lord, a dragon no matter how weak, is still a ruler ss beast. They are different from other beasts with ordinary bloodlines. Not only are they from an incredibly powerful n, their history is also very long".
"A dragon is a ruler ss beast that stands at the top, even the weakest of their members easily reach the cataclysmic ss. Most of the powers of a dragon reside inside their bloodline and core stone, even their body is an incredible treasure that is coveted by many. But the power of a dragon and how hard it is to defeat one also makes them a fearsome opponent".
"In this day and age, it is very rare to see a dragon since most of them live in the Draconic continent. Sometimes you might be lucky enough to see a dragon roaming around the world. However, those beings have already reached a mature stage and are able to transform their body into a more humanoid form".
"They are incredibly powerful and are at the very least a cataclysmic ss. A dragon usually has four stages of evolution. From an egg, they evolve to a juvenile stage and thenter grow up to evolve into a mature and then elder stage. Each stage brings about a drastic change both in terms of power and growth in a dragon. By the time they reach the mature stage they be so powerful that it is very much impossible to kill one unless they are some oddity or simrly powerful being".
Simon nodded his head, he understood that unlike other beasts, a dragon is already a race that has reached the peak of its racial evolution. The only way for them to progress is through their growth.
Their development from an egg to a mature dragon marks their evolution stage. Simon understood that, he even knew that the Elder Stage is not thest evolution a dragon can reach since there was also the Dragon Lords. Beings that stood at the pinnacle of this world.
"Are you trying to tell me that the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon, is about to reach a mature stage?" Simon asked.
? The Lightning draconic Serpent gave a bitter smile and said "How can that be my lord? A mature dragon is equivalent to a cataclysmic ss or to be more precise, as powerful as the seven kings of the western region of the forest. There is no way that Earth Shattering Lower dragon has reached that stage or else there would be a need to call the seven kings, the eight kings".
"At most, I would say it has reached the middle phases of its juvenile stage. What I''m trying to exin to my lord is that a juvenile dragon is never left alone, there is always a mature dragon around to protect it".
"A juvenile dragon if left alone would attract endless amounts of greed towards itself since its every body part, staring from its blood to its bones, is an incredible treasure. Also since it hasn''t reach its peak evolution, it is vulnerable to other high level beings that covet its power for themselves. After all, it is far more easier and viable to defeat a juvenile dragon rather than a mature one."
"As far as I know, the dragon n have this harsh tradition of sending their juveniles far away from thefort of their homnd to gain strength. They are left in a brutal environment to hone their skills and strength until they reach the mature stage. Once you are a mature dragon, you are free to return back to your home".
Simon''s face was grave as he mused over those words. If he were to believe the Lightning draconic Serpent, didn''t it mean that even if he defeated the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon he cannot subdue it because of the hidden cataclysmic ss protector protecting it from the shadows?
"Are you sure?" There was no reason for thetter to lie to him, even then he still asked the question.
If it was as the lightning draconic serpent said, his whole n and especially the agreement he made with the Ancient Titan Treant woulde to a halt.
"My lord, I''m absolutely sure. The reason why the seven kings haven''t attacked the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon yet is precisely because they are cautious of the mature dragon" the Lightning Draconic Serpent replied.
Even though it was unable to defeat the Earth Shattering dragon, at that time it still vaguely felt a much stronger presence looming around.
Since the Lightning draconic Serpent was so sure, Simon had nothing else to say. He could only frown his brows and think of some way to subdue the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon.
Given that the other party was from the dragon race, the [Ancient Draconic Compel] technique was sure to be even more effective. However, if he cannot do anything about the mature ss dragon, there was no way they would allow him to ce a seal on a juvenile dragon like the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon.
Was Aldebaran aware of this and still gave me this trail? Or was he unaware of the presence of the mature dragon? Simon thought of the possibility of Alderman being oblivious of this. However, he soon discarded that thought process when he recalled how thetter mentioned he was watching his fight (more like his one-sided struggle to escape) with the earth shattering lower dragon.
ording to what the Ancient Titan Treant said, it was able to watch everything that is going around the ghastly winding forest from the eyes of the trees.
Given the fact that the Lightning Draconic Serpent also said that some of the seven kings were aware of it, Simon cannot believe that someone on the level of Ancient Titan Treant would be unaware of such a powerful being residing in the ghastly winding forest.
"So the Ancient titan Treant deliberately gave me this trial of subduing all the overlords even while knowing one of them is secretly protected by a mature ss dragon?¡"
There was no denying it, Aldebaran gave him this trial while fully being aware of it. But why would he do that? Does he still believe that I am incapable of protecting the Forest spring spirits?
Simon felt a little frustrated, no matter what the reason behind Aldebaran doing such a thing was, it had drastically affected his ns for the future and the agreement that he must fulfil to keep the Forest spring spirits inside his dungeon.
Since he couldn''te up with a solution immediately, Simon took a deep breath before teleporting away from the floor.
-----
Three dayster, Simon mounted atop his Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse and Bea who was seated behind him, were flying at a high speed above the forest. Mountains and meadows quickly disappeared below them and before long they had arrived at their destination.
An enormouske that spanned for more than ten kilometres and whose depth cannot be measured at a nce, was in front of them. Theke was in the middle of the forest and since a dangerous aura loomed around this part, no ordinary monster dared toe anywhere close to theke.
The destination they have arrived to, was none other than the territory of the Deep Sea Alligator king, one of the three overlords of the forest. Or should he say a former warlord since they are now subdued by him?
FLAP¡
With the p of its draconic wings, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse gentlynded near theke.
"How long do you n on snuggling me?" Simon asked Bea who was tightly hugging onto his back since the time they mounted the warhorse and flew all the way from the eastern region of the forest.
"Ehh¡ we arrived already? I wanted to enjoy riding with master a little longer~" Bea murmured in a low voice that only she could hear.
Simon wanted toment on what was she so discontent about but restrained himself when he felt there were movements in theke.
Simon along with Bea got down from the warhorse and stared at the numerous ripples that was forming on the calm surface of theke. Before long, hundreds of Elder Lizardmen (Standard Evolution of Lizardmen) surfaced out of the water along with the enormous Deep Sea Alligator King.
The lizardmen that came out of the water red at Simon with hostility. Even though he subdued their king it did not mean that he had subdued them too, it was only natural that they would show their discontent at a member of another race.
"You low ss beings dare show you hostility towards master!!" Bea erupted out in rage, but before she could do anything, she was stopped by Simon.
Thetter stood unfazed in front of their hostile gazes directed at him and simple activated his [Demonic Eyes]. A deadly bloodlust assaulted every lizardmen that dared to stare at him and quickly cowered them into submission.
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Even if they were they were an evolved race of lizardmen, they were only around level 390. Thus when they felt the aura and bloodlust of a being who was above level 400, they were immediately suppressed.
"Haha¡ my lord, please excuse my ignorant subordinates. Even though I told them your power beforehand, it seemed like some of them still doubted it" The Deep Sea Alligator King said.
Since it was hard for Simon to make out what expression it making, it was hard for him to tell what it was thinking.
"Guhh¡ you dare¡ you dare¡" from behind him came a tidal wave like killing intent. Needless to say, Bea was at her limits seeing their arrogant behaviour towards her master.
Before she really lost it and started massacring them, Simon stepped forward and calmly dered to solidify his position.
"If they are dissatisfied, then there is only one thing I can do" Simon stepped forward, summoned his sword and inserted it on the ground.
"From now on, I am your ruler. If anyone has anything to say about it, step forward" Simon dered putting more volume to his voice. The lizardmen who heard him loud and clear, looked amongst each other.
At this moment, one of the well-built Elder Lizardmen whose body bore marks of its numerous battles stepped out of theke and approached Simon. It stood around three meters tall and was taller than Simon, its eyes held a disdainful look as it nced attter.
,m After stepping onto the shore, it did not stop and kept on walking and crossed the area where the sword was inserted. Its action was clear, it was saying that it did not agree with Simon''s rule.
Simon calmly took a breath, his indifferent crimson eyes held the figure of the approaching lizardman.
"Super Enhanced Strength, Piercing Enhancement, Body Strengthening¡ Lightning Magic Mastery- [Lightning Halberd]" Blue lightning that waspressed into the shape of a halberd was conjured in Simon''s hand and with a deep booming noise, he hurled it towards the lizardman.
RUMBLE¡ the lizardman did not even have the time to react and was pierced by the halberd. Not only that, the Lightning halberd was hurled by Simon using all of his strength after being buffed by his skills.
Therefore, the magic contained enough force behind it to carry the three meters body of the lizardmen into the air and to the other end of theke where ity motionless after that. It had a gaping hole in its chest and its entire body was releasing ck some and a roasted smell from being electrocuted by the lightning halberd.
It took ce in the blink of an eye, a single attack from the demon was enough to kill one of their strongest warriors. Seeing this the other lizardmen that were thinking of jumping into the fray, had to reevaluate the power of this demon once again.
"Who is next?" Simon asked in a cold voice, his ring crimson eyes boring down on each of the lizardmen.
He knew why the Elder Lizardmen were discontent to be ruled by him. They have never seen his power thus being told to submit to another ruler by their current king, as a beast how could they simply ept it?
The Ghastly Winding Forest is a ce where might ruled supreme, there was no ce for weakling here other than being the food of the powerful ones. The fact that Simon was from a different race wasn''t the problem, the lizardmen would only bow down to the one that was stronger than them.
It was because Simon knew this, that he decided to showcase his power right now. Additionally, if he didn''t do anything, the woman behind him might just eliminate every single one of them.
The lizardmen that witnessed one of their strongest warriors die just like that, were convinced that the demon by no means was someone they can look down upon.
''Who was going to go next?'' what a joke, there was no after being shown that power there was no way that they would step towards their death.
"Haha¡ My lord, I believe they are fully convinced now. Also, I would like to apologise for my previous behaviour. A few words of mine aren''t enough to convince them that I lost, thus I wanted my lord to show them your strength. After all, we from the beast n will only take someone as our king only if they are stronger than us".
The Deep Sea Alligator King confessed. It bowed its head a little in apology, and the lizardmen around it followed suit.
Simon nced at the now silent lizardmen whose earlier hostility was nowhere to be seen and recalled his sword back. Now that he was done showing his dominance over them, it was time to address the main issue he came here for.
"As I have mentioned before, I will now be bringing all of you back to my dungeon" Simon dered and turned towards Bea.
The Valkyrie knew the novice tier space magic and thus her presence was very important to execute his next set of ns.
To bring the Deep Sea Alligator King and his hundreds of subordinates inside his dungeon, he has to create a spatial gate that connected with his dungeon. It has to be mentioned that a dungeon is located in a special realm with its uniquews of space.
That is to say, if one wanted to teleport inside a dungeon they need to be extremely well versed with space magic.
Bea knew space magic however, even she was incapable of creating a gate big enough for the Deep Sea Alligator King and hundreds of Elder Lizardmen to pass through. Additionally, the distance from here to the eastern region of the dungeon was toorge for her novice tier space magic to connect.
Perhaps if she was alone she might be able to use Space magic to teleport inside his dungeon. But for that, she had to be near his dungeon. The novice tier space magic of Bea wasn''t enough to teleport this big of a group inside his dungeon and from this far.
However, Bea wasn''t the only individual in his dungeon who was adept in space magic, Irene was also one of them. In fact, her mastery and enlightenment over space magic have reached even above the advanced tier.
It was an easy feat for her to create a spatial gate here that connected with his dungeon. When he brought this issue to her, shemented¡ª
"It''s possible, but for that, I would need another person with mastery in space magic to send their spatial axis point back to me. With their help, I would be able to create a spatial gate that connects with the dungeon".
Another person who knows space magic¡ Bea''s image suddenly floated inside Simon''s head. He send a sound transmission to thetter who immediately came to his side inside the main hall.
"Huff¡ huff¡ what is master''smand? Master can ask me of anything you know" Bea said with suspicious sounding words at the end.
Simon nodded his head and made his request "It''s like this¡ do you think you might be able to work together with Irene and create a gate?".
"No problem master, if Miss Irene is saying that she canplete it using my help there is no reason for me to say no" Bea offered her help immediately.
"Good, then take her with you when you visit the ce. Also, I don''t know if you are aware of it or not, but it is extremely difficult to create a spatial gate big enough for hundreds of beings to pass through on the main floor".
"Why is that so?" Simon asked.
Irene continued pointing her slender index finger at the floor; no more precisely, she was pointing at the basement.
"It is because of the presence of dungeon core. The main floor due to harbouring the dungeon core has extremely strong spatialws that are too difficult to breach and it will keep on growing stronger as the dungeon core and the dungeon ranks up. What I''m saying is that even if it is me it would be hard to create a gate here".
If it was very much near the borders of being impossible to create a gate here, howe Adalinda was able to tear through space and arrive inside his main floor and what about the time when a spatial gate was created when the Walpurgis was initiated?
When he asked those questions to Irene this was what she replied¡ª
"Well beings like Adalinda, you cannot measure them with the same standards you have been using against enemies of your level. She most likely has mastery over Dimensional magic, the advanced tier of space magic".
"However, I don''t think even she was able to breach the spatialws of the dungeon core and arrive at the main floor directly. She must have cut her way into one of the lower floors before teleporting to the main floor. After all, the more distant the floor is from the dungeon core, the less powerful the spatialws of that floor be. As for the spatial gate created during Walpurgis you are talking about, since I was not there to witness it, I cannot be sure about it".
Simon had a frown on his face after Irene''s exnation ended. It seemed like he needed to take precautions against the space magic in the future. Even though it was a very rare magic, there were bound to be people capable of this magic entering his dungeon in the future.
At that time, he had to take measures to counter the space magic. He didn''t want beings like Adalinda invading his dungeon once again.
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Though in the case of absurdly strong beings like Adalinda it matters not whether he took any measures or not since no tricks will be able to stop them.
"You don''t have to worry now though, as time passes, your dungeon is sure to rank up. I''m sure there are different measures to counter space magic. Or else there wouldn''t be any dungeon left standing in this day and age" Irene consoled reading his worries.
Simon shed a bitter smile and nodded his head.
"I wasn''t going to ask you to create a gate here on the main floor in the first ce. What about the new floor I have created for them? If you want I can reposition it and make it one of the lower floors?".
Since it''s much too much risk exposing the dungeon core to a bunch of beings who he still didn''t trust, there was no way Simon was going to ask Irene to create a gate on the main floor in the first ce.
It worked better for him too if she can open a gate on one of the new floors he created for the Deep Sea Alligator King and hundreds of lizardmen.
"That won''t be a problem, as long as it''s one or two floors away from the dungeon core I think I will be able to create a gate big enough for them to pass through" Irene affirmed.
Thus it was her idea that he brought Bea along with him to this northern part of the forest.
"Are you ready?" Simon asked Bea who nodded her head. She extended her hand towards the sky and surprisingly enough, the tip of her finger was able to touch the space and create a ripple as if it was made of water.
The space distorted around as if it was some kind of invisible veil and a strong spatial energy emitted out of her. She continued this for a while when suddenly an even stronger spatial fluctuation descended from an unknown ce and surrounded the area.
A few meters away from Bea, the space crumbled apart to reveal a spiral gate that became bigger and bigger until it was big enough to even fit the Deep Sea Alligator King.
"S-Space Magic?!" The Deep Sea Alligator King muttered in astonishment.
"Master, it''s done" Bea replied returning to Simon''s side at once.
Simon looked at the huge created by Irene and Bea before turning towards the gobsmacked onlookers.
"Alright, the gate is formed. Beyond it is my dungeon and also from now on your new home". The Elder Lizardmen blinked their eyes and nced towards their new king in apprehension. They weren''t sentient enough to understand what is a gate or what space magic is.
"Before we go inside there, demon¡ªahem¡ my lord may I ask you a question?" the Deep Sea Alligator King felt a dangerous gaze directed at him from the one standing beside the demon and hurriedly changed the manner of his address.
Simon arched his chin indicating for the Deep Sea Alligator King to go on. Thetter pretended to not see that gaze full of killing intent and asked his question to Simon who from this moment on was his master and lord.
"What is to happen of us?".
"Now that I have subdued you, your life belongs to me. But worry not, it''s not like I want you to go out there and sacrifice yourself or something. I''m simply transporting you guys to a floor in my dungeon and expecting you to protect it and prevent any invaders from moving forward".
"Truthfully, that''s all I want from you guys. Of course, if you do a good job in that and serve me faithfully, you will also be rewarded. From what I can see, the concentration of mana here is very thin thus hindering your progress from bing a disaster ss. If you stay here, you might not be able to reach that height in your lifetime. However, if you follow me to the floor I have prepared for you, you would find that it was a boon in disguise and even thank meter".
Simon dered and showed them a grand future that was waiting for them. He was not lying when he said that the Deep Sea Alligator King might not be a disaster ss after all the mystical energy herepared to the western region is negligible.
The Beast n, mostly relied on the treasure of the nature and the ample mana in the surrounding that they slowly absorb into their body to level up. Of course, it was not like they cannot hunt and level up but the beasts that fall in this category are far and few between.
The density of mystical energy in this area might be higher than in the eastern and southern regions of the forest. However, it was nowhere near the western part of the forest. Most of the mystical treasures and resources only grow at ces with a high concentration of mana.
That is to say, the western region of the forest is filled with such treasures. Even if the Deep Sea Alligator King stayed here and used its long lifespan to slowly absorb the mystical energy in the surrounding, it might never reach the disaster ss with the help of said treasures.
The thing that Simon mentioned, was the sore spot for the Deep Sea Alligator King. Even it knew that raising its strength here in the future might be impossible. However, it wasn''t strong enough to upy a region in the western region in fact it was defeated and chased away from there once.
So when it heard Simon envisioning him such a future, it was a little sceptical. Even if the future turned out to bepletely different than what the demon told them, it had no choice right now since it was already subordinated by thetter.
The Deep Sea Alligator King can onlyply with the orders of its lord. It swam to the shore and entered the huge gate that was made big thinking of its huge frame in mind and quickly disappeared inside.
Since their former king entered the huge spiralling dark gate, the Elder Lizardmen followed suit without any hesitation.
"Now then let us go inside too" after the hundreds of Elder Lizardmen went inside, theke becamepletely silent. Simon turned towards his subordinates and along with them stepped inside the gate.
-----
A wide iny in front of them, at the other end of the in was an enormouske that was more than triple or even quadruple the size of theke in the northern region of the forest.
"W-Where is this ce?" the Deep Sea Alligator king uttered marvelling at the new ce it had arrived onto. Its subordinates, the Elder Lizardmen also had a simr expression as they nced at the new surrounding they found themselves in.
"Do you like it? This is going to be your new home" Simon saiding in through the gate.
After all of them had safely entered inside his dungeon the huge gate slowly disappeared leaving behind a spatial turbulence that would need some time to settle down.
The Deep Sea Alligator King did not answer immediately, it first looked around its surroundings, felt the vast concentration of mana inside the floor before moving onwards to theke.
Although the seed of Mana Trees sown on this floor had yet to sprout, the concentration of mystical energy is quite high here due to the proximity of the main floor and Forest spring spirit floor that had the majority of mana trees and mystical veins.
Although it wasn''t exactly as high as the deeper areas of the western region; nheless, it was swiftly getting higher each day. On that note, the moment the mana on his main floor reached the mystical cycle, it was already on par with some of the deeper areas in the western region.
SPLASH¡ as the huge body of the Deep Sea Alligator King dipped inside theke, it disced arge volume of water. Seeing its action, Simon revealed a smile and calmly waited for him to surface back.
Though he did not know how deep theke it used to inhabit was, theke he created on his floor was more than two thousand meters deep. That was not all, there was also the¡
SPLASH¡ at this moment the Deep Sea Alligator King reappeared out of theke. Unlike a few moments ago when it had a doubting look on its face, right now its eyes were glowing. No, its dusty yellowish eyes were sparkling with excitement.
"M-My Lord that¡ what is that?!". Simon did not me thetter to be out of breath after seeing that. after all, the thing that Simon had nted at the bottom of theke was the Attribute Blossom Moss.
It was a type of algae that had grown inside his serenity pond and contained an enormous amount of pure mystical energy. It was a type of treasure that quickly grew when nted inside a water body.
However, the effects of the Attribute Blossom Moss wasn''t as simple as reproducing and spreading around but increasing the affinity of a being to the water attribute. That is to say, as long as one is near the Attribute Blossom Moss or had been exposed to its effects for a long time, that individual would find their affinity with water element increase day after day.
The Deep Sea Alligator King although it was an amphibian beast, it mostly lived inside a water body. Whenpared its power onnd and in water, it was no doubt many times stronger when inside water.
That is why, when it saw the Attribute Blossom Moss growing at the bottom of theke and felt the effects buffing its powers, it was no doubt surprised beyond belief.
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Additionally, due to the moss containing an enormous amount of pure mystical energy, it was slowly changing theke and increasing the concentration of mana inside it. Apart from that, the Attribute Blossom Moss was a great source of nutrients/food for the deep sea alligator king and the elder lizardmen itmanded.
All in all, the new habitat that Simon had created for them was not only better and bigger, it even had treasures of the nature that only strong beasts living inside the western region mostly enjoy.
How could the Deep Sea Alligator King who was expecting a worse living condition than in its previous habitat not be amazed after seeing all that? Heck, just the fact that it would be able to enjoy the treasure of the nature that no beasts in the northern, eastern and southern regions get to enjoy, was already blowing its mind.
Not to mention, the high concentration of mana on the floor that was many times higher than its previous ce. The Deep Sea Alligator King had no doubt in its mind, if it was able to absorb all that energy and eat the attribute blossom moss on a daily basis it wouldn''t be long before it stepped into the disaster ss.
In its excitement, it addressed Simon as its lord without even consciously correcting its form of address this time.
"It seems you already took a liking to the floor. Good, from now on you will be living on this floor which means you also have to take care of it and defend it from all the invaders. If you are able to do your job properly, then not only the Attribute Blossom Moss, you would be able to enjoy various other treasures of the natiure that would make even the beasts on the western region envy".
Simon said showing them the carrot.
This time though, the Deep Sea Alligator king looked no longer unconvinced, it had that glow in its eyes that seemed to be idolising Simon.
"My lord, it seems like I was blind to have not recognised such a blessing. Worry not, from now on I''ll be guarding this floor with all of my power".
Simon nodded his head at those words of the Deep Sea Alligator King, it looked like his strategy had worked. Unlike overlords like the Lightning Draconic Serpent who were filled with pride to their bones and disliked the idea of serving under someone, the Deep Sea Alligator King was a materialistic individual who wouldn''t shy away from wagging its tail or the one who provided it with the most benefit.
For it, its personal interest came first, pride and such things did not matter to it. Of course, in the case of thetter, you cannot trust them easily even if you made a blood contract with them.
However, they shouldn''t be a problem in the short term as long as they are provided with adequate benefits.
"Right, I should tell you this beforehand, you aren''t the only subordinates living inside my dungeon. Hurting others who belong to the same side is strictly prohibited no matter the reason. Do you understand?".
Seeing that the Deep Sea alligator king nodded its head like a puppy, Simon turned around and faced his subordinates Bea and the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse.
The former was okay with how the lizardmen and the Deep Sea Alligator King acted as long as he was okay. However, the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse had a disdainful look in its eyes as it nced at the new additions to their dungeon.
Simon knew that the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhosre was a prideful individual and the most loyal one out of all of his subordinates. It naturally loathed the profiteering attitude of the Deep Sea Alligator King who changed their colours often.
Simon knew it; however, it was not his ce to meddle in. The Beast have their own hierarchy, if the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse was dissatisfied with the Deep Sea Alligator King it had to do something about it itself.
Main Floor of the dungeon Lace, inside the central hall of the white pce.
KLACK¡ the moment Simon opened the door and entered inside he was hugged by someone. Needless to say that someone was Cecilia who was absent for a while since she was taking care of the spirit tree in the forest spring spirit vige.
"Wee back big brother," Cecilia said as she snuggled up to his legs.
"Yeah, I''m back. How is the spirit tree? Did you take care of it properly?" Simon asked patting Cecilia''s emerald green hair adoringly.
"Un, the spirit tree seemed to be crying, when I was trying to understand what it was saying, I realised that it was hungry. Thus I altered the course of some of the mystical veins present on the floor towards the tree".
The forest spring spirit had the ability to manipte nature, this was something that Simon already knew. The reason why the forest spring spirit had to bring in Cecilia who was exceptional even amongst the race, being a royal after all to take care of the spirit tree was because the tree ording to Irene was still an infant.
Thus it was very difficult tomunicate with it. The fact that Cecilia was able to console the spirit tree, understand that it was hungry and redirect the course of mystical veins, told Simon that the girl in front of him was no longer that weak crybaby who was depressed after the death of her parents and nsmen.
Her powers were beginning to manifest and once all of her hidden power awakens, so will her memories from the time she was one of the incarnation of the Eight Emissaries of the Primordial Demon Lord of Pride.
It was quite the dilemma, on one hand he wanted Cecilia to move forward with her life and be stronger, on the other hand, he didn''t want the shadow of the sister he was starting to see in her to fade away with the awakening of her memories.
"What about brother? How are those new people that brother went to get from the northern forest?".
Cecilia''s question snapped Simon out of his conundrum. He walked with her inside the hall while exining¡ª
"You mean the Deep Sea Alligator King and the Elder Lizardmen? They have already gotten ustomed to their new floor, they said they liked it very much".
Inside the hall, Simon could see Irene, the Valkyries and the [Helpers] all assembled in one ce. They were all seated around a set of couch conversing.
Seeing Simon enter, all of them stood up. Some observed him with their gaze scrutinising if he had any injury while others bowed their heads in wee.
"Is something the matter?" Simon found an empty sofa to seat on, took the teacup that Ate served him and asked.
"Nothing much my lord, we were just giving our daily report to Mistress Irene," Coleus said.
In the past few months that he was absent, Irene was the one who was taking care of most of the matters in his dungeon. In a way, she was the acting dungeon master of Lace while he was away.
It was no surprise to him that she had created an informationwork amongst the members of the dungeon.
Since Coleus said that the matter wasn''t big enough to require his attention, Simon did not bother asking any further about it as he was assured that Irene would be able to take care of it just fine.
"Is that so? Alright, let me know when the hidden chambers areplete though".
Coleus, Fay and the others nodded their heads before exiting the hall.
"How were they, do you think you can trust them?" Irene asked, the one she was talking about was none other than the Deep Sea Alligator King.
"Although its personality is like a profiteer, we can at least trust it with defending the floor due to the blood contract being in effect. Though I would not ce much hope in it for defending the floor with its life or when it meets an enemy it cannot hope to defeat. Make sure that no forest Spring spirits teleport on that floor for the time being".
Simon said cautioning his subordinates about the new additions to their dungeon.
"If master gives me some time I will make sure those ingrates who just received benefits from the master without shame be absolutely loyal to you," Bea said patting her ample chest.
Simon imagined Bea massacring and torturing the new entrants until half of their number remained or even less and couldn''t help sh a helpless smile. He shook his head rejecting her idea. Even though they weren''t loyal to him as long as they don''t go against him and do their job properly, Simon had no qualms with them.
It would be a waste to reduce their numbers in hopes of instilling loyalty to them when he went through all the trouble to get them all the way from the distant northern forest.
"Let us watch their attitude against the dungeon for a while before deciding on their fate" Irene proposed. She knew the agreement he made with Aldebaran and knew why he was being patient with this lot of bunch.
"B-But master if they are the reason that is making you gloomy, I want them to¡" Bea stared, she could see that her master was concerned over something.
When Bea mentioned that, all of the eyes present inside the hall focused on him.
Simon touched his face, was he really making a gloomy expression? He knew that the reason he was vexed was not because of the Deep Sea Alligator king and the Elder Lizardmen he brought inside his dungeon but because of something else.
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However, the fact that he made even his subordinates worry for him made Simon think that he was not fit to be a leader yet. Simon nced at the anxious face of Cecilia and felt responsible, he tried to give them an assured smile, only for their eyes to be even more dubious.
"What is it that you are hiding from us?" Irene asked. She nced at him with those crystal blue of eyes of hers that seemed to have the ability to see through one''s soul.
Knowing that he would only worry them if he hid it from them, Simon came out clean and told them about what he learned from the Lightning Draconic Serpent about thest overlord that he needed to subjugate.
Hearing the thing that was on his mind, even the maids showed troubled faces.
"Master what if we help you subdue it¡".
"It won''t work, the agreement that master made with the lord of the ancient treants binds him to achieve it on his own strength. If we were to lend our assistance, that would be equal to Master not being able to keep his words, do you want to disgrace master like that?" before Aliceplete her sentence she was reprimanded by Ate and forced to think things carefully before saying anything.
,m "N-No" Alice hurriedly shook her head. The situation where her master would have to bow his head to someone else because of her was uneptable to her.
It was as Ate had said, the agreement that he made with Aldebaran would mean nothing if he was achieving the objective with a borrowed power and in that case, all those words he said to Aldebaran would mean nothing.
What''s more, Simon had made an oath at that time so using the Valkyries power was uneptable.
"An Elder Dragon huh¡ it''s not like there is no way" Irene who was silent till now, opened her mouth at this moment.
"Miss Irene what do you mean? There are only a couple of months remaining before the one-year agreement is up. if an elder dragon is as powerful as the Lightning Draconic Serpent says, then master going there alone might put him in danger".
Ate voiced herint, this was the first time she was in disagreement with Irene.
Thetter calmly took her re and exined "I''m not telling him to go against an elder dragon, that would clearly be suicidal. Unless it is also a lower dragon like that Earth shattering Dragon, even you guys would have trouble the way you are against one. That is unless you have forgotten the aura that is inside you".
Seeing Irene''s gaze turn towards him at the end of her sentence, Simon locked his brows in a frown. What was the aura she was talking about? He didn''t have to think long before the memories from the past surfaced back once again.
How should he put this, it wasn''t very long ago when another person asked him that very same question. That person was very unreasonable, barged inside his dungeon and didn''t listen to anything that others had to say.
The petite person that loved food and spending his money, was none other than Adalinda. It was not very long ago when she barged inside his dungeon and asked him a simr question.
He realised the aura that Irene was talking about. In fact, it was because of this aura that Simon was forced by Adalinda to go along with her antics. As much as he hated this aura, it also had its own benefits and that was the technique that came along with it.
[Ancient Draconic Compel], a legacy technique that was created by Adalinda and passed onto him by Lucine. The technique also made the user exude a dragon aura whenever executing this technique.
The aura that Irene was talking about was none other than the dragon aura.
"But will it work on that Elder Dragon?" Simon needed the [Ancient Draconic Compel] to subdue the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon at that time, he would be exuding a dragon aura to bring thetter into submission.
However, was that enough to also deter the Elder Dragon, the one protecting it from the shadows? Simon was a little sceptical since he cannot exactly imagine the power level of an Elder Dragon.
"Don''t worry¡ if anything, that sassy woman bestowed you with an incredible gift. Since it''s the technique she herself created, although extremely negligible, it contains the trace of her dragon aura. Even if the opponent is a genuine Elder Sky Dragon they would have to carefully weigh their options before engaging you" Irene exined with certainty.
"How powerful is she?" Hearing her words, Simon was inevitably curious.
"Even I''m not sure¡ however, she should be at least or more powerful than the woman you told me about in that Historia you experienced in the forbidden trail" Irene said giving an estimate. Since she hadn''t actually fought against Adalinda, it was hard for her to give an exact estimate.
However, those few words were enough for Simon to get a clue as to how powerful she was. The woman that Irene was talking about was Y who fought singlehandedly against an atrocity even while poisoned inside the [Historia].
She was powerful enough to split the horizon with the swing of her sword, copse space and cause natural disasters all over thend.
If Irene was saying that Adalinda was as powerful as Y, he had no reason to disagree with her. In fact, during their journey, he had been slowly suspecting that this woman was one of the pinnacle experts in this world.
If the [Ancient Draconic Compel] was created by her then she should also be from the dragon n. Although Simon did not how powerful an Elder Sky dragon was, they shouldn''t be as powerful as Adalinda right?
If the dragon aura is somehow able to make the guardian dragon a little apprehensive to attack or even scare them away, then he might have a chance to subdue the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon.
When he thought till here, Simon felt this concern that had been troubling him all this while fade away and with that, his mood also returned to usual.
No matter what, he has to first get powerful enough to subdue the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon, he can think about it when the timees. For now, he still had a few months, besides that he did not think that Aldebaran would try to y cheap tricks like that.
There was definitely something that he was unable to see right now. Now that he was feeling unburdened, he apologised to his subordinates for worrying them and teleported to the [Workshop].
[Workshop] was the name given to the industrial floor on which Wisp resided. This was one of the essential ces alongside the Main floor and Forest spring spirit vige that must be absolutely guarded against any intruders.
Although in the case of the workshop, there were hundreds of Andromedas assembled and unassembled to guard it. However, it would be an incredible loss if the assembly line or the equipments that were made with rare and precious materials, get''s damaged in the aftermath.
Simon teleported to the base of the volcanic mountain where the main factory line was located. the factories here aspared to before have expanded all around the mountain and were basically on the level of a small city.
Not only that, there were also new volcanic mountains and Mineral Mountains popping up every around the floor. Although there were no factories set up there right now, it wouldn''t be long before it is being used to manufacture more Andromedas.
On that note, Cecilia also came to the floor to create more Mystical veins on the floor and redirect them towards the mineral mountains. All in all, the floor had seen many changes in the past few days.
Whoosh¡ the moment Simon entered the factories, he felt a burst of heat m against his body.
BAM¡ BAM¡ loud nging noise came from everywhere and wherever heid his eyes, he would see a fully finished or aponent of an Andromeda being manufactured.
Simon enjoyed looking at how the Andromedas were processed before meeting up with Wisp. As usual, the guy (note- the concept of gender does not apply to it) was incredibly busy keeping the factories working.
[BEEP-BEEP-BEEP] the wisp floated around him trying to tell him that it was happy he came here.
"Yeah I''m happy to see you too" Simon smiled, by now he was capable of understanding this weird and unique interdimensional entity due to the link he had with it. He could also tell that the bond he had with it is only getting stronger with time and as the null elemental gaining its spirituality.
"I''m sorry to burden you with this when you are already busy but can you make all these¡" Simon touched the Wisp and thought about the things he wanted it to manufacture.
Since the Null Elemental was capable of reading his memories, it could also read the thoughts that were on his mind. Through that, Simon showed it some blueprints of the weapons/heirlooms that the Valkyrie uses.
Although it was impossible to create those powerful Heirlooms without the necessary items which are incredibly scarce at this point, it might still be possible to make a cheap copy of them.
He was aware that a copy is a far cry from the original, but it would still be better than having them use a [B] tier weapon that they were not used to. Plus, the Valkyires or a Hero''s strength increases manifold when they hold the Heirloom that was meant for them.
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Simon had been using [Ga??????] every day for the past couple of weeks, but he was still yet to get any heirlooms. Though he got was some decent items, it was still not what he was looking for.
From the training and from the incident that happened on the thirty-sixth floor that day, Simon understood how important it was for his subordinates to also have good weapons.
He knew the value of a good weapon since he himself was hogging an [A] tier weapon that most of the time covered up for the massive gap in stats between him and his opponents.
Since he is unable to give them the original heirlooms that they were used to right now, he wanted to at least create an imitation of it, if possible.
The Wisp became silent for a while, the light around its body pulsated frequently as if saying that it was thinking deeply. After a few seconds, it transmitted its thought back to Simon.
It said that it was unable to create such high level weapons without the appropriate materials. Even if it created an imitation from the existing materials, it would break apart after one use.
Simon thought over his options, if the imitation broke apart after just one use, it would be a waste of material and time.
"Would the imitation have the same power as the original heirloom?" Simon asked, the Wisp did say that the heirloom would break after one use however, it did not say anything about its power and other things.
[BEEP-BOOP-BEEP]¡
,m "Really? How long will it take? More than a month? Fine then, just create one set of these heirlooms for now" Simon requested, the reason why he was investing his limited materials on making imitations that would break apart is because ording to Wisp, it was able to create an imitation with fifty per cent of the power of the original.
The number might not seem high without understanding how powerful the heirloom is. However, Simon who was the developer of these weapons in his previous life understood how powerful these Heirlooms were.
If one had topare the heirlooms by the standards of this world, even the most ordinary heirloom was around the tier of Crimson de that he was using. Thus even if the imitation would only be able to output fifty percent of the power of the original heirlooms, in the hands of the Valkyries and Heroes, they would be able to disy power far beyond their tiers.
Additionally, it was better to use the weapons they had mastery in since their skill gives them a buff when holding that specific weapon.
After discussing the matter he came here for, he bid goodbye to the Wisp and teleported back to his Main Floor.
The ce he teleported to was the shore of Serenity Pond, the treasure that was an indispensable part of his dungeon now. The serenity pond looked as picturesque as ever with speckles of light and mist surrounding it. The light breeze that came from the pond had an added effect of calming one''s mind and body, simr to the ability of the serenity stone.
Simon stood in front of the pond gazing at its deep blue water that contained an unimaginable amount of mystical energy. Ever since the mystical veins on his main floor were in their process of bing heart veins, the serenity pond that was at the centre of all the veins, was also undergoing massive changes.
Not counting the numerous treasures that were forming at the bottom of the pond and being nourished by the abundant mystical energy, even diving inside it was an agonising yet fruitful experience.
In the past few weeks when Simon had dived inside the pond to get the numerous mutation crystals of varying attributes growing in there, he felt the high concentration of mystical energy mixed with the water electrocuting his body, seeping through his skin and attacking every part of muscles and bones.
The process was so painful that had it not been for Simon''s uncanny resistance to pain, he might have lost consciousness right there. His personal record which was around three minutes before was reset back to two minutes again.
The experience of diving inside the pond might have been painful but it was not like it was without any benefits. As always, the pond of serenity provided massive assistance not only to his dungeon but also him.
The many injuries that he had suffered while fighting against his opponents be it on his trip or while defending the dungeon were all healed. The scars on his body were gone reced by speckless skin and his physique too was slowly but surely bing many times stronger than what a Demon Viscount should have.
Not only that, the pond also had the added effect of increasing one''s aptitude and talent over the time. Simon could feel that he was inching closer to the mystery of Infernal magic and on the brink of gaining enlightenment in it.
His other elements too were showing signs of improvement whether it be his gale magic or lightning magic they all were slowly improving.
All of these qualitative changes weren''t disyed in his status but Simon could genuinely feel the changes that were urring in his body. It was all thanks to his efforts and the benefits provided by the Serenity pond.
Hence, Simon was once again here to bathe in its benefits, also to challenge his limits and see what other treasures were forming inside the pond.
BREATHE¡ Simon took a deep breathposed of his mana flowing inside his body before diving inside the pond.
SPLASH¡ the moment he dived in, his entire body started aching from the extreme amount of pain and from the mystical energy that was trying to seep inside his body like a flood. This foreign mystical energy was like a rampant beast that had to be brought under control before it starts wreaking havoc inside his body.
Simon used his [Mana Lines] and with much difficulty, circted the energy thorough out his body. The early acquisition of the skill was what allowed him to stay inside the serenity pond for so long.
Simon opened his eyes and slowly started diving towards the bottom of the pond. He knew his limits, thus he did not waste any time reeling and agonising in pain.
Before long, the bottom of the pond appeared in front of Simon. Due to arge number of mystical veins that were interconnected with the pond, the bottom where the treasure formed was a sight to behold.
Usually, the mystical veins are something that runs through the ground and aren''t something that could be easily seen. However, this ce was inside of a dungeon which is located in a special ne. And amongst these special nes, Simon''s dungeon was even more special due to the existence of Cecilia, the Forest Spring Royal Spirit.
Because of her heaven defying powers, the dungeon was growing at a rate that should be otherwise impossible for a low ranking dungeon.
After she started actively interacting more and more with the nature, the mystical veins on his main floor were starting to undergo an evolution to be heart veins.
Typically, a mystical vein that carries the purest form of mystical energy can be said to be the size of a rill. However, the mystical veins in Simon''s dungeon were as big as a creek.
Now though, due to them undergoing an evolution, they were starting to be as big as a stream. When Simonid his eyes at the bottom of the pond, he scouted numerous crisscrossing fissures along the crust from where a multi coloured energy was seeping out.
The energy that slowly dissolved with the water was so pure and potent that just by looking at it Simon felt his whole body stiffen up. He was sure that as he was now, it was clearly suicidal for him to even think about absorbing that energy ore in contact with it.
If one looked carefully through the gap in the fissures, one would be able to see the mystical veins that carried the purest form of mystical energy. They were like a wide stream of a river that interconnected with each other and spread across the entire floor.
It was due to the presence of this many mystical veins that deposited their mystical energy here, that the serenity pond was so special. Simon examined the fissures lines, he could see that some incredible treasures were forming along the borders of those cracks absorbing and getting nurtured by that energy.
Currently, those areas were out of his reach since the level of viscosity and the concentration of mana there was just too high. Therefore he decided to explore the area where there were far less fissures forming.
KUH!!... the pain and the pressure from the mystical energy, was starting to be unbearable. Simon knew that he was approaching his time limit and thus did not dilly dally any more. He hurriedly grabbed whatever treasures that were near him and started ascending back to the surface.
"PUAHH¡ Huff.. Huff¡" as soon as he came out of the pond, Simon lied on his back taking hurried breaths of air. His body jolted time to time from the pain of straining his body to its limit. His MP was almost but out and his HP had also gone down a little.
"Two minutes ten seconds¡ haa¡ it seems that is my current limit" Simon muttered estimating the time he was inside the pond.
Afterposing his breathing, he found arge rock nearby to sit on before taking out the item he grabbed from the pond.
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,m The thing in his hand was a small two leaf clover. When Simon used his analysis on it, he was stunned to find that the item was a [C] rank item.
Item- Poison Detoxifying Clover, Rank- [C]¡ªan item capable of absorbing the poison from the surrounding. It blooms into a three and four leaf once enough poison is umted. Once the Poison Detoxifying Clover absorbs enough poison and blooms into four leaf, it discharges poison back into the surrounding.
Poison detoxifying Clover, based on how it is used, the item can be something truly terrifying. It was smaller than grass, can be nted anywhere and was easily overlooked. Both its poison absorption and expulsion ability was a powerful weapon.
Simon kept the Poison Detoxifying Clover back inside his inventory, he made a mental note to research more about its abilityter. Right now, he had something more important to do. Apart from diving inside the pond, Simon had additional two objectives in mind foring here.
His gaze that was up until now on the item in his hand, turned towards the beautiful crystal trees around the pond. Trees of mana crystals, another treasure that was growing inside his dungeon thanks to the miraculous abilities of Cecilia.
Each of the crystals bored by the trees contained a pure amount of mystical energy that when absorbed, increases your stats thus ultimately increasing your level.
Previously, the trees of mana crystals on his main floor was a sapling and capable of only producing only Grade 1, tier [C] mana crystals. Now though, it has be a young tree capable of producing better grades of those crystals.
Simon''s second objective foring here was to absorb these crystals that have been piling up. By now, there wererge heaps of mana crystals that have fallen from the branches of the tree spilled all around the ce.
Simon walked towards the area and casually picked a crystal from the ground. It had a shape of a rhombus and was easily grasped within his palm. It was releasing a multi-coloured light just like all the other crystals around it evident of the pure mystical energy inside it.
When Simon used analysis on it, he nodded his head in satisfaction when he saw that the grade of the crystal was [2].
Even though it was still tier [C], a grade [2] crystal contained much more potent and pure mystical energy than what a grade [1] mana crystal does. If wepare the two, it can be said that a grade [2] crystal was ten times more potent and precious than a grade [1] crystal.
That is to say One Grade [2] mana crystal = Ten Grade [1] mana crystals.
Mana crystals only grow in ces abundant in mystical energy, they can either be harvested from a tree of mana crystals or mined from a crystal field.
Since they were expendables and everybody needed them to level up, it was a precious material. The kingdom of Ellesmere might have a few quandaries from where they excavate the mana crystals from.
However, it only produces low-grade crystals. It can be seen from the avability and scarcity of the mana crystals how precious the high grade Mana crystals were.
In fact, every quandary of mana crystals that was ever found in history, was quickly upied by a kingdom/Empire or waged war for.
In the Battle of the Finest Tournament too, there were high grade mana crystals offered as a reward to encourage the participants. And now, his dungeon was also capable of producing grade [2] mana crystals.
Simon reckoned that it wouldn''t be long before the trees start producing grade [3] crystals. Simon stored a heap full of grade [2] mana crystals probable numbering in the hundreds, inside his space ring. Since the level he was in wouldn''t budge even if he absorbed one or two crystals of grade [2].
Simon came back to therge rock near the pond sat cross legged on top of it, and started absorbing the mystical energy from the mana crystals. To increase the efficiency, he also shattered a serenity stone.
Simon sat on the rock for hours continuing to absorb one mana crystals after another. Before long, there were more than ten empty husks of crystals lying around the ce. It was only when Simon felt his rate of improvement slow down for the day, did he open his eyes back.
Phew¡ he exhaled a deep breath of air and stretched his body around. When he clenched and unclenched his hands, he felt his improved strength resulting from his levelling up. After using more than sixteen crystals, Simon had levelled up a total of two times bringing his current level to 407.
Although, levelling up with mana crystals was more efficient and safer than hunting monsters, it had a limit and required a lot of resources.
It must be mentioned that an average human around Simon''s level or even a Demon Viscount of his rank would never even get to see much less enjoy these many resources as brazenly as he did. The only reason he stopped was because he felt like the effectiveness of the mana crystals have dropped and using any more today would simply be wasting them.
After absorbing the mana crystals for the day, Simon moved on to his third objective for which he came here. Upgrading his dungeon, although he could do this from anywhere, due to the calming and soothing effects of the serenity pond, it felt much better to work here rather than inside his White Pce.
Besides that, since his first and second objectives needed him to be near the pond as he was nning to hole himself up here for a few days, it was more efficient that he did his work as the dungeon master here.
As soon as Simon called out, the [Main Menu] appeared in front of him. He pressed the [Dungeon] option and immediately, a three dimensional structure of his dungeon from the first floor to the fiftieth floor appeared in front of him.
Yes, the dungeon currently had fifty floors, not including the [Workshop], [Forest Spring Spirit Vige] and [Main Floor] which are the heart of his dungeon. Thest two floors that are the forty-ninth and fiftieth floor were termed as the boss floors by Simon.
The reason behind him calling it that was because these two floors housed the former two overlords of the northern region of the forest, the Deep Sea Alligator King and the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
At the current moment, not counting his direct subordinates, they were the strongest monsters inside the dungeon that he could rely on to defend it from any possible strong intruders. In a way, their floors are thest defence line for the dungeon Lace.
The current progress of the adventurers leading the exploration is the thirty-sixth floor and it was none other than the Tyrant Mountain one of the big guilds from the southern region of the kingdom leading the charge.
Starting from this floor and the floors below, new monsters that Simon had mutated from the many mutation crystals start showing their face. Each of them was around level 300- 350. Apart from them, there was also the Andromeda MK 11 and 10 guarding the lower floors.
Not to mention the Fire Demon Apes which were the hidden boss of the middle floors. At a nce, the dungeon might seem very hard to conquer; however, Simon wasn''t gullible enough to actually believe that.
He knew that the real powerhouse of the Kingdom, the top five guilds was yet to show up in the tower. Amongst them, the Sea God''s trident was a guild that he was the most cautious of. They have spared no amount of effort to try to antagonise him, every time that they moved, they brought nothing but trouble for him.
Besides that, they were also now in possession of the information that his dungeon sheltered the Forest Spring Spirits. Simon did not know what kind of ns they were brewing right now, thus he had to be extremely careful. A moment of negligence or carelessness might even bring down this dungeon and the people he cared about.
Apart from them, there were also the shadowy groups like the Cerberus and behemoths like Adventurer''s Association. Sooner orter, they were sure to turn up at his door.
Hence, it was paramount that he fortifies his dungeon at every opportunity he gets. Looking at the three dimensional structure of his dungeon, Simon started upgrading certain floors and adding new ones.
Like this, Simon spent his days around the pond dividing his time in diving inside the pond challenging his limits and collecting the Poison Detoxifying Clover, levelling up using the piles of mana crystals and using his remaining time to create new floors.
While Simon was busy doing his stuff, time flew by in the blink of an eye and a week had passed.
Currently, Simon was looking at [Main Menu] or more precisely, the three-dimensional structure of his dungeon. in the past few days, thanks to the constant influx of DPing from the adventurers, he was able to create three floors each more than thirty kilometres big and with a wide environment.
He wanted to install some new features that were avable to his dungeon but stopped when he realised that the growth of his DP was starting to show a decline for some reason. The trend was something that he noticed two days prior and it continued up until now making Simon worry.
Just when he starting to think if something was wrong, the space behind suddenly trembled and the sunning figure of Bea appeared.
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The moment she appeared, she got down on her knee and greeted¡ª "Master¡".
Seeing that she took the trouble of teleporting to where he was, Simon immediately realised that something was wrong. He wrapped up whatever he was doing and turned towards Bea.
"Master¡ Miss Irene and the [Helpers] are awaiting your presence in the main hall".
-------
Adventurer''s guild, Tower Town.
Currently, there was arge group of adventurers gathered at the hall. At a nce, their numbers were more than fifty people gathered inside. Since the adventurer''s association building was small to amodate these many people at once, the hall felt quite congested.
Usually, there wouldn''t be this big of a crowd gathering inside, but today was different than usual. Thirty percent of the adventurer that was currently inside the hall, were wrapped in bandages, some looked extremely worn down with big and small injuries on their body.
The staffs of the associations were busy running around and tending to the wounded. The mood in the hall was heated with different teams and guilds arguing with each other.
"Are you suggesting that we leave them to die? You bastard are you a coward?" An adventurer with an injury in his head said barking out loud. You could even see some bloodstain on his armour and pants evident that he just came back from a difficult battle.
"Huh? Then are you saying that we all die? Screw you¡ there is no way I''m risking my life or those guys" Another adventurer said. His name was Ruke and he was a [C] rank adventurer belonging to a small guild from the city of mountmend called the Ivory Bow.
However, at this moment other than him, there was no other adventurer from the Ivory Bow inside the hall.
The man with an injury on his head had it enough, in his anger he grabbed Ruke''s cor and lifted him above the ground.
"Wait Bastian¡ªput him down, even if we fight amongst ourselves it doesn''t help the situation. We must all contact our main guild in the city and asked them for backup" A man with a whitebeard holding a staff made of some unknown material said.
He was the eldest person currently gathered and his words seemed to hold quite some weight even amongst the other adventurers as they immediately stopped their own bickering and turned towards him.
The man with the head injury who was referred to as Bastian, loosened his clutch against Ruke and put him down.
"What should we guild master Mason? The town ispletely ransacked and destroyed, there are more than hundreds of civilian casualties and unidentifiable amounts of death with many captured. If we just leave it like that, how can we call ourselves adventurers?".
Mason was a well known person here who led one of the powerful guilds from the city of Mountmend called Moonlight Guild. Thus Bastian felt it appropriate to ask for his advice even though he belonged to a different guild.
Mason caressed his beard as he observed more like red at Bastain and Ruke who were just about to fight right inside the adventurer''s association. After he turned the two into submission with his fierce eyes, he turned towards the receptionist who seemed to be unable to control the situation.
"Miss would you fill me up as to what had happened here? As you know, we just came out of the dungeon today thus we don''t know much of what had happened".
Mason''s Moonlight Guild, mostly explored the lower-Middle Floors. Therefore it was not unusual for them to spend a few days to a week or till they were out of resources inside the dungeon.
The receptionist recounted the whole story to them. About how two days ago, an adventurer team spotted a group of Orcs roaming around the eastern region of the forest. Needless to say, the orcs were wiped out by the adventurers; however, it seemed that the group was just a scout as many more adventurers started to spot groups of orcsing closer to the tower.
Things escted fast and the news was brought to the ears of the adventurers association who issued amission to wipe out the orcs lurking near the town. However, it seemed that the adventurers remaining above ground weren''t a match for the orcs as many teams were wiped out.
The ones who were fortunate enough to survive reported the information to the tower town. That was when all hell broke loose, the civilians, merchants, workers and other professions that had nothing to do with adventuring, started panicking and leaving the city in hurry.
Nevertheless, it was already toote as the orcs had already discovered the town and were starting to be seen around it. Those that fled from the town, disappeared in the darkness their scream like an omen filled the wild.
The adventurer association realising the danger barred anyone from leaving the confines of the town and send messengers inside the dungeon to notify the other adventurers. But surrounding the town was only just the start for the orcs as they started marching and breaking inside the town.
The remaining adventurers and people resisted with all their might, they hanged on until the other adventurer came out of the dungeon. Nheless, the town was still devastated in the process with many lives lost and building broken.
This was what happened two days ago. Yesterday, after receiving the emergency notice from the messengers, more than fifty percent of the adventurer came out of the dungeon. They formed a temporary alliance with the other teams and guilds and led the charge against the orcs.
They were sessful in driving the orcs away from the vicinity of the town. Perhaps this victory had gotten inside their head, they tried to investigate the reason behind the appearance of the orcs and dived deeper into the forest.
Their allianceprised of a majority of the adventurers that were aboveground at that time. But since the time they dived deeper towards the forest, there was no moremunication with them.
The tension in the town was at its peak, people started arguing with each other as fear gripped hold of their hearts. As the only authority in the town that can rally the group, the adventurers association steeled their nerves and sent a few people inside the forest to investigate what had happened to the alliance.
Fortunately, those people were able to find some adventurers who were still alive and bring them back to the town.
Amongst the ones who were brought in are the currently fighting Bastian and Ruke. When the adventurer''s association asked what had happened to their alliance, they were horrified to realise that the entire group was ambushed and wiped out by the orcs.
Some of them were killed at the site, some were captured and others ran away in different directions, their situation unknown.
A heavy silence settled onto the room after the receptionist finished reciting the events. Every eye was currently focused on Mason and the Moonlight Guild that he led.
Mason mused for a while before asking in a frown "This does not add up, even if the opponent were orcs with the level of the adventurers of this town, it shouldn''t be a problem to defeat them".
"About that¡ the opponents were not only orcs, but high orcs were also in the mix too. Even if the enemy had High Orcs, it would still have been fine. However, the ones that ambushed us were clearly very sentient and were highly coordinated. Our Alliance which was a makeshift group of different teams and guilds to begin with, was not their match" Bastian replied gritting his teeth at the end of his sentence.
The members of the Moonlight guild who were currently the strongest adventurers aboveground, narrowed their eyes hearing Bastian''s words. One of them even got up from his seat and approached Bastian with a question.
"The ones that ambushed you, were they taller than even the high orcs? Were their skin crimson in colour? Tell me, were they all holding a unique kind of weapon?".
Bastian was taken aback by the sudden interrogation; nheless, he still answered their question with a nod of his head.
"It was as you described¡ by any chance do you recognise them?".
The man did not answer and turned towards Mason with a grave expression on his face. "Guild Master¡ it seems that the enemies are not just high orcs but Diluvian High Orcs".
Mason did not say anything but the expression on his face was enough to tell everyone that the name Diluvian High Orcs was enough to cower even a guild as powerful as theirs. The other adventurers may not have heard about the Diluvian High Orcs.
However, how could Mason and his guild memebers not know about one of the fearsome monsters from the western region of the forest? The Diluvian High Orcs were the next evolution of the High Orcs, they are blessed with a powerful physique that made even the high orcs look small, have excellent coordination and are extremely intelligent.
Coupled with the peculiar weapons made of bone that they hold, they were a force that any powerful guild from the city of Mountmend knows about.
"If it''s the Diluvian High Orcs, then we have no other options than to wait for the other powerful guilds toe back up before diving inside the forest. Miss, I want you to also inform the association branch in the neighbouring cities of this predicament we are in and to hastily send reinforcements".
"You all, please do the same if you want to survive. The orcs might have retreated for the moment, but now that they have gotten the taste of human blood and seen the city, they will keep on sieging it until all of us are captured or dead".
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Mason turned towards the receptionist, and the staff of the adventurers association before addressing the masses.
"Keh..." Ruke made a derisive smile while Bastian couldn''t believe what he heard.
"W-wait a moment guild master Mason. You¡ are you telling us to do nothing and wait for the adventurers inside the dungeon and discard therades who have been captured by the orcs. How can we as the adventurers do that? My friends, my guild were all there¡ if we don''t do anything soon they might..".
"Enough" Bastian tried to speak out but he was soon silenced by Mason who red at him with menace.
"I''m not stopping anyone who wants to go there and fight. But know that even if you go out, you don''t stand a chance against them. The enemies we are facing is unlike any other monsters you have faced inside the dungeon".
"They are extremely intelligent, highly coordinated and are powerful enough to hold a level 300 adventurer on their own. The enemies we are facing are Diluvian High Orcs, a race that should be deep inside the western region of the forest. I don''t know why they havee all the way to the eastern region of the forest but I can tell you one thing, even if we form another alliance like the one before, we are still not their match. We don''t stand a chance even more if we go out in the forest which is essentially their territory".
Nobody dared to utter a sound, these adventurers even if they came from different cities, they were all aware of how dangerous the Ghastly Winding Forest was. Even if they did not see it themselves, they have at least heard about the western part of the forest being full of strong and dreadful monsters.
Thus when Mason pointed out that the monsters they were facing were from the western region of the forest, none of them dared to go against his words.
"I appreciate your feelings to want to save yourrades. However, going out there at this time of the night is clearly suicidal. I can only give you my sympathy" Mason said towards Bastian who seemed to be unresigned even after that.
After saying everything that he needed to say to settle down the crowd, the guild master of the Moonlight guild turned towards the staff of the adventurer''s association.
"May I know till which floor the messengers you sent to notify the adventurers were able to get?" His Moonlight guild were exploring the twenty-fifth floor. The fact that they did not get any such message when the association sent a messenger could only mean that the messengers weren''t able to dive deep.
"Eighteenth floor¡ that was the limit their strength could take them to" the staff replied. Mason nodded his head and fell into thought.
It was as he had thought, he couldn''t see any high levelled adventurers aboveground. Since the messengers weren''t able to get to the middle and lower floors to ry the message. Most of the strong adventurers who were inside the dungeon were unaware of it.
If they wanted to resist the Diluvian High Orcs, they needed the help of other strong guilds. Especially the ones exploring the lower floors and even then, it was not guaranteed that they would be able to win; after all, monsters from the western region of the forest were that dreadful.
This issue was already beyond their capability, if nothing is done, the town might need to be abondoned permanently.
"I guess it can''t be helped. I will be sending some of the members of my Moonlight Guild back inside to ry this message to other adventurers" Mason pointed at the twenty or so people behind him.
-----
Main Hall, Dungeon Lace.
Simon walked inside followed by Bea. Everybody was already present and were waiting for him.
"What is the matter?" Simon did not mask any words and directly got to the point as soon as he entered.
Coleus, the leader of the [helpers] stepped forward and reported¡ª "My lord it looks like the tower town is besieged by monsters. The adventurers and the ordinary people aboveground have suffered heavy casualties and the town is more or less destroyed".
"Currently, the adventurer''s association branch in the town is sending messengers to notify every other adventurer inside of the situation with the town. Even the ones that are on the lower floors are ascending back up. I believe that the association is trying to mount a resistance against the monsters by rallying up all the adventurers together".
After Coleus finished his report, a silence descended onto the hall. The situation this time was different from the time when their dungeon was in danger. It did not directly threaten their safety; however, the town and the adventurers who were their source of DP, being in danger indirectly affected their dungeon.
The matter was of importance but in a whole different way when their guild was invaded by the Seven swords Guild. All the eyes present in the hall focused on Simon.
As the dungeon master, it fell upon him to make the decision. Simon mused for a while, from Coleus''s words he finally understood why the DP he was getting was on a declining trend for a while.
It happened that most of the adventurers wereing out of the dungeon to address the issue that was going on in the town. If he left the situation to the adventurers to solve on their own, everything woulde back to normal if they won.
However, in the case that they lost to whatever that was threatening them, the town might be destroyed which will severely affect his DP earnings.
This was something that Simon cannot allow to happen especially at this point when his dungeon heavily needed all these DP to upgrade itself. In the first ce, it would be bad if these adventurers aka his money making pawns went and died outside.
Thus there was only one choice he could take from the beginning and that was to meddle in the issue that was happening at the tower town.
"Coleus, you said that it was monsters that were besieging the town? In that case do you know which race they belonged to?".
Coleus turned towards Birch who came forward and replied "Reporting to my Lord, the monsters seemed to be from a race called Diluvian High Orcs. It was around two days ago that they approached near the eastern region of the forest and started probing and attacking the town".
"They havepletely surrounded the ce not allowing anyone to get away and have already wiped out multiple groups of adventurers that tried to resist against them. I have also found out that the monsters did not just kill the adventurers but also captured them".
"The survivors in the town seemed to be in an upheaval and are hurriedly trying to contact all the powerful adventurers inside the dungeon and around the cities. Since I couldn''t approach them any further due to some of the adventurers having sharp senses, that is all the information that I could gather".
"You have gathered plenty of information, you did well not approaching them any further" Simon praised.
The forest spring spirit had the ability to be one with the nature which allows them to mask their presence to a minimum and be invisible to an ordinary eye just like a chameleon.
As amazing as it sounded, it was not like the ability was without any w. The ability to be invisible only works when the Forest Spring spirit is in contact with a tree or is around a ce full of flora and fauna.
It immediately breaks when a person is too close to the ce where the forest spirit is hidden or when they are attacked. Birch had already taken a great amount of danger upon himself by approaching so close to the adventurers and gathering all that information. Any more than that, would be asking too much from him.
"What do you n to do?" Irene asked, she hadn''t voiced anything up until now because she wanted to know his opinion and what he was thinking.
Everyone present here was his subordinates, therefore no matter what decision he would take, they would respect that.
"I cannot allow the orcs to simply wipe out the town aboveground. Putting aside the fact that the town and its vicinity are my territory, the adventurers are a precious source of DP from my dungeon. Losing them will be a big blow¡ thus we retaliate" Simon made his decision.
Irene and the others all nodded their head without a word, they were already prepared to ept whatever decision he took.
"Although we have decided to fight, do you know how powerful the enemy is?" Irene asked, she could see that Simon didn''t take this decision without taking anything into ount.
"Right, I more or less know how powerful the opponents we are facing this time are. The Diluvian High Orcs are a race that lives inside the western region of the forest. Most of them are generally around level 350-400 and amongst them, there are certain ranks like the Orc Commanders and Orc Generals".
"The Orc Commanders are all above or closer to level 400 while the Orc generals are powerful enough to contend against the Lightning Draconic Serpent before it became a disaster ss. The race of Diluvian High Orc is led by an Orc King who should have the highest level among them".
Simon said recalling what he knew about the Diluvian High Orcs. He dived inside their territory quite a few times and fought with their warriors thus he knew how powerful they were.
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He has also seen one of their generals bringing an army to the northern territory of the forest to subdue the Lightning Draconic serpent. It was also around that time that he encountered Lucine who was hiding her presence watching every one of them.
"Since the Diluvian High Orcs came all the way to the eastern region of the forest, it must mean that they are under the orders of Orc King or at least the Orc general. They have already spotted the dungeon and the town above, there is no way they are going to leave the ce alone. Since they dared toe to my territory, I as the master must let them know who they are up against".
Simon stared at the ceiling more precisely at the town aboveground. A few hourster, Simon along with Ate, Bianca and Alice teleported near the vicinity of the tower town.
To not get spotted by the humans, he did not bring the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse with him. As usual, Simon masked his appearance with the trinket of Grimlock so even if they do get spotted by the adventurers, they would look just like humans.
Though some might doubt what maids were wearing armours doing here, there was nothing Simon could do about that.
"Let''s go¡" He used his mental map skill and using the darkness of the night, they sprinted towards the area where he could sense some monsters gathering.
On the side note, the Valkyries were perfectly able to see in the darkness thus moving at night was not a problem to them.
RUSTLE¡ RUSTLE¡ a group of seven high orcs and one Diluvian High Orcs, came out of the bushes. They used their sharp noses to sniff around the surroundings searching for any humans that tried toe out of the town.
Sniff¡ Sniff¡
Suddenly, the group of orcs smelled a particr scenting not far away from here and quickly gave chase towards their direction. They ran across the forest and soon appeared in front of a small clearance that was clearly human-made.
"Guga?" Seeing that there was no one, the high orcs tilted their heads in confusion andmunicated with each other. The scene went on for a few seconds before the towering Diluvian High Orc, pushed the others aside and used its snout to track the scent.
A Diluvian High Orc''s sense of smell was many times stronger than an ordinary orc thus it was quickly able to identify the location of their opponent.
The Diluvian High Orc quickly took out its peculiar butcher knife made of bones and parried the numerous me spears that came from the top of the tree.
BOOM¡ BOOOM¡ the Diluvian High Orc was pushed back by the might of the me spears and even suffered some severe burns around its arms. Nevertheless, it was able to parry all the attacks targeting its body.
Though, the high Orcs around it weren''t as fortunate. Unable to grasp the hidden attack, they were instantly skewered by the me spears and exploded into bloody gores.
"Guga?!!" Surprised at the might of the enemy, the Diluvian High Orc tried to turn tail and run; however, at that moment a shadow crept up behind it, grabbed its huge body and lifted it above the ground like it was a sack of potato.
BAM¡ the next second the shadow mmed the body of the Diluvian High Orc onto the ground creating a small depression in the process.
The one who effortlessly picked up a body multiple times bigger than her was none other than Bianca. She looked at the terrified diluvian high orc with her emotionless eyes and was just about to step on its head with her heels and pop it like a watermelon, when Simon stopped her.
Bianca immediately retracted her foot and as always, stood motionless like a doll near it. Simon, Ate and Alice came out of their hiding spot and surrounded the wounded orc.
"Oi¡ can you understand us? if so then tell me what are you all doing here?" Simon pointed the de of his crimson sword right between its eyes.
The Diluvian High Orc reeled in fear and spouted out some garbled words that did not evoke any response from his [Language Comprehension] skill.
"Master it seems like it''s not intelligent enough to converse with a different race" Ate remarked.
"Right, I guess this guy is just a foot soldier. If we want to know more about their objectives, we need to capture someone higher in ranking" Simon stated losing interest immediately.
He nodded towards Bianca and along with Ate and Alice disappeared into the bushes. The fallen Diluvian High Orc thought it was safe when a heel inserted into its face creating a small hole through its skull.
After finding the first group of orcs, Simon and his team using the cover of the night, lured multiple teams of orcs towards them. Some of the groups were carrying captured humans who were indirectly saved due to Simon clearing the groups of orcs.
All the Diluvian high orcs that he met, were mere foot soldiers and incapable ofmunicating with them. After defeating more than ten groups and saving more than fifteen humans, Simon and his team started moving away from the vicinity of the tower town.
Of course, when fighting these groups, Simon did not directly show his face and only appeared when the captured humans ran away. That way, even if they went back to the town and reported what was going on, nobody would be able to connect it with him.
"Master, there is arge group of orcs swiftly approaching this ce" After walking a few distances away from the town, finally a big group of orcs took the bait.
"How many of them are there? Are there carrying any captured humans?" Simon asked back.
Alice who had the ability to scout things from far away and was currently their eyes and nose, reported "There are more than twenty five orcs, five of which are Diluvian High Orcs¡ no humans spotted".
Simon''s crimson eyes zed a ring red when he heard that there were five Diluvian high Orcs on that group. If there were five in that group, there was a high chance that there was an orcmander or an orc captain leading them.
Tremble¡ Tremble¡ the ground trembled with the march of this many orcs rushing together at once. If one asked why these orcs were all running towards the same ce, the answer for it would be because they have smelled the scent of their prey.
The numerous orcs led by the Diluvian High Orcs, swiftly traversed through the forest and appeared in front of the prey whose scent they sensed from miles away. There were four humans in front of them, one male and three females.
ROAARRR... the Diluvian High Orc in the lead, roared trying to intimidate and break the fighting spirit of its enemies. With his roar, the surrounding orcs started encircling the four humans in the centre.
"GUGAGA¡ more puny humans came out of their cave it seems. Looks like the lesson earlier when we massacred their group did not get across their small brains" the leader Diluvian High Orcughed.
It was carrying a huge hammer made of bones on his back. The other diluvian orcsughed at the joke made by their leader and stared at the rooted humans menacingly. From their perspective, the four in front of them looked just like the human adventurers they have ambushed a while back.
Given the power of the orcs and their sessful hunt these past few days, it was only natural that the group was overflowing with confidence and eager to shed blood. From what they could see, the four humans were rooted in their ce because they were paralysed with fear.
The leader orc revealed a hideous smile, he was just about to give themand to capture them, when suddenly he realised that the four facing them were not at all afraid nor did they show any emotions in front of their numbers.
Usually, when the orcs hunted, their prey most often than not would either try to run away or show an intense emotion of fear in front of them. The same was the case with the earlier group of humans that came out of the town.
After they were ambushed, they were so afraid that some of them even ran in different directions leaving the rest to die. The Leader Diluvian High Orc thought the same would be the case this time. However, to his surprise, it couldn''t sense any sort of fear from his opponent.
While it was thinking such, it saw the male human finally reveal a wicked smile that even gave it chills.
"We finally found one that can talk properly. Leaving that one, kill the rest" the man pointed out nonchntly. The leader Diluvian High Orc realised something was very very wrong; however it was already toote, the die had already rolled.
The moment Simon gave that order Bianca like a fierce beast, pounced on the high orcs and started tearing them apart one after another. She was so fast that the high rocs weren''t even able to get any vision of her before they are sted apart into smithereens by a punch or a kick.
Bianca may seem a little dozy and her method of killing may look messy and gruesome. However, she was meticulous enough to not let even a droplet of blood stain her clothes.
GUGA¡ the high orcs were being butchered left and right, none of them were a match for Bianca.
Seeing this, the Diluvian Orcs except for the leader charged towards the Valkyrie in attempt to hold her down. But how could a level 699 [Imperial Aegis Knight] be stopped by some mere Diluvian High Orcs whose level were only around level 350?
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Their heads popped from their shoulders like watermelons before they even got a chance to pull out their weapons. Except for the leader orcs, the rest of the orcs soon dropped down onto the ground killed by a single maid within the time frame of half a minute.
Forget about thest remaining orc, even Simon the one who gave the order was looking at the scene with gobsmacked eyes.
"She¡ She is pretty brutal isn''t she?" Simon couldn''t help but remark looking at Bianca''s spotless doll like face which did not even flinch from the start.
"Fifth sister is just doing her duty" Atemented, it looks like the scene was nothing unusual for her. Alice was of the same opinion, she did not look fazed even when her elder sister single handedly defeated the line-up of enemy.
Seeing them like that, Simon felt embarrassed that he was the only one who was thrown aback by the scene when he was the one who designed them in the first ce.
GUGHI¡
Simon snapped out of his thoughts when he saw the leader Diluvian High Orc make a run towards the forest. He nced at Alice beside him who nodded her head and took a bow from the space ring that Simon had provided her.
Of course, he did not buy these space rings as all of them were dropped by the adventurers who were foolish enough to try to conquer his dungeon. Since his inventory had more than ten thousand slots, storage was never a problem for him.
Additionally, he also had an emerald space ring on his hand that he got from Laris. Thus, he provided the additional space rings that he got from the adventurers, to his subordinates.
Space rings might be out of reach for ordinary adventurers; however elite and strong adventures always had these with them. Diving inside the dungeon would be much more hectic if not for these space rings which helps them store their loots.
In any case, Simon had equipped all of his subordinates with these space rings.
PENG¡
An arrow that was made of highly condensed mana released out of the bow that Alice was holding and instantly blew up one of the legs of the leader Diluvian High Orc that was trying to run away.
GUGAAA!! The Diluvian High Orc losing its bnce fell onto the ground and screamed in agony. It tried to crawl away from here only to be stopped by a foot wearing a heel that bore down on it like a mountain.
Bianca after finishing the rest of the orcs, stepped onto the back of the leader orc and stopped it from moving altogether. She could just snap the life out of thetter by applying a little more pressure on her foot.
However, she didn''t do so because she understood that her master needed this one alive to get the information out of it.
GUGAAA!! The leader Diluvian High Orc squealed like a pig that was about to be butchered.
"Oi¡ Oi¡ don''t squeal so much, you are making it look like we are the bad guys" Simon initiated a conversation slowly approaching closer to the orc with hispany.
"GUGA??".
"Hm? There is no point in pretending, I know you can understand us" he immediately narrowed his eyes when he saw the orc was nning to y ignorant.
"What do you want human?" the Diluvian High Orc finally spoke in anguage that activated Simon''s [Language Comprehension] skill.
"Yes, that''s how it should be. Guessing from your level, you should be an Orc Commander right?" judging from the information that analysis showed, the Diluvian High orc was level 390. Simon remembered that the orcmanders he had met back inside the high orc territory, were around this level. Thus he took a guess only to get a surprised look from the orc.
"How does a human know that? Don''t tell me you have connections with that kingdom? You incorrigible humans, we orcs will never forgive you¡ GUGA!!".
"Hey now, stop spouting things that don''t make sense and only answer the question I ask you" Simon kicked the orc and stopped it from spouting nonsense. He extended his index finger and asked¡ª
"First Question, what are you orcs doing here when your territory should be in the far end of the western region of the forest?".
CRACK¡ sounds of bones being broken could be heard as Bianca applied more pressure on her foot that was boring on down on the orc. The Diluvian High Orc squealed and instantly gave up any resistance it had in mind.
"We.. we are here on orders by our general. I don''t know why but he seems to be interested in that town and that peculiar tower".
Simon''s brows twitched for a second when he heard that an orc general was here. Unlike the orcmanders, an orc general''s power was on a whole different level.
The Orc General Berigard for example, was a being who was able to manipte more than two elements of mystical energy and contend against the Lightning Draconic Serpent of that time.
"Why is an orc general interested in the town?" Simon asked.
The diluvian High Orc was silent, when exerted more pressure, it hurriedly cried out. "I-I don''t know, none of usmanders were made aware of what is there and why we are attacking the town. We are simply following the orders because we hate the humans ".
"Master, it doesn''t seem like he is lying. Perhaps, it is as he had said" Ate observed finding no lies in its behaviour.
Simon mused, he red at the Diluvian High Orc with his [Demonic Eyes] activated and pulled out his second finger.
"Second question, who and where is your orc general?".
"That¡" the orc hesitated but when it felt the foot that was like a mountain bearing down on it, it babbled out all the information.
"Our general is Berimal, he is currently near a small pond where we have set our camp". A small pond! Simon remembered that there was one such ce a little far from his dungeon. If one could deal with the aquatic monsters living in that pond, it would be quite an ideal ce to set up a camp.
Simon extended his third finger¡ª "Next question, why are you hunting the humans and where are you taking the captured humans".
The diluvian High Orc finally showed a different emotion other than fear on its face when he asked it that question.
"It''s because we hate you humans. You have always tried to suppress and take advantage of us. Now you have even reached the forest where our home is and expect us to stay silent?... GUGHA". The Diluvian High orc radiated intense hatred as it red at them, it wanted to struggle free but was pressured with so much force that even the ground caved in a little.
Simon did not know why the race of orcs was so hostile towards humans; however, since it didn''t concern him, he did not press for an answer.
"Answer my other question, where did you take the captured humans?".
"GUGH¡ we have taken them to our camp. Hehe, by now our general might be putting ve seal on them" the Diluvian High Orc answered with a hideous smile.
Simon was unfazed, he moved on to his next question "Then answer thisst, did you invade this part of the forest knowing fully well that it is someone else''s territory?".
The orc looked confused nheless, it answered truthfully "The general might know something, but we orcmanders weren''t given any other information other than attacking the town".
PHEW¡ "I see" Simon exhaled a deep breath, took out his crimson sword and stabbed the immobile orc in its head. Since it would be a waste of experience to let it go, he decided to kill the orcmander himself.
"Let''s go and greet that orc general".
------
A little north of the tower town inside the eastern region of the forest, was a small pond surrounded by towering trees and grass that reached up to the waist of an average human.
The ce isn''t usually visited by other monsters because of the presence of the native creatures living inside the pond. They would attack anyone regardless of who approached the pond.
The creatures that lived here, was a race of monster called the Tortacosta. It has dreadful fangs, huge ws and had the appearance of a tortoise.
Right now, the bodies of the hundreds of Tortacosta were floating above the surface of theke and their blood dyed the pond a colour of red.
A few Diluvian High Orcs could be seen at the shore of the pond drinking the water. Other than that, arge number of trees had been felled to clear the area and to set up crudely made camps.
At a nce, there were more than five hundred orcs that could be seen roaming inside the camp. Arge prison was set up in the centre of the camp where humans were kept in captivity. The area around this ce was bloody with numerous dead bodies lying around the ce that helped serve as an example and to demoralise the spirits of the ones inside the prison.
The atmosphere surrounding the prison and the prisoners inside it gave off the feeling of despair.
"We are all going to die".
"This is the end¡ haha" murmurs like that came from every corner of the prison.
"Ugh... Kuh¡ªwhere am I?" Bn who was amongst the adventurers who had been captured, finally opened his eyes while feeling severe pain run all across his body.
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"You are up leader?" a man called out to him.
"Huh? Bargo, you are here too?" Bn looked at Bargo who was his teammate and also his friend.
"We are here too" the other members of his team, Norr, Ken and Dridon said from the sides.
"Huh? You all?! where are we?" Bn asked pressing his hand on his head that hurt very much.
"You don''t remember leader? The alliance we were in, was ambushed by multiple groups of orcs in the middle of the forest. Most of the members were killed while the rest that were injured and unconscious were taken captive. The Alliance lost, quite horribly that is and no we are in the enemy''s camp".
Bargo restated the events that had happened after the alliance made of multiple groups of adventurer teams and guilds, went inside the forest to defeat the orcs that were threatening the safety of the town.
"Kuh¡ how did we lose so badly, I remember defeating some of the orcs when¡ ahhhh!!" Bn jolted in pain when he tried to sit back up.
"Leader, please stay still, your body is heavily injured. If you move too much, your wounds will open up again" His teammates told him not to move too much.
It was only now that Bn realised that he was covered in bandages, with a hideous wound over his stomach. The blood was still fresh which meant that no healing potions were applied to him.
"All of our things were taken, we do not have our weapons and armours nor do we have any potions to heal our wounds. So leader please do not try to move as much as you can" Being told such, Bn gave up on trying to move and looked around him.
"This is their camp? How many of us survived?" as Bn was knocked out for most of the part, he did not know much.
Bargo, Norr and the rest of the teammates who heard his question, shed a depressed smile.
"Our alliance that was initially about two hundred men strong, was massacred. Some fought, some escaped others were killed on the spot. Only a few numbers of us remain alive who were brought back after being captured. If I have to say, there was around forty of us inside the prison".
"Was?" Bn asked back.
His teammates did not reply and nced out of the prison. Bn matched their gaze and immediately realised what they meant by ''was''.
Bn creased his brows and looked away from the bloody scene outside. He then turned towards his teammates, he was just about to move his gaze away when he realised that their numbers didn''t add up.
Including him, there was only five of them inside the prison! His old teammate were all here which meant that¡ª
"Where is the newbie?" Bn asked even though he knew the answer.
They were [D] rank adventurers with levels around 150, if they grouped up against a single orc they might be able to triumph against it albeit facing a little challenge.
However, the newbie adventurer that their group recently added to their team was different. His level was below them and more so, he wascking in experience. His chances of surviving against a monster such as an orc who were known for their powerful physique was already very low.
In the first ce, it was already an incredible miracle that all of his old teammates managed to survive.
"Leader¡ please don''t me yourself likest time. It was nobody''s fault. Everybody was given a choice and Lovis agreed to join despite that. I believe when you be an adventurer, you shoulder the responsibility of your own life" Bargo said in an attempt to not make his leader feel guilty.
"You don''t need to console me. Anyways, tell me how we got here. Even if our opponents are an army of orcs, our alliance have people over level 350. We shouldn''t have gone down so easily" Bn asked trying to remember what happened to them after they got out of the town.
As far as he could remember, after getting out of the vicinity of the town, their alliance was attacked by multiple groups of orcs that came charging at them after finding their smell, typical of what orcs excel in.
Their alliance wiped out multiple groups of orcs, everything was going smoothly when suddenly orcs that were taller than your ordinary orcs came out of the forest in droves and a chaotic battle ensued in the middle of the forest.
Bn and his group also fought one such monster but due to them outnumbering their enemy, they were somehow able to hold on. After that¡ his memory seemed to be jumbled up.
"Leader, do not strain yourself let me tell you what happened. After we engaged with a new enemy, we learned that the race of the monster is called High Orc. High Orcs are the evolution of orcs and are multiple times sentient and stronger than thetter.
There were more than fifty orcs that came out of the forest. Needless to say, our alliance was hard pressed, our enemies could see at night while most of us do not have the skill to do so. Coupled with the fact that they were exceptionally good at cooperating with one another, our alliance suffered some casualties.
Up until here, it was all fine. Even if some of the adventurers from the alliance died to the high orcs, the captains of the alliance that were leading us were all above level 350.Some of them were even leaders of their guild, thus they could easilymand arge number of people.
The high orcs weren''t a problem, even our team could barely keep a high orc that was above level 200 in check. That is before they came.." Bargo pointed at a particr kind of orc who was unique to be called even a high orc.
The orc that Brago was pointing at was head and shoulders tall of a high orc which already had a huge frame, not to mention their peculiar colour of skin which was totally different from an ordinary orc.
The moment, Bnid his eyes on one of them, his body started shaking uncontrobly as fear grabbed hold of his heart. Skin as red as blood, powerful muscles, terrifying looks and carrying a weapon made out of some entity''s bone.
The orc released a berserk aura that made ordinary or low levelled people cower in front of it. Bn was afraid; No, he was terrified and the reason for that was because there were not just one or two of those red orcs, but more than fifty of them.
Bargo continued eyeing the red orcs in fear¡ "Our team was able to fight against the high orcs; however, it all changed when they showed up. Each of those orc''s power is so strong that forget about fighting them, our alliance waspletely suppressed by them."
"The guild leaders of the alliance were able to keep a few in check but with more than fifty of them charging at us, there was no way we could have won. Our number advantage quickly dwindled, people were getting killed here and there. The high orc we managed to somehow managed to keep in check somehow got out of our formation and knocked out our team one after another".
"Sensing the situation, leader you tried to take on the high orc by yourself and ordered us to retreat. However, our opponents didn''t seem like they would go easy on us for us to escape. You were severely injured while facing the high orc and were rendered unconscious".
"We tried to take your unconscious body with us and retreat but failed. Before I lost consciousness by an attack from the high orc, I saw our alliance scattered, formation broken and blood strewing everywhere. After that¡ you can just see for yourself".
An eerie silence descended, nobody said anything. The noise that came was the groans from the injured and despair filled words from the adventurers whose spirits were broken.
Bn and his team knew, the oue was obvious, their alliance lost, utterly destroyed. Those that were not here, were probably killed or ran away. And they too, would soon die or would be forced to experience a fate that was worse than death.
It wasughable that in front of absolute strength all they could do was sit here in silence waiting for their turn to be butchered.
CHATTER¡ CHATTER¡ suddenly, there was somemotion amongst the orcs. Every single one of them opened a path or got out of the way, thus clearing a path for a single red orc to walk in.
The orc thatmanded such fear from its fellow red orcs was somehow different from the others. Its physique might be simr; however, it was distinctively different from the others.
To state it urately, the aura it released was far more brutal and powerful than the others around it. It looked far more dreadful wearing pelts and armours made of bones and its eyes glowed with a human like intelligence.
That red orc, came near the prison causing the humans inside it to panic and instinctively back away. Seeing that, the red orc smiled, that smile was a smile of derision that one used when looking down at others. It then bent down in front of the prison and observed the prisoners.
"Tsk¡ tsk¡ it seems like the humans in that town were only this strong" the red orc opened its hideous mouth and spoke in amonnguage.
"Even though I sent hordes after hordes in that town, that guy is yet to show up. It looks like I need to destroy that townpletely to bring him out. But before that, what should I do with you humans?".
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"P-please spare us¡ we will leave this ce, we will never enter this forest again" one of the adventurers, who had his spirit broken after the bloody disy, said.
With him taking the initiative, the other adventurers too started begging for their lives. Bn and his team watched those adventurers they used to look up, with cold eyes. It waspletely foolish to beg in front of their enemy who was a monster who enjoyed killing and torturing.
As if the example earlier was not enough, the adventurers inside the prison fell for its ruse once again.
Hearing them beg for their life, a smile of delightment bloomed on the red orc''s face. It was very much enjoying the current attitude of the humans.
"Spare you?... GUGAGA¡ªI would rather eat you alive than spare you hateful humans. However, that would be too merciful for you all, don''t you like enving others? This is the perfect opportunity, let me try the ve seal on you all. That way, at least you will understand what it feels to be enved".
The red orc took out ve cors from the many space rings that decorated its wide fingers.
KLANG¡ the moment, the prisoners saw the ve cors, their faces turned pale white. They finally knew what their fate was going to be. There was no redemption for them once they were enved by that cor.
The ve cor was enchanted with a ve seal that forced one to obey allmands from its master. They could only cower in fear and hope that the adventurers in the town woulde to save them before they are enved.
Bn and his teammates made an ugly face when they saw the ve cors in the hands of that red orc. very although something that wasmon in the maind and the other kingdoms, their Kingdom of Ellesmere did not have this custom.
Of course, it was not like none of the cities practised this but ve trading was rtively low in their kingdom.
From the words of the red orc, it was clear to them that it hated the humans because of this very reason. It must have seen members of its tribe getting enved or was a ve before. That is why, it wanted to re-enact that very same humiliation back at humans.
Perhaps, all its actions were to enact revenge on them from the start? While Bn and his group were thinking all that, the red orc started dragging prisoners out of the prison and forcing the cor upon them.
After that, it ordered the enved humans to cor the others, while it stepped back and enjoyed the show. The sight was by no means something that one wanted to watch; however, the red orc was enjoying the show.
Slowly, more and more humans were enved and soon it was the turn for Bn and his group. In fact two of their members, Norr and Dridan had already been enved. When it seemed like their turn would soone, a huge explosion echoed out from the southern side of the camp and a fire that was easily spotted in the darkness of the night, zed from that area.
Sounds of footsteps could be heard all around the camp as the orcs around here started running around frantically. Another red orc ran over towards the one that was wearing armour made of pelts and bones and was clearly the leader here.
"What going on?" It asked, its tone a little sour after its fun time was interrupted.
"General Berimal, it seems like there are some intruders attacking the camp". The red orc that was called as general Berimal, sniffed at the air a few times before tilting its head in confusion.
"Their smell is too thin¡ How many intruders are there Beldoom? And what happened to Belloom''s group, how could he allow intruders near the camp so easily when he was monitoring the area?".
The orcmander that was referred to as Beldoom, replied¡ª"About that, we are unable to contact Belloom¡ it is most likely that he is taken out by the enemy".
"Heh!! Interesting, so they are the ones who took him out huh? Are they the humans from that town?" Berimal disyed a fierce smile, battle intent radiated out of his body in droves.
"Judging from their appearance, it seems to be the case. Their numbers are however very less¡ probable around three" Beldoom added.
A diluvian High Orc''s sense of smell was very strong thus it wasn''t very hard for someone of their level to easily scout out their enemy just by their smell.
"A group of three humans dared to barge in our camp alone, how foolish. Command all the orcs to engage them, tire them out to death with our numbers" Berimal ordered.
"What about you, General?" themander asked. Berimal nced at the humans inside the prison whose eyes showed that they had suddenly found a ray of hope in this darkness and smirked.
"Of course, I''ll be joining you guys. I will squash their hope and bring their heads to show these humans. GUGAGA¡ even after being given such a long time, the most that town of humans could assemble were three people".
Since Berimal and hismander Beldoom were speaking in amonnguage, of course, the prisoners could understand it.
When they heard that the intruders were humans, they started thinking that might really be hope left for them. It was not like their tower towncked strong adventurers, if it were those guilds and teams who usually roam the lower floors of the dungeon, they might really get saved this time.
However, their hope was soon drenched in a bucket of cold water when they heard the intruders were only three people. Chattering and murmuring started as soon as the prisoners saw the two red orcs walk off and disappear towards the southern side of the camp.
"It''s over for us¡ there should still be many strong adventurers inside the dungeon and all the adventurer association sent was merely three people. I don''t know whether I shouldugh or cry".
"That may not necessarily be the case. Have you forgotten about that guild? If the ones here are the top executives of that guild, it might be possible".
"You are right¡ If it''s them, they can defeat those red orcs".
Conversation rang from every corner of the prison. Even during a dire time such as this, the humans still clung to any hope they could find in this darkness.
"There is no point, I can''t get it off," Bargo said trying to get the ve cor off of his teammate.
"Idiot, it wouldn''t be an enchanted cor if it got out that easily. You need to be a much higher level if you want to break out of one of these" Bnmented from the sides. Including him, Bargo, and ken only a handful of people remained that weren''t enved with the cor yet.
"Leader do you think they are from that guild?" his teammates asked.
Bn could only shrug his shoulders and give a positive reply to keep their morale from breaking. "It is hard to say since there are only three people attacking the camp as the red orc have mentioned. However, if they are the top executives of the Tyrant Mountain guild, there is a possibility that we might be saved".
STEP¡ STEP¡ Suddenly, the chattering inside the prison halted alerted by that sound as all heads turned towards the direction where the sound of footsteps came from. Although it was the time of night, the light falling on the camp from the three moons hanging overhead was enough to see around.
As all eyes focused on a particr area, a person''s silhouette could be seening out of the shadow of a crude building.
------
Tower Town, inside the hall of the adventurer''s association. A group of adventurers wearing armours and gears that were at least [C] tier, could be seen sitting on a big bench created by joining a few small benches and surrounded by a crowd of other adventurers.
"So you are saying that¡ it was the work of Diluvian high orcs?" the man that spoke just now had broad shoulders, muscles that were rimming power and a hawk like eyes, qualities that were the indication of a top notch warrior.
And indeed, he was not just anybody, but the vice guild master of the Tyrant Mountain, Xandros Amadeo. He was a warrior above level 500 with a rare ss.
"Yes, Sir Xandros. The features about the enemy that they have mentioned, precisely matches with that of a Diluvian High Orc" the one talking to him, was none other than Mason, the guild master of Moonlight guild.
"That is weird, from the information that I got from the adventurer''s association it clearly said that monsters of that level resided far deeper inside the forest" Xandros deliberated.
The ghastly winding forest was one of the adjoining points between the Central continent and the Demon continent. It was big enough to engulf their kingdoms and a few more. Thus it wasn''t unnatural for a guild like theirs who were situated in far the south of the Ellesmere kingdom to be aware of the geographical distribution of the ghastly winding forest.
All the adventurers calmly listened to Xandros'' thought process without daring to interject in between.
"That is true, there must be something going on inside the western region of the forest. However, at the present, the orcs have already discovered the location of our town. If nothing is done, they will keep on sieging it until all the humans here die".
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Mason stated highlighting the gravity of the situation.
Xandros nodded his head, he passed on some instructions to his subordinates who each were no less powerful than an elite and said "You said that there are survivors from the adventurers group that went on ahead to defeat the orcs?".
"Yes" mason immediately nodded and called Ruke out from amongst the adventurers crowding the bench.
"This is the guy who managed to survive the onught of the orcs from that group. There was however another person, but it seemed like he couldn''t wait to rescue his teammates and dived inside the forest with a few others".
The one Mason was talking about was Bastian who was currently missing in the hall as he had already gone back inside the forest.
"I see, your name was Ruke right? Tell me what exactly had transpired inside the forest after your group went in?" Xandros asked Ruke many questions which thetter unwillinglyplied. One could see from the expression on his face that he did not want to step outside of the town.
"If what you are saying is true, then there is a high possibility that those orcs have taken humans as captives. I don''t know what they are nning to do by capturing humans but whatever it is, it cannot be anything good. I''m not forcing anyone to participate but since we are in the position to save them, we must do what we can".
"Those who agree with me, can follow us. Additionally, I have notified my guild and the guilds in the surrounding city. By now they must be sending teams of adventurers to assist us. So it is not like we are diving towards a battle that we have no chance of winning".
"I want you all to rest assured that we are not underestimating the enemy like the group that went ahead of did earlier. I know how strong a DIluvian High Orc can be thus I want you all to be on your guard until the reinforcements arrive".
Xandros and the Tyrant Mountain guild he belonged to, was currently the strongest guild in the tower. Along with his prestige and the leadership aura he released, he convinced the low levelled adventurers as well as the other strong guilds that came from the various regions of the kingdom.
Seeing that only a negligible amount of people were discontent with his decision, he further announced while donning his armour.
"It is alreadyte at night and entering the forest now might be very dangerous. However, we must secure the perimeter around the town or else we won''t be able to sit here in safety. My guild will be the one to take the lead, I want other guilds to follow after us and help us secure the ce".
After a while, more than thirty adventurers gathered at the borders of the town fully equipped with their gears. They each emitted a powerful aura and just a nce at them was enough to tell people that they were veterans.
If it was this group, perhaps even an army of diluvian high orc led by a few orcmanders might not be a match for them.
The one that was leading this group was none other than Xandros and the tyrant Mountain guild.The group proceeded forward with care, the assassins sent ahead surveyed the surrounding, the warriors held their shields and weapons tightly while the mages in the centre cast a few spells to light up their surroundings.
Each of them were on their guard and were ready to act at a moment''s notice. Time passed by; however, forget about an orc not even a trace of the monster could be seen around.
"What is going on?" Xandros muttered, his eyes narrowed. With the strong senses of the orcs, by now they should be besieged on all fronts. Then why was it that not even a monster could be seen around the vicinity of the town?
The group of adventurers who earlier might have wiped a few groups, however, they were taken out in the end. And ording to the reports, many orcs were seen around the town just a few hours ago, they all cannot just disappear all of a sudden.
"Vice Master¡" uttered a subordinate beside Xandros.
"I know¡" there was definitely something going on inside the forest. ''Is it a territorial dispute between the seven kings? If so then this might even be out of my capabilities'' while Xandros was thinking all that, the assassins that went ahead came back.
Seeing theme in a hurry, he realised that something was going on and thus asked "What is it? Did you find the trace of orcs?".
The assassin that he asked the question, shook his head, pointed at the direction ahead and said "vice guild master, I think you shoulde and see this".
The thirty or so adventurers while being cautious, walked towards the ce where the assassin was leading them and stood rooted after seeing the scene thaty in front of them. A gory scene with blood and innards strewn everywhere, a foul stench of the dead assaulted the noses of the adventurers as they monitored the area.
As far as they could see, corpses of orcs littered the area and the ce was in an absolute mess.
"What happened here?" Mason muttered in a daze, his Moonlight guild was one of the few guilds that were personally asked by Xandros to back them up.
"There was a fight here probably not very long ago" Xandros and his guild examined the corpses of the orc and said. The blood was still fresh, in fact, the body of the orcs still had a little heat on them which was evidence that whatever happened here, happened not very long ago.
"Who could possibly fight them? Was it Bastian and his group? But this many orcs is too much for even them to handle" Mason uttered in confusion.
"There are five Diluvian High Orcs in this group and more than twenty five High Orcs. What''s surprising is that, most of the bodies or almost all of their bodies are in a worse condition. Some had their heads sttered, others had their abdomens sted apart while others died in a bloody gore. I cannot exactly say what happened here but looking a the scene, whoever or rather whatever did this had the ability to overpower even the physical abilities of a Diluvian High Orc".
The assassin that brought them here analysed the bodies of the orcs individually and reported.
"Is there any other clue?" Xandros asked.
The assassin thought for a while before walking towards a corpse and tapping it with his knife. "This is the only intact corpse here. Though it has a leg missing and bruises everywhere, it was the only orc that survived or rather was allowed to survive the onught".
When Xandros and the rest of the adventurers heard that, they couldn''t help but lock their brows in a frown. If whoever or whatever was behind this deliberately left one alive for thest, it definitely meant that¡
"They are extremely intelligent. They left this orc alive to investigate some information out of it. I hope the person that did this is a human¡" Xandros did notplete his sentence. Nevertheless, whoever heard it felt a chill run down their spines.
The one who did this must be extremely strong, it does not seem like they used some kind of magic or anything which means that they used pure physical prowess to beat the orcs into pulp.
"It looks like this orc was the leader of this troop¡ Hm? Vice guild master, there is something you must see" the assassin called out.
"What is it?" when Xandros asked, the assassin pointed a small stab wound on the orc''s head. "This wound, the orc was killed by a sword or a knife. It''s a clean stab and the quality of the weapon must be at least a [C] rank to pierce through the skull of a Diluvian High Orc".
"Hmm¡ are you saying that.."
"Vice guild master!!!" while Xandros was busy inspecting the corpse of orcs, an adventurer who was in charge of monitoring the area, ran up to him and urgently shouted out.
"What is it this time? Can''t you see I''m busy". Perhaps, because he had something else in his mind, Xandros tone came out a little frustrated.
"I''m very sorry Sir Xandros but there is something that I must report to you urgently" the adventurer insisted.
"Go on what is it?" Xandros asked sensing that the situation must be urgent for the person to insist so much.
"We found survivors from the first group that were captured by the orcs".
"What?".
"Yes, they are over there. Currently they are being healed by healing magic".
"I see, good job" Xandros patted the man on the shoulder and walked towards the ce where he could see a few new faces.
"It looks like you guys managed to run away somehow, tell me what happened" When questioning them, he was able to learn that someone or something did indeed attack the orcs and wiped them out in the blink of an eye.
"Did you not see what they look like?" when asked that question, all the survivors reported the same thing. They weren''t able to see who it was that took out the orcs as they were too afraid of getting captured once again.
"Then how did you escape your bindings if you didn''t see who it was?" Xandros inquired, he was quite curious to know who it was that was fighting against the army of Diluvian high orcs inside the forest in the middle of the night.
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"I-it was a sword¡ I-It moved on its own and cut the chain that was binding us"¡
"Yes, it was only the sword¡ it was moving and flying in the air on its own".
The testimonies of all the survivors told the same thing.
''A sword that can move on its own?'' Xandros thought internally. "Did you all not see anything else? At least tell me you know how the sword looks like".
"C-Crimson¡ as red as blood"¡
"Yes, it was radiating an intense heat and easily melted those huge chains".
Finally, Xandros got some clues "I see, you did well running away from them. For now take rest, we will take you back to the town safely" he offered; however, his suggestion was quickly shut down by some of the survivors.
"No, please allow us to help you. There is a camp a little far away from here, near a big pond. The orcs were taking us there, the other survivors are definitely held captive there".
"Please, you must help them".
Some of the survivors even started pleading and begging with tears in their eyes. Xandros understood what they were going through, their friend or family might have been taken captive inside the camp thus they wanted to rescue them as soon as possible.
However, going near their camp in the middle of the night, was nothing short of suicidal. Forget about getting a surprise on them, they would be cornered from all directions before they even got to go near the camp. The orc''s sense of smell was that powerful.
"What should we do guild master" make a team to send them back, the rest of you will be proceeding onwards with me. I want to get a little more idea as to what is happening in the forest before we go back" Xandros ordered.
Even if the survivors insisted, the way they were right now, they would only get in the way if a fight with the orcs ever breaks out. It was better to send them back to the town and wait for the reinforcements before assaulting the camp of the orcs the survivors were talking about.
? "Understood" his subordinate left to carry out his orders.
It was decided that mason and Moonlight guild would be the ones to take the adventurers back to the town. The rest of them would continue forward for a while before retreating.
"Vice guild master¡ what do you think is fighting the orcs?" the assassin asked. Their group of now twenty one adventurers, slowly made their way across the forest.
"At first I thought they were humans but I cannot say for sure. I haven''t seen a sword that can move on its own nor have I heard about a skill that could allow you to do so" Xandros answered with aplicated look in his eyes.
They were currently quite far away from the town, there were still a few hours for the dawn to break out yet there were no signs of any monster or their cries inside this part of the forest. It was so eerily silent that, it increased the feeling of foreboding that everybody was feeling.
"Is this the way those survivors were talking about?" Xandros asked the assassin who was also acting as their scout.
"Yes, Vice guild master¡ um, are we going to the camp those guys mentioned," the guy asked back.
Xandros was silent for a while before answering his question with a question of his own. "We have walked quite a distance away from the town and into the forest. It would not be weird if we were ambushed by orcs from all directions by now. Why do you think we haven''t met a single living orc yet?".
The assassin felt silent for a while, he replied only after he understood what his vice guild master was pointing at.
"You are saying that all the orcs have been killed by that mysterious person?".
"We do not know if they are a person yet but at least they are not hostile to us humans. Let us go as far as we can. Even if we are surrounded by the orcs at the end we can always retreat as long as you all follow mymand".
With Xandros making the decision, the group of adventurers proceeded forward. No one showed any discontent since they too were curious to know what was going on inside the forest.
When it seemed like they were closer to the pond the survivors told about, a huge explosion that rocked the ce, echoed out from the front. The vibrations could be felt from even here and the explosion was so huge that it was like the sun at night.
Xandros pointed at this team to be careful as they slowly inched closer to the pond.
------
A silhouette came out of the shadows and approached the prison at this moment. When the moonlight from the moons overhead fell on them, their figure finally came into view. An impable beauty with aposed aura around her walked towards the prison.
She was wearing maid clothes underneath her armour which was at odds with the ce they were in right now. Seeing the maid walk towards them, the prisoners first doubted their eyes before wondering what was going on.
"A¡ m-maid?!".
"There is no way a maid is there right"..
"No I see a maid too. What are they doing here?"..
"Was there such a person in the tower town?".
The prisoners unable to hold down their curiosity, discussed. "You Idiots, there is no way she is a maid. She is definitely a monster or a ploy from those dirty orcs. Don''t fall for it".
Of course, there were bound to be some people who in dire times became extra cautious and doubted everything around them. Well, the situation was indeed very unusual. After all, it was just too shocking to see a maid walk at this time of the night in the depths of the forest.
They cannot be med for being cautious. The maid in question stepped in front of the prison which was made of some unique kind of materials and looked at the prisoners inside it.
"Please be at ease, I''m here to save you" the maid bowed mannerly. From her etiquette to her smallest movement, it was so refined that she appeared to be the very definition of an ideal maid.
Even so, the ce and time were just too odd for a maid to appear here. There was no way they would be able to be at ease if thetter told them to do so.
"W-Who are you? are you one of those orcs?" a prisoner who was nearest to her, asked in fright.
Ate who had adapted aposed face up until now, slightly arched her brows at that remark. She red at the person who said with her eyes before saying in a dismissive tone¡ª
"I get it that you are afraid, but please choose your words wisely. There is no way I''m rted to those ugly orcs, if anything I''m¡ Ahem, anyways I''m here to save you all. Are there any other captives in this camp, or is this all of you?".
The prisoner who was red at, embarrassedly shifted his eyes. The other prisoners who heard the conversation between the man and that maid, were overjoyed when they heard that she was here to save them.
Though there were some who were sceptical of the whole situation; however, when the maid easily melted down the thick bars they too were finally convinced.
"Is this all of you?" Ate asked again trying to make sure that there were no other prisoners in this camp.
"Yes¡ by the way, are you someone from the Tyrant Mountain guild?" the prisoners questioned. Although they knew that the maid was here to save them, they still had some reservations due to not knowing where she came from.
"Would it make you all relieve if I say I was from that guild?" Ate''s words finally seemed to have some effects, the prisoners rxed their guard a little when she said that.
"So she really is from the tyrant mountain guild"..
"We are saved, if it''s them, then there is a chance that these orcs can be defeated" the adventurers started celebrating. However, it was soon put down when they heard a husky voice sound out from the distance.
"GUGAGA¡ as I thought, it really was the scent of a rat that I smelled earlier. I can''t believe you thought I would fall for such a simple bait" Berimal came out from the back of a crudely made shelter and shed a hideous smile.
His attitude was as if he had just caught someone who was trying to pull a prank. Of course, to these humans who had their spirits broken, just his sight was enough to push them back into the pits of despair.
One by one, all of them who came out of the prison, fell to the ground unable to find strength in their legs.
"GUGAGA¡ Oh? What is this, a beauty came all the way over here?" Berimal approached closer, the aura that he release was powerful to suppress all the other auras in the surrounding.
"When I say run please turn around and escape with all your might towards that direction" Matter of factly, Ate wasn''t the slightest bit fazed by the presence of Berimal. She kept her eyes on the humans behind her and calmly gave them instructions.
Of course, she didn''t bother to keep her voice quiet hence Berimal was clearly able to hear her.
"GUGA?! Do you think I will allow them to escape? You humans truly do not know when to give up. ve seal activate, all of you obediently go back inside your prison."
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Berimalmanded, and immediately the cor on the prisoners started turning red making them unable to defy the order. Even though their knees gave up, they somehow were able to pick themselves up and walk towards the prison.
"Hmph, [Essence Mana Disruption]"..
The mana around the surrounding was sent into a turbulence thus negating the effects of the ve cor.
The prisoners who were now free from theirmand came back to their senses and nced at the maid in amazement. It was only now that they realised how powerful she was. Although they were surprised they quickly came to terms with it when they thought she was from the tyrant mountain guild.
"Now¡ RUN!!!" Ate shouted waking the dazed prisoners.
Some hesitated, while some immediately turned around and ran. There were different types of responses initially but soon all of them turned around to run away.
"Leader let''s go," Bargo said carrying Bn who was heavily injured on his shoulders.
"Yeah" Now that they don''t have to worry about the cors acting up, they can run without any worries.
Seeing the humans that he made his prisoners run away, Berimal''s smile finally crumbled reced by a furious expression that very much suited his fierce face.
"You lowly species dare to go against me!!! ROAR¡" the orc roared and immediately took out his weapon. Now that he no longer restrained his aura, everyone running away finally understood who they were up against as they felt that terrible aura.
"Will she be okay?" Bn stopped to ask.
"There is no way to tell, since she was confident enough to confront it, I hope she will be able to hold the orc down. There is no point in us staying here any longer leader. Given how powerful that orc is we will only get in her way if we stay here" Bargo and his teammates insisted that they leave.
"Don''t think that you can get awa¡" Berimal tried to ignore the maid and gave chase towards the human; however, he was quickly stopped in his tracks by a powerful aura that suppressed his own, released by the woman in front of him.
What''s more, to stop him she even created a wall of fire that blockaded his vision of the humans that he held captive. Realising that he cannot underestimate the woman in front, Berimal clicked his tongue and focused all his attention on her.
When his eyes went towards the wall of fire, it realised that it was no ordinary mes but golden mes that held an infernal amount of heat. If he tried to pass through that, it had no doubt that his body would get burnt severely.
"Looks like all the humans have escaped from this ce. What should we do now master?"¡
"Let''s see, I have several questions for that orc. While I''m busy investigating information out of him keep all the other orcs away. Also since you are at it, help those three humans who dared to barge in from the front. You don''t need to show yourself just provide back up from the shadows".
"Understood master".
At this moment, several voices rang out not far away from Berimal and a few figures who were hidden behind a tent, revealed themselves. Seeing them approach so close to him without even him realising Berimal had a shocked look in his eyes.
"You¡ How?!" it pointed its finger at Simon, Bianca, Alice and asked.
"Then I will leave to support those ipetent humans in the front, Big sister Bianca should work together with Elder sister Ate to stop the orcs from disturbing master" Alice said before disappearing out of sight.
Bianca nodded her head and silently followed behind Simon. Naturally, the three of them ignored the orc''s question and set about doing their own business.
Simon after keeping the Ice Phoenix''s Sigh back inside his inventory, finally focused his attention on the orc who seemed extremely furious for some reason.
"Master¡" Ate re-joined him and stood by his side.
"You did a good job. Now then leave that orc to me, make sure no other orcs is able to get near here" After leaving hismand, Simon walked towards the orc using [Analysis] on it at the same time.
Name- Berimal
Race- Diluvian High Orc
Level- 455
,m Skills- Pain Resistance, Piercing resistance, Blunt Resistance, Heightened Sense of Smell, Leadership, Coordination, High-Speed Regeneration, Orc General Aura, Overpower, Berserk, Ultra Super enhanced Strength, Super Enhanced Endurance, Super Enhanced Defence, Thick Armour, Or?''s Wild Call, Brutal Swing, Brutal Tackle, Bile, Club Mastery, Starve, Appetite, Wild Swings, Tantrum, Body Fat Transfer.
Looking at its status and that level, Simon had no doubt in his mind that the one he was facing right now, was one of the orc generals under the orc king.
"So you are the one who was behind all of this, Human? GUGA¡ even if you managed to free your fellow members, as long as they have that salve cor on them, I can just retrieve them anytime I want. Your meticulous n will fail at the end no matter what you do" Berimal said barring his sharp jagged teeth.
"Hoh, is that so? Well then, in the case that I kill you, wouldn''t the ve cor stop working?" Simon shrugged his shoulders nonchntly and replied.
"GUGAGA¡ you want to kill me? Looks like I have been severely underestimated. Good then allow me to see how you are gonna do that human" the moment he heard that Simon wanted to kill him, Berimal erupted out in a burst ofughter. The fury that he was feeling swiftly dissipated reced by a mocking look in its eyes.
Simon did not mind the orc''s attitude, on the contrary, he pointed out the mistake it made.
"You don''t have to worry about that but before that, let me correct you. I''m not a human" he deactivated the trinket of Grimlock and in front of Berimal''s astonished eyes, his body turned that into a demon.
"Y-You were a demon?" the orc asked.
"Why are you so surprised? You didn''t think that you can just get away after attacking my territory right?" Simon questioned, one could see traces of anger sh in his crimson eyes.
"GUGAGA¡ it was as our king had mentioned you really dide out after we destroyed that town" Berimal''s said in amusement making Simon curious.
"Since you are not human, there is no reason for us to fight. In fact, the reason why I attacked your town and captured those humans was just to bring you out".
"Bring me out?".
"Indeed" the orc continued "I''m here on behalf of my King. He had discovered your dungeon long ago and has been monitoring your actions since then. It seems like you have managed to please our king and that is why he wants to make you one of his subordinates".
"The dungeon you have is incredibly useful, he wants to use it to capture there and breed them like a livestock. Of course, you will be rewarded for your achievements if you be the orc king''s subordinate. What do you think?".
Simon fell silent, he continued to nce at the orc with crimson eyes and replied "Give me a moment to think about it".
"GUGAGA¡ you may take your time, but don''t take too long. Not just anybody can be the orc King''s subordinate, you should be grateful¡ GUGA" A swordpletely crimson in colour as if bathed in blood came shing at his face before Berimal couldplete his sentence.
There was a big gash now covering his face and blood flowed out from that wound. This kind of wound was nothing for Berimal; however, it was the humiliation that came with it that angered him.
"You?!... Dare?" the orc snarled.
"Yeah right, I almost forgot. Here is my answer¡ tell your king to eat shit" Simon extended his hand and showed his middle finger to thetter.
Managed to please the Orc King? Be its subordinate? Make the dungeon a human breeding farm for him? Who does the orc king think he is? Did they think that he was some soft persimmon that they can just squish easily?
They came into his territory, turned the town upside down and now even forced such a ridiculous conditions on him. Fuck that orc king, Simon had it enough after listening to this orc general. The sword sh from him just now was his way of giving his answer.
"You bastard, you dare to humiliate our King¡ ROAR" Berimal roared, activated its [Overpower] skill and immediately started swinging the huge club that was strapped on his back.
Each and every swing of the orc general was powerful enough to create small gales not to mention the unique kind of power that was imbued within that club which was made of bones.
Simon matched his enemy''s aggression using his own sword and retaliated against every attack with an equal amount of force.
A diluvian High orc and a one that had risen to the level of a general, it was an existence that the Simon of a few months ago could only hope to run away against. However, he was no longer that weak demon who only thought about escaping when facing a strong enemy.
After going through the trial on the forbidden grounds and the pursuit he had to suffer in the kingdom, his view and attitude towards thingspletely and thoroughly changed.
So what if his enemy was the orc general or the orc king? The current Simon had enough confidence in himself to face them.
BANG¡ BANG¡ both the weapons repeatedly collided in a powerful sh generating sparks every time. Each weapon was powerful on its own, one was a [A] tier weapon while the other was made from the bones of a very powerful beast.
465 Chapter 465
[Wild Swing] the orc general activated another of its skills as it swung its club. It was no longer trying to recruit Simon and was instead using all of its power to crush thetter. It had beenpletely angered by the demon''s actions.
[Wild Swing] was a continuous skill that made the user swing their weapon in a random and wild fashion. Although it reduced the uracy of the blows connecting, each swing kept on getting stronger and stronger until the duration of the skill expires.
Additionally, it also drains a lot of the stamina of the user.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ it was like a storm of attacks, each and every swing from the orc general devastated thend and disced arge amount of soil.
The [Wild Swing] skill might be powerful; however, it was also full of ws. Most of the time, dodging that club was easy, while other times Simon simply deflected it using his sword.
Unlike the snobbish orc who only knew how to utilise its immense strength, his movements were refined and his sword attacks were deadly. He was using his enemy''s momentum and power to increase the speed of his sword shes.
Simon had already learned the [Sword Mastery] but it was just a normal basic tier skill. He had seen people who had evolved this skill and knew how powerful they were when they utilised it. Right now, his understanding and mastery over the sword was yet to reach that degree.
Simon understood that there was no reason for him to make it a melee battle especially considering that his opponent was a melee fighter. He can win more easily if he uses his magic which was also his most powerful forte to attack from a distance and wears his enemy out.
However, adopting that tactic won''t help him grow strong. Simon was not a human with a mage ss but a demon noble blessed with a good overall stats.
A Demon Viscount''s stats were far more higher than what the likes of Diluvian High orcs could even achieve thorough level up. Thus not utilising his physical powers even while having more than 3100 points in strength would simply be a waste of his potential.
CLANG¡
A sword and a club shed numerous times, due to the orc general''s strength stat being greater than his Simon was pushed back a little during the confrontation. Nheless, he was able to endure through the duration of the [Wild Swing] while suffering minor damages.
Simon drank an elixir of healing to get his HP back to the top and nced at the orc general who was out of breath. Clearly, the after-effects of using [Wild Swing] skill had caught up to it.
"[High-Speed Flight" he unfurled his wings and swiftly rushed towards the orc general. This was his turn to mount the pressure and force to orc to use his other skills.
Brandishing his sword, Simon pped his wings and rushed towards his opponent with an overhead swing. Most often than not, such a big movement was easily dodgeable; however, the orc general was exhausted now.
Thus it wouldn''t be able to dodge the attack. When it saw the demon rushing towards it, it instead used its club to defend itself.
CLANG¡ the weapons collided for the umpteenth time. At this moment, Simon disyed a smile. Right after his overhead swing was blocked, he shifted his bnce and using the slight gap when his enemy''s attention was focused on his sword, he delivered a kick right onto its abdomen.
BANG¡ the orc general was pushed a few steps back and held its stomach in pain. This was the first time after bing the orc general that it was pushed back in a head-on battle. It red at Simon in anger and roared.
[Orc General''s Roar] it''s roar was so powerful that the very air started shaking and everything around it in a few meters was pushed back. It was not only that, the roar also had the added effects of intimidating its enemies and reducing their power making them slower and dull to react.
Simon who was exposed to that skill, was not an exception. He felt his senses dull and his power go down a little. However, that was when a pop-up prompted in front of him and a wicked smile crept up to his face.
The orc general realising that its roar was effective, used another of its skill [Bile] to temporarily offset the exhaustion from the [Wild Swing].
[Bile] a skill that allows the user to umte a certain amount of frustration and anger which then gets converted into agility temporarily. It''s a racial skill that only a certain number of races can acquire.
The orc general already had an edge over Simon in strength stat but after activating the [Bile] skill, its agility which wascking far behindpared to its other stats, increased drastically. All the frustration and anger that it had been suppressing, now erupted out of his body and shrouded it in ayer of red aura.
Thud¡ thud¡ thud¡ the orc general unlike its bulky build, ran like an athlete that was quick on its feet and quickly approached Simon. It brandished its club which now glowed red due to simultaneously activating [Brutal Swing] skill to further enhance its attack a notch and swung it towards Simon in a full swing.
If it connected, it would no doubt be a devastating attack and Simon would be blown hihg up in the sky.
Normally, it would be impossible for someone else to avoid this attack after getting their senses and speed slowed down by the roar. However, Simon was different. The moment the [Orc General''s Roar] affected him, his fragment of pride acted up and forcefully removed the debuff.
[You have been affected by the Orc General''s Roar. All your senses and power will be reduced for a short period of time].
DING¡ [Fragment of Pride has been activated, all debuffs have been removed. Your Emotions other than pride will be suppressed].
The Fragment of Pride interfered and forcefully removed the effect. That is to say, Simon wasn''t slowed down by the roar. Before the club could smash him out of the park in a homerun, Simon pped his wings and effortlessly dodged the attack.
BOOOM¡ the club connected to nothing; however, just the force behind that attack was enough to sweep through the dozens of meters of path in front of it like a shockwave.
"GUGA?" the orc general eximed in surprise but the next second it swiftly stepped back and dodged the sword that dug itself deeply into the ce it was in just a second ago.
"So it dodged that huh? It is much faster than before.. is it because of a skill" Simon calmly analysed while under the effects of the pride. He arched his hand and the sword immediately flew back to him... [Dominator''s Control].
After opening a distance between each other, an orc and a demon red at each other, each observing and learning the attack pattern of the other.
BANG¡ the orc general was the first to move, since it was under the duration of the skill [Bile], it had to keep on pressuring the demon before the skill ends.
From their sh earlier, it learnt that it cannot underestimate the demon and thus went all out against it in its battle. The bulky body of the orc jumped to a height of more than ten meters and reached the flying Simon.
A movement that was impossible for a normal orc.
Whoosh¡ Whoosh¡ Whoosh¡
Simon conjured a few me spears that flew towards his enemy to try and slow them down. [Brutal Swing] however, it seemed that just a swing from that heavy club was enough to snuff out his mes spears.
After dissipating the attacks of the demon, the orc using the momentum of its jump, shed against the sword of the demon and managed to push thetter onto the ground. After that, it chained its attacks with numerous swings.
[Club Mastery] a skill that allows him to effortlessly wield a club as big as him. Sparks generated wildly whenever their weapons collided, the earth would tremble and huge shockwaves would devastate everywhere.
Seeing that he was being pushed onto a backfoot, Simon activated his augmenting skills to further buff his strength and revealed a thrilled expression. His demonic side that sought this kind of stimting battle, where his enemy was no less weak than him, was excited at this moment.
It was like everything had disappeared in this world as Simon kept on immersing himself in the battle. Unknown to him, he reached a special state that only a handful of people could reach.
In this state, Simon found himself improving at a fast rate, his movements started bing more clear and his attacks profound. The sword in his handing was starting to feel like an extension of himself and moved in the exact same way as he wanted it to.
"GUGA?!" the huge club of the orc general that was powered by [Bile] and [Brutal Swing] was easily fended off by the demon. What''s more, the atmosphere around the demon seemed to be somehow different than just a while ago.
Berimal was starting to get overwhelmed by the demon whose attacks were getting shaper and polished by the second. What''s more, its attacks on the other hand were starting to get weaker due to the duration of the skill that was about to wear off.
The orc general was distracted by the sudden rise in the power of his enemy and was thus a second to react. at what came next
466 Chapter 466
In a life or death battle such as this one, even a moment of negligence could cost one their life.
Simon who had entered a unique state, did not miss this opportunity and swung his sword with even more precision. He changed the hold of his sword hilt and plunged the sword inside the body of the orc.
Although he felt some resistance due to the [Thick Armour] skill of his enemy, he was still able to dig quite a bit deep. The stab was able to reach their organs.
Simon was just about to continue with his attack and activate the infernal magic of his sword, to burn their insides when suddenly his instinct started ringing rm bells. He immediately disengaged leaving his sword inside the body of the orc which was a right decision to make.
After suffering a blow, the orc general had gone crazy and activated its [Tantrum] skill without waiting for the duration of its other skills to end.
BOOOM¡ a huge shockwave with the orc as the centre erupted out creating an enormous crater. Everything around the crater was blown into smithereens or turned into fine granules. Except for the [A] tier crimson sword that stuck onto the Orc''s body.
The sword was blown back from the shockwave and disappeared within the thick foliage of the forest.
Seeing this, Simon was relieved of his decision to immediately disengage.
"What kind of skill was that" he thought internally. The skill just now was far too lethal both for the enemy and for the user. Simon could see that the orc general HP go down by a lot. Surely, it too have suffered some serious damage after using that skill which meant that it was a duel-edged weapon.
While Simon pondered whether he should continue on with the melee attacks, his eyes suddenly went wide when he saw the orc prepare to fire another one of those shockwaves. Although the range of the shockwaves wasn''t big, it was powerful enough to disintegrate things.
That is to say, it had the ability to neglect the defence stat. It did not matter how much defence Simon had, once he got caught in that shockwave he would suffer huge damage.
Simon was right, after suffering that blow from him, Berimal had gone crazy from anger and humiliation that he did not care about anything any more. Even though he knew he would suffer serious damage for using the skill, he still activated the [Tantrum] skill.
A skill that produces powerful shockwaves around the surrounding in a fixed interval of time and uses the blood and HP of the user as the sacrifice. It was a skill that Berimal did not like using much often since it rendered him weak and severely exhausted after the duration of the skill.
Not to mention it had a small range so if he wanted to damage his enemy along with him, he had to be near them. However, the Berimal right now wasn''t sane enough to consider the consequences of the skill, all he wanted now was to destroy the enemy in front of it no matter the cost.
ZZzzzz... the air started vibrating around him and given how turbulent the mana in the surrounding was, one could tell that the orc general was preparing another shockwave.
------
A few kilometres away, near the entrance of the camp. Three humans were currently facing hordes of enemies that came out of the camp. The leader of this group, Bastian held his sword tightly and blocked any enemy that rushed at them.
Everywhere heid his eyes, he saw orcs and high orcs surrounding them. Their numbers were so high that he felt like a cornered animal. He finally realised how foolish it was to rush at the enemy''s camp with just the three of them.
? "Haa¡ Haa... Bastian, I don''t think we can get past them" one of his teammates replied.
Even without him telling that, Bastain already knew it was stupid of him to even think they stood a chance to save theirrades from the clutches of the orc. He was being far too idealistic and because of that he also risked the life of his other two friends who would have been fine inside the town had he not brought them with him.
"I''m sorry, because of me you guys also got caught up in it," He thought that since they couldn''t see any orcs on their way here or on patrol, they could sneak inside the camp and rescue theirrades without alerting.
However, even when covering their scents with mud and grime, they were still found out before they even got to the camp.
"What are you saying sorry for? I was the one who agreed toe while fully knowing the dangers. If I die, it''s on me. However, I will make sure to take a few of them with me to their graves" Another guy replied gritting his teeth.
Each of them were just a few levels away from reaching level 300. An ordinary orc was not a threat to them. In fact, they have already dealt with quite a number of them.
However, the enemy''s main forces weren''t the orcs but the High Orcs who were each above level 200, some even reaching level 250.
For an experienced adventurer, a high orc might not pose too much of a problem but it was their number and coordination that was a threat. A group of orcs due to their racial skill, coordinate much better than an average group of adventurers.
Which is why, the adventurer''s association always caution parties and teams to not engage a group of orcs if possible. Well, it would be a different case if you find a single roaming orc, but orcs mostly move in groups and are very difficult to sneak in on due to their high sensitivity to smell.
THUD¡ THUD¡ at this moment, the ordinary orcs surrounding the adventurers made way for ten bulky high orcs to pass through. Each of these high orcs were huge and were carrying logs as big as a person''s body.
Even their level was maxed at 250. That is to say, they have reached the limit of their growth a long time ago.
Bastian and his group made a triangr formation with their back facing each other. After cutting down a few more ordinary orcs that rushed at them, the group turned their gaze at the ten huge high orcs that came out of the camp.
Just from their aura alone, it was enough for Bastian and the others to know that this group of High orcs were different from the others. With the appearance of these high orcs, they might not be able to fight as leisurely as before.
What''s more, after fighting this many ordinary orcs, their power and stamina had clearly decreased a lot.
"Prepare that thing, I don''t think we can beat these high orcs if we fight them head on" Bastian called out to the adventurer on his right who was the only assassin amongst the two warriors.
Thetter nodded his head and took out a couple of pouches from his space ring and handed it to the others.
RAOARR¡ with the roar of the one in the middle, the group of orcs as if in perfect synchronicity, started charging towards the adventurers. With their huge size, they were like ramming trucks razing and ttening the area wherever they charged.
RUMBLE¡ feeling the rumbling of the ground and the pressure from the charge of the ten maxed level high orcs, Bastian and his group tightly held onto the pouch in their hands. And with all their strength, they threw it towards the high orcs when they were only a few meters of distance between them.
POOF¡ when they couple of pouches knocked against the bodies of the orcs, they immediately burst apart allowing the contents inside, to spread out.
An extremely repellent and pungent powder came out of the pouch and was inhaled by the onrushing high orcs.
GRRAOARRR¡ unable to bear the smell due to their heightened sense of smell, the high orcs screamed in agony and toppled onto the ground unable to control the speed of thier charge.
"Get away" Bastian with one hand covering his nose, shouted out and jumped away from the path of the orcs. One by one, all of the charging high orcs crashed onto the ground or onto the surrounding trees due to the powder they inhaled.
"Huff¡ looks like bringing these was the right choice," Bastian said tossing a pouch in his hand. The thing on his hand was called the stench powder and could be found in a potion or a weapon shop. It was one of the items that were used when running away from a monster that has a special sense of smell.
The stench powder, other than blocking their sense of smell for a period of time, did nothing else.
Bastian and his group had used this stench powder to dodge the attack from these high orcs. In the first ce, their goal was not to fight all these orcs but to rescue theirrades that have been captured by these orcs.
"Alright, keep on throwing the powder at them. It should keep them upied for some time while we take this chance to enter their camp and save our friends" Bastianmanded. He threw one pouch after another filled with stench powder at the orcs.
POOF¡ POOF¡ due to the heightened sense of smell of the orcs, they screamed in agony and were unable to resist against the stench powder. They fell on the ground one after another clutching their nose in pain.
"Now¡ this is our chance" Bastian seeing that the orcs have spread out, chose this moment to rush inside their camp.
467 Chapter 467
However, before they could take a step inside the camp, a gust of wind that dispersed the powder, came from inside the camp.
"Looks like we have some clever rats on our doorsteps. Since you all are already here, I might as well enjoy myself too" An orc many times bigger than the High orcs and red in colour, walked out from within the camp surrounded by simr looking orcs.
"Diluvian High Orcs!!" Bastian grit his teeth and stated the name of the race of orcs that massacred their alliance.
The orcs that came out, were on a different level than even the high orcs and were truly a source of nightmare for them.
"GUGA? I was wondering how brave the ones that dared to break into our camp were but it seems like the ones over here are mere baits. It looks like I wouldn''t even need to step up to crush them".
Beldoom said looking at the three humans who looked already exhausted after fighting some mere foot soldiers. It then nced at the orcs and the high orcs who were lying on the floor clutching their nose in pain.
"I see it was that repugnant powder huh? It''s like you humans keep oning up with these devious ideas" Beldoom spat, it then spoke some garbled words towards its subordinates who then fixed their eyes on the target.
Twenty five menacing Diluvian High Orcs, slowly approached the three humans who seemed to be in a dilemma as to what to do.
Bastian who was the proxy leader of this group, gulped. There was no way he was not feeling the pressure against these many Diluvian High orcs. Forget about their chances, he couldn''t even see a glimmer of their victory if they fought this group of orcs.
They had no other options than to put their hopes on the stench powder and hope that it would also work on the Diluvian High orcs. Thinking so, Bastian and his team threw a pouch of stench powder towards the approaching orcs with all their strength.
However, as if they already knew what the humans were nning, they did not even bother avoiding the pouch and simply allowed the powder to spread around them.
The stench powder was powerful enough to render even a big maxed level High orc grovel in the ground, there was no way it wouldn''t affect the Diluvian High orcs whose sense of smell was many times superior to ordinary orcs.
In fact, the effects of the stench powder was many times more powerful on the Diluvian High Orcs. That is only if they inhaled it, the twenty five or so diluvian High orcs marched on ignoring the stench powder around them.
"W-What it doesn''t work?" the assassin cried out in shock. He was the one who brought the stench powder from the town in hopes of immobilising his enemies with this.
"Watch out, they areing" Bastain shouted, he had already switched to his shield and sword. He used his shield to block the huge iing club from one of the Diluvian High Orc but was still pushed far into the back in the process.
It was not only him both the other warrior and the Assassin were having a tough time contending against a single Diluvian High orc.
"GUGAGA¡ you humans think you are the only ones who are smart? [Wind st]" Beldoomughed and used the Wind magic to disperse the powder once again. It knew that the humans had lots of this powder in their space ring and they would only be encouraging their enemy to use more of it on them if they showed any weakness against it.
Thus, using its [Coordination] skill itmanded all of the Diluvian High orcs to hold their breath for tens of minutes and ignore the powder. Doing so, not only made the enemy think that it was ineffective on them, they wouldn''t be using any more of this powder on them during the fight.
Orcs can easily hold their breath for tens of minutes thus it was no problem for the Diluvian High orcs to hold their breath while fighting.
BANG¡ one of Bastian''srades, the assassin was sent far into the distance and crashed into a tree. After a while, including Bastian, all three of them were rendered bloody from head to toe and were barely holding on.
Clearly, they were far too weak to face a Diluvian High orc yet.
"GUGAGA¡ I think it''s time for the one pulling their string from behind toe out" Beldoom muttered when suddenly a huge explosion erupted from inside their camp.
A huge wall of fire rose from the ground and divided their camp in half.
What was going on? Before Beldoom could ponder on it further, his keen senses picked up multiple scents approaching this ce. The enemy was not only outside the camp, but had managed to creep inside too.
Somehow, they were able to fool their senses and sneak inside their camp.
"Snort, foolish humans even if you sneak in, General Berimal is inside. There is no need for me to worry about the intruders inside, I will simply deal with the ones that are approaching now. But before that, finish the ones in front of you" Beldoom saidmanding the orcs.
The Diluvian High orcs in the front roared and applied more strength in their attacks, battering and pummelling the humans. They were just about to finish the assassin who was the weakest link in the group when suddenly an arrow brilliant blue in colour pierced through the darkness of the night and bore through the head of the Diluvian High Orc that was trying to deal the finishing blow.
THUD¡ that Diluvian High Orc fell down limply onto the ground.
A single attack! The other Diluvain High Orcs froze in shock, they couldn''t believe one of their own was taken out by a single blow.
WHISTLE¡
Another arrow came piercing the night and took out another orc sending the entire group into a frenzy.
This time though, Beldoom was able to see the direction the arrow came from. It was from their back, more precisely from the camp. One of the intruders were responsible for it.
Beldoom had no doubt in his mind, the ones that had already intruded inside their camp was the ones that were pulling the strings from the shadow. Judging from their scent, there were four of them inside.
However, what confused Beldoom was that after firing a few shots, it was as if that presence had disappeared from the ce. Even he an orcmander, couldn''t detect where that presence was anymore.
What''s more, they have also stopped firing altogether. As much as Beldoom wanted to find the perpetrator and punish them, he had to focus his attention on the ones approaching from the front first.
From their scent, the enemy was more than twenty and given how they managed to arrive here they must be somewhat strong. Beldoom was not wrong, the ones that arrived at the camp, were Xandros and his group.
"Guild leader we found three people passed out, they are surrounded by the orcs" a subordinate reported to Xandros.
The level 504 adventurer calmly nodded his head, took out his weapon from the space and walked out of the bushes to approach the fallen warriors. Hisrades boldly walked beside him.
"Are you alright¡ can you hear me?" He bent down to check the condition of Bastain and his group who were badly injured and were in need of immediate treatment.
"Ugh¡ puff" Bastian tried to open his mouth only to spit out a mouthful of blood. Xandros brought a healing potion from his space ring and sprinkled it onto the injured man.
"Ack¡ pl¡ease¡ save¡ m..y¡rades" perhaps because the healing worked, the man was somehow able to form some words before losing consciousness.
"Yeah, don''t worry" Xandros said putting the man down slowly.
"Take him to the backlines and tell the mages to cast healing on them" Xandros ordered, he had quite the favourable impression of the man who wanted to save his friend even while he himself was beaten down to the point where it would not be wrong to say that they would die if they did not heal them.
"Comradeship¡ huh? I didn''t think I would find such great quality from some of the adventurers in this remote ce". Xandros nced at the backlines where the adventurers who were held captive inside the camp were.
"Don''t worry you friends who were captured, are all fine. Although they still have their ve cor on, an alchemist should be able to get it off" There was no way the unconscious warrior would be able to hear him. Nheless, Xandros said it out loud.
"Now then¡ it seems like we arete for the show" Xnadros could see the huge wall of fire that was inside the camp, his keen eyes told him that it was no ordinary mes but infernal mes.
Whoever, that did this, had saved the captives and told them that they were from their guild. Although Xandros did not know why they would do that, he could just find that out when he meets that person.
ording to the adventurers that were held captives inside the camp, the one that saved them was a maid wearing an armour who imed that they were from the Tyrant Mountain. Xandros wanted to talk with that person and if possible, scout them to his guild.
"GUGA?!!" ¡ the Diluvian High Orcs and the other High Orcs that came to their senses now, tried to attack the man who had disturbed them from killing their prey.
But before they could even take a few steps forward, a de energy that came out of nowhere, decapitated all of the orcs in front at once.
468 Chapter 468
There was no needless movement, a clean sweep that any warrior who saw this, would praise. A single swing from Xandros was enough to bring down more than five Diluvian High Orcs, dozens of ordinary orcs and ten maxed-level high orcs.
This action not only took all the orcs by surprise but also created a sort of anxiety and fear upon them. Even Beldoom who was watching the entire thing from the distance wasn''t able to clearly see the attacking.
This fact alone told the orc that it cannot look down on that human in the front.
Beldoom roared and called forth more of the battle-ready Orcs from inside the camp. Their camp in total has more than five hundred orcs out of which a hundred were Diulvian High Orcs Led by General Berimal, one hundred fifty high orcs and two hundred fifty plus ordinary orcs.
A lineup as grand as this was on par with a battalion. Even if the ones engaging them were the strongest humans that were in that town, they should at least be feeling some pressure against their numbers.
Beldoom would have also joined his army against these humans, however, he was on guard against that mysterious intruder who had sniped two of his fellows before.
"What should we do vice guild leader?" After taking oin the three heavily injured adventurers, the assassin who was one of Xadnros''s close subordinates asked. At this point, they still had the option to retreat back to the town.
Xandros did not answer immediately, he looked at the wall of fire in the distance and made up his mind.
"Can you feel the mana fluctuations that areing from inside the camp?".
The assassin when asked that, looked confused. They then tried to imitate Xandros and closed their eye and strengthened their senses. That was when they felt the powerful mana fluctuationing from two huge sources sweep over the entire camp from the distance.
" This is¡?" the assassin looked askance.
"That''s right, that mysterious person is currently entangled in a battle with something, probably an orc. Since they are holding one of the orcs, probably their leader on their own, we should use this chance to clear the rest of the orcs" Xandros dered drawing his sword.
The rest of the guild members from the tyrant mountain guild and the other adventurers from the various guilds nodded their heads without objections.
As if it was practised hundreds or thousands of times, they got into formation and after allocating a minimum number of adventurers to guard the survivors, the rest of them with Xandros in the lead slowly proceeded to engage with the waves of orcsing from the camp.
"This might be a tough battle, but it''s not a one where we don''t have a chance of victory so work your guts out and y these damn orcs that dared to step into our city with me" Xandros dered opening the curtains for the battle.
Humans when given amon enemy, instantly discarded all of their reservations and previous enmity to fight the enemy together. The same was the case right now, apart from the ten members from the Tyrant mountain guild, the rest of the adventurers in this group were from other guilds who had their own agendas and schemes in mind for joining this expedition.
However, right now they had discarded all that to form a united front against their enemy.
"Hehe, so those humans are already here huh. I must report this to master" Alice who was watching everything from the rooftop of a makeshift house thanks to her [Hawk Eyes] skill, muttered at this moment.
She was also the mysterious assant that killed two Diluvian high orcs who were aiming to take the life of Bastian and his group.
Since her orders were to watch the group of three humans that were stupid enough to barge in from the front and provide backup if necessary, she had been watching them all along.
But now that another group of humans were here and had taken in those three, she knew that her job here was done and thus she swiftly left the scene to report this to her master.
When Alice arrived near the centre of the camp where the prison was, she saw a mountain of bodies with blood and guts painting the ground red. Nevertheless, there was no pungent smell since all of it was dispersed by the ones that did all of this.
It seemed that Ate and Bianca, her two sisters did their job properly and did not allow a single orc to disturb the fight of their master. Alice spotted her sisters and quickly ran towards them.
"Oh? Alice, you are here? What happened to those three humans" Ate asked, Alice was tasked with watching over the humans, if she was here then it mean that...
"Un, those humans are safe. Another group of adventurers arrived at the camp, they are taking care of them. Ah right, I came here to report that to master. Where is master by the way?". the valkyrie asked blinking her eyes.
This ce waspletely destroyed and the topography altered, evidence of the fierce battle that urred here. Despite that, the ones that were responsible for it, couldn''t be seen anywhere.
Ate who had been watching over their master, pointed in the direction of the pond "Master lured that orc over there. He said that fighting it in a ce with dead bodies lying all around, was far too foolish. We were waiting for you, since you are here, then let us go and witness master''s battle".
Alice nodded and with that, the three of them hurried towards the ce where the orc general was.
Not far away from the camp, was the pond where a colony of Tortacosta used to live once. However, they were all killed and eaten by the orcs. At some point, the pond was dyed red with their blood and their bodies floated on the surface of the water.
But at the present moment, that very pond waspletely dried up leaving only a huge depression in the ground.
At the bottom of the what once used to be a pond, two figures could be seen. One was lying on the ground while the other remained standing.
The one on the ground was none other than the orc general whose body was so badly scorched that their inner muscles could be seen.
Simon on the other hand, had suffered damages all over his body with several of his bones broken. Nevertheless, he was still standing on the ground.
"haa¡ haa¡" willing his legs forward, Simon slowly approached the body of the orc general. Although he had defeated Berimal, thetter was tenacious enough to still survive with the silver of their HP remaining.
Simon bent and picked his sword up. Because he didn''t have enough MP remaining to use [Dominator''s Control] he had to pick it up physically and drive it inside the body of the orc onest time to deal the finishing blow.
DING¡
[You have levelled up]¡
[You have levelled up]¡
[You have levelled up]...
Killing the orc general gave enough experience to raise Simon''s level directly to 418.
"It''s finally down¡ huh" he sighed, the orc general was tenacious enough to endure all of his attacks. Especially its, [Appetite] skill that allowed it to restore its HP back by eating the corpses.
Simon felt like it was quite the cheat skill since whatever damage it had dealt to itself by using [Tantrum] and the numerous attacks that he had thrown at the orc, was all healed by consuming the corpses.
It was due to this reason that Simon had lured the orc general to the pond. Who knew that, the pond was already devastated by the orc army with corpses floating on the water?
To prevent the orc general from restoring its Hp back further, Simon had to resort to extreme measures by evaporating the entire pond with his Infernal magic. After that, it was just a battle of attrition between him and the orc general who had activated its [Berserk] skill.
Huff¡ [Elixir of Healing consumed].
Simon gulped the contents of the vial, sat on the ground and focused on healing his wounds. He did not have to worry about monsters attacking him since most of them were wiped out by the orc army.
"Master are you alright?" after a while, the Valkyrie sisters arrived at the scene and rushed to his side.
Seeing the genuine concern in their eyes, Simon nodded his head and asked "What about you all? What happened to the rest of the orc army?".
"About that, a new group of humans had arrived at the camp and is now dealing with the orc army. The one who seemed to be leading them, is around level 504. So I don''t think master has anything to worry" Alice reported rubbing her nose.
Simon mused at those words of hers. Above level 500 there were hardly any adventurers in the tower town around that level. The only one that was, belonged to the Tyrant Mountain, the strongest guild that is currently tackling his dungeon.
If it is them, Simon had no reason to worry. He got back on his feet and along with Ate, Bianca and Alice, they swiftly disappeared into the depths of the forest.
Not long after Simon and his group disappeared from the pond, the skies above the pond, fluctuated a little and a figure appeared standing solely in the air. The person did not release any aura nor was there any fluctuation of mana that shoulde from using a skill.
It was as if there was an invisible foothold in the air upon which he was standing on.
"So he is the one that Venerable Red mentioned huh?!" the person said before his figure was covered by the clouds.
469 Chapter 469
Inside the camp, corpses of the orcs could be seen being moved around by the adventurers and their weapons collected in a corner.
The ce waspletely devastated by the impact of the battle. The orc army that upied this ce was defeated and theirmander killed by Xandros.
On the other hand, there were only a few injuries on the side of the adventurers, one could even say that it was their overwhelming victory. However, the man who led his group towards it, Xanfrso himself didn''t seem particrly happy or excited over it.
After throwing the head of the orcmander that he took with his own sword, Xandros walked towards the centre of the camp which bore the signs of a fierce battle.
"Vice Guild Master... we have finished rummaging through the ce, there are no other survivors here. We have also called a team of adventurers to bring several carts with them to take the bodies of the orcs back. With this many, we are sure to earn some good profits if we sell them to the merchants".
The assassin who was busy collecting the corpses of the orcs, approached him and reported. Every part of the body of an orc was extremely useful, their skin was used to process leather armours, bones and blood to create potions, eyes and galldders to create medicine and so on and so forth.
If sold to an alchemist, the money they would earn would easily cover the costs to rebuild the town. The assassin smiled thinking that it was not a wasted trip toe out of the dungeon after all.
However, when he saw that their Vice guild leader was out of sorts, he couldn''t help but ask.
"Is something the matter vice guild leader?".
"What do you make out of the battle from the destruction that urred here" Xandros pointed out in front of him. Arge portion of the camp that was previously covered by a wall of fire was decimated to the point where it seemed like a barrennd filled with destion and death.
"Seems like there was a fierce battle that urred here. From what I can tell, some incredibly powerful skills were used to cause this level of destruction" the assassin muttered.
"Right, so what do you think? Can you defeat them if you were toe across one of them?" Xandros asked, looking at his face one cannot tell what he was thinking.
"Well, I cannot really say without using [Analysis] but it would be pretty much impossible for me to fight either of them if they are capable of using such powerful skills" The Assassin smiled bitterly.
Xandros nodded, he could tell that the beings that fought here, were powerful enough to even warrant his question. Just when he was about to delve deeper into his trains of thought, a subordinate belonging to his guild, came reporting.
"Vice guild master, I have scouted around the area as you have ordered. There is something that you must see". Xandrosmanded a portion of his group to stay here while he took a small team with him and followed the subordinate.
After some time, they appeared in front of the pond or what seemed to be a pond was now just a dried-up hole in the ground. Given how incredibly heated the ground was and signs of moisture still lingering around the ce, one could tell that an enormous battle had urred here.
"Vice Guild master¡ there" the subordinate pointed at the body that was at the bottom of the hole.
Xandros and his team descended onto the hole and approached the body only to realise that it was badly scorched.
"Isn''t this one of the Diluvian High Orcs?" the assassin observed the body and said. Even if the body was badly scorched given the frame of the corpse, it perfectly matched with the monsters they had just defeated.
"Look at this vice guild master, it''s a stab wound" the assassin pointed at the head of the orc.
"Hmm? So this is the orc that person¡ªno, that maid was fighting?" Xandros muttered. He could see that the orc lying on the ground was different from the other Diluvain High Orcs. Given how big and intimidating its body was, there was no doubt that this orc was higher in rank than the one he had fought.
"Is there anything else? Any clues about the person that defeated it?" Xandros asked, if possible he wanted to meet with that maid that killed this orc and saved the captive humans.
However, it seems that they have already left the scene. After searching the ce for any more clues, the group of adventurers joined with the team that was at the camp and went back to the town.
Today''s matter cannot be said to bepletely solved since they have to find the reason why the orcs marched all the way here when they should be living far deeper inside the forest.
------
On top of a distant mountain at the borders of the eastern region of the forest, four people could be seen siting around a campfire. The light from the campfire fell on their faces and illuminated their surroundings.
The group of four were none other than Simon and the Valkyries.
"Un, it''s cooked enough.. give it a try," Simon said taking a skewer out from the campfire.
Currently, their group had stopped on a mountaintop for a break as they waited for the early rays of the sun to break out. Meanwhile, Simon had decided to use this time to recover his depleted MP and HP to its peak.
Since just around and doing nothing was boring, he lighted a campfire and used the monster meat they hunted to make a barbeque of sorts. For the maids, this was the first time they were having an adventure like that, they enjoyed every moment and were thrilled to start a campfire.
"Unn~ It''s delicious master" Alice who was the first to try a bite said.
"I''m d you liked it. Since you people are always the ones to cook us a meal, let me treat you this time. Ah here''s butter, smear it on top and try it, it will enhance the taste" Simon bought butter from the [Shop] and passed it to the Valkyries.
"Master, in that case, we won''t be shy" Ate and Bianca tried the meat skewers too. Their eyes when they felt the crunchy, spicy and the rich taste the meat brought to their taste buds, their eyes shined just like stars.
The Valkyries might be set to be morepetent and skilful in cooking than him but this was a rare chance for them to try his cooking.
"Hehe, I cannot wait to see big sister Bea''s envious face when I tell master had cooked for us after we return back" Aliceughed with a devious face.
Looking at her mischievous side, Ate smiled helplessly and turned her gaze towards her master who was busy grilling the meat.
"Master¡ what are you nning to do now?".
"Hmm¡" Simon was silent for a while before looking towards the distant western direction of the forest.
"The orc general that came here was on orders from the Orc King. They seemed to have discovered my dungeon and are scheming something. There is no way this attack would be thest attack on the tower town and it wouldn''t stop even if I killed one of their Orc generals".
"If we don''t resolve this matter before it blows out of hand, our dungeon will be affected severely. In the worst-case scenario, the town will be deserted by the humans. Therefore, I must address the root of the problem and put a permanent stop to this" Simon stated clenching his hands into a fist.
"I see¡ this is why we did not return to the dungeon immediately and instead came here"¡
"Then nom nom¡ is master nning to wipe out the orcs?" Ate and Alice asked, one could even feel the enthusiasm to go to battle once again from them. The fight earlier wasn''t even an appetizer for them.
"If need be then¡ªyes" A deep crimson glow shed inside Simon''s eyes "But before that, there is a certain individual I want to meet. If all goes well, we might be able to further improve the defence of our dungeon".
------
Deep inside the Diluvian High Orcs territory, located in the western region of the forest was a vast underground space dozens of kilometres big. The space inside was lit up by the magma deposit that sometimes came out from the small geysers on the ground.
A strong sulfuric smell lingered around this ce. At the centre of the underground space, there was a huge carcass of some entity who in its prime might have been hundreds of meters big.
The carcass surrounded an altar in the middle and on top of which rested a throne. The throne was made from the simr bones as the carcass around it and was emitting a dreary aura.
Seated on that throne, was a crimson orc so huge that, even the big Diluvian high Orcs might feel small in front of him.
"So are telling me that you want to one-sidedly terminate this partnership?" Belgarios the King of the Diluvian High Orcs said in a heavy gruffy voice.
"Haha, the orc king misunderstands, all I''m suggesting is that we put our business on hold for a while. You see our kingdom is currently entangled in an issue and cannot do business with you for a while".
A person covering his figure from head to toe with a ck robe and a mask said.
470 Chapter 470
"That is why I hope that the orc king can understand that we are not trying to terminate the one-sidedly or anything" From the stature and the frame of their body, one could easily tell that they weren''t any orc.
The Orc King Bergarios grumbled, a strong aura of that of a disaster ss beast permeated out of him just by sitting on his throne.
"I don''t care about the circumstances of your kingdom. But you do realise that halting our business at this point is a huge loss for me right? The deal was for me to supply arge number of orcs in return for mana crystals equivalent to the weight of each orcs".
"After doing business for more than thirty years are you telling me to suddenly put the trade on hold? Don''t think that I don''t know what you are doing with the orcs that I''m supplying to you. I''m suffering a huge loss here due to you people, how are you going to reimburse me for that?" the orc king said putting pressure on each of his words.
Since the face of the person facing the orc king was covered, it was hard to tell what kind of expression they were making. However, from their bodynguage, it was easy to tell that they were somehow fawning over the orc king.
"Of course, our kingdom understands that, that is why we have brought 50 tonnes of mana crystals topensate the orc king," the man said taking out a space ring.
The orc king extended his burly hands and the space ring immediately flew over to him. From that, one could see how masterful he was in using his mana.
The orc king checked the contents of the space ring and snorted "Hmph¡ do you think a measly amount such as this is enough? The quality of the crystals is also merely grade [2]".
Hearing that, the man said wryly "The orc king should know how valuable grade [3] and above crystals are. Even our kingdom doesn''t have many quandaries that produce that grade of crystals. Consider the ones we gave you as an apology from our side and a consideration for our continued coboration".
Grade [3] mana crystals weren''t something that a third rate kingdom like theirs can spurge freely.
"So, how long do you n on keeping our business on a halt. Depending on your answer, I might decide to find a different partner kingdom to coborate with" Belgarious spoke keeping the space ring unceremoniously.
"Haha, surely the orc king jests, I hope that you will give our partnership a little more importance. On that note, I assure you that once the situation in our kingdom is resolved we will open our business as soon as we can" a droplet of sweat trickled down the man''s face.
Even though he had interacted with the orc king many times previously, it was still a challenging task to converse with a being who released such a strong aura.
"You have been going on about some kind of circumstance your kingdom is going thorugh. Can you not tell me what exactly is happening with your kingdom?" the orc king asked, his dark eyes falling on the man.
"Unfortunately, I cannot tell the orc king about this since I myself was not made aware of this. But I can assure you that whatever it is it will surely be resolved and our trade will open¡".
"Enough about that, I''m sick of hearing you repeat the same thing. I''m willing to wait for some time but I cannot wait for too long. You should also know how risky this business is for me too. Those subordinates of mine still do not suspect me. However, there have been growing suspicionstely".
"If possible, I want to transport those individuals away from here and as soon as possible. That is why, I will only wait for a month, if you are still putting this business on a hold I will find some other way to contact those guys you have been trading with. Now then, you should leave before my subordinates find you. Also, remember to erase your scent with the item I gave you".
The man sighed before melding with the environment and disappearing from the sight. Not long after that person left a group of Diluvian High orcs, led by an exceptional looking orc approached the altar and bowed towards the orc king.
"My King, I have arrived as per your calls" the orc on the lead said.
"You did well by arriving here as soon as possible. I hope that you have been well? Did you look into that thing I had asked you before?" Belgariouszy gaze fell on his subordinate, one of the orc generals, Berirock.
"Yes my king, I have thoroughly investigated the matter that was concerning you. It was as you have predicted, the orc general Berigard does indeed harbours the heart to rebel. He had been spreading false rumours about my king being the one behind the disappearance of the orcs to manipte the others".
"My subordinates have reported seeing him make various preparations and expanding his army. As such I believe it wouldn''t be long before he makes his move" Berircok reported.
The task that the orc king had given him was precisely to keep a tab on one of the four orc generals, Berigard. The orc generals were second only to the orc king and each governed arge area of their own inside the high orcs territory. They have their own subordinates and military and were a powerful force on their own.
"Hmm¡ is that so. That Berigard ns to rebel huh? What do you think about the false rumour that he is spreading? Do you too believe in that?".
The orc king asked while yawning. From his attitude, one could tell that he wasn''t the least bit bothered by one of his four generals rebelling and instead seemed to find everything extremely bothersome.
"How can that be my king? I am one of your loyal subordinates and will never dare to believe such nonsense. I think Berigard is out of his mind for nning such a thing. I believe he has forgotten that it is because of your presence and effort that we are still able to live inside the western region of the forest."
"If not for my king repeatedly repelling those monsters, our race of Diluvian High orc might have been forced to abandon this ce by now. It is presumptuous of Berigard to forget this fact and raise his weapon against you".
Berirock stated with sincerity, his anger towards Berigard could be felt from his words alone.
"Is that so¡ well I''m d that some of my are still in their sane mind. As long as I have your trust, it doesn''t matter how many people they try to manipte against me".
The orc king praised, his act was so genuine that it was hard for anyone to tell that he was actually just acting.
The culprit that was behind the mysterious disappearance of the Diluvian High Orcs, was none other than he himself. He had been acting and misleading the facts up until now and med it on the other monsters and the humans on the borders of this forest.
However, due to some unknown factors, the news about the orcs being captured and turned into experimental subjects found its way back into the forest and into the ears of the other Diluvian High Orcs. Thus making them more vignt.
Amongst that faction who believed the news, was Berigard and the subordinates hemanded. Somehow, thetter suspected him and was trying to overthrow him.
The rest of the orcs like the Berirock in front of him seemed to still have faith in him which was a good thing for Belgarious.
''For now, it seemed that the masses are still in my favour. I don''t know how you got to know it, but it looks like I will have to get rid of you too. Honestly, all of this is just too troublesome. Should I just rid of the entire orcs?
No, they still have their worth. Besides I still need a lot more resources before I can ascend to be a cmity ss'' the orc king thought internally.
"My king¡ what should we do about Berigard? If you ask of me, I shall immediately take my army and take him down" Berirock suggested. The orc behind thumped their chests as if saying that they do not mind to go into war with another faction.
"Do you have the confidence to win against him? if not then leave him alone. When the timees and he arrives before me, I will take care of him myself. But to be honest, it is quite a shame to lose a subordinate as capable as him. Even amongst all the other Dilviona High Orcs, Berigard is exceptional in that his unique physique is suited to be a shaman" Belgarious sighed.
The physique of the diluvian high orcs or the orcs in general were more suited to be warriors because of how their stats tend to concentrate more on Strength. However, Berigard was different in that his body was unlike any warrior with his overall stats focused more on Magic and Agility.
Shamans were what the beast race calls one of their own who are suited to use magic. They are equivalent to a mage in human terms.
Although very rare, there are some irregrities amongst the orc who are born with a high Magic stat and Berigard was one such individual. Even if it was another orc general like Berirock, it would be very tough to defeat Berigard.
471 Chapter 471
However, if it was Belgarious the Or King confronting him, it would be a different case entirely. Belgarious was someone who was already a disaster ss being and was slowly inching closer to bing a cmity ss.
There was a huge gap in levels that was as big as a chasm between them. No matter how powerful the magic of Berigard was, it would be foolish to think that he can take down the orc King.
Belgarious stood up from his throne and observed the giant carcass behind him. The carcass once belonged to a very powerful beast that took refuge inside this underground space thousands of years ago after being gravely hurt.
However, it looked like the injury it suffered was too much for it to recover from and thus it sumbed to its fate and died.
Their race of high orcster found this carcass and due to some mutation for absorbing some of the power inside it, they evolved up to be Diluvian high orcs. Thus it could be said that the carcass behind him was the source of power behind the Diluvian High orcs.
Besides that, the bones of the carcass were also used to make those powerful weapons of the Orc generals and orcmanders. Even after thousands of years, the remaining energy inside that carcass was vastly powerful.
''If I can fully assimte with the powers left inside those bones, I might be able to break the chains shackling the race of orcs and take a new step towards evolution'' Belgarious muttered internally.
"My King, I don''t see Berimal¡ is he not here?" Berirock asked looking around.
Out of all the orc generals, Berimal was the one who was the most loyal to the orc King. He was like a dog faithful enough to kill anyone for its master. Usually, the guy would not leave the Orc King''s side easily and would always be around like a bodyguard. Thus it was unusual to not see Berimal near the orc King.
"Ahh¡ him¡ª I sent Berimal on a mission, I guess he would be arriving soon with good news" Belgariousughed.
The mission that he was talking about, was to convince if not capture the demon of a certain dungeon located in the eastern region of the forest.
''Although I don''t know why, but that person is interested in that dungeon. If not for his order, I wouldn''t have sent Berimal at this important point in time'' Belgarious muttered in annoyance.
He had no interest in a dungeon created by a demon but because that person asked him to scout out the dungeon and if possible bring the demon into submission, he had no choice but to send one of his generals to the eastern region of the forest.
Needless to say, other than him and Berimal''s faction, no other Diluvian High Orcs knew about the existence of the dungeon and why Berimal was absent.
Come to think of it, it''s been a while since Berimal contacted me. Did he forget to send a sound transmission today? Or was he too busy killing those humans living in that town? I hope he wouldn''t go too wild and bring trouble for me.
In any case, if it''s him, he should be able to capture that dungeon. Haaah¡ everything is such a pain in the ass, if only I can be a cmity ss soon, then even that person wouldn''t be able to order me around.
The orc king sighed, he did not know how may times he had sighed already¡ªit might be over a hundred counting this one today.
In the ghastly winding forest, might reigned supreme. If you are weak, you end up bing another''s prey. You need strength to live by every day and to assert your dominance in the food chain or else you would just end up bing a pawn for somebody.
''Just a little bit more, if I can gain that kind of power and evolve, I wouldn''t have to fear anyone. Plus I wouldn''t have to keep this charade of trafficking orcs to those humans'' the orc king clenched his burly fists and sighed for the umpteenth time.
-----
East of the High orcs territory, at the centre of the barrennd, was a tall dark mountain, about a thousand meters big and filled with dead trees.
It was odd-shaped and in the middle of nowhere that it stuck out like a sore thumb. No matter who looked at the mountain, they would all say that it was unnatural and man-made.
However, today it looked even more irregr with thousands of orc gathering at the foot of the mountain.
At the top of the steep stairs of the mountain, were four individuals with varying strengths. The highest level amongst them, was leaner in build unlike the normal diluvian High orc and carried a staff that had many bones and core stones iid in it.
That individual was also standing a few steps above the three and was releasing amanding aura that made all the other orcs submissive to it.
"Lord Berigard, I have received news that one of the orc generals, the dog Berimal had left the side of the orc king to march towards the eastern region of the forest with his army. Given that it would take time for an army that big to return back, I believe that it is our one and only chance to overthrow the evil orc king while one of his generals is absent" the orcmander Bellock stated.
"I concur my lord. This is the best chance we will get to take down the orc king when a part of his strength is missing" the next to speak was Belmarch another orcmander under Berigard.
"I see.. No, you guys are probably right. What do you think Belsea?" Berigard turned towards thest of themander who had recently joined his faction after he was made aware of the atrocitiesmitted by the orc king in the dark.
"Hmm¡ my lord¡ªif I may be blunt enough, can I ask you what is the probability of us winning against the orc king even while one of his generals is absent" unlike the others, Belsea was much more rational when it came to going against the orc king.
Berigard couldn''t me thetter for being apprehensive after all, the orc king had been a disaster ss being for a while. Which goes to say that he was one of the stronger beasts inside the ghastly winding forest.
Even if there was somebody else in ce of Belsea, they too would be a little unsettled to go against an opponent like that.
Berigard closed his eyes and answered truthfully "I would say our chances of defeating him are pretty low. I was lucky and have progressed a lot since then, but the same can also be said for Belgarious. It is and will always be an unfavourable matchup for us".
"Nevertheless, it is not like we are going against an enemy we have no chance against. If all goes well and the condition favours us, we might be able to bring him down. It is very unlikely that all those conditions will work in our favour and truthfully our chances of losing is pretty high".
"But even then I want to take this chance and revolt against the orc king. I''m sick and tired of losing myrades by his hands, it is time that I take the wind out of his sail and show him the resolve of our Diluvian High Orc tribe".
Every time that he thought about the heinous crimes that the orc king which all of the orc look up tomitted, his blood boiled and rage filled his body. Especially after knowing what kinds of things were done to the orcs and hisrades by those humans after they were trafficked away.
The reason Berigard knew all of this was because he was one of the orcs that managed to survive the experiment and escape the clutches of the humans of that kingdom.
Berigard clenched the bone fragments tied to his locket and appeased the fury burning in his eyes. ''Soon, just wait a little more. The time for our revenge wille soon''.
"GUGAGA¡ So lord Berigard is asking us toy our lives down? GUGAGA¡ªbe it so, we won''t get another chance like this. This Belsea will do his best, I will never let another of my brothers be trafficked away by the orc king again" Belsea thumped his chest and dered in a warlike manner.
Seeing that all three of hismanders had made up their minds, Berigard nodded and turned his gaze toward the thousands of Diluvian High Orcs, High Orcs and ordinary orcs down below. Their numbers were so high that it was enough to take down a fortified city.
"That is a pretty big line-up, did you bring all of your soldiers?" the orc general asked.
"Yes my lord¡ªas you can see, I have around a thousand diluvian High orcs around level 320-360 under me. About three thousand High orcs working as foot soldiers and around seven thousand orcs as simplebours" Belsea reported.
The eleven thousand strong army down at the base of the mountain was under him.
Berigard hummed "With the addition of your army, we have about thirty-five thousand orcs in our numbers. Although numbers mean nothing in front of the orc king, as long as they can whittle away at his army it will be plenty".
"I feel sorry for those orcs who would die without knowing the truth. However, it is necessary for us to overthrow the orc king if we want the race of our Diluvian High Orcs to live inside this forest safely".
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Each of the threemanders nodded their head in agreement. They had tried to persuade the other orcs to defect to their factions; nheless, the loyalty ingrained in an orc, made them unable to go against the orc king.
"We will make our move on the night of the moon dance, two days from now. Bellock, Belmarch, Belsea¡ order your army to move discreetly through the northern front. We have already garnered attention from the other generals and they are monitoring our every move".
"I have a friend there who knows my n and is willing to let our army pass. Although I failed to persuade him to join our case, he at least won''t be barring our path when we wage the war against the orc king" Berigard solidified the n before dispersing the orcmanders and the army theymanded.
"[Gale Magic Mastery]¡ Sniff Sniff¡ªHmph, spies sent by Berirock huh!!" Berigard muttered and as soon as his voice fell, his body disappeared. He then appeared next thousands of meters away from his mountain and quickly grabbed the spying diluvian High orc.
"GUGA?!!" the orc that was captured by the throat, was surprised and tired to struggle free from the grasp. Nevertheless, Berigard was an orc shaman who was slowly bordering the levels of a disaster ss. He was in a league of his own, how could a mere soldier be able to rersist that kinf of power?
Soon, the orc was turned onto a bloody pulp. Space trembled around Berigard once again, and just like before, his figure disappeared and appeared on top of the mountain.
A day passed by in the blink of an eye and the night of the second day, which was also called the night of the moon dance. A ritual of the Diluvian High orcs where they gather at the middle of their territory for an annual meeting every year and dance.
This year, Berigard decided to use this day to wage war against the orc king when he calls forth for all of his generals in one ce to overthrow him for once and all.
Since it is a meeting where one can bring as many of their subordinates, it was a rare chance for him to bring his army. Normally, one isn''t allowed to bring their subordinates anywhere near the orc king especially when the guard dog, Belddom was around.
However, the night of the moon dance was different, out of the three generals siding with the orc king, one was away currently while the other one decided to stay neutral. Which meant that the orc king only had one general beside him.
It was a rare opportunity one that might note again.
The night of the moon dance was always held outside the underground chamber where the orc King resided, so in a way, it could also be said that it was a tribute to the orc king.
In arge za outside the underground chamber, one could see thousands of orcs swarming the ce, making bonfires, skinning monsters to roast meat and busily doing other various stuff. On a pedestal made especially for a single individual, was an orc whose stature, power and authority towered over every other orc in the za.
He was releasing an aura so powerful that the very air felt suffocating around him. The being seated on that pedestal was none other than the orc king Belgarious. Currently, he had a mug bigger than the human''s head in his hand as he sipped the contents of the mug in big mouthfuls.
BURP¡ a loud burp and a pungent smell wafted in the air, the orc king wiped his mouth and asked the orc beside him "Oi¡ are my generals not here yet?".
The orc that was one of the personal subordinates of the Orc King, replied orderly "My king, other than general Berigard and general Berimond, all other generals are here. Sir Berirock is seeing to some work while Sir Berimal¡".
The subordinate nced at the orc king and continued¡ª"we are unable to contact him".
Belgarious arched his brows at those words, his big snout twitched a little and he exhaled a deep breath.
"Unable to contact him you say? That is very unlike him. Did something happen to him while he was in the eastern region of the forest? No, that is not possible, there shouldn''t be any monster powerful enough to bring him down. Then it must mean that he is busy conquering that dungeon that he doesn''t even have the time to look at the transmission conch".
Thinking so, Belgarious dropped the topic and picked a different one "By the way, how are the preparations on our side?" he asked with a big grin on his face.
Likewise, the subordinate too smiled and responded "My king doesn''t have anything to worry about, I have seen to everything myself. We are prepared to snuff out any signs of revolt that the traitors might show".
"Good¡ Good¡ªGUGAGA, then let us wait and watch how this farce will unfold" the orc kingughed.
Time passed by swiftly and the swarm of orcs surrounding the za increased to a number big enough to make anyone dizzy. From a distance, they looked just like a red carpet with their heads bobbing like waves in a sea.
Midnight soon arrived and a new group of orcs swarmed the za. Their numbers were quite big, big enough to garner the attention of the other orcs in the za. The one leading them was Berigard who was followed by his threemanders walking behind him.
To his side was another general called Berimond and together they were the four generals that were under the orc king.
Berigard gestured his subordinates to stay behind and along with Berimond, he approached the tform where Belgarious was seated.
"GUGAGA, if it isn''t Berigard? I thought you would be quite busy to attend the event, fancy seeing you make the time" Midway, they were joined by Berirock who stood in the path to the pedestal.
"What are you saying? Today is the night of the moon dance and the orc king himself called for us, there is no way I would be absent from such an important event" Berigard responded in a calm, astute manner.
He did not waste time with Berirrcok anymore and swiftly passed by him to address the person he was here for.
"GUGAGA¡ you did welling all the way here. I assume you all have been well?" the orc king initiated after he saw the two bow in front of him.
Although Berigard was extremely revolted to perform a stance such as this, but for the sake of his n, he had no choice.
While clenching his hands and keeping his emotions in control so as to not reveal his hostility outright, Berigard addressed the Orc King.
"The orc king looks as impressive as ever, your aura is far more powerful than before, this one is in awe".
"GUGAGA¡ what are you saying, my aplishment in these past few years cannot be considered much whenpared to the rate of your growth. Honestly, I am blessed with a trulypetent subordinate. In the future, I''m thinking of even making you my second inmand¡ªwhat do you say?".
Belgarious asked, one could see a shrewd light sh inside his eyes. Second inmand, it was no doubt an alluring position that would make numerous orcs go green in envy.
Second inmand means that in the orc hierarchy they would be unquestionable, their authority second only to the orc king and above the other orc generals. An incredibly alluring offer; nevertheless, it also has its catch.
A second inmand is a position given only to the orc who is the most loyal to the orc king. If not for Belgarious announcing it in this event, every orc would have guessed Berimal to be the one to get that position. After all, amongst the four generals, he was the most loyal towards the orc king and was known for his monicker, the guard dog.
The orc king''s smile said it all, with his question he indirectly put Berigard in a position where he has to reveal where his loyalty lies. If he epted the offer, it was all good. In fact, it would also clear the doubts the orc king has been having about him and it would make it much easierter when he revolted to usurp the orc king''s reign.
Berigard could simply lie through his teeth and make the suspicions the orc king had over him fade away. However, if he did that, the thousands of orcs that believed and followed him all the way here, would be disappointed and even start judging his character.
However, if he rejected the offer, he would clearly be disying his intention in front of the orc king and make him even more suspicious.
Sometimes, in life one must tread on a harsh path even while knowing that there was an easy path out that would make their life much more easier.
Berimond who was beside Berigard, carefully looked at thetter with a mysterious expression. If it was someone else in ce of Berigard, they would no doubt ept this offer of fealty. However, Berigard wasn''t the type who would lose his subordinates'' trust just to tread on the easy path.
The orc king was fully aware of it, that is why he gave Berigard this option. It was his way of judging his subordinate''s loyalty.
In front of the stunned eyes of everyone present, Berigard bowed his head and rejected the orc king''s offer of bing the second inmand.
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Most of them looked at Belgarious as if he was an idiot but those that knew him, like the orcmanders understood the kind of resolve their general had and the person he was. He would never do something that would make them doubt and create uncertainty in the hearts of his subordinates.
"Hohh, I didn''t think that you would reject. Bing my second inmand, it should be a pretty decent position; No, a prestigious position for any Diluvian High Orc. Can I know the reason why you are rejecting the offer?" Belgarious asked with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"The orc King is right, it is an incredibly alluring position and one that only a fool would reject. However, I believe that I''m not suited for that position yet as such, I think Berimal would be more suitable for that".
Since Berigard was having his head down in a bow, one couldn''t see what kind of expression he was making. But from the tone of his words, it seemed like he was genuinely regretting letting go of this offer.
Belgarious gave a ferocious smile, his dreadful ws started extending out and even his dark eyes started to turn yellowish. If earlier he was only suspicious of Berigard, now he was absolutely certain that thetter knew about the trade he had been having with that kingdom.
The instinct to kill Berigard shed inside his mind for a second before Belgarious suppressed it.
The orc king closed his eyes and reopened them, the earlier aggression and bloodthirst was nowhere to be seen in those eyes.
"Is that so, well if that''s what you want to do, then be it. Now then let us start our annual meeting for the night of the moon dance. Since Berimal is absent this time, Berirock, you will be the one to preside over".
Belgarious stood up from his pedestal and walked over to the huge table meant for only the top brass of the Divulian High Orcs to sit.
The night of the moon dance besides being the event for the Diluvian High Orcs to meet, was also an event where important decisions rted to the survival and continuation of the tribe were decided.
Each year, one of the orc generals would preside over the event and brief everybody the problem/threat and various other issues that they have been facing while living inside the ghastly winding forest.
Solutions would be offered, argument would be made until they arrived at a method that each of them agreed upon or at least didn''t have any qualms with.
This year too, the watching diluvian high orcs crowd who didn''t know anything, thought that another council would unfold without anything exciting happening. Never in their wildest dreams would they have imagined that this year''s night of the moons dance would turn out to be the bloodiest council of all times.
One that would be remembered by the diluvian High orcs over the years.
"Since Berimal is absent, I Berirock would be the one to preside over this meeting as per the order of our king. I believe nobody has any problems?" Berirock nced at every general. Since nobody voiced any issue, he started the meeting.
"Then first let us discuss the fooding problem our territory has been having for a while. Most of the colonies of weak monsters that have been living inside the western region, are almost wiped out. If we want to secure food for the uing days, we have to send our hunters to the other regions. However, doing so will leave our territory open for attacks by other ns. Especially those bastards from the ogre n will not miss this opportunity".
The ogre n was one of the ruler ns residing in the western region of the Ghastly winding Forest. The strength of the both tribe was used to be on par once upon a time but now that gap had slowly increased with the ogre n pulling ahead.
Because the ogre territory bordered the diluvian high orcs territory, scuffles would break out every now and then with many casualties on each side. Hostility grew within the two tribes and now they were like ice and fire.
The only reason why the two ns never actually tried to wipe the other and spare all their efforts into it, was because they were wary of the other powerful ns residing within the western region that were eyeing them with the eyes of a predator.
"Those damn ogres and their constant invasion¡ we have lost more than twenty percent of our territory to them over the recent years and their soldiers are still inching closer to our viges from the northern front. I say instead of sending those hunters outside, why not let me borrow them".
The one to speak out was Berimond, the general in charge of the defense of their territory. Unlike the other generals who mostly saw internal and external affairs, he was mostly stationed at the borders of the territory and hardly left his post.
For him, the defense of their territory was paramount to whatever was happening within the n. The only reason he left his post and came here was to discuss this issue.
The orc king, Berirock, and Beirgard all creased their brows at the mention of the ogre n. It was true that their Diluvian High Orc n was facing a major problem, the n of ogres in these past decades, was slowly pressing in on their territory.
Their soldiers were constanly invading theirnds and upying their viges. Due to their race falling behind in strength gradually, they were unable to fight back and reim theirnds. By now, they have lost arge part of their territory to the Ogre n.
"I know what you are trying to convey¡ GUGA. However, we cannot send our hunters to the frontlines, or else we will soon be facing a food shortage problem. You don''t want your soldiers in the eastern front to fight on an empty stomach do you?".
Berirock responded. Although he was revolted just by the mere mention of the ogre n, he nevertheless chose to set it aside and discuss the much more easier problem and that was to gather food. The orc king silently sat on his seat while Berigard chose not toment.
"Since there is no opinion against it, with the authority granted to me by the orc king, I will be sending the hunters to the northern region of the forest to gather food" Berirock dered.
Berimond could only make an ugly face after his proposition was shot down. The same thing would happen every year whenever he brought this issue and this year too it seemed like no decision would be taken on that part.
Berimond dejectedly sighed, the reason why they weren''t retaliating even while being pressed so hard was because the ruler of the ogre race was one of the seven kings. It was only natural for beings in the higher pecking order in the food chain to suppress the ones down below.
They were somehow able to make do and keep the other ns at bay because of the existence of the orc king Belgarious. However, it didn''t daunt the ogre ns whose ruler was one of the seven kings.
''If things continue like this¡ soon it would be our diluvian High orc''s turn to be chased away from the western region'' Berimond thought internally. It was not an unknown fact anymore that the race who have lost their territory and strength with time to be chased away from the western region by new and stronger races.
''Berigard do you still want to usurp Belgarious even while knowing that? If so then let me see what kind of future you want to bring to our race. Though everything will be for naught if you cannot even aplish what you are setting out to do'' Berimond looked at Berigard but did not speak out loud.
"Now off to the next issue regarding the ogres in the northern front. Berigard, this year you are to provide fifty thousand soldiers to general Berimond to defend against their invasion" Berirock surreptitiously nced at the Orc King.
This issue was something that was ordered by Belgarious for him to raise when the time for the meeting came. Naturally, Berirock knew what his king was nning. Thus he couldn''t help but marvel at the genius of his king.
With this move not only will the other party be unable to refuse the order because of the threat that the ogres represents, the army that Berigard has raised will also slowly dwindle in the battle against the ogres.
It was like killing two birds with one stone.
After Berirock finished reciting the order, all eyes were on Berigard who was yet to speak out. Silence descended around the table and was only broken when Berigard stood up.
"It is not a problem to lend my army to general Berimond. However, I ask you to wait for a while". Berigard''s words made the onlookers frown, they couldn''t help but turn towards Berirock who assumed an angry face.
"Are you telling that even while fully knowing about the threat the ogres represent?".
"I''m not saying anything about not sending my army, I''m simply asking for you to wait. In the first ce, during the previous years, we all decided to share the burden send an equal portion of our army to the northern fronts".
"Why is that this year only I have to send my army to make up for that number?" Berigard did not lose his calm in front of Berirock''s aggressive retort, he simply countered it by raising the decision they made collectively in the past meetings.
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Berirock was unable to respond, he nced at the orc king and getting the cue, he pressed the other party with more arguments.
"Seems like we are getting nowhere. I''m d to know that my fellow generals are concerned about this matter. However, why not drop this issue for now and discuss the other topics at hand? Maybe we will arrive at a decision about this matterter" Berimond offered.
The orc king epted the proposal, and nodded towards his general who moved onto the next topic. A couple of minutes passed by like that with various topics being raised. Just when it seemed like the meeting wille back to the issue of deployment of the army, Berigard tapped on the desk to gather the attention of everyone around.
"What is it? It''s not your turn to raise an argument now" Berirock stated displeased by how Berigard acted.
"GUGA¡ Please excuse my behavior but I believe that we haven''t finished discussing all the issues concerning our diluvian high orcs race yet. There is still the topic of the orcs missing from our territory".
When Berigard raised this issue, all the eyes and ears in the za focused on him. the topic had been raised in the previous meeting many times, however, just like every other time it was dismissed or turned down as nothing but baseless.
This time, Berigard was hellbent to arrive at a solution for good.
"Not this again, how many times have I told you, there are no orcs missing. The orcs that you think are missing, have either deserted the territory or were killed by some other tribes in the forest. So stop spouting nonsense about the mysterious disappearance of orcs" Berrirock like always swiftly dismissed the issue while the Orc King narrowed his eyes.
"I''m not spouting nonsense. In fact, the most pressing concern is not the openly hostile ogre race but the mysterious disappearance of ourrades. I''m sure that you all have doubted this once or have experienced one of your friends going missing".
"This has been happening for quite a few years, there is no way you guys haven''t noticed yet. Every year I raise this issue and every year it gets shot down. I know it sounds far-fetched, but I believe that the mysterious disappearance of ourrades is not just simple disappearance".
"What are you trying to say? As I have told you before, the disappearance of the orcs is nothing but you overthinking stuff. There are many orcs on the frontlines who are dying or have disappeared somewhere. I don''t see you raising an issue for each and every one of them?" Berirock snickered.
"This and that issue are two different things, the disappearance of the orcs in the frontlines is because of other enemy races who have captured or killed them" Berigard reasoned.
"Then how do you know that this issue is not rted? Do you have some kind of proof?" Berirock was ready to dismiss the issue once again when suddenly the words that Berigard said, made him widen his eyes and not utter any sound.
"I do. In fact, I had this proof with me for a while but I doubted that things weren''t as simple as it looked thus I delved deeper into the matter and investigated every leads that I could find".
Of course, this was a lie. Berigard had already known who was behind it from the start, there was no need for him to investigate anything. The only thing that he wascking was evidence that he finally got his hands on now.
HE looked at the orc king for a split second before continuing¡ª"To my surprise, things were much moreplicated than I had thought. Ourrades weren''t just mysteriously disappearing, but were being trafficked away".
BAM¡
"Nonsense!! What are you saying? Do you even know what you are implying?" Berirock could no longer take this anymore and mmed his hand on the table.
"Yeah, I do. There is a traitor among us who is supplying ourrades to a foreign human kingdom in exchange for resources and supplies for themselves".
"sphemy!! Berigard, even if it''s you, you should choose your words more carefully. Do you know what will happen if a general like you starts spouting such nonsense?" Berirock roared, he was just about to grab Berigard when the orc king stood up from his seat and walked towards the crowd.
"Hohh¡ª that''s some interesting lead that you have managed to find. Since its one of my trusted generals who is speaking this, we should hear him out. So tell me Berigard, ording to you, who do you think is the traitor who is doing such a heinous crime as to selling out a member of their own race?".
The onlooking diluvian High Orcs in the za were silent, all eyes were drawn towards Berigard who made such a bold im.
Of course, for a person of Berigard''s status to say something like that, he must have some definite proof. All the orcs were waiting for Berigard to continue but the next moment when they saw the person he was pointing at, they stood rooted in their ce in shock and bewilderment.
Not a single soul present in the za other than Berigard''s faction was able to believe what he was saying. After all, the person that he was pointing at was none other than the orc king, the one that their loyalty and faith were tied to.
An uncanny silence descended onto the za before it was drowned out by theughter of one person.
"GUGAGA¡ What kind of joke is that? Berigard are you saying that I''m that person?" the one to speak out was none other than Belgarious the orc King. He had an unfazed expression on his face even when pressed against a charge by one of his own generals.
"Berigard!!! Even if you are a general, using something like that to your own king, is a serious crime. You won''t go unscathed for it" Berirock bellowed and immediately took out his weapon to personally deliver the punishment.
His actions immediately set the orcs in the za into a frenzy. Two generals about to duke it out¡ a scene like that was something that did happen a few times in the past night of the moon dance.
However, it would always be a verbal confrontation and never came to an actual physical fight. After all, if two generals were to fight it out for real, the scale and devastation caused would be too big.
Plus it did not look like the orc king has any intetnion of intervening or mediating the situation between the two parties. The other general was the same, both of them looked at the situation with a passive stance.
"Punishment?! Well, if it''s something that I deserve, I will naturally not run away from it. However, the one guilty here, is not me but the person behind you. Today, I shall prove it to everyone here that the bastard that sold his own tribe to humans for his own gains was none other than Belgarious".
Berigard did not back away, he was determined to bring down the orc king the moment he decided to attend the meeting today.
Belgarious narrowed his eyes, a faint killing intent was starting to radiate from his body. Nevertheless, he did not make his move yet and simply observed the situation like he was some outsider.
BANG¡
The Orc King was able to hold himself back; however, that couldn''t be said so for Berirock who along with Berimal was one of the loyal dogs of the orc king.
When his subject of worship was being ndered like that, how could he keep himself calm? The moment he heard Berigard discard all forms of respect for the orc King, he erupted out in anger, rushed towards Beritgard, and drew hisrge axe in an overhead motion in an attempt to chop thetter in two.
The power of a general was second only to the orc king and amongst the four generals, Berirock could easily rank in the top two. His level was above 450 and he was one of the orc warriors that specialised in dealing heavy damage.
If he were to bepared to an adventurer, he would be like a berserker whose entire skill set focused around offensive skills.
Berirock did not waste time a nd directly activated a skill called the [Executioner''s Cleave] which was also one of his most powerful skills.
He in his attempt to punish Berigard, did not regte his power and the skill had about ny percent of is power imbued. If it connected, Berigard was sure be severely hurt; however, before Berirock coulde closer, he was assaulted by a st of wind that was powerful enough to metastasize from a small wind to a powerful tempest in the blink of an eye.
BANG¡ the orc general was mmed far back and drew a long ditch in the ground. A silence that was fundamentally different from the previous one, permeated the za.
The orcs that were watching the face-off from the distance, drew long breaths of air after seeing general Berirock who was regarded as one of the most powerful generals, get easily blown off by a single attack from Berigard who was ranked thest out of the four generals.
It was not only he onlooking orcs, but even the orc king and the orc general Berimond were astonished by this scene. Although Belgarious knew that Berigard had leveled up quite a few levels in these past few months, never did he expect the rate of growth of the other to be so drastic.
Added to the fact that Berigard was also an orc shaman, a constitution that rarely appears amongst the orc, made the general even more dangerous in the orc king''s eye.
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Plus the magic that Berigard used earlier was none other than advanced magic.
GRUAAHHH¡ with a loud shout, the orc general crawled out of the hole he made and red towards Berigard.
He was just about to attack when Berigard spoke once again¡ª"You should stop your pointless attacks. Haven''t you realized already that you aren''t my match?".
"You!!" Berirock eximed in anger and shame. He wasn''t a fool to not realize the difference in their strength, in fact after getting hit by that attack, his whole body became sour for a few seconds and multiple of his ribs was broken.
Now the words made him lose his face in front of the crowd. Berirock bit his teeth, unresigned by the fact that the general who was supposed to be beneath him, was suddenly far stronger than him.
Unable to ept it, he tried to attack Berigard once again. However, midcharge he was stopped by three orcmanders that were under Berigard.
"What is the meaning of this Berigard? Are you trying to revolt?" the orc king asked. The army that was brought by Berigard, suddenly sprang into action and encircled the entire za.
"Hmph, I want to see how long you can keep this pretence" Berigard snorted and addressed the boggled crowd in the za.
"My fellow orcs, please do not be rmed, my army is not here to fight indiscriminately. We are only here to take down this heinous criminal that has been deceiving us for years. I know that you are angry at my conduct and manner. However, trust me when I say I have proof that will bring the entire truth in front of you guys".
"What are you guys doing, get them out of my way" on the za after being stopped by Berigard''s orcmanders, Berirock shouted towards his own army.
Immediately, a few burly orcs jumped out of the crowd and rushed towards Bellock, Belmarch and Belsea.
"Leave them to me," Belsea said and turned to face the orcmanders of Berrirock.
Berigards'' orcmanders might be extremelypetent; however, it was not a joke to face an orc general head on. Thus it needed the two of them just to keep Berirock busy.
"It a pity that you want to go against me. Losing an orc shaman as talented as you will be a huge loss for our diluvian High orc tribe. There is still time, if you bend your knees and swear your loyalty to me once again, I shall pardon all your crimes Berigard".
On the meeting table, the orc king whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear.
Berigard dismissed the offer with a gruffy snort and turned his attention towards the crowd who were cautious of him.
"I have proof that the orc king was the one behind the disappearance of our fellow orcrades. This is a transmission conch that all of you are aware of. Recorded in this conch is the conversation between the orc king and a human middleman that is responsible for trafficking the orcs from our territory to a human kingdom".
Berigard took a transmission conch from his space and presented it in front of everyone. Seeing the conch, the orc king clenched his hands, the impulse to break the conch shed inside his head. However, it was quickly suppressed by his rationale as doing so would put him in an awkward position.
Without waiting for anyone, Berigard yed the contents of the transmission conch. Since he also used his mastery over tempest magic, the sound travelled across the entire za without any problem.
"You told me that you would be sending hundred tonnes of Grade [3] mana crystals in exchange for warriors above level 300? These are only of grade [2] with hardly a few grade [3] mixed in between. Are you trying to scam me?".
A husky voice that was very familiar to the ears of the onlooking orcs, sounded out. It was followed by a voice that could only possibly be of a human.
"Haha¡ that is true, the deal was for me to provide hundred tonnes of grade [3] mana crystals in exchange for warriors above level 300. However, you failed to keep the end of your bargain. This time''s quota was far less than thest time. Naturally, you don''t expect us to pay for things that we didn''t get right?".
Listening to the record, one could tell from the tone of the two voices that it was not their first time interacting with each other.
"I told you before didn''t I, we are currently in a scuffle with the ogre tribe. It is very hard for me to fulfil the required quota at this very time" the orc in the transmission reasoned.
"That is not our problem. A deal is a deal¡ I will wait for our next dispatch until then, I hope you solve your problems".
It looked like the human on the other hand was about to hang up and the record would end here when¡ª"Wait a minute, you told me that you would be sending the next dispatcher soon. However, I haven''t heard from any such person for a while?".
"Hmm? Well he should be there soon. He has the transmission conch and that item, he will be contacting you soon".
The transmission ended here leaving the crowd baffled and stunned. The orcs couldn''t believe their ears even after hearing the whole record. The voice in the transmission conch was no doubt belonged to the orc king.
The person that they trusted wholeheartedly and the one they were so loyal to. Seeing the reaction of the crowd, Berigard nodded his head. He could empathise with the ones on the za; after all, it was just too much to hear their king, their pir of faith beraying them.
"GUGAGA¡ since you were talking so unwaveringly about this proof, I have been wondering what it was. However, it turned out to be a simple transmission conch? Laughable, do you really think you can manipte the minds of my subjects just like this?"
"Everyone, please do not trust this recording. Those knowledgeable orcs should know that it is very easy to tinker with a transmission conch. This is especially so for those humans. Everyone, do not be swayed by the lies of general Berigard. He must be working together with the ogre tribe and is trying to revolt to overthrow me at this crucial time when the threat of ogre lies just in front of us".
Belgarious didn''t rise up to the position of orc king for nothing, he wouldn''t just sit still and allow someone to manipte the crowd against him. With just a few words from him, he immediately shrugged the me towards Berigard and made the proof he brought out as good as null.
The crowd who was about to be swayed by the sounds in that transmission conch, snapped out of it.
The words of the orc king made more sense to them. The transmission conch wasn''t a definite evidence against their king and just as Belgarious said, it could be easily tampered with.
The crowd started to be suspicious of Berigard''s intention, it made them wonder if he really sided with their enemy tribe to overthrow the orc king at this delicate moment.
Seeing the momentum he had garnered revert back to the Orc king''s side, Berigard was silent. Nevertheless, he wasn''t too upset by this situation since he knew it wouldn''t be this easy to sway the dozens of years of faith and belief the orcs had in Belgarious.
Therefore, when he came here, he was resolved in all sorts of situations.
"What now, the proof that you had was rendered mute by me. Now ording to thews, I can punish you for ndering and trying to revolt in any way I want. But I will still give you another chance in the ord that you are still useful to me. Bend your knees and swear your loyalty to me. Do so and I will pardon all your crimes".
The orc king smiled in victory. However, his smile soon crumbled apart when he saw, Berigard signal something towards his army. Immediately, they brought out something that was wrapped in a cloth from head to toe.
Seeing how it writhed from time to time, it was no doubt a living thing.
"I never said that sound transmission was the only evidence that I had" Berigard dered and took out yet another thing from his space ring¡ª"Everyone, please look at this. This is what we have found inside the space ring that man had on him".
The crowd finally understood what that thing wrapped inside the cloth was, they turned their head towards the object in Beriogard''s hand. It was amon pouch that was carried by humans and was used for storing small misceneous items.
What was so unusual about this item for a general to bring it out at this moment?
"Everyone, this is no ordinary pouch, stored in it is the leaf of a nt that could only be found in the deep regions of our territory. You all know it as a nt that has the medicinal property of healing wounds. However, when it is mixed with another item, it gains the property of cleansing all kinds of scent. It is also something that I found out after investigating the person over there".
HUSTLE¡ BUSTLE¡ the crowd went into a frenzy after they were made aware of this. What did cleansing all kinds of odour meant? Didn''t it mean that the sense of smell that the tribe of orc took so pride in, was meaningless in front of it?
Didn''t it mean that using this anyone can intruide their territory without even them being aware of it?
476 Chapter 476
It was natural for the Diluvoian High orcs to be disturbed when something like this was revealed. This news also made the words Berigard uttered earlier seem more usible. After all, if a member of their race wasmunicating with a foreign race inside their territory, thetter would have to somehow mask their scent or risk being discovered by the orcs.
However, there was no such incident where a foreign race managed to enter deep inside their territory. If they were using the nt, to cleanse their scent, it would be possible to escape the senses of the orcs roaming around.
Plus, the fact that the intruder had this item on him, made it all the more certain that someone was working with the humans or else there was no way they would be able to get the leaves of that nt.
"What is the guarantee that human had it on him? It could also be forged by you to make it seem like that? What''s more, you say that the leaves of that nt when mixed with another item, has cleansing properties. However, all I see on that pouch are just the leaves, where is the other item?"
Belgarious argued back, he had this sudden hunch that he shouldn''t give any more chances to Berigard.
The orc general knew this wasing hence he arched his chin towards his army who quickly removed the wraps from around the human.
"Mmhh¡ Mhhh" the moment the human was free from his wraps and was able to see around him, he started to struggle from the cuffs he had on his mouth, hands and legs.
"I knew that a simple recording of the transmission conch won''t be enough. That is why I have prepared another piece of evidence that will bring out the truth in front of everyone. Bring that man here" Berigard ordered.
The man was brought where the meeting table was.
"Now then¡ tell us what is your name?" the orc general asked removing the cuffs from the man''s mouth.
"Haa¡ Haa¡ gulp¡ Cain¡ª Cain Waltz" the man muttered.
"For what reason did youe here?" Berigad pressed on.
"I¡ came here to retrieve this month''s s cargo" the human as if his spirit was already broken, answered everything.
"Were you using the leaves of Kuniga nt to mask your scent?".
"Yeah"..
" Who are you working with?"¡
Berigard asked the human one question after another.
"Oi.Oi¡ªwait a minute, are you trying to make us believe everything that humans said? How do we know that he is not lying and working with you to deceive us?" Belgarious asked bringing one of his hands behind him surreptitiously.
He took out something from his space ring while all the eyes was focused towards Berigard.
The matter that the orc king asked, was precisely on the mind of the orcs. Even if it was a solid evidence, it was not like they can trust the human.
Berigard knew this and thus prepared a solution beforehand¡ª"Naturally, the words of a human are not something that can be trusted easily. Hence we are going to use the Rengue Fever on him".
This statement immediately settled the doubts the crowd were having. Rengue Fever, a kind of fever that the orc caught when bitten by a Rengue Mosquito.
A Rengue Mosquito was one of the dangerous monsters that lived inside the western region of the Ghastly Winding Forest and fed on the blood of the many tribes that lived there. It was as big as the average head of a Diluvian High orc and their bites were powerful enough to pierce even steel.
However, that was not what made them one of the dangerous monsters that lived inside the forest, it was the disease that they spread to the bitten prey.
Regnue Fever, even the Diluvian High orcs are afraid of it, it not only heightened their sense of pain, it also made them hallucinate and weakened their systems.
Even a powerful Diluvian High orc above level 300 would sumb to their death if bitten by a few Rengue Mosquitos. It was not known if a human would be able to survive the Rengue Fever, but they should be able to survive for a couple of days at the very least.
Berigard was trying to use the hallucination property of the Rengue Fever to make the human talk. It worked more than as sufficient evidence for the orcs since they knew how the Rengue Fever worked.
An orc captain from Berigard''s army brought out a Rengue Mosquito that they have captured beforehand.
Looking at the Rengue Mosquito, the Orc King''s eyes twitched slightly, he didn''t expect Berigard to employ this kind of method to make the human utter the truth.
In fact, the human that was captured by Berigard, was the handler for this month that he had just seen off a few days ago. He had ordered thetter toy low for some time since the night of the moon dance was approaching near and even supplied him with some leaves from the kuniga nt.
However, he didn''t expect that thetter would get caught even after all this preparation.
Belgarious cursed the useless human in his mind, if not for that man he wouldn''t be having this much of a headache dealing with Berigard.
''I guess I have no choice. Althoguh doing this would strain our business a little with that kingdom, it cannot be helped'' the orc king thought internally.
The Rengue Mosquito that was captured was brought near, its proboscis easily dug itself inside the human amidst their scream.
Before the mosquito could suck too much blood out of the man, it was pulled away. However, the disease had already spread to the man as he was showing symptoms of Rengue fever.
His whole body was starting to heat up and perspire and he had thatidback expression on his face.
"That worked faster than I expected"¡
"Of course, he is a human after all, not an orc"
Was the discussion that was going around in the crowd.
"Alright, now answer my question. What is your name?" Berigard repeated.
"Cain Waltz"¡ those words were enough for the orcs to know that the fever was having its effects.
"Where did youe from".
"Ingolf Kingdom".
"What is your objective behinding here?"..
"I... was send here to get the cargo"¡
"What is this cargo you are referring to?" Berigard asked, the man was about to reply when suddenly his body started jolting abnormally and before long, veins started appearing on his face and foam from his mouth.
This phenomenon that made everyone perplexed,sted for a couple of seconds before the man sumbed to the pain andid motionless on the ground. There was no doubt in anyone''s mind that the man was dead.
At this moment, when nobody was looking, Belgarious surreptitiously stored an item back into his space ring.
While every eyes was focused on the motionless man, the orc king stepped forward and dered "It seems like your n worked against you Berigard. You were trying to frame me; however, you didn''t expect the man to die from the fever did you?".
Nobody knew how the man had died, thus they can only connect it to the Rengue fever.
Berigard had a baffled look on his face as if he didn''t expect the situation to go down like this. Sure he had used the Rengue mosquito to make the man hallucinate; however, the fever shouldn''t be powerful enough to im the life of the man within a few minutes.
There was something wrong here, although he couldn''t tell, he knew that it had something to do with the orc king who had suddenly changed gears.
The orc King''s words made sense to everyone. They did not know what would happen to a human who got bitten by a Rengue mosquito as there was not a precedence before. Therefore, it was easy for them to ept this exnation rather than rte it with something else.
The orcs who were starting to believe Berigard shook their heads at this moment. The evidence that the general brought out was all frivolous. If he had nothing else to prove his ims, he might very well be severely punished or even killed for the offence he hadmitted.
"If you have any other so-called proof, right now is the good time to take it out," Belgarious jeered, a smile of victory on his face.
There was no need to even ask who would the orcs on the za side given that there was no definite proof against the orc king.
The Orc King''s prestige and reputation was something that was known by every orc. Their loyalty to him surpassed the boundaries of respect and borderline near faith. It was only natural that they would be angry at Berigard given that he had insulted their pir of faith.
The orc general clenched his hand in frustration, he didn''t know what the orc king did, but it ruined his final chance of bringing the truth in front of everybody.
Seeing Berigard ball his hands, Belgarious knew that he had won this bout.
"Hahh¡ªI knew it from the start, the orc king can never do something like that to his tribe. His existence is the reason why we are able to somehow fight off the ogre tribe. I believe everything is clear to everyone now. General Berigard is a traitor that is working behind with the ogre tribe to overthrow the orc king and ruin our tribe" Berirock spoke out.
"I believe he is also the one that is working with the humans to traffic our fellowrades to weaken our power. He hasmitted a heinous crime that cannot be pardoned. I petition the orc king to punish Berigard with the most severe punishment for betraying our tribe".
477 Chapter 477
Berirock shouted from within the za. He was one of the most loyal subordinates of the orc king and never questioned his faith. Seeing that it was nothing but a plot to besmirch the image of the orc king and not the truth, of course he was happy.
"GUGUGU¡ it''s a pity, you were so close to revealing the truth. However, it seems like I had won in the end. Ah, it is all thanks to you, if not for you bringing that human so close to me, it wouldn''t have gone this smoothly" Belgarious smiled and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear.
"You!?... you were the one who killed him?" Berigard asked gritting his teeth in hatred.
"GUGAGA¡ I don''t understand your confusion. Did you really think I would sit back and allow you to reveal the truth in front of everybody? Of course, I killed that man before he utter anything relevant. of course, you yed a huge part by bringing that human this close to me for the seal to work. You did a good job ying into my hands".
Mockery, ridicule and derision, the orc king''s tone had no shortage of it.
Berigard''s body shook in anger, hatred and self-loathing. He was this close to rallying the entire tribe against the orc king but now all his hopes and efforts have been shattered into nothing.
No, it was not like everything was over, there was still thest resort avable to them and that was to start a war. Berigard took a deep breath topose his emotions and turned towards the direction where his army was.
Although this method would severely cut their own strength marginally and make them vulnerable to the other tribes that are eyeing them, there was no other choice.
Before focusing on the threat outside, they must first cut down the tumour that has been guing them and make them rot from the inside.
ROARRRR¡
With a rallying roar, Berigard summoned his staff and raised it up. Immediately, the thirty five thousand strong army raised their weapons and roared in symphony.
Their actions cannot be any more clear to everyone.
"Everyone, it seems like I have failed to convince you all. Since that is case, I have no choice but to use a more forceful way. I hope you would understand and step back, our only goal is to overthrow Belgarious and not to hurt everybody. I hope you all will understand".
Even though Berigard knew that the orcs in the za were loyal to the orc king and wouldn''t just sit still while he takes the orc king''s head, he still had to put his words out there.
"GUGAGA¡ so it finally came to this. I must say I''m disappointed Berigard. You are an individual I would have liked to keep as my subordinate; however, it''s a pity that you are trying to go against me. Be as it may, there has never been a good ending for anyone that tried to be my enemy" The orc king unfazed by the army brought by Berigard statedzily.
"My fellow orcs, general Berigard has betrayed our n. As the honourable tribe members of the Diluvian High Orcs, I want you all to stop the army with me". With the orc King''s words, the orcs in the za immediately readied themselves to face the army of orcs.
The orcs in the za numbered only around ten thousand, there was no way they would be able to stop Berigard''s army. However, the orc king had another card up his sleeves.
He had long seen through Beirgard''s intention to revolt and had set appropriate measures for it. When he nced in Berirock''s direction, thetter getting the clue took out a long horn and blew on it.
HOOOONGGGG¡ a deep sound rang out across the za and a couple of secondster from within the underground chamber, came the rumbling sound.
Another army of orcs that was more than double the size of Berigard''s army and fully decked out in their gears surfaced from the underground chamber.
Looking at this army that was more than seventy thousand strong, Berigard arched his brows in a frown. He didn''t expect the orc king to be ready with an army of his own in preparation for their revolt.
Now on top of facing the orc king, an orc general, and a couple of orcmanders, they would also have to deal with his own tribe members.
Be as it may, there was no turning around from here on. From the moment they had decided to go forward with their n, they were ready for all sorts of conclusion.
"Bellock, Belmarch, Belsea¡ªI leave the army to you" Right after saying that, Berigard pointed his staff at the Orc King "South General Berigard demands a duel with the orc King Belgarious".
A duel was something that the tribe of orcs viewed as something sacred, it was initiated during certain events by other orcs to climb the ranks.
For the orcs, it was a like a kind of promotion exam and also a deterrent for those orcs who overestimates themselves. In the Dilvuain High orc tribe, one can only be an orc captain or an orcmander by defeating the one that upy that spot.
If they are powerful enough to wind the duel, they would be able to get that seat. If not, they would be thrashed and be reduced to aughing stock by their own peers.
Most often than not, the seats remain unchanged which shows how powerful the individuals sitting in those positions are. High ranks like the orc general hardly ever see any change unless a truly exceptional orc emerges out from within the tribe but in other cases, it remains unchanged.
As for the orc king, only a few individuals have been able to im this position from the beginning of their tribe. It wasn''t a position that one duels for but gets elected after being chosen by the previous orc king or gets the approval of the sacred spirit that resides inside the gigantic bones lying within the underground chamber.
Belgarious was someone who was selected by the previous orc king to lead them. And ording to their history, every orc king that has been chosen has led their tribe to prosperity.
What Berigard couldn''t understand was how an individual like Belgarious was chosen by the previous orc king as the selected candidate was unfit to be a king.
Today would be the first time in the long history of their diluvian High orcs history that anybody has challenged the orc king in a duel, a notion that was inconceivable to others.
"GUGAGA¡ a duel you say? Leaving behind the fact that you are still far from being his majesty''s opponent, you are not in any position to request a duel with the orc king. I Berirock shall entertain you in the orc king''s ce" Berirock butted in after breaking away from two of Berigard''smanders.
However, before he could jump in between, he was stopped by Belgarious himself "Berirock stay put. You will be incharge of our army, make sure that our losses are minimal. Even if they are siding with the traitor, they are our fellow tribe members in the end so allow those that are willing to surrender, live".
''Even after being ndered like that, the orc king is still thinking about his tribe'' The benevolent words of the orc king touched the orc general and the orc army. They were once again convinced that their king had never betrayed them and this was all just a craftily spun plot by Berigard to sow discord within them.
Having manipted the minds of the masses once again, Belgarious shed a sly smile. He then turned towards the other general who had been sitting on his seat quietly from the start with a gaze that seemed to be asking on which side he was on.
Berimond looked at Berigard and then at the orc King before making his stance clear.
"As I have said before, I have no ns on siding myself with either of the party. No matter what the oue we arrive at today, I don''t n to get involved as long as we are not attacked by a foreign race".
Convinced by that answer, Belgarious didn''t bother Berimond anymore andnded his gaze on his enemy.
"Since you want a duel, I will give you one, but do you really think you can beat me? GUGUGU... since you refuse to bend your knees, I will make sure to show you hell and kill everyst subordinate of yours until you do so".
BOOOM¡ the taunt was sessful, Berigard was instantly enraged when his subordinates were pulled in between and thus responded by conjuring a fierce gale that quickly materialised itslef into a hand and mmed towards the orc king.
Belgarious knowing that he cannot underestimate his opponent''s magic, responded by quickly dodging to the side and countering by enveloping his armour and weapons with his dense mana.
A dark blue shine starteding off from the orc king''s weapon which was then hurled towards Berigard''s direction.
The weapon further powered by ayer of mana sped towards the orc general at an unimaginable speed and managed to easily topple numerous earthen walls and guards that he put up.
BANG¡ the power of a level 563 orc king was clearly demonstrated, the weapon even after destroying all the defences that Berigard put up, did not show signs of slowing down and rammed through the orc general or so should be the case.
However, a red aura powerful enough to materialise itself suddenly appeared around Berigard like an armour and deflected the weapon away.
478 Chapter 478
This took the orc king by surprise and he was unable to connect it with his chain attacks.
Using this window of time to open up a distance, Berigard started channelling more and more mana into his staff. Since thest time where his staff was destroyed in the fight against the Lightning Draconic Serpent, Berigard had gotten himself a better staff that was made of the body of an ancient treant that was over level 500.
Whether it be in terms of magic capacity or mana flow, the current staff was many times better than the previous one. It took Berigard just a few couple of seconds to conjure a unit target advanced magic.
"Tempest Magic Mastery¡ª [Tempest Burst]"
A huge cannon of wind that waspressed to its limit, was fired from the staff. The magic broke the speed of sound and distorted the very space where it travelled and arrived before the orc king in the blink of an eye.
"Tsk¡ [st Force]" Belgarious clicked his tongue and activated his [Empower] skill to further enhance his power to dish out an attack that shed against the [Tempest Burst] with an equal amount of force.
The burst of power from both the attacks threatened to tear the sky apart until finally, the magic started losing ground and was deflected away by the orc king''s sword.
BOOOM¡ the magic that was deflected away fell far into the distance and created a burst of shockwave that managed to reach all the way back to the za.
After Berigard and the Orc King started engaging one another in a spectacr duel, the armies in the za did not just sit still. Berirock as instructed by the orc king took charge of the army and started a war with Berigard''s army.
Of course, he did not forget to give the option of surrender to the other party. However, it seemed like none of them had any ns to do so.
Just when it seemed like a full-out war was inevitable, came a shout of surrender out of nowhere. This not only seemed to shock Berirock, but even the faction the individual was on were shaken.
The one that dered their surrender was none other than one of the threemanders under Berigard. The orcmander Belsea and the ten thousand men strong legion he led dered their surrender in front of the orc king''s army.
"Belsea you bastard¡ you are betraying lord Berigard when he trusted and helped you so much?" Belmarch who couldn''t take this betrayal, spoke in resentment.
Orc Commander Belsea was someone who was supported by general Berigard when his territory was attacked by the many foreign races living inside the ghastly winding forest. He thenter came under Berigard after being moved by thetter. He was also one of the pirs that supported their campaign today.
Never did they expect that he would be betraying them at such a crucial moment.
"Please don''t resent me Belmarch. There is no way I will put my head under the execution de even while knowing that my death is certain. I only put up with the n of general Berigard because I had no other choice".
"If I am the only one out of the threemanders under general Berigard who is in denial of this campaign wouldn''t I be the first target for you guys to eliminate? That being so, I bided my time and acted in a way that you guys wanted until now".
"Honestly, I didn''t think the enemy would let us surrender so easily but I guess that goes to show how magnanimous the orc king is. Now that general Berigard''s n has gone awry, there is no way we would win this. I suggest that you guys too join this side" Belsea said with a calm expression on his face.
There was no happiness nor any regret of betraying his benefactor to join the other side on his face from start to end. That was the type of person he was.
"GUGAGA¡ I see, I see¡ªyou naturally made the right decision by changing sides. There is no future in staying by Berigard''s side who betrayed his own tribe. I ask everyone the same, open your eyes and see clearly, snap out of whatever spell he had put you under".
"The orc king is on our side while your general is the one who is the enemy of our tribe. If you still have a bit of conscience left, surrender now. There is no shame in doing so, you were only following the wrong leader".
"Enough¡ there are no cowards in our army who leaves their faction at just the sight of danger. Those ones who are, already did so. I will no longer tolerate you ndering our lord" Bellock barked out loud drowning the words of Berirock who was trying to demoralise their remaining army.
"GUGAGA¡ it looks like there are still some fools who believe in their master. Be it so then, I will ept your surrender when you see and feel the difference with your own two eyes" right after saying that, Berirock rallied the orc king''s army andmanded them to march forward.
Due to the [Coordination] skill of the orcs, they lined up and marched neatly in order. Looking at them, one wouldn''t be able to tell this big of an army wasprised of multiple legions that belonged to the various faction of the Diluvian High Orc tribe and not a single unit.
The orc king army which was about sixty thousand strong, marched towards the now demoralised army of Berigard. If before they were thirty five thousand orcs strong, now they were only around twenty five thousand strong.
A stark contrast to their opponent who had more than double their numbers. Despite that, Bellock and Belmarch who were assigned to lead this army, did not back away and mustered every ounce of their power to dish outmands.
Like this, the two armies collided like huge meat grinding machines. Bodies dropped here and there, skills flew everywhere and weapons were hurled in the air.
You would expect the orcs who were fundamentally different from humans, to fight differently and more savagely. However, that was not the case. In fact, they fought more orderly and coordinated better than what an average army could achieve.
Both Berigard''s army and the orc king''s army used the ordinary orcs as the meat shield and High orc as pawns to advance their armies. The Diluvian High orc tribe were the main force of each army. Although their numbers were lower than the ordinary orcs and the High orcs, they nheless held the mostbat potential for both the armies.
Each Diluvian High Orcs could easily overwhelm dozens of ordinary orcs and take on a couple of high orcs themselves. But just like every living being in this world, the diluvian high orcs too get exhausted after a while.
This is where therge numbers of ordinary orcs and the high orcse in, the exhausted diluvian high orcs are drowned by their numbers and killed. They are used not only to fill numbers but also to tire their enemy out.
Bodies were dropping like flies; however, it was not like each army was letting their front liners die for nothing. Each army had its own strategies and tactics that they adopted to defeat the other. So at the end, it boiled down to which army''s strategy was better.
Be that may, the orc king''s army had a huge numerical advantage, Berirock who was leading this army, knew this and thus did not bother changing much and adapted a simple arrowhead formation to pierce the enemy defences.
Bellock and Belmarch on the other hand adopted a variety of tactics such as the phnx and the circle formation to fight therge number of their enemy with their small numbers.
Even though Bellock and Belmarch were just orcmanders, lower in rankpared to Berirock who was an orc general. Being under Berigard they had umted arge amount of experience fighting enemies multiple times stronger than them.
Thus when faced with a disparity thisrge, they weren''t fazed. On the contrary, their eyes burned with the fervour and passion to achieve the order that they were given.
CLANG¡ on the other side of the za, a loud nging noise echoed out followed by arge shockwave that pushed one of the orcs far back into the distance.
"GUGAGA¡ Berigard it seems like your judgement is going dull, to think that you took someone like that as your subordinate¡GUGAGA". Belgarious gave a heartyugh after pushing Berigard back with a swing of his sword.
He did not let go of his offence and chained his attacks with a few morebinations leaving no room for Berigard to counterattack.
"Berigard¡ why don''t we make a bet to see how long your army canst against mine? Well, there is also the possibility of your army surrendering before that¡ GUGAGA".
Berigard grit his teeth and endured the constant mockerying his way. The mana around him constantly fluctuated as he focused on conjuring his magic.
"[Tempest Bullet Barrage]"
Wind in the shape of bullets hailed down from the sky and targeted the Orc King. Each of the bullets were powerful enough to pierce an armour made of Whitesilver which was many times stronger than steel.
However, none of them managed to pierce theyering of mana enveloping the orc king. Nevertheless, it did manage to buy Berigard a few seconds of time topose himself.
The enemy he was facing was far stronger than any of the enemies he had faced before and on top of that, there was a vast disparity of levels between them. Thus he couldn''t spare a moment of negligence.
The only attack capable of hurting a being that was a true disaster ss was his advance magic or amalgamation magic. However, it took a long time to evoke a powerful enough magic to hurt the orc king.
479 Chapter 479
Plus, from the corner of his eyes, he could see that his army was hard-pressed. The betrayal of Belsea at this moment had dealt considerable damage to the morale of his army and they suffered repeated setbacks.
There was no doubt in his mind, even with the excellent leadership of Bellock and Belmarch, their army was destined to copse before he could even bring down the orc king.
Did he have no choice but to take the help of that person? However, Berigard''s intuition was telling him that person was by no means someone that would help them for free. They must have some ulterior motive.
"Oi¡Oi¡Oi¡ª is it alright for you to get lost in thought? Did you forget already who you are facing?" came the shout of Belgarious snapping Berigard out of his thoughts.
the orc king narrowed his eyes, although he said all that, he was inwardly alert of the magic that Berigard threw out. Even though thetter wasn''t a disaster ss yet, his magic had already reached such a realm.
If Belgarious wasn''t careful enough, he might get seriously injured. Berigard threw out a few more magic and abination of Tremor and Tempest magic to create some golem soldiers. However, they all stood no chance in front of the mana augmented attacks from the orc king.
''Tch¡ I guess I have no choice but to use that'' seeing that thest of his golem was broken apart by the orc king, Berigard was just about to ut his hands on his locket when suddenly his senses picked up multiple presences hurriedly approaching their way.
Given the way their scent smelled, they didn''t belong to the orc tribe but from a tribe that was enemies with them.
It was not only Berigard, but even the orc king was alerted by this sudden presence and thus stopped his assault.
"Hmm? Grururu¡ªwhat is this? The orc tribe is fighting amongst themselves? How foolish¡ to think that my king was concerned about a tribe who is going to destroy itself on its own?" A being well above five meters spoke out.
He had a hulky frame, muscles brimming with power, a reddish-brown body and was riding on top of monsters. He was apanied by a group from his own race. At a nce, there was more than thirty of them each riding on a beast.
Another characteristic that was apparent on them, was the single horn each of them had that protruded out from their forehead.
Just like the diluvian high orc, each and every one of them was releasing a powerful aura. No, the aura they were realising was far denser and more powerful than the orcs. Even the beast they were riding on, were strong enough to put monsters living in the other region of the forest to shame.
¡ªThe Ogre tribe was here¡ª
The armies on the za hearing the foreign sound, stopped fighting at themands of their respective higher-ups.
"Ogre tribe?!" Berirock narrowed his eyes, this was the worst possible time they could have intruded when their entire tribe was in disarray.
"Given that you are fighting amongst yourselves, I guess we could wait. However, I find it unpleasant that the underlings we are soon going to have, are trying to cull down their numbers themselves. Which is why, I would like to ask you to stop your useless fighting".
The ogre who seemed to be the leader of this group stated. He had brought a total of fifty ogres with him who were each riding a powerful beast. Individually, the ogres here were all strong enough to overwhelm a couple of diluvian High orc warriors, with some even having the strength of orc captains.
A few were on the level of an orcmander not to mention the one that was leading them seemed to have an aura as strong as an orc general.
The words that the leader ogre said, immediately irked the orcs and the most hot-tempered amongst them, Berirock rushed towards their direction to meet them.
"The heck do you mean by underlings? And how the hell did you manage to invade this deep into our territory?" the orc general barked. His suspicions naturally went towards Berigard who in his opinion was trying to weaken their n and was working with the ogres.
BANG¡ a powerful force strong enough to blow an orc general far away was released by the leader ogre as he punched out.
"Gruru... Who the hell do you think you are? A mere underling should behave like an underling".
"You!!" Berirock who got back up after suffering the unexpected blow, had an ugly expression on his face as if he had swallowed a fly identally.
This was the second time he had suffered a blow to his self-esteem today, how could he not be furious. However, that remark wasn''t only directed at him but at every orc that was present in the za no matter which faction they belonged to.
Naturally, when given amon enemy, all the orcs united to eliminate that enemy first. The same was the case with the two armies that were fighting to kill each other up until just a few moments ago.
They were all eyeing the neers as if they were their arch enemies.
"This is not a ce for you guys to be. For what reason did you intrude on my territory? Did Gil-Garna forget about the pact he made with ''that person''?" Belgarious spoke out confronting the ogre tribe. The duel was put on hold for the time being.
"It''s lord Gil-Garna for you" the leader ogre stressed, he then revealed a condescending smile towards the orc king and stated.
"Grururu¡ that person might be powerful; however, do you think that our king is afraid of him. Besides the two leaders have already discussed it out and arrived at a conclusion. Do you want to know what decision was taken for your tribe by that person?".
A bad premonition suddenly struck Belgarious and his face became apprehensive.
"Grururu¡ yes, that is the expression you should make. At the meeting, the two leaders came to a new verdict. In exchange for something offered by our leader, that person will retract the pact of protection he has with your tribe. In other words, the fate of your Diluvian High orc tribe has been sealed. Grururu¡" the leader ogreughed, he seemed to be taking joy in the misery of another n.
"T-That cannot be, ''that person'' cannot abandon me. You are lying" the orc king was in denial. He had a shocked look stered on his face.
''That person?!'' Berigard who was not far from the orc king and the members from the ogre tribe, naturally picked up a few words in between. He did not know who they were referring to by ''that person'', but he somehow felt like they had a hand into all of this and was somehow rted to the orc king.
"Grurur¡ whether I''m lying or not, you can find that out if you ask that person. Anyways, I''m not here to tell you all that. I was sent here by my king Lord Gil-Garna as the messenger to dere war on you guys. Fight or submit, three days from now our army will march through the backfield" the leader ogre ryed that one-sided ultimatum and turned around to leave.
"Ah, one more thing, our king hopes that you won''t make it boring by surrendering immediately. He wants you to struggle like ants as much as you can and entertain him. Grururu¡ if I was you, I would do it immediately, since it would at least ensure some of you surviving this ordeal¡ as a ve that is".
With that joke made by the leader ogre, the entire ogre groupughed and casually strolled out from the territory of the orcs.
"GUGA!!" Berirock sumbing to his wrath, tried to give chase but was stopped by Berimond. Thetter finally moved when a foreign tribe got involved.
"Why are you stopping me Berimond?" Berirock snapped.
"Do you want to go chasing them? Even if you managed to kill this group of ogres it won''t change anything. On the contrary, it will only make matter worse" Berimaond reasoned.
All the orcs in the za turned their attention towards the orc king, who in this dire time was their pir of support. However, thetter did not have the mind to y that part right now. Belgarious hurriedly disappeared from the za and rushed towards his underground chamber.
Seeing this, Berigard silently mused his options from here on for a while before taking off towards his twomanders.
"My lord¡ what are your orders?" Bellock and Belmarch bowed their heads. Their army was ready to fight to thest person if given the order. But now that the situation had changed, they did not know what to do.
Should they continue fighting the orc king''s army or should they go for a temporary truce? Whatever the case may be, they did not have the right to take that decision. Their previously thirty five thousand strong army, was now only under twenty thousand orcs strong.
Out of that, one legion which was led by Belsea, had surrendered in the beginning and others have died during the battle. Even then, their army still stood strong.
Each of the orcs were waiting for Berigard to make a decision. Thetter took a deep breath, looked at the disorganised orc king''s army before ordering a retreat.
Now that the threat of the ogre tribe was looming right near their throat, there was no point in fighting themselves and shortening their numbers even further.
''It seems like I was toote to make my move'' Berigard thought internally. The Diluvian Orc tirbe was divided into factions and not at all united. Even without making any investigation, Berigard could tell that they stood little to no chance against the ogre army which was untied under one king.
480 Chapter 480
Seeing Berigard and his army retreat orderly, Berirock gave the order to the orc king''s army to attack them. However, he was stopped by Berimond once again.
"What is the meaning of this Berimond? Are you siding with Berigard? Where did your stance to neutrality go?".
Berimond did not mind the other general''s outburst and firmly put down his words. "Let them go Berirock, there is no point in fighting amongst each other now. Even the orc king thinks so and thus left the battlefield. If you still want to continue the fight, there is a battleground ready for you three days from now".
"Another thing, help me ry this to the orc king, I will be leaving now to go back to my post in the northern front. Since the ckfield is not very away from where my ce is, I''m concerned about my soldiers that are stationed there. Tell him that I will be waiting for the orders he has for me"
Berimond did not wait for Berirock to respond and turned to leave right away.
--------
Inside the underground chamber, on top of the altar surrounded by the carcass of the gigantic beast. Belgarious had an aghast look on his face as he held a transmission conch in his hand and conversed with the one on the other end of the transmission.
"Please wait a moment, what do you mean that this is the end of our cooperation? Didn''t you say that my potential is something worth nurturing? I have even ordered one of my subordinates to take down that dungeon for you as per your orders".
"I have been faithful to you Lord Gufardus. Please give the orc; No, just me one more chance, I will prove it to you that it was not a mistake on your part to choose me" His tone at this moment was so humble that if a passing orc heard that, they would never be able to believe it.
"Belgarious¡ it seems like you still don''t understand. You were worth something only because you are the orc king. However, that too has run its course and now I deem your race to be useless to me. Isn''t it only natural for me to discard those that have no merit for me?".
Hearing the cold words that came from the other side of the transmission conch, Belgarious tone turned a notch furious.
"So you were only using me all this time?" he asked.
"Using you? Isn''t that the same for you too? We were both using each other to achieve our goals¡ Gagaga".
"Was it the king of the ogre tribe Gil-Garna? What kind of trade did he offer you?" knowing that there was no point in wasting his words, Belgarious wanted to know the reason behind why he was abandoned by his patron who has supported him from the time he was just an ordinary Diluvian High Orc.
The voice behind the transmission conch was silent for a while before speaking.
"You seem to have misunderstood something. Gil-Garna wasn''t the reason why I decided to abandon the orc n. There is no reason for me to tell you that but well, you will find it out anyways soon.".
The transmission ended here, leaving behind an angry Belgarious who rampaged around the altar. He wasn''t angry because he had been abandoned but because everything that he dreamt of, his lofty ambitions were all broken apart at this moment.
Without the protection of Gufardus, their tribe of Diluvian High Orcs was destined to get defeated in the uing war against the Ogre tribe.
The ogre tribe had grown far too strong in these past few hundred years with their leader Gil-Garna joining the ranks of the Seven Kings. There was a vast disparity of strength between the two tribes and if not for the cooperation Belgarious had with Gufardus, another one of the Seven Kings, their tribe would have long been subdued or perished under the hands of the ogre tribe.
A disaster ss being is strong; however, they aren''t the top predators of the food chain in the Ghastly Winding Forest. It was the Seven Kings of the forest who dictated the fate of the other monster ns inside the forest.
No matter how the tribe of Diluvian High Orcs tribe struggled, their fate was already sealed.
"Should I just run away from here?" the thought of running away from the ghastly winding forest, shed briefly inside Belgarious''s mind. The demon continent would be an ideal ce if he wanted to run, the Great Tundra desert was just behind the ghastly winding forest.
However, if he did run, he would be losing his status, territory and everything that was associated with his status as the orc king. What''s more, he would have to live a life of a deserter. Worse, if the powerful demon nobles found him, he would be subjugated or rendered a pawn for them.
On the other hand, if he decided to stay, his fate would be worse. The ogre and the orc tribe were enemies since a long time ago, the rtionship was so bad that they were like ice and fire, ipatible with each other.
Both tribes had shed a lot of blood waging wars with each other and vying for dominance. Now that the orc was about to be destroyed, he as thest king was sure to be used to make an example to destroy the morale of the rest of the tribe.
BANG¡ shattering a part of the altar with a powerful punch, Belgarious turned towards the enormous carcass behind him.
"Gil-Garna¡ªdon''t think that I don''t know what you are after. Since you have already assimted with your inheritance, you are after the one that our Diluvian High orc tribe has. GUGAGA¡ I wonder what kind of expression you would make if the thing that you want is no longer there?".
The orc king issued a loud gruffyugh. There was a reason why some of the particr tribes living in the western region of the ghastly winding forest were able to raise to the level of cataclysmic ss and be one of the Seven Kings.
It was the existence of the bodies of the powerful beasts that had died and left their bodies here during the ancient times that the ones inhabiting this ce were able to be strong by absorbing and inheriting the residual power inside it.
Except for a few, most of the Seven Kings had raised their ss and evolved through this method.
The territory of the Diluvian High Orcs also had one, the huge carcass that released a powerful aura, was one of them. Belgarious did not know how powerful the beast this carcass once belonged to was when it was alive. However, he could tell that it was more powerful than a cataclysmic ss.
"If only I had the talent to absorb all of that energy inside it and gain its inheritance, I wouldn''t be oppressed by that Gil-Garna. So be it, if I cannot inherit it, nobody would be able to".
Belgarious always had his eyes on the inheritance, he did everything within his powers and even became Gufardus'' subordinate just so he could stand a chance to be the orc king and be able to absorb the inheritance.
In the Diluvian High Orc''s tribe, only the king has the right to try and absorb the inheritance and power residing within the carcass. The existence of the inheritance is only ever passed onto the next orc king and is kept a tight secret from everybody else.
Even Belgarious wouldn''t have known about it if not for Gufardus.
After sorting out his thoughts, the orc king sat on his throne and pondered over his next set of actions. In any case, he had three days of time before the ogre army marched through the ckfield.
He could utilise this time to assemble all the orcs near the northern front in an attempt to gather everyone''s attention there while he on the other hand would flee from the opposite direction.
While the orc king was making his own ns, in the southern front of the orc''s territory, Berigard and his army had arrived back to their vige.
After asking the other to return back to their stations, Berigard ascended his ck mountain and entered his house which was a peculiar dome-like structure. Now all alone, the orc general looked at the empty space in front of him and uttered¡ª
"Come out, I know you have been observing us for a while. I have thought over your offer and have decided to ept it".
His voice fell on seemingly nothing, and there was no movement for a while. Just when it seemed like Berigard was talking to himself, four figures appeared out of thin air as if they were part of the shadows.
The one leading them was a demon noble with a ring crimson eyes and long ck hair. Following behind him were three beautiful maids donning battle armour over their outfits. The group of four stood opposite Berigard who was trying to assess their powers.
"Fufu¡ it''s good that you have decided to ept the offer. However, I''m afraid that my previous offer is no longer valid. You were toote or should I say the situation has changed" the demon or rather Simon said shing a smile.
The words and from the tone both parties talked with each other, it could be interpreted that it wasn''t the first time they interacted with each other.
"What do you mean?" Berigard narrowed his eyes while at the same time raising his guard.
"It''s simple¡ if you still want my help, some of the conditions of the offer I gave you earlier need to be changed" the demon replied shrugging his shoulders.
"What conditions?" Berigard asked.
481 Chapter 481
"First, I''m no longer content with just having the head of the orc king. Secondly, I have changed my mind about eliminating the orc king army" Simon answered.
The offer that he had given to Berigard before he went to the night of the moon dance, was that he would coborate with the orc general to take the head of the orc king while at the same time he will take care of the huge orc army with his magic in return for the orcs to never step a foot in the eastern region of the forest.
On the surface, it might look like he was losing out incredibly in that exchange after all he was doing most of the work at a very less reward making even the listener Berigard suspicious.
However, what Simon was after was not any reward but the experience he is going to earn after killing a disaster ss being and the thousands of orcs.
What Simon wascking right now, was levels. To fight strong enemies in the future he needed to be strong and for that, what better way than to massacre an army of orcs oozing with juicy experience?
Fortunately for him, he was given the perfect opportunity when he arrived here. Since the incident with the Lightning Draconic Serpentst time, Simon knew that one of the orc generals with the name Berigard was trying to cook up a n to try and overthrow the orc king.
And since he was already enemies with the orc king as he had sent one of his generals to mess up his dungeon, Simon felt it was a good opportunity to try and take advantage of Berigard.
After sticking around for a day or two using the Ice phoenix''s sigh to cover his and the Valkyries presence, he was able to learn the extent of the animosity thetter had towards the orc king.
Simon arrived before Berigard one day prior to the night of the moon dance to strike up a bargain with thetter. However, the orc general was too guarded against him or rather preupied with the fact that he managed to invade all the way to his mountain without alerting any orc to even ept his offer.
Besides that, there were also the three maids beside him whose power level even Berigard couldn''t see through. It was only right for him to be sceptical of this smiling demon.
Since Simon knew that he didn''t have to press Berigard for an answer immediately, he disappeared from the ce and had been monitoring the whole situation with the diluvian high orcs waiting for the opportune moment when thetter would ask for his help.
In fact, after the betrayal of Belsea, Berigard would have been hard-pressed and might have even considered his offer. However, that was when the group of ogres invaded and the situation had turned towards a totally different direction.
Now with the involvement of ogres, even Simon was a little apprehensive on getting involved. After all, the ogre tribe was much stronger than the diluvian High orcs and their ruler was one of the Seven Kings.
Simon was not yet ready to take on such an opponent yet. It is also for this reason that he only brought three Valkyries with him so as to not alert the true powerhouse of the ghastly winding forest.
It was not worth the reward to antagonise the ogre race just to help Berigard.
"What do you want?" Berigard asked.
Simon pondered for a bit before his crimson eyes radiated with a bright light.
"Hmm¡ that''s right, I want the entire orc tribe".
"What?" Berigard was taken aback by those words. If he didn''t understand wrongly, didn''t the demon say that he wanted to subdue the entire orc race himself? How was it any different than what the ogre race was trying to do?
Berigard was just about to refuse the offer outright when Simon put on his business-like smile which to others looked absolutely wicked and exined.
"Don''t be in such a hurry to reject my offer and hear me out first. The one that needs help desperately is you and your tribe and not me. Shutting me down will close the only way out your tribe has at this point, will you be able to take responsibility for that?".
The orc general inhaled a deep breath of air, it took all he had in him just to calm his anger down.
"Our tribe might be at ourst leg; however, it does not mean that we are ready to be ves for someone else. If it''s our tribe that you want, I''m afraid that I cannot take you up on your offer".
Simon wasn''t fazed by the orc general''s t-out refusal. On the contrary, his smile seemed to deepen even more.
"Is that so? In that case, I cannot help you. I have delved inside the ogre territory quite a few times, so I can tell you for certain that three days from now your tribe of diluvian High orc is destined to fall. Well, in any case, it''s not my concern anymore¡ so good luck".
Right after saying that, Simon turned around and started walking out followed by his three subordinates who were strangely keeping quiet.
Simon was just about to exit when suddenly Berigard called out. "Wait a minute".
"Hmm? Have you changed your mind?" Simon asked jestingly.
The orc general ignored the demon''s words and asked a different question "How certain are you of defeating the ogre tribe and bringing the orc king down?".
What Berigard wanted to understand was what was giving the demon noble so much confidence. From what he could tell, the aura of the demon in front of him wasn''t giving him that much of a feeling of oppression which goes to say that he wasn''t very high-ranked, probably a Demon Viscount.
The maids behind him did make his instinct alert the first time he saw them but since they were adept enough to keep their aura in check he wasn''t getting that feeling anymore. Thus it was only natural for Berigard to doubt the demon''s words.
"Absolutely certain" Simon replied without wasting any time thinking. The ogre tribe might be strong, stronger than the orc tribe. However, it wasn''t powerful enough to make Simon cower to even make a move against them.
The him right now might not be strong enough to face the ogre king who was also one of the Seven Kings of this forest. But it did not mean that he had no way of protecting himself. Plus it was not guaranteed that the ogre king would be arriving in person on the ckfield three days from now.
Simon was confident that he would be able to handle the ogre army with the help of the Valkyries. Hence he wasn''t concerned much when throwing his words.
Ate, Bianca and Alice too didn''t show much emotion making the orc general unable to find any faults. Seeing how confident Simon was and his words of certainity, although a little sceptical Berigard understood that the demon had the ability to avert the disaster that befell their tribe.
"Is there no other way for us to coborate? The orc tribe has many resources, many types of exotic nts and herbs can be found in our territory. We also have all kinds of core stone that we have harvested from the various beasts living inside this forest¡"Berigard said trying to see if he could make the demon settle for something else.
The demon merely smiled and turned around to leave, his attitude seemed to say that he wouldn''t budge from his condition. The one that is in desperate need of help, wasn''t him. If a third party was to stick his nose in this mess, at the very least he had to get something that bnces out the loss he was suffering.
Since the orc tribe weren''t his ally nor were they under him like the forest spring spirits, Simon found no reason to help them. That is unless they be his subordinates, that way he would have a reason to help them.
He believed that he should at least get that if he were to fight with the ogre tribe and antagonise them at this point in time.
"You better think about it carefully, Master is someone who is very protective of his subordinates. If your tribe of orcs swear their loyalty towards him, of course, he would do his best to protect you all".
"Not only that, if you are useful to him, he might even bring you to his dungeon where you would have to constantly live with the fear of other monster tribes constantly attacking you. You have three days of time, decide whether you want to be ves of the ogre tribe or be Master''s subordinate" Ate halted her steps to leave behind a few words before exiting after her master.
"Bye Bye" Bianca just like her setting was emotionless like a doll, while Alice on the other hand waved her hands in goodbye towards the orc.
Now left all alone in his quarters, Berigard sighed and flumped back on his seat. It was as the demon had said, the ones who were desperate for help, were their orc tribe.
He also understood why the demon had changed the condition for his help and demanded the subordination of their orc tribe. However, the condition was just too hard for him to ept.
"If only I was more powerful, then all of this wouldnt have ever happened" Berigard clenched his hands in frustration. He tried thinking of numerous ways to resist the army of ogres that are going to march from the ckfield three days from now.
However, he couldn''t think of a single way that would save his orc tribe from being the ves of the ogre tribe.
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He couldn''t count on the orc king since he knows the true face of thetter, an opportunist who only thinks of himself. The orc king was sure to abandon them, in fact, he might even be thinking of running and deserting this territory right about now.
Whenever he thought about how such an orc became their king, Berigard felt unrestrained anger well up inside him. At this moment, when he felt like all doors had closed down upon their tribe, the numerous white jade like objects on his locket started ttering and shaking.
"What is it you all?" Berigard asked. It might look strange that he was talking with some objects, however, he was actually holding a conversation with them.
The jade fragments on his locket were no ordinary objects but bone fragments from the orcs that once used to be his friends. After they had died, a portion of their spirit resided inside it. It is also because of them that he was able to use skills and abilities that did not belong to him.
"What?! Reveal your existence to the demon?... there is no way I would do something like selling my friends out" the spirit of the orcs residing inside those bone fragments were telling him to use them as bargaining chips to gain the help of the demon. After all, knowing what they are, even the demon wouldn''t be able to help but covet them.
However, Berigard was against that, even if his friends that were together with him in thatboratory were dead and only a portion of their spirit resided here, it was still hard for him to let go of them.
? They were the first true friends he was able to make after he was trafficked away to a foreign human kingdom and brought to a ce that subjected cruel experiments on them.
The first humans that Berigard had seen, were a savage bunch of fellows who wore white hazmat suits and kept them inside a container.
The reason why he called them savage was because theboratory not only had foreign races, but also humans, the race that these people belonged to. These humans had no conscience when experimenting on their own people.
Berigard would see numerous orcs being dissected and used for experimentation where they would be something else entirely. Many orcs died like that and the ce was a nightmare for him, a sickening sight that he had to see every day.
Amidst those nightmarish days, Berigard met with other fellow orcs like him who were too nice to him. They all quickly became friends and shared stories from theirnd.
Berigard could see that their bodies had be something else after being experimented upon; however, they never brought that up when conversing with him. Those days didn''tst long and soon it was Berigard''s turn to be subjected on.
He was brought to a different sector of theboratory to be experimented upon and that was thest time he had seen them before they were still themselves.
The cruel fate that fell upon every orc in thatboratory, Berigard was no exception to that. In fact, Berigard who supposedly had a rare physique amongst the orc was a precious test subject for them.
They would inject numerous kinds of fluids inside him and change the organs in his boy with something else that made him feel like dying was much better than living.
However, even the luxury of death wasn''t avable to him. The days of torture continued and Beirgard found himself getting stronger every day. But at the same time, the grasp he had on his self, was also slipping away slowly.
Perhaps if things continued the way it was Berigard would no longer be himself. However, due to a certain incident that urred on thatboratory that day, Berigard and many other subjects were able to break out of their container and run amok inside the facility.
Using this chance, Berigard tried to find the first friends he made. Although he did find them, they weren''t as lucky as him and had long lost their mind and any resemnce they had to their previous self. They even forgot who he was and attacked him.
Naturally, theirmotion attracted the attention of the personnel there and they were soon subdued. Due to this incident, most of the test subjects were sent for elimination or dissected to be used as materials.
For Berigard and the orcs, it was decided that they would be sent for elimination.
Theboratory disposed of their failed materials by selling the test subjects to a merchantpany who bought them and put them in the coliseum where they would be used as an entertainment for the people there.
They were pitted against human adventurers who would try to kill and draw their blood out in a spectacr showmanship so as to set the audience in exhration.
One by one, all of his friends were killed until it was Berigel''s turn. The orc warrior was a talent who even by the standards of those human adventurers was exceptional.
Blood was shed, but the one that died this time was the adventurer himself, a sight that was unexpected and unusual for the audience.
The atmosphere in the coliseum was sent into an upheaval with Berigel who had lost his mind running rampant. He was attacking anyone and everyone that he saw, even the other orcs that were brought over with him to be eliminated.
Berigelpared to his other friends, was many times stronger. He was so strong that there was noparison. If he had to be ssified, he would outright be judged as a cmity ss. That was how strong the orc warrior was after the experimentation.
One could imagine the ensuing bloodbath after most of the adventurers that came to subdue Berigel died one after the other. It was as if all hell broke loose.
Berigard was somehow able to survive the chaos due to Berimist who just like him was also a orc shaman and perhaps the only orc capable of contending with Berigel.
The other orc shaman had somehowe to his senses after seeing the bloodbath while Berigel ran rampant like a mindless beast.
Thetter even attacked Berimist with all of his power decimating the entire coliseum and the surroundingnds in the process. Their fight was so fierce, that it was starting to attract the other big powerhouses living in that city.
Berigard was too low-levelled to contend; however, even he knew that if the fight went on, sooner orter there was bound to be strong adventurers arriving to subdue them.
Fortunately for them, Berimist was in his sane mind to understand that and thus utilising his space magic, he teleported the three of them somewhere outside the city.
Nevertheless, Berigel continued to rampage and it didn''t seem like he would snap out of it soon. Thus Berimist had no choice but to engage Berigel in a duel and put him down.
The power of a two cmity ss beast can be imagined, the fightsted for a few good hours and just like what they had feared the most, they had attracted a strong bunch of adventurer who came here all geared up to eliminate the ''threat'' that was them.
The three of them fought the adventurers but were subdued in the end. Berigel was beheaded and Berimist was exhausted from the fight earlier. Out of the three of them, Berigard was the only one who wasn''t exhausted; however, he wasn''t powerful enough to protect himself from those adventurers at that point.
To him and even to the adventurers it seemed like they had everything under their control. That was when something unexpected happen, Berigel who everybody thought was dead, started moving.
His head which was detached from his body, rolled towards hisrades. Berigard instinctively caught it and that was when he realised that his friend who was right near his deathbed, had finallye to his senses.
Right before the light of life dimmed down from his eyes, he instructed Berimist to use hisst bit of mana to teleport them somewhere else as this ce was going to blow up in an explosion soon.
It finally dawned on them that, Berigel had burst his core stone to reverse the flow of mana in his body. Doing so, would create a huge eruption of manaparable to a powerful AOE advanced magic.
Berimist immediately reacted to this opportunity that his friend had created and squeezing every bit of mana out from his mana pool, he along with Berigard teleported out of there. Though in the process of invoking the space magic, he suffered serious damage from the attacks of the adventurers which left his arteries and heart exposed.
BOOOMMM¡ a huge explosion echoed out wiping everyone that was present there. Berigard and Berigel had already teleported out by then.
The next time they appeared, they were dozens of kilometres away and could see the explosion going off.
"GUGA¡ it''s good that you were able to get away¡ sorry for not being able to help" Right after leaving hisst words, Berigel closed his eyes.
Berigard tried calling out to Berigel a few times but even he knew that thetter was already dead. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Berimist falling down on the ground and into the pool of his own blood.
It looked like the attack he suffered right before teleporting was too severe.
Puff¡ throwing up a mouthful of blood, Berimist gathered his remaining stamina to sit back up. "Berigard¡ªlisten to me¡ I don''t think I would be able to heal from my injuries. So I want you to destroy my core stone after I die and take my soul bone".
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"Use the power in my and Berigel''s soul bone to get out of here, you hear me!! Don''t let those humans get my soul bone¡ it is something that they were trying to¡" Berimist couldn''tplete his sentence as he sumbed to his injuries.
Whether Berigel or Berimist, both of his friends died in an aggrieved and unresigned manner.
Berigard did as he was told and fulfilled thest wishes of his friends. He destroyed Berimist''s core stone, took out the soul bone that was located at the frontal cortex and buried their bodies.
Afterwards, he quickly left the ce and wandered around the outskirts of the city they were brought into. In the following days, he learned that the soul bone was something special as it contained a part of his friend''s spirits and abilities.
Using Berigels and Berirus''s abilities, he abducted an adventurer from the city to navigate his way back.
Berigard''s journey back to the ghastly winding forest wasden with dangers and risk at every point. He was technically in the enemy''snd who considered him dangerous and would not hesitate to eliminate him even for a second.
After he somehow returned to the ghastly winding forest while keeping his life intact, he learned that everything had changed and the tribe of diluvian high orcs only looked united from the surface.
The hateful Belgarious who was still trafficking orcs was seen as a benevolent king who cares for his tribe. He could feel the intense hatreding from the spirits of his friends residing inside the soulbones.
After returning back Berigard swore to take revenge for his friends and for the entire orc tribe and had been building his force since then. He climbed his way up to the position of an orc general and he even built an army from the scratch.
However, it seemed that he was still toote to save his tribe. The situation with the ogre tribe had reached a boiling point. The war was inevitable and all their other options were closed.
Every word that the demon said, was on to the mark. Berigard had to make a decision within these three days. However, no matter what decision he made, the tribe of orc was sure to lose out a lot in the end.
------
High above the ck mountain, after exiting out of the orc general''s ce, Simon stopped in his tracks to observe thetter for a while.
"Was it alright for master to exit so soon? If you had pressed a little more, I''m sure that orc would have relented" Ate asked. She understood what her master was nning, he was trying to get the orc tribe before the ogre race got them.
Now that the orc tribe has pushed itself to their demise, Simon no longer needed to act to keep his dungeon safe. However, he cannot just staypletely neutral while knowing that the ogre tribe, another potential enemy of the future would be more powerful after absorbing the orc race.
Besides that, there was also the seven years agreement he had with Aldebaran and the tribe of ogre was one of the tribes that was ruled by one of the seven kings.
In such a situation, it would be foolish of him to just sit back and do nothing. The aforementioned reason was one of the objectives behind Simon moving to take action. However, the main motive driving his action was the fact that his prey was about to be stolen by someone else.
The Diluvian high orc race initiated a fight with him after they destroyed the town around his dungeon. It was only appropriate for him to retaliate and vent his frustration on them.
However, after he came here, he was made aware that, his source of frustration were on the brim of getting wiped out by another race. How could he feel good in this situation knowing that the prey he wanted to get was being stolen by someone else?
Aside from that, the was also the desire that wanted him to punish the one that tried to steal his prey had born within him.
Demon nobles are beings that stayed true to their desires and Simon had sworn to live by his desires. There is no way he would just allow the prey he had his eyes on get swept away from under him.
"Even if Berigard swears his loyalty to me at this point, it would have no meaning since the one leading the Diluvian High Orc tribe isn''t him but the orc king. The other orcs would rebel against his decision and even deny it all together" Simon said.
"Then why is master so fixated on convincing that orc when he cannot speak for the masses?" Ate''s question was reasonable, Simon had put so much time and effort monitoring Berigard even while knowing that thetter was just an orc general.
"He might not be their king, but I can see that he is deeply trusted and followed unconditionally by his subordinates. He is also concerned for the survival of his race and is not afraid to confront a being much more powerful than him. I believe he is much more suited to be their leader than that orc king sitting on that throne" Simon exined though it didn''t look like it was enough to clear all the doubts the Valkyries had. Thus he continued his exnation¡ª
"Well, it is also the reason why I didn''t pressure Berigard to ept my offer now. The uing war with the ogre race would result in many deaths on the side of the orcs. This would also force the remaining orcs to think carefully and at he same time it would bring out the true colours of the orc king".
I''m pretty much certain that in that situation Berigard would be the only one standing tall against his enemies and fight for his tribe. making all the other orcs see him in a new light. At the battlefield, his words would be having more value¡".
Ate, Bianca and Alice were astonished, it was only now that they understood why Simon yed his cards the way he did. In this war between the two tribes, not only is Simon trying to aplish multiple objectives, he is also trying to profit as much as he could.
He is waiting to see whether Berigard could be the true leader of the orc tribe and at the same time make them realise they have no other option other than to ept his help the harsh way.
Was what the Valkyries were thinking¡ though, in truth, Simon just wanted to act out ording to his desires.
"Master we are deeply moved, pleasemand us as you wish" Ate spoke for the three of them.
Simon did not know what got into the Valkyries but he did like their enthusiasm "Alice¡ can you go back to the dungeon and contact Irene? Tell her to send over a thousand Adromedas Mk 11 here"
Although a thousand Adromedas wouldn''t be able to aplish much in the uing war, they would at least be able to gather information on the ogre tribe and send the information back to Wisp.
Simon had delved into the ogre territory on one of his exploration trips though it was just once. After he saw that the level of the ogres there was just too much for the him at that time to handle, he swiftly left the ce. Thus he did not have much information on the ogre tribes.
By bringing over a thousand Andromedas, he was trying to collect data from them by pitting them against the ogres. It did not matter to him even if they were destroyed since they were just drones controlled by Wisp.
Given how Cecilia helped him set up numerous mineral mountains on the workshop floor, they could easily be made once again.
Alice obediently nodded her head and immediately left off to carry her orders. Alice was a wood elf and was perfect for the job since she had the most sensory skills out of the four of them. She was like ranger who could easily manoeuvre across a forest and avoid getting detected.
After Alice disappeared from their line of sight, the rest of them also left the ce.
The orcs had been given three days of time, within that time frame they had toe up with strategies and mobilise their army. There was movement all across the Diluvian High Orc''s territory, one could seerge groups of orcs moving, pullingrge siege weapons and organising rations for the uing war.
Weapons were being transported and armour being forged, the preparations were in full throttle. Naturally, Simon and the two Valkyries observed everything.
The orc king never showed his face after he entered his underground chamber. However, from the movements of the orcs that were constantlying in and going out of the underground chamber, it could be seen that he was handing out orders and rallying up the orc army in preparation for the uing war.
The orc generals too were busy preparing, Berirock who was a loyal subordinate of the orc king, was supervising most of the things for Belgarious.
Berigard was busy expanding his army, creating siege weapons and recovering the numbers he had lost in the scuffle on the night of the moon dance. While Berimond whose station was not far away from the ckfield was busy surveilling the area and making barricades so as to slow down the march of the ogre army even if a little.
As for thest general Berimal, he was assumed to have died in the eastern region of the forest after being unable to get in contact with him even after a while.
The orc king did send a small group of diluvian High orcs to search for him. However, when Belgarious saw that even they didn''t return, he gave up on him.
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Simon believed that they were probably taken out by the adventurers who had arrived in the town from the surrounding cities after hearing the distress call.
Two days passed by in the blink of an eye and on the morning of the third day.
ckfield¡ªthe ckfield was a vast wastnd with sparse dead trees, swamps, poisonous bogs and dead bodies of monsters that involuntarily wandered here. The reason why the ce was called ckfield, was because the colour of thend here was ck and aside from that, the ce was associated with death, thus the name.
No monsters lived here since the ce was unsuitable for living conditions and was an unterritorialnd. It spanned for hundreds of kilometres and separated thends of the two tribes like a border.
Usually, the ce would be shrouded with an eerie silence all year long, but this time the ce was filled with activity. A ck army like a carpet that was sprawled on the ground, could be seen slowly marching forward. They were riding ferocious beasts and were emitting a brutal aura that only a warrior that has survived numerous life and death encounters would give.
They had ash grey skin, towering frames and a single horn protruding from their foreheads. The ck army numbering in the thousands was none other than the ogre tribe also known as the ck ogres by many.
As they marched forward, they cut down all the trees, filled the poisonous bogs barring theirs paths in an organised and orderly manner.
Far in the backlines, a camp with numerous tents erected could be seen set up, guarded by ferocious beasts and groups of ck ogres.
Inside the biggest tent, two ogres with a single crimson horn protruding out of their foreheads could be seen talking through a transmission orb. Both of these ogres were wearing armours made out of bones and pelts of monsters and wereparatively smaller than your average ck ogre who had a towering height of three or four meters.
Although they were small around two meters in height, they were releasing far more berserk and brutal aura than any ck ogre could.
In the ck ogre tribe, one''s status and power was decided not through one''s height or frame but by the colour of the horn that one possesses.
In the ck ogre tribe, one''s position and power is decided based on the colour of their horns. An ogre possessing a ck horn is considered your foot soldier and does not have much authority, while [pressing a brown gives you high status and position in the ogre tribe.
In the ogre tribe, the colour of one''s horn changes as they level up. Normally, an ogre possesses a ck horn from birth which changes to brown when they enter the Super beast ss. Simrly, when an ogre levels up to be a disaster ss, their brown horn changes into a crimson horn which is much rarer in that not even one in ten thousand ogres may have a crimson horn within the tribe.
A crimson horn not only shows one''s might but it also establishes your status in the ogre tribe to be high above all others. However, to reach crimson horn one''s talent and aptitude should be far above other ogres.
A ck ogre with a crimson horn is destined to be extraordinary and have a power that no ordinary ogre could match. Above the crimson horn, there is the indigo horn which is said to be rarer than even the crimson horns.
Perhaps if you search the entirety of the ck ogre poption, you might not even find one. The chances of an ogre levelling up to an indigo horn are so low that it might not even be one in a hundred thousand.
Needless to say, if an ogre with an indigo horn appears, they are considered a being equal to a king as they possess power and talent of that of a one. The level and the ceiling that they could reach was so high that not even dozens of crimson horn can defeat them if grouped together.
When an ogre with a crimson horn appears, it is a matter of celebration for the entire ogre tribe. However, when an indigo horn shows up, it is like a sign of prosperity for their tribe. An event that may not evene for hundreds of years.
The status of an indigo horn is unparalleled; however, there is another colour of horn that is even above indigo and that is the purple horn. But the existence of a purple horn is like a myth within the ogre tribe as there hasn''t been anyone born within the history of their tribe with a purple horn.
Thus it has been mostly forgotten by the people of the ck ogre tribe who consider the indigo horn the ultimate ceiling a ck ogre could be born with.
Aside from that, the entirety of the ck ogre''s power and mana is also concentrated within their horns. Thus the higher the colour of their horns, the more humanoid they look.
"We understand, we will do our best to secure the thing that lord Gil-Garna wants" the crimson horns named Giz-Bozo and Giz-Mogo said.
"You better¡ you know the consequences of disappointing our lord don''t you? Also, take care of that orc king who has been getting on our lord''s nervestely. Do not kill him, break all of his limbs and bones if you must but bring him alive to me. His core stone would make a fine jewel on the crown of my king".
On the transmission orb that disyed the image on the other side, was a ck ogre with a humanoid appearance. What was special about that ogre was that it had an indigo horn on its forehead.
With the way the crimson horns were so respectful to him, it could be guessed how high the status of the person on the other side of the transmission was.
"Rest assured Sir Gish-Bagh we will bring that orc to you alive" Giz-Bozo thumped his chest and said with certainty.
The call ended here and the pressure that the tent was engulfed in, dissolved.
"Bozo, do you think there are more individuals on the level of the orc king o the side of the orcs?" Giz-Mogo asked.
Hearing his question, Giz-Bogo snorted derisively "How can that be, Sir Gish-bagh has already informed me of the power structure within the orc tribe. That orc that sir Gish-bagh wants, is the strongest there. Grururu¡ how funny that an individual like him can be a king when he is weaker than you Mogo".
"Grururu¡ they are the orc tribe, you cannot expect much from them. It is already a great fortune for them to have lived freely so far. Now that lord Gil-Garna has his eyes on them, they have no choice but to submit.. grururu" Mogo mocked.
"That''s true, however, what I don''t understand is why Lord Gil-Garna wants to subdue the orc tribe. They are so weak, other than being used as our ves, they aren''t worth anything. why does he want them so badly?" Bozo asked curiously.
"You idiot, it is not our ce to judge the intention of our lord. He must have some great reason for that, we just need to follow his orders that''s all" Mogo responded shutting Bozo up. It was a taboo in the ogre tribe to speak even a word against their king, those who were found doing that, were severely punished or even killed to make an example.
From this, one could say that Gil-Garna was the kind of king that ruled with an iron fist. He was a tyrant who used might to establish his ce within the ck ogre tribe but at the same time, he had the ability and the qualities to lead them.
"Now that our orders are clear, let''s call the Gir brothers," Bozo said.
A few minutester, three ogres around three meters in height entered the tent. They each had a brown horn on their head and were releasing a powerful aura that was not any weaker than Berirock''s.
They were called the Gir brother because they were triplets and almost looked the same.
"Gir- Rago, Gir-Rego, Gir-Rugomand your armies to march forward from three different sides. Rago, you take fifteen thousand ogres and march from the right. Rego, you will bemanding twenty thousand and march from the middle. The rest ten thousand will follow Rugo from the left".
The three Gir brothers immediately fell to their knees and nodded at those words from Mogo. For them who were lower in status, the orders from the crimson horns were absolute.
"There will be some resistance from the orcs, but don''t think much about it and press forward. I don''t want to extend this war needlessly and swiftly aplish our mission. Of course, you must at least maintain the bare minimum of guard against the orcs and prevent any needless sacrifice. Though there is bound to be some losses on our side, it cannot be helped".
"We understand" the Gir brothers nodded in affirmative.
Bozo took out a crudely made paper and handed it to them "Written here are names of some of the orcs you should be careful off. If possible take care of them yourselves".
With that, the Gir brothers exited the tent and climbed up their mounts to carry out their orders. The ckfield might be a field of death, but to an army of this size who were already aware of the dangers of this ce, it was unable to halt them.
On the orders of the crimson horns, the ck ogre army divided themselves into three divisions with Rago, Rego and Rugo leading each of them.
On the opposite side of the ckfield, one could see dozens of siege weapons being installed on the fortifications made by earth magic. Thousands of orcs busily running around and carrying out orders.
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Pitfalls were being created on the ground with the bones of the beasts used as spikes, and poison bogs being erged. Basically, everything that could slow down the ogre army''s march, was being done.
Behind the enormous wall, was arge camp where all of the manpower of the orcs was gathered in. It didn''t matter which faction they belonged to, the entire orc army was present here at this moment.
Inside one of the tents, where all the higher-ups of the orc tribe were gathered in, a meeting was being held. Whether it be the orc generals or the orcmanders, all were in attendance except for the dead.
No, it wouldn''t be right to say all since the orc king was also not there.
"When will his majesty being?" Berimond asked, the decisive hour to fight with the ogre army was already upon them. At this moment the absence of the orc king who was their leader and themander of the entire army, was a big factor of uncertainty.
It was not only him, each and every orc present inside the camp was thinking the same thing.
"There is no need for you all to be anxious. His majesty told me that he would be arriving here any moment. He gave me the authority to be his stand-in for the time being. When hees I will brief him about the situation so let us start this meeting" Berirock said in an attempt to calm the masses.
However, not everyone bought what he said especially Berigard who knew the true face of the orc king. He had a gut feeling that thetter wouldn''t be arriving here and the words said by Berirock earlier were just empty words.
Nevertheless, he didn''t raise this issue as there was a far more pressing concern for him to address. With Berirock urging them, the Diluvian High Orcs that went ahead to scout out the ckfield, reported.
They told about the distribution of the ogre army, their levels and the number of brown horns and above present. Although they couldn''t see as far as the backlines of the enemy where their camp was located, they could at least guess that a crimson horn was present that was leading the ogre army.
The moment the report came in, a heavy silence descended onto the ce making the orcs unable to breathe. The numbers of the ogre army aside, the presence of the crimson horn already put a heavy pressure on them.
The Diluvian High orcs were aware of the power structure amongst the ogres and knew the colour of their horns represented their status and power.
A fully grown ogre with a crimson horn was so powerful that only a disaster ss could match them. In their tribe, only the orc king had reached that realm. So if the enemy had a crimson horn amongst them, they could only be stopped by the orc king.
"I don''t understand what everybody is so concerned about. Doesn''t our opponent only have forty-five thousand soldiers? Compared to that, our tribe of orcs have around double that number. If we all attacked the ogre army together, wouldn''t it be an easy victory for us?".
An orc who recently became an orcmander, said unable to understand why the higher ups inside the camp were so concerned about. ording to him, they heavily outnumbered their enemy with the orc army being seventy-five thousand orcs strong.
This was just counting the number of the Diluvian High orcs, if they include the high orcs and the ordinary orcs the number went up as high as three hundred and thirty-five thousand.
The numbers were absolutely in their favour, just the number that was.
The orcmander who has newly risen to his position, cannot be med for thinking that. Perhaps considering that the ogre tribe only sent forty-five thousand ogres to subdue their entire tribe of orcs, many of them might be thinking in the same line that the tribe of ogres were underestimating them who had gathered their entire army on the ckfield.
However, that was not the case. In a war, one cannot just look at numbers they also have to ount other factors. For example, the beasts each of the ogres were mounted on.
All of the beasts were a force on their own and could easily contend with a high orc or even a Diluvian High Orc. That was not all, unlike the orcs who specialised in fighting in groups thanks to their inborn [Coordination] skill, the ogre''s speciality lied in fighting individually.
They were trained in ways that increased their efficiency when fighting alongside their mounts. If the orc army were like an infantry unit, then the ogres would be a special cavalry unit.
Plus one cannot just assume that if one side has higher numbers that side will prevail, after all, one also has to look at the quality of each of the individuals.
Due to the disparity of strength that has been growing marginally between the two tribes, the orcs have fallen far behind. Even the weakest ogre of the ck ogre army was above level 350 while some individuals were powerful enough to match the likes of Berirock.
Adding in the 250+ level beasts, the ck ogre army was by no means a weak army. On the contrary, they were on a level which would even make the surrounding kingdoms raise their guards against them.
Then there were ogres like the brown horns and crimson horn leading the army. From this, one could tell that the king of ogres really wanted to subdue the orc tribe once and for all.
It was natural for those orcs that understood that to be wreathed with worry. This war was rted to the survival of their tribe. If they lost here, their tribe was bound to be doomed. They could only give it their all and fight with everyst bit of their strength.
If they showed enough resilience who knows they might even turn it around. At this moment when the tension was palpable inside the tent, an orc came running inside with a message.
"Reporting to general Berirock, the ogre army have divided themselves into three divisions and have started marching. The one leading those army seems to be the Gir brothers".
The Gir brothers had an infamous reputation that even reached all the way to their orc territory. They were said to be so brutal that they bathed in the blood of their enemy every time they showed up on the battlefield. Obviously, they had a factor of fear associated with their name now.
"Any signs of a crimson horn?" Berirock asked in an apprehensive tone.
The messenger shook his head making the orcs inside the tent a little relieved. However, the fact that they were missing their orc king, the leader who was supposed to lead them, weighed on their minds.
"Alright then, we will also divide ourselves into three groups which will be led by us three generals. I believe you guys don''t have any qualms with that?" Berirock''s question was directed towards the two other generals, Berigard and Berimond who nodded their heads in agreement.
"Since that is the case, I will count on you guys to stop the Gir brothers. You and your army would be managing one side of the wall. As for the possible crimson horn that might be leading their army, we can only leave them to the orc king. Aside from that, we will also have another unit ready in our base to assist any side that needs help" Berirock started givingmands.
Since the other orc generals had no problems following Berirock''smand the orcmanders under them also did not say anything and simply obeyed the orders.
The orcs true to their race, quickly got into formation and exited out of the camp. The [Coordination] skill was in its full effect.
The sheer size of the orc army, even when divided into three divisions and more standing in reserves, was a magnificent sight to see.
The orcs rushed into their formations on themands from the various orc captains and orcmanders.
Huge crossbows and Catapults that were mounted on the wall, took their aim at the approaching ogre army. The numerous amos and arrows loaded into them were ready to rain down upon their enemy.
On the other side, the ogres had no such weapons, they were an army that was clearly focused on more mobility and taking down their enemy with the quality of their soldiers.
RUMBLE¡ the ground trembled as the numerous mounts tread through the ckfield. The ck ogre army divided into three divisions looked like three arrowheads that was trying to pierce through the wall that was the orcs.
"ATTACK!!" the orcmanders shouted the moment the ogre army was within the range of their siege weapons. Although typical siege weapons wouldn''t be able to hurt even a mere footsoldier ogre, it was enough to slow them down for a while.
Plus, the siege weapons made by the orcs were created from the bones of monsters that they hunted and was further enchanted by the orc shamans. Thus they had the potential to hurt even a being above level 300 given that they were caught off guard.
WHOOSH... WHOOSH¡ Hundreds of arrows more than three meters long, came falling down from the sky. Some of it hit the mark, while some were just duds falling on the ground not aplishing anything.
However, it was just the start, the orcs have prepared arge batch of ammo for this war that would decide their fate. It wouldn''t be wrong to say that they have emptied their entire armory just for this day.
Apart from the ernchanted arrows, there were also the boulders and pile bunkers being dropped on them. The ogre army did not bother to dodge the attacks and kept on rushing forward. Although they did get injured in the process, that was after taking on numerous attacks.
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For the ogre army who waged war numerous times with other tribes, this was a kind of sport for them. In this forty five thousand strong army, you wouldn''t find even a single ogre who stopped their rush after seeing the one next to them fall down after getting injured.
On the contrary, the expression the ck ogre army had on their face was that of pure joy and exhration. It was as if they did not know the meaning of pain or fear as they rushed even while bleeding from their bodies.
The three divisions led by the three Gir brothers paraded through the ckfield and soon met with the wall that was erected with magic by the orcs.
Manning the wall and behind it, was the orc army ready to intercept those that passed through. Berigard and his army were manning the left side of the wall.
After the enemy closed the distance, the siege weapons were useless, if they the breached through the wall too, it would be a full frontal fight. That is why, they needed to stall the enemy for as long as they could, exhaust their stamina while they try to climb or break over the wall and kill a few if possible.
Berigard standing with his twomanders, Bellock and Belmarch on the wall, surveyed the situation all around.
"This won''t do.." he suddenly muttered.
"My lord¡ what are you talking about" Bellock asked perplexed by the sudden remark of his general.
"Look around you and look at the approaching ogre army. One side is filled with the intent to battle while the other side is anxious and afraid of what is toe. Even without the need to fight, I can already tell that the orc tribe would fall if the morale of the entire army isn''t raised. Our side looks like we have already given up, there is no hope in their eyes"
Berigard assessed. While it pained him to say all that, it was the hard truth.
"The orc king¡" Belmarch started, he wanted to say that if the orc king arrives here, it would surely increase the morale of the orcs. However he was quickly shut down by thement made by Bellock.
"He is noting. Belmarch don''t be an idiot and keep false hope, that traitor has already run away by now. In this crucial moment when the entire orc tribe''s fate is involved, whatever that is keeping him busy shouldn''t matter anymore. If he wasing, he would have already been here. The fact that he is not here is proof that he has deserted his tribe members".
The orcmander was much moreposed when facing the ogre army. He believed his general was not wrong when trying to overthrow the rule of the orc king. In fact, if their actions had seeded that day, they would have had a much better chance at survival if led by Berigard who he thought was appropriate to be the king. Also, the orc army wouldn''t be this demoralised.
"There is nothing we can do about it other than give it our all. This day might very well be thest day of our orc tribe so I want all of you to give more than your hundred percent on the battlefield" Berigard gave them a few more words of encouragement before dismissing them.
They were to join the army that was behind the wall andmand them when the enemy breaches through the wall. While he along with a few groups of orcs would remain on the wall dishing our skills and magic on their enemies for as long as they could.
On the other areas of the wall, the two orc generals also did the same. The ck ogre army like a ck tide, soon reached the thirty meters tall wall and just like the orcs had expected, tried to climb the wall with their beasts.
But how could the orcs just allow them to do so knowing that this was theirst line of defence? All sorts of skills and magic came targeting the ogre army.
The ogre army on the other hand did not just stay still and received the attacks of the enemy. Now that their enemy was at a distance that they could see, they used their own skills and magic in return.
The beasts used as the mounts by the ogres, activated their [Wind ws], [Electric Rush], [Fire Envelop] and other various elemental skills to destroy or climb up the wall. Thus a series of fierce battle started near the wall.
The orcs ready to defend their territories, fired one skill after another until they were tired or out of mana. They would take turns to rest and start firing again as soon as they recovered a little.
Berigard, Berirock and Belmond who were also standing on the wall, would support the areas that seemed like they would be breached at any moment. Especially Berigard, his magic hade in clutch many times when it seemed like somebody would leap over the wall or break through one side.
His newly risen advanced magic and tremor magic were both elements that were very good for crowd control. Even the ogres couldn''t take on his attacks wilily-nilly.
The situation came to standstill for a while, the ogre army''s march finally stopped at the wall with none being able to breach it. The orcs would have liked the situation to go on so like that; however, how could it be so easy to stop the ogre army?
The first wave of the three divisions of ck army that was simultaneously attacking the left right and middle sides of the wall, was just the footsoldiers, the weakest force of their army. The stronger ones were only just arriving near the wall.
Instead of trying to climb the wall from the base, they used the ogres that were trying to do so as the foothold to climb up the wall. They jumped on top of the ogres that doggedlytched onto the wall, and soon made it to the top.
The others behind copied them and soon after, one by one the ogre army started breaching the top.
"Attack" the orcs immediately grouped up onto the ogres that made it to the wall and tried to push them back. But were barely able to push their mounts back.
Those ogres that fell down, were reced by the ones behind them. A single orc mounted on his beast, was powerful enough to contend against more than two Diluvian High Orcs. So how could a small number of them stop the ogres when they were starting to climb the wall?
"Allow them to pass" the orcs on the wall were stunned when they heard these words. They turned around to look at who it was that gave such a ridiculous order only to find out that it was none other than general Berigard who had given that order.
"Berigard have you .lost your mind?" Although the volume that Berigard spoke in, wasn''t particrly loud, it was still heard by Berirock who was guarding the middle side of the wall.
The wall was theirst line of defence, beyond it was the orc army and their camp. If the enemy passes through that easily, they would have a hard time ahead.
Berigard did not bother exining his intentions to Berirock and simply ordered his subordinates to allow the ogre to pass through. The ogre taking this chance broke through and jumped at the other side of the wall.
It was not only ogre, quite a few were allowed to pass through. After more than ten of them got through, Berigard asked the orcs on the wall to stop any other iing ogres and turned towards the orc army who stood ready behind to attack the ten ogres.
Getting the cue with just the look from their general, the twomanders immediately understood what their master intended. They quickly ordered the orcs and rallied the army who quickly encircled the ten ogres who were separated from their army.
Individually, the ck ogres might be stronger than any orc. However, when pitted against this big of a number even they can be brought down.
In a full-on frontal fight, the ordinary orcs and the high orcs would be rendered to nothing but meat shields. The presence they had on the battlefield was negligible and they would have only one job and that was to charge towards their enemy and make them spend their stamina on you.
The same was the case even now; however, the presence of the ordinary orcs and high orcs increased due to the limited number of their enemy. They weren''t just rendered to simple meat shields but were actually having an effect.
They couldnd blows andst a lot longer against the strong ogres. Although a few might have died, that was a loss that they were willing to ept given that their enemy was from the ogre tribe and far stronger than them.
With them depleting their enemy''s strength, it was an easy task for the diluvian high orcs to do the rest and dispose of them.
After the first ten ogres and their mounts died at the hands of Berigard''s army, he then ordered the orcs in the wall to allow another batch of ten or so ogres to pass through. Like that, they repeated the tactic for a while and defeated quite a few ogres.
Seeing Berigard''s strategy work, the other orc generals adopted a simr tactic. For the orc tribe, when ites to the number of warriors that they could deploy, they had an absolute advantage.
Thus this tactic which allowed them to switch their soldiers after each exchange not only prevented needless loss, but it also gave others time to recover while they slowly chipped away at the strength of the ck ogre army.
487 Chapter 487
However, the ogres weren''t fool, they quickly realised that something was wrong when they saw that the resistance of the orcs on top of the wall did not lessen.
"Tch, these orcs they are unexpectedly quite witty. But if they think that they can stop us with just that, then they must be dreaming. Let''s go Creadra¡ let us show these orcs the true power of the ck ogre tribe" An ogre with a ck horn patted the beast underneath him.
He was the ogre that had intruded deep inside the high orc''s territory and blew Berirock away with just a punch. With his call, the beast underneath him called the Creadra which looked like a ck overgrown hyena, started charging towards the wall.
The ogre started channelling his mana towards his fist distorting the air and even the space around him. Just when he was a few meters away from the wall, he leapt out of his mount and using the momentum gathered from the charge, he threw a punch right at the middle of the wall.
[Shockwave Fist]¡
"This is bad¡ everybody get away from the wall" realising the danger a step toote, Berigard warned the orcs around him and quickly leapt away from the wall.
BOOOM¡
The shockwave passed through the enormous wall that was erected with thebined powers of several orc shamans and Berigard, and it started shaking and trembling.
CRACK¡ soon after, cracks started appearing around the part where the ogre had thrown his punch that spread across the wall.
To the ogre''s delightment and to the onlooking orc''s horror, a part of the wall came crumbling down with arge bang. This opened up a holerge enough for the ogre armies to pass through.
The Gir brothers who weremanding their own armies from the backlines, didn''t let this opportunity go and ordered the ogres to go around the wall and through the hole.
"Th-This is bad¡ what do we do now?" Belsea who had changed sides and joined Berirock''s faction, asked.
"In the first ce, where is his majesty the orc king? Isn''t it time he showed up?" he kept on pestering Berirock with one question after another.
"Shut up¡ his majesty will show up when he thinks it''s time. So stop your bellyaching and order your troops to get ready. From now on it''s a full-on battle" Annoyed, Berirock thundered.
The words he had just said, were out of impatience. Even he did not what and why the orc king was taking so long to show up. If he was here, the orc army would have an additional assurance and would have been able to fight without any worries in their mind.
Berirock can act as his stand-in, but in the end, he was just an orc general and not the pir of faith that the entire orc tribe was waiting for. With the fall of the wall, it was only natural for this tense atmosphere to spread towards the entire orc army making them a little passive.
Whereas on the other hand, the ogre army who did not get to fight and shed blood up until now, excitedly charged towards their enemy. Their morale was sky high and their bloodlust fierce.
When the two sides collided, there was massive loss on the side of the orcs with many of them dying after a few exchanges. The orc general tried their best to raise the morale of their army; nevertheless, the impact they could make was not much.
"Hmm¡ the wall has fallen, now the orcs will have no choice but to fight us head on" Giz-Mogo said seeing their army breach through the wall.
"Right¡ but why can''t I feel the presence of that orc that Sir Gish-Bagh has his eyes on? Did he get cold feet or is he lying low?".
Giz-Bozo next to him muttered. The orc he was talking about, was none other than the orc king who ording to Gish-Bagh, was the only disaster ss being on the enemy''s side.
"The war would end instantly if I just behead him but it''s a pity that I cannot find him".
"Don''t be like this, there is no fun in winning a battle instantly. Besides this is a very important mission given to us by lord Gil-Garna we cannot mess it up in any way. Just give it some time, that coward is gonna show up soon after we shed a river of blood on the orcs".
Mogo reminded, his gaze piercing through dozens of kilometres ofnd andnding on the battlefield where a one-sided ughter had initiated.
The difference in strength between an ogre and an orc was in full disy. The ordinary orcs were killed in an instant, the high orcs would be blown away after only a few exchanges while the Diluvian high orcs could barely hold onto their lives.
The three divisions of the ck army cut through their enemy''s massive lineup like awn mower cutting through grass. They painted the darknds of the ckfield with the blood of their enemies.
Every so often a few of them would drop after being dealt a devastating blow by the orcs. However,pared to the number of casualties the enemy had on their side, this was nothing.
The orcs put up as much resistance as they could, their special ability [Coordination] allowed them to fight like a single unit. However, that too had its limit and it was not like the skill did not have its cons.
Time passed by swiftly and half a day was already over amidst the bloodcurdling screams and rallying roars on the battlefield.
The ck ogre army like a ck tide slowly swept away the orc army until there was only a third of their initial numbers remaining. That is to say, there were only around 200,000 out of the initial 300,000 orcs not counting the ones kept aside as a reserve for reinforcements, remaining.
Whereas, the Ogre''s strength had only dwindled by a mere 5000 out of their 45,000 strong army. No matter who saw the situation, they would easily be able to tell that the orcs were at a massive disadvantage.
"Sir Berirock we are unable to stop the ogres"
"Sir Berirock¡ orcmander Belgus has fallen"
"Sir Berirock¡ we need reinforcements fast".
With the passage of time, the anxiousness within the orcs started growing as more and more of them fell at the hands of their army. The situation was growing dire and there was no signs of the orc king arriving any time soon.
Naturally, at this moment the worst possible thought that the orc general Berigard pointed out three days ago on the nigh of the moon dance, shed inside their head.
With growing concerns, their confidence and morale dropped even lower affecting their performance in the battle.
If before two diluvian high orcs were able to somehow contend against an average ck horn ogre, now even with three against one they weren''t able to pin thetter down.
The spirits of the orcs had hit rock bottom and there didn''t seem like there was any chance of reversal. And as if to kick them who were already down, the ogres started unleashing beasts that were powerful enough to contend against even an orc captain.
The situation couldn''t be any more worse but it dropped even lower when they saw the three brown horns leading the ogre army show up. This made them realise that the entire ogre army had finally crossed the wall.
Berigard who was monitoring the entire situation from the air using his tempest magic, came down with a dark look on his face.
"My lord¡ is there any improvement on our side¡" the orcmanders asked but stopped midway when they saw the look the general had on his face.
The orc captains were frantically asking for reinforcements from every front and everything was in total chaos.
Berigard took a deep breath and assessed the information he had on him before looking towards his two loyal subordinates¡ª"Bellock, Belmarch¡e with me". He didn''t say much but it was enough for the two to understand what he was nning to do.
The orc army had lost their fighting spirits, their formation broken and their ability to listen to orders was inplete mayhem. No matter which faction or the general that led them, none of the armies was able to mount any resistance.
At this point, just sitting in the backlines and giving orders when it was not being followed, was aplete waste. Rather than that, they would have more impact if they showed up at the vanguard of their army and hopefully, that would help raise the morale of their army somewhat.
This movement from Berigard, didn''t go unnoticed. The brown horns who were closely monitoring individuals with strong presences, immediately spotted him rushing forward.
When a strong individual show up in a battle amongst the weak, they are bound to turn the situation on its head. The same was the case this time too when Berigard and his twomanders showed up on the frontlines.
They bombarded the enemy with their powerful spells and skills and quickly relieved the pressure on the orcs. Enormous tornadoes raged across the ckfield pulling in numerous ogres, the earth split apart and powerful skills showed their appearances.
The ordinary ogres weren''t a match for Berigard and the two orcmanders. For the first time since the battle started, the ogre army was being finally pushed back.
Although this wasn''t much, the gesture from the orc general was enough to raise the morale of the exhausted and downtrodden orcs on the frontline a little and let them know that they weren''t alone.
488 Chapter 488
"My fellow tribe members, the decisive hour, the trial that would determine our fate, is upon us. The enemy is right in front of us, they are strong, far stronger than us and they will not hesitate to shed our blood".
"Now you have two choices, you can either mop here all day without making any contribution or you all cane with me and join your fellow members who gave their lives away while fighting"
With a warcry loud enough to reach even the enemy camp far behind, Berigard raised his staff in the sky and started casting.
Ominous wind started whistling across the entire battlefield and after a while, the earth started trembling as if in fear as to what is toe. Berigard poured unimaginable amounts of mana into his staff which in turn channelled it to create the desired elemental effect.
The mana in a few kilometres surrounding visibly took a yellowish hue and a pressure like that of a heavy mountain descended onto the ce.
Before anyone could notice, a huge mountain more than a thousand meters big started materialising high up in the sky, casting a shadow on the ground by the setting sun.
"[Tremor Magic Master]- [Falling Meteor]" Berigard muttered, the moment he finished reciting the name of his magic, the mountain as if the gravity finally got hold of it, started descending.
The intermediate tier AOE Tremor Magic, was one of the strongest magic in Berigard''s arsenal. It was so powerful that it needed a ton of mana and concentration for the magic to take shape. If he got distracted even a little, the magic that he materialised with so much effort, would disintegrate into nothing.
Thus it was crucial that he maintained his concentration until the moment the meteor falls on the enemy.
The tribe of ogres weren''t fool, they immediately realised this weakness and thus pounced on it.
"Bellock, Belmarch¡ I''m counting on you" Berigardmanded his two subordinates who stood in front of him like a wall.
"Its him!" recognising the one that was rushing towards them as none other than the ogre that had toppled down the wall in a single punch, Bellockmented.
The two orcmanders immediately got into formation and activated one skill after another to stop the ogre in his tracks.
[Great Orc wall], [Heavy Shield], [Greater Force], [Bulwark], [Super Enhanced Defence], [Rampart], [Weaken Force], [Blunt resistance], [Cut resistance]¡
"[Diluvian Fortress]".
Immediately, the aura around them started coagting and materialised into a huge fortress. The ogre that broke the wall, came pouncing towards them on his beast with the same momentum and force that he used to break the wall.
"[Shockwave st]" the ogre punched forward and collided with the [Diluvian fortress] that the two orcmanders put up.
BOOOMMM¡ a thundering sound apanied by the air being burst apart, sounded out. The strongest defence the orcmanders can put up versus the strongest attack from an ogre powerful enough to bring down a wall created by numerous orc shamans.
It was the battle between the skills of the two races. Will the defence prevail or would it be the attack from the ogre. All the eyes on the battlefield were glued towards the sh.
For the ogre army, the attack would once again establish their position as the dominant one giving them an even bigger boost in morale. Whereas for the orc army, there was too much stake in line.
Not only would this victory mean a turnaround for them, but it would also potentially even bring their spirit that had hit rock bottom back up. Plus they absolutely needed to withstand this attack since Berigard who was controlling the meteor''s fall, was behind them.
BANG¡ a loud banging noise was heard and in front of the petrified eyes of the onlooking orcs, cracks started appearing on the [Diluvian Fortress].
CRACK¡ the cracks did not just stop there, and started spreading all across the fortress.
Puff¡ Bellock and Belmarch who were maintaining the fortress, puffed out a mouthful of blood. Their entire body shook and they were pushed a few steps back.
"GRUAHHH¡" the orcmanders cried out, even when their bones were being crushed under the pressure, they still doggedly held on and refused to budge any further.
Crick-crack¡ the cracks on the fortress started intensifying as the punch started caving in more and more, and before long the entire fortress copsed along with the hopes of the entire orc army.
SKIIDD¡ SKIDDD¡ Bellock and Belmarch were pushed a few meters back and seemed to have suffered a bacsh.
The technique, [Diluvian Fortress] had copsed leaving Berigard all open. One could say that the ogre came out victorious in that bout, but when you consider the overall situation, it mattered not. The goal the orcmanders had in mind was not to win against the ogre but to dy him long enough for Berigard to bring down his magic and they have achieved their objective splendidly.
The meteor was on top of the right wing of the ogre army who had celebrated their victory too soon.
RUMBLE¡ the moment the meteor crashed onto the ground, it was as if a titan had put his foot on the ground. The earth trembled and the shockwave from the crash covered a radius of more than three kilometres.
Dust rose as high as a few thousand meters and a huge crater had formed around the ce of impact. After a while when the dust settled, both sides were astonished to find that a part of the ogre army had been squashed underneath the meteor.
While those that were near, were blown back and injured in the aftermath. If one talked purely in terms of numbers, then that one intermediate-tier AOE spell from Berigard was enough to kill more than three hundred ogres and injure around five hundred.
It was no doubt a severe loss for the ogre army and a big blow to their morale. It also proved that a single powerful individual was enough to dictate the entire tempo of the war and Berigard just did that. This move from him was sure to mend the broken spirits of his tribe members back.
"You bastard¡" the ogre that failed to stop the attack on time, cussed and charged towards the defenceless Berigard who was reeling from the exhaustion of using a powerful AOE Intermediate tier magic.
"Bellock¡Belmarch... "
"GUGA¡" with Berigard''s call, the two orcmanders who were pushed back, executed an attack in perfect synchronicity.
Bellock jumped on top of his fellowmander''s hammer and was flung towards the onrushing ogre at a speed that utilised the full physical power of a Diluvian High orc.
"[Execution sh]" An attack that was strong enough to cut through the scales of the lightning Draconic Serpent, was executed on the ogre.
Needless to say, the ogre was a far cry whenpared to the lightning draconic serpent who was only a few steps away from reaching the disaster ss. Plus, the ogre did not have hardened scales like thetter.
SLASH¡
A clean gash bisected the body of the ogre in two, blood sprayed out like a fountain and the body fell on the ground with a thud. Even until thest few seconds before death, the ogre was unable to believe what just happened.
It was not only him, the ogre army and even their fellow tribe members were in disbelief. Bellock, one of the two orcmanders under Berigard had managed to kill the ogre powerful enough to open a hole through the wall and shatter their most powerful defensive technique.
This not only gave them a pleasant surprise, but it also showed them a ray of hope that there is still a chance that they could win this war. The dispirited orcs started to once again gain courage.
This effect could be seen not only in Bergard''s faction but also in the faction led by Berirock and Berimond. Both of them were surprised by how valiant thetter acted during this time of need.
Not only was he good atmanding, his actions also demonstrated how good of a leader he was. Berirock finally understood why orcmanders like Bellock and Belmarch who had the potential to reach the rank of an orc general, refuse that position and chose to be under Berigard.
It was only natural for an orc like that tomand such respect and loyalty from his subordinates. The action of Berigard had a positive effect on the entire orc army as warcries started to echo from the previously downtrodden orcs.
"That was a risky move from you¡ are you alright/" Berimond came over after handingmand to his orcmanders temporarily.
"Don''t worry about it. I knew they would try to attack me that is why I brought those two with me. I knew I could get away with it since they have my back" Berigard said ncing at his subordinates who had been with him thick and thin.
"GUGAGA¡ you really are something. No wonder the army you have raised is so loyal to you. Berigard, although I know it''s toote but I want to apologise to you. You were right, we shouldn''t have trusted Belgarious. He has already deserted us and is probably running away now. If only I didn''t stay neutral and supported your cause at that time, that we would have probably had a higher chance of surviving this ordeal today" Berimondmented.
"It''s not toote," Berigard remarked "We still have a chance".
"What do you mean? There is no way we can win against them, not without the orc king. You should know it, those brown horns shouldn''t be the highestbat powress of the enemy. There is definietely a crimson horn leading them. When that ogre shows up, even if we somehow manage to defeat the brown horns we wouldn''t be a match for him" Berimond enunciated his worries.
489 Chapter 489
"Do not worry about that, when the timees, I will do something about it. But before that, we cannot fight divided like our enemy. We must fight unitedly and use our advantage against them. That is the only way we stand a chance against the ogre army".
Berigard said looking towards the faction led by Berirock. As the stand-in for the orc king, the tribe of diluvian high orcs trusted him the most. Although Berigard hated to admit it, that guy was no doubt the one with the mostmand right now.
If he refused to join and fight as a single unit, there is no way the orcs underneath him would join them. That is why they needed him to join them.
Berimond understood that¡ª"It will be difficult but I shall talk with him. I''m sure that if it concerns the lives of our tribe members he is going to agree with it".
Saying so, the orc general was about to walk off to where Berirock was only to see thetter take the initiative toe over by himself. He nced at Berigard and Berimod without uttering any word for a while.
"What are you guys discussing about?" he opened his lips only to question them.
"We were just¡"
"Before that, don''t you have something to tell us, no to the whole orc tribe?".
Berimond was just about to exin when he was cut off by Berigard mid-sentence.
Berirock locked his brows in a frown and asked "What do you mean?".
"Isn''t there something you ought to inform us by now¡ about the orc king and whether he has run away or not?" without beating around the bush further, Berigard rified.
"Be careful of your words, you are talking about the orc king" and as expected, Berirock was instantly incensed.
"GUGAGA¡ to hell with your king. You know it by now don''t you, the orc king that you revere and serve like a dog, has already abandoned you and the entire tribe? If he was the benevolent king that you make him out to be, he would have arrived here already".
"It''s time that you tell all of us the truth. Like that, at least we wouldn''t have to keep putting our hopes in something that will never ur and risk our lives for nothing" Berigard reasoned.
"Shut up¡ the orc king hasn''t abandoned us. He will never do something like that" Berirock denied frantically. Somewhere in his heart, he was still clinging to the hopes that Belgarious would show up on the battlefield and lead the army to victory for them.
"Is it really the case? Do you really from the heart believe that Belgarious would show up? Why don''t you ask yourself, where he is now? Is he even picking up your transmission call anymore?"
"Don''t fool yourself, your constant denial to ept the reality will not only lead you to doom but it will also drag the entire orc race with you. The orc tribe deserves to know the truth, they should at least know who they are fighting for".
The orc general Berigard was silent for a while, the war after a temporary pause had resumed once again. Sure the ogre had suffered a loss in thest bout, but it was nothing to these killing machines who were raised in one of the most brutal environments where death was just a daily urrence.
Although a powerful ogre died, it was not like the ogre army did not have any more powerful individual other than him. They quickly got over the fact that a number of them had died and quickly resumed their battle which was like a sport for them.
Berirock struggled internally and after surveying the war which was still tipped in the favour of the ogres, he finally came to a decision.
"It wouldpletely demoralise the army. Do you still want me to tell them that?".
Berigard unhesitantly nodded his head¡ª"Instead of putting our hopes alive in some miracle that will never happen, it is better for us to embrace the truth. Although it might break their spirits, nevertheless, they would at least die while fully knowing everything".
"Besides if we do not tell them the truth, these people will continue to have false hope and will be unable to fight at their full strength. I want to win this war, I want my tribe to survive and for that, I need them to fight with more than hundred per cent of their strength".
"Berirock you are the only person who is close to the orc king here, only you can do it. I''m sure that every orc is doubting or having such thought in their mind, if it''s you saying it then they are sure to believe it".
Berirock sighed, he looked deeply into the eyes of his fellow general before asking a question that has been on his mind for a while now.
"I shall do as you say¡ but answer this for me. Was it really the orc king that was selling his own tribe members to a human kingdom?".
Berigard did not answer, he simply matched Berirock''s gaze with his own. Which seemed to have been enough for thetter to arrive at an answer.
Berirock turned around, climbed on the highest tform that was in their camp and addressed the army that was busy fending off the enemy.
"Everyone, I believe I owe you all an apology. Some of you might have still held on to the hope that the orc king would be arriving soon to lead you. I''m afraid I must break this bad news to you all, the orc king is not gonnae. He has deserted our tribe and left us all to die here".
There was absolute silence the moment, Berirock finished speaking. Even with the noise from the war that was raging all around, each and every orc fighting on the frontlines were able to hear his words.
"Y-you are kidding, right? Sir Berirock"
"Gugaga¡ please don''t joke like this at this time. The others would really believe it".
The one to throw their denial first was none other than the orcmanders under him.
"I''m not joking, this is the truth. The Orc King is noting, the faster you ept it, the better it is for you" Berirock stated once again backing his earlier words.
"Th-that cannot be, the orc king cannot abandon us. You also said that he was held up by some important work and is on his way. What about that?" Belsea asked trying to cling to thest straws of hope.
Berirock lowered his head and apologised. His actions seemed to have made the orcmander angrier as heshed out.
BANG¡
Berirock was hit by a skill called [Greater Force] that produced a fist-sizepressed air that bursts apart instantly when in contact with a solid surface. Its power was enough to match a unit target intermediate tier gale magic.
Anyways, upon contact with Berircok, thepressed fist size air burst apart sending him crashing down from the pedestal.
Even though he could have dodged the attack if he wanted to, Berirock decided to take on that attack as he felt that he got what he earned.
TAK..TAK.. TAK¡ something fell off from his armour and rolled towards the angry Belsea.
"Transmission Conch?! That''s right, we can just call the orc king and ask him directly" looking at the transmission conch lying in front of him, the orcmander thought. He quickly picked it up and inserted his mana.
Theplex runes inside the transmission conch did it work and sent a transmission to the other end. The call rang for a while; however, the person at the other end never picked it up.
Belsea tried a few more times but it was the same every time. "No¡" Finally, the truth dawned and his spirit couldn''t help but take a tumble.
Looking at this sight, Berigard breathed a heavy sigh. Belsea was someone who was from his camp, that is before he betrayed him. When thetter joined him, he had informed about all the disgusting deeds the orc king hadmitted.
But looking at the face of the orcmander now, it seemed like thetter did not believe him at all.
"Berirock did well-informing everyone about the truth. But I don''t understand something¡ aren''t you angry at him? If not for him standing in your way, you might have been able to bring the truth in front of everyone that day" Berimond asked, it was also somewhat his fault for not helping Berigard that day.
"That is unlikely¡" However, Berigard shook his head. Even if Berirock did not stand in his way that day, he would still been unable to bring the truth in front of everybody. After all, even he didn''t expect the orc king to be able to do something to the evidence (the human) when he brought it to the meeting.
The endeavour was going to fail at the end anyways.
"What?! You are telling me that your king is not here?" while the orcs were reeling in shock and the orcmanders trying to rally the army back, an unfamiliar voice sounded from very near them.
Needless to say, Berigard, Berimond and those that were near them, were immediately alerted. They looked all around them and spotted an ogrezily lying on top of a seat behind in their camp.
Nobody had noticed when that ogre had sneaked behind them which also told the orcs that the ogre that they were looking at, wasn''t an ordinary one.
But even without that, the orcs wouldn''t dare underestimate the ogre. After all, the ogre that had sneaked behind them had a crimson horn on his forehead. That is to say, the ogre was a disaster ss being.
490 Chapter 490
"Hmm¡ you there with the wand, that was cool magic that you used earlier. Let see¡ let''s see, you must be one of the so called orc generals right? What do you mean by those words?" the ogre called out.
The way he was so rxed even while being inside the enemy camp, spoke volumes of his confidence.
"You¡" Berirock pointed out, but even he hesitated to incite an enemy that was far stronger than him. They had guessed that the ck ogre army was being led by a crimson horn; however, he didn''t expect them to pop up behind them all of a sudden.
"Ah, what a blunder, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Giz-Mogo, the second lieutenant and in charge of this army. There is no need to introduce yourselves since I have a general idea of who you are instead of that, can you tell me what do you mean by your king is not here?" Mogo smiled shing his two sharp fangs protruding from his jaws.
The orc generals were silent, they pondered on the information they just got from their enemy. It was just as they had thought, the guy in front of him was really the one leading the ogre army. If so shouldn''t they use this opportunity when he was all alone to defeat him and close this war?
There were three of them here, if they counted the orcmanders who might have the ability to stand even after taking a few blows from the ogre, they might be able to bring the crimson horn. All the three orc generals were thinking in that line.
Just when Berirock took a step ready to engage with their enemy, Berigard stopped them. When red at by their questioning look, he pointed behind them. There they could see the ck ogre army stop their advance ande to a halt at this moment.
The ones on the front stepped aside for three ogres to step forward. Each of these ogres had a brown horn protruding from their forehead and were infamous by their names, the Gir brothers.
For what reason did the ogre armye to a halt when they were winning? There could only be one reason and that was because of the ogre that was sitting in their camp.
"You have a good judgement, I was the one who told them to stop. There is no meaning in needlessly killing ordinary soldiers who are just obeying theirmands. Instead, I came here to find the corp of the army, show them the vast difference in strength between us and close this war".
"What do you say, let''s bring out the strongest individuals from our tribes and let them battle to decide the fate of each side? If that orc king of yours wins, we will retreat and never step in here again. But if he loses, the entire orc tribe will surrender to us. How about that?" Mogo stated, hisckadaisical attitude seemed to invite others to attack him.
His words made the orc generals carefully deliberate over it. it was as he had said, one can avoid this needless bloodshed if the top brass of their army were to fight it out amongst themselves and decide the victor.
After all, a single powerful individual could easily turn the tide in a war where more than three hundred thousand lives were involved. All of it could be avoided if they were the ones to fight.
However, the ones that the ogres were looking for and the one that can im the title of strongest in their tribe was not them but Belgarious who has already deserted his tribe. Plus they just cannot ept the words of the ogre in front of them willy-nilly after all he was just their second lieutenant and not their king.
Even if he said that they would not step foot in their territory in case they lost, they couldn''t just believe him to keep his word. The one who were at a disadvantage was not the ogre tribe but them.
The orc generals knew that very well, if possible they too wanted to settle with their own power. they nodded at each other before Berigard stepped forward to speak out.
"That''s a good idea; however, there is one problem, the orc king is not here".
Hearing his words, Mogo narrowed his eyes, a fierce aura started wafting off of him "what do you mean by that?".
"It means exactly that¡ the orc king has abandoned his tribe and fled" Berigard rified.
Giz-Mogo red at the orc general for a while, from how fearless and unperturbed thetter acted, he could somewhat tell that the orc wasn''t lying. Though it did not mean that he could just ept the situation.
He had been given clear instructions to defeat the orc king and bring him alive to his superiors before the battle started. If he failed to do that, given the personality of Gish-Bagh, his fate would be extremely miserable.
"Is that so¡ if he is not here, then just call him. I''m willing to wait for a while" Mozo folded his hands and saidnguidly.
"You seemed to not have understood my words. The orc king has abandoned the tribe. No matter how long you wait, he will not be showing up. In his stead, allow us to take his ce".
The three generals stepped forward ready to confront their enemy.
"Kuh¡ Gururu¡ So he tucked his tail and ran away leaving his tribe members to die here huh? How truly pathetic, well I guess that is to be expected from you orcs. I''m curious though, why aren''t you all running? Your king has abandoned you and fled himself, nobody would me you if you all drop your weapons and decide to flee too".
Giz-Mogo, said, his tone wasced with condescension and mockery. How could the orc not sense that, they all had an ugly expression on their faces.
The news about their king abandoning them was a spirit-breaking affair for them and now even the enemy was mocking them for it. Shame, despair and indignation, the orc were going through a multitude of emotions.
"Even though the orc king has abandoned us, it does not mean that we have lost. Our orc tribe is strong even without a king, there is not a single orc who is ready to discard their honour and flee away from the battlefield".
Berigard spoke out for the crowd in an attempt to reinvigorate their spirits a little. He knew that the enemy was trying to demotivate them so they drop their weapons and surrender. He couldn''t let that happen no matter what.
"Heh, you say that you people are strong? Don''t make meugh. The only individual who could possibly stand a chance against us, is not present here. How do you expect to stop my subordinates and me who are eager to draw your blood? It is better for you if you listen to me and submit now while I''m still beingpassionate".
Mozoughed, though the next second his eyes narrowed when he saw the orcs raise their weapons against him.
"You can''t be serious¡" he couldn''tplete his sentence before a wind bullet passed through his cheeks barely missing him.
Giz-Mozo was someone who liked suppressing others with his powers and enjoyed their misery as he trampled upon their hopes. He thought that he could y out to his heart''s desire, but it seemed like there were a few headstrong orcs.
Since that was the case, Giz-Mozo wouldn''t shy away from teaching them a lesson, after all, his ogre blood was itching to draw some blood.
"Alright, since you refuse my toast, I can only use a more forceful method. Gir-Rago, Gir-Rego, Gir-Rugo begin your assault, make sure that the orcs know their position well" Giz-Mogo dered, his voice thundering across the entire ckfield.
With those words of his, the ck ogre army which had pasued their attack temporarily re-engaged once again with even more fervour. This time though, even the Gir brothers had joined the war as they massacred hundreds of orcs that were in their way.
It was as if like a lion had entered the sheep''s pen, the orcs had no way of stopping these hunters. The beast that they were riding on was also above level 350 and belonged to a race called Steel Panther.
Forget about the ordinary orcs and high orcs, even the diluvian High orcs were only just cannon fodder against them. Seeing that even the orcmanders were unable to stop them, Berigard asked Berirock and Berimond to engage the brown horns.
"Don''t be stupid Berigard, if we move away from here, how are we going to stop that ogre? He is a much greater threat here and if we let him run loose, there won''t be any army for us tomand" Berirock retorted.
"He is right, Berigard we cannot do that. Even if that means sacrificing a lot of orcs, I can only hope that the orcmanders will be able to find a way to stop them".
Berimond agreed with Berirock in this case. If they had the orc king with them, they could have left the guy to him after all, only a disaster ss or above can fight a disaster ss. That is why they believed that it was foolish to spread their numbers when they haven''t even reached disaster ss yet.
"Listen to me for once. I can assure you that I am not making a hasty judgement. I have a n, please believe me and leave that guy to me" Berigard responded in a voice that only the three of them could hear.
Berirock and Berimond nced at Berigard for a while, they could see the light of resolution in his eyes. After hesitating internally for a while, they finally steeled their mind and decided to believe Berigard for once.
491 Chapter 491
The orc general was someone who even dared to confront the orc king back during the night of the moon dance. He had also shown his abilities to be nothing like the weakest general as the orcs called him.
He had proven his ability by knocking Berirock away in one move and establishing his position. As much as he hated it, Berirock had to admit that thetter was stronger than him, stronger than any of the orc generals.
On top of that, he was also an orc shaman. If a guy like that said that he had a n, Berirock could hope that the n worked. Other than that, he was also concerned about the orcs in the frontlines who were being butchered like livestock by the Gir brothers. Thus he had no other choice but to leave Berigard to take care of the ogre with the crimson horn.
Berirock and Berimond left their station; however, Giz-Mogo did not do anything, he just looked at them with derision. When his eyes shifted back to thest orc general, his brows arched when he found that thetter had no ns of leaving like his otherpanions.
"Hmm? Why are you still not moving? Do you perhaps not care about your subordinates?" Mogo asked, his question was only replied with a casual gaze by Berigard.
The orc general turned towards his two trusted orcmanders and ordered them something even he knew was asking too much.
"Bellock, Berimarch¡y your life down if you must, but stop one of the brown horns alongside the other orc generals. You are free to fight however way you want and use as many orcs as you want. Is that understood?".
Beirgard did not speak much other than that, he had a stern expression on his face as always and nobody knew what he was thinking.
If it were other orcs who were given such an atrocious order, they would no doubt flip out or show their anger in some way. However, Bellock and Belmarch, who were extremely loyal to Berigard, did not show any such thing and dutifully nodded their head.
Even when they knew the order was practically like a death warrant for them, they still bowed towards their general with utmost respect onest time before leaving their post.
Berigard watched them go and only after their silhouettes had mixed with the many orcs fighting in the frontlines, did he tear them away and fixed it on the ogre who seemed like he was enjoying a rather good show.
His earlier stern expression was gone reced by an angry face that said that they had a lot to vent about.
"Oi..Oi¡ don''t tell me you are thinking of taking me head on?" Giz-Mogo wasn''t an idiot, he could tell what the orc was thinking by sending all of his subordinates away.
"Lets do this Berigel, Berimist¡ Activate [Soul Bones]" Berigard whispered a few words and touched the bone fragments on his locket. The moment he did so, the locket started vibrating and a special connection was created between him and the soul bones.
"Hmph... I guess orcs are a really stupid race to not even realise this big of a gap between them and their opponent. Be it so, let me teach you an important lesson today" Giz-Mogo stated in a foul tone.
The fact that his opponent thought that they can take him on their own, upset him very much. He was someone who was above level 570, although it was not the highest level around in the ogre tribe, it was nheless, still near the top and Giz-Mogo was proud of that.
Never did he think that he would be slighted by someone who judging by their aura haven''t even reached the disaster ss.
Giz-Mogo was just about to release his suppressed aura and show his enemy who he was up against, when a [Wind Bullet] that appeared out of nowhere, flew towards his head.
Judging by the rotation and the mana within the wind bullet, it was no ordinary magic but a highlypressed single-unit advance magic.
Giz-Mogo''s eyes narrowed to a pin and his quick reflexes allowed him to shift his head just in time to dodge the bullet.
DRIP¡ DRIP¡ Astonished, the ogre touched his ear only to realise that it was hurt. "How can that be?" the [Wind Bullet] or one could say the [Tempest Bullet] had materialised in front of him without any indication or fluctuation of mana.
It had appeared so suddenly that had it not been for him possessing good reflexes, he would have been hit for sure. Giz-Mogo was surprised but itpared to nothing when he saw that dozen more [Tempest Bullet] were waiting for him.
WHIRRRRR... it was like a turret or a machine gun, the speed of these [Tempest Bulets] were so fast that they made a buzzing noise as if space was being torn apart.
Unlike thest time when Giz-Mogo was able to dodge the single [Tempest Bullet], this time he wasn''t that lucky. Most of the bullets clearly hit their mark this time and those that didn''t bore a hole through the ground.
"TCH¡" A loud clicking noise was heard "To think that I would have to resort to using my mana aura against such an inferior opponent".
Giz-Mogomented, when the dust from the barrage of [Tempest Bullet] settled down, an ogre with blood red aura enveloping them like armour, appeared in front of Berigard. They werepletely unscathed other than the earlier wound they had suffered.
"You bastard making me needlessly waste mana" Gi-Mogomented, even though he had not suffered any wound thanks to the mana aura around him, maintaining it took a lot of mana. [mana Aura] was the beast version of [Mana Armour].
Giz-Mogo was about to vent out his mind when he saw another round of magic starting to materialise in front of him out of nowhere.
"You bastard¡ that is enough" the crimson horn of Giz-Mogo shined causing a burst of mana to erupt out of him causing a fierce shockwave that targeted the area where the orc general was.
Berigard stopped conjuring his magic and with a swift movement from his staff, he immediately disappeared from his spot.
"What?!" the next time he appeared, he was already out of the range of the shockwave causing an astonished yelp to leak out from Giz-Mogo.
Nheless, this movement also revealed to thetter what kind of shenanigans was in y here.
"Space magic huh¡ Tch, you got some annoying magic in your hand".
Such quick movement as if teleportation, was only possible with space magic. Even the attacks that seemingly manifested without any indication could only be possible if space magic was in y.
That being said, not just anyone could simultaneously use two elements of magic at once not to mention one was even a super rare space magic. Although the magic he cast wasn''t amalgamation magic, for the space magic to augment other magic without taking over it, perhaps only the caster, Berigard would be able to understand what it took to achieve something like that.
The space around Berigard trembled and he disappeared once again. Whoosh¡ whoosh¡ whoosh¡ immediately, a few spells of tremor and gale magic appeared out of thin air and targeted Giz-Mogo.
Thetter used his own skill [Shockwave Burst] to counter the magic. Although the magic of this calibre isn''t capable of doing much damage to him, it was still annoying to get hit by them since it hurt.
Plus being a ss higher than his opponent, Mogo felt it was shameful to even get scratched by his opponent. It was for this reason that he resorted to using his mana aura.
The moment his magic failed, Berigard disappeared from the spot he was in, and appeared in another ce. Like that, he kept on harassing and taking advantage of his space magic and therge reserve of mana he has thanks to being an orc shaman.
Berigard would conjure one magic after another with quick session and using the space magic, he would teleport it near the ogre before thetter even got a clue of its incantation.
BOOM... BOOMM¡ BOOMM¡ magic like a storm, hailed down on Giz-Mogo. Earthern boulders as huge as a small mountain came crashing down on him, other times it would be tornadoes with razor sharp wind capable of tearing through even a block of steel.
Berigard''s magic was fierce leaving no room for his enemy to breathe. However, Giz-Mogo wasn''t just your ordinary ogre. He was an ogre born with a crimson horn. He easily matched the aggression of his opponent with an equal amount of force and nullified all attacks conjured by Berigard.
Just like all other times, right after his attack failed, Berigard used space magic to relocate to a different ce and continue his assault. However, this time Giz-mogo was prepared for it. He had calcted the ce where Berigard would appear next and was ready with an attack.
Ogres were known for their powerful attacking abilities and amongst them, those born with crimson or higher colour horns, were regarded as the embodiment of destruction.
An ogre''s power mainly resided in their horns. Thus when their horns shined brightly, it was an indication that they were using a powerful skill.
The crimson horn of Giz-mogo shined and the aura around his entire body focused around his fist which generated a powerful force when swung forward.
[Aura st] a skill that used mana aura possessed by a disaster ss being to create apressed attack that travelled through the air breaking even the speed of sound.
BOOM¡ the sound of air being torn was apparent as the punch was thrown and the [aura st] which appeared in the shape of a fist flew so fast that it was already upon Berigard the moment he relocated to a new ce.
492 Chapter 492
Even the orc general himself did not predict this attacking and thus was unable to invocate the space magic to run away in time.
BAM¡ a muffled sound like that of thunder, was heard as Berigard was hit squarely by the attack.
"Hmph, that ought to teach you some lesson. Too bad that you won''t be alive to learn it" Giz-Mogo patted his hands after executing his skill. The [Aura st] attack was one of his most advanced skills and was powerful enough to im the life of anyone below the disaster ss.
Naturally, he thought that the orc would be done for after being hit by his attack. Though the next second his eyes widened to their limits when he saw a silhouettee out unscathed. What''s more astonishing was that, just like the mana aura around him, there was a simr kind of aura enveloping the orc.
The aura slowly wiggled around and quickly repaired the damage it had suffered. Seeing this scene, Giz-Mogo had no doubt in his mind that the aura enveloping Berigard was none other than the [Mana Aura] only a beast above a disaster ss should possess.
"What?! This¡ how is this possible? Y-you have reached the disaster ss?" Unable to contain his shock, the ogre asked.
Berigard was silent, he neither confirmed nor denied what the ogre said. This was a secret that only he knew about.
Generally, Berigard shouldn''t be able to perform a technique that only a disaster ss being could use since he hadn''t yet reached that level yet. Not to mention, his physique which was more adept for magic, was unsuitable for a technique such as [Mana Aura] that was used by warriors.
No matter how genius of an orc Berigard was, it would be impossible even for him to execute such a technique. That is if you didn''t count the soul bones that he possessed.
Soul Bones were a special object that could be harvested only from a beast that have unlocked its beast inheritance. However, unlike the beast inheritance which contains all of the power of that beast inside the core stone, Soul Bone is something that contains a part of the spirit of that beast.
It is different from beast inheritance in that one cannot learn the abilities and the power of the beast from the Soul Bone and can only use their abilities through the consent of the spirit.
Additionally, just like how a beast only has one core stone, only one soul bone can grow inside the beast. Another thing to note was that the appearance of a soul bone is even rarer than getting the beast inheritance of a beast from their core stone since not every beast grows a spirit.
The reason why Berigard''s friends, the beasts in thatboratory were able to form soul bone even though they haven''t unlocked their beast inheritance was because of the experimentations done on them.
Theboratory he was sent to, was particrly researching on developing Soul Bones and had it not been for that outbreak in theb, and their subsequent sentence to death in the coliseum, he too would have had to go through the same process until he developed a soul bone and lost his self in the process.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the researchers weren''t able to get their hands on the Soul Bones that they were researching so badly. In the end, Berigel''s and Berimist''s Soul Bones had fallen into his hands.
Anyways, it was thanks to the assistance of the spirits of his friends inside the would bones that he was able to use abilities beyond his current level and ss and stop an ogre far beyond his level.
"No, judging by your presence, you are yet to reach the disaster ss. How are you doing this, what kinds of tricks you are using?" Giz-Mogo spoke, it could be seen from his words that he was unable to ept nor understand how the orc managed to use [Mana Aura].
Taking advantage of this moment when his enemy was in a state of bewilderment, Berigard started conjuring Tempest magic, the only magic in his arsenal capable of hurting the ogre.
Wild winds raged chaotically across the ckfield affecting even the weather itself. Small and big twisters appeared everywhere disturbing the war that was going on in full force.
The other orc generals who were currently engaged in a fierce fight with Gir-brothers, also stopped their assaults at this moment to nce in the direction where they felt an enormous amount of mana congregating.
The power of an advanced magic especially AOE was so powerful that it is capable of even changing the topography and tipping any situation in your favour. But then again it also takes an enoumous amount of mana, concentration and time to invoke a magic like that.
The time that is needed to cast an AOE advanced magic is so long that it is enough for the other party to reach where you are and attack you dozens of times. Especially in a ce like a battlefield, if one invokes an AOE magic, they are the first one to be targeted by their enemies.
As could be seen earlier when Berigard was attacked by one of the ogres that toppled down the wall just by invoking an AOE intermediate tier magic. Resorting to using AOE advanced magic that takes even longer, one could only see it as a foolish choice, one that only someone who is truly desperate, would think of doing.
"Grururu¡ is that the foolish orc that dared to challenge Sir Giz-Mogo? No wonder, he does have a few screws loose. To think that you all had your hopes on that guy¡ Grururu" Gir-Rago who was engaged in a battle with Berirock, cackled.
"Shut up!!" Berirock barked and re-engaged in a life-and-death battle with his enemy.
''Berigard what are you nning?''.
The area where Berigard and Giz-Mogo were fighting, was an empty space filled with the marks left behind by their battle. The area was equally avoided by both the ogres and orcs so as to not get caught up in the aftermath of their battle.
At this moment, the ce was the very eye of the storm with a humongous hurricane taking its form. Berigard who was at the centre of all of this, was fully focused on conjuring the magic as he released wave after wave of powerful mana which was then channelled into the magic.
"This is the first time that someone got on my nerve this much. To think that you would try to conjure an advanced magic before me. Looks like I have been severely underestimated. Did you really think I would be unable to stop you from casting your magic?" The ogre muttered in frustration.
"Very well, then I''ll let you feast your eyes on what it means to be a disaster ss" The moment Giz-Mogo said that, the power he had been suppressing all this while, was released in full force.
It was as if a dam had burst open, the ripples released out from his aura shook the ground for miles. The pressure from a disaster ss being realising their full power, was so great that it bore down on everyone present on the battlefield like a mountain.
The might of an ogre born with a crimson horn was disyed at this moment.
Giz-Mogo shed a satisfied smile as he felt the power rushing through his body. The crimson aura enveloping him, turned darker and darker until it looked like his body was on fire. Afterwards, he rushed towards the stationary Berigard, stopped when he was only a few meters away from thetter and delivered his most powerful skill.
[Force Bomb] a skill that gathers the entire aura around the user into a single point to create a sphere.
Giz-Mogo sped both of his palms together and focused all of the mana aura around his body towards his palm. Little by little, the aura he released started dropping, devoured by something that was on his palm until all the mana aura around him was gone.
The entire face of the ogre had be pale; nheless, he did not stop and put all of his remaining power into it.
Zzzz¡ at this moment, the space around Giz-Mogo fluctuated and a crimson light started seeping out of his palm.
The aura that seemed to have been devoured by something appeared once again. Though this time, the pressure that bore down on everyone, was many times heavier and more powerful than before.
When he opened his palmspletely, a small sphere silently floated in his hand. The sphere that was created from the skill, was as small as a golf ball and was blood-red in colour. At a nce, it looked quite beautiful to look at... that is if one discounted the berserk amount of aura it emitted and the distortion of space around it.
After the skill was ready, Giz-Mogo nced at the distant Berigard and slowly pushed the crimson sphere towards thetter.
To the onlookers, it seemed as if the sphere was travelling at the speed of a snail. Though in actual case, it tore through the space and was upon Berigard in just seconds astonishing all the peering eyes.
Giz-Mogo intending to teach Berigard a real lesson, did not hold even a bit and used his full power, the power of a disaster-ss ogre to dish out his most powerful skill.
Even if the orc was somehow able to use the mana aura skill, he was sure that this attack would end this fight.
Berigard who was currently invoking an advanced magic, still needed a few couples of seconds toplete his magic and during this period of time, he cannot spare a moment of attention somewhere else much less move from his positon.
493 Chapter 493
In any case, the attack if connects was sure to do its job. The skill used by Giz-Mogo was called [Force bomb] for a reason and that reason was none other than the explosion the skill created in the aftermath simr to a bomb.
The radius of the explosion might not be much whenpared to AOE magics. However, it was equivalent in might to a powerful AOE advanced magic.
The [Force Bomb] approached Berigard and when it made contact with the [Mana Aura] around him, it detonated expelling every bit of aura condensed inside it around Berigard.
BOOOOMMM¡ there was a bright crimson sh and then momentster came the sound that was so thundering that it could be heard from hundreds of miles away.
The earth cried and a terrifying shockwave that travelled through the ground, hit all of the participants present in the war even blowing many of them away.
When they came to themselves, they were astounded to find arge cloud of dust envelop the ce where Berigard was.
The fierce tempest that was raging around that area, was gone and even the weather was returning back to normal, an indication that Berigard had lost. The ogres cheered wildly whereas the orcs who were regaining some spirits after those words from Berigard, dropped to the pits of despair after that loss.
Perhaps they were destined to lose today.
BANG¡ BANG¡ Berirock and Berimond who were fighting the Gir brothers who were equal to them in strength, got distracted at this moment and suffered a blow that dealt quite a damage to them.
Coughing a few times, they picked themselves up, their first reaction was not to look at their wound but to nce towards the direction where Berigard was. One cannot see his figure through the smoke but from how his presence hadpletely disappeared and how the magic he was invoking had dispersed, they came to the same conclusion as others.
Except for two orcs who even while being injured from head to toe, were giving their all to fight one of the Gir-brothers who was far stronger than them.
"This is getting annoying¡ why am I the only one to get weaklings as his opponent? You guys are not even good enough for a warmup".
Gir-Rego said, he looked in the direction where one of their leaders possessing the crimson horn was fighting and couldn''t but click his tongue in envy.
A powerful opponent like that orc, he wanted to fight them himself. However, he got stuck with two opponents who were clearly inferior to him.
Needless to say, the opponents he was fighting, were none other than Bellock and Belmarch. In fact, after fighting with them, Gir-Rego could tell that there was a vast difference in level between them.
He was someone who was slowly approaching the max level of his ss. That is to say, his level was above 480. Whereas,pared to him Bellock and Belmarch had just entered the Super ss and were around level 411-415.
A difference of more than 60 levels wasn''t something that could be easily covered... that is unless one possesses a super powerful item. There was no way the orcmander had any thus they were being easily manhandled by Rego who had yet to disy his full power.
In some other case, he would have already disposed of his opponent by now instead of ying with them. However, they were ordered to keep a few strong individuals who are willing to submit alive.
Additionally, when he looked around at the entire orc army, there were no longer any strong people whom he could pass his time by fighting. Thus he had no choice but to y with his opponents a little more carefully and make sure that they didn''t break down very soon.
Bellock and Belmarch picked themselves back up, they were drenched in their own blood with hideous looking wounds everywhere and a side of their chest caved in. Nevertheless, they always got back up whenever they were brought down.
The orders that they received from their general was clear. They had to stop the orc in front of them no matter what, even if they have toy their lives down for it. They also knew the vast difference in strength between them and their enemy.
However that did not daunt them from fighting, on the contrary, the light in their eyes was yet to go out, it was trying to find a way to dy the battle for as long as possible.
"Hmm? I must say that you guys are quite tenacious for an orc. However, it has no meaning without any strength. Well, I do feel pity for you all, your king has abandoned you and the one orc that showed you guys hope is dead".
It is so sad that even I, a member of another race am having sympathy for you. Hmm¡ that''s right how about this. Now that all of your hopes are crushed why don''t you two fall on your knees and call me master? If you swear to be my subordinates, I will ask Sir Giz-Mogo to show some leniency towards you".
Gir-Rego stated, confidently. From his perspective, he was going out of his way and doing a great favour for the two orcs. He thought that given such an opportunity, they would instantly pounce on it.
However, he was proven wrong. Instead of pouncing on his offer, they pounced at him instead with their battered bodies.
"Tch¡ It seems like you still don''t understand your situation. In that case, let me beat it into you" Rego said utilising a skill he had been saving up until now. [Greater Force], a skill that increases the damage of an uing attack by a few levels.
BANG... "Shockwave st]" the attack hit the two orcmanders making them fly away like a broken kite.
"Give up" Rego repeated once again.
"Shut up!!"...
"What?!" thinking that he heard incorrectly, Rego asked once again.
"Shut up!! there is no way our tribe of orcs have lost yet, not until lord Berigard is down" the two orcmanders shouted in unison.
"Lord Berigard? Are you perhaps talking about that orc who was taken down by Sir Giz-Mogo? Don''t be stupid, there is no way that orc can survive that attack. Forget about surviving, I doubt if he even has his body intact... Gurururu".
Gir-Rego was no stranger to the skill [Force Bomb] that Giz-Mogo used, in fact, he had seen it quite a few times in the past used by the other powerful ogres. Thus he knew how powerful it was.
Forget about the orc named Berigard who wasn''t even a disaster ss yet, even beasts in the disaster ss would be knocked out if they took that attack head-on like that orc.
Berigard surviving that was impossible, that was the thought of every ogre and even the orcs.
The battlefield which had quietened down for a while, raged once again with the increased enthusiasm of the ogres.
Alongside having levels and tactics, morale also yed arge role in a war in that it gives a phycological boost to ovee all trials to the individual fighting in the war.
An army high in morale is sure to win the war seven out of ten times. Simrly, an army without any morale is doomed to get defeated. The effect of such a phycological factor is by no means a certain win factor but it cannot be discounted either.
As could be seen in this war, the orc army although inferior in qualitypared to the ck ogre army, was by no means weaker if you ounted for theirrge number. Perhaps it would have been even possible for them to fend off the ogre army or even possibly defeat them.
However, the reason why they were losing so fast, was because the morale of their army had hit rock bottom. They could no longer see any hope of victory thus the resistance that they gathered was also very weak.
The orc army was starting to fall, their formation was also copsing soon. Even a bystander who did not have any military knowledge would be able to see that.
The area where the [force Bomb had gone off¡
"Hmph, so their resistance has finally died down huh. Tch¡ we wasted quite a lot of our time, now we also have to go and search for that item the lord Gish-Bagh mentioned and capture that orc that turned tails and fled¡ Hmm?".
Giz-Mogo remarked after looking at the quickly falling orc army. He was just about to turn around to leave when all of a sudden he felt the mana vibrating around this part of thend. This fleeting quickly became stronger and stronger until he could literally see the turbulence of mana in the air.
"What going on?" Perplexed, he muttered internally. Soon his confusion turned into astonishment when he realised that a fierce tempest was starting to take form around the battlefield.
"It can''t be¡" Giz-Mogo hurriedly turned around and faced the crater. There he could see a silhouette emerge from the hole that his skill had created. Needless to say, that figure was none other than Berigard who should have been blown into smithereens after taking his attack.
''What was going on?'' the ogre couldn''t believe his eyes. His astonishment turned into absolute bewilderment when he saw the damage the orc suffered was only minimal.
Berigard who had emerged from the crater, did indeed look a little worse for the wear with a few injuries here and there. However other than that there was no other damage the [Force Bomb] should have caused that could be seen on his body.
It was only natural for Giz-mogo to be instantly gobsmacked after seeing that his strongest attack, the skill he put all of his energy into managed to only scratch his enemy.
494 Chapter 494
Whoosh¡ it was not only him, the tempest also attracted the attention of the ravaging ogres and the dispirited orcs. They too were stunned to find that the individual that they thought had died,e out of their grave.
What''s more, they lookedpletely fine. For the orcs, it was a surprise that brought hope back to their eyes but for the ogres, it was an rming sight to see. He might have looked fine to others, but the person himself knew how bad his current condition was.
Berigard took deep breaths of air and stopped himself from puking out a mouthful of blood. The [Force Bomb] attack from Giz-Mogo, dealt quite a significant damage to him. If not for the mana aura of Berigel, he might have really been blown to smithereens.
Yes, Berigard due to his extreme tenacity and sheer force of will, was able to simultaneously divert his attention into his advanced magic as well as maintain the mana aura around him. A feat like that was something that even powerful mages above level 600, would be unable to reproduce.
What''s more, Berigard did it while still under level 500. Though it wasn''t like doing something as atrocious as that did note with a cost. The price that he had to pay for doing something like that was the total depletion of his mana pool.
Right now, he barely had any MP left which was a big concerning factor since the advance magic wasn''tplete yet. On top of that, the mental strain was immense, right now Berigard couldn''t even see properly around him.
"T-that is impossible¡ there is no way you can survive after taking my attack" Giz-Mogo was in denial. This was the first time that he had witnessed an opponent who did not go down even after he was forced to use [Force Bomb].
While he was lost in that emotion, Berigard kept on casting his magic. He did not bother providing the ogre with an exnation. The [Mana Aura] that he was using originated from the soul bone of Berigel who was a powerful cmity ss beast.
Naturally, his mana aura would be many times stronger than the likes of a disaster ss beast like Giz-Mogo.
Topensate for the required mana toplete the magic, Berigard even went as far as to overload the core stone of his new staff.
Crack¡ the core stone broke apart and a powerful amount of mana originating from the disaster ss beast to whom the core stone belonged, flooded out of it and was quickly channelled into the magic.
RUMBLE¡ the weather made rumbling noises as clouds started brewing in the sky above the ckfield. Wind started picking up speed fast until it turned into a powerful typhoon which disappeared into the sky as soon as it appeared.
"[Tempest magic Mastery]¡ Hand of Zephyrus" with thosest sybles from Berigard, all of the wind disappeared from the battlefield and a piercing eagle cry echoed out.
At this moment, whether it be orcs or the ogres or even some people who were watching from the shadows. All of them as if beckoned by something, instinctively looked up at the sky. Right at this instant, the brewing cloud looming overhead was pierced by an emerald green w that was more than a thousand meters big.
The w was made entirely of wind, emerald green in colour and was extremely beautiful to look at. However, as beautiful as it looked, it was equally dangerous too. The emerald green w was not made with just any wind, but razor sharp winds that was moving at an extremely fast speed.
The w or rather the hand of Zephyrus was one of the AOE magic of the tempest element. It was an extremely powerful magic capable of crumbing mountains and tteningnds. Other than that, due to being a magic from the wind attribute, it was extremely fast perhaps only outmatched by Electro and Light attribute.
As soon as the emerald green w materialised, on themand of Berigard, it dropped towards the ce where he felt Giz-Mogo''s presence.
The ogre felt an intense aura lock onto him snapping him out of his thoughts. He tried to immediately run away from the ce but was mmed into the ground just from the wind pressureing off from the w.
Giz-Mogo struggled, he didn''t bring his mount with him and the wind pressure from the magic was far too intense for him to get out of the range of magic in time. Adding to the fact that he was exhausted after hisst attack, it looked quite bad for him.
The scene of an ogre with a crimson horn pathetically running away from Berigard was imprinted in the eyes of every onlooking orcs and ogres who were locked in a fight. Nobody expected that an ogre who had entered the disaster ss, a realm only their king was able to reach, would be forced to run like that.
For the orcs, it was a blessing that they did not seeing. If the magded sessfully, it was possible to defeat the ogre. The orcs couldn''t help having their hopes up. If they defeated that ogre who was the leader of the ck ogre army, it would be the turning point for their victory.
At this moment of need when they needed their king the most, Berigard turned out to be that pir of support that they were seeking. Every orc on the battlefield no matter if it was Diluvian High orcs, High orcs or just normal orcs, they all looked at Berigard with a new light.
On the other areas of the battlefield, Berirock and Berimond disengaged with their enemies after their attacks nullified the other. The battle was a fierce one with powerful skill flying everywhere; nevertheless, it failed to attract any attention since all eyes were diverted towards the ce where the main fighting involving two of their leaders was taking ce.
"How did that orc manage to survive sir Giz-Mogo''s attack?"Gir-Ragomented, his tone was a little off-putting.
"GUGAGA¡ it seems like you have underestimated our tribe too much. Even though that guy hasn''t reached disaster ss, he is more than capable of manhandling you leader" Berirockughed.
Contrary to Giz-Rago, he was in a happy mood after seeing Berigard survive that attack and turn the situationpletely in its head. Honestly, even he was surprised to see Berigard surviving that not to mention being capable of casting such a powerful magic.
He felt like a fool to have challenged Berigard and at the same time, he realised that Berigard had held much of his power when attacking him. He also understood why the guy was so confident when confronting the orc king.
Turned out that Berigard was already this powerful even before reaching the disaster ss. Since Berirock and Berimond weren''t aware of the soul bones possessed by Berigard, they thought that it was all his power.
Gir-Rago who was facing Berirock, was annoyed by thatment made by thetter. Nevertheless, he did not snap out and instead shed a derisive smile.
On another side of the battlefield, Bellock and Belmarch who were barely holding on by a strand of life were not at all fazed after seeing their lord surviving that attack, on the contrary, they were operating with the thought that he would be fine from the start.
It was not that they were aware of the Soul Bones and knew that Beirgard would be fine, it was just the faith and trust they had in him that made them not question his survival.
Just like Gir-Rago, Gir-Rego too shed a derisive smile when he saw the light of hope appear in the eyes of the orcs before in an unexciting battle once again.
The [Hand of Zephyrus] came down on Giz-Mogo causing an enormous storm to ensue out in the aftermath that covered more than half of the battlefield.
BANG¡ the ground rumbled as the thousand-meter w came smashing down. The shockwaves were terrifying; however, the storm that brought forth razor-sharp wind, were even more deadly.
Those unfortunate ones who thought that they were safe in that distance, regretted their decision the next moment when wind sliced their bodies and carried them away in pieces. Even thend was filled with crisscrossing marks appearing everywhere showcasing the might of the advanced magic.
Dust carried by the wind, filled the area and it was hard to even see what was around you. All of the orcs and ogres were eager to see who the victor of this bout was. It wouldn''t be wrong to say that the result of this fight would decide which side the war will flip towards.
The orcs tightly clenched their weapons, they had already forgotten about the betrayal of their king as the figure of a new leader was starting to emerge in their hearts.
Finally, when the dust settled, they saw Berigard standing in his ce and the huge emerald green w on the ground. However, the orcs weren''t overjoyed to see the spectacle, on the contrary, the smiles they had on their faces froze.
The reason for that was none other than the appearance of Giz-Mogo and another ogre who had appeared at some unknown point under the huge w. The [Hand of Zephyrus] that was supposed to have crushed Giz-Mogo was stopped by another ogre who had a crimson horn just like the other on his forehead.
What was astonishing was that such a powerful advanced magic was being effortlessly stopped by that ogre on his own.
"Mogo, it seems like you have underestimated your enemy. That orc is much stronger than he looks. I suppose you need my help?" the one that appeared was none other than Giz-Bozo who was one of the leadersmanding the ck ogre army.
495 Chapter 495
For the higher ups of the ck ogre army, the appearance of Giz-Bozo was no shocking matter since they already knew that he was one of the leaders alongside Giz-Mogo sent here to lead them. However, that cannot be said so for the orcs who looked like they had just woken up from a nightmare.
The appearance of another ogre with a crimson horn could only be described as such. The light of hope that they hoping for diminished with the appearance of that ogre.
"Bozo¡ it''s like you said. I didn''t expect that orc to survive my attack and thus was careless. I''ll have to burden you to clean after my mess" Giz-Mogo stated gritting his teeth.
Unlike the Gir brothers, Giz-Mogo and Giz-Bozo weren''t brothers, if one had to describe the rtionship they had, then that would be of apetitor.
Giz-Mogo was the second lieutenant while Giz-Bozo was the first lieutenant. They have been oftenpeting with each other and with other ogres for a higher military rank within the ogre army.
"Hmm¡ at least you know your mistakes. Well worry not, now that I''m here, I will make sure to close this farce properly" saying that Giz-Bozo turned towards Berigard who had a pale red face due to mana exhaustion (Note that the natural skin tone of the diluvian High orcs is a darker shade of red).
"Sorry but you see you can''t kill this guy. Even though he does not look like it, he is the second lieutenant. If I just let you kill him, I would be able to handle the consequences that will follow afterwards. I hope you understand".
Giz spoke politely, the mana aura around his body which had materialised to be a gauntlet around his hand, was so crimson that it was not any inferior to the one released from Berigel''s soul bone.
Using the gauntlet formed in his hand, Giz-Bozo clenched his hand tightly "Ability Conferment- [Break]".
ZIIIINGG¡ a red hue passed from the gauntlet and travelled through the entire w. Momentster, the enormous [Hand of Zephyrus] started shaking and winds broke free from the materialisation.
Feeling the change, Berigard tried to stabilise his magic only to puke out a mouthful of blood due to overstraining himself too much. Unable to contain the escaping wind, the hand of Zephyrus soon started to minimise and dissipate into nothing in front of the thousands of astonished eyes.
"This?!!"
BANG¡ disturbed for a second, Berirock was hit squarely in the guts and blown back. Berimond fared a little better since he was able to somehow suppress his enemy Giz-Rugo in their exchange thus he didn''t get blown like Berirock.
However, one could see the shadow of concern on his face and the sharpness of his attacks deteriorating. He quickly disengaged with his enemy and hurriedly supported Berirock whose wounds didn''t look light.
"What do we do now? Berigard doesn''t look like he can fight anymore" Berimond asked.
Cough.. cough.. Berirock coughed a few times and muttered "Let''s go and support him, in any case if he goes down our race is done for".
They quickly left their post and hurried towards where Berigard was. The Gir brothers did not pursue, on the contrary, they stood still in their ce and waited for their next order.
After destroying the hand of zephyrus, Giz-Bozo did not make any other move. He was so calm even when Berirock and Berimond came and supported Berigard that it was creepy.
"Berigard can you still fig¡ht?" As Berimond was about to ask that, he quickly swallowed his words when he saw how frail Berigard was right now. The presence he was emitting was so bleak that one wouldn''t be able to believe that it came from an orc general.
There was no need to even ask, Berimond understood that berigard was in no condition to fight anymore.
"Ah, you two should be the other orc generals. I was informed that there would be four of you, did the other guy also flee just like your king? Well never mind that, you two¡ are you perhaps here to challenge me?".
Giz-Bozo asked nonchntly. One couldn''t even see a shadow of concern on his face even while facing all the orc generals together.
To the onlooking ogres, this scene wasn''t surprising after all they knew how powerful Giz-Bozo was. The horn on his forehead was an indication of his status. Just like Giz-Mogo his horn was also crimson in colour.
However, if one paid enough attention, one would be able to notice that the colour of his horn was deep crimson with little patches of indigo colour in the mix. That is to say, Giz-Bozo unlike Giz-Mogo was hovering at the borders of bing a cmity ss.
His level was 599 and he was just a step away from stepping into a new realm. Even Berigard with all his soul bones, didn''t stand a chance against him.
"Gir-Rago, Gir-Rugo, Gir-Rego¡" he called out.
Immediately, three figures appeared before him. Gir-Rago and Gir-Rugo were facing Berirock and Berimond, thus their appearance wasn''t concerning but Gir-Rego was facing the two orcmanders of Berigard.
Him being here meant that¡ Berigard with his hazy vision, turned towards the direction where his orcmanders were fighting. Their presence was nowhere to be felt indicating that they were dead or defeated.
"I assume that you all haven''t had enough of your fun? If so then you are free to let loose on the orc army. Hmm, right, how about you start reducing their numbers by half" Giz-Bozo dered callously making the orc generals who heard that clench their hands in anger.
His nonmittal attitude to not even bother negotiating with the losing side and jump straight to ughter, angered them. Nevertheless, no matter how angry they were, they knew that they had lost this war.
"I.. will not allow.. you to do that" Berigard mustered his remaining stamina and roared. Though to others, it felt empty and evenical.
"Gruru¡ and how do you n to do that?" Gir-Rago mocked, his words just fell when he rushed towards thetter.
Berirock and Berimond tried to stop Gir-Rago; however, they were intercepted by Gir-Rugo and Gir-Rego on the way.
Unable to stop Gir-Rago, the orc generals watched as a punch that was more powerful than the one that toppled the wall hit Berigard.
Exhausted, dizzy and with no mana, Berigard had no way of defending himself. He was hit surely in the chest and crashed towards the ce where the orc army was like a cannon.
Puff¡ Berigard threw out another mouthful of blood and stayed motionless in his ce like the dead. of course, he wasn''t dead though, the ogre was tactful enough not to go for a kill without asking for permission from his higher ups.
"Berigard!! Dammit¡ we have already lost, must you continue this ughter even after that?" the orc generals shouted indignantly.
The ogres have already started a massacre on the orcs who have lost all will to fight. It was a one-sided ughter that was very hard to watch. The already dwindling numbers of the orc reduced even further as the ogres enjoyed their carnage.
A sea of blood flowed on the battlefield with bodies dropping on the ground everywhere.
"Hmm? You seemed to be having rather a hard time watching all of this. Don''t worry, we are not going to kill all of the orcs. We are just reducing your numbers to a level that is eptable to us. After all, it is much too dangerous if you were to gather a resistance after all that we did to subdue you¡ wouldn''t you agree?".
Giz-Bozo who was observing the massacremented after seeing how vexed they looked. From his perspective, he was doing a great favour to do them by letting a few of them survive.
"Reducing our numbers?!" Berirock parrotted in a daze, all this killing was... just to reduce their numbers that is eptable to them?
"Hmm¡ let''s see we will spare around seventy thousand orcs that we deem worthy to live. Ah, don''t worry you three are also included in that" Giz-Bozo added.
Berigard who lying in that sea of blood, was in the area to hear everything that the ogre said. Heughed and continuedughing until he did not know if he wasughing or crying.
A deep depression was on his chest formed from the punch that he just received a while ago. Their race of orcs was done for, to be enved by a tribe that saw them as nothing but ves, the tribe would no longer have any future.
Berigardughed, heughed at the absurdity of the situation, heughed at his weakness and at the fate which wanted nothing but to cruelly step on them.
Fighting Giz-Mogo was already tough enough, he had to lead the battle in a way to deplete the energy of his opponent to even stand a chance to win. His tactics were sessful and victory was just near the corner when another of those damn crimson horns appeared out of nowhere.
Not to mention that the one that just appeared, was even stronger than the ogre he was fighting. From the start, it was a serious mistake to assume that only one crimson horn was sent here to lead the ogre army. This blunder led to their ultimate downfall.
Well even if Berigard knew that there was another crimson horn within the ogre army, he wasn''t foolish enough to think that he would be able to defeat the two of them.
As Berigard was sprawled on the ground,ughing like a maniac, he finally came to a decision.
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The look in Beroigard''s eyes changed to that of anger and hatred as he called out¡ª
"I know you are observing all of this from somewhere. I hope that you are pleased with the result. With this, we orcs have no other way out, we havepletely run out of all options as you have said. The ogres have given their ultimatum and that is to enve us after reducing our numbers".
"A life like that, can you even call it a life? I would rather die than agree to be enved by them. However, I cannot allow that fate to befall my tribe members. Thus I ask you demon, if I were to submit to you, will our tribe have a better future than the one right now?".
His words were carried by the wind and were heard by ogres. They couldn''t help but mock him and wonder if the orc had somehow gone insane due to the shock of losing.
Berirock and Berimond were baffled by the actions of Berigard too. At this point, nothing that he did would matter, so what was he screaming all that for?
The Gir brother and Giz-Mogoughed at the desperate orc general. It was only Giz-Bozo that narrowed his eyes feeling a little uneasy all of a sudden.
A few seconds passed by with nothing happening when suddenly, there was this weird chill in the air.
CHIIII¡ something very unsettling and disturbing was slowly creeping near. Within seconds, the air started taking a violet-ck hue and the sky got covered by dark looming clouds.
Finally, there was even a miasma slowly seeping out of the ground that made others feel revolted by it. Those that identally got exposed to it, started behaving peculiarly. They clutched their head and banged them on the ground before cutting themselves with their own weapon.
rmed, all the ogres hurriedly distanced themselves from the seeping miasma. An eerie atmosphere was starting to arise on the battlefield and that was when he appeared.
-----
A few hours ago, at the centre of the Orc territory, right at the entrance of the underground chamber. A Diluvian High orc could be seening out. They were wearing superior-looking fur and pelts as armour and a crown on top of their head.
Who could the orc be other than Belgarious? At this moment he was looking in the southern direction where the ckfield was, intently.
"Judging from the waves of manaing from there, it looks like the war is in full swing. GUGAGA¡ what a bunch of idiots, even until thest moment they thought that I would be arriving to lead them on this war".
"Now that I have stored the ancient inheritance, I should leave this ce. There is no way those bunch of orcs could stop them for long on their own, I must escape before the ogre army arrives here" Belgarious muttered.
"Oh right, I need to destroy this before I leave" saying that, he took out a transmission conch from his space ring and stomped on it.
"Alright, this should stop any possible tracking. Now then, my destination is the Great Tundra Desert" Belgarious was just about to walk out when suddenly something came dropping down on the ground with a boom.
"I knew that you would choose to escape at the first signs of danger. It''s a good thing that I came early" a voice came from amidst the dust.
Hearing that familiar voice, Belgarious couldn''t help but yell out their name¡ª
"Gufardus?!!".
The figure that had just dropped down from the sky, was none other than the person that was backing Belgarious up until a few days ago, his patron.
One of the seven kings of the forest was here.
Gufardus was a four meters tall hulking fellow, he had a head of a lion, lower body of a minotaur, the tail of a serpent and wings of a demon. His body had multiple stitches and he looked like some kind of ab experiment.
"It''s been a while¡ Belgarious" Gufardus greeted with a smile that disyed his sharp canine teeth.
Looking at Gufardus, Belgarious was not the least bit happy. Instead, he was on his guard by this unexpected visit from thetter.
"What are you doing here?" he asked in a not-so-friendly tone.
"What''s this? Are you not happy to see me again after such a long time? The patron that has been supporting you from the shadows since you were just an ordinary diluvian orc, is here. Have you forgotten already how I manipted the previous orc king into choosing you as his sessor?" Gufardus said melodramatically.
"Stop your nonsense and get to the point".
"GURARA¡ it looks like you are in no mood for a joke. Well, in that case, I''lle to the point. The reason why I appeared here, I believe you already know it" Gufardusughed, a sly smile appearing on his face.
"You bastard¡ so you too were aiming for this?" Belgarious cursed, how could he not know what Gufardus wanted? For a being like him, there could be only one item in the entire orc territory that could entice him and that was the inheritance left behind by the ancient beast.
"GURARA¡ you are misunderstanding me Belgarious. I only came here to retrieve the item that would supposedly be stolen by the demon noble after you are killed" Gufardus exined.
Belgarious looked confused for a moment, he was about to ask what nonsense thetter was talking about when he was suddenly hit by a powerful attack that came at a speed that was hard for him to even perceive.
BANG¡
Belgarious was knocked back by the force and rolled on the ground a couple of times. Smoke could be seening out of the palms of Gufardus that was pointed at the orc.
"Ugh, you¡ you were behind all of this from the start huh?" Belgarious managed to speak out some words amidst his pain.
"GURARA¡ it looks like you finally realised it. Yes, I was after the beast inheritance that your tribe had from the start. However, I couldn''t just snatch it from you guys as that would be attracting too much attention to me and at the same time revealing the position of the inheritance to the rest of them".
"So I had no choice but to find a gullible orc with an over-the-top ambition and raise them to the position of the orc king to guard the inheritance for the time being"¡
The gullible orc with an over-the-top ambition, Belgarious gritted his teeth when he heard that.
Gufardus continued¡ª"While I was waiting for a perfect opportunity to arise that was when Gil-Garna came to me with a proposal. Honestly, it was quite hrious that the guy only just realised that. Nevertheless, his proposal gave me the opportunity that I was looking for".
At this moment, Gufardus suddenly revealed an ugly smile.
"Belgarious, do you know why I asked you to attack that dungeon located in the eastern region of the forest?".
Thetter had a lost look on his face¡ when suddenly the realisation struck them.
"Yes, to drag the demon in this war too. Being one from the demon noble race, I am sure he would not sit still after being tangled in such a mess without his concent. With the involvement of the demon, the war would be even more chaotic".
"It''s all okay if he is strong enough to kill the crimson horns sent by Gil-Garna. If not, his death would drag in the higher-ranked demon noble he is serving out making this war even more exciting".
"The ghastly winding forest is right next to the demon continent. Who is to say that the inheritance of the ancient beast that Gil-Garna is looking for, is not taken by the demon or his master? Whatever the case may be, nobody would be able to connect the disappearance of the inheritance with me".
Gufardus exined his schemes causing the eyes of the orc king to widen in shock.
"This.. this was¡ªfrom the start this whole war was your n?" Belgarious asked.
"That''s right, I revealed the location of the inheritance of your tribe to Gil-Garna in exchange for the Six Nether Flowers. That fool easily fell for my trap and started a war with your tribe believing that he would be able to get the inheritance while covering up the whole incident in a ruse of personal vengeance. GURARA... Now that all of the attention of the seven kings is diverted to the war, I''m free to snatch away the inheritance I wanted for so long".
Belgarious took hurried breaths of air, his blood boiling with anger and he was barely able to stop himself fromshing out at Gufardus.
He had always thought that he was a cunning person to have deceit the entire tribe of orcs and grabbed the position of the orc king. It never urred to him that he was ying in the palms of someone else. It appeared that he was just a pawn in the end too.
"You don''t have to be so disappointed, that inheritance of your tribe will be safe in my hands. Wouldn''t you also prefer it falls on my hand rather than Gil-Garna who your tribe has a blood feud with?" Seeing the aghast face of Belgarious, Gufardusmented.
"Youu!!¡" Belgarious could no longer take the tauntsing, he activated his numerous skills and attacked Gufardus.
[Mana Aura], [Bile], [Greater Force], [Bulk Up], [Overpower], [Ultra Enhaced Strength], [Ultra Enhanced Defence], [Longsword Mastery], [Rage], [Extreme].
Using his longsword, Belgarious sent a sword sh empowered with all of his skills towards Gufardus. Thetter simply stood in his ce and took on the attack head-on.
BOOMM¡ the orc king was a disaster ss with a level of 563. The sword sh that he dished out which was also enhanced further by his skill, was deadly enough to even cut a mountain in half.
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One could only imagine what condition Gufardus would be in after taking an attack like that.
Whoosh¡ right after sending his word sh at Gufardus, Belgarious swiftly turned around and fled. The reason for that was simple, a being on the level of Seven Kings was in a realm of their own. He did not believe that his attack would be able to hurt them.
Thus using his sword sh to dy them for a while, he quickly left the ce. His speed was further bolstered by [Bile] a skill that converts the frustration and the amount of damage the user has taken into temporary agility.
Using this skill, his speed had reached new heights using which he quickly arrived at the boundaries of the orc territory. He was just about to exit when suddenly he heard a thundering roar echo out from the horizon.
"Amalgamation magic¡ [Infernal-Thunder Mastery]¡ª [mma Volt Lion]".
A huge lion made entirely of mes and thunder, split the sky in half andnded in front of Berious with a heavy thud.
Looking at the lion that was more than ten meters big, one could feel a heavy pressure and the intense radiation of heat from the mes and thunder that it was made of.
Even though the lion was made of magic, it looked so animate and its eyes shone with an intelligent light that one would even mistake it for an actual beast.
Sitting on top of it cosily, was Gufardus whose mane was actually on fire. "What''s the rush Belgarious? Aren''t we old friends?".
Gufardusughed and initiated a conversation.
Belgarious had an ugly expression at this moment. Knowing that he cannot outrun the guy, he looked for other ways of saving his life.
"Why are youing after me? If it''s the inheritance of the ancient beast that you want, you should know that it is in the underground chamber. If you dilly-dally too long, the ogre army would arrive and snatch it before you".
Belgarious made an excuse, he thought that he would be able to dupe Gurfardus into returning back to the centre of the orc territory. However, all his words managed to do was evoke a burst ofughter from thetter.
"GURARA¡ Belgarious, do you take me for a fool? I know that the inheritance is no longer inside the underground chamber. You wouldn''t have left the thing there and fled otherwise".
A droplet of sweat trickled down his face, Belgariousmented¡ª"How can you say that without even looking? See, you can even check my space ring, there is no inheritance there?".
Gufardus extended his hands and Belgarious'' space ring immediately flew towards him. Nevertheless, he did not check the contents of the ring and simply kept it.
Seeing this, the orc arched his brows; nevertheless, he did notment anything and simply asked to excuse himself. He walked around the huge Infernal thunder lion and was about to walk off when Gufardus spoke out.
"Wait".
Belgarious slowly turned around and asked in a shaky voice "I-Is the-there still something else?".
"This isn''t the only inter-spatial pocket on you is it?" Gufardus remarked making Belgarious even more anxious.
"W-what do you mean? I have already handed you my space ring?".
"Ah, so you did. But I''m not talking about that space ring, I''m talking about the inter-spatial pocket that is the exclusive skill of an orc. It is a very rare skill and is said to be a Rare Ancient skill that only a handful of powerful orcs could learn. You have learnt it didn''t you?" Gufardus stated with a smile that wasn''t a smile.
At this moment, Belgarious''s face was a sight to see, his eyes were continuously trembling and it looked like all the blood in his body had frozen.
"I-Im afraid I don''t understand".
"Oh c''mon¡ Belgarious I know that you have stored the inheritance in your [Stomach Glutton]" Gufardus mentioned. This caused Belgarious who had halted his steps, to run without looking back.
''H-how does he know that? this is a skill exclusive only to our orc race. He shouldn''t have any information about that'' Belgarious thought internally as he desperately ran away.
Fight? There was no way he was idiot enough to think he could best Gufardus in a fight. The only option he had in this situation was to tuck his tail and run in hopes that he would be able to somehow outrun thetter.
[Stomach Glutton] as Gufardus had mentioned was a Rare Ancient Skill that allows an orc to store any kind of items or things in a special dimension. The things stored inside the skill are unaffected by time and stay the same exact way as when it was stored.
The space inside the [Stomach Glutton] can be erged with mana. However one has to constantly supply the skill with mana to maintain that kind of space or else the thing inside would break out.
Since one cannot store the dead inside the space ring, Belgarious had used this skill to store away the inheritance. Never did he imagine that Gufardus would be aware of the skill that even most of the orcs aren''t.
The inheritance was his only way of reaching higher sses, the key to breaking through his restraints. There was no way he was going to give it up just like that.
Behind him, Gufardus shook his head in disappointment andmanded the lion to turn around. The lion opened its mouth facing Belgarious and a beam of what looked like abination of inferno and thunder erupted out, flying straight for Belhgarious.
The beam quickly engulfed thetter and travelled forward destroying everything that it touched.
------
"Who are you?".
Giz-Bogo asked, a figure with a pale white skin, long ck hair and wings like a bat, appeared in front of Berigard out of nowhere.
Looking at the two horns decorating his head and the features that was only special to a certain race, everybody present immediately recognised him.
"So you are finally willing to take me up on the offer huh? I assume you are fine with the terms and conditions?".
Simon did not bother replying to Giz-Bozo and started conversing with Berigard. He spoke like a shady insurance agent that wanted to sell you a very dubious policy.
Berigard revealed a self-mocking smile and responded "What a hateful demon¡ so you really were watching the show. Before I agree to your conditions, can you tell me no tell me one thing? What will be of us if we submit to you?".
He did not bother to keep his voice low, thus every ogre and orc near, could hear him clearly. Simon immediately understood what Berigard was trying to do and thus yed along.
"If you swear your loyalty to serve me, then you all will be my subordinates. Being my subordinate means that you would have to follow mymands andplete the tasks I give you. You cannot betray or try to go against me or else the consequences would be far dire than what you are facing now".
"Of course, being my subordinate means that you will also have my protection and a certain level of freedom. Punishment and rewarde hand in hand so of course if you do a good job, you all will be rewarded ording to your merits".
Simon stated, he did not put out too many sugary words and only gave them the bare minimum of what they should expect. He did not try to win over them by showing them a bright future and instead set their expectations low from the start so that when the timees and they be his subordinates, their hearts would be won over him after seeing the perks.
This was one of the strategies thepany he used to work for, Astro Revolution often employed to retain the interest of the new and old employees alike.
Unsatisfied and frustrated with their previous jobs, many new employees flock to theirpany and are instantly smitten by the perks thepany gives them.
Simon was employing that strategy on the soon-to-be new employees of his dungeon. The orcs and the ogres who heard what Simon said, disyed a bewildered face. Their expression seemed to say ''what was the demon babbling about?''.
"I see¡ it''s not the best future that we can hope for but it is not quite bad. At least it is a thousand times better than bing the ves of the ogre tribe. In that case, I agree. I cannot say that I can speak for the entirety of the orcs but I believe they will understand and definitely stay by my decision. I''m willing to swear loyalty to you in exchange that you save the lives of my tribe".
Berigard announced making sure that his voice is heard by everybody.
"Gururu¡ what is this orc talking about? Have you gone mad¡ the one that you should swear loyalty to is our king and the tribe of ogres, not some demon who just suddenly appeared out of nowhere".
Giz-Mogo waltzed towards the demon and the sprawled Berigard and snickered. Now that he had recovered some of his strength, he was back to his usual cocky self.
The ogresughed while the orcs looked at Berigard sceptically.
''Berigard¡ what are you thinking?'' Berirock muttered, he had never seen the demon nor did he know where they came from. In such a situation it was very dangerous to make a decision that concerned their race.
Nevertheless, they had no other choice, they were stuck between a rock and a hard ce. As Berirock wondered where and how Berigard had met a demon, the words of Belgarious suddenly appeared in his mind.
It was when he came with his subordinates to the underground chamber to report the actions of Berigard to the orc king a few days prior to the night of the moon dance.
498 Chapter 498
When he asked thetter where Berimal was, Belgarious told him that he had sent them to the eastern region of the forest where a certain dungeon was. It did not take time for him to connect the dots and figure out a few things.
Giz-Mogo had dismissed the oath of Berigard as nothing but some ruse, the other ogres seemed to think nothing of the demon. However, Giz-Bozo was different, he was still alert of the miasma that was slowly enveloping the battlefield.
The miasma and the demon appeared around the same time so it was clear that thetter had something to do with it. However, he couldn''t understand what this miasma was nor could he feel even a tiny fluctuation of mana from the demon.
"I ept your show of fealty. From now on you and your tribe are my subordinates which means that you are also under my protection. The enemy of your tribe is also my enemy, don''t worry I''ll close this farce and put an end to this war".
Simon announced, he was aware that many of the orcs did not recognise this show of fealty from Berigard and would definitely show their dissent after the war was over. However, he wasn''t worried about that.
Berigard had shown what kind of leader he was, he had fought with his life at the stake for them. This gesture was sure to move thousands of orcs. Even if they aren''t from his faction, they are sure to follow his lead.
In the case that they didn''t, he would just have to use force to show them who was in charge. Anyways, now that Berigard had sworn loyalty to him, all that is left is to show the orcs how powerful he was.
And to do that, what better way than to wipe out the ogres that they were unable to win against?
"Oi¡ Oi.. Oi¡ what is this demon babbling? The orcs are your subordinate? Put an end to this war? Listen to me demon, I don''t know where you came from, but you shouldn''t put your nose in something that isn''t your business. Do you understand me? If so then fuck off from he¡ gugh!!".
Giz-Mogo jabbered causing the demon to kick him in the face before he couldplete his sentence.
The kick from the demon was so powerful that Giz-Mogo''s face instantly caved in and he flew back a good few meters. When he got back up in rage, everybody could see that multiple of his teeth were broken and one of his fangs missing.
"I''ll Kill You¡" Giz-Mogo hollered. He wasn''t expecting the demon to suddenly attack him, a member of the ogre race and a crimson horn at that, thus he was unable to react in time.
He was about to retaliate back when Giz-Bozo extended his hands and stopped him.
"Stand down¡ you are not his match" a cold astute voice came from the ogre.
Hearing that Giz-Mogo protested saying that he was careless before and that he can definitely win against the demon. Though he quickly shut up when Giz-Bozo red at him.
The ogre then turned to face Simon who had a calm expression even while facing an ogre army on his own. That was when Giz-Bozo noticed that purple-ck energy emitted by thetter''s body.
"This friend here¡ I''m sure that this is our first time meeting so why is it that you are willing to offend us and help our enemy? Our ck ogre army came here with strict orders from our lord, one of the seven kings of this forest to subdue the tribe of orcs. I would advise you to reconsider this and instead ally with us".
Unlike Giz-Mogo who didn''t take the big picture in consideration, Giz-Bozo was much more cunning and punctilious. He could see that the miasma surrounding the demon was unusual and he couldn''t gauge their proper strength.
From what he could sense from the aura of the demon, they didn''t seem particrly strong. However, somehow they were able to blow Giz-Mogo, a disaster ss orc with a level of 570 back.
In fact, Giz-Bozo wasn''t far from the truth. Simon''s level was only around 418, there is no way he would be able to hurt a being that not only surpassed him in levels but also a whole realm.
However, that was not counting the fact that he was in possession of something that did not fall under those norms. The finger of Ozymandias and the curse energy that it produced.
Simon had experienced how lethal and dreadful the curse energy was in the forbidden trials. It was a whole different system of energy than the standard mystical energy. At first, Simon wasn''t able to properly control the finger of Ozymandias and could only use it crudely.
However, with time as his mastery over the technique [Dominator control] increased, he learned the other secrets the finger held and was now able to freely manipte the curse energy it produced.
Although he was now able to use the curse energy even outside the trial grounds, it did not mean that the drawbacks were not there anymore. Just like when he used the curse energy in the fourth trial, he was unable to ess the mystical energy of this world. He could only use either energy at a time.
This is to say, that Simon who was using the curse energy cannot invoke his magic that needed mana to channel.
On a side note, Simon had once tried to see how his status looked like when he was using the curse energy since every time he used it he felt like he was multiple times stronger. However, it seemed like the status froze whenever he used the curse energy.
Therefore it was no wonder that Giz-Bozo wasn''t able to properly assess Simon''s strength in that state.
At Giz-Bozo''s words, Simon turned around to face him. Due to continuously being affected by his demon lineage and his pride fragment, Simon was slowly being reformed. He now naturally emitted an aura of confidence and carried himself like a demon noble.
"The ogre tribe led by one of the seven kings of the forest huh. Indeed you guys are strong, strong enough to subdue the tribe of orcs. However, you are weaker than me. I shall give you all a chance, scurry away now or else face the consequences".
Such arrogant words, the ogre tribe who took pride in their strength, how could they take it lying down? They were immediately incensed by that remark and red at Simon with hatred-filled eyes.
Even the always calm Giz-Bozo was also affected. He didn''t think that the demon would be unable to judge the situation and not back down even when he mentioned the ogre army and their lord who was one of the seven kings of this forest.
He was trying to give face to this mysterious demon whose strength he couldn''t gauge; however it seemed like the other party had taken them for granted. Since that was the case, there was on;y one thing he could do.
Giz-Bozo was an ogre who was on the borders of bing an indigo horn. Someone as powerful as him was bound to be inherently prideful thus it was no surprise that he was offended by that remark. perfectly falling for Simon''s trap.
"Since you are hellbent on bing our enemy, so be it. We will stomp on that arrogance of yours and make you eat your words back" Giz-Bozo nced at the three Gir brothers who quickly jumped towards Simon.
"Who did you say would eat their words?" a clear voice that had a tone of innocence, echoed out followed by three bangs of gunfire.
BANG.. BANG¡ BANG¡ immediately, something that travelled at a speed which was hard to perceive, hit the three Gir brothers making them stop in their tracks and lick their wounds.
Far in the distance, a maid in her teens wearing and armour on top of her uniform, could be seen holding a bow. She had a head full of golden hair and her smile was like the sunflower in full bloom.
Behind her were what looked like mechanised golems standing in a neat formation.
"So she finally arrived, what took her so long?" while everybody was distracted by the maid and the line-up of golems, two more maids at some unknown point in time arrived beside the demon.
"Alice, what took you so long?" Ate asked after Alice arrived in front of them.
"That¡ there was some issue with the tower town. Miss Irene was busy handling that thus the dy" Alice answered a little nervously when met with the questioning eyes of her elder sister who always had a stern astute face.
"What happened to the tower town?" Simon asked in concern.
"Ah, Master does not have anything to worry about, Miss Irene had already solved the issue. A few days ago, a few orcs had wandered near the vicinity of the tower town causing mass panic amongst the adventurers. Fortunately, backup from the surrounding towns had arrived by then and swiftly disposed of the orcs".
Hearing Alice''s story, Simon guessed that the orcs she was talking about, were the ones that were sent by the orc king to investigate Berimal''s whereabouts.
It was as he had surmised, they were really taken out by the adventurers who came after hearing the distress call. But even then this wasn''t an issue that required Irene''s intervention. What possibly could have happened after that?
Alice continued "It was all good up until that point but suddenly amongst the group of adventurers that arrived at the towe town after hearing the distress call, were a few groups that started using this opportunity to kill innocent adventurers diving inside the middle floors of the dungeon".
Adventurers killing other adventurers inside the dungeon? Well, it was not like there was no conflicts amongst the many groups of adventurers that dived inside the dungeon on a daily basis. There were many such precedences before.
499 Chapter 499
He had seen many cases inside the dungeon where an adventurer is killed and his things looted by none other than his own teammates. He had seen the good and bad sides of the human, thus it was no surprise for him when he heard that.
However, he knew that things weren''t that simple, there has to be something else. When he asked that, the reply he got, even amazed him a little.
It turned out that the few groups of adventurers were working together for a particr guild. They were exchanging information inside the dungeon and were targeting adventurers that dived alone or in small groups.
When Bea captured one and interrogated them for information, it was learned that they were sent here by a certain guild and were on the orders to kill as many adventurers as possible and create uneasiness amongst the adventurers of the tower town.
"Which guild was it?" Ate questioned.
Alice who always had a cheerful smile on her face, suddenly adopted an angry face as she stated the name of the guild. "It''s that hateful Sea God''s Trident. I didn''t understand at first why they were doing this but Miss Irene told me that it is to degrade the dungeon''s name".
Sea god''s trident¡ it was them again, Simon narrowed his eyes. The guild was hellbent on making his life difficult, it was like they cannot rest in peace without inciting his anger at every turn.
"That guild needs to be eradicated sooner rather thanter" Atemented, Alice seconded it while the always-silent Bianca nodded her head in affirmative.
"What happened afterwards, did miss Irene wiped those miscreants out?" Ate asked.
Alice shook her head and said "No.. she told us that by doing this, we won''t be able to restore our name. Thus she devised a n to make the adventurers of the tower town aware of these miscreants who were deliberately causing trouble and handed those guys over to them. Unfortunately, these people were prepared and quickly drank something that took their life"¡
Simon''s group of four discussed when suddenly an attackpressed of a dense amount of mana, came attacking them. Needless, to say the aggressor was Giz-Bozo who had enough of their nonsense.
He was right in front of them; however, they ignored his presence and start discussing something unrted. He was greatly offended by that and so he attacked without any warning.
The highlypressed mana aura attack took the form of a fierce crimson beast as it came charging at them, ripping through the four of them. Or so should have been the case, but the beast suddenly came to halt unable to progress after colliding with the first person.
Unlucky for Giz-Bogo, the person that he chose to target was none other than Bianca whose defence was something that even people above her level would find difficulty breaking through. Forget about Giz-Bozo who was yet to breach level 600.
The mana aura beast was instead smashed apart by Bianca. Neither the orcs nor the ogres had expected that kind of result. After all, Giz-Bozo was someone who even Berigard''s strongest magic couldn''t defeat.
It came as a surprise to them that a maid was capable of aplishing what their strongest general couldn''t.
Meanwhile, Berigardughed, after seeing the slight disy of power, he was certain that he did not make a mistake in his judgement. The demon aside, even the maids by his side were incredibly strong.
It was also at this moment that he realised his senses were not wrong, the strong presence of danger that he felt from the maids the first time he met them, was indeed true.
"Alice¡ we will discuss about thatter, let me first clean this mess up" Simon stated turning towards the ogres. He did not forget about them, it was just that he was getting no sense of pressure from them that he slide them at the back of his head.
"Master, let us help you" Ate proposed, although she hid it well, one could still feel the anger seeping out of her body. The fact that the ogre dare to attack them while they were talking, made her absolutely furious.
Thinking that this was a good chance for them to gather experience, Simon nodded his head. However, he also added a few conditions to their powers and skills.
As it wouldn''t even be a fight if they were to use their full strength, Simon put a restriction on them to only use ten per cent of their power and banned them from using all of their skills except during life threatening situations.
The Valkyries obediently nodded their head and took out their weapons. Ate held a staff that was a [B] tier [Gacha] item or should he say a [Ga??????] item.
Bianca just like her ss which was a branch of knight, held a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Of course, they too were [B] rank items drawn from the [Ga??????]. And as for Alice, she held that bow that Simon had given her.
Needless to say, all of these weapons weren''t the heirloom meant for them. However, it was powerful enough for them to be using it for a while before the prototypes areplete or he draws a real Heirloom from the [Ga??????].
Simon and the other did not keep their voices quiet thus it was audible enough for the ogres to overhear their conversation.
"Sir Giz-Bozo please allow us to fight them. We cannot let them leave without a scratch after all they said. We must show them the strength of the ogre tribe so that no one can make such a slight ever again" the Gir brothers plead.
Gi-Bogo was silent, that attack earlier he had put at least fifty per cent of his power into it. For it to be smashed apart so easily told him that their enemy wasn''t simple. Perhaps they might really have the strength to back their words.
In that case, wouldn''t they lose if they started a fight? No, it was hasty to draw that kind of conclusion. He needed more information, Giz-Bozo nodded at the Gir brothers whomanded the ogre army to charge at Simon''s group.
After all the casualties that they had incurred, the ogre army was still 37,000 strong. An army this big was intimidating to say no less. However, Simon and his group didn''t look the slightest bit fazed. On the contrary, some of them (Alice) already looked eager to start this fight.
The ogres had shown all of their cards, while on the other hand, the strength of this group of new people was still a mystery. This was the first time, that Giz-Bozo was uncertain of starting a battle. Nevertheless, there was no retreat for them, it was either forward or death.
There was no ce for ipetent subordinates who couldn''t evenplete their mission on the ogre army. Forget about the ogre king, Gish-Bagh would kill them himslef on the spot if they returned without aplishing their objectives.
"Mogo did you eat theher fruit that I gave you?" Giz-Bozo asked looking at the fuming Mogo.
"I did¡I will be able to recover some of my strength in a few more minutes" Mogo replied, his missing teeth and bent nose made him look very miserable. Though it was not a big injury for an ogre who innately possesses the [Super Regeneration] skill.
For a crimson horn like Giz-Mogo, he even possed the superior tier of the skill and other various recovery abilities.
"Good, you would be joining the battle once you are done healing" Giz-bozo ordered.
This made the other ogre confused, he didn''t understand why Giz-Bozo was being so careful of these people. Sure they might be powerful enough to fend off an attack from him; however, he did not use any skill nor his full power in that attack. Nevertheless, Giz-Mogo obeyed the order and nodded his head.
The three Gir brothers called upon their mounts, one rode upon a fierce hawk like monster, one on a Stone Hide Mammoth while thest one rode on a Fire Breed Hound.
Each of these beasts could only be found inside the western region of the ghastly winding forest and were a force on its own. Level wise, these monsters were all around level 400 with quite a few skills in their arsenal.
When the orc generals Berirock and Berimond saw that, they couldn''t help but clench their hands in frustration. The Gir brothers never used their mounts against them in their battle, which meant that they were still not going full power against them.
Anybody who knew about the ck ogre tribe of the ghastly winding forest would know that they be more powerful when riding atop their beasts.
Although the orc generals hated it, they had to admit that, if the Gir brother were using their mounts from the start in their battle, they would have been no match for them.
"Ate, Bianca, Alice¡ you three take on those ogres. Remember not to use your full strength, this is a good opportunity for you guys to get some battle experience and learn how other races fight" Simon dered seeing the charging ogres.
"What about you master?" Ate asked.
"I''ll be taking on that delicious meal of experience there".
Ate could see that Simon had already made up his mind. Though she was a little anxious given that the level of the enemy this time was a little high, she had enough faith in her master not to contradict his decision.
"Andromedas prepare your weapons and fire" Simonmanded. The thousand of Andromedas mk 11 flying in the air using the jet boosters, were set to follow his voicemand by the wisp.
Immediately, they brought out their light sters, st cannons and opened fire on the ogre army.
500 Chapter 500
The Valkyries too joined the fight as they dived amidst the ogre army. Their attacks even when restrained to only ten per cent were powerful and whenbined with their [B] tier weapons, it was a walk in the park for them.
Alice used her bow to continuously snipe down the ogres from the distance. She was so skilful that a single arrow from her hit more than one ogre and was powerful enough to puncture a hole in their bodies.
That was not all, she was so quick on her feet and her finger that arrow kept on flying even though the enemy pursued her continuously. Judging from the way she never got cornered, her situational awareness was second to none amongst the valkyries.
Bianca just like her ss [Imperial Aegis knight] stood her ground and mowed through the ogres with sheer brute strength and defence. She was like a bulldozer mowing through and unmatched in strength and power.
A few ogres tried to attack her from the distance using their magic and skills; nevertheless, all of it bounced back to them due to the [B] rank shield. The longsword on her other hand efficiently cleaved through their bodies without any resistance.
The eldest of the sisters (not counting Mercedes), Ate skilfully used her magic. She found a perfectbination of attack and defence. She never allowed any enemy to get too close to her or let their attacknd on her.
She moved like a lithe fairy continuously chanting her magic and skilfully using her staff. She never used anything above novice-tier magic. However, because of her sheer mastery and understanding of that element, her magic wasparable to other''s intermediate or even advanced magic.
What would probably take a couple of seconds for others to invoke the same kind of magic, she did it in just one-tenth the time. Not only that, her control over mana was so beautiful that perhaps only Irene and a few others Simon knew would be able to outmatch her.
Sprawled on the ground, Berigard who was watching all of that couldn''t help but widen his eyes in surprise. The number of enemies was in the thousands and the war was far from over. However, given how skilful they were, it was enough to give him a sense of assurance.
"This is them¡ only using one-tenth of their power?" Berigard murmured. He who was lying on the ground behind Simon, heard their whole conversation and truthfully, he was more than surprised when he heard the demonmand them to use only ten per cent of their power and restraint them from using all of their skills.
At first, he thought it was absurd for them to fight the ogres like that but it seemed like he the one who was being absurd was him.
Additionally, when he looked at Ate and her mastery over her elements and how she used her magic, even he was impressed. Though he was not among the ones that boast their strength to others, he believed that when it came to magic he had attained mastery andprehension far beyond others around him or even above him.
But looking at Ate who was easily taking care of hordes of ogres with nothing but just weak novice magic, he felt like he was living in a well all this time. She had shown him that the staff on her hand was not just for casting spells but can also be used for deflecting, defending and even attacking enemies.
"Berigard are you alright?".
At this moment when he was lost in thought, the other two generals came over and supported him.
"Yeah, I''m fine¡ my [Ultra Regeneration] skill juts kicked in" Berigard exined. His external wounds were starting to close and his hazy vision was slowly returning to normal.
"Berigard¡ who is that demon?" Berimond asked looking at the demon and the maids hemanded.
"Haha¡ that demon is going to be our new ruler in the future" Berigard answered in a calm and peaceful manner. There was no hesitation nor any dissatisfaction in his tone.
Now that he had sworn his oath of loyalty to the demon and became his subordinate, it was as if a huge weight weighing him down for the past few days had been removed from his shoulders.
"Berigard are you serious? You cannot possibly bow your head to someone who is not even an orc and be their subordinate" Berirock argued unwilling to ept what had happened.
"Then you guys tell me what other ways did we have left?" Berigard questioned making the two orc generals silent.
With his defeat, the orcs were all out of options. They either had to submit to ogres and allow their number to be cut down to mere seventy thousand or ept the help of the demon and be his subordinates.
The demon did not show them a golden future; nevertheless, if they bent their knees to him at least they would be able to keep the lives of their tribe members intact.
"Even if that is the case, we can''t possibly expect that demon to keep his words?" Berirock pointed out.
"Isn''t he keeping his word right now? Was there any need for him to take on the whole ogre army for himself? Yet he has sent his subordinates to help us out. Even if we forget about that, just the fact that he showed up now rather thanter when we would be in a more desperate situation to save the lives of our remaining tribe members, tell us that he is the kind of leader who protects his subordinates. Believe me, I haven''t taken this decision without thinking things through".
Berigard exined. Nevertheless, Berirock was still unwilling to ept that their race will now have to bow towards that demon and listen to all of his orders.
"Even then¡ let''s believe that the demon does indeed keeps his word, do you expect the orcs to follow your oath and take the demon as their new lord?".
Hearing the self-centred remarks of his fellow orcmander, Berigard had a scornful look on his face. Now that his backyard was not on fire anymore, Berirock was trying to put off all the responsibilities.
Berigard did not involve himself in a debate with Berirock and answered him dismissively¡ª"Those orcs that want to, will do so. Those that don''t, I won''t be responsible for what happens to them".
From what he could tell, the demon was not some Samaritan that would help others without any strings attached. He was helping them because he had seen some profit in them.
The battle between the Valkyries and the ogre army, intensified. Seeing that the ck horn ogres were no match for them, Gir brothers turned up to face the Valkyries. On the other hand, the fight between the Andromedas and the ogres was an insipid one.
The main job of the Andromedas Mk 11 in this fight was not to win the war but to collect information. Even if they weren''t able to match an ogre they were still able to gather quite a bit of data before being destroyed.
"It looks like the army of golems you brought is far too inferior against my army" Giz-Bozo stated, he could see that his army had a clear advantage against these golems.
Their attack pattern might be peculiar than any of the monsters that the ogres had ever faced inside the ghastly winding forest. Nheless, the golems weren''t an opponent for them. Soon, the numbers of the Andromedas started dropping, smashed and destroyed into bits.
However, since they were inanimate objects and had no blood, the ogres weren''t quite satisfied with their victories.
"It is too soon to say that¡ won''t you agree?" Simon smiled and silently released the miasma from the finger of Ozymandias.
As the [inventory] was a part of his [Main Menu] and not an external pocket like the space ring, the miasma came out of his body. It slowly covered the entire ckfield and painted the air a peculiar violet ck.
The curse energy was filled with negativity and abhorred the living. The moment this energy made contact with the ogres, they started behaving unusually and attacked one another. It was as if they had suddenly lost their mind and turned into a mindless beast who only knew how to kill.
Seeing this, the other ogres tried to avoid the energy but like a ma, the energy kept on following them. In actuality, the miasma wasn''t following them but was being manipted by Simon who had gained a little more understanding of the curse energy to follow them.
Unlike the mystical energy which felt like clear water from a stream, curse energy was stickier, polluted and had a stench of the dead. It had a decaying attribute and was an energy that was not from this realm.
Of course, Simon did not know why and how he was able to manipte a foreign energy; nevertheless, it was a far more powerful weapon currently in his arsenal than the mystical energy whose essence was yet to be grasped by Simon.
With the interference of the curse energy, the ogre army started faltering which gave way for the andromedas Mk 11 to advance. T
he andromedas weren''t your living being but drones controlled by wisp thus they were unaffected by the curse energy. The ogre unable to mount any resistance against the energy at all, fell one after another from the attacks of the andromedas and soon¡ª
DING... [You have levelled up]
The notification that Simon was waiting for, soon arrived.
501 Chapter 501
How was it possible that Simon who hadn''t directly killed the ogres was able to get the experience point? That was because the one who had dealt the killing blow to them was not the Andromedas but him.
The Andromedas only brought the ogres to the point where they had a silver of Hp remaining, the rest of the damage was done by the curse energy. This way, not a single kill was wasted and all that experience from the ogre army was channelled into Simon.
"You idiots what are you doing? If you can''t outrun miasma, then just blow it away using wind magic" Giz-Mogo directed, even though he got outyed by Berigard, he was still a crimson horn and the second lieutenant of the ck ogre army.
The ogresplied and quickly used their magic, skills or the abilities of their mounts to blow the miasma away from their surroundings. However, it was as if their attacks had no effects, the curse energy spread around unhindered.
The ogres tried again and again using various methods; nevertheless, the oue remained the same. They were unable to disperse the curse energy.
"It''s useless¡ curse energy is not something that can be pushed back by normal magic" Simonmented shrugging his shoulders and looking at their wasted efforts.
"You¡ stop that right now" Giz-Bozo was finally forced to move. With a step of his, he quickly disappeared from Simon''s line of sight and appeared beside him in an instant. The crimson horn of Giz-Bozo glowed a bright crimson indicating that a powerful attack wasing.
"[Shockwave st], [Ability conferment- Greater force]" mana aura enveloped the ogre''s hand and quickly formed a gauntlet which was then swung towards Simon.
Realising the iing danger, Simon''s instinct red and he quickly unfurled his wings to get away from the trajectory of the punch. A decision that was the right option to make.
The skill that Giz-Bozo had employed was the same skill that the ck horn ogre used to topple down the wall. However, in the hands of Giz-Bozo, it was multiple times stronger not to mention the skill was altered to have a different effect.
Missing the target, the punch swept through the air causing ripples around the surrounding. These ripples were not any ordinary ripples but shockwaves that travelled through the air.
Seeing this, Simon narrowed his eyes. Of course, he had seen the ck ogre activating the same skill; howeverpared to the one executed by Giz-Bozo, that looked like just a demo.
Simon was not among the ones to underestimate his enemies and surely not one that was this much powerful. There was a difference of more than a hundred levels and an entire rank between them.
Normally, Simon wouldn''t have initiated a fight against such an enemy. However, why is it that even though he knew that there was such a huge gap between them, he was very much excited for this battle?
Smile¡ unknowingly a smile crept up to his face. This was it, this was the battle he needed to find out how much progress he had made in these past few months and where he stood when using the greatest power currently in his arsenal.
The attack from the ogre was strong; however, it was not enough to daunt Simon.
[All basic abilities are strengthened by 500%] looking at the notification that had popped up when using the curse energy, Simon smiled.
Using the Curse energy, made him unable to use his magic and skills but itpensated by boosting his physical powers to far greater heights. That was not all, the curse energy present inside the trial only gave him a boost of 300%.
However, right now his physical power and basic abilities had been boosted by 500%. The reason for that was because unlike the curse energy present inside the trial grounds that had degraded through time, the curse energy that he was currently using, was from the finger of Ozymandias.
Thetter was the source of this foreign energy therefore it was only natural for it to produce a dense amount of curse energy that was iparable to the one that had seeped inside the mausoleum during the cataclysmic fight between Y and Ozymandias.
His increased understanding of the curse energy might have also yed a part in too. In any case, thanks to the buff, Simon was able to react to attacks of a being that was only a step away from reaching cmity ss.
"You dodged that huh? Then how about you try and dodge this" Giz-Bozo took out a double from his space ring and enveloped it with his mana. The des of the axe glowed crimson and blue lightning started discharging out of it.
[Battle Monger''s Axe] a [B] rank weapon that had bestowed various skills to its user and Lightning magic was one of them. The weapon was a present gifted to him by the Ogre King Gil-Garna himself and since then it was his prized possession.
Giz-Bozo was someone who was a pure warrior, he did not bother to learn any magic and solely directed all his efforts to skills and stats that would make him a better warrior. Topensate for hisck of magic, he used weapons such as the axe.
"[Lightning sh], [Ability conferment- Mana Armament]" Giz-Bozo swung the axe that released thick columns of lightning.
The lightning released quickly took the shape of an axe that came flying towards Simon like a bolt of lightning. Simon understood that even if he dodged the attack, he would be hit by the columns of lightning around it. Thus he chose to deflect the attack instead of dodging it.
Simon brandished his Crimson zing me Sword and shed with the iing lightning axe with his own sword swings. He might not be able to use any skills or magic right now, but it wasn''t like he had forgotten the essence of [sword mastery] skill that he had learnt by putting his body at the line.
CLANG¡ RUMBLE¡.
The moment the two weapons collided, nging noise rang out followed by a discharge of lighting that threatened to devour Simon. The sky brightened up as a result of their collision.
The lightning axe repeatedly erupted with lightning; nevertheless, it was unable to push Simon back who was cloaked with the curse energy. The lighting around the lightning axe was starting to disappear after a while and it seemed like Simon had sessfully defended through the attack.
But that was when he realised that something was wrong. The attack instead of getting weaker was actually bing stronger over time.
The lightning axe that was enveloped in blue lightning, suddenly had a red aura erupt out of it and it quickly became a crimson axe. Simon was taken aback, this was a technique that he had seen Godwin execute when chasing after him.
ording to him, it could only be used by those above level 600. Unable to hold the axe back any longer Simon was pushed back and coincidentally saw the smile of victory on his opponent''s face.
This immediately annoyed Simon and he exerted even more curse energy on his sword. So what if the ogre was capable of using a technique that was beyond his realm? Hadn''t he defeated an opponent who also used a simr technique not too long ago?
Simon recalled his battle with Morgress who used a quasi [Mana Armour]. The ogre in front of him has to be doing the same. Since they had yet to reach that level, they might be using a quasi [Mana Armament].
If that was the case and it was not aplete technique, then there was no reason to think that he can''t break through this mana armament.
Simon wasn''t far off from the truth, the technique that the ogre used was in fact iplete. However, unlike Morgress who learned the [mana armour] technique, the technique of [Mana Armament] suddenly appeared to Giz-Bogo one day.
This also indicated that it wouldn''t be long before he stepped on the cmity ss. Giz-Bozo extended his hand and following his will, the Lightning Axe that had now turned crimson, continued to apply pressure on the demon.
"You overestimated yourself demon¡ if this is all your strength, then you can forget about closing this war".
Giz-Bogo stated, thinking that he had gauged the strength of the demon. But he realised that he had judged too soon, his assessment came wrong when he saw the peculiar miasma surrounding the demon increase in intensity.
It slowly travelled through the demon''s body before enveloping the lightning de itself. At that moment, Giz-Bogo suddenly felt his connection with the lightning de weaken. The mana that he was supplying to the quasi-armament was suddenly disrupted until finally, he could no longer send any mana to it.
To his amazement, the crimson lightning axe slowly started bing purplish ck and dissipate into thin air.
BOOOM¡ before the shock from what had transpired could hit him, he saw the demon rushing towards him at an insane speed. He did not even have the time to think when Simon was already upon him.
Simon wrapped in curse energy, channelled it all into his ws whose sharpness was evenparable to a de made of Mythril.
CLANG¡ the sound of metal colliding with metal echoed out. Giz-Bozo was forced to use the [Mana Aura] technique to defend themself from Simon''s attack. Though if he really was safe, was yet to be seen.
CHIII¡
Simon smiled, a scorching came from his ws and in front of the horrified eyes of the ogre, his mana armour was slowly being gauged through.
With the increase in his understanding of the curse energy, Simon was able to understand more profundities of the curse energy. He used the decaying attribute of the curse energy and applied it to his ws to slowly pierce through the mana armour of the ogre.
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The decaying property of the curse energy did not have an instant effect. Instead, it slowly stuck to the target and spread like a disease from that point. In another word, the curse energy had a powerful D.O.T (damage over time).
It can decay through anything given the time. So what was a mana armour in front of it?
As Giz-Bozo was exposed to droves of curse energying out of Simon, the quality of his mana slowly degraded from within and Simon was able to easily pierce through his [Mana Aura].
''Not Good'' feeling the danger, the beastly instinct of the ogre kicked in and he hurriedly moved his body aside. Although he was able to dodge the w, nheless, some part of his skin still made contact with the curse energy.
Giz-Bozo opened up a good distance between him and the demon before staring at him cautiously. This was the first time that he had met someone who did not break or cut through his mana armour but instead melt it down.
The fact that he couldn''t get any reading of that peculiar miasma around the demon made him even more alert.
Simon did not pursue his target after his attack failed tond. Instead, he shed a wicked smile and continued his staredown with the enemy.
The ogre thought that he was safe after dodging his attack and opening a distance from him. But he couldn''t be any more wrong, the little bit of curse energy that he got exposed to had dozens of strands of curse energy that got stuck to his skin like maggots and was slowly decaying and draining him from within.
Since the effect was not too apparent yet, the ogre failed to realise what was going on nevertheless, he should soon start feeling some effects.
Simon had no hurry to attack his enemy, after all, the power of his curse energy relied on its D.O.T and the more the time passed, the better for him.
Simon used this time when his opponent was cautious of him to nce at his subordinates and see how they were doing.
Even with just ten percent of the power, the Valkyries who were each level 699, were a force for the ogres that thetter were unable to contain. They ughtered the ogres with finesse, brutality and expertise. Finally forcing the brown horns to butt in.
The Gir brothers mounted on their beasts, werepletely different enemies than before. It was as if their powers had suddenly doubled as they executed attacks that utilised the full potential of their beast.
Gir-Rago, the eldest of the brother riding atop a hawk with three talons called the Fierce Siliantos was facing Ate. The second eldest brother, Gir-Rugo riding atop a stone HIde Mammoth beast called the Mountain Dozer, was fighting Bianca andst but not least, Gir-Rego riding on the Fire Breed Hound was fighting Alice.
For the first duo, both their attacksprised of fast attacks and high agility. Ate was quick on her casts as she barraged Gir-Rago with non-stop attacks, while the orc used his aerial advantage to dodge and manoeuvre around the magic.
His counterattacks came from the skies and were deadly enough for Ate to have some form of defence around her or so Simon thought. However, he couldn''t be any more wrong.
The reason why Ate protected herself with earth barriers, was because she didn''t want her maid dress to get dirty by the attacks of the ogre not because the attack was capable of hurting her.
From her perspective, the maid dress was given to her by her master. She couldn''t probably forgive herself for staining or damaging it even a little. Because of this concern weighing at the backside of her mind, the fight looked more or less even.
The second duo, their fight was a pure sh of strength, a disy of force. Gir-Rugo mounted on his Mountain Dozer used the skill [Mountain Crumbling Charge] which could even trample down mountains to trample the maid in front of him.
But to his surprise, the maid that he thought was just a pebble on the path of his prided beast turned out to be a titan who couldn''t be moved no matter how much pressure they exerted.
Frustrated and unresigned to back down, Gir-Rugo channelled all of his powers into his beast using the skill [Beast Link].
Bianca on the other hand simply used her shield to stop the beast and his charge. For an [Imperial Aegis Knight] like her whose stats and abilities were purely focused on defence and strength, this level of pressure was nothing.
If she wanted to, she could have used her immense strength and sword to cut down down the mammoth along with the ogre mounted on top of it. However, her order was to defeat the ogre who was on top of the beast and not the beast too.
Because of herprehending the order inurately, she was locked in a standstill that she herself created.
If there was a subordinate amongst the Valkyries that followed his order to the book, it was Bainca. Thus if not instructed otherwise by Simon, Bianca would never hurt the beast to end this match which should have ended a long time ago.
It was a good thing that Simon wasn''t aware of what these valkyries were thinking or else he would have plucked his hair out due to frustration.
Perhaps the only fight that did not go wrong was the third one. Alice whose opponent was riding on his Fire Breed Hound, was agile and was a closebat fighter. They would try to cover up the distance between them and their opponent before using their deadly teeth and fire-breathing ability to tear apart the target.
Unlucky for him, Alice was the very bane of these kinds of closebat fighters who did not have any long or medium range attacks.
Using her bow, high agility and situational awareness to manoeuvre around the crowd of ogres, she bore holes after hole into her opponents.
She would blend in the crowd and make it difficult for Gir-Rego to find her. She would then besiege him from every direction making the ogre regret being ever born.
Looking at that Alice, Simon was genuinely surprised. Alice was a Wood Elf and ording to the setting, wood elves were known for their ranger skills and craftiness.
''Who would have thought beyond that pretty face, would be a mischievous devil'' Simon thought internally. Although the Valkyrie''s battles didn''t go the way he thought it would for some reason, the experience today would nheless, be a cornerstone for their growth in the future.
DING¡ another notification sounded out alerting Simon that he had levelled up once again.
"This should be the fourth alert of the day" Simon murmured. When he looked at the ogre army, he could see that their numbers had declined by more than a thousand. Which meant that he needed the experience of more than a thousand 350+ level ogres to level up a total of four times.
Then what if he absorbed the experience from all of the surviving forty-six thousand ogres? Doing the match shouldn''t he be able to level up a total of 184 times?
However, that calction was wrong, levels do not work like that. The amount of mystical energy that one needed to absorb bes greater, the higher the level one reaches as time goes on.
For example¡ªlet''s say Simon needed to absorb 1000 mystical energy to be level two which he got from defeating one direwolf. However, to reach the next level, that is level three, he would need around 3000 mystical energy and would have to defeat three direwolves to collect the necessary energy.
The same was the case here, although it took around 250 ogres for him to level up once, that number would only keep on getting bigger as his level goes higher.
That is if he only defeats ogres at around that level. Weren''t there more juicy ogres with higher levels present such as the ogre in front of him?
The ogre that was clearly the leader of this army, was ording to his [Analysis] around level 599. Such a fatmb was sure to give him a ton of experience. An excitement like never before started rising within Simon and he started chuckling which soon turned into a bellowingughter.
Giz-Bozo who was keeping every action of the demon within his sight was enraged when he saw thetterugh. The other party was having funughing at the army he was given by lord Gil-Garna dropping down one after the other.
"You¡!!" he shouted but before he could take any action, he suddenly felt his power drop down by a lot and his mind growing agitated. Giz-Bozo fell on his knees and coughed out a mouthful of blood.
"Bozo¡ what going on?" Giz-Mogo near him called out.
The former did not answer since he himself was puzzled as to what was going on. He did not take any damage than why? It was then that he noticed his body was realising a faint purplish-ck miasma.
"When did he¡"Giz-Bozo suddenly clutched his body in agony as the miasma slowly started eroding his body from within making his power drop even further.
"So you finally realised huh¡. though it''s already toote. Isn''t it agonising to channel your mana? Doesn''t your body react violently whenever you activate your skill? The curse energy had invaded deep within your body and has corrupted your core stone. The more you try to struggle the more painful it will get for you. Just give up¡ you have already lost".
The voice of the demon sounded like an evil spirit at this moment. It strangely had the hypnotising effect of making weak-spirited individuals instantly lose their minds and obey hismands.
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However, Giz-Bozo wasn''t among those weak-spirited individuals, no matter how much his mind was corrupted by the curse energy, he still retained a trace of sanity not to fall for that trick.
"You¡ Grrrruuaaahhh!!" the ogre gave a loud warcry and came charging towards him.
"Hehh¡ you are quite firm willed I see" to be able to ward off the mind corruption of the curse energy in his state, Simon was a little impressed with the ogre.
A solid punch enveloped by mana aura, came targeting his face followed by a kick and axe shes from the lightning axe.
The attacks were unending; nevertheless, now that Giz-Bozo''s power has dropped by a lot and he was afflicted with the decaying effect of the curse energy, his attacks were much more sluggish than before.
So much so that, Simon was able to easily dodge the attacks with minimal movements. What''s more, to speed up the effects of the curse energy, Simon even willingly took a few hits so that more and more miasma willtch onto the ogre.
BAM¡ a crimson horn was a crimson horn, his attacks were still powerful enough to push Simon back dozens of meters and disrupt his internal blood flow.
"Gugh¡ huff¡ huff" Giz-Bozo fell on his knees and coughed another mouthful of blood. It was as the demon had said, his core stone was slowly being corrupted and it was very difficult to channel his mana around his body.
What''s more, every time he did he suffered a serious bacsh.
"Bozo what''s going on?" Mogo who had somewhat recovered from his injuries came supporting the former.
"Mogo¡ that demon, he uses some unknown kind of abilities. I''m afraid in my current state, I''m not his match. I will need your assistance to finish him off". This was the first time Mogo had heard Bozo saying that he was unable to defeat an enemy on his own.
Naturally, he was surprised but more than that he was cautious of this demon who even Bozo couldn''t defeat.
Knowing the consequences of their defeat, Mogo unhesitantly agreed to lend his assistance. This would be the first time that they were facing an enemy who was not from the seven king tribes together.
"Be careful of that miasma around him. Do not let it touch you or else your condition would also be like mine" Bozo reminded. The two ogres nodded at each other and started assaulting Simon together.
Needless to say, Simon did not back down and instead weed this change. He utilised the full potential of the current limit of the curse energy that he was capable of handling right now and engaged in a fierce closebat battle with the ogres.
Their sh was so intense that they left aftershocks everywhere. Simon used his increased basic abilities and physical power to dominate most of the rounds of the fight.
Thanks to not being able to use his magic in his current state, his battle experience and closebat skills was being honed at a rapid speed.
Simon was the type who was slow at learning new things, most often than he would have to put his body in the line to learn something. He would fail ny-nine out of hundred times and seed only once.
However, his most redeeming feature was not his talent nor his cheat like [Main Menu] or the items he has got in his inventory but his perseverance and determination to seed. Simon would keep on struggling until he achieves the desired result and in this case, it was the battle experience and the mysteries of the curse energy.
He was increasing his understanding of the curse energy during his battle with the ogres and trying to incorporate it into a skill. Yes, Simon was trying to create skill from a whole different system of energy.
For a moment, Simon felt that the curse energy enveloping his sword suddenly sharpen like its de. The feeling was vague and disappeared as soon as it appeared. However, Simon felt it clearly making him unable to forget that sensation.
In a heated battle with not one ogre but two, Simon was diverting a portion of his mind in creating this skill. How could Giz-Bozo and Giz-Mogo who had plenty of battle experience from waging wars and destruction in the forest, be willing to kiss that opportunity?
They immediately pounced on it and attacked Simon with their most powerful attacks. Mogo used his [Aura Bomb] skill while Bozo used his [Ability conferment] skill to bestow an ability [Greater force] to his skill [Chaotic Shockbolt].
The two powerful attacks as if tearing through space, appeared in front of Simon who had no way of defending himself. the attacks arrived and collided with Simon who at this moment closed his eyes.
"Fall!!" the ogres shouted, a furious explosion erupted out causing thend to rumble and a crater more than fifty meters big and with an unknown depth, to form on the ground.
The might of the two powerful skills of the crimson horns, was on full disy in front of everyone. Tiny debris fell from the sky, the orcs and the ogres waited with bated breath to find out what happened of the demon.
The explosion had raised a huge cloud of dust in the air causing their field of vision to get covered by it.
"What happened? Is the demon safe?" Berimond asked.
"Didn''t you see what happened? Those two powerful attacks clearly hit that demon, there is no way he would be able to survive that" Berirockmented with an anxious face.
Those attacks from the ogres were so powerful that it raised all of the hair on his body, even though he wasn''t the target of the attack and was thousands of meters away.
Berigard did notment, he simply looked towards the Valkyries who did not seem unfazed by that attack on their master and continued to fight their battles. Narrowing his eyes, he turned to face the miasma that was slowly covering the battlefield and seeing that it had yet to dissipate, a realisation struck him.
Not only did he notice this peculiarity, but even Giz-Bozo and Giz-Mogo, the two parties involved, had an incredulous look on their face.
"It cannot be, why isn''t the miasma disappearing?" Mogo spat out in disbelief. He had learned his lesson and did not underestimate his enemy this time. He used his most powerful attack from the get-go when their guard was down the most.
Even if the enemy somehow possessed the [mana aura] skill, they shouldn''t be able to endure the might of theirbined attacks.
Giz- Bozo''s skill was even more powerful than Mogo''s which is why the shock that was written on his face was even more apparent. While he was confused about whether the demon was alive after taking on this attack or not, from the corner of his eyes, he noticed a faint purplish miasma wafting off from within the body of Mogo.
"Mogo you¡". Thetter jolted after being suddenly called like that and turned to face Bozo.
"What''s wrong?" Mogo asked.
"Did you get exposed to that miasma¡" Bozo couldn''tplete his sentence when he realised that the reason why Mogo was affected was because of him. The miasma surrounding him was also capable of spreading to a new target on its own when in close proximity.
"Get away from me" he suddenly shouted and pushed Mogo back.
"What are you doing?" Mogo cried out in indignation.
Only when the former pointed at his body, did he finally realise that his body was also slowly being corroded by that energy. Immediately, he invoked his mana and tried to suppress it only for a cackling voice to sound out from within the dust.
"It''s useless¡ curse energy isn''t something that the likes of you can try to suppress. Once afflicted with it, your only salvation is death.... Kfufufu".
Finally, the dust spread apart and the figure of the demon came into view in front of every peering eye. All eyes had something inmon and that was the characteristics of shock and disbelief.
No matter if it was the ogre or the orcs, they couldn''t believe that the demon who was standing in the air on top of that crater, was unscathed from head to toe even after taking on that attack.
Not a single hair on his head was damaged, the only thing that could be said to be different about him was that a gigantic greyish item was now hanging around him. It was like a pir or more like a giant finger of a titan-like being.
The finger of Ozymandias was finally out.
The thing that had defended him from thebined attack of the ogres was not any mana armour or anything but the finger of Ozymandias. The finger was so powerful that even after suffering the full blow of their skills, it did not even have a scratch on its skin.
Which also showed how incredible the defence stat of that being that he witnessed in the historia was. Nevertheless, even a being like him was shed and his arms cut by that woman with angel wings.
There was always a summit above a summit, a sky above that sky. The curse energy that seemed all powerful right now, was not actually so and could be subdued and defeated in some other ways.
However, right now its strength was unparalleled. There was no way the likes of ogre could even hope of contending against the curse energy.
Hearing Simon''s words, Giz-Mogo tried to furiously suppress this foreign energy that was wrecking havoc in his body only to suffer a fierce bacsh. Just like Giz-Bozo he coughed out a mouthful of blood and the energy that he just recovered, slowly start depleting.
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"This-This is not possible, how can you survive that attack?" Giz-Bozo muttered like a broken tape recorder.
After using it as a shield to protect himself from their attacks, Simon kept the finger of Ozymandias back inside his [Inventory]. Since he was unable to use his skills right now, it was impossible to manipte the finger without the [Dominator''s Control] skill.
After keeping the finger back inside his inventory, he turned to face the ogres fighting him and shed his most wicked smile up until this day.
SSSHHIII... the curse energy that was dormant within him up until now, burst forward like an enraged beast and a thousand meter big halo of death formed behind Simon.
Transferring all of the curse energy that was currently within him towards his de, he condensed it till the point his crimson de visibly took a purplish hue. Next, he executed the basic stance of the [Sword Master] skill and shed towards the gobsmacked ogres.
WHOOSH... the space was painted a purplish ck by the de of light as it travelled towards the ogres. The highly condensed curse energy de was a skill that Simon had just created now, thus it was highly vtile.
The de form quickly crumbled and the curse energy took the shape of a skull with its mouth wide open. The skull quickly inched closer in front of the despairing eyes of Giz-Bozo and Mogo and in a matter of seconds engulfed them within.
What was left afterwards, was the slowly rotting bodies of the two ogres that were once feared by the inhabitants of this ghastly winding forest.
No matter if it were the orcs or the ogres, they weren''t able to believe the sight in front of their eyes. Giz-Bozo and Giz-Mogo, the ogres that possessed the crimson horn and who were like some diety to the ogre army, were sprawled on the ground with their bodies slowly rotting away.
The ck ogre army who have never seen this sight of their leaders losing, much less dead, naturally would be unable to process the information that was in front of their eyes.
For the orc army who had given up all hopes of living, this was a situation that waspletely unexpected for them.
The onlookers were stunned but more than them, the attacker who dished out that attack, Simon himself was gobsmacked at the power of the curse energy.
A few seconds earlier while fighting with the ogres, he had this sudden epiphany to use the curse energy like a sword de thus without any hesitation, he put all of his concentration into doing it. The result was in front of everyone''s eyes, the skill that could instantly corrode a disaster ss being, was formed.
What''s more, the skill was something that did not follow the standard system of this world and needed mana to execute and instead utilised the curse energy.
This revtion told Simon that skills were not only limited to the mystical energy system. Additionally, Simon felt that the curse energy was still hiding a lot more secrets; if he wanted to uncover it, he would have to continue using it in the future too.
"Who knew the curse energy would be able to do this¡ perhaps I should use this energy from now on¡".
Simon quickly shook his head at the thought, it was still too early to forsake the mystical energy and deem the curse energy stronger when he hadn''t evenprehended the true essence of the former.
It would be foolish, no utterly stupid to break his years of hard work and the foundation that he had built for his growth. Thus, he came to a conclusion, he would be sticking to the mystical energy but also be learning the mysteries underlying the curse energy and why he was able to use it.
After defeating the two leader ogres, Simon next set his gaze on the ck ogre army who trembled from head to toe just from his re.
Under the effects of the curse energy and due to the impact it had on the onlooker after he killed two of the strongest ogres present on the battlefield with just one attack, no one was gutsy enough to meet his gaze.
Simon wasn''t particrly trying to intimidate them or anything, he was simply searching for his subordinates amidst them.
All three Valkyries had already finished their battle and were waiting for Simon to deal them thest blow. Simon extended his hand and created three stakes out of the miasma in the air which impaled the three Gir-Brothers.
The skill that he used, he named it [Curse Stakes] and unlike the [Curse sh] it did not have much decaying power. Nevertheless, it was more flexible to use and could be conjured more easily than the [Curse sh].
DING¡ when he got that familiar notification, Simon shed a satisfied smile. This trip to the Diluvian High orc territory ended up bing a great one with him reaping such incredible profits.
"Now then, it''s time for me to clean up this mess" Simon muttered to himself. He stretched his hands wide and using his newly increased understanding of the curse energy, he started manipting the spread of the miasma faster and faster until it became a purplish-ck storm razing through the ground.
The ogres that were exposed to it, started losing their minds one after the other as their bodies slowly but surely started decaying.
Seeing this, all hell broke loose on the side of the ck ogre army and they dropped their formation to quickly flee from this ce.
Simon manipted the curse miasma with the greatest amount of power he could gather right now and tried to contain the fleeing ogres within. They were going to be the stepping stone for his future growth, how could he just allow them to leave like this?
Nheless, even with his increased mastery of curse energy, a few thousand ogres still managed to escape from the reach of the miasma and flee back to their territory.
Simon did not pursue them since the duration of time he could use the curse energy was up. Curse energy was not the standard energy of this world and it wasn''t something that an inhabitant of this world should be able to use.
But for some reason unknown to even him, Simon was able to use it. However, it did not mean that he could keep on using the curse energy forever. The curse energypared to the mystical energy he had ess to right now, was much more profound and powerful.
A strong power naturally needed a strong vessel. The body of a demon viscount wasn''t strong enough of a vessel to hold that power. Thus Simon could only use it for a short duration of time before the curse energy starts adversely affecting his body.
The purplish-ck miasma enveloping Simon started dissipating and he returned back to normal.
"Kuh¡" pain from overexerting himself a little started assaulting his body all at once making his centre of bnce go a little awry.
"Master are you alright?" the Valkyries immediately came to his side and asked.
"Yeah, I''m fine. I cannot copse when I''m yet to finish what I started" Simon replied looking at the ogre army. Not counting the ones that have fled, there were still more than twenty five thousand ogres under the effects of the course energy and waiting for him to make them his experience points.
Fortunately for him, they have lost their sanity and their powers and defence have dropped by a lot. Thus it was much easier to kill them.
"me magic Mastery¡ [ming Doom]" Simon cast one of the intermediate tier me magic with the highest AOE and destructive power currently in his arsenal.
Now that curse energy had left his body, he was once again able to ess the mystical energy and cast the magic that he was most proficient in.
Probably because he just had an epiphany and his mind was still in that transcendent and mysterious state, the me magic he was conjuring started taking more and more of a golden hue.
Previously, Simon was only capable of converting a part of his crimson mes into golden mes whenpressing them to their extreme limits.
However, now when he wasn''t even deliberatelypressing it, the colour of his mes started taking on a golden hue on its own indicating that his me magic was about to breakthrough to be advance tier Infernal magic.
Thousands of infernal snakes materialised in the air raising the temperature of the entire battlefield to a dangerous degree. The night sky was lit up by the golden hue of his magic and a pressure like that of a volcano erupting descended onto the ce.
So what if Simon wasn''t being buffed by the curse energy anymore? The magic that he conjured using more than half of his MP, even Giz-Bozo and Giz-Mogo if they were alive, wouldn''t be able to look down on it.
Much less these ogres whose powers had been eroded by the curse energy. When the magic came down and the thousands of golden snakes dropped down on them, they did not even have time to scream before their bodies were scorched to cinders.
DING¡ DING... DING¡ DING¡ DING¡ DING¡ DING... DING...DING...DING...DING...DING...
The sweet notification bell rang inside Simon''s head like a heavenly melody evoking an absolutely smile from him.
As they watched, the ogre army burn in the golden mes of hell, the orcs all instinctively felt a fear that grasped their very soul in an invisible grip. Some of them fell on their butts, some unwittingly took a step back while the others gulped down their nonexistent saliva.
The ogres were their enemy who were ughtering their brothers like cattles, needless to say, they did not feel any pity nor any remorse for them. If they were feeling any emotion, that would be the cold strokes of fear
505 Chapter 505
The fear that had born within them, had appeared due to one individual, the demon that was currently smiling in a twisted pleasure looking at the work of his own magic.
How could this not frighten the orcs when a single individual had single-handedly closed this war which needed more than three hundred thousand orcs to fight?
The demon had done what was impossible for them and closed this chapter with his own two hands.
"Berigard¡ how do you know such an individual?" Berimond asked unable to tear his eyes away from the golden mes on the battlefield. His voice was a little shaky due to how cold his body was right now, a clear contrast to the temperature which had risen up due to the appearance of infernal mes.
"So he was this strong all along¡ no wonder, no wonder he wasn''t at all daunted by the ogres and their king. If one possesses this much power, they sure as hell don''t need to fear anyone" Berigard muttered, his dark eyes had an unknown gleam in them.
Unlike the other orcs, he wasn''t afraid of the demon since he had already sworn his loyalty to thetter. The power that the demon had shown only seemed to have solidified his decision even more.
He had no qualms against submitting to a power that his own might wasn''t able to best. Perhaps their tribe of orcs would have a better future if led by such an individual, Berigard couldn''t help but imagine such a future.
As the mes of hell slowly died down, so did the chaos of war. The battle was finally over, none of the ogres managed to survive the mes other than the lot that ran away.
It wouldn''t be farfetched to say that the orcs have won this war or did they? The oue was yet to be known.
"Master¡ here, these are the remains that were left after you eradicated those ogres" Alice who went down to the battlefield to search for something, came up with an object in her hand.
When Simon looked at the thing that was on her hand, he creased his brows and grabbed them in his hand to examine. The thing on his hand was none other than the crimson horn that belonged to the two ogres that he fought.
What was surprising about these horns was that they contained an unimaginable amount of mystical energy within them and were something that even survived the corrosion of the curse energy.
Every part of the ogres had dissipated into thin air other than these crimson horns that were on their forehead. Simon did not know what use these crimson horns had, but he did realise their value and kept it in his [Inventory].
"Thank you Alice" Simon thanked Alice and patted her head. Had it not been for her eyes which were able to spot these horns amidst the dust and thousands of corpses, he would have missed it entirely.
A part of him which was a game developer before, liked hoarding the spoils of war that one got in the games after every sessive clear. This habit was cultivated over the years and had be a routine for him now.
It must have been difficult to spot the horns, Alice deserved his praise. Once Simon stored his first spoils of war, he moved on to the next. The biggest spoils of war that he got from this war¡ the tribe of orcs.
When the gaze of the demonnded on them, the orcs couldn''t help but instinctively back away. Fight? That was a stupid notion given when their spirits were broken and the one they needed to fight had single-handedly closed the war.
"We greet our new lord" Berigard was the first one to get on his knees and speak out.
The rest of the hundred and fifty thousand orcs looked a little apprehensive or lost as to what to do. Finally, after a while, those orcs that belonged to Berigard''s faction, bowed their heads just like their leader while some were cowered into submission by that aura released by the demon.
Those orcs that did not bow their heads and remained standing belonged to Berirock''s and Berimond''s factions.
Ate was displeased by that behaviour but she knew how to hold herself back and not show her murderous intent like Bea who had no control at all partly due to being from the night amazoness race.
Simon did not bother with those orcs and went on to address Berigard¡ª
"Berigard¡ I believe you will honour our agreement?" Simon smiled and said in a calm tone. He was not worried about thetter going back on his words after all that disy he had put forth for the orcs.
Not to mention, given the character of Berigard, it was impossible for thetter to back down on his words after all that.
"Yes, I am aware. As I have mentioned before, in exchange for saving the lives of my n, I will swear my loyalty to you and be your subordinate from this moment forward¡" Berigard iterated.
However, Simon interrupted him in mid-sentence¡ª"Not only you Berigard, the agreement was for your entire tribe to submit to me in exchange for me saving you guys from the ogres".
When the hundred thousand and more orcs heard that, they couldn''t help but turn towards Berigard with their questioning gaze. Some of the gazes that were directed at him, were angry, some puzzled and the rest hollow.
Berigard was silent, he couldn''t refute the words of the demon since they really were the truth. However, at that time he was in a desperate situation where he had no other choice but to take the demon''s help and thus made the decision on his own.
Now confronted with the choice he had made previously, Berigard had no choice but toe out clean in front of everybody.
He turned towards his tribe members and exined the deal he had with the demon causing a fierce storm of retorts toe his way. Most of it came from the Berirock and Berimond''s faction who did not have the mind to ept someone else''s rule.
However, they were in the minority, the majority of the orcs that have witnessed the valour of Berigard and had been won over by him, were silently contemting their choice.
mour... mour¡ an uproar ensued out, Berigard''s faction defended their general while the other faction tried to put the me on them.
"Are you saying that, general Berigard can take this decision for everyone? Did he forget his post already?"¡
"You bastard you think you can just wipe your hands clean and avoid responsibility now that the war is over? Did you rather want to be the ves of the ogres?"...
"What responsibility, we never agreed to such a decision and regarding the matter of being the ogre''s ve, can you guarantee that it wouldn''t be the same if we submit to that demon?".
usations were being thrown in every direction disturbing the silence that had just settled down on the battlefield.
"Silence!!" Alice shouted and took out her bow to fire a shot into the sky.
BOOOMMM¡ a huge explosion echoed out drowning out the voices of the arguing orcs. The shot was so powerful that the sound travelled as far as hundred miles.
Now that nobody was shouting anymore, Simon addressed Berigard once again¡ª"So what you are telling me is that you do not have the right to make the decision for all of them right?".
"That is right" Berigard responded by bowing his head even further. Even if his achievement today made him a war hero, he was still far away from bing their king. If Belgarious was here, he might have been able to take that decision on his own; however, Berigard was not Belgarious.
"I see¡" Simon was about to say something when Berigard hurriedly continued.
"But worry not my lord, if you could give me some time, I would talk to them. I''m sure that they wille around and ept being subordinated by you".
The orc general was afraid that Simon would just vaporise the tribe of orcs just like what he did with the ogre army if they displeased him too much. Thus he uttered those words to gain some time. He hoped that perhaps if he talked it out with the other two generals, they would understand and make a better decision that wouldn''t threaten the existence of their tribe.
Nevertheless, Simon simply shook his head and refused to give Berigard any time.
"There is no need for that, I''m not some usurper like the ogre king so you don''t need to be so anxious. I''m not going to exterminate your tribe for just that. However, an agreement is an agreement. Let''s do this¡ those that approve of your decision and wants to follow you, I will take them as my subordinates and you all cane with me to my dungeon. Those that are unwilling, can stay here".
Simon did not want any followers that were unwilling to serve since it would do him worse than any good. Other than that, he did not have enough mana or stamina to continue this war.
The Valkyries could probably do the job for him if he asked them to; however, that would be relying on their powers too much. Other than that, it would be a waste of experience if he just let the Valkyries kill them.
Besides, he had some other n for them. When Berirock, Berimond and their faction heard that, they were instantly overjoyed. However, that joy on their face did notst long when they heard the next sets of words from the demon.
"Nevertheless, I''m not a Samaritan either, I cannot just allow you to stay in your territory for free after all the trouble I had to go through for you".
506 Chapter 506
''What troubles, you were clearly enjoying ughtering the ogres'' the orcs wanted to retort back but stopped themselves from saying anything after they remembered who they were dealing with.
"What do you want?" Berirock gathered his willpower and asked.
"Hmm let''s see, since the tribe of orcs does not want to submit to me, then it is only natural for me to assume that you will pay this debt through something else. I have a few things in mind. First, I want rights for me and my people to freely roam the territory of the orcs".
"Additionally, I want the rights to excavate every mineral mountains that are in your territory¡"
Simon listed several conditions like how the core stone and the other spoils of war that would be found on the battlefield would go to him. One condition even bars the orcs from going anywhere near his dungeon.
As the orcs did not mine, they had no qualms with Simon mining the mineral mountains that were abundant in their territory nor were they surprised that the demon didn''t want them to linger around his dungeon. All of the aforementioned conditions were eptable to Berirock and Berimond.
"Apart from that, I want everything that your tribe of orcs have stored in your treasury which also includes the possession of your previous king" Simon stated matter of factly.
The orcs that were nning to not submit to his rule, furrowed their brows at those words. Taking everything that was in their treasury, didn''t it mean that the demon was trying to empty out their coffers that they have been collecting for hundreds of years?
What''s more, the demon wasn''t just satisfied with that and was even nning to loot the possessions of their king. The orcs couldn''t help but doubt whether the one in front of them was a demon or a bandit.
"W-Wait a moment please¡ we cannot possibly ept you emptying our treasury and taking the inheritance of the previous kings away" Berirock spoke out unable to ept the conditions.
The mining rights and the rights to collect all of the spoils of the war were eptable to them. However, they couldn''t just allow the demon to simply plunder their coffers.
His retort was the final straw that broke Simon''s patience. He pointed at the orc and called out "Bianca".
BOOM¡ immediately raising a cloud of dust in her wake, Bianca travelled so fast that she was already beside Berirock before thetter could even blink.
Simon did not have to give any other order to her, the Valkyrie knew exactly what he wanted.
BANG¡ a punch was delivered to Berirock''s face shattering some of his teeth and making him roll on the ground all the way to where Simon was. The Orc general was unable to perceive a thing, his mind had nked out from the force.
When the pain finally returned to him and he tried to get back up, a foot came bearing down on his head forcing him to kiss the ground once again.
"GUGH.. UGH¡" the orc general struggled. His agonising grunts were heard by all the observing orcs who looked like they had a bucket of cold water poured over them suddenly.
During the heated debate, they had forgotten who they were dealing with and were trying to haggle against someone who had just wiped his hands with the blood of thousands of ogres.
What was currently being done to Berirock was not juts a punishment,but an example for everybody.
While still keeping one of his feet down on the orc general head, Simon addressed the crowd¡ª "You seemed to have misunderstood me, I was not a request but an order, one that you all have no say in".
BANG¡ Simon kicked Berirock away from him and towards his faction.
"Master please give us the order to eliminate them. There is no value in keeping such ingrates that do not even know who their benefactor is alive. They would be much more valuable if they be experience points for your level".
Ate spoke out unable to take this charade from the orcs any longer.
"Elder sister is right, these stupid and stinky orcs deserve to die. They have already forgotten that they were on the brink of having their entire tribe eliminated at the hands of the ogres just a few moments ago. And now look at them, not only they are shirking from taking ountability, they are even trying to keep the things that should rightfully belong to our master to themselves. Please give me an order master¡ I will immediately open thousands of new holes in their bodies".
Alice took out her bow, ready to fire her shots. The elder sister wanted the ingrateful orcs to be his experience points while the little sister wanted to open thousands of holes in the bodies of orcs and eliminate them at once.
How could the orcs who had witnessed their powers firsthand, not be terrified after hearing all that? Some of them even started trembling as fear grabbed hold of their bodies once again.
"Calm down you two, put down your weapons" Simon dered, as he silently walked towards Berigard who was yet to give the order to raise his head.
"Tell me Berigard, in this Ghastly Winding Forest, what happens to the side that loses the war?" Stopping beside him, Simon asked.
Berigard answered while still keeping his head down¡ª"The side that losses, bes the ve of the winning party. All their possessions and territories be the prize for the winning party including their life. Basically, one loses all their rights as an individual or as a tribe if they lose in a war".
"I see" Simon nodded his head "Then why is the attitude of your tribe not like the losers? Did you perhaps think that this was your victory? Don''t make meugh, the one that won this war was me".
"The ones that are on the losing side are you orcs and the ogres. As the losses, it is only just fair for me, the victor to take all your possessions. You should already be thankful to me that I''m not enving you or taking away your territory".
Each of Simon''s words were like arrows that pierced at the heart of the orcs and since all that he said was true, it hurt even more.
Victor reigns supreme, that was the unequivocalw of this forest. If one wasn''t fine with that, they could only suck it up or leave the forest in which case they would have to wander the desert or be subjugated by the humans.
The demon was already doing them a great favour by allowing those who din''t want to submit to still live their previous life. If they asked for even more, they would only be shown the boot.
Berirock who was painfully made aware of that, could only nod his head in approval. Berimond was tactful enough to not stick his head out, he too nodded his head without any question.
The orcs who were in their factions, mimicked their leader''s actions and dodged being ughtered indiscriminately.
"Alright, it looks like you guys get it now. Berigard, assign some men to clean up this mess. You wille with me to the treasury and the ce where the orc king used to live" Right after throwing his words, Simon along with the Valkyries took off towards the centre of the orc territory.
The orc general finally raised his head up after he saw the demon disappear into the horizon. He moved his men as per the orders of his new lord and quickly scavenged through the battlefield.
"Berigard¡ are you really going to be the subordinate of the¡" Berimond came over, he couldn''tplete his sentence for fear that the demon was hiding around the corner and was eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Don''t worry, he is not here. As for your question, I have already made my decision" Berigard replied without any hesitation in his voice.
"Is that so¡ that''s a pity. I have never seen an orc general like you, perhaps now that the seat of orc king is empty, the orcs might have considered electing a new king. One that is truly worthy of the position this time" Berimondmented, turned around and left.
Berigard did not stop him, nor did he call out to thetter. The position of an orc king, it was no doubt an enticing offer; however, Berigard was not among the ones that coveted such a materialistic thing for himself.
Besides, the reason why he wanted to dethrone the orc king was already aplished. There was no reason for him to be fixated with that position anymore. If he had to state his disappointment, it would be that even though the truth hade out in front of everybody, he wasn''t able to exact vengeance for his friends by killing Belgarious himself.
"I wish you good luck" the next one to reach out to him was Berirock who looked a little worse for the wear.
The general wished him luck and left the ce along with his subordinates. The only ones that were left here on the battlefield was Berigard and those that wanted to follow him.
"Master was it alright to just leave them like that?" Ate asked after they were a certain distance away from the ckfield.
"I have the same question master, wouldn''t it have been better for us to kill them rather than let them live even after they had the audacity to ept master''s help. That orc also said that the losers be the possession of the winners which means that all their lives was yours for the taking"
Alice added after Ate, whileBainca simply nodded her head in agreement.
507 Chapter 507
"You guys are not wrong; however killing them at this point would only result in me levelling up a few couple of times. Besides, if I initiated a bloodbath on them, those orcs that were going to be our subordinates, would forever be under the impression that we are no different than the ogres".
"Since I''m taking them as my subordinates I want to slowly ingrain loyalty towards the dungeon and myself within them" Simon exined.
"I see, so if we had initiated a bloodbath there, it would have adversely affected Masters n" Alice murmured finally understanding why Simon had stopped her at that time.
"Right... but there is another thing, I''m not so merciful as to let them live after all the pain and efforts I had to go through to defeat the ogres" Simon added.
"Does master mean that¡" Ate who was smarter than all her sisters, had some ideas as to what her master was nning.
"Yeah, they are the bait. The war is not over, the ogre army deployed by the ogre tribe today is not their strongest force. I don''t believe that the tribe led by one of the seven kings of the forest is only this strong. They have got to be hiding much of their strength".
"The ones that ran away from the battlefield were sure to report what had transpired on the battlefield back to their superiors. This would surely incite the anger of the ogre tribe and one of the seven kings towards the orcs and me".
"When the timees, they are sure to retaliate for what happened today with their full force. We must be ready for that. Fortunately for us, we have these orcs who will work as our sentry and decoy, their deaths will be the perfect signal to warn us when the ogres areing".
Sparing them to maintain his reputation, was just an excuse. The real reason why he didn''t kill them and made them into his experience was because he needed them to serve another purpose.
After the attack on the tower town, Simon had learned his lesson. He couldn''t just sit still and allow the monsters of the ghastly winding forest to ruin the town and the dungeon that he had built up over the past year with much difficulty.
If he had to have a way of knowing when an attack wasing beforehand, then he would be able to prepare in advance and stop any unnecessary destruction of the tower town.
The adventurers living in the tower town are the main source of ie for his dungeon. It has to be said that, if the town is threatened again and again it was sure to be deserted by the adventurers.
After all, nobody liked resting and leaving their backs open in a ce that could be besieged anytime.
Simon would have to prepare multiple countermeasures for that in the future. For now, the territory of the orcs, served as an ample warning for when the ogres are attacking.
Other than that, there was another thing bugging Simon''s mind that he didn''t speak about to the Valkyries. It was the motive behind the ogre starting this war. Simon wanted to know what was driving one of the seven kings to attack the orc tribe which did not even have a cmity ss as its protector.
Could the tribe of orcs have something that even someone on the level of a seven kings coveted? Simon couldn''t help but think around that line. It was also because of this reason that Simon wanted to forage through their treasury and the ce where the orc king lived.
------
A thousand kilometres east of the ckfield was a vast sea of woonds filled with exotic nts and trees. Unlike the ckfield and the territory of the orcs, this ce was filled with carnivorous nts, monsters and various insects inhabiting the ce.
The mana here was dense enough to form mist around these parts whichsted year long. Thanks to the many mystical veins flowing underneath the ground, various treasures of the nature could be found growing around here.
At the depth of this ce, was an ancient ruin which was covered by the dense foliage of the forest over the years. Every house around this part was broken, growing out of their roofs were many trees of mana crystals.
At the centre of the ruins was an enormous temple which looked quite grand even when most of its splendour was degraded with time. Inside the temple, hordes of mana crystals, core stones, artefacts and other various exotic treasures lined up the ce.
If any ordinary adventurer saw that, they wouldn''t be able o help but droll with their mouth seeing this much wealth. At the end of the hall was a gigantic carcass of an ancient beast.
Unlike the one that was in the underground chamber of the orc territory, this one did not release any aura.
The carcass was enclosing a small pond in the centre. The ceiling around this area waspletely broken thus allowing the sunlight to prate through and fall on the pond. Peculiarly enough, the water in the pond was crimson in colour like the blood itself and a small exotic flower was growing at the centre of it.
The flower had an oundish shape and had the power to ensnare one''s soul as it released a violet fragrance all around it.
Not far away from the pond, sitting like a statue was an ogre with me like bright crimson hair. They were wearing sturdy looking armour, pelts of monsters as clothing and strapped a heavy sword on their back.
The ogre was leaner, smaller than even the crimson horn and looked no different than an average human. That is if you ignore the deep purple horn the ogre had on its forehead.
The ogre must have maintained that position long enough for the dust to settle on his armours and clothes. His presence was so minimal that one wouldn''t even be able to tell that he was here without approaching a few meters near him.
The ogre was so still that if not for the asional rise and fall of his chest, he might have been considered dead. At this moment, the slight dust that had umted on his shoulders fell down and the ogre finally opened his eyes revealing two fierce beast like dark brown eyes.
The ogre extended his hand and two small crimson stones the size of a pebble appeared on his palm from inside his space ring. There was a small crack in the stones and the energy inside was slowly seeping out.
"What?!" due to the slight disturbance in his concentration the entire ruins shook for a moment causing dust and debris to fall down from the ceiling.
Whoosh¡ wind rustled and a figure appeared behind the ogre like a shadow.
"Lord Gil-Garna what is the matter?" the figure asked calling forth the name that was the lord of all the ck ogres and one of the seven kings.
Gil-Garna turned his eyes towards the shadowy figure and said "Gish-Bagh¡ Giz-Bozo and Giz-Mogo are dead. Their soul stones just broke".
The shadowy figure was none other than the ogre with the indigo horn that wasmunicating with the two crimson horns before the war. Gish-Bagh''s eyes went wide the moment he heard those words; nevertheless, he quicklyposed himself and bowed his head in apology.
"I am extremely sorry to have disappointed my lord. I thought that sending two crimson horns against that orc king would be enough to bring the tribe of orcs down, who knew that Giz-Bozo and Giz-Mogo would turn out o be so useless. I shall make preparations and send someone there immediately¡".
"There is no need, the ogre army there should have already been wiped out. If there is an enemy there who can kill even a crimson horn who was about to break through to be an indigo horn, then no matter who we send there to, it would be the same" Gil-Garna turned down Gish-bagh''s suggestion.
"Could the orc king be the one o defeat them? But he didn''t strike me as that strong.." Gish-Bagh mumbled frowning his brows.
"I don''t think it''s the doing of that orc, this should be the doing of a third party" Gil-Garna affirmed his suspicions.
"Could it be someone from the seven kings?" Gish-Bagh asked putting his words very carefully.
Gil-Garna was silent for a while before he shook his head once again "I don''t think that is the case, however, I cannot be entirely sure. Someone had tempered with my n and they did it just when I was about to procure that inheritance".
His first suspicions went towards Gufardus who had an inkling about his n. But before he could ponder on that any further, the flower on the pond suddenly started sending ripples through the water and emit an ear piercing cry like that of a hundred babies crying at once.
Immediately, Gil-Garna stood up from his ce and started walking towards the pond making the dust that had umted on his body, to fall down on the ground.
"Gish-Bagh I need to focus on growing the Six Nether flower and cannot leave my position. You go and find out who was behind all of this" Gil-Garna ordered.
He used his nails to slit his hand and drop his blood on the pond. The pond immediately started boiling while the sixher flower released a bewitching violet colour.
Seeing his king getting busy, Gish-Bagh obediently nodded his head and swiftly left the hall.
Chapter 508 508- The Second Piece (2)
At the centre of the orc territory, a narrow pass between two inconspicuous mountain, led towards a waterfall behind which rested a huge stone door. When Simon and the Valkyries discovered this huge stone door, they couldn''t help but hold their breath for a while.
The stone door was more than thirty meters big and ten times heavier. It had many mysterious drawings and pictures carved on it. When asked what these pictures meant, Berigard simply shook his head telling Simon that it was something that their tribe of orcs found after they settled here.
This means that, the stone door was something that was even more ancient than the history of the orcs living here.
"The first orc king had ced a seal on the door, so only an orc king or an orc general can open it" Berigard exined. He touched the wall with his hand and exerted his mana.
Immediately, iprehensible runes started appearing on the ground and entered the stone door.
"Runes?!" Seeing the runes appear, Simon muttered in astonishment.
TREMBLE¡ the huge door started shaking and moving aside opening a path to the treasury. Berigard led Simon and the Valkyries through a dark path and onto a bright open space lit up by countless phosphorescence stones.
"This is¡" Looking at the treasury of the orcs, Simon''s crimson eyes gleamed for a second. The treasury cannot be said as grand by no means since the orcs did not have the concept of keeping things organisedly.
However, even cumbersome, the sheer amount of treasures that the orcs had collected throughout the years was enough to make anyone bbergasted for a second. No matter if it was gold, core stones, artifacts, rare ores or herbs, the orcs had those in abundance.
Their quantity was so much that they were lined up in heaps of mountains.
"These are all the treasures that our tribe has collected since the beginning. Now that my lord is our new ruler, everything in this treasury rightfully belongs to you" Berigard stated adopting the attitude of a subordinate.
Simon did not stand on ceremony and quickly got to business. He asked the Valkyries to sort the treasures for him and passed them a few space rings that he got from the adventurers that had died in his dungeon.
With that said, they quickly got to work, the mountains of treasures started disappearing swiftly and into the space ring of Simon. Before long, most of the treasures were hoarded by Simon except for a few misceneous items that couldn''t be put into a category.
Among these items some were peculiar stones that he had never seen before, a couple of orbs with weird runes drawn on them, grimoires, materials harvested from the many monsters around the ghastly winding forest andst but not least, an old parchment of paper.
"Master what should we do with all this?" Alice asked perplexed.
The skill on the grimoires had the requirement of a ss attached to it which meant that it cannot be used by anyone else other than someone possessing that same ss.
The peculiar stones did not initiate any response from the [Analysis] and monster materials were something that they had no use for as of yet.
What remained was a parchment of paper in Simon''s hand.
"Just keep them in a separate space ring, I''m sure they wille in handy someday" Simon ordered and opened the parchment in his hand. Probably because it was very old, it had many crumbles and was torn in many ces.
The ink had faded slightly but the contents of the parchment, the map was still differentiable. Looking at the map, Simon was immediately stunned. That was because the map drawn on this parchment, was one of the missing pieces from the map that Simon had found from the guild master of the seven swords guild.
Taking out the other piece that he had kept inside his space ring, Simon tried to piece them together. However, since thest piece was still missing from the map, one still couldn''t tell where this ce was.
"It looks like some sort of mountain," Ate remarked looking at the map.
"It also looks like a waterfall if you turn it around" Alice added her observation.
"Master is this some kind of treasure map?" she asked, one could see stars lighting up in her eyes. The little girl was excited by the thrill of going on a treasure hunt.
Simon did not deny nor confirmed her words, he turned towards Berigard who was waiting for them in the corner and asked¡ª
"Where did your tribe get this map? Do you know anything about it?".
Unfortunately for him, the orc general had no information regarding the map or where it lead to.
"I''m extremely sorry my lord. That map is something that had been stored inside the treasury since the time of our first king. We all were unaware of what this parchment of paper was thus we simply kept it in our treasury. It is only now that I was made aware that it was a map and the drawings on it was a coordinate" Berigard replied.
"I see¡" Simon wasn''t very disappointed, he knew that would be the case. After all, one wouldn''t just keep a map rotting in the treasury if they didn''t know anything about it.
"Ah yes, I can only say that the map was incredibly precious to the orc king so much so that he deemed it safer to keep it in the treasury rather than roam around keeping it in his space ring".
Simon''s eyes glowed crimson for a second when he heard those words. something that even the first orc king deemed precious, the map no doubt hid some incredible secrets and if he wanted to find that out, he would have to search for thest piece andplete the map.
After they were done emptying the treasury, the group moved out towards the underground chamber where the orc king used to live. When they approached near the ce, they found signs of destruction everywhere.
The underground chamber was empty and the orc king was nowhere to be found.
"That guy really did run away huh" Berigard clenched his hands in anger. The huge carcass that had been with their tribe since the beginning was gone and they found the broken pieces of the transmission conch at the entrance of the chamber.
With all the evidence present, there was hardly any doubt remaining whether the orc had fled away or not.
Simon on the other hand wasn''t fazed to see the underground chamber empty. Given his understanding of the orc king from the words of Berigard, he already expected this to happen.
"Berigard can you tell me what are the things missing from the underground chamber?" Simon asked, this was his first time visiting this ce, naturally he did not know the things that were kept here.
Berigard took a deep breath of air topose the burning anger within him. He pointed at the altar at the centre of the chamber and said.
"The huge carcass of an ancient beast that had been with our tribe since the start, is gone. It was the material behind all our weapons and also the thing where the holy spirit resided. It is obviously taken by Belgarious before he left this ce".
"Holy Spirit?" the word instantly intrigued Simon and he couldn''t help but ask.
"Our tribe of orcs can only select a new king through two methods. The first way was by rmendation of the previous king and the second method is through the holy spirit''s approval. The gigantic carcass that used to be here, harboured that spirit. The reason why we call it a holy spirit is because it has been protecting our tribe of orcs since the beginning and has beennding strength to all our previous kings.
Belgarious was chosen through the first method. However, what I cannot understand is how could the previous orc king not see how treacherous Belgarious was to have selected him to be his sessor" Berigard spat his frustration out.
"Perhaps there is still an element that you are unable to see. Anyways, what is all that holy spirit giving you power about?".
Simon was more interested in the holy spirit than how Belgarious became the orc king. For some reason, he felt that carcass held some mysteries that the orc in front of him wasn''t willing to disclose.
Berigard faced Simon bowed his head and answered sincerely "It means exactly what it means. The holy spirit of that carcass has been lending strength to all our previous kings, allowing them to step in the cmity ss".
"Is that so¡" Simon nced deeply at Berigard for any signs of lies, seeing that the guy was telling the truth, he dropped the issue.
A carcass that resided a holy spirit who granted powers to others. Simon had many spection and questions as to what it could be. However since the carcass was gone, there was no point in digging any further.
After seeing that there was nothing to loot in the underground chamber, Simon along with the Valkyries, decided to return back. Before leaving, he left a few instructions for Berigard.
Unlike the time when they entered the Diluvian High Orcs territory, Simon and the Valkyries did not bother to mask their scent while leaving since all of the orcs were now more or less aware of his presence.
There was no point in hiding his scent from them. Simon did not stop on the way back to his dungeon and hurried back at his full speed. The Valkyries were following closely behind him.
Chapter 509 509- Future Glimpse
"Master does not need to worry, Miss Irene is inside the dungeon. Besides her, there are my sisters there and that warhorse also to guard it" Ate said trying to alleviate some of Simon''s worries.
Seeing that his emotions were so easily read by Ate, Simon smiled helplessly and shook his head.
"I know that¡ it''s just being the master of the dungeon, I cannot settle down unless I see the dungeon with my own eyes".
It was not that he did not trust his subordinates, it was simply that being a dungeon master came with some responsibilities. After what happened thest time, Simon had learened his lesson when his dungeon was almost breached while he was training in the forbidden trials unaware of all of this happening.
Even if there was Irene, the Valkyries, Bloodthorn demonic warhorse and the many new inhabitants of the dungeon spawned, mutated or otherwise brought from outside the dungeon to protect it, during times of need a dungeon master''s presence cannot be discounted.
Apart from that, Simon was a little concerned about the tower town that was above the ground. The tower town was his source of ie where most of the adventurers resided.
At this crucial moment when the town is just starting to build itself, it would be beyond disastrous if it were to be attacked by monsters again. The town could fend off the Normal, Strong or even the Elite ss monsters; however, the appearance of a Super ss monsters again might really break the spirits of the adventurers there.
Simon had to find a way to stop the same incident that happened before, repeat once again.
After a day of non-stop travel, they were finally out of the western region of the forest. From there, it was just half a day of travel to reach his dungeon which was located ar the eastern region of the forest.
By the way, all of them were travelling using their flight skill. Simon had his inborn wings and [High-Speed Flight] skill whereas the Valkyries were using [Mana Wings] to fly in the sky.
The technique was something that one could only learn when they reach level 500 and the mana within them bes dense enough to turn into liquid.
Reaching level 500, as simple as it sounded, in actuality, it wasn''t that simple to reach such a level. It needed an enormous amount of talent, hard work, opportunities and the purity of one''s bloodline to reach such a level.
Once one reaches that level, one can officially call themselves a powerhouse. They can walk thesends with their head held high and countless people fawning over them. Why wouldn''t they not, Level 500 represented a realm that differentiated the truly strong from the strong.
The gap was so big that even if there were dozens of level 490+ individuals fighting a person who has just reached level 500, they wouldn''t be able to put a scratch on him simply because of the existence of the techniques such as [Mana armour], [Mana Wings] and such.
Other than that, being able to liquify your mana also ys arge role in differentiating the realm from the other levels below it.
Liquified mana essentially possesses more power than your normal mana¡ if put into quantifiable terms, it would be more than then ten times powerful.
Naturally, when one uses such a mana, the skills and the magic that they conjure would be ten times more powerful as well. Apart from that, being able to turn your mana into a liquid state means that one is able to hold more mana, and their mana pool increases drastically.
The aforementioned reasons are why people look so highly at those that reach such a level. Level 500 was like the natural barrier where numerous people in this world find their progress halting due to their bloodline, talent orck of opportunities.
They dwindle their time away trying to find a way to break through all their life. From this one could imagine how hard it was to truly break through into level 500 and be a powerhouse around thesends.
Incidentally, most guild masters or the vice guild masters of the strong guilds around the north-western region of the central continent are around this level.
While feeling a little envious of the Valkyries who came with their high levels when he summoned them, Simon and the others reached the dungeon.
The first thing that he did after reaching the dungeon, was to erase his and the Valkyries'' presence using the ice phoenix sigh and observe the tower town which was being rebuilt once again.
After thest attack by the orcs, many lives were lost and the town was almost but destroyed with only a handful of building remaining intact. It was no wonder the humans were rebuilding their stores once again, this time making it much sturdier and bigger than before.
The fencing around the town was also upgraded into a wall that enclosed the town within. Gates were installed and crossbows were mounted on those walls. Apart from that, there were also many tall sentry towers built around the wall to alert the inhabitants of any iing monster attacks.
Although, it wasn''t much, it at least gave the people in this town ny per cent of who were adventurers and the rest traders and merchants, ample time to react.
Seeing the slowly rebuilding town from up there, Simon sighed in relief. Of course, the adventurers and the merchants returned back to the town. Despite knowing that the town might be attacked again anytime, they still risked their lives and came back.
The motive driving them was simple, it was the profit that they were earning from the dungeon. The dungeon might be in an extremely dangerous ce, however, it was filled with riches that would go to waste if not harvested.
How could these adventurers and the merchants that buy the stuff from them, be willing to let go of this opportunity? Simon was relieved that he had been trying to make his dungeon lucrative for the adventurers from the start.
The many items that he got from his daily [Ga??????] that he set aside as the reward for the adventurers was paying off.
After getting the taste of profit from the dungeon, even when unwilling and knowing the danger, these people still took the risk toe back.
Most of the buildings in the town were turned into debris except a few and the adventurers association building was one of that few. At this moment, there was a crowd gathered inside the building and it seemed like something was going on.
"Master, would you like to go down and check it out?" Seeing that her master was looking at the adventurer''s association building, Atemented.
Simon shook his head in denial. Of course, he could just use the Grimlock''s trinket to change his appearance and go in there if need be; however, Simon felt like it was not necessary.
Finsihed observing the town, Simon opened the [Main Menu] and using the teleport function in the [Dungeon], he teleported to the main floor along with the Valkyries.
"Wee back master" As expected, Bea who was adept in space magic had sensed the spatial turbulence and was lying in wait for them.
"Un... I''m Back" Simon nodded his head in acknowledgement to her greetings. While the sisters looked at each other and nodded.
"Right! Master, you must be tired. I will immediately prepare the bath for you" Bea smiled in victory towards her sisters.
"Yeah, I''ll trouble you. By the way, I don''t feel Irene''s and Cecilia''s presence, are they not here?" Simon asked turning towards Bea.
"Miss Irene and princess Cecilia are in the forest spirit vige. It seems that there was something unusual going on with the spirit tree. Hence they went there not long ago" Bea replied.
She was just about to leave triumphantly to prepare a bath for her master, when Alice happily skipped towards her and whispered a few things into her ears.
Immediately, an aura of intense jealousy that was palpable enough to materialise itself, wafted off from Bea.
"Kuhhhh¡ not only did you get to spend so many days with master, but on top of that you got to eat his cooking too?!!! Even I want to¡ Kuhhh!!" Bea chewed the edge of her dress and gritted her teeth in vexation.
"Enough"
TAP¡ at this moment, while Simon was wondering what was going on with Bea, Ate arrived before Bea and tapped her head with a karate chop which ultimately shut her up.
"Weren''t you going to prepare a bath for master? If you don''t want to then allow me"¡
"No-No... I''m going. You have already had your fair share of serving master, you cannot take this opportunity from me" Bea responded while fleeing towards the pce.
"As for you Alice, don''t incite Bea any further. Look at how dirty your clothes are, go and clean them Asap!"¡
"Y-Yes elder sister" leaving those words, Alice too fled from the scene leaving a gawking Simon and the bisque doll like Bianca behind.
Looking at that Ate who immediately brought her sisters in line, Simon couldn''t help butugh helplessly. Just a few simple words from her was enough to make all of the Valkyries cower. She wasn''t their elder sister for no reason.
Right after entering the white pce, Simon took a bath. These few days of travel and constant battles had made him want to rx in a hot bath for a while.
"Haaah.. I fell like all my exhaustion is being washed away" Simon mutteredying down inside the sauna.
There was a huge aquarium beside the sauna providing a beautiful view of the different kinds of fish inside.
Chapter 510 510- Future Glimpse (2)
Entertainment and rxation, that was the main purpose of this ce. After spending some rxing time there, Simon teleported to the forest spirit vige.
The thing about the spirit tree never left his mind, but since I knew that Cecilia was there, he wasn''t very concerned. Simon walked through their vige observing the daily lives of the forest spring spirits.
The kids were out ying on a field while the adults were farming, ploughing and using magic to grow different kinds of nts. Everybody was busy doing something or the other.
When they saw Simon, they bowed their heads in respect others showered him with gifts that they had grown with their own powers. Looking at how jubnt and merry they were, it even rubbed off on to Simon making his mood much lighter.
The atmosphere of the forest Spring vige was much brighter than before probably because they decided to move on with their lives after the incident that happened to them a couple of months ago.
They were a strong bunch of people, Simon couldn''t help but think so. As he strolled around the vige, he noticed that some of the young forest spring spirits have started forming couples. This made Simon realise that it wouldn''t be long before the poption of the forest Spring spirits thrives.
An increase in the poption of the forest spring spirits meant that their power will be able to affect arger portion of the floor. The natural energy that they controlled, would bring new changes to his dungeon allowing it to take another step towards ranking up.
Other than that, he would also have more caretakers for his dungeon in the future. In any case, it was a good thing for Simon and for his dungeon.
While he was thinking all this, without him realising, he had arrived at the mountaintop where the spirit tree was. A couple of people were standing around the tree, their hands sped together in a prayer.
Simon spotted a few familiar faces, among them were Cecilia, Irene, Fennel and two of the [Helpers] Maya and Fay. The rest of them were the vigers.
"You are here" Irene nced at him with her crystal blue eyes. There was no way his presence would escape her senses.
"Yeah, I just arrived a couple of minutes ago. So what is going on with the spirit tree?" Simon asked stopping beside Irene.
"My lord ¡" Fennel and the other tried to kneel and show their respects but was quickly dismissed by Simon who told them to continue with their task.
"I do not know but ording to Cecilia, the spirit tree is trying to say something. However it''s still an infant so it''s very difficult to understand what it is saying" Irene replied looking at the little girl with emerald green hair who was patting the trunk of the tree as if consoling a child.
''Trying to say something? Could it be its abilities to talk with the spirits of the dead are awakening?'' Simon turned down the idea as soon as it popped inside his head.
Irene had told him that the spirit tree was still a sprout, it would have to grow to be a mature tree to be able tomunicate with the spirits.
"Everyone please lend me more of your strength, this child is still hungry" Cecilia spoke, she used her newfound powers to direct the vast mystical energy present in the surrounding towards the spirit tree.
At this moment, her hair shined a brilliant emerald green colour as multiple speckles of light started gathering around her.
With her butterfly like wings, she just looked like a beautiful fairy. The other forest spring spirits assisted her with their powers.
WHOOSHH¡ it was like invisible winds were rustling the branches of the spirit tree as its leaves shined with a brilliant pale blue light.
"Un¡ now sleep okay? Everything will be alright. I''lle again to visit you" When Cecilia said that, the spirit tree rustled as if saying that it understood.
After she was done taking care of the spirit tree, she turned around to face everyone when all of a sudden her eyes went wide in surprise to see Simon silently smiling at her. Ecstatic she rushed towards her brother in an attempt to get his attention and praise.
Simon spared no effort in praising her "Cecilia, your abilities are indeed very mystical".
To be able to divert the course of mystical veins which forms naturally over hundreds of years could only be described as such. Not only that, to be able to have such an affinity with the nature, truly a royalty amongst the forest spring spirit n.
"Hehe¡" Cecilia smiled, she liked being patted and praised like that by her big brother.
"Cecilia¡ is the spirit tree fine now?" Irene asked.
The little forest spring spirit girl nodded her head and replied "Un¡ it''s consoled now and is growing up healthy. It must have had some nightmare for it to be crying like that all of a sudden".
"A nightmare you say? What did it see¡ did it tell you?" Irene interrogated further.
"Eh?! Umm¡ I couldn''t understand most of the things it said¡ yeah, right it was muttering something about danger and fire" Cecilia tried hard to recall some of the words that the spirit tree said.
Hearing her words, Irene fell silent, her crystal blue eyes seemed to have drifted somewhere else.
"Big sister¡ is there something wrong?" When asked that, Irene quickly changed the subject. Nevertheless, this peculiar behaviour of her didn''t go unnoticed by Simon.
Now that the spirit tree was pacified, all of them went back to the vige together. Fay and Maya tagged along because they have something to report while Fennel brought him towards one area of the floor to show him something.
Of course, Irene and Cecilia as a matter of factly came along with him. As Simon saw the familiar area, he quickly recalled that he had installed a pond of Serenity here. This ce also had those mysterious Obsidian Energy Exuders.
"My lord those huge tes that you have ced here are starting to act weirdly" As Fennel said that, a fierce mana shockwave came from the direction of the pond powerful enough to even disturb the mana within them.
"This is?!" feeling the shockwave, Simon uttered.
"This is precisely the thing I wanted to show you" After Simon and the others came near the shore of the pond, Fennel pointed out.
"That mana shockwave that hit us, came from those huge ck tes that My lord has ced here. Each of those tes has been producing a shockwave like that after every fifteen minutes subsequently" Fennel reported.
Those huge ck tes that fennel was talking about, were none other than the Obsidian Energy Exuders that had mutated from the obsidian tes that he bought from the shop.
The original function of the Obsidian tes was to absorb the mana from the air, store it and then transfer it to another object. Basically, it was like a battery. However, after the mutation, it had be something else entirely.
Thest time he visited this ce, he felt the obsidian tes release waves of pure mystical energy around the surrounding. However, it wasn''t as powerful as the one he had felt now. Also when he checked with his Analysis thest time, the obsidian tes were called the obsidian Energy Exuder and was ranked [A].
However, at that time he couldn''t see all of the functions of the object and thus left it alone. Would it be the same this time too? There was only one way to find out. Simon activated his Analysis.
Item- Obsidian energy Exuder
Rank- [A]
Description- Made with the Obsidian Meteor, it has the property of storing an enormous amount of mystical energy. The runes on it are the work of a famous grandmaster craft smith who chiselled it with adamantium. Only a certain number of them are there in existence.
Functions- 1) Can be used as the power core to run multiple arrays and formations.
2) ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö
3) ¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö
Simon read the information disyed by the Analysis. Although his skill was still low level to view all of the uses of the item, he was nheless, able to see the description of the item and one of its uses.
ording to the Analysis, it could be used as the power core for the arrays and formation. Simon remembered that there were a few arrays and formations listed on the [Shop]. However, since it was still unavable for him to buy at this point, he did not know what it did.
"Lord Simon please tell us if we should be wary of these shockwaves," Fennel asked looking a little worried.
Well anybody would be seeing the shockwaves getting stronger and stronger day by day. Simon snapped out of his thoughts, even if Fennel asked him that, he did not what to answer.
The shockwaves of the Obsidian Energy Exuders were indeed strong and the vige was not that far away from the pond. If the shockwaves reached there, would it not disturb the daily lives of the forest spring spirits living there?
Fortunately for him, he had apetent woman near him who knew what to do in this situation.
"Elder Fennel doesnot have to worry. The shockwaves of the obsidian energy exuders are just the expulsion of pure mystical energy and are by no means harmful. Nheless, it would be too disturbing to have the shockwaves reach the vige".
"Don''t worry, I will do something about it so that you wouldn''t have to worry about it anymore". Irene said, her eyes calmly observing all of the seven tes each of which was positioned at the edges of the pond encircling it in the middle.
Chapter 511 511- Laying Out The Array
"Thank you Miss Irene, My Lord" Fennel thanked them.
Cecilia who heard what Irene said, asked curiously "Big sister, what are you going to do?".
"I will create an array here that will nurture itself from the excess energy of the exuders. That way, the energy won''t go to waste and there will be no shockwavesing out".
Irene stated but when she saw the clueless look of everyone around her, she sighed and exined further.
"Arrays are what you can call aplex set of runes that are constructed in a way to achieve the desired effect. There are different kinds of arrays, Mana Gathering Arrays, Explosion Arrays, Prison Mist Arrays and such".
"Each array has its own uses and requirements to work. For example, the array that I am going toy down is called a Grand Protection Array. Its purpose is to create an enormous barrier that will protect the things inside it from the outside".
"During that duration of time, nothing can go in and out. If somebody wants to enter it forcefully, they would have to break the barrier first. This one is the most basic of protection arrays that I know of. The durability of the barrier of this array depends on the material used to create it and its power core. Since this array would be run by the Obsidian Energy Exuders, we have no problem with that part. However, we still need a variety of materials toy out the array".
With this lengthy exnation, all of them finally understood what an array was. Especially Simon who did not inherit aplete memory due to his low birth. Hearing Irene''s exnation he finally understood the purpose of the many arrays that are listed on the [Shop].
"In that case, what are the materials you would be needing?" Simon asked. If the issue can be resolved byying down an array, then by all means he wanted to settle it. Plus, he was also very curious as to how an array isid and its usage.
"First of all, I would need the blood of at least two disaster ss beasts, the sternum of at hundred Super ss beasts, powder of the caudal bones of Cerebrea, Stormwolves, Pliatros and Anemodactyl. Extract from the Moonbud, Sun nt, Xelerias and¡".
Irene listed various materials that made Simon''s head spin. There were more than a hundred types of different materials needed just to make out the ink for the array. They still needed thousands of core stones and various ores amongst which even Mythril was listed to make the structure of the array.
Andst but not least tonnes of mana crystals as the base. All of this was just the expenditure to create the array.
"For the blood of the disaster ss beast, we can have the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse and the lIghtning Draconic Serpent donate some. For the other materials check if this space has what you need".
Simon took out the space rings that he used to store all of the treasures from the orc territory. He remembered that there were many monster materials and nts and herbs amongst the treasures. It was a good thing that they did not throw it and stored it in a different space ring.
Irene extended her hands and quickly skimmed through the contents of the rings with her senses. Finally, she nodded her head and said¡ª
"The monster materials are enough, the ores in this space ring can be used to substitute for some of the materials needed for the structure. The core stones are enough too. However, we still need a few more varieties of nts and mana crystals".
Simon frowned, he was worried about that part. He had already handed all of the treasures that he had emptied from the orc territory to Irene, but it seemed like the materials were still not enough.
Particrly the mana crystals. The ones produced by the trees on his [Main fFoor] was already used by him. Even if they produced a few more, there wouldn''t tonnes of them.
As if reading Simon''s mind, Irene notified him of something "You don''t have to worry about not having enough mana crystals since a few quandaries have been discovered on the [main floor] and in the workshop".
"What?!" Simon couldn''t help but utter out.
Irene pointed at the smugly smiling Cecilia and said "Thanks to this girl, many more mineral mountains have surfaced on the main floor, amongst those were even quandaries for mana crystals".
So it was like that¡ in just a few days of time while he was not here, his dungeon had seen rapid changes once again.
"For the nts that are needed, Miss Irene can leave it to us," Fennel said pitching in at this moment. Many of the herbs and nts that Irene had listed were something that he knew of.
"In that case, can you ask the wisp to smelt these ores and get the blood from the two disaster ss beasts?" Irene passed him the space ring that stored the ores.
"No problem¡ but where is that guy anyway, I did not see him on the [main floor]".
The guy he was talking about, was none other than the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse.
"It''s on the forty ninth floor".
Fourty-ninth floor? Hearing Irene''s reply, Simon frowned his brows. Standardly, the dungeon had fifty floors not including the main floor, workshop and forest spirit vige and the three floors that were yet to bepleted by him before he left to deal with the issues of the orc.
Anyways, taking the fifty floors as the standard, the forty ninth and the fiftieth floor was not like your other floors in that it was the dungeon''sst line of defence and the strongest floors meant to stop the intruders at any cost.
These floors are also coined by another name, ''Boss Floors''.
What made them ''Boss floors'' is that residing in them are the two of the strongest monsters currently in his dungeon, the Lightning Draconic serpent and the Deep Sea Alligator King.
The forty ninth floor was precisely the floor he designed for the Deep Sea Alligator King. For the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse who usually stayed on the main floor to go up to the fifty first floor, there was definitely something going on.
Simon decided to go and check it out. He turned towards Fay and Maya who were here to give him a report and asked them to wait for a while. Irene needed to be here toy the array down and help the forest spring spirits to get the materials ready.
Forty ninth floor¡ previously a vast in now had many trees and mana trees growing on one part of the floor which was like a marsnd. The other part of the floor was an enormouske and the home of the Deep Sea Alligator King and the hundreds of Elder Lizardmen.
Usually, they would be hiding deep inside theke surfacing only asionally. However, at this moment, something incredible was happening on this floor.
All of the lizardmen and the former king, the Deep Sea alligator king were on the side of the marsnd lying t on the ground with numerous wounds on their bodies.
Facing them, standing on its six powerful feet, and bearing down on the Deep Sea Alligator king with its six demonic eyes, was the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse.
No matter how many times Simon blinked or rubbed his eyes, the scene in front of him looked as if these guys were worshipping the warhorse.
What was going on? Why are they acting all submissive towards the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse all of a sudden? Simon had a guess, but he didn''t want to jump to a conclusion thus he approached them and asked the party involved himself.
Feeling his presence on the floor, the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse turned towards Simon and immediately walked forward to greet him.
"My lord you are back from the journey," it asked.
"Yeah, we will have some new subordinates joining our ranks" Simon stated caressing the ming mane of the warhorse. The mane although made of fire, did not hurt anyone that the Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse didn''t wish to.
"New subordinates?" the warhorse repeated.
"Yeah, they are from the orc race. Anyways, what is going on here?" Simon changed the topic back to what was going on over here.
"You see, I was teaching the Deep Sea Alligator king and those lizardmen some of the rules of our dungeon that one must follow to live here" The warhorse replied.
''By beating them?'' Simon wanted to retort; nevertheless, seeing that there was no one dead, he did not raise any issue.
"Well keep things moderate" he could see the pleading eyes of the Deep Sea Alligator King and the lizardmen...
"I understand" the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse nodded in understanding.
"Since my lord came all the way here, does that mean that my lord has some task in mind for me?".
"That''s right, Irene is creating an array on the forest spirit floor. In order to do that, she needs the blood of at least two disaster ss beasts" Simon exined, the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was quite perceptive.
"My life belongs to my lord, it is not a problem to give you my life, let alone some blood". Hearing that overenthusiastic and devoted reply, Simon''s brows twitched slightly.
''It''s as I thought, getting used to its voice will still take me some time'' Simon thought internally. The character of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse that was in that game, was never meant to talk. Which is why the deep warrior-like voice of the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse came as a surprise to him every time he heard it.
"Y-Yeah¡ thanks. Also if you are done here, would you inform the same to the lightning draconic serpent too".
Right after he said that, he felt like those pleading eyes that were directed at him by the inhabitants of this floor, brighten up for a moment.
Chapter 512 512- Laying Out The Array (2)
Really what kind of beating did they have to go through to be so docile?
Simon teleported from the floor and arrived at the workshop next to smelt the ores. A couple of hourster, he arrived at the forest spring spirit vige again.
"Did you bring over the materials that I needed?" Irene asked after he approached the area where the Obsidian energy exuders were.
"Yeah" Simon passed her the space rings that contained the smelted ores and the blood of the two disaster ss beasts.
"What about the herbs¡ do you have all of them?" he asked.
"Elder Fennel and some of the Forest Spring Spirits are gathering that as we speak. They will be bringing it soon".
Simon nodded at Irene''s reply. The forest Spring Spirits were a race that was closest to the nature, it wasn''t surprising that they had information about every nt.
"By the way, do you really believe that a danger would befall Cecilia or on the forest spring spirits?" as they were waiting, Simon asked all of a sudden.
"What do you mean?" Irene''s crystal blue eyes trembled ever so slightly.
"The look of surprise you had when Cecilia mentioned the words that the spirit tree said and your sudden interest toy a protective around their town. Are you telling me that you want me to believe nothing is going on?".
Although Irene hid it well at that time, Simon still noticed Irene''s unusual behaviour at that time.
"What are you hiding?" Simon asked without masking any words.
Irene fell silent¡ thissted for a while before she finally opened her lips to speak¡ª"Do you remember what I mentioned to you when the spirit tree first appeared on this floor?" Irene nced straight at Simon.
Thetter recalled his memories before nodding his head. She had told him that the spirit tree was an incredible treasure and that he had lucked out incredibly to have one of them grow in his dungeon.
She also mentioned how it had many functions one of which could evenmunicate with the spirits.
"At that time I said that I only knew one of its abilities, but that was not the case. I indeed did know of another one of its abilities but seeing that the spirituality of the shirt tree was just at the infant stage, I felt like it was too soon to even mention it. Thus I did not tell you about it. Another ability of the spirit tree besidesmunicating with the spirits is to see the future".
See the future? Simmon''s eyes immediately went wide. What kind of ridiculous concept was that? If the other ability of the spirit tree was that, then wouldn''t it make the tree quite broken?
Nheless, what intrigued Simon was why Irene was telling him about this ability now when she thought it was too soon to reveal it before.
Could it be that the words said by the spirit tree weren''t just some dream but what it had seen in the future?
The moment Simon realised that, he immediately understood why Irene was so eager to set up an array here. However, the term danger was a very vague word, they needed a little more context to better understand the nature of this danger.
"Can''t we just ask the spirit tree what it saw when it wakes up?" Simon suggested, instead of just fumbling around, he thought that it would be much better to ask the spirit tree directly about its dream.
Nheless, Irene shook her head¡ª"The Spirit tree is still a child, do you think a child remembers what it saw in its dream? Probably it has already forgotten about the events that it saw. We can only wait for it to grow up and develop its ability".
So that was the case, indeed she was right. While Irene and Simon were discussing countermeasures as to how to better tackle the danger, Fennel and the group arrived. In their hands was a basket with many different types of nts with unusual shapes and colours.
After they arrived with the nts, they all became busy extracting the nt''s essence into a bowl and mixing it in different ratios as per Irene''s instructions.
One might think that it was easy but it was not the case, these simple processes required extreme precision and the ability to control one''s mana. A human alchemist would need years of practice and knowledge to even begin something asplex as mixing different essences together and even then they wouldn''t be able to achieve the perfect ratio.
As could be seen by looking at Simon, he had no prior knowledge of herbs and alchemy and thus was a huge hindrance in their work. Many a time, he burned the entire nt to get the extract, other times he mixed them in the wrong ratios.
From his failure, Simon at least learnt that he was not suited for alchemy. The realisation was not very painful for him to ept, after all, looking at the ones beside him who were the best of the best in this field, even he couldn''t help but marvel at their work.
"Hehe¡ big brother does not need to be so upset, our forest spirit tribe are born with this gift" Thest nail on his coffin was the consoling words from Cecilia.
Pffttt¡ from the corner of his eyes, he saw Irene, Fay and Maya covering their mouth and smiling, it seemed that they enjoyed his suffering and struggle as he arrived at that realisation.
"Don''t worry you might get better at it if you practice" Irene said.
What was that? Was this ice cold beauty who was ever so emotionless, was cracking a joke? Simon didn''t know if he shouldugh or cry.
Since alchemy was not his forte Simon tried his hand at making the structure for the array. This was much easier for him as all he needed to do was mould the smelted ores using the diagram that Irene had provided him.
The other forest spring spirits helped him and soon a unique looking structure more than five meters big, was formed.
After the structure was formed, fennel and the other brought over the mixture that was to be used as ink. Next, Irene took out something from the gap between the space.
Looking carefully, Simon noticed that it was a silver coloured pen which she used to dip it in the ink and draw mysterious runes on the structure. It has to be mentioned that the structure was made of many different types of ores amongst which Mythril was also in the mix.
It wouldn''t be wrong to say that the structure was incredibly hard and sturdy so much so that it would even be able to withstand his AOE intermediate magic. For Irene''s pen to easily carve runes into it, it was definitely not an ordinary item.
And he was right... "This pen is very precious to me. It is made with the coldest and hardest of ice that could be found in this universe. Even adamantium doesn''t stand a chance in front of it" Irene exined.
No wonder it was able to carve runes in a structure made of Mythril. Irene drew oneplex rune after another, she kept on at it for several hours. During that time, the Valkyries, [Helpers] and the other forest spring spirits visited them.
"Master¡ I have brought over the mana crystals that we just finished mining" Ate who was tasked to ask Wisp to mine some mana crystals from the quandary using the Andromedas came over with the space ring.
Simon nodded his head and checked the contents of the space ring with his senses only to feel a little shocked inwardly. There were tonnes of them inside releasing waves of pure mystical energy. Most of the crystals were grade [1] with a few grade [2] in the mix.
Since Irene said that the durability of the barrier of the grand protection array depends on the quality of the material used, Simon did not spare using the grade [2] mana crystals too. Even though his heart bled a little, knowing that what the spirit tree had referred to was not a dream but a future, he still put all the grade [2] mana crystals into use for the array.
A grade [2] mana crystal was a precious item that many people in this wouldn''t dare to splurge like that. However, if it could ensure the safety of the forest spring spirits, Simon felt like it was worth it.
Time passed by swiftly, one day¡ two days, on the third day, Irene who had been at it non-stop finally slowed down her pen.
"Huff¡ it''s finally done" Irene said tucking he bangs behind her ears.
"Thanks for your hard work" Simon encouraged walking beside her.
"But I have to say, I didn''t expect it would take this long to create an array". It took almost three days just toplete the structure of the array. One had to wonder how long it would take to create the whole thing.
"What are you saying, this one is just the most basic of the protection array. If you were toy out more advanced and powerful ones it would take a few months to a year at the very least".
Hearing what she had to say, Simon was at a loss for a word.
"Anyways, we are almost done with this array. After I use the mana crystal to solidify the ink to make it one whole thing and link it at the end with the Obsidian Energy Exuders, the array would bepleted. After that, it would slowly absorb the mana shockwaves from the obsidian energy exuders and grow strong".
Irene exined amazing everyone with her knowledge. Now that everyone knew what else was to be done, all who were present there at that moment got to work and pitched in toplete the array.
Chapter 513 513- Planning Out A Surprise
All in all, the grand protection array that will protect the Forest spring spirit vige, took three days to create.
After the array was ced and ready to operate, Simon along with his group, teleported back to the main floor.
"Phew¡" Simon slumped on top of his couch and released a deep breath. Although Irene had done eighty per cent of the work, it was exhausting just to watch her carve so manyplex and iprehensible runes.
"Miss Irene would like to have a bat?" Ate asked Irene who was a little sweaty.
"Ah, yes¡ I would like to change out of these clothes" Irene replied walking out of the hall.
"Understood"¡
"Big sister I would like to bathe too"
"Alright, you can enter with me then"¡
Their voices from the other end of the hall. ''Bath huh..'' Simon''s mind subconsciously started wandering after hearing that word. He couldn''t help but imagine a scene that evoked nefarious thoughts inside his mind.
Simon quickly dispersed such thoughts and focused on other things at hand. Three days had already gone by while they were busy creating the array, the orcs would be ready to move by now.
Beforeing back to his dungeon, Simon had given clear instructions to Berigard and the orc to finish up all their pending tasks and be ready to move in a few days. He would be bringing them back to the dungeon as its new inhabitants who would guard it against intruders and add to its increasing defence system.
An orc''s strength couldn''t be discounted especially the high orcs and the Diluvian High Orcs. Although in the war they looked weaker than the ogres, it was because of the environment and theck of resources that slowly put them on the lower hierarchy than the ogres.
Inside his dungeon, they would have a far better environment than they were used to and the ever-present dense mana to make them stronger. Plus, just like his all other subordinates that he brought inside his dungeon, if they served him loyally, they would be able to enjoy the treasure of the nature.
In an environment like that, it would be a miracle if their strength didn''t advance.
The Andromedas brought by Alice which he sent to mine the many mineral mountains present in the orc''s territory, sent a message back to the wisp that the orcs had already started gathering near Berigard''s territory.
Simon would have liked to bring them back; however, Irene had already worked non-stop for three days, he didn''t want to burden her again.
As she was the only one with mystery in advanced space magic around, Simon had no choice but to wait for some time. During that time, he decided to visit the pond of serenity and train for a while.
Now that he had jumped 55 levels and have reached level 473, the density and quantity of mystical power within him had taken a big leap all at once.
From how unsteady and turbulent the mystical energy within him was, Simon knew that he needed a few days to stabilise his newfound powers and familiarise himself with his increased stats. If he did not do that and continued to level up wily-nilly, the solid foundation, the base for the future he had been building would be severely affected.
This might lead to him being weaker than those around his rank and the condition of his physical body slowly deteriorating. Simon knew the importance of having a solid foundation as he had encountered many enemies with unstable or borrowed powers.
The powers that they used, raised their levels all at once resulting in their base bing unsteady.
In a sh between two people around the same rank, or level, the one with the unsteady foundation will always have a disadvantage as they would be unable to bring the most out of their level.
Therefore it was extremely important to have a steady foundation after each big level ups and something that Irene had stressed quite a few times.
Simon came near the shore of the pond which was surrounded by a thick mist, rich in mystical energy that soothes your heart, and ms your mind. He found a big rock to sit cross-legged and meditated for a while.
Time ticked away and soon a few hours passed by... during that time, quite a few subordinates visited but seeing that he was training, they all left silently.
Simon opened his eyes, propped up from his seat and did some light stretching. He could feel that the energy inside him had settled down a little, if he continued like this for a few more days it will fully stabilise.
Now that he was done with his training for the time being, Simon did not immediately leave but instead sat there for a while. He opened his [Main Menu] and clicked on the [Dungeon] option and erged the three new floors that he had been building.
The reason why it was left iplete thest time was because an emergency hade up. Yes, it was none other than the event where the orcs had invaded his tower town.
Additionally, because of the slowly decreasing DP ie of his dungeon, Simon was a little concerned about splurging his stockpiled DP. Thus he stopped at that point.
Now that the adventurers were diving back inside his dungeon once again, his ie was back to normal. Perhaps it had even increased a little due to the new adventurers that arrived in the town after the distress call.
Simon moved the boos floors (49th and 50th) down and ced the new floors up. These new floors were going to be the new inhabitants for the orcs.
On that note, Simon had noticed that he could move the floors that were already inhabited by the monsters, up and down. Like for example, if he wanted to bring the 40th floor down and switch it with the 50th floor, he could do so.
Although that would take DP equal to creating a new floor; plus, one also had to keep in mind that the more higher the floor one wants to switch, the morerger the DP required.
Switching the 30th floor was many times costlier than switching the 40th floor. However, when it came to switching the empty floors like the three he had created, the 51st, 52nd and 53rd can be switched amongst themselves without any DP.
Another thing to note was that it was fundamentally impossible to move the floor where the dungeon core was located. It is also impossible to move the floors where the intruders are. That is to say, the floors which are currently upied by the humans cannot be switched.
Most of the high ranking demon nobles who created their own dungeon are already aware of such knowledge; however, Simon who was of low birth, had to learn all of this through observation and experimentation.
Anyways, the boos floors were switched to be the current 52nd and 53rd floors while the new floors he had created, became the 49th,50th and 51st floors. (He switched the 49th and 50th floors with the three new empty floors)..
By the time he was finished modelling the floors and installing the necessary things, a day had already passed by.
Simon closed the [Main Menu] inhaled and exhaled the refreshing air rich in mystical energy. He was just about to move from the rock and go back to his pce when he noticed that tiny droplets of water were falling down from the sky.
No, it would be inurate to say that it was water since the liquid that dropped from the sky was the highly pure mystical energy.
TIP.. TIP¡ SHAAA¡ at first, it was a light drizzle before it turned it a downpour of rain.
"So this is the mystical cycle huh" Simon muttered allowing himself to get wet by the rain.
The dungeon Lace was not a high ranking dungeon, there was no weather or seasons installed on the [Main floor]. So howe it was raining here?
The answer was because of the mystical veins and the density of mana on this floor which had reached a degree that allowed the mystical energy to form clouds as part of condensation and then rain in a cycle of precipitation.
This was the first time that Simon was experiencing the mystical energy rain. Sadly enough, Simon was not a monster and couldn''t take advantage of the mystical droplets. He couldn''t absorb the pure mystical energy that was dropping as rain.
Though it was not like it was going to waste since the many mana trees, trees of mana crystals, the minerals mountains, quandaries and the many different treasures on his main floor were able to nurture because of the mystical rain.
Satisfied by the growth of his dungeon that even outssed some of the intermediate ranked dungeons, Simon slowly walked towards his pce.
"Master!!" When he neared the gate, Bea came running towards him with an umbre in hand.
"Master, you are all drenched. Shall I prepare a warm bath for you?" She asked covering him with the umbre.
"There is no need, I was just enjoying the ambience of mystical rain" the mystical water wasn''t cold, so there was no need for him to take a bath. He epted a towel from her and walked inside the pce.
--------
Name:- Simon
Race:- Demon Viscount
Titles:- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 1/5]
Level:- 473
Stats:-
HP:- 80,951
MP:- 100,120
Strength:- 3319
Defence:- 3519
Agility:- 4265
Magic:- 4665
Endurance:- 3792
Luck:- 2446
Skills:- Language Comprehension, Analysis, Mental Map, Infernal Magic Mastery, Gale Magic Mastery, Lightning Magic Mastery, High-Speed Thought Processing, High-Speed Regeneration, High-Speed Flight, Super Enhanced Strength, Body Enhancement, me Resistance, Wind Resistance, Electro resistance, Pain Resistance, Blunt Damage Resistance, Sense Presence, Hide Presence, Demonic Eyes, Super Enhanced Agility, Super Enhanced Endurance, Super Enhanced Magic, Super Enhanced Defence, Minimal Mana Consumption, Sharpened Senses, Mana Lines, Sword Mastery, ??????, ??????
Amalgamation Skills:- [me-Gale Mastery], [Electro-me Mastery]
Inherent Skills:- Dungeon Creation, Main Menu, Ancestral Symbol Ignition
Chapter 514 514- Planning Out A Surprise (2)
Simon changed out of his wet clothes before looking for Irene and Cecilia in one of the big halls they always used.
When he opened the door and walked in, he saw them soundly sleeping on the couch. Not wanting to disturb them, Simon silently closed the door back and walked out.
"Master, Maya and Fay have visited quite a few times while you were training. Since you were busy, they left a message with me. They told me to tell you that the Hidden chambers are ready" Bea appeared before him and reported.
Hearing this, Simon remembered that he assigned those two to create the hidden chambers. Now that he thought about it, those two have been wanting to give him a report since the moment he arrived back.
"I''ll see them now," He said and messaged them toe to the Main Floor.
After a while, Maya and Fay entered the hall where Simon and the Valkyries, were waiting for them.
"My lord" they bowed their heads.
"Un¡ raise your heads up" Simon nodded, even he himself was astonished by how calm and adapted he got to this form of address.
"I heard that you guys have visited the main floor quite a few times. ept my apology, I got quite busy with the training" he felt a little guilty since the circumstances made himpletely forget about it.
"No.. No¡ Lord Simon does not need to apologise. You are the ruler of this ce and there are many responsibilities on your shoulders, it is only just natural that you would be busy" Fay and Maya hurriedly shook their head not wanting to ept his apology.
"Is that so¡ Well, anyways, I heard that you guys havepleted the hidden chambers?" Simon asked getting straight to the point.
He had given them the exclusive right to alter certain areas of the floor to their wish, the right to spawn a few kinds of monsters and a certain amount of DP for the cost. All so that they couldplete the task assigned to them.
He remembered that it hadn''t been very long since he gave them this order, probably two or three weeks ago. However, they have already finished creating the chambers while side by sidepleting their duty as the [Helpers].
"Yes my lord, the Hidden chambers areplete. Using the DP that lord Simon has given us, we have installed a total of five hidden chambers. One on the 15th floor, one on floor 20, floor 25 and two on floor 33. The rewards have already been ced and the monsters assigned to guard that ce are, Battle Grizzly, Savage War Lion, Aerodactylus and Fire Demon Ape respectively".
Fay reported. Since it was her idea to create something like this to begin with, one could see the enthusiasm and the effort she had put into this.
The hidden chambers were created on the upper-middle floors and the middle floors with an average of one chamber on each floor. The strength of the monsters assigned was also appropriate, the Grizzly Bear was the perfect monster to guard treasures on floor fifteen, the territory of the Direwolves and Stromwolves.
Battle Grizzly was not too powerful that the adventurers couldn''t tackle yet not an easy opponent that just anybody could defeat. It provided a sufficient level of challenge.
The same went for the Savage War Lion, Aerodactylus and the Fire Demon Ape. The Fire demon Ape was an entity that Simon had mutated from the demon ape that he had summoned from the [Ga??????] while the Savage War Lion were monsters brought in from the southern side of the forest.
The Aerodactylus on the other hand was a monster mutated from the species of a monster called Anemodactyl that upied the 13th and 14th floors.
Aerodactylus was the result of Simon using the Viridescent Mutation crystal on a colony of Anemodactyl.
"Hmm¡ you two did a good job. So how are the chambers going off" Simon praised, he opened the [Dungeon] function of the [Main Menu] and scrutinised those aforementioned floors. There was no point in creating something new if it was not providing any yield.
Fay reported¡ª"We have been monitoring those areas, the hidden chamber on floor fifteen has already been found and cleared a few times by a bunch of groups. Whereas the ones on the 20th and 25th floor only one adventurer party has found them yet".
"Since I noticed a few more adventurer''s groups loitering in that area, word of mouth must have spread. It won''t be long before they find it. As for the two chambers on floor 33rd I deliberately chose to create them in ces that are difficult to spot or traverse".
"Since the monster guarding them are strong, I believed that the path that led towards the chamber should also provide a hurdle and test the adventurer''s strength and courage. Of course, I also made sure that they get rewards matching the danger".
Simon had noints, she had put a lot of thought into each and every element of this task and achieved it to perfection. He spared no efforts to praise her and Maya as that would keep his employees.. ahem subordinates motivated.
He also agreed with Fay''s take on making the chambers guarded by Aerodactlyus and Fire Demon Ape a little difficult to find since these monsters were strong and not just anybody could beat them. It would need an elite adventurer or a strong group of adventurers with a more than good synergy to defeat these monsters.
Apart from that, a hidden chamber won''t be a hidden chamber if they were discovered so easily. So it was good that thest two were a little difficult to find
Satisfied by the work of his subordinates Simon offered Fay and Maya a lump sum of DP as reward for their hard work.
"M-My lord we cannot take it. It was our duty as the [Helpers] and besides I truly enjoyed my task" Fay hurriedly rejected the reward.
However, how could Simon who was not even providing his employees with a sry not give them any bonus for their work too? Wouldn''t thispletely make them out to be a ckpany?
An employee''s motivation was directly rted to the job he or she did in thepany, if they weren''t motivated, naturally the work they did will alsock efficiency. Besides, Simon believed that one needed to be sufficiently rewarded for their efforts.
"Well, don''t be so hasty to reject. This reward is not something that I''m just handing over just like that. It is something that you deserve and have earned it. Think of it as a price for your hard work" Simon pressed.
Fay and Maya fidgeted for a while, it was not like they were acting or were hesitant to ept a reward. They simply thought that what they did was given since they were a resident and a [Helper] of this dungeon.
Simon''s grace was already as big as a mountain for them, to ept anything else from their lord would be too much.
"Since Master is insisting so much, you should take it. Besides, wouldn''t it be like you are not giving him face if you keep on rejecting the reward?". ''
Nice follow Ate'' Simon muttered internally in his heart. With those words from Ate, those two wouldn''t be able to reject it anymore. Once they epted his reward, their motivation will also stay high and his dungeon will function as efficiently as ever.
Fay and Maya looked at each other, now that even Ate has spoken up, it would be rude to reject the reward. The two epted the DP that Simon had transferred to them.
Being a [Helper] and all, the two girls had the authority to open a part of the [Main Menu]. Although the option on their menu was limited to only a handful of functions necessary for their role.
After the two girls bowed their heads in thanks towards Simon, they were just about to exit the hall when Ate approached them. She then whispered something into their ears.
"You know this DP is something that master has given you to splurge on yourselves. So don''t go keeping it or using it on the dungeon. This will greatly upset him. Why don''t you guys open the [Shop] option I believe there are quite a few sections that might interest you guys".
The [Shop] option besides having the important sections that only a dungeon master could ess, it also had a few sections for extravagance like the clothes section, food and beverages, beauty section and so on so forth.
Demon nobles are a race that are the incarnation of desires, naturally, there were many sections for self-indulgence on the dungeon menu.
After the two [Helpers] exited the ce, Simon turned towards the Valkyries who were standing beside him. While he was giving the rewards to Fay and Maya, he suddenly remembered that he had given no rewards to the Valkyries who had worked so hard for him since the time he had summoned them.
Since they were his creations, it skipped his mind that they were an employee of the dungeon too. They are also entitled to gifts and rewards. It was not only them, all of his subordinates deserved that.
"Ate, Bea, Emma, Bianca, Alice.. do you guys have something you want? You all have worked so hard for me but I never got the opportunity to ever thank you". Simon''s words immediately shocked the Valkyries and they immediately got on their knees.
"Please don''t say such things, master. Our only joy and happiness lie in helping you. We never considered your orders as work ever much less think about a reward".
"Eh?!" Simon muttered dumbfoundedly.
Chapter 515 515- Planning Out A Surprise (3)
"For us, there cannot be any greater joy other than serving you" Ate pleaded dramatically making Simon gobsmacked.
''Eh?! Ehhhh..a-are they crying? But I only wanted to reward them for their efforts. Where did I go wrong'' he panicked internally.
"I-Is that so¡ then forget about it" Simon hurriedly said. The Valkyries wiped their tears and picked themselves up once again leaving Simon to agonise over what happened internally.
''Should I have just given them DP. Hmm, now that I think about it, I could use the DP as the currency to pay my employees. Damn isn''t that a good idea? With DP they can buy anything they want from the [Shop] and I won''t have to agonise over not rewarding them. I can''t believe this never came to me before'' Simon contemted.
He was thinking about adopting this reform to his dungeon and how he should go on about doing it. While Simon was thinking all that, other subordinates also visited him one after the other giving their reports.
He listened to their reports but most of the contents went over his head as he was busy thinking about the reforms he had on his mind.
Quite a few hours must have passed¡ "My lord is that fine?" Fennel asked. These words finally snapped Simon out of his thoughts and he tried to make sense of what the person in front of him just said.
"Eh? Umm.. sorry I was not listening, what did you say?".
"I was saying that Cecilia''s birthday ising soon and we wanted to celebrate it in our vige. She is the daughter of our patriarch and we always used to celebrate her birthday as a big event. I am here on behalf of the vige to ask for your permission".
Hearing his words, all the afterthoughts that Simon was having disappeared from the back of his mind.
"Cecilia''s birthday?!! When is it?" he asked.
"It''s on the fourth of the Dalias month" fennel replied. ''That''s close'' there was only a week left for the Nevs month to end and the Dalias month toe. "Why didn''t Cecilia say anything to me then?" Simon muttered, such a big event wasing and he had no clue about it.
"Haha¡ I''m sure that girl is trying to hide it. She knows how busy you are and is trying not to celebrate it this year. Now that her parents are no longer there, I''m sure Cecilia is struggling internally".
"Though she never lets it appear on her face, whenever she looks at children who still have the mother and father, I''m sure that hurts hers internally. Nevertheless, she always wears that smile around her face. Usually, around this time, she would be running around the vige telling everyone not to miss her birthday till the point that we get annoyed".
"But this year¡ sigh. We have never once missed her birthday and I''m sure that patriarch too would be upset to not see his daughter celebrate her birthday this year from heaven. That is why I came here specifically to ask for my lord''s¡".
Fennel exined his motive behinding here, but before he could ask for Simon''s permission, the person in question got up from his seat and stated in a clear voice that left no doubts.
"You do not need my permission for something like that. Cecilia is like my sister; No, she is my sister. As you all have celebrated her birthday every year, this year too we shall not miss it. Make preparation for her birthday, make it big: Nah, make it grand. I want her first birthday that she celebrates inside this dungeon to be memorable, one that she never forgets about. I want that fake smile to disappear from her face reced by a genuinely happy one".
After dering that, Simon turned towards Fennel and suddenly revealed his wicked smile¡ª
"Fennel, you said that she was trying to hide her birthday from us? So be it then, we shall conceal this fact from her too and surprise her when the dayes. She shouldn''t get even a little whiff of it do you all understand".
All of the people present in the hall nodded their heads in agreement.
"Fennel if you need anything do not hesitate toe ad look for me. Valkyries, you shall be assisting the forest spring spirits on this event and also keep her so busy that she cannot leave the Main Floor".
"Leave Princess Cecilia to me" Alice immediately raised her hand to volunteer "Hehe¡ we are good friends now, master can leave her to me".
"Alright, I will leave her to you" Simon knew that the two of them had hit it off and had bonded quite well in this short period of time. Leaving Cecilia in Alice''s care should be alright.
''Is it because both of their races have a little simrity to one another?'' Simon questioned internally. Technically, Alice''s race was Wood Elf who are said to be close to the nature like the elves and the high elves.
The forest spring spirit are said to be a race that is born from the blessings of the nature and has a strong affinity with it. Simon couldn''t discount that it wasn''t because of this fact that the two became good friends in such a short time.
While Simon was handing out orders and giving some ideas that he had from his previous world, he suddenly heard the door open. Thinking that it was Cecilia, everybody stopped talking and nced towards the door only to see a peerless beauty walk in.
Her hair was a little messy probably because she had just taken a nap but that w seemed to have enhanced her beauty even further making everyone enamoured just by her presence. Her skin glowed a milky white from the bath she had taken and a nice smell wafter around her.
"What are you guys talking about?" she slowly approached closer and asked.
Simon nced at Irene and then looked at the door behind them. Seeing that there were no signs of Cecilia, he shifted his gaze back at Irene and asked "Where is Cecilia?".
"She is still sleeping" the woman replied.
"Why are you asking that?" when questioned by Irene, Simon revealed his n and told her how the little girl was trying to hide her birthday from them.
When the phoenixdy heard that, her crystal blue eyes narrowed a little "So that girl was trying to do something like that huh!! She calls me big sister but hides something so important from me. Good, I like your n. Allow me to help too, we shall give her a surprise that she will never forget".
Since Irene had that icy expressionless face, it was hard for others to know what she was feeling. However, given that she had always cared deeply for the forest spring spirits and especially toward Cecilia, it was only natural that she would be a little angry after such an important thing was hidden from her.
Now that all of them had assembled here, they solidified their master n that was Cecilia''s birthday. After Fennel left the pce, Simon turned towards Irene and asked her a question out of curiosity.
"By the way, when is your birthday?".
He knew very little about her and it was not very long ago that he felt like she had opened up to him a little. She always had that mysterious aura shrouding her that barred Simon from getting to know her. He thought that maybe knowing her birthday would allow him to close this distance.
Irene nced at him with her crystal blue eyes, her two cherry red lips opened and closed a few times.
"Hmm¡ why do you ask? Well, it has already gone by. It was on the 15th of the Virnix month"
The Virinix month had gone by four months ago. At that time, he was stuck inside the forbidden trials toiling away his days in training and trying to find an exit.
"I see¡" Simon didn''t have anything else to say.
"Right, I heard what happened in the orc''s territory from Ate. Don''t you need my help to bring those orcs inside the dungeon?" Irene asked changing the subject.
Simon nodded his head, he wasn''t able to ask for her help before since she looked tired. But now that Irene had brought it up herself, Simon told her how he had managed to gather new subordinates.
"If you open a teleport portal like thest time, I can bring them back".
Irene mused and nodded her head at Simon''s proposal. From what she could tell, that orc named Berigard seemed to be somewhat trustable. They might end up bing a crucial force that guarded this dungeon in the future.
Although one still needs to be careful and made adequate preparations in case they tried to revolt; after all, they were beings brought from outside the dungeon and not its native inhabitants. One cannot be too careful against them.
"When are you nning to go?" she asked.
"Right now" Simon answered, he wanted to wrap up everything before Cecilia''s birthday. Although the Valkyries and Fennel would be able to sufficiently good job, as her brother he had certain responsibilities that he must keep.
As such, he wanted to free his schedule andplete the tasks that have been in the back of his mind for a while. Irene did not stop Simon, she could see that he had already stabilised the mystical energy within him that had be unstable after the rapid increase in his levels.
"Take Bea with you, even though I have been to the orc territory once, with her sending me the spatial axis it would be much easier for me to create a gate near your position," Irene said making Bea who listening from the side, ecstatic.
Chapter 516 516- Two Leaf BloodTrap Plant
Simon dilly dally longer, he was about to teleport out of the dungeon along with Bea when suddenly he saw the Bloodthorn demonic warhorseing in.
"My lord if you are going to the orc territory to bring in those orcs, please take me with you," the warhorse asked.
"What will you do there?" thest time he had brought the warhorse because he needed someone to divert the attention of the Elder Lizardmen from the Deep Sea Alligator Kings. Now that he had already subdued the orcs, there was no need for him to bring the warhorse along with him this time.
Besides that, due to the recent incident with the orcs, the people of the tower town were much too guarded against the monster and the appearance of the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse was much too conspicuous.
Well, he was not the one to talk being a demon viscount and all after all; however, he had the aid of the Grimlock''s trinket with him.
"My lord, I want to see the ones who are going to be the new defenders of this dungeon with my own eyes before you bring them in here" The Bloodthorn demonic warhorse replied.
Simon understood the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse the most, he could tell that thetter wanted to check out the soon-to-be new additions of this dungeon and see whether they are worthy to be living in this dungeon.
It was a warrior through and through and would never ept arade who harbours a traitorous heart. Because of this, he wanted to go with Simon to the orc territory. Simon mused at the end, he did allow the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse to tag along with them.
The group was the same one that went to the northern region of the forest to subdue the Deep Sea Alligator king.
WHOOSH¡ Simon, Bea and the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse teleported a few kilometres away from the dungeon and using the cover of the forest, they slowly moved away. As he had guessed after the incident with the orcs, there were many adventurers patrolling the forest.
Simon took out the Ice Phoenix''s Sigh and using its extreme presence nullification ability, they manoeuvred around the adventurers before they were finally out of the vicinity of the town. Now that there were no adventurers around, Simon mounted on the warhorse and expected Bea to do the same only to see thetter extending her hand towards him.
"Master" Her gesture was obvious, she wanted him to help her get on the warhorse. Simon recalled a simr scene around a year ago, at that time he was the one offering the help and the other way around.
But that one didn''t go well and that person chose not to share a mount with him and instead use her powers to fly away. That proud and cold individual was none other than Irene.
Now that Simon looked back to the scene, at that time Irene did not even converse with him much and it took a long time before they became able to converse the way they do now.
While Simon was having such thoughts, Bea climbed the warhorse using his outstretched hand and tightly embraced him from behind. Her two full mounds pressed onto his back but since she was wearing an armour there was nothing to be felt.
NEIGHHH¡ rearing its forelegs, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse took off towards the sky. It took more than a day for Simon and the Valkyries who were flying at full speed to return back to the dungeon.
However, now that he was riding the warhorse it took them only half the time to arrive back to the orc''s territory. As he did not bother to hide his scent or presence this time, the orcs were clearly able to sense him.
By the time he arrived at the ck mountain, the abode of Berigard, a huge army was standing ready there.
"My lord, we have been waiting for you" Berigard bowed his head, kneeled on two legs and offered his staff towards Simon. This was the custom the orcs used to show their loyalty and respect to their king.
Simon nodded his head epting their fealty and noticed the two orcs simrly owing behind him. If he was not wrong, they were the two orcmanders, Bellock and Belmarch.
What was surprising was that they were alive even after going through such a bashing at the hands of Gir-Rego. The presence of the two orcmanders was very feeble probably because they haven''t fully recovered.
"I hope you all are done with your preparations to move to a new ce?" Simon asked to which the orc general replied that they had nothing to take along other than the weapons and armour on them.
"My lord, may I be so bold as to ask you a question?" Berigard asked minding his manners, a strong pressure was currently boring down on him. Its source was the mount of the demon, the warhorse with a nightmarish look.
This kind of pressure that even made Berigard tremble in fear could onlye from a powerful beast, possessing a bloodline that was far higher than theirs.
Yes, it was the bloodline suppression that Berigard was feeling right now. It was not only him that felt this difference, every orc that was present here, did so. They all couldn''t hep but marvel at the powers of the demon to subdue such a strong beast and use them as a mount.
Unknown to Simon, the fact that he had chosen to bring the Bllothorn demonic warhorse with him, raised his image in their hearts by a fewfold.
Simon rested his gaze on Berigard who was still maintaining his submissive posture and told thetter to carry on. "My question is regarding the future of our orcs. What will be our purpose from now on once we enter your dungeon and whether the ce we are going be able to hold all of us".
Hearing his question Simon felt like it was only natural that thetter would ask something like that. Although he had told him that he would be taking them inside his dungeon, he never mentioned what they would be doing there and what their job was from now on.
Simon looked at the huge army at the base of the ck mountain and couldn''t help but get impressed. It was not only just the orcs from his faction that were standing there at attention but also orcs from other factions too.
The charisma that he had shown during the war was able to win over quite a bit of orc who had decided that it was better to follow him than stay in their territory.
From What Simon could tell looking at their numbers more than 60 per cent of the total poption of orcs were ready to move inside the dungeon. That is to say, around 90,000 were assembled here out of which 40,000 were ordinary orcs, around 35,000 High orcs and the remaining 15,000 were diluvian high orcs.
Just the number of the Diluvian High Orc was enough for Simon to dere that his participation in the war and the enmity with the ogre was worth it. These diluvian high orcs wouldter go on to be an incredible division of his dungeon''s army, one that would make even the world cower.
But that was something for thetter, right now they were just orcs who had lost a war and were forced to get evicted to a new ce.
"You are right, let me make this clear before we move on to the dungeon. Now that you have submitted to me, it makes all of you my subordinates. The responsibility of my subordinates is simple, and that is to protect my dungeon from intruders".
"That would be your job and duty from now on. Of course, I''m not saying that it is an easy task, inparison, it might be even harder than living here. Many of you would die but as I have said before, as long as you do a good job, you will be rewarded ordingly. To prove my words, I have brought something for you guys¡ here".
Simon passed a space ring to Berigard which thetter graciously received. When they checked the contents of the space ring, their eyes immediately became wide with shock.
"Th-This is Two Leaf BloodTrap nt¡ and there are hundreds of it inside" Berigard''s words were heard by the others around him and just like him, they too were shocked by what they saw.
Two Leaf BloodTrap nt, a mystical nt that only grow in the depths of the ghastly winding forest. That is to say, it grows in ces filled with a dense amount of mystical energy.
Another condition for the Two Leaf BloodTrap nt to grow was the presence of other floras around it. The Two Leaf Bloodtrap nt is a type of carnivorous nt that absorbs the life force of other nts around it to grow because of which, it contain a special property that makes the nt a highly sought-after by all the alchemist who wants to create higher tier potions.
Nevertheless, this wasn''t the reason why the orcs were so surprised. The special property of the Two Leaf BloodTrap nt is exactly the material the high orcs needed to evolve into a Diluvian High orc. It was their precondition for evolution.
The Two Leaf BllodTrap nts are rare due to their harsh growing conditions. Each year the orcs are only able to gather a few Tow Leaf BloodTrap nts from the depth of the forest; nheless, it was never enough.
So seeing hundreds of Two Leaf BloodTrap nts in the space ring offered by the demon, took them by surprise.
Chapter 517 517- Necklace Of Queen Silaska
"Where did you get all of these?" Berigard couldn''t help but ask.
"There are plenty more from where that came from" Simon gave a mysterious smile. Even if they were going to be his subordinate soon, he did not reveal the existence of the forest spring spirits living inside his dungeon to them.
It took some time for Berigard to digest the information, he kept the space ring and bowed his head in respect even deeply. If earlier he was feeling a little apprehensive about going to a new ce, now he couldn''t help but get excited over it.
"Thank you, my lord¡" Berigard thanked Simon once again, his actions was imitated by the thousands of orcs down below who were listening to their conversation intently.
"No need for that, it''s not a gift¡ think of it as an advance reward for the work that you are going to put in soon. Now then, as per the agreement, you are going to establish a blood contract with me. As long as this blood contract is in work, you cannot ever betray me".
"Furthermore, if in the future the tribe of orcs suddenly tries to revolt, you would be my sword that would cull them first" Simon dered. Of course, what he spoke was utter bullshit and could only dupe those that did not know what blood contracts are.
The blood contract was the weakest of all the contracts that a demon noble could initiate. It mightpel the other party to be loyal to the master of this contract in this case, the demon. Nevertheless, it did not have as muchpelling power as to make them absolutely loyal nor could it force the orc general into doing something it did not want to.
So basically, what Simon was trying to do was deceive them into thinking such.
"Bea contact Irene and tell her to open the gate" While Bea sent the spatial axis back to Irene, Simon initiated a blood contract with Berigard.
Thetter epted the shackles without anyint. After a while, a huge spatial gate formed behind Simon shocking the orcs silent.
"Alright, start moving in".
-----
50th floor of the dungeon Lace. Due to the proximity of the floor to the dungeon core, the density of mana here was very strong. Coupled with the fact that dozens of mana trees were also nted here amidst the normal trees, made that concentration go up even higher.
As soon as the orc army arrived on the floor, they were gobsmacked to see the sight thaty in front of them. The 50th floor was more than fifty kilometres bignd, had plenty of flora and an ecosystem designed with the living habitat of the orcs in mind.
The territory of the orcs could be said to be one of the bands of the western region of the ghastly winding forest. It was a barrennd with the only redeeming factor that it was rich in minerals.
Even amongst all the territories inside the western region, it was one of the worst. So when Berigard and the others who saw the vast wilnds and felt the dense mana around the ce, they couldn''t help but freeze in shock.
"Ah right, you might think that it might be a little cramped for 90,000 orcs. But don''t worry, the floor above this one is also yours and is more or less this big. I would suggest that you assign a portion of orcs, high orcs and diluvian High orcs to live up there. Well, I''ll leave that decision to you".
"The floor below this is the territory of the Deep Sea Alligator King and the elder Lizardmen. Unless ordered I would like you to stay on your own floors. In any case, there are many treasures of the nature and monsters spawned here to help you all to establish your own ecosystem".
"And thest thing I want to tell you before I leave you to yourself is that I hate internal fightings. During your course of staying here, you would see many kinds of races living here and that number would only go up higher in the future. Nheless, remember that once you have be my subordinate, you all belong to the same side".
After Simon finished saying all he needed to, he teleported back to the main floor along with Bea and the warhorse.
Main Floor, on top of one of the Mineral mountains located at the southern side of the floor. Since the Main floor was expanded quite a bit, there were many such mountains around here. The one they were on, was one of the highest mineral mountains.
From here they could see the white pce and the eternally shrouded pond of serenity and the trees of mana crystals around it. On the western side of the floor, was the beautiful garden that Irene and Cecilia had cultivated. The east and the north side were an orchard of mana trees.
In the future, as the dungeon progresses, the main floor would have more and more features added to it. Looking at the sight in front of him, Simon sighed. At first, the main floor was just an empty floor not even two kilometres big.
He reminisced how he used to sleep and eat in the open before he installed the white pce and the pond of serenity. Then came Irene and not long after her, Cecilia who hadpletely transformed his dungeon into something that even Simon had sometimes difficulty believing.
The growth of his dungeon was astronomical, it had far left all the other dungeons around it into the dust and was swiftly approaching the [C] rank. Simon who was its dungeon master could feel it. Perhaps, a little more push and it will advance.
"So what do you two think?" the reason why Simon brought them here besides wanting to look at the progress of his main floor from a high vantage point was to hear their opinion.
"Well they are not bad, at least they know how to properly address Master" Bea was the first one to let her opinion know. Since she could tell that the orcs were very fearful and respectful of her master, she didn''t any qualms with the newest additions to the dungeon.
As for the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse, it pondered for a moment before telling its thoughts.
"That orc named Berigard¡ I could tell that he does not harbour any intentions of going against my lord¡ that is for the time being. It is too soon to rule out the possibility of their betrayal so I would like to hold onto giving any opinion now".
The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was much more steadfast when it came to Simon and the dungeon. Its warrior-like personality made it extremely cautious of who he should trust and the tribe of orcs who were just brought to the dungeon was yet to get his stamp of approval.
On that note, probably only Irene, Cecilia, the forest spring spirits and the valkyries were the only ones who might have gotten its approval.
Simon did not feel like it was a bad quality, thus he did not try to persuade them otherwise and left them with their own opinions.
In the next few days, Simon would get busy in the preparations for the uing birthday, fulfil his roles as the dungeon master, monitor the situation at the tower town and check over the orcs on the 49th and 50th floor all at the same time keeping it a secret from Cecilia.
The little girl was kept busy by Alice and her friends from the vige. Since it was just for a few days, Simon allowed the forest spirit children to enter his white pce just this once.
The dungeon core was located in the basement of the white pce and was protected by multipleyers of formations. Even then, Simon stationed the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse at the entrance of the basement to be extra careful.
The preparation for the party was going in a full swing, the entire vige was pitching in to celebrate her birthday and to make it a grand event. One wouldn''t be able to find a single person that was free in the forest spring vige.
Thanks to Simon ordering Fennel to make it a grand event, the gravity of importance he had put into it, even surpassed the Spirit Fortuna Festival, making it one of its kind.
Irene and the Valkyries spent most of their time in the vige helping with the preparations. But since it would be too suspicious for Irene to be gone from the main floor for too long, she showed up every now and then and checked over Cecilia.
Thetter was never given the liberty to go somewhere on her own much less to the forest spirit vige. Everyone was busy doing something or the other. Simon was not an exception¡
"Finally I got something" Simon mumbled wiping the sweat from his face. Currently, he sat atop a rock near the serenity pond looking at the object that was in his hand. If one asked what he was up to, then it would be drawing Gacha or as the options say [Ga??????].
Yes, Simon was using the option as a part of his daily draw; nheless, today was different than usual since he was spending a little more than what he usually spent.
Normally, Simon would have stopped after using the [100,000] draw twice or thrice and getting some junks. However, today Simon was hellbent on drawing something good, something that was truly worth all the money he had put into it.
He had already used the [100,000] option four times; nheless, all he got was items which had no value in his eyes.
5th draw- nothing other than a [c] rank halberd, 10th draw- still the usual junk, 15th draw- items that was allocated for the treasure chest or to be recycled in his [Armoury].
Chapter 518 518- Necklace Of Queen Silaska (2)
18th draw- frustration and impulse to throw the option into the drains..
20th Draw- finally something unusual started to happen, all the mana around him was starting to congregate in one ce and an item that shined with seven different lights materialised out of thin air.
It was a locket embedded with three beautiful crystals. Simon extended his hands and caught the item that took him twenty [100,000] Dp draws to get. That is to say, he sent around [2,000,000] on this item.
It needs to be mentioned that apart from the DP needed to spawn monsters, traps, treasure chests, repairing floors when damaged and basically includes every other necessary expense to keep the dungeon functioning.
Simon only spends DP on buying the Elixir of sacred sanctum every day and two-three gacha rolls. However, today he expended more than two million DP just on gacha draws. Even if Simon''s DP ie was increasing at a marginal rate, it was still an amount that any other demon viscount wouldn''t think about splurging like that.
Forget about splurging, a demon viscount like Gelgar would need multiple months to even gather that amount. However, Simon had spent that amount in a few couples of minutes. If any low ranking demons heard that, they would go insane at the absurdity of things.
So why had Simon done that? It was because he was trying to get a good item as a present for Cecilia.
"It took me so much DP, you better be something" muttering that under his breath, Simon used Analysis on the ne in his hand.
Item name- Ne of Queen Sska.
Rank- [B]
Description- Summon Queen Sska and an army of Sea Sirens to fight for the user.
Duration- One hour
Cooldown- Ten days.
As Simon read the description, a frown hovered on his face. The ne fell into the category of a protective item and summoned an army of Sea Sirens to fight for the user. Since it was a [B] tier item, Simon believed that the monsters summoned from this ne won''t be weak.
Although Simon would be lying if he said he didn''t expect a high tier item to pop up, he nevertheless was happy with what he got. After all, a [B] tier item especially one that fell in the protection category was much more valuable than [2,000,000] DP.
Not to mention even amongst the protective items, the ne was ss above since it summoned units to protect the user. The ne of Queen Sska was the perfect gift for Cecilia when keeping in mind the danger the spirit tree spoke of.
As Simon hadn''t seen the future, he couldn''t tell what the danger was. Nheless, with this ne in Cecilia''s possession, he would be a little relieved. Now with the perfect gift in hand,
Simon stopped his gacha roll for the day and stored the rest of the items in his inventory. Days passed by quickly and soon the 4th day of the Dalia month arrived, the special day that everybody was waiting for.
"But granda Fennel looked like he was mad, why did he barred me froming to the vige?" Cecilia was lying on a bed in her room inside the white pce, brooding over what happened to Maya and Alice who were apanying her.
During these few days, she wasn''t allowed to move as she wished, go anywhere she wanted to go and was even scolded off by granda Fennel. The little girl had a belly full of frustration and felt wronged.
Alice and Maya who knew what was going on, tried to console her but it seemed like it had no effect, the little girl wasn''t willing to listen to anything.
"Big sister too¡ for some reason she isn''t hanging out with me anymore. Usually, she would be the forest one to console me whenever elder Fennel scolded me. She would always pat my head andb my hair like my mother. But she didn''t do so this time¡ could it be I did something wrong?" Cecilia pondered while lying face first on the bed.
"That is not the Mistress is such a benevolent person who loves Cecilia very much. I am sure she must be busy with something" Mayamented and nced at Alice to back her.
"Yeah, that right¡ that right. Princess Cecilia is thinking too much, even if you did something bad mistakenly, she would forgive you". "Unn~~ then what is it, why is everyone ignoring me? I feel like I''m in a house arrest" Cecilia protested throwing a fit on her bed.
Suddenly as if a thought struck her, Cecilia popped herself up and uttered a possibility for the unusual behaviour of those around her.
"Could it be because of the intruders? Have they managed to clear the new floors because of this everyone is trying to keep me here while they fight on the floors above".
Maya and Alice did not know how to respond to that, they were looking at the time every now and then. ording to the n, they had to keep Cecilia here for an hour more but it looked like that won''t be possible anymore.
Probably because the little girl was bored out of her mind or vexed by the unusual behaviour of those around her, the little girl suddenly grew some sense.
"Oh that''s right, I''m one of the Guardians like big sister Irene, I can just open the [Main Menu] and see what is going on around the floors. Let''s see I think I can also teleport using one of the options around here. Big sister had taught¡ let''s see was it [Dungeon] option".
Hearing that, Alice and Maya immediately panicked and tried to stop her from beingpulsive but that only made Ceilcia more doubtful of them. Just when it seemed like the little one would slip away from here and teleport to the forest spring vige, Simon knocked on the door and came in.
"Big Brother" Immediately, Cecilia sprang up from her bed and rushed towards Simon and in his embrace.
"Big Brother!! You were here¡ sniff¡ sniff¡ everybody trying to shun me out, I felt so lonely. Elder Fennel scolded me and barred me froming to the vige, big sister does not spend as much time with me as she used any more and goes away on her own. The others are just trying to keep me here" Cecilia cried all her frustration out.
Simon who was the mastermind behind all of this, patted the little girl''s head until she stopped crying.
"Nobody is trying to shun Cecilia, the others must have their own reasoning behind all of this," he said.
"But why would they scold me and stop me from going to the vige anymore?" Cecilia asked, she behavedpletely differently when around him and became as docile as a sheep.
"Isn''t it because elder Fennel wants you to rest. You have been working tirelessly these past few days and when you got to the vige, you try to work even more. I believe Elder Fennel has scolded you because he wants you to take a few days of rest. Have you heard of girls that don''t grow taller if they don''t take adequate rest?".
Simon tried to bluff his way out. His answer must have satisfied her but then she raised another question.
"Then where is big sister why isn''t she hanging around with me? Usually she would take me along with her but these few days she has been acting distantly towards me".
"Eh?!.. um well, that¡ yes, Irene is busy due to a certain task that I have assigned her" He tried to lie through his teeth once again though this time it didn''t manage to fool Cecilia.
"Really what task was it? Does it have to be big sister the one to do it?" she asked narrowing her eyes.
"That... It''s a task only she can do. That''s right, I sent her to the 24th floor to check on the newly mutated Blue Mega Sharks we spawned there for an experiment. Since it is very fast on water, Irene could quickly catch it using her ice magic that is why I sent her".
A droplet of sweat trickled down Simon''s face. He had to churn his brain cells toe up with lies on the spur of the moment.
"Hmm¡ but [Main Menu] shows me that big sister is in the forest spirit vige".
Busted¡ the lies that he had been spurning got caught this time. He had underestimated his sister, she had finally learned how to use the [Main Menu]. How should he respond to this?
When he looked at Maya and Alice for help, they hurriedly looked away. They had left him for sacrifice at this crucial time.
Simon churned his brain cells and the best he coulde up with was to change the topic.
"You said that you were quite bored and felt restrictive inside the pce right? Good, then why don''t you take a walk with me?".
If you cannot defeat the opponent in their game, just change the game itself. There was only a little more than half an hour remaining till the party, a walk would easily cover that up.
Cecilia was suspicious; nevertheless, she nodded at his suggestion and the two of them roamed the [Main Floor]. They talked about their daily life, what they have been up to these few days and if they had any problems they have been bottling up these past few days.
Even though Simon said they talked, it was mostly Cecilia doing the talking while he just heard and provided solutions every now and then. The reason why Simon brought this topic up with Cecilia was because this little sister of his was covering her anguish under that smile of hers.
Even though today was her birthday, she was still unwilling to tell anyone or bring it up. From this one could tell that she was still not over the phycological trauma that have been guing her.
Chapter 519 519- Birthday Celebration
Cecilia would turn nine today, a girl of her age should be carefree and smile from the bottom of their heart. Circumstances had forced her to be mature far too soon which ended up hurting her in the process.
Simon was genuinely worried about her, if she tried to keep her worries to herself and bottle it up every single day, it would lead to serious psychological issues one day. That is why Simon wanted her to speak her mind out while he just listened to her.
"Is there really nothing bothering you?" He asked in a roundabout manner.
"What is brother saying? I just told you, it''s the behaviour of the others that have been badging me" Cecilia answered waltzing a few steps ahead of him.
"I meant other than that.. if there are any worries you can tell me or Irene you know" Simon did not want to be too pushy, that is why he faintly hinted at it.
"T-there is nothing. Haha, big brother is such a worrywart" Cecilia''s gaze faltered for a moment and she looked away.
"Is that so¡ it''s good if there is nothing" Simon did not continue probing anymore. He knew that she wasn''t ready to open her heart yet.
"Have you been nting new trees and nts in the garden?".
Simon changed the topic. After they started walking west from the pce, they had arrived near the garden. The garden was beautiful and well maintained, it spanned for more than five kilometres and was a rxing ce to stroll in.
The gentle breeze, the winds carrying the aroma of the newly budding flowers and the sight that could calm one''s heart.
"Right¡ I tried to create some of the nts and trees that mom and dad once told me about in stories. ording to them, in ancient times the ancestors of our tribe of Forest spring spirits created many powerful trees and nts to serve the primordial demon of pride. Amongst them is a mythical creature that grows out of a tree and is called the caretaker of the forest" Cecilia pointed at a grove of trees that had a very weird structure.
"Hohh..." Simon uttered in admiration, he could tell that the trees were unique just by their appearance but he couldn''t have guessed that they were a kind of mythical tree that sprouted into some creature.
"Although I have diverted a portion of the mystical veins and pulled the essence of nature near their soil as per the memories inside me, I''m still not sure when they are going to sprout. It would be wonderful to have someone to take care of the garden all the time".
Cecilia turned towards Simon and boasted, wanting to be praised by him. Simon and Cecilia strolled around the garden for a while and before long he received a message from Irene that everything was done. The preparation was over, now everybody was waiting for the star of the event, Cecilia to arrive.
"Alright, this should be enough walk for today. You told me that you wanted to go to your vige right? Let''s go then" Simon said halting his steps.
"But grandpa fennel had told me not toe to the vige. If I go there I will get a scolding" Cecilia clutched the hem of her skirt and said dejectedly.
"You don''t have to worry, I''ll be going with you since I have some work there. Also didn''t I say that elder Fennel is only concerned about you, he won''t be mad" Simon reassured.
The two of them teleported a little distance away from the vige.
"Hm? Big brother, why didn''t you teleport us inside the vige instead of here?" Cecilia asked. They were in the bamboo forest that was on the north side of their vige.
"I don''t have a reason particrly, I just wanted to take a walk around the woods and have a rxing time watching the bamboo".
''Strange, even big brother is behaving weirdly'' Cecilia muttered under her breath as she silently followed behind Simon.
As they neared the north gate, Cecilia furrowed her brows seeing that there were no vigers walking around the town nor were there any sounds of activitiesing from inside. It was as if the entire vige was deserted.
"Where is everyone? Uncle Irid, Aunt Dhapny.. where are all of you?" Cecilia ran ahead and checked each and every house. Seeing that they were all empty, the colour from her face started to recede and her heart started beating anxiously.
She ran around the vige calling each and every one''s name; nevertheless, not a single soul responded to her calls.
"Where is everyone, pleasee out" Cecilia shouted at the top of her lungs.
"That''s weird¡ did anything happen?" Simon who was following her spoke out.
"Big brother¡ everybody is gone. They have all left me" tiny tears started appearing at the edges of the little girl making Simon a little guilty.
''I guess that should be enough'' he thought internally and suggested to Cecilia that they go searching at the vige square. As they arrived at the vige square, one could notice that it was decorated beautifully with balloons,mps, zig-zag streamers and other beautiful decor.
Tables and chairs were lined up around the corners and beautiful phosphorescent crystals lighted up the ce. However, the ce was empty.
"Where is everyone?" Cecilia dropped her shoulders and spoke in a low tone.
"Cecilia why don''t you go and wait there. I''ll go and see where everyone is" Simon pointed at a particr chair that was at the centre of other chairs and decorated very prettily.
Probably because she was in a very low spirit, Cecilia did not have the energy to say anything else and simply followed what her big brother had told her. She sat on the seat for a couple of minutes while keeping her down, when all of a sudden¡
"SURPRISE!!!" the resounding voices of many people sounded at once. Surprised, Cecilia hurriedly propped her head up only to see her nsmening out of one side of the vige.
"Everyone.." Seeing her nsmen and the people that she missed, Cecilia''s happiness had no bounds.
"Big sister, big brother, Maya, Alice¡ Aunt Daphne, Grandpa Fennel.. all of you¡ where did you go?" She asked with a tear-stained face.
Seeing her like that, Daphne hugged her immediately and whispered a few words "Happy birthday Cecilia".
With that, everybody repeated it loudly¡ª "Happy birthday Cecilia!!".
Hearing that, Cecilia''s eyes went wide with surprise and a few seconds after, it was as if a dam had burst open, tears continued to flow down her cheeks.
"Cecilia, did you really think these old bones would forget about your birthday?" Fennel came forward and spoke on behalf of everybody. He patted Cecilia''s head and personally wished her happy birthday.
After that, one by one everybody wished her happy birthday and finally, after getting teased by many people, the little girl stopped crying.
"Cecilia why don''t you go and sit in your seat," Simon asked. They had prepared a big buffet for everybody to celebrate her birthday today. Cakes, foods, drinks.. various kinds of dishes were brought out made specifically for this day.
"But big brother¡" Cecilia looked like she had something to say. However, because of everybody pulling her towards the seat of honour she couldn''t get the opportunity to speak out.
Seeing Cecilia surrounded by people, Simon smiled and walked beside Irene who was yet to speak a word.
"You haven''t wished her birthday yet did you?" he asked.
"You haven''t either" Irene replied in an indifferent voice.
"Well¡ in my case I want her to realise what wrong shemitted. I''ll do wish but only when shees out clean" Simon replied ncing at a present box in his hand.
"Is that her gift?" Irene''s eyes went towards the present in his hand.
While they were having such a conversation, the party had already started. A huge cake whose recipe and design Simon had provided, made its appearance. It was made by thebined efforts of the Valkyries, Irene and Cecilia''s aunt''s help.
This would be the first time that the forest spring spirits were celebrating a birthday in this fashion. Usually, they only had a homemade sweet made out of the products of the nature or meat from the monster as celebration.
However, this year thanks to Simon guiding them along the way and providing them wisdom from his previous world, the birthday celebration seemed to have been a great sess amongst the forest spring spirits.
"I-I have to blow on the candles?" Cecilia asked Simon who had joined the celebration.
"Don''t forget to cut the cake after that" Simon reminded. After the cake was cut, a few forest spring spirits started dividing it into shares and distributing it to everyone.
"How is it?" Irene asked staring straight at Simon.
"Hmm" Simon took a big bite and relished the taste of the cake. Probably because it was their first time making a cake, the cake did not have the quality that he had in his mind. Nevertheless it was still tasty.
When Simon said that, for some reason, Irene''s eyes seemed to have be colder, she gave a light snort and walked away.
''Strange'' Simon muttered to himslef, he had justplimented the cake, it was tasty; however, why is that she only heard the formehr half of his sentence, forgetting about thepliment he gave to the cake altogether.
Simonughed helplessly before concentrating on his cake. After a while, when everybody was busy dancing, eating or enjoying the party, Cecilia was finally free to sit next to Simon.
"Big brother¡" Cecilia''s gaze was elusive, she couldn''t look straight at Simon when talking to him.
"What is it?" Simon asked.
Chapter 520 520- Moringa Bolceae
"You haven''t¡ I-I''m sorry for trying to hide it from you all. I thought that since mother and father are no longer there, it would be better if I do not celebrate my birthday. I didn''t want to bother big brother who was already so busy¡ with something like a birthday¡ I.. I¡" Cecilia apologised realising her mistakes.
''Finally willing to let our worries out huh'' Simon calmly listened to her rant on.
"Who said that you can''t celebrate your birthday just because your parents are not there? Isn''t your big brother right here? You know I was a little angry when I heard that your birthday wasing from Fennel and not from you".
"The little sister who I thought had finally opened up to me was still keeping secrets from me. That is why I prepared a grand surprise for you. A birthday that you will always remember".
Simon patted Cecilia''s head. The little girl was still a little downtrodden, probably because she was remembering her mother and father.
Seeing that, he continued "Cecilia, one has to confront many troubles as long as one is alive. They are endless but it doesn''t mean that one has to get depressed over them again and again. You are strong¡ far stronger than any girl of your age that I have seen. Even after all that, you standing firm and looking after your n. But you know Cecilia, you can cry. If something is hurting you, you can tell us. Don''t bottle up your emotions¡ aren''t we your family now?".
Finally, tears started rolling down Cecilia''s cheeks as she repeatedly nodded her head "Un¡ Un".
After the little girl was one crying, Simon took out her present from his space ring and gifted her.
"Happy Birthday Cecilia!!". The words that she wanted to hear came from her big brother, came out at this moment.
Cecilia took the present and hugged it deeply to her chest.
"It''s an item called Ne of Sska that will summon forth an army of Sea Sirens to protect you. so remember to always wear it on you.. alright?".
Cecilia nodded her head and then pulled his clothes "Big brother, big sister is avoiding me" she murmured in a low tone.
Simon nced in a particr direction before smiling bitterly¡ª"Your Big sister is not avoiding you. Hmm¡ why don''t you go and talk with her. She was the one who was the most involved and excited for your birthday but she will never show it on her face. I am sure that you keeping your birthday a secret from her has hurt her. So go and talk with her".
Simon''s prompt gave the little girl the courage to confront Irene. Watching them talk in the distance, Simon sighed. He felt a little hypocritical saying all that to her when he himself most of the time bottled up the emotions and worries he was feeling within himself.
However, in his case, the reason why he does something like that is because he doesn''t want those dear to him to worry over anything. It wasn''t like somebody had asked him to do so, shouldering all the storms by himself was something that he himself had chosen.
Trying to present a fake front of everyone, Simon did not know if it was good or bad. However, he knew that if he wanted to protect the things he had, he has to keep on enduring and be stronger.
From his seat, he saw the two of them finally patch up as Irene bent down to hug the little girl. It looked like Irene had also prepared a present for her, although he couldn''t see what it was from here, given that it was from her, it was bound to be precious.
Smiling to himself, Simon enjoyed the party and had to order the valkyries to enjoy themselves too. Arge bonfire was created at the centre around which people dance and sang. The young forest spring spirit couples used this opportunity to seek out their other half for a dance, everywhere you looked, it was a festive mood.
As Simon sat on his chair drinking the wine that was brewed by the forest spring spirits, Irene approached him at some unknown point and sat at the seat next to him.
"Why don''t you go and join them? You are their lord, after all, I''m sure they would be quite delighted to have you" Irene said covering her mouth.
''It''s rare for her to initiate a conversation?'' Simon nced deeply at Irene when he heard that. He gulped down the wine in his ss in one mouthful and said:
"With a few exceptions, all those who are dancing there, are couples. If you care to join me for a dance then by all means we can go there".
Simon smirked, traces of teasing evident in his eyes. Probably because he was slightly intoxicated, or just too rxed at this moment, his present conduct was much ore like a rogue than his susual self.
Seeing that carefree style of talking, Irene was stunned for a moment. This was a side of him that she had never seen before. Nheless, she was irked by that smirk hanging at the corner of Simon''s face and curled her lips.
"Why don''t you take those maids of yours or Cecilia? Look at how intensely she is watching the dance, I''m sure that she wants to dance too".
Hearing those words, Simon blinked his eyes a couple of times. If he wasn''t mistaken, her words had traces of jealousy. Was this block of ice who rarely showed any emotions, jealous of the valkyries who were always hanging around him?
"Are you perhaps jealous?".
When he asked that, it caused an intense reaction from Irene, it was as if he had stepped on cat''s tail.
"What?! Where did thate from?" Irene asked, she herself didn''t know why she was so fazed by thatment.
Her behaviour told Simon that he had scored one over her. He smiled, took out another gift from his space ring and presented it to her.
"What is this?" Irene asked looking at the gift in Simon''s hand.
"It''s a gift" he answered.
"Then shouldn''t you give it to the birthday girl" Irene furrowed her brows in consternation, the ripple in her heart from Simon''s earlier words was yet to settle down when¡ª
"I am" Simon was quick in his reply, he reached out grabbed her hand and ce the gift on her palm.
"This is a present for you¡ Although it has already gone by, who said that we cannot celebrate it?".
"I cannot ept this¡ besides my birthday had gone by four months ago" Irene seemed hesitant to ept it.
"That blood crystal that you gave me, helped me a lot during my journey. Even though your birthday had gone by a long time ago, think of this gift as my repayment for all that help you have given me up until now" Simon did not wait for Irene to speak again, he shifted his hands behind him unwilling to take it back.
After that, he shed his trademark wicked smile and walked towards the centre of the vige square mixing with the crowd there. Looking at that back, Irene''s crystal blue eyes suddenly had some iprehensible emotions covering them.
"Why does it have to be like this every time¡" Nobody knew what she was talking about.
After he went to the vige square, he looked at Cecilia seating on her seat of honour and staring excitedly at the people dancing around the bonfire.
"Ahem¡ Do you like that dance?" Simon asked, his voice seemed to have snapped Cecilia out of her daze.
"Ah¡ Yes, it is the traditional dance of our forest spring spirit tribe called the Moringa Bolceae. My father used to always apany me for a dance whenever we made a bonfire like that" Cecilia exined.
''So it was a dance that she used to do with her father, no wonder she looked so yearningly at it. It reminded her of her father'' Simon thought internally and extended his hand.
"In that case, my little sister would you care for a dance?".
"Eh?" Cecilia was surprised when she saw Simon ask her for her dance. Her eyes instantly shined like the brightest jewel and she immediately nodded her head.
"Since I do not know the steps of this dance you will have to teach me" Simon stated and using the trinket of Grimlock, he transformed into his human version. As Simon was naturally very tall, if he didn''t do this he wouldn''t be able to dance with Cecilia.
"Don''t worry big brother, it''s very simple. You take a step like this, position your around me like this and¡" Cecilia started giving instructions to Simon and after a while they were doing the Moringa Bolceae, the traditional dance of Forest Spring Spirits albeit with some errors.
Seeing Ceciliaugh and be merry, Simon felt like his objective was achieved. After they finished their dance, the people of the forest spring vige pped for them.
"Big brother did you like our dance?" Cecilia asked.
"Of course" Simon nodded.
"Then wait here, don''t go anywhere" saying that, Cecilia disappeared among the crowd and after a while dragged Irene with her.
"W-Wait what are you doing Cecilia?" Irene asked after she was dragged here against her will.
"Hehe, this is a good opportunity. Why doesn''t Big brother dance with big sister?" With a mischievous smile shing on her face, Cecilia pushed Irene towards Simon.
"B-But I don''t know how to dance?" Irene protested.
"Don''t worry, big brother will teach you. Hehe, didn''t you say before that you will fulfil one wish of mine no matter what it is?" Cecilia didn''t give up making Irene finally relent to her wishes.
"Sigh¡ I''m kind of regretting saying that" Irene muttered in a weak voice.
Chapter 521 521- Mysterious Dream
Irene muttered under her breath, turned towards Simon and extended her hand.
Getting the clue, Simon took her hand and brought her near the bonfire for a dance.
"Just so you know, I have never danced before this. So it might be¡" Irene said averting her eyes.
"Don''t worry, their dance is not as difficult as you think" Simon assured. He ced his hand over her willowy waist and locked his other arm with hers. Just like how Cecilia had taught him, they started dancing.
And although Irene said that she never danced before this, her poise was graceful and her steps elegant. Coupled with the fact that one had the charms of a devil while the other was a celestial beauty, they quickly stole everyone''s breath.
Their dance was so mesmerising that every watching eye was locked onto them and their mouth gaped open from the scene.
"You are quite good for someone who said that they have never danced before this. Did you enjoy it?" Simon spokeing to a break after a while.
"Well, I never said that I was bad" Irene responded with a flushed red face. This was the first time she had danced with someone. not to mention with the opposite sex no less.
At this moment she looked so beautiful that one might even have difficulty tearing their gaze away from her.
CLAP¡ CLAP¡ CLAP¡ Came the loud apuse of the crowd. At some unknown point in time, all the other couples had stopped dancing and were watching them intently.
Irene turned around and walked away, leaving behind a few short words "Thank you for the gift".
Simon smiled, she didn''t reply to thetter half of his question; nevertheless, from her behaviour, he could tell that she did enjoy it.
On one corner of the town square, Bea was brooding intensely causing cracks to appear on her te.
"How long do you n on continuing that, get over it. Our Master and Miss Irene.. they truly are a good match" Ate spoke standing beside her.
"B-But¡ Unnngh!!" Bea pouted, before she could say anything, Alice beside her finished her cake and waltzed towards where Simon was saying "After Princess Cecilia and Miss Irene, it is my turn".
"Huh? Wait¡ I shall be the one to dance first" Bea hurriedly tagged along followed by Emma and Bianca.
"Sigh" Ate sighed and followed her sister to ask for a dance with their master. Like that, Simon had to dance with all the five Valkyries before he could take a break.
It turned out that the birthday party he had thrown for Cecilia, was super popr with everyone. The party went on for quite a few hours before everyone turned to their homes.
Simon did not teleport to the white pce and instead chose to stay in the bamboo house made for him at the insistence of everyone. As there was no way to tell the passage of time inside a dungeon, one had to follow their instincts and rest when they feel tired.
Simon was a demon noble, he did not have much need for sleep unlike the forest spring spirits. But perhaps because it was a long time ago that he took a nap, he quickly fell asleep as soon as he turned to the bed.
How long was he asleep? Simon couldn''t tell¡ all he could say was he was drifting endlessly to somewhere without his control. Before he knew it, he was in a vast white space with no end or beginning.
The ce waspletely empty and other than him, there was nothing there. Simon quickly recalled where this ce was, when he was tackling the trial in the ancient treants territory set by Aldebaran, this was where he ended up after he lost consciousness on the ninth step.
[TEEEEE]...
Just like that time, the weird noise rang out within the empty space calling him towards it.
Simon followed the sound and soon he appeared in front of the object that was releasing an intense amount of light and was so hot that it felt like the core of the sun.
Needless to say, Simon couldn''t approach closer to it because of the heat. Nheless, his ability to resist heat was on a whole different level after his me magic evolved to the advanced level. He was much closer to the object in terms of distance, than thest time he was here.
Still, there was a few meters distance between them that no matter how much he tried, he couldn''t cover. It was not the problem of heat, it was as if his feet were invisibly stuck to the ground unable to proceed any further.
? Simon sighed, looked at the object and spoke "You brought me here again this time too didn''t you? What are you? And for what reason did you call me?".
It might look odd that he was talking with an object; however, make no mistake, it was no ordinary object and was capable ofmunicating with Simon.
[TEEEEE] just like always, itmunicated with a ringing sound. Simon who got adept at thatnguage thest time he came here, tried to understand what it was telling him.
"What!?... You want to show me something?" He muttered in confusion. Before he could ask what it wanted to show him, the vast white space he was in, disappeared. His vision blurred and the scenes around him changed.
When he tried to look around to see where he was now, he saw an enormous tower piercing the very dome of sky. It was so majestic, grand looking and impactful that it was iparable to the tower of his dungeon.
Nheless, what amazed Simon was not the tower but the destruction that was around it. Thend around here for thousands of miles along with the very space here was devastated to the point that it was unrepairable. The sky was fragmented with ck holes appearing everywhere.
Even the ginormous mighty tower was damaged with a portion of its walls copsed.
As Simon was surveying the ce his eyes suddenly went towards two shadowy figures standing high up in the sky without a foothold. Facing them, were eight figures who were shrouded in a mysterious light except for one.
When Simon saw that figure that was not shrouded in a light, his eyes opened wide and a look of disbelief appeared on his face. He was so perturbed that his mind had gone nk instantly.
The reason for his shock was the eighth figure that was not shrouded in light. It was a familiar figure, one that was very close to him.
"Cecilia?!!" Simon couldn''t help but yell out in shock. Yes, one of the figures standing nobly in the air, was none other than his little sister Cecilia.
More urately, that someone looked very much like Cecilia, but it wasn''t her. Those emerald green hair, fairly like beautiful face, butterfly wings and those mysterious speckles of light that always followed her.
Her every feature matched with Cecilia, just that they were more taller, mature and grown up than the current little girl that he knew of.
It couldn''t be a mistake, the simrities were just too uncanny.
Who was that someone that looked like Cecilia? Who were those other seven shrouded figures around her and who were the two shadowy figures that they were facing?
What kind of dream was this? Simon had more questions than answers. He felt a burst of pain assault his head and before he knew it, he passed out.
HUFF¡ HUFF...HUFF¡ the next time he opened his eyes, he was back in his bed inside the bamboo house on the forest spring vige.
"What was that dream¡ Haa¡ Haa" Simon mumbled, his body was drenched with sweat and he was out of breath like he was having some nightmare. He couldn''t understand the dream that he had just now.
That mysterious white space and those figures, everything felt so real that he couldn''t discount it as a dream. Especially, the figure of Cecilia, it brought back those words that he heard from Aldebaran about Cecilia being a reincarnation of one of the Eight Emmisarries.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn''t arrive at any other exnation.
That light and that dream, why did he have it now? Unable to calm his mind, Simon got up from his bed and went out for a stroll. Unknowingly, he had arrived in front of the spirit tree who was sleeping soundly like an infant at this moment.
ording to Irene, one of the abilities of the spirit tree was to glimpse into the future, Simon thought that his peculiar dream had something to do with it. However, it looked like he was wrong, the spirit tree wasn''t involved in his dream.
And he didn''t know why, but a part of him told him that it wasn''t a future nor any dream but something that had already urred, a distant past.
Simon had a splitting headache every time that he tried to recall the scenes for some unknown reason. It was very different from the time when he witnessed the Historia in the forbidden trials, the dream he had today was very real, like a memory he had experienced himself.
"Why did you suddenly walk out of the house?" bringing along a cold gust of wind, Irene appeared behind Simon all of a sudden.
The woman''s senses were too sharp, even though he made no noise whileing out of the house, Irene was still able to perceive him.
"No reason particrly, since I couldn''t sleep, I just thought to take a walk" Simon tried to sound as convincing as possible. Even if he discussed the dream he just had with Irene, it would only be worrying her needlessly thus he decided to cover it up with an excuse.
Chapter 522 522- Mana Flow
"What about you, why are you here? Didn''t you go to bed alongside Cecilia?" Simon turned the question back to her.
"Indeed I was taking a nap, but I came here looking for you?" Irene said.
"Looking for me?" Simon furrowed his brows. When he saw her taking out the object he presented her as her birthday gift, he finally understood what she meant.
"This Hairpin¡ why did you choose this as a gift?" Irene asked, one could feel a weird turmoil in her otherwise always calm voice.
The hairpin in question was made of jade and was a beautiful emerald green colour. It had a beautiful design and a phoenix at the end. The jade hairpin was one of the items that Simon and his colleagues had put inside the gacha.
On that note, it was a super ultra rare item with a drop rate of less than 0.0001 per cent. It was so rare that Simon was inwardly amazed that he managed to get it and not any [A] or [S] rank items which have a better drop rate than the pin. There was no way he could say that it was a gacha item with no practical value other than its aesthetic look and rarity.
"That hairpin is one of the few rare items I possess in my [Inventory]. There is no other like it in this world. The reason I gave it to you is because I thought it might look good on you" Simon was not lying, the hairpin was indeed one of its kind and exquisite looking.
While he was preparing a gift for Cecilia, he had been thinking about what could be an ideal gift for Irene. For someone like her who could easily take out philosopher''s stone and other high ranking items, the items in his inventory might not have any appeal to her.
In that case, instead of burning a hole in his DP and providing her with an [A] or [S] item, he thought of giving her the Jade hairpin that he was lucky enough to get on one of his gacha or [ga??????] rolls a few days ago. So it was not like he did not think at all before giving her this gift.
"So it was like that¡" Irene mumbled looking at the hairpin in her hand. No matter which women looked at the hairpin, they would no doubt call it pretty but for some reason, Simon felt like Irene wasn''t very happy with his answer.
In fact, Simon couldn''t have guessed at that time that the hairpin symbolised a different meaning in the ce she came from.
Irene nodded her head and kept the hairpin. She gave him one of those rare smiles and said "Thank you, it''s very beautiful".
Well at least she did like it, Simon thought internally and said "You are wee".
The morning of the next day, everyone cleaned the town square before Simon and the others returned back to the main floor.
"Hehe, big brother look at all the gifts that I got" Aftering to the main hall, Cecilia brought out all of the gifts she received from everyone. With a quick count, Simon guessed that there were more than 40 gifts lying there.
He also noticed that Cecilia had worn the ne he had given her for her birthday on her neck. The ne other than being a great protective item, looked good in the aesthetic department too. Thus it did look good on her neck.
On that note, in preparation for that unknown danger, the array that they hadid down was alsopleted. It had absorbed a sufficient amount of mana and was ready to work at any time. So if any danger did fall on the forest spirit floor, at the very least the protection array would be there to defend them.
Simon opened his [Main menu] and looked at the progress of the adventurer''s teams. The group that was leading the exploration was none other than the tyrant mountain guild. There were a few more groups who were a floor or two behind them.
These groups were new to the town and came after the distress call. Just like the tyrant mountain guild, they too were from a big guild from the kingdom of Ellesmere. The highest floor that was currently being explored was floor 38.
It was not a lot of progress when you consider the fact that this was the same adventurer team that was on floor thirty fourth a month ago. It was not just the tyrant mountain guild, every other guild and team that was in the tower town, had their progress halted.
The reason for this was none other than the sudden invasion of the orcs. Due to the town being destroyed and many adventurers dying or suffering a trauma, many teams had to dissolve, guild members had to go back to their headquarter to give a report while other simply did not have the nerve to stay in the tower town anymore.
In a situation like this, it was only just normal that the dungeon exploration progress would get slowed down. It was especially the case for low rank adventurers and small teams that did not have the backing of a guild or anyone to rely on.
The lowest ranking adventurers or the daily bread earners were the groups that took the heaviest blow from this incident. Resulting in the demographics of the low ranking adventurers in the tower town to go down.
However, their departure did not affect Simon in the slightest since after the distress call new and more adventurers had flocked to his tower town recing the old. Their levels were higher, they had a solid guild behind their backs and most of all, they provided much more DP than those low ranking adventurers.
From this unfortunate incident, the tower town had seen a new breeze of adventurers flocking to the town. However, it was not like all the low ranking adventurers were gone. There were still a few groups that made it through the storm or were persistent enough to create a new group.
Apartment from that, due to the dungeon Lace, being in close proximity to some of the border cities of the northwestern kingdoms of the central continent, it was bound to attract newbie adventurers and low ranking adventurers.
If one took a survey of the tower town, one would be able to notice that after the distress call, the average level of the adventurers in the tower town has gone up to level 300. For Simon and his dungeon, it was a good thing; however, it was also a double-edged de hanging around his neck that coulde down at any moment to im his life if he did not prepare enough countermeasures.
Finding the growth of his dungeon satisfactory, Simon closed the [Main Menu]. Now that everything was taken care of, it was time for him to head towards the p[ond of serenity for his training.
Irene before walking awayst night, told him toe to the pond of serenity tomorrow to continue their training. Now that Simon had acquired [Mana Lines] and [Minimal Mana Consumption] as Irene had asked him to before reaching level 500, it was time for him to move on to his next set of objectives.
When Simon got up to walk out of the Main pce, Cecilia and the valkyries too showed their willingness to tag along with him. Since that was the case, Simon allowed them toe with him.
When they walk past the mist and the light of the beautiful crystal trees, a pond straight out of some kind of fairytale appeared in front of them. Near the shore of the pond, was a woman of ethereal beauty silently sitting by the pond side.
The moment they spot her, she too discovered them.
Simon arrived before her and smiled bitterly. The n was for him to train here alone however, they insisted oning along with him disturbing the tranquillity of the ce.
"This pond... no matter how many times I see it, it looks as magical as ever" Alicemented. By her side, Cecilia who heard that started talking about how it lookedpletely different than a few months and how unique things seemed to grow inside it.
Ate, Bea and the others started setting up tables and chairs and preparing tea. Looking at them, one would have to wonder if they were out here for a pic.
Irene sighed before dawning on a serious atmosphere. Her crystal blue eyes seemed to shine with a mysterious light as she observed Simon.
"Un.. it''s good that you stabilised the growth of mystical energy within your body after going through a big level up. Now that your body has adapted to that level of stats, it''s time for you to acquire the next set of skills before you rank up".
"As I have mentioned before, to grow strong one must first build their foundation. A solid foundation is the key to grow stronger in the future. Someone who neglects that, and goes for fancy skills with high damage power to see immediate results will find themselves soon facing a wall that cannot breakthrough".
"In your case, you have focused more on key skills that build your strength gradually rather than any fancy attacking skills. This means that it will be much easier for you to breakthrough when the timees".
Irene observed. It was as she had said, Simon was now level 473, which meant that it was only a matter of time before he reaches level 500 and goes through a rank-up.
Yes, a rank up means that Simon would finally be able to be a Demon Earl from a Demon viscount and step into the true nobility amongst the demons.
Chapter 523 523- Mana Flow (2)
It would also mean that he would finally be able to sense the true essence of the mystical energy and acquire those dreadful skills the Demon Earls had. Not only that, the rank up from a demon viscount to a demon earl meant that his body would be going through various qualitative changes.
For example, his bloodline. A Demon Earl''s bloodline was much purer than a Demon viscount. So when he ranks up, the purity of his demon lineage will be on a whole other level and the effects it would have on his mind would also be on a whole other level.
A demon nobles rank is not only measured by the purity of their bloodline but also the capacity of mystical energy they can hold in their body, the amount of strength they can exert, their mind, skills and theprehension of the mysteries of mana that they possess.
Everything goes through a qualitative change when a demon noble ranks up. Just by thinking about it, Simon was getting excited.
How long had it been since he ranked upst? If you count that it has been more than 1 year 2 months since he came to this world and take out the three months it took for him to rank up to a demon viscount from that, it has been more than 11 months since then.
11 months after bing a demon viscount, Simon was about to step into a new rank soon. If any other demon nobles heard that they would be stunned beyond belief. Never has there ever been a precedence that a low ranking Demon baron with an inferior bloodline managed to rank up twice in less than a year.
Forget about it being possible or not, even if it was possible for a demon baron to be a demon earl they would at least need hundreds of years and an umtion of incredible treasures, willpower and a miracle for something like that to even happen.
So Simon ranking up in less than 2 years is nothing short of impossible for others to believe or ept after all it broke all norms andmon sense.
Well, all of it would only be true once he ranks up. Simon hadn''t forgotten about the shackles that bound him and every other organism, the undeniablew of this world. The purity of one''s bloodline.
One needed a pure and strong bloodline to climb thedders in this world. Since Simon''s bloodline was very impure due to being a demon born from mana and all, he had not the slightest chance of ranking up even if he reaches level 500.
However, thatw would have applied to him if he didn''t have his [main menu] with him. One of the options of the Main menu, [Character] allowed him to view his stats, skills and magic just like the status.
However, unlike the status system of this world, the [Character] option of his [main Menu] was much more advanced in that it had additional two functions, [Promote] and [Constetion].
[Constetion] was the function that provided more detail on his title, Demon of Pride. It showed him all the fragments of pride that he possessed in a Cygnus constetion pattern. The stars that were locked, represented the iplete or missing fragments of pride and the star that was shining was the fragment that was currently in his possession.
However, what baffled him then and even now was that the status of this world showed him that there were only 5 fragments of pride whereas the [constetion] disyed six. Simon didn''t know if it was some kind of bug or not and how to gather the fragments.
It was not like he didn''t think about asking someone however, those demons that had the fragment, were the demon lords. He couldn''t just go to their ce and say ''Oh Hey!! Can you tell me how to gather the fragments?'' now can he?
In the first ce, possessing a Fragment of Sin made one exceptional amongst exceptional in the demon hierarchy. They were a special existence even above the Demon Archduke and were born with an extraordinary destiny.
From what he had seen in the Walpurgis, a person holding the fragment of sin was bound to be the demon lord carrying the glory and envy of all demonkind. It was further confirmed by Aldebaran when he sensed the fragment within him.
That is why Simon cannot ask anyone about this as that would be revealing one of his biggest secrets to someone else. If that someone harboured ill intent in their heart, they would try to kill him or snatch his fragment if that was possible.
Simon wasn''t an idiot, he knew how having a treasure and not having the power to protect would lead someone to. It would only bring him unwanted troubles, greed and jealousy of everyone if he revealed that he possessed the fragment of pride.
That is why asking someone about that was a no go and also the reason why he had left the [Constetion] option alone.
The other function [Promote] was what gave Simon his confidence and power to rebel against the unwrittenw of this world. [Promote] allowed him to achieve the same effects as the rank up of sorts of this world.
In the game, this option was meant to break the cap limit of the yers allowing them to reach new heights. Essentially, the function allowed Simon to ignore the rules of this world and rank up and break through his limiters, something that would be unthinkable for others.
And it was not like he was just making an assumption, he had actually tried the function and ranked up to be a demon viscount. Since that was the case, Simon wasn''t worried that he would be shackled by the limiters ced on him by the world.
Seeing Simon''s eagerness, Irene nodded her head and said¡ª
"You have already acquired the [Mana lines] and are now able to channel your mana throughout your body in an organised and orderly manner. The other skill [Minimal Mana Consumption] allows you to cast magic or skills with less amount mana without affecting its firepower, cast or effectiveness. This way, not only are you cutting down on your mana expenditure, but you are also reducing the strain on your mana pool".
"For warriors with limited MP, this skill can turn the tides of a battle. Now that you have acquired both the skill you cast magic and skills more efficiently and with less amount of mana than what it would take others to cast the same".
"These are your building blocks for growth, thanks to you acquiring them earlier, when you rank up, they will also advance with you. Now, the next set skill that you need to master before you reach level 500 is [Mana Flow]".
Irene spoke adopting the disposition of a teacher. This made all those who were present not goof and listen intently to her. Given that how Alice and Cecilia had stopped talking altogether and were looking at Irene, Simon could say that it was working.
"[Mana Flow] is a skill that allows to you control things and objects without touching them physically. The principle behind this skill is to emit your mana out from your body and control it like how you do with your arms and legs. Think of it an extension of your body¡ like this"...
Saying that, Irene extended her hand and with the gesture of her index finger, a stone immediately flew towards her. The stone was not being touched physically nor was there any trick behind this, it was the simple application of [Mana Flow].
"You must have seen this kind of skill being used during your adventures. In fact, you have also learned a technique that kind of achieves a simr effect".
When Irene said that Simon recalled those high levelled adventurers he met near the nds of the Aqualin city. Even without touching physically, they were able to recall their swords and dagger back into their hands.
Also, a few days ago when he was fighting the ogres, he saw how they were capable of transferring mana into their weapons without even touching them. They have to be using a simr skill.
On that note, Irene was right he did indeed have a technique that sort of achieved the same effect. The technique he was talking about was none other the "[Dominator''s Control]¡". A legacy technique passed onto him by Irene.
The [Dominator''s Control technique could also control things and objects from a distance. But it used runes instead of Mana and its effect wasn''t only limited to inanimate objects.
"Right, I derived this technique from the [Mana Flow] skill. It can be said that the technique is the advanced application of the [Mana Flow]. For you who have learned the [Dominator''s Control] technique and understand some of its fundamentals, it would be much easier for you to learn the [Mana Flow] skill".
Irene exined, no matter how much the technique has deviated over the years, it was still derived from the [Man flow] skill thus Simon who had learned this technique, should be able to learn the [mana flow] skill rtively easily.
Just like how he had acquired [mana lines] using his [Ancestral symbol Ignition] he could achieve the same using the [Dominator''s Control].
Simon nodded his head called out his [A] tier crimson de and used the technique to move it around. He then closed his eyes and tried to understand it on a deeper level. [Mana Flow] is all about emitting mana out of your body and controlling it just like your own limb.
Chapter 524 524- Mana Flow (3)
Simon had seen people doing it, the [mana aura] of the ogres and the [mana wings] that the Valkyries used were all an application of emitting your mana out of your body. It was just that those people who were able to do it were all above level 500.
Emitting mana out of one body was totally different than casting magic. The former released non-attribute mana while thetter changed the attribute of the mana into that particr element. Changing the attribute of mana to emit it out was just casting magic, it had nothing to do with mana flow.
What Simon wanted to do was not to emit magic but to release mana from his body without consciously trying to give it any element. It was difficult for Simon because he was used to converting mana into different elements to cast his magic.
He had been doing this from the moment he had learned how to use magic¡ so it was a tall order from him to suddenly release mana without giving it any elemental form subconsciously.
"Ugh¡" Simon extended his hand and tried to pick up a stone from the ground by emitting his mana out.
Fwoosh¡ the stone trembled and was lifted above the ground; however, it was not an application of [Mana Flow] but simple casting of wind magic.
''Damn..'' Simon furrowed his brows and started repeating the exercise again and again. The stone would move every time but it was never because of the mana as it was because of the wind element, fire element or the electro element.
Looking at Simon diligently training from the spot the Valkyries had set up, Irene nodded her head. She took a sip from the tea cup that Ate had poured her.
"How is all your training going? I know that you guys all have high levels and plenty of Lost Ancient and higher tier skills. Nevertheless, you guys severelyck experience. You might be able to suppress your enemies with just brute strength for now".
"However, there would arrive a time when your master would have to face strong enemies and it isn''t a distant future that I''m talking about. At that time, you won''t have the option to go easy on your opponent neither would you have the time to master all of your powerful skills" .
Irenemented ncing in the direction of the valkyries. Even though they were summoned with a part of their strength sealed, all of them were nheless still level 699. It was a level enough for the people of this world to consider them a true powerhouse.
"Miss Irene is right¡ that is why we are focusing on learning the skills that master had bestowed us. We do not want tomit the mistake from the past once again. Thanks to Miss Irene and Master pointing it out, we now know in which areas we have to make progress on to help master in the future" Ate said stressing each word with determination.
Seeing the fire of resolve in the Valkyries eyes Irene did not speak any further and directed her attention back on Simon. The Valkyries did not stay for long, they all teleported to the training floor after seeing their master training diligently, he had invoultarily lit a fire within them.
Out of the twelve heroes, the maids were given the moniker of Valkyries because they were designed and their characters set to be like the valiant warriors in the battlefield. So even if they wore maid dresses underneath their armours, one shouldn''t mistake them for delicate flowers.
After the maid teleported to the training grounds and Cecilia went to her vige because she was bored, it was only Simon and Irene left in the tranquil pond-side.
How many times have he failed by now? Hundreds or even more.. nheless Simon kept on trying to get the hang of emitting his man out. For an untalented person like him, he would have to try it thousands of times or even more before he could start getting a hang of it.
Irene saw Simon struggling and failing numerous times but never once giving up. His dogged perseverance was something even she admired. This was the quality that she liked about him, he never gave up and persistently hanged on until he seeded.
Perhaps to others, this kind of struggling might look pathetic and just a waste of effort from their standpoint. But in Irene''s eyes this feature of him was what made him shine the brightest.
Simon had never received a proper guidance, the magic that he mastered and used today was self-taught and had years of experimentation and efforts put into it. If he had a proper training and given the fact that he was from the demon noble race, one of the few races in Althea known for their strong affinity with mystical energy, his power today would be strong beyond belief today.
"Dammit¡ it failed again".
Simon cursed. The mana he tried to emit out once again took an elemental form. It was not like he was deliberately attributing an element to his mana, it was a subconscious action whenever he released his mana.
Irene knew what kind of difficulty Simon was going through, people who usually emit their mana from their body in the form of [Mana armour] or [Mana Wings], usually do so after reaching level 500 and turning the mana into a liquid state.
It was much more easier to control liquid mana than the gaseous mana used by those below level 500. Since that was the case, it was no wonder that Simon was struggling to emit his mana out of his body.
His next hurdle will be when he sessfully manages to emit non-attributed mana. He then has to learn how to control it outside of his body which needed acute control and extreme concentration.
All along he has been using the [Mana lines] to control the flow of the mana inside his body. Now that there was no such things as preid out paths outside, he would have to control every strands of mana himself or else it would just end up dissipating with the air.
So why was Irene asking him to do something which mighte naturally to him once he reaches level 500 and learns to liquidise his mana?
The answer was because she wanted him to master controlling mana when it was in its most difficult to control state. That way, when he reaches level 500 in the future and the state of his mana starts turning into liquid, he would have a much easier time and a higher level of control at that time.
Not only that, but it would also make mastery over other mana emitting techniques such as [mana Armour] and [Mana Wings] much easier. The [Mana Armour] he would be able to create around his body will not only be sturdier but it will also be faster to evoke.
One cannot stretch on how important of a factor time was in a battle. Those who knew how to take advantage of that factor, can change the course of a battle in a matter of a second.
In the future Simon would find many such opponents capable of doing that thus Irene was already beating it into him from early so that he can face them without suffering a disadvantage. What she was hoping right now was for Simon to build himself a solid foundation that would be his building blocks for growth.
Irene silently sat there observing Simon''s progress, she never got impatient no matter how many time he failed nor did she tear away her eyes from him.
Time flowed by quickly and more than half a day had alreadt passed yet Simon was at it without stopping for a rest or break. His sheer perseverance and doggedness to seed was zing in his eyes like a me that refused to die even at the fiercest of breeze.
His determination was so palpable that no matter who looked at him, they would be able to feel the energy like the zing warmth of a fire. Irene too was no exception to that, she was somewhat astonished and at the same time impressed. Thus she decided him to give a little advice.
"It is all fine and good to be stubborn when trying to achieve something. However one cannot to be too headstrong and inflexible when handling mana. You cannot force it to bend your way and expect to get results. Take some time to rest, allow the mana within you to lead you and you will find out that it is not that difficult to emit mana without confering any element to it".
Haaa..Haaa¡
Simon who heard Irene''s cold and tranquil voice, stopped exerting his mana. He took a deep breath, lowered his hand and did what Irene told him. He noticed that the mana inside his mana pool that had be turbulent at some point, finally settle down.
SIGH¡ Simon released a sigh and walked towards the ce where the Valkyries had set up a table and chairs. Finding a chair to sit on, Simon reviewed what Irene had told him.
The Valkyries visited him in turns, although they themselves were training they didn''t neglect their primary task and that was to take care of their master. It so happens that it was Emma''s turn right now to serve him.
"M-M-Master.. Here''s you tea" With a voice that was trembling, Emma poured Simon a cup of tea.
"Yeah.. thanks" Simon thanked and took a sip. There was nothing better than having a cup of tea or coffee after working so hard.
As he was enjoying his tea, he looked at Emma who was minding her head down and had an apologetic expression on her face. Although she usually appeared all timid and cry-baby, giving a fake impression of weakness to others. In actuality she was like the worst nightmare for the enemies in the battlefield.
Controlling and restraining her opponents with her invisible threads and robbing them of all freedom.
Chapter 525 525- Familiar Face
She was an expert maniptor who liked having control over everything on the battlefield. Her personality would be more urately described by the word Machiavelli. Though that was the case, it did not mean the crybaby front she showed on the outside was phoney, it was just how she was, timid when not on the battlefield.
Now that Simon thought about it, Emma was a user of strings. She uses it to manipte her enemies while the other times just as simple trap. There were many applications for strings but the one she uses her powers the most for was maniption.
The way her strings behaved like an animate object which moves and follows around the target almost as if it has a mind of its own has to be due to a certain skill. When he asked her that, Simon found his answer.
Although not entirely correct, Emma was indeed emitting mana to control her strings but the reason why they behaved like animate objects was due to a certain number of skills used in conjunction.
Simon was enlightened, it appeared that taking a break when he was stuck really did end up opening a way.
"It looks like you found an answer" Irenemented looking at Simon''s eyes that was shining with a bright crimson light.
Simon smiled, a wicked look on his face, as if he was up to something. He hurriedly drank his tea and got back to his training. However, unlike thest time when he tried to achieve emission and control of mana all at the same time.
This time he called forth his sword and tried to emit just his mana around it. The reason why he was failing again and again without any progress to be seen, was because of he was trying to do everything at once.
There was no shortcut to strength, this was something Simon had early on, it was a mistake from the start to think that he who only had seeded in controlling his mana within his body after he learned [mana lines] would be able to achieve the same effect outside of his body where he had no support of said skill.
Not to mention emitting mana outside of his body was already proving to be a difficult task. He was trying to master the [Mana Flow] skill all at once instead of understanding its essence. No wonder he failed to make any progress.
What was he in such a hurry of? It was not like there was a time limit to learning this skill.
Now that Simon had sorted out his thoughts, he started his training with a new objective in mind. He would first learn the emission of non-attributed mana and to do that, he used the support of his sword, the only other extension object that was like an extension of him thanks to him mastering [sword Mastery] skill.
Every skill that he had learned up until now, was aiding him to acquire another skill and helping him grow altogether. This methodological way of training from Irene was extremely effective where every acquisition of skill was thoroughly nned and in range of his ability.
What kind of understanding and attainment in strength did one have to reach to guide someone else like this?
Simon had Goosebumps appearing all over his body. Excitement like never before welled up from within him. The heights he would be able to reach in the future, the height that Irene was currently gazing at the world from.
There was so much to look forward for. Simon was convinced, this woman was even more powerful than any of the other people he had met in his journey up until now. Yes, it even included Adalinda and that mysterious angel like figure Y that he had seen in the [Historia] of the forbidden trails.
Simon discarded the unnecessary thoughts and focused back on the task at hand. Although he had divided the work, it was still hard to emit mana out of his body without having any attribute attached to it.
Time passed by, and after an hour of continuously failing, when he tried for the umpteenth time, suddenly the mana which behaved like a floodwater whenever he cast a magic, flowed like a gentle stream of water and for the first time, he managed to emit mana out of his body without attaching any attribute to it.
Although it was only once and after numerous tries, Simon finally managed to do it. Simon suppressed the excitement and tried the process once again before he forgot the hang of it. It was infrequent maybe one out of every hundred times; nevertheless, he now had a vague idea about how to emit his mana.
He wasn''t worried about the probability right now since it will increase once he bes more proficient in handling mana. But yes, he was finally able to do it.
Simon was excited about his sess but this energy didn''tst long and was dampened when he realised that taking the next step was a hundred times more difficult than the first.
Now that he was able to emit mana amidst although very infrequently, controlling it was a totally different challenge. Perhaps it could be said that in the [Mana Flow] skill, the application of emitting mana was the easiest part.
The tricky portiony in controlling it.
''No, it''s still very soon for me to worry about that when I can''t even emit mana properly without trying dozens of times'' Simon mused closing his eyes. He cannot rush these things, he needed to progress one step at a time.
Controlling mana outside of his body might perhaps be an incredible challenge. However, he who hasn''t even reached that stage yet, doesn''t have to worry about that right now. All he has to do at this moment was to put all of his attention and concentration on the task at hand.
After he learned how to emit mana, then he could worry about controlling it.
Irene who suddenly saw Simon''s state of falter, frowned her shapely crescent brows. She was about to open her mouth and say something when she noticed that Simon gained control of his emotions once again.
It was surprising to her sometimes by how calm headed he behaved. She did not even need to step in to remind him of anything. Irene calmly watched from the sidelines as Simon slowly but surely mastered the emission of mana.
Seeing that thetter was making steady progress and didn''t need her help, she left his side, leaving Simon to train in peace. In any case, now that the dungeon master was busy, there has to be someone to take care of things around. And who better to assume these responsibilities than the guardians of the dungeon?
Guardians were the second highest position in Lace after the dungeon master, the authority and the degree of control they had over the dungeon was far higher than any other position. The dungeon Lace had three Guardians currently, Irene, Cecilia and the Null elemental named Wisp.
The Wisp was busy controlling the [workshop] and building golems while Cecilia¡ the little girl was just too young to assume such responsibilities. The only one who was left to monitor and run his dungeon was Irene.
Although she left his side to run his dungeon, she would nheless, visit him and check on his progress every now and then.
Simon who now understood the importance of a break and how crucial it was to rest his mind, took a pause to refresh his mind whenever he felt he was stuck at a bottleneck. The Valkyries who were simrly affected by the environment around him trained diligently too.
They would visit him in turns and cater to his needs. Days passed by swiftly like that and before Simon knew it, a month had passed.
Whoosh¡ a sound of wind rusting could be heard amidst the dense mist around the pond and the figure of Simon appeared from within it after the mist around him was shed in half.
Currently, he had his eyes closed, the crimson zing me sword was on his right hand which was emitting some slight buzzing noise. If one looked carefully at the edges of the de, one would be able to notice some faint blue energy like an aura covering it.
The aura wasn''t stationary and was flowing around the sword in a fixed path like an outeryer. The aura was very thick, and very inconspicuous if one did not pay enough attention to it, one would miss it entirely.
Nevertheless, it was thisyering that made the sword even more dangerous. Usually, If Simon did not utilise his powerful strength stat, he would be unable to cut the mist formed by the rich mystical energy, as effortlessly as he did right now when it was covered by theyer of aura.
It not only made the edge of the de sharper, but it had also extended its range increasing its lethality even more. Simon felt like the sword in his hand had suddenly gone through an increase in refinement with how powerful it felt right now.
Though in actuality, I was just thatyering of pale blue aura around the de doing its work. Theyering of blue aura was none other mana which he was continuously channeling.
After a month of progress, Simon was able to emit mana outside of his body as effortlessly as he would when casting any magic. Not only that, even his control over the mana has shown some positive results over the month.
Chapter 526 526- Familiar Face (2)
Now not only was he able to control it somewhat, but he was also even able to give some basic direction as could be seen by the way his mana was flowing around the edge of his [A] tier sword.
Huff¡ Simon exhaled a deep breath of air and slowly opened his eyes, he extended his right hand which was holding the sword and he gently release his hold from it. ording tomon sense, the sword should drop on the ground with a nging noise.
However, nothing as such happened and the sword even while not in his grasp was suspended in the air in front of him. It should be mentioned that Simon did not activate the [Dominator'' Control] technique nor were there any runes on the sword or on his hand connecting him with it.
Simon was able to achieve what he was doing right now from the simple application of emitting his mana and controlling his sword through it. Even though he said control, he could just barely keep the sword suspended in the air even after a month of training.
If he tried to move the sword even a little or distance himself from it, his connection with the sword would break and it would fall to the ground. It was still a tall order for him to move things around given his current mastery of [Mana Flow].
It was because of this reason that Simon wasn''t able to manifest it as his skill yet. It turned out that, he needed a much higher understanding and mastery over the skill to acquire. Nevertheless, Simon could distinctively feel that he was just on the verge of grasping something and if he kept at it, it wouldn''t be too long before he manifested the skill.
The Crimson Sword suspended itself in front of Simon, every now and then his brows would twitch along with his extended hand following which the sword would tremble too. If one looked deeply at the sword and the outstretched hand of Simon, one would be able to notice that there was a thin line like a thread made of faint blue colour connecting Simon with the sword.
This faint blue thread that was also covering the sword in ayer, was none other than his mana which he was currently emitting out.
The shape of the thread would constantly distort, never able to stay in a fixed shape. But it was this thin thread that was currently able to make the sword stay afloat. With every twitch and turn of Simon, the quiver around the sword would increase.
This continued for a while, his hand gently moved and the sword which was unable to maintain its bnce, wobbled before falling down on the ground with a nging noise.
"Haaaa¡ it is far more difficult than I thought" Simon sighed a turbid breath of air. He was trying to see if he could move the sword but it seemed like his control of mana needs to be much more proficient to do something like that.
Although it sounded very easy, in actuality it wasn''t that easy. Theyering that was on the sword, was made of hundreds of tiny strand of mana that was being constantly channelled by him. That is to say, if he wanted to move, the sword, he would have to give a direction to these hundreds of stands of mana.
The level of concentration and attention needed to do that, could be imagined. In fact, Simon was only able to achieve what he was doing right only through the help of his [High Speed Thought Processing] Skill which sped his thought processing ability dozens of times.
"The [Dominator''s Control] skill is much easier to use because of the many runes that make application of mana flow much easier" Simon muttered to himself. To learn the [Mana Flow and gain a deeper understanding of it, every single day for the past month, Simon had used the [Dominator'' Control] skill for hours.
He kept on at it, thinking that he would be able to uncover some deeper secrets of this technique that was passed onto him. However, it appeared that he was much too na?ve to think that he would be able to disassemble a legacy technique that was much harder than acquiring the [Mana Flow] skill itself.
Although he was unable to gain some profound understanding of this technique, he was at least able to tell that the runes that appeared when he activated the technique channelled his mana through an invisible route towards the sword using which he was able to control the sword as he wished without touching it physically.
Simon was unable toprehend what the runes meant and how it all worked; however, he was at least able to understand that his mana was being channelled into that sword through those runes. They also worked like transmitters and receivers that transferred hismands and will back to the sword.
Apart from that, Simon could feel that the ruins had a much deeper secret to them other than just being a simple transmitter and receiver for a simple application of [Mana Flow].
Anyways, this train of thought brought Simon to where he was right now. Although he was now able to emit mana outside and have some control over it, it was still far from being the function of the transmitter and receiver he thought of establishing.
The mana that he could emit outside could follow a few simplemands and a base like the sword to work. If emitted his mana without a base it would just dissipate with the wind. From this, one could tell that Simon had much more way to go before he could lift a pebble as easily as Irene.
"It looks like I''m stuck at a bottleneck once again. Since that is the case, I better a take a break¡" Simon picked up his sword and turned towards the table where a Valkyrie waiting for him.
Today it was Ate''s turn to serve beside him, thus she stood by the side silently without trying to disturb him. when he came over, Ate passed him a towel and brought him towards the table that she set up and swiftly started preparing tea.
"How goes all of your training?" Simon initiated a small talk.
Although he was training, it did not mean that he was clueless about what was happening around his surroundings. With the way the Valkyries appeared in front of him with battle intent surging out of their bodies every single day, he could tell that they were doing their own training on the training floor.
He could sense from the way they conducted themselves, that they were improving every day.
"It''s going very well, master has nothing to worry about. All of us sisters are working very hard so that we never make the same mistake asst time once again. Miss Irene is also helping us by giving us some directions and advice. We feel like we are improving every single day" Ate said, gently cing the teacup in front of him.
"That good¡" Simon nodded his head. It appeared that the Valkyries were a little stuck up to that small mistake they hadmitted thest time.
It was not a bad thing since this mistake had be their motivation to improve so Simon did not say anything. On that note, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse who loved training was also with them.
Simon discussed a few more topics with Ate as he enjoyed his tea when suddenly he felt a figure rush towards him from the distance. When the figure finally passed through the dense mist and appeared in front of them.
Simon noticed that it was none other than Coleus the leader of the [Helpers]. Thetter wore aplicated look and approached him as fast as possible. Seeing that, Simon could tell that there was some trouble and narrowed his eyes.
"My lord" Coleus got on his knees and greeted his lord first. Only after seeing thetter nod in acknowledgement did he progress to give the report he came here to give.
"My lord¡ there seems to be a situation and we do not know how to proceed" Coleus reported.
Simon bunched his brows, he asked "What Situation?".
"There seem to be some adventurers who im that they know you. They are going around the dungeon collecting every piece of information that they could find about the master of this dungeon. They are even going around shouting your name on every floor".
When Coleus spoke until here, he nced at his lord who seemed to be deep in thought.
There weren''t many people that knew his name, heck even the adventurers living in the tower town do not know the name of the demon that controlled the dungeon and dived regrly.
Simon was a cautious person, other than a few individuals he interacted with, he did not reveal his name to anyone, especially any adventurers. So when Coleus said they were shouting his name, Simon was quite surprised.
He tapped the table with his finger a couple of times before asking "How do they look like? Do you know what they are saying?".
Coleus dutifully nodded his head "They are a group of eight elite people, their leader seemed to be a woman. Unlike the other adventurers, the fighting style of this group is a little different in that it looks organised like an army".
"Even the way they dispose of the monsters is different. The other adventurers would harvest the materials from the monster they defeated. However, this group doesn''t seem to be interested in that and is only trying to clear the floor. The words that they are shouting are targeted towards my lord, asking you toe out".
Chapter 527 527- Familiar Face (3)
"Hoh? A party made up of people other than adventurers are shouting my name huh. Do you know which floor they are on?" Simon asked with a little interest in his tone.
"About that¡ my lord, they are currently on floor twenty-five and have identally entered the hidden chambers"¡
Floor twenty-five, it was and filled with ant hills. Giant Beetle Ants as big as an elephant roamed this ce. They are around levels 150-180 and live in colonies. Floor twenty-five contained eleven colonies of around 2000-3000 ants in each colony.
Usually, these monsters resided inside their hill and only came out asionally.. however that is only if no adventurers disturbed them by entering their hill.
The veteran adventurer''s party who have dived inside this dungeon and gone through this floor have many a time cautioned the other adventurers and the adventurer association to be careful around this floor since the number of the monster here was simply too much for even a guild to handle on their own, much less a small adventurers party.
The instructions that they passed down were to kill any beetle ant that they meet as soon as possible and get away from that ce before its cry for help attracts the other towards it.
They especially cautioned about the queen residing within every hill¡ if any unfortunate adventurer party was to meet it, their only hope in surviving was to pray that it was in its eggying phase. During that time it was weak and unable to move around much.
However, even then the elite adventurers have cautioned the others not to kill a queen since it only makes the entire beetle ant colony crazy. They will not stop until they kill the adventurers that killed their queen.
Sensing the frightfulness of the floor, the adventurer''s association have put up many notices on its quest board trying to inform and spread awareness among the adventurers. They even went to great lengths as to appoint a strong guild to chart out the map of the various ant hills.
Since the stairs that led to the next floor was located in the middle of the floor, one had to pass through the ant hills to reach there. Thus a map became essentially crucial in the off possibility that they fell into one of the ant hills.
If they had the map with them, it became easier to manoeuvre out of the meandering tunnels. The map became one of the crucial life support items that an adventurer group must have if they were thinking about tackling the twenty fifth floor.
This was amon knowledge amongst the adventurers; however, there seemed to be a new rumour or news per se spreading amongst them about a mysterious chamber that was found around the middle of the floor where the stairs to the next floor was located.
It was rumoured that these mysterious chambers were full of valuable treasures andced with traps and dangers. ording to some adventurers group that have encountered the mysterious chamber and was lucky enough to survive the encounter, a strong monster guarded this ce.
The chamber was a little tricky to find and up until now only a few groups of strong adventurers have managed to discover them. But the thingmon among them was that all of them found the chamber identally while searching for the stairs that led to the next floor.
"No matter how I look at it, this ce seems to be that mysterious chamber those adventurers from the association were talking about".
A woman spoke unfolding a map in front of the group. She was donned in a light leather garb and a brown robe on top. There were five people beside her with simr apparel and looking at the map intensely.
While the six of them wore a frown of consternation on their face, two people walked out from inside the tunnel. When the group saw the two peoplee out, they immediately turned towards them and asked "Captain did you find the stairs?".
The two people that walked out, were women. One of them was holding a staff and donning a garb just like the six people in front of her. The woman beside her who was referred to as captain, was a familiar face that Simon would instantly recognise.
She had a temptational figure, a cold stern face and the demeanour of a warrior. She had the poise of an unsheathed sword and an intense aura radiated out of her. Her short ck fell on her shoulders revealing her pearly white neck, she donned a simple leather armour much like the people around her; nevertheless, the clothes weren''t able to hide her alluring curves.
The woman was a head-turner through and through. If Simon was here, he would immediately recognise the woman as the Guard Captain Alvara he had met back when he was masquerading as an adventurer.
Alvara who was asked that question by her subordinates shook her head. They were searching for the stairs that led to the floor downstairs; however, while they making their way to the middle of the floor, they were suddenly spotted by the Giant Beetle Ants, after that it was just like a never ending battle with ants pouring out of the ant hill in hot pursuit of them.
Fortunately for them, they were able to escape out of that chase but during that, they found themselves identally deviating from the path on the map and inside this meandering tunnel full of traps and dangers.
From what they heard from the talks of the adventurer in the tower town, they could somewhat tell that the ce they were in was that mysterious chamber that was the hot topic in the town. Unfortunately for them, the chamber was something that was discovered in the recent days and nobody had a map of it.
"The outside is oozing with the Giant Beetle Ants, it isn''t a good idea to go out. We can only proceed forward through the tunnel and hope that it would lead us towards the stairs" Alvara stated pointing at the map.
"Ungh¡ it''s all because of you, muscle head. If not for you attacking their queen, they wouldn''t have be insane like that" the woman with the staff pursed her lips and viciously cursed at the burly man amongst the group.
"Hey I''m not an adventurer, how will I know that monster was their queen?" The burly man defended himself.
"Are you kidding me¡ didn''t you see the size of that thing? In what world did it look like an ordinary beetle ant to you?".
The woman red even more. She was the sole magician of this group and also someone who possessed quite a high authority in their group.
In front of such a furious assault, the burly man could only scratch his head, she was not wrong, it was indeed his fault to attack the queen first. But who would have known that the abnormally big ant he thought was just an ordinary beetle ant would turn out to be their queen.
Although the queen radiated a strong aura she was surprisingly weak for some reason. However, before she died to their group she issued out an ear piercing scream that made all the beetle ants in that colony go crazy and hunt them until the ends of the floor.
"You two stop bickering, if you have the time to fight among each other then use it to find a solution" Alvara harshly intervened.
"Hehh, I have a n. Why don''t we leave this muscle head as their dinner while we use this chance to get out of here" Everybody could onlyugh dryly at those words from the woman mage.
The burly man felt his feet go cold and his back drench with sweat when he heard that.
Alvara sighed, shook her head and turned to face the interior of the tunnel. If they wanted to proceed forward, their only choice was to go through this meandering tunnel which for some reason was avoided by the ants.
''Sigh¡ Princess, I don''t know what you see in him for you to go to such lengths but since it is your order, I will see to itspletion no matter what'' Alvara mused in her heart. She pped her hands stopping the conflict between the two and dered with a cold voice that told others that she wouldn''t take any more of this fooling around attitude.
"Alright you all, we had enough rest, Let''s proceed forward and see what lies ahead" she dered.
The group nodded their head and cautiously advanced forward. There was an experienced person with a [Hunter] ss with them, thus it was not too troublesome for them to disarm and avoid the many traps thaty in wait for them.
The group of eight continued forward like this for a while, from how synergically they worked together with each other and from their strength, it could be seen that it was not their first time working together.
Each of them knew what their role was and they worked together in a good overall team bnce. It could be said that the traps on this tunnel were nothing for this group of people. However, they still proceeded with caution indicating that they were quite experienced too.
Of course, while they proceeded forward they did not forget to call out the name of the person they came all the way here to search for.
"Captain, isn''t it time that you tell us who this person is?" the woman with the staff asked.
The question that she asked was on everyone''s mind, they too wanted to know who this person they came all the way here from the capital to search for was.
"You will find out once you see him. For now just keep on proceeding" Alvara spoke sternly.
Chapter 528 528- Savage War Lion
She did not disclose the identity of the individual they were searching for because they were here on a secret mission. It was not because she didn''t trust them. Every member here belonged to the same faction and was someone that could be trusted.
In any case, even if she told them, they would either not believe her or would be too afraid to dive inside the dungeon. Simon''s infamy when he left the capital was earth-shaking, his achievements and the mark of battle that he left behind was still there.
Those who had witnessed the battle that day spread the news everywhere and by now everything was so exaggerated that some facts were no longer the truth. Everybody feared that mysterious demon that had turned their capital upside down.
If this group knew that the one they were searching for was precisely that demon noble, their faces would be a sight to see. This would only just cause unwanted fear and distress in their group. knowing that, Alvara had no other choice but to keep it a secret from them for a while.
Though it was not like all of them were unaware of the identity of the person they were searching for. Alvara''s eyes shifted towards the assassin with the [Hunter] ss leading the group.
Everybody made a dissatisfied voice when they heard the guard captain''s words voice; nevertheless, they weren''t among those people who couldn''t take a clue, they swiftly understood that there was a big reason for keeping the identity of the individual a secret.
However, the more Alvara hid it from them, the more curious they became. The thing that bugged them was that even though the mission was a secret one, the identity of the individual was so tightly kept that even they, the members involved in this search, did not have a clue.
From the start of the dungeon descent seven days ago, they have been repeatedly shouting his name on every floor as they descended. But even until now they haven''t even the slightest clue or indication as to which floor the individual was on or whether he was alive or not.
"Hey who do you think this person we are searching for is?" the woman with the staff asked in a hushed voice.
The burly man beside her locked his brows before saying "I don''t know but given the secrecy of this mission, I would say he has quite a high identity".
"Tsk¡ even I know that. For the guard captain who is tasked with the safety of the princess to act personally, that person''s identity was anything but simple" the woman curled her lips and mused "I was asking because I think that there might be a special rtionship between the two¡ hehe".
She didn''t know who this Simon was but at the very least she could tell that it was a male from that name.
"Shhh¡ are you trying to get us in trouble? You know what will happen if you utter such sphemy right?".
The burly man hurriedly put his finger on his lips and gestured for the woman to be quiet. Drops of perspiration trickled down his face and he only sighed in relief when he saw that the guard captain didn''t hear them.
"Hmph¡ you are too timid for big fellow aren''t you Burg"...
Burg''s mouth twitched when he heard those words from Marba. This girl was too fearless and didn''t know when to shut her mouth.
"Hmm¡ I wonder if this man is as talented as that guy who is trying to court the princess" Marba yed with her staff and mumbled.
"Are you talking about Lucas ckwood from Castelia City?" Burg asked a little interested in whatever hypothesis this woman was cooking up in her head.
Marba nodded her head¡ "The very same one". Right after saying that she looked in front of her, the guard captain was still busy minding her own business and leading the group.
"It is said that Lucas ckwood was officially epted as the branch manager of the Adventurer Association in Castelia city. Not only that, his achievements in this past year was extremely shocking with him raiding quite a few dungeons and bringing back lots of treasures".
"His charisma along with his talent was extremely shocking and it even stood out during the battle of the finest. He is good friends with the second and third princes and a little birdie told me that the second prince is trying to put forward the proposal of betrothing princess Cynthia to Lucas".
"What?!!" Burg couldn''t help but yell out. His sudden voice attracted everyone''s attention and they turned their head to face him.
"Ahaha¡ it''s nothing, I just identally stumbled" Burg hurriedly shook his head apologising for his sudden rise of voice.
"You big fellow why are you yelling out for?" Marba cursed and swung her staff at the burly man.
"How do you expect me to react when you drop a bombshell like that? the Second prince is trying to betroth princess to that Lucas.. are you sure about that? For some reason, it doesn''t feel right. Miss Cynthia is the princess of this kingdom while Lucases from only a marquis family. Even if he became the branch manager of the adventurer''s association, the disparity in status between them is toorge".
Burg rubbed his chin and remarked.
"Humph¡ you are only saying that because you don''t know anything. King Henry''s health is deteriorating very fast, and even the best doctor in our capital is unable to heal him. It is only a matter of time before he¡"
"Anyways, when that timees there would be a fierce power struggle as to who would inherit the throne. The faction of the first and second princes is locked in a fierce struggle while the third prince is only obsessed with martial prowess".
"In a situation like this what would happen if one side suddenly gains new allies? It is rumoured that there are two dukes backing Lucas ckwood. Because of this, the second prince is trying to deepen his rtionship with Lucas so that he could gain their support when the timees and rope the two dukes into his faction. "
Marba spat out and proudly puffed her chest.
So that''s how it was, it was only now that Burg understood the full picture that was going on at the royal pce back in the capital. No wonder he was trying to betroth the princess who Lucas fancied to him.
Like this not only would he gain a loyal ally but will also gain the support of the two neutral dukes, Montford and Redcrest which will give him an edge over the first prince.
"Uggh" Burg felt a headacheing thinking over theplicated schemes of the higher ups of their kingdom. It wasn''t impossible to imagine the changes that were bound toe once the current king steps down.
While he was thinking all that, the assassin that was leading them through the tunnel, suddenly raise his hand. Seeing that, everybody in the group halted their steps, their eyes followed the direction his finger was pointing and they soon noticed a lighting from the end of the tunnel.
As the group cautiously proceeded forward, they noticed that where the tunnel ends, an enormous space opened up beyond which stood two huge doors made of stones.
"This is?!" Burg muttered stepping out of the tunnel. The stone doors in front of them were more than ten meters big and have a drawing of a fierce beast carved on them.
"This must be the mysterious chamber those people were talking about" Alvara studied the stone doors and muttered. There was no doubt in their minds now, they really had stumbled upon the ce that was the hot topic amongst the adventurers.
"What do we do now, guard captain" the assassin leading the front turned to face Alvara.
Alvara folded her hands and contemted for a while, it had been more than a week since they dived inside the dungeon. They have been calling his name for a while yet the person did not show up.
Alvara when she first came to the tower town did some investigation and found out that the deepest floor that had been explored was the 38th floor. After a week of progress, they were currently on the 25th floor¡ their group was far from reaching the deepest floors of this dungeon.
Considering that they were even capable of reaching the deepest floors, it would end up taking a marginal amount of time. Alvara couldn''t spare any more time than she already had diving inside the dungeon.
She was the guard captain tasked with the safety of the princess after all, and cannot leave her side for too long. Some people in the royal pce might even begin to suspect something if she was away for too long, thus Alvara had to finish her mission fast.
Well, even if she put it like that, It sounded easier said than done. She had no idea how to make that person show up plus there was also a concern that he won''t show up at all.
After all, he had not received the best of hospitality from them when he arrived at the capital. They might even hold a grudge against them.
On the other hand, Alvara couldn''t just leave withoutpleting her mission. So what can she do so that can make that person appear in front of her? While she was thinking that in her mind, the enormous stone doors coincidentally appeared in front of her eyes.
Suddenly an idea shed in her mind and her eyes became resolute. To make that person show up, they must first gather his attention and what better way to do it other than by clearing this mysterious chamber?
Chapter 529 529- Savage War Lion (2)
''If he is the dungeon master of this dungeon, he is sure to notice it'' Alvara thought internally. Even if this tactic failed, they can just go to the next floor and call out his name. If he doesn''t appear even after that, she can just give it up.
Now that she had made up her mind, she unsheathed her sword strapped on her back and gestured to her teammates to get ready. After that, the assassin in the front gently ced his hand on the wall and pushed it.
At that moment, the underground space started trembling with the movement of the stone doors. The stone doors slowly pushed open revealing a dark chamber beyond.
GULP¡ needless to say, all of them were elite soldiers, knights and mage. Even without the need for any words, they could feel the tension in the air and the heavy pressure from the inside of the chamber.
Clearly, there was something inside that was releasing such a pressure. From what they deciphered from the contents of the discussion they had with the adventurers above ground, every chamber had a guardian monster inside.
It was said that they were incredibly strong, far stronger than the monster on this floor. And from the weird chill, they felt the moment the stone door opened and the dark chamber came into view, those words were proven true.
"Alright, we are going to enter this chamber and challenge the monster that is inside. I know you guys don''t need me to remind it but stay on your toes and watch out for any tricks or traps that are hidden inside".
Alvara reminded curtly. She took her position as the frontline and stepped forward, followed by the warriors and knights like Burg by the side, Marbe the mage in the middle and that assassin as the rear-guard.
The moment all of them stepped inside the chamber, the stone door behind closed shut with a m cutting off their path of retreat.
Whoosh¡ as if willed by an invisible intent, the stone chamber was lit up by the numerous troches that were hanging on the side walls. The stone chamber was a huge round hall made entirely of greyish stone.
The ceiling was dark and quite high. At the centre of the hall was a giant treasure chest that looked quite exquisite to look at. If it was any other adventurer, they would have immediately gone insane with greed and stepped forward towards the chest.
However, Alvara''s group was different in that their profession wasn''t an adventurer. Though that might be the case, the main reason they did not step forward to open that chest was because of the numerous corpses and skeletons that were on the floor slowly being absorbed by the ground.
It appeared that another party had entered this chamber before them. However, they were unlucky enough to not survive the encounter. What''s more, the thing that did this to them was still inside the chamber.
A weird chill palpable enough to be felt with one''s skin was in the air. Weapons were drawn and the tension was high. However, even after the group observed every corner of the hall, they couldn''t see the monster that was supposedly guarding the chamber.
"What is going on? Shouldn''t there be a monster guarding the chest ording to those adventurers?" Burg remarked; nheless, he didn''t rx his guard and tightly held his shield.
The group slowly walked forward and approached the treasure chest, just when they were a meter away from it, two pairs of dark brown eyes that were filled with brutality and insanity, opened up in the ceiling.
Feeling this gaze, the group instantly halted their steps and looked at the ceiling. More precisely at the glowing beast-like eyes that was dripping with murderous intent.
Although the ceiling was dark, it was still not too difficult for them to spot a vague ck figure sticking to the walls.
BAM¡ the beast let go and dropped on the floor a few meters away from the treasure chest. It then crouched on the ground, shed its big ws and fangs that still had blood from its previous prey on them and released a deep low growl.
The way ws wereing out of its paws and its outstretched legs made it seem like it would pounce on them at any moment.
Under that threat, Alvara''s group slowly raised their weapons and circted mana within their bodies ready to engage at any second.
The beast in front of them was more than sex meters, it had a body of a lion and the tail of a snake. The snake''s tail was quite thick and covered with scales. At the end of the tail, was a snake head that had its eyes closed, and its slithery tongue hissed at them.
The guardian of the hidden chamber on floor 25th had finally shown its appearance in front of them.
"A Savage War Lion¡" the assassin in the rear guard quickly identified the race of the monster in front of them.
"W-What''s a Savage War Lion? Are they strong?" Burg asked readying his shield.
"What do you think? It''s a species that can only be encountered deep inside the northern regions of the ghastly winding forest. ording to the adventurer''s association, they are one of the top predator races there and are known for their superior hunting senses" the assassin replied.
"It''s level 377¡ all of you don''t let your guard down. Burg, Lez, Rifa¡ I leave you all to distract it. Marba, start conjuring your strongest spell. Brett.. you and I will pincer it. Do not allow it to get to Marba" Alvara threwmands one after the other.
The group readied themselves and Marba who was the only mage capable of casting intermediate-tier lightning magic, swiftly started casting her spells. The mana inside the hall started fluctuating and the tension in the air that was stretched taut finally snapped.
The Savage War Lion being one of the top predator monsters in the northern region, quickly identified the threat that was Marba and roared. Using its powerful legs, it jumped over the three front liners and rushed towards Marba who was in a defenceless state.
"Stop him!!" Alvara hurriedly shouted.
"You aren''t going anywhere!!... [Raid Guardian''s Beat]" Burg pped his sword on his shield and produced an unpleasant noise that forced the beast to shit its attention to him.
The skill that he used was one of the Normal Superior skills of the warrior ss. The other two warriors lez and Lefa distanced themselves and used the [Raid Guardian''s Beat] turn by turn so as to keep its attention on them and buy Marba time.
However, just like how every skill had its duration, after it ended, the savage war lion quickly snapped out of that inducement. But those few seconds were enough time for the group to encircle the beast and cut off its every path.
"[Greater Shield Defence]" when they saw the beast raising its front paws in a swiping motion towards them, they used one of their defensive skill to firmly stand on their ground.
Seeing that the warriors were capable of tanking the monster, Marba closed her eyes and pulled all her attention intopleting the magic. As mana around the surrounding was set into a turbulence and the magic slowly took shape, a ferocious light shed on the beast-like eyes of the savage war lion.
It raised its head high and growled towards the ceiling.
[ROAAARRR] a deafening roar that was like a st ofpressed sound sted towards the ceiling and pushed all of the humans back. Alvara who was rushing towards the beast to deal it a blow hurriedly backed off and looked at its action in rm.
She felt unease the moment the beast roared for some reason and that worry of hers was spot on.
CRICK¡ CRACK¡
"Everyone look above" Alvara hurriedly called out with a pale face. Herrades who followed her voice and looked above simrly had pale white faces the moment they looked up.
At this momentrge debris that was more than five times the size of a man, was dropping down from the ceiling in droves. The roar earlier from the beast damaged the ceiling and caused the many rocks there to crack apart and fall.
"[Greater Shield Defence]¡"
"[Air st]..."
The warriors and the others each used their own skill to withstand the rain of debris.
BOOM¡ BOOMM... one could imagine the force they brought when dropping from that height. The ground trembled and dust filled the air.
"Dammit¡" Alvara cursed, she used her mastery in Gale magic to swiftly blow away the dust only to find that the beast was gone.
BAD!!
A bad premonition struck her and when she turned her head it was proven right. The Savage war lion using the debris and the dust as a distraction made its way towards the mage that represented the highest level of danger as per its hunter instinct.
"Dammit'' Alvara cursed under her breath, she used a skill called [Gale Speed] to wrap the wind around her and sped towards the beast in an attempt to stop it from reaching Marba.
The mage right now waspletely defenceless and didn''t have the time nor the ability to dodge the ferocious ws of the beast in time.
"Leave it to me" a voice sounded out and the shadow below the beast fluctuated before the assassin came out from it. His dagger danced and he dished out multiple attacks on the underbelly of the beast.
PSHHH¡
[Shadow sh], a deep gash from which blood sprayed out wildly, opened in the underbelly of the beast stopping its attack. Using this chance, the rest of the group joined with Marba and encircled the beast once again.
"Don''t give it the chance to heal, keep mounting the pressure" the assassin named Brett spoke. Clearly, he was the most experienced one here.
Chapter 530 530- Showing Up
The group did as he was told and engaged the beast with all their skills.
"Something''s not right" Alvara who had used her [Gale Speed] to open numerous wounds on its body muttered after seeing that the wounds on the body of the beast, weren''t closing.
Typically a monster of this level already had multiple regeneration skills or recovery skills that made them somewhat tenacious and hard to kill. Most of the monsters that had encountered after the 20th floor were all like that.
So when seeing the savage war lion which was a level 377 monster, not disy any signs of healing from its wounds, it naturally caused some questions to appear in her mind.
Seconds after she muttered those words, the beast raised its head once again to growl. The group thought that it was using that tactic once again and hurriedly look up only to see that the ceiling was fine, no debris was falling down on them.
"Get back" before they could realise who issued those words and for what reason, a ck figure came crashing down on them with an insane speed, blowing them away in the process.
The three warriors were blown away and crashed into the wall on the other side of the hall. Alvara and that assassin narrowly dodged that attack and looked at that thing with dread in their eyes, the ck thing that blew the warriors away was none other than the tail of the savage war lion.
The tail of the best was long and slithery like a snake and was covered with numerous ck scales. At this moment, the eyes of the snake was fully open at this moment and releasing some strange light.
"Don''t look into those eyes" Brett cautioned from the side. Alvara who was about to look into those snakes eyes hurriedly averted her eyes.
"The eyes of the snake head on the savage war lion holds a strong inducement effect that dampens your senses and slows down the cirction of mana inside your body". Alvara''s eyes went wide when she heard what Brett said.
Those eyes of the snake head had this kind of mysterious effect. No wonder that burg and the other warriors were sent flying by it.
Warriors of their level had quite a high defence stats, they wouldn''t be so easily blown away like that. That is if they weren''t able to use their skill or feel the attacking altogether.
The awakening of the snake head had made the situation a little dire, if they couldn''t look how could they fight the beast? As this thought lingered in their minds, a voice that had kept silent all this while, sounded once again.
"This is for targeting me. You stinky beast¡ have a taste of my¡ [Lightning Magic Mastery]- [Lightning Blitz]".
An intense amount of blue lightning gathered into a spot forming a lightning bird that was more than three meters big. The lightning bird released a loud chirp as it was alive, the p of its wings caused repeated thunderp noises to echo around the empty hall.
The air around the bird was a little distorted and the mana around the surrounding was frantically fleeing away from the bird. All these indications were enough to tell everyone that the power within the lightning bird wasn''t small.
Huff.. huff¡
Marba took hurried breaths of air, her face had visibly paled from the exhaustion after conjuring the lightning bird. Nevertheless, the gleam in her eyes was brighter than ever.
"Captain, leave this stinky beast to my lightning magic" Marba pointed, willed by her intent, the lightning bird fixed its lightning eyes towards the savage war lion. Due to the lightning bird being an inanimate life, it wasn''t affected by the eyes of the snake head.
RUMBLE¡ the lightning bird pped its wings and quickly charged towards the savage war lion. The two beasts collided, and intense energy surged out from the point of collision and spread to the entire hall.
Alvara and her group were forced to step a few meters back and guard themselves against the random lightning bolts that were wracking havoc all around wildly.
The two beasts fiercely shed against each other, the one that came out with a loss in that exchange was the savage war lion. Its entire body was scorched, numerous wounds dotted its body and lightning raced around its skin causing it to tremble continuously.
"Hehe¡" Seeing that, Marba made a V sign towards herpanions who gathered around her at his moment.
Burg and the warrior were a little worse from the wear after suffering that attack from the beast. The armour around their chest was bent inwardly and blood lingered around the corner of their lips. Nevertheless, all of it faded after they drank a potion or two.
"You three get back to your positions, Marba''s magic wouldn''t be able to hold it for long" Alvaramanded, it was just as she had said, after colliding with the Savage war lion a few more times and dealing some significant damage to it, the lightning bird started bing faint before dissipatingpletely.
Fortunately for them, it bought them enough time topose and heal themselves back. On the other hand, the wounds from back then and the newer wounds made the beast even weaker than before probably as a side effect of activating the snake its tail.
A new round with the savage war lion started, this time it was heavily dominated by Alvara''s team. Burg and the other warriors who didn''t get to shinest time, bombarded it with their skills, Alvara and the assassin anime Brett provided support from the sides with their fast and powerful attacks while Marba conjured some novice tier magic from the backlines.
Time passed by and finally, the savage war lion gave a deep growl before sumbing to the attack of Burg who plunged his sword into its chest.
BAM¡ the beast fell t on the ground, its blood making a pool around it.
"Dammit¡ this is the payment for ruining my new armour" Burg cursed and pulled his sword back in an annoyed fashion. Atst, when the beast was down, the group sighed a breath of relief.
They turned towards each other and smiled, they could each see the excitement from the battle still lingering in the other''s eyes and a happiness that came from levelling up.
"No matter what one says, levelling is much more efficient and faster inside a dungeon" Marbamented with a delight after feeling the rise of power within her.
"Not to mention we also get to keep the monster that we hunted. I get it now why so many of my friends wanted to be an adventurer. If we keep on hunting bests like this won''t we be rich very soon" Burg rubbed his head andughed.
The others around him also showed various kinds of emotions. Seeing that her group was totally smitten by the scope and allure of the adventuring profession, Alvara did not know whether tough or cry.
It was true that in their world, the profession of adventurer was highly viewed, it even paid much more than what an average knight or a soldier of a kingdom earned. Nevertheless, it wasn''t just all glitters and glory, it was filled with dangers at every turn where it wouldn''t be shocking to lose your life the next second.
The life of an adventurer was filled with such dangers. Brett the assassin who was the most experienced in the group, being a former adventurer and all, started dissecting the monster and taking out its good parts.
When they dissected its chest, a muddy red stone that was as big as a baby''s fist came into view.
"Hohh!!¡ it''s a core stone. Who would have thought we would end up finding this treasure? The value of this thing is quite high and looking at its size, it holds quite a bit of energy inside" Brett analysed.
A core stone was like the heart of a beast where all of its powers and energy were stored. It could only be found inside a few sentient monsters and the higher the level of that monster, the better the quality of that stone.
A core stone of a beast of level 329 like the savage war lion would be of quite good quality and could be used into making some decent artefacts. All of them were aware of what a core stone was thus they didn''t raise any questions.
The only one who asked any question was Burg who looked at the quail egg sized core stone in Brett''s hand.
"Hey, do you think we would be able to get any inheritance from this stone?" he asked, his eyes shining with expectation.
PFFTTT¡
Hearing these words of his, the rest of the group could hold themselves fromughing out loud. The loudest tough was Marba who had tears in her eyes fromughing so hard.
"Sigh¡ listen up brat, an inheritance is something that one can find just willy-nilly. It only forms inside a very strong beast probably cmity ss or higher and even then one isn''t guaranteed to receive its full inheritance" Brett who was the eldest and the most experienced out of the group exined.
Burg dejectedly dropped his shoulders, it was his first time diving and adventuring with a group like this thus when they finally found a core stone inside a beast, he couldn''t help but get excited and dream of something unreasonable.
He thought that just like the Savannah Beast guild one of the top five guilds of the kingdom who were inmand of a beast inheritance and passed it down from generation to generation, he had also chanced upon one.
Chapter 531 531- Showing Up (2)
However, from the words of the mister assassin, it didn''t seem like it was easy getting a beast inheritance after all it wasn''t guaranteed that the beast would form a beast inheritance even if it had a core stone.
Not to mention a beast of cmity ss was an existence he coulde in contact with and hope of surviving after that. After the beast was dissected, the groupid their attention on the big thing inside the hall, the treasure chest that it was guarding.
Looking at how exquisite the treasure chest looked and from its size, one could tell that it was filled with treasures. They had heard many stories from the adventurers telling them about the many rare items that could be found inside a treasure chest of a hidden chamber.
This was their first timeing in contact with one, they couldn''t help but get excited over it. What kind of rare treasures would they find? Just thinking about it made their heart beat faster.
Just as they stepped forward towards the treasure chest, they heard a clear pping noisee from one side of the hall.
CLAP... CLAP¡ CLAP¡
"That was amazing, you guys clearly have a good synergy and coordination with one another. Only a few groups of your level could defeat a savage war lion". The voice was deep and hoarse one, something that was impossible for a human to make.
When they instinctively turned towards the direction of that voice, they were stunned to see a ck figure slowly walking towards them from the darkness. Immediately, all the hairs on their body stood on end and they hurriedly brought out their weapons.
With the appearance of the figure, the entire hall had descended into an eerie silence. A weird chill circted in the air and an invisible pressure grasped everybody''s heart. That pressure wasn''t something that was realised by that figure but simply something caused by his mere presence.
As the figure of that person slowly came out of the darkness, a suppression that was born out of their level difference metastasised. It started from their heart and slowly spread through their whole body.
Burg and the other two warriors who were in front involuntarily took a step back.
"A-A-A¡ D-Demon Noble" Marba''s legs trembled, and her voice stuttered as she shouted out the race of the being that had just shown itself.
The words that she uttered echoed across the hall. Even without her pointing it out, everyone present in the hall recognised the being in front of them.
A demon noble was hardly seen in the extreme north-western region of the central continent that was closest to the demon continent. However, more than half a year ago there was an incident where the capital of their kingdom was invaded by a demon noble who hadpletely turned the ce upside down.
After that, they had disappeared but their tales and stories were still being told by those who had witnessed the scene that day. Burg and the others who had arrived at the capital after the urrence, of course, heard stories of what had happened at the capital and the perpetrator that was responsible for the destruction, a demon noble.
Now that they were seeing a demon noble with their own eyes, they were frozen stiff from the sheer presence and the looks of the being in front of them.
GULP¡ Burg who was one of the front liners of this group, gulped audibly and asked "What should we do now?".
The demon had appeared so close to them without even them realising it. Given the pressure they were feeling just by standing in front of him, they could tell even without fighting that they were no match for him.
Forget about a battle, they would be immediately eradicated if they made a wrong move. In fact, Burg was not far from the truth, given the average level of their party which was around level 360, they were capable of dealing with even a peak elite ss beast.
However, this level of suppression that the demon gave off was even stronger than some of those super ss beasts that resided deep within the ghastly winding forest.
"Do not falter, the one we are searching for is right in front of us" While the group was paralysed with fear from the appearance of the demon, Alvara stepped forward and spoke out.
Her words caused a great storm to brew inside the minds of these young fellows, who looked like they had received the shock of their life. The person named ''Simon'' they were looking for all along, turned out to be a demon noble that they heard stories and tales about.
Even if this demon wasn''t the one that destroyed their capital, just the fact that the other party was a demon noble, bred fear and anxiety in their hearts.
TAP¡ TAP¡ Alvara with her alluring figure, stood in front of Simon and observed him with her dark ck eyes. She hadn''t seen him for a while, but the air around him seemed to have changedpletely.
Of course given the fact that she was used to seeing his human transformation and had only seen him in his true form once during the battle of the finest tournament also affected her judgement.
Those devilish features, crimson eyes that seemed like two blood red pools that could devour one''s soul, and that wicked smile that was hanging at the corner of his face. No matter how many times Alvara observed it, she couldn''t rte it to that human appearance she had seen while travelling with him back then.
Two people stood opposite each other, Simon due to being a member of the demon noble race, was more than a head taller than Alvara who was quite tall herself.
As she observed Simon, he too observed her. Since thest time he had met her, the figure of this woman seemed to have be more fiery. Now along with that sharp sword aura, she was also exuded a faint mature aura.
It was not only her looks, even her level had risen by quite a bit. She was now around level 394, a level sufficient enough for her to kill the brigand master in a few exchanges which she had risked her life back then to defeat.
"It looks like you have been doing well these days¡" Alvara spoke in a voice that was unafraid of the being in front of her. it was not too subtle yet not too overbearing.
Simon who heard her words smiled and spoke in a tone that subtly pointed at something.
"Yeah, it''s all thanks to you people, I''m getting by somehow".
How could Alvara who was a guard captain working at the royal pce, not get the cynicism hidden in those words?
Although she arched her brows slightly, she didn''t say anything. She knew that the demon held quite a bit of prejudice against them after what had happened back at the capital and the ensuing pursuit and chaos that followed after.
"So why is the guard captain responsible for guarding the safety of the princess doing all the way here in the north-western borders and inside my dungeon shouting my name?" Simon swept his gaze over the people behind Alvara and spoke indifferently.
His character and temperament was nothing like the time when he was travelling with them, foolishly believing that a part of him was still a human. Now however, he had clearly drawn a line and epted the being he was now.
Hearing the cold and detached tone in his voice, Alvara sighed. When the identity of the demon in front of her was revealed in front of thousands of people back then, she was also amongst the ones that was shocked and believed the ims that were made against him.
The third prince of their kingdom was attacked and a prince from a foreign kingdom was found dead in his mansion. Given that it was Sir Vouves who had personally done the investigation, there was little to say when it came to believing it or not.
However, after the capital was turned upside down in that cmitous battle, the royal pce did some investigation and found out that there were hints of a different demon being in their capital.
It was further proven true when Vouves dered the energy signatures of the two demons werepletely different. The one that was found inside the manor where the prince of ckthorn was staying was different that the energy pattern of the demon who was present in the coliseum.
Some imed that the two demons were working together, but the princess and Alvara who knew the whole picture knew that Simon was innocent. Nevertheless, they weren''t influential enough to change the view of the masses.
Alvara sighed, even if the demon nobles were said to be their arch enemies it was all in the history. The demon noble in front of her helped them safely get through the capital, not to mention he had also saved her life. She couldn''t bring herself to hate the demon no matter what.
While the two parties were talking amongst themselves, the people behind Alvara were freaking out from anxiety. Beforeing here, they had crafted many theories about this mysterious person named ''Simon'' that they were searching for.
Some thought that he was some adventurer, others thought that he was some countryside noble. Marba even went as far as thinking there was some illicit rtionship between the man and the princess.
However, who would have expected that the man they had drawn so much expectation in their head, would turn out to be none of those options and a demon noble instead?
Chapter 532 532- Letter
"H-How does the captain know the demon?"...
"It was a mission ordered by the princess, doesn''t that mean she is also acquainted with this demon?".
Unable to keep their curiosity in check, they started whispering to each other.
"If you guys don''t want to die, then keep quiet. Where do you think you are in currently? This dungeon is their of that demon, if you displease him, not even your corpse would stay intact".
Seeing the young fellows forget the situation and start racketing, the assassin chided. Amongst the group except for Alvara, he was the only one who wasn''t fazed by the appearance of the demon.
"T-This dungeon is hisir?" as expected, these fellows weren''t aware of that and as soon as they heard that, their faces visibly paled and they shut their mouths.
Alvara who could hear them hubaloo from her position, sighed internally and focused her gaze back on the demon who appeared much too rxed even though he was outnumbered by them.
"I''m here on a secret mission on the orders of the princess, I believe you know who I am talking about" Alvara stated, she didn''t like going around and talking in circles, thus she quickly came to the point.
"Hnn.." Simon made a nasal noise and nodded his head. Of course, he knew who the princess was, they had travelled with each other at that time. Although at that time he was unaware of her other identity.
"So what does the princess want? Don''t tell me she sent you all here to capture me for what happened back then in the capital?" Simon stepped forward, arched his head and locked gazes with the guard captain.
The moment his words fell, a faint sense of danger pervaded the air causing all the hair on Burg and the rest to stand on end. Forget about the time when he was lower level but still stronger than them. It needn''t even be mentioned how big the gap between them was now that his level was on the brink of reaching the level 500 barrier.
Just his erupting emotions were enough to cower them to submission. Although her body shook a little, Alvara forcefully suppressed it and continued to nce at Simon with an undeterred face. Her personality was stubborn, she would never reveal any fear in front of her opponent.
"The Princess won''t do something like that. And looking at you now, I don''t think we have enough manpower here to capture you" She retorted back.
The bodies of those behind her trembled, their faces seemed to be saying that they wanted to run away from here immediately.
"If it''s not to capture me, then may I ask for what reason the guard captain has visited my abode?" Simonughed withdrawing his aura.
"We are here to notify you of something on behalf of the princess and a message from her" Alvara spoke, she took out a letter from her space ring and passed it to Simon.
Simon took the letter and saw the seal of Serene Pce Merchant guild on it. This told him that this letter was not from the princes but from the mistress of the merchantpany that he had travelled with back then.
Simon opened the letter in front of the curious eyes of everyone and after a while, his expression froze.
Immediately afterwards, the atmosphere of the room changed, the air visibly took a faint crimson colour and a pressure that cracked the ground descended onto the floor. Nobody knew what went wrong after the demon read the letter, but they all took out their weapons and stared at him cautiously.
Given the dreadful killing intent he was releasing, it was a subconscious action of theirs.
"Master are you alright?" a maid appeared behind the demon at some unknown point. She was beautiful, her beauty was on par with Alvara and she possessed a unique thoughtful and intellectual temperament.
Ate had appeared behind Simon surprising everyone as they failed to notice her presence.
The trembling of his hand that was holding the letter, stopped at this moment. He tore his eyes away from the letter and shifted it towards Alvara almost in a re and demanded.
"Are the things written in this letter true?".
This time, even Alvara wasn''t able to remain unperturbed, given the rich killing intent that was involuntarily surging at her, the natural reaction of her body was to tremble in fear.
Simon at this moment had forgotten to keep his aura and his killing intent in check, they wildly surged out of his body like a tsunami and quickly filled the chamber.
After massacring thousands of ogres in the ckfield, Simon''s body carried a natural rich killing intent. It was so dense that if any person below level 200 came in contact with it, they might have a seizure and immediately faint.
Alvara nodded her head with some difficulty, at this moment she found her body locked in ce and struggle breathing.
"Lord Simon¡ if I may interject" while Simon was lost in his thoughts, a voice sounded out in the hall breaking the silence.
"You are¡" Simon who was called out looked at the person and furrowed his brows. This person in assassin attire looked familiar, where did he see him before?
"You are that assassin who had given me the map back then" after thinking for a while, it finally dawned on Simon who this man was.
This man was the very same person who appeared before him when he was running wildly from the pursuit of the sea god''s trident guild after losing the protection of Adalinda.
If not for the man providing the map and stalling the enemy''s line-up, he might have wandered into the Vulkan fortress where the sea god''s trident had set up their camp and was waiting for him.
"Haha¡ the name is Brett. It seems like lord Simon remembers me. It might be asking too much but if you don''t mind can you please retract your aura, the newbies are about to faint".
The assassin pointed at the group behind him who looked so frail and terrified that they would pass out any moment if this continued.
It was only now that he realised that he had lost control of his emotions. He hurriedly retracted his aura and suppressed his vast killing intent.
Haa¡ only when there was no longer that pressure that grasped hold of their hearts, did these few fellows exhale a breath of relief. The next moment though, they looked at the demon with even more dread.
Alvara too hurriedlyposed herself after she was free of that killing intent holding her in ce.
"Master are you alright?" Ate repeated herself, her face was masked with worry when she saw him losing himself in anger at that moment.
Simon didn''t say much, he passed her the letter and focused his gaze back on the guard captain.
"If the contents of the letter are true, then it possesses a great risk. What I don''t understand is why would you reveal it to me instead of keeping it a secret and allow it to happen?".
Simon asked, his eyes were observing the two carefully, detecting the minute movement they made to determine if there was any deception involved. If there was, he was resolved to kill them instantly.
After what had happenedst time, one cannot me him for being callous. He had forsaken the human side of him and had epted that there cannot be any reconciliation between them.
"Sigh¡ it''s because the princess believes that no good would befall us by antagonising you. She said that the kingdom of Ellesmere can only prosper if they reconcile with you. It might be hard for you to believe, but she wants to apologise to you for what happened back then in the capital".
"She knows that you were wrongly framed and pursued thereafter. She wants you to know that she was deeply upset when unable to keep the promise that she made with you. The contents of that letter are her way of showing her goodwill" Alvara stated in a soft voice.
"Goodwill?... Kfufu¡ Hahaha," Simon chuckled, his giggle turned into a loud burst ofughter.
"In one side you seek apromise while on the other side you are trying to antagonise me. Aren''t your words contrasting a little too much Guard Captain? If you want to deceive me, at least get your facts straight".
Alvara spoke of reconciliation but the contents suggested otherwise. Simon didn''t know if he shouldugh or get mad.
"Lord Simon¡ I know that it won''t be easy to change your view of us. Hence we do not think that we cane to an understanding now. We only want you to know that princess Cynthia is doing everything in her power to maintain this rtionship".
"You must understand that she is after all just a princess of the kingdom and does not have the authority to prevent that. Thus she could only inform you through this method. She hopes that this information would be of some help to you" Brett interjected.
In the backlines however, the fellows who were intently listening to their conversation, were going crazy after finding that the demon noble who had wreaked havoc in the capital was none other than the one in front of them.
This revtion cemented their fear even more. Unknowingly, they had entered a very dangerous ce in search of this person.
On the other hand, they found it astounding and strange that the princess of their kingdom had a rtionship with a demon noble.
Everything that is being discussed right now, was a secret that nobody other than them in the kingdom was privy to. If the words of today''s event were to be spread even they did not know what kind of storm it would brew.
Chapter 533 533- Letter (2)
Nevertheless, these people weren''t fools they were tactful enough to know what they should keep a secret. Plus, the reason why the princess had sent them here as a part of team, was because she had absolute faith in them that they won''t betray her.
Simon was silent for a while as he intensely pondered the intention of this princess who had helped him numerous times. She had not only warned him to leave the capital before his identity was revealed, but she had also even provided him with a map to safely traverse back to his dungeon and now this...
Simon was not a fool to take their words at face value, thus he briefly considered other various factors that would lead the princess to help him.
"Alright for now I would maintain a neutral stance against her. However, I want you all to tell her one thing, I''m not a nice person who would forgive someone who tries to backstab me. I will not show any mercy to my opponents no matter who they are. If they dare to invade my dungeon, their only oue will be death".
Leaving those dark and heavy words, Simon turned around and together with Ate, they left the hidden chamber.
With him gone, the pressure that was boring down on them had also vanished. The group exhaled a deep breath of air that they had been holding for quite a while. The chamber was silent, nobody dared to speak a word even after it had been quite a while since the demon left.
"Alvara¡ let''s go back now. We havepleted the task assigned to us by the princess. There is nothing left for us to do in this dungeon. Now that we have given him the letter, it does not concern us as to who wins or dies" Brett spoke to break the silence.
Alvara nodded solemnly, it was just as Brett had said, their duty was to hand that letter over to the demon. Now that they hadpleted it, their job was over. It concerned them not whether the one that won was the demon or that side.
"Do you think he will be able to survive that?" Alvaraposed herself and turned around to face herpanions and Brett.
"It is difficult but you should know the answer. With them taking actions personally this time, whatever chances the demon had of surviving, was gone" Brett was not trying to sound pragmatic but that was how dire the situation looked from his perspective.
Alvara did notment and silently nodded her head. However, she didn''t know why she felt that even though there was such a disparity between the strength of both parties, the demon wouldn''t lose.
There was no basis for that, it was just a gut feeling. She once had travelled with this man around a year ago. At that time, without even revealing his full strength, he was powerful enough to resolve all of the problems they met along the way.
However, even that strength fell short on that day in the capital. She was aware that the demon had be far more powerful than before when she faced him again this time. Nevertheless, the opponent he was facing this time was the best of the best of their kingdom.
So why is it that she still believed that the demon would win? Was it because of the princess?
Alvara shook her head and shifted her attention to herpanions and stressed¡ª"I know that you all understand this already but do not reveal a single word about what had happened here today to anyone".
Burg and the other nodded their heads with a dead serious faces. The group decided their next course of action and everybody agreed to go back.
"Captain, what about the treasure chest? We have fought so hard to defeat the guardian monster. Wouldn''t it be a waste to just leave without opening the treasure?" Burg asked with some anticipation.
Although the situation had turned aroundpletely with the appearance of the demon noble, it couldn''t be denied that they had cleared this hidden chamber and were entitled to the rewards here.
Alvara sighed, looked at the eager eyes of herpanions before nodding her head.
-----
Inside one of the halls of the white pce, Simon silently sat on the couch pondering something. His eyes were looking at a window in front of him and his hands were continuously swiping it randomly.
He continued this action of his for a while when suddenly the door to the hall was pushed open and Irene along with the Valkyries, Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse and every close subordinate of his walked in.
"You guys¡" When Simon saw all of them gather in the hall, he couldn''t help but arch his brows in a frown.
"I have called them" Irene spoke softly while walking towards him "I have heard from Ate about the contents of the letter thus I called everyone here to let them know about the approaching storm".
Simon shifted his gaze towards Ate when he heard that.
"Don''t look at her, I knew that you would try to cover up the issue from everyone and try to shoulder everything on your own again. Thus I had no choice but to do this. It is true that a leader must be strong however, the true essence of a leader isn''t only based on their strength but also on their ability to make sound judgements, their flexibility during critical situations, the trust that they have in their subordinates and dependability".
Irene nced at Simon with her crystal blue eyes and continued¡ª"Everyone here, deeply trusts you, depends on you and has faith in your judgement. They know that whatever decision you will make, will only be for their benefit".
"Therefore you should embrace their feelings and start reciprocating them back. You cannot be always stalwart and headstrong in every situation, learn to be a little flexible at times and rely on your subordinates a little".
Although Irene''s voice was calm and collected, Simon could hear thousands of emotions from it. He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths and nodded his head when he opened his eyes again. There was no longer that look of impatience and impulsiveness in them again.
These few words from Irene had made him realise that sometimes a single individual can only do so much with his own strength and he needed to trust ad depend on his subordinates a little more. Wasn''t this the reason why he had summoned them in the first ce?
Simon looked at the eyes of all of his subordinates; he could feel their trust and resolve flow from those eyes. This cleared his head and he understood that if he wanted to solve the uing situation he would need to depend on all of them.
"I haven''t informed all of them yet. Since this is the duty of a leader, you should be the one to tell them that" Irene added from beside him.
Simon held the figure of his subordinates before opening his mouth to tell them about what was going on, the group that came and the contents of the letter.
.
.
.
"That''s how it is, the top five guilds of the kingdom of Ellesmere are preparing for a big expedition into our dungeon. Their motive is clear and that is to capture our dungeon and eradicate its master that is me. Quite a few big guilds have joined their coalition".
"It is no doubt by far the biggest hurdle our dungeon has ever faced, therefore I will be relying on you all to protect our dungeon, the home that we live in. The intruders this time will be strong, their levels will be far higher than any of the adventurers that have dived inside our dungeon up until now".
"I won''t be able to guarantee that we will be able to survive through this scot-free but I can assure you that as long as I live, I will protect you all and this dungeon with all my strength" Simon spoke his mind, he did not know what a leader should say at a time like this but the things he said was from his heart.
He did want them all to survive, he wanted to protect this dungeon that he had built with such care. Unwittingly these few simple words of his, managed to touch the hearts of his subordinates.
Simon had undermined the charisma and confidence that his body naturally exuded, coupled with his warm words, it was enough for these people to view him as their greatest leader.
"Master¡"
"Lord Simon"¡
"We shall do our best to protect this dungeon"
His subordinates spoke in determination and in unison. Looking at them who were oozing confidence, Simon felt an unknown surge of emotion flood his heart and a smile unwittingly crept to his face.
Irene who was standing beside him looked at his side profile and a warm emotion appeared in her cold emotionless eyes. He was slowly but surely bing the leader, the pir of faith the inhabitants of the dungeon needed him to be.
"ording to the letter that princess sent you, there is only a week or two remaining before thebined coalition of the guilds knocks on the dungeon. What do you n to do?" Irene asked, they needed a n to prepare for the uing intruders.
Simon''s expression immediately changed, he sped his hands into a fist and a wild crimson glow shed in his eyes.
Since they have decided toe, he will show them that he wasn''t some softy that they could just squash as they willed. Once they stepped inside his dungeon, he would make sure that everyst of them dies and be a nourishment for his dungeon and a stepping stone for his growth.
No matter how big their number was or how powerful they were, this dungeon will be the graveyard for each and every one of the intruders.
Chapter 534 534- Earth Shattering Lower Dragon
Simon resolved internally that no matter what happens, he would defend his dungeon. He looked at the determined faces of his subordinates and started handing out orders to them.
"Ry this message to the ones living on the 49th to 52nd floors. I want all of them to be ready with their subordinates and be at their peak state when the timees".
On the orders of Simon, all safety measures that was put in ce for the adventurers of the tower town, would be removed. All traps in the lower middle floors and lower floors would be changed to all lethal.
Manufacturing of Andromeda mk 9 would start early. Not only that, he also opened the operation mutation of the monsters again.
Simon assigned a good chunk of DP to the helpers to alter some of the areas of the floor to better suit the monsters. He even ordered them to create more hidden floors and increased the overall difficulty of the monsters and theplexity of thends starting from the middle floors.
All the subordinates hurriedly left to carry out their orders except for Irene and the Valkyries. The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was responsible for managing the disaster ss beasts and those who were close to breaching this ss. Thus it hurriedly left to prop those beasts back into shape.
Simon could already imagine the scene on the deep sea alligator floor urring once again.
After he handed others their orders, Simon suddenly remembered the words the spirit tree had said. It told them about a future danger that would befall them. He couldn''t help but wonder if this was the danger it talked about.
"Where are you going?" Irene asked seeing Simon walk out of the hall.
"Back to training" Even if those guilds used the air engine which they will most likely use to arrive here, it would still take them more than a week to travel all the way from the capital to here. Simon had to make the best use of the time he had left with him.
After handing out the management of the dungeon to Irene, Simon arrived in front of the pond side once again and started training with even more fervour.
Unlike thest time when he could take it leisurely, he was pressed for time this time. He wanted to acquire the skill before those guilds arrived and add more cards to his battle powers.
Three days passed by in an instant as Simon was focused on his training. In the area near the serenity pond which was covered by a thick mist of mystical energy, a figure jumped out of the pond with a ssh.
The tall and lean figure was none other than Simon who dived inside the pond. After his huge jump in level, he was now able to stay inside the pond for more than five minutes without feeling the pressure or experiencing his HP decrease.
Since that was the case, Simon took this opportunity to bask in the benefits of the pool. Irene had once told him that the water of the pond contained a high concentration of pure mystical energy which was increasing every day.
If he could dive inside the pond and bask in its effects every day for a few minutes, it would not only strengthen his physique but also optimise his body to its peak state. Not only that, as the effects of the pond start umting on his body, he would undergo a metamorphosis of some sort where his talent, aptitude, stats and basically all other values will receive a huge boost.
Although the effects that could be felt now were very subtle and couldn''t be seen in the status, Simon could still sense that he was getting stronger every single day, even though his level stayed the same.
During the three days, Simon had basically started living near the pond-side and never left the ce even for an instant. His routine constituted of training the [Mana flow] skill bitterly day and night and diving inside the pond to bask in its effects.
Of course, every time he dived inside the serenity pond, he did not forget to rummage up some mutation crystals and various other treasures from the bottom of the pond.
He would call one of the [Helpers] here and pass them the crystals every day during these past three days. On that note, since they were short on staff, Simon had increased the number of [Helpers] assigned to help manage his dungeon, from seven to fifteen.
Only the most talented forest spring spirits were chosen for this role. Coleus was still their leader and he was also the one that was managing the project mutation on his behalf. As he had followed Simon and spent quite some time observing the mutation on the monsters, he could be said to be a little knowledgeable about this stuff.
Simon did not shy away from assigning a sum of DP for him to summon monsters to experiment on. Failure was the mother of sess, Simon knew that much of the DP would be burnt in a jiffy.
Nevertheless, every sessful mutation added a new and powerful monster into their collection and increase their chance of surviving the uing expedition.
After passing the mutation crystal to the new [helper] named Reed, Simon arrived inside the white pce. At this moment, the pce was empty. Everybody was busy carrying out their tasks.
Irene was handling the numerous affairs of the dungeon, Cecilia was in the forest spirit vige and the Valkyries were training. Of course, it was not like they had neglected their duty towards Simon, everyday one of them would be assigned to stay beside him and take care of him.
Simon sat inside the hall for a while before the space fluctuated and the beautiful figure of Irene appeared in front of him. When he saw her, he quickly got up from his seat and told Irene that he would be stepping out of the dungeon for a while.
"Where are you going?".
When asked that, Simon revealed a fierce smile, pointed in a direction north-eastern from here and said¡ª
"I need toplete what I started. Only a little more than a month is remaining before the one year agreement with Aldebaran alreadyes to an end. Before that, I need to subdue the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon andplete the three overlords of the north set. With the addition of the Earth shattering Lower Dragon, the defensive might of our dungeon would increase".
Seeing that Simon had made up his mind, Irene was silent for a while. It was true that the situation looked a little grim, an expedition of this magnitude and size was a first for this dungeon.
All the top five guildsbined their strength and even roped a couple of dozen big guilds from the surrounding region to form a coalition against his dungeon. It wouldn''t be wrong to say that this was the might of an entire nation.
It wasn''t something a low rank dungeon like theirs can look down onto. Simon who had travelled to the capital of that kingdom, knew very well the might of these guilds.
Just a single Sea god''s trident guild was able to corner him until he had to resort to using the transit to stone to flee. Much less needed to be said now when those powerful top guilds have allied together against his dungeon.
As the phrase goes¡ªonce bitten, twice shy, Simon who had experienced the humiliating experience first-hand, knew better than to underestimate his opponents. He would do anything and everything that was possible for him currently to boost the power of his dungeon.
The dungeon was a very important existence to him, he cannot allow anyone to destroy it. This also included the people living inside it. Thus he had no choice but to confront the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon a little earlier than he expected.
Irene looked at Simon, who was oozing confidence and had an atmosphere around him saying rx I got this. He might have been able to fool others with that, but not Irene. She knew that it was just a cover, he was masking his insecurities with a veil of confidence so as to not worry anyone.
Irene as a woman was considerate enough not to reveal it. However, the matter of the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon still made her worry. Of course, the reason for it was that Adult Dragon.
If the Irene of a year ago saw the current her, she would be amazed to see how she was disying such concern and worry for a man. Nheless, the current her did not have the mind to pay attention to such things.
The earth Shattering lower dragon might just be a lower dragon and an overlord of the northern region but it was a dragon no less. Just thisst fact alone was enough to put it on equal standing or even above those seven kings of the forest.
That was how powerful the dragon n was, just having their bloodline made the individual extremely strong. This was also one of the reasons why a body of a dragon was considered a priceless treasure from the point of view of everyone in this world.
Given the fact that the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon was a genuine dragon and the blood of the dragon n flowed within it, which made countless lives inside and outside of this ghastly winding forest covet it.
However, despite that, the Earth shattering lower dragon was able to stay alive inside the forest and without facing any trouble while it was just in its juvenile stage. There had to be someone or something that was protecting it from the shadows.
What the Lightning Draconic Serpent told them about the dragon n, should be the truth. A mature dragon was silently protecting the juvenile dragon.
Chapter 535 535- Earth Shattering Lower Dragon (2)
The dragon n weren''t fools, they understood how much allure each part of their bodies held towards the member of other races. Regardless of that, how were they able to roam free across the world and establish themselves as one of the peak ns in this world?
It was because of their might. The powerful bloodline of the dragon n bestowed them with a powerful body. Not only that, a dragon was one of the apex beings of this world who have already reached the peak of their evolution since their birth.
That is to say, they are born powerful and their bodies need not go through an evolution like the other beasts of this world to reach their ultimate stage. That is not all, due to their bloodline the skills and power of a dragon are not something that just any beast in this world can match.
Even though she knew that Simon had the backup of relying on that legacy technique and the dragon aura of that girl inside his body, she was still a little concerned. One cannot say how a battle would turn out, especially when one''s opponent was a dragon.
"Alright, I will head out now".
Seeing that Irene wasn''t saying anything, Simon was just about to walk past her when he felt a pair of cold hands that were soft yet delicate, gently grab his wrist.
Her shapely white hand felt smooth to the touch, her fingers and those well-maintained nails had an endless allure.
Simon turned around to face Irene when he felt her touch. This was the first time Irene had initiated a physical contact on her own.
A couple of seconds passed, the two gazed at each other when suddenly Irene realised her hand was still grabbing onto Simon, she quickly released it.
A turmoil of emotion faintly shed in her eyes before it was frozen and suppressed once again.
"Take this with you" Irene extended her hand and plucked an azure blue strand of her hair from her head. She then extended her finger and that strand of hair immediately flew towards Simon and entwined around the index finger of his right hand.
This sudden action by Irene, took him by surprise, he looked at the index finger of his right hand and noticed that her hair coiled around his finger like a ring. This strand of hair other than having that rare azure blue colour appeared ordinary.
"Always keep that with you" Irene spoke and revealed a rare smile that was like a powerful spell that could enrapture the heart of any creature of this world.
Simon nodded his head and did not ask her about it. For some reason, Simon felt that she didn''t want him to ask her about it. Thus he turned around, opened his main menu and teleported away.
The moment Simon disappeared, Irene''s face which maintained a smile, paled immediately. Her body shivered intensely, blood streaked out from the corner of her mouth. Even her aura at this moment had be extremely frail.
A mysterious phoenix marking like a crown appeared on her forehead and suppressed the turmoil in her body. Nevertheless, each time that phoenix markings appeared, her eyes would be hollow and lost as if she was recollecting something that had been forgotten.
Counting the number of times the phoenix marking appeared on her forehead, it had already been two times. And each time the phoenix marking appeared, Irene''s aura seemed to have increased significantly.
-----
Wind whistled by, the refreshing air of the early morning brushed past Simon''s body. He pped his wings and soared through the air. His speed was so fast that he was like a ck streak cutting through the sky.
After experiencing that big jump in level, Simon felt he was much stronger than before, every cell, and every muscle in his body was brimming with energy. He was itching to try his powers on someone to see the current limit of his strength.
Other than that, there was also this mysterious feeling of approaching an invisible threshold. Simon''s current rank was demon viscount, usually for a demon noble like him with an impure bloodline, that would be the ceiling of his growth.
That is to say, Simon was quickly approaching the peak of his current rank which was level 500. Most of the demon viscounts who were fortunate enough to grow to such heights, were stuck in this level for dozens of years or even centuries, unable to make any progress after that.
If somebody were to ask these people why were they unable to progress any further than this level, all of them would recount that they seemed to have arrived before an enormous wall that did not budge no matter what they did.
Simon who was hurriedly approaching that limit, could vaguely feel that wall ahead of him. The wall that was the barricade that barred him from going any further, the bloodline limit.
However, Simon wasn''t worried about that limiting him, he had the [Main Menu] with him. This thing along with the fragment of pride was his biggest support and most deeply guarded secret that would help him to reach the sort of level and power, he desired.
While Simon was having these thoughts, he quickly approached the northern region of the forest. Thendscape below him quickly changed and before long he had arrived near a familiar ce.
Simon bitterly smiled as he recalled the incident that happened here more than a year ago. At that time Simon who had just reincarnated into this world, thought of himself as unbeatable and someone who could look down on all creatures.
The low level monsters around him further boosted that ego of his, he was just like a na?ve young demon baring his fangs at everyone and anyone that he saw.
It was only after he met the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon and went to the Walpurgis, that he truly understood the vastness of the word and that he was just a frog looking at the world from inside a well.
As a matter of fact, that experience and everything that he had to go through up until now forged his character and wiped that naivety away from him. Simon understood that the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon represented the toughest challenge out of all the three overlords and would be a strong opponent to beat.
However, Simon too was a tough nut to crack. He had his own pride and he would not shy away from challenging the opponent he had once run away from.
The Earth Shattering Lower Dragon might be strong but it wasn''t like he did not stand a chance. As long as that mysterious adult dragon did not intervene, Simon had the confidence to beat the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon even without the aid of curse energy.
As these thoughts ran inside his head, Simon fixed his gaze on the distant lonely mountain that stood tall and mightily in the middle of the forest. He then looked at the ground below him, if he proceeded a few more meters forward, he would be entering the territory of one of the three overlords of the northern region.
PHEW... Simon exhaled a deep breath and walked forward, the moment he stepped foot inside his territory, that guy had already perceived his presence. A heavy pressure like a hundred foot huge wave came barrelling at him from the distant mountain.
Nevertheless, it wasn''t able to stop Simon as he simply walked forward. If it was before, he wouldn''t have been able to sense its presence but now that he was swiftly approaching the peak of demon viscount, he could clearly feel it.
That enormous giant like aura that was resting inside that mountain. The sheer volume of that aura was so huge that it was enough to cause others to feel a heavy suppression.
"No wonder everyone was afraid of the dragon n, what a ridiculous amount of mana this guy has" Simon muttered, being a race that was sensitive to mana, he could naturally tell that his opponent was one troublesome fellow.
"The pressure earlier should be a warning from that guy. Heh, did he really think that he can scare me with just that?" Simon continued to advance ignoring the warning.
Soon after, he was before that gigantic mountain that was much too familiar in his mind.
''It''sing!''
The gigantic mountain started to tremble causing the ground near to form numerous cracks. The cracks continued to be bigger and bigger until they formed a deep gully inside the earth.
Simon hurriedly braced himself and focused on the dark deep gully. Momentster, a thunderous roar that was enough to scare the monsters, resounded across this part of the forest.
TREMBLE... TREMBLE...
The trembling intensified and the thing hiding inside the earth, finally showed its appearance. An enormous w decked with rugged stone scales wed out, followed by a humungous body.
That body was easily bigger than a hundred meters, it hadrge spiky rocks like scales protruding from its gigantic body. Two draconic eyes that were filled with ancientness and profundity slowly opened.
The being raised its head and roared towards the heaven causing a small shockwave in the process. A wide jaw and spear-like teeth could be seen from the slight opening of its mouth.
Two sharp horns that looked like millennial old rocks protruded from its head. The top of its body is covered in rounded scales and a row of enormous spiky crystals run down its spine. Its bottom was covered in smooth skin and was coloured much lighter than the rest of its body.
Four thick limbs carried its oversized frame emanating an aura of a sturdy ancient mountain. Itsrge barbed tail was connected to a round spiky stone that looked like a il. The being in front of him was none other than the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon from his memories.
Chapter 536 536- Simon Vs Earth Shattering Lower Dragon
However, unlike the past, the current Earth Shattering Lower Dragon was many times bigger and more powerful than before. Its entire presence gave the feeling of indestructibility.
"Those enormous crystal like stones on its back didn''t look that ancient before" Simon reckoned. Though those stones were covered with moss and dust, their lustre was like the gem whose brilliance refused to fade away at the slightest.
After the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon was done roaring at the heavens, its eye finally looked down and itnded on the demon who remained unfazed even after it showed its appearance.
The dragon did not bother to speak, it raised one of its limbs and wed down.
BANG¡
The ground was immediately cracked apart from the sheer force of its attack. one would expect a body this big to be extremely slow; however that attack earlier was enough to break all preconceptions that anyone had about its speed.
After crushing the ground near the demon, the eyes of the dragon immediately darted up andnded on the demon who was casually flying in the sky.
"Straight to business eh?" Simon grinned.
The Earth Shattering Lower Dragon was a member of the dragon n, thus it was extremely intelligent. Forget about understanding him, it could even speak if it wanted to. Not to mention it was about to break through the level 500 barrier and enter the disaster ss.
The dragon narrowed its eyes, it didn''t expect its attack earlier to not aplish anything causing it to nce at the demon carefully.
FWOOSH¡
A sharp sound of wind tearing came and a ck shadow hurriedly magnified in Simon''s vision. The thing was so fast that it was right upon him in the blink of an eye. It carried a tremendous force and momentum as it came crushing him.
Just when the ck thing was a few inches away from him, Simon took out his [A] tier crimson de and using his sword mastery skill he diverted all that force and momentum and easily repelled it.
BANG¡
The earth cried and thend in his vicinity was easily crushed. After the dust and tree splinters settled down, a hundred-foot deep pit appeared in the ce.
The hand which held the sword, trembled intensely and blood leaked out from some of his nails. After shing with the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon head on, Simon finally realised how much of a monstrosity the other guy was.
? Even though he had used the sword to buff his stats and redirected all of the force of that attack, it still manage to slightly injure him. Although this kind of injury was nothing to him, and it healed within seconds, it was enough to tell him that his stats were still inferior to the other.
Finally, after even that attack failed to do anything to the demon, the dragon became a lot more serious. Its body moved and the ck thing was quickly retracted back. The thing that attacked Simon earlier was none other than the il like tail of the dragon.
"So you have alsoe coveting my blood too? You all are nothing but insects yet you dare to look down on this king? All of your constant bugging has gone for long enough. This king will show this time that it is not so easy to take my blood".
The Earth Shattering Lower Dragon spat out a few words of vehemence. Right after that, the energy inside him started boiling and raising even further.
''Finally willing to talk huh'' Simon did not know what blood and intrusion it was talking about, but he could see that his opponent, was finally serious. It had stopped looking down on him.
"Well might as well get over with it" Simon did not bother to hold back either and swiftly activated the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition] skill.
Since the other guy reached the peak of its evolution already, its base stats were already higher than his. Not to mention the skill they had should not be inferior to his. If he did not increase his strength further, the result of this battle would be totally one sided.
Theplex tribal like markings on Simon''s body, started heating up and with a brilliant golden light, it started igniting. A mighty aura that was not any weaker than the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon erupted from him and the collision of their auras alone was enough to create wild storms.
A solemn expression descended on the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon''s eyes after seeing that he wasn''t able to suppress the other party with its aura. Its body shook mysteriously, and the numerous spiky boulders on its back lit up with dusty brown light.
Waves after waves of ripple passed through the ground. Immediately afterwards, thend for a few hundred meters started moving as if it was alive. The mud, the sand even the small granules, everything thatprised from soil started moving towards the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon.
Simon looked at the changes urring with grim eyes. He was trying to use his [Analysis] skill on the dragon only to find that it was unable to see beyond its level and race. His attempt to peer at its skill had failed.
While he was bracing himself for what wasing, the soil quickly crept up to the body of the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon and disappeared inside those glowing crysta stones on its back.
The process was extremely fast, it only took a few couple of seconds before the soil around hundreds of meters was swiftly sucked into its crystals. After the crystals on its back finished devouring the soil, the light emitted out of it brightened even more.
After which, it was fired towards Simon. This light wasn''t just any beam of light, it contained a heavy pressure like that of a mountain and had an extremely destructive power within it.
Simon did not dare to slight this kind of energy, he tightened his grip on the sword and shed forward. At that moment, the de of the sword lit up with a brilliant golden light that vaporised the moisture in the surrounding few hundred meters ofnd.
The sword shed forward a golden glow sped towards that brown light.
RUMBLE¡ a blinding light erupted when the two attacks collided followed by a rumbling noise. A surge of wild energy waves and mes burst from the two attacks and spread around the surrounding destroying anything and everything.
Trees,nd, monsters or even mountain, everything would burst apart and then turned into tiny debris.
The energy waves from the first collision was yet to fade when Simon noticed several more pir of brown light shoot towards him.
In the distance, the Dragon was repeatedly firing one shot after another from thoserge glowing boulders on its back.
Simon did not give it time to mount the pressure, his calmness turned into a fervour, and his attacks became ore intense. He matched every attack of the dragon with his own golden de glows.
Each of those de glows contained an infernal amount of heat and his understanding of the sword mastery skill. They were in no way, weaker than the brown light pirs shot by the dragon.
BOOMM¡ BOOOM¡BOOOMM¡
Numerous eruptions of brown and golden light dotted the sky, thend was flipped upside down and even the space around the explosion showed signs of distorting.
In the blink of an eye, Simon had exchanged numerous blows with the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon.
Previously, it was much too strainful and draining for Simon to use infernal magic repeatedly like that. However, after his me magic had advanced, and that drastic increase in his level, coupled with the fact that he had gained the [Minimal Mana consumption] skill allowed him to dish out such attacks without any problem at this moment.
He was a vastly different person than the time he had first encountered the dragon. After a while, when both parties failed to gain any edge over the other, the brown beams of light stoppeding.
The Earth Shattering Lower Dragon had stopped firing probably realising that it was useless. The brown glow on those crystals had also diminished by a lot.
"My turn" Simon grinned, after exchanging a few blows with the dragon he realised that the other party was vastly different from any of the opponents he had faced up until now.
He couldn''t gain even an inch of advantage against the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon. Not only were its attacks powerful, it had yet to show him their entire power. It still had many cards up its sleeve that it was yet to use.
Simon pped his wings and utilising the surge of power that came from igniting his ancestral symbol, he zipped towards the dragon and appeared a few meters away from its body.
A faint blueyer of aura covered the edges of the de and shed towards the underbelly of the dragon that wasn''t covered by those solid looking stone scales.
After shing with the Deep Sea Alligator king, Simon was aware of some of the weaknesses of a streamlined body. Even if the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon was a genuine dragon from the dragon n and not a reptile type beast like the Deep Sea Alligator king, it had a streamlined body that made its underbelly its biggest weakness.
Seeing that the demon ignore its upper body and directly go for its weakness, the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon panicked for a moment. Nevertheless, it swiftlyposed itself and interrupted the demon before it could get any closer to its body.
A ck shadow appeared in front of Simon in a lightning like speed forcing him to swiftly pull back.
BAM¡ the ck thing that was the tail of the dragon ttened the ground where Simon was just a second ago.
"This speed still not enough" Simon muttered inwardly, he grit his teeth and activated [Super Enhanced Agility], [Super Enhanced Strength] and his various other augmenting skill.
Chapter 537 537- Simon Vs Earth Shattering Lower Dragon (2)
The power inside his body soared even more and vaguely approached a threshold. This threshold was like an invisible wall that restricted his stats from going any higher.
Energy surged through his body brimming it with power and might that Simon had never experienced before. Of course, activating the many augmenting skills on top of igniting his ancestral skills, strained his body to its limits.
Cracking noises came from his body and he could feel some veins and tissues snapping, indicating that his body was still not ready to hold that amount of power.
Simon took a deep breath and quietly endured the pain. This was the first time after that crazy level that he had activated his power to his limits. He wanted to see what kind of strength, his current powers could disy.
BOOMM¡
Leaving behind a sonic boom, Simon pped his wings, his figure disappeared from the sight of the dragon and appeared beside its body in an instant.
Although the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon was unable to see the demon and was surprised by his speed, it did not panic like before. On the contrary, it was expecting the demon to target his weakness once again thus it was prepared.
It iled its tail and the brown light from the stones gather on the striking head at the end of its tail increasing its heaviness and power to a new degree.
The moment, Simon appeared a few meters away from the body of the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon, he saw its tail magnifying in his eyes. Simon did not panic though, he had already expected his opponent to react that way.
This time, he did not shrink away from the might of the tail and instead collided against it head on. Simon clenched his left hand into a fist and swung it towards the iing tail with all of his power.
Mana unwittingly covered his right hand and vaguely formed a gauntlet of sorts.
BANG¡ when the two attacks met a harsh nging reverberated and a ripple like shockwaves spread through the air.
The force of the two attacks was so powerful that anything that those ripples touched would be sted into smithereens.
A fist and a gigantic tail were tightly locked in a battle, none of them could gain any ground against the other. Clearly, the force of the two attacks was equal.
The dragon who didn''t expect to see his opponent not flying away like a bug, was stunned for a moment. This momentary daze, made it unable to react to what came next.
Simon utilised his battle experience from continuously fighting strong enemies to shift the force of his enemy''s attack away from him. He rotated his body in an unusual manner and slipped past the tail and the earth Shattering Lower Dragon''s guard.
SLASH¡
Simon did not stop there, he took advantage of the momentarypse of guard of his opponent and shed towards its underbelly. A brilliant golden glow apanied by an infernal heat lit up on the sword, the de whose lethality was further enhanced by ayer of mana easily tore through its negligible defence and opened arge gash big enough to cover one-third of its underbelly.
No blood flowed out, as everything was charred by that golden infernal heat.
ROAARRRR¡ the unimaginable pain made the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon open its mouth wide and wail. It failed its body around in a wild and violent rampage copsing the mountain that was its home and everything around it.
WHOOSH¡ Simon withdrew a few distance away and looked at the dragon with a grim light. Although he had managed to cut open a wound on his opponent, it wasn''t quite deep and failed to deal it much damage.
When he looked at the dragon''s HP, it had only fallen by one-tenth. From this, one could tell how powerful the body of a dragon was. The underbelly of the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon had the least amount of scales and defence, unlike its top half which was covered by those dense sturdy looking stony scales.
However, even then it failed to reach its organs and deal any significant damage.
Simon nced at his sword, it was an [A] tier weapon yet it was unable to pierce through the defence of a dragon. Just this fact was enough to tell how fearsome the dragon n was.
ROOOAARR¡ the tone of Earth Shattering Lower Dragon''s roar turned from agony to fury. Hatred and killing intent raged across its brown eyes that gazed at the demon.
This wasn''t the first time that it was challenged, many other beings that resided in this forest had tried to attack him blinded by their greed. However, each time it showed them the vast difference between them and the might of someone who was a member of the dragon n.
This would perhaps be the first time that it was injured by an opponent who it believed was beneath him.
ROARR¡ Rage covered its eyes, the pain from earlier was still throbbing in its body. Unforgivable¡ it wanted to tear apart that demon only then will its hatred be quelled.
How could Simon who was the recipient of those negative emotions not be able to feel it? The demon noble race was sensitive to such emotions. He could tell that the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon waspletely furious now, it had stopped holding back.
The power inside its body flooded out, and a pressure that seemed to be originating from the ancient times descended onto thesends. In front of that vast draconic pressure, most of the races of this world would be instantly intimidated and cowered into submission.
However, Simon was different this change only seem to excite him further. The demonic blood within him was exhrated by this development.
Of course, Simon did not simply give in to these instincts, he was calm-headed as his eyes roamed all around him.
Now that he had attacked the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon, that mysterious protector of its wouldn''t sit still. He was wary of that individual suddenly intervening, if need be Simon was ready to shatter the golden guardian stone and use the ancient draconicpel.
Nevertheless, that mysterious adult dragon did not show its face.
"Did they perhaps adopt a wait and watch attitude?".
Simon could only guess what the other party was thinking. While these thoughts rapidly shed in his mind, the angered Earth Shattering Lower Dragon mmed its limbs into the ground causing thend for dozens of kilometres to tremble intensely.
The trembling caused enormous cracks to appear on the ground as if a massive earthquake of more than twelve Richter scale had urred. Big chunks of bedrock surfaced out of the earth changing the topography of thendpletely.
ROAARR¡ the brown draconic eyes filled with fury and murderous intent, did not stop there. After pulling out the bedrocks from the ground, the biggest crystal on top of its body started shining with ring brown light.
These brown lights contained some mysterious power that allowed it to control the bedrocks. The substrata started moving and were gradually lifted in the air.
This unexpected change made even Simon frown a little. It must be mentioned that each of these bedrocks was as big as a mountain, lifting them in the air like that must cost a ridiculous amount of mana.
Even with his mana points [MP], he reckoned that he might not be able to do something as ridiculous as that.
"Puny Ant!!¡ This king shall show you the might of the dragon n" the arrogant Earth Shattering Lower Dragon who hardly bothered to talk with him since the start, finally opened his mouth at this moment.
"Regret in hell that you dared to covet the bloodline of this kind. DIE" as soon as the dragon stopped talking, all those bedrocks started moving towards Simon from all directions.
This move from him intended to crush Simon into a bloody stter in between those bedrocks.
Simon pped his wings and moved around, because of the weight and size of the substrata, they moved slowly but after dodging for a while, Simon realised that he couldn''t escape them. No matter where he went, these bedrocks followed.
It was like he had be a ma that attracted them. The bedrock from all around rushed towards Simon and encircled him in between. Finally, they buried him in between.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG...
The impacts from multiple bedrocks snapping together caused a deep muffled rumbling noises to repeatedly echo far into the surrounding.
A faint smile appeared on the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon''s face. It was marvelling at its work, the advanced tier Seismic Magic Mastery. However, the faint smile on its face did notst long when it saw the bedrock suddenly pulling back and leaning vertically towards the sky.
There was nothing in between those rocks. Immediately, the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon pulled his attention up and saw the demon appear high up in the sky.
Simon using his advantage in speed to dodge the bedrocks in the nick of time, appeared in the sky and observed this dragon opponent of his who had be weirdly stationary after pulling out the bedrock from the ground.
Even the numerous crystals on its body had lost their weird brown lustre except for that single biggest one in the middle.
"Is it unable to move because it needs to focus all of its attention on that one crystal was controlling these things?" Simon postted narrowing his eyes, a sudden thought shed in his mind.
He did not have much time to ponder over it as the bedrocks came rushing towards him once again.
Simon hurriedly descended and sped towards the motionless Earth Shattering Lower Dragon who was observing him with its eyes. It did not move or did it do anything, only the lighting from the biggest crystal on its back brightened.
Chapter 538 538- Simon Vs Earth Shattering Lower Dragon (3)
As he approached near the body of the dragon, the bedrock strangely became faster. At this moment, he was finally able to notice the mysterious fluctuationsing from the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon that dispelled some of his conundrums.
"So it was like this¡ no wonder I wasn''t able to master it. I guess I must thank you for this" Simon muttered to himself, a unique look of enlightenment dawned on his face.
He came to halt around a hundred feet away from the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon and released the sword from his grasp and let it fall on the ground. Now that he had stopped, the bedrocks quickly came over from all directions, imprisoning him and burying him in between.
This time, however, Simon did not dodge them, a sea green bracelet appeared in his hand just before the bedrocks entombed him inside.
BANG¡ the deep rumbling sound once again echoed across the surrounding. Just the sound from the bedrocks colliding was already so dreadful one did not have to imagine much what kind of state the being that was crushed in between them would be.
Forget about remaining alive, everything would be smashed into a bloody stter and ground to dust. It would be amazing if the demon managed to survive that. So were the thoughts of Earth Shattering lower dragon, it clearly felt the demon getting crushed by the rocks this time.
It made a victorious face and issued a deep growl of triumph towards the sky. Although it was injured this time because it was careless, the victory still belonged to him in the end.
CLANG¡ CRACK¡
Just when it thought about turning around and leaving, it heard a slight cracking noise and a surge of infernal heat assaulting its body. Its outer body was protected by numerous stony scales and a thickyer of hardened skin thus it did not damage him much other than feeling a searing hot pain.
However, it was not the pain nor the infernal heat that caused its expression to crumble, it was the faint cracks that were appearing on the biggest stony rock on its back.
It needs to be mentioned that the toughest part of its body, was not its stony scales or its hide but those huge rocks on its back. They were not just ordinary crystals but crystallized mystical energy that it had been umting and condensing deep inside the earth all these years.
It was the source of its powers and the efforts of years of its struggle. Seeing it crumble apart like that, how could it not be devastated? In the blink of an eye, the cracks on thergest on its back intensified and it watched with an ashen face as it broke apart.
Years of its hard work and perseverance broke apart just like that.
"It''s that sword¡" the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon was going through a great sorrow when suddenly it spotted a swordpletely crimson in colour from the corner of its eyes.
Those eyes were lost for a while when suddenly it realised that it had seen this sword in the hands of that demon. The damage on its crystallized rocks was clearly due to this sword.
It had already defeated the demon, so why is it that this sword was still suspended in the air?
"Could it be?" at that moment, a thought struck him and it quickly turned its gaze towards its front where numerous bedrcoks had crushed a figure within it.
TIk¡ TAK¡ CLACK¡ a small pebble rolled down and made some noise. Immediately afterwards, all of the substrata started shaking and with a great force, all of them were pushed back revealing a ck figure inside it.
Extreme emotional turmoil like a tsunami, went through the heart of the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon as it watched the figuree out with little damage after being crushed between those enormous bedrocks.
The scene of blood sttered bloody scene did not happen, instead, a figure walked out with all of his blood and bones intact. A pale yellow barrier that barely stood standing was enveloping their body.
"How is that possible? How can the demon still be alive after that?" the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon''s eyes trembled with disbelief.
The attack that it had used earlier was one of its strongest attacks so how was it possible for that demon who was only an ant in front of its eye to still be alive and kicking?
While the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon was going through an emotional upheaval, Simon who pushed open the gigantic bedrocks from around him and walked out, wiped the traces of blood from the corner of his mouth.
Both of his hands were bleeding severely, and he had suffered great internal injuries. If not for the barrier around him he might have beenpletely crushed by the force.
Simon quickly purchased a couple of elixir of healing from the shop and gulped down on it. Only after feeling its effects boosting his [High Speed regeneration] skill and various other recovery abilities, did he sigh in relief.
"But I must say, this bracelet came into use at this critical moment" Simon nced at the sea green bracelet in his left hand. Although the thing appeared ordinary in fact it was not.
It was an ancient item that he had gotten as one of the rewards after clearing the third trail in the forbidden trail grounds. The barrier around him was the ability of this bracelet.
Item Name- Stone Guard Bracelet
Rank- [B]
Temporarily grants the user immunity to Tremor Magic, the intermediate tier of Earth magic. Duration- 10 minutes
Cooldown- 27 Hours.
The item had the ability to make him immune to the Tremor magic for a short period of time. It was thanks to this ability that he was able to survive the attack from the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon.
However, even then the barrier wasn''t able topletely negate the full power of that attack. The bracelet had the ability to make him immune from the tremor magic but not from its advanced form, the seismic magic.
From what Simon could tell that kind of absurd ability to lift the entire bedrock from the ground, was only possible with advanced magic. Thanks to the barrier standing between him and the seismic magic, he was able to somehow survive that attack.
Nevertheless, he still underestimated that attack somewhat and had paid a heavy price for it. Simon''s internal organs were in a mess, his arms were numb not to mention the Stone Guard Bracelet had broken after that.
Simon sighed looking at the faint crack in the sea green bracelet. Perhaps it was too much for it to guard against an advanced tier magic. The Stone guard bracelet might work again if it was restored in the future.
Simon kept the bracelet in his inventory and turned his attention back on the Earth Shattering lower dragon. From its expression, he could tell that thetter didn''t expect him to survive that attack of its much less retaliate and make it suffer an even greater loss.
Simon beckoned with his hand and the sword immediately flew towards him. There was no mysterious runes on the sword nor on his hand, he was clearly not using the [Dominator''s control] technique.
So how was he able to manipte the sword like that?
The answer to that was something that he had figured out while fighting the Earth Shattering lower dragon. He came to an epiphany and finally understood how the dragon controlled all of the bedrocks after pulling them out with its advanced magic.
[Mana Flow]¡ clearly, the dragon was also able to use it.
Simon observed the unusual mana fluctuation around the bedrocks and immediately came to a realisation. The other party knew the skill he was struggling with. At that moment, he made up his mind and decided to take on the attack.
Although it was kind of putting all of his eggs into one basket kind of thing, an extremely high risk high gain decision. He still went with it and used the other party''s attack to advance his own skill.
While being crushed by the pressuring force of those bedrocks, Simon diverted a portion of his attention towards the mysterious fluctuation. That was when he finally understood the mysteries barring him from acquiring the skill.
A profound understanding descended onto him and he used this newfound discovery to manipte the sword that he threw onto the ground earlier. He had chosen to attack the moment he saw the rock on the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon''s back, dimming down a little.
The huge crystals on its body was the crystallisation of its power and incredibly sturdy but at the same time also its weakness. While trying to use magic, it would be lit up and emit a berserk amount of mana into the surrounding.
This made the Earth Shattering lower dragon unable to move for a while not only that when those rocks like crystals on its body dimmed, that was when it was in its most weakened state.
Simon who was noting every quirk and movement of his opponent since the battle started, came to that realisation after a while. And he was spot on.
Although it was extremely risky to do something like that based on some assumption, it had paid off. Simon did not know how important those crystal like rocks were for the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon but he at least understood that with that gone it would no longer be able to control those bedrocks anymore.
Involuntarily, Simon had dealt a great damage to the earth shattering lower dragon.
"This can''t be. How are you alive demon? How did you survive that?" the dragon roared out, his thundering voice reverberating across the ce. The arrogance of the dragon was finally snuffed out after facing Simon.
Chapter 539 539- Valdris
"Who knows, why should I even tell you that? An ant has its own way of defending itself. Don''t tell me that the high and mighty king from the dragon n is afraid? Kehehe... prepare yourself, earlier it was just the crystals on top of your body, my attacks won''t stop until you kneel in front of me".
What a joke, the dragon was arrogant in front of him? Simon''s words showed thetter who was the real ant.
He was not the same person he was when he faced the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon for the first time. He had ranked up, gone through multiple life and death battles that slowly filled his battle experience and forged his character.
It was a huge mistake on the part of the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon to underestimate him. Ultimately it allowed Simon to pull the rug out from underneath him.
The Earth Shattering Lower Dragon, was astonished, furious hearing the cold and condescending words of the demon. It was the overlord of the northern region of the forest, a dragon from the dragon n.
Who out there would dare to look down on him? Even those incredibly strong beings living inside deep inside the forest, did not dare to. The demon was the first.
Kneel down? This type of humiliation was greater than killing itself for the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon. It was so furious that it could no longer think straight.
"Just because you managed to break my crystallised energy, doesn''t mean that you have won? I shall see how long you are able to keep that smirk on your face demon. Those augmenting skills should soon be showing their repercussions. Let''s see who has thestugh after the effects of those skills wear out".
The Earth Shattering Lower Dragon was angered. However, it did not mean that all the reason flew out of his head. Just like how Simon was observing him, he too was observing Simon. His intelligent eyes allowed it to identify the sudden energy raise of his opponent was due to the superimposition of various augmenting skills altogether.
Given its intelligence, it understood the kind of bacsh and strain that one has to go through for doing something as ridiculous as that. It was clearly counting on the time, waiting for the skill that buffed the demon to wear out.
At that time, he would be the final victor. The demon had made him suffer a huge loss, that crystal like rock on its body took dozens of years of umtion deep underneath the ground to form. Now that it was broken, its power took a sharp drop.
Not only that, it has also pushed back his chances of moving up the ss by dozens of years. It won''t be able to quench this anger if he did not tear the demon apart with its very own ws.
Simon had a solemn look on his face, the dragon was indeed nothing like the other opponents he had faced. The other guy too knew his weakness. After activating all those augmenting skills, his body was under an enormous pressure, the berserk amount of mana surging within him threatened to burst out of his body.
This kind of forceful raise in strength had a timer and was a great detriment to his body. It would definitely leave some hidden seque behind. But so what? As long as he can make this concieted, arrogant dragon bow to him, it would all be worth it.
[Your emotions stirred the fragment of pride]
[The Fragment of Pride has been activated, all other emotions would be suppressed at this moment].
Simon felt his weary and giddy mind, suddenly clear up. Even the pain that he has been enduring all this while, swiftly faded. Make no mistake, his injuries and exhaustion did not heal up, it was just that under the influence of the fragment of pride all other things were suppressed and forgotten.
Of course, all of them would have their effects and rebound back once the effects of the fragment of pride disappeared. Nevertheless, for now Simon felt no longer restrained by that great increase in power.
Immediately, he conjured multiple magic of Infernal, Lightning and Gale elements and barraged the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon with it. He wanted to see how many scales on its body the dragon was ready to lose before it bowed its head in submission.
A wild sh where both parties were unwilling to back down against the other, erupted. While all this was happening, around a hundred kilometres away, there was a person in pale yellow clothes, seated on a rock on top of the mountain range.
He was a middle aged man, his eyes were closed, and he was in a meditative position like an unmoving boulder. Space fluctuated around him with every breath that he took and an aura like a calm sea, emitted out of him.
That person who had some peculiar yellowish scales protruding out from the corner of his eyes, arched his brows at this moment.
"Alder¡ if you have something to say, just say it. There is no reason for you to sneak up behind me like that is there?" he muttered without opening his eyes.
"Haha¡ dear me, it looks like I''m getting old. Even a junior like you can sense me approaching now" strangely that voice came from one of the towering trees behind the middle aged man.
A gentle breeze blew and all the trees around immediately became active. An emerald green light erupted out and the tree in the front wiggled before taking on a humanoid shape.
If Simon was here, he would immediately be able to tell that the shape of that humanoid tree resembled Aldebaran, the king of the ancient treants.
Finally, the middle aged man opened his eyes revealing two pairs of deep yellowish draconic eyes. When the eyes of the middle aged man opened, his aura which was like a calm sea, disappeared. "
Haha¡ it''s been a long time since Ist saw you, Valdris. That na?ve brat from back then became strong" Aldebaranughed and slowly approached the middle aged man named Valdris.
"That was more than a thousand years ago, stop treating me like a brat all the time, you old ghost" Valdris remarked, his face remained impassive. His body did not turn around nor did his eyes which were gazing at a particr ce far into the distance.
The way his eyes were watching that ce without moving was as if his eyes could prate through the space and can look far into the distance.
Aldebaran did notment anything seeing his attitude, his old green eyes fixed on the same ce the other person was watching.
TREMBLE¡ a small aftershock passed through the ground, disturbing the flora and fauna around this part. That aftershock wasn''t the only one, numerous aftershocks travelled from the direction where two pairs of eyes were deeply fixed.
"What do you think?" Aldebaran suddenly asked, he did not provide any more context yet it was enough for Valdris to understand what the old ghost was talking about.
"He is capable; however, if he thinks that he would be able to subdue that fellow with force, then he is mistaken. If necessary, a dragon will choose death instead of submitting and living a life of shame".
Valdris opened his mouth toment. His voice was resolute and unbendable as if he could tell what the oue would be already.
"Haha¡ we don''t know that yet. Miracles can happen anytime. I won''t be surprised if something out of your expectation were to happen" Aldebaran''sughter rang out, he seemed to be much more positive about the situation.
"Hmph, a miracle is called a miracle because it does not ur often. I cannot see this situation going any other way. That junior of mine might be only in the middle of its juvenile stage but he is from our dragon n nheless".
"Even if that demon is a little unique, he does not stand a chance. Once the buff from the numerous augmenting skills he has superimposed on himself wears out, it would be all too easy for a member of my tribe to deal with him".
Valdirs who was looking into the distance finally tore his eyes away from the scene and focused on the being that appeared beside him. The old ghost that refuses to die even after thousands of years goes with another name around this part of thend.
"You seem to be enjoying that title quite a bit. Don''t tell me you are raising those upstarts who call themselves the seven kings of the forest?" .
Valdris smirked, there was condescension and ridicule in his eyes when he mentioned that title. From his point of view, this title of seven kings was all bullshit. It was like some kids ying with a title and trying to appear intimidating in the eyes of the adult.
"Hmm¡ you are not wrong. Although I do not like this title, I''m indeed raising those fellows. I believe they have some potential" Aldebaran gave his usual smile, he was not offended by the other party''s ridicule.
Seeing that hisment didn''t manage to faze Aldebaran even a bit, Valdris immediately lost interest. His eyes shifted back to that same ce far into that distance.
"Although I do not know why you would be raising those troublesome fellows, I do not care. However, if they dare to covet the bloodline of a member of my tribe again, I wouldn''t mind deposing some of those kings of yours from their thrones".
From his words, one could tell that Valdris had already engaged with some of the seven kings of the forest.
"Do whatever you like. It''s not like I can control them or they listen to me anyways" Aldebaran was nonmittal.
Chapter 540 540- Valdris (2)
"Hnn¡ is that so? If it''s not for those six, then it means that you are here for that guy?" Valdris'' attempt to converse was just him probing for the intention of the other party. And seeing Aldebaran not deny and simplyugh it off, he was certain that his guess was spot on.
Valdris narrowed his eyes, for Aldebaran to be secretly backing the demon, there was no way thetter was simple.
"You have taken the initiative to appear me, is it because you don''t want me to meddle in that?" Valdirs asked, a strange light shed in his yellow draconic eyes.
"Something like that".
This time, Aldebaran did not deny it and made his stance clear. An ordinary person won''t be able to feel it, but Valdris was no ordinary person. He could see the mana around the entire mountain range change their course at this moment and slowly flow towards this person standing beside him.
"Hehh, are you telling me that I should just stay put and ignore the plight of a member of my tribe? Aldebaran, don''t you think what you are asking is too much?"
A faint trace of anger leaked out of Valdris. Even if he didn''t count the fact that the earth shattering lower dragon belonged to the same pavilion as him, just the fact that both of them were from the dragon n, made him obligated to help the earth shattering lower dragon until he grows out of his juvenile stage and reaches the mature stage.
Asking him to not help the earth shattering lower dragon went against the rule of their tribe. Even if it''s Aldebaran standing against him, he cannot do that.
"Although I doubt a member of the dragon tribe would need protection, what if I say that it''s not possible for me to sit back when the time does reallye for me to make a move? Are you going to fight me?".
Valdris questioned, his aura was no longer as calm as the sea. Waves after wave started appearing in that sea of energy.
Aldebaran might carry the same title as those seven kings of the forest, but those who know him or heard about him are aware of how powerful he was. This old ghost who refused to die, was a relic from the ancient times.
Even Valdris himself was unaware of some of the information regarding this ruler of the Ancient Treant. What he did know was that he was someone even before the era of the first Apex war. This fact itself put him in the same seniority as those legendary ancient dragon elders from their tribe.
Compared to that, Valdris who had only lived slightly more than three thousand years appeared just like a brat in front of the other party.
"Haha, you don''t have to worry, I won''t be raising my hands against a junior. But I would like to tell you that perhaps getting subjugated by that little fellow might be the best oue or even a blessing in disguise for that tribe member of yours".
Contrary to his expectation, Aldebaran wasn''t here to start a fight. Not mentioning the disparity in strength between them was too much, it would not bode well with Aldebaran to raise his hands on a junior given his status.
"A blessing in disguise? Haha, what a joke. Aldebaran even if you want to help that demon, you shouldn''t spout such nonsense" Valdris spat irked by that remark.
"Nonsense or not, a person of your calibre can easily tell that. there is no way you haven''t discovered the aura hidden within his body. If he brings that out, even you won''t be able to stay unaffected. Haha¡ honestly, I''m pleasantly surprised. That little fellow didn''t have that aura thest time I met him. He has grown quite a lot since then".
Aldebaran''s voice had a trace of approval and appreciation in it. He didn''t expect Simon to grow so much in less than a year since hest met him.
Valdris eyes shone with a mysterious yellow light; how could he not be aware of that aura? In fact, he knew more about that aura than Aldebaran himself. It was precisely because he knew so much about the aura inside that demon that he had difficulty believing.
Simon might be unaware of it, but Valdris had been monitoring him for a while. He had witnessed thetter''s battle with the Deep Sea Alligator king, seen him subdue the tribe of orcs and scare the ogre tribe away.
His achievements were quite good even in his eyes. However, in the end, the demon was just a viscount, the second lowest rank in the demon hierarchy and not even a genuine demon noble. These two things contrasted so much that he had a hard time believing how the demon got hold of that aura.
"I cannot tell how high the ranking of the dragon was from that aura but it shouldn''t be difficult for you right? Well even without that aura, the demon is special. His fate is destined to be a great one".
"Do you know when this old self first met that young fellow, he had just broken through the demon viscount rank and his level was hardly worth mentioning? Yet in less than year, his aura is starting to show signs of being full once again".
Aldebaran''s tone was extremely pleased as he watched the fight between a dragon and a demon in the distance. The more he looked, the more satisfying the demon appeared in his eyes.
"Hmph, so what if he has grown quickly? His bloodline is quite impure, and in the end, he would get stuck by that wall unable to break through forever" Valdris had his own perception and thoughts.
"That may not be the case¡ haha" Aldebaranughed "Well, I only came here to see how this little fellow was doing and judging from the situation, it doesn''t look like he needs my help".
Aldebaran turned around and walked towards the copse of trees. An emerald green light emerged from his body and he quickly turned back into an ordinary tree.
"Not only that old ghost but even Venerable Red thinks highly of him to give a fraction of her dragon aura to him. No matter how I look at him, he seems ordinary to me. Am I missing something?".
Valdris watched as Aldebaran walk away before cing his attention back on the fight that was happening more than a hundred kilometres away.
"It seems like I can only ask him".
Of course, Simon, fighting the earth-shattering lower dragon, wasn''t aware of what was ebing discussed over there. He did not even know that he was being observed by two incredibly powerful beings.
All his attention and focus was on the heated battle that he was having with the dragon in front of him. One magic after another was conjured by Simon, it shed intensely with the attacks of the earth shattering lower dragon who counter attacked with equal ferocity.
Thetter had long since stopped looking down on the demon whose power was enough to make him look in an equal light.
Power explosions continuously rocked the surrounding, changing the topography of this part of thendpletely. Every single attack in this collision was filled with a berserk amount of mana. It was so powerful that all of the beasts in a hundred-kilometre area ran away from the ce in fear for their lives.
Even the power super ss beasts that were like the tyrant of a small area, were no exception. Powerful shockwaves travelled through the air shocking anyone that thought of approaching closer.
There were a few adventurers who had entered the northern region of the forest. However, all of them fled when they felt the tremors and the shockwaveing.
"Hehe, this is fun" Simon gave a wide grin andmented. He was already past his limits but the excitement of the battle made him unwilling to give up. Thus even while knowing that he might have to suffer a horrendous bacshter, he kept on fighting.
The earth shattering lower dragon was also not in a good shape. Most of the crystal like rocks on its body were shattered, its skin that was covered with stony scales was scorched ck and it body had suffered numerous sh wounds.
If one counted the hundreds of years of life that it lived, this would be the first time it was wounded so severely. Yet the inborn pride of being a member of the dragon n, stopped it from falling down.
Both of them were obstinate enough to not fall down before the other. Two attacks collided, one was a powerful sword glow while the other was an enormous spike head of the tail of the earth shattering lower dragon.
BANG¡
Devastation spread and a deep pit formed on the ground adding to the number of pits that had already formed due to their battle. The energy storm caused by their attacks bent the space and forced the both of them back.
The earth shattering lower dragon took dozens of steps back while Simon pped his wings to dispel some of the force pushing him back. Nevertheless, he had to still fall back by hundreds of meters.
"Demon I praise you for pushing me to this extent. You should be proud that you were able to fight a member of the dragon n for this long. However, all of this stops here. This will be my final attack. Prepare yourself, this king will show you the true power of a dragon".
There was some respect in its tone. The two fighters who were engaged in a fierce battle had found a newfound respect for each other.
"Yeah, I ept your challenge" Simon was not among the ones that would back down in front of a challenge.
Chapter 541 541- Clash- Simon Vs Valdris
Simon instead of dodging the attack decided to take it head-on. His attitude seemed to have delighted the other, the respect in the eyes of the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon increased. It gave a ferocious smile like that of a wild beast and opened its mouth wide.
If one looked carefully, in the depth of its mouth, amidst those sharp spear like teeth, there was a faint light slowly umting. That light slowly became stronger and stronger until it was as ring as the sun hanging in the middle of the sky itself.
Breath Attack... one of the strongest attacks of the dragon n. Its might was so powerful that it was enough to tten thends and crumble mountains.
Whether it be its power or lethalness, everything was on a different levelpared to all the other attacks the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon had thrown at him. It was its magnum opus.
This attack by the dragon indicated that their battle hade to a finale. Whoever would survive this, would be the winner of this bout.
Simon took a deep breath and conditioned his body. He gulped down a few vials of elixirs and focused his attention on the attack. Thest time he had seen that attack, it had raised all the hairs on its body. It was like an omen of death, one that he had no chance of surviving if it hit him.
Yet after over a year he was back in the samends, facing the same enemy and the same attack. Simon felt some nostalgia. However, he was done running away this time.
Although he sensed danger from that attack and his senses screamed at him to dodge it, Simon was after all under the effects of pride. He wouldn''t do something as cowardly and spineless as dodging it when the other party has clearly issued a challenge.
Dodging was out of the option, if he did that, he might win the battle but he would lose the war. Thus there was only one option from the start, endure the attack and assert who was the superior one.
"Here ites¡ huff¡ [Thermal Breath]".
While Simon was preparing himself, the light inside the wide open mouth of the earth shattering lower dragon became extremely intense and soon after, a wide beam of light was spat out.
That beam of light was ring and packed a ridiculous amount of power and heat behind. It travelled in a straight line, decimating and evaporating everything around it and in the blink of an eye, it was upon Simon.
Simon grit his teeth, his body was covered by the infernal fire and a small golden stone was held in his hand. When the [Thermal Breath] was just upon him, he broke the stone and a golden halo quickly enveloped him.
BOOMMM¡
The breath enveloped the demon and continued its advent in a straight line. Be it mountains or forest, everything exploded apart in front of its might. The beam continued for dozens of kilometres beforeing to a stop after crashing into the cliff face far into the distance.
Dust and smoke were razed in the path where the beam travelled and settled down only after a while.
"Did it work?" the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon watched the crumbing mountains in the distance and wondered aloud. Its body shook heavily from the exhaustion and drowsiness could be seen in its eyes.
Just as it was observing, the dust in the distance was swept away by a gale and a bloody figure slowly emerged from underneath the debris.
The state that the figure was in could only be described with one word, horrendous. His skin was burnt, blood flowed out from every part of his body dying him a colour of red, his wings were almost just bones and deformed greatly.
Even the pair of horns that Simon was proud of and that decorated his head like a crown, only one of them could be seen intact on his head, the other one had broken apart and fallen off.
No matter how one looked at him, he appeared to be extremely miserable at his moment. Yet amidst his hurriedly growing hazy mind, there was this faint smile of victory on his face.
"Now my turn¡ª[Infernal Sword]"...
As those words fell from his lips, the sun in the sky zed and a light dropped down from it. It quickly descended and finally appeared in front of the astonished face of the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon.
The light that came from above, was an enormous golden sword wrapped in mes. BZZZZ¡ it carried an infernal amount of heat powerful enough to distort the air and leave behind a trail of golden light.
The sword slowly dropped down, its target the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon.
"It looks like it''s my defeat" the dragon closed its eyes and epted its defeat. Since it was a challenge, it couldn''t avoid the attack.
There was no way it would be able to stay standing after that attack. The dragon prepared to take on the infernal sword when suddenly the space around him distorted and a middle aged man with a pale yellow clothes appeared on top of him.
They clenched one of their hands and a gigantic draconic w made of yellow gold energy formed in the air and collided heavily with the descending [Infernal sword].
RUMBLE¡ RUMBLE¡ just the sound erupting from the two attacks, were like deafening thunderps resounding across dozens of kilometres ofnd.
A wild surge of fire erupted from the infernal sword and slowly chipped away at the strength of the yellow gold w. However, this stalemate didn''tst long, when the middle aged man clenched his hand, the gigantic w also followed his actions and clenched shut.
CRACK...
Immediately, numerous cracks appeared on the golden sword and after a while, with a bang it burst apart.
A powerful heat swelled out from the explosion and nketed the sky in fire. The might of advanced magic was in full disy.
After stopping the Infernal sword, the yellow gold w also disappeared. The middle aged man standing in the sky on top of the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon''s head also ced his hand back at this moment. There was some shock in his eyes with which he used to observe the demon.
"So you are finally willing to show up huh?".
Simonmented, he had already flown back. Numerous runes covered his right index finger and he was riding on a gigantic pale grey finger.
Valdris was startled for a moment when he heard the words of the demon and couldn''t help but ask "You were aware of my presence?".
Simon simply smiled, he quickly chugged down the contents of the vials in his hand one after another.
There was an additional shock in the eyes of Valdris as he watched the demon''s unafraid attitude. Not only thetter was aware of his presence, he still dared to approach him while knowing that. This demon who looked extremely injured was for some reason giving him a faint sense of danger.
The shock in Valdris'' heart couldn''t be any more intense. However, he was somehow able to suppress it and appear calm on the surface.
"You have won this bout. Since that is the case, let''s end this here" Valdris spoke in a stern manner that left no room for discussion.
The earth shattering lower dragon on the ground frowned when their battle was interrupted; nheless, he knew better than to anger this elder. Although unwilling the dragon promptly nodded.
Seeing that one party has shown their agreement, he turned towards the other. However, the demon only had a faint smile on his face.
"I cannot do that" Simon did not appear frightened in front of the yellow robed man who had intervened in their battle.
"Just because you said that the fight is over, doesn''t mean that I have to ept it. This fight won''t be over unless one of us submits" Simon dered, his crimson eyes stared resolutely at Valdris.
He was here to subdue the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon, how could he simply back away after all the effort and time he put into it? Thetter would be quite an asset in the uing defence of the dungeon. Thus he must get him on his side no matter what, even if it meant offending an adult dragon.
Simon could feel a vast pressure boring down on him just by looking at his person, it could be imagined how powerful he was. However, Simon wasn''t like he waspletely out of options. He was ready to use the [Ancient Draconic Compel] if the need be at any moment.
This legacy technique was passed onto him by Lucine and created by Adalinda. ording to what Lucine said, this legacy technique has a strongpelling effect on dragons or on beasts having dragon bloodline.
As could be seen from the behaviour of the lightning draconic serpent, this technique was the bane of the dragons. Even if his opponent was an adult dragon it should have some effect right? Simon was ready to put his fate into this one technique
"Young fellow, you shouldn''t be too impulsive. Sometimes it is good to take a step back when the other side is giving you a way. If you continued to stay inflexible and headstrong like that, you might end up reducing your lifespan".
Valdris spoke, a gloomy light shed inside those yellow gold draconic eyes as a dangerous aura started fluctuating out of his body.
Even after appearing in person, Valdris never thought that the other party wouldn''t give him face and withdraw in his presence. Naturally, he was somewhat displeased. Given his status, how many people in this world can speak him to like that? At the very least, this demon in front of him wasn''t qualified.
Chapter 542 542- Clash- Simon Vs Valdris (2)
"You don''t have to worry about my lifespan, I''m a scourge that ain''t so easy to kill. As for stepping back, I cannot do that too. I came here with one intention in mind and that is to subdue that guy. No matter what happens or who stands in my way today, I will achieve what I came here to do".
If Vadlris thought that a few swords from him was enough to scare Simon, then he was up for some rude awakening.
What Simon hated the most, was when people got in his way. If this adult dragon wanted to stand in his way, he wouldn''t mind showing thetter that he wasn''t some soft persimmon that others can just squish when they want.
Simon beckoned the curse energy inside Ozymandias'' finger. The finger hummed as if alive, waves of curse energy gushed out and swiftly spread to a few kilometres of area.
On top of being extremely injured, Simon also had to resort to using the Ozymandias'' finger. This would no doubt increase the strain on his body and worsen his injuries further. Nevertheless, he had no mind to pay any attention to the condition of his body right now as all of his focus was on the yellow robed man.
Even after he activated the finger and the miasma spread around the surrounding, he hadn''t seen any noticeable reaction from thetter. What''s more astonishing was that the miasma was unable to approach a couple of inches near the man as if there was some invisibleyer covering his entire person.
No matter what the miasma did or how it rolled, it couldn''t touch him. The yellow robed man was fine; however, the same couldn''t be said for the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon whose body was starting to show signs of being affected by the miasma as purple smoke starteding out of its body.
Valdris narrowed his eyes and waved his hands, mana flooded out of his body and pushed the miasma away from them.
After doing that, he shifted his attention back to Simon, more specifically the giant grey finger that he was standing on. The faint feeling of danger that he was feeling in his heart was clearly because of that finger.
"Hmph, small tricks" Valdris moved his feet and gave a light tap on the air. Immediately, a vast sea like mana erupted out of his body that pushed away the curse energy. Majestic and powerful, it was in no way inferior to the curse energy.
While the vast pure mana was slowly pushing away the miasma from the surrounding, Simon willed the finger and slowlynded on the ground.
Subsequently, he nced at Valdris and smiled.
"Oh yeah? Then how about this".
Simon pointed his index finger which was marked with runes at Valdris. ZZzzz, a humming was sound emitted, the finger moved and locked on thetter.
The finger of Ozymandias was extremely fast, it travelled through the air as of tearing through it and approached the yellow robed man in the blink of an eye. The finger than shed against thetter with an earth shaking momentum.
Simon did not dare to look down on this seemingly ordinary looking man, he formed many mysterious seals and immediately used the strongest output of the finger of Ozymandias.
After months of practice with the [Dominator''s control], Simon''s understanding of the technique had increased from the rudimentary level and reached the intermediate stage. Now he can use various seals to tap on the hidden power of the finger of Ozymandias.
The grey finger covered with mysterious runes, shined and immediately droves of purple curse energy erupted out of it. It quickly enveloped the finger within causing it to take on a purple colour from grey.
The space bent abnormally as the finger charged forward, a purple trail of light was left behind in its wake that refused to fade away even after a while.
Valdris''s expression changed the moment, he felt the finger rushing at him. All of the pores in his body opened and a loud draconic roar came out of his throat.
Scales started appearing on his body and his two hands became two golden crystallised ws. He barely managed to position his ws as a shield before the finger approached and collided against him heavily.
A dreadful amount of energy wave erupted out, the sky quickly darkened and small ck fissure lines appeared in the air.
These ck fissure lines were signs of space being shattered and unable to contain their power. They remained in the sky for a long time and only mended after devouring arge amount of mana. Nevertheless, it was enough to tell people what frightening level the sh had reached.
Simon had a solemn face after seeing that scene. Although he had expected the yellow robed person to be strong, given that their identity was a dragon who has reached the adult stage, he didn''t expect them to be this strong.
This was the first time that he saw somebody stopping the finger of Ozymandias which was the strongest trump card in his possession. Naturally, he was startled.
"Push him back" Simon grit his teeth and made a few more seals, immediately the purple lighting out of the finger deepened.
BANG¡ BANG¡ the force of the gigantic finger increased and slowly but surely, the yellow robed man was pushed back.
As this was happening, a great storm brewed inside Valdris'' heart when he noticed that he was being pushed back.
The demon he thought wasn''t anything special, not only defeated one of his tribe members, but was even able to sh against him. What''s more, the rank of the demon was just a Demon viscount. The shock he felt was so palpable that metastasised to his entire body
"Dammit, what kind of energy is this? It''s sticky and viscous and constantly erodes your mana. It''s like an infection that spreads the more you try to remove it. I cannot allow it to touch my body" Valdris had a gloomy face as he analysed the curse energy released by the finger.
Even a person as experienced as him, who has lived for around three thousand years, was unable to identify the finger of Ozymandias.
ROARRR¡ after being pushed back by more than a hundred meters, Valdris roared in rage. A bright yellow gold light that had a dragon''s might, erupted out of him and swiftly started suppressing the purplish curse energy.
The two energies shed and soon formed a weird equilibrium with none being able to gain an edge over the other. The crystals on his hands also erged and in the blink of an eye, it became two enormous yellow gold crystal ws.
These ws grabbed the finger and tossed it away from him. Finally freed from the lockdown of the finger, Valdris shifted his eyes back on the demon only to see that thetter was drawing some strange magic runes in the air.
The profundity andplexity of the runes were so ancient that even Valdris was unable to identify some of the runes. Nevertheless, given his perceptiveness, he could vaguely feel that it contained a supreme might that even made him feel afraid.
What''s more, this feeling of uneasiness appeared even though he wasn''t the target of that magic runes.
''This is bad!!''
Valdris shouted in his heart, an understanding dawned on him when he saw the demon stop attacking him after pushing him away.
He wasn''t the target of the demon, in fact, it was the earth shattering lower dragon from the start. The reason why the demon attacked him with that finger, was because he wanted to push him away so that he wouldn''t be able to interfere in time.
The space around Valdris shook and he appeared in front of Simon, his ws ripped through the air and was just about to smash into Simon''s chest when they halted abruptly.
The magic runes drawn by Simon waspleted and at that moment, a vast dragon''s presence engulfed this ce.
Valdris'' entire body shuddered while the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon''s body was stred to the ground. The mighty presence was so powerful even these dragons had no choice but to adopt an attitude of servitude and kneel in front of it.
CRASH¡ the crystal like ws of Valdris immediately shattered and his body was unable to stand in the sky any longer and dropped to the ground. This pressure that originated from his bloodline, made him seem like a peasant that was in front of a royalty.
Slowly and with much difficulty, Valdris peeked his head up to see a behemoth dragon shadow in the sky above the demon. This dragon shadow had a crimson gold body that covered the entire sky, its deep draconic eyes were like two suns, filled this world with light and its presence was as if some sovereign had descended onto thends.
Forget about defying it, one couldn''t even move in front of it.
"Th-This aura¡ it''s from Venerable Red!!!¡ªSo I wasn''t mistaken?" Valdris mumbled with a lost look in his eyes.
That dragon shadow covering the sky, was only visible to a member of a dragon race who havepleted the adult ceremony. No one other than them could see it. Even if it was some other beast or a high levelled person they won''t be able to see anything in the sky.
Only those that were able to see that shadow, would be able to understand what that dragon shadow was and who it belonged to.
Valdris''s aura became extremely restrained in front of this dragon shadow until it was practically hiding inside his body. His dazed eyes slowly traced the dragon shadow nketing the sky andnded on that crimson magic circle that the demon had drawn.
Chapter 543 543- Might Of The Legacy Technique
That dragon shadow appeared the moment that magic circle waspleted.
"That is¡ [Ancient Draconic Compel!!" Valdris muttered, a wild surge of emotions flooded his mind.
"No wonder¡ no wonder he could call upon that dragon shadow. His dragon aura¡ everything exins itself".
The [Ancient draconicpel] was a dreadful technique that was feared by all the members of the dragon race. It was mentioned by many of the ancient elders and the many records in the dragon n that spoke about the might of this technique and how frightening it was.
It was said that during the ancient era, the person who created this technique, had extracted the soul of hundreds of traitors and used them as intermediary to perfect the technique. It was rumoured that the hundreds of dragon souls were still imprisoned within the technique, eternally doomed in the purgatory.
The contract made from this technique was absolute, especially against a dragon and those beasts that have a dragon bloodline.
Why would a technique that was created by Venerable Red appear on that demon? Numerous questions shed in his head; however, all he could do right now was quietly kneel and wait for the dragon shadow to disappear.
Simon after evoking the [Ancient Draconic Compel], looked at the two kneeling figures. Although he had expected the dragon aura within him to have some effect after hearing Irene''s words. However, even he never expected the effect would be this extreme.
Forget about putting up a resistance, they could barely move in front of this aura. Even that powerful adult dragon whose power gave him a thick sense of danger was powerless against it.
This fact once again made him realise how powerful this legacy technique was. Had it not been for it, he didn''t think that he would be able to make that yellow robed person stop. Especially after seeing him resist the finger of Ozymandias.
This technique turned out to be quite beneficial to him.
"I wonder what that woman was thinking handing me such a powerful technique. Did she think that I would be able to make the most use of it or did she just nonchntly throw this technique at me without giving it much thought?" Simon wondered.
-----
Somewhere in the Chaotic Sea Continent...
"Aachoo!! Sniff¡ sniff".
Lucine sneezed and rubbed her nose.
"Did you catch a cold?"
Adalinda who was flying beside her asked.
"Hmm?! I don''t think so. Is somebody thinking about me?" Lucine shook her head before muttering in a voice that only she could hear.
-----
A soul stirring beauty with snow like hair, appeared in Simon''s mind. Her inborn nobility and that indolent attitude of hers, was still fresh in his mind.
Thisdy who acted high and mighty, was afraid of the putrid scent that Simon smeared on himself back when they met in the northern region of the forest. Now that he recalled those memories back he unwittingly found it funny.
Because of her, he had to deal with her unreasonable master who not only barged inside his dungeon, but also dragged him to various ces. It was like roller coaster of a journey yet fun at the same time.
Not only that, they also saved him from a very critical situation in the end. Simon didn''t have many friends, but those master and disciple duo were some of the few people in this world that he was fond of.
"I wonder what they are doing at this moment?" it has been more than half a year since they all went their separate ways. Well given their adventure seeking personality, Simon bet that they were out roaming the vast world.
All these thoughts shed by in an instant in his mind due to the [high speed thought processing] skill.
Simon shook his mind and ced his attention back on the two kneeling dragons. One of them was an enormous giant, while the other had a human like body. Both of them were currently staring at him with trembling and dread filled eyes.
Simon sighed, this technique was quite overbearing and even tampered with the mindset of the enved dragon as could be seen from the behaviour of the Lightning Draconic Serpent. However, the circumstances were so, that Simon had no choice but to rely on this technique.
He was up against an adult dragon, if he didn''t invoke the [Ancient Draconic Compel] there was no way he would be able to make them submissive the way they are now.
Steeling his mind, Simon did not dilly dally any longer, he needed the assistance of the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon in the uing dungeon defence against thebined coalition of the top five guilds and the various other big guilds across the kingdom of Ellesmere.
No preparation was enough preparation for a crusade this big.
Simon beckoned with his finger and droplets of blood underneath the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon, flew towards him¡ª[Mana Flow].
Simon dropped the blood in the ten foot wide magic circle in the sky causing it to immediately erupt with a crimson light. The magic circle silently rotated and strangle fluctuations emitted out of it.
The rotation of the circle became faster and faster causing even the space to vibrate violently. Soon, the magic circle stopped rotating and disappeared, a droplet of blood remained suspended in its ce.
Simon pulled the droplet of blood towards himself and allowed it to enter his body through the numerous wounds he had.
The moment this blood assimted with his own, Simon could feel a gateway forming that connected his soul with the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon''s, much like the one he had with the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
Simon spread his consciousness and allowed it to delve deeper towards that gateway at the end of whichy the soul of the lower dragon.
This was a form of absolute contract that bound this soul to him. Now, no matter what the earth shattering lower dragon does, he cannot betray nor can he go against his orders. What''s more its current indifferent attitude towards him would soon change to be loyal and subservient.
"This is¡"
It was not only him, even the earth shattering lower dragon felt the changes and its eyes went wide with surprise. It felt like its soul was suddenly being restrained by numerous invisible chains that came out from that mysterious gateway.
No matter how his soul struggled it couldn''t shrug off those chains. Although these chains did not hurt him, he could vaguely feel the presence of hundreds of dragons within these chains. If he ever so much as thought of hurting the soul at the other end of the gateway, these chains would restrict tighter and shatter his soul.
After the technique waspleted, the huge dragon shadow in the sky also disappeared and along with it, the suppression effect it had on the two dragons.
"What did you do to me?" finally freed from the bloodline fear that it was experiencing, the earth shattering lower dragon slowly stood on its limbs and asked.
"Nothing much, I justpleted the master-servant contract between us"Simon replied with a smirk. He got what he came here to get, of course, he was happy.
"You!!" Indignant, the earth shattering lower dragon roared; however, to its surprise, it found that this emotion of its disappeared abruptly leaving a vague empty feeling inside him.
"Are you alright?".
At this moment, the yellow robed man stepped between them and asked. His eyes were looking at the earth shattering lower dragon with concern.
"Elder¡ please forgive this junior, he has shamed the dragon n" there was genuine shame and remorse in its eyes. It was after all a genuine dragon from the dragon n, a n that was like the ruler, a supreme overlord of this world.
Given the innate pride and superiorityplex all these fellows were born with, of course, they would feel indignant from the result of this fight.
Valdris knew what kind of emotions the earth dragon was going through, it sighed and said¡ª
"You fool... you haven''t dishonoured the n. In fact, I could see that you fought with all of your strength. It''s just that you were up against an odd opponent this time. Nobody could have predicted this oue¡ not even me. Fate is indeed mysterious".
Right after saying that, Valdris turned towards Simon. Those yellow gold draconic eyes were looking straight at him, variousplex emotions currently shed in them.
Simon''s body jolted, and he hurriedly recalled the finger of Ozymandias back to his side. However, due to him being too injured and the bacsh from superimposing all those skills on top of another erupting at this moment, the finger fell on the ground midway.
Blood swelled on top of his mouth but Simon hurriedly gulped it down and forcefully activated the [Dominator''s control] once again.
Now that the dragon aura that was surprising the yellow robed man was gone, he was free to do anything they want. If they held the intention to kill him and release the earth shattering lower dragon, it would be quite bad for Simon.
Realising that, his body became tense once again.
Seeing the finger of Ozymandias fly towards the demon, a strange light shed in those draconic eyes of Valdris. However, in the end, he sighed and rxed his aura. The tense atmosphere that had taken root in the air also disappeared at this moment.
"Rx, I don''t n to fight you. I just want to ask you a few questions and¡ a favour that I would like from you" Valdris'' voice was unnatural, clearly he was not used to asking favours from others.
Since the other party told that he didn''t want to fight him, Simon rxed a little but did not rx his guardpletely.
"So what is it that you want to ask? Ask away".
Chapter 544 544- Doing Valdris A Favour
Valdris nodded, he inhaled a deep breath and got to the point "Huff¡ my first question, who and from where did you learn that technique?".
Although he could somewhat guess the answer, Valdris still wanted to hear it from Simon''s mouth.
"Ah! This technique?" Simon deliberated before answering honestly "I got it from a girl who ran from her home. Well it was a coincidence that she ended up giving me this technique".
"A girl who ran from her home? Can you describe how she looked like?" Valdris inquired.
Since they were both from the dragon n Simon believed that it was no harm in telling him that. He described her appearance to him¡
"Well that''s how Lucine looked".
"I see¡" Valdris caressed his chin and processed the information, there was a frown of confusion on his face.
Just as he was about to shake his head unable to think of any such person like that, the name that Simon spoke at the end shocked Valdris until his entire body trembled.
"W-Wait what name did you just say?" he asked again.
"Hm? Lucine, that was the name of the person that gave me this technique. Do you perhaps know her?" Simon replied unaware of the storm that brewed inside Valdris''s mind.
Do you know her? That was a stupid question to ask, no matter which dragon it was or which pavilion they belonged to, as long as theypleted their adult ceremony after returning back to their tribe, would have heard about this name at least once in their life.
After all, that name belonged to the young miss of one of the five pavilions of the Ancestral Dragon Lands. One could imagine the shock Valdris was going through when that name was mentioned and that too so casually.
"Ah right, I understand why you are so confused. You see, it''s not Lucine who created this technique, but rather her master Adalinda" Simon rified.
RUMBLE¡ if emotions could be personified, there would be thunderstorms raging inside Valdris''s mind currently.
"@##$ .. ^&**¡ %&&#" Valdris felt light headed, his emotions were in such a mess right now that he even forgot how to make some coherent words.
THUD¡ unable to contain his fluctuating emotions, Valdris fell on his butt and looked at Simon with an expression of dread.
"H-How do you know those names?".
Simon was unaware of the position these names held in the hearts of these dragons, although he was a little surprised by thetter''s unusual behaviour, he still answered honestly¡
"Well, one of them barged inside my dungeon uninvited and dragged me with them to various ces. While the other used me as a scapegoat to escape her master. It''splicated... hmm but well we did travel together for some time, so you can call us acquaintances I guess".
Goodness Gracious, Oh Mighty Dragon Lord!! What is this demon saying? Not only does he know their name but he even dares to call them his acquaintances.
For what it was worth, Valdris could tell that the demon was not lying which could only mean that what he said was true. He had indeed travelled with the both of them!!
What kind of ridiculous concept was that? Not only was he acquainted with the young miss of the pavilion he belonged to, but he also knew one of its Venerables, Venerable Red.
He expected the demon to say something ridiculous, given the fact that he carried her dragon aura and wielded the technique she created. But never in his wildest dream could he have guessed that the truth would be far beyond his imagination.
If the demon was their acquaintance then¡ Valdris'' face became purple with fright. ''Good thing I did not try to kill this fellow'' he thought internally.
His fate would be very miserable if those two found out that he had killed the acquaintance they had made in the Ghastly winding forest.
Huff.. Huff¡ after inhaling and exhaling dozens of breaths, finally Valdris managed to calm his emotions a little. Nevertheless, he still did not have the energy to stand back up. He could only look up at the demon from his position.
It was also now that he understood how mysterious this demon was. Aldebaran had seen through it and thus tried to tell him something; however, he was too inflexible in his ways to listen to others.
"It seems like I have be pedantic. It was high time that somebody woke me up" Valdrismented as he gave a hollowughed.
"So what''s your next question?" Simon asked, his expression was a little better after gulping down numerous elixirs of healing.
"Ugh¡ there is no need for that now. It looks like I was mistaken to have doubted you. Thanks to you, my perspective has changed. I will not stand in your way if you want to subdue and take this fellow back to your dungeon anymore" Vadlris stated getting up on his feet.
"Elder what are you saying? You want me to bow to this guy?" the earth shattering lower dragon who was listening to their conversation from the sides, spoke out at his moment. Although he respected the demon for defeating him, it did note to the point where he would bow his head to someone else.
Simon wasn''t fazed by the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon''s attitude, it has only been a while since the technique was established, and it would take some time to show its effect.
"You will understand in the future. You don''t have to worry, he is someone that even I have to recognise, there is no shame in bing his subordinate" Valdrisforted the earth shattering lower dragon with a bitter smile.
Thetter clearly had great respect for Valdris, thus it couldn''t say anything further. After cating the earth shattering lower dragon, Valdris turned his attention back to Simon once again.
After deliberating something in his head for a second or two, he bowed his head in apology to him.
"I was blind to have attacked you. I hope that this young mister can forgive me. My actions were only to protect a member of my pavilion".
Seeing the yellow robed man suddenly bow his head in apology, Simon was surprised a little. But it quickly made sense to him when he connected the dots to Adalinda and Lucine.
"Mister only did what he thought was right, you cannot be med for that. I can tell that the dragon n cares greatly for its members and the technique that I used must be greatly abhorred by you all. However, my circumstances are so that I have no choice but to resort to it. I hope that both of you would understand".
Simon was not overbearing, he understood that if that yellow robed person who the earth shattering lower dragon called elder was to attack him, he would have no way of protecting himself in his current condition. Thus he epted the other party''s apology without making a racket.
"Hahaha¡ it''s a good thing that this young mister understands" Valdris face warmed up a little knowing that this person had some history with the pavilion he belonged to.
Now that Valdris was looking at Simon carefully, he found the fellow much more pleasing to the eye. Not only was he very talented to have defeated a member of his tribe, but from the energy signature of this fellow, he could also tell that the demon was quite young.
He very much liked people like Simon who were brave and fearless.
"Hahaha¡ What is this? Valdris, it looks like you finally understand how amazing this young man is. If you only just epted this old man''s words, you wouldn''t have to lose face like this today".
At this moment, a deep voice carrying the vicissitude of time, rang out from seemingly nowhere.
Whoosh¡ wind started blowing all of a sudden and an incredible phenomenon urred in front of three pairs of stunned eyes.
The devastatednd that was devoid of any life for dozens of miles, suddenly had nts and trees sprouting out of it. A vast emerald green energy spread out from thend and covered it with greeneries in the blink of an eye.
Although some area was taking some time to recover, the ce returned to what it was after a while.
"Tch¡ this old ghost''s power is as ridiculous as ever" Valdris muttered under his breath.
Simon who heard it, did not know who this ''Old ghost'' referred to, thus he could only look at his surrounding with stunned eyes.
Just a few seconds ago, the ce looked like a barrennd with deep pits and craters everywhere. Forget about a life nothing would flourish in such conditions yet that power suddenly made something as absurd as that a reality. This part of the forest was brimming with life once again.
''That voice sounded familiar'' this thought just appeared in his mind when suddenly the tree closest to them started moving and morphed into a familiar figure.
"Alder?" Simon couldn''t help but utter out.
"Hahaha.. Young fellow it looks like you are doing fine. The worries of this old man were unnecessary".
The figure was none other than Aldebaran he had met back at Ancient treant''s territory when he went to get the rest of the forest spring spirit tribe.
"Old fellow... so you didn''t really go back and were watching the show all along?" Valdris had a sour face as he nced at this humanoid figure made out of wood.
"Haha¡ Brat, I told you I had high expectations for this young fellow. I wouldn''t just wait and watch while you destroy such a good seed. Though it didn''t look like I had to intervene".
Aldebaran spoke smilingly, he looked at Simon and praised¡ª
"Young fellow you have be quite strong. Not only were you able to defeat that lower dragon but you also managed to exchange a few blows against that brat and remain standing. It is quite praiseworthy, the results of your efforts are showing themselves in battle".
Chapter 545 545- Doing Valdris A Favour (2)
From his voice, one could tell how delighted he was. "I was merely lucky, I still have a lot more way to go" Simon knew that there were many strong people in this world, thus he couldn''t just let this praise get to his head.
Aldebaran smiled, took out a mysterious fruit from the emerald green light that shed on his hand and passed it to Simon.
"Eat this, it is called Gaia''s fruit. It can quickly heal your wounds".
Simon took the fruit that looked like a strange pomegranate and bit down on it without hesitation. In any case, Aldebaran wouldn''t try to hurt him and especially not with such cheap tricks. The being even tried to protect him from the shadows.
A mysterious icy cold energy swiftly entered his body the moment he took a bite and soothed the numerous wounds in his body. His fractured bones, cracking joints and torn muscles everything swiftly healed at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Simon was astounded seeing such a mystical effect. The effect of this fruit was even better than the healing elixirs from his shop. Simon tookrge bites and quickly devoured the fruit down. He could feel all his wounds, internal and external all swiftly healing after that.
Haha¡ Aldebaranughed seeing the stunned expression in Simon''s eyes, after that he fixed his attention on Valdris and said.
"Brat, I believe you have no more qualms with this seed I chose? If so then I would like you to not get in his way any longer. You see, it was me who had given this young fellow the trail to subdue all of the troublemakers of the north. I hope that you can give this old man face and let this young fellow take that dragon to his dungeon".
Although Aldebaran said it humbly, his voice still carried an ancient prestige to it.
"Hmph, even without you telling me, I wasn''t going to stand in his way anyways. And I have already told you a thousand times, stop calling me a brat. I am no longer that juvenile dragon from the past" Valdris spat in annoyance.
Seeing the two converse with so familiarity, Simon realised that they were acquainted with each other.
Aldebaran naturally saw the look in Simon''s eyes and exined pointing at Valdris "This brat here was once sent by those old pedantic fellows from his n here to get some experience from me".
"However, at that time, he was too young and hot headed. Thinking that he can just trample everything underneath his power, this guy barged inside my territory".
"Stop talking" his face twitching a little, Valdris tried to stop Aldebaran from saying anything further. However, how could the king of ancient treants stop just because he was said to do so?
Aldebaran snickered and continued his story¡ª"I obviously recognised the bloodline of this fellow the moment he came to the Ghastly winding forest but I yed along with his antics. Since he came to seek trouble, I sent my people after him in droves and after he was all exhausted I sent those powerful subordinates of mine".
"They beat him up, tied him upside down and brought him to me. Hahaha¡ you should have seen there to see the look on his face at that time. This brat here begged us to not eat him, he thought that we were going to grill him on fire and eat him".
"I said stop talking..." Valdris'' face was flushed red with embarrassment, he roared trying to drown out some of the words. However, this pathetic attempt of his to hide some embarrassing facts from his juvenile hood was clearly a big fail.
Simon and the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon heard everything. The former was trying to notugh out loud while thetter was giving him some strange looks.
The adult dragon that made Simon worry so much, was actually beaten silly by Aldebaran and the ancient treants when he was still in his juvenile stage.
Simon knew that he shouldn''tugh but it was still funny hearing Valdris think that the ancient treants wanted to eat him.
While Simon was trying to suppress hisugh, Aldebaran on the other hand did not care for Valdris'' face andughed out loud. Hisughter boomed across the entire ce.
"You damn undying old ghost, if you are here to make fun of me then return back" Valdris shouted, his body trembling with fury. He had lost all face in front of his juniors, how would he be able to keep his act together in the future?
"Haha¡ that was some goodugh. Don''t worry, I didn''te here only tough at you. But before I get down with my business, don''t you have a favour that you wanted to ask this young fellow?"
"Tch¡ so you were even snooping on us too huh?" Valdris was not surprised that thetter overheard their conversation, after all, this entire ghastly winding forest was like his territory, nothing can elude his senses.
Only after Aldebaran mentioned it, Simon realised that he and Valdris were in the middle of a conversation before they were interrupted. He remembered that thetter had mentioned something about asking a favour from him.
After giving Aldebaran a vicious look, Valdris ced his attention back on Simon¡ª
"Forgive me, we couldn''t finish our conversation because certain someone barged in the middle of it. If only they could shut up, we would have finished this a long time ago. Anyways, the favour I wanted to ask you, is rted to this guy behind me".
Valdris pointed at the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon behind him "Are you aware of some rules in our dragon n?".
Simon shook his head, although he knew a little bit from the lightning draconic serpent, he wasn''t sure that knowledge was urate.
"I see, it''s only natural that you don''t know that. Allow me to tell you some of the rules then. One of the first rules in our dragon n is that, when an infantile dragon reaches the juvenile stage, they have to leave the n and wander the outside world".
"This is done so that the individual can gain experience and grow stronger by surviving in the harsh unforgiving world. They have to live in the outside world,pete against others and w their way up until they reach the adult stage and only then are they allowed to return back to the n".
"I had to go through the same experience and of course this fellow behind me too. The adult stage for us dragons hold a special meaning and thus no matter which corner of the world we are in, when we reach the adult stage we have toe back to the dragon n".
"When a dragon reaches the adult stage, their body and power go through aprehensive development. During that time, they require an immense amount of energy to go through that transformation. This kind of energy can only be found in our Ancestral Dragon Land".
"Thus the need toe back to the n. This kind of transformation is also called the adult ceremony and represents an extremely great significance to all dragons".
Simon intently listened to Valdris, the gist of what he said, was more or less simr to what the lightning draconic serpent had informed him.
While he was having these side thoughts, Valdris continued¡ª"The second rule of our dragon n states that only those dragon that has gone through the adult ceremony, is qualified to get a name from the Elder Hall. I have received my name from them too. I believe I don''t have to tell you the importance of receiving a name?".
Simon nodded his head, of course, he understood how significant receiving a name was in this world for a beast.
A name for a beast was vastly different than humans who simply use it to address others. For a beast, the process of naming is called a Bestowal. It uses an enormous amount of mana and life force to grant a name to a beast.
The name then bes a branding that makes the beast far stronger and higher ranked than before. Naturally, it can only be done by a high levelled being since it constitutes a great level of risk.
If a person isn''t strong enough to grant a name, they can die from the process of getting all of the mana and life force sucked out of them.
His buddy, the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse, was also a beast without a name. It was not like Simon was unaware of it, he had inherited some memories of this process.
However, the reason why he hasn''t given a name to the warhorse a name yet is because the warhorse was yet to reach the limit of his growth and secondly Simon had to be more powerful than the warhorse to give it a name. Otherwise, he would only just end up miserably failingter.
Seeing Simon nod his head, Valdris went on to exin the other things.
"It looks like you are aware of it, then I will be honest with you. The Earth Shattering Lower Dragon has yet to reach the adult stage but once he does, he needs toe back to the dragon n and go through the adult ceremony to receive a name".
"The favour I wanted to ask is that you allow him toe back with me to the dragon n once he reaches that stage. I believe it should also be beneficial to you, once this guy goes through the adult ceremony, its power would be iparable to what it is now. At that time, he would be far more useful to you than he is now".
Valdris patted the dragon behind him whose eyes glossed over when the name Ancestral Dragonnds was mentioned.
Chapter 546 546- Passing The First Trial
"This was the favour you wanted to ask of me?"
"Yes" Valdris affirmed.
Simon was baffled, how was that asking him for a favour? wasn''t it more like doing him a favour? The rise in the power of Earth Shattering Lower Dragon who has be his subordinate can only be good for him and not bad.
With strong subordinates, the defence of his dungeon would be more solid in the future. So in a way, Valdris was instead doing him a favour.
Though that was the case, Simon did not let it show on his face. He maintained a poker face and nodded after considering a few things in his mind.
The Earth Shattering Lower Dragon, was currently in the middle of its juvenile stage and had quite some time before it reached the adult stage thus it was no problem for Simon to allow it to leave with Valdris at that time.
"Many thanks to this young friend, this one shall remember this favour" The headstrong and prideful adult dragon bowed his head.
"Haha... Elder Valdris does not have to think too much about it. Oh right, now that this guy is my subordinate, I am going to teleport it inside my dungeon. What is Elder Valdris going to do? Of course, you are wee to stay in my dungeon".
Once the earth shattering lower dragon enters his dungeon, Valdris would be freed of his duty of looking after the former. Simon wanted to know what this adult dragon would be doing till then. Would he return back to the dragon n or would he stay behind?
Of course, it would be best for Simon if thetter still wished to prioritise his duty and came with him to his dungeon. At that time, Simon would gain a powerful helper and wouldn''t have to worry about the crusade of the top five guilds.
"Haha, you can just call me Val. I appreciate your offer young man. However, I wouldn''t be staying in the ghastly winding forest any longer. I n to visit one of my old friends now and roam around a little while I wait for this fellow to reach the adult stage".
Valdrisughed, he appeared much more carefree now that he was relieved of his duty. Simon was speechless, this dragon appeared far too relieved and burden free now that he took the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon off his shoulder.
It was so much so that the word frivolous would be the perfect description for the current Valdris.
"Oh right, ept this seal as a token of my appreciation".
"What is this?" Simon took the small yellow crystal marked with some mysterious runes from Val.
"Haha¡ it is a spatial token inscribed with my essence blood. Once you shatter this, no matter where I am, I would instantly realise it and cane to your rescue. Use this when you are facing any trouble you cannot solve on your own" Valdris thumped his chest and exined.
It turned out that the crystal was a way ofmunicating with this adult dragon. Simon immediately epted this token of appreciation and thanked Val.
With this, he would be much more relieved in the future if he ever met with some trouble he cannot solve with his own power. He had seen the power of an adult dragon, even the finger of Ozymandias wasn''t enough to stop him.
"Un¡ at least you have some sense. With this, you have somewhat redeemed yourself for attacking a junior" Aldebaran remarked from the sides. It seemed that he had a good rtionship with the other.
"Shut up you old ghost" Valdris clearly did not want to deal with Aldebaran at this moment. He turned around and was just about to leave when¡ª
"Say hello to those old fogies for me when you meet them. Tell them it wouldn''t be long before they can see the opening of that realm once again".
Valdris'' eyes twitched though he did not know what Aldebaran meant, he would give this message to them.
Valdris stepped forward and covered hundreds of meters of distance in an instant. With another step he was further away and just like that, he disappeared into the distant sky.
Now that Valdris was gone, it was only Simon, Aldebaran and the uncertain looking earth shattering lower dragon left behind.
"Haha, congrattion young fellow on passing the first test. Honestly, I am quite surprised that you havepleted it before the time limit. But I guess it is only to be expected for the person chosen by the fragment of pride".
Aldebaran repeatedly nodded his head. His elderly eyes measured Simon carefully and was quite satisfied with his growth.
"Alder is praising me too much. I have only justpleted one of the two trails you have set for me. To gain the qualification to keep the forest spring spirits in my dungeon, I will naturally not shirk back. I will keep my promise and be a Demon Duke within six years and subdue the seven kings of this forest".
Simon spoke with determination. His eyes staring unblinkingly at Aldebaran.
"Haha¡ good.. good, I like your confidence. That''s how the master of the fragment of pride should be. I don''t have anything else to say to you other than that I will be waiting for you to give this old me a challenge¡ hahaha".
The king of the ancient treantsughed and turned into an ordinary tree, he too returned back. Now it was only Simon and the gobsmacked looked earth shattering lower dragon the only ones left in this ce.
The reason why thetter looked gobsmacked was because of the words that Simon had uttered a few moments ago.
"You that¡ is it true¡ About the seven kings of the forest?" the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon asked with some hesitation.
"Yeah, that is the agreement I made with the kings of the ancient treants. Now that all the three overlords of the north have been subdued by me, it would be their turn next" Simon felt there was no need to hide it since the other party was now his subordinate and absolutely loyal to him thanks to the [Ancient Draconic Compel].
"Anyways, you should rest and heal your wounds for the time being. I wille back tomorrow to take you with me to my dungeon".
Simonmented, after that he didn''t wait for a reply and simply took off. The fruit Aldebaran gave himpletely recovered his health and healed all of his wounds and fatigue.
-----
Five days passed by, one the morning of the sixth day.
City of Mountmend, a city situated at the top of a mountain. It was a small city with a poption of less than half a million and located at the distant north-western corner of the kingdom bordering the Ghastly winding forest.
The city may not look spectacrpared to the other great cities or the capital of the kingdom; however, due to the management of Mayor Alfred, it was doing quite well.
The city seemed to be bustling with activity as humans from all walks of life strode around the streets. Although very rare, even some demi-humans could be seen among them. New buildings were propping up everywhere and the market was filled with various trades and transactions.
The city had a kind of flourishing atmosphere about it. Of course, the flourishing atmosphere wasn''t something that was always there, this prosperity came from the emergence of a certain dungeon that was located in the ghastly winding forest.
Due to it, the city became arge trade hub where goods and materials were brought in and out every day. Caravans and adventurers who entered the city brought new goods with them which would thenter be bought and transported elsewhere.
Of course, this increment in materials also attracted various craft smiths, alchemists and other professions to the city which further boosted its economy.
The markets and streets of the city of Moutnmend would usually be filled with hubbub and morous all day round. However, today it was extremely noisy and boisterous probably because of the numerous big air engines that had recently docked near the foot of the mountain where their city was.
Adventurers wearingvish and exquisite armours could be seen continuously entering the city through the gates and roaming the streets of Mountmend in groups. They all had a different garb and had different insignia on their chest but the one thingmon on them was that each and every one of them was strong without a doubt.
So much so that, even the local tyrants, the famous guilds of this city and the neighbouring cities had to restrain their aura around them.
The dazzling badge hanging in their chest and the aura of superiority surrounding them was something even the average citizen of this city could feel. They could tell that something big was about to happen and to further prove their beliefs most of the items that were in fairs, auctions or in shops were all purchased.
The entire market was emptied out.
One had to imagine what kind of wealth one needed to do something like that. It was as if a giant was on the move. Various hush-hush was going on in every part of the town.
Inside the city lord''s mansion, the many servants and maids were hurriedly attending to the guests sitting in the lobby. These guests all wore a robe on top of their leather armour, held exquisite looking staffs in their hands and had a dignified aura around them.
Judging by their profession, all of them were mages and quite strong at that.
Mage was a ss amongst the adventurers that was highly respected. Even if one searched all around the city, they wouldn''t find many adventurers having the mage ss.
Chapter 547 547- The Top Five Guilds Mobilise
After all, it took hard work, learning, talent and great support to be one¡ that is to say, not just anyone can be a mage. Unlike sses like warriors or assassins that one could get by simply training their bodies, mage was a ss that needed guidance from a young age to achieve.
One needed a teacher and talent to guide their stats and efforts in a way that was suited for bing a magician. Of course, it was not like it was a rare ss or something, just that it was a little harder to get than the other two sses.
The number of mages that Mountmend had, was not even one tenth of the total number of its adventurers. Yet so many of them were currently gathered in one ce, sitting in the lobby of the city lord''s mansion.
Not to mention all of them belonged to the same faction by looking at the badge that was on their chest. An insignia of a torch like staff was on the badge. One didn''t need to think twice to know which guild or organisation this insignia belonged to.
Inside the main hall of the mansion¡ª ced on top of a long rectangr table, were two teacups releasing hot smoke.
There were two individuals sitting opposite each other, one was a nobleman with an ash grey hair and a well trimmed moustache. His clothes weren''t overly extravagant but were enough to give him a dignified appearance.
The man was the mayor of the city of Mountmend, Alfred Eude Bergest.
"Looking at this flourishing city, one wouldn''t be able to associate it with the term remote backwater city. Perhaps in a few more years, it would even out scale the main cities of those duchies".
The woman seated opposite Alfredmented. Her eyes were looking outside the window, observing the people and the scenery around. The woman had long curly brown hair that fell onto her waist, light blue eyes that gazed at the world with profound meaning and an alluring figure.
She wore a skirt that disyed her smooth shapely legs filled with endless charms, a leather corset that tightly clung to her tempting curves and a long ck robe that gave her an exalted appearance.
On top of her head, she wore a purple pointy head and a staff embedded with five core stones silently floated beside her.
"Haha, surely Miss Katrina jests. The city of Mountmend is only a small city located at the remote north-western corner of the kingdom, how can itpare to those duchies" Alfred replied respectfully.
The woman facing him was not just anybody, shemanded absolute respect from her subordinates and her valour and achievements were something that everybody in the kingdom was aware of.
One of the big shots of the capital, leader of one of the top five guilds and the only woman in the kingdom that could stand toe to toe with the strongest people in this kingdom, Karina Lowell.
The mage guild she leads, isprised entirely of girls whose talent could shock the entire kingdom. The guild leader of that guild was currently seated opposite Alfred, elegantly sipping on her tea from her tea cup.
"Hnn~ is that so? Well, it''s a pity. Anyways, I noticed a few demi-humans in your city while on my way here. where did theye from?" those light blue eyes that seemed like the representation of mana itself were cast towards Alfred.
The mayor of the city coughed once before exining¡ª"I''m sure you already know but the guild that was the governing authority of a neighbouring city, had a fallout with the Sea god''s trident branch guild that was located in my city not long back".
"In fear of retaliation from one of the top five guilds of the kingdom, they deserted the city at the first chance. Well given the nature of the Sea god''s trident guild, they did not take this lying down and sent a part of their unit to exact revenge".
"However, the upper echelons of that perpetrator guild had already run away leaving behind some small timeckeys. One could imagine what would happen to a city if all of its governing authorities disappeared overnight".
"Mass riots broke out, the people that were oppressed, the people that were discontent, all hell broke loose. What was worse, the people of the city of Morgress who were taken advantage of by a corrupted and inapt guild had a lot of frustration built up".
"Insurgencies urred everywhere and destruction spread. Before the situation escted any further, the army from duke Redcrest''s castle arrived to calm the situation down and to suppress the mobs. Many investigations were done bringing the heinous and atrocious activities of that perpetrator guild to light".
"Anyways, after a discussion, it was decided that I would manage the city as a part of my territory. The demi-humans that you see here were brought over from that city. They were enved and mistreated there so I thought it was better for me to bring them here".
"I see¡ so that was the case" Karina''s eyes were a little surprised after hearing the whole truth. Given her widework and connections, she had more or less dug inside this incident.
Alfred looked a little hesitant before asking the question that was on his mind.
"May I ask why Miss Karina hase to this distant remote region?"
"Hm? You are a smart man Alfred, I believe you already have some clue as to why we are here?" Karina smiled pursing her lips.
''So my suspicions were indeed right'' Alfred thought internally. With that many high levelled adventurers and rows of air engines docked outside their city, it wasn''t very difficult to predict their objective.
However, what he didn''t understand was why so many big guilds sent their top adventurers just to conquer a single low ranking dungeon.
There were more than ten different badges of renowned and big guilds that he had seen on the chest of the adventurers that had entered the city. Somewhere even from distant regions far from here; nevertheless they too were roped in this.
This kind of powerful mobilisation was enough to even tackle a [C] tier dungeon.
"It seems that you are aware of it, then I won''t beat around the bush. Our target is the dungeon that is located in the Ghastly winding Forest. We are the advanced party that was sent here by the air engines, the rest of them are waiting in the capital".
Karina exined, her eyes turned serious as she took out a scroll from her space ring and handed it to
Alfred. Thetter took the scroll and read it only to be masked by surprise the next second.
"The seal is definitely authentic, I can''t believe even they are on the move" Alfred sighed and passed the scroll back. He then closed his eyes and finally came to a decision.
"Since that is the case, I have no authority to deny you all the ess to it, the stamp of the royal family of Ellesmere is also in there along with many others. As such please use the teleport gate as you want; however, since it hasn''t been maintained for many years after it was firstid out, it may cause some problems starting. But seeing that Miss Karina was amongst the advanced party that was sent here, I guess they had already predicted this".
"Un, don''t worry about that, even if the teleport gate is non-operational, my guild can fix it".
A few yards of distance behind the city lord''s mansion was a big za. In the middle of the za, was a circr construct ced between four big pirs. The entire thing was crafted with a peculiar white stone and numerous mysterious runes were carved into it.
Since the teleport gate was not in use for hundreds of years, algae had umted around the construct over the time.
A couple of people from the magician guild could be seen cleaning the ce with their magic and tinkering with the construct.
"May I ask why all of the top five guilds are coborating together and putting so much effort to conquer a single low ranking dungeon? You guys even pulled the other big guilds from the other regions of the kingdom. What''s in it for all of you?".
Alfred who was observing the adventurers from a distance, asked. This was the first time in history that all of the top five guilds of the kingdom were working together.
The letter also had stamps of other various big guilds of the kingdom. Such a big mobilisation of people and strength just for a single dungeon seemed like an overkill. The cost easily surpassed the profit.
Even if the coalition of these many guilds seeded in conquering the dungeon and ringing the shattered core out, it would still not make up for the cost. Given this fact, it was only just natural for him to ask that question.
"Naturally, we have our own motives behind all of this¡" Karina, standing beside him, spoke a few words but didn''t exin further.
She got busy repairing the teleport gate and after an entire half a day of maintenance, the construct hummed as if alive. Loads of mana crystals of grade [1] and a few grade [2] were taken out from the space ring and inserted into the power core of the teleport gate.
Soon after eating ten tonnes of mana crystals, a dark blue light started slowly appearing from the circr construct. The blue light slowly started spinning faster and faster and before long some spatial rift started appearing within that blue light.
"Alright, the teleport gate is fully operational and working, you guys can send your people over now" Karina who was involved in repairing the teleport gate, spoke.
Chapter 548 548- The Top Five Guilds Mobilise (2)
A transmission conch can be seen on her hand, she was talking to someone on the opposite end of the transmission conch.
After she gave those words, the humming noise from the teleport gate became louder and louder and soon enough, people wearing adventuring gears started appearing out of it.
Alfred who was looking at the scene from the distance, sighed. Although he was no adventurer, from his years of experience working as the mayor of this city and meeting with different kinds of people, he could somewhat tell the power of a person just by looking at them.
That is why, he could say with certainty that each and every adventurer that came out of that portal, was more powerful than any of the adventurers you could find around this part of thend.
Even the weakest amongst them released a pressureparable to the vice guild master or guild master of their city. What was even more astonishing was that their numbers weren''t in the hundreds but thousands.
Droves and droves of adventurers carrying the badges of their respective guild came out of the teleport gate and soon the entire za was filled with it.
Seeing that the number of peopleing out of the portal didn''t seem to be slowing down, Alfred called for his subordinates who respectfully led those adventurers to a different part of the mansion.
The teleport hummed for a whole three hours before the light from the construct died down. A massive lineup of adventurers could be seen on the za. All of the adventurers that were waiting in the capital, were here.
The coalition of more than twenty guilds,prising of more than thirty thousand people, was here. One can imagine what kind of atmosphere the city lord''s mansion was basked in when these many strong adventurers, gathered in one ce altogether.
The powerful auras from the adventurers became one coagting mass of energy that even disturbed the surrounding mana. Some weak levelled servants inside the city lord''s mansion even fainted, unable to take the pressure.
Alfred witnessed the powerful lineup of adventurers with his own eyes, his face wasplicated as various thoughts ran through his mind. This lineup of adventurers was so grand that had he not known what their objective was, he would have thought that they were here to take down a country, forget about a dungeon.
Not even in his wildest dream would he have thought that, not only the guild master of the mage guild, but all of the guild masters that he had only heard talks and rumours about, would show their faces in this distant remote city of his in person today.
Nevertheless, knowing their objective did not particrly make him happy. The emergence and cement of the dungeon, was something that had deeply affected the economy of his cities and the other neighbouring cities.
Thanks to the dungeon and the various benefits it provided, various people from different walks of life came over after being attracted by it. Their cities started flourishing,merce thriving, market booming with new jobs propping up every day.
The average level of satisfaction amongst the citizen rose and the city was filled with vitality and life. Nobody would be able to deny that the dungeon was deeply connected to the development of Mountmend and all the other neighbouring cities.
However, knowing that it would alle to a stop soon, made Alfred unable to take joy in seeing this big mobilisation of power. If it was some other cause or asion, he would have been delighted to have people of such calibree over to his city but not today.
All he could do was sigh in regret seeing their strength.
-------
One dayter, tower town. The always bustling town of adventurers, was covered with an unusual silence today. An army of more than thirty thousand adventurers marched through the southern region of the forest and arrived at the town where a huge tower was located.
Their sheer number and presence was enough to subdue the people of the tower town and clear a path for them. Many discussions rose amongst the adventurer until the entire town was buzzing with hubaloo.
It was not every day that one gets to see so many powerful adventurers gathered in one ce. The sight was mind-boggling to say no less.
Adventurer''s Association branch, arge group of people were gathered outside as they tried to get a peek at the appearance of the famous adventurers that they have only heard in rumours and news.
The people inside the building were like their idols, these people worshipped and held in high regard.
Therge hall would usually upied and filled with adventurers; however, today it was empty with only a selective group of people sitting inside. These people were the guild master and the vice guild master of the various big guilds of this kingdom.
Karina Lowell, Brutus Sarge, Arven Lantz, and the guild leaders of the top five guilds were also present. Nheless, they weren''t seating on the seat of honour and instead a man with short grey hair, covering his face with a mask, sat there.
His aura was restrained and he seemed ordinary at a nce but given how respectful the various guild leaders were around him, one could tell that his position was higher than anyone present in the room.
"Have the Sea God''s Trident contacted yet?" the grey haired man asked.
Seated on his immediate right was a person with a badge of a blue trident stitched to his clothes. This person was the former vice guild leader of the Sea god''s trident and a pir of the guild, Dalton Lance.
"My earnest apologies, I talked with my guild leader yesterday. It seems like they are still stuck inside a dungeon and cannot free themselves currently. He asked me to lead the members of the guild for this expedition on his behalf" Dalton said, bowing his head a little towards the grey haired man.
"Tch... well whatever, it''s not like we absolutely need their power. The manpower we currently have is enough. However, since you guys aren''t providing all of your assistance, don''t expect the reward I originally promised to you guys".
Dalton revealed a bitter smile when he heard those words, those guild leaders from the rival guild and the other famous guilds all revealed a gloating smile. For an expedition thisrge, all of the guild participating today were promised reward that they couldn''t decline.
Seeing the Sea god''s trident guild be excluded from it, some of the guild leaders couldn''t help but be happy. Even though they were working together right now, they each belonged to a rival guild.
The sea god''s trident held the position of the head amongst the top five guilds. Them losing the favour of the grey haired man was a pleasant development from the other guild''s perspective.
Dalton was aware of what these people were thinking however, the situation was so that he couldn''t do anything. Currently, the Sea god''s trident was tackling the forbidden grounds and cannot free all of their manpower immediately.
Not to mention Godwin and Raven were also away and training on the Maind. Thus it only left him and a few other members avable for the expedition.
"Hnn~ I believe this expedition was something that was suggested by the guild leader Benny Beckerman. He tried every means to rope all of us into this yet when the time came to reap the rewards for his efforts, why is it that he and the other important member of the Sea god''s guild are absent?".
Karina Lowell seated on the left side of the table asked. Her charm was so that every eye immediately focused on her, and the various guild leaders who wanted to get closer to her, started questioning Daxton further.
"Enough... Benny Beckerman isn''t the type of person to back down. I believe he must have his own reason for being unable to provide assistance. Perhaps he really is stuck inside a dungeon" the grey haired man admonished, silencing the crowd.
Karina narrowed her eyes when she saw that person side with the Sea God''s trident. Various thoughts shed in her mind as she wondered about the two parties motives.
"Ahem... now all of you please look at this" the grey haired man coughed once to disperse the weird atmosphere in the air and took out something from his space ring.
The thing on his hand was a small orb as big as a fist. Everybody immediately recognised it as the transmission orb that transmitted information in the form of images and videos.
When the visuals inside the orb yed, a dark cavern came into view and a group of adventurers could be seen clearing it.
The ce inside the orb was filled with monsters, traps and various magical things. Scenes changed as the adventurers proceeded forward, all eyes were tightly glued to the visuals inside the orb when suddenly it stopped and everything turned dark. The transmission had ended.
"So what do you all think?" the grey haired man asked after giving them some time to digest the information.
"Are those images from the dungeon that we are about to tackle?" the people inside the hall weren''t any ordinary people, they were the guild leader of the renowned and big guilds of this kingdom. It was easy for them to connect the dots and associate the images inside the orb with the dungeon.
"Correct, these are the images from the various floors of this dungeon. I procured this thing through some means of mine so that it can help us clear the dungeon faster" the grey haired man exined.
He shook his hand and dozens of transmission orbs appeared from his space ring which flew towards the guild leaders of the various guilds.
Chapter 549 549- The Top Five Guilds Mobilise (3)
"I want everyone to have a copy of this. Remember the topography, the format of the floors and the monsters there. It should be more helpful than simply hiring an adventurer who is a veteran here".
The various guild leaders nodded and copied the images and videos from the main orb.
"Now that everybody has a copy of this, I suppose we should talk about how we are going to tackle this dungeon¡" the grey haired man finally started borating his ns.
-----
Dungeon Lace, Training chamber, Floor 56th.
Simon was huffing and puffing as he shed his sword forward. CLANG¡ an intense collision of metallic sound rang out, the huge axe that was shing against the sword, was deflected to the side.
However, before Simon could rx his guard, a whip covered entirely with thick ck scales, came smashing at him.
BANG¡
Simon crossed his arms, two faint gauntlets took shape and absorbed the damage for him. Nevertheless, he was still pushed back a few meters from the force.
SKID... When he looked back at the thing, he could see countless snake heads ring at him at the end of the whip. It was then retracted into the sleeves of the ominous looking ck robed humanoid creature riding on a big menacing antler.
Soul Catchers, Gate Keepers,... Ogorath, it had many names.
The creature as the name suggested guarded the gates until the end of time and captured any unfortunate souls that dared toe closer. That was its sole role and the reason for this existence.
It rode on a wretched looking antler that feasted on the flesh and carried huge ominous weapons that harvested the souls. The creature had no soul itself and was a living corpse faithful and in eternal servitude to its master.
SHRIEKK¡ a cacophony of multiple anguished noises came out whenever it opened its mouth. Two more soul catchers silently rode and stood beside the first one.
Looking at this lineup, Simon nodded his head and remarked "Although they are unintelligent creatures and can only follow simplemands, their strength is without a doubt".
Just as he was about to start another round of training with these creatures, Bea teleported behind him and knelt on one knee.
"Master¡ ording to the reports from the [helpers], the humans have arrived".
"Hoh, it took them around two weeks to arrive. Our guests sure arete. Have all the preparations to show our hospitality beenpleted?" Simon wasn''t particrly fazed by this report, he raised his brows and asked.
Bea obediently nodded her head and replied "All preparations have beenpleted. Everybody is waiting in the hall for Master".
"In that case, let us go. The show is about to start" Simonmented, a crimson glow shed in his eyes. He wiped his sweat with a towel and along with Bea, he teleported back onto the main floor.
-----
Two dayster, Floor- Twenty-Sixth¡ª
Arge group of peopleprising of more than seven hundred adventurers, were currently resting inside an ant hill. Mountains of corpses of Giant Beetle Ant, could be seen all around them.
From the looks, it seemed like this colony was cleared by this group of adventurers who were currently dissecting the biggest beetle ant that was supposedly the queen of this hill.
"Hey did you guys hear? ording to the reports, the Savannah Beast Guild has already reached the thirtieth floor. While the Crimson Demolition Guild and the Sea God''s Trident Guild are right behind us".
A woman of great beauty, said towards the two people seated at a table that they had set up to take some rest.
The woman that just spoke, was Anna White from the Mage Guild. She was also one of the participants that waspeting in the Battle of the Finest tournament in the capital.
The two people that she addressed had a status equal to her, especially the girl named Hallie May who was the personal disciple of their guild master and their future guild leader.
Hallie May looked at Anna white and smiled, she waved her hand and asked thetter toe sit by their side.
"Anna you have returned? Tell me what other information did you manage to get from the spies of our guild" the woman who spoke was Tiana Lowe, the eldest of the three and ranked 11th in the battle of the finest tournament.
Hearing her words, Anna nodded, she sat beside the smiling Hallie and continued with the information she received from the spies.
"ording to reports that could be trusted, Marcus''s group have reached the 30th floor while the Lantz and Rees brothers are currently tackling the 28th floor. At this rate, the one to reach the 34th floor first will be the Savannah Beast Guild. What should we do elder sister Tiana?" Anna asked.
"The top five guilds and the renowned guilds each have their prejudices and own way of doing things. It is impossible for them to leave their animosity and work together. I heard from the guild master Karina that a great ruckus was created when the time came to elect the expedition leader of this operation".
"The meeting ran in circles and nobody coulde to a conclusion. Thus it was decided that whichever guild first reaches thest floor that was shown in the transmission orb.. i.e the 34th floor, the guild leader of that guild would be the expedition leader for thebined forces".
"The groups that have dived inside the dungeon currently are all tertiary teams of their respective guilds. There is no need to worry, let Brutus and those guys in the front clear the path for us. Besides¡"
Tina reassured, her eyes turned towards Hallie who was sending a sound transmission over to the other end of the conch.
"Our guild master isn''t interested in bing the expedition leader, so you don''t have to worry. The task that we have been given is to closely monitor the dungeon and investigate if there is any anomaly".
"So that is the case" Anna nodded her head in understanding.
The decision that whichever guild first reached the lowest floor recorded in the transmission conch was all good and fine; however, the problemy in the way it was to be executed.
The top five guilds and the other renowned guilds were the biggest guilds in the entire kingdom of Ellesmere. Naturally, they had thousands of adventurers, if all of the guilds rushed in together, the entrance and exit would be jammed and there may be numerous disputes and collisions arising.
To avoid that, it was decided that the twenty guilds would be sending their tertiary team first inside the dungeon first. If they wanted to, some guilds could also cooperate with each other bybing their tertiary teams. However, they cannot bring in more than a thousand people at any given time.
This decision was taken so as to prevent the guilds from shing against each other and plotting behind their backs. Also, by sending the tertiary teams one could see the overall potential and foundation of that guild.
It is after all, a known fact that the weakest members and the newbie adventurers are usually kept in the tertiary team. So when any tertiary team reaches the objective faster than the other teams, it says a lot about that guild.
It proved that a particr guild has better overall adventurers, and the tactics and methods they used are also better than the other guilds. It wouldn''t be uneptable for these pedantic guild masters to ept a leader whose tertiary team achieved the best result inside the dungeon.
Nevertheless, this decision had somehow turned into a race for the top five guilds and the big guilds to see whose young generation was better than the other and a chance for them to gain experience.
While the tertiary team was clearing the dungeon andpeting amongst themselves to see who would reach the 34th floor first, the primary team and the secondary teams of the respective guilds were resting and biding their strength on the 20th floor, which was dered as the Safe floor by the adventurer''s association branch.
No monsters spawned or traps spawned on the 20th floor thus it was the ideal ce to set up a camp. Thus the twenty guilds used this floor to setup their camps here and establish a headquarter.
Inside one of the biggest camps, the guild leaders of the various guilds were in attendance. Seated in the seat of honour, was the grey haired man with a mask on his face.
"How goes the exploration?" he asked with a sombre tone.
The guild leader of the Savannah Beast Guild Brutus Sarge gestured with his chin and the vice guild leader of his guild got up from his seat to give a report.
"Your lordship, the tertiary team belonging to our guild, has already reached the 30th floor. Four more floors before we can decide on an expedition leader".
The grey haired man nodded his head and his sharp eyes went on to the other guild leaders.
"It is only a matter of time then. I believe you have no qualms with Brutus Sarge bing the expedition leader?".
Seeing that no one dared to show their discontent, the grey haired man proceeded withying out his ns.
"Once they reach the 34th floor, we will get moving. The primary teams of all the twenty guilds will be our main unit. The objective of this unit is to spearhead the lower floors and break through any and all traps and defeat the monsters barring our way".
"This unit will be led by the expedition leader and the other guild masters would be there to assist him. Although I don''t think we will need it, but the secondary unit will be led by Miss Karina".
Chapter 550 [Bonus ] 550- The 34th Floor, The Pit And The Mysterious Ruins
"Your unit will be providing timely assistance and help carry the injured back up. Other than that, if weck in numbers, your unit will be providing manpower. I hope everybody is clear on how we will proceed?".
The grey haired man paused, his eyes looked at various guild leaders seated around the table who showed no discontent on their faces.
Although they were all prideful and mighty guild leaders of their own guild, they still restrained acting like that in front of the grey haired man.
Also judging by the situation, thetter was much more suited to guide the guilds than any single one of them. Not only he had many years of experience tackling intermediate tier dungeons, he was also from the Maind.
They all knew that the title expedition leader was just for show, the true leader of this coalition was this man. Because he couldn''t be bothered with every single problem that arises within the expedition armyprised of several big guilds, they needed a leader to act as an intermediary who would solve these situations for him.
The group discussed various other issues in the meantime as they waited for the tertiary team to reach the 34th floor.
Dalton who was in attendance, saw theid-back attitude of these guild leaders and spoke in caution.
"I know that all of you are confident in your abilities and I''m sure that you don''t need me to remind it, but let me at least say this? The master of this dungeon and our opponent is a demon viscount who is extremely cunning. He is also the perpetrator behind the incident that urred in the capital".
"Although he is not a threat right now, but given enough time, he will surely turn out to be one. However, our greatest opponent that we must be careful of, is not him but the rumoured disaster ss beast under him".
The fact that there was a disaster ss beast guarding the dungeon, was a well-known fact amongst the adventurers of the tower town. That beast had shown its face quite a few times in the lower middle floors and scared many of the adventurers away.
It wasn''t unusual for these guild masters who have their own personalworks, to have information about it.
Seeing that nobody was overly concerned by this fact, he felt it was prudent for him to give them a heads up.
"I know what you all are thinking, a mere demon viscount or a disaster ss is no match for us. However, it would be unwise to let our guard down and underestimate the demon or his dungeon".
The sea god''s trident was much more knowledgeable about this demon and what thetter was capable of. They had used various means to probe the dungeon; nevertheless, they couldn''t see the full extent of its power.
His guild leader, Benny Beckerman had cautioned him many times not to look down on the master of this dungeon. So much so that he had even roped in the grey haired man and the other top five guilds to remove this thorn from his path.
''If the guild leader''s suspicions are correct, that demon should be in possession of an item from the forbidden grounds'' Dalton mused internally. It was the only conclusion that they could reach which exined the unusualness of the demon and this dungeon.
The forbidden grounds recorded in the ancient texts was a treasure trove of unparalleled treasures, it can transform even an ordinary human into a mighty overlord that looked down on this world. It wouldn''t be unusual for a treasure from the forbidden grounds topletely transform a dungeon.
Dalton''s involvement in this expedition was also due to this reason. His mission was to recover the item from the demon while the others were busy hoarding the treasures. For them who were tackling the forbidden grounds, the item was much more valuable than anything.
They who had borne a beautiful misconception that Simon was in possession of an item from the forbidden grounds would never in their wildest dreams believe that all of the change that had urred to him and his dungeon, was because of his relentless efforts and the support of Cecilia and the other subordinates of his.
Although he brought forth a few items that could be considered to be unparalleled, like the Radiant Crown of Brince and the finger of Ozymandias, none of them worked like the way the Sea god guild thought.
One was broken, while the other cannot be used by any inhabitant of this world. No one would even think of using the finger the way Simon did. However, the Sea God''s Trident was unaware of it. In their pursuit for any item that could help them clear the forbidden grounds, they left no stones unturned. Even if it meant antagonising a demon viscount. Something that they woulde to regret bitterly in the future.
''It is a pity that our guild won''t be able to enjoy the spirit orbs¡ s, it couldn''t be helped, clearing the forbidden grounds is paramount for our guild right now. if not for that, the guild leader wouldn''t have disclosed the information about the forest spring spirits to that guy''.
Dalton sighed; however, he did not show it on his face.
"Haha, Dalton I think you are concerned over nothing. Haven''t we all confirmed this fact already? The demon is no longer under the protection of that person who turned the capital upside down. Since that person is not here, conquering a [D] rank dungeon shouldn''t pose any difficulty".
"On the contrary, I''m concerned that we have mobilised too much manpower and that not everybody would be able to get the chance to battle... Hahaha".
The one to speak out was Brutus. His words were filled with confidence that came from knowing one''s strength. It was not only him, all of the guild masters felt like that.
The top twenty guilds and the best of the best adventurers from the kingdom of Ellesmere were currently gathered here. Forget about a [D] rank dungeon, it would not be impossible to even conquer a [C] rank dungeon.
Conquering a [D] rank dungeon with this number and level of adventurers was like butchering a chicken with an axe.
While everybody was filled with a confident aura, a slight change appeared in the eyes of the grey haired man when Brutus mentioned the affairs in the capital.
At the same time while the adventurers were plotting their own ns, the master of the dungeon was looking at everything with an eye of indifference.
----
Main floor, White pce, inside the hall.
Irene, Cecilia, Wisp, Valkyries, Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse, [Helpers], all of the people close to Simon, were gathered together.
Seated near them, on a couch was a demon with pale white skin, crimson eyes and long ck hair. Two horns protruded from his forehead and decorated his head like a crown. He was wearing simple ck linen clothes embroidered with golden lines by the forest spring spirits themselves.
A small grin hung on the corner of the demon''s lips as he watched the multiple windows hanging in front of him with cold indifferent eyes.
Disyed in those windows, were adventurers clearing the different floors. Some were fighting monsters, some were disarming traps, some were mapping out the floor while other were resting or sharpening their weapons.
Each adventurer was doing their own thing, a rxed atmosphere surrounded them as if they were out on a stroll.
"Drunk on their power, Concieful, Underestimation. Haha, they are so full of themselves" An indifferent voice came out of Simon''s mouth as he kept on observing the adventurers.
"Those bastards are looking down on our dungeon too much" Bea by the side remarked, slight traces of anger could be seen in her eyes.
It was not only her that was angry, all of the people present in the hall were so. Their home was being invaded upon, how would they not be angry?
"Master, when should we move? I cannot take that attitude of theirs any longer" Alice stated gritting her teeth. Her eyes observed a window where a group of adventurers wearing bright red robes and armours killing monsters as if it was some kind of sport.
"What''s the hurry? Arge bunch of strong adventurers just delivered themselves to our abode. Let them squander around a little more while we collect the rewards from their invasion in the meantime."
Simon''s tone contained some slight delight as he watched the dungeon points in his menu skyrocket every hour.
This was the first time since the establishment of the dungeon that such arge group of people had entered at once. These people were not like the citizens of the tower town aboveground. Each and every one of them was strong, which meant that the DP that they generated was also higher than most of the adventurers of the tower town.
Especially the ones on the 20th floor. The DP that was being generated from them every hour was on a whole different level than anything he had umted up until now.
Although he couldn''t spy inside some of the tents on that floor because of some kind of temperance that was applied to it, Simon could tell that they were the cream of the corpse of this expedition army.
"However my lord, I don''t understand what they are trying to do by dividing their group and sending their weaker members to clear the floors. Are they being used as disposable perhaps?" the one to ask that question was Coleus, the leader of the [Helpers].
No matter how they saw it, they weren''t able to understand what the adventurers were thinking sending separate teams of weaker members to clear the floors when the high levelled ones remained behind andzed on the 20th floor.
Chapter 551 551- The 34th Floor, The Pit And The Mysterious Ruins (2)
It was understandable since none of his subordinates were adventurers, in fact, even he was confused as to what their motive was when he saw them doing something like that at first. However, after he closely observed the people selected to lead the charge on the different floors he came to an understanding and couldn''t help butugh.
"Master what is so funny?" Alice asked perplexed.
"It''s nothing, just that I found it funny seeing how these top guilds are so conceited. Coleus you asked me why they spread their numbers and sent the weaker ones to explore the floors? That is because, from their perspective, it is a good chance to let their younger generation gain experience andpete against each other to see who clears the floors faster than the others".
Simon exined, he was familiar with some of the adventurers disyed in the window. They were the participants of the ''battle of the finest'' tournament which he had witnessed when he went to the capital of the kingdom on one of his journey with Adalinda.
Fate worked very mysteriously, counting the previous incident and the event that was urring now, both the times he was watching them fight. However this time, he was no longer an observer and this was not the capital but a dungeon that was under his rule.
Another thing that was different was their strength. Previously, their strength wasn''t that far apart, Simon''s level might have been lower but hisbat prowess was no weaker than theirs. However, now it had changedpletely.
Simon had risen to a level that they couldn''t hope to match even in their wildest dreams all thanks to the first fragment of pride. This fragment that increases the experience gained after every sessful battle was one of the reasons why Simon could level up so fast.
If it was any other demon given the same opportunities, it would be physically impossible for them to grow so much in such a short period of time.
Anyways, if it was before, Simon would have perhaps considered them as opponents. However, right now they were nothing more than DP grinding livestock for him.
"What do you n to do?" Irene asked, unlike the others who showed various emotions looking at the intruders, she had that calm and collected aura around her. It was as if everything that was urring around her was mundane and nothing could break her peace of mind.
Nheless, it wasn''t like she was unconcerned, if she was she wouldn''t have asked him about his ns. This woman was caring for the dungeon in her own way.
Simon who somewhat understood that after living with her for so long, exined his ns. Well even if he said it was a n, it was actually very simple and that was to¡ª
"Wait and watch".
Simon smiled at their nk expressions and rified "We will see what they are nning first before responding to it ordingly. In any case, the first phase of our traps are about to appear, now we just have to wait for the prey to fall for it and enjoy the show".
Everybody around him stared intently at the widows disying the adventurers. Simon''s gaze involuntarily went to a different window that was depicting a dark floor where one dreadful shadow after another was spawned continuously; a wicked smile appeared on his face.
The show was about to get interesting.
-----
One dayter, 20th Floor, Main Camp,rgest tent.
The various guild leaders were locked in an intense debate. Usually, other than the vice guild leaders and a few important people from the twenty guilds, no other person was allowed to enter. However, today there was a different face that didn''t belong to any of the powerful twenty guilds seated amongst them.
"Xandros, I hope that you are not making up things. What you are saying clearly goes beyond the realm ofmon sense"..
"That''s right, it is absurd that there could be something on the deepest floor of the dungeon that could even threaten us"¡
The guild leaders didn''t like being underestimated and hurriedly argued back.
"Vice guild leader of the Tyrant Mountain guild, currently your team is the only team in the tower town that has explored the highest number of floors. Can you tell us why you think so?".
Karina asked, her charms was enough to cause these barking guild leaders to immediately shut their mouth.
The new face was none other than Xandros, the vice guild leader of the tyrant mountain guild and also the man who was involved in rescuing the adventurers that were taken hostage when the orcs had invaded the town.
Currently, he was seated around a meeting table as all eyes focused on him. The reason why he was here, was because a few days ago, the staff of the adventurer''s association branch came looking for him after he and his party returned to the town after exploring the 40th floor.
That was also when he became aware that arge group of adventurers made up of many different guilds, had also entered the dungeon. The floors became bigger the deeper you went, thus it wasn''t unusual for adventurers teams to not bump into each other.
Anyways, the reason why he was here, was because the grey haired man had called for him. Xandros couldn''t tell who the man was behind that mask; however, given that he had the ability to manipte the adventurer''s association branch, and put a halt on other adventurer''s team from the tower town to dive inside the dungeon, he guessed that the man possessed a high position and authority.
"I have no proof to back my words, it is your own decision to believe my words or not. Me and my team have been able to reach the 40th floor because we were cautious in our every step. The dungeon has shown us far too irregrities, it would be foolish to pit it with the other low ranking dungeons" Xandros stated.
These people here were severely underestimating the dungeon and its dangers. But given their lineup and power, he could understand why that was so.
Gathered in this tent were not only the top five guilds, but also the other big guilds that came right after the top five. Sky shing de, Six River''s Streaks and even Absolute Sea Guild.
These guilds were all hegemons of their own territory and produced some of the finest adventurers of the kingdom of Ellesmere. Not to mention the talent from their guilds always were within the top thirty positions in the battle of the finest tournament.
His Tyrant mountain guild also fell within that rank and apparently, his guild was also contacted by the top five guilds and this mysterious grey haired man to join their expedition. However, the guild leader had left the decision to Xandros who was already leading a team to tackle the dungeon.
"I see¡ you are a prudent man Xandros. Since you have put it like this, I believe your words must hold some truth. We will proceed with caution, expedition leader Brutus, spread this message of Sir Xandros to every adventurer" the grey haired man spoke calmly.
Brutus nodded his head, it was a done decision and approved by everyone that he will be the expedition leader.
"On that note, Xandros what do you say about your tyrant mountain guild joining our campaign? I have already asked this once to your guild leader; however, he put the decision making on your shoulders. If your team is to guide us, it would save us a lot of time and energy. Of course, your guild will bepensated with the same reward I promised everyone".
The words of the grey haired man made Xandros frown his brows, no reward can be better than keeping their life intact. He was just about to shake his head when the grey haired man spoke once again.
"Don''t be so hasty to reject my offer, listen to the rewards that I have to offer first. If your guild joins the expedition, the reward I''m offering is ...¡".
Whoosh¡ Even though there was no wind inside the tent, Xandros felt as if a cold wind brushed past his body, opening his pores and waking every cell of his body.
The tent was covered with an unusual silence, each of the guild leaders had various emotions fluctuating in their faces. Even though they had already heard about the reward, it still managed to break theirposure every time they heard it.
Greed, desire, yearning, excitement, ruthlessness and arrogance, all kinds of emotions could be seen in the eyes of the guild leaders. Xandros was no exception, a reward of this level, forget about his tyrant mountain guild, even guilds stronger than his would readily agree and do anything as long as they can get their hands on that reward.
Perhaps the only one who was not affected by this revtion was the former vice guild master of the sea god''s trident, Dalton. His hands clenched into a fist without anyone noticing.
It took an inhumane level of patience for Xandros to suppress the raging emotion in his heart. He took a few deep breaths to calm his mind and asked with a shaky voice that suggested anything but otherwise.
"Is that true?".
The grey haired man smiled, he very much liked the expression of the current Xandros. Spreading his hands, he said grandly¡ª
"Of course why would I like to you all? As long as you help me conquer this dungeon, each of your guilds would be provided with one of those. So¡ how about it? A reward like this isn''t something that you cane across every day. As long as you help me, you would be able to enjoy that reward".
Chapter 552 [Bonus ] 552- The 34th Floor, The Pit And The Mysterious Ruins (3)
Words like these were like a devil''s enticement, nobody with a sane mind in this world would be able to reject that offer. Xandros finally understood why even the top five guilds were hooked. They too were after that reward, a low ranking dungeon had no allure to them.
If not for the promised reward, they wouldn''t even bother sending all of their manpower here.
It would be a lie to say that Xandros wasn''t enticed, he too wanted the reward. But he did not give his answer immediately and considered various aspects in his head first.
The thing that was bugging him the most, was why the grey haired man would put a reward as rare and precious as that instead of keeping it for himself. However, before he coulde to an answer, an uproar seemed to have erupted outside the tent as a couple of adventurers rushed inside.
"Who dares to intrude inside the main tent? Don''t you know that an important meeting is going on?" one of the guild leaders shouted in rage at the people who had just barged in.
"We are extremely sorry to interrupt the meeting of the guild masters. However, an incident had urred, the guild masters need to see it" they reported, their voice was urgent.
"What is it Alvin?".
The guild master of the Assassin guild asked. These people were from his guild, they were tasked with the mission to follow all the other tertiary teams and report every incident that is happening back to the main camp.
"Guild master Cassius, the seven tertiary teams that went ahead, we have lost contact with all of them" Alvin reported with trepidation.
The moment those words fell, the eyes of the various guild leaders of the twenty guilds went wide. After a momentary stun, they bombarded Alvin with questions.
Although the tertiary teams were mostly made up of newbie adventurers, they also had their talented younger generation and the future sessors of their guilds. Losing them would be tantamount to crippling the guilds.
"What happened why can''t you contact them? My son is there".
"My disciple also went ahead, did you lose all contact with them?"¡
Alvin''s body trembled intensely facing the pressure of the many guild leaders.
"Everyone calm down. Alvin exined clearly what had happened. Thest report that we got was a few hours ago stating that all the seven tertiary teams are currently gathering on floor 34th with the Savannah Beast Guild reaching the ce first. Are you saying that something had happened in those few hours?" the guild leader of the assassin guild, Cassius mediated the situation for everybody.
"Guild leader¡ thest report I got from the units that were sent to follow the seven tertiary teams said that they had found a mysterious ruin on the 34th floor. I told them that there was no need for them to take risks and wait for our primary team which will be arriving there soon".
"This was about an hour ago¡ I have tried to contact all seven units after that; however, none of them are answering the call".
Alvin had a grim face as he recounted everything that he was informed about. With that report, the atmosphere around the entire tent had changed. Many of the guild leaders were unable to keep calm at this moment and hurriedly got up from their seats.
It looked like if nobody stopped them, they would storm with their teams to the 34th floor.
"Calm down everyone" Just as the guild leaders of Sky shing de and Absolute Sea guild were about to leave the tent, the grey haired man spoke up. He then turned towards the calm Brutus and Karina and asked.
"You two must have some items that could check on the life status of your members right?".
When asked that oddly specific question, the two guild leaders smiled bitterly and nodded their heads.
When the other guild leaders saw that they turned towards Brutus and Karina. Brutus being the expedition leader, sighed and took out one of the treasures of his guild in front of everyone''s eyes.
An oddly red coloured fang rested on his palm.
"This is the fang of the Blood Saint Tiger" When Brutus introduced it, it pulsed with a crimson light that made the blood of all the guild masters inside the tent boil.
Everyone''s eyes widen a little, even the grey haired man was shocked when the thing came out. Everyone in the kingdom of Ellesmere was aware that the Savannah Beast Guild possessed a beast inheritance that they passed down to their younger members from generation to generation.
However, this was the first time they had heard the name of the beast the Savannah Beast Guild got the inheritance from.
A beast inheritance doesn''t just form inside any beast, it is so rare that even if you kill hundreds of thousands of beasts, you wouldn''t find any that was able to form its own inheritance.
Only a beast that possesses a human like intelligence, whose bloodline has reached a certain level of purity, is able to form its beast inheritance. The beasts that match these criteria are at the very least Catastrophe ss.
Forget about killing them to get their beast inheritance, a ss of that level was enough to tten a kingdom like theirs. And even if one manages to somehow bring down that beast, a beast of human like intelligence would rather destroy its core stone where the beast inheritance resides rather than let others get their hands on it.
From this one could understand how difficult it was to get a beast inheritance, this at the same time also made others envious of the Savannah beast guild.
Seeing that he had the eyes of every people inside the tent on him, Brutus exined. He did not think much about their greed filled envious eyes since the beast inheritance has already been refined in their bloodline.
"As you all know, the bloodline of our Savannah Beast guild is a little special. The fang in my hand is our guild treasure and also a gift from lord Blood Saint tiger. Only someone who is appointed as the guild leader of our guild is allowed to hold it".
"It holds a special property and that is only the person who has received the inheritance of the Blood saint tiger, is allowed to ce a drop of their blood on it. As long as the person is alive, the fang will always remain red. I hope that this is enough to assure the guild masters that the teams down there are still alive".
Brutus exined, he could tell that his son Marcus was still alive and fine or else the blood red colour in the fang wouldn''t be this deep.
"Guild leader is speaking the truth, I too hold a simr item that allows me to know the life status of my disciple. However, it is not as fancy as the fang of the blood saint tiger" Karina attested to Brutus'' words.
The various guild leaders calmed down for a moment and sat back in their seats.
Karina turned to face Brutus and congratted him with a smile.
"It is said that other than the first guild leader of the Savannah Beast guild, no other members have managed to ce their blood on the guild treasure. Since Sir Brutus'' son was able to do it, doesn''t it mean that he has received the full inheritance of the Blood Saint Tiger? The Savannah Beast guild will rise like the saint tiger in the future".
When the others heard what Karina said, they too congratted him. In any case, it was never a bad decision to make a good impression with someone strong.
Brutus had a bitter smile when he received their congrattions, he had nned to keep this fact a secret yet this woman was somehow able to learn it.
TAP¡ TAP¡
"Alright everyone, settle down. For the time being we know that the tertiary team isn''t in the immediate danger of getting wiped out. Nheless, it doesn''t change the fact that we cannot contact them".
"This means that something has happened on the 34th floor. Either they have entered the mysterious ruin or the master of the dungeon has made his move. In any case, we should start heading out. Expedition leader Brutus, I''ll leave leading the primary unit to you".
The grey haired man gathered everyone back to the matter at hand. Subsequently, he turned towards Xandros and asked¡ª
"You must have explored and passed through the 34th floor quite a few times. Were there any ruins on that floor before?".
All eyes turned towards Xandros, the man was currently the most knowledgeable adventurer present within this main camp.
Xandros recalled the memories he had of the 34th floor before shaking his head sidewise "My team has explored the 34th floor quite a few times. However, we never found any mysterious ruins that you all are talking about".
Hearing this the grey haired man narrowed his eyes.
''So it must be something recently ced. A trap from the demon to cull our numbers. Knowing that should we step into it?'' he mused internally.
After a while he ced his attention back on Xandros and asked "So what will it be? Are you willing to help me?".
The vice guild leader of the Tyrant Mountain Guild took a deep breath, and considered his options before shaking his head.
"Oh?" the grey haired man was surprised, he didn''t think that Xandros would be able to reject the allure of the reward he promised.
"Can I know the reason why you are rejecting my offer?".
Chapter 553 553- The 34th Floor, The Pit And The Mysterious Ruins (4)
"I''m not rejecting your offer, it''s just that my team is in no shape to continue diving inside the dungeon. we have just surfaced a few days ago after exploring the 40th floor, my team is tired. It would be asking too much for them to dive again without resting for a few days. So I hope that this Sir will not mind".
Xandros came up with a perfect excuse. Of course, he was interested in the reward that the grey haired man offered. However, he also knew the dangers of this dungeon more than anyone in this tent.
In these many months of exploring the dungeon, Xandros was never able to see through its truest depths. The more he dived deeper, the bigger the dungeon became and along with that his shock deepened.
He has never seen the master of this dungeon, however, his years of adventuring senses were telling him that something ridiculous, something very powerful resided within the deepest floors.
Xandros trusted his senses more than anything, no matter how high the reward, one can only enjoy it when they are alive. It would mean nothing if he ended up losing his life in a moment of greed.
The expedition team made up of the twenty biggest guilds was strong but so was this dungeon. Xandros couldn''t tell who would win in this sh thus he decided to refrain from joining.
"I see in that case please rest well".
How could the grey haired man not see through such a ruse? Getting your way using Sophistry was something he was also adept at.
The meeting inside the main tent was adjourned and the primary teams of the twenty guilds camping on the 20th floor were rallied under a single main unit and led by Brutus Sarge, the guild leader of the Savannah Beast Guild, started moving once again after three days.
Their objective¡ªconquering the dungeon.
------
34th floor, deep inside the mysterious ruins that was discovered near the south-eastern region of the floor. The paths inside was meandering and the walls and ceiling here were made of hardened stones that would even make a person above level 200 sweat to put a scratch.
At the end of the meandering path, were sevenrge doors. carved on those doors were pictures of fierce monsters. At the other end of each door was a gigantic space and a mountain of treasures glimmering at the end.
Deafening explosion sounds erupted everywhere as magic and skills collided. The dark space was lit up with its light. On the ground, one could see numerous corpses strewn everywhere, their blood and entrails littering the floor.
These corpses were of monsters but one could also see the bodies of some adventurers amidst those mountains of corpses. In fact, if one looked carefully all around this space, one would notice quite a few bodies of the adventurers lying dead.
At the centre of this space, was arge group of adventurers tightly maintaining a formation as they continuously fended off tides of monsters that came rushing at them from the ground, air and everywhere.
The battle which had been going on for a couple of hours slowly chipped at the strength of the adventurers and with time, their casualty rates started going higher and higher. Yet it didn''t seem like the endless horde of monsters they were facing showed any signs of stopping any time soon.
The scene where the fire raged and bodies dropped down robbed of their life, was truly a painting straight out of the battlefield.
Simr scenes were currently happening inside all of the seven doors.
A couple of hours ago, near the centre of the 34th floor where the entrance to the next floor was, a group of approximately 7,000 adventurers, divided into seven teams, was currently assembling one after the other.
"Heh, it looks like our guild was the first one to arrive here after all".
Marcusmented sitting on top of a rock. He was decked out in a [B] tier golden armour from head to toe, his weapon therge de, shined with a faint green light indicating that it was made of Mythril.
Each and every item on his body was very rare and released a shine that told other that the gears, was extremely expensive and precious. So much so that it could make the eyes of the ordinary adventurer go green with envy.
It was not only him who was donned head to toe in expensive armours, even those close adventurers around him were so. Although their armours couldn''t bepared to Marcus'' all of the things on them were nheless precious items.
In fact, the items donned by each and every member of this tertiary team could bepared with the primary teams of other guilds. What''s more all of this was just on a tertiary team. This made one wonder to what extent the quality of items on the primary team of savannah beast guild''s has reached.
"Tch Marcus don''t be so smug, you were just lucky to have arrived here before us. If not because we were dyed due to certain reasons, we would have been the first ones to have arrived here".
The one to speak was a man wearing a gaudy red robe and holding a rare looking staff in his hand. He had short ck hair and frown lines on his forehead. His eyes were sharp and he wore a solemn face all time round.
A badge of explosion was hanging on his chest representing the guild he was from. He was Kenan Lantz from the Crimson Demolition Guild.
Behind him walked his twin brother Jason Lantz, wearing a simr garb. Anyone that looked at them would immediately be able to tell that they were identical.
Behind Kenan and Jason walked another pair of twins. But unlike the Lantz brothers, one of the two was wearing a magician''s robe while the other twin donned a warrior''s armour. They were Connor Rees and Tyler Rees.
All four of them were participants in the Battle of the Finest tournament.
These four people walked towards Marcus, they all wore items and gear that weren''t too shabbypared to his own and hung a badge of explosion on their clothes.
"Heh, all four of you were also ced in the tertiary team by your guild to gain experience I see". Marcus nced at all four of them, his eyes shined with a peculiar light indicating that he was using the [Analysis] skill.
"Hm? what a surprise, it looks like all four of you have also broken through level 400. I suppose congrattions are in ce".
Marcus smiled, although he wasn''t able to see through their skills because of some items on them barring his attempt of [Analysis], he nevertheless still managed to see through their levels.
"Hmph, don''t act like you are superior to us. Your talent might be superior to mine because of that beast inheritance you have got from your guild. But if you think that allows you to look down on my guild you are sorely mistaken".
Kenan snapped back. He disliked Marcus'' attitude that seemed to be talking down on them from above.
More than half a year ago, during the battle of the finest tournament, he was around the edges of reaching level 400 while Marcus had already breached it. Now that he had broke through level 400, he learned from his guild master that Marcus had inherited the beast inheritance of his guild.
It was part jealousy and part inferiorityplex that made Kenan hate Marcus'' guts.
Marcus'' simply smiled facing Kenan''s hate filled re and shifted his eyes to other teams slowly walking here.
Kenan and the tertiary team of Crimson Demolition Guild he was leading, also turned to face this batch of neers that arrived just after them.
The arrival of this group stole the eyes of all the people and immediately filled the ce with a clear and fragrant scent. Their charms and every movement they made tugged on the heart of these adventurers.
The previously sombre atmosphere on the 34th floor was quickly reced by an atmosphere of spring with their arrival.
The team that just arrived, had the lowest numberpared to all the other six teams. However, their presence and aura wasn''t weaker than any of the tertiary teams present on the floor.
Another thing of note was that, this team was made up of all female magicians thus setting them apart from all the other teams.
The Mage Guild was here.
Marcus whose eyes were simrly looking at this group of females, immediately spotted the three figures that were leading this group. The three of them also felt Marcus''s group and saw the geniuses f the various guild gathering beside him.
There was Lantz and the Rees brother from the Crimson Demolition Guild, Park Garrett and Max Rose from Sea God''s Trident, Gallio Stard from Assassin''s Guild and other geniuses from the big guilds that had taken a spot in the top thirty of the battle of the finest tournament.
Tiana Lowe settled her team in an open field before taking her two sisters with her to meet everyone.
Marcus stood up and smiled at the three who wereing over to greet him. Of course his eyes were ncing mostly at Hallie May, the girl who took the fourth spot, ranking right after him in the tournament.
"As I thought so, you were indeed the first one to reach the 34th floor. Then it is decided that that guild master Brutus will be leading the expedition" Tianamenteding to a stop in front of all the geniuses from the top twenty guilds of the kingdom.
Chapter 554 554- The 34th Floor, The Pit And The Mysterious Ruins (5)
She could see the fire of rivalry in the eyes of her junior sister and Marcus. After all, the both of them had performed splendidly in the battle of the finest tournament. One ced fourth while the other tied with the third prince for the third spot.
Plus they each were essed with very high potential. Both saw each other as rivals.
"Hehe, it just turned out that way. I was simply excited to explore the dungeon and before I know it I was already on 34th floor. Father taking charge wasn''t something that I was nning for".
Marcusughed, he made some small talk beforementing "It looks like Miss Hallie is still as taciturn as ever".
Hallie hasn''t spoken a word since the moment she arrived here, her behaviour was just like the time he saw her on the stage. After Marcus'' the geniuses of the Crimson demolition guild, Sea God''s Trident, Absolute Sea Guild, Baskerville guild and other various guilds, came to initiate small talks.
When everybody was done expressing the greetings, the genius from the Assassin guild, Gallio Stard used his transmission conch to send a report back to the Main camp.
"What did they say?" Marcus asked.
The assassin''s guild was tasked to be the reconnaissance unit for this expedition. Thus their members were present within all of the seven teams.
"The main camp said that the guild leaders are having an important meeting right now. They told us to wait here and secure the floor. It may take them a couple of hours to arrive" Gallio reported.
"They expect us to wait here that long? What should we even do on this floor?".
Levin Field from the Phantom Light guild spoke. He was wearing light leather armour made of top quality goods and carried a sword on his back.
"Well, they did say we can secure the floor. You know the thirty fourth floor is called ''The Pit'' by the adventurers of the tower town. They say that the pit is frolicking with strong looking monsters and the fate of those that fall inside the pit, is extremely miserable. My team has cleared the surface of all the monsters. However, we have yet to dive inside the pit".
Marcus stated, his nonchnt manner of speaking intended something.
"Are you saying that we should try to clear the so called ''Pit''?" Tiana frowned when she heard that.
"Well, the main camp did say that we secure the floor"¡
"Right and if the pit is still filled with monsters, the primary teams would think that we are cking on our task".
After a while, they all came to a consensus that the floor need to be secured before the main unit came. The seven tertiary teams each led by their own geniuses turned their attention towards the big hole in the ground north from the centre.
From a distance this enormous big hole looked just like the mouth of the devil, it was deep, dark and not even a single trace of light could be seen inside.
"So this is the pit huh? It doesn''t seem that special."¡
"Well, we will find out once we head there".
Marcus, Kenan, Park... all jumped inside, their teams followed behind. Tiana who was Looking at that spectacle, sighed.
"Elder Sister Tiana, what are you thinking?" Hallie asked.
Tiana shook her head and said, "It''s nothing, I was just thinking that these boys are sopetitive. It hasn''t even been an hour since we all gathered together yet we are now heading down to further explore the floor".
"Hehe, it should be fun, let''s go down too and see what the pit looks like" Hallie looked at the deep dark pit and her eyes involuntarily started shining from the excitement.
Compared to Hallie who was impulsive and adventure seeking, Tiana was much more practical and cautious. This was also the reason why guild master Karina had made Tiana the leader of the tertiary team instead of her disciple Hallie.
After deliberating for a while the mage guild too followed the other tertiary teams and jumped down. In any case, the surface was already cleared, there was nothing to do here.
Whereas, the pit was yet to be explored. Given the fact that their journey to this floor was a smooth one without any hups, the teams jumped inside the pit without any worry.
So what if the pit was frolicking with monsters? These guilds who had no problem tackling the monsters on the floors above, didn''t think much of the monsters on the 34th floor. A mistake that they wouldtere to regret.
Except for a few thousand people who were told to sit outside and wait for the primary team to arrive, nearly four thousand people jumped inside the pit.
The three girlsnded in a dark underground space, they used their powers to slow down their fall. The pit was more than five thousand feet deep, it was dark and the only source of light was the dim ores that protruded from the ground.
Sound of clothes pping could be heard as their teamnded behind them. Tiana and the three sisters used their magic to create an orb of sorts that released light and illuminated the ce for them.
"So this is the pit huh?".
Hallie remarked looking at the numerous tunnels at the edges of the underground space. These tunnels weren''t big, they only allowed at most three people to walk side by side. If they were to encounter a monster on this pathway, it would probably be a little troublesome.
"Looks like the other teams have already entered those tunnels. Let us also be on our way then" Tiana, Anna and Hallie led the team from the front while the others cautiously followed behind them.
Their team already had the smallest number out of the seven teams to begin with and they left half of it on the surface to wait for the primary team to arrive. Therefore only around 200 people from the mage guild entered the pit.
The pathways were dark and gloomy, muck and filth littered the ce. Sometimes, a crisp cracking sound would echo in the tunnel whenever one stepped on some bones. Who did these bones belonged to?
That was a question none of these girls wanted to think about. Some of the bones clearly had bestial features while some had the outlines of a human. This dark and contained ce was enough to make anyone ustrophobic.
"It is weird" Tiana muttered under her breath as she observed her surroundings.
"Big sister, what''s wrong?" Anna asked from the sides, she was looking at the bones and made a revolted face.
"It has been a while since we entered the pit yet we haven''t met a single monster till now. ording to the adventurers of the tower town, the pit should be frolicking with monsters. However, we are yet to encounter even one. Don''t you think it''s weird?" Tiana stated the bizarreness of the situation.
"Now that elder sister has mentioned it, it is quite weird. Could it be that all the monsters were attracted by the other six teams when they entered?" Hallie questioned ying with her staff in boredom.
Tiana frowned she did not say anything and simply extended her staff to conjure a Light magic spell.
"Light Magic Mastery:- [Light of Dawn]".
A speckle of light as big as an egg materialised, it sped toward the front with Tiana''smand leaving behind glitters of light. The team from the mage guild silently waited for Tiana toplete her magic.
Being a mage themselves and belonging to the same guild, they understood quite well what kind of magic Tiana conjured. It was simr to an Assassin''s skill [Pathfinder], the light magic [Dawn of Light] charted out the correct path for the caster.
It was quite useful in situations where there are winding paths and abnormal conditions barring your vision. The mist on the upper floors could easily be confronted because of the existence of such kinds of skills.
"I found the path, it looks like the other teams are waiting at the end".
Tiana noted after finding the exit. The team proceeded forward and soon the narrow pathway opened up to reveal a huge space much like the one they dropped down to after falling inside the pit.
Whileing out of the passageway, they all failed to notice the many tiny four leaf clovers growing at the edges of the ground. These tiny clovers were so inconspicuous that they were like wild weeds that would be stepped over by the people without them even noticing it.
No sane person would always keep activating their [Analysis] at every little loitering in the ground but if they did, perhaps there was a one per cent chance that they would notice the flour leaf clovers hiding amongst the weeds that was growing all across the edges of this underground space.
Tiana and her team stepped into the underground space to see arge mysterious ruin standing at the other end of the ce. The various teams that had reached here earlier than them, were gathered in front of the ruins.
The armours on Marcus, Kenan, Park and the other geniuses were extremely conspicuous even from this distance, so it wasn''t hard to spot them from thousands of people.
CHATTER¡ CHATTER¡ the ce was noisy as many people discussed something. At the centre of the crowd, there seemed to be some kind ofmotion going on among the leaders of the team.
Chapter 555 555- Trapped
"What''s wrong?" Tiana and her two sisters, approached the crowd. Since they were thest one to arrive here, they were unaware of the cause of thismotion.
Marcus''s who was trying to settle the quarrel between two geniuses of the two big guilds pointed at the huge seven doors behind him and said "It''s because of the ruins that we found. They are quarrelling because of the sh in opinions as to whether we should proceed forward or not".
Tiana and the others listened to the people arguing. Some were saying that they should explore the ruins, and some were of the opinion that they should wait for the primary team. While the other were indecisive or neutral.
"Haha, wait for the primary team to arrive? Oi-Oi.. I didn''t know that the Baskerville guild were just a bunch of cowards?" Levin Field from the Phantom Light guild mocked. The people from his guildughed at those from the said guild.
"Levin you bastard, watch your words. My Baskerville guild isn''t afraid of anyone. I''m just saying that those ruins are very unusual, it could be one of those mysterious chambers we have encountered on our way here".
"The monsters inside these chambers are always strong, even the traps are trickier. If we are not careful, some people might get injured. It would be better for the primary team who have years if experience diving inside the dungeon to explore it rather than us" Bastille defended his guild.
"Heh, it''s the same as being a coward. Hmph, if you are so afraid of exploring an unknown ce, then you shouldn''t have joined this expedition. You all should have just stayed inside the safety of your guild headquarters" Levin mocked some more.
"?... Aren''t those two from the same team, why are they fighting?" Hallie asked tilting her head. She had seen the two geniuses of the two guilds working as a team when they arrived on the 34th floor.
"It''s not unusual for a teamprising of two or more guilds to quarrel when there is a difference in opinion. In the first ce, they were working together because they had a same goal and that was to reach the 34th floor before the other teams".
"A tertiary team of a single big guild isn''t strong enough to match the teams of top five guild, thus to make it fair, the guild leaders of various guilds proposed the idea of working together. All of it was just so that they can be the expedition leader. However, now that position was secured by the guild leader of savannah beast guild, these teams have nomon goal to work for" Tiana exined things to Hallie.
"Right, but it is not only that. I have heard from my father that the Phantom Light guild have two sessors who are intensely fighting for the position of the junior guild master. Levin Field who is one of the sessors is trying to raise his value to the higher ups of his guild by trying to gain merits and aplishment in this mission. For him, this expedition might be his biggest chance to get the big shot of his guild to his side".
Marcus who was listening from the sides, added after Tiana.
"Well in any case, this discussion wouldn''t go anywhere if they don''t stop arguing. How about we decide this with a show of hands. Based on what the majority wants we decided whether to explore these ruins or not?".
Marcus shrugged his shoulders and came up with a solution. His natural qualities and the take charge attitude made him quite the leader at his young age.
Marcus''s words clearly had a lot of weight after all, he was the strongest person here. The geniuses of the various guilds contemted for a while before nodding their heads.
"Alright, raise your hands if you are of the opinion that we should wait for the primary team to arrive" Marcus spoke his voice loud and clear for everybody to hear.
About a thousand people raised their hands, it wasn''t just the Baskerville guild other guilds also had simr opinions. What was shocking was that even Tiana and the mage guild she led also raised their hands.
Marcus nodded his head¡
"Now then, those who are of the opinion that we should explore the ruins before the primary team arrive, raise your hands".
This time, around neen hundred people raise their hands. The number was clearly higher than the opinion to wait here. Amongst those that raised their hands was the crimson demolition guild, Sea god''s guild, the phantom light guild.
Astonishingly, even Marcus and his Savannah beast guild sided with the opinion to explore the ruins.
The people who didn''t raise their hands were either unsure or couldn''t make up their mind.
"Haha, it''s decided then. We will explore the ruins. Those cowardly guilds who are too afraid, can just stay behind" Levinughed, his mockery seemed to have irked those who didn''t want to go or were unsure.
What these egoistic younger generation brats of the various guild who were showered with praises and admiration by those around them, disliked the most was being looked down upon. When put like that, there was no way they would allow someone to dishonour their guild and their pride.
They determined themselves to explore the ruins in a show of proving the other party wrong.
"I didn''t think that you wanted to explore the ruins?" Tiana asked turning her eyes towards Marcus.
Theter nonchntly shrugged his shoulders and said "Do you see any other exit that would lead us out of this pit? I believe that the exit lies inside those ruins. In any case, I believe in the potential of my team. Even if there are dangers lying inside, as long as we work as a team, we should be able to ovee it. What about you, what does your guild wants to do?".
Tiana sighed, since the moment she entered this dungeon, she felt like she was being swept by a wave that she had no control of.
"It''s as you said, we have to find the exit to get out of here. I had sent a few of my magic [Dawn of light] to explore the tunnels earlier and every path led to this ce".
If they wanted to go back to the surface, they had to explore the ruins. Thus even though many teams and guilds were bickering with each other, they still entered the ruins and explored every corner of it.
Unlike thest time when these people jumped into the pit in seven teams, now they were all split into their guilds with each heading off to a different part of the ruins to explore. The ruins, although it looked old, it had signs of being newly made.
The stones still had that fresh scent to it and the algae on the walls looked like they had newly formed. The ce had many crisscrossing cracks and the sound of water could be heard flowing underneath them.
Additionally, the ce was also filled with numerous deadly traps, such asva pit, pitfalls, acidic traps, guillotines and boulders that came rolling down at you.
These traps might be lethal to others, but the group that was exploring the ruins, were best of the best if they were just the tertiary team. the adventurer teams explored the ruins for dozens of minutes before they came around to a gigantic inner hall at the end of which stood huge seven doors.
These huge seven doors, were carved with hideous looking beasts and depictions of cruelty. The various teams that spread everywhere, rendezvous inside the inner hall. With a quick count, anyone could see that all of the top guilds and those that came immediately after that were all here.
Only a handful of few guilds were absent.
"What happened to the other guilds?" Marcus asked finding it odd that some of the guilds weren''t here yet.
"Who knows? Leave them be, they might have given up on exploring the ruins midway and have gone out to wait for the primary team to arrive".
Kenan Lantz from the crimson demolition guildmented. He and his team were observing the closed door that did not budge open even they exerted all their strength.
"Everybody, be careful. This might be some kind of trap" Gallio Stard from the Assassin guild said. His various sensory skills were alerting him of some kind of danger that was behind these doors.
Everybody nodded their heads; nevertheless, they weren''t too worried after all, they all were geniuses and from the top twenty guilds of the kingdom.
"Why isn''t the door opening? Should we try to st it open with our powers?" it wasn''t known who came up with this idea, maybe it was somebody from the crowd who spoke.
However, it was well received, many even tried to use their abilities to push open the gates only to be stopped by Tiana, Gallio and a few perceptive ones.
"We don''t know what kind of reaction destroying the doors would end up triggering. Hence destroying he door should be ourst option. Since these are doors, there must be a way to open them".
Everybody fell into thought after those words from Tiana. Time ticked down slowly yet they were unable to find a single clue. Just as they were getting impatient, a magic circle suddenly erupted in front of the sixth gate and those people who were around it, suddenly disappeared.
"What?! What just happened?" Kenan who wasn''t paying attention to the sixth gate shouted in shock.
Chapter 556 556- Trapped (2)
It was not only him but everybody was so. Nobody expected a magic circle to appear in front of the sixth gate and make the people around it disappear.
"I think that was a teleport circle, those people who were standing there might have been teleported inside the door" Hallie mused. Her master Karina was a little aplished when it came to the field of space magic.
Being her direct disciple, Hallie too learned a few things. From what she could tell, those spatial fluctuations when the magic circle arrived, were definitely from the usage of space magic.
This is to say, that the people near the sixth door didn''t just disappear but were actually teleported somewhere. This exnation of her was much easier for others to ept than the mysterious disappearance of the people.
"I see, then does that mean that the only way to go to the other end of the door is to trigger that magic circle or something?" Marcus came to the same realisation. He team and his were near the first door right next to the second door where Hallie and the mage guild were.
"But how do we do that?".
They have been trying to evoke some response from the doors for a while; however, no matter what they did it did not budge. As the crowd was searching for any kind of hidden mechanism, another magic circle appeared.
This time it was in front of the fourth door and teleported the people from the phantom light guild, sky shing de and a few other big guilds.
"Not again, how did those people do this?"¡
"Is there something that we are missing?" the crowd discussed.
Some people were ready for something like this to happen thus they clearly saw the scene this time and pondered something over in their heads.
"It''s because of the numbers".
Most of them arrived at the same conclusion. They were sure that there are no hidden mechanisms to trigger the magic circle, those people that were teleported earlier only managed to do so because of their numbers.
As far as they could tell, the people gathered around those two doors, at a time were around five hundred. A quick headcount told them that there were around 3500 people when they came to this inner hall out of which exactly 1000 people were missing.
If it was as they thought, then didn''t it mean that all they had to do was¡
The idea was worth trying. Marcus was the first one to move, he had brought over exactly 500 people from his team down to the pit. He and his team stepped in front of the first door and in front of many amazed eyes, they triggered the magic circle.
A magic circle withplex runes surfaced from the ground and with a ring light teleported all of them somewhere.
With Marcus taking the lead, the other guilds also followed suit. Even the most simpleton ones also understood something after seeing so many people disappear one after the other and soon all of the 3500 people in the hall teleported inside the seven big doors.
-----
While all of this was happening, on another corner of the ruins. Blood and gore were spilled everywhere, adventurers were running like headless chickens as they stepped on the bodies of those slower than them.
Everybody was doing their best to get away even if they needed to betray their friends or drag them down with them.
A simple way to exin the situation would be an absolute mayhem, many people died just like by getting stepped on.
These people who were currently running away were none other than the adventurers from the few guilds that tried to secretly leave the ruins while the other teams gathered in the inner hall. The Baskerville guild, Absolute Sea Guild were some of the few among that number.
So who are these adventurers who are from the top twenty guilds of the kingdom, running from?
The answer was the being behind them that slowly galloped towards them on that wretched looking Antler. The being held an enormous scythe in his hand and was covered in a ck robe from head to toe.
Yet when it looked up, inside those dark hood one could see a face that was the personification of pain and agony. Those hands that swung the scythe, were like countless snakes wiggling around each other, even if you cut them, they regrow and wiggle back once again.
Whether it be magic, or their skills, nothing could damage this nightmarish looking being that was standing guard at the entrance of the ruins.
In front of the overwhelming might of this being, none of their attacks mattered, their resistance was pitiful in front of its scythe that harvested their life with every swing. It was weirdly beautiful yet at the same time it raise all the hairs in their body.
The only thing fair in this current situation was perhaps the swing of its scythe that granted each and every one of them death without any partiality or bias.
"Fuck.. Fuck.. Fuck¡ What the fuck is that?!".
Bastille from the Baskerville guild screamed. He was one of the first people to run when he saw the high levelled adventurer he brought with him die in an instant. His idea to pretend to go along with the other teams to explore the mysterious ruin and then sneak out when nobody was looking, hadpletely backfired.
Who would have thought that a being like this would be waiting on the path where they came in from? If that thing guarded the entrance, there was no way they can go out of the ruins.
Desperate, these people stumbled upon the inner hall after running from that monster. However, finding the inner hall didn''t evoke any joy from them, on the contrary, almost all of them had a ghastly white face as they looked at whaty in front of them.
As if the being behind them wasn''t enough, two more simr beings were currently waiting for them in front of the seven enormous doors.
"This must be a nightmare" Bastille spoke, his eyes devoid of any hope.
------
Inside the entrance to the second door, a group of around 500 people teleported. What''s unique about the group was that the majority of them were females belonging to the same guild while the others were from different guilds.
Tiana, her two sisters and the people she led, teleported in front of a dark passageway lit up by numerous phosphorescence crystals and luminant grass.
"Woah, elder sister it really did work?" Halliemented after seeing that they teleported to a different ce.
"So it really was the case. I was wondering why there was no mechanism or clues for opening the doors, it turned out that there was a hidden condition that we needed to trigger".
Tiana observed her surroundings, around there were exactly 500 people and behind her was the door, that remained unbudged no matter what they tried.
She looked at the door behind them for a while and only after seeing that nobody other than them had teleported, that she was sure of her guess.
Only five hundred people were allowed inside a door at a given point in time. That is to say, now that they were here, the other wouldn''t be able to enter this door. It was also because of this reason that they were unable to enter the fifth and sixth doors that triggered the teleportation circle first.
This at the same time also meant that nobody would be able to exit this ce without clearing whatever that was waiting for them ahead.
BOOOM¡ to further prove her words, a few girls from her guild fired consecutive magics; nheless, it did not even dent the door.
"Tiana, what are you nning to do?" A man donned in a leather armour that was clearly made of some high ss beast''s hide, said as he walked up to Tiana. This man who had no presence to talk about whatsoever, carried a badge on his chest that depicted a dark ck de.
Assassins guild, there was no other guild that carried such a symbol on their chest.
Other than the people from the mage guild, the people from the assassins guild were also here.
"Gallio, so you are also amongst those people that followed us?" Tiana turned her eye towards the man. Because his presence was so low, she only just noticed him when he talked to her.
This man whose presence was so low that anyone would just pass by him without even noticing him, was also the future sessor of the assassins guild, Gallio Stard.
"Haha, don''t put it like that. You make it sound like I was following you guys. My team is assigned with the task to follow you guys and report it back to the main camp, I cannot help it" Gallio shrugged his shoulders and smiled bitterly.
"By the way, I know that you have already noticed it but I still wanted to tell you that this ce is weird. All of my sensory skills are ring alerts to me, in my field of vision the path forward is covered with the colour of red".
Tiana''s beautiful eyes which were indifferent up until now, trembled a little when she heard Gallio''s words.
"In your vision, the colour red that you see, is it a deep shade?" Tiana asked, a shadow of concern could be seen on her face. She was one of the few people who knew Gallio had one of the extremely rare mutated physiques, the [Mystic Eyes].
In terms of rarity, the [Mystic Eyes] was even above a Rare Legendary skill because of how special the eyes were.
Chapter 557 557- Trapped (3)
[Mystic Eyes], it was an extremely mysterious physique that allowed one to see or even predict the oue or a possible future based on the colours and the choice they make. ording to some legends that her guild master told her, the [Mystic eyes] might even be able to see through fate and destiny.
So if Gallio was telling them to be careful, Tiana knew better than to ignore his words.
Gallio nodded his head but the next second he frowned his brows, a look of hesitation appeared on his face for a second or two.
"Although it is a deep shade of red, it is at the same time also another colour".
"Another colour? What does that suppose to mean?" Tiana only knew a little information about the eyes thus she didn''t understand what Gallio meant by another colour.
Gallio did not answer her, and instead muttered to himself "The colour of purple, this is the first time that this colour appeared. What could it mean?".
Even he was amazed that his eyes would show a totally different colour that he had never seen before, at this point in time. If it had only just shown him the deep red colour, he wouldn''t have been that amazed after all, he had seen it many times.
Most of the time when sparing against the people of his own guild. The colour red indicated that it was dangerous and that he should proceed with care, the deeper the shade of red, the higher the danger.
The path ahead of them was also a deep shade of red, just like that time when he sparred with his guild leader, Cassius Grey the guild master of the Assassins Guild.
Seeing Gallio go silent, Tiana lightly bit her lips and pondered. Excluding the number of people from the mage guild she brought with her into the pit which roughly made up half of their numbers, the rest belonged to two big guilds called the Lighting Rain and Typhoon Thunder.
The people from the Assassins guild made up for even less.
Given their numbers and their guilds, no matter whaty ahead of them it shouldn''t pose too much danger. "It''s just a low ranking dungeon after all" Tiana convinced herself.
It may be her first time leading a team into a dungeon, but it wasn''t her first time inside a dungeon. Hence she rallied her team and all those people around her before cautiously walking through the caverns lit up by luminous ores and nts.
The group of 500 people marched through the pathway before arriving in front of arge grasnd, the size of which was ten times the chamber where they previously were.
The entire ce was full of lush green grass that reached up to their ankles and a clear breeze swept over the ce from time to time. The breeze carried a sweet scent that tickled their nose and calmed their minds.
When Tiana and her team arrived at these grasnds, the first thing they did was get into formation. They observed their surroundings while maintaining their caution. However, when they saw nothing unusual happening even after a while did they slowly dropped their guards.
"What is going on? Why aren''t there any monsters in this ce? ording to the recount of the adventurers, this ce should be brimming with monsters. Yet we are unable to spot one even after diving inside the pit and arriving at this mysterious ce".
Tiana voiced her concern. Her two sisters Anna and Hallie were frowning intensely too.
"That shouldn''t be, in my vision this ce is still in red in fact the colour is slowly bing darker and darker" Gallio added with a grim voice.
What was going on? The ce was devoid of any dangers, there was not even a shadow of monsters to be seen anywhere. On the contrary, these grasnds gave others the feeling of just lying down andze for a few hours.
This unusual peace was making them sluggish and drowsy, fortunately for them, they had the perfect ce to rest their bodies.
''Wait¡ sleepy?''...
Just as this thought arrived inside Tiana''s mind, her eyes opened wide and her pupils contracted to the size of a pinpoint.
She turned her head around and saw that everyone around her was also drowsy. It was only now that she realised that they had fallen onto a trap.
"Everyone cover your nose, do not breathe in the sweet scent in the air".
Her panicked voice startled others. The people from the mage guild had enough trust in Tiana thus they immediately covered their nose while the people from the other guilds who made up the rest of the numbers, took their sweet time.
"Gallio¡ look all around you, can you really not determine where the colour of danger ising from?".
Gallio who was called out, activated his [Mystic Eyes] once again. Understanding that something was amiss, he observed everything carefully to the point of straining his eyes. Yet no matter how carefully he observed his surroundings, he couldn''t find the reason behind the colour of danger his vision was painted with.
As far as he could remember, his [Mystic Eyes] started showing signs of danger from the moment they arrive before the mysterious ruins. However, at that time it was only the colour of yellow which meant that it needed attention and a little bit of caution.
But as they kept going in, the colour of yellow started turning darker until it turned red in front of the chamber where the seven doors was.
Now after they entered one of the doors, the colour was a dark shade of red; nevertheless, the cause for this sense of danger was yet to be identified.
''Was the enemy hiding underneath the ground?'' just as his train of thought led him till here, a thud noise of something falling on the ground sounded out.
An adventurer from one of the big guilds, had fallen on the ground. The people around that person called out to him yet he didn''t respond.
THUD... THUD¡ THUD¡
After that first person, many more adventurers fell onto the ground in a simr fashion. When their vitals were checked, it was found that they were still breathing. However, they were unconscious and foam wasing out of their mouth.
That was when everybody realised¡ "Poison".
It was not known who shouted it, but everyone hurriedly covered their nose. Though it was already toote, the poison had already entered their respiratory system and was slowly taking its effects.
"So it really was poisonous" Tianamented. She downed a vial of antidote that she had already prepared before diving inside the dungeon and covered her face with a veil of cloth. Following her actions, the others too hurriedly took out various medicines from their space rings.
"Where is the poisoning from?" the question was hanging over everyone''s head.
"Below" Gallio''s hoarse voice came at this moment. He had been staring at the ground he was standing on with dark ashen eyes for a while.
"We have been had, the entire grasnd¡ No, the entire mysterious ruins was booby trapped from the beginning".
His words caused the crowd to be silent and a cold chill to run down their spine.
"What do you mean?" Tiana asked sensing the gravity of the situation.
Gallio gave a dryugh before pointing below them "Look below, the poison ising from the¡"
"Everyone be alert, we havepany"...
Gallio''s words were drowned by Hallie who shouted at the first sings of sensing magic in the distance.
RUMBLE¡ her words only just rang out when the ground started trembling intensely. The wind rustling the grass stopped, and a light appeared in the distance.
WHOOSH¡ WHOOSH¡ WHOOSH¡ one by one, these lights started appearing in the distance. If one strained their eyes and looked into the distance, they would be able to see that the light wasing from a tree.
To put it more precisely, the trees burning in the distance were providing this light. What was unusual about the situation was that these trees ignited all of a sudden and the fires seemed to faintly take the forms of leaves.
Weirdly enough, the enthralling mes looked like it was a part of the tree, as if the tree was meant to be burning. The sight caused the adventurers from the various guilds to hurriedly raise their guards.
However, what shocked them was what came next. Numerous magic circles started appearing on the other end of the grasnd. It appeared on the ground, air, ceiling and the walls.
Monsters came pouring out of it in a never ending droves. At a nce, there were more than tens of thousands of them and that number was gradually increasing. Not only that, even the types of monsters that came out were many.
Some werend born, some aerial born, some had sharp beaks, while others had menacing fangs. Even their race was different. If there was something inmon between them, it would be that all of them were denizens of fire.
The bodies of monsters zed with fire.
SHIREEKKK¡ the monster released a wild cry as soon as they appeared and fixed their gaze on the humans in the distance. Their eyes zed with unconcealed bloodlust as they charged forward.
"It''s just one problem after another. Everyone stay on your toes, and maintain your formation at every cost. The enemy may appear intimidating because of their number but in terms of levels, they are inferior to us".
"As long as we fight together as a single unit, it should be a problem for us to survive the horde. Warriors you just need to hold down the monsters, leave disposing them to the magicians of my guild. We will st them with magic powerful enough to blow them into smithereens".
Chapter 558 558- Trapped (4)
"Anna you will hold down the frontlines with me, Hallie try to conserve your mana as much as you can. If a strong monster shows up, we will have to depend on your magic to get us through".
Tiana gave out onemand after another. Only then did she turn towards Gallio and asked "I''m sorry, what were you saying about the ground again?".
Gallio looked at the oing horde, before revealing the existence of something that had gone unnoticed by them till now.
"So you are telling me the poison ising from the four leaf clover?" Tiana muttered in a dour mood. She lowered her gaze and looked carefully at the ground.
Indeed, there were many four leaf clovers growing inconspicuously amidst the grass. If one didn''t pay enough attention to them, they would gopletely unnoticed by anyone. In fact, if not for Gallio pointing it out, Tiana wouldn''t even have noticed them.
"Poison Detoxifying Clover¡ dammit, how could we fall for such a simple trap" when she used her [Analysis] on it, it finally revealed the true effects of the seemingly inconspicuous clover prompting her to step them underneath her boots.
Their conversation made many others to also notice the poison detoxifying clover. Their face turned visibly ugly the moment they used analysis on it. The sweet scent in the air that made them tired and sluggish, was being released in the air by these very devilish nts.
Now not only would they have to fight the hordes of monsters while all sluggish and drowsy, but they would also have to be careful not to inhale too much poison and knock themselves unconscious like the others.
Nheless, that wasn''t the only problem that they had to face¡
"We have got another problem, I am unable to connect with the main camp on the 20th floor" Galiio spoke with a tense voice, the transmitter conch on his hand was unable to send the signal back to the other transmitter.
A heavy atmosphere descended onto the ce making the mood even gloomier. Everybody could feel a sense of crisis at this moment as they watched the monsters rush towards them from the distance.
Their wild roars heavily pounding into the hearts of these adventurers from the big guilds who for the first time were experiencing a situation where their life was at stake.
Their morale was plummeting fast when a brilliant explosion erupted into the distance and engulfed more than a hundred monsters at once. All eyes turned towards the caster of that magic.
There on the frontlines, was a beautiful fairy like girl standing undauntingly while facing the hordes of monsters all on her own. Her delicate figure, which seemed like it would scatter with the breeze, was facing the monsters without any fear.
Her courage and valour stood out like a beacon of light in this darkest of hours and encouraged many.
? That quiet and beautiful figure was none other than Hallie May. Tiana and Anna looked at the silhouette of their junior sister who was younger than them yet had more courage than them. All hesitation disappeared from their face, reced by a determined expression.
The entire ce was covered by poison, thebat potential have been reduced, they were facing an unknown number of monsters and they were unable to contact the main camp. There was no denying it, they had fallen headfirst into this trap that has been carefullyid for them since the moment they entered the pit.
With the transmission conch not working, they couldn''t wait for the main team toe rescue them. Their only hope in surviving this was to tackle the obstacle and ovee it.
"Let the light free you of all fears¡ [Brave Heart]" Tiana cast a wide AOE light magic.
A pir of light descended onto the crowd immediately uplifting their spirits and suppressing all negative debuffs.
"Those who do not have an antidote with them, take this. It will help negate the effects of the poison in your body for the time being. Those who have it, share some with the ones around you".
Tiana took out several vials of antidote and passed it to the people who showed the most signs of being poisoned. After each of the adventurers drank the antidote, she turned her attention towards the approaching horde of monsters who were only a few dozen meters away from them and raised her staff.
"There is no path back for us, if you want to survive, you all better work together with my team. So what if we have fallen for the trap? Didn''t we dive inside the pit while fully knowing the dangers? So what if we are surrounded by monsters? Haven''t we faced such situations many times while on our way here?"
"We all are from the most powerful guilds in the entire kingdom of Elsmere. There is no obstacle that we cannot clear. So raise your weapons high, and let''s crush these monsters".
Tiana''s rallying cry invigorated the crowd. They boldly brandished their weapons and collided with the iing hordes of monsters. Thus a gruesome battle for survival started. Bodies of monsters dropped on the ground one after the other. Battered by various skills and sted into smithereens by magic.
However, like an unending horde, the monsters came pouring out of the magic circles and rushing towards adventurers..
Little by little, they started chipping away at the strength of the adventurers, their stamina started dropping and their attacks became dull. Finally, an adventurer was overwhelmed, causing an opening for the monsters to exploit.
Their attacks started bing even more fierce and soon that adventurer sumbed to his injuries and died. This caused the load on the others around him, to increase.
Gradually, even the other adventurers on the frontlines were starting to be pushed back...
"Frost Magic Mastery¡ª [Frozen Prison]"...
When a st of icy cold wind appeared out of nowhere and froze the zing bodies of the monsters all around them in hundreds of meters of area.
"Change positions with the other teams and rest for while" Hallie''s soft voice rang near their ears snapping them out of their daze. These adventurers hurriedly followed theirmand and swapped with the other team using this chance.
After supporting the team that needed the most help, Hallie returned back to her position beside Tiana and Anna who were discussing something with Gallio.
"How does the situation look?".
"Not too good, the monsters are behaving very primitively, it is as if they are out for our blood. That kind of bloodthirst isn''t natural. Also when they attack they do not fear death nor do they defend. It is as if they do not regard their own life and are deliberately pitting their bodies against us with the single goal to tear us apart in mind. We are holding on somehow because their attacks are wild and easy to predict" Hallie replied.
"I see, that kind of behaviour isn''t natural, something must be spurring them to do so" Tiana who was providing timely healing to the front liners assessed. Her eyes turned towards Gallio who was still looking at the ground with consternation.
"What''s wrong?" She asked.
"I don''t know¡ the enemies are right in front of us and we have already taken precautions against the poison detoxifying clover yet for some reason, the colour of the ground in my vision is still painted red. I am unable to determine the reason for it".
Gallio caressed his eyes that have been strained far too much after repeatedly using the [Mystic Eyes].
"What should we do elder sister?" Anna asked locking her brows in a frown. She used her spell to st a couple dozens of monsters into smithereens.
Tiana mused for a while beforeing to a resolution¡ª"Alright we shall be careful of the ground. As for the monsters, although their number is too much, it hasn''t reached the point where we can''t handle it. There might be a few casualties, but we should be able to get through it without any trouble".
They weren''t just empty words, Tiana really did believe so. Even if the monsters seemed like an unending horde, their level was at the end around level 300-350. Each and every person in her team that she brought with her inside the pit was above level 350.
In terms of quality, they had the upper hand not to mention, the monster they were facing were all unintelligent and attacking without a shred of tactic.
There was no way they would lose, Tiana was right in believing so however, she had failed to consider one thing and that was the poison detoxifying clover wasn''t the only trap that was set up on this floor.
If she had mulled on Gallio''s words some more, and considered burning the grass around them first, perhaps they would have been able to prevent what was about to transpire.
-----
Coming back to the present, the entire grasnd was filled with an atmosphere of destruction and destion. Bodies of both humans and monsters could be seen sprawled all around the ce, their innards and blood painting a gruesome sight.
Fire and smoke spread everywhere, burning every nt and green that was on thesends.
In the middle of this encirclement of fire, was a group of humans covered in dust and injuries. They were all huffing and puffing, as they defeated one monster after another.
Out of their initial number of five hundred, only a little more than a hundred people were still standing. The rest have either sumbed to their injuries, shred into pieces by monsters or fallen prey to the traps.
The sight was a dreadful one to watch, theirrades and the friends they shared a conversation with a couple of hours ago, were all gone. The pain and the struggle that had befallen the ones that had survived, could only be imagined.
Chapter 559 [Bonus ] 559- Group Effort
However, this tragedy was yet to end, there were still thousands of monsters encircling them from all around, looking at them with those bloodthirsty eyes of theirs. Although they have stopped pouring out of the magic circles, the surviving people weren''t in the position to say that they can safely clear it out.
"Dammit¡ [Healing Rain]"...
A pir of light rose into the air before scattering into thousands of tiny particles and raining down on the tired and injured adventurers.
After healing her remaining team, Tiana moved from her ce and timely avoided the sharp attack of a Pyrodactyl that dive bombed at her. Next, she moved around lithely and avoided the sharp jaws of ze Wolves while at the same time casting Light magic to buff her allies.
[Concurrent Chant] an ability that allowed one to cast magic while moving. It was a necessary skill that every mage needed to acquire to be an elite in the mage guild.
Tiana, Anna, Hallie and the remaining fifty or so mages that survived the afterught, were capable of concurrent chant. Hence even when the formation broke and the frontlines were unable to hold down the monsters, these mages were able to cast their magic and avoid dying.
Nevertheless, everything had its limit. Skills depended on physical abilities and mana to activate, one cannot continue using it again and again without getting tired.
Out of the hundred and twenty people or so remaining, around half of them were from the mage guild, the adventurers from the Assassins guild ounted for one-fourth of that number and the remaining survivors were from the two big guilds.
More precisely, it was the geniuses who were being protected by their guilds remained alive. The rest had died while protecting them or used as shields or bait.
GULP¡ GULP¡ Gallio downed the contents of a vial and threw it on the ground "That was myst antidote. I''m almost out of potions too and I''m running on fumes. I don''t know how long I can hold on".
He had been conserving his elixirs and mana during the entire fight yet in a couple of hours he was almost out of it. The others around him had long finished their stocks and were on theirst leg too. In a situation like this, it would be asking them for a tall order to clear the remaining hordes of monsters.
He looked at his remainingrades and the ones that had fallen. A resolute light shed in his eyes...
"If ites to this I will go all out and take you all with me".
Gallio was prepared to die; however, before he could do so, Tiana ced her hand on top is shoulder and stopped him.
"There is no need for you to sacrifice yourself. Hallie will take care of it".
"Huh?" Gallio muttered in a daze.
"Hallie has a magic that can cover the entire grasnds and wipe out all of these monsters at once" Tiana exined, one could also see the signs of exhaustion on her beautiful face.
"If you had something like this, why didn''t you use it before? If it can cover the entire grasnds and wipe all the monsters a lot of lives would have been saved" Gallio was so heated in that spur of the moment that he lost control of his emotions.
His eyes red at Hallie who was avoiding his gaze. One couldn''t me him after all, he had lost a lot of brothers from his guild. On top of that, he did not know what had happened to other members of his guild who had tagged along with the other teams and gone inside different floors.
"It''s because I have been stopping Hallie from using that magic" Tiana came in defence of her little sister.
"Why?" Galiio''s voice was hoarse.
"It''s because it puts too much strain on her [Mana Lines] and she can''t use it more than once a day. I wasn''t sure if there were any other traps or powerful beings waiting for us thus I hesitated on using our trump card. However, now that it hase to this point, I have no choice but to allow her to use it".
Tiana''s words were calm and practical but one could see the pain and remorse in her eyes. Being the leader of this team, she bore the responsibility of all their lives. Each and every life that was lost, was like a dagger stabbing into her heart.
Amongst those who had died wererades and people that she used to know. The guild she was feeling could be imagined, if only she asked Hallie to use the magic earlier, if only she had burnt down the entire grasnds, then those demonic vines wouldn''t have caught them off guard.
If it wasn''t for that trap that appeared when they least expected them and drained them of their energy, all of this wouldn''t have¡ Tiana sighed, there was no medicine for regret.
She epted the hate filled res of the adventurers from other guilds around her and nodded at Hallie who raised her staff high.
A vast amount of mana surged out of her body and quickly covered hundreds of meters ofnd. Wind started blowing out of nowhere and the fire in the surrounding started dimming.
Hallies'' lips moved and a beautiful song like chant came out of her mouth. Every line, every chant was lyrical and melodious to hear.
Her song ensnared the attention of everyone, it was as if the song itself had some kind of power, even the charging monsters who were filled with bloodthirst and murderous intent, stopped.
The entire ce had halted, as if time had stopped.
Slowly, the verses of the song took shape and the vast mana pouring out of Hallie amalgamated together to form a new kind of magic. The temperature of this ce was starting to plummet and the magic was about to take form when a dull heavy noise came from the passageway where the door that led to this ce was located.
BANG¡ the noise became louder and with a heavy bang, something came flying out of the passageway and dropped on the ground in front of them.
All eyes fell on the thing that came out of the passageway. To their surprise, it was the door that had barred their exit from this ce.
The door that did not budge even after taking all their magic, was at this moment bent out of shape. However, what was surprising wasn''t the door or it being out of shape, but the silhouette of a figure that was standing on top of it.
------
A couple of minutes ago, inside the White Pce, Main Floor.
Simon and his closest aides were watching all the scenes that was unfolding within the spaces inside those doors.
"I must admit, that teleportation magic of yours worked quite well Bea".
Simon praised, his eyes glued to the window which showed the chamber and the seven doors that were installed on it. The teleportation circle that appeared after exactly 500 people stepped in front of a door was something that was set up using Bea''s help.
"Master is over praising me. I cannot take all the credit. The door made by Sir wisp is quite strong too" a little ttered and a little embarrassed by those words, Bea smiled joyfully.
Wisp too made some happy sonar noise. The door that Tiana and the others had so much difficulty putting a dent on, was made from a special alloy that was discovered in the territory of the high orcs.
It was called Iridium and was by far the sturdiest metal below Mythril. It was difficult to process and was one of the mainponents required for manufacturing Andromedas Mk 9 and above.
Because the territory of the orcs was sitting on top of a humongous iridium deposit and went unmined for hundreds of years, Simon had lucked out quite a bit. With his agreement with the diluvian high orcs, he was free to mine the deposit as much as he wants.
In fact, he had sent several Mk 11 Andromedas to mine those ces as they are sitting here.
The Andromedas was a technology that didn''t belong to this world, and was by far the most advanced thing. The Mechas were something that the inhabitants of this world had never seen before. Its potential and capabilities were limitless.
Given that, it would be foolish not to invest in their production when it could be a huge asset to him. These cold war machines were one of the key aspects unique to his dungeon and was deeply connected to its safety and development.
Not only that, it was also connected to his growth and the path that he would walk in the future, would surely require their help. That is why, it was a good thing that the Andromedas were being improved steadily.
On that note¡ "How are they faring against the team from the strongest guild currently inside the dungeon?".
Simon turned his gaze towards one of the windows that depicted the scenes from the first door. The space where Marcus and his team went to.
[BEEP-BOOP-BEEP-BEEP-BOOP] the wisp released a multitude of sonar noises.
All his other subordinates tilted their heads. Since they didn''t have a spiritual connection with the Wisp like him, they were unable to understand what it meant.
"Big brother, what is it saying?" Cecilia who was sitting by his side, asked. She wanted to hold this ball of light in her embrace; however, Wisp didn''t allow it and always escaped her contact.
"It''s saying that although the andromedas Mk 9 can hold its own against even a level 400 opponents, it still needs a lot more adjustments. Many of the original weapons of the Mk 9 are still not developed yet and the frame needs a lot more work too" Simon exined.
Chapter 560 560- Group Effort (2)
"Well, given that they were able to corner our enemy this much even though they were produced hastily, I would say they were a sess. Although the unfinished version cannot bepared to a level 400 yet, they aren''t too far either I would say they are around level 380".
The window that depicted the scenes of the first door, was devastated beyond recognition. Smoke and dust rose everywhere, metallic scraps and pieces littered the ground causing sparks and fire everywhere.
There was no hint of the previous greenery in the ce anymore, it was reced by gorged earth andrge craters everywhere. In the middle of this mountain of scraps, were a group of people maintain a tight formation.
In the forefront of this formation leading the group was a young man with bright crimson hair and fur on his body. His hands had erged into ws and his overall frame was more than double the size of the people around him.
His eyes were beastly and crimson stripes like that of a tiger, formed some kind ofplex pattern on his body.
SHIIING¡ with a swipe of his sharp ws, he shed numerous missiles before they coulde near them. From time to time he would give a loud roar that would disrupt the mana around the ce and cause interference in the air.
This sometimes affected the weapons of the Andromedas leading them to miss or malfunction.
"Hmm¡ is it because they are not tuned yet? Anyways, they were just unfinished versions meant to be used to collect information and perfect the Mk 9. Make sure you collect as much information as you can and retrieve the scrapster. Although they are broken, they can be processed again".
After giving hismands, he turned his eyes towards the other windows. Out of the seven windows that depicted the scenes within each of the seven doors, only four still had some activities. The remaining three werepletely silent with no movements to be seen anywhere.
The scene inside those windows was aplete bloodbath with corpses littering everywhere. No survivors could be seen within those windows.
"I guess that many number of monsters was just too much for those teams from the big guilds to handle. But I must admit, the newly mutated ze Wolves and Pyrodactyls are quite powerful. You did a good job coleus".
The monsters chosen to attack the different teams of adventurers that came exploring the pit, were the mutated Direwolves and Anemodactyls. These monsters were only recently added to the dungeon after the mutation and much was unknown about them.
Hence Simon decided to take this chance and use these monsters to pit against the adventurer teams. This way not only will he be able to cull the numbers of the adventurers but also be able to collect data from both sides.
Apart from that, another reason why Simon used the ze Wolves and Pyrodactyl in this fight was that they were cheaper to spawn.
Unlike the standard way of spawning evolved and powerful monsters (like the Elder Lizardmen and pterodactyl) using the [Spawn] function, spawning the mutated monsters was much cheaper. Not only were they far stronger than their pre-mutated species, but the DP they required to spawn was also the same.
That is to say, not only spawning the mutated monsters saved a ton of DP, they also matched up to the standard evolved monsters in terms of power.
Not to mention, some of the mutated species were even stronger than the standard monsters that could be spawned by a [D] ranking dungeon. The mutation crystal was a powerful weapon that broke the bnce.
It was amon knowledge that powerful monsters beyond a certain level, cannot be spawned in a low ranking dungeon. It was something that everybody knew and was the parameter that decided the ranking of that dungeon.
However, with the appearance of the mutation crystals on the bottom of the serenity pond, this notion was turned on its head in dungeon Lace.
Imagine encountering a monster powerful enough to match minotaurs and hellhounds from middle ranking dungeons. Would itpletely break themon conception of this world?
The dungeon Lace led by demon Simon was starting to be such a ce. Even if Simon was restricted by thews of the dungeon and unable to spawn highly evolved and powerful monsters, with the aid of mutation crystals he can easily circumvent this restriction.
"Haha, Lord Simon is praising me too much. Although I was able to mutate the Direwolves and the Anemodactyl, they are still around level 300-350. If not for the effects of the Crimson Aggression Stalk, Poison detoxifying Clover and Draining Mercury Vines, the monsters wouldn''t be able to achieve the result they did today. The credit should go to Fay, Maya and her team".
Coleus humbly passed the praise towards the two females.
What he said was the truth, these mutated monsters weren''t powerful enough to overwhelm these teams without the backup of items such as the Crimson Aggression Stalk and such. Fay, Maya and her team who diligently cultivated these nts around the mysterious ruins and made it so that they aren''t easily noticeable, did a greater job than him.
The Crimson Aggression Stalk and the other items in question were items that were found inside the bottom of the pond. The Crimson Aggression Stalk was the burning tree that the adventurers saw in the grasnd.
Apart from its enthralling burning look, the tree had the effect of driving monsters with elemental affinity to fire, berserk. In this state, the power of the monster increases and they are driven into a state where they do not care about their life and simply seek to ughter their target.
This anomaly in the monsters was also noticed by the adventurer teams; however, what they didn''t know was that the burning tree referred to as the crimson aggression stalk was the cause of it.
Apart from the burning tree, the four leaf clover that the adventurers found was the cause of the poison, was another item that was brought out from the pond.
The effect of the item was to detoxify poison was storing them within it. However, when the clover grows to be a four leaf, the poison stored inside is expelled.
"That is not true, if not for Cecilia''s assistance in concocting such an effective poison, we wouldn''t have been able to¡" Fay and Maya in turn passed the praise towards Cecilia who wasn''t expecting to be involved in this ry of passing the credit around.
"H-How can that be, Miss Bea, Uncle Coleus, Miss Fay and Maya worked hard too. I on the other hand simply asked the Deep Sea Alligator King and Lightning draconic serpent to simply share some of their poison to concoct one. I cannot take all of the credit".
Cecilia shook her head and passed the credit back towards them. Seeing these people not want to take each other''s glory and aplishment, Simon involuntarily smiled.
"In that case, I take my words back. It was my fault to praise you individually when all of this was a group effort. I''m proud of you all. All of you deserve my praise".
He stepped up and praised everyone for their efforts. Although the battle for the defence of their dungeon was far from over, from this endeavour one could tell how diligently his subordinates had worked to fortify and secure the dungeon.
The 34th floor was just the beginning, there were far more trickier and dreadful traps waiting for these adventurers on the lower floors. The dungeon Lace was fully prepared to receive the guests who came from the top and the most powerful guilds of the kingdom.
Seeing the confident and rxed faces of the people around her, a small smile blossomed on Irene''s face. In the beginning, the master of this dungeon Simon, was all alone. Most of the management of the dungeon was done by him and the burden was also shouldered by him alone.
Yet with time, he gained newrades that are willing to share this burden with him, help him manage this ce and create an abode for its inhabitants. Slowly but surely, a group with him as the core was gathering around him.
Irene''s smile had a trace of mncholy but more than that there was this unknown emotion of sadness and pain. No one was able to notice her smile or know what the reason for her sadness was.
"Master I believe your idea to add the draining mercury grass deserves the most credit" Ate stated.
If there was something that had the most effect and was the key to their victory, it would be thest trap that Simon had set. Yes, the Crimson Aggression Stalk and the poison detoxifying clover weren''t the only taps that were setup in those ces.
The reason why the multitudes of traps and the newly mutated monsters and iplete andromedas Mk 9 were able to achieve what they did, was because of the draining Mercury grass.
This trap which was nigh impossible to detect, turned the situationpletely in their favour and swept the adventurers off their feet.
The Draining Mercury Vines wasn''t an item that was brought out from inside the serenity pond. Far from it, it was an item that was drawn out from the [Ga??????] in one of Simon''s random sprees.
Of course, being an item that he himself had created, he knew all about the draining mercury grass and how to bring out the best of it. As a result of that, the adventurer teams that dived inside the seven doors, suffered massive losses.
Chapter 561 561- Dissension
So what are the Draining Mercury Vines? The item as the name suggests, were silver coloured vines that dug themselves deep inside the ground when sown. It was as big as one''s palm and repeatedly changed shapes because of its vtility.
The draining mercury vines hide and multiply themselves inside the ground and only surfaces to drain their prey of all their energy.
When the vines surface from the ground, they are much bigger and can easily restrain a full grown adult. Another thing about the draining mercury vines was that they are not any ordinary inanimate item, but an item with intelligence.
It behaved so much like an actual living being that it could easily be mistaken for a nt monster when in fact it was just an item.
A single stalk of mercury vine can multiply itself up to ten thousand times, so one can imagine the number of vines hiding inside these grasnds when Simon had drawn a couple thousand of them at once from the [Ga??????]. They had multiplied themselves into an unimaginable number.
Apart from that, the Draining Mercury Vines wasn''t a very high ranking item, it was graded as a [D] rank item by the [Analysis]. Though it was a little rare as could be seen how Simon had managed to pull this item after such a long time.
In any case, it was because of the emergence of these vines that appeared out of the ground at the time when the adventurers least expected it, that they were able to pull this trick so smoothly.
"Haha, that may not be the case. If it was just the draining mercury vines alone, it wouldn''t have been able to stop the adventurers. After all, this item other than having a strong absorption and binding effect, waspletely useless inbat. Even a level 200 person can slice the vines and get out of the restraining".
Simon knew the item more than anyone thus he could tell that without the other traps the draining mercury vines wouldn''t have been able to achieve its game turning effect.
Everybody in the hall was happy with the praises they received from Simon, their eyes went back to observing the adventurers. It had already been a day since the teams arrived on the 34th floor and dived inside the pit, they were almost out of energy and were on theirst leg.
Simrly, the monsters that he had spawned for this asion were cut down to almost one tenth of their initial number. The situation looked positive for Simon''s side when¡ the primary teams finally caught up.
-----
BANG¡ a loud dull sound rang out from the passageway where the entrance leading to this ce was and something flew out from there. Itnded heavily on the ground and raised a cloud of dust.
When the dust settled, everybody was shocked to see that it was the door that stopped them from exiting this ce. What was shocking was that the door did not budge even after the full brunt of their attacks yet it nowy in front of them broken and bent out of shape.
"Everyone¡ I''m sorry that I couldn''t make it in time".
Inside the space where the tertiary team of the mage guild was, a voice that brought tears to the faces of these girls, sounded out. All eyes immediately gathered on the person that was standing on top of the door.
"Guild master!!" Tiana and the other girls cried out, one could hear the immeasurable relief and cry for assistance from their voices.
The alluring figure holding a staff looked at the few remaining people surviving from her guild, aplex emotion surged within those eyes. From the condition and the state this ce was in, she didn''t have to think much to understand as to what had urred here.
The golden staff in her hand iid with multitudes of core stones, shined and the next second there was an enormous explosion ensued out, big enough to engulf all of the remaining monsters immediately.
BOOOMMM¡ all sounds were immediately drowned by that sound of the explosion and the ce was illuminated by its light.
The figure did not turn around to see what had happened of the monsters and slowly walked towards her guild members.
The girls from the mage guild finally sighed a breath of relief, their exhaustion made them fall on the ground. Those who were not from the mage guild looked at the explosion with wide gaping mouths of shock.
When the alluring figure arrived in front of them, Tiana, Anna, Hallie and a few others couldn''t hold themselves back and immediately jumped into the embrace of that figure.
The figure that could instantly charm others with her mature beauty was none other than the guild master of the mage guild, Karina Lowell. She patted the heads of the trembling girls around her and looked at the members of her guild with loving eyes.
"Ugh, the state of this ce is quite horrible. It looks like we are veryte" many other people walked out of the passageway, and each and every one of them had a very strong presence. They were the primary team of the mage guild and a few other people from the other guilds.
With the appearance of these people, the matter here was resolved. Tiana felt like a heavy burden was lifted from her shoulders. She looked at the ground, unable to match the gaze of her guild master.
"Guild leader I''m sorry¡ I couldn''t keep the members of my guild safe. I have failed you."
Karina observed the downtrodden girl, and slowly stroked her head. She knew the girl very well, she would do her best in everything that she did. The fact that she couldn''t save some of her guild members could only mean that she too was at her limits.
"We will talk about it after we go back to the surface" Karina did not speak much, she turned around and addressed the people behind her.
"Clean up this mess, tend to the injured. Search every nook and cranny of this ce, find if there are any other survivors".
"Yes, guild master" these people dutifully nodded their heads and dispersed into every direction of this ce to search.
Simr scenes were happening inside the other ces too. The main unitprising of the primary teams of all the twenty guilds was here.
"Master shouldn''t we do something? We were so close to wiping them all?" Alicemented in frustration. The traps and the monsters that they had so meticulously nned were about to kill these adventurers when those people arrived.
"There is no need, rather we have achieved our objective by killing so many of the members of their younger generation. Even if they save them now, it wouldn''t affect our final n" Simon calmly exined.
The mysterious ruins was installed to deal a blow to the morale of the various guilds and at the same time see the effectiveness of the various traps and the newly mutated monsters. In that aspect, it could be said that they have achieved their objective.
With so many of their younger generations dead, the guilds were sure to have chaos arising among them. The fragile link that was holding them as a unit would sooner orter copse with the small chinks that was created by Simon.
Now all they needed to do was wait and observe as to how they moved. The various other traps on the other floors are ready to slowly chip away at their remaining numbers and fan the mes. Once this fragile link connecting them was broken, it would be all too easy to pick them one by one.
This expedition team was only scary if they acted together, individually; their strength isn''t enough to threaten the dungeon. Once the opportunity arrives, the dungeon will snap its fangs and swallow them whole.
This was only just the beginning, Simon was going to make the best use of this opportunity. "Be sure to provide me with more DP" Simon muttered in a voice that only he could hear.
-----
34th floor, near the stairs leading to the next floor. Numerous camps were set out to tend to the injured and fatigued adventurers of the tertiary teams. After the primary unit arrived, they cleared the ces of all monsters and traps and rescued the exhausted adventurers back up.
In one of the biggest camps, an emergency meeting was currently taking ce. The attendant of this meeting was of course the various guild masters but there were many different and young faces participating in this meeting this time.
"m down Layton, let us hear their ount first" Brutus who was made the expedition leader for times like this, tried to calm a middle aged man with tanned skin and sea blue hair.
"How can I calm down? the tertiary team of my guild was wiped out inside that ce, the geniuses of my guild all died there".
Layton snarled, spit wasing out of his mouth. The man''s entire face was flushed with anger and his eyes were reddened from the loss. Layton Streax was the guild leader of the Six River''s Streak.
Brutus tried to calm this man down but to know no effect, the man had lost his entire team of geniuses there. He knew how big of a loss losing a genius was after all his guild too had lost many of them inside the mysterious ruins. In fact, every single guild here had lost a significant number of geniuses there.
"W-what about my guild? You said that they never appeared at the chamber where the seven doors was. Then doesn''t that mean that there is a possibility that they...?" the guild leader of the Baskerville guild Manuel Baskerville asked in an expectant voice.
Chapter 562 562- Dissension (2)
When the primary teams reached the mysterious ruins after learning everything from the adventurers left on the surface, it was already veryte. Many teams that had dived inside were wiped out, they managed to rescue only a handful few teams from inside those spaces.
Out of the many guilds that had lost their entire team down there, Baskerville guild was one of them.
"We are not sure, Baskerville guild had a fallout with the phantom light team and went on their own way. I do not know if they had survived or not, but I can say with certainty that they didn''t dive inside those seven doors" Marcus Sarge answered.
There were a few cuts and bandages on his body. The young faces attending this meeting were none other than the people who had survived the incident themselves.
From their mouths, the various guild leaders learned how the teams were lured into a trap where there was no turning back from and how monsters poured out of those magic circles like an unending horde.
The more they heard, the more unbelievable the story started to get. The adventurers who had survived the incident didn''t keep anything hidden and revealed everything that they saw and experienced.
Descriptions of monsters that they have never heard of before, unknown traps with mysterious effects and a sense of desperation. The guild leaders were shocked by everything that they heard.
That ce was truly a hellish trap created to kill people. Had they arrived anyte, none of the people would have survived.
After hearing the side of the story from the people that were invovled, the various guild leader couldn''t hold themselves back from arguing with each other. Except for the top five guilds, almost all of the big guilds had lost their entire teams.
Their arguments started bing more and more spiteful and one thing led to another before the entire meeting turned into one big vocal fight.
The chinks in the link were starting to show, these various guilds already had much too much prejudice against each other and the situation today only made it obvious. They couldn''t trust each other.
The meeting no longer had any resemnce to its name, Brutus could only sigh. Forget about the other guilds, his own guild had suffered such a heavy loss. If not because the quality of gears and the training the members of his guilds had to go through was extremely tough, many people would have died from his guild too.
The injuries on his son Marcus were evidence of how gruesome the battle there was.
Out of the seven doors, they could only rescue people from four of them, the remaining three doors no longer had any adventurers alive. All they found was a mountain of corpses and blood littered floor.
Given what they saw and no clues as to what had transpired behind those other three doors, the guild leaders were naturally uncertain as to how to take all of this. Their suspicions went towards the other teams and guilds.
The grey haired man was silently observing the situation from his seat. He did butt in nor did he step in to settle the situation. All he did was listen to the ounts of the story of the people who were there and closed his eyes to muse something in his head.
"Hmm¡ Those mysterious ruins were obviously a trap, a meticulouslyid out one at that. Those monsters aren''t much of a threat to the secondary teams of any of the guilds much less their primary teams".
"The reason why the monsters were able to corner them to such an extent was because the ones facing them were the tertiary teams of the guilds. If that was the case, then were the mysterious ruins set up to counter the tertiary teams in mind? If so then what was the demon''s goal behind doing all of this?".
Just as that question popped in his mind, the answer arrived to him.
"Of course the geniuses. The tertiary teams... although it was the weakest unit of any guild, it also held the most number of newbies and budding geniuses of a guild. Dealing a blow there would be tantamount to breaking the legs of a guild. What could he be after?".
The arguments inside the tent was starting to get heated when a few subordinates entered the tent and brought a couple of things for inspection back from the ruins.
"Are these all?" the grey haired man asked the subordinate who nodded his head saying these were all they could find inside that ce.
"Good, leave it behind, you can go" he waved his hand and those people immediately left. After that he used his aura to pressure the people inside the tent into silence.
"Is there a point in arguing amongst each other? Instead of that wouldn''t it be better for us to understand what are we dealing with first?" the eyes behind that mask, red at everyone.
Nobody dared to match that gaze, they all became silent and suppressed their discontent inside. Seeing that the tent was silent now, the grey haired man turned his attention to the things that were brought out the ruins.
The first thing that he observed was the monster carcasses.
"They somewhat look like the Direwolves and the Anemodactyl but their size and colour are way different. Not to mention, I have never heard of any direwolves being able to breathe fire" the grey haried man analysed.
"Huh? Even Sir doesn''t know what kind of monsters they are?" the curious guild leaders were amazed.
This person who was from the maind and from that organisation was the most knowledgeable one among them. If even he doesn''t know what these monsters were, then wouldn''t it mean that¡
"New species?!!" Karina spoke out the words in everybody''s heart.
There was no other exnation. The fact that they were unable to recognise the species of the monster meant that it was a new species. However, what surprised these people inside the tent the most was that these new species were found in a low ranking dungeon.
Normally, for a low ranking dungeon, it was already known to many adventurers as to what kinds of monsters to expect when diving inside such dungeons. Since it was easy to conquer and numerous adventurers tackle the low ranking dungeons, Adventurer Association made many records pertaining to the monsters that are usually seen in those dungeons.
These records were avable to all adventurers and were a part of an individual''s curriculum and training that the adventurer association provided to a newbie adventurer before issuing their licence.
Guild leaders like them have been diving inside many middle and low ranking dungeons and have a vast variety of experience. Yet they have never seen a monster like that. New species although it was just two words, the meaning it signified was much higher than that.
An appearance of a new species meant that the monster was aplete unknown. Since there are no records about it, they didn''t know its behavioural or its attack pattern. They didn''t know its potential, power or ss and whether it could be a threat or not.
What made a new species so frightening was the unknown factor. Compared to fighting a monster who was aplete unknown it was much safer to fight a monster that they know all about.
Fighting a new species involves risk of injury and even casualty. As could be seen by how terribly the tertiary teams of the various guilds had lost. It was because they were fighting with the factor of unknown involved that they had lost.
The same could be said for the traps, the charcoal remains of a tree, the fallen petals of a four leaf clover and a silvery grey liquid. Each and every object that was brought out of those mysterious ruins was filled with mystery.
"We cannot certain yet that they are new species. Although I have dived inside quite a few middle ranked dungeons, I am a human after all. What I know is also limited, perhaps these species are recorded in some text and we are just unaware of it".
"Nheless, as it stands we are all unaware of what these monsters are and what they are called. One cannot use [Analysis] on a corpse after all. Therefore we must be careful when proceeding forward".
The grey haired man reminded everyone. While musing internally ''if you die to these pathetic monsters, it would be a huge waste of my time''.
Since no one was able to hear the grey haired man''s inner thoughts, they all nodded their heads at his words. After that, he asked a few more questions to Marcus, Hallie, Gallio and the others who survived.
Most of these questions were rted to these unknown monsters and traps. The meeting proceeded without anyone butting in and after a while, it was adjourned.
"Expedition leader, tell everyone to take breaks in turns. We will rest here for half a day before proceeding forward" with those words from the grey haired man, everybody stood up from their seats and left.
Marcus followed his father out. They were just about to enter their tent when someone appeared behind them.
"A moment please¡ young master of the Savannah beast guild". Marcus turned towards the speaker of the voice only to find that it was none other than the guild master of the Baskerville guild, Manuel Baskerville.
"Guild master of the Baskerville guild, why are you here?" Brutus stepped forward and asked. He was cautious as to what the other party''s intention was to follow them like this back to their tent.
Chapter 563 563- Dissension (3)
"Guild leader of the savannah Beast guild¡ please be at ease, I didn''te here with any evil motive. I just want to learn more about what young master Marcus meant by what he said back in the meeting".
Manuel Baskerville raised his hand to show that he meant no harm.
"What Marcus said back in the meeting?" Although Brutus had a warlike temperament and was extremely wild, he was no fool. He could more or less guess why the guild master of Baskerville guild was here for.
Seeing that Brutus didn''t bar him from saying anything, Manuel shifted his attention to Marcus.
"Back during the meeting, you said something about my son having a fallout with the phantom light guild. Can you please tell me about that in more detail?".
Marcus finally understood why the guild master of the Baskerville guild was here. He wanted to know more about what had happened to his son and the tertiary team of his guild that had seemingly disappeared.
If one dies in a dungeon, their body gets absorbed inside it. The dungeon is like a living entity, the rate of dposition is a hundred times faster than the outside world. That is to say, if a body is left as it is, it would slowly break down and disappear, bing the nourishment of the dungeon.
By the time, the primary teams arrived at the mysterious ruins, it was already toote. Only a handful of bodies could be recovered from that mysterious ruins. Out of the four thousand people that dived inside the pit, only about one eighth of them managed toe out alive.
Some were retrieved as a cold lifeless corpse while the rest had disappeared, absorbed by the dungeon and became its nourishment.
The guild that Manuel was the leader of, couldn''t even find a single corpse of any of their members that had dived inside. Given this fact, it was only natural that Manuel wanted more details about what had happened back there. After all, amongst the geniuses that had disappeared there, was also his son.
Marcus looked at his father who nodded after contemting for a while. Thus Marcus recited the entire story from the beginning.
It was not a topic that he liked talking about much as it was a devastating defeat for them and he had lost quite a lot of brothers in there. However, the man in front of him was very desperate to know what had happened of his son, thus Marcus had no choice but to recount everything once again.
The 34th floor, the pit, the mysterious ruins and the seven doors. How they were led to believe that they can tackle it and how it had gone all downfall from there.
Manuel paid more attention when the part came when the tertiary teams started falling apart after discovering the mysterious ruins. The phantom light guild''s taunts and the criticisms that were directed towards the Baskerville guild.
The Phantom Light guild and the Baskerville Guild were two big guilds from the southern region of the kingdom, their members knew each other very well and had often met during quests. Because of that, the two guilds decided to work together and send their tertiary teams as one unit topete with the others.
Who would have thought that their alliance would end up falling apart like that? the two guilds went their separate ways right before exploring the mysterious ruins.
"Ah, when I say sh, I only meant it as a verbal argument. In any case, after that I didn''t see Bastille even until the end. The Baskerville guild too didn''t arrive at the chamber" Marcus recounted.
"I see thank you for the information young master of the savannah beast guild" the guild leader of the Baskerville guild thanked Marcus and promptly turned around to leave. The man''s steps were urgent and faster when they left.
"What was all that about?" Marcus was a little confused as to why the guild master of the Baskerville was in such a hurry to leave right after hearing the story.
"It doesn''t concern our guild, you don''t need to brood over it, Marcus. Let''s go inside, the guild members of our savannah beast guild will assemble here in a few hours. Tell them all you know about the monsters, their skills and weaknesses. We cannot afford to make the same mistake again. Everybody in our guild needs to know what we are up against".
Brutus slipped into the tent not bothering about the other party. "Right" his son Marcus nodded and also entered the tent.
Time passed by swiftly and soon half a day was over. On the orders of the grey haired man, the members of the twenty guilds assembled near the middle of the 34th floor where the stairs to the next floor was.
Led by their own guild masters, these people stood organisedly and in formation. In the front was the primary teams of each guild fully decked out in their armours and gears. Behind them stood the secondary team ready to aid the primary teams at any moment.
The tertiary teams were left back at the camp to guard the supplies and the wounded. They had already done their part by carving a way to this floor so they were given a rest. Besides that, the tertiary teamprised of mostly weak and newbie adventurers would only be a dead weight from this point on.
Thus it was decided that they would be better if they stayed here. Plus a lot of them still needed time to heal from the injuries they sustained.
"It looks like everybody has assembled" The grey haried man who stood at the forefront of the primary teams along with the guild masters,mented. His eyes looked at the primary unit of this expedition army as he nodded his head.
The primary unitprising of the primary teams of the top twenty guilds of the kingdom, was decked out in the best gears and armours out of everyone, even their levels and aura were different than all the others. They were no doubt the cream of the corpse, the best of the best you can find in the entire kingdom of Ellesmere. Althoughparing them with the adventurers from the maind would be a little too much, they were still satisfactory.
The primary unitprised of around 4,000 people, aout 200 people from each guild. It was led by expedition leader Brutus Sarge and the various guild leaders were there to support him.
The secondary unit was led by Karina and the vice guild masters of the various guilds. Their objective was to stay a floor behind and back the primary team.
"Alright, expedition leader Brutus I leave leading the unit to you. I will be in the backlines providing assistance" the grey haired man didn''t wait for anyone, after leaving his words behind, he disappeared into the crowd.
Even with the perception of these guild leaders, they had difficulty spotting him.
"Tch, so he intends to just work us like ves huh" a brawny man with tanned skin and sea blue hair spat in a low voice. He was Layton Streax, the guild master of the Six River''s Streax.
After losing his entire tertiary team in the mysterious ruins, he was in quite a sour mood. It was not only him, tension could be seen on the faces of quite a few guild leaders.
Half a day wasn''t enough to make them forget about the massive losses their guild had suffered. If not because of the reward that was promised to them, they would have already fallen out.
Brutus looked at these people and sighed. It was a hassle to lead them; however, he had to do it since he couldn''t leave the fate of his guild in the hands of some other people.
"Everyone ready your weapons, we are about to dive deeper inside the dungeon. Let''s conquer it once and for all to see"...
SHIINGG¡ Brutus unsheathed his sword and raised it high up. His thundering voice rang out across the space, raising the spirits of everyone around him.
[Roar of Courage] the various guild leader who felt their blood boil from that shout, immediately recognised the skill that was used. One of the rare skills of the ss [Chief Beast Garder]. The skill allows you to instantly manipte and raise the spirits of your streak.
With Brutus'' roar, the primary and the secondary unit all followed hismand and started marching organisedly. The top twenty guilds were finally starting to move.
The ze wolves and the pyrodactyl was just the beginning, the deeper floor had many more mutated monsters waiting for them. The traps were more trickier and the floors were filled with unknowns.
Up until the 34th floor, they have been able to rely on the transmission orb to navigate the floors. This allowed them to clear the floors faster since they already knew the way. However, from the 34th floor onwards it was a brand new territory that wasn''t recorded in the transmission orb.
They had to clear each and every path and search the whole floor to find the entrance to the next floor. Their speed was bound to be a lot slower than before; nheless, with the primary unit leading the charge, it was just a matter of time until they reached the next floor.
The mutated monsters may be something that these people had never encountered before; however, in front of their experience and level, they were no different than cannon fodder.
Just like that, the expedition army descended one floor after the other. Facing the unknown, the traps and attacks of the monsters would sometime catch them off guard and there would be some injuries.
However, it was only just minor wounds and nothing too serious. It was quickly healed by downing a potion or two.
Chapter 564 564- Dissension (4)
Before diving inside the dungeon, the expedition army made sure to buy every potion avable in the elixir shops in the capital and in Mountmend. Hence they had arge stock of it.
So no matter how lethal or trickier the traps got, as long as they weren''t too seriously injured, any wounds could be healed. The most the traps and the monsters could achieve was slow down the march of the primary unit by a minute amount.
Floor 36th, a vast valley filled with loess. It was the territory of pterodactyls, the next evolution of Anemodactyls. They were as fast and powerful as the mutated Pyrodactyls. The pterodactyls were predators that hunted from the skies. Their eyes can easily look far into the distance and the ws were sharp enough to even threaten these adventurers who were all above level 450.
What made them problematic was their speed and the height at which they fly. The 36th floor unlike the other floors, had quite a high ceiling. This allowed the pterodactyls who were a natural born predator of the sky to use the advantage of their wide wings and fly very high.
Not to mention when they dived from that height, they were a force to reckon with. That was not all, the pterodactyls were pack hunters, so when they hunted they did it in groups.
The 36th floor was filled with numerous colonies of pterodactyls and their numbers far surpassed the primary unit.
To make matters even worse, the trap that was set on this floor was quicksand. So if you are only looking up at the sky, you were up for a surprise thaty underneath.
Of course, the primary unit suffered some injuries when they first entered the floor, but there were no casualties. These people even if they got caught off guard, they weren''t ordinary people, they were the best of the best adventurers from the kingdom of Ellesmere.
If a teammate of theirs was in a pinch, the group around him would make sure to cover him until he recovers. With time, the adventurers got used to the attack patterns of the pterodactyl and the situation transitioned with them taking the initiative now.
A small number of adventurers who could use the [Mana Wings] took to the skies and cleared the space for others. Since they were flying, they didn''t have to worry about the quicksand and they stopped the monster''s dive from the sky.
It took around four hours for the primary unit to explore the entire floor and find the entrance to the next floor.
The 37th floor was simr to the 36th floor in that both were canyons and housed the colonies of pterodactyls. However, the 37th floor was bigger and had more powerful monsters. The entrance to the next floor was also located in a tricky ce that was difficult to find.
While the adventurers suffered fewer injuries and casualties this time, they took more than five hours to find the entrance to the next floor simply because of the sheer number and size of the monsters.
After resting for an additional hour, the expedition army proceeded with the exploration.
The 38th floor and the 39th floor took eight and ten hours respectively to explore. The floors were big and the monsters there were troublesome. The Moth Spiders and the Fire Spitting Worm may not be as powerful as the pterodactyls, but they were a difficult opponent on their own.
On these floors, the expedition army had to heavily rely on the antidotes and medicines that cured poison. The moth spiders and the fire spitting worms, were all poisonous monsters and coupled with the fact that the air contained poison gas too, it was not an ideal exploration for the primary unit.
They had to clear the air with wind magic, take potions to nullify the effects of the poison and fight the monsters with some caution. Because of this, the march of the adventurers had slowed down to a crawl.
The poison resistance skill was an unusually rare skill and you would only find a small number of assassins and warriors in possessions of said skill. Thus it could be said that the floors were troublesome even if they weren''t filled with powerful monsters.
Nevertheless, the primary forceprising of the elites still did not suffer any casualties. Though they did have to rece a few with the ones on the secondary unit because of how badly they were poisoned.
After some tedious hours of exploration, the expedition army found the entrance to the 40th floor.
Two days, counting the time since they left the 34th floor, it took them around two days to reach the 40th floor. Of course, since there was no concept of time inside a dungeon, they had to rely on their own sense of time.
The expedition force climbed down the stairs and arrived on the 40th floor. A vast jungle with towering trees,y in front of them. The visibility here was very low because of the all epassing dense mist shrouding the ce with ayer of mystery and danger.
An eerie silence covered the ce and it felt like anyone who entered the mist, would just disappear without a trace. A challengey in front of the expedition force.
After all four thousand people gathered at the entrance, they charged inside the mist.
----
Brutus who was leading the group, stopped in his tracks after exploring for a while. He turned towards the man donned in the finest assassin gears and asked¡ª
"Cassius, what do you think? Are there any traps around?"
Cassius Grey, the guild leader of the Assassin''s Guild and also the ranger of this unit. His extreme sensory skills which have been polished to their limits, was indispensable during situations like this. That is why even Brutus felt it prudent to ask his advice.
"Other than the mist that obstructs ordinary navigation skills, there are no other traps in the vicinity that I can see off. But that is just on the surface, we cannot let our guard down".
Cassius said, he gestured with his hands and the members of his guild immediately used some items to illuminate their surroundings. A small bamboo container was thrown in the air which burst apart to release a piercing green light.
Immediately, the fog within a few meters surrounding was dispersed. But it was only temporary, the dispersed mist started moving once again and returned back to its ce. Nevertheless, the objective was achieved. T
The reason behind using that bamboo container called the re sh was to disperse the mist around them and ascertain their position.
"It''s as I thought, we are moving in circles. This is the work of a monster that is born in the mist" Cassius stateding to a realisation.
"Monster born in the mist? Could it be the Epsiloths? But aren''t they monsters that could only be found in the deeper region of the ghastly winding forest? What are they doing here" the guild leaders asked.
"I don''t know, but don''t fall asleep or you will die" Cassius cautioned. The Epsiloths were small tree dwelling creatures that looked like sloths. They were harmless creatures and do not have any offensive abilities.
But make no mistake, these cute looking monsters were able to survive in the western region of the ghastly winding without having any offensive abilities because of their racial trait.
The Epsiloths have a special defensive ability that protected them from the other predators. It was the special pheromone that they released from their yawn. The mist around them was just an ordinary trap yet it was able to fool the senses of even the guild masters and the elites from the top guilds of the kingdom.
There could be only one reason for that, and that was the doing of the Epsiloths.
One of the reasons why the ghastly winding forest was so dangerous was because of the existence of monsters like them, whose abilities lie in deranging one''s mind. The Epsiloths were creatures that had the ability to tamper with one''s mind, the yawn that they release have a powerful hypnotising effect.
The reason why Eplisolths are called the creatures of the mist is because they can only be found inhabiting ces with a high density of mist. Without the protection of the mist that hides their bodies and carries their pheromone, they are pretty much defenceless and any monster can hunt them.
This floor which was filled with a dense amount of mist, was the most ideal habitat for them. What these guild masters didn''t know was that the master of this dungeon, once had to go through a lot of trouble because of these creatures.
That is why, Simon went through all the trouble to go to the western region of the forest and bring them here a few days prior before the top twenty guilds arrived. He wanted to share this experience he had in the western region of the ghastly winding forest, with these guests of his.
And it had paid off, these adventurers who could be considered a powerhouse in the outside world, were held off and slowed down because of this ability.
"If it''s the Epsiloths, this makes things a little troublesome. We do not have any elixirs that can counter this effect. Plus I believe the Epsiloths aren''t the only danger here, we must be extra careful when exploring this floor".
Brutus suggested looking around the trees for any signs of Eplisloths. However, how could it be so easy to find them? A creature with no offensive ability, would always hide itself in the most safest ce.
The other guild leaders nodded their heads and cautioned their guilds behind them. The expedition team proceeded with caution. But unfortunately, their exploration speed had reduced to a snail''s pace.
Chapter 565 565- Dissension (5)
At this rate, it would take them days just to explore this floor. Finally, one of the guild leaders couldn''t take this and spoke out ¡ª
"Expedition leader Brutus, we cannot go on like this. The effects of the Epsiloths will start having more influence the more we are exposed to its pheromone. If we do not hunt them fast, some of the weak levelled ones will not be able to resist it for long".
The one to speak was unexpectedly Manuel Baskerville, the guild leader of the Baskerville Guild. The man usually didn''t take the initiative to provide his opinion yet today he was so proactive. Nevertheless, what he said, was entirely true.
The other guild leaders were also thinking the same. Their current pace was just too slow. It seemed like the leaders would descend into a discussion when the grey haired man wearing a mask, walked out from among the crowd.
"What the guild leader of Baskerville guild said is true, we need to hunt the Epsiloths fast. We won''t be able to achieve that if we walk round and round. On top of that the mist is covering our vision, there is no way to know how big the floor is. We cannot waste time by walking in arge group like this".
Everybody fell silent when the grey haired man spoke.
"So what does Sir suggest?" Brutus asked.
"Well.. when we encounter something like this that ys with your mind in intermediate tier dungeons, we prioritise eliminating the cause before anything. It is the basic of the basic. In this case, the cause are the Epsiloths, they are creatures that hide themselves on top of a tree".
"Unless we approach a few meters around them, we won''t be able to know which tree they are hiding in. So how about we do this, we will divide ourselves in ten teams with two guilds in each team working together to find the epsiloths and prioritising eliminating them". The guild leaders contemted the suggestion in their heads.
The grey haired man was from that organisation so he clearly had more experience dealing in intermediate tier dungeons where a situation like this is nothing umon. The suggestion he gave also perfectly provided them with a solution.
They cannot use the same tactic they had been using on the other floors, different floors needed different tactics to tackle. Since they have to prioritise eliminating the Epsiloths in the fastest time possible, they cannot proceed to move collectively.
Dividing up into ten teams with two guilds working together in each team sounded appropriate. This way not only will they be able to move faster, one guild could also help the other in times of need.
Even if the situation between them was a little tense due to the incident that happened two days ago on the 34th floor, they weren''t youngsters filled with vigour. Most of them could see the big picture and work together with the reward in mind.
Human wants were after all unlimited, the allure of the promised reward was so that even though the guilds had some distrust among each other, they were willing to join hands.
The guild leaders nodded their heads, the suggestion was epted. The expedition force divided themselves into ten teams, with guilds that were the most familiar with each other working together.
Soon they all left in different directions to carry out their mission, eliminating the Episloths. At that moment nobody was able to see the grin on the guild leader of the Baskerville Guild as he left with the phantom light guild and disappeared into the mist.
-----
"Master¡ the adventurers have split up. The Epsiloths won''t be able to hold them down for long" Atemented observing the situation.
The 40th floor was meant to slow the progress of the adventurers down and the Epsiloths were the best way to do it. However, now that the expedition force has divided themselves up, it wouldn''t be long before they hunt the Epsiloths and get out of the mist. Once out, there was no other trap to stop them.
"Haha¡ you are wrong Ate, I set the 40th floor with the intention to split them up".
Simonughed, he was looking at the windows in front of him with calm eyes. Everything that had urred until now, was within his expectation. The adventurers behaved just like he wanted them to, it was as if they were a trapped mice in a maze.
They moved ording to the way he wanted them to. His years of experience as a senior game developer, wasing into use to him at this moment. By putting the adventurers in the position of a yer, he could somewhat predict their next move.
Based on their conduct and thinking patterns, he could even alter their response to the one that favoured him the best. The reason why he hadn''t set any traps other than the mist and Epsiloths on the 40th floor was because Simon had no need to.
The most deadliest trap on the 40th floor wasn''t the Epsiloths but the adventurers themselves.
"It is not so easy to remove a bud of suspicion when it grows into one''s heart. These adventurers have forgotten one thing, distrust can sometimes lead to a situation far worse than one can imagine if it is not resolved immediately".
Simon who had lived a life of both human and demon can peer through the adventurer''s heart. His deep philosophical words evoked various kinds of response from his subordinates.
"You say that at this rate the Epsiloths will be hunted too soon and the floor doesn''t have anything to stop them? Well, wait and watch as how these adventurers turn against each other. It''s about time I take the wind out of their sails".
The master of the dungeon observed the scene with a wicked smile.
-----
Somewhere on the 40th floor, a group of around four hundred peopleprising of two guilds marched forward. A dense amount of mist surrounded them and made visibility very low. Nevertheless, by using various sensory skills and marking their surrounding they were able to somewhat navigate around this ce and avoid walking round and round.
"There is one Epsiltoh up on that tree past those bushes" A group of assassins tasked with leading the group, reported.
"Alright, take it out" A person dressed in high quality light leather armour,mented. He had short brown hair tied into a ponytail, a frowning face, and dark circles around his eyes.
Various gears like stilettos, daggers and pouches hung on his waist belt. He looked to be around 40 years old yet his poise was as sharp as a sword. The man was none other than Donte Goodman, the guild leader of the phantom light guild.
With a few words of his, the group behind him moved and immediately took out that Epsiloth that was hidden in that tree.
KREE¡ a low cry sounded out and an ash white creature that looked like sloth, dropped on the ground.
"Jeez, these creatures are really a pain in the ass. They have zero offensive ability but their yawn causes such a hypnotic effect. We have already killed quite a few of them so the effect of the fog should start to dissipate a little. I wonder how the other teams are doing? Hmm?! Oi¡ Manuel, are you listening to me?".
Donte turned to his side and asked the man who stood equal to him. They were both guild masters of the two biggest guilds of the southern region of the kingdom hence their position was more or less the same.
"Huh? Yeah, I was listening" Manuel replied absentmindedly.
"Really? You look like you have been out of sorts since two days ago. Listen man, it was no one''s fault, that incident was something that no one could have predicted. You can''t let that weigh you down forever, you need to forget about it".
Donte patted Manuel''s shoulder and consoled. Thetter brushed his hand and startedughing all of a sudden.
"Hahaha¡ forget about it? Heh, it''s so much easy for you to say. Your son didn''t die in the mysterious ruins after all. Kuh, by the time, I came it was already toote, I couldn''t even retrieve the dead body of my son. How could a person who hasn''t lost anything understand me".
Manuel clutched his chest, his voice started going higher and higher at the end of his sentence.
"Listen man, I understand your feelings, we all have lost so much in that ce" Donte tried to calmly resolve the situation but it was already toote.
The bud of suspicions within the guild leader of Baskerville guild had bloomed into a full born fire of hatred that wouldn''t die down so easily.
Manuel who had continued to look down up until this moment finally lifted his head and gazed at Donte who immediately frowned his brows feeling the killing intent directed at him.
"Hey man calm down. There is no point delving in the past. What has urred has urred, you cannot go back in time and change it. You need to give a proper burial to your son and let it go".
"That''s right, a burial will be necessary but it won''t be for my son alone, your entire guild will be apanying him" the moment his words fell, Manuel brought out his gauntlets and pounced towards Donte intending to sh his neck.
CLANG¡ a metallic noise rang out and the mist in the few meters area around them was blown away. A dagger had at some unknown point appeared in Donte''s hand and stopped the des of the gauntlet from digging into his neck.
"What are you doing?" Donte''s voice was no longer as calm as before, it even had an added depth of anger in it.
"What am I doing? Something that I should have done a long time ago".
Chapter 566 566- Unease
"[Furious Will]" Manuel activated his augmentation skill, increasing his strength and agility. He turned his body around and threw a kick.
BAM¡ the kick connected with Donte''s abdomen and sent him crashing into a tree.
"W-What''s going on?" themotion of the fight immediately alerted the group as all eyes focused on the two leaders.
"Dammit¡ Manuel, have you lost your mind?" Donte was absolutely furious now. This has gone beyond what he could endure.
"I have been thinking¡ since the moment we left the tent. Why is it that your disciple survived and my son ended up dying inside those mysterious ruins when they were in the same team? It''s not like their strength is much far apart. I did my investigation and after thinking for so long I can only think of one possibility. Your disciple killed my son".
Manuel didn''t stop his attack there, after sending Donte away with a kick, he followed up with mana imbued sword shes.
SHIING¡ the sword sh cut the mist and the trees around cleanly before disappearing into the mist. Though the person it was meant to target easily dodged it.
[Shadow Emergence] the shadow underneath Manuel moved and Donte appeared behind him. [Twin sh] two daggers danced in Donte''s hands and a skilful attack that utilised the blind area of one''s opponent, their back to dish out an attack. The attack connected and sent Manuel forward.
"Snap out of it will ya? Do you even know what you are doing?" Donte spat in anger. The action of Manuel reflected his guild, if he didn''t stop soon their two guilds would get entangled.
"Hahaha¡ I know what I''m doing, my mind cannot be any more clear. Donte your guild too have suffered losses inside those ruins; however, it was nothing as serious as mine where the entire team was wiped out".
"But you did lose a lot of geniuses. I was thinking why you weren''t that affected, why is that you are staying silent? Until I realised that you do not care in the first ce. Your guild has two worthy sessors so it doesn''t hurt you much if one of them dies in the dungeon. isn''t that so Donte?".
"What foolish things are you saying? Have you gone insane?" Donte''s eyes opened wide when he saw the bluish aura surrounding Manuel like armour.
[Mana Armour], using a powerful technique such as this, the man waspletely serious.
"Guild leader.. we areing to help" the members from the Phantom Light Guild immediately jumped into action, they were just about to interfere when..
"You fools look around you" Donte shouted.
These members turned only to realise that the adventurers of the Baskerville guild who had been travelling with them all this time were suddenly eying them with a different light. Each of the members of the Baskerville guild had drawn their weapons, some blood had already been drawn.
The members of the phantom light guild had already suffered some casualties. This caused the small sparks flying in the air between the two guilds, to turn into a zing fire. There was no turning back now.
"You bastard do you realise what you have done?" Donte''s face turned ugly. Seven of their members had died, these members were just ordinary members but a part of the primary team with great potential and strength. Losing them was like stabbing the guild itself.
Some bloodlust finally leaked out of Donte.
"Kehehe¡ yeah, that''s the look I wanted to see. That''s what I have been waiting for but this much pain isn''t enough to make you realise how I''m currently feeling. Perhaps you will understand once you lose your entire team".
Manuel''s eyes were no longer looking clearly, they were masked with some twisted emotions that hadpletely taken over his mind.
Donte did not reply, the situation was already gone beyond the point where it can be resolved by talking. If there was anything left now, that was to fight. He couldn''t just allow this madman to do as he likes.
Donte took a deep breath, mana started pouring out of his body and covered him in ayer of armour just like Manuel. However, in his case, it was much more sleek and suited for agile movements.
"All members of the phantom light guild listen up, the Baskerville guild is no longer our ally. You are free to engage them inbat, do not allow them to kill you. Boone, Hassel contact the other teams, tell them that the Baskerville has gone insane".
Donte handed out one order after another. The two people named Donte and Hassel who were called out, immediately took out their transmission conch. However, when they tried to send a message it failed.
"What?! We are unable to send a message" his subordinates reported in panic.
Dante turned his eyes towards Manuel who smiling in a silly way. There was no need to even ask, the Baskerville guild had done something to jam the transmission.
"You!!"¡
"Donte how long have we known each other, do you think I would do something without any preparation?" Manuel spread his hand, and took out a huge horn made of ivory from his space ring.
At that moment, a subordinate from the Baskerville guild ran up to him and reported "Guild master all preparation for the song of demise have beenpleted, the members are in formation".
"Good, now all that is left is for me to y the horn" Manuelughed, his hands caressing the horn.
"That is¡ Horn of Voranius. You even brought the treasure of your guild out?" Donte''s eyes trembled when they observed the ancient looking thing that was on Manuel''s hand.
"EVERYONE COVER YOUR EARS, DO NOT GROUP TOGETHER" Donte hurriedly shouted; however, before his voice could reach them, the horn was blown a deep basso profundo sound rang out across thend.
The sound was so loud that it could be heard from any part of the floor.
"What''s going on, what is that sound?" many teams who were busily hunting the Epsiloths, stopped their action the moment they heard the sound.
In one part of the floor, the members of the Savannah beast guild who were teamed up with the mage guild, stopped at a ce to take some rest when the horn was blown. The leaders of the two guilds who had years of experience under their belt, turned their heads towards the direction of the sound, their eyes disying their inner shock.
"That sound¡" Brutus murmured.
"It should be from the Baskerville Guild''s Horn of Voranius" the one to answer him was Florence, the vice guild master of the mage guild. Since Karina was leading the secondary unit, Florence was tasked with leading the primary team.
Hearing her words, Brutus recalled something that had happened on the 34th floor two days near their tent. The conversation that the guild master of the Baskerville guild had with his son.
Brutus hurriedly stood up and said, "Let''s go, I have a bad feeling about this".
----
The mist waspletely cleared for hundreds of meters of area, and the ce it hid, the jungle could be clearly seen.
The 40th floor was a vast lush green jungle that spanned more than fifty kilometres. However, at this moment, a part of the jungle was no longer lush green as all the leaves had fallen off from the trees and the small nts and bushes were scattered apart.
Bodies of adventurers belonging to the phantom light guild could be seen fallen messily on the ground with their eyes rolled back inside their heads. Their bodies twitched irregrly showing that they were still alive.
The Horn of Voranius was used, and only the people remaining standing, were the people from the Baskerville guild who erected an unusual formation around them.
"Huff¡ Huff¡ the song of demise takes a lot out of the user. Dammit, my mana pool is almost empty and I''m momentarily unable to move my body" A trace of blood leaked out from his ears.
The Horn of Voranius was a double edged sword, it might be powerful but it even hurts its user.
"You bastard!!" Suddenly, a shadow appeared behind Manuel like a ghost. That figure was none other than Donte whose entire body was injured and covered in blood from taking the full brunt of the song from up close.
The moment he appeared, he shed forward with his dagger which was glowing with a devastating light. Clearly, Donte had superimposed multiple skills on top of each other. Not only that¡
"Ability Conferment- [Greater sh], [Greater Damage], [Blood Fester]¡ [Single Strike Death]".
Multiple abilities were also conferred on the sword. Ability Conferment is a rare ancient skill that allows one to bestow abilities to their attacks. That is to say, the [Single Strike Death] attack that Donte dished out, was not only powered by his multiple augmenting skills, but it was also bestowed multiple abilities that made the attack even more deadly.
Manuel was unable to move as a result of the bacsh from using the song of demise.
"Guild master... be careful" Just when the attack was about to connect with him, he felt a fierce blow from the side that pushed him away from the trajectory of the attack.
The vice guild master of his guild, after sensing the danger had rushed towards him at full speed and pushed him away from the danger. However, in doing so it was him who was in the trajectory of the attack.
CHIII¡ blood sprayed, the attack [Single Strike Death] which Donte dished out with the intention of killing Manuel, easily bisected the vice guild master of the Baskerville guild in half as his body limply fell on the ground in pieces.
Chapter 567 567- Unease (2)
"Jack" Manuel called out, after rolling on the ground a few times from the force of the push, he was finally able to stop himself only to see hisrade for years dying in the hands of his enemy.
"Dammit," Manuel cursed and immediately got up from the ground. He put the Horn of Voranius back inside his space ring and faced Donte.
"I should have guessed that you wouldn''t go down so easily Donte. It was my failure that caused Jack''s death. If I hadn''t lowered my guard at that time, this wouldn''t have happened. But all is fine¡ they all were prepared to put their life in the line for this n. With that said, Donte you made a huge mistake by not killing me. You will not get a second chance like this again".
Manuel spat in frustration and took out his [B] tier long sword. Mana poured out of his body and quickly covered him in ayer of mana armour. Not only that, the sword in his hand was also covered in ayer of mana that raised its lethalness even higher.
Multiple defensive skills of the rare ss [Armoured diator] were also activated and only then did Manuel feel relieved. His caution was warranted since the man he was facing was one of the top five assassins in their entire kingdom.
Donte Goodman, the man who was called the one strike assassin. His legends and valour were widespread across the entire southern region of the kingdom as the assassin who never failed his mission.
Along with his powerful rare ss [Eclipse Night Assassin] he was one of the few people who could take the spot of the top five assassins. So if he didn''t take it seriously, Manuel knew that his head would surely fly today.
He gestured something with his hands to his subordinates in the distance and turned towards Donte to face him with his full power.
"What''s with the gloomy face, Donte? You have just killed my second inmand, you should be a little delighted" Manuel kept his eyes glued on his opponent. In a battle between powerhouses like them who stood at the peak of power in this kingdom, even a single mistake might cause them their life.
Thus even though to a third party it looked like they didn''t move from their position, in reality, they had exchanged several metal moves that gauged for the weakness and opportunity in the other party''s guard.
"Manuel you bastard¡ you will pay for what you have done. You have used the Horn of Voranius, the other guild must have also heard it and are surely on their way here. Don''t think that you can continue acting like this for long".
Donte''s angry words just fell when his figure disappeared and appeared beside Manuel like a ghost. The daggers on his hand danced as if they were alive and attacked his opponent unceasingly. They came from all sides and angles trying to break away the other party''s guard.
CLANG... CLANG¡ CLANG¡.
However, it was either deflected by Manuel''s sword, mana armour, armour or his defensive skills. The guy might not be the top warrior in their kingdom, but he was like a tank that could take thousands of attacks without budging.
Realising that it was useless chipping at the guard of his opponent like this, Donte stepped his attacks a notch up.
[Turbulent de Mastery]¡ the speed of his attacks became so fast that it became illusory. To a third person eye, it might even look like he had grown multiple more hands.
"Ahhh!!¡ so annoying. Just because your ss is more rarer than mine, do you think you can look down on me? My Baskerville guild isn''t an opponent that anybody can just step on. [diator''s Revolt]".
Manuel grit his teeth, activated [diator''s revolt] skill that pushed everything around him dozens of meters back and drastically increases his speed in exchange for a portion of his health.
With his boosted speed, it was Manuel''s turn to go on the offensive. The advantage of a sword over the daggers could be seen in their exchange, every attack from Manuel needed two of Donte''s daggers to deflect.
When it came to wide swings, shing ability and reach, a sword was absolutely superior to a dagger. However, a sword needed some space and room to disy its power which cannot be done if your speed is slower than your opponent''s.
Skilled dagger users like Donte, knew this very well and hence never allowed the sword user to have that room. That is why, Manuel used the [ditaor''s revolt] to mount the pressure. He couldn''t just sit on the defensive and allow his opponent to chip away at his defence.
But Donte was no pushover either¡ he immediately understood the intention of his opponent and closed that room.
"Ability conferment- [Greater Force], [Power Strike]"..
"What?! Dammit¡ [Mana Armament: Shield] [diator''s Halo]"¡
"[One Stab Kill]"¡.
Manuel''s eyes opened wide when he saw Donte actually closing the distance instead of retreating and using his ability conferment once again. Immediately, he used his mana to create a shield and activated his defensive skills.
The daggers in Donte''s hands moved like two poisonous snakes before intertwining together and pouncing upon his opponent''s neck.
CLANG¡ a loud shing noise reverberated causing ripples to form in the air. These invisible ripples were filled with destructive energy and anything that it touched would either burst apart from within or get shed in half like the trees around them.
Those guild members from the Baskerville guild who thought that they could help their guild master were forced to retreat after seeing that sh. If they jumped in between that fight, they would only be a dead weight.
The sh of two guild masters was in a realm of its own.
Puff¡ Donte spewed out a mouthful of blood. The damage from the Song of demise was greater than he thought. His internal organs was in a mess and his muscles were starting to tear, using his powerful skills at this moment only seemed to worsen his condition.
"Hehe¡ what''s wrong Donte? That was weaker than your previous attack. Are you perhaps unable to gather your strength?" Manuel remarked with a wide smile on his face. Although he acted all unperturbed, internally he knew how close to death he was.
That attack earlier from Donte, managed to pierce through the Mana shield that he had created using mana armament, his [mana armour] and his defences. If not for the fact that he had sacrificed his left hand to deflect the attack away from his neck, he would have been done for.
Blood flowed down from his pierced hand and shoulder kicking his natural recovery skills; however, it was unable to stop the blood from flowing out and wounds from closing.
"This?!!¡ [A] tier twin daggers Proliferate. I see, no wonder my weapon wasn''t able to break past your daggers. The rank of my sword was inferiorpared to yours" the rank of Manuel''s sword was only [B] tier, even though it was refined till refinement level [5] in terms of pure ability, it was still inferior.
"Haha, I thought we were equal in terms of power but I guess you were always hiding your powers huh? Nevertheless, it is my victory¡ do you know why?" Manuel raised his hand and stopped his subordinates from getting any closer.
He kept his gaze on Donte and spoke in a deranged manner "You all, don''t bother with me. I will stop the guild leader of the phantom light guild, you all use this chance to deliver their guild the final blow".
With the exception of Donte, almost all of the guild members of the phantom light guild were knocked unconscious by the Horn of Voranius. If the Baskerville guild wanted to deliver them thest blow, this was the perfect opportunity.
The members of the Baskerville guild abided by their order and turned their attention to the people that were lying on the ground in the distance. The unconscious members of the phantom light guild weren''t even able to perceive how they were knocked unconscious and killed.
One by one, they died, fallen at the weapons of the people who had journeyed together with them all this while.
"YOU BASTARD!!!" seeing his guild member''s chest being pierced by his opponent''s weapons and magic, Donte''s eyes crimson with fury. He was so enraged that all of his reasoning that kept him sane, left his side at this moment and he flew into a frenzy.
He no longer bothered with the condition of his body and activated all of his augmenting skills. [Ultra Enhanced Agility], [Ultra Enhanced Endurance], [Steadfast], [Unleash], [Eclipse Engulf]¡
Donte''s power had rocketed up and reached newer heights. The power of a level 617 [Eclipse Night Assassin] and the guild leader of the phantom light guild were in full disy.
Facing Donte at full power, even Manuel couldn''t take it easy. A shadow of concern shed over his face and the moment he blinked his eyelids, Donte was gone.
Manuel scanned his surroundings in a hurry, his senses were at full alert prepared for any attacks from any direction yet no matter how long he stood guard, Donte never appeared. Flustered, Manuel sank into deep thought and only realised what was going on when he heard loud screaming over from the direction where his guild members was.
"It can''t be¡".
Manuel turned only to see Donte massacring his guild members who were trying to kill the unconscious members of the phantom light guild. Every sh and every hack of those daggers contained 100 % of Donte''s strength and fury.
Chapter 568 568- Unease (3)
Even if these people were all elite and members of the primary team of the Baskerville guild, in front of Donte who was using hundred percent of his power in every swing and attack, they might just as well be unarmed ordinary people who fell from a single strike of his dagger.
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty adventurers from the Baskerville guild had fallen prey to his attack.
Donte''s daggers were about to inch closer towards one more member of the Baskerville guild and take their life, when¡ [Great Fury Shock]. A wild sh filled with a berserk power of a level 613 [Armoured diator] came hacking down at Donte.
BOOOM¡ dust and rubble was lifted up for a couple of meters and a great depression formed on the ground.
Manuelnded beside his sword and looked for any signs of Donte. His attack earlier didn''t connect, the opponent had utilised a strange movement skill to dodge his attacks at thest possible moment and utilising their evolved [Stealth] skill they blended with the surrounding and disappeared inside the dust.
"Dammit¡ Fight me Donte!!" Manuel even used his taunt skill to drive Donte''s attacks on him but to no avail. thetter was too fast and out of the range of his skill
Screams of his guild members dying echoed all around Manuel and he was unable to stop him.
"If you wanna y it like that then¡" His eyes turned towards the unconscious group of people lying on the floor and a crimson glow also shed in his eyes. He was thinking about doing the same thing that Donte was doing currently.
Ignoring the guild leader and going after his members.
At this moment, the members of the phantom light guild were slowly starting to wake up and put up a fight against the guild members of the Baskerville guild.
-----
The scene was of total pandemonium, everyone was fighting against someone, skills and magic was being shot everywhere, and spilled blood on the floor made a pool.
"What is going on?" the other teams who had arrived at the ce where the scene was unfolding, couldn''tprehend what they were seeing with their own eyes.
Adventurers fighting against adventurers, there were no monsters in sight. All they could see was the bodies of people, those that were lying on the ground after being robbed of their lives and those that were still locked in a fight.
In a chaotic situation such as this, it was very hard to tell if this was the doing of any monsters or simply utter madness.
"Stop this foolishness right now!!" the grey haired man roared arriving at the scene. Following his appearance, the rest of the teams that had spread all around the floor, also gathered at this ce at this time.
The words that he uttered fell on deaf ears, none of the members of the Baskerville Guild or the Phantom Light Guild showed any intention to stop. They simply kept attacking each other and shed blood.
Realising that the madness wouldn''t stop, he decided to take action and jumped in between the two guild leaders who were currently locked in a life-or-death battle.
"Get out of the way"...
The two guild leaders roared, their eyes masked with hatred and insanity. It didn''t look like they nned to stop their attack.
"Hmph" The grey haired man simply snorted, facing their attacks he casually raised his palms towards them and invoked two multi-tiered magic circles that flew towards the guild leaders and bound them in ce.
"[Holy Bind], [Astral Prison]"...
The two guild leaders who were caught inside that magic circle, struggled to get out. But their weakened body was just too powerless against the thing that bound them. The conditions of the bodies of the two guild leaders showed how much they had driven each other to the brink of death.
Perhaps if the grey haired man didn''t stop them in time, one of them or even both of them would have died from their injuries.
After stopping the two guild leaders of the Baskerville guild and the Phantom Light guild, he spread his powers and stopped the struggling members of the two guilds. The other teams also helped calm the situation by immobilising the surviving members and keeping them in check so that they do not start another fight.
All sorts of reasoning could be seen gone from inside the heads of these people by the way they were snarling and roaring when facing the other party.
"What in the world happened here?" the grey haired man asked after the situation was controlled somehow.
The other teams that have arrived at the scene earlier than him, exined what they saw but even they did not know what was the cause of that bloodbath of a fight. There was no other term to better describe this battle where more than 90% of the members of both the guilds had perished at the hands of the others.
Even now they were struggling to kill more people from the other guild. Nobody expected two guilds that came from the same region and had been in a cordial rtionship for so many years to suddenly start massacring one another in the middle of the expedition.
Forget about these ordinary members, even the guild leaders of their two guilds were no different.
A gloomy atmosphere engulfed the ce, the exploration had been going well up until now. other than the time when the tertiary team made the mistake of entering a trap, things had been going well with the primary force with no casualties arriving, that was up until now.
Looking at the nauseating scene of dead bodies lying in a pool of blood with numerous cruel injuries, the other nine teams couldn''t help but sigh in regret.
These adventurers that had died, were no ordinary people but the primary team of two of the top twenty guilds. They were the backbone and foundation of the guild. With them gone, it was no exaggeration to say that the Baskerville guild and the phantom light guild had lost all qualifications to call themselves a big guild and rank amongst the top twenty.
It was a loss that would be hard to offset for years toe. But the question still remained, what was the cause of this massacre?
Looking at the signs of the battle, there was no indication of the involvement of any monsters or traps. Which meant that this was all caused by the adventurers themselves.
The only ones who could give them a clear answer were the guild leaders of the two guilds. But before that, they needed to be brought back to their sane mind.
Fortunately for them, they had hunted all the Epsiloths on this floor and the effects of the mist was gone. Although they still needed to find the entrance to the next floor, it can wait given the urgency of the situation.
The grey haired man cast another magic, a pure white light dropped down on Manuel and Donte, healing their wounds and calming their frenzied mind. After a while, their grunting stopped and some lucidity could be seen appearing in their eyes.
However, the next second when the two saw each other, hatred welled up in their hearts again and they started struggling and fighting toe out of their bindings.
"You bastard"¡
"Kill¡ Kill all of them"¡
As soon as their minds became a little sane, they started throwing ng at each other. Their disgraceful behaviour was nothing like their status would suggest. Looking at them, no one would be unable to associate them with the reputable guild masters of two big guilds and not just some street thugs.
"Enough you two!! Do you not see how much trouble and damage you have caused already?" The grey haired man snapped, he flicked his finger and the both of them were separated.
"Now who is going to tell me what happened here?".
The behaviour of the members of these two guilds was clearly very unusual, it was as if they were under some mind encroachment skill. He thought that they had fallen prey to some kind of ability of a monster; however, the answer that he received betrayed all of his expectations.
"It was him, his guild and he were the ones that attacked us first. He sneaked attack me and started killing members of my guild with some stupid excuse. That fucking psycho even used his guild treasure, the horn of Voranius against us.
"How could I just watch my people get killed like that? So I killed their members before they could kill ours¡ haa¡ haa" Donte roared in resettlement like a wounded animal. His words were so shocking that they caused the others to frown their brows in consternation.
"Calm down, you are not making any sense right now. Tell us what happened after your team went towards the northwestern direction" the grey haired man questioned.
Donte aggrieved and furious at the loss, told them the whole incident and asked the grey haired man that he released him. But the grey haired man did not release him immediately and posed the same question to Manuel.
"Kuahaha" the leader of the Baskerville guild, instead of answering started cackling, his chortling soon turned into thunderousughter as if the situation was extremely funny.
"Why did I do such a thing you ask? Isn''t it obvious¡ it was to avenge my son. He was buried inside that mysterious ruins on the 34th floor forever and all you said was it cannot be helped. Well if you cannot help me then I will take action myself".
Chapter 569 569- Unease (4)
"But why the Phantom Light guild? The ones that are responsible for the death of your son is the dungeon and the demon who controls it" The grey haired man reasoned. The guild leaders of the other guilds also found his reasoning baffling.
"I... am punishing the ones that are responsible. Donte don''t think that I don''t know, before entering the mysterious ruins, your disciple and my son had a scuffle. How is it that your disciple was able to reach the central chamber while my son didn''t?"
"You want me to believe that they simply disappeared inside those ruins? Like hell that could happen¡ it''s clear that he was targeted and only the people from your guild have the reason to do so. The tertiary team of your guild was also thest one to arrive at that chamber, why is that? Kuhaha¡ isn''t it because they were held up by the ambush they set up for my team?".
Manuel spoke with an almost maniacal smile on his face.
"Damn you fucking lunatic, I told you already that it was not my people that ambushed your guild. The disappearance behind your son is not rted to us" Donte retorted back.
"Haha, as if I will believe your words. You all too¡ do you really think the incident on the 34th floor was simply an ident? Don''t you all suspect something in your heart? Hehe, in the first ce, we cannot trust each other, it was our biggest mistake to leave our backs to another guild. Sooner orter you will find out that my actions were right¡ hahaha".
Manuel gae a maniacalugh. His words may be out of line, but none of these guild leaders could refute it since all of them had their own concerns inside their hearts.
Even though it was not something tangible, the link that held this expedition force together could be seen snapping at this moment.
"Enough..." the grey haired man sighed "Brutus call the secondary team, ask them to look after these people. We will proceed forward without them".
It was a pain to get involved in the muddy waters of the top guilds of the kingdom. The grey haired man believed it was better to leave these people here than to take them along in this expedition forward.
It was still unknown how many floors and dangersy ahead of them thus leaving them here so that they do not start another trouble was the best choice. or so he thought at that moment.
-----
Inside the main hall of the white pce. Everyone was looking at Simon in shocked silence. That action of his that manipted the minds of the people without even lifting a finger was downright... "demonic".
Well, he was a demon so Simon took it more like apliment.
"No wonder you didn''t ce any predatory monster on that floor. You were waiting for them to turn against each other, weren''t you? This is also why you asked the Ogoraths to bring back all those armours and weapons belonging to those people right?" Irene muttered analysing Simon''s action.
It was just as she had said, after the Ogoraths destroyed the tertiary teams of Baskerville guild and a few other guilds, they brought back their gears and didn''t leave any evidence for the primary team to find making it look like they had disappeared.
A dungeon can only absorb the bodies of the adventurers, their gears and other materialistic things are left behind and bing the possessions of the dungeon or the other adventurers. Usually it was the adventurers who pocketed the gears of other adventurers since they were valuables after all.
So to the primary teams, the disappearance of even the gears of the Baskerville guild and a few other guilds feltpletely out of ce and rose many suspicions.
If they were attacked by monsters, their gears would have been left behind; however, the primary teams couldn''t even find a single gear much less any survivor outside of those seven doors that could tell them what had happened there.
In the first ce, the pit and the mysterious ruins were designed in a long and winding way. So even if it was the survivors of the tertiary team who were personally involved in that incident, they couldn''t say with certainty that no fight urred among the teams.
"Correct" Simon nodded his head "My intention was to create discordance within the expedition force. They might look like a solid opponent to face at a nce, but they have many weaknesses and faults that we can take leverage of. For example, their prejudice against each other and their greed. Well, it seemed that the 40th floor had worked out quite well in my favour".
Everything that he knew about the expedition force and the guilds it wasprised of, was from the time he spent at the capital and the knowledge that he gathered there. The rest was from his experience as a game developer and a human.
Just as a famous war general and strategist had once said, if you know your enemy and yourself, you need not fear the results of a thousand battles.
Simon was aware of how capable the expedition force was and knew the ability of his dungeon. Thus he wasn''t very bothered by the fact that he was currently facing the strongest guilds from the kingdom of Ellesmere.
"My lord, the other teams have stopped the fighting. Should we do something about it?" Coleus asked.
"Hmm¡ we will do something about it, but not now. The secondary team will look after the surviving member of those guilds. For now, let us enjoy and watch how the reaming members of the primary unit fare against our other floors and traps" Simon spoke with a smile.
Of course, he wanted to see how long this superficial bond that was holding the expedition force together wouldst. The uing floors were set up in a way that would challenge their fortitude and mental strength at every turn.
Starting from the 41st floor it was all deeper floors, and the monster that spawned there were all powerful. Many of them were mutated species or monsters that were brought from the northern and the western region of the forest.
Their powers were unlike the monsters on the middle and upper floors of the dungeon. With their numbers and strength, even the powerful expedition force would suffer some casualties.
The dungeon was also no doubt suffering some loss from the monsters that were being cleared on every floor butpared to the gains he was getting every hour, it was not even worth mentioning. That is why Simon''s goal from the start was to dy the expedition force for as long as he could and milk everyst profit out of them before ultimately killing them.
------
40th floor, after taking an hour long break to rpose their minds, the expedition army started moving once again. It didn''t take them long to find the entrance to the next floor and dive deeper.
The 41st floor was a huge jungle covered in mist much like the 40th floor. However, it was not inhabited by Epsiloths and the mist here did not have any properties that could mess with your senses or navigational skills.
Though that may be the case, it couldn''t be said that the 41st floor was any less troublesome. Due to the existence of Trihorns, monsters that looked like lions with three ming horns on their heads. It took the expedition force quite some effort to clear it.
Trihorns were powerful predator monsters that could be ssified as Super ss beasts. Although their strength was under level 400, they moved in a pride and were quite the hunters. Plus they were also very intelligent, they knew how to take advantage of their habitat and attack the adventurers when their guard was rxed the most.
The horns of the Trihorns worked as a radar using which theymunicated with each other, so in a way, the 41st floor was like an ideal environment for them where these canines could disy their full abilities.
Perhaps because what Manuel said was still in their minds, many of the members of different guilds made silly mistakes that they would nevermit usually. These involuntarily led to injuries and finally to a casualty.
This was the first time the primary unit of the expedition force had suffered a loss from the monsters. It is true that after bing an elite adventurer hardly anyone died in a low ranking dungeon but there has been some precedence before.
It was quite a shock for various reasons; nevertheless, the primary unit kept moving forward. Although it was a big loss for the guild that adventurer belonged to, but ultimately an adventurer''s life was full of dangers and it was not an unusual scene.
It took the expedition force more than ten hours to clear the 41st floor and descend to the next. The 42nd, 43rd and the 44th floor was simrly filled with dangerous monsters and traps but in the end, it was still cleared by the expedition force.
Nheless, it came for a price and that was the life of several adventurers. Due to the thing in their mind weighing them down, the group was starting to be dysfunctional and everybody could see it but no one wanted to address it. After all, it was a sensitive topic and if it was approached with carelessness, the incident that urred on the 40th floor between the Baskerville guild and the phantom light guild might ur again.
Although it couldn''t be seen at a nce, with two of the big guilds missing, the efficiency and power of the primary unit have decreased by a lot.
Chapter 570 570- The 45th Floor, The Treasure Chests And The Chaos.
The floors that should have taken the expedition force a day, ended up taking more than two days.
A temporary camp was set up near the entrance to the 45th floor. After diving for more than two days continuously, it was decided that the expedition force would take a couple of hours of break before moving forward.
Inside one of the tents that was upied by the Sea god''s trident guild. The high ranking members of the guild participating in this expedition were currently gathered inside one and were intently discussing something on a table, when the tent was opened and a person stepped in.
"Sir Dalton" the adventurers greeted.
The person that walked in, was none other than the former vice guild master of the Sea god''s trident guild, Dalton Lance. Currently, he just came back after attending the leader''s meeting.
"Sir Dalton, what decisions were taken during the meeting?" one of the adventurers who was a senior ranking member of the guild, asked.
"It looks like we will proceed as it is. There was a motion to have some of the members of the secondary team to join us. However, it was rejected since they would just be slowing us down instead of helping" Dalton replied finding himself a seat to sit.
"I see then when will we move?" another adventurer asked.
"The craft smiths with the secondary unit, are currently tending to our weapons. We will move as soon as they repair our weapons"..
Fighting hordes of monsters had abused their weapons quite a bit. No matter what their rank or whatever materials they were made of, they needed to be restored a bit by the cksmiths to work like usual.
"Understood¡ but sir Dalton, we have already dived more than 44 floors. How deep do you think this dungeon is?"¡
"Wasn''t it supposed to be a newly emerged one? But the more we dive deeper, the bigger the floors bes"¡
"Also, have you noticed the concentration of mana here? It is so dense that it has far outssed the level of the capital which is sitting on top of arge mystical vein"¡
"Right, I feel like all my pores have opened and I have levelled up by three levels since descending the 40th floor. If I stay here a little longer, I think that I will level up once again"¡
The adventurers inside the tent were discussing how amazing the dungeon was and how many levels each of them had gained. Perhaps only Dalton and a few others had realised how unique the dungeon was.
ording to the information he has gathered, it hasn''t even been two years since the dungeon emerged. Yet in that time frame it had not only ranked up to [D] tier, but was fast approaching the level of a [C] rank.
''Has it already be a [C] rank? No, it can''t be, when the rank of a dungeon increases, it causes a unique phenomenon in the outside world. ording to the words of the adventurers living in the tower town, no such phenomenon was spotted.
Which means that this dungeon is still a [D] rank'' Dalton wondered. His line of thought made him further believe that all of the usualness of the dungeon was rted to the item that the Demon had gotten from the forbidden grounds.
"I think that we are not far¡ the density of mana here is proof that we are closer to the dungeon. Maybe a couple more floors before we find that demon. I hope that everybody knows what we are here for?"
"Our goal is not the forest spring spirits living here but the item that the demon possesses. While everybody is blinded by the treasure in front of them, we will swiftly hunt the demon and take that item from him. Well once we have the item in our hands, I will not stop you guys from hunting them after all, it was our guild that have discovered this news first and our guild master was the one who informed that guy about it. I''m sure he wouldn''t mind if we hoarded a couple of spirit orbs" Dalton ordered.
The allure of the spirit orbs was so incredible that forget about them, even the maind would be shaken if this news was brought to light.
How could their Sea God''s trident not take a share of this big delicious pie? From the information their guild master got from the man who had discovered this secret first, there were more than a hundred spirit orbs to be harvested.
Just a single spirit orb was like an ultimate treasure that could refine and purify one''s bloodline allowing them to reach heights that they could have never believed was possible in their life. Imagine hundreds of them just lying in wait inside this dungeon.
Truly, this dungeon had far more secrets than what could be seen from the surface.
On another camp, Brutus Sarge, the guild leader of the savannah beast guild flumped to his seat exhausted aftering back from the meeting.
"How was the meeting guild master?" inside, a couple of high ranking guild members were waiting for him.
"Yeah, it looks like we still have to descend a few more floors before we can conquer this dungeon. It was decided we will continue on with our current numbers, covering our ranks with members of the secondary team will only just slow us down. Everyone was on the same page when it came to finishing this expedition as fast as possible".
Brutus told them about the various decisions that were taken in that meeting in an exhausted manner. The reason for his exhaustion was none other than the meeting and the people who attended it.
All that constant argument and usation was starting to be a huge pain to deal with. Ever since what happened on the 34th and 40th floor, the meeting was bing more and more stifling to attend.
As the expedition leader, this annoying thing fell on his shoulders to deal with.
"Haa¡" Brutus gave another sigh and downed a bottle of liquor that was set on the table. Everybody could see how exasperated he was, so they left him alone to give him some moment of silence.
As Brutus was left alone in the tent, he fell t on his back and stared at the ceiling of the tent nkly.
"That fool¡ he really went and did it" it was obvious who he was calling a fool. He knew the man had something nned the moment he came to ask his son about the affairs of the mysterious ruins.
However, even he didn''t think that Manuel would just straight up start a war with the phantom light guild. Because of him, the expedition force was the way it was, his words had made everyone paranoid.
"Sigh, the best thing to do in this situation would be to clear the dungeon as soon as possible".
The grey haired man had estimated that the dungeon has 50 floors or more. That is to say, they still have a lot more ways to go.
Seeing the current condition of the expedition force, Brutus was more concerned if the group wouldst that long. The tension among the guilds was building and after what Manuel did, it had deeply ingrained itself into everyone''s mind.
Every guild was cautious against the others while they marched and did not leave their backs to the team next to them. It was as if saying they cannot trust anyone. Because of this their match had been slow and injuries and deaths appeared on every floor they descended.
If this went on for long, it wouldn''t take time for that spark to develop into a wildfire that consumed all of them.
SIGH¡ Brutus sighed and yed with the drink in his hand "Was the rtionship between our top guilds really this fragile?" he questioned to seemingly no one.
He was wondering how the situation came to this; however, even he couldn''t have imagined that it was all incited by the demon of this dungeon. The demon that they had underestimated, knew their guilds very well and was precisely taking advantage of that delicate bnce that was holding them together.
"That aside, this dungeon is really a handful. I thought bringing the top twenty guilds to join an expedition to a low ranking dungeon was an overkill. But who would have thought even after ten days since entering the dungeon, we would still be unable to conquer it?" Brutus mused to himself.
"I guess Xandros really was right, this dungeon is really very unusual".
He recalled the words that Xandros, the vice guild leader of the tyrant mountain guild told them on the 20th floor. However, at that time all of them took his words very lightly as a result of which, the tertiary teams of all their guilds suffered a disastrous defeat, the guilds started fighting one another and the distrust between them grew.
Even the primary unitprised of the primary teams of all the guilds was starting to incur losses the further they went. Nevertheless, the most surprising thing about this dungeon of all was the monsters that spawned here.
Unlike the other low ranking dungeons, the monsters that could be found here are unique so much so that they could even be branded as new species. It was not just one or two, but many new species popped up the deeper the floors they went.
These unique monsters were far stronger than what could be found in any other low ranking dungeons. Brutus could proudly say that he had dived inside a lot of low ranking dungeons; however, none of the dungeons was as big, mysterious and dangerous as this one.
This dungeon was not conforming to any of themon sense and knowledge they had about the low ranking dungeons.
Chapter 571 571- The 45th Floor, The Treasure Chests And The Chaos (2).
"Well it doesn''t matter, in the end conquering this dungeon is only a matter of time" Brutus had no doubts about that. The dungeon may be dangerous, filled with mystery and irregrities but it wouldn''t be able to stop them.
As Brutus sank into his thoughts, time flew by and soon it was time to move again. They got their weapons and armour all restored up and ready to be used once again.
They expedition force gathered near the entrance to the 45th floor, their current objective and started descending the stairs. Soon, they were in front of the 45th floor.
The 45th floor unlike the other floors they had trotted up until now, was a vast rocky terrain filled with boulders and mountains. No signs of greenery could be seen anywhere in this ce, all around them were huge rock formations.
If the ce wasn''t a dungeon, it would have been a spectacr scenic view that would attract a lot of tourists.
"These are metamorphic rocks! They usually form in ces that contain an immense amount of heat" The guild leader of the Ten Mountains Valley, Roberson Rangel spoke.
He bent down and touched the ground "The rocks are heated up¡ is this floor perhaps a volcanic area?".
"That can''t be, this dungeon is a low ranking one. Special terrains and unique conditions can only appear in high ranking dungeons" The grey haired man denied those words.
"If it isn''t from a special terrain, then it means that something on this floor had transformed these rocks into such" Brutus pointed out.
The other guild leaders also came to the same realisation. As the expedition force marched forward, they felt the temperature around the surroundings rise up. The closer they inched towards the centre of the floor, the higher the temperature became. Until it reached a point where even the breathing air became hot and the adventurers felt like they were in the middle of a desert in a hot summer weather.
Some people who had resistance to fire, were fine but those who didn''t, seemed to struggle a little.
"Cassius, what do you think?" Brutus who was in the forefront and leading the group, asked the guild leader of the Assassins guild who was standing on top of a huge rock formation.
Since this ce had nothing but identical looking rocks, it was quite easy to get lost if one did not know how to navigate the way. And from up there, one could get a good view of the entire floor or so Brutus thought.
However, the answer that he received from Cassius was not an optimistic one.
"Everything here looks the same. The numerous rock formations hide the entire valley, I cannot see inside the rifts. I can say that we are not walking round and round but I cannot say if we are going in the right direction".
"I see" Brutus nodded his head. If they cannot navigate their way like this, they had no other choice but to explore the whole ce and find the right path. But doing so would end up taking a lot of their time¡ that is if they marched as a single unit.
If they divided themselves into teams like what they did on the 40th floor, they would be able to explore the floor much more quickly. However, after what had happened thest time, Brutus believed that many guild leaders wouldn''t ept this. He himself was against it too so he can''t me the others.
"Is there no other way than to divide ourselves into teams once again?" Brutus muttered, it was as if the dungeon itself was trying to lead them into doing so.
"It cannot be helped, if we want to clear the ce faster, it is the best way" The grey haired man also arrived at the same thought.
"Personally, I don''t have a problem if it''s just the members of my own guild" the guild leader of the Crimson Demolition Guild, Arven Lantz interjected. He proposed that instead of dividing themselves into two guilds in each team, they all lead their own guild to explore the ce.
This way, there was no chance that you would suddenly get ambushed from behind but it nheless opened up other risks.
"What are you going to do?" The grey haired looked towards Brutus. Since Brutus was made the leader of the expedition force, decisions such as this must be made by him.
Brutus pondered for a while, just as he was about to say something, the ground suddenly started trembling.
"What''s going on?" the quaking of the ground became more frequent with time.
"We havepany. I can see clouds of dusting towards our way from all directions. It''s the monsters, they have located us" Cassius who was surveying from above, interjected at this moment.
"What kind of monsters are they? Are they new species?" the guild leaders asked.
"Wait up, I cannot see clearly because of the dust barring my vision but they look humanoid. What? They are climbing up the rocks. Everyone be careful, they are some subspecies of demonic apes" Cassius reported.
His shout immediately caused the expedition army to raise their weapons and prepare forbat.
"This is bad, our current location is not a good one" Brutus examined his surroundings; all around them wererge rock formations. They were squished in between cliffs and the space was narrow enough to only allow a couple of people to walk together side by side.
There was not enough space for the guilds to disy their power. The paths ahead were also the same, if they huddled together, they would no doubt suffer injuries.
"Iing!!!" as if to prove his words, the monsters fired huge fireballs that came from all around. Some missed their marks, some cracked on the cliff side while some dropped on the adventurers.
Although the adventurers were able to defend through it due to their skills, they all felt a little constrained around here. The monsters skilfully used the terrains to climb around the rock formation and cliff side and pincer them from all directions.
"Tch, a bunch of weak monsters think that they can use fire magic in front of me and my guild" the man with gaudy red robes and frisky crimson hair, spat. He raised his hand and the core stone embedded in his ring shined.
A vast amount of energy gathered around his hand and formed a golden rotating ball. The heating from the ball was so intense that it even distorted space and forced some of the adventurers to step back.
"WAIT!!¡ STOP!!¡ if you fire that magic here¡" Brutus tried to stop but he was a step toote.
The guild leader of the Crimson Demolition Guild, Arven Lantz smiled "Infernal Magic Mastery- [Scorching Hell st]".
He had finished conjuring his magic within a few seconds and fired it towards arge group of demonic apes that were throwing fireballs from on top of a rock. However, contrary to his expectation, although he did manage to make charcoal out of the monsters, he had also engulfed the expedition force into its radius.
To make matters even worse, the cliffside couldn''t handle the powerful magic and huge chunks of debris started falling down on them. Quite a few people got caught underneath it.
In a situation like this where they cannot disy their full power, clustering together like this will only hamper them. Thus Brutus came to a decision.
"Everyone we cannot fight like this. The ce is too narrow and disadvantageous for us to use our skills and magic. So let us divide ourselves into different teams and clear the floors separately. All the guilds will work alone and stay in touch with each other through the transponder conch. That is all, disperse".
Right after hismand, the expedition force started separating and each guild hurriedly went towards a different path.
The 45th floor was like a grand canyon with numerous rock formations and rifts. Each rift and gorge was narrow and winding, it had multiple twists and turns and was like a giant maze one would have difficulty navigating through. On top of that, the floor was filled with Fire demon Apes who were quite powerful and difficult to deal with.
----
3 hours into the exploration of the 45th floor...
"Dammit, these monsters areing out of everywhere," Dalton Lance remarked, after the expedition force divided themselves up, he and his team who had chosen the northeastern direction, came to a stop after a while.
This ce was filled with monsters and they came at you from everywhere. The Sea god''s trident guild wandered around the rifts and when they finally found some broad area, they chose to fight their pursuers.
Skills and magic flew everywhere, and after half an hour, a mountain of monster corpsesy around them.
"Huff¡ Huff¡ is everyone alright? Those who are injured you can drink your potions and rest, we are going to a little break here" Dalton organised the team. Although this ce still made them vulnerable to guerri attacks, it was better than the other ce and broad enough for them to respond to monster attacks.
"Sir Dalton, what are these monsters? Although they look like demonic ape, their characteristics and attack patterns are so much different" one of the guild members asked.
The monster they were facing, was quite intelligent and individually were all above level 380. Not only that, they also knew fire attacks and used guerri warfare. A monster of such intelligence was rare even in [C] tier dungeons; however, this dungeon was filled with such monsters.
"Sir Dalton,e look at this" one of the senior members and one of his trusted aides, was scavenging through the monsters when he pointed at something.
Chapter 572 572- The 45th Floor, The Treasure Chests And The Chaos (3).
There among the mountain of corpses, was a couple of monsters that had died after a hideous wound was opened on their chest. Revealed from inside their wound, was something that was sparkling with a bright rubellite light.
"Core Stones¡" Dalton was amazed, not because he had seen a core stone for the first time but because of the number of monsters that had formed the core stones. That mountain of corpses had around forty ape demons out of which core stones had formed inside the bodies of at least ten of them.
Not to mention these core stones were all of very good quality and filled with fire elemental power. If sold in the market, it would fetch quite a price.
What was going on? A core stone only formed in one out of hundreds of monsters and that monster had to be quite intelligent and with the potential to undergo further evolution. It was not easy for a monster to form core stones, which is why the prices of core stones in the market are quite high since one usually needed to defeat hundreds of monsters or a powerful one, to get a core stone.
However, the scene had turned this preconception of everyone in their heads.
"Are you telling me, all of these monsters had the potential to further evolve?" Dalton muttered under his breath. The Fire Demon Ape could already be ssified as a super ss monster with some of them being around level 400 but if they further evolved wouldn''t they perhaps just reach the disaster ss?
Good Heavens!! The moment this thought urred to Dalton, he couldn''t help but feel like he was struck by a lightning bolt. He was more clearer than anyone in this expedition force as to how unusual this dungeon was. Yet even he couldn''t help but feel like he had greatly underestimated this dungeon at this moment.
He had this bad premonition assault his heart but before he could delve into this feeling, it disappeared like some kind of an afterthought.
The Sea god''s trident guild harvested the core stones from the monsters before moving forward. They had only started walking for a short while when the team that they had sent forward to scout their surroundings returned with some startling news.
A few kilometres ahead of them, the path which branched to the left, a small colony of Fire demon Ape was spotted. ording to the scouts, they seemed to be guarding a huge exquisite looking treasure chest.
? "What should we do¡ Sir Dalton?" the team asked. Dalton contemted for a while, with his experience he could clearly see that it was some form of a trap set up by the master of this dungeon. The cheese was the treasure chest.
Knowing that should they let themselves fall for such an obvious trap? Or should they avoid it? The treasure chest, however, is always filled with riches and are something that all the adventurer desired.
"Let us first go and check it out. If the number of the monsters isn''t too much for us to handle alone, we will try to finish them off. If not we will walk around them". Dalton exined his ns.
The allure of a treasure chest might be irresistible to other ordinary guilds; however, their Sea god''s trident guild wasn''t your ordinary guild, it was one of the top five guilds of this kingdom. Their eyes weren''t blinded by greed to the point of jumping into a situation recklessly.
If they found the situation wasn''t worth the struggle they would just manoeuvre around the ce. Though that may be the case, they were after all adventurers too and it is in the blood of the adventurers to seek romance and thrill.
And what better excited them than a treasure chest filled with the possibility of riches? Dalton was sure that many of the guild members of his, were thinking in the same line.
If it''s too much hassle, they would simply ignore it but if it was being given in silver stter they wouldn''t hesitate to grab it. All of them were here to seek treasure after all, but the treasure that they had their eyes on couldn''t bepared with the ones that could be found inside these treasure chests.
Or so they thought, but who would have expected, the things that were inside that treasure chest, would blow their mindpletely once the news of what was inside was revealed?
After Dalton and his team followed the scout''s instructions and turned left from the path that diverged into two ahead... they arrived at a wide open plot of space.
"There," the scouts pointed out. Though even without that, everybody could see it clearly.
There at the centre of this ce, ced atop a peculiar looking rock formation, was an exquisite looking treasure chest which overflowed with vast mystical energy that could be felt even from here.
Just by basking in that aura, one could tell that the quality of contents inside that treasure chest was by no means ordinary. Everyone''s eyes glossed with an indescribable light the moment they spotted the treasure chest.
Though that may be the case, reaching the treasure chest wasn''t going to be easy either since quite a lot of monster was guarding it. At a nce, there seemed to be more than hundreds of Fire Demon Ape surrounding the treasure chest.
Dalton noted their numbers. Currently, their guild was hiding near a fork in the rift that led to this ce.
"It looks like the monsters haven''t noticed us," one of the scouts with an assassin ss said after observing. Since the monsters were only guarding the vicinity of the treasure chest and didn''t stray far from it, they would have to fight the monsters if they wanted the treasure chest.
Plus the enemy hasn''t noticed them giving them the initiative of attacking first. But the problem was their number.
"Sir Dalton can''t we just break open the chest with a ranged attack and see what''s inside it?" an adventure suggested. He was a little hesitant to attack a whole colony of fire demon apes if they can just see what was inside the treasure chest by breaking it from a distance.
"That won''t do¡ that treasure chest is no ordinary treasure chest, it''s a high grade one. Even if you attack from a distance, it wouldn''t even dent it" attacking the treasure chest was a bad idea after all what would you do if the things inside also gets destroyed if you used too powerful an attack?
From what they could tell from the ambient aura leaking out of that treasure chest, its content was definitely not ordinary. If by chance they damaged the treasure, they would have no ce to regret itter. Hence that adventurer''s suggestion was quickly shut down.
"Then will we just ignore the treasure?"¡
"There is no reason for us to do so. A treasure chest guaranteed to be filled with rich rewards is right in front of us, how could we as adventurers just walk away from it despite knowing that?"¡
"What is Sir Dalton implying?" the members of the sea god''s trident guild asked.
Dalton smiled turned towards them and said ostentatiously "We attack them. There is no reason for us to walk away from the treasure. Although the number of the enemy might appear intimidating, our numbers are clearly greater than theirs".
"We just need to stall them for long enough for mages to fire their powerful spells. Those who agree with me, ready your weapons, we are going to go hunt some fire demon apes".
The number of the monsters was in the hundreds. Inparison, the adventurers of the Sea god''s trident numbered around a hundred and ny. Clearly, they have the numerical advantage here. Not only that, but their levels were also much higher than the monsters.
The Fire demon ape may be a super ss monster with the potential of evolving even further; however, each and every member of the primary team of the sea god''s trident was above levels 400 and 450.
They all can solo one fire demon ape each and if they worked together, it would be even faster to finish them off. Be that may, fighting a super ss monster and one that is a new species was very dangerous.
Many people might end up getting injured which is why, Dalton gave them a choice. He wasn''t going to bring those that didn''t agree with the idea forcefully and he was fine with them staying behind and watching their backs.
Perhaps his intention got through to his team, surprisingly there was no one who wanted to stay behind. After hearing Dalton''s words, they were each filled with vigour and itching to fight.
On his mark, the group spread out and slowly encircled the monsters. The mages started chanting and with them firing off the first rounds of magic, the battle started.
ROAARRR¡ the fire demon apes who were taken in by surprise, roared in anger. A few who were cluttered together quickly fell to the bombardment of magic. Nevertheless, they were monsters after all, their instincts triggered and they quickly dodged the other iing magic attacks.
Using this opportunity when they were disorganised, Dalton led the warrior and assailed the monsters.
"[Ten-Ton Hammer st]" he brandished his [A] tier hammer and sent any fire demon ape that came attacking him.
"Warriors use your taunt to keep the attention of the monsters on you. Assassins finish off the ones that stray away, do not let them approach the backlines" Dalton handedmands from the frontlines at the same time as he continued to mow down one monster after another.
A top guild was truly different from an ordinary guild, just from their movement, one could see that they were highly coordinated and had many years of coordination and trust under their belt.
Chapter 573 573- The 45th Floor, The Treasure Chests And The Chaos (4).
There was no w in their movements, it was as if they knew each other very well and could easily anticipate what the person next to them would do.
Each of the members of the sea god''s trident were very experienced and knew the weakness or opening of the others making it nigh impossible for the fire demon ape to break through their frontlines.
"[Warriors Challenge]" a warrior beside Dalton used his taunt skill to attract the aggression of a monster towards him while he made use of the powerful rare skill of his ss [Master Mercenary] to finish off the monster.
The others around him were also adapting a simr tactic. The warriors with the knight or guardian sses would use their high defence stats to halt the advance of the monsters while the warriors with the berserker sses with high attack powers would use their skills to finish off the monsters.
The Assassins with their swift attacks provided timely backup and maintained overall bnce while the mages cast their magic from the backlines, healing the injured and disposing monsters with their powerful magic.
The team was extremely well bnced and made everything look so easy. Although they suffered some injuries it wasn''t to the point it would affect the overall efficiency of the team.
The numbers of the Fire Demon Ape might be more than a hundred but they had no coordination whatsoever. Each fire demon ape acted on his own, there was no backup nor any support from the others.
It was only a matter of time before the adventurers started getting familiarised with the attack patterns of the Fire Demon Ape and turn the tables on them.
The fight was intense but under the allure of the reward, that sitting on top of that formation waiting for them to open it, their motivation increased to a whole new level. Time passed by and the bodies of the monsters dropped on the ground one by one and after a cumbersome battle, they finally managed to cull down the number of monsters to one fourth of their strength.
"Sir Dalton, the mages are ready" An assassin who materialised beside Dalton, reported. Thetter looked at the remaining monsters and the condition of the front liners before issuing an orderly retreat.
"All warriors keep your shields up and back down. Mages hold your fire until we are out of your range. Assassins ensure that no monster gets away"...
"Roger"...
The frontlines did an orderly retreat and just when they were out of the range of the mages, a powerful chain of magic was set forth and engulfed the monsters inside it.
BOOMM¡ BOOM¡ BOOOM... the deafening sounds of the explosions rang out for a while and the entire ce trembled. The warriors readied their shields in case any monster managed to survive the bombardment but it seemed like there was no need.
As thest embers of the magic died down, all monsters were found either lying on the ground scorched into cinders or shed into pieces. Whatever their conditions were, one thing was clear... the adventurers had won this battle.
"Any casualties on our side?" Dalton asked one of his closest aides.
"None sir, though quite a lot of us sustained some serious injuries and would need some time to recover" that subordinate reported.
"I see then do so. Order those that can still move to follow me" Dalton nodded his head and brought the ones that were still rtively fine towards the rock formation. It was time they harvested the rewards for their efforts and open that exquisite looking treasure chest up.
They just moved a couple of steps towards the treasure chest when suddenly¡
"Be careful" Dalton hurriedly pushed a couple of his subordinates out of the way and timely dodged an attack that came from their blind spot intending to reap their life.
A couple of figures covering their faces and bodies with a robe, appeared on top of the rock formation.
"Who goes there?" Dalton asked in anger. Thanks to his fast reaction, he had managed to stop his subordinates from dying but that attack earlier definitely intended to kill.
"Tch, you managed to dodge that huh? As expected of the former vice guild leader of the Sea god''s trident, Dalton Lance you live up to your title" the man leading the group of assants pped his hands and praised.
"Cut the ttery. Who are you guys and why are you getting in my guild''s way?" Dalton was in no mood to hear all that, he interjected the man in mid-sentence and cut to the chase.
"Haha, well it''s a shame we can''t tell you that. However, we will appreciate it if you let us take the items inside this treasure chest" the man shrugged his shoulders and gestured one of the people behind him to start opening the chest.
"You bastard¡ that treasure chest is something our guild had spent so much effort for. You think we will just allow you to take our rewards?"¡
"That''s right, that treasure chest is something our guild had spotted first. It belongs to our guild"¡
Some of the hot headed members of the sea god''s trident guild immediately red up at that remark. Their guild had fought so much for that treasure chest, how was it possible for them to just allow another party to snatch it right in front of them?
Some of them immediately got ready to intercept these people.
"Hehe, there is no such rule as finder''s keepers in a dungeon. The reward belongs only to the ones that have the strength. Well, I must at least thank you for clearing the monsters, because of you we get to enjoy these rewards" the leader of that mysterious bandughed inciting the members of the Sea god''s trident guild even further.
"It''s not certain yet as to who gets to enjoy it" Dalton who had been patient up until this moment, finally had enough as he brought out his hammer.
Following his actions, the members of the sea god''s trident also readied themselves. The enemy was just eight people. If these eight fools thought that they can underestimate the sea god''s trident guild they were up for some awakening.
Dalton was just about to move when suddenly the assassins of his guild notified him of multiple approaching presences.
"Sir Dalton please give us the orders. We will smash their ugly mug so that they can never spout anything from that mouth again"¡
"That''s right, no one is qualified to snatch the rewards belonging to our guild"¡
The warriors of his guild were ready to bring the fight to those mysterious people.
"Not so fast, I know how powerful the sea god''s guild is. However, are you really sure you can fight us on top of facing those monsters while you are in that condition? Dalton Lance, I believe you are a smart man. will you risk the lives of your guild members?" the masked manmented.
Right after his words fell, a couple more figures simrly masking themselves with robes and hats, appeared from the other side of the rifts bringing hordes of monsters behind them.
"Consider this as a small present from us" the leader of this mysterious band joined up with the other neers, pried open the treasure chest and quickly stored the item inside before disappearing.
The present that they left behind was none other than the horde of monsters they lured over with them.
"You bastards¡e back here" looking at their disappearing back, the members of the sea god''s trident roared. However, their hands were currently filled with the iing monsters that were rushing towards them.
"Sir Dalton what should we do?" the assassin who was one of his closest aides asked.
Dalton contemted their options for a while before shaking his head. "Many of us are injured and are currently unable to fight, we need to protect them. It is not worth the risk to follow them while fighting the monsters at the same time".
"Though that may be the case, our reward was snatched right in front of us, how could we just stay silent? Doing so would besmirch the name of our guild. Hicks, take two people with you and tail them. I want to know who they are and which faction they belonged to?".
The assassin named Hicks nodded his head, he was just about to proceed forward with the n with two other people, when Dalton patted his shoulders and added¡ª
"Remember, tail them from behind. You don''t need to confront them or anything. Our first priority is to gather information about them and why they are doing this".
Hicks moved his head in understanding and chased after those mysterious fellows. Dalton and the others watched them go before shifting their attention to the onrushing monsters.
"Listen up you all, I know that everyone must be feeling very frustrated from having the reward being taken in front of your eyes. Hence you are free to take it out on these monsters".
With his rallying shout, the members of the sea god''s trident who were filled with this inexplicable negative energy of frustration, used the monsters as the outlet and went ham.
The number of monsters in this horde was only around thirty and nowhere near the number they had just faced. Thus it didn''t take much long for them to dispose of this horde.
Some of the adventurers who were exhausted by the continuous fight fell on the floor panting while others took turns to stand guard and watch out for any other attacks.
Dalton who was examining the now empty treasure chest was joined by other senior members of his guild as they discussed something.
"Sir Dalton that was¡"
"Yeah, it was without a doubt cross-cutting"...
.
Chapter 574 574- The Scattered Expedition Force
Dalton narrowed his eyes and said with certainty. Cross Cutting, it was something verymon inside a dungeon and happened to a lot of adventurers.
It was a term that was invented by the adventurers and it urs when one adventurer team stumbles upon the path of another party and uses them as bait to get out of any sticky situation. It was something that only an adventurer knew and was looked down upon by all in their profession.
Hence to Dalton and all, it was very much clear as to who those people who confronted them were. Theirrades from the other big guilds, the truth might sound ugly, but it was the truth. And it at least cleared the confusion that it was not the doing of a monster that can turn itself into a humanoid form.
Be that as it may, this discovery in itself was very problematic since it showed that the monsters weren''t the only thing they needed to be careful of proceeding forward in this dungeon. They also needed to be careful of the other guilds conspiring against them.
"Sir Dalton, there is no way of telling what the items were inside the chest just by their lingering aura" a subordinate reported.
"I see, you did a good job, go and take a rest. We will take a break here before joining up with Hick and the others" with Dalton''s orders, the group moved to take some rest.
Meanwhile, somewhere within those twisting and winding gorge, a small group of people was currently gathering together inside a cave that was made artificially. These groups of people were all hiding their identities by donning a robe and a mask. They were joined by another group of people who just came in.
"Oh! If it isn''t Kaiser''s group. Weren''t you guys tasked with acquiring that treasure chest guarded by hundreds of fire demon apes and so?" one of the masked men among the group asked the team that just entered.
"Yeah, fortunately the Sea god''s trident cleared that monster colony for us. We were able to take advantage when they were all weakened and acquire the items on that treasure chest amidst the chaos" the team that was referred to as Kaiser''s group, reported.
"I didn''t think it would be the Sea god''s trident to find that treasure chest. What happened to them, were you guys followed?".
Kaiser, the leader of the group that confronted the Sea god''s trident shook his head and assured "Don''t worry Norman, they should be busy fending the monsters that we lured. There is no way they would have the time to send people after us".
Everybody felt relieved by those words, they did not want to be enemies with one of the top five guilds. It was a good thing that none of the three tridents was present during this expedition. If they were, it wouldn''t have gone their way.
"I wonder about that" A voice suddenly interjected from the entrance.
A new group of people entered the cave; however, unlike the rest they did not bother to hide their identities. A badge depicting a vast sea and a lone sword could be seen hanging on their chest.
"Dn, even if you do not care, think about your guild at least. It wouldn''t bode well even for your Absolute Sea guild if the other guilds found out that you have been conspiring behind their backs" Norman spoke, although his face could be seen, judging from his tone it looked like he was quite displeased by Dn''s actions.
"Oh please, that disguise makes me look silly. I would rather kill all of the people and leave no evidence behind than wear that thing" Dn remarked shrugging his shoulders.
He and the members of the absolute sea guild that was following behind him nonchntly entered the cave and threw three corpses in the middle of the cave.
"They are?" Norman asked.
"Heh, they were following Kaiser. I found them tracking you guys so I quickly disposed of them and brought their corpses here" Dn exined.
"What?!" Kaiser was stunned, he believed that the sea god''s trident would be too busy to track who knew that they had sent people after him.
"He should be Hicks, one of the finest assassins of the Sea god''s trident" Norman identified one of the corpses.
"Kaiser did you identally reveal your guild?".
"That cannot be, I was prudent enough to not reveal any of the skills that could associate me with my guild" Kaiser denied.
"Well, you guys don''t have to worry, I killed them as soon as if found them, so I don''t think they were able to ry much information back to their guild" Dn spoke with confidence.
"I hope that is so. If any of us got found out, it will epass all our three guilds, the Absolute Sea Guild, the thunderstorm and the Six River''s Streax, none of us will get out of its unscathed. At that time, we would be the enemy of the entire expedition army. It would be better for all of us that we cooperate with each other".
All of them nodded at Norman''s words.
"Alright, enough with the heavy words now. Were you guys able to acquire the items from those treasure chests?" Dn changed the topic of their conversation to the most important matter.
"Yeah, it was a sess"¡
"No problem from my side either" Kaiser and Norman nodded.
"I see. Then counting the ones I acquired and the ones we already collected, we have gotten our hands on four of them" Dn took out a round emerald green orb the size of a fist from his space ring.
The moment the object appeared, a vast natural aura brimming with life and vitality immediately filled the ce. There was no need to even use Analysis, just based on the aura alone, one could tell it was no ordinary item but an unparalleled treasure that would make anyone in this world covet them.
Yes, the thing in his hand was none other than a spirit orb from a forest spring spirit. The treasure recorded in the legends and ancient texts said to have the ability to raise one''s bloodline and power to new and greater heights.
The ultimate reward promised that was promised to them by the grey haired man, they couldn''t believe they found it on this floor and inside the treasure chests no less.
? "Yeah, they are even worth making enemies with the top five guilds" Norman agreed, sitting inside his space rings was a fist sized round emerald green spirit orbs simr to the one in Dn''s hand.
"I was a little uncertain about this whole thing at first. But seeing the result, I cannot help but agree with you guys. Teaming up with your two guilds had brought unbelievable rewards. Our effort would surely please the guild masters" Kaiser added.
"Well, I agree with you two. Who would have expected that our three guilds would stumble at the same ce and find the secrets of the treasure chests of this floor before anyone? Because of the ingenuity of our guild masters, we will be able to get more rewards than any of the other guilds" Dn smiled, looking at the spirit orbs excitedly¡
The 45th floor although it looked simple with nothing but rocks, it hid a shocking secret. The 45th floor had quite a number of treasure chest spawned that was heavily guarded by colonies of Fire Demon Apes.
These treasure chests contained riches and items that were so rare and priceless that even these big guilds of the kingdom weren''t able to stayposed in front of it. Some chests had numerous grade [3] mana crystals, while some had Gold grimoires.
Some contained high levelled core stones and serenity stones, while some had artifacts of tier [C] and above. The treasure chest was filled with exceptional riches; however, although few in number, there were also some special treasure chests spawned that released vast natural energy.
The contents of those treasure chests were astonishingly the super rare treasure, spirit orbs that were sitting inside the space rings of these three.
"Are the other guilds aware of it yet?" Norman asked.
"Since the Sea god''s trident guild didn''t seem aware of the items inside the treasure chest, I would say not all guilds have found out about it. But I would say that the news about the spirit orbs being inside the treasure chest should be spreading soon amongst all the guilds?" Kaiser thought before replying.
"In that case, we should hurry up and join with our teams. We have already offended quite a lot of guilds and caused them to suffer many casualties. They wouldn''t stay silent for long plus I feel like the assassin guild is onto us. We should disperse before they get to us" Dn advised.
The other two leaders and the members they led nodded their heads before pointing at the corpses.
"What should we do with them?"...
"Just leave them here, the dungeon would absorb them in no time"¡
A huge piece of news that shocked all the listeners to their very core, spread amongst the guilds six hours after the exploration into the 45th floor.
The news was so shocking that, many of the guilds had difficulty believing it. The crimson demolition guild that was led by guild leader Arwen Lantz, stumbled upon a treasure chest that had a spirit orb inside it.
The report came from a trusted source hence the other guilds had no choice but to believe it and soon many such news started appearing from everywhere.
Spirit orbs, just the name was enough to drive the guilds into searching for them crazily. All the guilds actively started hunting monsters and opening treasure chests leaving no ce unturned.
Chapter 575 575- The Scattered Expedition Force (2)
Nine hours into the exploration of the 45th floor, another piece of news came to light, some unknown people hiding their identities, were targeting guilds and stealing the rewards amidst the chaos.
At first, the other guilds ignored it but when they themselves became the next victim, things became more chaotic. It wouldn''t have bothered them much if it was just some ordinary treasure; however, if the news were to be believed, the treasure chest had spirit orbs inside them.
An unparalleled treasure like that was a loss that was hard to swallow. Not to mention many guilds had also suffered numerous casualties because of the masked people stirring things up while they were fighting the monsters.
Such reports starteding from everywhere and soon things started going out of proportion. Although the guilds were unable to identify these masked people, they were at least aware that it was the doing of some guild.
Bitter at their loss and filled with frustration, these guilds became more prejudiced against the other teams so much so that many battles broke out whenever two or more teams stumbled upon each other.
These shes led to injuries and injuries led to casualties. Unknowingly the two twenty guilds started sinking deeper into a mire that they had no hope of returning from. The fragile bond or the link that was holding these guilds together finally came loose.
The expedition force fell apart.
-----
White Pce, Main Hall. Everybody was silently looking at the expedition force with pity and loathing in their eyes. The onesrade that had worked together to clear multiple floors, were now doing their best to kill, rob and impede each other.
No form of unity or coordination could be seen within them. They acted just like barbarians who were blinded by greed and only knew how to shed blood. They had no camaraderie nor any trust left in each other.
The expedition force that seemed so formidable before, was on the brim of falling apart and scattering. The powerful members of the primary teams that could solo any spawned monsters on this dungeon were falling one after the other.
The funny thing about this situation was that most of the casualties that the primary unit of the expedition force suffered were dealt to them by theirrades or on their own. Monsters and traps had little to do with it.
The ones that helped Simon cull their numbers, were the adventurers themselves.
"They are surprisingly so fragile from the inside" Beamented, a small smirk on her face.
"Yeah, it''s like they never had any trust in each other in the first ce" Ate added maintaining an indifferent face.
The other Valkyries nodded their heads in agreement.
What was happening on the 45th floor was the very definition of chaos. And all it took was some small misunderstanding and the greed of these people to cause that fire. It was not like they had used some mind encroachment skill or anything.
"But my lord is it alright?¡ Using those fakes isn''t it just telling them that we have the spirit orbs?" Coleus questioned.
The spirit orbs that the adventurers were making so much fuss about, was in fact a fake that was prepared by Cecilia when Simon was rummaging his head thinking about what treasures should he put inside those treasure chests that can blind their eyes with greed.
He didn''t want to strengthen them by putting high ranking weapons and artefacts there, so he could only put the treasures he got after clearing the third trial of the forbidden grounds and from the Diluvian Orcs territory.
At that time, Cecilia came to him and told him to use the spirit orbs shocking all of them. The hundred or so spirit orbs that were harvested from their friends and families, was still resting inside the space ring on Cecilia''s hands.
The forest spring spirits had insisted that Simon kept it; however, he adamantly denied it and handed them the space ring back. Ultimately it was given to Cecilia who was the daughter of their patriarch to keep.
She kept it close to her and treasured it like her life so when she suggested that idea, many were shocked.
Simon was too, he was about to shake his head saying it was not necessary when Cecilia exined her n. ording to her, she can now create a faux spirit orb that gave off the same aura and energy any real spirit orb would using her powers.
The Faux spirit orb that she created, looked very much simr to the original one so much so that even Simon was fooled for a second. However, he who has seen the original ones soon spotted a few differences and was able to recognise the faux from the original.
Be that may, for the adventurers who had never seen an original one in their life, they would be unable to differentiate the original from the fake.
Using [Analysis] also didn''t help since it was a perfect imitation that none other than Cecilia, a forest spring royal spirit had created. Nevertheless, it was not like the faux waspletely wless, as it was made with Cecilia''s energy, once that energy runs out, the faux spirit orb will disappear.
ording to Cecilia, the energy inside those faux should barely be able tost for a day. That is to say, the spirit orbs sitting inside the space rings of those adventurers, would disappear soon enough.
Simon wanted to see what kind of reaction they would have when they realise that the treasure they spent so much effort into, even going as far as killing and betraying their ownrades, goes missing from their space ring after a couple of hours.
Would they realise it was fake or would they in their hot-headedness start ming one another? or would this be the end of the expedition force?
"There is no point in keeping the spirit orbs a secret from them since I''m sure they are aware of it" Simon exined. From the intel he gathered from the members of the seven swords guild responsible for destroying the forest spirit vige, they had already revealed this secret to Benny Beckerman, the guild leader of the Sea god''s trident guild.
That is to say, one of the top five guilds of this kingdom was aware that the dungeon Lace was harbouring the Forest spring spirits and had hundreds of spirits orbs.
Simon did not know how many guilds were aware of it but given that the top twenty guilds of this kingdom were attracted to tackle a mere [D] rank dungeon, he would say that their objective was fairly obvious.
If it was an intermediate tier dungeon, Simon would have understood but other than the spirit orbs, a low ranking dungeon like Lace didn''t have much allure for big guilds like them. Hence revealing the existence of the spirit orbs didn''t matter much at this point.
On the contrary, if him revealing its existence could sow discord amongst them, Simon was more than willing to use this Faux.
However, even he didn''t imagine that using those faux spirit orbs would have this much of an effect to the point where these adventurers would kill one another to get their hands on one. Especially those three guilds, their action was thest straw that broke the camel''s back.
Thanks to them masking their identities and attacking the other guilds the whole incident had blown out of hand. Even if they tried to control it, it wouldn''t be as easy as that time on the 40th floor when only two guilds were fighting amongst each other.
"Hehe, it would be wonderful if they wiped each other just like this" Alicementedughing merrily.
"That would be a na?ve thinking Alice. The expedition force isn''t an easy opponent that could just be dealt with with small mind tricks. Sooner orter they will snap out of it and realise that they had fallen for our trap".
"At that time, they would start putting their efforts together and be a stronger force than before. Perhaps what we should be wishing from this chaos is for them to wipe as many of their numbers as possible".
Irene looked at all of this more objectively. Divide and Conquer, Simon''s n was good and all. The expedition force wouldn''t be a threat to them if they were scattered and dealt with separately.
However, if through the trials they manage to eliminate their prejudices against each other, work like a single team, and focus their strengths together, they would be a serious threat to their dungeon.
The possibility was low, but it was not like it was none.
Simon understood what Irene pointing at nevertheless he believed that it was impossible for them toe together at this point. A mind was often the hardest thing to read, thus he failed to take one aspect into consideration and made a fatal mistake.
"Alright, it''s time for us to initiate the second phase of our ns¡ ''Hit where it hurts" Simon ordered.
-----
Neen hours into the exploration of the 45th floor, the silent scenic floor, had turned into aplete mayhem. Sounds of explosions broke the silence and destruction spread everywhere. No matter where one looked on this floor, one wouldn''t find a ce where there was no battle urring.
Near the entrance to the next floor, a couple of guilds with a gloomy atmosphere around them, had gathered together. The air around the ce was heavy and suffocating to the point where any low levelled person would instantly faint.
"So tell me who is responsible for this madness?" At the forefront of this group, was the grey haired man who was looking at the distance where all kinds of battles was urring.
His eyes that was peeking through the mask, red at the seven guild leaders beside him who had gathered here along with their guilds at his call.
Chapter 576 576- Hit Where It Hurts
As for others, it did not even need to be said as the chaos and explosions echoing around all across the floor were self-exnatory. The guild leaders had a frown of exasperation on their faces, as they themselves tried to understand the cause of this madness.
Although they understood some of the reasons why the other guilds were fighting each other, none of them had any conclusive proof as to who was the main culprit behind all this.
The mood of the grey haired man already looked very foul, so they dared not say anything that pissed him off even further. Unless called out none of them provided any exnation.
"Cassius you were responsible formunicating with all of the guilds, tell me what in the world happened here?".
The guild leader of the Assassin''s guild exhaled a deep breath of air, one could see the look of tiredness on his face as he exined the reports that he got from his subordinates.
"I understand the gist of it. So someone interfered in between the activities of the other guilds and while they were busy dealing with the monsters those people stole their rewards causing them to suffer some casualties. Is that right?" The grey haired man asked.
"That is correct" Cassius confirmed.
"What is the possibility that it was the work of some monsters?"¡
"None. From the reports I got, it seemed like those people interfering in the way of the other guilds are using cross-cutting".
The grey haired man narrowed his eyes the moment that term was mentioned. If it was cross cutting, it was hundred percent the work of the adventurers. However, what he didn''t understand was what could drive these guilds to the point of fighting and killing one another.
"Are the rewards in those reassure chests really that lucrative?" the grey haired man asked. He did not participate or tag along with any guilds in hunting for the treasures. From his perspective, whatever that could be inside those treasure chests wouldn''t be worth his time or be of any importance to him.
From the start of this exploration, he was only interested in locating the entrance to the next floor. When he finally found it, he was made aware that the situation had evolved into what it was now.
"I believe it is because of this item".
Arven Lantz and his crimson demolition guild who was one of the seven groups to have assembled here at his call, replied. He took something out from his space ring and presented it in front of everyone''s eyes.
"Huh?"..
"HUH?!"¡
"HUHH?!!"¡
Everybody was surprised at the thing that Arven took out, though their surprise was for a whole other reason. Nevertheless, their surprise wouldn''t even be able to hold a candle in front of the shock that Arven was feeling inside.
The reason for all of them being surprised was none other than the thing that he took out from his space ring. Sitting in his hand, was a shiny looking rock as big as a fist.
What was going on? He had clearly taken out the greatest reassure that was currently stored inside his space ring so why did a stonee out instead of it? Arven was in a state of loss for a moment.
"Is this some kind of joke? Is that shiny stone supposed to be the reason why those guilds are fighting amongst each other?" the grey haired pointed at the shiny looking rock.
It was true that the stone looked aesthetically beautiful and might make some country nobles collect them. However, other than it looks it had no other value.
The other six guild masters also wondered why he showed them a stone when he had that treasure with him.
"Eh? No, I was trying to show you the spirit orb that our guild found inside a treasure chest while exploring the floor". Arven exined while frantically searching for something inside his space ring.
"Spirit Orb!!" The grey haired man''s voice increased up a notch the moment he hear Arven mention the spirit orbs.
"That''s right¡ I received many reports saying that a couple of guilds have gotten their hands on these treasures. It is because of these spirit orbs that the other guilds are fighting amongst each other" Cassius exined.
Even though his guild and the others here except for the crimson demolition guild didn''t encounter any such treasure chest with spirit orbs inside them. But based on the multiple reports that he received, he believed that it ought to be true.
"You found the spirit orbs?! That... How... Can you show it to me?" The grey haired man tried to maintain a calm face, but he still ended up fumbling with his words.
The dungeon harbouring the forest spring spirits was a secret that only a handful of people knew. In this expedition force, only he and the people from the Sea God''s Trident guild were aware of it. But didn''t that suggest that the expedition force as a whole was now aware that the dungeon was in possession of the spirit orbs since they were now being rewarded inside the treasure chests?
It was true that he lured the top twenty guilds by promising them a spirit orb each as a reward for their efforts. However, he hadn''t had the slightest intention of ever handing them the spirit orbs when the moment came. It was all just a lie, a trick that he used to borrow the power of the guilds.
After killing the demon who was the master of this dungeon, he nned to harvest all the spirit orbs from the forest spring spirits living in this dungeon and teleport out of here, leaving the guilds to do whatever they wanted.
A supreme treasure such as the spirit orbs, only an idiot would think about sharing it with an unrted party. The item would be put to better use if the adventurers from their side were to use it. That way, they would be able to suppress the spreading influence of that organisation on the maind.
That was supposed to be the n; however, everything was ruined with the appearance of the spirit orbs on this floor, everything that he had nned had gone down the drain.
''Why is the demon using the spirit orbs as the reward for the treasure chests? Is he not aware of their value?'' the grey haired man questioned internally. Never in his wildest dream would he have imagined that the demon was not only aware of the value of the spirit orbs, but was also using them to manipte the guilds just like he had done.
"What''s wrong... why aren''t you showing it to me?" Seeing that Arven was dilly-dallying, he couldn''t help but wonder if the other party was hesitant to show the spirit orb to him.
"It is not that I don''t want to, it''s just that..." a drop of sweat slid down Arven''s face as he repeatedly searched his space ring.
"What about you guys? Didn''t any of you find the spirit orbs inside those treasure chests?" While Arven was still searching, the grey haired man turned to face the other six guild leaders who shook their heads with bitter smiles in answer.
There were only a few treasure chests spawned on the entire 45th floor, and the ones that had the spirit orbs within them were even fewer. These guild masters did stumble upon a treasure chest or two in their path. However, all it had were a couple of grade [3] mana crystals, a few artefacts, serenity stones and such.
Although all of these were no doubt extremely good treasures, they cannot bepared to the spirit orbs. That is why, they were extremely jealous of Arven and his guild who were lucky enough to stumble upon one.
When the great haired man heard that, he couldn''t help but wonder what was the motive behind the demon only using a few spirit orbs as the reward.
''He couldn''t be...'' At that moment, a thought suddenly struck him and he finally realised something that sent the chills down his spine. Since his face was covered with a mask, there was no way of telling what kind of expression he was making.
"Something''s wrong..." Arven who was simrly having the shock of his life, chose this moment to speak up.
"What''s wrong guild leader?" Seeing that their guild master was acting differently, the members of the Crimson demolition guild became concerned and approached him.
Arven looked at them and said absentmindedly "I¡ can''t find the spirit orb that we got from that treasure chest".
"Huh? What are you saying guild leader, you put the spirit orb in your space ring, it should be there" the guild members reminded thinking that their guild leader was ying some joke on them.
"That''s what I''m saying. It''s not there anymore¡ the spirit orb is not in my space ring" Arven rified causing the smiles on the members of the crimson demolition guild to freeze at this moment.
"D-Did you check properly guild leader" they couldn''t help but question. A treasure like the spirit orb going missing was not a small thing, it need not be even mentioned how other guilds have gone berserk when their spirit orb was stolen from them.
"If you don''t believe me, you check my space ring yourselves" Arven was frustrated enough by this, so when his own guild members questioned him, he flipped and directly passed his spirit ring to them.
"Guild leader does not need to be angry at us. However, if the spirit orb is not in your space ring, then where did it go?"¡
"I would like to know the answer myself. The spirit orb was definitely kept by me inside my space ring at that time. However, now when I tried to search for it, I couldn''t find it anywhere" Arven spat.
Chapter 577 577- Hit Where It Hurts (2)
The hubbub around Arven became loud enough for the other guilds to notice them. Seeing that something was wrong with the crimson demolition guild, the other six guild leaders approached Arven.
"What''s wrong?"...
Arven looked at them, deliberated something inside his head for a while beforeing out clean.
"What? You lost the spirit orb?" the other six guild leaders had a disbelieving face. Nobody could me them after all, it sounded too much of a lieing out of Arven now of all times when the grey haired man wanted to see it.
"You don''t have to look at me like that, I''m seriously telling you all the truth" Arven tried to justify.
"Guild leader of the crimson demolition guild, I just want to look at the spirit orb with my own eyes and confirm the fact that the treasure chests on this floor do indeed hold the spirit orbs. You can rest assured that I do not have intention towards that spirit orb that your guild got" the grey haired man approached Arven and spoke.
He thought that thetter was hesitant to show him and that was why he said all that. But who would have expected that Arven wasn''t lying and instead was speaking the truth? It was just that the faux spirit orb he had in his space ring lost all of its energy and turned into that shiny rock in his hand.
"Please believe me I''m not lying. The spirit orb has really gone missing" Arven had a bitter face, the missing of the spirit orb was already painful enough but now he even had to prove to them that he really did not have the spirit orb.
"Really¡" Brutus, Florence, Cassius and the other guild leaders had sceptical faces.
"Please trust my guild leader, he is not lying. The spirit orb has really gone missing" the members of his guild convinced.
"Believing that you really lost it, do you know where and how it happened?" the guild leader of the wind sky dome, Elrod Dome asked. He was the oldest amongst the people present here and seemed to be around sixty years old.
He had a long well groomed white beard, wore a worn down robe and had a in looking staff beside him. Elrod Dome, there was no mage in the kingdom of Ellesmere who had not heard his name. After all, he was one of the few mages who could bepared with Karina Lowell in terms of attainment in magic.
Other than that, the old man was also respected by all the other guild leaders and maintained a cordial rtionship with everyone here.
Arven scratched his head and exined the situation with as much detail as he could.
"What you are saying is that you do not know where and how you lost it and it simply disappeared from your space ring?" Elrod had a dark face as he reiterated Arven''s story. He didn''t think that thetter would lie to his face.
"I''m telling the truth. I definitely kept the spirit orb in my space ring at the time when I got it. So it wasn''t possible for somebody to steal it or for it to get dropped somewhere. The spirit orb simply disappeared and this shiny stone was left instead of it" Arven defended.
Everybody was fed up with his lie and didn''t know what to say to him anymore, they could only turn towards the grey haired man and hope that he does not get angry. But contrary to their expectation, the grey haired man instead of getting angry, was frowning his brows and thinking about something very deeply.
"Did you just say that the spirit orb vanished and this stone appeared inside your space ring in its stead?" he asked, a peculiar glint in his eyes.
Arven nodded his head.
"I see¡ believing that you did indeed have the spirit orb, I can see why the other guilds are fighting over it. If somebody steals something as valuable as the spirit orbs, a bloody battle like that cannot be avoided" the grey haired man willingly believed Arven''s story shocking the other guild leaders.
"There is no reason for the guild leader of the crimson demolition guild to lie to us especially when he had already told us that his guild got a spirit orb while exploring the floor. In any case, our focus shouldn''t be the spirit orbs but how to stop the guilds from fighting anymore" he added.
The seven guild leaders gathered here, nodded their heads. What the grey haired man said was right, they still had a lot of floors to go before they can conquer the dungeon, and fighting among themselves would only weaken them.
They were just about to move and suppress the guilds that were fighting in the distance when the transponder conch on Cassius suddenly started emitting transmission. Cassius picked up the transmission conch and some static noises amidst some screams starteding from the other side.
"What''s going on?"...
Everybody had the same question. The transmission conch on his hand was just the start, one by one the transmission conch on the other members and other guilds started ringing too. The same static and scream noises could be hearding from all the transponder conchs making everyone in the scene puzzled.
"H-H¡ Help¡ attac..k¡ we are¡ father help" Finally, the conch on Brutus'' hand emitted some coherent words. But the words that were uttered didn''t make any of the guild leaders happy on the contrary, a sudden sense of foreboding feeling engulfed them.
"Is that Marcus? What is going on over there, your voice is not clear. Did something happen while you guys were going back up?" Brutus asked but the transmission ended abruptly and everybody was left hanging.
Immediately, they all started redialling to the transmission conch on the other side; however, it failed to connect every time. The mood that was heavy to begin with, became even more gloomier with this unknown sense of ominous feeling assaulting them.
The transmission of all the guild leaders acting up together, the screams and the static noises and thest message they heard. Even a fool would be able to understand that something had happened to the tertiary team.
The tertiary team that was left back on the 34th floor, should be making their way back up after they healed their injuries. Something bad must have happened for them to send so many sound transmissions like that.
Brutus who was unable to calm down after hearing thest message, immediately took out their guild''s treasure, the blood saint tiger''s w. The moment heid eyes on that w and saw its colour slowly turning pale red, his body immediately froze.
The blood saint tiger w had the life imprint of his son, Marcus on it. Under no circumstances it would turn pale red unless the life of his son was being threatened.
"This¡ the tertiary is being attacked".
This was the only exnation. The countenance of all the guild leaders turned pale at that realisation. The tertiary team had the geniuses of their guilds, if anything untoward happened to them again, it would deal more damage than just paralysing the guild.
Not to mention after that incident on the mysterious ruins, the tertiary team was left severely weakened. This was the reason why the tertiary team was left on the 34th floor with the orders to go back to the surface after their injuries were healed.
By now they should have climbed back to the middle floors already, and there shouldn''t be any monster to threaten them there. That is unless¡
The guild leaders tried to contact the members they left there to ensure the safety of the tertiary team. However, no matter how many times they sent a sound transmission, nobody from that end picked up.
"We need to go back up immediately" Elrod Dome, leading the sky earth dome guild, spoke. If the situation was what they thought, then they cannot leave it be.
Everyone was of the same thought, they nodded at old man Elrod''s words and were prepared to leave this floor and climb up.
"Everyone, please wait. I know that you are anxious about the younger members of your guild. However, if you leave the 45th floor and climb up, you would be forsaking all the efforts and the casualties you suffered to reach this ce".
"Even if you go and back up your tertiary teams, the monsters would already be spawned on the floors above by the time youe back down. Do you want to abandon all the sacrifices you made up until now when we are so close to reaching the end?"
Seeing the guild leader ready to leave, the grey haired man chose this moment to speak.
"What is Sir implying?" Brutus asked, his brows locked into a frown. The geniuses of their guild were much more important than conquering a [D] tier dungeon. Although it would be regrettable to abandon all their efforts up until now, backing up their tertiary teams was their first priority.
"The guild leaders misunderstood me. I''m not suggesting that we sacrifice the tertiary team. if they are facing a problem they need to be backed up. However, why don''t we leave that to the secondary team? Wouldn''t it be much more practical that way?"
"The secondary team is powerful enough to solve whatever problem the tertiary team is facing right now. Not to mention it is led by miss Karina and the various vice guild leaders of your guild. And even if worsees to worst, they always have the option of using the return scroll".
All the guild leaders fell silent and after a few seconds, they all turned their heads towards Florence, who was leading the mage guild in Karina''s stead.
"Alright, I''ll contact my guild leader"¡
Chapter 578 578- Hit Where It Hurts (3)
A couple of hours ago, 21st floor- a vast foresnd.
A group of adventurers climbed up the stairs and arrived before it. The group was none other than the tertiary team of the expedition force,prising of all the geniuses and newbie adventurers from all the guilds.
Initially, when this group dived inside the dungeon and cleared the floors, it was filled with a vibrant and dominant aura. Yet after reaching the 34th floor, they understood the true dangers of a dungeon. Suffering a disastrous loss inside that mysterious ruin, their egos along with their superiorityplex was shattered into pieces.
These young fellows who had lost their fangs, were surrounded by a gloomy and depressed aura. Many of them had bandages and a strong medicinal aura wrapped around them. Those that have lost their arms or limbs were being carried on a stretcher.
Just a nce at them was enough to tell that they had been defeated.
Marcus helping the team of adventurers at the frontline in clearing the floor, looked behind him at those people and sighed.
"Young master Marcus, there is no point in delving into the past and hurting yourself. As your father, the guild leader has said, you must ept the fact that you were defeated and move forward".
"Your future is still right in front of you, so you must not get lost in your past nor must you forget it. Learn from your mistakes, over the challenges and be a better adventurer in the future¡ Those words of guild leader, you must always remember it".
A warrior spoke as he approached Marcus while exuding an aura of experience.
"Yeah¡ I know uncle Kain. It''s just that every time I think about it, I cannot help but regret that I could have gone about it a different way. I feel responsible for the lives of the brothers I lost down there" Marcus expressed his regret tightly clenching his sword.
Out of the five hundredrades that he led inside that door only around 100 people managed to survive. And if you counted all the teams that dived there, the numbers that added, didn''t even make up one-tenth of their total numbers.
If not because the primary team arrived at the right time, perhaps they might have¡ Marcus felt his heart tremble at that thought.
"Sigh¡ young master, you cannot get distracted. We are still inside the dungeon after all. The first thing that we need to do is get out of here and¡".
Marcus understood that what Kain was saying was right. They were still inside a dungeon, he could get distracted and brood as much as he wanted once he was out.
"Hm? What''s wrong uncle Kain" Seeing Kain halt in his steps all of a sudden, Marcus couldn''t help but ask.
But before he could get an answer, several adventurers all releasing a veteran aura, gathered around Kain at this moment. All of these people were high levelled and very strong, if not because they were asked to aid the tertiary team, they would be in the primary unit of the expedition force and exploring the lower floors by now.
"Marcus!" a clear voice of a girl sounded out. Hallie with her two sisters, Tiana and Anna walked over to him. It was not only them, several other geniuses¡ª Kenan Lantz, Tyler Rees, Park Garrett, Gallio Stard, Levin field and all the others who were assisting in clearing the floor for the injured behind them also gathered around here with their guilds.
"What''s going on? Why are all the veterans of our guilds gathering in one ce?" Kenan Lantz asked. He and the members of his crimson demolition guild were busy clearing the monsters on the 21st floor when all of a sudden they were brought here by the seniors of their guilds.
The question that Kenan asked was also on the minds of all the others.
"Young master¡ everyone, get ready. It looks like we havepany" Kain who had years of experience under his belt, spoke. The veterans around him got into formation in an extremely coordinated way. Each knew what they must do and what their role was.
Marcus and the other younger members of the twenty guilds also hurriedly followedmands and got ready to engage the enemy.
The atmosphere around the floor which was all normal up until now, suddenly became serious. One could even feel a weird chill in the air.
Time passed, but even after some time, nothing happened.
"Do you think that you are hidden, why don''t youe out now?" Kain shouted, his gaze looking straight ahead. There was nothing there but clear grounds in front of him.
Marcus and the other geniuses looked at the direction where Kain and the other veterans were looking; nheless, they couldn''t even spot anything unusual.
However, how could it be that these veteran adventurers would be duped too? Although they too couldn''t see anything abnormal ahead, based on their years of adventuring and their keen instinct, they could tell that danger lied ahead.
Finally, after that provocation from Kain, a footstep sounded out and in front of the shocked gazes of everyone, the space around a couple of meters ahead of them, distorted revealing a beguiling figure wearing a maid outfit.
That appealing face coupled with those destructive curves stole the breath of everyone watching. Peach hair and a gentle looking face that hid her sadistic side, holding two daggers in her two hands, the third eldest of the Valkyrie sisters, was here.
"Hnn~ It seems like those hanging at the edge of level 600 are different than the others. I thought that the normal [Stealth] skill would be enough for you guys. I guess I was wrong" Beamented, her face didn''t hide her condescension.
Kain and the other veteran adventurers of the top twenty guild were somewhat irked at that remark but they knew better than to let their emotions take control. They suppressed their thoughts and looked at the maid with caution.
No matter how beautiful she was, her presence in this dungeon of all ces¡ not to mention erasing her presence to the point that even they had difficulty sensing her told them that they couldn''t underestimate this woman.
"Well, I guess you guys can be considered lucky but what about those behind you?".
Just as those words left her mouth, a loud neigh of a demonic horse sounded out and the entire ground started trembling.
RUMBLE¡ RUMBLE¡ The adventurers could hear the ground underneath them shudder, making them wonder what was the cause behind it.
To their shock and disbelief, a few seconds after the quake began, hundreds of demonic looking warhorses with ming bodies and nightmarish looks, appeared from the left side of the forest and galloped towards the injured and the exhausted adventurers that were in the backlines.
"What?!!!" Before anyone could do anything, the galloping warhorses reached the backlines and started a one sided stampede.
These adventurers were already severely injured from thest time, it would be a tall order for them to stop the Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse who had started its charge even if they were in their peak condition much less now.
Many were killed by being stepped underneath those scorching hot hooves or dangled along those thorns bing a decoration.
[Stampede], one of the powerful inherent skills of the Demonic Bloodthorn Warhorse. After its evolution to disaster ss, all its skills, power and stats received a huge boost. Forget about these worn down and defeated adventurers, even the primary unit of the expedition force would have difficulty blocking the [stampede] skill
"This¡" Kain eximed in shock. The hundreds of demonic warhorses were so near them yet they did not even feel their presence until thest moment they came charging out of the forest.
As all the illusions of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhose looked extremely real, it was hard to differentiate the real from the fake. To these adventurers, it looked like there were hundreds of demonic horses galloping.
The veterans looked at each other, they only needed a nce to understand what the other party was thinking. Some of them quickly turned around and were about to back the group behind when the Maid that was in front of them, suddenly appeared behind them.
"Now, I can''t let you go and back them up. You guys will amuse us for the time being" Bea spoke charmingly. She opened a gate behind her and Emma along with hundreds of Adromedas mk9 poured out of it.
"Those are¡ the golems from the mysterious ruins. Everyone be careful, these golems possess some unusual weapons" Marcus immediately recognised the war machines that he had fought back inside that door and cautioned everyone.
"Two maids, hundreds of demonic warhorses and those golems huh" Kain and the other adventurers silently activated their skills. They needed to go and back up the group behind them fast but they cannot ignore the threat that was in front of them.
Out of the 5000 strong people in this unit, only around 300 of them were veteran adventurers who can fight against those monsters. The remaining were people from the tertiary team, the newbies and the injured.
There is no way they could be counted upon especially when facing such powerful enemies like those demonic warhorses. Although the golems didn''t appear much of a threat to them, the maids on the other hand gave him a bad premonition.
"Young master, I''ll leave the tertiary team to you. Can you handle those golems?" Kain turned towards Marcus beside him.
"Of course, leave it to me" thetter nodded his head.
"In that case, we will divide ourselves and block them. I will leave it up to you all to choose your enemies".
Chapter 579 579- Mk9
The veteran warriors were all from the different guilds, it was next to impossible for him to lead them. Thus, he left it up to the veteran themselves to choose their opponents.
"Hehh~ I have been watching you guys so I know how arrogant you guys can be. But to think that you even have the nerves to discuss your strategy in front of your enemy, it looks like we have been underestimated Emma" Bea gave a deep smile.
"Hiih!! I-I''m sorry¡" Emma as usual, behaved timidly. She extended her hand and immediately all the veteran adventurers that were about to make their moves felt their bodye to a halt all of a sudden.
"What are you guys doing get moving" Kain spoke impatiently.
"There''s something wrong, we can''t move our body" the adventurers reported. No matter how much they tried to move, they felt like their bodies was bound to something.
"What?" Kain and the others were surprised. When they looked over to see what was wrong, they were unable to spot anything different.
"Strings¡ they are entangled by strings" Alvin ud, the vice guild leader of the Assassin guild exined.
"What? Strings?" Kain looked over once again but no matter how hard he tried he couldn''t see anything unusual around the adventurers.
This was given, Emma''s string were no ordinary strings, they were specially produced by her and couldn''t be seen through ordinary means. Only someone possessing special visual skills would be able spot the threads that were so thin and inconspicuous that it even the veteran adventurers failed to see them.
If not for Alvin pointing it out, they would have been unaware of the threads at all.
"Be careful of your surroundings, do not get caught by those threads" Kain hurriedly cautioned. Since the thread cannot be seen without a special visual skill, it would be foolish if they fell for the traps like the others.
"Leave it to me, I can see them" the vice guild leader of the Assassins Guild, said as he used his skills and de techniques to cut the strings around from those adventurers thus freeing them.
"Let me help you Senior" Gallio added. Thanks to his mystic eyes showing him the source of danger, he could see the threads in red color. Thus allowing him to cut the strings.
"T-Thanks" those veteran adventurers that were freed from their bindings, thanked Alvin and Gallio but the next second, they weirdly became all silent.
"Gugh..." Blood sprayed out of their mouth and neck, in front of the horrified eyes of the others around them their heads rolled down the ground. Just before their deaths, these adventurers felt a chill brush past their body and their life mysteriously disappearing.
"To be able to cut Emma''s strings, that is quite some skills. However, she isn''t the only opponent you need to be careful of" A cold voice sounded from behind the dead adventurers and Bea strangely materialised next to their bodies.
All eyes opened wide in surprise, nobody was able to see her move much less see her attack. The atmosphere around the adventurer''s turned grim. They could hear the miserable screams and noises of people getting squashed, their bones being crushed from the distance.
The backlines urgently needed backup, yet they cannot free themselves from the enemy in front of them. The maid did not just stop there, after killing those few adventurers she disappeared once again and appeared beside the ones who were simrly trapped by the strings.
SLASH¡ SLASH¡ SLASH¡ with every swing of her daggers, a life would be harvested. The adventurers that were killed couldn''t even move their muscles as they felt their life slipping away from them.
And due to the invisible threads, the other adventurers could even move freely or assist them. They could only watch helplessly as the other around them got killed one by one.
"Use your [Mana Armors]" Those adventurers that were above level 500, used their mana armors to shield themselves but the ones below that level weren''t that fortunate.
Bea''s dagger were precise and ruthless, as if practiced over hundreds of thousands of times, there was no wasted movements. She appeared and disappeared from one ce to another and targeted only those adventurers that were the easiest to kill and had no way of defending themselves.
Her every move was rxed and lethal, as if she was out strolling in a park. There was no gracefulness in her attacks, it was all technique and pure strength. Yet seeing her draw blood and immerse herself into the pleasure, it was bizarrely mesmerising.
"Kain¡ I''ll deal with her. You go after the maid that is controlling the strings. Gallio you are the only one other than me who can see those strings, you need to go and help Kain" Alvin shouted, he didn''t wait for the other two to respond as he activated [Ghost Steps] and chased after Bea.
Kain and Gallio who were called out, nodded their heads.
"I''ll help too"..
"Me too"¡
"Us also¡ we cannot just stay behind and let the seniors protect us all the times". Brutus, Hallie, Tiana, Kenan and all the other geniuses stepped forward in an attempt to assist.
Nheless, Kain shook his head and pointed above them "The golems are yet to move; however, it doesn''t mean that we can leave them unchecked. I want you all, the geniuses of this generation to team up and take care of those golems. Leave the maids and those demonic warhorses to old timers like us".
Although part of his intention was to keep them out of danger, it was true that the golems were being unnaturally silent. They didn''t know what kind of tricks it had or what it could do. That is why, he left it to the young master of his guild and the other geniuses who have faced the golems before inside those mysterious ruins.
Maids aside, Kain could tell that those demonic warhorses wrecking havoc in the backlines were all disaster ss. A level that even an elite veteran adventurer like him has to be careful of.
Marcus and the other nodded their heads, they understood that they were no match for the monsters in the backlines and the maids were far too big of an opponent for them whom even the veteran adventurers were having difficulty facing.
By the process of elimination, the golems were the only ones they could take on right now with their levels.
Leaving behind those words, Kain moved. Gallio followed behind him and helped him cut all the strings barring their path towards the maid that was controlling them. The veterans and the other adventurers couldn''t move freely because of these invisible strings.
The hindrance that is to say the maid who was controlling them, needed to be taken care of first and only then they would be able to provide backup to the backlines.
"Listen up Gallio, once we reach the maid, I will be the one take her head on. You just need to assist me¡ alright?" Kain emphasized, it was too dangerous for a level 415 assassin to take on a maid whose power was too mysterious.
It was up to him to resolve this situation. Kain made up his mind, he was one of the top five members of the Savannah Beast guild, hence he had quite a lot of confidence in his strength.
While they were making their way to the maid that controlled the strings, Alvin chased after Bea and interrupted her from ying any more adventurers.
"Woman, your opponent will be me" Alvin stated, unsheathing his short sword and pointing at her.
"Oh~" Bea merely smiled and licked the blood that was on her dagger.
"You think you are qualified to take me on?" her words carried an aloofness that only the powerful possessed.
"Yeah, I''ll be the one to take your head" Even if he can''t take her down, he must at least dy her for long enough for Kain and the others to bring down that maid who controlled the strings.
Once these tricky strins were gone, they could work together with the others to bring the maid in front of him down.
Seeing that the maid looked unconcerned by his reply and was ncing towards the other maid, a thought appeared in his mind.
"Are you concerned about her? Looking at how she uses strings to attack, she must be a mage right? If so then she won''t be a match for kain and the others" Alvin remarked.
"Hm? Are you perhaps trying to incite me by chit chatting? How foolish but I might as well amuse you in that foolish thinking of yours" Easily seeing through his inner thoughts, Bea answered amusingly.
"Of course I''m concerned, she my little sister after all. Havingmitted a mistake in the past already, we cannot afford to mess it up this time. That is why, I want to ensure that everything is going ording to our master''s n. As for if she is a mage or not, she is more than enough to handle the likes of you".
"What?"¡
"Never mind, I guess inferior minds cannot understand his greatness. If you are ready then let''s start this¡" Bea sighed, her words just fell when she appeared behind the man.
Alert, Alvin hurriedly turned around and used a roundhouse kick to push his opponent back and open some distance. The kick connected; however, the maid wasn''t pushed back in the slightest on the contrary it was him who felt pain on his leg and had to take a couple of steps back.
The maid conflicting to her delicate and mesmerising appearance was quite strong. Not only that, even the armour she wore was quite sturdy and not any inferior to a mithril armour.
Chapter 580 580- Mk9 (2)
"Although I do not have my Heirloom with me, this weapon that was bestowed to me by my master is enough for the likes of you. [Twelve Stride- First Stride]" Bea muttered to herself, her figure suddenly became ghostlike as she appeared in front of Alvin leaving counyless after images behind.
"W-What kind of skill is this dammit. [Mana Armour], [Super Enhanced Agility], [de Edge Mastery- Vector sh]" Alvin wasted no time retaliating as soon as he saw the maid activate some skills he had never seen or heard before.
[Mana armour] increased his defence, [Super Enhanced Agility] increased his speed and along with his advanced mastery in the short sword, he erupted forth with an attack that he believed even the mysterious woman could not ignore.
"Second Stride"
The attack connected with the maid and passed through her easily.
"Afterimage!!" Alvin was shocked; he thought he had the right one but it turned out to be an afterimage.
"Nope, you had the right one" the afterimage that was behind the one he attacked, moved her lips.
CHII¡ at that instant, blood sprayed out from his chest and to his horror, he witnessed his [mana armour] getting shed through as easily as if it was butter in front of a hot knife.
"Dammit" Alvin attacked the afterimage but the person had already relocated somewhere else. He used this chance to open some distance from the maid and down a potion.
"What? Why is not closing? Kuh" Alvin was confused as to why his wounds weren''t healing even after he consumed a potion when something stabbed him in the back.
"Always keep your eyes on the enemy¡ª something that our master always said" Bea spoke appearing behind Alvin.
"Rupture" she muttered something and the dagger stabbed to his back glowed red and the wound festered to be some kind of cancer that spread all around his body.
"Puff¡" Alvin threw out a mouthful of blood and fell down on the ground while clenching his body in pain. The battle was over before it even started. Bea casually grabbed the hair of the assassin and lifted his face which was twisted in pain.
The gentle expression that she always carried herself with, crumbled apart reced by a lewd sadistic one.
"W-wha¡ di.. dyou?" Alvin asked amidst his tears and snot, numerous cancer protruded out of his body.
"Hehe¡ to answer your question, it was the ability of this dagger, the [A] tier Blood Bane. The de of this dagger has the ability that can negate all kinds of lower or medium tier healing".
"Not only that, it''s another ability [Rupture] that you are infected with rapidly increases the infection rate of the wound until the target is paralysed with pain. AHH~ this dagger was something that was gifted to me by my master. You should be happy that you get to die by it".
After what happened thest time when a member of Cerberus, calling himself number 007 escaped from the clutches of the Valkyries due to them being equipped with poor items, Simon made sure that this time they had the best of the best equipment for the mission.
On that end, he spared no expenses and burnt down hundreds of [B] tier weapons like oil in the armoury to upgrade a couple of [A] tier weapons for the Valkyries. The dagger in Bea''s hand, Blood Bane was one of them.
In a way, it was kind of simr to the [A] tier weapon of Donte Goodman, the Proliferate.
"This is bad, Mister Alvin is no match for that maid" Brutus and the other geniuses were watching everything from the distance.
"The other veteran adventurers cannot move because of the strings, it''s up to us to back them up" Tiana spoke.
"But we are supposed to keep watch on the golems, we don''t know when they will move" Kenan reasoned.
"Watch out, something is flying over here" Hallie interrupted, casting a wall of ice that blocked whatever that was hurling towards them. The thing crashed on the wall and only then they were able to tell that it was a person.
"It''s Gallio¡ what are you doing here? Weren''t you assisting mister Kain?" Marcus asked Hallie to dispel her ice wall and the group moved to support the genius of the assassin guild.
"Cough¡ cough¡" Gallio coughed a few times before exining things. ording to him, during their fight, the maid all of a sudden changed the way she was using her strings.
From her initial way of binding her enemies with her invisible strings, she changed into attacking. Those thin invisible strings on top of being extremely sturdy, were also sharp enough to sh through all kinds of defences and armours.
To top it off, the strings that she was using now were many times more tensile and couldn''t be cut apart as easily as before. The matter became worse with Kain getting severely injured without being able to even approach the maid.
Finally, after seeing no hope, he hurled Gallio back towards where the others were right before getting caught in those strings.
"What?! T-That cannot be uncle Kain is one of the strongest warriors of our guild. With his strength stats he should easily be able to snap out of the bindings of those strings" Marcus who knew Kain''s strength the best, was in disbelief.
He wanted to deny it, but after seeing Gallio''s condition and the situation the veteran adventurers were in, he had to ept the ugly truth.
"We need to go and assist them" he might have been shaken, but he was no gutless coward. His instincts were telling him to assist them.
The others also knew that the only way they could survive this cmity was by assisting the veterans. Thus everybody nodded their heads, they were just about to move when Gallio grabbed hold of Marcus.
"You can''t go" he spoke in a faint voice.
"Wha¡ what are you saying? We can''t win without those two. We need to go and assist them" Marcus pointed out. Nevertheless, Gallio didn''t release him and shook his head.
"Wrong¡ they are not an opponent we can take on at our levels. Use your brains, if we go out there right now, we will simply just end up bing dead weights. Do you wish to bring this team to ruin once again Marcus?" at the end of his sentence, Gallio even started yelling.
The shock and despair in his eyes were apparent, even the veteran warriors were helpless against the maid, What could they who had just newly risen to level 400 be able to do?
"So?"¡
"Huh? Marcus you still¡"¡
"Don''t misunderstand; it is true that it was partly my fault for leading everyone to that mysterious ruin. However, the situation right now is different. The situation is notpletely hopeless. There are quite a few veteran warriors with levels above 500 among us, as long as we get them out of their binds, they will be able to work together and deal with the maids".
Marcus shook off Gallio''s hands and turned around, one could already see that he was transforming into his [Partial Beast Transformation] state. He and the others were just about to go and assist the others, when suddenly the Andromedas, that have been silently hovering over their heads all this while, started making some noise.
Some strange robotic sounds came out of them as their frames started shifting and a big muzzle, resembling a cannon came out of their chests.
Zzzz¡ as soon as the cannon formed, the Andromedas started firing. [Ballistic Guns], the original and the newly developed weapon of the mk9. The reason why the Andromedas weren''t attacking, was because they were in the standby mode as they prepared tounch the ballistic guns.
These andromedas came right out of the factory, hence it took some time.
BOOMM¡ BOOMM¡ the power and range of the guns were on a whole different level than any of the weapons the Andromedas currently possessed. Their firepower wouldn''t even lose to some intermediate tier magic.
The geniuses of the various guilds dodged the attacks or erected shields and defences. Nevertheless, attacksparable to intermediate tier magic weren''t that easy to defend against. Many of them got injured in the process.
"Dammit, these golems just had to start moving now. Everyone get ready, we will deal with the golems first before going on to assist the others".
Marcus roared, his present form was that of a bipedal crimson tiger with golden stripes. His body stood at 2.5 meters tall and he wielded the two-handed broad swords with just one hand. Be it his strength or aura, everything increased drastically at his moment.
"[Howling Beast Roar]"¡ he issued out a loud roar that interfered with the iing beams of attacks, making them miss their mark or alter their course directly.
Hmph¡ Marcus snorted, blood red aura poured out of his body as he made a huge jump. He was so fast that he was already on top of an Andromeda before the war machine could even perceive him.
"I have already fought with you guys for long enough to know all of your weaknesses, you dumb golems" A storm of w attacks rained down on that Andromeda, destroying its circuits and turning it into a dismantled piece of scrap in a few seconds.
Marcus didn''t stop his attacks there, after destroying the first andromeda, he turned his attention towards the others. There were around fifty andromedas that hade out from that portal.
Compared to the thousand of golems he had faced back inside that door, this number meant nothing.
"Great Gale w" every attack from Marcus was apanied by the ripping sound of the wind and the low roar of a tiger. After transforming into the [Partial Beast] state all his stats and skills received a huge boost and his attacks were in no way inferior to that of a level 480.
Chapter 581 581- Mk9 (3)
Perhaps with the [Blood Frenzy] skill activated, his actual strength was even greater.
The blood red aura covering Marcus, undted like lightning and vaguely formed the halo of an enormous Blood Saint Tiger. The power of a true inheritor of the [Beast Inheritance] was disyed in front of everyone.
Seeing Marcus lead the charge and pounce on one Andromeda after another, the rest of the geniuses of the other guilds also got a moral boost. They faced the andromedas unafraid and let loose their powers.
Various kinds of skills, techniques and magic were thrown around, each of which was quietly being analysed by the Andromedas.
[Initialisationpleted¡ Data collection- sufficient. Modifying mk9 to the optimum state for battle].
A weird robotic voice came from all of the andromedas as their structures started altering a little. Their bulky frames started bing sleeker, their weapons became smaller and multifaceted along with their colour which now had more of a golden touch along with the crimson.
[Modificationpleted. Combat Mode Ready. Starting Battle].
"I don''t know what these golems are mumbling, but we don''t have time to dilly dally. We need to go and assist the seniors of our guilds" Marcus yelled, he pounced towards the air and using the powerful physical strength of his state, he tried to slice two andromedas with his mythril sword.
However, one of the andromedas dodged the attack by firing the jet boosters in its back, legs and arms in a short burst. While the other Andromeda brought out the [Argo Sword] and shed against the mythril sword of Marcus.
CLANG¡ BANG¡
"What?" Marcus was shocked, although he did manage to overpower the Andromeda and make it crash onto the ground, he was surprised that his attack was stopped by that andromeda.
Even though he did not use any skill, the sword in his hand was no ordinary sword, but a sword made of mythril. If it was ranked, it would easily be [A] tier. So how in the world did the sword that was casually released by the golem, be able to sh against his sword and not break apart?
The other shocking part was the speed of the golems, they were now much faster than before, in fact, one of the golems that he targeted even dodged his attack.
"Dammit" Marcus wasn''t given any time to think as the Andromeda that dodged his attack, started firing the ballistic gun which activated much more quickly now.
When he looked around his surroundings he was surprised to find out that all of his friends andrades were also facing a simr problem. The golems were starting to pressure them instead.
What was going on, when did the golems be so powerful?
ZING¡ the Andromeda that got crushed into the ground, picked itself up and discarded the parts that got damaged. It then locked its unemotional eyes which were actually two lights, on him.
Seeing this scene, Marcus narrowed his eyes. He might have faced these andromedas back inside the mysterious ruins on the 34th floor. However, the ones he was facing this time, were different.
The andromedas were no doubt the mk9 version but the ones he faced back then were the unfinished version that was manufactured in a hurry. That version had many problems with its frames and most of its functions were not up to par.
The Mk9 they were facing right now was thepleted war machine with all of its original weapons. That is to say, each of these andromedas were equivalent to a level 400 adventurer. What''s more, the andromedas have been observing them for a while, and the data gathered by the various unfinished mk9 was uploaded to these finished ones making them even stronger.
The feeling of uneasiness that Marcus and the others were feeling, was precisely the emotions the yers felt when they yed the game [Rise of the Demolishers] the Andromedas were from.
These cold unfeeling war machines, came at you unceasingly. It didn''t matter even if you destroyed them, they were just remotely controlled machines to begin with. It would just tire you out to no end if you fought them.
However, the true fear of facing these machines didn''t lie in their numbers, but in their information gathering ability. It was so unfair that it was downright broken.
Think about it, in the game as the storyline progresses, each Andromedas that the yers faced was equipped with the information that the other versions they had faced previously had gathered on them.
They knew all about your skills and abilities making it harder for you to destroy them. While you on the other hand would have to fight at a disadvantage not knowing what kind of new weapons and upgraded variations they had installed.
This became worse the further in the storyline you are and the more advanced versions of the andromedas you faced. It was so preposterous to the point of being nightmarish for the yers.
That is why, the game [Rise of the demolishers] was dered as a team game, since no yer was able to reach the end of the game solo. If you want to clear it, your only chance was to tackle it with a team.
And now that these war machines have been replicated in this world, it was time for these adventurers to experience its nightmare.
The mk9 had all the information it needed on these adventurers of the tertiary team and hence the bnce had tipped towards the side of the andromedas.
"This can''t go on for long, Marcus we need a n" Tiana who had been supporting the team with her light magic,mented.
One could see that even the Lantz and the Rees brother from the crimson demolition guild were being pressured. If this goes on like this, they themselves would be in danger, forget about being able to assist the veterans.
"Look out" at some unknown point when Tiana had be absentminded in between her talks with Marcus, an Andromeda came attaching her with its [Argo Sword]. However, two daggers that came in the nick of the time, deflected the attack back.
Gallio materialised behind Tiana and cautioned.
"Gallio!!" Marcus and Tiana were surprised to see Gallio appear. The person seemed to have been in a state of utter despair a couple of minutes ago. What changed him?
"Gather everyone, I have a n" Gallio looked directly into their eyes and stated.
Marcus and Tiana nodded their heads, the former signalled everyone to gather while thetter erected a shield made of light magic that covered everyone inside like a dome. Seeing that the golems were unable to break in, Gallio exined his ns to the gathered members.
"It''s like this, we have fallen into their trap, and the situation is the same as the mysterious ruins. I have been trying for a while to send a sound transmission back to my guild; however, it is interrupted every time. I believe someone on this floor is interfering with the spatialws".
"What?" Marcus and the others eximed in surprise when they heard that.
"It is possible, if someone from the opponent has set up a spatial formation on this floor or can use the space magic, interfering with the sound transmissions shouldn''t be a problem" Hallie who was a little knowledgeable about space magic added in confirmation.
"Huh?! If we can''t contact anyone then doesn''t it mean that nobody wille to rescue us" some of the geniuses of the twenty guilds spoke in a trembling voices. The gravity of the situation finally dawned on them and the nightmare of the 34th floor once again yed in front of their eyes.
"Calm down, didn''t I tell you that I have a n" Gallio spoke before everyone started panicking.
"As Hallie had mentioned, the opponent must be using some kind of spatial interference. However, I can assure you that it is not the former since the transmission conch was working just fine an hour ago. This means that it has to be the doing of our opponent".
Seeing Gallio analyse the situation so calmly many of them had trouble thinking he was the same man who had a face of despair just until a moment ago.
"The golems don''t look like they have that kind of ability, it also seems unlikely that it is the doing of the demonic war horses attacking the backlines. Which means that it has to be one of the two maids".
"What are you implying, didn''t you hear the seniors? The maids are too powerful of an opponent for us" Tiana rebuked shaking her head.
"You are misunderstanding me, I''m not saying that we go after the maids ourselves. But as Marcus had said, we can''t just sit around and do nothing. We need to find some way to distract the user of the space magic so we can send a sound transmission back. The primary team needs to know these strong maids that are guarding this dungeon".
Everybody nodded their heads, in the worst case scenario they need to at least warn the primary unit that had gone down about these powerful maids.
"If we are able to execute my n perfectly then we can turn this whole situation around" Gallio started exining his ns.
After falling in despair, he had been thinking about what Marcus had said to him back then. The maids were unreasonably powerful to the point that even the seniors from their guild were unable to move or do anything.
Existence like them shouldn''t be in a low ss dungeon like this, it went beyond all reasoning.
Just when he was about to lose his hope and give up he saw something with his eyes, or to be more precise, with those [Mystic Eyes] of his. There was a single light of gold in this ce full of red.
Chapter 582 582- The Talentless Genius
''Hehe, guild master Cassius¡ if you saw me like this, you would definitely be disappointed right? No, you would definitely beat me up. Everybody is fighting for a way out, yet I''m giving up already.
''No wonder she has only been looking at Marcus from the beginning. Did she too think that I was pathetic too? Ahh, I''m hopeless, I messed up again.''
Gallio thought internally as his eyes stole a peek at the girl who was shining in gold in his vision. Looking at her, he realised that there is no point in giving up. He choose to fight along with them and maybe then he thought she would spare him a nce too.
Thus, the tertiary team rose in defiance to their fate, with Gallio and the n that he came up with in the heart of all of it.
"Marcus"¡
"Leave it to me" Marcus who was called out, ran out of the barrier. He transformed back into his partial beast state and started running wild.
"Tyler, Park, Levin¡"¡
"Yeah"¡
Gallio called out the name of all the warriors as they gathered in one spot.
"Kenan, Jason, Connor"¡
"[Wall of mes]" he called out the name of mages with expertise in the fire.
A wall of me as high as twenty meters, rose up in the air all around them, barring vision for those other than allies.
"Marin, Franco¡" Assassins, warriors, mages¡ one by one, Gallio called out all the names of the geniuses who used their skills and magic in turn.
"Hm? What are those guys doing? Don''t they know that anything that they do at this point is meaningless?" Bea wondered aloud.
"Ahhhh!!" Alvin next to her struggled, his eyes glowed with a resolute light.
"I won''t let you go after them" he roared defiantly.
"What are you getting so riled up about, all of you will die eventually. Anyways, I do not have the slightest intention of going after them. Master has set the Adnromedas as their opponent, he wants to see how well the Admormedas can fare against the adventurers with the amount of information it has currently".
"With sir Wisp controlling them, I hardly think I need to take any action. Anyways, you should be more concerned about yourself. The reason why I haven''t killed you is because you still have a big part to y in the uing events".
Bea toyed around with the assassin, stabbing him with her dagger from time to time as she enjoyed his screams.
Inside the wall of fire, the Andromedas that were surrounded by fire all around, were barred of their vision of the targets. They who had no information about any such skills were unable to promptly respond to what came next.
"Hurry, I don''t think that I can take them any longer" Marcus roared, no matter how strong he was in his partial beast transformation state he was nevertheless, unable to go against so many Andromedas.
To attract all their attention he had to use his full strength and reveal all of his skills and superimpose them on top of each other. Once the duration of those many augmenting skills ended, he would be vulnerable to enemy attacks.
Be that may, his greatest concern was these golems ability to take new information into ount. For some reason, he felt like these golems were growing stronger and smarter after every new skill and technique that he disyed.
The skill that worked before didn''t work against them the second time. They either dodged or could see iting. Marcus wanted to deny this possibility; however, the more he fought against them the more certain he became.
These golems were learning, adapting themselves and changing their attack patterns to the best possible way to defeat him.
[Activating¡ Electrocution Net]... Marcus heard the golem behind the one he was facing currently, mutter something in its robotic voice. The arm of that golem started transforming and to his surprise, it shot out something that looked like a fishing.
His instinct ring rms, Marcus tried to dodge it; however, the Andromedas were far smarter than he giving them credit for. The golem he was facing grabbed onto him at that instant and stopped him from moving away. Thus capturing him inside the.
If it was just any simple, Marcus would have broken free immediately. However, the was made of the same material as their equipment and frames and was extremely sturdy.
Iridium was a metal that was only a little weaker than Mythril, one of the toughest metals known to the people of this world. Given this fact, it was no wonder that Marcus was surprised that he couldn''t get out of the.
Though the real surprise was about toe next. The that the Andromedas had thrown, didn''t just restrain him, but also electrocuted him.
ZAPP¡
"Aaaarghhh" Marcus screamed as he felt a high voltage of electricity curse through his body from the. The electrical energy was so high that even his partial beast transformation was unable to handle it for long, he started to revert back to his original human form.
Marcus was twitching and squirming paralysed inside the, on the other hand, the andromeda that was captured alongside him was perfectly fine. It showed no signs of being affected at all.
[Capture sessful¡ retrieving target] the Andromedas proceeded to apprehend Marcus who couldn''t move when the wall of mes started flickering. Skills and magic passed through the wall and bombarded the Andromedas pushing them back and destroying a few.
[Error¡ unable to detect the target] the Andromedas due to being encircled inside the wall of fire and unable to see where the attacks areing from, were unable to respond quickly.
After that first batch of attacks, more and more attacks starteding from all sides of the wall. Huge rocks and debris fell down from the sky, making the andromedas unable to maintain their flight.
One by one they had tond on the ground which further opened them to the attacks of the warriors that came attacking them using their skills and disappeared inside the wall soon after.
[Drill Bash], [Strong Blow], [Bull''s Charge], [Wide sh], [Mountain Cut] all kinds of skills were used.
In some other case, the andromedas would easily be able to avoid the attacks or create defensive measures to render that skill useless. However, due to them being unable to lock in their targets and see where the attacks areing from, the andromedas even with their information sharing ability were unable to respond.
They tried to react by charging out of the wall only to be pushed back inside.
Light magic mastery- [Barricade of Light] was cast around the wall of fire. The magic made things from outside pass through it but stopped anything froming outside.
That is to say, the Andromedas werepletely blocked off from the outside and could only move around within the wall of fire. The reason why they couldn''t perceive the magicing at them from different directions was because of the¡ªEarth magic mastery- Geo Maniption.
The mages proficient in Earth Magic Mastery, ferried the others around the wall of fire using which they continuously cast their magic and skills while sitting on top of rocks.
The assassins using the ample cover of rocks and fire disyed their skills to support the warriors andbinedly, they tackled the andromedas.
"Are you alright?" Gallio asked Marcus who looked quite worse for the wear. They had somehow managed to rescue Marcus from that electrified before the [Barricade of Light] was cast or else just like the Andromedas, he too would have been stuck inside.
"Yeah" Marcus nodded his head, still feeling numb all over his body.
"I must say, your n was quite good. When did you manage to gain information about all of our skills and magic? And how did you know a way to counter the golems?" Marcus asked looking at the Andromedas getting destroyed inside the wall of fire.
To pull something like that, one needed extensive knowledge about each of the skills and magic they all possessed, awareness about their surroundings, craftiness, versatility and not to mention the genius to put all of these together into a n.
"Haha, it''s just some information I have collected by observing all of you. I''m an assassin after all, a part of my job is intelligence gathering. I have been keeping an eye on all the geniuses of the top and the big guilds since a long time ago. I know all your quirks, the skills you have and your capability. As for the Golems, did you forget these special eyes of mine?".
Gallio pointed at his eyes. A special mutated physique that only a handful people in this world possess.
"Mystic Eyes¡ huh. That''s quite something. However, even with the aid of that special physique, to pull something like that one needed to be a genius" Marcus praised, he downed a couple of potions to heal his injuries.
"Hearing that from a guy who took the third spot, doesn''t make me happy at all. Anyways, it''s not over yet, don''t let your guard down. The main part of our n has only just begun" Gallio reminded.
"Haha¡ yeah".
The wall of fire stayed up for quite a while, blocking the vision from the outsidepletely. Nobody could tell what was going on inside it. The veteran adventurers who were struggling to free themselves from the strings, could only pray in their hearts that those young geniuses from their guilds were fine.
The distant galloping sounds, the screams of despair and the noise of bones being crushed resounded from the backlines. The adventurers grit their teeth and endured, they wanted to help but were unable to free themselves from these goddamn strings.
The more they struggled to get out of these strings, the more constricted it got.
Chapter 583 583- The Talentless Genius (2)
The situation didn''t look bright for the tertiary team, every second dozens of people were getting killed in the backlines. Crushed underneath the hooves of the stampeding warhorses. It felt like everything had spiralled out of their hand when the [Wall of Fire] encapsting the Andromedas and the geniuses of the twenty guilds, came down.
"What?!"...
The moment the wall of fire was released, everybody had a surprised look on their face. Of course, the destroyed Andromedas in the centre yed arge part in it. However, the real shock came from that ridiculous fluctuation of mana that flooded out right after the wall came down and almost covered half of the floor.
The amount of mana was so immense that it caused the mystical energy around the entire floor to be turbulent.
Following this turbulence, a voice that seemed like it was singing, prated through every space of this floor and reached the ears of every living being present. Inadvertently, they all stopped doing whatever they were upied with and turned their attention towards the source of this song.
"What? That!! Not good, that girl¡ she is capable of casting Mutation Magic" Bea who was simrly attracted by that song, immediately realised what it was as her eyes focused on the girl, the caster of this magic.
Seeing that the verses were taking shape and the magic was about to bepleted, Bea tried to intervene. But the persistent assassin who was hanging by the thread of his life, found some strength all of sudden and grabbed onto her legs stopping her from teleporting away.
"Your¡ opponent is meee!!!" Alvin who wascerating severely from the rupture that was dealt to his body, smiled in ast death struggle.
"You¡ let go of me" Bea tried to free herself; however, her opponent refused to budge and stuck to her like a maggot no matter how severely he got hurt in the process.
''Gallio, this must be your doing right? I don''t know what kind of possibility you have seen, but at the very least allow me to aid you in your efforts''.
Alvin''s mind wandered and he remembered a conversation he had with his guild master, Cassius Grey when he decided to take Gallio as his student and sessor.
"But Sir Cassius, that boy''s potential isn''t very high. Hecks talent, his aptitude is lower than most of his peers and most of all, hecks the drive to be the strongest. If not for his special physique, he would be average. Guild master, please reconsider. That boy will never be able topete with the monstrous talents of the other top guilds".
At that time, Alvin believed that Gallio had no potential, he assumed that it was a bad judgement on his guild leader''s part to dere such a boy as his sessor.
"Alvin, you might be right about the boycking the talent and all, but you are mistaken about certain things. That boy by no means iscking in the drive to be stronger. In fact, I have seen him work harder than even some of the senior members of our guild".
"It is not that he is not trying, it''s just that he is fully aware that he is not a genius and cannotpare to them on even grounds. That is why, he is diverting his efforts to other ces to make up for it".
"You have asked me once where I found that boy right? Let me tell you hat boy''s origin. Gallio had lost his parents and his family in a bandit attack while travelling across the northern ouw forest. Can you imagine a boy who was only eight or nine years old around that time making it out alive all alone?"
"He was almost killed by the bandits, became the food of monsters or was sold as a ve after getting tricked by a ve trader in the ck town. Nevertheless, he survived all that and managed toe out of that forest while keeping his sanity intact".
"I ask you Alvin, would you be able to do the same at his age? Don''t give me the crap that he has [Mystic Eyes] and all. A skill is a skill, after all, even they have their limits. It is his wits, his ability to absorb all information around him and spun it into a n is what makes him special. In my eyes, he is a genius. A genius who is always looking ahead, hungry for knowledge and power. The assassin ss is a dangerous one, you need to have the right knowledge and mindset to go on any quest or expedition. A dangerous ce is where his ability will shine the brightest".
At that time, the reply that Alvin got from Cassius, forced him to have a renewed look at the boy. Though he still had his doubts, the sessive eventster proved that his guild master was right.
With his dim eyes, Alvin saw a huge magic circle form above their enemies andughed. It formed on top of the demonic warhorses in the backlines and on top of the maids. Soon after, a wide beam of light poured out of that, drowning any and every sound.
The entire floor trembled, the might of the magic was powerful enough to even give goosebumps to all the onlooking veteran adventurers.
The geniuses of the twenty guilds rejoiced at the perfect execution of the n but their joy was cut short with a yell.
"Now!!" Gallio bellowed, he rushed faster than anyone towards the veteran adventurers who were restrained by the strings. The other followed behind him and started freeing the seniors from their guilds.
Thanks to that magic earlier targeting all their enemies, the strings have started bing loose and visible that anyone could cut them now.
"Haa¡ Haa¡ " Hallie huffed, her expression quickly turning pale white as she poured all of her mana into her magic. Her body shuddered and she was just about to fall down when Tiana from the side supported her.
"Are you alright? The magic puts too much strain on you after all" She asked in concern.
"Un¡ big sister I''m alright. I''m just a little tired" Hallie answered with a small smile.
Tiana caressed the adorable face of her little sister and nodded "You have done your part, leave everything to us now and rest"...
"Un¡ but that guy¡ what was his name?"¡
"Hm? You mean Gallio Stard? He is the future sessor of the Assassin Guild. That guy is quite something, even I''m amazed that he coulde up with such a n" Tianamented.
Hallie''s magic was something that was kept a secret from all the other guilds. She had only mentioned it once to Gallio when they were against the odds facing the unending monster horde inside the mysterious ruins.
She had revealed that it was a powerful magic that Hallie could only use once a day and had a long casting drawback. She never imagined that Gallio would even incorporate that information ande up with such a n on the spot.
The wall of fire and the constant casting of magic of other mages around her provided a perfect cover for her to cast her powerful magic without worrying about being interrupted. Perhaps If it was someone else in his ce, it would have been impossible for them to devise such a n on the spot.
With the veteran adventurers free from their restraining, they now stood a chance. The tertiary team had turned the tables around.
"Everybody¡ the transmission conch should be working now, please send a transmission to your guild exining our situation" Gallio instructed. He looked at the transmission conch in his hand that had turned back to the colour of gold in his eyes once again.
This meant that his n had worked. Gallio released a deep breath of relief, when formting the n, he was not entirely sure that it would work. Although his eyes showed him a possibility, it was not omnipotent after all.
The [Mystic eyes] of his had shown Hallie in the colour of gold. Although it took him a second or two, but he finally understood what it was trying to hint at. Scrounging all of the information he had collected over the years on these geniuses, Galiio hade up with that makeshift n.
''I wonder if I was able to stay in her sight for a few seconds'' Gallio wondered.
Everybody was congratting Marcus, the Lantz brothers, Tiana, Hallie and the others. They had all, performed extremely well and were able to provide the veterans with the chance to be freed once again. If not for them performing to their very best, none of this would have gone as he had nned. On the contrary, all he did wase up with the n.
''As I thought so, I can''tpare with monstrous geniuses like Marcus, the third prince or you. But I at least wanted you to see me in a different light, I wanted to stay in your sight even for a second''.
''From the start of the exploration, you have always been looking at Marcus. But that cannot be helped, my presence is that low after all, I''m an assassin that cannot shine in the light. Ah how envious, if only I had talent like them'' Gallio smiled at his inner soliloquy.
His eyes inadvertently turned to look at the girl who was being supported by her senior sister. Although it was embarrassing for him to admit, she had always shined a bright gold in his eyes. Yeah, he had feelings for her but his circumstances always made him suppress that feeling deep in his heart .
Chapter 584 584- The Talentless Genius (3)
It was something that had bud in his heart a long time ago for the very first time he had met her. At that time, he wanted to approach and talk to her, but his presence was too low and he could never muster up the courage.
Unlike those near her, he was not a monstrous genius. He had tried his best but he couldn''t even enter the top thirty rankings in the battle of the finest tournament. Whereas, she was easily able to enter the top five.
She was like an unreachable fairy blessed by the heavens. Compared to her, he not onlycked in talent, but he also lost to Marcus when it came to the looks department.
Gallio smiled, his eyes that were looking at Hallie, suddenly met with hers. At that moment, he felt like his heart had suddenly stopped beating.
There was no mistaking it, she was looking at him. Those beautiful tranquil eyes that hid an inborn haughtiness were at this moment, looking at him. Perhaps this was the first time that somebody other than a monstrous genius like Marcus was able to attract her attention.
Gallio was at a loss, the girl in his heart was finally looking at him. What should he do? What kind of face was he making? S-Smile¡ He wanted to make a statement with his smile since he didn''t want to appear uninteresting or inconspicuous.
However, his smile had only just formed when it froze in ce.
Puff¡
"Hn?... What''s wrong senior sister Tiana?" Hallie pulled her eyes away from Gallio and looked at Tiana when she felt some liquid drop on her face. Her eyes which had only turned around widened to their limits when she saw blood trickling down from the mouth of her senior sister and a dagger protruding out from her heart.
"Hallie¡ get away¡"
Tiana managed to form a few words and pushed Hallie away from her.
"Dammit, I didn''t expect a level 430 to be able to use such a powerful magic. Thanks to you, I had to revert back to my racial form" Bea''s cold voice mixed with some anger, came from the space behind Tiana.
The figure that appeared, although had Bea''s voice, and was wearing the same armoured maid clothes, looked very different from her usual figure.
Exotic tanned body, coupled with abundant muscles and feminine curves. Mysterious red patterns that ran across her skin all the way to her hands and legs, gave her a unique enigmatic aura.
Her peach colour hair which was usuallybed neatly and tied into a braid, was all dishevelled and formed locks in the shapes of snakes. On her forehead, in between her two eyes, an unknown third eye had opened.
She had grown a lot taller and her nails had turned piercingly crimson, just like that of a wild beast. An intimidating primitive aura emitted out of the current her. This was Bea''s true form, the Night Amazoness race.
"Rupture" she activated one of the skills of her dagger before pulling it out from the girl. Her three eyes then turned towards Hallie who had frozen in her ce.
"S-Senior sister¡" thetter was so shocked that, she had trouble believing her eyes. Just a moment ago, she shared a joyful conversation with Tiana and all of a sudden there was a dagger protruding out from her chest and an unknown enemy behind them.
"R-Run" Tiana muttered in herst breath as those eyes slowly became dim.
Tiana''s body which fell towards the ground, was hurriedly caught by Hallie who tried to smear potions and other healing elixirs at her.
"It''s useless, wounds inflicted with this dagger cannot be healed. I was told that your enemy would be the Andromedas. But now that they have been outsmarted and destroyed by you guys, Master wouldn''t me me for taking action personally. You don''t have to worry about the other girl though, since you will be joining her soon" Beamented coldly.
Cannot be healed? Hallie didn''t want to ept these words and kept on using one healing potion on Tiana after another in a futile attempt.
The other members of the tertiary team who were simrly shocked, also woke up at this moment. Everything transpired so fast that even the veterans didn''t have a chance to move their fingers. All they could do was watch in a daze as Tiana''s lifeless body fall down on the ground.
They tried to move and save the other girl but they were too far andte to react.
"No¡ No¡ No.." Hallie who was clumsily trying to stop Tiana''s bleeding with her hands when the potions had no effect was continuously muttering the same words of denial like a broken tape recorder.
She hugged Tiana''s body close to her and watched the dagger magnify in her eyes.
STAB¡ Blood gushed out and a painful groan sounded in her ears. The dagger that should have imed her life, was stopped by a figure who appeared between her and the dagger at the veryst second.
"Hmm~" Bea was amused, she didn''t expect somebody to catch up to her speed.
Looking at the person who willingly dived in between her attack and receive it on himself to save the one behind him, she realised that the person wasn''t fast, he had simply rushed here before she even teleported behind them.
"Y-You are¡ that person" Hallie looked at the person who saved her life with trembling eyes. Surprisingly, it was none other than the guy who hade up with that surprising n.
"Haha¡ the name is Gallio Stard¡ " Gallio smiled trying to appear unfazed but the dagger prating through his stomach and the traces of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth suggested otherwise.
"W-Why?" Hallie couldn''t help but ask in a trembling voice.
Gallio had saved her life but it came at a price and that price was his life. She who was resigned to her fate, didn''t expect anybody to save her. Not to mention Gallio had no reason to save her, so why?
"I don''t know¡ my body just moved before I could think anything. I just didn''t want to see you die¡ ugh" Gallio smiled, even he himself didn''t know why he would do something so reckless; nevertheless, now that he did it, he surprisingly felt relieved.
Relieved that Hallie was fine and the attack unable to reach her. It was aplex feeling and many would not be able to understand it but it didn''t matter, he was satisfied with the result.
''I''m sorry master Cassius, I''m unable to live up to your expectation'' he said sorry to his guild master in his heart and a light of resolution shed in his eyes.
"Kuh!!" Gallio moved his body and grabbed the maid''s hand tightly.
"What are you doing?" Bea asked perplexed.
"Hehe¡ I will not allow you to harm her. The others are rushing over here right now, as long as I can dy you¡" Gallio stepped forward, doing so he inserted the dagger deeper inside his body. His actions were simple, he was sacrificing himself to buy time.
Perhaps it might have worked if the enemy was someone else but Bea was far higher levelled than he was not to mention she was currently in her true form which drastically increases all her stats and prowess.
"I think you are misunderstanding something, I don''t need a dagger to finish someone like you".
SLASH¡ Bea moved her hand and her sharp nails easily beheaded thetter.
Gallio felt his vision turn upside down and the next thing he saw was the tearful and pale face of the girl.
''Ah, I failed again, maybe I should have gathered my courage and talked to her eight years ago. Perhaps we could have be friends... Haha''.
These were thest thoughts of Gallio Stard, a level 420 [Shadow Assassin].
"What''s with that smile? You were the first person to have died at my hands with such a relieved look on your face" Bea who enjoyed taking joy in the agony and pain of others, was unable to understand this behaviour.
The dagger Blood Bane was a weapon that was made to inflict torture and pain on others, even the slightest cut from the dagger hurt like hell so much so that even a grown man would bawl out loud. Nevertheless, this assassin never showed any expression of pain even until hisst second.
"Hallie are you alright?"...
Perhaps she had dilly-dallied a little too much, the others have caught up and encircled her.
"Shit, I can''t believe we allowed two of the geniuses to die right in front of our eyes. We will bring shame to our guilds if let any more of them. Everyone, prepare to fight with your life on the line" A veteran from one of the twenty guilds shouted. He pointed his weapon at the enemy and activated his skills.
"Take Hallie and the bodies of those two away, at the very least we can do is give them a proper burial outside".
Anna who had rushed towards her junior sister, nodded her head with difficulty at those words from the veteran adventurers.
"Let us help" Marcus and the other geniuses also rushed towards their two fallenrades at this moment.
"Tiana¡ Gallio¡" they couldn''t believe that the two were dead when just a moment ago they all worked together to grab the victory in their hands.
"How¡ can this happen? Because of me, they died. I am the reason¡" Hallie muttered in a broken doll-like manner.
"Hallie, it''s not your fault. Elder sister Tiana and Gallio did all that to save you" Although she was hurting inside herself, Anna tried tofort Hallie.
Tiana''s existence was like the elder sister of the geniuses of the mage guild. While Gallio was someone who everybody was starting to recognise as equal. Losing those two was a big blow to the morale of the tertiary team.
Chapter 585 585- Black Widow Spider
"Yeah, you don''t have to me yourself. Gallio must have his reason to do something like that, that boy must have seen something in you" Alvin who was being supported by an adventurer muttered.
That magic earlier from the girl only targeted the enemy. In a way, it could be said that it was because of her that he and Kain were saved. Alvin could see why Gallio would prioritise her life above his but it didn''t make sense to him. Perhaps there was something else between them?
"Don''t worry everyone, I have just received word from the secondary team, they are headed here right now" Kain tried to rx the heavy mood by giving some optimistic news.
"Great, then all we need to do is dy her. When the secondary team arrives here, at that time we can defeat her easily" the veterans rejoiced.
"Don''t get so cocky just because you managed to send a sound transmission. It doesn''t matter if there are hundreds or thousands of you. Now that you have angered my little sister, the oue will be all the same".
Their joy didn''tst long as a cold voice filled with sadism, snapped them back to reality. At some unknown point in time, the maid had escaped their encirclement and appeared behind the adventurer who uttered those words.
Her dagger slightly traced his back before she disappeared once again.This was a clear message from her, if she wanted to she could have easily killed them. The only reason she was not doing so was because she had something else in mind.
KRRRRIIIEEKKK¡ at this moment, a disturbing shriek carrying an immense pressure, came from one part of the floor. At the crater where the maid who controlled the string got hit by Hallie''s magic, was a huge ball of yarn.
That ball of yarn moved and something disturbing and frightening came out of it.
It had eight dark ck eyes, stood ten meters in size and had eight powerful legs. It had an hourss like shape on the underside of the spherical abdomen and had numerous tiny needle like hair covering all its body.
Also, there was a crimson coloured deadly pattern imprinted on its back. Some kind of liquid that even melted the ground, continuously dropped from its body.
"A¡ S-Spider Monster?" There was no other way to describe it, the adventurers who saw it, immediately started trembling in fear. Some even instinctively took a step back.
Just a look at her was enough to evoke the primal fear in them. This was the true form of Emma, the ck Widow Spider. She was designed by Simon in a way that would even scare the living shit out of the most stoic of men.
Coupled with the fact that she can produce thousands of different lethal poisons and that human males were her most favourite food, anybody would try to steer clear of her.
ording to the setting, Emma had very less control of herself in this state and hated reverting to it. But it was nevertheless, her strongest form.
"What kind of monster is that?" the adventurer had no information about such a monster and could only look in despair as she approached them at a speed that was nerve wracking.
KRRIIIEEKKK¡ the adventurers tried to attack her from the distance with magic and skills; however, just her scream alone was powerful enough to sweep those attacks away before they could approach her body.
Even if any attack did manage tond on her, it either did no damage or was offset by the shiny armour like hairs on her body.
"Attack¡ attack¡ keep on attacking her!!!!" this was the first time even the veteran adventurers who had years of experience fighting monsters and diving inside the dungeon to feel that threatened.
The kind of bloodlust that they were feeling from the ck Widow Spider was so palpable that even their breathing became distorted.
In their fear of the iprehensible, they could only use all of their power to attack it in hopes that something would work. Hundreds of attacks targeted Emma but before any of them couldnd on her she mysteriously disappeared from the sight of the adventurers.
"Invisibility?"¡
"No, look above. She jumped"¡ the adventurers who were freaking out from her sudden disappearance suddenly pointed up and all the eyes shifted above only to see a giant spider standing upside down in the sky.
"T-The monster is flying?"¡
When the adventurers looked carefully, they realised that the spider was not actually flying upside down, but using the strings to run in the air.
At some unknown point in time, the entire ceiling of the 21st floor was covered by a gigantic spider web which the monster used to rush towards them. They tried to fire magic in the sky but the spider was much too agile when running on the spider web then on the ground.
All the attacks missed their marks.
PSSHHH¡ Emma opened her mouth and sprayed out droplets of greenish liquid from above. These greenish liquid when it fell on some adventurers, immediately corroded their armour and seeped inside their body through their skin.
Like a virus, it immediately seized control of their system and caused multiple bodily failures before ultimately iming their life.
"It''s poison!! Mages create magic shield".
The mage ss was capable of creating magic shield with their mana, it was one of the must have skill for any mage. It not only allowed them protection from certain kinds of attacks it was also kind of like theirst line of defence.
The mages hurriedly raised the magic shield to protect all the adventurers from the poison that was falling from the sky. The poison from Emma was even able to corrode through the sturdy armours of these adventurers, so what could a measly magic shield made out of mana could do?
The magic shield was corroded by the poison; nevertheless, it stopped the posion long enough for the adventurers underneath it to avoid it.
They just evaded one danger when they were threatened with another. Strands of threads more than an inch wide, prated through the magic shields before wrapping against the mages and pulling them up.
One by one, the adventurers that were caught, were restrained inside a cocoon where they would slowly die of asphyxiation or were devoured alive by Emma who was now directly above the group of adventurers and looking down at them.
Those eight pitch ck eyes reflected the terror stricken faces of the adventurers. There were no emotions in those eyes, only pure insatiable hunger as if they were nothing but food for her. It was a sight straight out of nightmare, but this nightmare was yet to end.
When the ck Widow Spider uses a prey to create a cocoon around them, it''s only for one reason and that is to spawn underlings.
The warm bodies of the adventurers provide the ideal nurseries for her offspring. The ck Widow Spider injects her eggs into the immobile and dying foes and after some time, these small critters break out of that body to serve their mother.
Everybody could see the cocoons wiggling fiercely; however, nobody knew what kind of atrociousness was going on inside until the moment these cocoon burst apart with thousands and thousands of tiny spiderlings spawning out of them.
KIELLLEIEHKKKK¡ these critters made a cacophony of unpleasant noise as they followed themand of their mother and dropped down on the adventurers.
Imagine thousands of tiny spiders dropping down from the sky, at that moment even the lighting from the enormous luminescence crystals was covered. It was like a ck carpet covering the sky.
Tap¡ Tap.. Tap¡ Tap¡ Taptaptaptaptaptaptap¡ the spiders dropped down on the ground like rain. They crawled and scuttled towards the adventurers who were trembling and cowering where they stood.
"AHHHHH¡ help me¡ help¡pwease¡hab ..bwee" the spider lings skittered across the bpdy of the adventurers, creeping their clothes, armour, mouth and biting them from within.
Unlike the Emma herself, these spider lings were just ordinary spiders; however, each of them have a deadly bite and are a carrier of her poison. So even if you just happen to touch them, you would be poisoned and ultimately die.
The adventurers retaliated but the numbers of the spiders was just too mind bogging not to mention more and more hatched from those cocoon in the ceiling.
In the face of this pure avatar of brutality, the mental fortitude of the adventurers copsed, their formation was swept away, leaving behind only chaos and despair in truest sense.
"I don''t want to die¡ I don''t want to die. I am going to be the next guild leader of the Phantom Light guild, I cannot die here" Levin Field, the genius of the Phantom Light Guild broke down and ran away.
But how could it be so easy to run away from Emma? He was soon ensnared by the invisible strings, wrapped around like a cocoon and pulled up.
The other geniuses of the tertiary team also didn''t fare any better. Marcus who struggled fiercely was brought down by the spider lings, the Lantz and the Rees brother from the crimson demolition guild were eaten alive.
All of the geniuses met with various twisting fates. They might be called geniuses or whatnot, but at the end they were still too young and inexperienced to face the true terrors of the dungeon.
"Ugh¡ Master Karina¡ Elder Sister Tiana, Anna¡ Gallio¡" Hallie mumbled looking at the ceiling before slowly getting spun in a web and turned into a cocoon.
Chapter 586 586- The Latest Invention
On their eleventh day of exploring the dungeon Lace, the tertiary teamprising of the younger members and newbie adventurers of the top twenty guilds of the kingdom waspletely defeated.
"Sigh¡ what is this girl doing?"
Looking at the one sided massacre of her little sister, Beamented. She sighed as her body reverted back to her normal form.
"Ah, my hair is all messy, I have to tie them again. This is all the fault of these adventurers, it makes me want to not intervene and let them die like this. But master''s orders are absolute, I can''t let Emma do as she wants".
Bea tidied her hair first before teleporting on top of Emma. She blew air into her fist before smacking some sense at the huge spider head of her little sister.
KIEEKKK¡ Emma must have felt that as she twisted her body and cover her head with her spider legs.
"Wake up you numbskull. What are you trying to do by killing all of them? Have you already forgotten the orders of our master?".
Bea questioned in an exasperated voice. This little sister of hers, went out of control every time she reverted to her true form. Thus it needed some physical education like this to wake her up.
"KIEE¡ IM SORRY"...
Finally, when she heard Bea mention master, some reasoning returned back to her.
"COME BACK MY CHILDREN"
Her voice in the spider form was jarring and rough. The spiderlings spawned from her eggs using mana, obeyed hermand and stopped attacking the adventurers.
"Ability Conferment- Supreme Thread Reeling, Marite Master¡ [Absolute Maniption]"
The tens of thousands of spider lings turned into invisible strings that stitched inside the bodies of the adventurers, robbing them of all freedom.
Finishing taking control of all the adventurers here, Emma returned back to her maid form.
"Hiee~¡ I-I''m sorry" her attitude too returned back to the same nervous type.
NEIGHHH¡ the sound of the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse neighing in the distance also came at this moment indicating that the matters over there was settled too.
The Bloodthorn demonic warhorse was tasked with the newbie and injured adventurers in the backlines. It was an utter stomp in its case with none being able to handle its [Stampede] skill. Everybody was squashed underneath those six fiery hooves of his.
FLAP¡ pping sounds of the wings were heard and the silhouette of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse could be seen flying over from a distance.
"Oh!! It looks like Miss Bea and Miss Emma are also done here" the warhorsemented.
"Yep, you bet we did" Bea shed a smug grin. "But I''m amazed I thought that you would take some damage from thatst attack. Even Emma had to resort to using her strings for defence".
The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was silent for a while before answering "I don''t understand that myself too. I should have taken immense damage from that magic¡ but something at that moment felt wrong. It felt like something within me beckoned to me and all pain and damage disappeared at that instant".
Bea made a face as if saying what is he talking about but she didn''t pursue it and changed the subject.
"Alright, our mission is about fifty per centpleted, now we just have to wait for the other group to arrive. At that time, it will be your turn".
"I know, I will aplish what my lord has tasked me to do at any cost" The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse spoke in a serious determined voice.
"Haha, it''s good that you are all motivated for it but shouldn''t you rx a little? Your face looks too serious" Bea joked patting the warhorse.
"This is my normal expression. Hm? What are you doing?" the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse turned its head around and asked the girl who was trying to climb on its back.
"I just felt like riding on top of your back" Bea replied nonchntly¡
"Get off!!" the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse bellowed.
"Ehh? Why so? Didn''t I ride on you back when we went to the orc''s territory?"¡
"That was with my lord, this is different. I am the personal steed of my lord, I don''t allow anyone else other than him to ride on my back. So get off¡"¡
"Ehhh"¡
------
Around an hour ago, the 45th floor.
The chaos that engulfed this floor, calmed down a little after iming the lives of several adventurers. However, this calm didn''tst for long before the battle broke loose once again.
On one corner of the floor, two guilds, the Sea god''s trident guild and the Lightning storm guild were locked in an intense fight when¡
"Will you stop this lunacy already, you imbeciles" a voice tore the space of this floor and rang in the heads of all the adventurers.
Following this voice, an enormous magic circle formed in the sky above. Numerous light pirs fell from the magic circle and interrupted their fight. A figure materialised in between the two guilds and clicked his tongue.
The figure covering his face with a mask, was none other than the grey haired man.
"This Sir¡ please do not stop us, we must make the [Lightning Storm] guild pay for what they did to our guild" Dalton Lance who was leading the Sea god''s trident guild, spoke in hatred as he red at the adventurers at the other end of the light pirs.
"Dalton just because your guild is stronger than us, you think you can simply attack and suppress us? Don''t you think that your actions are too much, attacking our members out of nowhere? Do you think that my lightning storm guild is some pushover that you just shove around as you wish? So what if you are from the top five guilds, our lightning storm guild doesn''t fear anyone" the guild leader of the lightning Strom guild barked back.
"Cut the crap¡ Do you think that I don''t know what the members of your guild did? You stole the rewards from our guild not only that, but you also killed Hicks and the others".
"Hicks body was marked with a tracker, so when he dies I can immediately track him. I found several traces and clues in the cave that he was killed, which led me to your guild. You guys are the ones who started a fight with us first".
Dalton and the members of the Sea god''s trident were extremely angry. Not only were they robbed of an extremely precious treasure, even a high ranking member of their guild was killed.
The Sea God''s trident was naturally very angry, they employed all the resources in their possession to trace it back to the culprit who was behind all of this and found the Lightning Strom in the midst of all this.
It was the first time after bing the head of the top five guilds, that the Sea God''s trident was so tantly disrespected. They won''t be able to calm down unless they washed this shame away by punishing the culprit for this transgression. Or else, the image of their guild would be tarnished and the Sea god''s trident would be aughingstock in the eyes of the other guilds.
The guild master to the Lightning Storm guild narrowed his eyes when he heard that and nced at his vice guild leader, Norman Gale who sneakily shook his head.
"What nonsense, this is a scheme to frame us. What reason does our guild have to even start a fight with your guild? Dalton just because some members of your guild died, you shouldn''t throw that anger of yours at others" Norman threw the usation back at the other party.
"You!! Is that so? Then let me prove it. Show us the content of your space rings. Everything wille to light if we fight that item that you stole from us in your space rings" Daltonnce demanded.
Norman and the guild leader of the lightning storm guild furrowed their brows. If they revealed the contents of their space rings then everything they had done to other guilds, woulde to light and they would be a public enemy. Therefore, they couldn''t do that no matter what.
"Huh? Why should we do that? Dalton, have you gone mad? The space rings are the property of that individual and are personal. Why should we do something so detrimental like that? In fact, I can ask you the same why don''t you show us your space rings instead?"¡
"I see, if you won''t show us your space rings, then it means that you ept that you are guilty. My guild will show you no mercy" Dalton roared.
"Bring it on then¡ if you think that we are afraid of you guys then you are wrong". The two guilds were ready to fight once again when.
"ENOUGH!!" the grey haired man thundered. He turned towards Dalton and the Sea god''s trident guild and told them to back down.
Faced with the fury of the man that even made them cower a little, Dalton could only shut his mouth.
Seeing that this mysterious person from the maind was siding with them, the guild leader of the lightning storm guild sighed in relief. However, he wasn''t relieved for long as he saw those eyes peeking behind from that mask, turn towards them next.
"Dalton is right, if you want to prove your innocence you should show them your space rings. Don''t worry, not everyone from your guild needs to reveal the contents of their space ring, only you and your vice guild leader will suffice" the grey haired man requested.
Chapter 587 587- The Latest Invention (2)
Precious treasures like the spirit orbs wouldn''t be left behind in the custody of the ordinary members of the guild. The guild leader and the vice guild leader are most probable to have it with them.
"T-This¡" the mouth of the guild leader of the lightning storm guild, twitched. He wanted to outright dismiss that request but given that the requestor was that grey haired man, he hesitated.
"This Sir¡ the space rings are a very personal thing. It not only contains all our possessions, but also things that are a guild secret" he tried to reason but the grey haired man simply snorted in derision.
"You think that those guild secrets of yours have any meaning to me? Let me guess, guild leader of the Lightning Storm guild. The real reason why you aren''t willing to show us the contents of your space ring is because you are afraid that all the misdoings of your guild woulde to light along with that item you have stored inside isn''t it".
"I don''t understand¡" thetter tried to feign ignorance.
"Sigh, I see how the demon had yed with all of you. You all don''t even realise that you have fallen into the trap that the master of this dungeon hasid for all of you".
"You don''t need to show us the contents of your ring, just check if you still have that item or not" the grey haired man pointed out.
The guild leader hesitated for a while before gesturing something with his chin. His vice guild leader, Norman nodded his head and checked the spatial pocket of his space ring. The instant that he did, a gobsmacked look stered on his face.
"What? This¡ how can this be?".
"What''s wrong?" the former asked in doubt.
Norman looked at his guild leader and replied in a stupid manner "It''s gone¡"¡
"What is?"¡
"The spirit orbs are gone. It''s not there" Norman exined in a panic. He took out all the contents of his space ring and ended up doing exactly like the other party wanted him to; nevertheless, the thing he was searching for, the spirit wasn''t among his possessions.
"As I thought so" the grey haired man muttered as he dismissed the light pirs.
"What is going on?" Dalton asked, he was confused as to why the other guild was acting all panicked and disarrayed like that.
The grey haired did not exin and instead took out his transmission conch as hemunicated with the parties on the other end of themunication.
"I see¡ good then, I''m also done over here. Yes, bring all of them to the meeting ce" With that said, the grey haired man ended themunication and turned to face the Lightning storm guild.
"Wha-What is going on? How can the spirit orbs just disappear?" the members were utterly confused. "I remember clearly that I kept it in my space ring. There is no way they can just disappear" Norman frantically searched his things hoping that they might be inside or under something.
"The spirit orbs did not disappear, it''s still there. Look, those two shiny stones" the grey haired man pointed at the two shiny stones sitting messily amongst the many other things.
"Stop your fighting ande with me, we have an emergency. I''ll exin things to you all after everybody has gathered".
Throwing those words behind him, the grey haired man flew away. The two guildspliantly followed behind, not daring to start another fight on his watch.
In the middle of the valley of the 45th floor, multiple guilds carrying their own crests, could be seen assembling. They each maintained a distance from the other, their eyes ming with hatred and resentment.
The mood around the surrounding was heavy to the point that one could even smell the gunpowder in the air. The only reason why these guilds haven''t started killing each other already is because of a single man that was currently standing at the forefront of all the guilds.
Behind him was some kind of huge cylindrical, mechanical apparatus.
The grey haired man stepped forward, his eyes assessing the remaining number of adventurers that have gathered as he clenched his hands. Out of the four thousand strong primary unit of the expedition force, only a little more than two thousand adventurers survived and gathered here at this ce.
This meant that around half of the adventurers died just to reach this point. What''s more, the adventurers themselves were to be med for their losses. Most of the casualties that the primary unit suffered, were because of the adventurers fighting amongst themselves.
Only a few casualties were incurred due to the monsters.
With them still having a couple more floors to go to reach the floor where the dungeon core was, the present situation where each guild was filled with hatred and murderous intent for another was the worst condition they could be in.
SIGH¡ feeling the extreme animosity in the air, the grey haired man gave a deep sigh. Although it couldn''t be seen because of his mask, but he was at this moment truly and utterly surprised.
His surprise stemmed from the fact that the master of the dungeon who he had dismissed as just a mere demon viscount, would turn out to be such a cunning and scheming fellow.
''I guess all demons are like that in a way or are you trying to prove that you are different? I must say, even I didn''t expect you to be able to y these adventurers like a fiddle. Truly, it feels like I have been pped in the face for the second time by you''.
''I admit that I didn''t see this developmenting but if you believe that you have won already, then you are severely mistaken'' the grey haired man thought internally, his eyes seemed to be reminiscing something.
After a second or two, he snapped back from his thoughts and addressed the crowd.
"Everyone, you must be very confused and angry at what happened with you all on this floor, and you have every right to be. But before you start fighting and throwing usations at each other let me tell you the truth. You all have been lured into a trap that the master of this dungeon deliberately set up to sow discord within you".
"Just like the time on the 40th floor, he wants you all to fight amongst each other to reduce your strength. I''m sure that some of the perceptive ones have already realised this, but the spirit orbs that you found inside those treasure chest was just a fake. It was a bait that was prepared to blind you and make youmit all kinds of misdeeds".
The crowd that was burning in anger felt like they were doused with a bucket of cold water when they heard those words. Their fury subsided, reced by the emotions of shock, doubt and suspicions.
The grey haired already knew that they would react like that, hence he addressed the guild leaders next.
"All the guild leaders, can you take out the spirit orbs that you guys collected from those treasure chests".
The seven or so guilds that have gotten their hands on the item, took out the spirit orbs from their ring and presented them in front of the crowd. All the adventurers bobbed their heads and focused their eyes on the items that was in the hands of all the guild leaders.
Surprisingly, all of them were holding a shiny stone. Some had one while others had two; nevertheless, the point was that each of the guild leaders were holding the same item. A
t the same moment, a question arrived inside the heads of all the adventurers.
''Is that the spirit orb?'' Although none of them have seen such a precious treasure in their life before, they at least knew that a treasure of that calibre ought to have a unique presence and aura of it.
However, the shiny stones in the hands of all the guild leaders although they looked pretty and all, they had no other uniqueness to them.
p¨¤§ád¨¢-¨¾?¦Í¨º¦É.§ã¨®§® What shocked them to the core, was when they used their [Analysis] on it and found that it was really just a shiny looking stone.
Seeing that the crowd was being swayed in the direction that he wanted to, the grey haired man hammered with the question while the iron was still hot.
"Guild leaders can you tell everyone why and where you got the same shiny looking stones from?".
"It was found inside my space ring in ce of the spirit orb. The spirit orb that we collected from the treasure chest had disappeared, and this shiny looking stone appeared inside my space ring out of nowhere".
The testimonies of the guild leaders differed a little from each other but the matter of the fact was still that the shiny looking stone appeared in their space in the ce where the spirit orb should be.
There was no possibility of it being a lie because all the evidence was basically right in front of their eyes. They really had been duped, all those killing and struggle was for what? The items that they were fighting for, weren''t even real in the first ce.
As soon as that realisation struck them, the crowd was shaken to their very core, they suddenly felt empty, a hollow feeling engulfed them and they felt like an idiot for falling for the trap. At the same time, a feeling of frustration, irritation, bitterness all those negative feelings emerged within their heart that they did not know what to do with.
The grey haired man observed all of these changes with his eyes that were narrowed in delight. Now that he had influenced the mind of the adventurers, it was time for him to make his final move.
Chapter 588 588- The Latest Invention (3)
With the excess negative feelings dwelling within the hearts of these adventurers that they did not know what to do with, he just had to divert it towards his goal.
The grey haired man called out to all the adventurers and asked them to take out their transmission conch whereafter they soon found multiple missed transmissions sent by the tertiary team.
All those messages were indistinct and vague but one could at least make some general sense from it. Request for help, the tertiary team sent the signal for backup. They must be facing an obstacle that they couldn''t ovee with their power and hence were asking for assistance.
The guilds were so focused on their personal battle that the sound transmission hadpletely gone unnoticed by them.
Soon after the message from the transmission conch came to light, the guilds started panicking. The tertiary team was an important part of their guilds, its where the geniuses, the future pirs of their guilds were. Losing them would be tantamount to crippling the top twenty guilds. It would take them dozens of years to recover from a loss of this magnitude.
"This is bad, we must go back and help our tertiary team. Listen to mymand Absolute Sea guild, we will ascend the floors and go assist our members" Layton Sea, the guild leader of the Absolute Sea Guildmanded.
"The Lightning Strom guild will ascend up"¡
"The Typhoon Thunder shall do the same"¡
They had forgotten or set aside the enmity they had with the other guilds at this moment, as their sole focus was on assisting the tertiary team.
One by one, the guilds started voicing their intention to ascend the floors and go backup their tertiary teams when the grey haired man spoke again.
"What good will that bring? The transmission was sent more than two hours ago. Even if you start ascending the floors now, it would take you hours at the earliest that is if you just sent a small elite unit. Otherwise, it would take you days just to reach them."
"Not to mention once you ascend back up, the monsters on the lowers floors would be spawned once again. Do you all want to tackle the floors from the starting once again?".
The guilds that were all set to ascend the floors had their winds knocked out of their sails at those facts thrown at their face. They all had a look asking what they should do then.
"You guys do not have to worry. Fortunately, some of the guild leaders were sane enough not to fall for the trap of the spirit orbs and were able to make a sound decision. An Elite unitprising of the senior members of your guilds and led by Miss Karina and some vice guild leaders are headed over there as we speak right now. So you do not have to fret over the safety of your younger members for the time being".
The grey haired man exined; however, he could see that some of the guilds were still a little uncertain about not backing their tertiary team up. Hence he proposed the n that he was waiting for all along.
When the various guilds heard his n, their first reaction was to question whether he had gone insane. Even the guild leaders were all bbergasted now knowing what to say.
"Is something like that even possible?"...
The guild leaders couldn''t be med for asking such a question, the n was so preposterous and out of the norm of anything they had ever heard, that it was difficult for them to believe even when it came from the grey haired man.
The n he proposed was to clear the dungeon before anything could happen to the tertiary team. Destroy the dungeon before it could destroy them. It was something that they all understood.
Nevertheless, the n was far too farfetched given that they knew they still had a couple more floors to go. Who knew what kind of other devious traps and monsters were waiting for them?
As they descended deeper, the bigger the floor became and it became more difficult to find the entrance to the next floor. If they followed the trend, wouldn''t it take quite a while for them to clear the dungeon? Would the tertiary team be able to hold on for so long?
The n might have sounded farfetched but not impossible, it was all good up till here. But when the grey haired man exined the next part of his n, they all couldn''t help but sh a look of disbelief. The pa was preposterous and unbelievable to say no less.
"Of course, it is possible, in fact some of the guild leaders are already helping me with it"
The grey haired man pointed at the huge mechanical apparatus standing behind him while thinking internally.
You might be quite a schemer, demon. But you have made one huge mistake. You have underestimated us humans too much. Did you know demon, we humans have a unique phenomenon called the Common Enemy Effect where we tend to cooperate with other groups regardless of our differences and biasness when confronting amon enemy?
By attacking the tertiary team of the expedition force, you have made all the guilds band together against you. The discord you have sown among the guild has been set aside at this moment and the bond holding the expedition force is now stronger than ever.
"Allow me to present the new invention from the headquarters of the Adventurer''s Association¡ the Floor Buster".
-----
At the same time, inside the main hall of the White Pce. Simon who was watching the Wisp control the Andromedas, was surprised at their effectiveness. Even when the world was different, with the Null Elemental acting as the core, the andromedas disyed the very same fearsomeness and power they had in the game.
The current model that was fighting the tertiary team was thepleted model with all their weapons and upgrades installed. The Mk9s were far more intelligent than the other models that came before it and were a true force to reckon with.
If not because the [workshop] took hours of time just to manufacture a single Mk9, Simon wouldn''t have only sent fifty of them after the tertiary team.
"I wonder how far the Mk9 can corner the level 400+ adventurers who are said to be the genius of their guilds" Simon muttered as he saw the geniuses suddenly change their tactics.
As someone who had worked on the game [Rise of the Demolishers], he knew all about the Andromedas and the weaknesses of the each model. However, even he didn''t see the next developmenting.
Somebody from the geniuses, was able to urately spot the weakness of the Mk9 and take leverage of that prospect toe up with a n that even he found was praiseworthy.
"That assassin¡ why do I not have any recollection of him?" During his time in the capital, Simon made sure to observe all the finalists that were battling in the tournament at that time. So howe this person had slipped his mind?
What Simon didn''t know was that the assassin named Gallio Stard, had a very miniscule presence. When standing near the brightest participants, there was no way he could ever stand out. Forget about being a finalist, he wasn''t even able to reach the top 30 rankings.
Naturally, he went unnoticed by Simon.
[BEEP-BOOP-BOOP]¡ the Wisp made some sad sonar noises now that the Andromedas were defeated.
"It''s alright, that was not your fault. The adventurers were just better. If anything, it can be said that even after the Mk9 were defeated, we were able to gather some valuable information that can strengthen the andromedas" Simon consoled.
"That''s right, Wisp is awesome. You are not only able to create these golems but you can also control them¡ Hehe," Cecilia added. She extended her hand to pat the Null Elemental but just like always, it evaded her approach and hid behind Simon.
This time, it was Cecilia''s turn to be dejected. Simon smiled at this childish disy and fixed his attention back on the window showing the 21st floor.
After the defeat of the Andromedas, it was just one surprise after another. The magic that girl cast in particr was so powerful that even Simon felt a threat to his life while watching that.
His subordinates too had different reactions, some were in awe, some concerned, and some made amused faces. Simon was concerned too; however, he wasn''t overly worried because he knew the strength of the Valkyries very well.
Even though they still didn''t have their Heirloom with them, the might of the Valkyries even without that could easily far outmatch the adventurers. As if to prove him right, Bea emerged unscathed from it.
Her appearance had changed shocking some of his subordinates; nevertheless, she easily overpowered the adventurers. After her, Emma and the Bloothron Demonic Warhorse appeared unscathed from that magic one after the other and took care of the adventurers.
Though at some point Simon got worried when he saw Emma reverting back to her original form and going berserk. In the end, however, the situation was salvaged and the n was still fine.
"It looks like Bea and the others have sessfullypleted their first objective. I guess you were worried for nothing huh?" Simon smiled looking at Ate who looked the most concerned out of all his subordinates.
With the absence of Mercedes, she was currently the eldest sister of the Valkyries. Naturally, she would be worried about her little sister.
"Thank you master for believing in us. We will not make the mistake from the past again" Though it looked like Ate was more concerned about not making a mistake than about her sisters.
Simon could only nod his head at their dedication and shift his eyes onto the other windows.
"It looks like the adventurers on the 45th floor are up to something" Irene who has been keeping an eye on the primary unit of the expedition force,mented.
Chapter 589 589- The Last Stand
Her words pulled everyone''s attention back to that window.
Simon observed the grey haired man who was covering his face with a mask. For some reason, he felt uneasy and restless whenever he looked at him.
"They have realised that the spirit orbs were fakes" it was something that was bound toe to light sooner orter. But the fact that the guilds who were up until a moment thirsty to draw each other''s blood, to suddenly stop fighting each other was what fazed Simon.
ording to the n he had drawn up in his head, they shouldn''t be able to stop their fight so soon much less gather around together like this.
What was going on? What did the grey haired man do? Since the window didn''t transmit any sound, there was no way of telling what he told each of these guilds.
The adventurers started behaving in a way that Simon was unable toprehend. He felt like the gears he had been controlling for a while now, suddenly shift out of ce at this moment. Something was very wrong and he didn''t like where it was going.
"Big brother¡ what is that?"
Cecilia pointed at a huge weird mechanical apparatus that was disyed in the window. It was something that was taken out by that grey haired man and was more than ten meters in size.
It had six wide legs attached to the ground, an upside down spiralled shaped body and numerous gauges. Apart from that, its top end had an enormous core stone the size of a football embedded in its body.
From what Simon could understand by looking at its structure, the core stone seemed to be acting like a battery while the six legs were there to hold its entire body in ce.
Then what was that spiralled upside down frame for? It didn''t look like a cannon or else it wouldn''t be pointed at the ground or could there be a different purpose for it to be pointed at the ground?
Simon carefully observed the apparatus, its shape was almost like an inverted cone, a ten meter huge cone. The core stone was currently charging energy which meant that something was about toe out of it.
Could it be¡ an auger machine?
The moment he came to that realisation, he suddenly stood up. Everybody was surprised by his action but he had no mood to pay attention to that right now. He studied the machine more clearly and finally came to an understanding.
It really was what he thought it was.
"What''s wrong?"¡
"Big brother?"¡
"Master?"¡
Irene, Cecilia and his subordinates asked in concern.
"It looks like there is a need for change in ns. I haven''t counted that possibility, I have made an error".
Hearing Simon mutter to himself, Irene couldn''t help but ask "What do you mean?".
Simon exined what he believed the machine was and hastily ordered all of his subordinates to get ready.
"It looks like we cannot sit still anymore. Gather everyone, the time for the final battle hase".
If the machine worked the way it was designed for, then Simon was unable to predict what kind of development it would lead to. That is why he needed to make his move before whatever that grey haired man was nning.
Nevertheless, it looked like he had realised that a step toote as the core stone in that machine started shining brighter and brighter and after a while, a brilliant ray of light spinning in a corkscrew manner was fired by that machine which dug into the ground.
Since they were watching that through the window of the [Menu] they were unable to hear any sound but by therge vibration that could be felt even on the main floor, they could tell that the sound was earth shaking.
That ray of light fired off by that machine created an enormous hole in the ground and disappeared underneath.
Cracks and fissures started appearing on the floor for a few dozen meters and before anyone knew it, the ground that the adventurers were standing on, copsed.
Yes, the ground of the 45th floor crumbled apart and a hole spanning for dozens of meters connecting to the floor below was created. However, that was not the end, the beam of light after breaking the floor of the 45th floor dug straight into the ground of the 46th floor and created another simr hole.
The vibration that could be felt on the main floor, came after repeated intervals. That is to say, the beam of light didn''t just stop after breaching the 46th floor and kept on digging deeper.
The 47th floor, the 48th floor¡ finally after reaching the ground of the 48th floor and breaching through a fewyers of its crust, the beam came to a stop and dissipated.
Simon watched with a stunned expression as he saw adventurers falling from the huge hole in the ceiling andnding on the ground of the 48th floor.
He was gobsmacked, why would he not? That auger machine, that beam packed so much power that it was able to destroy threeyers of floors of his dungeon. It was not just one or two, but three.
If the beam was anymore stronger, perhaps even the 48th floor would have crumbled.
It was not just any ground oryer that could be found on the surface that beam of light drilled through, but a floor of his dungeon. It needs to be mentioned that they are many times denser and sturdier than the deepestyer of bedrock.
Breaching something like that, not to mention multipleyers of floors at that¡ anybody would be surprised after seeing that.
Although Simon knew that breaching the floor was possible after seeing Alice almost destroy through the ceiling of one of the floors when fighting the Aberrant, he believed that it would be a long time before a person capable of doing that would show up.
At that time, his dungeon would have be stronger and increased in rank. However, who knew that there was this kind of machine capable of breaching through multiple floors of a dungeon like that in this world?
This was apletely new realisation for Simon, something that stunned him to no extent. After his shock resided he was relieved that this possibility was shown to him earlier than possible.
The reason for that was simple, imagine if this machine had shown its appearance on the 50th or the 52nd floor while he was still thinking everything was going ording to the n. With the power this machine packed, wouldn''t they be able to breach through the boss floors and reach the [Workshop]?
The [Workshop] was one of the key floors of the dungeon Lace, any damage dealt to it would be like breaking the limbs of the dungeon. Worse, what if they reach the forest spring vige that was directly underneath the workshop?
Simon couldn''t let this happen.
"Ate¡ gather everyone, it''s time to clear the intruders" He had sucked as much benefit as he could from the expedition force already and besides now that he was shown what the auger machine was capable of, there was no way he could sit still and allow them to use that once again.
"Irene protect the core and the dungeon, others wille with me to intercept them" On Simon''s orders everybody started moving.
"Big brother¡ I-I want toe with you all too" Cecilia asked while sping her hands in nervousness.
"No, you will go back to the forest spirit vige with Coleus" Simon did not allow Cecilia to tag along, it was far too risky for a nonbatant to show their face on the battlefield.
The intruders this time were far more powerful and trickier to deal with than any other adventurers that have dived inside his dungeon before. So much so that even Simon cannot guarantee his own safety, so it would be utterly foolish to bring Cecilia who cannot fight with him.
Besides a part of him didn''t want his little sister to get hurt so even if he have to be a little crueller and strict with her, he wasn''t going to bend to her wishes.
"B-But even little Wisp is helping big brother, I want to be helpful to you too" Cecilia mumbled while drooping her head down dejectedly.
Seeing her like that, Simon bent down, matched his eye level with hers and spoke.
"Cecilia¡ why do you feel like you are not helping me? Is it because others can fight while you can''t? Let me tell you something, you are one of the most helpful people in this dungeon who is helping me take care of it".
"Your existence both as my little sister and the Guardian of the dungeon is something that no one can rece. I cannot even begin counting how much of a help you are to me already Cecilia. Everybody has something they can do and can''t, you cannot just measure your worth based on things that you can''t".
"Look at this dungeon Cecilia, if there is anyone who has changed it, it is you. The dungeon, I need you¡ so please continue to help me in the way you have been doing up until now. What do you say, Cecilia? ".
Simon consoled patting her head.
Finally, Cecilia propped her head up and nodded at his words "Un¡ Leave it to me big brother, I''ll make this dungeon the very best. But before you go, can you promise me something? Please promise me that you will win and return back safe and sound"¡
[[[["Please¡ brother¡e back to your senses. You cannot let her death devastate you"]]]]¡
[[[["Brother you must not falter¡ what happened to her was not your fault?"]]]]¡
For a second there, Cecilia''s image ovepped with two other people in his vision.
Chapter 590 590- The Last Stand (2)
The first image was from his time on earth, his sister talking to him. While the second image was of an adult Cecilia he had seen in one of his peculiar dreams.
What was going on? Why would these two distant andpletely unrted memories suddenly surface in his mind at this moment?
"Big Brother?" Cecilia''s call woke him when he was about to drift away in his thoughts.
Simon looked at her and smilingly replied "Yeah, I promise".
Sometimes even a promise that was made casually, can be the binding force for someone to escape the grasp of death or return back when they are on the verge of losing sight of themselves.
At that time, Simon had no way of knowing what the future entailed and how the vow he made with her would end up ying a significant role.
48th floor, near the centre...
The primary unit of the expedition force could be seennding on the ground, dusting their clothes and surveying their surroundings. Each of them had a stunned expression on their face, they couldn''t believe that they had just dropped down from three floors above and it only just took them a minute or so.
When they looked up, they could still see the upper floors from the wide hole in the ceiling that was slowly closing up.
"Is everybody alright?" The various guild leaders asked the members of their guilds.
That fall earlier was from quite a great height, if not because they were able to use [Mana wings] that would have been very dangerous. Nevertheless, the falling debris was still a real threat.
"I can''t believe we covered so many floors just like that. Isn''t the new invention of the adventurer''s association a little too good?" Dalton Lance remarked.
What would have otherwise taken them days to explore, took them only a minute or two to reach. If this wasn''t absurd then what was?
With this new invention wouldn''t they be able to explore the dungeons fin the future much faster now?
It was not only him, the other guild leaders were also thinking along the same line. This new invention called the Floor Buster, would be the pioneer of the new dungeon exploring era. The eyes with which these people were looking at the grey haired man, had a newfound respect and admiration for the organisation he came from.
"Do not misunderstand, this new invention is still in its developmental stage and it requires an astronomical amount of resources to build one. So is to say, the adventurer''s association is in no position to mass produce and sell it to other guilds".
The grey haired man could easily guess what these people were thinking but he had no choice but to break this beautiful misconception of theirs.
''Now then what should we do? I didn''t expect the Floor Buster to only be able to pierce through three floors of this dungeon. I guess this goes to show how closer this dungeon is to bing a [C] rank'' the grey haired man wondered.
He didn''t know how close to the dungeon core they were, but given the density of mana here he guessed that they were pretty close.
"I guess I have no choice but to use it again" The grey haired man took out the apparatus from his space ring and set it on the floor once again. With the remaining energy the core stone had in it, it should be possible to breach through at least two floors if not one.
The members of the primary unit on orders of the grey haired man, started preparing for the fall once again when suddenly the monsters of the 48th floor started running wild.
The 48th floor was the territory of the elder lizardmen hence half of the floor was covered in water while the rest wasnd.
SPLASH¡ SPLASH¡ sounds of discement of water continuously came from the distance along with the bellowing roars of the monsters. Reptilian humanoids that were much bigger than your average lizardmen came leaping out of the water andnded on the ground.
More and more came out of the water and before long there were thousands of monsters carrying pikes and other weapons made out of bones. These monsters didn''t waste any time and directly charged towards the adventurers.
Of course, since this was a lower floor and one that was closer to the dungeon core, the monsters weren''t weak. Not only that, they were quite intelligent and attacked in groups.
The Elder Lizardmen were a colonial race and are known as the children of the sea. They are Savage, cold blooded and very intelligent. Although extremely diluted, it is also rumoured that they have the bloodline of the sea dragon running within them.
It was fierce a sh but in the end, the Elder lizardmen were still not a match for the primary unit. Though that may be the case, they still fulfilled the task of dying the intruders.
"Hm?" at that moment, everyone felt it.
As these adventurers were the elite of the elite the kingdom has to offer, they could tell the unnatural pressure engulfing the entire floor. Soon after the elder lizardmen were defeated, multiple spatial gates big and small, opened up all around the floor.
They were numerous and out from that spatial gates came all kinds of monsters. Orcs, High Orcs, Elder Lizardmen, Golems, Fire Demon Apes, Pterodactyls¡
It was not just normal monsters but mutated monsters such as Killer Fire Bees, Diluvain High Orcs and other such species that came out of the gates too.
Their numbers were unbelievable and they kept on pouring out from the gates like an endless swarm. However, these monsters only came from the small gates, so what were the big ones for?
BAM¡ BAM¡
With every step from them, thend for dozens of meters trembled. The beings that came out of those big gates were enormous monstrosities with powerful auras, intimidating features and worthy of the term boss monsters.
The former three overlords of the northern region of the Ghastly winding forest, showed their appearance at this moment.
The instant they appeared, the atmosphere around the entire floor changed as all the eyes quickly focused on them.
"Those are¡ Disaster ss monsters!!" It was not known who but somebody amongst the expedition force eximed out loud.
"Wasn''t there supposed to be only one disaster ss monster in this dungeon? Howe there are so many?"¡
"The warhorse is not among them. Including him does that mean that there are four disaster ss monsters here?"¡
Four disaster ss monsters, although for the primary team made up of abined coalition of twenty top guilds, it was by no means a threat. But the same couldn''t be said if they were to tackle this dungeon individually.
A disaster ss beast poses a huge threat even for big guilds like them, not to mention there were four of them in this dungeon currently.
It was only now that some of the guild leaders were starting to realise how truly dangerous this dungeon was. It hadpletely hidden its fangs from the world above. If not because they allied together with other guilds and decided to tackle this dungeon, even they would be unaware of this great threat looming so close to their kingdom.
Compared to what they were seeing now and what was recorded in that transmission crystal, it was a day and night of difference. Had they gone diving inside this dungeon trusting the transmission crystal, they would have suffered aplete wipeout.
"Everyone¡ prepare for battle. The time hase, the master of the dungeon is finally making his move" the grey haired man spoke.
It was not only the three disaster ss beasts, more and more monsters were pouring out of those gates. Their numbers were absolutely mind boggling.
It was clear to him, the time for the decisive battle hase.
''So you couldn''t wait huh? I guess that''s understandable since you don''t know the potential of the Floor Buster. It would be foolish to wait for the intruders to bust through any more floors, after all, you don''t want anyone reaching the floor where your dungeon core and the forest spring spirits are''.
The grey haired man watched as the master of the dungeon and the demon that he hated so much, walk out of the spatial gate along with what looked like maids by his side.
Behind him, riding on three wretched looking antlers, were beings donning long ck hoods and carrying weapons like scythes and axe.
"A-Aren''t those Diluvain High Orcs?"¡
"They don''t look ordinary, their levels are also far higher than the others. They should be on the level of generals"... The adventurers discussed.
Simon, Wisp, the Valkyries, Ogoraths, the overlords, Berigard, his twomanders¡ the entire lineup and the full force of the dungeon Lace had been gathered on the 48th floor for the first time in a while.
"My Lord¡" every monster, whether sentient or insentient, bowed their heads towards the master of the dungeon as he slowly stepped out of the gate.
Simon acknowledged everyone with his gaze before shifting his attention towards the group of guild leaders eyeing him from the distance. There was no need for any words among them, nor did Simon waste his time trying to talk with these adventurers, everything was conveyed to him by their hostile gazes.
This was not his first meeting with them, but those eyes with which they were looking at him and their current standings were vastly different than before. Right now, he was standing in front of them as the master of the dungeon and not some stray demon who had infiltrated their kingdom.
Chapter 591 591- The Last Stand (3)
He was no longer alone nor was he as weak as before. The fact that he could stare right in the eyes of these guild masters without feeling that powerful pressure like before, proved this point.
As he gazed at the numerous guild leaders, memories from that time involuntarily surged within his mind. At that time, in a different setting, they all watched him getting forced to grovel on the ground, used of something he haven''t evenmitted.
They all looked at him with those cold eyes of theirs as if he was some kind of heinous criminal. Even now, he could see the contempt and hatred shing inside those eyes.
He could see it, but so what? He who had now epted his truth was no longer bothered by these things. He had long crushed any na?ve hopes remaining within his heart and embraced his current self.
With all those things gone, there was only one remaining feeling left, the feeling of enmity. Just like how they saw him as their enemy, he too gazed at them as if they were his mortal enemies that need to be crushed at any cost.
"So the master of the dungeon finallyes out huh, he looks quite different than before" Brutus Sargemented as he cautioned his guild to remain alert.
The other guild leaders too rallied their guilds and ordered them to stay in formation. Looking at the number of enemies which was in the tens of thousands, a big battle was inevitable.
"Well it''s a good thing that he came out by himself, it saves us the trouble"¡
"True, but it sure is an impressive lineup. Who would have guessed that a [D] rank dungeon would have these many high difficulty monsters?"¡
"Be careful of the demon and the beings around him, I can''t use [Analysis] on them"¡
The guild leaders exchanged various talks when from the corner of their eyes they saw the demon raise his hand and point it towards them.
Immediately afterwards, the tension on the 48th floor reached a boiling point as all the monsters started attacking. The former overlords issued powerful roars that swept over the ce increasing the spirits of the monsters while intimidating the opponents.
"Various guild leaders, can I ask your guilds to take care of the demon and his monsters, while I prepare the Floor Buster?" the grey haired man asked.
Experiencing the danger of this dungeon first hand, nobody here rejected his words. The best way to defeat the opponent is by destroying the dungeon core. Now that the demon had shown himself here, his dungeon core was bound to be unguarded. All they need to do was stall him here while somebody went down and achieved the objective for them.
All the guild masters immediately nodded their heads. Although they were a little apprehensive of each other, this was not the time for fighting amongst each other. The enemy was powerful enough to even threaten them.
On themands of the guild leaders, the two thousand plus strong primary unit raised their weapons and shed against the onrushing hordes of monsters. While the guild leaders themselves rushed past the army of monsters and went straight for the master of this ce.
ROARRR¡
But before they could reach the demon, the three enormous beasts who were each more than twenty meters big, stood in their way.
"Puny humans you dare intrude on the abode of our master?" the Lightning Draconic Serpent roared as it swept its gigantic tail towards the iing adventurers.
"Leave these beats to us" a couple of figures appeared in front of the group of guild leaders and stopped the tail. These figures were none other than the vice guild masters of the various guilds.
They not only stopped the Lightning Draconic Serpent but also the other two overlords. The guild leaders left it to their second inmand and continued to proceed towards the demon. That was when¡ª
"Soul Catchers¡ proceed, kill those adventurers" Simon casually extended his hand and pointed it at the iing group.
GRWOAAHH¡ that was when an agonising, wailing noise came from the three Ogoraths behind him as they rode forward on their wretched looking antlers.
These antlers had the ability to walk in the air, so even if the adventurer tried to dodge them by flying away from their path, it was no use. The Ogoraths quickly caught up to them and swung those ominous looking weapons of theirs.
CLANG¡ the few of the guild leaders who shed against them head on, felt the full brunt of the attack and were blown back surprising the others around them.
"Be careful, these creatures are not ordinary" still reeling in pain those guild leaders cautioned.
The Ogoraths stood in between the guild leaders and the demon so if they wanted to go for thetter they first have to take care of the former.
"Guess we have no choice, the few of us will stay behind and stop these monsters so make sure you all take care of the demon" Six out of the eighteen leaders decided to stay behind and keep the Ogoraths busy while the remaining continued their flight towards the demon.
"Hehe, as if it will be that easy. Let me try this new [A] tier bow Star Shooter that master has prepared for me" Aliceughed as she notched her bow and shot a couple of mana arrows that flew towards the onrushing guild leaders.
"Hmph, cheap tricks. You think these feeble will even be able to touch us?" Arven Lantz, the guild leader of the crimson demolition guild snorted.
He stretched his hand forward and the core stone embedded in his ring shed with a brilliant light. Infernal mes materialised in the shape of a huge palm and clenched towards the arrows.
"Ability Conferment- [Permeate]"...
The smirk on his face just formed when it faded as he saw the arrows easily pass through his magic and rush toward him.
"Not good¡ Magic Shield" Arven hurriedly raised his magic shield to protect himself. Although he managed toe out unscratched he was nheless pushed back by the power of the mana arrows.
It was not only him, the few other guild masters targeted by arrows also had the same reaction.
"Master, leave those three to me, I''ll make sure to open hundreds of new holes in them," Alice said delightfully as she hopped towards her target.
"This girl¡" Ate sighed; this little sister of hers was too hyperactive and fun seeking to the point where she had already forgotten their n.
"It''s alright¡ that''s just how I programmed her" Simon replied.
He could understand some of her thought process, for Alice it was her chance to show her worth to her master. Thest time she didn''t get any chance to step up which is why, she wanted to make use of this opportunity.
While they were having such talks, the remaining nine leaders finally approached them. They stood tens of meters away from Simon''s group and red at them.
Now that they were face to face, one could easily see each other''s facial expressions and what the other party was thinking. The group of guild leaders all wore an expression of animosity as they red at Simon while he on the other hand simply nced at them with an expression of indifference.
"You will pay for your crimes demons. You killed thousands of our members, you are an evil being who hasmitted numerous atrocities. A threat like you cannot be allowed to grow any further. Today we shall¡".
"Spare me from this self-righteous nonsense. Are you only here to chit chat or are you going to fight?" Simon interrupted the man uttering some no sense bullshit.
It sickened him to his very core to see guys like them im their actions as righteous while dering others as evil.
Sure he killed thousands of their members but they have also killed numerous monsters on his side. They are the ones who have intruded on his dungeon and are trying to kill him and take his possessions in their greed.
If Simon was evil then so are they.
What a joke, they just wanted some reason for their action. Compared to them, he who was doing everything in his power just to survive in this world, felt like a saint.
"Come" Simon beckoned with his hand. Absolute contempt and disdain for his enemies, the demon''s voice was filled with condescension.
These guild leaders never imagined that they would be disregarded like that so tantly. They who have climbed to the top of the kingdom and were looked up to by hundreds of thousands of people never thought that would be disrespected like that in front of so many people.
"You!!" the guild leader who had spoken those words had a face flushed red with fury.
"There is no point in talking to him, we need to defeat him fast and save our tertiary team" the other guild leaders were furious too; however, they had much more patience andposure than the other guy.
"Let''s attack him together" Brutus took the initiative to charge forward.
[Beast Transformation- ws]¡ his hands transformed into two ferocious looking ws as they inched closer towards the throat of the demon intending to sever his neck.
However, before he could get closer, a maid holding a huge shield in one hand and a broadsword in the other, stepped in between and easily received his attack.
His ws that could easily cut through any equipment made out of Whitesilver, was stopped by that shield on the maid. Before the shock could register to him, he felt an overpowering strength push his ws back and m into him knocking him a few distances away.
Chapter 592 592- Another Invader
Bianca after mming Brutus with her shield, swept her broadsword towards the side and deflected the tip of the spear that was aimed at her heart.
CLANG¡ the two weapons shed, Dalton felt a shocking force spreading from the tip of his spear to his hand and hurriedly retreated back.
Just like Brutus, he too had a shocked expression written all over his face. As warriors who had breached level 600 and touched heights unimaginable to ordinary people, they hardly met any people in the kingdom that could overpower them in a frontal sh.
Yet the feeling they had when they shed against with that maid who looked so delicate and looked mismatched holding those equipments, told them that what they felt earlier was not false.
"I will get her attention on me, during that time you guys take care of the demon and that other maid"
Roberson Rangel, the guild leader of the Ten Mountain''s valley spoke. He was a level 620 [Mountain diator] with most of his stats and skill specialised in defence. Also, he was one of the top tier tanks of this kingdom.
Roberson opened his mouth and was about to use his taunt skill called the [Savage Roar] to attract Bianca''s attention to him when suddenly he felt the mana circting within his body be unsettled and wild leaving him unable to use any skill.
[Essence Mana Disruption]... Ate pointed her staff at the tank and stopped him from casting any skill. She then turned around and parried a dagger from a person that materialised behind her like a ghost.
"Oh?! So you can dodge that huh" Cassius muttered after his failed attempt to kill Ate.
"Everyone get away¡. we are about to let lose a big one" Elrod Dome shouted as he finished conjuring his powerful magic.
"[Tectonic Magic Mastery- Violent Epicentre]¡ [Tempest Magic Mastery- Tempest Lock" He and Florence targeted their enemies with their most powerful advanced magic.
Thend and wind raged while the guild leaders fell back. The ground underneath Simon and the others were torn asunder and powerful quakes generated all around dealing massive damage to everything and anything around them.
To stop them from evading the attack, Florence had also used her mastery in Tempest magic to lock them inside a small prison of razor sharp wind.
BOOOMM¡ the magic connected and a powerful st loud enough to drown every sound on the 48th floor erupted from the point of contact.
Elrod and the others looked at the location which was covered by a thickyer of dust. Although they knew a single attack magic wasn''t enough to take down their enemies, they hoped the magic was able to deal some damage.
However, when the dust was swept away, they were shocked to see their enemiese out unscathed from that magic.
A bronze coloured barrier surrounded the pair of maids, shielding them from any attack. [Imprable Tectonic Wall]¡ the ss specific skill of Bianca''s Imperial Aegis Knight. The skill blocks all kinds of physical and magical damage based on the user''s defence stats.
"[Infernal magic Mastery- Infernal st array]¡ [Thunder Magic Mastery- Teravolt Strike]" right after the barrier came down, the temperature around the surrounding was raised to a frightening high degree as mes and thunder wreaked havoc.
Thanks to the skill [Chant Annulment] and [Chant Connection], Ate was able to cast two advanced tier magic swiftly and without any dy.
me clouds loomed over the heads of the adventurers before dropping on them in a column of fire. That was not all, thousands of tiny red sparks floated around the adventurers like snowkes. These tiny sparks contained a massive voltage of lightning and scorched anyone that came in contact with it from within.
Perfect attack and defence, there was not the slightest gap in Ate''s and Bianca''s teamwork that the adventurers could take advantage of. Worse, each of these maids was so powerful that several of the guild leaders had to work together just to face one.
Shock was apparent in their eyes with which they observed the maids. They were somehow able to survive through that magic that came out of nowhere thanks to Roberson, Elrod and a few other guild leaders who had defensive skills in their arsenal. Without it, they would have suffered massive damage.
"These maids¡ they are not normal. We need to work together to defeat them"¡
"I agree¡ there is also that demo¡ªwait where did that demon go?".
It was only now that the group of guild leaders realised that the master of the dungeon, the demon who should have been with the maids, was nowhere to be seen.
Near the centre of the 48th floor, thend covered area, arge apparatus made a continuous humming noise as the core stone on top of it glowed with every pulse.
The grey haired man who was operating it, suddenly turned his head and fired off a holy magic deflecting the infernal spear that was targeting the machine.
"So you came for me huh? Why am I not surprised demon?" the grey haired man spoke as he turned his attention towards the demon flying in the sky.
"Do we know each other?" Simon couldn''t help but ask after hearing the other man''s overly familiar manner of speaking.
"Ah, I guess now that it hase to this, there is no point in hiding my identity" the grey haired man muttered as he took off his mask.
Immediately, his presence and the colour of his hair changed. The aura that was being suppressed by the mask up until now, was released along with a familiar face that came to light at this moment.
"Do you remember me now demon? I used the same tactic you used back then" the man whose grey hair turned ck, spoke with a smile.
How could Simon not recognise that face, that person who had revealed his identity in front of thousands of people and humiliated him by making him kowtow on the ground with his aura?
There was no way Simon would forget the face of the special officer that came from the headquarters of the adventurers association to watch the tournament in the capital. Davis Hall, a powerful foe and one of the humans he hated the most.
If not for Adalinda helping him out at the end, he would have been captured and his fate would have been far worse than miserable.
To think that one of his most hated enemies woulde to his dungeon all the way from the Maind¡ Simon felt a burst of emotions surging inside him.
There was anger, hatred, frustration, resentment and also excitement¡ basically, all kinds of negative emotions threatened to overwhelm him at this moment. He did not suppress these emotions, and let them run rampant.
He embraced all his desires and allowed them to engulf him, for that is what a demon noble was, the incarnation of desires. And so¡
[Ding¡ the Fragment of pride has been activated] the fragment that was part of him, beckoned to him.
Simon took a deep breath, his crimson eyes along with theplex markings on his body started glowing.
[Ancestral Symbol Ignition], [Body Enhancement], [Ultra Enhanced Strength], [Ultra Enhanced Endurance], [Ultra Enhanced Agility], [Ultra Enhanced Magic], [Ultra Enhanced Defence], [Pain Resistance]¡ every augmenting skills in his arsenal, was activated at this moment.
That was not all, he also summoned forth his [A] tier Crimson zing me de and drastically increased his overall stats.
Without wasting a second, Simon sent forth a series of attacks towards Davis Hall.
"I expected you to react more violently but anyways¡ have you forgotten how weak and powerless you were when we fought thest time? Did you really think these attacks would have any effect on me"
Davis remarked as he conjured a barrier of holy magic around him that blocked all the iing attacks.
"Let me refresh your memories¡ [Multi Cast] [Shadow Chant] [Astral Prison] [Holy Magic Mastery- Light Strike Pir]".
A magic circle appeared above Simon''s head and a beam of light more than five meters in diameter dropped down on him.
Hmph¡ Davis smirked seeing the demon get caught in his magic. Holy magic was the bane of all beings with an affinity to darkness, it was what you can call a super effective. Getting hit by it, the demon of his rank would die in an instant or at the very least receive massive damage.
Davis had purposefully regted his power, he did not want to kill the demon so soon. He wanted to toy, crush the willpower of this demon and return back all humiliation that he suffered on that day before slowly taking his time to kill him.
"Huh?" the smirk on his face didn''t stick for long when he saw the demon walk out perfectly fine after taking that magic head on.
For a second there, Davis felt like he saw some kind of golden barrier surrounding the demon which disappeared before he could see it clearly.
"What was that?" he asked the demon. An attack of this calibre was enough to bring the demon down to his knees before in the capital. However, now it did not even faze him.
"It looks like you got a little stronger since thest time we met but if you think that gives you the qualification to stand in front me, then you are wrong" Davis mocked.
Simon did not reply, after using the Golden Guardian Stone to protect himself from the magic, he weirdly came to halt. He looked at Davis for a second before throwing his sword towards the magic circle that was still rotating above his head.
The sword easily prated through the magic circle and reached the second magic circle that was hiding behind the first.
Chapter 593 593- Another Invader (2)
Yes, it was not just one magic that was cast, but instead two. The second magic that was simultaneously cast was hiding behind the first magic circle, cleverly used by his opponent to deceive.
But the sword that he threw, shattered both of the magic circles destroying whatever n his enemy had in mind.
There was no way, Simon was going to fall for the same trick again. He remembered how he had mmed into an invisible wall when trying to escape the capital when his identity was revealed by that magic.
That barrier magic that covered one fifth of the entire capital should have taken a long time to cast. Even if his opponent had the [Chant Shortening], [Revocation] or [Annulment] there should be at least some indication or the turbulence of mana in the surroundings.
However, Simon had felt no such thing at that time, it was as if the barrier had appeared out of nowhere.
He remembered Davis telling him while he was struggling to break the barrier that it wasn''t only one magic that he had cast at that time. This led him to the possibility that his opponent might be in possession of some skills that allowed them to conceal the magic out of sight somehow.
Simon wasn''t sure how the opponent did it but by throwing his sword earlier towards the magic circle, he understood the concept of how it was achieved.
"What?!"...
Using this chance when his enemy was stunned, Simon conjured a golden ming spear in the shape of a snake and hurled it towards the Auger machine with all of his strength.
Ever since seeing that machine, Simon''s first priority was to destroy it. It was something that broke the order and was the greatest threat to them currently. Not knowing what it was capable of, Simon couldn''t take the risk of allowing his opponent to use it again.
Floors important to the development of the dungeon were underneath a few more floors, which is why he needed to stop them here. The infernal spear he hurled earlier was with the intention to destroy the machine.
However, when the magic was just about to hit the machine, it was deflected by someone whose presence even Simon had failed to notice up until now.
A figure covered entirely in a ck robe, appeared in front of the machine guarding it against any further attacks.
What was surprising about this person was that even though he was right in front of Simon, thetter could not perceive him at all. It was like he was there and at the same time not there.
"Ranker Edgar, this is not the time for you to step in. He is my opponent; you focus on your task"
Davis stated snapping back from his momentary stun. He didn''t expect the demon to see through his [Shadow Chant] and [Multi Cast] skill, hence he was a little shocked and a momentarypse formed in his guard.
"I intervened because you were unable to keep the demon in check. I have no further obligation to do so anymore so be careful the next time" After saying that, the ck robed person melded with the environment and disappeared into thin air.
This time, it was Simon''s turn to get stunned, no matter how he tried to track the person using [Sense Presence], [Detect] or even resorting to using the [Dungeon] option of the menu, he couldn''t spot the person at all.
What was going on? It was understandable that his opponent was able to deceive his skills since they were just Normal Superior tier skills. However, how is it that they are even able to escape from the detection of the dungeon itself?
Simon suddenly had a bad premonition, he had been monitoring the actions of the adventurers using the [Dungeon] option from the start, nevertheless, he had never seen that ck robed person appear even once.
This goes to say that, the ck robed person was able to avoid their detection up until nowpletely.
"What''s the matter demon? Are you perhaps surprised to see someone sneaking inside without getting caught in the radars of your dungeon?" Davisughed, seeing the demon look all baffled.
"What did you do?" Simon asked. He had witnessed others (Adalinda) intruding his dungeon and gopletely unnoticed before; however, beings like her areplete irregrity and cannot be judged withmon sense.
Simon did not feel the same when looking at the ck robed person which meant that there was something the ck robed man had done to avoid the detection of his dungeon.
"Haha, you shouldn''t be that surprised demon. Us human race has been diving inside the dungeons for thousands of years. Naturally, we have amassed some knowledge over the years and passed it down from generation to generation. To counter the dangers of the dungeon, we have created many skills and artefacts. The mask, that I used, the machine behind me and the skills Edgar used are just some of them".
Davis exined probably because he felt like he had everything in control, he did not try to cover any information.
Simon fell silent, if he thought about it carefully, the history of this world dated back tens of thousands of years. At that time, dungeons still existed and humans dived inside those dungeons.
Given this fact, it wouldn''t be unusual for the current generations of humans to have a lot of knowledge about the dungeon. Being a former human himself he knew how adaptive and innovative they could be.
So even if the development of Althaea deviated from his previous world due to the existence of mana, skill and many other things, technologies like auger machines and such didn''t seem farfetched.
As Davis had mentioned, the ck robed person must also be using some kind of artefact or skills specifically developed to counter some abilities of the dungeon.
Although Simon did not know it, this was also one of the reasons why newly emerged dungeons that are not properly hidden are conquered so easily.
The humans have gained that much of an edge over the years whereas the [Dungeon Creation], the inherent skill that all demon nobles possess when born, remained the same as always.
Unless, you have a strong patron or are allied to a high ranking demon noble, most of the newly emerged dungeons if not well hidden, are doomed to be conquered and destroyed. This was also why the high ranking demon nobles look on with amusement at the low ranking demons creating their own dungeons.
Normally, a dungeon requires dozens of years, if not hundreds to evolve and increase its rank. On that note, the dungeon Lace could be considered an exception because of certain factors and elements aligning together.
"I see"
Simon epted the realisation and focused his attention on the task at hand. He raised his guard and spread his senses around him in caution. Now that he was fighting two people whose levels were far higher than his, this made things a littleplicated.
Davis saw the demon going defensive and couldn''t help butment with a frown.
"Don''t kid yourself demon, I don''t need the help of another ranker to deal with the likes of you".
As soon as his words fell, Davis appeared behind Simon, a whitence was in his hands which he used to stab thetter.
Simon hurriedly turned around and parried the attacks with his sword.
CLANG¡ CLANG¡ CLANG¡ the whitence looked like it was made of magic yet every time it shed with his sword, a metallic sound rang out.
"Not bad, let''s see how long you can keep that up" Davismented with a smile, his attacks started bing more fierce and contained more faints than before. It was obvious to anyone that when it came to battle experience, he had his fair share with the way he was able to put the demon in the backfoot in just a few confrontations.
Simon tried to parry the attacks as much as he could but for some reason, he felt like his opponent was able to read through his attacks and was leading him in making mistakes. Even after he had activated all of his augmenting skills there still seemed to be a vast difference between them.
In just a couple of seconds, he was forced to take numerous steps back with none of his attacks being able to hit their mark.
WHOOSH¡ With a whistling sound, thence came lunging towards his shoulders.
Simon hurriedly parried the attack or so he thought, but it turned out to be faint. The lunge was stopped mid-motion and hurriedly retracted back and transitioned into a passing strike that was aimed at his heart.
CLANG¡
"Oh?" Davis arched his brows when he saw a faint bluish armour form around the body of the demon.
"Mana Armour? No, the aura around your body is definitely that of a demon viscount, so you should be unable to use [Mana Armour]. Is it perhaps a quasi Mana Armour".
Davis deliberated while continuing to press on with his attacks. Little by little he started exerting more of his power and shut down all the attacks of the demon.
"Hmph, I can see through all of your attacks. An overhead swing that is faint and transitioned into a horizontal sh"...
Davismented easily dodging Simon''s attacks. He then used this opportunity to knock the sword out of the hands of his opponent and thrust hisnce towards the demon.
"An [A] tier weapon is really great but it also leaves a great opening".
Chapter 594 594- Bea Vs Karina
Thence pierced through the mana armour and dug into the shoulders of the demon who was able to avoid his vitals being targeted in the nick of time.
"Where is the opening?"
Simon who was silent up until now finally spoke up. He extended his hands and grabbed the white spear.
p¦Á§ád¦Á-¨¾?¦Í¨º|¡¤§ã¨®§® CHII¡ Immediately, his skin started burning and ck smoke emitted from his hands. Nevertheless, he did not let go and tightly clenched onto thence.
"A foolish move, thence is made of Holy Magic, it is the bane of all the denizens of darkness. If you keep on grabbing onto thence you feel unimaginable pain and slowly get weakened by its effect".
Davisughed, but his chortle was cut short when he saw the sword he had deflected earliere targeting his blind spot.
"Infernal de" as if that coarse voice was the incantation, the de lit up with brilliant golden mes that covered the entire sword and brought about an infernal amount of heat with it.
It was true that a high tier weapon leaves a great opening. When knocked out of the hands of the user, they lose the buff provided by that weapon. However, to tackle that, Simon had learned the [Mana Flow] and the [Dominator''s control] technique.
As long as he used those skills even if the sword was knocked out of his hand, he could easily recall it back.
Simon hadn''t forgotten the events in the past, how his sword was knocked away by Davis in the coliseum when he tried to surmount any resistance. He was crushed until he waspletely powerless.
It was precisely because he remembers that he doesn''t want to repeat the events from the past.
The sword that was knocked away, came targeting Davis when he was least expecting it. Davis clicked his tongue seeing that he was unable to pull thence back, he hurriedly pulled back and dodged the sword.
"As I thought, just using my current powers isn''t enough to defeat an opponent like you. I guess I have no choice but to use that power to even stand a chance"
Simon smiled, he clenched hard on thence that was lodged onto his shoulders and shattered it into many tiny light particles.
"What are you talking about? Do you really think you stand a chance against me? Don''t make meugh, there is nothing you can do at this point that can cover the huge gap in our levels"
Davis spat grumblingly, he was a little peeved that he had to pull back from an opponent who was not even level 500 yet. His Irritation turned into contempt when he heard the words of the demon but he soon regained hisposure when he saw the core stone on the Floor Buster stop blinking.
"I don''t know what nonsense you are talking about, but it all ends here. Let me show you true despair as I capture all those precious forest spring spirits that you have been hiding inside your dungeon" Davis stated with a victorious grin.
Soon after, the machine started trembling and sending shockwaves through the ground indicating that it was all charged.
Seeing this, Simon attacked the machine with his Infernal magic but unlike thest time, Davis was fully prepared for something like this and created a barrier around the machine that easily stopped his attacks.
"Use it" Davis spoke keeping his eyes on the demon.
The ck robed person named Edgar materialised beside the FloorBuster and operated it. A beam of light was sted forth from the machine and bore through the floor.
BOOOMMM¡
There was a deafening sound followed by enormous shockwaves that shook the whole dungeon,ing from the centre of the floor. All eyes that were present on the 48th floor turned towards the direction where the sound came from.
The primary unit locked in a fierce battle with the monsters, was surprised for a second before quickly realising the source of the sound. They all wore a smile on their faces as a renewed light of conviction shed in their eyes.
"This¡ it must be that invention from the adventurer''s association being used again" the vice guild leaders who were fighting the former three overlords, spoke looking at the huge cloud of dust appearing in the middle of the floor.
"That person must have used it to dive deeper. As long as he can get to the floor where the dungeon core is, everything will be over"¡
"That means we just need to hold on for as long as we can"¡
Even if most of the vice guild leaders of the top twenty teams were joining hands currently to fight against these enormous monsters, they were still being pushed into a disadvantage.
Each of these beasts were decked out in a sturdyyer of scales and features that made most of their attacks ineffective against them. Not only that, these beasts had their own powerful weapons and unique attack patterns.
For example, the long and slithery one, which was covered in ayer of dark purple scales, could control the weather. It had brought over thunder clouds covering the entire ceiling of the floor and used them to attack and defend.
The Sky was the territory of the Lightning Draconic Serpent.
While the other one with gigantic crystals on its back, controlled thend. Its powers were so absurd that it was nigh impossible to fight it on the ground. The earth Shattering lower dragon used its Seismic Magic Mastery to manipte massive boulders that could easily crush dozens of adventurers at once.
And thest of the trio, was the master of the sea. It controlled the water body which covered 50% of the territory of this floor and attacked by drowning its foe or ripping them apart with its intimidating razor sharp teeth and w.
The Deep Sea Alligator King was a menace through and through.
The sky, thend or the water, these vice guild leaders couldn''t find any ground in this battle. To make matter worse, even their guilds were unable to contend against the monsters.
Led by the orc with the appearance of a shaman, the primary team was suffering massive losses at his coordinated attacks and powerful magic. The might of the Diluvian High Orcs led by Berigard himself, was in full disy in front of the thousands of adventurers.
-----
"What is going on, where are these vibrationsing from?"
21st floor, waiting not far away from the entrance of the next floor, Beamented feeling the tremors of the dungeon.
These sudden tremors came from time to time making her wonder what was going on on the lower floors.
"Hmm¡ I''m a little worried, Emma let''s finish our task here fast and return back to our master''s side" since she wasn''t there when the floor buster was revealed she was unaware of the origins of these tremors and could hope to return back as soon as possible.
"Oh! They came sooner than I expected"
Bea turned her eyes towards the entrance and there she saw a woman wearing a pointy hat and carrying a staff, fly out.
Karina Lowell, a name that perhaps everybody, from old to even kids in the kingdom knew about. The name carried prestige, might and authority that everybody dreamt for.
She was a person that was heralded as the greatest magician that the kingdom of Ellesmere has ever seen. At the age of 22, she broke through the barrier of level 400 and then went on to be the fastest person in the kingdom to reach level 500, breaking all records.
At the age of 40, she established her own guild and stood toe to toe with many powerful guild leaders of the world. However, she did not stop there, for she was an idealistic person. She gathered every talented girl in the kingdom with aptitude for magic and took them under her wing.
From there, the ster rise of the mage guild, with Karina at the helm started. As her valour and fame spread, the mage guild started bing more influential and soon it became one of the top five guilds.
She was a woman that stood at the pinnacle of all the mages in the kingdom and right now, she was so shaken by the scenery thaty in front of her that her mind hadpletely gone nk and she could no longer think straight.
"This¡" a dozen of other figures also rushed out after her andnded beside. Their shock was no less than hers as they saw the aftermath of what was left behind after the tertiary team was defeated.
The floor was aplete mess, blood and gore could be seen littering the floor, painting the ground red. Numerous potholes and craters dotted the ground with corpses of adventurers that were yet to be absorbed lying on the ground.
There was an enormous spider web on the ceiling and hundreds of cocoons wrapped to it. The entire floor bore the signs of a terrible battle.
"What is going on, where are the tertiary teams?"
a veteran adventurer of one of the twenty guilds, muttered in confusion. However, no one answered him since they all wanted to know the same answer.
Where was the tertiary team?
"Hey¡ look, there are silhouettes of two persons over there" Someone pointed out.
Immediately, all eyes turned towards that direction only to see two women donning maid clothes, walk over.
"Wee, we were waiting for you" the maid with peach coloured hair,mented giving them a warm weing smile. While the other maid simply kept her head down and acted all nervous and jittery.
The adventurers immediately unsheathed their weapons and got into formation, the moment they noticed the maids.
"Who are you guys and where are the tertiary teams?" they asked.
Chapter 595 595- Bea Vs Karina (2)
Bea smiled at their inquiry and said with a proud look on her face "We are the Valkyries that directly serve Master Simon. You guys might know him as the master of this dungeon. As for the tertiary teams¡ Emma, tell them toe out".
"Hiie~ A-Alright elder sister" Emma extended her long thin finger and made a grasping motion. Immediately, there was some movement in the forest and dozens of figures could be seen walking out of it.
"They are¡ the members of the primary teams that were left behind with the tertiary teams to guard them. Why were they hiding in the forest?"¡
"Hey you all, what happened to the others and why are you guys all silent like that?"¡
One of the adventurers tried to approach them; however, he was stopped by the person beside him.
"Don''t, they are acting weird. Their movements doesn''t look normal".
The adventurers realised that the other party wasn''t acting normally and became even more alert. They could tell that something very wrong had gone on this floor, but their mind wasn''t ready to ept that possibility yet.
"Where are my disciples and the other geniuses of our guilds?"
At this moment, when all of these veterans were silent, Karina walked towards the maids and asked. She had a solemn aura and an invisible pressure slowly surging around her.
"Hmm? You mean those brats that acted all high and mighty inside the dungeon?" Bea acted as if she didn''t see the anger of the other party and asked.
"You know exactly who I am talking about" Karina spoke in fury. She had the vital imprint of her disciple Hallie with her so she can tell that she was still alive.
Her eyes which were fixedly ring at the maid, noticed thetter''s pupil turn towards the ceiling for a fraction of a second and that was enough for her to realise something. The cocoons that were hanging in the gigantic spider web in the ceiling.
"I see" Karina closed her eyes, took a deep breath and pointed her staff towards Bea all of a sudden.
"You can all now die¡ Frost Magic Mastery- [Frost Nova]"
Whoosh¡ the moment she finished reciting the name of her spell, a bone chilling cold erupted out of her staff and immediately covered hundreds of meters of area in front of her. There was no dy in her casting, nor was there any indication. Everything in the surrounding remained the same before the magic took shape.
"Everyone, the geniuses of our guilds are inside those cocoons. Quickly destroy the spider web and release them out of it" Karina ordered.
CLACK¡ CLACK¡ she stepped on the ice covered floor and faced the two maids who were now two ice statues.
"Seismic Magic Mastery- [Tectonic Burial]" Karina did not stop, after casting [Frost Nova] she swiftly cast another magic using [Concurrent] and [Multi Cast] skills.
She knew that only her frost magic was unlikely to defeat opponents of such calibre hence she followed up by creating an enormous mountain in the shape of a tombstone and mmed it towards them.
FLAP¡ Beautiful mana wings unfurled behind her as Karina opened a distance from them.
BANG¡ the tombstone crashed onto the ground shaking the floor and raising a storm of dust.
Seconds passed by, Karina was looking at the tombstone from the air intently when suddenly the entire construct shook and a red de of light that came from its base, cleanly bisected it in half.
That was not all, after cutting the tombstone in half, the red de of light flew towards Karina who hurriedly dodged the attack perceiving the danger in time.
The tombstone which was cut in two halves, fell sideways and two figures walked out of the dustpletely unscathed.
"That one is a little trickier to deal with, so I''ll be handling her. Emma, you focus on the rest. I don''t know how they found out the thing about the cocoon, but don''t let these guys free them" Bea immediately moved right after telling her sister what to do.
She created her own mana wings, took to the skies and stood in front of Karina.
Thetter narrowed her eyes when she saw her magic failed to do any significant damage making her realise that the foe she was facing right now wasn''t any ordinary opponent but a powerful adversary that even she needed to be careful of.
"Why do you stand in our way?" Karina asked. Although she couldn''t tell the level of her opponent because of something blocking the [Analysis], her years of experience was telling her the maid was no less powerful than her.
"Why do I stand in front of you? That''s a silly question to ask wouldn''t you say? You guys are here seeking to conquer the dungeon that my master created. As his loyal servant and his creation, it is our duty as Valkyries to clean off all filth that is trying to dirty this sacred abode of his".please visit
Karina was a little surprised by Bea''s answer but more than that she was surprised by that smile of hers. The gentle expression that the maid had, was no longer there on her anymore, instead, it was reced by a lewd sadistic expression.
''She said that she was a servant of the master of this dungeon, but how is that possible? Isn''t the master of the dungeon only a Demon viscount? How is it possible for him to subordinate such a powerful being?'' Karina thought internally.
She shifted her eyes to look at how everyone was doing only to get another shock. The adventurers that were left behind by the primary unit to protect the tertiary team, were at this moment fighting the adventurers from her side.
What was going on? What exactly did these maids do here?
"If you are not initiating then I shall attack first" Karina had no time to think as the maid she was facing came attacking her with a speed that even she had difficulty perceiving.
"Dammit.." Seeing that she was unable to divert her attention to cast her magic even for a second, Karina tried to open a distance from her opponent but how could Bea allow a mage to do that?
She was relentless and even swifter with her attacks than before and slowly chipped away at the magic shield of her opponent. She gave no opportunity to her opponent to cast her magic.
"You leave me no choice but to use these then" Karina took out something from her space ring.
It was a skill crystal and quite a high grade at that. When she inserted her mana into it, a crimson hue emitted out of it and thunderclouds immediately formed in the ceiling.
A skill crystal is able to store skills or magic and since she was unable to cast magic because of the relentless attack form her opponent she used the skill crystal instead to cast magic. One did not need to chant or use an incantation, just insert some mana into the skill crystal and the magic or skill stored, would automatically cast itself.
RUMBLE¡ the dark clouds in the ceiling churned and three huge lightning bolts that looked like enormous dragons, peeked their heads out of the cloud.
"Thunder Magic Mastery- Thunder Dragon Descent".
Following Karina''smands, the three thunder dragons churning in the cloud opened their mouth and fell down on the maid like a sh of light.
"Twelve Strides- First Stride, Second Stride, Third Stride" Just before the three thunder dragons were upon her, Bea activated her inherent skills and swiftly dodged the attacks. She created multiple after images behind and quickly relocated amongst them.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡
The three thunder dragons narrowly missed their mark as Bea managed to avoid the attack. Each of these lightning bolts was more than three meters wide and ten feet long. It would have dealt significant damage even to Bea had she not dodged in time.
The enemy had avoided the attack, but that was alright, since it pushed the maid away. With the leeway and space avable to her, Karina started casting her magic.
The space around the 21st floor trembled, the mana started raging and gathering towards her. Immediately, she converted kilometres of area on one side of her into artic hell while the other side had numerous fissures and earthquakes forming.
Amalgamation Magic of two high tier elements and one that was cast by the number one mage of the kingdom, its power and destructiveness was on another level.
"Based on just her achievement and understanding of magic, she might not be too far behind elder sister Ate. However, she still has a lot to learn".
Bea muttered under her breath, pointed her dagger towards the mage and activated [Essence Mana Disruption].
The phenomenon that was about to create a unique three meter ice white golem, immediately came to stop. The Amalgamation magic- [Ice Avenger] that Karina was about to conjure, ended abruptly and the golem disappeared into tiny mana particles.
Puff¡
Karina spat out a mouthful of blood and looked towards Bea in shock.
"Mana Disruption? But that cannot be, I have taken all the measures against it. My staff should have been able to resist the skill. If it''s not that, then could it be [Essence Mana Disruption]?".
[Mana Disruption] as the name suggests, disrupts the mana around the surrounding making it impossible for mages to cast magic. It is a powerful and rare ss skill and is a counter to most of the mages.
However, the skill is not all powerful and has many shorings like the one Karina prepared.
One can avoid having their mana disrupted by using artefacts and items enchanted with [Anti-disruption] or moving away from the area of effect of the skill.
Chapter 596 596- The Massacred Secondary Unit
The skill [mana disruption] could only cover so much range and based on the user, the range could be even smaller. If you can just get out of its range, you can easily avoid the skill.
On other hand, if the mage who is being targeted with [Mana Disruption] skill is too powerful and has achieved a profound understanding of the mystical energy, they would easily be able to shake off the effect of the skill.
Whereas, the [Essence Mana Disruption] was a Rare skill of legendary tier that not just disrupts the mana, but interferes with the very mystical particles that make up the mana itself. It is a skill much more powerful and annoying to avoid than the former.
Bea looked at Karina after activating that skill of hers and was inwardly shocked a little. For a mage it was a taboo for their magic to be disrupted midway since doing so would not only disperse their magic but they themselves would receive a fierce bacsh tantamount to suffering a severe blow.
Any ordinary mage would get knocked unconscious if not severely injured and unable to battle after that. However, the mage in front of her other than coughing blood that one time, seemed to be doing fine and in perfect control of the mana inside her already.
This goes to show the level of the guild leader of one of the top five guilds and the greatest mage of the kingdom, Karina Lowell a level 660 [Mystic Witch] has reached.
"[Essence Mana Disruption] huh, no wonder the [Anti-Disruption] enchanted on my staff was unable to stop it. But how many times can you use it I wonder" Karina took out a couple of skill crystals from her space ring and inserted an enormous amount of mana inside them.
The skill crystals then started floating and under her [Mana Flow] control spread around her surrounding.
"Now then which one will you stop?" on top of using skill crystals, Karina herself started casting. An excellent decision since the skill [Essence Mana Disruption] only has a short range, Bea would only be able to stop one magic at a time.
That is to say, the skill crystals that are being controlled remotely and from a distance, provided a good distraction.
"Sigh¡ Alright, then I''ll be a little more serious too" Bea sighed and activated her augmenting skill.
[Herculean Agility], [Ultra Enhanced Strength], [Five Senses Ultra Enhancement], [Ultra Body Enhancement]...
Immediately, the entire aura around her changed and she appeared just like the valiant warrior her moniker suggested.
Karina hurriedly raised her guard feeling the changes urring in her opponent and started casting. The fate of the members of her mage guild, her disciple whose life was hanging by a thread and the entire expedition force was on the line, no matter what she cannot lose.
With determination shing in her eyes, Karina cast multiple magic at once and went all out.
Half an hourter, Emma who had finished taking care of all the veteran adventurers brought along by Karina, looked at the sky where a powerful sh, was urring.
The entire ceiling of the 21st floor was covered in chaoticyers of magic, with fire, lightning, wind, ice¡ all kinds of elements going berserk. The power packed behind each of these magic was extremely destructive and has even started interfering with the veryws of the dungeon itself.
The space had tiny fissures forming, thend was wrecked, and the ceiling was sted into smithereens. It was like all kinds of natural disasters were urring all at the same time, the dungeon tried to recover but new damages formed even before the previous one could close.
From this, one could tell the level of fight that was going on up there.
"Haa¡ Haa¡ How is it possible? Beings like you shouldn''t be here¡" Karina said with much difficulty as a dagger punctured a hole through her chest.
"Hmph, consider yourself unlucky for trying to go against master. In any case, you should be proud, you managed tond a scratch on me. Perhaps if there were a couple more people on your level I would have been hard pressed for a victory" Bea muttered pulling her dagger back.
"Haha¡" Completely defeated, Karina gave a hollowugh, her eyes became moist and two teardrops trickled down her face.
As her life slowly seeped away from her, many memories surfaced in her mind. One had to wonder what a woman of her calibre, a well known mage and a respected guild master was thinking during herst moments.
Bea looked at the silent body of her opponent before turning around and walking towards her waiting sister.
"Hiee~ E-Elder Sister c-can I eat their bodies?" Emma asked nervously. Her race predated on fresh corpses hence it was irresistible for her when these many fresh bodies were lying in front of her.
Bea who knew her sister well, thought for a second before nodding her head. Since she had worked so hard, this much of a treat was fine.please visit
"You can eat a few. Ah, but leave that woman''s body alone".
Emma nodded her head. Was this Bea''s way of showing respect to her opponent or just simple whim? There was no way of telling.
"Now then, I wonder how the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse was doing" Bea muttered under her breath.
----
30th floor, the territory of the Chimaera Bears. The secondary unitprising of the secondary teams of all the top twenty guilds, was stationed here.
They were the backup unit that contained the most number of adventurers, and their main job was to assist the primary unit. Well, all these were just nice words to cover the fact that they were in the secondary unit because they couldn''t make it to their respective primary teams.
Strength wise, they were weaker than the adventurers on the primary team but their numbers were in the highest. Out of the thirty thousand strong expedition force, the primary unitprised of only 13 per cent of the total numbers, while 25 per cent were in the tertiary team and the remaining were in the secondary unit.
That is to say, around 62 per cent of the total number of adventurers were in the secondary unit. That being said, not all of them could fight, many of the adventurers had other side professions such as Craft Smiths, Foragers, Dismantler, Alchemist, Porters and such.
When diving inside a dungeon, especially one that is an intermediate tier or above, it is amon knowledge that the exploration might take up weeks of time or even a month inside. That is why, guilds often bring a group of weapon smiths, alchemists and people with such professions with them so that they do not have to surface every time their weapons needed repairing or they ran out of potions and elixirs.
The same could be said for the Foragers and Dismantlers who handled harvesting nts, herbs and dismembering monsters for the primary teams.
A dungeon, especially those that are intermediate and high tiers are a ce filled with mystical energy so it was bound to have all kinds of precious herbs and items grow inside it.
It would be too much of a waste if the guild simply walk past them, that is why, it was necessary to also have people with knowledge about such things.
Essentially, the secondary unit was a group of all such people and right now, they were faced with the biggest peril since the start of the dungeon exploration.
The floor that just until a few hours ago, was filled with dense mystical energy was now engulfed by a dark ominous aura.
Adventurers were fighting against one another, beast horde swarming them and to make matters even worse, the guild leaders of the Phantom Light guild and the Baskerville guild who were ced under a prison by the grey haired man broke out of their restraints and started murdering everyone.
The scene on the 30th floor was aplete chaos with adventurers running everywhere trying to save their own lives. And all of this started with just a simple activation of a skill, [Demonic Purge].
A Rare Ancient skill possessed by the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse who was silently watching the massacre being unfold with its six nightmarish eyes.
The skill was the evolved tier of the [Demonic Grasp] skill that it had previously. It impacted the minds of the adventurers, breaking their mental fortitude and stimting all their negative emotions.
Everybody has some kind of negative emotion suppressed deep within their heart. This skill resurfaced those emotions, corrupting the target and making them go insane.
That being said, the annihtion of the secondary unit wouldn''t have gone so well if not because of the two guild leaders. With Karina and most of the veterans gone, there was no one left to keep them in check.
The Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse''s mission was to use its mental encroachment skill on the guild leaders who were already overwhelmed by the negative emotions and make them ughter the secondary unit.
This was also the reason why Simon had stopped his subordinates from doing anything when the primary unit apprehended the guild leaders and transferred them to the secondary unit. Because he knew he could take advantage of their negative emotionster on down the line that he did not do anything.
"To think that everything would go the way he predicted, my lord indeed does everything thoroughly" The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorsemented proudly.
With no one to stop the two guild leaders, the casualties the secondary unit incurred started skyrocketing and with time, more and more adventurers started falling prey to the mind encroachment skill.
And after a while, there was no one left alive on the 30th floor.
Chapter 597 597- Ogoraths
The two guild leaders Donte Goodman and Manuel Baskerville who did most of the work, were killed by the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse at the end thus closing the chapter on the secondary team.
With that more than ny per cent of the adventurers that dived inside the dungeon, were wiped out.
48th floor¡
"What is this, what the hell are these creatures?" the six guild leaders who were facing the Ogoraths, suddenly found themselves back into a corner and overwhelmed.
Initially, they thought that if they grouped together they would be able to quickly defeat these monsters and join up with the others. However, after a while of battle, they started realising that it was impossible for them to win against these creatures with their current numbers.
When their limbs or any parts of their body were severed, they mysteriously attached it back, when attacked with magic they took next to no damage. Sword or magic, nothing had any effect on these creatures.
It was like these creatures crawled out of the depths of hell, and did not know the meaning of pain. It was despairing just to deal any damage to them; however, the true despair wasn''t their uncanny regenerative abilities but the aura and the weapons they carried.
Every time they got attacked by those eerie weapons of theirs, they felt a weird chill down their spine, their soul shuddered, crying to them to avoid the attack no matter the cost.
Not to mention the antlers they were riding on, were eyeing them as if they were food from the beginning making the atmosphere even more ominous.
These creatures had a powerful offence and defence, how in the world are they supposed to fight them?
It was just as the guild leaders deducted, the Ogoraths were tireless soldiers that did not know the meaning of exhaustion. They were soulless, hence they felt no pain. Their greatest abilities were their undying body that kept on regenerating infinitely and their weapons had the ability to harvest souls.
It was no wonder the adventurers'' soul shuddered every time those weapons were swung towards them.
The Ogoraths also known as the Soul Catcher, were summoned by Simon using the [????????] option. Before the expedition force invaded his dungeon, he used the three emblems produced by his dungeon to summon them from that mysterious abyss on his menu.
The Ogoraths were [B] ranked and just like most of the beings inside his dungeon, they were a creature that didn''t belong to this world.
ording to Irene, they are undead summoned from theher realm and feed on souls. It did not matter how much you damaged or attacked them, they were just a lump of mass shaped in the form of snakes.
Yes, hiding inside those ck hoods, was no humanoid figure, instead, it was thousands of tiny snakes clustering together. That is why, even if their limbs are severed, they simply attach back together.
The most ideal way to defeat an Ogorath would be by using [Astral Prison] of the holy magic element or by destroying them entirely by a super powerful magic or skill that even their powerful regeneration cannot keep up with.
Those are the only known ways of defeating an Ogorath. However, it was the first time, the creatures were showing their appearance in his dungeon, there is no way the adventurers would already have information about them.
And even if they did, it was an entirely different thing if they could aplish it; after all, if they had any super powerful magic, they would have already used it instead of dilly-dallying like that.
Perhaps, Davis Hall would have been able to do something about the Ogoraths; however, he was busy dealing with the master of the dungeon and had no idea of what was going on with the other guild leaders.
As time passed, these six guild leaders fell more and more into a disadvantage, and the feeling of despair became stronger by the moment. Until finally one of the guild leaders couldn''t help but mutter out loud .
"There is no way we can defeat them".
The others around him made ugly faces as they too came to a simr realisation.
"What are the vice guild leaders doing? Why aren''t they here to support us already".
Little did these adventurers know that just like them, the group of vice guild leaders were also having a tough time dealing with the Boss monsters of this dungeon. In fact, if they looked all around the floor, they would notice, none of the adventurers or guilds was having a favourable time.
The battle waspletely lopsided towards one side.
The only reason why these people hadn''t lost their hope yet, was because they knew that as long as they can dy the fight, the grey haired man would capture the dungeon core for them.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ on another corner of the floor, a great fight had broken out. Powerful shockwaves bringing along death and destruction spread from the centre of the fight and swept kilometres ofnd.
From the distance, one could see the space around the area where the fight was urring, was fractured. The mystical energy there was agitated and deafening noises continuously echoed out.
From how the sky was covered with the elemental colours, one could tell that the fight over there was very intense and had reached a level that not just anyone can interfere.
The participants of this battle were none other than the nine guild leaders who were fighting the two Valkyries.
After a furious sh, that pushed all the people back, the guild leaders hurriedly caught their breath as they looked at the maids with grave eyes.
Realising that the women in front of them were no ordinary maids, the guild leaders have been going all out in their fight. Although they have never worked together with each other before, their years of experience working as adventurers allowed them to cover that gap and coordinate perfectly.
Yet even then, they were unable to gain even an edge against the maids. What''s more, there were nine of them and only two of the enemy but they were still at a standstill.
Nine of the top twenty guild leaders of the kingdom who could all be considered a powerhouse in the outside world, were unable to fight two maids. Although it frustrated them to no extent, they had to admit that the opponents were more powerful than them.
"Dammit, these maids... how in the world are they so powerful. The situation doesn''t look good on our guilds side" Chalice, the guild leader of the lightning stormmented.
"If only some people weren''t blinded by the treasure and killing members of our guilds, we wouldn''t have been in this situation would we?"
Dalton from the side remarked sarcastically. His words weren''t just targeting Chalice but all those guild leaders who had multiple shiny stones in their possession.
"You!!" being pped in the face in front of so many people, Chalice and those guild leaders immediately became furious. However, before they could start, Brutus stepped in between and reminded them of their current predicament.
"It''s as guild leader Brutus has said, none of us are powerful enough to take on the maids. If we fight among ourselves now, we would only be making matter worse. So how about you guys stop criticizing us and think about how to stop the maids for the time being"
The one to open his mouth was Layton Sea from the Absolute Sea guild. Being one of the offenders himself, he had the nerve to even preach to them now.
While Dalton and the others disliked him, the situation they were in didn''t allow them any leeway to fight among themselves.
"Are you guys done making your ns? If so then let us rmence our fight"
Ate stated brandishing her staff. Even after fighting nine enemies with just two of them, there was not even a single dirt or scratch on her clothes. Her calm, collected eyes gathered information all around her and slowly pushed her enemies into a corner.
Bianca in front of her, just like always stood there without talking just like a doll. However, with how her eyes were zing and shining one could tell that she was absolutely excited.
Just like her ss [Imperial Aegis Knight] suggested, she stood in front of Ate like an imprable fortress stopping all attacks the guild leaders threw towards them.
"Wait a moment" just as Ate was about tomence her attacks, one of the opponents suddenly called for a time out.
Layton Sea smiled seeing that the maid had stopped her attack and continued his words.
"Must we really fight each other, is there no other way? I admit that you guys are strong; however, you cannot defeat the nine of us. It''s just a waste of time for us to oppose each other at this moment".
"You have seen what that machine can do right? It is something that was brought over by the Adventurer''s Association. Soon, the dungeon would be conquered by that person and the master you are serving won''t be able to do anything".
"Staying on his side would only be disadvantageous to you. How about you guys change sides, I promise that we will leave you alone once the dungeon is conquered. Our target is only the demon¡ how about it?" Layton proposed.
The other eight guild leaders didn''t speak a word, they knew what Layton was scheming. Although they look down upon it, it was also true that they had no other choice but to use this kind of tactic at this point.
If the enemy changed sides, they would be able to avoid many casualties. And the thing about leaving them alone, that was also usible as long as they promised not to harm humans and leave the Ghastly Winding Forest.
Chapter 598 598- The Angered Valkyries
All nine of the leaders waited patiently with bated breath for the maids reply.
"Are you implying that we betray our master?" Ate asked, her always calm andposed aura had at this moment be bone chilling cold.
Bianca had an even more drastic change, her emotionless face that never showed any reaction was at this moment ring at adventurers with absolute anger and hate.
The guild leaders thought that they could shake the allegiance the maids have towards the master of this dungeon. However, what they didn''t know was that the maids weren''t just faithful and loyal to Simon but absolutely devoted.
For them, Simon was far more than their master and akin to their god who had created them. Forget about being able to shake that faith, even if they were captured and forced to betray Simon, they would rathermit suicide than do such a thing.
That was the level of devotion the Valkyries had towards the master of this dungeon. And so, the adventurers not only looked down upon them, but with those words they even questioned their faith and devotion.
This was tantamount to slighting Simon, their master.
"UNFORGIVABLE"¡
No matter how clueless these adventurers were, even insolence had its limits. Their crimes were unpardonable and worthy of death.
"Wha-what is going on?" As the guild leaders looked on, the maid on the backline suddenly shouted and then a brilliant light emerged out of her and shrouded her within.
What walked out of that light after a few seconds, was a woman of ethereal beauty. She had white fiery hair that was actually on fire, had an otherworldly luminescent body filled with feminine curves and mystifying marking that was very much like constetions on a night sky.
Her eyes were radiating with the light of the stars and multiple orbs of light surrounded her. This was Ate''s true form, the race Superior Spirit.
It is said that a superior Spirit has extremely high spirituality and almost never manifest themselves in front of mortal life unless summoned. They are born when tens of thousands of high tier spirits reach their end or merge together.
Much was unknown about Superior Spirits in the world of Althaea as only a small number of people have ever been able toe in contact with them. Nevertheless, if you asked any of them what did they know about Superior Spirits, all of them would answer the same thing, Spirit Magic.
The Spirit magic was the domain of the spirits and deviated from the standard form of Mystical Energy of this world. All spirits are innately able to use spirit magic but even amongst the spirits, Ate was a special case.
Summoned and created by Simon, she is not only a spiritual life form, but also has a physical body and can interact with the material world without needing to manifest herself.
Because manifesting her spiritual body needed her to discard her physical body temporarily, she avoided such asions whenever possible since she loved the body Simon created for her. Yet on asions when her ire grows and her fury reaches a point, the full measure of Ate''s spiritual power and her spirit magic threatens to unleash its wrath.
"Life Siphon"
Ate extended her hand towards the guild leaders and muttered. Immediately, the multiple balls of light around her turned into spirit threads that attached themselves to the enemy creating a link between her and them.
The life Siphon is a spirit link that allows her to continuously drain all her enemies life thus damaging them from within. And since the spirit link had no physical form, it cannot be broken.
"W-What is this I can''t sever them"
The guild leaders whined. Some of them tried to back away thinking that distancing themselves would break the link; however, no matter how far they went, the life siphon still connected them to Ate.
The guild leaders frowned, they could feel their life being drained along with their powers away from them. If they didn''t do anything, soon all that would be left would be their skeleton.
Coming to the same decision, all the guild leaders decided to attack. Now that they were linked with the life siphon their only option to survive this was to attack the caster. However, how could a superior spirit like Ate leave herself unguarded?
She had many measures prepared; nheless, she did not need to use any of them because Bianca, stood in front of her.
Unlike the former, nothing much changed about Bianca other than the fact that she was absolutely furious.
Bianca''s race was Elite Homunculus, that is to say, this is what her true form looks like. Unlike her sisters, she did not have any racial form that empowered her strength even further. But her race did provide her with something that no other race had.
When creating Bianca, Simon had chosen her race to be Elder Homunculus after much deliberation. The reason for that was the skill [Mimic].
It was the race specific skill of the Elite Homunculus that allowed them to mimic any race that they want.
That is to say, even though Bianca did not have any original racial form, she could transformed into any race of her choice. For eg- if she wanted to be a Superior Spirit like Ate, ck Widow Spider like Emma or any other race, with the help of [Mimic] she can temporarily change her race.
Of course, the skill might sound all powerful but it had its own shorings.
The skill [Mimic] allowed Bianca to transform into any race, although it was true, there are certain conditions before she can transform into that race.
First, she needs to have seen that race with her own eyes before, secondly been in contact them and thirdly consumed a drop of their blood. If all those conditions are met, Bianca could transform into that race.
Also, another shoring of the skill [Mimic] is that in any given time, she cannot mimic more than one race. Other than that there are other shorings like racial limits.
[Mimic] might allow Bianca to transforms into any race, but she cannot disy more than 50% of their abilities. Of course there are also certain race that is even beyond the abilities of the [Mimic] to impersonate.
That being said, [Mimic] was a powerful ability that had a vast range of use and versatility. Coupled with Bianca''s powerful ss, it would further bolster her strength.
The concept behind Bianca was to create an imprable tank that was at times versatile and adaptable to any kinds of situation.
Simon could have set her race to any species with a powerful defence thus making her an absolute tank. However, he chose Elder Homunculus because he believed that the role of the tank wasn''t just limited to taking hits.
The Valkyries were a set, with the exception of the first sister, the rest of them were created in a way so that theyplement each other and work in a well-bnced and make an unassablebo.
Each of the Valkyries have their own assigned role in this set and so did Bianca. Her job was to stop any and all kinds of attacks and enemies getting past her.
Because of this requirement, she needed to be very versatile and what better race for that than the Elder Homunculus with the [Mimic] skill?
She stood tall confronting the enemies and in front of their shocked eyes, started transforming.
The race that she chose to transform into was the strongest one that was currently in her arsenal and one which she had a lot of respect for.
Bianca transformed into the World Forging Titan, mimicking the race of the eldest of the Valkyrie sisters, Mercedes.
"Admantium Form" with those words, her body started getting covered in ayer of mineral.
Starting from her hands and legs, even the equipments on her body was enclosed in thatyer. In a couple of seconds, she grew more than three meters tall and radiated of a strong imprable aura.
Although, her entire body was covered in dark violet rocks, she still retained her sleek body and feminine humanoid form.
Her hair transformed into a flowing sma and she had circuit like stripes all over her body. At the centre of her chest, resembling a core, was a white orb pulsing with energy.
This was one of the forms of the World Forging Titans, the Admantium form that boasts one of the greatest defence of all races.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ the attacks that the guild leaders threw at her with all their strength, simply bounced off her without managing to do anything.
Forget about damaging her, in this form Bianca was so sturdy that even putting a scratching on her was an impossible task for these adventurers.
"W-What?!" it was no wonder the guild leaders were shocked, even the advanced magic and ability conferred attacks of theirs had no effect.
"Ignore the one in front and attack the maid behind her. We must break this link first" Brutus roared charging towards Ate.
The rest of the guild leaders each initiated their own attacks but none of them even managed to reach even a couple of meters near her. They all mmed into a faint violet coloured translucent wall.
"A barrier? When did it¡?"
All eyes involuntarily turned towards Bianca who was slowly walking towards them.
That barrier earlier was her doing. Attacking the mage and leaving the tank for thest, it was amon tactic abused in this world.
During the many training sessions the Valkyries had undergone in the past few months, Simon had many a times cautioned them about such tactics. Those battle simtions and training came to their use at this moment.
Chapter 599 599- Simon Vs Davis
Hence all the Valkyries were very much aware of what the opponents would try in such situations. Even before the adventurers moved, Bianca had already activated her skill [Barrier] to stop them from reaching her sister.
[Barrier] was a skill that created a big translucent sphere around her that stopped all kinds of attacks based on her defence stats. Now that her stats were further bolstered because of transforming into the Adamantium form of the World Forging Titan, the barrier was even stronger than before.
Unable to attack or retreat, the guild leaders werepletely shut down. They finally realised the true power gulf between them and the Valkyries. They were simply toying with them up until now, but now they werepletely serious.
With their back faced against the wall, the guild leaders were shown what true despair was.
"Unforgivable¡ unforgivable¡ unforgivable"
Bianca continuously muttered those words like a broken tape recorder as she slowly inched closer to the adventurers. The reason why she had transformed into the World Forging titan wasn''t because she was keen on ying defence.
It was because she was extremely furious and wanted to punish the insolence of these adventurers to dare slight their master, their pir of devotion. The Adamantium Form did not just give her powerful defence it also gave her ridiculous strength.
CLANG¡ CRACK¡ a simple sh from her broad sword which was now also covered in ayer of adamantium was enough to break the [A] tier weapons of these guild leaders.
Moreover, her attacks now were so heavy that it was like a mountain was mming into them. Whoever that her sword attacked was blown back like a ball, their [Mana armours] broken and looking extremely miserable.
This was the start of the fall of the guilds that were renowned across the entire kingdom.
While all of this was happening, near the centre of the floor, two people were locked in an intense fight. Not far away from them, was a huge breach in the ground that connected with the floors below.
This was the doing of the floor buster that was used once again.
"Hahaha¡ did you see that? This is the power of my Adventurer''s Association. Everything is over now, Ranker Edgar had already dived below. There is no way you can stop your dungeon core from getting conquered now" Davisughed wildly.
He looked at the demon with belittling eyes and asked "Tell me demon, how does it feel to have your hopes getting crushed right in front of you? Tell me how does it feel to know that everything that you worked for is going to disappear?"
"To know that everything that you have will be mine.. Do you feel despair? Are you having regrets? Tell me demon". Davis was very much enjoying himself at the predicament of the demon.
"Are you done? If so then let us resume our fight"¡
"Huh?" However, when he saw the demon act calm even after all that, he was at a loss for a second.
"Perhaps you still do not understand the situation. You are done for, demon. Ranker Edgar is someone who is as strong as me, now that you have brought all your force over here, your dungeon is as good as conquered. Nobody can save you this time"
Davis was clearly referring to the time when Simon was saved by Adalinda. If not for her, he wouldn''t have suffered such a crushing defeat in front of thousands of people. This incident had be a blotch in his heart, a shadow that he couldn''te out of.
No matter how he tried, he couldn''t forget this incident which became the greatest shame in his otherwise spotless carrier. He was burning for revenge. But after experiencing the power of that little girl first hand, he knew that he wouldn''t be able to do anything to her.
Though the same couldn''t be said for the demon who destroyed his life. Ever since then, he was investigating everything about the demon noble that intruded on the Kingdom of Ellesmere and soon found out where his dungeon was located.
At the same time, he also got a piece of information saying that the mysterious backer of the demon was no longer with him. He started nning his revenge, he used the people of the kingdom as pawns to bring his dungeon down.
As a special measure, he had even invited a Tyrant rank Ranker for this mission. It was aplete full proof n without any ws¡ so why is that demon still acted so indifferent?
Looking at the agitated face of Davis, Simon finally smiled.
"I see, that ck robed person was your trump card. The reason why he never revealed his presence even when the expedition force was about to fall many times during the exploration was because you wanted to keep his existence a secret from me".
" You wanted to pull my attention and lure all my forces towards the expedition force while that person sneaked deeper inside the dungeon amidst the chaos".
Seeing the change in expression of Davis, Simon knew that he was spot on.
"So what if you managed to realise my n? Is there anything you can still do? You cannot even defeat me¡ hahaha"
Davisughed maniacally. He still believed that everything was in his control.
"It doesn''t matter to me how many people you send below, there is no way they would ever be able to get closer to my dungeon core. You asked me if there was still something that I can do? The answer is yes, I am still yet to y my trump card"
Simon replied throwing a cold bucket of water on Davis''s parade.
"As for your second question, whether I can beat you or not, the answer is yes".
Right after saying that, Simon pulled all of his aura back. The mana he was channelling outside, was also retracted back at this moment, dispelling all the infernal spears he had created.
"What are you doing?"
Seeing the demon stop his attacks, and do something unusual, Davis couldn''t help but ask in confusion. Though he believed that there is no way that anything the demon could do at this point would change the oue, he still nevertheless, raised his guard. He didn''t be an officer of the Adventurer''s association without any ability.
''Hmph, a mere demon viscount ims that he can defeat me? Let me see what abilities you still have left then..''
Davis thought internally, his eyes that were fixed on the demon suddenly noticed thetter take out something. It was a huge greyish pir with multiple runes and patterns inscribed on it.
Hm? For a second there, Davis thought that the pir looked like a gigantic finger but he quickly ruled it out. The huge greyish pir suspended itself beside the demon who started making multipleplex hand signs.
"What is he doing?..."
Before he could realise what the demon was up to, a powerful aura that even made him sense danger erupted out of the greyish pir.
Even from this distance, he could feel that powerful negative miasma slowly seep out of that pir and cover it in a purple ck aura. What was going on? he could feel his body shuddering just by getting exposed to this energy, his hands were actually shaking!!
''Was he afraid? No there is no way he would be scared of a mere Demon viscount. Which meant that this feeling wasing from the pir entirely.
To be able to make him raise his guards, that pir like thing, wasn''t ordinary.
Simon shed a wicked smile seeing the attitude of the opponent make aplete 180¡ã change the moment he revealed the Ozymandias'' finger. This was his final trump card and the only thing that stood any chance against Davis in this confrontation.
He released the full output of the finger and using the [Dominator''s Control] technique, willed it towards his opponent. A vast pressure powerful enough to engulf half of this floor, descended from the finger and locked onto Davis whose face looked like he was having the shock of his life.
Never in his wildest dream did he imagine a mere demon viscount possessing such a powerful weapon. He did not know what that pir was but trusting his senses he used his entire strength against it.
He created multipleyers of magic shields powerful enough to even resist an advanced spell right before the finger of Ozymandias came mming.
BOOOM¡ there was a dull deafening noise as if thousands of megatons of bombs going off followed by fissures forming in the space and onnd showcasing how devastating the power behind the finger was.
The finger of Ozymandias was extremely fast, the curse energy surrounding the finger, was even capable of tearing through space. Before Davis even got the chance to dodge, it was already upon him.
The sh numbed his arms and threw the mana inside his body into a state of haywire. Multiple of his barrier copsed and he was pushed dozens of meters back until he mmed into the ground.
"Aaaarghh!!"
The officer of the Adventurer''s association didn''t stay put on the ground for long, before angrily flying out. His pristine white clothes that immactely didn''t even have a trace of dust since the beginning of the fight, was at this moment spoiled by the dirt of the floor.
"You bastard¡" Davis angrily cursed, his face was flushed red with fury. He had just flown out of the dust when the finger mmed into him again, sending him back to the hole he crept out from.
"Since you like drilling floors so much, how about I drill you into it" Simon stated.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG...
Chapter 600 600- Simon Vs Davis (2)
The finger repeatedly mmed into his opponent as if trying to drill him to the ground. Simon''s attacks were continuous and vicious, he spared no efforts to humiliate his opponent.
BANG... BANG... BANG...
"Enough!!!"
Davis cried out loud, a powerful holy magic knocked the finger back. A few secondster, a white ray of light flew out from that hole and stood in the sky. When the ray of light disappeared, the figure of Davis came into view.
He didn''t look as mighty and powerful as before, his robes were dirty and his aura unstable. The smug and condescending look on his face was no longer there, reced by an ugly face that was masked with anger.
Although very slightly, his body was also releasing a faint purple ck miasma.
"So you withstood that huh"
p¡ p¡ p¡ Simon pped before recalling the finger back towards him.
"As expected from an officer of the Adventurer''s Association. Even though you are a mage, your body is much more resilient than even a warrior above level 600".
Puff¡ the demon''s praise that sounded like a mockery to him, caused Davis to throw a mouthful of blood. When was thest time anybody dared to talk to him like that? He who was an authoritative figure of the adventurer''s association not to mention a powerful ranker that garnered the praise and envy of countless people was looked down upon?
He who was a level 719 [Arcane BattlePriest] was being mocked by a demon of a viscount rank no less?
"You fucking demon... I''ll kill you"
This factpletely triggered Davis and he erupted forth with all of his power. Controlling his strength? Toying with his enemy? These things no longer mattered, all he wanted to do now was to crush this demon in front of him for daring to look down on him.
BANG¡ the power released by an angry Ranker could be imagined. Just his aura alone was like a tidal wave in a high tide sweeping through everything and anything around its path. It was vast and enormous.
Davis did not waste any time, right after releasing his full force, he started casting magic without any stopgaps.
[Multi Chant], [Shadow Skill], [Ability Conferment], [Chant Revocation], even the multiyered magic circle that covered the skies of the capital of Ellesmere, also showed its face on the 48th floor of the dungeon Lace.
RUMBLE¡
The space around the entire floor was distorted, and the mana was sent into a frenzy. Themotion was so big that it ended up attracting the attention of everyone present.
The level of battle urring at the centre of the floor, was beyond their capabilities and they could only gaze around it from a distance and hope in their hearts that their side was the one winning.
"Marvel at my powers as you turn into dust demon!! [Multi Magic] [Ability Conferment- Anti-Dispel]¡ [Holy Magic Mastery- Hand of Divine]".
Even when his blood vessel popped and blood flowed out from his nose, Davis did not stop casting his magic. The multiyered magic circle in the ceiling started rotating and an enormous hand made entirely of light, manifested.
That was not all, to prevent the demon from dispelling his magic, he had also conferred the magic with [Anti-Dispel] and was further empowered by the multiyered technique of his. Forget about a demon viscount, even a demon duke would find it troublesome to take on such an attack.
If the earlier magic was to toy with the demon this magic was conjured with the intention to annihte him until not even his ashes remained behind.
Davis was truly and utterly angered, he watched on with glee as the magic locked onto the demon and descend down on him as if to squash a fly.
BOOOOMMM¡ the magic connected, ttening kilometres ofnd and sending shockwaves through the ground.
Seeing that the demon was buried underneath, a small smile appeared on Davis'' lips. He tried to pull the hand or the magic [Prayer of the Divine] back and repeat the same action the demon did to him, when suddenly he realised he was unable to pull the hand.
Something was preventing him from retracting his magic back.
"What is going on?" the smile on his face disappeared as soon as it appeared. He looked carefully at the ground where the enormous hand made of light made contact with the floor. To his shock, he realised there was a small gap in between.
Standing in that gap, holding that enormous hand of light back, was a greying humanoid figure with no facial expressions. Complex runes that glowed intermittently marked its body. This greyish piece of flesh in the shape of a humanoid was none other than the finger of Ozymandias.
As Simon''s mastery of the technique increased, he was able to tap more into the powers of the finger and learned more of its secret. Before he could only use the finger crudely by mming it onto his enemies; however, now he can shapeshift it and use it much more refinedly.
Using his increased mastery in the [Domiantor''s Control] technique, Simon transformed the finger into a state that was best suited for battle and in the form he had first found the finger in.
That monster that he faced at the end of the 4th trial, was so powerful had it not been for the quest items, he would have been killed immediately. If he could utilise the finger like that, even if his enemy was above level 700, he could win this.
Simon made manyplex signs and immediately, the curse energy inside the finger of Ozymandias was stirred as if alive. It seeped out of its body andtched onto the hand of light and in front of the gobsmacked face of Davis, started corroding it.
The curse energy was a totally different system of energy that hardly any people in this world knew about. It spreads like an infection the more youe into contact with it and has a powerful corrosive power.
Given this fact, very few people in this world would be able to react appropriately against it. However, Davis was not among them.
The curse energy slowly started spreading though the enormous hand, eroding and changing its colour. In the span of a minute, the hand that was made of pure white light was tainted with a ckish purple colour slowly disintegrating into nothing.
"This is bad"
Davis hurriedly tried to recall the magic back but it was already toote, the peculiar miasma covering the hand, had already cut their connection. Even when using the multiyered magic circle to buff the [Prayer of the Divine] with more magic power, had no effect.
"GUGH¡" Finally, when the magic was fully disintegrated, Davis suffered a fierce bacsh and he spew out a mouthful of blood. His body shuddered, and he was forced tond on the ground no longer being able to maintain flight.
"W-What the hell is that thing?"
Davis cried out loud amidst his shock and disbelief as he looked at the demon, no more precisely a grey humanoid figure in front of him. No matter how much he tried to make sense of what happened earlier, he couldn''t grasp a single thing.
It was like everything that had happened, was beyond hisprehension. No, saying that it was beyond hisprehension would be wrong since did he understand that his magic was destroyed by that greyish humanoid thing.
However, he was unwilling to ept it. A magic of holy attribute that was said to be the bane of all demons, was destroyed just like that? Not to mention the one to destroy it this time was not that absurdly powerful little girl but the demon he looked down upon.
Davis felt like all that happened was a lie but the reality told him otherwise. Vaguely, he was starting to feel a sense of foreboding that he had never felt until now. What''s more, this feeling kept getting stronger the more time passed.
"What''s wrong, are not going to attack anymore?"¡
------
51st floor, after passing through the desert without alerting the Desert Mammoths, the ck robed man named Edgar came to as stop in front of the entrance to the 52nd floor.
"To think that there are still a couple more floors to go, truly appearances can be often misleading. Who would have thought a low ranking demon noble would be able to grow his dungeon to such an extent" he muttered to himself.
The Floor Buster was able to breach twoyers of floors, that is the 48th and the 49th. From there, all he had to do was jump down and make his way over here, yet even after reaching the 51st floor, he was yet to get to thest floor.
Edgar''s task was to shatter the dungeon core and although he had never seen one before in his life, he had read about them from the ancient records and documents.
ording to those texts, if he is near one, he would immediately be alerted by the phenomenon of the mystical energy that it generates. And most importantly, the dungeon core was always located on thest floor of the dungeon and cannot be shifted around.
Hence all he needed to do was reach thest floor and search for it there.
Thinking such, Edgar stepped forward. However, just as he took the first step towards the stairs, his senses gave him a strong warning and he quickly jumped back.
A fraction of a secondter, a bone chilling cold that froze even the mana itself, came from the depths of the stairs and froze the area that he was in.
Chapter 601 601- Alice
A cold wind blew out from below the stairs bringing along a terrifying chill and pressure with it.
CLACK¡ CLACK¡
Edgar suddenly heard the sounds of someone walking on the ice and a momentter an ethereal beauty, with azure blue hair, and an alluring face that could mesmerise any beings in this world, walked out.
She was wearing a crystal blue dress that shimmered with lighting from the phosphorescence crystal on the ceiling and entuated her breathtaking curves.
Who could this figure be other than Irene? She casually walked up the now frozen stairs and stood in front of him. Her phoenix like eyes shone with a divine light and gazed straight at the ce where Edgar was causing thetter to snap out of his daze.
"T-This can''t be¡ nobody should be able to see through my [Perfect Ghost]"
Edgar thought internally. His skill [Perfect Ghost] was a Lost Ancient tier skill that only a small number of people in this world possess. It gave him almost perfect invisibility that the normal [Stealth] of an assassin could neverpare to.
It not only suppressed his presence and aura until it was nil, but it also helps him avoid all kinds of detection abilities. Unless the detection skill''s tier is greater than his [Perfect Ghost] nobody should be able to find him.
But the woman in front of him was definitely looking towards his direction, there was no mistake.
It was only natural that Edgar was confused after all, he was even able to escape the radars of the dungeon itself. And as per the information they had collected about the demon and his dungeon, there shouldn''t be any entity strong enough to detect him, inside.
Or so Edgar thought, however, what he didn''t know was that his information was erroneous, old and didn''t take into ount the unusualness of the dungeon Lace.
Just like everyone else, the expedition force had severely underestimated the dungeon Lace and the dangers it hid inside. When they did realise it, was already toote. The dungeon had already bared its fangs snapping down on numerous adventurers and making them its nourishment forever.
And Edgar was soon going to join their rank and go through the same realisation as all the others before him did.
The dungeon Lace was extremely dangerous, it did not conform to any pre¨Cestablished standards and was filled with strong entities. There was a reason why Simon was unfazed after seeing Edgar dive inside through the hole created by the floor buster.
And that reason was none other than thest defence he had ced to guard his dungeon core. If there ever came a time when someone managed to reach the bottom floors, they would meet her. The strongest entity currently present inside his dungeon.
Irene was guarding his dungeon core, there was no reason for Simon to worry.
Edgar and the others were soon going to find out that it was all a huge mistake on their part, the dungeon Lace wasn''t something they should have provoked.
An absurdly strong being stood in front of him. Edgar''s instincts were screaming at him, telling him to run away. There was no way he could fight her, he never stood a chance. The only oue of their fight would be him dying in an instant.
Absolute power difference¡ªthis wasn''t the first time Edgar felt like that, he had met many entities back on the maind that showed him that there was always a sky above a sky. However, even they did not make him feel such levels of intimidation and powerlessness like the woman in front of him.
"I was never told that there would be such a powerful person present inside the dungeon" he muttered to himself.
Even though he dodged that bone chilling cold wind earlier, he felt like his body was frozen. Edgar couldn''t move a muscle, he wanted to run away but his feet did not obey him.
At this moment, he saw the woman walking forward, with every step she took, she froze everything around her to its core. It was like there was nothing in this world she couldn''t freeze.
A vision yed in his eyes, the woman walked past him and he saw himself instantly getting encased in ayer of ice. His body, bones and even his soul everything froze in an instant, it was a vision of his own death.
Edgar a powerful Ranker from the maind, was frozen to his death without being able to even lift a finger. The mission that he carried, also failed and was forever encased in ice.
CLACK... CLACK... After walking past the ice statue, Irene''s beautiful tranquil eyes looked towards the ceiling in concern. It was as if she could see through theyers of floors and peek directly at the 48th floor where the battle was going on.
After a while, she released a silent sigh. Although she was told to guard the dungeon core, she couldn''t help but worry. The battle going on above was extremely fierce.
------
BOOM... BOOM... BANG¡ on one part of the battlefield that was covered with tall trees and forest, a group of three adventurers were running through the trees dodging the volley of arrows that came at them at an ungging pace.
HUFF¡ HUFF¡
"Is she still on her tail?"¡
"I can''t tell but this ce is concealed by trees all around, even she must have some difficulty finding us"¡
"Seriously, what is she? I have never seen a demi-human like her"¡
The adventurers discussed catching their breaths. Each of them were the guild leader of one of the two twenty guilds of the kingdom and currently, they were hiding.
Who are they hiding from? The answer was... from a little girl who looked no more than fourteen years old. As funny as it sounded, it was the truth.
The dread filled guild leaders turned towards the other guy who was the only one amongst them capable enough to contend with that girl in terms of firepower.
Arven Lantz was silent as the gazes of the other two guild leadersnded on him. To be honest, he had not the slightest idea of how to defeat that girl. The guild leader of the crimson demolition guild who was known for his highly destructive firepower, and ranked amongst the greatest mages if not at the top, was at a loss.
The Infernal magic, his prided magic that got him out of every troublesome situation and what got him the title of Pyromaniac, was at this moment renderedpletely useless.
Not only was he losing in terms of firepower, but his infernal magic was also beingpletely suppressed.
Arven was in a state of disbelief and shock, no matter how much he wanted to deny it, the truth was he cannot defeat that girl. He clenched his hands so hard that blood flowed out of them.
"Guild Master Arven?" the other two guild leaders called out to him, their faces grave and hopeful.
Unlike him who was a mage, the other two were warriors and had no long range attack. Their sturdy armours and defences werepletely ineffective against that girl''s attacks who could neglect all armours.
The bodies of these two guild leaders were in a much worse shape than his own. If things continued like this, they will soon be defeated.
''We cannot win if we simply continue to run. Should I sacrifice these two to create an opening'' Arven thought internally before making up his mind.
"You two listen closely, I have a n"¡
A few kilometres away from them, a young girl with blonde hair, was standing on top of a branch of a tree. Her entire body was engulfed in ayer of Tempest that twisted and twirled around her and made her look like the very manifestation of wind.
Her blonde hair was glowing at this moment, and the fluttering wind formed a cape behind her. Elements of winds shaped into birds flew around her and from time to time whispered something in her ears.
Her irises that were the colour of her hair had a cross in the centre now that looked somewhat like scope lenses.
Hidden inside the gale, one could vaguely see her body which was glowing with ayer of light and formed mysterious patterns all around her body. This was the racial form of Alice, the Wood Elf race.
It is said that this race has made a pact with the forest and merged with the spirits of wind bing artificial spirits themselves.
They are the Forebears of all the forest races that exist today and are one of the ancient races said to have left their traces all over the universe.
In the world of Althea, it is next to impossible to spot a wood elf these days as they have already gone extinct. Very few records exist about them and the ones that do describe them as a fearsome marksman of the forest.
Nobody can elude their eyes that can see from extremely long distances and through their connection with the forest, they can easily locate you.
"Where~are~you?" the little girl smiled.
The trees around her started trembling and winds picked their speed, whispering into her long thin ears. They carried the voices of the adventurers and the sounds of their conversation.
Alice intently listened to their exchange and a crafty expression appeared on her face. Unbeknown to the adventurers, the little girl was already aware of their n.
"Hehe, I wonder how they will react if I tell them I know all about their n".
Chapter 602 602- Alice (2)
Carried by the winds, Alice swiftly travelled through the forest. She appeared on top of a tree above the spot where the unaware adventurers were.
"Hello~ Miss me?"
Her casual words of greetings immediately alerted the adventurers. They hurriedly jumped away from their hiding ce and looked at Alice with an expression that was a mixture of shock and fear.
They thought that they had opened quite a gap and lost the girl, but thetter had already found them in less than a minute. What sort of tracking ability did the girl use?
They weren''t able to recover much of their strength, how should they fight her in this condition?
"There is no other way, let''s trust Guild Master Arven and put our hopes in his n"
The two guild leaders with the warrior ss looked at each other before rushing towards Alice. They rammed down the tree that she was on before using all of their skill and abilities on her.
The n these three guild leaders cooked up was very simple, the two of them who had the warrior ss, would stop the little girl. While they were holding all of her attention to them, Arven would start conjuring his most powerful magic from the distance and signal them when it waspleted.
They would then timely back away and the enemy would get caught up in the magic. Simple and precise, for these guild leaders who had never worked with each other, it was the best n they woulde up with at that instant.
However, little did they know that they were just being used as baits, Arven never had any ns to attack.
While the two guild leaders were stopping Alice, he used this chance to get away from her. He thought that if he could join with Brutus and the others then perhaps they stood a chance against the little girl.
"She must be the strongest entity in this dungeon; there is no shame in running. Yes, I did the right thing. I must survive and gather others to fight her. An absurdly strong being like her is a huge threat to our expedition force"
Thinking so, Arven flew through the forest. But even he was mistaken about one thing, the teammates he wanted to join up with, were all fighting against absurdly strong beings like the he was facing.
Whatever scenario he had in mind, never existed in the first ce. Even if he flew out of the forest, no backup was waiting for him.
But who said he could even get out of the forest? Arven who was marked by Alice, never stood a chance of getting out of the forest. There was no escape from her [Hawk Eyes] and her range that seemingly covered the entire floor itself.
"Hm.. Hm¡ Hmm~" Alice hummed as she notched another arrow from her seemingly infinite quiver and locked onto her target.
Anyone marked by her skill [Mark] even if they run off to a ce she cannot see, or hide in a ce she cannot reach, they would still be unable to escape her.
Alice was a Valkyrie created by Simon to snipe opponents from extremely long distances. An expert marksman who never missed her shot. Two bodies thaty motionless beside her, were the perfect example of that.
The bodies of the guild leaders had a hole in their heads right between their brows. There was not even a millimetre of difference between the two wounds. They were both shot in the exact same ce.
"Hmm? Would it be the twelfth time I''m firing today? Ahaha¡ gotta be careful or else Master, big sister and the others will scold me"
Alice stuck out her tongue. It was very important that she counted the number of times she had fired today as it had a direct rtion to her strength.
If asked who amongst the Valkyries had the highest firepower, that achievement would no doubt go to Alice. The reason for that was her inherent skill [Combo Fire] which increases the destructiveness of her consecutive attacks by 30% every time.
That is to say, if her first arrows dealt X amount of damage, the second arrow would deal 30 percent more damage than the first and the next arrow would have an added 30 percent more power to that and so and so forth. The power kept on stacking.
The destructiveness of her attacks kept on increasing the more she fired in session making her a fearsome opponent to face.
However, It needs to be noted that the [Combo Fire] can only be used till a certain number of times before Alice ran out of mana. Plus, any attack that surpassed her mana limits would break thebo.
Simrly, her attacks have to be uninterrupted for the [Combo Fire] to work.
The skill had quite a few drawbacks; nevertheless, the existence of [Combo Fire] and many other skills was what ced Alice at the top of the Valkyries in terms of firepower.
RUMBLE¡ the twelfth arrow buffed by [Combo Fire] was notched into the bow causing the very space around Alice to wrap and distort. The power bestowed inside that arrow was so great that the very forest trembled in fear of it.
"Lock on¡ Fire" her irises that was like scope lenses, locked onto her target''s before she released the arrow.
WHOOSH¡ the arrow immediately took the form of a unique coloured fiery bird that bypassed every barrier and sped towards its target.
SHINE¡ Arven who was flying low and crisscrossed around the tees to avoid the enemy''s attacks, felt his back suddenly heat up. When he touched it with his hands, he soon realised that there was some kind of a glowing mark on his back.
"What is this?"
Before he even had the time to think, Arven''s eyes saw a fiery bird with a terrifying amount of power, fly through the forest and reach him in the blink of an eye.
The bird prated through his body before flying up and crashing into the ceiling creating an enormous hole in the process. Although it did not breach the ceiling, it was very close.
As for the guild leader of the crimson demolition guild, he did not even have the chance to create any barrier to defend himself before dying. Three powerful guild leaders whose names shook the kingdom, died just like that.
And the person responsible for their death was a little girl who looked no more than fourteen years old.
"I wonder how Elder Sister Ate and Bianca are doing?" Alice muttered reverting back to her normal form.
Dozens of kilometres away from the forest, towards the north-western direction, was a ce that waspletely devastated until the very topography around here had changed. Thend around here had turned into a desert, a telltale of the fierce battle that urred here.
A couple of figures could be seenying on the sand with severe injuries on their bodies and breathing heavily. Many among them had died, their bodies beaten so brutally that one cannot even recognise them anymore.
Some were scorched until they were ck cinders, some missing all their limbs and some squashed until they were just pieces of flesh.
Those that were still alive, were barely hanging on to theirst breaths. Their eyes staring at their opponents with a mixture of shock, despair and loss. Who would have expected the lineupprising of the most powerful guild leaders of the kingdom, to be beaten so thoroughly and by only two opponents?
They had lost, defeated and crushed utterly by the overwhelming powers of the two maids who were coldly looking down at them from the skies.
One was covered entirely in Adamantium while the other was a spiritual body. They slowlynded on the ground and approached the guild leaders who did not have the slightest strength to even move their bodies.
"Gugh.. bwargh¡ We give up¡ please at least spare our guilds"
Brutus who could still somewhat talk mustered up all of his energy and spoke. He realised that conquering this dungeon was impossible, with these beings guarding it, there was no way it would fall.
Unless it''s partyprised entirely of Rankers, it would be foolish to even think about conquering a dungeon like this. On that note, they could be considered fools for thinking exactly that.
Lying on the floor powerless and defeated, it faintly dawned on them how stupid and ignorant they were. The dungeon cleverly hid its fangs, it never gave them even the slightest inklings of what it was capable of.
It lured its unaware prey closer and bared its fangs the moment it was ready. The true dangers of this dungeon far surpassed even their wildest of dreams and anything they had ever encountered.
It could also be said that they werergely at fault for underestimating the dungeon but who would have ever thought that a low ranking dungeon would be this terrifying? It not only deviated from all pre-established notions, but it broke allmon sense and knowledge the adventurers had of the dungeon.
It wouldn''t be wrong to say that this ce was no dungeon, it was a maw of a fiend. Only death awaited those that entered it.
Escape? That was impossible too. The return scroll did not work, and even if it did there was no way their opponent would just sit still and let them use it. There was no way out of this dungeon. The reality was harsh but it was the truth.
Brutus at least wanted the members of his guild to live. As long as his son was alive, the Savannah Beast Guild had infinite possibilities to get back on his feet again. But his final hope, the only thing preventing him from losing consciousness was brutally smashed apart by the words that came out of the maid next.
Chapter 603 603- Unfamiliar Voice
"There will be no mercy for you people. Every single person who has intruded this dungeon, on orders of our master will die. Nobody will be spared".
There was not even the slightest emotional disturbance in the maid''s voice when talking about killing them all. It was cold and emotionless as if it was not human lives she was talking about, but some insignificant things.
Brutus and a few other guild leaders who were still alive, trembled. They could vaguely hear the sounds of scream and crying from the distance telling them that the killing had already started.
The lifeless eyes of the guild leaders became even dimmer as they silentlyy on the ground waiting for their inevitable end.
Their death came to them in the form of two beautiful maids who had reverted back to their normal forms.
With Brutus, Dalton, Cassius and everybody being killed one after the other, it was only one person that was still left alive.
"Heok!!¡p-p-please sp-spare me"
Layton Sea begged, all of his limbs were missing, making him look very miserable. He begged the maids to spare him however, how could Ate and Bianca forgive this person?
The reason why they didn''t kill him yet, was because they had something far worse nned for him. The two Valkyries were extremely furious at thement this person made towards them and their master.
Layton Sea had questioned the very faith of Ate and Bianca by asking them to desert to their side and betray their master. For them, Simon wasn''t only their master, but their creator. Questioning their loyalty to him was like the greatest humiliation they could ever suffer.
Not only that, but by doing so Layton Sea had also slighted their master, an offence that was unforgivable. Getting all of his limbs chopped was just the start of his suffering, his fate was bound to be so miserable that the death of the other guild leaders would look like salvationpared to his.
No matter how much he would beg for death, it would be the only thing that wouldn''t be granted to him. Tormented and excruciating every day, his future was full of suffering.
----
Finished with their task, the two Valkyries joined up with Alice and headed towards the centre of the floor where powerful fluctuations of energy was still wreaking havoc.
On their way, they noticed almost all of the other subordinates of their master, have also finished their battle. The expedition force was on the verge of suffering a full wipe out, it was an overwhelming victory on their side.
The Diluvian High Orcs led by Berigard, the former three overlords of the north and the Ogoraths havepletely wiped the floor with their enemy. Although they did suffer some loss on their side, it was negligible if you look at what they managed to achieve and earn in return.
Now the only element remaining in this dungeon defence was the battle going on at the centre of the floor between the master of this dungeon and the leader of the expedition force.
After checking on the subordinates and the overall situation across the floor, the Valkyries hurried towards their master. Powerful shockwaves besieged them the more closer they got, evidence of the fierce battle that was going on.
Although they had full faith in Simon, they nevertheless were a little worried. After all, their master was facing the strongest adventurer among the intruders. He was fighting someone that was hundreds of levels above him.
Centre of the floor, inside an enormous crater, two figures could be seen tightly locked in a fight. One of the figures had a peculiar appearance, more appropriately no appearance and a greyish body, while the other was a human.
The two figures were none other than the finger of Ozymandias and Davis. Their battle was very intense, every move and attack from them was powerful enough to even fracture space itself.
Davis used his mastery over the Holy magic, his numerous skills and his years of battle experience to fight the finger of Ozymandias. And although the fight looked even from the third perspective, when in fact it was not.
Davis was a mage, his ss [Arcane BattlePriest] did allow him to fight on the frontlines; however, in the end he wasn''t a pure warrior. In a direct confrontation against the finger of Ozymandias, he was severely suppressed.
The being he was facing, did not show any life, nor did it take any damage from his Holy attribute. Just like a lifeless puppet, it was immune to most attacks.
Davis could have still managed the situation if it was just this; however, there was more to the puppets than what meets the eye. It was capable of using some kind of peculiar energy that eroded his own every time their attacks collided.
As time went on, it burdened his mana reserves and weakened him slowly. The more he fought with the greyish puppet, the more he realised how dreadful that energy it was using was.
That purple-ck miasma was now being released by his body, eating and spreading inside him like an infection. He tried to stop its spread but that further increased his mana consumption. And after several failed attempts, he finally realised that he cannot suppress the energy on his own, he had been exposed to that energy far too much.
Davis needed the help of another ranker to suppress this energy but on the orders of the demon, the popped was relentless. It attacked him again and again without giving him any time to evenpose his breath.
Slowly, he was pushed into a backfoot and suffered numerous injuries. His clothes were torn, his body covered in blood and purple-ck miasma continuously corroded him from the inside.
His current appearance no longer had its previous haughtiness and nobility that he used to carry himself with. It was instead masked with a look of uncertainty and loss.
No matter how much Davis wanted to deny this possibility, his instincts were telling him that he would lose. He, an officer of the Adventurer''s Association and a powerful Ranker from the Maind was going to lose?
"Don''t fuck with me... [Astral Prison]"
Davis gave a loud shout, conjured a powerful magic and trapped the finger of Ozymandias inside. After that, he stormed towards the demon who had been controlling that puppet.
Since he couldn''t defeat the puppet, it was an understandable choice of option that he would target its caster, the demon. Unlike the puppet, the demon himself wasn''t very strong. As long as he took him out, the finger should stop naturally.
Thinking so, Davis sped towards the demon, he was current in thinking that. However, he had underestimated the power of the finger of Ozymandias and overestimated his power.
Using his increased understanding of the curse energy and the [Dominator''s control] technique, Simon shapeshifted one of its arms into a huge hammer and mmed it onto the barrier.
CRACK... the barrier easily fell apart from a few swings of the hammer and the finger of Ozymandias regained its freedom once again.
Even the powerful barrier that was cast around Y''s tomb on the fourth trial was unable to stop the finger much less a barrier that was cast by Davis in his weakened state.
The moment the [Astral Prison] copsed, Simon recalled the finger back towards him and made it stand in front of him lie a shield.
"Dammit..." seeing the puppet break out of barrier and block his path, Davis couldn''t help but curse in frustration. He then looked at the demon and bellowed loudly "Stop hiding behind that thing and face me demon".
A desperate attempt to rile his enemy into making a mistake. It was obvious to Simon that Davis was unable to defeat his finger of Ozymandias and hence was trying to irk him intoing out because that was the only way he could win.
Knowing that, why would he even give his enemy the chance to turn the table? He was just about tomand the finger to press forward when he saw a couple of familiar figures approach him from the distance.
They stopped beside him and bowed their heads in respect.
"Master" the figures were none other the Valkyrie sisters.
Simon nodded his head in acknowledgement towards them before asking "Are you guys done with your tasks?"
Alice was the first one to respond, she shed a wide smile and showed a V sign of victory.
"Hehe, master... I have already taken care of the intruders. The adventurers calling themselves guild leaders of what not guild. They weren''t much. You see.. you see.. I used the bow that master gave me and bang I shot them like that. after that they ran and I chased before they all... ouch"
"Enough, you are not making any sense. Master does not need to worry, the intruders on this floor are almost but wiped out" Ate gave a chop on the head of her little sister who to side tracked before exining things calmly to Simon.
"Un, good job you all. I also received a transmission from Bea a few moments ago saying that they are also done over there. Which leaves only this guy" Simon turned his attention towards davis who had a shocked look on his face.
"Whya are you guys here? Shouldn''t you be fighting..." Davis whined, his sentence stuck got stuck in his throat when he saw it wasn''t only the maids that rushed here, all of the subordinates of the demon also approached this ce one after the other.
This made him realise that the battle on the other fronts are already over, and since its only the subordinates of the demon that showed their faces here, it meant that the expedition force he brought along with him, had already died.
Chapter 604 604- Unfamiliar Voice (2)
"Tch... those useless fools, they can''t even defeat some monsters" Davis cursed incessantly.
His n had been foiled but that was alright, as long as Edar reached the bottom floor and destroyed the dungeon core, it would be his victory.
On that note... "What''s taking him so long? Donlt tell me... he couldn''t have"
Edgar was a Ranker as powerful as him or even more. The puppet of the demon was an anomaly that he didn''t take into ount in his ns; however, there shouldn''t be more than one of them inside this dungeon.
So then why? It was at this moment, he recalled the words the demon said to him before they started fighting.
"It doesn''t matter to me how many people you send below, there is no way they would ever be able to get closer to the dungeon core. You asked me if there was still anything that I can do? The answer is yes, I''m still yet to y my trump card".
What if the trump card the demon mentioned wasn''t the peculiar puppet he was using but something else? Something that was on the bottom floor.
If Edgar was done in by that trump card, it was no wonder that the dungeon was still standing. It was no wonder that the demon was unfazed even when somebody dived down. It turned out that he still left some of his forces on the bottom floors as a precautionary measure.
"T-This can''t be..."
Davis was finally faced with reality, he realised that his ns hadpletely failed. Not only did he not get the thing he came here for, but all his efforts also went into vain. Worse, he even lost a powerful ranker.
The demon was multiple steps ahead of him this whole time, he had beenpletely outwitted.
Even for an organisation like the Adventurer''s Association, a loss of a Ranker was a significant blow. How was he supposed to report this to his higher ups? Forget about suffering severe punishment, he might even lose his position.
And all of this was because of a single low ranking demon. Davis had truly fallen into the pits of despair at this moment.
"Hey human, tell me how does it feel? To have your hopes crushed right in front of you, the things that you have worked for disappear. Are you having regrets? Do you feel despair?" Simon revealed a wicked smile disying his sharp fangs.
These were the same words Davis used to look down on him. Not that their roles have reversed, it was Simon''s turn to enjoy the show.
This feeling of achievement and ecstasy of cornering your prey and looking down at them at the end, was the very best. No wonder the demons were so true to their desires, this feeling gave him a weird sense of fulfilment and strength.
It was as if he was getting empowered by those negative feelings released by his opponents every second. To think he was inhibiting such feelings by suppressing his demonic side, it was quite foolish of him.
This intoxicating feeling... MORE, he wanted to bask in that feeling more. He wanted to step on his enemy some more and break thempletely. Feed on their despair and pain.
[[??"¡ê??"¡À??"a??"?''??"? ??"???"2??"¡ã??"¡À??"?, ??"???"???"???"???"a??"???"? ??"???"?. ??"¡ê??"¡À??"2??"? ??"2??"? ??"€??"¡À??"? ??"???"???"? ??"a??"???"?, ??"???"¡À??"? ??"???"???"???"? ??"???"???"?]].
At that moment he felt like a voice whisper to him and the time around hime to a crawl. He could see everything move at a very slow pace.
While this mysterious change was urring to Simon, Davis on the other hand was going through a crisis. The words that the demon said to him were the very same he used to condemn the demon. Every word, every line felt like a tight p on his face.
"Dammit... Dammit... it''s all your fault demon. It''s all because of you... I''ll kill you, I''ll make sure that your dungeon is destroyed"
Davis suddenly howled like a wounded beast and took out something from his space ring. It was a round amethyst disk with many runes inscribed around its edges.
Davis grabbed the disk and poured all of his mana into it. Immediately, the disk floated up and started rotating. The space around the disk violently fluctuated before a small whirlpool formed in the air.
That Whirlpool violently sucked and pulled Davis towards it.
"What?! The floors were tampered to disrupt spatialws using space magic. It should be impossible for teleportation and other gate magic to appear here" Alice muttered in shock.
"The floors were redesigned to only stop low tier space magic and artefacts. That item he used definitely had some intermediate or advanced magic cast on it. Quickly stop him before he gets away" Ate ordered.
The Valkyries and the other subordinates quickly sprang into action but none of them could approach closer because of the violent spatial storm released by the whirlpool.
"Don''t think that you have won demon!! I''ll make sure to repay today''s debt in the future. Enjoy your short victory while you can, because there will be no more for you in the future. Now that you have made enemies with the entire Adventurer''s Association, you will regret this".
"Mark my words, I''ll destroy your dungeon. I''ll expose those forest spring spirits you are hiding to everyone in this world".
Davis left those ominous and hate filled words while getting sucked into the whirlpool.
"Bastard" the Valkyries cursed, they wanted to capture the person; however, the spatial storm was too much.
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"Shut Up!!!"
Simon didn''t let the voice within him say any further. He suddenly rushed towards the whirlpool while using the finger of Ozymandias as a shield.
For the first time since that Historia, he saw the finger taking damage. The violent spatial storm was powerful enough to even damage the extremely sturdy skin of the finger and dissipate the curse energy around it.
The more closer to the whirlpool he got, the more violent the spatial storm became. Until it reached a point where even the [Dominator''s Control] technique couldn''t keep up. The finger of Ozymandias was blown away by the spatial storm.
With his shield gone, it was only normal for Simon to also retreat yet instead of backing away, he stormed on and continued forward.
The spatial storm powerful enough to even keep the Valkyries away and damage the finger of Ozymandias was endured through by Simon. His body bled, his skin and muscles were torn, bones crushed but like a madman, Simon continued towards Davis without caring about his body or what happened to him.
"You fool are you that tired of living?"
Davis screamed in panic, his face pale white. Now that he had used all of his mana into that disk, he was extremely vulnerable. Not to mention the miasma that entered his body was continuously eroding him from within.
Even Valdris had problems neutralising the curse energy much less Davis who was all but spent. At such a time when his defences were at its lowest, an attack from the demon would be life threatening.
But he wasn''t the only one who was in a panic, the Valkyries who saw their master rush headfirst towards the whirlpool were also shaken to the point where all blood drained from their pretty face.
They hurriedly call out to him but Simon did not stop, it was as if he was under some kind of spell, he could only see his goal in front of him. Even the extreme damage his body suffered, did not register to him.
Simon tightly clenched his [A] tier sword which was refined to its max refinement and plunged it towards the chest of his horrified opponent. That was not all, he even emptied his mana pool into his sword and brought out its true might.
BUZZZ... the de of the sword glowed with the intensity of the sun, scorching and melting the insides of his opponent.
"AAARRRGGHH!!!" Davis screamed miserably, his face terror-stricken. His body swelled with the heat and burst apart at the end with his remains getting swallowed by the whirlpool.
Even until the end, Davis wore a face that was unresigned to his fate. Perhaps he would have escaped with his life had he kept his mouth shut. However, he had to incite Simon and that was his downfall.
After hearing that death threat, Simon would be an idiot to let him live.
"There is no way, I''m going to stand by the side and watch this time..." Simon muttered under his breath before losing consciousness.
BANG... the spatial storm destroyed his body and slowly sucked him towards the whirlpool.
"Master!!" the Valkyries screamed jumping towards the whirlpool without caring about their lives.
Just when it seemed like Simon would be swallowed inside that whirlpool, a resounding clear cry of the phoenix echoed across the floors and an enormous azure shadow tore through the floors and appeared in front of the whirlpool.
The illusory azure figure then spread its magnificent divine wings covering the entire floor and freezing everything except the living that was on their side. It brought a violent snowstorm and even the spatialws itself showed signs of freezing, covering the whirlpool in ayer of frost.
CRACK... a crisp noise sounded out and the whirlpool shattered like a ss. Simon who was about to be swallowed by it, was also caught by that figure dressed in azure blue clothes.
"Seriously, you never change. How can you be so reckless?" that figure spoke in a soft voice that carriedplex emotions and mncholy.
The figure was none other than Irene who was currently tightly hugging the blood covered and unconscious body of Simon as she slowly descended down.
Chapter 605 605- The Beginning Of A New Storm
"Master" the Valkyries and the other subordinates ran towards Simon but were shocked the next second after seeing how bad his condition was.
Tears welled up in the eyes of the Valkyries as they hurriedly carried his body and teleported to the main floor.
The battle had ended, and the dungeon defence was sessful. It was an overwhelming victory on the side of the dungeon Lace and so all the hidden conditions were fulfilled. Every inhabitant of the dungeon Lace heard a voice inside their heads at this moment.
[All conditions achieved¡ the dungeon will now undergo rank increase. All [Roles] will be bestowed a gift. Time until transformation finishes:- three days].
All the monsters and inhabitants of the dungeon raised their heads towards the ceiling, many of them started glowing and undergoing evolution.
It was not only the people inside the dungeon that felt the change, those above ground, namely the people of the tower town also felt the change. The buildings started shaking and the ground beneath them trembled.
Those that were outside, witnessed a massive amount of mana rush out from the dungeon and shoot towards the sky painting it with beautiful pr lights.
These Auroras could be seen from far and wide, the city of Mountmend, the Great Sphinx Desert, the Tall Alps of the Snow Valley and even the depths of the western region of the Ghastly winding forest bore witness to this phenomenon.
To those knowledgeable ones, this was not a sight that they were unaware of. In fact, this was a unique phenomenon that only urred during certain times and those times were when a dungeon underwent a rank up.
The Auroras are the natural phenomenon that appears in the sky when a vast amount of mana is released out of the dungeon during the transformation. That was not all, even the tower of the dungeon Lace was covered in that light as it slowly grew taller and bigger.
The phenomenon disappeared after a day but themotions it caused around the surroundingndssted for a while.
Days passed by, and soon a month ended and another came by yet before the firstmotions could die down, another big piece of news that shook the people of the kingdom of Ellesmere to its very core, came from the tower town.
The expedition force which was made of the twenty best guilds of the kingdom and led by the guild leaders themselves, was wiped out inside the dungeon. There was not even a single survivor to tell the tale.
The kind of storm this news generated, could be imagined. Many influential factions and families had their eyes on the expedition force and the dungeon that appeared in the ghastly winding forest.
Yet even after more than a month, there was no movement. Forget about any activities, there were not even any signs of anyone from the twenty guildsing out. The reports that their spy gathered from the headquarters of these guilds that strangely closed their borders further strengthened these suspicions of theirs.
Many adventurers of the tower town dived inside the dungeon to look for the expedition force yet each and every one of them came out empty-handed.
Finally, after having no choice and under the instigation of many forces, the Adventure''s Association branch of the Tower Town released two pieces of news.
The first was the revtion of the defeat of the expedition force and the second was the emergence of an intermediate tier dungeon.
The news swept the kingdom and the surrounding countries like a storm, bringing about a new and unforeseen change. Many factions, guilds and countries became aware of the dungeon that appeared out of nowhere and rose like a phoenix.
The dungeon Lace which was only known around the kingdom was now infamous among many countries of the north-western region. The tower town in particr, soon boomed with many people from different walks of life and country, arriving.
Adventurers, guilds, merchants and such who want to try their strength on the dungeon and make it rich, started setting up their base here.
The fact that twenty guilds from the kingdom were wiped out did not daunt them, instead, it made them even bolder. With the arrival of more adventurers, the influx of human traffic inside the dungeon increased even further.
Further north of the Ghastly winding forest, located in the demon continent was the Great Sphinx Desert. A vast barrenndscape that spanned for as far as the eyes can see. The ce was hostile to any life form and was perpetually assaulted by sandstorms and violent gales.
In terms ofndmass, the Great Sphinx Desert was ten times bigger than the Ghastly Winding Forest. As it was located in the demon continent, it was home to many dungeons and demon nobles.
Near the southern region of the Great Sphinx Desert bordering the Ghastly winding forest, was a ruin of a pyramid half of which was buried underneath the sand.
In its heyday, the ce would have been andmark around this parts; however, now it wasid to waste by sandstorms and was home to many wild monsters.
BOOM¡
Thend around the pyramid suddenly trembled and a huge sandworm with a spiky exterior and menacing appearance, showed its face.
Desert Dune, amon monster around this part of the desert and a great source of trouble. Due to them preying on both animate and inanimate things, they are also called as dungeon eaters around these parts.
It is said that a Desert Dune besrger as it evolves reaching up to a size of thirty meters. And looking at the size of this Desert Dune, it could easily be inferred that it has gone through multiple evolutions to be more than 24 meters.
Its level was around level 400 and even when ced inside the ghastly winding forest, it would be quite high up in the food chain. However, at this moment the body of the desert dune made some peculiar movements before bursting apart like an inted balloon.
"Seriously, these things are so annoying"
A couple of figures came out of its body covered in fluids. The woman leading them,mented in frustration as she cleaned herself with tempest magic. She was donned in a revealing red dress that emphasized her fiery curves as well as her slender waist.
Her eyes that were of unusual peach colour and her fine ck hair which was casually bounded by a hairpin, gave her a demonic charm.
A pair of bat like wings protruding from her back was holding her airborne. Two horns decorated her head, her cherry red lips hid sharp fangs that asionally peeked out whenever she spoke.
"Miss Delphyne, we found the core but It looks like the dungeon was really destroyed" a being that looked like an ogre, reported.
"Hnn~ it doesn''t look like the dungeon was captured as there are no traces of battle. The core was in its ce and wasn''t taken away which meant that it wasn''t the doing of adventurers. So the only likely possibility was that the dungeon master was killed".
"Sigh~ my dear brother after not seeing you for a couple of years, I find your dungeon in ruins. What sort of trouble did you get into that got you killed?" the woman named Delphyne muttered to herself as she looked at the ruins below her.
"What should we do Miss Delphyne?" the figures around her asked, they were all sentient humanoid monsters.
"What else can we do? I need to report this to father, so investigate this ce thoroughly. There has to be some clues that would lead us to his actions before he got killed" Delphyne replied in a sour mood.
The whip on her hand made a crisp noise and immediately the monsters around her got to work. They dived inside the pyramid looking for any clues or signs.
''Even if he was an outcast, he was still a part of the family. Father wouldn''t be too happy with this. Dammit¡ it had to happen just when that auction is about to open'' Delphyne mused internally.
It might be obvious looking at her appearance but she was a Demon Noble. Rank wise, she was a Demon Earl and she was also the elder sister of Gelgar the Demon Viscount that Simon had killed when the former dered a dungeon war on him.
Currently, Delphyne was investigating the ruins of Gelgar''s dungeon. She hade here on orders from her father to bring the outcast back because their father had some use for him.
However, when she came here all she found here was a ruin of a dungeon, a shattered dungeon core and a couple of Desert Dunes eating the ruins.
The brother she was supposed to bring back with her had gone ahead and died. Knowing the temperament of their father, Delphyne knew that she couldn''t go back without thoroughly investigating this matter.
Thankfully, it didn''t look like it was too long ago that her brother had died. Finding clues to his demise shouldn''t pose too much of a problem.
''I wonder what kind of being you are to haveid your hands on a Demon Duke''s family'' Delphyne narrowed her peach coloured eyes.
-----
At the same time, deep inside the western region of the Ghastly winding forest, inside the territory of the ck Ogres that was hidden by a denseyer of mystical mist, a dreadful scene was currently ying out.
Hundreds of Diluvian High Orcs were captured and made to kneel on the ground. At the forefront of this group were two orcs with distinctive features.
They were none other than Belrock and Belmond, the two orc generals who refused to bow under Simon''s rule.
Chapter 606 606- The Beginning Of A New Storm (2)
"So you guys are saying that the only reason the Diluvian tribe was able to win the war was because of Berigard who had formed a contract with a Demon Noble"
A mighty and pressuring voice sounded out. An ogre with a single purple horn protruding from their forehead was sitting on a throne overlooking the orcs.
He had a leaner build than most of the ogres around him and had a bright crimson hair that looked like it was on fire. He was donned in a sturdy looking armour and carried a big bastard sword around.
If not for the horn, he didn''t look much different from a human. The fact that he was sitting on a throne, established his identity.
There was only a single ogre in the tribe of ck ogres that could sit on that throne and that was none other than the king of ck ogres, one of the seven kings of the western region of the forest, Gil-Garna.
"Your lordship, we are not lying, it was the appearance of the demon that changed the course of the war. He was the one that killed Giz-Bozo and Giz-Mogo" under the pressure of that gaze, the orc general unhesitantly confessed.
"Are they speaking the truth Gish-Bagh?" the king of the ck ogres turned his eyes towards his second inmand.
An ogre with an indigo horn stood below the throne, nodded his head.
"My lord they are speaking the truth, I have investigated these orcs individually and all of them have given me the same answer. As such it cannot be false".
"I see" Gil-Garna nodded his head then pointed at a scrap of metal that was also found in the territory of the orcs.
"What is that thing?".
"Although it looks peculiar, I believe that is a golem. I found them mining near the territory of the orcs. When I asked the orcs about it, they told me that it was part of the agreement with the demon for saving them" Gish-Bagh reported.
"Is that so¡ What about the Ancient Inheritance? Were you able to find some leads as to who might have taken it?" As much as he tried to keep his aura in control, a faint trace still leaked out of the ogre king''s body intimidating all life forms in this area.
Gish-Bagh was shaken too; however, he was quick to regain hisposure as he replied by shaking his head.
"I am not sure as to who took the ancient inheritance, since we do not know who killed the orc king Belgarious. But I did find some leads. ording to what these orcs told me, the demon had emptied all of their treasury as payment for saving them. I believe the thing my lord is looking for, might be with that demon".
Hearing that, Gil-Garna''s eyes involuntarily turned towards the eastern direction of the forest. "The demon huh" he slowly muttered as he closed his eyes.
"My lord if it''s yourmand, I shall immediately attack that demon" Gish-Bagh stated, his indigo horn glowing for a moment.
"The phenomenon that appeared in the eastern skies a month ago, was from that demon''s dungeon. Although I don''t know much about dungeons, that convergence of mana was definitely not ordinary".
"If we want to siege that dungeon it would take some nning. Besides the other seven kings and that Gufardus is also very suspicious. Wait till Ipletely assimte with the Six Nether Flower, we can advance our n after that."
Gil-Garna was more practical about it. He got up from his throne and was just about to enter the enormous temple behind him when Gish-Bagh stopped him.
"In that case my lord, what should we do with these orcs," thetter asked.
Gil-Garna didn''t turn his head and simply left behind a few cold words "kill them".
A scene of carnage ensued next. The ogres did not have any idea that the Andromeda that they had captured, was still working and sending all the information back.
------
Meanwhile, inside some cave in the tall alps of the snow valley, a figure quietly sat on top of an enormous carcass of the ancient beast that had died a long time ago.
Even though that was the case, the aura released by the carcass was still extremely powerful, speaking volumes of the power the beast had when alive.
"So they arrived"
The figure who sat quietly until now muttered. He had a head of a lion, the lower body of a minotaurus, tail of a serpent and the wings of a demon.
The hulking figure who looked like some chimaera, was none other than Gufardus, one of the seven kings of the forest.
"Oh?! Number 001 you are already here. It looks like you brought the thing we asked for?" a new presence that walked in from the entrance of the cave, spoke.
Unlike Gufardus, the new entrant waspletely covered in bandages and looked just like a mummy. They wore a ck gold coloured pharaoh''s headdress, a pair of bracers and greaves.
They were tall, taller than even Gufardus and their eyes along with the gaps in their bandages, glowed purple indicating that they were not human.
"To think that one of the Named ones would personally show their face here. Did the Creator send you here? Do they still not trust me enough?" Gufardusmented in a not so friendly manner.
"Haha, what are you saying¡ of course we trust you. It''s just that in the off case you do betray us, none of the Numbers would be able to handle you. It was either 000 or the Named ones like me, one or the other was bound toe to retrieve the item. Though I don''t think you will ever betray us because we have her¡ isn''t that right?"
The bandages around the face of the person wrapped, forming a hollow smile.
"YOU!!!... huff¡ huff¡ don''t forget our agreement. You cannot harm her or else..." His mane zing with fire, Gufardus roared in anger.
"Hehe, the name is Khep Tutan. It would do you good if you remember it the next time" the mummy introducing himself as Khep Tutan, simplyughed off at Gufardus'' warnings.
"So that is the thing Creator wants huh? Hmm, I can feel an enormous power emanate from it. Perhaps, it might even be possible to create another Named one with it. You did well bringing it to us. However, why did you choose the snow valley as the location instead of your territory the Ghastly Winding Forest?" Khep Tutan asked.
"Did you think that it was easy getting the item from that orc under the eyes of those beings? Hmph, even if I elude them somehow, the Ancient Titan Treant would still be alerted from your presence" Gufardus exined begrudgingly.
"Hoh" the purple glow in the eyes of Khep Tutan glowed brighter when he heard the other party mention the Ancient Titan Treant.
"That old remnant of the ancient times huh? I don''t know why the Creator is so wary of him but I don''t believe he is such a big deal. Right Gufardus, who do you think will win if that old remnant and I fought?".
He suddenly posed a question.
"Don''t kid yourself" Gufardus scoffed.
"Hehh¡ I thought so, well it would be fun to fight that guy some day" Kehp Tutan smiled merrily not taking any offence.
"Anyways, can you get down, I have to store that thing" the bandages around him came loose and a suction force immediately pulled the enormous carcass of the ancient beast towards him.
To be able to store such an enormous thing inside him, one had to wonder what was hidden inside those bandages.
Khep Tutan after storing the item, turned around to leave when Gufardus suddenly spoke.
"Bring a message from me to the creator. You better keep her safe or else he can forget about the thing he wants".
"Haha¡"¡
Soon after both the parties left the cave became empty once again.
-----
Central continent¡ªSomewhere in the Maind, a tall tower pierced the very dome of the sky. It was so huge that, its top couldn''t be seen with human eyes.
The striking appearance of the tower evoked awe and respect from the people around it and also gave it its name, the Tower of Babel.
Inside one of the many rooms of the tower, a girl with long ck hair could be seen reading a book. She was wearing a loose white shirt with puffy sleeves, a long ck skirt, ck stockings, high heels and some kind of a ne on her neck.
A ck hat rested on her desk, and aligned next to it was a beautiful staff iid with seven sparkling stones of varying colours in the pattern of a star.
Numerous books, and ckboards recordingplex forms could be seen all around the room. The ce was a study; however, it was so messy that there was no room to even walk.
FLIP¡ FLIP¡ the turning pages of the book sounded in intervals bringing some noise into an otherwise silent room. Just when it seemed like it would continue, the door to the room was knocked.
"Come in"
The girl replied keeping down her book.
"HAAA¡ seriously, what is this ce, a stable? How can one even live here? you have numerous bookshelves why don''t you use them" A tall boy entered the room while scratching his hair.
He was simrly dressed in a simple white shirt and ck pants. He was not overly handsome but he was nevertheless good-looking. If there was something that gave others asting impression, that would be the numerousplex markings covering his body that not even his shirt could cover.
Chapter 607 607- Reality Or Dream?!
The markings started from the orb embedded in the boy''s chest and spread all around his arms and up to his neck.
"Glenn you are not here to chew me off are you?".
The boy who was referred to as Glenn, gave a hollowugh before his face became all serious.
"I came to tell you that we have found some leads that could be the tails of the organisation we are looking for, Chloe".
"Cerberus?!" Her expression changing immediately, the girl called Chloe hurriedly got up from her seat. She picked up her hat and staff and walked over from her desk.
"That''s good, my research was starting to reach a dead end too. I just need a little more information and then I can undo the curse on you and Bell. Then we can find that person and take revenge. I will make sure that he regrets what he did to all of our friends".
Chloe spoke, her eyes burning with anger but when she nced at Glenn, it turned into a rareforting smile.
"Un" Glenn''s eyes fluctuated with many emotions as he was reminded of the past. He nodded his head and added, "Bell is yet to arrive from that Great Dungeon and master is away. For the moment, we cannot leave the headquarter of the Adventurer''s Association alone".
The Tower of Babel located in the middle of the central continent was also known by another name, the Headquarters of the Adventurer''s Association.
"Ah, this reminds me, the other day, I got a weird feedback from one of my artifacts" Chloe suddenly recalled something.
"Oh?! Did one of your inventions blow up again?" Glenn teased.
"That artefact was aplete product and my inventions don''t blow up. Sure they cause explosions but I wouldn''t put it as blowing up. Anyways, the [S] tier artefact that I created, ended up being stopped and destroyed mid activation by someone"¡
"Someone managed to destroy one of your [S] tier items?" shock was apparent on Glenn''s face. Although he always made fun of Chloe''s invention, she was nevertheless one of the top Divine Craftsman the world has ever seen.
Even if it''s just a prototype she made, they were always extremely sturdy and powerful. Forget destroying them even putting a scratch on them was extremely hard. But as per her words, the artefact wasn''t just damaged but destroyed and it was an [S] tier one at that too.
It must be mentioned for an artefact to qualify to be an [S] tier, it must be made of some material that is not only insanely sturdy, but is also an excellent conductor of mana.
"Who did you give that item to?" Glenn asked.
"Hmm¡ I''m not entirely sure. As you know, the association has full jurisdiction over all the artefacts that I invent. So I do not know who has what items. What I do know is that the feedback came from near the borders of the Demon Continent, from the distant north-western direction".
*******
In a dark space that spanned infinitely, a man slowly drifted around. There was no light here, nor was there any end. It was hard to make out where the ce was or if it even existed. In such a space all one can do is simply float around.
How long had it been since he was in this condition? Simon who was drifting around in this endless darkness suddenly saw a ray of light in the distance.
Involuntarily, he started drifting towards it and before he knew everything around him turned white. Simon blinked his eyes, it took some time for his eyes to adjust but he was finally able to make out where he was.
He was inside a room, on top of a bed. There was a window next to him with an open sill and curtain waving with the wind.
"Where am I?" he asked himself.
"Oh? So you finally woke up huh".
That was when he finally heard a voiceing from beside his bed. Sitting on a chair next to him, was a woman quietly peeling an apple with a smile.
The moment Simon saw her, his entire body suddenly jolted and his eyes widened to their limits. He looked like a guy who had just seen a ghost.
"You¡!?!!"¡
"What is it? Why are you staring at me like that?" the woman locked her brows and looked at him in concern.
She had a pair of dark brown eyes and a beautiful face. Her long silky ck hair was neatly tied behind her with a clip, her smoothly arching eyshes appeared serene. Her smile just like her aura, had a calming presence about it. Just like the warm rays of spring that made one justze around carefree and savour the moment.
At a nce, she appeared to be in herte twenties. The woman was no doubt very beautiful; however, the reason why Simon was so shocked, wasn''t because of her beauty but because he knew her.
Why would she appear now of all times? He was sure that he had moved past her, he should have forgotten all about her so why again?
"Your face looks pale are you alright? You suddenly passed out in the office. Really how many times have I told you to take care of your health? Why do you never listen?"
What''s more, she started saying the same lines from his memory. The woman got up from her seat, extended her hand and touched his forehead to check on his temperature.
"Hmm... you still have a fever, it''s best that you take a few days off from office"
Office? What was she talking about? She shouldn''t even be here¡
At this moment, Simon''s eyes went towards her clothes. White blouse, ck zer and a grey H-line skirt, she was wearing her usual office dress just like how it was in his memories.
Wait¡ wait a minute? What was going on? Now that Simon thought about it, even the room and the outside scenery looked familiar. It turns out that the ce he was in was one of the rooms of a hospital that was closest to theirpany.
During hister years working for thepany, he was admitted here many times after losing consciousness so of course, he was very familiar with the scenery here.
It can''t be? Did he return back to his former life?
What happened to his dungeon? His subordinates? He remembered that he was defending his dungeon from the expedition army and was locked in a fierce fight with Davis, an officer from the Adventurer''s Association.
After that, he suddenly woke up here¡
Was everything that he experienced in that word a dream? No that can''t be¡ he must be dreaming. This must be a dream or else why would she be here?
''Right, I just need to wake up''.
Thinking so, Simon gave himself a tight p only to get baffled the next second. This pain, it was very real, his cheeks were red and a stinging sensation assaulted him.
What was going on, was it not a dream then?
"Hey, why did you suddenly p yourself? Are you really alright? I''ll call a doctor right away". Perhaps his actions were too startling for the woman, she caressed his cheek before getting up to call a doctor.
"Wait¡ Don''t, I''m alright" Simon spoke stopping the woman from calling a doctor.
"Really? You don''t look so well? Perhaps something happened in the office? Is it those guys again?"¡
Simon''s eyes suddenly erged, a pain assaulted his heart and his breathing became distorted.
"You aren''t acting fine, I should really go and call a doctor" the woman repeated.
"I said I am fine!!"
What was he mad at? Simon himself did not know but his voice came out angry.
"Alright"
The woman did not know what else to say, she suddenly became silent. Her eyes shed with concern everytime she looked at him. This silence persisted for a while before she broke it.
"Ah! Look at the time, I must get going now. You should take a rest today, I''ll visit you after work. Don''t forget to eat the apples I peeled for you" She tried to lighten the mood with those words before getting up to leave.
Simon saw her off with his eyes before falling into a daze once again. Strangely, something about this urrence was giving him a sense of familiarity. As if he had already experienced it before¡ yes, like a D¨¦j¨¤ vu.
No, he shouldn''t waste his time thinking over something that should be a dream. This wasn''t his reality, he needed to focus on how to get back.
The world of Althaea was where he belonged, his first priority should be his dungeon and its inhabitants. At such a dangerous time, he couldn''t leave them alone, he needed to get back as soon as possible.
But how should he do that? Simon who fell into contemtion once again, saw the te of apples beside his bed. The slices were finely cut and peeled showing care and warmth for the person they were meant for.
"Dammit, no matter how harder I try to not think about her, she keeps on appearing in my mind". Simon scratched his hair in frustration.
His arms and body returned back to the way they were, thin and without many muscles. He didn''t know what to think of any more, everything seemed so real.
The breezeing from the window, the sensation of his body, this room, his life they were all so real. Simon flumped into his bed, and the adventures he had on Althea shed past his mind like an episode.
Chapter 608 608- Reality Or Dream?! (2)
If that was reality then what about now? He closed his eyes and opened them back, the same familiar ceiling greeted him.
While he was in a state of dishevel, the door to the room was pushed open again and a man entered.
"Huh? You are awake huh. I heard you copsed again. Seriously man how many times does that make it? Stop worrying me so much"
The person with an overly familiar manner of speaking was none other than his friend who stuck along with him even during harsh times. Until Simon even pushed him away.
"Alex?!" he muttered in surprise.
"That''s right. What? Don''t tell me you have even forgotten the name of your friend".
There was no mistaking it, this guy was his friend.
Alex came to a stop near his bed and looked at him carefully, before showing him a bag.
"Here"...
"What''s this?" Simon looked at the bag and asked.
"Don''t tell me you forgot? Today is the day the game [Rise of the Demolishers] thepany you work for goes for sale. You told me to show some support by buying one" Alex exined.
That''s right, he did tell him that. He was so excited from seeing his friend after such a long time that he hadpletely forgotten about it.
"Haha, it slipped my mind" Simonughed. Looking at the game drive that was inside the bag many memories flooded his mind.
"You know I had to wait in a long line to buy this game. Seriously is it that good? Its genre is also different than the games we normally y. Did you perhaps work on it?".
The [Rise of the Demolishers] was a military science fiction game far different from the DMMORPG games they used to y. It wasn''t surprising that Alex would ask him that question.
"Ahaha, yeah I did. But my contribution wasn''t much, I just helped out here and there. The project was mainly developed by her..."
Simon suddenly stopped mid sentence while exining.
Come to think of it, this game was the third biggest project led by her. He helped out in this game because he wanted the project she worked on to be a sess. But fate had something else nned entirely.
The game contrary to their expectations would cause a huge incident and the project would be shut down by the board of directors. The one who will be held liable and bear the whole me for all of it would be...
The weird feeling that was weighing down on him, suddenly became more clear at this moment.
If the [Rise of the Demolishers] go for sale today, then didn''t it mean that incident was going to ur? Simon hurriedly turned towards Alex and asked--
"Hey, what''s the date and year today?".
"Huh? Oi Oi... is your head seriously alright? If the work environment there doesn''t suit you, you can just quit you know?"
His friend gave him a weird look. Of course, Simon knew that. In fact, that thought had crossed his mind quite a few times. But the only reason he didn''t quit was because of her.
"Just tell me" he asserted.
"Alright.. alright--today is the 15th of March, 2115" Alex answered when suddenly he saw Simon jumping out of his bed and running out of the room.
"Hey, where you going? You are supposed to be on bed rest today"
From behind, he could hear his friend calling out to him. However, he had no mind to pay attention to that right now.
She told him that she would visit him after work but as per his memories she never came. It was only after he saw the news that he realised the incident that shook the world. But by the time he gathered his courage and visited her, it was already toote.
Not wanting the past to repeat once again, Simon ran towards the elevator and in no time he was already out of the 200 storeys building.
All around him were tall skyscrapers that rose not only vertically but also horizontally. Hyperspeed highways running from the sky to the ground. There were numerousyers of ground, artificial sky and so and so forth.
Simon quickly got into one of the hyperloops and drove towards his office, the biggest magnificent building in the city.
Stopping on the secondyer of the ground, Simon relied on his memories and started running towards sector C of the building. Because he remembered that was where theunch event should be taking ce.
At this moment, Simon had forgotten all about his circumstance. There was only one thing on his mind, he needed to stop theunch of this event that the entire world had its eyes on at any cost.
It was something that he had learnedter on in his life in thepany, but it was all a big scheme. The game and the capsules were tampered with before the event by those guys to besmirch someone.
The professional yers selected to officiate and endorse the game, needed to be stopped before they dived inside that game or else it would be a huge incident that would shake the world.
Haa... haa... finally after running for a while, Simon found the hall. He passed through the entrance where a small AI in the shape of a bowling ball, scanned his bio ID before letting him in.
Although he said earlier it was a hall, it was more like a lounge but bigger than even a football stadium. It was a ce filled with architectural grandeur and magnificence, beautiful decorations and technologies.
This was a grand event for one of the biggestpanies in the world, hence many people were invited to it. As such, it was bound to be crowded; however, it didn''t get congested because of the hover tes.
Simon looked around the hall and quickly found the board of directors sitting around a table on one of the biggest hover tes.
He was just about to make his way over there when suddenly the crowd started going wild. Fireworks went off on the main stage as the key figures that the whole world had their eyes on, walked over.
Their holographic avatars walked beside them while letting everybody know who they were. The CEO, the staff who worked on the project, those guys and even she was also there.
The event had already started, he was toote.
Would he have to see the same scene y out once again? Would he end up bing a bystander once again? Would he only be able to watch helplessly as those eyes of hers sought help?
No; there was no way he would allow the past to repeat itself once again.
At that time he was lying in the hospital unaware of the incident that urred at the event until he saw the news. But right now, he was here. He knew everything that was going to happen, he can change the future.
Or so he thought but his naive hopes were crushed in front of his eyes. Simon realised once again how powerless he was then and even now.
Why didn''t he think of it before? He never considered the possibility that one or several of the board of directors were also involved in this.
"Who are you? Do you even know your position?"...
"Who allowed you to get inside in those clothes?"...
"Do you think we will stop the event just because you said so? Throw this man out, the event must go on as nned"...
"Right, this is our only chance to curb the influence of that family, it needs to be done. Although we feel sorry for that girl, she will have to be sacrificed"...
"It''s her own fault for being from that family, if not for them, we would have already monopolised the whole industry"...
What were these people saying? What family? What responsibility? Simon was unable to understand them.
They knew full well what was going to happen if these pros entered those immersion capsules and dived inside the game. Yet they could sit there smiling, enjoying the show while drinking.
This was not a new sight for Simon, he had already experienced and seen the darkness within humans. But even then, how could he sit still and do nothing when the tip of that spear of darkness was pointed towards her?
The woman who took care of him when he newly joined thepany and showed him the ropes, the always optimistic senior of his who barged into his heart. And whose shadow he was unable to forget up until now, Emilia Aurelie.
Unbeknownst to even himself, Simon started sinking deeper and deeper into this reality. He tried everything he could to stop the event; however, he was up against a mammoth of an opponent. He couldn''t even stir the smallest of waves.
What''s more, he was even thrown out and arrested by the cyborg police by them.
Sitting by himself inside his cell, all he could think about was the event day and night. By the time he was released, everything was already over.
The ten professional yers that entered the game, had died inside their Immersion Capsules and the project ended up bing a huge disaster, breaking headlines of every news.
The me, liability, and usation was then dropped onto the shoulders of one woman, the leader of this project, Emilia Aurelie.
She would beid off from her post she worked hard for years to achieve, held guilty for the crimes she didn''tmit and be a sinner in the eyes of the whole world.
Chapter 609 609- Reality Or Dream?! (3)
From then on, it would just be an endless spiral of self-guilt and depression. Her whole would copse in front of her eyes, guilt would pile on pushing her to the brink of edge until she would ultimately¡
Simon felt a pain assault his head, things and scene that he didn''t want to see and things took him a long time to forget, started ying in his vision once again.
"Dammit" subconsciously, his feet lead him towards his office, the ce he was most familiar with.
Even though such a huge incident happened not too long ago, the department he worked under functioned just like usual.
"She is not here..." Of course, she wouldn''t, she had already given her resignation on the very same day the incident urred.
What was he thinking walking over here? Nothing changed from the past, the event urred just as it was supposed to. What good did having the information do him? He was unable to change anything.
"Oh if it isn''t Mister Assistant? I thought you would be taking a leave?"
While Simon was lost in his thoughts, a voice spoke to him. The person who called out to him was one of the seniors of his and also one of the guys that he hated the most.
The reason for that was none other than their behaviour, their malicious conduct and their pedantic and inflexible way of thinking. He had lost count of how many times these people went out of their way to make things difficult for him.
They always tried to keep any newbies in check and steal their achievements. They suppressed those that did not follow their ideologies and pulled them down in whatever way possible.
If it was just that, Simon wouldn''t have been that angry until his blood boiled over. He knew how much she had to suffer because of them that he was unable to tolerate their sight.
These people were the main culprits behind that incident that killed ten professional yers. They were the ones who tempered with the game and made it so that all the me fell on her. They were the ones who reaped the benefit from her disaster.
It was not only that guy, but all of the people here. They all shirked away from their responsibilities and left it all for her to bear.
"It''s good that you are here, I''m reassigning you to a new project. As you can see, I''m the new department head, work hard for me ok, just like the way you did for her"
The man said with a dark smile as he patted his shoulders. If it was the previous Simon, he would have simply nodded his head and buckled under the pressure. However this Simon was different, his mind and heart was baptised by the other world and was much more resilient and tougher than before.
Without thinking of what the consequence would be, Simon clenched his hand and punched that ugly mug hard.
"Bwagh¡" the man made some silly noise and fell on the ground, his face shocked by the event.
"Gugh¡ Bwagh¡ S-Stop!!" the punch was just the beginning, more and more rained down on the man changing his entire facial contour.
"Bastard!!" Simon spat angrily and left the man alone after thetter lost consciousness and stormed out of the office leaving the shocked bystanders behind.
The environment inside thepany had be too stifling for him to breathe, it was a miracle that he was able to work here for six more years.
While feeling frustrated, Simon got inside the hyperloop and headed straight for her house.
In the past, he took a long time to gather his courage and visit her; but by then it was already toote.
"I should be able to make it, I can still change the course of events" even if he couldn''t stop the disaster from urring, he could at least stop her death.
While feeling a sense of urgency, Simon arrived in front of the building that she stayed in. Because of the incident involving ten professional yers'' death, there was arge mob of people in front and police guarding the enclosure.
Simon was somehow able to use the crowd and sneak past the security and enter the building using the code she had once told her.
156th floor, as soon as he arrived on the floor, Simon felt a familiar sense of energy pervading this ce and a feeling of incongruity assaulted him.
Something was different about this floor, Simon couldn''t exactly put his hands on it, but he just knew it. His instincts were telling him to be careful.
Relying on his memories, he made his way to her ce and rang her inte. Nevertheless, even after a while, nobody answered the door. The ce was eerily silent as if nobody lived here.
Feeling a sense of dread, Simon tried to pry open the door only to find that it was not locked. He hurriedly barged in only to find a familiar scene y in front of his eyes.
"This cannot be, I even arrived early".
In front of him, lying on the table with her head down, was the motionless Emilia. The entire room was dark and emitted a gloomy aura just like what it was in his memories.
Simon gulped, the feeling of incongruity suddenly became stronger as he slowly made his way towards her.
"Emilia" he shook her body but there was no response.
BADUMP¡ BADUMP¡ His heart started pounding intensely; he called out to her once again.
"Un¡ S-Simon" Suddenly the woman opened her eyes and looked at him in surprise.
"What are you doing here?" She asked as she rubbed her eyes.
It appeared that she had fallen asleep on her table. A feeling of relief washed over Simon as he released a deep breath of sigh. The ominous feeling eating away at him from within disappeared and he suddenly felt the weight weighing down on his heart, be lighter.
''I made it in time'' Simon rejoiced internally. However, when he looked at the face of the woman in front of him, he couldn''t help but clench his hands.
A pang of guilt assaulted his heart as he saw her condition. There were bags under her eyes telling that she didn''t get even an ounce of sleep in a while, she looked weary and her aura was very feeble.
The beautiful senior of his who always emitted a tranquil aura and whose smile gave him strength, was at this moment looked very haggard and tired. It was obvious that she was tormented by the guilt, me and the responsibility she felt from that incident.
Even though it was not her fault, she was the one suffering the most.
Simon wanted tofort her just like she used tofort him when he suffered a setback in thepany due to those people. He wanted to tell her that it was not her fault, he wanted to reveal the evil scheme of those people, he wanted her to stop ming herself, and he wanted to tell her how he felt.
There were so many things, so many emotions, so many regrets within his heart that were never expressed.
"So you were released out of the hospital, are you alright now?"
Even though she hurting internally and going through such a tough time, she still had the mind to worry about others. Seriously, she didn''t deserve to be punished like that.
If only he had stood up at that time, if only he had approached her sooner after watching the news, if only he had talked to her at that time. Then probably she would still be alive.
BADUMP¡ Simon felt a pain in his heart and the feeling of incongruity deepened.
"Ah, look at me, where are my manners? Even though I have a guest, I did not serve you tea or anything" shing a smile so as to not worry him, she got up to leave when Simon stopped her.
"That''s alright, I am in no mood to have tea," he said prompting her to sit back again.
"Ah then¡ what are you here for? Did you watch¡ the news?" her eyes evaded his, her shoulders trembled and her nails dug onto her palms. It was obvious that she was afraid, afraid that even Simon would me her. She was scared that even he would look at her like the rest of the world.
Observing that side of her, Simon closed his eyes and opened them once again. This time, there was a gleam of resolution in his eyes.
"Yeah, perhaps in some corner of my heart, I did me you. Maybe that is why I took so long to visit you in the past. I regret it still now, if only I had gathered up my courage and visited you sooner then perhaps you would have still been alive".
"Perhaps we could have had a conversation just like now. But by the time I realised everything, it was already toote by then. Haha, seriously how hopeless can I be? Instead of believing the person who has always supported and trusted me, I chose to believe the news. I guess my ending was well deserved, cut off by his friends and families, a lonely ending is what I should get".
Simon kept on speaking, he expressed every sentiment, every feeling, every emotion that he still carried in his heart even until now.
"What are you saying?"
Emilia made an expression that said she didn''t understand what he was saying. But that was alright, Simon continued to speak his heart.
Chapter 610 610- Reality Or Dream?! (4)
"You know life was hard in thepany without you, but I held on and ploughed through. The project that you left unfinished, Ipleted it for you. It was a huge sess, it was your sess".
"Although I still regret not being able to punish the perpetrators, all of them did not have a good ending. Right, do you remember the words you told me when I faced my first failure after joining thepany?"
"You told me to ''Never give up on your dreams, Sometimes in life, we can only triumph after facing adversity, the obstacle we face is only there to teach us a lesson. Some people are able to understand it and simple people copse under, but life is something meant to be experienced".
"So newbie, find a reason to get back up. At that time you looked really cool, so much so that my heart even skipped a beat".
"Ehh?! W-what are you saying"
Emilia had a faint flush over her cheeks, she didn''t know what Simon was saying, but she could feel the multitudes of emotions from his words. He looked so determined that she felt like she didn''t have it in herself to stop him at this moment.
Simon continued to speak to her, it was a one sided conversation with her adding in only a couple of times; nevertheless, it helped to slowly clear the gloomy and deste aura around her and before he knew it she was back to her usual bright self.
"Hey Simon, thanks for cheering me on. I didn''t know my junior was such a reliable and wise man. Ah! The room is so dark let me switch the lights on. Right, I''m going to make tea, have some with me"
She got up from her seat and started busying herself with her task. Simon simply sat there and watched her as if wanting to carve that figure into his memories.
He felt a sense of peace, this was what he wanted, this was what he yearned for. Perhaps it was not a bad idea to just live here?
Yeah, he should just live in this reality.
Just as Simon was about to ept the reality ying out in front of him, the vision of a little girl with emerald hair who made a promise to her big brother came into his mind waking him up.
That little girl was waiting for her big brother toe back.
The vision was like a cold bucket of water, waking his mind and making everything clear to him.
"You like your tea with milk right? Come to think of it, your little sister visited the office the other day while you were admitted to the hospital. I told her that you were away on a business trip because I did not want her to worry. Should I have told her?"
"Hey Simon, are you listening?" her words continuously sounded out from the kitchen adjacent to this room.
"Yeah"
Simon replied, two droplets of tears trickled down his cheeks.
After a while he closed his eyes and spoke¡ª"I know you are there. That''s enough, you can stop it now".
It was unknown who he was speaking to, but at that instant, the reality in front of him as if it was some kind of distant dream got covered up in ayer of haze and drifted off.
What greeted him next was a white space that extended as far as the eyes could see. How many times had he visited this ce? This wasn''t Simon''s first timeing here.
As he observed the ce, he was shocked speechless the next second when he was what was in front of him.
Standing not very far away with his arm crossed and arrogant eyes, was another him. Yes, the two of them basically had the same appearance. But unlike him who currently had the human apperance, the one in front of him was the demon Simon that lived in Althaea.
There was also some other noticeable differences between them like their auras and atmosphere. The demon Simon gave off an overbearing aura, his face was cold as if he hadn''t smiled for hundreds of years.
His slightly raised brows carried inexplicable pride and arrogance. His sharp pupils which seemed like they could pierce one''s soul, sometimes disyed a tinge of sadness and exhaustion. But it was quickly masked with a demon like ferocity and ruthlessness.
Simon did not know why but he felt like those eyes and those slightly arching brows had seen through a lot in their life, there was unique gravity about them. But more importantly, what set the two Simons apart were their auras.
The demon Simon emanated tremendous charisma even while just standing there silently. His presence was so strong that simply by doing nothing, he would ensnare all the attention. More importantly, he had this air about him as if he was a veteran of the battlefield who had gone through tens of thousands of battles in his life,
"Was that alright? You could have at least stayed there for tea or forever. Wasn''t that what you wanted? A life with her" the demon finally spoke as he casually trudged forward.
Simon had no doubt about it in his mind, the reality that he was just shown, was because of this person. It was also because of him that he was having this feeling of incongruity ever since the beginning of the dream.
"Yeah, that''s alright¡ It is just a wishful dream of mine that would nevere true after all. Anyways, would it be weird to ask who are you?" Simon questioned.
The demon that was him,ughed at his question. The way he had his hands in his pockets and his mannerless speaking, he looked like a local delinquent.
"It is a weird question but I believe you know the answer. I am you, you are me. We are the same". the demon Simon pointed at him and then at himself.
Simon nodded his head, he had already thought as such.
"I see¡ then why are there two of me? Why did you show me that dream? What are your motives?".
"Woah.. woah.. So many questions at once. I know you are confused but you don''t have to bombard me with so many questions buddy" the demon Simon joked.
"Hmph, you say you are me but how can I believe you? You just tried to deceive me into falling into that reality. And more importantly, I don''t joke like that" Simon spoke with a face full of seriousness.
"Hmm.. is that so? Well, there can be some discrepancies between two personalities from two different timelines. That being said, it is the truth we are the same. Just like the two sides of a coin, you are the human side and I''m the demon side of the being named Simon. Do you understand it now?"¡
"I don''t!! What''s with that esoteric way of talking? How am I supposed to understand that?" the demon''s words only served to confuse Simon.
"Hmm¡ then there is no other way. To get through your thick skull, this is the only way"
The demon spoke shing a wicked smile. It raised its hand and swung it towards its own face.
BANG¡ the punchnded knocking the demon down.
Simon who was wondering what the demon was up to, simultaneously felt a paining from the left side of his cheeks and got knocked by it. Surprised evident in his eyes he looked at the demon with wide open eyes.
"Do you understand now when I say we are the same?"¡
There was no mistaking it, the demon punched himself yet why did even he feel the pain? With that example, Simon had no choice but to ept the words of the demon for the time being that is.
He nodded his head.
"Good, now answering your second question, I did not show you that dream?"¡
"What do you mean?" Simon asked.
There are only the two of them here, who else could show him the dream than the demon?
"I understand your concerns about that dream but it was not I that showed you that rather it was a trail from someone" the demon answered.
"By showing me that dream you have dug up all the memories, regrets and emotions that I had suppressed deep within my heart. It''s all your fault that my head is in such a chaos. And you tell me that it was a trail? Who would do something like that?" Simon bellowed, his voice angry.
"Now... now, don''t be so mad. It was a trail from the Fragment of Pride, it was assessing you with that dream. Besides, weren''t you happy seeing her again? I can tell that a weight in your heart had disappeared. The whole experience wasn''t a bad thing, wouldn''t you say?"¡
It was true that he was happy to see her again, taking to her did indeed lift some weight from his heart. Nevertheless, the dream also showed him an aspect of his previous life that he could never redo again.
It was aplex feeling, after experiencing that dream he felt both happy and sad at the same time.
"What do you mean it was trial from the Fragment of Pride? Was it assessing to see if I was worthy of it or not? In the first ce, I have been meaning to ask, why did the fragment choose me? I am neither a prideful individual nor a super powerful being so why?" Simon questioned.
"You ask some truly difficult questions don''t you?"
Chapter 611 611- The Second Fragment Of Pride
"Well more than assessing your worthiness, I believe the fragment was testing your heart, your willpower per se. Since you broke through that reality on your own, you aced it. As for why did the fragment choose you, isn''t it because it deemed you worthy?"
"Ah! Before you start asking some moreplex questions, let me tell you this. There are many things in this vast universe that you don''t understand but it doesn''t mean that they didn''t ur".
"Everything that exists or urs in this universe are an intrinsic part of it. One thing leads to another and connects to everything, so there is so no definite end. Once you understand its meaning, you will realise why the fragment showed you that reality".
"All I want to tell you is that, you still have a chance to correct things, nothing is over yet. You can still ovee your regrets from both past and present lives".
The demon smiled, there was a weird ancientness and depth to the words he spoke.
"Are you really me?" the impression he got from the demon was so different than his own that Simon couldn''t help but ask.
"Haha, you will understand everything once you possess all the Fragments of Pride. It is time for me to leave, but before I go let me answer yourst question. My motive is very simple, it is the same as you... to redo my wrongs".
"Anyways, let me give you a warning, the more fragments that you possess, the more the effect the fragments will have on you. Be careful, don''t get consumed by it. You can treat it as my useless dribble if you want to."
The demon suddenly bid him goodbye, leaving behind those worrying words.
"Wait a minute, I still have a lot of questions¡" Simon tried to speak up but the demon had already disappeared.
In this vast white space, he had once again be the only presence around.
Taking a deep breath, Simon took some time toprehend the words left behind by the demon him before proceeding forward.
Counting the number of times, this was his third timeing to this ce. Hence he knew where he had to go.
Simon started walking towards the thing that was beckoning him and before long he was in front of the thing that pulsed with a brilliant golden light just like the core of a sun.
Usually, whenever he came here he would feel a tremendous amount of heat assaulting him, making it impossible for him to approach closer to the object. However, this time he bizarrely did not feel any heat or any restriction holding him back from approaching the object.
On the contrary, he felt like the object was beckoning him toe closer. As Simon stood near it, he could hear its thoughts transmitting directly inside his head.
"As I thought, you were the voice that was speaking to me that time right?".
The time Simon was referring to was during his battle with Davis Hall. An egotistical voice filled with mystery, spoke to him at that moment.
[That''s right, it was I who spoke to you at that time and it is also I that showed you that dream. You did well by breaking that reality and passing the test]¡
"Wait a minute are you telling me, you are the fragment of pride?" Simon asked pointing at the glowing orb.
[That''s right! More exactly, I''m the second fragment. It looks like your head is no longer chaotic, you must have met him huh?]¡
He did indeed meet someone who looked like him, Simon nodded his head before asking the question that was bothering him the most.
"You said you are the second fragment of pride but how can you talk?".
He had the first fragment of pride for a while now but never once did it talk or initiated any conversation with him. Heck if not for the second fragment, he wouldn''t even know that the fragments canmunicate.
[Of course I can talk, what do you think we are? The fragments of pride are a part of the greater constetion filled with divinity and spirituality. Forget about just talking, we can perform far more than that. How can you forget that? Ah! That right, that happened¡]
The second fragment exined, then it trailed off in between his sentence.
Simon opened his mouth but before he could say anything, the second fragment of pride transmitted its voice into his head once again.
[I know what you want to ask me. Why did I show you that dream? The reason is simple, it is to test whether you are ready for what is toe. Possessing the Fragments of Pride is not as simple as you think].
[There will be many tribtions and disastersing your way in the future, and an unbending and strong willpower is needed to ovee them. But that is enough from me, you have been holed up here for a long time. Are you sure you want to stay here any longer?].
Now that the second fragment of pride pointed it out, Simon suddenly remembered that he had been here for far too long. Although he couldn''t tell how much time had passed while he was experiencing that dream, the people close to him must have been worried sick over him by now.
He needed to wake up and tell them that he was fine; however, how should he do that?
[You don''t have to worry about that. Just reach out to me, the second fragment of pride and your consciousness will return back to your body].
Simon did as he was told, he extended his hand and reached out towards the golden ball of light.
The instant he touched it, everything around him turned ck. It was as if he had arrived onto a vast space of nothingness. There was only the light from the golden object around him; however, the thing that he thought was the size of a ball, turned out to be a huge star, illuminating and radiating its brilliant golden light across the vast expanse of space.
"So this the second fragment of pride" he did not know why but Simon just instinctively knew it.
As he stared at the star, its vast starlight started entering his body. It rushed in from the numerous tiny pores in his body and quickly entered his veins and nerves before mixing in with his blood cell, transforming it and entering his organs.
The process didn''t take much time and before Simon knew it, his consciousness entered a peculiar realm.
He was looking at a vast starry sky, in the middle of countless stars was a constetion in the shape of Cygnus. Out of the six biggest stars that made this constetion, only two stars that were located at the tail end of the formation were glowing, spreading their brilliant light.
The rest of the stars of this constetion were dark and weren''t emitting any light. As Simon marvelled at this incredible sight, he realised that he had seen the very same formation in the [Constetion] feature of his [Main Menu].
Previously, since he only had the first fragment of pride, only one of the biggest stars of the formation was glowing. Now that he got the second fragment, another star lit up.
If the fragments of the pride represented the stars of the constetion, wouldn''t it mean that once he possesses all the fragments, the dead stars in this constetion would light up too?
While Simon was having such thoughts, his consciousness was suddenly pulled and everything cked out once again.
-----
''Ugh.. what''s going on?!!''
Pain, intense pain, assaulted his body. Every nerve, every cell of his body was screaming in agony and he felt as if a mountain was weighing down on him.
Intense exhaustion and drowsiness surrounded him and he felt like he could sleep on for eternity. However, Simon''s instincts were telling him otherwise, it was urging him to struggle and not fall asleep.
Simon instinctivelyplied and after an intense struggle, finally some light appeared in this bleak darkness.
At first, the images were blurry but after he adjusted to that light, he could finally see. It was difficult for him to move his head but looking at the familiar ceiling of the room, he could tell that he was inside his White Pce on his Main floor.
Simon tried to move his body, but the surge of extreme pain that assaulted every nerve of his body made him unable to even twitch a muscle.
As such, Simon simplyy there staring at the ceiling. He was on top of a bed and a powerful smell of medicine was wafting from his body. Although his senses were dull to the point of numb, he could still tell that he was wrapped in bandages from head to toe.
The extreme pain running across his body was telling him that it was not a dream, he had finally returned. No matter how much he wanted to stay in that dream, this right here, was his reality.
Althaea was his home and also where he belonged to.
''Dammit, my body is in a worse condition than I thought''.
While Simon made some groaning noises from his dry throat, the door to the room was opened and the beautiful figure of Irene walked in.
She carried a bowl and towel in her hand. After keeping the things on top of the nightstand, she inched closer to bed and was just about to help the body quietlyying there as usual, when suddenly her eyes widened in surprise.
Although very slightly, she saw his half-closed eyelids move ever so faintly. That was not all, his body that had stayed immobile up until, twitched every now and then.
Chapter 612 612- The Second Fragment Of Pride (2)
The surprise in Irene''s eyes quickly turned into joy, then after a few seconds those very eyes became angry and then changed into calm. The transition was fast and the cycle repeated for quite a while.
Simon could see Irene''s lips moving, she was saying something but because his senses were still numb, he couldn''t hear anything. Though that may be the case, it wasn''t hard for him to make out what she was trying to say from the various expressions she was showing.
Simon looked at her for a while before he found his eyelids bing heavier and drowsiness took hold of him, he fell asleep.
The next time he opened his eyes, he saw Ate sitting next to him, taking care of him. After Ate, it was Bea and then Emma, Bianca, and Alice.
The person taking care of him changed every time he opened his eyes but the scenery around him remained the same.
How long had passed? Simon could tell that he was recovering; however, the rate of his healing was so slow, that one could barely tell the difference.
From when he first regained consciousness till now, many days must have passed, yet he still felt that oundish pain all over his body. Forget about moving his body, just twitching his fingers posed an enormous challenge.
He was still stuck in bed day and night. Simon could see the look of concern in the eyes of those close to him. Every time they visited him, they would either try to keep their emotions in check, try to liven up the mood by talking to him or cry beside his bed, bawling their eyes out.
Days passed by with him barely making any progress. If he had to exin his healing rate, it would be 0.0001% every day. If this goes on, who knew how long it would take him to recoverpletely?
It was not like Simon did not have concerns and worries of his own, there were still mountain loads of things that he needed to do. However, his body felt foreign, it did not listen to him at all.
He tried to will his body every day, tried to maintain a positive attitude, thinking that his many regeneration and recovery skills would surely heal him. But that was just his hopeful thinking, Simon himself knew what condition his body was in.
It waspletely destroyed to the point of no return. It was a miracle that he was still alive even after that. His current condition was no different than a cripple, there was no mana inside him.
If he had to describe it, his ss that was the vessel, was cracked and half broken. Forget about being able to hold water i.e. the mana, even if he could gather it, it simply fell off. It was no wonder that his many regenerative skills were not working.
In his current state, Simon could hardly be called alive. The powerful body of a Demon viscount that was made of mana itself, was unable to hold it. From this, one could tell the degree of injury that Simon had suffered.
Days flew by and as the gravity of the situation dawned on him, his hollow eye became more and more nk by the day. He was starting to lose hope, an aura of despair emitted out of him.
He was taken care and visited by his subordinates every day who hoped he would get better and talked to him. But Simon was no longer looking at them. He was starting to hit his mental limits, his spirit was starting to waver.
What if he strayed like this forever? This state which was no different than a vegetative state was a torture far worse than dying.
Who knows how long will it take to heal? Would he even heal and even if he healed, would he go back to his former condition?
Simon was tormented by these thoughts of his. It was not like he didn''t try anything, he tried to open [Main Menu] but even that didn''t work. He was unable to move the muscles of his body nor utter any coherent sounds from his throat.
How would he be able to call the [Main Menu] out in his condition?
He also thought that he could fasten the rate of his healing by drinking a couple of healing elixirs but his subordinates have been doing just that all this time. The medicinal liquid he is been fed every day was in no way inferior to the elixirs from the [Shop].
Yet even then he was unable to recover.
Given all this, it was only natural that Simon fell into despair. He could see no hope of recovering; he was starting to give up all hope and even thinking about dying.
He was unable to call out the [Main Menu] which was his one and only hope out of this, made him despair more.
Until one day, while Simon lying on his bed. He couldn''t tell if his eyes were open or closed because there was only darkness all around him both literally and metaphorically.
What was he supposed to do? Even if he survived like this, his future was nothing but bleak. It was not like he couldn''t predict what would happen to a dungeon whose dungeon master was out ofmission.
With time as more and more powerful enemies flooded in, the dungeon would soon reach a point where it would be unable to repel the invaders and before long it would be captured.
Worse, what would happen to his subordinates? The forest spring spirits living inside his dungeon.
The promises he made, the lofty goals he set for himself. Simon felt as if everything he had done and achieved up until now was breaking apart. The more he thought about it, the more it agonised him.
Why did the second fragment of pride bring him back in this condition? It could have said something or just let him die. It would have been far better if he had just let himself fade into that dream.
That way he wouldn''t have to agonise every second like this.
Hold Up!... just as Simon was regretting over his choice, he remembered the words the second fragment of pride told him.
[I know what you want to ask me. Why did I show you that dream? The reason is simple, it is to test whether you are ready for what is toe. Possessing the fragments of pride is not as simple as you think. There will be many tribtions and disastersing your way in the future, and an unbending and strong willpower is needed to ovee them].
Before the second fragment of pride sent his consciousness back to his body, these were the words it said to him.
Was his current condition one of the obstacles it was talking about? Even if it was, what did it want from him? It was not like he could do anything in his current state.
Even if he had an unbending and strong willpower, how was it going to help him in the condition he was in?
"All I want to tell you is that, you still have a chance to correct things, nothing is over yet. You can still ovee your regrets from both past and present lives" Simon also recalled what the demon told him.
Both of them subtly pointed out at something.
This was not the end, if it was, they wouldn''t have told him all those things. Light slowly returned inside his hollow eyes that had given up all hope.
It was too soon to give up, he at least had to do everything in his power before thinking about dying. But what is it that he could still do in his current state? What was inside his body that could aid him at this moment?
When Simon''s train of thought led him till here, he soon realised what it was that he haven''t tried.
There was something inside his body, something that was no less mysterious and formidable than the [Main Menu] itself. He haven''t given it any thought until now but wasn''t there still the two fragments of pride inside him?
Although he didn''t understand much about them being some part of a greater constetion, but if they were filled with Divinity and Spirituality, shouldn''t they be able to somehow help him in his current situation?
Holding onto hisst hope, Simon desperately reached out to the fragments of pride inside him. At that moment, his consciousness saw the two glowing stars in the formation glow brighter and brighter until the vast expanse of space was covered in their starlight.
At the same time, a powerful energy surged inside Simon''s body. His veins, muscles and body started glowing with the same starlight and his critical injuries, even the most precarious ones that rendered him crippled, started healing at a rate that would leave all bystanders gawking.
His bones grew anew, his torn muscles regenerated, his ligaments strengthened and new veins destroying the old ones formed.
His outer skin wiggled and crawled as if it was some kind of unique life form, expanding and contracting again and again. This was no healing, the process could only be called as being reborn once again.
The rate at which Simon was transforming was visible to the naked eye. The person in question himself felt as if hundreds of millions of nano ants crawling on his body, biting and transforming him.
This phenomenon had urred before too, specifically during the trials he faced in the Ancient Treants territory.
During hisst step, when Simon lost consciousness, the fragment aided him and repaired his body just like how it was doing right now.
Chapter 613 613- Demon Earl
However, the degree of injury that he suffered back then wasn''t as severe as now. Nevertheless, with the power of the starlight, Simon''s body quickly regenerated.
Along with this energy, a powerful aura of pride also radiated out from him. the aura was so mighty and unfathomable that the whole Main floor of the dungeon Lace shook at this moment.
"W-What''s going on?" the Valkyries that were inside the pce, bobbed their heads around in shock.
Irene who was silently sitting near the shore of the pond of serenity, hurriedly turned her head around and gazed at the pce. Before anyone knew it, her figure had already disappeared.
Lying on top of his bed, Simon marvelled at the rate at which his body was healing. His mana lines had already been repaired which meant that he could gather mana once again. But the dominant energy that was running inside him healing every corner of his body, didn''t just stop there.
After running who knows how many cycles around his body, the dominant energy evoked another change shocking Simon once again.
[Ding¡ You have reached the max level of your rank]¡
[Ding¡ the bloodline limit has been reached]¡
[Ding¡ the experience threshold exceeds the limit. Unable to progress]¡
[Ding¡ Character has met all conditions for [Promote]. Do you want to use Purifying Crystal Essence (Medium) to promote character?
Purifying Crystal Essence (Medium) needed- 100.
On hand-88.
Promote character¡ªYES/NO].
Multiple notification windows popped up in front of him. Simon did not call out the [Main Menu], which meant that this change was something that was triggered by the dominant energy inside his body.
He read all the notifications but his eyes mainly stayed glued to the third one.
Promote character as soon as Simon read those few words, his heart started pounding. His nk despairing eyes suddenly started burning with a never before seen excitement.
The significance of that notification cannot be exined in a few simple words. It was something that he had been eagerly waiting for ever since he ranked up to a Demon Viscount. And as he levelled and inched closer to the level 500 barrier, his excitement only increased further.
Until today when he finally heard that notification.
Promote character, the implication that these words carried could only be understood by the term bloodline limits. The limits ced on each individual in the world of Althaea that shackled them from progressing further based on the purity of their bloodlines.
It was a wall that most of the people of this world arrived in front of after reaching a certain level. They despaired and anguished unable to do anything in front of it.
Only a small poption of individuals ever manage to break through that wall and progress further.
From this, it was easy to understand how the bloodline affected an individual''s growth. It was more so for Simon who had an impure bloodline to begin with. He had long foreseen this wall even before he stood in front of it.
The enormous gloomy wall that made most of the people in this world despair and heartbroken. However, unlike the others, Simon who was standing in front of the wall, felt nothing.
It would be more appropriate to say that he looked calm, there was no despair on his face. Why would he? after all, this was not his first time standing in front of one.
Yes, Simon had arrived in front of a wall before this one. Though the current wall was many times bigger and sturdier than the previous wall, he had nevertheless ovee one. So there was no need for him to despair against the current one.
No matter how the unwrittenw of this word bound him, he had a way to slip past those restrictions, break the wall in front of him and proceed forward.
The way he was talking about was none other than the promote character itself. [Promote] was one of the functions of the [Character] option alongside [Constetion] which he created to help yers break past their limit.
The purpose of this function is to break the level cap and allow yers to reach new heights. That is to say, using the [Promote] function Simon can ovee the limiters ced on him and break through the despairing wall standing in front of him.
Simon himself knew well how impure his bloodline was, no matter how much effort he put, how many monsters he defeats, he would forever be unable to proceed any further.
The demon viscount was his limits; no, he should have reached his limits long before that. The Demon Baron should have been where his progress stopped. However, he overcame that challenge rose through the rank and arrived in front of a new wall.
It was all thanks to the [Promote] function.
Unlike thest time when he was unsure whether the function would work, Simon was more or less unfazed this time. He had already experienced how the function worked so he had no doubts in his mind.
Though that being said, his heart was still pounding and his blood was boiling in excitement. He was about to reach a new height, a new rank. After reincarnating in the world of althea and ever since bing a demon noble, increasing his ranks had been one of his biggest goals.
Counting the time when he became Demon viscount, this would be his second time using the [Promote]. The way this function worked was simple, he just needed to gather the right amount of materials needed and the rest would be handled by the function.
The problem was that he did not have sufficient materials. In this world and even in the game, one needed a material called Purifying Crystal Essence to promote a character.
The purifying crystals are a special ingredient designed by Simon to be used for this process. Although it was something that he learnedter after transmigrating into this world, but the purifying crystal essence seemed to hold some unique energy inside them.
Anyways, looking at the number of purifying crystal essence needed, Simon nodded his head.
He needed 100 crystals whereas he only had 88 of them sitting in his inventory. But that was no problem for Simon since the crystals can be bought from [Shop]. Other than the [Shop] they also dropped from the [G???????] option from time to time. The 88 crystals that he had gathered were from that option.
Simon opened the [shop] and quickly moved over to the misceneous section where he found the purifying crystals listed.
It needs to be mentioned that the purifying crystal essence needed for rank up this time was different than the time when he ranked up to demon viscount. The purifying crystal essence he usedst time was only around 10,000 DP each.
However, the ones he needed this time were around 20,000 DP each. The difference was because of the size of the crystals.
The Purifying Crystal Essence (Medium) was twice as big as the crystals he used to rank up to be a Demon Viscount. It was not only their size, but the energy they held wasparatively higher too.
Naturally, it was twice as costly as the normal purifying crystal essence. Simon purchased the additional crystals needed. It cost him around 240,000 DP but to Simon who had nothing but Dp in abundance, this amount was nothing.
Now that he got the additional 12 crystals and met the requirements, it was time. With bated breath and elerated excitement, Simon reached out and pressed YES.
[Ding... Purifying Crystal Essence (Medium) sufficient,mencing promotion].
Another notification popped up in front of him and immediately as if being swallowed by an unknown source, the hundred crystals disintegrated into tiny light particles before disappearing.
Simon had no mind to pay attention to that since the dominant energy inside his boy which had be stagnant for a while, suddenly started rampaging afterbining with a new energy once again.
The temperature of his blood started rising and before long, perspiration started dropping down from his head. His body had be so hot that he felt like he was a human furnace.
Under that heat, his newly formed bones and regenerated muscles, started dissolving. He felt like his entire body was wiggling and going through a metamorphosis of sort. Just like a caterpir before bing a butterfly, the state of Simon''s body couldn''t be any different.
His organs, veins everything had melted, even his outer shelf was visibly wiggling just like a slime. Of course, intense pain apanied that change.
However, Simon who had gone through a simr change before, endured the pain of a destroyed body for who knows how many days, silently endured the pain.
He fell t on his bed and squirmed like a worm. He had expected the process to be extremely agonising; it was far worse than he thought. Yet even so, Simon grit his teeth and endured on.
Unlike thest time when he lost consciousness due to the intense pain, he stayed awake and during the whole process never once did he utter a peep.
"Master"
At this moment, all the valkyries hurriedly entered the room. They had felt a vast amount of aura descend onto the main floor a few moments ago. Unable to contain their concerns, they ran towards the room where their master was recuperating only to be shocked the next second.
"Master..." they called out in fear and were just about approach him when Irene appeared in front of them and stopped them from doing so.
"This state... do not approach him carelessly"...
"B-But Master is.. he look like he is in extreme pain"
The valkyries protested, their concerned eyes rested on Simon and became most with tears threatening to flow down any second.
Chapter 614 614- Demon Earl (2)
The man who didn''t even move an inch or shown any emotions all these months, was suddenly twitching and squirming like that. Although the valkyries didn''t know what happened, looking at his facial expression, they could tell that he was in extreme pain.
Seeing Simon like that, the Valkyries felt as if their heart was being pierced by thousands of des, making them unable to contain themselves.
If it wasn''t for Irene stopping them, they wouldn''t know what to do anymore.
Looking at them like that, Irene released a deep breath of sigh and exined Simon''s current situation. Although others might not be able to understand, but Irene had urately seen what sort of state Simon was in and what these changes meant.
As expected, after she exined the reason behind their master''s current behaviour, the significance it held and what it meant to be disturbed, they instantly calmed down. That being said, it was not like all their worries had disappeared.
"So miss Irene is saying that master is right now in a mysterious state where his body is slowly being transformed and reformed. If we disturb him carelessly, he might fall into a precarious situation?"
Ate who was the smartest of all the Valkyries, instantly grasped the gravity of the situation while her other sisters were still racking their brains to understand.
"That right, he is shedding his old shell and evolving into a higher race. His entire body is going through a qualitative change and cannot be disturbed right now. Although it might be hard for you all to watch him suffer like that, you must hold yourselves back".
"You should know that this is a very important time for him, if he somehow fails due to outer interference, there is a risk that he might die. That is why, all we can do right now is pray that he can ovee this obstacle".
After Irene finished exining the situation, the atmosphere inside the room turned gloomy. To dissipate that gloomy atmosphere she added¡ª
"That being said, there is no reason for us to believe that he will fail. I have seen him turn even the most impossible situation around and return back even from the grasp of death numerous times".
"His willpower, tenacity, temperament, everything is on the level of a superhuman. You have all seen how his life force became incredibly strong every time it was on the verge of flickering off. I''m sure that this time too he will ovee it and return back to us. Not only that, he wille back all restored and more powerful than before. Believe in your master".
The Valkyries all nodded their heads, although their hearts was hesitant and filled with worry, they chose to level the room and not disturb their master. All they could do was pray that everything would be alright and believe in him.
Seeing the leave, Irene turned her eyes towards the struggling Simon. There wee manyplicated feelings shing within those crystal blue. She was angry, worried, happy, scared, hopeful, surprised, sad, anxious... a myriad of emotions was going through her.
She wanted toin, protest and criticise his actions. He was far too reckless this time with him being just an inch away from death. There were numerous asions in which even she thought he wouldn''t make it back alive.
She was worried and frustrated over the feelings she had no control of.
"Hmph, they are so worried about you and yet here you are risking your life every time as if you like gambling with your life". Irene muttered to herself before disappearing too.
Though she did not go far away and silently monitored his situation with her intent.
Time passed by, Simon who continued to struggle like a me on a storm, could feel the changes urring around his body. And since he wasn''t unconscious, of course he felt the presence of Irene and the valkyries rushing into his room.
Nevertheless, all of his attention was currently preupied towards his rank up and enduring this horrendous pain, that he couldn''t spare any to them.
Finally, after an excruciatingly long time, the pain running across his whole body slowly receded and his squirming finally stopped.
"Cough¡ Cough¡ Kugh!..Hahahahaha"
Simon who was coughing severely, suddenly startedughing. Hisughter rang across the room for a while before he finally settled down.
He could clearly feel it, he had seeded. He had sessfully ranked up. That right, he had finally stepped onto the ranks of a Demon Earl. The excitement he was feeling right now was so overwhelming that he couldn''t stay still.
As soon as his body recovered some strength, he pounced out of the bed and observed his body.
As Simon clenched and unclenched his fists, he could feel strength brimming from every inch, every corner of his body. As he was now, he felt like he could even break an armour made of whitesilver with only his physical strength alone.
Not only that, his body currently housed a ridiculous amount of mana iparable to the times when he was a Demon Viscount. It was not a quantitative change, but aplete qualitative change.
If before the mana inside his body was in the state of gas, now it waspressed to the point that it had turned into a liquid like state.
After the rank, not only his mana capacity increased, but it waspressed dozens of times than before. Simon felt like if he cast a magic, even if it was of novice tier, it would be dozens of times more powerful than before.
What''s more, his understanding of the mystical energy had also increased after his rank up. Many profundities that eluded him before, naturally came to him at this moment. He was slowly starting to understand the mysteries of mystical energy.
If he felt like he could activate [Mana Armour] in an instant. He was also capable of producing mana wings now.
"Hmm? Did I grow more taller?" noticing his increased line of vision, Simon remarked. Although very little, he had definitely grown a few centimetres taller. Being from the demon noble race, Simon was already very tall standing at around 190cm.
However, after ranking up to Demon Earl, his height would be now around 193cm.
Other than that, Simon also felt his muscles bing morepact and defined. His bone density increased and the tribal like markings on his body became darker. The crown like horns on his head also became a little bigger and sturdier. Simon felt they wouldn''t break as easily as before.
After bing a Demon Earl, his stats saw a sharp increase but it wasn''t only his physical body that had gone through aplete change.
Matching his upgraded hardware, his software had also seen drastic changes. Many of his old skills evolved into superior skills and his MP (Mana Pool) increased to a whole new realm.
That was not all, he was flooded by a stream of notification windows disying the numerous skills that he had gained.
[Ding¡ Learned Demon Earl''s Intimidation]
[Ding¡ Learned Resilient Mana Hide]
[Ding¡ Learned Piercing Demon Roar]
[Ding¡ Learned ck sh]
[Ding¡ Learned Dark Deprivation]
[Ding¡ Learned Dark Lock]
[Ding¡ Learned Chilling Touch]
[Ding¡ Learned Soul Empowerment]
[Ding¡ Learned Poison Resistance]
[Ding¡ Learned Blunt Damage Resistance]
[Ding¡ Learned Cut Resistance]
[Ding¡ Learned Piercing Resistance]
[Ding¡ Learned Demonic Eye Resistance].
He had acquired a number of skills at once. Simon wanted to try out all of them and see what they did but his eyes were fixed on his [Status] window.
That was because listed amongst the skills, there was a magic that he finally learned atst. Dark Magic Mastery, Simon had finally acquired it.
All these days he constantly wondered why he was unable to learn Dark Magic even though he was a demon, a being whose alignment lie towards darkness.
Especially after looking at the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse showcase the might of dark magic, he became more eager to learn it. It so turned out that, one had to be a Demon Earl before they could learn it.
The Dark magic unlike the other forms of mana was one of the four rare attributes of mystical energy. Although in terms of pure strength and destructiveness, it lost to Infernal and Thunder magic, it had a vast range of applications and effects that the other two magic cannot evenpare with.
With his newfound understanding of the mystical energy, Simon understood how powerful the dark magic was. Strictly in terms of influence, it can suppress all the other five basic forms of mana.
Every magic and skill has its counters like how Fire is weak to Water and Earth Magic, Earth weak to Ice, Lightning is weak to Earth and Wind weak to Ice and Lightning.
However, the dark magic is so overbearing that it suppresses all other basic attributes of mana. Of course, the dark magic wasn''t all omnipotent; it had its own super effective counter too.
Light magic¡ just like the Dark magi, it was considered one of the four rare forms of mana and the bane of darkness. The Light Magic wasn''t just the weakness of dark magic but it buffed and strengthened the other basic forms of mana.
In that regard, it can be considered the pr opposite of dark energy. Of course, Simon had already guessed that the elements had their own power structure but thanks to the knowledge that he gained after ranking up, he understood the power bnce of this world more clearly.
Simon had no doubt gone through aplete qualitative change; however, the thing that saw the most improvement from the [Promote] would be his bloodline. It was far more pure and powerful than before.
Chapter 615 615- Sentiments
His bloodline had seen a massive change, that being said, it was still a far cry from reaching the ranks of a Demon Marquis.
Simon had felt it before when he had newly risen to a Demon Viscount but after bing a Demon Earl, he felt it even more clearly, the distinct and the clearly defined hierarchy of the demon nobles.
Forget about the vast power difference between each ranks, just the purity of their bloodlines was so vast that it couldn''t even bepared. No wonder he felt an absolute sense of suppression just by ncing towards the Demon Archdukes and Demon Dukes.
He couldn''t even begin to fathom how pure their bloodlines were. Though one thing was for sure, it couldn''t be denied that Simon had stepped into the ranks of Demon Earl and had be a true demon noble in the sense.
Even though Demon Baron and Demon Viscount were also called Demo Nobles but they were in reality considered false nobles in the demon hierarchy. The reason for that was simply the impurity of their bloodlines and them not being able to use Dark magic.
It couldn''t be stressed the importance of bloodlines in this world. And it was more so evident in the hierarchy of the demon nobles.
The bloodline was the most important factor that determined that demon''s future and what allowed them to acquire new skills. The Dark magic was widely known as a forbidden magic in the world of Althaea practised only by demons and those creatures whose alignment lie towards darkness.
But the Demon Nobles viewed it differently, they looked at Dark magic as the symbol of their strength. That is why, lower ranking demons such as the Demon Baron and demon Viscount who cannot use dark magi are looked down upon and despised by the other demons.
"Dark magic huh..." Simon couldn''t wait to practice it but before he did that, there were other things he needed to prioritise right now.
Taking a deep breath to control his excitement, he turned his head towards the exit of the room where a couple of figures were quietly waiting for him. They were silently standing there, looking at him with varying emotions.
The Valkyries had their hands covering their mouth, their eyes gleamed with tears and their bodies trembled ever so slightly. It was evident from looking at them how worried they were.
The instant Simon turned towards them and smiled, the valkyries were no longer able to hold themselves back. They rushed towards him and dived into his embrace.
"Hic... Hic... Uunghh... Masterrr~" the maids cried for a long time, tears trickled down their faces and their eyes was swollen red from all the crying.
Simon consoled all of them, patting the heads and allowing them to hold him for as long as they wanted. And after a long long time, did the valkyries finally stop crying.
Their tear stained eyes and dishevelled faces were a sight to see. If the people that fought them saw their faces right now, they would be shocked and in disbelief. To think that the valiant warriors and the nightmares they couldn''t fo anything against, would also have such a cute and soft side to them.
Seeing them like this, Simon felt a pang of guilt. he could imagine how worried they must have been all this time looking at this body which could hardly be called alive back then.
The valkyries one by one wiped their tear stained faces before kneeling on the ground with Ate leading the pack.
Simon who was taken aback by their behaviour, looked at them in confusion. At this moment, the eyes of the valkyries glinted with a fierce determination as they started to speak¡ª
"Master our sin is unforgivable, please punish us. we were created to be your shield in times of need, to protect you from all harm. Yet we couldn''t even perform our duty well. It is due to our inadequacy that master got hurt".
"If only we came to master''s side earlier, master wouldn''t have got hurt. Our crimes are so grave that even if we die tens of thousands of times, it wouldn''t be sufficient to repent".
Ate who spoke on behalf of the Valkyries, deeply bowed her head. One could see the resolve to die if the order was given. it was not only her, all five of them shared the same sentiment.
When Simon got hurt so badly, they were shocked and regretful to their very core. They walked on edge every day wondering when their master will gain consciousness. Their heart felt like it was being stabbed brutally every time they took care of him and saw the hideous injuries on his body.
They cried and prayed every day but Simon still didn''t show any signs of recovery. Worse, his life force which was just like a flicker of me, seemed like it would blow off any moment.
They were tormented and gued by such thoughts every day to the point of going insane. It couldn''t be counted how many times they med themselves for it. If not because of their sense of duty towards the dungeon that their master cared so much about and Irene stopping them, they might havemitted suicide to repent.
Seeing them me themselves like that, the pang of guilt that Simon felt became stronger. Since he created them, he thought that he knew the Valkyries very well. However, he couldn''t be any wrong, the level of devotion, loyalty and love that they showed towards him clearly went beyond the settings he entered for them.
There was not even a shadow of doubt on their face, they were truly ready to die for him. They might have been characters of a game, but right now they were breathing, living entities that couldn''t be any more real.
Of course, they would have feelings, it was not like they were soulless dolls. Given the condition his body was in, it must have killed them from within looking at him suffering like that every day.
Hearing their words, Simon felt even more responsible. Most of all, he himself was to be med for his condition. It was extremely foolish of him to dive inside that dangerous spatial storm without thinking about the consequences.
He did not even consider what would happen to him, his dungeon, subordinates and those around him if he had died in that storm. He had no excuse.
The Valkyries who were deeply bowing their heads, suddenly heard a dull thud. When they raised their heads in a hurry, they were shocked to find that their master was bowing towards them.
Yes, Simon too kneeled down at this moment.
"M-Master" the Valkyries hurriedly called, the sight of their master bowing like that was uneptable to them.
However, before they could say anything further, Simon stopped them and expressed his apology.
"Although I know a simple sorry is nowhere enough to make up for the pain you guys faced, but still let me say this¡ I''m deeply sorry. I want you all to know that the condition my body was in, the damage that it took was due to my own fault".
"None of you are to be med for it. That is why, if somebody that needs to be punished it is me. You guys achieved the task I gave you splendidly; the one who messed up this time was me. I''m truly sorry".
Simon bowed his head in apologised numerous times. The Valkyries tried to stop him multiple times but he was adamant.
"Master please raise your head, we cannot see you bowing your head like this" before he knew it, he was once again surrounded by the Valkyries who pulled him up.
"Master, I know that we arecking, we are still inexperienced and nowhere as powerful as we need to be but please¡ please rely us on a little more. Hic¡ Hic¡ please don''t do something as dangerous as that again. Please don''t leave us¡"
They even started crying at the end of the sentence. It took a long while to appease them again. In the meantime, Simon was mulling over their words.
To think that he would have such great subordinates even though he was a no good person in his former life. It would have been such a waste if he had just died like that. Truly, they deserved better, he was d that he made it back.
At this moment, a new goal sprouted in his heart and he started cherishing his life more.
Seeing that the Valkyries had finally settled down, Simon looked around and asked¡ª "Where are Irene and Cecilia?". He couldn''t feel their presence here on the main floor.
"Miss Irene and princess Cecilia are in the forest spirit vige" the Valkyries informed.
Simon recovering from his injury was great news, they wanted to quickly spread it with the rest of the subordinates of this dungeon.
The Valkyries teleported alongside him to the forest spirit vige. During this whole time, they stuck close to him as if they couldn''t bear to separate from him.
The forest spring spirits he met on the way, were all overjoyed to see him. They had heard from Cecilia how bad his condition was and were quite worried about him. Their worries stemmed not only from the fact that without his protection they wouldn''t be able to live as happily as now in the surface world, but also because he had long since be the pir of their faith.
They believed that as long as he was around, they would have thousands of years of prosperity. As such, they spared no efforts to grow all kinds of mystical nts and herbs that have the ability to cure all kinds of injuries to save him.
Chapter 616 616- Sentiments (2)
If any alchemist saw the numerous nts and herbs that were used to aid Simon''s recovery, they would no doubt have their jaw dropped on the ground at the incredulity. All of the nts and herbs that were used for medicine were so rare that they were on the level of legendary in the outside world.
You can''t even see some of these herbs these days as most of them have gone extinct. Only the race of Forest Spring Spirits known to have been blessed by the nature can grow such miraculous nts.
In a way, it can be said that the forest spring spirits yed arge part in Simon''s recovery.
"Big brotherrrr¡"
As soon as he got into the house that was made for him by the forest spring spirits, he was tackled by a small girl with emerald green hair.
The lovely and delicate face of the little girl was at this moment, was swollen red due to crying a lot. Even the speckles of light that always surrounded her were floating around in disorder indicating her concern and worries.
Cecilia cried and cried, her loud bawling was heartbreaking to hear. This was the third time ever since losing her father and mother that she had cried in such a way. From this, it was easy to tell how great Simon''s ce was in her heart.
She didn''t just call him big brother, but truly thinks of him as one.
Elder Fennel, aunt Daphne, and everyone who was present there, felt her pain from her cry. They knew how mentally devastated the little girl was these days when Simon showed no signs of recovering.
When she first heard that her big brother was seriously injured during the defence of the dungeon, she fainted multiple times. Every time she went and visited him, she woulde back with a devastated face.
She who always had that high spirited, spring like air around her, was covered in a gloomy and deste aura day and night.
Ever since returning that day from the main floor, Cecilia seemed to have changed. She started putting more and more effort into awakening the hidden power sleeping inside her, believing that it might be able to help her big brother. It was to the point that others thought she got possessed.
She aided in growing every kind of miraculous herb she knew or heard about from her parents, manifested new healing abilities and even strained herself to create some heaven defying effects.
To that extent, she spared no efforts for the cause of her big brother but he still did not show signs of recovery. One could imagine what pitiful state the girl was in from her thinning figure and baggy eyes.
Elder Fennel, thest surviving elder of the forest spring sighed in relief as he arched his head up towards the ceiling. He was thanking his ancestors for blessing their n. He could finally put down his worries now that he saw Simon healthy and recovered.
"Uwahhh¡ big bowdow yguu gahh bwaa..."
Nobody could understand what she was saying.
It took Simon even longer than the Valkyries to pacify Cecilia. She held his clothes and cried and cried until they became wet. However, Simon did not mind, he bent down and sat beside her.
Her crying stopped after an hour but that was only due to her running out of tears to shed and her throat bing coarse.
During this time, Simon wondered how to console her but gave up believing that it was better for him to ept her feelings rather than to use words which would sound like an excuse. After all, he had failed to keep his promise to return safe and soundly to her.
Looking at the delicate shoulders of the girl who kept her head down, clutched his clothes and cried, he released a deep sigh. He felt even more guilty making her cry like that.
How could he not know that after losing her father and mother, he had be her next pir, the support she was using to hold herself together? Knowing what condition his body was in, she must have been worried sick.
At some point in time, the people around them had tactfully exited the ce, leaving the brother and sister to talk it out amongst themselves.
The room descended into silence with Cecilia continuously looking down and Simon having trouble finding the right words.
"Cecilia¡ forgive your brother. I know I made a promise to you and I failed to keep it. As such, I will make it up to you in any way you want, I promise. Whatever you want, I''ll do it¡ so please stop crying"
Finally, Simon broke the silence. He extended his hands and caressed the emerald hair of his little sister.
Sniff.. sniff.. hic¡ Findingfort from his spoiling and his words, Cecilia''s trembling slowly stopped. Then, she raised her head, wiped her tears, looked straight at his eyes and without avoiding it, she asked¡ª
"Anything I want?"
Simon who was taken aback by this abrupt change, nodded his head in confirmation "Yeah, anything you want".
If he could appease his little sister, he was willing to do anything.
"Then... please... please promise me that you will never die. Promise me that you won''t leave me behind and disappear... like my father and mother. I don''t want anything else... just promise me this".
Cecilia''s voice was resolute, she wouldn''t budge down if Simon didn''t promise her that.
''To never die'' Simon who was expecting her to ask something materialistic, was speechless for a second. The thing that Cecilia asked of him was very difficult.
Of course, it was not like Simon was nning to die or something; however, a promise is something that cannot be taken lightly. he had already broken one promise that is why, he didn''t want to break another.
Simon wasn''t a diviner, he cannot predict the future. But after living in this world for close to two years, what he can say for sure is that it is a dog-eat-dog world. Thews of the jungle reigned supreme here.
If you don''t climb up the food chain, you are just another prey for someone. Your fate, your life, everything would be dictated by the person above you in the food chain. Simon who didn''t want a fate like that would no doubt try to fight against it.
And when that timees there was no guarantee that he would still be thest man standing. Of course, he would rebel against his fate till hisst breath but there was no telling what the future held in hand.
The obstacles he would have to face would be multiple times more difficult and dangerous than now. There was a chance that he might lose his life, knowing that how could he make a promise like that?
Seeing the hesitation and the troubled look on his face, Cecilia tugged his clothes.
"Brother, you told me you would do anything. I am not asking for anything difficult, I just don''t want you to do anything that would put your life at risk. I just want you to live".
Simon''s words came back to bite him. He did say that he would do anything and cannot rake it back. Plus it was just like Cecilia had said, she didn''t ask for anything big.
Simon thought for a while but after seeing the endearing and pleading look of his cute little sister, he finally melted.
Dammit if it was like this, then he would survive no matter how challenging the circumstances he faced in the future, he would doggedly hold on to his life. Come hell or high water, he would survive like a cockroach if need be.
"Yeah... I promise" As such, Simon finally made the promise.
"Not like this... big brother, you have to extend your pinky finger like this and lock it like this with mine. Yes, like this and now say it".
Forced to make a pinky swear with Cecilia, Simon promised her that he wouldn''t die.
"Hehe, I''ll forgive you for now, but big brother, a promise is something that must be kept no matter what. If you break it again, I will never forgive you. Do you understand?"
Simon nodded his head, being scolded by his little sister, he felt a weird sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu.
Cecilia''s mood improved now that she got what she wanted. With the crying and the gloomy air gone, the two siblings though not rted by blood, discussed various things.
"Eh?! Your level is above 500 now?"¡
"Hehe" Cecilia gave him a bright smile.
When Simon used [Appraisal], the higher version of [Analysis] on her, he was shocked to find that she was not lying.
"Level 503" was what was disyed under her name. Now that his [Analysis] had advanced, normal blocking skills couldn''t stop him from prying on their statuses as such he was able to see Cecilia''s skills which he was curious about up until now.
[Matter Maniption], [Spirit Enchantment], [Variation Correction], [Nature Empowerment]¡
Although not a lot, Cecilia had skills that Simon had never seen before. And even though he did not what these skills did, he could tell that they were extremely powerful given Cecilia''s background and unique power.
It also made sense that her status was different since she utilised a different system of energy than the mystical energy. That being said, she did not even have a single offensive or defensive skills which made Simon worry a little
-------------
Name- Cecilia
Race- Forest Spring Royal Spirit
Level- 504
Inherent Skills- Matter Maniption, Spirit Enchamnemtn, Magical Energy Maniption, Psionic Creation, Nature Empowerment, Nature Maniption, Existence Creation, Random Oue, Alteration, Organic Magic, Abjuration, Fertility Magic
Chapter 617 617- Sentiments (3)
Other than that, he could also tell that a portion of her hidden powers sleeping inside her body had awakened. What kinds of changes would it bring once it ispletely awakened?
Would the Cecilia that he knew still be there? Or would she be one of the Eight Emissaries that Aldebaran told him about?
"Hm? Big brother, why are you making such a gloomy face all of a sudden? Right did you see my [Status]... hehe, it''s quite good right? Do you see this [Abjuration] skill? This new skill that I learned allows me to use healing magic on anything that I want. I can fill them up with vitality as long as they are not dead".
Cecilia demonstrated the powers of her [Abjuration Maniption] on a nearby flower in the garden. Like a cute little sister that wanted the recognition and praise of her big brother, she looked at him with stars in her eyes.
Simon spoiled her as much as she wanted. He could see that the skill [Abjuration] wasn''t as simple as healing, but he left it at that.
After ying with Cecilia for a while, Simon''s started darting around seemingly to find someone.
Noticing his gaze, Cecilia made a crafty smile as she asked "Is big brother perhaps searching for big sister?".
"Eh?... Yeah" Simon scratched his head and nodded. Since Irene wasn''t on the Main Floor, he thought she would be here. But it turns out that she wasn''t here either.
"Big Sister was here a few moments ago, but she left"¡
"When was that?" Simon questioned.
"When you arrived" Cecilia looked at him and continued "She was quite angry you know. Perhaps the one who was concerned and worried the most, was big sister. After you got hurt, everybody was devastated. Big sister not only had to look after you, but she also managed the dungeon and all the people living here all alone".
Now that Cecilia mentioned it, with him being out ofmission, there was only one person who could have managed his dungeon.
The Valkyries were fully concerned about him to pay any attention to anything else. Cecilia was a wreck and the forest spring spirits had nobat abilities.
In a situation like that, he could imagine the kind of responsibilities that Irene had to carry all alone on her delicate shoulders.
"Big brother I''m fine now, you should go and console big sister. If you take too long, perhaps she might sulk and not talk to you for a long time" Cecilia smiled, prompting Simon to hurry up.
Looking at his little sister talking like all grown up, he patted her head before nodding his head. He opened the [Dungeon] function of his [Main menu] and quickly found her whereabouts.
Main floor, near the shore of the serenity pond.
A tranquil beauty was quietly sitting by the side gazing at the pond in front of her nkly.
"I knew this is where I would find you"
Suddenly the silence of this ce was broken by the arrival of a young demon who casually walked to the side of the beauty and unceremoniously sat beside her.
As Simon turned to look at the beauty next to him, he saw her staring at the pond and not bothering to look at him. She was giving him the silent treatment.
Simon made a nd smile before picking up a topic to speak but Irene was hell bent on ignoring him.
"I heard that you managed the dungeon all alone while I was unconscious? You even looked after me and all of my subordinates. You see when I gained consciousness a few days, I saw you taking care of my body and feeding me medicine".
When Simon finally mentioned thest part, there were some changes in the mood of Irene.
"Snort¡ I was just making sure that you didn''t die on your bed. More than me, it was those maids of yours that took care of you so if you are grateful, you should¡"
Before Irene couldplete her sentence, a hand swiftly entwined around her willowy waist and pulled her towards the man next to her. Then the lips of the man instantly ceased hers and before she knew it, she was embraced by him.
At that instant, her mind nked and her body as if electrocuted stiffened like a rock. It was only when she felt a tongue that wantonly invaded her mouth and lustfully tried to explore around, did shee to her senses.
She hurriedly pulled away and tried to break away from his hold but the words that came from Simon next dissipated all her resistance.
"Thank you¡" it was two short words, but Irene could feel the many emotions and sentiments from just those few words.
"Thank you for looking after me, my dungeon and all of my subordinates"¡
"Hmph¡ there is no need to thank me because I know you will go risking your life somewhere else again. After all, you like gambling with your life so much" Ireneined, her voice was meek but also full of fury and sorrow.
"I''m sorry" Simon apologised. He had no pretext or justification for doing what he did back then.
It was as she had said, jumping into the spatial storm was nothing short of gambling with his life. It was not only once or twice that he did something like that, whenever he faced some difficult obstacle, he would always resort to gambling with his life.
Simon recalled that his life up until this moment have been a series of gambling where if even a tiny factor was missing, he would have already died tens if not hundreds of times.
Irene was right to chastise him like that. Simon who knew he was guilty, had no words for his defence. He looked at the breathtaking beauty in his embrace. Her flushed face filled with anger and embarrassment, her moist eyes, her soft pink lips and her small nose.
She looked so endearing that Simon was at a loss for words.
As the two people embraced each other, the ce descended into silence once again. With the picturesque serenity pond as the backdrop, the ce could be any more better.
How long had it been? Finally, a tiny tear trickled down Irene''s face. The cold phoenix beauty who was like a millennium old ice, had finally budged. And the man to aplish that was none other than Simon.
BADUMP¡ BADUMP¡ as her pounded like a drum, to her surprise, Irene found that she could no longer maintain herposure. Her emotions which should have been frozen and sealed, were always in turmoil because of this man.
Whenever he was around, she could never catch a break. Every single time he would do something stupid and unexpected and wreck his body.
She should be getting mad at him, she should have given him the silent treatment so why was it that when he said sorry, her heart melted like that? For the first time in a while, Irene found herself caught up in a situation where she didn''t know what to do.
"?"
While a myriad of sentiments was going through her head, she suddenly sensed the hands that were resting on her delicate waist suddenly roam around at this moment. Those big bad hands taking the liberty of the situation, started moving all around her back.
Feeling the delicacy of that smooth soft skin, it started moving downwards towards those mighty and majestic buns. Just as the richness and plumpness of those two mountains was about to be grasped in entirety by Simon, his hands were suddenly smacked away.
"You!!" Irene who quickly fled away from his escape was looking at him while gritting her teeth. She then turned around and refused to look at him.
Simon who got absorbed in the moment, couldn''t help but me his hands for being mischievous at this time. He was here to mend the situation not make it worse, what was he going to do if Irene reverted back to ignoring him again?
Simon didn''t know what was going through Irene''s mind hence he decided to thicken his face and continue their conversation.
"Cecilia made me do a pinky promise. She said that if I didn''t do it, she would never forgive me".
"What promise did you make with her?" Maybe the topic interested her or maybe it was because of something else, Irene questioned with her back facing him.
"She asked me to promise that I would never die and I couldn''t bear to reject so I made that promise. That being said, I fully intend to keep it; however, I am not so na?ve to believe that I can get through all the obstacles in the future all on my own. That is why, I want you to help me"
Simon bowed his head "I want to get stronger. Strong enough that I wouldn''t worry those around me anymore. Strong enough so that they won''t have to cry anymore".
Hearing his earnest words, Irene who was looking away slightly turned her flushed red face towards him. She looked at his bowing figure before sighing.
"Alright, I will support you in every way that I can. But just to make it clear, I haven''t forgiven you yet. Not only did you gamble with your life but your earlier behaviour too¡" the moment she mentioned thest part, her heart started beating rapidly and her face became furious.
"Anyways, make sure you are fully healed, we will start training after you are done with your tasks" leaving behind those words, Irene disappeared from the ce as if escaping from a predator.
Now left all alone, Simon looked at her escaping back profile and then at his hands as he smiled. That feeling earlier was the best, these were his honest thoughts.
Chapter 618 618- Upgrading The Dungeon & Training
Later that day, to celebrate the recovery of their lord, the Forest Spring Spirits threw a big party. Of course, all of his subordinates were involved in the preparation.
The Valkyries spared no efforts to cook all kinds of dishes showcasing their [Cooking] and [Housework] skills. Guided by the maids, Cecilia tried her hands at some new cooking too. Although she wasn''t bad, the dish she created was just¡ let''s leave it at that.
The forest spring spirits decorated the entire vige making seem like a festive season. The town square was lit up with activity, people danced with their partners and enjoyed the food and drinks on the table.
Of course, Simon who was the man of the show, was also enjoying the entire thing. But he was also busy at the same time with familiesing to him asking for his blessing.
"Lord Simon please bless our baby" A young forest spring spirit couple approached him with their newborn baby in tow.
They asked him to touch the baby''s head who was soundly sleeping wrapped around a towel. It seemed like in their custom, they usually asked the patriarch of their n to do it. Now that Simon had be a simr existence for them, they came to him asking for his blessing.
It was not only them, many new couples who had sired a baby, made a line behind the first to get the blessing for their babies too.
Since it was a good thing that the dwindling poption of the forest spring spirits was growing, he happilyplied. Although Simon had no divine powers, he prayed and wished for good health and prosperity for all the babies.
And just like that, amidst the festivities, the day came to an end.
The next day, Simon gathered all of his subordinates on the [Main Floor] and asked them about the current condition of the dungeon.
"What voice? Gifts?"
When he asked them for details, Simon was surprised to find out that the rank of his dungeon had increased. Dungeon Lace which was a [D] tier low ranking dungeon before, has risen to be a [C] tier intermediate ranking dungeon.
Because he had spent the remainder of his day apologising to his subordinates after recovering his body, Simon hadpletely missed this point.
Now that he thought about it, he could feel the density of mystical energy on the main floor had increased tremendously. Not only that, there are numerous other changes that urred on his main floor that Simon could take his time and investigate.
For now, he concentrated on the reports of his subordinates. The voice that they mentioned seemed to havee from the dungeon when it ranked up and the gifts that they received were simrly due to this cause.
Now that Simon had ranked up to a Demon Earl, he had inherited new memories. Hence after recalling, he understood what this Gift was.
Gifts referred to a special present bestowed by the dungeon to every individual when it ranked up. These presents can be in the form of new abilities, levels, improvement in aptitude, evolutions, skills¡etc..etc.
Depending on their need, every individual received a different Gift. For example, the [Helpers] received new skills that allowed them to perform their duties better.
Some of them gained skills that allowed them to scout and observe the invaders of the dungeon more proficiently. While others gained skills that increased their hiding capability.
It was not only the low ranking members of his dungeon that received the gift, even the Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse, Valkyries, Cecilia also received gifts.
In the case of the Bloodthorn Demonic warhorse who was one of the major contributors in the dungeon defence, it not only received a ton of levels by killing thousands of adventurers, but the gift it received was in the form of a skill called [Nether Shift] where it can go into a form that allowed him to ignore all physical damages for a couple of minutes.
For the Bloodthorn demonic warhorse who was quick to charge into the ranks of enemies, the [Nether Shift] would allow him to cause even more chaos. Plus Simon could tell that the rank of the skill was not low, at the very least it was a Rare Ancient tier skill.
From the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse, he also learned that the former three overlords of the north, Berigard and a couple of Diluvian High Orcs and some who performed splendidly during the defence, also received some good gifts.
In the case of Cecilia, no evident change happened to her but she herself told Simon that her gift was in the form of aptitude. As could be seen from the way how quickly she manifested her hidden powers.
All of his subordinates received some kind of Gift; however, the ones who received the most benefits from this, would be the Valkyries.
Although they did not receive some fancy skills or abilities, their gifts were in the form of limit release. That is to say, Ate and the others who had their levels suppressed and locked when he summoned them from that bugged option, finally gained their original strength back.
They who were constrained at level 699, finally gained their original powers which increased their overall level to 750.
Of course, one cannot just simply only look at their levels to determine their strength after all, each of the valkyries also had their racial forms which further boosted their strength.
Nevertheless, it was the truth that the overall strength of the valkyries increased. Now, if they can also get their Heirlooms too, the valkyries would reach their peak setting, just the way he had created them.
Looking at all the incredible gifts that his subordinates received, it would be a lie to say that Simon wasn''t jealous. Because unlike them, he had not received any gifts.
Of course, as the master of the dungeon and it being a part of him, Simon received arge amount of levels when the dungeon increased in rank. But due to him reaching his bloodline limit, those levels and experience points were stored away.
It was only after he ranked up to a Demon Earl, that the stored experience points started acting up. His ears buzzed at that time with the repeated notification of him levelling up.
Simon''s level which should have been 501 after just ranking up, rose all the way up to level 535 in one go. It was just like the time when his dungeon ranked up for the first time. After killing Gelgar and his cronies who dered a dungeon war on him, his dungeon ranked up from [E] to [D]. At that time, he received arge amount of levels.
Well, in a way it can be said that his gift was levels. It was good thing. When he thought about it this way, Simon''s mood immediately improved.
Of course, now that the dungeon had ranked up, there were a lot of new options and settings that opened up. Various new sections and items in the [Shop] that he could purchase before due to the limitation of the dungeon, became avable to him.
Simon had no doubt in his mind that once he installed all those upgrades, his dungeon would be even more powerful. However, exploring with all the new upgrades cameter, right now there were other pressing things that he needed to address.
ording to Irene, close to two months had passed while he was lying in his bed unconscious. He needed to catch up with all the news and what was going around inside his dungeon. He needed to know about the current activities of the adventurers, the tower town and so on so forth.
"Coleus... tell me what''s the current situation of the dungeon?"
When called out, Colues the leader of the [Helpers] stepped forward and reported.
"Replying to my lord, the current situation of the dungeon isn''t very good. the new adventurers that were attracted to the dungeon a month ago, have already conquered the 50th floor and have been steadily making progress every day"
"Although miss Irene added new floors to dy the adventurers, it is unknown how long it would be able to stop them".
While he was listening to Coleus'' reports, Simon''s eyes simultaneously scanned the [Main Mneu] which was showing him the three-dimensional structure of his dungeon.
Irene who managed his dungeon while he was out ofmission, indeed added few new floors from where he left that is to say, from the 56th floor. She added four new floors and shifted all the important floors below.
It was a good decision on her part to add more floors but the problem was that the floors she created were far too simple and wouldn''t be able to contain the adventurers for long.
"Who are the ones that are currently keeping the adventurers busy?" Simon asked, he could see some allies that were represented by green dots on the 51st floor. there were quite a few green dots up there but there were also a lot of red dots that indicated they were facing the invaders.
Two months was a long time, Simon did not believe that his dungeon was capable of stopping the current batch of adventurers, especially if they were stronger than before. There had to be someone stopping on the 51st floor all this time or else, their conquest wouldn''t have just stopped on the 50th floor.
"On miss Irene''s orders, the Ogoraths have been stationed on the 51st floor. Sir Bloodthorn Demonic Warhose was also there a few moments ago. Other than them, the three disaster ss beasts are also ced there to stop the advance of the dungeon at any cost".
So that''s what was going on, it seemed that Irene had created a defensive wall of sorts on the 51st floor knowing that the lower floors won''t be able to stop the adventurers for long.
Chapter 619 619- Upgrading The Dungeon & Training (2)
The more he heard about the current situation of the dungeon, the more frustrated he got. He was frustrated not at his subordinates, but at himself. To think that he would leave his dungeon in such a precarious state.
What would have happened if he didn''t make it in time? Had he decided to stay in that dream, would his dungeon be still standing? Losing everything he had built so far, just the thought of it send shivers down his spine.
Simon released a deep breath of sigh and thanked his subordinates. Had it not been for them, he would have lost everything.
"You guys have worked hard". He could see from the exhausted look on their face that they did not have an ounce of rest for a long time.
"My lord, this is our duty. Even if we have toy our lives down, we will keep the dungeon safe" Coleus and the other [Helpers] hurriedly bowed their heads and dered.
Simon couldn''t help but helplessly shake his head at their loyalty. There was no way he was going to let that happen. Now that he was up and conscious, he was going to make sure that everything goes back to normal.
"My lord" Coleus called out.
"?"
He extended his hands and passed a bag towards him. When Simon looked inside the bag, he was surprised to find that it was full of space rings.
"My lord, these are the space rings that we gathered from adventurers after the dungeon defence" Coleus exined.
The space rings were full of various sorts of artefacts, weapons, armours and possessions of the adventurers. Their qualities were not bad, most of them were around [B] tier with some [A] tier in the mix.
The rank up of the dungeon and the gifts weren''t the only benefits they received from the whole ordeal, the massive amount of DP and possession of the adventurers were also left behind for them to use.
Simon nodded his head and kept the bag inside his inventory. Once he sorts out all the items inside the space rings, he would distribute them to his subordinates as per their needs.
Though that being said, these items were meant for the adventurers to use so most of them might be unsuitable for them. Well in thest case scenario, he can always use them for the treasure chests or inside that mysterious abyss of his main menu.
Thest time he failed to evoke any response even after throwing dozens of [C] rank artefacts inside it but maybe it will show some response this time once he used this many items.
In any case, they were consumables for him to use and if it could help him better understand some of the mysteries of his [Main Menu], then why not?
After discussing various others issues with his subordinates, Simon asked them to continue putting their efforts for a few more days. During this time, Simon started upgrading his dungeon like a madman.
First, he altered the new floors that Irene had created, making them treacherous and more tricky to tread before moving on to adding new floors.
One of the newest upgrades after his dungeon became an intermediate tier dungeon, was the increase of floor count. Now Simon can add up to a hundred and fifty floors to dungeon Lace.
Not only that, he can also apply floor effects called the ''Affliction'' on some of the floors. The Affliction can be in the form of various status effects that can nerf, weaken, deteriorate the status or the condition of the invaders making it more difficult for them to clear the floors.
Or he can also instead choose to strengthen the condition of the natives of that floor using the Affliction. It was one or the other.
For example, he can apply the Affliction of -15% stamina on the invaders on a floor or he can choose to strengthen the monsters with the very same Affliction..i.e monsters +15% stamina. Of course, he cannot apply both because of the limitations of the dungeon.
Additionally, only one kind of Affliction can be applied on the floors of a [C] tier dungeon at a given time. There were different kinds of Affliction like the Attack -10%, Healing rate -15%, fire resistance -35% and so on and so forth.
One needed to choose carefully which Affliction to apply on what floor since it had a long cooldown time and took a ton of DP to remove the floor effects. Of course to Simon who was a former game developer, this was an element he could take full advantage of to make his dungeon stronger than ever before.
Other than that, the maximum number of floors that can be applied with Affliction on a [C] tier dungeon was 10.
Of course, once his dungeon''s rank increases further he would be able to apply affliction on more floor, not only that he would be able to use more than one Affliction on each floor and of varying effects.
But that is something for the future, currently he had to make do with only ten floors and one Affliction each.
The other upgrades that the dungeon received after increasing in rank was the [Spawn] option. Simon was now able to spawn more powerful monsters befitting the dungeon''s rank like the hellhounds, sand golems, firefox and such.
Not only that, traps like the magical traps, teleportation traps also became avable for him to install now.
Simon finally understood why it was so difficult to conquer a dungeon starting from the intermediate rank. It was because of the existence and influence of these many elements that made the intermediate tier and higher ranked dungeon so formidable.
Simon quickly got to work, his fingers swiping around the windows at an astonishing pace. Even though his dungeon had ranked up to be an intermediate tier dungeon, with the way it was right now, it would not be wrong to say that in essence, it was still at [D] tier dungeon.
He needed to quickly install all of the new upgrades and fortify his dungeon as soon as possible.
Simon put all of his years of knowledge, experience and achievement into it and soon new and new floors started popping up every day. With him back and taking the helm once again, his subordinates felt much more sense of peace.
The gloomy aura that the inhabitants of the dungeon Lace were surrounded with, dissipated like it was never there.
After a few days, Simon called all of his subordinates from the frontlines back and the wall of monsters blocking the 51st floor was removed, allowing adventurers to explore further.
New floors, new monsters, new traps and new Affliction were installed in the dungeon every day. One would think that with the way, Simon was splurging his DP stocks, he would soon run out.
However, far from it, his DP showed no signs of reducing instead it showed an increasing trend. With the greater influx of adventurers diving inside his dungeon, the DP that he earned was higher than before.
Not only that, with him offering generous rewards (the items he got from the expedition team) for clearing floors, higher levelled adventurers also flocked into his dungeon and soon the dungeon Lace entered a flourishing time.
During this time, Simon dedicated himself to his role as the dungeon master. Of course, he didn''t forget the date he made with Irene.
Training floor, a vast expanse ofnd with nothing in sight for as far as the eye can see.
"You are here early? Did you finish your task already?" Irene who saw Simon walking over asked.
Simon shed a bitter smile, shrugged his shoulder and retorted "The job of a dungeon master is never over. In fact, the more I work, the more the tasks seem to increase. It''s like its never ending".
"That being said, one needs a change of pace every now and then. Doing things excessively is not good. I have just survived from a near death experience, I cannot afford to copse again and make my subordinates worry. Besides, the dungeon is stable now, even if I leave my post for some time, it should be alright".
Seeing Simon make jokes like that, Irene felt that something was different about him. Ever since he came back to his consciousness and recovered from his injuries, something about him had changed.
It was not the external change that Irene was talking about, if she had to point it, it would be more of an internal change. Like how the air around him was different. He used to have that reticent and impassive aura around him. But looking at him now, he seemed to be more rxed andposed.
As if a weight that has been weighing on his heart for years, has somehow disappeared. Irene did not pry about his changes and started their training just like usual.
"Although I agreed to train you, what sort of picture did you have in mind when you asked me that at that time?" Irene questioned.
"What do you mean?"
"I''m asking what sort of direction do you want to grow in. As you know, the race of demon nobles are blessed with an allround stats. Physicalbat and magic casting, it excels in both the fields. So which discipline do you have in mind?"
"I was thinking... both" Simon replied after thinking about it for a bit. he knew that his magic stats were higher than all of his other stats and he tends to rely on his magic all the time. However, his other stats weren''tgging behind too far apart and it would be a waste not to utilise them.
Chapter 620 620- Upgrading The Dungeon & Training (3)
"Haa!!..."As if expecting his answer, Irene released a deep breath of sigh. "So you are telling me that you want to dig two disciplines at once? Do you know how hard that is? Just digging one discipline takes others a lifetime and even then, it is not guaranteed that they will be able to reach the essence of that discipline much less reach true mastery in it".
"And here you are talking about digging not one but two disciplines at once. Do you think it will be that easy?"
"I know it won''t be easy. However, I have to do it. I have too many things I need to protect. if I don''t be stronger than anyone else, I won''t be able to keep others from taking away the things that are dear to me".
Silent nced at the silent Irene and exined his reasoning. Thinking that it still might not be enough to convince her, he added¡ª
"I know, it might sound foolish and I maye to regret it in the future. However, I still want to give it a try".
Seeing him insist so much, didn''t want to reject him outright and throw a cold bucket in his parade.
"Alright, but it doesn''t change the fact that what you decided to do is extremely foolish. With your average aptitude even understanding the essence of one disciple will be a monumental task not to mention you have to aplish that in two disciplines".
"The effort you need to put in has to be hundreds of times higher than all the others. Are you prepared for it?"
Simon readily nodded his head not knowing what kind of hell was awaiting for him and how much he regretted this day. Nevertheless, from this point on, there was no turning back for him.
"I have often seen you run headfirst at your enemies. It was not only this time, but whenever you find your magic having no effect, you resort to a physical exchange. And honestly, you have won all of your battles up until now because of your powerful items. However, in the future as you start facing true powerhouses, that advantage will be gone"
"Weapons and artefacts are secondary strengths, they shouldn''t be used in any other way but to enable yourself. Your own strength is primary and what you can rely on every time. Of course, having a better artefact can many times be the deciding factor in a fight and I''m not telling you it is bad to use".
"But you tend to rely on them too much. There are several ways to disable the buffs of an artefact or weapon. At that time, the only thing that will help you is your own strength and skills"
"That being said, you attack patterns and the way you use your skills are too simple and easy to avoid. Have you ever wondered why your enemy was able to easily read your movements?"
As Irene talked on, Simon became silent. He had no excuse for hisck of strength. After all, what Irene said was all true and Simon himself wanted to get stronger. He didn''t have time for a slow and mellow training. Instead Irene''s current harsh tone suited him much better since it told him all the areas he wascking in.
Simon recalled his fight with Davis, his opponent was seemingly able to read his moves easily. He thought that after acquiring the Sword Mastery skill, he would be able tp hold his own in a direct physical fight.
However, his sh with Davis showed him otherwise. Even though the guy was a mage, his physicalbat abilities were higher than his own.
"If you are thinking about that person from the adventurer''s association, you should know that the only reason he was able to block all of your attacks was due to the [Intuition] skill" Irene mentioned.
"Intuition Skill?" What kind of skill was that, Simon frowned.
"It is a skill that allows one to predict the movements of their opponent. Didn''t you find it strange how that guy was able to see through all of your attacks? It was due to the [Intuition] skill. It was also one of the skills that I want you to acquire if you are hell bent on learning physicalbat".
So it was because of that skill, no wonder Davis was able to read through all of his attacks as if he could see theming. It wasn''t because the other party''s physical abilities were greater than his, it was because they had the [Intuition] skill.
"Higher levelled warriors usually have the evolved version of this skill. So if you want tobat [Intuition] skill, you need to acquire [Intuition] yourself".
Simon continued to absorb Irene''s knowledge. Before he knew it, he found himself bing the same Simon who had newly joined thepany and was hungry for knowledge.
Irene told him about a set of skills that he needed to acquire before reaching the next rank and what sort of training he needed to do for that.
"Right, open your status and have a look?"
At this moment, Irene suddenly made a peculiar request. Nevertheless, heplied with it and looked at his [Status].
"Can you see the difference after your rank up?"¡
"Yeah, I gained a lot of new skills and most of my old skills evolved"¡
"That''s right, most of your normal skills have evolved into Ancient tier, even the Rare and Lost skills have at least be Superior tiers. A person''s strength isn''t judged by how many skills they have but by the quality and tiers of their skills".
"In this aspect, you already have a superior foundation than most of the other demon nobles around your rank or even the humans to say. Do you understand what I am getting at?"
Irene folded her hands and looked at Simon. If there were sses on her eyes, she would look like the most ideal of teacher.
That being said, Simon did understand what she was pointing at.
"You want me to increase the tiers of my skills?".
"That''s right, though strictly speaking increasing the tier of a skill is even harder than acquiring a new skill. Especially when the tiers of your skills are already that high".
"But didn''t you say that I need to focus on training and acquiring new skills? Are you saying that I need to focus on all of them at once?".
When he mentioned that Irene''s crystal blue eyes stared dagger at him.
"Of course, you also have the option of increasing the tier of your skills by ranking up an option that not just anybody has. But didn''t you tell me that you wanted to be proficient in both physicalbat and magic? I thought you already understood how incredibly difficult that was? if you understand then get ready to train till you spew out blood from your mouth"
It might just be his imagination but he saw her sh a cold smile at the end of her sentence.
"¡Yeah" Simon replied.
This was a side of Irene that he had never seen before. Did she really n to train him till he spewed out blood? For a second there, he was starting to regret his choices. However, the dice had been cast and Simon was not a person to go back on his words. Which meant that it was already toote, it was do or die.
What Simon didn''t know was that, had anyone else said the exact same thing about digging two disciplines at once, she would have no doubt t-out refused them for their idiosyncrasy.
However, she didn''t do so for Simon was because she partly believed in his potential and partly because he had the aid of his dungeon, his subordinates and most importantly, the pond of serenity that was turning out to be quite a treasure in itself.
His average aptitude was not a problem because the pond would be able to slowly change him not to mention the other benefits he would get from it.
Perhaps Simon might really be able to do it. If that happens, he would be one of the strongest demon nobles out there.
"No, he has already started walking the Path of the King. Although I don''t know how long I will be able to help you, I will make sure that you are strong enough to throw your weight around in this world before I¡"
Seeing the figure of Simon pondering intensely while looking at his status, Irene muttered to herself.
And thus the prelude to an intense hellish training started. To help him out, the Valkyries were also summoned to the training floor. Where various sorts of terrains and equipment were built to help Simon with his training.
When he was done with the training for the day, he would be assaulted by the tasks of the dungeon that piled on. The busy life of the dungeon master of Lace started like a hellish nightmare that had no ends in sight.
Even when he regretted his choice until his stomach turned green, he had no one but himself to be med.
The training was always varied and came with its own ups and down so there was never a monotonous day in Simon''s life. It was the one thing that he was grateful for.
------
Name:- Simon
Race:- Demon Earl
Titles:- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 2/5]
Level:- 535
Stats:-
HP:- 201,501
MP:- 305,100
Strength:- 5005
Defence:- 5305
Agility:-6075
Magic:- 6675
Endurance:- 5540
Luck:- 3000
Skills:- Language Comprehension, Analysis, Mental Map, Infernal Magic Mastery, Gale Magic Mastery, Lightning Magic Mastery, High-Speed Thought Processing, Ultra Regeneration, Ultra High-Speed Flight, Ultra Enhanced Strength, Body Reinforcement, me Resistance, Wind Resistance, Electro resistance, Pain Resistance, Blunt Damage Resistance,Sense Presence, Hide Presence, Abstruse Demonic Eyes, Ultra Enhanced Agility, Ultra Enhanced Endurance, Ultra Enhanced Magic, Ultra Enhanced Defence, Minimal Mana Consumption, Sharpened Senses, Superior Mana Lines, Sword Mastery, Demon Earl''s Intimidation, Resilient Mana Hide, Piercing Demon Roar, ck sh, Dark Deprivation, Dark Lock, Chilling Touch, Soul Empowerment, Poison Resistance, Blunt Damage Resistance, Cut Resistance, Piercing Resistance, Demonic Eye Resistance, ??????, ??????
Amalgamation Skills:- [me-Gale Mastery], [Electro-me Mastery]
Inherent Skills:- Dungeon Creation, Main Menu, Ancestral Symbol Ignition
------
High-Speed Regenration¡ú Ultra Regenration
High-Speed Flight¡ú Ultra High-Speed Flight
Super Enhanced Strength¡ú Ultra Enhanced Strength
Body Enhancement¡ú Body Reinforcement
Super Enhanced Agility¡ú Ultra Enhanced Agility
Super Enhanced Endurance¡úUltra Enhanced Endurance
Super Enhanced Magic¡ú Ultra Enhanced Magic
Super Enhanced Deene¡ú Ultra Enhanced Defence
Mana Lines¡ú Superior Mana Lines
Demonic Eyes¡ú Abstruse Demonic Eyes
----
[??????] and [??????] in the stats were learned during the battle with the seven swords guild when Simon achieved a more profound understanding of the curse energy and created his own skills using it.
Chapter 621 621- The Queen Of Harpies
The nightmarish training continued every day. The only time Simon got breaks was when his taskas as the dungeon master caught up with him or during the time he spent diving inside the serenity pond.
Even the mind numbing pain of the serenity pond became something of a delightful escape for him. One could imagine what sort of hellish training regime Irene had prepared for him.
It was not only Simon that was training wholeheartedly, all of his subordinates were affected by this atmosphere and devoted themselves to get stronger. Whether it be the Valkyries or even the unsuitable forbat [Helpers], they all came to Irene for guidance and polished the skills and gifts they received from the dungeon.
They trained diligently not for themselves but for the sake of one person, Simon.
Days passed by with the dungeon transforming every day. New floors, new rewards popped up attracting more and more adventurers even from the distant kingdoms. With the rise of the fame of the dungeon the tower town along with the neighbouring cities flourished.
Ten monthster...
Deep inside the western region of the Gasthly Winding Forest, a group could be seen fighting a horde of Harpies that came swarming at them from all directions.
Harpies were one of the top predators of the Ghastly Winding Forest, having a body that was half-human, half-bird. They had razor sharp talons and feathers that could even pierce an armour made of ckGold like it was butter.
With a p of their wings, they generated intense gales and were called the rulers of the sky. They were also known as the personification of the storm winds and although they had beautiful bodies, their face was like an evil, malign ghost.
Fighting these hordes of harpies that could tear even an adventurer above level 500 with their talons and feathers, were none other than Simon and his party. He was currently apanied by three of the five valkyries, Ate, Bianca, Emma, the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse and several Mk8 Andromedas.
Not only that, flying in the sky with their raven ck body and breakneck speed, were the Revenant Crows edition 5. They were surveilling the area from high up in the skies and helping Simon clear the Harpies.
With the expansion of the [Workshop], it became possible for the Third Guardian to create more variations of the warmachines from the game [Rise of the Demolishers]. The Revenant Crows were just one of many warmachines that were currently being mass-produced in the [Workshop].
During this period the industrial floor that was the [Workshop] had seen a revolutionary growth. With Wisp unlocking more of its spirituality, the Null Elemental was starting to showcase some of its logic breaking powers.
The wonders could be seen on the floor it monitored. Factories producing war machines 24X7 lined up the floor with more and more popping up every week and the Revenant crows were just one of the many wonders that came out of the [Workshop].
Revenant Crows, a high-tech drone equipped with wide area destructive weapons, powerful sensors and stealth. In the game, they were a powerful force that often backed the [Gigantomachia]. T
he current Edition 5 although not as powerful as Edition 1, was still quite a help. Not only can they fire powerful wide area ammunitions, they can also spy on enemies.
Learning his lessons from the orc invasion, Simon had deployed quite a number of them around his dungeon and even across the ghastly winding forest. Everything that the drones saw, was transmitted back to Wisp who thenpiled and summarised the information back to him.
Now that the Revenant Crows were surveilling the area around his dungeon, Simon was now quite at ease. He would immediately be alerted if any enemy or a group trying to harm his dungeon approached ten kilometres area around his dungeon.
"Master, all the harpies that were sent as a part advanced scout unit have been eliminated" Ate reported finishing clearing the harpies from the skies.
Simon nodded his head, activated his skill mental map and ordered. "Let''s proceed forward, the nest of their queen shouldn''t be very far from here".
As was obvious from his words, Simon and his party were currently inside the Harpy''s territory and have already fought with several hordes of Harpies.
This begets the question, why were they fighting with the harpies? The reason for that was simple, a few months ago Wisp appeared on the [Training Floor] to report something to Simon.
Even though it was super busy remodelling the floor and mass producing all those war machines, it still took the time out from its busy schedule to appear personally. One could clearly tell that something was wrong and it was indeed as such.
ording to the reports that Wisp gave him, one of the races living inside the western region of the ghastly winding forest, the Diluvian High orcs werepletely wiped out by the ck Ogre n.
All the Andromedas mk11 that were mining the territory at that time, were destroyed. Not only that, but from the partially destroyed Andromedas who were still somehow able to send a transmission back, it was able to learn that the n of ck ogres were acting peculiarly.
Their high ranking members like the crimson horns repeatedly travelled to the territories of the other ns residing within the western region. And slowly, arge mobprising of different races of monsters, was starting to gather inside the ck ogre''s territory.
What''s more, their objective was none other than the dungeon in the eastern region of the forest.
Simon who heard Wisp''s report immediately deployed the Revenant Crows towards the western region of the ghastly winding forest to spy on them. And after a few months, he was able to learn more about this movement of the several ns residing inside the western region of the forest.
It appeared that some kind of alliance was being formed to topple the still budding threat of the east which was him.
The leader of this alliance was the ck Ogre n who he had already antagonised by interfering in their war with the Diluvian orc race. At that time, Simon aided Berigard and his faction to wipe away the army of ck ogres after they were betrayed by the orc king.
Since he failed topletely wipe pit the remnants of the ogre army, he knew that a day like this woulde when the ck ogres would attack him. He didn''t think that a n that was led by one of the seven kings of the west, was going to let this humiliation lying down.
The counter of the ck ogre race was something that was bound toe, Simon had already expected it. Though what baffled him was them trying to gather allies to besiege his dungeon.
The king of the ck ogres who he had spied on with the Revenant Crows, was a powerful rulermanding great respect and authority from his subordinates. And from the way, he handled the situation slowly gathering allies, and formting ns, the crimson haired ogre seemed quite intelligent too.
He wasn''t someone that Simon could take on lightly. Hence from then on, he kept a close watch on the movement of the back ogres, especially the red haired one who had a single purple horn on his forehead.
He wasn''t very bothered by the movements made by the other ns since he knew he would be able to handle them. However, that was up until a few days ago when another n joined the alliance.
Had it not been for this n, Simon wouldn''t be here right now, hunting the Harpies. That''s right, the other n that joined the alliance of the ck ogre was none other than the Harpies, one of the seen king ns of this forest.
Just like Aldebaran and the king of the ogres, the queen of the Harpies was also one of the seven kings.
It was one thing if it was just the king of the ck ogres, Simon believed he would somehow be able to handle him. However, the matterpletely changed once the queen of the harpies also got involved.
Not to mention the individual strength of two of the seven kings, just theirbined forces were a huge threat to his dungeon.
From the Revenant Crows stationed near the territory of the ck ogres, he saw the messenger of the Harpies arrive a few days ago and spied on their subsequent talks.
It seemed like the king of the ogres was somehow trying to pull the n of Harpies to his side by bribing them something. Although he wasn''t able to spy in detail about their ns and if their talk had gone sessfully or not, what he knew was that he couldn''t allow this alliance to form.
Because once this happens, their forces would increase to a size big enough to pose a threat to his dungeon.
"How are the movements of the other kings?" Simon asked after seeing the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse who had been sent to scout the areas of the other king ns, return back.
"Reporting to master, the other king ns seemed to be oddly quiet. It doesn''t look like they have any ns to answer the call"¡
"Hmm¡ that''s good then" It wasn''t only the harpies, the other king ns were also invited by the kind of ck ogres to join the Alliance.
Had all the king ns joined their forces against him, the level of threat they would represent would be unprecedented. Fortunately for him, the seven kings weren''t a unified group.
Chapter 622 622- The Queen Of Harpies (2)
The seven kins each had their own agendas and territory they ruled. Of course, since their power was so great, they kept each other in check. No one was willing to fight the other and abdicate their throne.
Because of this, a unique equilibrium has formed among the seven kings. But that was before the alliance, the bnce was thrown out of the window with the king of the ck ogres and the queen of harpies making contact.
"Master, it looks like we are being surrounded once again. The queen must be nning to exhaust us by besieging us with their numbers" Ate reportednding beside him.
Simon nodded his head, he could already see the hordes of monsters encircling them from the Revenant crows who were acting as his eyes. As this ce was the territory of the harpies, they had the territorial advantage.
Not to mention being one of the king ns, they have many subsidiary ns under them. Trying to cut through their sheer numbers while trying to reach their queen who was probably sitting at the centre of their territory, would be quite tough.
If they tried, they might be able to reach her; however, doing so would not only leave them exhausted, but it would also reveal their cards to their enemies.
Right now, the advantage they had over their enemies, was that they are unaware of their exact strength. The queen of the harpies sending hordes of her subordinates towards him, was also to measure his strength. There was no way Simon was going to feed that information to her.
As such, their only option right now was to... "Clear our path behind, we will retreat for now. Once their numbers spread thin, we will mount the pressure again" Simon ordered.
The Andromedas and the Valkyries immediately started clearing the monsters that were trying to encircle them from behind. Once they were out of the encirclement, they discreetly entered the Ancient Treants territory.
The ruler of the Ancient Treants was an ally of Simon and after he passed the first trial of Aldebaran, he had been dered the friend of the ancient treants and given free reign to enter and exit their territory as he wished.
As such, when the Ancient Treants saw who the invader was, they did not make things difficult for him. And taking leverage of their ample presence, Simon and his party was easily able to hide from their pursuers.
Although the Ancient Treants led a slow ascetic life, they were nheless a dominant race and if ced in the food chain of the western region of the ghastly winding forest, they would rank at the very top.
There weren''t many races that could shake their position. Because of this, the other king ns usually avoided the ancient treants territory.
Additionally, situated in an advantageous location, there couldn''t be any ce for Simon and his party to avoid the eyes of one of the seven kings. The territory of the Ancien Treants was located in the middle of the western region which connected with the territories of all the other ns.
That is to say, he who could enter and exit the ancient treants territory as he wished, can traverse to the territory of the other seven kings without much trouble.
Can there be any more advantageous position than this? Of course, as a form of courtesy for letting him do as he wants, Simon did not forget to visit the Ancient Titan Treant to thank thetter for his assistance during the incident with Valdris. And also to ask him what he thought about this whole alliance situation.
Aldebaran simplyughed at his concern and told him not to worry about it too much. The ogre king''s alliance was nothing but a joke. many of the seven kings did not have a good rtionship with the Ogre king as such. Hence it was foolish of him if he thought that he can pull the other seven kings into his banner.
"Oh?! The Queen of the Harpies epted the invitation? Hmm, it is difficult to predict what that woman is thinking. Melinda was always a frivolous and calcting woman. I''m sure she has her own motive behind joining the alliance or is scheming something" Aldebaran murmured.
Hearing his musings, Simon couldn''t help but recall the information he gathered from the Revenant Crows.
"Could the King of the ck Ogres have something that the Queen of the Harpies desired?"
"Something that Gil-Garna possessed? Could it be the Six Nether''s Flower? Hmm.. if there is anything that could entice that woman to move at this point, it would definitely be that flower. But that''s odd, I felt the pulse of that flower going out a few months ago which other means the flower was absorbed or destroyed. so how is he nning to... interesting..."
Aldebaran who was muttering some stuff suddenly came to a realisation and made an amused face. His eyes then moved towards the demon as he made a crafty smile.
"If it''s as you said, then listen carefully. This piece of information will definitely help you to break their alliance"
Simon locked his brows and carefully listened to Aldebaran''s words. After a while, his frown loosened and a simr crafty smile crept to his face.
"This is really an excellent piece of news. I thank Alder for the information" Simon thanked Aldebaran and passed him a space ring.
"This is?"
"I heard from Elder Fennel that Alder likes booze. The space ring is filled with various kinds of alcoholic drinks from my dungeon... a small gesture of thanks on my part" Simon replied.
Aldebaran did not reject the gift and manner of factly opened it and started drinking. Seeing him already getting busy while muttering ''A nice gift'', Simon turned around to leave.
He didn''t know that this old treant was very fond of drinks. Fennel''s advice to bring some booze for the Ancient Titan Treant when setting out on his journey proved to be quite helpful.
Simon was just about to leave the area when an old ancient voice rang beside him.
"If you are going after Melinda first, let me give you a piece of advice. Never let your back down around her. She is a very scheming person, so stay on your guard until you seal the contract. Also, avoid looking at her eyes at all costs".
"She might be the weakest of the seven kings when ites to purebat. All of her strengthy in her eyes. You might have already guessed what I''m trying to hint at yes? She is an Evil Eyes user and is well versed in ocr powers and seducing her prey to do her bidding"
"Stay careful. That is all from me, I wish you all the best" Aldebaran gave him a few piece of advice before he left. Looking at his departing figure, the old treant gave a satisfied smile.
"He is a Demon Earl already. Haha, he is growing at an unprecedented rate. Not to mention he has already gathered some powerful subordinates by his side. I can finally see why he was chosen, I believe it wouldn''t be long before he steps into the Demon Duke rank. At that time, it would finally be the time to open that realm".
Aldebaran''s eyes which were on the demon, shifted towards his original body standing at the centre of the territory. Although the tree looked majestic and grand, like a pir connecting the heaven and earth at first nce, it was in fact slowly withering away.
There were no leaves on its branches and a part of its trunk was cracked.
"Lord Samael, Master¡ I now know how you guys felt at that time. Just like you have done for me, I shall do the same and support this young shoot who is yet to grow. Let me carve his path ahead so that he can inherit everything. This is the least I can do before my lifees to an end".
Haha... Aldebaranughed as he drank the bottle of liquors that Simon gave him.
-----
"Master you are back"
Once Simon was back the Valkyries immediately surrounded him and started observing his body for any scratch or wounds.
"I told you, the Ancient Titan Treant is an ally. He will not try to harm me".
It was because of this very reason that Simon had to order his subordinates to stay here while he visited Aldebaran alone. The Valkyries who had seen him go through the trial set by Aldebaran from that unique realm, were showing faint hostility towards thetter.
Even when he tried to tell them that he was an ally, they weren''t convinced. Thus he had no choice but to make this trip alone.
"If you say so"
Ate breathed a sigh of relief after seeing there was not a single scratch on his body. Knowing that the Valkyries were concerned on his behalf, Simon could only smile helplessly and change the subject.
He ryed the information he got from Aldebaran and prepared ns on how to better deal with the queen of harpies.
"So we have to make sure that we don''t look at her eyes?"¡
"That''s right, ording to Aldebaran she is able to manipte her prey. It would make things unnecessarily difficult if one of us were to fall prey to her eyes and gets controlled. So let''s avoid that"
"Other than that, it is also unknown what other kind of Evil Eyes she has. Make sure you guys use your skill to read the enemy''s movements instead of looking at them" Simon cautioned.
Having information on your enemy even before they shed, put them at an advantage. Simon did not want to lose that edge over a mistake.
That being said, the value of such information couldn''t even be measured.
Chapter 623 623- The Queen Of Harpies (3)
Even though Aldebaran could have provided him with no information about the enemy, as this was a trial for Simon and something that he needed to do with his own strength, they still chose to do so.
From this one could tell how much Aldebaran favoured him. Although they did not say that themselves, providing information on the enemy could only mean that they wanted him to seed.
And frankly, Simon had noints with the trial since it was continuously pushing him an helping him to grow stronger.
Because of the promise he made with Aldebrana and the forest spring sprits, he felt the need and urgency to get stronger every day.
Subjugating the Seven Kings of the west, once hepleted the trail, Simon wondered how stronger he would be by then.
"By the way, why is that treant all messed up and bruised?" Simon pointed.
Not far away from their resting spot, was an ash ck ancient treant with its branches broken and trunk cracked, making a sorry sight. For some reason, Simon felt a familiar aura from that treant.
"Hmph, Master does not need to worry about that old tree. He got what he deserved" the Valkyries replied fuming at the treant.
Simon sighed, he did not know what happened while he was gone; however, they were on foreign territory, it wasn''t a good idea to beat someone else''s subordinate.
"Are you alright?" Simon approached the ancient treant and asked.
"Yeah¡ don''t worry about it" The ancient treant replied sluggishly. Although the injuries on its body were heavy, it was slowly recovering from them using its [Root] skill and absorbing the mana from the mystical veins underneath the ground.
"Your voice seems familiar, have we met before?"
From Simon''s point of view, all the ancient treants looked the same. Maybe it was possible to differentiate them a little with their colour; however, one needed a discerning eye for that.
"I''m Balsa, a loyal servant of the king of the ancient treants. You met me some time ago when you visited the Ancient Treants territory with a forest spring spirit girl".
Simon made a knowing nod after the ancient treant introduced itself. He finally understood why he felt a familiar aura from this treant and why the Valkyries beat the crap out of him.
It turns out that the Ancient Treant was the exact same one that fought against him and blocked his path when he visited the Ancient Treant''s territory for the first time. No wonder the Valkyries flipped out at him after all this guy used his high level at that time to suppress Simon.
It appeared that the Valkyries didn''t forget about any of the grievances that their master had suffered in the past.
Now that Simon knew who this guy was, Simon gave a bitterugh and helped the treant. at that time, it couldn''t be said that either of the party was wrong. Balsa was just doing his duty, hence Simon did not have any negative feelings towards him.
"I''m amazed!!"
"Hm?"
The Ancient Treant suddenly started talking about the past.
"I''m amazed that you became so strong so fast. It has only been a few years since thest time you visited this ce. At that time, it took all you had just to stay on your feet under the pressure of my aura. However, now your strength and increased to a level where even I feel a faint pressure from you"
"Well yeah, a lot of things happened since then" To Simon, this level of growth felt normal considering the things he had to go through. However, to a third person, his growth was nothing short of extraordinary.
Even if one searched the entirety of Althaea, one wouldn''t be able to find a single being capable of growing at a blindingly fast rate like Simon. After all, there are several factors to levelling and numerous barriers and bottlenecks in the way.
It shouldn''t be possible for anyone to level at such an insane rate. Considering that, Simon was truly an exception among the exception.
Of course, this astonishing growth was only possible because of the numerous circumstances he had to face. But therge part of it was due to the effects of the First Fragment of Pride.
If not for it, even with Simon''s superhuman perseverance and endurance, he would still be struggling to achieve the level he had now. That being said, the fragment of pride was a part of him, so it can be said that it is through his own strength that he achieved his current level.
Simon exchanged some small talks with Balsa, it turns out that this guy was quite good once you get to know him.
After a while, Simon returned back to his subordinates and got ready to move. He got a report from the Revenant Crows acting as his eyes inside the territory of the harpies that their forces have moved their search to a different side.
No was the time for them to rush towards the centre of their territory.
-------
On top of a tall mountain piercing through the clouds, Sitting on her throne loftily, was a woman of seductive beauty. She had a pair of ck wings decorated with beautiful ck feathers, light purple hair, soft white skin and talons for legs.
Much of her skin was exposed disying her alluring curves while the rest was covered by an armour that gave off a light green shin.
The woman was a Harpy; however, unlike her race which had a malevolent face, she was born with a beauty that could only be described as extremely alluring. coupled with her desirable body, she radiated a wild sexiness whose every move and gesture carried unimaginable temptation.
The woman had her eyes closed as shezed on her throne. Her shapely hand was casually ying with a ne that she snatched from one of her prey. Below the throne stood numerous harpies respectfully bowing their heads.
Who could the womanmanding respect and awe from all of the harpies around her be then the Queen of the Harpies?
Melinda who had her eyes shut, suddenly arched her brows. Her body moved and she instantly appeared at the edge of the mountain gazing down at thend below.
Even though her eyes were closed, it seemed like her gaze could prate through the clouds and look below without any problem.
Her movements naturally caught the attention of her subordinates.
"My Queen, is there something wrong?"
A few high levelled harpies asked. They were her personal guards and different from the disposables scurrying below.
"I felt like something was spying on me"¡
"That cannot be, only a few races in the entire ghastly winding forest is capable of flying at this altitude. I didn''t sense any of them entering our territory" the guards spoke looking all around the sky.
"Hmm¡ that''s weird my [Evil Eye of irvoyance] clearly felt something. Tell me did we find those intruders yet?" Melinda mused before asking a question.
"My Queen, the search is still on. The intruders somehow disappeared from our sight but we are searching for them everywhere" the subordinate reported shaking his head.
"Is that so? Should I use my [Limitless Seeking Eye] to find them I wonder"¡
"Please wait my Queen" While Melidna was musing whether to use her Evil Eyes or not, her personal guards hurriedly called out.
"My Queen, the Evil Eyes consume a lot of your mana. You have already exhausted yourself heavily by activating the [Eight Inner Eyes] for the Six Nether flower. Please refrain from using your evil eyes for now and conserve your mana. Leave finding those intruders to your subordinates, we vow that we will soon find out their location".
"Alright, I will leave it to you all and focus on my recovery"
Melinda decided. She was just about to return back to her throne when a deep and sarcastic voice sounded out from behind.
"Sorry for throwing a cold bucket on your parade, but I don''t think you will be able to rest". Several figures pierced through the cloud and materialised on top of the mountain.
"[Ice Phoenix Sigh]¡ release"
The moments those words were spoken, their auras flooded out and their presence could finally be felt.
The group that appeared in a grand fashion was none other than Simon and his party.
"A Demon Noble?" the high levelled harpies alerted by the presence of the demon, took to the skies and flocked near their queen as if trying to shield her from any unexpected attacks.
"How did they arrive here? What are the guards below doing?"¡
"Worry about thattter, protect the queen first"¡
"There are only five of them, we can easily overwhelm them with our numbers"¡
"That may not be true, our opponent is a demon noble. Where the hell did theye from, and why did they invade our territory?".
Seeing the harpies busily mouring something, Simon gave a big smile and introduced himself.
"Ah, my bad for thete introductions. You see I''m a Demon Earl who lives nearby and these are my subordinates. I was just passing by and thought that I should give the queen of harpies my greetings".
The harpies looked dumbfounded, who in their right sense would invade someone''s territory just to greet them? Be that may, they were not idiots. They could see that the demon had some scheme nned in his mind.
If it was some other time, they wouldn''t have hesitated to start a fight with him to chase him out. However, the demon had caught them at a bad time.
Starting a fight right now when their queen is exhausted was a bad idea. Hence even though they were furious at his sarcastic remarks, they had no choice but to tolerate it for the time being.
"You have given your greetings, now scram".
Chapter 624 624- Bringing An Army Along
"How can that be? After greetings isn''t it proper that we have a discussion? Haa!... you have guests who came from far away wouldn''t you even ask them for a ss of water" Simon shook his head and spoke in a manner that suggested he was exhausted from his travel.
Seeing him like that, Ate who was beside him couldn''t help but cover her mouth and restrain herugh. Simon was deliberately acting like a rascal to annoy them.
"Whistle~ I heard the Queen of Harpies was quite a stunner but seeing you all cover and shield her like that I guess the rumours were false. Haa¡ what a disappointment, truly you cannot trust the rumours".
"You!!"
Hearing the demon''s mannerless and vulgar way of speaking towards their queen, the high levelled harpies flew into a rage. However, before they could point their weapons at the demon, the queen of harpies herself stepped forward.
"You must be the demon of the east" Melinda stepped out of the encirclement of her subordinates and faced the demon.
"You heard about me?" Simon arched his brows and asked in interest.
"Of course, there isn''t any being in this forest who hasn''t heard about you, the demon who resides in the eastern region of the forest".
"Is that so..".
"May I ask to what do I owe the pleasure for the demon of the east greeting us in person?" Melinda smiled appearing extremely coquettish and provocative.
"I came to see you, I heard a lot about the queen of harpies and wanted to see you with my own eyes"
Seeing the harpy queen go silent, Simon teased "Why? Isn''t this a good time?"
"Hm? Of course not. The demon of the east came to see me in person, I''m overjoyed. Why don''t we go somewhere else and discuss in person¡ just the two of us"
Melinda said with a flushed face, her words wereced with double meaning and the way she moved her hands around her ample breasts, she was extremely thought provoking.
Simon who was cautious of her eyes was looking at her body. As a man, there was no way he wasn''t affected; however, speaking of beauties he had quite a few around him. As such, this level of temptation wasn''t enough to make him lose his mind over it.
"That''s a good idea but I''m not interested in a sultry woman. Why don''t we have a discussion here instead of somewhere else?".
Melinda''s brows twitched, clearly affected by that remark. Nevertheless, herposure didn''t break as she pointed at the demon and asked¡ª "What is it that you want to discuss with me?".
"It''s simple, a little informant told me that you have the intention to join the Ogre King''s alliance?".
The moment Simon mentioned that, the faces of all the harpies including the queen changed drastically.
The fact that they epted the invitation for an alliance from the ogre king should be an extremely secretive dealing. Even in their n, only a few harpies which included her personal guards were aware of it, so how did the demone to know of it?
What''s more, this was an alliance to siege the demon''s dungeon making the proceeding interaction awkward.
Melinda bit her thumb, while pondering in her head.
''Could it be that Gil-Garna betrayed me? No that can''t be true, there is no benefit for him in it when he himself suggested this alliance. Then could it be there is a mole among my subordinates?''.
Melinda turned to face her personal guards only to deny that possibility too. All her subordinates were loyal to their bones, there was no way they would betray her. Which mean that the information leaked from the Ogres side.
''Seriously, that fellow can''t even control the mouth of his own subordinates allowing the information to leak to the enemy. Now that it hase to this I have no choice but to switch sides''.
Melinda was a cautious and calcting woman who saw her own benefit first. She wouldn''t hesitate even for a second to abandon the boat if it ever showed signs of sinking.
"Haah, I don''t know how you heard of that, but what do you want from me? If you want I can reject the alliance"
When Melinda said that, her subordinates looked like they had something to say. However, she shut their mouth with the gesture of her hand and continued¡ª"So what will it be demon?".
Simon had a smile on his face enjoying the reaction of the harpies and their queen. He could guess their line of thinking but no matter how hard they thought, they would never be able to guess that the information did not leak from any side, instead it was something that was gathered by the Revenant Crows, a technology that wasn''t from this world.
He guessed that the Queen of Harpies would think about changing sides after learning about her character from the Ancient Titan Treant; however, even he was taken by surprise from her quick decision.
''So her exhaustion is that severe huh?'' there couldn''t be any other exnation than this.
The Revenant crows were swarming in the territory of the harpies. Of course, Simon overheard the talks the harpies were having. The queen of the harpies was trying to avoid a confrontation with him in her severely exhausted state after activating the Evil Eyes.
Simon couldn''t havee at a better time.
"Of course, the harpies not joining the alliance of the ogre king is a good thing. However, that is not why I''m here".
"Then why are you here?" Melinda had a bad premonition and it was further proven true when she saw the demon shing a wicked smile.
"Didn''t I tell you already, I came here for you".
"Presumptuous, know your ce demon" The harpy subordinates were finally unable to endure it and unsheathed their weapons. Being high levelled harpies, of course they had their own armours and weapons.
"So mister Demon Noble should I assume that you are here for no good reason?" Melinda asked her voice cold, a formless pressure that could onlye from someone in the Catastrophe ss descended onto the ce.
"Think whatever you want to think"
Simon replied unfazed. He and his party immediately got into a formation.
Hmph¡ Melinda snorted, now that it hase to this, a sh was unavoidable.
"My queen, please wait. Allow us to fight with them" her personal guards insisted.
Melinda looked at them and then at the demon and his subordinates before shaking her head.
"The enemy is not someone that you guys can handle alone".
"But¡ if you activate"¡
"There is no other choice" Saying that, Melinda who had her eyes closed up until this moment, finally opened them.
Immediately, the sky turned dark and a weird chill settled onto the ce. It was as if a dangerous beast who had been sleeping all this time, suddenly woke up.
The moment Melinda opened her eyes, the entire aura around her changed. The air of temptation that she naturally exuded, tripled or even quadrupled and her power level skyrocketed.
With the opening of her eyelids, her eyes finally came into view.
One could only describe her eyes with the expression weird. Even Simon did not have such strange eyes.
The reason for saying it strange was because she had four different pupils in each eye for a total of eight. It looked so mismatched and odd that one''s very skin would tingle just by looking at it.
However, one would only have the luxury to have any opinion about those eyes once they survived them. All who that dared to directly gaze into Melinda''s eyes faced demise without any exception. Hence only a few people knew how strange her eyes were.
"Make sure you never gaze at her eyes when you fight her" Simon heeded Aldebaran''s words and shifted his gaze towards her shadow.
"Charge"
The harpies shouted. Now that their queen had opened their eyes, they needed to end this fight as soon as possible. A couple of harpies rushed towards the demon. However, a warhorse with a menacing look and ming body blocked their path.
"Dammit, go around it" The other harpies tried to manoeuvre around the warhorse but soon found themselves getting tangled and caught in something.
"What''s this I can''t move" The harpies who suddenly found themselves unable to move, noticed an invisible web all around the mountaintop.
"What?!" before they could realise where the web came from, one of the subordinates of the demon came rushing at them swinging her big golden bastard sword at them.
BANG¡ the Harpies that were hit felt a bone crushing impact and were sent crashing into the mountaintop with just one swing.
"There are invisible web lines around them, attack from the distance".
The harpies immediately realised that the enemy had alreadyid traps around them and changed into long distance attack.
They were called the incarnation of wild winds for no reason, each of the harpies when they spread their wings wide and pped them, they generated a berserk amount of razor sharp winds that destroyed the invisible web lines.
That was not all, the harpies that were sent crashing down by Bianca, rose back to their feet after using a skill called [Feather Heal].
"It''s not going to be easy"
Simon already knew that. Even if their queen was severely exhausted, the harpies were still one of the king ns of the western region of the ghastly winding forest. They were adept in fighting in the sky and their developed wings and razor sharp talons were a mark of that.
Chapter 625 625- Bringing An Army Along (2)
Their enemy''s forte was the sky battle whereas the Valkyries although still capable of fighting in the sky using the Mana Wings, they were nowhere as fast as when on the ground.
Because of this, even if the harpies were individually lower levelled them, a group of them are still somewhat able to hold back the Valkyries.
"Master those two¡"
"Yeah, I know" Simon could already see without Ate pointing it out, the two strongest subordinates of the queen of harpies were yet to join the battle. Those two were standing in the backlines andmanding the Harpies.
From their aura, it was evident that they were more powerful than the others around them. If the harpies fighting in the sky were around disaster ss..ie. around level 500, those two would be cmity ss. Beings that broke through level 600.
"Let''s take them out of theirfort zone. Revenant Crows attack" Seeing the haripes fight all coordinately in the sky, Simon smirked and ordered.
BOOOM... BOOM... Immediately after he gave hismand, two powerful explosions rang out and the harpies who were caught in the attack, fell down from the sky, charred and ck smokeing out of their body.
"What?!" caught by the surprise attack of an unknown enemy, the two powerful harpies turned towards the direction where they sensed the earlier attacking from.
However, when their eyesnded in that direction, to their surprise, they found no one there. Only the empty sky greeted them.
"How could that be?!" There was an invisible enemy that was even able to escape from their senses.
BOOM... BOOM... BOOM..
While the two powerful harpies were still in a state of shock, more and more attacks came from this invisible enemy from all directions. The harpies who took to the sky, all fell back in front of the might of those sts.
Simon came prepared, he did not just invade the territory of one of the seven kings without a n. He knew that the enemy would be a pain to deal with if they were allowed to fly. Thus to take them out of theirfort zone, he deployed quite a lot of Revenant Crows for this mission.
It was not just one or two raven ck drones that surrounded the mountaintop, but more than a dozen of them. It must be stated that the Revenant Crows Edition 5, were still in its work-in-progress state. And even with the current capability of the [Workshop], it takes a couple of weeks just to built one.
As such, the thirteen Revenant Crows that were deployed here, made up for 80% of the total spy drones he had with him. The rest were deployed near his dungeon and in the ck Ogre''s territory to monitor their actions.
From this, one could tell how serious Simon was to take down the queen of harpies.
"My Queen, there are invisible enemies all around us" The harpies stated with their heads down. Now that their queen had opened her eyes, even they did not dare to gaze at her.
"I know, they were the presence I felt a few moments ago. To think that there are things that can even avoid my detection skills... I will use my Limitless Seeking Evil Eye, make sure to destroy them promptly".
Melinda spoke, one of the pupils on her left eye that had a plus like mark glowed. immediately afterwards, a ripple spread through the space and travelled all around the mountain and the surrounding skies.
These powerful ripples detected the Revenant Crows and forced them out of their invisibility.
"What are these things? They look like some magical constructs. Could it be that they are a new type of golems?" The harpies wondered. Golems were not a rare sight to see in this world. As such the harpies thought the Revenant Crows were golems. A mistake that the people of this world often made.
That being said, the harpies felt a chill run down their spines, these things were able to easily bypass their detection without them being able to sense anything. if not for their queen revealing their existence, they would still be unaware of their presence and numbers.
"What are you dilly-dallying for you fools, quickly destroy them".
The two high levelled harpies shouted, snapping the others out of their daze. They pped their wings and let loose a storm of attacks towards the Revenant Crows.
If one looked carefully, hidden inside the razor sharp attacks of the harpies, were strands of feathers that were like a bolt of arrow capable of piercing through even the most studies of metals.
The frames of the Revenant Crows were made of Neosteel, a metal that was as sturdier than Balckgold and only a little lower than Mythril. Yet even the Neosteel was easily pierced through by those feathers as if they were paper.
This was one of the racial skills of the harpies, [Reinforced Feathers].
A couple of Revenant Crows that were priced through by those feathers, turned into swiss cheese and destroyed. The rest were targeted by the harpies again; however, Bianca activated her skill barrier and stopped any more of the warmachines from getting destroyed by those feathers.
A small shield on Bianca''s wrist absorbed all the damage. That was not all, right after the barrage of [Reinforced Feathers] stopped, tens of thousands of strings broke out of the ground and tangled with the harpies, binding them in ce.
"Cut them with your feathers and talons" By now, the harpies knew how to handle Emmas''s strings. They immediately cut the strings and freed themselves.
However, the strings behaved differently this time. After they were cut, the cut pieces woulde attacking them again and again no matter how many times they cut them. It was as if every strand of strings had its own mind and consciousness.
What''s more, the more smaller the strings became, the difficult it was to deal with them. The tiny strands of strings dug through the harpies skin and inside their bodies. A couple of the strings were no problem; however, when hundreds of them dug into their bodies it was of they were starting to losemand of their bodies.
To their fear, after a while they lost all connections with their bodies. It was as if they had be a foreign entity in their own body.
What''s more, the harpies that have lost allmand of their bodies, started attacking their own allies. With the sudden betrayal of the harpies, the situation on the mountaintop became more chaotic.
The other harpies tried to stop their fellow members; however, to their surprise a golden barrier covered those harpies controlled by Emma and returned any damage they suffered.
.
.
Seeing the disorder quickly spreading among the enemy lines, Simon couldn''t help but nod his head. His subordinates were disying the growth that they had from these past ten months of training.
Coupled with the fact that they were also provided with their heirlooms, the Valkyries had be a true force to reckon with.
The way they were right now, Simon believed that each of the Valkyries would easily be able to take on the seven kings themselves without much problem.
However, Simon didn''t want to take the easy option, subduing the seven kings was his trial. Although he relented to take their aid after they kept on bugging him, he was still unwilling to entirely rely on their powers to subdue the seven kings.
After all, if he did so there would be no meaning to the hellish training he had been undergoing all this time.
The Valkyries weren''t the only ones who had grown in these past few months. Brandishing his new [S] tier sword that he had upgraded from the [Armoury] Simon was just about to unt some of his skills, when he was beaten to the punch.
Not wanting to be outdone by his peers, the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse activated its [Hundred Mountains Charge], [Stampede], [Demonic Grasp] and [Nether Shift] and charged into the enemy lines.
In front of thebined powers of the Valkyries, the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse, Revenant Crows, even the two cmity ss harpies had no choice but to join the battle.
"At this rate, we will lose" Melinda came to a conclusion after watching the battlefield.
The enemies were constantly zoning them, not allowing them to use their advantage and created chaos constantly within their lines. Her subordinates were being forced into a situation where they are not even able to utilise their full strength.
This was no longer a battle, it was a one sided suppression. The forces of the demon were just that superior.
"The enemies are far more powerful than I thought" Melinda deduced. She had been using her Evil Eyes of Decay for a while but the enemy seemed to have been aware of her powers and have been constantly avoiding looking at her.
"Hmph¡ Evil Eyes of Empowerment" Understanding that it was pointless using the Evil Eyes of Decay, she changed her tactic.
Melinda activated the Evil Eyes of Empowerment to buff the powers of her subordinate instead.
One of the pupils in her right eye lit up. When she gazed at her subordinates with that pupil, strength surged within their bodies and their hidden potential seemed to have been unlocked.
The harpies who looked like they were on the verge of losing, suddenly found their footing once again. With newfound strength surging within their bodies, they were somehow able to free themselves from the enemy''s control.
"What happened, the Harpies look like they have been suddenly strengthened" Simonmented dodging a clump of [Reinforced Feathers] using [Intuition].
"I''m not sure, but it looks like the queen of the harpies had activated another one of her evil eyes?" Atemented walking beside him.
Chapter 626 626- Bringing An Army Along (3)
Ate had been ying an inactive part in this battle unlike her sisters. The reason for that was simple, her role was different from her sisters. Her task was to ensure the safety of their master rather than to fight the harpies.
She was unwilling to budge on this point ever since Simon told her that he would fight the queen on his own.
Since it looked like he would be unable to persuade her otherwise, Simon let her do whatever she wants. Besides, the others didn''t need her help to deal with the likes of the Harpies.
Simon nodded his head and questioned "How many does that make?".
"Counting the one she had been directing at us just until a few seconds ago, it makes three" Ate counted.
The three that she mentioned, were the number of Evil Eyes the Queen of Harpies had used up until now. Since Simon couldn''t gaze into her eyes, he was unable to tell, but Irene was different.
She was a superior spirit and using the aid of ne which an Heirloom, she was somehow able to look into the enemy''s eyes.
That being said¡
"Three Evil Eyes huh, I feel like she has much more than that, be on your guard" Simon cautioned. The queen of the Harpies wouldn''t have received her title if she only had three Evil Eyes.
"Anyways, it''s good for us. The more the queen exhausts herself buffing her subordinates, the better it is for us. Tell Bianca and Emma to continue mounting the pressure".
Simon''s strategy was simple. Force the queen of the harpies to continue to use her Evil Eyes. They had all overheard the Harpies discussing how draining it was for their queen to activate an evil eye.
From what they heard, she was already in an exhausted state. Given that fact wouldn''t she run out of gas sooner orter if she continued to use her evil eyes?
As if aware of her own predicament, Melinda gave a loud cry of frustration and deactivated her Evil Eyes of Empowerment.
"Go to sleep, Evil Eyes of Slumber" Seeing that things were going nowhere even by buffing her subordinates, she instead put those who got controlled to sleep. Once they fell asleep their fellow harpies were easily able to restrain them and lock them in ce.
''That makes four'' Simon silently counted in his head.
Huff¡ huff¡ Melinda took deep breaths of air, the strain from activating four evil eyes in her current state was starting to get to her. Nevertheless, as the queen of the harpies and one of the seven kings, she refused to show any weakness in front of her enemies.
She nced at her struggling subordinates, then at the maids before shifting her eyes towards the demon. Looking at the lineup he brought, she finally understood why Gil-Garna was so cautious against this demon going as far as to even create an alliance to fight against him.
It turned out that the demon was no less powerful than them, the seven kings.
"I must say mister demon noble, you are quite scheming. To think that you would attack me at such a time, were you waiting for this opportunity?" Melinda questioned, her voice bitter.
"Hm? I wonder what the queen of harpies is talking about?".
Seeing him still ying the rascal, Melinda bit her lower lip and came to a decision.
"Alright, I give up. I will do as you say and ally with you"¡
"What?"
"My Queen"
The harpies unable to believe their ears, turned towards their queen. But Melinda did not bother with them and continued to nce at the demon.
"Didn''t you say that your motive behinding here was me? It doesn''t look like you aren''t here to take my head or else you wouldn''t have only suppressed my subordinates. Am I wrong?".
The fact that none of the harpies here was killed, made her certain that the demon did note here to kill her, he had some other goal in mind. However, the words that came out of the demon next, burst her bubble and caused her beautiful face to distort in shock.
"I don''t know what led you to think like that, but you are severely mistaken. Indeed, I did say that I was here for you but I never said that I wanted to ally with you".
"What are you trying to say?" Melinda spoke dryly. She felt like she was unable to see through the demon at all.
"It''s simple, the reason why I''m not killing these harpies is because they are soon going to be my subordinates. Why would I cull down my own force?".
"Hahaha, how funny. You think you can win over my subordinates? Go ahead give it a try, all my subordinates are loyal to me to their bones. They would rather die than have you as their king".
The demon did not get angry at her remark, instead, the grin on his face became even wider.
"Of course, I know that. But what if their queen bes my subordinate? Wouldn''t that solve everything?"..
"What?!!"¡
"You bastard!!"... The two cmity ss harpies offended by those words, immediately charged towards Simon; however, before they could get any closer, Bianca stepped in and sent them flying back.
It was not only them all the harpies here seemed to have been enraged at Simon.
"Interesting, to think that there would be someone this bold in this forest. Aren''t you being too greedy Mister Demon Noble? You might end up losing what you already have for trying to possess something you don''t"
Melinda spoke narrowing her eyes, one could tell from the boiling aura around her that she was seething in anger. She was the queen of harpies and one of the seven kings of the forest, a position that others could only look up to.
Who would ever dare to talk to her with such disrespect much less say something like that? The demon in front of her was the only one she had met in many years that had the audacity to say she bes his subordinate.
How could Melinda take such tant disrespect lying down?
"Very good, it seems like I have underestimated your appetite. But if you think it will be that easy to subdue me, let me show you the cold hard truth".
Right after saying that, Melinda issued a sharp cry that shook the entire mountain they were on before spreading around and echoing through the surroundingnds. This was the racial skill of the queen of the harpy''s, [The Queen''s Prestige].
To others, the shriek would simply numb their ears for a while, but to any harpies listening to that shriek, it was nothing short of insanity inducing cry that would cause all of them to go berserk.
As could be seen from the behaviour of the surrounding harpies who were her personal guards, their eyes became red and their powers started skyrocketing all of a sudden.
Not only that, after the shriek echoed across the surroundingnds, from the distance and from all the directions came the hooting and pping noise of wings.
Before long, thousands of shadows pierced through the cloud and appeared in front of the mountaintop. The harpies that were in the immediate surrounding all gathered here at this moment after hearing the shriek of their queen.
All of them had red eyes and were in a berserk state.
Looking at the number of harpies which was in the thousands, Simon couldn''t help but arch his brows. A rough count told him that there were more than three thousand harpies assembled here at this moment.
Although this was nowhere close to their total poption, it was still quite a number to face. Especially if there were a few disaster ss harpies in the mix.
"You might have caught me in a bad time and your subordinates might be more powerful than mine. However, it still does not give you the authority to look down on me. Have you forgotten mister Demon Noble? Thend you are in right now, is my territory".
So what if she was in an exhausted state? This was her territory, she could simply drown her enemies with their numbers if she felt like it.
Looking at the shocked face of the demon Melinda shed a smile of tion. She felt like she had repaid some of the frustration she had been feeling because of the demon. This was just the start, she nned on paying for all the humiliation she suffered and exhaust her enemies to death while she recovered her recovered mana.
Once she was done, she would then deal the demon the killing blow by activating her more powerful Evil Eyes.
Or so she thought; however, even in her wildest dream she couldn''t have imagined that the numerical superiority that she was so proud of, would be snuffed out in a puff by the demon.
Melinda''s eight pupils stared at the demon who casually took out a small metallic cube out of thin air before throwing it up into the sky. Immediately, the cube erged and became the size of a small mountain.
It''s edges shifted around like a Rubik''s cube and multiple passages formed on it after a while. what came out of those passages were mechanised, sleek looking warmachnes whose presences were enough to even drown the army of Valkyries.
The battalion of warmachines who came forth from inside the cube, were none other than the Andromedas. The Mk8 made up of most of the numbers of the battalion with some golden ones in the mix.
Chapter 627 627- Flash Steps
An Andromeda starting from Mk11 has a red frame, Mk10-same red frame with some golden lines in the mix. And as the Mark of the Andromedas goes lower, the more the golden lines are apparent in their frames.
As could be seen on the Mk8 Andromedas, they had a golden red design. However, unlike the Mk8, those ones werepletely golden in colour. Not only that, they also had a much better design than Mk8 and were equipped with far more powerful weapons than any of the Andromedas present.
The Andromedas with the dashing golden frames were none other than the freshly out of the factory, Mk7.
Although the Mk7 still had a lot of tweaking to be done , they have already been tested against adventurers around level 500 and have shown sufficient battle power to hold their own against one.
That is to say, even the against the super and disaster ss harpies, the Mk7 should be able to stand their ground as long as they were careful of their sharp feather and talons.
Thest part shouldn''t be a problem since the Revenant Crows have been monitoring the attack patterns of the harpies and the Mk8 had already fought a couple of battles to collect sufficient data with them.
Given the information sharing ability of the warmachines, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the Mk7 were fully prepared to intercept the harpies even when they haven''t fought them yet.
As soon as Simon gave themand, the army of Andromedas locked on their target and rushed towards them with their weapons out. Thus a chaotic battle that subsumed the entire sky around the mountaintop, started.
"So that''s what the cube does. I finally understand why Master was so happy when he drew it out from the gacha" Atemented.
After the cube finished spewing out Andromedas, it shrunk back to its original size and returned back to Simon.
"It is called the Eon''s Cubes and is quite useful in situations such as this" Simon exined looking at the cube in his hand. As Ate said earlier, he was quite happy when he drew it out from the [Ga??????] option.
It was one of the numerous items that he inserted in the database of the game and had quite the handy function. The Eon''s Cubes has arge dimensional gate inside it that is connected to the other cube.
Yes, the Eon''s Cubes as the name suggestses in pair and since they share the same gate, you can use it as a teleportation device. Of course, since the rank of the artefact was judged to be [B] tier, it had a great shoring.
The Eon''s cubes are unable to teleport anything other than inanimate objects. That is to say, a living being cannot pass through its gate. But that was not a problem for Simon, although he did have some regrets for not being able to use the Eon''s Cubes as teleportation device, he however found a different use for the Eon''s cubes.
So what if a living being is unable to pass through the Eon''s cubes? Aren''t there plenty of things inside his dungeon that could? For example, the Andromedas were perfectly capable of passing through the gate of the Eon''s Cubes since they were to phrase In animate objects.
Simon had ced the other cube in the [Workshop] and carried one with him. As such, he had a portable army with him all the time. All he had to do was contact Wisp through their spiritual link, and thetter would send the Andromeas through the gate.
It was not only the Andromedas, Simon was also nning to use it for summoning sand golems, Iron golems and other such inanimate monsters from his dungeon in the future.
Imagine carrying an army with you all the time, wouldn''t you be able to turn any sticky situation around with it? Who would expect an army to pop out of nowhere? If used properly, the Eon''s cubes was quite a broken item.
Although Simon was unable to look at the Harpy Queen''s face, he knew that she might be making quite an amusing face right now.
It was indeed as such, Melinda was going through a turmoil of emotions. Just when she thought that she had everything under control the demon went ahead and did something unexpected and turned the situation around on its head once again.
She couldn''t be med for having an emotional breakdown after all who the heck even carries an army with them? With the force that the demon brought, even if he wanted to take down a king in their own territory, it might not be impossible.
Melinda was gritting her teeth in frustration unable to believe what was unfolding in front of her when from the corner of her eyes she saw the demon move again.
"Don''t tell me he is not done yet?!!".
Just as she had guessed after keeping the Eon''s cube inside his [Inventory], Simon turned to face the Valkyries who nodded and immediately covered their ears. After that, Simon inhaled a deep deep breath of air before issuing out a powerful demonic roar that caused the very space around him to distort.
[Piercing Demonic Roar], one of the skills that he acquired after bing a Demon Earl. The skill caused a crippling effect and intimidated his targets making them unable to attack and defend properly.
When used in conjunction with the [Demon Earl''s Intimidation] it multiplies the effect and causes the target to be sluggish for a while. The harpies who were hit by his roar, immediately froze in ce and were put down by the Andromedas.
The Harpies whose levels were higher were able to handle it better than the others but they still got slowed allowing attacks to rain on them. Of course, those powerful harpies like the two cmity ss guards and the queen herself were unfazed from Simon''s roar.
Nevertheless, the [Piercing Demon Roar] did subside some of the effects from the [Harpy Queen Prestige].
"That should hold them down for a while.. oh?!" Just as Simon was marvelling at the power of his skill, his [Intuition] rang alerts and his body moved instinctively.
Right afterwards, a couple of [Reinforced Feathers] came shooting at him. These feathers were far more powerful than the ones from the normal harpies since they came from the queen of the harpies themselves.
Simon dodged the feathers; however, to his surprise, he saw the feather change direction and came attacking him again and again as if they had a mind of their own.
"Tch¡ this is getting annoying"
Simon clicked his tongue and brandished his sword. His movements were clean and hardly any fault could be found in his posture. All the feathers that came targeting him were burned into cinders.
There were no mes generated, the feathers were burned just bying in contact with the tip of the de.
Even her powerful feathers were burned into cinders? Melinda looked at the sword in the demon''s hand. It had a dark red handle, a circr hand guard and a long de. However, what was unusual about that de was that it was severely scorched and looked odd and worn out.
It had many dings and cracks and could hardly be used as a sword at this point. What''s more, the sheen that the de gave, a truly exceptional sword would have a sharp glint that would make all the onlookers feel a shape incisiveness.
However, the de of the sword in the demon''s hand, not only looked blunt, but it had purple ck colour as if the craftsman had failed to forge the de properly.
No matter how she looked at it, the sword seemed as if it would break apart any moment. Yet why was it that she felt an immense, almost infinite amount of heating from that sword?
For some reason, her soul shuddered whenever her gazended on that sword.
Melinda used [Analysis] to get an understanding of that weapon but it was blocked by the demon.
"Hehe, are you curious about this sword?" Simon turned around to face the queen of the harpies. Naturally, His eyes were cast on her shadow.
Melinda did not say anything, her silence was her way of telling that she was curious.
"Not telling you" Simon shook his head still ying the rascal. Of course, there was no way he was going to tell her about his [S] tier sword.
''This demon!!'' Cursing inwardly, Melinda stared daggers at the demon. She was feeling so frustrated right now, that she wanted to eat the demon and feast on his blood and flesh.
''If only I had enough mana to open the Evil Eye of Annihtion'' Melinda Lamented. Right now, she couldn''t even use 80% of her power and she was quickly running out of cards to y.
On the other hand, the demon still looked like he still had many more cards in his deck. Not to mention there was still that maid near the demon who refused to join the battle since the start.
She could somehow guess her power based on the strength that the other two maids disyed. However, knowing that did not solve anything for her. She still had to be on her guard for when she joined in.
Melinda''s eyes moved as she observed the battlefield. It was chaos everywhere with no way of determining which side was winning. However, that was as good as losing for her. This was her territory, and based onmon sense she should be the one suppressing her enemies with their numbers and not the other way around.
But that was not the worst part, it was seeing her two most powerful guards being pinned down and unable to retaliate one sidedly by a single maid.
Melinda felt like she had lost all face today.
Chapter 628 628- Flash Steps (2)
''What should I do? Should I just let our forces fight it among themselves and focus on recovering my mana. No, that would be foolish, once I lose my forces the other seven kings would surely use this opportunity to attack me.
The demon doesn''t look like he has any immediate intention of attacking? Is he dying purposefully even while knowing that the more time passes the more I will be able to recover? What is he after?''
While a spiral of thoughts was running inside Melinda''s mind, Simon suddenly decided to initiate a conversation.
"Right¡ Queen of the Harpies, although it may be a littlete to ask, but may I inquire what sort of deal did you have with the king of the ogres?".
Hearing his question, Melinda narrowed her eyes. Even though he asked a question his attitude seemed like he was unconcerned whether he got any answer or not.
''Why did he suddenly ask me that question? Does he perhaps know about our deal? No, that cannot be only Gil-Garna and I know about it''.
"Why do you want to know about it? No, what I should be asking is how did you even find out about us working together?" Melinda replied the demon''s question with her own question.
"Haha, are you still asking me that?".
It was as he had said, halfway through her question she realised the answer herself. Wasn''t there something among the subordinates of the demon that had a strong detection warding ability and could go invisible?
If it was those unusual things that forced her to use her [Limitless Seeking Evil Eyes], it wasn''t impossible for him to spy on them. No, he might have been doing just that from the start.
Melinda recalled how she had felt a peculiar gaze on her moments before the demon and his subordinates arrived on the mountaintop. If it was possible for these things to even evade her, wouldn''t it be easy for the demon to spy on them anywhere any time?
It was only now that Melinda realised that there was no mole in their alliance, the demon had simply used his unusual golems to spy on them.
Wait a minute, if he was spying on us all along, then doesn''t it mean that he knows everything about our ns and also about the existence of that thing?
"It looks like you finally realised it. Thanks to the Revenant Crows spying on you all, I know all about the ns you guys created. Additionally, I also know that you got the seed of Six Nether Flower from the Ogre King in exchange for joining his alliance".
It was as the demon had said, the condition she made to Gil-Garna as payment for joining his alliance, was indeed the Six Nether Flower. However, the Ogre King had already used it on himself. What he gave her in return though was the seed of the Six Nether Flower.
Although not as precious as the flower itself, the seed was also quite a treasure. As such, Melinda agreed on joining the alliance.
"You might be wondering why am I telling you all that? It''s simple, I heard quite an interesting fact about the Six Nether Flower not long ago. It is said that a Six Nether Flower once absorbed, cannot have a seed. I wonder how the ogre king got that seed?" Simon revealed a wicked smile as he spoke.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Melinda spat not believing anything that the demon said.
"Hehe, I''m not spouting nonsense. Think about it yourself, I heard that the Six Nether Flower is very important for the Seven Kings so much so that even having multiple of it wouldn''t be enough. A seed of the Six Nether Flower has the possibility of growing into a new flower. why would the ogre king hand you such a treasure when he himself is in need of it? Don''t you find it strange?"
"What''s your point?" Melinda did not know why she was even bothering to listen to the demon when he had nothing but constantly annoy her since the moment he arrived here.
Nevertheless, once she heard him mentioning the seed of the Six Nether Flower, she couldn''t help but perk her ears and listen. Melinda had the same suspicions as the demon which is why, she even checked the seed going as far as to activate [Eight Inner Eyes] leading her to her current exhaustion.
However, even after using one of her most powerful Evil Eyes, she found no fault with it. The seed of the Six Nether Flower was authentic. But why was it that she was having this weird sense of unease as if she had missed something?
"Well, just hear me out. I heard from someone who has extensive knowledge about these things having lived a long long time after all, that the Six Nether Flower can have a seed in two urrences"
"First through pollination; however, for that to happen, there needs to be two or more flowers of the same kind. You should already be aware of how rare a Six Nether Flower is. Forget two, even finding one in this entire Ghastly Winding Forest is nigh impossible. And even if by some miracle you do find it, without the Dryards to facilitate the process of pollination of a treasure like the Six Nether Flower, there will never be a seed"
"I believe the Queen of the Harpies is already aware of that. What you might not know however is that a seed can also form another way. Although this way is rather unusual. The second urrence is when someone tries to absorb the Six Nether Flower and fails to assimte with itpletely".
"The remaining essence of the flower condenses to be a seed. However, that seed does not even possess one tenth of the original energy of that flower and will never grow into a flower itself".
After exining till here, Simon took a break to sense the chaotic aura of the queen of harpies before continuing with a smile.
"In short, the seed that the ogre king gave you in return for you joining the alliance, is not an actual seed but the residual essence energy of the Six Nether flower that he had already absorbed. Even if you try to grow it, there is no point".
"This¡"
Melinda wanted to deny the demon''s words; however, her rational mind was telling her that it was the truth. It made sense that even her [Eight Inner Eyes] was unable to find any falsity in it after all, it was the seed of the sixher flower. Just that it was not the one that can grow her a flower.
Melinda at this moment had quite the expression on her face. All this time she believed that she was the one benefitting from joining this alliance. It was only now that she realised that she had been yed with.''Gil-Garna!!'' at the same moment, anger boiled inside her.
''This much should be enough'' Sensing her change, Simon thought internally. There was a reason why he had been ying the role of a rascal. It was due to the information he heard from Aldebaran.
A user of the Evil Eyes to activate its power, must always remain calm and collected. If you can disturb their mental stability, you can easily triumph against them.
His mannerless behaviour and the fact that he revealed the truth behind the seed of the Six Nether Flower, was precisely to target the weakness of his opponent.
At first, he thought that he could use this information to sow discord between the two Seven Kings and when they are duking it among themselves, he would sweep in and reap all the benefits.
However, he gave up on that idea after finding out that the Queen of the Harpies had severely exhausted herself. Given such an opportunity. How could Simon, a Demon Noble who followed his desires, not utilise this opportunity?
This was a chance for him to subdue one of the seven kings at once, he was not about to let it go to waste.
"Master?!" Seeing Simon walk towards the queen of the harpies, Ate called out.
"Don''t worry, I know what I''m doing" Saying that Simon immediately rushed towards the dazed Queen while brandishing his sword.
"?" Melinda who felt a terrifying power emanate from the sword, hurriedly pped her wings and dodged at the veryst second.
As expected of the Queen of Harpies, her speed was so tremendously fast that Simon had difficulty keeping her in his vision. No matter how many attacks he sent towards her, his sword wasn''t able to touch even her feathers.
Although that was the case, Melinda was in the same situation. Even if she dodged the demon''s attacks, she was unable to attack him because of the sword. Her instincts alerted her of immense danger every time she was about to sh with that dingy burnt sword.
"Tch¡ don''t get ahead of yourself. Even exhausted, I''m still one of the Seven Kings of this forest" Melinda screamed, made a sword with her [Reinforced Feathers] and charged towards him.
''Too fast!!'' Simon was unable to keep up with her movements. In the blink of an eye, she was already out of his range.
''Don''t try to see it with your eyes, let your body feel it. Spread your senses and let your instincts do the work''
At this moment, Irene''s voice resounded in his head. He recalled the beginning of his hellish days of training where he was blindfolded and his powers severely suppressed by Irene.
Simon was made to stand underneath a giant tree with enormous logs connected to its branches. The training was to dodge the logs. It sounded simple; however, it wasn''t.
Chapter 629 629- Flash Steps (3)
The sense of sight was one of the five senses that collected data from the surrounding environment and sent it to the brain which in return interpreted these data and sent signals to the body to respond either chemically or physically.
Just think about it, someone who had been relying on his sense of sight since his time on earth, suddenly had one of his senses stripped from him. it wouldn''t be hard to imagine that he would fail miserably due to having difficulty perceiving anything.
Simon was battered by the logs which were buffed by Irene. Days passed by with Simon sprawled on the ground most of the time unable to remain standing. What was worse, was that he was not allowed to use his skills or attack back.
All he was allowed to do was dodge. Because he was used to moving after thinking, it took an inhumane amount of perseverance to reverse that.
Thanks to the hellish training, Simon''s other senses started strengthening to the point where he even acquired the skill [Enhanced Six Senses]. Now he could dodge the logs with just their sound and smell.
However, even that didn''tst long. After his sense of sight, Irene stole his other senses and sent him tumbling back down to the point where he started. Simon wanted toin at the injustice, but every time he brought it up, she would restate the words he said earlier making him unable to retort.
Just enhancing his six senses took him more than a month of time. Now that even that was stolen, he was left with no choice but to literally pit his body against the logs. Thus a hellish training where Simon was forced to spit out blood, started once again.
With all of his senses stripped from him, his body went into overdrive and his instincts started taking control. Days passed by and soon Simon arrived in front of a state where in his ck vision he could see vague thingsing towards him.
When he dodged them, he instinctively realised that it was the logs. However, that state didn''tst long, it appeared for a second and disappeared. Nevertheless, having hope was better than nothing.
Now that Simon knew what he had to do and where to divert his efforts, he started working more diligently. Months passed, and the state he touched that day, he started entering it more frequently.
Even with all of his senses stripped, Simo was able to sense the logs and dodge them effortlessly. It wasn''t long after that that he acquired the [Intuition] skill.
However, that was just the true beginning of the hellish training. After seeing that Simon got ustomed to the training, she started mixing more variations. Unexpected things started urring.
Just when Simon thought that he dodged the log, he would be hit by an icicle. Not only that, but sometimes while dodging he would trip over a stone that shouldn''t have been there. And sometimes he felt like the logs behaved unusually.
It was as if they had suddenly sprouted arms and legs and bashed him out of nowhere. even if he dodged that, something or the other would be waiting for him. As a result, Simon started developing a keener instinct.
His body would react at the first indication of danger. His body and mind reached a new level of synchronicity. However, even that wasn''t enough. There were too many things he had to dodge at once.
No matter how synchronised his body was with his mind, something or the other managed to hit him every time. There were things that even with his speed he couldn''t dodge and things he couldn''t perceive.
So what was to be done? Simon had no answer. When he brought that question to Irene during one of his rare rest times, she told him that the answer was inside him and that he should continue doing what he has been doing up until now.
Simonughed bitterly and started repeating his actions like a madman who didn''t know anything else. Days passed by with him making no progress; no, it would be wrong to say that he didn''t make any progress.
He started gaining higher mastery over the [Intuition] skill and his body and mind started bing sharp. His movement due to dodging various kinds of projectiles again and again had reached a harmony of sorts where he could dodge anything with minimal movements just by perceiving them once.
However, he still had no answer for things he couldn''t perceive or was too fast for him to dodge.
"The answer is within you"... One day, while Simon was repeating his routine. He continued to mutter what Irene told him the other day in his head like a mantra. Hoping that he would stumble upon some epiphany.
He was dodging as usual, but maybe due to his mind being preupied with Irene''s words, he failed to notice a small stone near his feet and stumbled upon it.
What happened next could be expected, with numerous logs, icicles, weapons and various unperceivable things came attacking him, Simon was sure to get hit and blown back for the umpteenth time.
However, surprisingly nothing of that sort happened. Right before Simon''s body hit the ground, something unusual happened. His mana synchronised with his movements to create his own unique skill
Simon''s body which was about to fall, disappeared in a sh dodging all the projectiles that were about to hit him.
[sh Steps]...
Melinda was so fast that in the blink of an eye, she appeared behind Simon as if teleporting and hacked her sword towards him. The de made of razor sharp feathers easily chopped his body in half or so it was supposed to.
However, the thing that the Harpy Queen''s sword shed was none other than an afterimage. Simon''s real body had long since moved from that spot.
"What?!"
Melinda was unable to believe her eyes. When did the demon move? The afterimage looked so real that she couldn''t even tell when the demon moved away from the spot. Strictly speaking, she was much faster than the demon due to her developed wings that were a cut above even amongst all the harpies.
No matter how the demon moved, it shouldn''t be able to go unnoticed by her. So then what happened? Howe the demon disappeared without even her sensing anything?
"!!!" At this instant while she was thinking that, her body jolted and her instincts screamed for her to dodge.
Before she could even realise it, the demon was standing behind her.
SHIIIING... the moment she turned around, she saw that broken, burnt out sworde attacking her. As the de of the sword slowly crept closer, the eight pupils of Melinda were finally able to see it.
The violent distortion of the space around the sword. This distortion was not ordinary and was the result of an extraordinary amount of heat being released. Make no mistake, the sword did not release any mes, it was just that the¡
''The mes werepressed inside the sword to a point where even the de of the sword was unable to handle it and became all burnt out like that'' Melinda realised.
Everything around the sword, whether it be the moisture or the mana particles was being vaporised instantaneously.
DEATH!!...
She had to dodge it, her instincts begged. If she allowed the sword to touch her, her only inevitable ending would be her death.
Melinda ced her [Reinforced Feather Sword] in front of her to defend. But how could Simon''s sword be stopped that easily? Even before the [Reinforced Feather Sword] of the Harpy Queen coulde in contact with the de of the burnt sword, it was violently distorted and turned into dust.
The [Reinforced Feather Sword] was only able to stop the burnt sword for a mere fraction of a second. However, that fraction of a second was what Melinda precisely needed to narrowly dodge the attack.
After moving away from the path of that sword, the queen of harpy took a deep breath of relief. Her skin tingled whenever she thought how close that encounter was.
The sword was just a few inches away from her. For the first time in a long while, did Melinda feel the grasp of death ever so close to her.
She nced at the demon who had his eyes closed at this moment, he looked rxed andposed. Be it that sword of his or that movement earlier, both of them were definitely of a high grade.
She cannot let her guard down against him. ''I guess I have no choice but to use that'' Melinda bit her lower lips so hard that, blood came out of it.
After failing his surprise attack even after revealing his [sh Steps], Simon started going more on the aggressive.
[sh Steps], the Lost Superior tier skill that he learned after his mana and movements achieved a harmony during his training where he was forced to dodge all kinds of unperceivable attacks.
The skill allowed him instantaneous movement from any position or stance that he was in. What''s more, since activating it needed very little movement, it was almost untraceable.
Using the [sh Steps] Simon was capable of leaving afterimages behind. He could finally catch up to the speed of the Harpy Queen. With that, the fight between the demon of the east and the queen of the harpies unfolded, epassing the entire sky.
They appeared like a sh of light before disappearing equally fast. BANG... BANG... BANG... powerful ripples capable of crumbling down mountains, spread from their sh.
Chapter 630 630- Deception
With the demon and the queen of the harpies bing serious, the mountaintop was no longer able to contain their fight.
Ate watched their exchange from a distance, ready to step in at any moment. Though it did not look like she would need to, because her master waspletely suppressing the Harpy Queen.
The level of growth he had undergone in the past couple of months, was mind boggling to say no less. It would not be an exaggeration to say that their master had undergone another transformation of sorts.
This transformation wasn''t as obvious as when he became a Demon Earl, but it definitely urred. Ate could tell because she had been observing him since the beginning.
While doing her own training, she would nce towards Simon from time to time. He would falter, he would fall and even get depressed sometimes; nevertheless, he tackled every obstacle with an unbending willpower and determination.
He had this weird enigmatic air about him during training that it motivated all of his subordinates to try harder themselves. Of course, there were times were Simon would get stuck unable to progress any further.
However, she had never seen him quit or stop putting in his efforts even once. If met with a barrier on the way, he would bang his head on it clumsily. He was not a genius, he repeated things tens of thousands of times to understand something.
As such, Ate had witnessed the progress her master had made. If it was the current Simon, he was even capable of fighting ranks above him.
The Queen of the Harpies might have posed some problems had she not been in her severely exhausted state. Without her Evil Eyes which was her main form of attack, she was the weakest of all the Seven Kings.
When it came to pure physical strength, she was nowhere near the levels of the other seven kings. However, that was only after discounting her Evil Eyes. The battle their master was engaged in right now was tailored, one that favoured him drastically and put him in an advantageous position.
Not only did he have information about his enemy beforehand, he even knew her weakness and had caught her at a bad time. Given these many factors favouring him, it would be weird if Simon did not win this fight.
It was evident from the battle urring in the sky. The queen of the harpies might be faster than their master; however, as time passed by she fell into more and more of a disadvantageous position.
It was only a matter of time before their master won.
She might have also realised it, because the queen of harpies suddenly changed her attack pattern.
[Thousnad Feather Dance] Melinda spread her wings wide. Thousands of ck feathers appeared in front of her and started rotating and dancing around. Each of these Reinforced Feathers carried a razor sharp incisiveness and can be manipted individually like a part of her own body.
So when they started rotating, a powerful storm generated around her which he used to trap the demon.
Facing the storm like attacks, Simon brandished his sword wildly. So what if he was besieged by thousands of attacks? Didn''t he go through the same thing in his training? Worse, at that time all of his five senses were deprived and all he was allowed to do was dodge.
Thuspared to his training, the storm of feathers that Melinda created, didn''t amount to much. With his Enhanced Six Senses, Intuition, Burnt Sword and sh Steps, Simon had no issue fending off the attacks.
What''s more, he even looked carefree and rxed. Also, It had beenmented by Irene that his [Sword Mastery] skill was on the verge of evolving. As such, even while fighting an enemy, Simon was trying to achieve a breakthrough.
"Hm? Where did she go?"
Simon remarked. After effortlessly fending off her storm of attacks, Simon found that Melinda was nowhere to be seen. Did she run away? Just as he was about to spread his senses to track her, he heard Ate''s panicked and urgent voice from behind.
"Master save me!!".
Afraid that something might have happened to her, Simon hurriedly turned around only to hear Ate''s voice once again.
"No Master don''t!!".
The warning came a step toote, Simon had already turned around. His gaze was directed towards Ate or it should have been. However, the one standing there was not Ate, but instead the Queen of Harpies.
At this moment, she had a face full of smiles as she nced at the demon.
"Master save me"
Melinda opened her lips and spoke; however, the voice that came out of her, wasn''t hers but instead Ate''s.
[Voice Imitation]... one of the skills of the Harpy Queen. Using this skill she was able to imitate any voice.
It was only now that Simon realised that the first cry for help that he heard, wasn''t from Ate but from the Queen of Harpies. The second voice was from his subordinate who tried to warn him. Nevertheless, he had already fallen into the enemy''s traps.
How so? That was because when Simon turned around hearing Ate''s call for help, he had opened his eyes. And that was his mistake. His eyes had coincidentally ovepped with Melinda''s who appeared in his line of vision.
Even though it was only for a second, that second was enough for Melinda''s Evil Eyes to do its work.
The instant Simon nced at her eyes, he felt like he had suddenly lost control of his own eyes. As if enraptured, he was unable to tear his gaze away from her eyes. His crimson pupils quickly turned violet and the raging mana inside him settled down.
eaglesnov?1,§ão§® Seeing the demone to halt, Melinda shed a smile of victory. Why would she not? The prey had fallen for her trap. No matter who it was, once they looked into her eyes, there was only one ending for them.
"You know¡ with how frustrated you made me, at first I thought of quickly killing you with my [Eyes of Annihtion]. But then I thought given your powers, it would be quite a waste to kill you like that. As such, I''m going to make you my new manservant for the rest of your life¡ Huhu"
Melinda said seductively as she caressed the demon''s face. It was only now when she looked carefully, did she realise how handsome the demon was.
"Get away from him!!" a voice raged.
Ate shouted angrily and fired a couple of thunderbolts to separate the queen of harpies from their master.
The queen of the harpies immediately reacted and using her immense speed, she hurriedly backed down.
"Master, are you alright?" Ate quickly arrived at Simon''s side and shook his motionless body in concern.
"Master¡ Master" she called at him again and again; however, his eyes which were covered in a violet light, were vacant and hollow. No response came from Simon, it was as if he was experiencing a dream with his eyes open.
"No¡ Spirit Magic- [Spirit Barrier]" Ate cast spirit magic in hopes that it might be able to wake Simon. Nevertheless, it was useless.
"Hoh, you can use spirit magic? Now that''s rare. However, it''s useless. No matter what you do, you cannot wake him up from my [Evil Eyes of Temptation]. Unless I release him myself, he will forever be trapped in that dream. His body had be a soulless vessel that would do my bidding for the rest of his lives¡ hahaha" Melindaughed.
"Release him right now or else¡"
Ate spoke in a low furious voice. The power she had been suppressing on orders of her master started flooding out in droves. It quickly affected the environment, the space started to violently distort and the mystical energy became turbulent.
Feeling the changes in the surrounding, Melinda''s face quickly paled. The maid''s power after she released her strength reached a level that even surpassed her own in her prime.
Not to mention she was in an exhausted state right now, Melinda''s believed that she would be unable to win against the maid even if she was at her full strength. That was how much powerful the Valkyries had be after their limiters had disappeared.
"Wait¡"
Panicked, Melinda hurriedly tried to back down but before she could, the maid had extended her hands towards her and a thunder spearpletely crimson in colour formed from the numerous thunder sparks in the air flew towards her.
The queen of the harpies pped her wings in a flurry; however, the spear was faster than her and followed her wherever she went.
"Wait!!! Even if you kill me, the demon will not wake up¡ kyaaahhhhhhahhh"
Melinda tried to negotiate in ast bit of effort but the thunder spear had already pierced her abdomen causing her to wail in misery.
The harpy queen''s shriek of agony resounded across the distant skies causing all the harpies that were fighting the army of Andromedas, to immediately stop their actions and turned towards the direction where her voice came from.
"My Queen!!"
Feeling that their queen was in danger, the two cmity ss harpies called out. However, against an opponent like Bianca who was simply toying with them with her overwhelming strength, they were powerless to do anything.
"Kugh!!¡ gugh!!¡" The queen of the harpies clutched her stomach andy on the ground in pain. Her eyes that previously held unmasked pride and condescension against her opponent, was at this moment, filled with fear and dread.
Why would it not, a single thunder spear was able to bring her to her knees. Not to mention the sky was currently lit up with hundreds of those spears currently suspended in the air.
Chapter 631 631- Deception (2)
Melinda had no doubt in her mind, if that many attacks hit her she would no doubt die. Perhaps she might have been able to do something about them had she been at her peak strength.
However, after using her [Evil Eyes of Temptation] on the demon, she hadpletely spent herself. As such, she did not even have enough mana to muster the weakest of defence.
"Chant Anthem¡ [Indra''s Spear]"
Ate was upromising at her enemy''s plight. The hundreds of thunder spears that she manifested in the sky were pulled into one to create an enormous orange-white spear to pulsed with an extinction level of power.
"Die" A cold word came from Ate''s mouth as she dropped the orange white spear on top of the queen of harpies.
Melinda''s face was aghast in terror as she nced at the spear inching closer to her. What kind of magic was that? What kind of attacks carried such a destructive aura? The power bestowed inside that spear, was something that she had never seen before in her hundreds of years of reign as one of the Seven Kings.
As the spear approached closer, Melinda vividly felt her entire body trembling, her nerves became numb and all her energy left her.
She was going to die. Just as this realisation came to her, shemanded the demon who flew towards the trajectory of the spear and stood before her like a shield.
This was a bold move, a gamble that might have ended up with both of them losing their lives. However, she had won the gamble. The spear had stopped right before it could price the demon.
The maid had stopped her attack. It was just like what she had predicted, the other party was unable to harm her master.
"Hehe... I see now" Melindaughed despicably. She looked at the demon and at the maid who seemed to have suffered the shock of her life and nodded her head in understanding.
What great luck, she was thankful she made the right choice by activating the [Evil Eyes of Temptation] to control the demon instead of killing him. Now that she had the demon under her control, didn''t it mean that the maid was unable to do anything to her?
"Disperse your attack, or else I''llmand the demon to kill himself" Melinda threatened.
Immediately, the hands of the demon started clenching his neck. Seeing this, Ate plead with the queen of the harpies to stop and immediately dispersed her attack.
"Good, now go back. Tell the other maids and those golems to stop their attacks if they want their master to live".
Melinda ordered, the hand of the demon clutching his own neck strengthened all of a sudden.
Unable to disobey her order, Ate grit her teeth and fell back. Just before she left, she nced at her master and arched her brows.
After Ate returned to the mountaintop and ryed the order, the chaotic battle stopped. The harpies took this opportunity to catch their breaths.
The enemy they were fighting did not need rest nor did they feel any pain. What''s more surprising was that these golems seemed to have been aware of their attack pattern and every skill that they possessed. Thus making the battle quite difficult for the harpies.
Fortunately, it looked like the queen had triumph on her side and brought the enemy leader under her control.
"My Queen"
The two cmity ss harpies greeted Melinda the moment she arrived onto the mountaintop. Their gazes fell on the demon who was silently following her like a servant and their eyes immediately became awed.
The enemy leader was under the control of their queen, which meant that they had won this battle. That said... " Are you alright my Queen?" The Queen of the Harpies looked quite injured and severely exhausted.
"I''m fine, it''s just that I''mpletely exhausted after activating my [Evil eyes of Temptation]" Melinda replied.
"Why don''t you rest a little my queen?" the harpies worried after seeing the condition of their queen, requested.
Nheless, Melinda shook her head and continued to walk forward towards the ce where the enemies were currently gathered at. Now was not the time for rest, she had the greatest trump card on her hand that she could y on her enemies.
This was the perfect time to seize the advantage while she still had it.
Seeing the Queen appear personally on the frontline, the low ranking harpies bowed their heads. Melinda did not mind them, instead, her attention was on the enemy lines, from start to end.
At the front of the group stood four beings. Three women wearing maid outfits over their armours, one of whom tried to kill her and thest was a Warhorse whose presence was no less than her two strongest guards who were in the cmity ss.
Looking at them ring at her, Melinda disyed a pleased smile. This frustrating feeling, she finally repaid it all back.
With the demon in her control, she was sure that none of them would be able to do anything to her. At first, she just wanted the demon; however, after seeing the prowess of the maids, she wasn''t satisfied with just that, she wanted more.
"Good¡ good it seems like you did just what I asked you to. Now then, shall we start the negotiation? Hehe¡ as you can see, the demon is now under my control. As such, if you want me to release him, you must do as I say from now on".
"My wish shall be yourmand and from this day on, you shall call me queen too. Am I clear?".
Melinda was an ambitious and scheming woman. That''s right, she wanted to gobble up the forces of the demon into her own. If she could bring those powerful maids and that army of golems on her side, then she would no longer have to fear the other seven kings.
She could even take revenge on Gil-Garna and absorb his forces into his own. No, she didn''t just want to remain as one of the Seven Kings, she wanted to be the ruler of the entire Gahstly Winding Forest and expand her territory even further.
For that to happen, she needed to absorb the forces of the demon. Those three maids, the cmity ss beast and the golem army would be incredible pawns to realise her ambitions.
As for them obeying her or not, she believed that as long as she held onto the trump card called the demon noble, there was no need to question that.
Also as ast case scenario, she can always use her [Evil eyes of Temptation] once she recovers to bring the others under her control just like the demon.
Melinda was busy hypothesizing a beautiful future when suddenly she noticed that the eyes of the maids looked strange. They should be angry, furious and even show killing intent towards her for capturing their master, should be normal.
However, under no circumstances should their eyes be indifferent and calm like that.
"Why aren''t you guys replying?"
What was going on? Why were the maids all silently and calmly looking at her? Did they perhaps not understand the situation?
Just as these various thoughts popped into her mind, she realised that the maids weren''t looking at her, more exactly they were looking at the person behind her.
Simultaneously, she heard a dark coarse voice sound next to her ears.
"They are not replying because there is no need to y along with this farce anymore¡[Chilling Touch], [Dark Deprivation]".
"What?"
Melinda was just about to turn around when she felt her neck being ceased and a dark cold energy seeped inside her body. That energy locked her mana in ce and deprived her of all her strength.
"Kuhehe¡ that was quite an amusing act from me wouldn''t you say?" Simonughed looking at Melinda''s pale terror stricken face.
"Impossible how did you¡"
"How did I break out from the effects of your Evil Eyes? Frankly, that was a pleasant surprise for me too. I didn''t know that the fragments were capable of that" Simon muttered.
He did fall for the effects of the Evil Eyes of Temptation and was in a partially awake and partially asleep state. In that state, he was aware of his surroundings; however, he had no control of his body.
If not for the fragments of Pride activating and negating the effects of the Evil Eyes, Simon would still have been in that state.
From this, one could tell how formidable those Evil Eyes were. One mistake and he had almost lost the grasp he had on victory. As such, right after breaking out of the effects of the Evil Eyes, Simon did not rush to confront the Harpy queen but instead went with the flow.
The Harpy Queen was extremely scheming as such, he needed to be equally cunning if he wanted to win against her. Simon followed her orders, even going as far as to stand in front of Ate''s attacks to lower her guard.
He silently followed behind her and finally, when the opportunity presented itself in front of him, he grabbed it.
"Do not move. If I sense you struggling even a little bit, I''ll snap your neck"
Simon threatened seeing that the queen of the harpies was trying to get away from his clutches. Since he had already informed the Valkyries about his ns, they did not look fazed; however, the same couldn''t be said for the harpies who looked like they had suffered a great shock.
"You bastard, quickly unhand the queen" The two cmity ss harpies who were the closest to them, roared out in fury and rushed towards Simon to hack him to pieces.
Chapter 632 632- Melinda Submits
However, before their attacks could hit him, he swiftly turned around using [sh Steps] and used the queen of harpies as his shield.
The two cmity ss harpies widened their eyes in surprise and immediately tried to stop their attacks. Nevertheless, it was toote.
The attacks that were meant to cut the demon to pieces hit Melinda. Two deep gashes formed on the Harpy Queen''s armour and reached her body causing blood to flow out.
"Arrghhh!!!" the queen of the harpies screamed in pain. Maybe because her two subordinates had curbed the powers of their attacks at thest second, the gash wasn''t able to cut through too deep.
"You bastard!!"
the harpies cursed, they were just about to rush towards Simon in an all out fight when thetter stopped them with his frightening cold words.
"The next person to move will be responsible for their Queen''s death"
Those simple words carried a bone chilling coldness and threat. to prove that he was not lying, he even increased the grasping strength he had on the neck of their queen.
As if their bodies have been frozen in ice, none of the harpies dared to move after that warning. They could only watch from the distance as their queen struggled and curse the demon inside their heads.
"Good, now that''s more like it"
Simonplimented the harpies who had be docile now that he had their weakness in his grasp.
With the background mobs taken care of, Simon turned his attention to the queen of the harpies who seemed to not understand the meaning of do not struggle.
"It''s useless to resist, I have locked your powers using [Chilling Touch] and [Dark Deprivation]. Right now, you are no different than an ordinary person"
Simon slowly enunciated into the ears of the queen of the harpies. [Chilling Touch] was a skill that inserted a dark eerie aura inside the target''s body corrupting their mana and slowing down its cirction.
[Dark Deprivation] on the other hand locks down the target''s skills and makes them unable to use them for a short period of time.
Of course, both of these skills wouldn''t have worked on a target like the queen of harpies if she wasn''t in her exhausted state and hadn''t let her guard down. Melinda struggled for a while but after seeing that it was futile, she came to a halt.
"Now then, shall we get down to business? Swear loyalty to me or die"
To put more force in his words, he gestured to the Valkyries who immediately understood the meaning behind his words and released their auras. The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse did the same and so did the army of Andromeadas.
The meaning behind their action was clear, if the queen of the harpies did not submit to him, he would not hesitate to kill all of her subordinates.
Given the true power of the maids that she witnessed herself, Melinda was sure that none of her subordinates would be able to handle them if they were to go all out. Her options were already sealed before she could even make a choice.
Submit or watch her subordinates be killed, that''s what the demon was telling her. And from her understanding of the demon, she knew that he wouldn''t hesitate to do so.
However, if she submitted to him, wouldn''t it mean that everything that she had worked hard for all these years would be taken away from her? She would no longer be one of the seven kings of the forest.
Seeing the Queen of the Harpies dilly-dally, Simon snapped his fingers and the Andromedas immediately took out their weapons and locked onto their targets.
The Harpies did not look like they had the state of mind to fight when their queen was captured by the enemy. As such, it would be easy for the Andromedas to sweep the floor with them.
"Alright... I submit" the cannon on the arms of the Andromedas were just about to fire when Melinda spoke in a low dispirited tone.
Clearly, it was difficult for her to arrive at that decision; however, now that she had said it, she weirdly felt rxed and at peace. As if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders.
"My Queen... please don''t worry about us. We are willing toy our lives down if it is for your sake" The harpies hurriedly shouted. It really looked like they were willing toy their lives down if it meant that their queen wouldn''t have to worry about them.
Looking at that disy of loyalty, even Simon was a little impressed.
"I have already made my decision" Melinda however, rebuked them with a stern tone. She might be a calcting and ambitious woman, but she did indeed care for her subordinates.
Before the harpies could say anything further, Melinda cut them off and spoke towards the demon who still had a death grip on her.
"There I have submitted. You don''t have any reason to kill them anymore right?".
Simon did not reply, he gave a wicked smile made a small cut on his finger and started drawing some cryptic lines on the air. The red lines drawn from his blood quickly formed into some demonic seal and floated in front of Simon.
Once the seal waspleted, Simon finally opened his mouth "This is the Blood Demon Contract that only the true Demon Nobles can evoke. Once you make the oath with the blood demon inside this seal, I''ll ept your loyalty".
Looking at that seal, Melinda''s eyes widened, she felt a strongpelling power from that seal. Although she did not know what a Blood Demon Contract was, she had no doubt in her mind that once she made an oath with this seal she would never be able to scheme against or backstab the demon.
Aldebaran had specifically cautioned him not to let his guard down until shepleted the seal as such, Simon was being very thorough. Even if the Queen of Harpies had verbally sworn her loyalty to him, it meant nothing unless enforced by a seal or contract.
The Blood Demon Contract was the stronger and more powerful version of the Blood Contract that he used on the Deep Sea Alligator King. Even for a being like the Queen of Harpies, breaking such a contract would be extremely foolish since she would suffer a severe repercussion from doing so.
Therefore, unless the Queen of Harpies made an oath with the Blood demon contract he had no intention of loosening his grip nor ordering his subordinates to stand down.
As if understanding that, Melinda dejectedly epted her fate.
"How do I make the oath?" she asked.
"It''s simple, extend your hand towards the blood demon in the centre of the seal and feed it some of your blood" Simon answered.
When Melinda did as she was told and extended her hand towards the blood demon who bit her finger and slowly sucked her blood. Next, the Blood Demon Contract started glowing with a ring crimson light and seeped into the skin of the harpy queen and disappeared.
Only after he saw the contract ispleted, did Simon release Melinda who coughed severely trying to catch her breath.
"My queen¡" the moment she was released, the nearby harpies flocked to her in concern. Seeing the deep print on her neck, they couldn''t help but re at the demon with hatred.
Simon did not react to their res and instead dered in a loud stern voice.
"From this day forth, the n of Harpy is a vessel n of mine and all of you are my subordinates. If any of you have a problem with that, step forward".
"You¡" one of the two cmity ss harpy was just about to step forward, when they were stopped by Melinda.
"We the n of harpies ept your rule from this day forward" She dered bowing her head.
With the Queen of Harpies personally bowing her, even though the Harpy n looked unwilling, they had no choice but to bow their head too.
"Good, now that the hierarchy has been established, I shall immediately give you your first orders¡".
With the queen of the harpies now subdued by him, he told her about his various ns and the future he had in mind for the harpies.
Up until now, he had only shown them the stick, now it was time for him to give them the carrot. If Simon wanted the continued loyalty of the n of harpies, he had to show them a beautiful future, one that was far more glorious than their current one.
Of course, only a small number of Harpies who were the personal guard of Melinda and Simon''s own subordinates had the opportunity to attend the discussion. The rest were sent back to their post.
The discussion took a long time and by the time they cemented out all the details, the sun had already set. Also, it needs to be mentioned that by the time Simon finished telling them about his ns, the attitude of the harpies towards him had also changed.
Although they did notpletely trust everything that he said, they were at least satisfied by the fact that Simon did not have any intention of ruling them instead of their queen. He did not impose any new rules or regtions on them and allowed them to live just like they have been up until now.
Basically, Simon had given them a free rein to govern themselves. Of course, he made sure that they aided him whenever he required their help.
Other than that fact, he had strained on one particr condition.
"You want me to allow these golems to mine in some areas of my territory?" Melinda asked pointing her finger at the Andromedas who were waiting on standby on the mountaintop.
Chapter 633 633- The Fourth & The Fifth Guardians
"Not these ones per se but the ones I''ll be sendingter. So yeah, that''s right" Simon nodded his head.
ording to the survey of thend that the Revenant Crows made on the territory of the harpies, their soil containedrge deposits of Mythril. A metal that ranked very high on the list of mystical metals that possessed uncanny sturdiness.
Because it was extremely difficult for such kinds of high ranking metals to form, only a few areas rich in mystical energy can form them. And the territory of the Harpies happens to be one of those areas.
Although Dungeon Lace was making steady progress towards that area, it was still a little away from producing Mythril.
The mining and acquisition ofrge quantities of Mythril would no doubt be an immense factor in producing more and higher models of the Andromedas and upgrading the factories of the [Workshop].
Not only that, the possibility of the creation of other versions of warmachines, also depended on the mining of the Mythril. As such, Simon did not want to waste this opportunity and start mining them.
The n of harpies also knew that their territory was rich in a certain kind of metal. The armours of the Queen of the Harpies and a few other personal guards of hers seemed to be made of Mythril too.
Melinda had no qualms with Simon mining their areas. Rather even if she had, she had no choice but to suppress it down.
Finished discussing everything that he needed to, Simon nced towards Ate who immediately sent a message to Bea to open a gate at their location.
As Bea had already been notified about it, it didn''t take her long to create a gate.
Seeing a spatial gate slowly form in front of them, Melinda and the other harpies couldn''t help but get stunned.
Space Magic was after all very rare and not often does one get to see it. Not only that, the fact that the demon couldmand someone who could use space magic, made them re-evaluate him in their minds.
"Let us leave"
Simon and his subordinates proceeded towards the gate. Just as he was about to step into the portal Simon remembered something and turned around.
"Ah! that''s right. Give me that seed the ogre king gave you. As the first benefit for carrying out my orders, I shall make the seed bloom into a brand new Six Nether Flower" He dered with a smile.
Just as Simon had expected, the moment he said that Melinda made a face that was quite a sight to see.
"Y-you can do that?" There was disbelief, expectation, anxiousness and even a little hope in her eyes.
"Of course, even if it is a seed formed from the residual energy, I should be able to grow it into a flower in my dungeon" Simon replied. His words were based on the fact that those species in his dungeon would be able to grow it.
"This¡" Melinda seemed to be hesitating, even though she had be the subordinate of the demon, she had yet to fully trust him.
"Well, it''s up to you whether you chose to believe me or not. The seed is of no use in your hand whereas, I on the other hand can grow it into a flower. If even that is not enough for you to believe me then I can tell you that I have no use for the flower. One of my subordinates will deliver it to you once youplete your orders".
Simon didn''t wait for the other party, he lifted his foot and was about to step into the portal when.
"Hold up, I''ll give it to you. It is just as you said, it is useless in my hand. If you can grow it into a flower then I have no qualms giving it to you" Melinda spoke walking closer to Simon.
"Mister Demon Noble can take it from here"¡
"From where?"¡
"From here" Melinda pointed at her ample cleavage between her armour. The volume of those mounds and the way they were emphasised by her clothing, caused everyone from Simon''s side to be taken aback.
Thinking that he heard incorrectly, Simon blinked his eyes a few times before they became weird. What was this woman thinking? She couldn''t be trying to scheme something at this point, could she?
While Simon thought that Melinda was trying to y some tricks on him, the Valkyries who saw the action of the Harpy Queen arrived at a different conclusion.
"This Bitch!!" Ate and the others grit their teeth and red at Melinda causing thetter to flinch. She hurriedly stopped with her teasing and took out a ruby coloured seed from her bosom.
After the demon and his group left, Melinda continued to stare at the fading gate before making a dissatisfied face.
"He is quite the catch. No wonder those females always surround him. Perhaps it might not be too bad to work under him".
-----
Main Floor, White Pce¡
"Wee back Master" The moment Simon stepped out of the gate, he was greeted by Bea who opened the gate for him and the jubnt voice of two children who immediately hugged him like baby kos.
"Yeah, I''m back Bea, Maybell, Theodore"
Simon greeted his subordinates. He picked up the two children who appeared to be around ten or eleven years old and headed towards the Main Hall.
While on his way, he yed with the two children who filled the ce with theirughter and giggle.
The two children who were getting a free ride on his arms, were twins. Maybell Bloodrite was a petite little girl with short ck, pale white skin and blood coloured eyes. She had dark eyshes, a beautiful face and small lips that hid her tiny fangs which appeared whenever she smiled.
She had a cat ear essory on her head and carried a cute plushie that looked like a humanoid snowman on her at all times. Her dress was reminiscent of the gothic culture. She wore a ck dress with red frills and stockings. Her upper body was dressed in a tailored jacket decorated with redces.
Theodore Bloodrite on the other hand was a boy with a cheerful and mischievous smile. He had short ck and blood coloured eyes just like his sister. He was dressed in clothes which made him look like a child aspiring to be a magician.
He wore a ck top hat, a white shirt and a crimson ck vest that seemed to have been made of some mysterious material over. Below, he had a matching set of ck trousers and pair of ck shoes. And atst, he wore a reversible red-ck cape.
What wasmon about the twins apart from their looks was their uncanny pale white skin and their frigid cold bodies. Simon felt his arms go cold just by carrying them for a little while.
Apart from that, both the twins looked extremely innocent and adorable. However, one shouldn''t be fooled by their appearance after all, the twins weren''t just ordinary people, but Two of the Twelve Powerful Heroes that Simon had created while building the game.
Not only that, they were the [S] rank vampires, the Antediluvian Ancestors reigning at the very top of the Vampire hierarchy.
They were summoned by Simon from that mysterious abyss of his [Main Menu] when he used six emblems at once. The moment he summoned them, a hugemotion urred inside his dungeon.
Monsters and adventurers started fainting and a powerful quake shook the dungeon. It was so devastating that deep gullies started forming in the tower town causing mass panic.
Fortunately, themotion died down after a short while. Nevertheless, this incident is still spoken about by the adventurers whenever they go for a drink or dive inside the dungeon.
Given the high rank of the twins, they were naturally very powerful. However, because of the bugged option of his menu, they were summoned with a part of their strength sealed just like the Valkyries.
Though that being said their levels were still in the upper 800''s and strength wise, they were second only to Irene.
Carrying Maybell and Theodore, Simon arrived at the main hall where all of his subordinates were waiting for him.
"Wee back¡ how was your trip?" Irene asked sitting opposite him.
Simon took a sip of the tea that Ate poured for before he started exining the incredible events he went through in the harpy''s territory.
"I can''t believe you managed to subdue one of the Seven Kings all on your own. That was an incredible stroke of luck".
It was as Irene had said, if the Harpy Queen wasn''t exhausted after using her [Evil Eyes] already, it would have been impossible for Simon alone to subdue her.
"Though you subdued her, it couldn''t be said that you won against her. Nevertheless, a win is a win. With this you have subdued one of the seven kings" Irenemented.
"Yeah" With the Queen of the Harpies out of the equation, there were only six more kings to go. Close to three years have already passed since he made the seven years agreement with Aldebaran.
He had already reached the rank of Demon Earl from a Demon Baron since then. ording to the agreement, he needs to reach the rank of Demon Duke within the remaining four years and subdue the other Six kings.
Although still a little farfetched, at the rate he was growing, it didn''t seem that impossible anymore.
"Ungggh!!¡ you had your time, now switch ces with me!!" Cecilia moured.
While Simon and Irene were discussing some serious stuff, the children were being boisterous. It looked like Cecilia came across an argument with the twins once again.
Chapter 634 634- Dryads
They were both sitting on Simon''s legs and enjoying his pampering. As such, Cecilia who got jealous couldn''t help but argue with the twins to get down.
Theodore: "Nope don''t wanna~"
Maybell: "No"¡
Cecilia wanted the twins to get down so she could sit on Simon''sp herself and the twins who didn''t want to obey. It was like a daily urrence and nothing new to anyone.
"Hehe, we were the first to greet master therefore we are allowed to sit on hisp as long as we want. If Princess Cecilia has any problems, she can just beat it"
Theodoremented in an attempt to further incite Cecilia.
"Alright you two, it''s time to get down" Simon put the twins who tried to protest down from hisp.
"What did I tell you? Cecilia is older than you, so you should listen to her" Though he said that, Cecilia was only one year older than the twin so it couldn''t be said that there was much difference in their mentality. Thus they always tend to argue and bicker even about the smallest of things.
"That''s right, it is as big brother said. I''m your elder. Besides, I''m the Second Guardian and you guys are the Fourth and the Fifth. So you should listen to me" Cecilia stressed particrly on the words second fourth and fifth to make the twins realise their ce.
Suffering a powerful blow, Theodore nor Maybell had anything to respond with. It was as Cecilia had said, they were appointed as the Fourth and Fifth Guardians by the dungeon while Cecilia was second. In terms of seniority, she was older than them.
"Ahh.. dammit" Theodore shouted and ran out of the room.
"Eh? Brother wait for me" and Maybell ran after him.
"Hehe" Now triumphant, Cecilia shed a V sign.
"That was impressive Princess Cecilia, the way you handled those too" Alice who watched the entire scuffle praised from the side.
"Hehe, when we were still living in the old forest spring vige, I used to y with such stubborn kids. I know exactly how to handle them" Cecilia puffed her chest and replied.
"Hoh, as expected of Princess Cecilia. You should teach me that sometimes¡ ouch!! Elder sister, why did you hit me?" Alice cried out in grief after getting a karate chop on her head.
"Silence. Don''t create more mess for the master" Ate chided. Mentally, Alice too wasn''t far apart from those children.
Looking at the rowdy crowd in his main hall, Simon shook his head and smiled. The Main Floor which was all lonely and silent before, was starting to get lively with the appearance of these people.
Each and every one of them were his precious subordinates that gave him a sense of belonging.
"Sigh¡ alright Cecilia, go and make up with Theodore and Maybell" Irene spoke. Now that there were so many children among the subordinates of Simon, it was up to Irene and Ate to y the role of the Elder sister.
"But"¡
"No Buts, go and do it. Aren''t you all friends?"
Cecilia seemed like she had something to say but against Irene''s stern eyes, she could only nod her head and do as she was told.
"Alice you go too"¡
"Yes".
Now that the hall had descended back into silence, Simon and Irene started discussing more important topics.
"So, will it be alright to leave the King of the Ogres as it is? Isn''t he creating an alliance to siege the dungeon? Although with the current level of your subordinates, I don''t think they will be able to create any storms, but the tower town might still get destroyed like the time with the orcs"
Irene stated her concerns. She had now fully adapted to her role as the proxy dungeon master.
"Maybe we should have destroyed them after all, Master" Bea added uttering some dangerous words. From the serious expression on her face, it doesn''t seem like she was joking.
"We cannot do that"¡
"Why not?"
Ate answered for her clueless sister.
"For a while now, the Seven Kings have maintained a bnce of sorts in the Ghastly Winding Forest where they keep each other in check. Now imagine what would happen to this equilibrium if one of the Seven King ns is destroyed and that too by a new powerhouse that has recently emerged in the eastern region of the forest?"¡
"Um, the bnce would break?"¡
"That''s right; however, that is not all. The other Seven kings with the exception of Aldebaran would see the dungeon as a threat and join forces to destroy it first" Ate hit the nail.
What Simon was worried about was precisely that. Due to making that agreement with Aldebaran, he was in a position where he couldn''t kill the Seven Kings nor can he use the power of his subordinates to subdue them. He has to do it himself.
But after fighting the Queen of the Harpies Simon realised that he was still far away from contending with one. He needed to get stronger and rank up and for that, he needed time. Aldebaran had given him seven years of time (now only four remaining) but it meant nothing if the seven kings joined forces to attack him first.
As such, Simon wanted to avoid such a scenario in any case.
"They dare" Bea fumed. Although she wasn''t created to be the smartest, even she understood what it meant for the seven kings toe together.
"That''s alright, I have yed my own card so that something like that doesn''t happen" Simon revealed a wicked smile.
Subduing the Queen of the Harpy this early had immensely benefitted him. Now not only can he y it safe, he wouldn''t have to worry about the Seven Kings attacking him any soon.
Plus with the production of more Revenant Crows, in time he will be able to monitor everything that goes around in this Ghastly Winding Forest.
Simon did not say anything further, after exining everything he needed to, he got up and headed for the [Training Floor]. If not for the matter this time was urgent, Simon wouldn''t have left his training. He was about to grasp a new power that he had been working for weeks now.
Seeing him eager to dive back into training right after he just returned, Irene couldn''t help but disy a helpless smile. They were just about to teleport to the [Training Floor] when Simon remembered something.
"Ah!! Hold up, I need to go to the garden".
The Main Floor had many areas, one of these areas was the orchard or one could also call it the garden that Irene and Cecilia had created. As he stood in front of the garden, Simon couldn''t help but get taken aback by the marvelling seen thaty ahead in front of him.
The picturesque pond of serenity was one thing, but the garden created by Irene and Cecilia wasn''t any short of being a legendary sight. A vast field filled with varieties of flowers, shrubs, vines and speckles of light made for an enthralling scene.
What''s more, after being nourished by the mystical rain, many of the flowers have evolved to be legendary flowers ad nts that are extremely rare in the surface world. even if you pick one flower from here blindly, it worth would be no less than the Six Nether Flower.
When Simon''s body was destroyed by the spatial storm and hey unconscious on his bed, many of the herbs that helped sustain his life, were taken from here. Many of the items here are ingredients for High tier potions and miraculous elixirs.
As such, if any Alchemist saw this sight, they would immediately faint. The garden created by the girls was one of its kind.
A rejuvenating feeling embraced Simon as soon as he came to the garden. He felt like his mind calming down and his body heal every second just by being exposed to it. That said, he was not here for flower viewing.
Simon made his way further inside the garden where he saw a row of huge flowers in the shape of Rafflesia, popping out of the ground. They were huge,pared to the ones on earth, they were ten times bigger.
However the biggest unique point of these flowers was not their huge size, but the fact that they housed something. Each of the flowers had something moving around inside them.
When Simon moved closer to the flowers, the being that was inside the flower, popped their heads out perceiving his presence.
They had green skin, long ears and hair like leaves and a humanoid body that resembled a woman. In terms of appearance, they looked closer to an elf or a fairy.
However, they had their own distinctive features that separated them from the other species in that they are tied to their homes. In this case, the flowers in which they reside.
The creatures that were looking at Simon shyly, were none other than Dryads, the caretaker of the woods. They were born after Cecilia activated her skills and bestowed arge amount of vitality inside those flowers saying that the garden needed someone to take care of them.
At that time, Simon couldn''t even have imagined that she would end up reviving a species that had almost gone extinct in the surface world. Of course, it was a pleasant and weing surprise for his dungeon.
With the addition of the dryads, the Main Floor now had a caretaker to look after its garden. Additionally, these Dryads were extremely loyal to Cecilia who in return indoctrinated them to be loyal to him. As such, Simon did not have to worry about them bing hostile to him.
Chapter 635 635- Yin Yang Koi Fish
That being said, the motive behind himing to the garden was also to meet the dryads.
"I have a favour to ask of you all, can you grow a flower from this seed?"
Simon took out the ruby coloured seed he got from Melinda. It was the seed of the Six Nether Flower.
One of the Dryads took the seed from his hand, inspected it for a second or two before nodding its head. It appeared that it was possible to grow a flower with this iplete seed, as expected of a race that is held as the caretaker of the woods.
With this taken care of, Simon no longer had to worry about eating his own words. Although at that time he said to Melinda that he would be able to grow the seed into a Six Nether Flower, he was not entirely sure.
However, with the confident nod of the dryads, he didn''t have to worry about it anymore. Simon could have also gone to the Forest Spring Spirits for this task but he felt like the Dryads more suited.
Of course it was not like the Forest Spring Spirits are unable to grow the seed, after all, the two species had simr kinds of powers. However, it must be noted that a Forest Spring Spirit is blessed by the nature and has the ability to control and produce all kinds of things associated with it.
Whereas, a dryad''s power is focused more towards the control of nts, trees, flowers and such. It is said that themunication they hold with the flora, is very strong.
A forest spring spirit with the exception of royal like Cecilia, is unable to understand the words of a nt or a tree. As could be seen when the forest spirits had trouble understanding the infant spirit tree. However, that was not the case for dryads whose abilities shine in this forte.
They could perfectlymunicate with the flora as if it was a part of their own. In a way, it could be said that the dryads were the assistants of the Forest Spring Spirits who maintain the forest for them.
As such, Simon felt like it would be better if he gave this task to the dryads.
After handing out the seed, Simon was just about to leave the ce, when he saw the clouds above rain down mystical energy. This was a part of the endless mystical cycle of condensation, precipitation and evaporation.
With his dungeon ranking up, the numerous Mystical Veins underneath the Main Floor, had evolved into Heart Veins. As such, the density of mana had reached a point where the condensation of mystical energy was no longer confined to the area near the vicinity of the pond.
Instead, the clouds now covered almost the entirety of the Main Floor. That was not all, the Heart Veins contained such enormous amount of mystical energy, that they started leaking out of the ground of the Main Floor in a spectacr disy of light.
The presence of the abundant amount of mana was what nurtured the various treasures present on the Main Floor.
As Simon marvelled the changes that urred on his Main Floor in these past ten months, out from the corner of his eyes he saw two balls of light, one ck and one white, jump in and out of the clouds as if swimming.
These intertwining ck and white objects might look like balls of light, but they are not. If one looked carefully, they would be able to see that inside each of the two lights was a fish. One ck and one white, the lights were insteading from these fish.
Yin Yang Koi Fish¡ that was what Irene called them. That''s right, these fish were summoned from that mysterious abyss like option of his Main Menu when he used two emblems of his dungeon.
Simon was hoping that he would be able to summon the other heroes after the twins, but instead, he got these fish.
So what did these Yin Yang Fish do? Were they as powerful as the twelve heroes? Simon did not know, the evolved skill of analysis, [Appraisal] did not work on these fish.
When he asked Irene what these fish were? She told him that they were the Yin Yang Koi fish while making a face full of surprise.
Just like the time when she first saw Simon summoning the Null Elemental, this time too, she wore that rare stunned disbelief expression. She told him how she couldn''t believe he was able to summon the thing that should have been swimming in the river of samsara and started looking at the Abyss in a bizarre way.
After that, she started talking about things like how the Yin Yang Koi fish represents the duality of the world, bnce and harmony.
Things that are opposite and at the same time inseparable and forces like ck and white, darkness and light, positive and negative, male and female, good and bad¡ She kept going on.
"In any case, it is an extremely good symbol and one that will have a great impact in your destiny. The fact that they came here from the River of Samsara, means that they had seen through your past, present and future and have acknowledged you".
"You might not be able toprehend their importance right now, but in the future, you will surely do. Additionally, and I can''t stress this word any more, but ''protect'' them at any cost. The Yin Yang koi Fish, are now deeply connected with your fate and destiny. As such, they must nevere to harm at any cost. So protect them".
With Irene asserting so much, Simon could only nod his head at that time. He did not understand how they were rted to his fate and destiny but what he did understand was that something very bad would happen to him if these fish were ever harmed as such he must protect them at all cost.
"Even if you say to protect them, how can I do that with them moving all around my dungeon" Simon muttered to himself as he looked at the Yin Yang koi Fish swimming in the mystical clouds.
The concept of spatialws did not apply to them as such, they could move all around his dungeon. Right now, they were here, but soon they will start swimming towards a different ce.
No one can control the movements of the Yin Yang Koi Fish. So how do he protect them? Fortunately for him, Irene told him that she would take care of their protection for the time being.
However, Irene was already busy as she was now, he felt bad to pile up even more work on her shoulders. That being said, he could only leave their protection to her until such a time came where he could guarantee their safety.
"I need to summon the other heroes"
That was the only natural conclusion he coulde to. If Simon had more of the Twelve Heroes with him, he could assign one of them with the protection of the Yin yang Koi Fish all the time.
That way, even if they were to swim up to the upper floors, he wouldn''t have to worry.
The Valkyries were sworn to their maid duties, the twins might be powerful; however, they were still a child. Their carefree and yful nature would only serve to worry Simon further if he assigned them with the protection of the Yin Yang koi fish.
"The best option should be her huh" Simon had the image of a particr hero in mind which was the best person for this task.
"Well with the option being as unpredictable and random, who knows when I''ll be able to summon all the Twelve Heroes"
It might take him years or even a decade. Nevertheless, he at least knew that it was possible to summon the Twelve Heroes from the [????????] option.
Simon watched as the Yin Yang koi fish move away from the main floor and got moving too. The next time he appeared, he was already on the [Training Floor]. Irene was waiting for him there.
"It took you a while, did you meet with the Dryads?" she asked.
"Yeah, it turns out that they can grow that iplete seed into a flower" Simon responded. Irene knew that he was nning to use the Six Nether Flower as the carrot to move the heart of the Queen of the Harpies and slowly instil loyalty into her.
"Anyways, how did you feel when fighting the queen of the harpies?"¡
"I could tell that I have definitely grown; however, there was still a definite gap between us" Simon responded after recalling his battle with Melinda.
"That''s obvious, her level is far higher than yours. Even if she is the weakest among the seven kings when ites to pure physical strength, the fact that you can stand your ground against her means that you can fight an opponent one rank higher than you without falling into a disadvantage. Plus if we also train your magic control and mana, you might even be able to defeat them".
Irene rified, she was more clear than anyone on how high Simon''s ceiling was. He not only had a better foundation than most beings out there, he even had the ability to freely rank up without worrying about the restrictions of the world.
Just these couple factors alone made him one of the most unique beings in this world. However, with the addition of his training in magic, he might really be an existence that can jump ranks in a battle.
Chapter 636 636- Invitation
When Simon left for the territory of the harpies, Irene had barred Simon from using his magic even if he came to sh against the queen of the harpies. The reason for that was because she wanted him to realise how far he could go just by relying on his physicalbat and skills.
"Now then, let us start your magic training. Create a basic fireball for now"
As Irene instructed, Simon create a basic fireball. However, due to his mana now being in a state of liquid, the fireball he created was the size of a boulder. This was not done intentionally but was instinctive.
"Alright, you can disperse that magic. Now, do you know why you are able to cast magic so easily? Something that came to humans and other races after years of training?" Irene asked looking at him with those crystal blue eyes of hers.
Now that she mentioned it, Simon had never thought about how he was able to use magic up until this moment. The moment he was reincarnated in this world, he was attacked by a direwolf.
To repel the monster away, Simon instinctively used magic without even thinking about how he did it.
Wait, there was something that he knew. At that time when death was staring into his eyes, he heard a fiery voice beckon to him to make the direwolf disappear.
If it was the previous Simon before he became a Demon Earl, he might not have understood it. However, the current him was different. After ranking up and grasping some of the essence of the mystical energy, many profundities that eluded him before, came to him naturally.
Thus he knew what that phenomenon was.
"It looks like you have arrived at an answer. That''s right, what you heard when you used magic for the first time, was the voice of that magic itself. But have you wondered why you were able to hear that voice?" Irene questioned.
"Because I''m a Demon Noble¡" The Demon Nobles were one of the race that were extremely adept in magic.
"That right, what would have otherwise taken other species years of practice, just came to you naturally. However, this also means that you have gone through no training. You might have a better understanding of magic than other species; however, your control and skill over the magic are stillcking".
"For example, the fireball magic that you just cast, how much mana did you use up for that?"
Hearing Irene''s question Simon arched his brows. His MP was well over 300,000 now. And thanks to his skills and body''s natural ability to recover, it didn''t take him any time to recover the mana he expended casting the novice tier magic.
Nevertheless, he was still able to tell how much mana he had used to cast that fireball.
"Around 300 MP" Simon responded.
Irene nodded her head and added "That''s a lot counting the fact that you possess the [Minimal Mana Consumption] and your [Mana Lines] evolved into [Superior Mana Lines]. In your current state, you should be able to cast a magic like fireball by expending less than 100 MP. Try it".
Simon did as he was told and cast a fireball. This time though the fire ball was a lot less big, about the size of a football. However, what was surprising was that it took him more than 300 MP to cast the same fireball he had cast a few seconds earlier.
"Do you see yourcking control in magic now? You cannot even cast the same magic using a fixed amount of mana every time. Not only that, there is too much mana wastage in your casting. For your magic training, we will start by focusing on your magic control"
Irene spoke in a strict tone. After training with her for ten months, Simon was already used to that side of her.
With Irene monitoring his progress, Simon started training. He was forced to repeatedly cast the novice tier fireball magic again and again. It was only after seeing the various size of the same fireball, did it dawn onto Simon how serious hisck ovver magic control was.
He had cast over a hundred fireballs however none of the fireballs was of the same size and mana output, not even one.
There was no mistake in casting, all of the fireball was the same magic. However, each of them had a random amount of mana bestowed into them. His magic control was so all over the ce that it wasn''t even funny anymore.
One fireball magic even took him more than 1000 MP to cast. That was simply wastage of mana.
"The only reason you were able to reach the Advance tier in some magic, is because of your race and therge Mana Pool that you possessed made up for your severeck over magic control".
"You might have already realised it by now, but you have reached a bottleneck in magic. Your Amalgamation magic is not progressing further. Even though you have reached the advanced tier in some of the attributes of the mana, you can only use amalgamation magic up to the intermediate tier".
"You might have wondered about that too. If you want to progress further, than you will have to perfect your ws, and magic control is just one of them".
With Irene throwing facts at his face, Simon could only nod his head. It was not like she said anything false, he had really been relying on his racial advantages to cast magic since the beginning.
It was not bad per se, but it would not take him much further. Its true that demon Nobles were one of the race much more proficient in magic. However, any weapon can be blunt if abused too much.
One needed to sharpen their weapon from time to time to make sure the weapon can perform its task. It was the same in this regard too, Simon might have been born with a sharp weapon that can slice through many things.
However, it meant nothing if he didn''t continuously improve himself and just relied on that factor alone. Simon understood this point very well, and thus continued to train like a madman.
That said, change is a gradual process and not something that could be seen in one day. Unless one is a genius, it would take others a long time.
Irene had created a strict training routine for Simon. For as long as he trained, he would have to work just as much. The task of the dungeon master wasn''t going toplete on its own.
Rest? That was a luxury, a demon noble''s body was different than a human, it did not need much sleep or rest.
Currently, Simon was seated in a room inside the White Pce that he designated as his new office. with how boisterous the main hall had be, he could no longer work there. He needed a different room to attend to his work.
Even after assigning the valkyries and the twins their own rooms, the white pce was big enough to have plenty of spare rooms. Of course, in the near future with more and more subordinates joining him, even with these many rooms it might fall short.
At that time, he could just add more rooms. The pce was an item that was purchased from the [shop] and was thest defensive line that fortified and nourished the dungeon core. It can be upgraded with the dungeon points to not only be more fortified, but also more spacious.
Right now, after Simon upgraded the White Pce twice, the dungeon core that was sitting in the basement of the pce, was secured by threeyers of arrays that was not any weaker than the one Irene hadid out in the Forest Spirit vige.
Of course, the majority of the upgrade cost went into those arrays that was the most important part of the White Pce.
Fascinated by the arrays, Simon was also currently looking into that area. After his dungeon became an intermediate ranking dungeon, many items and elements in the [shop] now became avable for purchase to him.
For example, it was possible for him to nt the Trees of Mana Crystals without he need of Cecilia mutating them from Mana Trees. Not only that, he could also install various types of Mineral Mountains and Mana Crystal Quarries to his dungeon.
The same was with the Arrays. Simon was now able to choose from a wide range of arrays to install in his dungeon. Of course, the higher grade ones which were the most powerful were still inessible to him. One could only buy those when their dungeon evolves to a high ranking dungeon.
That being said, there was still a lot of arrays to choose from for an intermediate tier dungeon.
For example, there were arrays that are strictly used for protection like the Grand Protection Array that Irene had created in the forest spirit vige. The me Trance Array which increases the power of all types of me magic while inside the formation.
Blizzard Array that increases the ice magic, Howling Wind Array and so on and so forth. Other than these Elemental types arrays, there were also the special types of arrays like Illusiory Mist Formation that produces mist and traps anyone that enters the array inside an illusion.
Then there was also the special arrays filled with thews of space that sends anyone that enters that area into a special realm.
Of course, these arrays wasn''t all powerful, there were various tricks and techniques to break these array. However, if used masterfully, these arrays can be some really annoying objects.
Chapter 637 637- Invitation (2)
Simon could already imagine installing them on various floors of his dungeon and aggravating the adventurers to no end.
That said, there was another thing about the arrays that one needed to know. They cannot be installed just anywhere. To activate an array one needed a stable and powerful source of energy to power them.
As such, it made sense to install them in a ce which has a Mystical Vein passing through underneath it. One can also substitute the energy source with mana crystals; however to power even the weakest and the smallest of arrays, one needed tens of thousands of mana crystals above grade [3].
Given how rare and scarce mana crystals above grade [3] was, not just anyone can splurge them on the arrays. But Simon was not just any person, he was the dungeon master of Lace, an intermediate tier dungeon.
Not only that, the resources that he has avable to him, thanks to the heaven defying abilities of his subordinate, even some high ranking demon noble cannot match it.
Be it the Mystical veins inside his dungeon or the Mana crystals, he had an abundance of them. Of course not to the point of splurging freely, but he could still spare some for the activation of the arrays when needed.
The rows of Trees of Mana Crystals near the pond of serenity, which have grown from saplings to be an adult trees, were now a sight to see. They not only produce crystals grade [4] and above, but the branches of the trees are now full of mana crystals which shines with beautiful multicolour light adding to the splendour of the ce.
Aside from that ce, there was another area on the Main Floor called the Mana Crystal Forest as well as other floors with Trees of Mana Crystals nted. Even now, they were steadily producing Mana crystals to meet the growing needs of the dungeon.
If he also added the numerous quarries into the mix, dungeon Lace had plenty of them. As such, Simon could freely install the arrays in any ce he wants without worrying much about the expenditure.
He was just looking forward to how he could make the most out of the arrays when suddenly, he received a mentalmunication from one of the [Helpers].
"Is this Jarred? For you to call me directly¡ is there a problem?"¡
"Yes my lord, there is a situation here on the 58th floor and we don''t know how to quite handle it" Jarred replied from the other end of themunication.
"Is the situation dangerous?" Simon asked.
Seeing that the other party did not reply, he stopped what he was doing and added "I''m heading over there, make sure you guys do not get involved before I arrive".
Simon ended themunication, got up from his seat and immediately headed over to the 58th floor.
-----
58th floor, a vast wilnd. Concealed at the centre of the floor by those tall overgrown trees, was a passageway that led towards a dark pavement inside.
Simon teleported near the ce and immediately spotted his subordinates who were waiting for him.
"My lord" they all kneeled the moment they saw him. Simon nodded his head in acknowledgement and asked them about the situation.
Jarred who was the one monitoring the situation with a few new [Helpers] on the 58th floor, immediately gave him a summary.
"What?!... Hmm, so you are saying that they are not hostile?" Simon questioned.
"Yes my lord, they have been sitting there motionlessly in that ce for a long time now. They do not respond even when we call out to them. It is as if their soul had already left their bodies and they are just lifeless dolls now" Jarred exined.
Hearing his words, Simon fell into contemtion. After a while, he opened his mouth and spoke.
"If its as you said, let us head inside. I want to see them myself".
Simon took the lead with the [Helpers] closely following behind and headed inside the hidden chamber. That''s right, the passageway conceled within the trees on the 58th floor, was none other than a hidden chamber that Fey, Maya and the other [Helpers] had created.
''If I remember correctly, the monster guarding this ce should be a Giant Earth Golem'' Simon recalled as he walked forward. Since he was the dungeon master of this entire ce, the traps did not activate when he stepped on them.
The same was for the [Helpers] who were the inhabitants recognised by the dungeon.
Soon after walking through a winding long path, the passageway expanded to reveal a giant chamber in front.
"They are inside my lord" Jarred stated.
Simon stepped forward and the huge metallic gates of the chamber slowly strut open to reveal an enormous dark chamber inside. At the end of the chamber, two huge blue lights could be seen prating through the darkness.
Those were the eyes of the Giant Earth Golem whose figure was obscured by the darkness. Had it been an intruder and not him, those eyes would have immediately turned from blue to red and the door behind him would have been shut closed trapping him inside.
The fate of those trapped inside this chamber need not be imagined since it was right in front of his eyes. A group of adventurers, who dared to enter this chamber blinded by their greed,y sttered and dead all across the ground in front of him.
It was a bloody sight with gore that had been turned into a paste by something heavy, littering the chamber. A nauseating smell filled the ce.
At the centre of the floor, on top of a small stone pedestal was an exquisite looking treasure box that glimmered even within the darkness. That was the objective of the adventurers; unfortunately, their life came to a premature end when they met the guardian of this chamber, the earth golem.
Simon shifted his eyes away from the treasure chest and looked around. His crimson eyes quickly spotted the shadows cuddling around a corner of the chamber. The reason why he was here, was because of these people.
As Simon approached closer, he was able to see their appearance, more clearly.
"Demihumans!!" there was no other way to describe them. There was a total of six demihumans in the chamber. They were all dressed in a clothing of a ve and had cors marked with runes on their neck indicating their status.
To put it bluntly, these demihumans were the ves of the adventurers who perished here.
"It looks like their mind have been broken. Their bodies might just as well be soulless dolls now. No wonder the Earth Golem did not kill them" Simonmented as he observed the condition of the demihumans.
Two male Weretigers, one Cienthrope, one Elf, one Dark Elf and one Cat kin. Other than the two male Weretigers all the other demihumans were females.
The bodies of the two tiger kins were battered and bruised indicating that they were badly abused. The females on the other hand were forced to wear revealing clothes and from the many scar marks that their bodies bore, it wasn''t hard to guess that they have been defiled and were reduced to a ything of the adventurers.
What sickened Simon was the fact that these demihumans have been subjected to the revolting hobbies of their masters.
The two male Weretiger had their tails cut, the female elf who were known for their long beautiful blonde hair, had her head shaved. The female dark elf had her face scarred by acid, the cat kin had her mouth mutted so she cannot purr anymore and the cienthrope girl had her ears cut.
Each of them were subjected to cruel torture and suffered a horrendous life up until now. It was no wonder that they were mentally broken and their eyes looked hollow. How could one have the will to leave even after that?
Even Simon had a trace of pity for them. These kinds of acts went beyond his liking.
Sigh¡ he sighed a deep breath of air and unsheathed his weapon. Simon felt sorry for these demihumans and as such, he was going to free them of their misery. Death would be the best salvation for them.
Just as Simon was about to swing his sword to kill them in one swift motion, Jarred opened his mouth and asked¡ª
"Is my lord going to kill them?".
Simon stopped his movement and turned towards Jarred who was looking at the demihumans with pitying eyes. No, his eyes had much deeper emotions within them.
''Is he perhaps empathising with these demihumans?''. It was not only him, the others [Helpers] had simr emotions in their eyes while looking at the demihumans.
Ah! It was only now that Simon realised that the Forest Spring Spirits had suffered a simr fate throughout history. Once they are captured, they are either killed for their orbs or made a ve of some high ranking individual who paid a hefty sum for them.
If Simon had not saved the Forest Spring Spirits that night, perhaps their ending would have been even more miserable than the demihumans.
Simon fell into a dilemma, he could see the despairing eyes of the demihumans that sought death, liberation from this misery. However, after thinking about the Forest Spring Spirits, he felt like he couldn''t kill them. T
hat said, letting these demihumans to live in their current state, could it even be called living? Haa¡ what should he do? Simon suddenly felt like the sword in his hand be heavier making him unable to swing it anymore.
He sheathed his sword back, scratched his hair and contemted for a good few minutes. Unable toe up with an answer even after that, he decided to¡ "Take them to prison".
He decided to keep them there for the time being.
Chapter 638 638- Invitation (3)
The prison was created at the insistence of the Valkyries who said that the dungeon needed one for keeping criminals who havemitted crimes so heinous that even death was forgiveness for them.
For the first time, all the Valkyries were of the same opinion. Even Ate who he created to be the most sensible and smart out of all, didn''t want to budge down from this matter.
Thus with them insisting so much, Simon had no choice but to create an underground prison just below the training floor. Although keeping these already pitiful demihumans in those dark gloomy cells was a little offputting, Simon had no choice for now.
Keeping them on the Main floor was out of the question, as for the forest spirit vige, he couldn''t say with a hundred percent guarantee that these demihumans who had suffered so much, wouldn''t suddenly snap on innocent the forest spring spirits.
Thetter did not even have anybat abilities to defend themselves as such, he would only be inviting trouble to their vige if he brought them there.
The [workshop] was far too important of a floor for his dungeon hence it was a no go too. After a process of elimination, the prison was the only ce he could keep them until he decided what to do with them.
The [helpers] delightedly nodded their heads at his order and looked at Simon with stars in their eyes. It seemed like they saw his action as an act of benevolence.
Done with his task after handing the demihumans to the [helpers], Simon teleported back to his office inside the white pce and got to work.
That said, for thetter half of the day, the demihumans were still stuck in his mind. This was not the first case of demihumans being found or entering his dungeon. Although in this case, this was the first time he found a group alive.
Usually, in other cases, they would be used as porters, baits or even meat shields for the adventurers to pave their way ahead. Be that may, in all of the cases they were used as expendables that were discarded after they ran out of their use.
It was not just one or two teams that were using demihumans ves, but numerous guilds that came to the tower town from the surrounding kingdoms after getting attracted over the prospect that the dungeon brought.
In the present, the dungeon exploration had changedpletely from the past. Every guild and team are now using ves whether humans, demihumans or even monsters to progress their exploration.
The tower town too, had changed from what it used to be. With more and powerful guilds establishing their base in the town, the Adventurer Association branch was no longer as powerful as before.
They could neither monitor nor keep every guild in check. As such, many shady organisations and activities have started making their way into the town. One of these shady organisations was the ve trading.
The demihuman, human and monster ves that are being used by the adventurers to tackle the dungeon, are brought and supplied by these very organisations. To put it bluntly, the tower town had be more of awless and ruffian ce these days.
What was Simon going to do? For the time being he has no intention of doing anything. The tower town might bewless, but it was functioning more effectively than before. As long as these activities did not harm his DP ie, he had no ns of interfering.
That said, if he nned on creating cities inside the dungeon in the future, he would have to do something about things like this.
.
.
Simon was calmly going over all the tasks that he had toplete. The job of the dungeon master was quite hectic. In a few hours from now, he would have to go back to training and thene back and work again and repeat the cycle.
"Hm? What this? A report from Coleus?"
Simon glossed through the documents he had to check for the day when he found a document that was sent by Coleus. Thetter used to be the leader of the [Helpers]. However, after seeing his talent in experimentation and research, he was assigned to the Monster Mutation project on one of the new floors he had created called the [Breeding Farm].
Now that the dungeon Lace had grown into an intermediate tier dungeon and his subordinates increased with each having their own role and task, a new form ofmunicational hierarchy was needed to keep the dungeon functioning.
One cannot just keep oning to him in person to report each and every small and big aspect of their work unless absolutely necessary.
Simon had delegated appropriate amount of authority to them as per their roles so that they need note to every time. As such, a newmunication model based on importance and urgency was created.
There were three levels to this model, namely the level 1, level 2 and Level 3. Level 1- Using the Mentalmunication function of the [Roles]. This stage ofmunication is used when the matter one has to report is extremely urgent and cannot be dyed.
Level 2- Using reports. In terms of urgency, it is not as high as level 1 but also not as low as level 3. It is used when someone has a report to make that can wait for a while.
As for level 3, reporting in person. Although in terms of urgency, it is not as urgent as level 1 but in terms of importance it is the highest. This level ofmunication is used when the report they have to ry is of extreme importance.
The fact Coleus had used a level 2 form ofmunication, meant that the report that he had to make, wasn''t very urgent but it was quite important.
Simon read the report. It was about the recent mutations that he had been working on. The grade [2] Mutation Crystals that he had supplied to Coleus, had shown some remarkable results.
Many new species with unusual elemental affinities were created. His reports were not only very detailed on their mutation, but he was also researching on how to breed two different species with varying elemental abilities.
His field of research was very intriguing and something that even Simon thought about once. For example- He wondered if there was any possibility for a pirodile or a lizardman who have an inborn affinity with water, to be able to also breathe and swim in the fire.
That is to say, a monster with dual affinity.
Although they were able to mutate an already mutated species and turn it to have apletely different affinity, like the Fire Eater Rat into Ice Treading Mouse, the research of dual affinity monsters was still stuck at a dead end without making any progress.
Well, as they say, failure is the mother of sess, Simon has been funnelling a portion of the dungeon''s DP ie every month towards Coleus'' way so that he could find a way to break through this problem.
If he thinks that breeding two different species might be the solution, there was no reason for Simon to not help.
In the report, Coleus is asking for assistance in the form of workers. It seems like he was short on manpower on the [Breeding Farm] and could use some helping hand for the uing projects.
Simon put down the report on his table and contemted. Currently, Coleus was the only one doing the research in the [Breeding Farm]. Although he allocated a number of Andromedas to be his assistants it appeared that he still needed some more.
This was not a problem for Simon. Be it Mk11, Mk10 or even Mk9 he could allocate arge number of them to him. However, he felt like what Coleus requested of him weren''t more cold warmachines that followed everymand, but fellowrades who could share the same interest as him.
If it was thetter, he would have to think about who to assign to assist him. The other [Helpers] and forest spring spirits were already pretty much busy with their own tasks.
"Hmm¡ who should I assign him" Just as Simon was mulling his brain over Coleus'' request, there was a hurried knock on his door and Bea walked inside his office with quick steps.
"Master there is something you need to see immediately" She reported.
"What is it this time?" there was just so many things for him to do that he cannot catch a break at all. Simon sighed; nevertheless, he still headed over outside with Bea.
"What is it that I have to see" Now standing outside of the white palce, he asked.
"Up there" Bea pointed up.
Simon curiously craned his head towards the ceiling where she was pointing at and his eyes immediately widened with surprise. That was because standing mightly at the ceiling of his main floor, was a ck gate that was more than seven meters big.
The gate looked quite heavy and ancient and had numerous depictions of demons in their most primal state. What was unusual about this gate was that it had huge iron chains and a lock binding it.
No, this was not some new quip of his dungeon that he installed, but something that had appeared out of nowhere and without any indication. That is to say, this door, was not something that was always there in the ceiling of his main floor.
So how did this door appear here?
Chapter 639 639- Invitation (4)
Simon would like to ask the same question.
As he nced at the door, he noticed Irene and the Valkyries standing near the gate. They seemed to be observing the thing.
"You are here. Quickly check out this letter, I found it stuck to the gate"
When Simon arrived before the gate, Irene passed him a letter.
Simon took the letter in his hand and observed it. The material of this letter seemed to be very unique and old. At the centre of the letter was an ancient seal that seemed to have been forged with blood.
The moment Simon touched the seal, it bit his finger and swallowed some of his blood. Right afterwards, the letter flew out of his hand and started shaking fiercely.
As Simon and the others looked on in astonishment, the letter turned itself into pieces before bursting out into mes. The ashes thenposed themselves into the contents of the letter.
[???? ?????? ????????????????????.
?? ?????????????? ???????????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????????????????????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ??????????- ?????? ?????????????? ???? ?????? ????????????. ???? ???????? ???????? ???? ???????????????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ??????, ???? ???????? ???????? ???? ???????????? ???? ????????.
?????????? ???? ??????????????, ?????? ???????? ???? ???? ???????????????? ??????????????????. ???????? ????????, ?? ???????? ?????????????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????????? ???? ???????????? ???????? ?????? ?????????????????? ???? ???????????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?????????????? ???? ?????? ????????????????. ???? ???????? ???????? ?????? ?????????????? ???????????? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ???????????????? ?????????????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????????? ???? ??????????.
???? ?????????????????????? ???? ?????? ?????????????? ???????????? ???????? ?????????????? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ??????????????. ???????????? ????????, ?????????? ?????????? ?????? ???????? ?????????? ?? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???????????? ???????? ????????. ?? ???????? ?????????????? ???? ???????????? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????????????? ???? ?????? ????????????.
?????????? ??????????,
???????????????? ??????????????].
The contents of the letter floated in front of them for a while before disappearing.
"This is¡" the Valkyries looked lost, they did not know who this Grimvul was and what this auction was all about. However, how could it be possible for Simon to not know it? Being a true Demon Noble now, he was of course aware of who this Grimvul was.
"Merchant of the Damned, that''s what the demon nobles call him" Simon opened his mouth and exined.
"He is a peculiar existence that is foreign to this world. Hees to Althaea every 101 years to sell his wares, artefacts and various misceneous things that he has collected over the years. This event is what we Demon Nobles call the Auction of the Damned".
The Valkyries nodded their heads.
"So how did this gatee here?" Ate asked.
"Merchant Grimvul is extremely secretive, no one knows where he lurks or where he holds his auctions at. Only one thing is known about him and that is many of the things he collects and sells are no doubt treasures beyond any treasures".
"You will never find anything ordinary there. Of course, the reputation of the merchant is not without reason, he is extremely scheming and if one is not careful they will find themselvespletely scammed. Because of this reason, many high ranking demon nobles who had been picked clean by him, hate him and would no doubt try everything in their power to search for his location".
"That is why, nobody knows where the auction takes ce, only that whoever is invited, will find this gate pop inside their dungeon that will lead them to the location of the auction" Simon answered.
Now that he had be a Demon Noble, he knew a lot of things about this world. But of course, he didn''t know everything, he only knew what he knew.
"Are you nning to attend this auction?" Irene inquired from the side seemingly thinking something deeply.
Simon nodded his head "Of course, there is no reason for me to not attend. It is one of the most anticipated events that all demon nobles look forward to. From what I know of the Auction of the Damned, it brings out very unusual items that one cannot buy from the [Shop], every time it opens. It would be foolish of me to miss out on this opportunity".
The auction of the Damned came every 101 years, if he missed this opportunity, he would have to wait another 101 years for the merchant Grimvul to visit Althaea once again.
Besides, Simon wanted to see for himself what this hype about the auction was all about and at the same time purchase a thing or two that fancied him.
Over the years, Dungeon Lapalce had produced a lot of DP. Of course, a significant amount of that went into upgrading and expanding the dungeon and some into the [Ga??????].
Nevertheless, with more and more adventurers flooding into his dungeon from the surrounding countries, the DP that his dungeon generated every day was still quite a lot.
If hepared the DP ie of Lace, it would be around that of a High ranking dungeon. The master of a dungeon of that rank, is usually a Demon Duke or higher. As such, it could be said that the DP Simon possessed, wasparable to that of a Demon Duke.
With that much amount he should be able to purchase a couple of things.
"You said that it is an event that is looked forward to by all the Demon nobles? Then doesn''t it mean that all of them would be in attendance for that event? Wouldn''t it be dangerous?" It looked like Irene was concerned over the safety of Simon.
A high ranking demon was still a high ranking demon, even if Simon had grown a lot in the past few years, they were demons who had lived for hundreds or even thousnads of years.
When Irene mentioned that, the Valkyries too showed various faces of concern. Seeing them worry for him, Simon couldn''t help but feel moved. He took a deep breath and dispersed their concerns.
"You guys need not be too worried, in the Auction the demon nobles would be too busy by the event to pay any attention to me. Besides, I do not have any grudge against any demon nobles, if I just keep a low key, nobody should bother with me".
Simon was reminded of the time when he first attended the Walpurgis that was initiated by the Demon Archdukes. At that time, he had ended up making enemies with a Demon Viscount.
But that wasrgely to thetter''s attitude and him being an impulsive demon who newly arrived in this world and was unaware of its vastness. Simon felt like he had grown out of that shell of his, unless the opponent struck a nerve and activated his Pride Fragments, he should be good.
Moreover, the Auction of the Damned was different than the Walpurgis in that¡
"Everyone would be in disguise in the event. As I told you before, many of the High ranking Demon Nobles hate Merchant Grimvul. As such, the auction will be a ce where one has toe in disguise".
"Plus the arena where the auction would be held is a special ce that was created by Grimvul, the demon nobles would have some sort of restriction ced over them".
That is to say, as long as he kept his distance from the others, he should be fine. Even though he exined so much, his subordinates still looked worried. To ease them up, he told them that he wouldn''t be going alone.
Each invitee is allowed to bring two guests with them, as such Simon was going to bring his subordinates with him to the auction.
That being said, a new question popped up. Which two subordinates was he going to bring with him? As there was still one week left for the auction to start, Simon did not rush toe to an answer.
He went back to his normal day to day activities. In any case, they had determined that the emergence of the gate was due to the uing auction. He stationed a few revenant Crows to monitor the gate while he went back to attend to his work.
One day passed by just like that. On the second day, while Simon was busily training his magic control, he received a level 1munication, a Mental Transmission from Jarred saying that the demihumans were starting to act unusually.
The six demihumans barely showed any emotions when he found them so why did they start acting unusually now?
Simon decided to go there and find it for himself. He was already on the [Training Floor], so the prison was not very far from him.
After going through an underground tunnel, Simon arrived in front of arge cavern that was divided by numerous bars and cells.
Walking towards the area where he felt the presence of the [helpers], he saw the demihumans in one of the cells. They were quietly huddled in one corner and barely moved, just like when he found them.
"You told me they are behaving unusually? I don''t see any different" Simonmented looking at the demihumans.
"My lord, while I was monitoring them a while ago, I heard one of them clearly mutter something" Jarred exined pointing at one of the Weretigers.
Simon shifted his eyes to that demihuman, and pondered something for a while before heading inside the cell.
The bodies of the demihumans smelled probably because they haven''t taken care of themselves in a long while. Though this did not bother Simon, he looked at all of them and crouched near the weretiger who was the only one among the group whose eyes shed with some lucidity.
Make no mistake, the Weretiger too looked like the rest of the demihumans, soulless and broken. However, there seemed to be some kind of light shing at the depth of his eyes.
That light although very bleak, seemed to be still struggling and fighting.
Looking at the hollow eyes of that weretiger, Simon for some reason felt like the spirit of this demihuman was still alive.
"Hey were you the one who said something earlier? Tell me, what should I do with you guys? I can liberate you from all your misery, it will be quick and painless death. Or do you still want to live?"
Simon spoke staring at the eyes of the weretiger.
Thetter must have perceived something because for the first time in a while, there was some movements in those eyes.
Chapter 640 640- The Story Of A Certain Slave (Weretiger) (1)
There were some movements in those eyes, they glimmered for a second and the motionless body of the weretiger slowly showed some activity.
"R¡E¡" the weretiger muttered.
"RE?"¡
"RE..VENG..E"¡
"Revenge?!!" Simon finally understood what the weretiger was trying to tell him.
"You want to take revenge?" Simon scoffed "Let me tell you something, I don''t know who you want to take revenge on, but give it up. The way you guys are right now, forget about revenge, it would be a miracle to even call you alive".
"The best oue would be for you guys to die, that way you all will be liberated from your misery" The demon red at the weretiger with his piercing crimson eyes as he enunciated every word slowly.
Right afterwards though, he shed a wicked smile and added: "That said, I like your spirit. Revenge huh, now that''s a much better answer. Had you said something as boring as wanting to live, I would have left the ce without bothering toe here ever again".
"But you said something much more interesting. Hehe¡ Revenge, that''s not something a person who has given up all hopes of living would ask for. Still, the way you are right now, you cannot take your revenge"¡
"H¡elp¡ re¡ venge" a voice muttered from the corner.
The voice that came this time, wasn''t from the weretiger but rather the Elf who had her head shaved. Her hollow eyes were stained with two teardrops that slid down her cheek.
"Help? Why should I help you? What''s in there for me?" the demon questioned.
"O..ur¡.every¡ thing" the Dark Elf replied after the Elf. Since the Dark Elf''s face was scarred with a substance like an acid, it was impossible to know what kind of expression she was making.
"Every¡ thing"¡
"Every¡thing"
The CatKin and the Cientrhope also joined in.
"Hehehe" Hearing their answer, the demon''s wicked smile broadened even further.
"Are you guys saying that you are willing to trade everything you have to me in return for helping you take revenge?".
The demihuamns all nodded their heads slowly.
"Very well, I shall take your souls in return for bestowing you power" the demonughed before taking out something from thin air and throwing it towards the demihumans.
It was a small vial filled with some mysterious crimson coloured content.
"Drink it" Leaving behind those words, the demon got out of the cell.
"That''s right, in a while, my subordinates are going to visit you and bestow upon you a very very special power. From then on, it will on you all. Do try to survive with all of your might. I wonder how many of you will still be alive after that"
Theughter of the demon rang out inside the dark dreary cave until itpletely disappeared.
-----
"Where is this ce?"
When he opened his eyes, everything had changed. He was no longer in the vige. He seemed to have been brought over to some mansion of some human noble. This meant that he had been defeated.
"Noo!!" he cried out and struggled but the restraints around him barred him from moving around too much.
If he was captured, it could only mean that his vige was destroyed and his nsmen enved. He had failed to protect his vige.
As a Weretiger from the White Tooth Tribe, he was one of the warriors tasked with the protection of the vige. However, he had failed, his strength wasn''t enough to fend off the enemies.
His homece was destroyed, the children and women enved. And because he in particr showed fierce resistance against them, to make an example those bastards had killed his wife and daughter right in front of his eyes.
"I''m sorry Selnia, Shaerra... I wasn''t strong enough to protect you all" He cried, droplets of tears falling down from his tiger like eyes.
After the sadness and self-loathing, came the hatred for his enemies. Weretigers were a warrior race, his keen instincts and senses immediately picked up a few presences walking towards him from the hallway in the front.
ROARR¡ He gave a savage roar, his ws extended out of his hands and he immediately charged towards the short stature obese man walking in the front.
He was about to tear the man apart when a handle of the sword came from the side and dug deep into his abdomen. The power in that blow was so great that it nearly knocked him unconscious.
He was blown back. He tried to get back up on his feet but the restraints around his body made him slow. Just as he looked up and gazed towards his assant, a foot came crashing down on him, nting his face on the ground.
"So my lord, what should we do with his one?" the assant asked turning towards the fat man.
This voice was familiar to him, the ears of the weretiger twitched. This man was one of the figures that attacked his vige.
"The Weretigers fetch an excellent price in the ve market because of their strong physique and powerful abilities. This one in particr was far stronger than the rest of its tribe. I would have liked to sell this one just like the others, but it needs some discipline. If it attacks its own master the reputation will go down. Sell him to that person"..
"Alright"¡
These were thest words he heard before he was knocked unconscious. The next time he opened his eyes, he was inside some basement. A strong bloody scent powerful enough to make one nauseate, filled this room.
The eyes of the weretiger were adept at even seeing at night as such, even though the room did not have sufficient lighting he was still able to make out the things lying around in this ce.
These things looked very disturbing and had blood covering them. He did not have to think much to know what kind of ce this was.
"Oh! So you finally woke up huh? I was about to wake you up" A voice sounded and a person walked out from behind him.
He wanted to turn around, but the weretiger realised that he was unable to. He was restrained and fixed into something. His limbs and even his mouth were tied up.
"Khehehe¡ it''s pointless, there is no escape from here. You have been sold to me by that fatty, so you are now mine".
The other party said, they had a disturbing appearance with numerous stitches all around their face. They had hunched back and cancer like protrusions covering their body.
Finding the stenching from this person unbearable, he tried to move; however, it was impossible.
"Hehe, there is no need to be shy, you are now one of my dear experimental subjects. We will spend a lot of time together from now" the person smiled.
After that, it was just a series of endless torture day and night for the Weretiger. The person he was sold to seemed to be some kind of mad scientist as they repeatedly researched and modified his body.
The pain was oundish at first, having your guts being stroked, muscles and cells being destroyed, bones melted and so and so forth. Until a point came where he becamepletely unfeeling to these experiments.
He did not know how many times he wanted to die; however every time these thoughts sprang up in his mind, he suppressed it. He couldn''t die, not unless he took revenge for his ns and killed the man who killed his daughter and wife.
And so he struggled to keep his sanity but it came at the price of his spirit.
.
.
How many years passed by, he lost track after the first few years but he knew that more than ten years had passed already. Finally, as if he had run his use, he was sold off by that scientist to a ve merchant who then trafficked him to the Central Continent.
He had been cored, became the ve of multiple masters and on the way, exchanged hands to some Adventurers guild who bought him for a hefty price. It was there, he met another member of his tribe.
But just like him, that tribesman''s spirit waspletely broken and they had just be a soulless ve that only followed orders. The guild used them as dispensable pawns to do all kinds of dirty and dangerous tasks that were too much for the adventurers.
In his many years in that guild, he had seen many ves being bought and sacrificed. There were so many familiar and foreign races among them; nevertheless, all of them died or were discarded upon their use.
The only reason he and his tribesman hadn''t been discarded yet was because they were from the Weretiger tribe and had powerful racial abilities and physiques.
A lot of time must have passed since that incident in his vige. He had grown tired of everything, it was no longer possible to keep his sanity and spirit intact.
Should he just give up on revenge and die? These thoughts continuously gued his mind. He had decided, he was ready to give up his life on the next mission.
But maybe fate had something else nned for him. Along with a new batch of demihuman ves, the adventurers guild transported them to a new ce. It was a town that was on the verge of bing a city.
The ce had an influx of peopleing in and out. They looked very active and vibrant, the town was thriving. But for them ves, it was all the same.
The reason they were brought to this town was to be used as expendables inside the dungeon and fight bloody battles.
Yes, the town was a dungeon town.
Chapter 641 641- The Story Of A Certain Slave (Weretiger) (2)
It appeared that the reason they were brought here was because of the dungeon. To be used as disposables to help the adventurers clear the dungeon.
This was his chance, with the ce oozing with monsters, he would have numerous opportunities to die. The weretiger was determined to his fate, but maybe somewhere in his heart, he was still unresigned.
Maybe because he still wanted revenge. To tear these bastards apart who used the demihumans especially the females as nothing but pleasure relieving tools.
A fate of a ve especially a female was very miserable. He wondered what happened to the females of his tribe who were enved. Maybe they have already died? Or maybe they are still living just like the ones in front of him, suffering every day?
This was a nightmare but just like everything in this world, the nightmare too came to an end one day.
"Hey you, keep on moving. if there is anything up ahead, you are to stop it with your body and buy us time. You understand?"
One of the adventurers kicked him and a Dark Elf who are currently being used as the vanguard for this expedition. Even if he said vanguard, they were just meat shields being used to slow down monsters and stop the traps.
It was a dark passageway that was filled with all sorts of traps. The adventurer guild had found a hidden passage on this floor and was currently in the midst of clearing it.
The passageway opened up to reveal a huge chamber ahead. Two huge doors were blocking their way.
"This is it, that broker was indeed speaking the truth. There really is a hidden chamber on the 58th floor that hasn''t been found by any of the other adventurer guilds or parties yet. We are the first one" The adventurer who seemed to be the leader, stated excitedly.
"Then doesn''t that mean nobody has gotten their hands on the treasure inside the chamber yet? We will be the first ones to discover the secrets here"
The guild eagerly entered the hidden chamber. However, what they found inside made their blood go cold.
An enormous monstrosity was waiting for them on the other side of the chamber, its crimson unfeeling eyes staring at them coldly.
THUNK¡ to make matters worse, the door to the chamber shut closed behind them. No matter what they did, it refused to budge. There was no doubt, they had fallen inside a trap, the whole chamber was a trap.
Left with no choice the adventurers could only fight the giant monstrosity known as the Earth Golem.
"What are you useless demihumans doing? I order you all to rush forward and stop that thing" the leader ordered.
Thanks to the cor on his and the other ve''s necks, disobeying the order was impossible. Their bodies moved on their own and they rushed towards the Earth Golem. However, the difference between their strength was simply too overwhelming.
The earth golem used its enormous arms and easily swept them away. He and other ves were sent flying and crashed into the walls of the chambers.
"Tch useless¡ all of you get into formation if we can''t defeat this golem here, we will all die" the adventurers shouted.
For a while, the chamber echoed with the powerful explosion noises and the shouts of the adventurers before everything became silent.
The weretiger and the other ves looked at the scene with delight. Of course, their eyes were nk and unfeeling; however, one could still see a minuscule of an emotion deep within them.
The adventurers were all killed, seeing their blood and gore littering the floor, one cannot exin how sweet of a feeling he felt at that time.
Revenge was truly sweet. With the adventurers gone, he was determined to die as well. However, the death that they expected did note for them.
The giant earth golem became motionless after killing the adventurers. Its crimson eyes turned blue and it swiftly went back to its position.
Now left with nothing to do, he and the other ves stood where they were all motionless. Their spirits and souls had all been broken, as such they were nothing but empty dolls inside that moved when given themand.
Therefore they simply waited for death in that chamber. However, no one would have expected that they would meet ''him'' at the end of their rope.
The doors to the chamber was opened once again and a group entered. That said, the group that entered this time did not resemble humans, especially the man that was leading them.
He had dark ck eyes and crimson pupils, two sturdy horns protruded from his head. He emitted a fierce demonic presence that was filled with a malevolent aura and was ring at them unbiasedly.
Looking at those features, the weretiger arrived at a conclusion.
''A Demon!!'' Although this was his first time looking at one, he had nevertheless heard about them.
"It looks like their minds have been broken. Their bodies might just as well be soulless dolls now. No wonder the Earth Golem did not kill them" the Demon muttered.
Judging by the way he unsheathed his sword, he was deliberating whether to kill them or not. Just when it seemed like their life would end from the swing of that sword and all their misery would be over, the group walking behind the demon seemed to have said something to him and changed his mind.
The demon turned towards them once again, this time there was some hesitation in his eyes. In the end, he did not kill them.
''Why? Why would he do that? Just kill me and the others already, there is no meaning to this life any more'' the weretiger thought.
They were taken to a dark dreary ce that seemed to be a prison and kept there for a while.
Time passed silently inside that prison, the weretiger that was determined to die, suddenly found seemed to recall the face of the demon inside his mind.
What should he do from here? Would the demon too use them as expendable ves? Though it seemed unlikely, he could tell that the demon had no such intentions. It would be best if the other party killed them¡ but was that really what he wanted.
The image of his daughter and wife came into his mind, it was a happy memory. He was relishing in those memories when the scenes changed, his vige that was burning, and his people were being enved.
He was fighting the opponents; however, he was outnumbered and was ultimately brought down. One cruel scene after another shed inside his mind after that.
He thought that he had be unfeeling after all the suffering he had gone through, but he was wrong. His heart tightened whenever he thought about his vige, his wife and his daughter.
Why did they have to suffer such a fate? It appeared that somewhere deep within his heart, he was still unresigned. If there was still any emotions left within his unfeeling body, it would be the emotions of revenge.
He cannot forgive those bastards who took everything from him and threw him into the pits of despair. Revenge!! He wanted revenge and so he spoke out the next time the demon came to visit them.
"RE.. VENGE".
"Kufufu...Revenge huh, now that''s a much better answer. Had you said something as boring as wanting to live, I would have left the ce without bothering toe here ever again. But you said something much more interesting".
"Hehe¡ Revenge, that''s not something a person who has given up all hopes of living would ask for. Still, the way you are right now, you cannot take your revenge" The demonughed at his resolve.
"He..lp¡ reven..ge"
It was at this moment another demihuman spoke out. The weretiger thought that all the other ves had already be mindless dolls but it appeared that they were no different than him.
All the others were also in the same position as him, all of them wanted revenge too. After that Elf, all the other demihumans also started speaking out their intentions. However, the demon rejected helping them.
"What is it in for me?" the Demon asked, it was a normal question. Why should the demon help them when they have nothing to offer him?
"Our¡ every thing¡"
While the weretiger was pondering, the dark elf spoke out. That''s right, if it meant that he could get his revenge, then he was willing to offer everything to the demon.
Be it making a deal with the demon or whatever he was willing to do anything. The weretiger nodded his head agreeing with the Dark Elf. The other demihumans spoke one by one also agreeing with her words.
"Very well, I shall take your souls in return for bestowing you power" the demon spread his hands in a spectacr fashion and dered with a wildugh, his crimson eyes ring at the darkness.
Before he left the cell, he threw them a vial containing some suspicious crimson liquid and left behind some ominous words.
"Drink it. In a while, a few subordinates of mine wille here. At that time, they will bestow you with a very very special power. Do try to survive with all your might. I wonder how many of you will still be alive at the end of it all".
After the demon left, the cave became silent once again. Nevertheless, the demihuman ves who finally saw some light at the end of this long long dark tunnel, seemed to have been given a new lease on life.
Their hollow eyes no longer looked as soulless as before. All of them nced at the vials containing the crimson liquid that was thrown towards them.
At a nce, the liquid looked like it was blood. What would happen of them of they drink it?
Chapter 642 642- Heading For The Auction
While some were hesitating, a gulping sound rang out followed by the dropping of an empty vial. The Dark Elf drank the contents without even a moment of hesitation.
She was right, the demon had already dered that he would give them power in return for their souls. Since that was the case, the demon had no reason to plot against them who were already his pawns.
GULP¡ GULP¡
All the other demihumans too downed the contents of their vial without thinking anything further.
After all of them drank the liquid, they realised that the crimson content was indeed blood and couldn''t help but cough a few times.
However, why would the demon feed them blood? Just when the question popped inside their heads, the answer also came to them at the same instant.
CRICK¡ CRACK¡ peculiar noises starteding from their bodies and their muscles and bones start twisting in unbendable ways. All the veins in their body burst apart and blood was flowing out from all of their orifices.
There was so much blood flowing out that it quickly formed a small pool in the cell.
All of the demihumans here had suffered various sorts of torture and torment beforeing to this ce. As such, they were used to the pain; however,pared to the agony of having their entire body remodelled from the inside out and having their blood drained till the veryst drop, all the pain that they had suffered earlier, amounted to nothing.
In front of such an oundish pain, the weak spirits of the demihuman ves quickly crumbled and all of them lost consciousness.
This was a trial for them, anyone that could pass it would be born anew.
.
.
"Hohh¡ so they drank our blood huh, it''s amazing that all of them managed to survive".
"Un, they are really amazing"
How long had passed, from his blurry consciousness, the weretiger could hear the voice of some children.
"Hehe, if they couldn''t even survive our blood it only meant that they were worth so much. But since they did, it is worthwhile to add them to our family" the mischievous voice of a boy sounded.
"Let''s take three each, Maybell as your brother I will allow you to make the first choice"¡
"Alright," the other voice was soft and shy.
''Kuhh¡ what is happening?'' the weretiger thought as he tried to move his body. However, he realised that his body was extremely heavy right now, not only that but severe pain assaulted him every time he even tried to move a muscle.
But that was not important right now, who were these voices that were echoing inside their cell?
The weretiger slowly opened his eyes with much difficulty and at that moment, he saw the figure of a little girl slowly approaching closer to him.
"Shaerra..!?!"
At that instant, the image of the girl ovepped with the image of his daughter. But very soon, he was able to spot out the differences.
Although the two girls looked simr in age and even had the same height and figure they were nheless distinctly different. For starters, the girl in front of him had such dark red eyes, that it looked like they were made of blood.
The ears on her head were not real, but due to an essory she was wearing and she did not have any tail. Apart from that she also looked very different. Additionally, shecked other features that would make her a member of the weretiger race.
The weretiger was aware of one thing, the girl in front of him was not Shaerra. Also, the fact that she was here, meant one thing... she was sent here by the demon.
"My subordinates are going to visit you all in a while and bestow you with a very very special power" he recalled the words of the demon.
''So this girl was one of the subordinates of the demon''.
While the weretiger was busy having his own thoughts, the little girl stopped a few inches away from him. It needs to be mentioned that as a member of the weretiger race, he was huge. Even while sitting, the girl in front of him did not even reach his chest.
Even if discounting his size, he still looked scary. Though it didn''t look like such things mattered to that girl, she had an unfazed expression from start to end.
The girl after stopping in front of him, pointed her finger and dered boldly "I choose you¡ from this point on you will be my, Maybell Bloodrite''s family".
The weretiger was shocked, it was not because of the girl''s haughty tone and bold words or the fact her blood coloured eyes gave him a heavy sense of suppression but because she called him her family.
''Family'' one cannot tell how heavy these words were for him. He who had lost all of his family, his vige and was transported to a foreignnd, the word was a sore spot and at the same time the most precious to him.
As such, when the weretiger heard those words, he became momentarily stunned.
"Huh?" he only came back to his senses when he saw the cute little girl suddenly open her mouth and bite his neck with her little white fangs.
BADUMP¡ at that moment, he heard his heart suddenly stop beating and his vision getting covered in darkness. He lost consciousness.
----
Maybell watched as the blood in the surrounding suddenly float up and cover the weretiger in a coffin of blood. After the first weretiger, Maybell moved on to the other demihumans and dered the very same thing she did to the weretiger.
After she was done with her pick, she giddily returned back to the side of her brother.
"Two weretigers and one catkin. You really like cats don''t you" Theodoremented as he saw his twin sister only pick those that have cat or cat like ears.
"Un, I like kitties" Maybell admitted touching the ear essory on her head.
Theodore smiled at his adorable sister and stepped forward. With Maybell taking her pick, only the Elf, Dark Elf and the Cienthrope remained.
"Fron now on, you three will be my, Theodore Bloodrite''s family. I bestow you the power of the Va".
Theodore dered and bared his fangs. He bit them all in their necks and just like all the other demihumans, they too were encased in a coffin of their blood.
Done with his task, the boy nodded his head and along with his sister, disappeared from the ce. The next time they appeared, they were already on the Main Floor.
Knock... Knock¡ the twins knocked on the door and without waiting for the person inside to give their permission, they rushed inside.
"Master¡ Masterrr!!" the twins beamed.
Seeing them charge in, Simon shed a helpless smile and put down the document on his hand.
"You two are here, then does that mean that the task I have given you ispleted?" he asked pampering the twins a little.
"Un, we did as master told us and bestowed them the power of Va" Maybell replied hugging the snowman plushie.
"What?!!" the moment Simon heard that, he couldn''t help but get up from his seat.
Simon walked around his study, bent down to match his eye level with the twins and asked them in confirmation.
"Did you say Va?".
"Yes master" the twin affirmed.
"This¡" Simon''s eyes shook and he couldn''t help but reason "Bestowing the power of a Va¡ wouldn''t they die? You could have just given them the power of Elder".
"Hehe, master does not need to be so worried. At first, Maybell and I thought of bestowing them with the powers of Elder or below. However, when we saw their bodies assimting with our blood to such a high degree, we couldn''t help but change our mind".
"It is extremely difficult to create a Va, they not only need to have an immense will and a high level of resilience to go through the Baptism of the Shadows, but they also need to have a high level ofpatibility with our blood".
"Un, big brother is right. When we saw those demihumans adapt so well to our blood, we couldn''t help but wonder if a Va could be created" Maybell added after her brother.
Hearing their words, Simon didn''t know what to say anymore. They bestowed the power of Va to the demihumans while fully knowing how abysmally rare the chances of creating one were.
Heck, even one Elder emerging from those six demihumans would be a miracle. He couldn''t believe that the twins gave all the six, the power of Va.
In Simon''s mind, he was sure that all six of the demihumans would die after all, not just anyone can handle a Va''s power. The twin should be aware of that, but for them to still go ahead and still do it could only mean that either they saw something within those demihumans or they made an error in their recklessness.
Whatever the case may be, there was nothing he could do now that the dice had been cast. He could only hope that the oue would be in their favour.
He yed with the twins for a while before Simon started busying himself with his work. After he was done with the task of a dungeon master for the day, he teleported to the [Training Floor] and started his training on magic control.
Of course, his control was as bad as ever. All of the fireballs that he cast, had varying output of mana into them.
Chapter 643 643- Heading For The Auction (2)
Simon tried to control the mana; however, the more conscious that he got of his magic, the more mana it took to cast.
That said, it was not like he was not seeing any progress. He could feel that he had a better grasp of his mana now and the fireballs that he cast, were starting to show a fixed size and shape.
If he continued to practice at this pace, it wouldn''t take him too long before his magic control also improved. After another couple hours of intense training, Simon flopped down on the ground, breathing heavily.
Casting novice tier magic continuously, drained his mana and also strained him mentally. To cast any magic, one needs focus. As such, he was more mentally exhausted than physically.
Simon swiped his hand and a couple of orbs releasing beautiful blue light, appeared out of his space ring. These blue orbs are called the Mana Orbs which when consumed, restores the mana inside one''s body.
They grow at the bottom of the pond of serenity inside those shiny ms and were quite a handy item. Since they were better than most mana restoring elixirs in his shop, Simon kept quite a few of them in his [Inventory] all the time.
Simon quickly gulped down these marble sized mana orbs and slowly recovered his mana. Once he felt his mana restore to a certain point, he propped himself up and started training once again.
Though this time, he didn''t jump into the training that Irene set for him, but instead he did his own special training. He was on the verge of understanding a new power that might just be his new trump card.
Simon opened the [Main Menu] and clicked on a particr option.
Time passed by and soon Simon ran out of mana. Whenever that happened he would gulp down a few Mana Orbs and rest for some time before delving into his special training.
With the uing auction, he felt a stronger sense of urgency to make himself stronger. The magic control training was good and all, but it still needed time. Plus even if he managed to grasp the magic control, it would just be a single step forward.
There are various other basics that he needed to grasp before he could see any results. That is to say, the magic training will not have an immediate effect on his strength but that ''option'' can.
That is why, Simon wanted to understand all the mysteries rting to the option and grasp its power as soon as possible.
Days passed by and soon it was the day of the auction. Many things changed during this time, one of those changes would be the chains around the gate hovering on the ceiling of his Main Floor.
The chains binding it had now disappeared; however, the door of the gate was still closed. It would only open when the auction starts and that was at midnight.
The other changes would be the confidence level of Simon which for some reason had skyrocketed. He looked more rxed andidback even while knowing that once he passed through the gate and went to the other end, he would be face to face once again with the highest echelons of the demon world.
Another thing of note was the attitude of his subordinates which became more enthusiastic the more closer the day of the auction came. Since he was yet to dere which two subordinates he was going to bring with him, all of his subordinates were pestering him to pick them.
Main Hall, White Pce¡
Simon was deliberating something while looking at his Main Menu, when Irene from the side spoke.
"Have you decided on which two subordinates you are going to bring?".
When she asked that question, all the eyes present in the main hall immediately turned towards him. All their eyes were saying one thing¡ ''Pick me''.
Feeling all those gazes on him, Simon frowned his brows. This was a difficult decision since all of them showed their willingness to go. No matter who he picked, the others would get disheartened.
That is why, he had been hesitating to dere who he was going to bring with him. However, now that the auction was just around the corner, he couldn''t put it back any more.
Simon was just about to nod his head and say that he had decided, when suddenly a fierce tremor hit the Main Floor.
The tea cups on the table spilled and the chandeliers on the ceiling swayed intensely.
What was going on? The tremor went on for quite a while causing amotion among the people of the main floor.
"It came from the floors above" Irenemented looking up.
It was as she said, the epicentre of that tremor was not the Mian floor, but from the upper floors. The main floor simply shook because of the spreading shockwaves.
''This magnitude of quake, did some adventurer use the Floor Buster?'' it was only natural that Simon would think of that possibility. However, the answer seemed to be far from his expectation.
While all his subordinates wore various expressions of confusion, the twins however seemed surprised, their eyes wide open.
"Master"¡
"Master"¡
"They woke up, they passed!!"¡
"It''s as the brother said"
Theodore and Maybell immediately huddled around and said excitedly.
"What do you mean? Who woke up?" Simon asked calming the twins down.
"Those demihumans, they passed the Trail of the Shadows. All of them" Theodore exined with wide eyes while Maybell nodded her head repeatedly.
"No way¡ they really became a Va¡ all of them?" even Simon was surprised. Being the creator of the twins, he knew very well what that word represented.
Va, the name itself symbolised strength. It wouldn''t have been strange for all the six demihumans to die in the trial of the shadows. However, they not only came back alive, but all six of them also passed the trial and obtained the power of Va without a single one dying.
This feat was beyond impressive, especially given the fact that a Va appearing was one in tens or even hundreds of thousands. And here his subordinates had created not only one, but six of them in their first try and without a single failure.
If the shockwave that hit their dungeon was due to their awakening, it all made sense now.
Simonposed himself and along with his subordinates, he teleported to the [Training Floor] where the underground Prison was.
The moment they entered the ce, a strong scent of blood assaulted their nose.
"Ugh¡ This ce reeks of blood" Alice pinched her nose andmented.
The underground prison whose original colour should have been the colour of soil, was now dyed a deep red with blood fog covering the ce.
As Simon and the others walked deeper towards the underground prison, they saw the ce was in a mess. All the prison cells were destroyed, ground cracked and the bedrock above them had disappeared, allowing the light from the phosphorescence crystal from the ceiling above to illuminate the ce.
At the centre of this destruction stood six demihumans who had changed quite a bit after being bestowed the power of Va.
Their skin looked smooth, all their injuries were gone and they have recovered back their lost body parts and previous appearance. However, the biggest change was not their appearance, but the aura they released.
The six demihumans who were previously covered in an air of gloom and despair when Simon found them, were now releasing a fierce, indomitable aura. They regained their soul and spirit once again which had now strengthened marginally after the transformation.
The other changes around the demihumans would be their ring blood red eyes and sharp fangs that were hidden within their mouth.
The six of them were kneeling on one knee and bowing their head towards Simon and the others perceiving their presence beforehand.
"We great the Great Ancestors and the Master of the Dungeon," the demihumans said in unison.
Simon looked towards Theodore and Maybell and only after seeing them nod, did he acknowledge them. He brought out a couple of robes from his space ring and threw them towards the demihumans.
"Wear them" It must be mentioned that the rag tag clothes these demihumans were wearing, got disintegrated from that explosion. As such, they werepletely naked.
The six demihumans did as they were told and wore the robes given to them.
"Let me ask you, who do you all serve?" Simon questioned.
"Master Theodore"¡
"Miss Maybell"¡
The demihumans each replied their own answer.
Satisfied by their response Simon nodded their heads and looked at the ancient mark on their necks. Those weird patterns were from the bite marks of Theodore and Maybell and were proof that these demihumans have been turned into their kindreds.
That''s right, the six demihumans have now be a vampire, and not only some ordinary vampires but a True Vampire, also known as Va.
Ranking very high in the hierarchy of the vampires, the True Vampires were just a rank below the Antediluvian Ancestors and possess fearful abilities. They were also the direct subordinates of the Antediluvian Ancestors.
It was already beyond miracle that all six of the demihumans managed to be a Va when even one would have been an impossibility.
No wonder the twins bestowed them the power of a Va instead of an elder. Looking at the demihumans, it seemed that they were in perfect control of their powers. As such, Simon had nothing to worry about.
Also Since the blood running inside their body was from the twins, they werepletely loyal to them.
Chapter 644 644- Heading For The Auction (3)
"Good¡ Theodore, Maybell I leave the six of them to you. From now on, you two will be responsible for them, so keep that in mind. Also after you are done here, bring them to the bathhouse. I will tell the Valkyries to prepare some clothes for them".
Leaving these instructions behind, Simon and the others left the ce. Now it was only the six demihumans who have been turned into a true vampire and their masters, the twins left remaining inside the prison.
Main floor, White Pce¡
"So you are telling me they are the subordinates created by those two?" Irene questioned after they teleported back.
Putting it as creating might be an overstatement when the six demihumans were a living entity to begin with. However, she who had seen the changes those six people had undergone, couldn''t find any other words than that.
The six demihumans were no longer the same, whether it be their body, mind, blood and even their gic structure, everything inside them had undergone a distinctive change. It was as if they were born anew once again.
Looking at them, no one would be able to tell that they were the same six demihumans. That was how big of a change they had gone through.
Simon expected others to be confused so he exined¡ª"Standing at the very top of the vampire hierarchy, Theodore and Maybell possess the power to create kindred vampires. That is to say, they have the ability to make more of their kind".
"There are different ranks to a vampire with the Antediluvian Ancestors standing at the very top. After them are the Vas who are the True Vampires. Right afteres the Elder and so on so forth. Whenever a kindred vampire who is bestowed the power of an Elder or above is created, they have to undergo the Trials of the Shadows".
"Those whoplete this trail, are born anew as apletely different being. You can also say that their bodies which is the vessel for that power is remodelledpletely to hold that power".
"I see, that exins why those six demihumans'' powers skyrocketed all of a sudden. If they are already this strong right after their creation, I wonder how strong they will be in the future" Irene spoke.
As she said that, her eyes turned towards the Valkyries "It looks like you all won''t be able to stay rxed any longer or else, they might overtake you".
A small smile formed on Irene''s lips as she watched the Valkyries show various kinds of emotions. A look of determination shed on Ate''s and the other face. It was obvious that Irene''sment got into them. They didn''t want the newbies to outdo them.
After lighting a fire under the valkyries, Irene turned her attention towards Simon who seemed to be lost while thinking something in his head.
"What are you thinking about?".
"It''s nothing¡ just that I have decided which two subordinates I''m going to bring with me" Simon shed a smile and answered.
Time passed by and soon midnight arrived.
"Why do I have to wear such a costly suit?" Simon spoke in annoyance. Nevertheless, he still allowed the Valkyries to fix his outfit.
He was wearing a clean shirt above, a sleek vest with six buttons and V-line on top. The coat he was wearing was a perfect for him and made him look more elegant and dignified. It was longer on the back and had vents on the either side.
The trousers he was wearing was of a different butplementary colour and created a perfect bnce with his shoes.
"Master cannot say that. Clothes are one of the factors that decides how others view you. Good clothes not only make one look elegant, but it also helps to project their aura" the Valkyries protested fixing his tie.
"I know that, but why do we have to go with such a costly one? There are other suits in the shop too you know. Plus, a shier one will only make me stand out".
The suit that Simon was currently wearing cost him around 80,000 DP. Of course, things like luxury items are always costly in the [shop]; however, it was very extravagant if you think about how the suit he purchased when he went to the Walpurgis, didnot een cost him one fourth of this suit.
"You cannot do that master, cheap clothes will only make others look down on you. We cannot have that" the Valkyries were adamant.
"They are right. I know that you intend to stay low key. However, if you are too inconspicuous, it might have a reverse effect. To mix in with the crowd, you at least need to wear some decent clothes. Even the invitation said so" Irene added in.
Simon could only smile helplessly and do as he was told.
Stepping near the gate, he waited for his two subordinates who soon showed themselves.
"Masterrr" the twins flew over from the direction of the white pce and stood in front of him. Needless to say, the two subordinates he was going to bring along with him were Theodore and Maybell.
"Are you guys all prepared?" Simon asked.
Currently, other than Irene, the twins were the strongest entity in his dungeon. But that is not the only reason he was taking them. The twins had a skill that could instantly change a disadvantageous situation in their favour. As such, for this journey, Simon felt like taking them was the best choice.
Additionally, he also had the Eon''s Cube with him and in the worst case scenario, he could always use ''that''. Therefore, even if it''s the Demon Duke that he was up against, he had nothing to fear.
"Yes" the twins nodded their heads telling Simon that they were all prepared.
"Use these to cover your face" Simon took out three masquerade masks, wore one and passed the other two to the twins.
When attending the Auction of the Damned, it was mandatory for all the demon nobles toe in disguise. All the demons attending the auction would be wearing masks like these to hide their identity.
The masquerade mask that Simon wore, covered his eyes and gave him an air of mystery. Maybell had a pretty one on and Theodore got a cool looking one just like he wanted.
"Alright, let us depart. I leave the dungeon to you all in my absence" Simon turned towards the Gate levitating on the ceiling.
"Leave everything here to us. You make sure to take care of yourself out there" Irene and the others bid them goodbye.
With that, the three of them stepped towards the gate whose doors slowly creaked open at this moment.
"Hehe, I wonder what kind of ce we are going to" Theodore''s eyes sparkled with excitement while Maybell tightly clutched her plushie in nervousness.
The inside of the gate pulsed with a dark blue light like a whirlpool that could swallow anything.
"Before we head in, let me set some ground rules" Simon turned to face the twins and said sternly "You guys shouldn''t stray too far away from me. Do not talk to anyone unless they initiate a conversation with you first. Do not take any food that strangers offer you. Do not make too much noise. Do not..".
Simon continued to give one instruction after another like a parent who was worried about their child.
"Hahh!! Master we know that, so let''s going already" Theodore interjected finding his words boring.
"Alright.." Simon sighed and stepped forward feeling a rush of excitement. Theodore and Maybell closely followed behind him.
Bang¡ The doors of the gate shut closed as soon as they stepped in.
"They left. I hope everything goes well this time" Irene muttered to herself. However, even she couldn''t predict what sorts of great strom this simple auction was going to brew. An event that would epass the entire demon continent was about to begin.
.
.
Simon flew through the spatial tunnel for a while before finding himself being pulled by gravity. Hended on the ground and stared at the peculiar space he found himself on.
The floor he was currently stepping on, looked like a giant chessboard with each square perfectly ced and alternating between ck and white. The walls here were made of dark stone that seemed to absorb the light, making it impossible to see beyond a certain range.
Peculiar murals of deities and demonic beings decorated the ce. No matter how one looked at it, the ce looked extremely bizarre.
As Simon was observing the ce, he suddenly realised that Thedorea and Maybell were not with him. What was going on? Were they teleported to a different ce?
Simon tried to call out to his subordinates, he even used mental transmission. However, in this dark space, nothing seemed to work. Just as he was about to grow a little impatient, from the corner of his eyes he saw a blue me flickering in the distance.
At first, it was just a single of wisp of me but soon, there were multiple of them. What''s more, these mes appeared to be getting closer to him with each passing moment.
CLACK¡ CLACK¡ Also, he heard someone''s footsteps approaching him.
"Wee esteemed guest"¡ a voice sounded out. It was deep and guttural and sounded almost like a growl of a beast. A figure slowly walked out illuminated by the flickering wisps of blue mes.
They stopped a few meters away from Simon allowing thetter to get a good look at the other''s appearance.
Chapter 645 645- Grimvul
Bizzare¡ that was the only thing that came to Simon''s mind when he looked at the other party. The person; no, the thing that appeared in front of him, had the head of a goat, with half of it just being a skeleton.
What''s more, one could see their internal muscles from the gaps in their skull. The thing had long twisting horns, razor sharp teeth and peculiar crossed eyes with ring shaped patterns.
They had a pale purple skin and wore a ck hood over. Their arms were long and thin and held a weird staff that was made out of bones. A pungent smell of a corpse drifted from them.
"I am Merchant Grimvul, pleased to meet you" the thing introduced.
It turned out that this bizarre looking being was the Merchant Grimvul. No wonder they held the title of the Merchant of the Damned. No matter who it was, they would feel a little repulsed when looking at them for the first time.
As this was also Simon''s first time meeting him in person, he was a little shocked. However, the shock in Simon''s eyes was because of a whole different reason. It was because of their presence.
Although the Merchant Grimvul restrained their aura, Simon could still feel the deep and unfathomable power from them. This sort of power waspletely different from the mystical energy of Althaea and was more closer to the curse energy.
That said, the two energies were different, although both of them had these malovalent and negative properties to them, the energy that Grimvul released, gave more of a cold feeling. If Simon had to put it in words, it had a dark, death like feeling.
"Shishishi¡ it appears that you are fascinated by the energy that I use. Hmm, why don''t we make a deal? If you offer me something that I want, I won''t mind telling you about the death energy and my necromancy magic" Grimvul spoke, shing a hideous smile.
Hearing his words, an intense feeling of foreboding washed over Simon. His gut feeling was telling him that no matter what happens, he shouldn''t make this deal with the other party.
Simon shook his head decisively. Although he was curious about the death energy and the necromancy magic, he wasn''t going to take some unnecessary risk and strike some shady deal with this merchant who is known to be extremely crafty and scheming.
Besides, Grimvul had more or less given him the answer himself. Necromancy magic¡ if it was the same as what he thought, he could more or less tell what it did.
"Is that so, I''m a little disappointed. I thought you of all people who has touched the essence of another system of energy would be curious about it. Aren''t I right?¡ possessor of the Frgament of Pride?"
Grimvul shed that hideous smile of his and his uneven eyes fixed on Simon''s figure.
"What are you talking that?" rmed that Grimvul knew about one of his most guarded secrets, Simon feigned ignorance while secretly circting mana all around his body, ready to make his move at the slightest signs of danger.
However, to his surprise, he found that he was unable to emit it outside of his body. It was not only that, even the mana that was circting inside his body disappeared as if being vaporised.
Being unable to use mana meant that he couldn''t ess all his skills nor his magic. What was going on? What did this merchant do?
Seeing the cautious look on Simon''s face, Grimvul exined¡ª
"ShiShiShi¡ there is no need to fret, you aren''t the only demon noble here who is unable to use Mana here. It is a pain to deal with some high ranking demons as such, I simply prepared some countermeasures to stop them from mustering mystical energy here. You could say that this ce is a special area, that is void of all mystical energy"
Only after hearing the other''s exnation, did Simon calm down a little; nevertheless, he did notpletely rx his guard. From his inherited memories after bing a Demon Earl, he knew that Grimvul was a cautious fellow. He wouldn''t allow those demon nobles who got scammed by him, a chance to get back at him.
As such, it was no wonder that he prepared this kind of countermeasure beforehand. That said, this did not relieve Simon. Since he was unable to use his mana here, didn''t it mean that he was all powerless against this guy?
What would he do if Grimvul suddenly attacked him? Worse, this guy also seemed to be aware that he possessed the Fagment of Pride. This was a secret that only a small number of people, that is to say only his closest aides, knew about.
So how did Grimvule across this secret of his?
Simon fell into a deep contemtion, several thoughts and ideas shed past his mind one after another.
''Main Menu'' a ck screen appeared in front of him when he called it out. It appeared that the [Main Menu] was still working. If that was the case then¡ Simon found out that the trump card he had prepared, was still working.
This ce might be void of the mystical energy, but it cannot stop the trump that he had already prepared. Finding that he still had a fighting chance, Simon regained hisposure back.
"Oh? You look quiteposed. Is it because of the pride fragment?" Grimvul tilted his head and observed Simon even more closely.
"How do you know that?" Simon questioned. Now that the cat was out of the bag, he wanted to know how Grimvul knew about his secret. This should be their first time meeting, so howe?
"ShiShiShi¡ it is a taboo for a merchant to reveal his trade secrets. However, as a sign of goodwill for our uing transactions I would caution you about one thing. There are a lot of high ranking demon nobles visiting this time. You should restrain the aura leaking out from those fragments you possess".
Grimvul rubbed his hands and said. Although the way he smiled and his bizarre appearance made it very creepy.
''Restrain the aura of the pide fragments'' it was only now that Simon realised how the merchant was able to tell that he possessed the fragments of pride. It was because of the aura that they emitted.
Although when not activated, the fragments of pride are usually inconspicuous. However, a high levelled being or someone that possesses a keen sense would still be able to make out the faint aura that the fragments leaked.
The aura was stronger when one possesses multiple fragments. Simon who now possesses the first and second fragment of pride, could be said to giving off quite a bit of aura. It was no wonder the merchant recognised it immediately.
That being said, Simon did not know how to suppress the aura of the pride. It was a part of him now and something that he had very less understanding of. All he could do was use the Ice Phoenix Sigh that Irene gave him and further suppress his presence.
"You seem to possess some peculiar artefacts" Grimvulmented, his eyes gleamed over when he saw the items on Simon''s hand.
"So¡ where am I? Where are my subordinates?" Simon questioned quickly keeping the item back inside his inventory.
From the knowledge he possed of the merchant, he knew that the other party had an extremely keen eyes when it came to artefacts and items. He might already know that the item in Simon''s hand was no ordinary item.
"ShiShiShi¡ be at ease, I brought you here. Your subordinates are fine. Although they are searching for you everywhere at the gallery. Well, given their strength they should be alright" Grimvul exined.
"Why did you bring me here?"
It was a good thing that his subordinates were fine but the intentions of the merchant for bringing him here was still a mystery.
"Follow me inside, you will find out soon" Saying that, Grimvul turned around and started walking inside.
The darkness that seemed to be able to absorb all lights faded away, whenever they came across the wisps of blue me.
"Make sure you follow behind me closely. There are many things here you do not want to meet especially in your current state¡ ShiShiShi" Grimvul cautioned whileughing.
Simon maintained a calm expression and silently followed behind Grimvul. He could feel terrifying presences peeking at him from the darkness. What were they? He had no idea nor did he want to find out. He felt chills all over his body just from them staring at him.
The two of them walked in this darkness for a while and soon, an enormous door appeared in front of them. Standing near the door like a guard were two imposing presences.
They were d in jet ck armour, exuded an aura of death simr to Grimvul and had huge swords strapped to their armour that seemed to have been made of metal that was grades above Mythril.
Although their face was concealed by their helmet, one could still peer inside and tell that there was no person inside that armour, but a skeleton with flickering green me as eyes.
As Simon stepped forward, he was able to feel their might even more clearly. It was like a tidal wave, raw and primitive, crashing and destroying everything in its wake. In front of that might, Simon felt a suffocating feeling.
The moment that bizarre energy was about to crash into him, Grimvul iled his staff.
"That''s enough Death Knights, stand down" the merchant ordered.
Immediately, the oppressive energy of death subsided and was pulled back inside the two knights.
Chapter 646 646- Meeting A Familiar Face
Death Knights, that''s what the merchant called them. Beings with immeasurable strength who have been brought forth from the dead, their presence induced fear in everyone that beheld them.
Looking at the eyes of the Death Knight, Simon could tell that they were brutal warriors created with only one purpose. It would only take a singlemand for them to tear him apart immediately.
In this special area where he cannot muster any mana, he wouldn''t evenst a second against them. Even if he fought them at his peak condition, against opponents like the Death Kngihts his only victory would be in running. They weren''t beings he could take on at his current level.
Simon had to admit, if it was Grimvul who raised them from the dead, than this merchant was a true master of Necromancy. His powers might be simr or even equal to one of the twelve heroes from Lace.
On Grimvul''s order, the Death Knights stepped back. The merchant walked passed them and headed in, Simon followed behind.
.
.
"This is¡" He couldn''t help but mutter after seeing the sight in front of him. Arge hall filled with numerous artefacts, items and various kinds of things that were neatly kept for disy, greeted Simon as soon as he entered.
"Wee to the Exhibition. ShiShiShi¡ This is where I keep all the precious treasures that I have collected over the years. Only a few VIPs are allowed inside this hall. I can see that you have amassed quite a bit of DP, why don''t you go and look around, see if you fancy anything"
Grimvul exined. He then lightly bowed towards Simon as a formality before walking out of the hall saying that he had other guests to attend to.
Simon wanted to ask some more questions, but the merchant had already disappeared. Left with no other choice, he shifted his attention back to the hall in front of him. There were numerous items on disy here, each one more mysterious than the others.
"So these are the items that are going to appear in the auction huh"
Simon deduced as he slowly observed the various items Grimvul collected. Since the merchant wanted him to look around, there could only be one reason for it.
He wanted to advertise his wares to his potential buyers. That way, when the auction starts, there would be a fierce bidding for every item.
[Gauntlets of Midas]-An item that was created by the god craftsman Midas. It is said that he cut his own arms to create this unique treasure and imbue it with his divine power.
Only a true warrior can disy the true powers of these grieves which can pulverise mountains and destroynds with a single blow. The Grieves of Midas has the ability to turn its wielder into a true champion.
Rank- [S]
Abilities-
1) Empower
2) Life Drain
3) Golden Destruction.
Simon used his evolved skill [Appraisal] to look at a pair of golden gauntlets.
"Another [S] rank item huh" He muttered with some surprise in his eyes. This was the fourth item that he came across which got evaluated as a [S] rank item by the [Appraisal].
It needs to be mentioned how incredibly rare finding a [S] rank item was. Even a high ranking demon had difficulty obtaining one. The same was so for Simon, he got his [S] rank Burnt Sword only after piging a sea of DP and artefacts in the [Armoury].
Whenever he thought about that moment, his stomach would turn green and he had the urge to vomit out blood. That was how rare a [S] rank item was, yet here they were lying around just like that.
Of course, Simon wasn''t a fool to actually think that, he knew that even though the items looked like anybody could steal them, when in fact it was not. A powerful barrier was protecting these items and it would immediately retaliate at anyone foolish enough to try to steal them.
There was no way that Grimvul who was called as the Merchant of the Damned would leave his wares so openly like that.
The only reason he was disying his items like that, was because he had the confidence that nobody would be able to steal them.
Simon looked at the Gauntlet of Midas for a while before moving onto the next one. He must admit that Grimvul had collected some truly peculiar items, some of them looked so bizarre that Simon had to wonder if his [Appraisal] was working properly or not.
For example, there was this gooey green substance that looked like a puke of some alien. However, when he used [Appraisal] it told him that it was an [S] rank item.
Yes, his appraisal was not lying, Simon had to rub his eyes a couple of times to believe that. Then there were also the voodoo dolls, brooms, sticks, bottles and various unconventional items that one wouldn''t consider a treasure at first nce.
"Seriously, are these items for real?"
Simon crossed his arms and carefully observed a bottle. If he disregarded the description of the [Appraisal], it just looked like a normal bottle of a coke that one could find everywhere in his previous world.
"Hm?" He was just about to move on to observing the other items when he felt another presence approaching closer. It was another demon noble, a very high ranking one at that.
The air seemed to distort and a formidable pressure seemed to envelop the area from just the slightest aura that they released. BADUMP¡ Simon''s heart stopped beating and his Demon Earl bloodline started boiling for some unknown reason.
"This was¡" he immediately understood what was going on. This was no natural phenomenon but an effect that was triggered simply due to the enormously vast difference between them.
This was the bloodline suppression, that made all the demon nobles unable to defy the ones ranking above them.
TAK¡ TAK¡ the sound of something solid hitting the ground sounded out in fixed intervals followed by the appearance of a Demon Noble.
They were tall, easily breaching 200 cm. Their gait was straight, like a sword and they were dressed in a three piece suit that made them look extremely dignified and enigmatic.
The Demon Noble had long ash grey coloured hair that was neatly tied behind their back, prating white eyes, and carried an old shillgh with them. That solid tapping noise that echoed out, was from that stick.
The Demon Noble was extremely handsome and at a nce they appeared to be young, but make no mistake, a high ranking demon of their level had lived for more than thousands of years. At their level, hardly any changes would be noticeable in their appearance.
Additionally, the demon noble had weird markings simr to Simon''s Ancestral Symbol, covering half of their face that was not covered by the mask and going all the way down to their neck.
The moment Simon nced at that demon noble, his breath halted and he found himself rooted to his ce. A vision yed out in his eyes, a vast expanse of a battlefield covered in an uncountable number of corpses and blood.
No matter where one gazed there was only destroyed buildings and corpses littering the ce. Amidst that battlefield, a single demon noble, walked forward.
What was going on? Simon''s eyes wandered before he hurriedly snapped out of it. The vision unfolding in front of his eyes disappeared as if it had never urred in the first ce.
''A Hallucination!!'' he immediately came to a realisation. The scene that yed out in his vision, was a hallucination that was brought forth by the appearance of that demon. It was not like the other party did something, that hallucination formed just from the powerful residual aura that their body released naturally.
If anything it served to further rify the vast difference in strength between.
There was no need to even think any longer, just by that hallucination and the formless pressure the demon exuded, was enough to tell Simon that the demon in front of him stood at the highest echelons of the demon hierarchy, a Demon Archduke to say.
TAK¡ TAK¡ the Demon Archduke used his shillgh and slowly walked forward. They appeared closer and closer to Simon and the next second, they simply walked past him.
From start to end, the eyes of the Demon Archduke looked straight without deviating a little. It seemed like they did not even sense Simon when walking past him. However, it could also be that they sensed thetter was not worth their notice, and as such did not even nce towards him.
Whatever the case may be, Simon released a deep breath that he had been holding for a while. Now that that Demon Archduke had disappeared, the formless pressure that they brought with them had also disappeared.
"The bloodline suppression¡ it''s quite an annoying thing" Simon clicked his tongue.
If he was already in this state with them just passing by him, he wondered how big of a gap was between their strengths.
Demon Archdukes stood at the peak of the Demon Noble race. If one discounted aberrants like the Demon Lords, they were the highest rank and the desire of every demon noble.
A Demon Archduke is not only ancient having lived for thousands of years or more, they are cunning and possess an impossibly pure bloodline. They are beings of incalcble power and possess authority that is iparable to any other demon nobles.
At their level, there are hardly any beings in this world that can pose a threat to them. They are whimsical, self-centred and are only motivated by their personal desires. They would stop at nothing to get what they want.
Chapter 647 647- Meeting A Familiar Face (2)
A Demon Archduke is akin to a symbol of fear to humans since they possess enough might to bring down multiple super tier nations in a single day. It is said that in the ancient era when they waged wars, they brought forth catastrophic damage to this world.
In this day and age, It is incredibly rare to see a demon of such high rank wandering outside since most of them never leave their dungeon and mostly live a life of solitude.
They use Demon Marquess, Demon Earls and other low ranking Demon Nobles as their hands and legs while they indulge themselves in their desire.
Be that may, this was Simon''s first timeing in so close contact with a Demon Archduke. He had felt the bloodline suppression before in the Walpurgis too but after experiencing that absolute gulf up close one more time, made him realise once again that there was still a sky above a sky.
He might have gotten a little content feeling the rush of power after bing a Demon Earl. This run-in with the Demon Archduke could be called a lucky break.It did not discourage him, but rather motivated him to work even harder towards his objective.
It was like a wake up call for him. He might have be a true Demon Noble and stepped into their inner rankings. But this was just the beginning, he had only arrived at the starting line and had a long road ahead of him.
Simon clenched his hands feeling the excitement rush into his body. Grimvul had told him that only the VVIPs are allowed inside this room. No wonder he met a Demon Archduke right off the bat. There were bound to be more high ranking demons present here as well.
"Oh? Aren''t you that friend I made during the Walpurigs?"
Just when Simon was sorting out his thoughts, a voice came interjecting out of nowhere. When Simon turned towards that voice, he was a little surprised to see a familiar figure.
Elegant clothes, short hair, coffee brown eyes, chubby face and plump belly. This guy, he was the very same glutton that Simon met during the Walpurgis. So he was here too.
"Hehe," the fatty approached Simon and smiled "I knew it, you would be invited here too Simon".
"Um¡" This was a little awkward, the other party clearly remembered his name but he on the other hand hadpletely written off their name from his memories.
"Huhh?! Did you perhaps forget my name? It''s Oswell, OSWELL!! Aren''t we friends? You should at least remember it¡" the fatty introducing himself as Oswell, stated while chomping down on a drumstick.
"When did we be friends? More importantly, what do you mean that you knew I would here?" Simon locked his brows at the overly friendly mannerism of Oswell''s speech and questioned.
"Sure we are, do you not remember the events of the Walpurgis? We shared a hearty conversation while munching down on tes of food, we clinked our sses before merrily singing and bing the best of friends. We are birds of simr feathers, so let''s get along¡ nom¡ nom"¡
"As if something of that sort happened. Aren''t you the one who doesn''t remember the events of the Walpurgis?" Simon retorted, the events that he remembered, was vastly different from the one spoken by Oswell.
"Is that so? Well, you might be right. That event was very boring anyways, no wonder I don''t remember much of what happened at that time. Though I do remember you, you are the friend that I made before leaving¡ Hehe" Oswell spoke iling the drumstick.
This demon as he remembered was as carefree as before. He spoke his mind put without even bothering to keep his voice down. Fortunately, the other presence in this room minded their own business and did not seem to be interested in their conversation.
"Hehe, don''t worry. Those who are here, are all self centered bastards. Unless it concerned them or their interest, they would not even pay you any attention" Oswell scoffed.
"Anyways, answering the question that you asked me before, I knew you would be here because only the VVIPs are invited to the exhibition to observe the items before the auction starts. Grimvul only invites those to this room who he thinks are special or have the potential or qualification to be one. Hehe, and I believed Simon is someone special".
Hearing his reasoning, Simon couldn''t help but look at Oswell in a new light. This demon was surprisingly more perceptive than he thought. He usually seemed goofy and more self centered than any of the other demons.
However, that might just be a front, a fake appearance that he puts on to deceive others.
"If we go by your reasoning, then aren''t you special too?"
Simon replied. The first time he met Oswell, thetter was a Demon Marquess. However, judging by the faint aura he released every now and then, and the strong bloodline suppression Simon felt when meeting him, he could tell that the rank of this demon was at the very least the peak of Demon Marquess or maybe even a Demon Duke.
"Haha, it looks like my own words came back to bite me. Well, let''s just say that we both are special in our own ways to be invited here" Oswellughed loudly before changing the topic
"In any case did you find anything that interests you?".
It was very obvious to Simon that Oswell didn''t want to delve too much into this subject and as such, changed their topic of conversation.
"I was just looking around, I haven''t found anything of interest yet" It was true, although from the description of the items he could tell that they were very powerful. Till now, he was yet to find anything that interested him and made him want to possess it no matter what.
It couldn''t be helped, unlike the other demon nobles, Simon''s [Main Menu] was a little special. Every Demon Noble who created their own dungeon, have their own dungeon menu. However, Simon possessed two Menus since the time he was reincarnated here.
But due to a certain mistake, his [Dungeon Menu] identally merged with the menu of Lace. This caused some of the options to be bugged and various unique things to appear in his dungeon.
That being said, only his [Main Menu] had the options of [Armoury] and [Ga??????]. The first option upgraded the rank of the items while the other gave him all sorts of random items when he inserted DP in it.
It was because of these options that Simon had no shortage of artefacts. No ordinary items will be able to hold his interest unless they were something like the finger of Ozymandias or like the crown of brilliance he got from the forbidden trial.
"Heh, isn''t this item just another scam from that merchant" Oswell nced at the item Simon was observing earlier andmented, "You haven''t really fallen for it right?".
"What do you mean?" Simon questioned.
"I''m saying that you shouldn''t blindly believe what your [Appraisal] Skill tells you. Not every treasure that you see here are real, there are a lot of junk and ordinary items mixed within. Those demons who simply follow what their [Appraisal] tells them are sure to get scammed during the auction".
"Grimvul did not receive his title without any basis. If you are not careful, he willpletely scam you out of all your DP and everything"
Oswell exined trying to contain hisugh. He knew about a lot of demons who got scammed by Grimvul and harbour a grudge against him.
"Are you saying that the results from the [Appraisal] are wrong?"
Simon had this vague feeling that something was wrong. This feeling got stronger after what Oswell said. Thinking about it carefully, the thing in front of him no matter how he saw it, was just a normal soft drink bottle that one could find anywhere on earth. There was no way it would be appraised with an [A] rank.
"I''m not saying that the [Appraisal] is wrong. However, you cannot rely on that here. Grimvul is a very cunning guy. He knows that many demons tend to simply rely on their [Appraisal] skill to judge the value of an item. That is why, to take advantage of it he has tinkered with some items to make them seem like they have some value".
This bottle here for example, Jar of Affluence.. there really might be an item like that. However, this one clearly isn''t that item. The result that the [Appraisal] showed you, was from the original item. Do you get me now?"
Oswell corrected. After that he made a wicked smile and looked left and right before speaking in a hushed voice.
"You know among the many fakes that I have seen here, there was this puke thing disyed as an item here. Appraisal will tell you that it is the Glutinous Glucose of the World Devouring Slime but in reality, it is just a puke of some alien being".
"Hehe, I wonder which idiot demon will buy it and consume it. I cannot wait to see" Oswell rubbed his palms in prayer and repeatedly muttered ''Please let it be a high ranking demon, a Demon Duke would be the best''.
"This guy¡" Looking at that Oswell, Simon didn''t know whether tough or cry. At the same time, he was also a little impressed. Not only he knew a lot about the auction, he was also enjoying the event to its fullest.
Thanks to thetter, he was also enlightened about the schemes of the merchant. Now he knew not to only rely on his [Appraisal] and see things for himself.
Still, to think that puke like thing was actually a puke. Grimvul really had some galls to sell it in an event where so many high ranking demons are gathered.
Chapter 648 648- Information About The Hexennacht
Simon felt like he had seen a part of the reason why this fellow was being pursued by so many demons. If you are scammed and identally consume that puke thinking it is the real thing, even if you are a saint you would be outraged.
At this point, Simon also found himself interested in knowing who would be the demon to purchase that disgusting thing.
"About this bottle, I knew there was something shady about it. You see, I also have something like this" Simon mentioned taking out a bottle of c.
"This is¡ this shape is exactly like the one in the disy. However, what is this dark brown, almost ck liquid"
Oswell curiously inspected the bottle. Since there was no such thing as c in this world, it was only to be expected.
Simon shed a grin and urged thetter to take a sip out of the bottle.
"Hmm¡ alright I will drink it. I haveplete faith in my friend" Saying something melodramatic, Oswell opened the cap of the bottle.
A CHIIII sound sounded out and the refreshing smell of c came out of the bottle.
SNIFF.. "What is this, it smells so good" He just took a slight sniff, but Oswell was already hooked.
"It not only smells but also tastes good¡ try it" This glutton was about to taste the c for the very first time in his life, his reaction would be priceless.
On Simon''s urging, Oswell tilted the bottle and took a slight slip. Immediately, his eyes widened and his mouth started drinking the c fiercely.
GULP¡ GULP¡ only after finishing the entire content of the bottle in one go did he stop. BURP¡ After that came the burp and looked at the bottle of c as if it was the most precious thing in the world.
"W-W-W-What is this thing? How can there be something so good in this world?" With shaky hands and stars in his eyes, Oswell turned towards Simon and demanded an answer.
"Haha, I''m d you liked it. This is called c, one of the greatest inventions of our time" Simon smiled finding the other''s reaction very much to his liking.
"C huh¡ this is the best drink I ever had in my life" Oswell exaggerated.
"Here catch" Simon passed another bottle of c. Since he also liked c, he was pleased by the other party''s appreciation for the drink. Of course, this was also his way of showing his thanks for the information that Oswell gave him.
"Ohhh... since you are my friend I wouldn''t say something as distant as thanks" Oswell didn''t stand on ceremony and immediately epted the drink. As expected of a glutton, he immediately downed one bottle and moved on to the next.
"Uwahh... thanks to this drink I''m all alive now. Hehe...e with me my friend, I''ll show you where the real treasures that will appear in the auction are".
Simon did not reject Oswell''s goodwill and followed him towards the inner regions of the hall. The further Simon walked, the more varied the items became.
The things that were disyed here were no longer limited to inanimate things, there were even some weird objects that were moving and twitching like a living being.
There were also some Bizzare beings and races in the disy... trolls, gnomes, gargoyles, ghouls, beholders, all kinds of races and beings were in disy.
There were even some extremely rare and mythical species too like the faes, dragonkins, halflings, drakes, medusas and so on and so forth.
It appeared that Grimvul dealt in all kinds of trades. Seeing all those races, it would be a lie to say that Simon did not desire them. His dungeon would be far stronger if he possessed all those races.
"How about it did you find something that interests you now?" Oswell grinned.
Of course, just like everything else in this hall, one cannot just rely on their Appraisal skill, one had to have a discerning eye. Some of the races disyed here, were clearly fake and their current appearance might be due to the effects of some item like the Trinket of Grimlock.
If you identally purchased them and realise that it was not what you thought it was, you would incur a great loss. There is no point ininingter on after all Grimvul is a master of deception and scamming.
He wouldn''t stick for long enough, after he was done with his business here, he would quickly vanish to who knows where. There are many who are searching for his location; however, no one is able to catch him yet.
As such, it all boils down to one''s ability and maybe luck.
"Yeah" Simon answered. He then looked towards Oswell and asked him the same question "How about you, have you already decided on the item that you want to purchase?"
"Hmm¡ about that, the thing that I want might not be that easy to get" Oswell''s tone became serious all of a sudden.
"What do you mean?"...
"Im saying that I''m not the only one interested in that item. Do you remember Gareth the Demon Archduke who initiated the Walpurgis? He was also here a few moments ago. That guy was also eyeing the thing that I wanted. It would be tough; nevertheless, I won''t give up so easily" Oswell swore clenching his hand.
Indeed, if an item that was also eyed by a demon archduke won''t be so easy to get. Firstly, the DP that they possessed, was higher than all the other demons. Secondly, no sane demon would ever dare to go against a demon archduke.
Even if they somehow get the item, making an enemy out of a demon archduke was not worth the deal. The aforementioned reason were only some of the reasons. There might be even more that Simon was not aware of.
"Alright, let''s go see more. There are more items at the inner section of the hall that even I haven''t seen yet" Oswell stated.
With that, the two of them started walking further inside the hall. Of course, the more inside they went, the more presences they detected. There were a lot of auras in the inner regions of the hall that was no less powerful than the Demon Archduke that he met earlier.
That being said, Simon and Oswell did not mind them and continued with their own business. The same was true for the other high ranking demons. They paid no attention to anything that did not interest them.
The two demons who were an outcast and special in their own way observed all the items that the auction had to offer, beforeing to a stop.
"Sigh¡ I''mpletely sold, I have to say this Damned Merchant knows his stuff. Where in the world did he collect all these things from? There are some things that even I do not understand. However, I can tell that they are definitely the most precious treasures here. The other demons must have also noticed that too, I guess a fierce bidding war is inevitable"
Oswell sighed as heined. Though the smile hanging on his face said otherwise.
"It''s going to be quite an interesting event than thest time".
Simon was of the same mind, thest Walpurgis was all about the Demon Lord of Envy and there was hardly anything interesting. However, this event was going to be unlike anything else.
The Auction of the Damned was going to be filled with danger, uncertainty, betrayal and all sorts of treacherous mechanisation. But amidst that mayhem only can one find the true treasures.
A feeling of exhration overwhelmed Simon, he couldn''t wait for the auction to start.
"Hm? What''s that?" Simon suddenly noticed a peculiar item that was kept at the centre of the hall.
What was peculiar about the item was that it was the only thing there, all the other items were kept on disy quite far away from it. Not only that, a powerful barrier and severalyers of arrays wereid around that item making it almost impossible to get too close to the item.
Additionally, since the colour of the barrier was different it was impossible to peer through it. Nor was it possible to use one''s [Analysis] or [Appraisal] on it. One could only vaguely make out its shape.
The thing protected by that barrier seemed to be some kind of rectangr box the size of a briefcase. Other than that, it was hard to make out anything else.
Simon tried using his Abstruce Demonic Eyes whose one of the functions allows him to see through things. However, even that was blocked by the arrays that wereid around the item.
That being said, one thing was certain. Whatever that thing was, it was exceptionally precious and worth more than any item here in this hall. Or else, Grimvul wouldn''t haveid so many protecting barriers and arrays around it.
"That is the showcase of this year''s auction. Nobody knows what''s in there or what sort of thing it is but it is bound to be a supreme treasure. Grimvul is very selective when ites to such things".
"The showcase of the previous auction was also a supreme treasure and the same was true for the one and the one before it. As such you can look forward to it"
The one to answer him wasn''t Oswell, but another demon who crept near them even without them noticing. Swiftly, Simon turned towards that demon.
They had hair as white as snow, violet eyes and a beautiful androgynous face. Their long white hair was bound by a pin and they had a pair of wide ram like horn adorning their head.
Chapter 649 649- Information About The Hexennacht (2)
Also, the clothes that they were wearing was very unique, it was embellished with luxurious violet linings and gave off an ancient cultural impression. They also carried a golden fan in their hand.
"If it isn''t lord Belial, I couldn''t sense youing at all" Oswell slightly bowed his head and greeted the other party.
That''s right, the androgynous demon in front of them was none other than the Demon Archduke from the Walpurgis who had been recently chosen by the Fragment of Envy thus bing one of the Demon Lords.
Belial lightly nodded his head and nced towards Simon before quickly losing interest. From his point of view, there was nothing extraordinary about this demon. He was only here to meet Oswell.
"To what do I owe the pleasure for the Demon Lord of Envy to greet me personally?" Oswell asked.
Simon who got to understand this glutton from their short interaction, knew that this was a front that Oswell puts in front of the other demons who he didn''t want to get closer to.
"I just wanted to ask if you will be attending the Hexennacht after this?" Belial posed a question with a smile on his face.
"Of course, I will be attending. Why is lord Belial asking me this?" Oswell locked his brows in confusion.
The smile on Belial''s face deepened as he answered: "Hehe, I guess you didn''t know, but this year the host of the Hexennacht is me. As such, it will be in my domain, the Asphodel Meadows. Since you said you are going to attend, I will meet you then".
After saying all that he needed to, the Demon Lord of Envy casually walked away. He was nning to meet with the other high ranking demons.
"Are you alright?" Oswell asked looking towards Simon. One could imagine the kind of pressure someone who was once a demon archduke naturally exuded. The bloodline suppression of having such a high ranking demon appear so close to you was immense.
Simon nodded his head before shifting his eyes between the departing back of the demon lord and Oswell. Even the demon lord of Envy was interested in this guy, there is no way this glutton wasn''t special.
"Haha, you don''t have to look at me like that. The demon lord was only interested in me because of my vast wealth and my dungeon" Oswell said awkwardly.
"Your vast wealth? What does that mean?" the more Simon interacted with this demon the more he felt how mysterious thetter was.
"Hmm it might sound like I''m bragging when I say this myself but I''m extremely rich. My dungeon is one of the most famous ones in the Demon Continent and arge number of adventurers dive there".
"The DP that it generates me is greater than most of the Demon Archduke''s dungeon. This is the reason why the demon lord of envy spoke to me personally. He must be wanting to get me in his faction"
Oswell exined. He then shook his head and muttered in annoyance ''These high ranking demon and their schemes''.
So that was the reason, Simon was a little surprised. He did not think that the dungeon of this glutton would be so famous as to even outdo the dungeon of the Demon Archdukes. No wonder the Demon Lord of Envy tried to get him on his side.
That said¡ "I didn''t know your dungeon was this famous" Simonmented. His dungeon Lace was also growing steadily. However, it still had a long way to go whenpared to the high ranking dungeons.
"This¡ it''s all thanks the hard work of my subordinates" Oswell seemed a little proud when mentioning his subordinates.
"Oh that''s right, you will being to the Hexennacht right? There is no way a special demon like you doesn''t have his own dungeon right?".
"About that, what is a Hexennacht?" Simon inquired.
Oswell blinked his eyes a couple of times before realising something "Ah my bad, let me exin what Hexennacht is. The Hexennacht is an event where demon nobbles who have created their own dungeon, gather to discuss about the various important issues of the demon world, settle disputes and allocate territories".
"It is usually held every ten years and usually goes on for a couple of days to a week. It was supposed to be held a little earlier; however, due to the Auction of the Damned it was postponed. Since you have your own dungeon, you must attend it too".
Simon nodded his head at Oswell''s exnation. He had no idea that there was an event like that for the Demon Nobles.
Anyways¡ "Hexennacht huh¡ Why didn''t I get any invitation for it?" Simon questioned. During the Walpurgis, he got an invitation telling him about the gate and destination of the event.
However, this time there was no such invitation given. Heck, if not for Oswell or the Demon Lord of Envy bringing this subject up, he wouldn''t even know about it.
"About that¡ Hexennacht is not like the Walpurgis where it is mandatory for every demon noble to attend. As I told you earlier only those demons who have created their own dungeon attend it. Perhaps the reason why you didn''t get any invitation is because your dungeon is rtively new and not that well known yet" Oswell answered.
His guess was spot on, it hadn''t been more than three years since Simon created his dungeon. Usually, it takes a long time for a dungeon to evolve and be well known. The dungeon master too attends several events and interacts with different demon nobles during this time to spread the name of their dungeon.
However, Simon''s dungeon had grown at an unprecedented rate and the Walpurgis was the only event that had taken ce during this period of time. As such, the society of the demon nobles was still mostly unaware of the dungeon Lace or about him for therge part.
If he wanted his dungeon to be recognised, Simon had to attend this Hexennacht.
"When is this Hexennacht event going to take ce?"¡
"It''s going to be held after this auction. The host of the event this time is the demon lord of envy, as such it will be held in his domain, the Asphodel Meadows which is located in the southern region of the demon continent".
"All the demons will head over there as soon as the auction ends. If you are nning to attend the Hexennacht why don''t we head over there together?" Oswell offered.
Simon did not answer immediately, he silently deliberated his options. His gut feeling was telling him that he shouldn''t miss this event or else he would surelye to regret itter. It was a peculiar feeling given the fact that he had never attended the Hexennacht before.
In any case, let''s say that he went with his gut feeling and attended the event. However, was he prepared adequately for it? Putting aside the Auction of the Damned, the Hexennacht was going to be held in the domain of another Demon Lord. It would be far more dangerous.
Additionally, he had told Irene and the others, he woulde back after the auction ends. They didn''t know anything about the Hexennacht. As such, they would worry if he didn''te back from that gate.
What should he do? From what he learned from Oswell, it seemed to be an important event, not attending it was not an option either.
While Simon was lost in his thoughts, a circr formation appeared around him and his body started glowing.
"Oh? It looks like the Auction is about to start" Oswellmented.
He wasn''t the only one whose body started glowing, simr phenomenon started appearing around all the demons who were here. This was the indication that the auction was about to start.
Well, there was no point in brooding over the Hexennacht now, he could just decideter on, right now he focused his attention on the event that was right in front of him.
The auction of the damned was about to start¡ªwith these thoughts in his mind, Simon''s body teleported away from the hall.
The next time he appeared, he was already inside arge chamber. All around him, there were numerous demon nobles in fancy clothing in attendance. Some were quiet, some were chatting with the other fellow demons and some maintained their distance.
"Master!!"
While Simon was looking around and observing the mass, a jubnt voice that seemed to be of a child, rang out and two figures quickly cut through the crowd and ran towards him. Who could these adorable figures be other than Theodore and Maybell?
"Master, where were you? We searched for you everywhere. Didn''t master say that we aren''t allowed to stray too far away from you? And yet you are the one who went and disappeared?"¡
"Master we were worried"
The twinsined.
Hearing them, Simon shed a helpless smile. He didn''t separate from them on his own will rather it was the mechanisation of Grimvul who brought him to a different ce. Thanks to that, he was able to observe all the items that are going to appear on the auction giving him an edge over the other demons.
Also, he was able to learn about the Hexennacht from Oswell.
"Haha, I''m sorry. Did I make you wait too long?" Simon apologised patting their heads.
"Hehe¡ it doesn''t matter as long as master is here. But there is one thing¡" Theodore''s eyes suddenly became serious, there was a look of annoyance in his eyes.
"What happened?" It was only now that Simon noticed that Theodore was clutching the hands of his sister as if running away from something.
Chapter 650 650- The Auction Of The Damned
"There is this really persistent and obnoxious guy. He wouldn''t leave Maybell and I alone no matter how many times I tried to talk with him. Sigh¡ master I''m tired, if not because you told me to restrain myself in the auction I would have already killed that fellow. The nerve of him to touch my sister".
When Simon heard that somebody tried toy their hands on Maybell, anger shed deep with his crimson eyes. He looked at Maybell who was tightly clutching her plushie. It seemed that this little girl was bothered by that guy quite a bit.
"Ah please wait, why are you running away? I have something important to discuss with you two".
Just as Simon wondered who that guy was, the persistent and obnoxious person presented himself in front of him.
They wore a tailcoat, a ck vest and a neat bow tie. Looking at their attire, one could immediately tell that they were a butler of some other high ranking demon.
The person himself was also a demon and from the aura that they released which was simr to his own, Simon guessed that the other party was also a Demon Earl.
"Master it''s that guy" Theodore pointed "You are here again? You are really persistent, leave us alone already".
"Haha¡ don''t be like this, I have something important to talk to your two¡" the Demon Earl didn''t get finish his words as Simon stepped in between him and the twins.
"Can''t you see that they are annoyed? They don''t want anything to do with you so just leave them alone".
"Who are you?" The Demon Earl questioned.
"You don''t need to know. Don''t follow them again" Simon warned, turned towards the twins and started walking away from the Demon Earl. However, thetter still followed them ignoring his warning.
"I don''t know who you are, but don''t get in between this. I need to talk with those two children".
"Get Lost!!" Theodore was about lose it and unleash some of his might, when Simon stopped him.
Thetter stepped forward and asked "What do you want to talk with them, I''ll hear it out for them".
The Demon Earl nced at the twins and then at Simon before speaking out nheless.
"Hmph, I don''t know who you are, but you better not get in my master''s way. Those twins, they are very special, my master has taken a liking to them and desires to possess them. He sent me forth to talk to these children and convince them to join his side. Especially that girl, I''m told to bring her with me no matter what".
After the Demon Earl was done talking, Simon had quite an amused face. His creased brows, twitching lips and his annoyed expression was saying ''Not this again''.
A demon noble gaining an interest in his subordinate, something like that also happened during thest event that he attended. At that time, a Demon Viscount wanted the Bloodthron Demonic Warhorse that he brought with him.
This time, it was a Demon Earl who came to take possession of the twins. Seriously, why did all these annoying things have to happen to him?
"Sigh¡ Go and tell whoever your master is, that these children are already someone''s subordinate and not for possession" Simon spat a few words to quickly end this conversation.
However, before he could turn around, the demon earl spoke once again.
"That is not a problem, my master is willing to buy them from their current master. He is offering 10 million DP for each of them. I''m sure that their master will surely¡"
"Listen here, I don''t care who your master is, but tell them that the twins are not for sale" Simon who had been trying to restrain himself. Finally had enough when the other party mentioned buying them.
The twins were not only his subordinates but characters from the game that he created by pouring out his heart and soul. In a way, they represented thepany and friends he sought at a certain point in time in his previous life when he forsake everything and became all alone.
There was no way he was going to sell them even if hell froze over. They were not his underlings or minions but like a family to him.
And what''s this, Ten Million DP? A puny sum like that... is the other party mocking him?
Hearing the condescension in Simon''s words, the Demon Earl was immediately offended. "You dare insult my Master, a Demon Duke? Who do you think you are?" He released his aura, the powerful might of the Demon Earl quickly engulfed the ce.
Now that the talk had failed, he was intending to use force. Unfortunately for him, Simon who had up until now only fought enemies stronger than himself, did not even bat an eye in front of that pressure.
Simon had nothing to fear even if the opponent was one rank above him, forget about someone in the same rank. He was confident that he could easily triumph over the other party if it really came to a fight.
Besides, this ce was void of any mystical energy. That is to say, the Demon Earl in front of him won''t be able to disy even ten per cent of his power. While he on the other hand could always use ''that'' option.
Furthermore, he brought Theodore and Maybell with him as such, even a Demon Duke did not represent much of a threat to him.
That being said, there was no need for Simon to fight because... "Are you really sure you want to start a fight now? The auction is just about to start. Will your master, the Demon Duke allow that I wonder?" Simonmented.
Even though they made such amotion, no demon noble paid any attention to them. All of their interest was currently towards the auction as they started moving towards the Main Hall.
It appeared that Simon had hit the nail, the Demon Earl weirdly became all silent. They retracted their aura, red at Simon before spouting ''You will regret this'' and walking away.
"Master" Maybell tucked his clothes, looking at him with concern.
Simon smiled and assured the little girl "It''s alright, let us head in too".
Simon followed by Theodore and Maybell headed inside the Main Hall. The room was massive, with a high ceiling that seemed to disappear into the darkness above. The walls here were made of some strange and odd material and had a very unique sense of taste to it.
The seating arrangement here was in a semi circr formation. The invitees are to sit with their subordinates around a table that was booked for them.
The front rows are booked for high ranking demons and gave an excellent view of the stage in front. The rows of tables behind them were for the demon nobles ranking after them. That said, these seats also provided exceptional view while allowing the attendees to immerse themselves in the excitement of the bidding process.
However, the true essence of exclusivity lies on the floor above, the private rooms reserved exclusively for the highest ranking demon nobles.
The VIP section boasts only a limited number of rooms and the best view out of all the ces. There were also attendants ced to guide the guests to their allotted tables.
Simon along with Theodore and Maybell walked forward towards one of the attendants.
"Wee esteemed guest, I''m Lich Gudura. I will show you to your seats" the attendant voiced. It turned out that the attendants were lich, a creature possessing death attribute just like those two death knights he had seen earlier.
Simon thought that he would be escorted to the middle rows of tables. However, to his surprise, he was instead led towards the floor above that should have been reserved only for the highest echelons of the demon world.
"This way esteemed guest".
Needless to say, he garnered various sorts of attention from the other demon nobles around him who were astonished, confused and jealous at the same time. It was a good thing everyone was wearing a mask, no one was aware of the other''s identity.
"This is your assigned room. I will be waiting outside, if you ever need anything please don''t hesitate to call me" the Lich Gudura showed them their room.
"Oh?" Just when Simon was about to open the door and head inside his VIP room, a familiar voice sounded out next to him. It was Oswell, next to him stood a prettydy with golden hair and traditional white clothing.
She emitted an aura that was simr to Ate''s original form. Simon reckoned that she was from the spirit race or a part of it.
"Hehe, it looks like our rooms are adjacent. Let us meet again after the auction is over my friend" saying that, Oswell headed inside his room.
Simon wasn''t surprised to see Oswell here, he more or less knew that the guy was special as such, it was only natural for him to receive the VIP treatment. Simon did not dilly dally longer and also headed inside his room.
"Wow" The moment they entered the room, Theodore opened his mouth and praised the room.
Lavish furniture that exudes an aura of exclusivity, sturdy walls that were further reinforced with several barriers and arrays to ensure privacy and protection of the guest. A big ss view that provided an unobstructed view of the auction floor below.
From this vantage point, the VIPs could enjoy a bird''s eye view of the auction items and their intricate details. The VIP room truly gave one a sense of grandeur and prestige.
Chapter 651 651- The Auction Of The Damned (2)
Simon was inwardly a little impressed. He sat down on his seat and watched the crowd below slowly settle down. There were a ton of demons and their subordinates in attendance that it was hard to make an estimate with just a nce. Yet even with so many demons attending, the main chamber easily fit all of them.
"There are a lot of high ranking demons present" Simonmented as he watched the Demon Dukes take their seat at the front row of tables reserved for them.
They were dressed in various luxurious clothes that spoke volumes of their status and were surrounded by powerful subordinates. Just the aura that they naturally emanated, gave one a formidable pressure and a sense of dread and terror.
Their authoritative andmanding presence made all the demon nobles look at them with awe and fear. Nobody dared to gaze at them directly, even if they did they would immediately shift them away.
In the demon world, these Demon Dukes are monsters who had lived for over a thousand years and carried prestige and reputation iparable to any other demons.
With the Demon Archdukes rarely showing their face and not caring about the matters of the world, the Demon Dukes were seen as the true ruler of the demon world. The demon nobles below them merely serve as their aides or agents.
From the eyes of the human nation, a Demon Duke was like the symbol of a great catastrophe, capable of bringing doom and irrecoverable destruction to thend.
Many of these Demon Dukes sitting in the front row, were quite famous with legends and tales written about their powers.
Since they liked ruling and controlling everything while sitting inside thefort of their dungeon, one could hardly encounter a demon duke. It was only during events like these that one would be able to see old monsters like them gather.
Usually, it would have been impossible for Simon to observe them like this without them noticing. However, due to the numerous arrays and barriersid inside the VIP rooms, even the Demon Dukes didn''t notice Simon''s gaze.
WHOOAA¡ just when it seemed like the excitement of the auction had reached its peak, the crowd below suddenly boiled over with the appearance of a couple of people.
Leading the group, was a beautiful man with long white hair, an androgynous face and wearing luxurious ancient clothing. This person was none other than the newly risen Demon Lord of Envy, Belial.
Beside him, walked a man donned in a heavy armour that seemed to be made of some mysterious material. They had numerous scars on their face making them appear very scary and carried themselves with an aura of haughtiness.
His presence was mighty and not any weaker than the Demon Lord himself. Looking at that man, Simon recalled who he was. Deimos, the subordinate of Greed who also attended the Walpurgisst time.
If he was here, then it means that the other three people walking beside them were also the same.
"Seems like the subordinates of the demon lords are also in attendance" Simon surmised. It appeared that the Demon Lords were also interested in the auction to have sent their subordinates.
Out of the three people, one looked like an old hermit with numerous orbs like a neb, floating around him. He was wearing ordinary robes and was sitting cross-legged while levitating off the ground. An aura of mystery shrouded this person.
What surprised Simon was that when he nced at this person, thetter too sensed something and nced towards his direction.
''He was able to peer through the numerous arrays of the VIP room¡ the old man doesn''t appear as simple as he looked'' Simon wondered.
Of the other two people, one appeared like a schr with a spectacle and book in hand. They had a calm noble like aura and a friendly smile on their face.
Thest person was a woman in a military uniform. Half of her face was covered with an angry mask and she held a cigar in her mouth. Her appearance along with her sharp aura made her look quite fierce.
Amotion erupted in the floor below with their appearance. From the bits and pieces of information that Simon gathered from the hubbub of the demons, he was able to confirm his suspicions, the other three were indeed the subordinates of the other demon lords.
It was just that they weren''t the ones he had seen in the Walpurrgis.
As expected, the lich attendants brought them over to the upper floor and into their own VIP rooms.
With all the attendees now taking their seats, the auction finally began. A light suddenly dropped from the darkened ceiling and illuminated the stage in front. At some unknown point in time, Grimvul was already standing there.
"They are¡ the Death Knights"
Simon muttered in surprise. There were a couple of figures donned in jet ck armour beside Grimvul. Simon recalled they were the death knights that he had seen standing guard outside the exhibition.
There were seven of them on the stage and all of them were standing still around Grimvul acting as his guards.
The Chamber fell into an eerie silence with the appearance of Grimvul and his entourage. The Demon Nobles dressed in their regal clothes fixed their attention on the merchant, their eyes zed with excitement.
Grimvul observed the crowd that had gathered for the auction before nodding his head.
"ShiShiShi¡ Esteemed Demon Nobles, distinguished guests of the auction of the damned" His low creepyugh echoed across the chamber "Tonight we have all gathered to partake in the unveiling of the most exquisite and sinister artefacts from the darkest corners of the existence".
As Grimvul spoke till here, a murmur of anticipation rippled through the chamber. The demon nobles leaned forward from their seat, their interest piqued.
Finding the reaction of the crowd very much to his liking, he hyped the attendees even further "All of you, the eminent figures of the demon world, have assembled here to witness and wield the powers that lies within these magnificent treasures".
"But remember my esteemed nobles, these artefacts are not mere trinkets. They carry the powers of what was once forgotten, the souls of the brave and of the deceased and the very essence of the primordial universe. They have been sought after by many, and now they would be wielded by those deemed worthy".
WHOAAA¡ A surge of excitement spread through the crowd. The Demon Nobles looked at Grimvul and gulped, their eyes flickering with the light of anticipation and eagerness as if they couldn''t wait for the items toe up.
"ShiShiShi¡" Grimvulughed and performed a slight bow of courtesy "I, Grimvul shall be your guide in this journey. I shall illuminate the secrets and the potential that lies within each of these items. However, let it be known that their true nature may be concealed, waiting for their masters to unravel their mysteries".
Sitting inside his VIP room, on his cozy seat, Simon couldn''t help but scoff at the words of this merchant. He had to give it to Grimvul, the Merchant of the Damned lived up to his reputation.
Thetter knew how to excite the crowd and bring an air of mystery to the event. Now that he had said all those words, there was no way the Demon Nobles down below wouldn''t start a fierce bidding war from the first item.
Simon who knew the truth about some of the items that are about toe up, couldn''t help but find the situation funny. These Demon Nobles had fallen into the trap of the merchant of the damned unaware that they are being led by their nose like a gullible goat about to be sacrificed.
"Master, why are you smiling?" Maybell who was sitting next to him asked.
Made conscious by his subordinate, touched his face with his hand "Am I?"
"Yeah, Master is smiling" Theodore also pointed it out.
It appeared that he was actually enjoying the misery of the others. He had be a demon in the truest sense.
"Haha," Simonughed and ced his attention back on the stage. Grimvul was currently exining the rules. Surprisingly it was like any other normal auction just that the dealing of the currency was the currency of the demons, the Dungeon Points.
Apart from that everything was simple, the item goes to the highest bidder. The one thing great about this auction was that the items are kept inside a container and only the buyer can open them.
"I have exined everything. Now let the Auction of the Damnedmence, may your bids be calcted and your wits sharp. Tonight, let your greed, desire, and ambition for these damned artefacts run wild"
The voice of Grimvul resonated through the chamber. With those words, the auction began in the truest sense. A tform appeared in the centre of the stage. Kept on that tform was an item that was protected by multipleyers of barrier.
"The first item to be auctioned is the Book of Fire said to have been once possessed by a powerful demon who used it toy waste to an entire subcontinent. It is an [A] rank item and one of its kind".
"You can view the effects of the item using your analysis as such I will skip that part. However, allow me to provide you with a piece of additional information. The fire inside the book is no ordinary fire, its power is said to have gone up beyond the advanced rank to be a unique me on its own".
"Only those destined to be its master can wield the mighty fire in the book. For this artefact, the starting bid will be [7,000,000] DP. Let the Bidding begin".
Chapter 652 652- The Auction Of The Damned (3)
As soon as those words fell, the Demon nobles started fervently bidding for the item. The atmosphere inside the chamber became heavy. With the promise of power, many demon nobles started bidding fiercely.
"This item looks genuine¡" Simonmented. He relied on his keen senses that had been heightened by training and his abstruse demonic eyes to observe the item.
He did not use his appraisal skill since he knew that''s what the merchant wanted everyone to do. He was using something to feed wrong information to their appraisal or analysis skill.
The Book of Fire was fiercely bid for and went up as high as [12,000,000] DP in the blink of an eye. In the end, the item was purchased by a Demon Marquess for [15,000,000] DP.
Simon had no interest in such items since he already had the [S] rank burnt sword with him. Compared to the Book of Fire, his Burnt Sword was even a rank higher.
The auction went on, after the Book of Fire, the next item to appear was a [S] rank item called the [Chaos Shield]. Gasps of breath immediately came from the crowd below. The eyes of the observing demon noble started shining with an ominous light.
The auction had just started yet there was already a [S] rank iteming. How could their blood not boil with excitement?
As someone who had already observed all the items that are going to appear in the auction, Simon was much more calm about it.
[Chaos Shield]... It was an item that allowed the user to transfer all the damage that their allies took to them. However, in return, it bestowed its user with a ton of defensive stats and several protective skills.
What''s more, the Chaos Shield did not have the equipping restriction which is to say, anyone can regardless of their race, use the item.
For beings whose role was more like a tank or a knight ss of the humans, it was an item that was a must have.
In a sense, the Chaos Shield was like Bianca''s Heirloom the Martyr''s Brand. Both the items had simr abilities; however, being an heirloom from the game Simon designed, Martyr''s Brand had much more functions than the Chaos Shield.
As for if the item on the stage was real or not, as far as Simon could tell, it was a genuine article. As cunning as Grimvul was, he wouldn''t make the mistake of putting fake items right from the start. He would first sell genuine items to gain their trust and when the auction is midway, he would start mixing those trash items.
As if to prove him right, the next item that appeared was also genuine and went to the same Demon Duke who purchased the Chaos Shield.
After the third item, more and more items followed suit, each and every one caused a fierce bidding war amongst the nobles and raised the price of the items sky high.
For example one of the item although genuine, had an unknown effect. Even the description of the item was alos very iprehensible. Had this item appeared in any other auction, it might not even get sold.
Yet due to the eloquent words of Grimvul which tugged at their curiosity and the insatiable desire of the Demon Nobles, its price was raised beyond its worth.
"This damned merchant" Simon shed a wicked smile. He did not rush to bid since he knew there were a lot of items set for sale in this auction and the event would go on for quite a while.
As such, he leaned on hisfortable seat and rxed. He let the other demons splurge their DP while he enjoyed the fervour of the bidding unfold from his VIP room.
[Altina''s Prayers], [Locket of the Wicked], [Whispering Daggers], [Arcane Mirror]¡ one item after another appeared on the stage and was quickly hoarded by the Demon Nobles.
"Our next item is quite unique in that it is aplete mystery. I would have loved to tell you more about it, but that will destroy the fun. As such, I will zip my mouth for this one and allow you bidders to decide its worth".
"Use your wits and rummage your brain for there is no other item like it. Only those destined with it can unveil its mystery, let''s see if there is anyone among the esteemed guests who can be its master. Covered in ayer of an enigma, I present to you, the Eye of Enigma"
With Grimvul''s words as the trigger, the tform rose from the stage. In the middle of that tform, was a container. Floating inside it, was an eyeball that seemed to have been preserved in some liquid.
"This was¡"
Simon who waszing in his VIP room, immediately stood up the moment the item appeared. A serious expression dawned on his face.
The reason for his change in attitude was because the item that just came up, was one of the items that he had his eyes on. The Eye of Enigma, just like its name suggests, was aplete enigma.
Nobody knew what it did, nor was it possible to know anything about it using the Appraisal or any other probing method. The eye would block everything. There was no array or barrier in work, it was just the doing of the eye.
An item that could block all kinds of probing methods on its own meant only one thing. Some of the cunning demons must have already realised it, that the Eye of Enigma was a sentient item. That is to say, it possessed its own will.
It need not be even mentioned how valuable and astronomically rare an item like that was. Even Simon''s [S] rank Burnt Sword wasn''t a sentient item. From this, one could tell the rank of that eye.
Yes, the Eye of Engima was at the very least a [S] rank item or maybe even higher.
Items ranking higher than [S]... for Simon, that was still an inconceivable notion. He couldn''t even begin to imagine what kind of power they possessed.
Yet there was an item in front of him that could possibly be of that rank. How could Simon still remainposed? However, just like everything there was also a catch.
It was hard to ascertain if the eye was a genuine item or not. Grimvul was a very crafty fellow, he could mask a trash as a treasure and sell it to you and you wouldn''t even be aware of it. That''s how he had scammed many demons.
Simon had seen many items in the Exhibition that were aplete garbage and items like the Eye of Enigma which was hard to determine whether they were real or not. As such, bidding for it would be an incredible gamble.
You will luck out if it''s a treasure however, you will regret it until your stomach turned green if it was a scam.
Simon had a valid reason for believing it might be a scam because the auction was already midway to the finale. Those trash items he had seen in the exhibition should being up soon.
Should he bid for it? There was a 50-50 chance it could be real and honestly, he didn''t want to miss this chance to get his hands on a sentient item. The problem was that he wasn''t the only one who was thinking that.
There were many demons, especially the demon dukes who were intensely observing the item.
Looking at them, Simon could tell that they too had simr thoughts as him and even though he couldn''t see the Demon Archdukes since they were seated in their own VIP rooms, but he guessed that they too might be interested in it.
After all, the item in the stage was not just any item, but a possible sentient item.
"The bidding would be fierce" Simon muttered to himself. In his mind, he was cursing the merchant incessantly.
That damned Grimvul, he had to put things like that. His mysterious words only casued the audience to be even more curious and interested in the item. If Simon wanted to get hold of this Eye of Enigma, he would have to dish out arge amount of sum matching theirs.
And in the case that it turned out to be a fake, he would have suffered a massive loss. What''s more, if he bought this Eye of Enigma, he might not be able to buy the other things he had his eyes on.
It was not like he had an endless supply of DP. He had collected the amount he had after going through numerous life and death trials. As such, he knew the pain of earning DP and its value.
Plus a growing dungeon like Lace, needed a ton of DP every day to keep functioning. Given all these factors, there was no way he could risk splurging his DP on an item that could possibly turn out to be a trash.
Also, it needs to mentioned that even though his current stash of DP wasparable to a Demon Duke''s, in the end a high ranking dungeon was still a high ranking dungeon. Even if the Demon Dukes splurge their DP, their dungeon could easily make up for it. Simon cannot spend his Dp like them.
Hmmm.. he deliberated for some time before finally making up his mind. He came to a decision, in regard to this Eye if Enigma he would pass.
The Eye of Enigma might turn out to be a treasure beyond a treasure; however, it wasn''t an item that he absolutely need to possess right now. Besides, a sentient item like that chose its own master.
Chapter 653 653- The Auction Of The Damned (4)
A sentient item like that, even if anyone bought it unless they were destined with it they will never be able to use the item. Given all these cons, it was clear that it did him more harm than good.
As such, It was easier for Simon to give up on the item when he thought about it like that. That said, there was no reason he couldn''t enjoy the fierce bidding for the item that would ensure next.
Simon sat back in his seat andzily nced at the auction below. Grimvul had deliberately given a long pause to make his words sink in. Seeing that everyone was hooked, he announced the start of the bid.
"25,000,000 DP" immediately a high offer was made. The voice came from the front rows where the lofty Demon Dukes sat with their subordinates.
Grimvul did not set a starting bid for the [Eye of Enigma], as such many Demon Nobles were interested and wanted to bid on it. However, the first bid itself raised the price sky high.
"26,000,000"¡
"28,000,000"¡
The subsequent bids made any demon nobles lower than a Marquess to dejectedly give up on the item.
"35,000,000" Soon enough, even the Demon Marquesses shook their heads in defeat. Finally when the price reached around [38,000,000] DP it was only the Demon Dukespeting over it.
"40,000,000"...
However, the demon dukes weren''t the top dogs here. A voice sounded out from one of the VIP rooms. Immediately, the entire hall turned deathly silent followed by hurried murmurs and gossip.
All of the eyes on the floor below turned towards the VIP room that had just made the bid. Although they could not see the person because of the one way ss and the numerous arrays protecting the privacy of the person, they didn''t have to guess to know who made the bid.
To have the qualification to sit inside a VIP room, who could it be other than a Demon Archduke?
The moment the Demon Archduke made the offer, the fierce bidding came to a halt. Many Demon Dukes who still had the funds and intention to continue bidding made a conflicted face before choosing to opt out.
Demon Archdukes were ancient beings with immeasurable powers, there was no benefit in antagonising a monster like that. Even though many Demon Dukes felt unwilling to lose out on such an item, they could give up in the end.
"45,000,000" except for one though.
Just when it seemed like nobody dared to bid against a Demon Archduke a voice suddenly interjected and made a new offer. The one who made the bid wasn''t another Demon Archduke. That is to say, it did note from the VIP floor.
Instead, it came from the hall, from one of the tables in the front row. The one to make the offer was a Demon Duke.
"50,000,000" The being on the VIP floor was unconcerned, their voice wasnguid as they made a higher bid.
"55,000,000" However, immediately afterwards the Demon Duke made a counteroffer.
"60,000,000"¡
"65,000,000".
This went on for a while causing amotion of sorts to erupt inside the auction hall. Every eyes present was glued to the two bidders. Of course, most of them were looking at the Demon Duke with a stupefied expression.
To dare to counter bid against a demon Archduke, they must be out of their mind.
The truth was also not far from what they believed, even the subordinates of that Demon Duke telling them that it was a bad idea. However, the Demon Duke bid regardless.
"Master bidding against a Demon Archduke, will only make things difficult for us"¡
"Shut up, who told you to open your mouth? I know what I''m doing. Hmph, so what if they are a Demon Archduke? Aren''t they just a recluse who have long stepped out of the dealings of the world?" the Demon Duke spoke.
Thanks to them directly raising the price of the item by [5,000,000] DP every time, no one else dared to bid. Seconds ticked by, every watching Demon Noble held their breaths waiting for a juicy drama to ensue.
However, when they saw no biding from that VIP room, all of them were disappointed.
"65,000,000 for the [Eye of Enigma], are there any higher bids? If not then¡ congrattion to this esteemed guest, you have definitely gotten your hands on a treasure¡ ShiShiShi" Grumvul stated with his deep guttural and the Eye of Enigma was sold to the Demon Duke.
"See I told you? They might be Demon Archdukes, but the long years of time have made them too indolent and apathetic. If they were serious about possessing this item, I wouldn''t even have a chance".
"However, they weren''t serious at all. I bet that Demon Archduke was thinking that it was too much of a pain and thus gave up even without trying" The Demon Duke spoke shing a grin of victory.
Inside his VIP room, Simon was watching the drama unfold with his hands behind his head.
"65,000,000?!! My goodness, with that amount I can create so many floors and fill them with all kinds of traps and monsters" hemented. His eyes went towards the Demon Duke in question, and they immediately became weird.
The reason for that was the appearance of that Demon Duke which was very odd to say the least and stood out like a sore thumb.
For this event, every demon noble made sure to dress up in a way that made them stand out. The higher the ranks of the demon the more extravagant and shier you will find their clothes were.
Some wore proper ornate clothes, others ancient and some traditional. With so many demons attending the event, it was only natural to find a few with odd dressing sense. However, even amongst them, this demon duke was on a level of his own.
He had a heavy makeup on his face, a weird top knot like hairstyle and was donned in clothes that made one wonder what sort of fashion is that.
What made his already distorted fashion sense even weird was his figure. The demon duke was so fat that he was a like a ball. The seat he was sitting on was bent so out of shape that it made a sorry sight.
They stood out, but in a very weird way.
"Hm? Isn''t that¡" Simon''s eyes shifted towards the two subordinates the demon duke brought with him. One of them seemed very familiar to him, in fact, he had encountered them not too long ago. He was the Demon Earl that was after the twins.
"So the master he was talking about was this Demon Duke" Simon narrowed his eyes. He did not have a very good impression of this demon duke who tried to buy his subordinates.
Tch¡ since looking at them made his mood sore, Simon tried to avoid them. Though things didn''t seem to go the way he nned because the subsequent items that came up in the auction were all purchased by that Demon Duke.
He hadpletely and utterly be the centre of attention. Many demon nobles were shocked to see his vast wealth and were giving him a look of awe and fear.
However, Simon was looking at the Demon Duke as if he was the greatest idiot he had ever seen. The Eye of Enigma was one thing, but the next set of items that the fatty bought after it were all garbage.
They were scams that Grimvul had prepared to squeeze the DP out from those stupid and ignorant demon nobles who were too drunk on their powers.
This demon duke fell in that category as they only relied on their analysis skills and believed whatever lies that were fed to them by Grimvul. He bought all those fakes for a hefty sum of DP no less.
The term ignorant and dunce truly fit this person. And as if to further prove to the world that this was not the true height of his stupidity, he also bid for the item that came up next.
"The next item to appear, is truly one of its kind and it was only through sheer luck that I stumbled upon it. Presenting to you all, the Glutinous Glucose of the World Devouring Slime".
"This viscous green coloured liquid is a [S] rank item that was extracted from the monster, World Devouring Slime. When ingested or consumed it grants its user the ability to devour and assimte the properties of any organic matter theye into contact with".
"Be it flora, fauna or even mystical beings, those that consume this Glutinous Glucose of the World Devouring Slime, can absorb the very essence and attribute of their prey. Not only that, upon consumption this thing also increases the user''s physical attributes and sharpens their reflexes. The esteemed guests can see for themselves that this merchant is not lying"
Grimvul announced. A container containing a viscous greenish liquid appeared on the tform.
"What was that about not lying? Glutinous Glucose of the World Eating Slime my ass" Simonmented lightly from inside his VIP room.
The thing that was being auctioned was the puke he had seen in the exhibition. The merchant was really auctioning it. What''s more, he had even given it such a grand name.
Hearing his great sales pitch, even Simon got interested in it for a second. However, when he saw the thing he immediately came to his senses.
Chapter 654 654- The Auction Of The Damned (5)
There really might be an item like the Glutinous Glucose of the World Eating Slime. However, his keen senses were telling him that the thing in front of him was definitely not it.
Though Simon knew the truth about the item, it was not like everybody did too. There were some demon nobles like that demon duke who thought their [Appraisal] skill was absolute. They were all leaning forward looking at the item with feverish eyes.
Of course, there were also a lot of cunning demons who knew that the item was a scam and thus opted out of it. The starting bid for the item was set to [20,000,000] DP and went as high as [40,000,000] all under the watchful gaze of Grimvul.
Finally, after an intense bidding war, the item was auctioned off for [46,000,000] DP. And guess who bought it? It was none other than the idiot duke.
"ShiShiShi¡ this esteemed guest knows a treasure when it appears. Congrattion, you have truly lucked out".
"Pfft" Simon smiled at the following words of Grimvul. This damned merchant also knew how to make sarcastic remarks. [46,000,000] DP for a puke, what a ripoff.
Simon was trying his hardest not tough out loud, though he knew one demon in particr who might be rolling on the ground unable to contain hisughter after watching this scene.
There were many trash items that went up for auction; however, how could it be that they all ended up being purchased by the same demon?
Simon had to admit, in a certain way this fatty demon duke really had eyes for treasures. The auction continued, every item that came up on the stage induced a fierce bidding war from the participants.
That said, the one''s bidding were only the demon nobles in the hall below. The VIP floor was mostly silent. The Demon Archdukes sitting in their private VIP rooms rarely made a move as they were uninterested in any item below rank [S]. Or perhaps they were saving their DP for the main items.
Simon too hadn''t bid for any items yet and nothing managed catch his interest since the Eye of Enigma.
"Hm? Are those things about toe up?" Simon who waszily ncing at the auction unfold, suddenly saw the merchant go silent.
"I''m sure that everybody had their fill of the artefacts by now. As such, it''s time to change things up a little. I''m sure those guests who haven''t been participating, will be interested in the things that areing up next¡ ShiShiShi"
Grimvul announced ncing at the VIP floor. Immediately, the stage started trembling. The previous scaffold went inside the ground and a huge tform reced it.
The tform that rose from the ground, immediately drew the attention of everyone present inside. A transparent barrier encircled the tform like a cage. Behind it were a few living entities of extraordinary nature and beauty.
They had slender graceful bodies, iridescent wings and a delicate appearance.They were a race from foreign realms and exuded an aura of enchantment and intrigue.
"So the main highlights of the auction are finally starting huh? It''s about time" Simon muttered ncing at the beings on the stage. With most of the inanimate artefacts being auctioned off, they were finally moving onto the end stage of the auction.
"Esteemed guests, as you can see, the next items for sale are very unique in that they are beings I have collected from a distant realm. The ones you see in front of you are from the Sylph race who are considered a high tier spirit and possess the power to use spirit magic".
"Sylphs are associated with wind, flight and the ability to manipte air currents. They have heightened agility, the power to create storms and the ability to navigate effortlessly through the sky".
"The Sylphs are an [A] rank race and can be excellent subordinates once subdued. There are only three sylphs for the auction, all young females with exceptional beauty. Distinguished guests, do not miss this incredible opportunity and bid to your heart''s content for there are no races like them. So let''s start the bidding".
With Grimvul''s inciting words, the atmosphere in the auction hall became electric. Among the audience, there was a mix of collectors, enthusiasts and those seeking the extraordinary. They would never miss this chance to get their hands on something as extraordinary as the race of Sylph.
Even if discounting all that, just the fact that the sylphs were an [A] rank race, made all demon nobles want to possess them. After all, summoning [A] rank or higher subordinates from the [Dungeon Menu] system was extremely rare.
Even if one counted all the demon Nobles below the demon duke rank there would only be a small percentage of demons who were actually able to summon anything higher than an [A] rank with the limited amount of emblems that their dungeon produced.
Therefore as soon as the bidding started, the price for the Sylphs started soaring. The starting bid set for the Sylphs were [80,000,000] DP.
The price far surpassed any of the items that came before; nevertheless, nobodyined. It was a known fact that races who were [B] rank and above, will always be higher in value than the item one rank above them.
In this case, the Sylphs who were an [A] rank race, were as valuable as an [S] rank item. What''s more that starting price was for all three of the sylphsbined. As such it was a fair price.
That being said, [80,000,000] DP wasn''t a price that anyone below a demon duke can just dish out. Many of the low rankings demons gave up immediately, even the Demon Marquesses had no choice but to give shaking their heads.
In the end, the only demons still bidding were the demon dukes.
[85,000,000]¡
[88,000,000]¡
[91,000,000]¡ the price rose up and soon reached the [100,000,000] mark. The wealth of the demon dukes rendered all the spectating demons in shock. However, they weren''t the main characters of this auction.
"101,000,000" the ridiculously dressed fatty demon duke bid. He looked at his fellow demon dukes who backed away at this price point and smirked. He thought like he had this in pocket, when a timely counterbid came from the VIP room.
"110,000,000"¡
"Tch not again. Even if you are a Demon Archduke, I don''t care. The sylphs are something that I desire, I will not allow anyone to get in my way¡111,000,000" The fatty demon duke muttered in his heart and raised the price by one million.
Immediately afterwards [120,000,000] the person in the VIP room bid.
[121,000,000]¡
[130,000,000]...
When the price was raised once again, the fatty demon duke couldn''t help but grit his teeth and nce at the VIP room with an ugly expression.
''What was going on? Is the Demon Archduke also interested in these [A] ranks sylphs?''.
"131,000,000" he made another bid. But just like the other times, a counter immediately came. What''s more, the bid was always raised by a ridiculous amount every time.
[140,000,000]¡ it wasn''t an amount that even the demon duke could look down on.
"Master, why don''t we back down? We have already bought a lot of items, if we bid anymore we might not be able topete with others for the showcase item" the Demon Earl subordinate calmly advised.
"Tch" Knowing that he won''t be able to possess these Sylphs, the fatty demon duke clicked his tongue and backed out.
"140,000,000 DP¡ do I hear a higher bid? If not then, congrattions to this distinguished guest, you made the right choice by bidding for the sylphs" With those words from Grimvul, the sylphs were sold to the person from that VIP room.
After the sylphs, various other races appeared on the stage. The merchant introduced each one of them and exined their qualities and uniqueness.
Sold¡ Sold ¡ Sold¡
Naturally, there was a fierce bidding war among the demons to take possession of them. However, in the end, they were all rendered the supporting characters of the demons sitting in the VIP rooms.
Yes, the main characters of this battlefield were no longer the demons sitting on the hall below, but the Demon Archdukes on the VIP floor.
With the main itemsing up, they finally making their move. Against such high bids, even the Demon Dukes had no choice but to take a back seat.
If it''s said that a Demon Duke is wealthy, then a Demon Archduke would fall in the category of vastly wealthy. Of course, there are always an exception, the fatty demon duke being one.
Even though the other demon dukes tacitly retreated from the battlefield they had no business butting in, the fatty demon duke was insensitive enough to still keep up with his bids.
But of course, his wealth was in no wayparable to the ancient beings that were the Demon Archdukes. He was brutally shown his ce and his heightened ego was smashed apart by the highest ranking demons.
"Damn¡ how wealthy is he?" From inside his VIP room, Simonmented. He didn''t even get a chance to participate in this battle where each and every bid was sky high.
Of course, arge part of the reason why he didn''t participate was because the thing that he wanted, was yet toe up. But even then, the wealth that these highest ranking demons possessed made him speechless.
His dungeon Lace, could be said to be doing quite well and growing adequately. However,pared to the high ranking dungeons it was nothing.
----
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Chapter 655 655- The Showcase Item
It was for that reason Simon had given up on all the other items he had his eyes on and saved his DP. He reckoned that if he truly went all out, with the amount he had with him, he might just be able to get the thing he wants.
That said, the one demon he was truly amazed by, was not the Demon Archdukes but by the guy sitting adjacent to his room. Arge portion of the things that were sold, were purchased by him.
The demon that he was talking about was none other than Oswell. The wealth that thetter posses was so great that it made Simon''s mind spin. He could evenpete with the ancient Demon Archdukes and snatch majority of the things from their hands.
Oswell did tell him that he was very rich; however, he didn''t think that it would be to this extent. A demon possessing more wealth than even most of the Demon Archdukes. No wonder, the Demon Lord of Envy was so interested in him.
"That guy is a very unique demon no doubt" At this point, even Simon found himself being curious about Oswell. However, he didn''t have the time to ponder it any longer because the thing that he was waiting for, finally appeared on the stage.
"ShiShiShi¡ distinguished guests, connoisseurs and collectors of the extraordinary. Please pay extra attention to this one. From the race of Lumynars that are said to be one of the, if not the most intelligent beings in this universe".
"They are a highly elusive and ancient race that is said to have once created a highly advanced civilisation a long long time ago. However, their extreme intellect seemed to have worked out against them as they ended up destroying themselves".
"There are only a few Lumynars surviving to this day and age and each and every one of them had shut themselves in ces that make them almost impossible to find them. Even I, stumbled upon one through some incredible stroke of luck".
Grumvul took a pause here for his words to sink inside the brains of his audience before continuing.
"Behold the Lumynar, a race of beings whose luminous appearance is the testament to their advanced intelligent and extreme mental capabilities".
The auction hall fell into a hushed silence as all the eyes curiously nced at the entity on the stage. It was tiny, about around six to seven inches, its body was translucent and shimmering with an inner light.
It had elongated limbs, an out of size head and profound eyes that seemed to be gazing and evaluating the crowd in front of it.
"ShiShiShi¡ These extraordinary beings have devoted their existence to the pursuit of knowledge, creation and unlocking the mysteries of the universe. What''s more, the Lumynars are also called inventors for their unparalleled craftsmanship and creation ability".
At ths point, Grumvul spread his hands and said grandly "Distinguished guests, the opportunity to be the master of a Lumynar is once in a lifetime chance that will never appear again".
"These beings hold the key to unlocking new frontiers of knowledge and expanding the boundaries of understanding. I wonder who among you can be its master".
Right after saying that, Grimvul opened the bidding. A being that couldn''t be analysed naturally drew all sorts of attention, especially from the ancient Demon Archdukes.
Simon was no exception, if there was anything that drew the most attention from him in that exhibition, it would be this being who was introduced as a Lumynar by Grimvul.
At that time when he was observing the various items and races that were kept in that hall for disy, he came across this tiny little guy. It was sitting inside that barrier whilezily gazing at the spectators that came to observe him.
Its attitude was as if it was the doing the observing and not the other way round. Anyways, when he stood in front of it, this Lumynar seemed to have sensed something and sent a mental transmission inside his head.
The thing that it told him, stunned Simon to his very core. He tried to initiate a conversation with it, but the Lumynar did not speak another word to him. Left with no choice Simon decided to question itter after purchasing it.
This was the reason why he was interested in that Lumynar. Even now, its eyes were looking through the VIP room and at him.
Although he did not what that little fellow was thinking, but he could more or less guess his intention. ''Buy me'' that''s what those eyes were trying to convey.
Simon sighed and joined the bid. The starting bid set for the Lumynar was more ridiculous than even the [A] rank Dragonkins.
[200,000,000] DP... it started from this price point and went as high as [300,000,000]. However, the fierce bidding was yet to slow down. Among these ancient Demon Archdukes, there were many collectors wanting to collect the rare and the extraordinary and those seeking to gain higher powers and understanding.
There was no shortage of demons wanting to possess them, and they wouldn''t let this opportunity slip from their hand.
[400,000,000]...
At some point, the bid soared to a point where Simon''s heart bled just to ce the counterbid. He had his own reason not to back down and so... [410,000,000].
Fortunately for him, the guy adjacent to him did not participate in this bid. Maybe the other party realised he wanted the Lumnynar or if he simply wasn''t interested. Whatever the case may be, it was a big relief that Oswell was not in the picture.
That said, it was not like there was nopetition at all. There were still many others who were bidding fiercely against him. Every time that they bid, they would raise the price quite high. Even Simon was starting to reach his limits.
[500,000,000]... he had already gone beyond the amount he set aside for the auction. If he went any further, it might affect his dungeon and even halt its growth.
Inside one of the VIP rooms¡
[That''s enough Bellial, we have already expended quite a bit of DP on other items. If you bid any higher, we might lose the showcase item to the subordinates of the other demon lords or those Demon Archdukes]
The Demon Lord of Envy who was about to raise the price once again put down his hands after a mental transmission sounded in his head. It was from his father, the Demon Archduke Gareth.
"Right, I''ll stop" Bellial stopped bidding.
Most of the demons sitting inside the VIP rooms and those subordinates sent by the Demon Lords came here for the showcase item of the auction which was guaranteed to be a treasure beyond a treasure. It would be unwise to spend any more DP lest they fall short of DP in the end.
Call it a stroke of luck or just fate, Simon who was desperately wishing for no counter bid, did not hear any offere even after a while. And therefore, the Lumynar was sold to him. it came for quite a price.
"Hahh¡"... As if a weight had been lifted off from his shoulders, he who was on edge flumped to his seat without any energy. Truly, the wealth of the demons on the VIP floor couldn''t be looked down upon.
Each of them must have already bought quite a few items and spent more than [1,000,000,000] DP already, yet they kept bidding for the item as fiercely as before.
Simon had a speechless space when he saw the following races that appeared on the stage were all bought by them.
"Master, are you alright?" Theodore and Maybell asked in concern.
"Yeah, I''m alright" Simon shed a tired smile. It was ironic that he hadn''t even moved from his seat yet he was he felt so exhausted already. This went to show the tension and the ferocity the auction hall was engulfed in.
Well, in the end, he was somehow able to get what he wanted. Now all he had to do was wait for the auction to end and then he go and check out the being he bought.
Simon enjoyed the following bidding war like an observer. After thest item was sold, it was finally time for the showcase item of this year''s auction to appear. The atmosphere inside the hall was so heavy that it was palpable.
"And now, esteemed guests¡ there is only one item remaining before the auction of the Damnedes to a close. However, this item is a spectacle of unprecedented magnitude and is far different from all the things and items that came before it".
"It is something that transcends the boundaries of understanding and stands at the precipice of power. Be warned, this item is not for the faint of the heart. Behold the showcase item for this year''s auction¡"
Grimvul words were like a chant that drew the attention of every demon in the hall. All eyes present went towards the tform that slowly rose from the ground.
Lept on top of it, inside those multipleyers of arrays and barriers was a bizarre and foreboding item that radiated an aura of malevolence. The object was arge ornate box made of dark unknown material that seems to move and shift in an otherworldy way.
The surface of the box was adorned with intricate engravings of some unknown bizarre beings and strange, pulsating veins ran along its sides. The artefact although strange and enigmatic, it possessed a weird temptation that immediately seized the attention of the crowd like a demonic grip.
A palpable sense of foreboding descended into the auction hall as soon as Grimvul released a few of the arrays binding the item.
-------
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Chapter 656 656- Pandoras Box
This sensation was a testament to the raw power of the item and the energy it holds yearning to be harnessed. Many of the demons who were unable to hold themselves back, stood up from their seat and peered inside the darkeness within the box.
Simon was the same, he stood up from his seat, leaned against the ss and observed the box. There, inside that space covered in darkness, he saw something deeply disturbing- A writhing mass of dark serpentine tendrils that seemed to have a life of its own was moving around and twisting almost like a macabre dance.
It had an enormous mouth and numerous jagged teeth that seemed like they could devour anything. Danger!! Simon''s senses rang alerts inside his head, the moment he saw that thing looking towards him.
Immediately, Simon shifted his eyes away feeling an immense sense of dread. He instinctively backed away from the ss and copsed on the ground breathing disorderly.
What was that thing that he saw? It was massive and it was devouring what looked like a. The thing appeared to be the very incarnation of destruction.
Seeing Simon fall down all of a sudden, Thedore and Maybell immediately came to his side to support him. Simr scenes was urring all around the chamber. Demon nobles were fainting on the ground after looking inside that box.
Compared to them Simon was on the fortunate side.
"ShiShiShi¡ distinguished guests, you have all seen what this box can do. It has the ability to grant the deepest desire of its master, I call it the Pandora''s Box. Immense riches, dominion over realms, unparalleled might, whatever your desire might be, this box has the ability to grant it".
"So let us start the bidding for this item which has no equal. The starting bid for the Pandora''s Box will be 1,000,000,000 DP".
With those words, the crowd immediately boiled over, 1,000,000,000 Dp¡ a sum like that, was by far out of league for most of the demons attending the auction.
Even for Demon Dukes, a sum like that was a huge chunk of their ie. Only the demons on the VIP floor had the qualification to bid for this showcase item that was said to have no equal. Hence a fierce bidding for the Pandora''s Box started.
.
.
After the auction ended, the demon nobles calmly waited in the lounge while they sent their subordinates to the side chamber to get the items their master purchased.
Simon along with Maybell and Theodore also headed there after the crowd lightened. Inside, Grimvul was watiting for him.
"ShiShiShi¡ if it''s not the demon who possesses the Fragment of Pride. It''s a pleasure doing business with you. Here is the thing you bid for, the Lumynar. An excellent choice if I must say"
The merchant handed him the container containing the tiny fellow and the contract to be its master. The contract was a high tier contract that even the blood contract he made with the Queen of Harpies, couldn''tpare with.
"Once youplete this contract, A special soul corridor will be created bringing the Lumynar to you" Grimvul exined delightedly counting the DP he earned.
Simon did as he was told and quicklypleted the contract. All he had to do was put a droplet of his blood into the contract and then an invisible energy was released that disappeared inside the body of Lumynar.
As soon as the contract was made, Simon felt a connection of sorts being formed between him and the Lumynar. Using this connection, he could evenmand the Lumynar if he wanted to.
After getting the thing that he purchased, Simon did not stick for long and quickly left the side chamber. The reason for that was of course the Lumynar. The thing that this fellow told him at the exhibition was bugging his mind the entire time.
"Maybell, create a sound nullification barrier around this ce"¡
"Yes"¡
Seeing that an invisible barrier that stopped all sounds from leaking out from the inside, form around them, did Simon open the container and let the tiny fellow out.
The Lumynar jumped out of the container and stretched its body.
"I bought you just like you wanted. Now tell me, how did you know about that?" Simon questioned. Theodore and Maybell too were curiously looking at this luminescent alien.
"It''s not ''you'', my name is Prime. You shall address me as such" the Lumynar finally responded, its tone was arrogant and lofty.
Simon was unfazed because he had already witnessed the other party''s manner of talking once before. However, for Theodore and Maybell it was a little shocking.
Theodore: "Waoh¡ this toy is really talking. I wonder how it is doing it? Ot doesn''t seem to have a mouth"¡
Maybell: "Brother, it''s not a toy".
"What did you say you brats? Just because you are Antediluvian Ancestors, you think that it gives you the right to look down on me?" The Lumynar introducing himself as Prime, jumped up and down in fury.
However, that only seemed to make Thedore even more curious. Just when the boy was about to pick the Lumynar and inspect it like it was some kind of rare insect, Maybell quickly stopped him.
"Why are you stopping me Maybell? This guy is running his mouth quite a bit, let me teach it a lesson"¡
"You can''t do that, master is still talking with it".
Seeing the twins argue among themselves, Simon gently chided to silence them before shifting his attention back to the Lumynar. His eyes seemed to be looking at the little fellow with even more interest.
The Lumynar was able to instantly identify the race of the twins whose status was blocked by multiple skills and items. Not only that, this fellow was also able to identify that he had made a spiritual connection with the Null Elemental. Hence the current situation.
"Hmph, I don''t understand your surprise. Didn''t that merchant exin to you all about my race during the auction? As the most intelligent and ancient race, it''s all too simple for me to see through all your secrets".
"I also know that you have the two fragments of that greater constetion. Furthermore, you also seemed to be harbouring a distorted destiny. The list goes on¡ its weird no matter how I see it. You seemed to be much more interesting than all the demons inside the auction. Hence I asked you to buy me"
Prime exined, its body glowing with an iridescent light that seemed to express that it was very proud of itself.
"So it was just because of that?" Simon asked, his face disappointed.
When Prime saw Simon''s disappointed face, the lighting out of its body turned red indicating fury. It pointed at him and shouted¡ª
"You?!! I just exined to you about myself, so why are you making that kind of fae instead of jumping around in joy?"¡
"Sigh... so you told me those words in the exhibition just because you didn''t want to end up at the hands of other demons? And here I thought you had something extremely important to tell me" Simon shook his head, his voice a little angry.
Why would he not? He had just spent arge sum of his DP to get this little fellow. All for what? Simon felt like he had been scammed and couldn''t help but regret not bidding for other items instead.
"You!! You dare to think that I am not a worthwhile investment? Kuhh, brat you have angered me" Lumynar were experts at detecting emotions as such Prime was instantly able to detect that Simon was regretting buying him.
"Hmph, let me tell you. It was your good fortune that you were able to get your hands on me. Other demons only got items that were so so. Dragonkins, Sylphs and a few other races were good, butpared to me their values might just be nothing" Prime made a sales pitch describing its own value and how it was the best thing in the auction.
"The only other thing that coulde close to my value is the Eye of Enigma. The rest is just so so" The light around the Lumynar turned iridescent once again.
"Really, you think that you are better than all the other items? Then tell me one good reason for me to have spent 500,000,000 DP on you" Simon questioned, a sceptical look on his face.
"Kuhh, you really seemed to be looking down on me. Fine, I''ll tell you, you stupid brat. Even amongst the members of my race, I was regarded as the greatest genius. My inventions and creations were revolutionary and far ahead that our civilisation so much so that the head council even gave me the name Prime".
"There is nothing in this world that I cannot create or repair... huff...huff... do you get it now you demon brat?" Due to getting too emotionally instigated, prime bbered on and soon became out of breath.
"Hoh" a light shed inside Simon''s deep crimson eyes "you don''t say. Then does that mean that you can repair items that are even [S] rank or above?".
"Hmph who do you think I am, its all just a child''s y for me. [S] or above doesn''t matter. As long as I have the necessary items and equipment, I can fix anything. Don''t you dare underestimate me brat. My knowledge and ability are something that you cannot put a price tag on. I''ll show you how incredible the race of Lumynars are" prime snorted.
Chapter 657 657- Ten Thousand Bones Mountain Range
After exining his worth to Simon, he snapped at Theodore who was poking him around as if he was some kind of toy.
"Hehe, master what should we do with him? I don''t think he will be able to survive even I give him the lowest ranking mark" Theodore grabbed the Lumynar and asked.
"Hey unhand me this instant".
Simon nced at Prime who wasining about being grabbed like a toy and deliberated. No matter what, now that he had purchased him, there was no option of returning it.
Rather than thinking that he wasted all of his DP on this fellow, it would be better to consider what it said and put him to use. It was not like the Lumynar he purchased was not genuine. If anything he was more sure that it was the real deal.
So if their race was really the genius that they im to be, Simon should be able to put him to good use. He asked Theodore to free Prime who immediately distanced himself from the twins and jumped into his shoulders.
"Hey demon brat, ask those two to stop manhandling me, I''m not some toy" Primeined.
"Don''t mind them, it''s just their way of getting friendly with you. Anyways, you told me earlier that if there was any item that had any real value, it was the Eye of Enigma?Then does that mean that you can tell which items are genuine or not?" Simon smiled and quickly changed the topic.
"Of course, I can. I have spent my entire life understanding the mysteries of the universe and finding the truth behind everything. Knowing if something is fake or not, is but a simple matter. Ask me anything, and I shall enlighten you, the ignorant one" Prime replied, making himselffortable on the demon''s shoulder.
"Hehh, for a race that does not have anybat abilities you sure like talking down on others" Simon shook his head before asking curiously "Does that mean that the eye of enigma was a genuine item?".
The Eye of Enigma was one of the items that he was he had his eyes on. However, due to being unable to tell if the item was genuine or not, he had to give up on the opportunity to acquire it.
That said, now that Prime brought it up, he couldn''t help but be curious.
"That''s right, it was the best item by far out of all the things I have seen in that exhibition. Why do you ask? Don''t tell me you wanted to purchase that item but you didn''t know whether it was real or not? Haa.. what an idiot?" Prime chuckled.
"I change my mind, Thedore, Maybell lets go and return this Lumynar and get my DP back" Saying that, Simon was just about to turn around when Prime hurriedly stopped.
"Wait.. wait.. wait, I was just kidding. There is no need to be so serious. I don''t want to go back to that hideous merchant; however, what I said is true, the eye of enigma was the real deal. You shouldn''t have missed out on that opportunity".
"Whose falt do you think it was that I was unable to purchase that item? If not because you said those words to me, I would have bid for that Eye of Enigma" Simon grumbled.
"Haha¡ well, you got me so everything turned all right in the end. Besides, none of those items cane close to my value" Prime argued. "Anyways, do you know who was the demon who bought that eye?".
Simon nodded his head recalling that it was the unconventionally dressed fatty who bought the Eye of Enigma.
"The Eye of Enigma is a sentient treasure, it epts only those who it recognises as its master. As such, you should keep an eye on that demon. Who knows if you are destined with it, the eye might just end up in your hands" Prime spoke in a mysterious way.
Simon was just about to ask what it meant, when he noticed his body was glowing. All of the demons present along with their subordinates, were teleported to a new ce where two enormous glowing teleport gates were waiting for them.
[The Auction of the Damned hase to an end. Distinguished guests, your enthusiasm and passion for the extraordinary truly filled my heart. I hope that you all were able to take back something with you from this auction].
[This merchant has nothing but gratitude for you all, it was a pleasure doing business with you all. Until we meet again]
Merchatn Grimvul''s voice suddenly echoed from a distant space.
[Ah, that''s right. I have prepared two teleport gates for you all. Currently, we are above the Ten Thousand Bones mountain range. The gate on your left will take you to that ce, while the gate on the right will roughly teleport you back to your dungeon].
[In a few minutes you all will be teleported to the Ten thousand bones mountain regardless if you didn''t make a choice].
After Grimvul was done exining, his voice stoppeding. With the auction of the damned now over, there was nothing left to do here. As such, the demon nobles started leaving using the teleport gates prepared for them.
Of course, because of the soon to be held Hexennacht, only a small number of demons left through the gate on the right while arge part still remained behind. Those demon that left either did not create their own dungeon, or were the subordinates of the other demons.
Simon was among the ones that remained behind. He had decided to attend the Hexennacht that was going to be held next. From what he learned about it from Oswell, the event seemed to be important.
As such, not attending would be a bad choice. Besides, he had never ventured towards the direction of the Demon Continent before this, it would be his first time. So a part of him was excited and wanted to attend the Hexennacht and experience it for himself.
With that in mind, Simon followed by Theodore and Maybell stepped towards the teleport gate on the left and disappeared.
.
.
Located in the central region of the Demon Continent, the Ten Thousand Bones mountain range is a prominent geographical area. It spans for thousands of miles, epassing rugged peaks, deep valleys, treacherous cliffs and houses many dungeons.
The name ''Ten Thousand Bones'' derives from the countless skeletal remains that litter the mountains, adding an eerie and foreboding atmosphere to the area.
The sky here was constantly shrouded in darkness, even during the daylight hours.
Whoosh¡with a sh of light, Simon''s body materialised somewhere within the Ten Thousand Bones mountain range. As he curiously looked around his surroundings, two more shes of light appeared beside him, it was Theodore and Maybell.
"Master where are we?" The twins asked blinking their eyes.
Simon opened his [Mental Map] skill and recalled the additional memories he inherited after he became a demon earl. However, even after all that, all he could recall was that this ce was somewhere within the Ten Thousand Bone Mountain range.
"Oswell said that the Asphodel Meadows is located in the southern region of the Demon Continent. Since we are currently around the central region, we need to head south" Simon pointed, he unfurled his wings and startef flying towards that direction.
The twins followed behind him. Being Antediluvian Ancestors, Theodore and Maybell each possessed three pairs of magnificent raven ck wings protruding from their back.
The wings were more than five meters big and gave them insane speed and flight ability. Even with Simon flying all out, they could effortlessly keep up with him.
"Hey demon brat, slow down a little. Are you trying to kill me?" Prime''s voice suddenly came from his right chest pocket. At some unknown point in time, the Lumynar hid inside his pocket.
"What?! How did you be so small?" Sinon asked in surprise. Prime was already tiny to begin with, however, he had be even tinier now.
"We Lumynar can freely control our size. From as small as an insect, we can go on to be as big as a mountain. You should get used to it" Prime replied nonchntly.
"I see, so what are you doing inside my pocket?"...
"isn''t it obvious, I''m hiding. Snort, you should be grateful to me, I''m hiding so as to save you from the trouble of being targeted by others".
Hearing the answer from this little fellow, Simon couldn''t help but shake his head. Rather than saving him the trouble, Prime just didn''t want to end up as a possession of some other demon and hence willingly took the initiative to hide.
Paying thetter no mind, Simon focused his attention on the direction in front of him. The Ten Thousand Bones Mountain Range was extremely vast. Everywhere youid your eyes, you will find skeletal remains sprawled on the ground, painting an eerie picture.
Thanks to the shrouding darkness devouring all lights from the outside, it was very easy to get lost here. However, thanks to the [mental map] skill, Simon had no problem navigating through the ce.
After flying at a breakneck speed for a while, they were soon able to spot some figures in the distance. These figures were also headed in the same direction as them. Needless to say, they were the demon nobles from the auction.
It appeared that they were all teleported to a random ce on the ten thousand bone mountain range and were now making their way their way over to the Asphodel Meadows.
When Simon spotted them, the other party too noticed him and his group. However, besides maintaining their caution, the other party did not try to start anything. They simply increased their speed and maintained their vignce.
Chapter 658 658- Ten Thousand Bones Mountain Range (2)
After a day or two of continuous flying, more and more demon nobles appeared on the horizon, all heading towards the same direction.
"It''s weird, I can''t spot any demon dukes around" Simon mused. The demon nobles flying all around him were either Demon Earls or Demon Marquesses. He couldn''t see any high ranking demons in the midst.
"Hey demon brat, look in the distance. The ones you are looking for, are inside those things" Prime spoke, his finger pointing up ahead.
The direction he was pointing at, was towards the dark clouds. Up above the sky, looming inside those clouds, was something huge that made a loud whirring noise as it flew.
When the thing finally came down, Simon was able to clearly see it. A huge airborne construct that spanned for hundreds of meters in length, soared through the skies with grace and power.
Its shape resembled a huge elongated arc or a gentle curve which allowed for maximum stability during flight. Equipped with all thetest aeronautical technology, the thing that looked like a blimp was none other than the Air Engine that Simon knew off.
However, unlike the ones he had seen in the kingdom of Ellesmere, the one in front of him was not only bigger in both size and grandeur, it was also more advanced.
Additionally, there was not only one or two Air Engines like that in the sky, but several of them. All of them made loud whirring noises like the rumbling of the thunder as they sped forward.
The sight of these majestic Air Engines gracing the sky, evoked a sense of wonder and awe as they filled this dark barrennd with their grandeur. Simon who was observing the Air Engines felt the powerful presence of the high ranking demon sitting inside them.
It appeared that the reason why he didn''t see any Demon Dukes around, was because they were heading for the southern region of the Demon Continent while flying in their personal Air Engines.
"Air engines huh, that''s quite useful"
Based on his iplete inherited memories, the Asphodel Meadows wasn''t very far away from the Ten Thousand Bones Mountain Range. That said, it was still more than a thousand kilometres from here.
Even if a distance like that was possible to cover by flying, they would end up extremely exhausted by the time they reach their destination. Simon couldn''t help but feel a tinge of envy as he saw those high ranking demon nobles flying in their cozy Air Engines.
An Air engine was not only fast, but it could also travelrge distances. Unless one knew the space magic, it was impossible to catch up to the speed of the Air Engine. If he also had one of those, he wouldn''t have to do something as cumbersome as fly all the way to the southern region.
"Let''s go" Simon didn''t stop to marvel at the Air engines for long, after he ascertained that he was headed in the right direction, he resumed his flight.
The next day, he saw another batch of Air Engines roar through the skies and head for the Asphodel Meadows. All of them carried the lofty Demon Dukes and their subordinate.
"Master look, that one is far bigger and cooler than all the other ones" Theodore who was gazing at the Air engines, pointed out with a fascinated look on his face.
The Air Engine he was pointing at, was huge. It was far more advanced and looked more like a mobile fortress than a blimp. It was so grand and majestic that it stuck out, like a whale among a school of fish.
For some reason, the huge mobile fortress that was soaring through the sky, suddenly slowed down and a figure descended down from it.
The figure observed the passing demons calmly before quickly locating its target.
"Are you Lord Simon?" The figure asked appearing in front of Simon. Thetter looked at their appearance and quickly realised that she was the subordinate of Oswell that he had seen in the auction.
Simon nodded his head in affirmation.
"I see then pleasee with me, Master Oswell is waiting for you" The subordinate led him and the twins inside the enormous mobile fortress where a chubby demon was waiting for them.
"Ah my friend, forgive me. Even though I told you we should head to the Hexennacht together, I didn''t expect the teleport gate to spawn us randomly. Also, it took me some time to call forth the Air Engine from my dungeon" Oswell apologised and gave Simon a proper hospitality.
"Don''t worry about it" Simon waved his hand dismissing the issue.
"Haha, I''m d that I found you" Oswell smiled before curiously ncing at the twins "Are those two your subordinates?".
"That''s right, they are like my family" Simon introduced Theodore and Maybell as he adoringly patted their heads.
Looking at the bond between Simon and his subordinates, Oswell smiled as spoke "As I thought so, you are a very peculiar demon, Simon. Most demons only view their subordinates as tools that follow theirmand. However, I can see that there is a mutual respect and love among you and your subordinates".
Simon blinked his eyes and looked at the twins. Tools? He never considered them that way. Nor them or any other subordinates of his. They were like his family always supporting his back.
"Aren''t you also the same?" he stated ncing at Oswell and the subordinate beside him. That awe filled look in her eyes and her mannerism told Simon how much she respected her master.
"Haha, you might be right, both of us are peculiar" Oswellughed before introducing his subordinate "She is Aisha, one of my loyal subordinates".
Aisha courteously bowed her head towards Simon and the twins.
"Ah that''s right, I have prepared a feast for you all. Why don''t we head there and fill our stomachs first" Leave it to the glutton, the first thing that came to his mind was food.
Though that said, after flying nonstop for three days, he was also starting to feel hungry. Of course, being a Demon Earl, he could go on for weeks or even months without food. However, the human part of his previous life still craved for food.
Plus, even if not for him he had to think for the twins, who were still children in body and mind. They needed to eat and drink plenty to grow. Since that was the case, Simon willingly epted the other party''s offer and followed them inside.
It needs to be mentioned that the Air Enigne not only provided afortable and rxing means of long distance travel, it was also decked out in luxury.
This Air Engine in particr, had an opulence of things, from spacious and elegant cabins to observation decks to even recreational areas. This mobile fortress had everything, it was filled with amenities that it would be doing it injustice to call it an Air engine any longer.
If anything, this ce was even more luxurious than a pce or an inn.
Oswell led them towards a spacious hall where a variety of food was kept on top of arge table in the middle. The delicious aroma wafting from the food filled the ce and increased one''s appetite.
"This Cheesecake Cake Fortress, has more than twenty one chefs working on it. So do not be shy and eat to your heart''s content¡ Haha" Oswell dered proudly.
Should he be amazed or not, Simon was at a loss. This glutton had twenty one chefs working just in this Air Engine alone, one had to wonder how much did he eat for there to be so many chefs to be present.
In the end, Simon could only smile bitterly and take his seat.
"That reminds me, Aisha bring them here. They must be hungry too" Oswell ordered suddenly remembering something.
Aisha dutifully nodded her head and quickly left toplete his orders. Looking at that prim and proper manner of her, Simon couldn''t help but get reminded of Ate who was also always serious about her maidly tasks.
There were other simrities between them like how the both of them wore spectacles and had that aura of a cool and intellectual beauty.
"Is that subordinate of yours from the spirit race?" Simon asked.
"That''s impressive for you to notice that. She is technically a half, a descendant of an ancient spirit. How did you find out that she was from the spirit race?" Oswell was surprised by Simon''s perceptiveness.
"Well, I also have a subordinate like her. She is full born spirit though. Your subordinate Aisha couldn''t help but remind me of her" Simon answered.
Even if Aisha was a half, she was technically a spirit as such it could be said that he was not wrong. Though an ancient spirit huh? Leaving aside the fact that she was a half, just the fact that she was the descendant of an ancient spirit made her rank [A] or above.
"So that was the case" Oswell nodded his head.
After a while, Aisha came back with a group in tow. When Simon looked at the group behind her, he immediately recognised them as the races that came up in the auction. The Sylphs, Gorgons and even the Halfling called the Tiefling was among the group.
"You sure bought quite a lot of them" Simon couldn''t help butment looking at the many races that Oswell had purchased in the auction.
"Well, money means nothing to me. As long as my subordinates are happy, I''m happy too" Oswell replied lightly.
"Thank you master for going along with my selfishness. I just couldn''t leave them alone after seeing them appear in the acution" Aisha bowed her head and thanked her master.
Chapter 659 659- Ten Thousand Bones Mountain Range (3)
It appeared that the reason why Oswell bought all those races was because of her.
Now that Simon carefully looked at them, he realised all of them were either the spirit race, a part of it or were a Halfling just like her.
"Don''t worry about it, I can easily earn all those DP back. Compared to that, I would say that I profited greatly this time by purchasing them" Oswell told Aisha not to pay any attention to that and ced his attention on the group behind her.
The three Sylph children that were all nervous and afraid when they were brought up in the auction were now rxed and tightly clinging to Aisha like a baby hen.
The two gorgons who had the body of a female and snakes for hair were also the same. Being a part of the spirit race, they feltfortable around her.
As for thest Tiefling, they were human with part demon ancestry. It was unknown what kind of demonic race this Tiefling descended from. However, he appeared extremely strong and skilled inbat.
All that said, all six of them were an extremely rare and mythical race that one cannot see in Althaea. As for their ranks, all of them were [A] ranks.
"I see that you guys have calmed down now. I shall discuss about your circumstances after we go back. For now, why don''t you all join me and eat something? You all must be hungry" Oswell put on a friendly face and gestured at the table he was sitting.
The Tiefling did not stand on ceremony, he immediately grabbed a sit and started voraciously devouring the food. The sylphs and gorgons looked a little hesitant. However, when Aisha beckoned them to go ahead, they too joined in albeit very nervously.
Simon who observed the entire proceeding was inwardly a little impressed. This glutton might act all unique and self-centered but when the time came, he easily acted the part as if he was a natural in it.
Simon was simply observing from the side yet he could feel the charisma and the aura of a leader, from him. He even learned a thing or two from thetter. As this was not a matter for him to butt in, Simon was silent. Though it didn''t mean that everyone around him was the same.
"Hey you, your body looks so ripped. What kind of food do you eat?" At some unknown point in time, Theodore stepped out from his seat and had joined the Tiefling.
"Huh?!" The Teifling grunted and simply focused on his food. But Theodore did not mind it, on the contrary, he was even more proactive in starting the conversation.
"Hehe, you see my goal is also to have a body like that when I grow up".
Seeing his subordinate behave all casual and friendly, Simon didn''t know what to say anymore.
Oswell also didn''t seem to mind and allowed everyone to have fun as they wanted. The silent table soon became boisterous.
"Ah that''s right Simon. Why don''t you take the Lumynar you bought from the auction out? That guy must be hungry too" Oswell remarked chewing down on his trademark drumstick.
"So you knew huh" Simon smiled and poked at his right chest pocket. A tiny humanoid with translucent body and pulsating patterns of light jumped out of his pocket andnded on the table.
"Hmph, brat you intend to feed me this? Is this what you all call food? This is all Yuck"
Prime made a repulsed face. He called the various delicacies on the table that would otherwise make a normal person salivate from the smell, yuck.
''This guy, he really did not know how to act as per the situation. To think that he would use his haughty tone even in here'' Simon wondered if he should keep the fellow back inside his pocket when...
"Hoho, you don''t like the food? Then tell me what kind of food do you prefer. All my chefs are top ss, there isn''t any dish that they cannot prepare"
Oswell did not mind the Lumynar''s attitude, on the contrary, he seemed to even want to entertain the other.
"Heh, brat you speak such big words. Alright, I''ll take you up on that offer. Let''s see if you can prepare it. The food that we the race of Lumynars eat, are liquidised minerals from the ores" Prime dered.
Oswell looked at Aisha who tacitly nodded her replying "No problems, I''ll tell the chefs to prepare it"¡
"That''s how it is. Haha, is there anyone who wants to eat anything else? You need not be shy when ites to food"¡
"Oh!! Me, I want a King Chocte Cream"..
"I want the same as brother".
On Oswell''s promation, the twins also joined in. They weren''t the only ones, after sensing the mood, even the previously reserved Sylphs and Gorgons also opened up. They all told him the food they want to eat.
"Sorry about that" Simon apologised. Prime was one thing, he didn''t expect the twins to jump in too on the bandwagon.
"You don''t have to apologise, I really meant what I said. I think that the food is one of the things that can connect and brings all of us closer. In fact, I believe that through food we will alle to understand each other one day".
"It might not be impossible to even unify the world. We might have our own differences and tastes but there is not a single being in this world that hates food. That is my maxim" Oswell spoke, there was a surprising seriousness on his face.
"You too, don''t be so reserved and order any food of your liking" He patted Simon''s shoulder.
''This demon was really peculiar'' Simon thought in his heart. He couldn''t tell if they were sincere or just fooling around. Unifying the world and understanding each other through food? This was the first time Simon heard something as foolish and ludicrous as that.
On the other side... "My deepest apologies but we do not know what a King Chocte Ice cream is" Aisha bowed her head. This ice cream was something that she was hearing for the first time.
"How can that be.. it''s that thing that is cold sweet and really really delicious" Theodore tried to exin but the ice cream was a foreign concept to the world of Althaea.
"Leave it at that Theodore, Maybell. I shall prepare the King Chocte Ice Cream that you want" Simon interjected between the enthusiastic twins and the troubled Aisha.
"Yay¡ master is the best"¡
"Master is number one"
Hearing that he will be taking out the king chocte ice cream, Theodore and Maybell started throwing praises towards him.
"Simon, what is this ice cream they speak of?" Of course, with the twins making such a fuss about it, there was no way Oswell wouldn''t be interested in it.
Simon opened the [Shop] and purchased a ton of ice cream for the whole group. Since the other party was going so far as to even prepare food of their liking, he ought to contribute something.
Thest time, he made Oswell try the coke which he became a huge fan of. This time, he will let him try another masterpiece from his world, the ice cream.
Simon took out arge box filled with small containers in the shape of a rectangle inside and handed one to everyone.
"Here everyone¡ try this". All of them looked at the container in their hand with puzzled eyes. The thing was releasing frosty air like a block of ice.
Is this what they called an Ice cream? Are they supposed to eat this, the rectangr box made of an unknown material? While Oswell and his entourage were confused, the twins opened their containers and started eating the contents within.
It was only after seeing the demonstration, did they understand that they needed to open the container to eat the contents within.
Sniff¡ Sniff¡ "This¡" Like a connoisseur of food, Oswell first sniffed the ice cream, before quickly digging in.
"W-What is this rich, smooth and refreshing taste? How can there be something so good? Simon give me one more" The glutton finished his share of ice cream in a few mouthfuls before demanding more.
He kept on emptying one container after another. When it came to food, this guy really did not hold back. He expected Oswell to react like that; however, what he didn''t expect was for Aisha to also notck behind her master.
Although her manner of eating was elegant, to be able to eat ten containers was an incredible feat on its own.
"Slow down, it''s not like the ice cream is going anywhere" Simon smiled helplessly and took out another box full of ice cream.
This time, even the Sylphs, Gorgons, the Teifling and the twins joined in as they asked for their third serving. The dining table quickly became a party where everyone opened up and conversed merrily.
Perhaps the words that Oswell said earlier about the food being able to bring people closer, might not entirely be false.
"Lord Simon, if it''s not too much to ask, can I take a few containers for the Chefs to try? I haven''t seen Masterpliment something so much. It got me thinking if we could replicate it, he can enjoy it after we go back to our home too".
Aisha approached Simon and made a courteous request. Seeing the solemnity on her face and her wholehearted desire to serve her master, Simon couldn''t reject her.
He nodded his head and allowed thetter to take a couple of ice creams for research. In any case, he could always buy these ice creams from his [Shop] option. However, others didn''t have this choice of option.
After the party was over and everyone had their fill, Simon and Oswell started discussing some serious stuff.
Chapter 660 660- Ten Thousand Bones Mountain Range (4)
Prime was with him enjoying his mineral shake while Aisha took the twins and the others with her on a tour of the Cheesecake Fortress.
"How long will it take us to reach our destination?" Simon asked looking at the dark barrennd filled with mountains of bones from the observation deck.
"At the pace we are going, we should arrive at the Asphodel Meadows at most within another day" Oswell answered sipping the c that Simon offered him.
"I see" Thetter nodded his head.
"Hey Simon, do you know about the history of the Ten Thousand Bone Mountain Range and how it became the way it is now?" Oswell who was also ncing at thendscape below suddenly started recounting a tale.
"It happened a long long time ago, during the second apex war. This ce was not always called the Ten thousand bone mountain range but it was named something else. The Myriad Hignds, that''s what the name of this ce was before the colossal battle that engulfed the whole world ensued".
"It was a conflict of unimaginable scale, an epic sh of ancient powers that forever left its mark on the various ces of the world. Out of all those ces, the Ten thousand Bones Mountain Range bore the most marks".
Simon listened intently as Oswell recounted the tales from back then. After he became a Demon Earl, Simon knew a little about this Apex War. It was the Human-Demon war of epic proportions.
Many ns, races and continents were embroiled in this war. One could still see the vestiges of the sh in various parts of the world. Simon didn''t expect the Ten Thousand Bone Mountian Range he was currently at, to also be one.
Oswell continued: "It is said that at that time, a mighty force emerged within humans that managed to unify almost all of the kingdoms and countries of the Central Continent. The name of that Empire has somehow been erased from the Historical Records. Other than a few ancient beings, no one even knows about it".
"What''s more, the origin of that empire, its location, everything about it is shrouded in mystery. You will not find a single trace that could clue you to it remaining in this world. I tried to investigate it but found no result".
"Anyways, fearing the growing power of the empire, the demon nobles raised their own forces. A horde so vast that it could even blot out the lighting from the sun. The two mighty forces fought in an endless struggle for dominance. Their conflict had raged across the realm for decades or even centuries with countless lives lost and entire civilisations ravaged".
"As the war escted to its climax, one of the sides started losing. It was the demons, the might of the Empire drove them back, towards the Ten Thousand Bone Mountain range, which then became the chosen battleground".
Oswell took a pause to gulp down the c in his hand before looking towards Simon with solemn eyes.
"Do you know why I''m telling you all this? It''s because I do not entirely trust these memories that I inherited. That''s right, I wasn''t born at that time. What I know about this war is from those memories".
"Anyways, let us get back to the topic. After the Empire drove the demons to the Ten Thousand Bone mountain range, the armies of the two sides shed here. The battle raged on for a long period of time, with magic and skills unleashed with unimaginable fury.
"The earth trembled, the sky darkened and the very fabric of reality strained under the strain of their conflict causing cataclysmic upheavals and unnatural phenomena. The power of thebatants was so immense that their very essence seeped into thend forever altering it".
"Mountains crumbled, valleys split open and rivers ran crimson with the blood of the fallen. The Myriad Hignds, once a majestic range, became a hauntingndscape of jagged peaks and treacherous cliffs, adorned with countless skeletal remains of those who perished in the battle".
"That''s how the Myriad Hignds came to be the Ten Thousand Bone Mountain range".
So that''s how it was, Simon nodded his head. Looking at thend below, he felt like he could see the gigantic battle that engulfed the entire world. The Ten Thousand Bone Mountain range stood as a reminder, a cautionary tale of the long forgotten war.
Simon understood this much; however, what baffled him was Oswell''s statement. What was there not to believe about it?
"You see there are a few things in those memories that do not make sense. Like that Empire, what happened to it and how did it disappear? I did some investigation and looked into some ancient records and ruins and through them, I was able to find out some deviations. Like that thing in the sky" Oswell suddenly pointed towards the sky.
"Although you cannot see it from here because of endless dark clouds, but if you fly to an extreme altitude that is impossible with flight skil and breach the obscuring clouds, you will see the thing it is hiding".
"A colossal spatial rift cutting across the sky like a scar. There was no mention of it in the memory or in the records. If it was formed during the battle, why was this information obscured? I find it very strange" At the end of his sentence, Oswell started mumbling to himself.
"Ah, forgive me if I bored you. Initially, I just wanted to tell you about the legend behind the Ten Thousand Bone mountain range. However, I deviated from the topic"¡
"Don''t worry about it, it was very informational" Simon replied shaking his hand. He got to learn something about the history of this world. Normally, he would onlye across information like that at a higher rank.
However, thanks to Oswell, he was even able to learn some of the mysteries of the world that were obscured.
"Though that said, I didn''t think that you would be interested in anything other than food" Simon couldn''t help but speak out his true thoughts.
Oswell didn''t seem to mind on the contrary he evenughed out loud "Haha, you got that right my friend. However, as someone who carries the fate and lives of many on his shoulders, there are some things in this world that I cannot veer my eyes away from. Whether I like it or not, I must do what needs to be done"
Oswell spoke with gravity, an aura of a leader emanated from him.
Hearing his words, Simon fell silent. It was not like he cannot rte to it. In fact, he was also in the same position. His dungeon, the life of his subordinates and the inhabitants living inside it. He carried all their fates on his shoulder and hence must act the part.
"Alright, enough with the serious talk. Right now, what I''m most curious about is where did you get all these amazing food items from. This c and even the ice cream we had earlier, is something that I have never ever heard of or seen before. Yet you possess so many of them. Are you a cook? Or do you know where they make them"
Oswell became enthusiastic all of a sudden causing Simon to be taken aback.
"About that¡" he cannot tell the other party that he was a reincarnator and that all these food items were from his previous world. Hence he could only vaguely answer with a lie to dodge the questioning.
"My subordinates¡ that right, they are incredible cooks".
Simon decided to go with that. In his mind, he had the figures of the Valkyries. It was not like what he said was aplete lie. The Valkyries aside from their battle prowess, were created to be top notch maids in mind.
They could easily replicate some of the food from his previous world.
"So that was the case" Oswell looked like he believed it as he continuously nodded his head. "Kuh, its regretful that I do not have a cook like that who can create these items. Hmm, maybe I should bring my chefs to your ce so that they can learn how to make these items from your subordinates".
Simon sighed in exasperation, this demon would go to any lengths for food.
"Ah, I forgot to ask it before, where is your dungeon located?" Oswell who was busy imagining his own things, suddenly posed a question.
His question caused Simon''s expression to change abruptly. He looked at the other party and deliberated what their intention was and whether he should reveal it to them or not.
Even though Oswell acted friendly towards him and there was a cordial rtionship between them, it hadn''t reached the point where Simonpletely trusted him. His encounters after reincarnating in this world weren''t very great and it made him all the more distrustful of others after he found out the truth behind the death of a loved one in his previous life.
Thanks to these encounters, Simon had difficulty trusting others. Unless they formed a contract with him or were his close subordinates, he was always on his guard against them.
"It''s located in the Ghastly Winding Forest," That said, he chose to reveal it to the other party.
In any case, Simon would have to reveal the location of his dungeon if he wanted to participate in this Hexennacht where only the demon nobles who created their own dungeon are allowed to attend.
At the rate his dungeon was growing, it would sooner ortere into notice of other demons, so why not introduce it now? Besides, from what he learned from the demon beside him, it looked like they discussed some important stuff at this gathering, not attending it was not an option.
Chapter 661 661- Complications Even Before The Event
What he didn''t expect though was for Oswell to react with surprise when he revealed the location of his dungeon.
"Did you say Ghastly Winding forest?"¡
"That''s right, is there something wrong?" Simon asked looking at Oswell.
Thetter blinked a couple of times before replying with some uncertainty "It''s not that something is wrong, it''s just that I didn''t think your dungeon would be in the Ghastly Winding Forest".
"Why is that?".
"How should I exin it¡ Do you remember how I said in the Hexennacht, we discuss topics like feuds and territories?" Seeing Simon nod, Oswell continued¡ª
"The race of demon nobles are very territorial, they would seek new territories to conquer and will never tolerate the presence of another demon setting up a dungeon near their territory unless it''s by their permission".
"They would fight if need be. Most of the time, the conflicts are non destructive and in the form of political and undercover schemes. However, sometimes when the conflict gets intense, it leads to a dungeon war and might engulf multiple dungeons if it''s an argument between two factions".
"To stop such conflicts from bing too ugly, every decade a Hexennacht is held where we decide on how to settle such feuds and territorial disputes".
Simon nodded his head at Oswell''s exnation. He could more or less understand till here. Being one himself, he could guess why the Demon Nobles fought for territory and why they did not tolerate the presence of another demon near their territory.
It was because ofpetition. If a demon noble conquers the territory of another demon noble, they would essentially remove anypetition that wasing from the other party''s dungeon. Thus making their dungeon the only one around to reap all the benefits.
It is after all a known fact that the more dungeons in a territory, the more distributed the benefit was. The benefit here referred to the adventurers who dived inside the dungeons and ultimately gave them DP.
Given this fact, a demon noble would go to any lengths to remove anypetition near their territory.
Oswell continued "Not all demon nobles create their own dungeon. There are even some high ranking demons in this world without their dungeon. However, in the society of the Demon Nobles, where one''s status is not only represented by their rank and power but also by their dungeon and how famous it was, those demon nobles are looked down upon".
"For example, if wepare two Demon Dukes, one with a dungeon and one without. Thetter''s status would always be below the former. This is also the reason why demon noblespete fiercely with each other to make their dungeon more famous and wage war to remove anypetitors. After all, who doesn''t want status?"
"The reason why I''m telling you all this is because you need to be careful. You might not know because you haven''t attended many events, but some of the high ranking demon nobles are fighting over to take im of the Ghastly Winding Forest".
"It was a topic that was brought over many times in thest few Hexennact and I believe it wille up again this time too"
After saying all that, Oswell nced at Simon. The meaning behind his nce was simple, the ce that the other demon nobles were intensely fighting and vying over, Simon had nonchntly squatted there and taken im of it.
If the demon nobles get to know about it, a conflict would be inevitable. Oswell was concerned about that.
Simon closed his eyes after the former was done with his exnation. It was only after a while, did he open them back. A light of resolution shed in his eyes.
If what Oswell said was true, then a fight was unavoidable. He didn''t expect the Ghastly Winding Forest, the ce he had set up his dungeon to be already vied up by other demon nobles.
Be that may, that was his territory now. There was no way he was going to let other demon nobles interfere in it. As such, he prepared himself mentally for the worst.
"Looks like you have made up your mind. Un, I like your current expression much more. What is done cannot be undone. The Ghastly Winding Forest is the ce where your dungeon is located, so it''s your territory now. You got to fight for it. That said, you do not have to be overly concerned. It''s not like there is no way out of this situation" Oswell reassured.
"What do you mean?"¡
.
.
The next day, the Air Engine finally arrived at the Asphodel Meadows located in the southern region of the Demon Continent. The Asphodel Meadows was a captivating and otherworldly location far different than the dark and deathly Ten Thousand Bone Mountain range.
The ce stretched out like an expansive tapestry of lush greenery, vibrant flowers, and gently swaying grass. The meadows are imbued with an otherworldly glow, casting a soft and radiant light that bathes the surroundings in an enchanting aura.
It is as if time stands still within these hallowed grounds, and a sense of peace permeates the air.
"This must be your first timeing to the Asphodel Meadows right?"
As the Air Engine started to descend near a clear space where all the other Air Engines are parked, Oswellmented arriving beside Simon who was observing thendscape below from the observation deck with a look of surprise.
His surprise was understandable after all, no one would expect a ce like this would exist in the Demon Continent which was said to be a barren and harshnd.
"Hehe, don''t get fooled. There is no such beautiful ce like this in the entire Demon Continent. These etherealndscapes, these mystical meadows that look like a ce of serenity and tranquillity, are all just an illusion woven within an illusion".
"The Asphodel Meadows is a ce where the boundaries between reality and illusion start intertwining. At first nce, these meadows appear as a tranquil haven, but beneath the surface lies a ghastly and perilous realm where danger lurks at every turn".
"The flourishing verdant foliage of exquisite flowers, these delicate petals that sway in harmony with a gentle breeze, releasing a rejuvenating fragrance, everything starts transforming as one ventures deeper".
Oswell exined with an odd expression. Although he did not say it out loud, but he too was once fooled by the scenery in front of him when he visited the Asphodel Meadows for the first time.
To think that everything in front of him was an illusion; Simon was inwardly a little shocked. He tried to use his Obstruce Demonic Eyes which had the ability to see through the truth behind certain things, but the result was all the same.
"It''s no use using your demonic eyes too. If you want to see the Asphodel meadows for what it is, you will have to dive inside the pond located at the centre of this ce. And only then will you be able to gaze at its true appearance. Coincidentally, we are also headed there" Oswell remarked, donning the air of an experienced guide.
After the Air Enginended near arge clearance, Simon and the others got down.
"As this is the domain of the Demon Lord of Envy, Air Engines are not allowed to fly over from this point on. We will have to proceed forward with our flight skill".
After Oswell left behind some instructions to the cabin crew, he and Aisha along with Simon and the twins unfurled their wings and proceeded towards the depth of the Asphodel Meadows.
There were other Air engines simrly parked here and their passengers, the demon dukes and their subordinates were also making their way towards the inner regions of this ne. Of course, being who they are, a few shes breaking out between the demon nobles here and there was unavoidable.
There was no meaning to the conflict, nor did the Demon Dukes themselves participated in it. They simply sent their subordinates to measure out the other party or just to kill their boredom.
It did not matter to them even if their subordinates died in the conflict, if thetter they could simply hire or summon more. As such, Simon and Oswell had seen quite a few fights break out on their way inside.
Some demon nobles also flew their way with the same intention. However, after seeing the size of their group, all of them changed their direction and targeted other smaller groups.
"It ruins my appetite seeing how these bastards use their subordinates. Even if they are their underlings and they can easily rece them, this is still going too far. Is the loyalty of their subordinates mean nothing to them" Oswell grumbled.
As someone who cared for his subordinates, the scene around him was sickening to say no less. Using their subordinates to kill their boredom, a thought like that would never appear to him.
It was not only him, Simon too was quite disturbed by the scene happening all around him. He couldn''t understand the twisted thinking of these demon dukes who did anything that they desired.
Perhaps that''s what a Demon Noble was and they were the odd ones among the lot. Whatever the case was, Simon didn''t want to stay here and get embroiled in this meaningless conflict.
He and the others increased their speed. As they ventured deeper into the Asphodel Meadows, they encountered breathtaking meandering streams, with crystal clear waters cascading over smooth stones.
These babbling brooks reflected the shimmering light of the meadows, creating a mesmerizing spectacle. The ce looked so perfect and exceptional that Simon had difficulty believing it was all just an illusion.
Chapter 662 662- Drow
Seeing his expression, Oswell couldn''t help but chuckle, he was reminded of his own time when he foolishly believed everything in front of his sight.
"Do you know what the adventurers of today call the Asphodel Meadows?".
Simon looked askance "What?".
Oswell gave a wicked smile that was very true to his race and answered "The pearl of the Demon Continent, that''s what they call it. They associate it with tranquil and peaceful, the only ce in the Demon continent where nature and magic intertwine, offering a sanctuary and tranquillity to those who seek it".
"Of course, the reality is far from what they think. You will also understand what I mean once we reach our destination, the Empty Lagoon".
Oswell had told him on their way that the Empty Lagoon was the name of the pond that was the only thing in this ce that reflected the truth of thisnd. Additionally, the pond was also their destination and the ce where the Hexennacht will be held.
"Oh! If it isn''t Oswell, what a coincidence meeting you here"
While Simon and the others were making their way towards the pond, a high pitched voice that had a touch of feminity, suddenly rang out.
Immediately afterwards, a couple of figures appeared in front, blocking their path. The group that stood in front of them, was led by a demon so fat that he looked almost like a ball. What''s more, he had heavy make up on and was dressed in such striking and ridiculous clothes that he stood out in a very unique way.
How could Simon forget who this demon was? The demon duke who became the centre of attention in the auction by bidding against the Demon Archdukes. The demon against whom even an idiot might look smart.
He was the genius who purchased all the garbage items that appeared in the auction. Apart from the Eye of Enigma which turned out to be a genuine article, this demon waspletely ripped off by the Merchant of the Damned. And now, he hade to attend the Hexennacht along with his two subordinates.
Simon wouldn''t have bat his eyes if it was any other demon noble appearing before him. However, this guy was after the twins at the auction and judging by the way he was lying in wait for them, this guy clearly didn''t have any good intentions.
"What coincidence? Cut the crap. Why did you block my path Famoon?" Oswell spoke in an annoyed tone. He didn''t have a very good rtionship with this Demon Duke.
"Haha, you misunderstand. I am not blocking your path. You are free to go, my business is with the guy beside you" The Demon Duke who was called as Famoon, pointed at Simon, his eyes did not hide his perverseness as they roamed around the twins.
"Zerul is he the Demon Earl that blocked your path thest time?" He looked towards one of the two subordinates beside him and asked.
"That''s right master, he is the very same demon that mocked you"
Zerul shed a disdainful smile as he looked at Simon. Because of thetter, he was unable toplete his master''s orders thus making him lose favour. As such, he bore some hatred towards Simon.
"Hoh!!" after hearing that the other party dared to mock him, Famoon made an amused face as he observed the Demon Earl even more closely.
"To think that a time woulde where even a lousy Demon Earl would mock me. It appears that it really is the case of not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth. Usually, I would have punished such behaviour until you begged for death".
"However, I''m in a very good mood right now so I''ll caution you not to do anything to off put it. Listen well young blood, I came here with a proposal. Nullify the contract you made with those two and hand them to me".
"Of course, I am not an unreasonable demon, I shall offer you [20,000,000] DP each for them. How about it? I am even offering twice the amount I offered youst time"
After making his proposal, Famoon stood in the sky with his hands behind his back. Although he said it was a proposal, this was no different than an order. The opposite party was just a Demon Earl after all, as such he did not need to put them in his eyes.
Usually, he would have acted more brutishly and directly snatched the twins away from the Demon Earl. However, as he said before, he was in a very good mood after purchasing all sorts of things from the auction.
Hence he was generous enough to even make an offer to the Demon Earl.
Famoon thought that the other party would dlytch on to his offer and willingly give the two children to him. But to his surprise, not only did the other party not take his offer, they even sighed in exasperation and cursed him out.
"You fucking jackass... I told you before too, but let me repeat it once again. They are my family and not for sale. If you get that, then buzz off you clown"
Simon spat ring at his opponent with his crimson eyes. He had done his best to avoid trouble but it came looking for him at the end. He knew that those words would piss off the Demon Duke and he would be unable to avoid making a scene here.
However, he had no choice. He cannot just allow the other party to climb on top of his head and do whatever they want.
"I guess it was a waste of time to discuss it with a lowly Demon Earl. I told you before didn''t I, not to piss me off? Since you refused my offer, I have no choice but to do things more crudely. Sigh¡ and here I was in such a good mood"
Famoon exaggeratedly shook his head and pointed at his subordinate "Zerul since this is your mess, you will be the one to clean up. Give the container of the Eye of Enigma to Salvas".
Since the Eye of Enigma was a sentient item, it couldn''t be stored in a space ring. As such, he had one of his subordinates hold it the entire time.
The Demon Earl named Zerul did as he was told, after passing the container to the other guy, he had just stepped forward towards Simon and his entourage, when¡
"This looks fun, why don''t I join in too"
Oswell stepped between Simon and the Demon Duke "Famoon let me check out how powerful your subordinate is. Aisha why don''t you teach this fellow a thing or two"
He nced at his subordinate Aisha who immediately understood his intention. Just as thetter was about to step forward and engage the enemy, Simon stopped them.
"I know, you are doing this as a show of goodwill. However, this is my fight. I cannot allow you to get into my mess".
Oswell looked like he had something to say but when he saw the smile of reassurance on his friend''s face, he chose to stay silent.
"Oswell, I don''t care if you are favoured by the demon lords or the other factions. In the end, you are someone who was born muchter than me. If you get it, then behave like one. Even if it''s you, I will not hold back".
Famoon threatened; however, he also understood that his threat meant nothing to Oswell. Thetter''s status and dungeon was much higher than his own. In terms of influence and power, in the demon society he could even match some ancient Demon Archdukes.
Famoon wanted to possess the twins; however, they weren''t worth enough fighting it over with Oswell. So when he saw Oswell backing down, Famoon was inwardly a little relieved.
On Simon''s side, Theodore insisted that he leave it to him.
"Master, just leave it to me. I want to teach this bastard who dared to grab the hands of my sister, a lesson that he will never forget. Plus, it just so happens that one of my kindred is itching to try her new powers".
Seeing the boy insist so much, Simon could only nod his head. "Who are you sending?" Even he was interested as to how much of the Va''s power those six have assimted with.
"Hehe, Drow it''s time for you to shine"¡
"Yes my master".
As if reacting to his own, a voice came from the void. Immediately, the shadows cast by the surrounding objects, started bending and twisting in a weird way.
The sky darkened and a bloody glow descended onto the ce. A figure emerged from the erged shadow of the boy.
Covered in a red ck piwafwi, light leather armour and footwear of the elven kind, the Dark Elf who was called as Drow appeared beside Theodore.
At this moment, she was kneeling on one knee with her head bowed towards the boy.
"It looks like assimtion with the power I have given you is going well. Though it seems it will still take you all a lot of time topletely absorb it. Nevertheless, your current strength should still be enough to handle the likes of that guy".
"Go drow, show them the power of a true vampire. Also, make sure he regretsying his hands on my sister"
With those words from Theodore, the Dark Elf raised her head. Immediately, two blood red pupils hiding underneath her ash grey hair, came into view.
Chapter 663 663- Drow (2)
These bloody pupils possessed a weird charm that made one unable to look away from them. When the Drow took a step forward, all the shadows seemed to have be agitated. They danced and slithered like a snake.
SHAA¡ what was even more strange was the disturbing noises that continuously came from the shadows like some kind of a chant.
"What is going on?" Zerul who had never faced a true vampire before, made a slightly confused face as he witnessed the strange phenomenon.
The mannerism in which the dark elf woman appeared and those blood red pupils, was giving him an ominous feeling for some reason. However, he didn''t have the time to ponder about it because the woman suddenly sprang into action and rushed towards him.
She manifested two daggers out of blood and came hacking at him with them.
"Hmph, you think such low level skills can even touch me?" Zerul mocked, he immediately conjured a few Tempest Scythes and hurled them towards the dark elf woman.
As a Demon Earl, his aptitude towards magic was extremely high. The Tempest Scythe that he conjured, was an advanced tier magic of the tempest attribute. Each of these scythes possessed an extreme sharpness that could easily slice through sturdy metals like ckgold and such.
Even Mythril would have a tough time stopping these scythes. As such, Zerul was very much assured that the Dark Elf woman wouldn''t be able to close the distance.
From what he could see, she was a closebatant. Compared to her, he who fought using long distance magic, had an edge over her as long as he maintained this distance.
As if to prove him right, the dark elf woman was forced to change her direction and dodge in the face of his magic.
"Hahaha¡ let''s see how well you can dance. After I kill you, it would be that demon''s turn" Zerul gave a loudugh and started conjuring tempest magic faster and faster.
Numerous tempest scythes with deadly sharpness targeted Drow, making it impossible for her to close the distance.
"Tch¡" After she deflected a tempest scythe with her blood daggers, Drow clicked her tongue and muttered something under her breath "Shadow Snare".
Immediately, the shadows in the surroundings started rippling just like a water in a pond and she dived into it, dodging all the iing attacks.
"What?! Where did she go?" Zerul rubbed his eyes in disbelief and looked all around him.
The dark elf woman disappeared too abruptly, hence he was unable to see how she did it. He could only look around for her trace and maintain his vignce. However, what he didn''t expect was for the dark elf woman to appear from under his shadow.
Oblivious to Zerul, his shadow started rippling and Drow materialised from beneath it.
STAB¡ the next second, a fierce pain assaulted his right hand and something dropped to the ground with a dull thud.
When Zerul turned his head towards the noise, to his horror he realised that the thing that dropped on the ground was none other than an arm. It was his arm which has been chopped off by the opponent.
"AAaaarggghhhh!!" Grabbing his shoulder which was dripping blood, Zerul gave a blood curdling wail and immediately unfurled his wings to gain some distance from the dark elf woman.
SLICE¡ SLICE¡ SLICE¡ Numerous tempest scythes like a storm of des, were manifested and besieged Drow from all sides. However, just like the previous time, she easily escaped the bombardment by diving inside the shadows.
This time, Zerul was clearly able to see how the woman had escaped his attacks. That said, being able to see it and respond to it in time was two different matters.
STAB¡ fierce pain assaulted him once again and to his surprise, he found two blood daggers deeply inserted into his shoulders.
Where did theye from? Zerul nced behind him and saw the dark elf woman disappearing inside a nearby shadow.
She appeared and disappeared within the shadows just like that and stabbed him in his blind spot every time she showed her face. Soon, Zerul''s back was decorated with numerous blood daggers inserted into him and he looked just like a porcupine.
"GUaaahhh!!!" in his anger, Zerul destroyed every object in his surrounding. However, how could anyone stop shadows from emerging?
Drow threw her daggers even from the tiniest shadow like an expert marksman and opened numerous holes on the demon.
"Dammit, stop fighting like a coward and face me up front" Unable to even catch a glimpse of his opponent, all Zerul could do was taunt her in frustration. If not for the Mana Armour protecting his vitals, he would have been lying dead by now from all the injuries.
Even the [Super Regeneration] of a Demon Earl was unable to keep up with the rate at which he was suffering an injury. If this went on for long, Zerul was sure that he would lose.
He had already lost favour from Famoon after thest time he failed to get the twins. If he lost this fight, he would be discarded by his master. In the demon society, the fate of a Demon Earl, who had been discarded by his master, was far worse than death.
Therefore Zerul couldn''t let this happen no matter what.
After that taunt from him, it was as if all the sound had disappeared from the world, the ce had turnedpletely silent. The shadow cast by a nearby tree in front of him rippled and the dark elf woman slowly emerged from it and stood in front of him.
To his surprise, the taunt had worked, his opponent was finally within his sight. This was his chance, Zerul willed his body, activated numerous augmenting skills and reached towards Drow as if he was trying to grab a doll.
Thanks to numerous skills buffing him up, Zerul''s body inted like a balloon. He became so huge that he looked like a small mountain. Compared to him, Drow appeared more like a delicate doll made of ss that would shatter just from a little force.
It was obvious that when it came to pure physical strength Zerul was far superior to the dark elf woman. That is, if you only look at it from the surface. The reality was far different from what the demon had imagined.
His burly hand which could easily enclose her entire body within it, was stopped by a small delicate hand. Yes, the delicate and fragile doll that looked like they would crumble at the slightest of force, easily stopped the attack of a demon dozens of times bigger than her.
Had it been any other dark elf, Zerul might have been able to overwhelm them. However, Drow was different. She was no longer an ordinary dark elf, but someone who was bestowed the power of a Va, and turned into a true vampire.
Forget about Zerul, if Drowpletely assimted with the power of Va within her, then even his master, the Demon Duke would be no match for her. It was for this reason that Drow did not even deem to dodge the attack.
She casually extended her hand and stopped those burly hands from touching her. She then gave it a slight twist and seamlessly bent it out of shape.
CRACK¡ there was a loud noise of bones cracking and in front of the stunned eyes of Zerul, hisst remaining hand was also broken by the dark elf.
"Aaaargghhh!!" Zerul dropped to the ground wailing. With one hand severed, one hand broken and numerous wounds on his body, he made a sorry sight.
A pool of blood quickly formed underneath him all the while, Drow silently observed him with her cold emotionless eyes. Suddenly, she opened her mouth and broke her silence for the first time.
"Get up, it''s time for round two. I still have many more skills and abilities I haven''t tried on you yet. This is the perfect opportunity, I want to get used to my powers as soon as possible. With this, I can finally get my revenge, so get up".
Her voice was icy and t as if what she was saying, wasn''t just some words, but orders.
What was she talking about? He had lost, shouldn''t she just kill him? instead of that, what was this woman going on about?
Confused, Zerul raised his head up only to realise that he was standing on his feet, all his wounds and injuries had healed. Even his arm that was severed had grown back. What''s more, all the devastation that had spread in the surrounding from their battle had returned back to normal.
No, it would be more appropriate to say that it was turned back to normal. His wounds, his right arm, the trees and the surroundings, everything was ced back to where it was in its original ce and condition as if someone had pushed the rewind button.
Even the ce he was standing currently at, was where the fight had initially started.
What was going on? How did everything change in a span of an instant?
Zerul looked all around him in askance. It was also now that he realised that everyone was gone. There was no one here other than them. Because he was too focused on their fight earlier, he failed to realise that something was wrong with the world they were in.
What was wrong? He didn''t know. All he knew was that he was being toyed with from the start.
Chapter 664 664- Stealing
From the beginning, Zerul wasn''t an opponent for Drow, she was just using him as a target to practice her abilities and skill. Every time that they fought, she would try something different and just when he would be hovering around the brink of death, she would bring him back to normal.
Like this, the fight repeated again and again like a loop until Zerul''s mind and spirit werepletely crushed.
.
.
Outside, the onlookers were startled to see Zerul bing unmoving right at the start of the battle. He remained like this for a while before his body suddenly shook and limply fell on the ground unconscious.
"What is going on Zerul? What kind of joke is this? Get up and fight"
Over on the side of the Demon Duke, Famoon roared in rage. He looked at his subordinate who had suddenly fallen down even without suffering any damage and cursed out loud.
"Tch useless piece of shit. You can''t even execute a single order given to you properly".
On Simon''s side, Oswell was greatly surprised by the event too "What just happened?".
"I believe it was the work of [Mind Inducement] and other skills in the mix. That demon was immediately charmed and brought inside a world of illusion right at the start of the battle".
"An intense battle might have broken inside the mind of that demon that caused him to be unconscious. It might have been just a few seconds for us, but for them quite some time must have passed" Aisha analysed narrowing her eyes.
"What?!" the shock in Oswell''s eyes deepened when he heard Aisha''s exnation. He looked at the dark elf woman and couldn''t help but ask "To be able to dominate her opponent''s mind instantly and put them in a world of illusion without them being aware of it, what terrifying ability. Is she really a dark elf?".
Aisha did not answer immediately, instead, she observed Drow with those mysterious eyes of hers before arching her brows in a frown.
"I see now" She muttered in a low tone and added. "She is a dark elf no doubt. However, there is a great power lying dormant within her. That power is extremely mighty and gives more of a dark and cold feeling".
"If I have to guess it, that woman has been turned into a vampire and that too not an ordinary one, but a very high ranking one".
Aisha straightened her sses and the mysterious light shing in her eyes immediately disappeared.
"A high ranking vampire huh. Are you able to appraise her level and rank?" Oswell questioned from the side.
At first, he thought that he would have to intervene. However, looking at the situation once again, there was no need for him to step in.
Aisha shook her head in response to his question "I am unable to appraise her rank. However, based on the mighty power I sensed within her, I would say that her rank is the same as mine. As for her level, she is far from reaching the peak of her rank".
Although she hid it well, there were still traces of surprise within those calm eyes of hers.
"A dormant power huh? Well, everyone has their own secrets, it''s not like she is the only one like that. I''m sure that once youpletely awaken that ancient bloodline of yours, you will be able to step into the [S] rank very soon".
Oswell added raising his subordinate''s morale. He then shifted his eyes towards Famoon and taunted thetter with a gloating smile.
"What''s wrong Famoon? Did your subordinate get so scared that he fainted at the start? Haha, talk about throwing away one''s face. Now what? Are you going to send that other subordinate of yours?".
"Hmph, don''t get so full of yourself. What they defeated just now was a trash who can''t even follow a single order".
Famoon snorted, he then conjured infernal mes on his right hand and in front of the stunned eyes of all the onlookers, he burned his subordinate to ashes.
In front of the might of the golden mes that carried a terrifying amount of heat, Zerul''s body disintegrated in a couple of minutes. All that remained in his stead, was a ck scorched earth releasing white smoke.
Seeing the ruthless actions of the demon duke towards his own subordinate, Simon and Oswell were deeply disgusted. The former had just killed their subordinate as if they were burning a garbage and not a Demon Earl.
Even if Zerul had failed to execute his orders, he was nheless loyal to Famoon. They did not deserve such an ending, especially from the object of their devotion.
After killing Zerul, there was not even an ounce of remorse on the demon duke''s face, only a smile of tion and contempt.
"Why are you all looking at me like that, I just cleansed this world of one trash" Famoon nonchntly shrugged his shoulders feeling everyone''s gaze on him. After that, he pointed towards Simon and stated¡ª
"Anyways, you are next Demon Earl. I was in a pretty good mood earlier, but you spoiled itpletely. Now I will not only take everything that you have, but I will also make sure you regret making enemies with me until your veryst seconds".
Saying that, Famoon stepped forward. In an instant, he covered arge distance and was already in front of Drow.
Thetter immediately drew out her blood daggers and lunged forward; however, before her des could even reach the opponent, she was blown back just from the aura released by the Demon Duke.
Drow''s body flew back like a cannonball, she was just about to crash into the surrounding trees and mountains, when suddenly her momentum was halted and she was pulled towards Theodore.
Thetter retracted his hands and made his subordinate gentlynd beside him.
"Master, I am.." Drow bowed her head in shame, she was just about to apologise for her defeat when Theodore cut her in between.
"That''s alright. Your assimtion rate with the power of a Va, has not even reached ten per cent yet. That fatty is still beyond you. Return back and continue absorbing the power inside you".
"Yes," Drow obediently nodded her head and returned back to the shadow realm.
"Hehh, that''s quite a unique power that you have boy. Is it perhaps a mutation magic?" Famoon asked intrigued by the way Drow appeared and disappeared inside the shadows.
"That''s none of your concern. Come I''ll be the one to take you on, let''s see how powerful you are" Theodore beckoned with his hands in response to the Demon Duke.
"Hehe, I like your attitude. Once I take im of you two, I will make sure to thoroughly educate you both" Famoonughed, with a twisted expression on his face.
He stepped forward once again and was just about to teleport past Theodore and towards where Simon was, when the space around him rippled, bing solid just like a wall.
BAM¡ Famoon crashed into that wall face first and was forced to take a couple of steps back.
Immediately afterwards, he clenched his nose and red towards Oswell who had his hands extended in front of him at this moment.
"It looks like you really are ignoring my presence. Who do you think you are Famoon to act so arrogantly in front of me?" Oswell spoke solemnly. He retracted his hands and the pressure of a high ranking demon, was instantly released from his body.
"As I thought, he really was a Demon Duke" Simon stated, that pressure, that aura, there was no mistaking it. It could onlye from a high ranking Demon Duke. Simon had more or less guessed Oswell''s rank as such, he wasn''t that surprised.
"Oswell, this has nothing to do with you. It will be better for both of us if you didn''t stick your nose where it doesn''t belong" Famoon bellowed, the fats around his face trembled with his words.
"I will... stick my nose. This demon here is my friend and as such, if anybody tries to harm him, they are my enemy too. So If you want to get to him, then you must first check with me if I agree or not".
As thest of his words fell, Oswell teleported in front of Theodore who was ready to duke it out with the Demon Duke. He patted the shoulder of the little boy and teleported him back beside his master.
"This¡" Seeing Oswell trying to stand up for him, Simon wanted to say that he got this, but Aisha interjected in between.
"Lord Simon, please leave it to Master Oswell. He knows what he is doing. Besides, he truly sees you as a friend and wants to deepen his friendship with you. This is the first time Master has made a friend and I believe in his decision too"
Aisha bowed her head as she spoke. There was no worry in her eyes, only absolute confidence and faith in her master.
Simon didn''t know what Oswell was nning; however, he left dealing with the demon duke to him. In any case, it was still too soon for him to show his cards and revealing the strength of the twins at this point will only impede his future ns.
As such, it was best for Oswell to deal with Famoon. Both of them were Demon Dukes so there shouldn''t be anyplications arriving.
With the Demon Duke taken care of, there was only thest of the two subordinates of his left.
Chapter 665 665- Stealing (2)
Simon activated his appraisal and nced at Famoon''s subordinate. The result that he got was as such¡ª
Name- Salvas
Race- Battle Troll
Rank- [B]
Level- 621,
Skills- Ultra Enhanced Strenght, Ultra Enhanced endurance, High Speed Regeneration, Poison Resistance, Body Enhancement, me Magic Resistance, Gale Magic Resistance. Brute Strenght, Raging Fury, Unyielding Resilience, Thunderous Roar, Earth Quake Stomp, Armour Break, Boulder Throw, Thick Hide, Axe Mastery, Unrelenting Assault, Crushing Grasp...
This subordinate named Salvas, was stronger than the Demon Earl Zerul and being from the race of Batlle Trolls, he possessed very highbat abilities.
Simon reckoned that even a party of level 600 adventurers would have some trouble dealing with a high level battle troll like him. Be that may, what attracted Simon''s attention was not their level or their race, but the container in their hand.
The Battle Troll named Salvas was holding the Eye of Enigma that was sold in the auction. ording to Prime, it was the actual article and one of the most precious items sold there.
Since he was concerned about the authenticity of the item, he gave up bidding for it. However, the eye turned out to be the real deal.
"The Eye of Enigma is a sentient item, it chooses its own master. You should keep an eye on the item, who knew if you are destined with it, the eye may end up in your hands" At this moment, Simon suddenly recalled the mysterious words that Prime spoke at that time.
Looking at the Eye of Enigma once again, Simon couldn''t help but want to believe those words.
For good or for worse, the Demon Duke appeared in front of him and he also brought the Eye of Enigma with him. Simon didn''t know if he was destined with it or not, but there was no way he would let this chance slip away from him.
This was his one and only opportunity to get his hands on the Eye of Enigma. As for offending the Demon Duke¡ there was no need to think about this matter anymore. In any case, the other party came to him with the intention of taking the twins away from him.
Therefore, they shouldn''t have anyone to me other than themselves if they got robbed of something instead.
Deciding so, Simon looked at Theodore who was eager to dive into the battle and gave thetter a simplemand.
"Hehe, leave it to me master" Theodore thumped his chest and dered confidently. He then swiftly rushed towards the battle troll with a speed that was a hundred times faster than the speed of sound and punched thetter squarely in the guts.
The poor troll, it was unable to even sense Theodore and was sent flying like an artillery fired from a cannon. It flew for quite a few distances and after crashing into the surrounding trees and getting embedded into a mountain, did the troll''s body finally came to a stop. Thereafter, the trolly there motionless in a pool of its own blood.
The Battle Troll was knocked unconscious in one hit.
"Got it" Theodore who sent the troll flying, caught the container that slipped out of their hands. The boy observed the item that his master wanted, before taking it to them.
On the other side, Oswell and Famoon were locked in a standstill. Neither of them moved, they simply stood in front of each other and barred the other from doing anything.
Both of them were Demon Dukes with a very high status. Not to mention, they each possessed arge force behind them. If the two of them really fought it out here, they would cause quite a bigmotion.
Additionally, this was the domain of the Demon Lord of Envy. As such, it would be extremely unwise of them to fight here.
Oswell knew that Famoon wouldn''t dare to make a move with him as his opponent and that is why, he stepped forward without a thought to stop the other party. That said, he was getting tired of the re Famoon was directing at him.
He who was aware of the other party''s hobbies and taste felt a chill run down his spine every time those eyes nced at him.
"Can you stop with that, it''s really giving me the creeps. Just to let you know, I''m straight and my ideal types are well endowed women like Miss Lilith" Oswell goofed about.
"Shut up, I have no interest in a fatty like you" Famoon snapped giving Oswell a death stare.
"Haha, it''s funny you calling me fatty. Compared to you, one might even call me slim. If I''m fat, then you are a ball, a ball of obesity¡pftt" Oswell startedughing at the end of his own sentence.
"You!!ugh all you want right now, I''ll make you regret all thister¡" Famoon snapped back like a wounded beast. He was just about to start a second round of argument with Oswell when from the corner of his eyes, he noticed his subordinate Salvas being blown back and the Eye of Enigma being snatched by the opponent.
"This¡ give it back you brat" Famoon moved to stop Theodore from taking away the prized item he bought from the auction. However, he was stopped by Oswell who blocked his once again.
"Move Oswell, can''t you see those people are stealing my item? Are you still going to defend them?" Famoon pointed at Simon and his group and asked in rage.
"Why are you getting so agitated for? Didn''t youe here with the same intention? Now that the target stole something from you instead, you are suddenly acting like a victim. You had thising, so stop with your act, it''s disgusting"
However, Oswell made a repulsed face and simply exemplified the irony in Famoon''s words.
Thetter was extremely frustrated and angry over the fact of losing the Eye of Enigma in an attempt to get the twins.
When was it that a Demon Duke like him failed to get something that he desired? What''s more, to even suffer a loss in the process? This suffocating feeling inside his heart, was very foreign and threatened to burst out of him.
However, Famoon could only swallow his bitterness for the time being. He knew that as long as Oswell was near the Demon Earl, he couldn''t do anything to thetter.
As if to prove him right, he could tell from Oswell''s eyes that were saying ''Don''t even think about it''.
In the end, Famoon could only snarl in frustration, re at Simon and the others who snatched his item before dropping some ominous words and leaving.
"Oh, that''s right. When you check the items you bought from the auctionter, do give me your opinion" Oswellmented looking at his departing back.
The other party would no doubt vomit blood once they realise that everything that bought was all garbage, they werepletely scammed by Grimvul. The only item that had any worth was also snatched by Simon.
At that time, Oswell''s words would definitely madden them until smoke startsing from their head.
After Famoon left, the area descended into silence once again. Of course, there were still the rumbling sounds of fights erupting in the distance. Nevertheless, with Famoon gone, there was no one to make things difficult for them.
The group gathered together and observed the container in Theodore''s hand.
"Hahaha, Simon I didn''t know you had such a cynical side to you. To think that you would rob Famoon who came to rob you instead¡ it''s so hrious that I can''t stopughing" Oswellughed, shing Simon a thumbs up.
Other demons wouldn''t even dare to speak against a high ranking demon like Famoon. However, Simon had not only mocked them, but even robbed them of their item.
"So the Eye of Enigma ultimatelynded in your hands huh? In the auction, I couldn''t say it with certainty but seeing how it came to you, I can now say for sure that the Eye of Enigma is a genuine sentient item".
Just like Simon, Oswell and the other high ranking demons too had given up on bidding for the Eye for the very same reason. They weren''t sure if the Eye of Enigma was a genuine article just from its outward appearance.
And they sure as hell cannot believe the words of the Damner Merchant. In the end, it all relied on the ones who were willing or unwilling to take the risk.
It wasn''t about the price of the item than it was about their reputation. 65,000,000 DP¡ For many of the high ranking demon nobles, this sum wasn''t considered much. In fact, had they really bid for the item the price would have sky rocketed to hundreds of millions and might even reach a few billion DP.
Nevertheless, they did not do so because their reputation was much more precious to them. There had been many precedents before where a high ranking demon bought an item he thought was genuine for arge sum of DP only for it to end up a garbage in the end.
The DP spent on the item wasn''t as much of a problem as it was their reputation which had taken a hit.
DP could always be recovered after a certain period of time. However, the same couldn''t be said for their reputation. In the demon society where the demon nobles cared very much for their status, getting swindled by Grimvul in front of the whole demonkind, was a blotch that one cannot wash away even after hundreds of years.
They would be made fun of by other demon peers in every event and reduced to aughing stock.
Chapter 666 666- Master Of The Eye
This is the main reason why not many high ranking demons are willing to take risks by bidding for items like the Eye of Enigma whose value is incredibly difficult to assess.
What''s more, the shady way the merchant had introduced the eye, they had all the more reason not to bid. Oswell too had simr thoughts; however, when he saw the Eye of Enigma end up from Famoon to Simon as if the item was choosing its master, he couldn''t help but believe that it was a genuine article.
Though that said, Oswell had no intentions for the item. Since the Eye of Enigma ended up in Simon''s hand, he believed that the item had chosen him.
"Master, here" Theodore passed the Eye of Enigma to Simon.
Looking at the container that had the mysterious Eye of Enigma, Simon''s heart started pounding in anticipation. As he gingerly extended his hands, he couldn''t help but wonder if the Eye of Enigma had really chosen him as his master.
Simon reached out and held the container, his fingertips brushed the smooth surface of the ss prison. As he looked at the eye floating inside, he couldn''t help but inadvertently get drawn towards it.
The eye looked so enigmatic, so mysterious, like a piece of art that it was hard for him to look away. Simon was observing the eye in a trance when suddenly he noticed the eye move.
It turned towards him and reflected his countenance on its pupil. Immediately afterwards, a mysterious energy started leaking out of the container andtched onto his hands.
A jolt shot up his arms causing him to recoil momentarily. Shocked, Simon immediately snapped out of his trance. He instinctively tried to move his hand away from the container; however, to his surprise, he realised that his hands were not following hismands.
It was as if they got frozen the moment they came in contact with the container. It was not only his hands but his entire body was frozen still, leaving only his mind to work as usual.
What was going on? Simon turned his eyes towards the people around him only to realise that they too were frozen still just like him. The breeze, the swaying of the grass, the falling leaves, everything hade to a halt around him as if the time itself hade to a stop.
What was going on? Simon didn''t know. However, what he was clear about was that it was definitely the doing of the Eye of Enigma.
Simon shifted his attention back to the eye floating inside the container. At this moment, the mysterious energy that hadtched onto his hands, was now coursing through his entire body, rushing through every corner and cell of his in search of something.
This continued for a while before there was a sudden resonance between the fragments of pride lying deep within him and the Eye of Enigma.
The resonance started intensifying, reverberating through the vast expanse of this space and causing the very ground under Simon''s feet to tremble. Beads of perspiration formed on his forehead, his heart raced and his grip on the container tightened, the muscle in his arms straining against the mounting force.
He could feel the eye yearning for him, beckoning him to release it out of its containment. The thing inside was no mere artefact; it was an entity unto itself, alive with power and purpose.
The fact that it resonated with him and was beckoning him, did it mean that it had chosen him as its master? Simon steeled himself with an unyielding determination for what was toe next and destroyed the container.
With a sudden, explosive burst, the container shattered into a thousand fragments, casting shards of ss in all directions. A blinding light erupted from within, engulfing Simon in its brilliance.
As he instinctively closed his eyes, he suddenly felt a searing pain in his left eye socket causing him to let out a guttural cry of agony.
Something had pierced his left eye and was now trying to tunnel through. The pain was unlike anything he had experienced before, it was so excruciating, radiating through every fibre of his being.
It felt as if a thousand fiery needles had pierced his flesh, tearing apart his senses and leaving him screaming and gasping for air.
.
.
Outside his time space, where everything was moving normally, the group around Simon was shocked by his sudden screams.
"Master!!" Concerned, Theodore and Maybell called out to Simon. However, he did not respond as if he couldn''t perceive them. His body seemed to have been frozen mysteriously and droplets of blood trickled down from his closed left eye.
What just happened? In one moment, he just held the container and the next second he was letting out deep cries of agony. Why did the bloode out of his eyes? Who attacked him?
Just as the group was getting anxious as to what was going on with Simon, Prime who was hiding inside Simon''s pocket, suddenly jumped out.
"There is no need to fret. This brat was chosen by the Eye of Enigma and is now currently experiencing what is called the ''Temporal Stasis''. I''m sure that in his time space, everything around him is frozen still thus the reason why he is unable to perceive us".
"This moment is extremely important for him as it is rted to his twisted destiny, so do not disturb him during this timeframe" Prime exined.
The group finally calmed down after they were told that it was the doing of the eye. However, when they looked at the container, they couldn''t feel anything out of the ordinary. The container was still intact and the eye was floating inside it as usual.
.
.
Back inside his time space, Simon was currently enduring an excruciating amount of pain. His body trembled with anguish and a vision with a kaleidoscope of vibrant colours and swirling patterns, swam inside his head.
Simon heard a voice sound inside him [The Eye of Enigma reveals itself in front of you. The Primordial Eye, Celestial Ocris has chosen you as its master].
Right after that voice, the vision in front of him started bing clear. Simon found himself standing at the foot of a once-mighty tower that stretched towards the heavens.
It was a colossal structure, now reduced to crumbling ruins and echoing with the whispers of forgotten glory. The tower''s spires, once reaching for the sky, now drooped with weariness, a solemn reminder of the passage of time.
In the vision, eight shadows stood near the tower, their forms cast against the backdrop of twilight. They emanated an aura of ancient power, each possessing a distinct silhouette that hinted at their unique identities.
Some stood tall and imposing, while others appeared graceful and elusive.
"This is¡" With eyes wide open in surprise, Simon recalled that the vision in front of him was the very same dream he had about a year ago, during Cecilia''s birthday.
Something that he thought was just a passing dream, why did it appear in front of him in the form of a vision once again? Baffled, Simon looked around.
Just like in that dream, the Eight Shadows were locked in a fierce battle with two shadows, their powers colliding with a cataclysmic force overturning the very heaven and earth and causing unnatural phenomena to ur.
Amongst these eight shadows, Simon''s gaze was drawn towards one of the figures that was very much familiar to him. It was none other than the adult looking Cecilia, the Forest Spring Royal Spirit.
Those emerald green hair, fairy like beautiful face, those mystical speckles of light that always followed her. The two figures resembled one another so much that Simon couldn''t help but associate them together.
He had his own conjecture as to who she was; however, his attention wasn''t on her this time, rather it was on the distinct silhouette next to her.
Standing regally among the group, was a diminutive figure no taller than a fairy. With gossamer wings that glimmered in the fading light, it radiated an ethereal beauty that contrasted with the destion surrounding the tower.
The tiny figure wore a crown upon its head, resembling that of a fairy king, marking it as a being of authority and reverence.
Just as Simon tried to observe the figure more closely, the vision became tumultuous. A gigantic eye opened in the sky and stared at him. That eye that looked like it existed since the beginning of time, was the eye of enigma or in other words, the Celestial Ocirs.
As soon as the eye appeared in the sky, the vision dissipated in the recesses of his mind leaving him disoriented and breathless. The pain began to subside and Simon found that he was finally able to move his body once again.
He lowered his trembling hand and looked upon the scene before him. The Eye of Enigma, no longer confined, had embedded itself deep within his left eye socket, its mystical gaze locked with his own.
The eye that once belonged to him had been reced by the pulsating, mysterious eye called the Celestial Ocris.
Simon extended his hands and touched his left eye. Weirdly enough, he did not feel any difort from it anymore. On the contrary, he felt warmth from his newly acquired eye.
His vision, once clouded by agony, sharpened with an uncanny rity, allowing him to see the world in a different, more profound light. The eye had chosen him, he had forever be bound to its enigma, linked to its inscrutable power.
Chapter 667 667- Invitations From The Various Factions
Just as Simon wondered what the Celestial Ocirs wanted from him and why did it show him that vision, he felt his clothes being tugged and saw the twins looking at him in concern. The time was starting to flow normally once again.
"Master, are you alright? It looked like you were in immense pain?" the twins asked.
"My friend, are you alright?" It was not only the twins even Oswell and his subordinate Aisha, were ncing at him with worry.
Simon nodded his head and spoke a few words to disperse their concerns "Yeah, I''m alright now. I''m sorry for worrying you all".
"You don''t have to say sorry, we are just d that you are alright" Oswellughed patting Simon''s shoulder. The group started bing merry once again when Prime interjected in between.
"Brat how is your eye? Do you feel anything unusual?".
"This¡" Simon thought for a while before deciding to keep the vision he had, a secret from everyone. "Its fine, it would take a little time to get used to the new eye. However, other than that, there seems to be nothing unusual".
He did not lie, in fact, the left eye felt no different than his original eye. Apart from it feeling a little foreign, the left eye was no different than an ordinary eye.
"I see¡" Prime seemed to have realised something and did not press further. He simply jumped back inside Simon''s pocket leaving behind a few words of his.
"Although I''m sure you are already aware of it, but brat be careful from now on. You now possess one of the items that existed since the dawn of time and to top it off, the colour and patterns on your left eye are very unique and unfathomable. I''m sure many demons will inadvertently get drawn to it. Never let them know what eye it is".
The words that Prime spoke, was low enough for only the two of them to hear.
Simon nced at his pocket, this guy seemed to be quite knowledgeable about the eye. Well given thetter''s advanced intelligence and the fact that they were the ones to tell him the eye was a genuine article, it was not surprising.
Still, the words that Prime said about the eye being an item that existed since the dawn of time, really intrigued him. Simon nned to learn more about it from himter. For now, he decided to focus on what''s ahead.
The group after resting for a bit, resumed their journey through the Asphodel Meadows and after travelling for five days, they finally reached the ce of their destination.
Simon and the others might have arrived here sooner had they flown here straight. However, they chose to take rests in between and slowly make their way. Hence when they arrived at their destination, most of the demons who weregging behind them, had already arrived.
''So this is where the Hexennacht is going to be held'' Simon muttered inside his heart and tightly clenched his hands for what was going toe next.
Up ahead in front of him, was a vast clearance filled with the serene ambience of the meadows. A grand open stage reminiscent of the ancient architecture, stood at the heart of this ce. Its towering columns and elegant archways exude an air of regality and mystique.
This magnificent stage was the venue for the Hexennacht, a momentous gathering that is held every ten years.
Standing on the stage, attending to the various demon nobles were servants adorned in borate and ethereal attire. They moved around gracefully, their captivating beauty attracting the eyes of every demon noble and their enchanting presence adding to the grandeur of the event.
The atmosphere on the stage is filled with celebration and the air resonates with the melodies and songs performed by skilled musicians. Various food and delicacies lined up the tables, their aroma attracting the appetite of all the attendees present.
"Haha, don''t look there for now. We will also be going there but first, we need to make a trip to the Empty Lagoon" Oswellmented, leading the group towards the pond.
Located a few dozen miles away from the venue and hidden amidst the tall overgrown trees, was a seemingly unremarkable pond known as the Empty Lagoon.
At first nce, it appeared no different than any ordinary pond; however, this ordinary pond holds the key to uncovering the true nature of the illusoryndscape that envelops the meadows.
The Empty Lagoon stretches out like a mirror, its still surface reflecting the distorted beauty of the Asphodel Meadows above.
"Hehe, this is our destination. Only those that possess the knowledge about the pond, are granted the ability to look beyond the veil of illusion. Lets go, we will meet on the other side" Oswell did not exin further and immediately dived into the pond. Aisha followed behind him.
Simon hesitated for a while before making up his mind and diving inside the pond with the twins in tow. He thought that he would have to submerge inside the pond for a while. However, to his surprise as soon as he dived inside the pond, he surfaced almost the next second.
Ssh¡ Discing arge volume of water, Simon appeared out of the pond andnded on the shore.
What was going on? He should have been diving inside the pond, so why did he surface out? Tilting his head in confusion, Simon searched for Oswell and Aisha when suddenly his gaze froze and he stood rooted in his ce.
His calm expression crumbled, giving way to a ck jawed dumbfounded face.
"Haha, that''s the exact same face I made when I first came to the Asphodel meadows and surfaced out of that pond. Wee to the actual Asphodel Meadows, my friend" Oswellughed.
Simon could hear Oswell talking; however, at this moment he did not have the additional concentration to pay attention to anything else. The reason for that was because as soon as he surfaced out of the pond, the world he had seen up until now, seemed to have morphed and transformed into something else entirely.
"Woah, master this ce is nothing like thend we had just seen," said the twins who emerged out of the pond after him.
The illusory beauty of the Asphodel Meadows that had been gazing up until now, faded away revealing a grim and deste realm.
The vibrant greenery and blooming flowers transformed before their eyes. The once picturesque scene distorts into twisted, sinister forms. The meadows became overgrown with thorny vines that writhe and coil, eagerly seeking their next victim.
The flowers, once radiant and enchanting, reveal jagged teeth and emit toxic fumes, their sole purpose to deceive and harm.
Streams that once seemed pure and inviting, now run ck with poisonous liquid, their gentle flow hiding treacherous currents and unseen creatures lurking beneath the surface.
The mist that wafts through the air is no longer benign but bes a suffocating fog, obscuring vision and disorienting those unfortunate enough to be ensnared within its embrace.
The fauna and flora of the Asphodel Meadows reveal their true nature. Trees, gnarled and twisted, stretch out their branches like skeletal arms, eager to ensnare unsuspecting victims in their grasp. T
he grass underfoot bes razor-sharp des, cutting through flesh with malevolent glee. Even the air itself turns toxic,den with invisible spores that bring illness and decay to any who dare to breathe it in.
True to the Demon Continent there is no peace in thisnd, only a constant struggle for survival. Every element of thendscape, from the seemingly innocent petals to the towering trees, is imbued with a dark purpose¡ªto deceive and to kill.
Simon couldn''t believe that this was the true nature of the beautiful Asphodel Meadows he had been ncing all this time.
"I can tell that you are surprised. You can interpret thisnd of deception in any way you want. But you know, every time I visit the Asphodel Meadows, it is like a reminder to me that many times appearances can be deceiving and that the darkness can lurk beneath even the most captivating fa?ades".
"There is no true peace and sce in this world, only deception spun inside a cocoon of illusion. If one wants true peace they need to create it with their own power" Oswell spoke uttering some deep words at this moment.
Simon snapped out of his daze and nodded his head as if understanding what the other party was trying to convey. Now that the true essence of the Asphodel meadows wasid bare in front of him, he could see the duality that exists in the world.
The pond, the Empty Laggon that acts as a medium, a gateway between the illusory realm above and the stark reality beneath. It serves as a conduit for those seeking to see beyond the deceptive surface, offering a rare opportunity to witness the truth that lies hidden in the depths of the meadows.
"Alright, let''s go. All the other demon nobles must have arrived by now, the Hexennacht will be starting very soon" Oswell stated turning around to fly where the venue was.
Seeing that no other demon came from the direction of the pond after them, Simon guessed that they were among thest demons if not, thest ones to arrive. He and the others hurriedly unfurled their wings and took to flight.
Soon, the venue appeared in front of their vision. Having dived and submerged himself inside the Empty Lagoon and seeing through the deceptive fa?ade of the Asphodel meadows, Simon saw a stark contrast from what he had witnessed of the grand stage before.
Chapter 668 668- Invitations From The Various Factions (2)
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The once beautiful attendants, who had appeared radiant and graceful, had been reced by wretched looking beings with multiple arms and weird body shapes. Their forms distorted and their countenances twisted and grotesque.
These were the true nature of the elegant figures that attended to the demons. As for the melody that once enchanted the air, it now took on a sinister and demonic theme.
The once soothing tunes morphed into dissonant, eerie notes that evoked a sense of violence and malevolence.
As Simon stepped foot into the grand stage, an overwhelming sense of seriousness engulfed his body. He realised that this gathering will mark a turning point in his life from which there is no going back.
This was the Hexennacht, the social gathering of the demons and the pivotal juncture of his life that will determine the fate of his territory and his standing among the demon hierarchy. The stakes are high, and failure was not an option.
.
.
Quite some time had passed since Simon and the other stepped into the venue and mingled with the crowd. Most of the high ranking demons and those making their way from the Ten Thousand Bones Mountain Range, had also arrived.
Nevertheless, the event hadn''t started yet. The reason for that was simple, the host of the event, that is the Demon Lord of Envy was yet to arrive. Besides, the Hexennacht usually went on for days to even weeks depending on the issues discussed. As such, nobody was in a hurry for the start of the event.
For the demon nobles whose lifespan extended for aeons, their sense of time was quite distorted. To them, the passing of a few days, weeks or even a year, felt like nothing more than a gentle flicker of a candle me.
It was more so for the demon''s ranking above Demon Marquess. Their long lifespan of hundreds of years has afforded them a high level of patience and wisdom. Compared to that, what was waiting for a few days or weeks amount to?
The Hexennact was unlike all the other demon gatherings, here they not only discussed various issues of the demon world, but they also used this chance to associate with other demon nobles and expand theirwork.
For high ranking demons, the Hexennacht was a stage where they can grow their faction and as for the average ranking ones, it was their chance to join one.
One need not even exin how beneficial joining a faction was for demon nobles like Demon Earl and all. Doing so not only provided them with benefits from that high ranking demon, it also protected them from the retaliation of other demon nobles and factions.
The power and the force that an average ranking demon noble can muster is only so much. It is nowhere enough to deal with unforeseen danger for say, a dungeon war, where another demon noble had suddenly dered war on them or when their dungeon is on the verge of getting destroyed because the levels of the adventurers were simply too high to deal for them.
During such events, the benefits of joining a faction bes more evident. Not only do the faction behind them back them up with additional forces to safeguard their dungeon, but they might also go as far as to start a dungeon war on the other party.
Thus when a demon noble joins the faction, not just anyone can start a dungeon war on them willy nilly. The other party would have to think about the variablesing from the target''s factions and the consequences of their action.
It is for this reason that the venue was buzzing with conversation, bootlicking, banter and shameless self promotion of the various demon nobles.
For the average ranking demon nobles, if they could associate with a high ranking demon noble or at the very least socialise with someone in their factions, it raises their chances of getting into a faction dramatically.
That''s right, not just any demon nobles are allowed into a faction. The high ranking demon who leads their factions only pick those demon nobles that can actually empower or strengthen their faction in some way or other.
For the high ranking demon nobles, the faction was their force and represented their status in the demon society. As such, they wouldn''t allow any demon noble in if they didn''t see any benefit in them.
To that extent, every average ranking demon nobles here were very fervent to get into a faction. Hence the hubbub.
Most factions that had some status and were famous in the demon society, glossed over the Demon Earl who created their dungeon and mostly focused on Demon Marquesses. That said, it was not like the Demon Earls weren''t getting any offers.
There were always exceptions to the rules like for example there happened to be a Demon Earl who was quite close to a very famous Demon Duke and garnered much attention from the many high ranking demon nobles present in the venue.
It was only natural for such an exceptional Demon Earl to get invitations from some famous factions that not just any demons can get into.
"Thank you for the invitation, I will think over it and let you know" Simon spoke with a smile and politely kept the invitation in his pocket.
How many times had he repeated those words? Simon sighed in exasperation. Including the card he got just now, he had already received more than seven invitations.
"Woah, look at all these invitations, even the biggest faction led by a demon duke, the Demonic Enve is also interested in you. So what are you going to do?" Oswell askedughing at his predicament.
"Please, the one they are interested in are you. All those factions are sending me invitations because they happened to see us together. In the first ce, this is all your fault. I told you before that we should mind our own business once we reach the venue. So why are you still following me?"
Simon spoke a little vexed by all the attention that he was getting from the surrounding demon nobles. It might not look like it, but Oswell had a very high status in the demon society. He was not only favoured by various Demon Archduke factions, but even some Demon Lords are also interested in him.
Naturally, walking side by side with him, Simon was bound to garner attention. His n of keeping a low profile was thrown out of the windows.
"Don''t be like this, aren''t we best friends? Besides, I don''t want to deal with those pesky Demon Dukes and their factions. Having you by my side makes things easier for me¡ Haha. Hey, that food looks delicious, let''s go and try it". Saying that, Oswell strutted towards a table decorated with food.
Simon could only sigh helplessly and tag along. The other party did help him a lot on the way after all. As such, he had no choice but to ept the role he was thrown into all of a sudden.
Sighing for the umpteenth time sinceing to the venue, Simon was just about to follow Oswell, when a demon noble stepped in front of him.
"Ah, a moment please".
Screaming in his head ''Not again'' Simon nced at the demon standing in front of his path. Extravagant dress and decorated in ornate items, they gave off amanding pressure. Their presence was like a vast mountain, grand and immense. It was enough to give him a faint pressure that originated from his bloodline.
There was no mistake, the demon in front of Simon was no average demon but a Demon Marquess. It needs to be mentioned that a Demon Marquess is a formidable entity within the demonic hierarchy, possessing immense power and authority.
They possess their own armies and are masters of intermeditate tier dungeons. They are cunning and extremely ambitious as they navigate the intricate politics and power struggles among demon nobles, ever seeking to increase their dominion and influence.
Their strategic acumen was what made them a force to reckon with. Be that may, this wasn''t the reason why Simon was so surprised, it was because, for some vague reason he felt like the other party looked familiar to him.
Especially that kind of dressing sense, those flowing garments that blends the rich colours of the desert, those intricate embroideries reminiscent of winding serpents or mes and their attire that incorporates deep shades of gold and ebony, representing both the infernal essence and the zing sun of their domain.
Where did he see a demon noble like him before?
"Ahem" While Simon was lost in his own thought process, the Demon Marquess facing him coughed and introduced him.
"I''m Demon Marquess Vargel. Listen well demon, I came here on behalf of my father, the Demon Duke of Sphinx to give you the invitation to join his faction, the BloodMoon Pact. Consider it as your greatest stoke of luck and strive to work hard for the faction".
The Demon Marquess introducing himself as Vargel, spoke. Although his tone was haughty and condescending, it was still far better than others who came to Simon before.
Simon took the invitations and spoke some vague words saying how he will think over it and let him know. Although Vargel was a little unsatisfied with the response, he nevertheless did not say anything and turned around to leave.
Seeing the Demon Marquess leave, Simon sighed in exasperation. This made it the Eighth time. Seriously, it was turning out to be more hassle than he thought.
It was not worth it to make enemies with all these factions. Fortunately, he kept his answers vague which left a path for him open.
Chapter 669 669- Presentation Of Power
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Simon''s vague answer left a possibility that he might join their faction. As such, unless he did something foolish by himself first, all those factions shouldn''t make things difficult for him first.
Of course, they were only extending their favourability towards him because of Oswell. Had it been any other Demon Earl, they would not even get an invitation from these factions. And even if they did, they might not be in a position to reject or shake off the invitation like Simon.
In thetter''s case, he was only epting the invitations from the various factions because Oswell told him to keep ying them off and maintain a neutral stance till the veryst second of the event as it would help himter on.
If not, Simon had no interest in joining any faction. It is true that joining a faction secures and increases the survivability of a demon and their dungeon. However, all those benefits are just superficial.
Joining a faction had a lot of limitations and constrictions too. The High ranking demon nobles are not protecting the other demon nobles and their dungeon out of the goodness of their heart. They expect a sum, a fee of sort in return every year for allowing you to join their faction and extending their protection to you.
Not only that, those demon nobles who join any faction are also required to transfer a portion of their assets to the leader of the faction, like their territory, DP, subordinates and the other various things that their dungeon produced.
It is in return for all these that the faction protects you. The faction is in essence a private force of that high ranking demon and is in no way established to support the demon nobles.
For Simon, these factions appeared just like a trap to prey on other demon nobles who cannot survive without their protection.
His dungeon was not in a position where it needed protection from a faction, so why should he join one? In fact, staying away from them was the best thing he could do.
Simon appeared beside Oswell who had already started stuffing his mouth with various food kept on the table. The glutton was the one who had fed all those words to him. Oswell had much more experience dealing with the demon nobles and their pesky tactics. As such, he knew the right words to say in this situation.
"Nom.. ugy grdlly grr bhinvg a dhrd itme agrtn ugy?" (You really are having a hard time aren''t you?) Oswell spoke with a mouth full of food.
Simon clicked his tongue in frustration and nced at thetter in surprise. Even though he could see that the food is being served by such hideous monsters, how could he have the appetite to eat the food?
"I don''t have any bias towards food. Food is food, it doesn''t matter who cooks it. As long as they are delicious, this lord will eat it all. After all, food hasmitted no crime, it is just fulfilling its purpose. In this world full of deception, the food is the only constant that represents the truth" Oswell proudly stated after cleaning up a portion of the table.
Hearing his words, some people might think that he was just fooling around. However, Simon who got to understand this demon from them travelling together in these past few days, knew that thetter waspletely serious. He actually believed in those words.
Simon shook his head and observed his surroundings. The venue was a market of hubbub, all the demon nobles were busy making connections or doing their own thing.
Some came to him extending their invitations; however, all of them were sent back after a few vague words from Simon. Every demon here wanted to make connections with Oswell and even though he didn''t want to, he ended up bing a shield for the other party.
"Does that make twelve? Whiste~ somebody sure is popr?" Oswell chuckled.
"Shut up!! This is all your fault. Anyways, why isn''t the event starting? It has been a day already since we arrived here?" Simon asked. Unlike the other demons, his sense of time wasn''t as distorted.
"Can''t tell for sure. It can be today or tomorrow. It all depends on the host of the event after all. Though I don''t think it will take much longer after all, we are quite close to the demon lord of Envy''s dungeon and besides leaving a few Demon Archdukes that rarely show their appearance, all the other high ranking demons are here. I''m sure the event will start soon" Oswell answered.
Simon dropped the issue after he was told that the event would start soon and changed the topic.
"You just said that the Demon Lord of Envy''s dungeon is nearby didn''t you. Have you seen their dungeon? What kind of dungeon is it and what rank? Can you tell me more about it".
When discussing about the topic of the dungeon, there was a weird gleam in Simon''s eyes. His bored face finally showed some signs of interest.
"Hoh, so dungeon interests you more than food huh? You are a peculiar demon, aren''t you? Well, to answer your query, Yes I have seen Belial''s dungeon. I have been invited by him and the faction behind him on multiple asions".
"On some cases, where I was unable to reject him, I had toe to his domain personally. At that time, I was able to see his dungeon. It is a huge dungeon whose entrance is hidden inside the mist that covers the centre of thisnd".
"There is a huge teleportation gate installed by the humans there whoe to dive inside his dungeon. I am not exactly sure how many floors his dungeon has but for its rank, I can tell you that it is a [S] tier peak rank dungeon".
"Though it hasn''t been too long since his dungeon had risen to that rank. So it cannot be said that Belial''s dungeon is a full fledged [S] rank yet. Does this answer your question?".
Simon nodded his head. [S] rank huh¡ He had expected the dungeon of a Demon Lord to be of that rank. Though he was still a little fazed when he heard it.
A dungeon possesses the title of a peak dungeon after it evolves from a high ranking dungeon, that is [A] rank. Leaving aside the great dungeons that existed since the primordial times, the [S] rank dungeon is the highest rank a dungeon can reach.
It was no wonder that the Demon Lord of Envy''s dungeon was also a [S] rank. One of Simon''s goals was also to increase his dungeon, Lace''s rank to peak tier in the future.
"Mine is also an [S] rank dungeon andpared to Belial''s it is much more amazing. Hehe, are you amazed?" Oswell rubbed his nose and spoke proudly.
It would be a lie to say that Simon wasn''t amazed, he didn''t expect the glutton''s dungeon to also be a peak rank dungeon. He had thought that only the dungeon of the Demon Lords and the ancient Demon Archdukes have reached that rank.
To think that Oswell''s dungeon was also a special rank. That said, it all made sense why the Demon Lord of Envy and so many factions are so interested in him. A Demon Duke possessing a [S] rank dungeon, if that''s not enough to call him special, then what is.
"You know, if it''s you my best friend, I can give you a free tour of my dungeon. At that time maybe you can bring those chefs of your¡"
Oswell who was about to invite Simon to his dungeon in his excitement, suddenly stopped talking. He then looked up and muttered, "They are here".
Immediately after his words fell, a mighty pressure descended onto the venue. The hubaloo of the Demon Nobles ceased as all eyes turn towards the sky.
In that dramatic moment, a figure emerged in the sky, silently standing there emanating an aura of awe-inspiring power thatmands attention. The figure d in regal ancient clothes adorned with intricate patterns and symbols, exuding an air of elegance and authority, was none other than Belial, the host of the event.
With his three pairs of bat like wings unfurled, he stood there tall and imposing. The demon slowly descended down from the skies and stood before the other Demon Nobles.
Right after his appearance, he immediately became the centre of attention. But he was not alone.
"Haha, everyone I thank you all foring"
An old ancient voice sounded out. Immediately, all eyes looked up. There standing toweringly, were five figures emanating powerful auras and presence unmatched by other demons of the realm.
Simon recognised the man who had spoken just now. In fact, he recognised all of them. The five figures were none other than the five Demon Archdukes that supported Belial.
The middle aged man with short ck hair mixed with some whites and standing imposingly was none other than Gareth, the Demon Archduke who had lived for more than six thousand years.
The ones around him were also famous Demon Archdukes. Goliath, with skin as ck as obsidian. Agares had a zing red hair, Orca was short statured demon with gentle looking face. Boros had green eyes and a crafty looking face just like a snake.
Goliath, Agares, Orca and Boros all of these Demon Archduks were also present in the Walpurgis. How did Simon know about them? That was because during thest Walpurgis, a certain Demon Viscount announced their names near his ears even though he didn''t want to hear them.
Chapter 670 670- Presentation Of Power (2)
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Thanks to that Demon Viscount introducing those five Demon Archdukes, Simon still remembered their names. He nced at the five of them in the sky before quickly averting his gaze.
The bloodline suppression was truly an annoying thing. Simon was still able to rtively handle the pressure. However, some demon nobles weren''t all that lucky. A few Demon Earls who were toote to avert their eyes away from the Demon Archdukes, immediately fainted on their spot.
The Demon Marquesses fared rtively; however, even they didn''t dare to stare for too long. As for the Demon Dukes, other than their brows twitching from the pressure ever so often, there was no visible change.
It was only after they retracted their auras, did the atmosphere in the venue returned to normal. Though there was still an unspoken tension in the air.
As Belial and the Demon Archdukes make their way through the venue, a wave of power and authority preceded them. The hubbub that once filled the air dissipated instantaneously as if swallowed by the sheer force of their presence.
Attendees, both lesser ranking demons and influential beings alike, were ovee with a mixture of awe, respect, and a healthy dose of trepidation.
The air crackled with an electric energy. The mere gaze of these powerful entities sends shivers down the spines of those in their vicinity. It was a nerve-racking experience, as each step they take further solidifies their dominion and reminds all the demons of their ce within the intricate hierarchy of demon society.
Whether it be them or the ones Simon had seen in the auction. They are the ones who stood at the peak of power and influence.
With the presence of the Demon Lord of Envy and the Demon Archdukes, the crowd which had be hushed silence started mouring with conversations going all around.
"Everyone, I thank you foring. As you all know, this year the Hexennacht is being hosted by my son. This will be his first huge undertaking ever since bing the Demon Lord of Envy. As such, he will be the one to be the judge and make the verdict this time. Us old timers will take a back and watch from the distance"
Gareth spoke. His eyes then turned towards the sky as he added "This works for you all too right?".
Who was he talking to? Simon also looked up; however, other than the clear sky, he couldn''t see anything.
"Alright Belial, we will be seated. If you need our help or wisdom do not hesitate to call us. Though I doubt you would need it" On the stage, Gareth patted his son and took the other Demmon Archdukes along with him as they found a seat in the distance and sat there leisurely.
It appeared that the Demon Archdukes meant when they said that they will not interfere.
"Everyone, I hope that you all enjoyed the treat prepared for you all and are revived from your exhaustion from the travel. If so, then I officially announce the start of the Hexennacht for this year".
"I''m sure that everybody has some qualms and doubts about me being the new Demon Lord. I might have been chosen by the Fragment of Envy; however, I am yet to be chosen by my own brethren".
"And so to prove my worthiness in front of all the Demonkind today, that I Belial am worthy to lead the demons in times of need and stand true to my title of the Demon Lord, I have prepared a small show for you all. I hope all those who are gathered here in the venue and those peering from the distance, will enjoy it".
With an air of haughty confidence, Belial began his address, his voice carrying across the expanse of the Hexennacht gathering. His words carefully chosen, reflected his elevated status and the power he now wields.
Belial''s speech intertwined the grandeur of the asion with his own ascent to power. His words wereced with subtle hints of envy, and an acknowledgement of the desire to surpass even the most esteemed attendees.
Prepared to prove himself worthy of his title, the newly crowned Demon Lord of Envy stood before the illustrious assembly at the Hexennacht. His eyes zed with a fire of determination and wanting tomand respect and envy from all.
Belial waved his sleeves and immediately, argeplex array appeared on the stage of the venue.
"This is... the Distance View Array!!" Oswellmented observing the array that appeared on the stage.
The Distance View Array was one of the higher grade arrays that one can buy from the [Shop]. It is a highlyplex array and needed a lot of resources and materials toy down. However, once this array is set up, it creates a spherical bubble of sorts that allows one to look at long distance ces.
Of course, Simon who had delved a little bit it into this matter, knew what kind of array it was. Though what he didn''t understand was why the demon lord chose to use the array here.
What did he want to show to the assembly? Many demon nobles had the same query.
The answer soon appeared to them as the array finished forming. The Distance View Array revealed a sight that struck the assembled demons to their very core.
From beyond the horizon disyed in the array, an army emerged. It was an unstoppable tide that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Legions of monsters, beasts and all kinds of races stood in perfect formation, their ranks stretching like a tide of shadows that swallowed the horizon. Each soldier was adorned in gleaming armour and wielded weapons infused with dark magic.
''This was¡'' the observing demons in the venue had no doubt ''This was a presentation of power. The newly crowned Demon Lord of Envy was showing off his forces to all of the demonkind''.
As the forces advanced, a rumble echoed through the hall, shaking the very foundations of the Hexennacht venue. Massive constructs called the Golems, forged in the fires of demonic forges, trundled forward with an ominous aura of power. Their massive bodies bore the mark of Belial''s dominion, and their cores crackled with a powerful mystical energy.
Siege engines capable of toppling cities, terrifyingly scaled monstrosities bred for war, and infernal contraptions belching forth fire and brimstone were all on disy, a testament to Belial''s military might.
That was not all, behind the ranks of soldiers and war golems, three figures strode forward, their presencemanding attention and respect.
Each of the three embodied a different aspect of envy, radiating an aura that sent shivers down the spines of those who dared to gaze upon them. They hailed from a myriad of demonic races, each unique and possessing their own brand of power.
"Everyone, let me introduce them to you all. The figures in the backlines are my threemanders, the Commandments of Envy. At the forefront is the General of Jealousy. He has been a long standing subordinate of mine, someone who I summoned through sheer luck and has led my forces to countless victories and many bloody battles over the millennia. He embodies my envy and ambition".
The General of Envy was a towering figure with a body full of scales and a crown of twisted horns, exuding an aura of authority that demanded obedience.
"Beside the General of Jealousy, is the Mistress of Desire. She is also one of my old subordinates, powerful and cruel".
The Mistress of Desire was an enchanting subus with an alluring grace and a bewitching figure. Her gaze had the ability to charm others and her hourss figure instantly mesmerised those looking at her.
Next in line, Belial introduced his thirdmandment. The Commander of Resentment who has newly joined his ranks. The figure was cloaked in a robepletely and only their eyes which glowed with an eerie light could be seen.
ording to Belial, he was one of his most powerful subordinates who could strike fear on the hearts of even the most mightiest of foes.
As everyone observed the scene disyed by the array, the venue echoed with the murmurs and conversation of the demons. The vast legion that carpeted thend like a ck carpet was one thing, but those three figures standing behind the ranks of war machines and siege engines were another.
Those threemanders of envy, even though the Demon Lord did not introduce their strengths, just their presence was enough to tell these demons that they were extremely powerful and not be messed with.
It was not only the Demon Earls or the Marquesses but even the Demon Dukes came to the same conclusion. As expected of a Demon Lord, his military might and even his subordinates were not something that could be underestimated by other demons.
As the power presentation continued, Belial raised his hand, and a resounding silence fell upon the venue. The sheer magnitude of his military might, the wealth of his riches, and the calibre of hismanders had rendered the audience breathless, their eyes widened in a mixture of fear and admiration.
Belial''s gaze swept across the assembly, relishing in the awe and envy that danced in the eyes of his fellow demonkind. However, it didn''t stay on them for long and moved towards the sky as if wanting to know what the reactions of those people were.
"My fellow demons, behold the might of Envy, the power that will fuel my rise, and the force that shall leave its mark upon the realm. Envy is not some simple emotion, it is the inextinguishable fire that burns within all of us demons. It is the drive that motivates,mands and ensures our dominance stays forever over all who stands in our path."
Chapter 671 671- Presentation Of Power (3)
Belial''s voice resonated through the hall, carrying with it a weight of authority and ambition. His speech served as a testament to his rise to prominence and a subtle reminder to all that his reign has only just begun.
While his tone carried a certain level of arrogance, it remains measured, not veering into excessive haughtiness. Belial understood the delicate bnce of maintaining respect and admiration from his fellow demons and especially from those peering from the distantnds, even as he revels in his newfound status as the Demon Lord of Envy.
"Hahaha, well said my lord, this one ispletely awed by your ideology and creed. Your words have left an indelible mark on the Hexennacht and on the memories of those who witnessed it. I''m sure that you will bring a new dawn for all of us demonkind and usher us into a new era".
While the crowd was silent as to how to process all this disy of power, Agares, one of the four Demon Archdukes seated in the distance, started pping and apud Belial''s passionate speech.
The other demon archdukes also gave their congrattory words to the Demon Lord of Envy.
"Un, that was a good presentation. However, I believe some of our guests might not have beenpletely satisfied by just this. Belial, why don''t you make this assembly more exciting?"
"I''m sure some people still do not have a good gauge of your power from just watching all that. You would be shaming your predecessors if you do not show them what the newly crowned Demon Lord of Envy is capable of".
The one to speak this time was Gareth. Although his words seemed to be addressing the crowds, his eyes were continuously looking up towards the sky.
Hearing the words of his father, Belial nodded his head. His lips curled into a wicked smile as he raised his hands and addressed the gathering once again.
"It is you said. I cannot prove I am worthy of the title of Demon Lord simply by showing off my army. Since the esteemed audience is not satisfied, I shall make this Hexennacht even more interesting by inviting challengers. My fellow Demon Nobles, I offer you an opportunity unlike any other, to witness the might of my threemanders as they engage inbat with any who dare to test their mettle. Is there anyone who wants to challenge them?".
With those words from him, the crowd was stunned as they murmured in a low voice. The challenge from the Demon Lord ignited a fire within their hearts.
Many Demon Nobles exchanged nces, their eyes gleaming with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Belial''s invitation was a chance to prove their own worth to him and also gain his favour at the same time.
If they could assist him when he is trying to defend his title and prove his capability to the whole demonkind, they would surely reap many benefits in the future.
A demon duke who didn''t want anyone else to get on this bandwagon before him, spoke up.
"An excellent idea my lord. In that case, let this unworthy subordinate of mine to test the powers of the Esteemedmanders of Envy. Jeronis go up".
"Understood master" on the beckoning of that Demon Duke, the subordinate name Jeronis stepped forward.
''A Gargoyle huh, they should be a good opponent for a warmup I guess'' Belial grinned and nodded in approval "Very well, as the Demon Lord of Envy, I give you the permission to challenge any one of themanders of your choice? So who shall it be?".
The Gargoyle raised his head up and spoke "I challenge the Commander of Resentment".
"Alright" Belial casually waved his sleeve and created a spatial gate that led to some unknown ce.
"This gate will take you to where Resentment is. I have exined everything to him, give your best shot" Saying that, the Demon Lord sent the gargoyle through the spatial gate.
After that, he manoeuvred the Distance Viewing Array and brought the screen to a vast grassy in. There, two figures stood facing each other. The two figures were none other than the Commander of Resentment and the Gargoyle.
"Resentment, remember this is a mock battle, so you cannot go too extreme. If you understand that, then let us start this battle".
With those words, the sh between the challenger and the Commander of Resentmentmenced. The air crackled with anticipation, the crowd watched with bated breath as the twobatants unleashed their powers upon each other.
Magic shed, des shed, and the ground shook with the force of their blows. The sheer intensity of their battle evoked a mixture of awe and envy among the onlookers.
Meanwhile, one particr group or more precisely one demon to be specific, was stuffing his mouth with food without giving a rat''s ass to the battle going on.
"Hey, don''t you want to watch the battle between those two? It will be a good opportunity to size up the other party''s strength" Simon remarked gazing at the array disying the fierce battle.
"Don''t even bother, this is all just an borate scheme to make Belial and hismanders look good. There is no way, we would be able to gauge anything from watching that battle. The gargoyle that they sent up is no match for the Commander of Resentment whose level is quite high".
"Compared to that, the gargoyles level although hidden, shouldn''t be above level 700. And besides, it is unlikely that Belial will reveal his cards openly to everyone. I''m sure he has ordered Resentment not to use his real strength or any [Commandments]" Oswell replied stacking one te after another.
It was as he had said, the whole thing was staged. The Gargoyle who is said to possess a body sturdier than even Mythril was easily damaged and the pulsing mystical energy on its body was snuffed out.
And although it looked like the battle was a fierce one, it was no doubt an overwhelming victory for Resentment.
p¡ p¡p¡
"I have no words, that was indeed a splendid victory. I''m genuinely awed and impressed by the strength of Lord Belial''smanders. I cannot help but bow my head down in fear and reverence".
The master of the gargoyle, the Demon Duke wasted no time to bootlick right after the battle ended.
"Haha, you overpraise me. Your subordinate did quite well against resentment as expected of a Gargoyle, even amongst the [A] rank subordinate, they are quite good. Don''t worry though, your subordinate is only knocked unconscious. I will be sending someer to bring them. However, that was hardly a battle and wasn''t a good enough gauge of Commander''s strength" Belial responded smiling helplessly.
"In that case, how about I send another subordinate of mine? They are a Demon Marquess and should be more powerful than Jeronis"
The Demon Duke proposed. It was clear that he intended to take this chance to suck up to Belial and deepen his position. Of course, he wasn''t the only one who wanted to ride on this bandwagon.
"How could that be, you just sent your subordinate. Lord Belial, please allow this one''s subordinate to give it a try. My subordinate is much stronger and should be able to give quite a challenge to the threemanders".
The other high ranking demons wanting to establish a good rtionship with the new Demon Lord, proposed to send their subordinates to challenge the threemanders.
The crowd was just starting to boil over who would send their subordinates up, when a colossal pressure, one that twisted the very fabric of space descended onto the venue. Immediately all themotion that rose, was snuffed and a ghastly silence fell upon the venue.
All the demon nobles turned to look towards Demon Archduke Gareth. That pressure just now, came from him. Gareth was silent as his eyes wandered about seemingly thinking something.
He had been watching the spectacle with an indifferent eye up until now. However, he sensed that sending the subordinates of the Demon Dukes will not cut it, there was a need for a true test of power that will show those observers that his son is worthy to be crowned as one of the Demon Lords.
"Duke Megera, it seems that your subordinate was not an adequate gauge of themanders'' strength. Since you are so enthusiastic about all this, why don''t you go up next and personally face one of Belial''s threemanders inbat?"
"I believe that wil be the true test of power. How about it? Let us all witness the sh of powers between two forces of great prestige." Gareth spoke with a voice filled with authority. This was not a request, but amand.
Duke Megera who he called out, was none other than the Demon Duke who was the master of that Gargoyle. At this moment, he had quite an ugly expression on his face as if he swallowed a fly.
In his attempt to suck up to the new demon lord, he had dug himself into the trap. He couldn''t help but want to curse out loud.
Challenge themanders? It was fine if it was just sending his subordinate but him going up personally. Why should he, a mighty Demon Duke do that? In the first ce, there was no merit to it and only disadvantages.
Whether he won in which case he would be offending the demon lord or lost whereupon his status and prestige will be crushed and he will be rendered aughing stock, there was no advantage for him in it.
Chapter 672 672- Presentation Of Power (4)
If anything he would very much like to reject it; however, that was not possible either. It was the order of a Demon Archduke and not just any Demon Archduke but Gareth at that?
In terms of influence and power, he was an existence who could only be described with the term, old monster. That Gareth had given him the order, there was no way Megera whose age would not even exceed 1500 years could reject him.
All he could do was give in to his fate and nod his head. While his fellow demon duke grinned at his misery, Megera stepped out from among the crowd.
"As you wish, Demon Archduke Gareth. I shall take up this chance and challenge the mightiest ofmanders."
"Oh!! You wish to challenge Jealousy? Very well, this battle will be a good test to show all the demons of the realm, the power of the threemanders" Belial epted the challenge and informed Jealousy.
The observing crowd was abuzz with excitement, their eyes widened in anticipation. This was a matchup they wanted to see, the sh between a Demon Duke and one of Belial''smanders promised to be a spectacle unlike any other.
Whispers filled the air as the venue became alive with murmurs of spection and envy. Even Oswell had put down the tes of food and nced towards the array.
Duke Megera strode forward, his aura crackling with raw power. Across from him, the General of Jealousy, a formidablemander with bulging muscles decked in sturdy scales and twisted thorns, stepped forth.
The atmosphere grew tense as the two powerhouses faced each other, their determination radiating like a palpable force. There was a reason why Megera chose to face the General of Jealousy.
Thetter was not only the strongestmander among the three, but the also seemed to be from a powerful race probably a race that was [S] rank. Even if he lost, he could at least keep his face in the fact that themander he faced was the strongest one.
"Commence"
With those words from Belial, the battle started with a thunderous sh. The ground shook, the sky rumbled and the space was torn asunder as the General of Jealosy unleashed a devastating series of blows, each strike aiming to crush Duke Megera''s defences.
The Demon Duke, being a high ranking demon, proved to be an agile and formidable opponent, his movements fluid and precise, evading the onught with calcted grace.
His counter attacks were equally swift. Duke Megera retaliated with a barrage of powerful attacks, channelling his formidable mystical energy and lost tier skills into each strike. The sh of their attacks was so powerful that the shockwaves even reached the venue, when the battleground was far away from here.
.
.
Hoh, they are going at it for real" Oswellmented, his eyes shining with a little interest "Though it''s a shame that we won''t get to see the real power of the General of Jealousy".
Simon nodded his head in pity too. If he could just see the full strength of one of the threemanders he would have a full gauge of their strength and what they can do. However, there was no way they would be shown that.
As Oswell had mentioned before, the Demon Lord of Envy must have ordered hismanders not to reveal their most powerful skills. Though that said, from the battle that was being shown, it was still possible to make some assumptions.
Simon reckoned that the strength of the Demon Duke who was going all out was equal to or lower than any one of the Valkyries. Whereas, the strength of the General of Jealousy surpassed the Valkyries... that is when they not in their racial forms.
Although Simon cannot say it for sure without using the [Appraisal] on the other, but he believed that the General of Jealousy was around level 800 or at the very least near it. If he included all the threemanders and the legion theymanded, the new demon lord was a force to reckon with.
Simon was shocked; however, the shock he received wasn''t to that extent he thought he would. Did he overestimate the demon lord?
When he saw Belial''s forces, Simon wasn''t that impressed for some reason. It was not like he was looking down on the Demon Lord of Envy or anything, if he had to say it he expected more from the demon who was crowned as the Demon Lord.
Being the Demon Lord of Envy, Simon expected the other party to be strong beyond belief. However, the truth appeared to be a little different. What Simon didn''t know was that due to the merger of the two options and the presence of the factors like the Fragment of Pride, Forest Spring Spiirts, Null Elemental and others, his dungeon was growing at a ridiculous speed.
The shock that he thought he would receive might have been dulled by the subordinates around him and the encounters he had so far.
Irene, Adalinda, Lucine and the woman in the Historia that he witnessed, all of them were beings of enormous power. Even now, he had two beings around him whose levels were around the upper 800s.
What one must realise is that not all demons get to have the same experience as him or in that matter evene in contact with super powerful beings that rarely showed their face to the world.
Simon might be an exception among the exception. Even while being a low leveled, small fry demon, he not only encountered one or two of them, he even went on a journey with them.
Given his extra eventful life, it was natural that he would be a little numb when seeing a force that would otherwise make even some Demon Archdukes shudder.
Being individuals of immense strength, the battle between the General of Jealousy and the Demon Duke Megera waged on for days. It was a battle of epic proportions, capable of overturning dozens of kilometres ofnd and changing the topography permanently.
Magic shed against magic, skills shed against skill, just when the fight seemed to being to a stalemate, the tide turned in the favour if General of Jealousy abruptly.
His sheer strength and resilience pushed Duke Megera to his limits. But the Duke, fueled by his ambition and determination, refused to relent. With a rumbling sound of mystical energy, he unleashed a devastating onught, striking at the General with all his might.
The observing demons held their breath, their eyes locked on the spectacle unfolding before them. The sh of powers, the dance of ambition and the might of one of the threemanders, held them in a trance-like state.
They marvelled at the resilience and strength disyed by bothbatants. In the end, on the night of the third day despite Duke Megera''s valiant efforts, the General of Jealousy proved to be the victor.
The final blownded, the Demon Duke puked out a mouthful of blood and was sent plummeting down to the depth of the earth, where they created a huge crater andid there on a pool of their own blood.
Even if the demon duke could quickly regenerate from those wounds and rejoin the battle, it was clear that he was no match for themander.
The other party sustained no damage during their entire battle. What''s more, from the beginning to the end of the battle, the General of Jealousy was entirely in control.
Duke Megera was sold, he had used his full power and had gone all out yet he couldn''t even scratch the other party despite them concealing a portion of their powers. As such, he knew that continuing this battle will only be a waste of time.
Thus¡ "I give up".
Duke Megera admitted defeat.
"That''s enough, the victor has been decided. Both of you stand down" Beilial''s voice echoed across thend.
Jealousy obediently nodded his head and backed off, leaving the duke to crawl out of the pit he created looking all miserable.
The audience who watched the entire battle through the Distance Viewing Array, stood in stunned silence, their eyes wide with shock and disbelief. The sh between Duke Megera and the General of Jealousy had been a sight to behold, a disy of power and skill that had surpassed all expectations.
Yet, despite the Duke''s formidable abilities, he had fallen short in the face of themander''s overwhelming might.
A hushed murmur swept through the crowd, a mixture of awe, surprise, and fear. Envy filled their hearts as they witnessed the power of themanders of Belial.
A sense of trepidation grabbed hold of their bodies as they realised that even a Demon Duke, a pinnacle of power in their own right, had been bested sending a shiver down their spines.
Whispers filled the air as the observing demons exchanged nces, their expressions a blend of admiration and unease. Some muttered words of admiration, recognizing themanders'' unparalleled strength.
Others spoke with a hint of fear, their voicesced with a desperate desire to please the victors.
Belial, Gareth, and the other demons in the same faction, shared a delighted mood. Belial''s eyes gleamed with satisfaction, his lips curling into a smug smile. The Demon Lord of Envy reveled in the disy of power, his ambitions further stoked by the realization that hismanders were truly unrivaled.
Gareth, the mastermind behind this showcase, wore a satisfied expression, his pride in his son evident.
"I believe all the observers present here are content by the might shown by the three Commanders of Envy? As such, I believe there are no more qualms and doubts regards to the worthiness of my son being crowned as the new demon lord. If there is any demon who disagrees, you are free to challenge any of themanders. Are there any demons?"
Chapter 673- Hexennacht
Chapter 673- Hexennacht
Although Gareth spoke to the crowd, his words were intended for the others observers who hadn''t shown their faces or were peering from the distance.
The ce was silent for a while before a few demons stepped forward, their voices trembling with a mixture of fear and sycophantic praise.
"Demon Lord of Envy, Belial.. yourmanders are truly unmatched. We bow before their might and envy their power. We have no qualms and ept your rein as the new demon lord from this day forth." they dered, their wordsden with both bootlicking ttery and genuine awe.
What a joke, there was no way they would go up and challenge amander especially after they witnessed the devastating loss of Duke Megera. Their status and reputation was very much precious to them, they had no intentions of throwing it away and be theughingstock in front of the whole demon world.
There wasn''t a single demon noble present in the venue who was still unsatisfied or held any qualms about the new demon lord assuming his position. The defeat of Duke Megera had that much impact on them.
Belial''s smirk widened, as he sensed the atmosphere of fear and adtion that surrounded the venue.
"Your words are noted," he replied with a voice dripping with a mix of superiority and indulgence.
"My fellow demons, worry not for this power is not meant to be exercised on our own kind. Today was just but a reminder to all the demons and to show my predecessors that I am worthy of my title".
In the demon world, might wasw. The one who had the bigger fist was right. Therefore, the demons in the venue erupted into apuse, their eyes shing with a newfound respect for the demon lord.
Belial had not only proven his own worth, but had ignited a fire within the hearts of all who bore witness to his power presentation. It was a moment that would forever be etched into the annals of demonic history.
From this day forward, none would dare challenge his supremacy, for they had witnessed the undeniable might of his forces and the envy it inspired.
"It looks like the fight with Megera was enough to shut them up" Gareth, ever the astute observer, nodded approvingly, his eyes glinting with a blend of satisfaction and pride.
The fear and astonishment that permeated the venue pleased him greatly, it reaffirmed his belief in the power of his son and themanders of Envy. Although still a littlecking, but with his and the support from his faction, it wouldn''t be a problem for Belial to assume his new role.
And so, the power presentation drew to a close, the Hexennacht venue remained in a state of silent reverence. The grandeur of Belial''s forces, his vast wealth, and the strength of hismanders had left an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of many who bore witness to it.
That said, even though the power presentation hade to a close, the Hexennacht was far from over. If anything the real matters of the Hexennacht was about to start.
The event was paused for a bit for the attendees to clear their minds with the music and the treats prepared for them. After a while, as the echoes of the power presentation subsided, the atmosphere within the venue shifted.
The time for discussing the pressing matters of the Hexennacht had arrived. Demons of various ranks and stations gathered around, their attention focused on the matters that threatened to disrupt the peace of their dominion and gued every demonkind.
At the centre of the discussion stood Belial, the Demon Lord of Envy. His expression wasposed andmanding as he presided over the gathering with a presence that radiated authority.
Seated nearby was Gareth, the cunning Archduke and also the father of Belial. Other than him, there was also the Demon Archduke Agares, Boros, Goliath and Orca. With all the demons present, the Hexennacht officially convened.
The atmosphere turned sombre and focused. On a side note, Duke Megera who had recovered from the damage he suffered from his fight against the General of Jealousy, had also rejoined the event. Though it couldn''t be said that he was in a very good mood after his humiliating defeat.
"Alright, everyone.. Let us start this event with the most pressing matter at hand".
Belial pped his hands and a Demon Duke subordinate from his faction, stepped out. They took out a big parchment of paper from their space ring and spread it open on top of a table at the centre of the venue.
As all the eyes shifted towards the paper, they realised that it was a map though not just any map, but the map of the entire Demon Continent.
Belial, the Demon Lord of Envy, rose from his seat, and gazed at the gathered demons with his piercing violet eyes. With amanding and resonant voice that pierced through the air, he spoke.
"Fellow demons, the humans have made significant inroads into our territories in these past few centuries, building air routes and teleportation gates. Their presence had no doubt allowed us to amass great wealth and resources and has helped us grow stronger".
"However, this has also opened the demon continent to the humans. Their relentless pursuit of power threatens to destabilize our dominion and shatter the delicate bnce we have maintained for aeons¡"
The first topic that was discussed in the Hexennacht was the significant number of dungeons conquered by the humans in the past couple of centuries. Whispers of concern echoed through the venue, each word a testament to the demons'' growing unease.
"Are the humans trying to break the treaty? Did they forget the significant losses they suffered in the ancient wars?"¡
"Hmph, they are tantly disregarding the agreement, so why should we follow it too? Let''s show those humans diving inside out dungeon that all their transgressions would be punished"¡
"Are you all insane? We cannot be the first ones to break the treaty. We the demon race are already imposed with several sanctions and repercussions. To this day, we aren''t allowed to step foot openly on the central Continent. If on top we are the first ones to break the treaty, the consequences will be extremely dire. You do whatever you want to do with your own dungeon, but do not drag all of us into it"¡
"Heh, the era of peace has made you a coward and a wuss who only knows how to sit back inside his dungeon and hide. I am ashamed as a fellow demon noble to know that someone as gutless as you exist among us. Since when did we the race of demon nobles fear anyone? So what if we incur ''their'' wrath if we break the treaty? I say bring it on. This peace is nothing but a fa?ade and this treaty that was forcefully imposed on us is extremely prejudiced against us while favouring the other party"..
"I agree with him, all those rules in the treaty are clearly meant to restrain us"¡
"You all have gone insane. Do you think this is still the ancient era? Even the Demon lords of now have to be respectful to ''them'', who do you think you are¡".
The opinions of the crowd were clearly divided, one side wanted to punish the humans and talked about breaking the treaty, while the other side was against taking action against the humans since they were afraid of suffering any loss.
"Hey, why are they fighting over such amon issue? I didn''t think that the race of demon nobles who only seek their own self interest would discuss about matters that didn''t even concern them"
Simon who was attending the Hexennacht for the first time, didn''t understand why such a matter would concern all the demon kind.
It was not unusual for a dungeon to be conquered, in fact, such cases urs many times over a decade. Of course, in all of those cases, it is the low tier dungeons that are created by low ranking demons such as Demon Earl and Demon Viscount that gets conquered.
There are hardly if any cases where an intermediate tier dungeon gets conquered. So why were these demon nobles so riled up?
"You are right, we the race of demon nobles aren''t united, we are all motivated by our interests and hardly show any care for what happens to others. However, you are wrong about one thing".
"This is a serious matter that concerns all of us Demon Nobles. Since you haven''t attended the previous Hexennacht, you might not know it, but this issue has been raised because it is not the low ranking or intermediate ranking dungeons that have been conquered, but a genuine high ranking dungeon belonging to a powerful Demon Duke". Oswell exined.
"What?"...
"You heard that right, the adventurers managed to conquer an [A] rank dungeon. It is a shocking matter; however, it wouldn''t cause all of us demons to be so riled up. The reason why some demons are even going as far as to say they would break the Treaty, was because it''s not just one high ranking dungeon that got conquered but three of them".
"What''s more astonishing is that all three dungeons were ruled by powerful Demon Dukes who had lived for more than 2000 years. Naturally, the force that they had amassed was equally formidable, yet all of them got destroyed in thest three decades. Something like this hasn''t urred over a millennium. Naturally, an issue like that would be raised in the Hexennacht".
Chapter 674- Hexennacht (2)
Chapter 674- Hexennacht (2)
Simon who heard that it was a high ranking dungeon and not an intermediate or low dungeon that got conquered, was surprised. However, his surprise changed into pure dumbfoundedness when he heard that it was not just one, but three of the high ranking dungeons that got conquered.
It needs to be mentioned that a high ranking dungeon cannot bepared to a low or intermediate tier dungeon. They are called high rank for a reason, they stand at the top of other dungeons and possess formidable and longstanding power that are a testament to theirplexity.
These high ranking dungeons are born through a slow and arduous process of maturation and evolution. The path from an intermediate-tier dungeon to a high-ranking dungeon is a long and gruelling one, spanning centuries for centuries at the very least.
It is these enduring forces that shape these special realms. The dungeon itself undergoes a metamorphosis, fueled by the umtion of a vast amount of mystical energies, the infusion of ancient powers, and the imprint of countless battles fought within its depths.
Not only that, the transformation of a high ranking dungeon from an intermediate-tier one is apanied by a confluence of other factors.
The umtion of potent magical energies within the dungeon''s core serves as a catalyst, triggering the awakening of new sets of dungeon bes a high ranking one that all the options of the [shop] gets unlocked, making it far more difficult and treacherous Floors, Affluences, Biomes, Environmental Change, Laws, Mutations and other challenges.
If we talk about the [Shop] then there are even more changes to be listed and options that could be installed. It is only after the dungeon bes a high ranking one that all the options of the [shop] gets unlocked, making it far more difficult and treacherous to tread.
Additionally, the monsters that could be spawned to defend such dungeons are formidable creatures far more powerful than the ones teeming inside the intermediate tier dungeons. Not only do they possess uncanny strength, agility and defence they are also cunning beyondpare.
From massive hulking behemoths to elusive and stealthy assassins, they pose an insurmountable challenge to any adventurer who dares to tread their halls.
The facility of the [Boss Monsters] also gets unlocked at this point. Magical traps, Arrays, Barriers, Constructs, Ancients Sigils¡ There are so many safeguard systems to protect the dungeon that there is no end to it.
The influence and presence of all these elements is what makes a High ranking dungeons an imprable fortress.
Additionally, they are a bastion of power and secrecy, housing theirs of mighty demon dukes. Demons that are second only to the archdukes in terms of strength and authority,manding legions of minions and possessing formidable magical prowess.
The fall of a high ranking dungeon should be an impossible endeavour, something that couldn''t be imagined easily. Yet, the truth stands before him. Even with all those impossible odds stacked against them, the adventurers managed to conquer said dungeons which stands as a testament to the ultimate power of a demon noble.
The fact that not one, but three of these powerful demon dukes had fallen prey to the onught of adventurers was a sobering realization. It shattered the illusion of invincibility that the demon society had held onto for centuries.
Given the gravity of the situation, it was only natural for the demons to be united for this once. After all, If the adventurers could topple powerful demon dukes and conquer high-ranking dungeons, then no demon, no matter how mighty, was safe from their relentless advance.
While the weight of the issue still lingered within the heart of the demons, Belial the Demon Lord of Envy, decided to drop another bomb.
"The duke that has fallen this time, was from my faction. Duke Beleth, his domain the Shadowed Abyss is located in the north-eastern direction of the Demon Continent. The humans had builtrge teleport gates near his domain that connected with the multiple central kingdoms".
"I had cautioned him multiple times not to let his guard down against these dastardly humans who call themselves adventurers. Yet despite my efforts and warnings, his dungeon had fallen not too long ago".
"What''s surprising was that, until the veryst moment his dungeon was conquered, none of us were able to sense anything. We received nomunication, nothing from him which was unusual because if he was in trouble, he would have sent us a distress call".
"I sent a few of my subordinates and even personally went to the Shadowed Abyss to investigate the situation. However, I found nothing unusual with the ruins of his dungeon other than this".
Belial took out something from his space ring and showed it to the gathering. It was a sound transmission conch and a very high grade one at that, capable of sending transmissions over tens of thousands of kilometres.
"This transmission conch is something I salvaged from the ruins of Beleth''s dungeon. Recorded in it are mostly static noise and inaudible words, but there are a few vague sentences that I believe contain the clues to the identity of the suspects involved in this incident".
Belial showed the transmission conch to the audience at Hexennacht before ying it.
"ZZzz¡ TTZZzzzz.. hold them no matter what, do not let them get to thest floor¡ TTZzzz... This is bad¡ hold longer.. attack. This is Duke Beleth, requesting... TTZzzz... Adventuters¡ attacking¡ fall¡ monsters¡TZZzzzz"
A static noise echoed out, signalling that this was the end of the transmission.
''This..'' many demons wore a look of askance on their face unable to make sense of the audio that they just heard.
From the voice that sounded out, they were sure that it was Duke Beleth; however, there was too much static and interruptions in the transmission that it was hard to make sense of what the duke was trying to say.
"I believe it was a distress call from Beleth requesting for immediate reinforcements from us. However, something had happened to his dungeon that interfered with the sound transmission and stopped it from sending any signals".
"Additionally, though I am not hundred per cent sure, but thest part I believe tells us about the identity of the assants. Adventurers, attacking, fall and monsters. There is no doubt that it was the doing of the Adventurers since I also found his dungeon core missing, so there is no mistaking it".
"''Attacking'' and ''Fall'' must mean that his dungeon was attacked and was on the brink of falling. As for the Monsters, I am not too sure but I believe that the monster referred here is not talking about the monsters that we spawn in our dungeon to safeguard it. Duke Beleth must mean something else".
Belial spoke, his voice contained a mix of curiosity and concern.
As the weight of the revtion settled upon the crowd at Hexennacht, a collective gasp swept through the venue like a chilling breeze. The news that something unsettling, something that possessed the power to topple down even the power of a Demon Duke, sent shockwaves of disbelief and fear among the attendees.
Whispers filled the air, spreading the grim tidings like wildfire.
"As I thought so, we need to give an appropriate reply or the humans will think they can do anything they want"¡
"Say what? Are you still suggesting we break the treaty first? We cannot stop the humans from entering ournd nor can we go into theirs"¡
"Silence everyone, this is not the time to argue among ourselves. The treaty is something that cannot be broken no matter what. However, it is also true that we cannot allow these dastardly humans to climb on top of our head dance".
"There will be retaliation. As the demon lord, I promise you all that I shall thoroughly investigate this matter, and a verdict will be reached. However, till then I ask everyone to exercise restraint. Do not under no circumstances be the first one to break the treaty".
Belial spoke, his voice carrying the weight of unsurpassed authority. As his words hung in the air, a hushed silence settled over the venue. The conquest of their cherished dungeons by these dastardly beings was a blow to their pride, a reminder that their dominion was not invincible.
"We must also keep a watchful eye on the Adventurer''s Association. Their changing policies and allegiances have the potential to disrupt the delicate bnce of power within our dominion. We cannot afford to underestimate the influence they wield."
Gareth, the demon who had lived for over six thousand years, decided to interject with his observation.
The Adventurers'' Association, once viewed as a mere nuisance, had grown into a force to be reckoned with.
The audience in the Hexennacht nodded in agreement. They realized that the time for underestimating the adventurers'' association had long passed. It was no longer a matter of petty squabbles over territorial disputes or dungeon resources. It was a fight for survival, a battle to protect their dominion, their ce to live, and their very existence.
The discussion ensued, whispers of concerns were mumbled, ns were hatched and new alliances were made. The Demon Dukes once divided by their own ambitions and rivalries, now united in the face of amon enemy.
Strategies were devised to fortify their dungeons, to bolster their defences. The lessons learned from the fallen high-ranking dungeons were etched deep into the consciousness of the demon society.
While all of this was happening, Simon was deliberating something inside his head. The matter was of course about the adventurers. However, he was still wondering about the iplete message the Demon Duke named Beleth left behind.
He couldn''t get thest word that the duke said off of his mind.
''Adventurers¡ attacking¡ fall¡ monsters¡'' What did he mean by that?
Monsters¡ there was something about this word that struck Simon. A memory from a few years ago couldn''t help but surface in his mind once again.
Chapter 675- The Treaty
Chapter 675- The Treaty
It was during the time his dungeon was breached by a coalition of adventurers led by the guild named Seven Swords Guild. Simon had justpleted the fourth trial in the forbidden grounds and had arrived in his dungeon, only to get that news.
Of course, their attempt was met with a failure, as Simon did not spare anyone and wiped all of them out or took them as convicts to be questioned andter killed except for one, that guy managed to escape.
There was one person among the lot who had intruded his dungeon pretending to be under the coercion of the Sea God''s Guild and observed the entire spectacle while hiding as Simon wiped out their entire party.
That guy who called himself Bryan or 007 a senior executive of some organisation called as Cerberus was able to hide from the surveince of the dungeon. Assuming that it was a skill that was developed by the Adventurer''s Association to tackle the dungeons as said by Davis Hall, that guy also possessed another peculiar ability.
He was able to transform into some monstrous being with furs all over his body and elongated arms. Not only that, but after he transformed into that form, his stats, energy, skills all seemed to have risen drastically.
Although he had managed to escape thanks to a powerful spatial artefact, he still left an impression on Simon who couldn''t help but wonder if there was any connection with the monster Duke Beleth spoke about.
Cerberus huh?! Simon took out a badge from his space ring. It was a badge that depicted a three headed infernal hound called the Cerberus.
This badge was given to him by Bryan saying that there woulde a time in the future when they would have to work together. The other party had also invited him into his ranks; however, he had rejected it.
Simon didn''t know what the objective of this organisation was, but one thing was certain... this organisation always moved in the shadows. It would be too soon to discount the involvement of Cerberus in the fall of so many high ranking dungeons.
''Seems like I will have to fortify my dungeon and raise its rank as soon as possible'' Simon came to a decision.
Being a demon Earl who had created his own dungeon, the fall of the high ranking dungeons also concerned him. It could be said that his dungeon was rtively safe and fortified right now. However, who could say about the future?
If even High ranking dungeon wasn''t safe, much less needs to be said about a [C] rank intermediate tier dungeon. In his case, if not for his capable subordinates his dungeon, Lace might have fallen years ago.
Be it private guilds or Adventurer''s Associations that managed them, they cannot be underestimated. Not only had they created so many new skills and machines like the Floor Buster to tackle the dungeon, who knew what else they had in store?
If the demon nobles continued to underestimate the adventurers, it been diving inside the dungeons for thousands of years. Naturally, we have amassed some knowledge over the years and passed it wouldn''t be too long before they get the rug pulled from under them.
"Haha, you shouldn''t be that surprised demon. Us human race has been diving inside the dungeons for thousands of years. Naturally, we have amassed some knowledge over the years and passed it down from generation to generation. To counter the dangers of the dungeon, we have created many new skills and artefacts. The mask, that I used, the machine behind me and the skills Edgar used are just some of ourtest inventions".
Simon recalled the words that Davis Hall, an officer of the Adventurer''s Association had said to him once.
The humans have evolved and learned a whole lot since the ancient times. The knowledge that they inherited and passed from generation to generation became the strength of the ones of this era.
The current generations of humans were quite innovative in that they havee up with a new and different method of exploring dungeons. The Floor Buster for example was able to catch Simon who had made the mistake of underestimating the aventurers, by surprise.
It destroyed all of his ns and traps that he had set for them and ultimately forced him toe out and face them himself ahead of his ns.
If they can create something that goes unnoticed from the radars of the dungeon and havemachines that can breach through floors and many more, who is to say that they cannot iste a dungeon and conquer it before the other demons even get an inkling?
The alliance and pacts that the demon nobles are creating under the fa?ade of self interest, will not help them. This temporary unity will soon crumble away and copse when more dungeons start falling and the selfishness of the demons areid bare.
At that time, the alliance would hold no meaning and be an empty word.
"Hey, my best friend what are you thinking so intently? Are you that worried about your dungeon? You look quite stiff, rx a little. Don''t be overly worried and push yourself to the edge. If you do, you won''t find any solution" Oswellmented ncing at Simon who was lost in his own world.
Should I tell him about this? Simon deliberated. Oswell was someone who had a good rtionship with him, thetter had also helped him out during the journey. As such, telling him about what he knew didn''t seem a bad idea.
In fact, the other party might also be in possession of useful information. If they could share their information with each other, it would benefit them mutually.
And so, Simon told Oswell all that he knew about the Adventurer Associations and their new inventions. After hearing what Simon had to say, a rare seriousness descended onto Oswell''s face.
"I see so your dungeon too has experienced those inventions of theirs huh? As a matter of fact, a few months ago my dungeon too was assaulted by a group of adventurers who used peculiar means and gadgets to dive deeper into the dungeon".
"In my case, they used a peculiar machine that could generate poisonous smoke that can kill or render most monsters unconscious. But this Floor Buster you say is something else. If they have really perfected that machine, then even the higher ranking dungeons are not safe. Be it this or that, it looks like the dungeon exploration has entered a new era"
He spoke with a grim voice. A machine that could render the monsters inside the dungeon unconscious and a machine that could breach through floors would scare any demon.
That said, now that they were aware of the new inventions and the way the dungeon exploration is going to change in the future, they could prepare their dungeon appropriately for it.
Simon and Oswell continued to share the information they knew about the adventurers and amidst their discussion, the topic of the treaty inadvertently arrived.
What was this treaty the demon nobles were talking about? Why were they so afraid of it? After bing a Demon Earl, the memories of the world he inherited became a little moreplete.
However, this knowledge was still beyond his rank. Although he had heard about some treaty from Cecilia once. However, how much could a ten to eleven year child who has never stepped foot away from her vige, know?
"Right, let me tell you about this treaty that shackles us Demon nobles and many other ns likewise. In the annals of ancient history, there exists a treaty that stands as a testament to the resilience and wisdom of the races that inhabit the realms".
"This treaty, forged in the wake of the cataclysmic Second Apex War sought to restore bnce and foster harmony between the ns that had been ravaged by conflict. It was around the time when the chaos led to unfettered ambition and ruthless exploitation of Many rare and extraordinary ns, whose very bodies held treasures beyond imagination".
"They became the targets of greed and desperation. These extraordinary ns possessed physical attributes and abilities that were the envy of all. There were those whose blood ran with ancient magic, granting them unimaginable powers, and those whose bodies could regenerate even the gravest of wounds and some whose orbs could allow one to purify their bloodline and help them reach new heights of power and level".
As Oswell spoke till here, Simon could more or less understand what happened next. In thiswless vacuum, those with power sought to dominate and control these rare ns. They were subjected to relentless pursuit, their freedom stripped away, and their lives reduced to meremodities.
Captured and confined, they were traded like objects, their unique attributes harnessed for personal gain or sold to the highest bidder. Cecilia''s n, the Forest Spring Spirits was just one of them.
Oswell continued: "It was amidst this backdrop of desperation and despair that the Dragon Lords emerged as beacons of hope. These supreme and noble beings, revered for their wisdom, power, and unyielding sense of justice, recognized the dire need for stability and order".
"They sought to restore bnce to all the continents and protect those who were vulnerable to exploitation. The treaty itself was aborious endeavour, meticulously crafted over years of negotiations, concessions, and diplomatic manoeuvrings".
"It punished any and all ns who were ying a part of subjugators and imposed heavy sanctions and rules on them. And the race of Demon Nobles was one of them who yed a proactive role in all of this. Many of our rights were ceased, our influence censored and we were confined to thisnd forever unable to step out".
Chapter 676- Secret Dealing
Chapter 676- Secret Dealing
"The race of demon nobles was confined to the demon continent. The consequences of ever breaking it would be disastrous. Of course, the humans who were equal perpetrators in all of this if not more, were also appended in the treaty".
"However,pared to the heavy sanctions and rules imposed on the demons, the humans got it easy. The repercussions that they suffered weren''t evesting and with time, they recovered from all those damages".
Oswell nced at Simon and seeing his perplexed look, he rified. "I know what you are thinking. If the humans and demon nobles were an equal perpetrators in all of this mayhem, then why were the human race not penalised equally? Why did theye out of this treaty rtively better than the Demon Nobles?"
"The reason for that was simple. At that time, four of our demon lords had fallen, the primordial Demon Lord of Sloth was gravely injured and Wrath refused to join in all of this. He hadpletely given up on the world and was unconcerned about what happened to the race of Demon Nobles".
"No matter how powerful she is,dy Lilith alone couldn''t defy the powerful Dragon Lords and the coalition of other mighty ns. As such, our race of Demon Nobles even though unwilling, had to ept the short end of the stick. Whereas, the race of humans got lucky. Although they too had suffered disastrous losses, a new beacon of hope, the Seraphim of Chastity appeared amongst them and led the race of humans to a new dawn. As the result of the Seraphims'' intervention, they were spared from suffering heavy impositions".
So that is why, Simon nodded his head, one of his doubts was cleared now.
"Anyways, thanks to the treaty''s provisions thatid the foundation forsting peace, boundaries were established, demarcating the territories of each n and race, ensuring a delicate equilibrium that allowed for coexistence and cooperation".
"Economic agreements were forged, fostering mutual benefit among the signatories. And most crucially, a framework for dispute resolution and mediation was established, preventing conflicts from escting into all-out war. The treaty also recognized the role of the Dragon ns as the custodians of the realms'' bnce. With their ancient wisdom and immeasurable power, they were tasked with upholding the treaty''s ts, and serving as impartial judges and enforcers".
"Their presence served as a constant reminder to all signatories of the consequences that awaited those who dared to defy the peace. As time passed, the treaty became ingrained in the fabric of our world. Thus creating the era that was now".
Oswell took a pause here and nced at Simon: "I could keep on talking about the treaty; however, with this you should have a basic understanding of what this treaty is and why some of the demons are unwilling to breach it".
"However, the actions of the humans are a testament of the fragility of the treaty. This delicate peace is nothing but a deception. Chaos is still present in the world, fights and battles are still fought everywhere under the guise of politics and ns being subjugated hidden from the eyes of the dragon ns".
"As new generations are rising to power, the memories of the Second Apex War are beginning to fade, and of course, the once old rivalry is threatening to resurface once again. Even I am unable to predict which direction the world will shift from this point on".
"However, what I am clear is that, the times are starting to change. We the race of Demon Nobles no longer hold the advantageous position due to the treaty. If the demon nobles continue to maintain their current self indulgence, we are sure to fall sooner orter".
.
.
In a realm veiled in darkness, where the boundaries between worlds grew thin, a figure slowly walked forward. The figure had the head of a goat, half of his face was skeletal and one could see the muscles and veins spasming through it.
They had long twisting thorns, razor sharp teeth and peculiar crossed eyes with ring shaped patterns. They had a pale purple skin and wore a ck hood over. Their arms were long and thin and held a weird staff that was made of bones. A pungent smell of corpse wafted off from them.
The figure was none other than the Merchant of the Damned, Grimvul.
TAK¡ TAK¡ As he walked forward, in this ominous dark world, the sound of his footsteps echoed through the expanse of this ce.
"Merchant of the damned, my lord has been expecting you".
Suddenly, an old voice sounded out, the darkness shifts and an old man stood waiting in front of the merchant. If Simon was here, he would have immediately recognised the old man with a serene look Auction of the Damned.
and having orbs like nebs surrounding him while levitating a few feet off the ground, as the old hermit he had seen back in the Auction of the Damned.
"ShiShiShi¡ So he saw through my arrival huh, as expected of that being. Lead me to him, I have a piece of news that being would definitely want" Grimvul spoke, shing his wretched smile.
Acknowledging the merchant''s request, the old man nodded and led him deeper through a series ofbyrinthine paths and in front of a grand chamber that loomed like a colossal beast before them.
The chamber, bathed in an eternal twilight, was an embodiment of ancient dread and unfathomable power. Its immense size stretches beyond the boundaries of one''s eyesight.
The walls here were made of an eerie material with pulsating veins running along its sides. The pirs supporting the ce rise to towering heights, disappearing into the dark depths above.
Ancient glyphs and symbols, etched with precision and purpose, were carved along the walls as if recording the secrets lost to time.
The air within the chamber was heavy with the weight of ages, suffused with a chilling aura that sends shivers down the spines of even the most stalwart souls. An unnatural silence pervaded the ce.
In the distance, a faint glow like an ember emanates from a series of torches strategically ced throughout the chamber. Their ethereal mes cast flickering shadows upon the chamber''s vast expanse, painting macabre images upon the walls.
The flickering light dances with the darkness, creating an eerie chiaroscuro.
At the centre of the chamber, elevated upon a dais of obsidian, rests a throne. Carved with intricate detail, the throne seemed to meld seamlessly with the encroaching darkness, its jagged edges and sinuous curves evoking a sense of unease.
Seated upon the throne was an enormous and shadowy figure emanating a palpable aura of power and darkness. Their form was obscured, shrouded in a cloak of obsidian hues that seem to drink in the very light around them. Only the gleam of their glowing eyes burning intensely could be seen prating through that cloak.
As the Merchant and the old man approached near, the chamber fell into an eerie stillness. Whispers of ancient incantations and infernal rituals echo through the air, as if paying homage to the shadowy figure upon the throne.
"Master I brought the merchant. He came here as you had foretold, it looks like he has some kind of news for you" The old man spoke respectfully towards the figure seated on the throne.
The ancient incantations and the echo of chants stopped, the shadowy figure turned its gaze toward the Merchant. Their eyes glowing with an otherworldly light pierced through the darkness as if they held the weight of tens of thousands of years and could see through all kinds of deception.
Feeling the gaze upon him, the merchant of the damned realised once again that he stands before a being of immense power and knowledge, a figure who has witnessed countless rise and falls of the world, and who holds the strings that bind fate itself.
A being of unparalleled significance, and power that could not only shape the destiny of the entire Demon Continent, but all of Althaea.
In front of that being even Grimvul had to bow his head in deference.
"Speak Grimvul, why did youe to my domain? Are you tired of living or did youe here bringing some good news for me? Speak, do not waste my time".
A voice resonated through the chamber, deep andmanding, as if the very fabric of reality could be bent to the speaker''s will.
"Oh primordial one, I havee bearing some good news. The information rting to that thing you are searching for, I have it with me. However, before I pass this information to you, I have two simple requests of you" Grimvul requested.
"Speak"..
The merchant of the damned steadied himself so as to not show any fear in front of the figure and made his requests.
"My first request is that in exchange for the value of the information that I''m about to provide you, I want something of equal significance".
Shadowy figure: "So, the Merchant of the Damned seeks my possessions, how amusing. You stand before me trembling, yet you make such demands? Alright, I grant this request. If the information you have is of great value to me, I shall provide you with something with equal value. Now, make your second request".
Grivul continued "My second request is that you guarantee my life. During my time here and when I leave this ce, I want you to guarantee that no one will harm me".
The ancient shadow, seated upon the throne, gazed deeply at Grimvul with a prating intensity as if he was angered.
Chapter 677- Secret Dealing (2)
Chapter 677- Secret Dealing (2)
"Do not mistake your arrival here as a mere coincidence, Grimvul. I, who dwell within the shadows of this world, have long foreseen your presence in my domain. How else did you think you were able to arrive here, at my doorstep without any interruptions? Your purpose and intentions were unveiled to me through the veils of time and space".
The Merchant of the Damned shivers in unease feeling the gaze. He instantly realised that he had made a mistake and apologised for his words while struggling to maintain hisposure and fighting the creeping tendrils of fear that threaten to consume him.
"P-Please quell your anger O primordial one, your foresight and divination are truly awe inspiring. It humbles me to stand before you, knowing that my arrival was foreseen by your ancient wisdom. I am but a humble merchant, driven by the desire to possess materialistic things".
The shadowy figure''s silence seemed to stretch on, as if contemting something. Eventually, a nod of assent, almost imperceptible, emanates from the depths of the darkness that surrounded the throne.
"Alright, I guarantee your life until you leave my domain. No one shall harm you during this time, my words are absolute. Now speak, what is this information that you have for me".
Grimvul sighed a breath of relief, he felt like a great weight had been removed from his shoulders, like a convict who has been granted amnesty. With those words from the shadowy figure, he was relieved, there was no way any harm cane to him now.
"O primordial one, the information that I''m about to tell you is of great importance to you. I have traced the echoes of the fragments that you are looking for to the farthest reaches of the different worlds and have finally discovered them."
"The greater constetion that has been lying dormant since time immemorial, is starting to shine once again. Its divine will has formed once again and has chosen a different wielder this time".
Hearing the words of the merchant, the intense glow in the eyes of the shadowy figure fluctuated for a fraction of a second.
"You don''t mean¡".
"Yes, the fragments of Pride have formed once again".
The moment Grimvul confirmed that, it was as if something unnoticeable, something mighty and unfathomable was unleashed. It spread through the entire domain and beyond like a tremor causing unnatural phenomena in the outside world.
"Merchant of the Damned are you certain? If this is one of your trickery, this old man will be the one to end your life".
The old man beside Grimvul spoke in the gravest of tone. Trickery in front of his master was an offence that cannot be pardoned.
"Hmph, I''m not so foolish as to do something like that in front of the one who has lived through the primordial times. What I say is the truth. The Fragments of Pride has formed once again and have chosen a wielder. I have witnessed their emergence in the world of Althaea" Grimvul snorted asserting his words.
"Ever since the primordial times, there has only ever been one who has been recognised and chosen by the Fragments of Pride. Ever since their demise, the greater constetion had forever been dead, its divine will never manifesting again".
"That is to say, the Fragments of Pride vanished from Althaea forever. However, you say that it has not only formed once again, but has also chosen a different wielder. If your words are to be believed, then you truly have brought me a great news".
"Master, are you really believing what this Merchant has to say? This being cannot be¡" The old man was still sceptical. However, before he couldplete his sentence, a voice that carried absolute authority, silenced him.
"Silence, I''m not done talking. Merchant Grimvul continue, tell me everything that you know".
Grimvul nodded his head and continued to ry the unfathomable revtion.
"O primordial one, I have witnessed it with my own eyes. The fragments of pride thought to be lost to the annals of history, have once again chosen a wielder. A Demon Earl who came to attend my auction".
"Although he had kept it hidden marvellously, it was clear that he has no idea of what the Fragments he possessed are and is unable to control its powers and aura. I''m not lying, he should be currently attending the Hexennacht. If the primordial one doesn''t trust me, he can send someone to check on him".
The silence in the air hangs heavily as the shadowy figure''s form seemed to shift, their immense presence filling the chamber with an undeniable aura of dread and anticipation.
"Your revtion is truly shocking and defies all logic. A Demon Earl chosen as a wielder? Why would the Fragments of a greater constetion choose such an insignificant demon who is not even an ancient Archduke?"
"However, it doesn''t appear that you are lying to me. If that Demon Earl is unaware of the powers of the fragments and has never used any of its [Authority], it''s no wonder that I was unable to sense it".
"Good..good, you have brought me a piece of great news. The value of this information of yous is truly iparable, as a reward, I shall give you something that I believe will be worth your trouble" The shadow finger extended his hands and a small dark orb floated from their hands towards Grimvul.
"This is!!" Thetter immediately recognised what this item was.
"As expected of the Merchant of the Damned who has traded over millions of items. Your knowledge over artefacts is truly worthy of admiration".
Grimvul bowed his head and thanked the shadowy figure. This item here was worth all the risk he had to taken toe all the way over here.
"My business here is done, O primordial one, it was a pleasure doing business with you, I hope we have many such opportunities like this in the future" Grimvul bid goodbye and made his way out of their domain.
With his life personally guaranteed by the master of this ce, he met no trouble on the way and exited the ce safe and sound.
Back inside the chamber, the old man gazes at the shadowy figure with a mix of curiosity and concern. His voice wasced with a touch of skepticism as he addresses his master, seeking rification and understanding.
"Master, do you truly believe the words of that merchant Grimvul? Was it wise to bestow upon him the Prison of Darkness? You have always been cautious and mistrustful of others, even your own subordinates."
The shadowy figure leaned back upon its throne, their eyes still gazing in the direction where Grimvul disappeared to as if piercing through the walls and boundaries of this realm.
"You know me well, old friend. Trust is a luxury I cannot afford. However, there was a glimmer of possibility within Grimvul''s words, a hint of truth that resonated with the whispers of fate. Hence, I gave him that item".
"Of course, there is no way I will give away an item as precious as that, I have marked the Prison of Darkness with my Sigil, now no matter where he goes as long as he has that item with him I can always track him back".
"I see¡Then should we send someone to attack him as soon as he steps out of your domain?" The old man asked.
"How would it make me look if I were to go back on my words? The Prison of Darkness is important, we cannot just let Grimvul take it away; however, there is no reason for us to personally take action to retrieve it..".
"You mean to say¡" The old man realised what his master''s intentions were.
"Right, give this information to Asmodeus. He has been searching for a chance to track Grimvul. I''m sure he will dly ept our offer".
"I see, Master. Your wisdom and foresight are unparalleled. By using Asmodeus, you will not only be able to kill Grimvul without going back on your words, but by giving this information to them you will also retrieve the item and make a good impression on them".
The old man noded, his eyes reflecting a mixture of understanding and admiration for his master''s calcted approach.
"Haha¡ old friend I shall leave the matter of Prison of Darkness to you. Employ all kinds of means and forces if necessary" The shadowy figure spoke rising from their throne.
"Master, forgive my boldness, but are you intending to go somewhere?" the old man posed a question.
The shadowy figure with their visage obscured by darkness, turned their attention to the old man, a glint of determination flickering within those eyes.
"Indeed, old friend. There is someone that I must meet, a being of immense power and foresight, someone who dwells in the memories of the past. They possess the knowledge and discernment that I need to see through fate, someone that can confirm the existence of the Fragments of Pride".
"Master you don''t mean the First ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö? If so then let mee with you. If that person decides to attack, even for you it will be hard to fend them off" With a voice filled with a little trepidation, the old man proposed.
However, the shadowy figure shook its head. "I''m going there by disguising all my powers and appearance. If I bring you along with me, it would be like announcing to the whole world my identity. We cannot let others get any inkling of our activities".
Chapter 678- Territorial Feud
Chapter 678- Territorial Feud
"As such, I will be going alone. Besides it''s not like we are going to fight. From the truth I unveiled from the whispers of fate, I can tell that person will not start a fight with me".
With a subtle gesture, the shadowy figure conjured a swirling vortex of mystical energy, ripping through the fabric of space. The air crackled with raw power as a spatial gate materialized before them. A shimmering portal to an unknown ce lies ahead.
"Old friend¡ I leave this ce to you. With the fragments of Greed, Envy and Glutonny each choosing their new wielders and appearing to descend at this moment, I must ascertain whether the Fragments of Pride have once again appeared in Althaea or not. There is no time to waste, the future that I envisioned, our n is so nearpletion¡"
The shadowy figure spoke, a flicker of intrigue and excitement could be sensed from their tone.
"In that case, I hope Master employs necessary caution when dealing with that person. Before you leave, I wanted to ask if we should send someone to Hexennacht to ascertain Grimvul''s words?"...
The shadowy figure who was about to disappear into the spatial gate, halted their stride and looked back.
"Hexennacht huh? Isn''t it Gareth''s time to host the event this year?".
"You are right master; however, Gareth has instead relented this opportunity to his son Belial, the one chosen by the Fragments of Envy" The old man reported.
"Hoh his son huh? To think that little boy''s son would be chosen by Envy¡ very amusing. That said, there is no need to send anyone, all my powerful subordinates are currently busy. If I send someone else, that boy Gareth will be able to sense them. Let those children y their house for now".
Leaving behind those final words, the shadowy figure stepped into the portal disappearing into a realm unknown. The chamber, now devoid of the shadowy figure''s formidable presence, echoes with a lingering sense of anticipation and foreboding.
The old man, bowed his head towards the slowly closing spatial gate in silent reverence and left to carry out his master''smands.
In the vast expanse of Althaea, where secrets lie veiled and destinies intertwine, what sorts of consequences this meeting will bring? Only time will reveal the oue of this fateful quest and the impact it shall have on the delicate tapestry of Althaea''s existence.
.
.
In the shadowed halls of demon councils and ndestine gatherings, discussions echoed with concerns, strategies, and fears of an impending conflict. The future of the dungeon conquering system hung in the bnce, its fate intertwined with the resolution of the human-demon rtions and the preservation of the ancient treaty that had long sustained their realm.
Amidst the fervour of the fall of the high ranking dungeons, the topic of the angels movements emerged, casting a shadow of uncertainty upon the gathering.
If talking about the threats that concerned all the demon nobles, the presence of angels couldn''t be discounted. Especially those above the rank of dominion.
"The Angels of Dominion have be increasingly active these days. Their motivations remain shrouded in mystery, but their presence no doubt possesses a great threat to our race".
"Although I do not have any proof, but the movements of the humans in the central continent are definitely rted to that empire and the Seraphim that controls it. Through some monitoring and personalworks I was able to find that the Seraphim and the Angels of Dominion that serve him are expanding their territories and invading other kingdoms. While it may be happening in the Central Continent, we cannot discount the fact that their movements would have an impact on us sooner orter".
"My lord, the seraphim that you are talking about could it be..."
"That''s right, the Seraphim of Temperance that rose to power more than three thousand years ago. The Empire that he founded slowly expanded its influence and has currently be a behemoth of an existence in the Central Continent".
Belial spoke, his eyes narrowed with a mix of concern and confusion. The Rumors of angels, their movements and intention that were still shrouded in mystery, sent ripples of apprehension through the crowd.
The demons, their eyes filled with a mixture of determination and apprehension, nodded in agreement, recognizing the gravity of the situation.
Seeing the gloomy atmosphere of the gathering, Belial nced towards Gareth who nodded his head. All these discussions and information he gave forth, was for this moment. The pieces all aligned perfectly just like he had nned, this was his chance¡ª
The perfect opportunity to strike and seal his standing amongst the demon nobles forever.
Belial stepped forward, in this time of unease, his figure became the beacon of hope that the demon nobles needed to lead them.
"Do not falter, my brethren. The angels may be powerful and have their divine blood and celestial powers, but we possess our own unique strengths and innate abilities that they can never trulyprehend".
"For this Hexennacht I have called upon the Demon Archdukes, the Demon Dukes, and all those who hold positions of power and influence in our realm. Together, we shall devise strategies to counter the angels, to safeguard our dominion, and to ensure that the bnce of power remains firmly in our grasp."
The disturbances within the two continents were a cause for great unease, and they understood the importance of unity and vignce in the face of these threats. The demons, their spirits rekindled by Belial''s words, exuded a renewed sense of determination.
The position and trust the Demon Lord of Envy held in their hearts increased as they realised that in these dire times, he was the only one who can truly lead them.
And so, by using the factors of uncertainty to his favour, the Demon Lord of Envy, Belial solidified his rule and increased his influence further.
The Hexenht continued on for days, the issues of humans calling themselves adventurers and angels, both were of grave concerns. As such, under the new demon lord''s rule, many new strategies were formed, information shared andworks forged.
Simon watched the entire proceeding like an observer, listening intently to the activities going on all around the world. Since this was his first time attending the Hexennacht and the absence of news or media in this world, it was very difficult to discern the state of affairs happening around the world.
It was only during such momentous gatherings where information are disseminated freely, that one gets a precious glimpse into the broader tapestry of events. Or else, confined within the confines of his dungeon and the epassing forest, his awareness remained shrouded in blissful ignorance.
And so on the seventh day of the Hexennacht, the topic that Simon had been waiting for and the main reason for his attendance, was finally conferred.
The agenda was the territorial feud, a persistent issue that fueled arguments and war among the demons. Territory, to the demon nobles, was not just a mere expanse ofnd to im and conquer. It held far greater significance in their intricate hierarchy and power dynamics.
It represented their domain of influence, their stronghold from which they derived authority, wealth, and status. These resources bolstered their individual strength and provided them with the means to further expand their dominion.
In a realm where strength was revered, territorial control became a tangible manifestation of a demon noble''s might and influence. Moreover, territory served as a symbol of dominance and authority over other demons.
It showcased their ability to subjugate and govern lesser ranking demons within their domain, establishing themselves as formidable rulers.
This disy of power not only earned them respect among their peers, but also instilled fear and obedience in those who resided within their territories.
In a society where power struggles and alliances weremon, demon nobles sought to expand their territories as a means to increase their sphere of influence and solidify their standing among the ruling elite.
Arger territory meant greater control over resources, a stronger foothold in conflicts, and enhanced bargaining power in negotiations. It is because of these reasons that dungeon wars are initiated to assert territorial ims or to destroy the dungeon of the rival demons.
They understood that by doing so, not only are they eliminating anypetition, but also snuffing the intention of any potential rivals. As could be seen from the atmosphere inside the venue which underwent a palpable change the moment the topic of territorial disputes was waged.
The once harmonious gathering of demons, became charged with an undercurrent of tension and anticipation. The mention of territorial agendas acted as a catalyst, igniting a fire within the attendees.
Friction simmered beneath the surface, threatening to erupt at any moment. The once friendly exchanges turned into strategic manoeuvrings, with demons subtly positioning themselves and their interests, ready to assert their ims and protect their domains.
The intensity in the room became almost tangible, as each demon sought to make their voice heard.
Two high-ranking demons, who had a long standing grudge against each other for decades of territorial skirmish, rose from their seats unable to hold themselves down any longer. Their eyes locked in a fierce stare-down.
Duke Rhydion, a towering figure with dark wings and a regal air, spoke with a voice that resonated through the venue.
"Demon Lord Belial, Archduke Gareth, I demand rpense for the territories that were wrongfully seized from my domain. The encroachment of Duchess Elysilon''s forces has disrupted the delicate bnce of power."
Duchess Elysilon, a seductive and formidable Demon Duke with dark coral coloured hair, met Rhydion''s gaze with an unwavering determination.
"Duke Rhydion, you speak of bnce, yet you fail to acknowledge the expansion of your own dominion at the expense of others. The territories in question rightfully belong to me, and I shall not relinquish them without a fight".
Chapter 679- Territorial Feud (2)
Chapter 679- Territorial Feud (2)
The sh of arguments between these two dukes, reverberated through the chamber, their voicesden with centuries of history and deep-seated rivalry.
usations and counterims filled the air as their subordinates and faction rallied behind them, forming a divided audience, each side fervently defending their chosen duke.
It was not only Duke Rhydion and Duchess Elysilon''s sides which were fiercely arguing, but other demon nobles and their faction too.
The venue which was celebrating the formation of new alliances and unity, had now transformed into a battlefield of words and subtle machinations. The friction and electricity that hung in the air served as a constant reminder that no matter how many alliances they forged, at the end of the day, they were demon nobles by birth and would always prioritize their own interest first.
"The Tainted Swamps rightfully falls within the boundaries of my domain. Its dark grounds and twisting rivers have long been under my control, and its resources have fueled my forces for centuries" Duke Rhydion asserted, his voice resonated with an unwavering conviction.
"Hmph, you dare spout lies even in such auspicious gathering and im what is mine? It looks like you have no shame Duke Rhydion. Thend in question is an extension of my territory, blessed by the malevolent energies that have nurtured my dungeon for centuries. Its very essence thrums with my influence, and I will not yield it to your insatiable hunger for power."
As the quarrel escted, their words took on a sharper edge, slicing through the silence like a double-edged sword. Everywhere you see, the atmosphere inside the venue teetered on the edge of anticipation, a storm ready to unleash its fury.
"You!! What did you say?" Duke Rhydion''s face was ashen when slighted in front of the whole crowd like that. How could he a powerful demon duke leading one of the mightiest factions, take this lying down?
"If you are going to be like this, then I have no choice but to dere Dungeon War on you".
Whispers swept through the crowd, as soon as duke Rhydion spoke about dering war on Duchess Elysilon''s dungeon. The tension in the room became palpable like a tangible force that shut every arguing demon nobles up and drew them into the unfolding drama between the two powerful adversaries.
"Do you think I''m afraid of you? Fine, if you want to do things like this, I dere dungeon war on your dungeon too. It is better this way, once I destroy your dungeon, this long standing grudge will also disappear".
Duchess Elysilon unyieldingly stood her ground, her voice carrying a note of defiance.
"Duke Rhydion, the other party seems to be looking down on our Blood Ridge Faction. Let us also join this war"..
"Hmph, do you think our Nightmare Trance faction is just for show. Duchess Elysilon, give us the word, we shall dere war on their faction".
The quarrel had reached a crescendo with more and more demons joining in. With the threat of the dungeon war igniting a fire within them, the other high ranking demon nobles too joined in the bandwagon, ready to assert their dominance over their rivals.
The chaos of war hung in the air like a vtile storm. The room seemed to tremble under the weight of the animosity and the threat of war. Those onlookers who were not in any faction or those like Simon and Oswell, watched the chaotic unfolding with bated breath.
They didn''t want to get caught in the chaotic waters of the territorial dispute that had simmered for decades if not centuries, now manifesting in the most ugliest of forms.
Amidst the chaos, the demon archdukes and the Demon Lord of Envy, observed the spectacle with a mixture of concern and intrigue. They recognized the significance of this confrontation and the potential ripples this could send throughout the demon continent.
If they let the argument and the tension to escte any further, a conflict of great scale would be unavoidable. As such, they have to step in to meditate.
Belial nced at his father and the other demon Archdukes seated near before nodding his head.
Tensions ran high as the demons in attendance, divided by their faction and interest red at each other. Just when it seemed like a skirmish was inevitable, Belial raised a hand, calling for order.
"Enough" His voice, steady andmanding, pierced through the charged atmosphere silencing all the demons with his pressure.
"This dispute cannot be solved through bickering and threats of war. Have you all already forgotten the threats that loomed over us and the resolve and the alliances you all made in their wake?".
Belial looked at the crowd, his eyes carried a firmness that brooked no argument "Duke Rhydion, Duchess Elysilon... as two of the oldest demon dukes present, having lived for more than 2000 years. I expected more self control and temperance from you two".
"You all as well, I understand the significance of these territories to each of you. However, we must remember that our true enemy lies beyond our borders. It is the encroachment of the human adventurers, the angels and the rise of their conquests that threatens our very existence".
"It is not the time to bicker with each other and tear ourselves apart. We stand at a crucial juncture in our history where we need to make a stand against the encroaching threats. It is only natural for disputes to arrive when your interests are somehow affected. However, must we settle it through such crude means?".
"But Lord Belial, how can we resolve these disputes when our interests and desires often sh? Are we to abandon our ambitions and cede territory to others?" A demon duke who was unable to take his rival''s attempts to cease his territory, spoke up.
"I understand your concerns, my fellow demon. Rest assured, I do not propose relinquishing our interests. Instead, I advocate for a system of diplomacy and negotiation, wherepromises can be reached and agreements can be forged. By engaging in open dialogue and by providing hard facts, we can strive for peaceful resolutions that do not involve tearing each other apart."
"But my lord, what about those who refuse to cooperate? What if some demons seek to expand their dominions through force?".
Belial nced at the demon; no at the whole Hexennacht gathering and dered with a voice full of authority.
"That is why I am here. As the new Demon Lord, I believe it is my duty to lead my fellow Demon brethren. Together with the Demon Archdukes I shall convene and establish a council for mediation. This council will serve as a tform for dialogue, where disputes can be heard, and solutions can be sought. If necessary, I shall not hesitate to act against those whose intention are to threaten the peace and stability of our realm".
The final words from the newly risen Demon Lord of Envy, ceased all discontent and silent arguments going on among the audience. They all nodded their heads agreeing with the demon lord.
The image of a vast infernal horde covering thend like a ck carpet and the loss of Duke Megera was still fresh on their mind. The power presentation from the demon lord served both as a caution for enemies and demons alike.
Although Belial said it was a power not meant to be exercised on the fellow demon, they didn''t want to be the guinea pig to test it out. What''s more, the new Demon Lord also had the support of the Demon Archdukes behind him.
Heck even the two most oldest Demon Dukes among them, Duke Rhydion and Duchess Elysilion, set aside their pride momentarily tempered by the gravity of the situation and acquiesced to Belial''s words. Much less needs to be said about other demons.
And so, the murmurs of discontent quieted, and a newfound sense of determination began to rece the chaos that had consumed the venue. The demon nobles setting their differences aside sought out a peaceful resolution with their rivals.
Seeing the gathering, once on the precipice of chaos, now found its footing again, Belial smiled to himself. He who had just recently established himself as the leader of all the demons here, couldn''t let his foundation crumble in front of his eyes as such he had to intervene before this territorial dispute escted into a full-blown faction war.
"Duke Rhydion, Duchess Elysilion, your ims have been heard and shall be thoroughly investigated. Until a verdict is reached, I demand that you both exercise restraint. In the face of impending threats, we must rise above petty disputes and rivalries. It is time to put aside our individual ambitions and forge alliances based on shared survival."
Belial spoke, his words struck a chord among the demons, reminding them of the importance of solidarity in the face of adversity. The newly risen Demon Lord of Envy, had sessfully intervened, averting a catastrophic sh and steering the demons towards a path of unity.
Discussions filled the air, as all the demons vyed for their words and ims to be heard. Belial heard each and every one of them before deciding on his verdict.
Gareth and the other demon archdukes who watched the whole scene while leaning back on their seats, had a smile on their faces from start to finish. They all grinned at the acute intellect and wits of the new demon lord.
"Elder brother Gareth, I have to say that your son is truly worthy of being chosen by the fragments of Envy. To even find the opputnity in this time of urgency, I have to give it to him" Boros remarked.
"Haha, you are praising him too much. He still has a lot to learn" Gareth shook his hand in denial, though his eyes which held satisfaction and delight while ncing at his son said other wise.
Chapter 680- The Audacious Demon Earl
Chapter 680- The Audacious Demon Earl
While it may be true that one of Belial''s goals in establishing a council was to settle disputes peacefully, his ultimate objective was far grander and more self-serving.
Possessing a shrewd and calcting mind he saw an opportunity to solidify his position among the demons, to assert himself as a formidable Demon Lord capable of leading and making decisive decisions on the behalf of other demons.
Through his carefully crafted words and actions, he presented himself as the epitome of strength and leadership. He skillfully manipted the circumstances, channelling the demons'' collective fear and uncertainty towards himself, casting an aura of authority and stability around his persona.
The establishment of the peaceful council served as a means to an end, a vehicle through which he could demonstrate his influence and control over the demon society. By positioning himself as the driving force behind the council''s decisions, he effectively became the arbiter of power, capable of shaping the fate of the demons ording to his own ambitions.
Belial''s true objective was not merely to settle disputes, but to solidify his position at the helm of demon society, ensuring that his authority remained unchallenged.
He yearned for the demons to see him as a Demon Lord of unparalleled power, someone who could protect their interests and to instil in the minds of his fellow demons a deep-seated belief in his power, wisdom, and ability to navigate the treacherous currents of their world.
Having lived for more than 4000 years, they were beings of great wits and acumen. How could the Demon Archdukes not see through Belial''s n?
"Well, he at least understands that leadershipes not only from physical prowess but also from the ability to sway other''s minds and shape their perceptions" Garethmented as he looked at his son who remained poised even while settling the disputes of the demons.
.
.
Belial, standing before the assembly of demons, called out the names of several prominent Demon Dukes, each known for their powerful forces and long standing disputes.
"Duke Vortigern, you im ownership of the Blighted Moors, citing your ancestral ties to thend and your family''s longstanding dominance. However, Duke Morvath, ruler of the Shrouded Marshes, presents evidence of ancient texts that suggest their ancient history of noble lineages. Do you have any evidence besides your im that proves that you are the rightful owner of Blighted Moors?".
The hall fell silent as Belial continued, addressing each Duke and their territorial ims, weighing the evidence presented by both sides. He listened attentively to their arguments, considering the historical records, testimonies from witnesses, and the strategic significance of the contested territories.
After a careful deliberation, Belial rendered his verdict.
"Duke Vortigern, as you have failed to provide adequate evidence, your im over the Blighted Moors cannot be recognized. On the other hand, Duke Morvath you provide evidence of your ancestry to thatnd; however, these evidence are only from 800 years ago".
"If I remember correct, the Blightest Moors was the territory of the Demon Archduke who had perished long ago. Since then thend had been lying vacant. If thatnd belonged to you after that, why have you not positioned any of your subordinates or created any dungeons there? Why are you trying to take im of thatnd now?"
"As your evidence is not foolproof, I dere the Blighted Moors a neutral territory, essible to all demon nobles for hundred years. I trust that you both will honour this decision of mine and cease all hostilities for the next century".
Belial gazed at Duke Vortigern and Duke Morvath, seeing that although reluctant at first, they nheless acquiesced to his words, he shifted his attention to other disputes.
As the discussion continued, the venue erupted in murmurs and whispers as the demons absorbed Belial''s decisions. Some expressed satisfaction, others frustration, but all understood the weight of his authority.
Belial''s judgments although bitter to swallow, was impartial and taken after much deliberation and evidence. In cases where both the parties showed decietful ims over a territory, like Duke Vortigern and Duke Morvath, the territory was dered neutral for a hundred years.
Any demon nobles cane and go from that territory; however, no one is allowed to set up a dungeon or acquire thatnd.
During all this Belial maintained his neutral stance and further solidified his position as the Demon Lord into the hearts of many demon nobles. And so, after many discussions, the topic that a particr Demon Earl was waiting for, was finally waged.
The coveted Ghastly Winding Forest.
The moment, Belial brought out this topic, two influential demon dukes who were eagerly awaiting their opportunity to stake their ims on thisnd strode forward.
"Duke Gelford of the Great Sphinx Desert," Belial began, "and Duke Arctaurus of the Stygian Grounds, I see that you have been fighting over the Ghastly Winding Forest for a long period of time. I believe that you have also brought this topic up in the many Hexennacht''s before this too. However, don''t worry, a decision shall be made today".
Ghastly Winding Forest, it was a ce renowned in the Demon Continent for being one of the most ancient and mysticalnds. Whether it be the mighty Demon Dukes or the Demon Lord of Envy himself none of them knew much about thisnd besides the fact that it was a ce of ethereal beauty with trees and vibrant foliage that was next to impossible to be encountered in the Demon Continent.
What''s more, it was one of thends that bordered the Central continent and was a strategic location. Other than this fact, it was also known that the forest was a ce of bountiful resources and hidden treasures.
It also harbours rare and exotic nts with extraordinary properties, their essence coveted by alchemists and potion-makers for their transformative abilities. Furthermore, it is rumoured that the Ghastly Winding Forest held ancient relics and artefacts of immense power and historical significance.
Belial had once heard his father mention that the ce might conceal a long-lost realm, with forgotten treasures hidden within its depths. However, a legend was a legend, when Belial surveyed the ce a long time ago, he found nothing.
That being said, the allure of obtaining these relics with immeasurable power and prestige that could potentially elevate their position and power in the demon society, was irresistible for many of the demons here.
As such fueled by their ambitions, it was only natural for these influential Demon Dukes to fight over the forest. A hush silence fell over the venue as the demons leaned forward, awaiting Belial''s verdict.
Thetter listened intently to their impassioned pleas. Duke Arctaurus spoke, he argued that his territory, the Stygian Grounds had historical ties to the Ghastly Winding Forest. He imed that his ancestors had established a presence there thousands of years ago and had maintained a vignt watch over the forest''s secrets.
He spoke of the ancient pacts and bloodlines that bound his ancestry to the very essence of the forest, asserting that no other demon could rival his im.
On the other hand...
"The Ghastly Winding forest is a strategic location that shares sixty per cent of its borders with my territory. It holds a great significance to me, and I have already made substantial investments in its exploration and development. I had sent numerous demons and subordinates of mine to painstakingly map its treacherous pathways".
"I have already shed a lot of sweat and blood of my subordinates to counter the monsters living there. I cannot relent thisnd to Arctaurus whose ancestral ims rting to the forest makes no sense. I who have been monitoring thisnd have earned the right to control and benefit from the forest''s bounties".
Duke Gelford, a charismatic Demon Duke hailing from the arid Great Sphinx Desert that bordered the Ghastly winding forest, imed.
His bronzed skin etched with golden hieroglyphs glistened like hot desert sand beneath the scorching sun. While his piercing amber eyes mirrored the intensity of the inferno that raged within his soul.
Adorned in flowing robes the colour of shifting sands, intricately embroidered with golden threads depicting swirling sandstorms and ancient hieroglyphs, hemanded an air of authority and mystique.
A golden circlet adorned the Duke''s head, bearing the emblem of the zing sun, symbolizing his dominion over the aridnds from which he hailed.
As the heated debate raged on, it became evident that neither side could provide irrefutable evidence or undeniable ims over the Ghastly Winding Forest. The sound arguments they provided might seem fine to others; however, Belial knew that all these were craftily woven lies to get the rights over the forest.
None of their statements had any backing. Recognizing the stalemate, Belial, the Demon Lord of Envy, intervened to deliver his verdict.
"I have heard your ims and after a careful deliberation, I havee to a decision. Duke Arctaurus, Duke Gelford, your ims and statements are not enough to recognise either one of you as the rightful owner of thend. As such, I dere the Ghastly Winding Forest a neutral territory, belonging to neither Duke Arctaurus nor Duke Gelford. I believe there are no objections?"
Belial''s eyes scanned the room for any signs of dissent or brewing conflict. Seeing the two Dukes even though somewhat discontent with his verdict, nod their heads, did he smile.
Given that he has stabilised his position and power among the demons, and firmly established himself as their leader, there was no way any demon would dare to show discontent or defy his verdict.
Or so he thought. However, just when he was about to move onto the topic of othernds, a voice interjected cutting through the hubbub of the venue and reaching the ears of every demon nobles present.
There is a reason why I have bothered to describe Duke Gelford. Can anyone predict what rtion it might have with Simon?
Chapter 681- The Audacious Demon Earl (2)
Chapter 681- The Audacious Demon Earl (2)
"I have something to say".
The voices turned hushed and a momentary silence fell upon the gathering as all eyes turned towards the source of the interruption.
To dare to interrupt Belial, all the demons exchanged puzzled nces, wondering who this audacious individual could be. Themotion in the venue grew, with demons eager to catch a glimpse of the rude intruder.
Belial whose expression turned dark and sombre by this sudden interjection, hurriedlyposed himself and fixed his gaze upon the figure that walked out from amidst the crowd.
The figure continued to stride forward and stood in front of the grand venue. When everyone saw who it was, all of them couldn''t help but be stupefied. That was because the identity of the demon who interjected the ruling of the Demon Lord, was a Demon Earl.
It was a funny scene that nobody in the scene knew what to think about. A Demon Earl whose actual ce belonged as a subordinate of these high ranking demons, had actually interjected in between their discussion.
What''s more this demon had even boldly strode forward and stood in front of them.
Who was this fellow, and what was their purpose in daring to interrupt the ruling? The demons were having these thoughts, when the Demon Earl spoke.
"The Ghastly Winding forest cannot be dered a neutral territory where any demon is barred from setting up their forces. The demon Lord has heard Duke Arctaurus and Duke Gelford''s side. However, he is yet to hear my side of the statement. As such, I hope the demon lord waits before he gives his final verdict".
Silence~ As soon as those words sounded out it, it was as if the entire venue had turned dead silent. This silence persisted for a while when suddenly the entire ce erupted inughter at the words of this Demon Earl who had interrupted Belial with such audacity.
The high ranking demons present, couldn''t help but find the situation amusing, their initial apprehension giving way to a collective sense of amusement.
Here was yet another demon vying for territory and wanting his ims to be heard. However, he had forgotten that this was not his ce to interject. A mere Demon Earl with a far impure noble bloodline did not have the authority to stand amongst them and vy for a piece of territory that was also coveted by many high ranking demons.
Belial, initially taken aback by the interruption, couldn''t help but crack a smile at the absurdity of the situation. His stern countenance softened, and he motioned for theughter to subside, eager to hear what this audacious Demon Earl had to say.
Setting aside the fact that his verdict could be changed, as a Demon Lord who portrayed himself to be the leader of all demons, he thought that he should hear the demon out even if thetter was just a Demon Earl at the very least.
"Well, Dear Earl, since you''ve managed to capture our attention so effectively, I believe it''s only fair that you state your purpose for interrupting our proceedings. Pray, enlighten us with your audacious words. Go on, I shall hear what you have to say, lest anybody says that I''m not impartial or am taking sides".
HAHAHA¡ Belial''s words caused the demon to erupt into a bout ofughter once again. The atmosphere, once tense and serious, transformed into one of lightheartedness and amusement.
However, the Demon Earl didn''t seem to mind being the centre of attention or amusement for that fact. He cleared his throat and addressed.
"My esteemed fellow demons, the reason why I interrupted you all is because you have forgotten a crucial detail. The forest that you im to be yours, is actually my territory. No one has more im over it than I"...
The Demon Earl spoke looking towards the two Dukes fighting over the Ghastly Winding Forest. Duke Arctaurus and Duke Gelford frowned their brows while the surrounding demon erupted into muffledughter once again.
"Who is this demon, where did hee from?" many demonsughed at the clown that was the Demon earl.
On one corner of the venue, Avrox who was fawning over a certain Demon Duke, noticed the Demon Earl, now the centre of attention.
"Hm? Isn''t he that demon?". Although the demon''s aura was a little different right now, it was nevertheless simr to the one he had encountered back in that human kingdom.
"There is no mistaking it, he is that demon. Heh, to think that he would be bold enough to intervene between two Demon Dukes. I guess idiots do get born even among the Demon Nobles" Avrox smiled looking at Simon.
Yes, the Demon Earl who halted the ruling and dived in between two Demon Dukes fearlessly, was none other than Simon.
Duke Arctaurus who never thought that a mere Demon Earl would dare to covet what he desired, was annoyed. Raising an eyebrow, he pointed at the other party and spoke dismissively.
"Who are you? Do you know where you are standing? This is not the ce for a mere Demon Earl to interject".
While Arctaurus was too quick to dismiss Simon, Duke Gelford on the other hand intensely observed the Demon Earl. The fact that thetter stood allposed and calm even when subjected to the ridiculing gaze and the pressure of so many high ranking demons, spoke gravity about their character.
But more than that, the fact that this Demon Earl was seen with Oswell, concerned Gelford more.
"Could it be that Oswell is also interested in the Ghastly winding Forest and is using this Demon Earl to make his statement for him? But his territory should be in the far west of the Demon Continent, why is he coveting a territory that is at the southernmost borders of the Demon Continent? Could it be that he has some other objective?"
While the duke was busy specting, the demon earl introduced himslef.
"I go by the name Simon and as you already know, I am a Demon Earl. You are right that this is no ce for me to interject. However, I had no choice but to do so. The Ghastly Winding Forest you all im as yours, is actually mine to im for this is where I have set up my dungeon".
The crowd chuckled, unable to contain their amusement at the audacity of a mere Demon Earl making such a im.
On the other hand, Duke Arctaurus struggled to suppress his fury. Since when was it that a Demon Earl could talk back to him?
"Earl Simon, are you jesting? If so then it is in very bad taste or are we to believe that you, with your humble rank, possess the audacity to im such a coveted territory?".
Simon in the wake of the pressure of the Demon Duke, did not back down, instead, he pressed forward.
"I am not jesting. Instead, I speak the truth. The forest is where I have set up my dungeon and so I have the right to im the territory as my own".
This was his only chance to assert his im over the Ghastly Winding Forest. If he allowed this chance to slip by, his territory might really be dered a neutral ground not belonging to a single demon noble.
The fact that he had set up his dungeon there, will not be recognised and considered illegal with no ims over thend. At that time, any demon can dere a war on his dungeon and they would be morally andwfully in the right.
As such, Simon couldn''t back away now. Even if he has to step on some toes and offend a few high ranking demons, he has to let them know that the Ghastly Winding Forest was his territory and his alone and that they should back away.
Fortunately for him, Oswell who attended many such gatherings, had given him few ideas on how to go on about it.
Simon turned his attention towards Belial. This Hexennacht was different from all others in that there was an absolute presence presiding over it, namely the Demon Lord. He was the arbitrator and the judge who had the final say.
As such, he could use the other party''s intentions to solidify himself as the leader who thought for the whole demonkind and was impartial in his judgement and appeal to them in front of the whole crowd.
Belial who saw the Demon Earl turned towards him spoke with a voice carrying a tinge of yfulness: "Earl Simon, your im to the Ghastly Winding Forest is certainly unconventional, but it begs the question: What evidence do you present to support your im and dungeon ownership?".
"Esteemed Demon Lord, my evidence is my birth, I was born in the Ghastly Winding Forest. The trees, thend and the air there is my birthright. The dungeon that I speak of, is built within its depths".
The venue buzzed with incredulous whispers, as demons exchanged amused nces at the Earl''s im. It was as if the venue had transformed into a theatre, with Earl Simon ying the role of a clownish protagonist.
"What nonsense, Demon Lord please don''t listen to his rubbish. This demon has forgotten his ce and is unable to recognise the immensity of the gathering" Duke Arctaurus was unable to hear the Demon Earl any longer and thus appealed to Belial to close this case.
The Demon Lord of Envy nodded his head, seemingly in agreement. He addressed the Earl in front of the crowd.
"Earl Simon, while your im may be met with scepticism, I must admit, your conviction ismendable. If nothing else, you have certainly provided us with entertainment. But I''m afraid your im holds no weight. As such, my verdict remains¡".
Chapter 682- Ritual of the Blades
Chapter 682- Ritual of the des
Belial prepared to give his verdict regarding the Ghastly Winding Forest for once and all, when another voice intervened his ruling.
"A moment please, Demon Lord Belial. I believe it is too hasty to rule out the im of the Earl Simon this early".
A figure walked out and stood beside Simon. They had a chubby face, plump belly and coffee brown eyes. Unlike the time with the demon earl, the crowd did not erupt this time. The reason for that was because the one to intervene in the matter of two powerful Demon Dukes, was a Demon Duke himself.
Oswell who was renowned among the entire demonkind, stood before the crowd.
"Oswell, this is not a matter for you to intervene in" Duke Arctaurus spat in irritation. However, his coercion had no effects on someone who was equal or even stronger than him.
"Well, just listen. I am not here to talk with you two. Demon Lord Belial, I believe you of all demons will act impartially in this matter and uphold justice for all who seek your judgement. The reason why I defend this friend here is because his statement makes the most sense".
"As fellow demonkind, we should all know that the concept ofnd and territory is deeply intertwined with the notion of our birthright. Us demons hold a profound connection to thend we are born upon, and through ancient traditions and customs, these territories be an inherent part of our identity and power".
"When a demon is born from the ample mana of a specifd, they inherit the essence and energy of that ce, entwining their very being with thend itself. This bond runs deep, shaping their characteristics, strengths, and even their magical affinity. As such, thend bes their birthright".
Oswell words quickly grabbed the attention of the audience. The things that he spouted were all facts and something that all high ranking demons know about. As such, they had no words for retort.
Seeing that the audience had be silent with all the murmuring ceased, Oswell continued¡ª
"When a demon sessfully establishes a dungeon within theirnd, it bes a seal of their authority, further strengthening their im and validating their right to rule that ce. The birthright and the establishment of a dungeon are intrinsically linked, forming an unbreakable bond between the demon and thend they call their own".
"It is a testament to their lineage, a deration of their heritage and sovereignty. To challenge the authority of a demon''s birthright is to defy the fundamentalws and traditions that have shaped the demon realm for aeons, an act that often leads to conflicts and territorial disputes among the demon nobles".
"I hope that Duke Arctaurus and Gelford understand this. Rather than fighting over with each other for a territory that do not even belong to you, why not recognise this demon''s im and his birthright? So what if he is just a Demon Earl, aren''t he one of the demonkind, one of us?".
Oswell craftily nced at Simon and both of them nodded in understanding. The two of them slightly bowed their heads towards Belial in a show of courtesy and implored him.
"Demon Lord Belial, just a few moments ago you spoke about how we need to form alliance and cease our ambitions in front of the external threats and resolve all of our quarrels peacefully. However, if you dere the forest as a neutral territory wouldn''t this just create a new reason for dispute for this friend here who has birthright over thatnd?"
"I understand that by dering the Ghastly Winding Forest a neutral territory, would cause these two dukes to stop fighting. However, isn''t that only for a hundred years? I''m sure they are bound to fight and go after each other blood just like they have been doing up until now after this agreement is over".
"Instead of a solution that is only temporary, don''t you think dering the forest as the territory of this Demon Earl, would be a permanent solution? If you acknowledge his ims over the territory, the two dukes will have no reason to fight any longer".
In this intricate web of schemes, where every demon noble were trying to plot and fulfil their own self serving ambitions, Oswell''s speech of truth subverted all of that.
He did not only speak for Simon, but for all Demons, whether they be Demon Earl or any low ranking demon. With him bringing the fundamentalws that shaped the very demon realm, even if the high ranking demon nobles didn''t want to, they couldn''t help but recognise the ims of this Demon Earl.
After all, denying him of his birthright would be defying these very samews. If that happened, the entire foundation of the demon society would be shaken and they would revert back to the era before the Second Apex War with chaos left unfettered.
Whispers filled the venue as all the demons started musing and considering the words that Oswell had spoken, their voices barely audible over the rising murmurs.
Belial, who stood as the arbiter and judge for this matter, couldn''t help but feel a twinge of unease as he locked eyes with Oswell. His mind raced as he tried to figure out the motive behind Oswell''s intervention.
Why would a powerful and famous Demon Duke like him support a mere Demon Earl? That said, now that Oswell had intervened, and had even brought up the words he said previously, he couldn''t dismiss the Earl without giving their statements and ims a fair consideration.
"As one of the rulers of the demon realm, it is my duty to ensure fairness and justice for all demons, regardless of their rank. While the ims of a Demon Earl may seem inconsequentialpared to those of high-ranking dukes, I must uphold the principles of impartiality and lead with integrity."
Belial knew that if he wanted to maintain his position, he had to show all the demons that his leadership was impartial to all of them.
As his words reverberated through the venue, many demons began to see Belial in a new light. The notion of a demon lord valuing every voice, regardless of their rank, resonated within the hearts of many.
"Earl Simon, your ims to the Ghastly Winding Forest shall be carefully considered, as per the principles of fairness that govern our realm. However, I cannot give a verdict without checking all the facts. You say that you were born and had set up your dungeon in the Ghastly winding Forest? What evidence do you have to support your ims".
Belial questioned ying the part of the judge.
Simon who knew that he would be asked to provide an evidence, took out a parchment of paper from his space ring and started drawing. After a while, he put his drawing up and disyed it to everyone in a dramatic ir.
"Is that a¡ map of the Ghastly Winding forest?" Belial spoke looking at the thing the Earl drew up.
"That''s right" The intricate line and pathways he drew up, was the map of the Ghastly winding forest. It was quite detailed and looked like something an expert cartographer drew up.
For Simon who had the aid of the [Mental Map] drawing a map of a territory he was so familiar with, wasn''t a big thing. Many demons gazed at the map drawn by the earl with interest. Those who had seen the Ghastly winding Forest before, could tell that it was an actual map.
"Although the map is really of the forest in question. However, it alone isn''t proof enough to support your im. Do you have anything else that is an actual evidence?".
Simon narrowed his eyes at those words from Belial. What other evidence does he want? He even went to the lengths of providing a detailed map of the forest whereas all the other two Demon Dukes did was state a few words.
Simon knew that Belial was deliberately making things difficult for him. His intentions were clear, although thetter did say he would hear him out to show the crowd he was impartial, they didn''t say anything about approving his ims.
On one side were two influential Demon Dukes and on the other a mere Demon Earl. It was clear in whose favour Belial would give judgement towards. But he had forgotten one thing, the Demon Earl wasn''t alone.
As if to tip the bnce of the scale, Oswell stepped forward. "If that is not evidence enough, then how about I say that I have seen his dungeon. I can vouch for this friend here and his ims. How about it, is this evidence enough".
The venue was rendered silent once again. the observing demons exchanged nces with one another in intrigue. With Oswell''s intervention and him vouching for the Demon Earl, thetter''s im towards the Ghastly Winding Forest was no longer as inconsequential as before.
On the contrary, it might hold heavier weight than the ims of the other dukes. After all, it was a known fact that Oswell was a very famous Demon Duke and was favoured by many Archdukes and even by the Demon Lord himself.
Belial looked at Oswell and the Demon Earl. Just when he was contemting something, Duke Arctaurus stepped forward amidst the murmurs of the crowd.
"Please hold on to your ruling Demon Lord. If this Demon Earl truly seeks to im the Ghastly Winding Forest as his territory, he must prove his worthiness through strength and power. Mere words and birthright are not enough to secure such a prized domain."
Chapter 683- Ritual Of The Blades (2)
Chapter 683- Ritual Of The des (2)
With a voice resonating with confidence and challenge, Duke Arctaurus dered.
All eyes in the venue shifted towards Bil, waiting for his response to Duke Actaurus'' proposal.
"What Duke Arctaurus said is very usible. The ability to defend and maintain a territory is indeed a crucial aspect of a demon''s rule. It is only fair to test the strength and power of those who seek to im it. Earl Simon, the Ghastly Winding Forest is a territory coveted by many. Are you prepared to defend your im against those who may challenge it?"
Belial nced at Simon with intrigue as he addressed.
"Duke Arctaurus, this is not within thews of our¡" Oswell who was about to speak up on behalf of Simon once again, felt a pat on his shoulder. When he turned around to look, he saw his friend give him a nod of assurance.
Simon initially taken aback by the Duke''s challenge, gathered hisposure and spoke with conviction:
"I ept Duke Arctaurus'' proposition. It is only right that I defend what is mine. How can I im a territory as mine if I do not even possess the power to protect it? That said, how should I prove my worthiness to Duke Arctaurus that I possess the strength and power to defend my territory?".
With a calm and resolute voice, he asked.
"It''s simple, we decide it by Ritual of des" Duke Arctaurus shrugged his shoulders and dered with a grin.
Ritual of des, Simon recalled from his inherited memories that it was an ancient tradition among the demons, a solemn ceremony that arises when conflicts escte to a point where words alone cannot resolve the opposing views.
It is a time honored practice rooted in the belief that the sh of des can reveal the truth and settle disputes that transcend mere rhetoric.
When faced with an impasse, both sides willingly participate in the Ritual of des. Each party selects their most skilled and formidable subordinates. These chosen champions be the embodiment of their masters'' convictions, wielding their des with unyielding resolve.
In other words, what Duke Arctaurus was saying was that they let their subordinates fight and let the fate of the Ghastly Winding Forest decide through that.
"Ritual of des?!! Duke Arctaurus you should know that you can only evoke such a duel when both parties are equal. You are a Demon Duke, how can you even challenge a Demon Earl to a Ritual of de?"¡
"Oswell, I did not ask you. This is a matter for that Demon Earl to decide. Whether he wants to ept this Ritual of des like the demon he is or back away like a wuss, is up to him. Either way, it will be proven how worthy this demon is of the Ghastly Windifn Forest that he ims as his own".
"Additionally, I would like to add another condition. In this Ritual of des, one cannot take the help of another. That is to say, one can only depend on their own power and subordinates".
Duke Arctaurus looked towards Oswell and grinned. With this, he Whispers spread throughout the venue, the demons captivated by the prospect of the duel.
had sealed his victory. Now the Demon Earl cannot refuse the Ritual of des and nor can he take the help of Oswell.
Whispers spread throughout the venue, the demons captivated by the prospect of the duel.
What would the Demon Earl decide? Would he choose to ept the duel or would he cower at the other party''s power and go back on his words?
All the demons looked on with amusement. Many of them thought that the Demon Earl wouldn''t dare after all, the Demon Duke beside him cannot back him anymore. However, contrary to the expectation...
"I ept this proposal. I will send my subordinate to face Duke Arctuarus'' champion and prove it in front of the entire gathering that I can defend my own territory"¡
Simon epted the duel. The crowd was immediately abuzz with excitement. Why would they not? After all, it is not just every day that they get to see a Demon Earl daring to challenge a Demon Duke.
Even though they already knew the oue, they still wanted to witness a bloody duel. It was just in their nature.
''Duke Arctaurus this sly fox, he really closed all the doors for the demon earl'' Belial contemted for a second before responding to the wishes of the Earl and the Duke.
"Very well, since both the sides have agreed, let this be a test of strength and prowess for the Demon Earl. I shall oversee this Ritual of des, ensuring fairness and impartiality. The oue of this duel will determine if the ims made by Earl Simon over the Ghastly Winding Forest is rightful or not."
Right after saying that, Belial conjured his mighty mystical energy and created a powerful barrier at the centre of the venue.
This was where the Ritual of the des will take ce. Since he deemed that the duel will not take too long given how lopsided the oue looked, he believed that the barrier was enough to hold them down.
"Minos"..
With Duke Arctaurus''s beckoning, a tall figure emerged behind him. Standing at least five meters tall, this huge creature embodies sheer strength and raw power. Its muscr frame is adorned with coarse fur of varying shades of brown and ck, adding to its fearsome visage.
Horns of immense proportions curve outward from its head, forming formidable weapons that can pierce even the sturdiest of metals. Each step of its massive hooves resonates with earth-shaking force, leaving a trail of tremors in its wake.
Its crimson eyes glow with an intense ferocity, reflecting its unyielding determination and an unquenchable thirst for battle. It had a monstrous bullhead and its massive arms carried a huge battle axe.
The being standing behind Duke Arctaurus was none other than a Minotaur.
"Minos... Go" pointing at the centre of the venue where the barrier wasid, the Duke threw two simple words at his subordinate.
The minotaurus simply snarled, fires and lightning crackling from its nose. It walked inside the barrier and waited for its opponent.
Seeing the subordinate Duke Arctaurus sent forward, the observing demons started murmuring. Their eyes held fascination for this legendary creature that was even rarer than the massive three headed Infernal Dog, Cerberax.
Its presence alone was enough to turn the tide of any conflict, with its huge frame brimming withbat prowess, it was a true juggernaut on the field of battle.
"So Arctaurus sent his most powerful summon huh? Tch, he is not called the father of Minotaurus for no reason. Simon, be careful that minotaur is not any ordinary minotaur, but a powerful mutated beast deserving of an [A] rank, Giga Minotaur".
"It is a being of extreme destructive power, capable of defeating many of the Demon Dukes here. However, it is yet to reach the ultimate level of its rank. If possible, tell your subordinates not to fight it in a direct physicalbat" Oswell cautioned in a low voice that only they could hear.
"Yeah, I know. You have already done plenty by manipting the entire flow of events till here, leave the rest to me" Simon assured.
Everything that led to this moment up until now, from him stepping up to im the Ghastly Winding Forest as his own territory to Ritual of the des, it flowed exactly how Oswell and Simon had nned back inside the Air Engine.
Although there were some unexpected factors, the situation developed more or less the way they had predicted. Having said that, it was time for him to send his own subordinate forward for the Ritual of the des.
"Theodore"..
"Leave it to me master...?" As soon as Simon called out, the boy jumped into action. However, before he could go forward, he realised that his cape was tightly held by his sister who was giving him a stern look.
"What''s wrong Maybell?" Theodore asked tilting his head.
Maybell did not answer him, instead, she continued to hold his cape and turned towards her master.
"Master, let me have this chance instead of brother".
"You want to fight the Giga Minotaur?" Simon asked perplexed. He did not remember creating Maybell as a battle maniac. The setting that he put for her was a shy littledy, noble and polite, who cared for the people dear to her but is unable to portray it out.
Someone who lives under the shadows of her always hyper active and high achieving brother, but can be quite temperamental and fierce if need be. Also, she had a fondness for pets, especially cats.
Simon couldn''t believe that someone like her would take the initiative to step forward to battle.
"Ahh!! I get it now. Maybell you¡ you want to make that minotaur your pet" Being twins and her brother, Theodore realised Maybell''s intention after thinking for a while.
"What? You can''t do that Maybell. This is the Ritual of the des, an ancient duel of the Demon Nobles. You can fight him if you want; however, making it your familiar is a no. Do you understand that?"
On Simon''s admonishing, the littledy nodded her head gloomily.
"Alright, I leave this one to you. You know the n right? Defeat it without showing much of your abilities. Also you cannot use [Snow Man Jack] or any other familiar in this battle for that fact".
"I get it master" pouting, the temperamental littledy stepped forward toplete the task given by her master.
''I hope things goes well'' Although uncertain, Simon could only pray that Maybell remembers what he told her and does not go overboard.
Chapter 684- Good Boy
Chapter 684- Good Boy
As Maybell walked towards the centre of the venue, all eyes turned towards her. Immediately afterwards, the audience became baffled.
Standing inside the barrier was Giga Minotaurus, a mutated beast worthy of [A] rank and someone who received a name. With its hulking frame that towers over the venue, bulging muscles that were forged from countless battles, it exuded an aura of primal ferocity.
Looking at it, the minotaur appeared to be the incarnation of brutality. Compared to that, the littledy walking forward although graceful and charming to look at, seemed just like a doll that was pampered and kept with much care and maintainance.
None of the demons could imagine such a doll having the slightest bit of chance against the incarnation of brutality that was the Giga Minotaur. On the contrary, they could only imagine this beauty getting destroyed by the beast in an instant.
"Is that Demon Earl serious? To send a subordinate like her, tch it''s such a waste"¡
"What else did you expect from a Demon Earl? I bet he does not even have the intention of fighting anymore. That is why, he is sending such a weak little girl forward for the Ritual of the des. Since he knows he will lose, he wants to cut his losses to a minimum".
The flow of conversation was heavily favoured towards the Giga Minotaur.
On one corner of the venue, a Demon Duke who seemed to be in a particrly bad mood, cursed.
"Dammit" He shattered the ss of wine in his hand, its content soiling his clothes. The attendants beside him hurriedly tried to clean his clothes. However¡ "Get away from me" he pushed the attendants in annoyance and continued to re at the stage set for the Ritual of des.
"Curses to that Demon Earl for sending that little girl that I desired".
The ball of obesity writhing in frustration was none other than Demon Duke Famoon, who had a sh with Simon on the way to the Hexennacht.
At that time, he tried to forcefully take possession of the twins. However, his attempts were met with a failure as Oswell blocked his path and his two subordinates were defeated by the twins.
Not only that, he even lost his prized possession, the Eye of Enigma that he purchased from the auction to the Demon Earl. Given all of that, how could he be in a great mood?
"You are nothing but a mere ant in my path yet you dare to go against me?" Famoon cursed. Even after suffering such loss, thetter had yet to learn his lesson. If anything, the loss only seemed to have further strengthened his hatred for the Demon Earl.
It was clear from Famoon''s behaviour that he was yet to give up on the twins.
"Why does it appear that lord Famoon is in a bad mood? You just won the territory you have been fighting for with your rival for decades. Shouldn''t you be happy?"
During such a time, a demon noble of the rank Earl, came to him and initiated a conversation.
"Avrox huh?! Why have youe to me? Get lost, I have no mood to speak to a Demon Earl right now" Famoon who was in a bad mood, shooed the demon away.
However, Avrox did not move and instead continued to converse with the demon duke.
"Haha, don''t be like that Lord Famoon. Not all of us Demon Earls are like that fool there. We know our ce and would never offend a demon higher ranking than us since it would only spell our own doom. That fool there is a special case. Either he has a few screw loose or he is just too conceited and prideful".
Famoon was silent for a while before deciding to engage the other party in a conversation.
"Does it appear like that from your view? From my perspective, it appears that Oswell is using the Demon earl to n something. Or else how would a mere Demon Earl get so much audacity to stand in front of us Demon Dukes? I''m sure of it, this has something to do with Oswell. He even protected the Demon Earl on the way to the Hexennacht".
"Lord Oswell did? If it helps, I can listen to Lord Famoon''s worries"
Avrox who stumbled upon some interesting piece of news, decided to lend an ear to Famoon who clearly seemed upset over something. Thetter spilt everything in a bout of frustration.
"Hohh, so it''s like that" Avrox eyes involuntarily shifted towards Simon in the distance as a cruel smile shed on his face. This Hexennacht was going to be very interesting.
Over at the area where the stage had been set, Maybell nimbly and carefully stepped forward and entered the barrier. The moment she did, the battle had started.
ROOARR... with a piercing roar that shook the very ce and strike terror in the hearts of many demons, the Giga Minotaur charged forward. Its massive hooves pounding against the ground, causing tremors to ripple through the arena.
Generating a storm of mes and thunder in its wake, the Giga Minotaur jumped, crashing down at the area where Maybell was like a meteor.
BOOOM¡ Arge depression formed on the ground and tremors spread across the venue. The observing audience gasped, leaning forward.
This was the might of the giga minotaur, it could shake the entire venue with just its jump. How could the little girl fight such a beast? No, she might already be done for.
All the eyes patiently observed the crater formed by the Giaga Minotaur. When the dust settled and they could find the corpse of the little girl anywhere, they all wore a frown of consternation on their faces.
Suddenly, their eyes traced a ck and red shadow and there they saw her. Standing perfectly fine a few distances away from the Giga minotaur was the little girl assumed to have been squashed under the hooves of the Giga Minotaur.
Dressed in her ck and red gothic dress, she stood there without any scratch or dirt on her clothes.
When did she move there? Many demon nobles had the same question. The demon dukes frowned in confusion while the Demon Archdukes seated in the distance silently watching the whole spectacle, narrowed their eyes sensing something.
Inside the barrier, recognising that its attacks had failed, the Giga Minotaurus fixed its eyes on the enemy. Its mighty fists raised the devastating power.
[Earth Splitting Wave]... one of the powerful skills of the Giga giant axe in the air and mmed it down on the ground with a devastating power.
[Earth Splitting Wave]... one of the powerful skills of the Giga Minotaur capable of splitting mountains. The destructive force that the axe sent forth rushed forward while splitting the ground in its wake.
Anything that is caught in its trajectory would be split in half. The destructive force spread from one corner of the stage to another, before mming into the barrier anding to a stop.
But that was not all, from the depth of the crack formed from the Earth Splitting Wave, fires and lightning imploded forth like a volcano. A single swing from the Giga Minotaur is able to pulverize solid barriers and send shockwaves reverberating through the battlefield.
Under the abuse of that skill, even the barrier created by Demon Lord himself barely stood standing. So one could imagine what would happen to the little girl who was the target of this destructive skill.
She was sure to have been killed by now. Or so were the thoughts of the onlooker. However, just like before there was no trace of that girl inside that crack instead, she had already moved to a different ce.
She was so swift that no one could catch a glimpse of her movements other than a few Archdukes.
SNARL¡ the Giga Minotaurus after two failed attempts, snarled hot breaths of fire and lightning from its nostril and just like a bull it scrapped its legs on the ground ready to charge.
[Colossal Charge]¡ with raw destructive power, the Giga Minotaur charged forward with its powerful hindlegs that seemed like they could even support the weight of a mountain, stomped forward.
The skill [Colossal Charge] had tremendous speed and force behind it and was in no way weaker than the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse''s [Hunderd Mountain''s Charge]. It might even be even more powerful given that the Giga Minotuarus was not only an [A] rank beast, but also a mutated one at that.
The entire venue trembled with every step that the Giga Minotaur took and like a storm, it appeared before the girl in a rapid and swift fashion.
Thetter just like usual dodge the charge at the veryst second. Though this time, the Giga Minotaurus did not stop after a single attack, it channelled its charge into a [Rapid Spin], [Mighty Cleave], [Ground Pound].
One after the other, the legendary [A] rank beast disyed its unparalleled brute strength and raw power. It was like the embodiment of fury and primal ferocity with its gigantic battle axe capable of decimating anything with a single swing.
That was not all, the Giga Minotaurus'' thick hide served as a formidable natural armor, crackling with mes and lightning and capable of withstanding even the most punishing of attacks.
Compared to that, the girl who dodged its attacks, embodied grace, agility, and a myriad of supernatural abilities. She possessed the speed and reflexes beyond theirprehension. Each of her movements was executed with a fluidity that defied allws, allowing her to effortlessly dodge and weave through the air, avoiding the Minotaurus''s thunderous strikes.
It was as if her preternatural senses granted her an uncanny awareness of her surroundings, enabling her to anticipate the minotaurs'' moves with unerring uracy.
Chapter 685- Good Boy (2)
Chapter 685- Good Boy (2)
What was going on? The onlooking audience held their breath, their eyes wide with a mix of surprise and confusion. Not sure of what to make out of the scene.
The one sided carnage that they expected, did not happen instead the little girl dodged and weaved through the attacks of the Giga minotaur in a spectacr fashion as if this was not the Ritual of des, but a bullfight.
They couldn''t understand how such a little girl was able to keep up for so long against an opponent like the Giga Minotaurs without any fear or panic.
It needs to be mentioned that against an opponent like the Giga Minotaurus, even the demon dukes would have trouble facing it. Forget about dodging its attacks as seamlessly as the girl, they would have to go all out just to remain standing in the arena.
That is why, the scene unfolding before them, the figure of the little girl bravely facing the Giga minotaurus more than ten times her size, represented a dichotomy, something that was inconceivable for them at first.
The audience were shocked; however, the most shocked out of them all was the Demon Duke who was called as the father of the Minotaurus, Duke Arctuarus himself.
At this moment, his face was no longer as calm as before, reced by a solemn look. He had sent his most powerful subordinate Minos up to the arena to swiftly end the battle and destroy whatever n Oswell was hatching.
To that end, he did not even give Minos any instructions, and basically gave the other a free reign to rampage to their heart''s content. This decision of his was taken even at the risk of divulging the strength of his subordinate in front of the whole demon kind. A loss that he was willing to incur as long as he can snip Oswell''s n.
However, contrary to his expectations, the battle that should have ended long ago, was still continuing. The other party continued to dodge Minos'' attacks one after the other.
''Snort, I don''t know what your motive is Oswell. However, if you think that you can use the Demon Earl toy im to and that I desire, is your wishful thinking. That little girl might be very swift and agile, however, Minos only needs one good hit to finish this farce once and for all''
Arctaurs thought internally. Given the Giga Minotaurus'' raw strength that generated powerful gales with every swing of his, it was only natural to assume that it was game over for the little girl if it ever connected.
Heck, it might be game over for many of the demons below the demon duke here. That was how powerful the Giga Minotaurus was. What''s more thetter had yet to show its true strength.
Arctaurus believed that his subordinate had the overwhelming advantage in this matchup and this cat and mouse chase will soon be over. However little did he know that the mouse here was not the little girl, but the Giga Minotaurus instead.
Though by the time he would realise that it would already be toote.
BANG.. BANG¡ The battle raged on, a dance of titans, as the Minotaurus swung its massive battle axe in sweeping arcs, attempting to cleave through its puny opponent, it devastated the entire stage and bent the barrier out of shape.
It was clear that even the barrier set up by the demon lord himself, was unable to endure the powerful aftershocks of the Giga Minotaurs attacks. Yet facing that attack head on, the little girl looked the least bit fazed as she gracefully evaded each strike, moving with uncanny agility and supernatural speed.
However, the most astonishing moment that baffled everyone was when the little girl retaliated. Everybody thought that given her small frame and uncanny movement ability, she was only good at dodging with most of her stats focused on agility.
However shattering everyone''s misconception, when she retaliated with lightning-fast strikes, her movements like a blur of calcted precision. Each blownded with pinpoint uracy, sapping the Minotaurus''s strength and stamina and sending it crashing back against the barrier.
SHATTER¡ against Maybell''s might, even the barrier meant to contain the aftershocks of their battle, shattered like a fragile peace of ss.
''What?'' Belial shocked by the incredulous turn of events, widened his eyes. It was not only him, all the other high ranking demons were also so.
The scene where the Giga Minoutaurus would be the one to be sent flying never urred to them. And so for a moment there, they couldn''t believe their eyes.
How was it possible for a little girl like her to send a monster of a beast like the Giga Minotaurus flying? As absurd as the turn of that this was just the beginning, Maybell walked towards the area where the Minotaurus had crashed and started another round of events may be, the truth was as what they witnessed.
However, the absurd scene was yet to end. As if telling everyone that this was just the beginning, Maybell walked towards the area where the Minotaurus had crashed and started another round of bashing.
But of course, how could the Giga Minotaurus take it lying down? Its crimson eyes enraged by the beating it suffered, glowed even crimson for some reason. And thus, a chaotic battle erupted in the middle of the venue.
The two champions duelling each other in the Ritual of the des, now made the entire venue their battleground. The powerful shockwaves generated from their sh turned the entire ce upside down with damage and destruction spreading everywhere onto this once ancient and grand venue.
Some demons turned to flee, scared that they would get caught up in the aftermath others watched the whole spectacle with intrigue and trepidation.
"Belial, work with me to create another barrier around them" At this moment, when the entire gathering got caught in between the devastating sh of the two, the Demon Archduke Gareth unable to sit still, got up from his seat and approached Belial.
Together, they created another barrier far more powerful than before and only then, did the aftershocks from the battle die down.
The demons who took to flight, also settled down andnded back in the venue. After which they continued to observe the battle between the two contrasting figures, entranced by the illusion of a fierce sh.
That''s right, unbeknownst to them, every strike and manoeuvre carried out by the Minotaurus was carefully choreographed under the control of the Antediluvian Ancestor.
Even the Giga Minotaurus did not know that it had fallen victim to a powerful mind control, and its seemingly valiant efforts were nothing more than a puppetry of Maybell''s will.
Her maniptions continued, orchestrating the battle like a macabre symphony. The Giga Minotaurus stumbled, its movements uncoordinated and disjointed, yet still managing to maintain the facade of a formidable opponent.
The audience, enraptured by the spectacle, remained oblivious to the true nature of the battle, their collective gasps and cheers fueling the Vampire Ancestor''s charade.
With each passing moment, Myabell''s power over the mind-controlled Minotaurus grew stronger. Hermands echoed through the Minotaurus''s mind, bending its will to his own.
Like a docile and obedient pet, the Minotaurus followed the vampire''s every directive, its movements no longer driven by its own instincts but rather by the vampire''s desires.
Maybell revelling in her triumph passed a subtle nce towards her master. This act from her was to gain his praise and show Simon that she hadpleted the task she had been given.
"This girl¡ did she really hear what I said?" with a wry smile on his face, Simon observed the battle unfolding in front of him.
Despite all of his warnings and instructions, the girl really did what she set out to do, make a pet out of the Minotaurus. Although she did maintain the facade of a fierce battle, the purpose of the fight, which was to make it look like she had obtained victory with a stroke of luck and that the battle could have ended in the victory of any side, was ruined.
With Maybell sending the Giga Minotaurus flying, she made every demon noble present in the venue curious about her. Simon could hear many of the demons discussing what race and level the girl fighting the minotaurus was.
Of course, all of their attempts to pry on her status were met with failure since her level was higher than theirs and that she possesses a strong blocking skill. But even then, the publicity that she got, could have been avoided or minimised had she stuck to the n.
"Haha, Simon you crafty fellow. You are really a wolf in sheep''s clothing. Whoever underestimated you, is sure to end up worse" Oswellmented from the side.
He who had spent some time with the twins, had a feeling that they were strong. Plus seeing the unfazed look on Simon since the start of the battle, he had been suspecting this for a while but now after seeing that spectacle, he was sure of his hypothesis.
The twins were more powerful than the Giga Minotaurus. Oswell was inwardly a little shocked.
-----
Name- Minos
Race- Giga Minotaurus
Rank- [A]
Level- 731
Skills- Blunt Ultra resistance, Cut Ultra resistance, Piercing Ultra Resistance, Ultra Natural Recovery, Herculean Endurance, Herculean Defence, Super Enhanced Magic, Battle Instinct, Super Speed Regeneration, Five Senses Enhancement, Herculean Strenght, Ultra Enhanced Agility, Great Axe Mastery, Berserk, Body Reinforcement, Intimidating Aura, Roar of Dominion.
Racial Skills- [Colossal Charge], [Raging Fury], [Unyielding Boost], [Titan''s Resilience], [Ferocious Mauling],[Mighty Cleave], [Rampant Attacks], [Crushing Grip], [Ground Pound], [Frenzied Stomp], [Roaring Dominance], [Unbreakable Horns], [Monstrous Vitality], [Unstoppable Initiation], [Legacy of the Minotaur], [Ability Ovey], [Ability Conferment].
Chapter 686- Good Boy (3)
Chapter 686- Good Boy (3)
Even though it had yet to reach the peak level of its rank, a Giga Minotaurus was still a Giga Minotaurus, a powerful [A] rank mutated beast.
Even Aisha beside him who has reached the peak level of her rank, would have some trouble if she were to engage it in a physical fight without using her Spirit skills. However, the little girl in the arena was able to dominate the Giga Minotaurus in a pure physical and raw strength, even though it appeared to him that it was not her forte.
This in itself was enough to tell him that the girl''s stats were far higher than the Giga Minotaur''s. To be able to best an [A] rank in every way, means that the other party was at the very least also an [A] rank who had reached the peak level of their rank like Aisha or they were a rank above.
That is to say, the little girl called Maybell was an [S] rank subordinate.
It needs to be mentioned that the summoning of a [S] rank subordinate through the Dungeon Menu''s [Summon] function was an exceedingly rare and exceptional urrence within the demon realm.
Even for the most influential and aplished demons, who have reached the pinnacle of their power and prestige, summoning a [S] rank subordinate was no joke.
The [S] rank is called as [S] rank because of their astronomical rarity. Even for the mightiest Demon Dukes, they would be considered fortunate to summon a [S] rank subordinate even once in their entire lifetime.
No matter how many emblems that they burned in hopes of that, it was the hard truth. The forces of the Demon Dukes mainly consist of [A] rank subordinates who acted as the general for their forces.
For the ancient Demon Archdukes, who had stood as pirs of strength and wisdom for thousands of years, summoning [S] rank subordinates might not be out of their reach. However, even then it would be an uphill challenge with a very negligible probability of summoning one.
A Demon Archduke might have one or two [S] rank subordinates leading their forces, a testament to their unparalleled authority and their ability tomand beings of immense power and a mark of their status as legendary figures within the demon hierarchy.
So, it was an astonishing revtion to witness a rtively young demon earl, who hadn''t even lived for that long, to actually be able to summon a [S] rank subordinate.
It could be said that it defied all the expectations and norms that had governed the realm for centuries, and would leave even the most experienced demons in awe and disbelief.
"Haha," Oswellughed drylying to a realisation that no other demon here had noticed. Being one of the special demons himself, he knew about the profound connection and the influence the emblems had with the summoning function.
Each dungeon, a manifestation of its master''s power and domain, possessed its own distinctive characteristics and energies. The emblem is just one of the conduits which reflects the unique qualities and traits of the demon who ruled over the dungeon, serving as a testament of their power, aspirations, and individuality.
They carried the imprints of the demon''s conquests, their strength, and the qualities that set them apart from other demons. The emblems were, in a sense, a reflection of the demon''s own prowess and potential.
These conduits produced by a demon noble''s dungeon yed a pivotal role in the summoning of subordinates through the Dungeon Menu.
Each dungeon has its own menu and [Summon] option that is only essible to the master of the dungeon. The emblems acted as keys that unlocked the specific frequencies and resonances required to attract and bind certain types of subordinates.
The diversity of dungeons across the demon realm resulted in a vast array of emblems, each with its own distinct properties and potential and specific to that dungeon.
Some emblems radiated fiery energy, attuned to summoning fire-based subordinates of immense power. Others emanated an aura of shadow and darkness, drawing forth stealthy and elusive subordinates who excelled in subterfuge and assassination.
Some brought forth beings specialised in raw power and strength and some elemental creatures of unknown origin.
Taking Arctaurus for example, he was called the father of Minotaurus because of his personal trait and ability that summoned all kinds of Minotaurus. There were also other Demon Dukes like Megera whose personal trait resonates with earth based creatures like the Gargoyles.
The intery between the emblems and the dungeons themselves was aplex dance, a delicate bnce of resonance and attunement.
A demon who nurtured a powerful dungeon, enriched by the spoils of conquest and imbued with their own strength and ambition, would find their emblems resonating with greater potency.
This, in turn, would grant them ess to higher ranking subordinates and elevate their summoning prowess. It is because of this reason that the ancient Demon Archdukdes are able to summon a few [S] rank subordinates.
That being said, it is important to note, that the emblems were not the sole determinant of a demon''s summoning potential. The demon''s own power, knowledge, and a few special factors yed a crucial role in the sessful summoning of subordinates.
The emblems acted as a conduit, channelling the demon''s intention and providing a framework within which the summoning process could unfold.
So for Simon to have summoned a [S] rank subordinate, it spoke much about thetter''s potential, personal trait, power, ambition and speciality.
What''s more, if the news about this extraordinary feat gets known, it was unknown what kind of ripple it would create through the demon realm.
"As I thought, he is hiding some great secret". Oswell could tell because he too was special in his own way.
"Master, I understand now why you wanted to befriend the demon. He is truly extra ordinary. Establishing a good rtionship with him and making him owe you one at this stage when he is still weak, will definitely help you out in the future"
Aishamented from Oswell''s side. Her eyes were glued to the girl with ck and red dress, fighting the Giga Minotaur as if it was a plushie made out of cotton.
"That was the case before, right now I really want to make him my friend" Oswell revealed his intentions.
Although at first, it was undeniably true that he had his own motive for approaching Simon. However, the more time he spent and the more he got to know the other, he understood that the other party was just like him.
.
.
Over in the new arena that was personally set up by Gareth with the help of the Demon Lord, the Giga Minotaur was getting the bashing of its life.
Duke Arctaurus who was watching, questioned the unfolding situation with a voiceced with frustration and confusion.
"What... what has happened to the Giga Minotaurus? Why is it not following my orders? This is not how it was supposed to be!".
He urged the Giga Minotaur to regain control and show its true power. However, how could it be easy to snap out of the mind control of an Antediluvian Ancestor?
With each passing moment, Myabell''s influence over the mind-controlled Minotaurus grew stronger. Hermands echoed through the Minotaurus''s mind, bending its will to her own. Like a docile and obedient pet, the Minotaurus followed the vampire''s every directive, its movements no longer driven by its own instincts but rather by the vampire''s desires.
The battle continued, each move punctuated by an air of grace and precision from Maybell. With seemingly effortless grace, she sidestepped the Giga Minotaurus''s attacks, her movements calcted and fluid.
Her eyes gleamed with a mixture of confidence and amusement as she danced around the lumbering beast. The Giga Minotaurus, despite its tremendous strength and imposing stature, found itself trapped in a web of the Antediluvian Ancestor''s control.
Every swing of its massive fists and every charge was met with agile evasion and strategic counterattacks. It was as if Maybell toyed with the creature, exploiting its blind obedience and turning it into a mere puppet in her hands.
The illusion of a battle persisted, the audience watched in awe, unaware that they were witnessing a disy of the Vampire Ancestor''s dominance, rather than a genuine contest of strength.
Through her shadow arts and mastery of maniption, Maybell hadpletely turned the mighty Giga Minotaurus into a mere extension of her will. That said, only a select few in the shadows like Simon and Oswell were privy to this secret.
For other, as far as they knew, it was a masterful battle with both the side giving it their best.
"Alright, with this master''s n should have beenpleted. Now, its time to end this. Come charging at me like a good boy" Maybell muttered manipting the Giga Minotaurus to get on all fours ande charging at her like a typhoon.
[Colossal Charge], [Unbreakable Horns]¡ the Giga Minotaurus used two of its most powerful skills in a bout of its final attack. Its horn glowed with a devastating light and its charge powered by its powerful hind legs and multiple augmenting skills, was a like charge of death itself.
The entire venue trembled as all eyes focused on the lumbering giant of a beast which scared even the most stalwart of the souls here.
RUMBLE¡ RUMBLE¡ as the gigantic beast closed near the girl, the demons saw her execute a wless set of movements and elegantly dodged the beast.
BANG¡ With Maybell dodging its charge, the Giga Minotaurus mmed into the barrier, sending numerous cracks and ripples through it.
Chapter 687- Enemies on a narrow path
Chapter 687- Enemies on a narrow path
Being made by two of the most powerful demons here, the barrier although got cracked, did not break and swiftly restored himself. Though the same couldn''t be said for the Giga Minotaur who took the full brunt of its own powerful charge of death.
Its body trembled as it took a few steps back and fell down on the ground powerlessly. Even with its [Titanic Resilience], the injury that the beast suffered was just too much. The Giga Minotaurus was defeated.
SILENCE~ there was a deathly silence in the venue for a while before the audience erupted in a mixture of awe and disbelief.
For a long time, they couldn''t believe what they had witnessed, the defeat of a formidable creature by the hands of a seemingly fragile girl seemed so unusible that some of them even had to rub their eyes to clear the doubt.
Why would they not, after all, a powerful subordinate like the [A] rank Giga Minotaurus was defeated. However, what they were most shocked by was not the fact that it was an [A] rank subordinate, but that it was the subordinate of a Demon Duke.
In other words, Duke Arctaurus a powerful Demon Duke had lost. Inparison, the subordinate of the Demon Earl who was still standing, had won the Ritual of the des shocking all of the demons present.
"This can''t be" Duke Arctaurus, his face etched with frustration and disappointment, could do nothing but watch as Maybell emerged victorious.
The realisation that he had miscalcted and the power of the little girl settled upon him like a heavyweight. He had underestimated her, and now he and his subordinate stood defeated.
"Oh, dear Duke Arctaurus, it seems you have underestimated the power of my friend here. Your loyal minion has fallen, defeated by the subordinate of a Demon Earl that you look down upon so much"
A voice full of delight, sounded out at this moment, it was Oswell''s. Of course, the demon was there to add salt to the injury.
Arctaurus furrowed his brows in disbelief and demanded an exnation "How can that be? There must be a mistake. How can I lose from a mere Demon Earl? That''s right, he must have cheated. That demon earl must have done something"
In his unwillingness to ept defeat, he even started ming Simon.
"So you will fall as low as to even spout nonsense now that you have lost? How shameful Duke Arctaurus. We all have witnessed their fight with our own eyes, so there is no way the Demon Earl could cheat. Or are you saying that you are unwilling to ept the results of the ancient tradition of the Ritual of the des that you yourself demanded in the first ce".
"No, this¡".
After silencing the Duke, Oswell turned towards Belial and urged him to give his verdict. Thetterposed himself and looked at the result of the battle with solemn eyes. Even for him, it was impossible to predict that the Giga Minotaurus would lose and that too from a subordinate of a mere Demon Earl.
As such, he didn''t expect a turn of events like that. That said, he was still a demon Lord and as such, he quickly regained his wits back.
Now that Duke Arctaurus had lost the Ritual of the Bldes that he himself initiated, even if Bel wanted to, he couldn''t help the other.
"Belial, listen to me" At this moment, his eyes surreptitiously nced towards the ce where his father, the Demon Archduke Gareth was seated as a mental transmission was shared between them.
"I have no intentions of interfering with your decision; however, I sense a peculiar power within the Demon Earl''s subordinate. There is something unique about them. Follow your instincts, and do what you feel is right".
"But do remember that those stubborn fellows are watching. If you side too much with Arctaurus, you would be vandalising your own position and rtionship with Oswell".
The mental transmission from Gareth carried a sense of concern and curiosity.
"I understand father, I will make a verdict befitting my position". Saying that, Belial nced at the crowd, his regal aura bearing down on all the demons like a mountain.
"After careful consideration and evaluation, I hereby deliver my verdict." The hall fell into an expectant silence as all eyes fixed upon Belial, awaiting his decision.
The demon lord continued with an unwavering voice "The Ritual of the des has proven the might of the Demon Earl and his subordinate. It was an excellent battle between strength and agility and was an undeniable proof of their worthiness".
"As such, I decree that the Ghastly Winding Forest shall be recognized as the dominion of the Demon Earl Simon. Duke Arctaurus, Duke Gelford, I believe both of you have no qualms with my decision? If so then it is decided".
WOAHHH¡ With Belial''s deration, Whispers spread among the onlooking demons, their voices tinged with a mixture of admiration and disbelief.
The mighty subordinate of Duke Arctaurus whom nobody here thought would lose,y defeated, knocked out by the subordinate of the Demon Earl they looked down upon. What''s more, they even snatched the coveted territory of the Ghastly Winding Forest from the hands of the two dukes.
Something like this was unprecedented and shook the demons to their very core. The achievement of winning the Ritual of the des against an opponent like the Demon Duke, and proving his worthiness to protect his territory, marked Simon as one of the extraordinary demons in existence in the entire demon realm.
Now his name along with his territory, the Ghastly Winding forest was infamous to all the demons.
"Congrattions my friend, you achieved what you sought out to do" Oswell congratted with a face full of smiles.
It was as he had said, winning the Ghastly winding Forest and spreading his name across the entire demon world, was what Simon had in his mind beforeing to the Hexennacht.
"Although Belial decreed the forest as your territory, I doubt Duke Arctaurus and Duke Gelford who have been vying for this territory for centuries will give up so easily. They won''t publicly show their opposition to the Demon Lord''s verdict but they are sure to create troubles in your territory".
"That''s how those two dukes are, especially Duke Arctaurus. To achieve his desires, that fellow will go to any lengths. And now, by defeating him in the Ritual of the des, you havepletely earned his ire. I believe you know it already, but Belial''s decree only holds true as long as you are alive. If you are out of the picture, the Ghastly Winding Forest will have no owner once again. So you have to be more careful in the future. "
Like a good friend, Oswell warned Simon of the uing trouble that he would have to face in the future.
Simon nodded his head making a wry smile. This was his first no second time socializing with the demon society. Yet every time, there would be some trouble or anothertching onto him against his will.
This time though, it was entirely his own fault for throwing himself into trouble. He had deliberately and intentionally offended the two powerful dukes while fully knowing what would happen.
What Oswell said was just to be expected. That being said, Simon had no regrets, he did what he had to do. And if given another chance, he would still repeat this action of his and offend as many demons if it meant getting what he wanted.
The barrier was released and the adorable figure of Maybell quickly arrived before Simon.
"Master Ipleted what you asked me to" With a beaming smile, the former looked at thetter waiting to get praised. However, before Simon couldmend his subordinate for her efforts, aplication urred.
BAM¡ BAM¡ BAM¡ while shaking the entire venue with every step that it took, the Giga Minotaurus followed behind Maybell like a pet following its master.
"What are you doing Minos? Are you disobeying our contract?" And of course, following the appearance of the Giga Minotaurus, came the thundering voice of an angry Duke.
Duke Arctaurus whose face was writhing with fury and shame at the disobedience of his subordinate appeared before Simon and his group too.
The crowd which had settled down after watching an exciting show, started boiling up once again with the unfolding of a new drama.
"What is the meaning of this Earl Simon, why is Minos following behind that girl and rebelling against my orders?" Duke Arctaurus questioned ring at Simon.
Thetter sighed and observed the eyes of the Giga Minotaurus which had turned a peculiar blood red. Things proceeded just like he had feared, the Giga Minotaurus had be one of Maybell''s familiars. The blood red pupils were the first stage of that process.
Simon nced at Maybell who at this moment was avoiding his gaze. This little girl, despite his instructions went ahead and did what she wanted. That being said, he couldn''t me her because he When we get back home, I will summon some other subordinate for you, you can make them your familiar. How about it?" Simon was the one to program her behaviour like that in the first ce.
As such, if Maybell were to be med, then he as her creator was equally responsible. That aside, this was not the time to me anyone, instead he needed to find a way out of this.
"Maybell, undo the familiar covenant"
With a stern voice, Simon turned towards Maybell and asked her to release the covenant binding the Giga Minotaurus to her.
"But¡ " the little girl tried to protest; however... "No buts, just release the minotaurus. It is someone else''s subordinate after all. When we get back home, I will summon some other subordinate for you, you can make them your familiar. How about it?" Simon directed her to release the Giga Minotaurus.
Chapter 688- Enemies on a narrow road (2)
Chapter 688- Enemies on a narrow road (2)
"Buu~" Although still a little discontent Maybell still followed her master''s orders and released the Giga Minotaurus from its bindings.
The eyes of the [A] rank beast now released from the familiar covenant, returned back to their usual crimson brownish colour.
"Don''t worry, I will get you a better familiar than the minotaurus and it will be from the cat race too in the future" Seeing the dejected sight of Maybell, Simon promised.
"Really?! Yaaay~" As expected of a kitten lover, just merely mentioning cat was enough to get the little girl in high spirits once again.
Simon smiled and along with his group turned to head back to their seats, when the infuriated voice of Duke Arctaurus stopped them.
"What?! You are trying to Nullify our contract? Minos have you gone insane?".
It appeared that the situation was yet to be resolved. The Giga Minotaurus who was now freed from Maybell''s binding, was now rejecting and disobeying his former master''smand. Even going as far as to nullify their contract.
Contract was a special ability of the demon nobles. Fueled by their special blood, it enables them to forge agreements with their subjects. These contracts are not mere formalities but potent pacts that transcend ordinary alliances.
When a demon noble, be it a Demon Earl or Demon Duke initiates a contract, a remarkable phenomenon unfolds. The noble''s blood, flowing with ancient power and primal force, bes the catalyst for the binding ritual.
It is a connection, a link that intertwines the fates of the contracting parties. The bond forged through a contract is not limited to mere loyalty; it extends to obedience, protection, and even the transfer of knowledge.
The Demon Noble''smands be irresistible whispers in the mind of the bound, their will bending to the desires of their contracted master.
The power of the contract bes greater the higher the power and rank of the demon is. So it could be imagined how powerful the contract initiated by a Demon Duke whose blood carried millennia of mystical energy and raw ancient power.
The highly pure noble blood of a Demon Duke carries with it a potency that surpasses all other forms of demonic binding. The contracts formed by these illustrious beings are nothing short of legendary, embodying the pinnacle of strength and dominance.
Yet such a contract was being breached; no, dissolved by the subject that it bound. This in itself spoke about how formidable the Giga Minotaurus was.
"Stop Minos!! Come to your right mind already"
Duke Arctaurus'' face was aghast when he saw a pale blood coloured mark appear on Giga Minotaur''s forehead before dissipating into thin air.
With the dissolution of that mark, the contract was also nullified and the Giga Minotaurus was now free of all the bindings. But of course, it had to pay a heavy price for it. It bled heavily from all of its seven orifices, severe burns appeared on its body and one of its unbreakable horns cracked and fell down.
That was not all, its body shrank and it lost a portion of its power. This was the sacrifice that the Giga Minotaurus had to go through to break the Contract it made with the duke. All so that it could go back and serve the master that had won him over.
The Giga Minotaurus now a little less intimidating, approached Simon and his group before kneeling down beside Maybell.
ROARR¡ with a subdued roar, it let its intentions known.
"Really you want to serve me? Hehe, you really are a good boy. In that case, I shall¡ Ah!! i forgot I cannot ept you¡ master told me that you cannot be my familiar".
Maybell who was about to giddily ept the Giga Minotaurus in her collection of familiars, suddenly recalled the words Simon told her and stopped.
She then turned towards him and tugged his clothes with a coy and heartbroken expression "Master, can''t I have him?".
Seeing Maybell''s pitiful and sad appearance, Simon released a deep sigh. ''This girl¡ who taught her this tactic?'' Although he knew she was acting to get what she wanted, it was still hard for Simon to reject her now that the minotaurus even willingly came to her to serve her.
Plus being their parent and creator, he did not like seeing them all sad and unhappy like that. As such, he could only give her a go ahead nod and tackle the problems that would arise from this.
"Earl Simon, how do you exin this? Why is Minos behaving like that towards that girl? What did she do?" the enraged Duke Arctaurus demanded an exnation.
"What is with themotion here? Duke Arctaurus, I believe I resolved the situation here or are you going against my verdict?".
At this moment when their outburst was starting to gather quite a bit of attention, Belial who had moved forward to settle the disputes with the other demons, interjected in between.
"It''s not like that Demon Lord. I wouldn''t dare to go against your verdict. I have no issues rted to your decision over the Ghastly Winding Forest. It''s just that the matter is not about the territory but about my subordinate Minos".
"It is behaving oddly for some reason and is disobeying all of mymands. I believe the Demon Earl did something to it. That is why, I was demanding an exnation from him" Duke Arrctaurus exined.
Belial''s piercing gaze shifted from the Duke towards the Demon Earl, his curiosity piqued by the discord that unfolded before him. With a measured tone, he addressed Arctaurus, seeking rification amidst the brewing tension.
"What do you mean, Duke Arctaurus? Why does your subordinate, the Giga Minotaurus, now defy yourmands?"..
"Demon Lord Belial, please amend justice. This dastardly Demon Earl has done something to my subordinate. The Giga Minotaurus, once loyal and obedient, now follows themands of the Demon Earl''s familiar. It is an affront to my authority and a tant act of treachery!".
Hearing the Duke''s usations Belial narrowed his eyes and surveyed the Demon Earl, evaluating the situation with his discerning eyes.
Seeing that the Demon Earl showed no signs of apprehension or any guilty conscience even when faced with his pressure, a slight frown appeared on his face.
He raisied a hand to silence the agitated crowd, before speaking with a subtle air of authority "Demon Earl, you stand used of tampering with the subordinate of a fellow demon. Such actions carry grave consequences. How do you defend yourself against these allegations?"
The gathering turned their attention back towards Duke Arctaurus and the Demon Earl. It appeared that anotherplication appeared within them. All eyes focused towards the Demon Earl and the group around him, waiting for another drama to unfold.
However, what they didn''t expect was for this drama to get even spicier with the interjection of another unexpected party.
"Demon Lord if I may interject"..
Two figures walked out from amidst the crowd and stood near Duke Arctaurus.
"You are¡" Belial nced at this unexpected interruption before recognising who they were. "I am Earl Avrox, a humble servant of the Demon Archduke Charthros. If I may have your permission, I have something to say in this regard".
The Demon Lord of Envy was silent as he observed the two new figures. One was a Demon Earl who just introduced himself while the other was a Demon Duke named Famoon. Seeing this duo together was quite unusual even for Belial. He nodded his head and allowed the other party to speak their mind.
"Since it''s the subordinate of Demon Archduke Charthros, I will give him face and allow you to speak. Pray tell us, why did you interrupt us".
On Belial''s beckoning, Avrox pretentiously took a step forward, pointed towards Famoon beside him with one hand and spoke.
"Demon Lord, since you are amending justice for Duke Arctaurus, you must also amend justice for Duke Famoon who simrly trusted that dastardly Earl and had been taken advantage of".
Like a performer, Avrox iterated what Famoon told him. His words carefully put to make the Duke to be the victim here and Earl Simon to be the criminal.
On one side, Duke Arctaurus revelled at this unexpected aid. He thought that with Oswell backing the demon earl, it would be hard for him to press thetter. However, who would have expected that he would gain an unexpected ally in such a situation?
''Snort, a demon earl who doesn''t know his position. Since you dared to take away the territory that I desired, let''s see how you get out of this situation.
.
.
"So you are telling me that Earl Simon here has stolen an artefact from Duke Famoon that he bought from the auction?"...
"That is right my lord"
possession. Earl Simon, whom I trusted as a friend and fellow noble, has betrayed that trust and taken what rightfully belonged to me."
Belial''s eyes widened with a mixture of surprise and intrigue at the im made by Earl Avrox. This revtion added a newyer ofplexity to the already contentious situation, leaving the observing demons in a state of heightened curiosity.
"Duke Famoon, is it true that Earl Simon has stolen an artefact from you, an artefact that you had acquired through an auction?".
Famoon shed a wicked smile towards Simon before speaking with an indignant voice "Demon Lord Belial, esteemed demons, I stand before you to confirm the theft of a priceless artefact from my possession. Earl Simon, whom I trusted as a friend and fellow noble, has betrayed that trust and taken what rightfully belonged to me."
As soon as those words fell, gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd as demons exchanged astonished nces. They couldnlt believe that a mere Demon earl would be so audacious and fearless as to steal something from a demon duke.
Chapter 689 689- Enemies On A Narrow Road (3)
While some demons were enjoying the misery of the Demon Earl, a few evenughed out loud unable to contain theirughter. They knew full well what kind of character Famoon was and what was he referring to with the word artefact.
Being a high ranking demon and a Demon Lord, how could Belial not know what sort of items thetter bought from the auction? He knew full well that this clown of a Duke got scammed by the merchant of the Damned.
However, that being said, being a demon lord who imed to uphold justice and lead all the demons, he must amend justice for him. As such, Belial turned towards Simon, so did all eyes present in the venue. They all turned toward the used, awaiting his defence.
On Simon''s side, the Demon himself and Oswell both wore a frown of consternation, feeling a headacheing. If it was just Duke Arctauus'' usation they could have somehow dealt with it.
However, Famoon also had to join in at this moment making the situation even more troublesome for them.
"I want to know how did ite to this but first of all, who is this demon? Why is he tangling and making things difficult for you" Oswell scratched his hair in frustration. The situation was so messed up that even with his wits, he couldn''t find a solution out of this.
"Even if you ask me, I don''t know" Simon himself was confused as to why this demon was trying to make things difficult for him. He did not recognise the other party nor did he have any enmity with him so why?
It needs to be mentioned that Simon had never met Avrox as such, he wasrgely clueless as to who the other party was.
"I see.. that aside, how will you deal with this situation? Do you have any ns?".
Simon simply shook his head at Oswell''s question and replied with a ''I will deal with it somehow attitude''.
With a mixture of frustration and annoyance etched upon his countenance, Simon addressed the gathered assembly "Demon Lord, noble demons, I vehemently deny the allegations made against me by Duke Arctaurus and Duke Famoon".
"Neither I nor my subordinate have done something to force the Duke''s subordinate to nullify the contract. Thetter came to us on their own will. As for the matter of Duke Famoon''s artefact, I did not steal it rather I took it from the other party with my own ability. It was Duke Famoon who came to me with the intention to steal my subordinate."
"Nonsense, if you haven''t done something, then why is my subordinate behaving like that"¡
"Right, Demon lord he speaking nonsense. I did not do such things"¡
"Earl Simon you shouldn''t use someone falsely"...
Duke Arctaurus and Duke Famoon vehemently tried to use Simon while Avrox supported them.
On Simon''s side, Oswell stood firm in defending his friend. The tension among the parties was starting to escte when Belial raised his hand, signalling for calm. His voice carried a pressure that demanded obedience from all demons present in the venue.
"Let us not jump to conclusions without a fair examination of the evidence and a thorough investigation. usations and counter-usations will not lead us to the truth. I assure everyone that justice will be amended. However, before that we need to investigate the allegations made by both sides".
Seeing that the rowdy crowd had been silenced, Belial continued "Now then, which side will speak first?".
Avrox, waiting for his chance, spoke on behalf of Duke Arctaurus and Duke Famoon.
"Demon Lord, we have witnessed the behaviour of the Giga Minotaurus which changed right after the Ritual of the des. It is evident that there is some maniption at y here, and the stolen artefact from Duke Famoon only adds to the suspicion against Earl Simon."
Belial nodded his head and turned towards Simon to hear what he had to say.
"Demon Lord, I stand by my words. The actions of Duke Arctaurus''s subordinate are the consequences of their own will. They have acted of their own ord and have nothing to do with my subordinate. As for Duke Famoon''s alleged theft, I assert that I acquired the artefact through my own abilities and it was not stolen from him."
It was not a lie, the subordinate of Duke Arctaurus, the Giga Minotaurus came to them even after Myabell released her familiar covenant and as for Duke Famoon, thetter got what he deserved. I think you should take a look at
The Eye of Enimga or in other words, the Celestial Ocirs had chosen Simon as its master and bound itself with him. As such, the item became his possession. There was no way he was going to give an item back that fell into his possession.
"I see, so you will still shamelessly deny all usations. You have degraded the face of all of us Demon Earls" Avrox determined to further his agenda, spoke once again.
"Demon Lord, I beseech you to consider the evidence before you. Earl Simon''s ims are baseless and his attempts to shift me onto Duke Arctaurus and Duke Famoon are nothing but a desperate ploy. We have witnessed the chaos caused by his subordinate, the change in behaviour of the Giga Minotaurus, and we have heard the allegations of the stolen artefact".
"It is clear where the guilt lies. I would also like to implore Duke Oswell to see through Earl Simon''s deceit. His actions have caused discord and unrest within our realm. By siding with him, we risk undermining the very foundation of justice and order that we strive to uphold.".
Avrox wanted to use this chance and influence Oswell to discard Simon and cut off all support thetter had. However, what he didn''t know was that contrary to their expectation Oswell wasn''t using Simon as a pawn to do his bidding but was instead genuinely helping his friend.
Even though he had the choice of backing down, he was involving himself more and more in this perilous situation just to help his friend.
"Earl Avrox, you with your humble rank speak as if you know everything. However, aren''t you just being biased towards Earl Simon and using this chance to gain the favour of the two Dukes?"
"You say that the Gga Minotaurus''behaviour changed after the Ritual of the des? Then why didn''t we all who have witnessed the Ritual of the des with our own eyes, did not sense anything? Or Earl Avrox are you trying to say that your perception ability is even better than the Demon Lord and the Ancient Archdukes here?"
"As for the matter regarding Famoon, I was there too. As such, I can testify that he was the one who came with ill intentions first. There were a few demons nearby at that time. If Demon Lord investigates them, I''m sure you will easily be able to find the truth" Oswell shed a thumbs up towards Simon and stood resolutely beside him.
This caused the two dukes and Avrox to be taken aback. They couldn''t understand why Oswell was supporting this demon earl so strongly.
The arbiter in this matter, Belial was torn between upholding justice and maintaining a delicate bnce of power. On one side was Duke Arctaurus, Duke Famoon and the subordinate of Archduke Charthros, and on another Oswell, a demon who even while being just a demon duke couldpete with many of the ancient Demon Archdukes.
Both sides were important to him if he wanted to rule the demon continent. As such, he couldn''t just dismiss any one party.
To furtherplex the situation, his father Demon Archduke Gareth sent him a sound transmission informing him of a special presence observing the gathering.
Belial took a moment to gather all the thoughts racing in his mind before addressing the gathered demons.
"In light of all the new information presented, it is clear that both parties were at fault for this one. And so to amend an impartial and fair justice I ask both the parties topromise on this one".
"Duke Oswell, Earl Simon¡ I understand that the matter with Duke Famoon was a personal feud. As such, I will not hold you charge for this matter as long as you reimburse the Duke with an appropriate amount of DP. As for the matter rting to the subordinate of Duke Arctaurus, I will have you return the Giga Minotaurus to them".
Belial gave his verdict forcing both the parties into apromise. However, was his justice really fair and impartial to everyone? Of course it was not, it was heavily biased towards Simon who was just a Demon Earl and favoured the Demon Dukes.
So what if he had the backing of Oswell? In the end, he was still a mere Demon Earl whose position and importance was iparable to the influential Demon Dukes.
Had it been Oswell or some other Demon Duke in ce of him, Belial wouldn''t have given such a verdict. However, all those charges and allegations were on a Demon Earl. As such, one didn''t need to think twice to know, which side the demon lord would support.
In the society of Demon Nobles, your standing decided your fate. If you are a high ranking demon and possess immense power, you will be respected by all the demons. Heck, others might even be fawning over you to get to your good side.
Just like how all the demons here wanted to make a connection with Oswell. However, if you are just a bottom ranking demon earl whose ce was merely to be a subordinate of the high ranking demons, you have no standing in this society.
Forget about being heard in a gathering like this, even if you were oppressed and took advantage of, nobody would bat an eye.
Chapter 690 690- Suppressing the Crowd
Chapter690 690- Suppressing the Crowd
If your standing is low, your fate would be subjected to the whims and maniptions of the more powerful. That was how the society of the demon worked. In essence, it still retained the primal form ofw, thew of the jungle.
A gathering like the Hexennacht serves as a vivid reminder of this stark reality. Only the high-ranking demons here dominate the scene, a Demon Earl like Simon has no ce.
Just like how right now he was forced to have the short end of the stick because the Demon Lord saw no worth in siding with a Demon Earl like him.
Of course, it was not like Belial did not put any consideration into his verdict. In fact, he had taken Oswell''s standing into ount because he didn''t want his rtion with thetter to break down, he gave that verdict. Or else, given Simon''s standing, simply suffering from some concessions wouldn''t be the end for him.
However, all of that did not matter to Simon anymore at this moment because something that he had been suppressing all this time, finally broke loose. Something within him snapped ¡
[Ding¡ Pride has been activated, all other emotions are being suppressed].
Although Simon tried to keep his calm since the beginning of this farce, but as the situation went on and after that biased verdict from Belial, he could no longer keep it together.
The Fragments of Pride activated at the injustice and quickly overwhelmed Simon. All of his emotions disappeared, his hesitation, It was as if a switch had been flipped, overwhelming arrogance surged through his veins, altering his very aura. His ego swelled to uncertainties, doubts everything was swept away reced by an unwavering belief in his own worth and capabilities.
It was as if a switch had been flipped, overwhelming arrogance surged through his veins, altering his very aura. His ego swelled to colossal proportions, fueling a sense of superiority that bordered on the excessive.
With each passing moment, his egoism grew more pronounced, casting a shadow over his once modest demeanour.
"Haah!¡ What bullshit is this?"...
Simon who had been silent up until this moment, suddenly spoke up. His voice, which was calm andposed up until now, carried an undeniable edge, resonating with a quiet strength.
"What did you say?!" Duke Arctaurus and Famoon who were revelling at Belial''s verdict that clearly favoured them, turned towards the Demon Earl with furrowed brows unable to believe what he just said.
"I said¡ what bullshit is this. Why should I be the one topromise for insignificant fools like you all?" Simon repeated himself.
When his words dripping with overwhelming arrogance, reached the ears of the onlooking crowd, it was as if the entire venue was turned upside down. A silence palpable enough for one to even hear their breathing, descended on the venue.
Though it didn''tst long before a collective gasp rippled through the assembly. Whispers and murmurs quickly spread like wildfire, filled with disbelief and uncertainty. Doubt hung heavy in the air as the audience questioned whether they had truly heard what they thought they had heard.
"Earl Simon, what is the meaning of this?"
Belial who never thought that an unassuming Demon Earl would go against his verdict, was annoyed. Faint traces of his powerful energy even started leaking out of his body as if wanting to squash this ant that dared to against his will into smithereens.
However, when he faced the Demon Earl this time, he realised that something about the other party was different. It was as if he was dealing with apletely different demon than before.
Not only that, but in front of that aura emanated by that Demon Earl, he felt a heavy sense of oppression that generated from deep within his soul. Additionally, his energy which was on the verge of bursting out of his body, had suddenly be stagnant and swiftly receded inside his body as if seeking shelter.
''What was going on?'' Belial wondered in astonishment. It was not only him, all the demon nobles in the venue regardless of their ranks felt a heavy sense of pressure bearing down on them when facing the Demon Earl for some reason.
If it was before, hearing the rough and foolhardy words of the Demon Earl, the entire hall would have erupted in amusement andughter. However, the environment in the Venue was tense with an inexplicable heaviness enveloping the ce.
At this moment, when the crowd was still grappling with their own perceptions, struggling to reconcile the humble demon they saw before with the audacious individual standing before them, Simon spoke once again.
"Listen up, you pathetic excuses for demons. I stand here before you as the victor of the Ritual of the des, a title that grants me absolute authority over the oue at hand which also includes the defeated party"
His words dripped with condescension, and a tant disregard for the feelings and opinions of others.
"You see, the rules of this pitiful ritual are crystal clear. The winner ims not only the territory but also the spoils of the battle. The defeated must bow down in submission and ept their fate." A sinister smirk formed on Simon''s lips as he gazed at Duke Arctaurus.
"The weak will always be subjected to the whims of the strong. It is the natural order of our world and how we the demon nobles do things isn''t it? Then as the loser, Duke Arctaurus what rights do you have to throw all those usations on me? Even if I take your [A] rank subordinate, you shouldn''t have anyints".
In front of Simon''s verbal assaults, the entire venue was stunned silent. The contrast between the Demon Earl''s previous demeanour and this newfound arrogance was so stark that it defied all rational exnation.
It was a jarring juxtaposition that challenged all their preconceived notion. The confidence with which he belittled them was both astonishing and enraging. However, facing his gaze none of the demons present were able to do anything.
They could feel an intense suppression bearing down on them, as if the very essence of their being was scared of him.
The weight of his presence was so that itmanded attention and submission from those around him. In front of that Simon, all everyone could do was take it lying down.
With a twisted smile on his face, Simon turned his attention towards Duke Arctaurus, who stood there, seething with anger and humiliation.
"How pitiful, Duke Arctaurus" he sneered "Your precious Giga Minotaurus, once so loyal, now refuses to obey your feeblemands. How amusing it is to see you ming me for your own ipetence. Now that it has nullified the contract with you, you go crying to the Demon Lord to amend justice. You spineless fool, learn to ept your defeat. Don''t worry though, I shall graciously ept your defeated subordinate. It will serve as a constant reminder of your inadequacy and my superiority to everyone".
"Ah, also Duke Famoon the crybaby who cannot handle a loss" Finished humiliating Duke Arctaurus, Simon''s eyes shifted towards Famoon.
"I stole something from you? Is that why you havee to the Hexennacht, seeking justice for a petty squabble?".
Simon taunted, his voice filled with mockingughter "You dare use me of stealing? How absurd. I took what was rightfully mine, with my own abilities. Your feeble attempts to reim it with Belial''s help only prove your own weakness. Cry all you want, but it will not change the fact that you lost, and I won."
While Simon continued to humiliate his adversaries, driving each syble deeper into their wounded pride, those near him looked at him in astonishment. This was especially true for Theodore and Maybell, his loyal subordinates who were like a family to him.
At this moment, they had their eyes wide open in surprise and disbelief. This was a side of Simon they had never seen before- a being consumed by arrogance.
They had always known him as a kind and cool master, someone who valued their loyalty and treated them with great care. But what they witnessed today was a stark contrast from the master they thought they knew.
"Brother, what is going on with master?!"
Maybell, usually quiet and reserved, found herself taken aback by the overwhelming aura of arrogance emanating from Simon. Her expression shifted from surprise to concern as she struggled to reconcile this new side of her master with the one she was so familiar with.
In her concern, she could only turn to her brother who was the perceptive one between them.
"Don''t worry, I think I know why Master is like this" Theodore reassured his sister. He who had been silently standing beside Simon, felt something change within him. It was not like he had no idea what triggered that change.
Just like how the Valkyries could see Simon from that special void before they were summoned, Theodore and Maybell too shared a simr view from the ce they were summoned from and thus knew about the special fragments that were within their master.
This was not the first time such a change had urred. Thought that said, he still felt a pang of confusion and unease. The reason for that was because, unlike the other times when Simon acted haughty and confident when under the effects of the fragment, this time it looked like he waspletely consumed by it.
This excessive arrogance that reached unparalleled heights and held nothing but pure disdain for others, even shook him to his core.
Theodore''s observation was right, usually even when under the effect of the Fragment of Pride, Simon wouldn''t usually bepletely consumed by it until he was no longer himself. He would still have a little bit of self control remaining.
However, that was before he acquired the second fragment of pride.
Chapter 691 691- Marchosias Intervention
Chapter691 691- Marchosias'' Intervention
The presence of two Fragments of Pride within Simon magnified the effects of his arrogance to unprecedented levels. While even a single fragment could instil a dangerous sense of superiority, thebination of two unleashed a torrent of unchecked pride that consumed him entirely.
With each fragment resonating within him, Simon''s ego swelled to immense proportions. It fueled his belief in his own superiority, blinding him to the perspectives and worth of others.
What''s more, with the two fragments resonating with each other, its influence had reached a level where it amplified Simon''s disdain for those around him. His arrogance became a force so overpowering that it affected not only his demeanour, but also the very fabric of his aura.
It radiated off him like an oppressive weight, causing even the most confident of demons to falter in his presence.
While the activation of two Fragments of Pride had subdued the whole crowd. It couldn''t necessarily be said that it was a good thing. It had brought him to a dangerous state of being, where the boundaries of reason and empathy blurred, and the consequences of his actions became increasingly unpredictable.
While his transformation had ignited a newfound fire within him, it had also unleashed a torrent of hubris that threatened to consume him. The overwhelming arrogance he now embodied carried both the potential for greatness and the seeds of self-destruction.
It was a delicate bnce, one that teetered on the edge of peril with every step he took.
While all this was happening, over on the side, seatedfortably in their seats a few distance away, the beings who could only be described as ancients, suddenly felt a jolt through their body.
Their leaning backs straightened and they couldn''t help but lock their brows in consternation.
"Did you all feel this?" Gareth spoke, his eyes solemn.
"Yeah, something doesn''t feel right. What could be causing this sudden change?"¡
"This pressure... It''s unsettling. I haven''t felt something like this in thousands of years".
The other archdukes were perturbed too. This shift in the atmosphere was just too sudden.
"It ising from the centre of the venue"¡
"This invisible pressure that is making every cell and muscle in my body quiver.. could it being from Belial?".
With a serious expression, the Archdukes exchanged nces, a sense of unease and uncertainty could be seen on their faces.
As Demon Archdukes, they were the pinnacle of power and the bearers of the purest bloodlines. Yet when exposed to that aura, they couldn''t help but feel overwhelmed with a sense of unease they couldn''t exin.
It was as if a force beyond theirprehension was pressing upon them, making them feel a hint of inferiority and insecurity within their hearts. They thought that since the pressure wasing from the centre of the venue, it was Belial.
However, only Gareth knew that it was not the doing of his son. The Fragments of Envy that he knew of were powerful but even they didn''t give off such an overwhelming feeling.
''Could it be the doing of that Demon Earl?'' Gareth shook his head discarding that thought. There was no way a seemingly insignificant demon, an Earl no less, could exert such an imposing presence.
That said, it was still an enigma to him where that pressure came from. No matter how astute he was, even Gareth was unable to figure out that it was the Frams of Pride within the Demon Earl that caused the weird shift in the atmosphere and subdued all the demons.
But again, it was not like all the demons here were overwhelmed by that pressure. There were a few demons in the venue like Belial and Oswell who still still remained somewhat unaffected.
Though what they felt when exposed to the invisible pressure emanating from Simon waspletely different from the rest of the demons here.
''This aura¡ why is it stirring up the Fragments of Envy within me? Why are they acting up right now and that too in the presence of a mere Demon Earl?'' Belial muttered to himself.
Faced with the overwhelming aura wielded by the Demon Earl, the Demon Lord of Envy who possessed the Fragments of Envy, found himself entering a mysterious state.
In that state, he found himself looking at a vast starry sky. Arge constetion was shining brilliantly amidst those stars. It was none other than the constetion of Envy.
This scene was not new to Bil, in fact, he had seen this scene many a time after being chosen by the Frams of Envy. That aside, what he couldn''t understand was why the Fragments decided to show him this scene at this moment.
While Belial''s mind became clouded with conflicting thoughts, from the corner of his eyes, he noticed two brightly shining stars in far far distant space. The light from those stars were so bright that it affected the surrounding dead stars too, bathing them in their starlight.
Meanwhile, Oswell was having his own thoughts as he observed Simon "This.. could it be¡" A mixture of fascination and unease washed over him as he came to a realisation.
.
.
Silenced by his overwhelming aura, Simon''s words reverberated through the hall, each point he made seemed to strike at the core of the established order.
"And Belial, your words are as feeble as your position. To think you would believe some insignificant creature trying to bootlick his way up the ranks. Has the mighty Demon Lord fallen so low as to require the assistance from the likes of them to solidify his position?"
Simon sneered. His words caused every demon present at this gathering to gasp in disbelief. His outright defiance of the Demon Lord''smand shocked all of them including the Demon Lord himself.
"You¡" being tantly disregarded like that, as a Demon Lord whose position, power, rank, authority and everything towered over all the other demons here, how could he simply take it?
The others might be subdued by the aura of the Fragments within Simon; however, Belial was unaffected by such coercion due to the existence of the Fragments of Envy inside him. As such, after his momentary surprise at this sudden change in the Demon Earl''s behaviour and aura dissipated, he was enraged by the audacious words of thetter.
Belial wanted to use his own aura and strength to silence this audacious demon and teach them their ce, when he felt the Fragments of Envy behaving peculiarly for some reason. Ity dormant within him and he was unable to muster up most of his powers.
''What is going on? I can''t even channel half of my strength properly?'' While Belial was having his own inner thoughts, a new voice interrupted in between at this moment.
"Although his words might be excessive and unnerving to hear, we cannot dismiss the underlying truths within them. He is the winner of the ritual of the des after all, and as per the rules that have dictated our demon realm through aeons, he has full right over the oue".
"Duke Arctaurus'' ims hold no weight, the same goes for Duke Famoon, the illustrious Hexennacht is no ce for settling petty found among them.
squabbles. Demon Lord Belial, I ask you to reevaluate your verdict".
The new voice spoke with an air of authority, cutting through the tension that had settled over the crowd.
The onlookers turned their attention to the source of the new voice, their curiosity piqued by this unexpected interjection. Who was it that dared to disregard the proceedings of the Hexennacht and even tell Belial to reconsider his judgement?
With their curiosity piqued, all eyes searched for the origin of the sound, but to their surprise, there was no physical presence to be found among them.
Belial, in particr, felt a mix of curiosity and apprehension as he listened to the voice which carried a powerful weight and insight that he couldn''t ignore. His gaze darted around the sky, his mind racing to decipher the origins of this mysterious observer.
However, after being unable to find any trace of them even with his powerful senses, he became even more apprehensive of them. Belial knew that since this person was able to hide from him, they must be in a different space altogether.
To be able to create a gap in space time, this person has clearly reached the¡
As he came to a realisation, Belial understood that this was the special presence that his father notified him about a few moments ago.
While the demons in the venue were cluelessly wondering the identity of this mysterious voice, Gareth the most ancient demon present in the venue, rose from his seat and gazed at a particr space in the sky as he addressed.
"Marchosias, it is an honour to have you grace us with your presence at the Hexennacht. I extend my deepest gratitude for taking the time to be a part of this gathering."
With Gareth pointing it out, the demons gathered in the venue, be it Demon Dukes or the ancient Archdukes widened their eyes in surprise as they matched their gaze towards the area where Gareth was looking.
Nevertheless, forget about seeing anything, they couldn''t sense even the slightest abnormality there. This fact further deepened the respect and surprise in their eyes.
That said not every demon was like that, there was one demon in particr who had no idea who this new voice was.
"Who the hell is this Marchosias?" raising an eyebrow, Simon gazed at the sky.
"Haha, it''s like you are apletely different person. But then it is understandable, let me tell you who Marchosias is. She is one of the Jesters and a direct subordinate of the Demon Lord of Lust, Lady Lilith. Marhosias the Rogue Jester" Oswell exined.
692 Chapter 692- The End of the Event
692 Chapter 692- The End of the Event
Over at the sky, Marchoasias'' voice echoed through the air.
"Demon Archduke Gareth, you don''t have to mind me. I am just here as an observer like all those other Achrdukes watching from the skies here. The only reason I interrupted was because I noticed that the new Demon Lord who has been propagating a new system of diplomacy and negotiation suddenly deviate from his own principles".
"He who was emphasising the importance of fairness and impartiality, to take a verdict like that? It raises questions about the integrity of his judgment and whether external influences are at y. Do not worry, I am not challenging the authority of the Demon Lord of Envy or anything, I just want to ascertain what kind of character the new Demon Lord is and whether he truly intends to fulfil his duty of upholding the principles just like he had said or if his decisions would be swayed by partiality."
Marchosias''words highlighted the discrepancy in Belial''s verdict causing the crowd to erupt in hushed murmurs. They all observed in anticipation, their attention focused towards Belial as they awaited his response and his subsequent course of action that will decide the fate of the concerned matter at hand.
Having his true intentions exposed, Belial struggled topose himself as he felt the weight of the moment upon his shoulders. The Fragments of Envy within him stirred once again, urging him to reconsider his stance and reassess the implications of Demon Earl''s actions.
He realized that he stood at a crossroads, faced with a choice that could either make or break the foundation he had beenying up until now.
Caught in a state of uncertainty, Belial nced towards his father, the Demon Archduke Gareth to seek his guidance amidst the brewing confusion.
"I see, Marchosias, you are not wrong. As the Demon Lord tasked with the duty to lead us, he must ensure that all his decisions are impartial and fair towards all the parties. Belial, it is as Marchosias said. The position of Demon Lord carries great responsibility, and it is imperative that you navigate this situation with wisdom and integrity".
"Remember, the path to true leadership lies in upholding justice and fairness, even in the face of challenges and personal biases."
Gareth spoke recognising the importance of the current situation. Now that Marchosias had interfered, even he as one of the oldest Arcdukes here, could only go along with the other party''s intention.
Belial''s gaze met his father''s and a mental transmission was immediately shared between them.
[Listen well Beaili, my son. The personality of Marchosias is not like this. This is a test from her; no from the Demon Lord she serves, a test to see your character and ability. Rise above your own desires, it is good that you want to create a connection with Duke Arctaurus and Duke Famoon. However, you must not let that cloud your decision right now].
Belial nodded his head in agreement.
"It is as you say Marchosias, I did indeed advocate for a council that was impartial and fair in its decision. In this system, everybody is judged equally whether they be a Demon Duke or Demon Earl".
"As the Demon Lord, I will not let my personal sentiments or any external factors influence my decision. I assure you all, I shall reevaluate my stance and reassess the situation with utmost impartiality".
Belial''s voice resonated with determination and resolve as he addressed the gathering once again. The weight of his words and the sincerity behind them captured the attention of the audience.
"After careful consideration and reflection, I dere that the usations against Demon Earl Simon, the winner of the Ritual of the des, are deemed as false and unfounded. It is clear that he is not at fault in the situation regarding the Giga Minotaurus and the alleged theft of an artefact".
"As the winner of the Ritual of the des, he rightfully possesses the authority over the oue, including the fate of the defeated subordinate of Duke Arctaurus. It is not for us to question or challenge his prerogative in this regard".
"As for Duke Famoon, this gathering is not the ce to settle personal matters. As a Duke, you must take responsibility for your own actions and seek resolution through proper channels. This Hexennacht is a tform for broader discussions that concern our demon society as a whole, and we must maintain our focus on matters of greater significance".
A mixture of surprise and uncertainty rippled through the venue as the demons processed Belial''s firm deration. While some like the two dukes in question were unresigned and unable to take such a judgement, they nheless remained silent.
Others acknowledged the validity of his words, recognizing the traditional rules governing the Ritual of the des.
"And Earl Avrox, as a subordinate of Demon Archduke Charxros, your intervention in this matter exceeds your jurisdiction. While I respect the influence and authority of your master, it does not grant you the right to meddle in affairs that fall outside your purview."
The crowd, though initially taken aback by Belial''s stance, gradually came to terms with the reality of the situation. It was clear that Marchosias''intervention had a profound impact on the unfolding events, shifting the dynamics and ensuring that fairness and adherence to the established rules prevailed.
Even the Demon lord had no choice but to yield in this matter, after all, nobody wanted to get on bad terms with this female lioness who had a very short temper much less with the master she served.
While demons like Arctaurus, Famoon and Avrox harboured lingering doubts and frustrations, they inwardly conceded that the Demon Earl Simon had been granted a stroke of luck.
The unexpected turn of events, coupled with Marchosias'' appearance, had seemingly tilted the scales in his favour, protecting him from suffering any repercussions.
They knew that saying or doing anything more would only worsen the situation for them further as such, they could only re at Simon murderously before turning around to leave.
"Haha, look at them scurry away with their tails tucked between their legs now. It served them right" Oswellughed mocking the trio.
Just until a few moments ago those three were being so bold and throwing usations at them. But now with the intervention of Marchosias setting everything right, he felt like a portion of his frustration was released.
"But still who would have guessed that you are acquainted with Marchosias? If you knew her, you should have asked for her assistance sooner. Though the fact that you are acquainted with the Rpgue Jester is in itself quite surprising" Oswell patted Simon''s shoulder in a seemingly victorious mood.
"What are you talking about? Didn''t I already tell you that I don''t know her? Heck, I haven''t even seen her before" Simon now released from under the influence of the fragments, spoke while clenching his hands.
The activation of the Fragments of Pride earlier was a reflex response of his body. They activated because the invectives thrown at him had exceeded a certain limit causing the fragments within him to react.
''The influence was far more powerful than before'' Simon grit his teeth. He thought that he had gained some control over the First Fragment of pride. However, with the addition of the Second Fragment, he realised from his earlier outburst that he had lost all control.
It was as if the influence of the fragments had magnified by multiple times, consuming and overwhelming him.
"What? You don''t know her? Then why is Marchosias helping you?" Oswell who heard Simon''s answer, questioned in shock.
"How would I know?" Simon himself wanted to know the answer. Although he was consumed by the fragments and became apletely different person earlier, he was nheless still able to sense his surroundings to know what was going on.
Oswell nced at the sky silently contemting something inside his head before speaking up.
"Well if we can''t figure out why, it''s no use worrying over it. In any case, thanks to her we are out of that conundrum".
Simon nodded his head, due to her intervention, now not only does he not have to suffer such a disadvantageous verdict, but he got to keep the Eye of Enigma and was also able to snatch a powerful subordinate like the [A] Rank Giga Minotaurus from Duke Arctaurus.
Looking at the merry Maybell who seemed to be teaching something to the Giga Minotaurs, no matter how you see it, he had profited greatly.
But why was it that he was feeling that something was not right? This feeling that he had no way of describing, was bugging him and stayed at the corner of his mind the whole time.
Simon couldn''t shake the lingering sense that he had been swept up in a grander scheme, entangled in something he had no control of.
.
.
The Hexennacht continued, the grand venue remained abuzz even after the drama started by the Demon Earl had ended.
Demons from far and wide, debated, their negotiations spanning a myriad of topics. From resource allocations and strategic alliances to delving into various ancient and lost skills.
From unravelling the mysteries of ancient texts to tracing lineages, deciphering hidden meanings, and uncovering forgotten realms. The Hexennacht was the ce where all sorts of information, facts and figures that concerned their whole Demon Continent were discussed.
Throughout all of this, the echoes of apuse and awe reverberated through the grand hall.
As the Hexennacht slowly drew to a close and all important topics were done discussing, the audience shifted into a more informal form of gathering where the crowd unted their wares, disying exotic artifacts, enchanted weapons, and rare treasures they bought forth from the Auction.
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693 Chapter 693- The End Of The Event (2)
693 Chapter 693- The End Of The Event (2)
The Auction of the damned held by the merchant Grimvul came only once in one hundred and one years and was guaranteed to have brilliant items and treasures up for sale.
As such, there was no way these demons would miss their chance to unt their riches to their rivals, factions and enemies. In a way, acquiring treasure from the auction of the damned where all the demons fought tooth and nail for the items, was a sign of individual strength and status.
So by shing the artefacts you got hold of not only are you indirectly showcasing your authority, but you are also making the ones that bid the item against you yet were unable to win against you, to burn in jealousy.
Thus aplishing two goals at once.
In the demon society where one''s rank and standing represented everything, showing off one''s wealth like this was ingrained in them. And so, with the demons bragging about their haul, the enticing allure of power and wealth permeated the air, drawing in more and more demons who eagerly sought to enhance their own standing and prestige.
That said, not all demons were allowed to partake in this disy of wealth. Nobles like Demon Earls were excluded from it and even some demon marquesses weren''t allowed in.
From the point of view of these high ranking demons, whatever artefacts these demons managed to get hold of from the auction, were either items that held no interest to the high ranking demons or were trash that the merchant masked off as items.
Just like birds who feed on the tiny bits of food stuck between the teeth of a crocodile whatever haul these demons had was like scraps for the demon Dukes.
Then there were also demons like Famoon who even while being a high ranking duke, bid for all the trash items and got scammed by the merchant.
When he revealed his haul to other high raking demons, they couldn''t help but burst intoughter and ridicule him. Famoon, with his naive and impulsive actions, became theughingstock of the demon realm.
"Haha, look at him still defending the value of those garbage items and refusing to admit that he had fallen victim to the schemes of the damned merchant. Good, good, keep it up. It would be even better if he consumed those items in his self denial"..
Then there were also demons like Oswell and Simon who had no interest in this kind of proceedings. The formerughed holding his belly as he saw the miserable expression of the duke.
The two of them stood in a corner of the venue, watching the subordinates of the Demon lord and the Demon Archdukes from his faction get busy to build arge multitudinal spatial gate.
"I guess this it. The Hexennacht ising to a close. It was great meeting with you my friend" Oswell spoke with a smile.
"Yeah, it has been an eventful Hexennacht" Simon replied with a tinge of gratitude in his voice.
"Thanks for your aid up until now. I will return this favour in the future if there is ever any opportunity".
This glutton who held peculiar ideals had really been a great help. He had not only stuck with him during the numerous perilous situations of this event, their n had also helped him a great deal. Simon felt indebted to him.
"Haha, what are you saying? There is no need for you to thank me, I was just helping my friend. You are making it sound so distant by saying all that. If anything, it has been a pleasure, the encounters have been nothing short of entertaining to say the least. Who would have thought that such a cunning and audacious demon like yourself would cross my path".
Oswell chucked with a hint of mischief.
With the Demon Archduke personally lending their aid, it didn''t take long to set up the huge multitudinal spatial gate. As it started to hum with pulsating energy, it was the cue for all the demons that their exit had been prepared.
All eyes focused towards the host of the event. Now that the purpose of the Hexennacht was over, the Demon Lord of Envy Belial addressed the crowd and officially brought the event to a close.
And so, as the curtain fell on the Hexennacht, demons dispersed to their realms, bidding farewell to the demons and the connection they made.
Some returned with triumph, others with a mix of disappointment at the oue of the grand meeting. They each carried with them the lingering echoes of the unresolved mysteries and unspoken truths that had unfolded within its hallowed halls.
Regardless of the varying perspectives, there was no denying that one name in particr had left an indelible mark on the demon society. The name of the Demon Earl Simon lingered in the minds of all who had witnessed his audacious actions.
Whether seen as a heroic trailzer or a reckless provocateur, his name would forever be associated with the audacious spirit that defined the Hexennacht, the demons who dared to challenge the norms of their society.
His ability to win the Ritual of the des, im a coveted territory, and even snatch a powerful subordinate spread like wildfire among the demonmunity.
Even those who might have initially dismissed him as an upstart or a fortunate opportunist could not deny the impact of his actions. But while his actions might have earned him admiration and respect from some, there were also others who viewed him with caution and apprehension.
Simon felt a couple of piercing stares filled with anger, frustration and strong murderous intent bore into his back as he walked towards the spatial gate.
Needless to say, it was from the two Dukes who looked at him as if he was a thorn in their side, an obstacle that they must remove at any cost.
From the looks they were giving him, it was not hard to tell that today''s matter wouldn''t rest here. They will surely retaliate against him for today''s loss in the future.
While their gazes might beced with malignance, it was nevertheless not enough to deter Simon. Since the moment he had arrived at the Hexennacht, he was determined to forge his own fate even while knowing that it would draw other''s ire on him.
So it could be said that he was prepared for the worst. Determination coursed through his veins, he was prepared for the consequences of his actions, ready to face the consequences and confront any adversaries that stood in his way.
The Hexennacht instead of deterring him, became the catalyst that renewed his resolve and sense of purpose.
"My friend, you must remain careful from now on. If the opportunity arises let us meet again. My dungeon is located in the Devouring Chasms at the far west from here" Oswell spoke a few friendly words before diving inside the spatial gate.
His subordinate Aishsa, bowed towards him before following behind her master.
''Devouring Chasms huh'' Simon repeated those words inside his mind, carving it into his memory.
"Let us leave too" Simon turned towards his subordinates and spoke. With their job done here, it was time they headed back for their home.
The spatial gate shimmered before them, beckoning them forward. Just as Simon was about to disappear inside the gate, he cast onest nce over his shoulders at these hallowed halls.
Coincidentally or intentionally, his gaze met with his adversaries. shing them a final smirk, he stepped into the spatial gate, leaving behind the Hexennacht.
.
.
Over at the sky, watching Simon and his entourage leave from her space time gap, was a woman donned in a military style dress. She wore a long overcoat above and had half of her face hidden with an angry mask.
"Heh, that bold attitude and that unwavering confidence is just like a raging fire. It is very much to my liking. Very interesting" Taking a Her appearance along with her sharp aura, made her seem quite fierce. She was none other than the Marchosias, the Rogue Jester.
"Heh, that bold attitude and that unwavering confidence is just like a raging fire. It is very much to my liking. Very interesting" Taking a puff out of the cigar in her mouth, she muttered¡ª
"This is quite a fortuitous turn of events. I only attended the event because I had nothing else to do and partly because I wanted to see for myself the capability of the demon who was chosen by the Fragments of Envy. But who would have thought that fate would have something else to show me".
Marchosias mused to herself, a glimmer of intrigue dancing in her eyes. The Demon Earl who coerced the entire Hexennacht into submission had caught her interest.
"A power that can suppress those far above his rank and a nature that refuses to bow down to others. Demon Earl Simon, you definitely possess a power that surpasses what meets the eye".
A contemtive expression crossed Marchosisas face. She had tried to use her Analysis skill on the demon; however, to her surprise, it failed.
What was surprising was that it wasn''t blocked, the skill simply didn''t work on him. Usually, that would only happen if the other party was higher levelled than her or possessed something that was able to cancel her probing skill.
It wasn''t difficult to imagine which of the above two cases was at y here.
"There is definitely a great secret hidden within him, a vast reserviour of untapped strength that even I couldn''t see through. Though for a second there, I felt like something within that Demon Earl resonate with the [Soverignity] that I received from mydy".
There were slight traces of confusion in those eyes that were covered by her mask.
Chapter 694- Grimvul Vs Asmodeus
Chapter 694- Grimvul Vs Asmodeus
"I must report this to my master," Marchosias concluded, her voice filled with a mix of curiosity and excitement.
"She will undoubtedly find this information intriguing".
Marchosias looked at the spatial gate for thest time, before silently making her exit.
.
.
Inside an unknown realm, powerful shockwaves containing an extremely destructive might rocked the ce.
BOOM¡ BOOM¡ BOOOMM¡ deafening explosive sounds echoed everywhere at an uneven intervals. The floor here was like a giant chessboard, with each square perfectly ced and alternating between ck and white.
The walls here were made of peculiar material and had a high ceiling. However, all of it was in a total mess with broken splinters, clouds of dust and cracks running everywhere.
Sounds of outbursts and bellowing roars came from the distance, at the same moment a figure could be seen hurriedly treading through the ce as if running away.
The figure had the head of a goat that was half skeletal and half bizarre. They had pale purple skin, long twisting horns, razor sharp teeth and peculiar crossed shaped eyes with ring patterns that made them appear even more bizarre.
The figure held a weird staff made of bones in their hands and donned a robe that covered their withered body. Who could this figure be other than Grimvul?
The merchant of the damned, a cunning and deceitful creature withmand over the necromancy magic and powerful undead beings under him, was at his moment running away. Their face twisted in a mixture of fear and desperation, as they darted through thebyrinthine passageways.
Sounds of their footsteps echoed against the cold hard stone of the floor. As Grimvul continued to run, the shockwaves started intensifying and a formidable pressure that contained an intense rage churned like a tidal wave intending to capsize everything in its wake.
"You cannot run away from me Grimvul" At this moment, the space around Grimvul violently distorted creating a spatial portal and a silhouette stepped out from it.
Wearing a dignified three piece suit, a demon noble with ash grey hair and piercing white hair, stood in front of the Merchant. Their imposing presence was enough to even drown out the sounds of battle and shockwavesing from the distance.
"H-How are you here? The Death Knights and Lich Lords should be engaging you right now" Grimvul spoke in fear and trepidation but soon realised that the figure in front of him was just another Astral projection. The real person was still fighting his army of undead.
"Dammit¡ Asmodeus" the merchant roared in annoyance and waved his staff. Immediately, dark deathly light was released from it in droves quickly manifesting a giant skeletal hand that emitted an aura of death in front of him.
"Die Asmodeus.. [Grip of Death]".. roaring like a wounded beast, Grimvul willed the giant skeleton hand forward.
"You forget your ce" Facing that attack head on, the demon named Asmodeus simply tapped his shillgh on the floor once causing a ripple to spread through the space. When the giant skeletal hand came in contact with that ripple, it crumbled apart causing a ripple to spread through the space. When the giant skeletal hand came in contact with that ripple, it crumbled apart immediately.
"Tch¡ ordinary means will not work even at your projection I see. In that case¡ [Death Infusion]- [Wall of Skeletons]"
Grimvul conjured another necromancy magic, transforming the entire floor into a field of skeletons. The skeletons undted like waves before pouring out of the ground and trapping Asmodeus inside it.
"Have a taste of that. Inside the wall of skeletons, the death energy bes very rich, every skeleton and every second you spend trapped in there will multiply the life force that is being depleted from you. Even if you are just an astral projection, you will rot in there forever" Grimvul cursed.
"Dammit I spent too much time tangling with a projection. I must reach the control room before the main body gets here".
The merchant just took a few steps forward when the voice of the projection of Asmodeus trapped within the wall of skeleton, sounded out.
"Even if you stop my Astral Projection I will still destroy you now that I have found you with my real body. Mark my words Grimvul, you will not escape from your sin. Your undead army will not be able to protect you".
Grimvul grit his teeth and waved his staff. Immediately, the wall of skeletons started sinking inside the floor,pletely trapping the projection.
"As if I will die here" The merchant started running. As he raced through the corridors every roar and explosion that sounded out pounded in his chest, like a drum. It constantly reminded him of the imminent threat that pursued him.
Grimvul knew that even the group of Death Knights and Lich Lords will not be able to stop Asmodeus for long. As one of the oldest Demon Archdukes out there, Asmodeus'' power and tenacity was truly legendary and praiseworthy. The undead army was just an annoying obstacle in his path.
"As long as I can reach the control room, I can navigate the Void Weaver and run away". Grimvul understood that escaping Asmodeus'' wrath would not be an easy feat nevertheless, he continued to run.
As he neared the control room, a sense of urgency propelled Grimvul forward. He pushed open the heavy iron doors, revealing a vast chamber filled with various arcane machinery and pulsating magical energies.
Without wasting a moment, Grimvul rushed towards the central console, his bony fingers dancing across the intricate runes and sigils embedded within it. He activated the various mechanisms, each one designed to fortify his vessel, the ship they were in, the Void Weaver.
Just as hepleted the final preparations, a thunderous boom reverberated through the chamber followed by the cold, icy words of Asmodeus.
"I told you, you are not going anywhere" A cold, frigid voice sounded out and to Grimvul''s fear, the tall figure of Asmodeus materialized before him, their presence dominating the room.
With a wave of his hand, Asmodeus unleashed a wave of destructive energy, obliterating everything in its path. The walls crumbled, machinery shattered, and sparks flew around everywhere in a symphony of destruction.
The sheer force of Asmodeus'' arrival sent shockwaves rippling through the chamber, rattling the very foundations of Grimvul''s spaceship, the Void Weaver.
The merchant watched in terror as brownish-ck energy surrounded Asmodeus, tendrils of erosion magic swirling around him like a sinister vortex. It was a power that corroded everything that it came in contact with, an overwhelming force that instilled fear in even the bravest of souls.
Realization dawned on Grimvul''s face, his skeletal features contorting with a mix of dread and desperation. The projection of Asmodeus he had encountered earlier was merely a fraction of the demon Archduke''s true power. The actual body of Asmodeus had arrived.
"Give up and quietly answer my questions" Asmodeus spoke, there was no emotions in those eyes of his, only cold indifference.
"I already gave you the answer. I had no hand in that being''s death. I have no idea who they were" Grimvul''s skeletal face contorted into a snarl of defiance as he faced the overwhelming power of Asmodeus.
He refused to sumb without a fight, knowing that his life hung in the bnce. With a flick of his staff, he summoned forth ten spectral skulls, each emanating a malevolent aura.
The skulls circled around Grimvul, their empty eye sockets glowing with deathl energy. With a wave of his hand, hemanded the skulls tounch themselves at Asmodeus, unleashing a barrage of necromancy magic.
Dark mes erupted from the skulls, hurtling towards the Demon Archduke with relentless determination. However, Asmodeus was undeterred by Grimvul''s assault.
Thetter simply created a sphere around him using their overwhelming mastery of magic. Every attack that collided with the barrier, got dissipating into nothingness.
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of Asmodeus'' lips, he snapped his finger and the sphere of erosion magic expanded, disintegrating the skulls circling around him.
Seeing that his direct assaults were proving ineffective, Grimvul shifted his tactics. He tapped into his mastery of necromancy, weaving intricate patterns in the air with his staff. Shadows twisted and coiled around him, forming a web of darkness that stretched endlessly, entrapping both Asmodeus and him inside it.
"This is the [Tomb of the Dead], my [Domain Release]. Everything that enters this domain is negatively affected by the death energy and will be transformed into undead quickly. Asmodeus since you want to kill me, I will drag you with me"
Grimvul spoke, there was a hint of desperation and determination in his voice as he unleashed his Domain Release, the [Tomb of the Dead].
The surrounding area transformed into a bleak and deste permeating the air and weighing heavily on the hearts of those trapped inside. The ground beneath their feet cracked andndscape, shrouded in an eerie darkness. A bone-chilling wind swept through the air, carrying with it the whispers of lost souls.
Within Grimvul''s domain, the death energy became palpable, permeating the air and weighing heavily on the hearts of those trapped inside. The ground beneath their feet cracked and crumbled, revealing countless skeletal remains rising from the depths.
The skeletons wed their way out of the ground, forming an army of endless undead, ready to obey Grimvul''s everymand. Their hollow eye sockets gleamed with a malevolent light as they advanced, their steps echoing with the sound of impending doom.
Grimvul''s skeletal face contorted into a wicked grin as he watched his army of undead surge forth from the ground, one powerful skeleton after another emerging in an endless fashion.
Skeleton dragons spread their bony wings, exhaling clouds of dark mist. Skeleton gryphons swooped down from the sky, their razor-sharp ws ready to tear into their prey. Wraiths materialized, their ethereal forms flickering with malicious intent.
Tormented stalkers and butchers emerged from the depths, their menacing presence instilling fear in those who beheld them.
Chapter 695- Oswells Secret
Chapter 695- Oswell''s Secret
"Do you see now, Asmodeus? No matter how many skeletons you destroy, they will rise again. This domain ensures their eternal return. You will be consumed by the death energy of the dead, trapped in this domain for all eternity."
Grimvul revelled in his arrogance, believing that his undead horde would overwhelm Asmodeus, turning the Demon Archduke into one of their own.
"Die here, Asmodeus! Be swarmed by the relentless onught of my skeletons. You shall be one of them, forever trapped in my cursed domain!".
The entire ce rumbled with the assaults of the undead. Yet facing an endless swarm of undead, the Ancient Archduke remainedposed nheless.
With a wave of his hand, Asmodeus unleashed a devastating surge of energy, obliterating the first wave of skeletons with his ability that can Erode everything. However, Grimvul''s words proved true as more and more skeletons rose from the ground, stepping on the remains of their fallenrades.
"ShiShiShi¡ Now that I have released my domain, your efforts are in vain. No matter what you do, you cannot defeat them. You should be starting to feel the negative death energy invading your body by now. Soon your body will start rotting and you will be another one of my pawns. Embrace your fate"
Grimvul''sughter echoed through the domain, mocking and taunting. But Asmodeus did not stop, his gaze remained unwavering as he unleashed his powerful might, a cataclysmic disy of destruction.
The ground trembled, fissures splitting thendscape as torrents of decay magic erupted from his being. Each swing of his hand shattered the skeletons, their bones reduced to dust.
However, as Asmodeus continued to crush the endless army of undead, the negative death energy they held, started to have some effects on him. His body began to show signs of transformation, slowly sumbing to the curse of the undead.
Asmodeus'' once unwavering stance was slowly starting to falter.
Seeing this, the merchant startedughing at his perceived victory, hisughter echoing through the domain like a dissonant symphony.
"Your arrogance blinded you Asmodeus. This is just the beginning, the more you destroy the undead, the more you are exposed to their curse of the undead. Soon your body willpletely be turned into an undead and you will be one of them".
Even though his body was slowly sumbing to the effects of the negative death energy, Asmodeus still remained resolute.
"So this is the Death energy huh, I must say it is quite powerful. However, your attainment and mastery over it is just outright amateurish and unrefined".
The Demon Archduke, despite his deteriorating form, retained a sense ofposure as he acknowledged Grimvul''s strength and the annoying nature of the death energy.
He paused for a moment, allowing the silence to hang in the air, before continuing "You may have attained a level where you are able to create a domain using it, but you failed to harness the true potential of the death energy".
Grimvul''s eyes widened in confusion and disbelief at those words "What do you mean? you are on the verge of turning into one of my undead minions. yet you dare speak such nonsense even at this time?"
Asmodeus did not say much, a smirk hung on his lips, a glimmer of superiority in his eyes. With a wave of his hand, he evoked the powerful erosion magic of his. It erupted out of his body in droves and quickly started intertwining around him.
This caused the invading death energy within his body toe to a sudden halt before slowly getting corroded by his powerful magic.
With the death energy gone, the transformation stopped and all of his wounds swiftly got restored in front of Grimvul''s distraught eyes. But that was not all...
"You see, true mastery lies in understanding the intricacies of one''s own abilities. Allow me to demonstrate".
As he said that, Asmodeus created a small film around him using the erosion magic of his, further isting the death energy filled in this domain from his body.
After that he extended his hands and the erosion magic surged forth, obliterating the skeletal horde in its path. The ground quaked beneath his feet as the very fabric of the domain trembled under the weight of his power.
Skeletal Dragons crumbled to dust, wraiths dissipated into thin air, and tormented stalkers were reduced to mere shadows. The once overwhelming swarm of skeletons dwindled, their numbers diminishing with each devastating strike.
Seeing this overwhelming disy of power, Grimvul''s eyes wavered, his confidence beginning to falter as the reality of his defeat set in.
He waspletely defeated, no he never stood a chance. Having been shown that disparity, Grimvul had no choice but to ept the Even after releasing his domain and the negative death energy filling the ce, Asmodeus had somehow found a way to repel the death energy andpletely nullify the effects of his domain.
He waspletely defeated, no he never stood a chance. Having been shown that disparity, Grimvul had no choice but to ept the reality
After obliterating another swarm of undead in a spectacr disy of destruction with his Erosion magic, Asmodeus settled his gaze onto the Merchant of the Damned.
"Now then, it''s time I end this farce. You will tell me everything you know¡"..
"W-Wait, I give up. I already told you everything, please let me go" Grimvul plead; however, the Demon Archduke did not stop.
"Since you are nning to use this messed up spaceship to run away. Let me shatter thisst hope of yours¡ª Domain Release¡ [World of Ruination]".
As thest of his words fell, the merchant of the damned, Grimvul, stood before Asmodeus, his skeletal form trembling with fear and realization. The grandiose illusion of victory shattered, leaving him exposed and vulnerable.
At that moment, Grimvul understood the depths of his own arrogance and the true extent of Asmodeus'' power¡
-------
Dungeon Lace, White Pce, Main Hall¡
"You are back" As soon as Simon and the others teleported, Irene appeared there to greet them.
"Took you long enough. Didn''t you say it would only take you a day or two? However, you have been gone for more than two weeks. You made everyone worried once again".
Simon nced at the icy beauty in front of him who always wore a cold emotionless mask to hide her feelings and sighed in relief. He was back home once again.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Due to certain matters, I had to change the n. I''ll tell you all about itter" Simon spoke flopping down on the couch.
He was tired, attending the Hexennacht, opposing the high raking dukes, enduring the bloodline suppression and the Fragments of Pride going out of control had mentally and physically drained him quite a bit.
And so, to rx his nerves and digest all the information he had gathered from this outing, Simon headed for the bath.
.
.
"Now then, tell me what you wanted to say" Once inside the bath, Simon dipped his body inside the warm water as hezily asked the Lumynar who also enjoying the pleasures of the hot water bath while casually floating in the water in its miniature form.
One of Simon''s goals foring to the bath was to rx while the other was Prime who wanted to discuss something with him.
"Who was thatdy who came to greet you?" Prime asked its body fluctuating with a multicolour light.
"You mean Irene? What about her?"¡
"Nothing, I just felt like she could see me even though I was using my powers to hide inside your pocket" Prime murmured.
"My guess is that Irene was already aware of your presence the moment you arrived here. She is the most powerful being in my dungeon after all. Anyways, the reason why you asked me to bring you to a secluded area where nobody woulde is not to ask about Irene did you? Spill it out already"
Simon nced at Prime and asked. A serious atmosphere descended onto the ce.
"I couldn''t tell you before, but I have been meaning to tell you. Simon, you shouldn''t concern yourself with that person?" Prime stated.
Just when Simon made an expression that said who was he talking about, the Lumynar rified. "I''m talking about that demon you were so friendly with".
"You mean Oswell? Although that guy might be a little peculiar, I did not sense any ill will from him" Simon frowned.
Oswell was someone who he was starting to look in a different light than the other demons. Thetter had also helped him a lot in the Hexennacht. Heck if not for thetter, Simon wouldn''t be able toe up with the n to manipte the proceedings and lead towards the Ritual of the des.
why.
"That demon carries a destiny that is not any less twisted than Simon was indebted to him and so being said that he had to stay away from Oswell, how could Simon just ept it without any solid reason.
That said, Prime didn''t just say all that on a whim, he had his reason why.
"That demon carries a destiny that is not any less twisted than yours. I''m telling you now, but the more you involve yourself with him, the more tangled your own path will be. That brat is not just any demon, but one who possesses the Fragments of Glutonny".
"What?!" The moment Prime said that, Simon''s eyes opened wide in surprise. The realization hit him like a thunderbolt, causing his mind to race back to the moment they had first met.
Memories shed before his eyes, and he could distinctly recall the peculiarities in Oswell''s behaviour. This fellow who was overly enthusiastic when it came to food and who carried ideals that was far different from all the other demons Simon had met.
Chapter 696- How Level Up Works
Chapter 696- How Level Up Works
The Fragments of Gluttony¡ to think that Oswell was the demon who was chosen by the fragments. Although surprising, it also made sense¡ªthe inexplicable aura that surrounded Oswell, the authority and reputation he held over all the demons, his [S] rank dungeon and subordinates.
Everything made sense now, the Fragments of Gluttony was what made Oswell special just like how the Fragments of Pride in him did.
As the shock subsided, a mix of curiosity and apprehension filled Simon''s thoughts. What did it mean to be chosen by the Fragments? Didn''t it mean that Oswell too was going to stand at the pinnacle of all demons in the future and rule as one of the demon Lords, the Demon Lord of Gluttony.
In a situation where Simon needed to keep the fragments concealed and a secret from others, being near a future Demon Lord is thest thing he needed to do right now.
However, he was already indebted to Oswell for their help in the Hexennacht and not repaying this favour would leave a bad aftertaste in his mouth.
Simon''s mind raced, weighing the potential risks and rewards of continuing his association with Oswell. He was torn between the debt of gratitude he felt towards Oswell and the ominous warning Prime had given him.
Deep in thought, Simon contemted his path ahead. The Fragments of Glutonny had added ayer ofplexity to his involvement with Oswell.
"Wait a minute, was he being nice and friendly to me because he realised that I had the Fragments of Pride all along? Was it during the moment when the Fragments of Pride went out of control? No, that isn''t either, Oswell was trying to befriend me since before the Hexennacht."¡
"Although I cannot be certain, I believe that demon named Oswell who possesses the Fragments of Gluttony, felt something when the Fragments within you activated" Prime added.
"Well even if he was able to sense the fragments within you, you also now know about his secret. So pros and cons you know".
"It doesn''t feel like that to me" Simon massaged his temples, feeling a headacheing. Now on top of worrying about the growing influence of the Adventurer''s Association, the angels and the retaliation of the high ranking dukes, he now also have to worry about the possible risk of the existence of the Fragments of Pride within him being leaked.
Although from the personality of Oswell that he was able to understand in these past couple of days, the possibility of something like that happening is low. However, one couldn''t discount itpletely, especially when something like the Fragments are involved.
Be that may, in the end it doesn''t change the fact that he and the dungeon he created needs to grow stronger as soon as possible.
The times are changing too fast and if he doesn''t keep up, he would be swept up by the waves. The sight of the once grand and majestic dungeon in ruins that he had seen in his vision, Simon didn''t want his dungeon Lace to go down the same path.
As such, what he needed to do, did not change whether or not Oswell knew about his secret. It was so from the start.
.
.
After a good long bath, Simon arrived at the Main Hall, feeling all refreshed. Once he walked in, all the subordinates who had gathered in wait for him, greeted him.
After more than two years Simon had long fit himself in the role as their leader, he didn''t have that uneasy feeling while receiving their fealty and devotion any longer.
After Simon sat down in the main seat, Ate who was waiting for him, calmly served him a cup of tea.
"I''m back everyone" Simon spoke looking at all his subordinates.
Bea: "Wee back Master we have been waiting for you"¡
Cecilia: "Big Brother, you are not hurt are you?"..
Alice: "Master-Master¡ tell us about your journey. How was the auction? How was the outside world? Theodore told us you all also went to some other event after that?"..
Bea: "It''s not fair, that only they got to go with you"¡
Theodore: "Hehe".
"Eh?!" Simon who just sat down, was flustered by the sudden bombardment of all kinds of questions.
The Main hall quickly became boisterous and echoed with the sounds of huballoo from all of Simon''s subordinates.
While the silent ones like Emma and Bianca directed their heated gaze at him, theposed ones like Irene and Ate smiled in one"¡
"And that''s what happened. I had to go to the Hexennacht" Simon amusement.
"Calm down everyone, I will answer all of your questions one by one"¡
"And that''s what happened. I had to go to the Hexennacht" Simon exined the events that happened from the moment he stepped into that gate. On that note, Simon was made aware that the teleport gate that appeared on the ceiling of the Main Floor, disappeared right after he went in.
"I get that you had to attend the Hexennacht to im the Ghastly Winding Forest, it was unavoidable. However, it doesn''t change the fact that it was still dangerous?".
Be it the auction or the Hexennacht, the ce was oozing with high ranking demons. The mightiest of demons with power to destroy an entire country. Not to mention there were also the ancient Demon Archdukes and the Demon Lord there.
It was only natural for Irene and his subordinates to be concerned. Even if he had gotten stronger, it wasn''t to the point where he can look down on enemies like them. It was a stroke of fortune that things worked out the way they were.
"I understand that, but as the dungeon master of this ce and your master, I cannot just let the fate of the territory we are in to fall in the hands of some random demon. In the first ce, I wouldn''t have stood in front of all the demons if I didn''t have any n".
"Although everything did not go all ording to n, I still managed to im the Ghastly Winding Forest in the end" It might not have been a smooth sailing, but Simon was able to aplish the goal he went to attend the Hexennacht for.
"This n was from that demon right?" Since Simon told them about the events with the twins chipping in from time to time, Irene knew about Oswell and how it was his n. Though that said, the question still remained as to why the other party helped him.
"Although I will not pry into this matter, but you need to be careful".
Simon nodded at Irene''s words. The Demon Nobles are the incarnation of desires and ambition. They cannot be trusted blindly, as their motivations can often be veiled behind a facade of friendship or assistance.
Oswell''s n may have worked in his favour this time, but it is important to remain vignt and cautious in his dealings with him.
"Right, since we are on the topic, there is someone I would like all of you to meet"...
When Simon mentioned till here, Prime jumped on top of the table and appeared in front of everyone.
The moment he appeared, the hall turned lively once again as all eyes fell upon him.
"Woah~ who is this little fellow? Its body is so shiny and radiant"¡
"It''s so small and cute"¡
"It may look cute, but its attitude is not cute at all".
Some threw curious and amused nces at hi, while others tried to assert that he was just cute on the outside.
Being observed like he was a monkey in a circus, Prime was unable to take it. The lighting out of its body immediately turned red and it stomped on the ground expressing its frustration.
"Who are you calling cute and tiny huh? I''m prime and I''m a lumynar an extremely intelligent race who can freely control their size. Hmph, I can be as big as a mountain if I want to. And although it may not look like it, I''m older than you all, so you should all call me Elder Prime".
Prime spat silencing the crowd. Though this silence didn''tst long before it was broken by the raucous crowd once again.
"Ohh!! It can speak"¡
"Look at it jumping around, it looks so adorable"..
"It has quite the temper. How is it adorable?"..
"I told you all to call me Elder Prime. Did you all even listen to me?!".
While the crowd was being raucous with the appearance of Prime, over on one side Irene carefully nced at the Lumynar andmented.
"A highly civilised and ancient race that had nearly gone extinct due to their own self negligence. I don''t know if I should be surprised that you bought a Lumynar or that it was listed for the auction" Irene shook her head, lost for words.
"is that guy really that geat?" Simon couldn''t help but ask.
"You bought him without knowing anything?"¡
"I told you before, didn''t I? Prime was the one who initiated a conversation with me. Thanks to that guy instigating me, I had no choice but to buy him" Simon spoke, his tone a little bitter from the fact that he had to go over his limit and buy the Lumynar for 500,000,000 DP.
That amount was a great chunk of his ie and usually, it would have taken his dungeon many many months to stock up that amount. If not because the previous invasion had rewarded him with arge number of DP, he wouldn''t have been able to get Prime in the auction.
Chapter 697- How Level Up Works (2)
Chapter 697- How Level Up Works (2)
"Well, with 500,000,000 Dp you might have been able to put them to good use and expand your dungeon even more. It would not have slowed down the dungeon''s progress. However,pared to the value of a Lumynar, it''s nothing. You shouldn''t think too much about it."
"Just throw him on the [Workshop] where Wisp is and see the magic. Soon you will be rejoicing that you bought him".
With Irene praising Prime that much, Simon had nothing much to say other than "I hope that is the case".
"By the way, what happened to your left eye?"
Amidst their discussion, Irene changed the topic to Simon''s left eye with lookedpletely mismatched with his right. His left eye was nowpletely golden with gears like unique patterns in them. This was different from his right which was crimson with ck sclera.
Simon covered his left eye with his palm and exined "It is the Celestial Ocris. During the Hexennacht, I had the opportunity to stumble upon it and it chose me as its master. Right now, I still do not know what it does or why it chose me as its master. However, I will slowly find out about it".
With a tinge of anticipation, Simon nced at Prime who was flopping on the table busily arguing with the Valkyries and the vampire twins.
"Celestial Ocris huh" Irene studied Simon''s left eye before muttering in a voice that only she could hear.
"To be chosen by one of the things that existed since the dawn of time, it looks like the Fragments within you have awakened and is slowly altering the course of your destiny".
"Did you say something?" Simon who was lost in his thoughts thinking about the peculiar vision he had when acquiring the eye, turned towards Irene hearing her mutter something.
"Possessing an eye like that is an indication of great potential and destiny. From now on you must do your best to learn the secret hidden within your left eye, as you train to get stronger side by side. Quickly make its abilities your own" Irene smiled, encouraging him with her words.
"Yeah, the eye will constantly serve as the reminder of the path I chose. No matter what happens, I will grow stronger and protect this dungeon" With determination shing in his eyes, Simon resolved.
Even though the auction and the Hexennacht wasden with dangers this time, it was nevertheless these very factors that became the fuel for his motivation that burned like a raging fire inside him propelling him forward.
Thecent feeling that he had after reaching the rank of Demon Earl and bing one of the true demon nobles, was gone.
The once powerful rank of Demon Earl, Simon was no longer satisfied with it. He wanted to climb higher and higher, Demon Marquess, Demon Duke and then there was the Ancient Demon Archdukes who looked down at the world from their lofty position.
They were the pinnacle a demon noble could only hope and yearn to reach. These legendary beings, with their unmatched might and dominion, held the power to shape the very fabric of the demon world.
However¡ "Even higher" Simon wanted to reach even higher¡
Belial, the Demon Lord of Envy whose prestige, authority, and power towered over all the other demons present in the venue. That guy not only had the ability to make his own decisions, but also decide the fate of other demons.
The way his words became the absolute verdict that no demon in the venue dared to disobey, even going as far as to suppress their frustration and unwillingness and relent to his decree. It was still fresh in Simon''s mind.
Someone who could do anything that they want, someone with the power to forge their own fate The very notion of reaching such heights stirred a burning ambition within him, fueling his desire to transcend the limits of his current rank.
As a Demon Earl, Simon had tasted the fruits of influence and authority, but he yearned for more. The Hexennacht and the events surrounding it had opened his eyes to the vastness of the Demon Continent and the potential thaty beyond his current station.
He realized that he had the path to extraordinaryid out for him since the beginning and was not limited to the ranks of Demon Marquess or Demon Duke, like the rest of the demons and extended even further¡ªto the realm of the Ancient Demon Archdukes.
Yet, even the Ancient Demon Archdukes were not the ultimate pinnacle in Simon''s eyes. He aspired to ascend even higher, to stand on equal footing with a Demon Lord himself, and stand at the true pinnacle of all beings.
Belial had shown him a tiny portion, a part of what it means to be a Demon Lord and the power thates with it.
Being a Demon, an incarnation of desires, how could Simon not covet it? The allure of unparalleled power and authority was simply too irresistible even for Simon.
In a sense he had truly epted his lineage and who he was. Though that said, there were hundreds of thousands of demons, if not even more who held the lofty ideals of bing a Demon Lord.
However, all of this was just a pipe dream for them. Heck, even the beings who were closest to bing a Demon Lord, the Demon Archdukes were helpless in this matter and can only dejectedly snuff away this dream of theirs which would always remain a dream.
So one could imagine what was it for the rest of the demons who were bound by their bloodlines. Forget about bing a demon lord, just reaching the next rank might turn out to be impossible for most of the demons.
For them, simply advancing to the next rank was a daunting challenge. The bloodlines they inherited dictated their power and limitations, acting as a restrictive force on their aspirations.
The prospect of ascending to the ranks of Demon Marquess or Demon Duke seemed like an impossible feat, a distant mirage forever out of reach. It was a harsh reality that forced many demons to resign themselves to their predetermined roles and ept their ce in the hierarchical structure.
So it was impudent no outright sphemy for a mere Demon Earl to even have such thoughts. However, Simon was probably one of the few exceptions or the only one in this world who was not bound by this unwrittenw of Althaea.
That is to say, as long as he had the [Main Menu] with him and strived to be stronger, he could ignore the bloodline limits that every being in this world was shackled to.
The [Main Menu] granted him the freedom to challenge the established order, to break the chains of convention, and to forge his own path. But even with this extraordinary tool at his disposal, Simon understood that bing a Demon Lord was no ordinary feat.
It was a realm that transcended the boundaries of normal means. After all, to be the demon lord, one needed to be chosen by the fragments. These extraordinary and divine things that was still very much a mystery to him.
What were they, their purpose, origin and what secret they held, Simon did not know. But what he did know was that only the demons who possessed these Fragments, could be a Demon Lord.
This was something that Simon had learned after watching Belial closely. Thetter was chosen by the Fragments of Envy and simply by being chosen by the fragments, he became the Demon Lord.
Simon recalled the words Gareth said in thest Walpurgis. The Demon Archduke had said that his son Belial was chosen by the Fragments of Envy thus filling the position as the new Demon Lord of Envy.
Simon might not know what was the exact nature and criteria for bing a Demon Lord, but it was generally believed that it involves surpassing the boundaries of one''s bloodline and rank.
It requires attaining a level of power, skill, and influence that sets the individual apart from their peers. That is to say, he who was chosen by the Fragments of Pride, had the potential to be the future Demon Lord.
It is for this reason that Simon believed that the path to the true pinnacle was alreadyid for him. All that was needed was for him to walk on it.
In the next few days, Simon devoted himself to training and upgrading his dungeon. Since bing the Demon Earl ten months ago and reaching his current level which was level 536, his progress seemed to havee to a still.
He was so busy training his existing and acquiring new skills that he had no time to increase his level. However, to be stronger a bnce of all of these things is required. And so, to walk the path of the strong, Simon focused on increasing his level.
In the world of Althaea, the general way of increasing one''s level is by fighting a strong opponent. However, that said just defeating any opponent will not lead to a level up. One needed to continuously push their body beyond its limits and defeat strong enemies to gather enough experience points to level up.
Every being in Althaea, whether weak or strong, possesses a certain level of mystical energy within them. When they die, thetent energy within them, which Simon likes to refer to as experience points to keep things simple, disperses into the surrounding environment.
This energy is a manifestation of their power, life force, and essence.
Chapter 698- How Level Up Works (3)
Chapter 698- How Level Up Works (3)
So when one defeats their opponent this energy gets transferred into the body of the one that came out as the victor thus assimting with them and bing the fuel for their own growth.
For Simon, each victory against a powerful adversary meant absorbing their experience points, enabling him to umte the necessary energy to level up. The transfer of this mystical energy was a mystical process, with the defeated foe''s power bing part of the victor''s own.
Generally, a level-up is characterized by the distinctive increase in one''s stats¡ª
Strength, Agility, Defence, Endurance and Magic. It is the enhancement of these attributes and stats that contribute to an individual overall power and abilities.
Strength represented physical power, determining the force behind their attacks and the ability to overpower opponents. Agility governs speed, reflexes, and dexterity, allowing for swift movements and evasion.
Defence measures resilience and the ability to withstand damage, mitigating the impact of enemy strikes. Endurance represents stamina, vitality, and resilience to fatigue and physical exertion. It determines their ability to endure prolonged battles, withstand intense magical assaults, and recover from injuries.
Magic determines one''s proficiency in casting and the maniption of mystical energy.
Every race and organism in this world has a unique and different increase in stats during a level up. For Simon who was a Demon Noble, every time he levels up, he gains 3 points in Strength, 5 points in Agility, 4 in Endurance, 3 in Defence and 5 in Magic.
It was the same for every demon noble or rather this is the general distribution of stats for their race. As mentioned earlier, it is different for other races.
Aside from the stats earned during level up, there was also something called the base stats. Stats that are predetermined from the moment they are born and serve as the foundation for one''s growth and development.
For example, Simon observed that when he was just a level 1 Demon Baron, he already had 600 Base Strength, 600 Base Agility, 800 Base Magic and so on so forth.
These base stats are different and intrinsic for each race, providing them with a starting point for their growth and development.
In the case of humans, Simon noticed that although they have low base stats at the start, the points that they earn through level up, are marginally higher than most of the other races. The cause for this was the human''s ss Change.
Depending on the ss they chose, the level up increases specific stats ording to their individual preferences and ystyle.
It is important to note that one cannot improve base stats through training, experience, or levelling up. It is prefixed from the start. However, it is not like it cannot be improved. This is where the Rank up in the case of Demon Nobles, ss Change for Humans, and Evolution for Beast and monsterses into y.
In the case of Demon Nobles, when they experience a Rank Up, their base stats see a drastic change. From what Simon noticed after observing himself all these years, when he ranked up from a Demon Baron to a Demon Viscount and from Demon Visount to a Demon Earl, on top of gaining all those stats from his level up, his base stat had seen a stark increase.
This increase became bigger the higher the rank he reached and also the reason why the higher ranking demons were so powerful. It was not only their levels, but even their base stats were so much higher.
The same goes for the other races. Of course, there are other factors like the bloodline limits and such involved in the level up process, but this is how it works generally.
Defeating powerful opponents and absorbing their energy was one way of levelling up in Althaea. The other method was using items like the Mana Crystals.
Mana Crystals are extraordinary items condensed from the purest energy of the mystical veins over an extended period of time. When one absorbs a Mana Crystal, it releases an immense amount of mystical energy that can greatly aid in increasing their level.
These crystalse in varying grades, denoted as grade [1], [2], [3], and so on. The higher the grade, the purer and more potent the energy contained within the crystal.
Grade [1] Mana Crystals are the lowest grade and generally more essiblepared to higher grades. They contain a considerable amount of mystical energy, but their effects may be rtively moderate.
As one progresses to higher grades, such as grade [2] and beyond, the energy bes more refined and concentrated, resulting in a more substantial level boost.
The process of utilizing Mana Crystals involves absorbing the energy within them, allowing it to merge with the individual''s own mystical energy and expedite their levelling process.
By tapping into the power of these crystals, individuals can experience a significant increase in their stats. It''s important to note that the avability of higher-grade Mana Crystals is usually limited, making them highly sought after and valuablemodities.
Their scarcity and purity contribute to their elevated prices and their allure to those who seek rapid advancement. Additionally, the use of Mana Crystals for levelling may be a safer alternativepared to the traditional method of battling powerful opponents and slowly gain experience points through them.
By absorbing the energy within the crystals, one could increase their level without directly facing the dangers and physical exertion of intense battles. It was a convenient option that allowed individuals to grow stronger without putting their lives at risk.
However, there were limitations to this method. As an individual''s level increased, their body would gradually develop a resistance to the effects of Mana Crystals. This resistance would diminish the potency of the crystals, making it more challenging to continue levelling up using them.
To ovee this hurdle, higher-grade crystals were required. However, as exined before, Higher-grade Mana Crystals were exceptionally rare and held greater amounts of pure energy.
These crystals could only be obtained from Mana Crystal Trees that had reached adulthood. Mana Crystal Trees thrived in environments rich in mystical energy, typically in areas where a mystical vein ran beneath the surface.
These trees required meticulous care and maintenance, thus finding Mana Crystal Treea that have reached adulthood was a truly rare urrence in the outside world.
Aside from Mana Crystal Trees, another source of Mana Crystals was through mining. Specific areas with mystical veins deep beneath the earth would give rise to quarries where Mana Crystals could be extracted.
These quarries acted as natural repositories of Mana Crystals and provided an alternative means of obtaining these valuable resources. However, it was important to note that both the Mana Crystal Trees and quarries were limited in number.
The rarity and scarcity of higher-grade Mana Crystals made them highly coveted and sought after by many individuals and countries. And the reasons for wars and shes.
Whether it be through battling formidable adversaries or harnessing the concentrated energy of Mana Crystals, both methods have their own ups and downs. That said, all of these did not matter to Simon after all, he had the aid of his Dungeon with him.
The presence of a dungeon was a significant advantage for Simon in his quest for power. A dungeon, regardless of its rank, held immense potential and acted as a treasure trove of resources and opportunities.
It existed in a separate space, governed by its own set ofws and rules. As the dungeon grew and expanded, it umted a rich reserve of mystical energy, making it a fertile ground for the production of extraordinary items and resources.
Intermediate-ranking dungeons were known to harbor numerous Mana Crystal Trees and quarries, where Mana Crystals could be obtained. The abundance of these resources within such dungeons provided ample opportunities for growth and advancement.
In the case of high-ranking dungeons, the presence of fully matured Mana Crystal Trees was not an umon sight. As the Dungeon Master, Simon had always prioritized the development and growth of his dungeon above all else.
He recognized that the strength and prosperity of his dungeon directly corrted with his own power and potential. Therefore, he spared no effort in pushing the boundaries and unlocking the true potential of his domain.
Not only that, but to elerate the growth of his dungeon, Simon went to great lengths to meet the requirements set by Aldebaran, the Ruler of the Ancient Titan Treants.
Despite the absurd and demanding conditions imposed upon him, Simon willingly agreed to them, recognizing the immense value of the Forest Spring Spirits'' assistance in nurturing his dungeon.
Simon''s dedication to his dungeon extended beyond mere agreements and negotiations. He was willing to go to great lengths, even risking his own life, to protect and defend his domain from external threats.
He engaged in numerous life-and-death battles, demonstrating his unwaveringmitment and determination to safeguard his dungeon. The dungeon that he named after his unfulfilled dream that he couldn''t seee to fruition in his previous life, became the embodiment of Simon''s aspirations and ambitions.
Thanks to his strategic management and careful nning, one could see the fruit of his efforts with just a nce at his dungeon. Even though Dungeon Lace had emerged not too long ago, its rapid ascent from a low-ranking [E] tier dungeon to an intermediate-ranking [C] tier dungeon was nothing short of remarkable.
This aplishment spoke volumes about Simon''s strategic management and careful nning. The dungeon, named after his unfulfilled dream, had be a beacon of hope and aspiration for adventurers and denizens alike.
That was not all, as one delved deeper into the various floors of Dungeon Lace, a world of wonder and excitement unfolded.
Chapter 699- Efficient method of using the Mana Crystals
Chapter 699- Efficient method of using the Mana Crystals
The Dungeon Lace was a ce that exceeded all expectations, brimming with adventurers seeking treasures, monsters waiting to be defeated, and extraordinary items waiting to be discovered.
Each floor became increasingly abundant with wealth and power, offering a tantalizing reward for those brave enough to explore its depths. However, all of these changes were just something that was born out of the oue of overflowing mana and meticulous management of the dungeon.
The true marvel of Dungeon Lacey inside its special floors. like the [Workshop], [Training floor], [Forest Spring Sprit Vige] and [Main floor].
The {Main Floor] in particr, being the heart of the dungeon and where the dungeon core was located, was a realm of extraordinary beauty and grandeur, overflowing with all manner of mystical wonders.
Here, the mana was dense and potent, providing a source of power and vitality that permeated throughout the entire dungeon. With its enormous area now enveloped in mystical clouds that gently rained down an abundance of mystical energy, it nurtured an extraordinary grove of Mana Crystal trees that had reached adulthood, their radiant light illuminating thendscape.
The air was imbued with a sweet, floral fragrance, carrying the essence of magic that seemed to invigorate all who breathed it in. The sight of the mountains, with their groves of Mana Crystal trees stretching as far as the eye could see, was truly a sight to behold.
These trees that stood tall and proud, their trunks sturdy and their branches extending towards the sky like outstretched arms, sparkled with an otherworldly brilliance, with mana crystals embedded within their branches and leaves, casting a mesmerizing glow upon the surrounding area.
Teeming with life, many mystical creatures like the Dryads and Sprites found sce within its sanctuary. The presence of these fully matured Mana Crystal trees was a testament to the elerated growth and evolution of Dungeon Lace, a feat made possible by the assistance of Cecilia, the Forest Spring Royal Spirit.
With her ability to control and manipte nature itself, Cecilia yed a vital role in nurturing and expanding theplexwork of mystical veins that ran beneath the Main Floor. These veins, now transformed into heart veins, served as conduits for the flow of mystical energy, further enhancing the power and potential of the dungeon.
While Dungeon Lace, was designated as a [C] tier intermediate ranking dungeon, its true capabilities far surpassed that ssification. Even whenpared to some [B] tier dungeon or even a high ranking dungeon, Simon reckoned that his ce would not lose in certain aspects.
In any case, unlike many others who had to worry about the scarcity of high-grade Mana Crystals, Simon as the Dungeon Master of Dungeon Lace had an abundant supply of high-grade crystals.
That was even after deducting the amount needed to run the numerous arrays and other functions of the dungeon.
With the abundant supply of high-grade crystals at his disposal, Simon could focus on his personal growth and the development of his dungeon without worrying about anything.
And so, seated atop a huge rock near the pond of serenity, Simon thanked a Dryad who passed a space ring full of mana crystals to him.
The Dryads and the other mystical creatures that were living on the Main floor, were Cecilia''s subordinates. They do not have muchbat abilities, but were adept in manipting nature and nurturing the resources of the world.
Thus Simon tasked them with the maintenance and collection of the resources produced on the Main Floor. The beautiful Dryad, bowed her head towards Simon before going on her way.
With the backdrop of the Serenity pond and the sounds of the nature, Simon looked at the space ring in his hand and after inspecting its contents, he nodded his head.
"There are exactly a thousand Grade [4] and a hundred Grade [5] mana crystals inside it" This was exactly the amount he asked them to bring, there was not even a single crystal extra or less. This went to show how diligent the dryads were.
Satisfied, Simon took out the crystals from the space ring. As he held the grade [4] and grade [5] mana crystals in his hands, he could feel their immense power resonating through the container.
For Simon who had reached a level that would ssify him as a powerhouse in the outside world, mana crystals below grade [4] were useless for him. Even if he absorbed the energy from them, his body was so resistant to their effects that hardly any changes would ur to his level.
In gaming terms, it would be more like grinding on mobs that offered you a negligible amount of experience points. The same was the case here, the energy that the current Simon required, was sorge that even tens of thousands of grade [3] crystals wouldn''t be able to fill that up.
However, Grade [4] crystals were different. Each grade four crystal possessed ten times more purity and energy than the grade three crystals, making them an invaluable resource for his growth and advancement.
The Grade [5] crystals, being even more potent, held the potential to allow him to reach even greater levels.
Simon took out exactly a hundred grade four crystals and ten grade 5 crystals and carefully arranged them around him. Next, he took out a small oval white stone from his inventory and crushed it with his hand.
Immediately a transparent dome like energy surrounded him and covered him with a serene and tranquil aura. This was the effect of the Serenity Stone, an item that created an impromptu effect of increasing one''s concentration and focus for a short period of time.
In other words, it allows one to reach the self transient state of mind.
Taking a deep breath, Simon sat down on a rtivelyrge rock and began the intricate process of absorbing the energy contained within each crystal.
He released his mana and branched it into many mana strands using [Mana Flow] and slowly enveloped each of the crystals with it. When touched by his mana, these mana crystals started pulsating before releasing vibrant mystical energy all around him.
These pale blue energy haze were the purest mystical energy capable of increasing one''s strength and was no different than the energy transferred when one defeats a foe.
Ordinarily, these purest forms of mystical energy once realised from their container, would immediately dissipate in the air and be one with the mana particles present in the surrounding.
However, Simon was already prepared for it. Manipting his branched mana strands using the [Mana Flow], Simon immediately grabbed hold of them and pulled them all towards him.
Thanks to the effects of the Serenity Stone which allowed him to achieve a state of heightened concentration and focus, Simon could manipte these many mana strands without straining his mind.
As all the energy from mana crystals gathered around Simon, he looked like a person covered in a pale blue haze. Each strand and thread of this pure mystical energy was meticulously pulled towards Simon, absorbed through the pores of his body before harmonizing with his own strength.
That was not all, Simon''s mastery over [Mana Lines] allowed him to guide the energy strands with precision. He directed the influx of energy into specific channels within his body, ensuring a smooth and efficient absorption process.
The pure and concentrated nature of the mystical energy within the crystals resonated with his own mana, enhancing his innate capabilities and strengthening his connection to the mystical energy.
As the energy continued to flow into him, Simon could sense his own power expanding and deepening. It was as if every fibre of his being was being infused with the essence of the mana crystals, their energy integrating seamlessly with his own.
He could feel his physical and magical attributes surging, his senses sharpening, and his consciousness expanding to new levels. Otherwise also known as level up.
Time seemed to blur as Simon continued to absorb the pure mystical energy pouring inside his body. Soon his mind got attuned to the subtle vibrations and fluctuations of the energy and he reached a realm where all side thoughts vanished from his head.
New understanding descended onto him, allowing him to fully grasp and utilize the potential of these pure mystical energies. As they flowed through his veins, filling him with vitality and strength, Simon could feel his own power surge and expand.
Level 537¡ Level 538¡ Level...
Simon continued to absorb the energy released from these crystals and soon many of them were turned into empty husks.
It needs to be mentioned that previously, Simon could only absorb one crystal at a time. However, that process was too time consuming and if he were to consume hundreds of these crystals that heid around him, who knew how long it would take him?
It was not like Simon did not have any other task than this. As a dungeon master, he had many tasks pending, waiting for him toplete them.
Since he cannot just devote all of his time to training, he needed to allocate his time wisely. And so, he came up with this idea.
After he learned [Mana Flow] and [Mana lines], Simon devised a more efficient method to absorb the energy from the mana crystals. By extending his mana outside his body and manipting it as if they were his own limbs, he could simultaneously interact with multiple crystals, greatly reducing the time required for absorption.
With a focused mind and precise control, Simon guided the mana strands to envelop the remaining crystals, creating awork of mana connections that linked them together.
Chapter 700- First Grade Countries
Chapter 700- First Grade Countries
Like a web of energy, these mana lines pulsed with power, facilitating the rapid transfer of mystical energy from the crystals to Simon''s being.
The efficiency of the process was remarkable. As Simon maintained his concentration and directed his mana flow, the energy from multiple crystals merged and surged into him simultaneously.
The pale blue haze around Simon''s body intensified, reflecting the immense influx of power. Level 540¡ level 541¡ One by one, the crystals transformed into empty husks, their energy fully absorbed by Simon.
The speed at which he absorbed them was a testament to his skill and proficiency in mana maniption. What would have taken hours or even days using conventional methods was now aplished in a fraction of the time.
Feeling the effects of the absorption coursing through him, Simon couldn''t help but smile. He could sense a profound transformation urring within him. The level he had gained from the mana crystals resonated throughout his being.
.
.
Time flew by and soon as thest of the remnant energy dissipated from the empty husks, the absorption process wasplete. Simon stood in his ce while silently reflecting on the changes and the increased capabilities of his body from the level ups he had gone through.
This method of training was quite efficient, bybining the skills of [Mana Flow] and [Mana Lines], he had unlocked a faster and more effective way of assimting the energy from the mana crystals.
Simon reckoned that the entire process had only taken him a little over ten hours. This was no doubt a breakthrough that would undoubtedly save him precious time and allow him to allocate his efforts to other important tasks in the future.
Satisfied with the results, Simon collected the remaining mana crystals and stored them away for future use. He knew that these precious resources were the lifeblood of his dungeon, powering its systems and enabling its growth.
Now that the pale blue haze surrounding him had faded, Simon got up from his ce with a renewed sense of vigour and strength.
A dungeon master has many tasks, as such he couldn''t spend all of his time in his personal training. He also had to look after the dungeon that was his home.
Fortunately for Simon, he got many capable subordinates who carried some of his burdens for him.
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"The current dungeon exploration progress has reached the 71st floor. The guild leading the exploration is called ''des of Ascension,'' hailing from the kingdom of Eldoria".
Inside one of the majestic halls of the White Pce, designated as the workce, Simon sat on his seat listening to the reports from Jarred.
Now that Coleus was assigned as the head of the Research and Development division tasked with mutation and breeding of the monsters of dungeon Lace, Jarred became the proxy leader of the [Helpers].
The fifteen year old boy had grown quite a bit in these past few years and had broken out of his immature shell to be a dependable young man.
Of course, there were other candidates for the proxy leader of the [Helpers] like Birch. However, they all pushed for Jarred to take on that role believing in him. Since that was the case, Simon also had no qualms.
He had already seen the work ethic of the boy and knew how diligent he was. Simon nodded his head, taking in the information.
"How are they faring so far?".
"Their progress has been steady, but not without challenges," Jarred replied. "The numerous arrays you told us toy across the lower floors of the dungeon, is proving to be quite effective. It has marginally slowed down the adventurer''s progress".
"Additionally, thanks to Fey''s and her team''s ideas to create various kinds of tricky areas and danger zones, it made clearing the floors even more treacherous. Leader Coleus'' mutated monsters are also impeding their advance".
With the Dungeon Lace rapidly bing famous for the riches and allure it held in the surrounding region, it attracted over many strong guilds from the distant countries. They have set up their base in the tower town and are exploring the dungeon frequently.
These guilds who came from the farawaynd couldn''t be underestimated as they have many strong and determined adventurers in their rank.
From a report he got from Jarred, it showed that the average level of the adventurers diving inside the dungeon has increased to around level 500in the past few months. Of course, one cannot just look at the report, the average level mentioned in no way disyed the true levels of the adventurers that are leading the exploration on the lower floors.
Starting from the 60th floor, one can expect to encounter adventurers and guilds with levels nearing 600 or beyond. And so to defend against the increasing strength and number of the adventurers and the future threats, the dungeon itself also had to grow stronger.
"I''m d to hear that the Arrays and Danger Zones are proving effective," Simon replied, nodding in approval "These things will slow down their progress and ensure that the adventurers face true trials of the dungeon if they as the continue to descend downwards".
The mention of Fey and her progress towards creating numerous traps like the Hidden Chambers and Danger Zones, Coleus with his research on the mutated monsters made Simon very delighted.
Based on the reports given by Jarred, he could tell that their progress in their respective field was going quite well. Both of them were working on towards creating a more solid and fortified As a result of their actions, the dungeon became moreplex and challenging. The numerous traps of the dungeon, including the mutated monsters, provided a real test for the adventurers.
It ensured that only the most skilled and determined individuals could progress deeper into the dungeon.
"I see... good job on your work. By the way, how goes the task I gave to Maya" Simon asked leaning back in his seat.
Maya was given the task to monitor the adventurers on the upper floors and gather information on the tower town.
"Thest I spoke to her was yesterday. She had gathered up a lot of information and is making a report. I believe she will report it to you soon".
Simon sighed. The allure of Dungeon Lace had indeed attracted all sorts of adventurers and opportunists, turning the once quaint town into awless and crude ce.
Without a governing body to maintain order, and with the Adventurer''s Association branch unable to control the numerous guilds and individuals flocking to the town, it had be a breeding ground for underhanded activities and shady trades.
"It seems that the tower town is bing more chaotic by the day," Simon remarked, tapping his finger on the desk.
He had nned to leave the situation to solve on his own. However, after what he heard at the Hexennacht, he had to change his mind. Something needed to be done to address this situation.
Three High ranking dungeons had fallen in the past few decades and all of them were ruled by powerful Demon Dukes who had lived for more than 2000 years. Needless to say, this piece of news shook Simon to his very core when he heard it in the Hexennacht.
Although the reason for the destruction of the other two dungeons was unknown, Simon remembered the reason for the fall of thest one, the Shadowed Abyss governed by Duke Beleth.
As mentioned by Belial, it was because the adventurers had created a base and built severalrge scale teleport gates around that dungeon that connected with the central kingdoms. Until one day, allmunicationing from that dungeon was cut off and it was already toote.
There were only a few clues that led to the fall of the dungeon and the perpetrators who had a hand in it.
The revtion of this news had a great impact on Simon and what had changed his current thinking.
At first, he was unconcerned to the creation and expansion of the tower town by the adventurers. Since it reeled in great ie for him, he let it be believing that the humans can just govern themselves without him needing to interfere.
The only thing he needed to concern himself with was what happened within his dungeon. However, after what happened to thest High Ranking dungeon, he realised that such thinking was wed.
Even if it was just a town right now filled with adventurers, traders, ves and people from all walks of life, it couldn''t be denied that the humans have established a base near his dungeon.
If even a high ranking dungeon can fall unexpectedly, who is to say that this simple town right now might eventually be into something that would be the downfall of Lace?
The vision of a dungeon in ruin that he repeatedly had, shed in Simon''s mind once again.
town was directly and indirectly rted to the growth of his dungeon.
No, he cannot just let the human be, he needed to do something about the tower town sooner rather thanter.
There was the option of destroying it by using the help of external factors. Just like the time when the tower town was nearly destroyed by the invasion of the orcs. Should he use those ck Ogres who were eyeing his dungeon?
Simon was sure that if it was the Seven kings of the forest, they would be able to destroy the tower town. However, doing so would be stupid of him especially since the flourishment of the tower town was directly and indirectly rted to the growth of his dungeon.
Destroying it would be like shooting oneself in the foot. There was no guarantee that the dungeon would be able to recover from this loss.
Chapter 701- First Grade Countries (2)
Chapter 701- First Grade Countries (2)
Besides Simon had witnessed the tower town develop with his own eyes, he considered it a part of the dungeon now. As such, he needed to find some other ways, some form of influence over the tower town to keep them in check.
Though that said, what could he do? Without anyws or regtions, the tower town has be a den of vice andwlessness.
"It''s as I thought, I need to have Maya gather more information about the guilds and individuals causing trouble in the town." Simon spoke, he nced towards Jarred and ordered¡ª
"Continue doing what you have been doing up until now and be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances. Also, inform Maya to be cautious in her investigations. Tell her that her safety is the utmost priority, We don''t want her to get caught up in any dangerous situations".
Even if the [Helpers] have received the Gift from the dungeon and were now able to monitor the adventurers more stealthily, they were nevertheless from a rare race that was coveted by everyone for their cores that was a treasure like no other.
Because of this, Simon didn''t want Maya to get caught or reveal her existence while trying to do her best. The reason why the Forest Spring Spirits were able to live this long is by isting themselves from the other races.
It would be disastrous for them who have started to get back on their feet once again, if the news about them existing in this dungeon gets leaked. It was not only them, even the dungeon would be in huge danger.
Simon already had enough things on his te, he didn''t want to deal with things that can be avoided.
Jarred understanding the gravity of the situation nodded his head "Of course, My lord. I''ll pass on your instructions to her."
After bowing his head, the boy exited the room, leaving an absentminded Simon. As he leaned on his seat and nced out of the window, Simon''s mind spun with possible solutions to resolve the situation of the tower town.
However, seeing that even after a while he couldn''te up with any suitable solutions, he decided to put it at the back of his head and focus on the other tasks at hand.
Since he cannote up with a solution at the moment, he could only let time solve it for him. Maybe he will have some inspirationter on¡ that''s how it had worked for him up until now after all.
Thinking so, Simon put his attention on the heaves of documents in front of him. All of these were reports of various activities, progress, petitions made by his subordinates and detailed the various things that urred inside the dungeon on a day to day basis.
"No matter where you go, you can''t escape paperwork I guess" Simonughed bitterly staring at the stack of documents. Although he had created a system of organisation andmunication, he was inadvertently unable to escape from the paperwork.
Irene did help him from time to time; however, she was busy with her own tasks¡ªtraining the Valkyries, looking after the dungeon, directing the [Helpers], looking after Cecilia and so on.
It was not only her, everybody in Lace was busy with their own tasks. Besides, Simon was already thankful that he only had to deal with the paperwork unlike his subordinates who have to collect all of their data and observations andpile it into a report.
And so, one by one, Simon started going through the documents.
"Hm? A petition to shift the orc floors above? This report came from the [Helpers] that were tasked to monitor the Diluvian High Orcs. It looks the request was made by Berigard himself. He wants to move the orcs floors to train the new orcs that have mutated from the Bloodtrap nt".
"Hmm¡ moving floors above requires a lot of DP and besides if they want to train, they always have the Elder Lizardmen floor or the training Floor for use. Rejected".
"Next, understaffed¡ªneed more personnel. This must be a report from Coleus. I did send him a few Forest Spring Spirits to assist him but it looks like he needs more. As of this moment, I do not have any free personnel, so let''s put it at the back".
Next, next¡ As Simon went through all the documents, he came across one that was made by Fey. It detailed about all the new Danger Zones, Hidden Chambers and traps she created. What''s more, she even included the new ns and traps she had been working on.
After reviewing Fey''s ns, Simon began jotting down his own improvements and ideas. They flowed effortlessly from his mind onto paper, merging seamlessly with Fey''s concepts.
As the Dungeon Master, and previously as the game developer, when it came to aspects like these, Simon was quite good at it. And so, after reading Fey''s ns he included his own improvements and ideas that he thought would help her.
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Finally, after a long ardous hours of work, Simon sighed a deep breath of relief. He was finally done with the paperwork for today.
Leaning back in his seat, he took a moment to reflect on all the activities and reports that he had gone through. As the Dungeon Master, he needed to stay multiple steps ahead of the adventurers and be prepared for any unexpected contingency.
And so as he was going through all of his thoughts for the day, when something that Jarred told him suddenly struck his mind. Recalling the report thetter gave him, he soon found out what it was.
"The guild named des of Ascension from the kingdom of Eldoria¡ it looks like even the First Grade Empires are starting to notice my dungeon" Simon muttered.
The name Kingdom of Eldoria wasn''t all that unfamiliar to him, in fact, he had heard that name on one of his trips to the human kingdom. At that time, when Simon was forcefully dragged over to the capital of the kingdom of Ellesmere by a willful Adalinda, he tried to make the most out of the trip by learning about the human kingdoms and the Central Continent.
From what he learned, the countries in the Central Continent seemed to be divided into three grades¡ªFirst Grade, Second Grade, and Third Grade.
Third grade countries are the bottom ranking countries that are disconnected from the Main Land. The average level of people there are very low and theycked the resources and influence of higher-grade nations.
The Second grade countries are countires who were able to grow out from their status as a Third grade country. Theirnds haverge deposits of mana crystal quarries which significantly contributed to their growth and development.
These countries maintained cordial rtionships with First Grade nations, and as a result, the average level of their people was notably higher than that of Third Grade countries.
First Grade countries on the other hand were powerful and influential countries in the Central Continent. They are advanced nations, boasting immense territories, abundant resources, and a high concentration of powerful individuals.
These countries were considered the heart of the continent, and their presence dictated the bnce of power among the nations. The average level of its inhabitants was significantly higher than that of Second or Third Grade countries.
The presence of powerful adventurers, knights, and mages wasmon, and they were well-respected and revered for their prowess in these countries.
Additionally to all of these, a country''s grade in the Central Continent was also determined by the presence of remarkable individuals known as Rankers.
The title of Ranker was a prestigious recognition awarded by the Adventurer''s Association to the cr¨¨me de cr¨¨me of adventurers who had achieved unparalleled levels of strength, skill, and potential for growth.
In the entire Central Continent, there were only a handful of adventurers who had reached the realm of Rankers. These extraordinary individuals were revered and respected for their unparalleled prowess and abilities. Their very presence could elevate a country''s standing and reputation.
A country with a notable number of Rankers held a considerable advantage over others, not only in terms of their adventurers but also in shaping the bnce of power across the continent.
First Grade countries were characterized for having a substantial number of Rankers, showcasing their ability to produce and nurture exceptional talents. These elite adventurers yed a crucial role in upholding the country''s influence and power on the continent.
Second Grade countries, while not as abundant in Rankers as First Grade countries, still possessed one or two of these exceptional individuals. These few Rankers were enough to set them apart from Third Grade countries and elevate their standing.
The presence of even a single Ranker could significantly boost the country''s reputation and signal its potential for growth and advancement.
On the other hand, Third Grade countries were at a disadvantage in terms of their absence of Rankers. However, if a Third Grade country managed to produce a Ranker, it would be a momentous achievement that could potentially lead to their promotion to a Second Grade country.
Countries like the Kingdom of Ellesmere, the Kingdom of ckthorn, and the Ingolf Kingdom were ssified as Third Grade countries due to theirck of Rankers. While they might have their own strengths and resources, the absence of these exceptional adventurers put them at a disadvantage whenpared to higher-grade nations.
In contrast, empires like the Sanguine Empire belonged to the prestigious First Grade countries, boasting a considerable number of Rankers among their ranks
Chapter 702- Primes new home
Chapter 702- Prime''s new home
The presence of these elite individuals not only strengthened the empire''s military capabilities but also contributed to its political and economic might.
The reason why Simon recalled all this information at this moment was because he remembered learning about the Kingdom of Eldoria. Being one of the few First Grade countries in the North-Western region of the Central Continent, the Kingdom of Eldoria was a powerful and influential kingdom that could match the Sanguine Empire in terms of strength and resources.
With a considerable number of Rankers among its adventurers, the kingdom''s power and influence in the region were not to be underestimated.
The fact that his dungeon, Dungeon Lace, had caught the attention of a First Grade country was a concerning matter for Simon. The reason for that was because dungeon Lace was still not ready to face them yet.
Simon didn''t know what kind of influence the guild named des of Ascension possessed back in their kingdom, but if they had a few rankers in their midst, it would be quite troublesome if they were to set their sights on his dungeon.
The des of Ascension was the guild currently leading the exploration right now with them having reached the 71st floor. However, they have yet to show any adventurers whose strength has reached the Rankers realm.
"Are they scouting the dungeon and testing the waters" Simon wondered. He had already experienced the might of the rankers before when they came to conquer the dungeon while hiding within the coalition of the top five guilds of the Ellesmere kingdom.
Davis Hall, an officer and a powerful Ranker of the Adventurer''s Association had proven to be a formidable adversary. Exercising his powerful holy magic and peculiar magical apparatuses like the Floor buster, he had destroyed numerous floors and nearly brought his dungeon down.
He was also the person who pushed Simon to the brink of death. Although it was partly his own fault for recklessly diving towards the spatial storm, he couldn''t have allowed that person to get away.
And so, as a result for putting his life on the line, he was nearly killed and was in aatose state for a couple of months.
Then there was another ranker named Edgar who had infiltrated his dungeon without even getting caught by the surveince system of his dungeon, He hadpletely eluded their senses without even them being aware of it, a feat that was both impressive and rming.
If not because thetter willingly revealed themselves when he attacked the Floor Buster, Simon wouldn''t even be aware of their presence.
Then there were also those skills they mastered and refined over a long period of time specifically to conquer the dungeon.
His experience with the rankers, allowed Simon to learn that they were a crafty and powerful bunch of fellows with a lot of tricky skills that couldn''t be underestimated. He needed to be cautious and prepared for dealing with them.
It was for this reason that when Simon heard that the guild des of Ascension was from the kingdom of Eldoria, he was inwardly a little concerned.
"I guess I will go and give that little fellow a visit. Let''s see what he is up to" On top of all the things, now that even a First Grade country eyeing dungeon Lace, Simon couldn''t sit still. He needed to strengthen both himself and his dungeon as fast as possible.
And so while thinking that, Simon teleported to one of the special floors and lifeblood of the dungeon Lace.
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The industrial floor also known as the [Workshop], was a sight to behold. The moment Simon stepped foot into this floor, he was greeted by a powerful heat assaulting his whole body. The entire floor was covered in a red hue, a result of the intense heat released by the numerous volcanic mountains scattered across the area.
The volcanic terrain flowing withva, was both awe-inspiring and a testament to Wisp''s power who designed this floor.
"It looks like the floor had changed quite a bit since thest time I visited it" Simon remarked observing the ce.
The [Workshop] had not only expanded in area, but had also be a lot more organised with lines of railways crisscrossing the area, transporting carts filled with various materials andponents.
Factories of all shapes and sizes lined the floor, each dedicated to mass-producing Andromedas, the war machines that were the speciality of this floor. The factories hummed with activity as various robotic and mechanical noises continuously came from inside them.
If one nced inside these factories, one could witness the intricacies of the manufacturing process. Robotic hands expertly crafted each part, while assembly lines efficiently put them together to create the final product.
Then there were also special rooms designed meticulously for testing out new weapons and their firepower, ensuring that the Andromedas produced here were equipped with thetest and most powerful weaponry.
Each factory was producing and researching a different part andponent of the Andromedas. The rail lines connected all of these factories and carts moved back and forth on them, transporting parts from one factory to another, ensuring a smooth and efficient production process.
It was not only the factories that caught one''s attention here, the iron smelting smitheries located at the mouth of the volcanic mountains was tirelessly smelting various kinds of minerals and ores, providing a constant supply of raw materials for the production of the Warmachines.
And then there was of course the Andomedas, the war machines that was the speciality of this floor, being mass produced here.
As soon as they came out from the factory, some of them were deployed in the distance, mining ores from the numerous quarries that dotted the floor.
Some were dedicated to the testing fields where new Andromedas were put through rigorous trials and evaluations. It was a ce for fine-tuning and perfecting the creations, ensuring that each Andromeda met the highest standards of quality and functionality.
Then there were Andromedas who were deployed to the areas designated for scrap disposal, where any defective or obsoleteponents were discarded. These areas were efficiently managed to ensure that waste was minimized, and any reusable materials were recycled for future use.
Looking at these mechanical beings working tirelessly, and ensuring a smooth and steady flowingwork, Simon was reminded of the game [Rise of the Demolishers], the project he worked on the most after Lace.
In that game too, in the beginning stages when the artificial superintelligence ook over, the heart of the empire that controlled and produced these powerful war machines looked something like this.
Simon could see a striking resemnce between the industrial marvel that was the [Workshop] floor and the empire that controlled the war machines.
It was an awe-inspiring sight, the seamless integration of various systems and processes, the rhythmic movements of the warmachines, the mesmerising spectacle of all these factories and the organised flow of materials and resources, all made the [Workshop] floor a true testament to his skills as both a game developer and a Dungeon Master.
"Emilia, I wish I could show this scene to you"
As Simon stood there marvelling at the sight, he couldn''t help but feel a tinge of nostalgia. If Emilia was here, she would have definitely been awe struck at the sight after all, the project that was her masterpiece, was bing a reality inside his dungeon.
still lingered inside his mind. He knew that she would have been proud of what he had aplished inside his Dungeon Lace.
Unfortunately, she was no longer with him. That said, even though she was no longer physically present, her memory and influence still lingered inside his mind. He knew that she would have been proud of what he had aplished inside his Dungeon Lace.
Having been lost in his thoughts, Simon quickly snapped out of those memories and focused on the task at hand. He was here to meet Prime.
After learning about thetter''s ability from the person himself, Simon allowed Prime to live on this floor.
"Where exactly did this guy make his home?" Simon spat in frustration having been unable to find the Lumynar even after searching for a while.
The [Dungeon] option of his [Main Menu] which showed him a three dimensional structure andyout of every floor and dungeon, showed him that Prime was here somewhere. However, he was unable to pinpoint where exactly this guy was.
[Beep-Beep-Boop] While he was having trouble locating Prime, Wisp approached him. [Beep-Beep-Boop] As usual it talked in its unique sonar noise.
"Yeah, it''s good to see you again. I see that you have made quite some progress with the floor. I''m grateful for your efforts" Simon spoke linking his hand with the ball of light.
Others might not be able to understand what Wisp said, however, Simon who had created a spiritual link with the Null Elemental, understood them as if they were actual words.
Not only that, but as the link grew stronger every second, he could understand even the subtle feelings and emotions it disyed.
Sentient Spiritual Entity, it was just like Irene had told him, this thing was a full fledged living entity even though it looked like a ball of light.
[Beep-Boop-Ping] The Wisp once again made some sonar noise saying that it was only doing its duty. Nevertheless, Simon was very grateful to it.
Looking at the development that his [Workshop] floor had gone through in this short period of time, which was otherwise impossible through normal means, he was finally able to realise the extra-ordinary being that wisp was and how blessed and lucky he was to have summoned it.
The Null Elemental read his intention to protect the dungeon and thus it created all of these solely because it wanted to help Simon.
Chapter 703- Primes New Home (2)
Chapter 703- Prime''s New Home (2)
The Null Elemental had read his memories and carried out the best n of action to protect the dungeon ording to his will. With the [Workshop] floor as a foundation, Simon knew that the potential of Dungeon Lace was limitless.
As long as the floor continued to develop and expand, he could create an empire of war machines, just like in that game.
"Yeah, I am very much happy with the current progress. You have truly be one of the key individuals befitting of being one of the Guardian of the dungeon" Simon conversed with Wisp a little more before shifting the topic to Prime.
"By the way, do you where this guy is? He is supposed to be your new neighbour and I am unable to find him" Simon created the image of Prime in his head and Wisp immediately knew who he was talking about.
[Beep-Boop-Ping] It conveyed with its sonar noise that it knows where Prime is.
"Really?! Then can you take me where that guy is?"
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After a while, the two of them stopped in front of a ce and the Wisp conveyed that they had arrived at the location.
"This¡ you don''t mean.. are you saying that Prime is down there?" With his brows locked into a frown, Simon asked while looking down. An expression of apprehension was evident on his face.
Why was he making such a face? The reason for this was because they were currently on top of the mouth of one of the biggest volcanic mountains present on this floor and Wisp was pointing below.
Knowing what it wanted to convey, how could Simon not make an apprehensive face?
Below was a hot boiling sea ofva and ording to Wisp, Prime was inside there. A droplet of sweat trickled down Simon''s face as he looked below, his eyes reflecting the intense heat of theva sea.
To think that Prime would choose to make his home inside the mouth of a volcano of all ces, Simon was speechless for a second.
No wonder he was unable to find him, no sane person would think about checking inside the mouth of a volcanic mountain.
Was this guy okay down there?
"Hey Prime, are you in there? Respond if you can hear my voice?" Simon called out. There was no movement for a while, only the bubbling noise of theva and the sulphuric clouds continued to exist here.
Just when Simon was starting to get anxious, there was finally some movements in theva. A few columns ofva erupted from the mountain and a response came from within its depth.
"Simon? What are you doing here?".
Simon was relieved that the other party was fine though the next second, thetter''s answer triggered him.
"What do you mean what I''m doing here, this is my dungeon. I came to check on you?" he retorted back.
"Ahaha, right.. right. Though why are you standing outside, why don''t youe in? Let me show you my new ce" Prime''s voice sounded.
"This guy¡" Simon''s brows twitched "We are on top of a sea ofva for goodness'' sake. How am I supposed toe in?".
The temperature here was more than 1800 degree Celsius, it was hotter than even the most powerful infernal magic of his. Even if he had me resistance, this temperature was out of the question. He did not have a death wish for wanting to jump inside that hell.
"Oh right right, I forgot you are one of those races who cannot live in extreme mineral deposits like these. Wait for a moment, I will create a route for you that will lead you to my ce"
After a brief moment, theva around them started to move, parting away and creating a tunnel-like pathway leading towards the heart of the mountain.
Simon watched in amazement as the moltenva seemed to respond to Prime''smand, creating a safe route for him to follow.
"Alright,e in!" Prime''s voice sounded out from the other end of the tunnel. Simon was still in awe at Prime''s ability and that thetter could stay alive inside the magma. Nevertheless, he still stepped inside the tunnel and followed the path Prime created for him.
The tunnel was quite long and showcased how deep beneath the Lumynar lived. As he ventured deeper into the mountain, Simon couldn''t help but notice the unique and innovative material used to construct Prime''s new home.
The walls of the tunnel were made of a remarkable substance that not only resisted the extreme temperature but also glowed with a soft, ethereal light. It was a mesmerizing sight, and Simon could tell that Prime''s engineering skills were exceptional.
Finally, after diving down for more than fifteen hundred meters, Simon arrived at Prime''s new living quarters, located in the heart of the magma chamber.
The chamber itself was an awe-inspiring sight, with moltenva flowing all around them, illuminating the space with an intense, fiery glow. But what caught Simon''s attention was the remarkable base that Prime had created within the magma chamber.
The base was made of abination of rare minerals and magical alloys, carefully crafted to withstand the extreme heat of the magma. Despite the intense temperature surrounding it, the base remained cool and sturdy, a testament to Prime''s mastery of his craft.
The walls of the base were adorned with intricate engravings and glowing runes, which seemed to pulse with energy.
"How do you like my new home?" Prime who was waiting for Simon in front of his new house asked with swagger.
Simon nced at the new base the other party had created, there were various chambers and rooms, each serving a specific purpose.
Prime had thoughtfully designed the ce to be both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Not only that, at the centrepiece of the base was a massive crystal that floated at its core, radiating a calming blue light.
This crystal, Prime exined, acted as a stabilizer for the base, harnessing the raw energy of the magma and converting it into a power source for various systems.
Simon was thoroughly impressed by the ingenuity and sophistication of Prime''s new home. It was a marvel of engineering and wonder, a testament to Prime''s talent and resourcefulness.
"I have to say, you''ve done an incredible job with this ce, Prime. It''s truly a masterpiece. I can see that you''ve put a lot of thought and effort into its design".
Prime grinned proudly, his body glowing with satisfaction "Right right.. you saying that makes me happier. Compared to myst base, this is an upgrade of sorts. I wanted to create a space that would not only withstand the extreme conditions but also serve as a sanctuary for me. A ce where I can train, study, and forge anything that I want to".
"Well, you''ve certainly seeded," Simon replied, nodding approvingly. "This base is a perfect reflection of your skills and abilities. It''s befitting of an Administrator".
That''s right, Prime had been selected by the dungeon for the position of Administrator, a role that was second only to the Guardians. Simon had received the notification on the second day of bringing Prime into his dungeon.
Since Irene had already told him that Prime''s ability would be quite helpful to him, he didn''t ponder for too long before pressing on the [Yes] option. And so from then on, Prime officially became the newest member/inhabitant of the dungeon and an [Administrator] alongside the Valkyries.
"I have to thank you for that. Who knew you had a ce as advanced as this? I know that the Null Elemental was the one to create all of this; however, without your will and knowledge, something like this isn''t possible even for that thing".
"Brat how did youe up with these ideas? Although not as advanced as the civilisation I am from, it''s not too shabby either" Prime spoke ncing towards Simon in wonder.
To call a floor that was an industrial and engineering marvel, a hub whole world of Althaea, Prime was the only one to think like that.
for manufacturing that produced the powerful Andromedas, Revenants and the other War Machines, shabby? Perhaps in this whole world of Althaea, Prime was the only one to think like that.
Although his brows twitched at that indirect jab at something he prided on, Simon still maintained hisposure. If not because he knew that Prime came from a highly advanced civilisation, he would have thought that was an insult.
However, judging from the tone of the other party and the lightsing out of their body, it appeared that he was actually praising the ce.
"Sigh.. you have a weird way of praising things. Anyways, what were you up to?".
"Oh right,e with me, I will show you something. I found these thing abandoned in the junkyard, so I brought them here and have been building it by taking the scraps from the junkyard".
At Simon''s query, Prime gave him a trip of the base he created. Inside the base, there were various chambers and rooms, each serving a specific purpose. For example, there is a library filled with ancient tomes and knowledge from all corners of the world.
Then there were numerous forges andboratories equipped with all kinds oftest and old equipment, to allow Prime to create anything that he wants.
Seeing all of these inconceivable and never before seen things, Simon was curious as to where did the Lumynar get all these items from. The designs of the things here were very alien to him, indicating that these were all items that Prime brought with him.
Chapter 704- Resonancer
Chapter 704- Resonancer
"I bet you will like it" Prime beckoned Simon as he led him to the ce where he kept the item that he invented.
Due to him hyping it up, Simon naturally got interested in what this Lumynar was working on. However, when he arrived at the ce and saw what Prime was working on, his eyes couldn''t help but widen.
The expression in his eyes wasn''t surprise, but¡ anger.
Kept in front of him, in a haphazard manner of disy, were several weapons, armours and artefacts that were collected from thest invasion force. Given theirrge numbers, there was quite a lot of loot that was collected.
But of course, not everything that shined was gold. Many of the items that the adventurers had, either broke, were abused, ipatible or just couldn''t be used after thest battle.
Things that could be used were collected and those that couldn''t were discarded. The ones in front of him were the items that were discarded in the junkyard of the [Workshop].
However, it didn''t mean that they were scraps anymore. From the way they were shining and put back together, it appeared that Prime had restored them back to their original condition.
No, he might have even upgraded them to a new level because Simon could feel the distinctive auraing from these items was clearly far more stronger when they were in their prime condition.
Given that Prime had resorted the items he discarded as junks to their peak condition, he should be happy. However, there was no happiness in Simon''s eyes. The reason for that was none other than the huge item that was sitting at the centre of all of these items.
"Oh? It looks like you found the item I have been meaning to show you. Yes, the others are just samples, the main item of the show is this. I found this thing discarded among the junks and after looking at its design, I suddenly had a sh of inspiration. Look, I even upgraded it. Now it''s more powerful than ever. Hm?... hey wait what are you doing?"
Prime who was in the midst of self-retrospection suddenly noticed the mes zing to life in Simon''s hand.
The golden mes that appeared, raised the temperature of the magma chamber to ever higher heights and quickly formed into a spear.
"Get out of the way. I must destroy that thing".
"Huh?! Wait why do you need to destroy it".
At Prime''s flustered question, Simon pointed at the item he was working on and exined "That thing you are working on back there, do you know what it is? It''s the floor buster, the foul machine that nearly brought down my dungeon".
"This thing did what?".
The reason why Simon was angry was because Prime has been working on the Floor Buster.
"Get out of the way, it''s an eyesore, I need to destroy" Simon was just about tounch his infernal spear magic on the machine when Prime asked him to stop.
"Wait..wait¡ I don''t know what kind of grudge you have against this thing, but it''s an excellent item with quite some thought put by its inventor into it. After I upgraded it, it has be even better"..
"Then all the more reason for me to destroy it. If it''s allowed to be used on the [Workshop] then¡ In any case, destroy that thing" Although Simon did not continue his sentence, he was worried about that if the floor buster was used so close to the [Main floor] it might reach the white pce where the dungeon core was.
"Haah!! seriously this brat¡ will you listen to me for real. I know what purpose this machine was made for. However, using it that way was just wasting the potential of this machine. That is why, I altered the machine while drawing inspiration from its design".
"Now its purpose is different than what it was intended for. Look it doesn''t have that drill pointer anymore".
On Prime''s mention, Simon finally nced deeply at the Floor Buster and noticed that it had been altered greatly. Be it its frame, structure, or the crystal that was used as its core, everything was tinkered greatly.
More importantly, the Floor Buster no longer looked like an auger machine that could destroy floors.
But then if it did not destroy floors, then what did it do?
"You said that its purpose now is different than what it was intended for initially?".
Seeing Simon finally willing to listen, Prime sighed a breath of relief "I will exin, but first snuff that magic of yours. Do you have any idea how valuable the materials and equipment are here? They are from my home world before it was destroyed. As such, it could be one of its kind in this whole universe".
Prime jumped up and down asserting that Simon put his magic flustered after seeing Simon conjure his magic here.
away. For every inventor, the workce was like an extension of their life, the culmination of their efforts and dedication.
Seeing it get destroyed was thest thing they wanted to see and would be a huge blow for them. It was no wonder that Prime was so flustered after seeing Simon conjure his magic here.
After looking at Prime, who seemed earnest in his plea to spare the machine, Simon finally lowered his hand and dispelled the magic.
"Fine, I won''t destroy it," he relented, "but you better exin what you''ve done to it.".
Prime sighed a breath of relief seeing that he finally managed to convince Simon.
"You won''t regret it," Saying that, he led Simon towards the modified machine.
As he approached closer, Simon could indeed see that the drill pointer, which was originally meant for destruction, had been removed. In its ce, Prime had installed a series of intricate mechanisms that seemed more focused on precision and finesse.
"I''ve repurposed the floor buster to be more of a precision tool" As Prime began to exin the modifications he had made to the machine, his excitement was palpable.
He gestured animatedly, pointing out various parts andponents that he had tinkered with, increasing their output, changing their cements, and even utilizing scraps from the junkyard to improve its functionality.
The end result was a remarkable transformation that turned the destructive Floor Buster into something entirely different.
"And so, after I adjusted the core, it should be able to create a specialized effect that covers a wide area," Prime said, his eyes shining with enthusiasm.
"What do you mean?" Simon questioned raising an eyebrow.
"What I''m trying to say is, when activated, the machine interacts with the mana particles in the air, strengthening and weakening certain conditions and aspects in the surrounding area. For instance, with this machine, I can weaken the gravitational pull in certain areas, making it easier for the Andromedas to lift and transport heavy materials. The opposite is equally possible too".
"It is not only limited to gravitational pull, by interacting with the mana particles, the machine is able to induce disorders in natural orders of thews. For example, this machine can create energy tides that can bring forth various kinds of elemental hazards. Like typhoons, snow, lightning, extreme heat and so on and so forth" Prime dered with a proud smile.
Finally starting to see the true potential of this new invention, the anger inside Simon disappeared in a puff of smoke, reced by surprise and astonishment at the machine that Prime had created.
There was no reason why he would not after all, what did it mean to be able to interfere with the natural orders ofws? What did it mean to be able to create elemental hazards?
Prime was talking about being able to manipte environmental change andws, something that should only be possible through a certain option when the dungeon reached a high rank.
Yet here it was in front of him, a machine that could achieve a simr effect to an Environmental Change. How could Simon not be surprised?
Simr to Afflictions that can bestow certain kinds of status effects in the form of nerfs, detoriation in condition, debuffs that can weaken and so on in particr floors, Environmental Change just like what it means can alter certain aspects of the dungeon.
Using this option, it is possible to manifest various natural phenomena like clear blue sky, pouring rain, gusts of wind, or even lightning storms inside the dungeon. It was a feature that provided strategic advantages and challenged the adventurers exploring the dungeon.
However, Environmental Change was a high-ranking feature that became avable to dungeons as they advanced and grew in power. It allowed Dungeon Masters to create artificial environments inside their dungeons, altering certain aspects of the dungeon to their advantage.
So when Prime said that he can induce environmental hazards like typhoons, lightning and such, Simon''s mind was blown. Something that could otherwise be possible only after dungeon Laplce reached the high rank, this machine in front of him can reproduce an effect simr to it.
As absurd and disbelieving as it sounded, he knew that Prime would not y a joke on him. That is to say, this machine was really capable of doing what Prime mentioned.
If he can mass produce this machine and set it up on various floors of his, wouldn''t he be able to alter the environment, making certain areas more challenging for adventurers or granting buffs to the dungeon''s inhabitants, thus increasing the strategic advantages inbat situations?
The more Simon thought about it, the more he saw the potential of this machine to be an invaluable asset for Dungeon Lace.
Chapter 705- Restoring the Radiant Crown of Brilliance
Chapter 705- Restoring the Radiant Crown of Brilliance
"That''s impressive," Simon admitted "You''ve taken something originally meant for destruction and turned it into a tool for creation and enhancement. I''m d I didn''t destroy it now."
"Right¡ Right¡ Brat you see the potential of my creation huh? Well now that you know how amazing this thing is going to turn out to be once it is perfected, it''s all bridge under the waters " Prime beamed with pride at the praise.
To dare call him a brat, Prime was the only one in this dungeon. Simon shook his head at the haughty words of this Lumynar when something that thetter said struck his mind.
"Wait did you just say ''once it is perfected''? Did you not test its effect out yet?".
When Prime heard that question, he turned around and released a yellowish light from its body. Although Simon was no expert in reading the Lumynar''s expressions that are disyed by the colours they release from their body, he could somewhat tell that the other party was looking down on him.
"Sigh, listen up brat, don''tpare me with that Null Elemental friend of yours. That thing is special even amongst the special existence. I do not have abilities like it. And besides, do you think tempering with the naturalws is that easy?"
"Not to mention we are inside a dungeon which has its own sets ofws and orders. How could it be so easy to understand in a few days? This machine is far frompletion, I have only reached the stage where it can interact with the mana particles in the air, there is a long way to go until it can create environmental hazards".
"The only reason I told you about it is because you were adamant about destroying it. How can I just sit back and see you destroy something that is going to be one of my finest works?"
Simon was silent as he continued to stare at the machine. It was as Prime said, how can it be so easy to create a machine that could actually temper with the natural orders of the dungeon?
It looked like he had jumped the gun, the machine was something for the future. That said, it was a pity that it couldn''t be used now. Just think about it, how broken would his dungeon be if it could already create its own environment inside the floor?
"Hm? What''s with that dejected face of yours? Although I said it would take time, who do you think I am? Fine, lend me the help of that Null elemental subordinate of yours. I''m sure that with that things help, I can drastically shorten the time from a couple of years to within a year and deliver this machine to you. Hehe, once it ispleted, I''m confident that the Resonancer will be a valuable asset for the dungeon".
When Simon heard Primes''s words his eyes inadvertently started shining. If it was just a year then it wasn''t much. Compared to waiting who knows how many years, what was waiting just a year?
However, that said, Wisp was already super busy as it was with manufacturing, developing the floor and controlling all of those Andromedas. He did not know if Wisp could handle additional work.
"I know what you are thinking. Don''t worry, I just need it to produce a few pieces of equipment and ores that are needed to create itsponent. It wouldn''t consume much of its time" As if reading his thoughts Prime rified.
"Alright, I will tell Wisp about it. Anyways, I see that you went with the name Resonancer for the machine?"...
"Yeah, what do you think? As it is a machine that resonances with the mana particles in the air to create the disorder in thews, hence the name Resonancer"¡
"It''s not a bad name" Simon answered, since the machine had been alteredpletely and it no longer served the same purpose it was intended for, calling it the floor buster would be wrong.
Though that saidpared to the names he could think of for the machine, like Elemental Storm Catalyser, Mana Whirl Havoc Mixer or Environmental st Disruptor, just resonance seemed quite a bit¡ how to put it a less impressive.
However, Prime was the inventor of this machine as such, he had every right to name it.
"As you work on perfecting the Resonancer, keep me updated on its progress," Simon said. "I have a feeling this invention will be a defining feature of Dungeon Lace."
He could already envision the countless ways he could utilize the Harmonizer''s effects throughout the dungeon. With this invention, Dungeon Lace would have an unprecedented level of control over its environment and conditions, making it a truly formidable and dynamic dungeon.
"You can count on me" Prime''s body sparkled with determination. With that, the two of them spent some more time exploring Prime''s new base, and thetter eagerly shared his ns for further improvements and expansions.
Simon couldn''t help but feel inspired by Prime''s passion and vision for the future. Was it to be expected of a highly advanced race? The Lumynar''s ideas were groundbreaking eye openers for Simon. He was starting to realise that he might have won the lottery with Prime.
.
.
Inside one of the vast chambers, as he observed Prime who stood tall, their form towering over the fiery furnace as they manipted the molten magma with their hands, shaping and moulding it like a master sculptor, Simon couldn''t help but be reminded of the Lumynar''s ability to freely shift the size of their bodies allowing greater precision and efficiency with their work.
"This is the ce I use when forging new weapons, armour and the other items. Those things that you discarded as scraps, were repaired here"
Prime spoke, shifting back to its tiny size. He held a tiny hammer and chisel in his hand, working with delicate precision on arge piece of equipment. Even in this miniature form, he exhibited remarkable control and skill, creating intricate details with utmost care.
Whether it be handlingrge scale materials and equipments or working with the tiniest of parts, Prime''s incredible ability to change his size at will, came in handy. He could work with an errorless precision to create all kinds of items.
This versatility in size maniption made him an extraordinary craftsman; however, shifting his size wasn''t the only ability Prime had.
Being able to work with the moltenva, the ability to increase its heat and intensity to his will, responding to his every touch and help but feel a sense of wonder and admiration for this fellow.
In the [Workshop], Prime''s forge became a symphony of creation,mand. It was a mesmerizing sight to behold and Simon couldn''t help but feel a sense of wonder and admiration for this fellow.
In the [Workshop], Prime''s forge became a symphony of creation, with molten metal flowing like liquid gold under his skilled hands. The process of forging and creating in the magma-filled chamber was like a harmonious dance, with each strike of his hammer, intricate patterns and designs emerged, turning raw materials into works of art.
His attention to detail was unmatched as he freely manipted his size, and his craftsmanship was unparalleled, producing items of extraordinary quality and functionality.
Moreover, Prime''s inventiveness knew no bounds. He had a knack for repurposing and refining discarded materials and scrap from the junkyards, turning them into essentialponents for his creations.
As he stood there watching Prime at work, he couldn''t help but reflect on the unique abilities and talents that each Guardian brought to Dungeon Lace.
From Irene''s presence that supported the dungeon like his shadow to Cecilia''s control over nature, Wisp''s mastery over the creation and elemental forces itself, and now with Prime''s intelligence and skills, the dungeon Lace got an unparalleled craftsman ¡ªit was a diverse and extraordinary team.
"You can stop selling yourself, I get it, you were the best thing that I was able to purchase from the auction. I admit that I was wrong in doubting you, your abilities are as impressive as you have said"¡
Others might not be able to see through the actions of this guy; however, Simon who understood the nature of this Lumynar after interacting with it knew thetter best. Thus he immediately understood what they were trying to pull when they started showing him around their base and disying their skills.
Having his intentions called out, Prime couldn''t help but smile and stopped showing off.
"What? So you knew about it huh? Well, it''s all good now that you have admitted it. Haha, I told you didn''t I, that you won''t regret purchasing me? I was one of the best things, no I was the best out of all the things that were listed there in the auction".
"You should be happy brat that you got me, the great Lumynar who was bestowed the name Prime by the Elder council" Prime boasted, a blue light emitting out of its body.
"Right. I get it. Now then, let''s get to the main topic, there are three reasons why I came here to see you. The first is of course to see how you are doing. The dungeon and its habitat was a new ce for you so I wanted to see if you were able to adapt to your new ce or not".
"Seeing how excited and motivated you are, I guess I was needlessly worrying about it. The second reason I came here is because I have an item that I want you to repair" Simon raised three fingers and slowly started listing out his reasons¡
"Oh? Let''s see the item first".
Simon nodded reached into his inventory and pulled out a crown that had a regal and imposing design, adorned with intricate patterns that seemed to emit a faint glow, even in its damaged state.
Chapter 706- Restoring The Radiant Crown Of Brilliance (2)
Chapter 706- Restoring The Radiant Crown Of Brilliance (2)
The crown that Simon took out, was crafted from a mysterious golden metal that shone brilliantly, enhancing the aura of grandeur that surrounded it. The artefact was none other than the Radiant Crown of Brilliance, that he got from the Forbidden Grounds afterpleting the fourth trail.
This legendary piece of artefact which holds immense power and prestige, was once held by Yn a woman of unparalleled power and grace. Using this crown, she cut off the hand of the Atrocity, crushed his heart and sealed it somewhere for eternity.
Simon who had observed that devastating battle capable of overturning the sky and earth, knew how powerful this crown was. Despite its current damaged state, remnants of its former formidableness were evident.
The Radiant Crown of Brilliance still retained some of the residual power that made everyone who looked at it feel awestruck. The aura of a [S] tier item lingered, leaving no doubt that it was once a potent and awe-inspiring artefact.
"Oh?!! That is quite an item you got in your hands? Let me see it".
Prime took the item from Simon''s hand and inspected it. There was a hint of excitement in the Lumynar''s behaviour as could be observed from the multicolour lightsing from its body.
"Brat do you know what this is? This is not just any ordinary artefact. This is an ancient relic, forged through holy fire and infused with the power of hundreds of years of starlight. Its value is iparable to any item of this day and age".
"It was an item that I got after clearing a certain trial. Although I knew it was powerful, I had no idea about its origins" Simon mentioned, his curiosity piqued by Prime''s exnation.
"Well listen up" Prime started exining in an excited voice "This crown was crafted in a time long past, during an era where the forging techniques were imbued with divine blessings. During that time, the metal used to create the artefacts, was first smelted in holy fire for a long period of time before being left in a ce where the cosmic energy gathered".
"The metal absorbs the essence of starlight for hundreds of years thus granting it unparalleled strength and resilience. Not only that, I can see that it has three depressions on it, it must have been iid with gemstones that granted the crown its unique properties, enabling it to harness the forces in a way that no ordinary artefacts can".
The more Prime exined, the more Simon realised how exceptional the crown was. There was a newfound respect in Simon''s eyes for this item.
The Radiant Crown of Brilliance. He had acquired the item through an arduous adventure, but he hadn''t fullyprehended its history and significance until now.
"I wonder what kind of legendary being or leader they were to wield its divine favour. Though it''s a pity, without the gemstones, this artefact cannot gain its former glory"¡
"Do you mean these three crystals?" On Prime''s statement, Simon took out three glistering crystals that he got as a reward from the fourth trail.
"What?! You have it?!! Why didn''t you say so before?" Prime who saw the crystals in Simon''s hand, was immediately rejoiced. Though the next second he shook his head saying "Although you have the Gemstones with you, it is a pity that it has lost all of its powers. To restore it back I would need things that are very hard and rare to find¡".
Again while Prime was busy rambling to himself, Simon took out a couple of items one after the other and kept it in front of the tongue tied Prime.
"Eh?! These¡" Thetter pointed out, the colouring out of its yellow disying its confusion. All of the items that Simon took out, were very rare and precious, so much so that even if one searched the whole of Althaea, one might not be able to find any.
Yet here, Simon took out all these rare items one after the other as if they grew on trees. Prime''s surprise was understandable; however, Simon already had all the items prepared to restore the crown. They were part of the rewards that he got from the fourth trial.
After putting down all of the items, Simon nced towards Prime and inquired. "So, what do you think, Can you repair it?".
Prime was the one and only craftsman of his dungeon, Simon was eager to know if his newly appointed Administrator could restore the crown''s former glory.
As expected of someone who he regarded as an unparalleled craftsman, Prime did not disappoint him.
"Hehe, absolutely. With all the necessary material avable to me, there is no way I cannot¡ Gugghh!!" The Lumynar was unable toplete his sentence as his hands that was holding the crown, suddenly lurched back in pain and the item fell on the ground.
"What happened? Why did you scream in pain all of a sudden".
Prime did not reply, he simply stared at the crown in a daze before looking at Simon and questioning "That was¡ brat, you told me you got this item from a trial right? Then why is there this repulsive energy inside it?"..
"Repulsive energy? What do you mean?" Simon tilted his head in confusion as he picked the crown up.
"Can''t you tell? That crown is gued by a powerful curse energy. I am shocked that you are even able to hold it" Prime exined in shock, his hands that held the crown previously, were still trembling.
Simon finally realised what the Lumynar was talking about. Indeed, there were some traces of curse energy on this crown. However, it did not bother him as much as it did Prime. He did not feel any difort nor any repulsion from this energy.
"There seemed to be some remnants of the curse energy stilltching onto the crown. Brat how; no, who did this crown belonged to?" On Prime''s urging, Simon told him about the events that he had witnessed on the fourth trial, the woman who fought against the atrocity and how she sealed its heart with the crown.
"I see¡ so this world too huh" Prime who heard Simon''s exnation, suddenly fell silent and muttered to himself. After a while, he arched his head up and nced at the crown once again.
"Currently, the crown is slowly being corroded by a strong curse energy. If I have to repair the artefact, I must first purge this energy first".
Simon nodded his head in understanding, he personally knew how cumbersome and tricky the curse energy was. Thus he asked, "Can it be done?".
"It may end up taking longer than I thought; however, it is not impossible. Though before I agree on repairing it, I want to ask why do you want to repair this crown."¡
"What do you mean?"¡
"I want to know the objective of yours for repairing this crown. You do know that this artefact holds a powerful attribute that is contradictory to your own nature right? The item is imbued with the essence of starlight and holy fire, it contains divine magic which is a direct bane for all kinds of negative energy including the darkness that flows within you".
"If the crown were to be fully repaired, it could potentially be a powerful weapon that could work against you. Given this knowledge, why is it that you seek to repair it?" Prime questioned staring directly at Simon''s eyes.
A contemtive expression crossed thetter''s face. Just like Prime had said, Simon was aware that the divine energy that the Radiant Crown of Brilliance held, was contradictory to his own powers as a demon noble.
If the artefact was repaired, it would be a potent weapon that could potentially work against him, weakening his own dark powers.
However, he still wanted to repair it. The reason for that was that Simon couldn''t shake off the feeling that there was a reason why he received the crown as a reward for the fourth trial. It had to be more than a mere coincidence.
He suspected that the Radiant Crown might hold some crucial significance for the future trials in the forbidden grounds, or perhaps even on his own future.
Deep down, he felt a nagging intuition that the crown could be an essential piece to the puzzle, and he couldn''t afford to overlook its potential. It might be a quest item, something he would need to progress further in the trials and ovee the challenges that awaited him.
Despite the risks and contradictions, he couldn''t dismiss the possibility that this item held a critical role in the grand scheme of things.
His decision to repair the crown was not merely based on a whim or desire for power. It was a calcted gamble, a leap of faith in his instincts as a game developer.
When he exined his reasoning to Prime, thetter nodded his head, impressed by Simon''s resolve and vision. It saw the sincerity in his eyes and the determination in his voice.
"Very well," Prime said with a nod. "I will repair the Radiant Crown of Brilliance, but I will also incorporate a safeguard that will prevent its power from conflicting with yours. It will be a challenging task, but I am confident that I can achieve it."
"That will be a great help... Thank you, Prime," Simon spoke with gratitude. Thetter was even going to the lengths of installing a safeguard into the crown just so that he wouldn''t harm himself while trying to use the item.
Chapter 707- Talks of Heart
Chapter 707- Talks of Heart
Simon had no doubts that Prime would be able to repair it after he saw the abilities and talents of this unparalleled craftsman. A few weekster, the radiant crown of brilliance will once again shine with its divine light.
"Keep that Item over in that container. I will need to create a few special equipments to negate the effects of the curse energy before I can work on it" Prime pointed at a container not far away from here.
"Now then, state yourst business".
Simon had three reasons foring here, as exined before, first was to check on Prime and how he was adapting to his new habitat. The second was to repair the Radaitn Crown of Brilliance and thest¡
"I want you to tell me about the Eye of Enigma".
Thest reason was to inquire and learn about the mysterious eye, who had chosen him as its master.
"I thought you would ask that" Prime muttered, not surprised that Simon asked him about the eye.
Prime took a deep breath before delving into the mysterious history of the Eye of Enigma. He spoke of ancient legends that spoke of the eye''s existence since the dawn of time, a relic that transcended ages and held a power that defiedprehension.
"It is said that the eye had witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations, the birth and destruction of worlds, and had been passed down through the hands of countless beings".
"ording to the records and knowledge they left behind, it is said that the Eye of Enigma was an enigmatic artefact, with a will and purpose of its own. It had the ability to choose its master, bestowing its power upon a chosen individual and connecting its fate with theirs".
"Are you saying that the Eye of Enigma has chosen me for a reason, linking its destiny with mine?" Simon pointed at himself, surprise evident in his eyes.
It was entirely a coincidence that the eye of enigma fell in his hand, however, what now? The eyes had chosen him for a reason, some kind of purpose that he needed to fulfil.
"What kinds of purpose does it want me to fulfil?".
When asked that, Prime shrugged his shoulders saying "Beats me, I have never possessed the Eye of Enigma before, so there is no way I would know. In fact, it was also my first time seeing it with my own eyes at the auction. I am surprised by the fact that Merchant was able to get their hands on it. Perhaps the Eye of Enigma used the merchant as a means to get to you".
Prime exined, he omitted the part where he appeared before the Merchant of the Damned on his own volition to chase after the Eye of Enigma. His journey ultimately led Prime to Simon, a peculiar demon with a tangled and chaotic destiny.
If Prime were to put it in words, a normal person''s destiny would be like a piece of thread with some knots and twists here and there. However, Simon''s destiny was unlike anything Prime had ever seen.
His was like a ball of yarn, chaotic and full of knots, impossible to be untied. This was also the reason why Prime chose to follow Simon, he wanted to know what kind of destiny and purpose, fate had for this demon.
Although not fully convinced, Simon still nodded his head in understanding at Prime''s words. The visions that Simon experienced during the moment when he first touched the item, the glimpse of the ruins he had seen. It was as if the eye wanted him to see and tell something.
Though it was still a mystery as to what it wanted to convey, one thing was clear, his fate was now intricately entwined with the Eye of Enigma.
"Well now that this eye has chosen me, whatever this purpose is, I will fulfil it. However, before that shouldn''t I understand some of its abilities? If the eye is as you say, an item that existed since the dawn of time and not mere trinket, shouldn''t it have some shy powers, some supreme ability that would be worth all this nonsense?"
Simon asked, his voice was filled with excitement and anticipation. The thought of unlocking the potential of the Eye of Enigma, an item that existed since the dawn of time, was enthralling.
However, to his disappointment, Prime shrugged again, saying that he did not know.
"As I told you before, I have never possessed the eye before, and their powers are all a mystery even to me. As far as I know, they grant their wielder immense abilities that are beyond mortalprehension. But the true extent of those powers, I cannot say".
Simon couldn''t help but feel a pang of disappointment as he absorbed Prime''s words. The hopes of gaining some overpowered ability was quickly reced with the harsh reality that even Prime, with his vast knowledge and skills, could not provide him with the answers he sought.
"That''s right?" Prime could tell that Simon was very excited about wanting to learn the abilities of the eye. However, like thetter, he "So, even you don''t know what kind of abilities the Eye possesses?" he asked, trying to hide the slight tinge of frustration in his voice.
"That''s right?" Prime could tell that Simon was very excited about wanting to learn the abilities of the eye. However, like thetter, he too was mostly oblivious about it.
Though that said¡
"I do not know about the abilities of the eye. However, what I do know is the records and knowledge left behind by the previous masters of the Eyes. That''s right, The Eye of Enigma is not alone. There are other simr artefacts scattered throughout the universe, each with its own unique abilities".
"Some are said to possess the ability to peer into the fabric of reality, while others are believed to have the power to manipte the veryws of nature and time. What I can tell you for sure is that each eye possesses immense power".
"So what you are telling me is that that there are other eyes like this in the world, each with their own supreme abilities and that I have to find for myself what kind of ability the eye that I possess has?"¡
"Indeed, it is a grand mystery waiting to be unravelled. But remember, the Eye of Enigma chose you for a reason. It saw something in you that made it connect with your destiny. You may not fully understand its abilities now, but I believe that with time as you be more ustomed to the eye, the eye will reveal its secrets to you."
Simon''s eyes widened with intrigue as he absorbed Prime''s knowledge. Thetter exined that the eye might be dormant for now or was observing its new master, attuning itself to their essence.
But as time passed and their bond deepened, the abilities of the eye Simon took a deep breath and sighed. As per Prime, it was impossible to know what the eye did at this moment, he could only would graduallye to Simon.
Simon took a deep breath and sighed. As per Prime, it was impossible to know what the eye did at this moment, he could only take it slow and let the eye do its thing. Maybe someday its abilities woulde to him naturally.
For now, there was nothing he could do here.
"I see¡ well then, my objective foring here is over. Prime, I leave the two items in your hand. Notify me at once when either one of them ispleted"¡
"Yeah, you can count on me".
After saying that, Simon teleported away from the Main Floor.
.
.
A great tasky ahead of him, the bundle of documents waiting for him to examine and approve. After fighting the beast with all of his might, Simon was finally able to take down the paperwork.
Pond of Serenity... Simon continued his training as his body was covered with a pale blue haze released by the ample mana crystals thaty around him in an arranged manner.
Slowly his level started rising and after a while, all the crystals turned into empty husks. Simon took some time to self reflect on his rising strength.
The Eye of Enigma or the Celestial Ocrs was a sentient item that had its own will and purpose. Mastering it would require careful understanding and time. As such, he could only focus his attention on raising his strength.
However, that said, it''s important to note that for Simon, levelling up was not the sole determinant of strength. Strategy, skill, experience, and the effective utilization of one''s abilities also yed crucial roles.
Levelling up provides a solid foundation and amplifies a demon''s innate potential, but it is thebination of all these factors that truly determines their prowess in battles and challenges.
For Simon, increasing his level meant not only gaining raw power but also refining his techniques, expanding his knowledge, and bing more adept at harnessing the skills he acquired after ranking up.
So of course, he didn''t ignore the training routine Irene had prepared for him. Side by side with his own training to get stronger, Simon also trained in Mana Control and gaining proficiency in other skills.
From an observer''s perspective, it might seem like he was overdoing things, attempting to juggle multiple disciplines at once. However, this was a deliberate choice Simo made, while fully being aware that it would be a monumental task.
Many times, he felt the urge to give up, especially when he hit a wall and his progress came to a standstill or when exhaustion threatened to overwhelm him. But his uncanny tenacity and resilience, traits forged from the struggles of his previous life, came to his rescue whenever he had such thoughts.
Chapter 708- Talks Of Heart (2)
708 Chapter 708- Talks Of Heart (2)
The desire to be stronger, to protect the dungeon and those he cared about, and the authority to control his own fate fueled his determination, pushing Simon forward even when the road seemed arduous.
As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, Simon noticed remarkable progress. His level continued to rise steadily, and with it, he felt his control over mana improving.
The mana seemed to flow more smoothly within him, responding to his will with greater precision. As a result, he can now cast spells with a consistent output and without expending too much mana unnecessarily.
That was not all, with him improving his mana control, Simon could distinctly feel that the wall that barred his progress in magic from advancing any further, loosened a little.
He could now cast more powerful advanced magic and spells, even his other attributes like the Gale and Lightning magic were swiftly being honed and pushed due to the result of his training.
As for the Amalgamation magic, it has reached a realm where Simon was able to merge three attributes together into one magic. Of course, it still remained to be seen whether it could be used inbat. After all, the current Amalgamation magic was just too¡
"It looks like your training is progressing well"
As Simon was busy reflecting on his progress, he failed to notice the presence of Irene approaching him.
"Yeah, though there is still a lot of progress to be made" Simon smiled refreshingly as he gazed at the stunning woman who could effortlessly capture everyone''s attention with her subtle movements.
Irene sat beside him and spoke as she gazed at the picturesque serenity pond in front of her.
"Ever since returning from the outside world this time, it seemed like you have changed even more".
"Oh?! How so?"¡
"It''s like you are more forward looking now, as if you found your goal or something. The fire inside you seemed to be zing with even more intensity and fervour now" Irene exined.
When Simon heard her response and observed that aspect of her personality, a mischievous grin appeared on his face, and he couldn''t resist teasing her a bit.
"You are right; however these changes aren''t something that one can notice without paying much attention. It looks like you have been looking at me quite a lottely. It couldn''t be that you have fallen for¡"
"What nonsense. I am going now" Irene retorted with an icy tone. Just as she turned around to walk away, she felt a firm grip on her hand, stopping her in her tracks.
That rough and solid hand that held her were full of callouses; it was a sign of how intensely he had been training these days. Irene couldn''t help but notice how strong and dependable they felt.
And then the next moment before she could say anything, she found herself pulled into an embrace. Simon''s arms wrapped around her in a warm and tender gesture, and she felt her heart skip a beat like a rabbit caught in the moment.
"What are you doing?" Irene asked, her voice slightly passive. This sudden closeness was unexpected and left her emotions in a state of turmoil.
"What am I doing you ask? I''m just testing a theory" Simon replied with a mischievous grin "I wanted to see if I could make your heart race as fast as mine does when I''m with you."
His warm breath sent a shiver down Irene''s spine, and she couldn''t help but feel herself blushing at the proximity. She tried to regain herposure, but Simon''s embrace was bothforting and exhrating.
"I... I don''t know what you''re talking about," Irene spoke, trying to maintain herposure. This icy queen can try and suppress her emotions all she wants; however, the truth was evident in her eyes.
Simon chuckled softly, his fingers gently brushing a lock of her hair away from her face "It''s okay, you don''t have to say anything, I feel like I can understand you without the need of words right now".
As they stood by the serenity pond, their bodies close, Irene could feel the heat radiating from Simon''s skin. It was a reminder of the passionate moment that had ignited within him during theirst training.
It wasn''t just Simon''s physical strength that drew her in; it was the intensity of his spirit and the way he faced challenges head-on that captured her heart. And now, in this tender moment, she felt a connection that went beyond words.
"You see Irene, I am not the only one who''s changed, you''ve also changed a lot since then. You''re not only more open to everyone, but you''re also starting to smile more often these days."¡
"What do you know?"¡
"I know¡ Maybe it''s because I''ve spent so much time with you. I''ve learned to read the subtle changes in your expressions and the emotions in your eyes. That is why, I know that this ce is your favourite ce in all of the dungeon and that you have beening here every day to check on my progress".
"I also know that you are very worried about me so much so that tears umted in your eyes when you saw me lying in the bed in aatose state all those months ago".
At that moment, Irene''s body became stiff, and her eyes widened in surprise. She hadn''t expected Simon to be aware of her emotions, especially during those vulnerable moments when she had let her guard down.
"I¡" Her usualposed facade was slipping, and she struggled to find the right words to respond.
Seeing her like that, Simon''s warm smile softened, and he gently cupped her cheek with his hand.
"It''s okay. You don''t have to hide it from me," he reassured her. "Your concern and care mean a lot to me. It''s because of your support and encouragement that I''vee this far. You''re an incredible person, Irene, and I''m grateful to have you by my side".
"You have not only be an indispensable part of my dungeon, you''re my confidant, my ally, my friend and my¡ woman".
In that moment, time seemed to stand still as they gazed into each other''s eyes. The world around them faded away, and all that mattered was the warmth of their bodies pressed together, the softness of their breaths mingling, and the unspoken emotions that filled the air.
And then, in a tender moment, Simon leaned in and ced a gentle kiss on Irene''s lips. It was a gesture that spoke of his feelings, of the unspoken emotions that had been growing between them.
Irene did not reject his advance, it was as if all hesitation within her was washed away when she heard Simon''s words.
She silently wrapped her hands around him, acknowledging her feelings. The serenity pond before them reflected the scene, adding a touch of magic to the atmosphere, as if the world itself was celebrating this newfound connection.
.
.
After a while, as they finally left each other''s embrace, Irene nced at the grinning Simon in front of her and questioned "There is something that I have been meaning to ask you, and I want you to promise me that you will answer truthfully".
Seeing Irene''s expression turn serious, the mischievous glint in Simon''s eyes disappeared, reced by a deep sincerity.
"Alright, ask away. I swear that I will answer truthfully" he replied earnestly, his voice firm.
Irene''s crystal blue eyes locked onto Simon''s, as if seeking the truth in the depths of his soul.
"What I want to know is why you are being so intimate towards me. What is the reason for your affection? Why do you feel the way you feel towards me? Due to my special conditions, all my feelings are frozen. It is an unnecessary for my powers".
"However, whenever I''m with you, there is never a moment where I can keep these emotions in control. It is as if they have a mind of their own. Sometimes these emotions feel foreign, like some long forgotten sentiments that ache my heart. But they are far too genuine to call it false".
"That is why, I sometimes wonder if the emotions that I feel are truly my own or something that I have been made to believe. This is also the reason why I want to know if the feelings you have for me are truly yours, or if there''s something affecting your emotions to be the way they are".
Listening to her, Simon understood the weight of her question. He had seen the walls she built around her heart, her ice-cold demeanour that she used as a shield. But he also saw the flickers of warmth and gentleness beneath the surface, glimpses of a person that was bound by her own powers.
Simon took her hands in his own, thought for a moment before looking at her with a gentle and reassuring smile.
"I can''t exin exactly why I feel this way, but from the moment we met, there was something about you that drew me in. Perhaps you are right, the influence of some kind of force being in effect cannot be discounted".
There was something about Irene that drew Simon in from the moment he summoned her from that mysterious abyss. And as they slowly got closer, these feelings only just intensified further.
He did not even know if those feelings were love or not. However, if there was one thing he was certain, it was that...
"Irene I want you to know that the feelings I have for you right now, are entirely my own. There is no external influence or maniption affecting my emotions. Everything I feel, every thought, every moment we''ve shared together¡ªit''s all genuine"...
I know it took some time; however, things are finally progressing. There are also some hints dropped here and there.
Chapter 709- A Family
709 Chapter 709- A Family
Simon''s words were sincere, and Irene could feel the truth in his touch and the sincerity in his eyes.
She gazed at him and after a while, she spoke again her voice carried a mixture of vulnerability and hesitation.
"I see, then there is one thing you must know about me. My memories ... I don''t have any. I don''t know where I came from, and I don''t know why my emotions, powers, and memories are all sealed. No matter how hard I try to remember, it''s all a vague and muddled chaos. It causes me immense pain whenever I attempt to recall anything from my past".
As Irene''s words sank in, Simon''s heart swelled with empathy and admiration for the woman before him. He had always sensed that there was more to Irene than what met the eye, but now, hearing her share her deepest struggles, he felt a newfound understanding of herplex emotions.
He could only imagine how terrifying and frustrating it must be for Irene to not remember anything about her past. Memories were the foundation of one''s identity, and to have them taken away left her feeling adrift, unsure of who she truly was.
Irene continued, her voice shaking slightly "This is why I''m afraid of these emotions. It''s precisely because I can''t remember my past that I''m afraid of what these feelings mean"...
"I understand" Simon gently reached out, and held the trembling body of the woman in front of him.
This was the first time he had seen her so vulnerable. The usual Irene was always cold andposed no matter what the situation. So seeing her like that, made Simon want to hold onto her and rescue her from the burden she was carrying.
"I can only imagine how frightening and unsettling it must be to face the world with your memories shrouded in mystery. It takes immense courage to open up and share your feelings, especially when you''re unsure of their origins".
"That is why, I have always admired your strength andposure. It''s okay to have moments of uncertainty and fear. We all carry our own struggles, what matters is how we face them and how we grow from the challenges life throws at us".
At the very least that is the only way that Simon knew and learned through his past experiences.
"Anyways, who said that you don''t have any memories, aren''t there the ones you have now, the ones you have made here, the people that you met in this dungeon, the ones you cherish".
From his embrace, Irene looked at him, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
"Aren''t you afraid that the person you have feelings for will turn out to be apletely different personter on? Will you still love her once she gains her memories?" her voice barely above a whisper.
Simon smiled gently, guided her hand to his chest, letting her feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
"I may not fully understand the depth of what you''re going through, but I''m not scared. The woman I fell for is you. It is not going to change even if you be apletely different person. My feelings will still remain genuine whether you do or do not gain your memories. I just want you to know you are not alone, I''m here, and I promise to stand by you no matter what".
His reply was unwavering as his heartbeat.
Seeing this, Irene''s eyes softened, and she leaned into his touch, findingfort in his presence. For the first time in a long while, she felt a sense of sce, one that was genuine.
A fleeting smile crossed Irene''s lips, a fragile yet genuine expression that made Simon''s heart skip a beat. He found himself wanting to protect that smile, to be the one who could bring it to her face more often.
As the soft breeze rustled through the mystical floras growing near the pond, Simon and Irene remained close, lost in each other''s eyes.
Just when Simon was about to give in to the intense fire burning within him, and follow his instincts, it was disturbed by a timely interference.
"Ahhhh!!¡ no this can''t happen. When did Miss Irene get so close to Master? Ahhh!!¡ this is so frustrating"¡
"I told you to shut up. This is an unruly behaviour for a maid"¡
"Fufu¡ Miss Irene''s face looks so red"¡
"You are right, big brother and big sister look so cute together.. hehe"¡
The others tagging behind them all nodded their heads. Who could this entourage that disrupted the entire flow of mood be other than the Valkyries, Cecilia and the vampire twins? The entire gang was here.
Of course, the first one to talk as she chewed the hem of her skirt in jealousy, was Bea. The fires of jealousy emanating from her body was palpable.
The next to speak and who whacked some sense into the former was the current eldest of the maid sisters, Ate.
The mischievous duo, Alice and Ceciliaughed slyly as they observed the romantic atmosphere between the two. As for the others, they silently nodded their heads agreeing with the others.
Simon and Irene were so busy while lost in each other''sfort that they did not even sense the others approaching. It was only when they heard their teasing remarks that they came to their senses.
Hearing them approach, Irene quickly broke away from Simon''s embrace and distanced herself. There was no trace of her usual ice like demeanour on her face; instead, it was as red as a tomato.
Contrary to her, Simon''s eyes only twitched slightly at this unexpected disruption. Although his face was thick enough to not get embarrassed in such kind of situation, he still felt it was a pity that their mood was interrupted here.
If only they didn''t arrive now then perhaps he would have been able to¡ Simon sighed inside his heart.
"Master!! What were the two of you doing here?" Bea questioned, there was a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"Huh?... I was just discussing something with Irene"¡
"Hnn~ you were ''just'' discussing something hmm?" Bea continued to stare at Simon as if he was some kind of criminal.
WHACK¡ "Will you cut it out? Master please forgive her¡ she is an idiot" To educate that sister of hers, Ate came forward and knocked some sense into her.
Well, even if she can stop her sisters, who can stop Cecilia? She mischievously clung to him saying ''Is this how big brother hugged big sister?''.
"No... No.. princess Cecilia, it was stronger. Master hugged Miss Irene like this.. tightly!!" Alice demonstrated while also clinging to Simon.
The twins weren''t among the ones to back down, they too clung onto him.
"Master it''s unfair that you only show affection to them. I want you to spill me too" And of course seeing them like that, Bea finally couldn''t hold herself back and threw herself into the mix.
Unlike Cecilia, Alice and the others, Bea was still a full grown adult. As such, seeing her cling to Simon with the other kids, it was a funny scene no less.
Left with no choice, Simon entertained everyone. Now that everything hase to this¡ "Why are you three hesitating there,e on" He beckoned Ate, Emma and Bianca who were silently standing in the distance.
Although they held themselves back, unlike a certain someone, it was clear that they too wanted to get into this moment.
"Th-Then please excuse us" With a flushed face, Ate straightened her sses and along with Emma and Bianca, she hugged him.
And so while it started as a prank from Cecilia and Alice at first, before he knew it, he was hugging everyone.
Seeing this scene, Irene smiled they looked just like a family¡ªa quirky and yful one, but a family nheless.
It was a beautiful moment¡ "Hehe, big sister Ate you lost. When ites to bust size, clearly Master prefers mine since they are bigger" Bea passed a snarkyment¡
It was a beautiful moment or so Simon would like to think.
After a while¡
"So, why are all of you gathered together in one ce?" Simon questioned them after they arrived back inside the white pce.
"I called them over" Ate stepped forward and replied.
"You did?"¡
"Yes," She picked up the teapot and served Simon a cup of tea "There is an Incident on the upper floors. I believed Master needed to get notified about it urgently".
"Oh? What happened?" An incident that made Ate gather all of his subordinates together. Simon''s interest was piqued.
"A few days ago, a unique group of people entered the dungeon. They are currently on the upper floors and are being chased by various teams of adventurers" Ate reported.
"Wait.. you say a group of people? Aren''t the first group also adventurers?" As Simon sipped his tea, he noticed some strange points in Ate''s reports.
"Yes, the actions of the first group deviates very much from the habits of the adventurers. As such I believe they are not really adventurers" Ate exined.
"Hoh? So what is about this incident that is unusual from the others? It is only just natural for humans to fight when their interests collide" In fact, it was an everyday urrence inside his dungeon.
If a report was to be collected on the various causes of death of adventurers inside the dungeon, a monsters, traps or getting lost only yed a small part in all of it.
rge part would be due to the infighting amongst the adventurers. Compared to that, deaths from
Chapter 710- Pursuers
Chapter 710- Pursuers
"Yes, master. Infighting among adventurers is amon urrence within the dungeon, but this group is different. They do not seek fame, wealth, or glory like other adventurers. Instead, they seem to have a clear purpose and are working together with remarkable coordination".
"Usually, the adventurers roaming on the upper floors are more focused on their personal gains and are quick to turn on each other when the going gets tough. But this group... they are different. They fight as a team, each member covering the other''s weaknesses. It''s as if they have trained together for a long time" Ate nodded in agreement.
"That is indeed unusual," Simon mused "Most adventurers who are only capable of delving in the upper floors of the dungeon are usually strangers who form temporary alliances based on convenience. But this group you speak about seems to be more than just a chance encounter".
There was something about this group that felt familiar, something that made him remember another group who simrly entered his dungeon in the past.
"Exactly, master" Ate continued. "And that''s not all, the reason why I gathered most of the guardians and Administrators here is because this group right after entering the dungeon, has been calling out your name"..
"What?!" In his surprise, Simon almost spilled his tea.
"You heard it right master, this group is going around on every floor shouting your name?"¡
"Wait don''t tell me they are the.."...
"It''s the same group" Ate confirmed. The group she was talking about was the very same group that had entered his dungeon in the past to warn him about the coalition the top five guilds made to topple his dungeon.
Why did they arrive this time? Concerned, Simon straightened his posture as he spoke "On which floor are they right now? Make preparation for me to meet them".
"About that¡" Ate made an apprehensive face as she continued "It seems they are not doing very well. The groups that were after them, have cornered them multiple times already and they have already suffered some casualties¡"
.
.
¡ª5 Hours ago, 28th Floor, a vast lush forest covered in thick mist. The visibility here was nearly zero, making it an ideal location for ambushes and surprise attacks. In the heart of the fogden forest, a tense confrontation was taking ce between a group who was doing their best to run away and their relentless pursuers.
Needless to say, the group that was desperately trying to run and throw away their pursuers were in a pretty bad state. Before they came to the tower town, they had more than thirty people in their entourage.
However, most of them died on their way while stopping their pursuers or got gravely injured in the process. Even now, when they dived inside the dungeon, their pursuers did not stop. They employed the help of multiple teams of adventurers to ambush them on numerous floors and were still pursuing them relentlessly.
[Venomous de Strike] Two daggers glowed a unique green light and two pursuers who were tailing the group, fell down on the ground dead.
"Dammit.. kuh!!.. There is no end to them" An assassin who came out of the shadow, spoke while clutching his injured right shoulder. Blood seeped out of their grab indicating that they were clearly injured.
"Mister Brett are you alright" A burly knight with dull grey heavy armour tried to support the assassin. However, their hand were pped away by the assassin...
"Burg?! what the hell are you still doing here? I told you to leave. Your duty her royal highness. You do not have to worry about this old man, just focus on your duty. Go¡ leave, I will guard your backs"
The assassin named Brett grabbed the warrior and asked them to leave. However, at this moment another voice interjected in between.
"I told him toe back" A woman donned in a ck robe, stepped forward. Although she hid her appearance, that noble aura and posture she carried, still couldn''t be concealed.
When Brett saw who it was, he couldn''t help but widen his eyes in surprise "Your royal highness why are you here? I told you all to leave while I hold them back. Please leave. Alvara take her royal highness and go now".
Brett insisted looking at another woman with short ck hair. Just like Brett and everyone, she too had numerous wounds all over her body. The ck leather that she wore, had numerous cuts from which blood seeped out. The woman was none other than the guard captain.
Alvara had aplicated face at this moment as she nced at the woman donned in a ck hood. It was clear that she was of the same mind as Brett; however, she did not speak and chose to stay silent because her royal highness had made up her mind.
"Leave? And go where? Tell me Brett, is there any ce in this dungeon that is safe? The more we descend, the more powerful and deadlier the monsters will be. Not to mention there is no guarantee that our pursuers will stop chasing us if we descend down. I have already lost many subordinates already, I cannot afford to lose even you guys".
The woman spoke removing her hood. Immediately a beautiful face that carried an inborn nobility and grace appeared in front of everyone''s eyes. The woman had long lustrous violet hair, phoenix like eyes that matched the colour of her hair, a shapely nose and perfect lips.
Whether it be her appearance or her aura, it could instantly captivate anyone. The woman these people were calling her royal highness, was none other than Cynthia, the mistress of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild. Her other identity was also the princess of the Ellesmere kingdom.
Hearing her words, Brett was silent, he had nothing to retort. Just like she had said, there was no safe ce inside the dungeon. It was whether they died at the hands of the pursuers or the monsters lurking on the floors below.
"Although on your insistence I ran to the dungeon along with you all, I don''t think it will work. That demon will not involve himself with us and besides he has no reason to do so. It would be much better if I surrendered myself to the pursuers that way, at least you all won''t have to die".
Cynthia suggested with a haggard smile. These people who have died for her, were all her precious subordinates and there were only eight of them remaining. Cynthia didn''t want to lose any of them anymore.
"Princess you can''t do that. Our pursuers are from the Second Prince''s faction, that person does not care about you or your wish. And besides, it is clear that our pursuers do not have any good intentions. If you surrendered yourself to them, you would only be putting yourself in an even greater danger" Alvara persuaded holding onto Cynthia''s hands.
"It''s just like the guard captain said, your royal highness cannot surrender. We are honoured that you are worried about us, however, you need not worry. If it''s for you, we are happy to give up our life. Your royal highness, it was my greatest honour to have joined your shadow guards. You do not need to look back, just keep on proceeding" Brett spoke downing a healing potion.
"Princess let''s go" Alvara motioned and the eight people aside from Brett, turned to leave.
Cynthia nced back at her retainer who even in his old age stuck with her at her most difficult times onest time before turning around to leave.
She only took a few steps when the mist around them wavered and a dozen shadows emerged blocking their path.
"Hey now, who said that you all can leave?" A voice filled with amusement and malice, echoed out.
The mist seemed to part as a couple of figures stepped forward. The person leading them was a young man in his twenties. He had long slick blonde hair, thin eyebrows and a moderately handsome face.
He was wearing a full body armour that had an intricate designs and glint to it indicating that the armour was of quite a high grade. But since he wasn''t abatant, the armour was clearly a mismatch for him.
Behind him followed a tall person who was hiding their identity with a robe. Their poise was like a sword, sharp and graceful and they carried an aura that could only be cultivated by a veteran warrior.
Following behind were several adventurers giving off a strong aura.
The moment Cynthia''s group saw them, their heart sank to the pits of their stomach. They all wore a grave face as they realised that escape was not going to be easy.
"Protect the princess" On Alvara''smand the group formed a protective formation around the princess.
"Hahaha¡You royal highness I do not understand the meaning behind your struggle. You should not know that you cannot run from your fate. Please give up on this futile struggle or else you will even lose the ones currently by your side. Do you see these men behind me, they did not have their fill of blood yet. If I give a simplemand they will immediately start attacking you all"
The blonde haired man spoke with a smile as he nced at Cynthia''s haggard group.
"Herm you bastard have you forgotten the benevolence the princess showed you all those years ago when your family was about to be destroyed by the bandits? How dare you of all people betray the princess like this? You mongrel do you have no humanity?" Alvara shouted looking at the blonde haired person with hatred and disgust.
Chapter 711- Pursuers (2)
Chapter 711- Pursuers (2)
Facing her contempt, the person named Hermughed out loud "Kuhahaha¡ Oh my, I wonder what the guard captain is talking about. I don''t remember receiving such grace. To her, I was only just a fallen noble who lost his family, territory and everything, that she too pity on".
"She took me into her merchant guild only because of my ability and experience. In the end, I was only just a pawn for her that she discarded to a remote side region after I ran out of my use"¡
"You idiot, the princess only did that because she didn''t want you to get caught in the ugly conspiracies of the royal family. This was the reason why she made you the manager of a remote branch. But you¡"
"I don''t want to hear anything. Do you think I don''t know what the real reason was? His Highness the second prince has told me everything. So don''t you dare try to use your rosy words to sway me".
Alvara tried to reason with Herm; however, his mind was alreadypletely influenced by the second prince.
"Sir Herm although I know this issue is important for you but master''s orders hold the highest priority right now" The tall man hiding his identity, reminded.
"Tch... I know, you don''t have to remind me" Herm turned to face Cynthia, his face distorted with a twisted expression.
"As much as I would have liked to converse with you all, let''s wrap things up. Princess Cynthia, on behalf of the fact that you took care of me all those years, I rmend you to surrender. Marrying that person is the only purpose you have right now. You should have seen enough bloodshed already, do you want these people to die too?".
"Shut your trap!! Your Highness do not listen to this man. The second prince haspletely bought him over. Please continue to run, you do not have to worry about us. You all take her highness away from here" Brett hollered drawing out his daggers.
"Princess let''s go, it''s dangerous here" Alvara pulled Cynthia as they continued their run. The other member of their group cleared a path for them.
"Since you don''t want to listen, then don''t me me for giving you a warning. You all attack, kill all of them except for that woman" On Herm''smand, the people behind him immediately executed their onught.
"Don''t think you can ignore this old man. [Shadow Revolution]- [Dance of des]" With a vigorous cry, Brett roused all of his energy and executed his powerful skill. The twin daggers on his hand danced with an ominous light as he repeatedly appeared and disappeared through the shadows.
This forced some of the pursuers who were after Cynthia, to slow down and focus on defending themselves.
"Hoh, a level 419 Assassin, not bad. To think that she still had these many skilledbatants with her" the man donned in a robe, observed.
"Hiiiihhh!!¡ L-Level 419 you say?!!" Herm freaked out when he heard that the old assassin was above level 400.
"W-will those adventurers we hired be able to do their job?"¡
"That''s a given, we have more than forty adventurers on our side who are all above level 350. Not to mention the team leaders are themselves above level 400. Even if they have some decentbatants, no matter how you see it, we are the ones who hold an absolute advantage".
"And besides, by any chance if those adventurers aren''t able to do it, I shall personally step forward".
When Herm heard that the person in the hood will personally take action if anything goes south, a look of relief and excitement shed on his face.
Over on the side of Cynthia''s group, they continued to run piercing the thick mist of the floor. Whenever any monster popped up, Burg or Marba swiftly took care of it.
"ording to the map, the entrance to the 29th floor is just near here" Alvara stated, looking at a map. The map detailed theyout of the floor, the demographics of monsters and various treasures and objects that can be found here.
It was charted by the adventurers and sold in many shops in the tower town. Before diving inside the dungeon, Alvara made sure to buy as many maps of the floors as she could find. Thanks to these maps, they soon arrived in front of arge dark staircase covered in mist that led to the next floor.
"Alright, let''s go everyone" the guardmander beckoned, however¡ "You all go ahead" Burg stopped in his tracks in front of the staircase.
"What are you saying.."
"They are here. Someone needs to stay behind and hold them back. Go now!!" the knight roared turning to face the pursuers.
The group made aplicated face nevertheless, they did not stop and continued to push ahead. However, their situation did not get any better. There were far too many pursuers after them.
One by one all of Cecilia''s close subordinates left her side until there were only three of them remaining. The mage Marba, Guard Captain Alvara and Cynthia herself.
"Captain, we cannot outrun them like this" Marba, the mage, analyzed the situation with a serious expression.
Alvara thought for a moment, biting her thumb in contemtion before reaching a decision. She pointed to a specific area on the 29th floor and dered¡ª
"There''s a special area up ahead. It''s known to be extremely dangerous, but it might be the perfect ce to throw off our pursuers".
Without further hesitation, the three of them rushed toward the special area. A few momentster, at the spot where Cynthia and the others were just a few moments ago, a couple of figures arrived. These figures were none other than the pursuers that were after them.
"Where did they go? Don''t tell me you lost them you good for nothing fools?" Herm cursed seeing the adventurers suddenly stop in their tracks.
"Sir Herm calm down. No matter where they go or try to hide, the adventurers will find them. After all, when ites to dungeon, they are the experts in the field. I''m sure with the many tracking skills they have they will quickly find them" the person in the robe spoke.
Just like he had said, the adventurer''s team started moving once the Assassins returned back after scouting.
29th floor, Special Area¡ The designation "Special Area" was a euphemism, used by adventurers to describe a zone in the dungeon that brimmed with peril and uncertainty. In reality, it was one of the most recent additions to the dungeon, that was installed to be an insurmountable challenge for the adventurers.
Unlike other floors in the dungeon, the Special Area''s purpose was not to lure adventurers or tempt them with treasures. Instead, it served as a deterrent or a challenge for those brave enough who were looking for a ce to test their strength.
Unique and powerful monsters that usually do not spawn on the same floor, roamed the region, making it a sanctuary for some of the deadliest monsters in the dungeon.
Even adventurers who were diving inside the dungeon for a long time, usually avoid the special areas after all, the possibility of encountering monsters get significantly higher there. To willingly enter this domain was to invite near death situation, and thus, most adventurers would go out of their way to avoid it at all costs.
Somewhere inside the special area, Cynthia''s group pressed on while trying to hide from the monsters as best as they can.
Huff.. Huff.. the group huffed while hiding behind the ample foliage of the forest.
"It looks like that skill of her highness worked" Marbamented after seeing that a powerful monster, called the Smander passed by them without being alerted of their presence.
"I''m truly sorry, right now I can only help like this. Leo was gravely injured in that great battle one month ago in the capital and is currently hibernating inside the ring to recover some of its strength" Cynthia apologised with a heavy heart.
"What are you saying, princess. It is entirely thanks to your skills that we were able to get this far without any monsters here" As Alvara had said, their group of three were able to get this far without alerting the many powerful monsters was because of her skill.
Thanks to the skill that was bestowed on her by the beast spirit Leo, they could mask their presence and camouge their aura to make it seem natural with the habitat here. But as they say, good fortune and bad fortune are the two faces of the same coin.
It didn''t take long for their good fortune to flip over.
Grrrr¡ the smander that they thought didn''t notice, suddenly appeared from behind them, ring at them menacingly.
Towering at a height of twelve feet, the smander possessed a formidable and imposing presence. Its body is covered in crimson scales that shimmer with an eerie glow, giving it an otherworldly appearance.
Its red hide reflected the element of fire and was sturdy enough to provide it with an almost impervious defence. As it prowled through the ground, it left deep scorched footprints in its wake.
Seeing the smander suddenly creep behind them, the guard captain was immediately alerted. SHINING¡ she unsheathed her sword at the first signs of danger and was just about to engage with the monster when.
"Don''t, leave this guy to me" Marba stated as she stood her ground while shing a smile to deceive her nervousness.
Chapter 712- No way of escape
Chapter 712- No way of escape
"We can''t all stay here and fight. If we do, our pursuers will catch up to us. I''ll stay behind and hold off the monster while you two run ahead. I''ll catch up with you soon," Marba said firmly, sacrificing herself to buy time for herpanions.
Alvara was torn with emotion, biting her lip so hard that blood trickled out. Nevertheless, she grabbed Cynthia and pressed ahead leaving herrade behind to deal with the monster.
She was fully aware of what would happen if Marba a mage were to fight a monster without any frontliner that can protect her. However, she also knew what would happen if they were to stop here and engage the beast.
In the end, Alvara had no choice but to grab Cynthia''s hand and flee with her highness, leaving Marba to face the beast alone. It was a difficult decision, but it was the only option to ensure their safety.
However¡ "No!! No more, I have lost enough people already" Cynthia broke away from her hold and refused to move.
"Princess what are you saying. This is not the time to be stubborn. Think about the sacrifices the other made to get you here. Just hold on a little more longer, I''m sure that guy wille¡"...
"He won''t" Alvara tried to reason Cynthia into moving but after seeing the adamant look in thetter''s eyes, she couldn''t help but swallow her words.
"He won''t. Think about it, if he had any intention toe he would have shown up already. It''s already been a week and I have lost many precious subordinates in this cat and mouse chase inside the dungeon".
''It needs to stop now. Instead of clinging to and waiting for some hope that would never arrive, I would rather fight and do what I can at this moment. And besides you should know more than anyone that Marba cannot win against that monster alone. Even if her magic is powerful if the beast covers the distance between them, she will die. If I can save her then I will fight" Cynthia made her decision.
"But Princess if you stop here now then¡"¡
"If that is my fate then so be it. I am tired of losing people close to me". Saying that, Cynthia turned around and rushed towards Marba to aid her.
.
.
"Eat this... Lightning Magic Mastery- [Lightning pulse]" Marba cried out casting a magic of the lightning attribute. Powerful lightning bolts released out of her staff and bombarded the smander.
However, the monster''s hide was just too tough for the magic to pierce. Other than electrocuting and infuriating the monster, the magic didn''t seem to have achieved any other effect.
"Damn," Marba clicked her tongue and tried to open some distance from the monster. But the Smander was uncannily fast, it was already upon her. Its wide open jaws that were decked with sharp elongated teeth threatened to tear her apart.
"Is this where it ends? Sigh, in the end I couldn''t buy much time. I hope they used this chance to get far away" Marba closed her eyes in resignation of her fate.
However, the expected death did note. Instead, she felt a tight grip around her body and the sensation of being embraced.
Hurriedly opening her eyes, Marba saw the image of Cynthia who holding onto her with a gentle smile.
"Your Highness?!!" in shock, she couldn''t help but question "Why are you here?".
She should have used the few minutes she bought her to get away from here. Yet the person came back to rescue her.
"I have lost enough people already, I cannot afford to lose you too. And so I decided to stop running and fight".
Right after saying that, Cynthia unleashed a torrent of elemental magic, each attack imbued with the strength of the peculiar golden white markings that appeared on her body at this moment.
"Argh¡ let''s defeat this beast as soon as possible then" Marba, no longer helpless, joined in the assault. With renewed vigour, she chanted incantations, her own magic intertwining with Cynthia''s.
The Smander roared in fury as Cynthia and Marba unleashed a relentless barrage of magic upon it. Fire, Ice, wind, lightning and earth, a dazzling array of magic was cast by Cynthia.
However, the monster''s tough hide and resilience wasn''t for show. Even after taking that many attacks, it did not flinch a single inch.
BUZZ¡ at this moment, the smander opened its maw wide, mes beginning to condense into a breath. The very air seemed to distort at this moment from the intense heat indicating the power bestowed in that attack.
Just when the fiery breath was about to bepleted, a sword pierced its maw causing the breath to st in its own mouth.
Alvaranded in front of Cynthia and Marba after dealing some damage to the monster "It''s Endurance is off the charts, however, it should still have some weakness. I will use my attacks to break its scales. Princess, Marba.. the both of you match your attacks and concentrate on that single spot" Alvara came up with a n.
The level 410 smander wasn''t an opponent that they can take out so easily. Its level might be lowpared to them, but it was a monster belonging to a powerful species. Attacking it head-on was utterly foolish.
"Understood!" Cynthia and Marba replied in unison.
Alvara skillfully drew the monster''s attention toward herself, deftly manoeuvring around the creature and striking its thick scales with her sword, causing them to crack and shatter.
Meanwhile, Cynthia summoned her elemental prowess from the backlines, while Marba employed her lightning magic. Over time, their coordinated assault gradually wore down the Smander''s defences.
Each well-timed strike chipped away at its red-scaled armor, exposing its vulnerable spots. The creature howled in pain and thrashed about violently. In its berserk state, its enormous tail, capable of snapping trees and shattering boulders, struck Alvara, sending her flying and spewing blood.
"Alvara!!" Cynthia called out in concern.
"I''m¡ alright¡" The guard captain replied picking herself up. Even though thatst attack shattered some of her bones, the guard captain refused to fall down.
"The monster is on itsst legs. Keep attacking those spots, let''s finish this" Alvara dered, her attacks were like a dance, and her sword strokes were precise and intense. Every strike and movement was calcted and aimed at further weakening the creature''s defences.
"Alright" a fierce determination also shone in Cynthia''s and Marba''s eyes. The former channelled all her energy into her next attack, pouring thebined strength of fire, ice, wind, lightning, and earth into a single, concentrated blow.
Meanwhile, Marba continued diverting the monster''s attention, providing crucial support to Alvara.
The Smander writhed in agony, it''s once imposing red skin now marred with cracks and burn marks, and its roars grew more and more anguished. So when the attack that had the fusion of all those elements came targeting its weak spot, it created a devastating blow that finally brought the monster down.
BOOOM¡ clouds of dust rose high up to the ceiling and the air was heavy with the aftermath of the intense battle. All that remained was the sound of heavy breathing and the echo of victory.
"Huff¡ Huff¡ It''s finally down. Is everyone alright?" Alvara turned towards Cynthia and Marba behind her.
"Yeah, we are fine"¡
Battered and exhausted, everyone sat on the ground and collected their breaths.
"I can''t believe we won against a monster like this" Marba spoke, a little out of sorts. As the dust settled down, it revealed the scorched earth therge crater and the monster lying motionless amidst it.
The mage was still unable to believe that they were able to prevail over such a powerful monster.
"If we were to believe the information from the adventurers, the Smander should be a monster that should be on the middle or lower middle floors of the dungeon. The fact that we encountered one here, goes to say how dangerous the special area is. This ce is filled with such monsters. We cannot waste any more time here and¡"
Before Alvara could finish her sentence, a voice, dripping with anger and frustration, echoed through the area.
"Found you all" ck shadows rushed out of the forest and appeared before Alvara and the others. The figures were none other than their pursuers who finally caught up to them.
"I must say those subordinates of your highness gave us quite the trouble. However, no matter what tricks you use, its useless. You cannot escape. Give up before I run out of patience" Herm shouted walking up from behind the adventurers.
As always, the tall person in the hood followed closely behind him. Although Herm''s voice sounded arrogant and conceited, judging from the haggard state, it was clear that they had to fight a series of difficult battles to get to here.
Alvara hurriedly rushed towards Cynthia, even while bleeding from her head, she stood in front of her like a shield. Her worst premonition finally came true, their pursuers had caught up to them.
"Sir Herm this is a Special Area, this was not part of the deal" one of the adventurer leaders grunted.
Their teams had taken heavy losses on their way here, many of hisrades had died. This wasn''t the part of the deal.
"Huh?! As if I give a damn if it''s a special area or not. The deal was for you guys to guide us inside the dungeon and aid in capturing them" Herm spat back, not in the best mood.
Chapter 713- No Way Of Escape (2)
Chapter 713- No Way Of Escape (2)
"That''s not what we are talking about. Sir Herm won''t know because you are not from the tower town. But there are different areas in the dungeon that are more dangerous than the normal floors. The reward is not worth the risk"¡
"Shut your trap! As if that matters to me. Your job is to capture them, so do it no matter the cost".
The tension in the air was palpable as the other side suddenly started arguing among themselves. The adventurers of the tower town who had beenmissioned by Herm for this mission started demanding that he increase their reward and reimburse them for their fallenrades.
While thetter firmly remained adamant on the terms agreed beforehand and unwilling to relent an inch.
''Are they fighting amongst themselves?'' Seeing that their pursuers suddenly fall apart and argue amongst themselves, Alvara realised that this was an opportunity. The chance to escape was now.
Alvara hurriedly grabbed Cynthia and Marba and slowly started retreating back. However, unlike the others, the person in the robe had his attention firmly fixed on them. So when he saw their targets escaping, he hurriedly informed Herm.
"Stop creating more trouble for me Princess. You think you can outsmart me and escape? Give up already, maybe I will even consider sparing the life of the remaining subordinate of yours" Thetter spat with a twisted grin on his face.
Cynthia''s retreating steps suddenly halted and her mind raced with numerous thoughts. But when she remembered herrades who had fought bravely for the sole sake to let her escape, she found herself refusing to back down at this moment. After all, if she did, she would be letting their efforts be in vain.
An unwavering determination surged within her, the determination to survive no matter what. Alvara and Marba, her two loyal subordinates and friends, stood in front of her, ready to fight and protect her till theirst breath.
"Hmph, it seems like I underestimated your Highness''s stubbornness. If that is the case, do not expect any mercy" Herm roared ring at Cynthia.
Just when it seemed like a confrontation was inevitable, the ground beneath them trembled, and the air took on a crimson hue. To everyone''s horror and confusion, the Smander who they thought was defeated by Cynthia and her group, suddenly rose up and crawled out of the crater.
Along with it, the temperature around the surrounding also soared as the monster''s fiery breath seethed from its gaping maw. Gasps and cries of terror erupted among the adventurers who recognized the fearsome creature.
"The Smander lives! It''s still alive!" one of the adventurers shouted in disbelief, and the others called out the monster''s name in dread.
The Smander''s return unleashed chaos upon the floor. Its crimson scales glistened menacingly under the flickering torchlight, and its fiery breath emanated a scorching heat that made even the bravest of adventurers step back in fear. T
striking at adventurers with its massive tail, tearing through formations with its ferocious ws, and breathing mes that he air crackled with the intensity of its power, and the ground beneath its massive form shook with every step it took.
In mere moments, the Smanderunched into a rampage, striking at adventurers with its massive tail, tearing through formations with its ferocious ws, and breathing mes that consumed everything in their path.
Panic turned to terror, and screams filled the air as the adventurers struggled to find safety amidst the devastation.
"Do not panic, maintain your formations. The beast is near its death throes, we can kill it if we attack it together" On the orders of the adventurer leaders, the panicking adventurers hurriedly got into formation and started engaging the monsters.
However, in this special area, the Smander wasn''t the only powerful monster that had to be wary about. There were also Frostfang serpents, whose icy blue scales could freeze their victims with just one bite, Boulderbacks, massive beasts with imprable shells, and Stormchasers, quick and nimble creatures that could strike from afar with electrical energy. Many other monsters were attracted to the area due to the sounds.
"There are more monstersing this way! We''re surrounded!"¡
"We can''t handle this! Fall back, fall back!"¡
"No don''t, if we turned around right now, we will be decimated. Hold the line! We can''t let them overrun us!"¡
"I-I''ve never seen monsters like these before! They should be from the lower-middle floors, they are too strong!"...
"God we are done for, I don''t want to die"¡
Unsystematic orders, low morale and dissimr opinions, the formations of the adventurerspletely copsed with the other monsters surging in. The hopes of controlling the situation shattered as the reality of their perilous circumstances sank in.
In the midst of this mayhem, Cynthia and her group moved with purposeful stealth, taking advantage of the adventurers'' distracted state. With their formation in disarray and the attention focused on the onught of monsters, they slipped away unnoticed, leaving the other adventurers to face the overwhelming threat alone.
Behind them, the sounds of the skirmish grew fainter with each step, and the chaos of the special area engulfed them. Nevertheless, Cynthia and her group pressed on. With their hearts pounding with nervousness, they navigated the dark and treacherous passages of the special area.
The roars of the monsters and the cries of the adventurers continued to reverberate through the air, creating an atmosphere of chaos and dread. Thanks to Cynthia''s skill, they managed to escape multiple monsters on their way and pass through numerous treacherous areas.
At every turn, they would nce over their shoulders, checking if someone was following them.
"It looks like we sessfully threw them off. However, we aren''t out of danger yet. We need to find some ce to hide. I see a hidden cave entrance up ahead. Let''s go hide there" Alvara pointed at a rocky outcrop ahead.
The cave was skilfully hidden amidst the overgrown bushes and trees. The fact that one could miss it entirely if one did not pay it enough attention, made it the perfect ce to hide.
On Alvara''s lead, the three of them headed towards the cave. The atmosphere inside the cave was cool and damp, providing a stark contrast to the chaos they had just escaped. It was spacious enough for them to move freely, yet its walls felt suffocatingly close.
As Cynthia, Alvara and Marba ventured inside, the only sounds they could hear were the soft echoes of their footsteps and the distant rumble of the ongoing battle outside. Soon, they found a rtively secluded spot inside the cave and stopped there to catch their breaths.
"It doesn''t appear there are no monsters inside the cave" Alvaramented, loosening the grip on her sword hilt.
"Alvara you are injured, you should take some rest. This entire time you continued to lead us while holding onto your injuries. I would have given you a potion; however, the ones I have are all over" Cynthia spoke with a guilt trodden voice.
"I''m alright princess, these are just some minor injuries and nothing to worry¡ Kuh!!" The guard captain suddenly clenched her left chest side in pain.
Although she said it was just some minor injuries, it was anything but that. The tail of that smander was like a battering ram, thatpletely overwhelmed her defence and deal heavy internal injuries.
Alvara reckoned that the left side of her ribcage was broken and those broken splinters have punctured her lungs making it even difficult for her to breathe.
"Let me support you" Cynthia came forward to support her guard and friend.
"No need princess, aren''t you exhausted yourself? Activating those magic without Sir Leo''s help must have taken a heavy toll on your body. You shouldn''t have been that reckless".
Just like the guard captain had said, Cynthia too was heavily injured. It could be seen from her pale appearance and her shrivelled look. To defeat the smander, she pushed her body beyond her limits.
It was not just Cynthia and Alvara, Marba too was injured. In fact, there was no one in their group who wasn''t heavily injured.
"It''s weird, the outside is oozing with powerful monsters. Yet there are no presence of any monsters or signs of theming near the cave. Although it''s a good thing for us, I can''t help but wonder why is that" Marba wondered as she fell back on her butt, exhausted after using all of her mana.
The question that she raised, also bothered the rest of them. ording to the information they gathered from the adventurers, Special areas were ces filled with dangers at every turn. Even experienced adventurers usually avoided such areas.
Forget about finding a hideout like this, there shouldn''t be any safe ce like this.
It was only natural that Alvara and the others who relied on the information from the adventurers to find the ce they were in, unusual. After all, even the adventurers were wrong about Special Areas.
The term Special Areas was something that the adventurers gave to areas like these which were flooded with powerful monsters that did not belong to the specific floors.
These areas were a recent addition to the dungeon and much was unknown about them. As such, it was still much of a mystery for them. That is why they did not know that the actual euphemism for the ce was Danger Zones.
A setup that was created by Fey to slow down the advance of the adventurers or stand in their way as a trial. It shared amon factor with the Hidden Chambers in that it also had the high risk high reward dynamics.
The ce might be flooded by powerful monsters; however, they do not go out of the designated area almost as if they are safeguarding something.
Chapter 714- No Way Of Escape (3)
Chapter 714- No Way Of Escape (3)
What is it that these monsters are safeguarding? It was something for the adventurers to find out after they explore the area.
The thing to note about the Danger Zone is that since it is named as such, there are likely to be areas designated as Safe Zones as well.
Just like what the name means, they were specific areas in the Danger Zones where the monsters can''t get in. They were created to provide some respite to the adventurers seeking to explore or clear these special areas.
The cave where Cynthia and the others were currently, was precisely one such ce.
"Let''s not dwell on that for now" Alvara leaned against the cave wall, wincing as pain shot through her body. "Our priority is to tend to our injuries and regain our strength. We won''tst long if we don''t recover ". She spoke with a strained voice.
Quite some time had passed as they continued to hide inside the dimly lit cave. It was long enough for their pursuers to either get eliminated by the monsters outside or to give up on the search.
Still, the group continued to bide their time inside the cave. It seemed as though they had sessfully evaded danger when suddenly a light appeared at the entrance, apanied by the sound of footsteps.
As the light from the cave entrance grew brighter, Cynthia, Alvara, and Marba exchanged anxious nces. The hope that they had finally managed to elude their pursuers quickly dissipated and they were thrown into the pits of despair once again.
Alvara''s heart pounded in her chest as a bead of sweat formed on her forehead. Her mind raced, trying toe up with a n to escape. She grabbed her sword and with much difficulty, she stood back up.
But with those injuries and in an exhausted state where she was quickly losing consciousness, it seemed almost impossible to confront their pursuers head-on.
Outside the cave, the voices of Herm and his aplices became audible. Although their words were muffled, but their intent was clear ¨C they were determined to find the princess and put an end to their escape.
"Search every nook and cranny!" Herm''s voice boomed. "Don''t let her get away!".
The adventurers replied in affirmation, their footsteps growing louder and more frantic as they scoured the area. Alvara''s grip on her sword tightened, and she tried to steady her breathing, praying that they wouldn''t be discovered.
They slowly inched back further inside the cave; however, it was only a matter of time before they were discovered.
And just like she had feared, one of the adventurers suddenly let out a shout of excitement "Hyohoo, I found something! Over here Sir Herm".
Alvara''s heart sank as multiple footsteps could be hearding towards them. Using magic to light their way, their pursuers slowly appeared in front of them.
"Come out, Princess! There is nowhere left to run!" Herm spoke, his voice filled with triumph.
"You bastard... how did you escape from those monsters?" The Guard Commander asked standing between Herm and the princess.
"Heh, why should I answer you? Hmph, I have a feeling that you and your group may be up to something, even in yourst ropes, you are still thinking about some way to escape. But it''s all useless, I have you cornered. This cat and mouse chase is over"
Thetterughed at their resistance. Herm''sughter just rang out when suddenly¡
"Marba now!!" Alvara cried out and ducked into a corner.
RUMBLE¡ Immediately after, lightning started generating inside the cave and the figure of the Mage hiding behind Alvara all this time and preparing her magic, came into view.
CRACK¡ the core stone embedded inside her staff burst apart and a vast amount of mana overflowed from it.
"This is bad sir Herm, she is overloading her magic staff" One of the adventurers reported with a pale face.
"Overloading what?!" Although he did not understand what the adventurer meant by those words, even an idiot can understand that the magic the mage was casting was dangerous and was very powerful.
Seeing that she was pointing her magic at him, he screamed frantically and tumbled onto the ground.
And in this pivotal instant...Eat this¡" Marba shouted at the top of her lungs and cast her Lightning Magic Mastery- [Volt Strike]¡
Powerful electrical currents generated from her staff, instantly incinerating the adventurers in the path before moving towards Herm.
"Sir Roderick.. Please help meeee!!!". At the very instant his cry rang out, a figure jumped between the Lightning magic and Herm.
BANG¡ the [Volt Strike] connected with the target blinding and shaking the entire ce. As for the caster, she fell to the ground puking a mouthful of blood.
Marba had already exhausted all of her mana and mana recovering potions. As such, it was normally impossible for her to even cast even a novice tier magic much less a magic as powerful as this.
The only reason she was able to cast her magic was because she had overloaded the core stone embedded inside her staff and used the overflowing mana from its destruction to cast her magic.
However, using this method posed several risks to the caster since the mana wasn''t theirs. For trying to overload the core stone, Marba had to bear a significant amount of repercussion in return.
That said, the power gained from using such a method was also very substantial. When one casts a magic by overloading the core stone, the might of that magic triples or even quadruples.
Added with Marba''s level and mastery of lightning magic, the attack should have wiped their enemies or at the very least severely injure them.
That should have been the case¡ however, when the dust settled, Herm looked almost fine. Standing in front of him was the robed person who took on the brunt of the attack for him. And yet even after that, they came out unscathed. Only a small part of their robes got burned but other than that, the magic seemed to have achieved no other effect.
Other than that, what stood out was the shield the robed person used to defend them. It was a huge round shield, pitch ck in colour with a greyish-ck aura oozing from it. Its design was simple and the material it was crafted from also did not seem to be too special.
However, it was this shield that stopped Marba''s attack. Even after taking that intermediate tier magic powered from the overload of core stone, the shield did not have the slightest scratch.
"Hehe¡ hahaha. I''m saved. Yourst attempt failed" Like a twisted symphony, Herm''sughter echoed inside the interior of the cave. That magic would have killed him if not the robed person''s timely intervention.
''That''s right, as long as I have him with me, there is no way I will die'' Herm thanked the robbed person before picking himself up. His previous miserable and cowardly attitude was gone, reced by a bold and triumphant look.
"How did¡" Marba, sprawled on the ground, wore an expression of disbelief as she extended a trembling finger toward the robed man. However, before she could say anything further, Hermshed out at her.
"You bitch!! You dare try to kill me?"¡
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ A barrage of brutal kicks erupted from Herm''s enraged onught upon the injured mage, whoy defenceless. His kicks mercilessly targeted her stomach, chest, and even her face, unrelenting even after she lost consciousness as he vented all of his frustration out.
"You bastard¡ stop!!" Unable to see herrade being tortured like that, Alvara rushed out while swinging her sword. However, her weapon was effortlessly swatted away by the robed figure, who then seized her by the neck.
"Kuh!!" the guard captain groaned with a pale face after being lifted off the ground. If she was in her peak condition, and not so severely injured as she was now, she might have been able to do something in this situation.
However, it was impossible for her to muster even the tiniest bit of resistance right now.
"Stop!!¡ Stop it!! If you hurt them anymore then¡ I will kill myself. Your objective is to capture me right? If die then you will fail in your mission" Cynthia threatened holding a knife near her throat.
Her face looked frighteninglyposed even as a droplet of blood trickled down her neck from the sharp de of the knife. The ring in her right hand finger glowed and even Alvara plead with her eyes not to do it.
However, at this moment other than doing something like this, she had no other choice. Her guardian spirit Leo had suffered grave damage in the battle at the capital and needed to fall into a slumber inside the ring to preserve its life.
All of her precious subordinates left her side one after the other and the ones that were remaining, were also at theirst legs.
A dead end behind her and enemies in front, there was nowhere left for her to run to. If ending her life can bring an end to this nightmare, then she was no longer hesitant to do it. Although she did feel bad for her letting her subordinates down, in the end, she was powerless to change her fate.
Since It was like this, Cynthia gave a fearless smile and was about to plunge the dagger into her when something hit her neck hard.
In that split moment, she almost lost consciousness and the knife fell out of her hand. When she regained her consciuness, she found herself immobilised. The robed person was in front of her.
Chapter 715- No hero but a demon
Chapter 715- No hero but a demon
When did he move? Even Alvara couldn''t see the robed person''s movements.
"Haha¡ you can''t do that princess. Even if you give up, you cannot die" Herm kicked the unconscious Marba away and wagged his finger.
"That''s right, you asked me a question before as to how I managed to run away from all those monsters there? Hehe, let me answer it for you, think of it as thest favour I do for you all for taking care of me for all those years".
He pointed at the robed figure "It''s all thanks to Sir Roderick. Because of him, we were saved from getting killed by those monsters. He cleared all those monsters on our way here. He is also a powerhouse who is above level 500".
His words caused Cynthia and Alvara to widen their eyes in disbelief. They had assumed that Herm and his group had simply managed to escape from the monsters, but the truth was far more surprising. They had battled their way through, and the robed man was the one who defeated all those monsters.
Pleased by their reaction, Herm continued "You should know who he is, your highness. After all, he was brought here from the Kingdom of ckthorn by your second brother."
At that moment, the robed man finally revealed his face from beneath the hood. His features were weathered, adorned with scars earned from countless battles. Despite the years that had passed, he still exuded a sense of raw power and determination.
"You¡ you are Roderick Garnald" When Cynthia saw the appearance of the robed person, she immediately recalled who he was.
"That''s right your highness, I''m a faithful servant of his Majesty, the king of ckthorn and the protector of the royal family. I apologise for my heavy handed behaviour earlier; however, please understand that I was tasked to bring you with me no matter what" Roderick bowed his head towards Cynthia and introduced himself.
"I believe I have already rejected that proposal once".
"I''m afraid you have no say in this matter, your highness. Everything is already decided by the second prince. You should ept your fate" Herm sneered. "Sir Roderick, you achieved the objective you came here for. Take her Highness and get out of the cave".
Roderick nodded his head and picked up the immobilised Cynthia. "What about you?" he asked.
Herm shed a lecherous smile as he nced at the exhausted guard captain and said "I have some work here, you go ahead and wait for me outside the cave".
Roderick did not say anything more and simply walked away, taking Cynthia with him.
"Wait.. where are you going? Put the princess down" Alvara struggled to get on her feet.
"Hehe¡ Guard Captain, you should worry about yourself" Herm spoke as he slowly inched closer to her.
"You mongrel do not call me with that filthy mouth of yours" Alvara attacked. However, her attack was too slow and carried none of the strength that came with her level.
It was clear to anyone that she was very weak and exhausted right now. It was to the point where even Herm a nonbatant with a low level could easily deflect her sword away.
CLANG¡ the sword fell on the ground and Alvara was pushed to the wall of the cave.
"W-what do you n to do?" Pushing her to the wall and snatching away her sword, the guard captain felt a bad premonition.
"Hehe, can''t you tell? I always wanted to do this to you captain; no Alvara" Herm brought his face close and sniffed her scent. Next, he stroked her hair, her neck and curves all the while enjoying her struggle.
"No!! Get away from me" Alvara pushed Herm away and tried to run; however, she was knocked down and pinned on the ground by thetter.
"If you try to run away or even resist, I''ll kill Marba over there" Herm threatened, a maniacal light shed in his eyes.
"You beast!!" When threatened with the life of herrade, even the strong and independent Guard Captain couldn''t muster up the tiny bit strength of resistance. She simplyid on the ground and allowed the other person to do whatever they wanted with a despairing and nk look on her face.
"Hehe, that''s more like it. Don''t worry though, soon I''ll make you scream in pleasure and wanting more" Hermughed, molesting her breasts and kissing her neck. He then tore her upper clothes and the corset underneath, revealing a pair of beautiful mounds.
"Whew¡ look at that? I always knew you had some great knockers underneath that skimpy and tight fitting leather clothes you wore. But they are even bigger than I imagined. F cup? No, they are at least G cup" Herm whispered near Alvara''s ears.
"You bastard, I''ll never forgive you" She red at him with loathing and rage.
"It looks like you haven''t learned your lesson. In that case¡"
BOOOM¡ at this moment, a thunderous rumbling noise erupted shaking the entire cave and causing debris to fall down from the ceiling.
"It came from the outside, What is going on? Well, Sir Roderick is outside, even if a monster appeared I''m sure he will be able to handle it" Herm sneered before turning his attention back to the beauty pinned underneath him.
"Next, I''ll strip you out of those trousers of yours¡ hehe".
Alvara tried to struggle; however, her resistance amounted to nothing in front of his strength. CHIII¡ her trousers were torn down revealing a pair of enchanting long legs.
"Slurp¡ As expected, the Guard Captain is on a whole another levelpared to those whores from the capital" Hermmented wiping down the saliva that almost overflowed from his mouth.
"I always had my eyes on you and Her Highness ever since I started working in the Serene Pce Merchant Guild. You don''t even know how many times I fantasized about pinning both of you down and ravishing you. Finally, thanks to the second prince, I can now fulfil one of my fantasies".
sickened her.
08:57
"Although it''s a pity that I can''ty my hands on her Highness, I can at least have a taste of you as much as I want".
Ptooey¡ Alvara spat on Herm whose every word disgusted and sickened her.
Thetter did not mind and simply wiped away the spit on his face "Haha¡ I will see how long you keep that attitude". Slowly, he undid his belt and pants.
''No¡'' tears trickled down her cheeks as she looked at the cave entrance seeking for help. That was coincidentally when she saw a shadow rushing towards her.
"Alvara!!" The voice called out as soon as she appeared in her line of sight. It was Cynthia, the princess that she served.
Why was she here?
"Huh? Why are you here? Didn''t Roderick immobilise you and take you out?" Herm who was just about to rape Alvara, turned around in confusion, not expecting Cynthia''s arrival.
"Roderick?! Are you talking about this guy" However, she wasn''t alone. Following closely behind her, were a couple of figures. They were people that he had never seen before.
The figure in the front, tossed out something towards him. Itnded on the ground with a st noise before rolling towards him.
The moment Herm saw what it was, for a second there his brain nked out unable to process it. When it finally did, all the blood drained out of his face as he screamed and backed away from it.
The thing that the figure threw towards him, was a decapitated head and it was not just any head, but the head of the powerhouse, the protector of the ckthorn royal family who was supposed to be above level 500, Roderick.
"H-How can¡"
"Well, there is so much I want to know too but first, put away that sorry thing away" The figure stepped forward and kicked Herm away from Alvara.
The force from that kick was so powerful that all the air was expelled from his lungs as he crashed onto the walls, losing consciousness immediately.
"Alvara are you alright?!" the princess tightly hugged her and cried. The cave that appeared as the despairing pits of a nightmare, suddenly had a ray of light shining on it.
"I suppose we made it in time. How are the others?"¡
"The mage here is heavily injured and unconscious. But other that, she doesn''t seem to be in a state of danger"¡
"Master¡ stop looking at her"..
"Eh? Ah, here is a robe, cover yourself" the figure passed Alvara a cloth.
"You finally came¡ thank you" Thetter took the cloth and thanked him.
The figure that came in the nick of time to rescue her and the princess, was no hero; but a demon who are passed down as incarnation of evils in the annals of their history.
The master of the dungeon, and the person they were looking for, Simon was here. Thetter stood tall as he exuded a powerful and imposing aura.
.
.
Alvara slowly opened her eyes, her surroundings initially a blur. As her vision cleared, she found herself lying on a soft, cushiony bed. The brightness of the ce was in stark contrast to the gloom of the cave she had been trapped in earlier. Confusion swept over her as she tried to recall how she got here.
"Where am I?" she mumbled, her voice weak from the exhaustion she felt. As she attempted to sit up, she noticed the bandages on her body, reminding her of the injuries she had sustained during her mission to save the princess.
"That''s right, princess!!" panicked, she turned around only to find the person she was looking for, lying in a bed next to her.
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08:58
The Golden Ticket ranking report for Dungeon of Pride, Lace has been updated: Still need 1 tickets to climb the Golden Ticket rankings. Let''s win together! My current Monthly Golden Ticket ranking is No.150.
When did he move? Even Alvara couldn''t see the robed person''s movements.
"Haha¡ you can''t do that princess. Even if you give up, you cannot die" Herm kicked the unconscious Marba away and wagged his finger.
"That''s right, you asked me a question before as to how I managed to run away from all those monsters there? Hehe, let me answer it for you, think of it as thest favour I do for you all for taking care of me for all those years".
He pointed at the robed figure "It''s all thanks to Sir Roderick. Because of him, we were saved from getting killed by those monsters. He cleared all those monsters on our way here. He is also a powerhouse who is above level 500".
His words caused Cynthia and Alvara to widen their eyes in disbelief. They had assumed that Herm and his group had simply managed to escape from the monsters, but the truth was far more surprising. They had battled their way through, and the robed man was the one who defeated all those monsters.
Pleased by their reaction, Herm continued "You should know who he is, your highness. After all, he was brought here from the Kingdom of ckthorn by your second brother."
At that moment, the robed man finally revealed his face from beneath the hood. His features were weathered, adorned with scars earned from countless battles. Despite the years that had passed, he still exuded a sense of raw power and determination.
"You¡ you are Roderick Garnald" When Cynthia saw the appearance of the robed person, she immediately recalled who he was.
"That''s right your highness, I''m a faithful servant of his Majesty, the king of ckthorn and the protector of the royal family. I apologise for my heavy handed behaviour earlier; however, please understand that I was tasked to bring you with me no matter what" Roderick bowed his head towards Cynthia and introduced himself.
"I believe I have already rejected that proposal once".
"I''m afraid you have no say in this matter, your highness. Everything is already decided by the second prince. You should ept your fate" Herm sneered. "Sir Roderick, you achieved the objective you came here for. Take her Highness and get out of the cave".
Roderick nodded his head and picked up the immobilised Cynthia. "What about you?" he asked.
Herm shed a lecherous smile as he nced at the exhausted guard captain and said "I have some work here, you go ahead and wait for me outside the cave".
Roderick did not say anything more and simply walked away, taking Cynthia with him.
"Wait.. where are you going? Put the princess down" Alvara struggled to get on her feet.
"Hehe¡ Guard Captain, you should worry about yourself" Herm spoke as he slowly inched closer to her.
"You mongrel do not call me with that filthy mouth of yours" Alvara attacked. However, her attack was too slow and carried none of the strength that came with her level.
It was clear to anyone that she was very weak and exhausted right now. It was to the point where even Herm a nonbatant with a low level could easily deflect her sword away.
CLANG¡ the sword fell on the ground and Alvara was pushed to the wall of the cave.
"W-what do you n to do?" Pushing her to the wall and snatching away her sword, the guard captain felt a bad premonition.
"Hehe, can''t you tell? I always wanted to do this to you captain; no Alvara" Herm brought his face close and sniffed her scent. Next, he stroked her hair, her neck and curves all the while enjoying her struggle.
"No!! Get away from me" Alvara pushed Herm away and tried to run; however, she was knocked down and pinned on the ground by thetter.
"If you try to run away or even resist, I''ll kill Marba over there" Herm threatened, a maniacal light shed in his eyes.
"You beast!!" When threatened with the life of herrade, even the strong and independent Guard Captain couldn''t muster up the tiny bit strength of resistance. She simplyid on the ground and allowed the other person to do whatever they wanted with a despairing and nk look on her face.
"Hehe, that''s more like it. Don''t worry though, soon I''ll make you scream in pleasure and wanting more" Hermughed, molesting her breasts and kissing her neck. He then tore her upper clothes and the corset underneath, revealing a pair of beautiful mounds.
"Whew¡ look at that? I always knew you had some great knockers underneath that skimpy and tight fitting leather clothes you wore. But they are even bigger than I imagined. F cup? No, they are at least G cup" Herm whispered near Alvara''s ears.
"You bastard, I''ll never forgive you" She red at him with loathing and rage.
"It looks like you haven''t learned your lesson. In that case¡"
BOOOM¡ at this moment, a thunderous rumbling noise erupted shaking the entire cave and causing debris to fall down from the ceiling.
"It came from the outside, What is going on? Well, Sir Roderick is outside, even if a monster appeared I''m sure he will be able to handle it" Herm sneered before turning his attention back to the beauty pinned underneath him.
"Next, I''ll strip you out of those trousers of yours¡ hehe".
Alvara tried to struggle; however, her resistance amounted to nothing in front of his strength. CHIII¡ her trousers were torn down revealing a pair of enchanting long legs.
"Slurp¡ As expected, the Guard Captain is on a whole another levelpared to those whores from the capital" Hermmented wiping down the saliva that almost overflowed from his mouth.
"I always had my eyes on you and Her Highness ever since I started working in the Serene Pce Merchant Guild. You don''t even know how many times I fantasized about pinning both of you down and ravishing you. Finally, thanks to the second prince, I can now fulfil one of my fantasies".
sickened her.
"Although it''s a pity that I can''ty my hands on her Highness, I can at least have a taste of you as much as I want".
Ptooey¡ Alvara spat on Herm whose every word disgusted and sickened her.
Thetter did not mind and simply wiped away the spit on his face "Haha¡ I will see how long you keep that attitude". Slowly, he undid his belt and pants.
''No¡'' tears trickled down her cheeks as she looked at the cave entrance seeking for help. That was coincidentally when she saw a shadow rushing towards her.
"Alvara!!" The voice called out as soon as she appeared in her line of sight. It was Cynthia, the princess that she served.
Why was she here?
"Huh? Why are you here? Didn''t Roderick immobilise you and take you out?" Herm who was just about to rape Alvara, turned around in confusion, not expecting Cynthia''s arrival.
"Roderick?! Are you talking about this guy" However, she wasn''t alone. Following closely behind her, were a couple of figures. They were people that he had never seen before.
The figure in the front, tossed out something towards him. Itnded on the ground with a st noise before rolling towards him.
The moment Herm saw what it was, for a second there his brain nked out unable to process it. When it finally did, all the blood drained out of his face as he screamed and backed away from it.
The thing that the figure threw towards him, was a decapitated head and it was not just any head, but the head of the powerhouse, the protector of the ckthorn royal family who was supposed to be above level 500, Roderick.
"H-How can¡"
"Well, there is so much I want to know too but first, put away that sorry thing away" The figure stepped forward and kicked Herm away from Alvara.
The force from that kick was so powerful that all the air was expelled from his lungs as he crashed onto the walls, losing consciousness immediately.
"Alvara are you alright?!" the princess tightly hugged her and cried. The cave that appeared as the despairing pits of a nightmare, suddenly had a ray of light shining on it.
"I suppose we made it in time. How are the others?"¡
"The mage here is heavily injured and unconscious. But other that, she doesn''t seem to be in a state of danger"¡
"Master¡ stop looking at her"..
"Eh? Ah, here is a robe, cover yourself" the figure passed Alvara a cloth.
"You finally came¡ thank you" Thetter took the cloth and thanked him.
The figure that came in the nick of time to rescue her and the princess, was no hero; but a demon who are passed down as incarnation of evils in the annals of their history.
The master of the dungeon, and the person they were looking for, Simon was here. Thetter stood tall as he exuded a powerful and imposing aura.
.
.
Alvara slowly opened her eyes, her surroundings initially a blur. As her vision cleared, she found herself lying on a soft, cushiony bed. The brightness of the ce was in stark contrast to the gloom of the cave she had been trapped in earlier. Confusion swept over her as she tried to recall how she got here.
"Where am I?" she mumbled, her voice weak from the exhaustion she felt. As she attempted to sit up, she noticed the bandages on her body, reminding her of the injuries she had sustained during her mission to save the princess.
"That''s right, princess!!" panicked, she turned around only to find the person she was looking for, lying in a bed next to her.
Chapter 716- The Situation in the Kingdom
Chapter 716- The Situation in the Kingdom
On another bed adjacent to theirs, there was also herrade Marba. It looked like all of them were saved and brought here.
"Did I lose consciousness?" Alvara''s head throbbed as her memories slowly started to piece themselves together.
"If we are here, then it must mean that he saved us" Taking in her surroundings, she realized that they were currently in a cavernous chamber. The ceiling here was high, and the walls uneven.
Furniture, clothes, water, food and other necessary objects were all provided. Her gaze slowly shifted from these items towards the front. There, she noticed the prison bars surrounding the ce.
Just as she was observing them, her heart skipped a beat when she realized that she and herrades weren''t the only ones in this ce. There, on the other side of the bars, she saw a pair of crimson eyes silently observing them from the distance.
"It looks like you are awake¡ growl" a deep and coarse voice echoed through the chamber. As the figure slowly stepped into the light, Alvara''s eyes widened as she took in the sight before her.
With a tall and muscr frame, it exuded power from its very being. Its feline features entuated by its piercing crimson eyes and its physique, was a testament to its formidable strength.
Its fur which was a rich blend of earthy browns and golden hues, shimmered in the light. There was no doubt, it was a Beastmen, a Weretiger to be precise.
Alvara''s mind raced as she recalled the tales she had read about weretigers in the capital¨C creatures known for their savage prowess and predatory nature. They were often depicted as fearsome and untamed beings.
But as she looked at the weretiger before her, she noticed something different, something that set him apart from the stories she had heard.
The weretiger''s eyes held a depth that seemed to reflect more than just primal instincts¡ª she couldn''t shake off the feeling of a weird, eerie chill that seemed to crawl down her spine, a sensation that whispered of something both ancient and unsettling.
"Who are you?" Alvara asked with a voice mixed with concern and curiosity.
"Alric¡ that is the name given to me by my Lady Maybell¡ growl" The Weretiger replied with an indifferent expression.
Maybell? Alvara wondered what the beastmen was talking about before shaking her head and asking a different question.
"Where is the master of the dungeon? He was the one who saved us right?".
"That is correct" After answering with a few words, the Weretiger became silent once again. It was as if they were a person of very less words.
"Um... can you call your master? I want to thank him for rescuing us" Finding it a little difficult to converse with this beastmen named Alric, Alvara requested if she could see the master of the dungeon.
"There is no need, he already knows you are awake. He wille after a while, till then I am tasked by mydy to watch over you¡
growl" Saying that, the weretiger stepped back from the light and returned back into the darkness.
.
.
.
"Unnghhh¡" After some time, Cynthia and Marba who were lying in their bed, began stirring and waking up one after the other.
"Ungh¡ where is this ce? Ah! Alvara, Marba¡ the both of you¡ are you alright?" Cynthia spoke with a tinge of relief. She immediately tried to get up; however, her body was yet topletely heal from all the exhaustion as such, she lost bnce and fell back on her bed.
"Princess please don''t push yourself¡ you too Marba. We are saved, our pursuers won''te after us anymore" Alvara asked the both of them to settle down and not to strain their body.
The journey in thisst few weeks was quite harsh on them, it was unknown how many times they had to push their bodies to their limits. All of their bodies are bound to be extremely exhausted.
"Where is this ce? What happened after¡ that''s right, my magic was blocked. That person in the hood was quite powerful. There is no way we could have beaten them. How did we get here?¡ kuh!!" Marba clenched her head and tried to recall what happened after her magic was blocked.
"Calm down, you lost consciousness afterwards so you don''t know. Anyways, we are saved. That person came at the end"¡
"You don''t mean¡"
"Yeah".
As she looked at her subordinates and close friends converse with each other, Cynthia''s heart swelled with relief. Just a while ago, she thought that she would lose them forever. However, here they were now lying on top of a bed, chatting casually.
Who would have imagined that something like this would be possible? She had almost given in to her fate in that dark cave. But through some miracle, she had managed to defy the odds
"Princess, you should also say something to this idiot. Overloading her staff to cast a magic. She did not even think about what the consequences would be. If not because of emergency treatment, she would have been lying dead by now" Alvara pointed at Marba as they bickered.
"Hah!! As if you are the one to talk. Your Highness, if anyone, you should talk to the captain. It was way too reckless to attack the Smander even after suffering such injury. Who is the idiot here I suppose?"¡
"What did you say".
Seeing her subordinates argue back and forth, Cynthia couldn''t help but smile at their familiar banter. Despite their circumstances, it was moments like these that reminded them of their unbreakable bond.
Just like Alric had said, after a while the master of the dungeon, Simon visited them in person. Hismanding presence, imposing figure and crown like pair of horns, gave him an aura of authority.
His unrestrained long dark ck hair, coupled with his striking looks, gave him a devilish attractiveness. The very essence of his being seemed to exude a formidable presence that bore a hint of intimidation yet also a sense of assurance.
With each step he took, the atmosphere inside the cavernous chamber shifted, as if the air itself altered to amodate his presence. The three women''s hearts quickened as they watched him slowly step forward in the light.
As his eyes met theirs, it was as though he could see through to their very souls. A sense of purpose emanated from him, intertwining with his regal demeanour. He radiated a kind of quiet intensity that beckoned attention, and Cynthia, Alvara, and Marba found themselves unable to look away.
As they took in the sight before them, they had no doubt in their minds that the person, the being in front of them no human, he was a demon through and through.
That said, he was not alone, next to him were his maids, the ones who were next to him back in that cave.
"It looks like you all are up," Simon''s deep and coarse voice resonated through the chamber. "How are your injuries? I had my subordinates immediately treat you; however, your bodies were too weak and fatigued at that time so we couldn''t treat all of your injuries. Later one of my subordinates wille to heal you again"¡
"Thank you... Si.. Lord Simon. If not for your help, myrades would have died there" Cynthia thanked.
Despite having met him before, she couldn''t help but widen her eyes in surprise at how different and changed he looked. It was less than three years that they parted ways in the capital yet the person who posed as an adventurer and travelled with her at that time, lookedpletely different than the ones she remembered.
It was hard to believe that the imposing figure standing before them was the same person.
"You are... Simon? Haven''t you changed quite a bit" Alvara also spoke at this moment, snapping out of the intimidating pressure that engulfed the chamber. Her voice just like Cynthia, wasced with gratitude and curiosity.
Simon inclined his head slightly, in response to Alvara''s question "Indeed I am Simon, a Demon Noble and the master of the Dungeon Lace". His gaze held a weight that matched his words.
"I would say wee to my domain but I would refrain for now until I hear about your situation. Also, I apologize for theck of proper hospitality, but you must understand that I had to maintain some level of cautiousness against you all. After all, it''s difficult to discern friends from foes these days".
Cynthia exchanged a nce with Alvara and Marba before turning her attention back to Simon.
"We understand. You already did us a big favour by saving us, we cannot possibly ask more. Truly thank you".
"That''s alright, I just repaid the favour I owe you all. Fortunately, I was able to save a couple of others who were barely hanging onto their breaths in time"
Simon shook his hands, he only saved them because he owed them a favour. Especially to this violet haired woman who helped him a lot. Both during the time in the capital to escape the encirclement of the adventurers and their ns to besiege his dungeon.
So even though he no longer had any attachment to the human race, it can be said that he did what he did just to repay the debt he owed her.
"Save a couple others? Do you mean that my subordinates are¡" Hearing the expectant question of the woman, Simon nodded his head.
"Yeah, although I was unable to save all of them, I did manage to retrieve a burly knight and an old assassin who were on the verge of death".
Chapter 717- The Situation In The Kingdom (2)
Chapter 717- The Situation In The Kingdom (2)
"That''s Burg and Brett" Marba eximed.
"Where are they are they alright?" Alvara chimed in.
"They are alright and are in the room next to you. However, they are yet to wake up. Once they do, I will send someone to bring them here. Anyways, it''s unfortunate that I was a step toote to save the others".
Cynthia shook her head, a small smile of gratitude touched her lips "No, that''s not true. We are alive because you made it in time, we are truly grateful for everything that you did for us. Thank you for saving my subordinates".
"Well you should be, if not for my master, you all would have be the nourishment for the dungeon and some of you might even have been¡" Bea spoke out, a small smirk hanging at the corner of her lips.
Although she didn''t finish her sentence, it was clear as to what she meant as she nced at Alvara.
BAM¡ Just like always, to correct the behaviour of her sister, Ate gave her a smack with her fist of love.
"You idiot, Master is not done talking. Why are you interjecting in the middle". It was a funny scene seeing how these graceful and poised maids, whose beauty could make others jealous of them, razzing like that.
Though thanks to them, it broke the tense atmosphere that settled onto the ce.
"Haha, please excuse them. They are my dear family. Although Bea is always raucous, she didn''t mean what she said" Simon nced at Bea, who although was pouting a little still apologised to the other party.
"No, no you don''t have to . What she said was true after all".
The group made a few more small talks before Simon shifted the conversation to the main topic at hand.
"Now then, may I ask the reason for your visit Miss Cynthia or should I say your Highness". Simon''s eyes shed brightly as he nced at them.
It didn''t look like they were here to deliver a message, the purpose for their visit seemed to be different fromst time. What was particrly intriguing was the presence of the princess herself, which implied a matter of serious consequence.
Cynthia took a deep breath, gathered her thoughts, and proceeded to state the purpose of their visit without unnecessary preamble "Our situation is aplex one. The Kingdom of Ellesmere is facing both internal strife and external threats."
Her voice held a mixture of determination and concern "With the recent demise of the king, the struggle for the throne has intensified among us royal siblings. The first prince is amassing political power through the support of influential dukes, to solidify "Even Her Highness, the princess is not spared from their ambitions. The first prince is trying to betroth the princess with an his im to the throne".
"While the second prince has resorted to underhanded tactics. He has allied himself with the Kingdom of ckthorn who are our enemies, and using their support, he wants to secure his throne. This alliance has plunged our kingdom of Ellesmere into a web of political intrigue and maniption. The struggle has consumed countless lives and territories, tearing our kingdom apart". Cynthia borated the turmoil that had gripped her homnd.
"Even Her Highness, the princess is not spared from their ambitions. The first prince is trying to betroth the princess with an ambassador from Duke Montford''s faction and solidify his support. On the other hand, the second prince in his pursuit of the throne, offered the princess as a bargaining chip to win the favour of the King of ckthorn. A marriage alliance that she had no say in, a decision that was forced upon her" Alvara chimed in, her tone sharp with frustration.
A sombre silence fell over the chamber, each word underscoring the magnitude of their predicament.
Cynthia''s gaze met Simon''s, her eyes reflecting the weight of the burden she bore "With my father''s passing, my influence and support have dwindled. Alone and without a voice, I found myself fleeing the capital to seek refuge and escape the clutches of those who wanted to use me as a prey for their political machinations".
As her words fell, Simon crossed his arms and silently contemted her words. Cynthia''s recount painted a picture of the kingdom''s dire state. The passing of the king had triggered a fierce struggle for the throne among the princes.
The first prince sought to secure his im through political alliances, garnering support from powerful dukes and influential figures. Meanwhile, the second prince had aligned himself with the Kingdom of ckthorn, a move that brought foreign influence into the kingdom''s power struggle. And Cynthia who was caught in all of this.
After a while, Simon opened his eyes and asked "I see, I more or less understand the situation. However, what does it have to do with me? I am not your ally, so why did youe to my dungeon?".
"Why you ask? Simon, the princess needs your help¡" Alvara spoke out her expression a little erratic; however, she was cut off by Cynthia whose hand gestured for her to stop.
"The reason we came here is to seek shelter, a sanctuary where we can bide our time without worrying about any pursuers. I know it is asking too much, but I can only humbly beg for yourpassion to let us stay here and, if possible, your protection until the treacherous tide of political turmoil and power struggles subsides" Cynthia bowed her head, there was an air of vulnerability and despair in her action.
"We beg you" Alvara and Marba too plead following the actions of their master.
As their words hung in the air, the room seemed to hold its breath, waiting for Simon''s response to their plea for refuge inside the dungeon.
At this moment his lips curved into a wicked smile, and the master of the dungeon came to a decision.
"You have an interesting choice of sanctuary. The dungeon is a treacherous ce, everything here exceeds far beyond your imagination. You will find that it is not so easy to live here, you might have to face many challenging situations. Even then are you still willing to stay here?"¡
"We overcame numerous life and death situations to reach this ce. Can it bepared to them?" Cynthia answered, there was not even a trace of uncertainty and hesitation in her eyes.
"Hmm¡ very well, I can give you refugee here; however, I have one condition" Simon extended his finger.
"What is it? If it''s something within my power, I will not refuse" There is no such thing as free lunch in this world, everything has a cost. It is only natural that the Master of the dungeon would ask something of them in return. Cynthia replied nodding her head.
"I haven''t decided yet. Don''t worry though, I won''t ask of something that won''t be in your power. I will make preparations for your amodations until then you have to stay on the prison floor. Oh, that''s right, wee to Dungeon Lace".
With those words, the die was cast, changing the paths and destinies of Cynthia and the others.
"One of my subordinate will be monitoring you. You can contact me through him" After learning what he needed to learn, Simon and his battle maids left the ce.
Now that they were gone, Alvara, her curiosity getting the best of her, inquired, "Princess, why didn''t you ask for his assistance with the matter of the kingdom? With his capabilities, it would seemingly be within his grasp to help you ascend the throne, defeating the other imants with rtive ease."
It was a valid question, considering the immense power that Simon wielded. However, Cynthia''s expression remained steady, her tone measured.
"Alvara, in bargaining, both parties must bring something of equal value to the table. I may be a princess by blood, but my support has crumbled, my influence shattered. I have lost the backing of my father, his majesty the King. In the eyes of my brothers who vie for the throne, I stand as a hindrance. That is why they want to get rid of me. My im is weakened, and as someone seeking refuge, I bring no value to the master of the dungeon to involve himself in all of this".
"For now, my goal is to ensure our survival, to weather this storm that has engulfed Ellesmere. And in that struggle, I am willing to set aside the pursuit of the throne if it means I can protect those dear to me." Cynthia looked at Alvara and Marba who stuck with her despite the dangers.
.
.
Underground Prison, Level 3.
The Training Floor of Dungeon Lace was a paradoxical space, designed as a training ground on the surface but concealing a sprawling undergroundbyrinthine prison.
When one ventures into this floor, they would be met with a vast expanse, designed to resemble an outdoor arena. Grassy terrain stretched out, interspersed with strategically ced obstacles and training equipment, creating an ideal environment forbat practice and skill refinement.
However, beneath this seemingly innocent training ground fa?ade,y a hiddenwork of prison cells, chambers, and passages. Itsyout was both intricate and foreboding, with multipleyers, each essed through hidden staircases and passageways.
The firstyer or the level 1, was where Cynthia and the others are currently being sheltered. It was a slightly remodelled area, meant to amodate them temporarily.
Since Simon cannot house them on his Main Floor or the Forest Spring Spirit vige because it might expose them to dangers no matter how minuscule, he had to temporarily use the prison as quarters for Cynthia and the others to rest.
Chapter 718- Weapons from the Kingdom of Blackthorn
Chapter 718- Weapons from the Kingdom of ckthorn
That said, even though this was a prison, he had remodelled it with simple yetfortable living quarters. Equipped with beds, basic furnishings, and even a few amenities that could be deemed luxurious in a dungeon. A juxtapose with its purpose.
Beyond the level 1, the prison grew more severe and ominous. Deeper levels delved into subterranean recesses, revealing narrow corridors lined with thick cell doors. The air in these corridors was heavy with the weight of desperation and despair.
Prisoners, criminals, and intruders who hadmitted grave offences and were not deemed deserving of swift death, were incarcerated here. The ce had numerous scary tools designed and aimed to break the spirit of those trapped within, subjecting them to istion, darkness and torture forever.
This undercover prison was not Simon''s personal creation, but rather the work of his Valkyries and other subordinates of his.
Each level of the underground prison grew progressively harsher, with cells bing smaller and more confining. In the lowest and most severe section, level 3, the confinement reached its peak.
The passages here narrowed to a suffocating degree, and prisoners were isted in pitch-ck chambers. The only sounds that reached them were the distant echoes of dripping water and the haunting symphony of their own thoughts.
Amid this bleak darkness, Herm who was imprisoned in one of the cells, trembled uncontrobly. The oppressive atmosphere and theplete absence of light weighed heavily on his psyche.
Even after just a day in this ce, he could feel his sanity slipping away and his mind raced with fear and regret.
"Did I make a mistake? Sir Roderick wasn''t supposed to die. He is a powerhouse above level 500¡ how" As he was contemting his choices while tightly clenching onto his head, suddenly a faint noise broke through the silence.
Footsteps echoed in the darkness, gradually growing louder. Herm''s heart raced as he strained his ears to identify the source of the sound. Soon, figures emerged from the shadows, and a dim light illuminated the prison cell he was in.
"You are¡" Herm immediately recognised the figure outside the cell bars. There was no way he would forget that imposing presence and those features that he had only heard about in rumours and texts.
"Demon Noble" there was no mistaking it, the being in front of him was a Demon Noble.
Simon''s arrival immediately caused the suffocating atmosphere of the level 3 to drop even further.
"Hieee¡ s-stay away¡ d-d-don''te closer" Herm cried, retreating and huddling back into the corner.
Simon looked at the prisoner, whose appearance was a far cry from his once-arrogant demeanour. Fear had etched deep lines on his face, and his eyes were wide with terror. One day in this unforgiving ce had broken his spirit faster than he could have ever anticipated.
"Prisoner," His tone devoid of any emotion, cut through the tense air "I have a question for you. You better answer me truthfully or else you will forever remain imprisoned here"¡
"Hieee.. y-yes¡ I have no hand in this, I was only following orders" Herm started screaming and pleading with a trembling voice however, "Shut up¡ only answer whatever you are asked" Bea''s sharp tone immediately silenced him.
"Prisoner, tell me¡ what are those items?" Simon''s gaze remained steady, and he gestured toward a table where they confiscated the belongings from Herm and his groupy.
Among them was a peculiar ck shield emitting a greyish-ck aura, it made Simon narrow his eyes.
"How did youe into possession of these items?".
"I... I don''t know. We found them, but I swear, we didn''t know anything about them." With a stammering voice, Herm replied.
Simon locked his brows, this wasn''t the answer he was looking for.
"Master, leave it to me, He''ll spill everything once I begin my methods of persuasion" Bea who was adept in methods to break one''s spirit and open their mouth, stepped forward with a confident smirk.
Hearing the sounds of chains and dangerous equipments, Herm''s desperation peaked, and he fell to his knees, his voice pleading.
"No, no, please! I really don''t know anything about those items! I swear!".
Simon remained silent, his stern gaze fixed on the other party. It was only when Herm saw the maiding back with something that looked like a Scold''s Bridle, did his voice croaked and he started confessing everything.
"I-I''m speaking the truth, I really have nothing to do with those weapons. Please believe me, Those items belonged to Roderick Garnald! He was brought here by His Highness, the second prince from the Kingdom of ckthorn. I swear, I didn''t know about the weapons!"¡
"Roderick?! Ah, the person who was holding Cynthia. So you are saying that these items belonged to him?" Simon inquired a little sceptic.
"That''s right. We were given these items by him. He said that if we used them, we would be granted immense strength and abilities. However, when I tried to give it to one of the adventurers, although he disyed immense power that was unlike his level, he started going berserk shortly afterwards. It took a group of adventurers to put him down. Ever since then, we did not dare to use them"
Herm babbled, the sight of Scold''s Bridle on Bea''s hand was too much of a visual impetus.
"I see, what else do you know about these items? Tell me everything"¡
"Y-Yes. These items were something that was brought over by Sir Roderick from his kingdom, it is something unique to the Kingdom of ckthorn".
"Master he is speaking the truth" Ate whispered next to his ears. Being a superior spirit she had a skill that allowed her to look at the mystical energy within one''s body and determine from the slightest fluctuation if someone was lying or speaking the truth.
From what she observed, Herm was speaking the truth, there was not even an ounce of falsehood in his statement.
Simon nodded his head. for some reason, when he heard the other party mention the Kingdom of ckthorn, the frown on his face couldn''t help but deepen. He now knew where these items originated from; however, that in itself evoked several questions and implications in his mind.
Simon''s eyes shifted towards the shield and other various weapons kept on the table. A memory shed inside his head, it was a memory from the time when he visited the capital of the Kingdom of Ellesmere.
More precisely, it was when he was observing the Battle of the Finest tournament that had created a sensation in the kingdom. Even the surrounding countries came to participate in it.
Among them were the Kingdom of Golf, the Kingdom of ckthorn and the Sanguine Empire. If his memory served right, then he had seen the participants from the Kingdom of ckthorn use these kinds of weapons.
It allowed them to overwhelm their opponents and turn the tide of the battle. At that time, Simon thought that the energy within those weapons was quite peculiar in that it gave more of a dark feeling simr to Dark magic used by the demons.
However, he was wrong. Now that he was looking at the weapons once again, he realised that the malevolent energy that defied the natural orders of this world, was none other than curse energy.
The Curse Energy was a system of energy that was foreign to this world, Simon knew because he hade in contact with this energy when clearing the fourth trial in the forbidden grounds.
Moreover, for some reason, he was even able to use it. As such, he was more familiar than anyone when it came to the Curse Energy and the weapons on the table were no doubt emanating that energy albeit it was very diluted and faint.
Curse energy, exuded an aura of despair that sent shivers down the spines of those who encountered it. Unlike the controlled and structured nature of conventional mystical energies, curse energy was a chaotic and unpredictable force, tainted by the very essence of malice and negativity.
It was simr to the dark magic in that both share sinister and negative nature. However, Simon who could use the Curse energy, knew that it was fundamentally different.
Curse energy had a direct affinity for tainting souls and minds, leading to a deterioration of one''s essence. Its nature was sticky, metaphorically clinging to everything it touches.
This stickiness implies that curse energy has a tendency to linger and embed itself deeply in its surroundings. It doesn''t just pass through an area; it saturates it, seeping into objects, structures, and even thend itself.
This sticky quality makes it challenging to cleanse or remove, contributing to its sense of malevolence.
Other than that, it was inherently chaotic and devoid of structure. This chaotic essence rendered it mercurial, capable of manifesting in a myriad of unpredictable forms.
Simon, despite being able to use the curse energy was still in the process of mastering this profoundly different system of energy, and thus, there remained much unknown about its intricacies.
However, when in the presence of curse energy he couldn''t be mistaken about it. That is to say, the weapons confiscated from Cynthia''s pursuers, unmistakably had the presence of curse energy.
The question that now lingered in his mind was how the Kingdom of ckthorn had managed to possess this malevolent force. No, in the first ce was it even possible for the natives of this world to interact with curse energy, let alone utilizing it to forge such weapons?
Simon remembered that Irene had once repeatedly emphasised that it was impossible for a native of this world to sense the curse energy much less utilise it like him.
Chapter 719- Owing Favor, an Obligation?!
Chapter 719- Owing Favor, an Obligation?!
In fact, she had stressed that it was a dangerous energy that even she was unable to utilise and that it wasn''t something that should have been present in this world. Moreover, Irene had warned Simon against interacting with it, stating that it wasn''t an energy that shouldn''t be trifled with, much less someone of his level shoulde in contact with.
However, unlike others who usually recoil or experience adverse effects uponing into contact with the curse energy, Simon had always felt a connection with it. Instead of the expected abhorrence, Simon felt an almost natural resonance with the energy, as if it recognized him as a kindred force.
For him, the curse energy felt docile, almost obedient, as if it had undergone some form of unspoken training under his guidance. It was as if the energy was tamed by his very presence, a power that acknowledged his mastery and willingly obeyed hismands.
In that regard, he was perhaps an anomaly, capable of manipting this energy without being ensnared by its corrupting influence.
The origin of curse energy and the reason for his unique rtionship with it, was a mystery, something that even Irene, with her knowledge, couldn''t put her hand on. So how had the Kingdom of ckthorn managed to acquire and utilize curse energy?
The more he thought about it, the more interested and puzzled he got.
.
.
Now back at the Main Hall, of the White Pce, Bea''s questioning gaze was fixed on Simon. Her confusion was palpable as she sought to understand his decision regarding those people he sheltered.
"Master, I don''t understand. Why did you allow them to stay here? If it is because of the favour you owe them, haven''t you repaid it already by saving them and treating their wounds?".
Simon settled into his favourite seat and spoke with a grin on his face "Bea, I believe there is a use for everyone. Besides, it was not solely about repaying a debt. They journeyed here through difficulties, navigating the unknown dangers of this dungeon, facing the threat of their pursuers, and even withstanding the onught of a smander".
"It was not easy for them to arrive at my doorstep, seeking refuge. In a way, their presence here is a testament to their determination and courage".
"I don''t understand¡" Bea blinked her eyes perplexed.
"Let me exin" Ate, the smartest amongst the Valkyries, stepped forward to exin. "Think about it. If someone you hardly know, someone you only briefly encountered in the pastes to you seeking help, it''s not a simple decision to make. They need not only the means to reach you, but also the courage to ask for aid. I believe Master saw some worth in them right?".
"It''s as you say" Simon leaned forward slightly "I do like people who are tenacious and are willing to struggle till the end. I''m sure seeking shelter is not the only reason they arrived at my dungeon. However, unless I see some value in them I am hesitant to involve myself in their struggles".
"As for their protection, as long as they remain within the boundaries of this dungeon, even their most determined pursuers will be unable to reach them. As such, there''s no need to send them away when they''ve taken such steps to reach here," Simon exined.
"Also, I must express gratitude to Ate. Her quick thinking allowed us to detect their presence and intervene when necessary." He nced towards the spectacled beauty who stood by his side, her demeanourposed and observant.
"It is my duty, Master does not need to thank me" Although Ate said that, there was a faint trace of happiness in her facial expression.
"For a demon noble, especially a true demon noble, a debt of gratitude is a binding force, it is not a matter of honour to repay a debt, but something much morepelling" Simon exined with a thought gaze.
"Debts are chains that can shackle even the most powerful among us. The very nature of being indebted to another is a form of submission, a relinquishing of control. For beings like us, who are the very incarnation of desire and power above all else, owing anything to anyone is a deeply ufortable notion".
"We are creatures of authority and dominion, and anything that threatens that autonomy is to be avoided at all costs. It is for this reason that many demon nobles are unwilling to be indebted to others. Because if even once the scales tip in that direction, they arepelled to fulfil that obligation. This is why I am cautious about forming such connections and repaying any favour I owe".
And although Simon did not mention it, for him this obligation was even more of a binding force. As someone who possesses the Fragments of Pride, the concept of owing someone something goes beyond mere obligation.
It''s a fundamental opposition that he feels to his core. This sentiment was true even when he possessed only one fragment, and now, with the second fragment, that feeling has only intensified.
As Simon slowly learned more about his origins, he was able to learn that the Fragments of Pride was more than just something that augmented his powers, it was his core. They shaped his very essence, influencing how he perceived the world and how he interacted with others.
That is why, for him to owe someone a debt, goes against the very core of his being. And even if he did, he was bound to repay that favour no matter what. This was not a matter of choice; it was the very nature of his core and the concept itself.
"I see thank you for exining master" Bea nodded her head in understanding. She finally understood why her master went as far as to even shelter them. It was because of the nature of the demon nobles.
"I will leave the two of you in charge of our new guests. You can ask the Diluvian High Orcs to build them a proper shelter on the training floor. Also, make sure to give to give them proper hospitality, I don''t want themining about uscking in this area".
"Another thing, notify all the inhabitants of the dungeon that we have guests and that they should avoid the [Training Floor] for the time being especially the Forest Spring Spirits. I don''t want their existence to get released"¡
"Understood Master"
After giving his orders, Simon returned to his work. The life of a dungeon master and a demon who chose to forge his own fate, was quite busy after all. Training, strengthening the dungeon and fighting the giant piles of paperwork, amidst all this, ten passed by.
During this time, Simon''s level never remained stagnant, it rose at an astonishing speed every day.
Using the method he created, he efficiently absorbed dozens and dozens of Mana crystals. His levelling speed only came to a stop when he reached level 560 and met a wall.
This wall was different from the bloodline wall that restricted one from reaching greater ranks, this one meant the end of his talent. If he wanted to press forward from this point on, he would have to do so by putting hard work.
That is to say, using Mana crystals to expedite his progress would be in vain; he needed to push himself to the limit and challenge the boundaries of his physical and magical capabilities. Only that way can he breach this wall that was looming in front of him, the wall of hard work.
In tandem with his own development, the dungeon had also grown significantly in these past few days. It nowprised 90 floors, not counting the anciry floors like the [Training floor], [Workshop] and such.
Each of the lower floors was popted with powerful monsters and new ecosystems befitting the dungeon''s rank. Not only that, it was also sprawling with numerous magical traps, arrays, mutated monsters and treasures.
Then there were also the special areas that provided high risk high rewards like the Hidden Chambers and Danger Zones to challenge the adventurers.
All in all, the dungeon Lace was quite different from the time when it recently increased in rank. Now it was befitting of the name intermediate ranking dungeon and probably could even match Of course, all of these changes weren''t the result of his own efforts, his subordinates also helped out a lot. If not for the [Helpers], it some [B] rank dungeons in difficulty.
Of course, all of these changes weren''t the result of his own efforts, his subordinates also helped out a lot. If not for the [Helpers], it would still have taken the dungeon a long time to reach the level it was currently on.
Other than that, Simon was also informed by Ate and Bea who were tasked with monitoring the guests, that the other two people he had saved, the burly knight and the old assassin had also woken up.
They had been moved to a shelter that was built by the Diluvian High Orcs on the training floor.
Speaking of the Diluvian High orcs, they were quite an organised bunch. Thanks to their unique trait that allowed them to coordinate almost seamlessly with each other, they were the perfectbour force.
Simon was not saying that just based on the single traits of theirs alone, but because the Diluvian High Orcs were a colonised group that followed ranks and orders just like an army.
Coupled with the fact that they possessed powerful physiques, they were perfect for tasks that require manualbour. The shelter that they built was quite impressive in its own right and any stone mason and builder of this time would feel humbled if they saw their ability.
Chapter 720- New Summons
Chapter 720- New Summons
Simon believed that the Diluvian High Orcs had a lot of potential and they would be quite helpful to him in the future.
"I guess I should give them a little more benefits" Although he had created a garden of Bloodtrap nts on their floor, the nt was after all, a basic necessity for them to evolve. He should provide them with more resources to grow themselves.
Simon was sure that with Berigard''s management, the Diluvain High Orcs would be something to look forward to. He quickly jotted down the ideas he had for the Diluvain High Orcs on one paper before keeping down his pen and sighing.
Usually, after finishing this task of his, he would either train or rx with his subordinates for some time. However, today was different from all the other days.
How was it different? That was because the dungeon had produced another emblem today that it can only produce one each month.
Simon looked at the coin shaped trinket on his hand that had a vague figure of a demon with golden ck tattoos on it. These unique emblems that were produced by his dungeon and possessed his own unique traits and qualities, could only be used by the dungeon master, aka him.
Counting the one in his hand, and the two sitting in his [Inventory] Simon had three emblems with him. This meant only one thing, that right it was time to summon more subordinates.
Normally, Simon would go to the training floor to use the mysterious abyss after all, there was no guarantee what sort of thing woulde from it. Based on the previous incidents, it was clear that the bugged option that was the result of the merger of two Menus was somethingpletely iprehensible.
From weird intergctic dimensional creatures also known as Wisp to undead, the creatures of theherworld. The option can dish out anything.
As such, using such an option on the Main floor was just inviting trouble. That is why, he would normally use the [Training Floor] when using the mysterious abyss. Valkyries, Ogoraths, the Vampire Twins all of them were summoned on that floor.
However, right now the [Training Floor] was being used to house Cynthia and her group. There is no way, he can reveal a card like the mysterious abyss in front of them. And so, he moved far away from the White Pce and also¡
"Master, are you going to use that option once again? Hehe"¡
"Master, leave it to me and my sister. Anything thates through, we will sent it packing back".
A mischievous Wood Elf and a young vampire boy spoke. That''s right, he also brought his subordinates with him. Their role was to aid him in suppressing any hostile being that came out of the Abyss.
Although, the probability of that happening was low, the option was no longer what it used to be as such, there is no way of knowing if the being thates out of it will be loyal to him. That is unless the beinging out of the option was one of the Twelve Heroes that he designed.
"I wonder if big sis Mercy wille out this time. Master, you must summon big sister" Alice spoke, the big sis Mercy she mentioned was none other than the eldest of the Valkyrie sisters, Mercedes.
"There is no way of knowing what wille out of it after all, the option is a void of mysteries that defies understanding or conventional logic" The one to reply to Alice was Irene.
Being someone who was also summoned through the abyss she was very much interested in the option. Every time that Simon used the option she would always be present and try to understand some of its mysteries and thew on which it operates.
As for him, he was also trying to figure it out. However, every time he came face to face with this option, this unpredictable, unfathomable, cosmic enigma that toyed with the very fabric of reality. Something that bend the boundaries between possibility and impossibility, where logic started failing and hold no meaning, he would feel humbled.
It''s not like Simon wouldn''t like summoning Mercedes or the other Heroes. However, he was simply helpless in this aspect, he really did not know what woulde out of it.
He had tried all sorts ofbinations; nevertheless, he was never able to find any sort of patterns or for that say the limit for this option.
He had tried using one. two, three¡ and all the way up to six emblems. However, every time a random thing would pop out. The best examples were the Ogoraths and the Yin Yang Koi Fish.
On the side note, the upper limit of the emblem he had tried to use on the abyss was six and the results were, it threw out the vampire twins.
Right now, he had three emblems with him, this was the same amount he used to summon Irene. Incidentally, it was also the same amount that brought forth the [B] rank Ogoraths.
"Please give me something¡ something good" While hoping to Immediately afterwards, following the previous records the space in front of him cracked and shattered like ss, revealing a dark summon one of the twelve heroes, Simon inserted the three emblems into the option.
Immediately afterwards, following the previous records the space in front of him cracked and shattered like ss, revealing a dark ck spiral like a maw of a monster.
This was the Abyss, the option that had everyone fazed. What was going to pop out of it this time? Simon had the figure of the leader of the Valkyries in mind. Although he did not know if imagining would help, he still did it.
The Abyss spun for a long time, this was nothing unusual. Depending on what was the thing that was going toe out, it might even spin for a couple of hours. It was so when summoning Wisp, the Null Elemental had taken its sweet time toe out.
Was it around four hours? Simon wondered. However, it did not look like the same was the case this time. The abyss started spinning faster and faster. Usually, this was the sign that the summoning was in itsst stages and something would pop out after the gate slowly gets smaller.
Though this time, the abyss defied its usual behaviour. The spinning vortex, which was normally a prelude to the emergence of something, had taken an unexpected turn. Instead of shrinking and culminating in the appearance of a summoned entity, the Abyss was growingrger by the moment.
It was expanding like a voracious maw, its size ballooning to an extent that was unprecedented in Simon''s experience.
From its initial size of five meters, it grew to be as big as eight meters, then slowly ten¡ eleven¡twelve.
The dimensions of the Abyss exceeded all of its norms, reaching a staggering thirty meters in height and width. Spanned across this immense expanse, it created a surreal and imposing sight.
From this distance, it looked like an enormous gateway to the unknown.
What was going on? This was the first time the option behaved like that. Simon''s mind raced, trying toprehend what could be happening. Was this an anomaly? A glitch in the system? Or was it an intentional urrence, perhaps triggered by something?
Questions flooded Simon''s thoughts. If the Abyss was meant to adjust its size to amodate the entity being summoned, then what kind of being could possibly emerge from a thirty-meter-wide portal?
Standing before the colossal Abyss, Simon felt a mixture of trepidation and anticipation. He was no stranger to the bizarre and the unexined, but this event transcended even his wildest understanding.
Be that may, he could only wait, his heart pounding as he braced himself for whatever would emerge from the vast, expanding void before him. Whatever it was, it would undoubtedly be huge.
And Simon was proven right, it didn''t take long for the mysterious abyss to chug out the thing it summoned. From within the seemingly endless void, a presence began to materialize, emerging with an imposing aura that made it hard to breathe.
The ground trembled beneath Simon''s feet, the very air charged with anticipation as the enormous figures drew closer to the edge of the portal.
Alice immediately notched her arrow feeling the change in the environment and the twins appeared next to Simon seemingly guarding him of the thing that wasing out from the abyss.
BOOM¡ as the figure took its first step onto the Main floor, its appearance also came into sight in front of everyone.
A towering entity wreathed in mes that danced with an intensity that defied naturalws. Its form was a mesmerizing symphony of reds, oranges, and golds, exuding an infernal heat that could be felt even from a distance.
As it stepped onto thend, the ground scorched beneath its feet, leaving a trail of molten earth in its wake. Simon''s gaze remained fixed on the towering fiery entity, his mind churning with questions and intrigue.
"Master, what is that thing? I''ve never seen anything like it." Beside him, the twins pointed at the enormous thing that came out of the abyss.
"Elemental constructs," The one to reply in Simon''s stead was Irene. Her voice carried both surprise and excitement as she looked at the Elemental construct.
"Elemental Constructs?! What are they?"¡
"They are living manifestations of the elemental forces. Created by an ancient being known as the Elementalist, they hold immense power and carry the essence of their respective elements. Elementalist was said to have existed long before recorded history, a being who delved into the deepest mysteries of the world".
Chapter 721- New Summons (2)
Chapter 721- New Summons (2)
"It is believed that the Elemental Constructs were an ident of his creation and guarded his realm. However, it was all in the past, right now they are nothing but a shadow of their previous self".
Thanks to Irene''s exnation, everyone present here was able to learn what kind of being the abyss brought forth.
It turned out that the towering figureposed of living mes, seemingly in a perpetual state ofbustion and whose fiery form shifted and swayed, as if possessed by a rhythmic dance that only it could understand, was called an elemental construct.
Simon activated his [Appraisal] skill to observe the Fire Elemental, but then something unexpected happened. The Abyss, which usually closed after summoning a creature, remained open, swirling with an intensity that Simon had never seen before.
"This is unusual. The Abyss should have closed after summoning the Fire Elemental. Why is it still open?"
Confusion shed in his eyes. Just as the group watched the abyss in bemusement, a whirlwind of chilling air suddenly swept through the chamber, making them shiver involuntarily.
"Master look, something ising out?" Alice eximed.
At that moment another enormous shadow could be seening closer from the other side of the abyss.
BOOM¡ a second elemental construct stepped out, this one was different than the first in that it was a swirling vortex of air and wind. Its form was an ever-shifting column of tempest, with gusts of wind spiralling around a central core.
It exuded an aura of unbridled freedom, encapsting the untameable spirit of the wind. The one to emerge out of the abyss after the Fire Elemental was the Cyclone Elemental.
"Two elemental constructs came out¡ I guess it''s not unusual given that I used three emblems. Could it be there is still¡"
As gasps of surprise rang out from his subordinates, Simon muttered to himself in contemtion. Just as he hypothesised, the unexpected didn''t end there. The Abyss, which still hadn''t closed, continued to pulse and expand, defying all expectations.
Out of the swirling void emerged a third Elemental construct, its form gleaming with icy brilliance.
After the Fire and Cyclone elemental, the Ice Elemental that came out stood as a shimmering monument of frost and cold. Its crystalline body seemed to refract light, casting prismatic reflections across its surroundings.
Its presence brought a bone-chilling cold that seemed to freeze the very air around it. As it emerged, frost spread in intricate patterns along the ground, and the environment itself seemed to take on an icy hue.
Fire Elemental, Cyclone Elemental and now with the appearance of Ice Elemental, itpleted the triumvirate.
Finally after thest of the elemental construct came out, the abyss stopped spinning and disappeared, leaving the space to slowly heal itself.
"Three elemental constructs as I thought so" When the Cyclone elemental came out Simon had surmised that there would be a third one. It was a simple conclusion he had drawn after examining and learning about the abyss every time he used it.
Based on the past incidents, he had noticed that when using multiple emblems at once, there would be two kinds of results. Either it would summon out a single powerful entity like Irene or Wisp that is deserving of the number of emblems or the abyss would dish out multiple beings to make up for it.
The Valkyries that were summoned after Simon used five emblems and the Elemental constructs were the perfect example of that.
That said, it was still an observation in the end, there is o way of knowing how exactly the abyss operated.
As the three Elemental constructs, each one more massive than anything Simon had ever encountered, stood as awe-inspiring embodiments of nature''s raw power. They radiated an ancient energy, a disy of dominance over the elements, a manifestation of primordial might and untamed forces.
Their arrival had divided the atmosphere of the Main floor into three parts. One was as hot as a fire, the other windy and the other part was icy cold.
As thend settled from their arrival, the Elemental constructs turned their attention to Simon with an intensity that sent shivers down his spine. The way the elemental constructs ignored all the other people around him, it was as if they knew Simon was the one who summoned them and was the master of this ce.
ZOOOM¡ At this moment, the air seemed to quiver with power as the Elemental constructs emanated a potent undtion. The elements within their chests shifted and separated, revealing the glowing cores that formed the heart of their being.
These cores, while minuscule inparison to the towering forms of the constructs, held an incredible significance. All the three Elemental constructs revealed their core towards Simon.
Despite there being nomunication between them, he immediately understood what they were trying to gesture.
Simon feeling a little overwhelmed by the situation, extended his hands. Mana surged out from within him in droves and branched into three different strands, each reaching out to make contact with the exposed cores of the Elemental Constructs.
As the connection was established, a rush of information flooded Simon''s senses. He felt their existence, their consciousness, their essence merging with his own. Despite being constructs created by someone, he was able to learn that all of them had egos.
They were not mere mindless tools as they possessed their own personalities and traits, their own sparks of individuality.
The Fire Elemental''s ego for example was like a roaring inferno, fierce and passionate. It burned with a desire for challenge andbat, seeking to test its power against worthy opponents.
The Cyclone Elemental''s ego was elusive and ever-changing, akin to the shifting winds. It held a curious nature, desiring to explore and understand it''s opponents. The Ice Elemental''s ego was cold and headstrong, like the heart of a cier.
Yet, despite their distinct personalities, Simon sensed that these egos were strong, they were too simple and guileless, almost like a child.
"I guess I shouldn''t be surprised that the option of your menu is even able to call forth Elemental Constructs from a realm that had long since ceased existing" Irene spoke with her lips curved into a smile.
"What do you mean?" Simon questioned.
With an expression that held a mix of awe and curiosity, Irene pointed at Simon "What I mean is that option of yours is truly extraordinary. No, saying it''s extraordinary would be an understatement, after all, not only can it manipte the Laws of space and connect with any of the realms in this universe, it can even manipte thews of time and connect with a realm that had been long destroyed in the ancient times".
"Everything that was in this realm was also destroyed when that world fell. Do you understand what I''m trying to say? The Abyss connected with the realm of Nexus of the past and brought forth the Elemental Constructs before they could be destroyed. That option of yours is simply unfathomable and defies all understanding".
"Ohhh" Simon rounded his lips and nodded his head, his mind swirled with awe and wonder for his option.
Although it still remained a mystery and there was much to be discovered about this option, one thing was certain, and that was everything that was summoned out of it was bound to be unique or powerful.
"Alright, enough about the cryptic and iprehensible things. What I want to know is that are these so called elemental constructs powerful or not?"
With Irene talking about these constructs so much, it was only natural for Simon to get excited.
"ording to ancient texts and legends, the Elementalist was able to harness the raw forces of nature itself. What was his purpose in creating these huge Elemental constructs, still remained shrouded in mystery. Some believed they were meant to bring equilibrium to the worlds. Others spected that their purpose was to guard the realm, and protect the items and artefacts he created from falling into evil hands and being misused".
"No one truly knew, for the Elementalist and the realm of Nexus was destroyed and vanished into obscurity. All that remained were texts. As for how they can gain that kind of strength, you who have been acknowledged by them and created a connection, should the ancient text noting about its existence. So if you are asking me if they are strong or not, I would say they are".
"Things that are created by the Elemantalist are nothing short of extraordinary, it is more so for these Elemental Constructs. However, the ones standing in front of you are nothing like the ones I learned from the ancient texts. You should have already realised the moment you made contact with it, they appear to be rtively young existences than the ones I know of".
"These constructs are akin to artificial lifeforms, creations that held the potential for growth and development. That is to say, they are yet to attain the level of power and sentience from the ancient texts. As for how they can gain that kind of strength, you who have been acknowledged by them and created a connection, should know more than me"
It was as Irene said, as the connection Simon had with the elemental constructs deepened, he began to perceive the mysteries thaty within these Elemental constructs. They were not simple tools but entities intricately woven into the fabric of the elements themselves.
And while each of them had their own egos, they were not fully matured, akin to fledgling souls navigating a vast and unknown realm. What he need to do from this point on was¡
"I see, if that is the case, it makes sense why the [Appraisal] disyed their level as [Unassigned] and all of their skills are hidden".
Chapter 722- Echomir Plates
Chapter 722- Echomir tes
These Elemental Constructs once existed in a realm where elemental forces converged, and if he wanted them to attain the power they were meant to have, he would have to provide a suitable environmental habitat for their development.
Just as a seed needed the right conditions to grow into a mighty tree, these elemental beings required a nurturing environment to mature into the formidable forces they were destined to be.
"It''s clear to me now. These elemental constructs are like young saplings, yearning to grow and flourish. I will do everything in my power to provide them with the environment they need to achieve their full potential" Simon spoke with determination.
These elemental constructs if raised in a proper environment can be powerful defence for his dungeon.
After Simon confirmed that the Elemental Construct have formed a soul link with him, he dispersed his people. As for the elemental constructs, because they were too huge for the main floor, he sent them to a different floor for the time being.
And just like that, Simon returned to his monotonous routine.
A week passed by and he was still stuck at the same level. However, his magic and skill training progressed dramatically. Now not only can he use his mana to cast spells without any wastage, he was even able to make progress in Amalgamation magic, capable of merging two Advanced attribute magic together.
The result was, the very fabric of space trembled as a vague magic took shape in Simon''s palm.
"Huff¡ huff¡ I can''t believe itpletely drained me out of my mana just to form a single magic" Simon grasped for breath looking at a golden crimson orb the size of a baseball, slowly rotating in his hand in excitement.
It needs to be mentioned that after reaching the level he was in, the total Mana Pool he had was well over 300,000. Yet he was running on fumes only after conjuring a single magic.
There were faint traces of ck tears forming around the magic, an indication of the space being violently torn apart. Not only that, the aura this magic released was so terrifying that it even induced changes in the mystical cycle of his Main floor.
Needless to say, he can''t test its strength here; however, even without testing it out, Simon could vouch that it was strong, stronger than any of his attacks. After all, the magic was the culmination of enlightenment and achievement he had up until now.
"Let''s store it there" he muttered something under his breath.
After another two to three hours, Simon was done with his training and was just about to leave the pond of serenity, when he heard a voice transmission sound inside his head. It was from Prime, the new [Administrator] of his dungeon.
The contents of his message immediately excited Simon and he couldn''t help but teleport to the [Workshop].
Inside the volcanic mountain where Prime made his new home, Simon arrived through the path he created and confronted the other party.
"Is it really true that you fixed the Radiant Crown of Brilliance?" he asked.
fix it, you still had doubts about my ability?" Prime released a yellow light from its body showing that it was unhappy with Simon''s "Of course, who do you think I am brat? Didn''t I tell you that I will fix it, you still had doubts about my ability?" Prime released a yellow light from its body showing that it was unhappy with Simon''s attitude.
"Haha, I never had any doubts about your ability. It''s just that I didn''t think it would be fixed so soon. Hasn''t it only been a month since I gave you that item?"¡
"Well, you already had all the items I needed to fix it. Normally it takes more time just to gather the material needed to fix the artefact than to repair it. However, since you had all of them, all I needed to do was set up my instruments and let my abilities do the work" Prime exined before returning back to his work.
This craftsman that he brought from the auction was a little peculiar in that, there was never a time it stayed idle. It was constantly busy with inventing, and tinkering with new items.
Of course, Prime hadn''t forgotten about the Resonancer. It was working on it side by on the other projects.
Simon observed the Lumynar at work before taking his leave. Arriving back at the main floor, Simon called forth for all of the [Guardians] and his close subordinates on the Main floor.
After a few hours, all of them gathered at the main hall of the White Pce where he told them about his intentions to leave the dungeon for a while.
"Master, you are leaving? Where are you going?" Ate questioned with a concerned look on her face.
"Don''t worry, I am going out into the outside world, instead I am going to the forbidden grounds to train" Simon answered with a smile. Now that he had encountered a wall in his training that could only be breached through efforts, he has no other option but to go out and seek a challenge where he can surpass his limits.
And what better ce to break the limits of the body than the forbidden grounds that was fraught with dangers at every turn?
It had been a while since Simonst cleared the fourth trial, probably around two years. At that time, he was forced to go into the forbidden grounds as there was no other ce for him to run from his enemies at that time.
However, this time he chose to dive inside the forbidden grounds on his own ord.
"Forbidden grounds?!" His subordinates eximed. They were aware of the forbidden grounds he spoke of.
"Yeah, I will be leaving the dungeon in your care for the time being. It shouldn''t take me too long this time. Keep an eye on the Tower Town and the Seven Kings during this time. Although I''m sure they won''t make a move soon, if you notice anything unusual, use this"
Simon spoke, taking out two intricately crafted long ck tes the size of one hand from his [Inventory].
"These are?" Ate tilted her head.
"Echomir tes, they are made of a special material and are enchanted with a wonderous property".
Just as everyone wondered what was so special about these tes, Simon gave them a demonstration. He took out a pen from his space ring and started writing something on one te.
And to their astonishment, whatever he wrote, also appeared on another te almost magically.
Seeing their surprised faces, Simon finally exined "When someone writes a message or symbol on one of the Echomir tes, the inscription instantly appears on the surface of the other te, no matter the distance between them. The magical connection that binds the tes defies the limitations of space, allowing for instantaneousmunication between individuals who possess the tes".
Using this te, even if Simon is away, he can somewhatmunicate with his subordinates inside the dungeon.
The Echomir tes was one of the few joke items that he had created back when working on the game that actually had some practical uses.
His subordinates understood what these tes were; however, they were still worried. "Master, is it possible for you to bring any of us with you?"
Simon nced at their faces and felt their sincerity; nevertheless, he still shook his head. The forbidden grounds was dangerous but this is precisely why he was going there. He needed a ce where he can challenge his limits and break the wall limiting his progress.
Even If he could bring them to the forbidden grounds, this whole ordeal would hold no meaning if he took the help of his subordinates.
"I see, since you have made up your mind, we will not stop you. However, make sure you are not being reckless and do not gamble with your lie again"
Irene stated trying to keep an indifferent expression. Though she was fooling no one, it was clear that she was concerned.
Simon smiled, hugging the beauty in his embrace. "Yeah" he nodded. After he dered his feeling for her, he no longer bothered to hide it from his subordinates. He would show his affection openly sometimes.
And of course, there would be few people wearing a teasing smile in the background while others burned in jealousy.
"Alright then, I will be going now" he had left sufficient instruction for his subordinates and enough safeguards in ce inside the dungeon. As such, even if he was absent for some time, the dungeon should still be running fine.
Thinking so, Simon took out the Transit Rock from his [Inventory] that was the gateway to the forbidden grounds and crushed it under his hand.
Previously he had cleared the fourth trial, this time his goal was the fifth trial. Simon''s vision wavered and he found himself falling into the long white tunnel. Soon after, his surroundings changed and he was transported to a different ce.
As his vision cleared, he found himself in a dimly lit, underground chamber. The air was thick with an ancient, musty scent, and the soft glow of magical torches illuminated the worn stone walls covered in inscriptions and murals depicting scenes from long-forgotten times.
The atmosphere was eerie and the silence was punctuated only by the distant sound of dripping water.
"So this is the fifth trial huh?" Simon muttered observing his surroundings.
He walked around the chamber for a while and arrived before a huge looming door. The door was massive and had intricate runes and patterns carved onto it. Simon touched the door and spread his senses.
As he had guessed, he couldn''t perceive anything beyond it. It was as if the door was blocking his senses.
Chapter 723- Fifth Trial
Chapter 723- Fifth Trial
His senses couldn''t breach through the door.
"How could the trails be so easy" If he wanted to know what was beyond the door, he would have to open and check it out himself. Simon exerted pressure and under his strength, the door creaked open revealing another huge chamber beyond it.
Just like the one he was transported to, this chamber was empty too. What was going on? Simon observed the ce before moving on to open the door of this chamber.
Again, another chamber, simr to the previous two greeted him.
"Is the Fifth trial a maze?" Just as he was thinking that, a notification popped up in front of him.
[You have entered the Murals of Mythos. Find the right door to exit the ce. Note- For each wrong door you open, your level will be suppressed. Current level 560. Warning- Malgrum the Vile knows your position and is slowly approaching you. Only death awaits if he finds you, constantly move ce and avoid staying in one chamber]. This¡ it hadn''t even been more than a couple of minutes since he arrived here and he already received such an ominous message. Should he say as expected of the forbidden grounds?
His life was in danger, some unknown enemy called the Malgrum the Vile was lurking in the Murals of Mythos and was currently approaching him. If he did not move, he would die just as the notification said.
He needed to find the right door; however, if he opened the wrong door, his level would be suppressed every time. So what should he do?
[Warning- 3 Minutes left before Malgrum the Vile reaches the chamber you are in].
Dammit, he did not even have the time to ponder, he needed to move fast. The third chamber had three doors, if he discounted the one he came from he needed to choose the right door from the other two.
However, both the doors looked the same, even the runes and patterns on them were exactly simr.
[Warning- 2 minutes remaining before Malgrum reaches you].
"Curses, there is no time. I should first open some distance from Malgrum before thinking about the right door" Simon thought before randomly opening one of the doors and rushing inside.
[You have opened the wrong door, your level has been suppressed by ten].
So he opened the wrong door huh¡ talk about being unlucky. Well, Simon had already expected this would be so. As a result of opening the wrong door, he suffered a penalty, his level had gone down by ten.
Simon opened his status and saw that in the row where his level was shown, he saw (-10) beside his level 560. He could actually feel his overall strength going down. However, it didn''t appear that his actual level had decreased or else, his level would be shown as 550 and not 560.
This meant that the penalty of the level suppression would only be effective in this underground maze and as long as he could leave this ce, his level would return to normal.
"It''s good that my actual level is not affected, however¡" Simon''s eyes shifted towards another window that disyed¡ª [Warning- Malgrum the Vile found your position, 3 minutes before he reaches you].
Although he had opened some distance from the thing chasing him, why is it that even after changing the chamber he was in, he only gained an additional one minute?
Simon didn''t have the time to cry about it, he needed to find the right door and exit the ce. The fourth chamber had four doors including the one he came from. Aside from that fact, everything inside the chamber was the same.
The Murals, the carving and even the size of the hall, nothing seemed to be different.
"Crap, he is already here" Just as Simon was observing the chamber, the notification appeared in front of him, warning him about Malgrum who was just around the corner.
Cursing once again, Simon opened some distance praying that the next door he would open would be the right one. However, his luck was pretty shitty as every door he opened turned out to be the wrong one.
"Damn, this one turned out to be a dud too huh"
Simonined arriving in the eighth chamber. He had gained a few precious minutes from Malgrum; however, his level was now suppressed by 50. Having one''s level and strength suppressed, was a pretty ufortable feeling especially when knowing that there is a powerful enemy after him and that every wrong door he opened, reduced his chances of survival.
"This can''t go on for long, I need to find a way" Simon clenched his fists and started studying and observing the doors. He needed to make the optimum use of the few precious minutes he saved up.
And so, as seconds ticked by, he continued to stare and observe each of the doors. The eighth chamber had eight doors, all of which were huge in size and had intricate runes and carving drawn on them.
After a while, Simon stepped back and collected his thoughts. From what he had observed up until this point on, the clue seemed to be in the paintings of the door.
Each of the doors had a different painting on them which changed every time he came to a new chamber. For example, one of the doors had a carving of a mighty being holding a powerful looking staff that was iid with threerge gems.
Another door showed a serene garden with exotic flora and fauna, while yet another disyed a battle between celestial beings and shadowy demons.
Simon''s eyes scanned the doors once more, his mind racing to decipher the hidden message behind the changing paintings when
¡ª
[Warning- Malgrum has found your position]¡ the notification arrived once again.
This Malgrum the vile was really persistent, even after he opened so many doors and created a distance, this thing was still able to detect him in no more than a few minutes.
"I can''t let him catch me" The murals on the chamber depicted Malgrum to be a vile looking creature with hundreds of arms and a monstrous body. It was huge like a giant and possessed enough might to destroy numerous kingdoms and empires.
In the murals, it was depicted as a symbol of terror that brought disaster and cmity to thend. Uncountable kingdoms and beings perished under it until it was finally brought down by two warriors, one holding a shield and the other a sword.
They looked very much like the two mighty warriors he had encountered on the second floor.
Was the second trial somehow rted to the fifth? Simon wondered. However, he didn''t have the time to sit back and learn history, he only had three minutes left to get away from here.
In any case, it was clear from the murals that Malgrum was strong and only a being of the calibre of the two warriors can bring him down. Simon had a hunch that even the Finger of Ozymandias was no match against this creature, it was on a level that Simon couldn''t trifle with.
Just like the notification had said, only death awaited him if he was caught, as such he needed to get away from here as soon as possible.
Simon hurriedly opened a couple more doors to create some distance, he only breathed a sigh of relief after arriving at the 13th chamber.
By now, the level suppression had be quite stronger and his level had fallen by (-100). That is to say, the strength he currently possessed was around level 460. Although his rank remained the same, it was by no means a good feeling.
Fortunately, he was able to create a precious couple of minutes. There was no second to spare, he need to find the clue to get out of here and clear the trial.
The Fifth Trial was definitely trying to hint at something, he needed to find the right door before his level waspletely suppressed.
Simon had been thinking for a while, he had started the trial with a level of 560; however, right now he had already lost about a hundred levels. The feeling of getting weaker aside, he only had a limited number of levels.
What would happen once he ran out of level? What would happen to the penalty? Would he still be able to open the doors? If his level reached zero and he was supposedly unable to open any more doors, wouldn''t he die once Maglrum caught up to him?
At that time, he wouldn''t even have the power to even resist. A shiver ran down his spine just as those thoughts arrived to him. he thought that he had made ample preparation to tackle the forbidden grounds; however, it appeared that he still underestimated it.
The horrors here was truly worthy of the name Forbidden Grounds.
There was no time to waste, Simon started deciphering the murals and the engravings on the door.
"G..a..e¡ Gae¡ Gaelen the shield¡" Simon frowned as he tried to read what these murals were trying to tell. However, it was clear that his [Language Comprehension] still was far away from being able topletely decipher them.
At this moment he couldn''t help but wish Lucine was here. If only he had her aid, then all of theseplex runes and writing wouldn''t have been a problem.
"There is no point in thinking about her, I need to decipher what little I can on my own" Simon red at the murals with bloodshot eyes. His survival was at stake.
Chapter 724- Fifth Trial (2)
Chapter 724- Fifth Trial (2)
Simon tried to decipher the meaning behind the Murals and after a while, his breathing becameposed and his mind cleared up as if entering a mysterious state. Unbeknownst to him, Simon''s left eye started reacting at this moment.
Like a circuit pattern, the golden light spread across from the left eye and almost covered half of his body. The letters and runes that had once appeared meaningless now held rity and purpose.
Each stroke seemed to convey a message, a narrative that had been waiting to be unveiled. The story began to take shape in Simon''s mind, revealing a tale of valor and sacrifice.
In the murals, he saw two warriors depicted in vivid detail. Gaelen Sunguard, a figure with a stalwart stance, held a shield adorned with intricate patterns. The Shield of Oath, it was called a symbol of unwavering dedication and unyielding protection.
By his side stood Veridian Sunde, a warrior of noble bearing, wielding the Sword of Dawn that radiated a warm and radiant light.
The story told of their quest, a journey to stop the relentless advance of Malgrum the Vile who the threw the entire realm in chaos and darkness.
As Simon continued to decipher the runes, the story unfolded further. The warriors had faced trials that tested not only their physical prowess, but their inner strength and convictions.
They encountered challenges that pushed them to their limits, forcing them to confront their own doubts and fears. Through the murals, Simon was able to learn about the epic confrontation between Gaelen, Veridian, and Malgrum.
The battle was fierce, the sh of light against evil, strength against malevolence. The warriors'' determination and the power of their bond resonated with the very essence of the realm.
In a climactic moment, Gaelen raised his shield of oath, its radiant energy forming an imprable barrier against Malgrum''s evil energy. Veridian''s Sword of Dawn zed with brilliance as he struck, his every movement infused with the light of dawn itself.
The battle reached its peak, the struggle of wills and power echoing through the ages. And in the end, it was Gaelen and Veridian who emerged victorious.
With thebined strength of their spirits and the power of their artifacts, they sealed away Malgrum''s malevolent providence, halting his advance and preserving the realm from his darkness.
Simon''s eyes widened as he absorbed the entirety of the story. For some reason, he was now able to fluidly read and understand the murals.
"Gaelen Sunguard and Veridian Sunde¡ so these were the names of the two warriors".
He had met the statues of the two warriors back when he was clearing the second trial. At that time, he was very impressed by the powers and the little bit of history he learnt about the two brothers.
It also turned out that they had been the heroes who stood against Malgrum''s threat. They had shown courage, sacrifice, and an unbreakable bond. It was too bad that one of the brothers fell to the evil side leading the Jury to make the two brothers confront each other.
With a deep breath, Simon stepped back from the murals. Now that the story was revealed to him, he felt like he got some clue as to how to proceed from here. His eyes shifted from the murals painted in the chamber and towards the doors.
He quickly scanned each of the doors and tried to decipher the hidden meaning behind the changing engravings on them. Thanks to the number of doors increasing with every chamber, there were now thirteen doors in total, each with a different engraving and runes, in front of him.
Well, to be exact there were twelve discounting the one he came here from. In any case, it was clear that each set of doors represented a different story, a unique narrative that held the key to his escape.
For example, one door showed a mighty figure sitting on a throne with a crown on his head. the figure in the engraving had a powerful gaze and exuded an authoritative aura. Another door showed a dragon, leveling a piece ofnd with its powerful breath.
While another showed a serene garden with exotic flora and fauna, a battle between celestial beings and shadowy demons, ancient battlegrounds, mysterious rituals, and otherworldlyndscapes. Each image seemed to tell a story.
"I feel like there is more to these paintings than what meets the eye" His heart pounded as he recalled the murals within the chambers. The second trial and the fifth trial both recounted the tales of the two mighty warriors, it had to be rted somehow.
As Simon observed the doors, he finally seemed to realise something.
"These engravings on the door, they are not some random painting but a scene from a story. All the doors depict a certain part of some story".
There was no mistaking it. Although it might look like he was opening wrong doors till now, it was not exactly the case. Simon had been keeping an eye on all the doors, their positions, the engraving and runes on them and even the chambers.
That is why, he could tell that each of the doors were definitely following a part of the story. If so then could it be that the doors were inviting him to step into those stories, to be a part of the narratives they depicted? Or could it be that the challengey in choosing the right story to follow?
[Warning- Maglrum the vile has found your position. Two minutes remaining before he catches up to you]
Simon ignored the notification and ced all of his attention on the doors. Soon, one of the doors caught his interest. He approached that door and nced deeply at the painting depicted on it.
A round table and numerous vague figures sitting around it. Although it was hard to make out the appearance of these people from the drawing, the atmosphere and engraving on the door made one feel a heavy suppression instinctively.
Below the round table, although barely noticeable were two figures, one holding a shield and one a sword. Further below them was a city with tall walls and numerous buildings.
The engravings on the door were a little strange in that it depicted a hierarchy. The round table, or more precisely the people sitting around the round table were at the top. Below them, were the two warriors and further down was the city.
The chain ofmand, that is what the painting was depicting.
"The two warriors in this door look a lot like the shield and sword warriors".
If he remembered correct, he had learned in the second trial that the two powerful warriors, Gealen and Viridian used to serve a Jury. Could it be that the round table was the jury who once made the two brothers kill each other?
[Warning- Malgrum the Vile has found your position, 1 minute remaining before he catches up to you]
The second and the fifth trial, Gaelen and Viridian, the murals, the doors and the stories they followed. At this moment, Simon finally found the clue, the pieces finally clicked and he knew what the fifth trial was all about.
Without any hesitation, he opened that door and rushed in.
[You opened the wrong door. Applying penalty, your level have been suppressed by -10].
Simon did not bother to think about the notification and kept on opening the doors that depicted a part of the story of the two warriors.
The Fifth Trial wanted the challengers to find the right door, so of course many would think that there was a right door among the options. However, Simon realised that wasn''t the case.
There was no right door, more precisely the right door wasn''t among the options. To exit from this ce, one needed to find the right door and to do that, one needed to open a series of wrong doors.
That said, simply opening some random wrong doors won''t do, as it would simply lead you to a dead end until your level ispletely suppressed and you are no longer able to open any doors and can only wait for Malgrum to reach you.
To find the right door, one needed to follow a specific story from amongst the many stories the doors followed. The Fifth Trial wanted the challengers to realise that and follow the story that was depicted on the murals.
That is to say, follow the story of the Gaelen Sunguard and Viridian Sunde.
[You have opened the wrong door¡]
[You have opened the wrong door¡] [You have opened the wrong door¡] [You have opened the wrong door¡] Simon continued to suffer the penalty and he could feel his strength growing weaker every time.
Nevertheless, he did not stop, the penalty couldn''t scare him. He knew that his deductions were right and he continued to follow his instincts.
Soon, he reached the Twenty Third chamber, and by now his level was suppressed by (-200). Yet the look in Simon''s face did not waver, he walked towards one of the many doors in the chamber and after confirming that it was the story he was following, he opened it without any hesitation.
To his surprise, as soon as he stepped into the Twenty Fourth chamber, the periodic notification that announced him opening the wrong doors, did not arrive this time.
Instead, another notification that told him that he was very close to clearing the trial, appeared before him.
[You have reached the Hall of Mythos. Defeat Malgrum''s remnant to exit the trial].
Chapter 725- Re-Enact the Mythos: Simon, Gaelen, Veridian Vs Malgrum
Chapter 725- Re-Enact the Mythos:
Simon, Gaelen, Veridian Vs Malgrum
It was as he had thought, following the story of the two mighty warriors was the right answer. Had he randomly opened the doors thinking one of them was the right one, he would have long run out of levels.
Thankfully, he had arrived at the Hall of the Mythos atst, now all that was needed was for him to defeat Malgrum to clear the trial.
That said, how was he supposed to defeat an entity that the trial warned him to avoid earlier as it meant certain death? The answery in the hall he was in.
Simon shifted his attention from the notification and nced at the hall he was currently at. The ce was enormous, its vastness resembling that of a coliseum or an ancient stadium.
The ceiling of the hall soared high above, disappearing into darkness, and the air carried a sense of anticipation and gravitas. The walls were lined with magical torches that emitted a gentle, flickering light, casting intricate shadows across the worn stone surfaces.
At the centre of the hall, Simon''s gaze was drawn to two monumental statues. Carved with impable detail and precision, the statues stood as imposing sentinels on either side.
One depicted Gaelen Sunguard, his figuremanding and resolute, holding the shield of oath high above his head. The other depicted Veridian Sunde, his stance noble and his Sword of Dawn pointed skyward.
The statues although looked like a lifeless stone; they emanated a palpable energy, an aura that seemed to echo the spirits of the two legendary warriors. It was as if their presence was etched into the very stone from which they were carved.
Looking at theyout of the hall, Simon couldn''t help but be reminded of the time when he faced the Second Trial alongside Lucine and Denzel. The familiarity of the situation instantly made him realise what would ur next and what he needed to do to defeat the creature that wasing after him.
The story that he had followed led to the two warriors fighting and defeating the vile creature and now he must re-enact the past and defeat Malgrum himself.
That said, he did not need to fight Malgrum himself, even though the other party was just a remnant, it would simply be suicidal for him to face an opponent like that at his current level. Not to mention he was currently suffering from level penalty and his level was reduced by 200. There was no way he stood a chance.
But that was precisely why the statues were here. He might not stand a chance against the creature from the ancient times that brought cmity to thends and wiped out countless kingdoms, but the statues can.
Simon had personally seen how powerful these statues were on the Second Trial not to mention the ones in front of him looked even more lifelike and powerful. If it was Gaelen and Veridian, they definitely stood a chance to defeat Malgrum.
With a deep breath, Simon stepped towards the statues. If the Fifth Trial resembled the Second, there definitely has to be that thing. Simon''s eyes nced towards the feet of the statues where he found a small shield and a sword silently hovering near each of the statues.
The shield and the sword was the device that controlled the statues. In the second trial, he used the shield device to control Gaelen Sungaurd to win against Viridian Sunde. The presence of the devices meant that statues could be controlled.
Just like he had thought, the trial was telling him to re-enact the story from the long past, thus the name, Murals of Mythos.
With determined steps, Simon appeared in front of one of the statues and grabbed the device lying in wait for him. At that moment he heard another notification alerting him of the choice he made.
[You have chosen to wield the de of Dawn. You can now control the sword bearer, Veridian Sunde. Since you have chosen the sword, the shield will disappear].
The device that Simon chose this time was the sword. It was different from the time in the Second Trial where he chose the shield. The stage, the statutes and even the intention of the trial might be the same in some aspects.
However, this was the Fifth Trial, he was not fighting against the other statue, but against an evil creature from the ancient times. What he needed right now was not the shield that could defend, but the de that could attack and y the entity that was after him.
Well, arge part of the reason why he chose the sword over the shield was because Simon himself used the sword. He was more adept at wielding it than the shield. His [Sword Mastery] skill had also evolved to be [Thousand Sword Mastery]. A skill that would be ranked Rare ss Ancient tier at the very least.
Simon observed the sword and got himself familiar with it. It was made of some peculiar material, had a sleek design, a long sword handle and the insignia of the sun.
Although it felt a little different than the Crimson and the Burnt Sword he was used to, Simon believed that it wouldn''t take him long to get used to it.
Swoosh¡ he started brandishing the sword, the de made intricate and fine arcs across the air. Each move and sh had the deep understanding and skill that Simon held over the sword.
Just as he was practising with the sword and getting used to it, a notification appeared in front of his eyes.
[Warning- Malgrun the Vile knows your position, 1 minute remaining before it reaches you]
Almost at the same time, another notification appeared before him.
[The final part of the Fifth Trial will start now. The replica de of Dawn is activated. You are now able to use three skills of the legendary sword. Ut Videaris Victores]. The final part of the Fifth Trial was starting, and the two gigantic statues of Gaelen and Viridian started bing active as they hummed as if alive.
In the midst of the tension that hung in the air, Simon''s heart beat with a mixture of nerves and excitement. He tightly clenched the sword in his hand as a droplet of sweat trickled down his face.
The battle next would decide his fate, whether he would clear the Fifth Trial or die trying. It would be a lie to say that he wasn''t nervous; however, more than that, the emotion that he was feeling right now, the feeling that was overflowing within was¡ excitement.
The exhration that he felt when challenging an opponent that was far stronger than him. If you think about it, he was about to face an opponent from the ancient times. A creature that spread terror and cmity all over thend.
The unknown level of power it possessed, the abilities it could unleash ¡ª all of it added to the exhration that surged through Simon''s veins. He was about to confront an adversary who hailed from an era long past, a time of legends and myths.
[Warning- Malgrum the Vile has found your position. It is about to appear]
And finally, the warning from the notification came in big bold red letters.
A sudden ominous chill enveloped the ce and the entire chamber seemed to hold its breath as the tension reached its peak. And then, as if answering Simon''s own anticipation, the door across from him shuddered.
The massive entrance trembled on its hinges, the sound of metal scraping against stone filling the air. It was time. With every nerve on edge, Simon''s gaze remained fixed on the door as it slowly swung open.
As the door parted, the colossal form of Malgrum emerged. Simon''s eyes widened at the sight before him.
The creature''s sheer size defiedprehension, it had hundreds of limbs and a body that was grotesque and distorted. It resembled a monstrous being from the abyss, chains coiled around its limbs and an aura of darkness enveloping its form. Cancers and growths marred its flesh, giving it an otherworldly and abhorrent appearance.
As if a sudden epiphany hit him at this moment, Simon finally realised why all the doors here were so huge. He had wondered about it ever since the start of the fifth trial. Now the answer presented itself in front of him.
It made sense now that he thought about it, the doors were huge because they were made with Malgrum in mind.
The hideous appearance of the creature that somewhat resembled hecatoncheires was one thing, but what captured Simon''s attention the most was the door it dragged behind it.
The door was immense, its size seemingly enough to just fit through the chamber''s entrance. Chains extended from the door and wrapped around Malgrum''s body, binding it like a prisoner.
The door''s surface was etched with intricate runes and symbols, pulsating with an eerie energy. It was as if the door held some hidden power, some connection to the entity itself.
As Malgrum moved, the door emitted an ominous resonance, as if it held secrets long forgotten by time. The moment Simon saw the door, the creature was dragging behind, he instinctively understood that it was the exit he was looking for.
The door that the trial told him to find, there was no doubt about it, it was the right door.
"Haha" Augh bubbled up from deep within Simon, a mixture of amusement and astonishment.
Chapter 726- Re-Enact The Mythos: Simon, Gaelen, Veridian Vs Malgrum (2)
Chapter 726- Re-Enact The Mythos: Simon, Gaelen, Veridian Vs Malgrum (2)
Simon smacked his face and gave a bellowingughter. Why wouldn''tugh? It appeared that the trial was designed in a way for the challengers to find the right door sooner orter.
Regardless of the fact that they were able to solve the puzzle or not, Malgrum the Vile would surely find them and at that time, the door he was dragging would also appear in front of them.
It was just that at that time, the challenger would have no means of resistance, their only fate would be to die. Had Simon also failed to solve the puzzle, his fate would have been the same.
However, he solved the murals and followed the Mythos to reach the hall that had the answer to defeat the creature in front of him.
It was a strange sentiment, to find excitement in the face of danger and the unknown. But for Simon, this challenge had ignited a fire within him, a burning curiosity to conquer the obstacles thaty before him.
His heart pounded in his chest as he faced the monstrous entity before him. The anticipation, the thrill, and the realization that he was about to engage in a battle that could very well determine his fate ¡ª all of it surged through him like a torrent.
And then, in that split moment, as Malgrum''s eyes locked onto Simon''s, the world seemed to hold its breath. The air was charged with energy, signalling the start of the battle.
GWRAOOOARR¡ A thunderous roar erupted from the creature as it extended its numerous hands to squash Simon beneath its weight. Though before those massive appendages could find their mark, the statue of Gaelen Sunguard, brought to life by the trial''s magic, stepped in to shield Simon from the impending assault.
The statue''s immense shield absorbed the blows, each impact sending shockwaves through the chamber. Simultaneously, the statue of Viridian Sunde hummed to life, its hand extending toward Simon.
Almost at the same time, the sword he held in his hand trembled, resonating with the sword that the statue wielded. It was a connection that only one who held the Sword of Dawn could understand.
The sword''s vibrations urged Simon forward, and in that moment, instinct guided his actions. With a leap, Simon vaulted onto the palm of the Viridian statue and perched himself upon its shoulder, matching the eye level with his enemy.
Now that he was fighting alongside Viridian Sunde, he no longer felt like an antpared to the massive size of Malgrum the Vile.
GWRAOOOARR¡
The chamber shook as the creature gave an enraged roar at its former adversaries.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ its attacks became more frantic and numerous, pushing Gaelen''s statue until it almost hit the wall. Although Gaelen was able to hold his own, he alone won''t be able to handle the creature, Simon or more precisely Veridian also needed to join the battle.
"Let''s do this" With a battle cry, the two of them rushed towards Malgrum and joined the battle.
Should he say as expected of Veridian? Even though it was just the statue of the mighty warrior from the ancient times it still held some of Viridian''s powers. His movements were precise, swift and powerful.
As the sword danced in his hand, Simon felt like anything was possible at this moment. And so within the massive hall of the Fifth Trial, a cataclysmic battle unfolded. The colossal statues of Gaelen and Veridian shed with the monstrous Malgrum, each blow resonating like a thunderp.
Simon''s focus was unyielding as he guided the movements of the Viridian statue. He felt a rush of exhration coursing through his veins, the sh of metal against flesh merging into a symphony of battle that consumed his senses.
BANG¡ BANG¡ as the barrage of attacks came from Malgrum each blow powerful enough to easily squash a level 500 being, the Gaelen statue held its ground. Its shield became a barrier between Simon and the monstrous entity.
Every strike reverberated through the air, yet the statue remained resolute, a guardian of ancient valour. However, Malgrum possessed numerous limbs, it wasn''t possible to stop all of them.
That was where he and Viridian came in. The statue of the mighty sword bearer, it was a vessel of offence. It moved with an uncanny grace, its steps nimble and agile.
As if responding to Simon''s thoughts, it evaded Malgrum''s sweeping strikes with an otherworldly fluidity and counteracted by mirroring all of his movements down to the veryst detail.
Looking at them, it wouldn''t look like the statue was being controlled by Simon, instead, it was as if they were two halves of a single whole. The statue seamlessly followed his movements as if it possessed a sentience of its own, responding to the rhythm of battle with a precision that defied exnation.
Thanks to that, Simon was able to release numerous sword shes to cut down the many limbs of the creature and put pressure on it.
It needs to be mentioned that the opponent, Malgrum the Vile possessed a tough hide that wasparable to the scales of an Adult Dragon or the Finger of Ozymandias. This gave the creature an extremely high defence and made it exceedingly difficult to damage it.
The only reason why Simon was able to hurt Malgrum was because Viridian was the one performing the sword sh. If it was just him, forget about being able to defeat it, even if Simon used up all the cards in his arsenal he doubted that he would be able to injure it much.
As the battle intensified, Simonmanded Viridian to unleash a [Wide Horizontal sh] followed by a [Cross Strike].
The statue''s movements mimicked his own, and together they unleashed a rapid barrage of sword shes that cleaved through Malgrum''s limbs. However, how could it be so easy to defeat a creature from the ancient times that once had thrown the entire realm into chaos?
The creature''s resilience defied their efforts, and it retaliated with an onught of its own. With a speed that belied its massive form, Malgrum regenerated its lost appendages andshed out with newfound ferocity.
The hall shook as their attacks collided, a symphony of destruction that resonated throughout the chamber.
The sh continued, the hall bore the scars of their conflict, its once-grand architecture now reduced to rubble and ruin. Debris scattered like stars across the firmament, and crisscrossing cracks ran everywhere, a testament to the raw power of the ongoing battle.
Amidst the chaos, an error in judgement cost Simon dearly. A powerful blow from Malgrum struck the Veridian statue, but Simon felt the impact as if it were his own body. The force of the strike sent him and the statue hurtling across the hall as they crashed into the walls with a powerful momentum.
The taste of iron filled Simon''s mouth as blood spilled from his lips. Although it was the statue that received the blow, Simon felt as if he was the one who bore the brunt of the damage.
He puked out a few mouthful of blood andmanded the Veridian statue to stand back up. When he looked back at his status, he saw that his HP had plummeted. A single attack from Malgrum had shaved half of his HP.
Wouldn''t he die if suffered another blow like that?
The trials up until now weren''t this extreme, they allowed him to make some mistakes. However, starting from the fifth trial, Simon realised that even making a small mistake from this point on would cost him dearly.
The forbidden grounds wouldn''t be as forgiving as before. He wouldn''t be as lucky as to survive the next time he made a mistake like that.
Although he was prepared and knew that his life was at stake here, the blow this time really drove this point home.
Simon hurriedly willed the statue to stand up and join the battle. However, at this moment, the movements of the creature became a little erratic.
Malgrum''s limbs shifted, giving way for his hideous visage to surface. A light shined from its open maw and the next thing he knew, a torrent of energy surged forth and a st of devastation that erupted like a tempest.
The destructive force engulfed the space before him, obliterating everything in its path. The hall shuddered, stone and debris reduced to nought but dust.
As the smoke and chaos filled the hall, Simon''s heart suddenly seized. Amidst the clouds of dust, he could see that light shine once again, but this time it was¡ aimed towards him.
All sounds suddenly disappeared as the next st was fired towards the statue he stood upon. At this moment, his instincts screamed that death was imminent.
But at that moment, Gaelen leaped forward, its immense form interposing between Simon and the onught.
The Shield of Oath hummed, brilliant rays of light manifested out of it and created a barrier, a radiant defence that absorbed the brunt of the st from Malgrum.
These Legendary artefacts, even if they were just replicas, they still possessed a part of the power of the original. As he looked at the barrier erected by the other statue, Simon was reminded of the notification that he had received at the start of the battle.
[The final part of the Fifth Trial will start now. The replica de of Dawn is activated. You are now able to use three skills of the legendary sword. Ut Videaris Victores]. If he was not wrong, that should be one of the skills of the legendary shield.
Chapter 727- Luminous Judgement
Chapter 727- Luminous Judgement
In that case, Simon took a deep breath and allowed his skill [Thousand Sword Mastery] tomunicate with the sword. At that moment, the sword became like an extension of his and he could clearly see and feel three distinct skills rested within it, waiting to be harnessed.
Across the battlefield, smoke and sparks erupted from Malgrum, after it fired the second st and for a second there it looked like its overall power had decreased.
Could it be... A realization dawned upon him. This was the opening he was waiting for. Smoke and sparks erupting from Malgrum was a telltale sign that the creature couldn''t unleash that kind of destructive power continuously. Doing so, would render it immobile for a while.
Without wasting a single second, Simon tapped into the power of the sword. Gathering his energy, he charged the sword with the essence of the sun. The de zed with radiant energy as he unleashed the first skill, Sr re Strike.
[Sr re Strike]: Unleashes a devastating sword swing that releases a blinding burst of sr energy upon impact, searing and staggering enemies caught in its range.
Simon gave a resounding battle cry and swung the Sword of Dawn, releasing a blinding burst of sr energy upon impact. The strike cleaved through the air with unparalleled force, searing and scorching Malgrum as it made contact.
GWROAARRRR¡ The creature gave an agonising cry for the first time since the start of the battle and thrashed around. A deep gash marred its tough hide, revealing the grotesque sight of its internal organs.
Seeing this scene, Simon''s eyes shined with excitement. "So powerful!!" The Sword of Dawn was not regarded as a legendary sword for no reason. A single skill from it was powerful enough to violently distort space. What would happen if he used the other two skills?
And this was just the replica, how powerful was the original sword? Simon couldn''t help but yearn to possess a sword like this. However, it was too bad that the sword had traces of divine magic bestowed on it.
If not because of the trial, he might not even be able to hold it without being repelled. Putting those thoughts aside, the attack earlier had shown him a way. He could finally see the signs of victory.
Since that was the case, Simon pressed on with newfound fervour, his attacks relentless. He didn''t allow the creature a single moment to recover.
The Sword of Dawn zed with the brilliance of the sun, cleaving through one of Malgrum''s limbs after another. The limbs that were cut down, still had the mes of sun and thus couldn''t regenerate.
With Veridian Sunde as his trusted partner, Simon orchestrated aplex choreography of battle. The Sword of Dawn danced across the air, its radiant de made beautiful arcs across the air, wounding and injuring the creature.
Malgrum''s agonising cry echoed like a symphony of suffering and the prelude to victory. However, the battle was far from over. Malgrum''s resilience was beyond Simon''s wildest dreams, and the extent of its power was something that he had yet to see.
The creature that once struck terror into the hearts of many, a creature from ancient times that had plunged realms into chaos, stood before him in all of its grotesque glory. The very embodiment of fear, whose malevolent presence sent a shiver down one''s spine, revealed its ugliest fangs at this moment.
An unsettling atmosphere suddenly engulfed the hall and in front of Simon''s astonished eyes, an unusual phenomenon unfolded. The many tumours that protruded from Malgrum''s body began to detach, each forming into its own hideous creature.
The sight was akin to a birth of horrors, these newly formed entities swarming the vicinity, lurching and crawling with an ominous energy. The battlefield became a nightmarish scene as they advanced, adding anotheryer of chaos to the already intensebat.
Simon''s heart pounded seeing these horrors being born one after another right before his eyes. He finally understood the extent of devastation and terror it brought to thends in the ancient times and why numerous civilisations perished under it.
After all, if it could produce offspring like that, it was no wonder it became an embodiment of fear and took the two mighty warriors several days and nights to bring it down.
These tumorous horrors might look tiny but that was only because he was standing on the shoulders of a seventy two feet tall statue. Individually, each of these horrors were around seven to ten meters tall. What''s more, they resembled their parent in appearance and were all above level 700.
A realm that was considered a catastrophe in this day and era and the creature produced dozens of them just like that.
"No wonder the trial said that only death awaited me if I got caught by Maglrum. It turned out that even its offspring is this strong, so how powerful it itself was?"
Although the [Appraisal] was unable to disy anything about Malgrum due to the level difference, that in itself told much about the creature. What''s more shocking was that this was just a remnant, how strong was the actual creature from the ancient times?
"Haha, there was no way I would have stood a chance against this on my own" Simonughed.
He thought that he had seen the vastness of the world during the Auction and Hexennacht. However, he couldn''t be any more wrong. The mighty Demon Dukes who once seemed almost invincible to him before, were just a bunch of children ying kings in the absence of the mighty.
The actual kings were those lurking in the shadows without bothering to show their faces in the open, the ones that have survived through the ancient times.
Malgrum in front of him was the proof. The ancient creature and the horrors it produced, a lineup like that could no doubt drive even the bravest warriors to madness.
However, in front of such a challenge, Simonughed as exhration coursed through his body. His mind focused on the battle at hand. His de danced and weaved, each strike aimed at exploiting the vulnerabilities he''d discovered.
He knew that even with the Sword of Dawn''s power, victory wasn''t guaranteed. Malgrum remained a formidable foe, and its grotesque offspring only added to theplexity of the battle.
Every moment was a struggle, a test of endurance and skill against an ancient terror. And so as the battle raged on, the hall became the battleground from the ancient times. The legends of the two warriors who stood against the terror known as Malgrum, was being re-enacted inside the halls of the fifth trail.
Deep cracks spread like abyss, spread everywhere, space copsed,ws distorted and huge debris fell down from the ceiling. In front of this titanic sh that unfolded in a crescendo of unparalleled power, the Hall was no longer able to contain their might.
Soon the walls of the hall disappeared revealing a dark ck abyss behind. Anything that fell there would disappear forever or would wander into the unknown. Just a look at it was enough to give one the chills.
Simon made sure not to fall into those cracks.
As Malgrum''s attacks became even more fierce, he called upon the second skill resting within the sword [Luminous Parry]. The skill allows the wielder to create a defensive barrier of light with a swing of the sword, effectively nullifying iing magical attacks and projectiles.
Using the [Luminous Parry], Simon seamlessly defeated the attacks from the main body and counter attacked using his sword skills and [Sr re Strike].
As for the tumorous horrors, Gaelen took care of them. Using its Shield of Oath, it diverted almost eight per cent of oing attacks on him, bing an unparalleled shield in this battle of mythos.
All deadly onught rained on him yet the shield bearer who carried the portion of the will of the original warrior, remained firm and unyielding.
"Yeah, we can''t let Gaelen outshine us" Standing on its shoulder, Simon sensed the emotionsing out of the statue.
Gaelen and Veridian were both mighty warriors, brothers and rivals in their own right. The intensity of theirpetition was mirrored in the fierce battle that unfolded before Simon''s eyes.
Neither would be content with being outshone by the other, and that sentiment was deeply ingrained in the actions of the statues. As such, responding to the emotions and sentimenting from the Veridian statue, Simon too gave his best.
In the heat of the moment, as the sh reached its peak, The statue of Veridian and Simon melded into one as their movements synchronized with an uncanny precision. With each swing of the de, they cut through the tumorous horrors that assaulted them.
In tandem, the statue of Gaelen shielded Simon from attacks, bing an unbreakable bastion against the tide of malevolence.
And then as if disying the might of the original wielder of the shield of oath, the statue of Gaelen unleashed a skill that defied the limits of the battle. With unparalleled might, it charged forward like an all powering tidal wave, crashing into Malgrum with a force that echoed through the shattered remnants of the hall.
The collision opened a momentary window of vulnerability in the creature''s defences.
NOW!! Seizing this chance, Simon and the statue of Veridian raised their swords high, channelling theirbined energy into a single act.
The Sword of Dawn zed with an ethereal light as they activated thest of its three skills, the most potent of them all ¡ª [Luminous Judgment].
Chapter 728- Mysterious Book
Chapter 728- Mysterious Book
Luminous Judgment... One of the three ultimate skills, of the Sword of Dawn. It channels the might of the heavens to rain down divine energy upon a designated area, causing a cataclysmic explosion that obliterates foes and leaves a zing aftermath.
As if the very heavens seemed to respond at his moment, divine energy converged above Malgrum forming a cataclysmic explosion of light and power. The ground shattered, air hummed, space copsed and a zing aura enveloped the hall.
In that sublime moment, time seemed to halt. The world of the forbidden ground was eclipsed by the brilliance of Luminous Judgment.
Inside the Hall of Mythos, the statues of Gaelen and Veridian became motionless, their role in this monumental battle fulfilled. Their forms fell to the ground, as if the will that had driven them hadpleted its purpose and faded away.
"Huff¡ Huff¡" Simon huffed on the ground, his body aching and his heart racing. The aftermath of their battle left him battered but alive.
He gazed around, wondering if Malgrum had been defeated. The dust and debris began to settle, revealing a shatteredndscape where the creature had stood. Half of the hall had been obliterated by the cataclysmic power of Luminous Judgment, leaving behind a chasm that seemed to defy the very fabric of reality.
The shattered remnants of the floor revealed a void that yawned open like a maw, hungrily consuming everything in its reach. The battle''s aftermath was a scene of utter devastation, a testament to the titanic sh that urred here.
In this cataclysmic sh, everything copsed into the void, leaving only the door that Maglrum dragged with him behind.
Surprisingly, even after being in the AOE of the Luminous Judgement, the door and the area near it seemed to be fine.
"This should count as a win, right?" Simon muttered to himself, his voice tinged with fatigue and disbelief. Malgrum had disappeared, it was difficult to know whether they were obliterated by the skill or had fallen into the void.
Other than that, he was still out of sorts after activating that powerful sword skill.
[Congrattions, you have defeated Malgrum the vile and sessfully re-enacted the past. Your actions and karma are being recorded. Calcting rewards¡ your rewards have been set. Please proceed through the door to collect your rewards].
As if answering his question, a notification appeared before him, alerting him of his triumph against the ancient force of terror. Theplex runes on it started rotating, the door pulsed with a mysterious energy, and the chains around it came loose.
There was no doubt about it, this the door that the trial asked him to search for, the door that led to the exit.
That said, Simon didn''t rush toward the teleport circle immediately. Instead, he took a moment to catch his breath and allow his expended energy to slowly replenish.
His body felt heavy, every muscle aching from the exertion. Though he hadn''t utilized much of his mana reserves, the sheer physical and mental strain of the battle had taken its toll. The sheer magnitude of the battle, the unimaginable power that had surged through him, left him feeling dazed and disoriented.
He was still grappling with the reality of what had transpired, the fact that he had stood face to face with an entity that had once thrown realms into chaos. The awareness of his own vulnerability lingered in the back of his mind.
He couldn''t shake off the realization that a single strike from those towering beings would have been enough to shatter him. The disparity in power between them and him was staggering, yet the very same power disparity ignited a genuine desire within him.
He yearned to reach the realm of power where Gaelen and Veridian, these powerful ancient warriors stood. Toprehend the world from their perspective, and to fathom the depths of their strength.
Everything that had transpired in the trials, seemed to have propelled his ambitions even further. True, the objective might seem farfetched and naive given that his current self was stuck at a wall he encountered at level 560.
However, it was precisely this realization that fueled his determination. Every challenge, every encounter, and every victory in the trials was a step towards breaking through that barrier.
He needed to bridge the gap in power, to close the chasm that currently separated him from the realm of legends.
As his breathing gradually steadied, Sword thoughts drifted to the sword in his grasp ¡ª the replica of the Sword of Dawn. A weapon that had yed a pivotal role in the sh, channelling the essence of sun and sky.
Yet, as he examined it through his [Appraisal] skill, he sensed a faint, lingering trace of energy.
[Replica of the Legendary Sword of Dawn, Quest Item] There was no other information, it was as if the sword had expended all its might to aid him in that climactic confrontation, leaving behind only a husk of its former glory.
With a sigh, Simon realized that the sword had fulfilled its purpose, at least for the time being. It had aided him in oveing an insurmountable challenge, and triumph over an ancient terror. He carefully sheathed the sword and stored it inside his inventory.
After a while, as he finished recovering somewhat, he made his way to the door. It was time he exited the fifth trial.
As he slowly opened the door, he was enveloped by a blinding light that wrapped around his form like a cocoon. The sensation was both exhrating and disorienting, as if he was being transported through time and space.
When the light finally began to subside, Simon found himself standing in an awe-inspiring hall, illuminated by the radiance of countless treasures. The hall seemed to be filled with it, its walls lined with an assortment of riches that dazzled the eye.
Gleaming gemstones, sparkling crystals, and precious metals adorned every inch of the chamber. Ores of unimaginable quality were scattered in abundance ¡ª
"These are Mithril, Ehterealite, Chronium and even the elusive Admantium" As Simon checked the ores that were lying around his feet, his eyes couldn''t help but widen in surprise. One could feel the excitement in his voice.
These precious ores that are extremely rare that even his dungeon was unable to produce at the current stage, this hall was overflowing with it. More than gold or any other treasures, what excited Simon the most were these ores.
It needs to be mentioned that at this current moment in time, what Simon required the most was not any treasure nor any training resources, he had his dungeon for that. What appealed to him most was the ores that hecked.
He needed higher quality ores to manufacture the more powerful Andromedas and Warmachine. If you think about it, what''s limiting the [WorkShop] from producing more powerful warrmachines were higher quality ores like the Admantiaum and Orihalcum.
Once his dungeon had a steady supply of them, Wisp could built a better and stronger manufacturing line. At that time, producing all kinds of fearsome Warmachine from that will no longer be a wishful thinking.
"As expected of the wealth of the forbidden grounds" Simon finally understood the words that Lucine said to him once, why so many people were attracted by the forbidden grounds. It''s because the treasures it held that could change the destiny of a person.
The treasures here were just from the fifth trial, Simon couldn''t help but wonder what kinds of rewards were waiting for him in the uing trials.
As he moved further into the hall, his gaze was drawn to a collection of artifacts that seemed to pulse with their own mystical energy. Grimoires with intricately carved covers exuded an aura of arcane knowledge, while weapons and armour of unparalleled craftsmanship shone with an eye catching light.
[A] tier artefacts, one looks was enough for Simon to tell that they were no ordinary items, they were the embodiment of ancient craftsmanship.
As Simon observed the arrays of treasure in the hall, his eyes were drawn to a raised dais at the centre of the hall. There, atop a velvet cushion, rested an object that seemed to radiate a subdued yet profound aura.
It was a book, its cover adorned with symbols that seemed to dance with hidden meaning. The mere sight of it stirred something within him, a curiosity and longing that he couldn''t ignore.
"Is this book beckoning me?" Intrigued, Simon approached the dias and gently lifted the book from its resting ce. At that very instant, when his fingers touched the book, he felt a connection being established.
The feeling was mysterious and appeared for a fraction of a second. It was so short that most people would pass it off as nothing but passing feeling. However, Simon clearly felt that something within came from? After being unable to spot any change within him, him had changed the moment he held the book.
"Strange?!" He frowned unable to determine where that feeling came from? After being unable to spot any change within him, Simon shifted his attention back on the book.
As his fingers brushed against the cover, he felt that it was both ancient and mysterious. Unable to contain his wonder any longer, he opened the book, only to stand rooted in shock the next second.
The book he thought would have pages filled with intricate illustrations, arcane symbols, and writing, was¡ empty!!
Did it make sense?
Why was the book empty?
Wasn''t it an ancient item, a treasure from the forbidden grounds?
How can it be empty?
For a second there, Simon felt like the being who created this forbidden ground and trials, was trolling him. But on second thought he shook his head thinking that it might not be the case.
Chapter 729- Sixth Trial, Snow Lands
Chapter 729- Sixth Trial, Snow Lands
Could it be that the actual treasure was hiding within its pages? Simon continued flipping the pages but all the pages were empty, there was nothing recorded inside the book.
Stunned, Simon used [Appraisal] but to his shock, his skill failed to work.
What did that mean?
It needs to be mentioned that after evolving from [Analysis] the [Appraisal] skill was much more powerful, he was even able to spy on the status of enemies he couldn''t before. Yet the book in front of him couldn''t be appraised.
It was not that the skill had failed but that the skill had been blocked. Simon had no doubt now, this book was definitely a treasure or else it wouldn''t be able to block his skill.
That said, even though the book was a treasure its pages were empty. It did not dampen Simon''s mood, on the contrary, he became even more interested. After all, it needs to be said that what Simon did notck the most were treasures and artefacts.
His [Ga??????] option was more than sufficient enough to produce all kinds of treasures. In fact, Simon''s space ring was full of so many artefacts. However, this book was clearly different, not even the appraisal can see through it.
Simon excitedly kept the book his [Inventory] and stored the mountains of treasure in the hall in his space ring. Once he returned to his dungeon, he would study the book and try to figure out its mysteries.
It only took him a couple of seconds to store everything there was inside the hall. After sweeping the treasury clean, Simon ced his attention on the teleport portal shining on the other end of the hall.
Now that he had cleared the fifth trial, he had two options on him. One was to continue the trial and go on to challenge the sixth trial which the teleportation portal led to. Or end the trail here and return using the Transit rock.
Simon mused for a moment. Before making his decision, he took out a ck te from his [Inventory]. It was clearly the Echomir tes. Seeing that there were no writings and instructions on the ck surface of the tes, Simon realised that there was no problem in the dungeon.
"In that case, I will proceed forward" he made up his mind. The goal behinding to the forbidden grounds was to breach the wall that was stopping his growth.
After thatst fight, Simon had new insights and enlightenment. He could already feel the wall copsing. Just a little bit more.
Since that was the case, Simon proceeded towards the teleportation portal without any hesitation. His goal, the Sixth trial.
.
.
On a snow covered mountain inside a cave, a group of adventurers numbering more than twenty, were currently recuperating around a campfire. Fire crackled and the aroma of roasted meat filled the cave.
Unlike the freezing temperature outside, the cave was much warmer. However, the heavy atmosphere inside betrayed that feeling.
"In thest week, we lost contact with Franco''s team and now Euan''s team isn''t responding either. It is possible that¡"
An adventurer opened his mouth to report with a heavy heart. However, he did notplete his sentence. Though even without him needing to, everyone present here knew what their fate was.
"Dammit¡ what kind of trial is this? This is simply sending us to our death, this is no trial" one of the adventurers who couldn''t take it anymore, roared in grievance.
"Calm down Warren, you are too agitated. Leader is yet to speak, so how can you run your mouth like that and drop the morale of the team"
Another adventurer spoke out to calm the situation. However, it didn''t look like the situation could be eased out so easily by him with a few words.
Warren who had been feeling aggrieved, turned towards the leader. Seeing the other party all silent, he couldn''t help but grit his teeth.
"Say something leader, we have already lost so many brothers on our side. We started the sixth trial with more than a thousand people, now no more than fifty of us remain. If even Eaun''s team doesn''t return, there will be even less of us. Don''t tell me leader that you still want to continue even after that?"
That''s right, this group of adventurers were currently challenging the sixth trail of the forbidden grounds. However, the sixth trial far exceeded their imagination both in danger and difficulty and slowly chipped their morals and spirits.
As could be seen from the aura of despair that surrounded them. In this past month the number of people they lost to the sixth trail, far outnumbered the people they had lost while clearing the other five trails.
Of course, if you only see the number of people, it wouldn''t seem like that. However, the adventurers who could reach here were all either powerhouses or elites of the elites in the outside world.
How can they bepared to the ordinary adventurers? In terms of value and strength, they were each dozens of times stronger than any level 400. Many of them were even above level 500.
Their vice leader was someone who was about to join the ranker and as for their leader, he was a bonafide ranker who had recently made a huge name for himself in the Mainds. The current 7001th rank holder.
At the words of Warren, all the adventurers turned their attention towards the leader, waiting for his instruction. Donned in an impressive mythril armour from neck to toe and equipped with numerous [S] and [A] tier artefacts, the man emanated an awe inspiring and oppressive aura.
His blue eyes were like two gems shining with a brilliant radiance and his bearing was like that of an expert who had gone through numerous life and death situations. Even while facing the question and desperation of hisrades, the look of confidence did not falter from his face.
If Simon saw that face, he would immediately recognise it after all, this man was one of his enemies whom he hated to his very bone, the adventurer who had driven him into a corner more than two years ago in the kingdom, Godwin.
Godwin looked at hisrades and spoke with aposure that betrayed the predicament they were in.
"Eaun will not die and as for going back, it is not an option. We have stepped on countless lives to reach this stage, countless brothers have given their lives to help us. What face we will have if we back out now? For the sake of our brothers, we cannot back out even more. We will clear the sixth trial and return triumphantly. I give you my words".
Godwin clearly held a high position in their hearts. If he was saying so, then they definitely had a chance to clear it.
After his self assurance speech, the gloomy mood inside the cave was instantly swept away. Even Warren who was the most anxious, settled down a little. Godwin did not say anything more and allowed his fellow brother to recuperate their injuries.
"Raven you are here. Did you find Eaun and the other groups?" Godwin stood up from his seat and asked.
After a while, a group of people walked inside from the entrance of the cave. The person leading this group was also someone that Simon recognised.
"Raven you are here. Did you find Eaun and the other groups?" Godwin stood up from his seat and asked.
Raven nodded his head and pointed behind him. A group of people were being carried by his team on a stretcher. Blood seeped out from their bodies and seeped into the snow on the ground painting it red.
Although they were still breathing, they were still injured.
"Eaun!!" the adventurers inside the cave eximed. The group of people being carried on the stretcher were none other than Eaun and his team who had gone missing three days in the snow fillednd of the sixth trial.
"Are you alright? Mages quickly cast healing spells"..
"Here take some potion"...
"Dammit, those monsters are too ferocious"...
"They are not only fierce, but their numbers are alos clearly a problem"...
The adventurers immediately came to aid their brothers and became busy healing their injuries.
On the other side of the cave, near the entrance, Godwin stopped in his tracks and nced at the vast white world outside. As far as the eye could see, it was all white outside. Treacherous mountains stretched into the horizon, artic clouds covered the sky and snow storms filled their vision.
"The situation doesn''t look. This snowstorm is even more ferocious beyond those mountains and the snow reaches till your hips. It is impossible to fight there. On top of that the special restriction of this ce that makes the snow slowly chip our strength and makes us weaker is like a nightmare. At this rate, the raid will end up in a failure"
Raven walked up to him and reported. Godwin did not turn around and simply continued to gaze at those mountains in the distance. It was as if his gaze could see through this endless white world.
"Did you find the Abomination?" he asked in a low voice.
"Un" Raven nodded his head "You were right, that thing is beyond those mountains. I went there to investigate personally. However, when I looked at that thing, all the blood in my body turned cold and I had goosebumps all over my body. Can we really defeat that thing? What are our chances?".
Godwin was silent for a while before taking out a pendant "Don''t worry, we can win this. Once our level recovers, we will immediately besiege it".
Chapter 730- Snowsquall Drakewings
Chapter 730- Snowsquall Drakewings
[You have arrived at the Open Space: Snonds. You will be affected by the special restrictions of this ce and slowly lose your level. Defeat Abomination before it wakes up. Time remaining- 3 days 23hrs]
[Warning- As it is an open space, there are other challengers. You can work with them or kill the Abomination alone. Rewards will be calcted based on individual actions. Total number of challengers at present- 44]
As soon as Simon arrived onto the sixth trial, a notification appeared in front of him. After reading the notification, he understood where he was and why there was only snow all around him. However even then¡
"Why is it that even after I cleared the fifth trial, I''m faced with another situation where my level is suppressed again"
Simon was annoyed. Be it the fifth trial, or the sixth trail, they both supressed his levels making him a little irritated. He though that he would be able to fight to his heart''s content after arriving at the sixth trail and break through the wall restricting his growth in one go.
However, who would have expected that his level to be supressed in the sixth trial too. Simon could tell that the sixth trial was a little simr to the first trial at a nce in that it was the snow brushing past his body that was chipping away his strength.
Nevertheless, it was different. The sixth trail was called the snownds and it had different rules and objectives. In this trial, he had to kill the Abomination to clear it. However, how could it be so easy to clear the sixth trial?
The trail from this point on would only get more dangerous where it would not be unusual to lose his life. He cannot make a single mistake. If it was him from a few years ago, he had no doubt that he would directly rush towards the enemy without considering anything else.
However, time and experience had changed him. He was much more level headed now. The first thing he did was not the search for the enemy but to search for a base. Any challenger who had passed the first trial would know that the special restriction that the trail warned about was the snow.
The more one is exposed to the falling snow, the faster your level goes down. A simple solution to this was to avoid the snow. That said, it was not possible to avoid it even if one uses magic. Be it if its fire magic, earth or any other magic. The special snow can bypass all magic.
The challengers can only rely on the natural terrain to hide from the snow. Simon had to find a shelter before anything else.
Fortunately, it wasn''t too hard to find a shelter. He quickly spotted an empty cave and used it as a shelter to hide from the snow. After a while, his level returned back to normal. Simon aligned his back onto the cave walls and stared at the notification.
Although the sixth trial looked like all the other trials he had faced up until now in essence, there were certain things that made him frown. Firstly the time limit, it was four days. It was unknown how big the snond was and where the enemy he needed to defeat was located.
As such, it was hard to say if the time limit was short or long. It might be his personal feeling or just some intuition, but Simon felt like the time limit was supposed to be more tha four days but for some reason, it was only four now.
Secondly, the name of the enemy he needed to defeat sounded very familiar to him.
"Is this Abomination the same one" Simon muttered. The Abomination he had in mind was the terrifying experimental subject he had encountered in the third trial. He had seen the creature in the Historia and knew that it was very strong. So strong that the past him wouldn''t even dare to challenge it.
There was a huge difference in levels between them at that time. And since the Historia wasn''tplete, Simon did not know what happened of the powerful experimental subject and the children that were in that facility.
If this Abomination was the same Abomination he had witnessed in that facility, the battle would be quite tough. Other than that fact, there was also the thing about the Sixth trial being an open space and there being other challengers.
"44 huh... if it also includes me, that means there are 43 other challengers in the sixth trial. Does the Open Space mean that we wille into contact with each other if we want to defeat the enemy?"
It never urred to Simon that there might be more challengers tackling the forbidden grounds than him. It was mainly because finding this ce was very difficult, one needed the Coordinator to enter this space.
Aside from that fact, one also needed to be chosen by the Master of this ce to enter the trails. He knew thest fact because Lucine had told him. she also told him that it was very difficult for a person to get the recognition of the master of the Forbidden Grounds.
The reason why Simon got it was because there were many unique things about him but he mainly believed it was due to the Fragments of Pride. If he was chosen because he possessed the Fragments of Pride, didn''t it mean that the other party also had something unique within them.
Perhaps the holder of other fragments.
Simon did not believe that all the other 43 challengers were all chosen by the master of the space. After all, one can also bring theirpanion and subordinates with them inside the trial. It was something that he realised long ago.
As long as one had the transit crystal they cane inside the space of the forbidden grounds and enter the trial along with the challenger. Even Simon could bring hisrades with him.
If there were other challengers, naturally they could too. As for how to get the transit rocks, a bountiful of it is rewarded after every sessful trial clearance.
The presence of the other challengers made the Sixth trial even moreplex, with new variables. Other than that there was also the Finger of Ozymandias.
"Why now of all times? Could it be that there is something in this trial that is resonating with the Finger of Ozymandias?"
Ever since he appeared in the snownds, he could feel like the curse energy inside the finger was going out of control. He could see the traces of curse energying out of his space ring. This was even after he subdued the finger using the [Dominator Control] technique that Irene had taught him.
What was going on? Why were there so many unknown variables in the sixth trial?
Simon observed the Finger of Ozymandias for a long time and saw that there was no other reaction. Since that was the case, he could only put the thought in the back of his head and focus on how to deal with the current situation.
The Open Space made him uneasy, the other challengers had already arrived here before him. What if they defeat the abomination before him? Would it still count as him passing the trial?
Although the notification did say that the reward would be counted from individual actions, Simon had no intention of giving the other challengers a chance to defeat the Abomination.
Of course, if the challengers were more powerful than him or if the abomination was the abomination he had in mind, then it would be whole other thing. Or else, Simon wasn''t going to back down easily. At the very least he had to be the one to deal the enemy thest hit.
Making his resolve, Simon dived out of the cave. Unfurling hisrge pair of demonic wings, he tore through the sky at a high speed and observed his surroundings.
Just as he had expected the ce was extremely vast, and the entirend was covered in snow. White snow greeted his eyes everywhere he looked. It was very hard to make any sense of direction of where one was going in a ce like this.
Even the [Mental Map] skill that Simon relied on for navigation was no use here. He wasn''t surprised after all, it was the same case on the other trials too.
Then the visibility of the ce was very low too. The snonds was devastated by a huge snow storm all year round, even for Simon who was a Demon Earl, it was hard to see more than a couple dozen meters around him. So one could imagine would happen of other people.
"How early the other challengers came before me? Could it be that they already located the target?"
Anxious, Simon continued to fly at a high speed while maintaining a low altitude. His body was battered by the snow and his level dropped visibly. However, he continued his pace and surveyed his surroundings.
He was not worried about losing his way because he had ced an item back inside his cave. The item was called Harmony Stones and was another joke item that he had drawn from the [Ga??????]. This item had no other use than being used for navigation.
The only unique aspect of the Harmony stone is that one can break the pieces of the stone and the pieces will always locate the other pieces no matter the distance.
Chapter 731- Snowsquall Drakewings (2)
Chapter 731- Snowsquall Drakewings (2)
Simon had broken the harmony stone in two, he ced one inside the cave and carried one with him. As such, using the Harmony stone, he could always navigate his way back.
The snowstorm continued to hit Simon, by now a small pile of snow had umted on his back and his level had decreased by 100. However, there was still no signs of the Abomination or the end of this ceing any closer. It was as if the ce spanned unendingly, it was just too vast.
Even with Simon''s speed, he felt like it would take him months to explore all of this ce. Four days simply did not make sense. Simonined in his heart but his speed never slowed down.
Finally, after a while when he was deliberating if he should go back to the cave, he found something. It was not the Abomination, the target of this trial or the challengers but something that was native to this ce.
While Simon was exploring the snownds, this thing suddenly jumped out of the snow and pounced at him. The entity waspletely white, it had six limbs, was bipedal and had big ears like bats.
Its sharp fangs and ws which were each more than three feet long, shined menacingly. Coupled with its appearance that somewhat resembled a white bat, the thing stood at five meters tall.
Race- Snowsquall Drakewing
Level- 453
Skills- [High Speed Flight], [Super Enhanced Agility], [Enhanced Strenght], [Super Enhanced Endurance], [Enhanced Defence], [Chill [Frostwing Dive]¡
09:44
Ward], [Icy Breath], [Ice Fang], [Reckless Aura], [Camouge], [cial Gale Strike], [Frozen Talons], [Ice Magic Mastery], [Frostwing Dive]¡
When Simon nced at the creature with his [Appraisal], its status quickly appeared in front of him. The Snowsquall Drakewing, it was a creature that was born and native to the snownds. Its level was pretty decent and it had many powerful skills.
It was obvious that it hunted its prey by camouging itself with the snow, waiting for its gullible prey toe near before pouncing at him. Just as it did with him.
Simon quickly executed [sh Steps] and easily dodged the monster. However, the monster did not give up easily. After seeing that its ambush had failed, it executed its blizzard skill to trap him and quickly disappeared into the snow.
After a while, it came diving at him from above, its wings shining and its momentum terrifying. This was the [Frostwing Dive] skill of the Snowsquall Drakewing.
The creature came crashing at Simon at a high speed. However, just like usual he easily dodged it and counter attacked. Numerous Infernal spears and lightning bolts locked onto it and targeted it from all directions. A feat only possible if one grasped [Dominator''s Control], [Mana Flow] and [Mana Control].
Facing the siege of magic that left it with no room for escape, the Snwosquall Drakewing utilised its defensive skill [Chill Ward] and covered itself with ayer of condensed ice.
Simon''s magic sieged it, the lightning bolts failed to achieve much effect, and the Infernal spears were also so. However, it did achieve to melt a fewyers of ice. No matter how powerful the defence of the monster was, being sieged with many attacks at once, even its ice wall melted after a while.
The Snowsquall Drakewing roared as lightning pieced through its wings and targeted its vulnerable areas and the Infernal spears scorched its body.
Few secondster, the monster dropped on the snow, defeated. The snowsquall Drakewing was not a match for Simon, if he wanted to, he could have ended the battle in an instant.
However, this was the first time he had encountered a monster like that. As such, he wanted to see how powerful it was and what it could do. Of course, the research was for the benefit for his dungeon and he had to say that the monster was quite powerful.
If it were the adventurers, they would have to form a team to defeat it. Unless they were rare ss holders or were above level 500.
WHOOSH¡ WHOOSH¡ WHOOSH¡ At this moment hurried sounds of winds came from the distance and to Simon''s astonishment, many white entities took to the air from the faraway mountains.
From a distance, it looked like an avnche urred in the mountains. However, make no mistake, it was no ordinary avnched but hundreds of Snowsquall Drakewings taking to the air.
Right before the Snowsquall Drakewing died at Simon''s hand, it gave a piercing roar that reverberated across the expanse of this white space.
Now that he thought about it was, of course, a distress call to its brethren. Hundreds of auras from the snowsquall Drakewings locked at Simon making him unable to run away and with a quick few flutter of their wings, they were already upon him.
Drive] targeted him from all directions.
Simon had no intentions to run away nor dodge these attacks, his They encircled him from the skies and came pouncing at him using their skills. [Ice Fang], [cial Gale Strike], [Icy Breath], [Frostwing Drive] targeted him from all directions.
Simon had no intentions to run away nor dodge these attacks, his motive was simple, he would take on their attacks and use them as the whetstone for his growth.
It just so happened that his level was quickly being suppressed and it had already fallen to a level below these monsters. If he didn''t go all out, it would be difficult for him to survive much less run away. Since the moment he was found by these Snowsquall Drakewings, he only had one option open to him, fight and survive.
And so, a chaotic battle erupted with Simon as the centre, all sorts of magic and skills shed, erupting into dazzling sparks of light that decimated the snownds and even caused the snowstorm ravaging the area to be chaotic.
Although the special restriction of the ce suppressed his level, it did nothing of that sort to his skills or his items. That is to say, the skills that he had acquired through arduous training and the skills that were bestowed from his artefacts, were not affected at all. They could fully disy their might.
It had been a while since Simon was able to fight so freely and with all of his powers. The skills that he had learned, the experience that he had umted over the years bloomed like a brilliant flower.
Every training that he had gone through, every fight he had fought was as if they had be a weapon colliding with the wall that hampered his growth.
Soon, numerous cracks appeared in the wall and spread through the entire surface. Rubbles fell down from it and slowly the wall started copsing.
Simon who was locked into a fight, felt his blood rushing into his veins, exhration coursing through his body and his movements and attacks bing more sharp.
ROAARRR¡
A heavy demonic roar erupted, causing the Snowsquall Drakewings to suddenly halt in their tracks, their bodies quivered and the ferocious nature in their blood was subdued.
It was not only the monsters, even the falling snow was affected by Simon''s roar. After all, it was roar packed with the powers of a Demon Earl and its intimidation.
Forget about this Snowsquall Drakewings that only had the blood of a wyvern, even a lower dragon with a dragon bloodline would feel heavy oppression when facing the current Simon.
Soon the wall copsed, the aura erupting out of Simon''s body went berserk. A part of the sky turned crimson, and at this sublime moment a qualitative change started to ur inside Simon.
His mana which was in a liquefied state, started condensing once again. The mana that was coursing throughout his whole body started coagting towards his heart at a high speed.
Consequitively the changes inside Simon started affecting his environment. His body became crimson and his heart beat resounding loudly. In front of the world that had fallen still, as if someone had pressed the pause button, winds started generating out of nowhere and pulled all of the mana from the surroundings towards him.
The wind started picking pace and soon Simon became the eye of the storm. Like a voracious demon, he absorbed all of the mana around him. This phenomenon could be seen from far away.
All the mana that rushed inside his body through his pores coagted inside his heart and started changing forms. Vaguely, the liquefied mana inside his body started condensing and solidify.
Feeling this change, Simon quickly became excited after all, this was a transformation that told him that he had reached the level 600 stage or was very close to it.
From a gaseous state to liquefication, it represented a chasm that represented one had reached level 500. Many people and races get stuck before this chasm unable to take this leap forward due to the bloodline restriction and potential. Forever remaining ordinary.
Those who can take the leap, transform and be a being that was the envy of innumerable people. They were the people who could truly call themselves a powerhouse and gain recognition from the world.
Simrly, the solidification of mana from liquid was another chasm, a huge chasm that even fewer people who had already condensed their mana into liquid and reached level 500 could reach.
The leap from this chasm represented that they had reached level 600 and became an elite even among the powerhouses. They are so strong that they can cause natural phenomena in the world, destroy cities in minutes and cause true cmity.
This was not just some simple level up, but a qualitative change, a metamorphosis to be precise.
Time stayed still, Simon voraciously devoured the mana, his heartbeat resounding strongly. It appeared like dozens of hours or even a day had passed; however, the change did not even take more than a few seconds.
Chapter 732- Monstrous Growth
Chapter 732- Monstrous Growth
The intimidated Snowsquall Drakewings did not dare to approach Simon. After a while, the crimson aura radiating out his body was retracted, and his skin returned to its normal colours along with his heartbeat.
At a nce, it did not look like there was any change in Simon. However, only he who had gone through the change, felt how different his body was currently.
At this moment, a crimson ck aura that shined with a crystalline radiance enveloped his heart and pumped the mana throughout his body. His mana especially, although 98% per cent of it which was flowing inside his body was still in the liquefied state, if one looked carefully, they could see some small crystalline chunks floating in it.
These chunks were smaller than a speck of dust and represented the solidification of mana. It also meant that Simon was not far away from reaching level 600.
What''s more, the colour of his mana had also started to change and mirrored the aura covering his heart. That is to say, the mana flowing inside his body was a vague crimson ck in colour.
When hepletely goes through the transition and reaches level 600, his mana will alsopletely turn into crimson ck.
Generally, the mystical energy or the mana had a pale blue colour, the more pure the energy, the more brilliant its colour is. All life forms who utilised the mana, generally had pale blue mana flowing within them.
That was the case up until now, once one reaches the level 600 stage, the mana inside them starts disying and matching their attributes.
For every life from it is different and it was the same for Simon too. The mana inside him was slowly changing to crimson ck to match his race. Of course, it represented that his bloodline purity was also getting higher and higher.
Simon clenched and unclenched his hands feeling the changes that urred inside his body. For some reason, he felt like the mana inside him was oppressive and berserk. It made him feel like he was far stronger than before, and gave him a sensation of invincibility.
He could also do more things than before¡ª for example, he can emit his mana and vaguely turn it into a weapon of his choice¡ª [Mana Armament].
A technique that one can only learn after reaching level 600. Although Simon had yet to reach level 600, his potential had already breached that level. What was restricting him now was only the level and his bloodline. That is to say, the wall of talent holding his progress was breached through and he could finally take a step forward.
"This oppressive and domineering feeling¡"
Simon instinctively cast an internal spear magic. To his surprise, the crimson ck traces of mana made the mes even hotter and berserk as if it would blow up at any moment.
Simon willed with his fingers and the infernal spear immediately rushed towards a nearby Snowsquall Drakewing. In that very instant when his magic collided with the monster, it seemingly opened a hole through it.
But that was not all, the berserk mes that lingered on its body blew up, causing bits and chunks of gore to rain down everywhere.
What was domineering? This was.
Simon continued to experiment with his magic, Whether it be his lightning magic or tempest magic they all became multiple times more stronger. It was as if all of his magic now held the attributes of berserk in them.
A wicked smile crossed Simon''s face as he nced at the remaining monsters around.
Feeling his gaze and the oppressive aura around him, the Snowsquall Drakewings were all intimidated and turned around to flee. However, how could Simon just let them go away?
They were his precious source of exp, the whetstones for his growth. With a flip of hand, he cast multiple Infernal Spears, Lightning Bolts and Tempest Winds that drowned his enemies.
A bloodbath ensued and the snow around this area was turned crimson.
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An hourter, in the area where the battle had erupted not long ago, a figure appeared out of thin air. The figure had dark eyes, and quite perceptive. He quickly found some traces and realised that a battle had erupted here not long ago.
wore a grey robe thatpletely covered their appearance.
They were tall and constantly released greyish ck aura around them. The figure did not stay in the area for long, after monitoring the ce, they quickly disappeared.
A few hourster after they disappeared, the air in one area undted and Raven walked out.
"Strange, why was the sky around this area crimson?" He muttered. By now, the snow had piled over the area and covered the traces of battle and gore that was there.
Although the remains of the battle couldn''t be seen, Raven was quite perceptive. He quickly found some traces and realised that a battle had erupted here not long ago.
"Did Franco and his team do this? No, if he was alive, he would have already reported back. The fact that he didn''t means that he already died. Then what caused the phenomenon? Who was fighting here?"
Raven narrowed his eyes and pulled out an intact corpse of a Snowsquall Drakewing from out of the snow. From what he saw, he noticed that the monster died from a powerful single attack that tore a hole through its body.
This told him that whoever was fighting these monsters was far more powerful than them and could easily best them with a single attack. And there were not just one or two corpses that were lying around here, there were many¡ probably dozens or even hundreds.
Some of them did not even have intact corpses and have been turned into a scorched mincemeat.
This was enough evidence for Raven to realise a few things. To be able to kill hundreds of Snowsquall Drakewings that were each around level 460 and far more powerful than an ordinary elite adventurer, what kind of strength did the other party have?
What''s more the other party had killed them while under the suppression effect of the sixth trial.
"They not ordinary at the very least they should be above level 600. There are only a few people in our group who are of this level and some of them have even died during the exploration. Could it be that there is someone else besides us on this trial? I need to inform Godwin about this" Muttering to himself, Raven disappeared from the ce.
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Arriving back inside the shelter, Simon drew hurried breaths of air and flopped down on the ground. He waspletely exhausted, the level suppression restriction of the sixth trial, put a great strain on his body.
Apart from that, the encounter with the Snowquall Drakewings had dyed him by quite a bit causing the falling snow to chip away at his level even more. By the time he finished dealing with the monsters, his level had already fallen by half.
The journey back was also a drag as he had to avoid monsters constantly on his way.
Huff¡ Simon downed a couple of potions to quickly recuperate from his injuries. His level also started recovering after a while and before long, he was back at full strength.
Simon did not move out immediately and instead continued to sit in his ce and ponder about his changes. The trip this time could be said to have been sessful since he had already breached the wall that was stopping him from progressing forward.
Thanks to the trials, he had reached 570. Now all he needed to do was continue with this pace and before long he would be able to rank up once again.
Demon Marquis, the next rank after Demon Earl. They are high born demons possessing immense power and authority. Carrying a bloodline far superior to other Demon Nobles, they were a force that could strike terror into the hearts of countless people.
In the ancient times, they were the nightmares who ran amok in the world, their violence and evil bringing devastating damage. It was said that they were extremely cunning and ambitious. Possessing uncanny wits and intelligence, they manipted everything and anything and brought doom everywhere they went.
In the present time, they were only second to the Demon Dukes.
''Soon'' Simon clenched his hands. He could see it, the path to be strong. The once elusive Demon Marquis rank was right in front of him. Once he reached that rank, he would be one step closer to reaching his goal, the Demon Lord.
Who would have expected that he would reach the rank of Demon Marquis so soon? If any other demon noble knew the rate at which Simon was growing, they would no doubt be stunned until they were mentally unbnced.
Some of the high ranking Demon Nobles would even feel threatened by his presence and would spare no efforts to suppress him.
That kind of growth was just too uncanny, it was outright absurd. After all, it needs to be mentioned that it hasn''t been more than four years since he arrived in this world.
From a measly Level 1 Demon Baron to a pure blooded Demon Earl and now Demon Marquess. Even if he hasn''t reached it yet, based on Simon''s growth, it was only a matter of time before he reached it.
A growth like that¡ monstrous, there was no other to put it. Of course, this kind of growth was only possible because it was Simon, the Fragments of Pride allowed him to grow faster than anyone.
If it was someone else, it would be simply impossible to grow at that speed.
Chapter 733 733- Monstrous Growth (2)
Chapter733 733- Monstrous Growth (2)
"Hehe¡ it no longer feels impossible," Simon thought about the seven year agreement he made with Aldebaran. The promise stated he would only be able to keep the Forest Spring spirits if he became a Demon Duke and subdued the Seven Kings within the time period of seven years.
He still had more than three years to keep his promise. The lofty agreement that he made with Aldebaran did not feel as supercilious anymore. Maybe he will be a Demon Duke even before the time limit was up.
Simon felt his blood boiling at this thought.
Vague crimson ck mana, emanated out of Simon and was moulded into various shapes of weapons. He can control them as he wished and he could even turn them into a gaseous, solid or liquid state with just a will.
The ability topress and synthesize mana, this was the transformation that narked that one had reached level 600.
Simon continued to practice with his mana and learned more things about it. He realised that he was on the verge of learning another skill. A skill that bestows abilities and skills to other skills.
[Ability Conferment], it was a powerful skill that one can only learn after reaching level 600 and what separated the outstanding from the ordinary.
Simon had seen and faced opponents who had this skill. It made their attacks very tricky and powerful. By using the [Ability Conferment] to bestow certain skills in other skills or magic, it essentially increases the might of their attacks more than their level standard.
For example, if one used the [Ability Conferment] to add [Greater Force], [Destructive Might] or other skills into a magic, they can in essence double or even triple the might of that magic. The magic would also carry the effects of those skills.
This was also the reason why some enemies that he had faced were stronger than what their level suggested. On his side, Irene, Valkyries, the vampire twins, and everyone above level 600 had this skill.
Simon was also instinctively using it now that he was close to level 600. The berserk that he added to his magic, it was also a type of ability conferment. From this, it was easy to understand how powerful [Ability Conferment] was, if used right, it can even turn the effects of some skills and magic into somethingpletely different.
Of course, the skill was not omnipotent, it was bound by the rules andws of the world and had many things it couldn''t do. For example, the skill cannot create something that went against the naturalws of this world.
There were other things apart from this, it would take Simon some time to fully learn about them. And so after ying with his mana and familiarising himself with its changes, Simon stood up, ready to venture out once again.
Time was limited and although he had already achieved his objective foring here, he was not going to give up on the trial aftering this far. He had already seen how unique and mysterious the forbidden ground was, the treasure and allure it held was far above anything the world had to offer.
Finger of Ozymandias, the Radiant Crown of Brilliance, the Sword of Dawn, numerous valuable ores, the mysterious ores and the [Historia]¡ªSimon was already looking forward to what treasures he would get next after clearing the sixth trial.
Since he went towards the west the first time, he decided to head north this time. This ce was so vast, that he needed to quickly familiarise himself with it.
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In the far eastern direction of the snonds, a tall mountain range that reached the clouds dotted the ce like a coiling majestic dragon. Beyond the mountains, a step cliff could be seen and a ravine running down as if dividing the entirend into two.
In the deepest parts, a group of over forty people could be seen moving forward. The snow here reached till waist and as they walked forward, they made a continuous crunching noise. A heavy pressure enveloped the ce causing the atmosphere around the group to be grave.
Leading the group, was Godwin, he held a giant bastard sword in one hand and a shield on the other. Both the items were not ordinary, from the sheen they gave off they seemed to be made of Mythril or higher material.
Especially the sword, its unique craftsmanship, its unparalleled sharpness and the aura it gave of simply being carried by Godwin, was a telltale sign that the sword was of a very high grade, probably Admantium.
The others in the group were also equipped with quality gears. Although notparable to Godwin, it did not fall out too behind either.
At this moment, the air in front of him wavered and Godwin gave the song for the group to stop. Soon, a couple of Assassins led by Raven, showed their faces.
"How is the situation?" Godwin asked. Raven shook the snow from his robes and answered "We are going in the right direction. I can sense the lingering presence of the target around here. It should further this path".
The snowstorm around this path was especially strong as such, they could only send a few experts like Raven who had many navigational and versatile skills forward, to scout ahead.
"I can also feel a terrifying aura sweeping into these parts of thend from ahead. How long before we reach that thing?" Godwin asked deliberating something in his head.
"From the looks of it, at our current pace, it would still take us more than half a day. If we fly there, we should be able to reach there in an hour and a half".
Hearing that, Godwin shook his head "This is the territory of the Snowsquall Drakewings. Their levels and number far exceed what we have encountered in the other parts. With our numbers, if we fly using Mana Wings, we will quickly be spotted by them and be sitting ducks".
"Not to mention that using Mana Wings depletes a lot of mana, if we fly we will only increase the rate at which our level is suppressed. We might get wiped out even before we reach the abomination"¡
"Then we will ahead as nned and find a secure shelter to hide here first"¡
"Please do"¡
With that, Raven and his team disappeared once again leaving behind Godwin and the other warriors as they slowly made their way ahead in this violent snowstorm.
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In the far opposite direction, Simon was currently busy engaging a group of monster that surrounded him. The monsters that he encountered around this part were not Snwoqsquall Drakewing but of some other race.
Icemane Raptors, a fearsome monster native to the snonds. They were extremely ferocious and territorial and their body which was built to run on snow, gave them speed that couldn''t be ignored.
Coupled with their powerful sense of smell, these monsters were a force on their own. These Icemane Raptors had caught Simon''s scent and had followed him for more than a couple hundred kilometres.
Seeing that he couldn''t lose them no matter how fast he flew, Simon finally decided to engage these beasts before they followed him back to his shelter.
Race- Icemane Raptors
Level- 441
Skills- [Super Enhanced Agility], [Super Enhanced Endurance], [Enhanced Defence], [Enhanced Strenght], [Heightened Smell], [Coordination], [Ice Resistance], [Strengthen Bite Force], [Silent Stalkers], [Swift Rush], [cial Hide], [Fierce ws], [Frosty Bity], [Extreme Pounce], [Icy Tail Swipe], [Icy Roar of Resilience], [Pack Tactics]¡
Simon analysed his pursuers with [Appraisal]. Although the Icemane Raptors were lower levelled than the Snowsquall Drakewings, they weren''t inferior. To be able to survive in a territory with the Snowsquall Drakewings, one cannot look down on their ability.
Especially their speed, tracking skill and the pounce. When Simon was flying, he was astonished to find that these monsters could pounce a few hundred meters into the sky. They had almost caught him off guard once.
Aside from this fact, their numbers were also higher than the other monsters. At a nce, Simon could already count more than twenty hundred of them following and surrounding him.
Sigh¡ He sighed and unleashed his skills. Before the Icemane Raptors could evene closer they were bombarded with all sorts of skills and magic.
Some which were able to close the distance, came biting him [frosty Bite]. However, those ones were deftly dealt with and sliced in half with the [Burnt Sword].
Simon executed [Thousnad Sword Mastery], [Infernal Magic Mastery], [Lightning Magic Mastery], [Tempest Magic Mastery]. His steps domineering and oppressive as he made short work of the monsters.
From this battle, Simon understood a few things about the Icemane Raptors. These monsters although individually weaker than the Snowsquall Drakewings, they were far more powerful when cooperating with each other.
As could be understood from the skill [Pack tactics and [Coordination], their power relied on their numbers. In that regard, they were very simr to orcs who also had excellent coordination and fought in groups.
In any case, after dealing with his annoying pursuers, Simon continued his flight and scouted the area, searching for the target he needed to defeat to clear the trial.
Mid flight, his attention went towards his status. His level had risen once again after defeating hundreds of Icemane Raptors. It had now reached level 576 and was getting closer and closer to level 600.
Simon nned to use the sixth trial to increase his level as much as he could. Of course, it was not possible to reach the next rank in three days; however, he at least wanted to inch as close as possible.
Chapter 734 734- Abomination Vs the Adventurers
Chapter734 734- Abomination Vs the Adventurers
Levelling up would also help him and increase his chances against the Abomination that he would have to eventually fight.
Resolving himself, Simon continued to fly forward and explore the snownds. Whenever he found himself surrounded by monsters, he would use them as stepping stones to increase his level.
And so just like that, one day went by. Apart from his level continuously increasing, he did not make any progress towards finding the target or the other challengers for that matter. Heck, he was even starting to believe that he was the only one here.
If not for the notification informing him, he might have believed so. This only went to show how vast the ce was.
The second day was also not any better. Apart from being tackled by the native monsters of this ce, there were no signs of the Abomination anywhere. Simon did not falter, he continued to fly around and scout the ce. His level increased further.
Inside the Forbidden Grounds, there was no difference between day and night. It was always as bright as a day, as such, it was very easy to lose one''s sense of time. When the second day was almosting to an end, Simon suddenly had a thought.
He now clearly believed that four days was simply too little of a time to clear the trial. Given the vastness of this ce, four days would be over from just exploring the ce and it would still not be enough to map it out in its entirety.
That was how big this ce called the snownds was. In a situation like this, it made no sense that he only had four days of time to clear the trial. It was only logical for Simon to think that something must be up.
Something happened that had affected his trial.
"Could it be because of the other challengers or is there another unknown variable here?" Simon muttered to himself. Just as he was deliberating this inside his head, his ears suddenly picked up a noise.
The sound of blowing snowstorm was enough to drown out any noise. However, this noise was clearly very deafening and travelled through a very long distance.
"This¡ someone is fighting!!" Simon''s eyes lit up and at the same time, a sense of urgency also assaulted his heart. This muffled rumbling noise was definitely from a magic going off.
Someone was fighting, Simon''s first thought was the other challengers.
"Did they find the target?" Not wanting to be left behind, Simon turned around and immediately flew towards the direction he heard the noiseing from.
.
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Far in the east, a fierce battle broke out. Hordes of Snowsquall Drakewing surrounded a group of adventurers who formed numerous small teams to fend them off. The side teams held the monsters off while the main team led by Godwin, was busy fighting an enormous ck shadow in the middle.
The ck shadow had a terrifying appearance, it stood more than twenty meters tall and had aspects of various races stitched into its body looking very disturbing, like a weirdb experiment.
It had six legs, a scaled tail like that of a dragon, a human''s upper body and demonic wings. It did not have any skin and its inner muscles were visible. Green scales protruded from the muscles and covered some vulnerable areas of its body.
It had three heads, each of which was ring menacingly at Godwin.
ROARRR¡ the creature opened its mouth revealing jagged pairs of incisive teeth and gave a deep guttural roar. At that instant, all the magic started going out of control and even the falling snowstorm was affected.
[Mana Disruption], a skill possessed by a few extraordinary beasts. Thanks to the skill, all the mages suffered a fierce bacsh as the mana inside their body went haywire. However, looking at the way they moved even after suffering an unexpected blow, it was clear that they were used to such a tactic.
None of the mages panicked and hurriedly drew back on orders of Godwin and started casting magic once again.
One of the ways to deal with [Mana Disruption] was to either stop the enemy before they can use it or to estimate the area of effect of the skill and get out of it.
Seeing from the way the mages behaved, it appeared that they knew how to counter the skill. Numerous magic formed and assaulted the Abomination. Its three pairs of eyes shifted towards the magicians in the backlines as it started charging towards them.
One could imagine how terrifying the charge of a hulking creature as big as the Abomination was. It was like an avnche that threatened to drown them. However, before the creature could reach the backlines, an overpowering force came battering and forced it to slide back.
[Bulwark Bash] The lion on Godwin''s shield released steam as he used his powerful rare skill to stop the creature in its tracks.
Right after that two des shining with a deadly light, appeared out of nowhere and dug into its eyes. The creature released a powerful aura, stopping the des in its tracks and forcing Raven to blow back and crash into the snow.
Before the Abomination could connect Godwin rushed forward and started brawling with the creature. His shield deflected all of its attacks, as if he could predict all the moves of the creature.
His sword did not stay still and executedplex and extreme sword skills that were each powerful enough to bypass its defence and injure it.
The rest of his team followed his lead and attacked the Abomination. However, it was clear that they were unable to deal any significant damage to it.
When the warriors were done dealing damage, they swiftly retreated and allowed the magic conjuring in the distance to let loose their magic.
Advance and retreat, the team were in perfect sync. As one would expect of a group that was led by a ranker. These adventurers have fought numerous battles, they were a veteran when it came to how to deal with monsters.
BOOM¡ BOOOM¡ BOOM¡ As the magic bombarded, the Abomination blocked. Numerous twisting thorns looking all sinister, started growing out its body.
After the magic ended, it was the warriors and Assassin''s turn once again. They repeated the cycle, keeping the creature cornered and slowly chipping away at its strength. However, the situation did notst long and changed after a while.
The aura of the Abomination spiked all of a sudden, greenish liquid seeped out of its body and melted the snow.
The adventurers all predicted this and swiftly retreated except for Godwin. As the most powerful warrior in the group and a genuine Ranker, he was the only one who could handle the creature when it was going berserk.
ROAARR¡ The Abomination gave a loud roar, peculiar pattern started growing on its body causing its aura to reach a terrifying level. The sky was turned green and all the snow in a few hundred kilometres was swept away.
Even Godwin and his team were forcefully blown back.
On the other side, Simon who was making his way over was suddenly hit by a strong gust of wind and was nearly smashed into a mountain. After barely stabilising himself, using [sh Steps] to constantly move away, he saw an unusual scene.
In the distance, the sky was suddenly turned green and waves of snow each rising to a height of couple hundred meters were swept away like a tsunami. They came crashing into the mountains causing earthquakes to appear in the snonds.
Simon saw the bodies of numerous Snowsquall Drakewings and even some adventurers buried in the snow. Just like he had thought the other challengers had already found the target and were in the midst of currently engaging it. It was a good thing that he rushed here at the first signs of battle.
Simon hurriedly took out the [Ice Phoenix Sigh] and ducked into a corner of a mountain to monitor the situation. He found a shelter from which he could perfectly oversee the battlefield.
He did not recklessly dive into the chaos, instead he first monitored the situation and tried to make sense of what was going on. Given that the other party had the qualification to be recognised by the master of the forbidden ground and ept the trials, it was all the more reason for Simon to be cautious.
Apart from that, there was also the finger of Ozymandias which was behaving quite peculiarly recently. Ever since he arrived at this ce, it was as if the finger was suddenly trembling in excitement, releasing streams of curse energy that overflowed out of his space ring.
Something was resonating with it but what was it? Could it be the target? Simon narrowed his eyes as he looked into the distance. There he could see a terrifying green energy storm brewing. It was so overwhelming that even the mana in the surroundings started getting affected.
The aura flowing from the green storm had reached a level that caused the surrounding adventurers to take a step back in fright. The battle had reached a point where it was no longer possible for just anyone to intervene.
Simon focused his eyes and noticed a man standing in between the storm and the adventurers. His posture was straight and his aura was calm. His back profile gave one a sense of security and assurance.
The moment Simon saw the man, his pupils suddenly dted and his body trembled as if he had pricked by a needle.
How could he not recognise this man? Even though from his position it was difficult to see the other party''s face, that aura, that presence and that charisma clearly belonged to someone that he recognised.
Chapter 735 735- Abomination Vs The Adventurers
Chapter735 735- Abomination Vs The Adventurers
That person was not his friend, but rather his enemy, the one who cornered him and pushed him to the brink of madness. How long had it been since hest saw him? He did not think that he would see that person once again.
Simon was trembling in excitement, rage, delight and amusement. He would finally be able to take his revenge. Although he had cut the limbs of the Sea God''s Trident Guild in thest expedition when they came diving inside his dungeon, high ranking members such as Godwin, Raven and Benny Beckermann were missing.
With them still present, the Sea God''s guild would never truly be wiped out. If it was any of the other top five guilds of the kingdom of Ellesmere, Simon wouldn''t bother too much with them as long as they did not overstep their boundaries.
However, the Sea God''s guild had repeatedly crossed his upper limits, attacking and invading his dungeon at every point. This caused them to be irreconcble enemies.
What''s more, they even knew about the secret of the forest spring spirits residing inside his dungeon. They have to die no matter what or else Simon wouldn''t be able to sleep or eat properly.
They cannot live under the same sky, one of them has to be eliminated. That said, although Simon''s blood was boiling in indignance as he remembered the scene from the past, there were also traces of gratitude mixed within his emotions.
He was thankful that he had gone through such an experience as it had opened his eyes. It made him finally ept him for who he was and let go of all na?ve and idealistic thinking.
He was a Demon Noble in this life, he cannot cling to the way of thinking of his past life. Thanks to the experience he could break out of his shell and be a true Demon Noble.
"I will let you experience the despair I experienced all those years ago" Making a wicked smile, Simon resolved. He did not attack immediately but instead formted a n in his head.
He used appraisal on his Target and Enemy.
Name- Subject 2777
Race- Unidentifiable
Level-740
Skills- [Herculean Strength], [Ultra Enhanced Defence], [Enhanced Agility], [Super Enhanced Magic], [Ultra Enhanced Endurance], [Ultra High speed Regenration], [Body Reinforcment], [Frost Magic Resistance], [me Magic resistance], [Lightning Magic Resistance], [Tremor Magic Resistance], [Gale magic Resistance], [Blunt Damage Resistance], [Poison Immunity], [Intimidation Resistance], [Frost Magic Mastery], [me Magic Mastery], [Lightning Magic Mastery], [Tremor Magic Mastery], [Gale Magic Mastery], [Chaotic Mind], [Parallel Thinking], [Atrophy Gaze], [Rampant Roar], [Nethermaw Devour], [Chemeric Fury], [Voidfire Breath], [Ethereal Scales], [Aspect Anomaly], [Abomination''s Charge], [Fury of the Multitudes], [Altered Form], [Origin Form], [Transmutation Surge]¡
It was as he had thought, the Abomination was the Abomination he had in his head. The monstrosity created by the greed of humans, subject 2777 also said to be the greatest creation, there was no mistaking it.
That aura, that gaze and that appearance that gave one chill right down to their spines, should he say as expected of the Abomination? It was downright terrifying. There was also its long list of skills, it was not without reason that those humans believed that it was their greatest creation.
The Abomination had resistance to all five basic attributes. Not only that, it also had mastery over the intermediate tiers of all the five basic attributes. It begs mentioning that all the five basic attributes need different talents and affinities to master.
Someone who could use all five basic attributes were exceptionally rare, one might even be able to count them with their fingers.
Even Simon was unable to master all the five basic attributes. He only possessed affinities for fire, electro and wind and no matter how much he tried to learn the other two attributes, it was simply impossible.
"No wonder they said that it was their greatest creation and their greatest failure" To be able to utilise all five basic attributes of magic, what kind of concept was that? Simon did not know whether tough or cry.
Then there was also some dangerous sounding skills in its arsenal like the [Chemeric Fury], [Voidfire Breath], [Transmutation Surge] and so on and so forth. There was no doubt about it, these were rare and lost skills, and their tiers were also very high, at the very least it should be at the Ancient tier.
The more Simon nced at the Abomination, the more speechless he became. It was a good thing he did not attack it, even Simon was not absolutely sure that he would be able to bring it down.
After appraising the Abomination, Simon shifted his attention onto the man standing not far away from it. To his surprise, the moment he tried to use [Appraisal] on Godwin, his skill was blocked.
He was unable to see anything regarding this man.
It needs to be said that the [Appraisal] skill can only be blocked during two instances. One when there is arge difference in level between the two parties and second when the other party is in possession of something that blocks all prying skill.
Simon did not believe that there was arge difference between him and Godwin. He was even able to appraise the Abomination which thetter was struggling against. Which meant that Godwin wasn''t stronger than the Abomination.
Simon recalled that the first time the two of them met, his skill was blocked just like now. However, at that time, he attributed not being able to see the other party''s status to them having arge difference in level.
However, what about now? Not only had he gotten a lot stronger since then, but even his [Analysis] skill had evolved. Simon knew that his growth speed was exaggerated and that no one in the world could match his speed after all he possessed the Fragments of Pride.
However, even after all this, he was still unable to pry at the other party''s status. This meant only one thing, it was not due to the level difference but because of a certain thing that Godwin possessed.
Simon wasn''t surprised, this aligned perfectly well with the conjecture he had drawn when he learned that there were other challengers at present in the sixth trial.
"He should be the other challenger recognised by the master of the forbidden grounds" Simon was curious, he didn''t think that he would encounter his enemy much less them being able to gain the recognition of the master of the forbidden grounds.
Well, no matter what the case was, it did not change the fact he needed to defeat Godwin. It was a good thing that the other party also possessed a formidable card. With that, they should be able to resist the Abomination for a while.
Be it the Abomination or Godwin, both of them were very strong forcing him to change his ns on how to approach the situation.
He did not think that the battle would be decided anytime soon, from what he could see both the parties looked very alive and kicking. As such, Simon decided not to meddle and see how the situation develops. It would be best of both of them tire each other out.
.
.
On the other side of the battlefield, the adventurers have regrouped back together. Thanks to the earlier outburst of the creature, all the monsters in a nearby area had died. The adventurers barely managed to safeguard themselves at the critical moment.
They downed a few vials of potions and stood their ground. Just as they nned to attack the creature, Godwin raised his hands and ordered them to back down. He did not say anything else and swiftly charged towards the creature, golden light enveloped his body, raising his strength to unknown heights.
With a speed that defied his build, Godwin crashed into the creature forcing it out of the aura storm. At this moment as the creature''s form came into view once again, everyone realised that something was wrong.
The creature hadn''t gone into a state of berserk like they thought but instead, changed forms. That''s right, after those peculiar markings and runes appeared on the creature started transforming.
The Abomination had gone into its [Altered Form]. It now had a serpentine look, its three pairs of legs were reduced to green tipped spikes and barbed thorns protruded from its tail. Its upper body had also be extremely muscr to match its current build.
Hard outer shell grew out of all of its three heads and covered its entire face like a helmet, it separated vertically like an insect mandible. The wings on its back expanded and branched into three parts each, looking all sinister, like feelers.
Looking at the abomination, no one would be able to tell that it was the very same creature they were fighting just a moment ago. The Abomination did not wait for the adventurers toe out of their stupor, its three heads quickly conjured various magic and threw it at them.
Almost a the same moment "Get into formation" Godwin roared. He wanted to block the magic targeted at his team. However, before he could help them, an enormous tail with sharp barbed thorns growing out of the end, came smashing towards him, forcing him to stay.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BOOM¡
Sharp spikes of earth protruded out of the ground, razor sharp winds blew everywhere, lightning shed and fire and ice wreaked havoc everywhere. The adventurers could only protect themselves, forget about participating in the battle. They could only leave it to Raven to aid Godwin.
Chapter 736 736- Meeting of Enemies
Chapter736 736- Meeting of Enemies
A greenish ck light shed from the centre head and a breath was fired towards Godwin. [Voidfire Breath]... One of the scary sounding skills of the Abomination. It packed enough power to violently distort the surroundings and leave spatial tears in its wake.
Looking at its might, it spared no doubt that it would deal devastating damage if it connected. Even Godwin did not dare to block the breath and dodged left and right using his mana wings.
He would also use [Mana Armaments] that was conferred with various skills using [Ability Conferment] to counter attack.
While the Abomination was busy targeting Godwin, a shadow creeped near it. Immediately, the figure of Raven came out of the shadows and executed aplex dance of des that targeted the underbelly of the creature.
However, the abomination agilely dodged his attacks. It appeared that one of its heads had spotted him. Afterwards, multiple feelers came attacking him, forcing Raven to quickly duck into the shadows.
The Abomination was quite intelligent, it was using [Parallel Thinking], [Fury of the Multitudes] to cast various magic, [Atrophy Gaze] to intimidate and [Transmutation Surge] to synchronise all the different abilities of its body.
It kept everyone else at bay and solely focused on Godwin. It could tell that the greatest threat to him was from this man. As long as it could kill him, it wouldn''t have to worry about the other ants.
As for Raven, this was a slightly annoying ant that''s all, the other party couldn''t harm him. And so, the Abomination came charging at Godwin with its [Chemeric Fury] and used [Nethermaw Devour] and [Serpentine Strike] to overpower him.
Godwin was still fine even under the heavy barrage of its attacks. However the same couldn''t be said for this team. Even though the Abomination was only using its magic to keep them at bay, enduring intermediate tier magic of all five basic attributes was not an easy task.
The mages couldn''t stop all magic with their magic shield and the warriors did not have resistance for all the five attributes. As time passed by, more and more injuries urred which put heavy pressure on the formation. It was slowly starting to fall apart.
If this continued, soon Raven and Godwin would be the only ones alive facing the Abomination. The two also realised this and increased the intensity of their attacks.
Godwin was a Ranker who currently held the 7001st position, he defeated many rankers to climb to the position he was now. His rise was quick and it hadn''t been long since he joined the Rankers.
If he was given time to grow, he would even reach the peak of ranker and maybe even go beyond. As for Raven, he definitely had the potential to be a Ranker and rise in the ranks. However, potential was only potential, the current them were clearly not the match for the Abomination.
Realising this difference, Godwin extended his hands out. Golden light shined and a pendant appeared on his hand. The design of the pendant was simple, it did not look overly extravagant nor did it give off any extraordinary aura.
No matter how you see it, the pendant looked totally normal. However, it was this seemingly normal pendant that overturned the situation.
As soon Godwin opened the pendant, the sky above them changed, an enormous magic formation that was more than hundreds of kilometres in diameter, shining withplex runes and markings appeared overhead.
As soon as the magic formation appeared, it quickly engulfed the area with its magnificence. Every eyes turned towards the sky even Simon looked at the formation with astonishment.
Its size aside, just the fact that it carried such an oppressive atmosphere easily drowning the presence of the Abomination was enough to make him realise that the formation was extremely powerful.
"This should be his rump card right?" Simon muttered to himself observing the formation. Since Godwin dared to confront the abomination, he had to have some kind of measures prepared, some tricks up his sleeve.
The magic pendant should be his magnum opus. As Simon was wondering when he should intervene, the situation on the battlefield had already changed.
Eight enormous pirs appeared out of the formation and quickly erected themselves around the Abomination in an octagram. The pirs released golden lightning that transformed into chains and bound the creature in ce.
No matter how the abomination struggled or what skills or magic it quickly put away by Godwin.
used, it was unable to break out of the seal. It turned out that the trump card that Godwin had prepared, the pendant was actually a sealing artefact.
After aplishing its effects, the pendant lost its lustre and was quickly put away by Godwin.
Now that the Abomination was sealed in a ce and could no longer move, everybody rejoiced. They seemed to see the glimmer of victory where Godwin defeated the creature already.
SWISH...
However, just as thetter moved to deal with the abomination, a huge greyish pir of light came attacking him at a speed that was difficult to ignore.
Swiftly, Godwin changed the trajectory of his attack and instead targeted the greyish pir of light.
BOOOM¡ a powerful shockwave erupted waking everyone up from their stupor. Space copsed where the two attacks collided, the radiant sword light from Godwin had already dissipated leaving behind only the greyish pir of light.
No, it would be wrong to say that it was a pir after, the thing that attacked Godwin was an enormous finger. It was huge,rger than the trunk of a tree and was dotted withplex runes that glowed with a mystical light.
What else could it be than the Finger of Ozymandias? After the finger was stopped, it pulled back and returned towards a figure that was flying in the sky not far in the distance.
"Godwin you alright?" At this moment, Raven and the other adventurers reorganised around him.
Godwin nodded his head, his eyes glued to the figure in the distance. Nobody could see it; however, his hand which was holding the sword, was trembling a little. The greyish pir earlier had given him a powerful sense of death, causing him to counterattack without holding back.
However, all his attack managed to do was block that pir. What was going on? Where did this persone from?
Could it be he is the other challenger?
It was not only Simon who had received the notification, Godwin too received the same. He was the other challenger who was recognised by the master of the forbidden grounds and thus allowed to go through the trial.
However, at that time Godwin did think of much of the notification back then, thinking that it might have been one of his teammates surviving. After all, their numbers were more than one thousand when they started the sixth trial around a month ago.
But the harsh environment of the trial had slowly culled down their numbers, leaving only the elites of the elite to survive.
The weak died and only the strong remained, that was how thew inside the trial worked. Given their numbers, it was only normal for Godwin to believe that the number increased because one or two of his teammates managed to survive.
However, it appeared at this time to him that he was wrong.
Dalton and tens of thousands of adventurers from our Sea God''s While Godwin was busy deliberating and sorting out his thoughts, Raven squinted his eyes when he saw the figure in the distance. His mind churned and soon he realised who the other party was.
Killing intent shed in Raven''s eyes as he reminded his team of who they were facing against.
"Snort¡ So you are that Demon Noble who killed former Vice leader Dalton and tens of thousands of adventurers from our Sea God''s Trident guild? I heard that the guild leaders of the other top five guilds had also disappeared inside your dungeon? It''s a shame that I didn''t destroy your dungeon at that time"
Godwin clenched his sword and red at Simon with righteous anger. Of course, he had heard about the great expedition of the kingdom of Ellesmere, that turned into the greatest failure and disaster in their history.
The expedition into the Ghastly Winding Forest was led by the top five guilds and many other big guilds of the kingdom of Ellesmere. There was no one who believed that the expedition would fail at that time.
However, when none of the adventurers who participated returned even after months, many people started to specte if something had gone wrong or if the expedition team had failed to usurp the dungeon.
As days passed by their spection turned into reality when the kingdom, bing exaggerated and horrifying as it spread.
numerous search teams went diving into dungeons in search for them and came out empty handed.
They did not find any trace nor any clues about the expedition team. It was as if they had mysteriously disappeared after they went inside the dungeon.
The nobilities of the kingdom tried to keep the news in check. However, how could such a big event be hidden? Like an explosion, the news of the failure of the expedition quickly travelled across the kingdom, bing exaggerated and horrifying as it spread.
Some said that the dungeon had devoured the expedition team, some said that they had be the minions of the dungeon and others spected that it was the conspiracy of the top five guilds to eliminate the other big guilds who were a thorn in their side.
The event had been overblown by the people; however, no matter the people thought at the time, the one who took the biggest blow were the top five guilds and the kingdom of Ellsemere who lost more than 70 percent of their elite adventures in that expedition.
Chapter 737 737- Crushing the Numerical Superiority
Chapter737 737- Crushing the Numerical Superiority
The Kingdom of Ellesmere lost more than 70 per cent of the elite adventurers and that was discounting the loss that came from losing people like Karina Lowell, Brutus Sarge, Cassius Grey and many more who were the guild leaders and pirs of this kingdom.
The news travelled to the other neighbouring countries, which gave them the opportunity to severely suppress the kingdom. The Kingdom of Ellesmere quickly lost its footing as the third grade country and was on the verge of bing a vessel nation.
Fortunately, the guild leader of their Sea god''s trident, Benny Beckermann who was busy tackling the forbidden grounds at that time and did not participate in the expedition team, survived.
However, this caused the suspicions of the people and the royalty of the kingdom to turn towards them. Many started using their guild for colluding with the demons; after all, their guild leader was the one to propose the idea to form an alliance to curb the quickly growing danger in the Ghastly Winding Forest that was the dungeon Lace.
What''s more, in the expedition, they were the only guild who had suffered the least damage. The other top five guilds had lost their position and dissolved leaving only the Sea God''s Trident.
Given all this, it was only natural for the suspicion of the people to be directed towards them. Bits and pieces of news of what happened in the remote north western region of the central continent and the name dungeon Lace also made its way to the Maind and into the ears of Godwin and Raven who were training there under a guild at that time.
When they returned to the kingdom, many things had changed. People no longer weed them, the scorn and disdain as they looked at them was clearly evident in their eyes. Their guild had lost the public support and was only standing because it still retained the high ranking members like them.
Everyone ignored the sacrifices their guild made and started to condemn them. Godwin felt that the mey on him, he felt responsible for what had happened. If only he had destroyed the dungeon at that time when he was passing through the Ghastly Wining Forest, then all of this wouldn''t have happened.
The top five guilds wouldn''t have to form the expedition guild and the former vice leader Dalton wouldn''t have to die. Just thinking about it, made Godwin furious.
"Hmm? Dalton? Doesn''t ring a bell. Forget about some nobody, don''t you think you and I have some history that we need to settle first?" the figure shed their fangs as they gave a wicked grin that was very much true to their race.
An oppressive air emanated from them and quickly engulfed the ce. Just one look at those heterochromatic eyes was enough to feel a sense of intimidation. Who could the figure unting his dashing demonic figure be other than Simon?
"It looks like he holds the grudge from when we pursued him to the city of Aqualin and cornered him" Raven interjected, there was aplex feeling in those eyes of his.
As someone who worked as the right hand man of the guild leader of the Sea god''s trident, he was much more informed about the demon in front of them than Godwin.
It was precisely because he knew that he felt a sense of urgency to kill the demon even more. Looking at how absurdly fast the demon grew, he knew that his decision at that time was right.
"It looks like you used the transit stones to get away from us back then. However, now that you have shown yourself openly don''t even think about using the same trick to escape again. Godwin don''t tell me you want to take him alive after what he did to our guild and kingdom?" Raven asserted his tone grave.
Godwin understood how Raven felt, he looked at the Demon in the sky and remembered the battle in the city of Aqualin. If not because the director of the Adventurer''s Association branch of their kingdom and Chuck, he wouldn''t have thought about taking the demon alive.
Thanks to his moment of indecisiveness it gave the demon the demon the chance to flee.
"Seems like you remember what happened thest time we crossed paths. To think that you would appear before me once again, it looks like all that growth of yours made you feel invincible"
Godwin sighed drawing his swords towards the demon. He wouldn''t make the mistake he madest time, there was no one to save the demon this time.
"Hehehe¡ Yeah, I feel much better thanst time. Just thinking about how I will twist your necks, rupture your bodies, and massacre you lot, makes me feel weirdly refreshed. This is the feeling that I a demon noble should feel. Thanks for making me realise who I wasst time"
Simonughed, his solemn and bloodlust filled words caused everyone''s blood to run cold. In terms of charisma, the demon in front of them did not lose to their leader at all.
"As I thought so, the Demon Nobles are the root of all evil. This world will continue to suffer unless you lot are purged. Today, I will make all my wrongs right and kill you once and for all. Everyone, go into formation A, do not let this demon get away"
Godwin shouted, immediately his fellow teammates activated their mana wings and spread all across the battlefield, encircling the demon in the middle.
"Hehe¡ What a way to justify your actions, that was some self righteous, virtuous bull crap right there. But do you think that just your teammates are enough to corner me?"
Just as Simon spoke those words, two des materialised out of thin air and targeted his neck. The des shined with a terrifying de light. However, before they could get near his neck, Simon extended his hands and stopped the des with his ws.
Infernal mes spread from his ws and threatened to devour his assant. Raven hurriedly pulled back after his failed assassination attempt.
Godwin narrowed his eyes seeing that the demon was easily able to stop Raven. Nevertheless, hisposure did not falter as he snorted "Unlike thest time, I don''t even need to personally take action. My teammates are enough for the likes of you".
Although the Abomination was sealed by the pirs, someone had to watch over it lest something unexpected happen.
However, to his surprise the demon rendered his statement moot the next second. Simon took out a cube and wilfully boasted "Since you are proud of your number superiority, let me take that card off your sleeve".
The Eon''s cube on his hand expanded and soon it reached the size of a mountain. It shifted and turned and before long, Andromedas poured out of it. Ten, twenty, hundred, two hundred, three hundred, five hundred¡they continued to pour out like an unending wave.
The numerical superiority that the adventurers were so proud of, disappeared like smoke. Their eyes widened as they stared at the mountain like Eon''s cube and the Andromedas that were pouring out of it.
Simon did not cut corners, he did not bring out the old Mk 9s to make up for the numbers, but thetest Mk 7s that one would only encounter on the lower floors of his dungeon.
That''s right, to celebrate his reunion with Godwin, he did not spare any cost. The numbers of the Andromedas were all made up of Mk 7s.
It needs to be mentioned that as the versions went up, the strength and technology of the Andromedas also increased. They were equipped with far more powerful weapons, structures, designs, data andputing ability.
An Mk 11 was far more powerful than a Mk12, Mk 9 was greater than Mk 10 and so on and so forth. As for Mk 7, they could easily fight with an adventurer above level 500. What''s more, these Mk7s were far more advanced than the ones that he brought out during his battle with the Harpies and their queen.
The ones currently here are the finished product.
The Mk 7''s were one thing, but Simon even pulled out the big guns, among the pouring war machines there were also a few Revenant Crows and Mk 6 present.
The Mk 6 are the version that are currently in the manufacturing process after Simon secured arge amount of ore deposit in the Harpies territory.
The Mk 6''s outer structure was fully made of Mythril and its interior was made from a special alloy called the chronium. Since thetter was very difficult to find, there was only a few of the Mk 6 manufactured.
However, on his venture to the forbidden grounds, Simon had secured arge amount of Chrnonium, enough for the manufacturing of the Mk 6 to keep on going.
"I usually don''t like intimidating my opponents with numbers but I do make sure to bring an army along wherever I go" Simon grinned.
The Andromedas only stopped pouring out of the cube when their number reached the thousands. The scene of thousands of Andromedas releasing mechanised noises as they scanned their surroundings and located their target was a scene to behold.
It made all the adventurer''s skin tingle as they looked at the Andromedas in dread. Even the elite among the powerhouses, being above level 600 were looking at the scene with an apprehensive expression.
As for Godwin and Raven, they had a dark expression as they observed the grinning demon. They could tell that these golems were not ordinary golems and represented a threat to their team.
Chapter 738 738- [Thousand Swords Mastery]
Chapter738 738- [Thousand Swords Mastery]
Especially the golden ones, they were made of Mythril and gave off a dangerous aura.
The adventurer''s initial n of surrounding the demon and ganging up on him was overturned in its head. Now it was the demon who had them surrounded. They did not know how and from where the demon took these golems out from.
However, there was one thing that they knew and that was¡ªthey had to defeat the demon here. They cannot give him any more chances to escape, they needed to kill him before thetter could grow even stronger.
Given the growth that the demon had shown them, it was only natural for Godwin and Raven to take the matter as a serious concern.
The former closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. With the appearance of the Andromedas, he could no longer sit back. If he wanted to take the demon down, he would have to do it himself.
The next moment Godwin opened his eyes, his eyes started shining brightly and his aura surged. Everyone could see the halo of a gigantic figure behind him. the halosted only for a second before disappearing. However, it gave every adventurer who had a dispirited look after the appearance of the Andromedas, a new ray of hope.
That''s right, they all believed that as long as Godwin was with them, there was no way they would lose. After all, it was not once or twice that he had gone through a perilous situation such as this.
He would always find a chance to overturn any dangerous situation. He was their pir of faith. Simon saw the changes in the attitude of the others after Godwin decided to step in. However, he did not do anything and allowed them to get their hopes up.
It wouldn''t be fun at all if the other side did not struggle with all their might. Simon gave a deafening demonic roar to start off the battle.
Dark ck aura released out of his body and quickly engulfed the battlefield. To counter, the adventurers, more specifically the mages with mastery in light magic, started casting light domes to keep the negative effects of the dark magic from affecting them.
The Andromedas advanced and started engaging with the adventurers in a chaotic battle.
Almost at the same time, Godwin also made his move. He brandished his sword and sent forth holy de lights to attack Simon. Thetter dodged and counter attacked with his own powerful skills and magic.
All sorts of attacks were exchanged in a matter of a few seconds indicating that both the parties had [Mana Lines] and a solid foundation.
While Simon utilised his racial advantage and the training and growth he had gone through all these years to bombard his enemy with relentless and precise attacks, Godwin on the other hand put his years of experience, his unmatched confidence and the power of his ss and level into disy.
Any attack that Simon threw at him, was either dodged with minimal movements or deflected. His sword and shield became like an extension of his own limbs as he performed all sorts of techniques with seamless perfection.
It was as if they were not tools but living entities that had merged with him.
Simon and Godwin were so fast that they left afterimages behind, their battle couldn''t be contained in a limited space and spanned all across the sky.
The adventurers fighting the Adromedas or more like defending against their assaults, could see the brilliant shes of magic and skills colliding and tearing the sky asunder.
Simon used every technique and skill he had learned and honed over the years in his battle against Godwin. One could even see his efforts and diligence in his moves, the path he had chosen and the training he went through to reach this point.
However, even then he was unable to suppress Godwin. As he fought with thetter, he was able to tell that he was stillcking short in various areas and there were still various things he had yet to master.
It was not just the difference in level, Godwin could easily predict his moves and divert his attacks and movement in his favour, indicating that the other party had a higher version of [Intuition] skill.
However, that was not all, there were also various other basic high tiers skills involved in his actions. Although Godwin''s attacks were not shy, each and every one of them was extremely refined and advanced.
That level of sophisticated and polished moves cannot be achieved without going through a rigorous training and hellish battles. The power packed in Godwin''s attacks was far more powerful than any shy skill or magic. He was on a level of his own where the likes of Davis couldn''t evenpare.
The more Simon fought with him, the more he was made aware of his shorings. From looking at Godwin, he also understood why Irene repeatedly stressed on improving and acquiring basic skill sets rather than focusing on shy skills that gave one power from the get go.
It was because it was these basic skills that would be the building block for his power in theter stages when he battles with true experts, rather than the shy skills which would sooner orter hit a wall thus stopping his growth.
Simon wasn''t discouraged when shoved with the obvious difference between their abilities, instead, he became excited and marvelled at his powers, feeling that he had much room to grow.
The fact that he was able to fight with Godwin andst this long even without using his trump cards like the Finger of Ozymandias, said a lot about his growth. He has been walking on the right path since the beginning.
In their previous sh, Simon couldn''t evenst a few seconds and was pummelled into the ground and was forced to eat a loss. However, this time the situation was different. Although it was obvious that he was not Godwin''s match, the difference was not something that couldn''t be covered up.
The other party clearly couldn''t defeat Simon in a short period of time. Of course, the fact that Godwin had already gone through a gruelling battle against Abomination and was clearly not at his full power, yed a huge role.
However, Simon had flown his way all the way over here as fast as possible even if it meant it would increase the rate at which snow umted in his body and suppressed his level. So in a way, it could be said that both of them were not fighting at their peaks.
"[Resilience Strike]"
At this moment, Godwin erupted out with a powerful skill, his sword that was made of Adamantine shone with a brilliant golden as he swung his sword forward. The power of the attack was enough to tear space and send Simon crashing down on the ground.
BOOM¡ thend that was devoid of the snow, cracked and arge depression formed on the ground. At the centre of the depression, Simon who was picking himself up, had a huge gash in his [Mana Armour].
That strike from Godwin was powerful enough to bypass his defence stats and create arge wound on his chest. Blood seeped out from his injury causing Simon to grit his teeth in agony.
The external wound was superficial, it would go back to normal given his restorative abilities and skills. However, that strike was not an ordinary strike, but an attack packed with Divine magic, the advanced tier of light magic.
For a Demon Noble like Simon, Divine magic was his bane and his greatest weakness. The divine magic that seeped inside his body from that attack earlier wreaked havoc inside him dying his recovery.
Though Godwin''s attacks did not stop there, after that initial strike, he chained his attacks with more powerful skills and techniques and came sweeping down on Simon. Just as the attack arrived, the grin on Simon''s face widened and the space ring on his shed.
BOOM¡ dust rose and the ground copsed.
On the other side, looking at the awe-inspiring battle of Godwin, the adventurers rejoiced. However, their happiness was short lived as hundreds of Andromedas engaged them.
These war machines although around the early stages of level 500 were bing stronger as time passed. They analysed all the patterns and skills the adventurers had and formted ns based on that.
What''s more, these war machines did not tire and could keep on going endlessly until they were destroyed. Even the ones that were destroyed were swiftly rebuilding themselves. Fighting these cold machines of destruction, that continuously evolved during the battle was like a horror that had no end in sight.
Then there were also those incredibly powerful and sturdy ones whose whole frame was made of Mythril and the smaller and structurally different ones that looked like a crow.
Those ones sniped from the backlines and asionally joined the battle causing the entire formation of the adventures to copse.
"Everyone, do not lose hope, we just need to hold long enough for Godwin to win. As long as he defeats the Demon, these golems would also stop functioning" Raven swiftly defeated a Mk 7 and spoke.
The twin des in his hands that were an [S] tier weapon, continuously swept through the air, defeating and damaging every Andromedas that came to stop him.
In this group, only he and a few others could hold their own in front of the absolutely discouraging numbers of the Andromedas. However, even then, all they could do was fend for themselves much less aid their teammates.
Chapter 739 739- [Thousand Swords Mastery] (2)
Chapter 739 739- [Thousand Swords Mastery] (2)
The number the adventurers did not even ount for 5 per cent of the total numbers of the Andromedas. No matter how many times they swung their weapons and defeated these war machines, more and more would rece them.
In front of the absolute numbers, their individual strength meant nothing. They couldn''t even make any waves. A few of the weakest teammates in their group had already died, their bodies torn apart by the Andromedas.
As time passed by they would only get weaker and the casualties on their side would increase. Additionally, and it was something that everybody had realised it by now, the golems showed no signs that they were being affected by the restriction that was ced on everyone when they arrived at the Sixth Trial.
That is to say, the level suppression of the falling snow had no effects on the Andromedas. They who were artificial beings created with a medium and possessed no soul, appear to be invulnerable in the sixth trial.
Everybody knew that, but no one wanted to acknowledge it. They also had the option of using the Transit Stones on them to escape from this ce. Nevertheless, they did not choose so and continued to fight even if it meant dying at the hands of the golems.
The reason for their resilience was simple, it was Godwin. They had gone through thick and thin with him, they all felt that if it was him, he would get them out of this hellhole just like always.
Their optimism on Godwin bordered faith. After Raven''s rallying cry, their spirits started to reignite once again.
However, their delight was short lived as when the next deafening noise resounded from the other side of the battlefield, they all saw the silhouette of a figure flying out from the dust at a great speed and crash into the ground, creating a long gorge in the process.
The figure that suffered a loss in that exchange was not the demon as they had expected, but the person who was their faith. The one that flew out was Godwin.
At that very moment, the expressions of the adventurers who were barely holding on against the assaults of the Andromedas, copsed after watching that scene. Something improbable had actually urred.
Godwin slowly picked himself up and looked ahead. Although he had suffered a loss in that exchange, it did not appear that he took much damage.
"What was that?" He narrowed his eyes recalling the power that pushed him back in that earlier exchange. However, before he could think any further, attacks came raining down on him, forcing him to defend and dodge.
"Hm? These are swords?" Godwin realised in the midst of defending. These sword shadows were not created through some technique or [Mana Armament] but were actual physical swords. Godwin tried to grab a sword; however, it pulsed with a light that repelled his hand.
After the swords failed to hit their target they obediently retreated back as if they had a mind of their own. Godwin looked in the direction of the retreating swords and realised that they were moving towards the demon who was slowlying out of the crater.
At this moment, Simon carried a small trace of a smile at the corner of his lips and dragged a dpidated burnt longsword in his hand. What''s more, tens of hundreds of swords floated around him, like soldiers following their king. It gave him an awe-inspiring and overbearing look.
Looking at the demon surrounded by hundreds of swords, Godwin''s eyes flickered for a moment. He could see that all of those swords weren''t ordinary, each and every one of them were at least [C] tier.
There were many [B] tiers and even [A] in the midst. What was going on? Where did the demon get all these treasures from?
Godwin''s first guess was that all these treasures were from the expedition team that had supposedly gone missing inside the dungeon. Immediately, he was overwhelmed by rage when he thought about how the demon killed all of those people.
Although Godwin was right, it was not entirely the case. Amongst the numerous swords floating around Simon, there were some that came from the adventurers of the expedition team, but the majority of the swords came from the daily draws from [Ga??????] and [Armoury].
As mentioned earlier, what Simon did notck the most were treasures. Thanks to the long years of gacha draws from the [Ga??????] option, he had umted a mountain of items some of which were even burnt like oil to create higher grades weapons like the [A] tier and the [S] tier Burnt Sword.
Although Godwin''s blood boiled with anger, he did not rush head first and calmly analysed the situation. He could tell that the demon''s aura had changed somewhat now that he was holding that dpidated sword.
The other floating swords aside, the one of the demon''s hand gave him an intense feeling of heat and danger as if he would be burned into cinders the moment the sword so much as touched him.
''I don''t know how many hits from that sword can my shield take, but one thing is certain. In terms of lethality, that sword is not inferior to my own sword which is made of Adamantine. I cannot allow that sword to graze me'' Godwin noted while trying toe up with a strategy.
The sword on the hand of the demon wasn''t the only thing he had to pay attention to, the other swords were also so. Although Godwin could also control the numerous swords with [Mana Armament], their numbers and degree of control wouldn''t be as perfect as the one disyed by the demon right now.
Additionally, it would just burden his mind and mana consumption further. Even if one possessed a [Superior Mana Lines] and [Minimal Mana Consumption] this kind of performance was simply not practical.
It was like asking for one''s mana to be depleted at an insane rate.
So how was the demon keeping it up? Godwin did not believe that the other party had an unlimited amount of mana, even if they were a demon noble they had to have a limit.
"Let''s see how long you can keep this up".
The fight ensued once again. However, this time, Godwin was unable to suppress Simon as easily as before. With the presence of hundreds of swords that were protecting and acting like both offence and defence, it was difficult for Godwin to predict their movements even with his high tier [Intuition] skill.
He no longer hadplete control over the fight and could only bide his time and wait for when the mana of the demon ran out. Unlike his opponent, Godwin had long reached the level 700 realm and had stepped into the world of the true powerhouses.
Those who reach this level, can absorb the mana from the surroundings to restore their expended mana and fight for a long period of time without worrying about their mana running out.
So in a way, it could be said that they had an endless amount of mana and the longer the fight dragged out, it would only be advantageous for them. The only thing he was worried about was his teammates.
Will they be able to hold on until he defeats the demon?
Simon''s nced at Godwin but he did not say anything. Their fight was intense with none of the parties bothering to speak anything, their sole focus was on their fight and they let their des do the talking for them.
Simon had long seen through the other party''s n; however, instead of revealing it, he only smiled in contempt and continued to fight just like usual. Time passed by, numerous skills and magic were exchanged in split seconds.
Simon''s and Godwin''s battle had already be the centre of attention. Their fight was so fierce that the surging shockwaves to be overwhelmed by the Andromedas.
from their collision was like waves of tsunamis sweeping everything away.
The battle between the adventurers and Andromedas was affected due to it. However, it was like a blessing for them who were about to be overwhelmed by the Andromedas.
The war machines also did not press them hard thus giving them the opportunity to witness the battle between the two leaders. Needless to say, it was amand given by Simon, he wanted these adventurers to witness the moment when their pir of faith crumbles in front of them.
Just thinking about their terror stricken and desperation filled faces, was enough to send a current of exhration through Simon''s body. He pressed on, fighting with all of his might.
All of his augmenting skills had already been activated and pushed to their extent except for [Ancestral Symbol Ignition]. Simon did not dare to use all of his trump cards at once. And besides, it did not seem like Godwin had revealed all of his cards yet, they were holding onto something.
Simon had to be careful. After a while, Godwin who was in the midst of deflecting numerous swords that came sweeping down on him from every angle, realised that something was wrong.
The mana of the demon did not show any trend of drastic drop. On the contrary, at the rate at which it was being expended, it did not seem like the other party would be running out of mana any time soon.
How was it possible?
Could it be that the other party was not using multiple skills to control all these swords? Then how was he able to use the various skills within each of the swords?
Chapter 740 740- [Thousand Swords Mastery] (3)
Chapter 740 740- [Thousand Swords Mastery] (3)
?
What Godwin didn''t know was that Simon wasn''t superimposing multiple skills at once to control hundreds of swrods as that would only y into the hands of the enemy. Instead, he was using the [Thousand Sword Mastery], a Lost Ancient tier skill that he had evolved from the Normal [Sword Mastery] skill.
Normally it would be impossible for the [Sword Mastery] skill to evolve in that direction unless one was stupidly rich and foolish enough to practice with all sorts of swords. That''s right, the [Thousands Sword Mastery] was a skill that was identally created by Simon when he was practising with all the swords in his [Inventory] like a madman.
That said, it was impossible for anyone to acquire the same skill by copying his actions, after all, even Simon himself did not know it but he was only able to create the [Thousand Sword mastery] because of the [Ga??????] and [Armoury].
The [Ga??????] skill was an exclusive skill of the game Lace and [Armoury] needed one to have a deep understanding of the items to upgrade them. Thanks to these two skills, Simon possessed near enough understanding of each of the swords to create a skill as versatile and absurd as the [Thousand Sword Mastery].
This skill might have a wide range of uses and applications like attacking and defending but it fell short in some areas when it came to pure understanding and refined skills created through the extreme mastery of a single sword.
For example, the [Resilient Tempest Sword Mastery] skill of Godwin which had evolved twice from the normal tier [Sword Mastery], was a Rare Ancient tier skill. Although it lost to [Thousand Sword Mastery] in terms of rarity, but in terms of pure sword skill and techniques it was more powerful than the [Thousand Sword Mastery].
This is because Simon hadn''t mastered and tried refining his techniques over any of the swords. He simply had enough understanding of the hundreds of swords to create a bizarre skill such as this.
This is also the reason why the skill is called [Thousand Sword Mastery] since he uses a thousand swords instead of [Burnt Sword Mastery] that woulde from mastering the [S] tier sword in his hand.
That said, if looked at from the overall perspective, the [Thousand Sword Mastery] was better since it allowed him to use a thousand swords and the skills bestowed within each of them in any way he wants.
He did not need the aid of [Mana Flow], [Mana Control], [Minimal Mana Consumption] and other various skills to utilise them, a feat that only a few people in this world could recreate.
For an erratic like Simon, who did not conform to thews of this world, it was the best skill he could get. Just think about it, a thousand swords surrounding and floating around Simon, disying the skills within them.
Forget about the kind of terrifying power it would bring, just the sight of a thousand swords shining with various skills, would be enough to intimidate and break the hearts of any opponent.
Right now, Simon only had around five hundred swords that were above [C] tier. Of course, he would have a lot more if discounting the fact that a good number of it was used up during the process to upgrade the sword to [A] and [B] tier.
Simon nned to fill the numbers in the future and use a full thousand swords just like the name of the skill [Thousand Sword mastery] to overwhelm his enemies. But that was not all, Simon also nned to increase the number of [A] tier and [B] tier swords in his arsenal.
Right now, the majority of the five hundred sword were [C], only a small portion was [B], much less needs to be said for [A]. Simon had lofty goals, he wanted to possess over a thousand [S] tier swords and use them, that way even the power that his [Thousand Sword Mastery] skill could disy would be even greater.
Possessing over a thousand [S] tier swords, if anybody heard that or knew of his goal, they would no doubt deem him as some kind of idiot, or someone who had a screw loss.
[A] tiers were already incredibly rare in this world as for [S] tiers they were even so. Only a few unparalleled craftsmen in this world could create an [S] tier item and even then it takes them a long time and effort to create.
Plus a single mistake canpletely ruin the entire effort, making it even more arduous for an [S] tier to appear.
Given all of these facts, Simon''s dream might sound like a lunatic''s rambling; however, it might just reallye true. After all, he possessed the two options that no one else possessed and at the rate at which his dungeon grew, he would soon be able to allocate more points for [Ga??????].
Funnily enough, it might just be a matter of time before the beings of this world witness a thousand [S] tier swords surrounding and levitating around a demon.
Then there was also the [Thousand Sword Mastery] skill itself, which had reached the Lost Ancient tier in its first evolution. This meant that the skill still had more room to grow. What would happen once Simon increases the tier of his skill?
At that time, what tier would the skill reach? Legendary? Phantasmal? Or perhaps even higher? How many swords would he be able to use at that time? Ten thousand? Hundred thousand? Or perhaps a million?
Simon seemed to have already seen the path he needed to walk to master closebat, a path that only he could walk on. If he continued down this path, he would no doubt be able to reach the peak.
Now add his talent for magic into the mix and the foundation he had been building for supporting both the disciplines and the result one would get was¡ Terrifying.
It would be oversimplifying things with just the terrifying after all, a solid foundation like what Simon was building, set him for a path of the exceptional, a royal road.
Godwin must have also noticed the peculiarity in the demon''s skill set and came to a realisation. His attacks started bing heavier, winds started picking speed and the mana in the surrounding agglomerated towards him like crazy.
It was clear that Godwin had been forced to change his ns and reveal another one of his cards that he had been hiding up until now.
"Hehe¡ Interesting, then let us see whose trump card is more powerful" Simon also stopped ying around, he now had enough gauge on his own ability and the opponent''s strength. He brought out the Finger of Ozymandias and let loose the curse energy inside it.
As the greyish ck energy drowned the ce, the sky and even the world around him started to change colour. From white, it changed into dull grey. Although these changes were only limited to his side of the space.
Over on Godwin''s side, the sky was a mix of emerald green and faint golden colour that swirled and churned with him as the centre. After a while, a pir of light dropped from the sky and engulfed Godwin within it.
Like a light descending from the heavens, the scene was both fascinating and nerve wracking.
The pir of light stayed on Godwin for a while, before dissipating. When the light disappeared, the adventurer''s figure came into view once again. However, unlike before Godwin lookedpletely different.
He had a golden set of armour that pulsed with a divine light donned, the colour of his pupils had changed to match his armour and most obvious and conspicuous of all, he had sprouted a pair of long golden wings behind his back.
That''s right, the wings on Godwin''s back were no longer the mana wings but actual physical wings just like Simon''s. Though in his case, the wings were elegant and shone with a grace that defied earthly bounds.
The feathers, like spun gold, caught and held the very essence of light itself. Each plume glistened with an otherworldly luminescence, a shimmering cascade of soft, iridescent hues that ranged from the purest gold to the palest ivory.
No matter who it was, they would be fascinated by this sight.
"Quick look¡ the appearance of Leader changed"¡
"Right¡ he looks more charismatic and sanctified than before"¡
"Did leader have that kind of skill? Why have I never seen him use it before?"¡
"Hmph, how can someone like you be worthy to know the abilities that leader possesses? Clearly, he was withholding it all this time to use it as his trump card"¡
"Anywho¡ with this, we are saved now. With this level of power, the demon should no longer pose a threat".
The adventurers watching the battle from the distance rejoiced at the powerful transformation of their leader. They thought that with this new power up, victory was almost but certain for them.
"This¡ so he was even forced to use the power hidden within his body" Raven muttered in a low voice. Unlike the others around him, his eyes looked solemn and his fists trembled as he observed Godwin from the distance.
His teammates only marvelled at Godwin''s transformation; however, it was only he who knew what kind of sacrifice the other had to give to receive that kind of power.
Over on the other side, just like everyone else, Simon too was marvelling at the drastic change that his opponent had gone through. Looking at that kind of eye-catching transformation, he almost had the urge to retort.
Chapter 741 741- New Variable
Chapter 741 741- New Variable
Couldn''t the other party be less obvious that they were going through a power up? Simon thought so in his head but did not utter it loud. The reason for that was because for some reason, the blood inside his body was agitated as he saw Godwin''s transformation.
What was going on?
Why did the other party induce a bloodline reaction within him?
Simon observed the other party''s transformation, that kind of appearance was too simr to a certain race.
"Could it be that he has the bloodline of an angel?"
In the world of Althaea, there lived many mystical races, out of which humans, demi-humans, beastmen, dragons, sea folks and demon nobles were only some of the few.
There are many unusual races, races that are yet to be discovered and races born from the intermarriage of two species. The race of angels was simrly one of the few mystical species present in the world of Althaea.
From what Simon knew about the race of angels as a Demon Earl, was only a little. Most of his knowledge came from the discussion and the information that was shared from the previous Hexennacht.
He had never encountered an angel before, which is why Simon couldn''t be sure if the other party in front of him was an angel or not.
No wait¡ Simon suddenly recalled the scenes from the [Historia] on the third trial. The woman who fought against the Atrocity, Yn was an angel and a very high ranking one at that.
Simon nced at the simrities between the two and felt that it was probable. Although Godwin still looked very much human, that kind of aura wasn''t something that any adventurers could give off.
Simon cleared his mind and increased the output of the curse energy spreading through the world. It did not matter whether his opponent was an angel or not, all that mattered right now was him taking the other party down.
Now that both of them had brought out their trump cards, the battle from this point on would decide everything.
Which side will win and which side will lose? Simon and Godwin both stared at each other, the tension in the air was palpable. Just as they were both about to make their move, an unknown variable that nobody had ounted for, appeared.
[Warning- The Fourth Finger has intruded the Sixth Trial, Open Space- Snonds. It is an anomaly that shouldn''t have existed in the trials in the first ce. Stop it before it defeats the Abomination and goes through the teleportation gate].
[Addional Warning- Failure on stopping it will plunge the world into a cataclysm, affecting billions of lifeforms]
A notification in a ring red colour suddenly appeared in front of the two challengers causing them to lock their brows in a frown.
"Fourth Finger?" Godwin showed a rare baffled expression as he continued to read the notification.
This fourth finger was another unexpected variable that he did not ount for much like the demon. The notification had also appeared at the worst possible time. What''s more, given the information in it, Godwin couldn''t just ignore it even if he wanted to.
After all, on failure of stopping this new variable, it will plunge the world into a cataclysm that will affect billions of lives¡ the Fourth Finger had to be stopped.
Where was the other party hiding all this time? How did they manage to deceive the trial up until now? Godwin wondered.
Flying across him, Simon too was having his own thoughts as he contemted something in his head while reading the notification.
Neither side attacked the other as if there was a taciturn agreement between them beforehand.
The adventurers in the distance who did not understand the situation could only look at the two in confusion wondering why they had ceased acting against each other all of a sudden. The atmosphere of animosity was still there, but none of them made the first move.
"Are they measuring each other up? Is the demon that strong?"¡
"They must be having a mental battle right now. I heard that some of the High Rankers from the maind fight, they could easily tell the party''s movements and actions just based on the slight movements, aura and the posture of their opponent''s bodies. Even though we don''t see, the two must be locked in an intense battle"¡
"I see than should we help the leader? This is the perfect opportunity to bring the demon down"¡
"Do not bother, that level of battle is clearly beyond us. We will only get in the way of the leader. Besides the golems are also suspicious, they have ceased attacking us for some reason. They must be nning something, we need to stay on guard".
While the adventurers were misunderstanding things, the situation on the battlefield started changing. The Abomination that was tightly sealed by the pirs started roaring out loud. A spatial tear that was quickly bingrger, could be seen not far away from it.
The spatial tear had a sinister aura to it, causing anyone gazing at it to feel unsettled. A few secondster, a figure in a grey robe walked out of it.
The moment they appeared, the entire sky of the sixth trial became dull as if losing colour. What''s more the mana in the surroundings also started behaving weirdly as they came in contact with the figure''s aura.
Needless to say, this unknown presence naturally attracted the attention of everyone present. All eyes fixed towards the figure in the grey robe. Just as everyone was wondering who this person was, the figure in question made their move.
Their arm transformed into a huge weird sledgehammer as they rushed towards the struggling Abomination in an attempt to finish off the creature.
However, before it could, multiple swords shining with all sorts of skills and a golden de light came attacking it, forcing it to defend and jump back.
Simon nced towards Godwin. That attack earlier was by no means a sign of their cooperation. Each of them simply wanted to stop the variable from messing up their trial. The fact still remained that they were still enemies.
After being forced to jump away from the Abomination, the figure muttered some grating incoherent words and shifted its attention to its assant. The robe on the figure also fell off at this moment, revealing an appearance that surprised all the adventurers.
"What?!! Isn''t that Franco? So he was alive?"¡
"Wait, why does he look so different? And why did he interfere in the leader''s battle?".
The adventurer spoke while looking at the new entrant whose figure resembled a lot like theirrade.
"Something is wrong, Franco was never this strong" Raven remarked feeling that the situation was turning out of control every second.
"Franco?? No, you are not him. Who are you?"
Being so close to the other party, how could Godwin not see the obvious difference between the two? Although there were some simrities, the friend he knew was only a level 600 adventurer, he was never this strong.
The aura that the figure in front of him gave was no less powerful than his own. Other than the difference in level, there was also the obvious difference in appearance.
Although not handsome, Franco could be said to have his own features and strong points. However, the figure had a disfigured face, that only held slight simrities with Franco.
The figure did not speak and continued to mumble rubbish. Perhaps it couldn''t speak or maybe it was using a differentnguage. Whatever it was, its gaze was definitely not friendly.
Godwin and the others were confused by the sudden appearance of the unknown Fourth Finger, but not Simon. When he learned the name from the notification, he already had his guess and after seeing the figure in person, he waspletely certain.
The Fourth Finger the notification warned them about was one of the fingers from the Hand of Ozymandias, the very same hand that Yn cut off in the [Historia].
Additionally, he had already encountered and defeated one of the fingers of Ozymandias in the fourth trial, the Fifth Finger that was currently floating around him.
No wonder the finger behaved so unusually ever sinceing to the Sixth Trial. It appeared that it was resonating with its own kind.
The Fourth Finger had also detected the presence of the Fifth Finger around Simon and that is why it was muttering gibberish. However, Simon wasn''t worried that the Fifth Finger would suddenly rebel and go out of his control after all, the remnant will of Ozymandias no longer dwelled in the finger.
Right now, the Fifth Finger was only a mindless tool that was controlled by Simon.
After muttering some gibberish and stomping its legs in frustration, the fourth finger gave upmunicating with the fifth finger. Then it red menacingly at Simon, Godwin and everyone present in the trial and released its powerful curse energy.
The curse energy that was released by the Fourth finger, was more domineering and oppressive than the curse energy of the finger of Ozymandias on Simon. The two energiesbined together and expanded like a pathological gue, affecting everything and everything in this world.
The clouds in the sky turned grey, the snow started melting and even the ground underneath lost its earthy colour. It was as if a new world had opened in this enormous snow coverednd.
The powerful curse energy even pressured the divine aura on Godwin''s side eating away at it at every second. This caused Godwin to grimace, the fact that the fourth finger was able to overwhelm his divine magic meant that the other party had a highly refined control over their energy, it was clearly even above his own.
Chapter 742 742- River of Destiny & Prides Authority
Chapter 742 742- River of Destiny & Pride''s Authority
Wasting no time, Godwin attacked. The sword in his hand howled with raging winds and divine power and quickly expanded to a size of twenty meters.
"[Resilient Tempest Sword Mastery]- [Ability Conferment]-[Divine Magic Mastery]-[Tempest Magic Master]¡ª[[Resilient Divine Sword]]"
Godwin roared out loud and quickly conjured his skills. A twenty meter huge golden sword radiant with apowerful divine light and tempest magic swept forward towards the Fourth Finger.
The might of the skill created by Godwin was so powerful that it could tear space and travel through it. In the blink of an eye, the sword was already upon the fourth finger.
Godwin''s attack did not stop, after attacking the newest variable, he used the lion shield on his left hand to assail Simon. The shield skill of Godwin was no less powerful than his sword skill that he threw at the fifth finger.
Simon responded adeptly, the numerous swords floating around him moved, even the finger of Ozymandias charged.
The peace that had settled into the battlefield, was broken and another sh of epic proportion ensued.
Godwin with his transformation, attacked both Simon and the Fourth Finger. For him, the both of them represented evil that needed to be purged. His morals and justice will never allow him to ally with one evil to fight the other.
And thus a tripartite fight where all the three parties attacked each other, ensued. Simon attacked and defended against both of his enemies, the same went for Godwin and Fourth Finger.
As for the adventurers, Simon was no longer as easygoing as before andmanded the Andromedas to attack them. Since he had the weakest level out of the three, he had to divert off some of the pressure using Revenant Crows and Mk 6.
The chaotic battle became even more chaotic with the addition of the newest variable, the Fourth Finger. The curse skills that he used were powerful enough to gue skills, magic, weapons and even space.
Nothing was unaffected by it, even Godwin was slowly starting to feel the pressure and dread of curse energy as it slowlytched onto him like leeches slowly guing his aura. The more he became exposed to it, the more burdensome it became for him.
At this point, Godwin no longer looked asposed and confident as before, facing the curse attacks from both the fourth finger and the finger controlled by Simon, he had a grave face.
The same could be said for the Fourth Finger, facing the divine magic was not an easy task, even the main body had failed when it faced the divine magic user in the ancient times. Much less needs to be said for a finger that only possessed a small fraction of the original body''s power.
What aggravated Fourth Finger even more was the other finger that was repeatedly attacking him and getting in his way. Even though they were the parts of the same existence, the fifth finger no longer obeyed the remnant will of their master.
What''s more the Fourth Finger couldn''t even take control of the fifth finger without the two people getting in its way. The battle between the three was so hectic that none of the parties had the freedom to hold back.
Well, except for Simon who had the aid of his Andromedas, [Thousands Swords mastery], Finger of Ozymandias and most of all, he wasn''t affected by the curse energy. It was the same in the previous trials and even now.
For some reason, Simon appeared to be immune to the effects of the curse energy. What''s surprising was that he was even able to use the curse energy released by the fourth finger thus empowering his own attacks.
Unless the fourth finger switched to a more refined pattern of attacks, it was hard for simple curse energy to damage Simon. Of course, he did not reveal his advantage to his opponents after all, if they knew about it they would surely make him their first target of elimination.
Besides, even if he was immune to curse energy, the same cannot be said for the divine magic. It was still his bane as ever, and as such, Simon pretended to be hard pressed and be affected by the curse energy while slowly biding his time and waiting for his opponents to exhaust each other.
When the right moment arrives, he would sweep in and use his other trump cards to defeat the exhausted parties thus reaping all the benefits.
And so, the battle continued for an entire day. The time limit set for clearing the trail was also slowly approaching near. There were only over ten hours remaining. If they did not defeat the Abomination by that time, all of them would fail.
Another thing of note was that more than half of the adventurers from Godwin''s team had already died at the attacks of the Andromedas. Those who were able to live, were barely hanging on.
The condition of his teammates caused Godwin to no longer be able to fully focus on the battle. Thus causing him to take some loss in exchanges it would have been impossible for him to get hit otherwise.
Simon saw this and was slowly starting to realise that Godwin was getting weaker, his aura was no longer as stabilised as before. How long could he maintain that transformation?
Just as he was thinking that, Godwin who was bathed in a golden light spoke out in a loudmanding tone.
"Listen up everyone. The situation has changedpletely out of control. I cannot say with certainty that I will be able to clear the sixth trial. And so I am giving you an order. Use your Transit rocks and get out of here, tell everything that happened here to the guild master. He will know what to do next. Now go".
As Simon had thought, Godwin was telling his subordinates to run away. This was a telltale proof that Godwin had used up all of his trump cards and was no longer confident ining as a victor in this three way battle.
If he fell, there would be no meaning to their sacrifice, as such, he wanted hisrades to at least get away from here. The adventurers who heard his words, were all devastated, their faces pale.
This was the first time, they heard Godwin give such amand. In all the other situations and perilous circumstances before, he was always the one giving off a positive aura. He would always be the one to lead them out no matter what kind of trouble they faced.
However, this was the first time he gave them an order to retreat. This told them how hopeless the situation was. The adventurers did not me Godwin, on the contrary, they could understand why he came to this decision.
If anything they felt despair and furious over the fact that in a time like this, they could do nothing but watch from the sidelines as Godwin faced all of the powerful opponents by himself.
The adventurers hesitated questioning what Godwin nned to do. However, when thetter roared at them to run, they finally took out the transit rocks and prepared to leave. It was the same for Raven who had an unwilling expression as he watched his friend face all of the danger alone.
The adventurers prepared to leave; however, how could it be so easy to leave just like that?
"Want to leave? You have to ask my permission first"
Simon red menacingly. On hismand, the army of Andromedas surrounded the adventurers and engaged fiercely. The Mk 6 and the Revenant Crows stepped forward to stop any and all adventurers trying to activate the Transit Rocks.
They even went as far as to self-destruct to stop them. The explosion brought forth by a powerful war machine self destructing could be imagined. Any adventurer who was unlucky enough to get caught, immediately died.
Not even their ashes remained intact.
From this extreme method, it was clear that Simon was hell bent on not letting any adventurers get away, even going as far as to incur a loss like that. However, despite his efforts a few adventurers still made it out alive, Raven was amongst them.
Before disappearing, he red at Simon with eyes that burned with irreconcble hatred.
The number of adventurers that managed to escape- 5.
Godwin released a breath of relief when he saw some of his teammates make it out alive. The golden halo covering his body flickered and his transformation soon came undone.
It was as Simon had guessed, Godwin was finally getting weaker. The other party had used up all of their trump cards and even their ace in the hole, the transformation that gave them ess to powerful divine magic, came undone. They had no cards left in their sleeve.
As for the fourth finger, it too was struggling from the effects of the divine energy wreaking havoc inside their body just like him. There cannot be any more perfect time.
Simon nced at the Abomination from the corner of his eyes and after checking its condition, he finally brought out his own trump card.
Artifact Name- Radiant Crown of Brilliance
Rank- Legendary (Missing Spirit)
Stats- Magic +2000
Wielder- Unregistered
Skills- [Divine Absolution], [Infinite Imprisonment], [Damaged], [Damaged], [Damaged]...
The Radiant Crown of Brilliance that he got from the Fourth trial, finally showed its appearance.
As expected, as soon as the artifact appeared, it attracted the attention of the Fourth Finger who trembled ever so slightly. Although it did not have any facial expression, Simon could still make out the fear in him.
Chapter 743 743- River of Destiny & Prides Authority (2)
Chapter743 743- River of Destiny & Pride''s Authority (2)
The Radiant Crown of Brilliance was a Legendary rank artefact after it was fully restored. It was also the item that had once killed the Atrocity, the Fourth finger was a part of.
Given the vast amount of divinity that was inside the crown, it was only natural for the Fourth Finger to be afraid. In all honesty, even Simon was afraid of this item, if not for the fact that Prime had installed a safety feature, he would not even dare to touch it. After all, the crown was an item that held divine power which was the ultimate bane for his kind.
"^&*$#@^&$#"
The Fourth Finger roared frantically. It changed its target from Godwin to Simon who represented the most danger to him right now. However, before it could evene close, golden light burst out of the crown and purified the vicious curse energy that was corroding the ce.
[Do you want to use the Legendary grade artefact, the Radiant Crown of Brilliance to purify the Fourth Finger of all evil? YES/NO].
A notification appeared in front of Simon. He extended his finger and hurriedly pressed YES. After that, the scene from the fourth trial repeated once again in front of him. No, the powering from the crown was even more powerful than before since it was restored now.
Blinding golden light erupted out of the crown engulfing thend and purifying the curse energy as it did. At the same moment, an invisible energy also locked the fourth finger in ce. No matter how it struggled, it could not break out of it.
After purifying thend, the golden light condensed to form a breathtaking golden sword that travelled through space and swiftly dug into the body of the Fourth Finger.
"^&*$#@^&$#" the Fourth Finger roared, thick clouds of dark greyish curse energy seeped out of its body and was slowly being purified by the golden sword.
The scenested for a while, there was no blood flowing out of the fourth finger, only pure curse energy. After being unable to struggle under the power of the [Divine Absolution], a ball of gas that continuously changed shape, broke out of the body of the fourth finger.
This was the remnant intent of Ozymandias that was left inside its hand that was cut off. The remnant intent tried to escape as soon as it was pulled out of its body. However, before it could, the golden sword turned into chains that quickly wrapped around the intent and bound it in ce.
[Do you want to use the legendary grade artefact, Radiant Crown of Brilliance to invoke [Limitless Imprisonment] to seal Ozymandias'' remnant intent? YES/NO]
Simon quickly pressed Yes, the development for there was the same, densely packed runes came out of the crown, forming a monolith of some sort around the intent.
After the monolith waspletely formed, the intent was captured and the fourth finger was defeated. Simon quickly used Mana Flow to put away the hexagonal shape monolith away.
Counting this one, he now had two intents sealed inside his space ring. Simon did not know what use they had; however, he believed that he coulde up with some use for them in the future. For now, it was enough to simply put them away.
Aside from the remnant intent, the lifeless fourth finger was also up for grabs. However, to use it as his tool, he needed to refine it and that needed some time. Simon decided toe for the fourth fingerter, for now, he decided to focus his attention on hisst enemy.
The three way deadlock had now broken with Simon suddenly bringing out the Radiant Crown of Brilliance and sealing away the fourth finger. Now only the two of them remained, their battle would also determine the oue of this whole ordeal.
"How is it possible for a demon to use a divine artefact?!!"
In the distance, observing the whole thing, was Godwin as he muttered to himself in shock. He had seen the demon use an artefact that he had witnessed on the fourth trial, Yn''s crown.
It was a legendary artefact that held off the ancient Atrocity and possessed unparalleled divine power. How could an item like thatnd on the demon''s hand? How was he able to use an artefact like that?
At this moment, Godwin started having doubts about the so called beliefs and the teachings he had been taught up until now.
If Demon Nobles were the incarnation of evil, then why was he able to use that artefact? Were the actions that the humansmitted on the third trial justified? Was he right in pursuing the demon to the city of Aqualin that day?
Why did his guild master wanted to bring the demon''s dungeon down no matter the cost? Wasn''t it only natural for the demon to defend his home? Who was right, and who was wrong?
Godwin fell into a mire of self-contemtion. He doubted his guild''s action and the reaction of the demon who sought revenge on them. The lives of hisrades that were lost due to their enmity and if it could have been avoided.
Sadly, there was no pill for regret. What had already transpired had transpired, he could not revert it back. Godwin could only face the demon''s hatred head on.
"You should be all out of trump cards right? Hehe, it was worth waiting this long"
Simon gave a distorted smile as he activated the [Ancestral Symbol Ignition]. Theplex golden ck markings on his body burned raising his aura and stats to greater heights.
Now in addition to the hundreds of swords, and the finger of Ozymandias, Godwin would also have to face an empowered Simon while being in a weakened state.
The chance of him winning this battle was null. Godwin too must have realised it since there was no change in his facial expression. He simplyposed his breath, took his stance with his sword and prepared for a life and death battle with the demon.
.
.
Simon took off, his speed extremely fast. The burnt sword in his hand danced, sending forth attacks that were imbued with infernal heat. The hundreds of swords shone around him like stars erupting forth with all sorts of skills and the Finger of Ozymandias brought forth the terror of the curse energy.
That was not all, Infernal magic (Advanced)bined with Lightning magic (Intermediate) and Dark magic (Novice)bined with Tempest magic (Advanced), to wreak havoc on Godwin.
The magic training that Simon had undergone under Irene, the [Amalgamation Magic] that had broken through its restraints, was showing its might.
BOOOM¡ Ground copsed, sinister cracks ran through the sky and thews of the sixth trial went awry.
After activating all of his skills and trump cards, Simon was like an unstoppable force. Wild and domineering, like the ruler of the battlefield.
Forget about putting up any resistance, Godwin was not even able to take a single hit from the current Simon. He was so powerful that he waspletely sweeping the ground with his opponent.
This was no longer a battle but a one sided disy of superiority. Godwin tasted the taste of blood in his mouth as he mmed into the ground with a single powerful hit from the demon.
Weirdly enough, he felt that something about this scene was strange. The other party was very strong and not to mention that he waspletely exhausted, if they wanted to they could easily kill him and be done with this whole thing.
Yet the other party was deliberately holding back and suppressing their attacks enough so that it wasn''t lethal.
"Nostalgic isn''t it? This was how I felt when you trampled upon me when we met for the first time. At that time, I was barely around level 300, not at all your match. If you wanted to, you could have easily defeated me".
"Yet you didn''t do that and instead, you deliberately suppressed your strength throughout our battle to make me recognise the vast gulf between in our strengths. You wanted to crush my spirits as you slowly overwhelmed all of my skills at that time".
"How can I forget a humiliation like that? At that time I endured the assaults of you and your guild, do you know why? It''s because I have absolute confidence in myself and that as long as I had enough time, I would one day be able to repay all that humiliation a hundredfold in the future"
Simon became chatty all of a sudden as he humiliated Godwin, slowly crushing his belief and confidence. Every time thetter picked themselves up, he would send them crashing down on the ground to taste the dust once again.
Skills, Stats, Items or even numbers, he crushed him in every front. In the end, Simon even bore down on the other and used his foot to nt Godwin''s nose to the ground.
How long had he waited for this day toe? Today he had finally repaid all of the suffering and ignominy he suffered that day.
Simon was intoxicated by this feeling and involuntarily sought more of it.
"Why don''t you use the Transit Rock and try to escape just like yourrades did?" he asked looking down on the knight who was doing his best to stand on his feet even while being pressed down.
Of course, Simon had no intentions of letting his opponent use the transit rock to escape. It was fine if it was others; however, Godwin was one of the backbones of the Sea God''s Trident guild and one of
his enemies. He had to die here in this trial no matter what.
Chapter 744- River Of Destiny & Prides Authority (3)
744 Chapter 744- River Of Destiny & Pride''s Authority (3)
"If I can''t even purge the evil in front of me, there is no meaning in escaping. Just kill me, I would rather die than live while enduring this kind of shame" Godwin proimed, his tone was still as unbending and defiant as even after suffering from all that humiliation.
Simon was inwardly a little impressed by the spirit of this knight. It needs to be mentioned that he was continuously using the dark magic to corrupt and break the mind of the knight. However, Godwin''s resilience and spirit was far out of ordinary and was not something that could be broken easily.
That kind of mental fortitude, not just anyone can cultivate it. It was a pity that he was his enemy.
"Since you desire so, then I will dly grant you death" Simon shed his jagged teeth and brought his sword up.
Although he was impressed by his opponent''s resolve, it didn''t mean that it changed anything. Both of them were still enemies and it would have been him in Godwin''s ce had he been weaker.
In his case, his end would have been even more miserable. There was no ce forpassion, kindness or mercy here. It was the survival of the fittest.
Simon clenched his sword tightly, activated his skills and brought it down on Godwin in a stabbing motion to finish him for once and all, when¡ª[Quickly back away from him]¡ª a voice sounded in his head.
What was going on?
Instinctively, Simon moved away from Godwin using [sh Steps] and stared at thetter. At the very instant he moved, the space around Godwin started crumbling, golden light overflowed from his body and started flowing into the void.
[The Fragments of [¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö] has detected a threat to its wielder''s life. The exclusive power of the Third Solstice will be temporarily activated].
A notification arrived in front of the puzzled Simon. The other party suddenly started acting weirdly and then there was this notification. Could it be that Godwin still had another trump card up his sleeve?
What was the Fragments mentioned in the notification? Before Simon could ponder about the sudden inexplicable situation, he felt a powerful invisible force locking onto him and pulling him towards the ce beyond the shattered space.
[Detected that you are pulled towards the unknown domain. All progress will temporarily halt]
Another notification notifying him of the bizarre event appeared in front of him.
What was going on? What was the unknown domain? Simon tried to resist the pull; however, in front of that force, his resistance amounted to nothing. Soon, he was pulled into the ce beyond the fractured space and disappeared there along with Godwin.
Space slowly mend itself and the world of the Sixth Trial returned to its former peace. The Abomination sealed by the pirs, continued to roar endlessly; however, there was no one to hear its cries.
.
.
Inside the unknown domain, Simon opened his eyes to find himself in a vast ck realm. Hidden and untouched by the light of the stars, the ce appeared to be an enigmatic void where the very fabric of reality seemed to fold in itself. It was very difficult to make any sense of this ce since one''s perception didn''t work here.
As Simon gazed around nkly wondering where this ce was, his eyes inadvertently moved towards a vast river that stretched endlessly. It was a breathtaking sight that defied all logic andprehension.
Like a shimmering tapestry of liquid silver that wove through the very heart of this endless expanse, the river flowed with raging currents. Simon seemed to see something inside the waters, it was blurry as if it was shrouded in mystery.
The waters of the river was both ancient and timeless, a conduit of fate that transcended the boundaries of worlds and dimensions. It was as if the river held the collective consciousness of the universe within its depths.
Its surface glistened with an otherworldly radiance, its currents flowing with a hypnotic grace that defied conventional understanding. It felt like a living entity, a repository of destinies, and a guardian of the past, present, and future.
The River of Destiny held within it the profound and the mundane, the extraordinary and the ordinary
¡ªall coexisting in a harmonious dance.
As Simon stood at its banks marvelling at the magnificent scene thaty in front of him, the voice within him spoke once again.
[The River of Destiny¡ be careful not to get swept by its current. Once you enter the River of Destiny, you will never be able to get out, your life in this progression will be forfeited. Also, make sure not to gaze at your own past or the future; otherwise, you will receive a tremendous bacsh. Don''t say that I didn''t warn you at that time].
The voice stopped sounding after they said their peace. Simon did not have to think much to know who that voice belonged to. It was the voice of none other than the Second Fragment.
This thing that had suddenly stopped allmunication with him ever since he woke up from hisatose state. For it to talk to him once again, it could only mean that the ce he was in was that dangerous.
Simon increased his caution as he tried to make sense of what was in front of him. Thanks to the second Fragment, he at least understood that the river in front of him was called the River of Destiny.
The River of Destiny had no end to its flow. Its horizon remained elusive, a distant mirage that beckoned with promises of undiscovered realms and untold tales.
The River of destiny seemed to defy the very concept of time, where past, present, and future intertwined seamlessly. Yet, this river was not singr in its nature. It was a nexus of tributaries, each one branching out in every conceivable direction.
These tributaries represented worlds, realities, and destinies¡ªeach a unique story waiting to be unfolded. They flowed together in chaotic harmony, an ever-changing symphony of possibilities.
What Simon saw inside its water was the past, present, future and the various possibilities of the destinies of others. The River of Destiny was a reflection of the universe itself, a mirror that revealed the souls and destinies of beings across the vast cosmos.
Then there was also the various unknown life forms swimming inside the depth of its waters. From titanic creatures more than hundreds of thousands of kilometres big to small jellyfish looking creatures, all kinds of mysterious and enigmatic lives can be found in here.
There were also numerous Koi fish running against the current of the river. From golden-yellow, to red and ck, there were all colours of Koi fish there. Even the Yin Yang koi fish that Simon summoned inside his dungeon, was from this ce.
As Simon gazed into the river, images started reflecting on the surface of the water, faces, both familiar and unknown, appeared in the river of destiny. Each image showed a story both fulfilled and unfulfilled, like a life waiting to be lived.
It was as if the river held the very essence of existence within its shimmering waters. Simon also saw the faces of his friends from his past life, their destinies and the life they led. Their past, present and future all flowed inside the River of Destiny.
Simon who was enthralled by the inexplicable thing in front of him, suddenly recalled the appearance of a particr woman. Would she also be here? What possible lives could she have led if she didn''t meet him?
Simon suddenly became curious. His steps subconsciously brought him very close to the vast River of Destiny. Just as he was about to extend his hand in a trance to find the destiny of the woman who was very close to him in his previous life, the voice of the Second Fragment sounded inside his head again.
This time its tone was a little frantic and outraged.
[What are you nning to do? Get away from the river, do not even think about touching it or else you will die. The river may look still from the surface but make no mistake, its currents are flowing at a speed that you can''t even begin to perceive at your current level. One mistake and you will be turned into nothingness forever flowing in the river of destiny].
The voice of the second fragment woke Simon out of his daze and he hurriedly retracted his hands back.
What was he trying to do just now? Was he trying to touch the river of destiny? If he got swept by its current, then¡ just the thought of it sent shivers down Simon''s spine and he hurriedly backed away.
[Don''t just stay there standing in a daze, quickly get out of here. This ce isn''t something someone of your level shoulde in contact with. Time holds no dominion here, for past, present, and future are all merged in the existence that is the River of Destiny].
[To traverse these waters is to witness the birth of gxies and the fall of civilizations with but a nce. You might feel like only a few seconds have passed here, but days or even weeks must have passed by in the outside world. If you stay here any longer, you will be affected by its Mnemonic Pull again causing your memories and state of self to slip away. By the time you wake up from it, it will already be toote. If you get it then get a hold of yourself].
Simon nodded his head and cleared his mind. The fact that he was pulled into the Mnemonic Pull of the river of Destiny, without him realising it, spoke volumes of the danger of this ce.
Chapter 745- River Of Destiny & Prides Authority (4)
745 Chapter 745- River Of Destiny & Pride''s Authority (4)
Simon was clearly out of his ce here, the River of Destiny wasn''t something he shoulde in contact with at his current level.
He turned around no longer looking at the river and moved towards the area from where he came in. However, the broken space had already mended itself and there was no longer an exit he could take to go back.
Just as he was about to ask the second fragment how to get out of here, from the corner of his eyes, he spotted a figure that was simrly floating around the River of Destiny just like him.
Needless to say, the other party was Godwin. Earlier, when the golden light burst out of thetter''s body, both of them were pulled inside this unknown domain. The fact that he was dragged here, was their doing.
Simon''s killing intent soared, he had to kill the other party and finish what he started no matter what. The notification he got earlier about some Third Fragment activating something after detecting danger on their wielder, also weighed at the corner of his mind.
Godwin seemed to have no shortage of trump cards, only by killing him will he be able to have some peace of mind.
[What are you trying to do? Forget about the other party and get away from here. Although your level andprehension of the world and its truth is not at the desired level yet to handle my powers, I will lend you my [Authority] this once].
Simon continued to move towards Godwin. He was not ignoring the Second Fragment, but the notification weighed on his mind. In the end, his desire to kill his opponent won over his desire to escape.
Simon arrived before Godwin and noticed that thetter seemed to be acting a little unusual. Their eyes were covered with a golden light and they seemed to be in an unconscious state.
Simon hesitated for a second not knowing what kind of phenomenon the other party was going through. Though in the end, he decided to attack. He activated his skills only to realise that he was unable to use any of his skills or magic.
[The Fateweaver''s Energy around the River of Destiny is too strong, it renders all skills and magic useless. Unless it is a higher level power like the Laws, forget about even trying to attack]
The Second Fragment sounded. It appeared that he was unable to use any skills or magic here. Then how should he attack? Should he just give up here?
No, that was not like him. Who knew when he would get another chance like this? It was clear to him that his opponent was going through a special transformation. If he gave up here, he would just leave endless trouble for the future. He needed to grab this chance and snuff this seed of uncertainty that was Godwin.
"I can''t use skills or magic here, then I''ll just use physical force and throw him into the River of Destiny. You said that falling there means certain death right? Then it''s the only way"
Simon started moving, he grabbed the unconscious Godwin and started pushing thetter towards the River of Destiny.
The other party did not struggle which made it all the more easier for him. Just as he neared a certain range towards the colossal River of Destiny, the voice of the Second Fragment cautioned.
[Be careful, you have entered the Third boundary of the River of Destiny, the Temporal Eddy. Here the Mnemonic pull is several times higher. Not only that, time behaves erratically here. There are numerous time loops forming around this boundary. If you are not careful, you will forever be caught 14:48
in it and be pulled into the River of Destiny].
Simon nodded, he was already aware of the dreadfulness of the River of Destiny. As such, he did not rx his nerves for even a second.
After the third boundary, Simon entered the fourth, he only stopped near the fifth boundary and did not enter it. The reason was obvious, even he could tell that once he entered the fifth boundary he would not be able to return.
The gravitational force around the fifth boundary was so strong that everything was crushed, causing ck holes to form.
Now all he needed to do was simply push Godwin forward and the fifth boundary will do the rest. Once they entered the gravitational pull of the fifth boundary, they would only have one end and that was to fall into the River of Destiny and die.
Simon did not dilly dally and hurriedlymenced his ns. However, what he forgot to take into ount in his n was Godwin suddenly regaining his consciousness at thest second.
"Hehehe¡ So this is how it was. The River of Destiny, Althaea, the Fragments¡ I understand some of it now. To think that it is even capable of something like this¡ what are the Fragments of the greater constetions?"
He suddenly turned around and grabbed Simon.
[Be careful]
With that, the both of them were pulled into the fifth boundary and were immediately affected by the fierce gravitational pull.
"Shit!! let go of me" Simon cursed, trying to break out of the gravitational force of the fifth boundary. However, in front of the presence of the River of Destiny, his own existence was seemingly smaller than a speck of dust. How could he create any waves?
He was quickly pulled into the sixth boundary and towards the River of Destiny. If he got swept in its current, everything would be over.
Would he die here?
"Demon it looks like you are in possession of some fragments too. No wonder you were able to defeat me. However, this is it for both you and me. The Fragments within me have shown me my destiny, but I am unwilling to ept it. I will not tolerate evil and will continue on my own path".
With that, the knight named Godwin fell into the River of Destiny. It did not even take a second for his body to be torn apart and turned into nothingness.
[So the Fragments of [¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö] has finally found a worthy inheritor huh]
The second fragment muttered. However, Simon had no mind to pay attention to its rambling right because he knew that his oue would not be any different than Godwin''s.
[There is no way in hell that is your end]
Just as that voice fell, Simon''s mind banked out and he found himself in an endless white space with no end or beginning in sight.
This ce was the mysterious space where he met the second fragment and his other self.
Simon observed the insufferably arrogant guy in front of him and spoke "We meet again".
Unlike thest time when he was in his human appearance and his other self in demonic, this time the both of them were in their actual demonic appearances.
That being said, there was still noparison between the two. Simon''s other self still had that otherworldly awe-inspiring and domineering aura that he could not even begin topare with.
Whether it be charisma, disposition, natural bearing and although he hated to admit it, the other party''s looks were also far greater than his own.
''Why is that guy more handsome even though we are the same person?'' Simon wondered in his head.
"We meet again?!! Ah, you might be talking about that guy. That cocky narcissistic bastard who thinks he is better than everyone. Isn''t he just too much? Anyways, that is not important right now. I see that you are in a pinch. Hey, do you want to live or not?" The other''s Simon tone suddenly turned serious from wacky.
Simon nodded his head, his expression grave. Truth be told, he was really in an unprecedented pinch where he did not know what he should do to save himself. He had already seen what happened of Godwin after he fell into the River of Destiny, he didn''t want to add into to the list.
There were still so many things he had to do, dreams that remained unfulfilled and promises that needed to be kept. He cannot die here in some unfathomable River of Destiny.
"Good, it appears that we are on the same page. Then listen to me, the Second Fragment has already exhausted its Primordial Energy unlocking the second [Authority] for you. It can no longermunicate with you for a while].
[If you want to live then listen to me very carefully. No skill or magic you have can do anything about the Fateweaver''s Energy of the River of Destiny. Not even some Laws can temper with the Fateweaver''s force. Only a higher energy that can sever the cause and effects of the River of Destiny, can save you right now].
[Remember well, the second [Authority] of the Fragments of Pride, [[Ster Eclipse]]. This [Authority] can manipte the primordial energy of the universe. It allows the Second Fragment of Pride to twist the very fabric of causality and effects. [[Ster Eclipse]] severs the traditional bonds between cause and effect, granting the user the extraordinary ability to manifest the inconceivable as if it were an inherent truth].
[With this authority, any exclusive power, divine essence, or esoteric force can be negated without perturbing the delicate bnce of the cosmos. Remember, your current level and strength are insufficient to use the [Authorities] of the Fragments of Pride. To use it you will need to¡"
.
.
The dream ended after a while and Simon was back in front of the River of Destiny.
Chapter 746- Guiding Lights
Chapter 746- Guiding Lights
The waters of the River of Destiny that looked still but were instead moving at a speed inconceivable to time was just a few inches away from Simon. It was now or never.
If he wanted to survive, he had to activate it without fail and so, Simon took a deep breath and erupted forth with a loud crisp voice.
"I am the Zenith of all creation, the very peak of existence. Everything that transpires in this vast universe is dancing in the palm of my hands"¡
[Pride has been activated, all other emotions have been forcibly snuffed].
"Remember, your current level and strength are insufficient to use the [Authorities] of the Fragments of Pride. To use it you will need to agitate your innate arrogance and raise it to a whole new level. There needs to be no doubt left inside you and only then can you activate the second [Authority]. When you get out there, make sure to scream those words at the top of your lungs. Hehe... it will work"
These were the words that his other self told him. At that time, he wanted to ask the other party if saying those embarrassing words would even work. However, before he could do, his other self sent him back. To have absolute confidence in himself and not even a shred of doubt should be left within him. Simon did not know what to do to achieve such a state as such, the fastest thing he could think of in that sublime moment was to utter those self inspirational corny words that his other self told him to do.
.
.
Words can sometimes hold power, far beyond the simple conveyance of information. They possess the remarkable ability to shape one''s thoughts, feelings, and actions, often influencing the reality in profound ways.
They can also serve as affirmations of one''s capabilities and potential. For example, when someone deres, "I can do it" or "I am strong," they''re reinforcing their self belief.
These affirmations, even if seemingly corny, canbat the inner critic that fuels self-doubt. The words uttered by Simon might sound corny, but to him, it had the magical effect of bolstering his confidence.
It transformed his doubts into unwavering belief, hesitation into resolve, demotivation into inspiration, negative emotion into positive emotion and despair into hope.
Words that could rally him, boost his focus, and help his psyche and disperse all of his fears, was what he needed the most at this moment facing the despair inducing River of Destiny.
So in essence, saying those words worked wonders, it propelled his arrogance to colossal heights, conquered his doubts, swelled his ego and gave him a faux sense of invincibility. It was then that the second [Authority] of the Fragments of Pride¡ª[[Ster Eclipse]] was activated.
An enigmatic and profound change urred, space around Simon solidified and quickly turned ck. Like a cocoon, the ck shroud enveloped Simon protecting him and severing him from the outside world.
Cryptic letters and patterns appeared around the surface of the ck shroud. Like a closely knit entity, they stretched and spiralled around the ck shroud. These patterns seemed to mirror the vast stars and constetions of the universe and their mysteries.
The appearance of the ck Shroud around Simon caused the gravitational pull and even the Fateweaver''s Energy around the River to Destiny to tremble.
The River, which seemed like an immutable force that dictated the flow of destinies, pasts, and futures, now quivered in the presence of Simon''s [Authority]. Its waters, which had once seemed invincible and all-epassing, became malleable, unable to do anything to Simon.
Inside the ck shroud, Simon gazed at the shell covering him. It was impossible to see within the shroud from the outside. However, from the inside, Simon could see everything just fine.
He could tell that he fell into the river of destiny. However, thanks to the Second Authority, [[Ster Eclipse]], he was able to still live even after falling into it. The currents of the River of Destiny was unable to tear him apart.
"It''s as if I have severed the threads of causality itself"
Simon could tell that an unparalleled power was flowing through the ck shroud. This power that grasped thews of causality and severed the very cause and effect rtionship that bound the entire world, was the very thing that was currently saving him from the river of Destiny.
Simon marvelled at the power of the Second Authority, he vaguely felt that severing the cause and effect and shielding him like that, wasn''t everything that this power was capable. It had a much more profound use.
Unfortunately, his current level was too low to even understand it.
Although that was the case, the second authority was still one of the powers of his Fragments as such, he felt a faint familiarity with it. He felt like he could manipte this power somewhat in his current state.
"Let''s give it a try" To his pleasant surprise, he really was able to control this power. The [[Ster Eclipse]] moved just as the way he willed it.
Now Simon could move freely inside the River of Destiny without getting carried away by its currents. And so he tried to get out of the River of Destiny. However, no matter how he moved or in which direction he went, he was unable to get out.
The River of Destiny was so vast that it was impossible to make sense of where one was going. Not only that, but its unfathomable nature that merged allws and defied all concepts, made it a treacherous stretch to navigate.
The more Simon struggled to find an exit, the more he felt as though he was trapped in an eternal loop, forever ensnared by the river''s grasp. It became increasingly apparent that escaping the River of Destiny was no simple feat.
Simon''s attempts to devise strategies to break out of the River all proved futile. It was as if the river itself had consciousness of its own, deliberately trapping him and resisting his attempts to break free.
This was not good, although he was safe from the Fateweaver''s Energy of the River of Destiny, he was now trapped in here.
"Dammit, you should have told me a way to get out of here"
Simon cursed. His other self only taught him the method to activate the Second authority. They did not say anything about a situation like this where he would be trapped.
What should he do? In the midst of his panic and frustration, Simon noticed two luminous orbs of light swimming against the relentless tides of the River of Destiny, swiftly drawing near him.
These luminous orbs of light when they reached a certain visible distance, he was able to make out that it was two ck and white lights.
In just a few couple of seconds, they were already in front of Simon and circled outside the protective cocoon of his [[Ster Eclipse]]. The true nature of the ck and white light also became clear at this moment.
They were none other than Yin Yang Koi fish. Simon already knew that the River of Destiny had given birth to many enigmatic life forms. However, the ones in front of him were different.
Seeing how he felt a sense of familiarity from them, he realised that these Yin Yang Koi Fish were the very same ones he had summoned inside his dungeon. It appeared that they returned to the River of Destiny after sensing his predicament.
"Hm? What are they trying to do?"
Simon saw that the two koi fish were acting a little unusual. They swam around in a deliberate pattern almost as if trying tomunicate with him through their movements.
Could it be that the Yin Yang Koi fish were guiding him?
Did they know how to exit this ce?
Simon suddenly realised that the Yin Yang Koi fish might be the ticket to his exit. After all, if you think about it, these Yin Yang Koi Fish were a life form that was born in the River of Destiny. This ce was their home, so of course they would know all about this ce.
Simon trusted his instincts and followed these mysterious existences which ording to Irene had connected with his fate and destiny and were a good symbol that would one day have a great impact on his destiny.
The Yin Yang Koi Fish led him through a breathtaking and fantastical path that defied his imagination. The River of Destiny that stretched out endlessly, contained many mystical phenomenons and creatures with otherworldly appearances.
Some resembled ancient beings with no form, some had forms that could hardly be described, while others embodied different aspects of things.
Simon observed all sorts of creatures as he made his passage through the River of Destiny. Thanks to the [[Ster Eclipse]] isting him from the outside, these creatures weren''t able to sense him or else, things might have not gone this smoothly.
As for the Yin yang Koi Fish, from colossal creatures to even the weirdest organisms, gave way to them as if showing their respects.
With Yin yang koi fish as his guide, they ventured deeper into the heart of the river. At that ce, Simon''s senses were overwhelmed by the sight of a peculiar realm that appeared and disappeared within the mist.
It was a ce that seemed to exist in a perpetual state of flux, an intersection between the real and the surreal. When Simon looked closely, he noticed that at the very centre of this ethereal realm, an
awe-inspiring pce stood imposingly.
Chapter 747 747- Gladion Astrid Onyx
Chapter 747 747- dion Astrid Onyx
The pce''s grandeur was beyondprehension, with spires that disappeared into heights unknown and walls adorned with intricate patterns that danced with all sorts of unique colours.
The magnificent pce, with its towering spires and cosmic adornments, was a sight to behold. However, its existence within the River of Destiny was like a paradox in itself.
What''s more, the pce that was covered with an aura of transience disappeared as soon as Simonid his eyes on it, making him doubt whether what he saw was real or not.
A pce in the middle of nowhere... was the River of Destiny ying tricks on him? Was it a mere illusion, a tantalizing mirage conjured by the river''s capricious currents? Or was it a glimpse into something that existed beyond the boundaries of his current understanding?
Given the nature of the river, it was only natural for Simon to doubt that. In any case, the Yin Yang Koi Fish continued to guide Simon through this surrealndscape, gliding effortlessly through the ever-shifting currents.
As they pressed forward, they approached what could only be described as the exit¡ªa mystical gateway that transcended the concepts of space, time, destiny and even reality.
Somewhere at the heart of this crossroads, a staggeringly long fracture like a tear in the very fabric of existence, ran through. It was as though all things converged upon this singr point, and it was here that the River of Destiny revealed its most profound mystery.
The fracture appeared as a rift in the very fabric of the universe, a hairline breach in the order itself. Looking at that fracture, Simon just instinctively knew it. This was his exit he was looking for, the only thing in this vast River of Destiny that can lead him out.
The Yin yang Koi Fish really did guide him to the exit, he was very relieved. At the same time, he was starting to believe that the Yin Yang Koi Fish might really have a deep impact on his destiny.
Although he still did not know what purpose they served or why they came to him through the [????????] (Abyss) option of his, they helped him navigate through the river, he would be more aware of them from now on.
And so, Simon started moving towards the immeasurably massive fracture. As he stood before it, he felt the weight of all existence pressing upon him.
It was unfathomable to him how such a staggeringly huge fracture came to be in the River of Destiny and who or what had created it. It was aplete mystery, one that teased the boundary of his existence.
Yet looking at that massive tear in the fabric of existence, Simon felt an undeniable allure towards it. It was hard to describe this feeling, it was both nerve wracking and exhrating.
If he took a few more steps and dived into the fracture, he would be out of here. Who would have known that a ce like the River of Destiny really existed in some corner of the universe?
Who would have thought that he would be pulled into such a ce on his trip to the Forbidden Grounds?
What''s more, him making it out of it alive even after falling into the river. It all seemed too farfetched to be true, yet it was the undeniable reality.
All sorts of thoughts crossed Simon''s mind as he stepped into the fracture and exited the River of Destiny.
Was everything that happened in the sixth trial from him meeting Godwin to being pulled into the River of Destiny all an ident, a twist of fortune, or was it part of arger machination by the forces that governed destiny?
And what ripple effects would this encounter have on the tapestry of his own destiny?
--------
Kingdom of ckthorn, Capital City.
Obsidian Hold was a thriving metropolis that stood as a testament to absolute order and authority. Its architecture, characterized by towering spires and colossal citadels, was imposing and unyielding, much like the very governance that ruled over it.
The buildings here had a harmonious blend of elegance and strength to them. The long spires of the towers here reached towards the skies, and the obsidian stones that they were made of, gleamed under the sun.
The city''syout was both strategic and imposing, a reflection of the nation''s martial focus. The demographics of the Kingdom of ckthorn was very intriguing and vastly different from the Kingdom of Ellesmere in that, more than sixty per cent of its poption toiled under the banner of the throne, their lives dedicated to the kingdom''s military endeavours.
It was a society shaped by discipline and duty, where the concept of service to the realm held paramount importance.
In this kingdom, the concept of individual freedom was a luxury few could afford. Here, the citizens were not at liberty to choose their own professions or destinies. Every aspect of their lives, from their employment to their roles within society, was meticulously decided and controlled by the throne.
It was a nation where personal choice gave way to unwavering obedience.
Being the capital city of the nation, the atmosphere of Obsidian Hold was one of stern discipline and regimented order. The people lived their lives under the watchful gaze of the royal bloodline, whose name struck both awe and fear into the hearts of the popce.
This royal dynasty, known as the "Onyx Sovereigns," ruled with an iron fist, ensuring that every citizen served the kingdom''s interests.
In such a tightly controlled society, there was no room for institutions like an adventurers'' guild. High-level individuals, those who possessed exceptional skills and abilities, were not free agents seeking their own fortunes.
Instead, they were conscripted into service for the throne, their talents harnessed to bolster the kingdom''s might.
Inside the Throne room of the Onyx Royal Pce...
The room matching the ambience of the capital was crafted with dark ck stones. Every surface and corner was constructed with sleek obsidian and the dark, polished stone gave the chamber an eerie, almost dark atmosphere.
The light itself seemed to be absorbed by these stones, casting the room in perpetual twilight. Tall spires of ck stone framed the space, their sharp angles reflecting the architectural aesthetics of the kingdom and its lost standing traditions.
Despite the grandeur of the surroundings, the Throne Room was eerily silent, devoid of any courtly entourage or advisors. There were only two figures upying this imposing expanse, seated opposite each other upon the two chairs prepared.
One of the figures had an appearance that demanded respect and instilled fear in the hearts of those who gazed upon him. His tall, imposing figure was encased in a suit of obsidian ck armor that seemed to meld seamlessly with his form and he wore a crown that was fashioned like a fierce predatory bird upon his head.
They had piercing eyes, square jaws, long ck hair and stoic face that made them appear stern and handsome at the same time. Whether it be their aura or their disposition, they exuded an undeniable aura of authority and strength.
Yet mixed within their presence, there was a faint greyish ck eerie energy that gave others an unsettling feeling. The figure was none other than the king of this kingdom, dion Astrid Onyx.
Seated opposite him, was a tall youthful figure with a sickly face. Their slender frame was draped in robes of the richest midnight blue silk, adorned with intricate silver embroidery.
Despite their sickly pallor, their face was strikingly handsome, framed by long, sandy beige hair. Their eyes, a shade of deep amethyst, held anguid smile that seemed to conceal countless secrets. It was a smile that spoke of knowledge and cunning, a mind constantly at work behind those enigmatic eyes.
The youth''s presence was prominent and did not get eclipsed at all by the striking presence of the ruler of the Kingdom of ckthorn, making it clear that they were no ordinary visitor.
What''s more, from their robe one could unmistakably see the motif of the Kingdom of Ingolf, a symbol of wealth and opulence.
If Simon was here, he would immediately recognise the person, Oman Amil Ingolf, the crown prince of the Kingdom of Ingolf who had once brought his entourage with him to participate in the Battle of the Finest organised by the Kingdom of Ellesmere.
This person had also once tried to make things difficult for Simon in the auction held by Cynthia''s Serene Pce Merchant Guild. For them to visit the Kingdom of ckthorn and even meet its king one would have to think that they were definitely nning something.
dion''s gaze remained fixed on Oman as he listened to the proposal. After a while, an oppressive aura descended onto the room as dion spoke.
"Crown prince Oman, the thing that you are asking of my kingdom is not possible?" his tone measured but firm.
"Your Majesty should give it some thought first" Oman leaned back in his chair, anguid smile ying at his lips.
"Hehe, it''s not like the Kingdom of ckthorncks soldiers. After all, you have conscripted every individual with potential under your banner. When ites to the knight orders, your kingdom has the highest number of them in the entire northwestern region, no other nationes close. I''m sure that your majesty finds my proposal appealing"
Oman''s words were not unfounded, the Kingdom of ckthorn had forged a society that valued uniformity and unity above all else.
It was a realm where individuality was subjugated to the collective, and where the strength of the kingdom was paramount.
Chapter 748 748- Gladion Astrid Onyx (2)
Chapter748 748- dion Astrid Onyx (2)
The Kingdom of ckthorn was not always like this. It was not the monolithic bastion of control and conformity that it had be under the rule of dion Astrid Onyx.
In the days of old, it was a realm just like any other kingdom, characterized by a bnce between freedom and progress, where personal opinions and choices were respected, and governance was less draconian.
However, everything changed with the unexpected ascension of dion Astrid Onyx to the throne. That is to say, the Kingdom of ckthorn was what it was now, a powerhouse among the third grade nations was all due to this man in front of him.
"Hehe, it''s not a secret anymore that your kingdom wants to gobble the kingdom of Ellesmere up. However, if you continue with this Smi tactic by backing the Second Prince up to the throne, it will take years or even a decade to eat the meal that is the Kingdom of Ellesmere"
"It is currently in a state of upheaval and in its most vulnerable state with most of its strong men and women out of the picture. If your kingdom wants to take control of Ellesmere, it would be far more efficient to send your military and knight orders in to invade it".
"Of course, arge scale movement like attacking another nation needs a ton of resources, manpower and political manoeuvrings. Our kingdom of Ingolf is ready to back ckthorn with all the necessary resources and political support. You can say that we are ready to cover all the expenses needed for such a move. All ckthorn needs to do is move their military and reap the reward. What does your majesty think?"
Oman offered, his voice was still as indolent and nonchnt as ever. As if everything that was being discussed was some trivialities and not sensitive state secrets.
dion remained silent for a moment, his piercing gaze locked onto Oman''s. The possibilities, risks, and rewards weighed heavily in the air. The fate of not one but two kingdoms hung in the bnce, and the enigmatic ruler of ckthorn had a momentous decision to make.
He knew that the other party definitely had some scheme for backing the kingdom of Ellesmere and if he did not read carefully, he might step on andmine and destroy everything that he had built up until now.
That said, the allure of gobbling up the kingdom of Ellesmere was a difficult thing to give up especially when the other party said that they would cover all the expense and resources that was needed.
"Do you take me for a fool? Even considering the fact that Ingolf does back us up to take the Kingdom of Ellesmere, are you trying to tell me to believe that you have no motive behind all this? What guarantee is there that when our ckthorn moves its military towards the Ellesmere, you won''t be taking this chance to attack us through our backyard?".
Hearing dion''s words, Oman who waszily sipping on his wine, suddenly started chuckling. His chuckle turned into a bawlingughter which echoed throughout the entire throne room. Seeing that demeanour of his, no one would be able to tell that he was a Crown prince of a nation.
"I see... a fine judgment. I guess if I were in your ce, I would think the same. However, Your Majesty are you underestimating our kingdom of Ingolf? Something like upying newnds holds no meaning to us right now. And even if we wanted to, who can stop us as we are right now?"
"Your Majesty should have already gotten the news by now, our Kingdom of Ingolf is no longer a Third Grade country but has been promoted to Second Grade. We now have two powerful rankers in our midst. So if we wanted to take control of anynd, it would be all too easy for us"
"Your Majesty can be assured that Ingolf does not have any intentions on ckthorn, instead our motive is something else. It would be better if you don''t pry on it. So, what does your majesty think of my proposal? I''m sure the person who orchestrated the Bloody Session of the Kingdom of ckthorn, the ''Lord of Iron Will'' will not give up on such an opportunity"
Oman nced at dion Astrid Onyx and smiled fiercely. Many people had underestimated him, for he was a bastard whose mother was just an ordinary maid in the castle. Forget about a pure blood, he was not even a proper half blood. He had no qualification or business to butt his nose in the royal session. He wasn''t even considered a candidate.
However, dion proved them all wrong, demonstrating unmatched strength and an unquenchable thirst for power in the royal selection.
It was a bloody history in the annals of the Kingdom of ckthorn, the new king who killed all of his royal siblings andpetitors in a cold and ruthless move in front of the crowd sending shockwaves throughout the kingdom.
However, this new king was not merely content with securing his own throne, with swift and brutal efficiency, dion decapitated the heads of every corrupted noble and official, severing the tendrils of treachery that had infiltrated the kingdom.
He established a militaristic reign, one where the will of the throne would brook no dissent. This drastic transformation earned him a title among the people, one that reflected his iron-fisted rule.
They began to refer to him as the "Lord of Iron Will," a moniker that signified both his unyielding resolve and the unwavering control he exerted over the kingdom.
dion mulled over Oman''s proposal, and after a while, his eyes disyed a fierce resolution as he made his choice.
"Alright, if Ingolf is ready to cover the expenses needed for such arge scale expedition, then ckthorn has no reason to turn your proposal down. ckthorn will attack Ellesmere; however, you should know that such a big move would need careful nning and time. We won''t be able to move very soon"
The Kingdom of ckthorn was a militaristic nation. If they weren''t going to use their military, then what was the point?
"We leave that to your discretion. You have the freedom to move however way you want in this matter. We only want you to take over Ellesmere"
Oman and dion, the leader of the two countries shook their hands, sealing the deal. From there on, they finalised on a few finer details of the n before Oman took his leave.
Once Oman departed, an eerie silence descended upon the chamber. dion remained in his seat, his thoughts concealed behind a stoic facade. Nobody knew what he was thinking at this moment.
After some time, dion rose from his seat and started walking towards his throne. The throne made of obsidian structure, looked imposing and darkly magnificent.
dion strode toward the throne with measured steps, and looked at it with a sense of purpose. His hands stroked the throne and pressed on a concealed mechanism. Slowly, the throne shifted, revealing a hidden entrance beneath¡ªa secret stairwell leading into the depths of the kingdom''s underground.
As dion descended the secret stairwell, a chill enveloped him. The air here was cool and damp, and the sound of his footsteps echoed softly in the confined space. Torches in sconces along the stone walls illuminated the way with flickering mes, casting eerie shadows.
The hidden underground chamber, concealed beneath the throne room, was a ce steeped in history and secrecy. Only the king and a few direct bloodlines of the royal family knew about the existence of this ce.
It was vast, Its walls adorned with ancient tapestries whose colours had faded with time and depicting long-forgotten battles and rulers. The ceiling here was very high, and it felt like a crypt of the forgotten.
After walking for a while, dion reached the end of the stairwell and stood before an imposing set of obsidian doors, embellished with intricate etchings that seemed toe alive in the torchlight.
These doors too, held secrets, and as he pushed them open, they yielded with a faint creak, revealing the chamber beyond. The inside of the chamber was dimly lit and filling the space was an assortment of items and artefacts.
Scrolls, each containing long-lost knowledge, were neatly stacked on shelves. Mana stones, their ethereal glow muted by the passage of time, were carefully organized in ornate containers.
The room housed treasures collected by the Kingdom of ckthorn over centuries, some dating back to the very founding of the kingdom. Many of these items were heirlooms, passed down through generations of the royal family.
This underground chamber, unknown to most, served as the treasury of the Onyx Sovereigns. They were a testament to the enduring legacy of the royal lineage.
dion''s heart swelled with pride as he looked at the mountains of treasures thaty before him. The collection of wealth here was a symbol of his kingdom''s strength and prestige. Every kingdom in thend, particrly the powerful ones, boasted their own treasuries.
These were more than just storerooms filled with gold and gems; they were a reflection of the kingdom''s might and influence. The sheer amount of wealth a kingdom could umte spoke volumes about its status on the world stage.
Amassing such treasures was no small feat. It required not only wealth but also resources, power, and a keen understanding of diplomacy and conquest. The fact that ckthorn had amassed this wealth over centuries, collecting items of immeasurable value from far-reaching corners of the world, was a testament to its dominance.
Chapter 749 749- [Shortcuts]
Chapter749 749- [Shortcuts]
The value of these treasures extended beyond their material worth. They represented the culmination of centuries of rule, the achievements of his ancestors, and the strength of his nation.
With each passing generation, the Onyx Sovereigns had added to this collection, solidifying their position as one of the most formidable kingdoms around the northwestern region.
dion''s eyes did not stay put on the treasures for long and quickly shifted towards a figure at the far end of the chamber.
Cloaked in a dark robe, the figure sat in silence amidst the mountains of treasures. The details of their appearance remained shrouded in mystery. Their presence exuded an ancient aura and undeniable power, a force that was palpable even from a distance.
What was most striking about this figure was the unusual hue of their hands¡ªa strange, ghostly grey that seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy. Their hands moved with a fluid grace, and from them, a greyish-ck energy emanated, weaving intricate patterns in the air.
This energy flowed from the figure''s fingertips, extending to the items suspended before them and painting them an eerie grey colour.
The figure continued with its activity and one by one, all the relics and items suspended in front of the figure was changed into a greyish ck colour.
What kind of ritual was that? What was the figure doing with all these items? The exact nature of this ritual was only known by dion and the figure presiding over it.
"Your Lordship¡ things are going ording to n. With Ellesmere as the starting point, in a couple of decades, ckthorn will be ruling the entire northwester region" dion got on his knees and reported respectfully.
For him, a ruler of the kingdom and the highest authority in this ce to kneel down to someone, one could imagine what kind of status the mysterious figure possessed.
"Ghgkgjkhjn¡ this speed is not enough. Faster¡ we need to be faster"
The mysterious figure opened by speaking some gibberish words before attuning their voice to speak words that made sense.
"This subordinate will do everything in his power. I just wanted to ask when will the next batch of those weapons be ready and when will your lordship regain all their power''s back"¡
"Ghghjjghh¡ the weapons will be ready soon. As for my powers, I will soon regain them. At that time, all the critters running around and soiling this world, will be wiped away. Of course, your ckthorn will remain"
The voice of the mysterious figure was heavy and resentful. It gave one chill just by listening to it.
"Understood, many thanks to your lordship" dion deeply bowed his head, stored away the items that had been reconsecrated before turning around to leave.
''Oman you think you can look down on my ckthorn just because your Kingdom of Ingolf is a Second Grade country? Hmph, just you wait, in the grand ns of his lordship you all are nothing but mere ants with only one end, and that is destruction. My kingdom of ckthorn who has already allied with his lordship, has already scored its future'' dion thought internally on his way to the exit. -------
Forbidden Grounds, Sixth trial.
Simonnded on the vast snowy expanse and released a deep breath of relief. Thankfully, the fracture in the River of Destiny did not teleport him to some random ce and sent him back from where he came from.
Simon took a few seconds topose his mind and organise his thoughts. He had survived falling into the river of destiny, the Yin Yang Koi Fish guided him to exit, his enemy Godwin had died, and he even managed to activate the second authority of his fragments of pride.
One could say that the trip to the River of Destiny although very short, was a very eventful one.
"It looks like I was stranded very far away from the ce where we fought"
Finished organising his thoughts, Simon remarked observing his surroundings. Currently, he was in a vast snow covered ins. Everywhere heid his eyes on, he could only see the endless falling snow and the arctic clouds above.
There were no signs of any mountains to be seen even at the distant horizons. If he wanted toplete the trail, he needed to find the location of the Abomination which was beyond the vast snowy mountain range.
Fortunately, he remembered that he got a notification from the Forbidden Grounds saying that the trial was halted right before he and Godwin was sucked into the unknown domain. That is to say, all the progress he made during this time in the trial was not lost.
"It doesn''t look like the trial started yet. Could it be that it would only start once I reach the ce where the Abomination was?"
Simon contemted, he unfurled his wings and using the Harmony Stone he navigated his way back. Because the trial was in a suspended state, the falling snow did not suppress his level making it easier for him to fly freely.
After a while, the enormous mountain range appeared in his line of vision and beyond it was the battlefield where they fought Godwin and the Fourth Finger.
As soon as Simon appeared near a certain range of the battlefield, he felt as if he crossed some sort of barrier and time had started running once again. His hunch was soon proved right when he received a notification from the forbidden grounds saying that the Sixth Trial had been resumed.
GROOOOAARRR¡
Simon heard a distant roar and arrived before the Abomination who was still bound by the chains and pirs. It appeared that even with Godwin gone, the seal he put on the Abomination was still active.
Though it was unknown how long it would stay like this, Simon needed to act fast. Since the Trial was halted, all the damage and exhaustion inflicted by Godwin on the Abomination, was still there. As such, he did not have to fight the Abomination all over again.
Anyway, although many unexpected urrences appeared one after another in the way, Simon''s main goal foring here was always to clear the trial. Now with all the distractions gone, he could focus on his goal ahead and finish this trial atst.
GRAAAOOHHH¡ Simon looked at the growling Abomination in the distance and opened his Menu.
To deal with Godwin and the Fourth Finger, he had to use almost all of his trump cards. The Finger of Ozymandias needed time to recover all of its expended curse energy and the [Ancestral symbol Ignition] went into cooldown. He would not be able to use it again for a week.
This left only one other trick in his sleeve that held the power to bring down the Abomination in front of him. Simon''s eyes slid toward the option on the bottom right corner of the Main Menu, right above the [Setting] option.
The option [Shortcuts] which had been inessible to him ever since he reincarnated on this world, had be essible to him once again after the dungeon reached the intermediate rank.
He had working on this trump card of his for more than ten months now and finally, the time to unleash its might hase. Simon extended his fingers and tapped on the option. At that very instant a magnificent and ominous phenomenon urred.
The light in the surroundings took on a golden ck hue and a terrible fluctuation spread through dozens of kilometres ofnd. Before Simon could perceive it, a towering, ming congration appeared above his head, its fierce golden mes flickering with an otherworldly luminance.
This zing inferno extended high above Simon, a titanic fireball that dwarfed him inparison. Within this colossal sphere of golden fire, a sinister ck energy swirled at its heart, resembling like the eye of a malevolent demon.
The darkness within pulsed and writhed, like the maleficent gaze that gave one chill just by ncing at it.
The fireball''s size was nothing short of awe-inspiring, its sheer magnitude enough to distort the very space and leave scorching marks in its fabric.
As it hovered menacingly above Simon, it seemed as though it could consume the very essence of existence itself.
"Amalgamation Magic- [Dark Infernal ze]"
Simon muttered inside his heart. The colossal ball of congration that appeared out of nowhere, was none other than the Amalgamation magic that was cast and stored by Simon inside the [Shortcuts] option.
It was a magic that was a result ofbining two different attributes of magic, the advanced tier Infernal Magic and the Novice Dark Magic and possessed an extremely destructive might.
The option [Shortcuts], was once just a simple feature of a virtual game; however, after crossing worlds, it transcended its digital boundaries and evolved into a formidable asset for Simon.
In the realm of the game, it was a revered and coveted option, a gift that allowed the yers to exceed the constraints of time and ability. An option that was a manifestation of convenience and tactical brilliance which allowed the yers to deposit their most frequently used skills, incantations, or abilities within the slots of this option.
Thus allowing them to ess the said skill or abilities from the [Shortcuts] instantaneously and without any dy.
Using this option, the yers could transcend the typical casting or activation time and use the fraction of a second''s advantage that often proved the decisive factor in a heated battle.
The activation of the [Shortcuts] option presented the user with an otherworldly interface, resembling a vault filled with slots. Here, they could deposit, categorize, and organize their chosen abilities. Each skill or ability had a designated slot within this extra dimensional repository.
Chapter 750 750- [Dark Infernal Blaze]
Chapter750 750- [Dark Infernal ze]
However, as the Main Menu transmigrated with Simon to a new world, the [Shortcuts] option went a transformation of its own. Although its essence remained the same, its operation became more enigmatic.
The option became the bridge that gapped the possible with the impossible, a gateway to harnessing the extraordinary at a moment''s notice.
The [Shortcut] option much like all the other options of the Main Menu, was no longer bound by the game''s mechanics, and its interface had evolved into a canvas of infinite potential. It was as though it had adapted to the new world''s rules, blending seamlessly with the fabric of reality.
It now harboured an extraordinary space within it, a mystical vault where Simon could store all of his skills, abilities, and magic. However, this wasn''t just any storage; it was a ce beyond the boundaries of conventional reality.
Within this ethereal expanse, thews of the world were suspended, and time itselfy in a perpetual stasis. Every skill, spell, or ability he stored remained frozen in a pristine state. There were no diminishing returns, no cooldown periods, and no traces of wear and tear on his powers.
It was as if the moment they entered this space, they existed outside the confines of causality and entropy.
In the world of Althaea, casting a spell or using an ability required a constant flow of mana to sustain it, and the magic gradually deteriorated over time. However, within the sanctuary of [Shortcut], suchws held no sway.
Every enchantment, every incantation, and every ability was preserved in its purest form, as if time had stopped. It was a domain where the effects of any action didn''t fade away, where each spell remained as potent as the day it was first cast.
The Amalgamation magic- [Dark Infernal ze] was one of the magic that was stored inside the [Shortcuts]. And since it was already cast, Simon just had to tap on the option and the skill and magic would manifest in front of him with just a will.
What''s more, it was an instant invocation, he did not need to sift through the vault and go through each and every skill assigned there. Instead, all it needed was just a thought from him and the said magic would manifest, given that it was already stored inside the [Shortcuts].
This was the most remarkable thing about the option, the instant invocation. In the heat of a moment, when every second counted, Simon could tap into the repository of powers and bend time to his advantage.
Abilities that would typically require lengthy incantations or preparations could be summoned in an instant. Right now, Simon only had a few a magic stored inside the enigmatic space of the option but with time as he grew stronger and his magic progressed, he would be able to store more and more magic inside [Shortcuts].
He was right when he thought that this option could be another one of his trump cards. Simon nced at the huge fireball above him and came to the realisation.
This was the first time he was putting the option into practice and since the magic was no longer held down by thews of the option that sealed it in a state of stasis, it could detonate any second.
As such, time was of essence here.With each passing second, the magic''s instability increased. The golden mes shed violently with the dark magic, creating an unpredictable and dangerous situation.
Given how the magic was unable to keep its shape any longer, it was clear that the two attributes repelled each other and would soon erupt in a violent eruption.
Simon willed the ming congration downward, directing it toward the sealed Abomination. The creature sensed the imminent danger and emitted a deep, ominous growl that resonated through the area.
Simon did not stay put to marvel at the might of his magic, instead, he turned around and fled using all of his might. The reason for that was simple, the Amalgamation Magic- [Dark Infernal ze] was not aplete magic, the two attributes were still far from achieving harmony and still repelled each other.
The vtile energy that had been building inside the magic had reached its peak and could no longer be contained. What''s more, Simon had been training and tempering with the magic in the past few months, supplying it with all of his mana every day.
The magic which was the size of a football when it was still inside the [Shortcuts], had grown up to a colossal size in just a fraction of a second when it was brought out. Given all this, one could understand how powerful the explosion would be.
There was no need to even think further, Simon turned around and fled with all of his might, the beat of his wings and the tearing noise of winds echoed in the eerie silence of the deste snonds.
And then it happened.
The moment the magic came into contact with the sealed Abomination, chaos erupted. The opposing forces of infernal mes and dark arcane energies shed violently, creating a cataclysmic explosion of blinding brilliance.
The shockwave swept through thend with devastating force, annihting everything in its path. In the wake of the cataclysmic explosion, the world seemed to shudder and convulse.
A shockwave, a monstrous wall of force, surged outward from the epicentre, distorting the very air it touched. Thend itself quivered, as if protesting the violence inflicted upon it.
That was not all, as the violent sh of infernal mes and dark arcane energy reached its peak, the very ground beneath them seemed to liquefy, and then erupt in a titanic upheaval. The once-sturdyndscape crumbled like brittle parchment, sending colossal plumes of dust and debris billowing into the heavens.
The brilliant light, an amalgamation of golden mes and dark magic, blossomed into an awe-inspiring spectacle. It painted the sky in an iridescent tapestry of colours that no artist''s palette could hope to replicate.
The very fabric of space strained and buckled under the immense pressure, creating rifts that pulsed with unnatural energy.
Simultaneously, the shockwave roared outward, a tsunami of pure devastation. Mountains crumbled into cascading avnches of ice and rock. Snow, rocks, and the very earth itself were swept away like leaves in a tempest.
The previously pristine, untouched terrain was marred by deep chasms that fractured the earth. The unfortunate creatures caught in its path had no chance of escape; they were reduced to ashes in an instant.
The shockwave, an unstoppable force of devastation, coursed through the snowy expanse with unrelenting fury. It hit Simon who was already tens of kilometres away, causing him to take a brutal tumble down to the ground.
All the snow that was swirled into the atmosphere above, rained down at him, burying him underneath.
.
.
After a while, as the rumbling of the ground stopped and the aftereffects of the magic settled down a bit, Simon tunnelled himself out through the snow. Blood oozed out of his body and there were severe burns marring his skin. Some of his hair too got burnt in that heatwave.
Thankfully, much of the power and force of the shockwave had been neutralised, all the injuries he suffered were just superficial and would be healed soon after by his recovery skills.
"This¡" Simon stood amidst the destion, his heart heavy with a sense of awe and trepidation. Everywhere his eyes roamed, they encountered nothing but the aftermath of sheer devastation.
The brilliant disy of golden mes and dark magic had scarred the very fabric of space itself, leaving it looking fragile and stretched to its limits. Unnatural rifts and tears, like jagged scars in the world, pulsed with an eerie and otherworldly energy, stubborn remnants of the explosive power that had torn through this once-pristine realm.
Mountains, once towering symbols of stability and endurance, nowy in shattered ruins, their once-mighty peaks reduced to rubble that choked the ground.
Simon couldn''t help but be ovee by a profound mixture of emotions. Awe, for he had wielded power on a scale beyond his wildest imagination. Trepidation, for he now understood the terrible potential of this newfound magic.
In this moment of reflection, he shivered at the realization that if he had tested this devastating magic within the confines of his carefully constructed dungeon, the consequences could have been catastrophic.
The very thought of such wanton destruction taking ce within the heart of his home sent a chill down his spine.
Simon understood more than ever, the weight of the power he held in his hands. It was not a force that should be wielded by a Demon Earl, that kind of power could even kill some low levelled Demon Dukes.
What kind of concept was killing a Demon Duke with a single attack?
It needs to be mentioned that in this current era, with the Demon Archdukes taking a back seat, a Demon Duke was basically the uncontested ruler of the Demonic Continent.
Whether it be their power, the legions theymanded or their influence, no other demons could match it. They were like the absolute beings of the demon continent in the current era.
Even putting everything else aside, just the fact that they were beings who had stepped into the level 700 realm spoke volumes about them. It was amon knowledge amongst the beings of this world that once one enters level 700, it bes incredibly hard to kill them.
Not only do they possess multiple high ranking regenerative skills, but they can even manipte the mana in the surroundings to restore their expanded mana thus allowing them to keep on fighting.
Chapter 751 751- The Colossal Shadow
Chapter 751 751- The Colossal Shadow
Take Duke Megera from the Hexennacht for example, he was an influential Demon Duke who had lived for more than 1500 years. His fight with the Commander of Envy, went on for 2 days straight with most of his injuries, even the most dire ones healing in a couple of seconds.
From this, one could tell what kind of realm level 700 and above was. However, for a single magic to contain enough might to kill them, it could be said that it was unprecedented in the current era.
What was even more shocking was that the wielder of such a magic was none other than a Demon Earl, a rank that was two stages lower than them.
Simon clenched his hands, feeling a rush of exhration course through his body. He knew better than anyone that it was impossible for an Amalgamation magic of two attributes, one of which was even a novice tier to possess that kind of might.
It was only possible because Simon had the [Shortcuts] option. It was because of this feature that he was able to empower the magic with mana every day. However, it was not just his own mana that made the magic so strong, the option that had undergone a drastic change after transmigrating to this world, also had something to do with the insane power of that magic.
It would be impossible for others to replicate what Simon did without the [Shortcuts] option.
Next, Simon shifted his eyes at the lines of notification that appeared before him. Most of it was his level up announcements. Defeating Abomination, a being of level 740 had rewarded him with a ton of experience, enough to fill up his experience bar multiple times.
[You have reached the limit of your bloodline, your level cannot progress any further. The Exp threshold exceeds the limit, storing it away temporarily].
Simon nced at his status and noticed that he had reached level 600, the limit of the Demon Earl. If he wanted to progress any further, he would have to use the Purifying Crystal Essence to [Promote] his character and purify his bloodline to the next rank.
Demon Marquess¡ a rank that was the dream of countless low ranking demon nobles, Simon was finally going to achieve it. How long did it take him?
Counting the time since the moment he arrived in his world, it wouldn''t be more than five years. That is to say, in just less than five years, Simon had reached the threshold of Demon Marquess from Demon Baron.
A growth like that, it was simply heaven defying. It also went on to show how powerful the Fragments of Pride were to elevate his growth to such speed.
Simon took a while to reminisce about the journey he went through to reach this stage. Five years, it might be extremely short given the fact that even the low ranking demon nobles live for a few hundred years, not to mention the pure blood and high ranking ones.
The years he lived might have been short; however, the experiences he had gone through was very rich. Even some Demon Dukes might not be able topare to him in that aspect.
Simon was in no hurry to [Promote] his rank, he still had a few skills that he needed to acquire before reaching the Demon Marquess rank. As such, he put the Promotion at the back of his head and focused on the matter at hand.
Other than the level up notification, he also received an announcement from the Forbidden Grounds that marked his sessful clearance of the Trial.
[The Sixth Trail has been cleared. Number of participants remaining:- 1. Your actions and Karma are being recorded. Calcting your reward¡ your reward has been set. Proceed through the gate to experience the [Historia] and collect your reward].
With the defeat of the Abomination, Simon had sessfully cleared the Sixth Trail: Open Space Snonds.
Tens of kilometres in front of him, thend which was the epicentre of the magic had been reduced to nothing but barren sands, a teleportation gate fluctuating with spatial powers, formed. This was his exit from here.
Simon got up and walked towards the spatial gate, of course, he didn''t forget to collect his other reward, the rewards that he got from defeating the Fourth Finger.
The finger of Ozymandias, just like the one sitting inside his space ring, was buried underneath a pile of sand. Even after getting caught in that explosion, it didn''t appear that the body of the finger took much damage.
And whatever damage it took, was all healed by the curse energy oozing from it. From this, one could tell how absurdly strong defence the fingers possessed. Perhaps if he didn''t restore the Radiant Crown of Brilliance, then he wouldn''t have been able to defeat the fourth finger.
This realisation made Simon sigh a breath of relief. His intuitions were right, there was a good reason why he received the crown and the materials to restore it as a clear reward. The crown has a much greater purpose and would be an essential item in the future trials.
Using the Philosopher''s Stone that stored Irene''s Magic, Simon sealed the Finger in the ice coffin and stored it away.
With that, he proceeded forward and entered the teleportation gate. The next thing he knew, he was already inside the [Historia], experiencing a part of history that was lost with time.
His hands and body became illusory like he was a ghost watching everything as a bystander. As he looked around, he noticed that he was standing on top of a wide expanse ofnd, the grass beneath his feet was a vibrant shade of green, stretching out as far as the eye could see.
It was a stark contrast to the destion he had witnessed moments ago in the snonds. Thend here was also teeming with life, colourful wildflowers swayed gently in the breeze, and the air was filled with a rxing atmosphere.
The scent of blooming flowers and the earthy fragrance of the grassbined to create a mesmerising scene that was both refreshing and invigorating.
As he took in the scenery, Simon couldn''t help but feel a sense of familiarity with this ce, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
"This ce¡" he muttered to himself. The simrity between this ce and the snonds he had been in just moments ago was too uncanny.
"Could it be the same ce?"
While the climate and surroundings were pr opposites, there was an undeniable familiarity in the geography. Especially that majestic mountain range in the distance that rose to the sky like an ancient sentinel of thend.
There was no doubt about it, this ce was the Snonds he was just in. How did such a vast verdantnd transform into the snonds that it was now?
Simon did not have to think much as the answer soon presented itself in front of him.
Thend began to tremble and soon after, breaking through the ground, numerous dark ck sinister looking appendages appeared followed by a monstrous form. It was the Abomination, the creature he just defeated to clear the Sixth Trial.
Its presence was sinister, and its emergence tainted the once-vibrantndscape. It wasn''t alone, following the path it created, more and more nightmarish looking entities burst forth from the ground, each more grotesque than thest.
Some had twisted, elongated limbs, while others had multiple sets of eyes that gleamed with malevolence. Some even had figures that eerily resembled a human.
As Simon nced at those figures breaking out of the ground, a chilling revtion struck him like a bolt of lightning. He realised that he had seen them before, although it was just once, the thing he saw then left a deep impression in his mind.
Scenes from the Third Trial resurfaced from his memories once again. That''s right, these nightmarish looking entities were none other than the children from the third trial who were experimented upon andter deemed a failure and frozen inside that ice wall.
The sight of that unimaginable despair, one that had left an indelible mark on his consciousness.
In the depths of that facility, the enormous Frozen Prison that trapped thousands of children, once filled with hope and innocence, within its icy embrace. Their forms were grotesque and savage, twisted by the cruel experiments they had endured.
Each child''s face bore the haunting visage of a mindless beast, a creature that had lost all semnce of humanity. Their eyes, once filled with dreams and aspirations, were vacant and hollow.
Their mouths, frozen in eternal torment, seemed to emit silent screams that echoed through the icy chamber. Limbs contorted into unnatural shapes, and their bodies bore the scars of countless experiments.
It was a wretched tableau of suffering and despair, a stark reminder of the atrocitiesmitted in the name of twisted ambition.
There was no need to guess, this [Historia] was a continuation from back then. At that time, the [Historia] ended abruptly leaving Simon and the group he came in with, Lucine and Denzel in an unclear and inconclusive state of mind.
At that time, he wondered what happened of the children that raised the spark of resistance against those mad scientists. Were they able to survive or not, what happened to that teleport circle that was their only exit out of there and the despair inducing Abomination?
When he reached the depth of the facility after witnessing the [Historia] everything had changed. There was no way of knowing what had happened back then, and many questions remained unanswered at that time.
Chapter 752 752- White Dragon
Chapter 752 752- White Dragon
Now, as these grotesque entities, once human children, emerged from the ground, it was a grim revtion.
The answer to one of those haunting questionsy before him, and it was a harrowing sight. The Abomination, the source of unimaginable despair, had now broken free from its prison. It was obvious what happened next, a scene of mayhem and destruction unfolded.
With the emergence of the Abomination and the monstrous legion that it led, it triggered a series of events. Numerous groups and nations rallied together to confront and defeat the newfound threat.
However, the grim reality soon became apparent. Despite theirbined might, the assembled forces were no match for the sheer terror unleashed by the Abomination and its grotesque minions.
It was a ughter, a relentless onught that left no room for hope. Multiple nations, each with their proud histories and formidable strength, were reduced to little more than rubble in the wake of the nightmarish legion.
Like a record that yed in fast forward, Simon observed everything that transpired in thatnd. He was like a bystander who couldn''t intervene and could only watch as the world crumbled.
No group, no matter how skilled or well-equipped, stood a chance against the overwhelming power of the Abomination and its monstrous horde. It was a relentless march of death and destruction, and it seemed as though the entire region would be turned into a graveyard.
When it appeared that thend was destined to be doomed, the sky darkened all of a sudden. An unusual transformation urred, thick arctic clouds appeared in the sky as if a storm was brewing.
An enormous shadow loomed above the thick, roiling clouds, casting an eerie pall over the already devastatedndscape. The temperature in the surroundings began to plummet, it was so fast that those on the battlefield hardly had any time to register it.
A bone-chilling cold settled over the area, causing the warriors facing the legion to shiver uncontrobly. Then, without warning, the skies opened up, unleashing a snowfall unlike any other.
These were not ordinary snowkes, delicate and harmless. No, these kes were enormous, each one the size of a man''s hand, and they fell in a blizzard so thick it was almost impossible to see beyond a few feet.
Within moments, the ground was nketed in a pristine, unbrokenyer of snow. It was a transformation of extraordinary speed and magnitude. Thend that had once been a lush and vibrant expanse was now submerged beneath a sea of white.
Trees, buildings, and entirendscapes vanished beneath the onught of snow, as if nature itself was reiming the territory. The transformation was so fast that everyone was left bewildered, including the bystander Simon.
For such a vast expanse ofnd to get covered in snow in just a matter of seconds, was clearly unnatural, ominous even. Some kind of force had to have intervened.
The clearly sentient Abomination and the warriors facing the legion must have also realised it as they turned to look at the enormous shadow looming above the clouds.
Simon followed their gaze and looked at the sky, at that very instant, his heart stopped beating. The reason¡ªInside the billowing clouds that now shrouded the heavens, a pair of piercing, luminous eyes had manifested.
They were eyes that held the weight of the world, a gaze so overbearingly oppressive that it seemed capable of crushing the very spirit of those who dared to look upon them. The effect was instant and devastating.
Among the warriors on the battlefield, low-leveled ones crumpled to the ground, blood oozing from their seven orifices, as if their very minds had been shattered. The stronger individuals clutched their heads, their eyes wide with madness, behaving erratically as though their sanity had been robbed.
It was not only the side of the resistance that was affected, the legion led by the Abomination was not spared either. These subjects who were already taken over by insanity, after losing their mind wentpletely berserk. They no longer followed themand of the Abomination and started tearing each other apart.
A single nce at those eyes and the tide of the battlefieldpletely changed. There was no way of knowing which side was winning now. Both sides suffered heavy casualties.
It begs mentioning that this was not an attack, not in the conventional sense. No magic or skills were cast, and no weapons were wielded. Just the sheer presence of those eyes of the entity hidden within the clouds, was enough to inflict excruciating mental strain upon all who beheld them.
It was as though an unbearable weight had settled upon their souls, driving some to the brink of madness and rendering others helpless in the face of this overwhelming force.
Even Simon who was witnessing the [Historia], felt his heart stop and his soul shudder the very moment he gazed at those enormous eyes. It was as if he was being pressed by an oppressive force and was slowly being crushed.
Thankfully, he did not continue gazing at those eyes and shifted his attention away, causing the oppressive pressure to disappear. Simon sighed a breath of relief, that kind of intense overwhelming feeling left a deep mark on his face.
It was as if he had momentarily glimpsed the true depths of despair. He couldn''t help but shudder at the thought of what he had just witnessed. This was supposed to be a record of a distant history, a mere glimpse into the past. Yet, even though he had only seen an image of that entity recorded in the [Historia], the overwhelming sense of dread it had invoked was unparalleled.
There was no doubt in his mind that the entity looming above the clouds was anything but ordinary.
While Simon sorted his thoughts, trying to suppress the lingering dread from the scene before, the [Historia] continued. Chaos reigned on the battlefield, the relentless pressure emanating from those eyes had sent both sides into a frenzy.
Some warriors had lost their sanity entirely, attacking anything in their path, while others cowered in terror, unable to lift their weapons. Then, as if in response to this pandemonium, the very heavens themselves seemed to stir.
The clouds above rumbled and roiled, a portentous omen that something momentous was about to ur. The atmosphere grew heavy with anticipation, and the air crackled with the agitated mystical energy.
RUMBLE¡ Suddenly, a loud thunderp resounded and the clouds in the centre parted away, giving way for an awe-inspiring head to emerge. It was a colossal dragon head, its silvery white scales gleaming like polished armour.
The sheer presence of this titanic entity could overshadow this entirend. Its eyes, a brilliant shade of blue, held endless profoundness and power, exuding overbearing regalness as they fixated upon the chaotic battlefield below.
Eight majestic horns protruded from its regal head, each one a testament to its ancient and unparalleled power. Its powerful jaws, adorned with rows of razor-sharp teeth, hinted at the devastating might it possessed.
The dragon opened its mouth and gave a deafening roar that reverberated through the core of existence.
At that instant, a miraculous and unbelievable event urred. Time itself seemed toe to a standstill, as if someone had pressed the pause button.
Everything, from the falling snow that suspended in mid-air, forming a crystalline canopy over the battlefield, to warriors and monsters who looked like lifeless statues. Blood spurting from their wounds suspended in eerie crimson stctites. Everything froze in an instant.
And then, a crackling noise resembling the sound of ice forming, pierced through the air and a wave of freezing coldness washed over everything. It was as if the verynd had sumbed to the icy touch of the bone freezing frost.
The warriors, the grotesque subjects, and the Abomination were all encapsted in a sheath of ice, forever frozen to their bones. Even Space itself was no exception to this phenomenon. It, too, was frozen, with even the mystical energies that coursed through it brought to a standstill.
Watching everything from his position as a bystander, Simon could hardly believe his eyes. Everything was over just like that? The Abomination and the nightmarish legion that represented an eminent danger, was resolved just like that?
It all happened in the blink of an eye, the entire battlefield was trapped in a grand montage of suspended animation.
"Unbelievable¡" Simon muttered under his breath.
The arrival of that dragon, their awe inspiring visage and unfathomable power that could even freeze the time, it was a disy of breathtaking dominance.
He finally found the answer to the question¡ªhow this seemingly beautifulnd changed into the barren Snonds it was now.
It was because of the dragon that came to stop the abomination and its legion. Its powers were so great that it even affected thend and its climate, altering it forever into a winternd.
It took Simon a moment to take everything in, by the time he gazed at the sky again, the dragon had already disappeared. That silvery white visage, that regal appearance, although it was only for a very short period of time that he looked at that dragon, but it left a deep impression on him.
It was not like he had not seen a dragon before, the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon in his dungeon was also a dragon and although it obtained some dragon bloodline through a lucky encounter, the Lightning Draconic Serpent can also be considered from the dragon lineage.
However, the ones in his dungeon couldn''t bepared to the white dragon he just saw.
Chapter 753 753- Three Months?!!
Chapter 753 753- Three Months?!!
There was an insurmountable gap between them. It was likeparing a Demon Archduke with a Demon Baron.
From the Lightning Draconic Serpent, Simon had some understanding of the dragon n. Just like the demon nobles, they had their own ranks, called the Growth Phases¡ªInfant, Juvenile, Adult and Elder.
The White dragon he saw was at the very least an Elder Dragon or probably even stronger. Maybe as strong as Adalinada and Lucine. The realm at which the white dragon and the two he mentioned were, was still too far away from him. As such, it was difficult to make an assumption.
Now that most of the puzzles and answers were solved, Simon thought that the [Historia] would end here. However, to his surprise, it still continued.
Snow continued to fall in this part of thend in a never ending manner and day and night alternated many times in the blink of an eye. Finally, there was some movement after an unknown period of time.
Marching through the bellowing snowstorm, a figure could be seen walking towards an entity frozen inyers of ice. The passage of time had already eroded most of the ice statues except for one, the Abomination.
The figure stopped in front of the Abomination and took out something from their space ring. Simon nced at the figure and noticed that they were donned in a pure white robe that covered their figure from head to toe.
Although they concealed their appearance, one could still see their long, bright golden hair move down from underneath their hood as they moved. Simon strained his eyes, wanting to see who the figure was. However, before he could get a good nce at the figure, the vision in front of him wavered and the [Historia] ended abruptly.
The surreal scenes of the snonds, the abomination, and the enigmatic figure in the white robe dissolved like mist. In their ce, Simon found himself surrounded by old, rusty walls that seemed to enclose him in a moderately-sized chamber.
The atmosphere was heavy with antiquity, bearing the weight of forgotten time. The room was devoid of any notable features, save for the dais situated at the far end of this chamber.
As Simon slowly approached the dais, he couldn''t help but be drawn at the thing thaty atop it.
At first nce, it appeared to be a gemstone, its multifaceted surface glistening with an otherworldly radiance. However, upon closer inspection, he realized that it was unlike any other gemstones he had ever seen.
One end of this peculiar object was connected to a small wand-like extension, forming an intricate and enigmatic design. He reached out and picked up the object, feeling its weight in his hand.
It was, indeed, a pen, but not just any pen. Its body seemed to be crafted from an ancient wood that bore the marks of countless years, its surface was adorned with intricate carvings, symbols that held meaning beyond hisprehension.
Holding it, Simon felt its uniqueness and tried to inspect it with his [Appraisal]. But just as he expected, the skill was unable to show any information about this thing.
He wanted to investigate more about the pen; however, before he could, he felt a strange sensationing from his space ring.
The Echomir te sitting inside his space ring, was starting to act up at this moment. What was going on? Did something happen to his dungeon?
The ability of the Echomir tes was to transmit messages. When one writes something on the surface of these tes, the same thing would appear on another te. What''s more, it was not constrained by distance, as such, as long as both the parties possessed these tes, they couldmunicate with each other.
Beforeing to the forbidden grounds Simon had given one of the tes to Irene to use it in case something happened to the dungeon. For her to use the Echomir tes, something must have happened.
Cannot be bothered with the mysteries of the pen anymore, Simon quickly put it away. Because his mind was currently held up with something else, he failed to notice the gemstone on the end of the pen to shine faintly right before it was put away inside his [Inventory].
Simon took out the Echomir te from his space ring and his eyes immediately hardened when he read the message.
[Return to the dungeon]
Although the message was short, the content was urgent. For Irene to write such a message, his dungeon might really be in danger. A sense of urgency gripped Simon, he stopped whatever he was doing and took out the Transit Stones.
Just a few meters away from him was the teleportation circle that led further into the trial. However, right now was not the time to continue with his training. He needed to get back to his dungeon as soon as possible.
And so, Simon crushed the rock in his hand and was enveloped by the spatialws of the forbidden grounds.
.
.
Dungeon Lace, Main Floor, White Pce.
Sitting inside the hall, was Irene, Cecilia, the Valkyries and the twins.
"It has been more than three months since he is gone. Is Big Brother alright?" Cecilia who was snuggling to Irene forfort, asked with watery eyes. Her face was masked with worry and anxiousness.
It was not only her, everyone in the hall had a face that showed how worried they were.
"Don''t worry, your big brother is alright. Although he tends to do dangerous things, he always makes sure toe back alive. This time will be no different. Perhaps, he got caught up in his training so much that he even forgot the passage of time. I have already sent him a message he should be arriving soon"
Irene consoled, gently brushing Cecilia''s emerald green hair.
"Miss Irene is right, there is no way anything would happen to Master" All the Valkyries nodded at Ate''s confident words. These sisters had an unbreakable faith in their master.
"Uh-huh¡ there is no way Master is in danger. Sister Cecilia is thinking too much, what a worrywart"
Theodore shrugged his shoulders. Hisment caused Cecilia to erupt into fury and the two started bickering again. This was not an unusual scene in the dungeon, the two children who were not too far apart in age fought like the kids they were. The others were already used to it.
Irene sighed and shifted her attention to Ate "Anyways, how is the investigation going? Have we found the culprit yet?".
The battle maid pushed her spectacles up and shook her head "They are still at it. Although they have found some clues there are no conclusive leads yet".
"I see¡ tell them to keep investigating. We need to solve this problem soon or else the dungeon would really be in danger. It might take him some time toe, we must¡ oh?!!"
Irene who was passing out instructions, stopped halfway and nced at a certain direction of the Main Floor.
"Talk of the devil¡ he is here" A beautiful smile bloomed on her face as she said that.
"What?!!" When others heard that, they all made a pleasant surprised face and hurriedly exited the hall. All of them missed their master very much and wanted to greet him.
The entrance to the white pce was pushed open and Simon swiftly walked in. The moment he entered... "Wee back".
He saw all of his subordinates standing in front of him greeting him with all kinds of expressive and delighted faces.
Simon smiled, touched by their genuine concern "Yeah, I am back".
Afterwards, he was pulled by Cecilia and the twins who snuggled up to him and was forced to pamper them.
"Alright.. alright, don''t push each other, I can carry all of you" Simon took all of them to the main hall and sat down. He then nced at Irene and asked with a solemn tone "The message you sent¡".
"You just came back from your training, rest for a while. We can talk about other stuffter".
Simon nodded his head and started answering the question of his subordinates who were full of curiosity about the forbidden grounds.
"Master¡ is the Forbidden Grounds a ce full of wondrous and surprising things like the outside world?"¡
"Master, why did you take so long toe back? Was your training sessful?"¡
"Master, can you take me with you next time? I want to see what kind of ce the forbidden grounds is"¡
"Master, were the trials challenging? You aren''t hurt are you?".
All sorts of questions bombarded him. Some were rted to his health but most of them were just filled with curiosity about the outside world.
From their questions Simon realised one thing¡ these people, they have been holed up inside the dungeon for so long and have never witnessed the outside world. Those that did, only went around the forest and never out of it.
Perhaps, he should let them go out on a mission and let them broaden their horizons. Simon made a mental note to send some of his subordinates out to experience the world for themselves when an opportunity arrives.
"Alright everyone, enough with your silly questions. Master just arrived, can''t you see that he is exhausted from his training. Give him some breathing room" Being the elder sister for everyone, Ate pulled all those people snuggling up to him like pandas away.
"That'' right, give master some breathing room¡ sniff¡sniff"¡
"You are not the one to talk"
Smack... Ate smacked the tightly clinging Bea away whose protests were more aggressive than the children.
Chapter 754 754- Three Months?!! (2)
Chapter 754 754- Three Months?!! (2)
"Master, would you like me to prepare a bath for you?"¡
"Ah, that would be ideal, please do so Ate"¡
"Leave it to me, master".
Simon enjoyed a hot bath and felt his muscles and body rxing. Inside the forbidden grounds, he was constantly surrounded by dangers, he couldn''t even rx for a single second as every mistake there meant death.
His senses and nerves had been stretched taut every single second that he was there. Now that he was out, he could finally rx a little.
Simon nced at the golden lion head that was gushing hot water from its open mouth. There were eight of them all around the bath. This was the thing about the bathhouse of the white pce, When Simon created the pce, he designed the bathhouses with the most extravagance of things.
It was not only the bathhouse, the other recreational areas were the same.
After spending an enjoyable time and washing away all of his exhaustion, Simon arrived at the dining table where everyone was waiting for him.
"Master... sit here, we have prepared all sorts of dishes that we know you like"
Ate led him to his seat. The battle maids were programmed by him to be excellent maids, as such, they knew how to cook all kinds of dishes.
After sharing a delicious meal with everyone, the mood became light-hearted. Everyone started chatting in a cheery and carefree manner. Simon savoured these small happy moments, allowing himself to indulge in it for once in a while.
Afterwards, they moved back to the Main Hall to discuss some important matters.
"Irene, is the dungeon alright? Is it in danger?" Simon asked the question in his mind. The message that Irene sent to him had an urgent tone to it. Given that he had instructed her to use the Echomir tes during an emergency, he believed that something must have urred while he was gone.
However, the answer he received shocked him.
"The dungeon is operating fine, it cannot be said that the situation has reached a point where it would be considered in danger" Irene replied.
Hearing her answer, Simon blinked in a daze "Then about the urgent message you sent me?"¡
"That was because you have been gone for more than three months, everyone was worried about you. When you left, you said that you were going out to train. However, you didn''t say that it would take you a long time. Naturally, I contacted you to know if you were safe or not".
Gone for more than three months? What is she talking about?
Although there was no day and night in the trials of the Forbidden Grounds, Simon still made sure to keep track of time. From what he could tell, it should only be a little over a week that he spent there.
However, Irene told him that he was gone for three months. Remembering the anxious and delighted faces of his subordinates after he came back, he felt like the emotions they showed were much too intense for someone who had been gone for only over a week.
There was no reason for Irene to lie too which could only mean that he was really on the forbidden grounds for more than three months.
Simon hurriedly opened his [Inventory] and saw three shiny emblems sitting there. Before he left for the Forbidden Grounds, he had no emblems with him. Now there were three sitting in his inventory.
This was conclusive proof that he really spent three months there without even him noticing. However, how was it possible that so much time had passed and he did not even realise it? Unless¡
Simon recalled the words that the second fragment told him¡ [Don''t just stand there in a daze, quickly get out of here. This ce isn''t something someone of your level should havee in contact with it. Time holds no dominion here, for past, present, and future are all merged in the existence that is the River of Destiny].
[To traverse these waters is to witness the birth of gxies and the fall of civilisations with but a nce. You might feel like only a few seconds have passed here, but days or even weeks might have already gone by in the outside world. If you stay here any longer, you will be affected by its Mnemonic Pull]¡
How could he have forgotten about those words? He was pulled into the River of Destiny and had to manoeuvre his way out. Although it was a very short journey from in and out of there, who knew how long had passed in the outside world?
The Sixth Trial being in a state of standstill, also distorted his sense of time, causing him topletely forget about those words. If it was the Mnemonic Pull of the River of Destiny, no wonder so much time had passed.
It also made sense why Irene''s message contained a sense of urgency and why his subordinates were so delighted to see him again. It was because for them, he was gone for over three months after saying that was going there for training for a while. Naturally, they would be worried.
"From your expression, it looks like you weren''t even aware of the passage of time. Did something out there?"
As expected of Irene, she was quite sharp and quickly noticed the unusualness in his behaviour. Since Simon thought that his experience might help them, he told them all about the River of Destiny and what happened in the Forbidden Grounds.
Of course, he made sure to tone it down and omitted a few parts so that they wouldn''t overly worry for him.
GASP¡ Ate and the maid sisters covered their mouths as they gasped, their eyes filled with curiosity and wonder for this unknown ce. Others sat there marvelling at the adventure their master had gone through.
As for Irene, she was making some strange expression as if she was trying hard to recall something.
"Is something wrong? You look like something''s troubling you" Simon asked.
"No, it''s nothing, I just felt my head aching for some reason"¡
"Are you alright? If you are not feeling well, you should take some rest" Simon held her hand and spoke with concern.
"No really, I am alright. I don''t know why I felt a headache, but it''s gone now" Irene showed a reassuring smile.
Though he could tell that there was still something bugging her, Simon did not press her. He knew that not having one''s memory can be quite strainful for someone. It would only get worse if he pressed her to remember.
Instead, it would be better if she gradually recalled her memories.
"So I was gone for three months huh? Did something happen in the dungeon during that time?"
Simon changed the subject. Three months wasn''t a short period of time, it was enough for many changes to ur inside an intermediate dungeon like Lace. There were bound to be many new adventurer groups popping up and overtaking the old ones.
Simon was curious to know what floor the adventurer had reached during this time. However, when he opened the [Dungeon] option of the Main Menu and nced at the exploration progress of the adventurers, a frown appeared on his face.
The reason for that was¡the highest floor cleared was till 71st floor, there was no progress made even after so long had passed.
The Adventurer''s guild who reached the 71st floor was still the only des of Ascension and no new group or guild was able to overtake them.
Something was wrong, by now the exploration progress should have reached the 78th floor or higher. Sure, it was true that the difficulty of the floors increased as deeper one delved down and one would need more time to clear it.
However, the difficulty of the lower floors shouldn''t pose too much of a challenge for the adventurers that their progresses to aplete halt. After all, the statistics after dungeon Lace increased to intermediate rank, showed that the average level of the adventurers and guilds diving inside his dungeon was around level 500.
What''s more the statistics even showed an incline trend to the average adventurers level. Given all that, there is no way, a bunch of level 500+ adventurers would be stalled on the 71st floor and below.
Something had to have happened while he was gone. Simon nced at his subordinates and seeing their unnatural expressions, he knew that he was right.
"Regarding the halted progress of the dungeon exploration, we believe that is due to some kind of organisation or force''s intervention. Maya and Jarred are currently investigating it. However since it poses too much risk to go to the upper floors which are filled with adventurers, it is taking some time"
Irene answered the doubts he was having in his mind.
"When did this start?"¡
"A few weeks after you left. We saw exploration progress slowing down and that fewer and fewer adventurers were clearing the floors. At first, we thought that it might be due to some problem that urred among them and that it might be solved on its own if given enough time. However, things only became worse from that point on and we had no choice but to investigate this matter"
Irene who yed as the proxy dungeon master in his absence filled him in on the matter.
"Hmm¡ you did good by not sending them to the upper floors. We cannot expose the existence of the Forest Spring Spirits living in our dungeon to the outside world"...
Chapter 755 755- [Mana Sense] & [Break]
Chapter 755 755- [Mana Sense] & [Break]
"That said, from what you told me, I can tell that this matter is not so simple. They might be in danger if they are investigating it alone. Who are with them?"¡
"Don''t worry master, my familiars are with them. No harm wille to sister Cecilia''s nsmen" Theodore answered patting his chest proudly.
"I see, that''s good then. With those True Vampires with them, I don''t think any adventurers cane close to them. Alright, Cecilia tell Fey and Maya to report to me immediately once they finish investigating".
With that, Simon adjourned the meeting and quickly moved near the Serenity Pond. The subordinates who were left in the hall, saw how much in a hurry he was and couldn''t help but discuss.
"Why is Master in such a hurry to train again even though he just came back from his training?"...
"Gasp¡ it cannot be¡ is master a training Masochist?".
SMACK¡ a fist of love came smacking some sense into the peach coloured hair maid.
"What are you talking about? We should all learn from Master''s attitude and focus on our own training too" The bespectacled beauty spoke, pushing her sses up.
"That''s right¡ that''s right¡ I can''t wait to show the results of my training to master" the wood elf maid jumped up and down.
Looking at them, Irene made a wry smile. Just like their master, these subordinates of his couldn''t sit still either. While Simon was training out there, it was not like they were just sitting idly by.
They were also training their own skills and abilities, mastering and perfecting it. Whether it be the battle maniac Valkyies, the Vampire twins or the [Helpers], all of them diligently trained every day hoping to be of aid to their Master. They never skipped a single day.
Unbeknownst to Simon, his attitude at some point, started affecting his subordinates. Now they had the same outlook towards training and improving themselves just like their master.
.
.
Main Floor, Serenity Pond...
Due to the extreme density of mystical energy present here, not to mention the breathtaking view, the Serentiy Pond had long be the exclusive training ground for Simon.
The reason why he was in such a hurry to train again even though he just came back from his training was because he was very close to achieving the next rank.
Demon Marquess¡ just thinking about it, boiled his blood and he couldn''t sit still. He wanted to achieve the rank as soon as possible. He was already at the required level for [Promote] as for the Purifying Crystal Essence, he can just buy the required amount from the shop.
However, the only reason why he wasn''t increasing his rank was because he needed to acquire a few more skills. These basic skills are the building blocks for his growth, the proper the foundation, the stronger he would be in the future.
As such, he cannot just skip out on those skills no matter how much temptation the next rank had. Of course, he can acquire the skill after he ranks up to Demon Marquess. However, if he uses the rank up to acquire those skills, he would be missing out on the chance to increase the tier of said skills.
There are two ways of increasing the tier of one skill¡ª The first method is when One''s understanding and mastery over the skill reaches a level that is higher than the skill itself. The skill then evolves and reaches the next tier.
The second method is through an evolution of a creature or Rank Up in the case of Demon Nobles. Although lessmon, it is indeed one of a method. Though very less people in the entire world can achieve it after all, not just anyone can break through the constraints of the bloodline limit and rank up repeatedly.
The way it works is very simple, when a Demon Noble goes through a rank up, arge amount of pure mystical energy rushes into their body to help them refine their bloodline and allowing them to gain all the abilities and skills of that rank.
However, what if someone already acquired those skills before reaching that rank? In that case, the remnant energy that was left after the refinement of the bloodline is absorbed by the skills causing them to increase in tier.
Not many people knew about this method and Simon himself only knew about this method after going through so many rank ups. It was also the reason why Irene repeatedly stressed on him acquiring all the basic skills before a rank up.
It was because Simon was one of the few people in this world who could use the rank up to his advantage to increase the tiers of his skills.
Of course, it was impossible to acquire every skill of that rank, which is why he was only focusing on acquiring the basic skills. These basic skills might not seem impressive; however, it was these small small things that added upter.
Just imagine, having an edge over two or three tiers on all the skills against an enemy. There is no way Simon would find a match against any opponent of the same rank.
He who was already starting to taste the benefits of his training, knew his advantage very well. That is why, he didn''t want to give up on acquiring the skills even though he had reached the threshold to rank up.
Simon cleared his mind of all unnecessary thoughts and focused on his training. The trip to the forbidden grounds had allowed him to breach through the wall halting his progress. Now he can give it his all without anything holding him back.
The skills that Simon was trying to acquire was [Mana Sense] and [Break]. The first skill was a mystical ability that allowed one to sense the ebb and flow of the mystical energy in the surroundings more clearly.
Not only that, it also allows one to discern the presence and type of mana within objects and even living beings. For example, using [Mana Sense] he would be able to detect what attributes of magic someone uses even without needing to use his [Appraisal] skill.
Just from the colour and the sensation the other party''s mana gave off, he would be able to tell whether they use Fire magic, Earth, Wind or even the Dark magic of darkness aligned beings like him. Nothing could hide from his perception.
Furthermore, Simon could use this ability to detect hidden traps, magical barriers, or concealed objects infused with mana. It was a versatile skill that not only heightened his awareness but also deepened his understanding of the Mystical forces that shaped the world.
A skill that was much needed if he wanted to stand at the pinnacle of this world. If one hones the [Mana Sense] skill to higher tiers, one could even perceive the mysteries of the mystical energy, sense fluctuation in mana, revealing hidden intentions and imminent threats.
The [Break] skill on the other hand was a disruptive force that sends the flow of mana into turbulence causing chaos amidst the ordered symphony of spells and abilities.
When one invokes the skill, it sends a disruptive influence in the manaden environment. Using this skill, one could target spells, skills, and magical effects, unravelling their structure and making their magical matrices to go haywire.
For instance, when facing an iing fireball spell, he could employ Break to disrupt the cohesion of its fiery mana. The once fierce mes might flicker and wane, losing their potency as the spell faltered.
The skill went beyond mere negation. Break allowed one to manipte the mana to some extent and redirect its flow. This could cause spells to misfire, turning an adversary''s powerful incantation into a harmless burst of energy, or could disrupt an opponent''s protective barrier, leaving them vulnerable.
In essence [Break] was the weaker version of the skill [Disruption] whose higher version could even interfere with an opponent''s weapons and artefacts, rendering its abilities and stats temporarily inert.
Simon hade in contact with the higher version of one of those skill and had a general sense of understanding of how to achieve the other.
He began his training for the [Mana Sense] first. If he could acquire this skill first, then it would be much more easier to learn the other skill. And so, Simon took a deep breath and took out the serenity stone from his inventory.
Soon afterwards, he was enveloped in the effects of the stone and entered a self transient state. In this state, all of his unnecessary thoughts were pushed back and his focus and attention increased manifold.
He felt as if his consciousness discarding his physical shell and expanding beyond the confines of his body, entering a realm of pure mystical energy.
In this transcendent state, Simon spread his senses around like tendril of consciousness just like how he used to spread his mana using [Mana Flow]. The spread tendrils of his senses started to seek out the subtle vibrations of mystical energy in the surroundings.
At first, it felt like searching for whispers in the wind, but as more and more time passed, his senses grew more acute.
To master Mana Sense, one must develop their six senses and enhance them to new heights. Thanks to the Log training Irene designed for him, not only was he able to hone his instincts and acquire the skill [Intuition] and [sh Steps], but it also helped him develop all of his six senses resulting him in acquiring [Enhanced Six Senses].
Chapter 756 756- I Want Everything
Chapter 756 756- I Want Everything
Irene had alreadyid the foundation for him, now all he needed to do was achieve the result.
Using his enhanced senses which were further heightened by the Serenity stone, he attuned himself to the ebb and flow of mana. This was an intuitive understanding of the mystical energy that courses through all things.
Time passed by, as Simon felt his connection with the mana deepen, he could feel the sensitivity of the mystical energy like never before. It manifested as slight tingling, vibrations or even colours in his mind''s eye.
He embraced this sensation and let it instinctively guide him. It needs to be mentioned that acquiring [Mana Sense] was not an easy thing. It requires diligent training and unwavering patience.
If there is even a slight chaos in your mind, the entire effort fails.
Who knew how many times Simon failed, but every time that he did, he started all over again. He would practice [Mana Sense] for hours every day afterpleting his dungeon master duties.
And just like this, three days passed by. On this day, Simon was practising [Mana Sense] just like usual, feeling like he had taken another step towards reaching his goal, when he sensed Emma approaching. He stopped what he was doing and looked at her.
Emma stopped in front of him, bowed her head in respect before reporting.
"M-Master¡ I-I came to report that¡ Maya and Jarred are here to meet with you" She reporte timidly.
Simon did not mind her fidgety and pensive behaviour, after all, that is how he programmed her.
He nodded his head and followed her back to the White Pce.
.
.
Inside his personal office, Simon sat on his seat and quietly listened to the report.
"Master, I regret to inform you that the condition of adventurers within the dungeon has taken a rather rming turn for the worse. It appears to be directly corrted with the recent decline in dungeon exploration".
Maya, one of the [Helpers] and his trusted aid, reported with a deep frown etched on her face.
"Go on, tell me everything that you have managed to discover about the mission that I gave you" Simon asked her to continue.
"Yes, My lord as you asked, I investigated the adventurers to gain more information on the tower town. The erratic behaviour of the adventurers isrgely due to the changes that had taken ce in Tower Town. Thewless ce had be the breeding ground for all kinds of heinous people and criminal syndicates"
"All kinds of factions are fighting openly and secretly to take ownership of the town. Death, ckmail, abduction and extortion, all kinds of atrocities are beingmitted there. The changes in the environment of the tower town have affected the adventurers, merchants and everyone who came here to seek opportunities inside the dungeon"
"Their attitude seems to say that they have lost interest in the traditional aspects of dungeon delving. Instead, they focus solely on hunting monsters for their carcasses, leaving the dungeon''s treasures and mysteriesrgely unexplored."
Simon narrowed his eyes at this revtion, such a shift in behaviour was deeply concerning. It was evident that the situation in the Tower Town had deteriorated far beyond what he had initially imagined.
It was no longer just a matter of disorganized chaos; criminal syndicates and factions were vying for control, plunging the town into a state of anarchy.
"Hmmm it is as I have thought, I cannot leave the Tower Town on its own or else sooner orter it would be a tumour that would slowly erode away at the dungeon. I will think of some measures to bring the town under control. Anyways, have you observed anything else unusual?".
The one to answer this time was Jarred.
"Indeed, Master. In recent months, I''ve witnessed a sharp increase in the use of ves by the adventurers. They are being employed as bait to lure monsters and are treated as disposablemodities. What''s even more unsettling is that some of these ves were once adventurers themselves, individuals who had once delved into the dungeon. Now, they are being used as disposables, forced into servitude."
"Are you suggesting that the inhabitants of the tower town are being forced to turn into ves?"¡
"That''s right master. At first, even I found it strange that they would willingly turn themselves into ves without a fight. However, there seems to be more than what meets the eye. As Maya had said, abduction and ckmailing have bemon in the tower town and with the neighbouring kingdom in chaos, all order andws have ceased working"
"I have heard the adventurers cussing how their rtives and dear ones are being held captive and if they wanted to free them, they needed to fulfil their quotas. The situation has escted to the point where those who fail to meet their monster carcass quotas are hunted down by criminal organizations and subsequently enved. Fear has gripped the town, and many adventurers and merchants have already fled in search of safer territories. Those who remain do so out of sheer necessity, living in constant dread".
Jarred''s report made Simon realise that the situation was more dire than he thought. If the tower town was not governed properly, it might destroy itself which in turn would affect his dungeon.
"You two did a good job. Let others take over your duties and rest for a while".
After rewarding his subordinates for a good job, he dismissed them. As he sat on his seat looking out of the window, Simon mulled over the report, thinking over his options.
Should he out and wipe out all these criminal organisations that have taken root in the Tower Town? It shouldn''t be too much of a problem to handle the likes of criminal organisations if he or his subordinates made a move.
However, using such a method might be too destructive and could potentially destroy the Tower Town. Besides, they have yet to identify the criminal organisation and if they cannot take them out by root, such incidents would be more frequent.
So what should he do? While he was contemting his options, an idea struck him.
"As I thought, if I want to solve this problem, that woman would be essential"¡
.
.
Training Floor¡
The ce which once used to be an open space for training, had been expanded both horizontally and vertically in the recent times. Now it held not only the [Prison] area of the dungeon Lace, but it also had a residential area specifically built for its guests.
The structures of the houses, while not extravagant by any means, exuded a unique and indigenous aesthetic. The houses were known for their sturdiness, reflecting the resilience of their makers, the orcs.
The orcs had carefully constructed these dwellings to withstand the tremors from the training, and their design incorporated elements of nature. The architecture harmonized with the environment, disying the orcs'' deep connection to the earth.
The buildings were crafted from robust materials found in the surrounding wilderness, such as timber and stone, reflecting their practicality and resourcefulness.
Inside one of these houses which served as the residence of the Princess of the Kingdom of Ellesmere, Cynthia and herrades were currently gathered together to discuss something.
"All these months, he refused to see us or let us out of here. And now all of a sudden, he wants to meet you. I can''t help but think it is some kind of plot" the old assassin named Brett spoke in a cautious tone.
"That''s right princess, his subordinates always rejected me every time I wanted to meet the master of the dungeon. However, today all of a sudden the subordinate of the dungeon masteres to me with a message that he wants to meet and that too with the princess alone" the burly knight Burg added.
"Maybe it''s not a good idea to meet him on your own princess. Let use with you" the age Marba was of the same mind too.
Cynthia deliberated for a while before turning towards thest person who had yet to speak "What do you think?".
Alvara was silent, she looked at everyone before giving her own thoughts on the matter.
"I have known the dungeon master of this dungeon for a w while and although he might not be human like us, he did do us a favour a couple of times. From my perspective, he doesn''t seem like a bad person".
"Wait Guard Captain, you are not saying that we should trust a demon, are you? How can you say that after how you saw he kept us like a prisoner here all the time? And if the off chance something happens to the princess, will you be able to take the responsibility?"
The assassin was sceptical. Having gone through a lot in his years, he knew a lot about people and their behaviours.
"Brett don''t forget this demon is the one who saved you, the princess and all of us. He even sheltered us even though he had no reason for it whatsoever. And it''s not just once that he did that. Are you still asking that after all that he did for us?"
Alvara''s rebuttal shut Brett up. It was not only him, even Burg and Marba had nothing to counter against it. They all knew fully well in their heart''s that Alvara words were the truth. The Demon had helped all of them many times. If even after all of this they couldn''t trust him then wouldn''t that make them out to be ungrateful?
"But sending princess there all alone"¡
Chapter 757 757- I Want Everything (2)
Chapter 757 757- I Want Everything (2)
"I''m not saying she should go there alone since I will be apanying her. I am already acquainted with him a couple of times, I believe he will not mind".
"I am grateful for all of your concerns. However, the master of the dungeon especially asked for me to meet him. Bringing someone alone might¡"
Cynthia wanted to say that it might displease the master of the dungeon. However, before she could, an unfamiliar presence appeared in front of her door.
"His subordinate is here, it''s time I meet with him" Cynthia got up from her seat and walked towards the door. The guard captain who didn''t want to leave the side of the princess and her friend alone, followed behind.
"Are you ready? The lord of this dungeon is waiting for you".
Waiting for them outside, was none other than the Weretiger Alric who was assigned to keep a watch on them.
"Wait a minute, before we go to meet with the master of the dungeon, can you ask him if the princess can bring one other person along with her? After all, the princess of a country is about to meet the leader of another faction. It would be seen as less of her if there is no dignitary beside her" Alvara interjected.
Alric made a slightly annoyed face, he was just about to growl and reject her when suddenly he made a strange face. He carefully nced at Alvara before asking "Are you the one who wants to join her?".
Alvara was taken aback for a second there; nheless, she replied with a nod.
Afterwards, the two of them were brought in front of arge circr teleport construct from where they teleported to the [Main Floor].
As soon as Cynthia and Alvara were brought to the [Main Floor], they couldn''t help but hold their breath at the sheer magnificence of the ce they were in.
The Main Floor of the dungeon was nothing short of a visual masterpiece. Every detail of this etherealndscape was worthy of admiration. Cynthia and Alvara found themselves immersed in its mesmerizing beauty.
Forget about all the other things here, the air itself here was remarkable. It was dense with mystical energy, unparalleled in its purity. It felt like a tranquil embrace, soothing the soul and calming the mind.
This profound serenity gave rise to a phenomenon: the very air seemed to solidify, forming dense mists and clouds that swirled in gentle, graceful patterns, adding a touch of mystique to the surroundings.
The mountains, distant yetmanding, were a testament to nature''s grandeur. Their towering peaks brushed against the pristine white clouds, a striking spectacle that filled their hearts with awe and reverence.
Who would have thought that such natural wonders that were even more striking and beautiful than the dreams they had seen would be present inside a dungeon?
Cynthia and Alvara nced at each other, both could see the shock and awe in each other''s eyes. The [Main Floor] of the dungeon was like an assault on their senses, rendering thempletely speechless.
It needs to be mentioned that Cynthia and Alvara both had high statuses. One was a royal, the sole princess of a country, and the other a noble with significant achievements in her name.
Whether it be luxurious things or ces, they have seen an opulence of things. Especially Cynthia, since childhood she had seen and visited diverse ces. However, none of the ces she visited came anywhere close to this ce.
Even if she disregarded the beautifulndscape of this ce, just the abundance of mana here was ten times; no, twenty times denser than the special ce that was built by their founder, the Chamber of Guidance a long time ago. The disparity was such, that it could even be considered an insult.
"Follow me. Make sure you don''t stray away from me¡ Growl" Alric simply growled and continued to lead them around, without bothering about the astonishment the two behind him were feeling after arriving at this ce.
Although he maintained aposed exterior, he nheless felt quite proud inside. Why would he not? After all, this ce was his new home now and the home that his master and the Lord built.
He could still remember how surprised he was the first time he was brought here by his Master Maybell. After that time, his whole outlook on the world changed and his despair turned into hope.
He knew that as long as he continued to serve his new master and home, he would one day be able to get his revenge. It came as no surprise to him that these two foreign people who came from outside the dungeon, would be baffled beyond their minds after witnessing a ce of utter magnificence like the [Main Floor].
Cynthia and Alvara followed behind the weretiger. As they made their way further inside, the gentle breeze brushing past their body, carried the delicate fragrance of flowers with it.
A garden straight out of a picture, appeared in front of their eyes. The fragrance in the air was from the thousands of beautiful flowers blooming in their full splendour.
Cynthia and Alvara saw many sights in the dungeon alone in one day that they never thought could have existed anywhere in the world.
After a small tour around the Main Floor, they were finally brought in front of a huge White Pce which was a work of art on its own. The pce itself was an architectural marvel. A perfect blend of grandiosity and elegance that disyed the dungeon master''s extraordinary artistic sensibilities.
Every facet of its structure was a canvas for intricate designs and breathtaking details, etched with precision and grace. The pce radiated an indomitable sense of regal dignity and power, its very presence a testament to the dungeon''s magnificence.
This was where the master of the dungeon and the lord of this ce resided.
"Princess¡"¡
"Yeah, I know"
Even without Alvara needing to say anything, Cynthiapletely understood what she wanted to say.
Wealth, fame, power, territory¡ the demon had everything. Even the grandeur of the pce he resided in was something that even the royal pce of their kingdom couldn''t match.
Who knew a demon they would encounter in the guise of an adventurer in one of their journey, a demon who was chased down by the adventurers out of their kingdom would one day be the master of a ce like this?
The two of them couldn''t help but be reminded of the times from a few years ago.
"The Lord is waiting for you inside" The Weretiger respectfully opened the entrance and stepped aside.
With measured steps, Cynthia and Alvara entered the pce only to find two maids waiting for them. The appearance of these maids could only be described with the words beautiful.
Not only did they have an impable demeanour, their bearing and conduct were simply perfect. It was like they were the textbook definition of what maids were. Compared to them, the maids in their royal pce simply seemed like garbage.
"Greetings Your Highness and Miss Alvara" the maid with long ck hair tied into a bun and wearing spectacles, spoke.
As Cynthia and Alvara looked at the maids, they recalled that they were the very same maids that had seen beside the demon before when the other party came to rescue them. That is to say, they were the people closest to the master of this dungeon.
"Please follow me" The maids smiled and brought them to one of the halls.
"Master, we brought them here" the maid with the spectacle announced. A few secondster a reply came from the other end of the door.
"Come in"
With that, the Valkyries led the two behind them and entered the hall. As soon as Cynthia and Alvara entered the hall, the first thing they noticed was how grand the hall looked.
Draped in riches and sumptuous tapestries, the hall was a testament to opulence. The floor, polished to a reflective sheen, formed patterns and images that seemed toe to life as the light yed upon them.
The soft, radiant glow of chandeliers overhead bathed the room in a warm, golden light. In the centre of this magnificent hall stood an immense dining table, its surface a polished expanse of the finest mahogany. It was nked by ornate, high-backed chairs, each one a work of art in itself, and bearing the mark of master craftsmanship.
Sitting on one of the chairs was a figure with jet ck hair and a pair of horns adorning their head. The figure was tall, had a pale white skin and wore clothing that matched their stature.
Their demeanour was arrogant, sitting thereidback with their legs crossed and giving off an immense berserk and oppressive aura.
When Cynthia and Alvaraid their eyes on the figure, they were initially surprised before their expression returned to normal.
[Cynthia be careful, this demon¡ he has grown stronger again to the point where even I can''t see through him] The voice of the Guardian Beast Leo rang inside Cynthia''s head the moment they saw him.
Thetter cautiously nodded her head and bowed courteously at the other party. She might be a princess with a high status; however, her status stopped meaning anything the moment she ran away from her kingdom.
Besides, she was the one seeking refugee here, so it was only polite for her to greet him first.
"Hehe, no need to stand on ceremony,e and join me. My subordinates prepared a fine meal for this event"
Chapter 758 758- I Want Everything (3)
Chapter 758 758- I Want Everything (3)
Simon grinned and pointed at the chairs next to him. The maids led Cynthia and Alvara to their seats and swiftly started performing their duties. All kinds of foods and dishes were brought up the table and their aromas quickly filled the ce, stimting one''s appetite.
Foods that they had never seen before and foods that looked simply too tantalising were lined up one after another.
Cynthia and Alvara although very much tempted didn''t directly start. Instead, they looked at the demon who changed a lot since thest time they saw him and asked the question they had been holding in for so long.
"The reason why you called us¡" Cynthia started; however, before she could continue with her questions, Simon stopped her with a gesture of his hand.
"We can talk about why I called you after a refreshing meal my maids prepared for you two. No need to feel reserved, you can dig in".
Simon broke the ice by starting first. The aroma of the food was already stimting their nose and appetite, so when they saw Simon starting first, they did not stand on ceremony and dug in.
It needs to be said that all the dishes that were prepared by the maids were all dishes from his previous world. The texture, vour and even the taste of these foods provided, waspletely different and nothing like what they were used to eating back in the capital.
Needless to say, the two women enjoyed the sumptuous meal and the dessert afterwards. Slowly, their tensed nerves rxed and their minds calmed down a little.
After the meal, the atmosphere inside the hall became casual and Simon finally started the real discussion.
"You should have a vague idea as to why I called you here right?".
"Simon¡ Ahem Lord Simon is it because you need something from us?" Alvara started by calling out his name but when she felt the re of the two maids on her, she quickly changed the manner of her address.
Simon felt the change and couldn''t help but smile helplessly inwardly. These subordinates of his were just too loyal to him and wouldn''t even let slide even the slightest offence. In fact, they were the ones who made him open up the most extravagant hall to entertain the guests saying things like it would be beneath a king to entertain a guest in any other hall.
Simon had to relent to their insistence; however, seeing that their presence here did not help improve the atmosphere, he could only ask them to leave.
With the Valkyries gone, the two girls felt a little more rxed.
"Now then,ing back to the subject at hand. That''s right, the reason why I called you here is because I want something from you. However, before I start exining my reasoning, I would like to hear your end of the story. I heard from my subordinates that you were trying to reach me for the past three months. Surely, you have something more important to tell me?" Simon looked at the women in front of him and questioned.
Cynthia nodded "That''s right, we tried to reach you. However, your subordinate always rejected us saying that you were busy and cannot be disturbed right now".
It was true, when Simon came back from the Forbidden grounds, he was made aware by his subordinates that the guest he gave refugee on the Training Floor, tried to reach him many times during this time apparently.
"My apologies, you see I was outside the dungeon at that time. Anyways, what is it that you wanted to tell me about?"
Cynthia was silent for a while, her expression fluctuated as if she was making a tough decision before she finally opened her mouth and told him about the decision she made.
"I know that it is asking too much after you sheltered and protected us from all of our pursuers and I am truly thankful for it. However, I cannot keep on taking advantage of the hand of gratitude you extended to us. That is why, I ask of you to return us back to the surface world".
"Oh¡" Simon had an impassive face on the outside; however, he was internally quite surprised. He didn''t expect for Cynthia toe to such a decision especially while knowing that going out would only spell doom for her.
The kingdom of Ellesmere which had lost its king was already in a state of chaos three months ago, now it would be more of a hell hole there. For her to go back there while fully knowing the oue¡
"I see, if you are determined then I won''t stop you. However, can you tell me why you want to go out there once again? Is there anything that you can still do to change the situation of your kingdom?"
"It is as you say, there is nothing that I can do to save my kingdom from this madness or from getting piged by other countries. However, even then I want to do everything I can. The Kingdom of Ellesmere is the ce where I was born, it is the ce where I made all kinds of memories, my childhood, my family and my friends"
"Even my father with hisst breath told me to save the kingdom. As the sole princess of the kingdom of Ellesmere, I have a duty to protect my country. I cannot betray all those people who still believe in me"¡
"Princess¡ you¡"
Cynthia''s answer was just like he had expected, she had no n and was diving towards danger headfirst. While it may have moved the Guard Captain, Simon was simply amused.
"Although It might be impossible to return the favour to you once I go out, I hope that I can return the favour in the next life".
"Hehe¡Who has seen the next life? What if I tell you there is a way to return the favour in this life?".
Hearing his words both Cynthia and Alvara looked towards him with surprise.
"What do you mean?".
"Well, what I mean is that I can help you. Let''s be honest here, the reason why you sought me out of all people, it''s not only to seek shelter from me right?"
Simon had long known that the real reason why Cynthia and her group came to his dungeon. However, since at that time, he saw no benefit in helping them, he only sheltered them inside his dungeon and left them as is.
Now though, the situation had changed and he could see value in helping them.
Having been seen through, Cynthia bit her lips not daring to say anything. She knew very well that she was in no position to ask the other party''s help, especially after how her kingdom treated him thest time.
This was also the reason why Cynthia was never able to bring herself to ask for the demon''s help all this time.
While she was being reserved, herrade and friend decided to be open to him "It is as you say, Simon. We came here hoping to seek your aid. The forces of the both first and second princes are too powerful for the princess topete with."
"If nothing is done, the kingdom would be destroyed and plundered by the foreign countries. It has been more than three months since west received any updates on the kingdom, the situation must have changed already, we need to hurry".
Her tone was urgent and her eyes looked desperate.
"Calm down, if it''s as you say, then even if you all rush out there right now, you won''t even be able to make a single wave. If you want my help then tell me more about the situation in the kingdom and the various factions vying for power"
Even though Simon had visited the kingdom of Ellesmere, what he knew about its inner workings, structure and politics was very little. He needed to know more about the geography of the ce, the numerous factions that rose to power and their chaotic rtionships before deciding on how to proceed.
Alvara realised that he was right and started telling him about everything that needed to be known about the kingdom of Ellsemere, its geography, nobles and theplex factions who were fighting for power both openly and secretly.
It was not only about the kingdom of Ellesmere, she even gave him details about the foreign factions that were intervening from the shadows.
The more she talked about it, the more clear the picture became. Of course, this information was all stately secrets and not something that should be shared especially with a demon noble.
The only reason she told him all that was in hopes that he would help their princess.
Simon nodded his head after hearing the entire thing. He then turned towards Cynthia and asked "Is what she said true, Princess?".
Cynthia moved her head replying that it was correct. Her body trembled ever so slightly as she tried to suppress theplex emotions that threatened to overwhelm her.
"I see" Simon''s voice remained impassive. He did not show anypassion or empathy towards the other party even while knowing that her Father the king, was betrayed and poisoned by his very own sons who coveted his throne.
The doctor whom they trusted so much, the doctor their entire kingdom respected so much, turned out to be the perpetrator who poisoned the king in the name of treatment all along and slowly degraded their health and strength. If not for the second prince admitting it in front of Cynthia, nobody would have known about it.
Chapter 759 759- I Want Everything (4)
Chapter 759 759- I Want Everything (4)
That was how thorough their n was. It even reached the innermost circle that the king trusted. No wonder the Kingdom of Ellesmere fell into ruins. Simon could only offer words of constion; however, he couldn''t show any empathy.
"Princess¡"
"I''m alright"
After regaining herposure, she gestured towards Alvara that she was fine before cing her gaze towards Simon.
"Master Simon¡" This was the very same words of address she used when meeting Simon for the very first time. However, the meaning behind these very same words has changedpletely now.
"You told me that you would help me take the kingdom back. However, can I ask you why you are doing so? What motive do you have behind helping us? What do you want in exchange? Surely you don''t want me to believe that you are doing all this out of the goodness of your heart right?".
The smile on Simon''s lips grew wider, things proceeded really faster when the other party was a clever person. Should he say as expected of the woman who even while being on her own, built the kingdom''s biggest merchant guild all on her own?
Well, the more talented she was, it was a good thing for Simon. After all, he wouldn''t want an ipetent person to lead his ns.
"My motive huh, before I answer that question, let me put a few things straight first. From what I came to understand from your words, your kingdom is destined for doom. All the major factions are either supporting the first prince or the second prince. As for the third prince, he already left the kingdom to achieve greater martial power"
"As for your own forces, it has either been ceased or forced to bow to the other princes. In a situation like this, it would not be an exaggeration to say that I am your only backing. Without my aid, you would only be meeting a miserable fate if you go back out there. Given all of that, it is clear that I am doing most of the work for a kingdom and its people that are not my own. Don''t you think it''s a little or to say not fair at all?"
"Now, to answer your question, why am I helping you? What are my motives¡ the answer is simple, I want everything" Simon dered in a low and distinct manner.
Hearing his words, Cynthia slowly closed her eyes. She did not show much emotion and simply stood there motionless as if she had already expected to hear something like this.
As for Alvara, she looked puzzled for a while, before the meaning meaning behind those words quickly dawned on her. She wanted to argue back; however, even she knew that anything that she could say at this point was meaningless.
Everything that Simon said was true, at this point he was their sole backing and if he did not help them, then they would simply be marching towards their end if they went out now. However, to give him everything, how was it any different than what the second price was trying to do?
"You¡ Simon¡ can''t you be a little more flexible? Princess has gone through a lot, if you help her at this point, I''m sure she will definitely repay you in the future"¡
Simon only spared Alvara a nce, his eyes continued to stare at Cynthia from starting to end.
"My condition will not change. Of course, it is for Her Highness to decide whether she wants my help or not".
What a joke, what he wanted was not a coboration butplete control. What''s more, he held an overwhelmingly superior ground in this negotiation. So why would he willingly discard his advantage and settle for anything less?
At this moment, Cynthia''s delicate eyebrows were tightly locked in a frown. Her palms were pressed against each other as she contemted something intensely. After a while, she opened her eyes and stared straight at the demon.
"Master Simon¡ your condition¡ before I ept it, can I ask you about something?"..
"Go ahead"
He shrugged his shoulders. He was not trying to force her into epting or anything, it depended entirely on her. Just that based on her answer, his decision would change.
"By everything do you mean also mean that the people and the kingdom¡"
"That''s right, everything that you own, your life, soul, possession will be mine. That also includes the kingdom and the people living in it" Simon answered with a smile.
"Is there any other question you want to ask me?".
He thought that she would ask him a few more questions and try to gauge his intentions. However, to his surprise, she shook her head and immediately epted his condition.
"Hoh, since you have epted my condition, I believe you have no problem with it. Then shall we move forward with our n".
Now that Cynthia was onboard, Simon offered her hisplete support. They started making their strategy and how they should move from this point onwards. Needless to say, their meeting took a long time.
During this whole time, Alvara did not say anything, only offering suggestions when needed.
After a while, Simon got up from his seat and started making someplex signs and symbols using his blood as the ink. The symbols formed an eerie looking circle that floated in the air.
"This is?" Cynthia looked at the circle and asked.
"This is the thing that will make sure everything goes as nned, the Soul Contract that binds you to me. Once you form this Soul Contract with me, you will never be able to betray me nor will you be able to break free from my influence. Moreover, your life and death will be under my control from that point on" He exined while pushing the contract towards Cynthia.
"This¡ how can you¡"
No longer able to calm herself down, Alvara finally spoke up. However, before she could say anything further Cynthia agreed to form the contract.
"What do I need to do?"¡
"It''s simple, just put a droplet of your blood at the centre of the circle and everything''s done". Nodding her head, she used her fingernails to cut her palm and let a few droplets of blood drop into the circle.
The next second, the contract glowed an eerie crimson before disappearing. At the same moment, Cynthia felt some kind of connection form deep into her soul, a mark that would forever be branded into her soul.
"You can go back now, my subordinates wille and inform you when everything is ready".
With that, Cynthia and Alvara were escorted back to the Training Floor they were kept in. Once back inside the residential area, Alvara who kept to herself all this while, finally spoke up.
"Princess although I know this was the only choice avable to you, but why did you ept his condition? Not to mention that Soul Contract?".
Her voice attracted the other members.
"You two are back? What is going on?"..
"Why did the demon call you? What was the meeting all about?".
Facing their questions Cynthia remained calm as she answered them one by one.
"What you epted his conditions? Princess, what are you thinking?"¡
"Even though he is someone who helped us, he is in the end still a demon. What happens if he decides to kill all the people of the kingdom after he manages to conquer it. What do we do at that time?".
The atmosphere inside the house was dire with everybody making all kinds of grim faces. Although it was a good thing that the princess that they were supporting was getting aid to reim her kingdom back. However, this was literally a deal with the demon.
Cynthia looked at herrades, their reaction was not a surprise for her as she had already expected this. That said, even after making a deal with the demon there was no obvious change in her expression.
She recalled the conversation she had with Leo moments before she epted the conditions of the demon.
"Leo, will I be able to save my kingdom if I ept the demon''s aid?"¡
The soul of the guardian beast Leo who was residing inside her ring answered.
"I have no answer for that. However, what I can tell you is that this demon isn''t ordinary, Cynthia. I remember the first time I saw him a few years ago, at that time he wasn''t even worth noticing. However, now in just a couple years, he has shown growth that is iprehensible"
"He has grown so fast that it''s beyond scary. What''s more, it''s not only his strength, the things and resources he has piled up inside his dungeon are something that''s not inferior to those old Demon Dukes. So to answer your question if he has the means to help you reim your kingdom, then¡ªYes. The level of power he has amassed is more than enough to take back your kingdom"¡
"I see¡ thank you as always Leo"¡
"Don''t fret about it, I chose to protect you with my title as the Sacred Beast after all"¡
If there was anyone she respected and trusted the most, it would be Leo who had guarded her loyally all this time.
As such, she nced at her subordinates and spoke with conviction.
"My father died because of them and my country was plunged into despair. The capital is flowing with the blood of the innocent every day. At this point, it does not matter if it''s a god or a demon I make a deal with".
Chapter 760 760- Viper, Chaos Order
Chapter 760 Chapter 760- Viper, Chaos Order
"As long as I can take my kingdom back from them, I''m ready to even offer my life to the demon. So everyone, you don''t have to worry about me or the demon. As far as my understanding of him goes, he won''t do anything that would result in his loss"
"So if I can show him that there is worth keeping the Kingdom of Ellesmere intact, he will not choose to destroy it".
Facing her words and her conviction, the other couldn''t say any further. After all, they all knew their situation very well. The person they swore loyalty to was fine with it, so what reason they had to be against it?
They quickly made up their minds to follow Cynthia no matter what path she chose.
.
.
Two dayster¡ Tower Town, West District.
With the increase in the rank of the dungeon, its reputation had also soared. The Tower Town was no longer a small town but had be a small city with a poption of over fifty thousand people.
At this point, it has already overtaken the other neighbouring cities like the city of Mountmend, both in terms of poption and area.
At this moment near the southern district of the city, around an abandoned building, a man with short brown hair and dark dreary eyes was bound to an iron pir with chains made with sturdy materials.
The man was Marcel Grice and at this moment he was held as a hostage by the people he had never met or seen in his life.
"Ugh..ghgu. ghghi" Marcel shouted but since his mouth was gagged, he could only utter some gibberish words. His eyes continued to re at his kidnapper who was hiding their identity underneath a robe.
That being said, from the vague figure that could be seen through the robe, Marcel was clear that his kidnapper was a woman. That creamy porcin skin that could be seen intermittently from those robes and those dreamy curves, there was no mistaking it.
Given how quickly they knocked him out and brought him here, it could be also be said that they were quite high level. In his profession, it was not a surprising thing for him to get abducted for interrogation.
In fact, he was already prepared for such a future. However, what made him confused was that ever since knocking him out and bringing him here all the way, the other party hadn''t spoken a single word.
Even when he tried to incite the other party by making noise and iling his body around, his kidnapper would do nothing and simply stand there in her ce as if she was a doll. He couldn''t get any reaction from the woman at all.
What was going on? If the other party did not want to interrogate him, then why did they bring him here?
Marcel looked at the woman hiding her guise with a robe, in front of him. Just as he was starting to guess what the other party''s motive might be, a voice came from the back exit of this building.
"Looks like the task was too easy for you. You brought him sooner than I expected"
A feminine voice resounded followed by the sounds of footsteps. A couple of figures appeared in front of Marcel.
The moment he heard that voice he had a vague feeling that he knew this person. However, when he saw who it actually was, he couldn''t help but be gobsmacked. With his eyes widened to their limits, and his trembling body, he pointed at the figure leading the group and spoke.
"ghug... ghghu gkguy... ghgugh? gabent gugh.. wiii.. hsh.. ghg..jhih...gwarr..."(You¡ you how are you still alive? Haven''t you died inside the dungeon more than three months ago?)
Marcel questioned. His voice was very rickety given how surprised he was. Why wouldn''t he be after all, the person who appeared in front of him was someone who was believed to have died inside the dungeon for quite a while now.
It was like seeing a ghost appear in front of you. Marcel was frightened for a good while.
"You seem like you have seen a ghost? Did my return cause that much of a surprise? That''s odd given that you used to be one of my loyal subordinates. However, I cannot see even the slightest trace of happiness on your face."¡
"Bugh shnno nbe!!"...
"Hm? I can''t understand what you are saying. Miss Bianca can you remove the cloth from his mouth"
At her request, the robe woman who had abducted him, pulled away the cloth gagging his mouth.
Bianca? So that was the name of that woman? Marcel though. However, he didn''t have time to think about that at this moment. As he looked at the violet haired woman, his lips inadvertently moved as he uttered.
"This cannot be? How are you alive? You should have died back inside the dungeon?!!"
That''s right, the violet haired woman in front of him was none other than the sole princess of the Kingdom of Ellesmere and the subject of his loyalty, Cynthia.
"You bastard¡ how dare you betray the princess" Marcel didn''t have time to think much before his cor was pulled by another person.
"Alvara?!!"
Even the Guard Captain was alive?!!
"You piece of shit"
BANG¡ a punch came attacking his face causing him to throw a mouthful of blood. The attacks didn''t stop there, after the punch came a kick and then a knee. It was only after the other parties were somewhat content, did they stop attacking him.
"You all¡" Marcel recognised all of them. It was not just the Princess and the Guard Captain, there was also Burg, Brett and Marba. The surprise in his eyes was evident after all, all of these were supposed to have died inside the dungeon. Yet here they were all in front of him.
"Dammit¡ just looking at his face is making me all irritated. Too bad I can''t kill him with my own sword"..
"Alvara restrain yourself, we still need him"
On Cynthia''s words, the Guard Captain backed away. However, she still kept ring at him with hatred as if she wouldn''t be satisfied until she killed him.
"Miss Ate you don''t mind my decision right?" Cynthia turned towards the ck haired woman wearing spectacles.
"Lord Simon asked us to aid you in any manner possible. As such, whatever decision you make, we won''t interfere" Ate spoke.
At this moment, she wasn''t wearing her usual maid gear. Instead, she was wearing a garb that was simr to the adventurers to blend in with them. It was not only her, the other maids including Bianca were in disguise too.
"I see¡ please thank Lord Simon for me"
Saying that, Cynthia nced towards Brett, her old retainer who seemingly understood her intentions and stepped forward. The scene that unfolded next wasn''t anything surprising, Marcel was tortured and interrogated of all information.
While his screams echoed inside the dpidated building, on the other side Ate and the others were discussing something of their own.
"Hehe, we finally get to see the outside world. I can feel the excitement rushing through my body" a small boy who looked no more than ten years of age yelled happily while making a fist.
"You don''t forget that for this mission Master made me the leader. So you still have to follow my orders"
Ate looked at the overly excited vampire twins and reminded. This was the first time in a while they had been sent outside by their master to aplish a mission on their own. It was mainly to broaden their horizons and to give them more experience.
What''s more, this was also their first time going out without their master and for this reason, the most level headed one amongst them, Ate was made the leader. So everyone had to follow her orders including the twins.
"This is the first independent mission given to us by master and it''s a very important one too. As such, we cannot make any slip ups. Let''s show him that he didn''t make a mistake by leaving it onto us" Ate motivated.
Except for Bea and a few others who willingly stayed behind to serve their master, everyone else present here nodded their heads excitedly.
"Hehe, sister Ate does not need to worry too much, after all you have me the strongest Guardian here" Theodore rubbed his nose and bragged.
"Brother you shouldn''t say that"
Maybell from the side tugged his clothes. However, she was toote, the spark was lit. The moment the Valkyries heard that, their eyes zed with a fire of determination and fighting intent.
Even the most calm andposed Ate had a spark ofpetitiveness burning in her eyes.
"Hoh, are you saying that you are the strongest while fully knowing the final form of us sisters and how strong Miss Irene who is the First Guardian is? Plus Three of the Twelve will surely disagree with that statement of yours. Especially my elder sister, she won''t let that remark slide" Ate stated pushing her sses up.
"Kuh¡ sister Mercy huh¡ we have a bad patability. But so what, it''s not like I will necessarily lose" Theodore spoke while clenching his hands.
Although he said that he would win, he was visibly shaken at the name of the elder sister of the Valkyries.
"Hehe" Ate smiled, having teased him enough, she changed the topic of their discussion.
After a while, the screams and yells of agonying from inside the building died down, an indication that the interrogation was finished. Cynthia and the others approached them while wearing all sorts ofplex emotions on their faces.
Chapter 761 761- Viper, Chaos Order (2)
Chapter 761 Chapter 761- Viper, Chaos Order (2)
"What''s going on? Did you not find anything useful after interrogating him?" Ate looked at them and questioned.
"It''s not like that, we did find out lots of useful information from him. However, we also found out many bad news" Cynthia answered. Given how pale her face was, the news she got from that person was definitely not good.
And it was just as Ate had thought, the next words that came out from Cynthia, proved her right.
"The Kingdom has fallen, ckthorn dered a war against Ellesmere three months ago and the kingdom Lost. Its capital city now upied".
"This¡"
Ate wore aplicated face. If it was before, the fate of a single kingdom and what happened to it wouldn''t have mattered to them. However, it was different now. Their lord and master had ns for the kingdom and as such, it couldn''t be allowed to be invaded by the other countries.
"I see¡ but Princess you are not thinking about directly charging to the capital city are you?"
With their home gone, one''s reasoning and thinking ability can be narrowed and irrational. Ate cannot have the person their lord had entrusted this mission with to seek their own death.
"Thank you for your concern Miss Ate, but I''m fine. Thinking about it now, it might be a good thing for us. Since the ckthorn managed to upy the capital, it must mean that my brothers lost. With them gone, it means one less enemy for us. It would also be easier to persuade the surviving nobles and bring them to my side that way"
Cynthia analysed. Even though the news should have been devastating to her, losing her home and all, she still managed to keep a rational mind and observe everything from a third person''s perspective.
''As expected of master, he chose the perfect person for this mission'' Ate was a little impressed.
"Did you find anything else from that person?" The person she was referring to was of course Marcel.
"Yeah, we did manage to find many useful information from him. As expected he was one of the double agents working for the criminal syndicates of the Tower Town. From what we managed to learn from him, the problem in this town seem to stem from the two powerful organisation known as the Viper and the Chaos Order"
"Both of which are foreign organisations who took root in this town more than a year ago. They slowlyid their traps and grabbed the weaknesses of the adventurers and guilds before taking over the townpletely. Although it might not look like that from the surface but the town is nowpletely under their control"¡
"So we just have to take those two organisations out right?" Theodore muttered.
Cynthia and her subordinates looked at the two children besides Ate. It was quite unusual to see children on a mission such as this. However, they did not voice out their thoughts, after all, they were people who were sent by that demon, how could they be ordinary?
They didn''t know what it was, but whenever they nced at the deep blood red eyes of the two children, an unsettling feeling would run down their spine and a chill that they never experienced before, would grab hold of their bodies.
Warriors like Alvara and the old assassin Bert felt that sensation even more clearly. As such, they were aware that even though these two looked like children they did not make the mistake of treating them as such.
Cynthia shook her head and answered "I am afraid, it would not be that easy. The two criminal organisations ruling the town are very smart, all their ns are very meticulous and they make sure to cover all their tracks"
"Even Marcel who works as a double agent for those two organisations, does not know where their base is. What''s more, it is very hard to know who their top members are. If we rashly make a move, it would have an adverse effect and might make all the criminal organisations in the town wary of us. If that happens, we won''t be able to find the mastermind of this whole thing"¡
"What she said is right, this is a big problem for our dungeon, we can''t go about it half-heartedly. If we want to clean the town, we have to do it thoroughly"
Ate added, "Is there anything else you were able to find out?".
Although Ate and the others were only ordered to aid Cynthia and her group in every way possible to clean all the criminals guing the tower town, she knew that her master''s ns were much deeper than that.
Even if they managed to clean the criminal organisation and find the mastermind behind this, who is to say that the tower town will not face a simr predicament again? If it can happen once, surely it can happen again in the future.
The best way to remove this problem would be to take control of the town entirely. However, therein lies the problem.
The perception of the people against demons was already extremely negative and it was hard to change it. If their master tried to control the town, it would only end up having an adverse effect. There is no way the humans would ept it.
Then what should be done?
Their master had already found the answer and it was right in front of Ate. The Violet haired woman, she was the key to solving the problem guing their dungeon.
If he cannot control the town openly, then why not rule it from the shadows by cing a puppet leader who would do his bidding?
That way not only would he be able to control the Tower Town, but the humans would also ept it since it was another human who was ruling over them.
That said, not just any human can be ced for that job. They would only ept someone who they recognised and believed could lead them. The only person who could do that was Cynthia and even she would need to be recognised by the adventurers.
Is that why the master told us to aid her in reiming her kingdom in every way possible? Is he trying to make the adventurers of the tower town recognise her by giving her all the achievements?
As expected of the master, he had already nned so far ahead.
"From the information we were able to pull out from him, it seems that he is supposed to meet with a high ranking member of the Chaos Order today. If we can capture that person, we will be able to know more about these criminal organisations. But¡"
But sparing Marcel would be too dangerous especially when he had already betrayed her once. There is no way they can trust this guy. However, it was also true that they needed his help if they wanted to catch that high ranking member of the criminal organisation.
This was also the reason why they didn''t finish off Marcel.
"I understand, so what you are saying is that we need to make himpletely subservient to us right?"¡
"That''s right" Cynthia nodded at Ate''s query.
"Hehe, that''s not a problem, leave it to me" Theodore stepped forward "It''s your turn, Ariel".
At hismand, the shadow beneath him expanded and a figure slowly came out of it.
"You know what to do right?"
The figure nodded and walked towards the bound Marcel.
"An Elf?" Over at Cynthia''s side, Burg and the others arched their brows as the figure came out of the boy''s shadow.
Long ears, regal and ethereal appearance, flowing hair shimmering like silver that was locked into a braid and adorned with delicate jewelled pins. Her sharp and elegant feature, exuded a grace that was different from humans.
There was only a few races in this world that had that kind of appearance. Cynthia and the others were sure that she was an Elf. Although very rarely seen around this part of the subcontinent, they are a race that inhabit the Demi Human Continent.
It was as they thought, the woman named Ariel was indeed an Elf. She was one of the six demi human ves who had survived the Trials of the Shadows and turned into a High Ranking Vampire, a Va.
After bing a vampire, her initial appearance was restored and her shimmering silver hair grew back once again. She became a breathtaking beauty that one cannot take their eyes off from.
She wore a robe crafted from exquisite, enchanted fabrics with intricate patterns of runes and symbols embroidered with silver threads. The robe was both practical and stylish and was made with ease of movement in mind.
Around her waist, she donned a belt designed for utility and had various pouches. Leather boots that reached to her knees provided protection while not hindering her agility.
Ariel''s attire suggested that she was a mage, unlike Drow who was a closebatant. After approaching Marcel, she nonchntly extended her hands and made a small cut on her finger.
A small droplet of blood leaked out and fell on the ground. In that very instant, it was as if the ground had changed colour. From a brownish red colour, it instantly changed into a dark ck shade.
Cynthia and the others observing from not far away, all had a surprised expression in their faces.
The changes did not stop there, after the ground was turned into a dark ck colour,plex dark red lines and symbols started appearing around the man bound by the pir.
Chapter 762 762- Resistors
Chapter 762 Chapter 762- Resistors
Like a circle, these strange lines encircled him in the centre and pulsed with a blood red colour.
"W-what is happening? What are you trying to do to me"
Marcel tried to struggle as the sinister looking blood red lines slowly started inching towards him. From his feet, they travelled towards his body and before long, he looked like a person with blood red patterns all over his body.
These patterns pulsed with a bloody light and entered his body almost as if integrating with him.
"AAARRGHH!!" Almost at the same time, a blood curdling scream that was iparable to the time when he was being interrogated came out of Marcel.
His scream contained so much pain and agony that anyone who heard it could almost feel his pain. Marcel continued to scream his heart out until his throat became sore, his screams started sounding more like a croak now.
The entire process didn''t take much longer but to Marcel and anyone hearing his screams, it appeared as if hours had passed. When in reality, less than a quarter of an hour had passed.
After the blood red line disappeared, the ground returned to its former colour and Marcel who was bound to the pir limped down.
"What did you do to him? He is not dead right?" Burg questioned, his throat made an inadvertent gulping sound as he remembered the inhumane screams of the man.
"Of course not, I just turned him into an obedient servant of mine, a low ranking vampire familiar" Theodore answered cheerfully.
It was also now that they realised that it was only their side that was affected. Ate and the others appeared unfazed throughout the whole ordeal.
"A vampire?! Does that mean that he is no longer human?"
"That is correct, he has turned into a race that is close to mine. Now he will never be able to betray us"
After exining, Theodore walked towards Ariel and praised her "You did a good job¡ but did you really have to use the most torturous method of conversion?"
There were other methods of transforming someone into a low ranking vampire other than the blood pact which was the most brutal and painful one.
"Hehe, there is no way I am going to let the blood of a dirty human ruin my mouth. There is only one person''s blood I swore to drink in this life" Ariel replied with a passionate and sultry look in her eyes as she gazed at him.
"I see... then here is your reward" Theodore pushed his sleeve and allowed Ariel to bite his hand.
"I am forever grateful my liege"
Saying so, she happily drank some of his blood with relish. The scene was quite unusual and strange for people like Cynthia and her group to witness. However, they knew better than to probe around and keep their mouths shut.
It didn''t take long for Marcel to regain consciousness, the moment he did, he easily broke out of his restraints. The chains made of special material binding him snapped easily as if it was made of sand.
As he stretched his body, one could tell that something about him had fundamentally changed. Although, he still retained his previous appearance, his body and the aura that he naturally exuded had changedpletely. He was taller, more muscr, and with features that one couldn''t easily overlook.
To put it bluntly, his charms and handsomeness had increased manifold. However, this wasn''t the only change Marcel had gone through, what struck others the most was his piercing crimson eyes which was a little simr to the two children and the elf.
"Master" he knelt on one knee.
"Hmm¡ it looks like it was a perfect integration. Good, from now on you are one of my, Theodore Bloodrite''s familiar".
"Yes master"¡
"Call him Ancestor" Ariel corrected.
.
.
"Is he the same person? He seemspletely different from before. Princess can we really trust him?"
Later the same day, the group gathered near an alleyway not far away from the location Marcel was supposed to meet the high ranking member of the Chaos Order organisation.
"Hmph, are you doubting my abilities?" Ariel red at Burg in an unfriendly manner.
"Please excuse him Miss Ariel, he is an idiot" Marba from the side grabbed Burg''s head and forced him to apologise.
"Silence everyone, it''s time" On Cynthia''s rebuttal all of them shut their mouth and observed Marcel who was standing in front of an intersection that connected three roads.
Given that it was the time of the night and the ce was a remote area that not many people visited, it made for a perfect ce for criminals to hang around.
The group didn''t have to wait before a tall man wearing a brown robe and Mythril armour underneath, walked towards Marcel and initiated a conversation.
"Who is that person?"¡
"Wait why do I feel like his face is familiar? Could it be Dieter?"..
"You know him, Bert?"
At his words, every eyes turned towards the old assassin. Bert did not hide anything and nodded his head.
"When I was still an adventurer, I met him on one of my journeys. At that time, he was a young man who showed remarkable talent and was extremely skilled with daggers. I thought that he was someone destined for greatness, never could I have imagined that he would one day join a criminal organisation".
"So that was the case" Cynthia nodded her head. Before bing one of her retainers, Bret was someone who was once a renowned adventurer who travelled to many countries. As such it did note as surprise to her that he knew the man in the robe.
"However, that is not important right now. With his involvement, things have gotten even moreplicated. Your Highness I must inform you that man belongs to the guild des of Ascension, a guild many times more powerful and bigger than even the most powerful guild of the kingdom, the Sea Gods Trident"
"With Dieter being one, they have many high levelled people who are above level 600. What''s more, there could also be Rankers among them"
Rankers¡ just as those words came out of Bret''s mouth, the atmosphere around Cynthia''s group changed.
What kind of concept was a Ranker? Their monstrous talent and abilities aside, a ranker meant that they were above level 700 and had enough potential and strength to be ranked among the strongest in the Central Continent.
For a country like theirs, the realm of level 700 was like a legend that only their founder was able to reach ever since the founding of their kingdom. So it could be imagined how disheartening it was for them to know that among their enemies there might even be rankers.
"What are you guys panicking for, our side isn''t any less powerful" Cynthia words woke the others up. That''s right, what were they worried about? It was not like they were alone, they had the aid the demon sent them.
Although they did not know how powerful these people are, but from the fact that they were people closest to the demon, they ought to be very powerful.
The group silently watched Marcel as he discussed something with the brown robe person. After a while, thetter left and Marcel after taking a detour to make sure nobody followed him, came back to the group.
"So what were you discussing with that person?" Alvara immediately questioned as soon as he arrived.
However, Marcel did not reply immediately, he first looked at Ariel and only after seeing her nod, that he open his mouth and report.
"The Viper and the Chaos Order are about to make a move. They came to me because my achievements were enough to garner their attention. They asked for my aid in the uing battle against the Resistors. It appears that they have found one of the ces where the criminal organisation was keeping the hostages to make the adventurers and guilds obedient to them".
Everybody took a moment to digest the information. This was a great clue that would lead them to the activity of the criminal organisation and what they were trying to aplish.
"It''s as I thought, there are people who are trying to fight against these organisations. If we can bring those people to our side, it would greatly boost our strength and help us when we take down the criminal organisations" Cynthia mused, she looked at Marcel and questioned.
"When and where is this raid going to be?" This was the perfect opportunity for them to grasp a weakness of the criminal organisations and Cynthia was not going to miss it.
"It''s tomorrow at the outskirts of the town, near the borders of the southern region of the forest. There is a rock formation there, that person asked me to be ready there at the first sign of dawn break. It appears that they are going to ambush the resistors there"¡
"I see, it''s the perfect opportunity then. When the criminal organisations are engaging with the resistors, we are going to attack them. This way their ambush will fail and we will gain some new allies. Alvara I will leave it to you to lead our team"¡
"Leave it to me, princess, I will not fail you"¡
"Hoh, look at them go, they really are a high spirited bunch" Arielmented, covering her mouth as she smiled.
"By the way master, what are my orders?"
"Hm? Ah, you are to stay on standby. Now that you havepletely assimted with the power inside you, this is the perfect stage for you and the others to try out your powers and get used to them" Theodore answered.
Chapter 763 763- Resistors (2)
Chapter 763 763- Resistors (2)
"Others?! Wait you don''t mean that she will alsoe here right?"¡
"By she, if you mean Drow and Diana then yes. You all have be my Family now, so the sooner you get along with each other, it would be better for you all".
Ariel made a frowning face as if expressing her dissatisfaction "Diana is fine but it''s difficult for me to get along with that dark elf woman who constantly brags about how you called her first for a mission and how she was your favourite".
Her voice became as low as a mosquito in the middle of her sentence.
Theodore tilted his head not understanding what was wrong with his subordinates.
"This is why boys will never understand how girls think. Don''t worry Ariel, I''ll send my family too. Alric and the others also need battle experience to get used to their new powers" Maybell added from the side.
"Is this fine with you Leader~?" Theodore looked at Ate.
"It''s a fine n, with you two assisting Cynthia and her team, I don''t see any reason to stop you. Since the n has been set, I leave the protection of the princess in your hand Bianca"
Saying that, Ate was just about to bring everyone back to their temporary base, when Theodore stopped her.
"Wait¡ what are you and sister Emily going to do tomorrow?".
In reply to his question, Ate shed a spirited smile that was very unlike her and said. "You people aren''t the only ones who have be stronger. It''s time to see the results of our training".
.
.
The next day, near the south eastern borders of the forest, a group of more than forty people could be seen vigntly and carefully making their way towards the southern region of the forest.
Over their gears and armours, the group of people wore robes and cloaks to better hide themselves with their surroundings. However, a skilful assassin or a ranger, could easily spot them from miles away.
Leading the group were a couple of adventurers who seemed more powerful than the rest. Among them, one had frizzy red hair and donned an impressive looking armour that suited hisrge build.
He was not overly handsome nor did he have any features that left one with a strong impression. However, what stood out about the man, was the aura he naturally exuded that brought others to his side.
Next to him, was a woman in mage''s garb, passing him a worried look "Are you alright ke? I''m sure your sister is alright, we will definitely save her"¡
"Yeah, thank you for supporting me as always Frida" ke clenched his hands tightly and thanked the woman. His knit brows and taut nerves also rxed a little.
Their group slowly made their way through the forest, culling down monsters along the way and arrived at a ce decked with impressive rock formations, when suddenly the assassin who was responsible for navigating the ce, gestured them to stop.
"What''s wrong Wyot? Have we arrived at the destination?" When questioned, the assassin named Wyot nodded his head.
"That is right; however, there is something wrong. There is no mistake that this is our destination but there is no sign this ce is being used to keep the hostages. Moreover, the [Danger Sense] skill of mine has been constantly giving me warnings. It is as if we have walked into a trap" With a grim face, he exined.
"Hahaha¡ what are you saying, there is no way the information given by my guild, the ck de warriors could be wrong. Isn''t your skill reacting because you are just too tense, Wyot? Rx, this is a surprise attack, there is no way the Viper and the Chaos Order will be able to predict this"
A blonde haired man holding a long crimson spear, walked out. He was fairly handsome, decked out in stylish armour and carried a smirk on his face. Whether it be his words or the aura he exuded, it carried an inborn haughtiness as if he was a ss above others.
His manner of speech did not upset others as they were already used to it. After all, all of them knew that he was once a spoiled son of a noble. Although that family no longer stands, one could guess where that attitude of hises from.
Besides, he wasn''t just only talks, he had the appropriate skill to back it up, as one of the strongest warriors of the group.
"What Sir Thilde said is right, this is a surprise attack. There is no way the other party will be expecting us" Hisckeys rallied behind him.
"Since we have arrived at our destination, let''s divide ourselves into groups and search this ce". Before anyone could agree, Thilde and his group already trudged and started searching the ce.
"That fool, does he still think that he is a noble? Giving orders to everyone as if he is the leader" A fewined; nevertheless, they still stepped forward and started searching the Rock formation.
"Are you alright Wyot?" ke approached Wyot after seeing that the other party did not look right.
"I''m fine, maybe it is as Thilde said, maybe I''m too tense" The man gave a wry smile before setting out to search the ce with others.
"Let''s go ke" Frida beside him urged.
"Yeah, just in case stay sharp Frida. We don''t know how our enemies will react. Although Thilde said that this is a surprise attack, I believe in Wyot''s instinct more than that guy".
With that, the group of adventurers entered the rock formation unaware that they had already fallen prey to the trapid by the criminal organisations.
BOOOM¡ an explosion shook the ground. A few groups nearby, immediately surveyed their surroundings and found out that it came from the direction they just came from. A huge rock outcrop had fallen cutting off their exit.
Before anyone could ponder about it, multiple went out simultaneously from numerous directions. One huge rock mountain fell after another encircling and caging them inside.
"This is bad, we are trapped"
No matter how dense they were, they all knew that they had fallen into a trap. The information was wrong, this ce wasn''t where the criminal organisation kept the hostages, instead, it was a trap to lure them in.
As soon as that realisation set in amongst the resisting adventurers, they saw shadowy figures pop up from all around the ce. Whether it be atop the Rock formations or the narrow crevices, they werepletely surrounded. What''s more the enemy outnumbered them too.
"Hehehe¡ they really fell for it, a bunch of idiots" a voice filled with condescension rang out. A group of five people appeared on top of therge rock formation and looked down at the resistors.
"They are¡" There was no need to even think, shy armour that shone with the light of high ss material, the powerful aura they exuded and the symbol of de they carried on their armours.
They were the des of Ascension, the strongest guild currently present in the tower town. Normally for adventurers, they are the objects of idolisation and adoration. However, for ke and the others, they were nothing but viins who were oppressing and exploiting them.
"What do you expect from a bunch of weaklings, Dieter? Trapping them was so easy that I don''t even feel motivated to take action" A berserker with arge built, tanned skin and carrying a huge round axe spoke.
"We can''t do that Jordan, the orders from above are absolute. Wipe all the resistors¡ so even if you don''t feel like it, you must take action" Dieter responded.
"Fine, but it doesn''t look like we will all get a chance to show off. How about we decide who will go with a small game?"¡
"Fine with me"..
"We can do that.."
"That will be for the best"¡
"It looks like Joses, A and Alesia are up for it. What do you say, Dieter?" Jordan looked at Dieter who finally acquiesced.
While the five from the des of Ascension were ying a small game to decide who would make a move, on the ground the battle had already begun.
The numerous figures who bore the sign of the criminal organisations had already engaged with the adventurers.
"What should we do ke?" Frida asked while concurrently firing her spells.
"We need to get out of here. There is no way we stand a chance against those bastards. Dammit, this whole thing was a huge trap" ke answered ncing at the five from the des of Ascension.
He channelled his mana into his sword to cull down a few enemies rushing towards him before grabbing Frida and running towards the backlines.
Wyot and the others had already gathered there and were busy opening a path to their retreat.
"Sorry ke, it is my fault. I should have been more thorough with the authenticity of the information" the assassin apologised with a heavy heart.
"It''s not your fault, you only wanted to save your wife. I know how you feel, my sister is also with them. Every time I think about her, I cannot keep myself still. Every cell, and blood in my body boils, wanting to go save her this very instant. I understand the desperation you are going through. However, this is not the time to me yourself, we need to get everyone out of here. If we fall here, all the resistance would have been for nothing. Our loved ones will not be saved if we fall here"
Chapter 764 764- Your Highness?!!
Chapter 764 764- Your Highness?!!
ke''s words were not only for Wyot but for everyone here. The resistors were made up of adventurers who shared the same goal and that was to save their family and loved ones who had been taken away as captives by the enemy.
They wanted to bring down the criminal organisations ruling the tower town from the shadows and free all people and adventurers currently being suppressed by them. It can be essentially said that what brought them together was the cause and the goal that each of them shared.
As such, when they heard those words from ke, it was as if a fire that was burning silently within them, erupting like a volcano.
That''s right, if they die here, their loved ones will never be saved. For this reason alone, they must fight and get out of here alive. The spark that was lit by ke, spread through the every resisting adventurer as they fought fiercely against the criminals ambushing them.
Magic and skills were fired in every direction, weapons collided and war cries rang out everywhere.
For a moment, the adventurers even though heavily outnumbered started overwhelming the criminals.
"Look at that, even after a few years, you are still the same, leading everyone. The guild leader of the Burning Arrows Guild is still alive somewhere within your heart" Fridamented looking at the adventurers rallying at just a few words from ke.
"I told you not to call me that. I have thrown away that title" He grumbled while his hands moved continuously to clear the rubble blocking their way.
"Isn''t it time you stop ming yourself for what happened back then? The situation was beyond anyone''s control. There was nothing you could have done back then. In fact, you yed your role splendidly by leading us all this time"..
"No, I could have done more. Even now I led the both of us to a dead end" The hands clearing the rubble suddenly stopped. The plethora of guilt and remorse he had buried in his heart all these years finally burst out.
HUFF¡ HUFF¡ ke''s breathing became unsteady, he was just about to lose his sense of self, when a warm pair of hands gently wrapped around him.
"You can''t break down here, these people need you. If you don''t lead them, none of them will be able to save their loved ones. Their death will have no meaning like this. Only you can do it ke, only you can lead them"
Perhaps it was Frida''s words that got through him or maybe it was just his nature, ke finally decided to step up and take the reins.
Although they were lost in a moment of their own for a while, everything that was happening around the battlefield, did not go unnoticed by them. This also included the shocking betrayal of Thilde and his group.
It turned out that this whole information was a trap to lure them out. The hostages being held captive here was misinformation spread by Thilde and the Dark Warrior Guild who sold them out.
This whole surprise attack thing was a trap set by the criminal organisation to sieve out the resistors. Even now, from the corner of their eyes, they could him pathetically grovelling on the ground, as he begged for their mercy and eptance.
"Esteemed people of the des of Ascension, I did just like I was told to. Ipleted the task you guys gave me, so please don''t kill me and my people".
At this moment, one of the five people from the des of Ascension came down from the rock and slowly approached the grovelling man.
"Ah, man it sucks. Even though it was my idea, why did I have to lose.. tch"
Jordan clicked his tongue and slowly stretched his arms. He was just about to join the battle, when his attention fell on the man speaking some nonsense on the ground.
"Ah, aren''t you the informer who came to us and begged us to spare your life in exchange for the information on your side? Haha, you are quite the backstabber aren''t you, you really did what you told us" Jordan gave a heartyugh.
Seeing that one of the Five from the des of Ascension was happy with his conduct, Thilde lifted his face and nced at Jordan.
"Then in that case am I¡"
However, before he could say anything further, a round axe came mming at his back, bypassing his defences and killing him on the spot.
"There is no way, I would allow a two faced snitch like you to join us" Jordan sneered. He swung his axe around a few more times, quickly dealing with the adventurers that came retaliating at him.
The speed and the strength of his swings were so fast that to a normal person, it would all seem like a blur. Even these adventurers who were all above level 400, could only see a vague shadow before their body was smashed apart and split into many pieces.
From this, it was not hard to imagine how powerful this person from the de of Ascension was. Even with the weight of the round axe, Jordan was swinging it as if it was weightless. The ordinary adventurers weren''t his match at all as they quickly fell under his attacks.
Bestowed with the powerful strength that his Berserker ss bestowed him, only a handful of people could stop him.
Seeing this, the morale of the resisting adventurers was almost on the verge of copsing when someone stood up to take in the reins.
Jordan''s attack which was brutal and seemingly unstoppable, was stopped by a man with frizzy red hair that flowed down till his shoulders just like the mane of a tiger. He wielded a huge great sword and was donned in an impressive looking armour.
The man was none other than ke Gunvald, former guild master of the once renowned guild of the city of Mountmend.
"Hoh, you stopped my attack huh? Not bad, it looks like it won''t be as boring as I thought"
Jordan smiled, his attacks started bing increasingly fierce. However, unlike before when no one was able to stop him. This time his attacks were perfectly being contained and stopped by ke causing the resistors to sigh in relief.
Not only that, as they fought the gangs of criminalsing at them, their attention sporadically went towards the area where ke was having a showdown with a member of the des of Ascension.
Given the achievement of this guild and their high levelled members, they were quite feared in this region. No other guilds or adventurers even came close.
However, seeing ke go toe to toe with one of the members of such a guild, not only raised their morale, it also inspired them to do their best.
"Hehe¡ ke, so you finally decided to stand out huh"
Wyot who was assisting the resistors in clearing a path to exit, nced at ke and grinned. Ever since the tower town had been taken over by the criminal organisational and their loved ones taken hostages, all of them had been left at a loss.
Fearing for the lives of their dear ones, they could only do as they were told and be oppressed. All their resistance amounted to nothing until they met others who were in the exact same situation and shared the same cause as them.
They didn''t meet through a stroke of fate or because they were actively resisting the criminal organisation. They came together and became the resistance they were now, thanks to a single man.
Even though the man himself refused to step up and lead them all, in the hearts of these adventurers he was their leader.
"Everyone follow ke, let''s show these criminals the strength of the adventurers"
Leaving a few to clear the path, Wyot steered the others in the battle. For the first time in a while, the resisting adventurers or the resistors who had been nothing but annoying, pesky little flies to the criminal organisations were starting to push them back. ke''s actions alone were enough to encourage the others.
"Hoh! Look at them go, it seems like their morale increased because of a single person"¡
"Hmm¡ that guy is not bad. In terms of strength, he is already on par with most early level 500 warriors. However, too bad Jordan is far more higher levelled than him"¡
"That said, Jordan likes tormenting and ying with his prey. It doesn''t seem like it would end soon. If this goes on, the adventurers might defeat the guys on our side".
Up atop the rock formation, the other members of the des of Ascension discussed. They looked at Jordan who was having fun and the members of their organisation who were being pushed back by the adventurers.
These fellows were at the end just footmen who worked for their organisations. Their strengthy in their numbers; however, right now even that strength was failing them.
"Even though they are just disposables, it would look bad on us if we let all these people die with us present. Plus, it might even upset some of the higher ups. I guess we have no choice but to take action ourselves" Dieter remarked analysing the situation.
"That fool Jordan, he always has to make things difficult for us. If only he took it seriously, we wouldn''t have to step in"
A woman in crimson robes spoke. She wore a strange type of Bauta mask to cover her face and held a rune staff with a bizarre design. She had long wavy hair that reached till her waist and carried several artifacts on her.
Chapter 765 765- Your Highness?!! (2)
Chapter 765 765- Your Highness?!! (2)
"Oh?! Alecia are you going to go? It''s strange for you to make the first move". "Shut up" Tossing those words, Alecia jumped down and joined the battle.
"Let us go too"¡
"Alright alright~" The one who said those words and called out to Alecia was another woman. Decked out in tight ck leather garb that tightly entuated her body and highlighted her attractive curves, she was A.
With her short jet ck hair, piercing green eyes and poisonous smile, she was the very definition of a flower with thorn.
A brandished her twin green daggers and smiled in a cruel manner "Against my poison all resistance amounts to nothing"
With that, she left quickly too.
"Wait¡ Haa!!" Dieter sighed in exhaustion "Why do all the women in our team have to be so headstrong?"¡
"Can youin after seeing how Jordan is?" thest of the five, Joses retorted.
"Haha, you might be right".
Whoosh¡ with the swiftness of the wind, they too joined the battle. With the addition of the members of the des of Ascension, the battle quickly overturned.
What at first looked like a victory for the criminal organisations with their ambush and trap, quickly overturned towards the resisting adventurer''s side after ke stood up to lead the adventurers. Now the victory tipped towards the side of the criminal organisations once again.
"This is bad, at this rate we will have many casualties at our side" Wyot who was fighting a group of criminals, observed.
"What are the ones at the back doing? Have they not cleared a path to the exit yet?" Finishing off the ones in front of him, he turned towards the backlines to stand rooted in his ce.
Blood and body decorated the ce where their path to exit was. All of the adventurers there were killed in a brutal and cruel manner, their guts and gore spilling on the ground making a strange pattern as if they had been deliberately cut like that by someone.
Who would do something so repulsive and twisted? Wyot did not have to think long before the answer presented itself in front of him.
"It''s beautiful, isn''t it? Their bowels decorating the floor like an exquisite piece of art?" Sitting on a rock protrusion, a woman carrying two bloody daggers, spoke. She had short ck hair and piercing green eyes that made her stand out.
"des of Ascension huh" These weren''t any ordinary people she cut down, but adventurers who had experienced and fought numerous battles.
Who else but a member of the strongest guild present in the entire north western region could do something like this.
"Oh please, don''t associate me with those fools, call me A"
The woman smiled. Given her beauty and her attractive appearance, any man would be smitten by her smile. However, seeing her smile Wyot could only feel a bone piercing chill shooting down his spine. As if he was being preyed on by an enormous venomous snake.
''She is dangerous, I must stop her here'' This was the only thought he had facing her.
Wyot raised his guard and clenched his weapons tightly. A droplet of sweat trickled down his head from the immense pressure he was feeling.
"Hehe, you are a fine prey, I''m sure your bowels would look good too. However, it''s too bad I''m not interested in a warrior. Mages are more up to my taste¡"
A trailed off as her piercing green eyes shifted at a direction behind him. Looking at the direction she was eyeing at, he noticed Frida standing there, supporting the adventurers with her powerful spells from the backlines.
She couldn''t be thinking of going after Frida right? If Frida copses at this moment, not to mention ke who would be devastated, their entire resistance group would fall apart.
Without her spells, the remaining adventurers wouldn''t be able to hold on for long. He cannot let that happen, Wyot resolved. He attacked her with all his strength but A was too fast and agile. She easily evaded him and went into stealth.
"Kugh!!"
Just as he was about to pursue her, he felt his vision go blurry. The world around him started to spin and before he knew it, he lost his footing and fell on the ground.
What was going on? Wyot tried to il his limbs around only to feel a prickling pain like that of a needle stabbing his body, from his back. Thin tiny needles were stabbing his left ankle.
Poison Darts!!
Since when did he? Before Wyot could think any further, he heard multiple footsteps approaching him. He had been surrounded by multiple criminals.
On another side of the battlefield, Frida was casting one spell after another when her senses suddenly sent her warnin signals. Immediately, she erected a shield around her and in that split second, multiple needles came smashing at her shield.
"Nice reaction" The needles now devoid of their momentum, fell to the ground. Almost at the same instant, a voice came from behind her.
Frida hurriedly turned around only to see A standing there with a smile on her face.
"You why are you here? Wyot should be¡"¡
"Ah, that guy. I had no interest in an assassin, so I put him to sleep. Instead of him, I''m more interested in mages. Their screams and spilled bowels always make a beautiful art. I wonder how yours would be when I cut it open" With a flushed expression A licked the de of her dagger.
This woman was crazy, seeing her aroused face, Frida felt a sense of crisis. She opened up a distance and immediately started casting her spells.
All kinds of intermediate and amalgamation magic took form. They carried enough might to even severely hurt a person above level 500. However, it wasn''t enough to defeat a member of the des of Ascension who are all above level 600.
Not to mention hitting their target, none of the spells Frida cast, could even touch A. She was so fast that it was almost unfair. What more, her enemy did not give her any room to cast her spells and repeatedly attacked her shield to probe its weakness.
It was generally known that despite possessing the greatest firepower out of all the sses, mages were considered weak against agile sses focused on speed and swiftness like the assassin.
It was because they needed time and space to cast their powerful spells. On a battlefield, it wasmon knowledge to defeat the opponent mage first.
If one could cover the distance against them and bar them from casting any magic, one can essentially shut a mage down. At this point, they would be nothing but dead weight in a battle.
This was also the reason why they had numerous guards and knights protecting them. It was their job to stop the enemy so that the mages could cast their spells without any disturbance.
A was perfectly aware of this weakness of the mages and that is why she liked gutting them the most. What''s more, in a situation like this, Frida was alone. No warriors or knight was guarding.
This was practically asking for trouble. How could A who liked killing mages the most, be willing to let go of this opportunity?
Within a few seconds, the magic shield around Frida was riddled with chinks and nicks, indicating that it could copse at any moment. Once the magic shied was gone, she would be leftpletely unguarded.
"Hehe, that''s what I like about mages. Their face starts showing their fear once their magic shield is about to break" A teased attacking the magic shield relentlessly.
Frida''s predicament didn''t go unnoticed by ke and the others. However, their hands were tied in their own battle leaving them with no leverage to go help her. This was especially for ke.
"Hey¡ hey¡hey¡ are you ignoring me?"
Jordan spat, the round axe in his hands swung widely causing ke to take a heavy hit. He who was caught off guard for a second there, went crashing through the rock formations.
"Ah! I used too much strength. Anyway, that guy won''t die with just this much, but I have to say A is having too much fun. Will she kill that mage so easily?" Jordan turned his attention towards the other fight.
At this moment, just as the magic shield came crumbling down and the daggers rushed forward to take Frida''s life, a shield appeared and timely blocked the attack.
It was not only the shield, two pairs of daggers, a longsword and numerous spells came targeting A forcing her to back down. A group of people appeared around Frida.
When thetter saw who the people who saved her were, her first reaction was to be stumped, then came the disbelief and surprise. Her wide open eyes especially lingered on the silhouettes of two figures among the group for a long time.
"Your Highness and Alvara?!! You are alive"
Being a citizen of the Kingdom, it was normal for her to recognise the princess of the country and the guard captain. However, for Frida and the former members of the Burning Arrows Guild, it was different.
They knew the princess and the guard captain on a personal level. In fact, before finding their own guild, ke and the others used to live in the capital. And there they had the opportunity to learn the sword techniques from the strongest person of that time, Alvara''s brother, themander of the royal guards.
From there they got to know the princess and Alvara. Of course, these were from the olden days, time when they were still children.
Chapter 766 766- Might of the True Vampires
Chapter 766 766- Might of the True Vampires
After moving away to Mountmend their interaction became quite limited and from there they were engulfed in their own circumstances. That said, news from the capital and about the princess still travelled to Frida''s ears.
In one of those news, she heard the sad demise of her friends inside the dungeon. So it could imagine the shock she felt when she saw the very people she had assumed dead, show up in front of her to save her.
The surprise she felt was on a whole another level. It was not only her, ke who pulled himself out of the rubble after getting blown far away, also looked at the scene with pure bafflement.
He was relieved that Frida was saved; however, more so than relief, the emotion he felt at this moment was astonishment.
"Are you alright? Here is a mana potion" Cynthia supported Frida who fell on the ground and offered her a vial of mana potion.
"Yeah, but you¡" thetter unwittingly took the vial, her face a mix of surprise and amazement.
Cynthia did not mind her surprise and simply smiled. She was aware that many would show the same reaction as Frida upon seeing her. After all, to the outside world, she had been dered dead. Her return was no different than returning from the dead.
"Yeah, I am alive. I will exin to you how I survived some other time. Right now we have other things to focus on our hand" Cynthia gave a small exnation.
"Are you still able to fight?" Alvara came up to her and winked. Back in the days, they used to be good friends.
"Yeah, I can still fight¡ but you all"¡
"We came to aid the resisting adventurers after finding out that the criminal organisations had set a trap for you all here"
Alvara answered her doubts. She took out her sword and pointed it at the enemy.
"As usual, Burg will draw the enemy while Bert and I keep her cornered. Princess and Marba will use their spells to finish her off. Let us take this enemy out"
At her orders, the group got into formation and encircled A. Thetter simply smiled, her piercing green eyes nonchntly gazing at the new group.
"Hoh!! So you guys had backuping huh? But it''s too bad, no matter how many people you bring, none of them will change your fate today"¡
"I don''t know about that"
Alvara came shing down. Bret followed after with Burg connecting next. They locked her down and constrained her movements. Thereafter, magic conjured by Cynthia and Marba, came raining down on her.
With Cynthia and her group working together, even A had to take them seriously. She dodged and parried attacks using her skills and counterattacked fiercely. Even though she liked picking the easiest prey, it did not mean that her ability could be doubted.
Facing six people head on, she was not at the least bit at a disadvantage. On the contrary, it looked like Alvara and the others were the ones who were being slowly caged in.
"Dammit, her attacks contain poison. Do not let the smoke cloud touch you"
Alvara stated gritting her teeth. Those weirdly shaped daggers of their enemy, was not only insanely sharp, but they released a greenish cloud of smoke that corroded everything around them, except for the wielder.
It was not only the poison smoke, needles, arrows, threads, and all sorts of weapons and skills that their enemy used, that contained poison. This made it difficult for Cynthia and the others to ignore even the most simplest of attacks from their enemy.
What made A so difficult to face, was not her skill or tactic, but the many poisons she used.
"You guys are not bad. However, how long can you hold on? Even if you can, what about the others¡"
A who was in the midst of sneering at them, suddenly had her words stuck in her throat. An unexpected phenomenon was urring right now. Blood all around the battlefield, started glowing.
Blood that was shed on the ground, blood that leaked out of wounds, or the blood still flowing inside one''s body started heating up. This phenomenon was felt by everyone on the battlefield.
Before anyone even knew it, the entire battlefield was covered by a bloody mist.
"What is going on?"
It was not only A, but all the others from the des of Ascension, the criminal organisations and even the resisting adventurers who had the same question. Perhaps the only ones who had any idea were Cynthia and her group.
CLACK¡ CLACK¡ at this moment when all sound seemed as if they had mysteriously disappeared, sounds of footsteps rang out across the battlefield, followed by the appearance of multiple figures.
These figures emerged seemingly out of nowhere from the blood mist and stood out like a sore thumb. What made this group so unusual, was the fact that all of these figures belonged to a different race.
A group made out of many different races, it was only natural that they would stand out.
"Weretigers, High Elf, Dark Elf, Cienthrope and even Cat kin. That''s an unusual bunch, where are their masters?" Jordan casuallymented.
In the tower town, demi human races were used as ves, cannon fodders for clearing dungeon, sex toys and basically every other way that you wouldn''t treat a human. Their position here could be said to be the lowest of the low.
Normally, demi humans are only allowed to roam near the tower town once they form a ve contract with a master. It was no wonder that Jordan and the others looked for their masters once they saw that this new group was made up of demihumans.
"Master, what are your orders?" Drow nced behind her.
"Well, let''s start with reducing their numbers. They are oozing everywhere"..
"Understood. Dianae with me"¡
"Hey why are you behaving like you are the leader? Dianaes with me" Ariel argued.
Diana was a half Cienthrope half true vampire with long ck hair tied into a low ponytail that reached till her legs. On top of her head, she hadrge wolf ears. She sported a purple and red heterochromatic eyes and had a slender build with ample curves.
She was donned in a special dark suit tailored and built for her free way ofbat. She wore a uniquely made glove to contain her ws and equipped sleigh bells at the end of her furry tail.
Diana could only look in confusion as Drow and Areil tugged her arms as they dragged her along.
"Hey remember, the ones with the badge of the criminal organisations are our enemies" Theodore sighed as he instructed his subordinates as they went away.
"Rob, Alia... clean up the mess after those three. I''m sure in their excitement, they are bound to forget our objective" The burliest amongst the two Weretigers standing behind Maybell, spoke.
On hismand, the other Weretiger, namely Rob who resembled Alric a little but had a different skin tone and facial structure, nodded. He along with Alia, a beautiful Cat Kin from the extremely rare Golden Jaguar n, moved to execute the desire of their master.
Alia hadrge cat ears, a long golden tail and shimmering golden hair. She had a slender and beautiful figure with a childlike and curious personality.
Seeing two of her subordinates move to execute their n save for Alric, Maybell couldn''t help but tilt her head and inquire.
"Aren''t you going too? My orders were to aid the group over there and eliminate our enemy".
Alric nodded his head and replied in a serious and determined tone "I am well aware of your orders master. However, please forgive me for acting selfishly. I would like to remain by your side since for me there is nothing more important than your safety. I am willing to ept all sorts of punishment but please let me guard you with my life"
Aplex light shed in the weretiger''s eyes as if he was reminiscing something.
"It''s alright, do whatever you want" Maybell who had a soft spot for catkin races, immediately agreed to Alric''s selfishness and allowed him to guard her side.
"Your Kindreds look like they get along. How did you do it?" Theodore questioned his sister after seeing how well they got along.
"I didn''t do anything. Alric here seems to be suited for leading, the others unanimously follow him. Besides, brother you are too dumb when ites to rtionships. It''s not like your kindreds are not getting along, it''s just that they arepeting for something"¡
"Compete? Compete for what?"
Maybell''s answer seemed to have only confused Theodore further.
.
.
Over at the battlefield, with the demi humans now joining the adventurer''s side, the situation had changed for the umpteenth time. The side of the criminal organisation was swiftly suppressed with the demi humans going all out.
They used the power bestowed within them to manipte the battlefield as they wished and tookplete control. Their powers and abilities were so tyrannical that within a few moments of their arrival, they quickly took the spotlight from everyone. Among them, three stood out the most as they went rampant across the battlefield. Blood flowed out like river wherever they went and only a nightmarish destion was left in their wake.
In just a few seconds, the air itself became nauseating with a thick scent of blood. Even for these gangs of criminals who were used to killing and seeing blood, it was a harrowing sight.
Chapter 767 767- Might Of The True Vampires (2)
Chapter 767 767- Might Of The True Vampires (2)
"R-Run¡" In front of such an overwhelming and striking disy of power, how could their morale not break.
As soon as they realised they were just sitting ducks waiting to be butchered, they immediately started running away. However, how could it be so easy to run from True Vampires?
Just as they started running, blood that had already been spilled on the ground, seeped out as if being pulled by some force and formed thin lines of threads that quickly ensnared and immobilised them.
"[Ephemeral Bloodweave] and then for the follow up [Ethereal Haemal des]" Ariel made a few hand signs and the many immobilised criminals were immediately turned into Swiss cheese by the thousands of des made of blood, falling from the sky.
"Hmph, this should be put me in lead. Let''s see how that dark elf is doing"
Muttering to herself, she turned towards Drow who was in the midst of killing her opponents like culling crops with the numerous clones she created. She was like an army continuously increasing in number with the blood of her fallen opponents.
After killing who knows how many opponents and dyeing her clothes crimson with the blood of her opponent, she turned towards Ariel and gave a smirk of victory.
Seeing that look, Ariel was instantly incited and started killing the gangs of criminals even faster. Who knew when, but at some unknown point in time, they startedpeting against each other over who killed the most number of enemies.
If Drow and Ariel who were the most smart and astute among Theodore''s kindred were already like this, so one could imagine what Diana who was all brawns and no brains, was like.
Sniff¡ Sniff¡ with her extraordinary sense of smell and other senses, she located the most powerful opponent amongst the enemy and went straight for him. Her speed breaking the barrier of sound, crushed any opponent that stood in her path and quickly arrived before Dieter.
Dieter who had just defeated a high level member of the resistors, sensed an intense amount of battle intent directed towards him and turned around only to find a Cienthrope Beast Kin looking at him.
"Oh? A beast Kin huh!! It is said that amongst the beast kin, the Cienthrope are a race that specialises in battle. They possess so much raw destructive power that it could be evenpared to some Apex races of this world"
"It is also said that they possess special senses that allow them to detect the strongest person in the vicinity. Although I don''t think you areparable to those powerful Cienthropes from the legend, you are not wrong in approaching me in the sense that I am the strongest here"
Dieter proudly dered. His eyes then was drawn towards the beautiful figure of Diana. He looked at her well bnced figure, lustrous hair, attractive curves and ck suit that entuated her beauty even further.
"For a demi human you are quite maintained by your master. Un, I have decided, once I kill your master, I will take ownership of yo..ugh" Dieter was unable toplete his sentence as a hand grabbed his face and lifted him up.
"RAWR~¡" With a primal roar that shook the very air, Diana grabbed the man babbling something in front of her and jumped high up with him in tow.
Gifted with the natural strong body of the Cienthrope and now granted with the extreme abilites of a True Vampire, Diana became a force that couldn''t be trifled with.
Her race''s already raw destructive power was taken to a whole new height after she became a vampire. Like a weapon of destruction polished and upgraded to the extreme, she was the definition ofpletion.
Whether it be her body or her abilities, it had reached a frighteningly destructive level. As could be seen how easily she neutralised Dieter who was the strongest member of the des of Ascension and jumped as high as sixty meters without breaking a sweat.
It was not only her athleticism and agility that needed to be feared, but even her strength was so. Diana did a few spins in the air and flung the man down with all the inertia and momentum.
BOOM¡
As one could imagine, being thrown at such high speed and from such height, did to the person. Dieter plummeted down onto the ground, creating arge crater in the process.
Clouds of dust and debris rose to the sky for dozens of meters and blotted the vision. Blood seeped out from the openings of his armour, his bones creaked in pain and his vision became ck for a moment.
The impact alone knocked all the air out of his lungs and almost made him lose consciousness.
Dieter was unable to believe what had happened at that moment. What kind of being was he fighting? Before he could think properly, he was forced awake by a loud sounding from directly above him.
The person who did this to him, wasing for him again.
"RAWR~¡" Diana shouted from up in the sky and came plummeting down right where Dieter was.
Her extreme physical strength allowed her to change directions in the air by generating great amounts of wind pressure just flinging her arms and legs. This in turn also allowed her to remain in the sky much longer even without the use of any flight skill.
Using her immense physical strength, she came plummeting down to the ground at a breakneck speed.
BOOOM¡ As if an artillery had been fired, the air shook with the sound of thunder. The ground trembled and clouds of dust and debris was flung in the sky once again.
The already big crater copsed even further and the ground ran with crisscrossing cracks. Though more than the condition of the ground, the one who was in a more miserable state was Dieter.
After taking on the full brunt of the air drop from Diana, most of his armour and rib cage was crushed, several of his bones fractured and he suffered heavy concussion. Although he was still alive, he had already lost consciousness.
His defeat was swift and overwhelming with not even chance to make aeback and all it took was a few seconds.
One need not even exin how short that was. Before everyone could even understand what was happening around this part of the battlefield, the strongest member of the des of Ascension was already defeated.
However, Diana did not just stop after knocking her enemy out, she picked him out of the hole and hurled him around like a club destroying and killing nearby enemies.
The side of the criminal organisation already had enough on their tes dealing with Drown and Ariel and now the image of one of their leader casually being manhandled around like he was an inanimate club, was thest straw that broke the camel''s back.
Their morale copsed and they fell on the ground defeated. Nevertheless, the nightmare for them was yet to end.
Who knew when, but at some unknown point in time, a sweet scent started spreading through the air. When these people inhaled the scent, the colour in their eyes changed to almost match that of the blood.
Their expression became savage, blood flowed out of their seven orifices and after a few more seconds, they started behaving peculiarly. They attacked each other, tearing and biting the flesh of the other like a maddened beast who had lost their mind.
It was not only them, such scenes could be seen ying out everywhere on the side of the criminals.
In the distance, Alia the Cat kin from the Golden Jaguar Tribe could be seen puckering her lips and exhaling some glitter like substance.
"Baneblood Hysteria Inducement" she slowly muttered under her breath.
It was not only the three kindreds from Theodore''s side that were running rampant across the battlefield, Maybell''s side were no different.
While Alia made the despondent and crestfallen crimianls to fight each other, Rob was currently taking on one of the five members of the Bales of Ascension, the Heavy Guardian ss Joses and sweeping the floor with him.
All the five demihumans were showing off their new powers and abilities and dominating the battleground.
.
.
Done with capturing the leader, Diana looked around for any other strong enemies. Although her senses did pick a few individuals, they were far too weak for her entertainment. Even their leader who was supposed to be the strongest, could not even take two blows from her.
Bored, she dragged Dieter along with her as she made her way back to her master when...
"Dieter!!"
On the way, the mage Alecia blocked her path. She quickly conjured several spells to attack Diana; however, most of it was either swatted away by her or dodged with minimal movements as if they were some poultry tricks and not powerful spells.
"Kuh!!" Seeing that ordinary magic did not even faze the demihuman in front of her, Alecia resorted to moreplex and powerful attacks.
She distanced herself from her opponent, erected a magic shield and started chanting spells for Seismic Magic, advanced attribute of Earth magic and several Amalgamtion magic of Intermediate Tier.
Using the lost tier [Shadow Chant] and [Concurrent Chant] skills and several other Mana consumption skills, she was easily able to keep up with the strain of casting so many powerful magic at once.
Under her maniption, the ground around her seemed as if it was made of water, as wave after wave rose up and rushed towards Diana as if wanting to bury her underneath.
Chapter 768 768- Might Of The True Vampires (3)
Chapter 768 Chapter 768- Might Of The True Vampires (3)
She also simultaneously made the footing around Diana like a marsh restricting her movements and slowly pulling her in. On top of that, she also cast multiple magic that created fire golems to zone her in a limited area and numerous Siesmic Shocks to increase the destructiveness of her spells.
Alecia went all out disying the power of a level 631 [Mystic Geomancer]. On any other asion, her spells would have a certain absolute result. Even if it was an army against her there was no going against such destructive spells.
However, unfortunately for her, her opponent was Diana, the only demi human out of the six who even after failing to inherit all of the powers of the Va, still survived the Trials of the Shadows and became a True Vampire.
If she failed to acquire all of those powerful abilities like the other five, does that mean that she was weak?
The answer was no. In fact, when it came to pure destructive power and strength, Diana was undoubtedly the strongest.
Although she did not gain many powerful abilities and skills, it needs to be mentioned that what she did gain was a body like none other. All of the powers that she failed to inherit, were instead absorbed by her body, tempering and altering it to such extremes that it became even more destructive and powerful.
Diana became a true vampire like none other. Facing Alecia''s spells, she lookedpletely unimpressed.
Just as the attack was about to reach her, she used the club in her hand and swung it with all of her might.
BANG¡ A deadly and berserk to the extreme wind pressure was generated that directly smashed against the waves ofndmass brought forth by the Seismic Magic Mastery, stopping its momentumpletely.
The wind pressure was so tyrannical that it directly swept away the swathes ofndmass and the golems rushing towards Diana. It only stopped after destroying four waves and numerous golems.
BANG¡ the club was swung again and another wind st was sent forth towards the caster.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ Diana kept at it, sending numerous wind sts and destroying all of the magic targeting her. Right after that, she mmed her foot down on the ground with enough force topletely sweep away the marsh like ground restricting her.
Using the force to propel herself forward, Diana quickly covered the distance between her and Alecia. Thetter panicked and tried to create a few more defence; however, a hurriedly created defence stood no chance against Diana''s brute strength.
The walls of bedrock shielding her crumbled like fragile ss until the magic shield was all that remained to protect her.
Unfortunately against an opponent like Diana, even the magic shield couldn''t give her a sense of safety for even a second.
For a magician, the Magic shield was theirst line of defence. It was said to be extremely tough and durable, capable of sustaining powerful attacks. The more higher level and proficient the magician was, the more durable the magic shield.
Frida for example, was a level 421 Elemental Spellcaster, yet the magic shield that she erected had enough toughness and durability to even stop a level 637 assassin like Arent for a while given that the other party wasn''t going all out.
From this one could see how tough thest line of defence of a mage was.
Alecia was level 632 Arcane Spellwever, her magic shield was bound to be more powerful than Frida''s. Yet in the face of Diana''s extreme brute force, it copsed like fragile ss unable to even hold on for a second.
The fist of pure brute strength continued forward unabated and squarely smashed into her. All that force and power travelled onto her body, destroying her willpower and putting her out of order.
Alecia was defeated and the time it took for Diana to aplish that, wouldn''t even be more than a few minutes. After defeating the mage, she dragged her body just like Dieter and brought it back to her master.
"Master.. rawr¡ Ipleted my task¡ rawr" purring cutely, she wagged her tail and came closer for a head rub.
"Good job Diana, as expected you are the first one toplete the job" Theodore praised, patting her head.
"Brother, the others look like they are almost done too" Maybell pointed.
Just like she said, the others too returned soon after practically sweeping the battlefield with blood. At this moment, other than a few from the des of Ascension, not even a single enemy could be seen standing in one piece on the ground. All that remained was a harrowing sight for all to witness.
GASP¡ the adventurers gasped, unable to believe their eyes. Just until a few moments ago, they were fighting with their life in line, trying to get out of this hopeless situation. However, just when victory seemed as if it was slipping away from them, it quickly overturned with the arrival of a new group of people that they had never heard or seen before.
What''s more the battle that they had been fighting with their life for so long, was over in just a couple of minutes with their arrival. The disy of power that they exhibited was so impactful that for many present here, it would never leave their memories for as long as they lived.
The remnants of the resisting adventurers looked at the blood soaked ground and death sprawling all over the ce and couldn''t help but gulp. The sight was so shocking and terrifying that their bodies trembled with fear and at the same time they felt rejoice from the fact that the new group of people weren''t their enemies.
Or else, by now their oue would have been the same as the ones lying on the battlefield with their bodies lying in iplete pieces.
"Shit¡ this.. what kind of joke is this? All the people on our side were killed and Dieter, Alecia and Joses were captured. This is not even funny¡ those demi humans there is something ominous about them. hey even defeated Dieter, there is no way I can win against them"
Muttering to herself, A who was fighting Cynthia''s group suddenly turned around and fled. With all of their forces annihted and their most powerful member Dieter down, she wasn''t foolish enough to stick here for any longer.
One couldn''t me her decision after all, who would have expected the arrival of a new group of demi humans who would wipe the floor with them? Escape was her only hope.
As for her teammates, the members of the des of Ascension never had a close bond like the other guilds. In here, every man was for himself. If you are strong enough, your efforts will be recognised and rewarded.
That was all there was to it, so about camaraderie, it never even urred to her. It was their fault forcking strength, her top priority was herself.
Being the high level assassin that she was, A quickly disappeared from everyone''s perception and melded with her environment until not even her presence could be felt any more.
"Dammit, we lost her. Where did she go?" Burg grumbled in frustration.
"What are you getting annoyed for, it''s not like we could have defeated anyway. It looks like she realised that she stood no chance on her own after herrades were captured. Thus she decided to flee" Marba pped the knight''s wide back.
"Huff¡ is this finally over?" Cynthia asked breathing a sigh of relief.
"Not yet, the one fighting with ke is still around" Alvara reminded, guarding her back.
While everyone rxed to catch their breath, Jordan of the des of Ascension who was fighting ke, suddenly broke away from him and headed straight for the twins.
"That bitch ran away but so what? I am still there, as long as I can take their masters out, those demi humans who had lost the ones tomand them, will not be able to move for a while. Using this chance, I will retrieve Dieter, Alecia and Joses, resetting the boardpletely"
Jordan nned his actions in his head as he ran. In his mind, he believed that the twins who were clearly the masters of the six powerful demi humans were weaker.
His belief was due to the fact that the twins looked like children and how strong could two children be? There was no way they were stronger than the demi humans.
Jordan increased his pace, even if they had lost the battle, he at least wanted to salvage it by getting the three who were knocked out, back. There was no reason for it, it was the only option he had.
After all, if he went back like this, his higher ups would no doubt kill him given the results. Not only was he unable to kill thest of the resistors, he had even lost his group and returned alone.
The disgrace and humiliation he would suffer not to mention the consequences, was something he did not even want to imagine.
Thus he rushed forward at full speed, his target the twins whose guards werepletely rxed. They were not even aware that he was approaching them at full speed.
A level 639 Wastnd Berserker in his full speed was faster than fast. In just a few seconds, he had already covered therge distance between him and his targets.
There was just a few meters of distance between them, Jordan gripped his huge round axe tightly, ready to go for the kill in the split second when...
Chapter 769 769- The Hidden Mastermind
Chapter 769 769- The Hidden Mastermind
"Please excuse me for a second master"
Alric who was standing straight and motionless like a pole beside Maybell, lightly stepped aside. At that very instant, his figure disappeared, he reappeared next to Jordan like a ghost.
He was fast, faster than one could even perceive him. In the split second that he disappeared from the side of his master, he appeared next to Jordan, removed the gloves from his right hand and lightly scratched the other party''s skin with his ws before reappearing next to Maybell.
Afterwards, he took out an umbre from his shadow and methodically unfolded it to cover her behind it.
What just happened? Jordan who was still in mid motion, felt the weretiger''s movements. However, thetter was just too fast for his eyes and even his senses to perceive clearly. Before he could understand what had happened in that split second, everything was over.
His body suddenly swelled with heat and in the blink of an eye, his entire body started ballooning. Like a disfigured monster, he looked ugly and hideous as he kept on expanding.
And then pop, just like a balloon he popped, his blood and gore flying everywhere.
Jordan was killed as easily as that. Even until hisst gore flying everywhere.
Jordan was killed as easily as that. Even until hisst moments he was unable to figure out what just happened.
"Are you alright master?"¡
"Yeah, thanks for taking care of me Alric?" Maybell smiled.
"It''s my duty"¡
"Hey, if you are gonna do something like that, you should say something beforehand"
Arielined, stopping the blood and gore that was about to ssh in their direction, mid air. None of the parties got soiled thanks to her.
"It looks like the High Elf is at least somewhat useful" Drow passed a snidement ash she walked by her.
"What did you say you stupid Dark Elf?"¡
"Enough you two, it looks like they are also done over there, let''s regroup" Theodore stopped his two kindreds from fighting again.
Over on Cynthia''s side, everyone was catching their breath now that everything was over. Adventurers regrouped with their friends and tended to the injured.
"ke, are you alright?" Frida rushed to the warrior''s side and tightly hugged him.
"Yeah, I''m fine. What about you?"¡
"Thanks to Her Highness and the others I''m alright" she pointed at the people behind her.
"Thank you your highness for saving Frida. If not for you all, I might have¡ " ke thanked.
"You don''t have to thank me, I saved her because both of you are my friend"¡
"That''s right ke, Frida¡ you are treating us as if we don''t know each other. Did the short years of separation make you forget all about us?" Piling up on Cynthia''s words, Alvara and the others started making fun of the couple.
"Haha, what can I say, I am so d to see you all and Her Highness alive. That said, how did you survive inside the dungeon for so long?" ke curiously questioned.
"Now is not the time, I n on telling you all about itter. For now, we need to n our next course of action. Although we have won here, it''s not like the criminal organisations have been defeated. To make sure of that, we need to take them out from the root"¡
"Are you saying that¡"¡
"That''s right, we are going to help you save your dear ones who have been held hostage back. Only then, can we unite all the adventurers and destroy the criminal organisations in the Tower Town" Cynthia exined.
The cause that brought the adventurers of the tower town together was to save their dear ones. However, they had little chance of winning the battle they were fighting.
It was for this reason that many of the adventurers either did not support them or were afraid to. Even the ones who joined were only doing so because they had no other choice.
Yet here was Cynthia saying that she would help them save their dear ones. How could ke and the adventurers not be surprised? They looked at Cynthia as if she was their saviour.
"I don''t know how I can ever repay you for this¡"
ke who became a little at the thought of being able to save his sister, was stopped by Cynthia mid sentence.
"I told you already, you don''t have to thank me. Besides, it''s not like I am doing it without any strings attached. I have my own reason for doing this" she spoke in an unequivocal voice.
"No matter what reason you have I am still thankful; no, we are all thankful for your help. I''m sure everybody here would no doubt agree to help you in return if we are able to save our dear ones. Am I right?"¡
"Yeah, leave it to us"¡
"We will do anything if we can save our loved ones".
When ke gestured at the adventurer behind him, all of them showed their gratification for helping them, promising to aid her in return no matter what.
"It looks like things are going ordingly on your side too, your Highness"
At this moment, while Cynthia and her group were bing familiar with the adventurers, Ate and Theodore''s group who met up with each other earlier, joined them.
Ate was dragging two people behind her, one of whom was the female assassin A.
"Yeah, that''s right. We were just done here" Cynthia nodded.
"If I may ask, but who are those people, your Highness?" ke asked the question that every people here wanted to know. The overwhelming strength these people had shown, their identity cannot be ordinary.
ke expected them to be some famous adventurers from the distant Maind. However, the answer that he received, took him by surprise.
"They are people who are going to aid us to take the tower Town back".
To take the tower Town back? Putting aside the fact of how difficult of a task it would be, the fact that she mentioned taking the tower town back, meant that she was not here to simply save the people who have been taken hostages by the criminal organisations.
Instead, she was here to defeat them and kick them out of the tower town. If it was anyone else telling him that, ke would have no doubt questioned the sanity of their mind. However, the one to say this was none other than Her Highness.
Plus, he had witnessed the strength of the people on her side with his own eyes. As such, it was definitely not an undertaking they had no chance at.
Understanding some of the ns and power behind the princess, even ke started to feel like it was possible to defeat the criminal organisations. He was finally starting to see light in this dark tunnel.
"Now that our task here is done, should we return back to our base?" Bert questioned.
"Not yet, when I was chasing these two, I heard from one of them that there is a hidden underground cer here somewhere that is used to keep the hostages. After they regain their consciousness, they can lead us to the exact location"
The one to answer him was Ate as she pointed at the two people she brought back. Hearing her response, everyone was surprised.
"So there really was a hidden cer here. Our information wasn''t wrong?".
Given the fact that they were double crossed by their ownrade, they thought that this ce was just a trap to contain them. Who would have thought there was actually an underground cer here?
"It''s surprising but not unexpected. Since we now know that there are hostages here that can be saved, our next course of action is clear. We will wait here for them to regain consciousness and lead us to the exact location"
After saying that Cynthia looked at Ate and the others and asked "Is this alright with you all?".
"Hehe, don''t worry princess, master told us to follow all your orders and aid you in any way possible. As such, no matter what you decide, we will follow you through" Ate replied in a mannerly voice.
"I see, that''s very helpful" Cynthia thanked before looking at the unconscious unknown figure beside the female assassin.
"Right, who is this person? I believe I haven''t seen him on the battlefield before?" Cynthia nced at the unconscious figure beside A.
"I found him in the forest, he was observing the whole battle from afar. I think he was an agent sent by the criminal organisations to spy on the people on their side, keep a tab on the whole thing and report it back in case things went south"¡
"Is this the reason why you didn''t join the battle?"
Ate nodded her head at Theodore''s question. It turned out that the criminal organisations did not trust their own people and had sent a spy to track their actions.
It was not an unusual thing but it was a good call from Ate to have foreseen something like this happening and thus intercepting the spy before they can reveal any information back to their side.
With Cynthia making the calls, everyone decided to rest here for the time being. Given her status and influence, not to mention the promise she made to everyone, it was no wonder that everybody started seeing her as their leader.
They all followed her instructions unanimously. Before long, A and the other less injured ones regained their consciousness.
The moment they saw Cynthia and the others, they tried to run. However, they were restrained by Emma''s sturdy strings making it impossible for them to break out.
Chapter 770 770- The Hidden Mastermind (2)
Chapter 770 770- The Hidden Mastermind (2)
"Let me go, unbind me"¡
In such a situation, all they could do was bark. "If you want us to release you, then tell us he location of the underground cer. Tell us where you kept the hostages?".
Facing Alvara''s question, A simply snorted. However when she saw Ate and the dark and dreary eyes of Emma beside her, a terrified expression appeared on her face and she immediately confessed everything.
"Please don''t kill me, I will tell you everything. The ce where the hostages to rein in the adventures of tower town, is a few kilometres away from here. Under thergest rock formation, there is a hidden passage artificially created that leads to the ce"
"However, it is just one of the cers being used to keep the hostages. I don''t know the location of the rest¡"
Cynthia and the others calmly heard what she had to say. To make sure that she wasn''t lying or that it wasn''t another trap, the same question was also posed to the other members of the des of Ascension who were caught alive.
The result was, she was telling the truth. All of the members of the des of Ascension gave the same answer. What''s more from the man that was caught by Ate, they also found out the location of another cer, making it two locations that they knew about.
"Near the Yellow cid Lake huh? If I''m not wrong, isn''t that ce in the northern region of the forest?" the adventurers discussed.
"Great, we found two locations, let''s go there and destroy the ce. Let''s save everyone they kept hostages as soon as possible".
The adventurers who were familiar with the geography of the Ghastly Winding Forest were already making teams to go and raid the ce.
Just as the momentum reached its peak, ke who had been contemting the information quietly in his head, stepped forward and stopped the adventurers.
"Wait, don''t jump the gun. Listen to me first, the Yellow cid Lake in question isn''t any ordinary ce. Putting aside the fact that it is in the northern region of the forest, which is filled with stronger monsters, it is one of the territory of the Three overlords of the Ghastly Winding Forest".
Three Overlords of the north, just hearing the name, changed the expression on every adventurer''s face. Their excited faces quickly turned ashen and all their energy seemed to have left their body.
Being experienced adventurers they were aware of the term the Three Overlords represented. These were three powerful monsters that resided within the northern region of the forest.
They were not only powerful but were also very intelligent having conquered their own territories by pushing the other monsters out.
All these reasons make them an extremely dangerous monsters for adventurers to face inside the Ghastly Winding Forest other than the Seven Kings.
"About that, you don''t have to worry about it".
A calm voice interjected. All eyes turned towards Ate.
"What do you mean?" ke inquired.
"It''s exactly what I mean, you don''t have to worry about the overlord of theke" Ate repeated.
The overlords of the Ghastly Winding forest had all been subdued and taken inside the dungeon by her master. They were no longer the overlords of the forest.
''Yellow cid Lake huh¡ isn''t that where that crocodile came from?'' she wandered inside her head.
ke looked at Ate with a clueless look for a while before suddenly a thought crossed him.
"Ah, I see. Why didn''t I think of it before? The Yellow cid Lake is as dangerous to them as it is to us. Incidentally, this also makes the perfect ce to hide the hostages. If the criminal organisations got rid of the overlord of theke, they could just use the ce for themselves since no sane-minded adventurer would ever dare to venture out there".
ke''s mumbling also woke the other up. Now that they thought about it, it made sense. Why else the criminal organisation would use the ce if they hadn''t gotten rid of the potential risk themselves?
Just the name Three Overlords evoked enough fear and rm in the adventurers that it made them subconsciously ignore such ces. Making it the perfect ce to hide the hostages.
"Great, if there is no overlord there, we can win. Let''s go save everyone"
With the threat of the overlord gone, the adventurers were once again filled with fighting intent.
They quickly divided themselves into three groups, one would stay here and monitor the overall situation while the other two teams would lead the raid. the underground cer here, the other would go save the ones that are kept near theke.
It was decided that ke would lead one team while the other would be led by Alvara the guard captain.
"Your Highness, once again thank you for your help" ke bowed his head towards Cynthia before moving on to ask a peculiar question.
"By the way your Highness, what would happen of the members of the des of Ascension? Why did you give them to those people?".
The reason why it was a peculiar question was because before the adventurers set out to raid the locations, Cynthia made it clear that they wouldn''t kill the members of the des of Ascension now that their use was over.
Instead, they would be given to the group of demi humans. Needless to say, keeping a powerful enemy alive naturally evoked many concerns. However, since it was the elite group of demi humans who were given the task, they did not say anything.
After all, they were the ones to defeat the members of des of Ascension in the first ce. However that said, it still weighed on the mind of others.
"You don''t have to be concerned about it. They are not ordinary people, naturally, they have their own means"
Cynthia did not exin much either. She knew what was going to happen to these people after seeing the precedence of Marcus. Nevertheless, she was not in a position to divulge the secrets, especially when it came to ''His'' people.
Getting the cue, ke tactfully retreated. Since the raid was a surprise attack, there were no powerful guards stationed in the two locations. The raid teams would soon return with the hostages.
However, before that, the team which remained behind which included Cynthia, the old assassin Bert and Ate and the others, were responsible for finding a base from where they could operate from.
Needless to say, with so many people on their side and the hostages that were freed, they cannot simply return to the tower town. They need to find a base outside the town.
"Bert, go scout the ce. Look for areas that are well hidden and have ample space" Cynthia ordered.
"Your Highness, you don''t have to worry about finding a base. We can just use any area of the forest, Maybell here can make that ce as imprable as an iron fortress while also hiding it from any outside perception" Ate suggested gesturing at Maybell.
"Is something like this possible?"
Cynthia was amazed, her eyes looked at the girl. No matter how she looked at her, she only seemed like a child. However, it was this child that had seemingly extraordinary power that was beyond her understanding.
"She has the power, Cynthia leave it to them" The Guardian Beast Leo spoke inside her mind.
Even it couldn''t perceive the true depth of power these seemingly ordinary children had. However, based on the fact that they couldmand those powerful demi humans it could tell that they were even more powerful or had enough status to do so.
Cynthia nodded and agreed to leave the task to them.
.
.
Five dayster, near a river bank located at the southern borders, hordes of monsters could be seen drinking water here. All kinds of species were present from high level predators to low level prey.
In one corner of the ce, arge inconspicuous formation wasid down, disconnecting the area and hiding it from the outside world. An invisible dome like film covered the area, making it impossible to peer inside.
The ce was used by Cynthia and the adventurers as their base of operation and to shelter the hostages.
Tents were erected all over the ce to shelter the people. Inside one such huge tent, all the leaders of the adventurers, Cynthia and her group were gathered. In addition to them, there were also the group of Ate and the demi human directly under the twins.
All of them were currently discussing something intensely.
"Our activities these past few days have been found out by the criminal organisations. They have started cing heavy guards to stop us from releasing the hostages"¡
"There were too many high level warriors in thest location, we were almost wiped out if not for the timely aid from Her Highness'' people"¡
"That is not all, the whole town is in an uproar. From the spies we ced there, I got to know that we are being hunted all over the forest. ke and the other''s faces are already on the wanted list"
"Yesterday I saw a few people scouting this area. Thankfully we have the formation isting us. However, I believe it won''t stop there, soon more and more scouts wille looking for us"¡
"This is a serious problem. What should we do? There are still a few locations holding people as hostages?".
The atmosphere inside the tent was heated. After the first raid five days ago, the resistance forces under Cynthia''s lead, raided many other locations that were holding the families of the adventurers.
Chapter 771 771- The Hidden Mastermind (3)
Chapter 771 771- The Hidden Mastermind (3)
By now, many of the cers were destroyed and families freed, leaving only a few locations that were now strictly being guarded by the criminal organisations. The security was so tight that even with these many adventurers, it was like facing an army.
The other sidepletely overshadowed them in terms of numbers, the difference was so vast that it was not even a properparison.
The side of the criminal organisation had the numerical advantage. On the other side, the adventurers had the aid from the insanely powerful demi human group led by Ate.
Their power which managed to surprise the adventurers at every turn, was enough to turn the tides of any battle. With them, the adventurers hadplete faith that they wouldn''t lose.
However, this battle was to save the families of the adventurers who were being suppressed and used as pawns by the criminal organisations. Their tyranny could only be broken by freeing the hostages which in essence was a stealthy mission.
The key here was speed and strategy, catching the enemy by surprise and raiding them before they could do anything. The whole mission would fail if the enemy killed the hostages.
As such, even though they could absolutely crush the other side, they could not move hastily, lest they lose the hostages they wanted to save.
All that said, it was not like the side of the resisting adventurers was at aplete disadvantage. The many raids they did on the criminal organisations to save the hostages, not only brought their names to the hit list, but it also made them stand out.
By now almost all of the adventurers in the tower town were aware of them. They now knew that there was a force that was directly opposing the criminal organisations with the motive to save them.
Sometimes, having even the tiniest bit of hope in the darkest of hours can be the brightest beacon of light. The adventurers of the tower town who had almost given up all hope and becamecent in despair, had a change of heart after hearing the news.
What they were waiting for wasn''t something as extravagant as a saviour whoe and free them all but a tiny hope in the form of a chance. This was their moment, many of them broke out of their gloomy shell and carried the spark of revolt.
This tiny revolution that started as a small spark, became a huge raging fire in the tower town now. The criminal organisations were already having a tough time but now they also had to divert their efforts to suppress the adventurers under them.
It was like fighting a war on two fronts, the criminal organisations were taking heavy losses. That was not all, knowing that there was a force fighting for them, many adventurers started making their own resistance groups while some joined ke and the others.
The fight with the criminal organisations was full on.
"Them tightly guarding the locations is not totally a disadvantage for us. See it like this, if they are tightly guarding a ce, it must mean that they are keeping the hostages there. This move of theirs could instead backfire on them since they are revealing the location of the cells to us"
kemented while looking at a chart on the table. The chart depicted the map of the town, the forest, the criminal organisations'' strength and various other things on top.
"It''s as ke said we can use this to our advantage instead. Now we know the other locations where they are keeping the hostages. The problem is¡ these locations are all inside the town. If we want to raid these ces we will need to enter the town; however, doing so we would not be able to avoid detection" Wyot agreed.
The other adventurers present fell silent. The tower town waspletely under the control of the criminal organisations, from passing merchant to bars and all important establishments and locations were all under their surveince.
Carrying out the mission to save the hostages under such a condition was extremely disadvantageous for them.
"If only we could divert their manpower and attention to somewhere else. Then we can just sneak in, rescue the survivors and safely escort them outside"¡
"You are asking too much, besides even if we somehow can divert their attention how will we escape their eyes? All the people in the town are under their control. We will be discovered even before we step inside the town"¡
"Dammit, is there nothing we can do?"¡ Meanwhile when the adventurers were trying to find a solution, Ate stepped towards Cynthia and spoke something in a voice that only the two of them could hear.
"What? Can something like¡ No, if it''s him then it''s no surprise. Alright, please do so, I will convince the others".
Saying so, Ate stepped forward in front of the adventurers and decidedly dered.
"There is still a way, everyone do not lose sight of our objective. While rescuing the hostages is our primary goal, nothing will change if we do not defeat the criminal organisations guing the tower town"
"Even if we save the hostages now, if we leave the criminal organisations atrge, things will only repeat themselves. To make sure that nothing like this happens again, where your friends and families are not taken hostages again we need to defeat them thoroughly. This is a perfect chance, since the other party is only expecting us to raid the cers, we can take them by surprise if we attack their base. This is the chance to take the Tower Town back".
SILENCE~¡
A serious atmosphere engulfed the tent, the various adventurers inside, all had a solemn expression. What Cynthia said was something they had all thought about at least once. However, they had been avoiding addressing it.
They all knew in their head that just saving the hostages would solve nothing, as long as the organisations known as The Vipers and Chaos Order stood, the same events as now would ur once again.
To stop that, they need to push the criminal organisations out of the tower town and take the ce for themselves. What the Tower Town has be now, was nothing like the ce the adventurers desired.
The ce that they once used to call home, the ce that was filled with adventurers, excitement, stories, riches and of course dangers¡ to turn into something like this.
What Cynthia said was also going through their mind, they needed to take the tower town back. After all, it was a ce built by adventurers for the adventurers.
"Is there a chance to win? I mean the opponent is a First Grade country after all?" one of the adventurers who had newly joined them asked.
After interrogating the members of the des of Ascension and other high ranking members of the criminal organisations, they were fully aware of who their opponent was.
The mastermind behind all this was not the Vipers or the Chaos Order, they were just the front, the true enemy was the First Grade nation, the kingdom of Eldoria. It was no wonder that many adventurers here thought that they had no chance in a full frontal battle.
"Are you doubting her highness? If she is saying to fight, then it must mean that we have a chance. Haven''t you witnessed her strength already? Besides, it''s time we directly attacked those criminals. Those people who took your loved ones hostage and oppressed you like a ve, don''t tell me that you don''t want to take revenge on them?".
Wyot got up from his seat and heatedly red at the adventurers. After finding his wife from one of the recent rescues, he became a devoted follower of Cynthia to the point where he would not tolerate even the slightest slender directed at her.
The intimidation of a level 400+ assassin could be imagined, it quickly forced the whining adventurers to shut their mouths and swallow whatever they were about to say.
After the ce became quiet once again, Cynthia continued¡ª
"I know what you guys are concerned about, so let me clear some of your doubts. We will not be fighting a full frontal war, you can be relieved of it. When we attack the criminal organisations, their attention and manpower will be divided. Using this chance we will attack their base and get rid off them in one fell swoop. Don''t be mistaken our first priority is still the rescue of the hostages. As such, as soon as we free your families we willmence our battle".
The adventurers looked at each other, one of them stood up and asked "Your Highness, what is your reason for believing that their forces would be divided when we attack them? Is there some kind of intervention happening in the tower town that we don''t know about?".
What this young adventurer asked was also in the mind of the others.
"A reasonable question; however, please forgive me for not being able to answer it. For now, I can only ask you all to believe in me and give it your all. I know I''m asking you all to put your lives in line without telling you the reason but please me when I say that we will definitely prevail over them" Cynthia bowed her head and requested.
Even if there were many adventurers here who came from other nations, who here did not know about the princess of Ellesmere.
She wasn''t renowned across thends just for her beauty but also for her tactical and intellectual acumen that allowed her to create a huge merchant chain that operated in multiple kingdoms like the Serene Pce Merchant Guild.
Chapter 772 772- Dungeon Overflow
Chapter 772 772- Dungeon Overflow
It was the case of her reputation preceding her. For a person of her stature to be bowing her head, one could imagine the impact it had. All the adventurers got up from their seat while her subordinates tried to stop her.
"Your Highness please raise your head, a royalty like you shouldn''t be bowing their head".
Despite Alvara and the others telling her to stop, Cynthia continued to bow her head until her feelings were conveyed through her actions.
"We understand your highness, we will believe in you and fight. Please raise your head"¡
"That''s right, we have already witnessed miracles happening before our eyes. We already have full faith in you, there is no way our belief in you will waver at this point"¡
"Yeah, we were prepared to put our life on the line since the beginning. Your Highness has helped all of us rescue our families back, our gratitude towards you couldn''t be exined".
One by one, the adventurers started showing their agreement. The atmosphere of doubt inside the tent was quickly swept away bringing about a positive and optimistic change.
"Haha, to quickly win the hearts of others with just her action, only her Highness could do it. These old eyes weren''t mistaken, she is truly the light of the Ellesmere royal family" her subordinates muttered in a low tone.
"Your Highness can rest assured that we will fight with all our strength. We will take back the tower town from them" With ke''sment, the n was set in motion.
"Un, I leave it to you all. Although I''m not proficient at forming battle strategies, I will also fight with you all. There is no need to worry about being discovered while sneaking inside the town, I have few connections I can make use of".
Although the number of merchantsing to the tower town has gradually decreased over time after the criminal organisation grabbed hold of the town, being the mistress of thergest guild, Cynthia still held a lot of influence.
If it''s the merchants who owed her, they would no doubt help her once they knew she was alive. She can make use of her connection to sneak all of the adventurers in without getting detected.
Time passed by, every detail and options were discussed and little by little, a n wasing to life.
It would not be long before these brave adventurers would throw the gauntlet of battle at the criminal organisations, toppling their tyranny and kicking them out of the tower town forever.
"Everything has been almost finalised. However, there is still one detail that is left. The date of the battle".
Every eye turned to look at Cynthia. If the adventurers here were captains and leaders of their team, then she was theirmander-in-chief. This detail was something that only she could pick.
Cynthia nced at Ate who gestured something with her hands before she stated. "How about three days from now?".
ke and the others nodded their heads.
"That works, we will at least need that much time to prepare all the equipment and materials needed for the uing big battle"
One cannot fight a battle with blunt tools and equipment after all. Basic rules of adventuring¡ª a weapon is not just a tool, it is your partner. You need to take care of it. The more well maintained and sharp the weapon is, the more it will respond to yourmands. Your odds of victory is only as strong as your weapons.
¡ªWhen going on an expedition always make sure you are well stocked on potions, antidotes, skill crystals, scrolls and various other things. You might not know what might happen in an unexpected situation. As such, having ample preparation is the sign of a veteran.
The adventurers not only needed to repair their weapons and armour, but they also needed to stock up on expendables that they already used in the recent raids. Three days would seem short finishing up all those tasks.
If it was before the adventurers would have trouble gathering even the basic equipment such as potions and scrolls. However, with the arrival of Cynthia, all those problems were easily solved.
She might have lost her ce as the princess and her kingdom was devastated, but she stillmanded a lot of influence and respect that she had built over time.
A few loyal merchants group who refused to believe that she was dead, came to the tower town to find her. Through their help, it was easy for the adventurers to stock up on their gear.
Before anyone knew it, three days quickly passed by.
.
.
At the dawn of the next day, a cavalcade of carriages carrying goods arrived at the east entry point of the tower town. Two guards who carried the badge of a green coloured viper in their armour, stopped the carriages for questioning.
"Which merchant guild are you guys from and what goods are you carrying?"
One of the guards asked. Although he posed a question to the driver, his actions showed no indication that he was waiting for an answer as he started ransacking the goods.
"Hoh? What''s this Alcohol huh? Hmm, it''s not bad"
The way he started drinking and taking some of the goods, it looked nothing short of robbery. However, the driver did not say anything. No, it was not that he didn''t want to say anything, rather he couldn''t.
The town he was entering was rather awless area with the criminals and murderers loitering all around the ce. As such, if he valued his life, it was better for him to ignore the actions of the guard.
The two guards who obviously belonged to the criminal organisations, did not stop there, they started tantly looting goods from all the carriages.
"Do you have the permit to enter?"
With a wretched smile on their face, they swiped their thumb and index finger in an obvious gesture.
Getting the cue, the driver quickly took a couple of gold coins and handed it to them.
"Hehe, we have received the permit, you can go now".
The horses neighed pulling the carriages forward. Just as the cavalcade was about to pass through the gate, one of the guards suddenly asked.
"Does all the carriages carry alcohol and food?".
The driver nodded.
Satisfied by the answer or perhaps with the harassment, the guards left to harass the others in the line. Had they been properly doing their duty and checked each and every carriage, they would have found out that, the carriages weren''t just carrying food and Alcohol but instead something much dangerous.
Something that would create a hugemotion on this day, surpassing all their imagination. However, the guards were unaware about it, the whole town was unaware of what was about to happen.
As the decisive hour slowly drew near, the cavalcade of carriages continued forward and came to a stop in front of a particr building. The signboard in front of the building depicted a beautiful white pce and four bold words¡ Serene Pce Merchant Guild.
That''s right, this was one of the buildings owned by Cynthia''s merchant group. To be more exact, it was owned by her first brother after her presumed death. Now with the prince missing and the news of the princess returning alive the loyal subordinates which still remained in the guild, weed her happily.
The door to the building was pushed open and a man who appeared to be a butler walked out.
"All preparations have beenpleted, please park the carriages at the backside of the building".
On the butler''s words, the carriages turned around and slowly entered the backyard of the building. The backyard of the building was arge space with big shacks built to receive the cargo.
Once the carriages came to a stop, the butler stepped forward and knelt with one knee.
"Wee your Highness, we have been awaiting your arrival".
The tarpaulin covering the cargo in the carriages was pulled open and multiple people walked out of it. They numbered over fifty, leading them was a violet haired woman with a stunningly beautiful appearance.
She was wearing a long robe with light armour underneath to protect herself. Even though she was dressed in amon adventurer''s garb, there was no hiding the inborn aura of nobility that she inadvertently released.
"It''s good to see you again menco. Are you doing well?" Cynthia greeted the butler.
menco was one of the few loyal retainers of hers whose loyalty did not change side after she was dered dead.
menco smiled, his eyes that contained relief, joy, delight and many other expressions continued to stare at his liege.
"I can''t exin how good it is to see you again your highness. As you can see, the merchant guild isn''t doing good. After your disappearance, the first prince took charge; however, His Highness barely had any knowledge aboutmerce. All he did was give us unreasonablemands and funnelled all the money he could squeeze from the guild into building his faction"
"As a result of which, many of our businesses failed, transactions halted and the market taken over. Right now, except for the branches located in the foreign nation, all our businesses have stopped"
"The conditions are even worse in ces that were affected by the war, especially the capital. After the first prince bribed and poached over most of the employees the ones that remained either left the capital after the defeat of the royal family for fear of their lives or went underground. However, now that you are here, we still have hope. Not only the royal family can be revived, but the merchant guild can begin anew once again under your leadership. Your Highness, pleasemand this old subordinate".
Chapter 773 773- Dungeon Overflow (2)
Chapter 773 773- Dungeon Overflow (2)
menco exined with a heavy heart. One could see from his expression and his tone how desperate of a situation the Serene Pce Merchant Guild was after Cynthia''s disappearance.
It could be said that the situation of the merchant guild was no different than the sinking ship. With the captain missing and several crewmates either switching ships or escape through lifeboats, he was amongst the few people loyal enough to still try and save the ship from sinking.
Cynthia looked at his old retainer, she could imagine what kind of hardship he had to go through. Meeting her today had rekindled the hope in him.
Nevertheless, it was a pity that she was unable to respond to his wishes. Things have changed drastically since then, it was not like before when she could give her all into managing the guild.
Right now, she was bound by a contract and no longer had as much free will as before.
"Stand up menco, we will talk about thister. Right now, I''m here for a different reason. I have already rified you about the situation through a letter, have youpleted all the preparations?".
"Your Highness does not need to worry, I havepleted everything as per your instructions"
menco felt that something was different about the princess; however, he did not question her decision and proceeded to show everybody inside. The store was nothing like what it was used to before.
There was not even a single item remaining inside the building to be sold or auctioned as everything had been looted by the criminals.
"As Her Highness instructed, I have used the Presence Istion Scroll on the whole building. Your presence cannot be sensed by anyone outside the building. However, if you step out, the effect will wear off. Additionally, the Presence Istion scroll will only work for three hours, after that, the effect will naturally wear off. If you are going to make a move, you need to do it during this window of time. Is it alright your highness?"¡
"Un, you did a good job menco?"
Cytnhia praised her butler''s preparedness. In this short period of time not only did he prepare a cavalcade of carriages with loyal people to sneak them in, he even got his hands on the Presence Istion scroll, an item that very rarely appeared even in the capital. His preparation could be said to be perfect.
"That''s great, now all we have to do is wait for the chance and strike them when the enemy ispletely disorganised" ke stated looking out of the window.
"The town looks all normal and silent. Will there really be an opportunity to strike them?"
It was no surprise that the young adventurers thought that after all, nobody was briefed about when and how the opportunity would arrive. All they were told about was to put their all when the moment came and strike down the enemy when they were distracted.
While the adventurers that newly joined them were anxiously discussing about the n, people like ke and Wyot who had been the part of the team since the beginning, were calmly assessing the situation.
They did not doubt even for a second that Cynthia''s n would fail.
"What did ''He'' say? Is it going to start soon"
Sensing the rising tension amongst the neers, Cynthia approached Ate and her gang and asked.
The sess and failure of this mission depended on the ''move'' from ''that'' guy. The n was devised based on the fact that ''he'' would make the first move. As such, she was waiting for that very moment.
"You don''t need to worry Your Highness. I just received a message from my sister, the n is already underway. Master said that he also sent an additional help. I wonder who it is? He didn''t even tell me" Ate exined with a smile "Just wait a little it would start soon¡ oh it already started".
As soon as she said that, the ground beneath them started shaking.
At first, it seemed like a small tremor but as seconds went by, the tremors intensified causing the whole ce to shake fiercely.
"What is going on? Why is the building shaking? Is it going to copse?"¡
"Idiot, it''s not the building, look outside the whole town is trembling, it''s an earthquake"
Surprised at the sudden turn of events, one of the adventurers pointed at the town outside the town. Just like he had said, it was not the building that was shaking, but it was the entire town.
People were scurrying out of their houses and running all over the town in mass panic.
"What''s going on? Why is there a sudden earthquake"¡
"What should we do? The hostages are kept in the underground cers. If the earthquake gets any more intense, the walls and grounds might copse on them"¡
"What should we do leader?".
Just as the adventurers were starting to panic, a stern shout brought them back to their senses.
"What are you all acting like headless chickens for? Getting frightened over some earthquake and you still call yourselves adventurers? Get a grip of yourself, in a few moments from now, we are going on a battle against our arch enemies. Before that, don''t loosen up".
ke''smanding shout woke the adventurers up. That''s right, this was just an earthquake, what was there to be afraid of? Haven''t they experienced much more dangerous and difficult situations before?
The adventurers quickly came to their right mind andposed themselves. Shortly afterwards, the intense shaking of the ground also stopped.
When it all seemed like it was just a natural cmity, an event that surpassed all their imagination, urred. The curtain raises for the true cmity. ROAARRRRR¡
Piercing roars came from one corner of the town followed by streams of people running and screaming away.
What was going on?
"That roar just now, it sounded like it came from monsters" Being the adventurers they were, the thing that they were most knowledgeable about was monsters.
Without even needing to see the creature with their own eyes, they could already somewhat tell what species and race they were with just by their howls.
"What the¡ look out, the roars were really from monsters" With one person''s emphasising it out, the rest of the adventurers also turned to look outside.
"It''s true, the monsters are running havoc in the centre of the town"¡
"They are Stromwolves, Warring Mandrills, Battle Bears, Fire Eater Rats, Killer Worker Bees and even zehounds among them. There are so many, where did theye from? Did they attack the town?"¡
"Idiot, the town is guarded by walls and sentry towers all around. If there was a monster outbreak from the forest, the sentries would have alerted the town. The fact that they did not, means that the monsters appeared from inside" Wyot walked towards ke and asked, "What do you think?"
"It''s just like you have said, it is unlikely that it is a monster outbreak. They are running amok everywhere; however, if you notice properly, they are mainlying from the east side of the town where the tower is".
"You mean they are pouring out of the dungeon? It couldn''t be¡" Wyot instantly caught the meaning behind ke''s words.
"That''s right, it is a Dungeon Overflow" Right as he said that, ke''s eyes could help be drawn towards Cynthia who seemed to be the least bit surprised out of all.
Did she know that this was going to happen? No, in the first ce, the diversion that she was talking about, was it the Dungeon Overflow? If so then how did she know about it? Who are those people next to her? What was their identity?
Unwittingly, ke found his eyes turn towards the people next to her and identally meet the eyes of Ate.
At that very instant, a bone pricing chill ran down his spine. He felt as if those eyes weren''t watching him, but his soul. He felt like a tiny insignificant thing in front of a huge mysterious force.
Hurriedly, he broke eye contact and only then did this mysterious feeling disappear.
"ke, are you alright? Your face looks pale?" Frida asked in concern.
"Huff.. huff¡ I''m alright, it was nothing" the former hurriedly changed the topic and dered in a loud crisp "Everyone get ready this is the chance we are waiting for. The whole city is in uproar with the outbreak of monsters right now. Their guard and security have no doubt bex. This is our opportunity, while our enemy is dividing their forces to counter the monster we will attack the underground cers at the same time and save all the hostages".
"Are we going to ignore the monsters?" A few adventurers asked.
Having fought some of these monsters before in the dungeon, they knew full well how strong and dangerous they were. If they were not dealt with properly, then the whole town would be trampled over by the monsters.
"At this moment we do not have the liberty or the manpower to deal with both the criminal organisations and the monsters at the same time. Our numbers are already very lowpared to our enemies, we cannot spread ourselves thin anymore"
"We will stick with the n we made as for the monsters, we will leave them to our enemies. Besides, I have a feeling that the tower town won''t be destroyed"
With ke saying so much, there was no longer any doubt remaining inside the adventurers. They straightened their gears and got ready for battle.
Chapter 774 Chapter 774- Mars
774 Chapter 774- Mars
"Thanks to sir menco, we already know where all the locations are. The criminal organisations have two more underground cers where they are keeping the hostages. One is in the south side of the town, and the other is in the north"
"Both of these locations are not far from our current ce. After we save the hostages, we will escort them back here. Sir menco, can I leave them in your care for a while?"¡
"Leave it to me", Seeing the butler nod, ke continued: "After we are done escorting, we will regroup in the east side of the town, in front of the two tallest buildings there. That is the headquarters of our enemy. Thanks to the monster outbreak, their numbers would be thin. We will cut through straight in and take the heads of their leader in one go. If anyone has any questions, ask them now?".
One adventurer from the group, raised his hand "What should we do if the enemy is too strong for us to handle or beyond our league?"
ke nced at the adventurer, the other party was a rtively young adventurer who was doing his best to hide his anxiety.
He did not me them after all it was a battle of life and death and the odds was against them. They did not know much about the enemy''s power, even the des of Ascension were outer members and did not know much about the organisation.
In such a situation where they were oblivious to the enemy''s strength, they were still diving headfirst into their territory. ke understood why they were nervous; however¡
"Diving into the unknown is that what we adventurers do? When you dive inside the dungeon, you never know what kind of dangers might lurk in front of you or what strong monster you will encounter next"
"We call ourselves adventurers because we have the ability to ovee all obstacles. An adventurer is someone who pulls through even the most challenging of situations. So if you find yourselves in a simr situation, ovee it with your willpower"
Gulp¡ All the young adventurers with limited experience gulped their dry throats and nodded their heads.
To lighten the pressure on the shoulders of these greenhorns, ke added with a grin "What? It''s a hundred years too soon for you brats to worry about fighting a powerful enemy. With us present, you might not even get the chance to make a debut".
The veteran adventurers thumped the shoulders of the young ones andughed. Soon, the atmosphere lightened up and the operation began.
Just like before, the adventurers divided themselves into two groups, one was led was ke while the other by Alvara. After the adventurers exited the building, it was only the Ate group remaining inside. Even Cynthia had joined Alvara''s team.
"Let us get to work too. Remember, Master said to keep the casualties on the side of the adventurers to a minimum. So keep in mind when you decide to help them. Another thing, we are not the heroes of this show, so try not to stand out too much. The spotlight needs to be on the princess and the adventurers she is supporting. Am I clear?" Ate dered.
"We understand Sister Ate. All we need to do is prevent the adventurers from dying right? My kindreds are more than capable of handling it on their own. I wonder why Master sent additional help. Who could it be?" The group discussed as they leisurely exited the building.
"I will go to the city''s south side and back up those people. Maybell, can I leave the humans who went to the north side to you?" Theodore requested his sister.
"Leave it to me, brother. I will not let those weak humans die" Maybell nodded in affirmation.
"What about you sister Ate and sister Emma are you guys going to act separately again?"¡
"That is correct, I n to monitor the whole situation from a distance and correct your slip ups that I know you guys will make. Emma will aid me in that" Ate replied in a matter of factly.
"I see¡ well I guess sister Ate will not have any task to do since we are not going to make any mistakes"
Leaving those words behind, Theodore jumped off. Maybell followed suit heading off towards the north side.
"Those cheeky brats" Ate saw them off before disappearing too.
.
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North side, in the backyard of a big dpidated building once used as a warehouse by a merchant guild, ke and the team led by him, quietly assembled. Fallen under their foot were the bodies of the guards protecting the ce.
"I expected there to be more of them. It seemed like most of them left to contain the monsters. This is our opportunity, let''s quickly free the people inside"
ke''s impatience was given after all, there was a fifty per cent chance that his sister who was kidnapped by the criminal organisations, was held here.
Led by him, the team of around twenty adventurers stormed through the back side of the building.
"Enemy attack!! It''s the adventurers, don''t let them free the hostages"
Theirmotion quickly attracted the attention of guards inside who hurriedly took out their weapon and engaged. Thus a fierce fight broke out between the adventurers and criminals.
ke led the charge, mowing down one enemy after another. At his level, there weren''t many enemies that could stop him and besides right now he was fueled by the adrenaline rush to find his sister.
No matter who it was, if they stood in front of him, they would be mercilessly cut down. Like a tiger that knew no fear, he cut through the enemy lines and appeared before the cells where they kept the hostages.
One of the guards there who saw ke approaching, randomly pulled out a person from the cell and pointed his sword on their neck.
"Dammit, what are the others doing? Allowing the enemy to get so far in" The man threatened "Stop right there!! If you value the life of the hostages, don''t take any more step further".
He knew that the goal of these people was to free the hostages they kept here. As such, as long as he held their ''weakness'' they wouldn''t be able to do anything.
"Kuh!! Let go of me. You bastards, my brother won''t forgive you all. He will definitelye to save me, at that time see what happens. It will spell your end"
The girl who was being threatened with the sword, struggled. She appeared to be in her twenties with a childish face and rebellious attitude. In terms of appearance, she was downright beautiful, with crimson hair tied into pigtails, blue eyes and fair skin.
Most importantly, her appearance resembled very much the man who just stormed in with the adventurers.
"Mona!!" ke eximed.
The girl turned her head at the mention of her name and was surprised to see the figure in front of her.
"Brother!!" She called out. Her eyes quickly turned misty as a surge of joy, pain, relief and various other emotions threatened to overwhelm her.
"Brother, save me!!" She cried out again.
"Hoh?!! What a turn of events, so he is your brother huh" The guard suddenly made a sinister expression as he nced at ke "If you value your sister''s life, throw your weapons and surrender".
His threats wouldn''t have been as effective when holding some other hostage. However, through some turn of fate, the prisoner he brought out to threaten the other party, turned out to be their sister. There was no way they would be able to act out now.
As expected, after seeing that it was the life of his sister that was at stake, ke obediently put his weapon down and backed away.
"Good, now tell all the people you brought to do the same. If I see you trying to pull wool over my eyes, don''t tell me that I didn''t warn you"
He brought the sword closer to Mona''s throat. A thin trace of blood leaked from her neck and caused her to groan in pain.
ke''s eyes immediately turned bloodshot. Nevertheless, with his sister''s life in line, he did not try anything that would put her in danger. He obediently turned to face hisrades and opened his mouth.
The criminal thought that he would tell the others to throw their weapons too; however, the words that came out from him were something else entirely.
"Frida, is it done?".
The man was confused for a second, what was he talking about?
"I knew you wouldn''t be patient enough to wait for long. That is why, I was prepared since the beginning¡. Lightning Magic Mastery- [Chain Paralysis]"
Before he could understand what was going on, the ceiling across the entire building started brightening up with arcs of lightning travelling all across the de.
In an instant, one two, three¡ numerous bolts of lightning dropped on him, paralysing and jolting his body away. It was not only him all the criminals in the building were electrocuted by multiple chains of lighting until they were knocked unconscious.
ke immediately rushed forward and held his sister, preventing her from falling down.
"Mona are you alright? Sorry I amte. They didn''t do anything to you did they?" he asked relieved to find his sister again.
"Un, I''m fine although they would sometimes scare and beat us up, they didn''t go as far as to kill anyone. But it''s all fine now, you are here" Mona aligned her head on her brother''s shoulder and felt all of her exhaustion and worry disappearing like magic.
"Healer, call the healer here fast" ke roared.
Chapter 775- Mars (2)
775 Chapter 775- Mars (2)
The location on the north side was sessfully captured. The adventurers released the captive hostages and exined the situation. Those who found their families, cried in joy and relief in their reunion, just like ke and Mona.
"She is fine, I healed all her injuries. She just needs rest, being held captive here must have drained her mentally and physically" the healer advised.
ke pulled his sister and carried her on his back. Now that the rescue waspleted, it was time to get the hell out of here.
"Those who are newbies, carry the hostages who can''t walk by themselves. The veterans make sure to clear a path for them. The town is overrun by monsters, make sure you don''t let your guard down".
Carrying the hostages, the adventurers slowly exited the building and made their way back to their base. On their way, they had to repeatedly change their route due to the monsters overflowing the streets and roads.
However, the monsters were the least of their worries as they also had to hide from the members of the criminal organisation who spotted them a few times but were beaten back.
Just like that, they made their way around the town. Weirdly enough, for some reason they did not encounter any strong opponent on their way.
"The building owned by the Serene Pce Merchant Guild, is just a couple of blocks from here. If we run straight, we ought to make it in a couple of minutes. Hang in there for a little more while"
ke spoke raising everyone''s morale. Although he said that to his teammates, it was in essence directed towards the nonbatants they were escorting.
"Alright, you can leave it to us, ke. We will make sure to properly protect them. That said, it is very weird. We havee in range of the monsters to sense us many times. Yet none of the times were we attacked. Even the ones that have heightened senses, ignored our presence and continued to attack the town"
"No matter how you see it, they are behaving weirdly. It is as if they do not care about us, destroying the town and causing Mayhem is their main goal" Wyot analysed.
"You are probably thinking too much. They are monsters after all, they do not care about what they destroy. We weren''t attacked probably because their focus was on something else"¡
"You might be right"
Although ke made up some excuse to convince Wyot, he himself was not convinced by his words at all. First, it was the princess predicting the dungeon overflow and then there were these monsters who kept ignoring them.
It wasmonly known that the monsters were feral and extremely aggressive in nature. They were ruled by instinct to kill and hunt and would attack anyone. Except for the sentient and aberrant ones that infrequently appeared, almost all the time that was the case.
However, the monsters overflowing the tower town, flipped that concept on its head. Not only different races were coborating with each other, but they were also moving in an organised way, ignoring everyone other than the members of the criminal organisations. Almost as if somebody was leading them.
"Your Highness, what have you been up to?" ke muttered to himself.
From the time of Cynthia''s disappearance and her miraculous return with strong individuals by her side and then this. If he connected the dots, a terrifying thought appeared in his head.
Nevertheless, since he didn''t want to jump to any conclusion, he quickly dispersed such thoughts and focused on his mission at hand.
The princess would never betray them, or else she wouldn''t have helped them to rescue their families. That''s right, what he needed to do right now was not to question her but to fulfil his duty to the best of his abilities.
On his mark, the adventurers and the people they were escorting, started running. The monsters were all focused on the ones that were fighting back providing them the perfect distraction.
Just as they passed the first two blocks and were about to reach their destination, ke came to a stop at the third block.
"What''s wrong ke? Let''s get the hell out of here while the monsters are still distracted" Wyot asked noticing his friend stop running.
"Please take her with you, I have something I urgently need to see"
Before he could get any answer, ke asked him to take care of his sister and swiftly took off. The direction he was headed for was where the monsters were swarming from.
"It can''t be, was I mistaken? However, there is no way I will forget that aura, the nightmare that still haunts me to this day. It has to be that thing"
ke muttered to himself, increasing his speed even further. Soon, he arrived on the rooftop of the Adventurer''s Association building.
Standing away from him, facing below was a figure watching the swarm of monsters flood the town. As if perceiving his presence, the figure turned around and looked at him.
Standing at a towering height, they had a physique that was the manifestation of both power and agility. Crimson horns grew atop their heads, like wicked thorns, they curved majestically while releasing an ominous aura.
The figure possessed two pairs of eyes strategically ced one below the other. They gleam with an otherworldly intelligence, glowing like coals in the depths of the night. Their body was enveloped in mes, burning from the shoulder des, the fire cascaded down to their shoulder like a mane.
Their feet which were caught in perpetual fire, left fiery footprints behind. Draped in ancient yet which still retains its undiminished grandeurs, the armour that the figure wore bore the marks and tales of battles long fought.
.
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At the same time¡ Dungeon Lace, Main Floor, White Pce¡
Simon walked inside the Main Hall after finishing his training. Waiting inside, were his closest aide and family.
As he walked in, Bea came over serving him tea and light refreshments. Simon sat down and enjoyed theirpany.
"It looks like your body haspletely adapted to your new rank" Irenemented observing his obvious growth.
Just like she said, be it his aura or his presence, it was nothing like before. He had not only be physically stronger, but the entire air around him had changed. It was like watching a calm sea suddenly be stormy and turbulent.
That was the level of change that Simon had undergone. That''s right, he had finally reached the Demon Marquess rank, standing at level 608.
After bing a Demon Marquess, there was no obvious external change. Instead, all progress was internal. He felt like an invisible ceiling that had been suppressing his progress and blocking out his view, suddenly disappear giving way to a clear blue sky.
He felt like he had soared, crossing one realm anding to the other. From this vantage point, the view that he saw was also different.
If he had to rte it, the change would be like an old piece of machinery getting a cutting edge upgrade. That was the feeling he was getting right now. He felt like he could do everything that his previous self was incapable of. Everything and anything came to him easily.
So this was Demon Marquess¡ Simon clenched his hands, he had stepped one step closer to his goal once again.
At the level and rank he was in, he could easily be counted as the top twenty per cent of the strongest people in the world. He was worthy to look down on the myriad life forms of the world.
Sparked by the Fragments inside him, the rank up not only made him more powerful, but it also boosted his ego and ambitions. Unbeknownst to him, his perspective and outlook changed. Whether it be his bearing or temperament, they carried a faint trace of arrogance now.
These changes were subtle, causing the person himself to be unaware of it. For him, nothing much changed other than him getting stronger. However, for those close to him, they could almost see those changes.
"Although I have reached the Demon Marquess rank, there is much progress that needs to be made" Simon replied.
It hadn''t been long since he had reached this rank as such, he wanted to try out various things and improve all of his skills and magic.
"By the way, how goes Ate and the other''s mission? Did they send any news back?"
He questioned looking at Irene. These past few days, he was busy trying to rank up as such, Irene was the one who received all the updates from his subordinates.
"It appears that they are doing well. They have already found the ones who are responsible for the current condition of the tower" Irene answered passing him an Echomir te.
"Hoh, they are already raiding the base of the criminal organisations huh? It''s a good thing that I sent him there. Cynthia is doing a great job too, just her influence allowed all the adventurers to band together under one banner. If she keeps this up, soon she will be the hero of the tower town"
Reading the progress made by his subordinates, a smile appeared on Simon''s face.
"Is this the reason why you sent them there?"¡
"Yeah, as you know even if I or my subordinates made the move and cleared the town of its filth, it would only serve to make the people of the Tower Town who were already terror struck by the criminal organisation, to be even more afraid. This would run contrary to what I want to achieve"
"The Tower Town will be the lifeblood of the dungeon in the near future. The benefit it would provide would be enormous, there is no way I will allow it to destroy itself even by my own hands"
Who could this mysterious aide be?
ViciousPepper
Chapter 776- Mars (3)
776 Chapter 776- Mars (3)
Simon answered looking up. Although he was staring at the ceiling, his gaze was in fact much higher up, at the tower town located right above his dungeon.
"You know that''s not what I was asking" Irene shook her head telling him that she was not asking about Cynthia.
"What I meant was, was it alright to send it up there? Haven''t you just recently given it a name? It hasn''t even adapted to its new strength yet, aren''t you worried that his new powers might¡"
"Don''t worry, I have known him the longest. Other than the Twelve Heroes, I have the strongest bond with him. That guy is the very epitome of loyalty. He would give up his life but he would never do something that would cause me any harm"
There was not even a trace of doubt in Simon''s voice as he said that. The being he sent up there to aid Ate and the others was one of his most loyal subjects and his firstpanion after he reincarnated in this world. Other than the Twelve heroes, he knew him the best.
"Even I was surprised at first when it came to me with that request. However, it all worked out in the end. The Naming Ceremony was a sess. I can''t wait to see how he will grow in the future".
That''s right, the being who came to Simon to give it a name the other day was none other than the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse.
"It was a good thing that you had ranked up or else there was a high chance that the Naming Ceremony would have failed" Irene mentioned, she was there during the naming ceremony.
"That''s right master, sometimes you do the most dangerous of things. Was there a pressing reason as to why you had to give it a name after you had just ranked up? Couldn''t you have waited after your rank increased again?" Bea added, her face still carrying traces of concern from that event.
Simonughed to relieve their worries and answered "That''s right I had apelling reason. When I saw it approach me, I could see the determination and resolve in its eyes. It had very much made up its mind"
When Simon saw those eyes, he knew that the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse wanted more power. Lately, its growth had stagnated and with him summoning more and more powerful subordinates, it felt like it had lost its ce as one of the most trusted subordinates of its master.
Even though it knew that Simon still cared about him, it wanted power. The Bloodthron Demonic Warhorse wanted to be his strength, the subordinate he could rely on the most. That was its goal, to be the most powerful subordinate of his.
Seeing through its determination, how could Simon back down? Even though there was a risk of him getting severely injured and the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse dying if the naming ceremony went wrong, as a man he couldn''t back down.
11:00
Seeing through its determination, how could Simon back down? Even though there was a risk of him getting severely injured and the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse dying if the naming ceremony went wrong, as a man he couldn''t back down.
Just like Irene and Bea had said, it was true that the sess and the risk would have been much less had he ranked to Demon Duke or higher before using the Naming Ceremony. However, had he waited that long then he would be slighting the determination and goal of the Bloodthron Demonic Warhorse.
Fortunately, the rank of Demon Marquess did not let him down. The Naming Ceremony was a sess and the Bloodthron Demonic Warhorse became more powerful than it was before.
What''s more, after receiving a name, it even ranked up and unlocked a new form. On the other hand, after giving it a name all of Simon''s mana disappeared and he was in a mana drain state for a whole day with it not showing any signs of recovery.
It was so severe that he was at a risk of dying. It needs to be mentioned that after bing a Demon Marquess, Simon''s MP was well above 600,000. Yet all of his mana was absorbed bestowing just a single name.
Had he given a name to a different being, it wouldn''t even have made ripples in his huge mana pool much less strain. However, all of his mana was drained just to bestow a name to the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse.
It made Simon wonder how much stronger it had be.
"Still, master I wonder why you chose to give it that name? Is there a special reason behind it?" Bea asked.
"Hmm? Yeah, I gave him the name of a fearsome fictional warrior who once mowed down the Imprable fortress of Helldor and ughtered an entire army on his own. His name is¡"
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As the figure slowly turned around, one could almost feel its robust and powerful aura almost bursting out of its body. Each step that they took, echoed with the sound of heavy armour, and their imposing stature resembled a battle hardened warrior.
If demonic might could seamlessly blend with the traits of a fierce warrior, then the figure in front would be the result.
No matter who it was, if they saw him for the first time, they would be overwhelmed by his appearance. The warrior was the living testament of the terror it strikes in the heart of its foes.
ke who saw it for the first time was no exception; however, his reason for getting overwhelmed was different.
The creature looked different but there was no mistaking it. ke was sure of it that it was the nightmare he had encountered that year inside the dungeon.
The creature who seemed like they galloped out of the depth of the abyss, the paragon of destruction that obliterated his guild. Although it possessed a humanoid appearance now, how he could forget the terror and despair that it brought?
Even until now, he was unable to forget it, the appearance of that demonic warhorse was etched in his soul.
"Hm? How did youe till here?" the warrior opened his mouth and questioned in a deep sonorous voice. Though more like a question, it was talking to himself.
"Who¡ who are you?" ke snapped out of his trauma and asked.
"Me? Why do I have to introduce myself to you? However, since you have asked, let me tell you the name my lord generously bestowed on me."
It might be just his imagination but for a second there, it seemed like the warrior was smiling.
"My name is Mars, you would do well by remembering it. Now then, let me ask you. Are you with them" The warrior named Mars, pointed at the members of the criminal organisations fighting the monsters in the distance.
"You don''t remember me?"¡
"Is there a reason why I should know you? Forgive me but I am not very good at remembering faces, especially the ones I have no interest in" Mars dered brusquely.
"Kuh!!"
ke was shocked. What was this guy saying? After crushing him and his entire guild, it was saying that it did not even know him. Haha, this was not even funny anymore.
ke was devastated, disgusted at himself and outraged by hisck of strength. If only, if only he had the strength to protect his teammates back then.
ke grit his teeth, gathering all his willpower, he tightly gripped his sword and pointed it at the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse.
"Hoh? Since you are pointing your de at me, then it means that you are one of them. Very well¡"
The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse now named Mars, did not mince any more words either and got ready for battle. The instant he got serious, it was as if the very air had be heavy as if some kind of invisible mountain was pressing down.
Cracks started running down on all sides of the the Adventurer''s Sssociation building that they were standing on.
Mars lifted his hands and brought it near his head. At that instant, one of the two crimson horns on its head, suddenly stretched out, extending as far as eight feet long.
The next second, he casually snapped the horn from his head and held it between his hands. The horn previously on his head had now be like a spear, dreadful and sharp.
rm bells started ringing inside ke''s head, he who had experienced the menace of the horn also known as Bloodthron first hand, knew how terrifying of a weapon it was.
He increased his guard further.
Whoosh... Wind blew¡ªin that very second, the opponent disappeared from his view. Almost at the same instant, the piercing noise of air being split apart, came from his side.
There was not even any time to think, ke instinctively moved his sword to the side barely blocking the attack.
CLANG¡ An intense metallic noise rang out and he was thrown back. Not good¡ now airborne he was susceptible to attacks.
"Heavy Armour"
Quickly, he used a skill that increased his weight tond faster. Having gained his footing again, ke activated all of his augmenting skills.
[Super Enhanced Strenght], [Super Enhanced Agility], [Ultra Enhanced Agility], [Ultra Enhanced Endurance], [Rock Skin], [Fortress] [Body Enhancement], [Superior Shield Guard], [scorching Armour]:¡ª [[Sr Protector]].
At this moment, ke erupted with a powerful yellowish red light. He seemed to have merged with his armour as his size ballooned bing bigger and bigger until he was as big as the Abyssal warrior in front of him.
It has been more than two years since that incident, ke was not the same weak him back then. He has levelled up a lot since then and has gone through a ss change. His previous rare ss [Crimson Guard] has now be the even rarer, [Srze Protector].
Chapter 777- Cynthia’s Passionate Speech
777 Chapter 777- Cynthia''s Passionate Speech
This time, their rematch would be different or so ke thought. The [Sr Protector] avatar that he merged with, shed fiercely with the Abyssal warrior. Each sh of their weapon brought extreme bursts of winds and shockwaves that devastated the area around them.
Their fight was so intense that the booming noise travelled far and wide, reaching the ears of his teammates and the members of the criminal organisations who were fighting to contain the monster outbreak.
CLANG¡ CLANG¡ CLANG¡ ke chained one attack after another, giving his all. Being a level 441 [Srze Protector] he was in no way weak, his talent could also be said to be superior to most of the adventurers in the tower town.
Even amongst those adventurers who came from Second or First-grade countries, he was extraordinary.
However, there existed a gulf that no amount of talent or extraordinariness could make up for and that was called the level diff. ke had made a huge mistake in judging the strength of his enemy.
Just because he could sh evenly against his opponent it didn''t mean that they were identical in strength. If ke had grown a lot since then, so did the ckthorn Demonic Warhorse who jumped from rank [B] to [A] after receiving a name.
That''s right, Mars was only ying with ke up until now, if he wanted to, he could have easily closed the battle in a matter of seconds. After all, there existed a vast level difference between them.
The current Bloodthron Demonic Warhorse as per the Adventurers Association ssification was no longer a [Disaster] ss, but rather a [Catastrophe].
The meaning behind the two words might be the same; however, the difference was of day and night.
BOOOM¡ Space shook, the moment Mars decided to be a little serious, all the air from the surrounding was immediately sted away, forming a vacuum.
The hand that was holding the Bloodthorn proceeded forward regardless of the strength his opponent put to guard himself.
In a matter of a second, the Bloodthorn overwhelmed ke, piercing his shoulders and pinning him into the debris structure behind.
"Kugh!!" he spat out a mouthful of blood. Even though the yellowish red avatar looked like a golem, the [Sr Protector] was in essence him. It taking damage meant his real body taking damage, it being pierced means his real body being pierced.
After suffering a critical damage the [Sr Protector] came undone and ke returned to his normal size. At this moment, heid motionless against the wall while holding his right shoulder where a huge hole was punctured.
"Your attacksck weight, give up you are not my match. I have other things to attend to, so let''s close this"
Mars lifted the Bloodthorn ready to end the fight when suddenly his concentration faltered and he became motionless for a second.
Seizing that window of opportunity when his enemy was distracted, ke immediately rushed forward and dealt a powerful blow. The sword in his hand erupted with a brilliant light, creating dozens of sword auras.
CLANG¡ CLANG¡ BOOM¡ The sound of his attack connecting was deafening, the powerful energy wave blew Mars back and created a small storm.
The attack just now concentrated all of his power, it ought to do some damage. ke knew that defeating his enemy was a foolish hope; however, he at least wanted to deal them some damage before he died.
Whoosh¡ in the next instant, the dust was swept away by a powerful gust of wind and the figure of Mars slowly appeared from the debris. Be it his presence or the fluctuation of his aura, nothing about him had changed.
It looked like the attack did nothing to him; however, despite that ke had a smile of victory on his face as if he had won.
"The attack was not bad. I''ll take this scar as a recognition of your strength" Mars muttered.
If one looked carefully, one could see that there was a small cut in his armour. That''s right, ke''s attack earlier did manage to do some damage to Mars regardless of how insignificant that was. It was for this very reason that he was smiling in victory.
What was there to be so proud about a small cut that did not even manage to bypass the armour? If anyone didn''t know about the history between ke and the Bloodthron demonic warhorse, they would obviously think that.
However, those in the know would understand that this was a sign of his growth. In his first battle, ke was helpless against his enemy, he couldn''t evennd a single blow and was knocked unconscious from their single attack.
In their rematch after more than two years, although he was still no match for his enemy, he could at leastnd a few blows and even chink their armour. This was a result he couldn''t have achieved without a sufficient leap in strength.
"What is your name warrior? In recognition of your strength, I shall do you a favour by remembering your name?" Mars asked staring straight at him with its four pitch ck eyes.
"It''s ke¡ from the Burning Arrows Guild"
ke replied, he thought that the other party asked his name as a courtesy before he ended his life.
However, to his surprise after uttering the words ''I see¡ then let us fight again in the future if our oaths cross'' the warrior from the abyss left.
ke was left in a state of surprise, the moment he challenged Mars in a moment of brashness, he knew that his chances of returning alive were less than 1 per cent. However, for some mysterious reason, his opponent who was ready to deal him the finishing blow, suddenly changed their mind and left.
ke had survived, as hey there gazing nkly, he understood from his wildly beating heart and his cold hands, how close to death he was.
It would be a lie to say that he was ready to die after all, he still had his sister Mona and various responsibilities that he needed to shoulder. He couldn''t just die and discard all those responsibilities.
"Kuh!!" ke grabbed the hideous wound on his shoulder and grimaced "I have lost so much blood, I need to take care of this wound soon".
"Ah!! Found him, he is there. Quickly, support him, he is wounded"
He heard some familiar soundsing from the direction he came. It appeared that Wyot and the others came to get him after escorting the families of the adventurers back.
"Why are you¡?" ke wanted to ask but the next second he shut his mouth when he saw his sister among the adventurers running towards him while crying.
Indeed, it appears that he cannot die¡
.
.
The adventurers had sessfully raided the two locations and had freed all of the hostages that were being used to suppress the adventurers of the tower town. Now with their ''weakness'' no longer in the hands of their enemy, they are free, they no longer have to listen to what they have to say.
Inside the Serene Pce Merchant Guild building, all the adventurers assembled. With the first part of their n being a sess, it was time to start the second phase.
Saving the families of the adventurers who have been taken hostage was only the beginning, their true objective was to defeat the criminal organisation and kick them out of the town.
Now that the other side had lost their most important card that kept the adventurers obedient to them, and their members scattered all around the town, it was the opportune time to attack the criminal organisation''s base.
However, on their own, with their insignificant numbers, it was not possible to destroy their headquarters and defeat all of their members. To make this n work, they would need the help of the adventurers of the tower town.
It begs mentioning that a significant force of the criminal organisations were the adventurers. If they could persuade the minds of the adventurers and win them over to their cause. The number disparity will quickly overturn.
After all, in the town of the adventurers, the people you would find the most are the adventurers. With all of them on one side, their chance of victory would rise even higher.
"You Highness, as per your instructions I have prepared the High Frequency Transmission Conch and have installed them all around the town. All the people of the town would be able to hear you clearly with this" The butler menco handed a transmission conch to Cynthia.
Thetter extended her hands and took the conch. The next part of the n depended on her. No matter what, she needed to make it a sess. Taking a deep breath, sheposed her mind before speaking into the transmission conch.
Zzzz¡ Zzzz¡. At this moment, static sound could be heard all over the town. Whether it be the members of the criminal organisation, the adventurers, the merchants, the ves or simple people who came to the tower town to make a living, all of them turned their heads in confusion.
[Adventurers of the Tower Town, hear me! For too long, you haveboured under the dark shadow of the criminal organisations that sought to chain you with tyranny and strip away your freedom. No more! Today marks the dawn of a new day, a liberation from the shackles that bound you to their selfish will]. Who was talking? The people of the tower town had the same question.
"Look over there, it''sing from that direction" Someone pointed.
"It''sing from over there too. What the?! Who installed the High Frequency Transmission Conch all over the town?".
Chapter 778- Cynthia’s Passionate Speech (2)
Chapter 778- Cynthia''s Passionate Speech (2)
778 Chapter 778- Cynthia''s Passionate Speech (2)
While the members of the criminal organisation became enraged, the transmission kept on continuing.
[Your families and loved ones who were held hostage to force you into submission, have all been freed. The chains that bound you have shattered, and we stand here today with a choice. A choice that was once denied to you]
[There is no longer any need for you to listen to the selfish and tyrannical orders of those who sought to exploit you. No longer do you have to toil like ves, serving their every whim. The time for subjugation is over and all of this was only possible thanks to some of the adventurers who even while being threatened and suppressed chose to fight against our enemies. It is thanks to the efforts of these brave warriors who put their lives on the line to rescue us all from the cruel envement and give us freedom]
[These courageous adventurers who plunged the gauntlet of war against the criminal organisations and are at this moment fighting a desperate battle. The enemy is strong, their numbers far higher than us. However, they still struggle. Why? It''s because we are adventurers, we are free spirited people and not some ves. We fight to save our loved ones, we fight for this town]
Cynthia''s impassioned speech reverberated all across the town causing many to stop for a moment and listen to her.
Inside the Serene Pce merchant building, ke, Alvara and the other adventurers got ready to head out after receiving some light treatment.
"ke, you shouldn''t push yourself. You just received a critical wound. Maybe you should stay at the backlines during the raid"
Frida spoke in concern. A few hours ago, the man had suddenly run off somewhere only for them to find him in the middle of a war torn area with a gaping hole in his upper body.
"Don''t worry, the wound missed my bones. If I don''t move the area much, I should be fine. Besides, we are currently going off to face the criminal organisation. Even having double or triple our numbers, wouldn''t suffice"
"Her Highness is doing her best to gather more reinforcements; however, there is no guarantee that those adventurers would fight with us, just because they are free now. In a situation like that, I cannot be sitting back at the backlines"
It was as ke said, there was no way of knowing what the situation would be until the end. Frida could only back down and choose to stay close to him in case he needed her aid.
Making their final preparations, the adventurers exited the building and headed for the criminal organisation''s base.
Outside, Cynthia''s speech continued to sound, reaching all the people of the tower town.
[This town is the adventurer''s home, it is not theirs to control. It belongs to you all¡ªthe resilient, the brave, the free. Brave adventurers hear me, we stand at a crossroads. Right now in the eastern district of the town, where the base of the criminal organisation is, a fierce battle is going on]
[The heroic adventurer who freed us all and rescued our families are currently fighting with the enemies. However, we are outnumbered both in numbers and strength and urgently need your help. Brave warriors of the town, it''s time to make a decision. We can unite and stand against the Criminal organisations or forever be their unwitting pawn. Remember, our choices will shape the destiny of the Tower Town]
[Let our unity be a beacon that guides us. Let our determination be a force that propels us forward. Today, let us forsake our identities and fight not as Adventurers, ves, nobles or merchants but as free men and women. We fight for our town, for our families, for the right to determine our own fate. Free people of the town, hear the call of freedom! I am Cynthia Augusta Ellesmere, the princess of the Kingdom of Ellesmere. Stand with me, stand with each other, and let us face the enemy together. Our victory is not just the defeat of those criminals but the triumph of the indomitable spirit that resides within us all. Onward, everyone, for the Tower Town!]
The transmission stopped and Cynthia''s speech was over. However, the indomitable spirit that she spoke about, quickly spread amongst the people of the town, swaying minds and persuading hearts.
CLAK¡ the transmission conch fell from Cynthia''s hand, her figure staggered and she was just about to fall when Ate behind her supported her.
"This is all I can do with my current strength" she spoke softly.
"You did more than your part, your highness. I''m sure that after hearing your passionate speech, quite a lot of minds would be changed".
Ate wasn''t just throwing empty words, she could actually see the spark of rebellion that Cynthia ignited inside the hearts of the people, spreading all across the tower town like raging fire.
People whether it be old or young, Adventurers or ves, all of them started having a change of mind.
The impassioned speech that she gave, no doubt managed to capture many hearts, inspired and stimted them to rebel. However, more so than her speech the fact that it was her who was standing with them, leading them, made the most effect.
"Did you hear that? It''s Princess Cynthia, she is trying to help free all of us adventurers. Truly, she is the pearl of our kingdom"¡
"Princess Cynthia? Isn''t she dead? I heard that she fell into the dungeon and went missing. Is she really your princess"¡
"Shut up you outsider, don''t slender our princess. There is no way she died, this must be a conspiracy of her brothers"¡
"That''s right, she has such a beautiful and noble soul, even god can''t bear to kill her"¡
"Well whatever, I don''t know about gods and all, but if she can free me, then I will fight with her. Let''s show those arrogant sons of bitches who have been ordering us left and right, who adventurers are".
The people of her kingdom were so, but she managed to even grasp the hearts of those who came from the other kingdoms. What''s more, this small ripple was only the precursor of a bigger wave that was about toe.
"Quickly pass this message to every adventurer in the tower town fighting the monsters and even the ones inside the dungeon, that they no longer have to take orders from the members of the criminal organisation. Their families are safe and sound and nothing is holding them back from standing up for themselves anymore"¡
"Yes, tell everyone that the princess is alive and is leading us adventurers to get rid of the Criminal organisations".
While the spark of revolution was being lit everywhere around the town, in the eastern district near the headquarters of the Criminal organisation. Fighting the outbreak of monsters, was a group of fighters fully decked out in high ranking armours and releasing a powerful aura.
At this moment, they wore a scornful and mocking face as they sat atop a mountain of monster corpses.
"Cynthia Augusta Ellesmere? I don''t know how she survived, but even if she is the one leading you guys, you still don''t have a chance to beat us"¡
"Just because they managed to defeat some no name guilds under us, did they think that defeating us is also that easy? Do they even have any idea who our leaders are?"
The man looked at the adventurers of the tower town below who were being used as meat shield and asked.
"Na tell me, does your princess think she can defeat the Astral Strider and the White Beast, the two title rankers who rank above 3000?".
The adventurers below trembled in fear as the gaze of the mannded on them. They couldn''t utter anything in return, after all, they knew the true strength of the two criminal organisations.
The des of Ascension guild who they thought were so powerful, were only just the tip of the iceberg. The really strong members were the ones currently standing in front of them.
"Haha, why are you asking these weaklings, these pacified cowards who don''t even have the guts to raise their weapons against us anymore? Let theme, we will show them that they don''t even deserve to get close to our leaders"
The membersughed. At this moment, their senses suddenly picked up multiple presencesing towards them from the direction of the tower.
"More monsters? Man, I''m getting tired of these small timers, ain''t there a big powerful monster somewhere?"¡
"It''s good that you are ¡.. but don''t get too caught up in it. Remember our orders, we need guard and stop the monsters here before they can get anywhere near the headquarters"¡
"Haha, you are right. But man why do I feel like the monsters are ignoring the other ces and keep pouring here? Well, whatever, since I am bored I will clean all of them myself. The warrior holding an impressive looking spear, spoke and slid down the mountain of corpses.
Even when facing the onrushing horde of monsters, his expression looked bored andzy as if there was no energy in him at all. His spear shed, ripping through the air they produced multiple spear auras that quickly swept all the iing monsters away, bisecting and killing them instantly.
A rain of blood fell, followed by hordes and hordes of more monsters pouring in. It was like a festival of tomatoes with blood and gore littering the streets and walls red.
Chapter 779- One Man Army
Chapter 779- One Man Army
779 Chapter 779- One Man Army
"Too weak, too weak¡ it''s not exciting at all" Muttering to himself the warrior of the spear threw his weapon like a projectile at the iing hordes of monsters.
Like a dragon sweeping through thend, the berserk energy imbued inside the spear was so powerful that itpletely decimated the horde. It didn''t matter if the monsters were in front of its trajectory or around it, everything and anything was ripped apart by the sheer force surrounding the spear.
Like a weapon of mass killing, it did a huge AOE damage.
The spear continued forward, decimating everything. Just when the warrior was about to recall his spear back, it suddenly struck something and for the first time in a while, the spear came to a stop.
"Hoh? What''s that? Something was able to catch my spear?!"
The warrior in spear muttered in curiosity as he looked in the distance. Past the corpses and corpses of monsters, there was something ck slowly approaching them.
At the same time, on the rooftops of the nearby buildings, the six True Vampires led by their two Progenitors assembled.
"What''s this? We were a step toote, that guy found them earlier than us. What do we do master? Should we join hands?"
Drow asked, kneeling on one knee in front of Theodore and Maybell. The others too followed suit, waiting for instructions.
"Brother, what did sister Ate say?" Maybell asked from the side.
The situation was quite different from what they had been familiarised about. They were the ones who were supposed to take on the strong members of the criminal organisation while leaving the weak and moderately strong ones to the adventurers.
However, with ''his'' arrival, things had diverted from their course, causing them to no longer be able to rely on the n.
Theodore''s eyes continued to stare at the figure in the distance, it was only after some time that he replied¡ª
"We wait and watch. Sister Ate said that the n had changed with his arrival. We need to improvise as per the situation demands. In any case, she told us not to get involved with him and to maintain our distance. Even I am confused. Anyways for now let''s see how he handles things".
Back at the scene, after stopping the warrior''s spear, the ck figure walked towards them. Walking in its two bipedal feet, the entity was decked out in an impressive ancient armour.
Two crimson horns twisting strangely and majestically, adorned its head. It had four pitch ck eyes and was covered in mes. As it slowly stepped forward leaving fiery footprints, one could almost mysteriously hear the nging noise of its armour hitting the ground.
The atmosphere changed with its appearance, causing all the battle hardened fighters in the area to instinctively turn their eyes towards him.
"What the hell is that thing?"¡
"A new kind of monster perhaps?"¡
"A monster? I haven''t seen a monster like that. Could it be the reason for the Dungeon Overflow?"¡
"If it''s as you say, then it means the being in front is an Abberant!!"
The members of the criminal organisations discussed. It was hard to recognise the being in front as human nor did it look like your typical monster, making it hard to make a differentiation.
That being said, the fact that it was surrounded by monsters and came from the direction where the dungeon was, it was not hard to assume that it was the leader of the monsters, the anomaly that caused the Dungeon Overflow.
In any case, there was no doubt that it was their enemy.
"I don''t know much about Abberations but isn''t the dungeon just a [C] rank intermediate tier dungeon?" the warrior of the spear asked in confusion.
It was only at this moment that the others realised that something was wrong. The Dungeon Lace was just an intermediate tier dungeon, how could it produce an Abberant?
"Well, Aberrant or not, since it was able to survive my spear, then it means it''s somewhat strong. Before that Princessess'' ''Brave Warriors'' arrive, I think I will kill my boredom fighting that thing till then"
Saying so, the spear warrior rushed forward, jumping from wall to wall. He extended his hands and the spear that was caught by the mysterious figure, broke free and returned to him.
"Hehe, I don''t know who you are or what you are, but I Lexus of the Thunder will be your opponent"
Lexus introduced himself brandishing his spear. Every time he waved his weapons, the rumbling noise of thunder would apany it. That was not all, if one looked carefully, they would also be able to see thin arcs of crimson lightning running through the body of the spear, giving it its crimson look.
There was no denying it, the spear was a high ranking weapon, possible [S] tier.
Facing Lexus, the figure continued its stride unabated as if he couldn''t see him.
Hmph¡ Lexus snorted, spun his spear and assumed a lunging position. Berserk crimson thunder, emitted out of the spear, covering it entirely in crimson and appearing just like a bolt of thunder.
RUMBLE¡ Just as the figure stepped into his range, Lexus hurled the spear forward. Just like a bolt of thunder, when it was let loose it produced a deafening rumbling noise and sped forward with the exact same intensity.
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RUMBLE¡ Just as the figure stepped into his range, Lexus hurled the spear forward. Just like a bolt of thunder, when it was let loose it produced a deafening rumbling noise and sped forward with the exact same intensity.
The abyssal figure or more urately Mars, stopped his advance at this moment and nced at the oing projectileunched at him. He brought out his own weapon, the Bloodthorn and shed against it.
BOOOM¡ at that very instant when the spear and the Bloodthron collided, there was a blinding sh followed by arcs of thunder being discharged everywhere. Buildings after buildings which were hit by the thunder copsed down, covering the entire street with dust.
"Oi.. Oi¡ would you look at that? Using your signature skill, [Extreme Lightning Blitz] as your opening attack, didn''t you say that you wanted to kill some time before those idiotic adventurers fooled by the sweet words of their princess, arrived?"
One of the fighters standing atop the mountain of corpses said. They were donned in an extraordinary robe and were aligning against a huge Cross they used as their staff.
"Shut up Ma, just because your rank is higher than mine, don''t tell me what to do"
Lexus snapped back. Although they were currently working for the same side, it didn''t mean that they were allies. In fact, all eleven of them who were currently the top executives of the Viper and Chaos Order, came from different nations and ces and were practically strangers to each other.
If not because the money or incentive they were provided was enough to win them over, they wouldn''t even work together because of the pride they possessed. After all, all of them were once a renowned rankers in their own right before they were cklisted by the Adventurers Association for their actions and crimes.
However, when they were still an active adventurer recognised by the association, their rank was above 5000.
At first thought, the number might not sound so impressive. However, these numbers that the Adventurer Association assigned to the adventurers weren''t just ordinary numbers but represented something much more grand and overarching.
In the vast expanse of the Central Continent there exists an uncountable number of talents and mighty warriors. Yet among these uncountable talented warriors, only a select few are given the title of Rankers.
Rankers, they are the most extraordinary, the finest of all the talents out there. Picture, if you will, the sprawlingndscapes and teeming cities of the Central Continent, each corner echoing with tales of valour and strength.
Yet, within this vast tapestry, only the select few emerge as the embodiment of might¡ªthe rankers. Their very existence signifies a pinnacle of power, a testament to the fusion of innate talent, honed skill, and the extraordinary heritage encoded in their blood.
When one bes a Ranker, they have surpassed the limits of human capability and have stepped into the realm of their own. They have be titans revered and feared all across the central continent.
That said, there are only a limited number of seats that these titans can upy, the Adventurers Association categorise these seats as the, 10,000 Rankers.
The number represents the top ten thousand strongest people in the Central Continent. To be chosen among the 10,000 and bing a Ranker, is to ascend the echelons of the finite strongest and bing the very embodiment of might.
That is what being one of the 10,000 meant. Furthermore, it is generally known that the lower one''s number was, the closer they stood to the zenith of this elite group and the more formidable their strength and their legendary feats were.
So from the number 5000, one could imagine how powerful this group of eleven people were. Each and every one of them had long surpassed the legendary level of 700 and stood somewhere between theter level of 750-800.
That was how powerful they were. Naturally with unmatched strength, came unmatched arrogance, all of these people who stood on the mountains of monster carcasses, thought that they were the strongest and weren''t willing to listen to anyone other than the two organisational leaders.
"Snort, do as you want, but don''t destroy the town. I don''t want to be held responsible for the destruction you caused" Ma uttered in annoyance.
"You don''t have to tell me. Anyway, I think we are done here. I don''t think that Abberrant or whatever it was, survived my attack"
Chapter 780- One Man Army (2)
Chapter 780- One Man Army (2)
780 Chapter 780- One Man Army (2)
Since his field of vision was blocked by the clouds of dust, Lexus wasn''t able to see what happened of the ck figure. However, he was confident that his skill was able to do the job.
Assured in his victory, he extended his hand in an attempt to recall his spear back. A crimson light shed in the distance and rushed at Lexus.
Just when he was about to grab it, his acute senses cultivated through multiple battles, sent rm bells ringing in his head. Hurriedly, he tried to retract his hand; however, it was already toote.
With a ssh sound, the crimson light prated through his hand and went straight for the members of the organisation behind him.
CLANG¡ a huge cross shed against the crimson light, barely stopping its advance. With its momentum gone, one could finally see what the crimson light was.
"Thunder Spear?! Oi Lexus, what the hell are you doing aiming that thing at us?" Ma was just about tosh out, when he noticed an arm dangling just a few inches away from the spear.
Surprised, he turned towards Lexus only to see him with an arm missing and blood pouring out of his side.
What just happened?
It was not only him, themotion also attracted the attention of other members who saw Lexus'' miserable condition. Nevertheless, instead of getting rmed or concerned, theyughed out loud, finding the situation extremely funny.
The guy who always thought that he was better than them, was currently kneeling on the ground, clutching his shoulder where his missing arm was and screaming. Nothing could be better than this.
All of them felt that he got what he deserved. If it was any other team, they would have no doubt shown some shock or distraught at the injury of their teammate. However, as mentioned before the top executives of the two organisations weren''t your usual team.
As long it wasn''t them, even if someone died among them, they would only sneer in contempt. Teamwork? Camaraderie? There was no such thing as that.
If anything they would even rub salt into the wound just to aggravate the other party. Like what was happening right now.
"Heh, I thought that you said you finished the Aberrant. But from what I see it''s far from over and it doesn''t seem like you can fight anymore in your condition. Do you need my heal? If so then beg for it. If I can feel your sincerity through your words, then I can perhaps throw a heal or two at you. What do you say ''Mister I''m the best''"
Ma grinned at the other party''s misery. He held his healing back, wanting to humiliate Lexus even more.
"Hmph, since that guy is rendered out ofmission, it means that I can take the enemy for myself right?"
A warrior with a wide frame and carrying a huge cudgel stepped forward. His entire body was marked with war paints and scars from battles that he carried around like battle trophies.
Out of all the people, he was the one who was decked out in the least amount of armour. However, one look at his impressive and toned muscles which had been trained to their limits, was enough to tell people that even without the need for armour, just prating through that steel like muscles would prove an insanely difficult task.
It was for this reason that the warrior did not wear any armour on his upper body. It was because he had full confidence in his steel like muscles.
"Hoh? Are you going up next, Garder?"
Everybody cheered seeing the next contender step up. Given how cheerful they looked even after one of their teammates was defeated, it didn''t look like they were seeing this as a battle, but more like a game.
Since one yer was out, it was time for another yer to rece the first.
Carrying the enormous cudgel on his shoulder, Garder jumped. His impressive physical strength allowed him to rise as high as ten meters beforending in front of Lexus.
"Kuh!! I''m not done yet, I will be the one to defeat that thing" clutching his wound and struggling to get up, thetter said with vehemence.
"Haha, for how long can you keep that tough guy act? Just ept it that you lost just like a good loser. Now, get aside or else I will kick you out, I don''t have time for losers. It''s my turn to experience the might of the Aberrant that you couldn''t defeat".
At this moment, the figure of Mars could be seen walking out of the dust. As soon as he appeared, a huge cudgel swung from overhead and carrying a mountain crushing force with it, came attacking him.
BANG¡ the hammer was stopped by the bloodthorn which did not even budge while facing a weapon many times bigger and heavier than it.
"Oh? You are quite strong Aberrant. No wonder, you were able to injure Lexus to that point. However, I am different from the guy over there who focuses more on magic rather than on physicalbat. He is a disgrace for a warrior".
Unlike Lexus who uses magic as his primary attack, Garder on the other hand focuses purely on physical strength. He believed that only overwhelming physical strength could triumph over everything.
His attacks were also like beasts ferocious and heavy. Although it did not have any shy aspects, it was refined to the extreme and had no shorings. Plus coupled with that ludicrous strength of his, he was like a berserk typhoon invincible and unstoppable.
[Raging Elephant Avnche], [Vorpal Hammer Assault], [Mountain Shattering m]¡
Garder came down with one powerful attack after another all the while carrying a smile of excitement on his face. This was the first time in a while he was able to let loose.
Ever since he was an adventurer, he was a fighting enthusiast. Perhaps a little too much which caused his other teammates to be discontent with him.
One day, the arguments with his teammates got out of control and he identally ended up killing one of them. From then on, he became cklisted by the Adventurer''s Association and was barred from entering any high ranking dungeon.
Except for dungeons which were basically teeming with strong monsters, it was practically very difficult for him to find any opponent that couldst even a few minutes against him.
Frustrated and with no ce to release his bloodlust, the instinct within him practically screamed every day wanting to draw the blood of his opponent and almost drove him mad. It was for this very reason that he joined the criminal organisation.
This way, he was able to fight every day. However, these opponents were nowhere close to his level and it was practically a boring day every day. That was until today, he had finally found an opponent that couldst so long against him.
Not only that, this opponent was strong enough to defeat a member of the organisation like Lexus and give him a sense of dread and exhration.
Needless to say, it never appeared to Garder that he would lose after all, in his head he thought that the reason why the Aberrant was able to defeat Lexus was because it was impervious to magic attacks. Which practically put thetter at a disadvantage.
However, since he did not rely on magic and only pure physical strength and skills, there was no way that he would be defeated. That had always been the case for him.
Unfortunately, he couldn''t be any more mistaken. Mars had yet to show any of his abilities, up until now he was only fighting with the pure physical stats that came from his race and level. He had yet to activate even a single skill.
It was all in his opponent''s head that he was impervious to magic and all that nonsense when in actuality the magic in Lexus'' spear wasn''t even able to bypass his powerful defensive stats and numerous magic resistances.
Anyways, if Gardar knew who he was up against, there was no way he would be so conceited and smiling right now.
That being said, it was true that using just his physical stats, Mars was unable to defeat the opponents. They weren''t just your average run of the mill enemies, but actual powerful adversaries with strength that couldn''t be underestimated.
What''s more, there were eleven of them.
BANG¡ Garder swung his hammer with a full body motion, generating immensely powerful berserk winds that mmed towards Mars, causing him to skid back.
"Defeating them one by one would take a lot of time. To impress my lord, I cannot allow these people to hold me back. I guess I will use that skill"
Finally as if having enough of this pointless battle, the Bloodthron demonic warhorse decided to be serious. His choice was backed by the fact that the opponent wasn''t weak either.
Mars¡ªThere was a reason why Simon chose to give the Bloodthron Demonic Warhorse that name. To understand his reason, one has to first know about the fictional warrior whose name it was based on.
Mars, a ythical warrior who was known for his legendary feat of razing the fortress of Helldor which was said to be imprable, singlehandedly. It was said that his strength was like that of an army, his every strike akin to a legion.
On the battlefield, he was like an unstoppable juggernaut, mowing down enemies in masses. An impressive achievement indeed; however, as fate had it, Mars was once renowned as the strongest general of Helldor before its fall.
Chapter 781- One Man Army (3)
Chapter 781- One Man Army (3)
781 Chapter 781- One Man Army (3)
Inside the White Pce, Main Floor¡ª Simon continued recounting the story of the mythical warrior Mars to his subordinates.
[The undefeatable guardian that stood in between Helldor and its enemies, that''s who Mars was. His military feat was so exaggerated that he became like a war god in the hearts of his enemies. It was said that as long as it was Mars and his army that stood on the battlefield, there was no enemy in this world that needed to be feared]
[The famed general had led his army to countless victories. However, as it turned out, even legends weren''t immune to the whims of fate. The curtain to his epic came to a close with a betrayal so profound it shook the very foundations of trust]
[His allies, driven by fear of his growing influence, deceived him. They manipted Mars into leading his invincible army into a treacherous battlefield, a battlefield designed to be a death trap. In a cruel twist, his own allies struck from behind, sealing the fate of his once indomitable force]
"How could they do that?" Bea grumbled, furious at the betrayal.
"Haha" Simonughed and continued¡ª [The despair of that day was etched into Mars''s soul. He lost not just a battle but everything he held dearrades, brothers in arms, and the empire he served. The royalty, fearing Mars''s power and seeking to extinguish his existence, orchestrated this tragic demise. Betrayed and broken, Mars found himself standing before the gates of Helldor, the very fortress he was meant to protect. Consumed by grief, anger, and the weight of his losses, he did the unthinkable]
[In an act of defiance against the empire that had forsaken him, he razed Helldor to the ground. The fortress, once a bastion of defence, crumbled under the might of Mars''s fury. Yet, in the wake of that destruction, Mars emerged as something more than a disgraced general. He became the embodiment of resilience and retribution, a one-man army whose very name struck fear into the hearts of those who had once sought his demise]
[The legendary skill he unlocked on that deste battlefield became the stuff of myth¡ªthe ability to call forth a spectral army, the echoes of his fallenrades fighting alongside him. This skill, a testament to his enduring spirit, transformed him into a force that transcended mortal limitations. The legend of Mars, the one-man army, was born from the ashes of betrayal and despair, a testament to the indomitable will of a warrior who refused to be extinguished].
"Hmph, it''s good that those people died at the end, they deserved it" Bea humphed.
Sitting next to him, listening to the story, was Irene who realised something at this moment and asked "Then the reason why you gave him that name..."
"That''s right, I saw the visage, the indomitable will of that warrior inside him" Simon exined his reasoning "But more so than that, my biggest reason behind giving him that name was when I saw its status..."
There were many simrities between Mars and the Bloodthron Demonic Warhorse, both possessed the indomitable spirit of the strong, both were loyal to their very bones and served as the Guardian that protected their respective masters.
Furthermore, both were like a one man army, a juggernaut of the battlefield that struck fear into the hearts of their enemies. In the case of the Bloothron Demonic Warhose the resemnce between the mythical warrior and his demonic steed was more than just a namesake, it was the manifestation of power that brought the two realities together.
That''s right, the legendary skill that once dwelled into the indomitable warrior Mars, now resides in the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse.
.
.
"Hm? What is that Aberrant doing?" Back at the battlefield, Garder eximed seeing the abyssal warrior in front of him suddenly get enveloped in a dark ck haze.
This dark haze that swirled like ominous tentacles caused the very atmosphere in the battlefield to take a sinister turn. The sky itself seemed to shudder under the weight of the impending darkness, casting an eerie shadow over the once tumultuous scene.
The changes were so drastic that all the eleven former rankers had a bad feeling welling up in their hearts. It was as if the very air was charged with an impending doom.
At this moment, from Amidst this unnatural phenomenon, two pairs of eyes glowed with an otherworldly intensity. Eyes that seemed to pierce through the darkness and lock onto the souls of those unfortunate enough to witness the spectacle.
It started with two, but soon an army of ethereal gazes emerged from the shadows, each pair a harbinger of the impending storm.
Then came the unsettling sound¡ªa cacophony of footsteps, like the march of an unseen legion.
CLACK... CLACK... The rhythmic thudding echoed through the ground, sending a shiver down the spines of the former rankers. It was a sound that resonated with an eerie sense of inevitability, heralding the arrival of something beyond theirprehension.
The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse, named after this legendary warrior, seemed to have finally channelled the same essence of relentless power. As it decided to unleash its true might, the air around it crackled with anticipation, mes flickering more fiercely. The crimson antlers atop its head mirrored the legendary Mars''s ferocity¡
.
.
"What just happened here?" After a while as ke and the other adventurers made their way over here, all they saw at the scene was carnage.
The streets were now drowned in a sea of crimson, forming gruesome pools within therger craters. Mountains of monster carcassesy strewn everywhere, turning the air rancid with the pungent scent of blood.
The cityscape itself bore the scars of a colossal sh. Buildingsy in ruins, their structural integrity shattered by the sheer force unleashed in the battle.
Craters pockmarked the ground, evidence of devastating blows that had rocked the very foundations of the area. The debris of what was once a thriving urbanndscape now painted a grim picture of destruction.
"Some kind of big fight must have broken out here before our arrival. However, who or what could unleash this kind of damage?" Wyot stated, investigating the scene.
The magnitude of the fight that had transpired here was undeniable. The remnants of magic, the lingering echoes ofbat, hung thick in the air, creating an almost tangible aura of tension.
It made the newbie adventurers tremble in their boots. What kind of a battle are they going to involve themselves in?
With their eyes widened to their limit, a collective gasp escaped their lips as they surveyed the battlefield. A few stumbled backwards, their expressions shifting from excitement to terror in the blink of an eye.
Nobody could me their spirits for faltering at the gruesome sight.
"I''ve seen my fair share of conflicts, but this... this is another level of chaos" A veteran warrior, marked by the scars of numerous battles, couldn''t help but let out a low whistle.
"Looks like we''re not dealing with ordinary trouble, folks. This is the aftermath of something serious" His grizzled features, etched with experience, betrayed a sense of unease that echoed through the entire group.
Even the veterans, who had faced monsters and powerful adversaries, exchanged uneasy nces. The atmosphere weighed heavily on them, leaving an unspoken understanding that whatever had transpired here was beyond their usual encounters.
"Everybody, don''t let your guard down. We came here despite knowing the dangers we are about to face, it''s toote to back down now. Remember your training, and don''t let fear cloud your judgment. No matter what it is we can ovee it if we put all our strengths together"
ke spoke a few words of encouragement. His words were a reassurance, a steadying force amidst the palpable tension.
With the veterans leading, the team of adventures made their way towards the headquarters of the criminal organisations.
"We are here!!"
ke mentioned looking at the buildings in front of him. The headquarters of the criminal organizations blended seamlessly into the urbanndscape, cloaked in an unassuming facade.
From the outside, it appeared to be just another nondescript building, its exterior betraying no hints of the illicit activities transpiring within. The architectural design mimicked that of neighbouring structures, offering no visual cues that would set it apart as the epicentre of the criminal operations.
"Hmm, it''s weird no matter how I think about it?"...
"What is weird Sir Wyot? The headquarters of the criminal organisation is right in front of us" A newbie adventurer questioned. From his perspective, everything seemed to look normal.
"That''s precisely why it''s weird. We were able to get right in front of their doors without encountering any trouble. I was genuinely thinking we would have to fight a bloody battle just to get to this point. However, forget about meeting any obstructions, I can''t even see any of their members. The whole thing seems so easy that it''s creeping me out" Wyot exined sighing a deep breath of air.
"D-Does that mean that the enemy has gathered all of their forces and is waiting for us inside?" the newbie adventurer looked around him nervously.
"Maybe, but given the grotesque scene we just saw earlier, it''s also possible that a very powerful monster had devoured all of them"¡
"What?!!" the young adventurer''s pale instantly turned pale and he was on the verge of passing out.
"Wyot stop messing with the newbies. It''s a good thing that we were able to get si far without expending needless manpower and energy. Whatever traps or plots they have set up for us, let''s go and uncover them. Everyone, stay sharp, we are entering our enemy''s base now"
Chapter 782- Catastrophe of the Tower Town
Chapter 782- Catastrophe of the Tower Town
With ke, Alvara and the others taking the rein, the team cautiously entered the building. Inside, all they found were ordinary offices, seemingly abandoned. Fallen chairs, broken desks, and scattered documents told a tale of recent desertion, leaving many confused.
Nevertheless, the adventurers proceeded forward without letting their guard down. As they ventured further, eerie silence pervaded the air, broken only by the distant echoes of their own footsteps.
Dust particles floatedzily in the dim light, adding to the surreal atmosphere. What was going on? The first building waspletely empty with not even a trace of any trapsid out for them.
The adventurers, who had initially entered with anticipation and battle-ready spirits, found themselves caught off guard by the emptiness. The absence of opposition deted the adrenaline-fueled tension that had apanied their arrival.
Weapons that had been tightly gripped rxed in uncertain hands, and the zeal for confrontation waned. Their expectations of a fierce battle began to dissipate, reced by a sense of confusion and disquiet.
The eerie quietness seemed to amplify the creaks and groans of the building, creating an unsettling symphony of solitude. The adventurers exchanged uneasy nces, grappling with the surreal contrast between their preparedness forbat and the ghostly stillness that surrounded them.
The absence of any overt signs of viiny left the group perplexed. Did the criminals master the art of concealment or something?
The first building they explored revealed empty rooms and corridors as if the criminals had vanished into thin air. Nevertheless, ke didn''t let them to rx their guard and urged them forward.
Just as they approached the second building, a sudden tremor shook the entire town. The ground quivered beneath their feet, catching many off guard. The buildings groaned in protest, and dust billowed into the air as structures nearby sumbed to the seismic force.
"Everyone steady yourselves!"
The adventurers struggled to maintain their footing, grabbing onto whatever they could to stay upright. The sudden intense tremor of the ground caught them by surprise; however, it did notst long.
After the earthquake stopped, the adventurers rposed themselves and helped one another up.
"ke, just now... that tremor, it was no ordinary earthquake but a result of a sh between some tyrannical force. What''s more the epicentre of that tremor was right below us" Frida informed,ing over to ke''s side.
Just now, before that intense tremor had hit them, she felt a massive amount of mana rushing underneath them.
ke narrowed his eyes and looked at the ground below them. he did not doubt Frida''s words as he knew that she was a gifted mage with a talent not any inferior to his own. If she said that she felt the epicentre of the disturbance was underneath them then it meant that it was true.
"Alright everyone, on your feet. Let''s enter the second building" ke bellowed.
With grim determination, the adventurers pressed forward, recognizing that whatever force was at y, they needed to reach the heart of the disturbance to understand and neutralize it.
Just like the first building, the second building was alsopletely empty, devoid of any presence. The adventurers were met with nothing empty silence and a shell of a building that was the criminal organisation''s headquarters.
However, unlike the first one, the second building had something that the first building didn''t.
"Everyone,e down. I found something".
When the adventurers thoroughly searched the ce, they were met with an unexpected sight¡ªan expansive underground chamber, its passage hidden with a formation.
No wonder they were unable to spot it at first, it was because the formation used here was a strong formation that isted the ce from the outside. What were they doing with a massive underground space underneath the building?
Numerous questions popped inside the heads of the adventurers. Given all the clues they had found so far and the fact that they had yet to meet a single member of the criminal organisations, it was most likely that something had happened here.
The possibility that it was a trap was also very high. However, there was no backing down from here, trap or not they had to go down and see for themselves.
"Everyone, the chances of this being a trap are very high as such, I would like some people to stay behind and guard the entrance. If you find something off, quickly get out of here"
ke looked at the newbie adventurers and instructed. It would be too risky to take inexperienced people with them any further. Things had already deviated so much from the expectations that even ke was starting to feel the gravity of the situation.
The disappearance of the members of the criminal organisations weighed heavily on everyone''s mind. Who or whatever had caused this, must be immensely dangerous. If this was a trap, there was no reason for all of them to fall for it.
"Sir ke, please don''t take our resolve lightly. We have already decided to put our life on the line for this mission" Hearing ke''s words, the newbie adventurers replied in a determined tone.
"Hey, hey¡ since when did the younger fes be so serious? It''s not about resolve or anything, it''s about not foolishly falling for the trap. Just to do as he says or do you guys think that us old timers are too weak or something? Brats if it''s the other case, I will beat the crap out of your right now" Wyot joked.
"Alvara what do you think?" ke asked turning towards the Guard Captain for her opinion.
"I''m fine with the decision. I too think that the inexperienced ones should stay back and guard our backs".
Now that even the Guard Captain had opened her mouth, the newbies could only stay behind and did what they were asked.
"Don''t worry, if we need your help we will call for you. Not that it''s gonna happen though" The veteran adventurers made fun.
Before long, with ke and others at the helm, they made a neat formation and dived inside the underground chamber.
The air grew denser as they delved deeper, theplex architecture here hinted at something that was being hidden beneath the surface. The flickering torchlight cast dancing shadows on the rows of smaller rooms that have copsed in the aftermath of the recent earthquake.
As they progressed, the atmosphere shifted. The chamber widened into a vast underground space. The air became charged with remnants of magic, and the adventurers could sense the aftermath of a powerful sh.
The ground bore scars of devastating blows, creating craters and upheavals that told a tale of forces colliding with titanic strength. The further they went, the more obvious these signs became.
The echoes of battle lingered, and the air was thick with the scent of magic and burnt debris. Strewn across the expansive chamber were shattered remnants of magical constructs and the remnants of spells unleashed in the heat ofbat.
"I was right, something happened here, something that took the members of the criminal organisations by surprise" Wyotmented looking at the enormous crater in front of him "Something that even they were powerless against"¡
"Are you suggesting that they were attacked? Who would attack them? Monsters?"¡
"Could be¡ or it could be something else".
The bizarreness of the events or the destruction wrought here had already far surpassed the capability of an ordinary monster.
Feeling the weight of the recent confrontation that had taken ce here, the adventurers moved cautiously through this underground chamber. And finally after a while, they arrived at the ce which was the centre of all the strange and bizarre events that urred in the tower towntely.
The moment they arrived here, all the adventurers suddenly stopped moving at the exact same moment. It was as if somebody had pressed the pause button, all of them came to a halt.
Silence hung in the air as nobody muttered a word, all eyes focused on the being in front of them. If somebody asked the adventurers at this moment, what made them stop like that, the answer would be their instincts.
The senses they had honed through multiple battles and adventures, screamed at them at this very instant, telling them to run, run from the DANGER that was in front of them.
There at the far end of the chamber, standing amidst what looked like ripped bodies of some warriors, the silhouette of a ck figure could be seen.
The figure was not human, it had crimson antlers atop its head that seemed to reflect the light from the flickering torchlight, casting eerie shadows on the walls. Its ming mane danced with an ethereal fire.
Eyes, glowing with an otherworldly intensity, fixated on the approaching adventurers. As the flickering light of the torch fell on it, the figure''s form also became clearer, revealing the ancient-looking armor that adorned its powerful frame.
Four nightmarish eyes that glowed like coals in the depths of night, silently observed their every action.
GULP¡ it was unknown who made the noise but everybody present here could feel their throats drying at this moment.
"What is that?"
One of the adventurers asked. The figure exuded such an imposing and formidable presence that it made others unsettled just by getting exposed to it.
"Mars!!" right ahead in the forefront of the formation, ke muttered with a solemn voice. "What? Do you recognise it ke?"
Wyot asked from the sides. At this moment he noticed that Frida was also acting weird to the point where she lost bnce of her body and had to be carried by the teammates around her.
Chapter 783 783- Catastrophe Of The Tower Town (2)
Chapter 783 Chapter 783- Catastrophe Of The Tower Town (2)
783 Chapter 783- Catastrophe Of The Tower Town (2)
"ke that thing¡" Frida shouted from the backlines with a pale face.
"Yeah, it''s the very same opponent we met that year"
ke answered not removing his eyes from his opponent for even a second. He was not surprised by her reaction after all, even he was no different when he me that thing earlier today.
"What''s going on? Do you two know this thing or something?" The adventurers asked confused by their reactions.
It was no wonder they did not recognise the being in front after all, they were not the part of the Burning Arrows Guild. For them, it might even be their first encounter with it.
"I don''t have time to exin about the past, but I will tell you this, get ready for battle... that thing is no ally"
ke shouted, cautioning his teammates. On his instruction all of them raised their weapons and shields, ready to go into battle in a moment''s notice.
"I finally understand why we didn''t meet a single high ranking member of the organisations. It''s because they were all killed by that thing"¡
"What?" His words caused all the adventurers to widen their eyes in shock. Killing all the high ranking members of the criminal organisation on his own, what kind of being could do something like that?
The people in question weren''t just your average Joe but members of a powerful organisation all with a very high level. It would be easier to understand if one thought of them as des of Ascension.
The members of this guild were all insanely strong; however, they were only just one part of the whole organisation. There were many more like them in the upper levels of the Viepr nad Chaos Order.
Just based on the level of the members they got up there, it was not hard to understand how powerful the criminal organisations were. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they could have be the tyrant of the tower town even without needing to take the adventurer''s families as hostages.
All the adventurers of the tower town regardless of the guild they belonged to, had to untie together just to stand a chance to fight them. Yet what was ke saying all of a sudden?
The figure in front of them defeated orgainsations on that level, all on its own? If it could do something like that, then didn''t it mean that they stood no chance at all?
Just as that thought popped in their minds, they quickly suppressed it. Being veteran adventurers, they knew they could not lose their spirit before the battle even began.
"Haha, I hate being right during times like this"
Wyotughed bitterly. Just until a few moments ago before they arrived here, he was joking and teasing with the newbies,ughing at their fear. Who would have known that there really was something much more dangerous than the members of the criminal organisations down here in the underground chamber?
"Have you fought with it before, ke?"...
"Yeah, twice even. Both times it was myplete loss" ke responded by nodding his head "He was also the one who opened the hole in my shoulder"¡
"What?" Wyot, Frida, Alvara and the others turned to nce at him.
"Don''t tell me that the other time when you disappeared, you went to fight him?"¡
"That''s right"
Seeing ke nod, his teammates didn''t know whether tough or cry. He went away during the middle of an important mission to fight such a dangerous guy. No wonder they found him battered and bruised.
Frida looked at him with silent fury burning in her eyes, while the others were astonished at his galls. The being in front of them could wipe out a power organisation like the Viper and the Chaos Order all on his own.
What was he thinking picking a fight with it?
"ke I''m disappointed in you. How could you fight such an exciting battle without inviting me?"
At wyot''s words, everybody started chuckling. As if having him would have made any difference. Nevertheless, with ke and Wyot fooling around, the grim atmosphere settled amongst the adventurers, gradually disappeared.
"Jokes aside, ke do we stand a chance against it?" Wyot asked the question that was on everyone''s mind.
"Perhaps"
The answer they received was surprisingly positive "Hoh, you sound quite sure? What''s your basis for that? W that it reminds me, how did you manage toe out only with a hole in your shoulder after fighting that guy? I sure would have counted myself dead if I fought that thing all on my own"¡
While the adventurers were chatting and discussing among themselves, Mars stood across from them without moving. It was obvious that they were making some kind of n to defeat him.
However, he did not interrupt them and continued to allow them to make their n. It went against his honour to attack an enemy while they were still making their preparation. As such, he remained still while waiting for the adventurers to ready themselves.
After a while, the adventurers entered his range. Their formation was simple and effective, perfect for sieging enemies multiple times bigger and stronger than them.
"Wow, it''s really as you said ke, this thing really didn''t attack us while we were making our preparations. To think that some monsters would also have a sense of honour, I guess I really was a frog living in a well" Wyotmented brandishing his dagger.
ke had already debriefed them about his fight with Mars, the past of the Burning Arrows guild and the abilities and disposition of the enemy. As a result of which, they knew that the being in front of him was a monster that hade out of the dungeon.
What''s more, it was not just any ordinary monster, but a highly intelligent one, capable of taking a humanoid appearance.
Since none of them came from a first grade country or encountered a powerful monster like the one in front of them, they didn''t know that once a monster reaches the Catastrophe ss¡ that is level 700+ they gain the ability to take on a humanoid form.
That being said, even though these adventurers were unaware about it, they did not dare to underestimate their opponent. From the start their n was to go all out.
ke activated his skill [Sr Protector] and quickly merged with his avatar bing bigger and bigger. Frida started casting Amalgamation magic of two intermediate tier elements, Alvara unleashed the skill of her sword [Rose Thorn], Wyot activated his stealth, Marba unleased her magic and Burg raised his defence.
All the adventurers activated their most powerful skills with no one holding anything back. Their attitude seemed like they were not just initiating a battle but instead fighting a battle that had reached itsst stage.
NEIGH¡ Mars released a deep grunt, impressed at the determination of his enemy. It wouldn''t have been surprising to him if they decided to run away after feeling his presence.
However, not only did these adventurers not run away, but they also saw through the injuries that he sustained and utilised this chance to defeat him. That''s right, Mars was not in his optimum condition.
Not only had he used his most powerful skill to defeat the top executives of the criminal organisation, but he also sustained some serious damage while trying to fight the two leaders of the organisation.
The two corpses thaty in a gory and gruesome manner around him, were none other than the bodies of the two leaders of the Viper and Chaos Order.
Against these two, even Mars had to go all out and sustained severe injuries in the process. By now, he was already tired and running out of energy. Even then, while facing a new group of opponents he didn''t back down.
Instead, the fires in his body burned even more fervently excited at the battle that was about to go down.
.
.
Above the underground chamber, atop the buildings of the criminal organisation, the group of true vampires stood muttering something among themselves.
"That just now was the spatial magic of sister Bea. Is she on with his n too? I don''t understand what he is trying to do. Defeating the criminal organisation all on his own and then facing the adventurers who were supposed to go against those people, himself"
Theodoremented, his crimson eyes piercing through theyers of ground and staring at the underground chamber.
"Hmm¡ brother, could he be trying to be the¡" Before Maybell couldplete her sentence, Theodore shouted urgently.
"Wait! What the hell?!! Get away from here everyone, that insane guy, he is trying to blow away theyers of ground between the surface and the underground chamber".
Everybody was shocked; nevertheless, they hurriedly jumped away. As soon as they moved, the ground, no, the entire town started shaking fiercely. From the surface, it looked like another earthquake; however, the magnitude was far different than before.
Buildings copsed everywhere andrge ravines ran through the ground. Before long, the topography of the ce started changing, as if the very fabric of earth was responding to some tremendous force from within.
The trembling intensified, and the earth seemed to convulse as if awakening some ancient, slumbering giant. Enormous chasms opened up, revealing the churning depths below.
BOOM¡
Finally as if unable to bear the strain, the ground split apart, sending massive tes of stone andyers of ground, colliding and hurling through the air. The aftermath of the impact was disastrous, sending waves of shockwaves throughout the town.
Chapter 784 784- Heroes of the Tower Town
Chapter 784 Chapter 784- Heroes of the Tower Town
784 Chapter 784- Heroes of the Tower Town
Themotion was so loud and conspicuous that it could be heard from every part of the town and beyond.
"What is going on? Its like a natural disaster, the tower town would be destroyed at this rate"¡
"Themotion came from the direction of the headquarters of the criminal organisations. They have already started the battle, quick let''s go there and support them"
The people of the town now of one mind, quickly rushed to the scene.
On another side, looking at the devastation unfolding in the eastern district of the town, Cynthia couldn''t help but mutter to herself in concern.
"Such power¡ Will Alvara and the others be okay?"¡
"Don''t worry Your Highness, Thedore and the others are also there. They will make sure that nothing happens to the adventurers"
Ate reassured from the sides. Although she said all that, even she was somewhat unsure of where the whole thing was going and how the events would unfold. Ever since his arrival, things had started moving at a pace so fast that it was almost unpredictable even for her.
''I sensed Bea''s spatial magic a moment ago. Why did shee to the surface?'' Ate wondered in her head.
.
.
The immense force from within had torn the ground apart, creating a colossal chasm that yawned like the maw of some abyssal beast. The thousands of meters of area, which was once the criminal organization''s headquarters, was now reced by this ominous, dark void.
This gaping chasm seemed to reach deep into the very bowels of the earth, leading directly to the underground chamber.
At this moment, the figure of Mars flew out from within. As he unfolded his wings, he looked at the bodies of the adventurersy strewn about.
Some were battered and bruised, bearing the injuries of the intense battle that had unfolded moments ago. The broken remnants of the underground chamber''s stonework, the shattered tes of stone, painted a picture of the seismic sh that had taken ce.
Yet, even in their injured state, the adventurers exhibited resilience. Slowly but surely, they rose to their feet, determination burning in their eyes. The ground beneath them, though fractured, served as a testament to their unwavering resolve.
"Hoh, you still have the energy to stand up huh? Thene all of you, I¡ªMars shall fight you with all my strength"
After uttering those challenging words, Mars began transformation again. His form shimmered with a dark, ethereal energy as he reverted to his original state¡ªthe Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse.
The crimson antlers, the ming mane, and the otherworldly presence became more pronounced, giving him an imposing, legendary aura.
Sensing this change, the adventurers cursed.
"Dammit, he is up to something again"¡
"I can''t believe we were thrown all the way to the surface outside. What kind of ridiculous strength does it possess"¡
"Even with all those injuries, it still had that much strength. Everyone don''t let your guard down".
Even in this despairing situation, the adventurers still had the mood to make jokes. This meant they still had some energy to spare.
Looking at them,ughing while barely holding onto their consciousness, ke couldn''t help but smile. Everyone here had already expended all their energy and most powerful skills in the previous sh inside the underground chamber.
Their bodies were decked with numerous injuries and broken bones yet none of them refused to back down. Right now, what drove them all was simply willpower.
It could be said that they were on theirst leg; however, the same could also be said for their opponent who had been cornered by them. The fact that it chose to revert back to its original form, could only mean that it was backed into a wall and had no choice.
"Everyone maintain your position, this is going to be the final battle"
ke dered holding the frontline for his team. In fact, he was not wrong, both sides werepletely depleted and the ensuing battle would decide the oue.
Just as the adventurers channelled their mana ready to fight theirst battle, multiple figures appeared around them, surprising them for a split second.
"Everyone, thank you for fighting on our behalf. From Princess Cynthia, we got to know everything. Thank you for freeing the town from the Criminal Organisations"¡
"Yes, truly thank you. I heard that they are currently being sheltered in the serene pce merchant guild building. My wife is also there, I cannot tell you how grateful I am"¡
"Although we don''t know the whole situation, it looks like the enemy in front is giving you a tough time. Allow us to give you a hand"¡
ke and the others looked around them in shock. All of these figures were the adventurers of the tower town. At this moment, they were fully decked out in their gears, here to aid them after having a change of heart from Cynthia''s speech.
That was not all, as rays of healing light fell on the injured adventurers, they saw that all the people of the tower town were gathered here at this moment.
"Everyone" ke and the others couldn''t help but be impressed. It seemed like the Princess'' words had reached the masses.
"Her Highness really is impressive. All of you on your feet, we can''t let her down. Today, we have to win this battle"
ke roared, his battle cry lifted the morale of his teammates and everyone present. Thanks to the iing heals from their newly arrived reinforcements, Frida, Alvara and the others were back on their feet.
Right now, they had all the support in the town, the victory was theirs.
Across from them, facing the adventurers; no, the entire town by himself, Mars released a deep roar of excitement. He did not feel any pressure, instead his eyes seemed to burn with the same intensity as the mes covering him.
This is how it should be, this is how it had to go down. All the people of the tower town united against a single enemy.
Mars who had reverted back to his Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse form, now fully exhibited his strength and ferocity that seemed boundless. mes flickered around him, and his crimson antlers gleamed with an eerie light.
"Come!!"
With his roar, the battle that would shape the Tower Town anew began.
The ensuing battle was nothing short of epic. Every sh, every strike, resonated with a sky shattering might. Everyone fought bravely, unleashing all their strength.
ke and hispanions, driven by sheer determination, stood their ground against this formidable opponent. The sh of weapons, the roars of Mars, and the sparks of magic filled the air with a symphony of chaos and power.
Over on the outskirts of the battlefield, watching the battle with awe and a tinge of dread, were the townspeople.
They who were once gripped by fear and suppressed by the criminal organisation, looked at the adventurers with hope and expectation as they challenged such a mystical beast.
As the battle unfolded the ground trembled with the intensity of the each collision of steel magic and mes. The sky seemed to echo the thunderous shes below. Excitement and fear mingled in the hearts of the onlookers, their eyes wide with amazement at the adventurers who fought not for themselves but for the tower town and the freedom of its people.
They were the brave warriors that the princess said would liberate them from the tyranny, the hopes of this town.
The people of the town witnessed their struggle, the great sh of powers that transcended the ordinary. They felt a surge of pride and admiration for these adventurers who left an indelible mark in their collective consciousness.
BOOM¡
Back at the battlefield, Mars who was besieged by attacks from all directions, suddenly erupted with a powerful dark pulse that travelled with him as the centre and quickly covered half of the town.
The adventurers who were caught in the range of the pulse were all blown back, crashing and tumbling everywhere like falling debris.
The onlookers on the edges of the battlefield had to flee and the only ones who managed to survive that attack were a handful of adventurers protected under a barrier of light. The rest who were unable to counter the dark magic were blown back and rendered out ofmission.
"Thanks, You saved us" ke thanked the Mage who conjured the Light Magic- [Dark Banishment] and saved them from getting knocked out too.
"Huff.. Hufff¡ Dammit, it still had this much energy to cover half of the town with its magic even after all this? How ridiculously strong would it be at its peak? Haha, we really have a screw loose to mess with a monster like that"
Wyotmented, trying to suppress the fear in him by making foolish jokes. From where they stood, they could see their opponent preparing another attack at his moment.
With the sky darkening all of a sudden as if day and night had changed ces, they saw a humungous image of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse projecting in the sky.
The image was so huge and intimidating that they felt like an ant in front of a giant. Just the sight of that abyssal beast was enough to instil fear and immediately make them surrender.
The huge image stayed in the sky for a couple of seconds before getting pulled into the warhorse, who at this moment was rearing it''s four powerful forelegs up.
And then, in a decisive moment, it scraped the ground preparing for a charge.
Everyone who faced the Bloodthron Demonic Warhorse knew how destructive and unstoppable its charge was.
Chapter 785 785- Heroes Of The Tower Town (2)
Chapter 785 Chapter 785- Heroes Of The Tower Town (2)
If they allowed it to charge towards them, it was almost certain that they would be defeated. Making his decision in that split moment, ke spoke in a solemn voice.
"I''ll be honest with you all, I''m alreadypletely spent. It''s a miracle that I am still standing. My arms and legs have feel heavy as if they are blocks of steel. I guess it''s the same for you all. That said, if we allow it to charge at us, there would be no hope for victory. Somebody has to stand in between it and stop its charge"
A heavy silence fell amongst the adventurers. To stand in between its charge meant that they would have to take the full brunt of its impact.
In the state that they were in, this was practically a suicide mission. One of them would have to sacrifice themselves for the team. Although ke did not say all that, the meaning was clear.
They would have to make the decision now, who would go up and die?
"I''ll go, my bones are creaking for a while, I guess I need to exercise them more" Wyot stretched his arms stepping forward.
A few of the others also wanted to speak up but they were beaten to the punch by Wyot.
ke gave a side nce to his friend before shaking his head "Actually, I was suggesting I should go up"¡
"What?! No!!"
As soon as he said that, Frida came up to him and blocked his path "You can''t go, you can barely stand straight. There is no way you can survive after taking its charge. Have you forgotten what happened thest time you did that?".
How could he forget that incident that tormented every aspect of his life and came as a nightmare to haunt him every night?
"This is precisely why I need to do that. Out of all of us, I have fought against that monster the most. What''s more ever since the beginning of this battle all it did was pay attention to me. It hardly cared about the others. Even though it''s a monster, it''s a warrior through and through. I feel like it only pays attention to those it deems worthy. If I don''t take this mission, it wouldn''t charge towards them and everything would fail".
As ke spoke till here everybody got silent. It was because what he said, made sense. They have all witnessed their opponent speak to ke and recognise his strength which none of them managed to aplish.
Even during the battles, it would wait for him toplete his strategy before taking action. If it was ke, the warhorse would definitely charge at him.
"But why you? You barely managed to survive thest time, the wound in your shoulder is proof enough that you are not its match.." Frida spoke out in concern.
"It has to be me. I have taken its charge before, that is why I stand the most chance. Besides, our opponent is also severely weakened, its charge right now would be much more weak than its peak. Believe in me, this time I will definitely win"
ke hugged his partner and stepped forward. He needed to do this, not only for others, but for himself too. To end the nightmare that gued him every second of his life, he had to be the one to take its charge. That was the only way.
"if you have made your decision, then I won''t stop you. However, at least take these skill crystals with you" Alvara extended her hand and took out a few skill crystals from her space ring.
"These are¡"...
"These skill crystals contain powerful enchantments that Her Highness gave me in case I find myself in a situation where I am face to face with death. Since you are going against that thing, I think you need it more than me".
Items that came from Her Highness, ke did not hesitate to take it.
"Yeah, it would be quite helpful. Tell her highness thanks on behalf of me"¡
"You can say that yourself when you meet her"¡
"Haha... will do"
And so leaving behind his teammates who were showing varying sorts of emotions on their faces, he turned to face the Bloothron Demonic Warhorse. Step by step, he walked forward until he made sure that his teammates were far away and couldn''t get caught in the charge.
''Now then, shall we do this? Although I said that the opponent was equally depleted, the moment it reared its forelegs to assume the charge stane, I felt it through my bones and every cell of my body, the thick air of death. Had it charged like that, all of us would have died''
''Although I feel bad for lying to Frida and the others, I cannot allow them to die, especially her. Call it my selfishness or stupidity, but I feel like I need to be the one to settle this. How many times have I activated it today? Once again I need to rely on you partner''
Muttering to himself, ke raised his shield and activated his skill [Srguard Protector]. In a state where his body was severely injured and mana depleted, activating a skill as powerful and draining as that was peak foolishness.
Forget about being able to transform, his body might just even explode from the strain.
"Aaarrgghhh!!" ke gave a suppressed scream as the veins all around his body started bulging and wriggling like snakes.
Blood sprayed out like a fountain from the numerous injuries he suffered and his his body expanded, turning bright yellow.
This was his ultimate skill [Srguard Protector]. Whenever he activated this skill, his attacks and defence stats would increase drastically and he would be the very avatar of his ss, the [Srguard Protector].
Usually, when he activated the skill, he would be as huge as twelve meters; however, after activating the skill more than three times today and in his heavily wounded state, he couldn''t even break past seven meters.
Crack¡ there was a cracking noise and the skill crystals he held in his hands were immediately crushed. A few bursts of light surrounded his body alleviating some of the strain and revitalising his strength.
Experiencing the effects of the enchantments in the skill crystals, ke was somewhat amazed. He felt energy coursing through his body making him stronger and sturdier. With this, he should be able to do it.
''Where did Her Highness get items like these?" He couldn''t help but wonder.
"Are you done with your preparations? Then get ready, here I charge. This will be my final attack. If even after this you survive, I will take it as my loss"
Across from him neighing loudly was Mars. He scrapped his legs which were like engines of a powerful machine and then charged.
Rumble... Rumble¡ [Hundred Mountains Charge] a skill filled with all of the devastating might of the Bloodthron Demon warhorse. When it charged the earth trembled beneath his hooves and when it crashed into its target it was like the might of a hundred mountains crashing at once.
There was no opponent that it had faced until now, that could take its charge and still stay standing. Even if the might of the skill had diminished due to its exhausted body, it still packed a devastating punch.
Facing the charge of the warhorse, ke could almost feel his breathing stop. It was yet to crash against him yet he felt like his hands and legs getting soft. Just the pressureing from the charge was already so intimidating, how powerful it would be when it crashed against him with all that momentum?
For a second there, ke had the vision of the time when he took the charge head on for the first time inside that dungeon.
The pain and feeling of bones getting turned into fine powder was still vivid in his mind. The agony was so oundish that he immediately lost consciousness after that impact.
And even after he came back to himself several weekster, he was still bedridden for several months and needed the aid of a high ranking Holy magic user topletely heal him.
This time though, the odds were also stacked against him, making the situation almost despair inducing. Nevertheless, ke did not lose hope and put all of his faith into this skill of his.
"Haaaaaarrghhh!!!"
Moments before the despair inducing charge of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse crashed against him, ke gave a loud war cry to get his spirits up and smashed his shield against the opponent.
BANG¡ the ensuing sh caused a visible depression to form in the space. Shockwaves, like ripples of water spread through the air showcasing the tremendous might of that charge.
Crack¡ and then there was the noise of bones cracking, no being shattered. ke who took the brunt of the charge of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse saw the illusion of a hundred mountains all crashing towards him at that split second.
The impact caused all the air in his lungs to get knocked away, and the hand that was holding the shield was destroyed to the point where it becamepletely unresponsive.
Every nerve and muscle in his body screamed at the damage that far surpassed his physical limits, causing his consciousness to immediately shut down. And thus, at that very instant of the sh, ke lost consciousness.
Whoosh¡ the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse continued forward lifting him off the ground. Behind him, were his teammates and Frida, heavily wounded by the battle so far. If the warhorse continued to charge at them with momentum, they would no doubt¡
At that very instant, he did something that his previous self was incapable of.
Chapter 786 786- Heroes Of The Tower Town (3)
Chapter 786 Chapter 786- Heroes Of The Tower Town (3)
Forcing his consciousness that was shut down from the impact, to open again with inhumane tenacity, ke nted his feet back on the ground.
He threw away his shield, grabbed the bloodthorns of the warhorse and with every might and willpower that he gathered from who knows where, he used his body to struggle.
SKID¡ even when his feet left a long narrow gorge on the ground, ke continued to fight against the charge in hopes that he could slow down its momentum.
"Get away from its way"
Seeing the oing charge of the warhorse, Wyot hurriedly shouted. His shout woke the others and they hurriedly moved out of the way.
The Bloodthorn demoni warhorse continued its charge pushing the man along with him.
"As I thought, it''s impossible even for ke to stop its charge"..
"No, look he is still fighting, trying to stop the charge even now. However, where is that thing taking him".
Frida, Wyot and his teammates chased after the charging warhorse.
"Haaaarrghhhh!! Stooooppp!!"
ke roared, he applied so much force to stop the momentum of the charge that he even burst a couple of nerves and bled from all of his seven orifices.
Crack¡ there was a sound of bones breaking and his left thigh bone gave up, followed by his right. His sternum and upper arms also soon followed next. At this moment there was not even a single bone on ke that was intact, yet even while enduring that unimaginable pain, the person still held on.
His unbelievable tenacity would give any onlookers goosebumps, making them wonder if he was still a human.
That said, his transcendent willpower, suffering and efforts, did pay off. Although Mars was still charging forward, his momentum nevertheless, was slowly slowing down.
"Heh, to stay conscious even with that kind of damage, I''ll give you that. However, it''s time we end our battle"
BANG¡ the moment the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse said that, it went and crashed into a wall.
"Bugh!!" ke coughed out several mouthfuls of blood, the force of the impact was thest straw. Finally, as if even that inhumane willpower of his had reached its limits, his grip loosened and he slowly fell to the ground.
Since his consciousness was blurry and fading at a rapid speed, he wasn''t aware of where he was. However, he could still see and hear the vague words of his opponent who slowly disappeared from his vision.
"Since you managed to survive my attacks till the veryst second, I guess I will take it as my loss this time. However, the battle isn''t over yet, the tower town might have been saved by you all this time. Nevertheless, the next time monsters overflow from the dungeon, I will appear again".
With that final message, Mars entered the tower and disappeared from the tower town. Although he left, his actions had left an indelible mark on the tower town''s collective consciousness which would still be talked about and sung by minstrels in the taverns of the town for many years toe.
And then there were those words he left behind which indicated that although they managed to avoid the cmity, it was notpletely over yet. Who knows when that abyssal warhorse would appear again along with an army of monsters?
This gave all the adventurers of the town a pressing reason to enter the dungeon and maintain the monster level after all, it was widely known by the adventurers that a dungeon overflow urs when a dungeon has been left to its state for too long.
In such a case, the monster''s spawning and breeding rate increases drastically. And since there is no one to cull their numbers, they start overflowing and going up the floors until they break out of the tower.
The dungeon overflow that urred today was due to the criminal organisations whopletely took over the town and its adventurers, barring their entry into the dungeon and putting heavy tariffs on those who did.
As a result of which, only a certain ss of adventurers were able to enter the dungeon and even then they had to act as the pawns of the organisation, doing and running all of the tasks and errands they told.
In a situation like this, it wasn''t unusual that there was a dungeon overflow. To make sure that something like this doesn''t happen again and that abyssal warhorse doesn''t get another chance to set foot on the surface, they had to explore the dungeon and cull the numbers of monsters periodically.
At the mouth of the tower, ke''s bodyy unconscious in a pool of his own blood. A natural response from his system to prevent any further damage to his body. He had already forced himself conscious once, incurred great damage and almost turned all of the bones on his body into dust.
It could be said that he had far surpassed his physical and mental limit and abused his body to the state it was right now. In fact, he should have fallen unconscious far earlier; however, he kept on pushing with his inhumane willpower to stay conscious until now.
This time though, he had passed out for good. As if a machine whose plug had been pulled out to force a shutdown, he was not getting up any time soon.
Forget about getting up, it still remained a question whether he would survive the whole ordeal.
Not long afterwards his teammates arrived at the scene following the trail of gorge that he and the warhorse left behind.
"Oh my god? ke? ke!! Stay conscious¡ somebody quickly cast a heal"
His teammates panicked after seeing the condition he was in. They did all the emergency treatment that they could; however, the condition of ke was far too worse for just a simple healing spell or a potion to cure him. They urgently needed to treat him.
"What should we do? ke you idiot, why did you have to push yourself to such an extent" Frida held the warrior''s head and cried. Her voice and cry for help were heart wrenching.
"Leave it to me" At this moment they heard the sonorous voice of a young girl.
Unbeknownst to them, at some point all the adventurers of the town and its people had gathered around them. Why would they not? They were after all the heroes, the brave warriors who as per Her Highness saved the tower town and freed all of them.
Everybody wanted to ingrain in their eyes the appearance and looks of these courageous warriors who fought on their behalf and chased away that catastrophe from their town. They who were the heroes of Tower Town deserved their respect and admiration.
However, at this moment, it did not look like the heroes were in any mind to pay attention to their admiration as one of them looked like he was on his death bed.
The adventurers of the town who surrounded them were equally gloomy too. The mages who practised light magic, wanted to help but even they knew that those wounds were clearly beyond their ability.
Only a holy mage or a peerless elixir could heal injuries of that magnitude and the tower town had none of the two.
The criminal organisation had been defeated, the people of the tower had been freed and the catastrophe was chased away. At a time for celebration like this, none of them could bring themselves in a joyous mood.
"Leave it to me" Combing through the crowds of people in a mysterious way, a young girl wearing a crimson ck gothic dress, and holding a plushie in her hand, stepped forward. The voice just now, was from her.
"You are... one of Her Highness'' aid¡ Maybell"
Wyot remembered her name. She was one of the members of that unusual group. The group which was made of many different races of demi humans. How could one easily forget about that?
Amongst them, the two children stood out especially. Having the ability tomand those insanely powerful demi humans, left a powerful impression on him.
"Can you heal him?" he asked not wanting to get his hopes too up. The condition that ke was in, was too dire. Unless it was a holy mage, it was impossible to heal him.
At Wyot''s question, the girl nodded her head without any hesitation and stepped towards ke.
"Can you really save him? Please, I''ll do anything¡ just save my ke" Seemingly clutching atst straws of hope, Frida begged looking at Maybell.
"You don''t have to do anything, I''m taking my payment along with my help" Thetter spoke arriving before ke and feeding him a droplet of her blood.
Nobody knew what she meant, nor did they have any time to stop her. All it took was a fraction of a second for her toplete her action. Before anyone couldprehend or even see what was going on, ke''s body suddenly started jolting and twisting.
Veins all over his body started glowing red, bing more prominent. His bent arms and legs started falling in ce to the point where one could even see the movements of his bones.
The changes scared Frida and ke''s other teammates. However, when they saw his injuries closing up and his breathing bing stable, they realised that the girl was indeed helping them.
"Thank you¡ thank you very much. This debt, I will never forget it"
Frida kneeled on the ground and thanked her. There was nothing more important to her than the safety of her man.
Chapter 787 787- Rank up- [B] Tier Intermediate Ranking Dungeon
Chapter 787 Chapter 787- Rank up- [B] Tier Intermediate Ranking Dungeon
"Who is this girl? She actually cured those hideous injuries"¡
"Could it be she is a Holy mage? Since when did our tower town had a person like her?"
"Who cares? The fact is that she just cured one of her heroes, means that she is a good person"
The people of the town and the adventurers who didn''t know about Maybell, gossiped among themselves. The technique or skill that she just disyed was no less than a miracle of a holy mage.
With one of their heroes no longer near his deathbed, the town''s people returned to a festive mood. The next couple of days were filled with festivity and banquets. Adventurers, merchants, ves and town''s people celebrated their liberation and freedom from the tyranny of the criminal organisation.
People ran over the streets of town, celebrating the defeat of the six legged catastrophe and their reunion with the dear ones.
Amidst the celebration and merriment, ke and his team who were the heroes of the town, received the generous hospitality and the treatment that they deserved.
Gathered inside the Serene Pce Merchant Guild building, in one of the rooms bathing in ample sunlight from the open window sills, were Cynthia and the others.
In one corner of the room, adjacent to the window was a bed with clean white sheets and bedding. Lying on the bed, sleeping with a peaceful look on his face was ke. Next to him, sitting on a chair was Frida.
There were other people in the room too, including Cynthia''s retainers and Wyot.
"It has been three days since then, he is yet to wake up" Frida muttered in worry.
"Don''t worry, he is not amongst the people to die so easily. Before long, you''ll see him getting up from the bed, bored of sleeping too much"
Wyot tried to lift her spirits. It was not like the man was in any danger, if anything he was totally out of it. All the light mages in the town had said that ke''s vitality and body had returned to its normal condition and he should soon wake up.
However it has been three days since then and every day, the mages would say the same thing. Since there was no injuries or damage on the person to heal, they could only wait for him to wake up on his own from hisatose state.
"By the way, I just came back from strolling around the town. Man, they are totally putting all the achievements on us. It is still a mystery as to how the top executives of the criminal organisation disappeared like smoke without leaving any trace"
"Although we were able to investigate a fierce struggle from the aftermath that was left behind, all the clues ended there. We don''t even know if they are alive or not or if that catastrophe killed them. In any case, the people of the town are glorifying and publishing everything as our achievement. It makes me a little ufortable hogging rewards and praises for something I haven''t done" Wyot hugged his shoulders and shuddered.
"Haha, you are right. Wherever we go, we get surrounded by the people of the town who keep on singing praises for us. It''s like we havepletely be the heroes of the town"
The others agreed. Things have blown out of control and the facts have been exaggerated by the people to the point where it hardly sounded like what originally happened.
It couldn''t be helped after all the town had people from all walks of life. What they witnessed and understood was naturally different from other people. And since even the people who were at the scene were notpletely in the know of what had actually transpired, there was no way of stopping this chain of exaggeration that spiralled out of control.
"Your Highness, the other day I saw the adventurer association branch rebuilding itself. However, I don''t think after what happened, people are going to follow them blindly again. In fact, the people of town have the same consensus when ites to this matter. Have you thought about the proposal they sent Princess? If you ept it, it would be a great help to the merchant guild and the royal family can once again reestablish¡"
meco the butler spoke, shedding some light on the activities and agendas that was happening around the town. However, before he could continue further with his sentence, he was stopped by his liege Cynthia.
"I told you before menco, I will not make a decision right now, I need time to think about it"
Just the other day, the association and the people of the town, put forward a proposal that requested Her Highness Cynthia to be the governor of the town.
The Tower Town was taken over by the criminal organisation and became what it was, due to theck of a governing body. Just like every city or vige needed a mayor or elder, the tower town also needed its own ruling body so that an incident like this could be avoided in the future.
And who better to assume this position than Cynthia?
If there was any one person in the entire town that the people respected with their whole heart, it would be her. Not only shemanded a high level of influence over the adventurers, merchants, ves and other various people from different walks of life, but her presence in their hearts became unshakable after the incident.
Then there was also the group of high level people that followed her which included her subordinates, ke and his teammates and Ate''s group. With so many strong people behind her, her position was almost unshakeable in the town.
And then adding to the fact that she was also a royalty from the now ruined kingdom of Ellesmere, all the people wanted her to be the governor of the new tower town.
The proposal came in from the Adventurers Association branch. Everybody inside the room understood what it meant for her to assume that position, which is why nobody said a word. After all, it was up to Cynthia herself to decide what she wanted to do.
"By the way, I don''t see the unusual group of demi humans around Your Highness. Did they go somewhere?" Wyot changed the topic to clear the atmosphere.
Cynthia turned to look at Ate who stepped forward to answer.
"I have sent them for some task somewhere, they will be returning soon"¡
"So that was the case"
Wyot nodded his head and did not pry more. He understood that everybody had their own secrets and things that they needed to do, there was no point in prying. Besides, he felt like the demi humans were cold and distant to him, no not only him but to all the humans of the town except for Cynthia and her group and the ves.
With the tyranny of the Criminal organisations over, all the ves that were brought from the foreign countries and maind, was released. Their ve cors removed and they no longer needed to follow themand of their masters.
They were now free to stay in this town or go wherever they wanted.
Thinking about it, most of the ves that were brought in the tower town were demi humans, just like that unusual group. Were those people once ves too? If they were, it would exin their hatred towards him and the other humans.
"It is not good to make noise in the room where a patient is recovering, let us go to a different room".
Leaving the couple by the bed alone, the rest exited the room. Outside in the hallway, Cynthia opened her mouth to ask¡ª
"Miss Ate¡ do you not need to go where Theodore and Mayebll went?".
Ate nced at Cynthia and smiled "Just Ate is fine Your Highness and no, I don''t need to go there. My priority is your safety as such just sending them there should be enough"¡
"I see"¡
People like Wyot and others from ke''s team would wonder what they were talking about. However, those in the know like Alvara and the others understood what the topic was all about.
However, they were not in the liberty to divulge any information, after all, it rted to Her Highness and that person.
.
.
Main Floor of the Dungeon Lace, inside White Pce.
At this moment, almost all subordinates present inside the dungeon, assembled in the Main Hall. Whether it be the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse, Berigard, Colues, the other forest spring spirits, Wisp, Prime, all were present.
Seated on the head seat was Simon looking at them as they kneeled in front of him.
"Everyone, raise your heads. Today I gathered you for no other reason but to tell you all that the scourge guing the tower town, is now gone. Thanks to the efforts of Ate, Theodore, Maybell and the others, we won''t have to worry about our dungeon going into decline again"
"Our actions would soon bring over waves of adventurers flooding inside the dungeon. I want everyone to continue putting in the efforts you have been for the dungeon"
Simon firstplimented his subordinates for a job well done before moving on to the important topic.
"Most of you might not know but our actions were very important for the development of the dungeon. The tower town is not only the source of ie for the dungeon, but it is a ce that is associated with the life and death of our dungeon. As such, we cannot leave it to its state"
Chapter 788 788- Rank Up- [B] Tier Intermediate Ranking Dungeon (2)
Chapter 788 Chapter 788- Rank Up- [B] Tier Intermediate Ranking Dungeon (2)
"However, with your actions we sessfully retook the town, an action that would help increase the rank of the dungeon. That''s right, it was an important aplishment worthy of recognition. The one who made it possible, deserves a reward. Is there anything you guys want? If it''s possible within my power, I''m willing to grant you your wish?"
Simon looked at his subordinates. An organisation''s productivity was directly rted to the satisfaction factors of its employees. It would perform well if its employees were adequately motivated and properly remunerated for their efforts.
Simon wanted to insinuate what he learned from his previous life to this slowly expanding organisation called the Dungeon Lace. However, honest to the fault, his subordinates were just too damn loyal to him.
"We thank Master for his generous words. However, serving you is the greatest honour that we could ask for. We dare not ask for anything else, just that we want to keep following and devote our loyalty to you for eternity".
Haaa¡ Simon sighed, even Theodore and Mayebell were saying things like that. He would have liked it more if they acted a bit more selfishly.
That''s right, they were usually much more rxed and acted spoiled around him, why did they turn like all the others all of a sudden? Could it be because this was a formal audience with everyone present?
Simon realised that he needed to change his approach. It''s not that they didn''t want anything, it''s just that they were in front of everyone and had to act their part. He made a mental note to ask his subordinates what they wanted when he met with them in privateter.
For now, it was important that he progressed with the audience.
"Once we ce a figurehead to govern the tower town, all the conditions to evolve the dungeon would be met. Just like usual, all the inhabitants of the dungeon would receive a gift based on their talent and aptitude. However, before that, I would like to announce the biggest contributor who made all of this possible and a very important revtion that we learned from this endeavour"
Saying that, Simon called forth the warrior who yed the leading role. Mars stepped forward and kneeled in front of him. His stature even while bent, was towering whenpared to all of his other subordinates.
"I would like to introduce everyone to Mars here. You might be confused by his change in appearance, but make no mistake, he is a very loyal subordinate of mine, the leader of all the beasts of the dungeon, Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse that you all know" Simon introduced.
"I thought as much¡ but look at you, you really did change a hell lot" Theodoremented.
"What he was the Bloothorn Demonic Warhorse?" Cecilia being the clueless one, gasped in surprise. She tottered over to Mars'' side and curiously started inspecting him.
"Woah, Sir Warhorse has changed a lot. Ah, I should call you Sir Mars from now. However, what brought this change?".
Even if not for Cecilia, Simon knew that everybody would ask this question. As such, he told them about his recent rank up and Mars'' naming ceremony.
"Woah¡ big brother ranked up and gave sir warhorse a name?!! Hehe¡ it''s such a good news. Everyone from the vige would be overjoyed to hear this" Cecilia jumped with merry.
"Cecilia you are interrupting the audience" Irene quietly reminded from the side.
"Ah!" As if realising her mistake, the girl hurriedly backed away.
"Anyways, it is due to Mars and the others that the n went as smoothly as it did" Simon resumed "Not only were we able to pull out all the gue infecting the tower town and take control of it in one go, we were also able to discover the objective of the Criminal organisation''s which was much deeper than we had initially imagined".
At this moment, he turned towards Prime who was standing among the ranks of his subordinates and asked¡ª "Prime please tell everyone what you have discovered from the pieces of equipment and machineries we found inside the underground chamber of the criminal organisations".
On his orders, the tiny Lumynar jumped on top of arge strange looking machine and began his exnation.
"This thing here is quite amusing. After opening it up and learning about it, I discovered that it runs on arge number of core stones. The energy it can hold can easily destroy a town as small as the tower town. However, that is what''s not amazing about this thing. As far as I can tell, this thing can borrow the power that can iste and lock space for a set period of time"¡
"What?!!"
On Prime''s exnation, everyone except for Simon, showed an astonished expression. An equipment that could lock space¡ This strange looking machine did what?
Their astonishment stemmed from the fact that the attribute of space was one of the most mysterious and fearsome attributes out of all the other elements. It was not only extremely rare, but much was still unknown about it.
Because of this reason, the fact that this machine here could do something that was beyond their understanding, came as quite a bit of shock to them.
"This machine can lock space? How is something like this even possible?" Coleus muttered, looking at the machine with intrigue.
"Fufufu¡ Evenws can be bent to one''s will if one has a deep understanding of its workflow and mechanics. Why can''t there be a machine that can lock space? Hmph, this thing is still in its early stages and needs much more work on it. However, I have already seen machines that are much more better than this, machines that can even lock time and space, create slip space and such. Compared to those machines, this thing is nothing"
"That aside, although I said it can iste and lock space, this here is just oneponent of the real machine. The one which can lock space, is located somewhere else. This machine here is simply a transceiver, it receives and modtes energy waves sent by the actual machine"¡
"Are you saying that this machine here is not the actual space locking machine?"¡
"That is right" Prime nodded with confidence.
He was a Lumynar, a race known for its extremely high intelligence, not to mention he was also an inventor from a highly advanced race. There was no reason for Simon to doubt his words.
"It''s a shame that we weren''t able to get our hands on the real thing. But that is not important right now, actual or not, this thing can iste and lock space. I don''t need to tell everyone what that means".
Even without him needing to say it out loud everybody understood what it meant. A machine that could iste and lock space, it was built to counter ces or things that reside in a special space like the dungeons.
If this machine was ever used inside a dungeon, it would essentially lock the spatialws of that dungeon, making teleportation or any form ofmunication practically useless.
A dungeon with its spatialws sealed and isted from the rest of the world, it was not hard for Simon to imagine what would be the fate of such a dungeon.
What''s more the fact that such a machine was confiscated from the possession of the criminal organisations, left him with an uneasy feeling. He practically knew nothing about the objective of the criminal organisations, their reason foring to the tower town and taking over it.
Fortunately, thanks to Mars'' n he was able to capture quite a few of their high ranking executives. Although it was a pity that he was unable to capture their two leaders alive as they self destructed their bodies after they lost, he should be able to get some information if he investigated the ones he captured.
"Bea, I leave the interrogation of the captives to you. Make sure they spill out every piece of information they have. I need to know what they were trying to do by creating an underground chamber and producing machines like this right under our nose"¡
"Leave it to me, master" Bea dutifully nodded.
The captives were currently imprisoned in the underground prison of the training floor, at the deepest thirdyer.
Not only the ce was extremely sturdy, but the cells were also made of material that constantly drained mana from the prisoners. Then there was also numerous traps and formations to make them weaker. As such, even if they rankers, escape was practically impossible from the underground prison.
''It''s a good thing that I decided to intervene. Had I left the tower town on its own, I wouldn''t have been able to unveil their plot. In any case, I hope it''s all just my needless concern and has nothing to do with them'' Simon thought internally.
The discussion from the Hexennacht still weighed heavily on his mind. The fact that even high ranking dungeons that have been there in the world for hundreds and even thousands of years, can be conquered just like that, gave him a heavy sense of unease.
What''s more, the perpetrators who destroyed the high ranking dungeon, did it so spotlessly that they could even evade from the senses and pursuit of Demon Archdukes, making it all the more harder for low and intermediate dungeons and their masters to ignore this news.
Especially after hearing about the recent destruction of the [A] ranking dungeon which was theyer of an ancient Demon Duke. Moments before that dungeon was destroyed, allmunication from that dungeon was severed and it was isted from the rest of the world.
Chapter 789- Rank Up- [B] Tier Intermediate Ranking Dungeon (3)
789 Chapter 789- Rank Up- [B] Tier Intermediate Ranking Dungeon (3)
It was highly likely that the space of the dungeon was locked and itsmunication jammed. Thus the reason for the chaotic message the Demon Lord of Envy showed them.
At that time, he still believed that he had enough time to grow his dungeon until it became a behemoth kind of existence that couldn''t be toppled down easily. However, the recent events told Simon otherwise.
He cannot let his guard down even for a second. Although there is no proof that the things he discovered in the underground chamber of the criminal organisation in the tower town are connected to those people who are responsible for conquering the dungeons, in the case that it is, he needs to be prepared.
On that note¡
"Mars you did an excellent job by cornering the prey and discovering their plot in the underground chamber. Bea you too. Just as I said before, I am willing to grant any of your wish. If there is anything you want, don''t hesitate to speak up".
Although Bea stayed behind and didn''t participate in the recent mission, she nheless was on board with Mars'' n and helped him teleport all the captives and the machines that they were manufacturing for Prime to study.
She was entitled to a reward as much as everyone.
"Thank you my lord for your generous words. However, serving you is the biggest reward one can ask for. I don''t need anything else"¡
Another deferential response, Simon already knew she would reply like that. He didn''t get his expectations up, on the contrary, he was even relieved hearing her response.
This was Bea after all, who knew what she might end up asking? It was not like Simon was oblivious to her feelings.
Contrary to Bea and the others, there was someone who finally opened his mouth and muttered a response that was different from the usual deferential answer all his subordinates gave.
"My lord, there is one thing that I want to ask of you?"
Mars arched his head and looked at Simon from his position. Finally, one of his subordinates was asking something of him. If it was not something beyond his capability, Simon decided to grant them their wish.
This would set a good precedence. Mentally praising Mars for a job well done, he asked¡ª "What is it Mars, you don''t have to feel reserved. Ask away"¡
"Yes" Mars too did not stand on ceremony and made his request "The thing is, I want to create an elite unit of my own that serves my lord and protects this dungeon in times of need. I want my lord to grant me this permission".
Most of the subordinates present inside the hall, wore various expressions of surprise on their face. Mars was the first one among all of Simon''s subordinates to ask for a reward. What''s more, the reward he asked for did not benefit himself but was all for the master he served.
Creating an elite unit that was led by him and which directly served Simon, the master of the dungeon and the highest authority here. If Mars was requesting something like this, then his goal was clear.
People like Coleus, Prime, Berigard and the others looked at Theodore, Maybell and the other Guardians. The Guardian on the other hand were looking at Mars with intrigue and amusement in their eyes.
Especially Theodore, he was looking at Mars as if he was looking at something that he found very interesting.
Why would he not? After all, saying those words to their master meant that he wanted to stand on the same grounds as them. That is to say, Mars'' goal was to be a Guardian, the pir that supported the dungeon, just like them.
"Hoh, are you sure? Granting the permission is not difficult for me. However, the path you have chosen is not easy. You should already know the level you need to reach that goal of yours. The rank of guardian is the highest in the dungeon after the dungeon master. Only a limited few people can sit on these seats. You not only need to have strength backing that rank, but you also need to be acknowledged by the dungeon"
It was as Simon said, the position of the Guardains, the rank thates directly after the dungeon master, was limited. Right now, there were already five Guardians. What''s more, all of them are chosen by the dungeon itself.
Simon did not know how many guardians his dungeon Lace could appoint. Nevertheless, he knew that it could only be a handful more.
It was not like he didn''t have any confidence that Mars could be stronger. In fact, being his first subordinate, he trusted Mars more than anyone and knew that thetter could be much stronger in the future.
However, in this world there was the absolute restriction called the bloodline limit that any and all creature of this world is constrained to.
When he first summoned the Bloodthron Demonic Warhorse, it was ranked [B] by the Status. However, after the Naming ceremony, its rank rose up to [A]. Considering the fact that all those who were assigned the rank of Guardians were at least [S] rank, it could be seen that [S] rank was the bare minimum to be a Guardian.
It wasn''t just based on level, but individual specialness. Or else Cecilia and Wisp wouldn''t have be a Guardian. It was the same with the Valkyries, given their strength and uniqueness, they too ought to get the rank of Guardians.
However, the rank that they got was Administrators, a rank that was a few levels below the Guardians. From this one could see how stringent the requirement to be a Guardian was.
"I am aware my lord, and I have made my resolve. I will be strong enough to be regarded as your most powerful subordinate"
Mars spoke with an undeterred determination. There was no hesitation in his voice nor any doubt only pure confidence and tenacity.
Simon was a little amazed as well as a little surprised by the resolve of his subordinate. The cause to protect something and the intense fervour to be stronger was something that he too shared. As such, he knew what Mars was feeling.
That said, more than him, the ones who were most affected by thest sentence of Mars, were obviously the Guardians. To dare and say in front of everyone that he would be the most trusted and powerful subordinate of their master, how could it not light a fire in them?
"Heh, looks like somebody is underestimating us. Very then, I''ll take on the challenge. Let''s see who be the most powerful and trusted subordinate of Master" Theodore dered, revved up by the atmosphere.
"Maybell you agree with me, right?"¡
"I don''t know brother, Isn''t it good that he wants to be a Guardian? Why do boys always have to be sopetitive"¡
"Right¡ right¡ boys are always like that, getting fired up over the smallest of things"¡ Cecilia added, backing Maybell up.
"What did you say? Hmph, I knew it, girls don''t understand a thing. In a situation like this, it''s obvious to take on the challenge".
While the immature ones started bickering among themselves, the mature ones like Irene smiled looking at Simon.
"You have good subordinates"¡
"Yeah".
And so, feeling the determination of the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse now known as Mars, Simon gave his permission. In any case, he himself wanted to see what great heights this first subordinate of his would reach in the future.
Although he did not know at that time, but this decision of his woulde to effect his dungeon greatly in the future. An elite legion led by the Legion Commander Mars would etch their names in the history of Althaea.
Defeating every army and opponent they faced with an unsurpassed record. However, that is something for the future. For now, even Simon couldn''t have predicted the result of his actions. After the audience was over, Simon ordered Prime to stay behind and dispersed his other subordinates.
Now that the gue infecting the tower town was gone and it was in the midst of rebuilding itself anew again, the dungeon would soon get busy. This meant that his subordinate would not be able to stay idle too.
They all had their own tasks and responsibilities handed to them. As such, they soon left after the audience was over.
Now inside the hall, Simon, Prime, Irene, Cecilia and Bea were the only people remaining.
"Hey brat, why did you ask me to stay? If it is to ask about the Resonancer, I already told you that I''m in thest stages ofpleting it. As you know, I am shorthanded. The robots you send, although can carry the orders as they were told, theyck ingenuousness and creativity. To be honest, they are simply boring to work with. If you want that machine to bepleted fast, send some capable workers to my abode"
Prime opened byining about how short in staff he was. He was the only one among his subordinates to call him a brat. Nevertheless, Simon did not mind.
"I understand; however, there is no avable workforce for me to assign to your tool shop"
Dungeon Lace was severelycking in manpower. The Forest Spring Spirits were already busy running different errands and the Andromedas although excellent workerscked something significant that the living had.
All the people he could trust already had their tes full with all the work. And although the increasing poption of the forest spring spirits was a good sign, it would still take some time for the children to grow up into proper adults and help him manage the dungeon.
Chapter 790- Rank Up- [B] Tier Intermediate Ranking Dungeon (4)
790 Chapter 790- Rank Up- [B] Tier Intermediate Ranking Dungeon (4)
Simon needed to find some other way.
"If the Forest Spirits are too busy, then send me those orcs. If I am not mistaken, you have a huge poption of them inhabiting a couple of floors of your dungeon right? The orcs are one of the races in the universe gifted with an all epassing abilities"
"Although they are not masters of any one craft, they do have abilities that allow them to do anything they want. Artisanry, Warmongering, Magecraft, Weapon Smithing¡ their builds allow them to be able to do anything. The ones in your dungeon still have unevolved potential. If you give them to me, I may be able to help them evolve into higher stages"¡
"Orcs huh"
Prime''s words reminded Simon that he still had lots of unused manpower inside the dungeon. Led by Berigard, the race of Diluvian High Orcs was a force to reckon with.
They have been steadily making progress, evolving all of their high orcs into Diluvian High Orcs. However, other than that, there was not much to talk about.
The position of the Diluvian High Orcs were deep inside the lower floors of the dungeon. Not many adventurers have the strength to reach those floors causing much of the potential of the orcs to remain unused.
It was not like the Diluvian High Orcs had no potential, he had seen himself how powerful the orcs could grow if they had the right resources and appropriate environment. There was a possibility of more individuals like Berigard popping up.
However, the truth was that by shifting them inside his dungeon and cing them in a secured ce, he robbed them of this opportunity. What he had forgotten was that the orcs were able to reach the level they were precisely because of the warring environment that constantly needed them to fight and advance themselves.
All of those conditions were absent in the deeper floors of the dungeon leading the growth of the orcs to be stagnant.
Although their level couldn''t be said to be weak especially whenpared to the adventurers around this region. However, how long would thatst? With the increase in the rank of the dungeon and the changing times, it wouldn''t be long before when level 400 would be seen as weak.
At that time, the powerful floors of the Diluvian High Orcs will be a dead weight to his dungeon. In that regard, Prime''s offer was not bad. If he can allow them to evolve into higher stages, it would help increase the defence of the dungeon.
Simon understood that but the fact that they were a race that was initially foreign to the dungeon and waster brought inside by him, bothered him. To put it simply, he cannot trust them as he did the forest spring spirits and the Andromedas.
Their leader Berigard who formed a soul contract with him was one thing but bringing in the other orcs into the [WorkShop] which was essentially one of the most important floors of the dungeon¡
As if seeing through his concerns, Prime rmended "How about this then, send one of your subordinates to bring the words that I said to the orc that was here a moment ago. If I reckon, he should be the leader of the orcs. I will only take those orcs who are the most loyal. As an added precaution, you can also assign a small unit of Mk 7 Andromedas to watch over them. That way you wouldn''t have to worry too much".
Prime''s words made sense, in a situation where he needed manpower to continue to operate his dungeon, he could not be too picky. Take what you get¡ in this case, the Diluvian High Orcs were the only ones that could solve the problem his dungeon was facing.
"Alright, I''ll talk with Berigard, I am very curious to see what higher races you can evolve them into. That said, the reason why I asked you to stay behind isn''t because of the Resonancer. Although it''s a good thing that it is in its final stages, what I needed to talk to you about isn''t that"¡
"Hoh?! Then what is it?" Prime questioned.
Simon took a deep breath and answered "It''s about the machine we retrieved from the underground Chamber. To be honest, I cannot shake off the feeling that all of this is connected to something big, something that would take the entire world with a storm"
"I don''t know when it will happen but I know that it will. And for that, I need to be prepared. That said, the dungeon ispletely unprepared for an event like that. If that machine had been used inside Lace, there was no way we would have been able to avoid it. To iste and lock space, to prepare for a contingency like that, I want to request your aid"
Simon revealed the real reason he asked Prime to stay behind.
The Lumynar looked at the machine and was silent for a while "I see now, so that was the reason. You want me to research this machine and develop something that can counter it right?".
He nodded his head "To be exact, I want you to build a counter for a few more machines whose effect I am gonna tell you now. If it''s you the genius Lumynar who was awarded the name Prime, you will be able to do it".
"Haha.. you praise me too much. Alright, you can leave it to me, I will try my best" Prime rubbed his head and glowed a brilliant blue that portrayed his emotions of being shy.
After the lumynar left the hall, Simon sighed. It was not hard for him to manipte Prime who was from a race who were upfront with their emotions and extremely simple. What tired him was the act that he needed to put in front of his subordinates.
Whenever he met them, they all nced at him with eyes full of reverence and worship and honestly it was sometimes too much for him. Nevertheless, knowing where his subordinates came from, he felt like he couldn''t let them down.
Thus he also started to act his part, the charismatic and regal leader that they all admired.
"Good work" Irene came over and sat beside him.
"Hehe, brother let me tell you about my new powers" Cecilia upied the seat on the other side of him and started rambling about her powers.
Ever since she started taking care of the Spirit Tree, the power sleeping dormant within her, started awakening at a faster rate. Simon worried that her personality might change once she starts regaining all of her powers.
The visions that he saw and the words that Aldebaran said, were still floating at the back of his head. However, looking at her now, there was no difference between the her right now and Cecilia from before.
This made him realise that he was worried for nothing. Emissary or not, Cecilia would always be his little sister.
Cecilia continued to talk non stop while Simon silently listened to her. Irene and Bea would sometimes join the conversation adding in their suggestions.
At this moment, a window suddenly popped up in front of Simon.
"So it''s finally starting huh"¡
"Woah, the dungeon is going to increase in rank again!!"
It was not only him, all the residents of the dungeon received the same notification.
[Notice- All the conditions for the rank up have been met. Dungeon- Lace will now undergo a transformation to be a [B] ranking dungeon. Time till the transformation ends¡ª3 Days]¡
Ding¡
[Additional Notice¡ª Gifts will be sent to all the inhabitants of the dungeon as per their contribution]
Almost at the same time, Tower Town¡ªAdventurer''s Association building. At this moment, arge crowd was gathered inside the building. People were cheering, apuding the new mayor of the town standing at the gallery on the upper floor.
She was a beautiful woman with long lustrous violet hair that reached till her back. She had an alluring body with curves that could mesmerise one''s eyes. Long nted eyebrows and protruding violet eyes.
On her body, she wore a dark purple dress with a long slit on the side, revealing and hiding her beguiling shapely legs. Just by standing there, she exuded a noble, elegant aura that made her stand out amongst the crowd and her every action that had a certain eloquence to it, hinted of her high birth.
Who could the woman be other than Cynthia Augusta Ellesmere? After she epted the offer of being the mayor of the town, the people of the tower town, threw a big celebration party. Commemorating the freedom of the town and a new beginning.
Standing next to Cynthia, were her loyal retainers and Ate and her group. ke and his party were also there, as this was also a party to celebrate the awakening of the heroes and their triumph over the catastrophe, they were the stars of the show as everybody fawned over them to gain their favour and leave an impression.
"How are you, ke? I heard you woke up just a few hours ago. Is it alright for you to walk and drink already?" Cynthia walked over to ke and asked.
"Haha, my body feels like it''s overflowing with energy for some reason. It''s refreshing as if I have be more powerful. With how pumped up I am, there is no way I can continue sleeping in that bed for even a second"
kemented, biting a generous size meat with his teeth. With how high spirited he was, nobody would even think that he was in aatose state for more than three days.
Chapter 791 791- [Custodian] of the Floor Zero
Chapter 791 791- [Custodian] of the Floor Zero
"It''s weird seeing him so psyched up right after suffering those life threatening injuries. If it was me, I would need weeks or even months to get over that experience" Wyot added teasingly as he drank the ale from his mug.
"This is not aughing matter Wyot, ke almost died" Frida reproved "You should listen to me and get some more rest"¡
"What do you mean, there is such a good party going over here. You want me to miss this?" ke continued gobbling one food after another as if making up for all the nutrients his body lost during the previous fight.
"Haha, well said ke, as adventurers how can we miss a banquet? Today let us drink and eat to our heart''s content" Wyot raised his ss for toast.
"Sigh, these people" Sighing inwardly, Frida turned towards Cynthia and asked, "Your Highness as you can see they are like this and full of energy. I don''t think they are gonna stop anytime soon. Anyways, where is that little girl? She saved ke, I never properly thanked her".
After healing ke, it was as if she had disappeared, she was nowhere to be found in the tower town.
"You mean Miss Maybell? She is somewhere around here, but since she doesn''t like parties like this, I doubt you will find her inside" Cynthia answered "You can thank her when you meet her again"¡
TREMBLE¡
Just as she finished her words, the ground started trembling intensely. The shocks were so violent that the entire building creaked with small cracks appearing around the walls.
"Another earthquake? What is going on with the Tower Town? Don''t tell me it''s another catastrophe ss monster?!!"¡
"You idiot how can there be another catastrophe ss monster? do you think monsters of such anomalous power grow on trees? If there was another one, wouldn''t the town be destroyed already?"¡
"Look outside, it''s not an earthquake, the shocks areing from the tower"¡
At this moment, if one bobbed their head outside the window, they would be able to witness a phenomenal scene that an average human would be incapable of witnessing in their entire lifetime. A spectacle that defied the boundaries of the ordinary.
Outside, a colossal column of mystical energy surged from the very depths of the tower. It rose with an otherworldly brilliance, racing toward the heavens.
The mystical energy carried an ethereal glow, creating an aurora effect that painted the sky with brilliant colours. The sheer magnitude of this magical disy left onlookers breathless, the ordinary facade of their town transformed into a realm of wonder.
It was a moment that transcended the mundane, an event that etched itself into the collective memory of the tower town, making them unable to forget it in their lifetime.
"Woah, what the hell, it''s beautiful¡ but it''sing from the tower" A few people pointed at the distant tower, confused by the new event.
"Ah!! I remember now, I witnessed it before too. Though this time, the scale is on a whole another level" One of the adventurers inside the association muttered remembering something.
"What do you mean you witnessed it before? Is something like that normal here? Tell us what you know?"
On the insistence of the other adventurers, the man who opened his mouth earlier, exined.
"Everyone, calm down, this phenomenon has urred in the tower town before too. It''s nothing serious"¡
"How can you say that after all the things that happened recently?"¡
"It''s because nothing happened thest time too. From what we have investigated at that time, we came to the conclusion that it is a phenomenon that urs when a dungeon ranks up".
This was not the first time that something like this had urred in the tower town, people who were the denizens of the town since way back had already witnessed such a scene before.
Nevertheless, that is not important right now.
"Did you just this phenomenon was the indication of the dungeon ranking up?" ke walked out from amidst the crowd and questioned the man.
Seeing that it was one of the heroes who saved the town who asked the question, the man became a little nervous. However, he still replied honestly.
"Oi.. Oi¡ wait a second there, didn''t you say that you witnessed a simr scene before too? Are you saying that in just the span of a few years, the dungeon ranked up twice?!!"
It was only after Wyot pointed it out, did the adventurers finally realised the seriousness of the matter. It wasmonly known that a dungeon requires dozens if not hundreds of years to increase in rank.
It was not just the matter of climbing up an alphabet, the evolution of a dungeon was a slow and arduous process that required a vast umtion of mystical energy, various esoterical conditions and a long gruelling period of time.
Even the Adventurer''s Association was unaware of the exact conditions needed for a dungeon to rank up. Nevertheless, what was known was that the conditions were extremely rough and usually require a long period of time.
The higher the rank of the dungeon, the more true the case was. It was for this reason that many low ranking dungeons gets conquered before they even have the chance to be an intermediate ranking one.
But this¡ the Dungeon Lace not only deviated from all the norms but was even ranking up at a speed that was utterly ridiculous to say no less.
"Isn''t dungeon Lace already a [C] rank intermediate tier dungeon? Since it''s going through an increase in rank, doesn''t it mean that it is about to be a [B] rank" kemented, staring at the tower and the dungeon underneath with solemn eyes.
At the mention of [B] rank, the entire hall became silent. What did it mean for a dungeon to be ranked as such? A [B[ ranking dungeon, even if one searched the entire Demon Continent, one wouldn''t find that many dungeons that have actually reached that rank.
Once a dungeon bes a [B] ranking dungeon, it means that it has reached the peak of the intermediate tier and has be a force in the world that couldn''t be ignored. Not only it marked a significant increase in challenge and opportunity for adventurers, it also signified the increase in strength,plexity and dangers of the trials in the dungeon.
Even though [B] rank still falls in the category of the intermediate tier, there was a vast difference between a [B] and [C] ranking dungeon.
The monsters within a [B]-rank dungeon are notably stronger and more cunning. Their abilities are more diverse, requiring adventurers to adapt and strategize their tactics effectively.
The traps and puzzles within such a dungeon are more intricate, demanding a higher level of intellect and skill to navigate. Not only that, [B]-rank dungeons are known to house more valuable treasures, rare artifacts, and magical items. The risks are greater, but so are the potential rewards.
It may also contain unique resources or materials that are highly sought after in the wider world like Mythril, Adamantium and such.
Adventurers, who can sessfully stir through the trails of a [B] ranking dungeon and clear floors gain a reputation that surpasses those who have only faced lower-ranked challenges. It''s a testament to their growing prowess.
The clearance of floors of such dungeons bes a rite of passage for many aspiring adventurers, a mark that they are ready to face the tougher realms.
Then there was the factor of environment and size. [B]-rank dungeons often exhibit a broader range of environments, from expansive caverns to enchanted forests within their confines.
This diversity challenges adventurers to adapt to various terrains and conditions. The size of each floors are also many timesrger, causing adventurers to explore deeper and uncover hidden secrets. This expansion of territory makes mapping and navigation moreplex.
Talking about advanced magical phenomenons, starting from [B] rank, dungeons show magical anomalies such as temporal distortions elemental anomalies, or zones with heightened magical influences, distortions that were absent in [C] and lower ranking dungeons.
That was not all, [B] ranking dungeon was said to be the gateway to lure Rankers. It was generally known that Rankers usually dive in dungeons [B] rank or above as the lower ranking dungeon did not have much appeal or challenge for them.
Now that the Dungeon of the Tower Town has be a [B] rank, soon this ce would start attracting more and more rankers.
Lace will have more political significance in the wider world with kingdoms and factions vying for control or seek alliances to harness the dungeon''s resources.
Whatever the case was, everybody was certain about one thing, the tower town was going to see some significant change in theing months.
"I guess I can''t allow myself to get left behind" ke clenched his hands in resolve.
As surprising as the event might seem, he had already known that the Dungeon Lapalce wasn''t ordinary. Even when it was a low ranking dungeon, it disyed the propensities and characteristics of higher ranks.
Thinking that way, it was easier for ke to ept the improbable notion that the dungeon was increasing in rank at an utterly baffling speed. In any case, he was an adventurer. His blood boiled in excitement just thinking about the trials and challenges lying in wait in the dungeon.
While the adventurers were looking at the tower with all kinds of dumbfounded expressions, Cynthia''s attention was distracted by something else. Her eyes were nk as she dazedly looked at the space.
In front of her, appeared a screen that she had never encountered before.
Chapter 792 792- [Custodian] Of The Floor Zero (2)
Chapter 792 792- [Custodian] Of The Floor Zero (2)
Written on the screen was a few words.
[You have been appointed the Custodian of the Shadowed Tower. Floor Zero now covers the whole town. You are now able to control the entire area]¡
"Custodian of the Shadowed Tower" Cynthia muttered reading the notification that popped up in front of her as soon as the phenomenon outside urred.
"Congrattions, Your Highness. Now you are a part of the dungeon and lord Simon''s entourage"
Before she could think further, Ate from the sides congratted her. At that instant, she understood that it was the doing of ''that'' guy.
"Did Si¡ Lord Simon did this?"¡
"That is correct. Now that the dungeon has increased in rank, the tower town has now be a part of the tower or otherwise known as Floor Zero. Master appointed you as the Custodian of this floor, a rank that is only one tier lower than us Administrators"
"With this authority, you can control everything and anything on this floor, set up any rules, and instations from the [Shop], change the topography or even teleport the whole town inside the tower. In short, you have be the person in charge of the tower. As long as you are inside the field zero, you are able to ess the [Main Menu]"
Ate exined. As one of the Administrators of the dungeon, she also got the notification of Cynthia''s appointment as the Custodian. She had long figured out that thetter would y arger role in her master''s n than just being a figurehead who governed the tower town on their behalf.
Now with her appointed as the Custodian, she was clear.
''Could it be that the objective of her master isn''t just to bring the tower town under his influence, but the entire¡'' Ate couldn''t help but give Cynthia another look over.
A well known figure, a princess and a royal with multiple connections and influence over the masses. Thanks to the recent event, she even became the Mayor of the town and nowmands an army of adventurers, merchants and other people of various professions who would do anything on her behalf for freeing them.
With such a huge force at her disposal, it was clear what Cynthia''s objective was. Reiming her kingdom back which has been forcefully upied by the Kingdom of ckthorn.
The princess who had once lost everything and had to take refuge under their master, was now the leader of all these strong men and women. Even though she was right next to her and witnessed all of this happening, Ate still couldn''t believe her eyes.
In just a little over a week, she gained a force that wasn''t inferior to the army of any kingdom and is now preparing to take her kingdom back.
''Did Master foresee this development?'' She couldn''t help but wonder. If her master had nned all of this from the start, then didn''t it mean that he was an expert strategist?
At this moment, Simon''s image inside Ate''s heart, became even more reverential.
Though all of it was her own misconception. It was true that Simon had a much bigger n for Cynthia than just to be a figurehead for the tower town. For this purpose, he sent Ate and the others to support her.
In fact, he didn''t think that his n would go as smoothly as it did. Making her the leader of Tower Town that everybody recognised and letting her take control of the floor zero was the extent of his n.
Gaining a force that followed her every will was something that even he hadn''t predicted and was something that was the result of the consequences of Mars'' intervention and Cynthia''s own efforts.
In short, Simon hadn''t foreseen any of this, it was all a big misconception on Ate''s part.
The spectacle outside went on for one full day and after people realised that nothing unusual was happening and it was simply a sign of the dungeon ranking up, they went on with their activities.
The next day around noon, Cynthia gathered all the adventurer leaders and influential people of the tower town in the Serene Pce Merchant Guild building to discuss her next set of actions.
When she finally confessed what she was after and looked at the casual expression of the people around her, she couldn''t help but ask.
"Aren''t you guys surprised? Everything that I did, all my actions up until now was just to regain my kingdom back".
She expected the people to be surprised or dismayed even after hearing her objective. However, to her confusion, they showed none of those expressions and kept a straight face as if everything she was saying was all amon knowledge and nothing too unexpected.
"Haha, what are you even saying Your Highness? We already knew what you were after since the beginning. You are the sole princess of the kingdom of Ellesmere and one of the royal bloodline. Of course you would want to regain your kingdom; no, our kingdom back"
The first one to speak was Wyot who had be one of her most loyal subordinates after the recent events. Although he was not from the kingdom, he still called it as our, showing that he would absolutely support Cynthia no matter what decision she made.
"That''s right princess, you are the princess of the kingdom. As one of its royal, it is only natural for you to fight the enemies of your kingdom. I don''t like ckthorn anyways, it is because of them that the tower town became the way it was"
Another supported. Following him, more and more people started showing their willingness to fight for her.
"Your Highness, although I''m not much use in a war, but my merchant crew will support you with all our strength. You can use our resources andworks as you wish"¡
"You Highness, it is thanks to the heroes you sent that my wife and children are alive. I will fight for you. I run a weapon store chain in the Kingdom of Peria. Leave the supply of weapons and other materials to us".
Seeing all the people support her without asking any questions, Cynthia realised that she had underestimated her efforts and how much influence it had on the people of the tower town.
She had not only saved them, but she arrived at the time when they were at their lowest and needed her the most. She boosted their morals and showed them hope. Not only that, but the heroes that followed her made them believe that she could defeat any opponent.
The whole town had witnessed that epic battle where her heroes repelled the catastrophe back inside the dungeon. The figure of their valiant fight had already burned themself in their consciousness and cannot be changed easily.
Because of this misconception, none of the people here had any fear of going to a war against a nation.
People like them constituted the majority, the rest were of course, profit seekers and money grubbers. They were supporting her only for the sake of benefits. After all, where there was war, there was tons of money rolling in.
Not to mention if they supported her and she became the queenter on, they would be obtaining much more benefit for supporting her.
And just like that, the worst fear Cynthia had, disappeared just like that.
"Well even if it wasn''t your objective we would have to go to war with ckthorn sooner orter anyway. With the spread of the news of the dungeon in the tower town bing a [B] rank, it is just a matter of time before the other kingdomse attacking us to upy the dungeon. The political significance of a [B] rank dungeon is unimaginable. Nations would do anything to take control and harness the dungeon''s resources"
ke rationally reasoned putting another reason there for them to fight for Cynthia. And thus, the topic shifted from why they needed to go to a war to when should they take this war.
Going on arge scale battle with a nation as powerful as ckthorn required a lot of preparations and time. They not only needed multiple discussion sessions to set up ns and tactics they also needed to control the flow of information so that none of the n leaked to the enemy.
Naturally, discussing all that, ate up a lot of time. After the session of discussion for today was over, Cynthia dismissed everyone and leaned back in her seat.
"Good work Your Highness" The only one who was allowed to stay back, was Ate. Even Alvara had to excuse herself. She came to Cynthia''s side and gently offered her a ss of cold water.
"Thank you, it''s because of all of your aid that I was able to make it this far"¡
"You are wrong in that thinking, Your Highness" Ate shook her head "Although we did aid you, this development is because of your efforts and life''s work. We had nothing to do with it".
"Is that so? Anyways, what did lord Simon say? Are there any new orders?" Cynthia asked.
"There are none. He only told us to aid you in every way to reim the kingdom back".
As a royal and as the mistress of the Serene Pce Merchant Guild, she had seen many people and instances in her life where they said things they did not mean. As a result, she had to learn reading between the lines and guess their objective through their bodynguage and the subtle hints they dropped subconsciously.
However, no matter how she looked at Ate, she couldn''t tell what the other party was thinking at all.
Chapter 793 793- Raid on Castledor
Chapter 793 793- Raid on Castledor
Whether it be her bodynguage or disposition, it was seemingly perfect with not even a single w to be found. This on the contrary was very frightening as there was no way of knowing what she was actually thinking.
"I see in that case, we shall go forward with the n we made" Cynthia could only believe in the demon and that he meant every word he said. In any case, she who has formed a soul contract with the demon, it was already toote for her to turn around.
.
.
Dukedom of Montford, Castledor city¡
Inside the Castle Montford, Alstin Elrand Ellesmere, the first prince of the Kingdom of Ellesmere could be seen sitting around a table discussing matters of importance with his retainers.
The once handsome prince who could make all the girls in the kingdom smitten to him with just his looks, at this moment looked extremely haggard and weary.
There were dark circles around his eyes, indicating that he was sleep deprived, his face looked sunken causing his cheekbones to pop out and his once long hair had thinned out to the point where one could see his hairline receding.
The contrast was so much that, if one hadn''t seen the first prince for a while, they would have difficulty believing that it was him.
The contrast was so much that, if one hadn''t seen the first prince for a while, they would have difficulty believing that it was him.
In just a couple of months, he had changed drastically. However, his change wasn''t the result of him being ill or anything, it was because of all the pressure and stress that he looked the way he did right now.
"Alright everyone, dismiss. Keep an eye on the movement of the enemies and notify me as soon as the spies send their reports".
At hismand, the people got up and left the room.
"Dammit, each and every one of them is useless. They can''t even do a single fucking thing I tell them to" Alstin cursed violently scratching his head.
"Ahh noo!! My hair they are falling again. This is all because of him, if only he hadn''t brought foreign aid with him, our kingdom wouldn''t have fallen in their hands"
The one he was cussing and swearing at, was none other than his brother, the second prince of the kingdom. If not for his brother fighting him over the throne and bringing those foreign invaders, he would have already be the king and their country wouldn''t have fallen so easily.
"Dammit, why can''t anything go the way I want"
BANG... He kicked a chair that smashed onto the nearby wall.
"Calm your anger down Your Highness" The room that seemed empty, wasn''t actually empty. There was one man who was sitting on the couch, casually drinking his tea who was yet to leave the room.
The man had a handsome face with a well groomed hairstyle that reached till his shoulders and lurid red hair. He was wearing a gaudy red robe that was made of some high ss material and tailored toplement his noble aura and handsome looks.
On his side, he carried a staff that had arge core stone, as big as a human skull, embedded on its top. Obviously, the staff was of a very high rank and pulsed with a dense amount of mana.
The man had a schrly look and was calmly reading a book. No matter how you look at him, the man was a mage through and through. However, he wasn''t just any mage but a renowned genius of the kingdom who surpassed all records and became the first person to step on level 500 at such an early age.
The man was none other than Lucas ckwood, the chosen sessor of Duke Montford and a powerful fire mage in his own right.
"How can I calm down in a situation like this Lucas? Everything is falling apart in front of my eyes. Have you not heard the report? The eastern and southern regions of the kingdom have bowed their head and surrendered to the ckthorn and are nowpletely under the control"
"Those ingrateful traitors have they forsaken their pride and dignity? I''ll chop every one of their heads once I be the king"
Alstin mmed his fist on the table in rage. Just the thought of those bastards who didn''t hesitate to change sides the moment the capital fell and things looked dire for them, made him sick.
Suddenly as if remembering something, his face brightened up for a second as he asked "It has been more than a month, did those people send any message back?"
The mysterious aid who he was clutching onto was a powerful underground organisation that operated in the shadows of the Maind. They were a powerful and mysterious group who have many powerful fighters on their side.
Before gaining Lucas and the Duke''s support, he had been getting aid from them. However, for some reason a few years ago, theypletely stopped allmunication or business with him.
He had been trying to reestablish a connection with them ever since then. If he could gain their aid again he could turn the situation around in one go.
That was how powerful that underground organisation was.
However, to his disappointment, Lucas shook his head saying "They are yet to send a reply. It doesn''t look like the money Your Highness sent to them was able to persuade their minds".
"kugh¡ then what should I do Lucas? I sent them all the treasures there were in the treasury of our kingdom. If even that isn''t enough to bring the Cerberus to our side, then I don''t know what will."¡
"Maybe the Cerberus doesn''t see any benefit in saving the kingdom that is why they holding onto giving a reply. Or it could be that they are helping the enemies instead" Lucas spected flipping the page of his book.
"Watch what you say Lucas, even if it''s you, I won''t forgive sphemy towards the kingdom. Besides, I don''t understand why you are not at all concerned. You a noble of this kingdom and the chosen heir to Duke Montford. If the kingdom goes down, it would affect your status too"
As Alstin had mentioned, Lucas looked all rxed and calm as he flipped through the pages of his book. Even though the kingdom was on itsst leg and almost about to be upied by ckthorn, one cannot see even a trace of anxiousness or panic on his face far from it, he looked like everything that was happening, had nothing to do with him.
"Haha, Your Highness you misunderstand. Of course, the fall or survival of the kingdom affects me too. However, what good would it do if I started panicking too? If the both of us get paralysed by anxiety, then we won''t be able to make any sound decisions. It is for this reason that I am diverting my mind by reading a book"
Lucas answered while still looking at the book.
"I see¡ you are right. Both of us cannot panic, one of us has to stayposed to respond to the worsening situation.."
As Alstin was muttering that, he suddenly noticed the book Lucas was reading starting to glow and disappear into thin air.
"Huh?!! Where did that book of yours go? Did it just disappear into light particles?".
"Haha, don''t worry too much about it, it''s just a trick book" Brushing aside the question, Lucas now free from his activity, walked out to the balcony and picked up a different topic.
"By the way Your Highness, while your subordinates were giving their reports, I couldn''t help but overhear an interesting matter"..
"What do you mean?"¡
"You know, how there are reportsing in regarding Princess Cytnhia and how she may be still alive"¡
"What?!" The expression on Alstin''s face changed for a second but he quickly covered that before it could be noticed.
"Hmph, those are all nonsense. Don''t tell me Lucas you believe those reports? I told you she died in an ident when the army of ckthorn invaded our capital. How can she still be alive much less be in that remote region of a ce?".
Lucas was silent, his clear eyes observed Alstin and although there was a smile on his face, it by no means a smile that gave others a sense of ease.
"It''s not that I don''t believe you your highness, it just that I wonder if you still remember the agreement we had"¡
"I know, my sister the princess of the kingdom was supposed be bethroed to you in return for your and the Duke''s aid. However, how is it my fault that she died in that incident?"
"I tried to do everything in my power to bring you two together. Trust me, nothing else would have made me happier to see my sister with a genius with a great future like you"
While outwardly Alstin said all that with a clear conscience on his face, he was inwardly making an extremely ugly expression. It was a lie that his sister died in the incident where the capital was invaded.
The truth was that his sister was against this political marriage and fiercely resisted his decision.
To make things worse, that foolish father of his even tried to make Cynthia his heir. He already had his hands full fighting the faction of second brother as such, he couldn''t be lenient to her even if she was his sister.
Therefore to keep his promise to Lucas and make Cynthia bow out from the power struggle, he tried to capture her by sending people after her.
Who would have known that stupid sister of his would rather dive inside the dungeon than surrender. His n to build a solid rtionship with Lucas and Duke Montford was ruined because of her.
Chapter 794 794- Raid On Castledor (2)
Chapter 794 794- Raid On Castledor (2)
No, to begin with, it was all her fault. If not for her being so exceptional as to build her own merchant guild and threaten his position all these years, he could have grown his faction much bigger than what it was now.
''If only she had died in that forest all those years ago, I wouldn''t have fallen out of grace like this'' Alstin cursed inwardly.
A couple of years ago when he found an excuse to send his sister to the remote city of Moutnmend, he had nned to get rid of her than by sending assassins.
Jeeves who was working for him in the shadows, reported her every action to him. However, to his dismay, not only did she return alive from the trip, he lost his important pawn and the Cerberus broke all ties with him ever since then.
To make matters worse, now there were even rumours going on about her being alive. Even after death, she was making things difficult for him. As much as he hated her for ruining his ns, he couldn''t say all that to Lucas.
"I see then isn''t it a good thing? If Princess Cynthia is really alive, she can finally be with me"¡
"Haha¡ right. It is as you said, if the news is really true, then nothing will make me happy to see you together"
While he said that out front, inwardly he was (You fucking obsessive bastard, if not because I need your aid right now, I would have sent you to the gallows. It''s disgusting how much you can get infatuated over someone).
He had known Lucas long enough to know all of his disgusting behaviours. His sister had never shown any interest towards this guy, it was all in his head that she liked him.
.
.
City of Mountmend¡ Sitting atop a mountain, the city was not like what it was before. Although not wealthy, the city was once filled with vibrant people and full of life. However, after the capital fell, injured soldiers and people who had lost everything flooded the surrounding regions.
The city of Mountment was no exception, homeless and destitute people crowded the streets of the city. With nowhere else to go, they could only rely on the cities who have yet to fall.
Count Alfred Eude Bergest who was one of the few royals who actually cared about his popce, didn''t have the heart to send all of these people away. He did everything he could to help them.
However, things turned for the worse again after the tower town was taken over by some kind of shady organisations and all trade andwork was cut off.
The city which primarily lived with its trade from the monster parts and merchants that came from the tower town, suddenly lost its source of ie. In a situation like this, the condition of the city went from bad to worse.
With no supply of food and the threat of looming war, even the average poption of the city had nothing to eat. Much less needs to be said for those homeless people.
Piles of bodiesy on the ground, unknown whether they were alive or not. The city was not only surrounded by a dark atmosphere, it even gave off a bad stench.
On this day, an unusual group of people visited the city. Alfred who rarely dressed in his noble attire, did so for this asion and came out of his manor to invite the guests in.
Usually, he gave this job to his butler or maids; however, the identity of this guest was simply too special to delegate to his subordinates. Thus, the count came out personally to invite them in.
The manor of Count Alfred wasn''t an extravagant one, although it was called a manor, it wasn''t in a too good of a condition.
The colours of the wall had lost their vibrancy, subdued by the war and tears of the season. Moss and wild vines hung tenaciously to the edges of the manor showing nature''s im over the ce.
It was not only the exterior of the manor that saw its time, the interior of the manor was no different. Cobwebs adorned corners and archways, dimly lit halls with onlymps and other low qualitynterns to light the halls.
Forget about chandeliers, there was not even a piece of decoration that looked like it was worth something inside the manor. Everything and anything of value was sold off to run the city.
After Alfred brought them inside a hall used for entertaining guests, they sat on what looked like antiquated furnishings.
"Bring some tea and snacks for our guests" He ordered his few servants who still remained employed despite Alfred not being able to pay them their wages.
"It looks like you are not doing well for yourself, Aflred"
The guest sitting on the head seat spoke. To be able to call a count with their name, the guest''s identity was at the very least equal or above theirs.
"Haha, it''s as you say, your highness. However,pared to the people of the city, I am still living too well"
Alfred spoke looking at the woman in front of him with incredulous eyes. Why would he not? After all, the person sitting opposite to him was none other than the sole princess of Ellesmere who had supposedly died in the incident in the capital.
"You are being too humble. I haven''t seen any noble who lives so modestly and cares so much for their popce. If I didn''t know you, the thought that this was a house of a noble, wouldn''t even cross my mind"
It was as she had said, most nobles usually lived a life of extravagance. It did not matter to them if their popce was dying of hunger or were unable to fend for themselves, their first and foremost interest was to safeguard their possession and wealth.
Which is why, seeing a noble like Alfred who sold off his possessions just to support the popce was such an oddity.
Cynthia and Alfred chattered on, reminiscing about the old times. Finally as if unable to keep it to himself, the count spoke.
"Your Highness¡ you are really alive!!" His tone was a mix of confirmation, disbelief, surprise and relief.
"That''s right, I''m alive and well just as you can see"¡
"Then all those reports about your death in the capital and that weird news about you appearing in the dungeon town?".
Knowing that the news of her being alive would surprise anyone, Cynthia exined her situation¡ª
"The reports about me dying in the capital are false. I didn''t die in the incident when the capital fell. On the contrary, I wasn''t even there. I had run off from the capital to avoid being used as a political tool by my brothers. Running and constantly avoiding their pursuit, I arrived at the tower town. The news you received from people witnessing me in the dungeon town is true. I have been living there for the past few months"¡
"You have been living in the dungeon town? Hasn''t that ce already been taken over by the criminal organisations? Don''t tell me Your Highness that you were taken hostage by them?"
Hearing that Cynthia was living in the dangerous dungeon town, Alfred couldn''t help but exim. He had sent several spies of his to assess the situation of the town which is why he knew that the town had been converted into a den of criminals after the takeover.
To have survived in that kind of condition, Alfred couldn''t help but be impressed inwardly.
"The tower town you know about is no longer the same. In fact, one of my objectives behinding here, was to let you know that the trade routes between Tower Town and Mountmend would reopen once again. Not only that, the custom duty on goods travelling to Mountmend would also be alleviated for a year. About the routes that connect the two towns, I was thinking about levying an excise tax on the carriages¡ "
Cynthia kept on talking about multiple topics causing the already confused Alfred to be even more baffled.
"Wait¡ wait a minute Your Highness. What do you mean by all this? What do you mean when you said that the tower town is no longer the same?"
"About that, let me fill in to the count" Alvara who was among the few people apanying Cynthia, spoke.
She told Alfred about everything that happened in the tower town in the past few days. After the Count of Mountmend heard everything, he was stupefied for a good long while.
The content of the tales, from the start of the insurrection by the few revolters and how Her Highness and the others came to their rescue to how they took back the tower town from the hands of the criminal organisations was so thrilling that Alfred did not even have time to breathe in between the story.
He couldn''t believe all that happened in the tower town and he got no report about it from his subordinates.
"I have blocked allmunication going in and out of the town. Every person and transmission are strictly monitored so as to avoid leaking of any information. This is how I found out your subordinates are also inside the town. They tried to exin their reasoning; however, I still stopped them from reporting"
"As you can see, the tower town has just begun growing anew again and I don''t want anyone to know about the ce or what happened there yet".
So that was the reason, no wonder his subordinates didn''t send any report back. It was because it was the princess who had sealed off the entire town.
Chapter 795- Raid On Castledor (3)
795 Chapter 795- Raid On Castledor (3)
How in the hell did she block themunication of the entire town? No, in the first ce, why is she even talking like she was speaking on behalf of the entire? It couldn''t be¡
"That''s right, after a unanimous agreement, Her Highness was chosen as the governor of the tower town. She is now the ruler of the tower town".
Alfred expected something along that line happening after hearing that the princess and her subordinates freed the tower town. However, when it was really told out loud, it finally struck him how incredible of a task Cynthia had aplished.
There was many a time when he thought about raiding the tower town himself wanting to change the condition of his city. Nevertheless, every time those impulsive thoughts arrived in his head, he would immediately suppress them.
After all, being a noble who was close to adventurers, he knew how powerful the adventurers were. To be able to suppress all those powerful men and women, the organisations ruling the tower town from the shadows, had to be even more capable and dangerous.
What Cynthia managed to achieve was something that Alfred was incapable of. She deserved to be the ruler of the tower town.
"Your Highness, you are truly amazing. With the reopening of the trade routes between the two cities, the city Mountmend would once again be able to fend for its people again. The influx of merchants and goods would make sure that the popce wouldn''t have to go to sleep on an empty stomach. I cannot express my gratitude to you enough. Truly thank you"
Alfred bowed his head deeply to express his gratitude.
"Raise your head count Alfred. Reopening of the trade routes will benefit the two cities equally, as such there is no reason to keep it close. And besides, I''m thinking about levying a new excise tax"¡
"I agree with all of that. As long as Her Highness keeps the trade route open, the city of Mountmend will be able to survive" Alfred agreed before Cynthia could even finish her piece.
"I see... however, Count Alfred you are the ruler of the city of Mountmend and the regions surrounding it. As a ruler who supports his popce, you cannot simply agree on all of the terms without even listening to all of them"
"But be that may, we can leave that to our retainers to concretize the finer details. As I told you earlier, I have multiple objectives foring here. One of them is to see you, the Count of Mountmend and reopen the trade routes between the two cities. The other is to find out something for myself"
Cynthia paused here before looking deeply at Alfred "I want to find out¡ where your allegiance lies and if I can trust you".
The room became suffocatingly silent the moment those words sounded out. Alfred looked around him, it had already been a while since he ordered his servants to bring in some tea and snacks.
However, there was no indication of theming in through the doors. Not only that, it was also now that he realised he waspletely surrounded by Her Highness''s subordinates.
At some point in time during the discussion, they stationed themselves all around the room, cutting off all the exits and entrances to the room.
Alfred''s experienced eyesnded on all these warriors that Her Highness brought over with her. Even though they were just standing around without exhibiting their power, he could tell from their demeanour that all of them were powerful and battle hardened veterans who had seen many bloody battlefields.
The air that they exuded couldn''t be imitated. He could tell because he had seen and mingled with many adventurers over the years.
Haha¡ Alfred couldn''t help butugh inwardly. He felt like there was no reason for Her Highness to do something like this. Only a fool would try to escape when there was such a high level security.
Nheless, he got up from his seat and kneeled on his knees.
"My allegiance is always to Ellesmere. I am a noble of the kingdom of Ellesmere and loyal to thete King Henry" Alfred dered in an even voice.
Hearing his deration, Cynthia arched her brows and smiled "Hoh, to still dere that your allegiance lies to the king even though he is no more, are you suggesting that you are not going to support the royal prince and princess'' or should I see this as rebellion against the crown?"
Even though she had fallen from grace and had to rely on a demon to save her kingdom, she was nevertheless still the most extraordinary princess of the kingdom. She knew the politics like the back of her hand and use the noble''s weakness against them.
"I am sure you must have been approached by my brothers to join their faction many times. Yet despite that, you refuse to join any side. Why is that?"¡
Alfred blinked his eyes and looked at Cynthia in confusion. How did she know that he hadn''t joined any sides?
"How did you¡" Before he couldplete, his query was soon answered by the former
"It''s not hard to know you haven''t joined any faction. Just looking at the condition of your fief, I can tell that those dastardly brothers of mine did not take the news of your not joining their sides in a good way. Not only did they cut off all trade routes to your region, they are also sending all the injured and the destitute all the way over here to encumber and weaken your region"
"This must be Alstin''s doing, he had been a very vindictive person since childhood. It looks like he is still alive. Anyways, the fact that he hadn''t attacked you and is still tolerating your incooperation means that you haven''t joined Aiden either".
It needs to be mentioned that it hasn''t been that long since Her Highness the princess arrived at the city of Mountmend. Yet in those few moments, she was able to urately ascertain his condition just by looking at this ce.
Alfred was left in awe of Cynthia''s extraordinariness once again. ''No wonder she was called the light of Ellesmere'' he thought inside his head.
"It as you say, Your Highness. When I said the same thing to His Highness Prince Alstin, he was not too pleased. Although he did not attack me, he had been sending war threats through sound transmission"
"As for Prince Aiden, he got in touch with me through sound transmission. However, ever since I refused his offer, I haven''t heard anything from him. That said, please believe me when I say it''s not my intention to rebel against the crown. It''s just that I wanted to keep my people andnd safe from battle and wars"
"You have seen it with your own eyes, your highness, the state of the city and its people. In a situation where we don''t even have food on our tables, how can I ask my people to go to war"
Alfred plead his case. Though he was bowing his head and was surrounded by all these powerful warriors there was not even a trace of fear that could be felt from his body.
It could be said that the count, Alfred was ready toy down his life since the moment he opened his mouth to say all that.
"I thought as much. Count Alfred is not an enemy, everybody you can rx" On her words, her subordinates walked away from the exit.
"Please forgive our rudeness, your highness. However, to ensure that no leaks got out, we had to do something like this"
The old assassin Bert apologised. It was his idea that they should surround the count in case he turned out to be an informer of the other princes''.
"Well then Count, although I understand your situation, I can''t just take your answer to stay neutral in this battle. You should know that this battle is no longer a fight between the royal siblings but a full blown war between kingdoms for survival. Now that the capital and multiple regions have fallen, we have to unite and fight them off. This is the reason why I came here. Count Alfred, I need your help enlisting all those soldiers and people who were pushed back from their homes".
Most of the destitute and homeless people flooding the town of Mountmend were soldiers who were injured in the battle or young people who got kicked out of theirnd.
If Cynthia could enlist all of these people under her banner, it would give her forces what they needed, numbers. She already had the quality, all that was needed to make her own army was numbers and the city of Mountmend was the perfect ce to set her ns in motion.
Alfred was silent for a while as he contemted Cynthia''s words. Just like had said, this was no longer a power struggle between siblings but a war for the survival of their kingdom.
As a noble of thisnd, how could he not fight for it? In fact, he had mulled over this option for a while now; however, whenever he thought about Alstin or Aiden, those ipetent and arrogant princes bing the ruler of the kingdom, he couldn''t help but have double thoughts.
That said, it was before he knew that Her Highness the princess, was alive. If it was her, then it was a totally different case than with the princes''.
Not only was she extraordinary, she had all the qualities that a ruler of a country should have.
Chapter Chapter 796- Raid On Castledor (4)
796 Chapter 796- Raid On Castledor (4)
The kingdom of Ellesmere hadn''t had a history of a queen ruling thend but Alfred felt like a change was needed for a time like this.
And so, he finally made his decision. Bending his knee a little, arching his back and while extending his right hand forward, he made a noble''s bow.
"If Your Highness is determined to take the kingdom of Ellesmere back from the invaders and rule it as its queen, then allow me Count Alfred Eude Bergest, to help you in your endeavour".
.
.
Capital City Ellesmere...
The once prosperous city and an infrastructural marvel of the kingdom, had now sumbed to the ravages of war. Streets ran scorching ck with reside of destruction and the buildings reduced to nothing but mere rubble.
Shattered ss littered the ground like morbid confetti, the air was heavy with the burnt scent of wood and the despair of a city that had witnessed its own demise.
The current capital city of Ellesmere painted a bleak picture of what was once a thriving metropolis. That said, it was not like the entire city had been razed down as there was still a structure that was standing tall.
Amidst the destion, the royal pce stood like an ind of grandeur in a sea of ruin. Its majestic spires, though marred by the signs of conflict, still retained an air of regality. The royal pce was one of the few structures that had yet to crumble like everything around it.
At this moment, inside one of the hidden underground chambers of the pce, bound in sturdy chains to a pole, was a handsome young man or what remained of a handsome young man now marred with injuries and wounds. His body released a dark greyish aura and hey there chained motionless just like a corpse.
"Hey, isn''t it bad? That prince really died. If we don''t have him won''t we be unable to convince those remaining nobles of this kingdom who are still fighting to give up?" One of the guards responsible for monitoring the prisoner, spoke.
"Mind your own business. Soldiers like us shouldn''t poke our noses where it doesn''t belong. I''m sure His Majesty and the general knows what they are doing" the other soldier monitoring the situation along with him, replied.
CLACK¡CLACK¡ at this moment, the sounds of footsteps rang out and a person with an impressive build and decked out in full body armour, walked in.
"General" The soldiers saluted.
"At ease" the man who was the general nodded before shifting his attention to the man behind the prison.
"There are no movements Sir. It looks like his body was too weak to take in that energy"¡
"So he failed to be a Tainted Warrior huh? It would have been much easier to take control of this country had he be our puppet. Well, it''s no use crying over spilt milk. We need to change our strategy, I will let his majesty know. You two get rid of that body, before it goes berserk" Leaving behind those instructions, the general left the underground cer.
"Let''s hurry up and dispose of the body. You know how hard it is to deal with a tainted warrior when they go berserk"
With that, the soldier got to work. And just like that, the curtain closed on the Second Prince of the kingdom of Ellesmere, Aiden Ethan Ellesmere.
Around a weekter, inside the Castle of Duke Montford, the first prince received a report from one of his subordinates.
Alstin crumpled the paper on his hand and threw it inside the firece "This can''t be happening, there is no way this is true. You¡ have you checked the authenticity of this report" he asked turning his eyes at the kneeling subordinate.
"Yes Your Highness, there is no mistake that it was sent by the spies we dispatched in the city of Mountmend" thetter responded.
"Tch, why now of all times? I was about to convince the southern nobles too" Alstin clicked his tongue and ordered the subdordinate.
"Make sure you don''t spill the content of this report to anyone else, not even to Duke Montford and especially not to Lucas. I will deal with this mess myself. Do you understand?"...
"Yes".
After the two of them left the room, a figure covertly entered in and pulled the parchment from the firece. Surprisingly, even after being thrown into the fire, most of the page was yet to be turned into ashespletely.
"Hoh" the figure muttered, reading the contents of the page. mes burned in his hand and quickly turned the parchment into ashes.
"I guess, I''ll go pay her a visit".
.
.
Inside the city of Mountmend, near Alfred''s manor, lines of tables could be seen ced in a neat and orderly way. ced on top of all those tables, wererge boxes containing food and rations.
Large queues of people lined up before those tables who were handed out these foods.
"Please don''t cut lines. We have enough for everyone" the workers distributing the food announced.
"Here you go old man"
The old man in the line reached out and grabbed the rations. He then bowed his head and with tears streaming down his cheeks, he cried "Long live Her Highness¡ long live Her Highness"¡
"Alright, alright¡ next"
The worker handed out the ration to the next person and they spoke the exact same line. In fact, whether it was at this table or the many others, the long queue of people lining up before it spoke the same praise.
Everybody in the city of Mountmend knew that the food that they were given, came from Her Highness, Princes Cynthia. She was the reason that they were able to go to sleep with a full stomach for the past few days.
That''s right, the distribution of rations wasn''t a new thing today, it has been going on for the past week.
"Your Highness giving out food to the whole city like that, is there even any meaning to it?" Inside the manor, Alvara nced out of the window looking at the long lines of people as she asked.
"Feeding all the citizens of the city which has been overpopted thanks to the aftermath of the war puts a serious burden even on our resources that we got after defeating the criminal organisations. If we keep feeding them like that, we won''tst very long".
Her concerns were warranted after all, feeding a poption of over 200,000 wasn''t a small matter. If they didn''t receive any benefit from it, this whole endeavour would go to waste.
As the princess and a businesswoman who built the Serene Pce Merchant Guild all on her own through perseverance and hard work, Alvara knew that Cynthia would never do something that would result in a loss.
However, no matter how much she thought she couldn''t figure out what the princess was thinking.
"Alvara what can you see when you look at the city?" Cynthia answered by asking her a question. Her gaze was also focused on the long queue of people outside the manor.
"A gloomy and starved city filled with refugees"
This was Alvara''s honest answer. In fact, no matter who saw the city, they too woulde up with the same response.
"Right, a city filled with starved refugees who have been disced from their homes, grieving at the loss they suffered and barely holding onto their lives. What do you think they need the most?"
"Food and work. In a situation where they can''t even fill their bellies, if we force them to fight for us, how do you think they would see us? What we need to do right now is give them time and a proper meal to heal their hearts. Once they are satiated they will have time to think other things in their head" Cynthia answered.
So that was the case, the guard captain nodded her head in understanding. A poption that has to scrounge for food every single day, would have no time worrying about anything else.
By providing them food, not only it freed them from scavenging for food, but they now also had enough time to worry about other things.
With time, these people would surely realise the benefit of fighting for Her Highness and the fires of hatred which had been snuffed inside their hearts, would rekindle once again.
It was a move that grasped the hearts of the people. However, Alvara was sure that, the aforementioned reasons weren''t the only objective the princess had in mind. No matter how calctive and business driven exterior she showed on the surface, she was a kind person at heart.
Distributing rations and food was her way of showing care for the people who were in the end the citizens of her kingdom.
"By the way, how goes the infiltration on our next target?" Shifting her attention away from the window and towards Ate, Cynthia asked.
"Theodore and his kindreds have already sneaked inside the duke''s castle and are currently monitoring the actions of the first prince. From the message they sent me, it looks like Your Highness'' brother is losing the war at every front. The easter region of the kingdom has fallen and the southern nobles have thrown their towels and defected to the enemy''s side"
Ate reported. She had already sent Thedore and Maybell to spy on their next target, the dukedom of Montford where the first prince currently was.
Cynthia who aimed to be the queen, not only needed arge army on her side to fight for her sake, she also needed to take out the other contenders out of the game.
Chapter 797- Stealing the Air Engine
Chapter 797- Stealing the Air Engine
In this case, the first prince who was currently her biggest hurdle and the person who had the support of a duke and numerous other nobles.
"By now the news that I am alive should have reached Alstin. Has he already started making ns on how to deal with me?"
Being one of the people who knew him the best, Cynthia knew that her brother wouldn''t take the news of her being alive, lightly. She was sure that even at this moment, he wasing up with some unscrupulous ns to take her out of the session battle.
"It is as Your Highness has said, the first prince is at this moment in a discussion with a couple of his selected subordinates. He is trying toe up with a way to falsify the report of your being alive to the nobles supporting him while at the same time hiring a group of assassins to take you out"
Cynthia already expected to hear something like this as such, Ate''s words caused her expression to not falter at all.
"What should we do your highness? If we let that man be, who knows what kind of loathsome ns he woulde up with the next time"
Alvara spoke out in concern. Her disregard of the first prince''s status and her calling him ''that man'' showed how much she hated him. After all, he was one of the main perpetrators who drove Cynthia to run away from the capital and into the depths of despair.
Other than that, he also tried to buy out her people. Alvara was also approached with such an offer, in fact, the prince even tried to put his hands on her body. It was not without any reason that she hated; no, loathed the first prince.
"You are right. I have tolerated him far too much since our childhood days. This caused him to be full of himself and think that he could just do anything he wants and get away with it. This time, I won''t take it lying down. I''ll make my move before he even has a chance to do anything"
"Alvara, Contact ke, Wyot and the others. Tell them to prepare to march towards the Castledor city with an elite team. We will raid Castledor city and capture my brother"¡
"Yes Your Highness" Alvara nodded her head and quickly went off to carry out her orders. This left only Cynthia and Ate inside the room.
"By the way, did he leave any instruction for me" It was pretty much clear who she was referring to with those words.
In response to her question, Ate smiled and shook her head "Master is very pleased by the results you have shown in the tower town and has asked us to protect you properly. He believes that if it''s you, you will be able toplete your mission without him needing to give any instructions. Nevertheless, he asked us to tell you that, you can ask for his assistance anytime that you require his aid. Master will do everything in his power to aid you".
"I see¡ I must thank him for all that he did"¡
"That is good; however, I believe there is no need. Master is doing all that because you are now part of his family".
Ate''s answer took Cynthia by surprise. It was true that for someone who had no choice but to depend on his aid unterally, he treated her far too well.
Whether it be when she took refuge in his dungeon or now, he was doing his best to aid her just like he had promised. At the beginning when she made the soul contract with Simon, she thought that as the party who had nothing much to offer in return, she would only get the bare minimum aid in return.
However, far from it, the demon not only sent his best subordinates, but he made it so that the event would flow in a direction that workedpletely in her favour.
She couldn''t understand why the demon would aid her so much; nevertheless, when she heard Ate mutter the words family, a warm feeling surged in her heart whenever she recalled the image of the demon in her mind.
At that moment, Cynthia had no idea what those feelings were, it would only be muchter down the line that she would find out what those feelings meant.
The Tower Town wasn''t too far away from the city of Mountmend. As such, after Cynthia gave those orders, ke and the others leading a team of elite adventurers arrived near the city at the first signs of dawn of the very next day.
A cavalcade of carriages carrying adventurers and various goods and items necessary for the raid, could be seen parked near the city gates. Needless to say, all of these carriages and items either belonged to the Serene Pce Merchant Guild or was provided by the merchants through Cynthia''s connection.
"menco, I''ll leave you in charge here. Keep doing as per the n, and keep me updated about the situation here. I believe it will take some time to deal with those stuck up nobles who are in cahoots with my brother even after I deal with him. As such, as soon as the army finishes forming here, lead them towards the Castledor city"
"You can use Alfred''s aid to manage the army. Although he is an official and no good with military strategies, when ites to internal management, there are only a few nobles of his calibre"
Exining everything that needed to be exined, Cynthia left a few of her subordinates in charge and left the city of mountmend for Castledor.
Castledor City, the capital of the dukedom of Montford, was quite a bit far from here. Even by travelling with Bane Moose drawn carriages, it would take more than a month to reach Castledor.
Furthermore, a vast forest region filled with bandits and monstersy in the middle of the two territories that one must tread through to reach Castldor.
Northern Ouw Forest¡ if Simon was here, he would find the ce quite nostalgic as this was exactly the path he had once travelled from to reach the capital while posing as an adventurer.
Two dayster after the start of their journey from Mountmend, Cynthia and her group reached the northern ouw forest. Surrounded by tall trees that spread all around like a thick canopy that even blotted out the sunlight, the forest region gave off an ominous atmosphere.
Distant cries of the monsters could be hearding intermittently from inside the forest causing the members of the group to raise their guard. That said, even though the ce was dangerous and full of monsters and bandits, the group wasn''t too much on their guard.
In fact, they even appear to be a little rxed and the atmosphere was a light one. Looking at them, it wouldn''t seem like they were at all concerned about entering a dangerous forest region.
Their attitude was more like they were out on a stroll in the park. And that was actually the case. The Northern Otw Forest might be dangerous; however, that was by the standards of an ordinary adventurers.
For Elites like them who were all high level and had years of experience under their belt, a ce like the northern ouw forest was nothing. If anything, they had already experienced, numerous life and death battles which was much more dangerous and worse than this ce.
After all that, it would be strange on the contrary for them to be afraid of a ce like the northern ouw forest.
As the night had already fallen, Cynthia and her group were camping at the edges of the forest, near a small brook. Some were creating a firece, some setting up tents, while some went inside the forest to hunt monsters.
Every adventurer was doing something or the other.
"So this the ce where Master camped all those years ago" Ate muttered as she took in the night view of the forest.
Even though this was her first timeing to such a ce, she had already seen the adventures her master had gone through as such, she was already quite familiar with the ce.
That said, this was still her first time experiencing something like this for herself and thus couldn''t help but feel a tinge of excitement. The view, the air, the atmosphere and even thepany, everything was new for her.
One of the goals that Simon had for sending his subordinates away from the dungeon and on a mission on their own, was for them to gain plenty of experiences and broaden their horizon.
Looking at Ate''s current state, which was like a child curious about everything around her, it could be said that one of his goals was partially achieved.
There was no doubt that they had much more to learn and know about this world; nevertheless, the experience today would forever stay with them and be a part of their strength.
Whoosh¡ Wild wind blew, rustling the leaves of the trees, from nearby clinking noise of ss and the rowdyugh of the adventurers could be heard.
Ate who was taking everything in, suddenly arched her beautiful eyebrows and held her hand near her ears. This was a sign that she had received a special message transmission from one of her teammates.
"I see¡ keep monitoring him and the other for the time being. I will let her know about this" After saying so, Ate cut themunication and made her way over to the main tent where Cynthia and the others were.
Chapter 798- Stealing the Air Engine (2)
Chapter 798- Stealing the Air Engine (2)
Inside the tent, the princess stood before arge table, pointing at the map and giving instructions to the adventurers and her fellow subordinates. Emma who was tasked with guarding her was also there silently standing still like a doll.
"If we take the most travelled route, it would take us more than a month to reach our destination. As this is a raid, we must make haste and strike at our opponents when they least expect us. If we go with the path the people usually use, we will lose the factor of surprise. Which is why, I propose that we march straight making a beeline through the forest" Cynthia spoke, highlighting her ns.
"Hmm, it''s not a bad idea" ke muttered looking at the map "However, Your Highness you are forgetting one thing. The northern ouw forest is named as such because of the numerous ouws that amass here"
"A straight path will lead straight to their den and then there are also the monsters we have to look out for. If we factor all that in, the speed of our march regardless of which path we choose, will end up being the same".
He pointed at a particr region of the map that was still mostly uncharted.
"About that, you don''t have to worry about the bandits. The town they created, the ck town has been razed to the ground" Expecting the adventurers to bring out the subject of bandits, Cynthia dropped a shocking revtion.
ck town was razed!! As one would expect, as soon as the adventurers heard that, most of them wore an astonished expression. Those from the kingdom, knew that the Northern Ouw Forest got its infamy because of the numerous cases of arson and stealing that happened around here.
Nobody knew when but at some unknown point in time, the forest became a ck region that attracted all sorts of criminals and ouws from all around the kingdom. Be it murderers, simple thieves or even rogue adventurers, those who did not get along with the society, found themselves here.
And the ck town was the town that they established deep inside the northern ouw forest. It has nows and everything from the slightest fight to even the most brutal atrocities wasmon there.
Essentially, it was a town that was ruled by thews of the jungle. Strong survived while the weak was preyed upon.
The establishment of such a dangerous ce of course raised some concerns. However, every time the neighbouring dukes tried to take the ouws down, they would either get away by hiding or by bribing off the nobles.
Thus the reason why the ck town managed to survive so far. That said, only a few people who have actually travelled to the ck town or are privy to some information, would know that the actual reason why the ck town manages to survive every time, is because of some of the powerful ex-adventurers and heinous criminals whose names had once shaken the kingdom, now lost in the annals of history rumoured to be still surviving and hiding inside the ck town.
ke being one of the people who had once travelled to the ck town, and had seen those ancient legends up close, was the most shocked.
The names like Godwin, Raven, Benny Beckman or Karina Lowell only came muchter on. Before them, it was the era of people like Adger the axe hand, bloody de Orman and Zackary the unkible, the kingdom''s most powerful adventurers and criminals.
As long as they were there, there was no way the ck town could be destroyed. Then again, the princess was not among the people to joke about matters of importance like the ck town.
Which could only mean that the ck town was actually razed to the ground along with all those people. To be able to defeat legends like the Axe hand Adger and Zackary the unkible, it was not like there was no such individual amongst Her Highness'' people who could achieve something like this.
The two women who always stuck close to Her Highness and that unusual group of demi humans came to mind. If it were those people, then it wasn''t unimaginable.
After fighting and going through the ordeals in the tower town together, ke hade to realise something. The group of people around Her Highness except for Alvara and the others, were very peculiar.
This evaluation of his was not just based on their appearance and race but also on their character and strength. Although he had only seen them fight once or twice, he knew that every single one of them was insanely strong.
And from the few times he tried to interact with them, he came to know about their personality which was very callous, detached and unempathetic. As if everything that was going on around them, had nothing to do with them and they viewed everything from the perspective of a third person.
In short, it was very different from the way people like them viewed things. It was for this reason that he believed them to be very peculiar.
Come to think of it, he hasn''t seen the group of demihumans and those two children around for a while. Their unusual disappearance and the news about the ck Town being razed. ke quickly put the two and two together.
And as if to prove that his hunch was right, Cynthia nced towards the woman named Ate who assured everyone inside the tent to no worry about the bandits of the ck Town.
"If Her Highness and Miss Ate are saying so then taking a straight path through the forest would be the best option and less time consuming. Assuming that we don''t have to worry about the bandits which makes the monsters the only thing for us to deal with, it would significantly increase our travel speed"
Wyotmented, adding in his thoughts. It appeared that he too must have realised something.
Now that their travel route had been decided, the group discussed about the other various things like their formation, teams, switching times, camping grounds and other such things before retiring into their own tents for the day.
After everyone left, Cynthia and Ate were the only ones left inside the tent.
"So, what''s going on? Did you receive a report?" Noticing the slight change in Ate''s behaviour Cynthia asked.
The former nodded her head and reiterated the report she heard from one of her teammates.
"An air engine has taken off from Duke''s castlest night and is headed for the city of Mountmend. Considering its speed, it must have already entered the forest region. What do you want to do, Your Highness?"¡
Cynthia calmly heard Ate''s report before asking a question "Who is onboard?"¡
"Lucas ckwood, Benny Beckerman and a few other individuals for a total of nine individuals. Given their number and level, I don''t think they have any good intention foring over".
"Lucas huh" She muttered crossing her arms "It looks like he still hasn''t given up even after I rejected his proposal. If he ising over with someone like Beny Beckerman, then it must mean that he has heard the news of me being alive"
"However, my brother won''t allow Lucas who is now the sessor of Duke Montford, toe to me on his own. The fact that he used the air engine, the exclusive ship of Lord Montford''s to sneak out at night, I must mean that he is not on orders from my brother". Cynthia only needed a few information to know the motives and ns of the other party.
"How do you n to take care of it, Your Highness? If you wan''t, I can tell the others to strike down the Air Engine and take care of the people inside" Ate suggested.
"No, find a way to make them aware that I am here. Once Lucas knows that I am in the Northern Ouw Forest, he will surelynd the Air Engine. Once they are out, we can then take them out".
Manufacturing an Air Engine costs a fortune and the kingdom of Ellesmere does not have the technology to build them. Instead of destroying the Air Engine, Cynthia nned to use it for herself in the uing raid against the Castledor city.At that time it would no doubt prove extremely useful.
"I don''t like imposing on you again, but can you please take care of those on board? If I let the forces on our side to engage them, who knows how many losses we will suffer? I cannot let that happen before the raid" She turned towards Ate and requested.
"Leave it to us, Master specifically asked me to aid you in every way possible. Since you want the Air Engine, then that''s what will happen"
The maid simply nodded her head and nonchntly epted the task. Her attitude was so casual that it didn''t seem like she had just epted a dangerous and troublesome task but instead something as insignificant as going off to the market to buy some vegetables.
"Are you certain that you will be able to win? The other party has Lucas, Benny Beckerman and other high level individuals"
Cynthia asked in concern. Since she hadn''t personally seen Ate and the others fighting, she didn''t know exactly how strong they were. Nevertheless, given that they were ''his'' subordinates, she believed that they were quite strong. But so were Benny Beckerman and Lucas.
Seeing Cynthia Worry for her, Ate couldn''t help but smile. "Your Highness does not need to worry about me. If I can''t even handle the likes of them, then I would be shaming myself and the title of Valkyrie".
Chapter 799- Ghouls
799 Chapter 799- Ghouls
"Just leave it to me, I''ll take care of them as soon as theynd"
Saying so, Ate left the tent. On the break of the dawn the next day, the group set forth marching through the forest.
The journey although exciting was a less thrilling one. With the threat of the bandits gone, the adventurers only had to take care of the monster that attacked them and avoid their territories.
The sentries looked out for dangers while teams of adventurers cleared the path. They would timely switch their ces to relieve their exhaustion and the other teams would take their ce.
And just like this, the group made their way through the forest. Two days passed by amidst the never changing journey. On this day, a change that nobody expected, urred.
It happened so fast that nobody even had time to question why it happened or what caused it. Cynthia and her group who were making their way forward as usual, were suddenly informed of the impending danger.
Arge monster horde was swarming towards this way, ploughing through thend and trees as they did. The forest that had been silent all this time, suddenly came alive.
"Everyone get into formation. I want all capable hands on the ground. Warriors maintain the frontline, Assassins scatter, mages go in the backlines, protect her highness and the nobatants"
ke hurriedly gave out orders as he rushed out to the front. At his shout, the entire group hurriedly got into the formation and awaited the horde of monsters.
After a short while, the earth started trembling and the constant thudding noises of something hitting the ground repeatedly came along with it. And then the next second, when all nerves were stretched taut, the monster horde arrived.
Direwolves, Warring Mandirlls, Battle Bears, all sorts of monsters that one would usually encounter on the upper floors of the dungeon, could be seen in the mob.
These monsters although would give a level 200 adventurers a hard time, for elities adventurers like them who were all above level 400, they were no match at all. That said, in that number even if a monster was individually weak, they still possessed a significant threat.
"Warriors, maintain the formation, do not let the monster break past. Mages prepare your spells" ke hurriedly barked out orders as the first line of monsters crashed into the front line.
The warriors used their shields and swords to cull down the monsters and stop their advance. Assassins danced around the battlefield, appearing and disappearing using their stealth skill and ambushing the monsters to reduce the strain on the frontliners.
Mana in the surroundings coalesced as spells from the mages took shape. A rain of magic came bombarding the monsters reducing their numbers. The adventurers kept on at it, maintaining their guard and not allowing any casualties to appear.
However, that said the numbers of the monsters was too ridiculous. No matter how many they defeated, more and more would surge out from the backlines, recing the ones on the front.
ke and the others grit their teeth and hanged on, just when it seemed like this would be a long gruelling battle, the monster horde suddenly split and changed direction. Theypletely avoided the group of adventurers and kept on moving forward.
"Huff¡ huff¡ what is going on? Why did the monsters suddenly start ignoring us?"
Wyot appeared out of his stealth and asked. Even a veteran adventurer like him who had faced many powerful monsters, was out of breath facing those numbers. From this one could imagine how stupendouslyrge the horde was. Fortunately for them, they didn''t have to fight the horde anymore.
"I have no idea; however, it doesn''t seem like they were after us from the start. The way they were moving it seemed like they were in a hurry for something; no almost scared. As if they were getting away from something and didn''t want to get caught in the midst of it" ke assessed looking at the monsters who were frantically focused on running away.
"Are you saying that they were running from something? What could cause these monsters to run away?"¡
"I don''t know; however, whatever it is, it must have scared these monsters and forced them to flee from their territory. Let''s proceed with caution. Even if Northern Ouw Forest does not pose any threat to us, it is always better to be extra careful"
It seemed like he was speaking with experience rather than just being overly paranoid. The adventurers nodded and proceeded with caution.
On their way forward, they felt multiple energy signaturesing off from the distance. These energy signatures were extremely strong so much so that the shockwaves of their sh could be felt even from such a far distance.
This made it certain that something was going on inside the forest. The group continued to march albeit with a slight tension in the air. The powerful energy waves that continued toe from the distance, scared a good number of monsters away from their territory, because of which the group had to fight on more asions which caused their speed toe to a crawl.
Thankfully, itsted for an hour or two before it becamepletely silent once again. The forest too returned to its usual atmosphere.
At the same moment, inside Cynthia''s coach in the backlines, a graceful woman wearing a pair of sses that gave her a cold intellectual aura and entuated her beauty, silently entered and sat down beside the princess.
"Have you taken care of it already?"
Cynthia asked in surprise. How long had it been that she was gone? It wouldn''t even be more than two hours, yet in that time frame, she left the ce to carry out her task and returned back swiftly without making anyone realise that she was gone.
That''s right, Ate had gone off on her own, and nobody in the group had the slightest idea. She who always stood close to the princess as if to guard her, left her post to Emma and disappeared for a couple of hours.
She returned so swiftly and without any scratch on her body or breaking a sweat that it made one wonder ifpleting the task was even a challenge for her. That being said, Cynthia knew that the task shouldn''t have been easy after all, the task required dealing with Benny Beckerman, Lucas and a couple of other powerful people.
As if to tell her that she was worrying for nothing, Ate stated "Your Highness the task has beenpleted".
.
.
A few hours ago, deep inside the Northern Ouw Forest, an air enginended on a small mountaintop. As the entrance of the cockpit opened, Lucas, Benny along with seven other people walked out.
The seven people were each wearing a garb that was not any less impressive than Lucas''s own. Although not [S] rank, the armours and weapons of these weapons were made of Mythril at the very least indicating that these people weren''t your average Joe.
In fact, these people were some of the finest warriors of the kingdom.
"Are you sure the information is correct?" Lucas turned towards one of the people who looked like an Assassin and asked.
"Don''t worry, I have known that person for a long time, he can be trusted. Since it''s him who told me about it, it must be true" Thetter replied.
The informer the assassin was talking about, was a resident of the ck Town. Someone who lived in the ck town, was either an ouw or a criminal. Naturally, Lucas would doubt the authenticity of their words.
Trusting the Assassin, Lucas and the others, waited for the informant to arrive at their location to get a more in depth information. Soon, the informant arrived at the scene.
As one would expect, the guy had the appearance of an average hoodlum, a lowlife who was used to doing all the rough and dirty.
"See, he arrived. I told you, I have been doing business with him for a long time, he can be trusted"
The informant named Jarr did not say anything, his white face that was paler than even snow and bloodshot eyes continued to simply stare at the assassin and the others.
20:07
The assassin argued. He walked up to the person to wee him when¡
"Wait, something doesn''t look right" Benny cautioned. However, ignoring his warnings, the assassin approached the informant and hooked his arms around thetter''s shoulder.
"What''s wrong Benny, don''t tell me you haven''t dealt with the people of the ck town before. Na, Jarr tell him something?".
The informant named Jarr did not say anything, his white face that was paler than even snow and bloodshot eyes continued to simply stare at the assassin and the others.
"You look weird, did something happen?"
Just as the assassin tilted his head at the puzzling behaviour of his friend, Jarr opened his mouth. Sharp fangs appeared and shed in front of his eyes before the assassin was bit.
Grrrr¡ growling, the informant ced his fangs right at the assassin''s neck.
"kugh!! You¡ get away from me"
BAM¡ thetter being much powerful than Jarr, pushed him far away.
"Are you alright?" His team caught up with him at this moment and backed him up.
"Tch" the assassin touched the area of his neck where a piece of his flesh was gnawed on and couldn''t help but click his tongue.
"What the hell is wrong with this motherfucker? Suddenly he starts biting at people, has he gone insane?".
"See I told you? It happened because you didn''t listen to me"
Benny sneered. His mocking eyes became serious when he turned towards the informant who was making some silly growling sounds.
Chapter 800- Ghouls (2)
800 Chapter 800- Ghouls (2)
"Ruurrghh¡ Grrruughh"
Jarr whose bloodshot eyes were still focused on Lucas and his group, slowly got up and started rushing towards them again.
BANG¡ this time though, they were all prepared, thus none of them got caught off guard. Benny kicked the informant away before he could even get close and sent him crashing into a tree.
"Hoh!! He got up so soon. He got some spunk I admit" hemented seeing Jarr pick himself up again.
"Isn''t he just level 155? How did he receive no injury even after getting hit by your attack?" Lucas from the side questioned.
"Who knows, we can question him when hees to his mind" Saying so, Benny stirred a little bit of his aura, evident that he was a little serious now.
BANG¡ With an audible boom, he sent the informant flying again.
"Uh-Oh, I forgot to control my strength" The kick this time, sent Jarr flying through the air and crashing heavily into the tree.
CRACK¡ the sounds of bones breaking and blood sttering was evident. Benny was a level 600+ warrior and the informant was merely around level 155, there was noparison between the two.
Although he held back most of his powers so as to not outright kill him, the force behind that kick was still enough to render the other party unconscious. After suffering that attack there was no way he was going to get up.
That being said, because Benny made a mistake in controlling his strength, he identally sent Jarr flying too high up which resulted in thetter crashing into the top parts of the tree and a branch piercing through their stomach.
PSSHH¡ guts spilled down on the ground, making for quite a gory scene.
"Dammit, Benny. Why did you go and kill him? We needed the information from that man" Lucasined in annoyance. They needed Jarr alive to get more information about the situation from him. However, with him dead, there was no way they were going to get any information back from him.
"Ahh man, I tried to control my strength but he moved at thest second. Anyways, we can''t help it now that he is dead" Benny spat tearing his eyes away from Jarr.
"Let''s go to the ck Town, there are plenty of informants like this man there. I''m sure a couple of them would have the information on the princess that you want".
Lucas nodded begrudgingly. A man like Jarr was dime a dozen in the ck town. He was sure that he would find the information he wanted on Cynthia there. In the first ce, the news about her came from there only.
With that, just as the group turned around and started walking towards the direction of the ck town, a surprising event that shocked Lucas and his group to their very core, urred.
Jarr''s body which they all thought was dead, suddenly started moving.
"Ruurrghh¡ Grrruughh" the growling started and slowly but surely, he pulled his body out of the branch.
"Wha-What¡ how is this possible? How is he still alive?"
There was a gaping hole in Jarr''s stomach, his guts and intestines which had spilled out, was still dangling on the tree. With the amount of damage he suffered, there was no way he should still be alive much less moving like this.
Maybe because the kick from Benny fractured a couple of his bones too, Jarr was making his way over while walking like a cripple.
"Does anybody know what is going on?"
Benny questioned. The scene urring in front of him was just too freaky to make sense. Even if he asked his teammates, no one had the answer.
"Tch, then I''ll just take him down and then question him" Deciding so, Benny stepped forward and roughed Jarr. Nevertheless, every time thetter fell down, they would get back up again.
This happened again and again causing the initial shock that everyone felt, to deepen even further.
"You gotta be kidding me right? He; no, this thing is still alive with his lower half missing?"¡
"Step back Benny. Since physical means don''t work, then I''ll just burn him to ashes with my magic"
Lucas started conjuring as soon as he said those words. Secondster, arge fireball more than ten meters big and releasing extreme heat, materialised. On hismand, the fireball descended andpletely engulfed Jarr within.
Benny jumped back and watched the scene from the distance. It appeared that magic was the solution as he could see the informant turning into ashes.
"Phew, what a weird guy. Hey, are all your friends weirdos like this?" he asked the assassin who did not reply.
"Well, it doesn''t matter now that he is dead. Let''s go to the ck town" Lucas urged. As soon as he uttered those words, a reply that he didn''t expect, came from some unknown ce.
"The ck town is gone. There is no point even if you go there".
Their bodies jolting awake, Lucas and the others hurriedly turned around in rm. However, no matter where they looked for the owner of the voice, they couldn''t find anyone.
"Who is there? Show yourself. Are you the one who sent him?"
Lucas questioned. He spread his senses all around the area trying to figure out where the voice wasing from.
"Well, technically I wasn''t the one to turn them like this; however, you are right. I was the one to send them after you" the voice replied. From the tone and pitch of the voice, one could tell that the owner of the voice was a female.
Them? Lucas had several questions; however, he suppressed them all down. At this moment, all of his senses and danger skills, was sending rm bells inside his mind, warning him of the danger the mysterious voice represented.
To be able to cause him to fear, Lucas was inwardly extremely surprised. It needs to be mentioned that he was an unprecedented genius who had reached the level of 500 at the age of 50.
There was only a few people in the entire kingdom who had reached that realm. The number was even lower if one counted his talent and age.
To be able to make him fear with just their voice, even Benny Beckman who was regarded as the strongest man in the kingdom was unable to make him feel fear like this. Yet the owner of the voice hadn''t even shown themselves and his danger skills was already sensing danger.
It was not only him, every one of them sensed danger from the mysterious voice.
"Are you going to the ck Town?" the voice asked starting an unexpected conversation.
"So you were spying on us from the start?"
Since the other party was able to conceal themselves pretty much perfectly, it was no surprise that they heard of all their conversation.
"Spying is kind of a big word, I do not have such weird hobbies" For some reason the owner of the voice denied those words strongly "Hmph, I know your objective because I was the one who leaked that news in the first ce"¡
"What?"
As soon as the voice said those words, Lucas and the others couldn''t help but widen their eyes. Why would they not after all, if one were to believe her words, it would suggest that it was all a trap set by her.
The news that Princess Cynthia was travelling with a band of adventurers to Castledor from the city of Mountmend and that she was currently inside the Northern Ouw Forest was what brought Lucas and the others here.
Was all of it a lie? Why did the owner of the voice do that? And what objective could they have?
"You look confused? I guess I didn''t make myself clear" Saying so, the mysterious voice who had been speaking to them from an unknown ce showed themself.
It was a woman of unordinary beauty. She had long ck hair that was neatly tied into a bun, a graceful and curvaceous body that contained incredible allure and a face that made her seem almost otherworldly.
Her beautiful ck eyes that was highlighted by her spectacles gave her a sophisticated look.
For people like them, who weren''t used to seeing a woman of such extraordinary beauty, they were instantly enamoured. All they could see in their eyes was the woman and the thoughts of lust overwhelmed their mind.
The only people who were able to resist her beauty were Lucas and Benny. Although they weren''t entranced, one could still see the look of shock hidden in their eyes.
"I guess it''s our first time meeting; however, I know you two very well. Anyway, it''s nice to meet you. I am Ate, the loyal maid of Lord Simon. Currently, I am working under Her Highness Cynthia on orders of my master" Ate introduced herself.
"Did you say, Cynthia?" Lucas repeated.
"That''s right. Perhaps did I not make myself clear?"¡
"Wait, are you saying that you work under Cynthia? Does that mean that she is here?"
Ate did not answer, from Cynthia she became aware of how infatuated Lucas was towards her.
"Perhaps, perhaps not. In any case, the matter about Her Highness won''t matter to you from today onwards"¡
"What''s that supposed to mean?"¡
"Exactly what I said"
Saying so, Ate pped her hands. At that very instant growling noises starteding off from all around the forest around them. Lucas, Benny and the others sensed multiple presences surrounding them.
"This is bad" Benny spoke narrowing his eyes. Not only were they unable to sense this woman named Ateing, they were distracted enough by her that they did not even realise the other presences approaching them.
Chapter 801- Ghouls (3)
Chapter 801- Ghouls (3)
The group of nine prepared themselves to fight. At that moment, the very first batch of presences that surrounded them appeared before eyes. It was humans, their movements were sluggish and there was something bizarre about them.
"Wait aren''t they the denizens of the ck Town?"
One of them recognised the people or more like it was the only logical conclusion after all, who in their sane mind would choose to sit in the Norther Ouw Forest other than the people of the ck Town?
"Something is wrong, look at them. They look exactly like that weird informant" Benny warned.
"Good observation, all of them are the same as the one you took out"¡
"You mean that unkible thing?"¡
"They are not something but humans who have been converted into lesser Ghouls, a kin of the lesser vampires by Miss Maybell''s kindreds. They will also be your opponent" Ate answered, introducing the opponents to them.
"Lesser Ghouls?!!" Before Lucas and the others could evenprehend what those words meant, the army of Lesser Ghouls started rushing towards them.
"Dammit, it looks like we have been had. Everyone prepare for battle" With Benny leading, the group faced off against the enemy.
Lesser Ghouls, born as the spawn of shadows, they are a kin to the lesser vampires. They are eerie beings that dwell in the realm between life and death. These creatures although not a full fledged vampire, share a semnce with them in their undying nature.
No matter the severity of the wounds inflicted upon them, be it through piercing des or spells of destruction, Lesser Ghouls seem impervious to the grasp of death. Because of their undying resilience that allows them to keep moving even after sustaining life threatening wounds, is what makes them an excellent footsoldier.
Other than that, their voracious hunger that drives them to relentlessly attack any living being, not for sustenance but simply as a means of pure pleasure is what makes them a threat and a menace.
They seek to drain the life force from the living, drawing sustenance from the very breath of their victims.
Despite all the semnce, one shouldn''t mistake them for a vampire after all ghouls are merely just a footsoldier, a cannon fodder in the hierarchy of the vampires. Although they bear some semnce, they are nowhere near the threat that a vampire represents.
Not only that, even though they are lesser versions of vampires, they are unable to think for themselves and are driven purely by instinct or by the one who created them.
Unlike the vampires, who can regenerate their lost limbs, Ghouls are unable to reciprocate any such abilities. Nevertheless, despite their obviouslycking strength and weakness, what really made them a threat was the fact that they could be mass produced.
That''s right, any vampire or higher can create ghouls and have them serve them. These ghouls then can create more of their kind by biting into their prey and thetter doing the same, thus creating a chain where more and more of them are produced.
As could be seen from the scene that was ying out in front of the humans right now.
"Dammit, no matter how many you kill, there are simply no end to them" Culling a couple of ghouls with his sword that wasced with red thunder, Bennyined.
"If you have the strength toin then it means that you have the energy to kill. It doesn''t matter how many of these things she throws at us, they are all individually weak. We just need to deal with their numbers" Lucas answered back.
The others too nodded their head in agreement. If it was before, they would have been surprised at the uncanny undying ability of these ghouls. However, after facing the informant named Jarr, they now knew how to deal with them.
These things or as called as Lesser Ghouls by that woman named Ate are beings that have a high resilience and do not die easily. To kill them you would have to either use magic to destroy their body or use overwhelming force to st them into smithereens.
Another way to kill them is by¡
"Attack their heads, it''s weakness" Benny shouted.
Unlike wither limbs or any body parts, once the head of the lesser ghoul is cut apart or destroyed, they stoppletely.
Finding this weakness, made it easier to ward off the army of ghouls. However, the more they fell, the more the woman would bring forth with just the p of hands. The scene seemed never ending like a nightmare that had no end in sight.
"Did this woman turn the entire ck town into these things? It can''t be right?" somebody joked. However, from the sight in front of them, it hardly seemed like a joke and more of a fact.
"Dammit, it''s hard to confront this number while covering for someone. Hey man would you snap out of it and fight these things"
One of the warrior looked at the Assassin who had been standing still all this time. Handling these many numbers, even with their high level was proving a little difficult which is why he snapped at the other party.
However, even after being ridiculed, the assassin showed no signs of moving from his ce or confronting the ghouls.
"Hey watch out" Just when it seemed like he would be attacked by the ghouls, the enemy simply ignored him and walked past.
What is going on? How did he do that? Just as those questions arrived in their minds, the answer was revealed.
"Gurghhh¡ Raargghhh" The assassin growled. When he lifted his face up, hisplexion had changedpletely, turning pale white. Bloodshot eyes and sharp fangs, he looked just like the Ghouls around him.
"This can''t be" The warrior who was covering for that assassin was taken aback. He hurriedly put up his shield to defend against that assassin when he realised he was pushed back for the first time since the start of this sh.
The assassin unlike the other ghouls was more powerful. Almost at the same time, the woman who was watching the entire spectacle while standing in the sky spoke.
"It looks like the Lesser Ghouls aren''t your match. Then how about we switch it up a level¡ p"
With a p of her hand, another batch of Ghouls appeared out of the forest. However, unlike the many ghouls around, there was something fundamentally different about them. It was not only their gears which was better than all the other ghouls who only had low quality gears or simple clothes with them.
No, this one, they were special as they held better gears and obviously released a much more powerful aura. They were Greater Ghoul, the evolution that came after Lesser Ghoul.
"Now then how will you deal with them?" With Ate''s voice as the signal, the Greater Ghouls joined the battle.
CLANG¡ CLANG¡ over at the ce where the warrior was, a fierce battle was going on. The assassin who had turned into a Greater Ghoul, attacked the warrior with a relentless force.
With all the lesser ghouls and now even a greater ghoul attacking him, thetter was barely able to hold on. Simr cases could be seen with the others too. They were all struggling to contain the enemy.
Perhaps they weren''t in danger of dying; however, they were no longer able to take it easy anymore. They werepelled to use some of their more powerful skills that they have been keeping it away from Ate''s eyes.
"Don''t let them bite or else you will also turn like them"
To make matters worse, the woman fanned the mes with her words. They had all seen what happened to the assassin who got bitten by a Ghoul, thus they did not dare to get careless and let a ghoul get too close to them.
On top of fighting the greater ghouls, the army of lesser ghouls, trying not to get bitten or even injured, they also had to keep an eye on the woman who was clearly the mastermind behind this ambush.
The armies of ghouls were just there to tire them down, the true opponent was actually the woman standing in the sky, looking down at them with her cold sophisticated eyes.
Why was she attacking them? What motives she had? They had no idea, though one thing was clear. After they finish dealing with the ghouls they will have to fight her next.
"Hmph, fight, fight, keep fighting and tire yourself out. When you are almost exhausted, I will reset the board and reduce all your efforts to nothing. I will throw you into the pits of despair and make you beg for death"
Standing in the air, Ate muttered to herself. The group of nine humans now reduced to eight, had no idea what wasing for them. They fought diligently yet whenever they felt like they reduced a significant number of the ghouls, more and more would pore out from the forest.
The same was the case for the greater Ghouls too. Although they are said to be greater ghouls, they are in the end ghouls too with a higher level. If a lesser ghoul was around 150-200, then a greater would be around level 300. It was just the matter of level.
However, if one thought that they were nothing special and underestimated the greater ghouls they were up for some surprise. Unlike your typical mindless lesser ghoul driven by instincts, the greater ghouls retained some form of mind.
They were not only intelligent, knowing how to feint and attack, they could also use the skills that their human self knew.
Chapter 802- Ghouls (4)
Chapter 802- Ghouls (4)
It was because of this reason that Lucas and the others were struggling. It was easy to deal with Lesser Ghouls that rushed at you without any thought. However, the Greater Ghouls who knew how to fight and could use skills were tricky to deal with.
And then there was also their numbers, even the Greater Ghouls were in the hundreds. It was really like fighting the entire ck Town. The humans were truly despairing.
"It was just like this that you cornered Master at that time and forced him into a dead end. I will never forget the feeling he felt that day, the betrayal, the despair, the refusal and the dejection that overwhelmed his mind. I swear at the title of Valkyrie bestowed to me by master, that I will let you experience what he felt that day ten times; no hundred times more" Ate vowed.
Flooding the enemy with overwhelming numbers, showing them false hope and crushing their spirits was uncharacteristic of Ate. She usually fought enemies by herself using her magic instead of relying on numbers to tire them out.
The only reason she was doing something that was so unlike her, was because this was a revenge. Revenge for her master who had once been driven to a corner just like this.
Benny Beckerman, one of the main perpetrators who had antagonised their master time and time again was with the group. Since this was an opportunity, Ate made sure that he experienced what her master did back then. Hence the reason behind the group''s current predicament.
It could be said that Benny Beckerman was the reason why their group was suffering right now. As Ate watched them with cold callous eyes one of the warriors among the group got bitten.
"Dammit, he got bitten. Everyone, get away from him" Benny cursed. He used his thunder magic to instantly disintegrate hordes of ghouls around him.
"Lucas, if you don''t use your magic now, we won''t be able to hold on for long" He shouted looking at the mage wearing bright red robes in the backlines.
"You don''t need to tell me, my magic isplete, I just needed everyone to fall back"
Lucas stated, his voice rang out amidst his incantation. With the coagtion of mana around him as the indication, the group that was fighting the ghouls backed down. Immediately afterwards, the air in the surroundings took on a crimson hue and a massive amount of mes rolled in.
Like clouds, the golden mes or the infernal magic materialised in the air and with Lucas''s swift motion they started to rain down on the Ghouls.
"[Infernal Magic Mastery]¡ª Infernal Misery"
The purging golden rain looked dazzling to the eye. However, make no mistake, this advanced magic that took so long to conjure, was extremely lethal and covered arge area. All the ghouls whether they be lesser ghouls or greater ghouls, all ignited into mes when the golden droplets dropped on them.
Like pouring gasoline into the fire, the mes zed hotter and hotter the more the droplets fell. Just like the name of the magic, the scene was truly an infernal Misery.
And just like this, arge amount of Ghouls was taken out by Lucas. The remaining ones were handled by Benny and the others who used their powerful rare and ancient tiers skills to quickly sweep the ghouls.
At present, the number of enemies remaining on the battlefield was¡ª zero... excluding the woman named Ate. On the other hand, the side of humans too suffered major losses with one of their warriors and assassins falling in the battle.By no means it could be counted as their victory.
Huffing and puffing, the group of humans looked at theirst opponent, the woman standing in the air.
CLAP¡ CLAP¡ Ate pped her hands as if congratting them for a job well done. "That was a good fight.You managed to wipe out thirty per cent of the poption of the ck town, truly marvellous"
Hearing Ate''s words, everyone had the same question in their head. What was this woman saying? The never ending horde of ghouls that they just fought was only thirty per cent of the entire poption?
Although they were certain that these people were the denizens of the ck town, hearing it from the mouth of the woman directly, nailed the realisation in. To be able to turn the poption of ck town into these things, what kind of being were they dealing with?
Ignoring the perplexed looks of the humans below, Ate continued her monotonous announcement¡ª
"Now then, look alive. It won''t be any fun If you guys get tired just after this. I took the time to prepare tons of fun things for you all, so it''s time for round two. I wonder how many of you will survive this round as I have a special treat for you all"
With another round of p, hordes of ghoulsrger than the previous horde, came out of the forest. They were so numerous that it was like watching a colony of ants from above. They nketed thend and continued to pore out of the forest in a never ending fashion.
Looking at this scene, would give goosebumps to anyone. The observing human felt despair at the sight in front of them.
Just facing the previous horde, had tired them out considerably. Now facing a horde that was more than twice that big, one could see the look of anxiousness on their faces. The realisation that they might die or be a ghoul like them, was finally setting in.
That said, the true despair was not the overwhelming numbers of the lesser nor was it over the hundred greater ghouls but the three figures standing at the forefront of the army of ghouls.
All three of them were decked out in impressive looking armours that would make all the other ghouls around them paler inparison. One of them had an axe for hand, one was wrapped in bandages and the other was holding a sword so red that it looked like it had bathed in blood.
Seeing the three figures, the group of now seven people narrowed their eyes. Being the citizen of the kingdom, there was no way they would not recognise these legends who had left their own mark in history and disappeared afterwards.
Although there were many rumours going on about them being alive and staying in the northern ouw forest, only a small number of people had actually seen them in person. Who would have known that they would encounter these legends in person and that too as opponents?
"Axe hand Adger, Zackary the unkible, Bloody de Orman¡ these old farts are really alive"
Even Benny Beckerman had a grim look on his face. If even the current strongest man in the kingdom had a dire look, one could imagine the seriousness of the situation.
"Oi Lucas, I can no longer guarantee that we can return back safe and soundly. You better give up on chasing after the princess. Depending on the situation we might even have to run"¡
"What?" Hearing Benny''s pessimistic words, Lucas was shocked. He couldn''t believe that the man heralded as the strongest in the kingdom, would say something like this.
"How can you suggest to run? Didn''t you use to say that an adventurer is someone who seeks romance in danger and can turn any situation around? You were the one.. ".
"All that was in the past. Many things have changed since then. I''m no longer an adventurer nor am I still the guild leader who once led the most powerful and prestigious guild of the kingdom. Now I am nothing but a loser who has lost everything and is currently employed under his highness to earn some spare change. What else do you expect from me?"
Benny retorted back. After he lost Godwin, Raven and some of his best people on the trial grounds, the Sea God''s Trident just like the other five top guilds was almost but finished.
It was only a guild in name, what proved it still existed was the headquarters which nowy in ruins after the war between Ellsemere and Balckthorn broke out. Right now, he was nothing but his former shell.
"Dammit even though I was so close to meeting her" Lucas clenched his fist and sighed. He looked at the overwhelming numbers of the enemy and the exhausted people on his side before making his decision.
"Alright, let''s leave. We can''t win with our current numbers". A sound decision considering that they were severely outnumbered.
Lucas and his group tried to back towards the Air Engine. However, how could Ate who went through the trouble to prepare all of this to avenge her master, just let these people walk away?
Needless to say, she had already foreseen the situation and had prepared something beforehand. As the humans slowly retreated, their backs suddenly collided with an invisible wall that wasn''t there when they came here.
"What is this?"
BANG¡ BANG¡ the wall rippled like water in a pond when attacked. However, no matter how much force they used or punch they threw, the invisible wall refused to budge.
"Everyone get back. I''ll use an advance magic and force it to budge down" Lucas spoke waving his staff.
"No, wait" Just as he was about to conjure his magic, he was stopped by Benny.
"Don''t bother, you can''t break the wall with brute force. This is an array, to break it you need to either go for the person whoid it or destroy the formation core".
Being the most knowledgeable one amongst the lot, Benny quickly realised that the invisible wall barring their retreat was a formation.
Chapter 803- Low tier Spirits
803 Chapter 803- Low tier Spirits
As someone who had been adventuring for good years of his life, he had seen quite a bit of formation, especially in intermediate dungeons. As such, he quickly realised it was a formation and how to destroy it.
"I guess it''s pretty much clear to everyone as to whoid this formation. That woman might haveid it down; however, she shouldn''t have too much time to go for a powerful and moreplex formation. As such, we have three options"
"First, is to wait for the formation to go down on its own. The formation made hastily, cannot sustain itself for long, it would soon copse even if we don''t do anything. However, it''s unknown how long it would take and if we all would be able to survive till then"
In short, the first option was to wait. Who in their sane mind would just for their death? As such, the first option was a no go.
"The second option is to go for the core and destroy it. A formation like this has a ring weakness and it is none other than its core. The core should be outside where we can see it clearly. From my guess, it should be mixed amongst the horde of ghouls"
The second option although better than the first option had a huge problem. How in the hell were they supposed to find the core amidst the horde of ghouls? The second option was basically like fighting the whole horde, something that they were trying to avoid.
As such, it was a no go too. Then the only option remaining to them was the third one.
"The third option is to attack the caster whoid the formation. If we defeat her, the formation will go down on its own"
After Benny finished talking the group deliberated for a few seconds. The onrushing hordes of ghouls were right in front of them. Leading the charge were the three old ghosts whose legends were still sung by a few minstrels to this day.
They had to decide fast. The third option seemed the most usible; however, it involved fighting that woman. A person who could turn an entire city into her pawns that did her bidding, there was no way she was going to be an easy opponent.
Perhaps, she would be even tougher than fighting all the three legendary old ghosts together. Nheless, this was the only option they had or rather, they were tired of dealing with the antics of the woman and no longer wanted to be yed with.
"Let''s fight her"
Lucas spoke, he nted his staff on the ground, showing his stance. The others nodded in agreement while Benny grinned. Since they had to fight no matter what, why not go down fighting the most powerful opponent?
"Hehe, I have been keeping this skill for times when I had no choice but to fight for my life. Now is that time¡ [Mana Armour], [Mana Flow], [Ability Ovey]- [Thunder Surge]¡ [Lightning Suit]"
He activated one skill after another. His muscles expanded, he grew taller and his overall frame became bigger. Not only that, thunder arched his body, mixing with the mana armour around him and slowly forming a suit of sorts.
From the other''s point of view, it looked like he was wearing a lightning suit.
"Hoh?"
Ate who was observing the action of her prey, was a little surprised at the technique that was activated. This technique that made the user look like they were a lightning suit was by no means just for looks, it was practically invented forbat.
All that lightning rushing into the user''s body not only dramatically increased the muscle''s strength, response, speed and reflexes, it even dramatically increased their defences. Not only that, but it also supercharged the body, allowing for actions and movements that would otherwise be impossible.
In other words, it was like a short duration power enhancement type technique that helped one to jump over level and fight enemies stronger than them.
"Not bad" Atemented. With Benny activating his full power, the others didn''t hold back either. Each of them used their most powerful skills or abilities that they have been saving up until now.
"I''ll prepare a powerful single target spell, but me some time" saying so Lucas too started chanting.
BZZTT¡ leaving the rumbling of thunder in his wake, Benny charged. In just a short moment, he was already a couple of meters away from Ate. He was fast; no fast would be an understatement, he was super fast.
His charging speed wasn''t the only thing that improved after donning the lightning suit, so were his attacks. In the blink of an eye, he swung his sword utilising various skills in the process.
Numerous sword auras came attacking Ate, each one powerful enough to sh through a mountain. However, facing those attacks forget about dodging, she did not even nce at them.
A transparent barrier around her took all the attacks without any problem.
"Tsk" Seeing this Benny liked his tongue, he did not give up and attacked the battier repeatedly, searching for any weakness or trick. At this moment, attacks from the other five people also came in. However, just like his won, those attacks weren''t able to do anything.
"Dammit, how high her level is for her magic shield to be able to absorb all that damage? You all stop attacking her randomly and match your attacks with mine" He nced towards his teammates and spoke.
Everyone immediately coordinated their attacks to match Benny. As a high level individual in their own right, it wasn''t difficult for them to coordinate with each other even if they hadn''t done it before.
The attacks that rained in afterwards, had almost perfect coordination so much so that Ate finally had to move from her ce as her magic shield gave in. Using that small window of opportunity, Benny and the others pressed in with their attacks.
All sorts of skills from sword auras to magic imbued attacks targeted Ate who swiftly countered back with her own magic. Dark clouds loomed over as bolts of lightning dropped from the heavens.
The humans quickly dodged the attacks or used their defensive skills to endure. Ate could win this battle easily if she only waited and dodged their attacks. If she dyed them only for a little while, the army of ghouls would do the job for her.
However, to make them experience true despair, she couldn''t just allow her prey to hold onto the false hope that they could win if they could just take her down. As such, to aplish her goal she had to crush their spirits and their na?ve thoughts that they can win if they attacked her together.
Lightning poured down from the sky with a loud rumble. Considering that the attacks only came from above in a straight line, it wasn''t hard for these people to dodge them. All they had to do was predict the path and get out from its radius.
Bzzttt¡ Bzztt¡ "Hehe"¡ "hehe" but then again, the attack came from Ate how could it be so simple to dodge?
"?" the humans who dodged the lightning falling from the sky, were confused by the suddenughing sounds that came out of nowhere. When they listened to it carefully, they realised that the noises sounded like a child''sugh.
However, how could that be? Why would a child be here? "Little mischievous lightning spirits, obey mymand, bend thews of this world and give life to this lightning"
At this moment, the voice of the woman who initiated the attack, sounded out. Small glitters of purple light surrounded her, like subjects surrounding their queen, giving her an otherworldly and imposing aura.
When she extended her hand, these glitter of lights would assemble atop her palm and listen to her murmurings.
"What is she doing? Is this some kind of new attack?"
The humans discussed in confusion. Even the most experienced adventurer among them, Benny Beckerman was no exception. He had no idea what this mysterious woman was doing all of a sudden.
At a nce it looked like she was talking to the glitters of light around her; however, that was just from the outside. Perhaps, she was trying to trick them by talking to some inanimate substance to lower their guard all the while preparing for a hidden attack?
Benny quickly discarded the thought. The woman was strong enough to fight them seven on one, an exceptionally strong being like her would never respond to using hidden attacks. This could only mean that, her current actions were preparations for what''s going toe next.
That said, what could her actions entail? Looking at her talking to glitters of light that surrounded and moved around mischievously, an abrupt thought appeared inside his head. His eyes immediately went wide and he couldn''t help but panic a little.
"Could it be that she is preparing that.? But how? No, it shouldn''t be surprising, we should have expected it. At her level, that kind of attack should be normal" His iprehensible mutterings attracted the attention of the others around.
"What do you mean? Do you recognise the attack she is preparing?".
Benny nodded his head "Mutation magic".
Although he only uttered two simple words, the impact of those two words reverberated like thunder inside their heads.
At their level and experience, how could they not understand what those words meant? Standing as the epitome of magical power, the mutation magic is a realm where the very fabric of the forces of nature can be bent at a fundamental level.
Chapter 804- Low Tier Spirits (2)
804 Chapter 804- Low Tier Spirits (2)
Unlike your conventional magic, that is your novice, intermediate and advance, that is only able to manipte the forces of nature ording to the caster''s will, Mutation magic is all about unravelling the the very threads of magic that weave this ancient arcane tapestry.
People who have entered the realm of mutation magic, are akin to architects of existence, delving into intricate codes that built the veryws of the nature. Their spells are not mere maniptions of elements; they are fundamental alterations to the blueprints of nature, rewriting the rules that govern the essence of all things.
As people who have reached the tier of advanced magic and climbed the ceiling of their talent, they understood what it meant to master mutation magic.
Toprehend Mutation Magic is to ascend to the peak of magical mastery. Few can fathom itsplexities, and even fewer can wield its power without being consumed by the chaotic forces they unleash.
It requires an innate understanding of the magical underpinnings of reality, aprehension that transcends the knowledge of ordinary mages.
The difficulty in achieving the realm of Mutation magic can be understood by the fact that even Benny Beckerman a powerful man in his own right, was never able to step any further than advanced tier nor was he able toe close toprehend its mysteries.
Nevertheless, he had heard about ande in contact with many people who can use mutation magic. When asked about how they were able to bend thews and do something that surpassed the understanding of the ordinary, the answer he got from them was that the element spoke to them.
It is because of this reason that when he saw Ate talking to the glitters of light around her, the first thing that came to his mind was the mutation magic.
"Everyone be careful of her attacks, do not let them touch you"
Benny warned. The seven humans wore grim faces, Lucas who was preparing his own attacks had to spare his attention to create a huge magic shield around them.
One of the most daunting aspects of Mutation Magic is its unpredictable nature. The very essence of mutation is change, and this magic is a catalyst for unpredictable metamorphosis.
At the core, it is an ability to induce profound changes in the very nature of beings and elements. It involves reshaping life, matter, and even the metaphysical aspects of the world.
In the hands of a master, Mutation Magic is a force that can reshapendscapes, redefine life, rewrite the veryws that govern reality and cause unprecedented and often irreversible transformation.
Because of all of these reasons, the seven of them were so rmed. There was no way of knowing what the woman was going to do next. Not betraying their expectation the next action by Ate transcended all theirprehension.
Lightning began to bend, the attacks which were only falling straight and had a fixed path started going haywire. It bent in every and all direction, came from skies as well as thend and even chased after them as if they had a mind of their own.
The attacks which were previously easy to dodge, becamepletely unpredictable at this moment making it extremely difficult for the human to approach Ate. However, that was not the true extent of the attack.
The real trouble came when the lightning started ricocheting and bouncing off everything.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BOOOM¡ the group of humans could only dodge so much. Soon, more and more lightning hit them, scorching their bodies and dealing ridiculous damage. The magic shield that was put up by Lucas was only able to shield them for a few seconds before getting brutally destroyed.
"Dammit, Lucas hurry up. We won''t be able to stand on our feet if this goes on for long"
Wrapped in the lightning suit, Benny was fast enough to still be able to dodge a quite few attacks. However, the same cannot be said for the others. Even if they were some of the strongest people in the kingdom, being level 500+ and all, the attack came from a being who had reached the realm of mutation magic, someone who transcended the ordinary.
Needless to say, if they continued to suffer such damage, forget about the ghoul army, they would be done in by the magic itself.
"I know" Lucas shouted back. At this moment, his magic was finallypleted.
A vast amount of mana coagted around him as golden mes came to life. Like a giant golden nket, the mes quickly spread around the surroundings, contending with the lighting and eating away at each other.
"Infernal ze" Lucas mmed his staff into the ground and continued to provide the magic with his mana.
Soon, his face became pale and his body shuddered like a leaf in a storm. Sustaining such arge area advance magic came with its toll; nevertheless, he did not cancel his connection with the magic and continued to hold on.
The scene of two powerful wide area magic fighting for supremacy was a truly hellish and spectacr scene. Massive amounts of energy was dispersed throughout the forest from the collision and created shockwaves that could be felt from dozens of kilometres away.
"Now, attack her" Using this opportunity when she was contending with Lucas, Benny and the others rushed forward with their attacks.
50 feet¡40 feet... 25 feet¡ 15.. they quickly closed the distance. Yet even after they got so close to her the woman still showed no signs of dodging. rm bells rang inside Benny''s head; however, ignoring all such notions and throwing caution to the air, he and the others kept charging.
They were so near, just a little more and their weapons would be able to reach her. It took all they had just to get this far, how could they just back down after all of this? This na?ve thought of theirs, would be something they woulde to regret in the next second.
The reason why the woman did not dodge their attack was simple, it''s because there was no need to in the first ce. It was all a trap to lure them in. From the beginning, it was all just a show she put on to make them believe that she was locked in a magic showdown against Lucas.
In truth, the magic collision was all but a big farce.
"Little mischievous fire spirits, obey mymands. Bend thews of this world and give life to these mes"
As if those words were some kind of incantation, the intense magical collision going between the two powerful magic, suddenly came to a standstill. Like someone pressed the pause button, all the lightning and mes stopped rolling around.
The next second, something inexplicable happened. The infernal mes stopped contending against the lightning and instead started coordinating with it. The mes which were supposed to keep mutated lightning in check, instead started attacking them.
"AAaaarrgghhh!!!" the ones who were hit by both mes and lightning squealed with the intensity of a dying pig.
The lighting was dreadful on its own, but now mixed with mes, the attack surpassed the threshold that even these battle hardered warriors could take on. Soon, one after another they started falling down on the ground, exhausted and defeated.
"Lucas what are you doing?!! Why are you attacking us?" Just before he fell, one of the warriors shouted, aggravated at the attack by his own ally.
"It''s not me¡ the mes, my magic¡ the connection with my magic has been cut" Lucas exined his situation in panic. However, this was not the time nor anyone was willing to listen to him.
What kind of bullshit was that, they all thought the same thing. The mes attacked everyone but him, because of his magic, they lost the chance they managed to get hold of after much difficulty.
"Are you saying that I attacked you? What reason could I have to do such a thing?"¡
"Obviously, it is to bait us so that you can run away on your own".
It didn''t take time for the fragile trust between the group, to fall apart. They started ming one another and finding faults for the shitty situation they found themselves in.
"Enough all of you, stop ming each other. If we fight among ourselves at a time like this, we are practically doomed. It is what our opponent wants" Benny stepped in to mediate the situation.
"I have seen it with my own eyes, it was not Lucas'' fault but a ploy used by that despicable woman to break us apart"
In that split second when the woman muttered those mysterious words, he had seen the mes behaving peculiarly. To put it more exactly, he saw pairs of eyes and mouths appearing inside the mes.
It sounded crazy but it is what he saw and he himself had difficulty believing. Which is why, he did not tell the others.
Mutation magic, the epitome of magical power. Benny and the others weren''t wrong in recognising that Ate was about to unleash some kind of attack that would defy the norms of the ordinary and bend thews of the nature.
However, what they misunderstood was that Ate was not using Mutated magic instead, she was using Spirit Magic, an exclusive ability of the race of spirits.
Being a superior spirit, of course Ate knew how to use spirit magic. In these many months ever since the first big battle they had inside the dungeon Ate and the other Valkyries worked very hard to refine their abilities, and hone their skills.
Chapter 805- Low Tier Spirits (3)
805 Chapter 805- Low Tier Spirits (3)
Thanks to their efforts, they were now able to make optimum use of their skills and high stats without needing to rely on any powerful skills or transform into their base form. As evident by the sh between her and the group of humans who were all above level 500 with some even being level 600+.
No matter how they attacked or what trick they used, they weren''t an opponent for her to be serious. The lower spirits that she summoned using her spirit magic, amalgamated with the forces of nature to wreak havoc on her enemies.
Even the magic that was conjured by her enemy, was taken over by her and turned against them. They who stood shocked at the spectacle, were just sitting ducks in front of her spirits.
The lightning spirits, low ranking spirits with their own consciousness and personality, me spirits likewise having their own personalities and consciousness. The two spiritsmanded their respective elements, using conventional magic in front of them was like asking to be humiliated.
The infernal magic that was cast by Lucas, was taken over by the me spirits and became Ate''s own attack. The lightning spirit thatmanded the lightning and the me spirit thatmanded the mes, when used together, they became a force that crushed all the na?ve thoughts the human had about defeating her.
"Now now, pay attention here. Have you all forgotten about the ghoul army? From this point on, they shall be your opponent. Try to survive for as long as possible"
It would be all too easy for her to use me and lightning to make quick work of these people. However, that would be no fun. ''That''s right, they needed to suffer more, feel despair and struggle pathetically'' Ate thought internally.
Although her pretty face did not show it because of how adept she was at controlling her facial expression and bodynguage, but internally she was burning with the mes of revenge.
Simon was like a master, creator for her whom she had utmost reverence for, to dare to harm even this cool headed beauty who was always calm andposed, lost it.
Behind them was the formation, in front was the ghoul army led by the three legendary warriors of the kingdom and in the sky was Ate, a mage who entered the realm of mutation magic.
No matter where they looked, they were pincered from all sides. Breaking the formation was impossible without destroying the core or the caster. The core was hidden among the ghoul army as such, defeating the caster made sense.
However, the caster was the woman flying in the air. Even with all of them joining hands, they were still not a match for her. And now that the ghould army had caught up with them, it was game over for them.
"Infernal Command¡ª [Hellscape]"¡
"Tempest Empowerment"¡
"Berserker King''s Aura"¡
One by one, they activated their skills and got ready for an onerous battle. Even if there seemed no hope, even if they were exhausted, they chose to struggle till the very end. And so began the hour long misery of the seven humans who struggled till theirst breath.
An hourter, more than half of the ghoul army was decimated, turned into piles of ashes that littered the ground. Large craters dotted the ground and deep ravines cut across thend for miles.
The mana in the surroundings was in haywire and there was no signs of the lush green forest being around this part of thend for miles. The hell scene was not an area that was struck by disaster but instead was man made.
The many traces boring on the ground and even present in the environment, told the tales of a fierce battle that urred here not too long ago.
"Are you all done already? I still had a few more surprises prepared for you all you know"
Ate spoke looking down at thest three survivors. Lucas ckwood, Benny Beckerman and a warrior named Granfield. The three of them were the strongest of the lot and thus managed to survive so far.
As for the rest, they either sumbed to the injuries they received, ory scattered on the ground, chopped into mincemeat by Bloody de Zackary or became one of them. That is, became a ghoul after getting by them.
The three of them were the only ones who were able to make it so far. That said, even though they survived, it was literally as the word meant. Just one nce at their state, was enough to know that they barely hanging on.
Body dripping with blood, weapons and armour broken at several ces and their dishevelled dirtden appearance. If someone saw them right now, they would think that they were beggars instead of a powerhouse known throughout the kingdom.
"Dammit, what are these things? They don''t die no matter how many times you kill them" Grimacing, the warrior named Granfieldined. He is supporting himself with his weapon, his right arm chopped off by the axe hand Adger.
"It was already bad that they were legendary criminals from the past. However, now they are even unkible".
Just like Granfield had mentioned, the three legendary criminals of the kingdom, were proving to be a nightmarish obstacle that made them despair. Not only were they much stronger than the ones around them, but unlike the other ghouls, they were able to regenerate and use strange skills and techniques.
As long as they weren''t reduced to ashes, they could regenerate from even the most gravest of wounds. That being said, turning them into ashes sounded easier said than done, after all, these three people weren''t just your run off the mill ghoul but legendary criminals of the kingdom of the past.
21:33
What''s more, even after being turned into a ghoul, these people were special. To list off, not only did they give off a different atmosphere than the other ghouls around them, but they could think and move as if they were still human and use their previous skills as well as those strange abilities that released a bloody light.
Even with the three of them fighting, they could barely hold one each. That was how powerful the three ghouls of the legendary criminal was.
"Dammit, I''m almost out of mana yet there doesn''t seem to be any end to these damn ghouls"
Lucas cursed, he had already cast several advanced magic and dozens of intermediate tier magic in session. Naturally, even with his talent and skills, his vast reserves of mana wasing to an end.
One could imagine what would happen of a mage who ran out of Mana. With the presence of those three unkible bastards, the army of ghouls and the woman who was eyeing from the skies and enjoying their misery with cold callous eyes, his chances of surviving looked slim.
''Do I have no choice but to give up on Cynthia and use that skill to run'' His mind raced with thoughts. He looked at his two remaining teammates who were barely hanging on and seemed like they would fall down with just the push of a breeze, before making up his mind.
It was a pity that he would have to leave them behind and escape on his own; however, the circumstances were so that it was the only option he had with him. It was not like he didn''t feel any guilt leaving them behind to their fates especially when the me for their current situation can be put entirely on his shoulder.
He was the one who brought them here and now he has to leave them behind and escape on his own.
"Lucas, don''t me yourself. The lives lost cannot be med entirely on you. We came here on our own, nobody could have made use otherwise. We came because it was you. Hehe, so survive, it is better than just dying here"
As if reading through his thoughts, Benny nced at him and grinned. In their group of nine, he was the only person Lucas was close to and saw as a friend. He was like a mentor, elder brother kind of existence for him.
"Wait what are you guys talking about? You two¡ you aren''t making any ns of escaping without me are you" Granfiled who was left out of the conversation, suspected.
"Haha, what are you afraid of Granfield? Nobody is escaping,e on I shall apany you till the end" Benny interrupted, activating his lightning suit and running headfirst into he enemy.
Seeing that Benny was engaging the enemy, he didn''t think that Lucas would leave him behind and escape. The thought disappeared from his mind and he followed behind Benny. If he was going to die, he wanted to take as many of these ghoul bastards with him, especially that Adger who chopped his hand.
Right as the two moved, Lucas behind them started activating his skill. Space around him fluctuated and trembled intensely as spatial energy diffused around the surroundings.
Feeling the energy, Granfield who was ploughing down the ghouls, turned towards Lucas. Immediately, his face became as ugly as if he had swallowed a fly. That bastard was actually escaping on his own.
Did Benny know that? Seeing that Benny wasn''t doing anything and simply looked at Lucas with a knowing nod, he finally understood what was going on.
The both of them were in it, they nned to let Lucas escpae on his own. A mage who knew a space skill or spatial magic was the best escape means one could ask for.
Chapter 806- Deeply Insulting
806 Chapter 806- Deeply Insulting
"Bastard, take me with you" Granfield shouted rushing towards Lucas. However, his path was blocked by Axe hand Adger who came attacking him with the giant axe he had for his right hand.
On the other hand, Ate who hadn''t expected Lucas to be able to actually know a spatial skill was equally surprised. She extended her hand, intending to use a spirit skill, when Benny Beckerman blitzed towards her.
"Oh no, you don''t" he spoke with an excited smile on his face. The speed that he just disyed, was much much faster than before. Not only that, but the colour and appearance of his Lightning Suit was also different.
Previously if it could be said that the lightning suit made him look elegant and was blue in colour, right now, it gave him more of a brutish atmosphere and the colour of the lightning was a deep red like that of blood.
"Hehe¡ [Crimosn Life Rupture]" Benny muttered grinning ear to ear.
In the face of his aggression, Ate simply snorted and continued casting her spell towards Lucas. Spirits of lightning and fire appeared before her, producing intense electrical surges and mes.
On hermand, they moved in a helix and targeted the distant Lucas who was busy activating the spatial skill.
"I told you don''t" Benny''s words echoed with the rumbling of a thunder.
"[Thunder Bellow]" he moved his sword as three coiling crimson dragon thunder materialised around his sword and roared.
The two attacks collided, resulting in an intense shockwave. The powerful attack from Benny, shokingly cancelled the one from Ate causing thetter to be taken aback for a second.
Although she wasn''t serious in thatst attack of hers, but to be able to cancel it meant that it was at least as powerful or equal in power. She clearly remembered that this person wasn''t powerful enough to dish out this level of attack before.
Which must mean that it was the result of a skill. To be able to raise one''s power to such heights, it was a decent skill. However, she could also see that it had a serious drawback.
"How do you like it? This is like myst of thest resort skill that I haven''t used it on anyone else before. You are the first one" Bennymented marvelling at his new look.
"Should I be honoured?" The man suddenly became chatty in his final hours. As he was the target of her revenge, she decided to humour him.
"Na, nothing of that sort, it''s just that I have never activated this skill before which is why I didn''t know how great it felt to be able to have this much power in one''s grasp. Can you tell me one thing youngdy? Is the level you are standing on, feel something like this?"
Cleaning his hands, Benny spoke excitedly. The rumbling of thunder from his new crimson suit was resounding.
"I do not know how you feel as I am standing at a much higher level than you are right now even at your current state. However, I can see that the skill you used has a very serious drawback. How long do you even have in that state"
Ate pointed out. Just like she had said, the skill that Benny used had a ring problem and that was that it drained the user''s lifeforce. As evident by his pale face and quickly shrivelling body that the lifeforce it drained was not normal, making it a one use skill before the ineitable death.
The power the skill bestowed to the user was really great; however, the fact that it took their life force in exchange made the skill less than decent in that aspect.
"Heh, you easily saw through my skill, I would expect no less from someone as strong as you. It is as you say, with the lifeforce I currently have, I do not have much time. Probably a couple of minutes before I croak. However, it is enough time for me to keep you busy. If burning up my life can help a young man with a bright future escape from this hell hole, then I say it''s worth it"
Just like a sh of lightning, Benny executed numerous sword skills each apanied by three coiling crimson thunder dragons. Now that he has executed hisst resort skill, [crimson life rupture] which converted his lifeforce into strength, his speed as well as his attacks became much more powerful than before when he was simply using the Lightning Suit.
In this state, his level which was around 638 was disying the strength of warriors around level 700.
"Buying time by talking are we? Hmph, it''s useless no matter what you do, no one can escape from here?" Ate quickly saw through her opponent''s ruse and activated her skill.
It was true that she didn''t expect someone of Lucas'' level to be able to know a spatial skill. Nevertheless, even if they knew a spatial skill, they were not getting out of here. The reason for that was because she possessed the bane of all the skills and magic, the [Disruption] skill.
Be it a skill or magic, one requires mana to activate it. The [Disruption] skill which sents all the mana into the surrounding into a frenzy thus interrupting all skills and magic was the ultimate counter.
The moment, Ate activated her disruption skill, it was as if the sky had changed colour, the entire area became a world of montone. All the mana in the surrounding was pushed away and the entire area for dozens of meters, became a mana void zone.
With all the mana gone, it was oimpossible to cast any magic or skill per se here. The spatial skill cast by Lucas'' was naturally interrupted. The intense fluctuations of space around him suddenly became stagnant and the coordinates he set for his teleportation went all wrong and the skill was copsing in front of his face.
"Not good!!" Seeing that the spatial gate he just formed might copse at any moment, he made up his mind and did the unthinkable. Clenching his hands, he jumped into the unstable gate.
Usually, jumping into an unstable spatial gate with its coordinates all around the pale, was extremely dangerous and a foolish endeavour. No one in their sane mind would ever think of doing something like this. After all, the unstable spatial energy inside the spatial gate might very well tear the person apart into uncountable pieces if something goes wrong.
However, Lucas who was stuck between a rock and a hard ce, had no other choice. He chose to believe in the faint chance of sess and dived head first.
Luckily for him, the spatial gate didn''t tear his body apart and he was able to sessfully teleport. However, the bad news was that with the coordinates all around the ce, the area he was teleported to, was not very far away from here.
In fact, he did not even leave the area of perception of that woman. Lucas could tell Ate locking into his presence instantly after he teleported here.
"Tsk, one of the pests got away. Never mind, nobody can get away with her being here." Back at the battlefield, Ate clicked her tongue in annoyance seeing that one of her targets of revenge got away.
"Hehe, so Lucas got away huh? That''s good, now than I shall do my part too. This shall be thest battle of my life. Why don''t we make it more exciting" Benny smiled, his eyes glowing with a fierce light.
After he lost his best pupil back inside the Forbidden Grounds and his guild was destroyed, he was always looking for a ce to die. However, as an adventurer,mitting suicide was uneptable for him nor was dying in any other way.
His pride would only allow him to fall against an opponent who could best him in a duel. And finally today, he met an opponent like that. The woman who called herself Ate was the only opponent who could do him that honour.
Since the very moment heid eyes on her, he realised the vast strength defiiference between them. Call it an adventurer''s gut feeling or instinct but having gone through his fair share of adventures, he could vaguely predict how powerful one was based on just their presence and without even needing to rely on the [Analysis] skill.
It was for this reason that he knew none of them would survive the moment she appeared. That''s right, he decided this ce would be his deathbed and he would die here valiantly, killed by an opponent that he recognised.
However, reality didn''t seem to y as he wished. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a couple of figures materialise from the shadows and go after Lucas at the orders of the woman.
Judging by their presence they were all¡ stronger than him!!
What was going on? Where did all these peoplee from? Where did Her Highness the princess find them? While he was in a state of daze at the shock of his life that he received today, Ate pped her hands disrupting his thoughts.
"Now, now¡ I''m sure you are currently feeling full of yourself from all that boost in power. So I have decided to let the three of them be your opponent".
On Ate''s indication, the three ghouls of the legendary criminals of the kingdom, stepped forward. One of them, namely axe hand Adger was even holding the beheaded head of the warrior named Granfield.
Chapter 807- Deeply Insulting (2)
807 Chapter 807- Deeply Insulting (2)
It appeared that at some unknown point in time when he was not paying attention, Granfield had died. Killed by the opponent renowned for being called the head cuter a long time ago.
The other two, bloody de Orman and Zackary the Unkible weren''t your easy picks either. With the three of them as his opponent, even Benny who was under the effects of his skill won''t be able to take it easy.
That said, although the legendary criminals that once shook the kingdom with their cruel actions, weren''t bad to be his final opponents, this was still deeply insulting.
"What do you mean? Even after I activated [Crimson life ruture] you still won''t fight me. Are you looking down on me?"
Benny hollered enraged at the fact that the opponent would not take him seriously even after he used hisst resort to increase his power at the cost of his life.
"That''s right, it does not matter to me what you had in mind or what you expected. You will die a dog''s death here at the hands of these three. This is my way of exacting revenge on you for what you did to my master" Ate lost control of her emotions for a second there and blurted out a few things.
"You master?!!" Benny asked confused at the new information that he received "What do you mean? This was all a revenge for you?".
As hard as he thought, he couldn''t figure out who the woman was talking about.
"Hmph, it''s his matter and I''m sure he wouldn''t want me to butt in. However, even then I cannot simply forgive you for what you did back then. I will just ask for master''s forgivenesster" Saying so, she gestured with her finger and the three immediately jumped at Benny.
"Kihihi, I have been waiting to fight the strongest man in the kingdom. Benny Beckerman, I have heard all about your feats and achievements. Today let me experience for myself if all those tasks that I heard were all just baseless rumours or the truth" Zackary the unkible spoke.
"Hey, who told you that you can have the headstart? Benny Beckerman is my opponent" Bloody de Orman added.
"Get aside you two, let me handle him" Axe hand Adger rushed past first. Seeing the three talk and converse like humans, Benny was taken aback for a moment. Nheless, he still perfectly parried the attack that came from Axe hand.
They can speak? But how? This was another one of the uncountable shocks that he received today.
"Heh, you blocked that huh? How about this then? [Bloody Fountain Chop]" The axe hand of Adger shone with a bloody red glow before spurting out a fountain of blood.
The speed at which the blood came out, was so fast that it easily sliced through the ground, boulder and anything around it. Benny was forced to swiftly dodge the attack. Thankfully because of his extreme speed, it was nothing too difficult for him.
"There is no mistaking it, they are actually speaking. But how can that be?"
The ghouls he had fought all this time, although some had the ability to think and use skills like humans, none of them had the ability to speak. If they did, a few of his teammates who turned into ghouls after getting bitten would have said something or recognised them.
However, when they turned into a ghoul, forget about seeing any human emotion, all that was reflected from their eyes was pure unsatiable hunger for human flesh. Benny noticed that thest point wasmon in all ghouls whether they be Greater Ghouls or lesser ghouls.
This was also the reason why he thought that when one turns into a ghoul they lose all their human self and turn into a being of sorts that was no different than a monster.
However, the three in front of themcked any such desire or maybe they did but were able to perfectly handle it. Did that mean that they were special in a way being able to talk and retain their previous memory and all?
Think as much as he may, he would never be able to figure out the fact that the three he was fighting, were no mere ghoul but a Vampire Neonate. Vampires who are at the lowest ranks of the vampire hierarchy.
Be that may, even if the three of them were only the lowest ranking vampires, there was still arge difference in strength between them and a ghoul.
A ghoul was just a servant, one that could be mass produced and used as a meat shield by a vampire. They do not possess any of the powerful abilities that a vampire does nor can they regenerate their wounds.
Whereas, a vampire neonate is an actual vampire possessing all the dreadful skills that made their race such a menace. Being at the bottom rungs, the Vampire Neonates are the hands and feet of the other higher ranking vampires.
What''s more, the three of them were already pretty strong. Now after bing a vampire, it was only natural that they became even stronger.
If it was just one or at max two of them he was confident that he could handle it. However, with the three of them joining hands, even he was hard pressed to defeat them.
Although he was called the strongest man in the kingdom, it was only now. In their time, Adger, Zackary and Orman had all reached a level that wasn''t too far away from him. Naturally, they could match him if they worked together even if he was under the effects of the skill that he could only use once in his life to increase his strength.
And then there was the ridiculous endurance they had. No matter how many times they took damage or how grave of a wound they suffered they quickly healed themselves and sprang up.
In front of his eyes, Benny saw Adger whose axe hand that he had chopped off, dig his fangs into a nearby ghoul and casually reattach his hand.
It was not only Adger, Zackary and Orman did the same every once in a while when they suffered grievous wounds.
[Thirst] an exclusive ability of the vampires and the other races associated with them. It gives them the power to constantly heal their wounds and regenerate from their injuries. On the other side, the downside of this skill is that while in possession of this ability, one would have an insatiable hunger and crave blood intensely.
Anyways, thanks to this unfair ability they could easily keep up with Benny. Thetter despite knowing the fact that their ridiculous regeneration stemmed from the blood they drank could do nothing to stop them. After all, there was an army of ghouls around them.
How many times can he even stop them? At this moment, Benny finally realised he wouldn''t even be able to get the kind of death he desired.
The fight between Benny and the three vampires although was a spectacle and feast for eyes, didn''tst long. After a few minutes as soon as the duration of the skill ended, unable to support himself any longer, Benny fell down from the sky andy on the ground back first.
With his bones sticking out of his skin, sunken eyes and body that looked like it had aged very much, he seemed to be at the death''s door. All of his lifeforce had been drained, he would die even if nobody killed him.
Looking at that state of his, the cold callous eyes of Ate slowly smiled. She finally managed to exact the revenge on the person who made her master go through all that difficulty and made him experience despair in the truest of senses.
She saw his miserable and pathetic state and called the three vampires back. In hisst moment, she didn''t even offer him the luxury of his opponent finishing him.
.
.
Huff¡ huff¡inside the Norther Ouw Forest Lucas was running. His breath was ragged and his clothes dirty. As a mage, the stats that he focused on was mostly Magic and Endurance. As a result, he wascking in other aspects and tasks such as running for a long period of time was an uphill battle for him.
If he was so bad at physical tasks, why was he running and not using his magic to teleport away?
The answer was that he was being hunted. Currently not too far behind, were a couple of shadows who were silently tailing him. From their appearance, it doesn''t seem like they were ghouls; no, on the contrary, they appeared more like Demi humans.
Everything around him was so messed up that Lucas didn''t even question how and what the demi humans were doing here. He was all too busy running for his life.
The demi humans might not be ghouls; however, they weren''t allies either. Although from the situation it might seem like they were simply trailing him but make no mistake. The moment he tries to fly or use his spatial magic, he would be shot down by their attacks mercilessly.
Why were they stopping him from teleporting away? Lucas had an idea though it was too frightening that he didn''t want to think about it. He didn''t want to die, there were still a lot of things he wanted to achieve.
He was a genius and had the potential to rise much higher, ''that being'' themself said so. He had to get out of here, he had to survive no matter what.
Chapter 808- Onwards to Castledor
808 Chapter 808- Onwards to Castledor
The air engine was the other way where that dreadful woman and the army of ghouls was. He has no choice but to give up on it, which left him with only one choice and that was to use his spatial skill.
However, to use this skill he needed a lot of time and focus all of his attention on the activation. As such, he needed to open some distance from his pursuer and hide somewhere. And so, Lucas kept on running.
When he walked past the tall thickets and appeared before a rocky outcrop, all of his hopes was smashed away and the most frightening thought he had been refusing to think about all this time, came true like an omen.
He was surrounded, standing before him was none of than the dreadful woman who wiped out his entire team and the army of ghouls shemanded. The three legendary criminals were also there, or should he say two. One of them was missing.
"Can you leave this one to me? Since I was the one who started it, it''s only normal that I should finish it".
Just as he was wondering who she was talking to, a reply came from behind him.
"As you wish. Miss Maybell only told us to track him and stop him from escaping".
It was the demi humans, at some point, they had easily caught up with him.
"Now then, it ended up taking more time than I thought but shall we finish this?" Saying that, she set her dogs or the two criminals per se lose on him.
"Why are you¡ no, why is she doing this?!!" in hisst moments, he could only ask so. His question received no answer and soon, his Lucas ckwood''s life ended there.
.
.
Inside a pure white room that waspletely empty, a silhouette suddenly opened his eyes. The appearance of the figure couldn''t be seen as they were radiating an intense golden light. Nevertheless, from their bodyline, one could figure out that they were female.
"What is it Domiel?" the figure spoke.
At this moment, another voice rang inside the room "Paraclete of Light, I am here to report that one of the seeds we put the stigma on has died"¡
"All mortals must die someday, death is something that cannot be escaped. Its just one seed, why are you so flustered?"
"Yes, it as you say, it''s inevitable for some seeds to die before they fully mature. However, the cause of this seed''s death raises a little concern"¡
"Oh?! How so?"
The voice replied "The one who imprinted the Stimga on that seed was none other than me. When the seed died, I felt an ominous and foreign energy from the revtion. I''m afraid that it might be the signs of the out.."
Domiel was just about to speak something when the figure covered by the golden light stopped him.
"Do not speak that name. I understand your concern, I will bring it to ''her'' notice when I meet her".
"I am grateful for the Praclete''s understanding"
With that the voice of Domiel excused himself. Once he left, the room fell into silence once again. The figure covered by the golden light continued to stare ahead nkly for some time before muttering a few words.
"If it''s really as Domiel said, then the world is in danger again".
.
.
Back inside the wagon, Ate recounted the events to Cynthia.
"So even Benny Beckerman is now gone huh" the princess sighed.
"Are you regretting your orders Hour Highness?" Ate asked noticing a tinge of disappointment in her expression.
"It''s not like that. I am aware that as someone who was in the opposite faction, he was a threat that needed to be taken out. It was unavoidable; however, thinking that we lost one of the strongest men in our kingdom, I cannot help butment a little" Cynthia exined.
"Even if he was someone like a guardian to the Kingdom, he needed to die for the offence hemitted against master" Ate''s voice was cold. She had no sympathy for anyone who tried to go against her master.
"You are right, he did indeed go against the dungeon. As someone who is now also part of that dungeon, I cannot think like that".
This was the deal, in exchange for his aid, everything that she owned, her life, soul, possession and even the kingdom, would be his. She had made her decision after thinking about it carefully.
"We are nearing the area, the battlefield should soone into view" Just as Ate had said, the lineup of wagons stopped after travelling for a little while.
CLACK¡ CLACK, the footsteps of a person came near and the guardmander''s voice rang out.
"Princess, there are signs of battle nearby. We sent a couple of our people to go ahead and investigate the area. There might still be danger around, so please be careful".
Cynthia opened the door and stepped out.
"Your Highness" Her retainers bowed.
"I wish to go there and see the area where the battle took ce with my own eyes" She spoke.
"But your highness the ce is dangerous. Who knows, the ones who fought there might still be around" Bret the old assassin, raised his concern.
"Don''t worry, we have the greatest force in the kingdom with us right now. Do you really think anything that is out there can still threaten us?" Cynthia''s words silenced everyone.
It was as she said, the group of people who they were travelling with were all elite adventurers and powerhouses of the kingdom. All of their level were above 400 with some even reaching level 500.
With a line up like this, one can easily destroy a city. How can there still be something in this northern ouw forest that can still threaten them? And even if there was something, with the woman beside Her Highness, it would still not be a problem. After all, the woman was the subordinate of that being.
"If you must insist, then we will apany you".
With that Cynthia and the others made her way over to the vanguard of the group. A few meters away, the aftermath of a destructive forcey scattered across the forest floor.
Broken branches, disced rocks, and upturned soil marked the aftermath of a recent sh, evidence that something powerful had recently transpired here. The air still carried the faint scent of magical residue and the turbulent mana hinted at the nature of the battle that had unfolded.
Standing at the site of the destruction the figures of ke and the others could be seen. With their guards up and still maintaining the formation, they carefully scanned the ce.
"Any insight ke?" Cynthia asked approaching the group.
"Your Highness, this ce is..." ke was just about to say that this ce was dangerous and she ought not to move around here carelessly when he remembered who was with her. His eyes moved towards Ate who followed the princess like a shadow before quickly shifting away.
He did not even realise that she was gone from their side, fought a battle and quickly returned back without anyone even noticing it.
"Not much Your Highness, we are still investigating the ce. However, from the leads we have found so far, it''s clear that this was not the doing of some sh between two monsters but something that was caused by people. I cannot give you numbers but from the footsteps we have seen, there seemed to be quite plenty of them" ke answered surveying the site with a solemn look in his eyes.
"I see, do we know who are the people responsible for it?" Cynthia asked feigning ignorance.
"Not yet, however, I have sent a few assassins to investigate the area around here. If they find anything they would report back to us¡ oh! Speak of the devil" Just as he was saying that, the assassin he sent to scout the area, returned back.
"Sir ke, we have a report. Two kilometres south from here, we spotted an Air Engine parked on top of a small mountaintop"¡
"An Air Engine" ke raised his brows not expecting an Air Engine to pop up in the report.
"Who is driving it? who all are inside?"¡
"The Air Engine seems to be abandoned, there doesn''t seem to be anyone around" the assassins reported.
"Hmm, could it be the ones who fought here, the people from the air engine? If so then where did they go?" Wyot muttered, generating more questions inside everyone''s head.
"There is no point dwelling over something we have no clue about. How about we go and see that Air Engine, maybe we will find some more clues there" Cynthia suggested.
Everybody nodded their head, given their objective and their lives at stake, they needed to investigate every factor and element at y here. If it affected them, they needed to learn about it or eliminate it if it threatened them.
As reported by the assassins, the Air Engine had no one manning it, nor was there anyone to be seen around, it looked totally deserted.
"Considering the size of this air Engine, it should be capable of carrying around 10-12 people. I have looked around the cabin and the engine, there doesn''t seem to be any problem with it. Heck, it''s in tip top condition, I don''t see any reason to abandon such a fine ship" Wyot who was somewhat knowledgable about the mechanics of the Air Engine, said after examining it.
"If it''s not broken, then where did the people who board it go?"¡
"Don''t know, but could it be that they were all killed?"¡
"Don''t say something so ominous".
Chapter 809- Night of the Raid
809 Chapter 809- Night of the Raid
While the adventurers discussed among themselves, sometimes saying stupid things that incited augh, ke turned towards Cynthia and asked the question that everybody was missing.
"Your Highness, do you recognise the crest inscribed on the Air Eninge?"¡
"It''s the symbol of Duke Montford''s" Thetter nodded her head. "If it''s their ship, it must mean that they are here".
It was not a good sign that the Duke''s Air Engine was found here. After all, if his transport was here, it meant that the person himself was also¡
"Duke Montford and the first prince are still inside Castledor. I have received a report this morning that the duke''s exclusive Air Engine was stolen in the darkness of the night this morning" as if reading everyone''s thoughts, Ate stated.
The report that she gave everyone was not false, in fact, it was entirely true just that she omitted a few important points from the report.
So that was the case, everyone nodded their head. At least one mystery was solved, that said even though the duke himself or the prince was not on board, it still remained unknown who stole the Air Engine and why did they bring it here.
"I leave the others in charge of finding any clues as to who were the people on board. ke, you and your group will make sure the Air Engine is ready to sail again. Since they abandoned it, I shall very well put it to work again"
Cynthia handed out orders. As someone who knew the truth of the matter and still acted oblivious, she didn''t want to waste much time searching after ghosts. As such, she gave the job to the other people and tasked ke and the others with things that were more important right now.
Although ke had some questions and wanted to still investigate the people who arrived with this Air Engine, he nevertheless carried the orders that were given to him.
The other adventurers also did the same and carefully carried out their tasks. Soon the entire ce was thoroughly scanned and not even a single trace of the people who arrived here with the Air Engine could be found, leading the adventurers to believe that they either perished fighting each other or were far away from here.
Thetter being the case was unlikely which meant the former had to be the case, given the scene of devastation that they had all witnessed just a few moments ago.
"Hmm, did those people really perish fighting among themselves? In that case, why did they evene here?"
ke mused, sitting inside the cabin of the Air Engine. Since ording to Wyot the airship was perfectly fine to take flight again, he had been going around searching the ce for any clues that could give him information about the people on board.
"Give up ke, stop trying to do something that Her Highness barred you from" While he was deep in thought, Woyt approached him and tapped his shoulder.
21:38
"What do you mean barred me from?" Her Highness gave him the task to get the Air Engine ready not barred him from doing anything.
"Do you really think that? If so then let me ask, why did Her Highness give you the task to examine the Air Engine when I have already inspected it?" Wyot questioned.
"Isn''t it because she wants to use the Air Engine? Sieging Castledor city would be much easier if we used the Air Engine to drop some of our elite adventurers inside the city continuously" ke answered after thinking for a while.
"You are right, however, do you think she would put some of her best men into manning the Air Engine when there might be far greater danger like for example our n leaking to the enemy, or the people who fought here were perhaps after her life? Do you really think the princess we know would take such risks?" Wyot continued to exin what he thought.
"Do you want to know what I think? My guess is that the reason why she is soposed about all of this is because she already knows what happened here"¡
"What?!! That can''t be¡" At those words, ke reacted with surprise. There is no way the princess would hide such a crucial information from them.
"It''s not impossible if you think about it. From the moment we met Her Highness to till now, all the greatest obstacles in our path seem to magically disappear. It was the same case back in the tower town when we went inside the hideout of the criminal organisation and even now. I believe that the reason why Her Highness is not talking about it and instead giving us some other tasks to upy us is because it involves those people".
It was clear to ke who Wyot meant by those people. That''s right it made sense now that he highlighted it. If it were those people, he wouldn''t put it beyond them to instantly take care of any people or pursuers who might be after Her Highness.
Perhaps, it was really as Wyot said, the people who were on board this ship were after her highness and the devastation around the area was the result of a fierce battle between her highness'' force and the enemies.
If so, it was understandable why she couldn''t talk about it and instead was diverting their attention into doing something that might look less important than searching for the clues around.
It was because the other adventurers were searching for ghosts, people who no longer existed. The ones who came down with this air engine were already taken care of and no matter how much the adventurers searched the ce, they won''t be able to find anything.
"I see" ke nodded his head in understanding. Sometimes he forgets because Wyot always acts goofy; however, thetter had a pretty good head on his shoulders.
Not far away from them, standing behind a wall was a pretty woman with long ck hair and pale skin. She had a gloomy atmosphere surrounding her and always acted apprehensive and anxious.
Who could the woman be other than Emma? At this moment, her eyes which were covered by her long bangs looked at the conversing ke and Woyt before she left silently. The two who did not even sense her presence were unaware that they narrowly dodged a bullet.
A whileter, Cynthia and her forces gathered near the air engine. She stood in front, while a ck haired beauty with a spectacle sitting on her nose, followed a step behind her.
"How goes the investigation? Were you able to find anything relevant?" She addressed the adventurers.
The ones who were tasked with investigating the ce shook their heads. They had been at it for over a couple of hours now. Yet no matter how much they searched or tracked any trails they found, they couldn''t find the people who were the cause of the disturbance nor any trace. It was almost as if they all perished in the battle.
"I see, if we can''t find any clues, then it cannot be helped. We will proceed as per n. The group will march straight through the forest. ke you and your team will be responsible for manning the air engine. Take a few mages and tie a few wagons to the Air engine to carry them ahead"
"We will use this strategy to increase our speed. As some of you mentioned before this is a raid, and speed is of essence. If we can use the Air engine to increase our speed, we will do so. All the others will march like usual".
With Cynthia''s instructions, the group started trudging forward. With the aid of the Air Engine carrying the wagons back and forth, the journey which should have taken one month was cut short into just one week.
And thus, one weekter, standing between the borders of the Northern Ouw Forest and the Castledor city, the raid teamid their eyes on their objective. Fortified by tall and sturdy looking walls and ramparts, the city in the distance was worthy of its name, Castledor City.
Its walls that stood since the time of its founding had repelled swarms of monstersing off from the northern ouw forest numerous times and looked the very definition of imprable.
On top of the walls, one could even see the ancient magic cannons whose technology had long since be outdated. These magic cannons which needed more than five people to operate it, can even prate through the toughest defence of monsters around level 200.
Other than that there was also numerous barracks and embrasures that could be seen around the wall. No matter who it was or how many times they looked at the city, they would no doubt be impressed every time by its sheer grandeur and imposing look.
A long stretching highway that spanned across the ground like the roots of a tree, connected the city to various parts of the dukedom. One such road connected the city to the Northern Ouw Forest.
Though since this road that connected the dukedom to the rest of the northwestern region of the kingdom such as the city of Mountend, Morgress and all, it had been blocked on orders of his royal highness, the first prince, Alstin Ellesmere.
The road which hadn''t had any visitors for months now, was covered with moss and wild grass. If a merchant who was used to travelling regrly from the north westen part of the kingdom to the city saw this, they would never be able to guess that it was the highway that connected the two regions.
Chapter 810- Night Of The Raid (2)
Chapter 810- Night Of The Raid (2)
"Heh, it looks like duke montford''s duchy is doing good. Well, considering the fact that they sent all the injured, destitute and the old towards the northwestern region, I guess it is to be expected"¡
"I bet that prince is sitting in his Brobdingnagian chair inside his castle at this moment, enjoy the lofty services thatmon folks won''t even dream of"¡
"Aren''t we here precisely for that, to light a fire under his ass? Let''s bring that stupid prince who dreams about bing a king, down"¡
The adventurers smirked looking at the distant city, thriving and flourishing at the expense of other people and regions. Not long from now, they were going to raid it and plunge the city in despair.
"Your Highness, when should wemence our attack?" ke and the others stood in front of their respective teams and asked.
Cynthia observed the thriving metropolis in the distance as if wanting to engrave it in her memories for thest time before closing her eyes. The next time she opened them, there was a resolute and ruthless light in those eyes.
Those eyes that made their resolution were not just any ordinary eyes, but the eyes of a ruler who had to be cruel and heartless to her own people for the sake of her own people.
"We willmence the attack at midnight today. You all have a few hours, rest all you want right now. After some time, you will have to fight people who are on your side. Even if they are soldiers who are just doing their job, civilians or your rtives, if they stand in your way, y without any hesitation"
"Those who can''t steel their heart to the cruel ughter that is about to begin, might as well stay behind. I want only those people to follow me who can obey my order without any question"
Cynthia spoke in an assertive and sharp tone that left no room for any argument. From this point on, no disobedience will be allowed. The group of adventurers, even though they had no proper training, etiquette or manner, saluted towards the princess to the very best of their ability.
And so, on the orders of Her Royal Highness the Princess, the adventurers rested their travel worn bodies for the uing big battle. Since they were at the borders of the northern ouw forest with plenty of greeneries and foliage, they were perfectly hidden from the sentries on the wall.
In fact, even if they were spotted, there would be no problem as the sentries were all turned into ghouls by Theodore''s and Myabell''s kindred. The entire northwestern part of the wall had been taken over by the enemies and the people of the city nor the nobles had any idea.
They were still living out their daily lives going on about their usual activities. They would onlye to know about the intruders muchter when the bell from the southern wall sounded the alert and a wall of fire, higher than the walls of the city itself encases an entire district.
Inside the castle, Alstin read a report from his subordinate and immediately crumpled the parchment of paper in his hand in anger.
"Dammit, so aside from the southern nobles, even the western nobles have thrown their lots with the enemy. Those contemptuous bastards, I will definitely behead them all".
BANG¡ he kicked away the chair he was sitting on.
"Why, why do these things only happen to me. On top of being surrounded by enemies from all sides, they are now marching towards here. Dammit, where are Lucas and Benny at a time like this?".
The subordinate hesitated before replying "I believe they took His Grace''s Air Engine to go in search of the princess".
Alstin turned around, his eyes ring at the subordinate "You think I don''t know that? What I want to know is where are they now exactly and can we still not get in touch with them through the transmission conch?".
It has been more than a week since Lucas and the others left. Considering the fact that they were travelling with an Air Engine, even if their destination was to the far northwest, a week was enough time to make several trips back and forth.
So why were they not back yet? Worse, he couldn''t even reach them through the transmission conch, which made their status uncertain.
"Could it be that they really found my sister? Were the reports really true? If so then the fact that they are not returning is because they betrayed me and joined my sister''s side? It is Lucas we are talking about, I will not put it beyond him" Alstin paced around as several worst scenarios yed out in his head.
"It could also very well be possible that they took the Air Engine and ran away, betraying me. Yes, yes¡ it might be the truth".
Away from him, kneeling on the ground and watching Alstin''s demented behaviour, was the subordinate. A wicked grin yed across their lips and their eyes glowed a strange red. However, before the prince could even notice, they quickly concealed it.
It could be said that ever since the invasion of ckthorn and the fall of the capital, things were starting to go gravely wrong for Alstin. The cynical side of his also kept on bing worse day by day until he waspletely grasped by paranoia.
The circumstances yed arge part in Alstin''s transformation; however, arge part of it was because of the subordinate''s interference. A creepy greyish ck energy slowly seeped into the room and quietly and coiled around the first prince''s body and entered him.
"Your Highness, if Lucas and Benny have betrayed you, simply cut them off. The same goes for the ipetent sister of yours. Once you be the king, you can simply send them to the gallows and punish their insubordination. You are the only one worthy to rule thisnd, you can do anything you want, those who don''t follow you are the traitors, your enemy. Simply cast them away¡"
"That''s right, I am the only one worthy, the ruler.."
Just as the subordinate was in the midst of brainwashing and coercing the first prince''s mind, a soldier hurriedly knocked on the door.
"Your Highness, I have an urgent report".
Immediately, the effects of the brainwashing disappeared and the prince snapped out of his stupor. The greyish ck energy also faded from around his body.
"What was I doing?" Alstin muttered under his breath. The subordinate was gone and he couldn''t remember anything he was doing up until now.
"Enter"¡
"Yes"
On hismand, the soldier entered in. Alstin immediately recognised the soldier as one of the men manning the wall.
What were they doing here? What''s more, given how much the soldier was out of breath and sweating, he must have run all the way here. It had to be very urgent.
"What''s wrong? Give your report?"..
"Yes"
As he had expected the report was extremely important and concerned him and the entire city.
"We are being attacked? Who is it? Is it the Army from Balckthorn? No that is impossible. It would take more than two months time to get here from the capital and that too by carriage at full speed. Could it be that they flew over here using the Air Engine? But if they did, I''m sure my spies would have sent some reports over"
Alstin bit his thumb as he pondered in panic.
"It''s not ckthorn''s army who is besieging us, Your Highness" The soldier shook his head.
"Then could it be the nobles who have thrown their lots with the enemy? Of course, it''s them, if anyone who can reach Castldor so soon, it''s them"¡
"It''s not them either"¡
"Hm? Then who could it be?"
If it''s not the kcthron army which was upying the capital nor the nobles who changed their alliance, then who would attack him at this hour.
"That is¡" the soldier looked a little perplexed himself "From the g the enemy is flying, we reckon that it''s the insignia of the Serene Pce".
As soon as the soldier said those words, Alstin''s pupils dted to their limits.
"Did you just say that the enemy was flying the symbol of Serene Pce?" Wanting to make sure that he heard right, he asked again.
The soldier nodded. "Impossible, she should have died back inside the dungeon. How¡ how can she be here? No, I can''t allow this, nobody can take my pale as the king. I am the only true ruler of thisnd"
While the prince was busy indulging in his paranoia, the soldier interjected "Your Highness what is yourmand?"..
"No matter if it''s Aiden or Cynthia, those who stand in my way are my enemies. Hmm, first I need to ascertain the truth of the matter. Contact the northern garrison and ask them about the situation around the wall¡"
"About that, we have lost all contact with the northern garrison. We believe that the enemy has already taken control of the northern side of the wall".
SILENCE~ As soon as the soldiers spoke those words, an unsettling silence descended onto the room. It stayed for a couple of seconds before being broken by Alstin who garbbed the soldier by their armour.
"What did you say?!!" His voice distorted by anger, he bellowed.
"It is as you heard Your Highness, we can''t contact the northern garrison" the soldier repeated.
"Bastard, do I pay you all for no reason? You can''t even do a single task. All you had to do was guard the wall and sound the rm when you spot anything suspicious. Is it not why you are stationed there?"¡
"Yes"¡
Chapter 811- Night Of The Raid (3)
Chapter 811- Night Of The Raid (3)
"Then why is that I heard no rm? Why is it that you can''t even do a single task that you are meant to do?"¡
"Please forgive our ipetence, Your Highness" Seeing the first prince get so mad, the soldier could only bow his head in shame and apologise, even though it was not his fault.
"Well whatever, it is my fault in the first ce to have expected anything of you ipetent bastards"
He threw the soldier on the floor and walked up to the window. There on the northern part of the wall, he could see multiple shes of light which was probably from the activation of skills and magic, continuously going on.
"Tell me where is his grace the duke? In a situation like this, he is the only one I can turn to" Alstin questioned.
"About that, the Duke already took a few men and headed for the northern walls" the soldier reported.
"What?!!"
Alstin bit his thumbnail and continued to stare towards the northern wall. Although he was gripped by paranoia and brainwashed little by little by one of his subordinates, he hadn''tpletely lost his rationality.
As such, he knew that going after the duke to the northern walls was nothing short of suicidal especially when knowing that he was their objective. No matter what, he had to stay alive first and foremost. He can leave the matters of the city to Duke Montford.
"Dammit, if only I had Lucas and Benny here with me" Alstin looked at the weak looking soldier and ordered.
"You there, this is my direct order. Go and tell this to the most powerful soldiers out there, they are to safeguard the castle and allow no one suspicious in. Also, bring a couple of them with you, they are to guard me by my side".
The soldier hurriedly left to carry out the orders. While Alstin was making preparations to turtle up inside the castle, atop the northern walls. Using grappling hooks, climbing cams or their own skills, the adventurers covertly climbed up the walls in the darkness of the night.
Since only those people who have reached level 500 can use Mana wings, almost all of the adventurers except for a certain few people had to climb the walls. Anyways, after sessfully climbing the wall, they quickly disposed of the soldiers manning the wall and quickly took over it.
Everything went on so well and easily that it was concerning on the contrary.
"Does anyone else also feel that we managed to sneak in too easily? Why didn''t the soldiers spot us even until we reached the foot of the wall" one of the adventurers raised his concern.
"Heh, you are thinking too much. Do you really think an average soldier of this city can match any one of us adventurers? In terms of skills and tactics, we are far superior to the likes of these jarheads. Besides, who do you think is leading the group of assassins while culling down the numbers of soldiers on the wall?"
With another adventurer emphasising it, that adventurer who raised the concern nodded his head in understanding. It was true that they could not assess the strength of the soldiers with their standards.
Unlike them who have lived their years, fighting monsters and dealing with one unfair situation after another all the while fighting for their life and polishing their skills and levels, the average soldier of the city hardly had anything to worry about.
The only thing they took care of was thew and order of the city, while asionally breaking fights among the citizens of the city. How could such people even be their match?
Not to mention, even among the adventurers of the tower town, they were considered elites. It made sense that the soldiers were unable to spot them. Even if they did spot them, with Wyot and the other assassins assisting them from on top of the wall, it shouldn''te as a surprise.
Although the adventurers weren''t wrong, what they didn''t know was that the people they killed had already been turned into ghouls who had been ordered to just roam around the walls and not do anything.
Their task was only to keep the fa?ade and get eliminated by Cynthia''s forces during the raid. As they were expendables that could be mass produced at whim by the vampires, it did not matter if they died or survived.
"Your Highness" ke, Frida, Wyot and the others bowed their heads towards Cynthia who had used her strange skill to fly over. As usual, beside her followed Ate and Emma who were using Mana Wings to fly.
"How goes the infiltration?" Cynthia questioned looking down at the quiet city whose people have retired inside their homes after a bustling day.
"We have sessfully taken over the northern side of the wall without causing anymotion. I''m sure the ruling ss of the city still has no idea that we are here" ke reported.
"Good, the first part of the n has gone well. It''s now time to carry out the next. Give the signal, let everyone inside especially that foolish brother of mine know that I am here" Cynthia dered with an even tone.
On hermand, ke took out an item that looked like some kind of re used to guide Air Engine during the night and threw it up. With that as the signal, an Airship rose from the borders of the Northern Ouw Forest.
When the Air Engine came into view, one could see that there was a long wide strip of cloth tied to the keel of the Air Engine. Engraved in the cloth in big gold colours that could be seen even at night, was a symbol depicting a pce sitting beside ake.
The symbol was none other than the exclusive insignia of the princess of the Kingdom of Ellesmere, Her Highness Princess Cynthia. Also at the same time, the bell from the south side of the wall rang out alerting people of the intruders.
The city that was quietly sleeping was suddenly woken awake. Guards hurried over and soon a spectacle was created.
"Go!! Cull down anyone who dares to stand in your path. Do not show them any mercy" Seeing this Cynthia ordered. Although her words sounded cruel and heartless, she couldn''t afford to show any sympathy to the people who were in the rival faction, even if they were her own people.
Alvara, Burg, and her other retainers unhesitantly unsheathed their weapon and so did the adventurers. Even if they weren''t her retainers, she was the one who saved them and their families from peril.
She extended a helping hand to them when they needed it the most. The debt of gratitude that they owed her, cannot be repaid no matter what they did for her. Forget about just aiding her to reim her kingdom back, some of the fanatics who worshipped her like god and would resort to anything if she just so much as moved her mouth.
"How dare you invade the duke''s castle? Don''t think that you can get out of here alive" one of the soldiers who was in the midst of speaking, suddenly had his sentence got cut in half along with his throat.
Wyot and the other assassins materialised out of nowhere and started going on a killing frenzy. As they were much higher level than the average soldier, the battle ensued next was no battle, but an absolute massacre.
It was like watching a wolf who had snuck into a chicken pen. The adventurers were the wolves and the soldiers the chicken. The assassins weren''t the only ones who went into a killing frenzy, warriors like ke, Burg and the others and mages like Frida and Marba were unstoppable too.
In the case of thetter, whenever they cast a spell, soldiers would fall en masse.
"We¡ we are not their match. Only the captains or higher rank can handle" Realising the difference between their strengths the soldiers subconsciously retreated.
As they say, quality over quantity. Although Castledor had numbers, Cynthia had quality. Even if the number she brought along with her was low probably not even crossing fifty, each and every person she brought, was the elites of the tower town who had a rich battle experience and were used to fighting beings stronger than them.
Even the captains and Corporals who were of higher rank than the others were no match for the adventurers.
"Hm? It seems the enemy is getting smarter or maybe there is apetent strategist among them. Since they know our objective is to get to the castle, they have a barricade of sorts all around the road" Wyot scanned, standing on top of a building to get a clear view of things.
"How many barricades are there? What are they using?" ke questioned.
If they were using simple means like barb wires and other things that usually worked on low level monsters then there was no need to worry.
"Damn, it''s sickening to say. Although they are using barbed wires, they are also warming the normal citizens and using them as a meat wall. Behind them, much further down the road, they have also ced the magic cannon"
"I don''t know which son of bitch came up with this strategy, but they are nning to use the citizens as a sacrifice to fire the magic cannon on us. Although it can''t hurt warriors like you, assassins like us who have low defence will suffer some injuries if that hits us. Worse, if it hits a mage, they would suffer some grave injuries" Wyot replied scratching his ear.
Chapter 812- Night Of The Raid (4)
Chapter 812- Night Of The Raid (4)
"Should we ask the mages to construct a magic shield around all of us?".
ke''s expression was equally ugly. To use the citizens of their city that they meant to protect as bait, the very idea was revolting. However, that said, since the moment they nned to raid the city, they expected for anything to happen.
The n did not change, Her Highness ordered them to mow through everything be it soldier or civilian, they had the orders to cull down anyone. Perhaps, she had already foreseen such a development which is why she gave such a coldmand.
No wonder, her figure looked so forlorn and sad. Since Her Highness had made her mind, there was no ce for him to hesitate. He thought for a while before giving out his orders.
"No need, if we do that it will only slow us down. Plus it would deplete the mana of the mages much faster. We will plough through everything in our path¡ let''s use that".
Saying that, he pointed up.
Immediately understanding what he meant, Wyot grinned "Hehe, we are using that huh. In that case, leave it to me and the other assassins to guide it. I will make sure that none of those things misses".
"Yeah, I leave it to you".
Using the higher version of the [stealth] skill, [Meld] Wyot disappeared. Walking in the middle of the formation with several of her retainers and Ate protecting her, was Cynthia. As she marched forward while keeping a cold, unmoving face, she looked at the bloodbath that was ensuing all around her.
This bloodbath was something that was caused by her. Had she not given the order; no, perhaps if she didn''te to Castledor city, this wouldn''t have happened. The soldiers of the city who were only doing their job, nor the citizens who were being forced to take up arms would have died.
However, if she didn''te here, if she left the kingdom to its fate, who knows what kind of future it would have or perhaps it wouldn''t have any. Knowing Alstin, Cynthia was sure that he would bring the country that their father cherished to ruin.
To keep the promise to her father, to keep the kingdom from heading to its eventual end, she has to do it. If she doesn''t then the casualties would be much higher than now. It was for the kingdom and its people''s future.
Telling herself that or more like brainwashing herself with those words, she kept moving on. If she didn''t force herself to believe those words, she might just copse from all the guilt and remorse.
This was absolutely uneptable to her, and as such the only way was forward. Perhaps there was another way that could bring her own and everyone''s misery to a quick end and that was to take down Alstin as soon as possible.
"Where is he at this current moment?" Cynthia asked the woman beside him.
"He is hiding inside the castle. There is a hidden route underneath the castle that leads to an emergency shelter. This emergency shelter is filled with rations and all facilities, it was probably made so that the people of the city could take shelter inside the castle if the city ever fell or had to close its gates. The first prince is nning to hide inside the emergency shelter until all of it is over"
Ate answered, reporting the actions of the first prince. The high ranking vampires were monitoring him 24X7. As such, any action or movement he made, was immediately reported to Ate through Thedore and Maybell.
"He is nning to turtle inside the emergency shelter huh? How very like of him" Cynthia wasn''t surprised on the contrary, she smirked in contempt as if already expecting him to do something like this.
"Any powerful individuals by his side?" knowing her brother she knew that he would keep some powerful individuals by his side to keep himself safe.
"No, although there are a couple of soldiers who are stronger than the ones over here, they are nothing that the adventurers on your side cannot handle. More importantly, our bigger problem would be¡"
"Your Highness we have a problem"
Ate who was in the midst of telling Cynthia something was interrupted by ke who hurried over to her side.
"What is it ke? For you to abandon your position from the frontlines ande here?"¡
"Please excuse me Your Highness, but I felt like I should tell you this myself" ke bowed his head before continuing "Duke Montford is standing in our path and wishes to see you"¡
"Duke Montford?!!" Hearing the name, Cynthia narrowed her eyes.
Duke Montford, a noble with many achievements to his name. Not only was he a descendant of a great war hero who achieved many great things for the kingdom, but the person himself was also second to none when it came to governing his fief and political strategies.
Other than that, he had also led many sessful crusades against the bandits of the ck Town and most of all, he was the person who defeated one of the legendary criminals of the kingdom, Axe hand Adger and forced him into hiding all these years.
Duke Montford''s existence was a guardian that safeguarded the northwestern corner of the kingdom. However, to Cynthia all those achievements and influence matter not as he was one of the main backers who supported her first brother, Alstin.
Other than that, he was also the person who pushed the matter of her marrying Lucas to the king and her brother many times during the royal court. That being said, his loyalty to the kingdom was unquestionable and he was always there whenever the kingdom ever needed his help.
In short, Cynthia''s perspective of this person was veryplicated. For him to ask to see her, what could it be about? Cynthia considered all the options in her head and replied¡ª "Alright, lead me. I want to see what he is up to".
With that ke led Cynthia to the forefront of their formation. Standing not too far away, surrounded by powerful looking warriors with full body armour, was the duke. His short ck hair had parts of grey and was neatlybed to one side.
He was wearing his regal noble clothes and donned a red robe that had his crest engraved behind. His forehead had slight creases highlighting that he was not young anymore yet despite that his gait was straight like a sword and he realised an imposing and overwhelming aura simply by standing still.
Powerful, any experienced person who saw him woulde up with that to describe him. The moment Cynthiaid her eyes on him, she couldn''t help but feel that the man hadn''t changed at all. Thest time that she saw him, he looked the exact same.
"So you were alive Your Highness" The duke spoke. Just like how she was observing her, he too was marvelling at the growth she had shown. Despite being dealt a bad hand, all of her aplishments snatched and almost forced to forfeit her life, she climbed her way back again.
Duke Montford was in awe of the princess whom he had seen grow into a fine woman from a little girl.
"You don''t sound too pleased your grace. Could it be that me being alive somehow upset your ns?"¡
"Haha" Facing her provocation the man simply smiled "It''s not like that, this old man is very pleased to see the princess alive and doing well".
''Then why don''t you say that to your face'' Everyone on Cynthia''s side, had the same thoughts within their minds.
With the two leaders of both sides now confronting each other in talks, the battle all around came to a strange standstill.
"Your Grace seems to be doing quite well himself. I heard that you got a new sessor now?"
"It looks like I can''t hide anything from the princess. It''s as you say; however, let''s stop the small talks here. I am sure we both are not here for that"¡
"Oh?! then for what reason did the dukee out here personally?" Cynthia smiled.
"Don''t y dumb. I am here to tell you to stop this madness. We are currently at a war with the kingdom of ckthorn. Now that the capital has fallen and the remaining nobles have thrown their lots with the enemies, it is even more important that we unite and not fight each other. What Your Highness is currently doing is the height of folly"
Duke Montford stared straight at Cynthia and dered. His heavy and deep voice sounded all across the street clearly.
Hearing his words, Cynthia nodded "What his grace said is right. Right now, we ought to put our differences aside and fight the foreign invaders. Considering the enemy''s numbers and our former allies who have defected to their side, we have an absolute numerical disadvantage. What''s more, we are also surrounded by enemies now. At a time like this fighting among ourselves would only hasten our doom"¡
"If you know so much then why¡"
"Why am I doing this?" before the duke could continue, Cynthia interrupted him. Her gaze was no less intense than his.
"I won''t let you say that. You know my intentions very well"¡
"I know; however, Your Highness if you do this, there won''t be no winner at all" The reason why Duke Montford came here was to stop Cynthia and her forces from killing any more soldiers.
He was afraid that if the royal siblings continued to go after each other''s throats even when the enemy was right in front of them, the kingdom would bepletely doomed.
Chapter 813- Night Of The Raid (5)
Chapter 813- Night Of The Raid (5)
Redcrest City, the city of Mountmend, Morgress and his fief, Castledor were the only remaining bastions that were still mounting a resistance against the enemy. If even the Castledor fell in the fight between the two siblings, it was not hard to imagine what would happen to the kingdom.
This was the worst possible scenario that he wanted to avoid at all costs.
"Winner or not, I don''t care at all. I must do this, I have tolerated Alstin far too much. Today is the day I have determined to resolve everything with him. There can only be one king in the kingdom of Ellesmere and this time it will be a queen. My father, thete king Henry enthroned me as the queen of the kingdom and with hisst wish. I shall see to it no matter what" Cynthia''s resolve was firm and her stance unchanging.
"Even if the kingdom ends up getting destroyed in the midst of all of your ambitions, you will still see to it?"¡
"Yes, but you are wrong about one thing. The kingdom won''t be destroyed, I won''t let it. That said, I understand where you areing from too. As such, if you want me to stop all this, there is one thing you can do"
"Hand over my brother and swear your loyalty to me from this moment forward. If you can do that, I won''t have any qualms about pulling my forces back" She offered a choice.
"That¡ is something I can''t do"¡
"Then I am afraid I can''t stop here".
Duke Montford sighed seeing that he could not change her mind. He could onlyment about what would happen of the kingdom from this point onwards.
"Since that is the case, soldiers take your stance. Our enemy is the princess of the kingdom. Her objective is to harm Prince Alstin and disturb the kingdom. We cannot allow her to do that, as such we must fight here and win. Soldiers raise your weapons, you are fighting for the kingdom!!"¡
"Yeah" With his shout, the soldiers rallied behind him, their morale reaching its peak.
"He is impressive" ke spoke out his true thoughts.
"Yeah, it is not without any reason that he is regarded very highly by all the nobles back in the capital. In this raid, he will be the toughest opponent for us" Cynthia agreed.
"Your Highness, please leave the duke to me. I shall do my best not to disappoint you" ke asked; however, he was rejected by Cynthia who stepped forward herself.
"This is something that I must do myself. Everyone in the city has their attention on us. If I can win against the duke and show everyone that they cannot win, then perhaps we can minimise the casualties in this battle".
"I see" He nodded his head, he didn''t know that the princess was considering so many things.
"But will you be alright? The duke is above level¡ "
"Leave it to me" Saying so, she stepped forward. At this moment, Duke Montford who had his left arm raised up, suddenly brought it down.
BOOM¡ BOOM¡ BOOM¡ At this very instant deep roaring noises like the rumbling of the thunder, sounded out from behind the duke and a secondter, multiple shes of light sped past him, swaying his mantle.
Opposing him, facing the attack, Cynthia muttered something under her breath and extended her hand. At that moment, a strange white light shed from her body and a barrier like a blossoming flower, appeared in front of her.
When the shes of light collided with the barrier, it instantly disintegrated into nothing but pretty sparks. The shes of light which were none other than thepressed mana balls fired by the magic cannons, which had enough power to easily prate the hard defence of level 200 monsters, couldn''t even create any cracks in her magic shield.
Cynthia continued to step forward.
BOOM¡ BOOM¡ BOOM¡
Just like before, the duke waved his hand and multiple magic cannons zipped past him. They came from behind, on top of the walls and even from inside the buildings. However, no matter how many molly was fired, none of it managed to get past the magic shield.
"Nevermind her, direct your attacks towards the people behind her" Duke Montford ordered.
shes of light condensed inside the magic cannons and whizzed through the air. However this time, their target was not Cynthia but the adventurers behind her. ke and the others who were prepared for the firing from the magic cannons took sufficient measures.
Warriors used their shields or fortress abilities, the assassins disappeared using stealth and mages created their magic shields. Using their own means, these elite adventurers easily rendered the firing from the magic cannons moot.
That being said, dealing with the soldiers who were suicidal enough to jump into the bombardment of the magic cannons was difficult for them.
"ke we are ready" In such a situation, Wyot sent a sound transmission to ke. He nodded his head and used another sound transmission conch to ry out his orders.
"Begin the bombardment".
WHIZZ¡ a piercing sound simr to a whistle, broke through themotion of the battle and then exploded in the air in a brilliant disy of firework.
WHIZZ¡ it was not just one, multiple whistling noises repeatedly resounded in the city followed by bright shes of light that appeared in the sky.
What was going on? Who was using res at this time of the night?
Just as those questions appeared in the minds of the soldiers and citizens of the city, the answer also arrived to them a momentter. Illuminated by the bright fireworks in the sky, they saw figures who have the ability to appear and disappear freely, materialise on top of the rooftops and areas where the magic cannons are.
The next second while the entire city was dazzled by the firework, something came dropping from the sky and exploded with a tremendous force.
BOOOM¡ the ground trembled and a pir of fire and dust covered the area for dozens of meters. The building which was in the centre of the st, was reduced to nothing but sand.
If even the condition of the building was like that, one need not even ask what happened of the people who were inside those buildings.
BOOM¡ BOOM.. the first pir of fire was just the start more and more objects fell from the sky or more precisely from the air engine that was flying in the sky. These projectiles razed the army of the Castledor down to the ground in no time.
"Overloaded core stones huh,"
Duke Montford remarked. Just before one of the projectiles falling from the sky razed a nearby building, the sharp senses of the duke captured what the object falling was. It was a barrel that was filled with core stones.
The thing with core stones was that they were quite valuable, found only in a monsters that meet certain conditions. Not only are the core of the monsters where all their bloodline and power reside, but it is also one of the two ways one can get a beast inheritance from.
Aside from that, they are also used in the manufacturing of various kinds of products. For mages especially, they are used in their staff and are excellent conductors of mystical energy as well as mana depot.
When the mana inside the core stone is disturbed or its flow is reversed, the resulting phenomenon generates an extreme amount of energy which then gets discharged outwards thus destroying the stonepletely.
This is called core stone overload. Mages usually use this method when faced with a life and death situation. As destroying the cores was the very same as destroying the staff, mages don''t usually like using this method and only keep it as ast of thest resort of sorts.
With his experienced eyes, it was not difficult for Duke Montford to see through the quip involving the falling projectiles. Barrels stuffed with core stones whose mana flow has been disturbed and being thrown from the air engine.
It was quite an ingenious idea, he had to admit. The falling momentum and the confined space inside the barrel give the overloaded cornerstone more power and destructiveness.
"So you saw through that huh? That''s right, adventurers usually carry a few low grade core stones with them to use on monsters when things get too ugly. Though only veteran adventurers who have gone through a lot of experience know about such a technique"
Cynthiamented impressed by the duke''s vast knowledge. Even she who had a lot of adventurers as subordinates and had interacted with them for a good part of her life, was only able to know about such a method recently.
However, all it needed for the man was a look and he immediately understood the trick behind the falling projectiles.
"Core stones are quite costly, even a low grade one would be an entire week''s ie for an average adventurer. There is no way they are capable of using that many amount of core stones as nothing but simple explosives"
"What''s more, these ones seem to be of medium grade. Without a vast resource, it wouldn''t have been possible to employ this kind of technique. And I for sure know that you don''t have that kind of money. The Serene Pce Merchant Guild that you built, was ceased by Alstin as such, you shouldn''t be able to finance such a cost inefficient method. Who is supporting you?"
Being someone who was adept in politics, Duke Montford quickly deciphered that Cynthia was being supported by some faction from the shadows.
Chapter 814- Night Of The Raid (6)
Chapter 814- Night Of The Raid (6)
"Really, Your Grace it''s a pity that you are in the enemy faction. Having you by my side would really alleviate some of my burdens. Won''t you reconsider joining my side" Cynthia offered. Nheless, the duke only remained silent.
"It''s a pity. Anyways, don''t say that I am cheating your grace. This is a war, to win one is allowed to use all kinds of means. Besides, I''m not obligated to answer to your question".
Duke Montford snorted "So be it then. I don''t know who is supporting you, but you won''t be able to take down my Castledor city".
Saying that, he got ready for battle. Ground around him bent, jutting out an earth spear which he held in his hand.
"Hmph, using my own air engine against me huh. However, a target like that flying so low is just asking to be attacked".
SWISH¡ right after his words fell, he hurled the spear towards the Air engine with all of his strength.
"[Sacred Echoes]" a purple light broke through the air colliding with the spear just before it could hit the air engine.
"Hmm? Now that''s surprising. I see Your Highness has prepared quite a lot of cards to fight me" Duke Monford looked at Cynthia''s purple white persona andmented.
At this moment, the princess was covered in a purple white markings that raced through her body from head to toe. These markings looked exotic as well as ancient and graceful at the same time.
These markings glowed with an ethereal light, giving Cynthia an otherworldly look. It was not only her appearance that has changed, even her eyes and her way of talking werepletely different than before.
"Be serious Duke, I know you are much more powerful than this".
"Haha, I''m just an old man who is getting left behind by the times now. Although, I may not be as powerful as I was in my prime, I will still keep Your Highnesspany"
Giving a rare grin, Duke Montford activated his skills. [Ultra Enhanced strength], [Ultra enhanced Agility], [Super enhanced defence], [ Super Enhanced endurance], [Agile reflexes], [Body Reinforcement], [Keen Senses], [Precision Strike], [Battle Aura], [Intimidating Aura], [Tempest Surge], [Mana Armour¡ [Visage-Zephyrus Armour].
The long list of rare and superior skills, was enough to even intimidate some of the most powerful adventurers here. Yet the most dreadful aspect of Duke Montford was not his drastically increased aura or his stats but theplete transformation that he had undergone.
At this moment, he was encased in an emerald green armour, a seamless ensemble of gentle and berserk winds swirling and pulsating together. The armour looked sleek, hugging the body and giving an elegant look to the user.
Delicate patterns resembling Zephyrus ripple across the surface, emphasizing the fluidity and grace associated with the winds. Donned in the Zephyrus armour, Duke Montford seemed like the manifestation of berserk wind.
"How long has it been since I activated this skill? Your Highness, please be careful. This is the technique that was passed down to our family for three generations".
Saying so, Duke Montford stepped forward and disappeared. At the same moment, leading the group of adventurers and mowing the enemy was Balke and his team. They managed to break through the enemy defences and reach the gates of the castle.
"Will Her Highness be alright?" Frida who was beside him, asked. Her attention was towards the sky where an epic showdown between the leaders of the two sides was going on.
On one side was a violet and white light streaking across the sky while on the other an emerald green glow which released a piercing cry like that of a hawk every time it moved.
Their sh created ripples in the air, disrupting the mana and topography of the citypletely. One side used advanced and intermediate magic of all five basic attributes of mana while one simply focused on earth magic and the physical skills of a warrior.
Large earth mounds which had either been destroyed into tiny debris or sted apart by wind or other magic, fell down from the sky like meteors. The scale of their fight was so fierce that no one could intervene carelessly.
ke observed the emerald green light in the sky and muttered "I didn''t expect the Duke to be so strong. In terms of pure skill attainment he could even be a match for the strongest man in the kingdom".
He then shifted his eyes towards the violet and white light in the air and smiled "That said, the princess is not weaker either. Since she told us to leave it to her, we should believe. She will definitely win which is why, we shouldplete our task too. Let''s go in and find that stupid prince. Miss Emma, please lead the way".
Leading the way, was one of the women who always stuck close to the princess. Since Ate stayed back to look after Cynthia, Emma was the one tasked to lead them. For some reason she had all the information about the first prince, what was he nning, where was he hiding and how many people he had on his side.
Although they all had their doubts, they nevertheless knew not to ask. The woman in front of them although looked human, did not give the aura of such. More precisely, the feeling they were getting from her every time that she nced at them, was like a predator looking at its prey.
This feeling was extremely ufortable, leaving them confused many times. Who was this woman and how did she know her highness?
"We are here. There are about two hundred enemies up front and about half that number behind, trying to ambush".
While they were having such thoughts, Emma led them through the castle and in front of arge hall. Just as she had stated, there were exactly two hundred enemies in the front waiting for them while forming a defensive formation while a hundred soldiers circled them and came from behind.
"Stop, this is as far as you go intruders. We won''t allow you to destroy the kingdom of Ellesmere" The soldier who seemed to be the captain of this unit, unsheathed his sword and dered.
Even though his feet were trembling and sweat trickled down his face, he still mustered his courage to confront the enemies. It was funny how even though they were both fighting for the kingdom of Ellesmere, they were enemies opposing each other.
Tsk¡ ke clicked his tongue, he did not enjoy such a ughter. However, he who had dedicated himself to the cause of the princess, had no choice but to follow it through.
With every swing of the sword, blood of many would fall, staining the otherwise pristine white floor, red. Steeling himself, he continued to proceed forward until all that remained was a mountain of corpses.
CLACK¡ suddenly, ke''s leg stumbled onto something and he was about to fall down when Frida hurriedly caught him.
"What''s wrong ke? Why are you walking around in a daze?".
The man looked down and noticed that the thing that he stumbled upon was the decapitated head of the soldier captain. Looking at his cold and dim face now, ke remembered the words he had spoken to him before his death.
"You monsters!! How can you still call yourselves humans after youmit such ughter? Even if you kill all of us, the kingdom will never fall in your hands".
To them, he and the others must have undoubtedly seemed like a viin. People who were trying to disturb their kingdom. The sword in his hand was stained with the blood of the soldiers of thisnd who bravely threw themselves towards him in hopes that their sacrifice would be able to help the kingdom.
For the first time in a long while, ke felt that his sword was heavy and very difficult to lift.
"Don''t think too much about it, we are doing everything for a greater purpose. If even that is not enough to lighten that burden you are carrying, know that no matter what you be or think of yourself, I will always love you"
Suddenly two gentle arms wrapped around him and Frida''sforting sounded beside his ears. Feeling her warmth, ke felt energy return back to his body and his guilt ridden conscience was back to normal.
There can be no revolution without shedding blood, if his resolve was so fragile, he should have just sat back. However, he came here and followed her highness of his own volition, to return the huge favour he owed her.
This raid was no doubt the most difficult for the princess and the blood that flowed no matter which side, was of her own people. Nheless, her resolve was not something that could be shaken easily.
She was still fighting now at this moment, to reduce as many casualties in this battle as possible. So why was he standing here whining like a fool?
"I''m alright now. Everyone let''s go" ke nodded towards his teammates. As the leader, his attitude and mood also affected the team. As such, now that he was back to his usual self, the team''s atmosphere also lifted up.
"U-Um¡ There is an underground route straight from here. T-The first prince is at the end, hiding inside the emergency shelter" Emma informed, leading them forward.
"Hello~" At the end of the underground route, in front of the huge reinforced door of the emergency shelter, were two children, one of whom was waving his hand towards them.
ke, Wyot, Frida and the others instantly recognised them as the two children who were always surrounded by that peculiar demi human group. They wondered where they were all this time, now they knew.
Chapter 815- End of Duke Montford
Chapter 815- End of Duke Montford
"Hello everyone. The prince you are looking for is inside. However, the door that is blocking you all is more than fifteen inches thick and thirty feet tall. It was created to endure even the most powerful of attacks and shelter the people inside for a long time in mind"
"As such, it cannot be broken easily, more so using Brute force. To open it, we need a key which is possessed by only two people. One is with the prince who is currently behind this door, the other one is with the duke who is currently engaged in a fight with the princess"
The boy named Theodore exined energetically. At this moment, the other teams also came here after defeating their opponents. Theodore exined the same thing to them.
"Hoh, this door doesn''t look that sturdy to me. Brat are you sure this thing is as strong as you say?"
One of the adventurers who had recently joined the princess'' side and was very much unfamiliar with the identity of Theodore and Maybell, spoke. Thetter didn''t take offence to hisment and simply pointed at the door behind him with his thumb.
"If you don''t believe me, you can find it out yourself".
The adventurer smiled "That''s more like my style. Who wants to wait that long, I want to impress the princess by capturing the stupid prince and offering his head head when she returns. Everyone, get back. I will break open this door".
Saying so, that adventurer leader activated his skills. His sword pulsed with powerful energy as he charged towards the door and shed his sword.
CLANG¡ a loud metallic noise rang out inside the underground hall, shaking the very foundation of the ce.
BANG¡ the adventurer recoiled back from his own attack and fell on the ground, causing the other adventurers tough at him.
"Haha, are you trying to break the door or break your back? Since you can''t do it, leave it to me. I shall be the one to impress the princess".
Being a beauty that she was, it was only natural that she had her own fanbase of young and talented adventurers who wanted to woo her. Many of the adventurers here other than wanting to repay her for the favour that they owed her, also wanted to leave an impression on her.
And so, one by one these adventurers came forth to try out their powers. The underground hall trembled continuously with the sounds of their attacks hitting the door. Nevertheless, none of them managed to sessfully break the door.
ke and his team watched the entire spectacle from the sidelines never thinking about stepping in.
"Sigh¡ I''m exasperated just looking at these people. How were they able to reach the level they are now with that little intelligence of theirs? Do they not realise that door is made of Mythril and further enhanced with numerous items to be as sturdy as possible or they just don''t care at all?" Wyotmented, sighing at the stupidity of the adventurers.
"Leave them be, it is normal for them to be overconfident of their strength given their talent. I can understand why they are so impatient to get in even without a key. All of this will be over if we just capture the first prince, I share the same sentiment as them"
ke unexpectedly sided with the raucous adventurers who were foolishly trying to break the door. This caused his teammates to give him side eyes. Especially Frida who looked at him with her eyes half closed.
"Hnn" She made a nasal sound and muttered, "You want to impress Cynthia too huh"¡
"What?!" Hearing her words, ke looked confused for a second before he realised that he had been misunderstood.
"No, no, that''s not what I was trying to say. I just want this whole thing to be over. That is why¡"
"Hmph" Frida snorted and moved her head away not wanting to listen to his excuse. What''s more, his best friend Wyot was also shaking his head from the sidelines as if disappointed in him.
BOOOM¡ at this moment, while the adventurers were waiting in front of the huge gates of the emergency shelter, the entire underground hall trembled intensely. Debris fell from the ceiling and a powerful pressure enough to suffocate them, descended onto the ce.
Outside, in the skies above the castle, the fight between the princess and the duke of the city was also reaching its final stages. By now, both parties were extremely familiar with each other strengths and how to counter each other.
As evident by the city below that nowy in ruins. The entire eastern district of the city was filled withrge craters and destroyed debris of the buildings. What''s more, a wall of fire covered the entire area adding to the dreafulness of the battle.
This wall of fire that had enveloped the eastern district of the city wasn''t created by Cynthia nor was it possible for the duke. Instead, it was put up by Ate to restrict themon people of the city from rushing into the battlefield and getting caught in their battle.
"Seems like you have gained some useful subordinates Your Highness" Duke Montfordmented looking down at the woman with sses while riding a swirl of wind.
While in the state of [Zephyrus Armour], his mastery as well as his connection with the attribute of wind bes so strong that he can manipte wind currents as easily as breathing.
As could be seen from theck of wind in the entire city. Whether it be fluttering of clothes, or clouds of dust that should have been present in the city after a big battle like this, everything was absent in the city as all the currents were currently being encased in the armour around Duke Montford.
Not only that he can also suck out all the air for his opponent to breathe. As could be seen from Cynthia''s figure who was using her own wind magic to breathe.
"Indeed, she is quite thoughtful. However, you are wrong about one thing. She is not my subordinate. Right now, she is only helping me" Cynthia answered, smiling to herself.
"I see, no wonder she created that wall. If she can do something like this, she should be quite strong in battle. Why aren''t you using her aid? Wouldn''t this battle have ended faster if the both of you joined forces?"
The duke questioned. Even though the both of them were currently enemies, they were conversing with each other like they were acquaintances.
"What kind of leader would I be if I can''t even win a difficult battle for my people? With this fight, I want everyone to see that their new queen isn''t just some weak royalty but someone who can actually protect and lead them towards a bright future"¡
"Hoh, is her highness implying that she is confident that she can beat me?"¡
"You are not wrong" Cynthia smiled, the markings that covered the sides of her cheeks like whiskers and her lion like eyes, made her seem cheeky and arrogant.
"Haha, this is a problem, I can''t have you looking down on me" Duke Mantford''s attack became even more ferocious; however, it wasn''t anything that Cynthia couldn''t easily handle.
"Your attacks hold no killing intent. Your Grace, are you perhaps fighting me with no intention to kill me?".
Thetter did not say anything and continued to mount his attack. Although his attacks had power and ferocity, they weren''t packed with murderous intent. Thetter was simply trying to dy her.
Why would he do something like this? Could it be that he realises that he cannot win and is buying time? If so, for whom and what for?
Cynthia narrowed her eyes, no matter what reason the duke was buying time for, she could not let the battle drag on for any longer. As a member of the dungeon Lapalce, she now shares the exclusive information sharingwork called the Message with all the other members of the dungeon.
Which is why, she was aware that her forces had all arrived at the destination. In that case, she must hurry up and defeat the Duke. And so to make it fair and to leave no disappointment behind, she decided to reveal the information.
"Oh, by the way your grace, How is Lucas ckwood that sessor of yours doing?" Cynthia questioned in a mocking tone.
SHIIING¡ Duke Montford came attacking with a big swing of his tempest sword that he materialised.
"What are you trying to imply at this moment, Your Highness? He went to search for you did he not? Since you have the Air Engine I gave him, you met him on the way obviously Did he lend the Air Engine to you?"¡
"Your grace knows how to jest. Even if I do know him, it is merely as an acquaintance. There is no way, he will let me take his Air Engine, toy siege on his very city. I know the duke is smart enough to know this as well"¡
Duke Montford suddenly became silent. It was true that he had his doubts about why Lucas would give the Air engine to Cynthia who wanted to bring his own city down. However, as he was pressed for time, he put the matter at the back of his mind.
Now that he thought about it, the Lucas he knew would never do something like that. So how did Her Highness get the Air Engine from him? Unless¡
"What did you do with him?" He asked, his aura which had been calm like ake all this time fluctuated for a moment.
Chapter 816- End Of Duke Montford (2)
Chapter 816- End Of Duke Montford (2)
"Nothing much, since he was just another annoying obstacle blocking my way, I simply took care of him"¡
"I-Is.. he alive?"¡
"Dead"¡
"That... can''t be" Duke Montford, took a couple of steps back. The winds around his feet became unstable causing him to almost fall down.
"There is no way he can die. That child is strong, he is as talented as I am; no, even more. There is no way his fate is to fall down here. You are lying, how can he die from the likes of you? Besides, I also sent all of my most powerful men with him, that''s right Benny Beckeman is alos with him. There is no way, he can be defeated"
Duke Montford stated, though his statement sounded more like yell and a self satisfying promation rather than anything else.
"It is up to your grace to believe me" In response, Cynthia simply shrugged her shoulders and replied "However, if you are as witty as they say, you will be abel to realise that I am more than capable of handling the like of Benny Beckerman. He was never a challenge for my forces to begin with. I not only defeated him, but I also took your grace''s Air engine and am now using it to raid your city".
She exined with a cheeky smile "Oh! By the way, if you want to collect their corpses, you can find them in the Northern Ouw Forest".
"You Dare!!"
killing intent flooded his body and Duke Montford was finally serious. The existence of Lucas ckwood was like his reverse scale, anybody who touched it, would incur his wrath.
Although it has been kept secret from the whole world, a few individuals in the kingdom were still aware of the scandalous event regarding the wife of Marquess ckwood and Duke Montofrd.
Duke Montford had no child of his own, his wife was unable to sire him any offspring. However, it didnlt mean that he didn''t have any child, Lucas ckwood or as it should be stated, Lucas Montford was the child that was born between Duke Montford and Marquess'' ckwood''s wife.
An event that couldn''t be spoken out loud. It was also because of this reason that Duke Montford favoured Lucas so much to the point where he even dered him as his sessor.
Lucas dying meant that his one and only son dying. How could Duke Montford not be mad after hearing this? His rage caused him topletely forget that he was trying to buy time for prince Alstin who was probably trying to activate the teleportation formation installed in the emergency shelter at this moment.
In the state of rage, Duke Montford was a force to be reckoned with. His attacks carrying the destructive force of the wind and the highly trained skills of a warrior, was extremely berserk and powerful. It took all Cynthia had just to defend.
"[Illusory Beast Steps]"
Her figure divided into multiple afterimages as she quickly dodged the attacks and opened some distance from the Duke. Now that thetter wasing at her with the intent to kill, the ying board had been evened out, she could also go forth and use her killing move without any regrets.
"Leo, how long can we maintain our partial beast state if we use that skill?" Cynthia asked in her head.
"At my current strength, it won''t be a problem to maintain that state for a couple of hours. However, if you use that skill, you have to make sure that it count or else, if even after the skill ends and the enemy is still standing, you will fall at a disadvantage" The sacred beast''s soul living in her soul ring, replied.
"In that case, let''s go"¡
"Yeah"¡
"[[Ancient Beast Manifestation]]"
Two voices inteced together and a spectacr visual marvel urred. The sky across the entire city and even ross the entire expanse ofnd turned grey. Dark clouds loomed over out of nowhere and a big swirl appeared at the centre.
Then in a fashion as if the very fabric of space was being twisted and torn, an image appeared from the swirl, dominating the skyline with an overwhelming presence. The visage of a lion,rger than the city it overlooked, materialized in shades of grey and silver.
Its eyes, primal and fierce, glowed with an intensity that sent shivers down the spines of any onlookers. The environmental upheaval was immediate. The mana in the surroundings rebelled, swirling in chaotic patterns, and an oppressive pressure descended upon thend.
It was as if the very essence of something ancient and formidable had been awakened, causing the ground to shudder in trepidation. Every soul present in the city, from the bravest to the most timid, was swept by a wave of terror causing them to freeze in ce, unable to find the courage to move.
It wasn''t just a physical restraint; it was as if the very essence of their being recoiled in the face of a power that transcended mortal understanding. The streets, once filled withmotion, fell into an eerie silence as if the city itself held its breath in deference to the ancient beast''s manifestation.
Even the elite warriors from Cytnhia'' side, ustomed to facing all manner of challenges, felt a chill crawl down their spines. The Intimidation the felt, wasn''t just merely fear; it was a primal recognition of their own insignificance in the presence of a power that could reshape the very foundations of their understanding.
No fingers dared to twitch, no voice dared to speak. The city stood as a collective witness to the awe-inspiring spectacle that unfolded before them. And then, in an almighty fashion, the colossal lion in the sky opened its mighty maw, revealing a set of teeth that seemed capable of rending anything and issued an otherworldly roar that thundered across the city.
ROOARRR¡ the roar transcending the physical realm, carried with it not just sound, but concussive force that rippled through the air. It carried a pressure that attacked ones soul, instilling an instinctive fear and causing your consciousness to shut down.
The people of the city, who were exposed to this roar, experienced a sudden overwhelming surge of pressure. As if an invisible hand had pressed upon their very souls, their bodies unable to withstand the sheer force, sumbed to a momentarypse of consciousness.
Even ke, Wyot and the others, who were inside the secret underground chamber, felt their consciousness waver for a brief second and their surroundings became a blurry dreamscape.
The only ones still remaining standing and unaffected were perhaps Ate, Emma, Theodore, Maybell and the group of demihumans. Other than them, every single person in the city passed out, bing a sea of copsed bodies.
The roar had that much of an impact. What''s more, the aftermath of the city was just an unintended consequence, the target of the roar was not even them, yet they fainted just by getting exposed to a part of it.
From this, one could imagine how powerful the roar was. The actual target of the roar, Duke Montford was in a state multiple times worse than the rest of the people of the city. Not only did he fall down on the ground, the Zephyrus Armour disappeared from his body, and he was also bleeding from his seven orifices.
However, to mention those wereparatively just minor injuries. One cannot fathom the degree of damage he suffered simply by looking at hos outward body. The roar attack from the sacred beast was purely a non physical attack as such, it was the mind and interior of his body that suffered all of the damage.
His Eyes became dim losing all sight permanly, his mana lines had been disintegrated casuing him to unable to muster any mana and he was quickly losing all of the stats he worked hard all of his life for.
Like a balloon quickly deting, Duke Montford was also quickly losing all of his strength.
Whoosh¡ Cynthia slowly flew over and stood in front of the duke who couldn''t see anymore. With the damage he suffered, forget fighting, it would be a momentous task to even get up.
Cough¡ as if sensing her presence, Duke Montford tried to say something. However, all that came from his mouth was blood and foam.
"You have lost Duke Montford. On ount that you have been loyal and faithful to the kingdom all this time, I have decided to end your life swiftly. Do you have anyst wish before you die?"
Cynthia had given up convincing the duke to join his side, she knew that the man would never go back on his won words no matter what she said at this point. As such, it was better to take out a potential risk rather than letting him live and hamper her ns. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Lo¡n¡" Duke Montford opened his mouth to speak something. However, much of it became garbled due to the blood that umted in his mouth every time he opened it.
"Lo..ng¡ Li..ve¡ the..Ki..ng..dom".
With those final words, even the slight twitching of Duke Montford''s body stopped.
.
.
Back inside the underground chamber, in front of the huge mythril doors. Adventurers who had fallen unconscious from that roar, slowly regained consciousness and picked themselves up.
"Unngghh¡ dammit what happened?" they rubbed their still slightly dizzy head and groaned.
"My head feels heavy, what is going on?"¡
"The heck I know, thest thing I remember is hitting those doors and then I suddenly fainted. Did somebody do anything?"
The adventurers questioned one another, confused by the recent event.
Chapter 817- Shameless Till the End—Alstin
Chapter 817- Shameless Till the End¡ªAlstin
On one corner of the chamber, ke and the others who had regained their consciousness a while earlier than the others, looked at the ensuing confusion. They themselves were perplexed by the sudden turn of events and would have surely behaved just like the other adventurers if not for the fact that they saw the two children who were among the peculiar group of people who followed Her Highness acting as if nothing happened.
Although they did not know the heart of the matter, they could tell that it was rted to Her Highness and those people.
After a while, as the confusion died down, Cynthia who was followed by Ate who walked two steps behind her, entered the ce.
"Your Highness"
Everyone bowed their heads. These unruly adventurers who hardly learned any manners were as docile as amb in front of her.
Cynthia nodded her head to put them at ease before moving her eyes towards the huge ash grey doors in front of them blocking their way in.
"Your Highness, the first prince is beyond this door. Unfortunately, these doors are just too damn sturdy and can''t be forced open without a key"
One of the adventurers wanting to impress the twodies, beat the others to the punch and reported the exact same thing he learned from Theodore.
"I know, I brought the key with me"
Cynthia''s tone was unimpressive as she walked past and stood before the door. She took out a weird cylindrical object from her space ring and showed it to the two children standing before the doors "I got the key".
Theodore nodded and pointed at the centre of the door where a small depression that matched the key, could be spotted.
"The key not only unlocks the door, but all the magical traps and arrays that have been set up inside the emergency shelter in case the door was broken through" He exined. As one would expect of a fortress like city, even their emergency shelter was impable.
Cynthia was impressed when she heard that. The adventurers, on the other hand, were sweating bullets. Just a little while ago, they were attacking the door with all their strengths and skill, trying to force it open.
However, it was only now that they knew that doing so, would only have made things even moreplicated. There were so many more mechanisms installed inside that just listening to it, made their headache.
Cynthia inserted the key and the mechanism inside the doors immediately started whirring anding to life. With the key as the centre, mana passed through the entire door and even through the ceiling and floor.
The patterns looked very much like the mana lines that form within one''s body. A metal that conducted mana so well, everyone watching had no doubt that the metal was none other than Mythril.
What''s more, unlike what they thought, it was not just the doors that were made of Mythril, but the entire emergency shelter. A ce as big as the emergency shelter built entirely with mythril.
Just the thought was enough to make every adventurer here gawk in awe. To build this entire ce with a metal as precious as Mythril, how rich was the Duke? No, this amount of Mythril was something that no amount of money could buy. One had to get their hands on arge deposit of Mythril to build something like this.
"Even the Main pce doesn''t have this much Mythril. Duke Montford, he was truly something" Cynthia marvelled.
After the door was opened and all the mechanisms deactivated, the inside of the emergency shelter finally came into view. This subterranean refuge was surprisingly spacious with high ceilings and well-lit corridors branching out in an organized manner.
As it was designed to amodate the entire poption of the city, and its scale reflected this purpose. The architecturebined functionality with simplicity, creating ayout that allowed for efficient use of space.
If one looked around, one would be able to see that Every corner of the shelter was stocked with provisions, ensuring that the basic needs of the inhabitants could be met. There were rooms filled with neatly arranged beds, providing a ce for everyone to rest.
The dining area featured long tables and benches, with shelves stacked full of non perishable food items. Adjacent to this, there was arge kitchen area equipped with tools for cooking, emphasizing self-sufficiency. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
To address the essential aspects of daily life, the shelter included well-maintained toilets and bathing facilities. There were systems in ce to manage waste and provide clean water for consumption and personal use.
That was not all, Understanding the potential duration of stay of the refugees, the emergency shelter was designed with self-sustainability in mind. In case the entire city''s poption had to take shelter here for months or even a year, there were empty spaces with soil, designated for gardening, allowing residents to nt and cultivate vegetables.
As Cynthia and her group walked further in through the emergency shelter, they were able to see that The shelter wasn''t just built as a ce to stay; it was a ce to live. As such, it was equipped with tools and supplies that extended beyond mere survival.
There were areas designated formunal activities, workshops, and even storage for emergency medical supplies. No matter who it was, if they saw this emergency shelter that the duke built they would no doubt be left in awe of it.
The ce stood as a testament to the forethought and nning that went into ensuring the survival and well-being of the city''s inhabitants in times of crisis. It was also a sign of how much the duke cared about his people.
"Even the emergency shelter, built under the royal pce, is no match for the one the duke built" Cynthia spoke her honest thoughts. Honestly, she was quite hesitant to finish off the man given how useful he was.
"I''m sensing the presence of multiple people further down the hall. Your Highness, our target the first prince must be there" Leading the team, ke stated walking forward.
Cynthia nodded her head and then looked towards Ate who was currently arching her brows. Seeing her make that expression, she couldn''t help but question "What''s wrong?".
The Valkyrie continued to maintain her silence before replying with a question of her own. Though her question was not directed towards Cynthia but instead at Theodore and Maybell who were carefreely walking beside her.
"Why is that I am sensing such strange spatial fluctuation?"¡
"Hm? Ah, it must be because of that spatial formation that wasid out at the end of the shelter" Thedoroe replied putting his hands beside his head.
"A spatial formation was installed here? How could we have missed that?"¡
"Don''t worry, it''s just a faulty spatial formation with an ancient runic system. There is a very low possibility that it will work and even if it does, it is going to need arge amount of energy and isn''t going to start anytime soon".
Hearing Theodore''s reply, Ate rxed a little. As the person who was made the leader of the entire mission, it was on her to make sure that everything went ording to n and the wishes of her master.
As such, she wasn''t going to let any mistake slide and aplish her mission seamlessly. Walking a few steps in front of them, Cynthia listened to their conversation.
''Leo is it really like that?'' she questioned the guardian spirit residing in her space ring.
''Yeah, it''s as the little boy says. The spatial fluctuation is very turbulent and unstable. It is unlikely that it will start. Although I am unsure about the ancient runic system that the little boy talked about. It makes me reversely curious as to who this boy is and how is able to understand the ancient runic system that even I an ancient beast don''t''.
Leo the guardian spirit replied. The emergency shelter built by the duke wasrge but after walking for a while, they could finally see the figure of the prince and his entourage in their line of vision.
At this moment, the prince was frantically ordering and yelling at his people to hurry up and fix the teleportation formation. The sight of them running around and cing mana crystals to charge the formation could be seen even from a distance.
"Dammit, what is taking you guys so long? Hurry up and get the formation ready you numbskulls" Alstin shouted.
"If Castledor falls, I must survive at all costs. I am from the royal lineage, only I can eligible to rule this kingdom, only I can continue it on. I must not fall"¡
"Oh? Is that so brother? Do you think you are the only descendant of father or is it that you think only you are worthy of the throne?"
Not expecting to hear a reply, Alstin was quickly taken aback by the voice of the speaker.
"It can''t be¡ you are already here?!! But the duke and the others should have been outside. Not this can''t be" Turning around, he was surprised to find that it was none other than Cynthia and her followers.
"Duke Montford died by my hands as for the others, they too have been taken care of by my force. It''s all over for you brother; no Alstin. Give it up"
Cynthia spoke looking at her brother who has changed so much in the short amount of time she hadn''t seen him. Hair line thinning, dark circles under the eyes, sunken cheeks¡ he looked the very definition of miserable.
Chapter 818- Shameless Till The End—Alstin (2)
Chapter 818- Shameless Till The End¡ªAlstin (2)
Looking at him, no one would say that he was the first prince of the kingdom.
"No, no¡ you are lying. There is no way I can lose. I am the only worthy king of this kingdom, I am the only one destined to rule thisnd" Alstin rambled, slowly backing down.
Finally, when he was in the vicinity of his subordinates, his body stopped shaking and his expression changed from that of a helpless pitiable person to a murderous ugly killer.
"All of you, she is right there. Quickly kill her, make sure you cut her into pieces" Poiting at Cynthia, he ordered.
Looking at that sight of her brother, Cynthia could only sigh. There was no pity in those eyes of hers, instead after this it became even more resolved and firm. Extending her hand, five magical attributes materialised in the centre of her palm.
Seeing Cynthia prepare for an attack, Alstin grew even more panicked. He hurriedly shouted out orders; however, no matter how many times he shouted, nobody from his side moved nor did they unsheathe their weapons to prepare for an attack.
Confused by their unexpected disobedience, he turned his head to question them.
"What are you doing? I said attack her, kill her for me".
Nheless, the soldiers did not move. It was not only Alstin who was surprised by their disobedience, the adventurers on Cynthia''s side were the same. They were expecting a fierce fight between both their sides to break out.
However, from the look of things, the situation seemed different. While the adventurers from Cynthia''s side looked at the situation with perplexion, things took an even more confusing turn.
Seeing that that his own forces weren''t obeying hismand and his sister almost finishing her attack, Alstin turned around to flee.
"HIEEEK!!" Giving a yell that was very much unlike a royalty, he tucked tail and fled. However, just as he took a few steps, a sharp ringing noise like that of something piercing through the air sounded beside his air and a sword light could be seen passing through his left ankle.
The next moment, before he knew it, he lost his bnce and fell forward.
"Ah¡ Ahhhhh!!" What came next was stinging pain and blood that gushed out without stopping.
Alstin lurched in pain, screaming and crawling as he looked at his assant who still had his sword out. The one who cut off his leg, the one to attack him was none other than his own guards.
"Why?!!" He questioned, blood trickling down his mouth.
The guard did not answer him and simply retracted his weapon back. Thereafter, in front of the stunned eyes of everyone, the guard''s figure started distorting and deforming into apletely different appearance.
It was not only that guard, all the other guards around him, did the same. Soon, they changed into an appearance that could only be described as such¡
"Demi Humans?" While Alstin looked in astonishment at his guards who suddenly transformed into demi humans, the adventurers who also witnessed the change, reacted differently.
"It''s them" ke muttered, eyes opened wide in surprise.
"What kind of skill was that?? To be able to do something like this¡" Wyot and the others were speechless too.
That''s right, the demi humans who appeared were none other than Alric, Drow, Ariel and the others who they hadn''t seen for a while.
"Who are you? Where are my guards? What did you do to them?" Fallen on the ground, while still lurching in pain, Alstin questioned.
"There is no meaning in exining anything to a dead person. However, since you asked, let me answer you as a form of honouring ast request from the dead".
The one to answer him was not the demi humans, but their master Theodore.
"These demi humans that you see around you, are precisely your guards. What? They don''t look anything alike? Hehe, that''s because the appearance you saw earlier was just a deception caused by their Formshift skill"
"Their real appearance is the one you currently see. Ah, and one more thing. They are my subordinates which is why, they aren''t listening to yourmands. It is also on my orders that they attacked you. Do you understand now?" Theodore exined each part slowly as if exining to a baby.
"No¡ this can''t be¡ you are¡ I can''t¡" It was understandable that Alstin had difficulty believing it after all if one understood those words, it meant that he had been ying into his enemy''s palm all this time.
This entire time his sister has been monitoring him and knew all about his moves. It was aplete checkmate¡ the guard he trusted so much and brought with him inside the emergency shelter, was the informant from the enemy''s side this whole time.
"Kugh¡" Alstin started crawling away, leaving a trail of blood behind. Even though there was no ce out of here, he still tried to run in a situation like this.
SHIING¡ Alric shed his ws, intending to stop the person from moving anymore when Maybell his master stopped him.
"This is not our job". The one to finish Alric shouldn''t be them but instead¡
"Stop right there Alric. Don''t make any more fool of yourself than you already have" Cynthia spoke slowly condensing the magic in her hand.
Given the condition of the other party and the disparity between their levels, the magic she conjured would not doubt im the life of her opponent. However, even then there was no trace of mercy or any familial affection in her eyes. Only pure cold light of conviction. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"[Beast Inheritance- Quintessence Elemental Unity]" Cynthia muttered as she slowly stepped forward.
Hearing the sounds of footsteps behind him, Alstin grew extremely anxious. His eyes became watery and he even responded to begging.
"Cynthia you are my little sister¡ you can''t do this. I am your big brother, I am your family. You can''t kill me¡ please don''t kill me".
Shameless¡ seeing him beg at this point, after all the hardship he made her suffer, Cynthia could only scoff in derision. When he was sending assassins after her, when he was making ns to kill her and take im of all of her life''s efforts and posessions, did he think for a moment that she was his little sister?
That she was his family? How can he use her as a political tool to proceed his own schemes? The person in front of him did all that he could in his power to make her life miserable. This person was no brother of hers.
"Goodbye Alstin" Without extending things any further, Cynthia extended her hand and willed her magic forward.
The [Quintessence Elemental Unity] that carried the power of five basic elements, rushed forward and crashed onto Alstin. Immediately, his body shed with multiple lights and disappeared into nothing in front of the startled eyes of everyone.
Cynthia stood there in a moment of silence before turning her eyes away.
"Let''s go".
.
.
Around the same time, Dungeon Lace¡ª Forest Spring Spirit Floor. Simon was standing in front of arge tree with snow white leaves that stretched from the branches and dropped down all the way to the ground.
The tree resembled a willow tree very much no matter how you looked at it. However, make no mistake, this tree was no ordinary willow tree but instead the infant spirit tree. Under the care and nourishment of Cecilia, the infant Spirit Tree had grown into a juvenile tree surprisingly fast.
Not only had it grown many times bigger, standing at over fifty meters tall, but it was also starting to show some of its extraordinary abilities.
Although being a demon Simon was unable to feel the presence of pure spirits, he could still feel the disturbance in mana caused by their presence. That''s right, the spirit tree standing true to its name, was starting to attract spirits to it.
However, unlike the Forest Spring Spirits or Ate who was a superior spirit, the spirits attracted around the spirit tree were pure spirits. That is to say, they do not possess any intelligence and are too young to assume any form.
The spirit tree along with the Forest Spring Vige and many others was no doubt a marvelling spectacle on this floor. That said, Simon was here for a different reason.
"Hmm¡ although I ced it just like I was told by Cecilia, I don''t think there was any great changes" he muttered to himself as he stared ahead.
ced at the base of the tree where its roots dung into the ground, was a golden oval object the size of a football releasing bright golden energy. The object was marked withplex ancient markings and runes and was none other than an egg.
However, it was no simple egg as Simon could feel the disturbance in mana the greatest there. Well, even without needing the spirits to tell him personally, he knew that the egg was special since it came out of the [????????] option of his.
Around a month, just after Ate and the others left to carry out their mission of helping Cynthia, Lace produced another emblem. With the addition of that one, Simon had four emblems sitting on his inventory.
As such, he decided to use the mysterious abyss option of his menu in hopes of pulling another one of the twelve heroes to his side. Needless to say, his hopes weren''t answered as the thing that came out was a bizarre egg.
Standing true to its mysterious nature, the option gave him another oddball this time. Thest time too he got Elemental Constructs which were now sitting on different floors of his dungeon, affecting the environment of that floor.
Chapter 819- Gish-Bolg, Drovos
Chapter 819- Gish-Bolg, Drovos
Since the strength of the Elemental Constructs depended on the environment they were in, it was still hard to understand how powerful they were. However, Simon could already guess how powerful the being inside the egg would be once it hatched as the dungeon had already assigned it a role.
The bizarre golden egg that was currently being incubated under the spirit tree was given the highest authority after the dungeon master.
That''s right, the Sixth Guardian of Dungeon Lace was finally here. What''s more, it was only after a few seconds that the egg came out of the abyss that the dungeon assigned it the role.
To be assigned the role of Guardian which only special individuals like Cecilia, Wisp, Theodore and Maybell were deemed worthy to stand on, from this one could imagine how powerful the being inside the egg was.
Although Simon had no idea who or what kind of being was inside the egg, he at least knew that they weren''t hostile to him or his dungeon or else the dungeon wouldn''t have assigned them as a Guardian if that was the case.
"I guess there is no point in worrying about it. They will hatch when they hatch" As a royal among Forest Spring Spirits and gifted with heaven defying powers, it was Cecilia''s idea to keep the egg near the Spirit tree.
When asked why, this was the answer he received¡ª"I do not have a clear answer but I can feel that there is a strong connection between it and the spirit tree".
Since that was the case, Simon saw no harm in keeping the egg here. In any case, Cecilia and the forest spring spirits were here to take care of it.
Simon turned around, just as he was about to teleport away to the main floor to continue his work and training, Jarred who now led a team of [Helpers] of his own, appeared before him.
"My lord" the boy who grew into a full fledged young man, spoke while bowing his head.
Now that the Fey, Maya and more and more Forest Spring Spirits have taken up the role of managing the dungeon, Simon gave the task ofpiling the reports and various observations sent by Revenant crows ced around that area for surveince to Jarred and his team.
"Raise your head"¡
Jarred lifted his head and began his report "My lord, the Queen of Harpies has sent a messenger carrying intel for you. The messenger is waiting south of the Ancient Treants Territory".
"Oh!" Simon arched his brows. The Queen of Harpies, Melinda suffered a crushing defeat under his hand when she was in a weakened state and was ced under a soul contract by him.
As long as the other party was under the effect of his soul contract, they would never be able to betray him. In other words, she was one of his subordinates that wasn''t made official.
Since the power of the seven kings could potentially harm his dungeon and he wasn''t powerful enough to face them head on at that time, he left her and her entire n there to monitor the other seven kings.
For her to send words, it must mean that the seven kings were on the move.
"It''s about time" Simon muttered to himself. He had an idea which of the seven kings it was. "Alright, I''ll open a [Phased Floor] in that area. I''ll go there myself¡ send words to Bea, tell her to apany me. Also, inform everyone to stay alert while I am gone"
Simon left his instruction before teleporting to the training floor. Not long afterwards, Bea along with a few Ogoraths and Diluvian High Orcs appeared in front of him.
"Master we are ready" Bea spoke carrying her heirloom, which was a twin earrings that looked like snakes and was in the shape of a crescent moon dangling from her ears. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The Valkyries were in the strongest state with their heirlooms on. As such it could be said that Bea waspletely geared up for fighting even the most difficult of battles.
Simon looked at her and the small toon that she brought and nodded his head. Other than the ten Ogoraths (a few more that were summoned from the [Ga??????] option) she also brought the RimeBlood Tribes, a new evolution of Diluvian High Orcs with her.
Standing well and above seven meters, with a physique that brimmed with muscle and power, they looked quite menacing. Unlike your typical Diluvian High orcs, not only were they a head taller, they seemed to be even more beefier and durable with a blood coloured marking engraved in each of their bodies.
Since they have reached a new evolution and needed experience and more battles to grow, they were brought here by Bea to level up.
Apart from the Rimeblood Tribe, there were also Icevein Savages, GreatTusk Brutes and other new evolutions for the Diluvian High Ocrs.
Standing true to his words, Prime really did find a way to evolve the Diluvian Hig Orcs whose growth hade to a standstill after they were taken into the dungeon.
Twenty one.. Simon counted the numbers of the RimeBlood Tribes. Since it hadn''t been too long that they started evolving, not many orcs had be Rimeblood tribes or the other evolutionary race to say for that matter.
As such Bea only brought the tribe that had the most numbers. Other than all of this, the main reason that she brought them here, was on orders of Simon who wanted to see the strength of the newly evolved Orcs.
"Although their levels are just at thete level 400, the purity of their bloodline is strong enough for them to break through the level 600 threshold without much difficulty. Their growth has been improved significantly I see"
Using [Appraisal] on the RimeBlood Tribe gave Simon an overall idea of their strength and growth potential.
"Very well, I will open a [Phased Floor] here, get ready" Saying that, he opened the [Main Menu] and used the newest feature of his dungeon.
Soon a sphere of sorts big enough to cover dozens of meters ofnd, formed around them and before one could even understand what was happening, the view of the training floor disappeared, reced by nothing but nk whiteness.
The nkness surrounding them did notst long and soon an unfamiliar environment appeared before them. Bea looked around and saw an unfamiliar ceiling. From the looks of things, they were inside some cavern with glowing phosphorescence crystals illuminating the ce.
The ce was no doubt not inside the dungeon; however, how could that be, they were inside the dungeon just a moment ago. What''s more, the ground that she was standing on, was still the soil from the dungeon. Which is to say, she hadn''t taken any step from her initial ce.
"So this is the [Phased Floor]"
Bea muttered under her breath. Being one of the [Administrators] of the dungeon, she was of course aware of the newest feature of the dungeon.
[Phased Floor], an enigmatic and newest addition to the dungeon. This feature transforms an external area that is separate from the dungeon, into a temporary extension of the dungeon.
Upon activation, the two areas switch ces or perhaps be one, linking the floor with the outside area. Now, the training floor was temporarily connected with the cavern that they were in currently thus creating a passage to lead in and out of the dungeon.
Of course, there were several limitations and preconditions before one could use such a feature. However, once all conditions have been met, the feature really bes quite handy.
With Simon leading, the group stepped out of the area and the figures of beings with wings for hands and talons for legs, came into view.
Harpies¡ no matter who looked at them, they would recognise them as such immediately. There were a couple of them in front of the cavern, all of whom were the personal subordinates of Melinda.
As Simon approached them, theynded on the ground and bowed their heads. The Hierarchy was clear, now that their queen had be subservient to this person, they who were lower in position than their queen must also bow their head and behave respectfully towards him.
"We have been awaiting your presence, Supreme Lord" the harpies spoke in unison. Supreme Lord?!! Simon arched his brows before shaking the thought off his head.
He nodded, acknowledging their fealty before asking "Let me hear the report Melinda sent you guys to give me"¡
"Yes" the harpy who seemed to be the most senior inmand, nodded and gave her report "Her Majesty sent us to tell you that the king of the ck Ogres, Gil-Garna has formed an alliance with the king of the barren wildnds, Ivory Terraquake Rhino¡ªYverza to attack the Supreme Lord''s dungeon"
"Right now, the opposition''s forces which contain the ck Ogres and Terraquake Rhinos, number over thirty thousand. However, there is a growing concern about the Dungeon of the East among the Seven Kings. Although the possibility is low, the others might join the fray given their opportunistic nature. Our Queen was also offered to join the alliance and has epted his offer under your orders".
So that was the case, Simon mulled over the information he just received. As he had thought, it was the king of the ck Ogres who was trying to act against him. After making the Queen of the Harpies his subordinate, he allowed their race to stay in their territory and govern themselves because he wanted to know the inside information on the Seven kings.
Chapter 820- Gish-Bolg, Drovos (2)
Chapter 820- Gish-Bolg, Drovos (2)
Simon had the revenant Crows Mk V continuously surveilling the area of the seven kings. However, they could only provide him with surface level information. Intel such as alliance and schemes that they were nning only someone who was one of them, could provide him.
That''s right, Melinda was now one of the spies from his side, supplying him with intel and activities on the seven kings.
That being said, the Terraquake Rhinos¡ it was not like Simon did not have any idea what kind of race they were. One of the ruler ns of the Ghastly Winding Forest, the Terraquake Rhinos upied the wildnds of the western region of the forest.
Not only were they extremely dangerous and powerful, being able to create their own dominance and name across the forest, the Terraquake Rhinos also had a unique physique that made their outer body stronger than even ckgold.
What''s more, among them, their king the Ivory Terraquake Rhino was said to even possess a physique that was equivalent to Mythril in sturdiness. Coupled with their high level and numerous sets of rare and superior skill they are a force to be reckoned with.
If Melinda was a pure magic fighter, using her evil eyes to fight, then Yverza the Ivory Terraquake Rhino was a purely physical fighter. Simon knew that in his mission toplete the mission given to him by Aldebaran, Yverza would prove to be one of the most difficult opponents.
This was also the reason why he was not trying to involve himself with the Terraquake Rhinos at this point in time or at least until he grew strong. However, with the other party joining hands with the king of the ck ogres, it was no longer possible.
It was a problematic matter that two of the seven kings joined hands. It was a matter that he couldn''t ignore and must deal with as soon as possible. With the forces of the two kings, they could do some serious damage to his dungeon which had only just recovered from the mess made by the criminal organisation not too long ago.
What''s more, there was still a possibility that the other seven kings might join the fray. This was a scenario that he must stop from happening at all costs.
A multitude of thoughts ran through Simon''s head. Of course, since he had the skill [High Speed Thought Processing] skill, barely any time had passed on the outside.
"Very well, take me to your queen. I need to discuss with her how to move forward from this point on".
The harpy subordinates did as they were ordered. After tasting the benefits that Simon provided them from his dungeon, the attitude of these harpies turned a total 180¡ã towards him.
Now they no longer viewed him as a foreign usurper and harboured a friendlier feelings towards him.
One of the harpies gave a sonorous cry and a few momentster, arge shadow dropped down from the sky.
Sky Breakin Eagle, a monster above level 400. When Simon looked at the being, he immediately recognised it.
The Sky Breaking Eaglended on top of the mountain and spread its wings in a manner that made it seem like a ramp for people to climb on its back. With the Seniormanding harpy leading them, Simon and the others climbed on top of the huge Sky Breaking Eagle.
As the territory of the Harpies consisted of mainly tall spiky rock hills that even pierced through the clouds, the main mode of travel here was through the sky. If one travels from the ground, they would be a target for the numerous aerial monsters that reside in this area.
As harpies were known as the tyrant of the skies, living on tall rock hills was not a problem for them. However, for those who did not have wings or flight ability, travelling through the territory of the harpies was nothing short of suicidal for them.
Although Simon could fly up to a pretty high altitude and Bea had spatial and mana wings ability, the Rimeblood Tribes they brought with them were unable to fly. As such, they had to take the Sky Breaking Eagle.
"It''s quite fast" Enjoying hispany while sticking close to him, Bea muttered.
Simon nodded in reply, indeed the Sky Breaking Eagle was quite fast. Should he say as expected of a level 400+ monster? Although he hadn''t inspected thetter with [Appraisal] he suspected that the monster would definitely have [Ultra High Speed flight] if he did.
In any case, it felt good to ride on such a high speed mount. He remembered thest time he came here, he had to sneak in and use the aid of the Valkyries just to reach the queen of the Harpies.
This time, he boldly and openly travelled in their territory without worrying about anyone or anything obstructing him. From this altitude, Simon could see a good portion of the territory of the harpies.
His eyes were inadvertently drawn towards an area where one could see many mechanical humanoids mining and excavating ores from the numerous rock mountains here. This was a part of the agreement in regards to allowing the harpies to govern themselves so that he would openly mine the resources of their territory.
As the territory of the harpies was sitting on top of arge Mythril deposit, the conditions were in hisplete favour.
Simon grinned seeing that the mining of Mythril was going excellently. Soon, he would have arge amount of mythril to set up a better manufacturing facility to produce higher marks of Andormedas, Revenant Crows and other war machines.
.
.
With the speed of the Sky Breaking Eagle, it didn''t take long for them to reach the biggest and the most tallest rock mountain around this part of thend which was also the personal abode of the queen of the harpies, Melinda.
At this moment, she was entertaining a couple of guests on the second peak of her mountain. Some had enormous bodies and endogenous armour while some had toned condensed bodies that was no different than a human.
From his distance, Simon could tell that the guests were none other than from the Terraquake Rhino race and ck Ogres.
"Lord Melinda please think over the proposition that Lord Gil-Garna sent you. The other kings would soon also join the alliance. At that time, even if you wanted a share of the benefits, the portion you would get would be the leftover after being distributed amongst the other kings"
A man with a scar on his right eye and an indigo horn on his forehead indicating his status, spoke. He wore a sturdy looking armour and carried a huge bastard sword around with him on his back.
Next to him, was a hulking being wearing endogenous armour thatpletely covered their body and gave them an appearance of an impregnable fortress.
Other than them there were also numerous members from the ck Ogre tribe and Terraquake Rhinos, standing as guards behind them. The two of them were the direct subordinates of the two of the seven kings and were here on orders of their kings to meet with the queen of the harpies.
"Lady Melinda¡ the Dungeon in the East has been a growing concern for all beings residing in the forest. If we don''t do anything, soon we will pay for it once it grows in strength. At that time, perhaps the strength of just one king would prove insufficient to push out this intruder. The forest belongs to us as such, you need to make a decision"
The ck ogre with the indigo horn spoke again. The manner in which he addressed her was quite disrespectful which pissed quite a few of Melinda''s subordinates. However, thetter did not show much reaction in the face of such provocation and continued to keep her eyes closed and her aura calm.
"I see, as I said before, I will think about it. Right now, it is not a good time for me and my n as we are currently busy with another business right now" Melinda replied with a smile.
"No matter what things you are busy with, you should know that this matter should be of the topmost priority"
A brusque voice intervened at this moment. It was from the hulking terraquake rhino beside the ck ogre. His voice seemed irritated just like his expression.
"You¡ you dare address our queen without any honorifics" One of the personal subordinates of Melinda was unable to take it any longer. He drew out his sword that was made of super sharp reinforced feathers and was just about to rush forward when¡
"Stand down Oro, I''m still talking" Melinda spoke, causing the harpy named Oro to freeze in his ce. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"But my queen they have been insulting your honour from the moment they came here. Forget about bowing their head in your presence, they even have the audacity to talk back to you. Please allow me to teach these people where they are right now¡"¡
"I will not repeat it again, stand down".
A weird chill descended onto the ce affecting the sky and mana in the surrounding as Melinda opened half of her eyelids.
The Harpy named Oro immediately toned down and backed away. The atmosphere of hostility that was almost about to burst into sparks was snuffed by Melinda.
"Please excuse my subordinate. Although he is a hot headed one, his loyalty towards me is without question. Anyways, as I have said before, I need time to make the decision. Tell Gil-Garna and Yverza that I told them that" Still carrying a smile, she addressed her guests.
Chapter 821- Strength of the Rimeblood Tribe
Chapter 821- Strength of the Rimeblood Tribe
"Hmph" the Terraquake Rhino snorted and got up to leave followed by the indigo horn ck Ogre. Seems like Melinda''s show of power not only toned down her own subordinate, but it also unnerved the two direct subordinates of the two kings causing them to leave without saying another word.
"Hoh, is the party already over? Did Ie toote"
Just as the ck Ogre and the Terraquake Rhino were about to leave along with their subordinates, an extremely insensible voice rang out from the sky.
The next second, arge shadow breaking the speed of sound, swooped over and a couple of figures jumped down from it. Leading the group, was a man with pitch ck hair and two crimson horns decorating his head.
He had mismatched eyes and wore unique regal clothes that was tailored made for him. Behind him, following a step back was a wild beauty with long peach coloured hair and toned skin.
She had an athletic and alluring body, a beautiful face and mischievous eyes. Decked out in armour over her maid attire, she was a beauty to behold.
Behind them, followed beings with appearances and looks that nobody here had seen before. But of course, thanks to the two people leading the fray, all attention was diverted towards them causing no one to pay much attention to the ones behind them.
"Oh?! That''s quite an unusual guest we have here, Melinda"
The man; no, there was only one race that could define this person, the demon noble spoke. The ck Ogre leader and the Terraquake Rhino narrowed their eyes. Although it was surprising to see a demon noble around these parts of thend, it was notpletely unusual since the Ghastly Winding Forest bordered the Demon Continent.
The two subordinates of the two kings, watched from the sidelines as the demon noble casually strutted forward, walking towards the queen of Harpies as if he owned the god damn ce.
They all thought that the brazen demon had forgotten where he was and expected a good drama to unfold. However, to their disappointment, nothing of that sort happened. Instead, the demon was being received with a friendly wee by all the harpies.
What was going on? Why was the demon being treated with such excessive indulgence? In fact, he was even being treated better than them who were the envoys of the two of the Seven Kings.
Who was this demon? Seeing the demon being treated so well, the two envoys couldn''t help but wonder about the identity of the demon. As they looked on with consternation, they were given another surprise when they saw, Melinda bow her head and offer him her own seat.
This!!! For the queen of the harpies, a being who stood on an equal ground with the other kings, to bow her head to somebody else¡ This was a revtion that struck them like a bolt of lightning.
As surprising as the event was, the true shocking urrence was yet to happen. After the demon sat on the seat of honour, he looked all around him before cing his eyes on them. The next second, he grinned in a way that was very much like his race and ced a question.
"So who are you guys? What business do you have in my territory?"¡
My Territory? The Two Envoys wanted to ask what he meant; however, things seemed so bizarre that they didn''t know where to start from.
"We are the envoys of two of the seven rulers of the forest. I am Gish-Bolg, a loyal subordinate of my Lord Gil-Garna the king of the ck Ogres"¡
"And I am Drovos, the right hand man of the king of the Terraquake Rhinos, Lord Yverza" Gish-Bolg and Drovos introduced themselves.
"Hoh, subordinates of the seven kings huh. So what business do you have here?" resting his head on his palm, Simon continued to interrogate.
This time though, Gish-Bolg and Drovos did not answer him immediately and first looked around their surrounding. Finding it odd that the harpies were allowing a demon, a foreign race to take charge of this event they couldn''t help but answer with a question of their own.
"This is a confidential matter that involves the seven kings. Who are you to question us about such matters?"¡
"Hm? Ah, that reminds me, I haven''t introduced myself. Look at my manners" Simon shrugged his shoulders before introducing himself.
"I am Simon, as you can see I am a demon noble. Thedy beside me is my subordinate called Bea. Hmm, perhaps it will make more sense to you if I say that we are from the Dungeon of the East". n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
As soon as he said those words, it was as if somebody had dropped a huge boulder in a calmke, the atmosphere immediately became tumultuous. The air was chagrined with sparks as all the ck ogres and terraquake rhinos looked at Simon with wide open eyes.
Even their two leaders, the envoys were no different. After a momentary shock, their aura turned hostile as they nced at the demon.
"You are the demon who created the dungeon in the eastern region of the forest?" Gish-Bolg questioned.
"That''s right" Simon nodded his head, confirming his words.
"This¡ what is the meaning of this,dy Melinda?" They came here with the proposal to deal with the demon of the East. Who would expect for their target to appear right in front of them, what''s more in between their meeting?
Could it be a coincidence or could it be that the hapries were already in cahoots with the demon of the east?!! Gish-Bolg who had a good head on his shoulder, thought of several worst case scenarios.
"Hoh to think that our target would willingly show themselves in front of us. It must be a lucky day for us. Lord Yverza would definitely be happy if I took you out right here and now. Haha, now that you havee out of your dungeon, don''t even think about going back demon"
Unlike Gish-Bolg, Drovos was all brawns and no brains. He did not consider where he was or the consequences of his actions and directly rushed into action.
One of the most terrifying aspects of a terraquake rhino was the powerful horn that grew on top of their heads. The horn which curved sharply at the end, held enough destructive power to easily pierce through armours made of ckgold as if it were paper.
Coupled with the powerful charge of the terraquake rhino and its monstrously strong body, the horn was a killer weapon through and through. What''s more, among the terraquake Rhinos, Drovos''s power was second only to the terraquake Rhino king.
If the attack connected, with the power of his horn, he could even kill a being above level 500 in a single blow. That is if it connected¡
BOOM¡ before Drovos could even approach anywhere near Simon, he was sent flying with a kick so powerful that the very space bent unnaturally at the moment of impact and made a terrifying noise that unnerved everyone.
Whoosh... like a ball hit by a bat, his figure disappeared and crashed into a nearby rock mountain a few hundred meters away from here.
"Hmph" Standing in front of Simon, Bea retracted her foot with a snort and straightened her dress back.
When did she move?!! Everybody present at the peak, had the same question. Just a few moments ago, she was dutifully standing a couple of feet away from the demon. However, the next second just as they blinked her figure appeared right in front of him and intercepted the charging Terraquake Rhino.
Rumble¡ the rock mountain in the distance shook as Drovos picked himself up. When he came back to the peak, every single being present whether they be harpies, ck ogres or terraquake rhinos, all of them were shocked to see his miserable sight.
A hideous indent a couple of feet deep was imprinted on the centre of his endogenous armour that was said to be stronger than ckgold. For a simple kick to do that kind of damage, what kind of power was needed for that?
Even Melinda half opened her eyes in shock at the spectacle. Now that she was a subordinate of the demon, she was aware of how powerful the faction hidden deep inside his dungeon was.
That said, it was her first time meeting Bea. She had seen Ate and the other maids fight thest time around when they intruded on her territory. Which is why, she knew that the maids were strong; however, what she didn''t expect was for them to be this strong.
The power packed inside that kick was enough to even unnerve her. Melinda''s surprise wasn''t without reason, after all, this was the first time a Valkyrie was fighting with all of her gears and heirloom on and without the orders to hold back.
What''s more, the Valkyries were no longer the same as before. They had be stronger with training and had honed their skills, making them even deadlier than before.
If one of the seven kings herself was so surprised, one could wonder what kind of emotions the Terraquake Rhinos and the ck Ogres were going through.
"Are you alright Drovos?" Gish-Bolg appeared beside the injured envoy and asked.
Puff¡ Drovos coughed a mouthful of blood and rubbed the deep footprint that was imprinted on his chest. The previously mighty and pompous attitude of his was no longer to be seen, reced by an atmosphere that made him seem no different than a defeated dog licking its wounds.
"Dammit, I suffered a serious injury"¡
Chapter 822- Strength Of The Rimeblood Tribe (2)
Chapter 822- Strength Of The Rimeblood Tribe (2)
"That is to be expected. Who told you to rush in like that without thinking? If the demon of the east was so easy to deal with, do you think our kings would need to make an alliance and all those preparations?" Gish-Bolg talked some sense into Drovos.
"You are right. What do we do now? That woman beside him is clearly more powerful than us. There is no way we can win. Should we leave?"¡
"I wish things were that easier. Don''t you find it strange that the demon is being so well received by the harpies?"
A look of realisation appeared on the slow witted Drovos.
"Was the queen of the harpies defeated by the demon?"¡
"Could be, or it could also be that the Queen of the harpies have changed sides. No matter what''s the case, it is a serious issue that our kings should know about. If the queen of the harpies has betrayed us, it means that all our ns and strategies have been leaked to the enemy"
This was the worst case scenario that Gish-Bolg thought of. Being the seven kings of the forest, the ck Ogre king naturally saw the queen of the harpies as a potential ally and revealed much information regarding the alliance and the attack on the dungeon to her.
However, who would have known that the queen of the harpies was already conspiring with the demon of the east?
"What?!! If it is as you say, then we should leave immediately and inform our kings" Drovos urged, urgency could be seen on his face.
"Calm down and think clearly. Now that we know the secret about them working together, do you think they would allow us to go away just because we wish to? Of course not, see around you, we have already been surrounded by the high levelled harpies. One wrong move and we will be barraged by their attacks"
Gish-Bolg calmly observed his surroundings. At this moment, he could see harpy soldiers and numerous aerial monsters stationed around all the surrounding peaks. Evidence that they were not getting out of this scot free.
"Then what are you suggesting? Are you telling me to just sit back and let myself be killed?" Drovos grunted.
"Nobody is telling you to do that. What I am telling you is to be prepared, depending on the situation, we might even have to use our subordinates as shields and expandables".
"What are you two murmuring over there? I believe you still haven''t answered my question"
Just as the two were making some kind of n, Simon interrupted them releasing the powerful intimiation of a Demon Earl. The two envoys were immediately pressured by his aura and were forced to shut their mouths.
"It looks like you won''t speak up easily. Well, that is alright with me. I have many means to pry open your mouth"
Simon grinned, just as he was about to bring out something from his space ring, from the corner of his eyes, he saw the indigo horn of the ck ogre shine, before they raised their hand and pointed at him.
"Attack!!"
Gish-Bolg shouted. Immediately, all the ck ogres standing guard behind him sprang into action.
"You all attack too. Show them the might of the Terraquake Rhinos". With the two envoy leader giving their orders, all the ck ogres and terraquake rhinos charged towards Simon with all kinds of attacks.
"This¡ you dare make a scene in my territory"
Melinda spoke with a sour mood. She was just about to givemands to her subordinate to intercept their attack when Simon stopped her with a gesture of his hand.
"There is no need for you to move. This is a perfect opportunity to test their strengths" He pointed at the beings behind him. Melinda turned her head and saw some really bizarre creatures that she had never seen before in the mix among the entourage that he brought with him.
"I believe your name was Berisol? You will be the leader, takemand of the others and intercept the enemy"
Simon randomly assigned one of the Rimeblood Tribe that he had an impression of from the previous battle, as a leader.
"Your wish is ourmand, Supreme Lord"
The orc named Berisol stood before all the other Rimeblood tribes and led them into battle. Thus an intense battle erupted at the peak of the rock mountain sending forth extreme shockwaves that shook the mountain and dispersed the clouds.
Whether it be the ck Ogres, Terraquake Rhinos or the Rimeblood Tribe none of the races was inferior to the others. Strength and level wise, they were on the same stage and were a closepletion for each other.
The difference set in their individual race, the ck Ogres were a race that was proficient in agility and magic, and the Terraquake rhinos were built for defence and strength. As for the Rimeblood Tribe, their stats leaned towards Strength and Endurance.
From this one could see that each of the races has its own uniqueness and strength. The skills they executed and their strategies were all different.
"Hmm, it looks like it won''t be possible to defeat the forces of the enemies with just the strength of the Rimeblood Tribe"
Watching the battle from his seat, Simon remarked. One of the reasons why he sent the group of Rimeblood Tribe to intercept the enemy was because he wanted to see their power. However, there was another reason he brought them here and that was to see how they would behave in front of their mortal enemy.
The ck ogres who had once destroyed their vige and killed tens of thousands of their kind. Even when face to face with their mortal enemy, the orcs who now became the Rimeblood Tribe, did not dare to utter a sentence or move from their ce until ordered.
This confirmed the fact that the orcs were nowpletely loyal to him.
"Lord Simon, what race are they from? Why haven''t I seen them around in the forest before?"
Melinda questioned. A race like the Rimeblood tribe with their powerful strength and conspicuous body, should be a powerful force not much inferior to the king ns of the Ghastly Winding Forest. However, it was her first time seeing such a race with her eyes today.
"Oh? You don''t recognise them? Why don''t you look at them carefully? They were also one of the races which used to live in the western part of the ghastly winding forest" Simon answered ambiguously, wanting to see if Melinda could recognise the former Diluvian High Orcs.
Hearing his words, Melinda nced over at the rimeblood tribe and observed them carefully. "Used to¡ then does that mean that¡"
"That''s right, they have been expelled from their own territory by another race and recently too"¡ n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Expelled recently" Melinda thought deeply and an answer soon arrived inside her mind "Lord Simon, you mean that they are from the Diluvian High Orcs race?"¡
"That''s right. They might have changed a lot; however, there is no denying that they are from the Diluvian High Orcs race".
"But how could that be? I have seen and interacted with the Diluvian High Orcs many times before. Their previous king was an ambitious man who I am quite familiar with. As such, if they were Diluvian High Orcs I would have recognised them¡".
"There are no longer Diluvian High orcs, but instead Rimeblood tribe, a new evolutionary line that they have unlocked after they were brought inside my dungeon"
Simon answered honestly, Melinda was already his subordinate and as long as she was marked by his Soul contract, she wouldn''t be able to to betray him. As such, there was no point in hiding something from her.
Besides, this was also a bait he was throwing towards the race of Harpies. He was pretty sure that with Melida''s wittiness, she would quickly understand his intention.
"New evolutionary race? Is that even possible?" As he had expected, after hearing his response, Melinda''s eyes widened in shock as she muttered under her breath.
By all means, a race like the Diluvian Hihg Orcs should have reached the limit of their growth and evolution at this point. Yet what was it that she was hearing right now? The Diluvian High Orcs unlocked a new racial evolution!! How was that even possible?
"Ah, the Rimbelood tribe is just one of the new evolutionary lines they have unlocked. A few of them have alos evolved into Icevein Savages and Greatbrute Hulks. You can see how powerful they have be after evolving"
"If it was before, it would have taken a couple of Diluvian High Orcs just to handle a single crimson horn ck ogre. However, right now, just one of them could take a ck ogre or the terraquake rhino on their own"
Feeling that he had thrown enough enticement, he nced at Melinda and smirked: "Hmm? Why do you look so surprised? This is not something that is unusual in my dungeon. You should know by now that my dungeon is special".
The queen of the harpies nodded her head dazedly. Of course, she knew how special that dungeon was. The territory of the harpies might be far from the eastern region of the forest. However, there was no way of hiding the colossal surge of mystical energy that fires out of the dungeon and the resulting phenomenon it created during its rank up.
How many times did that kind of phenomenon appear in the Ghastly Winding Forest? As one of the Seven Kings and a user of the Evil Eyes who was extra sensitive to mana, naturally she was able to sense the extraordinary rush of mystical energy in the eastern region of the forest.
Chapter 823- Relocation of the Harpy Race
Chapter 823- Relocation of the Harpy Race
Even if she excluded all the extraordinary and unbelievable things that were inside the dungeon, just the fact that it went through so many rank ups so quickly, was enough to tell Melinda; no, anyone that the dungeon was special.
''Would our race of harpies be able to also evolve like that if we follow him?'' This thought couldn''t help but inadvertently arrive in her mind.
Simon was observing the emotional changes that Melinda was going through when suddenly, his eyes made a sharp turn.
"Oh? Where do they think they are going?"
There, behind the hordes of ck Ogres and Terraquake Rhinos, were the two envoys who were currently trying to escape from the ce. The ck ogre leader was using [Mana Wings] to fly while the Terraquake Rhino leader was using the powerful strength of his race to leap from one peak to another.
Seeing them trying to make a break from here, Simon couldn''t help but snort. Now that they knew the rtionship between him and the harpies, there was no way he could let them get out of here alive. He had decided so, the moment he revealed himself.
"Revenant Crows, attack".
ZAAPPP¡ at that moment, out of nowhere a powerful beam of energy was fired towards the escaping Gish-Bagh and Drovos.
BANG¡ Drovos took the attack and crashnded onto a peak while Gish-Bagh narrowly dodged the attack.
"What the?! That stung, where did thate from?" Drovosined pulling himself out of the debris. He suffered no damage thanks to the endogenous armour of his.
"I don''t know, I couldn''t sense the attacker too. Be careful, more attacks would follow next" While he said that, Gish-Bagh did not slow down his speed for even a second.
"Dammit" giving a deep grunt, Drovos followed behind. However¡ ZAAP¡ZAAP¡ ZAAP!! More and more attacks came targeting them from all directions.
The two of them tried their best to block; nevertheless, the attacks were far too many in number and came from unexpected directions that it was impossible topletely block all of them out.
What was even more frustrating was the fact that they didn''t have any clue where the attack wasing from. One of the deadliest aspects of the Revenant Crows Warmachine was its stealth ability.
Although they weren''t equipped with as many high grade and powerful weapons as the Andromedas, their edgey in the fact that they were the most suitable for covert and espionage operations.
As could be seen from the reactions of the two envoys who werepletely baffled by the attacks that wereing from the Revenant Crows they couldn''t perceive. And that was only from the lowest Edition V version, the higher version of Revenant Crows was stocked with even more powerful stealth system.
Gish-Bolg used his mana armour and powerful magical and physical attacks to retaliate. Nevertheless, he still got hit by a few. Although with his level and powerful stats, these kinds of damage were nothing, the attacks still managed to slow him down considerably.
Whoosh¡ multiple piercing noises of wind being split apart sounded out and the figures of harpies surrounded them from all directions.
"Hmph, it looks like your luck ends here. I will make you pay for the rudeness you showed against our queen" Leading the bunch, was Oro and the other direct subordinates of Melinda.
Thetter was itching to teach them a lesson for a while. Now he could finally let loose without worrying about his queen snapping at him.
"Attack" Oro shouted leading the charge. The harpies although individually weaker than Gish-Bolg and Drovos, made it up with their extreme Agility and numbers.
The harpies weren''t called the tyrant of the skies for nothing, their bodies and frames were developed in a way that made them extremely agile in the sky, making possible movements that were impossible for other creatures.
Coupled with their razor sharp reinforced feather and talons they were a force to be feared. What''s more, this was their territory, as such they knew how to attack and retreat and use the terrain to their favour.
CLANG¡ Oro dived down from the skies, unfurling his wings at the crucial moment and using a screw dive move, he left a deep scar on the endogenous armour of Drovos.
Even among the other harpies, Oro and a few others were a cut above, being the direct subordinate of the queen of the harpies.
"Dammit" The terraquake rhino touched his armour in pain. He was still reeling in pain from the deep footprint left by that woman on his chest and now there was this scar made by the damn harpy.
If this went on, wouldn''t this put the dignity of the Terraquake Rhinos and his lord the Ivory Terraquake Rhino into shame?
ROARRR¡ With a deep guttural roar that shook the very air, Drovos finally lost it. His eyes became crimson and was smeared with a trace of bloodlust as he charged towards his assant.
He forgot his mission and waspletely swept up by the moment, ignoring even the calls of Gish-Bolg. The harpies took advantage of this state of his to toy with and attack his openings, slowly wearing the terraquake rhino down.
"You damn fool, this is not the time for you to lose your mind. Tsk, don''t pull me down with yourself"
Gish-bolg cursed. He activated a movement skill and quickly fled leaving Drovos behind. The harpies chased behind him.
Back on top of the peak, Simon observed the fleeing ck ogre with a derisive smile. Whose territory did they think they were on? Did they really think that they could just escape from one of the seven king ns?
No matter how far he fled, he was still under range. Simon looked at Melinda and nodded his head. The very next second, the sky above the peak abruptly darkened as the queen of the harpies slowly opened her eyelids.
Four pupils in each eye, for a total of eight, were on full disy. For the first time in a while, Melinda used her evil eyes. Those bizarre pupils that had extraordinary abilities, reflected the figure of the fleeing ogre.
Jolt¡ hundreds of meters away, Gish-Bolg who was running away with all of his might, suddenly shuddered and came to a stop after feeling some kind of ominous gaze lock onto him.
He couldn''t tell what was the origin of this ominous feeling; nevertheless, he felt like a prey in front of a predator in front of this gaze.
"I don''t have time for this" Shaking his head, he was just about to resume his flight, when suddenly a droplet of liquid fell down on his hand. Looking over, he saw that it was blood and not just any blood, but his own blood.
"What the¡"
Just as he was about to question what was going on, more and more blood dripped down on his hand the next second. Not only that, his vision also started bing blurry and he noticed that he was bleeding from all of his seven orifices.
"Evil¡ Eyes" Finally, Gish-Bolg understood what was going on. He fell prey to the evil eyes of the queen of the harpies. Although it was his first time being targeted with one, he had nevertheless heard from his king how dreadful this ability was. And today, he got to experience its full glory for himself.
"I can''t die here, I must bring this report back to my lord" The indigo horn on his head shone brightly before he soon sumbed to the effects of the evil eyes.
The body of the envoy from the ck ogre tribe fell down from the sky and was torn apart into numerous pieces in a matter of seconds by the harpies and the other aerial beasts living in the vicinity.
As for the envoy from the Terraquake Rhino, Drovos'' fate was a miserable one. Due to the insane defensive power of his endogenous armour, he was repeatedly shed and cut, causing him to die a slow and gruelling death.
Back on top of the peak, finished with her task, Melinda slowly closed her eyes.
"Good work" Simon praised, he then nced towards Bea and spoke, "You can stop, that ogre is dead".
The Valkyrie heeding his words, stopped conjuring her spatial magic. It appeared that Bea would have taken action even if Melidna hadn''t used her evil eyes. As a user of the spatial magic, this much distance was insignificant for her. She could have teleported there in the blink of an eye if she wanted to.
"Now then, it''s time the farce over here finished too".
The battle between the forces brought by the two envoys and the Rimeblood Tribe was still going on. There were many injuries and casualties on both sides; nheless, it was the side of the Rimeblood tribe that suffered the most damage.
Fighting against two races together, was not an easy task. Yet even when faced with an unfavourable situation, they continued to fight with the same maddened fervour as the one before the fight.
The orcs would probably continue to fight till thest man or until he told them to stop. The reason why he brought them here was to assess their power and not to use them as a sacrificial pawn.
Simon had a good understanding of their strength now as such, he ordered the harpies to intervene in the battle and tip the scales.
With the involvement of the Harpies, the battle had turned and the flow was now in the favour of the Rimeblood Tribe.
Chapter 824- Relocation Of The Harpy Race (2)
Chapter 824- Relocation Of The Harpy Race (2)
The forces of the Terraquake Rhino and ck Ogre were already exhausted and low on morale after their two leaders abandoned them. Thus with the hapries joining the fray, they started losing.
Soon, all the ck ogres and terraquake rhinosy on the ground, dead. As for the Rimeblood tribe, only a small number of them remained, Berisol was one of them. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"You all did a good job" Simon praised passing them a few bottles of elixirs.
"Thank you supreme lord for giving us this opportunity to avenge our fallen brethren and also for making us stronger" Berisol kneeled on the ground and thanked. The others of its race also did the same.
"All I did was provide you with the opputunity. The result was brought by your own efforts and perseverance" Simon smiled pleased by the attitude of the orcs.
"No, it is thanks to the magnanimity of the supreme lord that the race of our orcs was able to survive that day and be this strong. This debt, we will never forget it. Please let us continue to serve you in the future too. No matter what battles you want us to fight, the Rimeblood tribe will always respond to yourmand and be your hands and feet".
Berisol words were sincere, one could see a light of resolve and extreme admiration for Simon in his eyes. It could even be said that the level of admiration he had for Simon, was even higher than Berigard, his king.
"Un, I n to put your race to good use. Continue to work hard" Saying that, Simon left for the first peak of the mountain with Bea and Melinda to discuss the matters about today and the ns for moving forward from this point on.
Although they have killed the potential leak, the fact that the two envoys and many subordinates of two of the seven kings died here, would no doubt make them suspicious. Even if they are unaware of the realtion between him and the harpies, they would no doubt still be wary of the harpies.
The Seven Kings, especially Gil-garna and Yzerza might think that she was a thorn in their alliance and might even join together to take her out first. The events today left the n of harpies exposed and in a quie a tight spot.
That being said, Simon already had a solution prepared. It all depended on Melinda whether she wanted to ept it or not.
"So¡"
"Lord Simon, if there is still some space in your dungeon, I would like to bring the n of harpies and relocate inside your dungeon"
Just as he was about to open his mouth to rmend relocation of their n, Melinda spoke first, bringing out the exact same topic he was about to speak of.
.
.
The ce was a luxurious hall with a tall ceiling, numerous chandeliers hanging off from the ceiling illuminated the ce bright. The hall was decked out with extravagant decors and luxurious furnishings, showcasing the taste of its master. ''
The ce was none other than inside the castle of Duke Montford. At this moment, in the head seat where the Duke of castledor used to sit, a woman with violet hair and exceptional beauty could be seen upying the ce.
Below her, sat numerous people, their chairs facing each other like a congress as they discussed something intensely.
The atmosphere inside the hall was tense with both sides ring at each other.
"There is no option alternative. If the other nobles have thrown their lots into the mix with the enemy, then we need to consider them as our enemy too" one of the noblemen of the dukedom of Castledor, argued strongly.
"But if we do that, then it would be like fighting the whole kingdom. Our enemies would not only be ckthorn alone and would be toorge for us to handle. As I said before, we should think about it carefully and take a safe approach" Another nobleman countered.
"Are you still talking about persuading the northern and western nobles? I''m sure there might still be some who retain loyalty to the kingdom and were only forced to join the enemy''s side because they had no choice. However, if forgive betrayal so easily, wouldn''t it set a bad example for others?"¡
"That''s right, we cannot forgive. No matter what their reason was for betraying, a crime like that cannot be forgiven, they are our enemies"¡
"You all are not thinking straight. At a time like this when we are at a severe disadvantage, what does forgiving a few nobles amount to? What we should think about right now is how to increase our strength, even if we have to bring some nobles who have betrayed us to our side. That way, we would have a better odds when we eventually face ckthorn''s powerful knight legions. I''m sure Her Highness will also agree with that"
The noblemen turned to face the woman sitting at the head of the congress. Now with Alstin gone and no news of Aiden, there was only one candidate who could be addressed with that term.
Cynthia nced at the senate of noblemen seated below her, with bored eyes. Now that she defeated the ruler of the city and took over the ce, these noblemen were quick to change sides.
Like chameleons changing colours, the moment they saw the ruler of the city losing and the royal candidate they supported getting killed by her, they quickly defected to her side, bowing and bootlicking her just as it could be seen right now.
Cynthia looked bored as she looked at the two sides going on and on for a while withouting to an articte decision.
One side wanted to cast off all the nobles who betrayed the kingdom and consider them the same as the enemy. While the others wanted to protect their interest and refused to wage war against the whole kingdom, even going to the lengths of wanting to persuade those nobles to join their side just so that they could stand a better chance against the forces of ckthorn.
Seeing them unable toe to any resolution, Cynthia''s eyes steeled as an icy light shed in them.
"You are Baron Regor from the Raindell territory right?" She nced at the nobleman who was asking her to consider joining hands with the northern and southern nobles.
"That''s right, your highness. It is my privilege that you remember¡" Just as Count Regor felt ted by the fact that the princess remembered his name, her next words almost caused his soul to leave his body.
"What will you do if your territory disappeared the next day?"¡
"I don''t understand¡"
With a cold voice, Cynthia ordered "Count Cormall, you are to take your army and immediately head for Raindell. I want this territory to disappear off the map the next day".
Count Comrall who was one of the few nobles still loyal to her father, nodded his head and moved to the exit the hall.
"Please wait, Your Highness you cannot do this.." Seeing that the press really intended to invade his territory, he hurriedly spoke up.
"What''s wrong Baron Regor? Why do you look so distraught?" Cynthia questioned feigning ignorance.
"Your Highness just now you ordered Count Cormall to invade my territory¡"
"Ah that''s right I did, but since you are such a stern believer that one should work with their enemies, I am sure this is not a problem for you. I''m sure you can work this out with Count Cormall in the future and he will surely leave your territory alone after all the efforts he took to invade it"
Saying that, Cynthia spoke with Count Regor no more and stood up to address the senate.
"There will be no mercy for any and all who betrayed the kingdom, no matter who they are. I don''t want the support of the nobles who wanting to protect their own interest, sided with the enemy. There is more honour in defeat than joining with them and besides, I don''t need their aid to win this war. So Marquess Pound, I don''t want to hear you raise this topic again"
The nobleman named Pound who was the first to raise the topic of working with the enemies, was immediately shut down.
"As for Count Moris, don''t think that I don''t know your intention. By fanning the mes you are deliberately trying to slow down the Senate froming to a decision. However, know one thing, my decision won''t change. We will march towards the capital city ten days from now, so start making preparation for it. I have no need for those who disobey or aren''t willing to listen to my orders"
She nced or rather red down at another witful nobleman before exiting the ce. Once out, she finally released a deep breath of air she had been holding for a while.
"Good work, Your Highness¡"¡
"Haha, thank you"
Alvara who had been waiting there for her,forted her. "It looks like things were quite hectic inside"¡
"Yeah, the more I recall their words, the more it infuriates me. No wonder Alstin was losing. With spineless nobles like them, who only think about how to protect their interest, there is not even a slim chance we can win against the forces of ckthorn"
Cynthia sighed, the strong autocratic look that she put inside the senate, loosened a little in front of her childhood friend.
"It must be tough for Your Highness"
As someone who had grown together with the princess, Alvara knew all about the troubles guing thetter. Now that she was the sole remaining royalty, all the pressure to rebuild the kingdom fell on those delicate shoulders of hers alone.
Chapter 825- Assassin in the Night
Chapter 825- Assassin in the Night
There were these egoistical and self serving nobles who she had to deal with. No wonder she looked more haggard than when she faced the duke. What''s more, it hadn''t even been a day since she killed her brother with her own hands and she already started handling the matters of the city.
It didn''t need someone close to her like Alvara to see it, anyone could see that she was clearly pushing herself.
"Even if it''s tough I cannot stop right now, not after I came this far. My resolve will not falter no matter what"
Cynthia spoke returning to the person she was back inside the senate. She had made her resolve a long time ago and seen far too bloodshed to stop right now. No one could dissuade her and if they did, she would simply discard them. Just like what she had done with Baron Regor by taking over his fief.
This was not only to show all those nobles not to take her lightly, but it was also an example for others to know as to what kind of kingdom thend of Ellesmere would be once she imed the throne.
If it was her father, he would no doubt be unable to boot a Baron just like that, his merciful andpassionate nature wouldn''t allow such a decision. However, Cynthia was different; no she was forced to change. It was preciselypassion that led to her and her kingdom''s downfall, which was why she had discarded all such things.
Her rein would be through an Iron fist and absolute. Those who didn''t follow her, would be discarded just like Baron Regor. As Cynthia walked out of the Hallway, she turned left and headed toward the underground chamber instead of going towards her room.
If it was her father, he would no doubt be unable to boot a Baron just like that, his merciful andpassionate nature wouldn''t allow such a decision. However, Cynthia was different; no she was forced to change. It was preciselypassion that led to her and her kingdom''s downfall, which was why she had discarded all such things.
Her rein would be through an Iron fist and absolute. Those who didn''t follow her, would be discarded just like Baron Regor. As Cynthia walked out of the Hallway, she turned left and headed toward the underground chamber instead of going towards her room.
As she descended through the stairs and arrived before therge mithril doors that led to the emergency shelter, familiar faces came into her view.
"Your Highness" When she discovered them, they too noticed her.
The first one to greet her was Ate who was standing in front of arge stake imnted on the ground. Next to her, tied to the stake was a man who looked extremely miserable and on the verge of losing consciousness from all the beating and torture he received.
Around the stake other than Ate, there was also the group of adventurers whom Cynthia trusted the most, ke and his team.
"Any results?" Cynthia questioned. The fact that she didn''t look the least bit surprised and directly went on to ask a question meant that she was also involved in this matter. In fact, it was with her permission that Balke and the others went through this process.
"Yes Your Highness, we found plenty of useful information. This guy spilt all the beans once Miss Ate cast her magic. Some of which are so shocking that even you will be surprised after hearing it" ke answered with a serious look on his face.
Hearing his words, Cynthia narrowed her eyes "Hoh, Let me hear it. I want to know too who this person is and why was he so close to Alstin".
Tied to the stake, the man was none other than the subordinate who tried to brainwash Alstin. When Cynthia heard all about the information the person spilt, a serious expression just like everyone here, couldn''t help but descend on her face.
Why would it not after all, this person was a member of a special corps that was sent here by the kingdom of ckthorn to Disrupt Alstin''s state of mind and report every action of his back to the their army.
That was not all, he also corrupted many other nobles, abducted their families to forcefully make them change their alliance and even dug up quite a lot of dirt on every influential noble.
It need not even be mentioned how much damaging these kinds of information can be to a noble. From the secrets of their wealth to the most disgusting of actions they havemitted, once this kind of information surfaces, it would ruin the status of noble forever.
As such, to protect their interest and hide this kind of information forever, a noble would do anything. The fact that this man was able to dig this kind of information meant that he had a noose around the neck of all the nobles and could secretly control their decision.
Cynthia had no doubt that many of the nobles she had met in the senate, had fallen into his palm and were doing his bidding.
"It was a good thing that we were able to find out about it before any serious damage could ur" ke muttered.
Cynthia was of the same mind, it was thanks to those demi humans who disguised themselves as soldiers to spy on Alstin that they were able to learn of this spy from ckThorn. Or else, just like the first prince, they too would have been yed with without even them being aware of it.
Fortunately, they raided the city and captured this person.
"Such a huge operation, there is no way he could havepleted it alone. He might have some aplices here in the city of castledor. The corps that he belonged to you mentioned just now, there could be other members like him here. Have you asked him if there are any more agents like him in Castledor?"
There was no guarantee that there was only one agent here. Cynthia who was in the midst of asking a question, suddenly noticed the peculiar expression of everyone around her.
"What''s wrong?" Why did their eyes look so grim?
"Allow me to exin" While everyone was hesitating on how to exin her, Ate stepped forward to speak on behalf of everyone.
"It was my mistake. When I was trying to search through the mind of this person, I realised a step toote that there was a special mark imnted on his brain. This mark prevented anyone from prying into the mind of the person by frying their brain instantly. What''s more, it is imnted inside every agent of this corps and are linked. When one mind is tempered with, the rest will automatically be able to sense it"¡
"You mean to say that.." "That''s right, they have escaped. The moment I tried to pry into his mind, the mark activated alerting others of his capture. I was only able to save this person" Ate bowed her head, epting her mistake.
"If they have escaped then does that mean that they have ryed all the information and events that happened here back to their forces?" Cynthia questioned, a tinge of concern shed in her face.
She knew that there was no way of preventing the spread of news that happened in the city of castledor. No matter what measure she could take, the news would spread one way or another.
However, it was because of this reason that she was hurrying up and marching with her army to the capital city in just ten days. It was because if she gave the enemy any more time, the other nobles who have joined the enemy''s side, would not just sit still and send their own forces to intercept her. With time, the enemy''s forces would only just increase. This is why, she was in a hurry.
"No, they have been all tracked down and killed before they can reveal anything" Ate answered in a manner of factly, surprising everyone around.
How long had it been since the fact that there was a mind imnt in all of these agents got revealed? If they counted the time, it wouldn''t be even more than two hours. Yet in that short period of time, not only did she discover the enemy''s hidden card, she even rectified the mistake she made. All the while when all of them were just standing here.
"I see¡ I should expect no less from a Valkyrie" Cynthia spoke with a tone of amazement. "Since the information hasn''t leaked yet, it gives us a few precious days of head start. Oce the army from Mountmend, we shall immediately head for the capital".
"I see¡ I should expect no less from a Valkyrie" Cynthia spoke with a tone of amazement. "Since the information hasn''t leaked yet, it gives us a few precious days of head start. Oce the army from Mountmend, we shall immediately head for the capital".
Everyone nodded their head, showing their agreement.
"Now then, what should we do with him?" Cynthia nced at the ckthorn agent tied to the stake. Now that they have thwarted their n and knew all about it, the man served no value. As an enemy, there was only one fate waiting for him.
"I understand" Wyot nodded his head and was just about to send the man to meet his maker, Ate stopped them with a gesture of her hand.
"A moment"¡ seeing Ate stand in front of Wyot, Cynthia couldn''t help but ask "What''s wrong? Is there still anything you want to investigate from this man?".
The Valkyrie nodded her head "Earlier when I was searching through his brain, there was something that I came in contact with for a brief period of time. Although it was just for an instant, it made me curious about it. If Her Highness does not mind, I would like to have this man kept alive for a few more days while I try to investigate about it". n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
This was the first time, that Ate had asked something of her, ever since joining her side to reim the capital back. As such, Cynthia saw no reason to deny her and besides, if there was something strange about this man that could make someone like Ate intrigued, then it was a matter that needed to be investigated.
"Very well, if you want to investigate this man, you are free to do so"¡
"Thank you very much"
Chapter 826- Assassin in the Night (2)
Chapter 826- Assassin in the Night (2)
In the next few days, Ate carefully searched through the mind of the agent, hoping to get in contact with that strange energy she felt inside his body.
That''s right, the thing that made her frown her brows in consternation was a peculiar energy that she involuntarily came in contact with when trying to break the mind imprint a few days ago.
This strange energy, for some reason she was unable to get it out of her mind. The reason for that made even her surprised. Although it was only for a fraction of a second, but when she came in contact with this energy, the feeling she got was awfully simr to the energy her master disyed from time to time.
But how could that be? That energy was something special to her master and not something the likes of a person from ckthorn should be capable of evening in contact with. She reasoned; however, no matter how many times she said that to herself, the feeling she got from that energy was still fresh in her mind and refused to go away.
"If I can just reconfirm my suspicions, this thing would no longer weigh on my mind" Ate spoke, using her spirit magic to surf through the agent''s mind. Nevertheless, the past few days have proven that her efforts were useless and today was no different either.
There was not even a single trace of that strange energy inside that man, as if it was never there.
"Hmm, it''s strange. Could it be that I was wrong in searching him? The energy I sensed might havee from the mind imprint. If that is the case, there is no point in searching this man"
Realising that it was a wasted effort from the start, Ate turned around to leave. As for the agent, these past few days of being constantly subjected to her spirit magic had deteriorated his mind, making him no different than a vegetable.
If he was left here like this, he would die on his own. After leaving the cer, Ate appeared in front of the Main hall. At this moment, a senate was taking ce with all the nobles present in the city, in attendance.
A day ago, the army from Mountmend arrived shocking all of the people and nobles present. Led by Count Alfred, the army numbered more than 110,000 soldiers and was a sight to see as they marched through the city gates while carrying the g of Her Royal Highness.
For being the princess'' personal army, the number was quite impressive. However, the reason why all the nobles were so shocked was because the rag tag army of soldiers hastily recruited by the princess that they expected to see was not there.
Instead, an impressive army, no different than the king''s own, marched through the city gate. Decked out in impressive looking armours and riding on Mooseback, they looked regal and impressive.
It was not just their gears, but even the aura they gave off was powerful enough to give a heavy pressure to nonbatants.
"Woah, have you seen the army that arrived yesterday? The way they marched, it looked so impressive. I still have goosebumps from that day"¡
"Yeah, me too. Who knew that the princess had such an impressive army on her beck and call. With such an army, wouldn''t it be possible to capture the capital back".
The gasps of awe from the shocking event from yesterday, could still be heard in the castle halls today. Ate picked up the conversation between two maids as they brought food and drinks for the nobles.
When the door to the hall was pushed open, the sounds from the inside flooded out.
"Your Highness, my forces are nearing castledor and are ready on yourmand" One of the nobles kneeled in front of the princess and dered.
"Your Highness, my army is ready too. 20,000 strong, we are ready to serve your highness and reim the capital back"¡
"So is mine. We are currently stationed twenty kilometres north of here".
Inside, one by one the nobles lined up in front of Cynthia dering their featly and their eagerness to join the battle. After they saw the example of what happened to the nobles who refused to listen to her and the grand and impressive army that entered through the city gates yesterday, their opinion of her instantly changed.
Now they no longer thought that they were marching to the capital just to suffer a loss. Needless to say, not all nobles were going to a war out of their loyalty to the empire. In fact, many of them were only using this chance to make more profit out of it or were doing it because there was no other choice.
"I see that everything is going well. In that case, we will march as nned. I hope there is no one foolish enough to suggest otherwise" Cynthia nced at the nobles. However, this time there was no one to go against her.
"Good, Alfred you are in charge of making necessary preparations for the uing war. You may use these illegal resources that I have just listed in the parchment of paper to fund our war expenses".
Taking out a paper, she passed it onto Alfred who received it with both hands.
"I understand" Thetter gave the parchment a read and was wide eyed. "This!! With this amount, we can easily cover the expenses of the war, deck each soldier with good armour and weapons and still have more. Where did You Highness get this information from?"
Hearing his question Cynthia gave a smile that had several different meanings.
"Since you asked, let me tell you where I got this information from. Before defeating Alstin, I have been keeping an eye on his every movement and all the people he has been in contact with. Out of them, one person was particrly close to him and was by Alstin''s side on every asion. Later when I captured and investigated this person, they turned out to be an agent of the kingdom of ckthorn".
At those words, it was as if a bomb had gone off, all the people inside the hall looked at Cynthia, eyes wide in astonishment. They couldn''t believe what they just heard. One of the first prince''s close aid was a spy from ckthorn?
If the enemy actually got so close to their inner circle, then didn''t it mean that all of his highness'' ns and schemes were revealed to the enemy? What was even more astonishing was the fact that the princess was able to spy on his highness without him even realising it.
Most of the nobles showed an astonished expression at that news, except for a few who had a strange look stered on their face. Cynthia observed them from the corner of her eyes before continuing.
"That''s not all, what was truly astonishing was the fact that was revealed after my subordinates thoroughly investigated this agent. As it turns out, this spy did quite some research on all the nobles supporting Alstin and dug out all kinds of information on them. It appeared that he was using this information to ckmail some nobles to work for ckthorn from the shadows".
At this point, everybody understood what was going on. Where did all this money to fund their war expensese from and why Prince Alstin always seem to lose as if his every move was predicted by the enemy?
"Is that true Your Highness?" Alfred questioned, a serious look dawning on his face.
"Yeah, fortunately myrades were quickly able to identify and capture this person before he could do any significant damage to us. In any case, since these are all illegal resources acquired through dirty means and hadn''t been ounted for, feel free to use them to sustain our war expenses" Cynthia ordered off handedly.
"Yes, Your Highness" With those words, the deal was sealed. All those nobles who were associated with these illegal resources, could only bite their lips and stay silent as they saw their lifetime resources getting ceased.
They did not dare to try anything funny or even utter a word since they knew that they had been spared only because of this. Since the princess had investigated that agent, she must already know about their names and all the nobles who were involved in these transactions.
Nevertheless, she did not name them or even use it against them to snatch their fief and position. The nobles were not fools, they knew that the only reason why she didn''t do so was because she was giving them a chance.
It was either they take her side and fight the enemy along with her or be destroyed just like Baron Regor.
The discussion continued and the senate moved on to discussing the diplomatic rtions with Duke Redcrest who was one of the few Dukes still loyal to the crown.
Duke Montford and Duke Redcrest had good rtions and were working together to fend off the invading army of ckthorn. Now that Duke Montford was gone and Prince Alstin whom they supported was defeated by Cynthia, it remained uncertain as to what kind of reply they would get from the other Dutchy.
There were only a few days remaining before they started marching towards the capital. The messenger carrying the news was expected to arrive here soon. Just as they had expected the messenger arrived from the Dukedom of Redcrest carrying their message. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The messenger first bowed towards the princess before beginning his message.
"Your Highness and the esteemed nobles of the kingdom. I bring tidings from the noble Dukedom of Redcrest"
Chapter 827- Assassin In The Night (3)
Chapter 827- Assassin In The Night (3)
"The Duke extends his heartfelt admiration for Her Highness'' remarkable journey, witnessing her ascendancy from challenging circumstances to the triumphant ruler of Montford. He acknowledges the courage disyed by Her Highness and epts her as the rightful ruler of Montford"
"Furthermore, his grace is impressed by her willingness and determination to fight the kingdom''s adversaries head-on. As such, he epts the alliance. In light of the shared goals and challenges faced by our realms, he wholeheartedly deres his support for the proposed alliance".
GASP¡ after the messenger finished with his message, gasps of awe and shocks could be heard being drawn in from all around the senate. Honestly speaking many of them were surprised by the unperturbed attitude of Duke Redcrest.
Even Cynthia was slightly surprised. As a good friend of Duke Montford, they thought that the duke would be enraged if not unweing towards the new ruler of Castledor. However, far from it, instead of showing her any discourtesy, the duke instead sent her words of praise and extended his hands for the alliance.
This meant that the forces of the two duchies would now march together towards the capital further increasing their chances. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Your Highness" Alvara who standing beside Cynthia, looked at thetter. A touch of joy of joy could be seen in those shiny ck eyes of hers.
"Yeah, I was not wrong about him. Duke Redcrest still remembers the huge debt he owes to my father. A person like him would no doubt even put his life on the line to repay that debt" Cynthia muttered pleased by the answer of the Duke.
.
.
Morning fell and night arrived. After a whole day of hectic work and dealing with the nobles and senate, Cynthia was enjoying a cup of wine as she looked at the beautiful moons hanging in the sky from the open balcony.
She was wearing a light violet coloured negligee and left her hair untied. As the moonlight fell on her pearly skin, she appeared extremely mesmerising and beautiful.
As she crossed her arms while taking in the cold night''s wind to settle her tense mind when suddenly a voice rang out inside the room.
"It''s such a beautiful night to be moon gazing isn''t it? Do you mind if I join you".
Reacting to the voice, Cynthia hastily turned around and looked at the speaker with caution in her eyes. There inside the room, a shadow suddenly wiggled taking a hazy form before materialising into the figure of a man.
The man was lean, decked in ck armour and a mask, his appearance couldn''t be seen. However, from the sharp glint in his eyes that could be seen through the mask and the fact that he was able to enter the castle that was heavily guarded by the soldiers and even powerful adventurers, left no doubt about this person''s skill. The man was unquestioningly an Elite Powerhouse.
"So the kingdom of ckthorn couldn''t wait any longer to deal with me huh. So who sent you here? Is it your king?"
Cynthia remained calm as she questioned the brazen figure who entered her room. Needless to say, there was only one organisation that could send an assassin of this calibre after her.
"Haha" hearing her question, the manughed "You are overestimating your value too much, princess of an extinct kingdom. His Majesty is far too busy to pay attention to likes of you. I was sent here by Marshall Cavalier who heard about your recent sess and ordered me to bring you a message"
""He first congrattes you for defeating that usueless of a pawn Alstin and taking over Montford with your won effort and secondly, he has a proposal for you. He suggests that you surrender and bow before the red crown, just like what the other nobles and dukes did. That way, you will be able to prevent needless deaths and suffer a crushing defeat. This is thest grace, kthorn is willing to show you. You should take up this offer and stop this futile resistance".
In front of this in provocation, Cynthia remained the very embodiment of calm. She did not take even a second to think and replied with a smile.
"Please thank Marshall Cavalier for his encouragement and benevolence. However, regretfully I have to decline this offer. Thend was and will always be of Ellesmere''s. As such, I cannot back down from this war. Please tell the Marshall that I aming to reim the capital back".
She did not mask any words and directly said everything that was on her mind. Her words were tantamount to burning thest lifeboat the kingdom of ckthorn was willing to throw at her.
"Presumptuous" the assassin was immediately enraged by those words "Do you know who you are turning down? The Marshall was benevolent enough to give you another chance and spare your people from further misery yet you refuse his kindness"
How could Cynthia not know about the Marshall? After ckthorn invaded the kingdom of Ellesmere, the ranks of their army had now bemon knowledge to the people of this kingdom.
The rank of Marshall was the second highest rank in the army of ckthorn second only to the general. That said, in terms of influence and power any of the marshalls far outssed the dukes of the kingdom of Ellsemere.
Cynthia had no doubt that given the Marshall''s authority, he would really keep his word. That is if they surrendered; however, the very notion of it made Cynthia repulsed. She understood very well the implications of going to a war against a nation like the ckthorn who was far stronger than them.
She did not even need to imagine it as the proofid out there. With their capital upied and numerous territories razed, hundreds of thousands of people were disced from theirnds, living the life of refugees.
Numerous more died fighting against the forces of ckthorn and the remaining ones either surrendered or were destroyed. Going to war again meant that many more would die again. The army, the people who followed her¡ how many of them would survive until the end?
Even so, it was not enough to deter her. It was not like she was undermining the value of life, it''s just that she had far too much blood on her hand and stood on the corpses of numerousrades, friends and family to reach this point. There was no backing down for her.
"Hmph, I see still stubbornly holding onto ideals that cannote true. Truly the height of folly. Did you think that just because you raised some army, you could march towards the capital and hope of winning? Haha, forget about this small of a force, even if you have ten times that number of soldiers, you are still no match for ckthorns knight orders"
"It''s time you realise that your army is a joke to us. Even if you have killed our agents, it does not matter. Resistance at this point is futile, no matter what you do, you cannot reverse the fate of your kingdom"
The assassin stated with a condescending tone. It seemed that the enemy became aware that they had gotten rid of the spies they ced here.
"Even if that is the case, the victor hasn''t been decided yet. The one to have thestugh will be our side, you can say that to your marshall. And besides, doesn''t the fact that he bothered to send a high level assassin as a mere messenger to dissuade me proves that he is wary of us? In that case, we stand plenty chance of defeating you".
At that remark, the assassin''s already sharp eyes became even sharper as a killing glint shed in them for a second. Though it was quickly suppressed by thetter.
"The Marshall wary of you? Hmph, stop dreaming of impossible dreams. Anyway, it seems there is no way to make you back down. Very well then,e to the capital and maybe then you will realise your grave mistake.
"However, at that time even if you regret it, there will be no pardon onlyplete annihtion. This will serve as an example for all those still holding the heart of resistance. My mission was to bring this message to you. Now that I have received your answer, I don''t see any point in staying here"
Saying that, the figure was just about to meld into tiny ck particles when¡
"Where do you think you are going?" A voice as soft as a cloud, suddenly sounded out.
The assassin immediately raised his guard and turned around. There on the veranda, he noticed two women dressed in seemingly ordinary adventurer''s garb aligning against the railing.
''When did they appear there?'' Immediately, his sharp eyes went wide and he couldn''t help but question in head. He was almost certain that just until a second ago there was no one there and the princess of Ellesmere waspletely alone.
However, in that split second when he removed her eyes from her these two women appeared beside her.
Snort¡ It seemed that the reason why the princess was afraid of him was because she had backup. But so what? Not wanting to waste any more time here, he was just about to turn around when he realised that he was unable to move. His body was refusing to obey hismands.
What?!! Not only that, the assassin also realised that he was unable to activate his skills.
"Did you really think that you were able to enter all the way here based on yoiur skills? If so, then you are gravely mistaken. The princess allowed you toe here"
Chapter 828- General of the Second Army
Chapter 828- General of the Second Army
One of the women with exceptional grace and wearing spectacles on her eyes, spoke. She was none other than Ate. Beside her, the always gloomy and finicky Emma stood. Her fingers were at this moment extended as they pulled and tugged into the air. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
If one had special discerning eyes, one would be able to notice that Emma was not simply pulling and tugging the empty air but instead numerous thin threads the likes of which are impossible to see with naked eyes, extended from her fingertips and interwinded around the room.
The threads, covertly sealed off the body of the assassin thus locking him in his ce. That was not all, these threads were no ordinary threads, they channelled some kind of energy that prevented the target that got caught in it from using their skills.
The assassin although had decent skills, did not have the discerning eyes to recognise the threads binding him.
"Who are you?" he questioned. The fact that they were aware of his intrusion and were even able to lock him in his ce, meant that they were fairly high levelled or at least possessed powerful skills.
"You don''t need to know about that. Just know that exiting this ce won''t be as easy as entering. Besides, you seem to be fairly knowledgeable about the internal workings of ckthorn. It would be a good thing to keep you here" Ate did not mix any words and directly told the assassin his fate.
"Haha, you n to interrogate me?" Hearing Ate''s words the assassin startedughing loudly.
"It''s useless. Assassins like me are trained since birth, there is a special imprint in my brain that manages the information. Every piece of information and knowledge in my brain has been erased once the mission ispleted. You won''t find anything useful even if you interrogate me. So go ahead and do it¡ ahaha".
Ate and Cynthia narrowed their eyes. It seems that the way ckthorn did things was quite decisive and brutal. They did not even hesitate to nt such a vicious imprint in the brains of their fighters.
Looking at things from another way, it also showed how tricky and powerful of an opponent the kingdom of ckthorn was. Putting special imprints on one''s brain wasn''t easy. The fact that they could put this kind of imprint on every soldier and fighter they bred, meant that they possessed some kind of artefact that could do that or had the aid of someone who did that for them.
If it was thetter, things could be a little serious. Recognising that the man was telling the truth, Cynthia sighed and asked Ate to release him. Thetter looked somewhat hesitant; nevertheless, she followed the instruction and nced at Emma who immediately released her strings.
Now freed, the assassin smirked and was just about to exit with his skills when¡
"Before you leave, tell this your Marshall and General. In the uing war for the capital, I won''t show them any mercy" Cynthia dered, the aura of a ruler faintly emitted from her.
Hmph¡ the assassin snorted and quickly disappeared into faint ck particles.
"Was it wise to let him go, your highness?" Ate questioned. The man was a level 500 assassin, taking him out here would lessen the burden on their soldierster.
"There is no point in killing him. Based on what I have heard and seen about the kingdom of ckthorn in the past few weeks, I havee to understand their Modus Operandi quite clearly. if they dared to send that man here, it means that he is just a pawn whose life and death did not matter to them at all"
"Killing that assassin would serve no purpose. On the contrary, if I let him go, he would bring the news back to their army and our fearless attitude would deter them somewhat" Cynthia answered.
Sometimes just having a fearless attitude in front of a predicament, was enough to break theposure of your enemies. She wanted the kingdom of Balckthron who becamecent after their continuous wins to get enraged by her reply. That way, during the battle there would be some kind of opening or the other to exploit.
"If you say so"
Ate nodded. Since the person she needed to support said that, there was no reason for her to say anything else. That said, as someone who was tasked to see this mission to aplishment, she would stop at nothing to make this a wless work and earn praise from her master.
As such, she secretly ced a spirit mark of her own on the assassin without him realising anything. After some time, this spirit mark would start affecting him, cing thoughts and wills of her own that would make the assassin do her bidding. This way, she had paced a spy of her own on the side of the enemy.
"By the way, how goes the infiltration of Sir Theodore and Miss Maybell and the others who follow them"
Cynthia brought out two more sses from the cupboard and ced them in front of Ate and Emma. With the assassin gone, the three women who had be friends from the many trials they faced over the time, sat down and drank together.
"Hehe, Thedore and Maybell are the Guardians of Lace. Their power and abilities are without equal. The same goes for the kindred that follows them. Since they have taken the task, Your Highness just need to sit back and rx and enjoy the show" Ate answered with a smile.
Faintly, Cynthia could detect the tone of pride in her words. This was one of the rarest moments when the maid who was dressed as an adventurer right now, showed any sorts of emotions.
Usually, she would disy this kind of emotion when talking about her master, the dungeon or herrades. The other times, she would always stay astute and calm without showing any change in her behaviour.
Cynthia was already aware that the people who stuck with that demon were special as such, she stopped worrying about it and enjoyed the beautiful moonlit night.
.
.
Capital city, Ellesmere Royal Pce¡
At this moment inside the audience room, seated on top of the throne ced on a high dais, was a man. He was a wearing military uniform that was decorated with numerous symbols and stars.
He was tall, had short grey hair and his well developed face gave him a seasoned and knowledgeable aura. As hezed on the throne while looking down, he gave off a palpable aura that could even make people above level 500 shudder.
He was the general andmander in chief of the second army of his majesty, the king of ckthorn.
"It appears that our enemy has assembled quite an army to resist us. Didn''t you say that we will be able to conquer the north in around another month, Marshall?" As hezed on top of the thrown, he threw a casual question to the fat man standing at the base of the dais.
"The general need not worry, I stand by my word. We will conquer the north the only remaining bastion for the remnants of the old kingdom in about a month. I have sent one of my subordinates to give thatss who is on the rise recently in the north a message. If she is somewhat intelligent she would no doubt jump at this amnesty that I am willing to give them"
The man below spoke, a sneer hung on his lips. Simr to the person seated on top of the throne, he too was dressed in military clothes and was decorated with numerous stars and symbols.
However, if one looked carefully they would be able to see that the stars on his clothes and even his garb itself looked a little less impressive than the general. That said, the intimidating aura he gave off couldn''t be underestimated.
The man addressed as marshal by the general was none other than Marshall Cavalier whom the assassin spoke of to Cynthia. At this current moment, the two were having a discussion about the affairs of the kingdom.
"I hope it is the case. However, you shouldn''t underestimate these people Cavalier. They have doggedly held on for half a year even after our kingdom invaded them. In terms of persistence, the people of this kingdom could be said to be at the top" the general warned.
However, Cavalier took caution to the wind andughed "I think the general is overestimating them. It''s true that it took us longer than we estimated and we have yet to conquer the kingdom. However, how could a small third tier nation bepared to us?"
"The only reason they were able to hold on for this long is because they are timid and are turtling, just like that first prince of theirs. Even if it''s thatss in charge now, the result would still be the same no matter how big of an army she manages to raise".
Marshall Cavalier''s words wereced with thick confidence that bordered into blind faith. That said, it was not without any reason that Marshall Cavalier spoke those words after all, there really wasn''t anyparison between their two nations.
The strongest person that the royal family of Ellesmere had was the Knight Captain named Cyrus who was only around thete level 500. Whereas, their kingdom of ckthorn had plenty of such individuals.
What''s more, their king was at thete stages of level 600 and was preparing to rise to level 700.
Chapter 829- Battle for the Capital
Chapter 829- Battle for the Capital
Aside from that, there was also the hidden weapon of their kingdom, the individual that only their king and the top brass of their military were allowed to know about. If they made the strength of that individual public, they would have long been upgraded from their status of a third grade country.
Even the recently ranked second grade country, the kingdom of Ingolf won''t be their opponent.
The general seated on the throne with azy expression was about to say something when suddenly he sensed something and his countenance changed.
"It is good to be confident; however, one shouldn''t be concietful that they get the rug swept from under them. It looks like the subordinate you sent, returned back".
Just as he spoke those words, ck particles suddenly started forming in this resplendent audience hall before a figure materialised from it. It was the very same assassin that appeared before Cynthia. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Esteemed General, Esteemed Marshall" The assassin kneeled on the ground.
Marshall Cavalier ced his eyes on his subordinate andmented with a slightly displeased tone "What took you so long? You just had one task and that is to convince thatss to surrender"
"My apologies" the assassin apologised, his expression hidden by the mask.
"Nevermind that, so did that princess ept our offer? Of course she did didn''t she? She is not a fool, she should know what''s better for her people".
When Marshall Cavalier asked with a delighted expression, ready to hear a piece of good news, the assassin remained silent and after a while delivered the bad news.
"She rejected".
It was just two short words; however, those two short words immediately caused the foolishly grinning marshal to freeze in his ce. One second¡ two seconds¡ a couple of seconds passed by in a nerve wracking silence.
Just when it seemed like it would go on, a powerful energy diffused in the air and heavily pressured the assassin until he was kissing the floor.
"What did you say?" Marshall Cavalier''s normally smiling face was distorted into a hideous raging expression as a powerful killing aura came out of him.
"Cavalier, get a hold of yourself"
A calm voice interfered, sweeping away the energy and the tense atmosphere in the room. To be able to instantly blow away the energy of Marshall Cavalier who was in thete levels of level 500, one could imagine how powerful the general was.
The former immediately retracted his aura and put on his smiling face.
"It seems that your n failed, Cavalier" the general mocked. It was generally known to the military that Marshall Cavalier was the most violent man who always had a smiling face. However, that was just a fa?ade. Only the higher brass knew that this man was the most cruellest of them all and torturing and ying with his enemy was his hobby.
"So it would seem. However, I don''t understand why she rejected my offer. Any sane person in her position would choose to take in my offer. It doesn''t make sense¡ didn''t she kill her brother with her own hands because she didn''t want to fight us?"
"I wanted to deceive her leading her to believe that I would give her and her people amnesty as long as she surrened than attacking her army when she least expects us. Thus capturing this kingdom in one go. However, this bitch foiled my n" Marshall Cavalier grumbled, clenching his hands in frustration.
"Did she say why she didn''t want to ept my offer?".
The assassin shook his head "She did not. She only said that the victor isn''t decided yet. The one to get thestugh will be her and her people".
At those words, both the Marshall and the general seated on the throne narrowed their eyes. It seems that there was still someone foolish enough in this kingdom to think that they stood a chance against them.
It seemed that they had been far too easy and taken lightly by the other region of this kingdom. Be that may, this was also quite interesting.
"Order our men to get ready for war. Since she dered all that, she would surely march towards the capital before the other nobles who had thrown their towels with us, could send their force. Also, tell the knight orders toe back we shall show them the might of ckthorn"
The general sneered, he wanted to see how long the princess of this fallen country could stay conceited. The Marshall and the assassin bowed and hurriedly left the hall to carry out the orders.
.
.
Four dayster, outside the city of Castledor, in front of the vast ins that spanned for as far as the eye can see, an impressive and grand army could be seen slowly assembling. Like a ck carpet that covered the green, their number was enough to nket the entire area.
The army that was stationed outside the city was none other than the army of the princess of this kingdom. Decked in full armour and strong equipments, they gave off quite a visual impact to anyone watching.
At the front of this impressive army, neighs of Banemoose could be heard intermittently as lines of riders riding Banemoose could be seen. Compared to the infantry behind, these riders were equipped with even better gears.
Following beside them, the heavy infantry division followed. The huge shield that they carried had a unique shimmer about it, which told everyone that the material it was made from wasn''t ordinary.
A few with discernable eyes were able to tell that each of these shields was made from Whitesilver. To be able to equip not only the special division of her but the entire army with such gears, how impressive was that?
The expenses needed to do something like this, at the very least none of the nobles watching from the walls of the city could do that. Forget them, even Alstin and the Duke did not have that much resources to splurge like that on random infantry.
As they looked at the impressive line up of the princess''s own personal army, their faces couldn''t help but be green with envy. It was not just about the types of equipment she geared her army with but even the levels of footsoldiers much less the captains, were much higher than your usual standards.
Then there were also veterans, elites and powerhouses whose level was enough to stir waves in the kingdom, mixed in the army. What''s more, there was not just a few of them in her army in fact, there were quite a lot of them.
In these past few days, the nobles have witnessed the gathering of one powerful group of individuals after another in this ins. Looking at these awe inspiring armies they couldn''t help but burn with jealousy.
Why couldn''t they have such an impressive army? If they possessed such a lineup perhaps they could have fended off the forces of balckthron much earlier. At the same time, they couldn''t help but wonder where the princess got hold of such impressive individuals.
Little did they know that the awe inspiring army they were looking at while feeling jealousy from the pits of their stomach, were disced and injured soldiers that they sent towards the northwestern region of Mountmend because they didn''t want to spend any expenses on them.
After being fed amply, healed and treated with care and respect by Cynthia, they had once again regained their morals and were ready to battle for her to death. It was the same case with the veterans, elites and the powerhouses that the noble mentioned.
All of them were once either powerful soldiers or adventurers. After being rescued from the ws of the criminal organisation, they devoted their life to her cause.
At this moment, more than seventy per cent of the powerful guild in the tower town had sent their forces to join the princess in her war. As such, it could be said that the whole of the forces of Tower Town was concentrated here at this moment.
It was only natural for these fierce warriors who fought with their lives to defeat monsters every single day to be head and shoulders above the rest.
In the vast green ins in front of the city, an awe-inspiring army stood. Numbering easily above 130,000 they looked like a surging ck wave. However, they weren''t the only army in the ins.
Towards the right of Cynthia''s army, there was another army. Although not as impressive andrge, they were the army of the noblemen of this dukedom. Aside from them, there were a few more legions flying the g of their respective nobles upying one side of this ins.
The reason for them assembling here was for one goal and that was to march to the capital and fend off the invaders who were upying their kingdom.
STEP¡ STEP¡ on top of the city wall, sounds of footsteps rang out as an entourage of people slowly walked up the stairs and appeared before everyone. When the nobles and their attendants saw who it was, they tactfully chose to step back and open a path for her.
For them to show an attitude of submission and fear, needless to say, there was only one individual in this city who could evoke this kind of emotion from them.
Leading the group, was Cynthia who was at this moment dressed up in an article of gorgeous purple clothing with a fur jacket on top. Behind her followed her loyal attendants and Ate and her group.
Chapter 830- Battle For The Capital (2)
Chapter 830- Battle For The Capital (2)
There was also ke and his team who had a strong bond with her. The moment this strong group of men and women arrived, the atmosphere seemed to have changed as their aura diffused in the air creating heavy pressure for these weak noblemen.
This kind of aura was not released consciously but instead was formed from the remnant aura their bodies naturally released in the air. For these weak noblemen who were used to staying inside thefort of their mansion, the powerful and berserk aura released by Cynthia and her people was tantamount to a heavy mountain pressing on their bodies.
They could not breathe nor could they move from their ce. This kind of aura which one could only have through numerous life and death experiences was a deterrence of sorts on its own on low level people.
Naturally, these nobles were unable to handle them. The subordinates behind them hurriedly used their powers to offset some of the pressure; however, to their surprise they realised that even after they used their powers consistently they could not scatter most of the aura that was subconsciously realised by these people.
Immediately, their eyes became solemn and they realised that their levels were far higher than them.
"Hmm, it looks like everybody has arrived. The siege engines are ready too. In that case, we shall march and meet with the army of Duke Redcrst midway before heading towards the capital"
Standing at the borders of the wall and looking at the army standing in attention on the ins, ready to march at her signal, all kinds of emotions surged through her body. She had finally gotten to this point.
After this onest final battle which would decide the ultimate victor, she would have finallypleted the words she gave to herte father. Just as emotions were about to overwhelm her and her eyes glossed over with tears, she hurriedly took a deep breath and suppressed all of these emotions inside the deepest recess of her heart.
A steel like determination appeared on her face as she took a step forward and dered in a clear crisp voice.
"Soldiers of Ellesmere! Today, we stand on the precipice of destiny, staring into the abyss of a war brought upon us by the ckthorn invaders. They have ravaged ournds, stolen our loved ones, and sown the seeds of sorrow in every heart. But let me tell you, this suffering, this pain, and this agony will not be in vain. Today, we rise not just as an army but as the wrath of a people who have endured enough"
Although her voice was not loud, it mysteriously resounded all across the ins, pulling the attention of every man and soldier. Look around you, my fellow soldiers. The scars of this war are etched in every corner of our homnd.
"The rivers run not just with water but with the tears of our fallen brethren. Their memories, their sacrifice, call out to us. We cannot and will not let these invaders defile the very soil we call home. The Kingdom of ckthorn has underestimated us. They thought they could break us, tear us apart, but little do they know that with every hardship, we grow stronger".
With each words, Cynthia instantly grasped the hearts of these people. Their fires of hatred, revenge and excitement all agglomerated together and gave a direction for release.
"For every brother, every sister, every child we''ve lost, we shall make them pay tenfold. The winds of vengeance blow in our favour. Today, we carry the weight of our people''s hopes and dreams on our shoulders. The capital, our beloved Ellesmere, awaits. It has witnessed the tyranny of foreign boots on its sacred ground for far too long. Today, we dere that our kingdom is not a prize for the invaders. Ellesmere was ours and always will be".
Like a volcano raging, every infantry and soldier felt their blood boiling at the injustice that was done to them. Cynthia''s words simply materialised those deep emotions within their hearts and helped them forge them into a de that was pointed towards the ckthorn.
"Let our battle cry resonate through the hills, let the heavens themselves bear witness to our resolve! With every swing of our sword, every step that we take, let us cull down the number of enemies and show them the might of the people of the kingdom of Ellsemere"
"Soldiers, my brothers and sister in arms, let me hear you roar. Let this be the day we carve our names into the annals of history. Let our enemies tremble at the sound of our unity. For Ellesmere, for our fallen, for our future¡ª March"¡
The ins was silent for a couple of seconds when it was swept by a flood like fervour.
"Yeeeaaahhh!!" Every infantry and troop raised their weapons in the sky and gave a blood curdling warcry. Right now, Cynthai words raised their morals so high that the entire domain was swept off by their energy.
Even the ordinary citizens felt their hearts thumping in excitement and the notion of going to war to achieve great deeds shed over their minds. Though their delusion didn''tst long, and they quickly sobered up once reality struck them and their timid nature took hold of them once again.
Over at the ins, led by several captains the army started marching. Cynthia and her group also didn''t stay for long on top of the walls and started marching with the army. The other nobles also did the same and travelled over with their own army.
As the citizens of Castledor saw the slowly departing image of the grand army, they couldn''t help but sigh with various emotions. Victory or defeat everything would be decided after this battle.
Whether their kingdom would survive or get usurped by the invaders was now all up to these fierce and brave soldiers. They could only pray in their hearts for the victory of her highness and their kingdom.
The distance from Castledor to the capital was although quiterge, it did not have anyplex terrain like the Norther Ouw Forest. As such, the army did not have to slow down their march because of the monsters and just had to travel through the road.
When they got tired of marching, they camped on the sidewalks and picked up speed after a timely rest. And so just like that army continued to march straight through the road. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
On the fourth day, the princess'' army finally met with the army of Duke Redcrest. The symbol of his g was a red star marked on a cloth of gold and though his army paled inparison to Cynthia''s, they made up for that with their numbers.
The army that the Duke brought, was more than double the size of the princess''s own army. That is if one only looked at the numbers, it surely did appear very impressive. However, they severelycked strong individuals.
There were only a few soldiers who were above level 300 much less people above level 400. In the uing war, the army that Duke Redcrest brought would only be useful for filling spots.
Duek Redcrest must have also realised the power of the princess'' army as his eyes widened in shock when he felt the fierce aura that any of the individuals in her army gave off.
''No wonder she was able to defeat Montford'' The realisation struck him and he finally understood how Cynthia was able to defeat Montford and take over Castledor. With such powerful individuals on her side, it would not be an exaggeration to say that she would be able topletely sweep off Castledor.
Heck, forget about Casteldor, with that kind of army she would be able topletely take over the northern region without any difficulty.
"I wonder how she managed to convince all those powerhouses to work for her"
As a ruler of a region himself, he knew how rare finding those kinds of individuals was. Not only were they extremely powerful, but due to their strength more often than not they possessed a conceited and prideful attitude that looked down on everyone else around them.
To get these lofty people to bend their heads and follow her¡ how could the duke not be surprised?
"Your Highness" sitting on his horseback, Duke Redcrest performed a perfunctory bow as he nced at the princess who was currently riding on a fierce looking Banemoose anding towards his ce.
"Your Grace, how are you?" Cynthia also performed a perfunctory bow. In any case, this man was the duke of a region. In terms of status, he was even higher than her who was only the princess of the kingdom.
That being said, Cynthia''s bow was only ceremonious and held no sincerity. If it was the previous her before she was pushed into a corner, her actions might have been earnest.
However, going through a lot in this short period of time had forged her character. She had shed the immaturity and gulliness that her previous self had and became more level headed. Right now, she was the ruler of Montford and the only candidate for the throne.
In regard to status, she even exceeded the duke in front of her. Duke Redcrest must have also felt the changes in her, though he did not mind and simply nodded.
"As you can see for yourself, your highness. Ever since the forces of ckthorn invaded us, there has never been a peaceful day in our lives. The constant attacks and bad news have pushed all of us to the edge" he answered in a self-depreciating smile.
Chapter 831- Battle For The Capital (3)
Chapter 831- Battle For The Capital (3)
They had been on a losing end since the start of the war. The only reason he and Duke Montford were able tost this long was because the enemy had been unserious in their previous attempts.
That''s how they were barely able to stand their ground against the enemy this long. And even then, they had to sacrifice a hell of a lot just to maintain the standstill. A result like that was nothing to be proud of.
"I see, don''t worry. Everything will be solved once we defeat the forces of ckthorn and take the capital back". n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Duke Redcrest who had been drooping his head from shame, suddenly raised it at that deration from Cytnhia. She did not say ''if they were defeated'' but ''once they were defeated''.
Duek Redcrest could not sense any hesitation or uncertainty in those words of hers. Every word that she spoke, carried absolute confidence.
Looking at her overflowing with boldness and positivity, he couldn''t help but wonder where she was getting her confidence from. Indeed the army that she brought with her, was impressive andpared to his own, they were at a higher level.
Duke Redcrest was not devaluing his army or the ones brought by the other nobles. In fact, that was his honest opinion. What was abnormal was the strength of the army that Cynthai raised.
Typically, the standards of the soldiers were around the level that he brought with him. Veterans and Elites were far and few between. In no case was it like the army of the princess where he could see many veterans, elites and powerhouses to the point where he couldn''t even count all of them.
In fact, he felt like the number of strong individuals in her army would even match up to the whole of the kingdom''s guild alone. However, the enemy that they were fighting was no ordinary opponent either.
To be able to conquer all the other regions of Ellesmere with an unstoppable momentum, the enemy was sure to possess forces equal to or more power than Her Highness. No matter how he thought, he believed that defeating ckthorn at this point would be an uphill battle and they would need numerous miracles to work on their side just to stand a chance.
It was for this reason that Cynthia''s words and confidence confused him. Thetter could also see the doubt in his eyes; nevertheless, she did not exin and simply kept her mouth shut on this matter.
After Cynthia and Duke Redcrest finished discussing a few important matters, their two armies started marching again. The sight of such a grand andrge army naturally drew attention from everyone and given the enemy''swork and modus operandi, everyone in the army believed that they would be attacked soon or at least some kind of trap would beid for them.
However, to their surprise, the journey to the capital was an uneventful one with nothing of particr sort happening.
.
.
And so after ten days of march, the army of Ellesmere stood before the gates of their capital and stared at their enemy. At the forefront, stood Cynthia as she gazed at her homece. Scorched ck and devastated, the ce looked nothing alike from her memories.
Whether it be buildings, walls, streets or anything, it was demolished to the point of being unrecognisable. The destion filled capital was also a mark of disy of how fiercely the forces of the kingdom had fought.
Although they were ultimately defeated, signs of their fierce struggle could still be seen everywhere in the city. Cynthia''s eyes glossed over as memories of this beautiful metropolis before its fall, flooded into her mind.
"Princess are you alright?" the guard captain Alvara came over and asked.
"Yeah, nothing can shake me at this point" Taking a deep breath, she spoke. Then she turned towards her friend and asked "How about you?".
Just like how this ce held many memories for her, Alvara who was born in the capital simrly held many memories, both good and bad. "Yeah, I was just reminded of my brother a little. I wonder if he would be proud of me if he saw that I survived and came back to take the capital back from the enemies".
As the Knight captain of the royal family, her brother Cyrus stayed behind in the capital and fended off the enemy till hisst breath. She could still remember the figure of his broad back as he led a group of knights to protect the citizens of the capital.
That reliable back of his felt like he would be able to shoulder even if the sky copsed. While all the nobles ran taking off their powerful subordinates with them, Cyrus was the only one who protected the weak citizens while covering their retreat.
In thest hours, he even sent her and the princess away with his subordinates guarding while he remained behind. His loyalty to the kingdom was unquestioned. If there was anyone who deserved to be called the captain of the knights it was perhaps only her brother.
He viewed his duty so seriously that even thest words that he spoke to her before sending her away were not some filial love but instead responsibilities for his duty and the love he had for this kingdom.
Of course, Alvara knew that it was not because her brother did not love her on the contrary it was because he loved her that he couldn''t see the ce she was born in to be taken over by the foreign invaders.
And so, after experiencing numerous events along the way, she was finally back here today to take the capital back from the enemy. Alvara wondered if her brother would be proud of her.
While the two people in the front were busy reminiscing about the old times, across from them, figures appeared on top of the wall one after another. Wearing dark grey gears of exceptional quality, marked with the insignia of a blood red sword, they were elite fighters of the kingdom of ckthorn.
"Tainted Knights" Cynthia and the others narrowed their eyes immediately recognising the enemy''s identity. After fighting them for so long, they were aware of the forces of the kingdom of Balckthron.
d in dark grey armour and wielding corrupted des, they strike fear in their opponents just by their mere presence. The tainted Knight Unit was one of the core and elite forces of the kingdom of ckthorn.
There were also other units like the Hellfire Artillery Corps¡ª corps that was made of all mages who specialise in devastatingrge area attack magic. Their enchanted staffs unleash torrents of powerful magic like hellfire on enemies, cities and fortified positions alike.
Master of siege warfare, they reduce enemy defences to rubble, paving the way for the ckthorn ground forces.
And then there was also the Enved Legion¡ª Legionprising of those captured and subjugated in conquered territories. The Enved Legion is a grim testament to ckthorn''s conquest.
Forced into service under the threat of brutal punishment, these reluctant soldiers fight on the front lines. Whilecking in morale, they are numerous, and the kingdom uses them as expendable pawns to wear down enemy forces.
Neverhtless, the true elite force of the kingdom ckthorn was still their Tainted Knight legion without any doubt.
All the nobles on Cynthia''s side had grim faces as they saw dark grey figures slowly rising on the opposite side. As the two sides red at each other in a weird stalemate, there was finally some movement from the opposite side.
A deep and loud sound resounded across the entire domain and in grand and impressive fashion, a couple of figures slowly walked out and stood on top of the wall.
Leading the group, was a middle aged man with a fairly handsome face. His sharp expression, chiselled face and slight creases on the forehead gave everyone the feeling that he was a veteran of the war.
Decked in impressive looking military garb with numerous des sewn to his clothes, the man was none other than the highest authority present in the capital at this moment. The general and themander in chief of the forces of ckthorn.
When he came out, immediately numerous eyes was drawn towards him. Some had utmost respect for him while some held fear and reverence and some hatred. Especially the gazes from Cytnhia''s side, all held indescribable emotions of hatred and animosity towards him.
With regards to being subjected to all kinds of res, there was not even the slightest bit of change in the expression of the general. In fact, as he stood there ncing at the opposing army, it was as if he was soaking in all that malevolent energy.
Behind him stood a man with a pot round belly and a short figure. He was none other than Marshall Cavalier, the man directly responsible for the fall of their kingdom.
Although the general is the overallmander in chief of the forces of Balckthorn, unless absolutely necessary he does not step into the field. It is Marshall Cavalier who handles the battles and is always present in the field.
When the nobles on Cynthia''s side saw the pot bellied man, their resentment and enmity increased up a notch.
"Haha" Being used to these kinds of stares, Marshall Cavalier simplyughed in the face of it. His eyes faced the distant Cynthia and the other nobles as he grinned.
An eerie silence descended onto the battlefield and the air was thick with the scent of gunpowder.
Chapter 832- Battle For The Capital (4)
Chapter 832- Battle For The Capital (4)
All it needed was a slight spark and the battle would immediately erupt. With the leaders of both sides now facing each other, the tension was so heavy that it was palpable.
GULP¡ it was unknown where the sound came from but it was most likely from the side of the nobles. It appeared that these soldiers who have been drafted into the army by the nobles, were unable to take the pressure and thus started cowering a little.
Cynthia could also see the morale copsing on the soldiers of the other armies. The forces of ckthorn had that kind of deterrence. However, Just as she was about to say something to raise their morals up, her eyes were once again drawn towards the top of the wall.
There she could see that the enemy forces were up to something.
On top of the wall, while still keeping his eyes on opposing forces, the general extended his hand and ordered in a low voice.
"Raise it"¡
"Yes" the soldiers nodded and started bing busy.
Soon, amotion erupted on the highest bastion of the wall and in front of countless numbers of eyes, a g was hoisted up on the pole. The g was big and thanks to being hoisted on the highest part of the wall, the g could be seen from extremely far away distances.
WAVE¡ as the g waved with the breeze and appeared in front of everyone''s sight, immediately numerous faces became ugly. Brows knitted and body trembling with anger, it was obvious one side was enraged.
"Hehe" Marshall Cavalier gave a gloating smile. He knew that the enemy would be making that kind of expression after all, the g that was hoisted so boldly and assertively on the walls of the capital of the kingdom of Ellsemere, did not belong to the kingdom.
Instead, the g marked by a crimson sword on a field of gold represented the Kingdom of ckthorn. To hoist the g of a foreign nation on their soil, what''s more, on their capital no less, was the greatest form of disrespect for the people and for that kingdom.
It could no longer be seen as just a provocative gesture and was tantamount to a direct challenge to their kingdom''s autonomy. From Balckthron''s side, it was an indication to start the battle and let everyone know the might of their kingdom.
"Your Highness, please give themand" Mounted on his horse, Duke Redrest''s eyes zed with rage as he saw that disrespectful gesture. He immediately pulled his horse and asked for permission to engage in war. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"No" Nevertheless, the answer he got was a clear no. Cynthia nced at the distant g with cold and callous eyes, her body was also slightly trembling from all the pent up rage she felt.
Yet she did not lose her reasoning. She understood very well that the enemy was trying to lure them in. Once inside, who knows what kind of traps they had set up for them?
At this point, victory and defeat rested solely on this battle. One mistake and everything she had been nning for to this day and all her efforts would go down the drain. Which is why, she needed to decide on their action after careful consideration.
Cynthia turned towards Ate who was riding on another Banemoose beside her and asked¡ª
"Is it really going to y out just like we nned?" her voice carried concern.
"Your Highness does not need to worry. Even though the forces of ckthorn are strong, the ones who are going to win at the end will still be us. You just need tomand the army, things will y out just like we nned" Ate reassured with a mysterious smile on her face.
Not far away from them, listening to their conversation was Duke Redcrest. He frowned when he heard the woman words. Even with their impressive lineup, there was no guarantee that they could win.
Where was this woman getting her confidence to say all that? As he sized up the woman next to Cynthia, he realised that whether it be in terms of beauty or demeanour, the former did not lose out to thetter.
In fact, she possessed her own charms that made her more beautiful in her own way. Who was this woman and why did he not have any information realted to her?
He quickly called out one of his subordinates who was responsible for keeping all the intel and asked him about the background of the woman. When he received no answer, he became even more stunned.
At the forefront of the army, Cynthia raised her hands and finally gave themand.
"Attack"...
Immediately, the soldiers riding on Banemoose charged forward, followed by the infantry and the heavy armour unit. There was no strategy involved for the first battle, and was a full frontal siege.
After giving themand to the army, Cynthia ced her attention on top of the wall where the General and Marshall Cavalier stood. If she were to believe Ate''s words, the next action that the enemy would take¡
On top of the walls, when Cavalier saw the princess'' army madly rushing towards the wall without any strategy, he sneered.
"Fools, you are just running towards your death. Let me show you the might of ckthorn and how stupid it was for you to underestimate us. Hellfire Artillery Unit get ready to fire once the enemy enters your range".
At this moment, the linup of Tainted Knights slowly stepped aside, giving way for thousands of figures wearing bright crimson robes, to step forward.
As they appeared, the mana in the entire domain started raging and boiling. Evidently, the phenomenon was stirred by thebined presence of these thousands of figures.
To be able to stir the mana around them with just their presence, only a mage could casue this kind ofmotion. What''s more, not just any ordinary mage could do that, but a powerful mage who had surpassed level 400.
"Hehe" Marshall Cavalierughed feeling their powerful aura congregate in the surrounding. His eyes looked at the onrushing army as a twisted pleasure surfaced on them.
The thousands of powerful mages who specialise in destructive magic, was their elite Hellfire Atrillery Unit and also one of their ace in the hole. With them on their side, no matter howrge of an army the kingdom raised, their numbers would mean nothing and be reduced to ashes in the face of their overwhelming magic.
Whoosh¡ the thousands of mages raised their ckish grey staff and started conjuring their magic, causing the very mana in the surroundings to vaguely congregate towards them.
With so many powerful mages casting their magic together, one could imagine the kind of effect it had on the surroundings. Even from the faraway distance that they were the nobles of the kingdom could feel the disturbance in the mana.
Needless to say, the movements made by their opponent didn''t go unnoticed by them. However, by the time they realised what was going and saw that absurd number of mages, it was already toote.
Their army had already entered the range of these mages. Despair filled the faces of these nobles as they thought that were going to incur devastating losses even before they reached the walls of the capital.
The enemy turned out to be far more powerful than they had imagined. It was not like the nobles were unaware of the elite Hellfire Artillery Unit that the kingdom of ckthorn possessed.
The powerful magic that had razed the capital and all its surrounding regions until it was scorched ck, was the work of the Hellfire Artillery Unit. They still remembered the intel they received on the fall of the capital and the other regions.
At that time they thought that the intel was exaggerated. After all, how could one kingdom possess so many mages not to mention that many high level ones.
They were further led to believe the information was nonsense since in all the sessive scuffles with the forces of ckthorn, only a small number of mages that one could count on their hands, showed up on the battlefield.
At that time, they even thought that the other nobles were cowards and timid to surrender to the enemy so soon. However, given from the looks of things now, it seemed that the intel they recived way back was true.
No, it was not entirely correct either as the number of mages that they saw on top of the walls today, clearly far surpassed the numbers that was written on the intel.
Clearly, the kingdom of ckthorn had hidden their strength even on the day when they captured the capital. Today they finally showed some of their powerful cards and where their unwavering arrogance came from.
Hellfire Artillery Unit- containing thousands of elite mages¡ this was just one of the forces of ckthorn, who knows how many more cards they had up their sleeve. Even Cynthia was somewhat surprised as she saw the grand lineup of mages on top of the wall.
Though, unlike the other nobles beside her, she was clearly aware that the enemy possessed such a powerful unit. That being said, seeing them with her own eyes and feeling their powerful magic take shape, it was still a surprising sight for her.
For a single kingdom to possess so many mages and that too in just one unit, no wonder the Kingdom of Balckthorn was able to sweep through the armies of their kingdom and establish their might.
Chapter 833- Battle For The Capital (5)
Chapter 833- Battle For The Capital (5)
It turned out that the Kingdom of ckthorn were this powerful. Even in their most glorious days, the Kingdom of Ellesmere never had this kind of impressive lineup of forces. That being said¡
"You are underestimating us severely if you think just your Hellfire Artillery Unit will be able to stop us" Cynthia Spoke to herself.
On top of the walls, all kinds of intermediate tier destructive magic took shape. Most of the magic was of the attribute of mes with some lightning, earth and gale attributes mixed in. All of these magic were AOE and filled with destructive power.
The threatening ripples that they gave off could be felt from far and wide. Naturally, the charging soldiers could also feel it. Anxiety and panic rose in the hearts of many soldiers as they looked towards their backlines in concern.
Will it really work? Many of them had the same thought when they were briefed about the strategy a few hours ago. However, when it really came down it, they couldn''t help but question it.
Needless to say, the ones to falter at this point, were the soldiers from the noble''s army. The military from Cynthia''s side had no such doubts in their minds as they continued to charge towards the wall with a fierce momentum.
Finally, as the soldiers entered their range, the mages on top of the walls finally let loose their magic.
Swoosh¡ Swoosh¡ Swoosh¡ Like arrows being shot from the bow, the magic streaked through the sky and rained down on the onrushing army.
BOOM¡ BOOM¡ BOOM¡rge explosions appeared everywhere, towering pirs of rock fell down like meteors, Lightning wreaked havoc and tornadoes generated wild winds. In that very instant, thend was turned upside down by the powerfulrge area magic of the mages.
Just like the name of their unit, the battlefield was instantly turned into a Hellfire.
"Hahaha" Standing on top of the wall and looking down at the chatic battlefield, Marshall Cavalier issued a loudugh. Hisugh was so unrestrained that, even the fats on his necks jiggled from all those movements.
"Look at them¡dying like ants. Haha, I wonder how many of them will survive after that. Thatss dares to disrespect our kingdom and reject my good intentions. Let''s see what kind of face she will make once she sees her being annihted right before the war even begins"
From his point of view, now that the Hellfire Artillery unit had started their bombardment, therge army that the princess raised would soon be turned into nothing. He wanted to see how long that princess could keep her arrogance.
He was just wondering how he would torture and y with her once this whole farce was over when suddenly his face froze and his expression hardened. His powerful senses quickly picked out numerous lifeforce still fighting resolutely under the bombardment of the magic.
Finally, after all the magic from the Hellfire Artillery Unit finished raining, the dust settled down and one could clearly see the devastation that was brought for by that powerful magic.
Large craters dotted the ground everywhere you looked, scars ran through the ground like enormous gullies, and sparks of lightning scorched the ground ck. Looking at the condition of the battlefield, it didn''t look like anyone could survive after being subjected to that.
However, to everyone''s surprise, the figures of the soldiers rushed past the dust and granules as they still charged towards the wall, their momentum unabated.
"What was going on? How could they survive the bombardment from the Hellfire Artillery unit?" Marshall Cavalier spoke out loud unable to believe the scene.
The magic from just now should have wiped them out. However, looking at things, it didn''t look like even one of them died from that hellish magic.
How was that possible?
Up on the bastion, the general too narrowed his eyes as he saw the scene. His eyes looked uneasy as he stared at the distant calm and collected princess.
"It doesn''t matter how they survived, it might just be a stroke of luck. Continue with the bombardment, let''s see how long they can survive"
Seeing the army inching closer, Marshall Cavalier gave his nextmand. However, unlike the first time, the mages did not immediately start conjuring their magic.
"What''s wrong? I said attack?" He repeated. Nheless, the mages did notply.
"Your lordship,rge area magic magic takes a lot of toll on our body. It is impossible to fire them continuously, we need a few minutes of break to restore some of our mana and mental energy" One of the mages, who was appointed themander of the unit, replied.
Hearing the other party''s words, Marshall Cavalier grits his teeth in an ugly fashion. He had forgotten about that fact. Usually, when he used the elite unit, he made them switch between those who conjuredrge Aoe magic and those who cast single target magic.
That way, the Hellfire Artillery Unit can fire nonstop without tiring down like how they are right now. However, due to the fact that he wanted to teach thatss a lesson, he ordered all the mages to cast Large Aoe magic causing arge gap to appear in their lineup.
"Dammit, fine then. Continue firing once your mana recovers" Saying that, he ced his attention back on the battlefield. The army of the opposing force was increasingly getting closer.
He snorted "Don''t think that Hellfire artillery unit is the only unit we have. Since our mages need time, there is plenty of way to achieve that. I won''t let any of you get close to the walls".
Marshall Cavalier raised his hands towards the knights maintaining the gates andmanded "Open the gate, bring out the Enved legion". n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
On his orders, the group of knights hurriedly operated the winch and lowered the gate. Once the heavy metal gate was fully opened, arge number of figures rushed out from it.
nging noise of chains continuously rang out from them as they walked. One could see that, all the figures that came out of the gate, were tightly bound by metal cors and chains like ves.
Attired in worn and tattered clothes, they presented a stark difference from the gleaming and well maintained armours of the tainted knight and hellfire artillery unit. The difference in their appearance also marked the difference in their status.
After all, unlike the other units which were nurtured and trained by ckthorn using tons of their resources, the Enved legionprised of war ves and those subjugated in the conquered territories.
The kingdom did not spend any resources to acquire them and as far as they were concerned, they were just expendables. Meat shields that the kcthorn can just use and discard after their usefulness was over.
When the Enved Legion emerged out of the gates, the movement naturally didn''t go unnoticed by Cynthia and the others. When they saw the numerous figurese out of the gate in tattered clothes and chains, immediately their expression became ugly and they burned with fury.
The reason being¡ all of the people who were used as ves, were either former veteran soldiers of their kingdom, reputed nobles or adventurers. The sight of them obeying the orders of the enemy while tightly bound by chains was a hard sight to digest.
Naturally, they felt anger and resentment towards ckthorn who were subjugating their people to such cruel treatment.
These former veteran soldiers, nobles and adventurers, were not ordinary people, they would rather die than submit to the enemy. For them to behave like that, one could see from their faces that was etched with a mix of despair and exhaustion that the kingdom of ckthorn had subjected them to cruel torture to break their spirits.
Their uniforms, once a mark of their pride, were now threadbare and stained, evidence of the abuse and cruelty that they had endured.
As the Enved legionprising of tens of thousands of war ves emerged out of the gate and stood before the army of the kingdom, an unnatural atmosphere descended onto the battlefield.
Looks of hesitation appeared on the faces of the onrushing army and their momentum even seemed to falter as they saw the figures that were standing against them.
The people of their own kingdom stood opposing them, how could it not affect their morals?
"Hehehe¡ Enved Legion attack" Marshall Cavalier gave a loudugh seeing the wavering morals of the opposing army. His n of pitting people with their own side, seemed to have worked.
At his signal, the bodies of the enved people of Ellesmere trembled intensely. Their bodies moved without their control and shed against the onrushing army.
When the bost sides collided, the momentum of thetter instantly came to a stop. des shed against des, and skills against skills. Even though the Ensalved Legion of ckthorn were only decked out in broken and damaged equipments, these people were still once the veteran soldiers of this kingdom.
Thus even though their purpose was being used as mere meat shields, they were no ordinary meat shields but human shields with high levels and damage soaking potential. Therefore, it was no surprise that they were able to stall the princess'' army even while being at a severe numerical disadvantage.
At the backlines when Cynthia saw this scene, she immediately issued an order. "My Soldiers, do not falter. This is another of the enemy''s dirty tricks, they want to y with your mind. Do not be deceived, the ones facing you are no longer the citizens of the kingdom, but enemies that you must cull down"
Chapter 834- Battle For The Capital (6)
Chapter 834- Battle For The Capital (6)
"Don''t you feel rage, doesn''t your blood boil in anger when you see them in such a miserable state? If you want to rescue them, if you want to redeem them from their current plight, then you must wield your weapon. That would be the greatest salvation and honour for them, to die in your hands. That way, they would depart as a fellow soldier of this soil".
Her words,den with a sense of duty and a call to honour, were like a surge of energy injected into a machine that was running low on power.
The effect was palpable. The soldiers, initially struck by the disheartening sight of the Enved Legion, found renewed strength and purpose. It was as if Cynthia''s words had reforged their determination, turning the initial shock into righteous anger.
The soldiers, momentarily shaken, now stood tall, their eyes reflecting not only the fire of battle but also amitment to liberate those who had been unjustly shackled. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
What''s there to be hesitant about, weren''t they already briefed about something like this happening? Cynthia''s words had not only reinvigorated their morale but had also transformed their perception of the situation.
The Enved Legion might be powerful; however, one could see the reflection of the toll of envement on their bodies. Exhaustion, resignation, and, in some cases, the haunted look of those who had experienced unimaginable suffering.
It was one thing if they were in full strength but in a condition where they were physically exhausted and severely outnumbered, there was no way, they would be able to hold out against the elite Army that Cynthai raised from the tower town and mountmend.
One after another, they fell to the des of their fellow countrymen. The scene might look very cruel; however, there was no other choice. Cynthia''s face remained impassive as she saw the blood and bodies of the former soldiers of her kingdom slowly stain the ground red.
If the enemy thought that just this would be enough to stop them, then they were severely mistaken. The enemy''s ploy to demoralize them had backfired; instead, it became a catalyst for a surge of unified determination.
On top of the wall, Marshall Cavalier saw the scene with a solemn expression on his face. He thought that the princess''s army would be more demoralised after seeing the former soldiers of their kingdom like that. However, who knew that they would quickly shed away their hesitation? Thatss had once again foiled his n.
"Hmph, useless piece of trash, they can''t even handle some so simple" he clicked his tongue. His eyes looked over at the Hellfire Artillery Unit who had recovered their mana and a gloating smile once again appeared on his face.
"Be that may, I never thought that I could just stop your army with just the enved legion. As useless as they might be, they have at leastpleted their job as human shields. Now, let me see if you can survive this"
Saying that, he extended his hands and swiped it down. Immediately, the thousands of mages in the walls, pulled their staffs out as they started casting. Powerful waves of mana emitted out of them as their magic slowly took shape.
Mighty intermediate tier AOE magic dropped on the battlefield like rain once again, causing extreme devastation and changing the topography of thend.
''This time for sure the princess''s army won''t survive'' Just as this thought arrived on the Marshall, he was once again shocked to see the army standing on the ground perfectly fine with not even a single injury much less any casualty.
What was going on? If the first time he attributed them surviving due to miraculous luck, then what about this time? Over on the bastion, the general slowly narrowed his eyes as a knowing glint shed over them.
"Interesting, seems like the princess does have the foundation to be so arrogant. Good, this will be an interesting war".
As he spoke, his eyes looked at the woman beside the princess. Over at the base of the wall, the kingdom''s army finally pushed the enved legion back and managed to reach the gates.
"Hmph, I don''t know what kind of trick you using, but don''t think that our kingdom of ckthorn only has the Hellfire Artillery Unit. Tainted Knights, get in position. The enemy has reached the wall, don''t let any of them breach through the gate"
On hismands, knights wearing dark grey armours that released peculiar energy, stepped forward. At this moment, they formed three wings, each wingprised more than twenty five thousand knights.
As they received the order, they lifted their shields and charged towards the onrushing army thus stopping their momentum. Although their number was lower than thebined army of the princess, Duke Redcrest and several of the nobles, one must see the individual level of these Tainted Knights and the quality of the gears they were wearing.
Each of these tainted knights, even the lowest ranking squires were all above level 350, much less needs to be said above those high ranking knight captain and knightmanders who were all above 400.
The Tainted Knights Unit was one of the elite forces of ckthorn and their strengths and level represented the investment the kingdom had put into raising them. Needless to say, there was noparison between them and the Enved Legion.
As if meeting a steel board, the elerating momentum of the kingdom''s army finally came to a stop when these elite knights, stepped on the battlefield.
"Tainted Knights, you are the elite units of the Second Army under His Majesty, Lord dion. Show the opposing army the fierceness of ckthorn and make them regret ever challenging us"
On Marshall Cavalier''s assertive and arrogance filled words, the tainted knights gave a loud roar. Theroi weapons shone with a greyish ck glint as they swung them towards the kingdom army. Immediately, numerous casualties appeared on the princess''s side.
"Your Highness, the Tainted Knights have finally stepped in. Currently, our frontlines are suffering great casualties"
Over at the backlines where Cynthia was, Ate promptly informed. Her eyes that glimmerd with a spirit light, seemed to be able to prate through the wall and gaze at extremely far distances.
"It cannot be helped, we already knew this would happen the moment the Tainted Knights stepped onto the battlefield. Neverhtless, no matter how powerful they are they are in the end still humans. Continue sending bodies towards them, once they are exhausted, we will send our elites"
Cynthia spoke those callous words without batting an eye. She was aware of the principle that ''One cannot win the war if they weren''t prepared to make sacrifices and throw away a part of their humanity''.
The forces of the kingdom of ckthorn were extremely powerful, from the beginning she was prepared to sufferrge casualties on her side. She knew that these soldiers who respected and followed her, would end up dying on this cruel battlefield.
That being said, she was not entirely callous, as could be seen from the formation that their army was rushing inside the gate. Most of the people spearheading the charge,prised of soldiers from the nobles and duke''s army.
As for the soldiers from her own army, they were tactically ced in a way where they wouldn''t have to take the brunt of the power of the tainted knights head on. They could wait for the other soldiers to tire the other party out before engaging with the enemy.
As for the adventurers of the tower town who had plenty of experience under their belt, they knew when to take advantage of the situation to proceed and retreat. They acted in a team and took action decisively.
Cynthia left them to their own station and gave them the authority to make their own decision.
"How goes the preparation on ke''s side?" She questioned. Ate looked at the distant mountain range andmented "They are ready and are waiting for your orders".
"In that case, tell them to start the operation. Let''s show the enemy the might of the kingdom".
.
.
Over at the wall, Marshall Cavalier wore an extremely delighted expression on his face as he saw the number of soldiers being culled by the Tainted Knights. Standing true to their rigid and training, each of them were powerful enough to overwhelm numerous soldiers.
What''s more, with the aid of the special weapons and armour given to them, they were even more powerful. How do the ordinary soldiers of the kingdompare to their Tainted Knights?
Marshall Cavalier arched his body back andughed, relishing in this bloodbath when¡
"Cavalier¡ how many times have I told you not to underestimate the enemy?" the general''s cold voice filled with silent anger, suddenly doused his parade.
He looked at the former and asked with some dread "What''s wrong General? We haveplete control over the battlefield. The enemy can only use their numbers against us, and once even that runs out, they will be just sitting ducks waiting to be butchered. At this point, nothing that they can do can turn this around"
Marshall Cavalierughed, he could already see the ending and the miserable expression of thatss once they crushed her army.
"Do you really think that? If so, then turn your head towards the top of the walls". What was there to see on top of the walls? The ce should be surrounded by their forces. Although he thought that in his mind, he nevertheless obeyed the general''smand and turned his attention towards the top of the walls.
Chapter 835- Battle For The Capital (7)
Chapter 835- Battle For The Capital (7)
Obeying the general''smand, Marshall cavalier turned his attention towards the top of the walls only for his expression to drastically change and bepletely gobsmacked the next second.
What?!! What was this? What just happened here?
Reflected in his eyes were numerous corpses of the mages from the Hellfire Artillery Unit. Blood made a pool under their bodies and slowly flowed down through the walls. Who killed them? Just as this question arrived on his mind, his eyes immediately shed and went towards a particr direction where he sensed numerous powerful auras quietly surging.
He saw teams of what looked like adventurers climb up the walls and hastily cull down the mages using various skills and techniques. That was not all, he could see multiple fluctuations in the air, evidence of the stealth skill used by the assassins.
When di the enemy¡
"Just because the enemy was unable to break through the defence of the tainted Knights, you became conceited and forgot about the fact that the enemy also possesses elite units. You stationed all the tainted knights towards the gates, leaving the Hellfire Artillery Unit who have just expended a ton of mana, Vulnerable. Naturally, any enemy with sharp eyes would not let go of this opportunity".
The general remarked in a calm manner; however, those who knew the man, would know the general was far more intimidating when he calm like that.
With cold trepidation running through his back, Marshall Cavalier, bowed his head and urgently apologised.
"Hmph, since it is a blunder you made, naturally, you will be the one to rectify it" The general snorted and ced his attention somewhere else on the battlefield. At this moment, numerous battles have broken all over the base of the wall.
"Yes," Cavalier nodded and looked at the numerous corpses of the Hellfire Mage Unit. His heart ached when he saw them lying on the wall, dead.
It needs to be mentioned that raising each of these elite mages was not an easy task even for their kingdom of ckthorn. Each of these mages was a huge investment from the perspective of ckthorn.
The death of even one would represent a loss of enormous resources not to mention this many at once. Needless to say, Marshall Cavalier''s eyes turned red when he saw this scene. The one who was responsible for this blunder was him as such, when they returned back to the kingdom he would have to answer to the king.
"Bastards, it seems like you all really intend to piss me off. Be it then, do you think you are the only ones who possess an Elite Assassin unit?"
He gave a vicious smirk as he looked at the princess in the distance. After which, he furiouslymanded, "Dread Reaper''s Brigade¡ it''s time for your mission".
At hismand, immediately numerous figures wearing pitch ck robes and covering their faces with masks, materialised. Looking at them one would be able to draw simrities between them and the assassin who visited Cynthia a couple of days ago.
They were the elite assassin unit of Balckthorn, the Dread Reaper''s Brigade. Additionally, they were a hidden division whose existence was only known by His Majesty the King and a few high ranking officials of ckthorn. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"What is yourmand, Marshall" Numbering in the hundreds, the assassins bowed their head and asked formand.
Thetter immediately pointed to the battlefield below "Do you see those smart asses hiding within the enemy army? They are the culprits responsible for the casualties of many of our mages from the Hellfire Artillery Unit. Your mission is to bring me their heads".
His words contained violent anger and murderous intent. Clearly, he had forgotten about keeping his fa?ade of a smiling face. The Dread Reaper''s Brigade nodded their heads and disappeared into tiny ck particles.
"Let''s see how you respond to that" Marshall Cavalier sneered as he nced at Cynthia. Thetter sensed his gaze and a momentter, she narrowed her eyes. Thanks to the powerful beast soul within her, she could clearly sense the presence of those elite assassins even though they had disappeared from one''s vision.
"So the ckthorn has finally used another of their trump cards huh" From the way she muttered that and her rxed face, it seemed that the appearance of the Dread Reaper''s Brigade did not cause any surprise to her.
And in actuality, so was the case. Ordinary people only knew about the Tainted Knight Unit and a little bit about the Hellfire Artillery Unit. However, aside from those two units that the forces of Balkthorn deliberately showcased, Cynthia was aware of the other elite division that the kingdom of ckthorn kept a secret from the outsiders.
The Dread Reaper''s Brigade was one of them. Of course, the reason why she knew all this information was all thanks to the people Simon sent to aid her. If not for them, she would have been unable toe this far.
In any case, the reason why the appearance of the elite assassin unit did not faze her, was because she already had measures prepared and had already briefed her army about it. Thanks to that, they were able to promptly respond to the hidden attacks from the members of these elite units.
As could be seen on the battlefield, the teams of adventurers from the tower town were the first to respond to these hidden enemies and engage with them. having a plethora of experience under their belt, the Dread Reaper''s Brigade might be a headache for other ordinary members of the army.
However, for the elite adventurers of the tower, they were no threat. In fact, they were used to dealing with enemies far more powerful, tricker and difficult to deal with than these assassins.
As such, when the Dread Reaper''s Brigade tried to ambush, they were swiftly intercepted and a fierce sh erupted out.
"This!! How in the world?" On top of the wall, when Marshall Cavalier saw this scene he was once again astounded. It was one thing that the enemy was able to respond to their hellfire Artillery Unit, after all, they had shed such a unit quite boldly and grandly.
However, the Dread Reaper''s Brigade was a covert division of their second army and shouldn''t have been known by anyone. Yet from the way the enemy swiftly reacted, it seemed that they were already aware of this unit.
What kind of nonsense was this? For the first time in this long drawn out war, Marshall Cavalier was the one who suffered a drawback.
"They are reading you like the back of their palms" The generalmented seemingly seeing through the same thing.
"This can''t be¡ they are merely a third grade country. How can they see through my n?"
For a short moment, Marshall Cavalier was at a loss. However, it didn''t seem like fate nned to give him any time as a subordinate came running towards him.
"Lord Cavalier, an Air Engine is approaching from the northwestern corner. Judging from the g they are flying it belongs to the princess of the kingdom. What are your orders".
The subordinate reported, he was none other than the assassin who was sent to give a message to Cynthia. His face was covered with a mask and his expression could be seen. Though there was something different about him, something that wasn''t there before.
Hearing the words of the subordinate, Cavalier''s expression turned even uglier. He had led the force of the ckthorn in numerous battles and never once did he feel this kind of stifling feeling where he felt he was being pushed on backfoot at every turn.
This foreign feeling that he was not used to made him feel extremely uneasy. Neverhtless, as someone who had climbed to the ranks of Marshall Cavalier knew how to conceal his emotions.
"Hmph" he snorted and replied "What''s there to panic about? It''s just one Air Engine. Drown them with our Skyfire Corps" Skyfire Corps, another formidable unit of the forces of the kingdom of ckthorn.
Specialising in aerialbat and magical warfare, this unitprised of highly trained knights and skilled mages. This elite corps operates from air engines equipped with powerful mana cannons and are responsible for maintaining air superiority in the skies and raining destruction on the enemy.
Equipped with advanced magic cannons and other state of the art weapons, the Skyfire Coprs was another formidable and covert division of their second army.
So what if the enemy possessed an Air Engine? What a joke, their Skyfire Corps possessed dozens of medium grade Air Engines. Not only that, the members of this corps undergo rigorous training to master both traditionalbat techniques and advanced magical abilities.
They are adept at manoeuvring their airships with precision, utilizing the element of surprise to gain the upper hand in battle. Additionally, their mastery of mana cannons allows them to unleash devastating magical attacks on ground targets and enemy air engines alike.
As one of the premier aerial divisions of the second army, the Skyfire Coprs enjoys a reputation of unmatched firepower and unit that strikes fear into the hearts of the enemy, within the Kingdom of ckthorn.
Naturally, Marshall Cavalier did not take a single Air Engine from the enemy side too seriously.However, after suffering so many drawbacks at the hands of that princess, he did not dare to take the kingdom''s army lightly.
Which is why, he directly ordered the entire corps to fly up and shoot down the enemy. If not, he would have liked to keep the existence of the Skyfire Coprs a secret decisive card. Nheless, it didn''t seem like he had much leeway in this situation.
Chapter 836- Battle For The Capital (8)
Chapter 836- Battle For The Capital (8)
Marshall Cavalier gave the orders for the Skyfire Unit to take flight and engage the enemy Air Engine. The assassin left to carry out the orders; however, he soon returned not much afterwards.
"Lord Cavalier"¡ "Hm?!! What is it? Why did you return? Didn''t I tell you to convey my orders to the Skyfire Corps?" Marshall Cavalier questioned. His eyes became solemn after he saw the subordinate breach hismand.
The assassin trembled under that pressure; nevertheless, he still reported "About that, there is a problem"¡
"What is it now?" it was just one thing after another.
"The Skyfire Coprs.. they.. they have beenpletely annihted" The assassin gave his report after much consideration.
"Huh?" Marshall Cavalier blinked his eyes, his brain failing toprehend what was just said. "What did you say?" thinking that he might have heard wrong, he asked again.
"The Sklyfire Corps¡ they have been eradicated. All the air engines have been destroyed¡" right before he couldplete his sentence, a hand grabbed him and pulled him above the ground.
"What do you mean that the Skyfire corps has been annihted? They are our hidden card and have been stationed at the heart of our camp. How could an enemy sneak up there" Marshall Cavlier snarled as he lifted the assassin with his powerful.
"I-I don''t know. When I went there to ry your orders, I saw the destroyed parts of the Aie engineying around and the corpses of the Skyfire unit on the ground" the assassin replied amidst his choked breaths.
BANG¡ Marshall Cavalier threw the subordinate and turned his back to look at the centre of their camp. The centre of their camp was still all silent and peaceful with not even a hint of any disturbance ormotion to be sensed.
What was going on? The Air Engines seem fine. Straining his eyes, he also saw the dozens of Air Engines from their kingdom still parked in the ce they were in. Looking at the scene, they was no signs of the Skyfire Coprs being annihted.
So why did his subordinate tell him that? Did he lie?
"Cavalier!! Careful behind you!!"
Just as those questions arrived on his mind, he heard the hurried warning from the general at the bastion not far away from him. At the same time, rm bells rang in his head as cold killing intent locked onto him.
His senses honed from numerous battles, warned him of the iing danger. Immediately, without turning around, Marshall Cavalier circted the mana inside his body and activated [Mana Armour].
However, he was still a step toote. A cold de shed and a dagger pierced through his heart before the [mana Armour] couldpletely materialise.
Puff¡ Marshall Cavalier threw out a mouthful of blood and looked at the greyish ck energy protruding from his chest. There was a faint extremely familiar miasmaing from it. This miasma was something unique to their kingdom of Balckthorn and only soldiers of their kingdom were allowed to wield it.
"You Traitor¡" He spoke with a pained voice and hurriedly separated his body from the de. That miasma had the effect to drain one''s life force as such it was extremely dangerous.
In response, the figure that attacked him, used his other de to stab him. This time, their target was his neck.
"Don''t you dare underestimate me"
BANG¡ Marshall Cavalier roared and released his energy. The power released out of his body was like a berserk gale, fierce and overwhelming as it sted the air around him and caused the attacker to hurriedly dodge away.
ng¡ pulling the de out of his back and throwing it on the ground, he turned towards the traitor who attacked him and red at him with a venomous expression.
"You bastard, so you were the informant who was working for the enemy?!!" he cursed at the ck robed figure wearing the mask. Needless to say, the person who attacked him was his subordinate the assassin.
Seeing that the assassin was silent and was not speaking anything, it pissed Cavalier even more.
"Say something dammit. Why did you betray us and join thatss? What benefit could she have provided you for you to point your des at your own superior? Give me your answer before I kill you"
Faint greyish ck miasma mixed with pale blue mana surged out of his body like a storm, creating a powerful air pressure. Nevertheless, even in the face of such a power difference, the assassin did not mutter anything and quietly clenched the dagger in his hand.
Nobody could see the weird glimmer that was covering his eyes. The next second, the assassin rushed forward and disappeared into tiny ck particles.
"Bastard it seems like the enemy haspletely won you over. In that case, once I defeat you, I will search your mind imprint myself" saying that marshall cavalier grimaced and stomped forward.
Immediately the ground shook and a shockwave spread around with him as the centre. BANG¡ the air towards his right fluctuated and a ck figure was ruthlessly blown back. The assassin rolled on the ground, creating a long bloody ditch beforeing to a stop.
"kuh" Just as he was about to get up, Marshall cavalier appeared behind him and ruthlessly stomped his feet down.
"I want to know why would a dog that has been raised and bred by Balckthron suddenly bite the hand that has raised it. Tell me" cracking noises of bones breaking could be heard continuously as the pressure under the foot increased.
"There is no point in doing this Cavalier. You should know how the Dread Reaper''s Brigade is created. The mind imprint ced on them allows them to forever be loyal to ckthorn. For a high ranking member of that brigade to suddenly betray us, could only mean that either his mind imprint was remoed or he is under the influence of someone else"
The general spoke, his eyes contained cold light as he observed the assassin. As the general of the second army, he was of course aware fo some of the secrets of Balckthorn and knew how the elite forces of their army were created.
Whish is why, he knew that the assassin did not betray them. No, he was incapable of doing so in the first ce. The mind imprint on all the soldiers of ckthorn manages all the information they know.
As such, even if the enemy wants to, they won''t be able to change their mind and cause them to betray ckthorn as they did. In this regard, all the elite units of ckthorn were like robots, built only to followmands.
For someone like them to betray ckthorn, meant that either their mind imprint was removed or that they were under the influence of someone. Someone that could remove or worse influence someone even while under the mind imprint ced by that being, even the general felt a tine of uneasiness.
"Tsk" Marshall cavalier clicked his tongue, and stopped the needless interrogation. Now that he was calm, he understood very well that there was no point in his action.
Just as he was about to finish off the assassin, he saw thetter smile from his cracked mask. The next instant, a loud bang rang off in the distance followed by a savage shockwave that swept off all around the capital.
Puzzled by that sudden loud noise, both the general and Marshall turned their heads around only for their eyes to widen in shock the next instant. A huge debris cloud rose as high as a few hundred feet towards the sky and looked just like a mushroom cloud.
It covered arge distance and was devastating enough to shatter the verynd. As unexpected as the st was, it wasn''t the reason why the general and the Marshall were so shocked.
"Isn''t that area where the Skyfire coprs were stationed?" the general asked his eyes visibly shaken. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Marshall Cavalier nodded his head, equally astonished. If that st came from the area where the Skyfire Corps, there could only be one meaning. Just as the worst case scenario appeared in their mind, from the corner of their eyes they noticed that the assassin was suddenly bleeding from all of his seven orifices.
The mask covering his identity broke apart and a bright light erupted out of his eyes. The light only appeared for a fraction of a second before disappearing, following which the body of the assassin started inting in a rather bizarre way.
His muscles puffed, veins bulged and soon he became just like a bloated disfigured balloon.
"Self destruct?!! Cavalier quickly get away from there" The general who was the first one to react to the assassin unusualness, hurriedly cautioned. Taking caution, Cavalier promptly tried to distance himself; however, he was a step toote.
Following the previous loud st, another resounding explosion urred on top of the city walls. The forces of the kingdom of Balckthron and even the army of the kingdom they were fighting, all separated a portion of their attention to observe the top of the walls.
While those on the know, sneered as they saw the n unfolding exactly as they were briefed about. Outside the walls, in the distance, Ate slowly straightened her sses as a faint sneer also appeared on her face at this moment.
"The Air Engine has reached the skies of the capital. It looks like Sir Theodre and Miss Mayebll were able to sessfullypltel the their mission" Cynthiamented not noticing the unusual behaviour on the woman next to her.
"It appears so, now that they have casued chaos among the ransk of the enemy, they should be soon joining us" Ate added.
Chapter 837- Knight Captain
Chapter 837- Knight Captain
The mission Theodore, Maybell and their group was given was to infiltrate the ranks of the enemy and report all about their action, strategies and hidden cards. If possible, destroy a few.
Since arge explosion noise erupted out, it was an indication that they hadpleted their mission.
"Now that the enemy has lost one of their trump cards, they won''t sit still. The higher ups of their forces are sure to show their faces. Let''s head there too, at that time we will have to join the battle"
Cynthia ordered and started heading inside with her group. Back on top of the wall, a miserable figure shot and rolled heavily against the ground while leaving a deep ditch behind. Only after the figure rolled for dozens of meters, did they finallye to a stop.
"Bastard!!"
After a couple of seconds, that figure which had imnted itself deep into the ground, came out with a furious roar. When the surrounding tainted knights saw who it was, their eyes immediately widened in surprise and disbelief.
That is because the figure whose entire hair was burned, skin scarred and clothes tattered and who made quite the sorry figure, was none other than Marshall Cavalier, the second most powerful figure whomanded the entirety of the second army.
At this moment, he looked extremely haggard and exhausted, as if he just suffered a grave damage.
What was going on? Why did the marshall look like that and who did this to him? Countless people had the same question. Needless to say, the current appearance of the Marshall was enough to shock all of the force of ckthorn and falter their morals.
"Bastard, I will kill thatss" Cavalier cursed once again as powerful mana erupted out of his body. His form looked like he was just about to rush out and sh with the princess.
"Calm down, Cavalier. It is too soon for you to join the battle" The general appeared beside him with a sh and stopped him.
"Hold on for a little while, when the timees you can naturally take your revenge. That said, it sure is a surprise that she was able to corner us this far. I guess her earlier challenge to us wasn''t without reason. To think that she was able to y you like a fiddle, I guess she does possess some extraordinariness"
The general smirked. Even though everything seemed like it had gone wrong and their side was pushed on the backfoot, the smile on his face was yet to fade.
"Hmph, she only knows how to use crafty little schemes like this. In a head on battle between our armies, no matter how shrewd she is, she will still lose. Once we send our elites, this deadlock will quickly overturn. At that time, I will make thatss pay for everything"
Marshall Cavalier spoke while making a bitter expression and reeling in pain. The matter this time had put arge blotch on his career and would reflect poorly when they returned back to ckthorn triumphantly.
At that time, His Majesty might even call him into his audience chamber and ask him for the reason for his failure. If the former deemed him useless, they might even strip him of his position and make him a tainted soldier just like the others.
Just the thought of being refined into a cold unfeeling warrior that only followedmands, sent shivers down his spine. No matter what, he has to wash his te clean by achieving victory in this war.
"So you are finally willing to use that huh"
In front of the unsurprised eyes of the general, Cavalier took a small cylindrical pipe from his space ring. The next second, he extended it towards the sky and pulled on the string attached to its lower end.
Immediately, a light broke out of the mouth of the pie and raced towards the sky following which, it burst apart in a splendid and magnificent disy of fireworks.
"Hmoh, little tricks can only take you so far. In front of overwhelming power, everything is useless. Tainted Knight Commanders, it''s time for you to take the field and show our enemies the true terror of fighting against a tainted knight"
On his signal, several figures broke out of the neighbouring buildings and appeared in front of the tainted knight legion. Decked in greyish ck gears, the quality of which far surpassed the other tainted knight soldiers, the figures that appeared clearly gave off a different atmosphere.
It was not just their appearance, but even the aura they gave off far outssed the average tainted knights. If one were to consider the tainted knight legion as an iplete product then the ones standing in front of them right now, was theplete product. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Anyone could see that they were different. Once the tainted knightmanders appeared, they unsheathed their ominous looking des and immdeitaly erupted with their skills. Quikcly, they overwhelmed the opposing army and firmly stopped their advance.
SHIING¡ With every swing of their des, numerous bodies would be culled down, shocking and causing fear to spread amongst the kingdom''s army.
"Hehe, look at that. The opponent isn''t anything special" Marshall Cavalierughed. He shouted out his orders and the Taintedmanders immediately started a killing frenzy.
Not only that, but on hismand they also rushed forth and encircled the wall,pletely trapping the army. With the appearance of the Taintedmanders, the flow quickly shifted towards the side of ckthorn.
They suppressed the princess'' army with their powerful strength and brought death wherever they unleashed their strength. The number of casualties quickly started piling up and the morale of the army started faltering.
The change could also be observed in the kingdom''s camp where all the nobles were. At this moment, all their faces was ashen and dsitroted in an ugly fashion. The appearance of this new trump card from the enemy was quite a bit surprising.
However, the reason why their facial expression was twisted in such an unsightly and grotesque manner was that some of the figures among the taintedmanders weren''t unfamiliar to them.
In fact, they were quite familiar with a few of them as their reputation had once shaken the kingdom.
"H-How¡ How can he of all people stand on the side of the enemy. This is impossible"¡
"No, we might be seeing things. That person only looks like that guy. He will never side with the enemy"¡
"Are you guys all blind? Open your eyes wide. There is no way he is an impostor. That strength and skill with the sword, only one man in the kingdom possessed it"
The nobles fiercely discussed among themselves to the point where they even started cursing and shouting at each other. Clearly, from their behaviour it could be assumed that the scene in front of them was not natural.
They who looked at the greyish balch figures who appeared to have chaged the tide of the battle, numerous expressions shed past their faces. Shocked, disbelief, anger, confusion, all kinds of emtoions appeared; neverhtless, the emotion that was the most prevalent on their faces was confusion.
Why would it not after all, the greyish ck figures that appeared after that signal from the Marshall looked extremely familiar. In fact, quite a few of them belonged from the kingdom and had quite a reputation.
Among them, the one who stole their attention was naturally the figure that was the most eye catching of them all. Short curly hair the colour of chestnut, hazel eyes, sharp eyebrows and a perfectly carved facial contour.
The man looked like the very definition of what a knight should look like. His tall stature coupled with his lean and defined physique allowed him to perform all kinds of movements. The man who at this moment culling the soliders of their army was none other than the Knight Captain of the Royal Guards, the man whose legendary feats still rang out around the kingdom, Cyrus Skyler.
For a guy like that who was basically like the pir of their faith and support, the person who they thought had died defending the capital, to turn towards the enemy''s side. Naturally the observing nobles would be confused, engraged and in disbelief.
The nobles weren''t the only ones who noticed Cyrus'' appearance. Cynthia and her group who had reached the city gates, also noticed him.
"How can this be?" the former''s eyes was widened in shock as she saw that familiar figure culling down the soldiers of their army and standing against them.
That figure whih had once given them a great amount of assurance and dependability when they were young, was now standing before them as an enemy. Even Cynthia who had encased her heart withyers of ice, couldn''t help but be shaken when she saw the figure of Cyrus. Her eyes stared at the man for a couple of seconds before it turned towards her friend beside her.
If even she was like this after seeing him, then Alvara who was directly rted to this man, would be unable to control her emotions. Just as she had thought, the moment Alvara saw Cyrus, her body stopped as if she had suddenly been frozen and her eyes which had been sharp and cold until now just like a de, suddenly turned glossy.
Tears welled over at the corner of her eyes and before long, they slid down her smooth fair cheeks.
"Big Brother¡" finally unable to hold down her emotions, her lips parted and she uttered those words that she yearned for.
Chapter 838- Knight Captain (2)
Chapter 838- Knight Captain (2)
The man who was her big brother and her only family after the death of their parents, the one who raised, pampered and trained her. The man who was like a big brother and father to her¡ only she knew the pain she felt when he insisted on staying behind while he stayed behind and protected them from the enemies.
At that moment, she wanted to tell him toe with them; however, in the end, she couldn''t after she saw the light of resolution in his eyes. He had determined to himself to fight the enemy till hisst breath.
Seeing him once again appear in front of her eyes, how could she hold herself back? Immediately, she tugged the Banemoose under her and raced towards him. However, before she could get any closer, Cynthia raced along and blocked her path.
"Calm down Alvara, that person¡ no matter how simr they look, he is not your big brother" A look of struggle shed past her eyes as she said those words.
When Alvara heard those words, her eyes held traces of fury as she replied back. "Wha¡ how can you say that princess? He is Cyrus Skyler, my brother. How can you fail to recognise the man who has been protecting the royal family so many years?"
It was not like they hadn''t fought before. However, those quarrels were long in the past when they were young. After they grew up there was seldom any moment where they disagreed with each other on some points much less argued like that.
Today was one of these rare moments. Facing the harsh words of the obviously enraged Alvara, Cynthia did not get mad instead a look ofpassion and empathy appeared on her face.
As someone who had also lost her family, she knew very well what her friend was going through. The sea of emotions that was raging inside her and the resentment she must be going through right now. It was precisely because she understood that she didn''t want her friend to lose her path.
"Look at him, even if the body is the same as the knight captain, he is no longer the same person. The person I respect the most, your big brother would rather die than stand in our way. Did your emotions blind youpletely for you not to be able to see that? Your brother, Cyrus Syler is gone" Cynthia held Alvara''s shoulders and gave her a strong jolt.
Finally, as if her words went through thetter, the turbulence in her eyes dissipated and she hurriedly collected herself.
"Please excuse my earlier outburst, princess. I did not mean the words I just said earlier, I was simply not myself"
The first thing Alvara did after regaining her rity was apologise to the princess who was also her close friend. Then she turned her eyes towards the interior of the city where she saw the figure of her brother.
It was just as Cynthia had said, her brother did not seem like himself. Not only did he look extremely pale with sunken eyes and dark circles, but his face also looked craggy and weather beaten as if they had gone through some kind of terrible experience. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
On top of that, those eyes which he used to nce at others, no longer retained the same life as they did before and looked lost and grey just like a dead person.
Most of all, Cyrus Skyler, her brother and the knight captain would never stand against the soldier of his own kingdom. The person in front of her was no longer her brother but a different beingpletely.
"Alvara are you alright?" At this moment, Burg, Marba and her otherpanions also caught up with her. They raised their heads and looked at their friend with concern.
"That person¡" Burg opened his mouth to say something but Alvara already perceived what he was going to say and smiled. "I know, that person is not my brother".
Seeing her finallye to terms with herself, all of them quietly sighed a breath of relief. Honestly, more than the appearance of the the Kinght Captain, they were more worried about their friend.
"I sense the faint aura simr to the tainted knights on the body of the Knight captain" Cynthiamented, observing the new tainted knight soldiers with her eyes that had transformed into a pure white lion eyes.
A wild and ancient aura emanated out of her body and the changes slowly started spreading from her eyes to all of her body.
"Those bastards, they must have done something to Sir Cyrus. I will definitely not forgive them for desecrating his honour like that" Burg muttered as killing intent surged from his body.
As one of the knights of the royal family, he had the honour of receiving guidance from the Knight Captain. Since then, he considered thetter his teacher. It was not only him, everyone including Cynthia had received some form of guidance from the knight captain when they were young. Naturally, seeing him like this pissed all of them.
"The soldiers on the front won''t be able to stop them. The adventurers are also being held back by the Dread Reaper''s Brigade. It looks like we can''t sit still and have to intervene"
18:01
Spoke the old assassin, Brett. As a veteran adventurer previously, he was able to see the situation in the battleground much more clearly than the others.
Burg and the others nodded their heads. They were about to make their moves, when Ate waved her hand to stop them.
"There is no need for you guys to intervene yet. The Air Engine has reached the optimal height, soon it will be raining hell over there. Leave it to ke and his team. And besides, Thedore, Maybell and her group are also there. If the situation seems like it will go out of control, we will naturally intervene".
Ate''s words were reasonable and was well thought out. They naturally had no qualms following it. Besides, she had been in charge of their tactics and strategies since before the war started.
Her numerous strategies that brought them victory every single time, gained their trust over time.
BOOOM¡ over at the battlefield, a resounding boom sounded out for the umpteenth time. While Cynthia and her group watched over from the distance, the Air Engine finally reached the battlefield.
Following which, one barrel after another fell from the sky. The moment theynded on the ground, they would explode in a powerful st.
BOOM¡ BOOMM¡ following the first barrel, more and more explosions took ce in the chaotic battlefield. Miserable screams and howls of agony continuously rang out from inside the mes, producing numerous scorched figures.
With each deafening explosion, billowing clouds of smoke and mes erupted into the air, casting a hellish glow over the scene below. The concussive force of the sts was immense, knocking soldiers off their feet and hurling them through the air like ragdolls.
The ground trembled beneath their feet, threatening to swallow them whole as the relentless onught of explosions continued unabated.
The already chaotic battlefield became even more chaotic. The screams of the wounded and dying pierced the air, mingling with the crackling of mes and the roar of detonations creating an ominous cacophony.
Through the haze of smoke and fire, Cynthia and her group watched with bated breaths as the devastation unfolded before their eyes. Needless to say, the agonising screams and the charred bodies twisted by the merciless onught were from the ckthorn''s side.
Not a single soldier from their kingdom of Ellsemere was caught up in it. With the appearance of the Air Engine and the barrels that were filled with overloaded core stones dropping from the sky, the flow of the tide which had turned towards the ckthorn''s side, flipped over once again.
The battlefield had been transformed into a nightmarishndscape of destruction and despair, where death lurked at every turn. With gritted teeth and steely determination, Cynthia, Alvara and her group saw barrels of core stones drown the figure of Cyrus Skyler.
BOOOOM¡ in the next second mes that reached hundreds of feet towards the sky, engulfed the figure of the Knight captain within.
Clench¡ Alvara slowly clenched her fists, her body trembled and her eyes became red from all the pent up emotions that surged within her heart. Nevertheless, with an unshakable resolve she took a deep breath and suppressed all of it down.
"Don''t worry we won''t let his sacrifice go to vain. We will definitely take the kingdom back from the enemies"
Cynthiamented from beside her. She vowed to press on, leading herrades into the heart of the battlefield that was currently raging with inferno.
Over at the sky, inside the Air Engine. A man whistled out as she saw the pirs of mes rising high to the sky from thend. Looking from up here, it looked like a volcano was raging as it quickly spewed out hot geysers of mes.
"Although it''s wasteful and my heart burns when using them like this, the devastating power they release really feels great. It feels like dropping the judgement of god from the sky"
The manughed, he was none other than Wyot. Beside him were ke, Frida and the others. Currently, they were overloading the core stones inside these barrels and throwing them down on the enemy. A tactic that they had already practised and tried against Castledor. And given its previous sess, they had integrated this tactic into their strategy.
Chapter 839- Knight Captain (3)
Chapter 839- Knight Captain (3)
"As expected of Her Highness, only someone like her would be able to splurge core stones like this"
Using core stones as bombs, even they had to admit that the power of all these core stones packed in a single barrel was enough to even give them horrors. Their hearts heavy with shock and dread at the sight of such wanton destruction. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The power of the bombs was undeniable, their impact leaving behind andscape of destion and despair. As they saw the previously terrifying Tainted Knights unit turn into scorched bodies, even they felt their scalps tingle.
"This was thest of it. From the looks of it, the core stones were able to deal some significant damage to the enemy''s lineup. However, it is unlikely that it will be able to finish off those new Tainted knights. We need to also join the battle, let''s go"
ke looked down. On hismand, all of them dropped down from the Air Engine, except for a few mages responsible for flying it.
As ke and the others plummeted towards the capital, each of them used their own abilities to slow down their fall.
BANG¡ raising a cloud of dirt, theynded on the ground and stood in front of the kingdom''s army.
"We will handle it from here. You guys are not their match, swiftly pull back" ke ordered taking the charge.
At this moment, numerous other individuals who were hiding themselves within the lineup of soldiers, also showed themselves as they stood beside ke and the others. All of them wore gears of excellent quality and varying colours and shapes.
The insignia they wore on their garbs were also different and came in all kinds of patterns. From this one could tell that theserge groups of people all belonged to different factions. What''s more, given their auras, they weren''t weak either and gave off powerful fluctuations that made them shudder deep down in their hearts.
Who could this group of high level people be other than the adventurers of the tower town? Right now, they have stopped hiding and proceeded with the strategy they were briefed about by Her Highness, the princess.
"Hahaha, ke you should leave this to our Sword and Shield guild. We will ensure that the princess achieves a wless victory against these thieves" A man with piercing eyes and a big build, spoke.
"What is the vice guild master of the Sword and Shield saying? Obviously, you should leave this to our Sword of Darkness Guild. The enemy''s lineup is strong, it is only appropriate for us to handle it since we owe her highness quite a bit"
Following the big built man, another man stepped forward. This one was a head shorter than the vice guild leader of the sword and Shield guilt. However, the peculiar aura that surrounded his body, told others that he couldn''t be underestimated.
"Is the second head of the Sword of Darkness guild implying that we are unable to deal with the enemies? In that case, why not let us show you if we are capable or not"¡
"That''s right, we also have a great debt to repay to the princess. Why don''t you all step back and let my Starling Guild handle this"..
After the first two people, more and more vice guild masters and second heads of their guild, stepped forward to engage with the taintedmanders. All of them were brimming with energy and excitement, a stark contrast to the other hellish and gloomy atmosphere of the war.
"These people.. it looks like adventurers really are a bunch of groups who aren''t able to sense the atmosphere. Competing at a moment like this" the elite soldiers under Cynthia,ughed as they saw this scene.
After travelling long and and far with these people they were now somewhat familiar with each other. Thus they knew that if there was anyone among their army who could stop the group of new tainted soldiers it was this merry group of adventurers who came from the tower town.
Over at the area where the enemy lineup was, Marshall''s Cavalier expression was extremely ugly and twisted when he saw the scene in front of him.
Reflected in his eyes was the raging crimson inferno that covered thend where their forces were. As far as his eyes could see, he saw charred ck corpses, wailing knights, miserable screams of the Hellfire Artillery Unit and their disorderly formation.
If one had to say it, this was apletely new sight for Cavalier after all, ever since rising up to the position of Marshall in the second army and taking control of its forces, this was the first time in many battles that he saw their forces in a disadvantage like this. Naturally, he was unable to react to this new development.
Seeing the former like this, the General sighed and for the first time, made his move. "Cavalier, you are hereby relieved of your duties. I shall nowmand the second army myself. You are to standby and recover your strength and aid the taintedmanders when needed"
Saying so, the General stepped forward and appeared in the sky above the battlefield. Bright greyish ck mana wings spread from his back and extended for more than ten feet. After which, they gave a forceful p and the inferno raging in thend was immediately swept away.
Like a typhoon it quickly doused the pirs of mes, saving those tainted knights and mages who were about to be caught up in it. All it took was a p from his wings to quench the mes that erupted from the hundreds of overloaded core stones.
From this, one could tell how powerful the general was.
The moment his figure appeared in the sky, he instantly drew all attention towards him. Those ominous wings retracted back into his body in front of the numerous gazing eyes as the General slowlynded on the ground.
"Haha, I have to say, I didn''t expect you all to be able to push us this far. The second army that Imand is already in disarray with numerous casualties lying around. This alone is enough to prove your ability"
"Marshall Cavalier did not take you seriously and thus suffered a great defeat under your hands. However, I won''t make the same mistake. You have proven that you need to be taken seriously as such, I officially dere the start of the real war"
His words empowered by his mana transmitted across the entire battlefield. Immediately, numerous shadowy figures gathered around him. There were taintedmanders, Elite assassins from the Dread Reaper''s Brigade and even high ranking mages who never showed their faces among the Hellfire Artillery Unit.
At this moment all of them gathered around the general, their number was not even the least bit lower than the elite adventurers who had been hiding and showed their faces right now.
However, that was not all, after the debris and dust clouds from the battlefield settled down, the previous tainted knights who had been besieged by the barrels full of core stones also showed their appearances at this moment and marched forward.
Even those taintedmanders who had been drowned by the explosions earlier, showed their appearances.
Seeing how little they were affected by that powerful bombing it seemed that it didn''t do much damage to them.
"Knight Captain¡" Burg and the others looked at themanding presence who strove at the forefront of the taintedmander unit and spoke. Their eyes contained a deep respect and fear for this person.
Despite being bombarded by powerful attacks, the knight captain stood still like a mountain. His muscles had been charred ck and half of his skeletal face was exposed. However, the powerful aura he gave off was yet to diminish a little.
While all their attention was on the knight captain, Alvara suddenly unsheathed her sword drawing the attention of Cynthia and the others.
"I cannot allow them to disrespect the honour of my brother anymore" She pointed it at the man standing in front of the taintedmanders and spoke. After which she turned towards Cynthia and asked¡ª
"You Highness, please allow me to engage with the enemymander. As his blood rtive and sister, it is my duty to see the Knight captain off".
The princess looked at her friend and saw the resolve in her eyes. That resolve that burned quietly within her like a raging fire and was simply impossible to quench.
Seeing her like that, Cynthia took a deep and slowly nodded her head. Just as she was about to give her orders, she saw Burg, Marba and the others simrly turn towards her and ask her for permission to engage the knight captain.
"What?!! Why¡ why are you all¡ there is no need for you all to risk your lives. This is a family matter, as his little sister, it is my duty to send him off and stop him from being used by the enemy anymore"
Alvara spoke startled by the fact that Burg and the others wanted to join in.
"Haha, what are you saying, Guard Captain? This is not just your personal family matter. Each of us has received training from the knight Captian and we consider him a family too. It pains our hearts as much as yours to see him being used like that. As such, it is our duty too to stop him from killing the people of his own kingdom that he gave his life for to protect" Burg exined, giving a bitter smile.
The others also nodded their heads at those words.
Chapter 840- Knight Captain (4)
Chapter 840- Knight Captain (4)
"But¡ But fighting him is very dangerous. I don''t know what the ckthorn did to him; however, his skills are still the same and haven''t lost their edge" Alvara was concerned that her brother might hurt herrades.
"Of course, how could fighting the strongest knight captain in the entire kingdom not be filled with dangers? I would expect no less from a man of his calibre. However, guard captain won''t it be dangerous for you too? And as a big brother, do you think Sir Cyrus would want to see you hurt?"
At Burg''s question, Alvara gently bit own her lips with nothing to retort.
"We areing too. We will make sure that you are able to send Sir Cyrus off. And besides, the knight captain might be strong; however, haven''t we gone through our fair share of battles? We are no longer the people we used to be. We have be a lot stronger during this time".
Silence filled the ce as Alvara looked at her teammates. The emotions shing through their eyes were something that only people who had gone through life and death together would understand.
As Burg had said, if it was the previous them, then perhaps they would have stood no chance against the knight captain. However, they have changed significantly over thest year.
Not only have they crawled out of their way in certain death situations, they have fought numerous bloody battles that almost killed them. Their levels have increased significantly and their skill have sharpened. They were no longer the weak guards who couldn''t even protect the princess.
"Aren''t you all forgetting about something? You might be knights and mages employed by the royal family. However, after you came to my Serene Pce guild, you swore your allegiance to me. That is to say, you all are no longer royal knights but my personal guards. Isn''t it natural that you ask for my opinion first before you go on deciding all that?"
From the side, Cynthia spoke. Her beautiful crescent eyebrows were arched in an arc at this moment. Immediately, the boisterous group turned silent and turned towards Cynthia, their eyes pleading.
Seeing them like this, thetter sighed. Her eyebrows rxed and a beautiful helpless smile appeared on her face.
"It is as Burg said, Sir Cyrus is someone we all respect and have received guidance from. There is no way I will see the honour of the most bravest and strongest knight captain of the royal family to be desecrated by the enemies like that. Alvara, you will lead my personal guards and personal see to Sir Knight captain. He had served this kingdom enough, make it so that he is able to rest in peace"¡
"Yes"
Burg and the other roared. following which, they made their way towards the front of the army.
At this moment, with the appearance of the general, the chaotic war had suddenlye to a standstill. However, this standstill didn''tst long and was soon shattered when the General gave the signal.
Immediately, solid grey energy realised in droves out of the taintedmander as they roared and trebled intensely. Their roar sounded just like the roar of a feral beast who had been kept in captivity all this time, and was suddenly released.
The kind of aura they released, immediately terrorised most of the weak level soldiers. The next second, with a snap that cracked the ground, they shot towards the kingdom''s army and started butchering like crazy.
They were just like hungry wolves who had snuck into a pen full of cattle. Of course, the wolves were the taintedmanders.
None of the soldiers could block a taintedmander. In a matter of few seconds, the tide had turned in the favour of the kingdom of ckthorn. Thus the war began in the truest sense.
.
.
"Hoh!!"
Standing high up in the sky, the general nced at the situation on the battlefield. His eyes narrowed slightly when it brushed past the area where he saw a certain group of people stop the taintedmanders.
"Would you look at that, the Princess'' army does have some skilled soldiers. Hmph, so that''s where they were hiding".
The ce he was looking at, happens to be the area where the pressure of the taintedmander was the slightest as arge of people had stepped forward to stop them. It was the adventurers from the tower town.
"Haha, these Tainted soldiers are not bad, not bad at all. They are a good target for levelling up" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
On one corner of the battlefield, a vice guildmaster raised his sword and spoke. His de was drenched red and numerous bodiesy in front of him and his teammates.
"Haha, you are right, they are good targets for levelling. Listen up everyone! For now, kill as many as you can, this is our chance"
It was not only that vice guild master, but other vice heads and bosses of their guilds, who were going on a killing spree also shouted the same.
Not far away, looking at them ke couldn''t help but shake his head. Those fools, they really didn''t know how to read the mood. He sighed, turned towards his teammates and said with a smile.
"If everyone''s ready, let''s join in the fun".
Right afterwards, he and his team also charge towards the enemy. They fought with the many taintedmanders and stopped them in their tracks. Individually, all of the adventurers here were at least all above level 400.
Plus with their excellent coordination with their team that had been forged after fighting numerous monsters and life and death battles, they were easily able to stop the Taintedmanders.
Although the number of the taintedmanders was slightly higher than them, they who were already used to fighting in a disadvantageous situation, did not back down.
Looking at the situation from the sky, the general snorted. Just when he was about to take action, his eyes were involuntarily drawn towards another part of the battlefield where he saw a group of people valiantly stop the Taintedmanders.
Although this group was far less in number than the adventurers of the tower town, they were nheless still able to hold their own.
"Hmm? Isn''t that one of the perfected taintedmander whose body was able to easily handle the erosion? To think that even a perfect taintedmander would be stopped, things have really started going awry"
The General''s expression fluctuated as he looked at the scene below. His eyes contained surprise that wasn''t there even when he nced at the adventurers stopping the taintedmanders on the other side of the battlefield.
The reason for that was because this side had one factor that the other side didn''t, namely the Perfect Taintedmanders.
Perfect taintedmander¡ª there might just be a single difference in the name; however, this single difference represented a vast gulf. The difference between a Perfect Tainted Commander and a regr one was like night and day, and the general knew it all too well.
While both shared the same title, the distinctiony in the depths of their power and the resilience of their bodies. Truth be told, a normal taintedmander cannot be considered a perfect product.
A Perfect Tainted Commander was a rarity, an anomaly even among the tainted knights. Unlike their counterparts, their bodies had undergone a transformation so profound that it defied the limitations of conventional tainted knights.
During the tainted baptism, where most soldiers would experience a weakening of their physical form as their bodies struggled to integrate the external powers, only a body that remained unyielding and did not reject the external power, can be said to be the perfect product.
This body that had been fortified by the taint, imbued them with strength and vitality beyondpare. Every fibre of their being resonated with the evil energies coursing through their veins, granting them unique prowess on the battlefield.
But it wasn''t just their physical attributes that set them apart; it was their sheer mastery over their previous skills. While other taintedmanders struggled to control their powers, often sumbing to the chaotic influence of the taint, the Perfect Tainted Commander wielded their abilities with precision and finesse.
Not only do their levels do not deteriorate, but they still retain the skills they mastered over their life. Needless to say, a warrior who became a perfect taintedmander was a force to reckon with.
In the eyes of the general, the presence of a Perfect Tainted Commander on the battlefield changed the equation entirely. Its power that left nought but destruction in its wake should be able to overwhelm the army of the kingdom.
No matter what unconventional tactics or schemes the princess used, in front of the brute force that the perfect taintedmander represented, all their struggle would be rendered moot.
Yet seeing that seemingly rare and perfected Taintedmander being stopped in its tracks, the general was naturally surprised. He knew who this person who was turned into a taintedmander was.
Not long after the army of the kingdom of Ellesmere fell, this man along with a small group of knights, stood behind to defend the capital. Naturally, that valiant figure who managed to cull down a significant number of their forces and even caused him and Marshall Cavalier to interfere at the end.
It was only then that this knight was put down. There was no way the general would forget about this figure whose body was sopatible with the tainted energy that the other taintedmanders could not even hold a candle against him.
Chapter 841- Knight Captain (5)
Chapter 841- Knight Captain (5)
"If I''m not mistaken he should be the former Knight captain of this kingdom" the general recalled "Interesting, to be able to stop a perfect taintedmander, this group is not ordinary. However, if you all think that you can stop the second army of kcthorn with just this, then you are mistaken".
A cold light shed in his eyes after which hemanded with a thundering voice "Cavalier, if you have rested enough, join the battle on the northern front. Show those people the might of the second army"¡
"Yes. I shall rectify my own mistakes" Saying so, Marshall Cavalier charged over while releasing droves of berserk mana that even affected the environment around him.
Looking at his back figure, the general smile. With Marshal Cavalier, a powerful level 589 warrior joining the fray, no matter how adept and powerful the adventurers were, they would be hard pressed to defend against his attacks.
Additionally, together with the taintedmanders and tainted knights, they should be able to take down the adventurers rtively easily.
As for the group who was engaging with the perfect taintedmander, he was going to see to them himself. Just as he was about to make his move, his body turned around abruptly and dodged a highlypressed mana armament that was thrown at him.
Right afterwards, he saw a white figure rush towards him. A purple white light like mist, radiated out of her body and covered her entire self. Her beautiful waterfall like purple hair was now dyedpletely white and was standing upright as if defying gravity.
Violet glow ovepped her already violet eyes making it seem like two beautiful gems. At the centre of these eyes were two vertical pupils that gave off an extremely wild and domineering aura.
Whiskers appeared on her face and numerous ancient markings dotted her body giving her a fierce appearance.
"You are that princess?" The general nced at his assant and spoke. Doubt obvious in his words. At this moment, she looked so different that even he couldn''t recognise her.
"I can''t allow you to mess with their battle. As such, I shall be your opponent" the princess who had activated her beast inheritance spoke. She extended her hands and shed her mighty and sharp ws.
What''s more, these ws were enveloped in a purple white glow causing their destructiveness to increase up a notch. Even with his level, the general felt a sense of danger from the princess who was currently enveloped in a purple white glow and looked vastly different than before.
He didn''t know what kind of skill she had activated; however, he did have some vague inkling. Unlike the Marshall, he did not dare to underestimate the princess and he released his own powers.
BANG¡ vast flood like mana, that was able to drown a portion of the Sky of the capital poured out of the general before forming into an impressive greyish ck armour, shield and sword.
These mana armam that was formed contained a destructive ripple and faintly gave of the same miasma as the weapons that was carried by the tainted knights.
"Grim Armour" The general spoke. Evidently, with the appearance of the Grim armour around him, his aura also rose a notch.
"Let''s see what you can do to me now that I am using [Grim Armour], little girl" It was not only his aura that bolstered with the appearance of the grim armour, but so did his arrogance.
Snort¡ facing his derision, Cynthia simply snorted and used numerous highly condensed elemental attacks to st him.
With a swipe of her ws, five orbs each containing the five basic elements rose in the air. They pulsed with a threatening intensity and rushed towards the general.
Thetter roused the greyish balck energy within him and held his shield with one hand. The next second after all the energy rushed into the shield, it quickly expanded in size and defended against the orbs that came shooting at him.
BOOM¡ BOOOM¡ BOOM¡ the sky was instantly lit up and a huge shockwave that was powerful enough to even lift the ground up, spread all around the capital disturbing numerous battles.
Immediately many eyes focused towards the sky where that powerful st came from and they all saw the princess shing with the General. Having witnessed her power before too when she defeated the duke, the soldier of the army immediately rejoiced.
After which, the ferocity of their attacks increased as the tussled with the Tainted Knight, Hellfire Artillery Unit, Grim Reaper''s Brigade and all the other divisions of the second army.
On another front of the battlefield, Marshall Cavalier saw this scene and sneered.
"Did thisss think that the general is like that duke she defeated? Hmph, she is surely overestimating herself. Well, this is good too. Once she is defeated by the General in front of the numerous eyes, this farce of war will be over too".
Saying so, he shifted his attention towards the adventurers whom even the unit of the Yainted Commanders were having a tough time against. The General''s orders were for him to break the deadlock here and allow the Taintedmanders to regain the flow of the battle.
However, Marshall Cavalier had some other thoughts. Now that things have developed this far wherein they themselves had to fight with the enemy, he wanted to resolve the mistake with his own hands.
As such, he looked for the team who was the key behind the adventurer''s assault. The core which once toppled would lead the others to fall down too.
As his eyes scanned the battlefield, he quickly spotted the team that was like the core of their team.
"Hehe, found you" Immediately, Marshall Cavalier stomped on the ground and rushed forward. His speed was so fast that it defied his obese appearance. In just a matter of seconds, he was already upon that adventurer team.
ke who was shing against two taintedmanders at once, suddenly narrowed his eyes. His sharp senses honed over countless life and death battles, suddenly red rm bells inside him.
Knowing better than to ignore such warnings, he quickly activated his defensive skills and disengaged with the enemy. Immediately after he pulled back, a ck figure like a cannonball crashed into the area he was just standing on moments ago and created arge crater in the process.
"So you dodged that huh?! Skilled indeed" A voice came from within the dust filled crater and a figure swiftly emerged from it.
Seeing who the figure was, a trace of graveness emerged in ke''s eyes. As a veteran warrior, he could feel intense pressureing off from the person in front of him. Surrounded by numerous Tainted Commanders and Tainted Knights while on top of also facing the Marshall, Balke hurriedly assessed his situation.
Promptly, he signalled his teammates who quickly understood his calls and moved away. They formed a semi circle formation of sorts with him in the middle, stopping any enemy from attacking him while also providing enough space for ke to fight the Marshall.
"Not a bad teamwork" Cavalier smirked, seeing through the tactics of the group "However, you have missed one thing. I''m not like those tainted soldiers you have been fighting before".
The tactic was all good and all, it covered the blind side of everyone and one could immediately rush to the other party''s aid after finishing their battle. However, the crux of this tacticy in the fact that one of the adventurers had to face him alone and hold him down for long enough for other adventurers to arrive.
"Do you think that you alone can stop me?" Cavalier spat, his expression gloomy.
ke did not bother to chit chat and simply raised his sword and shield.
Hmph¡ seeing this, Marshall Cavalier snorted. He stepped forward and his obese figure immediately disappeared. When he appeared next, he was already in front of the other party.
"Crimson Evil Fist" Cavalier extended his hand and threw a punch with all of his might. The mana around him boiled, surging towards his fist it formed a vague sinister looking devilish face that opened its mouth and bit down on his opponent.
ke widened his eyes and hurriedly roused his aura just before the fist collided against him.
BANG¡ Like a rumbling noise of a cannon being fired from close range, the sound when the fist connected with him was so deafening that it could be heard from miles away.
A visible depression appeared in the air and ke was immediately blown back. However, before his back could touch the ground in a sorry state, powerful orange lights burst out of his body before transforming him into a hulking fellow of over twelve meters.
"Sr ze Protector" ke muttered under his breath as he flipped his body andnded on his feet. Currently, he looked just like an orange giant, fierce and valiant as he held the sword and shield in his hand.
Evidently, facing the Marshall he had immediately activated one of his trump cards.
BANG¡ another deafening noise sounded across the battlefield followed by furious sts of air that spread across the surrounding. Marshall Cavalier appeared in front of ke and punched again. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
His short frame whenpared to the towering orange figure that was ke, looked extremelyical. Nevertheless, the threatening amount of power contained within his punch was not.
His Crimson Evil Fist sted ke away. However this time, the result was slightly different than before. Under the effects of the [Sr ze Protector], ke''s defence had reached a new height.
His figure which was now twelve meters tall, was only pushed back by a couple of meters.
Chapter 842- Knight Captain (6)
Chapter 842- Knight Captain (6)
Other than being pushed back, it didn''t look like ke suffered any damage.
When Marshall Cavalier saw that, his eyebrows involuntarily bunched together as a feeling of unease appeared in his heart. Though he quickly discarded such feelings and spat¡ª
"You are quite tough and your stats are also well bnced. However, you are still many levels lower than me. If you think that you can cover the gap with just skills, then you must be dreaming. Next, I''ll allow you to see the weapon that allowed me to reach the rank of Marshall in the kingdom of ckthorn".
Amidst hisughter, he waved his hands and a ck and white glow appeared around his hands simultaneously. That glow wrapped around his hands and formed two ancient gauntlets.
The gauntlets had a ferocious design and was embedded with numerous core stones. Terrifying energy waves that could immediately knock a low level person unconscious, radiated out of the gauntlet. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Evidently, this gauntlet was no ordinary item and was of a very high rank.
"ck and White Demon Gauntlet¡ I didn''t think that there woulde a time when I would have to use it. Nheless, now that I have used it, your fate is sealed. No matter how you all struggle, you won''t be able to change the fate of this kingdom"
Cavalierughed. He was just in one of those fits where he ridiculed his enemy when¡
"Are you done? If so then let''s fight" ke''s serious and cold words drifted over, shutting up the talkative fellow.
"You!! Fine, since you want to die so fast, then let me fulfil your wish"
Marshall Cavalier punched out with his hand. Instantly air fluctuated and two depressions formed in the air. After which, mana along with faint greyish ck energy surged out through the gauntlet and formed two faint fists that were tens of meters in size.
BUZZ¡ the fists vibrated with a terrifying power and charged towards ke like a streak of light.
Fast!! That was the thought that appeared in thetter''s mind when he saw the attacke flying at him at an insane speed. He only had the time to bring the shield close to him to react before the attacks smashed against him.
BOOOM¡ A berserk energy released from the point of collision, copsing the ground and causing deep cracks to appear wherever the berserk energy spread.
The orange giant which was stopping the two huge fists, trembled intensely and was buried unneath along with the shattered ground.
"ke!!" His teammates hurriedly called. Among them, Frida who was currently holding two taintedmanders and numerous tainted knights back, left her position and rushed towards the hole where ke was buried.
"Dammit, I''ll hold onto the enemies here, you all go and check whether ke is okay"
Wyot hurriedly spoke. His eyes held a grim look as he observed the Marshall from the corner of his eyes. From the sh earlier, he could tell that ke was no match for this guy. Although the both of them were in level 500, their enemy was clearly at thete stages of level 500 while ke had only breached the barrier of level 500 not long ago.
Even if they have levelled up a lot due to the constant fighting and war, there was still arge level gap between them. This gap in strength cannot be simply covered up with skills.
"We need the help of the other vice guild masters if we want to defeat this guy"
Wyot''s eyes roamed across the battlefield. However, when he saw that the other guilds were surrounded by numerous taintedmanders who appeared to be flooding them, he realised that the enemy nned on not letting the other teams interfere. Hence it was on them to defeat the Marshall.
"Dammit" Just as he cursed and was about to stake his life to stop the opponents from going after his friends, he felt the ground beneath him tremble.
The trembling onlysted for a second before it strangely disappeared. Following which, he was amazed to see a giant orange figure break out of the ground andnd in front of their amazed eyes.
Having taken the Marshall''s attack head on, the avatar he was currently transformed into, showed signs of crumbling as numerous cracks ran through the surface of his body. Evidence of the might bestowed within those two fists.
Just two attacks from the Marshall had almost destroyed his trump card. It was clear that he was no match for thetter. However, just as Frida and the others prepared to join the battle, inside the orange giant ke''s figure entered a trance of sorts.
Blood flowed down from his head, dying his skin red. The pupils in his eyes disappeared and he looked like he had lost consciousness when suddenly his body violently jolted. The blood that flowed down his body began releasing a dense crimson mist.
That was not all, his heartbeat had also started pounding loudly and numerous blood coloured sparks burst out of his body. Like snakes, they arched all around his body before digging inside him through his pores.
BANG¡ a powerful shockwave that had the faint scent of blood erupted out of his body and ke who had momentarily lost consciousness finally gained his senses back.
As he sensed the changes around him and the powerful foreign energy yet what felt extremely familiar, was coursing through his body, he was puzzled.
In the next second though, he quickly regained his footing back and used the powerful energy that was flowing through his body to bolster his strength.
Unknowingly to him, as he tapped into that power, one of his eyes showed vague signs of turning red, even his pupils wiggled appearing extremely bizarre and mysterious. Other than that, his already crimson hair turned dark until there was no difference between his hair and the colour of blood.
All of these changes seemed to have gone unnoticed by ke who was already in motion of swinging his sword. However, how could these changes go unnoticed by Frida and the others who were observing him from the outside?
The Orange giant he had transformed into, turned blood red in a couple of seconds and gave off an intense bloody scent. Not only that, along with the change in its colour the giant also became more powerful and ruthless. As could be seen from the sword skill that the giant used.
"Sr de" A powerful exclusive and rare skill of ke''s Sr ze Protector ss had turned into a blood red sword whose each swing produced a lethal and powerful sword light that could even cleave a mountain in half and leave deep gorges in the ground.
Facing such a ferocious attack that had suddenly strengthened out of nowhere, even Marshall Cavalier was hard pressed to counter.
CLANG¡ CLANG¡ CLANG¡ numerous bloody sword lights and two ck and white gauntlets collided numerous times in a matter of few seconds. Their intense collision produced berserk energy waves that spread out like typhoons, making it nigh impossible for anyone to approach them.
"What is going on?! How could his strength increase all of a sudden"
Having shed with ke so many times, Marshall Cavalier could feel that something was different. Something that even he didn''t know had urred inside the body of this man which caused his powers to increase all of a sudden.
SWOOSH¡ A bloody sword light came sweeping down from the sky and headed straight for his body intending to cleave him in half.
Hmph, Cavalier snorted and used his ck and white gauntlet to defend. BANG¡ intense collision urred and the attack pushed him dozens of meters away.
When he finally, stabilised his body, he realised that his arms had be sore and a deep gash appeared on his shoulder. Blood dripped down from that wound, it appeared that he failed topletely block out that previous attack
"Bastard, I''ll kill you!!"
When he realised that, dense murderous aura flowed out of his body distorting his already twisted face even further. However, just as he stomped on the ground and was about to forward, he realised that he suddenly lost his centre of bnce causing his body to be unable to muster the strength properly.
BANG¡a blood coloured sword collided heavily against his body and sent him flying back like a cannonball. The ground for dozens of meters was flipped upside down and a deep gorge appeared on the ground wherever Marshall passed through.
It was only after leaving a long deep ditch and rolling over a couple of times did Marshall''s body came to a stop. Puff¡ a mouthful of blood came out of thetter''s body.
"What is going on?" As he held his chest and vomited out another mouthful of blood, he looked at his own weakening body and the blood red giant in the distance.
At that very instant when he charged forward, he felt like his body had weakened, his eyes became blurry and he lost all control of his strength for a second there. This... it needs to be mentioned that he was an extremely powerful warrior with a level of 589.
It was not only just his level, but the skill and the foundation he built was also extraordinary. Needless to say, so were his sses up until now. Each and every ss he chose for ss change was a rare ss that raised his stats even further.
Even back in the Kingdom of Balckthorn, he was considered a powerhouse. He was below only a couple of people that one could count in their hands.
Chapter 843- Knight Captain (7)
Chapter 843- Knight Captain (7)
Naturally, Cavalier never thought he would end up in this state while fighting someone whose level was much lower than his own. This kind of shame¡ unable to bear the rage storming inside his body, he vomited another mouthful of blood.
"There is no way, I will lose to a peasant from a low ranking empire"
BANG¡ His eyes which was masked with shock and confusion up until a moment ago, suddenly held a feral beast like savageness. He propped his body up and immediately rushed towards the blood red giant.
Beresek mana carrying faint greyish balck miasma, agglomerated towards the ck and White gauntlet.
[Ultra Enhanced strength], [Ultra Enhanced Defence], [Ultra Enhanced Endurance], [Super Enhanced Agility], [me Resistance], [Lightnign Resitance], [Blunt Damage Resistance], [Mana Armour],[Malovalence Field], [Grim Shroud], [Shadow Surge], [ck Wind Embrace], [Vile Resilience], [Tainted Convergence], [Berserk]¡ª [[Grim Assault]]
Marshall Cavalier activated numerous skills and quickly bolstered his strength. Numerous high ranking, superior, rare and even lost skills targeted the blood red giant. Neverhtless, like sturdy boat that refused to capsize even in the stormiest of waves, he continued to battle even while suffering severe damage.
ke who had transformed into the crimson giant, was no pushover either. His skills refined after facing numerous life and death battles coupled with the mysterious power flowing inside his body, gave him an edge to fight opponents many levels higher than him.
His skills which contained a dense bloody glow seemed to have risen up a rank as the destructive force they unleased was far greater than what he could unleash before. Thanks to all of this, he could fight Marshall Cavalier without falling into a disadvantage.
Their fight was intense and couldn''t be contained in one area any longer. They appeared and disappeared in a sh leaving extreme destruction in their wake.
As time flowed by and the ferociousness of their techniques and skills escted causing both the parties to be riddled with injuries as blood flowed out from both their bodies. Clearly, both of them had suffered some extreme damage during their sh.
At a nce, both Marshall Cavalier and ke looked severely haggard and exhausted. However, if one looked carefully, one would be able to notice that although both of them were riddled with wounds and panting heavily, only if their aura was dropping while the other stayed stagnant.
No, it would be wrong to say stagnant as the other aura was slowly increasing and growing stronger. This was a vague feeling at first; however, as more and more time passed and the battle became bloodier, this feeling became more obvious. The twobatants could also feel that.
"Huff¡ huff¡ something is seriously wrong with that guy. He is slowly bing stronger" Marshall Cavalier huffed as he slowly distanced himself from ke. The person whose aura was slowly bing weaker as time passed by, was him.
While his opponent on the other hand was slowly getting stronger. This made Cavalier even more frustrated as he couldn''t understand what was going on. At first, the other party was no match for him; however, in that short span when he used his gauntlet to pummel them inside the ground something inside them changed.
Thereafter in the fight that followed next, he could feel that every time he took some damage he was slowly getting weaker while his opponent stronger. This ominous thought of his proved to be true as the battle waged and they reached a point where he was no longer the opponent of the other party.
"I can''t lose¡" Unable to ept the reality, Marshall Cavalier muttered to himself.
What he didn''t know was that his conjecture was actually true, The mysterious power within ke''s body made him more powerful the more blood flowed out of him and his opponents.
It was not only that, as this was a battlefield, every drop of blood that stained the ground, became the power that surged within him. It was as if the blood flowing on the battlefield, had be the source of his strength fueling the mysterious energy within him.
Perhaps the person who was facing him, ke himself didn''t know what was going on with his body. From the nk and cold expression on his face, he looked like he had entered a bizarre state of sorts where he had forgotten everything around him and was fully focused on the battle in front of him.
He continued to drown himself in the pleasures and excitement of the battle as the bloody glow around him continued to strengthen. His opponents who was unaware of the sinister nature of his abilities, continued to press their attack, unknowingly feeding ke''s insatiable hunger for battle.
BANG¡ as he took a step forward, he looked just like a giant that was made of blood. [Great Horizontal sh] With every strike exchanged, his form seemed to blur with unnatural speed, his strikes hitting with unerring uracy and devastating force.
Meanwhile, Marshall Cavalier''s desperation grew with each passing moment. Despite his formidable skill and experience, he found himself overwhelmed by the relentless onught of ke''s newfound power.
The mysterious force within his opponent seemed to defy all logic, granting him strength beyondprehension. In the ensuing battle that unfolded next, there was no twist nor was there any variation from the end oue.
Marshall Cavalier waspletely suppressed in every exchange and it was clear that he was now just being toyed with. Standing against him was ke who stood amidst the carnage, blood flowed down his body dying himpletely crimson.
He had already released his Sr ze Protector Avatar and returned to his original form. A thick blood whirlpool surrounded him, giving him a menacing and overbearing aura.
.
.
Standing in the sky, the general turned his eyes over at this part of the battlefield. Needless to say, the changes around ke did not go unnoticed by him. From the looks of things, he could already tell that Cavalier had lost. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Even though thetter was still standing and continued to fight, it was clear from his experienced eyes that Cavalier was all but spent and his current actions were no different than a child trying to throw a tantrum.
No matter what he did, he could not change the flow of the battle, the oue was already decided.
Losing a man like Cavalier wasn''t something that his second army could afford. The General wanted to lend a hand to Cavalier; however, his hands were already tied fighting the princess who attacked her with all her strength.
The beast inheritance that he suspected the princess possessed, wasn''t something he dared to underestimate. And besides, this part of the battlefield wasn''t the only one which looked like it needed his aid.
The southern part of the city walls was equally in chaos. The perfect taintedmander who he thought would sweep the enemies was at this moment was on the backfoot as it was constantly besieged and forced back by a group of warriors and mages until it was unable to even retaliate.
Its body was marked with numerous injuries and the tainted armour and weapon he held were filled with cracks, almost showing signs of crumbling apart. From the look of things there, it looked like the perfect taintedmander would be defeated if things continued to head in the same direction.
It needs to be mentioned that refining a perfect tainted knight was a rarity even back in the kingdom of ckthorn. As it involved numerous factors and thepatibility of the body, it wasn''t easy to refine a perfect tainted knight and especially one whose strength allowed it to be a taintedmander.
If they lost this pawn it would be a severe damage to their second army. The General narrowed his eyes and snorted. Vast amount of mana that had greyish ck miasma mixed with it erupted out of his body and covered the sky.
Next, like a nket, it spread around and enveloped him within it.
Cynthia who at this moment was preparing to attack, had to hurriedly pull back. Neverhtless, even then the hem of her dress was caught up in it.
Sizzle¡ Sizzle¡ the portion of the dress was caught in that greyish ck miasma instantly lost colour and crumbled apart. When Cynthia saw that, her eyes widened and additional traces of seriousness appeared within them.
''That energy¡ but how?'' at this moment, the Sacred Beast Leo who was watching the entire battle spoke inside her head.
"Do you know something Leo?" Cynthia asked, backing away a little. The sacred beast inside her space ring was silent for a while before speaking in a grave tone.
"I hope I am mistaken. Although different, this energy resembles an awful lot of something that should have been extinguished in the ancient times. Cynthia be careful of that greyish ck miasma. I can feel a powerful revulsion and evilness from that energy. I don''t know why this man possesses this energy, but it isn''t something that someone of his level shoulde in contact with. Don''t allow that energy to invade your body".
Cynthia nodded her head. Although Sacred Beast Leo was just a weak remnant soul without any physical body, it was still extremely experienced and knowledgeable since it used to live in the ancient times.
For Leo to caution her, the matter has to be extremely grave.A white light surged out and formed a thinyer around her body, isting the miasma.
"Haha, it looks like you have some idea about this gift that the lord bestowed on me. As I had thought, this transformation of yours should be the beast transformation exclusive to the posessors of Beast Inheritance no?.
Chapter 844- Knight Captain (8)
Chapter 844- Knight Captain (8)
"No wonder you know something about this energy. That beast soul inside you should be quite ancient"
In the sky, shrouded inside the faint greyish ck miasma, the generalughed when he saw the action of the princess. The next second he extended his hands which had bepletely lifeless and grey due to the greyish ck miasma and marvelled at its power.
At this moment, his hands looked dull and dead, just like a corpse. Furthermore, there were criss crossing cracks running through his hand and it seemed like his hands would crumble apart any second. Neverhtless, the vast amount of energy contained within it, said otherwise.
"[Hands of Ruin]"
The general slowly muttered under his breath. His face was extremely pale, veins bulged around his forehead and perspiration covered his body. His aura had also dropped visibly.
Clearly, this power had a lot of drawbacks; however, the General did not care about such things as a fierce smile spread from his lips.
"Using this gift that the lord bestowed upon me, I shall achieve victory for his emperor"
Saying so, the general stepped forward, instantly his figure disappeared. The next time he appeared, he was already behind Cynthia. A grey hand was extended towards her seemingly wanting to touch her.
Thetter sensing the danger, dodged to the side and employed a movement skill to open some distance between them. After that, her eyes which had contracted like a cat, gazed at the extended hand.
She could feel some intense dangerous fluctuationsing from that seemingly ordinary hand. Her omen proved to be true the next second when the general opened his hand.
"So you dodged that huh? Good choice, if you hadn''t dodged, your oue would have been just like this hair" The general opened his hand, and a single strand of hair was caught in between his palm.
The volet coloured hair had a lustrous shine to it and it was obvious who it belonged to. Cynthia looked at that strand of her hair when suddenly her eyes contracted. In front of her gaze, that hair instantly lost all of its shine as a greyish energy invaded it and it quickly withered away.
Seeing this, a chill an down her spine. Thankfully, it was just a strand of her hair, had it connected with her body, even she didn''t have the confidence toe out unscathed.
"Cynthia use the Beast Materialisation Skill. You cannot let him touch you" The sacred beast Leo spoke inside her head.
"I understand" Cynthia nodded her head and activated the beast materialisation skill. The space around her violently trembled before wave after wave of pure mana that contained traces of divinity spread out of her body.
The next second, they clustered together to form two gigantic ws that looked like the ws of a lion.
The ws looked almost animate and ancient, like two ws that had breached through the barrier of time and appeared before everyone. They possessed their own destructive undtion that waspletely different from the general''s [Hands of Ruin].
The battle that hade to a pause, erupted once again. This time, it was Cynthia who went into the offensive and shed against the general. Their battle was fierce and extremely eye catching. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Berserk wind rose, turning into tornadoes that connected the sky with thend, thunder rumbled and hundred foot wide de auras dropped from the sky like rain. Hundreds of meters of area around them was instantly turned into a disaster area where life would be harvested in an instant if any weak level person approached the area even by mistake.
Many observers watched the fight between their leaders with fear and apprehension in their eyes. The fight between the two would decide the ultimate victor of this long drawn out war. Victory or defeat would be decided the moment when one of them falls.
While Cynthia and the general were locked in an intense battle the shockwave of which could be felt all through the battlefield, in another area of the battlefield, a team of four people were engaged in a fierce struggle of their own.
Alvara, Burg, Marba and Brett zipped through the ground and attacked the enemy with all their might. Facing them was the Perfect Tainted Commander or to say the former Knight Captian of the kingdom of Ellesmere.
CLANG¡ a powerful noise rang out, Alvara, Burg and Brett who werebining their attacks to stop the Knight captain, were all blown back. Blood flowed down their bodies; nevertheless, they still managed tond their attacks even if they had to incur some damage in the process.
The Knight Captain staggered, at this moment his figure looked extremely battered with sword and wounds dotting his body making him look just like a porcupine. His scarred flesh and half exposed skull made him out to be quite a sorry figure and at the same time made him appear quite menacing.
Even though the knight captain was staggering and had taken a lot of damage, there was no denying the aura he gave off which was still as powerful as ever.
Facing that aura head on, Alvara and her group''s faces paled. Although they had received guidance and even sparred with the knight captain before, this was the first time they were fighting him in a serious life and death battle.
There were several instances during the fight where they almost lost their lives and situations where they had to pay a heavy price just to dodge an attack from him.
The knight Captain''s attacks were fierce and swift standing up to the reputation of the strongest royal knight of the kingdom. It was not only his attacks, but his defences were also nigh imprable with a solid body bnce that allowed him to counterattack at the slightest opportunity.
From this, one could wonder how powerful the knight captain was. If not for the fact that he had been turned into a tainted soldier and he no longer possessed his former wits, it would be impossible for them to deal this much damage to him.
In fact, most of the damage seen on the body of the knight captain was done by the air strike earlier. Alvara and the others utilised that opportunity when his attacks became too dull to deal damage to him.
Nevertheless, facing him once again and this time as opponents, they once again realised why this man in front of him was called the strongest royal knight and the shield that stood between the royal family and the enemies.
That said, knowing this and facing him right now, did not make them the slightest bit happy. The reason for that was because the once glorious knight captain was now being made use of in such a cruel way.
How could Alvara and the others bear to see him like that?
"Dammit, even though he is no longer my brother, the strength he possesses is undoubtedly his" Alvara muttered dodging numerous sword shes that came at her at breakneck speed.
"You are right, this is getting nowhere. At this rate, we will be the first ones to expend our energy and tire out. We need a n" Burg was of the same mind. As they faced the knight captain, the group gathered together.
"Although it might look like our attacks aren''t doing any damage, it can be seen from his slowly deteriorating movements that it is definitely having some effect. Although he might be much more powerful than the other tainted knights, he is no different from them. That is to say, if we attack his weak point, which is his head, he can be defeated"
"However, our des aren''t able to get too close to him and even if it does, the armour stops it from bing fatal. The only one among us who has enough firepower to ignore the defence of the armour is Marba" Alvara exined the n.
"Even if she can deal damage to him, I highly doubt that Knight Captain¡ ahem¡ former knight captain will sit still and allow her toplete her magic" Brett the assassin spoke. As a former seasoned adventurer, his input was highly regarded within the group.
"You are right, there is no way that man will let Marbaplete her spell. Which why we must stop him until then"
When she spoke till here, she could see a pensive look appear on the faces of everyone. If the battle so far taught them something, it would be that dealing with the knight captain was not so easy.
If it was, wouldn''t they have already defeated him? Forget about being able to stop him, they had to put their life on line just to contain him. Alvara asking them to stop him while Marba casts her most powerful magic would not only prove to be a monumental task but it would also expose Marba to danger.
Everybody knew how powerless a mage was when they were in the middle of casting their magic.
Even mindless beasts would prioritise attacking the mage after sensing the danger emitted by the magic, much less needs to be said about intelligent opponents. It wasmon knowledge to take out the mages from the enemy''s team before they could unleash any powerful magic.
As such, it was unlikely that the knight captain even though he had been turned into a cold emotionless tool of war, would wait for Marba to unleash her magic. A warrior as powerful as him wouldn''t even need much time to cover the distance between him and Marba to swiftly cull her down.
Chapter 845- A Change in Situation
Chapter 845- A Change in Situation
Everybody was pondering the option when Alvara spoke once again.
"I know I am asking too much, if possible I would have liked to stake my life in the line instead of Marba. However, I see no other option to take this man down. I know I am being selfish but I don''t want to see my brother being manipted to kill his own people anymore. Of course, we will go with this n only if Marba herself agrees".
The mage Marba who was at the back of the formation, clutched her staff tightly. Her face looked pale and her body trembled ever so slightly. Clearly, she was nervous when such arge responsibility was put on her shoulders. Nevertheless, the girl put up a bright smile and nodded her head.
"Haha, don''t worry about me, I will do it. Just like you, I want Sir Cyrus to rest too. He was someone noble and helped orhpans like us to walk the right path when we were young. If it''s for him, then even if it costs me my life I shall help set him free".
Her words made Burg who usually stuck close to her the most, to bunch his brows. His mouth opened and closed as he looked at the determined girl next to him. In the end, he was unable to say anything and could only clench his shield tighter.
His movements might have been slight; however, they didn''t go unnoticed by Alvara. She turned towards Marba and reassured, "There is no need for you to give your life. I promise you that we will keep him contained until youplete your spell".
There was a faint smile on her face.
"It looks like you have some n, Guardmander. In that case, allow these old bones to aid you. Although I might not be able to handle the former knight captain, I still take pride in being a seasoned adventurer" Brett the old assassin spoke brandishing his knives.
"Alright everyone, get into position. We shall take down the knight captain who is being manipted by the enemies and reduce the burden on the princess who is fighting to take out the head of the enemy army" Alvara hurridly cried out when she saw her brother move once again.
BOOM¡ cracking the ground as he moved, the knight captain now a perfect taintedmander utilised his high stats to appear in front of them. The greyish ck sword in his hand was swung downwards and a powerful de aura was released.
The de aura was more than ten feet long and was sharp enough to cleave through an entire mountain.
"Haaaaa!!" at the same moment the sword was swung down, a mighty roar sounded and Burg carrying arge shield with one hand, stood in front of everyone. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
CLANG¡ a low dull noise rang out followed by intense sparks as the force behind the de aura pushed Burg dozens of meters. A deep ditch formed under his feet and sounds of his bones breaking could be heard.
In fact, his face looked so red that it wouldn''t be surprising that he burst many veins in the process. Yet the force behind the de aura was yet to diminish. Nevertheless, like a stubborn bull, Burg refused to budge down.
Finally, just as he was about to be blown away, he threw away his sword and grabbed the shield with both of his hands. What''s more, he also lowered his centre of gravity and tilted his shield until his posture was exactly like the knight captain when he defended.
Finally, after a fierce struggle, the de aura came to a stop and was deflected upwards just as it was about to cleave his shield in half.
"If you are a protector, just focus on defending. There is no meaning for you to hold a sword, all you need is a shield. As long as you master it, you can protect everyone and anyone who is behind you"
"Knight captain do you still remember these words that you said to me when we met for the first time after I got recruited as a royal knight?" Burg looked at the former knight captain and grinned.
Though his words did not evoke any emotion from the man who was no different than a cold emotionless machine right now. Thetter simply extended his sword upwards, frightening mana mixed with peculiar greyish energy gathered at the edges.
"No, you don''t"
Just as he was about to swing his sword once again, Brett pounced out of thin air and attacked the wrist of the knight captain thus stopping him from unleashing that devastating sword sh once again.
It was not only Brett, Alvara who followed soon after, chained her attacks with Brett. Her powerful skills,bined with the abilities of her rare ss rained down on the knight forcing him to defend continuously.
By the time the taintedmander could deal with all those attacks, Burg recovered from his injuries and stood before him once again. The group repeated the tactic, keeping the knight captain busy.
Meanwhile, standing at the far back, Marba raised her staff and started casting. Whoosh¡ winds began to brew as arge amount of mana gushed out of her body. Like a twister, the mana from Marba was dense enough to take form and even affect the environment.
With every chant that she spoke, the dense mana agglomerated towards her staff. Therge core stone released a bright glow as threatening fluctuations spread all around the surroundings.
Like ripples on the surface of ake, these fluctuations were visible to the naked eye. The natural mystical energy present in the surrounding immediately fled when it came in contact with those ripples.
If the precursive effects was already this strong, one would have to wonder how powerful the magic was.
"This destructive aura¡ it has clearly surpassed the intermediate magic. No, could she be trying to conjure amalgamation magic of two intermediate tier elements?"
Brett who was busy containing the knight captain, muttered under his breath feeling the magic slowly take shape.
"Haha, thatss has grown" heughed.
Something like casting amalgamation magic and that too of two intermediate tier elements wasn''t something that the previous Marba would even think of. Yet the current her was trying to achieve just that.
This showed how much she had grown both in terms of level and mentality in the past few months. In fact, it was not only her who had shown growth, all the people in the group had broken out of their previous shells and had be more powerful and resilient.
Like a butterflying out of a cocoon, they had undergone a metamorphosis of sorts. As could be seen from the way they fought and coordinated together. Each and every skill they used was effective enough to increase the damage of the others while leaving no opportunity to exploit.
"Let''s keep mounting the pressure. If Marba is able to sessfully cast that magic, it will surely take down this taintedmander" On Cynthia''s shout the ferocity of the group''s attack increased.
If they could sense the changes in the mana in the surroundings, then it was also possible for the former knight captain they were entangled with to also sense it too.
Knowing such a powerful attack was about toe, there was no way, he would let herplete it. As they had expected, the dead eyes of the knight captain suddenly shone with a beast like ferocity. The entire atmosphere around him changed and his attacks became even more berserk.
"Kuh" Burg grit his teeth and endured the relentless attack that came raining down on him. By now he had already lost all sensationing from his arms which felt like two blocks of concrete that were extremely heavy.
Yet even though he bled and suffered inhumane pain in the process, he did not move away from his ce. The reason being that as a tank if he moved from his ce, then it would put his teammates in danger and especially that girl who was currently in the midst of conjuring her most powerful magic.
Compared to the responsibility she shouldered, the pain he suffered was nothing.
"Knight captain you are not going anywhere"
Giving a deep growl like that of an injured beast, Burg activated one skill after another. His skin turned crimson and his body ballooned increasing to a size of a small mountain in the blink of an eye.
Sensing the changes in him, Alvara also activated her most powerful skill. [ThornBloom de Dance] a rare skill that has perfected to the ancient tier.
The sword in her hand danced, releasing peculiar sword glows that stayed in the air without disappearing even after a while.
[ThornBloom Dance], it was a technique thatbined elegance with lethal and deadly strikes. Every movement and arc, manifests a whirlwind of shes that mimic the graceful yet lethal movements of blooming thorns.
With each strike of the technique, it appeared as if it were a thorn springing forth from the earth, swift and unstoppable.
Alvara''s movement looked like a dance, the air crackled with power, and the sound of steel slicing through the atmosphere was akin to the rustling of leaves in the wind. Her de moved with fluidity and speed, leaving behind a trail of shimmering arcs that glint in the light like petals catching the sun.
From afar, the Thornbloom de Dance resembles a beautiful yet perilous dance, Alvara moving with such grace and precision that it is almost mesmerizing to behold.
Chapter 846- A Change In Situation (2)
Chapter 846- A Change In Situation (2)
There was no doubt that it looked extremely beautiful; however, make no mistake, it was a technique created to leave destruction in its wake. Each strike of the Thornbloom de Dance carries with it a deadly intent, capable of piercing through even the toughest of defences.
The air shook as all the des set their target. The next second, a sharp energy filled the ce as all the des rained down on the Knight Captain like petals falling from trees, a mesmerising sight to behold.
"Haha, that''s the spirit. Keep it up you two"
The old assassin Brett spoke. He then kept his twin dagger and took out a new weapon from his space ring.
The new weapon was a blowgun. The body of the blowgun was ash grey in colour with numerous markings and runes inscribed on its surface. Its body was also rough and ancient as if it was made very crudely.
Neverhtless, once it appeared in Brett''s hands the entire aura around it changed. The runes around it started glowing with a mysterious energy. Despite its rough and crude appearance, there was an undeniable aura of danger emanating from the weapon. Clearly, it was of a very high rank.
"Now then I can''t let the youngsters take all the spotlight can I? I didn''t think that I would have to use this thing one day. Neverhtless, using it is better than dying futilely¡ hehe".
Holding the blowgun in his hand, the assassin spoke. At the end of his sentence, Brett even startedughing mncholily.
He took a deep breath and ced his mouth on the blowgun. Immediately, a torrent of power was released from the blowgun and the air crackled in omen of the iing attack.
"Hmph, do you really think that you can stop a perfect Taintedmander just like that?"
Standing in the sky, observing the battle as he fought with Cynthia, was the general. He snorted in derision when he saw that the perfect taintedmander waspletely stopped by this group of people.
His hands suddenly formed some cryptic seals and the auras of all the taintedmanders and tainted knights on the ground increased drastically. The change was fierce and could be seen all around the battlefield.
The once deadlock that had been formed between the army of the kingdom of Ellesmere and the forces of Balckthorn, waspletely broken with the sudden surge in power among the tainted knights.
"What did you do?" Cynthia hurriedly cried out in anger. She could see that the army of her kingdom was slowly starting to get overwhelmed and pushed back. The same was the case even with the adventurers of the tower town.
Although they could somehow manage even while facing the sudden surge in strength in their opponents, it was clear that they were starting to have a tough time defeating them.
"Haha, it''s nothing, I just released the seal that has been keeping the tainted knights from unleashing all their strength. Although doing so would cause the tainted knights to suffer some damage from the repercussions of the tainted energy, given the situation, it cannot be helped. The forces of His Majesty cannot be stopped by the likes of you" The generalughed, pleased by the result.
"You!!" Cynthia was enraged. She was just about to attack him with a powerful skill when suddenly her attention was distracted by a powerful roar that came from the direction she was paying close attention.
''It cannot be'' An ominous thought just appeared in her mind when it became reality the next second.
ROARRR¡ in the far battlefield, the knight captain roared like a beast a dense cloud of greyish-ck energy erupted from his body, shrouding him in an aura of malevolence.
The energy writhed and twisted like the tendrils of some otherworldly creature, its corrosive nature evident in the way it ate away at the surrounding air.
Within the swirling maelstrom of energy, the knight captain''s form underwent a grotesque transformation. His visage contorted and warped, his features elongating into something almost bestial in nature.
His eyes burned with a sinister light, and his greyish ck armour now seemed to melt and meld with the swirling energy, almost bing an extension of the swirling energies that came out of his body.
Spikes and jagged edges protruded from his body, giving him the appearance of a nightmarish fusion of man and monster.
As his blurry figure twisted and distorted, it became increasingly hard topare him with the appearance of the knight captain.
ROARR¡ the taintedmander roared once again. The next second, the air around him grew thick with dread, and the atmosphere itself began to shudder with the pressure emitted by him.
BANG¡ the ground cracked as he moved. In the blink of an eye, he was already upon Burg who could barely respond in time.
CLANG¡ CLANG¡ CLANG¡ sharp sword strikes hit the shield. Despite it being made of a very high grade material, it quickly copsed under the attack from the taintedmander.
Now that his seal was removed, his attack intensified, reaching a new height and disying the might of a Perfect Tainted Commander. Peculiar greyish ck energy mixed with mana released out of his body in droves increasing the power and lethality of each of his attacks.
At this moment, the perfect taintedmander hadpletely surpassed the former knight captain both in terms of power and stats. Under the storm like attacks of the knight captain and having lost his shield Burg quickly found himself at a disadvantage and slowly being beaten back.
BANG¡ with a powerful front kick, he was blown back, blood sprouting from all of his seven orifices. The peculiar greyish ck energy alsotched onto him like a loach slowly depleting all of his energy.
After dealing with Burg, the Perfect Taintedmander then executed a high ranking movement skill to quickly dodge the iing sword dance from Alvara.
The Thornbloom de dance was no doubt an extremely powerful Rare Ancient Tier skill. Each of the swords that rained like petals, was sharp enough to easily pierce through armour made of Balckgold.
Even if it was the Knight Captian who was regarded as the strongest knight in the history of the kingdom, he wouldn''t be able toe out unscathed when facing that attack.
However, the knight captain was called as so for a reason. Even if he had been turned into an existence simr to the tainted knights, his body still possessed and remembered the skill he had honed over the years.
Alvara and the other might have be stronger in these past few months but there was still arge gap between them and the knight captain. Naturally, if Alvara could possess some rare ancient tier skills, then there was no reason to think that the knight captain didn''t.
Utilising the movement skill whose ranking was not any less impressive than the Thornbloom Balde Dance, the Knight Captain left numerous afterimages as he dodged all the iing attacks from Alvara and rushed towards the Assassin named Brett.
The former tried to stop him; however, the taintedmander had already swung his sword forward.
SHIING¡ A powerful de aura erupted forth from the tip of the sword and rushed towards the assassin. The de aura held an extremely destructive force and was dozens of times bigger than what was thrown at Burg previously.
Evidently, the taintedmander had stopped holding back and threw this attack with the intention to kill. If the attack connected, there was no way Brett who was not a tank like Burg, would be able to endure it.
Perhaps, he might be able to keep his life intact by using several skills; however, if he took that attack head on, he would no doubt be severely injured in the process.
"Brett dodge it" Alvara cried out. Though the next second she realised how foolish those words were.
The attack from the taintedmander came as a surprise and Brett who was currently in the midst of operating the blowgun, had no way of dodging it.
SLASH¡ in a split second, the sword aura arrived and cleaved through the man andnd alike. Destruction was left behind, a deep ravine that looked like the slithering body of a giant snake, formed on the ground.
As for Brett, there was no signs of his existence left behind. It was as if the man had disappeared along with the ground he was standing on.
When Alvara and the others saw that, their expression drastically fell.
"Dammit!!"
Alvara cried out, all kinds of emotions fluctuated on her face. Even though she knew that stopping the former knight captain would be an incredibly dangerous task and she might very well lose some of her friends, when it really did happen, it was hard for her and everyone to ept it. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The loss of the old assassin Brett was devastating, it was a hard pill to swallow. However, they weren''t given any time to mourn for the loss they suffered as the Perfect Tainted Commander after disposing of Brett, turned towards the mage next.
Swoosh¡ his body moved and he left an afterimages behind. His speed was so fast that they weren''t even able to react in time.
In just a matter of seconds, the perfect taintedmander was already upon Marba who at this moment was still in the middle of casting her magic.
It was only now they realised that the real target of the former Knight Captain was her from the beginning.
Chapter 847- A Change In Situation (3)
847 Chapter 847- A Change In Situation (3)
The attack on Brett and everything was all just a fa?ade. The one who represented the real danger to him since the beginning was Marba. As such, his first objective was to take her out.
The greyish ck sword that contained the peculiar energy slowly dropped on the head of the girl. Given the fact that she was a mage¡ª a ss whose defensive stat was the weakest out of all the sses and that she was currently in the middle of chanting her magic and could not pull herself out, meant that she was at her most vulnerable state.
In her current state, forget about the powerful sword sh that even a warrior like Burg who specialised in defence, was unable to take onpletely, even the weakest attack would prove fatal to her.
Everybody who was powerless enough to watch, had no doubt in kind that once this attacknded, that pretty body of that girl would be split into two.
At this moment, time came to a crawl as the group watched the sword slowly drop down on the head of the girl.
"Stoppp!!"
Burg cried out in a heart palpitating manner. He tried to run towards her; however, the injuries in his body were far too severe. The huge indent made on his armour from the kick he suffered earlier, made him cough out blood due to overstraining his body.
In the end, all he could do was look at the sword slowly sh down at the girl.
"Haha, did you think that you killed this old man? Sir Knight Captain, I can''t believe you would be this careless. It is amon knowledge that when pacing a party, the most one should be cautious of after the mage is the assassin. You of all people should know that I ain''t among those to drop dead so easily"
A timely voice intervened. Just as the sword was in midmotion, the air behind the perfect taintedmander fluctuated and Brett''s figure materialised out of it.
He looked perfectly fine with not even a trace of wound that could be seen on his body. Clearly, he managed to dodge the previous attack before it could kill him.
Brett''s appearance was a pleasant surprise for Alvara and the group who were desperately running towards the former knight captain to stop him.
"Brett, stop him" Alvar hurriedly cried out.
"Haha, I intend to do exactly that, guardmander"
Brett smiled, at this moment he had already brought the blowgun to his mouth. His movements were fluid and precise, portraying years of honed skill and expertise.
As he blew into the blowgun, the weapon seemed to hum with power, the air crackled with sparks of raw energy being released out and an undeniable aura of danger suffused into the surrounding.
The next second, the blowgun fired. Immediately, a powerful phenomenon erupted. ck lightning erupted from the weapon,ncing outwards in a pure destructive and ominous force.
The shockwaves that rippled through the air were felt for miles around, rattling the very earth with their intensity. A torrent of power was unleashed, the force of which was enough to send even the strongest of foes reeling.
The blowgun was the strongest attack that Brett could dish out. What''s more, it was a forbidden weapon that he had procured a long time ago when he was still an active adventurer.
When blown into its tube, it released condensed mana supercharged to its utmost limit and imbued with a lethal potency that bordered on extreme might. Even if it was the Knight Captain with his extreme skills and defence, he won''t be able topletely avoid the attack, especially from this distance.
Just like Brett had predicted, the former Knight Captain was forced to halt his attack on the mage midway and instead block his attack.
As the lethal mana dart hurtled towards him with deadly uracy, the tainted knightmander''s reaction was nothing short of astonishing. With a speed that seemed almost inhuman, he intercepted the projectile mid-flight, his movements fluid and precise despite the ferocity of the attack.
CLANG¡ The sword sh that had been intended to cleave Marba in half was abruptly redirected, the tainted knightmander''s de intercepted the mana dart with a resounding ng.
The supercondensced mana dart that was even able to prate through even the most sturdiest of defence, was stopped by a single sword swing from the knight captain. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Although the sword suffered heavy damage in the process with arge chink appearing at the edges of its de, it nheless sessfully stopped the attack.
The old assassin Brett stood there in undisguised astonishment. It was one thing if the former knight captain was able to stop the attack had he was fully prepared and knew that the attack wasing.
However, his attack was silent and unexpected. He made sure that the enemy was fully focused on his target and waspletely unaware of his surroundings before acting.
Yet in that split second, the Knight Captain was not only able to act but even stop his attack. A feat of reflexes and skill that bordered on the supernatural, defying the limits of what should have been humanly possible.
The scene was so unexpected that Brett was unable to react to what urred next nor did anybody.
SLASH¡ blood spurted like a fountain and a deep gash appeared on the body of the old assassin.
THUD¡ the man fell down in the pool of his own blood, his eyes still containing the surprise from before. It was unknown whether he was dead or alive.
After dealing with the assassin, the Perfect Tainted Commander finally turned towards the mage. At this moment, the mana in the surrounding was going crazy with dark clouds looming over in the sky, evidence that the magic was almost about to bepleted.
.
.
CLANG¡ he slowly dragged the sword through the ground and turned towards the mage. Now that the distraction was gone, it was finally time he dealt with the mage.
Facing him, Marba might be fully focused onpleting her magic; however, she could still sense the event that was going around her. Brett''s unknown fate and her impending doom, everything was crystal clear to her.
Yet even while knowing that if she didn''t stop chanting and moved out of the way, she would die, the girl bit her lips and stubbornly endured.
Her friends andrades were all injured trying to stop the former knight captain and it was unknown if Brett was alive or dead. In a situation like this, if she stopped chanting they would automatically lose all their chance of defeating him.
At that moment, the sacrifice and the injuries that her friends suffered would be for nought. This was an oue she was unwilling to ept. No matter what, she had toplete her magic.
"Just a little more!!"
She muttered inside her head. However, fate was cruel, it did not give her any time. The de of death hung high up and with a swoosh, it came down.
Marba closed her eyes as ifing to terms with her fate. Yet at thest moment, she heard the berserk roar of a man whose voice was much too familiar to her and before she knew it, somethingrge embraced her tightly.
When Marba opened her eyes, she realised that she was perfectly safe and was tightly being hugged by one of herrades, the burly knight Burg who at this moment was standing in front of her.
"You¡" Marba was so astonished that she wanted to say something; however, before she could open her mouth, she heard the sound of blood sshing behind Burg.
Afraid that he had taken the attack by shielding her, she hurriedly cried out when she realised that Burg was equally surprised as her.
From his somewhat healthy face, it didn''t seem like he suffered any wound.
If it was not him then who stopped the attack from the former knight captain?
"You stupid subordinates. Really, you all will be the death of me"
A somewhat forced voice that contained traces of suppressed pain and sadness, rang out. The familiar voice instantly caused Burg and Marba to widen their eyes. Their gaze shifted and they quickly turned around to see that the person who stopped the attack from the former knight captain was none other than Alvara.
Though she stopped the attack, it was clear that she had to pay a heavy price. A deep gash appeared on her armour from which blood flowed out unceasingly. Her weapon was broken in half and her face was as pale as a sheet.
Clearly, she had received great damage. Puff¡ a mouth of blood came out as she tried to open her mouth to say something. However, in the end, all she could do was smile bitterly and nod at Marba.
In this key moment, she was the deciding factor.
Thetter made a devastated expression, tears continuously dropped down her smooth fair cheeks. Neverhtless, she continued her chanting. Her chant appeared heart rending as well as strangely mesmerising. Meanwhile, feeling the increasing danger from the magic being cast, the perfect taintedmander became more frantic. The greyish balck energying out of him whirled and he gave a savage roar.
That long greyish balck de that was like the herald of death was brandished once again. It dropped down on Alvara intending to cleave her in half this time.
Givne thetter''s condition and no means to block the attack anymore, there was no doubt that if this attacknded on her, she would die.
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Chapter 848- The Knight Captains last struggle
848 Chapter 848- The Knight Captain''sst struggle
Heck, even Burg who knew how powerful those sword shes were, understood that it was already a miracle that Alvara was able to keep standing after taking one head on. If she took another one on top of that¡
"No, Guardmander dodge it"
He hurriedly called out. He tried to will his body to move forward; however, his body refused to obey him at his moment as severe pain shot out through every inch of his body. It was obvious that he had already exceeded his physical limit and abused his body until it had to even shut down his pain receptors.
With nothing he could do, Burg could only watch as the sword cleave through the air and drop down on the head of the Guardmander.
"Brother, I will be going ahead. But don''t feel sad, this was not your fault"
A rare beautiful smile appeared at thest moment on this woman who always kept a tight mouth and refused to show much emotion on her face.
At that moment, just as the sword was about to drop down on her, a peculiar phenomenon that Burg and the others didn''t expect urred. The swinging sword of the former Knight Captain came to a stop just inches away from the body of the guardmander.
ROARR¡ at the same instant, the Perfect Tainted Commander gave a bestial howl and started behaving peculiarly. Its crimson eyes which were hidden by the greyish ck miasma, started flickering wildly.
What''s more, its form also deformed causing the dense savageness covering its body to weaken and strengthen intermittently.
ROARR¡ another savage roar came out of the throat of the former knight captain. Through this time, one could feel traces of sadness and pain in his voice.
"This¡" Alvara and Burg were stunned.
What was going on? Why did he stop all of a sudden?
From what they could understand from the wildly distorting figure of the former knight captain, it appeared that he was struggling. A sign that never appeared on his person before that.
Why would it appear now? Just as that thought popped in their heads, the answer to it naturally arrived as well.
If there was one thing different about the current scene, it was that it was Alvara who was standing in front of the former knight captain. Given the fact that the former was the little sister of thetter, the struggle that the former Knight Captain was going through could be rted to that.
Did hee to his senses? Burg couldn''t help but wonder. A faint hope surged inside his heart. He did not know what the enemy did to him to turn him into an appearance that was neither a beast nor human.
However, given the tenacity and willpower of the knight captain how could he allow himself to be controlled by the enemy?
Simr thoughts also surged inside ALvara''s heart. She who was closer to the man himself, could see the fierce struggle inside his eyes clearly.
"Brother, are you there?" Unable to hold herself back, she cried out.
At that very instant, the struggle inside the eyes of the perfect Taintedmander increased and for a second there, she actually saw gentleness and lovingness that she had seen many times previously in the eyes of her brother, surface in those crimson beast like eyes.
[Al¡var..a¡ you¡ ha¡ve.. finally¡ grow..n¡ up].
Gasp¡ Alvara gasped, holding her mouth with her hands. This voice¡ there is no way she would forget it. Her brother was alive inside that thing.
"Brother you are alive. H-how can I help you?" she hurriedly asked, panicking as she looked at his figure.
In contrast to herself, the distorting greyish white figure remained calm. He looked at Alvara with a trace of care and warmth before saying in a somewhat regrettable tone.
"Listen well Alvara, you cannot save me"¡
"This¡no, I will definitely save you" thetter cried tears streaking down her face.
"Don''t be stubborn at this time Alvara. I understand my body fully well. I am no longer me. The body you see is nothing but a shell that is being controlled by this revolting gooey energy. Even at this moment, it threatens to consume my consciousness. Before Ipletely get consumed, you must promise to kill me"
The Perfect Tainted Commander, no, the strongest Knight Captain in the history of the kingdom, Cyrus Skyler requested. His eyes begged as he looked at his sister, there were traces of grief in them as they saw the hideous wound on her.
Facing his request, Alvara waspletely lost. It was one thing if it was before; however, now that she knew a trace of her brother still remained inside that body, a part of her found herself flustered and unable to decide.
On one hand, she wanted to save her brother but on the other, she knew that doing so would put the rest of her teammates in danger.
The thing that happened with Brett, she didn''t want to repeat it again. At this critical point in time, she found herself unsure of what to do. Just when she was lost unable toe up with an answer, she felt the magic being cast by Marba suddenlye to a stop.
There could only be one meaning for thetter to stop casting her magic at this moment and that reason was that it hade to apletion.
Alvara''s body trembled intensely when she realised that. The three of them would contain the former knight captain while Marba conjures her most powerful magic. From the beginning that was their goal.
As Marba was the one with the highest firepower among their group, she was the only one who could finish him off with certainty. Now that her magic waspleted, telling her to stop would run contrary to their n.
She couldn''t do that to her teammates. Especially while knowing that once thest remaining consciousness of her brother gets consumed by whatever that thing was inside his body, they would be like sitting ducks waiting to be butchered in front of him. She has to make a decision.
Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, Cyrus shouted¡ª [Alvara!!]. His shout woke the former up. She finally bit her teeth and gestured at Marba to release her magic. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
At that instant, the air crackled with energy. With a swift gesture, Marbabined the elemental forces of me and earth, weaving them together into a powerful amalgamation of magic that shimmered with intense heat and primal strength.
A wave of searing mes erupted from her outstretched hands, engulfing the battlefield in a ze of fiery intensity. The ground trembled beneath her feet as molten earth surged forth, twisting and writhing like a living entity.
In the sky, columns of me danced and twisted, casting flickering shadows across the scorched earth below. The heat was so palpable that one could feel their skin burning up.
That was not all, as of spurred by the might of the magic, thunder rumbled in the sky. Bolts of lightning crackled and danced inside the dark ck clouds, their jagged arcs illuminating the battlefield with blinding bursts of light.
Their rumbling noise appeared as the sound of the fury of the magic that was about to take shape.
Marba stood resolute, her eyes aze with determination as she channelled all of her mana and mental strength into the magic. The resulting phenomenon was a sight to behold.
Columns of mes transformed into fiery tendrils intertwined with swirling eddies of earth. First, these wisps of me began to coalesce, dancing and flickering in the air as if they were actual living beings.
They twisted and twirled, forming intricate patterns that appeared almost like a dance. Little by little as the mes grew in intensity, it took on the form of a fierce, roaring dragon, its scales gleaming with an indestructible light.
At the same moment, the wiggling earth beneath Marba''s feet seemed to have grown increasingly intense. Cracks split the ground open, revealing molten rivers ofva that flowed like veins of liquid fire.
From these fissures came out a gigantic hand that mmed into thend. Seconds after another hand came out and slowly the figure of a towering golem could be seen rising up from inside the fissure.
Its intimidating form and massive size was hewn from the very bedrock of the earth itself. When the gigantic golem took a step, the ground shook with the force of its immense power.
"Amalgamation Magic- me Magic Mastery¡ Tremor Magic Mastery¡ [Inferno Crucible]"
With those final words from Marba, it was as if the missing piece in a puzzle wasplete, the two magic startedbining together.
The mes and earth converged, they merged into a singr entity, a towering colossus wreathed in mes and encrusted with jagged rocks. Its eyes zed with an inner fire, and its every movement sent shockwaves rippling through the air.
This amalgamation of two intermediate elements of me and earth was like a force of nature unto itself, a living embodiment of elemental power.
[Inferno Crucible], this was the strongest magic that Marba a level 482 Arcane Conflgration Mage could dish out. In fact, this was her first time conjuring such a powerful amalgamation magic and the risk of failure was quite high.
Neverhtless, even while enduring the tearing mental strain, the despair of failure and the fear of death looming outside, she continued to forge ahead until she finally achieved sess. Now it was time she unleashed its might.
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Chapter 849- The Knight Captains Last Struggle (2)
Chapter 849- The Knight Captain''s Last Struggle (2)
On Alvara''s gesture, Marba pointed with her staff which was currently zing hot due to the vast amount of mana being channelled through it and the zing giant started treading ahead.
Its massive size covered the distance in an instant and arrived before the knight captain.
"Guardmander, let us go"
Burg tugged Alvara''s hand. Considering the massive size of the golem, they would get caught up in between once it starts attacking. It was better to clear the site for the two monstrosities to duke it out among themselves.
Alvara nodded her head and looked at her brother for onest time before turning around.
"My dear sister, live well" At that moment, a pleased voice came from thetter and their figure was quickly disappeared by the massive fist that dropped down on them.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ the giant repeatedly pummeled its fist onto the ground, causing dozens of foot wide cracks to spread through the ground like sinister tendrils of underworld.
The ground quaked beneath its mighty blows. Each impact sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield, knocking down several weak levelled soldiers out of bnce. Their dread filled eyes looked into the distance where a gigantic balzing giant was standing as it beat down oin the earth.
The force of the blows reverberated through the air, pounding their hearts as they looked on with shock. They were all aware that were it them in the ce of the Knight Captain, they would be instantly smashed into bloody spaltter.
The relentless assault of the giant continued, with each sessive strike, the ground buckled and heaved, unable to withstand the sheer force of the giant''s onught. Tall plumes of dust and debris rose in the air and dozens of meters ofnd was quickly torn asunder.
The might of the giant created an atmosphere of chaos and destruction, as the very earth itself seemed to tremble in fear of the construct''s power.
Those who witnessed the spectacle could only watch in awe and terror as the ground beneath their feet was torn asunder by the unstoppable force of the giant''s blows.
"Even the knight captain won''t be able to endure this right?" many of the soldiers who recognised the appearance of the knight captain, discussed as they fought their adversaries.
"You idiot, you can''t say something like this in the middle of the battle. Don''t you know that''s a bad omen?" another soldier rebuked.
Just as he had feared, things progressed in the way he didn''t want to. After the pummeling of the giant stopped and the dust and debris settled down, out from the enourmous crater that was formed from the depresson made by the fists, a greyish balck shadow crawled out.
Their figure was twisted and they appeared more like a beast at this point than a human. From the looks of things they have taken some signigcant damge from the attack from the gaint earlier. However, it was still not enough to kill them.
BANG¡ a berserk to the extreme wind generated around the Perfect Tainted Commander, the greyish ck energy like floodwater waspletely released at this point. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
ROARR.. thetter gave a bestial howl and punced forward. Their figure was so fast that in the blink of an eye, they were already upon the giant.
A punch was thrown and¡ BOOM¡ another deafening noise echoed out and in front of the astonished eyes of numerous people, the gigantic body of the zing golem was lifted up and blown back.
09:35
The ground trembled when the giant crashed and a depression muchrger than what was formed from the repeated mming of the fist, formed on the ground where the giant crashnded.
That was not all, the sturdy body of the zing golem that looked like it was hewn from the very bedrock, had cracks surface on the ce where the Perfect Tainted Commander had thrown its punch.
"As expected of the former knight captain. Even with the [Inferno Crucilbe], I can barely keep up with him"
Marbamented. Her staff moved and another wave of dense mana was poured into the zing giant.
"Everyone''s hope is now on me, I don''t believe that I can''t deal with you especially when all of them have damaged you to this extent".
The relentless assault from the zing golem,bined with the cumtive damage inflicted by her friends who literally staked their lives on the line, should be taking its toll on the perfect taintedmander.
Though he had proven formidable thus far, the steady onught of attacks had left him battered and worn. No matter how imprable an armour was, every blow, every spell, and every strike would create small chinks that would steadily widen into gaping fissures.
The same was the case with the Knight Captain, With each passing moment, the effects of the battle would begin to umte, wearing down his defences and sapping his strength.
As could be seen from the scene that was happening right now. Just as Marba had predicted, after attacking the zing giant and sending it flying, the knight captain''s movement strangely grew slower and more sluggish.
Evidence that the damage dealt by Alvara and the other did have its effect. The former knight Captain''s once-imposing figure now showed signs of strain and fatigue.
Despite his best efforts to maintain hisposure, the sheer intensity of the onught earlier proved to be too much to bear. This was the opportunity that Marba was waiting for.
As she poured all of her mana into the spell, the ze on the inferno crucible intensified, enveloping the surrounding area into a searing inferno of mes. In the blink of an eye, the zing giant looked like it was made of molten magma.
The giant picked itself up and once again appeared in front of the Perfect Tainted Commander. Though this time, it did not immediately attack and instead grabbed thetter.
"What are you trying to do Marba?" Seeing that she did notmand the golem to attack, Alvara who arrived beside her couldn''t help but ask.
"Ordinary attack won''t be able to stop him. To defeat him for good, I have to self destruct the [Inferno Crucible]. Only with the raw destructive energy that is released during the self destruct, can we hope of defeating a monster like him"
After she spoke till here, Marba suddenly realised something and added "Ah, I didn''t mean that about the knight Captain, guardmander".
"Yeah, I know, you don''t have to worry about me. Do what you need to do"
Although Marba''s words took her by surprise, she had already made up her mind. Desperate times called for desperate measures, there was no room for hesitation.
Just as her words fell, on the battlefield the giant tightened its grip around the perfect taintedmander, holding him in a vice-like embrace. The next moment, a huge zing hot orb that was made of earth and fire, appeared on the chest of the zing golem.
With Marba focusing all of her mana into the Inferno Crucible, the orb embedded within the giant''s chest started radiating with an intense light. When the light reached its peak, a surge of extremely powerful raw energy began to emanate from within it.
The zing mes surrounding the giant also came to life at this moment as it pulsated with an intensity that seemed to consume everything in its path.
Feeling the danger, the Perfect Tainted Commander seemed to struggle intensely; however, the remnant consciousness of the Knight Captain got in the way, preventing the Tainted Commander from getting away.
.
.
Up in the sky, locked in an intense fight of brilliant disy of power and skills, were the General and Cynthia. Every time that they collided, the sky would light up and thend would be turned upside down.
At this moment, the entire battlefield had be their battleground as they zoomed and shed everywhere.
BOOM¡ two powerful attacks collided, one looked like the hideous tendrils of a sinister otherworld creature while the other was a gigantic white lion that gave off an intense ancient aura.
The resulting sh was nothing short of a cmity. The force of the attack pushed the two back. The general hurriedly stabilised his footing, his expression extremely ugly. He was just about to attack with an even more powerful moe when suddenly the pure destructive undtion in the distance attracted his attention.
His eyes quickly scanned through the battlefield, beforending on the gigantic zing golem that was more than a hundred feet tall. That powerful annihtion like energy that was even able to give him a strong sense of death, came from that golem.
"This ripple¡ is she trying to self destruct that construct?"
The general narrowed his eyes. Even though he had been fighting the princess all this time, he made sure to seperate a portion of his attention to observe the battlefield. As such, he was quickly able to identify the source of the anomaly.
"To think thatss is able to use Amgamtion magic with two intermediate tier elements that even mages above level 600 find it extremely difficult to achieve" Astonishment thick in his voice.
Why would it not, after all, this was the umpteenth time that the princess'' army was surprising him. To think a tiny third grade country would be able to produce these many abnormalities¡
Though ti was toote, he realised that their kingdom of Balckthorn had underestimated the Kingdom of Ellesmere. No, it was not the kingdom that they underestimated but rather this woman in front of him whose meteoric rise in inflee hadeptley derailed their n.
Chapter 850- Fiend Inheritance
Chapter 850- Fiend Inheritance
The General who had beenughing at the pitiful strugle of the people and soldiers of this kingdom to reverse their fate, was starting to feel uneasy. And the source of all of this was the woman in front of him.
"It looks like my side is about to win on that front" A violet and white glow shed and the figure of Cynthia appeared in between the General and the direction where the zing golem was.
"Hmoh, do you think you can stop me if I want to go there?" the General sneered.
Facing his contempt, Cynthia simply arched her brows, a cheeky appearance on her face "Whether I can stop you or not, I believe our battle so far has proven it".
Her counter made the former''s face twitch.
"Hmph, don''t think that I can''t do anything. Even if I am not physically present there I can still turn the battle there upside down"
Saying so, he once again made some peculiar seals. Blood flowed from the tip of his fingers, painting it bright crimson. At the same moment, his face became pale and the greyish ck miasma around him visibly dropped.
Facing him, Cynthia made a solemn face. Although she did not know what he was trying to do, she felt a sense of foreboding well up inside her heart. Whatever it was, she had to stop him; however, the general was simply too fast.
"Haha, it''s useless. Even if you attack me now, you can''t stop your teammates from dying. A Perfect Tainted Commander is the mostplete and wless product. Although this one has only gone through only one tainted baptism, it is still an impable soldier. With me here, it can be much more stronger"
The general''s wantonughter rang in the air. Hisughter just sounded out when it suddenly got stuck in his throat. The weakening miasma around him became stronger once again as if it had returned from wherever it had gone off to.
"This can''t happen, this is impossible!!"
Before anyone could question the scene, he turned around and looked at the zing giant who was about to self destruct with undisguised surprise and disbelief in his eyes. If one looked carefully, his eyes were not staring at the giant but at its fist that was holding the Perfect Tainted Commander in a vice like grip.
"You half dead person, you are still trying to resist me even at this point? You are nothing but a remnant consciousness" The general yelled.
Cynthia also looked in the direction where he was staring at. Although she did not know what had happened, it was clear to her that his n had failed.
"It appears to me that he was trying to send some of his strength to that puppet soldier over there. My guess is that they can be made further strong with borrowed strength"Leo spoke inside her head, assessing the situation.
"What?!!"¡
"Don''t worry though, he ultimately failed. From his words, it seems that the remnant will of the previous person inside that body is trying to resist him at this moment"
When Cynthia heard Leo''sst words, her eyes shifted towards the Knight Captain in the grip of the giant as aplex emotion shed within them. if she were to believe him, then it meant that the original knight captain was still alive and was trying to help them even at this point.
"Leo, can we do something about the Knight Captain?"
As someone who had grown up looking at the wide and reliable back of the knight captain who protected their family, how could she have the heart to see him being used like that? He was more of a big brother figure to her than her actual brothers were.
"It is impossible to save him at this point. His soul and consciousness havepletely been corrupted by that energy. Even if we somehow manage to salvage his soul, he won''t be the same person as before"
"That energy is capable of destroying all lifeforms, I have seen it many times. Once one is invaded by that energy, their only option is to kill themselves before they arepletely taken over or¡" Leo''s voice which was in mid exnation, suddenly halted.
"Or what?"¡
"Nothing, the second rule does not apply to him. His body has beenpletely corrupted by that energy. There is no hope at this point".
"I see" N?v(el)B\\jnn
Cynthia did not insist any further. Since Leo told her that it was impossible then it meant that there was really no hope for the Knight Captain. At this point, all she could do was give her condolences to this once powerful knight who had been loyally protecting their kingdom all this time.
"I hope you are able to find peace in the afterlife, Sir Cyrus".
.
.
In the distance, as the raw energy emanating from the golem''s core reached its'' peak a catastrophic explosion of mes and energy was unleashed.
BOOOMM¡ what followed after the blinding light that was like a pir connecting the sky and earth, was a thunderous deep rumbling that shook the very foundation of the earth.
The st enveloped the Perfect Tainted Commander and the giant in a blinding inferno, consuming them in a maelstrom of destruction. The shockwave rippled through the battlefield, sending debris flying in all directions.
Soldiers from both armies were thrown back by the force of the shockwave, their bodies battered and bruised as they struggled to maintain their footing amidst the chaos. The ground trembled beneath their feet, thend itself groaning in agony as the raw destructive energy unleashed by the explosion altered the topography forever.
"What kind of monstrous power does one need to possess to unleash that kind of strength?"¡
"This not the kind of battle we can intervene in. Just the remnant energy carried by the shockwave is enough to kill us"
The soldiers muttered in dread as they looked at the pir of mes in the distance. The aftershock from the explosion disturbed all the battles going around the battlefield and for a moment, the battlefield came to a strange standstill.
All eyes were drawn towards the centre of the pir of mes, they all wanted to see who came out as the victor of that battle.
As the mes subsided and the smoke cleared, a destruction filled area with destion heavy in the air, appeared in front of everyone. Land for dozens of kilometres in every direction was scarred and marred by the damage that was wrought by the explosion.
A huge crater where the zing giant previously stood pockmarked the earth, its depths unfathomable disying the awesome power of the inferno crucible''s self-destruct.
The sky above the area was obscured by dust and ash and the air was thick with the berserk sparks of mana. A stunned silence descended upon the battlefield as soldiers on both sides stood in shock at the destruction.
"Who won?"
It was unknown who said those words; however, the thought quickly spread through all the people as they searched for the victor. After a while, they saw a couple of figures standing amidst the destruction, their bodies battered and bruised but their spirits unbroken.
The couple of figures were none other than Alvara and the others. As for the Perfect Tainted Commander, he was nowhere to be seen.
"OHHHHHH!!"
At this moment, all the soldiers of the kingdom erupted in joyous shouts. There was no need to say it out loud, everything was clear from the scene. The battle between the former knight captain and the team led by the guardmander Alvara, thetter was the one who stood standing at the end.
That is to say, the victor of this battle was Alvara and her group.
"Marba are you alright?"
On the battlefield, Burg ran up to the mage and supported her figure which at this moment appeared extremely frail and exhausted.
"Yeah, I am alright, just a little tired. Thankfully, I didn''t let all of you down" Marba muttered with a pale face.
"What are you saying? You can never let us down. That magic was extremely powerful and it arrived at just the right time"
Burg tried to console the girl; however, he was forced to shut his mouth by her next words.
"No, I''m still powerless. If only I could conjure the magic faster, Brett wouldn''t have to¡" Marba couldn''tplete her sentence as tears started streaking down her face.
"You two, the battle isn''t over, don''t let your guard down. After we rest for a while, we shall be joining the others to clean up the rest"
Alvara spoke from the side. Given the fact that they had just lost onerade who had been thick and thin with them for a long time in this battle, her words sounded extremely cold and detached.
Nevertheless, Burg and Marba didn''t feel like that. Knowing her, they knew she was going through a lot on her own but did not disy it. In this battle, she had lost many things.
After Alvara and the others recuperated for a while, they joined the battle once again. Time flowed by amidst the constant warring noise filling the battlefield.
It was not long after that the tide of the battle took another critical turn. Under the relentless attacks of the warrior ke who at this moment looked like the god of the battlefield, covered in blood and a pure ruthless aura, Marshall Cavaliery broken and defeated at his feet.
He who was once a formidable opponent now looked extremely miserable with a body covered in scars and a limb missing.
Chapter 851- Fiend Inheritance (2)
Chapter 851- Fiend Inheritance (2)
A sword was plunged into his chest forming a pool of blood underneath him. As he gasped for breath, his life waned with each passing moment.
Compared to him, ke who was bathed in the blood of his enemy that formed a crimson mist that swirled around him like a shroud of death, looked extremely fornlorn and solitary.
And although his body was equally battered and bruised, his armour rent asunder by Marshall Cavalier''s powerful attacks he stood standing withboured breaths. His figure which stood straight as a sword refused to budge down even at this moment.
The observing allies and enemies alike felt a sense of dread and fear as they watched him slowly finish off his opponent. His eyes which burned with a fierce intensity, reflecting the pure ruthlessness of his soul as he cut down his enemy without mercy thus carving his name into the annals of history of the kingdom.
Nobody dared to utter a peep, or stand against him. ke''s power was undeniable, his skill in battle unmatched. The power he had shown caused the enemy to think twice before challenging him again.
"ke are you alright?"
Frida and his other allies carefully walked towards him. Their eyes which looked at him carried concern and a foreign emotion as if they were looking at a familiar yet unfamiliar person.
Thanks to gettingpletely caught up in the heat of the battle, ke''s features seemed to have merged with the blood mist surrounding him. This kind of transformation was new even for his teammates who had been with him and seen him fight numerous battles.
"Yeah, I am alright. Sorry, I have made you all worry"
When ke turned to face them, the ruthless and savage aura quickly disappeared along with his transformation, causing him to revert back to his original self.
"You idiot, why do you have to always take on the most troublesome opponent yourself" Frida berated, her figure shed and she quickly dug herself into his embrace.
"Haha" heughed winching in pain from all the injuries he suffered. The next second, his eyes scanned over the battlefield and took in everything that was going around.
With Marshall Cavalier gone, there were only a few people left in the opposing army who were actually a threat. That said, the kingdom''s army should be able to secure a victory without abnormal existences like the marshal and former knight captain as opponents.
"Even though I won against the Marshall, don''t let your guard down everyone. The enemy is still there" ke cautioned.
Even though he had just snatched victory from the hands of an incredibly tough opponent, he did not revel in the moment of triumph. He knew that the battle was far from over. There were still enemies to be vanquished, and challenges yet to be faced.
The biggest of all was the General who was themander in chief of kthorn''s forces and the highest level person present on the battlefield.
At this current moment, the princess was facing him; however, from the look of the situation up there, things didn''t seem as positive as when they were sieging Castledor.
The general was not like the Duke of Montford. Not only did thetter possess many unconventional attacks and skills, like the greyish ck energy for example, but they were also extremely high level individual.
The General''s level was far higher than even the strongest man of the kingdom, Benny Beckerman. Needless to say, the battle with such an opponent won''t be easy.
What''s more, as long as he stood standing, it did not matter if he took down the Marshall or the guardmanders'' group defeated the former Kngith captain. As long as the General still stood, all of their efforts would have been for nothing.
On the battlefield, a single powerful opponent can dictate the tide of the entire battlefield. That is to say, as long as the general wasn''t defeated, there was no meaning to their victory.
Although I can''t defeat the general for you, I can still hold down the other enemies and reduce the casualties on our side.
Thinking so in his head, ke ordered his teammates "I''m sure you guys haven''t had your fill right? Let''s go and cull down some enemies".
Seeing the person still talking about fighting after the scare he just gave them, Wyot and the others smiled bitterly; nheless, they still nodded their heads. A heated expression on their face; no matter what one says, a battlefield was the perfect opportunity for one to level up.
With so many opponents here, it was practically the perfect ce to grind levels other than the dungeon.
With a steely determination, ke followed behind his teammates. It wouldn''t be long before victory and defeat would be decided for once and for all.
If the general won, the kingdom of Ellesmere would forever disappear from the maps of Althaea and its people would be subdued and ruled under a new king. If Cynthia won, then her name would be passed into the stuff of legend.
She would be the first female ruler of thisnd and the kingdom of Ellesmere would usher into a new era. The fate of the kingdom hung on that delicate shoulder of hers.
.
.
Up in the sky, Cynthia took a deep breath and suppressed the exhaustion that welled up inside her body. Sustaining the Beast Inheritance skills not to mention using so many high ranking Lost Ancient tier skills was mentally and physically extremely straining.
If not for the fact that Leo was aiding her, her body would have already copsed from using the Beast Inheritance skill a long time ago.
That said, even though she could feel her body screaming for rest and muscles tearing, she did not turn off the Beast Inheritance. The reason for that was simple, and that was her opponent was still standing.
As long as he wasn''t defeated, she couldn''t remove her beast inheritance state.
"Haha, I can see that you are already at your limit. Why don''t you give up already, it would be easier for you? You can''t defeat me"
The General mocked, a berserk amount of mana carrying along a greyish ck miasma formed into a gigantic fist as it mmed into Cynthia.
Thetter materialised five elements which revolved in an anticlockwise manner before hurling it towards the oing fist. Right before the two attacks collided, the five orbs emitted intense light and formed a distinct array in the sky.
BOOOM¡ a powerful shockwave enough to distort the space and cause all kinds of unnatural phenomena, erupted from their sh.
After cancelling out the General''s attack, Cynthia sneered in response "What are you talking about? I am still perfectly fine. On the contrary, you are the one who looks quite haggard. That peculiar energy I am sure there is a huge drawback for utilising such strength"
"How long can you keep it up? And besides, how can I give up now when we are this close to winning this war?".
It was just as she said, the tide of the battle was totally in control of the kingdom''s army now. With the threat of Marshall and former Knight Captain gone, the soldier''s morale soared and they started fighting back fiercely.
The adventurers from the tower town took on the difficult task of handling the powerful adversaries in the enemy ranks as such, all the soldiers had to do was fight the ordinary Tainted Knights and the Hellfire Artillery Mages. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"You!!"
The General''s expression distorted in rage when he saw the cheeky smile on her face. The death of Marshall Cavalier and the Perfect Tainted Commander was a sore spot for him. He wanted to help them; however, the woman before him proved to be far more difficult to handle than he thought.
What''s more, the beast she got the inheritance from, was quite powerful as the attacks she used were quite tricky and difficult to avoid. Even he who was using the Gift that ''lord'' bestowed on him, was having a tough time against her.
If not for that, he wouldn''t have allowed them to defeat the two. The loss of Marshall Cavalier and a Perfect Tainted Commander was a hard one to ount for. What''s more, they died under his watch.
Even if he turned the situation around and won the war by himself, the loss they suffered was too big to write off. When he returns back to ckthorn he won''t be able to face his Majesty.
"Dammit, it''s all because of that damn remnant consciousness. If not for him, how would it be possible for your soldiers to be a match for our forces?"
The general grunted feeling extremely vexed. Just right before his death, the man who was the knight captain of this kingdom before bing a perfect taintedmander, utilised hisst bit of strength to stop the tainted energy from flowing into the bodies of the Tainted knights and taintedmanders.
Thus causing their power which had strengthened unnaturally, to return to its previous level.
This move of the knight captain hurt the forces of the ckthorn very much as the tide of the battlepletely shifted after this. If not for that, the kingdom''s army wouldn''t have been able to suppress the ckthorn forces the way they did now.
"Hmmm¡ I don''t understand it very well but it looks like the knight captain, even at this deathbed did a favour for our kingdom" Cynthia smiled.
"Hmph, don''t think you have won just because you all took out Marshall Cavalier and a Perfect Tainted Commander. I am still here and I can assure you that you will find me very different from those useless piece of trash"
ROARR¡
Chapter 852- Ancient Beast Soul
Chapter 852- Ancient Beast Soul
ROARR¡
[Fiend Inheritance]
The general gave a loud war cry and roused his aura even further. Greyish ck miasma which was far denser than before, released out of his body and covered the sky.
A faint pressure that gave one a revolting and stifling feeling, descended onto the ce. The sky became dark and an ominous chill spread through the surroundings. Anyone who was exposed to this chill that generated from their very instinct of life, made them feel very ufortable.
In the air, dense greyish ck energy released out of the general as they wiggled and twisted in the air. Then in the next second with a swift motion, they agglomerated together bing weird grey markings and tunnelled into the skin of the general.
If one looked at him right now, they would be able to see that his skin had turned grey with peculiar markings all around his body. His hair turned white and his clothing quickly became bleak losing all colour.
It was not just appearance that was affected, even the space around him vaguely took on a grayscale colour. Looking at him, it would seem like he was a person of monochrome who came out of a ck and white picture.
His very presence rejected all the colours of the world.
The changes were drastic and swift giving Cynthia no chance to even get shocked.
Clench¡ The general clenched his hand and gave an excited smile "Next I will show you that you are not the only one who has got an inheritance".
Whoosh¡ his figure disappeared before his voice was yet to even fade. At the same instant, Cynthia''s eyes contracted to their limits and a hurried warning sounded inside her heart.
"Cynthia be careful, this person, he has employed a method that bears resemnce to the Beast Inheritance skill. At his point, his stats and everything have drastically increased".
Hearing Leo''s shout, the graveness in her eyes increased even further. Five coloured elemental orbs floated around her body and quickly formed a five coloured shield.
BANG¡ just as it formed a dull rumbling noise rang out and the general''s fist collided with the shield causing intense ripples to appear on it. Although the shield was able to absorb the force, it was unable to stop the invading greyish ck miasma as cracks swiftly started appearing on the shield.
"Quickly get out of there, the Five Coloured Sacred Shield won''t be able tost for long" Leo cautioned.
Cynthia immediately made haste and dodged the attack before it could breach through her shield. Right afterwards, two violet white ws materialised in the air and her counterattack began.
However, unlike before when the General had to take caution against her attacks, this time he simply ignored her attacks.
With a clench of his fist, he threw a simple punch without any fancy or shy techniques to it. Though that seemingly insignificant punch contained enough power to disintegrate the ws that Cynthia materialised.
"What is going on? Even if utilised an ancient skill to boost his power, that kind of increase in power is too ridiculous" she spoke uneasiness apparent in her voice.
"It is because his control over that energy has improved. Up until now, he had been using it in a crude and immature manner. However, after he condensed that energy and absorbed it, his control over it has significantly improved. As I thought, that energy he possesses not only bears resembles to ''them'' but is very simr to them. However, how could that be, they should have been all¡"
Leo''s voice suddenly quietened down at the end of his sentence.
"I''m no match for him at his current state. Leo increase the output of the beast inheritance"¡
"What? But if I do that your body won''t be able to handle it. It is barely able to hold even ten percent of my power and given your current condition, it is suicidal to think about even trying to handle any further" The beast reasoned.
"Then what do you suggest I should do? If I don''t take him out, then with his power he will easily be able to turn the tides of the war and all of our efforts, hardship and casualties up until now, would be for nothing. I have to hold him down here"
Cynthia''s voice was resolute. She had already determined herself to incur a bitter cost in return for defeating the general.
Leo wanted to say something; however, when he saw the resolve in the girl''s eyes, he could only gulp those words down and sigh.
"Don''t tell me that I didn''t warn you before. Try to endure for as long as possible, when you can''t bear it, tell me. I will quickly remove the beast transformation"
Saying that, he was just about to increase the output of his inheritance when soft glitters of light started emitting out of Cynthia''s body. These small glitters of light were like small speckles of liquid as they quickly disappeared inside her body as soon as they touched her.
Her injuries quickly healed, the texture of her skin returned to normal and her exhaustion quickly disappeared. Not only that, as the speckles of light kept on falling onto her body, she could feel that her body was slowly getting stronger and her mana reserves recovering at a rapid speed.
What was going on?
"This is¡ Spirit Restoration Enchantment"¡
"Spirit what?"
Although Cynthia was unable to recognise the skill used, how could Leo an ancient beast not be able to recognise it?
"It is an extremely rare branch of magic that is different from the mystical energy. Only spirits or those who have made contract with spirits are able to use spirit magic" he exined.
"That said, even among the spirit magic, a Spirit Restoration Enchantment is a skill that only higher ranking spirits or above are able to use. For it to appear on your body, do you know someone who has made a contract with a higher ranking spirit in this world and is willing to help you?"¡
His question caused confusion to appear on Cynthia''s face. This was the first time she was hearing about spirit magic as such even if he asked her if she knew a person who could cast spirit magic there was no way she could answer.
That being said, if spirit magic was extremely rare and a different branch of magic that could even make someone like Leo surprised, a couple of figures dide to her mind.
If it were the people of that man, it was possible. Cynthia looked down, her eyes scanned the battlefield and quickly spotted a figure standing not very far away from her while observing their battle.
Just as she thought, it was the doing of that woman. The woman Cynthia was looking at was none other than Ate.
Leo followed her gaze and quickly understood the situation.
"I see, so it''s her. No wonder she was able to cast spirit magic, the fluctuation I felt from her body did indeed feel familiar"¡
"What do you mean?"¡
Leo did not beat around the bush and directly spoke his suspicions "She is a spirit and not any ordinary spirit but a high ranking spirit at the very least. To be able to summon a being like her, I wonder how that demon achieved it" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"In any case, this is a good thing. With Spirit restoration Enchantment cast on you, I can increase the output of the beast inheritance without worrying about harming you in return. At the current level that your body is, it should be easily be able to handle at least 30% of my power" Leo remarked.
A tyrannical white light mixed with traces of violet surged out of Cynthia''s body with an intensity of a tide. It spread out like a hungry lion and quickly bit down at the greyish ck energy covering the sky.
The power of the white light caused the previously oppressive greyish ck miasma to swiftly retreat as if meeting a predator.
After the white energy scared the other, it covered more than half of the sky, illuminating the battlefield with its sacred glow.
"What is going on?"
The General arched his brows. His attack had just been recoiled by that tyrannical white light as if cowed by its sheer might.
Just until a moment ago, he waspletely in control of the battle, overpowering his enemy with each of his attacks. Yet just as his power surged, the opponent also employed some kind of unusual means.
"Hmph, I don''t know what you are trying to do but it''s useless. In front of the gift of that lord, any tactic or skill you use is useless" he snorted.
The peculiar greyish marking on his body squirmed causing the entire area around him to be greyscale. The rate at which the peculiar greyish ck energy was invading the space also increased.
ROARR¡ However, just as he was preparing for another attack, a profound transformation urred in the atmosphere above. The white light, having pushed back the greyish ck energy, expanded to fill the void left behind, creating a vast expanse of luminous energy.
Within this expanse, faint yet discernible, the outline of an enormous lion materialized, its form pulsating with raw power. Bathed in a resplendent white light that seemed to emanate from its very being it emanated unparalleled grandeur.
Its massive form pulsed with a divine vitality, exuding an aura of sacredness and awe-inspiring power.
The ethereal lion was adorned with intricate patterns of violet stripes that seemed to dance and shift with every movement. Its mane appeared to ripple and flow like waves on a primordial sea, while its eyes gleamed with a wisdom that transcended mortal understanding.
Chapter 853- Seven Kings Assemble
Chapter 853- Seven Kings Assemble
Despite its intangible nature, the lion exuded a palpable aura of authority,manding reverence from all who beheld it.
As it gazed out upon the battlefield with eyes that gleamed like molten gold, there was a sense of ancient wisdom that permeated the ce. It gave others a feeling that those eyes had borne witness to eons of time.
With the appearance of the massive ethereal lion, the battlefield turnedpletely silent. A sense of reverence and awe welled up in the hearts of those who witnessed the being.
For the soldiers entrenched in the midst of battle with chaos and carnage surrounding them, the sight was nothing short of miraculous. Some could scarcely believe their eyes, their initial shock giving way to a profound sense of awe.
Others fell to their knees, their hearts swelling with a mixture of fear and wonder as they beheld the spectacle above. And some stared in stunned silence, their minds struggling toprehend the spectacle in front of them.
The sheer scale of white light was so vast that it covered half of the sky of the battlefield dwarfing their concerns and reminding them how insignificant their own existence was.
"Cynthia concentrate and converge all that power into the beast image"
On Leo''s advice, Cynthia used all of her attention and focus to stir the surging white light into the vacuum of light where the lion was.
ROARR¡ as all the white light surged inside, the lion gave another world shaking roar and in front of the stunned eyes of many, it extended its w that could dwarf out thend and everything and mmed it towards the general.
Thetter felt a surge of fear that he hadn''t felt in a long while, well up in his heart. The intangible pressure from the attack had already locked onto him causing him unable to dodge.
His senses screamed and perspiration dripped down his body. The power of the attack that the princess threw at him was at a whole other level where even he could sense a whiff of death from it.
"How can this be? No, there is no way I can lose. I am the General of the second army of His Majesty. Now that I have even used the gift of that lord, there is no way I am going to lose"
Summoning every ounce of courage and determination within him, the general braced himself for the impending impact, his muscles tensed and his senses heightened to their fullest extent.
He gave a loud warcry as a final bit of defiance and roused the greyish ck energy around him. The greyish tattoos on his body spasmed before actually flying out his skin and agglomerating into his attack.
In a final gambit to defy his fate, the general unleashed a torrent of energy that surged forth like a raging tempest, colliding with the lion''s w in a spectacr sh of titanic forces.
BOOOOOOOOOM¡
For a brief moment, everything on the battlefield was consumed in blinding light. Then came the loud to the extreme, overpowering deafening noise, wild enough to drown out all the other noise in the surrounding.
In the epic sh, clouds for dozens of miles were blown back causing the entire sky to reflect the clear view of the night sky.
The ground beneath them trembled violently as the two opposing energies shed with unimaginable force, sending shockwaves rippling through the air and shattering the surroundingndscape.
What''s more, the sh between the two attacks was so powerful that it seemed to tear at the very fabric of space itself. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
As the shockwaves rippled through the air, fissures appeared in the space around where the eyes of the two attacks met, as if the very fabric of existence was straining to contain their overwhelming power.
Yet, despite the immense strain, the fabric of space held firm, swiftly healing any damage inflicted upon it. From this disy of raw power, it was clear to all who witnessed it that the general and the princess had reached a realm that they could not even begin to imagine.
Their attacks had reached a level of potency that defiedprehension, threatening to reshape the very world around them with their titanic sh.
In that moment, the entire attention of the battlefield was stolen by them, the sh of this unimaginable power would decide the fate of this nation.
.
.
While the capital of the kingdom of Ellesmere had been turned into a battlefield, back inside the Ghastly Winding Forest.
Easter Region, Tower Town, Dungeon Lace.
Inside one of the floors¡
"So this is the dungeon of that Demon of the East huh? It''s not bad. If we can conquer such a territory, we can unite the entire Ghastly Winding Forest and make this ce our base"
Muttered a figure feeling the dense mystical energy which was viscous enough to actually be felt in the air.
The figure was quite tall, standing well above six feet. He had long crimson hair that had been kept unkemptly, wore clothes made of high quality monster pelt and carried tworge cleaver on his back.
He had a humanoid figure and one would even mistake him for one if not for the indigo horn that was protruding from the one side of his forehead.
"Quick go and tell Chief that I found the shortcut that leads to that dungeon. I don''t know which floor this is, but I reckon that it definitely is quite deep given the level of monsters here"
He spoke. An aura of pure brutality and violence radiated from him. At this moment, there was a mountain of corpses underneath him, the number of which would easily reach the hundred.
The corpses were badly mangled and it was hard to even distinguish their forms. Neverhtless given their ws and tails one could tell that they were monsters. What''s more, they weren''t just any ordinary monsters, but infernal hounds, monsters that were C rank and above.
Among the mountain of corpses, one could even see somerge size monsters there. Clearly, they were the pack leaders of the infernal hounds and were even more powerful.
Yet in front of that number and power which could even give a team of adventurers well above level 500 a tough time,y defeated under him in a show of absolute strength and savagery.
"Understood lord Gish-Bor, we shall inform the chief immediately. He will definitely be extremely happy. The Dungeon of the East has been a growing concern for us for quite a while. If we can use this passageway, we can attack the dungeon without needing to go through all those floors"
"I''m sure it woulde as quite a surprise for that demon. If we can take this concern out early and ce him under ourmand. Our race of ck ogres will rule the Ghastly Winding Forest"
Another figure spoke. Although unlike the first one, his form resembled more of an ogre than a human.
Two crimson horns protruded from his head, indicating his identity.
"Hmph" Hearing the crimson horn''s words, the indigo horn or otherwise referred to as Gish-Bor, simply snorted.
"Your ambitions are too small Giz-Wogo. If we conquer this dungeon and ce that demon as our subordinate, then using the resources that can only be grown inside the dungeon, we rule a region far greater than just the Ghastly Winding forest. At that moment, we will be one of the legendary races recognised by the entire world".
His words caused a heated expression to appear on Giz-Wogo and the other crimson horns.
"Wouldn''t the other seven kings get on our way? I heard that the queen of the harpies had already betrayed us. Their entire territory is empty" thetter spoke.
They had brought their army to demand an exnation from the queen of the harpies as well as search for their missingrade, the indigo horn Gish Bolg.
However, when they invaded the territory of the Harpies which were said to be extremely treacherous and filled with dangers and powerful aerial beasts, they found itpletely empty.
When they came here other than a few aerial beasts, they found nothing. Forget about a single harpy they couldn''t find their shadows here. It was as if they had mysteriously disappeared.
What they found instead was this cave which led to one of the floors of the dungeon of the east. A shortcut that no one knew existed.
"What about the Seven Kings? Can''t you see how great of a treasure this dungeon is? Once we conquer this dungeon and use its resources to grow ourselves, they will have no choice but to bow their heads and submit to our race if they want to survive in the end"
"As for the Harpies, it''s obvious that their queen has formed an alliance with the demon and has fled inside the dungeon with all her nsmen"
Contrary to the war mongering nature of the ogres and their short temperedness, Gish-Bor analysed the situation with a calm demeanour.
It was just as he said, ever since they entered the dungeon, they were surprised by everything that they saw inside.
From the dense amount of mystical energy that pervaded the air which was double no quadruple times greater than even their homnd, natural treasures that grew like grass here to powerful monsters that guarded the realm and peculiar objects that they had never seen before.
The ce was full of it.
As a race with sharp senses and a keen eye for treasures, they instantly knew which was such when they saw one.
Chapter 854- Seven Kings Assemble (2)
Chapter 854- Seven Kings Assemble (2)
The dungeon they were currently in, was definitely something that went well and beyond that category to be able to nurture such treasures.
Giz-Wogo and the other crimson horns nodded their head. That''s right, with the support of the dungeon, what did the Seven Kings even amount to? Once they grew stronger naturally the others would have to submit to them.
The blood of the ogres boiled as they pictured a wonderful future in their heads.
"You all, don''t get too ahead of yourselves" Naturally, Gish-Bor knew what they were thinking "Taking over the dungeon won''t be an easy task. It was already difficult enough to defeat the demon in hisir; however, with the addition of the harpies now, the threat that the dungeon represented grew exponentially".
That was right, since the territory of the harpies was empty, there was only one other ce they could have gone to. And the evidencey right next to them.
If the queen of the harpies and the Demon of the East had joined hands, then the subject of the matter changedpletely.
"Of course, it could also be that the Queen of the harpies is controlling the demon. Given that woman''s Evil Eyes and peculiar methods, I wouldn''t think it past me for something like that to be the actual case".
The race of ck ogres fell silent. Now that they had found the shocking news of the relocation of the harpies, the situation had changedpletely.
"Hmph, what are you guys making that expression for? Even if the Demon of the East has now the aid of one of the Seven Kings, so do we. With the two kings together, taking over the dungeon won''t be a big deal"
"And besides, if the dungeon has gotten stronger, then so did we. We now possess a secret weapon that none of the seven kings know" Gish-Bormented shing his sharp fangs. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Glory to the ck Ogres!!"¡
"Glory to the ck Ogres!!" the ogres shouted.
"Dial it down you all. Do you want the demon of this dungeon to know about us?".
The crimson horns and the other ck ogres instantly shut their mouths.
"Station a few ogres to watch over the ce. Giz-Wogo, you will be left in charge. Do not let anyonee in or out of this cave. The rest wille with me to report the events back to lord Gil-Garna"
Gish-Bor handed out orders. With him on the lead, the ogres exited the ce, leaving only utter destruction and chaos in their wake.
.
.
Up in the sky, or rather the ceiling that spanned for hundreds of meters up, a couple of figures with their presencepletely hidden, could be seen staring down at the ground.
In the middle was a tall handsome man with pitch ck hair and crimson horns protruding from his head, adorning him like a crown. He wore regal golden red clothes, and possessed heterochromatic eyes.
His pale skinpared with the fangs that intermittently shed whenever he smiled, gave him quite a fierce and domineering look.
Who could the figure be other than Simon?
Beside him, were two women. One had tanned skin and a mesmerising body with the right amount of toned muscles and curves. She was wearing maid clothes and her peach coloured hair was tied into twin braids. Matching her hair, her peach coloured eyes glossed with an intense light.
The other woman possessed an alluring body with a skimpy dress that was made of feathers. Her beautiful features along with her bountiful curves, evoked one''s desires endlessly.
The woman at this moment had her eyes closed as she faced the direction where the ogres disappeared to.
"Was it a wise choice to just let them go, My lord?" she asked.
The two women were none other than Bea and Melinda.
"Are you doubting him? If he says that it''s okay to let them go, then it must be okay. It''s not your ce to question him" The one to answer her was Bea as she red at the former with clear hostility in her eyes.
"Enough Bea, she is a member of our dungeon now and one of my subordinates. You both are on the same side now so stop quarrelling with each other all the time" Simon interjected feeling a little helpless.
Ever since Melinda and her n shifted into his dungeon, the two formed a weird rivalry of sorts. At first, he thought that this was a good thing, after all, rivalry would help both the parties to grow stronger.
However, who knew that the rtionship between the two would deteriorate to this point? It came to the point where the two women beside him started duking it out with their fists and skills.
What''s more, the battle between the two people who were well above level 700 could be imagined. The entire lower floor trembled and the floor itself would have suffered serious damage if not for his timely intervention.
Since then, he kept the two women by his side to keep a close eye on them. However, that too seems to have the reverse effect. Forget about getting along, the hostility in their eyes and voice seems to be growing stronger day by day.
It was so dense that, it was contrarily amazing they disyed it so openly.
"I was talking to your master. Of course, I know it is his n to let them go. I was just worried on his behalf, not like you would understand anyways" Melinda retorted.
"Huh, what did you say you tramp?" Bea cussed.
"What? You want me to repeat it?"¡
"Sigh, enough you two, this is not the time and ce for you two to be quarrelling. The reason why I let them go is because I want to lure their forces here. They might think that it is a shortcut that leads directly to the dungeon. However, in reality, I opened this Phased Floor precisely to lure them in. In this regard, it can indeed be called as a shortcut"
Simon exined his reasoning behind letting the ogre army walk away even though they created such a scene on this floor.
"But master, won''t bringing them directly to the 80th floor be dangerous? What if they possess some unique weapons like those adventurers from the past?" Bea raised her concern.
Expecting her to ask something like this Simon simply smiled and answered "Haha, that was a unique case and besides, I have already prepared measures for something like this happening again. Prime is onto it. Believe me, we are ready. This time the enemy won''t be able to take the shortcut"
"The other reason why I am bringing them directly to the 80th floor is because I have recognised their strength. Floors 1 to 70 won''t be able to stop monsters like the Seven Kings of the forest"
"And besides if they came from the front entrance, it would spell doom for the Tower Town up there. It had only just recovered from a major battle not long ago and most of their high level member had gone with Cynthia to aid her reim the capital back. As such there are only a few people up there who could match up to the power of the ck Ogres. And given thetter''s nature, they wouldpletely raze the tower town to the ground. It is better to avoid such a scenario".
The tower town was the source of their ie and he had bigger ns for this ce. As such, he couldn''t let the ck ogres destroy it.
Heck, he went through a lot of trouble to free the town from the criminal syndicates. Given all the efforts he put into saving the town, there is no way he was going to let it get destroyed again.
Bea and Melinda nodded their heads finally understanding his reasoning. Although thetter was here for just over a week, she had already seen and experienced the dungeon''s various extraordinary aspects.
Thus she knew how important the tower town was for the dungeon. While Bea and Melinda looked at Simon, thetter stepped forward as a wicked grin appeared on his face.
"I hadn''t been too long since floors 80-99 had been set up and restructured. Everyone had worked hard to make the floors as challenging as possible. I want to find out how well they do against opponents on the level of the Seven Kings and their subordinates"
"This will be a test bed to find out the effectiveness of the bottom floors of the dungeon. It''s just as well, some of the guilds have already reached the 78th Floor. Now that Lace has be a [B] ranking dungeon, It''s about time it changes too and new floors open up"
"New challenges, treasures and opportunities will attract even more adventures to our dungeon. The battle with the Seven Kings and their forces will help us understand the new floors better and which areas they need improvement in. Hehe, the enemy might think that by finding the Phased Floor they got one over us. Little do they know that I set up this Phased Floor precisely to lure them in. I am going to use them as guinea pigs to beta test the new floors for the future adventurers"
One should know that the grin on Simon''s face looked extremely evil at this moment and he appeared like the very demon that he was.
Time had slowly and gradually swept away all of his gullibility,passion and any humanity that was left within him. Simon had shed his former self like a snake shedding its skin.
In its ce stood a being consumed by the darkness that lurked within, a demon in both appearance and demeanour.
Chapter 855- Seven Kings Assemble (3)
Chapter855- Seven Kings Assemble (3)
A newfound sense of confidence and power emanated from him, infusing him with certainty and conviction. Yet, beneath the surface of Simon''s newfound confidence lurked a sense of arrogance that bordered on hubris.
It was a trait born of his newfound power, a belief that he was destined for greatness and that none could stand in his way. What''s more this trait only seemed to grow as time passed, fueling his desire and arrogance.
Although it was notpletely apparent yet, nheless, it was still there. Of course, these profound changes were wrought by the two fragments of pride that now resided within him.
These profound changes weren''t apparent to the person it urred to; however, to others around him, especially to his subordinates who knew him from before, his changes were crystal clear.
Nevertheless, they weren''t repelled or driven off by it instead, they embraced his newfound changes with open arms, revelling in the darkness that now coursed through his veins as his new side.
No matter what or who he became, one fact did not change, and that was that he was their master and lord. As long as that fact remained, his subordinates would continue to follow him no matter what became of him with time.
As she looked at the side profile of her master, Bea clenched her hand, finding his new side weirdly enigmatic.
The next instant, her eyes red at the woman on the other side of him who was also looking at Simon with stars in her eyes. It was obvious that she fancied him and his current demeanour enamoured her.
"It will take them some time for them to return back with their full force. I will send someone to monitor the situation on this floor. Until then, let us return back"
Saying that Simon was just about to teleport the three of them when...
"Master, please return first. I will go with Melinda to the new Harpy floor to talk about some matters" Bea suddenly stated. Her eyes nced towards the other party who nodded their head too.
"Lord Simon, Bea and I have some important matters to talk about. I will see you off here".
When Simon heard that, his eyes swivelled between Bea and Melinda. These two who couldn''t live without insulting one another for even a second, have something important that they need to discuss?
How could that be? It would already be a miracle if they could stand quietly without turning the floor upside down. Nevertheless, with them having spoken their mind, all he could do was return on his own and pray that they wouldn''t get into another fight and almost destroy his floors.
Swoosh¡ a light shed and Simon''s figure instantly disappeared. Now that he was gone, the two women turned to face each other. Space seemed to instantly freeze as they silently red at each other.
"He is gone. Speak, what is it that you wanted to say to me?" Melinda folded her arms, her bountiful chest moulded under the pressure of her arms.
Looking at her giving off extreme allure that was fatal for any man, Bea couldn''t help but snort.
"Don''t think that I don''t know your intentions".
"Oh, you do? Good for you" Melinda casually remarked.
"Be as concieted as you want right now but let me tell you this. Seducing Master is impossible for the likes of you. And even if we ignore the fact that he won''t fall for you, he already has Miss Irene. She won''t like what you are trying to do right now" Bea''s words contained a faint threat.
"Oh?" Melinda''s eyebrows arched for a second; nevertheless, she quickly hid it "I am aware of that. I know my limits, I am not trying to anger her or anything"
"That aside, you are quite sly yourself, aren''t you? You use the excuse of Mistress Irene; however, aren''t you in the same boat as me? Don''t think that I don''t know. It''s obvious to anyone with eyes that you are pining for him too"
"With his limitless potential and undeniable charisma, he is a prize coveted by many. His confidence that borders on arrogance and his knowledge that gives him an air of mystery, it strokes at other''s desires making him even more appealing. Such a splendid man, even if you search the whole world, you won''t find many like him. Even I''m reluctant to give up on him"
A look of yearning appeared on her face.
Seeing her and hearing her passionate words, Bea burned in jealousy. She was just about to speak when.
"Don''t bother, I know what you are going to say. Don''t worry, I know what I should be doing and not. As far as I know, you are in the same boat too. The enemy is close, let us focus on them first. We can talk about romance after that"
Saying that, Melinda too teleported to her floor. Leaving Bea to sort out her own emotions.
.
.
Deep inside the Western Region of the Ghastly Winding Forest was a vast woond filled with various kinds of exotic nts, floras and faunas. They released a sweet scent in the air capable of attracting all kinds of beings.
Thick mist covered the area year long and the mana here was very dense thanks to the many mystical veins that ran through the ground. The ce was extremely beautiful and refreshing and almost looked like a paradise.
However, make no mistake, this ce was no paradise but one of the most dangerous areas in the entire Ghastly Winding Forest.
Inhabited by carnivorous nts, insects and monsters, the ce was like a venous fly trap, inviting the gullible victim to prey on them. That said, it was not the presence of countless carnivorous nts and monsters that made the ce so dangerous but rather what was inside.
Deeper inside the territoryy an ancient ruin covered by thick foliage and algae. If one looked carefully at the trees that grew here they would be able to notice that these tall ancient giants were none other than Mana Trees.
They released dense amount of mystical energy causing the ce to be covered in mist all year round. Further inside, there was an enormous temple with a craftsmanship that dazzled one''s eyes.
Even though a part of it had copsed, it still looked quite grand and its former glory was yet to diminish even though hundreds or even thousands of years had passed.
What set the temple apart from the numerous buildings here other than its craftsmanship was the numerous sparkling crystals that hung down from the many trees like stars in the sky.
These crystals releasing soft radiant blue light was none other than Mana crystals and the trees that pieced the dome of the temple were none other than Trees of Mana Crystals.
Given the astonishing sight, it was clear that the temple was the most important site of this ce. And in fact, it was. The temple was the ce where the King of the ck Ogres, Gil-Garna resided and this was exactly the territory of the ck Ogres.
At this moment, inside the temple, walking past the hallway which was filled with gold, artefacts, mana stones, mana crystals and mystical fruits and various other treasures, one would arrive in front of a gigantic hall, characterised by the huge carcass of an ancient beast thaty there.
The enormous carcass enclosed a pond in the centre where a beguiling and strange flower grew once upon a time. However, at this moment the pond was empty and it was no longer the colour of blood.
Walking past the pond, there was a passageway that led further inside the temple.
"It looks like Gish-Bagh''s suspicions were correct. Gish-Bor went to the territory of the harpies the other day and found the cepletely deserted"¡
"Hoh, so the queen of the harpies really did betray us. If she has decided to go against us, then she would definitely ally herself with the demon. I suspect that she took her nsmen into his dungeon".
Voices came from inside the other end of the passageway which opened up into a vast open ground filled with all kinds of exotic nts and trees.
At the centre of this ce,y arge table where two people facing each other, were seated. Around them, were numerous figures standing upright and tall like a sword. Their auras were restrained as they stood there like a mannequin without making the slightest movements.
However, just based on the faint presence that they released, it was enough to tell others that they were no weak level beings. In fact, each and every being present inside the ce possessed a strong presence. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Nheless, no matter how powerful they were, they had to still restrain their aura in front of the two beings seated around the table.
"Suspect or not, it is already clear that she has allied with the demon and has relocated her nsmen into his dungeon"
The one to speak was a man with a zing crimson hair. He had a long violet coloured horn protruding from his forehead and carried a huge Khyber looking de wrapped in straps to his side.
The man was fairly tall, standing well above six feet and looked extremely human like. Even the expressions and demeanour were no different than an average human.
That said, make no mistake, the man was no human but the king of one of the fiercest races on this world. The king of the ck ogres, Gil-Garna.
Chapter 856- Seven Kings Assemble (4)
Chapter 856- Seven Kings Assemble (4)
Facing him, was a figure of immense stature and daunting presence. His form was like that of a behemoth, towering over all who stood around him.
His bulky figure was d in endogenous armour unique to their race and looked like it was forged from the very essence of the earth itself. Each piece forged to fit his bulging muscles, he was a sight to behold, a creature of primal might and unyielding strength.
What''s more, the armour gave off a mysterious glint making even Mythril look pale inparison to it. It was said that even the legendary metal mythril is unable to so much as scratch its surface.
With every movement of his, the endogenous armour clinging to his muscles like a second skin, rippled with threatening intensity and each small movement of his gave others a glimpse of the devastation he was capable of unleashing.
That said, it was not his extremely conspicuous armour that stood about him, his physique as well as face did too.
Standing well above three meters tall, he was a hulking monstrosity, a living embodiment of power and destruction. His face which was partially visible through his endogenous helmet, bore the scars of countless battles, each one more hideous that the other and was a testament to his vast battle experience.
His eyes, cold and unyielding, gleamed with a fierce intelligence that belied his brutish appearance. On top of his helmet, a single horn juts forth like a deadly spear. The horn was the symbol and power of his status.
Longer and more menacing than the others of his race, it was a weapon of devastating potential, capable of piercing through even the toughest of defences with ease. It was said that with a single thrust, the horn could shatter any armour and sunder flesh.
This juggernaut of destruction that embodied savagery and brutality itself was the King of the Wastnds, the lord of the Terraquake Rhinos, the Ivory Terraquake Rhino, Yverza.
"Hoh, how do you know that?"
Yverza questioned his eyes turning towards Gil-Garna. As one of the Seven Kings, he was on the same level as the king of the ck Ogres.
"A subordinate of mine, Gish-Bor went to the harpies territory the other day to search for a missing subordinate"
At those words from Gil-garna, Yverza added "One of mine, Drovos of the Earthquake went missing there too".
"Yeah, I am aware. Anyways, though he was unable to find them, he did manage to find out the fact that they had deserted their territory. What''s more, he had also coincidentally found the shortcut the harpies took to relocate into the dungeon"¡
"What?!!"¡
"Gish-Bor, report your findings"
At those words, one of the human like ogres with indigo horn standing behind Gil-Garna, stepped forward. If Simon was here, he would be able to instantly recognise the man after all, he was one of the intruders who had entered his dungeon recently through the installed Phased Floor in the harpies territory.
"Yes" on the ogre king''smand, Gish-Bor started recounting the events that urred that day.
"And that''s how I was able to tell that the ce I was in was the dungeon. It was not only the monsters, but the mana and the natural treasures there were all pointing out that I was right. I don''t know how it appeared there but my guess is that it was created to allow the race of harpies to relocate to the dungeon"
"If we can use the very same shortcut to invade his dungeon, the demon would be caught by surprise and we would not have to spend our efforts clearing the dungeon from the start" Gish-Bor exined.
The ce turnedpletely silent once he was done recounting his findings. Everybody whether they be the ck Ogres or the Terraquake Rhinos, they all wore varying emotions on their faces.
Some were shocked, some had questioning gazes while some stared at him with looks of disbelief. However, since their two leaders had yet to make ament, they did not dare to utter anything before they did.
"This is interesting, I do recall some vague information about the dungeons being able to do something like that from the Memories of the world that I inherited. If it really is the shortcut, then it would save us a lot of time and effort" Yverza muttered, his voice booming.
"Any chance that it is a trap?"¡
"I thought along those lines as well when I first heard it. That is why, I sent a few more subordinates to investigate it. Considering that the shortcut is still open, it can either be that it''s not a trap or the demon is not unaware of us"
"Either way, the existence of the shortcut is a good thing for us. Once we enter it with our forces, trap or not, we can just destroy it with overwhelming might"
Gil-Garna gave a fierce smile. As one of the Seven Kings, even though he was wary of the Demon of the East and his fastly growing powers, the confidence he had in his strength was absolute.
"Haha, you are right. It makes no difference whether it is a trap or not once we enter it. However, things seem to have be a little troublesome now that we know the queen of the harpies has sided with the demon"
Yverza muttered, a slight frown of concern could be seen on his face. More than the demon, it seems that this juggernaut of destruction was more afraid of her.
As one of the Seven kings, it dide with reason that the two of them would be daunted by her presence. The two of them were very familiar with her powers.
The queen of the Harpies, not only were her abilities unique but her Evil Eyes were mysterious and deadly. One wrong move, and even they who were fellow Seven kings, could die under those eyes of hers.
If it was a head on battle, then the both of them had absolute confidence in winning after all, the ck Ogres and Terraquake Rhinos were warring races born with high stats and a natural fortress like body built forbat.
However, the harpies were a race that specialised in aerialbatants and tricky abilities that made them a tough opponent for them. And among them, their queen who possessed the unique Evil Eyes was even more of a headache to deal with.
Given all of this, it was only natural for them to be concerned.
"You are right, Melinda is indeed a big concern. However, as long as one of us could hold her down, the other can then swiftly defeat the demon. Thus essentially neutralising her presence"
Gil-Garna stated. It was just as he said, their opponent was the demon, not the queen of the harpies. As such, as long as one of them held her down and stopped her from helping the demon. They could avoid fighting life and death battle with her while also effectively neutralising her presence.
"It looks like you havee up with all kinds of scenarios in your head"
Yverza looked at the king do the ck ogres and smiled in a manner that held several different meanings.
"But of course, I have been nning for this attack for a long while now. You should know that I have been keeping a close eye on the Demon of the East ever since I became aware of his dungeon"
"If not because I was held up by some other matter at hand and couldn''t leave my station, I wouldn''t have allowed that demon to grow till this point. I am sure that after witnessing the spectacle that urred in the eastern skies of the forest a couple of months ago, you would agree with me"
On Gil-Garna''s words, a solemn look appeared on the former''s face. The spectacr phenomenon that urred in the Eastern Sky was visible from the entire Ghastly Winding Forest and even fromnds far beyond.
That vast column of mana rushing into the sky like an erupting volcano only urred during certain special situations. And the only thing capable of creating such a hugemotion in the ghastly winding forest was the new dungeon created by the demon.
Only a dungeon when it reached a certain rank would be able to create such a natural phenomenon. The eruption of mystical energy into the air marked the ranking of the dungeon. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
And for a newly established dungeon to be already creating such a worldly phenomenon, what did it indicate? The concept was so ridiculous that Yverza felt that it wasn''t even funny.
To be able to grow at such a rate, the demon had to be controlled if not eliminated before he became a threat to even to them. It was also for this reason that the king of the wastnds, the Ivory Terraquake Rhino decided to form an alliance with the king of the ck Ogres.
The others might not think that the demon was any threat to them; however, he thought differently. Unlike the others, the memories of the world he inherited when integrating with the power left behind by the ancient beast carcasses possessed a little more information.
As such, he held certain information that even Gil-Garna or the other Seven Kings didn''t have.
"What are our chances against the demon?"
He questioned. If the demon was so easy to deal with, they wouldn''t have formed an alliance or waited this long for that matter.
"Don''t worry, I have been preparing for this attack for a long time now. The dungeon will definitely be conquered by us. I have received formal replies from¡ Oh!? Speak of the devil, they are here"
Chapter 857- Seven Kings Assemble (5)
Chapter 857- Seven Kings Assemble (5)
Gil-Garna who was in the midst of speaking, suddenly arched his head as he looked up. Yverza also felt something and followed his gaze.
"Haha, Gil-Garna, to have invited me so deep into your territory. Aren''t you afraid that I might attack your domain?"
A heartyugh sounded out. Immediately, the sky over the ancient ruins darkened as storm clouds brewed over. Vaguely, they churned and agglomerated together to form a gigantic serpent of sorts that had its mouth open as if trying to devour the world.
"Emerald Viperlord, so you have finallye" Gil-Garna stood up from his seat and courteously greeted the new entrant. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
There in the sky, where the mouth of the gigantic sinister serpent made of cloud was, a figure could be seen slowly emerging. Decked in sleek obsidian scales glistening with an oily sheen that formed an imprable armour of sorts around them, the figuremanded both awe and fear.
They possessed cold, merciless eyes as polished onyx and had a long slithery tongue that came out of their mouth every time they opened it to speak.
From their broad, muscr shoulders, twin serpentine arms extended, their scaly skin rippling withtent power. Razor-sharp ws adorn each hand, capable of rending flesh and bone with lethal precision.
Atop their fearsome visage, a crown of serrated horns juts forth, each tip coated in a venomous substance that drips like liquid malice. Unique to them, the figure possessed a predatory aura that made one intrinsically afraid just by looking at them.
"I can''t possibly walk out on such an interesting event. Oh? The king of the wastnd is also here huh?!! ShaShaSha, Gil-Garna you cunning fellow you, you know how to manipte others"
Saying that, the figure quickly dropped down. Given the way he was speaking to Gil-Garna, it was clear that he possessed a standing that was not any inferior to thetter. And it was indeed so, the figure that just arrived was Emerald Viperlord, ruler of the swamps and one of the seven kings of the forest.
"Haha, Shasurna you came at the right time. We were just in the midst of discussing an important matter" Gil-Garna spoke. His voice just sounded out when...
BOOM¡ a defeating noise breaking the speed of sound, reverberated across the sky above. RUMBLE¡ crimson thunder shed and the huge snake that was formed formed from the clouds in the sky, was instantly torn and scattered apart.
That was not all, while one part of the sky was covered in ayer of dense crimson lightning, another part formed an infernal world. Columns of thick golden mes erupted out of the ground and rushed towards the sky in a brilliant disy of fireworks.
The air around this part of the sky was extremely hot causing the flora and fauna to instantly die out.
TSK¡ seeing this scene, the Emerald Viperlord or also known as Shasurna, clicked his tongue.
"These two are as shy as ever" His mood was sour now that his thunder was stolen with the arrival of more people.
"Haha, Chimera Warlord, Gufardus and Ruler of the Lightning Peaks, Wind Lightning Draconic Falcon, Vesgard. You are all just in time" Gil-Garna quickly called out the names of the new entrants.
Up in the sky, the mes and thunder spread apart to reveal two figures. One of them had the head of a lion, the upper body of an ape, the lower body of a bull and a snake like tail. Their body was covered in stitches and rippled with raw destructive power. Just like their monicker, they were a chimaera through and through.
The other being had a humanoid figure with deep amethyst like eyes that sparked with thunder. He was holding a sceptre and had long unkempt hair and beak for mouth. the sharp talons that he had for legs, were so sharp that they could easily tear through most sturdiest of defence.
The wings that carried him airborne rumbled with the sound of thunder every time that they pped.
When Gil-Garna called them out, they slowly descended from the sky and arrived at the table where the King of the wastnd, Ivory Terraquake Rhino- Yverza and Emerald Viperlord- Shasurna were already there.
"Would you look at that? Who would have known that the two most mysterious figures and recluse of our Ghastly Winding Forest would also arrive here? Did Gil-Garna''s proposal woe you guys in too?"
Shasurnaughed, his wordsced with venom.
"Aren''t you here too? If a two faced snake like you cane here then what''s wrong for us toe and see what all thismotion is about" Gufardus spoke offhandedly. Not mixing any words and sparing no face for the other.
This caused the green snake like face of Shasurna to turn even green. However, Gufardus paid no attention to him and simply took his seat as if he owned the ce.
"Gil-Garna I am here as per your invitation. However, if your words fail to catch my attention, do not me me for leaving abruptly"
The one to speak was Vesgard. His words were short, cold and precise, telling everyone one that he was a man of few words.
"Haha, there is nothing restraining anyone. I''m already grateful that all of you responded to my invite in the first. If you do not like the proposal I am going to make next, you are free to leave any second"
Gil-Garna spoke, acting as the host. He was quite tactful and knew that it was impossible for all the seven kings to band together. As such, he made it open that anyone could leave if they did not like his idea.
Well, in any case, he wouldn''t be able to restrain them and there was no meaning for them being here if they weren''t going to be a part of his n.
Vesgard nodded before finding a seat too. Seeing that almost all of the seats were filled, a smile appeared on Gil-Garna''s face. A scene like this where all the Seven Kings gathered, well almost all, was an extremely rare scene.
It was so rare that other than a couple of times, it hadn''t urred any further. At least as far as Gil-Garna knew, they hadn''t gathered like that for a couple of decades now. And every time that they did, it was due to the summon from that being, the most ancient of them all.
However, today he managed to achieve something simr, how could he not be happy?
''One day, I''ll make it so that all of them follow me just like today. No, not one day. After I capture that dungeon, I''ll use its resources to grow even stronger. At that time, even that ancient monster won''t be able to stop me''
Gil-Garna thought inside his head, fantasizing about a beautiful future. After he saw that everybody had taken their seat, he began his exnation.
"As I have already told you, my n is to wad out this growing bud of concern in the forest before it grows too strong. As such, I have invited you all to discuss some matters I have thought of to solve it"
While Gil-Garna spoke, the others quietly listened. This was especially true for the ck Ogres and the Terraquake Rhinos who were standing there while sweating profusely.
With a room full of Seven kings, the greatest and most powerful beings present in the entire Ghastly Winding Forest, one could imagine the kind of pressure the ce was engulfed in.
Usually, for subordinates like them, it was already rare for them to encounter a Seven King or two. Much less see them gather all together like this. The scene in front of them could be said to be legendary.
Even for subordinates the likes of Gish-Bagh and Gish-Bor, the scene was much too striking. Gil-Garna continued speaking, he started by exining how the dungeon represented a significant threat and how it could destabilise the delicate bnce maintained by the seven kings.
"Already, we have seen signs of its growing power. The demon that resides within its depths is bing more aggressive and bolder day by day. If left unchecked, it will soon be a force to be reckoned with, one that could disrupt the delicate hierarchy in the ghastly winding forest."
He paused, allowing his words to sink in before continuing "It''s not like you guys haven''t seen the effect of its influence, the worldly phenomenon that erupted from the eastern skies a few months ago that could be seen throughout the entire forest. I do not even need to exin as to what it represents"
"The rate at which the dungeon is growing makes it by the far the most abnormal and the greatest concern we must address before it is toote".
The seven kings were all silent as they listened to Gil-garna. It was not like they didn''t understand what he said and it was not like whatever was said did not concern them. They had all seen and witnessed the phenomena that urred in the eastern skies a couple of months ago.
The fact that the dungeon was rising fast in rank, was a fact that they all knew. In fact, this point bugged all of them; however, they were not as enthusiastic as Gil-Garna to do something about it.
Seeing the fluctuating faces of the seven kings, he knew that the iron was hot. Now was the time to strike.
"The dungeon''s presence has stirred unrest among the inhabitants of the forest, if we don''t do anything¡"
He went on, just as his voice grew a notch more intense, his sentence got stuck in his throat. The next instant, his eyes immediately scanned his surroundings.
Chapter 858- Seven Kings Assemble (6)
Chapter 858- Seven Kings Assemble (6)
Deep shock could be seen in those ogre like eyes of Gil-Garna which had been unfazed when facing all the other seven kings. It was not only him, Yverza, Shasurna, Gufardus and Vesgard all wore simr looks of shock and disbelief as they stared at their surrounding.
At this moment, the entirend was trembling gently as if a small earthquake was urring. If one paid enough attention one could even hear the deep rumbling noiseing from the depth of the earth like an omen foreshadowing soemthing.
That was not all, As the Seven Kings watched in awe, thendscape began to transform before their very eyes. Flora and fauna across the entire ck ogre territory, stirred in response to some unknown force,ing to life in a disy of vibrant vitality.
From the earth, new life emerged, sprouting forth in a riot of colours and shapes. Flowers burst into bloom, their petals unfurling like delicate works of art. Trees swayed in a graceful dance, their branches reaching skyward as if reaching for the heavens.
The once-dormantnd seemed to awaken with a newfound vigour, teeming with the promise of growth and renewal. The sounds of the forest shifted, as if harmonizing with the changingndscape.
Birds sang melodies of wee, their songs echoing through the canopy in a symphony of greeting. Creatures of all shapes and sizes emerged from their hiding ces, drawn by the maic pull of this unseen force as ifing forward to greet their king.
"Oi.. Oi¡ you can''t be serious?" Shasurna spat, in his shock he almost fell down from his arching chair.
"I can''t believe this. Is that personing for real?" Yverza spoke out the words that were in all of their hearts.
"A change like this is something that only that person is capable of instigating" Vesgard mentioned. He was the most calm out of all the seven kings as he drank the drink prepared for him.
"He is here!!" Suddenly he put down his ss and stared at a tree not very far away from them.
At that moment, the tree began to visibly morph. Its branches twisted and contorted, weaving together to form a humanoid figure. The humanoid figure was covered in gnarled wood, and ancient bark etched in swirling patterns that resembled the forest.
His figure was tall and his eyes glowed with an otherworldly light, reflecting the wisdom of centuries past.
"Haha, I hope I am notte, Gil-Garna?"
The figure spoke. As he took each step, he exuded an aura of primal power, his very essence intertwined with the natural world around him.
Who could the figure who was the very embodiment of the forest''s might, a living testament to enduring strength and resilience be other than Aldebaran?
The seven kings stared in shock, a surge of reverence and deep fear involuntarily sprung into their bodies just by standing near him. No matter how mighty they acted amongst each other or called each other the Seven Kings; however, in front of this ancient monster, they might all just be children.
Although Aldebaran was also coined as one of the Seven Kings along with them, it didn''t mean that he was in the same realm as them. Coining Aldebaran as one of the seven kings, it was something that was done by those stupid human adventurers who didn''t know any better.
No matter how haughty or prideful they usually acted among themselves, they had to set aside all of that and act humbly in his presence. Aldebaran was not just the ruler of one of the king ns, the Ancient Treants but the guardian of the forest itself.
It was his presence that deterred the powerful foreign beings froming into the Ghastly Winding Forest.
"For you toe here, does that mean that you are also interested in the Dungeon of the East?" Vesgard questioned.
Perhaps if there was anyone among the seven kings, who was not as deterred and fazed as the others, it would be him. Having a good rtionship with Aldebaran, he didn''t stand on ceremony as the others and continued to sip his drink.
"Haha, you all are here. How can I miss the fun? Gil-Garna you don''t mind if I join uninvited right?"
Although he asked, he did not wait for thetter to reply and found a seat next to Vesgard to sit on. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The Ogre king who was called out, opened and closed his mouth, unable to say anything. His face twitched evidence that he was yet toe out of shock. It was indeed true that out of all the invites he sent to the seven kings, he didn''t send any to Aldebaran.
The reason for that was because he thought that thetter wouldn''t be interested in his ns. This was one of the reasons; however, the main reason was that if Aldebaran joined the mission, then he wouldn''t be the leader anymore and won''t be able to hoard the treasures of the dungeon for himself as he nned.
He was not worried about the other seven kings since they were in the same realm. Even if he couldn''t defeat them, the other party wouldn''t be able to stop him either when it came to making his moves.
And besides, he had prepared a trump card for this day, even if it was the demon, the queen of the harpies or the fellow seven kings he was against, he had the confidence to defeat them with this.
However, it was a whole different thing if you throw Aldebaran into the mix. Forget about defeating the other, it would already be a miracle if he could even hurt them. Naturally, the appearance of Aldebaran hadpletely derailed his ns.
That said, he was the king of the ogres and one of the seven kings not without reason. He quicklyposed himself and sat down on his own seat.
With the arrival of Aldebaran, the already heavy pressure in the ce intensified to the point where it became stifling. Some weak level ck ogres and terraquake rhinos fainted unable to handle the pressure. They had to be rescued by theirrades and taken away.
"This feels quite good, isn''t it? How long has it been that we gathered like this all together?" Aldebaran asked with a smile.
"Thest time was more than twenty years ago when you ordered us all to assemble in the ancient treants territory to tell us about the changing times" Vesgard answered.
"Ah, that''s right. It had been that long huh? How time passes that quickly. It feels like just yesterday when I sheltered you all in the forest. Now look at you all, bing the seven kings of the forest and establishing your own reputation".
The seven king''s faces twitched when they heard that. For them, the events mentioned by the king of the ancient treants was a long long time ago, more than seven hundred years.
At that time, they were just younglings filled with vigour and zest. It was only with time and protection from Aldebaran that they were able to temper themselves, learn about the importance of perseverance and establish themselves.
Seven hundred years, it might be long for them. However, for the guardian of this forest who had been alive since the ancient time, it might just as well be a couple of months.
"Oh? By the way, I don''t see thatss here. Did she note or is she runningte?" he questioned.
"About that, I will be exining in a while. Since Lord Aldebaran came here, does that mean you are also interested in our uing expedition?" Gil-Garna spoke.
The former looked at the ogre king, his empty eye sockets glowed with deep emerald green light at this moment.
"The alliance of the seven kings attacking the dungeon, such a big manoeuvre will have its impact felt all across the forest and even tonds beyond. It could very well change the forest forever. As the Guardian of thisnd, how could I not participate in this important meeting". Aldebaran exined his reasoning.
"Of course, I am not here to dissuade any of you. Feel free to discuss among yourselves about your uing expedition. Just think of me as an observer, an old man with too much time in his hand".
So that was the case, everyone nodded their head, feeling relieved inside. Since Aldebaran was nonmittal, it also removed all the pressure from them.
They wouldn''t have known what to do if he suddenly showed his dissuasion against attacking the dungeon. Or worse shown interest in attacking the dungeon. Wouldn''t they have to follow hismands?
As the guardian and most powerful being present in the forest, his words were the rule. As such, whatever he decided, would be the ultimate rule that all of them had to follow.
Many of them sighed in relief; however, the most relieved out of them all was Gil-Garna. Aldebaran''s nonmitance showed his non participation. This meant that he wouldn''t be joining them for the uing attack. That was a great thing for him.
"Since that is lord Alder''s intention then I shall continue with the briefing. As I have said earlier, the dungeon has been an increasing threat we can no longer avoid. What''s more, it has be even more powerful recently" Gil-Garna carefullyyered his words, attracting the attention of everyone.
"I know what you guys have been thinking about. Where is Melinda, the queen of the harpies and the master of the Evil Eyes? Well get that, a few days ago I was notified of something when I sent my subordinates with a message to the harpy''s territory".
Chapter 859- Aldebarans Ramblings
Chapter 859- Aldebaran''s Ramblings
"However, when they arrived at the Harpy''s territory, the ce was already empty. That''s right, there was no one to be found nor any soul to be seen".
Gufardus and Shasurna arched their brows at those words "What do you mean? How can they just disappear out of the blue?".
Gil-Garna looked toward the seven kings and smiled "That''s right, they didn''t disappear but rather relocated to a new ce?"...
Relocation?!!...
"What nonsense. Gil-garna if you have called us like this to tell us some made up stories, then you have wasted our time" Vesgard the mostposed of all, spoke offhandedly.
One of the king ns, if the n of the harpies were to move to a different ce, such a big movement would naturally attract everyone''s attention. But forget about any news of relocation, they did not see even one harpying out of their territory.
And even if considering that the harpies did relocate, where would they even move to? The current territory of the harpies was the most perfect ce for them to inhabit. There was no other ce that could suit their natural disposition in any ce else in the entire Ghastly Winding Forest.
"Wait¡ wait, I''m not done with the exnation. Don''t jump to conclusions, at least listen to everything that I have to say. I have said that they relocated to a new ce for a reason. What''s more the ce they had relocated to, could easily harbour all of them and allow them to live in their natural habitat"¡
"Are you meaning?"
The seven kings were no idiots, although most of them had more brawns than brains, the quick witted ones naturally sensed the underlying meaning behind his words.
"That''s right, they haven''t relocated to a new ce in the ghastly winding forest but rather inside the dungeon. A few days ago, I sent my subordinates to the territory of the harpies with a message from me for their queen"
"Though we didn''t find them, we did end up discovering the shortcut they used to relocate all the harpies in the dungeon. It was created deep in the heart of their territory and was hidden quite well"
"The shortcut leads directly to the deeper floors of the dungeon and is wide enough for a big army to pass through. As for whether I''m lying or not, I''m sure all of you know it better".
Gil-Garna''s words caused the seven kings except for Yverza and Aldebaran to make quite an unusual face. Of course, they knew fully well whether he was lying or not from the memories of the world they inherited.
As such, they knew that the dungeon indeed possessed an unusual power to create a shortcut that connected with the outside world. Just that only some powerful dungeons which have existed for hundreds of years or probably even thousands, are able to do something like this.
How long had it been since the dungeon in the east emerged? For it to be able to create something that is exclusive to only old and powerful dungeon, it was hard to believe.
"Are you guys finally starting to realise how unusual this dungeon is? If it ranks up at this rate, soon a point wille where the entire ghastly winding forest would be too small for it. As such, I suggest creating an alliance to attack the dungeon and snuff this growing gue from our forest once and for all. The Ghastly Winding Forest is ours, the seven kings and not the Demon Noble''s territory"
Gil-Garba timed his words perfectly causing even theposed ones like Vesgard to have their emotions fluctuate for a slight moment.
"I see, so you n to use the very same shortcut created by the dungeon to attack it. I must say, it is quite an ingenious n. However, have you considered all the possibilities? Possibilities like at what cost will the victory be for? Or what if you lose?"
Aldebaran suddenly ced an odd question with a smile on his face.
From the start to finish of his presentation, this old monster had been unfazed only showing slight interest at times suddenly asking a question. Even Gil-Garna was unable to determine what was their objective behind cing such a question. Nevertheless, he still replied confidently.
"Of course, since I am doing this, naturally the possibility of us winning is 100 per cent. As for defeat, the chances are zero. I have calcted all the power the enemy might possess, tricks they could use and based on that, I have assessed that if I have the aid of three of the seven kings, we canpletely win this battle".
"I see, in that case, when are you nning to attack?"¡
"As soon as possible" the ogre king grinned "Our n is already ready and is on standby near the territory of the harpies.; Of course, if any of you wish to join us we can wait for a day or two for you and your n to arrive".
Gil-Garna nced at the seven kings, the reason why he invited all of them here was because he hoped to reel some of them into his n. Of course, he didn''t expect everyone to respond to his call. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Beings like Aldebaran, Vesgard and Gufardus who were quite mysterious and usually kept to themselves, their presence here was a pleasant surprise.
"Haha, this old man is much too aged for all of this. If it was in my prime, I would have lend you a hand or two. However, it''s impossible now. I will leave you youngsters to your n. Now then, please excuse me" Saying that, Aldebaran stood up from his seat.
"I will leave too. I have no interest in attacking the dungeon. As long as they don''t antagonise me first, I''m willing to let them continue on like this" Vesgard spoke his intentions too.
"I would have liked to give you a hand, I am quite interested in this dungeon which is able to increase in rank so fast. However, I am busy with something right now and can''t separate myself out of it" Gufardus also stood up to leave.
Gil-Garna didn''t say anything to stop them from leaving. It was impossible from the beginning for the seven kings to work together anyway and besides he already knew these existences won''t help him either.
He chose to invite them and reveal his ns to them because he didn''t want them to get in his way.
"Haha, I pray for your sess king of the ck Ogres. We shall meet again"
Aldebaran looked at Gil-Garna for onest time, threw some words full of deep meaning before leaving. Earth rumbled and with a gust of wind, the tree that had morphed into the appearance of Aldebaran, returned to its previous state.
His exit just like his entrance was as mysterious as ever.
After Aldebran left, thunderbolts started charging in the sky and with a sh of blinding crimson light, Vesgard flew into the sky and disappeared from sight.
At the same time, a deafening lion roar sounded out and a ming congration that looked like a hideous chimaera, formed carrying Gufardus into the sky.
Once all of them left, the peace that had been shattered by their powerful presence returned once again. The heavy pressure disappeared and the ogre and teraquake rhino subordinates could finally breathe again.
"Since you are still remaining does it mean that you are on board with our n?"
Gil-Garna tore his eyes away and looked at the sole remaining seven kings other than Yverza still seated in his seat. The person he was looking at, was none other than the king of the swamps, the Emerald Viperlord, Shasurna.
"ShaShaSha¡ do you think I''m like those idiots who can''t see the bigger picture? Out with it Gil-Garna, I know you don''t just want to defeat the demon. Destroying a dungeon is a waste of treasure, especially one as unique as the one the Demon of the East set up"
"I know you are nning much more than those simple lines you threw at us. I want to join you, tell me your real objective?"
Thest remaining seven king smiled, his onyx like eyes seemed like it was able to pierce through one''s soul.
"What do you mean?" Yverza asked keeping a straight face.
"Don''t use that trick on me. I know when a face is lying when I see one. ShaShaSha¡ If you want my help, you must include me in your real n" Shasurna licked his lips with his slithery tongue.
"It seems like it was foolish of us to think that we could trick the first variant shaman of his race. You are deserving of your fame Emerald Vieprlord. Very well, I shall brief you about our real n. However, before that you must order your n to assemble. The shortcut is still open but we aren''t sure how long it would stay like that. Before it closes, I would like all our three ns to enter it" Gil-Garna instructed.
.
.
A few hundred kilometres away from the territory of the ck Ogres, a crimson thunder light shed and the figure of Vesgard appeared with it.
"What do you of it Alder?"
His voice carried by the wind echoed across the surroundings. However, there was no one to respond to him. Vesgard wasn''t bothered by it and simply waited for some time.
Suddenly, the trees started swaying with a mysterious wind and thend became more verdant. Thud¡thud¡ thud¡ footsteps sounded out and the figure of Aldebaran who had once again taken arboreal form, appeared beside the Wind Lightning draconic falcon.
Chapter 860- Aldebarans Ramblings (2)
Chapter 860- Aldebaran''s Ramblings (2)
"You are the only one who can sense my presence Vesgard" the bark on Aldebaran parted appearing like a smile.
"Isn''t it because you deliberately didn''t cover your presence?" the former retorted.
"Haha, even if I didn''t cover my presence, believe me it is not so easy to sense me. Anyways, what do you mean by your words?"¡ N?v(el)B\\jnn
Vesgard was silent for a while, his eyes followed Aldeberan''s and stared at the eastern sky of the forest.
"I have known you for a long time to know that your identity is special. You im yourself as just a simple guardian of thisnd and the other seven kings seem to be readily epting that. However, I always had doubts about that"
"I always wondered why thisnd needed to be guarded. Where did that thing you are protectinge from and what does this forest mean to you? The memories of the world that I have inherited isn''tplete as such, I can only make my own assumptions"
"Of course, these are just my thoughts and there are many things that I don''t know but I know one thing. Having known you, I''m sure¡ you are waiting for someone or something to happen that would change this world forever".
"Hoh, why do you say that?" Aldebaran''s eyes sockets narrowed causing the emerald lighting from it to dim.
"Didn''t I tell you I have known you for a long time? As your friend I have seen you procrastinating about the old times and the future that you want to see. I can''t tell when you are excited about something and tired enough to wish that you had died already"
"However, all of this changed since a couple of years ago. You seem to be no longer lost in the memories of the past and seem more forward looking as if eagerly waiting or expecting something to happen"
"Let me guess, these changes started to appear when Ist visited you. At that time, you were sheltering the Forest Spring Spirits who were being hunted by the humans due to their insatiable greed. It was also around the same time when the dungeon emerged. If I had to take a shot, I would say that it is because of these aforementioned reasons"
"You¡ you are expecting something out of that dungeon aren''t you? If not, as the guardian ofnd who has fought and repelled back the advances of the demon continent so many times, you wouldn''t have allowed this demon to setup his dungeon here. This forest is precious to you, it reminds you of your old memories or perhaps is associated with it"
Vesgard spoke, his sharp eyesnded on the being next to him.
Hearing what the former had to say, Aldebaran''s glowing emerald eyes dimmed and his figure had also stopped moving. The next second, he erupted in a thunderousughter, his voice booming across the entire mountain peak.
"Haha, I guess I should expect no less from the Wind Lightning Draconic Falcon, one fo the subsidiary races of the dragon n. You are indeed worthy of being from that n".
As he said that, his slightly stiff body rxed. Of course, he was all tree and braches, there was no skin or muscles to know for sure that he had rxed. It was just a figure of speech based on how the tree barks dropped down, giving him a rxed atmosphere.
"You might be right, I am indeed looking for something, a change to be correct. This world has be stagnant like a caged trap ever since that time. Of course, at that time, even I was too little and immature to understand the aftermaths and repercussion that it would bring to our world"
"Everyone was helpless, they could only rely on him. And what did they do in return? Deviating from the goal they start fighting among themselves and cause bloody wars. If that''s not looking on him then what is? The people of this world have forgotten their true purpose"
"A change needs to ur. Finally, that wind of change which is only a small breeze right now, has arrived. Only this wind of change can save this world. I have been waiting for a long time now, so long to give up hope many times. However, in the end, still believing in my duty and the old memories, I continued to guard thisnd"
"You say that this forest is precious to me? Well of course it is, it is the very ce that I was born in, it is the very ce I met master. Of course, it was not called the Ghastly Winding Forest nor was it located here at that time"
Lost in the world of his own, Aldebaran recounted some events from the past. His words vague, painted a picture of an ancient world, events from the past that had beenpletely forgotten by the people of the present time.
The goal they had been mentioned and the being who sacrificed himself to save the world and whose expense they are still living on.
"Who are you talking about? What do you mean the Ghastly Winding Forest was not located here? What has this do with the things that I just mentioned?"
The more he heard his exnation, the more questions popped inside Vesgard''s mind.
"Even if I tell you now, you won''t be able to do anything. It is still too early and you won''t be able to handle the repercussions of the information. There is no need for you to be so impatient. You are still young and unlike me, you still have long years to live. With time, you will naturally have answers to all those questions" Aldebaran answered.
The former pondered deeply at those words before fianly nodding his head. "Alright, I''ll stop asking you questions and wait to see what kind of change you hope for myself. However, can I ask you onest question?"¡
"Go ahead?"¡
"Do you believe that the dungeon would survive this ordeal? Gil-Garna and his group are sure to attack the dungeon from that shortcut they found. It seemed like Yverza and Shasurna are also on board. Three of the seen kings, this kind of power isn''t something that a newly emerged dungeon can handle. This wind of change that you are talking about, I''m afraid that it will get snuffed before it can even grow into a full fledged gale?"
Vesgard questioned. Although he was not interested in the dungeon, based on what he understood from Aldebaran, this dungeon and the demon who created it seemed to be special.
However, no matter how special one was, in this world, strength was the final determiner of everything. If you don''t have strength, you are just another stepping stone on the path of someone else who is stronger than you.
One needed time to grow stronger along with other various factors that are associated with it. However, if one is denied even that, then it is the end for them. The same was the case with the Dungeon of the East. It was special no doubt, being able to rise in rank so fast. It had already overturned the unwrittenw of this world in its head. But it was still too premature and unexperienced.
It had only been over four years since the dungeon emerged in the forest. Given the timeframe of its emergence to till now, it would be appropriate to say that it was not ready to face beings on the level of the Seven Kings and the ns they led.
If the dungeon falls, so would the demon and the wind of change that he mentioned about would also be gone forever before it could even stabilise itself in the world.
"Haha, I was wondering what you will ask. So it turns out you are worried about the dungeon" Contrary to what Vesgard expected, instead of being worried for this wind of change he mentioned, he looked all rxed and free of worries.
"Don''t worry, he won''t be defeated by the likes of Gil-Garna and his group"¡
"How can you say that? Gil-Garna is a variant ogre of his race who was able to reach the violet horn. With the inheritance of the ancient beast he received and the various shadowy movements he had made these past decades, his strength has grown even further"
"The ck ogre tribe is also far stronger than before. This is not mentioning the fact that he is joined by Yverza and Shasurna who are not any weaker" Vesgard seemed unconvinced.
"Hmm, it looks like I won''t be able to convince you witth simple words. Then how about this, what if I tell you this, I have personally tested the strength of the demon myself"¡
"What?!!"
As soon as Aldebaran mentioned that, his expression changed and he couldn''t help but doubt his ears. What did it mean for Aldebaran, the ruler of the ancient treants, the guardian of the forest and the strongest being here, testing the strength of the demon himself?
Putting aside the fact of how thetter performed, just the fact that Aldebaran went out of his way to even test the strength of the demon himself proved how highly he viewed the other party.
"How did he perform?".
The bark on Aldebaran''s face arched appearing almost like a grin "He aced the first trial I set for him even though I made it so that it was impossible to clear. As for the second trial, it is ongoing you will have to wait for a while. Ah, about that... don''t worry you won''t have to wait longer to know the result"
Chapter 861- Attack on the Dungeon
Chapter 861- Attack on the Dungeon
"The second trial is also the final trial that will prove his worth to you. At that time, you will be able to find out why I wasn''t worried about him first hand".
What did he mean by that? Vesgard couldn''t help but frown; neverhtless, he was far too shocked to pay much attention to thetter half of his sentence.
For the demon to be able to clear the trial that was set by Aldebaran to be impossible, the impact these words had. If it was someone else, he wouldn''t have believed it. However, it was his old friend. They wouldn''t lie to him just to paint the demon they favour in a good picture.
"Are you telling me that¡"
"Yeah, Gil-garna and the others, they have overestimated themselves this time. They will lose big time".
Vesgard gulped his non-existent saliva. He who was also one of the seven kings and knew how powerful Gil-Garna and the others were found it imusible for them to lose.
No matter how he thought about it, all possibilities and factors favour thetter. Yet Aldebaran was saying that they would lose. It was not just any random being that spoke that, but the strongest being in the forest had personally stated that.
"Haha, what makes someone special isn''t their speciality but the person themselves make their speciality special" While leaving those words with the wind, Aldebaran turned around to leave.
"Ah, that''s right, before I leave I wanted to ask you for a favour" His footsteps halted as he turned around to face Vesgard.
"What is it?".
The smiling face of his disappeared, reced by a solemn expression that one hardly saw in him.
"Can you keep an eye on Gufardus? His movements have been far too sneaky these past few years and he has been stirring trouble across the Ghastly Winding forest. There are certain guests that I have to go see off as such, I will be busy for a while and cannot keep track of him. If there is anyone among the seven kings that I trust and can monitor Gufardus without them realising then it''s you"
Gufardus?!! Vesgard made a slightly surprised face; nevertheless, he still nodded his head. Out of all the Seven Kings, Gufardus was the most mysterious. His movements and skill aside, even his origin was a mystery.
At least all the other seven kings had a past or a race they belonged to when they came to the Ghastly Winding Forest. However, Gufardus was a chimaera with unknown origins and past.
There was nothing known about him. The guy was aplete mystery.
Aldebaran did not stay any longer, once he saw Vessgard nodding, the tree that he manifested in quickly returned to normal.
.
.
Two days passed by and on the morning of the second day, just like Gil-Garna had promised, he had begun his attack on the dungeon.
A grand and impressive line up made up of three ns, stood before a tall peak that jutted forth like a pir connecting the sky and earth. Everywhere below the peak where one couldy their eyes, was a sea of bobbing heads.
ck Ogres, Terraquake Rhinos and Snakemen popted the area. Decked out in war gears, they looked ready for battle.
On top of the peak, stood three figures, their imposing presence made it clear that they were a cut above all the rest of the figures here and stood in a realm that made all the ones below them, look at them with eyes filled with reverence.
Needless to say, the three figures who could release such a powerful aura capable enough to cower the rest, were the three leaders of their ns, the three seven kings.
A few steps behind each of them stood a couple of figures all of whom possessed impressive auras on their own and were far more powerful and fiercesome than the rest. They were the direct subordinates of the seven kings.
Out of them all, Gil-Garna possessed the most people behind him. Three indigo horns, which included Gish-Bagh, Gish-Bor and another indigo horn stood beside him. In contrast, Yverza the Ivory Terraquake Rhino only had two people behind him.
As for Shahsurna, there was only one snakeman who was on the level of an indigo horn behind him.
Even if Gil-Garna and Yverza both lost a strong subordinate in the harpies territory, the fact that the former still possessed so many powerful subordinates meant that the power of his forces had long since surpassed the power of the other king ns. N?v(el)B\\jnn
''That damn Gil-garna¡ he had hidden his strength quite well'' Shasurna narrowed his eyes, feeling a little inferior. If not for the attack on the dungeon, he wouldn''t have known Gil-garna''s forces were this powerful.
The seven kings were able to maintain this delicate bnce and keep each other in check precisely because all of them were equal in strength and attacking one another would only end up harming themselves rather than bring any benefit.
It was for this reason that the Seven Kings rarely attacked each other and even if they did, it was as a form of caution or small disputes. Naturally, seeing the powerful force behind Gil-Garna, a sense of wariness crept into Shasurna''s heart.
"The shortcut is still open. Since that is the case, let''s utilise this chance to send our forces in. However, before we do that, isn''t it appropriate that we choose a supreme chief for this attack".
In their terms, a supreme chief was someone who ruled above even the chiefs of the respective n leaders. As of yet, there was no single being in this forest who was powerful or worthy enough to be called that.
Aldebaran could have probably be the supreme chief of the seven kings; however, he chose not to and stayed as a neutral guardian of the forest than anything else.
For Gil-garna to suddenly raise this topic, it was not like Yverza and Shasurna didn''t understand his intention. That aside, what he said wasn''t wrong. Now that they were about to attack the dungeon, it was only natural that they chose a leader which everyone followed.
Although there was no need to be worried, the ce they were going to attack was still a dungeon, a special dimensional realm that only a demon noble could create. It was bound to be sprawling with dangers and traps.
Instead of having too many leaders that would dy their response time and cause needless casualties, having one leader whom everyone followed during the attack would raise their chances further and allow them to react in time.
"Since I was the one to suggest this alliance, I rmend myself for this position. What do you all think?" Just as they expected, Gil-Garna had his eyes on the position of the supreme chief.
"Fine with me"¡
"What?" Shasurna was surprised to see Yverza agreeing with the demands so nonchntly. This was the matter of deciding the supreme chief how could one adopt such a nonchnt attitude attitude like the Ivory Terraquake Rhino.
The leader of the snakemen was inwardly frustrated.
"What about you Emerald Viperlord?" Gil-garna turned toward him. Having no choice, Shasurna could only unwillingly nod his head too.
"This is just for the attack alright? Once we are done with the subjugation of the dungeon, we shall return to our normal rtionship" Shasurnamented.
"That is to be expected" Gil-garna readily epted an unknown smile on his face.
"Another thing even if you be the supreme chief during the time, you cannot interfere with the chain ofmands between me and my n more than needed"
It was only after he saw Gil-Garna agreeing with all of his conditions that Shasurna gave his consent too. The next second the two respective seven kings then addressed their n and informed them about the news.
With that, the supreme chief although only for the attack on the dungeon, finally emerged among the seven kings.
"Everyone, let''s begin the attack. Today we shall subjugate the dungeon and show the demon who are the masters of this ce"
Gil-Garna roared. His baleful aura affected all the ns causing their blood to boil in excitement too. They orderly marched and started entering the dungeon through the shortcut.
"Yverza you will be leading our frontlines. Given the Terraquke Rhinos endogenous armour, there cannot be any perfect wall to negate the damage. Any trap or attack the demon has prepared for us, would be useless once they meet the denseness of your n" The Ivory Terraquake rhino nodded.
"Shasurna, you and your n will be guarding our backs. I''m sure the structure of the dungeon would be extremelyplex andbyrinthine. If the demon isn''t an idiot, he would use the opportunity and attack from our backs. With the snakemen''s agile bodies and special skills you will easily be able to detect the enemy''s movement and respond in time" Gil-Garna handed out orders.
"What about you and your n, the ck Ogres?"
Shasurna asked. He had no qualms about taking on the backline, as that would be more beneficial for them.
Gil-Garna gave a smile, his ruffled crimson hair dancing with the wind "We shall be the spear that attacks the demon''s forces"¡
.
.
Main Floor, inside one of the halls of the White Pce. Simon was seated on his couch looking at the many window screen that popped up in front of him.
"So they are finally here huh? It''s just as well, I don''t have much time in regard to the promise I made with Aldebaran, I need to hurry up" A wicked smile could be seen creeping on his face.
Chapter 862- Attack On The Dungeon (2)
Chapter 862- Attack On The Dungeon (2)
"If everything goes as per the n, I should be able to subdue three more seven kings"
Simon muttered to himself. His eyes scanned the window screen which depicted a ck swarm invading his dungeon through the Phased Floor which he created on the harpies territory.
"Master, all preparations arepleted, they will regret attacking the dungeon"
Bea spoke from the side. She poured him a nice tea as she intermittently nced at the window screen. Of course, as an administrator, she has the privilege to open her own window screen to spy on the invaders.
Nheless, she did not do so and instead chose to observe from her master''s window.
About her antics, Simon couldn''t be bothered and allowed her to simply do as she wanted. Other than her, there was also Irene, Cecilia, Coleus, Jarred, Maya, Prime and basically all the people who he trusted and had yed an important role in the dungeon management, were in the room observing the intruders.
"Given what a single ck ogre and the forces he led previously was able to do to the 80th floor, it wouldn''t be wrong to say that it won''t take them much time to find the entrance to the next floor. This time they also brought numbers, I will say the 80th floor would only be able to stall the intruders for half an hour" Irene spoke, her voice calm and rxed.
It was not only her, each and everyone present in the room, had an unwinded expression as they looked at the invaders on the 80th without a trace of any anxiety. This wasn''t the first time, the dungeon was facing an external enemy who was trying to capture their dungeon.
In fact, ever since the dungeon emerged and they took habitat in this ce, the dungeon was in constant danger of getting destroyed and surrounded by enemies. One good example would be the adventurers of the tower town.
However, despite all that, despite being always on the receiving side and being besieged, the dungeon stood strong and repelled all enemies and dangers.
As such, the scene ying right now has be nothing but amon urrence in the dungeon. There was no reason for them to be especially worried. The reason why they were all gathered here was because they wanted to see the result of their efforts that they had put in restructuring and reshaping the elements of the dungeon floors.
"The monsters on the 80th floor are just ze hounds with only a few pack leaders. The real show would start once they start descending"
The one to speak was Fey. As one of the [Helpers] who was assigned to the dungeon management role, she was responsible for managing the floors of the dungeon and making sure they were properly functioning. In that area, she even led her own team.
"Hehe, I can''t wait to see my precious mutated monsters to show what they are capable of"
Coleus added. The aura he was starting to give off was starting to resemble more and more of that of a mad researcher who was delving into taboo subjects.
"Hmph, my traps and new areas are sufficient to handle the likes of them. your new monsters won''t even get the time to show their powers" Maya chuckled backing Fey up.
"Hey, hey, don''t forget how all of this was made possible only due to my inventions. Haha, the one who has the biggest contribution in all of this was me" Prime joined their bickering in an uncharacteristic way. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Well, given how much he loved his invention and his recent sess, there was no harm in self boasting.
"If you say it like that, then lord Simon is the biggest contributor out of all. Creating so many floors, handing out Dungeon Points so we can modify it, listening to all our reports, recorrecting our mistakes, allocating resources, shifting floors, looking after his subordinates, going through all their demands and hundreds of other tasks¡"
Simon''s ears twitched when he heard Maya suddenly start praising and revering him. His expression which had beenposed up until now, couldn''t help but turn a little unnatural at this point.
It was true that he had been quite busy thanks to all the effort he had to put in due to the Seven Kings attacking his dungeon. With his daily training and work as the dungeon master, he hardly got any free time.
However, there was nothing about it he could do. It was his task, destiny that couldn''t be avoided now that he was a dungeon master.
No, he would be lying if he said he liked working his ass off day in and day night. If not for the fact that Irene, shouldered more than 80% per cent of his task leaving some breathing room for him, he would have long hit the floor.
In fact, most of the tasks, that Maya mentioned were being overseen by Irene, all he had to do was just give his stamp of approval and she would manage the rest.
Although it was shameful of him to admit it, he had to say that she was better than him when it came to paperwork. He was getting better but he was nowhere near her level when it came to efficiency and effectiveness.
Simon looked around and his gaze coincidentally met Irene who smiled at him with her eyes. For some reason, he couldn''t help but get reminded of Emilia. The gentle and warm senior of his who used to always help him out and shoulder his mistakes.
Simon hurriedly shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He was no longer in his previous world and this was not his previous life. What''s gone was gone, he has to cherish what he did have.
This woman in front of him, instead of gaining recognition for her work she had instead dumped all of the contribution on him. Sighing in his heart and swearing to himself that he would treat her even better, he gathered the attention of his subordinates.
"Alright now, everyone focus. While you were bickering, the invaders have found the 81st floor. Things should start getting interesting from this point on. Carefully observe each of these floors and notice if there are any loopholes that we have missed, areas that the adventurers can take advantage of".
Simon pped, causing everyone to snap out of their daze. It was just as he said, while they were talking about the contributions, the invaders had already stepped into the 81st floor.
Much like the many other floors of the dungeon, the 81st floor till the 84th floor was a vast wilnd filled with all kinds of floras and faunas. The ceiling was high, dense amount of mystical energy pervaded thend and the ce was surrounded by a dark dreary aura.
However, unlike the other floors of the dungeon, the 81st to the 84th floors were lower floors. As such, to stand up to the standards of the lower floors, the difficulty of the areas, trickiness of the traps, dangers, monsters, rewards and risk everything was dozens of times greater than what was on the upper floors.
The monsters here, even the weakest were all above level 350 not to mention the pack leaders, deserters, or the lone hunters, and adding in their high numbers.
Starting from the lower floors, the dungeon sheds all concept of specified floors and bes diversified. That is to say, starting from the lower floors, you can expect to meet any or all kinds of monsters that usually do not even inhabit that floor unlike the upper floors.
The possibility of abnormality drastically increases where it wouldn''t be strange to happen anything.
All of this and there is the possibility of encountering high ranking magical traps with unique effects. Not to mention all of the floors were afflicted with [Affluences].
Now that dungeon Lace has be [B] ranking dungeon, the total number of floors that can be afflicted with [Affluence] has increased along with another feature that recently opened up.
Given that the lower floors werepletely restructured for the seven kings'' attack and future adventurers, it has be more dangerous than ever before. As could be seen from the scene depicted on the window screen in front of him.
As soon as the invaders entered the 81st floor, they got instantly embroiled in a fierce battle with the monsters on that floor. Given the monster''s level, the many abilities, traps and mechanisms that got activated along with the affliction that was imposed on them, the invaders were having quite some trouble.
That said, these invaders were not just any invaders but some of the powerful ns of the Ghastly Winding Forest, led by the Seven Kings themselves. They possessed many talented and high level warriors and besides, their number was just too vast and could easily outnumber the monsters themselves.
Although it took longer than what it took to clear the 80th floor¡ª a little more than two hours, it was nheless an absolute victory for the invaders.
The subsequent floors, Floor 82nd took three hours to clear and 83rd and 84th floors took even more.
It needs to be mentioned that floor 84th being one of the checkpoint floors, took longer than any other floors¡ª taking the invaders more than eight hours to clear.
It was due to the many abnormalities that were ced on the floors such as the floor design which was meant to disarray the invaders, hidden arrays that disoriented one skills and magic, mutated monsters that defied the logic, traps that separated everyone and all such things.
Chapter 863- Attack On The Dungeon (3)
Chapter 863- Attack On The Dungeon (3)
Clearing all of these itself took a lot of time and just like that, before the invaders knew it, they had spent a whole day inside the dungeon.
Currently inside the 84th floor, on top of arge mountain that had been cleaved horizontally to open up arge open ground, a base had been set up. From this base, one could observe arge area of the 84th floor.
Inside one of therge crudely built ce, the three seven kings could be seen standing around a huge chopped tree trunk. The tree trunk was t and wide enough to be used as a table.
At this moment, some drawings could be seen carved on its surface. If one looked carefully, one would be able to notice that the drawings on the tree trunk were not just any drawing but a crudely drawn map of the floor.
"This is nonsense. I didn''t expect the floors of this dungeon to be this winding. Is the demon nning to cage us in his floors?" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The most short tempered out of the three and brawns for brains, Yverza was unable to handle so much information and cried out in frustration. It had been a whole day since they started their attack yet after reaching this floor it was as if they had been stuck into a mire, unable to get out or find a way.
"Patience Yverza, no matter how tricky the floor is, tricks are at the end tricks. Once we find out the reason behind it and disable it, it would be easy getting out of the floor"
Gil-Garna muttered his eyes continued to scan the makeshift map they created on the tree trunk.
"ShaShaSha¡ He is right Ivory Terraquake Rhino. As the leader of the king ns, it would be unbing of us if we were to panic" Shasurna added, his long tongue slithered.
TAK¡ TAK¡ at this moment, Gil-garna ced his finger on the tree trunk and tapped on it.
"As I thought so, every time that we try to go to the centre of the floor, we are diverted. All the other areas have been searched thoroughly, this is the only area that is still left. The entrance to the next floor has to be here".
Yverza and Shasurna looked at the ce where his sharp nails were pointing at and saw a big undrawn area at the centre of the trunk. The other areas of the trunk was filled because they had already searched the other areas of this floor, it was only this part that was giving them trouble.
And if they wanted to proceed, they must find out the mystery behind the ce.
"Respected Seven Kings, it is Gish-Bagh. I request an audience"
While they were looking at the trunk, an aura drew near and announced their presence.
"Come in"...
At those words, the makeshift tent made of tree leaves and branches, was pushed aside and the figure of Gish-Bagh entered in. He hurriedly got on his knees and bowed towards the seven kings.
"Disperse with the etiquette, quickly tell us your findings" Gil-garna waved his hand impatiently.
"Yes, on your orders, Grom of the Geofist, Surtana the Venomw and I, Gish-Bagh entered the mist in the central area. Although we are always diverted to somece else on this floor, this time we piled up numbers against it"
"One of the members from the Snakemen n was able to identally reach an uncharted area and find aplex runic system quietly rotating in that ce. We believe that the abnormality in the entire floor is rted to that formation".
"Hoh!!" Hearing his words, the fed up eyes of the Ivory Terraquake Rhino started shining brightly "So you guys have found the reason behind the floor''s uniqueness huh. Good¡ good¡ we can finally start advancing now".
"About that, there is a slight problem" An expression of aggravation surfaced on Gish-Bagh''s face at this moment.
"What do you mean?" the seven kings arched their brows, their jovial attitude dampened down.
"The thing is, the subordinate who found the formation was too weak and couldn''t destroy the formation. I sent many powerful members inside the mist after hearing about the news. However, they have yet to encounter the formation as of yet".
The atmosphere in the tent became stifling for a second before it was broken by a sigh from Gil-Garna.
"You did great reporting it to us. Pass my words to all the ns, they are to stop their exploration on the other areas of the floors and divert all their efforts to the central area. As long as one powerful member gets through that area, they should be able to break the formation".
"Yes, supreme chief" Gish-Bagh hurriedly nodded and left to execute his orders.
Once he left, Yverza clicked his tongue "We are stuck on this floor for who knows how long again, all because of that weak snakeman"¡
"Hmph, at least my nsman was able to find the formation not like yours who couldn''t even do that" Shasurna retorted.
"What did you say?"
The two red at each other, their auras palpable enough to materialise itself.
"Both of you stop" Just when it looked like the two of them would start fighting any moment, Gil-Garna from the side intervened, dowsing the fire.
"This is not the time to fight among ourselves. This is just the start of our attack on the dungeon. If we fall apart this fast, there is no way we can conquer this dungeon. Besides, I have a feeling that this dungeon has more floors like this".
Hearing his words, Yverza and Shasurna both clicked their tongues and dropped their silly quarrel. Although the both of them did not see eye to eye, the attack on the dungeon took priority over anything.
After Gish-Bagh ryed Gil-Garna''s orders, the three ns put all of their manpower and resources into exploring the central area. With all the three ns working together, it was only a matter of time before the formation was found again.
This time, the member who found it, was powerful enough to destroy the formation. Thus causing the mist that disarrayed one''s senses to dissipate.
Once the mist cleared up, the entrance to the next floor also revealed itself. It was located right underneath a huge hollow tree where the rotating formation was found.
"So it was because of this huh? Talk about using annoying methods" Yverza spat looking at the destroyed remains of the construct that held the formation.
"This is no ordinary formation" Gil-garna muttered as he bent down to pick up some of the stones where the runes of the formation were carved.
"What do you mean?"¡
"These runes in this formation are so ancient that even I can''t understand any of them. However, I have seen such ancient runes many times back inside the ancient temple where I reside. Of course, the runes here are not as ancient as the ones on the temple; however, it must be quite high ranking for it to be able to trap all of us"¡
"We already know that, what are you trying to get at?" Shasurna frowned.
Just looking at the outer construct of the formation, it was clear that it was quiteplex and high ranking one. They were no schrs and their memories of the world were iplete as such, deciphering them was impossible. It was unlike Gil-garna to state the obvious.
"What I am trying to say is installing such a high ranking formation is usually quite costly and something you mostly see in only high ranking dungeons. No matter how unusual this dungeon is, it is still a newly emerged one. The fact that a high ranking formation was installed here, could only mean that this floor was important and he wanted to buy time by trapping us here"
While notplete, the seven kings possessed the memories of the world from the ancient beast inheritance they received as such, they knew a little bit about the dungeon and how it works. Which is why, they knew what Gil-garna said was right.
If a high ranking formation was set up here, it had to be because the demon nned to cage them in. Either he was panicking or¡
"We are close to the dungeon core" Yverza stated, a ferocious grin appeared on his face. "What are we waiting for let''s keep pressing forward. The more faster we move, the sooner we will be able to reach the core".
Once they got to the dungeon core, subjugating the demon would be all too easy.
"Yeah, but don''t forget to exercise caution. There is still the queen of the harpies we need to be careful of" Gil-garna added.
With hismand, the three ns started moving again. The staircase leading to the next floor was wide and easily allowedrge rows of figures to pass through at once. Even the mini truck size terraquake rhinos were able to pass through side by side easily.
Once the three ns finished descending the stairs, what appeared before them was a brand new scenery far different from the wilnds they had be ustomed to seeing for the past few floors.
Whaty before them was not and sprawling with trees and grass but a desert filled with sand as far as the eye could see. nts native to the ce could be seen, but they were far too sparse to be noticeable at all.
A prickling heat that stung one''s skin pervaded the ce and every step here caused one''s foot to sink deep into the sand making the entire ce too difficult to tread.
Chapter 864- 85th Floor
Chapter 864- 85th Floor
That was not all, as soon as they arrived on this floor, the three ns as well as Gil-Garna and the others received a notification that appeared before them.
[Afflictions are in effect on this floor. You are afflicted by Prickly Heat, You are afflicted with Smouldering Heat]
[Prickly Heat¡ª Damage caused by Magic and Skills that are of fire attribute are increased by 150 %. Damages caused by all other attributes are suppressed by 20%]. [Smouldering Heat¡ª Every invader of this floor will periodically take me damage. Can be negated through superior tier skill me Resistance].
Two Afflictions at once, the floor imposed two afflictions both of the fire attribute that made it quite hard on the ones clearing the floor.
"This is impossible"
Gil-Garna and the other two seven kings muttered in disbelief. Two Afflictions, given that the previous floors only imposed one Affliction on its invaders, it was only natural for the seven kings to be shocked.
However, the reason why they were looking with wide eyes was not due to the Affliction Stacking but due to the uniqueness of this floor. Their eyes which had been staring like an owl at the ceiling; no, more urately at the sky, contained pure disbelief.
Why would it not? After all, this floor unlike the previous floors which had a high ceiling illuminated by numerous phosphorescence crystals, had a wide open sky with its own sun and clouds.
"False environment¡ but how could that be?"
Yverza couldn''t help but mutter out loud. It was not like he had never seen a clear sky with the sun zing over his head before. Even if many areas of the western region of the Ghastly Winding Forest was covered with its own unique environment, there were still ces where one could see a clear sky.
However, this and that was different. One needed to know that they were inside the dungeon right now. A ce inside a special dimension, there shouldn''t be any concept of sly here.
It might not have been as shocking had they witnessed another rocky ceiling covered with phosphorescence crystals for illumination. However, a clear blue sky was still a little; no,pletely baffling.
"What is going on? How can this dungeon have a false environment?"
Shasurna questioned. As confused as they were, they were still aware of some things about the dungeon such as the False Environment.
False Environment is a feature like no other, it is one of the things that makes the dungeon so mysterious and special. A phenomenon with the ability to temper with thews of the world.
There are many records of dungeons suddenly shedding their darkness, giving way to a soft ethereal glow that bathes the floor in a gentle light. The rocky ceiling of the dungeon melts away, revealing a vast expanse of clear blue sky, dotted with fluffy white clouds that driftzily on an unseen breeze.
The effect is breathtaking, almost surreal¡ªa perfect illusion of the world above, brought to life in the depths of the dungeon. There are all kinds of false environments recorded to be inside the dungeon.
However, one thingmon among all of them was that the feature was exclusive to high ranking and legendary dungeons.. ie.. [A] and [S] tier dungeon. Dungeons whose depths have never been plumbed by mortal hands and still remain a mystery to this day.
Having the memories of the world from the ancient beasts, Gil-Garna and the others understood this point very well.
Existing for hundreds of years and even millenniums, these hallowed paces contained unimaginable treasures, and are guarded by creatures of unimaginable strength and cunning¡ªthe mighty Demon Dukes and Archdukes whose every move affected the world on arge scale.
It is only natural for such a dungeon which has countless years of umtion to be able to create a phenomenon such as the False Environment. However, the dungeon they were in right now was no high ranking or legendary one.
Forge about existing for hundreds of years, it was a newly emerged dungeon not even a decade year old. It was unprecedented for a newly emerged dungeon to be able to create these kinds of phenomena inside its floors.
"This should be some kind of trick, right? I mean it''s just not possible for a newly emerged dungeon to be able to have a false environment" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Yverza rubbed his eyes. However, no matter how he tried to pass it off as a trick or didn''t believe it, the proofy right in front of him.
"It doesn''t matter if it is a trick or not, our objective still remains the same. Rather we should be happy that the dungeon surpassed all our expectations. Truthfully, ever since I witnessed the worldly phenomenon brought forth by the dungeon, I haven''t dared to underestimate it. However, even after all that preparation, it appears that I have still been looking down on it"
Gil-Garna spoke calming the situation down. Although he looked calm on the surface inwardly he was anything but that. The dungeon has given him far too many surprises for him to be able to calm down.
The high ranking formation was one thing but now even this!! A sense of foreboding couldn''t help but well up in his heart. Perhaps the dungeon might surpass his¡ just as those thoughts appeared in his mind, he quickly discarded them.
No matter what kind of tricks or unusualness the dungeon disyed, what really mattered in the end was strength and he had undoubted belief in his strength. There was no way with all the preparedness that he was still going to lose.
"Yeah, you are right, it does not matter what kind of tricks the demon is trying to use against us. Once we conquer it, it will mean nothing" Yverza nodded agreeing with him.
"Is it really just that?" Though Shasurna was a little sceptical, he still nheless acquiesced.
"What are you all staring at? Spread out and start clearing the dungeon. You are to report to your seniors once you find any abnormality or the entrance to the next floor"
He hurriedly gave out orders and just like with the previous floors, the three ns fanned out to clear the floor.
Given theirrge numbers, they formed numerous teams, each teamprising of members from all the three ns, making it quite a formidable and bnced group. Every team had a leader who reported to theirmander who in return reported to the direct subordinates of the seven kings.
As for the Seven Kings themselves, they couldn''t be bothered to fight such enemies and only observed the whole thing from the sky, asionally giving out orders every now and then.
.
.
Hours passed by, and in the blink of an eye before anyone knew it more than twelve hours had passed yet thebined alliance of the three ns were yet to even explore half of the floors.
"It looks like the many teams that went south also encountered that monster. Dammit, how could such a monster appear in a dungeon like this? I have never even heard of their existence before"
Yverza clicked his tongue as he read the report sent by one of the subordinates.
"It''s not only the teams who went south who encountered these monsters, the others did too. It is weird if you ask me, such monsters even if their level aren''t a threat to thebined power of our ns, their constitution and skills are too strange to just discard them as no threat. What''s more, only members who are at thete stages of level 400 can handle them" Shasurna added reading another report.
"There is no need to fret, we expected the dungeon to resist. Casualties are bound to ur when trying to achieve something grand. You two don''t have to worry, I have already informed Gish-Bagh, he will lead the other level 600 members of your ns to provide support wherever it is needed"
Gil-Garna spoke. His mannerism told others that he was a heartless and cold leader who would not bat an eye even at the deaths of his subordinates.
But that was to be expected, no matter how human like he looked, he was an ogre at the end. A warring race with a callous nature, death was just second nature for them.
The other two didn''t have any problems with that attitude of his, in fact far from it, they seemed to be perfectly fine with it. They were after beasts who had gone through their fair share of bloodshed and had reached the stage they were because they hadmitted uncountable atrocities.
If it was for their goal, it didn''t matter even if it cost them their nsmen''s lives.
After saying what he needed to say, Gil-Garna turned his eyes back up. His hands reached out and touched something solid, even though there was an empty sky right in front of him.
"As I thought so, it really resembles False Environment. We are still inside the dungeon, as a proof you can feel the ceiling right above us".
After he mentioned that, the other two also extended their hand above where it was stopped by something solid that felt like a wall. He was right, there was a ceiling right above them.
"Truly impressive, I don''t know what kind of illusion or trick the demon used but he perfectly managed to recreate the phenomenon that one can only find on the lower floors of some high ranking and legendary dungeons"
Gil-Garna muttered as he waved his hand, a fireball flew off and crashed into the sky.
Chapter 865- 85th Floor (2)
Chapter 865- 85th Floor (2)
Even though he was creating so much disturbance, the sky remained calm and serene. Other than a few debris falling off, there didn''t seem to be anything off with the sky.
Looking at it, no one would say that there was a ceiling above. Yverza and Shasurna nodded their heads, feeling the same thing as him.
Just as they were marvelling at the absurdity, their sharp senses as the seven kings, picked up a disturbance. Sounds of screaming, growling of monsters and earth rumbling could be hearding off from the distance.
"Looks like they have encountered some problem. Although I doubt, with Gish-Bagh and the others there won''t be able to solve the issue, but just in case let''s go there and check it out"
On Gil-Garna''s words, the three of them pped their mana wings and zipped through the air and headed for the direction where they heard the screamsing from.
Given the vastness of the floor which spanned for dozens of miles and was by far the biggest floor they have encountered, it took them some time even with their speed. Nevertheless, they were able to arrive at the scene before long.
"What is going on here?"
Gil-Garna spoke, a dark expression on his face. He spoke the words the other two also wanted to ask.
Right after arriving at the scene, all they could see was destruction and death. Quicksands devouring the bodies of the three ns, sands running red with blood and the chaotic scene of everyone fleeing.
The sight of the members of the three king ns fleeing miserably, how could it not enrage Gil-Garna and the others? The former quickly caught a ck ogre with a crimson horn and questioned them.
"What is going on? Exin the situation."¡
"T-That¡ my lord¡" the crimson horn stuttered. The dark gloomy aura that a seven king released, was not something an ordinary ogre could take. Thetter''s face quickly became pale and he was unable to speak for a long while.
Seeing this, Gil-Garnaposed himself and restrained his aura. It was only after that did the crimson horn was finally able to speak.
"Reporting to the supreme chief. We found a ruin here; however, when we tried to enter in, we were besieged by thousands of monsters. They came out of nowhere and quickly overwhelmed us. Their attacks too came out of nowhere and we are unable to find their location"¡
"What kind of monsters were they?"
The ogre king arched his brows. To be able to overwhelm numerous teams which had a few crimson horns, ogres who were above level 500, the monsters couldn''t be ordinary.
"About that¡ " the crimson horn bowed his head in shame "We haven''t seen their appearances"
"What?! If you haven''t seen them, then howe were you all defeated?"
The one to speak was Yverza. His impatient voice contained traces of frustration. Just like how there were crimson horns overseeing the numerous teams here, there were also quite a few level 500 Terraquake Rhinos and Snakemen.
For them to be defeated such miserably and without even seeing the appearances of their enemy, how could he not be disappointed? n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"That¡ the attacks flew from extremely far away and the ce waspletely dark for us to see anything"¡
"That doesn''t sound right. We snakemen inherently possess the dark vision skill. So if it''s darkness it cannot impede our vision".
The report of the subordinate did not match up.
"About that, the snake tribes in our teams were also unsure about that. Despite all of the hurdles, we tried to push through. However, the enemy attacks seemed to be never ending and extremely powerful"
"Seeing that we were taking too many losses, together with our senior leaders we decided to back away and rethink our strategy. At that moment, the enemy''s traps activated teleporting us randomly around the ancient ruins. The few that you see outside were barely able to make out alive only for them to sumb to the quicksands outside" The crimson horn iterated the entire event.
The more Gil-Garna and the others heard the events that transpired from the former, the more uglier their expression became. It seemed that this band of teams had identally entered a trap and had suffered severe losses.
"Tch, useless" Gil-Garna threw the ogre and looked at the entrance of the ancient ruins whose only a small part was visible. The rest was submerged inside the sand.
"Anyone could see that the ce is a trap, why would you enter it, much less force your way in?".
No matter how he saw the ruins, it was clear that it would be filled with traps and dangers. He couldn''t understand the reasoning behind this band of teams trying to force their way in.
"It was because¡ we were lured by the mountain of treasure that we saw inside" The crimson horn''s face flushed red with shame and his voice became low at the end.
"Tsk, useless fool" the ogre king clicked his tongue and removed his gaze away from the subordinate as if he was some kind of eyesore.
"What are we going to do Gil-Garna?" Yverza questioned.
The former was just about to speak when he saw Shasurna making an unusual face.
"What''s wrong?"¡
"I just received a message from my subordinate. It looks like quite a few teams in the north also encountered the same problem and suffered severe injuries. From their reports, it seems like some of them also found ancient ruins like these and forests andkes in the middle of the desert. They all testified that they saw treasures and tried to press in only to meet enemies they couldn''t see and were attacking them from an extremely far distance"
The Emerald Viperlord stated. His words caused the other two to frown. They did not doubt his words since they knew that snakemen possessed a special ability that allowed them tomunicate with each other from long distances without the need for external means like transmission conch.
Of course, this ability had its own limitations; nevertheless, it allowed the snakemen to ry their thought to each other. For someone to contact him directly, it had to be his right hand man.
That said, more than the snakemen''s ability what was more concerning was the report that was conveyed.
For other teams in the north to also encounter the same problem as the one here. One had to wonder if the teams that went delving inside the ancient ruins and whatever forest orke they saw had switched their brains off before proceeding forward.
"It looks like the me cannot be put solely on the teams. From the testimonies of all those who survived, one thing was clear and that was that they had all seen treasures and were blinded by its greed tomit something as foolish as forcing their way in"
"My race of Snakemen aren''t foolish enough to not see through deceptions, that is to say, there had to be real treasures for them to go blind like that. I can say that it''s the same for your tribe right, Gil-Garna" Shasurna looked at the king of the ogres.
Just as he said, the ck ogre tribe also possessed the ability to discern a treasure just with a nce. They would never mistake a fake article for a genuine one. As such, the treasures the teams saw had to be real and not only that, it had to possess some incredible value for it topel them to dive inside these ces knowing that they were obvious traps.
Gil-garna looked at the despondent ck ogres in the surrounding before nodding his head.
"You are right? These people might not be the very best of the best, but they still possess enough intelligence to know when to retreat and advance. Since they didn''t do so, it must mean that have a good reason for it"
"What do you two say? The ruins are right in front of us, it would be a waste if we simply turned around from here. How about we go inside and see what''s in there? A treasure that could blind these people has to possess some worth even to us. What do you think?" the king of the ogres suddenly proposed.
"Hehe, you took the words out of my mouth. I have been itching for a fight for a while"
The Ivory Terraquake Rhino bumped his two fists. The friction from such a powerful weapon that was his own body, was mighty enough to cause sparks to erupt just from an action as simple as bumping his hands.
"Very well, let us head in to see what dangers are inside there. In any case, there is no reason for me to say no to a treasure hunt" Shasurna was of the same mind too.
The three kings grinned, excitement could be seen in all of their eyes. The next second, they turned their bodies and headed inside the ruins in a suave manner.
As for the reports about the teams suffering casualties, they weren''t too concerned. In any case, they had enough numbers to pit against these floors again and again without worrying about anything.
And besides, the teams that lost their members, weren''t the best fighters of their ns anyway. Right now, their focus was on the ruins, more precisely on the treasure that managed to blind their subordinates.
Dangers? What of it?
.
.
BANG¡ an attack hit Yvverza before bouncing off his armour unable to even cause a scratch on it.
"Hmm? These attacks are not bad. No wonder they were able to defeat all those subordinates of ours. However, to me, they only itch. That is all there is to it"
Chapter 866- 85th Floor (3)
866 Chapter 866- 85th Floor (3)
The Ivory Terraquake Rhino spoke patting his armour. Beside him, the ck Ogre King and the Emerald Viperlord used their own abilities to resist the iing firing.
"I see now, indeed in an atmosphere like this, there is no way of knowing where the attack ising from or where the attacker is"
Everywhere they looked, darkness covered their eyes making it impossible to see anything past a few feet away from them.
"Shasurna, you possess the best dark vision among your n. can''t you see through the darkness?" Gil-garna questioned.
Shasurna''s face at this moment was a sight to be seen. Fluctuating between green, red and pale, his expression said it all. It appeared that even this mighty Emerald Viperlord and one of the Seven Kings was unable to see through the darkness pervading the ruins.
"There is something wrong with the darkness here or else with my rare superior tier Scotopic Vision, I should have been able to see through everything clearly" Shasurna defended himself.
"Right, if even your skills aren''t working, then it must be some kind of trick at y here" Gil-Garna added giving his fellow seven kings some face.
"Besides, it isn''t just the darkness, these attacks¡"
BANG¡ he hurriedly crushed an attack targeting his head before continuing "They are quite unusual as well. I have never seen these kinds of attacks. They do not conform to any magic, skills or techniques that I have seen. Yet from the look and feel they appear like highly condensed arrows of light".
These arrows of light were extremely fast and the only visible source of light in this darkness. Power wise, they packed a lot of energy and could easily kill a being on the level 300 or below. No wonder, it was able to wreak havoc on their alliance.
"Well, whatever they are, they aren''t a threat to us. Let''s proceed forward and see where the enemies are. This time I clearly felt the direction of the attack".
With those words, the seven kings started moving. They were constantly besieged by the heavy firing of these light arrows; however, other than slowing them down a little, it managed nothing else.
"Careful there, there is some kind of mechanism hidden there. I can feel mana pulsating from over there, it must be a magical trap" Gil-Garna casually cautioned.
There was no sense of any real danger that could be sensed from his words since they all knew that even if they activated or fell into the trap, it would do nothing to them. As such, they went forward with a sense of invincibility.
At first, when they entered the dungeon all that greeted them was darkness with arrows of light barraging them from unknown directions. However, as they continued forward, the darkness swiftly receded and they could finally see some light in this tunnel of darkness.
"Hoh!! Does that mean that we have cleared the first part of these ruins?"
What appeared before them after the darkness was a vast huge illuminated by numerous torches that hung on the wall. Tall columns supported the ceiling of this ce and the walls here were marked by carvings and glyphs that looked quite ancient.
"What do we have here?"
Shasurna walked ahead and looked at the walls which were lined with rows of murals and tapestries each depicting scenes of epic battles, rituals, and legendary heroes. These drawings were carved in an intricate and grand manner giving those who looked at them, a sense of awe and reverence.
"I have to say, the demon did really create something impressive. Look at these murals on the walls, they looked quite ancient with the weight of history imbued into them"¡
"You are right, I have seen these kinds of murals back in the ruins that I upy. These words and symbols hold a special meaning and usually signify a ce of great significance or importance. A site that had been hidden by the world or lost in history" Gil-Garna stood by the Emerald Viperlord and also inspected the murals on the wall.
"Hey, enough of looking at the drawings. I don''t know what joy you find in looking at them. However, shouldn''t we focus on clearing these ruins rather than reading what''s on those walls? I have yet to see even the shadow of a treasure here. This trip is turning out to be quite boring"
Yverzained, unlike the other two, he had no interest in the craving and drawings on the wall. What he wanted was treasure and excitement, none of which was present here. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Don''t say that, do you see any exit here? Since there is none, it must mean that we have to find it or activate some kind of mechanism. The murals here could be the key to where the treasures are" Gil-Garna mentioned, rationally assessing the situation.
"Anyways,e look at this. You will also find it interesting"¡
"No thanks, I would rather sleep than use my head. Wake me up once you find anything" Yverza did not wait for a reply and immediately sat cross legged and fell asleep. His posture even while asleep was as tall and impressive as a mountain.
"This guy¡ " Gil-garna couldn''t help but shake his head.
"Leave him be. Rather, you were in the midst of telling something, I would like it if you continued"..
"As I was saying, I have seen these kinds of drawings back in my territory and they usually signify a ce of great significance. But of course, this ruin was something that was created by that demon, there is no way these drawings and the ones on my temple are of the same significance. Still, if we look at them we might be able to find the clues or the piece that would get us to the next part of this ruin"
As Gil-Garna and Shasurna stared at the murals, they were able to find that each one of these drawings told a story¡ª a tale of triumph and tragedy, of heroes and viins locked in eternal struggle.
Some depicted scenes of glorious victory, with armies shing beneath stormy skies and mighty warriors standing tall against the tide of darkness. Others showed scenes of grand sceneries, of mountains and skies, of mystical energies and life. There was a grandeur and splendour to it that one couldn''t just exin in words.
"?"
As Gil-Garna and Shasurna closely studied the drawings, they suddenly noticed a pattern.
"This¡" A recurring drawing that appeared on every wall and mural. What''s more, it also hinted at something, a purpose behind the construction of this hall.
Images of coffins and crypts, their stone lids carved with symbols of death and decay. It was as if the hall itself was a vast tomb, a final resting ce for those who hade before.
Just as the two of them were starting to piece all of these together, it was then the hall showed its true face. a low, deep rumbling like the growl of a feral monster emanating from the darkness above.
THUD¡ with a noise, something fell down from the darkness above.
"About time, I was just getting bored out of my mind"
At the same time, the sleeping Ivory Terraquake Rhino opened one of his eyes and grinned. The next instant, his figure moved at the speed of a bullet and rammed into the thing that fell down.
BANG¡ a few columns near the area shook and dust fell down. After a while, the appearance of the thing that fell down, finally came into the vision of everyone.
"What is this thing?"
Holding the thing with one hand, Yverza questioned. The being that fell from the darkness above was wrapped in tattered bandages, its form obscured byyers of dusty cloth. At first nce, it looked like a mummy; however, there was an unmistakable aura of malevolence emanating from it, like a sinister force trapped within its ancient wrappings.
"Scavenger Mummies?!!" Shasurna muttered. He seemed to have some knowledge about this kind of monster which was unique to the great sphinx desert that bordered the Ghastly Winding Forest.
"No, they aren''t just your normal Scavenger Mummies" Gil-garna shook his head "They are far more powerful and menacing looking than the scavenger mummies".
The scavenger mummies were low level monsters the likes of which even their subordinates could easily defeat. In the food chain, they belonged at the lowest level along with direwolves and such.
However, from the appearance of the being in front of them, one could see that the creature although resembled some simrity to the Scavenger mummies, was far different. Its bandages were stained with dark, rust-colored stains, as if they had been soaked in blood.
Its hands were tipped with long, sharp ws, and its eyes glowed with an eerie green light that seemed to be capable of piercing through one''s soul like twin beacons of malice.
That said, its blood coloured bandages nor its eyes was the most disturbing part about the creature but rather its stomach which stood out starkly. Unlike the rest of its body, the area around its abdomen was devoid of any wrappings, exposing raw, leathery skin that wiggled sickeningly.
What''s more, these leathery flesh weretching onto Yverza''s arm like tendril of squid that contained numerous gaping maws lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth. The creature was far different from the monster they knew as scavenger mummies.
"This.. are you suggesting that it is the evolved race of Scavenger mummies? But how could that be? I have never heard of the scavenger mummies being able to evolve?" Shasurna was astonished.
Check out the fandom and vote for your favourite characters. ViciousPepper
Creator''s Thought
Chapter 867- The Growing Dungeon
Chapter 867- The Growing Dungeon
"Well, who gives a damn what race they are? Haven''t we already encountered more unusual creatures we have no knowledge of like that Ape which was not only able to wield a sword and a shield, but also conjure me magic?"
Unexpectedly, the one to provide them with a reasonable answer was the one whocked the most brains and was a cluster of all brawns, the Ivory Terraquake Rhino.
The creature tried to struggle under his death like grip, using its tendrils like fleshy stomach to bite his hand. However, under that pure destructive weapon that was his endogenous armour, even the razor sharp teeth of the creature broke.
"Hmph" Yverza gave a snort, applying pressure on his outstretched hand and quickly crushing the enemy.
Gil-Garna and Shasurna looked at the corpse of the creature before shifting their gaze towards the darkness above. It was just as Yverza said, it didn''t matter what the being was, a evovled race of scavenger mummies or maybe something else.
The dungeon has shown them far too many irregrities for them to question such things at this point. They could only attribute the appearance of these creatures as one of the dungeon''s quirkiness.
"To think that, I would get to hear a rational answer from you of all people" the king of the ck ogres smirked "But we can''t becent yet, the battle isn''t over. There is more of where they came from".
THUD¡ THUD¡ THUD¡ Just as his words sounded out, numerous sounds of something dropping from the ceiling sounded out before a creature that looked simr to the one Yverza had had just destroyed, showed its appearance.
This time, they even brought numbers.
"Haha, interesting" Ivory Terraquake Rhinoughed. He stomped his foot and charged again destroying numerous enemies just like that. He was like an unstoppable train, anything or anyone trying to stop him would face a force like that of a battering ram and flung high up.
All attacks were useless against his armour and bounced off against it.
"His armour really makes one jealous. It is like the best weapon that one could be born with"
Shasurna observed Yverza going on a wild rampage in the distance. The next moment, he licked his weapon a harpoon that appeared in his hand out of nowhere and charged at the enemy too.
"Hehe, the sight of these many enemies, it really makes one''s blood boil. Well, then let me stretch my body too" Thest of the three, Gil-Garna joined in the fight too.
And just like that, three of the seven kings banded together to exterminate a swarm of unusual creatures. There was no shy magic or skill being used only pure destructive power and attacks.
However, these seemingly basic attacks were enough topletely overwhelm their enemies.
For a time, the ce echoed with the dying growls of these mummy type monsters. Before long, the entire hall was filled with a mountain of corpses of these creatures.
.
.
Atop three of the tallest corpse mountains, three figures could be seen standing mboyantly. Even though a scene of carnagey around them hinting at an incredible battle, not a single wound; no, forget about a wound, not a single scratch could be seen on them.
Who could these figures whose might was enough to breeze through these hurdles be other than the seven kings of the forest?
"Based on the strength they disyed, I would say they are around the upper level of 300. However, the skills they possess are quite high tier making them more of an annoying opponent than they appear to be" The Ivory Terraquake Rhino stated his opinion.
"Your assessment is right, they are called the Crypt Scarabs and are around level 380 to 400. However, given that they possess quite a few unusual and high tier skills they might be more troublesome of an opponent than some 400 beings. No wonder so many of our teams werepletely decimated facing them"
Gil-Garna spoke using [Appraisal] on the enemy. It was not like the others didn''t have the skill, it''s just that given the position they stood at, which was at the pinnacle in this forest, there was hardly anything they had to use [Appraisal] on.
As such, not using appraisal became a sort of second nature to them and a form of egotism.
"Heh, so that''s what they are huh" Shasurna nodded.
Race- Crypt Scarabs
Level- 389
Skills- [Poison Immunity], [Dark Magic Resistance], [Super Enhanced Strength], [Super Enhanced Endurance], [Super Enhanced Magic], [Bandage Bind], [Scarab Swarm], [Tomb Tendrils], [Mummy''s Wrath], [Corrosive Bandage], [Curse of Frailty], [Decay Aura], [Body m], [Suffocate], [Sharp Teeth]¡ He picked a corpse of the crypt scarab and tilted his head "Although their skills are quite unusual, it doesn''t seem like they were the enemies who were attacking us earlier"
The attacks that rained on them when they were surrounded by darkness had more properties of a light attribute as opposed to these mummies who used attacks like bandages and tendrils to warp their prey.
"You are right, it just means that there are more enemies like these Crypt Scarabs hidden in this ruin"..
"Hehe, no matter what enemies there are, I will crush them with my fist"
Yverza bumped his fists. It appeared that fighting this many enemies was not enough for him as he still looked like he was raring to go again.
"That said, Gil-Garna why is the exit not appearing? Haven''t we defeated all the enemies here?"¡
"Not all, this ce is a tomb. From what I understood from the murals, this hall is the ce where they honoured their king by burying his coffin here. Unless we destroy that coffin and whatever is in it, we won''t be able to leave this ce"
The ogre king shook his head and looked up. There in the darkness, he could see a pair of eyes ring at them.
DING¡ at the same moment, a notification appeared in front of the three seven kings.
[The king of the scarabs, Crypt Wight is staring at you. He holds an enormous grudge over you all for desecrating his ce and killing all of his followers. The Crypt Wight''s [Curse of Frailty] spread across the hall, under the effect of the curse, your bones and joints will weaken, causing your agility to drop. Defeat the Crypt Wight to get the key to his treasure room].
The seven kings read the message and wore various kinds of expression. Although they had some knowledge about the dungeon and how it actually functioned, that was just from the memories of the world they inherited when trying to integrate with the inheritance of the ancient beast.
They had never attacked nor entered a dungeon before today. As such, this was the first time, they received a notification like this. Well, not the first time since they had also received a simr notification when entering the dungeon.
CLANG¡ sparks generated as Yverza bumped his fists "Interesting, so it is basically saying that we need to defeat this whatever Crypt Wight to get his treasures right? Finally, we get to see the treasure we came here for".
The other two kings also nodded their heads. No trace of worry or anxiety from facing an unknown enemy could be seen on their faces.
ROOAARR¡ at this moment, a deep rumbling roar came from the darkness in the ceiling above and a dark energy that carried a unique effect with it, hit the three of them.
Creak-Creak¡ Gil-garna and the others, felt their bones creaking and joints paining, making them feel like they had suddenly aged by a lot. Not only that, under the effect of the dark energy, they could also feel their agility dropping sharply.
"So this is the [Curse of the Frailty] huh? Such an unusual skill. However, there is too much of a power gap between us. There is no way it can affect us"
The three kings smiled undauntingly and used the mana inside them to push back the invading energy until theypletely removed the effect of the [curse of the frailty] from them.
No matter how powerful or unusual a skill was, if there was a huge gulf in strength between the caster and the target, the chances of the skill failing or the target negating the effect was extremely high.
Just like what happened right now. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
ROARR¡ enraged by the fact that the opponent easily negated his powers, the Crypt Wight hidden in the darkness gave another roar. The next second, its two eyes shone bright and it dropped down on the ground.
"Finally willing to show itself huh? Good, I haven''t had enough. This would be a good warm up before I fight against the demon and the queen of the harpies"
Yverza spoke. He then turned around to face his fellow seven kings "It would be too boring if all three of us fight that guy. How about we decide it with a simple game?".
The Terraquake Rhinos, Balck ogres and Snakemen were all warring races and took excitement in battle. When there is a fight, there is no way they would back out. However, there was just one enemy and three of them. As such, Yverza proposed an idea.
"What do you suggest?" asked Shasurna.
"We will let that wight thing decide who will fight him. The first person he attacks, will be the one to fight him. What do you say?"
Shasurna and Gil-Garna took a moment to contemte before nodding their heads. His suggestion sounded fair and everybody had an equal chance of being selected.
Chapter 868- The Growing Dungeon (2)
Chapter 868- The Growing Dungeon (2)
While they were deciding how they were going to fight the Crypt wight, the being himself stepped forward and his form appeared before everyone. Towering over the other monsters, the crypt Wight was a dark giant more than five meters tall.
Its form was shrouded in tattered robes that billowed without the presence of any wind and concealed its true shape from everyone. Underneath the cloak, its withered frame gleamed with an eerie light and ominous powers that coursed through its veins.
Its head, adorned with an ancient crown was encrusted with jewels, that bore the visage of a long-deceased king. Long, bony fingers extended from its hands, each tipped with razor-sharp ws that seemed capable of even rending boulders as easily as flesh.
As it looked at the three kings with its empty eye sockets two greenish fire appeared inside them. Immediately, Gil-Garna and the others felt a little ufortable.
"It''s using some kind of skill"¡
"Who cares, it''s not like it''s gonna effect us anyways"¡
"Hmm, so who is it going attack first? I can''t wait to pierce it with my harpoon"¡
The three of themughedpletely negating the effects of the Crypt Wight''s [Corrosive Gaze].
Thetter did not stop after it used its corrosive gaze, it activated a few more skills and a ck coffin appeared in front of it. Next, it wrapped the bandages around it and carried the coffin with one hand like a huge heavy sword.
BANG¡ the coffin was swung down and three ck sword lights cut through the air and targeted each of the seven kings.
"Hehe, it looks like it has chosen me as its opponent" Yverza grinned crushing the sword light with just a swing of his arm.
Although the Crpyt Wight swung at all three of them, the first one to be targeted by him was undoubtedly Yverza. Thetter moved and dropped down from the mountain of corpses he created.
As for Gil-Garna and Shasurna, they sat down cross legged and observed the confrontation.
BOOM¡ a powerful shockwave spread and the Crypt Wight was sent flying back to the opposite end of the hall. In just the first move, the Ivory Terraquake Rhino had already established its dominance.
"C''mon, I know that you are far more powerful than this. Show me your most powerful attack" beckoning his finger, he taunted.
The fire within the eyes of the Crypt wight burned brightly seemingly enraged. It then in front of the incredulous and confused eyes of the three begins present, opened the lid of the coffin and slid inside.
"What?!!"
Seeing this, Yverza couldn''t help but open his mouth wide in shock. Did the monster really just run away from him and hide in the coffin like a turtle?
.
.
Main Floor, Simon observed the scene with an amused brow. His posture wasnguid as he supported his head with one of his hands on the armrest.
"So it felt the danger from its opponent and is going to use that ability huh. It is quite intuitive for a monster that is".
He turned towards Bea and asked in bemusement "You have fought with it previously and have personally witnessed that skill of its right? I am not hoping for it to beat one of the Seven Kings. However, do you think there is a chance it can injure one with that skill?".
The Valkyrie who was asked the question shook her head decisively without even needing to think for even a second.
"As master said, I have personally tested the strength of that thing that was created by Sir Coleus myself. It was quite a surprise, seeing it slip inside the coffin, even I thought it was running away. That said, as unusual as that skill is, the power it bestowed is nothing to scoff at"
"That drastic power up would even be able to severely injure those brats under Sir Mars''mand. However, against a Seven King¡ it might have been one thing if it was the other two. There might have been a slight possibility of them getting injured a little if they underestimated it. But against an opponent like that Rhino King, its like the worst matchup. Breaching through that armour would need some grit even for me".
That was the true assessment from Bea.
"You heard her Coleus, it looks like one of your masterpieces is going to be dismantled here".
If even Bea said that she would have to put her strength into it to breach that armour of the Rhino King, then the creature in the crypt had no chance at all.
Coleus had a grim look as he nodded his head "It appears that opponent on the likes of the seven kings of the forest is still too much for the mutated monsters as of yet".
Just like he said, the monster that one of the seven kings was facing was no ordinary monster that was spawned using the [Spawn] function of the dungeon but rather a unique monster that was created through the mutation crystals.
And he was not just talking about the Crypt Wight, even the normal Crypt Scarabs inside that ruin were also mutated monsters created through this process. Though for them, the crystal''s effect had to be diluted to one tenth through the process of dilution.
The same went for the other monsters the three ns encountered periodically on the other floors. It was no wonder that the seven kings were unable to recognise them. it was because other than in this dungeon, there was no known record of such monsters appearing in anywhere else in the world.
These monsters were something unique to the Dungeon Lace.
"If I recall correctly, this creature was the strongest Crypt Wight among its peers right?" Simon suddenly asked a strange question.
"That''s right my lord, this creature who was once a crypt wight, emerged as the victor from the pit. Not only that, it had even defeated a Crypt Wight that was tens of levels higher than him"
"Due to its uniqueness, it was able to assimte with one medium grade mutation crystal and one low grade, bing one of the handful few monsters who managed to assimte with two mutation crystals".
Simon nodded his head. Although he had delegated all the work rted to mutating, rearing and breeding monsters for the dungeon to Coleus, he still keeps track of his discovery through the report the former sent.
As such, he knew some of the processes and recent sesses the other party achieved. The former crypt wight in question was special even among its race from the fact that it managed to emerge victorious from a pit that was full of spawned crypt wight.
This process was something he liked to call the Selection of the Best. Instead of using mutation crystals on each and every one of them which would result in extreme wastage of resources, effort and time if end up failing, he concentrated all of that effort and resources into a single being that managed to appear from the Selection of the best.
The greatest thing about this process was that the being that emerges from this, has the greatest survival possibility and affinity with the mutation crystals.
The process resembled an ancient method from his previous life and was something he had casually mentioned to Coleus. Who knew the other party would really adopt such a technique?
Anyways, the creature in the ruin was one of the few beings who survived all these processes.
Coleus looked at the window depicting the scenes in the ruins and mentioned "Since it cannot even injure its opponent, it cannot be called one of my greatest masterpieces. It getting dismantled by its opponent is only the natural oue, it would just mean that I still have a lot more progress to make".
He wasn''t bothered by the failure of his, but instead was learning from all the mistakes his creations made so that he could improve even further. This attitude of his, Simon liked it very much.
Continuous improvement without fearing failure, he hoped that others could also adopt this attitude. In that regard, Fey and Maya came at the top of his head. N?v(el)B\\jnn
It was the former who came up with the idea of installing a special area on the 86th floor. She was the one who created the numerous ruins, mirages and all that and came up with the request to apply the newest feature of the dungeon, [The Story] in all of it.
As one could see from the numerous windows depicting the scenes of various ces and special areas of the floor, installing [The story] was too DP consuming and the returns weren''t well worth the expenditure.
Of course, these things had to be fine tuned and he brought the invaders on these floors precisely to find out what other areas the floors werecking in and what adjustments needed to be made.
It was just that Fey who came up with all these ideas was unable to ept the fact that she took a loss when the enemies didn''t fall for her traps and deftly avoided them.
"Failure and sesse hand in hand. It is only natural to make mistakes; however, what mattered was what one learned from it. Look at Coleus, he is not bothered by the fact that one of his greatest creation is being toyed with like that. Far from it, he is already calcting and making ns for his next creation. You should learn from him"
Yang Chen spoke looking at Fey.
Chapter 869- The Mirage
Chapter 869- The Mirage
"But lord Simon, I wasted so much of your Dungeon Points and so many traps are just being wasted. You must be disappointed in me even though you made me the head of the Dungeon Management Department"
The Forest Spring Spirit hung her head down. It seemed like she was concerned about him being disappointed in her.
"I am not disappointed in you, in fact, I believe I made the right choice. Who else other than you coulde up with so many great ideas for the floors? True, you made some mistakes, but who among us doesn''t? What important is that you learn from these mistakes and show me that you can do better the next time"¡
"As for you Maya, you are in too hurry to achieve sess. Wanting to bring results, you put the lives of your nsmen and yourself in danger. You need to contemte about that part. True that you have an absolute advantage in spying on others inside the dungeon. However, there is no guarantee that you won''t be spotted by some enemy who possesses high tier skills or techniques we have no knowledge of" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Getting too close could lead to your downfall, the gifts that you received from the dungeon aren''t unparalleled, you need to keep that in mind. If you the leader of our reckon division show such haste and carelessness, it would affect your whole team and could lead to something disastrous. Keep in mind that you are responsible for the lives of your fellow nsmen"
This little girl who was a few years older than Cecilia, became the youngest team leader of the dungeon''s reckon team thanks to her talent and gifts that she received from the dungeon.
However, it might have got into her head as she tried to involve herself and her teams in an even more dangerous mission like the one today. When Simon read her proposal, he immediately shot her down. Today he summoned her here precisely to show her some of her mistakes.
"Lord Simon, I''m sorry please don''t be angry"
That said, she was still a young girl who was still learning the ways of the world. Perhaps he was too harsh on her, he could see her figure trembling and teardrops umting in the corner of her eyes.
Sighing to himself, he still steeled his heart. The other party needed to hear this.
"Silly girl, I might be angry but it is because I don''t want to see anything untoward happen to you or anyone from the Forest Spring Spirit n. The moment you all became my subordinate, your life and death belongs to me. I won''t forgive any one of you dying on me".
For a moment, the mood in the hall became a little downtrodden and emotional at the same time with everyone reflecting on their mistakes.
"Sigh¡ you have good subordinates with you"
Seeing this, Prime couldn''t help butment. If one didn''t care for their subordinates, they wouldn''t have been harsh on them or epted their mistakes or still allowed them to keep their position.
Likewise, if the others weren''t fully dedicated to him, they wouldn''t have put in all of their efforts or felt so devastated by their failures. The feelings here were mutual, a bond not just anyone could build.
Simon simply smiled and pped to disperse this dreary atmosphere.
"Cheer up everyone, it not like it''s the end of the dungeon. There are still many floors we need to observe and make note of. The enemies might be strong; however, we are prepared to receive them" Saying that, he turned towards Prime andmented¡ª
"Your invention came at just the right time. I need to thank you for it"¡
Prime shone with a blue light, seemingly feeling shy.
"Well, the Resonancer was something that I have been working on for a long time. If I couldn''t even deliver what I said, I wouldn''t be calling myself a great inventor. By the way, the ones I gave you are still the demo version and are very fragile. If the enemies get to their location they can easily destroy it"¡
"Don''t worry about it, I have hidden in ces no one would even think about even searching".
Just as the seven kings hypothesised, the False environment on the 85th floor was a trick that he used. Well more than a trick, it was a machine invented by Prime which created that kind of effect.
Of course, it was no mere illusion or deception. The machine named Resonancer perfectly replicated one of the features of the dungeon which only unlocks when the dungeon reaches the status of [A] tier high ranking dungeon.
Thus allowing dungeon Lace to be able to create a feature like the False Environment even without needing to rise to the status if [A] ranking dungeon.
The sky on the 85th floor was a perfect example of that. Not only did it look like the sky outside, with its own day and night circle, sun-moon, it had all the features that a false environment had.
For example, the heat from the sun during the day was prickling enough to hurt one''s skin and cause the entire atmosphere on the floor to be like a gigantic oven. In the night, it got freakishly cold, mimicking a real desert. Not only that, the effect also spreads through the environment inducing change in the native flora and fauna.
As could be seen from the scene on the 85th floor, the ce was vastly different than all the other desert floors of the dungeon which are only just called desert in name.
"Well, it''s good that you were able to put it to use so soon. Now I can know what other tweaking it would need. Besides, I also n on working with Coleus here. Some of his ns intrigued me"¡
Simon arched his brows in surprise "Do you mean, you want to create more of those¡ ?".
Before he couldplete his sentence, his eyes were drawn towards one of the windows hovering in front of him. An incredible scene had urred while they were all distracted.
This scene that Simon and the others had their eyes on, did not depict the Seven Kings but rather a different ce.
.
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85th floor, inside the ruins, an eerie stillness pervaded the ce. Whether it be Gil-Garna, Yverza or Shasurna, they all looked in front of them with surprise evident in their eyes.
At this moment, the entire hall was in chaos with dust and and debris covering the ce. Pirs crumbled, walls broken and numerousrge depressions formed on the ground.
At the centre of therge depression was Yverza who was quietly holding one off his arms without speaking or moving from his ce.
"Who would have thought that the Tomb Tyrant would have such a powerful skill hidden" Gil-Garnamented from the distance looking at the scene.
Shasurna from the side nodded his head, his face containing an equal amount of surprise. A few minutes earlier¡ as they saw, the crypt wight hide into his coffin, they were all surprised for a second before erupting out in a loud burst ofughter.
"Haha, Yverza it looks like you have tormented the poor fellow too much for it to go into hiding in its shell. You won''t get a fight from it like that. What are you going to do?" Gil-Garna questioned in a spiteful manner, taking joy in the other party''s distress.
At this moment, the two of them were feeling relieved in the fact that they weren''t the ones who were fighting with the crypt wight or else given its shameful behaviour of hiding, they would be shamed too.
After all, for warring races like them a battle was a sacred thing and tarnishing its glory was tantamount to shaming themselves. As such, whenever they initiated a battle, they never retreated until one of them remained.
For the Ivory Terraqyake Rhino''s opponent to suddenly go into hiding like that, it brought shame on itself and on him.
"You Bastard!!"
Naturally, Yverza would be enraged. He had initiated this battle on his own ord thinking that he would be able to enjoy himself before the final fight with the queen of the harpies and the demon.
Never would he have known that his opponent would show such a disrespectful behaviour and bring dishonour to him.
BANG¡ He stomped his foot and charged in rage. However, just as he took a few steps, he noticed that the coffin inside which his opponent was, started acting strangely. A vast amount of bluish ck smoke realised out of the tiny openings of its lid and spread through the entire hall in the blink of an eye.
The light dimmed and the torches in the walls waned as if being snuffed by an unknown entity. Seeing this change, Yverza furrowed his brows. For some reason, he felt like his opponent didn''t just hide away from him but instead was preparing for something.
What it was, he did not know, but looking at the bluish ck smokeing off from the coffin, he knew that something was up. Something that would give him more excitement than what he bargained for.
It could be said that it was a hunch of a warrior who has fought numerous battles so far.
"Interesting, so you were not just running away huh? Bring it on, I will take on everything" Yverza gave an excited grin.
As if responding to his wishes, a deep guttural roar came from inside the coffin. The next second, the bluish balck smoke emanating from the coffin became stronger.
Chapter 870- The Mirage (2)
Chapter 870- The Mirage (2)
The smoke that contained traces of cold energy, was chilling enough to send shivers down the spine of anyone below level 500. The atmosphere in the hall dropped sharply and faint traces of ice began umting at the edges of the wall.
While all this happened, Yverza quietly stood in his ce without showing any signs of moving. In fact, it looked like he was waiting for his enemy toplete their preparation.
The effects of the smoke became apparent after a while as it enveloped the nearby corpses of the Crypt Scarabs. Initially motionless and lifeless after being defeated by the seven kings, the bodies began to twitch and convulse as if being reanimated by some unseen force.
Limbs disjointed and severed appendages wriggled as if being remote controlled. One could imagine thousands of corpses plopping around, the sight was both grotesque and strangely mesmerizing.
The disjointed hands and legs, torn corpses, beings who were already killed by them moving again was not a sight that one could see every day.
The seven kings standing upon the mountain of corpses, were stunned by the sight. Right underneath them, the once inert husks of the scarabs began to stir with a newfound vitality once again.
"Move!!"
Gil-Garna and Shasurna quickly moved away from the mountain of corpses. The next second, as if guided by the bluish ck smoke, the dismembered parts of the scarabs started to converge towards the coffin in a synchronised and purposeful movement.
Like a colony of ants entering its nest, the scarabs and their parts were being drawn inexorably towards a central focal point that was the coffin, their twisted forms melding together in an ominous and enigmatic way.
ROAAARRR¡
And then, with a deafening roar that reverberated throughout the hall, the being who had hidden within the coffin made its presence known once again.
Towering over Yverza and almost reaching the ceiling itself, what emerged was a giant mass of bodies. Composed of countless scarab carcasses fused together, the being looked both grotesque and intimidating.
In the dim light of hall, its surface glimmered with bluish ck light like living veins pulsing and squirming. As the colossal creature lumbered forward there was an undeniable sense of power and menace emanating from it.
"Interesting, this is how it should be. Come, let me see how strong you have be"
In the face of the giant mass of bodies, Yverza looked just like an ant. Something that could be squashed with just a stomp of a foot.
However, this ant was no ordinary figure but one of the seven kings of the forest. When he saw, the giant lifting its foot to squash him down. He gave a fierce grin and threw a punch.
BANG¡ air was immediately sted apart as the two attacks connected causing everything in the immediate area to be blown away.
Yverza could feel the weight pressing down on its body, although the giant looked clumsy and slow, it nevertheless had the power of thousands of crypt scarabsbined into one. Its strength couldn''t be underestimated.
That being said¡ What of it? He was not among the ones to back away from the challenge. In fact, since entering this dungeon, he had been itching for a good fight.
"Finally some worthwhile opponent has appeared" With an excited grin, he readied his weapon which was his own body and braced for a fight.
The giant on the other hand gazed at him almost with a human like intelligence. A bluish ck light shed in its eyes, it was unknown what it was thinking. Neverhtless, what it did, remained the same.
After it saw that it couldn''t stomp this ant which was not even the size of its pinky toe, it stretched its hand back and threw a punch with all of its might.
Matching his aggression, the Ivroy Terraquake Rhino also threw a punch. Two fists, one the size of a big boulder and the other an adult human''s head collided. Just based on the size, it was clear which one would get smashed the next second.
However, contrary to expectation, it was this tiny fist that actually pushed that boulder like fist and even caused the giant to take a step back.
"Good, again. Let''s go again".
After the first initial sh, both parties had an understanding of each other''s strengths. The time for feeling each other was over.
Yverza gave a heartyugh, his muscles covered by his endogenous armour bulged and an aura of unmatched destruction released out of his body.
On the other hand, the giant mass of bodies also umted all of its strength. Droves of bluish ck energy released from the coffin and entered the giant. The air crackled with an aura of dark energy, and a raw undisguised power coursed through the creature''s veins.
Looking at the creature one could clearly say that it was no ordinary monster but a force of nature, a manifestation of numerous deadly monsters.
BOOM¡ there was a silence for a second before it was broken by the two. The sh of steel against scarab flesh echoed through the hall continuously.
BOOM¡ BOOOM¡ BOOOM¡ An epic battle between the mass giant and the Ivory Terraquake Rhino began.
.
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In the heart of the ruins on the 85th floor, amidst the swirling mists of death and destruction, two warriors shed in a contest of wills. Devastation spread everywhere and anywhere they went.
Walls ran with cracks, pirs crumbled and the ground was marked with huge pockmarks. One could imagine how powerful their sh was from just the remnant shockwave that spread through the surroundings like a ripple from their every sh.
Even just being exposed to a bit of this shockwave would make anyone lower than level 500 puke out blood and faint right away.
Observing their battle from a distance, Shasurna couldn''t help but click his tongue in jealousy.
"Look at him enjoying. Dammit, if I knew the Crypt Wight had this kind of skill I would have attacked it myself first".
Just like his fellow seven kings, he too was itching for a fight. Sadly, they had already decided on the order of things and he couldn''t intervene now even if he wanted to.
Still¡ "As amazing as the battle was, it seems like that is the full strength of the Crpyt Wight. If so, it wouldn''t be long before the victor is decided. What do you think".
Beside him, Gil-Garna narrowed his eyes. He did notment and continued to observe the battle with his keen eyes. Despite knowing that there was no way Yverza would be defeated, he noticed something amiss in their battle.
The energy that fuelled the giant''s movements seemed to pulse and surge unpredictably, like a vtile storm gathering within its massive form. That energy that should have been expended over time as it battled Yverza was still getting stronger as time passed.
It was as if the giant was charging energy for one final¡
Just as those thoughts arrived in his mind, Gil-Garna understood what the giant was trying to do. Immediately, he tried to caution the Ivory Terraquake Rhino. However, he was a step toote.
The colossal corpse giant, fueled by the unstable energies surging within it, suddenly sprouted a couple more arms.
Given that it never had a form to begin with and only a mass of distorted bodies, it shouldn''t be surprising that it could change shapes. Yet the simple minded Yverza was caught off guard by the sudden mutation of its enemy. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The giant''s multiple arms swung forth in an erratic and destructive manner and the rhino king braced himself for the onught absolutely confident in his endogenous armor. However, to his surprise, the attack didn''te and instead, he saw his enemy suddenly grab hold of him.
This came as a surprise and Yverza was unable to dodge it. Plus, given the strength of the mass giant, which was practicallyprised of thousands of crypt scarabs and now that it had even sprouted multiple arms, it was difficult for even one such as him to get out of his hold.
All he could do was watch as the giant brought him near his mouth.
Was it trying to eat him? This was the first thought that came to his mind. However, given that the monster was just piles of body, it did not have a stomach. There is no way it could eat him.
That said, he did not have to wait long to know the answer. In front of him, the giant''s form began to distort and convulse, the blush ck energy inside it expanding with a threatening intensity and causing the giant to look fat almostically.
"Yverza be careful, this thing is no Crpyt Wight. This creature, it is trying to self destruct and take you along with it"
At the same time, Gil-Garna cautioned. However, there was nothing to be done. The energy within the giant had swirled out of control and reached its peak.
The giant''s bloated body ran with numerous cracks, one could even observe the energy expanding in a rampant manner through it. And then with a sh of light, the creature unleashed its ultimate skill: a self-destruct ability that unleased all the energy within the bodies of the thousands of crypt scarabs into a one single final attack.
A skill of epic proportions. Sensing a faint trace of danger, both Gil-Garna and Shasurna backed away, using their own skills to defend themselves. As for Yverza, he was caught up in giant''s grip and couldn''t avoid the attack.
Chapter 871- The Mirage (3)
Chapter 871- The Mirage (3)
The instant that they moved, everything was covered in a sh of light. The hall was engulfed in a maelstrom of energy, the force of the explosion tearing through everything, even the space shook violently straining to contain it.
The ground shook violently as shockwaves rippled outward, sending debris flying in all directions.
.
.
This brought them back to the present...
Gil-Garna and Shasurna looked on in surprise at the devastation and power packed within that skill which had clearly surpassed the power that a level 500 monster should have. In fact, it had even reached a level where it could give them a sense of danger albeit extremely faint.
There was no doubt in their mind that had it been them in the ce of Yverza they might have been a little injured or taken some damage from that attack. Yet the Ivory Terraquake Rhino came outpletely unscathed even from that.
One really had to be jealous of that natural gift of his.
That aside, the power packed in that attack... No wonder so many of their subordinates died here, it was because these ces were filled with monsters just like the one they saw.
"So even that wasn''t enough to cause a scratch in his armour huh?"
Shasurna muttered in a low voice while caressing his harpoon. It was unknown what he was thinking.
"That message we received from the dungeon, it was misleading" Gil-Garna spoke still staring at the area where the mass giant previously stood.
"What about it?"¡
"It said that the thing was called Crypt Wight right?"
Shasurna nodded his head, the notification indeed said as such.
"It was no Crypt Wight but something even stranger and much higher level than that"
Right before the end when the mass giant was about to blow itself, Gil-Garna feeling something amiss, used his appraisal skill on the creature only to feel shocked and doubtful the next second.
The reason for that was because the information that he was able to gain from the skill waspletely different from what the notification informed them about.
Gil-Garna clearly remembered that the dungeon told them to defeat the Crpyt Wight and take its key if they wanted its treasure. However, when he used the appraisal on that thing, he was able to see that it was no Crypt wWght but rather a creature called the Tomb Tyrant.
What''s more the numerous unusual and high tier skills it had, was even able to dazzle him.
Race- Tomb Tyrant
Level- 510
Skills- [Poison Immunity], [Dark Magic Resistance], [Ultra Enhanced Strength], [Super Enhanced Endurance], [Ultra Enhanced Magic], [Bandage Bind], [Scarab Swarm], [Sarcophagus m], [Tomb Tendrils], [Curse of the Crypt], [Mummy''s Wrath], [Tomb Guardian], [Writhing Bandages], [Corrosive], [Curse of Frailty], [Scarab infestation], [Body m], [Suffocate], [Decay Aura], [Pharaoh''s Fury]¡ No wonder the creature was strong. Gil-garna reckoned that thest skill that the creature used was called the [Pharaoh''s Fury] and was truly an ability that had the fury of the Pharaoh contained within it.
"ShaShaSha¡ Well, who cares if the creature is what the dungeon told us or not? Doesn''t it all be meaningless once we subdue this dungeon"
Shasurnaughed thinking nothing much about this incident. Even if the situation turned out to be a little different and the enemy was stronger than they imagined, it hardly mattered to beings like them.
"Well, aren''t you something? You took on the full brunt of the st from point nk distance and still came out unscathed. That armour of yours, does it even have any weakness?"
The Emerald Viperlord slithered towards where Yverza was and spoke with a heartyugh.
Thetter showed a smile and thumped his chest. Immediately, a steel like ng rang out. "Haha, there is no way an attack like that would be able to breach my armour" he proudly boasted.
However, under the fa?ade of that proud smug, there was some hidden anxiety. Only he who had taken the force of the st head on understood how powerful the attack was. If not for his endogenous armour, he reckoned that he would have been injured by it.
That said, and it was something he didn''t want to admit but even with his armour, he felt a sense of danger. This danger led him to activate¡
Yverza hid his right arm which was of a different colour than the rest of his armour.
"We have defeated the Crypt Wight, what now?"
With the defeat of the Crypt Wight, there was no longer any enemy left behind in this hall.
"The notification told us that we need to destroy the coffin and take his key to get his treasure" Gil-Garna pointed, his eyebrows still furrowed from the previous incident.
"So all we need to do now is break that coffin huh"
Yverza strode towards where the coffin had fallen after being blown off by that st and used his foot to stomp it.
BANG¡ the coffin unlike the crypt Wight, was fragile and easily broke apart. At the same instance, a notification appeared before them.
[You have broken the Crypt Wight''s curse. Proceed with the key to get his treasures]. An exit also appeared at the same time as the notification popped up.
"Ah, I found the key" Yverza looked down and found a key inside the broken remains of the coffin. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Finally we get to see the treasure" Shasurna remarked.
The two of them quickly strut forth towards the exit. Gil-Garna followed a secondter as he gave the hall onest look. He didn''t know why but he felt a sense of foreboding from all the unusual things he had witnessed about the dungeon so far.
However he quickly shook that feeling off once he saw the vast amount of treasure waiting for them at the end of the exit.
"Well, I will be damned. No wonder those idiotic subordinates of ours were blinded by greed to the point of wanting to force their way in¡ ShaShaSha"
Shasurna licked his lips, his eyes glimmering from the mountain of treasure right in front of him. Whether it be Mana Crystals, Mystical nts or herbs, artefacts or even high quality ores, this room was full of it.
"Check this out, these Mana Crystals, they are above grade five. Not to mention I even see some Mana Crystal Essence ced among them. That Crypt wight treasury is not bad"...
"Right, these artefacts are all [A] tier. This ce is truly a treasure vault"
Gil-Garna and Shasurna were from the tribe who had the ability to discern treasure with just a look. As such, they knew that the treasure in front of them was genuine and not a fake article.
"Let''s divide them and get out of here. We have been here for a while. Our subordinates must have already explored quite a bit of the floor by now"
The fact that no report came from Gish-bagh or any of his subordinates bugged him a little. However, he didn''t think much of it. Once they divided and hoarded the treasure in three equal parts, they exited the ruins from the teleportation circle set up at the end.
.
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Main Floor¡ Simon was looking at the window with a pleased expression. After a while, he sighed and looked at Coleus.
"I guess I need to retract my statement. Your creations are notpletely being dismantled. On the contrary, they managed to do something out of my expectation"¡
"You praise me too much lord Simon" Coleus hurriedly shook his head, a look of excitement shed in his eyes.
"You too, Fey. That was an excellent trap".
"I am grateful that lord Simon liked it".
The mood in the hall instantly became jubnt once again as they celebrated their first sess over the invaders.
What was this sess they were all celebrating? Of course, it was the demise of some of the invaders.
The dungeon was full of dangers and the lower floors more so. It was filled with DP burning traps, special areas,byrinths, Afflictions and [Stories]. It was not unusual for these unsuspecting invaders to die from it.
However, the one to die this time was not just your ordinary footmen or some weak level subordinate but a genuinely powerful enemy who had breached level 600 and was a force on its own.
It needs to be mentioned that an enemy on that level was not something that the monsters in dungeonce were capable of taking down.
It would be one thing if it was the denizens of the dungeon or his subordinates who took a defeated a being of level 600. However that was not the case, the one who defeated such a powerful enemy was not the denizens of the dungeon or his subordinates but the monsters spawned by the dungeon.
That''s right, the one to take down a high level invader who was probably a right hand man or direct subordinate of one of the Seven Kings, was one of the spawned monsters of the dungeon.
Of course, calling a mutated one would be straining that fact but the crystal and monster were ultimately spawned by the dungeon as such, the statement was notpletely wrong.
"I wonder how they will react once they get out"
From another window, he could see the seven kings who had just finished dividing the treasures and were ready to get out. He was sure that they wouldn''t be pleased by the news that even managed to surprise him.
He wanted to see their reaction and feel their despair. His demonic blood boiled in excitement. What greater pleasure could be there for a demon than to watch its prey slowly fall into his trap?
In this case, the prey were the seven kings.
Chapter 872- The Mirage (4)
Chapter 872- The Mirage (4)
"Call the Chloro Arsenalis back. Now that things have transpired the way they did, it would be useless to keep them there. And besides, its too soon for us to reveal all our cards. We need to reduce their numbers and pit more of the monsters against them. These Chloro Arsenalis who bring in the element of surprise will be crucial" Simonmanded.
The Chloro Aresenalis that he mentioned were none other than unique mutated nt type monsters that were a result of Prime and Coleus working together.
That''s right not only do these mutated monsters have assimted with mutation crystals and he stressed mutation crystals, but they were also equipped with high tech gears and weapons.
The thing that had been attacking the invaders and the seven kings in the darkness with the quantum sters were none other than these highly stealthy Chloro Aresenalis. The reason why he was bringing them back was because they had shown plenty of their strength by actually killing a level 600 being.
Now even if they stayed there, the enemy who had be highly cautious wouldn''t fall for the same thing again. It was better to bring them back and keep the element of surprise going rather than revealing them so soon.
"Yes"
Maya nodded. She took a few Dryads along with her and brought the Chloro Arsenalis back.
85th floor¡ Gil-Garna and the others exited the ruins. The ce they were teleported to was a distantnd that was far away from the ruins they were just in.
"It looks like we were teleported quite far" hemented.
Just as his words rang out, the ground beneath them trembled and along with discingrge swathes of sand, huge sandworms whose size could easily reach twenty meters, emerged from the ground.
Decked out in spikes all around their body and razor sharp hideous mouths, the creatures immediately attacked the three. In return, all that the seven kings did was snort and wave their hands.
Berserk mana erupted and quickly crushed the oing sandworms into bloody paste.
"Hmph, they forget their ce"
Shasurna snorted. He seemed to be in a good mood after getting his hands on so many treasures when suddenly his expression fluctuated. It was not only him, Gil-Garna and Yverza by the side also felt their transmission conch buzz at this moment.
The former picked his transmission conch.
"Ah, it finally connected. Lord Gil-Garna are you alright?" A voice that contained part anxiety and part urgency came from the other side of the conch.
"Of course I am alright. What can happen to me? Anyways, why do you sound like that and what do you mean by you finally connected?"¡ n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"About that, I have been trying to reach you for a while. However, every time I try, the transmission fails. It was for this reason that I thought that something might have happened¡"
The person who spoke was none other than the right hand man of Gil-Garna, Gish-Bagh.
"I was inside a ruin, since you couldn''t contact me, it must mean that something was interfering with the transmission inside the ruin. Anyways, why do you sound so urgent?"¡
"That¡" Gish-Bagh hesitated for a second before putting his words together "I think you need to see this Lord Gil-Garna. Surtana the Venomw has fallen. We found his corpse near one of the special areas of this floor, the mirage"¡
"What?!!"
The king of the ck ogres couldn''t help but doubt his ears for a second and lost control of his voice as he heard those words.
What was the other party saying? Surtana fell? Gil-Garna was so shocked that he had difficulty believing the contents of his own subordinate''s report.
.
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It took them a while but the seven kings finally arrived at the scene.
BOOOMM¡ a sonic boom reverberated through the sky and a ck streak could be seen zipping through at an extremely fast speed.
"Where is Surtana? There is no way he can fall. You guys are lying, I will cut off all of your tongues"
The sky darkened and powerful pressure descended onto the area along with the emergence of one of the seven kings who appeared here the fastest. Shasurna raged, one could imagine the pressure born from a being of above level 700 who was clearly enraged.
None of the people gathered in the area had the ability to look up at him and were pressured to the point where they even had difficulty standing.
"I believe I asked you all a question. Where is Surtana? Bring him out!!" Shasurna red at everyone below but no one dared to reply or match his gaze.
BOOM¡ BOOM¡ at this moment two more streaks appeared from the sky at a supersonic speed.
"Shasurna calm down. Let''s analyse the situation first" Gil-Garna spoke trying to reason. However, it seemed that the other party had lost his reasoning.
"Shut up!! How can I calm down in a situation like this? You can be all calm because it''s not you who have lost a direct subordinate?".
Thement caused the ogre king''s eyes to narrow.
"Hmph"
Shasurna snorted and descended down. The next second he furiously barged into one of the special areas of the floor, The Mirage. As one would expect of a trap that was no less trickier than the ruins they had been, the atmosphere and the monsters there were quite powerful.
However, in front of the pure power incarnate that was the seven kings, traps and such of this level meant nothing much. They absolutely or more like Shasurna absolutely steamrolled through the entire thing. A few meters behind him, Gil-garna and Yverza looked at the special area.
"So [The Mirage] is an illusion of a Safe Haven, a forest in the middle of the desert huh? Talk about using annoying means"
The ogre king clicked his tongue. The forest was an illusion created from the effects of a powerful array that messed with one mind. If one did not possess high level power or special skills that allowed them to see through simple deceptions, one would be thinking that the forest is real.
"This is an enormous quicksand. It is so huge that one cannot see its boundary at a nce. No wonder we didn''t see it from the outside" Yverzamented feeling himself quickly getting pulled towards the centre of the pit.
"Right, but that is not all. There is something peculiar about this ce, something that even I can pinpoint".
The seven kings were in fact right, the entire ce was like a giant trap that made it difficult for one to leave once they entered, disguised as a forest in the middle of the desert or also known as The Mirage.
However, not everything was an illusion. A few things like the trees and nts in some areas of the quicksand were real. In fact, they were carnivorous nt type monsters that quietly waited in ce for their unsuspecting prey to approach and take shade in them.
It was not only that, but there were also quite a few special trees nted in the area that produced a psychedelic effect that messed with one''s mind, making the illusion even more real.
These trees were unique to dungeon Lace and were items that were originally in the [Shop] of the Lace menu. It was no wonder that Gil-Garna and Yverza were unable to recognise it.
Neverhtless, due to possessing a high level, they were innately able to resist it. Up ahead, Shasurna crushed everything in his path, whether it be carnivorous nts, psychedelic trees or monsters that came out of the quicksand, nothing could stop him.
And so just like this, they quickly arrived at the centre of this ce. At the centre, a serene pond with clear deep water could be seen quietly shimmering with the wind, promising a moment of respite amidst the chaos of the dungeon.
Its surface was crystal clear, reflecting the azure hues of the sky above like a mirror. Of course, the scene was just an illusion for the unsuspecting crowd. To the discerning eyes of the seven kings, the truth was far more sinister.
The true nature of the pond was in actuality a dark enormous gaping maw, yawning wide like the jaws of a fiend. The edges of the monstrous mouth were jagged and uneven, Dark tendrils of shadow snaked around from their edges.
The sheer size of the maw was staggering, stretching wide for dozens of meters. It was so big that it could swallow a giant whole without so much as a second thought.
The dark gaping thing seemed to reach down into the very depths of the earth, disappearing into darkness so deep that not even the faintest glimmer of light could prate its depths.
The scene was enough to evoke fear and send chills down the spine of even the most bravest of the soul here. How many lives have been imed by the voracious appetite of the creature thaty in wait below?
The sight was a stark reminder for even the likes of the seven kings that the ce they entered, was not a garden in their backyard but a dungeon where danger lurked at every corner.
The body lying next to the maw served as a sobering testament to the unforgiving nature of the world they inhabited, where even the most innocent seeming facade could conceal a deadly trap.
"This can''t be?!! Suratana?"
Shasurna quickly rushed towards the body. The body which was missing the entire lower half where the serpentine tail of a snakemen should be and was dotted with numerous gaping holes and injuries, was none other than the direct subordinate of Shasurna, Surtana.
Chapter 873- 90th Floor
Chapter 873- 90th Floor
Just as the report said, he had indeed died inside one of the special areas of the dungeon.
Gil-Garna and Yverza looked at the wounds of the snakeman with a grave expression on their face. Why would they not? After all, if even a being like Surtana who was above level 600 and could match up to their own direct subordinate could die here, then who is to say their own subordinates wouldn''t?
Heck, it meant that even they had a chance of dying no matter how low the possibility was. At this moment, the seven kings realised that they had underestimated the dungeon.
"Dammit, who did this to him? I will rip them apart"
Shasurna shouted in rage. The loss of a being above level 600 was not a simple matter. Surtana was not only his direct subordinate and strongest after him in the snake n, but he was also the only snakemen who had the ability to reach level 600 from their n.
Surtana''s death was a huge blow for the snakemen something which they wouldn''t be able to recover from even if they were given another hundred years.
"It''s that thing isn''t it? It''s what killed him"
In his rage, the Emerald Viperlord unleashed a storm of attack on the enormous maw that was posing as ake. Each of his attacks carried a catastrophic level of power capable of shaping the very topography of this floor.
At this moment, one of the seven kings the Emerald Viperlord had stopped holding back and disyed his true powers.
In the blink of an eye, the area wasplexly devastated and held no semnce of the safe haven that the mirage was. However that said, no matter how much Shasurna attacked the being in the centre of this ce, there was no point to it.
Beforeing here, Gil-Garna and Yverza had already checked on the being and knew that it had no life remaining. Which is to say, it had already died. The numerous marks and injuries that covered its maw showed the signs of a fierce battle that had urred here.
Although this creature managed to kill Surtana, the price it had to pay was its life. Yverza''s expression was especially grave, it was not long before he had met a simr creature who wanted to kill him at the cost of its own.
If not because he had activated that skill timely, then perhaps even he would have been injured.
Such wits and prudence, it was impossible for a mere monsters to think like that. At first, he believed that it was just a coincidence; however, now that he was witnessing a simr scene, he couldn''t help but wonder¡ the way these monsters were thinking was as if they possessed extreme intelligence.
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BOOM¡ BOOM¡ BOOM¡
Shasurna continued bombarding the creature with his attacks until not even its corpse remained intact, almost as if venting his anger.
When the creature''s enormous body came out of the pit- in pieces, they were finally able to make out how it looked. A gigantic antlionrvae with unique features that separated it from the rest of its race.
Whoosh¡ finally as if having vented enough or perhaps there was nothing remaining for him to take his anger on, the Emerald Viperlordnded on the ground. His eyes stared at his fallen subordinate for a while before he shifted it.
"Where are you going?" Gil-Garna asked when he saw him turning away to leave.
"I am going where the allied ns are. I am going tomand them to quickly find the exit"¡
"Calm down, you are not the only one who has lost his subordinate. They are already searching the floor with all their might. Even if youmand them to hurry up, other than increasing the rate of idents, it will achieve nothing else. Calm down, I feel your anger, we shall make the demon pay for what he did".
On Gil-Garna''s words, some reasoning finally returned to Shasurna''s eyes. He hissed a couple of times before finally calming down.
"Fine, but you better tell them to hurry up. I can''t wait to tear that demon with my own hands".
The ck ogre''s eyes narrowed at thatment "I already have. That aside, no matter how much you hate the demon, he is not yours to kill?".
"Why? It''s because of his damn traps that I have lost my direct subordinate. How can I settle my anger if I don''t tear him into a thousand pieces"¡
"Has your anger inhibited your ability to think? If you kill the demon, the dungeon will also copse. Our objective is not to destroy the dungeon but to subjugate it and use it for farming resources"
Gil-Garna spoke with a rare austere voice. He could ignore Shasurna''s repeated offences towards him. However, this was the only point he wasn''t willing to relent on.
Thetter was taken aback, he didn''t think that the ogre king woulde at him this strong for something that he said out of anger.
Sparks erupted as the two kings red at each other. For a second, the entire area around descended into aplete silence with the aura of the two kings spreading everywhere, pressuring and scaring everyone who was exposed to this aura.
In the distance, the ck ogres following their king''s intentions also red at the tribe of Snakemen. Thetter also did the same and it looked like a war between the two ns would break out any second if their leaders just gave themand.
"Why don''t you two both cool your heads. We didn''t enter all the way here just to fight among ourselves did we? And besides, if we do that, won''t we just provide the perfect opportunity for that demon to attack us? What we must focus on is subjugating the dungeon. Once all of this is over, we can then try to kill each other"
At this moment, Yverza came in to intervene. Just like he said this was a partnership, they were only working with each other because their goal aligned. Once they have aplished their goals, they can always go back to being enemies.
Doing so right now, when they had yet to achieve anything was extremely foolish.
"I understand" Shasurna shifted his eyes and retracted his aura. He was not a mindless beast and could see the bigger picture.
Gil-Garna having aplished his goal, also backed away.
"By the way, have you looked at the injuries of your subordinate?"¡
"What do you want to say?"
The atmosphere was still a little strained. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"If you have not noticed, the injuries on the body of your subordinate seem to be from a fierce struggle. The sign shows that, he was pierced and attacked by powerful heat spells numerous times. The antlion doesn''t seem to be capable of such attacks as it is physically impossible. Which is to say, there were other enemies here".
A rational assessment, Shasurna couldn''t find any faults with that. However, it was just that even if he knew about it right now, it made no difference as his subordinate was already dead.
....
After their kings calmed down, the exploration progressed as usual. Though this time, the allied ns were more cautious of the special areas and avoided them when they could. The teams had slight difficulty defeating the monsters thanks to the friction that appeared among the allied ns.
This affected their coordination which in turn led to more injuries. However, that said it wasn''t to the point where the teams were unable to clear the floor.
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Time passed by and soon a whole day was gone. The allied army and the seven kings were still stuck on the 85th floor.
"How is the progress?"
Sitting on top of arge construct that was located near the centre of this floor and worked as andmark, were the three kings. Gil-Garna opened his eyes to question. A subordinate was currently kneeling on one knee in front of him. It was Gish-Bagh.
"Reporting to the Supreme Chief, we have almost explored the entire floor and have narrowed down the ces where the entrance to the next floor could be. However, those ces are near the special areas. As such, it is taking some time. But do not worry my lords, we will soon¡"
thetter who was in the midst of a report, suddenly felt his transmission conch buzzing.
"Pick it up, it might be important"¡
Gish-Bagh did not hesitate and quickly answered the call. As it turned out, while he was giving his reports to the kings, the allied ns found the entrance to the next floor.
"Hoh, although it took some time because of the vastness of the floor and those deceptive traps, this was easier than the previous floor. Are you sure that there are no formations or traps around the area where the exit is?" Gil-Garna questioned.
"None that we have found so far"¡
"Good, then let us move. We have been here long enough. Pass mymands to the allied ns, they are to organise near the entrance as soon as possible".
Gish Bagh immediately left to carry out his orders. Not long afterwards, the entirety of the three ns that had been spread out on the floor, gathered near the north western region of the floor where the entrance to the next floor was.
As it turned out, the reason why it took them so much time to find the exit was because it was located inside one of the special areas.
Chapter 874- 90th Floor (2)
Chapter 874- 90th Floor (2)
Gil-Garna and the other two kings stood before the allied ns who stood at ready to march. The former noticed the atmosphere of the allied ns which was palpably tense, a far cry from the strong unity and determination with which they entered the dungeon first. Friction simmered beneath the surface, threatening to fracture the alliance any second.
Gil-Garna was perfectly aware of the reason and recognised that this was not a good sign for them. He had to do something to get them back to giving their all even if it meant he had to lie to them.
With a sigh, Gil-Garna clicked his tongue at the source of the discontent. The trials inside the dungeon had proven to be beyond his expectations and taken their toll on the allied ns, slowly chipping away at their strength sowing doubt and discord among their ranks.
If this was the demon''s n, then he must admit that thetter was quite the strategist. That being said, if the other party thought they could destroy them with just this, they were severely mistaken.
Taking a deep breath, Gil-Garna addressed the allied ns with a voice that rang out clear andmanding.
"My fellow nsmen and the king ns of the Ghastly Winding Forest. The moment to conquer the dungeon is near. I can tell that the demon is trying to use all of his means and powers in his hand to contain us on these floors. The trials are hard and the obstacles waiting for us in the uing floors might be even harder"
"However, he had forgotten one thing. We are nothing like the humans he is used to entertaining in his dungeon. We are the king ns of the Ghastly Winding Forest who are used to thews of the jungle. No matter what obstacley in front of us, we had always ovee it with unyielding grit and strength"
"The demon might think that he is in control here; however, he couldn''t be any more wrong. If anything, it is us who are in control. I can tell you all that the dungeon core is not far away. As proof, you all have seen and experienced for yourselves the increasingplexity of the floors. He has employed all means and tricks he could use to try to faze our morals and keep us from advancing any further"
"In short, he is panicking. He didn''t expect us to invade his dungeon through that shortcut. This is enough to tell us that the floor where the dungeon core is located is not far. The demon is cunning, but he is not infallible, his every move betrays his desperation, and his fear of what lies ahead. As such, Imand that you all continue giving your best. For our shared goals, and the day when the names of our ns is counted amongst the legendary ns in the entire world"
Gil-Garna spoke, his voice ringing with conviction. As he had hoped, his words rekindled the determination and fire amongst the allied ns. He could see resolve through their eyes.
The doubts that had clouded their minds began to dissipate, reced by a renewed sense of purpose and goal. His words reminded them of the honour and glory that waited for them once they emerged victorious from all of this.
Compared to that, what was enduring a little bit of hardship?
In the end, with a loud roar from him, the allied n began to march orderly and proceed towards the entrance to the next floor.
Observing everything from his standpoint, Gil-garna knew that the road ahead would not be easy but he was confident in the strength of the alliance and his own might and preparations that they would prevail.
And besides, what he said before, not everything was a lie. He did believe that the end was near, that the dungeon core was not far. The dungeon''s increasingplexity was a sure sign that he was getting closer to his ultimate goal.
The myriad traps, illusions, formations and tricks they had encountered so far, each one more cunning and treacherous than thest, was something that one could only encounter in a high ranking dungeon.
From sprawling mirages shrouded in illusion and deadly traps to ruins, the dungeon had thrown every obstacle imaginable in their path.
Although he had to admit that it did manage to daunt him for a second to almost change his idea over this whole ordeal, it was only for a second when he cleared his mind and thought about it properly, a thread of logic arrived in his mind that hinted at the true nature of the dungeon.
Although he wasn''tpletely clear on the finer details of the dungeon and how it works, he did know that for everything there was a cost. It was the same for the dungeon too, the many traps, formations and monsters that they saw here, clearly came at a cost.
What''s more, the cost had to be significant given the power andplexity of these traps. Furthermore, given the fact that the demon was utilising such mechanisms all around the floors when it was clear that they cost a ton of money, hinted at something.
And that was either he was panicking or that the dungeon core was near. It was natural to assume that one would protect the most important thing in theirir to the best of their ability.
And so, with their hearts set for victory, the allied ns marched into the stairway to the next floorpletely unaware of whaty in their fate.
Gil-Garna''s assumptions were logical and his preparations were enough to take down any intermediate tier dungeon. However, that was only for any other dungeon.
Dungeon Lace was far different from all the other dungeons in the world and did not conform to any logic. Trying to make sense of the things that urred here was like asking to be humiliated.
Gil-Garna''s assumptions couldn''t be any further from the truth.
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Sitting in his seat, whilezily ncing at the scene in front of him, Simon gave a wide grin. Unbeknownst to the intruders, a device that was carefully hidden was transmitting all of their voices and action back to the main floor of the dungeon. As a result of which, they could hear and see what the intruders were going to do next.
"That ogre king, I don''t know whether to call him smart or an idiot. To think that out of all the things he could say, he would say that the dungeon core is near¡ If he is deliberately trying to fool his n members to increase their morals, he is quite the character. Otherwise, he is just a fool like all the others who have been here before him"
Coleusmented, a look of intrigue in his eyes.
"He still dares to spout nonsense even after all this? Looks like the trap on those floors weren''t enough¡"
Maya grit her teeth clearly annoyed by the statement made by the ogre king.
It was not only her, many others in the room who revered Simon were angered by that statement. After all, the former not only slighted their lord, but also demeaned their home the dungeon.
"Calm down you all, it''s only natural that the Ogre King is trying to put down the dungeon and its master, me. After all, when you are going against someone, you have to believe that you are superior to them to maintain the moral. The ogre king''s assumptions are reasonable, in fact we should happy that our ruse worked after hearing his words"
That was right, the very fact that they believed they used a shortcut toe here and that theplexity of the floors was an indication of the demon panicking or the dungeon core being near, was absolutely great for them.
This was their n from the very beginning anyways.
Simon''s words calmed everyone down. He then next looked at the window depicting the scene on the 86th floor and muttered to himself¡ª
"Fifteen floors more to go. Though after I''m done executing all of my ns, I wonder how far they will be able to reach. I hope they are able to help me test out the Faux Boss Areas".
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Time passed by and after a day and a half of intense struggle and many losses, the three allied ns were finally able to clear the 86th floor and proceed towards the 87th.
The subsequent floor just like the 85th, had its own environment, habitat, monsters and conditions for clearing. Of course, the very fact that they were ced lower than 85th floor meant that they were far more difficult to clear.
Not only were the floors bigger, but theplexity of the formations, traps, special areas, mutated monsters, Afflictions, [Scenarios] and everything else were far more dangerous and troublesome to deal with.
With the case of Surtana, the allied army learned their lesson and although they ignored the Special Areas which were obvious trapsid for them, they still suffered a loss from the many powerful mutated monsters and tricky magical traps.
With the case of Surtana, the allied army learned their lesson and although they ignored the Special Areas which were obvious trapsid for them, they still suffered a loss from the many powerful mutated monsters and tricky magical traps.
Even in cases where they had to dive inside the special areas, they did so in massive groups and pitted their numbers against it.
Even the direct subordinates of the three kings had to team up if they wanted to clear the special areas.
Anyways, after going through the gruelling number of challenges in the subsequent floors, even with their warring nature the allied ns became tired and their morals were starting to falter.
Chapter 875- 90th Floor (3)
Chapter 875- 90th Floor (3)
One of the seven kings and the supreme chief in charge of the attack on the dungeon stated that the end was near. Yet even after they cleared two more floors which were far more trickier and dangerous than the previous floors, no end of the dungeon could be seen in sight.
In fact, the deeper they went, the stifling the feeling of being choked got. It was unbearable and nerve wracking. However, since they have got so far and exchanged so much blood and sweat to reach this stage, they couldn''t back down now. The only option they had was to proceed forward.
Although the Ogre king tried to rally their morals with his heated speech and promise of a triumphant and beautiful future, it was clear that his words had less of an effect this timepared to the first time.
Fortunately for them, the uing floors¡ª the 88th and 89th floors were far more mellow and easier to clear thanpared to all the other floors they had cleared so far. It was so much so that the allied ns felt inadvertently more tense than they were on the other floors.
They couldn''t be med for feeling like this, after all, the previous floors were harrowing enough for them to warrant the caution.
No mutated monsters, no tricky formations, magical traps, special areas, Afflictions or false environment for that case. The floors were so normal with normal monsters that for a long time, the allied ns couldn''te to terms with themselves that they were still inside the same dungeon.
The difference was that stark.
Thanks to the severe drop in the danger levels, they were able to finally take a breather andpose their resolve and spirits once again. The floors had also provided the allied ns with a safe haven to recover from their exhaustion and the friction that was apparent among the ns.
It also provided them with time to think about their strategy and the abnormality disyed by the dungeon.
Of course, it was not without reason that the floors became far more easier to clear than before even though these floors were ced below the others. If one thought that it was easy to clear, then they would be gravely mistaken and fall for the trapid by the demon, just like the allied ns did.
Simon looked at the invaders who had just cleared the 89th floor seemingly easily and grinned. The reason why the 88th and the 89th floors were designed to be so easy and had noplex designs and mechanisms like the other floors before it, was because the floors were designed by him to be like that.
The 88th and 89th floors had something in them that the other floors didn''t. It was because of the existence of these things that he specifically barred anyone from his side from entering those floors.
The Forest Spring Sprits were denied ess to these floors nor any mutated monster or special mechanism was ced here.
It was because it would simply be a waste of resources. The things that were on these floors, were ipatible with others and affected everything around them even things that originated from the dungeon itself.
The very fact that whatever that was inside these floors even affected things from the dungeon, meant that it didn''t originate from the dungeon. And in fact, that was the case.
The things that were ced on these floors were although bought from the [Shop], were in fact originally something that could only be purchased from the [Shop] option of the Lace menu.
That is to say, they were things that didn''t belong to the dungeon.
It was no wonder that it was ipatible with all the things around the dungeon and even affected everything around it. What''s more, given the extreme inconspicuous nature of these things, the enemy had no idea that they had already fallen for his traps.
Their faces were excited and jubnt from thinking that the dungeon was finally out of resources to throw at them.
Little did they know that, it was only just the beginning. These floors were the only areas they could breathe in respite. The uing floors were far more challenging and dangerous than the ones they have experienced so far.
"Inform Melinda, it is finally time we expand this small chink that appeared on their armour"
Simonmanded. It was time he initiated the next part of his ns. Bea beside him nodded and left to execute hismand.
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89th floor¡ In front of arge rotating spherical monument, Gil-Garna and the other two kings stood as they observed the construct.
"Are you two sure? This thing does not look like an exit to me?"
The one to ask the question was Yverza. As someone from the race of Terraquake Rhinos who were gifted with strong physical bodies and no talent for magic, he was unable to spot anything special about the construct.
"We are not wrong, this thing is giving off a stable spatial fluctuation. There is no do doubt, it is our exit from this floor. What do you think Shasurna?" Gil-Garna mused and turned towards his fellow seven king beside him.
"I also feel the same. We have already searched the other areas of this floorpletely and other than this unique construct, there is no other thing that looks like our ticket to the next floor" Shasurna agreed.
"But how is that thing going to lead us to the next floor? It does not even have stairs or an exit that we can use?" Yverza voiced his doubts.
Up until now, they had used the stairs every time they descended to the next floor. This time however, things were different. There was no entrance or stairs leading to the next floor, instead, there was this thing that was rotating in a steady and mysterious manner.
"Just as I thought this thing is indeed trying to pull us in. If I am not mistaken, the ce where it wants to pull us in should be the next floor. The ce might as well be where the dungeon core is located. It will definitely be guarded by that demon, his subordinates and Melinda. We need to be careful" Gil-Garna cautioned.
"Your race does not possess a shred of talent for magic, there is no way you can sense the vast spatial fluctuationing off from this thing. Just wait and watch, this is our ticket to the next floor"
Shasurna replied offhandedly. He then along with Gil-Garna started probing it with their mana and the next second, their eyes widened in surprise.
"Just as I thought this thing is indeed trying to pull us in. If I am not mistaken, the ce where it wants to pull us in should be the next floor. The ce might as well be where the dungeon core is located. It will definitely be guarded by that demon, his subordinates and Melinda. We need to be careful" Gil-Garna cautioned.
Just like they had thought, this unusual construct was none other than a teleportation gate that led to the next floor. Given that the exit was so special and different this time, it led him to believe that dungeon core was not far.
At hismand, the allied ns started moving and preparing to descend to the next floor, their spirits high from the rest they just had.
Just as they were preparing to set off, Yverza who was unusually quiet, couldn''t help but speak out.
"Do the both of you also feel a little odd aftering out from that area?"
He pointed at awork of mountainous caverns in the distance. Although that ce was no special area, it was still windingly long with lots of monsters present. To get to the area they were currently in, one must either fly above it in which case they had to deal with aerial monsters or navigate through the cavern.
He and the others chose to navigate through the winding tunnels and ever sinceing out of it, he has been feeling a little odd. However, no matter how much he thought, he couldn''t figure out where this feeling originated from.
"Now that you mentioned it, I also had a simr feeling after I cleared the mountainous region. At first, I thought it was just me. But since you are also saying that, there must be something odd" Gil-Garna added thinking things through.
"You guys are worrying too much. It might be the sense of exhration for being this close to conquering the dungeon that you are feeling" Shasurnaughed casually dismissing their worries.
The two kings looked at each other before nodding their heads. Shasurna might be right. They were the Seven Kings of this forest, there was hardly anything that could affect them.
And so, brushing off their odd feeling, they proceeded towards the next floor. On the instructions of the three kings, the allied ns roused their mana and probed the teleport gate.
Immediately, a suction force enveloped each and every one of them and with a sh of light, they disappeared from the area.
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Gil-Garna felt an unknown energy envelop every inch of his body before everything around him was covered in white.
How long had passed? When he came back to himself, he found himself inside some kind of chamber that was half flooded with water. Sounds of running streams and sshing water could heard from the distance, evidence that he was not alone.
There was no one beside him, the fellow kings, the ogre n or the allied army. There was not even a trace of them that could be sensed here.
"Were we teleported randomly all around this floor?" Gil-Garna narrowed his eyes. His body moved at a breakneck speed and his hands erupted into infernal fire that dug into an alligator like monster that jumped at him.
SPLASH¡ there was a ssh of blood and a few dying growls before the alligator like monster sumbed to its fate.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Chapter 876- Three Kings Vs Three Overlords
Chapter 876- Three Kings Vs Three Overlords
After quickly disposing of the monster, he looked around him.
"I can''t sense any familiar presence here. I must have been teleported quite far away. Talk about creating something annoying"
Gil-Garna clicked his tongue. He was sure that they had all been teleported to the next floor. However, where he was or where did the others got teleported to, he had no idea.
"So he ns to separate us this time huh? I am quite sure many of the members of our allied n would have a tough time if they were to encounter those unusual monsters. There might be some casualty this time" he narrowed his eyes.
"Well there is no point thinking about it. Let''s clear this area as fast as possible so I can meet with others".
And so, the ck Ogre King started to pulverise through everything as he proceeded forward. The ce he was in, was called the Underground Chamber which was on the verge of being submerged and harboured many aquatic monsters.
On his way, he met many unusual beings that were no less strange than the Crypt Scarabs he had met on the previous floors. As for their levels, they were all above level 400.
However, unlike the crypt scarabs who had mind boggling numbers, the creatures in this submerged chamber had their own unique point and that was they were able to coordinate with each other and attack even from underwater.
It need not even be mentioned how much of an edge being able to coordinate an attack from underwater gave this monster. On many asions, Gil-Garna had quite a headache to deal with them.
Heck, the idea of evaporating this ce down even crossed his mind for a second there. That said, no matter how much trouble these monsters were to deal with, the opponent they were facing was after all one of the Seven Kings and the king of the ck ogre, a rare individual who was able to grow a violet horn.
Heck, the idea of evaporating this ce down even crossed his mind for a second there. That said, no matter how much trouble these monsters were to deal with, the opponent they were facing was after all one of the Seven Kings and the king of the ck ogre, a rare individual who was able to grow a violet horn.
Adept in both magic and closebat, these monster stood no chance against him. And so, after a long while of gruelling fight and exhausting travel, Gil-Garna finally arrived in front of a stupendouslyrge gate that seemed like the exit from this ce.
Ding¡ [You have arrived before the Submerged Well. Defeat the Deep Sea Alligator King to exit the ce] And of course, this ce also had its own [Scenario].
"Hmm? Deep Sea Alligator King?"
Gil-Garna frowned. The name sounded oddly familiar to him. In fact, he had met such a being before too, someone who tried to challenge them once a long time ago and was chased away from the Western region of the forest.
"It couldn''t be those letdowns who upied the northern region of the forest right?".
In any case, he pushed the massive gate open and was immediately flooded by waves of water that poured in. Beyond the gate, was a massive hall submerged in water that reached up to an adult human''s head.
Even with his height, which was well over 6 feet, Gil-Garna was barely able to stand still. In the middle of the hall, there was an enormous dark well that looked like the maw of the abyss.
A faint presence could be felt from deep inside that well. When the Ogre King entered inside the hall, the gate closed behind him leaving no room for retreat.
The ce was dark with no light present. An eerie silence pervaded the ce and the only sound that rang out was the sshing noise from his movements.
Time passed by¡ just as Gil-Garna slowly made his way over to the edges of the well, the entire ce started trembling with waves crashing all over the room. A massive column of water rose from the well and besieged the hall in all directions.
Its first target was the ogre king who deftly avoided the attack and retreated back. Nevertheless, with so much water filling the hall, the overall level of water rose, making it impossible for anyone to remain standing.
Gil-Garna was forced to use his Mana Wings.
"So you are finally willing to show yourself huh?" As he started at the dark well, an enormous figure emerged from within. Its eyes glowed underwater and when it finally peeked its head out, its figure could finally be seen clearly.
Pointed snout, elongated jaws riddled with razor sharp teeth and menacing appearance that could scare anyone. The creature had ckish grey skin covered with bony te shaped scales that indicated its powerful defence.
It had an enormous body and an equally long tail to boot. There was no doubt, it was the Deep Sea Alligator King that Gil-Garna was familiar of.
"Hoh, to think that I would meet you here. Did you bow in submission to that demon?"¡
"Insolence, you dare speak to my master like that?"
The Deep Sea Alligator King roared in anger. Itsrge murky brown eyes stared at the ogre king without a shred of fear. If it was previously, the former wouldn''t even dare to peek its head out of the water after all, it still vividly remembered the defeat he had once suffered from one of the seven kings, the Emerald Viperlord Shasurna.
However, this time was different. Not only was he far stronger than before, but he also found an ideal home where he and his nsmen could grow stronger without needing to be in the fear of the seven kings continuously.
As could be seen from the faint changes that urred to the appearance of the Deep Sea Alligator King. It could now stand on its two hindlegs and showed high intelligence, a tell tale sign that it was not far away from achieving a humanoid form.
It now not only dared to peak its head in front of one of the beings who stood on an equal level as the Emerald Viperlord, but even argue back.
"Heh, it looks like you have grown quite some galls in these few years. Did you forget about that humiliating defeat you suffered under the hands of Shasurna? I remember him telling me how you pathetically begged for your life and had to leave your former home behind"
Gil-Garna mocked, recounting the tales he heard from the Emerald Viperlord. However, contrary to his expectation, not only did the Deep Sea Alligator King not get angry, but it even grinned in return.
"That was past, this time if we were to fight again, the results would be quite different from before"¡
"Hoh?!! How so? Let me experience where you are getting that confidence from for myself" Gil-Garna clenched his hands, the powerful aura of a being well above level 700 descended onto the ce.
Facing that pressure, the eyes of the Deep Sea Alligator King shook for a second but was covered with an unyielding determination the next second.
He had been given a mission by his lord and master who provided him with all sorts of unconditional resources and environment to grow. If he didn''t show the results of his growth, then it would only be shaming itself.
And so giving a deep guttural roar that vibrated the very air, the deep sea alligator king roused its own powers. The energy of a level 600 being flooded the ce and shed against the Ogre King''s.
"Interesting¡ show me what you have got"
Feeling the surge of power, Gil-Garna grinned widely. The next second he activated his own skill Infernal ws to sh against the massive barbed tail that came swatting at him. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
BOOM¡ air was sted apart and massive waves churned inside the room. The skill from Gil-Garna caused a small part of the tail to be charred ck; nevertheless, the force from it was still able to push him back and crash into the wall.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ right after that huge water missiles spewed by the Deep Sea Aligator King came targeting him.
"Hellfire ze" a soft mutter leaked from Gil-Garna and at the same time a powerful heat capable enough to instantly evaporate the surrounding water and the water missiles before they even got close, radiated out of his body.
mes churned and revolved around him like a tornado. Any attack and skills that came at him were instantly evaporated. Not only that, the violet horn on his forehead shed and extreme winds capable enough to tear anything apart, started brewing around with him at the centre.
Two advanced magic at the same time and all it took was a couple of seconds to invoke them. From this, one could gauge how powerful one of the Seven Kings was.
"This isn''t everything that you can do right? Come, show me your abilities".
In return to his taunt, the Deep Sea Aligator King thrashed around creating swirls in the surface of the water all around the hall. What came out of those swirls a few secondster were beings who resembled lIzardmen but were made of water.
ROAARRR¡ at his roar, these lizardmen charged towards Gil-Garna unafraid of life and death. That was not all, after creating numerous lizardmen, the Deep Sea Alligator king submerged itself back into the water and started circling around his opponent.
Its massive body along with its momentum created a huge whirlpool that offset some of the heat and wind from the two advanced magic. Utilising this chance, the lizardmen who now transformed into a jet of water came crashing down on Gil-Garna.
"Not bad¡" thetter grinned. A crimson shade appeared on his skin and his body increased in size in the blink of an eye.
Chapter 877- Three Kings Vs Three Overlords (2)
877 Chapter 877- Three Kings Vs Three Overlords (2)
"[Raging Havoc Smash]"
BANG¡ he sted a punch in the air that created a tunnel of vacuum that blew apart any and all iing attacks. The race of ck Ogres were not only blessed in magic, but they were also gifted with a strong physical body for closebat.
And even among his race, Gil-Garna was a step above. The punch he threw just now was one of exclusive abilities of his race that utilised the berserk mana flowing into the body and the powerful physical body of an Ogre to create a physical chaotic effect.
A single punch destroyed all the attacks from the Deep Sea Alligator King. However, the battle was far from over. The eyes of one of the former overlord of the north, said it all.
...
While Gil-Garna was battling the Deep Sea Alligator King, on another corner of the floor, Yverza and Shasurna who were simrly teleported to a random ce on the 90th floor, were also engaged in a fierce fight against the Lightning Draconic Serpent and the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon.
The former overlords of the north were now acting as the defence and shield of the dungeon fighting against the rulers of the forest, the seven kings.
From the blinding shes and roaring explosions that shook the ground for dozens of miles, creating craters and devastating every structure around them, the intensity of the fight could be imagined.
The three overlords of the north although strong, weren''t at the levels they were in right now previously. It was only after submitting to Simon anding to the dungeon did they start growing.
Their level which had stagnated at thete level 400, exploded and helped them reach levels beyond their expectations from the numerous resources they received from the demon and the dungeon.
In fact, the quantity and quality of resources they received, was multiple times greater than even some of the Seven Kings who had theirir in mana enriched ces of the forest.
Given the numerous advantages and the effects of pride that extended to any and all beings under Simon''s dominion, it was only natural that they broke out of their shells and reached levels unimaginable even to them.
.
.
BOOOM¡ two massive forces collided, sending shockwaves that reverberated through the battlefield, shaking the very foundations of the earth. A tiny and a massive figure charged at each other, massive craters formed wherever their attacksnded in a violent disy of power.
One of them had a lower serpentine body with emerald scales decorating their body and utilising a long harpoon while the other figure had a gigantic body with sturdy looking crystal like scales protruding from every corner of their body.
A wide jaw filled with spear like teeth andrge horns that looked like millennium old rocks, decorated their head. The being stared on with its two draconic eyes and opened its mouth to dish out a powerful breath attack.
The two figures were none other than Shaurna the Emerald Viperlord and the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon.
Tsk¡ the former clicked his tongue and swiftly avoided the breath attack. Even for Shasurna that attack was dangerous and would no doubt injure him. He was not Yverza and didn''t have the natural fortress like armour thetter did.
That said, as a rare individual from his race, the way he fought and the abilities he possessed did give him the right to call himself one of the seven kings. As could be seen from the way he easily manoeuvred through the terrain going around the many earth spikes, boulder like mountains and cracked earth to reach his opponent.
The terrain no doubt gave an absolute advantage to his opponent; however, that was not a problem for Shasurna. In fact, even as the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon hid himself inside the earth and used its powerful earth maniption skill to deal surprise attacks from below, he who could see the heat signs of his target thanks to the exclusive skill he possessed could easily dodge them.
Not only that, his attacks were as unusual as his maniacal movements.
"[Ice Serpent Strike]" Using a rock to change direction abruptly using her tail, Shasurna leapt up, swirled her harpoon and thrust towards the earth thrice.
Extreme cold haze that took the shapes of snakes the next second slithered out of the harpoon and charged in a motion that seemed like they were actual living entities. The ice snakes that were each ten feet long, tunnelled inside the earth while leaving an extreme cold wind behind.
"Haha, this is fun. I have fought with the likes of you before. What was it? Ah, that''s right you call yourselves the three overlod of the north. Right, Deep Sea Alligator King was it? Anyways, I have fought with that brat before. However, unlike you, he wasn''t able to give me as much excitement in battle as I am having right now".
He kept dishing out attacks as he spoke. Large swathes of earth and mountains were quickly covered in ice wherever he went.
"Honestly, that guy was a disappointment. At first, I thought that I would make him my subordinate; however, when I saw him begging for his life when he lost to me, I felt so repulsed that I changed my mind. Instead, I kicked him out of the western region of the forest".
BOOM¡ finally as if unable to handle the attack that tunnelled into the ground, the Earth Shattering Lower dragon surfaced out.
Large swathes of sand and dirt fell down along withrge clusters of ice, signs that even after tunnelling into the ground, they did not lose any of their power.
"Aren''t you something? This is the first time somebody is able to take on so many of my attacks and still stay standing. How about it? Do you want to be my subordinate? As it turns out, the position of my direct subordinate is empty right now"
"If you are willing to bow to me, I can give you that seat. You shall enjoy resources and power that no ordinary monster in this forest would even dream of" Shasurna looked at the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon and offered.
Even though arge portion of its body was covered in ice and those sturdy ancient crystals on its back were cracked and broken, thetter still stood there standing defiantly.
"Fool who doesn''t know what''s better for them. Very well, I shall show you how naive your thoughts are. Did you really think you can win against me, one of the seven kings of the Ghastly Winding Forest just because you have breached level 600? Let me show you what it means to stand on the realm that we are in¡ Arctic Harpoon Fury"
Right as he spoke those words, a powerful cold to the extreme blizzard emitted out of the harpoon covered the area, freezing thends in the blink of an eye.
...
While this happened, in another area, somewhere on the 90th floor.
"[Titanic Adamantine Barrage]" Yverza who was facing the Lightning Draconic Serpent utilised his own advanced skill.
"[World Thunder Dome]"
Facing the attack that was a pure marvel of physical strength and extreme defence, the Lightning Draconic Serpent did not dare to slight it and used its own most powerful attack.
The peak of the mountain was immediately covered with crimson thunder clouds that generated an extreme amount of thunder. Even before their attacks collided, the air crackled with raw magic and sheer physical force.
BOOOM¡ and then with a devastating might that blew apart the very mountain and everything and anything in dozens of miles around them, the two attacks collided.
"Dammit, I was blown back quite far"
Yverzamented as he slowly pulled himself out of the debris of the mountain. The force from their previous collision had sent him flying from the top of the mountain peak to here. Nevertheless, thanks to his endogenous armour, he suffered minimal damage.
"Alright, I admit you are quite good. Amongst my subordinates, only Grom and Durak can match up to you. However, it is still too naive for you to think that you can defeat me. Lightning Draconinc Serpent, how about we end this¡. Huh?"
Yverza who was in the midst of a giving an internal monologue, suddenly noticed that his opponent was missing. Heck, forget about their presence, not even the sign of their existence could be felt.
The only thing that was left in ce of them was the quietly rotating formation which slowly got smaller before disappearingpletely.
At the same time, simr scenes also urred in the other ces. Shasurna noticed the disappearance of the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon after it suddenly went berserk and unleashed all of its strength at once to counter his [Arctic Harpoon Fury].
Inside the submerged chamber, Gil-Garna looked at the disappearing formation at the bottom of the well before muttering in an annoyed and frustrated tone. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"So it ran away huh? Dammit, I will not forgive you for insulting my honour" He grit his teeth releasing his skill [Ogre Overlord''s Prestige].
His skin slowly returned to normal and he was back to his original size from the hulking three meter crimson giant he had be.
[Ogre Overlord''s Prestige] A lost ancient exclusive skill that allows him to utilise the full strength in his blood and revert to his original form. Given that he had invested so much of his time and even resorted to using one of his most powerful skills and trump cards to fight his opponent, thetter''s retreat naturally pissed him off.
Chapter 878- Call from Melinda
878 Chapter 878- Call from Melinda
Ding¡ at this moment, a notification from the dungeon appeared in front of Gil-garna.
[You have defeated the Deep Sea Alligator King. Proceed towards the exit to receive the reward].
The Ogre King read the notification and frowned. Although his opponent ran away from him, it still technically counted as him defeating his opponent. In any case, now that there was nothing for him to do here, he did as per the notification and headed for the exit that appeared after he defeated his opponent.
The reward for defeating the Deep Sea Alligator king was quite grand and was many times more rare than what they got hold of in the previous floors after defeating the Tomb Tyrant. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Hoarding everything that was there, Gil-Garna stood in front of the teleportation circle and in the next second with a sh of light he was teleported to a different ce.
A wide sky and a lush greennd, the first thing the ogre king noticed was that he was no longer in that submerged chamber. He was out!
BUZZ¡ just as he was about to take flight and regroup with his subordinates that he could sense in the distance, an object that was ced near him in an oh so conspicuous manner, buzzed.
Shifting his head, he noticed that it was a transmission conch. That''s right, the buzzing noise came from the transmission conch that was ced near him.
In the middle of wide ins surrounded by nothing but tall grass and wild nts, there was a dais and on top of that dais there was a transmission conch which was receiving a signal at this moment.
Now if one looked at the situation, anyone with half a brain could tell that this was a set up. Or else how could anyone ce a transmission conch exactly at the area where he would exit from?
Gil-Garna had no doubt that this was something that was done by the enemy. For the other side to contact him in such a manner, naturally he was intrigued.
And so, he picked up the call and the voice that came from the other side¡ª was as expected from the enemy.
"Huhu, Congrattions on winning that fight against the Deep Sea Alligator King. That was an exhrating show or should I say as expected of someone who holds the same rank as me? It was a good fight".
A feminine voice that carried an inborn seductiveness and provocation to it, rang out.
Hearing that voice, Gil-Garna was stunned for a second, his mind raced with numerous thoughts as he tried to put the situation together.
"So it''s you huh? Why are you trying to contact me after ignoring all of mymunication for the past couple of months?" he questioned, his tone not so friendly.
"You don''t seem surprised that I am calling you from the enemy''s side? It looks like you had already foreseen this development. Hehe, you have a good head on top of your shoulders"¡
"Stop with your nonsense, Melinda. Do you think I''m like those ordinary ogres who would fall for it? Speak, why did you call me?" the voiceing from the other side was none other than from the Queen of the Harpies and one of the Seven Kings.
"Booo~ you are no fun. That said, I called you for a very important reason" Melinda spoke provocatively.
"Oh and what''s that?"¡
"Hehe, I called you to suggest an alliance?"¡
"Alliance?!!" Gil-Garna''s brows twitched and he replied in an indignant manner "After rejecting my offer of forming an alliance all this time, you have some nerve to suggest one now"
"What is your motive? Don''t tell me that you finally realise how foolish of an idea it was to ally yourself with the demon? Or is this one of your ruse huh?".
No matter how furious he acted outwardly, he was still rational. If it was any other ogre they would immediately fall for the provocative and coquettish voiceing from the conch and agree to her terms immediately.
However, he was different, he knew this cunning woman very well as such, he could tell that it was a trap set by her to destroy them.
It was either that or she realised that she was in grave danger now that they were this close to the dungeon core, she wanted to switch boats.
Since she has allied herself with the demon or perhaps seduced the demon and made him her puppet of sorts, in any case, her fate was now closely linked to the dungeon. If it falls, it would also spell the end for her and leave her and her nsmen vulnerable to their attacks.
She must have realised that she didn''t stand a chance at resisting against three of the Seven Kings after seeing their army arrive so close to the dungeon core and was thus nning to change boats.
No matter what it was, whether it was a trap or not, it did not matter at this point.
"Do you recall the words I sent my subordinate to give you? I told you that you would regret not joining my alliance. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and if you miss it, you won''t be able to join again. Are you regretting your choice now?"¡
"Come on, don''t be like that. Okay, I admit that I made a mistake by not joining your alliance previously. So give me a chance now. If you want, I can even give you a free pass to the dungeon core floor"..
"You should know me, I have already brainwashed the mind of the demon who is the master of this ce. If I want to, I can easily manipte him to do my bidding. There are still a couple of floors left before you reach here. You don''t want more casualties to appear in your n right?"
The voice spoke in a mellow yet threatening tone.
Hearing her words, the first reaction that Gil-Garna had was disbelief. "Impossible, you are simply throwing around empty words".
Chapter 879- Three Headed Boss Frog
879 Chapter 879- Three Headed Boss Frog
They had already descended so many floors and overcame numerous monsters andplex mechanisms on their way. Even if it was an unusual dungeon, there has to be a limit for things right? There is no way there could be more floors like these after this.
"It''s your wish if you want to believe me or not. In any case, you can always give it a try. However, I wonder if you really want to gamble with the remaining lives of your nsmen"...
"I know you are a very ambitious men. You have been amassing your strength and slowly building your n to eventually surpass all the other king ns. You don''t want to share the throne but sit on it by yourself. So do you really want to destroy all your efforts like this?"
There was a silence for a while as none of the parties said anything after that. However, this silence didn''tst for long and was broken by Gil-Garna who tightly gripped the transmission conch.
"Enough with your nonsense. I know that you won''t allow a safe passage to the dungeon core without any reason. What are you scheming?" he barked out.
"What a rude thing to say. However, since you have asked let me tell you what I want¡"¡
.
.
A few distance away, the allied ns who felt the presence of one of the seven kings, started gathering near him.
They who had been randomly teleported to all across the floor, were struggling to fight the monsters and working their way out.
To make matters worse, they couldn''t even contact their superiors or the ones directly above them. In a state where they were uncertain about what was going on, they could only wander around randomly trying to find theirrades and superiors.
At a time like this, the ogre king''s presence was like a beacon of light drawing the uncertain and the lost towards him. .
.
"How about it? That way, you get what you want and I get what I want"
"Hmph"
Crack¡ When they arrived at the scene, they saw the ogre king talking to someone on the transmission conch before breaking it.
Seeing that his mood didn''t look good, they didn''t know whether to approach him or not. Some time passed by, it was then that the ogre king turned towards them andmanded.
"What are you all standing around for? Quickly form teams to search for others. The allied ns have been teleported randomly all around the floor. Find them and get to clearing the ce"
On Gil-Garna''smand, the n members hurriedly left to carry out his orders. After that, he hurriedly unfolded his mana wings and took to the skies.
He seemed to be in a particrly bad mood as such, he failed to notice that his entire conversation had been spied on by a couple of allied n members who had good hearing.
Nevertheless, since their position was much below the seven kings, they did not dare to speak about it out loud nor ask about it from him. That said, even though they couldn''t discuss it with one of the seven kings, it was only a matter of time before it spread amongst the allied ns. N?v(el)B\\jnn
In another corner of the 90th floor, just like how Gil-Garna was teleported to a random ce after he cleared the area he was in, the other two kings were also simrly teleported to a random ce.
With a sh of light, Yverza found himself on top of the roof of a ruin. Abandoned buildings with dust and cracks covered his vision and there was a bright blue sky above him. He was out!! "Right now, we were in the midst of exploring this area of the floor. We just came here thinking that we might discover something inside the ruins, when we found you here"¡
12:48
However, unlike Gil-Garna he wasn''t alone nor was there a transmission conch ced in front of him. It was just him and a couple of members of the allied ns who were also teleported here randomly.
"Lord Yverza!!"
When these members say him, they hurriedly kneeled and gave their respect.
The former nodded, looked around before asking "Do any of you know where we are?"¡
"Yes, this area seems to be the border of south eastern region of the floor. If we head further south from here, we will eventually hit the wall" one of the subordinates answered.
"I see, it looks like we were teleported quite far. Anyways, how is the exploration going? Have you guys met with the others yet?"¡
"About that, we tried to contact our superiors and leaders. However, we are unable to get in touch with them. We also tried to find others around the area but other than the ones we started with, we haven''t found anyone else yet"...
"Right now, we were in the midst of exploring this area of the floor. We just came here thinking that we might discover something inside the ruins, when we found you here"¡
Hearing the subordinates reply, Yverza made a conflicted face. From what he could tell, quite some time must have passed while he was clearing the area he was teleported to.
Then there was also the fight he was engaged not long ago. Adding up all that, quite some time must have passed. By now, the allied army which was scattered throughout the floor should have gathered themselves or at least mademunication with the rest of the allied or n or so he thought.
However, the answer he received was different from his expectations.
What was going on? Why didn''t any of the leaders and direct subordinates selected to lead the allied ns send any reports or try to handle the situation yet?
Feeling something off, Yverza took out his transmission conch. That was when he noticed that he had received several transmission calls from his subordinates.
However, the transmissions were all interrupted and weren''t properly disseminated.
"Gorm can you hear? Durak are you there? Respond if you find my transmission. Dammit, what are they doing? Why is no one picking up my transmission?" the Ivory Terraquake Rhino spat in frustration.
Chapter 880- Three Headed Boss Frog (2)
Chapter 880- Three Headed Boss Frog (2)
"Lord Yverza, what are your orders for us?"
The group of allied members kneeling in front of him questioned. He was just about to respond to them, when the transmission conch in his hand buzzed.
Seeing that it was from one of his direct subordinates, he quickly picked up the call.
"ZZZzzz¡. TZZzzz Haa!... Haa!... L-lord Yverza¡" The sound that came from the other end of the conch, contained a lot of static and huffing. The transmission also disconnected and connected intermittently making it very difficult to make any sense.
"Gorm?! Is that you? Where are you and what are you doing? Why aren''t you not responding to my transmission?"¡
"L-lord¡ Yverza.. I am¡ sorry¡ that¡ it was not my fault¡ that monster.. suddenly¡ we were¡ unexpected. We tried contacting¡ Durak¡ he¡ there was¡" The voice was clearly panicked muttering gibberish that did not make any sense.
"Calm down, you are not making any sense. Did you say Durak? Is he with you? Why is he not responding to my calls?"
On Yverza''s words, the voice on the other end finally calmed down.
"About that¡ " Gorm slowly recounted the event that urred after all of them were teleported randomly on this floor.
As it turned out just like him, his two subordinates were also sent to a special ce and had to clear the scenarios if they wanted to get out. Fortunately for them, they were teleported to the same area as such after meeting with each other, they started clearing the ce together.
Two beings above level 600, needless to say, they absolutely steamrolled through the trial defeating any obstacle and monster standing in their way.
Things seemed normal and alright so far until they reached the final chamber. That''s when things started going straight downhill. The monster in the final chamber was a three headed bipedal frog like monster that was more than ten feet tall.
Not only could it spit acid andcerate a substance that made physical attacks less effective on it, but it could also use three types of elements from each of its heads.
What''s more the central head could even cast some powerful advanced magic. This coupled with the numerous unusual and high grade lost skills it possessed the creature was a force on its own.
For the race of Terraquake Rhino whose gifts were their powerful endogenous armour and physical body, the monster was their worst matchup.
Nevertheless, their levels were not for show. They were beings who were above level 600 and the monster was only around the middle stages of level 500.
With them working together, although it took some time but they finally defeated it. Or so they had thought; however, things transpired far different from what they had imagined.
Yverza locked his brows and tightly clenched his hands while he listened to thetter half of the story which had a surprising climax. As it turns out, the thing didn''t die even after they killed it. It possessed multiple lives.
To be more exact, it only had one life; however, to kill it, one had to cull down all three of its heads at once or else it would keeping back to life again and again sprouting new heads.
This was a piece of information they weren''t aware of it at that point in time and the way they got to know about it was in exchange for a very heavy price.
They who thought that they had defeated the monster, let their guard down, a mistake they paid with blood.
It happened in the next instant, the extremely long and strange tongue of the monster wrapped around Durak and pulled him inside the stomach of the monster where extremely potent gastric juices were stored.
Grom who was taken aback by the whole scene, reacted a moment toote. He attacked the monsters by utilising his full strength and managed to bring it down many times.
Nevertheless, every time he thought the monster died it would strangely heal itself back and return to life. What happened next could be imagined. It was a nightmarish scene.
Durak who was trapped inside the stomach of the monster was slowly suffocated inside while the highly potent grastic juices slowly melted away the extremely sturdy endogenous armour of the Terraquake Rhino.
Gorm fought to save hisrade; however, he who couldn''t find the weakness of the monster, couldn''t do anything.
To make matters worse, this was the worst possible matchup for him and he was pressed for time. To make matters even worse, the Three Headed Boss Frog was a highly sentient monster, as soon as it trapped one enemy, it started avoiding the other¡ jumping from one corner of the hall to another.
In such a situation, with all the odds stacked against him, it was almost impossible for Gorm to save Durak. And so by the time, the former figured out the trick behind the opponent''s immortality and defeated it, it was already toote.
Too much time had passed since Durak was trapped inside the stomach of the Three Headed Boss Frog.
Being suffocated and surrounded by extremely potent gastric juices, his whole body had melted, his life drained, leaving only the most sturdiest part of the Terraquake Rhino their skeleton.
And just like that, a level 600 being who invoked terror and reverence just by their name, a Direct subordinate of the Seven King____ died.
Durak the Metal Tower and one of the right hand man of the Ivroy Terrraquake Rhino, Yverza was dead. There was an absolute silence¡ however, under this silence, a terrible pressure enough to instantly knock out any low level being, brew. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Heck, the pressure was so great that even the ground bore the mark. A depression formed on the ground with him at the centre.
The Ivory Terrauake Rhino, one of the Seven kings was so furious after listening to the report of his subordinate that he nked out for a second letting loose all of his aura without any constraint.
Chapter 881- Breaking the Allied Clans
881 Chapter 881- Breaking the Allied ns
"This¡ can''t be¡ Durak can''t die so easily. He is one of my strongest men. He can''t die by a mere monster"
After the silence, came denial. Yverza was in disbelief, the one of his strongest subordinates ended up dying. If it was an informationing off from somebody else, he would have just scoffed at it or killed the informer on the spot.
However, the information came from none other than from one of his direct subordinates. Someone who was present there during the incident.
BANG¡ A powerful energy st immediately crushed the nearby area and Yverza flew up, unfurling his mana wings. His destination¡ª the Hidden Forge.
.
.
Back inside the Main hall of the Main Floor. Simon and the others looked on as Bea appeared along with Melinda, the Queen of the harpies in tow.
As soon as she entered, the first thing she did was bow towards the master of the dungeon Simon, while exuding her natural sultry aura.
Grrr¡ in front of her, Bea growled like a wild cat when she saw that.
Melinda ignored her and continued to nod her head towards the other members inside the hall. Being the Queen of the Harpies who was used to managing arge n by herself, she was very good when it came to governing.
The ones seated inside were people who were closest and most trusted by the dungeon master. Naturally, she knew how to make an impression on them.
The others also returned back her greeting. To be able toe here, no the very fact that she was able to set foot here on the Main Floor showed her standing and the Dungeon Master''s attitude towards her.
Simon observed his subordinates before initiating the conversation.
"How are those three?" he posed a question. The three he mentioned were none other than the previous three overlords of the forest who now became his subordinates.
"They are fine. Although they took some severe damage, they managed toe out from all of this with their life intact"
Melinda answered. She just came back from the floor where the three former overlords, the Deep Sea Alligator King, the Lightning Draconic Serpent and the Earth Shattering Lower Dragon were.
"I see" Simon nodded. It was great and all using the former overlord to test out the concept of the boss areas.
However, that aside, the fight with the three kings was a dangerous one with the scale heavily tipped against them. Naturally, there was a chance of the former overlords dying.
Fortunately, he was able to get them out using the teleport formation he purchased from the shop for them.
"Hehe, Lord Simon does not have to worry, although they are severely injured, it isn''t to the point where it would im their life. In fact, I am amazed that they were able toe out with only this much injury after facing three of the seven kings"...
"They aren''t bad seeds, if nurtured properly they can soar quite high. Ah, I have also given them the reward you sent for them. Their injury should heal in a couple of days" Melinda added.
"That''s great news. They have done a lot, thanks to them we were able to learn so much about the skills andbat style of all the three kings".
Irenemented. As someone who managed the dungeon and acted as the proxy dungeon master in Simon''s absence, she knew a lot of his ns and actions that he took. As such, she could easily deduce his reasoning for pitting the two sides together.
"Anyways, you also did a good job. With your transmission call, the trap has been set. Take a seat, watch with us how this trap blows up their alliance".
On her words, Melinda abided and took a seat by Mars'' side who was right now in his humanoid form. As someone who had breached level 700 after receiving a name, the aura he naturally exuded was no weaker than the seven kings.
Melinda naturally felt that and couldn''t help but feel inwardly surprised. All the people here although not allbatants, had their own unique points and strengths.
For example, she could feel a mysterious energy that was simr to nature itself,ing from some of the green haired people here.
There were also beings here like Prime who she had never encountered before. Not to mention the Mistress of this dungeon whose strength she could not fathom even after using the Appraisal skill and the maids.
Andstly, there was the master of the dungeon himself, a being who sat quietly and exuded an unshakable confidence even while facing three of the seven kings together. How could she not be surprised?
That said, her surprise didn''tst long as her attention was taken over by the events transpiring on the 90th floor shown by the multiple windows floating around the hall.
The trap that she had set, the transmission call that she had made to Gil-Garna on Simon''s orders was slowly spreading all over the alliance like a virus.
That''s right, the transmission call was none other than the idea of the Dungeon Master. At first, even she thought that it was an unusual n and was not sure if it would help.
However, seeing the events that were transpiring now in front of her eyes, she finally understood how devious and impressive the idea was.
At the same time, she couldn''t help but feel awe and fear at the man who came up with such an idea.
.
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90th floor¡ the Hidden Gallows. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Yverza stood before what could now only be called as the remains of what used to be his subordinate and slowly looked down.
His hands were clenched and his endogenous armour reflected his veins that were bulged due to anger.
How long had passed? Yverza continued to stand there motionless even after the remains were gobbled up by the dungeon. Due to his helmet and the inclination of his head, it was unknown what kind of expression he was making.
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
ViciousPepper
Chapter 882- Breaking The Allied Clans (2)
882 Chapter 882- Breaking The Allied ns (2)
Due to his helmet, it was impossible to see his face. However, one thing was clear from the slight trembling of his body, he was furious.
A loss of level 600+ wasn''t something that one could get over with in a day or two.
"Ah, I knew I would find you here" At this moment, a rustling noise sounded out followed by the appearance of Shasurna.
"Why are you here? I think I made myself clear when Gil-Garna came here. I said that I need some time alone¡ so get lost" Yverza was not in the mood to mind hisnguage nor up for some small talks with his fellow king.
"Don''t be like that, I know exactly how you feel. If you remember, I too lost my direct subordinate to this dungeon a couple of floors ago"
Shasurna did not mind Yverza''s unfriendly behaviour and continued to move forward with his slithery tail. As he said, he knew exactly how Yverza felt since he too had lost a direct subordinate not too long ago.
As such, it could be said that if there was anyone who couldn''t tell what he was thinking and going through, it would be the Emerald Viperlord.
"Why did youe here? Don''t tell me it is for a stupid reason like what Gil-Garna came here for. I don''t need your stupid constion and I am still sane. The Dungeon is still our top priority, I know how to separate my personal interest from our joint objective"
Yverza spoke turning his head around slightly.
"Hoh, Gil-Garna was here? Well, I expected him to have made his move already. Anyway, I am not here to console you or tell you all those nonsense. The reason why I came here is to inform you of something"¡
"What? What do you mean?" To his surprise, Shasurna wasn''t here to console nor speak of words offort to him. In fact the next words that came out of thetter''s mouth were so shocking that he couldn''t help but turn his head around.
"Do you know the reason why your subordinate died?"..
BANG¡ At those words from Shasurna, Yverza lost control of his aura causing the whole chamber to creak and copse.
"What do you mean? Do you know something? What is the real reason behind my subordinate''s death?"¡
"Calm down, I will tell you everything. However, before that I need you to agree on a few conditions of mine"..
"State"¡
"Hehe, it''s nothing much. I want you to tell me what kind of agreement you had with Gil-Garna" The Emerald Viperlord shrugged "If I am going to tell you an information as important as that, I need some kind of evidence that proves that we are allies. If you can tell me the truth, I am willing to tell you the reason behind the death of your subordinate"¡
"Agreement?!" Yverza arched his brows uncertain why the other party would suddenly ask him that.
Nevertheless, he still replied truthfully. At this moment, knowing the truth behind the death of his direct subordinate was more important to him. N?v(el)B\\jnn
After the Ivory Terraquake stopped reciting the agreement he had with Gil-Garna, Shasurna nodded his head.
"As expected, it really was as I thought" he uttered in a low voice.
"I told you what you wanted. Now tell me what do you know about the death of my subordinate" Yverza dered impatiently.
"Fine, let me tell you this¡ the death of your subordinate wasn''t by ident, it was nned"¡
"What?!!"¡
"You heard it, it was nned" Shasurna started recounting what happened after they were all teleported to this floor.
"We the seven kings were all teleported to special areas which are guarded by the most powerful monsters of the dungeon. The allied ns were sent scattered all around the floor. With us gone, and our appointed subordinates scattered, the allied army was in shambles"
"What''s more, there were severalrge areas on the floor where a barrier was installed which jammed the transmission conch. As such, they couldn''t even send transmission calls to contact their leaders. In such a situation, the allied ns still continued to explore the dungeon"
"Time passed by and we finally came out of the special areas. The teams nearest to us contacted us immediately. As it turns out the team that sensed the presence of Gil-Garna were mine".
Shasurna''s eyes became venomous and his tail thrashed loudy.
"From this point on, things get interesting. When my team reached Gil-Garna, they unknowingly heard the conversation between him and the Queen of the Harpies¡
.
.
"Enough with your nonsense. I know that you won''t allow a safe passage to the dungeon core without any reason. What are you scheming?" Gil-garna barked out at the transmission conch in his hand.
"What a rude thing to say. However, since you have asked let me tell you what I want¡" the voice that came out from the other end was none other than the Queen of the harpies.
"I want half of this dungeon. I know that you have been scheming against the backs of the other seven kings. You have no intentions of sharing the dungeon with them. The only reason why you even proposed the idea of an alliance was because you knew that just conquering the dungeon with your ogre n alone would leave them in a vulnerable state after"
"So to not only conquer the dungeon in one go and to make sure that no other king ns in the forest are a threat, you proposed an alliance to make use of their strength. The dungeon would take care of weakening them and once their numbers dwindled, the other king ns would no longer be in a state where they could attack the ogre n"
"Then at the crucial moment, you will betray the other two kings and steal the dungeon core from under their noses. Once you get hold of the dungeon core, you will then use all its resources to fight off the other kings and push them out of the dungeon. This way, you achieve both the goals at once".
Chapter 883- Breaking The Allied Clans (3)
883 Chapter 883- Breaking The Allied ns (3)
Gil-Garna was silent as he heard Melinda recite his ns. Her story was quite detailed and managed to perfectly capture many of his thoughts.
Sigh¡ After a while, he took a deep breath and calmly spoke on the conch "Impressive, you really are something. This is the first time I have seen someone guess my whole n. However, no matter how closely you can guess my n, do you have any proof?"
"In the end isn''t this all your spection? I am sure the other kings have their own ns. Everyone is for themselves, there is nothing wrong in cing one''s interest first. Don''t you think so too?"¡
"I do and our ideologies matches too which is why I am contacting you this way. I have done my part, you will soon hear the news. I hope that you fulfil your end too. Let us rule this dungeon as its Queen and King"
CLACK¡ the transmission ended there, leaving a baffled and confused Gil-Garna standing there holding a transmission conch.
.
.
"And that''s all of it. Thest thing my n members saw was Gil-Garna crushing the transmission conch. So what do you think? Now do you know the reason why your subordinate died?" Back inside the Hidden Gallows, Shasurna spoke with a smirk.
"This¡ are you sure about it?"
Yverza was sceptic, he was not a fool, he could see that the Emerald Vierplord had some ulterior motive for telling him all that.
"Whether I am lying or not, you can simply find that out from your own n members. I''m sure a couple of them were in the area when this happened. They will tell you the exact same thing" Shasurna shrugged.
"Are you telling me my subordinate died because Gil-Grna is scheming against us and has joined hands with the queen of the harpies?"¡
"That''s right, or else how do you exin this part? Out of all the three king ns, the ogre ns are the only ones incurring the least amount of injuries. My direct subordinate Surtana died drastically weakening the snakemen n and now even one of your subordinate died"
"Our two ns have suffered disastrous losses while the ogre n still retains most of its power. I am sure you can see it now on which side Gil-Garna is on. This was his n from the beginning. Weaken our two ns before ultimately betraying us in the end"¡
"But I had an agreement with Gil-Garna. He wouldn''t¡"
Yverza tried to reason. However, he couldn''tplete his sentence as the evidencey right in front of him.
If Gil-Garna really did betray them, then all of this could be exined. The Ivory Terraquake Rhino was silent for a while before turning around and questioning Shasurna.
"Why tell me all this? What are you scheming?"¡
Thetter spread his arms "I am not scheming anything. In fact, I brought this information to you because I don''t want to get schemed against. Now that we know Gil-Garna has joined hands with the enemy, we must join hands to fight against him or at the very least you and I cannot stand against each other when the timees"
"This is precisely what Gil-Garna wants. Since that is the case, I came up with proposing an alliance between you and me in mind. If we coborate, we should be able to thwart our Gil-Garna''s ns. What do you say?"
.
.
Time passed by and by the time the allied ns finished exploring the floor, two days had already passed by.
The 90th floor was so vast and dangerous that even with the strength of the allied ns they could only progress extremely slowly.
Additionally, there was also the news of Durak, one of the two direct subordinates of Ivory Terraquake Rhino dying in one of the special areas of the dungeon. Naturally, this affected the morale of the allied n causing them to be more cautious and slow with their advance.
With the precedence of Surtana and Durak, two beings who died even while being level 600+, the atmosphere of the allied army became more tense.
Every new area that they explored, they did so by putting their numbers against it. It was not only the allied army who was tense, the atmosphere amongst the Seven Kings was no different.
Standing in front of yet another teleportation construct that led to the next floor, the three kings pondered something in their heads. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Since its yet another teleportation gate, we should proceed keeping in mind that things may transpire as it did on this floor. We may be randomly teleported to any part of the next floor. Chances are, that many of us might even find ourselves inside those special areas"
The first to break the silence was Gil-Garna. He assumed themand and started handing out orders.
He was just telling all the teams of the allied army what to do when Yverza behind him slowly muttered a snide remark.
"You know an awful lot of what is going to happen"¡
Hearing this, Gil-Garna frowned "What do you mean?"¡
"Nothing, we were just wondering if you know so much about the next floor, so you should brief us about it more thoroughly. What kind of floor is it? How powerful are the monsters there and what are their numbers? How many special areas are on the floor and who is going to be targeted next?"
The one toment this time was Shasurna. Hezily yed with the harpoon in his hand while his eyes stared at the teleport gate on the side.
"How am I supposed to know that? All I know is that since there is another teleport gate here, the dungeon master must be nning to separate us once again"
Gil-Garna answered. He couldn''t understand the unfriendly look that the two were giving him.
Ever since they came out from the special areas they had been thrown in, he could feel that the rtionship between the three of them had be strained.
Chapter 884- Breaking The Allied Clans (4)
884 Chapter 884- Breaking The Allied ns (4)
All of them were in their guards and none of them spoke more than needed. A change that was not there before.
"Is that so?" Yverza spoke a few short words before turning around to leave.
And so one by one all the allied army teleported to the next floor¡ª the 91st floor, the ce where the fate of the allied ns would be decided once and for all.
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Main floor¡ seating on the head seat, Simon gazed at Bea next to him and ordered. "All traps have been set, sent in the Chloro Arsenalis, Antlion Giant Larvae and Three Headed Boss Frog. We will make our stand here".
Chloro Arsenalis was one of the few mutated monsters that was a product of science and magic blending together. It was a major breakthrough for the monster research department that Coleus was incharge of and was something that both Prime and Coleus had worked on.
With their extreme stealth and high firepower, they were a force to reckon with.
Since Simon had decided to make the 91st floor the ce where they would make theirst stand, he chose to reveal some of his trump cards such as the Chloro Aresenalis and the others who were responsible for defeating the level 600+ beings on the previous floors.
Bea quietly nodded her head and left to carry out his orders. As one of the few people among his subordinates who is able to use space magic, it was upon her to bring in those monsters.
After Bea left, Irene shifted her attention from the windows depicting the scene on the 91st floor before cing it on the man next to her. The man she loved and the one who won her heart.
"How confident are you?" she spoke in a tone that only the two of them could hear.
Simon looked at Irene and grinned confidently. "Very much" he answered.
"I''ll still need a number"¡ n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"100 percent". There was no lie or falseness in his voice or in his eyes. Only pure confidence and optimism that was a result of having no doubts in one''s strength, oozed from the man.
Seeing his outlook, Irene didn''tment much and shifted her attention back to the screens.
At this moment, the people inside the hall were intensely discussing as they stared at the windows depicting the scene on the 91st floor.
"There is still a lot of dy and coordinateg with the teleport gates. I can improve it, if you allow me to research it" Primemented, his body lighting up with numerous colours as he excitedly looked at the numerous things he could tinker with.
"There are also many imperfections in the traps and special areas which I set. It was only after I saw the invaders activate it, that I realised there is a difference between the way I think and the former"
Fey mused. She was finally learning from her mistakes and what better way for her to improve than to gain some on field experience?
As she saw her traps being avoided or being seen through she realised that she could not think unterally. If she wants to capture the invaders in her traps, she must learn to think like them and outsmart them in their game.
"Hmm.. Hmmm¡ great¡ so if it''s just a quarter of the crystal it brings this effect. Then what if I mash it with other crystals? Let''s see¡ the proportion of 1:5:3 works and if also throw the first and second generation breeding in the mix"...
"No, this way the power gets too diluted. I see, I can use the Variant selection for this one. Great, thanks to the invaders I''m getting a lot of great ideas"
Scribbing on his clipboard, was none other than Coleus. He was at this momentpletely immersed in the scene disyed on the window as he hurriedly jutted down notes.
His lips opened and closed uttering words like a chant. He was so absorbed in his thing that he forgot he was uttering his thoughts out loud.
It was not only Prime, Fey and Coleus who were learning from their mistakes as they watched the invaders advance through the floors but every single one of them seated inside the hall¡ including Simon.
He was able to get by so far thanks to the ample experience as a game developer in his previous life. However, such knowledge alone wasn''t enough to carry him forward to the future.
As he saw the invaders powering through the special areas and finding loopholes in his floor designs, dungeon mechanisms and even special effects, he realised that he still had much more to learn.
The knowledge he gathered in his previous life was just the building blocks for his dungeon. How to make it work and make his dungeon an imprable fortress in the future was something that he had to learn through experience.
As for others, they too were learning as they watched the scene ying out in front of them.
For a while, the entire Main hall was swept up in an atmosphere of self improvement and learning.
Seeing this change, Irene couldn''t help but smile. This kind of transformation was only something that Simon could bring. His infectious attitude of always trying to improve himself had also caught onto his subordinates making them want to try to better themselves.
This was a good change that not just anyone can bring. It takes a leader who is revered and recognised by his subordinates who actively trust him with their lives and want to be his strength.
Only a leader like that can bring on such a change. And Simon was one of them.
...
While a profound change urred inside the Main hall, the situation on the 91st floor also took a drastic turn.
Having been randomly teleported and scattered in a floor as vast as the 91st floor, the allied ns found themselves in the same situation once again. Blood flowed and many casualties urred on the allied ns side.
Chapter 885- Why dont you let me join in the fun!!
Chapter 885- Why don''t you let me join in the fun!!
Blood flowed and many casualties urred on the Allied n''s side. That said, having experienced the same thing previously, they did not panic and fought off the monsters that came attacking them.
However, it could be clearly seen that the allied n was no longer the same as before. There was some kind of undercurrent brewing among them and they were no longer in their best state.
Evenmon monsters they have been defeating around all this time, they were having a hard time defeating them now. All of this change urred in the time span that took them to clear the previous floor¡.
....
The chaos on the 91st floor went on for a long time, the undercurrent that surged within the Allied army kept bottling up like a volcano and finally, it erupted.
The moment when Bea appeared on the floor with numerous Chloro Arsenalis, Giant Atlion Larvae and Three Headed Boss Frog, the undercurrent could no longer be contained.
Chaos burst forth along with the suppressed resentment and usation. This led the allied n topletely break down and fight among themselves leaving them open to the attacks of the monsters of the dungeon.
And thus, the n that the Master of the Dungeon had been spinning all this time¡ª since the very beginning the allied n entered his dungeon¡. waspleted.
Observing everything from his Main Floor, Simon gave a wicked smile, his heterochromatic eyes burned with a fierce light.
TAP¡ he tapped on his armrest and raised to his feet. His movements immediately attracted the attention of his subordinates who turned their heads around to all look at him.
"It''s time I go clear the ants that have invaded my dungeon. I''ll be away for a short while"
Saying that Simon took the strides to exit out of the hall. His crimson clothes hand stitched by the greatest tailor from the mystical Forest Spring Spirit n and made out of the finest materials of the dungeon, gave him a noble and grand look.
Coupled with his pitch ck hair, dark heroic face along with the natural confidence that he oozed, he looked the very definition of Demon Noble.
Irene, Bea, Mars and Melinda quickly followed behind him. Their exit did not cause any concern from the remaining subordinates as they were all confident in their lord''s victory. That was how much assurance his tall and wide back gave them.
"Big Brother¡ will definitely win"
Seated in her seat, Cecilia tightly clenched her hand while looking at the disappearing backs of her brother, sister Irene and all her friends.
Once outside the White Pce, Simon used the summon function of the dungeon to teleport them to the 91st floor.
Right before he left, he sent a sound transmission to Wisp.
"Sent in the newest Mk4 armour to the 91st floor. It''s time I try out how powerful it is".
With that, the figure of the five of them disappeared from the Main Floor.
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91st floor¡ southern region, in front of a vast in or rather a terrain that was previously a hilly area was now transformed into a loess filled in with clouds of dust and huge chunks of debris as big as a mountain littering the ce.
BANG¡ another shockwave hit the ce visibly distorting the space, even causing slight cracks to appear in the air. The shockwave turned the already devastatednd into an area of pure destruction.
At the centre of the shockwave, three shadows could be seen pulling backwards at a speed too fast to capture for the naked eye.
One of these shadows had a humanoid appearance, with crimson hair and a violet horn protruding from their forehead while the other two figures had a hulk like figure, a powerful armor, a lower serpentine body and onyx like eyes that shone with a sharp light, respectively.
The shadows were none other than the three kings of the forest, Gil-Garna, Yverza and Shasurna. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
At this moment, they were tightly locked in a battle, their each sh shaking the very foundation of the floor. the three figures were too fast for an average eye to trace them.
However, those who could see their movements could see that two figures of the three were fighting together while thest figure was dodging left and right and avoiding attacks where it could.
From a third perspective, it looked like the third figure was locked in a defensive fight. That said, not everyone had the leisure to pay attention to the battle of the three kings as they weren''t the only ones who were fighting.
On the ground and even in the skies, swarms of figures were tightly locked in battle. They flew and ran all over the battlefield tteningnds and destroying mountains with their powers.
All kinds of skills and magic flew in a magnificent firework before shing in a deadly and bloody manner. Corpses littered the ce and the ground was marked with pockmarks and ditches.
The swarms of figures fighting wildly were none other than the allied ns. However, that said, the ns could no longer be said as allied since the ones they were fighting were none other than one of their own ns, the ck Ogre ns.
That''s right, the allied ns have fallen apart and the Terraquake Rhino n and the Snakemen n were now joining hands to deal with the ck Ogre n.
This raised the question why were the former allies suddenly fighting among themselves?
The answer to it could only be exined through what happened next after the allied ns were teleported to the 91st floor.
The rumours about Gil-Garna working with the enemy spread among the allied ns like wildfire. Many who lost their friends and fellow n members to the dungeon, were enraged and indignant at the betrayal.
They started ring at the ogre n and refused to work together with them. Nevertheless, even though huge undercurrents flowed underneath their calm exterior, the situation did not devolve to the point where they started fighting like bitter enemies.
Chapter 886- Why Dont You Let Me Join In The Fun!! (2)
Chapter 886- Why Don''t You Let Me Join In The Fun!! (2)
No, the situation only progressed this far when their kings, gave them themand and dered the Ogre n as their enemy.
From that point on, the Terraquake Rhino n and the snakemen n joined hands to fight them. That said, the ck Ogre n still retained most of its powers and had three level 600+ beings and numerous crimson horns to direct and lead the battle.
While the strength of the other two king ns had visibly weakened. They had suffered the most losses and there was only a single level 600+ being on the side of the Terraquake Ehino n.
Given the disparity in strength, even though the ck ogre n was fighting two king ns at once, they were still able to hold their own.
With Gish-Bagh stopping the level 600+ being from the Terraquake Rhino n, it left the other two direct subordinates of Gil-Garna to run rampant any way they wanted.
At a nce, it looked like the Ogre n would win the battle¡ that is if there are no other forces at y.
...
On top of a rtivelyrge mountain, Bea looked at the scene unfolding in front of her. A chaotic battlefield, blood flowing in streams, mountains of corpses and the invading ns and the monsters locked in a life or death battle.
That''s right, the allied ns were not only fighting among themselves but also the monsters of the 91st floor.
Looking at the Three Headed Boss Frog, Giant Antlion Larvae and Chloro Arsenalis going wild while the invaders were busy fighting themselves, Bea couldn''t help but marvel at the devious n of her master.
"To be able to turn them against each other in this way, Master really is impressive" She grinned. Her beautiful and radiant smile stood out in contrast to the blood and gorey atmosphere of this ce.
"It should be soon. Let''s see how long they can hold on"
While Bea observed the battlefield like an onlooker up near the sky or rather ceiling of the floor, the sh of the three of the seven kings became even more fierce.
BANG¡ three forces collided creating a thirty feet wide vacuum. Whoosh¡ Gil-Garna utilised a movement technique and his high speed flight to quickly open a distance.
"How many times do I have to tell you, this is a trap? One that isid out by the master of the dungeon to break our alliance and sow discord in us"¡
"Silence betrayer, you think you can fool us with your words again? You think we don''t know anything?" Shasurna hissed brandishing his harpoon.
"That''s right, we know all about the agreement you had with Melinda. You think you weaken our ns and join hands with the Queen of the harpiester to hoard the dungeon for yourselves. You think this king will allow it"
Yverza snarled while flexing his muscles. The dangerous amount of strength contained within his movements was enough to give chills to even someone as strong as a seven king.
"I told you I had nothing to do with that transmission call from the queen of the harpies. Let me exin¡ when I came out of the special area on the 90th floor¡"
"Shut up, we don''t want to hear any of your excuses"
Saying so, the two kings released their attacks.
Facing their attacks Gil-Garna chose to dodge their attacks. However, it didn''t seem like he could do that forever. He tried to reason but the other two kings weren''t willing to listen to his words at all.
There was only so much he could handle and so finally unable to take it anymore, he too started fighting back.
Even if it had derailed somewhat, the original n was in the end still him controlling the dungeon alone.
So what if he couldn''t borrow the power of the other two kings to subdue the demon? He had enough confidence in his own might and the trump card that he had prepared that he wouldn''t fail.
The only thing that was bothersome was that he fell for the trap or rather the allied ns did. ''This is your victory I''ll give you that. But don''t think that you have won this yet'' Gil-Garna muttered in his heart as he squared off against the other two kings.
"[Icebound Harpoon Thrust]"
Shasurna spun his harpoon covering dozens of meters ofnd in ice in an instant. His thrust carrying the might of ate level 700+ being along with extreme chilling cold, was an extremely lethal attack.
The [Icebound Harpoon Thrust] took the form of a huge white pir as it sped towards the Ogre King.
"Gil-Garna, this is for trying to betray me and killing my subordinates"
Saying that Yverza arched his back and initiated a charge. His powerful legs allowed him to leap at incredible heights at blinding speed.
In his front was Yverza charging at him at a lethal speed and behind him was Shasurna using his power andplex techniques. Gil-Garna had nowhere to retreat this time.
"Since you two can''t be reasoned with words, I have no choice but to use my fists next" grunting so, he activated some of his skills.
ROARRR¡ With a deafening roar, Gil-Garna''s transformation wasplete. His already imposing figure grewrger, his muscles rippling with newfound strength. His crimson skin seemed to pulse with an inner fire, and his eyes burned with a fierce intensity. N?v(el)B\\jnn
He took a deep breath, his chest expanding as he prepared to meet the dual assault head on.
Whoosh¡ With a swipe of his hand, massive amounts of heat gathered at the centre of his left hand. The air around him crackled with energy as he clenched his fist and activated one of his powerful skills [Inferno st] that was augmented by several of his other skills.
BANG¡ with a fierce punch, a scorching heat blinding to the eye erupted from his fist, pushing back the encroaching ice from Shasurna''s [Icebound Harpoon Thrust].
The harpoon, though powerful, was met with an equally potent force as it collided with the wave of heat.
Chapter 887- Why Dont You Let Me Join In The Fun!! (3)
Chapter 887- Why Don''t You Let Me Join In The Fun!! (3)
The sh of elements created a massive explosion, sending shards of ice and sparks of fire scattering in all directions. On the other side, Yverza, who was undeterred by the explosion, continued his charge.
His powerful legs propelled him through the air with astonishing speed, his impressive form covered in imprable armour cast a shadow over the battlefield. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"[Earthshaker m]!"
He roared, positioning his fists in front of him in a fashion of tackle. The actions of the Ivroy Terraquake Rhino might seem extremely normal; however, under that normal fa?ade a berserk to the extreme power boiled.
Exercising a movement skill, Gil-Garna leapt into the air and chose to deftly avoid the attack.
BOOM¡ Yverza passed through the ce where he was a moment ago and crashed into the ceiling above. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the artificial sky, causing the sky clouds and sun to visibly distort.
From this one could see how powerful Yverza''s attack was. Thetter''s pure physical strength was something that even Gil-Garna dared to fight head on.
That said, he was also from the warring race, the king of ck ogres. When it came to physical strength, he had confidence in his own strength.
As such, right after avoiding the worst of the shockwaves, and countered with "[Meteoric Descent]."
He came crashing down like aet, his fists wreathed in mes. He aimed directly for Yverza, who barely had time to raise his arms in defence.
The two titanic forces collided, sending a burst of energy that rippled through the fabric of space itself. Gil-Garna who was wreathed in mes and Yverza whose very body was his weapon, when the two of them collided the sky darkened and for a second, the entire artificial sky disappeared.
That was not all, the force from their collision spread in a spherical area causing the ground beneath them to buckle.
"Gil-Garna!! This is for killing my subordinate" Shasurna roared. Spotting an opening, spun his harpoon once more and unleashed "[cial Vortex]."
A swirling storm of ice and wind formed around the tip of his weapon, growing in size and intensity as he directed it towards the Ogre King.
The vortex expanded, threatening to engulf everything in its path. The temperature plummeted, and frost began to form in the immediate couple hundred meters ofnd.
With his previous attack offset so easily, the Emerald Viperlord came out with an even more powerful attack.
Feeling the iing danger, Gil-Garna narrowed his eyes. His body moved and with a grunt, he activated "[Molten Shield]," enveloping himself in a protective barrier of moltenva.
The cial vortex shed with the molten shield, causing steam to erupt in a massive cloud that obscured the battlefield.
For a moment, all was silent except for the hiss of steam and the crackle of elemental energy. At this very moment, he disyed his advantage, blessed in both magic and physicalbat he was different from the likes of Ivory Terraquake Rhino and Emerald Viperlord.
Even though he was being attacked by two kings together, he was still able to hold his ground and fight them off without a problem.
SWISH¡ Out of the steam, Gil-Garna fped his Mana wings and charged forward, his shield dissipating as he focused his energy into his fists.
"[Crimson Blitz]," Bellowing a deep ogre call, heunched a rapid series of punches that seemed to even ignite the very air around him.
Each punch carried the force of a tide, as they collided against Yverza''s armour making him unable to keep up with the onught.
A Terraquake Rhino''s defences were formidable, especially for a variant like him who was able to reach the king ss, His endogenous armour had reached an imprable level of defence, yet even he was beginning to feel the strain.
Shasurna took advantage of this moment when Gil-garn was focused on attacking Yverza to nk him and aim for a vulnerable spot.
"[Frozen Lance]," he whispered, his harpoon extending into a long, slendernce of pure ice. He thrust it forward with deadly precision, aiming for Gil-Garna''s blind side.
Thence if connected, would no doubt pierce the ogre king''s flesh and draw blood. However, at that moment, betraying expectation the ogre King seemed to have seen through his attack.
"[Inferno Sweep] he retaliated with a backhanded swipe. His hand, now ame, connected with Shasurna, sending the snakeman king sprawling.
The mes licked at Shasurna''s scales, but he quickly extinguished them with a flick of his tail.
At the same time, Yverza, seizing the moment,unched himself at Gil-Garna once more.
"[Titanic Charge]," he bellowed, his entire body bing a living battering ram. The ground quaked with each step as he barrelled towards his target.
There was practically no time to react at all. Yet even that attack was seemingly dealt with by the Ogre King.
The collision was monumental. Gil-Garna slid back several meters, his feet digging furrows into the ground. Nevertheless, even against thatmon sense defying strength, he held his ground pushing back against Yverza''s attack.
"[ring Heat]," he shouted, driving his fist upwards into Yverza''s jaw. The blow lifted the giant rhino off his feet and sent him crashing to the ground.
BOOM¡ Aplete stomp. Whether it be Shasurna or Yverza none of them were able to gain an edge facing Gil-Garna.
What was going on? The two kings were shocked. They knew that the ogre king was strong; however, they didn''t expect him to be this strong.
It was one thing if they were facing him alone, yet even with the two of them joining hands, they were barely able to fight him?
This was¡ something beyond their expectation. No, it wasn''t something that should be possible.
"Heh, hahaha" At this moment, Gil-Garna suddenly startedughing. He smacked his face and sighed, his lips carrying a condescending smirk.
"Since it hase to this, I think I don''t need to keep this fa?ade up any longer". Saying so, he fully unleashed his aura allowing the two and everyone around the battlefield to see his level.
Chapter 888- Why Dont You Let Me Join In The Fun!! (4)
888 Chapter 888- Why Don''t You Let Me Join In The Fun!! (4)
Feeling the auraing from the ogre king suddenly intensify, both Shasurna and Yverza were shaken.
A bad afterthought suddenly struck them and they couldn''t help but use the skill they had once stopped using due to boredom and bing the strongest in the forest¡ the appraisal skill.
And then¡ their misconception of being the strongest in the forest broke.
They saw Gil-Garna''s level¡ª799.
It was as if somebody had pressed the pause button, The Ivory Terraquake Rhino, Emerald Viperlord and all those who were present on the battlefield, including Bea were frozen in ce as they stared with wide eyes.
Level 799...
What did the level signify? Didn''t it mean that Gil-Garna had reached the peak of his ss?
Level 799¡ he was just one step away from reaching the mysterious and phantasmal level 800 ss?
This¡ the difference between their level and his might just be about 10-11 levels; however, the true gap wasn''t something that can be just measured with numbers.
This was something that they knew especially well given that they stood at the peak of their ss and as the strongest beings of this forest.
In this world, there exist absolute barriers that cannot be breached no matter how much effort or training one puts in. These restraints that bind every being in this world and is called the unwritten rule of the world, the Bloodline limit.
As long as that existed, all the creatures of this world would one day be faced with a limit that they cannot surpass. In this regard, the seven kings considered themselves lucky as they were able to inherit the bloodline and powers of the ancient beasts they found inside the forest.
However, no matter how much lucky they were, it still boiled down to one''s limit at the end. Although they were able to reach the peak of level 700 ss their strength had alsoe to a bottleneck.
No matter how they tried they were unable to realise either level as each level after level was like climbing a mountain from the start all over again. The experience and mystical energy needed couldn''t be imagined.
It was because of all of these reasons that they were so shocked to find that Gil-Garna had reached the absolute peak of his ss.
What''s more, one more step and he would breach the level 800 ss. A Mythical ss that even they could only sit back and watch from a distance.
"Now then shall we make it even more interesting"
Flying in the sky, Gil-Garna dered with suave. For a moment, the battlefield was silent, save for the heavy breathing of the other two kings. But the respite was brief.
Shasurna rose to his feet, his eyes zing with fury. "I admit that I didn''t expect you to hide your strength this well from us this whole time. However, don''t you dare look down on me!! I don''t believe that with us working together, we can''t take you down"
He raised his harpoon high and called upon his most powerful skill, "[Blizzard Cataclysm]."
A massive storm cloud formed above them, dark and ominous. Lightning crackled within its depths, and snow began to fall in thick, heavy kes.
Matching his aggression, Yverza also prepared his attack. Bloodied but unbowed, he joined forces with Shasurna.
"[Earthquake Stomp]," Yverza roared, his foot smashing into the ground and sending shockwaves towards Gil-Garna.
The fight of three beings who were well past level 700 and were reaching the peak of their ss, could be imagined.
Dozens of miles ofnd was instantly decimated, the false environment unable to keep up, space cracked, ceiling crumbling and the entire floor and the ones adjacent to it, trembling intensely.
The fight was so fierce that it could no longer be described as a fight but a cataclysmic event instead. Each and every attack these beings dished out, was powerful enough to level out a city and cause substantial damage to the lives around them.
Observing their fight from not far away, Bea positioned herself on top of arge mountain. Her eyes continuously moved as they captured every movement made by the seven kings. Her face was passive with no expression that could be seen.
"Soon¡ it should be soon"
Suddenly she opened her lips to mutter something. A few momentster her eyes shifted away from the seven kings and towards the northern region of the floor.
She could sense fierce spatial fluctuation from that area. Given how strong the spatial fluctuation was, it could be assumed that arge teleportation urred there.
For something like this to ur now of all times, there could be only one reason. Her master and the lord of this dungeon, have made his move.
"Hmm? They are¡ Orcs"
Bea narrowed her eyes. Her vision which was sharp enough to easily spot beings from several miles away, spotted numerous beings that matched the description of the orcs.
"They should be the newly evolved orcs that master was talking about"
Given that the orcs looked quite different than what she remembered them from thest time, she reckoned that it was due to the changes they had recently gone through.
That said, the change in their appearance was not important right now. What was important was that her master chose to bring out the orcs for this fight. Could it be¡
"He is giving them another chance to retake their honour that they had lost while fighting the ogresst time?"
As someone who was present there at that time, she knew exactly what had transpired back then. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The n of orcs who had been driven to the edge and forced to be the ves of the ck ogre n and their king who had betrayed them. It was a pitiable scene yeah, however, they were at the end merely orcs.
Bea had no pity for them. If this was their end, so be it. Nevertheless, her master thought differently. At that time, he took the initiative to give the orcs a way out and brought their n under his protection.
Chapter 889- Why Dont You Let Me Join In The Fun!! (5)
889 Chapter 889- Why Don''t You Let Me Join In The Fun!! (5)
Thought as she much, she couldn''t figure out why her master would do so. The race of Orcs were weak, their strength and potential were limited. Their race was divided, their king corrupt and they were being targeted by other powerful races of the forest.
In short, they had no value in her eyes. She wasn''t the smartest among her sisters, nor she was the strongest. She excelled at a few things and to top of it all, she was bad at housework.
Nevertheless, as a warrior dubbed as a Valkyrie, she had enough discerning ability to tell the worth of the warrior when she saw one.
It was because of this reason that she knew the race of orcs was not worth her master''s protection. When he faces future enemies who are much more stronger than the ones they have faced until now, the orcs wouldn''t be able to aid him.
They were weak.
Of course, this thought wasn''t something her master shared. He not only helped them avoid extinction, but even took them under his wing, nurturing and supporting them with all kinds of resources and means.
He believed in them and as a result of which, their efforts which bore fruit, stood right in front of her eyes.
They have evolved, gaining strength and reaching heights she thought wasn''t possible for them.
As she observed the powerful line up that the n of orcs brought with them, Bea couldn''t help but look at them with a new light.
"To be able to achieve even something like this¡ master really can do anything"
Saying so, she hurriedly shifted her eyes and looked at an area in the sky where the space distorted and a couple of figure appeared with a sh of light. Her body moved and she quickly disappeared from her ce.
.
.
Back at the area where the three kings were fighting¡ Gil-Garna looked down condescendingly, his figure overbearing and filled with confidence.
Below him, the two kings who red at him with hatred and caution, prepared their attacks.
"Since you haven''t learned your lessons, let me beat the gulf between our strengths inside your brains. I wanted to keep this skill for when I fight with that demon and his minions but tch¡ it couldn''t be helped. I will quickly deal with you guys before I make that demon pay for all this"
Saying so, Gil-Garna tapped into the air and took out something from out of nowhere. A simple action; however, the meaning that they entailed was significant.
For the second time since facing the ogre king, Yverza and Shasurna had their eyes wide open in surprise.
"Be d that you guys will be the first one to experience it¡"
Gil-Garna grinned. He was just about to reveal his trump card when his attention was suddenly attracted towards the huge number of presence that appeared on the floor at this instant.
What is going on? The two kings seemingly also sensing the changes, nced in that direction.
There they could see arge armye out of the forest. They were led by beings that they could not recognise nevertheless, felt faint familiarity from.
"They are¡ Diluvian High Orcs?!!" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The Emerald Viperlord muttered. He could see many creatures that resembled Diluvian High Orcs from the Ghastly Winding Forest amongst the group.
The Diluvian High Orcs who had been exterminated from the forest... who knew that they had taken refugee inside the dungeon.
It was widely known in the forest that the race of ogres and orcs were enemies and had been fighting each other for tens of years. It was only recently that this long standing enmity was over with theplete defeat of the orcs.
They were exterminated until not even a single member of their race remained¡ or so it should have been. However, at this moment there were several thousands of orcs standing right in front of them.
The Emerald Viperlord and the Ivory Terraquake Rhino shifted their eyes towards the ogre king.
The one who had enmity with the orcs was him and he was also the one who had released their news of extermination.
Seeing the orcs who should have been exterminated by his subordiantes, standing right in frint of his eyes, Gil-garna couldn''t help but frown.
What was going on? The orcs were exterminated by his n, he had personally made sure to check its authenticity by sending his right hand man Gish-Bagh.
However contrary to his expectation, there they were standing right in front of him. Were they taken in by the demon before he couldpletely finish them off?
It was the only possible answer. At that time when he came to pick up the reward of his efforts, the ancient beast carcass, the main objective behind him starting this war was missing along with their king Belgarious.
At first, he thought that the orc king had run away but even after searching wide and far for him, they failed to find the slightest trace of him.
Ever since then, he had been suspecting a certain someone for their intervention. Who knew that the ancient carcass was taken by the master of the dungeon?
"Good, I shall make you pay for thest time too"
Muttering to himself, Gil-Garna clenched his hands. The three kings who were about to duke it out and settle this battle, suddenly found themselves halting their attacks and take a back step to observe the situation.
A weird stalemate had formed with both the parties staring at each other with weird eyes. The battle on the 91st floor suddenly took a new turn with the appearance of appearance of orc army led by beings they haven''t seen before.
As unexpected and unforeseeable as it was, the real turn in the situation was about toe. Following the appearance of arge number of orc army, a couple of figures also arrived at the top of the floor like ghosts.
They stood in the air as if there was an invisible pedestal beneath their feet and looked down at the entire floor from their vantage point.
Chapter 890- Simon Vs the Three Kings
Chapter 890- Simon Vs the Three Kings
Leading the group was a tall man with a noble and handsome look. His features were sharp and he gave off an enigmatic charm. Two horns sprouted from his head looking almost like a crown and he possessed long pitch ck hair.
Standing in front of the others with his hands inside his pocket, and a wide grin on his face, he looked like a ruffian turned into a schr.
"Ahh. Ah¡ sigh... you all sure ran rampant on my floor. If I came slightlyte, this entire ce might have copsed"
The figures or more specifically the demon brushed his hair behind his head and said exaggeratedly. Even though his words sounded like he was angry, not even the slightest trace of anger could be seen on his face.
Far from it, there was a smile of what could clearly be seen of happiness and excitement on his face.
His words and the appearance of new figures instantly attracted the attention of everyone on the battlefield. The three ns, the direct subordinate of the kings and even the monsters all stopped their attacks to observe the figures who had just appeared.
Well for thetter it was more like the case of standing at salute for their king.
These slight changes didn''t miss the eyes of the three kings who all looked warily at the new entrants. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"You¡ are the master of this dungeon?" the one to speak was Gil-Garna. Although he asked it as a question, he was more or less certain of it.
After all, there was only one demon in this entire Ghastly Winding Forest who had dared to set up his dungeon here in all of these years¡ª Demon of the East.
"Anyways, I have been observing you all for some time and I must say, you all have put some decent effort to reach this stage. It was quite entertaining to watch, thanks to you all we now know which areas and parts of the floor we must work on. For that, you have my thanks"
"That''s right. I am the master of the dungeon you have been all eager to meet. In other cases, I would say wee to my dungeon but I can see that you have all familiarised yourselves here and have treated the ce like your own. So I would skip the formality"
The demon performed a perfunctory bow. His words plus his actions confused the ones observing him.
"Anyways, I have been observing you all for some time and I must say, you all have put some decent effort to reach this stage. It was quite entertaining to watch, thanks to you all we now know which areas and parts of the floor we must work on. For that, you have my thanks"
Maybe it was because they were fatigued from the fight or maybe because all the information was too much for them to handle, but they couldn''t understand what he meant.
Though one thing they did understand and that was¡ he was making fun of them.
"You sure possess a sharp tongue. However, now that you are here don''t think that you can keep that attitude of yours forever"
Gil-Garna knit his brows together and replied in a slightly annoyed tone. Clearly, he was pissed off by thatment from the demon.
"Haha, change my attitude you say? We''ll have to see about that. Anyway, I am sure we can threaten each other with words all day long. So instead why not be civil and discuss it out?"
The demon shrugged his shoulders before asking in a carefree manner. "Although I''m sure I know the answer, but let me still ask it just to put it out there. To what do I owe the honour of having three of the seven kings and their ns inside my dungeon?"...
Tch¡ the most quick tempered one among them, the Emerald Viperlord Shasurna clicked his tongue and pointed his harpoon at the demon.
"Why are we here you ask? Stop talking in that grandiloquent manner. Isn''t it obvious? We are here to capture your dungeon".
"Hoh, I expected so. To destroy my floor like that and kill so many of my cute subordinates, you are quite the rude guests" he shook his head and sighed.
"I wonder if you all do not have any self-esteem? But well, what did I eve expect of someone who crawled his way till here"¡
"That attitude of yours... " Shasurna hissed enraged by the former''s tone. He was clearly mocking the fact that he possessed no legs.
Pfftt¡ while the three kings were being yed on by the demon like that, augh involuntarily leaked from one of the members behind him.
It was Bea, at some unknown point in time, she approached the group and was now standing near them.
"Master" the first thing she did after suppressing herughter was bow her head in respect at the being who was standing in front of the group.
For Bea, one of the Valkyries to bow her head to someone, who could the demon be other than Simon?
The figures that appeared on top of the 91st floor were none other than Simon and his party. Thetter nodded his head acknowledging her presence.
"Good job bringing those mutated monsters to this floor. You have worked hard"¡
Bea quickly shook her head "Not at all master, it was my duty. However, master why did you bring the orcs here?".
Irene and the others also looked at Simon, they wanted to know his ns.
"Heh, I didn''t n to bring them at first. However, when Berigard learned of the Ogres invading the dungeon, he came to Mars with the proposal of fighting the enemy. After thinking for a while, I decided to bring them along. This would be the battle to redeem themselves. I decided not to take that opportunity from them"
He exined as he looked at the orc army in the distance.
Led by Berigard who reached a new evolutionary line along with several of his orc generals, the orc army was no longer the same as before. As they stared down at their enemy the three ns, they looked both menacing and fearsome.
So that was the case, everyone nodded their head. It finally made sense why he chose to bring in the orcs when there were other powerful ns in the dungeon like the Elder Newts, Harpies and such.
Chapter 891- Simon Vs the Three Kings (2)
Chapter 891- Simon Vs the Three Kings (2)
Talking about powerful armies, the mass produced Andromedas were second to none in terms of power and numbers. Yet instead of them, he went with the orcs.
It made sense if one knew about the history between the orcs and the ogres.
"Berigard" Simon addressed. Although his voice wasn''t loud, it was carried over to arge part of the floor.
A green skin tall looking figure walked out from amidst the orc army. In terms of frame, he was neither the tallest nor did he have the most impressive muscles. In fact, he was the skinniest out of all.
However, despite that none of the orcs dared to underestimate or look down at him for he was their new king, their previous general who had led them to victory against the ogres.
Although Berigard didn''t possess the same powerful frame as the rest of the orcs or even the newly evolved one, his own evolutionary line further strengthened his already powerful shamanic powers, giving him ess to even more troublesome magic.
The Berigard who stood in front of the orc army was decked out in a robe, cryptic looking markings and trinkets decorated his body. He also held a long ancient looking staff and a ne made out of several bone fragments, on him.
"My lord I thank you for giving this opportunity to us. I, Berigard on behalf of the whole orc n give you our most sincere gratitude"
Saying that, in front of the befuddled crowd of the 91st floor, he bent on one knee and bowed towards the demon.
"Un" Simon nodded seemingly satisfied by the loyalty of the new orc king and directed. With a wave of his hand, he spoke "Berigard I leave the three ns to you and the orcs. Do not disappoint me".
The orc king thumped his staff on the ground and swore to win no matter what. Having finished his statement, Simon turned towards the three kings who were staring daggers at him, especially Shasurna.
The next instant, With an arch of his finger, he beckoned "Since you guys are such a rude uninvited guests, let me teach you a lesson for life. Now, why don''t you let me join in the fun!!"
BOOOM¡
There was no indication nor any incantation cast. It practically appeared out of nowhere, a huge meteor that was practically one twentieth the size of the floor itself, fell on them.
The velocity and firepower imbued inside it was powerful enough to bury all the three kings at once.
RUMBLE¡ the entire floor shuddered and topography for tens of miles was altered in an instant.
"[Shortcuts]¡ª [Meteor Fall]"
Simon silently muttered to himself. No more bullshit was spoken, with practically no cast, he manifested a meteor and started the fight.
"Lord Gil-Garna"
"Lord Yverza"
"Lord Shasurna"
The surrounding individuals were caught off guard and only came to themselves after a couple of seconds. They called off the names of their kings were buried under a huge mountain that appeared out of nowhere.
Time passed by after a while, there were some movements underneath the mountain. A part of the mountain was melted down, another was marked with cracks and a part was frozen.
Then with a huge bang, the three kings appeared out from under it. Their body was marked with numerous scratches and their breathing was a little ragged.
Evidently, the magic managed to deal some damage to them.
"So an Advanced magic at my level can only do so much damage to them huh" Simon quietly inspected.
The magic he cast earlier was an advanced infernal magic that he stored inside the {shortcut] option of his menu.
The option allowed him to store magic inside its subspace and manifest it anywhere and anytime. Since it was a feature of the menu and the magic was already precast, there was no incantation or movements from the mana in the surroundings which indicated the magic being cast.
It was for this reason that none of the three kings were able to react in time against his magic. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Heh, interesting. It''s been a while since I ranked up, I am yet to find the true ceiling of my strength yet. But against you all, I can go all out without worrying about anything".
"You bastard!!" Looking at the sneering face of the demon, the Emerald Viperlord raged even more. He was just about to attack impulsively when Gil-Garna stopped him.
"Wait Shasurna don''t fall for his bait. He wants you to attack him, he must have something prepared. We need to consider things rationally"
The ogre king spoke as he scanned the demon and the people he brought with him. His eyes remained on the demon and the others for a while before moving towards Melinda.
He was clearly more cautious of this harpy queen whose strength he knew about than the others who didn''t give off any sort of danger to him.
"We need to be careful of the Harpy Queen. That woman tricked all of us" Gil-Garna stated gritting his teeth. It was she who turned the other two kings against him. Given that she showed her face here at this moment, she was definitely nning something.
"It''s not only the Harpy Queen that we should worry about. That demon, when did he cast his magic? To be able to breach through my defences and resistance, his magic is troublesome".
Gil-Garna narrowed his eyes, those words from Yverza were not wrong. If not for the fact that he used his powerful skills to offset some of the damage at thest second, the damage he suffered wouldn''t be only superficial.
However, more so than the fact that the demon was able to cast such powerful magic what shocked him was was that he cast the magic with practically no dy.
The magic appeared out of nowhere. In an instant, it was there falling down on top of them. How did he aplish that? Gil-Garna realised that he could not underestimate the demon.
Chapter 892- Simon Vs the Three Kings (3)
Chapter 892- Simon Vs the Three Kings (3)
Gil-Garna realised that he could not underestimate the demon. If he can throw more of such magic around, it would be quite troublesome. He looked at the fighting three ns below and the orc army charging in beforeing up with a n.
"Hey you two, I know you both have your qualms against me. However, how about we keep it aside for a while and deal with the demon first? If we fight amongst ourselves, we are only giving the enemy a chance to attack us when we are weak. What I am asking is for a temporary truce. We can always settle our scores after we defeat him".
Yverza and Shasurna who were listening to his words, were silent for a while. They understood the implications of things if they left the demon and his army atrge.
Not to mention there was also the harpy queen, who knows what she was thinking. If they fought among themselves they are inviting more trouble.
As much as they hated Gil-Garna and were wary of his ns, they couldn''t think of any better option. In any case, they decided to pretend to go with his suggestion.
And so with the three kings issuing orders at once, the three ns stopped fighting among themselves and presented a unified front against the new entrants.
"Charge!! Don''t let the enemy surround us"
Taking charge, the direct subordinates of the three kings returned back to their positions and hurriedly instructed the three ns.
Leading the offence against them were Berigard and his generals. There was no fear or apprehension in their eyes only determination to prove their worth in battle.
The orc army burned with the fire to redeem themselves and at the same time, they who had undergone a brand new transformation and turned their lives upside down were itching to try out their new powers and strength.
And so, with an earth shaking momentum, the two armies shed against each other.
Weapons were drawn, skills flew around and blood sprouted everywhere. It was like watching tworge meat grinding forces colliding together.
There was bound to be many casualties on both sides. Not only were they equal in numbers, they all had a high average level. However, that said there was a key difference between the two armies.
The orc army burned with the fire to redeem themselves and at the same time, they who had undergone a brand new transformation and turned their lives upside down were itching to try out their new powers and strength.
While the three ns having ventured so many floors and experienced so much during this time, were clearly fatigued.
Not only that, their bodies were marked with injuries, their teamwork broken and their numbers reduced, they were far from being in their optimum state.
In this regard, the Orc army clearly had the advantage. Observing everything from the sky, Simon nodded his head and stepped forward.
He could see Berigard taking the lead and fighting the level 600+ beings from the enemy''s side. The orc generals were supporting him. Having reached level 600+ after his evolution, the new orc king was not any weaker than the direct subordinates of the three kings.
"Good" Seeing that they were doing just fine Simon nced at the people behind him before stating.
"Move back, I am going to challenge the three kings altogether".
There was no hesitation in voice. Once he spoke he already started preparing his attacks. Irene who was the most calmest, level headed and the one who understood him the best, nodded her head and moved away.
The others wanted to say something especially Bea; nheless, she moved as per his instructions.
"Now then, my subordinates are watching. I shall use you all as a stepping stone to gauge my strength" Simon shifted his attention towards the three kings.
[Pride is in effect, all emotions have been suppressed].
[Ancestral Symbol Ignition]
BOOM¡ he who was already under the effects of the pride, didn''t hesitate to activate his trump card right off the bat.
The golden tribal like tattoos on his body, burned with a feverish light. Theseplex markings that were with him since the moment he was born in this world, could be seen even from over his clothes burning with a golden lustre.
Badump- feeling his heart pounding, Simon clenched his hands and took a step forward. That instant, his figure disappeared and appeared next to Yverza.
The Ivory Terraquake Rhino was prepared and hurriedly crossed his arms to block the iing attack.
BANG¡ a solid sound punch connected, space shuddered intensely and the air in the immediate area was sted away. Yverza was blown back by the force and thrown to the ground.
Simon knocked one of the seven kings with just one punch.
"Dammit¡ you insignificant demon, I''ll make you regret for all your transgressions" Caught off guard by that unexpected speed initially, the other two kings prepared their attacks.
Shasurna was the first to move. However, just as he spouted those words, an attack was alreadying towards him.
CLANG¡ Hurriedly, he defended with his harpoon. A metallic ng rang out when the fist connected with the shaft of the harpoon. Air rippled intensely and the shaft showed signs of bending from the sheer force of the punch.
Nevertheless, the harpoon was not your ordinary item. In the end, it did not buckle.
Ssh¡ blood spurted, the one to take damage from the attack was none other than the demon.
Shasurna who was smirking at the unequipped attack of the demon was a sec toote to react to the kick that came immediately after.
SMACK¡ the kick connected squarely on the face of the snakemen sending him flying down into the ground.
The next second as soon as his wounds healed Simon turned towards thest reaming king in the sky and rushed towards him.
CLANG¡ ws and sword collided. Unlike the other kings, Gil-Garna managed to parry the attack with the sword strapped to his back. This alone showed the difference between him and the other two kings.
That said, even though he managed to stop the attack, Simon was far from over.
[Ability Conferment]¡ª Chilling Touch. At that instant, Gil-Garna felt his arms suddenly go cold causing his bnce to tip.
CLANG¡ the sword in his hand was pushed aside allowing the ws to tear through his flesh. Blood spurted and Gil-Grana was sent down from the sky.
"Heh, he is quite clever. He used the movement skill to avoid most of the damage and make it look like he suffered a severe wound" Simon grinned. -----
Name- Yverza
Race- Ivory Terraquake Rhino N?v(el)B\\jnn
Level- 785
Skills- [Herculean Strength], [Herculean Defence], [Ultra Enhanced Agility], [Enhanced Magic], [Ultra Enhanced Endurance], [Ultra High speed Regenration], [Body Empowerment], [Gale Magic Resistance], [me Magic resistance], [Lightning Magic Resistance], [Tremor Magic Resistance], [Blunt Damage Ultra Resistance], [Mana Lines], [Ability Conferment], [Intimidation], [Martial Arts Mastery], [Granite Spinebuster], [Terraquake Takedown], [Titanic Suplex], [Thunderous Piledriver], [Granite Spinebuster], [Meteoric Body Press], [Devastator Smash], [Berserk Rhino Twist], [Rockslide Hammer Fist], [Earthshaker Dropkick], [Raging Force m], [Avnche Crush], [Grapple], [Fury Fist], [Savage Horn], [Ground Splitter Stomp], [Breaker Kick], [Elbow Drop], [Colossal Boulder Press], [Power Lariat]... [Supreme Ivory Body]
Chapter 893- Simon Vs The Three Kings (4).
Chapter 893- Simon Vs The Three Kings (4).
That''s right, the ogre king deftly avoided his attack and came down from the sky on his own ord, making it almost seem like his attack worked.
Looking down at the three kings who all seemed unfazed even after enduring his attacks Simon grinned. This was going to be interesting.
SPAT¡ Shasurna spat the blood from his mouth and red at the demon tauntingly.
"Is that all you have got? Your ability is impressive for someone of your level. However, you are in the end just a little bit stronger than out direct subordinates. You are overestimating yourself if you think that you are our match".
Yverza and Gil-Garna had nothing to say, they were of the same mind. Although the demon shocked them with his unexpected strength which managed to even injure them, it was just that.
They were still stronger.
"Heh, you don''t say. I was just warming up myself. You see it''s been a while since I exercised my body like that. I had almost forgotten how it felt"
Conceited and prideful, if the other party thought that they could match up to him in these aspects, they were severely mistaken.
"You want to take us on your own? Don''t fuck with me" Shasurna was furious. Never did he expect that he would be looked down on like that by someone who was lower level than them.
"Wait, Shasurna. Since this demon wants to fight us on his own, it is better for us. In fact, it is the best possible scenario we can hope for. If we defeat the demon and capture him, the ones standing over there won''t be able to do anything"
Gil-Garna observed Melinda and the others who moved back. Given their stance, it was clear that they weren''t going to intervene.
This was good for them, the demon was clearly over his mind and had challenged them on his own. There could be no better oue for them than this.
Yverza nodded his head "You are right, it''s a good thing for us. Since that is the case, leave the demon to me. I take the responsibility to defeat him"¡
Shasurna arched narrowed his onyx like eyes at those words "No, no, what are you saying. I shall be the one to face him. Leave defeating the demon to me".
"I believe you guys have forgotten something important. The whole endeavour to defeat the demon was mine. As such, leave him to me" Gil-Garna joined in.
For a moment, the three kings started bickering among themselves. Now that they no longer trusted each other, they wanted to be the one to defeat the demon. After all, it was pretty obvious that one who got hold of the demon first would be able to gain an edge over the other.
This was no longer just a battle with the demon but one that would decide the overall victory of this entire endeavour. All three of them wanted to face the demon.
While this was happening¡
"Are you sure you guys can distract yourselves in this moment". Simon''s voice rang out.
At the same moment, gigantic bolts of lightning dropped from the sky like pirs of light. They dropped down with devastating momentum and left nowhere to escape.
[Thunder Magic Mastery]- [Thunder Descent] arge AOE advanced magic. However, that was not all, to make matters troublesome, the ability of Dark Deprivation was also conferred to it.
BOOM¡ BOOM¡ BOOM¡ as the magic rocked the floor, it also deprived the senses of the three kings who were caught in it.
"Enough you bastard!!" Frustrated out of his mind, Shasurna was the first one to rush out. He brandished his harpoon and called forth extreme freezing cold that wrapped around the demon freezing his muscles and bones and sealing him in ce.
"Heh" a condescending smile appeared on his face. In the end, all it took was one move. Just as the Emerald Viperlord was marvelling at his power, the ice statue started trembling.
Numerous cracks appeared on it and before long, it shattered into numerous fragments. A ck shadow hurriedly rushed from amidst it, its speed almost blinding.
In the blink of an eye, that shadow was already upon the snakemen.
Shasurna didn''t have time to react, before he knew it he was grabbed by the tail and flunged around like he was some king of doll.
[Herculean Strength], [Body Empowerment], [Abstruse Demonic Eyes], [Herculean Agility], [Ultra Enhanced Endurance], [Herculean Magic], [Ultra Enhanced Defence], [Demon Marquess'' Esteem], [Demon Nobility Resillience]...
Simon activated all of his augmentation skills further enhancing his strength. Not only that, while flinging the snakemen around he also took out his burnt sword with his other hand to increase his stats even further.
A wild energy simr to a raging typhoon erupted out of Simon. If previously even after he activated the Ancestral Demonic symbol there was still arge gap between him and the three kings who stood at the peak of their ss, then now that gap had been further bridged.
After activating his numerous augmenting skills, he was like a maddened beast unable to be contained.
"For a being such as you who calls himself as one of the seven kings to fall for the Demon''s tricks, you should be ashamed of yourself" Gil-Garna spat looking at the miserable appearance of his counterpart.
Who would have expected for the king of the snakemen, the Emerald Viperlord to be turned into a rag doll by the demon?
Although he said all that, he didn''t dare to underestimate the demon. His attention which was on the bystanders observing that from the distance, moved towards the sword his enemy held in his hand.
One look and it was enough for him to know that it was a treasure. Being a race which had keen eyes for treasure helped; however, it was the vast unending power that radiated from the sword that told him that.
The sword might looked dead and blunt but it was just in the appearance. The energy stored inside it was something that even he had difficulty assessing.
"An excellent sword.. but you are not the only one who is blessed with high grade weaponry. Although I didn''t think that I would have to use it this soon, it''s time to use my partner" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
-----
Name- Shasurna
Race- Emerald Viperlord
Level- 789
Skill- [Ultra Enhance Strength], [Super Enhance Defence], [Herculean Agility], [Ultra Enhanced Magic], [Super Enhanced Endurance], [Ultra High speed Regenration], [Body Reinforcement], [Gale Magic Resistance], [Fire Magic resistance], [Electro Magic Resistance], [Poison Resistance] [Frost Magic Resistance], [Blunt Damage Resistance], [Cut resistance], [Mana Lines], [Ability Conferment], [Toxic Spit], [Venomous Aura], [Intimidation], [Poison Mist], [Harpoon-Poisoned Weapon Mastery], [Venomous Harpoon Strike], [Serpent''s Harpoon Lash], [Piercing Fang Thrust], [Viper''s Reflex], [Serpent''s Dance], [Constrictor''s Grasp], [Serpentine Stranglehold], [Venom Infusion], [''Onyx Gaze], [Ice Wyrm Dive]... [Scale Rejuvenation]
Chapter 894- Simon Vs The Three Kings (5)
Chapter 894- Simon Vs The Three Kings (5)
Saying all that, Gil-Garna unsheathed the huge bastard sword on his back. At that instant, as ifing alive, the sword made a gurgling noise. The sword handle sprouted teeth and bit onto the ogre king''s flesh.
KIEEEEE~ it made some strange beast like noise before quickly growing in size. In the blink of an eye it was more than the size of the wielder himself.
"Feast your eyes at one of the ancient swords named Flesh Eater"
At one nce, the sword seemed too mismatched and impossible to be swung around. However, Gil-Garna was not your average ogre either. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Using some skill that he had been hiding up until now, he quickly grew in size. Gil-Garna extended his hand and grabbed the sword which now perfectly fit in his hands.
"Extreme Rend" the Oghre Kign did not exchange any more words. Having finished giving his one sided monologue, he shot towards the demon like an arrow being shot from the bow. His speed betraying his huge size.
There was no time to think, Simon hurriedly brandished the burnt sword to his right. A sharp ng rang out followed by the appearance of Gil-Garna who covered the distance between them in an instant.
Should he say as expected of a peak level 700 being? The speed and power within that sh was not something that could be underestimated.
Usually, facing the Burnt sword no matter what sword his opponent utilised, they would either crumble or meltdown from the extreme heat that was seeping out from the edge of the burnt sword.
However, the ogre king''s sword seemed to bepletely unscathed. Other than their sword being heated up from absorbing extreme amounts of mes, there don''t seem to be any other changes.
"Now, Yverza. His hands are full, use this chance to bring him down to his knees"
Gil-Garna spurred the remaining rhino king who was kicked down on the ground by him into action.
Large clouds of dust erupted and the figure of Ivory Terraquake Rhino appeared in front of all observing eyes once again.
"You donlt have to tell me" Yverza muttered. His body arched and the muscles on his right hand bulged. One could also see some kind of gumy substance sticking to his biceps. They coiled around his arms firmly wrapping them.
It was unknown what Yverza was trying to do; however, given that he was a force of nature with just his physical strength, Simon had no intentions of getting hit with that.
"Do you think you have me cornered just because you are holding down both of my arms?"
Quickly he manifested numerous swords around him. Like a river, these swords came sweeping down on Gil-Garna who was forced to abandon his intentions of pressing further with his attacks.
In an instant, thousands of swords of swords floated around Simon their des pointed at his enemies.
At this moment the skill [Thousand Sword Mastery] was in full disy. Having mastered the skill of using thousands of swords, this was one of the trump cards that Simon had prepared and honed ever since he was a Demon Earl.
Now that he had be a Demon Marquess, not only the skill had be more powerful, it also evolved. The Skill [Thousnads Swords Mastery] had now be [Ten Thousand Sowrds Mastery].
He can now not only control more swords but can also freely utilise all the skills in them. That was not all, having pushed Gil-Garna with his swords, he did not stop his attacks there.
His lips moved and he quickly conjured a couple of magic that was targeted towards the Ivory Terraquake Rhino thus stopping thetter from using anybo attacks.
"Tch, when did he cast so many magic?" Yverza spoke in frustration. Neverhtless, he did not stop his charge and bulldozed through.
Magic connected with his body leaving barely any marks. Seeing this, Simon wasn''t surprised. The magic he conjured just now was only up to intermediate tier.
His attacks and mana output might have increased with his rank. However, to injure a being like the seven kings, he at least needed to cast magic of advanced tier.
That being said, it was never his intention to fight them with just his magic alone. The magic he cast earlier was just to buy him some time.
Now that Gil-Garna had stopped engaging him, he can now focus on going on the offensive rather than staying on the defensive. What''s more, he had the perfect weapon for that.
Storming through all of his magic, the Ivory Terraquake Rhino appeared in front of him, ready to mow him down. Compared to his enormous size, Simon was like an ant.
However, this ant was no ordinary ant. Swinging the mass of a body he was holding in his right hand, he muttered... [Chilling Touch]+ [Ability Conferment]- [Lower Hex].
Darkish purple aura covered the Snake King and causing him to shriek out in a miserable fashion.
"Let''s see how thisbo works. It''s my first time trying it out so let me use you as a sword"
With a smirk, he flung the body towards the onrushing Rhino King.
BANG¡ body collided with body causing a chilling noise to resound through the air. Those who witnessed the scene, couldn''t help but widen their eyes in fear and difort.
"Lord Shasurna!!"..
"Lord Yverza!!"
The Snakemen and Terraquake rhino n cried out. In front of them, their kings were being toyed with and flung around like some ragdoll.
How could they not be surprised? No, surprise would be putting it easy. The emotions they felt were nothing short of disbelief.
The seven kings, the pir of faith, the indomitable tower that has supported them and has remained unscathed up until now were being yed like that by the very same opponent who was in their very own words ''An easy prey''.
Yet despite all that boasting they did, they were being pummelled no utterly humiliated by their enemy right in front of them.
While the three ns were beyond themselves with disbelief, over on Simon''s party''s side¡ the atmosphere couldn''t be any more pleasant.
-----
Name- Gil-Garna
Race- ck Ogre (Variant)
Level- 799
Skills- [Ultra Enhance Strength], [Ultra Enhance Defence], [Herculean Agility], [Herculean Magic], [Herculean Endurance], [Ultra High speed Regenration], [Body Empowerment], [Gale Magic Resistance], [me Magic resistance], [Tremor Magic Mastery], [Blunt Damage Resistance], [Cut resistance], [Mana Lines], [Ability Conferment], [Ogre Intimidation], [Violent Smash], [ck Ogre Rampage], [ck Stomp], [Cleaver Mastery], [Infernal Magic Mastery], [Siesmic Magic Mastery], [ck de Tempest], [Eclipsing sh], [Nightmare Veil], [Infernal Resurgence ], [Dark Gaia''s Blessing], [Partial Void Warp]
Chapter 895- Simon Vs The Three Kings (6)
895 Chapter 895- Simon Vs The Three Kings (6)
Everyone was excited as they looked at their masterpletely dominating their enemy. It was especially the case for those who were observing the whole thing from the White Pce of the Main Floor.
The Forest Spring Spirits cried out in excitement, the joy filled voice rang out across the entire hall.
"Big Brother" Cecilia clenched her hands looking a little worried and relieved. Although this wasn''t their first time being invaded by a strong enemy, she was always worried for her brother who could be a little reckless at times especially when it meant to protect everyone.
Ever since that incident not too long ago when he fought those adventurers and got brutally injured in return, she was beyond herself with worry. For her, he was her family member. Although they weren''t rted by blood, she felt the same sentiment and security she would feel if she had a brother.
He not only dotted on her, but also protected her and cared about her. Naturally, she didn''t want any harm toe to him.
"Big Brother¡ please be okay"
As she tightly clenched a wooden branch she got from the spirit tree, unbeknownst to her, her intense emotions slowly unlocked hertent and sleeping powers.
The main floor; no, the entire dungeon resonated with it, appearing as if it was bathing in joy.
.
.
91st floor¡ Irene and the others observed the entire battle from the distance. Just as they were asked to, they did not interfere with the battle and only observed from a distance.
"Waahh~ As expected of master, there was no reason for us to interfere in the first ce"
Bea spoke, her eyes sparkling as she held the dashing figure fighting in the distance in her eyes.
"Heh, the seven kings aren''t anything in front of Master" Her faith in Simon was almost blinding.
"Stay sharp, the battle is far from over. There are also the ns they brought with them. I think you have figured it out by now, but we can''t kill them all. He is definitely thinking about expanding his powers by subduing both the three kings and their ns" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Irene quickly saw through Simon''s n and ryed it to everyone.
Melinda nced at the battle below, as someone who was a former seven kings, she understood the strength of the king ns.
Although the orcs were able to hold their own pretty well, there was still a vast difference between both the armies. Not to mention they also have quite a few level 600+ beings.
How long would they be able to hold on for? While they discussed all that, the battle took a new turn.
CRACK.. sounds of bones being crushed echoed out along with a miserable scream. Two bodies collided together, the scene was extremely brutal and prickling.
Yverza grit his teeth as he was forced back by the blow. His arms trembling from the pain he just received. His endogenous armour was strong and average blunt attacks like that wouldn''t even be able to bypass his armour.
However, the club in the demon''s hand was no ordinary club but one of the seven kings. Their tough bones and bodies make them an incredible weapon on their own.
"Dammit demon, you dare toy with me!!"
Enraged he was about to charge in blindly once again but was stopped by Gil-Garna who somehow managed to dodge an array of swords.
"You are afflicted by the demonic skills of that demon. If you are too careless, he might fall for his tricks".
Yverza was absentminded for a while before realising that his body indeed felt a little weird. His muscles were more tense than usual and he was subconsciously using more energy than required.
Could it be? Gil-Garna was right, he really was inflicted by some demonic skills of that demon. It was strange for him to feel that much pain even though the majority of the damage from that brunt was absorbed by his armour.
While Yverza was lightly hurt by the previous attack, the same couldn''t be said for Shasurna who was being used as a club. His body had multiple fractures and thanks to the inflicting skills he was suffering from a haemorrhage.
However, thanks to that intense pain Shasurna was able toe to his senses.
"You will pay for this¡ I will tear your body apart"
Shouting so, Shasurna released a vast amount of mana which rapidly turned cold by the second. Frost vapour covered his body and spread up to the demon''s hand weakening his grip.
Using that chance he attacked with his tail that packed enough power to easily squash a level 600 being.
However, the demon dodged his attack with [ck sh] and started interweaving some signs.
"Let''s see how those skills work" saying something, he pointed his finger towards him.
At that moment, Shasurna felt his body suddenly go cold. Usually, he wouldn''t be fazed by this level of cold energy as he was used to using ice techniques himself. However, this cold energy that seeped into his body was different from the cold energy he usually conjured from his harpoon.
Rather than being purely cold, it had a malevolent feeling to it.
"UGH!!" Just as he was coping up with the cold energy wracking havoc in his body, it disappeared reced by a searing hot energy.
When the searing hot energy disappeared, the malevolent cold energy returned back. The cycle repeated until Shasurna was bent holding his stomach and lurching in pain.
The king of the Snakemen hadpletely let down his guard, Simon decided to press forward when he saw the other two kings seemingly conspiring something.
"[Sweltering Downfall]" Gil-Garna hurriedly conjured an advanced magic.
The heat around the entire floor sweltered to an astonishing degree. The False Sky distorted turning crimson in the blink of an eye.
The heat formed a solid mass in the air which swirled like a whirlpool and before anyone could think further as to what it was or came from, the mass of mes started dropping down like falling rain.
Chapter 896- This is my dungeon... (1)
Chapter 896- This is my dungeon... (1)
One of the powerfulrge AOE advanced magic of the fire attribute, the [Sweltering Downfall] was one of the trump cards of Gil-Garna. If used in the outside world, it had enough power topletely raze a moderatelyrge city to the ground.
"It is no wonder that beings above level 700 are ssified as Catastrophe by the Adventurer''s guild. I mean if you can use magic like that, you deserve the monicker" Simon muttered to himself as he saw the magic take shape.
To be honest, he was a little jealous when he saw such a cool and powerful magic conjured by the ogre king. The both of them practised infernal magic and had sufficient level of aplishment in it.
However, due to his level and other restrictions, the magic that he cast although could be considered cmitous, had yet to reach the size and scope of catastrophic.
Simon saw the sweltering mass of mes rain down; however, this wasn''t the only attack he had his eyes on.
Arge image of a white rhino that was more than fifty meters tall and had a long piercing horn, formed behind the rhino king. The image of the beast that formed gave off an awe inspiring and suffocating pressure.
Lke an ancient beast that had been awakened from its long slumber. The moment the image formed, the aura of the rhino kingpletely changed.
The surrounding terraquake rhino n in the distance all had reverend and fearful looks in their eyes as they saw that pure white rhino.
"[Indestructible Ivory Horn]" Saying that, the rhino king took a step forward.
At that instant, the huge image disappeared more precisely it was absorbed into the horn above the rhino king''s helmet turningpletely Ivory.
"What?!!" Simon who was observing the change was taken aback. It was not because of the beast that gave off an ancient and heavy pressure but to due to the drastic change in speed and strength of the rhino king after that happened.
The moment thetter took a step it was as if they disappeared from his line of sight. They were so fast that even with his improved reaction speed and powerful body of a Demon Marquess he was unable to spot the rhino king.
That said, it was only with his eyes that he couldn''t see his opponent. And so, he closed his eyes and spread his senses as far as he could. His consciousness dispersed and within a second he had reached a transcendent state of sort.
Northwestern corner¡ he sensed a figureing at an extreme speed from that direction.
Arge AOE Infernal magic from above and a lethal horn charge from behind, even if Simon wanted to he could not press any longer and had to get away from the Snake king.
That said, could he get away?
BOOOM¡ BOOOM¡ BOOOM¡ as if fireworks had gone off deafening sounds continuously reverberated all across the floor.
Mountains andnds trembled, forests copsed and new topography was formed. All from the attacks of just two beings.
Battles were breaking out everywhere however, if one looked carefully they would be able to see that all eyes whether natives or invaders, were glued towards the central region of the floor where the fight between the three kings and the master of the dungeon, the Demon of the East was taking ce.
Their battles were important but the one that would ultimately decide their fate was nheless the battlefield where their kings were.
BANG¡ like a shooting star, an ivory light crashed next to Gil-Garna from the volley of fire. The shooting star was none other than Yverza whose armour had turnedpletely white at some unknown point in time.
"You bastard were you trying to kill me in that aftermath too weren''t you?" he red hatefully towards the ogre who cast that powerful wide area magic.
Even he who took pride in his imprable defence, had to activate a higher level of skill to keep himself safe from the magic. That itself goes to show how powerful the magic, no the caster Gil-Garna was.
"Aren''t you safe and sound? It''s impressive"¡
"It''s because¡" Yverza did not say any further and clicked his tongue, shifting his attention away. N?v(el)B\\jnn
However, Gil-Garna didn''t miss the underlying connotation. His eyes observed the mysterious change of the Ivory Terraquake Rhino, the endogenous armour which was pure white moments ago, returning back to its usual dull dark colour.
That sort of defence has to be some kind of hidden trump card of his. Anyways, stripping his attention away from the Yverza''s armour, Gil-Garna questioned.
"Did your previous attack connect?".
Due to therge area magic which was falling like a storm in the distance, he was unable to see what happened to the demon who took his attack.
"Yeah, my attack connected I''m sure. Even if you didn''t activate that stupid magic off yours, he would have a huge gaping hole in his abdomen" Yverza spoke with confidence. He lightly brushed the horn on his helmet which was his pride and joy.
"You didn''t kill the demon right?" This whole expedition inside the dungeon was predicated on the foundation that they captured the demon alive. If the demon died there was no meaning to it.
"What are you talking about? It''s that abnormal demon we are talking about? I''m sure he possesses quite a lot of regenerative and recovery skills" Yverza argued.
Although his [Indestructible Ivory Horn] was a fatal attack, he deliberately avoided fatal regions and aimed for his abdomen.
Normal beings would be killed in an instant; however, the demon was normal by no definition. Even if he regenerates from all that, it should eat quite a bit of his mana and stamina. How long could he keep fighting?
"What about you? Your magic is still going on. With such destructive power that you have kept hidden in your pockets until now, aren''t you the one who would end up killing the demon?"
Chapter 897- This is my dungeon... (2)
Chapter 897- This is my dungeon... (2)
Gil-Garna snorted "I Have toned my magic down so that it wouldn''t kill him. Of course, it would be still very painful as he was very arrogant, he must suffer some punishment".
He could clearly feel some resistance that came as an input from his magic that indicated that it definitely connected with the target.
Well, even if the demon was capable of using rare type movement skills like the [ck sh], given the area of the [Sweltering Downfall] he would not be able to avoid it.
What was truly fearsome about his magic was not its extreme firepower but its long range and duration.
The fiery rain continued to drop down on the central region for a while and only afterpletely scorching the ground ck and causing some rocs to turn intova, did the magic stop.
On apletely scorched field that had been turned into a nd of ck ash, a charred corpse of a snakemen could be seen. The snakemen had a humanoid upper body, snake like tail and held a trident in his left hand.
Its skin waspletely scorched ck and smoke continuously released out of it. No matter how you saw it, that looked like the figure of the king of the Snakemen n, the Emerald Viperlord, Shasurna.
"Was he done in by the magic?" Yverza muttered to himself as he grit his teeth. Even he was forced to activate that skill to raise his defence facing Gil-Garna''s magic.
Shasurna had no such endogenous armour. Facing the magic head on, he couldn''t have survived this. Gil-Garna was also looking at the scorched ck figure of the Emerald Viperlord.
Although his target was the demon, this was also a favourable oue. This way he won''t have to bother about¡
"Hmm?" Just as he was thinking that, suddenly a noise came from the figure. A crack appeared on the scorched and something peeled off.
The next second, the figure trembled violently and fluids jut forth out of it.
SPPURRTTT¡ In the blink of an eye, the crack expanded and a figure slithered out of the scorched body drenched in fluids. The scene looked grotesque and anyone watching it would no doubt think so too.
Something wasing out of the body of a corpse covered in grotesque fluids
"[Scale Rejuvenation]"
Shasurna muttered, "Dammit if I didn''t have this skill, I would have been done for".
That''s right, the figure who came out was none other than Shasurna, the Emerald Viperlord. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Hoh, you are safe and sound huh? I must say the way your skills work are quite grotesque to look at"
At this moment, Gil-Garna and Yverza approached him. When the former saw who it was, he immediately erupted in rage.
"Gil-Garna you bastard, you were trying to get rid of me with that attack weren''t you?" he hissed, his harpoon pointed at ck Ogre king''s throat.
"No" Despite facing the hostility of one of the seven kings head on and so close, Gil-Garna remained indifferent. He calmly shook his head in response and came up with his own reply.
"I was trying to get that demon since he looked quite slippery. Anyways, if you want to me someone for getting caught up in that attack, then me your ipetency. The very fact that you lowered your guard and allowed yourself to be captured and humiliated like that was what drove me to use an extreme measure like that"
"As one of the seven kings who stands in the same realm as me, you should know how much face you made us lose"¡
"You!!" Shasurna red; however, in front of that stark remark, he had nothing to say in retort.
It was true that he allowed himself to be captured by the demon and be humiliated like that, being flung all around. It was a humiliation he could never wash off.
"Well, it''s good that you managed to dodge that attack" Yverza spoke.
Dodge? That was far from it, there was no way of dodging that attack. Shasurna knew it very well, that kind of magic even he had to admit was extremely fearsome. It covered arge range, packed a high firepower and rained down in an instant and in all directions.
If not for the [Scale Rejuvenation] skill, one of his trump cards, then he would have been done for.
[Scale Rejuvenation] a skill that allows him to discard his previous body along with all the damage and injuries he suffered with it. Almost like how a snake moults its skin to grow a new shiny and strong skin, Shasurna who had reached the peak of his ss and inherited the powers of an ancient beast, can also molt his body to gain a new more powerful body.
However, this kind of method was extremely straining and exhausting. It also ate up a ridiculous amount of mana.
More than half of his mana was gone just like that. It was because of all of these reasons that he usually didn''t show off this skill of his and even if he did, it was in ast ditch effort to save his life.
However, more than that, the reason he kept avoiding using this skill was because he could only use this skill once.
The [Scale rejuvenation] had an insanely long activation cooldown which made it a skill that cannot be used very often. Shasurna would have liked to keep it as hisst resort when facing Gil-Garnater.
However, the situation was so that he couldn''t help himself from not using the skill.
Furious and frustrated out of his mind, he could only begrudgingly set his attention away and towards the battlefield.
The sweltering rain of mes covered hundreds of meters and turned a small part of the dungeon into a ckened ground as could be seen in front of them.
As far as theyid their eyes, they could only see scorched earth and fire that was yet to die out. There were no signs of the demon anywhere.
''He managed to dodge the attack?!''
All the three kings had the same thought in their minds.
Chapter 898- This is my dungeon... (3)
Chapter 898- This is my dungeon... (3)
''He managed to dodge the attack?!" All three kings had the same thoughts in their minds.
Swoosh¡ a ck sh of light appeared in the sky and there stood the demon looking down at them with his very same condescending smile.
"What the hell''s the big idea? You havepletely messed up my floor? Do you think it is easy to nt all of these trees or evene up with a concept for a floor? Apologise to my developer soul".
Developer Soul? When the three ns heard that, their eyes couldn''t help but twitch. The attack from the ck ogre king packed enough power to raze their entire army. Yet what the demon was more concerned about was the environmental damage?!!
"I give it to you demon, I didn''t think you would be able to dodge my attack. That movement skill of yours appears to be [ck sh] at first nce. However, it should be higher grade skill right?"
Gil-Garna pointed his finger at the demon and pointed out the mysterious movement skill he had been using. Normally it was impossible for a movement skill to dodge an attack with that much range.
But if it was a high grade Rare or Lost, it was possible.
"Well, in any case, your movement skill is amazing. However, you are still not our match. You are underestimating us if you think that you can take all of us alone".
When he said all that, the smile on the demon''s face finally receded little by little and some seriousness appeared in his expression.
"Haha, way to ruin my fun and it was just getting exciting too" Simon sighed shrugging his shoulders "You are right, even after I used all of those skills of mine, there still remains arge gap between us. I guess the title of seven kings aren''t just for show".
"Heh, so you realise it. However, even if you beg us at this moment¡"¡
"Precisely because you are the seven kings, that I won''t go easy on you"¡
"What do you mean?"
The three kings narrowed their eyes. Just a few moments ago he admitted that he was unable to beat them even if he went all out. What was he saying all of a sudden now?
Pointless persistence...
Simon smirked "You absolute idiots. You busted inside my dungeon even while knowing that it might be a trap. You spearheaded all the floors without any ns and got caught in my traps stupendously. Even after you reached the 91st floor you still fail to realise it"
"Hehehe¡ You all have been dancing in the palm of my hand. Do you really think as the master of the dungeon I would appear before you without any n?"
The moment Simon finished speaking a superrge formation that covered dozens of kilometres ofnd appeared from within the ground and encircled all of them in its halo.
Hubbub¡ amotion erupted among the crowd. The three ns who were fighting with the evolved orc n, were taken aback by the sudden appearance of the formation and the halo around them.
Havinge to the 91st floor after surviving many traps and floors, they instantly knew that it was a ploy from the enemy and quickly became alerted. Although they didn''t know what the formation did, they nheless didn''t want to get caught in it.
"Hmph, another trap? Is that all you have after saying all that? We have climbed all this way after taking on all kinds of trap. A single formation at this point wouldn''t change anything"
Shasurna hissed patronising the ploy of the demon.
Unlike the snake king, Gil-Garna was much more radical "Wait, something is not right. The size and mana contained within the formation are off the charts. We cannot be careless" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Although just like others he did not believe that anything the demon could do at this point could change the oue of the battle, the words that thetter said bugged him.
He did not that the demon would use a simple trap at this point, there had to be something else to this formation.
"A formation sorge must need a huge mana vein to power it. Could it be that a huge vein runs through this floor?"
Gil-Garna muttered to himself. A foreboding feeling struck and he could not help but utter "Quick stop him. The formation is yet to fully activate".
His intuition took over and he rushed towards the demon.
"Get scorched and die¡ Ignite me de Eldur" a scorching pir of mes erupted from his sword and rushed towards Simon.
Thetter easily dodged it and counter attacked with his own magic. Having upgraded his skills beyond their limits, Simon was capable of going toe to toe with even higher ranking demon when it came to Mana control and Magic conjuring speed.
"It''s useless to try to stop me at this point" Simon spoke.
"I wonder about that¡ Shaaa~ you will pay for making me go through that embarrassing disy" Shasurna hissed.
Like a snake slithering through the ground, he appeared behind Simon at an insane speed. His previous emerald scales now even glossier and his harpoon released intense amount of cold energy.
They wrapped around him increasing his defence and offence manifold.
"Eat this [Ice Wyrm Rush]" An attack that incorporated his entire body and insane of cold energy.
Shasurna rushed towards the demon wrapped in thickyers of ice that made him appear just like a ice wyrm.
"Too Slow" However, Simon easily evaded it. Now that his movement skill [ck sh] had evolved into [Rift Walk] he could evade attacks much faster than before.
Not only that, just like the name suggests, it allowed him to step into a rift momentarily thus avoiding all attacks. Thanks to this skill, he was even able to evade and dodge thatrge AOE attack from the Ogre king.
If he had to say, the only drawback to this skill would be that after every activation, the duration of the skill bes shorter and shorter.
Chapter 899- MK 3 Armour
Chapter 899- MK 3 Armour
That is to say, now that he used the skill to evade therge AOE magic from earlier, the duration he could stay inside the rift using [Rift Walk] has be incredibly short.
As if his body had no substance, Shasurna in his Ice Wyrm king form passed through the demon like he was some kind of ghost.
"What?" The snake king was shocked; however, in his anger he did not give up on his assault easily. He attacked again and again forcing Simon to continuously use his [Rift Walk] at that distance.
Finally, after a while, his attack connected.
BAM!!
"Ice Wyrm Bind" Shasurna shouted. His tail wrapped around the demon tightly restricting all of his movements.
"Hahaha, good one Shasurna. Leave the final blow to me"
At the same moment, the Ivory Rhino King came charging at him at supersonic speed. His big burly arms that was more than twice the size of an average human thigh, vibrated at an insane speed and some kind of jelly like substance coiled around his biceps.
Yverza was using the same move he did from before. Though this time, it was sure tond.
"Take this, the might of my rhino n. [Body Empowerment¡ª Power Lariat".
The Ivory Terraquake Rhino roared.
Simon who was unable to break through the bind of the Ice Wyrm skill saw the elbow of the rhino king magnifying in front of his eyes at his every millisecond.
Just before it connected, an expression of determination appeared on his face. The left eye on him shed.
BANG¡ as if hundreds of thousands of TNT exploded, the noise was so deafening that it could be heard from all around the floor.
The powerfulriat move from Yverza connected shattering any and all defences along with the bones of the demon. Thetter broke off the binding and fell towards the ground like a meteor from the pure force.
SILENCE~ an absolute silence descended onto the floor before getting overwhelmed by the loud cheers of the three ns.
"We did it¡ We did it. We finally defeated the demon!!"¡
"Nobody can stand on their feet after receiving that move from Lord Yverza. It is our victory"¡
"That demon should be dead. Even if he is not, he won''t be able to fight any longer"¡
"Hahaha, did you see that you inferior orcs? Orcs our lords won. Give up now, this battle is over".
While the ogre, rhino and the snake n cheered, the orcs fighting the battle were devastated. Many of them even felt the will to fight slip through them. Their eyes masked with despair and disbelief.
"How can this be? Did our lord really get defeated?"¡
"Will our race of Orcs get defeated and subdued by the ogres once again?"..
They were just about to throw down their weapons in surrender when they saw the orcsmanders who were closest to the Orc King Berigard, still fighting with all their might.
No hesitation or fear could be seen from their fight almost as if they didn''t believe that the battle was over yet.
"What are you bastards doing? Get your weapons up and get back to fighting. If you lots have time to think, than use that to fight to your death. There is no way our lord would be defeated, he is someone who cannot be judged usingmon sense"
Berilock shouted. Together with Other Orc Generals, he kept mounting the pressure on the enemy.
Seeing one of their generals still fighting, the rest of them also raised their weapons and joined the fray. The battle continued.
.
.
Over at the centre of the floor, the three kings hurriedly assembled around the crater where the demon crashed.
"That attack was quite powerful, no matter what tricks he has, I''m sure the demon is knocked unconscious if not extremely injured after that"
Shasurnamented. Since he was closest to the demon, he could tell how powerful the attack was. What''s more, thanks to his [Ice Wyrm Bind], the attack connected squarely on the demon''s chest.
Usually, Gil-Garna who was always radical, felt that the demon was done for this time. ''Now then, since the demon has been taken care of, it''s time¡''
He was just in the midst of organising his thoughts when he saw the dust clouding from the centre of the crater clear off and the figure nted on the ground appear in his vision. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"This!!" At that moment his eyes widened and his mind became nk for a moment.
Noticing his change, the other two kings also followed his gaze and stared at the centre of the crater only to freeze in ce the second.
"How can that be? This is impossible. I saw with my own eyes the attack connect?"
Shasurna muttered in disbelief. He rubbed his eyes as if doubting it. Yverza started at his hand and Gil-Garna was sceptic. As beings who stood at the top of this forest, their perception and cognitive abilities were higher than anyone in this forest.
If it was any deception or any trick, they would easily be able to see it. Yet even with their skills, they were unable to see this oue.
What was going on? The same thought ran through the heads of all of them. They saw the attack connect. There was no time to dodge nor did they sense any attempt to dodge from the demon.
Yet then why¡ why was there this thing?
Gil-Garna, Yverza an Shaurna stared at the centre of the crater. There a figure could be seen lying on the floor.
The attack had connected and the demon fell on the floor or so it should have been. So why was there this grey thing instead of the demon?
Thought as they much, they couldn''t arrive at an answer no matter what.
CRACK.. suddenly there was some movement from the grey thing. It spasmed, its whole body wiggling like a caterpir and sounds of bones cracking could be heard from it.
After what seemed like a couple of seconds, the thing took on a humanoid form that vaguely resembled the demon and stood on its feet.
Chapter 900- MK 3 Armor (2)
Chapter 900- MK 3 Armor (2)
There was a huge indent on its chest that appeared to be from suffering some powerful blow.
Looking at that wound, a thought appeared in each of the three kings'' minds. That indent that sunk deep into its chest cavity horizontally, it was no doubt from the Lariat attack from the Ivory Rhino King.
What was going on? Why did this thing have this mark on it when it clearly should be on the demon?
BANG¡. At that moment, something hit the ground behind them at an insane speed, raising up dust along with it. When the three kings turned around, they found another grey humanoid figure like the first one standing behind them.
"This¡"
"Fingers of Ozymandias. The two you see are the fifth and fourth finger"
Simon answered the perplexed kings. Immediately three pairs of eyes darted towards the figure that was behind the grey humanoid thing.
"You¡ how did you get there? No, how did you avoid that attack in the first ce?"
Yverza questioned. As someone who dealt the blow, he personally saw his attack connecting. Unless time itself had stopped at that time, there was no way of avoiding that attack.
This should have been the case yet the demon was standing perfectly fine and without any scratch in front of him.
"Ah, about that, you see I used..." Simon started, though through the middle of the sentence he started berating them "Like hell I am gonna tell you about my abilities. People who openly and foolishly b the details about the abilities to their foes are the ones who get the rug pull from under them, don''t you know?".
"What are you talking about?" It was only natural for the three kings to not understand.
Simon did not borate further. With a swift movement from his arm, the formation finished forming. Onceplete, the formation looked even more impressive and abstruse than before as it covered all the area around them in multiple rings like a hemisphere.
"Now then, let us begin round two"
As soon as he said that, a powerful pressure descended onto thend making everyone inside the formation feel as if a mountain like weight was pressing down on them.
Some of the members of the three ns who were already too exhausted, were unable to take the pressure and kissed the ground face first. It was not only the weakest members of the three ns who were affected, even some of the high level ones fell to their knees.
The three kings were no exception either. Although still standing, one could see the expression of confidence disappear from their faces.
MURMUR¡ MURMUR¡ amotion erupted on the battlefield. The sudden turn in the tide of the battle took everyone by surprise.
The three ns were astonished but so were the orcs fighting them. The sudden decrease in the speed and strength of the opponent wasn''t something that they expected. Nevertheless, they did not waste this opportunity and continued to mount the pressure.
Before long, the momentum of the battlepletely shifted towards the orc''s side.
"Hmmm.. our stats have gone done!! So this is the effect of the formation huh?"
The three kings muttered as they observed their conditions. To be able to instantly gauge their situation, the three kings were no pushovers.
That being said what the three kings observed was right. The formation covering half of the floor not only put an intense pressure on the ones inside the formation, but also reduced the stats.
The only exception to this were the allies that were registered as the inhabitants of the dungeon.
"Dammit, what kind of sick formation is this? My stats have been reduced by one fifth. This is ridiculous"
Shasurna hissed trying to resist the weakening effects of the formation. However, it was all a futile attempt. As beings who reached the peak of catastrophe ss, they might be able to shrug off the effects from foes weaker or simr to their level.
However, the formation covering half of the 91st floor was no ordinary formation but a high grade one. Something that shouldn''t appear in a [B] rank dungeon.
That said, the three kings didn''t have the leisure to calmly question all of the surreal things happening around them as Simon had already begun his assault.
Using the [Shortcut] option he quickly manifested the numerous magic he stored inside without needing to go through the hassle of casting them.
Simon using his [Shortcut] option was so fast that the three kings barely had time to react at all.
BOOOM¡ BOOOM¡ BOOOM¡
[Searing Hellstorm], [Whirlwind Maelstrom], [Thunderp Blitz]¡
Gil-Garna and the others were each hit with advanced magic that packed enough power to bypass their defence and injure them severely.
The floor rocked and for a while, the three kings werepletely forced into defence.
SHHH¡ in a pit which was hit by multiple pir sized thunderbolts, Gil-garna could be seen with his arms crossed in front of him as a shield. His sword was knocked out from his hands and multiple wounds and scorched marks could be seen on his skin.
Evidence that the magic managed to deal a lot of damage to him.
"I see so you are nning to use the formation to fight us?"
Fighting the three of them together and winning was simply not possible. As such, the demon was utilising the formation to weaken and fight them. It was a strategy only possible because of the dungeon.
For the first time since entering the dungeon, Gil-Garna''s face was masked with a grim atmosphere. He was forced to admit that the demon was not an opponent that he could look down on and needed to go all out to even stand a chance of winning.
"Dammit, what is with his ridiculous casting speed? At this stage can it even be called casting? There is no chant dy at all" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Shasurna crawled out from under the mountain of rubble that he was pushed under. His words were followed by Yverza who also pulled himself up looking worse for wear.
Chapter 901- MK 3 Armor (3)
Chapter 901- MK 3 Armor (3)
"It''s not just that, his skills and abilities are all extremely high tier with no wasted movement or energy. How the hell did this demon train himself to this stage? Wasn''t he just a low ranking demon when he came here?"
The Ivory Terraquake Rhino smacked his face. The situation is now out of their hand. The realisation that they might be defeated was slowly creeping into them.
"How was that? Do you all like my formation? Now although there is still some gap between our stats, it''s not so much that I can''t injure you" Simon made a fist while grinning demonically.
"Hmm¡ I see, I admit that with this you are able to fight us. However, it is still too early..."
"Don''t worry, it''s not over" Simon did not let Gil-Garna finish
"Oh?! It''s finally here" he said while looking at an object flying here at a rapid speed.
"Hehe, rejoice. I have decided to use all of my cards that I have prepared until today on you all. From this point on, I''m done ying games".
What was the demon on about? He still had something up his sleeve? The three kings did not have to question as they saw the object flying in the sky reach the demon.
It was a ck case with some red patterns like circuits running all over it. What was the case for? Simon was about to demonstrate it to them.
ZAP¡ as soon as Simon touched the ck case, multiple red lightnings erupt forth from it. The case as if it was made up of numerous micro cubes, started disassembling and spreading from the point of contact to his entire body like some virus.
It started with his hands and quickly spread to his entire body, forming an armour that was very reminiscent of the Andromedas series.
Of course, unlike the other Andromedas, the armour that wrapped around Simon was of a different calibre. Not only was it from the Mk3 series it was also specially made for him.
After he showed Wisp a design from another war machine from the game, the former started working on it enthusiastically. What''s more, the time it took Wisp to make it was simr to what it took to assemble an entire toon of MK5 andromedas 1000 units strong.
From this one could imagine how powerful the armour was. Once fully equipped, Simon stood in the sky in front of the three kings. His previously overbearing manner and looks was enhanced manifold after he wore the armour.
The MK3 armour not only has a striking ck colour scheme, but it also possessed a visually distinctive design.
The Mk 3 special armour predominantly features a dark ck colour with ents of red present, adding a regal and authoritative appearance to the overall look. The armor also has an ornate and intricate design showcasing a blend of ancient and advanced techniques.
For its shape, it is far more sleek and angr showcasing sharp lines and edges. Unlike the typical Andromedas which are built much bulkier, it had a more humanoid look.
"Hohh, not bad. I can feel the power surging through my entire body. The armour is not only enhancing my powers but it is also synthesising the skills I already possess with the ones bestowed by the armour."
Simon clenched his hands feeling the armour on his body. At this moment, his entire body, from head to toe was decked out in a jet ck armour. The helmet had a traditional Roman warrior look with a futuristic design.
The facete often has a menacing appearance, with nted eye slits that glow with a fierce light. This gives the armour a fearsome and intimidating look, especially when his eyes glow red.
For the chest te, it is robust and heavily armored, with intricate patterns and designs etched into the surface. The patterns resemble the tattoos that Simon has on his body as if emphasizing the mystical nature of the armor.
The pauldrons arerge and segmented, providing ample protection while allowing for a range of motion. The arm guards are simrly detailed, with red ents and patterns running along the length of the forearms.
The fingers of the gauntlets are sharp and w-like, enhancing the armors menacing appearance. The leg armors are sturdy and designed for both protection and mobility.
Overall, the armor is designed to convey power, authority, and mysticism. Itbines elements of ancient warrior design with futuristic technology, creating a unique blend of formidable appearance that is both intimidating and elegant.
"Very good¡ if this armour can already do this much at this stage, then the creation of those series bes open to creation. Ah, my bad I was too upied with myself. Now then, shall we start this?"
Simon did not wait, as soon as he spoke those words, red lightning jut forth from his armour and like a ghost, he appeared in front of Gil-Garna.
Previously, out of the three he was the most guarded against this ogre. Knowing that the fellow was quite scheming and was hiding his strength, he fought it out with him while keeping his distance.
Now, however, there was no need for that. Simon appeared in front of the ogre king, stretched his body and delivered a punch.
BOOM¡ His strength which was already amplified by several auguemnting skills and Ancestral Symbol Ignition was further taken up a notch by the Mk 3 armour.
As the fist travelled and inching closer to Gil-garna''s face, it severely distorted the air and left minute cracks behind. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
At this point, the punch could no longer be said to be from a Demon Marquess but from a being of a much higher rank.
Facing the fist erge in his eyes, Gil-Garna had no time to react. The punch connected and the blow nearly knocked his consciousness for a split second.
GUHH!! He yelled in pain but the demon did not ease his assault and kept barraging him with multiple attacks.
Chapter 902- Orc King Berigard
Chapter 902- Orc King Berigard
In what seemed like a second, Gil-Garna was attacked more than three times and sent flying and crashing far back.
"Crystallise Energy Shield"
Soon after dealing with the Ogre King, Simon muttered those words and an energy shield appeared beside him.
CLANG¡ a crashing noise rang out and the harpoon that was flung towards him with all of its might was deflected back.
"Is that all you got?"¡
"Don''t get full of yourself just because of this"
Simon''s taunt hit right at the target and Shasurna came slithering at him forgoing all of his defence.
"You puny demon, how dare you look down on me, the king of the Snakemen, lord Shasurna". Intense amount of ice energy and mist realised out of the harpoon as Shasurna repeatedly thrust his weapon.
His skills as well as the mist created the illusion of multiple ice harpoons which were very tricky and difficult to dodge.
However, against such an all out assault all Simon did was use his movement skill and powerful speed bestowed by the armour to dodge all of it. None of the attacks from Shasurna was able to connect.
"What?!! This can''t be¡"
Using the moment when Shasurna was caught by surprise, he grabbed onto the tail of the Snakemen and flung him around just like he did previously.
BANG¡ BANG¡ BANG¡ he repeatedly mmed him on the ground, making the snake king remember his previous humiliation. That said, no matter how indignant and aggrieved he felt previously, this time he had no room to spare for any such feeling.
The bashing this time was different and packed so much power that the life was almost wrung out from the poor Snakemen.
"[Granite Spinebuster], [Terraquake Takedown]" At that instant Yverza appeared behind Simon out of nowhere and initiated his attack only to be repelled by the powerful automatic discharge of the armor.
"These kinds of attacks won''t work on me" Simon smirked and pointed at the rhino king "Ah right, you are the fellow who takes pride in his body right? Come let me shatter that pride of yours today".
Saying that, he startedshing out with punches at the Ivory Terraquake Rhino. Thetter also responded in kind without backing down. Thus started a head on fistfight with no tricks or magic.
A pure gruelling fist fight where muscles and armour pitted against each other in a manly and bloody disy of violent power.
HAAAA!!! Yverza gave a loud war cry to ignite his spirits. Head on fights, especially physical was his strong forte. Blessed by a strong physique and the endogenous armour of the Terraquake rhino n since birth, he polished his weapons to the point where no one from his n could match him any longer.
Using the ancient beast inheritance he became a variant which further improved his physical abilities. Much less the terraquake rhino n, there was hardly any opponent that could match him in the entire forest.
Even the seven kings couldn''t match him when it came to pure physical fights. Naturally, he took pride in his body. It was also the reason why he was surprised to see the demon challenge him into a physical fight.
However, as time went on, the surprise changed into pure disbelief and even horror as he saw the demon not only keeping up with his attacks but even pressuring him on multiple asions.
This went on for a short while until Yverza found himself being suppressed. He was being crushed in an area that was supposed to be his forte.
What was going on?
BAM¡ BAM¡ BAM¡ BAM¡ BAM¡ multiple punchesnded on his face, chest, sr plexus and dug into his armour. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
BANG¡stly with a solid jab on his jaw, that almost dislocated it, the rhino kind was sent flying like the other two kings.
SILENCE¡ an absolute silence descended onto the battlefield as the onlookers nced at the surreal scene that was urring in front of them.
The Seven Kings, the beings who stood at the pinnacle of power in the ghastly winding forest, beings who had long surpassed the realm of the ordinary and reached a stage where every move of theirs caused serious aftereffects around the environment.
The beings who hailed in their own territories of the forest as kings were at this moment getting their ass handed to them while absolutely being crushed by their opponent.
How could such a scene not surprise them to the point of disbelief? Many among the three tribes even rubbed their eyes seemingly wanting to confirm if what they saw was real or not.
Such a thorough and overwhelming beating, this was the first time in several hundred years that something like this happened.
Meanwhile, the enemy was on the verge of losing their moral, the orcs side was getting stronger by the momentum. By now, the battlefield had turned deep red from all the blood that was shed during the battle and the numbers of the invaders had been cut down to a mere fraction of what it was before.
The three ns no longer looked as impressive and grand as they did when entering the dungeon.
The contrast was so much that, evenbined no one would say that they were formerly the three kings ns of the forest.
"Spiral Thunder"
Thunder spiralling like a coil, dropped down from the sky and attacked a ck Ogre with an indigo horn. Thetter hurriedly moved away from the ce and barely managed to avoid it.
However, this was a move that was anticipated by his enemy as multiple magic could be seen already taking form and ready to be hurled towards him.
The ck ogre with the indigo horn was unable to do anything and was forced to ask for hisrade''s help. Another ck ogre with an indigo horn appeared beside the one to offset the attack.
Together the two of them managed to put a match against their opponent, the orc with an extremely human like appearance.
Chapter 903- Orc King Berigard (2)
Chapter 903- Orc King Berigard (2)
Decked out in a high grade robe, staff and bone fragments around his locket, he was none other than Berigard, the new king of the orcs.
After evolving to Bloodfang Warchief, the already small physique of his condensed further and now he looked no different from an average human. That is if one overlooked his skin colour and the fact that he possessed sharp fangs that protruded from his mouth.
His ears and eyes also looked a little different and are the only aspects that told others that he was an orc.
"Spatial Shift" incanting a spell silently, Berigard disappeared from his ce, deftly avoiding the attack of his enemies and appearing at a distance. He swung his staff and quickly cast several intermediate tier magic and moved away from his ce once again.
Like this, he kept his enemies at bay while simultaneously diverting his attention to conjure another magic. A powerful Amalgamtion of advanced magic that took the form of a gigantic rock golem.
If Simon saw the golem, he would no doubt recognise the spell after all, it was the very same spell he had seen Berigard cast for the very first time he met the orc. At that time, thetter was fighting the Lightning Draconic Serpent using the rock golem.
Had it not been for his intervention, the Lightning Draconic Serpent might have been killed by the orc. From this one could understand how powerful the magic being cast was.
That said, the information was from the past. The current rock golem being conjured was magnitudes apart from the past. Not only was it bigger, mean looking and sturdier, it was made from the amalgamation of multiple advanced magic.
That alone spoke volumes of how powerful the rock golem was going to be. The opponent ck ogres must have also realised it as they grit their teeth in frustration.
"That rock golem is giving me a bad omen. Gish-Bor, let''s quickly finish this battle"¡
"Who do you think you are giving orders to? I already know that dammit"
Thetter clenched their weapon. Even among the n of ck ogres, only a handful were capable of reaching the indigo horn which was considered to be a special and powerful rank under the ogre king.
As such, it stands to reason that every single ogre that managed to reach this stage were crucial fighting power of the ck ogre n and the direct subordinates of the ogre king.
In this battle, the ones fighting against Berigard were none other than Gish-Bor and Gish-Nar.
Sensing the threat the rock golem represented, they quickly joined hands and attacked Berigard together. However, he was very slippery and annoying opponent who knew his weakness and strength well. Dealing with him was not going to be easy.
"How the hell did the orcs be so strong? Weren''t they lowly weaklings we could easily trample a few years ago?"
Gish-Narined deflecting a huge column of earth with his own magic.
"It must be because of the dungeon. It must be what strengthened them. Now wonder lord Gil-Garna wants to take the ce under his control. Once we capture the dungeon, our ck ogre n shall rule the world"
Gish-Bor answered. His eyes were shining from the prospectus of being able to conquer the dungeon which was filled with treasures and unknown mystery.
"Since it hase to this, let''s use that"
Gish-Bor spoke. He didn''t wait for an answer and immediately started running. His speed was fast but not enough for Berigard to miss him.
Thetter hurriedly tried to move away from his ce using the very same technique [Spatial Shift]. One of the bone fragments on his ne shone and the space around him distorted teleporting his body away.
However, the moment Berigard appeared at a distance, he realised that he had fallen for his enemy''s trap. ming axe that covered arge area dropped down on him cutting off all of his exit.
Now that he had already used the [Spatial Shift] there was no way he could dodge this. Even if he could cancel the magic with his own, there was still Gish-Bor who was hot on his tail. A single mistake could decide the battle.
"I see, I guess I can''t win this without that¡ [Imprable Orc Rampart]" Berigard muttered something under his breath right before the magic and attacks from Gish-Bor.
BOOM¡ the attacks of two level 600 ck ogres at full strength was terrifying. Powerful shockwaves hit the area and everyone and everything that was near the area was blown back several dozen meters in the air.
"That should do it right?" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Gish-Nor looked at the unmoving rock golem. If that thing started moving, then even with him joining hands with Gish-Bor he wasn''t condiment that he could take it down. Especially now that their stats have been suppressed.
''That damn formation'' Gish-Nor cursed. Gish-Bor beside him was also keeping a close eye on the battlefield. The appearance of the formation was unexpected and had took the three ns by surprise.
Suppressing stats was a nasty move, not to mention there were also other afflictions imposed on them. Even with the three ns'' strength, it was impossible to fully contain the orcs any longer.
Gish-Bor''s eyes were grim as he nced at the battlefield. Thankfully, in terms of quality, they had the upper hand.
The opponent only had a single orc above level 600. Whereas, their three ns still had four people who had surpassed level 600. Even if he and Gish-Nar were tied down here, it still left Gish-Bagh and Grom unchecked.
Thanks to them, they can still somehow manage to break even from this tight situation. And as long as they could hold out until their kings won, it would be their victory or so he had thought.
However, when his attention was drawn over towards the area where the three kings and the demon were fighting, his expression along with his hopes and expectations were crushedpletely.
Chapter 904- First Ability of the Celestial Ocularis
Chapter 904- First Ability of the Celestial Ocris
A beating so thorough that it left no question. The scene that Gish-Bor saw was no fight but an abuse of power.
They were being thrown, hurled in the air, mmed into the ground, used as a club and more. Basically, they were being humiliated in every way imaginable.
It was a scene that evoked fear, awe and deterrence for the one who managed to pull off this feat. However, Gish-Bor was unable to feel any such feelings other than the first because the one being brutally humiliated was not the demon, but the side of the three kings.
What kind of bullshit was that? How could the kings be suppressed and beaten like that?
There was no doubt that each party was fighting with their full strength, yet they still cannot win against the demon?
The enemy was a single demon not to mention all three kings were fighting him together yet this was the oue?
For a moment, he felt like he was a fool who came to watch the circus since there was no other way to exin the event that was going on right now.
"Dammit Gish-Bor, pay attention. Our opponent is not dead yet!!" From the side, came the warning from hisrade.
When Gish-Bor turned around to see, he noticed that the orc he was fighting, was still alive. Amidst the clouds of dust that rose, his figure could be seen standing still and straight like a mountain.
There were hardly any scratches or wounds on his body even after taking theirbined attacks. What was there was instead a tall red fortress that covered the body of the orc in it.
There was no doubt, the fortress was what stopped their attacks. "A defensive skill?" it was only natural for him to be surprised after all, the skill used by the orc was no ordinary skill but a high tier rare defensive skill.
Furthermore, a skill that can create a defensive like a fortress was a skill that should be exclusive to warriors. Yet the orc who obviously evolved in a way that maximised his power and diversity of magic, was using a skill that all warriors dream of.
How did that make any sense?
"Up until now the orc was only using magic attacks and that peculiar movement skill of his¡ could it be that he was still not going all out against us?"
At this moment, Gish-Bor realised that he had severely underestimated his enemy. It was only the demon but even the army hemanded under him was not something that they could offend.
Was this entire crusade to conquer the dungeon a mistake?
Just as that thought arrived inside his mind, he heard a loud bang behind him and the grunts of three people whose voices were much too familiar to him.
On the battlefield where the three kings were fighting the demon, something must have urred there. He was sure that the three kings were on edge and needed help.
However, he did not have the time nor the leisure to look behind him since in front of him he could see the gigantic rock golem starting to move.
The Amalgamation magic wasplete. From the side, he could see Gish-Bagh and the other making their move.
Gritting his teeth and making up his mind, he spoke "Gish-Nor leave this to me and join with Gish-Bagh and the other. Aid lord Gil-Garna to defeat the demon".
Gish-Nor looked at him and confirmed in a grim tone "Are you sure? The opponent has been hiding his strength. Even if we both work together, that rock golem¡"
"Just go!! In order to make sure that we win this battle, we need to defeat the demon. That is the only way. We can''t get tied down here"
Gish-Bor roared. In the distance, the rock golem made noise. It opened its huge mouth and gave a grating roar.
Berigard stood on top of the rock golem and looked down at the retreating ck ogre. At that instant, the eyes of the rock golem shone brightly and it swung its ginormous fist.
Air burst and ripples spread in the air as its fist moved towards the ck ogre. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Just when it seemed like thetter would be squashed into pulp, the other ogre stood in between the attack and took it for them. Using all of their strength, skill and momentum, they barely managed to deflect the attack to miss them by a slight margin.
BOOM¡ the fist crashed on the ground rising dust and destroying thend. Using this chance when the rock golem was immobile the other ck ogre who never stopped running fled from the battlefield and joined with the others.
Berigard looked at them and spoke in a serious tone "I will not let you interfere with lord Simon''s battle".
The rock golem answering his call, took a step forward and started moving towards Gish-Bagh and the others.
"Your opponent is me!! ... [Blood Conversion]" Gish-Bor stood between the rock golem and hisrades and activated his skill. The difference between his and the golem''s size was so stark that one can''t evenpare them.
An ant trying to stand his ground against an elephant, that''s what it looked like. Yet it was this ant who released a blood red aura which made it hard for Berigard to ignore him.
Over at the distance, Gish-Bagh and the other quickly defeated the opponents standing in front of them and rushed towards their lord. However, their path was blocked by a couple of people who stood in front of them at an unknown point.
"How shall we do this? Do we each take one opponent to y with?" Bea asked with a lively smile.
"Hoh? Are you saying that you can''t take them all on your own? I guess it can''t be helped then, I shall lend you a hand. Attacking these underlings hardly befits my status as a queen but I guess I have no choice here" Melinda brushed her hair aside haughtily.
"What did you say you, you vixen!!" the two butted heads.
Chapter 905- First Ability of the Celestial Ocularis (2)
Chapter 905- First Ability of the Celestial Ocris (2)
While the two were busy quarrelling between themselves, Mars stepped forward and dered aloofly¡ª
"I shall take them all on my own".
He did not wait for a reply and quickly engaged with the enemy. While this happened, the two also came back to their senses.
"Hey, who gave you the permission to take them all on your own? Dammit, I wanted to y with the intruders too" Bea shouted, displeased.
"Well, I have no qualms if you want to take them all¡ but will he be alright?" Melinda turn towards Irene and asked a question.
Just like always, she was calm and unruffled by everything happening around her. Irene''s crystal blue eyes which were closely monitoring Simon,nded on Mars for a second as she answered.
"He will be alright. As someone who aims to be the spear of that man, he will not fall no matter what".
That was the impression she had of him. As someone who had known the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse the longest after Simon, she understood its traits and disposition very well.
It was because she understood that, she knew that the Warhorse would not stand for anyone trying to disturb the battle of his master.
"Tch, as much as I wanted to y with those bastards, I will relent this time and give it to him. I''m sure even if we leave him be, he will take care of it in the quickest way possible" Bea grunted, settling down.
The Warhorse Demonic Warhorse had already stepped into the realms of level 700 and although he was yet to reach the peak of his rank his strength was not any weaker than the Seven Kings.
Forget about a few level 600+ opponents, even if there were dozens or hundreds of them, they were still not his match.
However, Melinda did not know that and was up for some surprise when Mars slowly released his aura. Dense me that took the form of ck thunder slowly spread with him as the centre. The menacing ancient armour he wore slowly lit up with a crimson light.
"Level 700+?!! No wonder¡"
.
.
"Get out of the way" When Gish-Bagh and the others saw Mars standing in front of them, they cursed out andshed out with all their strength.
Full power attacks of three beings who surpassed level 600 rained down on him. However, like a sturdy tree that refused to go down even against the most dastardly of storms, his figure took the full brunt of the attacks without even moving an inch.
"Just with that ability and you dare to fight against my master? Know you ce weaklings"
Mars roared. He extended his hands and tore off his horns to make two spears from it. The spears were long, crimson in colour and had a unique shape to it.
These spears when shed against the weapons of the ck ogres and terraquake rhino, were easily able to overwhelm them after all, these spears were no ordinary spears but something that were made out of the bloodthorn on its body.
Be it in terms of durability or effectiveness, they wereparable to even [S] tier weapons. Mars fended off the three direct subordinates of the kings while at the same time cornering them like cornered animals unable to fight back or retaliate.
These spears when shed against the weapons of the ck ogres and terraquake rhino, were easily able to overwhelm them after all, these spears were no ordinary spears but something that were made out of the bloodthorn on its body.
Be it in terms of durability or effectiveness, they wereparable to even [S] tier weapons. Mars fended off the three direct subordinates of the kings while at the same time cornering them like cornered animals unable to fight back or retaliate.
Whether it be speed, strength, abilities or the level of their skills, he had thempletely outmatched.
.
.
While Mars was holding off Gish-Bagh and the others, Simon waspletely dominating his battle. Equipped with the MK3 armor along with his numerous powerful skills and abilities, the three kings could hardly keep up with him.
BANG¡ a powerful blownded sending Shasurna reeling back. The next instant before Simon could take a breath, Yverza got behind him and tightly grabbed him with his grip.
"What are you nning?"¡
"Just hurry up and die!!... [Bone Crushing Suplex]"¡
BOOM¡ with a force to crush a mountain, Yverza mmed Simon on the ground. Dust rose as high as the ceiling and created a deep pit whose depth couldn''t be seen.
This was the Wrestling skill the [Bone Crushing Suplex] that he employed and was a move thatpletely crushed an opponent''s back and skeleton whole. Even if it was the demon, he wouldn''t be able to get up from that move.
Assured of his victory, Yverza grinned. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"This should be enough to kill the demon¡ huh" just as he was muttering that to himself, his eyes looked at the depth of the pit and froze for a good while.
Why would it not after all, when the dust settled and it was visible to see what was stuck inside the pit, it was revealed that the thing rooted on the ground was not the demon but instead, the grey humanoid thing that took hisriat the first time.
This!! What?! How?! The demon couldn''t have avoided the attack. Yverza was in disbelief.
"This is impossible, nobody can dodge that move. How did he do it?"
The [Bone Crushing Suplex] was a surprise attack that could be activated in a split second and packed enough power to crush even opponents of level 700. Unless one avoided getting caught by surprise entirely there was no dodging the attack.
"Nobody can dodge that move? Aren''t you being way too cocky? Well, I''ll admit that suplex move was powerful. However, it means nothing if it doesn''t connect. And besides I, can''t let you scratch my new shiny armour, you see there are still a lot of things I want to experiment with it"
Simon retorted grinning from the distance. There one could see him flying in the air with his wide bat like wings unfurled without a scratch.
"Huff¡ for a second there my breath got stuck in my throat. As expected of master, he won''t let his guard down so easily" Bea patted her ample chest sighing in relief after the big scare she got earlier.
"It''s good that he is well but how did he dodge that attack? Even with my irvoyance I couldn''t see how he did it?" Melinda questioned.
Chapter 906- Lava Magic, Spatial Strength
Chapter 906- Lava Magic, Spatial Strength
"Huff, it looks like he finally managed to grasp some of the mysteries of his left eye" Irenemented. Out of the three, she was the only one who perceived what happened.
Simon''s left eye that he brought back from the Auction of the Damned, the eye called the Celestial Ocris was finally disying a portion of its incredible abilities.
The ability to instantly swap ces with two targets in a specific range¡ [Swap]. That was the ability of the eye.
It was no wonder that the three kings as powerful as they were, are unable to figure out the way Simon escaped from their attacks twice.
With this ability of the Celestial Ocris, he changed ces with the finger of Ozymandias at the veryst second thus avoiding all damage that should have been suffered by him after taking on that attack.
That being said, [Swap] was just one of the abilities of the celestial ocris. If he could master all of them, then handling the three kings would be child''s y for him.
"Hehe, I don''t understand but it''s the master we are talking about, anything is possible for him" Bea added enamoured by his pompous and bold attitude.
Haaaa!!
"This is a hassle,e at me all together". The MK3 armour made a noise and an EMP ster rose off from each of his shoulders.
[Voltaic Surge] a powerful st of electrical energy that was manipted at an astounding level targeted the three kings.
Usually, such kinds of attacks wouldn''t even be able to reach anywhere near the three kings and would have simply dispersed by the powerful mana they subconsciously exuded.
However, the [Voltaic surge] was no ordinary attack but a futuristic umtion of power and technology that has been harnessed to its limits.
Even in the game [Rise of the Demolishers] a Mk3 Andromeda was a force that made numerous yers cry. Guilds would be forced to send their elite teams to raid one if one was sent by the empire or risk losing their average yers.
It was a force that needed a mid torge raid groups of elite yers just to defeat a Mk3 Andromeda. So one could imagine its power now that it had integrated with Simon a powerful Demon Marquess of his own.
The battle prowess disyed by the armor was leagues above what he could usually disy and was more than enough to bypass the defences of the three kings and hurt them.
"Dammit!! I can''t move. This is¡ paralysis!!"
The [Voltaic Surge] was not only capable of delivering devastating amounts of damage, but it could also paralyse the nerves of the targets.
[Elemental Fusion Cannons], [Quantum de Forge], [Inferno Overdrive Core]¡ like a child who received his early Christmas gift, Simon was relentless, attacking and splurging all kinds of new abilities of his new armour.
His figure from the observers'' eyes was truly demon like. A being of immense dark powers and magic. A cunning and notorious being whose personality leans towards ruthlessness and ambition.
Who takes indulgence in chaos and suffering, a perverse pleasure that makes the core of them. And at this moment, Simon be consciously or subconsciously, appeared the very definition of one.
[[Demon Marquess of Pride]].
In front of that demon, who toppled rationality on its head, the three kings were reduced to nothing but mere punch bags, something that was only good for taking hits.
HAAARRGHHH!!! Gil-Garna roared: "Don''t you dare forget your ce demon!! I am the king of the ck Ogres, a violet horn aberrant¡ GIL-GARNA!!"
With a soul stirring roar, the ogre king broke away from the barrage of attacks. His skin turned a dark red and his already big frame grew even bigger.
[Dark Gaia''s Blessing], a lost ancient skill that Gil-Garna acquired after inheriting the powers of an ancient beast. But that was not all, he extended his hands towards Simon and at that instant, thetter came to a stop.
rm bells rang inside his head!! Something was wrong, the air around him suddenly had be solid hampering his body and movements.
As if an invisible barrier was cast around Simon, he was unable to move. No, it was more like something was blocking him rather than him not being able to move.
Forced to increase his aura, he found out that although he was now able to move, doing so took more strength and energy from him.
"!!!" Once again trusting his senses sharpened by the years of training and intuition, he positioned his centre of bnce and pped his bat like wings at the veryst moment.
SWOOSH¡ Simultaneously, the thrusters located around the arms and legs of the armor activated, enhancing his mobility and flight at a zipping speed.
Simon barely managed to dodge the iing attack that erupted from under the ground that he was just a second ago.
"Inferno!!" the thing that popped out of the ground like a geyser was none other than hot boilingva.
RUMBLE¡ RUMBLE¡ under the maniptions of Gil-Garna, multipleva eruptions burst out of the ground seeming to want to melt the demon.
"This!! He... when did he reach such a level?"¡
"He was not serious at all when fighting before. Hepletely hid his strength from all of us until now" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Barely managing to react themselves, the Ivory Terraquake Rhino and the Emerald Viperlord grimaced at the strength difference.
The demon of the dungeon turned out to be much more stronger than they bargained for. Heck, he was suppressing them instead.
Even after putting down their pride and fighting together, they were barely able to hold on. Yet now Gil-Garna was fighting that demon alone. If this wasn''t pping their face and telling them they were never his equals, then what was?
Mutation Magic¡. pinnacle of magical mastery, transcending novice, intermediate, and advanced tiers. The realm where ordinary bes extraordinary.
A realm above the advanced tier that grants the user a profound control over the magical genome of their magic. Thus altering the fundamental structure in ways that defy conventional limits.
Chapter 907- Lava Magic, Spatial Strength (2)
Chapter 907- Lava Magic, Spatial Strength (2)
The ability to wield powers that adapt, evolve, and mutate, creating effects that are both unpredictable and immensely powerful is generally regarded as the Mutation Magic.
Only a small percentage of people in the world can attain this level of magic as it demands unparalleled skill and understanding. Next is Spatial Strength, a step into the extraordinary, an elusive realm that remains out of reach for most of the poption of the world. An ability that can manipte the very fabric of space, create imprable barrier to protect or lock someone in ce.
Spatial Strength is the illusionary ability that only those who have stepped into the unknown level 800 realm can disy.
Traversing skies as if walking on solid ground, creating spatial pockets or gouging something into oblivion, the illusory ability that grants an unparalleled strength and advantage, making its users near invincible inbat.
To disy not one but two extraordinary abilities, one could see how intimidating Gil-Garna''s strength had reached.
HAHAHA¡ DIE¡ DIE¡ The Ogre King grinned, drowned by his powers he let loose a relentless barrage of attacks on the demon.
Swaths of boilingva whose heat had reached an unimaginable level, shot out of the ground at an unimaginable speed, scorching and melting everything in a few meters area around them.
It appeared everywhere where the demon travelled and even chased after him.
"Mutation Magic huh, this will be troublesome" Simon muttered, destroying ava python that tried totch onto him.
Eighth meters wide and the size of titanoboa, not even a level 700+ being could underestimate them. Simon had to use quite a bit of effort to deal with them.
After the python was blown into smithereens, he nced at the giant volcano that was summoned by the Ogre King. That thing was jutting outrge volumes ofva all around the ce, quickly devouring everything in its path.
If nothing was done, the entire floor would be soon covered inva. At that point, even Simon wasn''t sure that he would be able to win against the three kings.
Tch¡ Clicking his tongue, he increased his speed even further. The MK3 armor as if responding to his wishes, increased its performance.
SWISH¡ SWISH¡ SWISH¡ Simon''s speed was so extreme that he left afterimages behind. Even though spatial strength was robbing of much of his mana, he did not care about it at this moment and roused his strength to its limit.
Thousands and thousands of swords attacked Gil-Garna from every direction. Like rivers, they flowed and meandered in various ways.
"It''s useless!! Now that I have used my mutation magic you won''t be able to reach me anymore"
Shouted the Ogre king. He flipped his palm and thick columns ofva rose from underneath him and blocked the rivers of sword, melting even some.
Using his spatial strength to apply pressure and hamper the movements of his opponent,va to attack and defend, he was practically untouchable.
Or so he thought.
"Don''t get full of yourself" a coarse voice reminded the ogre king that he was not invisible. Right after, a sword sh came diagonally from his right.
[Core Overdrive]¡ [Burnt Sword Mastery]¡ª [Downward Ascension]. RIP¡ ARGHH¡ blood and an arm flew, Gil-Garna managed to escape with his life intact by sacrificing his left arm.
"Hehe, this was your chance but you failed to kill me. You won''t get an opportunity like that again".
Saying that he strengthened the space around the demon and opened some distance. Thick volumes ofva coiled around him forming a defensive field. Lava and spatial strength, against his powers the demon was insignificant¡
"AARRGHH!!" Before Gil-Garna couldplete his thought, he screamed out once again. Blood sprayed and multiple wounds appeared on his body.
What was going on? A couple of swords managed to prate his body. The barrier was up so how?
Blood trickled down his nose and fell onto one of the swords. That was when he realised!! These swords, they were not just any ordinary swords but high ranked [S] tier swords. Every single one that stabbed into his body, all of them were [S] ranked.
This!! Gil-Garna''s eyes widened amongst the pain. [S] ranked weapons, each and every one of them was considered an extremely rare treasure. No matter where they appeared in the world they would create chaos of people wanting to possess them.
Even the Wyvern de which was made of a Wyvern''s fang in his possession and wasparable to [S] tier, was something he acquired after much difficulty. N?v(el)B\\jnn
It wasmon sense that a weapon as unique and rare as the [S] tier wouldn''t appear often. Yet as if wanting to topple that understanding in its head, multiple high ranking weapons appeared on the demon.
What''s more, he was even using them as sumptuously as if they were not any high ranking treasures but some vegetables you can just buy from the market.
How could one not be envious and baffled by this disy? However, no matter how many times he questioned the event, the proof was right in front of him stabbing into his body.
BURST¡ BURST¡ BURST¡ as if saying that it was not the end, multiple more swords prated through theva sphere surrounding him and came for his life.
Spatial Strength¡ relying on that illusory ability of his once again, Gil-Garna managed to somehow stop the attacks and move out of the way. However, the demon was already tracking every movement of his and ready with his next move by then.
"Tch, he realised"
The ogre king grit his teeth parrying all the attacks and magic thrown at him. Even though he was able to use Spatial Strength, it was not aplete mastery.
No matter how powerful and talented he was, in essence he was still level 799. He had yet to step into level 800. What he possessed could only be said to be Quasi Mastery. The ability to manipte space¡ had it been the true mastery of Spatial Strength, the demon wouldn''t have been able to break the space as easily.
Chapter 908- Surrender of the Ivory Terraquake Rhino and Emerald Viperlord.
Chapter 908- Surrender of the Ivory Terraquake Rhino and Emerald Viperlord.
The demon must have also realised this or perhaps was undaunted or uncaring about this fact, but he was pressing on with his attacks more fiercely.
"ARRRGHH!!" Gil-Garna roared in frustration. The limbs that he had regenerated with [Ultra High Regenration], were cut off so fast that he was unable to keep up.
Finally, after a while, he was even running out of mana. He who could replenish his mana by drawing the natural mystical energy from the surrounding, was losing to someone who had to even reach level 700.
One could imagine how much Gil-Garna was being overwhelmed.
A Demon Noble who wasn''t even a Demon Duke yet, fought opponents far more powerful than him by jumping across levels. Wouldn''t he be more powerful if he was allowed to grow?
''No, this demon cannot be allowed to live''...
For the first time, Gil-Garna felt threatened by someone below his level who couldn''t even be considered an ant from his view.
The lofty pedestal he was standing on was starting to crumble, falling apart from the fist of the demon who was only around level 600+. He had to kill this demon no matter what or else he will be a great threat in the future.
At this moment the thought of conquering the dungeonpletely slipped away from his mind. All he cared about was killing the demon.
Yverza and Shasurna watching the battle from the distance, grit their teeth in defeat and unresignation. The battle between the demon and the ogre king had reached a level where even they couldn''t intervene.
Victory or defeat would be revealed soon.
BANG¡
That moment came much sooner than expected. Gil-Garna who was annoyed by the constant barrage of attacks slowly draining him, decided to stake it all with his final and most powerful move.
The skill no being below level 800 could survive. Bending space, he opened arge distance between them and started conjuring his ultimate attack.
[Violet Resurgence] The violet horn on his head started shining with a ring light. [Great Volcanic Eruption] His Mutated Magic erupted.
In front of the might of his skill, the world around him was quickly dyed in a violet and crimson light. Even the false sky above became distorted by the vast amount of mana surging from the attack.
Facing him Simon realised his opponent''s intention and started preparing for his own big move.
The MK3 Armor and several augmentation skills and Ancestral Symbols allowed him to fight opponents by jumping across levels but it also imposed and unimaginable level of physical burden on his body.
Just the Ancestral Symbol alone causes a pain akin to one''s muscles and nerves tearing, what would happen now that he superimposed it with other augmentation skills and even used MK3 armor on top of that?
The bacsh would be oundish and he wasn''t sure that he would be able to stay standing after that. Which is why, he must finish this battle fast.
The opponent''s decision also aligned with him. This move will decide it all.
.
.
In the distance, Gil-Garna was almost done conjuring his attack. The air around him crackled with an intense heat, the ground beneath his feet melting into bubbling pools of magma.
Theva spiralled upwards intertwining with the energy emanating from his horn, forming a colossal vortex of fiery destruction.
"Lava Sun" the ogre king shouted and everything around the floor was covered in its brilliance.
"Dark Magic Mastery" At the same instant just as the enormous boilingva sun was about to devour Simon, his lips moved and a stream of dark ck energy exuded out of him.
[Quantum de Forge]¡ a de began to form, drawing all the energy from the MK3 core. Whenbined with the Dark magic, a pitch ck de so dark that it seemed to be capable of even devouring light, manifested in the world for an instant.
SLASH¡ Simon shed forward... and the next second the scene changed.
There was no ground shaking, earth-shattering sh. The ck de, as if meeting no resistance, easily cut through theva sun.
The incandescent sphere was split cleanly, the dark magic devouring its power. The sh was over before it could even begin, the overwhelming heat and radiance of theva sun swallowed by the dark abyss of Simon''s de.
The 90th floor stood in silence, everyone whether they be from the enemy faction or the ones watching the battle from the [Main Floor], all were frozen still.
Gil-Garna stood wide eyed at the utterly unbelievable thing that just happened. The world seemed to slow as he registered the impossibility of the event.
Where was theva sun? What was that ck de? Everything seemed inconceivable. That ck de cut through his magic in an instant and devoured it.
Pffttt¡ a mouthful of blood spewed out of his mouth and he gazed down at his chest. He felt a sharp, burning pain from there.
Sure enough, there was a big gash cutting him diagonally from his shoulder to his stomach. The wound was deep, and the blood that oozed out was ck as night.
The dark energy from the ck de had not only cut through his physical form but also attacked his very essence. AH!! At that moment, he realised that he had lost the battle.
Gil-Garna staggered and fell on the ground and with that, the battle also came to a close. Of course, not all of it.
As he stood tall, Simon red at the two standing kings with his cold unyielding eyes. The ck de had already disappeared; however, the aura around him had be even more darker and oppressive.
Facing that kind of bloodlust and evil head on, the two kinds no longer dared to resist. They immediately surrendered and fell on their knees so as to save their lives. N?v(el)B\\jnn
WOOOAAHHHH!! Seeing this scene, the crowd reacted in two ways. One side, the three tribe alliance were devastated and coping up with the loss while the other side, the inhabitants of the dungeon, rejoiced at the victory of their master¡
Chapter 909- Surrender of the Ivory Terraquake Rhino and Emerald Viperlord (2)
Chapter 909- Surrender of the Ivory Terraquake Rhino and Emerald Viperlord (2)
The air was filled with mixed emotions, the atmosphere heavy with tension and relief.
The victory of Simon changed the course of life for the three tribespletely. The dungeon''s inhabitants cheered, their voices echoing through the cavernous hallways, celebrating their master''s triumph.
"Please don''t kill me, I surrender" Yverza''s voice trembled, his eyes wide with fear as he threw himself to the ground.
The powerful Ivory Terraquake Rhino, once a towering symbol of strength and pride, now grovelled in the dirt, begging for mercy.
"That''s right, I was a fool to attack your dungeon. I am willing to give you everything, please just spare my life. If you want, I am even willing to pledge loyalty to you" Shasurna added, his serpentine form coiled in submission.
With the defeat of the Ogre King and realising that they were never the demon''s match to begin with, they fell on their knees and started begging for their lives.
The two kings, who had entered the dungeon with an air of invincibility and arrogance, had shed all dignity and pompousness they arrived with.
In the presence of absolute strength, they instantly fell on their knees and changed sides just to save their lives.
Looking at them now, no one would have believed that they were two of the seven kings who had ruled in the Ghastly Winding Forest for hundreds of years, bing legendary existences in the hearts and myths of the people around.
"What are you going to do with them?"
Melinda asked. Although she knew her master the demon had his own ambition, she didn''t know what it was and could never guess the agreement between him and the Ancient Titan Treant.
Standing tall and without any weakness, Simon looked down at the grovelling kings with a mix of disdain and amusement. After some silence to let their defeat and fallen pride to sink in, he opened his mouth.
"Your loyalty?" his voice cold, eyes narrowed "Do you think pledging your loyalty now, after you''ve been defeated, holds any value?".
The two kings trembled, their eyes darting nervously. They knew they had no leverage, no bargaining power. They who were the defeated dogs had no right to even bark.
As bitter as the realisation was, it was a pill that they had to swallow.
"We...we can still be useful to you, our knowledge of the Forest, our armies¡ªeverything can be yours. We just...we just want to live."
"Useful¡" Simon repeated, his voice dripping with contempt. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"You seem to be mistaken, now that you have lost, your treasures, army, territory, everything is mine. Hmph, you speak of usefulness now, when you''ve lost everything. Pathetic."
Simon did not hesitate to tear their pride into pieces and let them know their ce. Everything that belonged to the loser, was the trophy of the victor.
A dog eat dog rule that forged the person he was right now. In an environment like the Ghastly Winding Forest and the demon society where if you show even the slightest weakness, you be the prey and pawn of someone higher than you.
Raised in such an environment where you either die and lose everything or fight and win big,
Simon wasn''t going to go fall for such tactless pedge. His eyes flicked to the gathered inhabitants of the dungeon, their faces alight with admiration and loyalty.
None of them questioned his power or ruling for he is the absolute existence in this dungeon and the lord and benefactor.
"Very well," That said, there was a reason why he manipted the event to this point. Simon never believed that the seven kings would be truly loyal to him. However, due to the agreement he made with Aldebaran, he needed to subdue them.
"I will spare your lives. But know this: your loyalty is not freely given. It will be bought with blood and servitude.To ensure your obedience, I offer you a Blood Soul Contract."
A contract with the demon, the Ivory Terraquake Rhino and Emerald Viperlord''s eyes widened in horror. It was said that those bound by such a contract would have their very essence controlled by the master, able to manipte their minds and actions to some extent.
Although they didn''t know what a Blood Soul contract was, it didn''t need a genius to understand that it was something evil.
A pact of high order that would forever bind their lives and souls with the demon. Thetter would be able to control their life and death.
Seeing the extended hand before them, they truly saw the demon incarnate. With his mouth twisted in a wicked grin, the blood red eyes that seemed to be taking pleasure in their misfortune and their overwhelming presence.
"Decide"...
Dark energy released from his palm and began to swirl and coalesce into a pulsating, crimson orb.
"ce your hands on the orb and forge a Blood Soul contract with me. Reject it and you will face a fate worse than death" Simonmanded.
The two kings shuddered, realising their fate. Wanted as they much to change the course of their past, what transpired had already transpired.
They had attacked the dungeon and lost. The oue cannot be changed no matter how much they regret it now.
Yverza and Shaurna after hesitating for a while, extended their hands and ced them on the crimson orb.
FLASH¡ As soon as the contact urred, the orb red brightly, tendrils of energy wrapped around their arms and sunk into their flesh. The pain was excruciating, like molten iron searing their veins, but they gritted their teeth and endured it.
The contract was forged, binding their souls to the demon''s will.
"Your lives are mine tomand, your souls are mine to control. Obey, and you shall live. Defy me, and you shall suffer."
The words seemed to vibrate in the air, seeping into the very fabric of their beings. The orb pulsed one final time, leaving a faint, glowing mark on their forearms¡ªa symbol of their subjugation.
Yverza and Shasurna bowed their heads, their fate sealed.
Chapter 910- Gil-Garna Captured, the Black Ogre Clan Admits Defeat.
Chapter 910- Gil-Garna Captured, the ck Ogre n Admits Defeat.
Simon smiled, a cruel, satisfied expression on his face.
"Now, you belong to me. Your strength, your knowledge, your very existence¡ªeverything you are will serve my purpose. Remember, I can feel your thoughts, and control your actions if necessary. Betrayal is not an option."
The two kings nodded their heads weakly. They were kings no more, just pawns in the demon''s grand scheme.
"Good, now organise your ns. From this point on there is much to be done, you guys sure made a mess inside my dungeon. I will give you your first orders, and I expect you to fulfil your roles without fail"
"If you want to achieve sess beyond your wildest imagination or fall into darkness, the choice is yours"
Leaving behind hismand for the two kings, Simon turned his attention towards the one fallen on the ground.
The ogre king who was still alive but had lost consciousness. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Capture him and throw him into the prison. The ck ogre n are also to be imprisoned".
Their king and many of the high ranking warriors defeated and with the other two tribes changing sides, the ck ogre tribe had no choice but to follow the strong.
Orc army came forward and handcuffed the remaining ogres. These special handcuffs which were one of the many loots of the Forbidden Grounds, could suppress one''s powers and restrict them from using skills and abilities.
Even the ck ogre n who were proud of their strength, could not break the handcuffs. Of course, the high ranking members were detained inside special formations and taken to the prison below the training grounds.
Having finished everything that he needed to do here, Simon did not remain on the floor and teleported away.
.
.
Inside the main hall of the white pce, Simon was given a warm and respectful wee as he entered through the door.
Everyone was abuzz as they held the strong and oppressed figure who had just wiped the ground with his opponent in the battle. They had all witnessed the scene happening on the 90th floor from here and were in awe at his powers.
Their trust which was already bordering blind faith, became even more solidified after today''s event.
Although they knew their master was strong and he had repeatedly fended off invaders in the many years they had taken residence in the dungeon, this was the first time they actually saw him in action.
His unwavering confidence, cunningness and strength was etched in their eyes. He who was their lord, master and benefactor was akin to a big tree that shielded them from all the storms and harm.
It was only due to his existence that they were able to take shelter underneath his shadow. Simon nodded and smiled at the crowd.
After discussing their next set of actions, he dismissed the crowd, watching them file out of the hall with a sense of grim satisfaction.
The moment thest person left and the heavy doors closed behind them, the facade crumbled. Simon groaned, his body sagging against the wall for support.
The repercussions of superimposing so many powerful skills at once and pushing his body to its absolute limits had finally caught up with him. Pain radiated through his muscles and bones, a drops of sweat poured down his face, his breathing in ragged gasps.
He knew the bacsh would be severe, far worse than anything he had experienced before. He wasn''t sure he could handle it without external aid.
"I need to move to the Pond of Serenity"
As such, he quickly tried to move to the pond of serenity. Summoning every ounce of willpower, Simon forced himself to move.
Each step was a battle, the pain intensifying with every movement. His vision blurred, and ck spots danced before his eyes. Due to suppressing the repercussions for too long, the fallout was much stronger than he expected.
His body was tearing itself apart from the inside, muscles and nerves screaming in protest. The hallway seemed to stretch on forever. Still, through sheer determination, he refused to fall.
He used his hands and brushed against the cool stone walls, using them as a guide as he dragged his body forward.
Slowly, he made his way over to the pondside.
''Just a little more'' asking his body to hang in there, he took another step forward when his body reached its absolute limit. Excruciating pain that was difficult to even imagine ran through his body and he lost his footing.
Just as his body was about to fall, a fair hand supported him from the front, stopping that prideful body from falling. A beautiful scent drifted in the air soothing and invigorating one''s soul.
"You''re pushing yourself too hard".
He did not need to question as to who the speaker was. Even without his eyes, he could tell it was Irene. Her presence was both cold and tender.
"It was¡ necessary"
Simon spoke standing straight. Gathering all his strength once again, he willed his body forward.
"I don''t understand. Does appearing unbeatable and invincible really that important to you?"
She was a woman and from her view, it was an extremely foolish move. Fighting all three tribe leaders was one thing but not even using the Fingers of Ozymandias and only relying upon one''s abilities.
To top it off, he also suppressed his injuries and bacsh from all of them¡ Was maintaining his pride that important to him?
Simon did not answer and limped closer to the pond. He was about to immerse his body in the pond when he turned around and spoke.
"It''s not just that, the forest spring spirit, the inhabitants of the dungeon needed a symbol, a symbol of strength that they can believe in, a symbol that will never fall no matter what. I wanted everyone to give that kind of assurance¡"
"But more so than that, I wanted to assure myself that I am capable of leading them. Call me petty or selfish, but I wanted to prove myself"
Even if it meant pushing his body to its very limits.
Chapter 911- Simons Call and the Unknown Enemy
Chapter 911- Simon''s Call and the Unknown Enemy
Simon wanted to find out if he was worthy of bing the figure that everyone in the dungeon respected and revered so much. It was his way of not making anyone worried.
Irene did not speak any further and silently observed the figure of the demon slowly dive into the pond.
A proud man who would silently endure all the rain and storms in the world rather than make his close ones worried.
.
.
At the same time as the battle in the dungeon was reaching its conclusion, the situation in the capital, where Ate and the other maids were stationed, had also settled into an uneasy calm.
The air above the capital was thick with tension, not from the remnants of ckthorn''s invasion, but from the iron-fisted authority that had swiftly taken hold of the kingdom under the new queen, Cynthia.
The mes of war had barely been extinguished before Cynthia, like a force of nature, moved with unprecedented speed and decisiveness, reshaping the kingdom in her image.
Before the embers of the conflict with ckthorn had even cooled, she seized control of the kingdom like a tsunami. Her approach was starkly different from her father, the previous king, whose rule had been marked by a more lenient, almost benevolent hand.
Under his reign, the nobles had growncent, their power unchecked, and their loyalty wavering. This led to the disaster that could be seen and felt in the kingdom ravaged by war today.
However, Cynthia was not her father. The war had changed her in ways that no one could have anticipated¡ªturning her into a ruler who understood that mercy was often mistaken for weakness, and that to secure her throne, she needed to act with unyielding authority. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Long live the queen"¡
"Long live the queen"
Inside the pce which was still left intact after the war, arge gathering of crowd could be seen assembled inside the throne room.
Dressed in noble and exquisite clothing, they were the nobles of the kingdom of Ellesmere. Usually, when in attendance in the throne room they would always form factions, try to advance their political schemes or drag somebody down.
It had always been like this, the nobles were always divided and only cared about their own interest. However, with Cynthia''s rise in power, everything changed.
The fragmented nobility which had long been a thorn in the kingdom''s side were exposed of their treachery. Some houses which had openly or secretly coborated were all executed at the stake.
Even the ones whose loyalty wavered towards the throne, Cynthia didn''t spare them. With a cold, calcting mind, she moved against them with precision.
Nobles who had once held sway over the court found themselves stripped of their titles andnds. Those who had conspired against her father or shown even a hint of disloyalty were swiftly dealt with¡ªimprisoned or executed, their fates serving as an example of the cost of treachery.
Her rule was absolute and no one questioned her power after the war.
Cynthia nced at the nobles bowing their heads in fear and awe in the throne room. Her posture was straight and her dignity majestic.
The war had changed her in ways that even she couldn''t have anticipated¡ªturning her into a ruler who ruled with a n iron fist. She was no longer that weak princess who could only be pushed around and used as a political pawn by her siblings. She summoned the nobles to the capital, ostensibly to discuss the kingdom''s recovery in the wake of the war.
Even today many new nobles or their descendants from various parts of the kingdom, have gathered here. However, what awaited them was not a council, but a tribunal.
In the grand hall where her father had once held court, Cynthia presided over the proceedings with a steely gaze. There was no room for negotiation, no room for debate.
"Baron Lucius Martin, you have been suspected of arms dealing, leaking intelligence, and drug trafficking to the nearby kingdom of Golf. The witnesses who presented the information were none other than your own butlers and partners in these dealings."
"These crimesid before you are severe¡ªtreasonous, even. They are betrayals not just against the crown, but against the very people you swore to protect and serve. It has also directly endangered the kingdom"
"Baron Lucius Martin, do you have anything to say in your defence? The benevolent queen is willing to hear you and give you ast chance"
The chancellor standing a step below by the queen''s side read out the charges against one of the nobles gathered in this audience today.
Baron Lucius Martin a middle aged man in his early thirties stood before her, his face pale, his hands trembling slightly.
"Your Majesty," he began, his voice wavering "I¡ I assure you, these usations are unfounded. I have always been loyal to the crown. These witnesses¡ they must be mistaken or have been coerced into lying. My dealings have always been in the best interest of the kingdom."
"Is that so, Baron Lucius?" Cynthia''s gaze remained steady, her expression unreadable.
"You say that yet these witnesses¡ªyour own butlers and partners¡ªhave provided detailed ounts of your actions. They have described in great detail the shipments of arms, the secret meetings with agents from Golf, and the exchange of illicit goods. Do you deny that these events took ce?"¡
"I do, Your Majesty, these are fabrications, lies spread to frame me. I would never betray my kingdom. My loyalty has always been with the crown."¡
"Loyalty?" hearing that, Cynthia''s lips curved into a small, humourless smile.
"Baron? Do you speak of the same loyalty that drives a man to sell weapons to our enemies? To trade in substances that poison our people? Where was your loyalty when my father was in the danger of being poisoned by the same substances you trafficked in the kingdom?".
With a toneced with icy detachment, she turned towards the Chancellor. It was now not a state secret that the previous king, the queen''s father was killed by some poison.
Chapter 912- Simons Call and the Unknown Enemy (2)
Chapter 912- Simon''s Call and the Unknown Enemy (2)
"Sir Chancellor, what are the punishments for such crimes against the crown in the oldw?"¡
The chancellor read out the charges for each crime.
"For smuggling weapons out of the kingdom, those found guilty are to be stripped of their wealth and sent to the mine to serve for at least twenty years. For trafficking substances in and out of the country, the minimum punishment is at least fifty years in the mine as well as the seizure of all wealth andnd"
"As for colluding with enemy nations and leaking ssified state intel the punishment is¡ removal of all titles,nd and authority. The guilty is to be sent to the prison for life".
At the end, the chancellor added, his eyes darting towards the queen "Of course these are the old rules".
The kingdom was different now. It had weed its first ever queen as the monarch. She wasn''t like her father the former king whose authority hadpletely dwindled.
The time when the noble''s factions whose strength had surpassed the crown and whose mechanisation decided the ruling here. Her father would have been forced to show mercy perhaps even offer some leniency against the worse of crimes.
But now, things have changed. In here, her ruling was absolute. Nobles, knights, politics, nothing towered over her influence.
"The old rules cannot be followed anymore. The times have changed and so should the rules, lest something like this urs again"
Saying that, Cynthia passed her ruling "Baron Lucius Martin, for your crimes against the crown and the kingdom, I hereby strip you of your titles,nds, and authority. Yournds and wealth will be redistributed to those who have remained loyal to the crown, to those who have fought for this kingdom''s survival"
"Those who are rted to you will also be ceased of half of their wealth. As for you and your aplices, you all will be sent to the dungeon".
Cold and ruthless, her voice was unwavering.
!!!
The audience gasped but none dared to raise their voice. From their subdued attitude, one could tell that this wasn''t the first time such a ruling was given.
Send to the dungeon, knowing what kind of ce it was, it was no different than a death sentence for nobles like them who rarely possessed any fighting experience despite being higher level than themoners.
Cynthia''s eyes calmly swept over the crowd, her methods were authoritarian, but they were effective. She consolidated power with a ruthlessness that left no room for dissent. Her rulings were swift and decisive, designed to centralize authority under the crown.
Just like this, one by one the noble houses, with their own armies and allegiances, were forcibly brought to heel. The private armies and their soldiers were absorbed into the royal military or dispersed.
"Your Majesty, I swear to you¡ª" The baron opened his mouth to protest in ast bit of desperation, but the queen''s steely gaze silenced him.
He knew that any further attempts to argue his case would be futile. His power, his influence¡ªeverything he had amassed over the years¡ªwas being torn away in an instant.
Appealing to the crowd was no use either since all of them were in the same boat as him. The queen appointed her own loyalists to key positions within the government, ensuring that the kingdom''s administration was firmly under her control.
The chancellor, the ministers, for example were all people on her side. The nobles murmured among themselves in fear as Lucius was led away by the guards.
Cynthia had made it clear that betrayal would not be tolerated, that the old ways of leniency and forgiveness were over. The kingdom was entering a new era, one where loyalty was paramount.
The ruling passed but the hall hadn''t settled down yet. The reason for that was because today was different than your usual tribunal.
The queen had promised reward as well as punishment, and she intended to keep that promise. Today she had announced that she would be rewarding some of the people of the realm who had gained merits in the war.
"Ahem," The chancellor gave a dry cough before announcing "Now we shall begin the noble ceremony. Those who I call out step forward".
"Sir Talbryn"¡
"Sir Fitzwilliam"¡
"Sir Den"
And so, one by one those who were called out, stepped forward. The queen rewarded them for their bravery and loyalty, assigning key positions in the new kingdom to them.
The ceremony continued and before long it was his turn. Cynthia''s attention to the side where she saw one of her most trusted warriors, a man who had fought bravely at her side during the war, who had proven his loyalty time and time again.
"Step forward, Sir ke" Cynthiamanded, her voice carrying across the hall. A warrior, d in full armor, stepped forward and knelt before her, his head bowed in respect.
He had frizzy crimson hair, a build of a warrior and exuded a pressure that overwhelmed all the others in the hall. The man was none other than ke Gunvald.
"For your bravery on the battlefield and for your service to the kingdom in its darkest hour, I hereby knight you," Cynthia dered, her voice strong and resolute.
"From this day forward, you shall bear the title of Knight-Commander of the Royal Guard, and you shall holdnds and authority befitting your new station."
She ced a ceremonial sword on Marcus''s shoulders, officially bestowing upon him his new title. The hall erupted into apuse, a stark contrast to the silence that had followed Lucius''s sentencing.
ke, now newly knighted as Knight-Commander of the Royal Guard, rose from his kneeling position, his heart heavy with a mix of pride and sorrow. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The cheers of the nobles and the weight of the ceremonial sword on his shoulder filled him with a sense of purpose he had long been searching for.
"From this day forth, I swear on my life and my de that I will protect this kingdom with all my strength. I will uphold the values of loyalty, justice, and honor that you have set forth, and I will not falter in my duty."
Chapter 913- Simons Call and the Unknown Enemy (3)
Chapter 913- Simon''s Call and the Unknown Enemy (3)
ke spoke with a firm and resolute voice.
"Un, I have much expectation for you" Cynthia nodded, her expression softening slightly at his words.
"I have no doubt, Sir ke, that you will serve this kingdom well. You have earned your ce, and I look forward to seeing how you will shape the future of the Royal Guard."
As the ceremony concluded and the banquet started, ke found himself standing alone in the grand chamber. As he looked at his ss of wine and how the people around him sent him nces, he couldn''t help but sigh in his heart. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The crowd''s attention to the noble''s fantasism was much too foreign and new for him to bear.
"What am I doing?" He couldn''t help but think back to the events that had led him to this moment.
Just a few months ago, he had been a man without direction, a warrior adrift in a sea of uncertainty. His guild, once renowned and envied, had been annihted inside the dungeon¡ªa brutal massacre that had left him and a few others as the sole survivors.
The guilt of that loss, the haunting memories of his fallenrades, had driven him to wander aimlessly through the kingdom, seeking sce that never came.
He had been like a log drifting in a river, carried wherever the currents of fate took him. But in that time when he was in his lowest of the low, his remaining teammates¡ªthose few who had survived outside the dungeon¡ªnever abandoned him.
They stood by his side, supporting him in ways he had never imagined, urging him to find a new purpose.
The war with the kingdom of ckthorn reminded him of the debts he owed to those who had fallen, particrly to his mentor, the previous Knight-Commander Cylus.
Cylus had been more than just a mentor; he had been like a brother to ke, teaching him the ways of the sword, the principles of knighthood, and the importance of protecting those who could not protect themselves.
Cylus had been a stalwart defender of the kingdom, a man of unwavering honor. His death in battle had left a void not just in ke''s life, but in the entire kingdom.
And now, as ke stood in the very position Cylus once held, he couldn''t help but ponder. Was it alright for him to assume the position of the Knight Commander? He was no noble nor did he know the etiquette or how to act like one.
Would he be able to perform as per his position?
"I owe you so much, Cylus," ke murmured to himself, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
"This kingdom you wanted to protect, I will protect it in your stead. That is the only way I can think of repaying you¡"
"I knew you would be here" While ke was lost in his thoughts, his teammates approached him.
"What are you doing here all alone? You are the star of this ceremony, everybody wants to know and make connections with you. Can''t you feel their gazes?"Frida questioned locking hands with him.
"I don''t know. Although I agreed to assume the position of the knightmander at the insistence of everyone, I am having doubts that I would be able to perform my duties like Cylus did. I wanted to have onest battle with him before he died"
This was one of his regrets. Cylus was very dedicated and serious about his duties. He looked after everyone, whether they be the royal family or everyone around him.
He would help the ones who needed his aid and put his duties foremost of everything. He was the sword and shield of the kingdom, a man whomanded respect from everyone. The hole that his absence left, wasn''t something that could be filled up easily.
"I''m sure you will do an excellent job. It''s Her Majesty who chose you for this position, so have more confidence about it"
The one to speak was Alvara the guardmander and the biological sister of Cylus. If anyone who had the right to criticize him it was her after all, this was the position her brother used to hold not very long ago.
The wounds from the war were still fresh as such, it wouldn''t be strange if Alvara didn''t see him in good light now that he had snatched his position.
However, contrary to his expectations, Alvara held no such grudge. What came out of her mouth were words of encouragement and the responsibilities that his duties held.
"My brother Cylus Skyler was a man of chivalry and honor. To him, his duties and the kingdom came first. If it was for his duties, he would be even willing toy down his life"
"No one can be like my brother. However, if anyone can fill that position he left, it''s you ke. You are not Cylus Skyler but you are you. Act like the way you feel, no one is telling you to imitate my brother"¡
"Alvara, I¡"
"Of course, it''s impossible for anyone in the first ce to imitate my brother. He is still 1000-0 against everyone"
Alvara''sstment made everyoneugh. That''s right, most of the people here were all trained by Cylus, he was like a mentor/ big brother to them. And even until the end, they never managed to score one against him. It was theirplete loss.
"So, if you want to fill the position of the Knight Commander, do it the way you, ke Gunvald want to do it. I''m sure Her Majesty also wanted that which is why she appointed you".
Hearing her words, ke sighed feeling relieved. That''s right, there was no point in thinking if he would be able to fill in his position, he simply needed to do it.
There was no point in thinking too much, he just had to do it in the way he does. As everyone said, there was no one more qualified than him for this position. If he couldn''t do it, then no one could.
Chapter 914- Simons Call and the Unknown Enemy (4)
Chapter 914- Simon''s Call and the Unknown Enemy (4)
"Look at you ke.. Ah no, should I call you Sir ke by now" Wyot who chose to stick with ke even after the cmity in the Tower Town, cracked a joke to diffuse the atmosphere.
"Haha, I was wondering now that you have assumed the position of the knightmander, will you give up on adventuring?"
Everything aside, ke was an adventurer, he had always been. In fact, the reason why they met, was because ke was adventuring in the Tower Town. If he stopped adventuring, it would be like discarding a part of him.
"Don''t worry about that, her highness offered me this position after thinking things through. She is nning to make this kingdompletely different from before. As such, I won''t be quitting adventuring". n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The title of Knight-Commander was a great honor, but it did not mean he had given up on adventuring. The thrill of exploration, the call of the unknown, still burned within him.
What''s more, there was still thest words that the Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse left him. A creature with immense strength and character. He had met that being once again during the raid on the criminal organisation in the tower town.
Inside the basement, he had singlehandedly annihted the top officers of the criminal organisation and stood on their corpses.
The Bloodthorn Demonic Warhorse was so powerful that in their second encounter even while injured he managed to st him out of the earth and sent him flying into the dungeon.
"Our match is still pending, let''s consider this one a draw. If you still have the courage to fight me,e find me on the lower floors of the dungeon. I will be waiting for our rematch"
Those were the words he left him before they parted ways and he lost consciousness. Those words echoed in ke''s mind, a taunt that fueled his desire to return to the dungeon where so much had been lost.
The thought of that unfinished duel, of proving himself once and for all, gnawed at him. It wasn''t just about pride or rivalry¡ªit was about closure, about confronting the demons of his past and emerging stronger.
''Mars'' ke muttered inside his heart.
"I haven''t forgotten, Mars," ke whispered, his eyes narrowing with determination. "I will enter that dungeon, and we will finish what we started."
Their journey was far from over. Wyot and a few others who started following ke after witnessing his leadership and heroism were relieved.
"That said, I still have to perform my duties as the knightmander for the time being".
There were going to be massive reforms and changes to the kingdom, battles to be fought on many fronts¡ªpolitical, military, and personal.
The nobles needed to be kept in line, the people needed to feel safe, and the shadow of war still loomed over thend and as the Knightmander, he could not be absent.
ke would fulfil his duties as Knight-Commander, but he would not let the fires of adventure die within him.
.
.
Outside the audience hall, in another room, Ate and the other subordinates loyal to Simon gathered. Among them were the vampire twins, the demihuman servants theymanded and others who had been recently or during the war, admitted into their ranks.
"It has been so long? Is there still no news from master?"
Theodore asked impatiently. He had been pacing around the room the whole time. His subordinates tried to calm him down to no avail.
It was not only him, the others around the room were also affected as they wore expressions of concern and impatience as they waited for a reply. Just that they were not as expressive as Theodore.
"Dammit, I cannot take this any longer. I am going back to the dungeon" He smacked his hands on the table before turning around to storm out.
It has been more than a week since theyst heard from their master. And from what they heard thest time, it appeared that the dungeon was being attacked.
At that time, Theodore and a few others requested to discontinue their mission and return back to the dungeon. However, they weren''t given the permission and ordered to continue their mission.
Ever since then, they have been dutifully doing their tasks, protecting the princess and supporting her to ascend the throne while waiting for their master''s message.
Given the fact that the dungeon was being attacked, it was only natural for them to be concerned and impatient. The kingdom was secondary, their first and foremost priority was to defend their master and dungeon.
"I''m out of here"¡
"You won''t take a step out of that door"
Just when Theodore was about to storm out, Ate spoke out.
A heavy pressure settled onto the ce. The sh of two powerful auras both surpassing superhuman strength, created a tense atmosphere that was almost palpable.
The room shook and cracks appeared on the floor.
"What did you say? Are you implying that you will stop me, Ate?" Theodore nced back, his crimson vampire like eyes ring.
"It''s big sister Ate for you and yes, you won''t take a step out here. We have orders from the Master to continue with our mission and until he says otherwise, no one is to leave their stations. Bianca, Emma, Alice, block the ce."
On her orders, the three valkyries each took a spot, blocking off all the exit inside the room.
"Ugh, big sister why are you doing this now of all times?" Theodore sighed but did not back down. Seeing this, Ate''s eyes became cold.
"Master made me the leader of this team. Going against me means defying Master''s orders. And besides, there is no reason for anyone to be concerned. There is no way anything is going to happen to master. There might be a reason why he isn''t able to contact us"
She added: "The soul connection will immediately tell us if there is anything wrong. Carry your missions, master will surely call us eventually".
Chapter 915- Location of the Heart
Chapter 915- Location of the Heart
"Fine¡" Like a little brother defeated by the arguments of his big sister, Theodore dropped his shoulders and backed down.
Now that a consensus was reached, everyone followed their orders and waited for their master to contact them.
It wasn''t very long before Simon got in contact with them.
"Everyone, are you well? Report me your situation".
When the voice rang out, everyone around hurriedly left whatever they were doing and rushed towards the transmission conch.
"Master, we are so relieved to hear your voice. We are all well here and are still in the capital, well what remains of the capital"¡
"I see, I understand. Did anything troublesome happen during the mission?"¡
"No, we sessfullypleted our mission. Everything is going ording to the n¡ Actually, there is something, we want to report to you" Ate recalled.
"The enemy was using some kind of mysterious energy that felt simr to one of master''s items".
"Hoh?! Simr to one of my items you say?" a curious voice came from the other side of the transmission conch.
"Yes master, in thest battle it becamepletely obvious that the enemy was using this strange power to expand themselves around this region. It was not only the top brass of the ckthorn Kingdom, but even the footsoldier was using this energy"
"It wasing from the armor and weapons they used. This is what was giving them strength, an external strength that isn''t theirs anding from a different source" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"In thest battle when Cynthia fought against the general of the kingdom, he used a peculiar skill that raised his strength drastically. At that moment, I realised that he was receiving external strength through that skill. The source was a strange energy"...
A grim silence pervaded the room when Ate mentioned thest part. All of them here were aware of what that meant.
A skill that allows one to grant a portion of one''s strength to their subordinates. A skill like that would be above Lost Legendary in just tier.
Such a skill¡ the enemy possessing that meant that the master mind or whoever in charge of the kingdom ckthorn was at a very high level. A powerful enemy that cannot be underestimated.
"Rx, whoever they are, they are far away and haven''t noticed us yet. For them, it would simply look like your normal war between two kingdoms. They wouldn''t be able to guess anything else other than that" Simon assured.
The Valkyries, the vampire twins and the vampires under them. All of them were acting covertly and under the g of the princess of Ellesmere kingdom. There was no trace of them that would lead it to the dungeon.
And by the time that powerful being realises their involvement, the dungeon will grow to a point where they will no longer have to worry about the enemy''s retaliation.
"Master is right" Ate smiled.
The grim atmosphere from before disappeared in an instant. The dungeon might not be powerful now but at the rate at which it is growing, there was no need to fear anyone.
Simon raised their morals just from a few words of his.
"Send someone to bring those weapons and some other evidence to me. I am very curious as to who our enemy is"¡
"Yes master" Everyone nodded their head in understanding.
"Ah, there is one more thing" Just as Simon was about to hang up, Ate cried out. "The princess asked to meet you. She says it is important".
"Alright, after you are done with your mission in the capital, return back with her"
CLACK¡ With that, the transmission was over. Everyone rejoiced, the previous air of gloom that surrounded them had disappeared as if it was never there.
Hearing their master''s voice gave them renewed strength and scattered all their fear. Although they did not ask, from his voice it was very much clear they had also defeated their enemy, the one that invaded the dungeon.
Two victories in a row and all of this was possible because of their master''s meticulous n.
"Alright everyone, back to your stations. Let''s finish tidying up all the nobles andplete our mission here to go back" Ate pped her hands to make everyone increase their speed.
The dawn of a new era was breaking over the Kingdom of Ellesmere, and with it, the winds of change began to move. It was a transformation that few could have predicted, a resurgence that would ripple through the entire Central Continent in ways no one could have foreseen.
All of this was brought about by a single individual''s rise to the throne and a demon grinning inside hisir. .
.
A space filled with cold air and unyielding authority, a high ceiling loomed overhead. The walls and floor were constructed from dark, unpolished onyx stone giving the room an almost cavernous look.
Torches flickered in sconces along the walls, casting eerie shadows that danced across the floor. The ce was the throne room of the Kingdom of ckthorn, intimidating and dark with no warmth of light.
Seated upon the imposing throne was dius Onyx ckthorn, the ruler of this domain. He was an authoritarian, a dictator who rose to power after shedding a vast amount of blood.
To be the king he killed his rivals, his family, brothers, sisters everyone who stood in his way. He believed that the only way he could have everything under his control was by conquering them.
A conqueror with a lust for power.
In his usual days, he would order a sentencing for an ordinary innocent man without batting an eye. However, today was different than usual. His mood was upset, rage in his eyes and he was giving off a murderous aura.
Kneeling a few meters away from him was a subordinate wearing the uniform of the ckthorn army.
"Are you saying that the mission to capture the kingdom of Ellesmere failed?"
dius growled. The reason why he was so angry was because the report he heard from the subordinate was different from what he wanted to hear.
Chapter 916- Location of the Heart (2)
Chapter 916- Location of the Heart (2)
Galdion wanted the Kingdom of Ellemere to surrender not win against his third army.
The kingdom of Ellesmere had fought a hopeless battle, a futile fight that would have no impact on the fate of the kingdom.
Yet as if destroying that notion, the princess and the army she gathered emerged victorious against ckthorn''s third army. An event that no matter how much you think about it, any factors you consider would never make ite to pass.
So how did they do it? How did his third army lose?
dion was well aware of the third general''s strength and the army hemanded. There was no way any kingdom around this region was capable of taking on such an army. The difference in quality and quantity was that big.
A kingdom that was on the brink of surrender shouldn''t have the strength to emerge victorious. There had to be something.
"Your Majesty, the deserters who ran away from the war said that the princess of the kingdom was powerful enough to match the general of the third army in a duel and emerge victorious"
"Not only that, but she also possessed numerous powerful allies and tactics that defiedmon sense. The princess''s army rushed in like a wave, thwarted all their ns and obstructed them from executing their tactics. It was as if the enemy knew all about their ns and actions beforehand".
The subordinate reported, sweat trickled down his body from the intimidating pressure.
dion narrowed his eyes, the more he heard the worse his mood became. It was a defeat, aplete defeat.
The enemy had managed to capture their capital back and his third army was gone. No matter how you put it, there was no way to sugarcoat things. It was their defeat.
"Dammit, those batards they havepletely ruined my ns"
BANG¡ a fistnded and a portion of the wall behind the throne was smashed into pieces. dion was so pissed that he did not care about maintaining his kingly dignity. He was angry, bloodthirsty and wanted to kill.
"This is the first time something like this happened, the first time where a whole army was annihted. You are telling me that it was because we wrongly judged the enemy''s strength?"
"In this region who else is stronger than us? What''s more, our opponent was only a third grade country without a single ranker. The Third Army should have been more than enough to handle and capture that kingdom".
The report did not make sense, they were overlooking something, something big, something that was the key to Ellemsere''s victory but they had no idea what it was.
How could dion not be angry?
"That son of bitch, he set me up. He knew that something was going on with Ellesmere and used my hand to probe the enemy" Heined seemingly to no one.
In his mind was the crown prince of the kingdom of Golf, the one who lured him into attacking Ellesmere. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Why would he do that? What did he find? How were they able to notice the unsuality of Ellesmere?
There were many questions and no answers. However, that was not important right now. What was important was he wasted the strength of ''that person''.
The one who was key to his sess, the one who allowed him to beat hispetitors and ascend the throne. The one who was going to make his dreame true.
No matter what happens, he cannot lose the interest of ''that person''. He has to make things right.
The silence in the room was unbearable. dion after venting his anger, sat motionless on his throne. His expression now calm and unreadable.
"What happened to Ellesmere after it won the war?".
At that question, the subordinate answered "Your majesty, our scouts are in the capital and ording to the reports they sent, the kingdom is beginning to make strange movements. It has summoned all of its regional lords and nobles to the capital and no news or traces of them could be found after they entered the royal pce"
"Not only that, we have also received reports that the structure of the royal court has changedpletely. Our aplices who had dealings with those nobles have stopped responding to our calls".
dion was silent, he was no amateur when it came to politics. He only needed to know a few tidbits to grasp the whole situation in Ellesmere.
"Striking when the iron is hot, she is taking over the kingdom in one fell swoop. Suppressing riots, keeping ones who are loyal and executing the ones who are of no use to you"
A tactic that he had used all his time. It was just that this time it was the enemy who managed to outwit him by executing his own technique.
"Mark out all the secret agents we sent to Ellesmere who are not responding. They are either discovered and caught or executed. Those who respond to our calls, use them toy a trap for the enemy. We cannot let them bite more than they can chew"
dion gave one cruel order after another, unbothered about the lives of those agents and soldiers.
"Also send word to the other two generals. We will fortify our borders and prepare for the possibility of an incursion. We will also increase our military exercises all over our kingdom. We have to let them think that we are going to prepare for another attack".
"Understood" The subordinate bowed and asked a question "What should we do about the deserters of the Third Army who fled from the battlefield".
"Throw them to the underground chamber with our next group of people who will be going through the baptism"¡
"As youmand, your majesty. I will see to it immediately."
As the subordinate hurriedly left the throne room, dius leaned back on his throne, his mind already formting a n.
The situation was dire, but not beyond his control. He would not allow the Kingdom of Ellesmere, or any other power, to challenge his supremacy.
Chapter 917- Ominous Dream
Chapter 917- Ominous Dream
After a while~ inside the now empty throne room. The darkness seemed to grow even darker. The king was absent and the room now had a new hidden chamber.
.
.
"Why¡ are¡ you¡ here?..." A voice called out from a deep muddy miasma.
dion got on his knees and sped his hands. He looked at the vague figure inside the muddy miasma and spoke.
"The n to capture Ellesmere and expand towards the north had met with some obstructions. I''m afraid it will slow down your supreme''s n"¡
The figure in the miasma was silent for a while...
"Hmm? How can that be¡ I have given you those weapons and soldiers. Using their strength to conquer all of north of the Central Continent wouldn''t pose a problem" the figure questioned.
dion grit his teeth and replied "We are still investigating the reason but from what I know so far, it appears that we underestimated the enemy. They had many powerful backers and someone who could defeat the Third General"¡
At those words, The figure in the miasma started murmuring in a voice that only he could hear.
"Strange?! This shouldn''t have happened. Although he was just a disposable pawn in the end, his synchronisation was at least 30 percent and he had reached thete stages of level 600."
"There shouldn''t be any beings in the north¡ could it be a Ranker joined them? If so then pushing them even further would cause that Ranker to make a move. This would make the Adventurer''s association suspicious. Taking a fight with them at this stage is too dangerous. But I need to head north, the resonance I felt way back was definitely from the north. Fifth has to be there".
"We have to investigate the reason and conquer north no matter what. However, before that we have far more important tasks. We need to head towards the west, I found the location of the heart. Once I get that item, I''ll be back at my full strength. At that time, conquering north won''t be a problem"
The figure in the miasmamanded.
Shedding all of his royal arrogance, dion nodded like a subordinate.
.
. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
One monthter¡ª Dungeon Lace, White Pce.
Today It was the time of year when the Forest Spring Spirits celebrated the Spiritus Fortuna Festival, an ancient tradition where they offered thanks to the nature spirits for the bounty of thend and prayed for the continued prosperity of their n.
The entire vige had been transformed into a dazzling disy of nature''s beauty intertwined with the Spirits'' magical touch. The trees, which were naturally verdant, now shimmered with soft hues of gold and silver, their leaves gently rustling as if in sync with the joyous atmosphere.
Vines of luminescent flowers curled around the pirs and archways, and the cobblestones beneath their feet glowed faintly, guiding the way through the winding streets.
Under the protection of Simon, they were no longer the small emigrants they were before and instead have be arge vige that was the part of the dungeon.
The streets of the Forest Spring Vige were alive with a vibrant, festive energy that could be felt in every corner.
In the heart of the vige, the main za was a sight to behold. Colourful banners made from woven leaves and petals hung between the buildings, fluttering in the breeze.
Stalls had been set up in neat rows, each one offering a variety of goods¡ªfrom freshly baked bread infused with forest herbs to intricately carved wooden trinkets that captured the essence of the wild.
The smell of roasting meats and sweet pastries filled the air, mingling with the sound ofughter and the cheerful melodies yed by the local musicians.
Families wandered from stall to stall, children running ahead with eyes wide in wonder. Adults pacing leisurely, neighbours greeting each other, and shopkeepers exchanging pleasantries.
Here and there, groups of friends gathered around tables, sharing stories and raising sses filled with the finest spirits the vige had to offer. A scene that could never be imagined by the adventurers was taking ce inside the dungeon on the Forest Spring Spirit Floor.
In the centre of what could be said to be the main table in the za, sat Simon as he quietly took in all of the views and events around him. It was not every time that the inhabitants of the dungeon could rx like this.
"I''m starting to like this festival" Irenemented sitting next to him.
Simon smiled at herment as he nced over at her.\ "You look good in that sea green dress".
The sea-green dress she wore was a masterpiece that seemed to be made just for her. The fabric shimmered gently under the softntern light, reflecting the colours of the forest around them.
The dress was elegantly simple yet crafted with such precision that it entuated Irene''s graceful figure without being too extravagant. It highlighted her neckline and corbones.
The craftsmanship was evident in every detail¡ªthe fabric was of the finest quality, soft to the touch yet sturdy, clearly made to withstand both elegance and practicality.
Blushing slightly at Simon''spliment, Irene nced away for a moment, her cheeks dusted with a light pink.
"This dress... it was made by Daphne, she''s truly talented. I can see why everyone in the vige speaks so highly of her. She even made sure the embroidery matched the essence of the Forest Spring Spirit''s heritage."
She brushed her fingers lightly over the delicate patterns, feeling the smoothness of the stitching under her fingertips.
"And you," Irene added, turning her gaze back to Simon with a small, appreciative smile, "look quite handsome yourself."
Simon''s attire, though different from his usual crimson clothes, was equally impressive too. His dark tunic was made from a rare material that seemed to blend with the shadows and glinted faintly with hidden emerald threads when caught in the light.
The Forest Spring Spirits had crafted it with both form and function in mind¡ªit was lightweight, allowing for freedom of movement, and reinforced to be durable enough for battle.
Chapter 918- Ominous Dream (2)
Chapter 918- Ominous Dream (2)
Everything from his trousers to boot was fashioned from supple leather that had been treated to withstand even the harshest conditions and crafted with care, tailored to fit him perfectly by the skilled hands of the Forest Spring Spirits.
The clothes not only enhanced his looks but also gave him a formidable presence.
"I suppose I should thank Daphne as well," Simon replied, ncing down at his own outfit with a rare smile. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"She certainly knows how to dress someone for a festival."
Irene chuckled softly "Yes, she does. It''s nice to see you in something other than your usual battle gear."
As they sat together, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the festival, the tension of the past battles seemed to fade into the background, reced by a sense of calm and belonging.
Theughter of children, the distant music, the sight of couples dancing under thenterns¡ªeverything seemed to slow down, allowing them a moment of reprieve.
For a brief moment, all tension and fatigue washed away from them and they became two people enjoying the beauty and simplicity of a ce they fought so hard to protect. They felt a sense of peace they hadn''t felt in a while.
In the distance, the festival was going in full swing. The za continued to fill with more vigers, dryads and other visitors of the floor.
Time passed by¡ the za was bathed in the soft light of the setting sun, casting a golden glow over everything.
The music slowed to a more intimate pace, and the couples dancing in the centre of the za all turned to look at him. Before Simon could realise something he felt a tug on his right hand.
"Will you dance with me?" Irene spoke holding his right hand. Her azure blue eyes which were usually cold, held slight expectation, slight embarrassment in them.
This was the first time she asked Simon for a dance. Every year whenever it was the asion, it would be him asking her for a dance.
This time though, she stole the initiative. An action the previous her would never even thought about was possible. Simon nced up and saw the slight hue on her cheeks. A smile leaked from him and he stood up.
"Let''s go" He grabbed her hand and led her to the za. Moments like this was when a man needs to show his resolve.
The music swelled, the soft notes of flutes and the rhythmic beat of drums set the perfect backdrop for their dance.
The moment Simon took Irene''s hand in his, the world faded and seemed to be existing solely for them.
Confidence and sway, he led her with a gentle and firm grip. Their feet glided across the stone floor, moving with the music.
Fluid and graceful, there was something more to their dance that enamoured everyone in the za. The festive chatter quieted, and the people watched in awe as Simon and Irene moved together.
"Why is it that every time I dance with him I feel like this scene is much too familiar to me? A scene as if I have lived this before" She silently muttered to himself.
To onlookers who were enamoured by them, their dance was not just a disy of skill but of something deeper¡ªan unspoken bond between them that radiated outwards, touching everyone who witnessed it.
It was as if every turn, every dip, every step they took together seemed to tell a story¡ªa story of battles fought side by side, of victories and of shared moments both quiet and grand.
Simon spun Irene around once more, and as she came back to him, they paused for a brief second, their eyes locking.
"About earlier¡ I wanted to thank you for covering up for me. If they knew I was injured during the battle, it would have made them worried. I much prefer they be happy rather than sad" Simon spoke.
"Un" Irene nodded.
CLAP¡ CLAP¡ CLAP¡ the music ended and a thunderous pter came from the onlookers.
All eyes were stuck to the couple who in their view seemed to look perfect around each other.
"Thanks for the dance, you were wonderful"¡
"I had a good partner"¡
As Simon turned around to lead Irene back to their seats, a shadow appeared in front of him. It was Bea, she stood before him, confused and embarrassed.
"M-Master, w-will you dance with me?" Her voice came out wavery.
A Valkyrie and a Night Amazoness known for their fierceness was this timid when it came to dancing. If an enemy who faced Bea saw this scene they would never be able to believe this scene.
Irene looked at Bea''s nervous and indecisive self and smiled.
"I am going to sit down, so why don''t you fulfil thisdy''s wish"
She grabbed Bea''s shoulder, pushing her forward "Hehe, it seems you are going to be busy".
Simon didn''t understand her at first but when he saw the long queue of people lining behind Bea to dance with him, he understood why she wasughing at him.
"Haha" Simon gave a dryugh and danced with all of them one by one. By the time he was done, the festival was almosting to an end.
"Haah¡" Having retired to his room in the forest spirit vige, he gave a deep sigh. Usually, for a Demon Marquess like him who possessed many restorative skills, sleep wasn''t something they required.
However, when Simon fell on the bed, he felt all the tiredness his skill couldn''t remove,e overwhelming him all at once. Within a few seconds, he was already asleep.
Inside the house in another room, Irene''s body twitched as she slept, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. Her face was creased with distress, and her breath came in shallow gasps.
It was clear that whatever dream she was having, it was far from peaceful.
Inside her dreams, Irene stood in the midst of a destendscape¡ªa vastnd of ice and snow, frozen in a perpetual winter.
Chapter 919- Ominous Dream (3)
Chapter 919- Ominous Dream (3)
The air was cold and biting, and the ground beneath her feet cracked with every step she took. But that wasn''t what unsettled her. It was the blood.
Her hands were covered in it, staining the white snow red.
What was going on? This was clearly a bad dream; however, for some reason, this dream felt different from the usual.
She looked down, trembling, trying to understand what had happened, but her body moved on its own, ignoring her confusion.
In front of her stood a lone figure, a shadowy silhouette against the bleak horizon. His appearance was obscured by the storm raging around them, but his presence was undeniable.
He was strong, calm, and unyielding¡ªa stark contrast to the chaos swirling within her.
Without warning, Irene''s body lunged forward, attacking the figure with relentless ferocity. Her hands, now wielding des of ice, struck again and again, each blow powerful enough to shatter space and destroy mountains.
Yet, despite her fierce assault, the figure never retaliated. He defended himself, dodging and blocking her attacks, but never once striking back.
There were others around them watching the battle unfold. They seemed familiar, like distant memories or forgotten friends, but none of them intervened. They were held back by the mysterious figure.
It was as if hemanded the space around him, ensuring that this fight was only between the two of them. Irene''s mind screamed, begging her body to stop, to understand why she was attacking this person.
But it was as if she had no control of her body or a passenger in her own body.
The dream was too vivid, too real. Every breath, every movement, every sound¡ªit all felt as though it were happening right before her eyes.
It was clearly a dream¡ and yet, there was something about the figure. Something that tugged at her heart, even as she tried to tear him apart.
A sense of familiarity that she couldn''t ce, a connection that she couldn''t understand. Why did he feel so¡ important?
BOOOM¡
As the battle raged on, the world around them began to change. The ice spread further and further, freezing everything in its path. Trees, mountains, and even the sky itself seemed to crack and shatter under the force of the cold.
Thend became a wastnd of ice and snow, devoid of life, devoid of warmth.
Huff¡ Huff¡ Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Irene''s relentless assault slowed. Her body, though still not under her control, seemed to weaken, and her movements became sluggish.
In that moment, the mysterious figure stepped forward, closing the distance between them. He gently held her, stopping her from attacking.
Something was spoken; however, thanks to not being in control of her body she could not hear. It all sounded like a mumbled jumble to her. Nevertheless, thanks to that touch, she was finally able to control her body.
The icy rage that had consumed her moments ago melted away, reced by a deep, aching sadness. Tears welled up in her eyes, and a sob caught in her throat.
She didn''t understand why, but she felt as though she had lost something precious¡ªsomething irreceable.
The figure held her tenderly and slowly lowered her to the ground. Through her blurry vision, she watched as the figure turned away from her. He faced the sky, his form slowly bing indistinct, as if the very world around him was swallowing him up.
And then, just like that, he was gone.
The dream shattered like ss, and Irene jolted awake.
Huff¡ Huff¡ She sat up in bed, her heart pounding in her chest and her breathing ragged.
"What was that dream?" muttering to herself, she looked around. The room around her was quiet, dimly lit by the moonlight filtering through the window.
That said, the events of the dream still lingered in her mind¡ªthe ice, the blood, the mysterious figure¡
"?" At this moment, Irene realised that tears were blocking her vision. Trembling, she quickly wiped away her tears, trying to shake the lingering sadness that clung to her heart.
This was a dream¡ but then what was that feeling? Unable to calm down, Irene slipped out of her room.
The cool night breeze was soothing enough to calm the turmoil in her heart. She didn''t know where she should go but before she realized it, her feet were carrying her towards the most conspicuous ce in the entire Forest Spring Spirit Vige¡ªthe hill where the Tree of Spirit stood. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
The Tree of Spirit which had grown at an astonishing rate, was unlike anything else in the vige. Its long, graceful branches cascaded downward, much like those of a willow tree, yet it bore no leaves.
Instead, its branches glowed with a soft, white light, making the tree appear both ancient and ethereal. Its bark was a pale silver hue and seemed to shimmer faintly with the moonlight.
The entire tree exuded a sense of calm and serenity. What made the tree even more mesmerizing were the countless speckles of light that danced around it. They moved in gentle, rhythmic patterns, orbiting the tree.
These speckles, like tiny, wandering spirits, were drawn to the tree''s otherworldly glow. They drifted through the air and around the tree, creating an almost ethereal halo that surrounded the entire area.
It was as if the tree was a beacon for souls who had lost their mortal bodies. That was the Tree of Spirits.
Irene stood there, marvelling at the scene before her. No matter how many times she saw the tree, it never fails to amaze her. Thanks to the Tree of Spirits, she was able to forget the disturbing dream she had just experienced.
Just as she was lost in thought by the soft glow of the tree of spirits, from the corner of her eyes she noticed something or rather someone.
She was not the only one here who thought of seeking the sce of the Tree of Spirits in the middle of the night.
Chapter 920- Intimate Night
Chapter 920- Intimate Night
Standing beneath the tree, with his back turned to her, was Simon. He stood there silently, his eyes fixed on the tree''s glowing branches, more precisely, it was focused on something more profound¡ªsomething nestled among the branches of the glowing tree.
Cradled gently in the intricate weave of the tree''s branches was an egg. Not just any egg, but one that radiated a faint glow of its own, almost as if the tree''s light had infused it with life.
The egg looked mysterious and ancient and gave off a unique ripple. The branches of the Tree of Spirit held the egg carefully, tenderly, like a mother cradling her child. It was as if the Tree of Spirit itself was nurturing the egg, providing it with warmth and protection.
Simon''s eyes were locked on the egg, his expression one of deep contemtion which was why he failed to notice someone else''s presence so near him.
Irene did not alert Simon, instead she observed him as he stood there. It was rare to see him so focused, so absorbed in something beyond the immediate concerns of the dungeon or the battles thaty ahead.
There was a certain tranquillity, a certain charm about him in that moment that drew others to him.
"Hm?" at this moment, Simon turned slightly at the sound of a footstep catching sight of Irene standing just a few feet away. She looked a little lost, as if her body was here but her mind was not.
"What are you doing here at this hour? Are you unable to sleep?" Simon asked.
Irene who was pulled out of her thoughts, blinked and put on a faint smile.
"I couldn''t sleep," She admitted. But she didn''t mention the dream¡ªnot because she didn''t want to share it, but because it was something that even she herself didn''t fully understand.
The emotions the dream had stirred within her were still swirling around in her mind, unresolved and confusing.
"What about you? Why are you here?" At that question, Simon pointed his finger at the egg nestled in the branches of the Tree of Spirit.
"The egg... It called to you?" If it wasn''t Simon who was telling her that, she would wonder if the other party was right in the head.
And besides, the egg nestled in the embrace of the Tree of Spirits was no ordinary egg either. It held a tremendous amount of power and released a powerful oppressive aura even before hatching.
With a voice lost in thoughts, he spoke "I was asleep, but then..." He paused, searching for the right words "I felt something. A transmission of sorts. It was like a voice calling out to me, but not exactly. More like... a presence. It came from the egg."
He nced at Irene, "I can''t say for sure what it was, but it woke me up. And so, I came here."
Thetter''s gaze also drifted towards the egg, momentarily forgetting about her strange dream.
"The egg... It called to you?" If it wasn''t Simon who was telling her that, she would wonder if the other party was right in the head.
And besides, the egg nestled in the embrace of the Tree of Spirits was no ordinary egg either. It held a tremendous amount of power and released a powerful oppressive aura even before hatching.
There were also several ancient markings on the egg''s shell and it looked quite and mysterious. The being incubated inside was no doubt extraordinary after all, the egg was something that was pulled out of that Mysterious Abyss.
Irene wouldn''t be shocked if another exquisite being like the Null Elemental popped up from it.
"Yes. Though I can''t tell if it was truly a voice or something else. All I know is that it wanted to tell me something."
The stillness of the night wrapped around them like a nket and the soft glow of the Tree of Spirit cast a gentle, ethereal light.
At this moment, the entire floor was sleeping after a day of heartful festivity. Perhaps the only one awake right now was the two of them. A man and woman alone in the night¡ the atmosphere quickly became amorous.
"I wonder what''s inside?" Realising the mood, Irene quickly changed the topic "It must be something important if it''s calling out to you like that".
Simon''s smile deepened as he observed Irene''s attempt to steer the conversation elsewhere. There was a certain charm in seeing her flustered¡ªa rare sight considering her usualposed demeanour.
He felt like teasing this cold beauty a little.
"You seemed to be staring at me earlier. Are you sure it''s the egg you''re curious about?"
He leaned in slightly, closing the small distance between them, his eyes twinkling with mischief. There was only a few centimetres of distance between their bodies and lips.
Caught off guard, Irene froze momentarily at his sudden boldness. The gentle breeze of the night seemed to carry a hint of electricity now, or maybe that was just her imagination, but she was feeling quite jittery.
Clearing her throat, Irene quickly tried to regain herposure, though the faint blush on her cheeks betrayed her efforts.
"I¡ of course it''s the egg that I came to see. I can feel that it won''t be long before the bing insidees out" she replied, though her voice faltered slightly.
"Really?" Simon drew closer. At this point, their bodies were practically touching each other.
Finding her reaction endearing, he reached out and gently tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ears. It was a simple gesture, but this gesture sent a shiver down her spine, making it impossible to ignore the increasing intimacy between them.
"I suppose you are here for a different reason. But it cannot be a coincidence that both you and I arrived here in the middle of the night. Perhaps tonight is not about the festival, the tree or the egg"
"Perhaps it is tying to tell us something. Do you understand what I am getting at? A man and a woman in the middle of the night, surrounded by the moonlight and the warm glow of the tree of spirits¡" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Simon whispered into her ears, his voice low and smooth.
Feeling his breath touch her skin, Irene''s body flinched. As she met his gaze, she felt there was something more in his eyes¡ªa warmth, an affection that she hadn''t allowed herself to fully acknowledge before.
Chapter 921- Intimate Night (2)
Chapter 921- Intimate Night (2)
BADUMP¡ BADUMP¡ She could hear her heart pounding in her chest, the intensity of the moment was so that it was hard to think clearly.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The only sounds were the faint rustling of leaves and the gentle hum of magic that always seemed to surround the Tree of Spirit.
The air between them was thick with unspoken feelings, a connection that had been quietly growing for so long.
How long had it been? Finally, unable to take his teasing and boldness any longer, Irene decided to do something that never in her life would she have imagined would fan the fire even further.
She locked eyes with Simon and without avoiding his gaze, she muttered "How long are you nning to continue to tease me? Do you think I''m like those other women who will be meek at your sudden boldness?".
As she said that, her eyes were shimmering with slight moisture in them and her cheeks were blushing red.
At this moment she had forgotten what kind of fatal allure it was for a man when a usually powerful and noble woman who would normally never show a trace of weakness, suddenly disy a rare timidness.
Simon''s gaze softened as Irene''s words hung in the air, the vulnerability she rarely showed making his heart stir. Her flushed cheeks, the slight tremble in her voice, and the shimmering moisture in her eyes¡ªit was all too much for him to resist.
In that moment, he saw past theposed exterior of the Ice Queen and saw the woman who was standing before him, trying to be strong despite the emotions bubbling inside her.
Thus the next moment, without saying a word, Simon gently wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
The warmth of his touch was both reassuring and electrifying, and before Irene could react, he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers.
The kiss was deep, passionate, and filled with the unspoken feelings that had been building between them for so long.
It wasn''t just a kiss; it was an acknowledgement of everything they had been through together, of the trust, the respect, and the undeniable attraction that had always been there.
Irene''s eyes widened in surprise, but she didn''t pull away. Instead, she found herself melting into the kiss, her hands instinctively reaching up to grasp the front of his shirt.
The world around them seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of them, wrapped up in each other.
There was a tenderness in the way he held her, but also a certain hunger, a need that she could feel mirrored in her own heart.
The world around them seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of them, wrapped up in each other.
"Wait¡" As their lips parted, just for a moment, Irene found herself gasping for breath, her heart racing.
"This ce is a bit¡" She looked up at Simon, her eyes searching his, and saw the same intensity she felt reflected back at her. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Then shall we take this to our home?" despite the heat of the moment, there was a softness in his gaze.
Simon held Irene in a princess carry and swiftly teleported to the White Pce on the Main floor. The ce he teleported to was his bedroom.
At this moment, the entire white pce was empty as all the members gathered in the Forest Spring Vige for the night.
.
Inside, a dimly lit room with a modest amount of furniture and decoration greeted them. Simon gentlyid Irene on the bed. A fiery sensation surged all through his body.
His hands moved and he slowly undressed her. Irene did not stop and simply allowed things to unfold.
Before long, that azure blue dress was removed after which a perfect and wless naked body was exposed within the bedroom.
During this time, her body trembled slightly with all the embarrassment and lust directed at her. Her eyes held expectation and warmth making her look so beautiful that it could steal one''s soul.
"Irene¡" Simon muttered in ragged gasps. His hands moved and the couple finally united in a fiery passionate fashion.
Inside the White Pce of the Main Floor, the flower of lust bloomed in its full glory. Lost in passion the pair lost track of time.
.
.
The next day, the soft morning light filtered through the curtains of the ce, casting a gentle glow across the room.
Simony awake, his arm draped over Irene as they rested under the thin nket. The events of the previous night yed through his mind, the fiery passion they had shared, and the deep connection that had solidified between them.
When he turned his head slightly, the sight of the soul stirring beauty, the Icy fairy who appeared out of reach of the mortals which he desecrated to his heart contentsst night, appeared in his sight.
Irene, was still nestled against him. Her delicate shoulder peeked out from under the nket, the rosyplexion her skin now held was a testament to the intensity of their night together.
She looked serene, in her sleep with dry tears gleaming at the edges of her eyes. Looking at that sight of her, Simon couldn''t help but feel a tinge of guilt.
The vulnerability she had shown, the trust she had ced in him, it all showed her love for him.
She had given him her everything yet he who was swept by his lust, was too rough on her. He was like a wold drown by its instinct.
Gently, he leaned in and ced a kiss on her forehead smooth forehead. For a moment, he simply nced at her, lost in his thoughts and not wanting to disturb this peaceful atmosphere.
However, as fate would have it, he was the master of this dungeon. There were duties to attend to, responsibilities that a Dungeon Master cannot put off.
KNOCK¡ KNOCK¡ a timely knock came from the door. Reluctantly, Simon eased himself out of bed, careful not to wake Irene. He dressed himself quietly, pulling on his clothes as he prepared to face the day
Chapter 922- Reaching A Bottleneck In Growth
Chapter 922- Reaching A Bottleneck In Growth
Just as Simon reached for the door, he nced back at Irene onest time. She was still nestled under the quilt, her breathing steady and calm. A small smile appeared on his face.
Stepping outside, Simon found Ate waiting for him, as always. Her ever-dutiful presence never changed be it a holiday or not.
"Good morning, Master" she greeted him with a respectful bow.
"Yes good morning" Simon nodded. She and the others arrived the day before yesterday and celebrated the Spiritus Fortuna Festival with all of them. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Master, I have prepared the bath for you"¡
"Yeah, thank you. By the way, where are the others?" he looked around. Other than Ate who was all ready for her duties for the day, the other four maids couldn''t be seen.
"Alice is keeping an eye on the prisoners. Bianca is with her. Emma is helping the Forest Spring Spirits and as for Bea, she drank too muchst night and is still out of it" Ate reported pressing her forehead in frustration.
"I''m very sorry master. I will discipline her strictly once she wakes out of it" the maid added.
"Never mind, let her rest. She has been a great help to me all this time. She deserves some rest. In fact, tell everyone to take some rest today" Simon ordered in a good mood.
Ate could tell that he was in high spirits and knew the reason why once she took a good look at him. Smiling, she left to carry out her duties.
Back in the room, as the door clicked shut, Irene slowly opened her eyes. She had been awake the whole time and was aware when Simon kissed her forehead but she was just too embarrassed to reveal it.
The memory of his affectionate actions made her heart flutter and the warmth of his presence lingered on her skin. She couldn''t help but feel a mixture of contentment and shyness.
"Sost night really happened" Pulling the quilt closer, she relished at the quiet moment.
Scenes fromst night shed in her mind, making her quite flustered. Something that the previous her would never imagine was possible.
The Icy queen whose heart was like a millennium old frozen ice had finally been conquered and the man to do that was an upstart demon.
After a few more moments of basking in the afterglow, Irene sat up, allowing the quilt to slide down slightly, revealing more of her rosy skin to the morning light.
The dream that bothered her from the previous day hadpletely disappeared leaving her all refreshed. She quickly donned on her clothes and headed outside.
.
.
"Level 648 huh, I''m still a long way from reaching the Demon Duke realm" Simon muttered inside the bath.
Ever since the day he made that agreement with Aldebaran his primary focus was on reaching the Demon Duke rank, that is to say, level 700+.
At that time, he was only a low ranking Demon Baron but little by little, he climbed his way and had now be a Demon Marquess a being who was seen as the representative of fear and terror in the world.
If seen from another perspective it would seem inconceivable, a mere Demon Baron rising to such a rank.
However, to Simon, his growth was nothing special. The reason being that¡ª as he climbed higher, the enemy he faced also became stronger and more tougher to beat.
Considering thetest event where he had to face three of the seven kings who were allte stage level 700+ beings.
Had it not been for the many tricks and cards up his sleeves, facing beings of such level would be impossible for him. Especially that Ogre King, even until the end, he managed to surprise him.
Simon didn''t want to think what would have been the consequences had the ogre king really managed to grasp the full strength of space and mutation magic.
Even for him right now, these two powers were an unknown territory that he only had little knowledge about. That said, from what little he did know, he was sure that even with his preparations and trump cards, he wouldn''t have been the ogre king''s match.
Call it a good fortune or fate that the ogre king was still a level away from reaching 800. He might have glimpsed into the next level and gotten some form of epiphany.
However, the powers he utilised in thest battle was far from being mastery. Or else given all his methods he wouldn''t have been able to defeat him.
It wasn''t just him willingly yielding to a higher power or the knowledge he procured from the [Memories of the World] but his personal intuition.
And he was right, the mastery of Space was a realm that belonged to a higher ne. Someone who had stepped onto this level, could manipte space and create space locks so powerful that anyone below level 800 could not break through unless one possessed Lost Legendary grade skill or mastered the space themselves.
Only Lost Legendary grade skill or Spatial strength can counter spatial strength. From this one could understand how enormous the gulf between the two levels was.
Even the ogre king who was just a level away from reaching it was nowhere close enough when it came to the strength possessed by someone who had actually stepped into that realm.
"Stronger, I have to get much stronger" Simon clenched his hands steeling his mind.
The enemy he would face in the future would be much stronger so much so that the likes of the Ogre king could not evenpare.
It was not the distant enemy he was talking about, but the ones who were lurking behind the shadows and manipting the scene.
Just recently in the conflict against the ckthorn Kingdom, a new and powerful enemy who was much stronger than anyone he had faced until now and who was an incredible schemer, was revealed.
They were not only hiding in the shadows, manipting from behind the scenes, but they were also quite strong.
Chapter 923- Reaching A Bottleneck In Growth (2)
923 Chapter 923- Reaching A Bottleneck In Growth (2)
To be able to create one''s own skill and pass down a portion of their strength to their subordinates, the enemy had to be incredibly powerful.
Even Simon had a vague idea when it came to the level required to achieve something like that. He was mostly unaware of the realm beyond level 800+.
Be that may, what he had to do didn''t change. Since such a powerful enemy was lying in ambush in the shadows for him, he just had to rise up to the challenge and get stronger faster than before.
That''s what he had been doing up until now and had to continue to do so. Especially now when the fates of all the people dear to him, depended on him.
"If there is one thing that can quickly allow me to increase my strength, then it is the Celestial Ocirs" Simon touched his left eye.
This peculiar eyeball that he got from the Auction of the Damned, fused with him bing his current left eye. There were many unknowns about this and even he himself had to fully unlock all of its powers yet.
Simon could tell that the power he used during his fight with the three kings, the one that allowed him to swap with objects and things in a certain area, was just one of the abilities of the eye.
There was still much more to explore, much more to discover.
"If I can master all the abilities of the Celestial Ocris, my strength will increase manifold" It would take a long and gruelling process to increase his skills and stats.
Whereas, the powers of the Celestial Ocris which relied onprehension and suitability was the only thing that could increase his strength in a short term.
Even Irene had said that the mastery of the eye would depend on his ability and destiny. However, once he sessfully mastered it, he would be able to get immeasurable strength.
The first ability [Swap] had already proven its worth in the fight making Simon wondered what other abilities the eye hid.
"Other than the eye, there are also the new skills that I need to master" he muttered checking his status window.
Name:- Simon
Race:- Demon Marquess
Titles:- Demon of Pride [Iplete Fragment 2/5],
Level:- 638,
Stats:- HP:- 501,099
MP:- 775,100
Strength:- 7104
Defence:- 7414
Agility:- 8050
Magic:- 8725
Endurance:- 7300
Luck:- 4220
Skills:- Language Mastery, Appraisal, Mental Map, Infernal Magic Mastery, Tempest Magic Mastery, Thunder Magic Mastery, Dark Magic Mastery, Ultra High Speed Thought Processing, Extraordinary Vitality, Supersonic Flight, Herculean Strength, Body Empowerment, me Resistance, Gale Resistance, Lightning Resistance, Pain Negation, Blunt Damage Negation, Omnidirectional Awareness, Conceal Presence, Crimson Tyrant Eyes, Herculean Agility, Ultra Enhanced Endurance, Herculean Magic, Herculean Defence, Mana Efficiency, Enhanced Six Senses, Mystic Mana Lines, Ten Thousand Sword Mastery, Burnt Sword Mastery, Demon Marquess'' Esteem, Mana infused Hide, Earth Shattering Roar, Rift Walk, Dark Deprivation, Dark Lock, Chilling Touch, Soul Empowerment, Poison Negation, Cut Negation, Piercing Negation, Evil Eye Negation, Night Shackle, Netherw, Midnight Judgement, Umbral Words, ??????, ??????, ??????,
Amalgamation Magic:- [Infernal-Tempest Mastery], [Infernal-Thunder Mastery], [Dark-me Mastery]
Inherent Skills:- Dungeon Creation, Main Menu, Ancestral Symbol Ignition.
-----
Language Comprehension¡ª> Language Mastery
Gale Magic Mastery¡ª> Tempest Magic Mastery
High-Speed Thought Processing¡ª> Ultra High Speed Thought Processing n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Ultra Regeneration¡ª> Extraordinary Vitality
Ultra High-Speed Flight¡ª> Supersonic Flight
Ultra Enhanced Strength¡ª> Herculean Strength
Body Reinforcement¡ª> Body Empowerment
Pain Resistance¡ª> Pain Negation
Blunt Damage Resistance¡ª> Blunt Damage Negation
Sense Presence¡ª> Omnidirection Awareness
Hide Presence¡ª> Conceal Presence
Abstruse Demonic Eyes¡ª> Crimson Tyrant Eyes
Ultra Enhanced Agility¡ª> Herculean Agility
Ultra Enhanced Magic¡ª> Herculean Magic
Ultra Enhanced Defence¡ª> Herculean Defence
Minimal Mana Consumption¡ª> Mana Efficiency
Sharpened Senses¡ª> Enhanced Senses
Superior Mana Lines¡ª> Mystic Mana Lines
Thousand Sword Mastery¡ª> Ten Thousand Sword Mastery
Demon Earl''s Intimidation¡ª> Demon Marquess'' Esteem
Resilient Mana Hide¡ª> Mana Infused Hide
Piercing Demon Roar¡ª> Earth Shattering Roar
ck sh¡ª> Rift Step
Poison Resistance¡ª> Poison Negation
Cut Resistance¡ª> Cut Negation
Piercing Resistance¡ª> Piercing Negation
Demonic Eye Resistance¡ª> Evil Eyes Negation...
-----
Looking at his status, Simon was quite pleased. After his rank increased to Demon Marquess, many of his skills evolved, reaching new tiers. Looking at his status no one would say that it was the status of a Demon Marquess.
That''s right, thanks to his intense training and diligent ranking up, the tiers of his skills were higher than the status of most Demon Marquessess.
In fact, when it came to pure skill tiers, he could evenly match with Demon Dukes. That was how absurd Simon''s growth had been.
Other than his existing skills ranking up, he also has numerous powerful and high tier skills.
These skills which he got after levelling up to be a Demon Marquess were all double edged skills and had to be mastered before he could use it or else he could end up hurting himself.
It was also the reason why Simon abstained from using them in his fight against the three kings. It was because he had yet to understand these skills fully. If he could master these skills fully, his strength would increase even further.
Other than the skills, there was also the case of his magic. Now that he had reached Level 638 and be a Demon Marquess, all of his magic had increased to a whole new level.
The three basic attributes he hadpatibility with, had all reached the Advanced tier. What''s more, he was now even able to use the Amalgamation magic of two advanced tier attributes.
Though it does take a toll on his body, it was still doable. As for the Rare Dark magic, he could feel his mastery over it increasing. He felt like it would not be long before he could use the intermediate tier of Dark magic.
"These days I have been working on Amgamtion Magic of Intermediate tier me and Dark magic. However, it seems it''s still too difficult"
The Amalgamation magic of other attributes had reached its limit. Now no matter how much he trained or subjected himself to those inhumane training regimes, the level of his Amalgamation magic wasn''t increasing.
Chapter 924- Corrupted Weapons
Chapter 924- Corrupted Weapons
It was more like hitting a wall and nothing he did worked. Now all he could do was let time run its course and hope that he would gain some sudden enlightenment.
That is the only way to breakthrough to the next stage¡ i.e. the mutation magic.
Simon knew how difficult it was to master mutation magic which is why, he was focusing on strengthening his other aspects.
The Dark magic which was one of the four rare attributes still had a lot of potential that he could draw out. If he couldbine dark magic with another attribute to create a new amalgamation magic, the strength it would possess would by far exceed the amalgamation magic of two intermediate tiers and even some advanced tier magic.
His status window proved the fact that he still had a lot of areas and aspects he could increase to raise his strength.
After finishing his bath, Simon headed out. His destination was the training floor which had beenpletely remodled to contain an underground prison and a wide area akin to a city above.
Ate who was dutifully waiting for him, handed him his new set of clothes and together they headed for the training floor.
.
.
"Big sister Bea" Alice who was waiting near the entrance of the prison, tackled Bea in High spirits.
"I feel like it has been so long since Ist saw you" the youngest Valkyrie snuggled adorably.
"What are you saying you stupid girl, you were only away for a couple of months and besides, we saw each other yesterday didn''t we?" Bea sighed rustling her little sister''s hair.
"Unn" Alice pouted "Its true but you went away in the middle of the festival. Are you perhaps upset? Was it one of the prisoners? Dammit those bastards, I will drill hundreds of holes in their bodies".
With a savage expression, she was about to head inside the prison and torture those unfortunate souls when she was stopped by Bea.
"Calm down, it''s not that. I went away in the middle yesterday because the festival was just too much for me. I was not feeling well"
Perhaps she could have fooled others with that excuse of hers. However, the Valkyries were programmed to be a tight knit group of sisters who understood each other very well.
As one of them, Alice understood her big sister more than anyone. When it came to asions like these, she was the heart of the festival, someone who would hype the event with just her presence.
She who loved festivals¡ for her to go away somewhere in the middle, there had to be some big reason.
She wasn''t well? Alice wasn''t going to believe that pathetic excuse.
''As I thought something must have happened'' the Valkyrie looked at her big sister and noticed the slight patches of red at the corner of her eyes. Although it was barely visible, it wasn''t going to go unnoticed from her sharp eyes.
Bea was crying!! But why?
In this world, there was only one person who could make her cry like this. She did not even need to ask who was it.
"Big sister Bea, don''t tell me you are still harbouring feelings for Master?" Alice asked.
Bea who didn''t expect her little sister to find out her secret was at a loss for words. She was trying to hide her feelings because of the event that happened yesterday. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
However, hid as much as she wanted, it still came to the surface in front of Alice.
"Tell me what happened"¡
"You little girl, you are thinking too much. I told you nothing happened. It''s just that I''m a little stressed these days. As I thought I needed to y with the prisoners more to relieve myself"
Not wanting to exin any further, Bea walked ahead.
Looking at her back profile, Alice who noticed how heartbroken she looked, couldn''t help but sigh. Love for their Master was a sentiment they all shared. However, in their case it was more of an adoration and faith than anything else.
It was nothing like how Bea felt. She could understand some of her emotions and what she was going through. Nevertheless, it was at the end their master''s choice.
Emotions and feelings for others cannot be forced, one can only nurture it slowly.
.
.
Bea, Alice and the other stood in front of the newly established storage quarters near the training grounds. The storage quarters was a huge building as big as a football stadium and used to temporarily store items and treasures looted from the intruders.
There were tens of thousands of items carefully organised and stored inside the building. In fact, storing and organising these items turned out to be a much bigger task and opened up the position of a treasure keeper.
As the dungeon grows stronger and faces more enemies in the future, the position will surely attract more attention. For now, the orcs were ordered to handle the storing and organising of the items.
ZAP~ Space twisted and with a beam of light that fell from the ceiling and together with it, the master of the dungeon and his maid appeared in front of everyone.
"Hm? It looks like everyone is gathered here. I hope I did not make you wait for long?" Simon spoke with high spirits.
He looked at the Valkyries standing in front before shifting his eyes towards the orcs.
The one in charge of guarding this ce was Berisol. An orc who had evolved into the Rimeblood Tribe and was one of the beings he used to test the powers of the newly evolved orcs back when he went to the previous harpy''s territory to fight the subordinates of the Ogre King and Ivory Teraquake Rhino.
After that ocassion he understood the strength of this orc very well and decided to have him guard the storage quarters for the time being.
Noticing Simon''s gaze on them, all the orcs fell on their knees, their eyes reverent and feverish. It was as if they were looking not at their master but a god.
Chapter 925- Corrupted Weapons (2)
Chapter 925- Corrupted Weapons (2)
It was not just Berisol, the intensity could be seen shared by all the orcs even the lowest ranking one. That was how high a position Simon held in their hearts.
And why would he not, revenge against the ogres after their previous humiliating defeat in the forest was one of their lifelong dreams and ambition.
Now that it has been fulfilled, the orcs seemed to have grown even more fond and reverend of Simon. Had it not been for him, their whole n would have been exterminated that day or forced to live a humiliating life under the subjugation of the ogres.
For them, he was not only their saviour, but also their avenger. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Raise your heads" On Simon''s order, the orcs picked themselves up.
"I hope you all have been doing well"¡
"It''s all thanks to lord Simon. Without you we would have never experienced such glory" Berisol thanked bowing his head deeply.
"Enough, I did what I had to. Besides, I am not being partial here. The ck ogre n has much potential. As such, I am nning to have them serve under me in the future".
It was as Simon said, although he helped the orcs to take revenge on the ck ogre n, he was only using a borrowed knife to cull their numbers.
From the beginning, he had no intention of favouring one n. He wanted to bring all the various ns inside the forest under his rule. And to do that, he started with the Orc n.
"Even then, we are eternally grateful" Berisol spoke.
For them avenging their honor was more important than exterminating the ck ogre n.
"It''s good if you understand that. In the future, many more ns other than the ck ogre n would be joining us. It would be better for you all to get along together"
After giving his instructions, Simon ced his eyes on the entrance of the storage quarters. His main motive foring here was to check on the items that were brought here the day before yesterday.
The items that wreaked havoc in the kingdom, the source of the unusual energy that the soldiers of the Kingdom of ckthorn were using.
They were brought here to be stored with the other items when Ate and her team returned to the dungeon.
"Let''s go inside. I have been wanting to see those items for myself" Simon spoke and took the lead to head inside.
Ever since receiving the report from Ate about these items which were detailed some kind of unusual energy that was very simr to his own item, he had been curious about it.
The report was given about a month ago, today finally he could see those items with his own eyes.
As he stepped inside, a massive ceiling and an enormous chamber greeted him. The air here was cool with a quiet hum of ambient magic that vibrated through the space. Thanks to the numerous items and treasures stored here, the entire ce bore a mystical ambience to it.
Rows upon rows of shelves, containers, filled the expanse. Weapons of all kinds¡ªancient swords, cursed daggers, and enchanted bows¡ªlined one wall, each radiating a unique aura.
Opposite them were artifacts and relics, glowing with faint, otherworldly light. Every item or treasure here was distinctly separated, with magical barriers ensuring that no two items interfered with each other, maintaining the strict order of the storage.
As he looked around the storage quarters, Simon couldn''t help but ask "Where are the items from the recent acquisition?".
All the items here were either acquired from the intruders or procured from Prime''s workshop. He couldn''t see the items Ate spoke of.
"About that¡" The one to speak was the treasure keeper Berisol "The area housing the recent acquisition is a little far down the chamber and separated from the rest".
When Simon arrived at the ce he soon understood why it was so. Cordoned off with multipleyers of magical seals and formations, the items werepletely blocked from the outside.
Unlike the other items that were neatly ced on shelves or within containers, these objects were held within arge, reinforced containment field. It was done so as to prevent their malevolent energies from leaking out.
"So these are the items huh" His crimson eyesnded on the many armors and weapons ced inside the seal as he carefully studied them. Even with just a nce anyone could tell that the items here were unusual, they had that kind of presence about them.
"Hmm, this energy¡ though it''s different it does bore some resemnce"
There was a slight thrum of strange energy that felt disturbingly simr to the energy he was familiar with.
Simon moved closer to one of the pedestals andmanded "Lower the containment on this one, I need to examine it up close."
At his words, Ate hurriedly cautioned "Master please be careful. These weapons, they have the ability to corrupt one''s mind".
Simon nodded and headed in. Even without Ate''s caution, he knew not to underestimate this unknown energy and besides, if it was what he thought it was, he did not need to fear it.
On hismand, the warden Berisol pulled the lever and a small gap appeared in one of the seals. Using this slight gap, Simon stepped inside.
At that moment, all that energy that was contained and sealed off within this formation, came rushing at him like a wave trying to capsize a boat.
"?" His hands moved and Simon prepared an item to defend himself when he stopped in his tracks.
The wave appeared and swept him over.
"Master!!" Seeing his actions, Ate and the others immediately tried to rush in but were stopped by the gesture of their master who told them not toe in.
Simon turned his attention back on the items ced inside the containment. The level of energy here was enough to casue some low level beings to copse instantly or coorode their mind.
Chapter 926- Corrupted Weapons (3)
Chapter 926- Corrupted Weapons (3)
Even higher level beings could feel some level of mental interference from the energy here. It was no wonder why Ate was so cautious.
She had seen the battlefield where all the enemy soldiers and officers were equipped with these weapons.
The level of energy there would have been iparable to the ones currently contained inside the seals. She must have seen many people go berserk or break down mentally whether it be enemy or ally.
It was because of this reason that she was so worried. However, she had forgotten he possessed a source that produced this energy which was multiple times more pure and dense.
That''s right, as he had suspected, the energy given off by these items although extremely diluted, possessed the essence of curse energy.
Simon fixed his gaze on a particrly innocuous-looking sword. The sword handle was small and the de chipped and worn, but the power emanating from it was anything but weak.
He could sense the malevolence within it, coiled and waiting like a serpent ready to strike.
"Interesting¡ these attributes are simr to the finger of Ozymandias" Simon muttered to himself, lowering his hand.
The sword was definitely reacting to him, and instantly mellowed out whenever he touched. It was as if it was a beast that had been tamed by him or maybe was cowered by the power within him.
This kind of reaction was something he got whening in contact with the Curse energy for the first time. Back when he was clearing the fourth trial in the forbidden grounds.
His first encounter with the curse energy was when he fought with those zombies. It was onlyter on during the trial that he found out that the source of this unknown energy which was making these zombies was the curse energy.
The finger of Ozymandias that appeared afterwards and him being immune to it for some odd reason.
Simon always wondered why was he able toe in contact with the curse energy and even use it without suffering any of those drawbacks that others did.
He had seen with his own eyes during the trial what fate awaited those who were exposed to the curse energy.
Yet despite all that when it was his turn to face it head on, the energy turned docile like a tamed beast on a cor. It was a mystery through and through as to why it was so.
Nevertheless, thanks to that, he was able toe out on top and subdue the Finger of Ozymandias who was the final boss of the fifth trial.
Anyways, now that he knew it was curse energy, Simon could feel a connection forming, a thin, almost imperceptible thread of energy linking the dagger to him.
Others, unless they were the soldiers of ckthorn, would be repelled or consumed by the power, but he could control it and even bend it to his will.
"Master, are you alright? Did you find anything?" Seeing that he had yet to drop the sword and appeared normal, Ate couldn''t help but ask.
SIGH¡ He let out a deep breath still staring at the sword in his hand.
The room was silent except for the faint hum of the containment seals, the oppressive energy contained once more. Ate''s question hung in the air, but Simon took a moment before answering, carefully cing the sword in its ce.
"Yes, I did find something, but instead of providing answers, it only made things more mysterious. However, there''s one thing I''m sure of now¡ªthe energy you guys have sensed from these items is definitely the same as the one item I possess."
The Valkyries who participated in that war exchanged surprised nces. They had all felt a vague sense of familiarity when they first encountered this peculiar energy, but none of them had expected it to be so closely tied to the power their master wielded.
The realization brought a mix of unease and curiosity. Why was it the same as the energy their master used?
What was this energy and why does the enemy possess it?
"So, these items¡" Ate started, her beautiful eyes behind the sses narrowed as she thought of a possibility "If they have the same kind of energy, does that mean that master knows the enemy¡"
Before Ate could speak her thoughts, Simon shook his head "Let''s stop here. Whatever we could think at this point would only serve to confuse us even more" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"As I said before, these items today have raised more questions than answers. That said, what I can do say for sure is that there is nothing for anyone to worry about. No matter what kind of enemy is waiting for us, our dungeon will ovee them all".
His final words that spoke of victory and his tone that held no doubts, cleared the dreary and malignant air in the room as if it was never there.
Everyone cheered and felt their confidence soaring.
"Master is right, there is no point in thinking too much. Now that we know it is the same energy as what the master uses, we can be better prepared for it next time" Ate spoke on behalf of everyone.
"By the way master, what should we do about these items?".
Simon''s gaze shifted to the many items sealed within the containment area. "These swords and armors themselves aren''t the true source of power. They''re nothing more than afterproducts, byproducts created by infusing curse energy into them"
"It''s like they were mere vessels, or tools, corrupted by the dark energy of whoever¡ªor whatever¡ªproduced them"
In short, what he was trying to say was that these items held no value. Other than the soldiers of the kingdom, no one can use it and since it has been contaminated with curse energy the items cannot be used as raw material either.
That said, he couldn''t just throw it out as he was worried about the contamination. The curse energy was like a gue that was ipatible with the mystical energy.
Chapter 927- Plans for building a Dungeon City
Chapter 927- ns for building a Dungeon City
If Simon allowed these weapons which had been turned into cursed relics to roam freely, it would no doubt cause chaos in the world. They were better off being contained, kept away from anyone who might get tempted to use them.
"These items, they are unusable. The curse energy that taints them has rendered them unstable. Trying to wield them would be dangerous for anyone. They could easily turn on their wielder, corrupting or even killing them.We''ll need to keep them sealed away"
Simon concluded, his voice firm "They''re too dangerous to leave unguarded, and until we understand more about the source of this curse energy, we can''t risk exposing them to anyone."
The Valkyries and the orcs nodded in understanding. Since their lord was telling them it was dangerous, these items must not surface in the world.
Ate bowed slightly and said "We''ll ensure they remain secure, Master. No one wille near them without your permission."
Simon nodded and turned to leave the storage. Now that things were settled here, he turned to head towards the residential quarters which was also located on this floor.
Although he said residential quarters, no inhabitants of the dungeon resided there. The residential quarters were mainly made to entertain guests. Previously, it was used by Cynthia and her entourage.
With Simon taking the lead and the Valkyries following a step after him, they headed for the residential quarters.
"By the way master, Bea has something to tell you" On their way, Alice suddenlymented. The cheeky girl blinked towards Bea who was equally surprised.
"Hm? Is that so? What is it that you wanted to tell me, Bea?"¡
"Eh? Ah, that¡" When Simon turned towards her, for some unknown reason she couldn''t look at him. Her eyes darted everywhere and she behaved much like her sister Emma.
"I-It''s nothing¡" in the end, she could only say that.
"Hmm¡ if you say so" Simon shifted his gaze back and continued walking.
Staring at his back profile, Bea recalled the events ofst night. Last night, after getting too drunk, she headed out for ate night stroll and coincidentally came to the Tree of Spirits.
That was when she noticed Simon and Irene standing underneath the tree talking about something. In usual case, she would have approached them and joined in their conversation. However, the mood between them was much too intimate for her to intervene.
As she watched them from the distance, the two who seemed to be flirting around, after a while teleported away from the floor.
Bea didn''t need to follow them to know what happened next. Simon was the master of the dungeon, an extraordinary demon with many powerful beings under him. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
While Irene was a woman of ethereal beauty, grace and strength. Her origins although mysterious, were noble and high born.
No matter how you see it, the two were perfect for each other. What''s more, they have been steadily building and strengthening their rtionship through all the trials.
It was already a known fact that the two loved each other and it was only a matter of time before they tied the knot. It was something that was bound to happen and Bea knew this fact.
She had convinced herself to stay at her master''s side without asking for anything else. She thought that she had prepared herself to not receive his love in return¡ but then why?
Why was it that when she saw the two of them hold each other underneath the tree of spirits, she felt her heart being crushed?
Seeing her anguish and the turmoil in her heart, Ate couldn''t help but sigh. She understood the feelings of her sister very well and knew what she was going through.
That said, she could only sigh at the situation and pray that she would get over it soon.
It didn''t take long for Simon and the others to arrive at the residential quarters where Cynthia and her entourage were waiting for him.
"Lord Simon, you are here" The former gave a slight bow.
Behind her were Alvara and the others, the same group who had been in the dungeon before. Compared to a couple of months ago they looked more sharp and gave off a strong aura than before.
The war with the kingdom of ckthorn not only increased their level, but it also forged their minds and allowed them to break out of their shell.
The one who showed the most exemry growth, Cynthai looked far different than before. It wasn''t a mere change in her physical appearance, although she did seem more poised and regal than before.
It was something deeper¡ªa shift in her demeanour, a newfound resolve that radiated from her. She no longer carried the aura of someone stilling to grips with her responsibilities.
Instead, she exuded the presence of a queen who had epted the weight of her crown and was prepared to make the hard decisions necessary for her kingdom''s survival and prosperity.
The others, too, had grown. Alvara and the rest of Cynthia''s entourage had shed the remnants of their past selves. They stood straighter, their eyes sharp and alert, their auras reflecting the battles they had fought and the challenges they had ovee.
The war and the numerous trials had tested them, forced them to grow beyond what they once were.
"Wee," Simon said, nodding to Cynthia and her group who looked nothing like the people who had entered the dungeon months ago after being pushed into a desperate situation.
After giving their usual greeting, they headed inside the residential quarters. Although it was ordered by Simon and made by the orcs as an experiment to see theirbour force and capability, the residential quarters were built far better than he imagined.
The houses were spacious, with high ceilings and intricately carved wooden beams that added warmth to the atmosphere. Therge windows allowed people a clear view of the traiing grounds. The furniture werefortable and elegant, designed for utility.
Chapter 928- Plans for building a Dungeon City (2)
Chapter 928- ns for building a Dungeon City (2)
As for the roads, they were built methodically with cobblestones and reinforced bricks.
Once they were all seated, Cynthia took a deep breath. Her eyes met Simon''s, and she carefully considered all of her words and weighed in all the factors.
After a brief moment, all hesitation disappeared from her eyes and she spoke making her decision.
"Lord Simon, after much discussion and deliberation with my advisors and people close to me, I havee to a resolution that I believe will benefit both the dungeon and the Kingdom of Ellesmere. Given the current state of the kingdom, and the unique resources the dungeon offers, I have decided to make Ellesmere a dungeon-exploring kingdom"¡.
"Hoh? Go on" Simon raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the concept.
There was no surprise in his face even though the news came like a bombshell for others behind him. He motioned for her to continue.
"This decision is not just a strategy for survival," Cynthia exined, "It''s a way to ensure the future prosperity and strength of the people''s kingdom. By focusing on dungeon exploration, we can tap into the abundant resources within these floors¡ªresources that we can use to sustain the kingdom without having to depend on trade with other nations"
"The people will no longer be at the mercy of external forces or the fluctuating politics of the Central Continent."
"And that is not all" she continued "The dungeon is a ce that challenges and pushes individuals to their limits. By regrly exploring the dungeon, the soldiers and adventurers of the kingdom will grow stronger, their levels will increase, and they will gain valuable experience"
"In time, we may even see the rise of rankers among our ranks¡ªindividuals who can stand toe-to-toe with the strongest in the world. This will not only bolster the kingdom''s defences but also give us a significant edge in any future conflicts."
From the exnation, everybody could tell that she had given quite some thought and deliberation about it. Not only that but she had also figured out most of the details for the n causing Ate and the others to look at her in a new light.
"I believe that this is the best path forward for Ellesmere. It''s a way for us to secure the kingdom''s independence, to build a foundation of strength that willst for generations".
Simon listened carefully with a half amused half intrested expression. Cynthia''s proposal was bold, but it was also logical.
The dungeon had always been a ce of both danger and opportunity, and her n to harness its potential for the benefit of her kingdom was a calcted risk that could pay off immensely.
"You''ve thought this through," Simon spoke, his eyes staring straight at Cynthia "Making your kingdom a dungeon-exploring nation is not a decision to be taken lightly, I hope you''ve clearly weighed the pros and cons?"
Cynthia nodded. "I have. I understand the risks, but I also see the potential. If we are to survive and thrive in this world, we need to adapt. We cannot obstinately stick with the old rules and customs. The old ones die and the new carry on. The dungeon offers us the means to survive."
"Hehe, indeed it is as you say. I can now see what you are trying to achieve" Simon leaned back in his chair, a small smile ying on his lips.
"The dungeon is indeed a ce that can fulfil one''s wishes, It is filled with riches and opportunities that you people need. However, princess aren''t the statements you made before all benefit your people and the kingdom?"
"What is there for the dungeon to benefit by opening its door for the people of the kingdom?".
Cynthia continued meeting Simon''s gaze without breaking away. She had anticipated this question, knowing full well that the demon was not someone who would allow others to take advantage of his domain without gaining something in return. N?v(el)B\\jnn
She leaned forward, her hands resting lightly on the table as she spoke "Lord Simon, I expected you to raise that question. You can rest assured, the dungeon''s interests are very much aligned with the kingdom, and I believe there is mutual benefit to be found in this arrangement"...
"Oh? How so?"¡
"By allowing the people of the kingdom to enter the dungeon and explore its depths, you will be fostering a new generation of warriors, mages, and leaders who are bound to the dungeon not just by necessity, but by choice"
"They will grow stronger, and in turn, so will your dungeon. Their experiences, their power, their very lives will be a part of the dungeon''s legacy."
"Furthermore," Cynthia continued, "the treasures and resources gathered from within the dungeon will not simply vanish into the kingdom. A significant portion will be offered back to the dungeon, a tribute of sorts"
"These resources can be used to further enhance the dungeon, to strengthen its defences, or to cultivate new, more powerful creatures within its depths."
Simon leaned back, intrigued by the direction she was talking about. More so than the treasures and experience of the warriors and adventurers, what he was interested in was the dungeon points.
With the arrival of people, it would bring a fresh new flow of dungeon points to his dungeon. The scale of which couldn''t bepared to the points he was earning right now.
If he thought about it carefully, it wasn''t a bad trade for him either. The more the warriors and adventurers of the kingdom grow, the more the points they would offer him.
Cynthia did not know about this fact but as the mistress of the Serene Pce merchant guild, she was a professional businesswoman and expert negotiator. She quickly identified what Simon was interested in and took the reins.
"Dungeon city¡ I''m sure that would be possible to build too"
For the first time since the negotiation started, Simon looked surprised. Up until now, he had predicted everything that Cynthia would say or use as a bargaining chip. However, what he didn''t expect was for her to say thosest words.
Chapter 929- Plans for building a Dungeon City (3).
Chapter 929- ns for building a Dungeon City (3).
What did it mean to build a Dungeon City? No even before that, how did she know about this n of his?
The n to build a dungeon city which was closely rted to the hidden condition of [S] tier dungeon, was something he did not even tell his subordinates much less the princess who had only recently be a part of his dungeon.
How¡
"How was I able to find out?" Cynthia spoke out as of reading his thoughts.
"I wasn''t sure before but now with that reaction of yours, I''m sure. You are nning on building a city inside your dungeon."
Now inplete control of the negotiation, she exined "The term ''Dungeon city'' might be foreign or new for the people around thesends. However, in the Maind of the Central Continent, it is not that rare"
"In fact, there are a few dungeon city in existence and each and every one of them are quite famous. Since you helped me out and even saved the Kingdom, I thought you might be nning to build a dungeon city one day".
Simon sighed, honestly impressed by the woman''s insight. Calctive and meticulous, it was no wonder she was able to build her own merchant guild and survive in the cruel politics of her kingdom.
Perhaps it was a mistake in the first ce to engage her in a negotiation battle. Simon leaned back in his chair with an expression curiosity and contemtion.
Cynthia''s insight had caught him off guard, but in a way that he found oddly refreshing. It wasn''t often that someone could match his own thought process, yet here she was, peeling awayyers of his ns with remarkable ease.
"You''re right," He admitted with a faint smile. Now that it was out, there was no point in hiding it.
"Building a dungeon city has been a long-term goal of mine. But it''s not something that can be aplished easily. There are many challenges and targets that needs to be achieved".
A dungeon city isn''t just about constructing buildings or attracting people. It''s about creating a sustainable ecosystem within a dungeon, a ce where life can thrive despite the inherent dangers of such an environment. A habitat that would attract humans to stay.
The nning and logistics alone was staggering. First and foremost, there was the issue of stability.
A dungeon is an entity that is constantly shifting and evolving. To build a city within it, one needs to make sure that the dungeon''s natural fluctuations wouldn''t pose a threat to its inhabitants. Only a ce with a stable foundation could anchor a city.
And that was just the beginning, there''s also the matter of resources. A city, especially one within a dungeon, would require a constant influx of supplies¡ªfood, water, materials and such.
You would need to secure a reliable source for all these essentials, either from within the dungeon itself or through trade with the outside world.
There was also the question of defence. A dungeon city would be a prime target for adventurers, mercenaries, warriors and other roughnecks.
It would need a robust defence system and administration to protect the city from both internal and external threats. There were many things to be considered before the dungeon city could be built.
In this meeting, Simon and Cynthia spent hours going over the finer details of their ns, weighing the challenges and opportunities ahead of them.
The former wanted to build a dungeon city and thetter wanted to convert her kingdom into a dungeon exploring one and use its resources to build a strong kingdom from scratch.
Both goals aligned with each other and one must be met in order to obtain the other.
"For this to work the capital needs to¡ " Simon began; however, Cynthia had already prepared her answer.
"Lord Simon does not need to say it. Of course, I am prepared to shift the capital. I have already discussed this in the royal court so there should be no problem"¡
"I see, so where are you nning to build your new capital?"
The previous capital was razed to the ground after it fell to the kingdom of ckthorn. As such, it needs to be rebuilt from the ground once again. That said, the princess said that she would shift the capital instead of rebuild it.
"It is one of the reason why I asked to meet with you. Lord Simon, with your permission I want to build the capital right here at the tower town".
"!!!"
Ate, Bea and everyone there present in the room, were all surprised. Cynthia''s entourage were no excpetion. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Although Alvara and the others knew about Cynthia''s ns to shift the capital, they had no idea where it would be moved. It was only now that they heard the location of the new capital.
What''s more, the location she chose was right above the dungeon. A ce that could be said to be the most dangerous out of any ces.
Something like that¡
"Your Majesty¡" Bret the old assassin tried to speak, wanting her to reconsider her decision. However, he was stopped by the gesture of her hand.
"I know what I am doing. This was a decision I came up after much deliberation" Cynthia spoke, her eyes then shifted towards the demon who was now curiously arching forward from his chair.
"I believe I have your permission right?"
Simon couldn''t help but grin. This girl, she was acting even though she knew perfectly well what he wanted.
"You are the custodian of the dungeon so of course I need to respect your decision. Since you have chosen the tower town as your next capital, so be it. I hope that you will work hard to achieve our desired goals"
With that, the decision was finalised. Cynthia and the others remained in the residential quarters for a few more days.
During that time, Ate and the other maids were tasked to take care of them. Since they were already involved with the politics of the kingdom and had a built a good rtionship with Cynthia and the other humans, he felt secured leaving this task to them.
Chapter 930- Giant Crystal
Chapter 930- Giant Crystal
Back inside the Main Floor, Simon took a deep dive inside the Pond of Serenity. Just like every other aspect of the dungeon, the Pond of Serenity had also shown growth far greater than before.
Now not only did it upy arge portion of thend of the Main Floor about 3% but it was now very deep and concentrated. What''s more, the ones listed are just the physical change.
The pond of serenity''s value didn''te from its highly pure mystical water or itsrge size but due to the extreme numbers of Heart Veins that ran underneath it.
Heart Veins are higher grades of Mystical Veins that run across the and deposit the energy that nurtures all life. After dungeon Lace rose to [B] tier, the numerous mystical veins running through the Main floor and especially the Pond of Serenity evolved to be Heart Veins.
This in return caused the concentration level of Mystical energy inside the pool to increase manifold thus nurturing and giving birth to numerous treasures.
Simon observed with his eyes, inside one of the fissures obscured by the formation of numerous bubbles, was something that looked like vines.
The reason why he couldn''t be sure was because these vines had a unique glow to them and were appearing and disappearing from his sight constantly.
Simon reached out and gently tugged on those vines. Now that he reached level 638 and became a Demon Marquess, his skin and body had be much more resilient to the natural Mystical energy.
He could now dive and stay inside the pond for more than half an hour before needing to surface back.
When Simon tugged at the vines, he felt a sensation as if he was grabbing something that had no substance. Like a mist or an illusion, his hand passed through the object whenever he tried to grab it.
That said there was also a clear sensation that he touched something.
"[Mana Armament]" After thinking for a short while, an idea urred in his head and he formed a gauntlet of sort made of mana in his hand.
At that moment when he tried to grab the vine again, he could easily hold it.
"I see" Simon nodded, as it turned out you can only grab these mystical items by infusing your limbs with mana. If he didn''t know [Mana Armament], it would be hard for him to even touch it.
In any case, after grabbing the vine, Simon surfaced back up.
SPLASH¡ he sat at one of the stones and looked at the item that was in his hand. Long and winding, the thing in his hand was definitely a vine.
[Whispering Vine of Ensnarement]
Item Type: Mystical Material (Whip-Crafting)
Description: A long, twisting vine that seems to pulse with a faint, eerie glow. The vine is incredibly resilient and flexible, making it an ideal material for crafting into a whip. When held, it emits a soft hum, as though whispering unintelligible words to its wielder.
Abilities: When crafted into a weapon, this vine produces a whip with unique, insidious properties. Striking a target with the whip causes subtle, longsting effects on the target''s mind and emotions.
The more the target is struck, the more they begin to grow fond of the wielder, as the vine''s energy seeps into their mana pathways, altering their perception. Over time, the whip''s influence can cause the target to develop an unnerving sense of loyalty and even affection toward the wielder.
Crafting Requirement: Requires the wielder to have proficient control of mana. The vine can only be wielded effectively when the user channels their own mana through it using techniques such as [Mana Armament].
When Simon activated his [Appraisal], all sorts of information flowed inside his head and for a second he was stunned. With the increase in his level, the [Appraisal] skill also started disying more and more information. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, the reason why he was shocked was not because of the [Appraisal] skill but because of the vine.
Item Type: Mystical Material (Whip Crafting)... This was the first time a crafting material was produced by the Pond of Serenity.
Before this, all the items he had gotten hold of from the pond were all finished products by themselves. However, with the growth of the pond, materials such as this vine that can be used to produce whips are also starting to surface from within it.
That said¡ "This whip sure is quite insidious"
To be able to cultivate a sense of loyalty while altering their perception of the wielder through repeatedshing¡ if this wasn''t devious, then what was?
Simon kept the item inside his space ring. He would visit Primeter and ask him to craft it into a whip.
"This came at the right time. Bea was telling me how some of the ogres are still being obstinate and refusing to bow their heads. With this whip, this problem is as good as resolved. I want to see how long that Ogre King can hold on"Simon shed a devious grin.
After that, he took a couple more dive inside the pond and discovered new items each item.
"This is¡" he shifted his attention to the item he just got from the pond. It was a strange stone with rough edges. It was muddy brown in colour with crimson veins that seemed to glow with an inner light.
Despite its unassuming appearance, Simon could sense the immense potential locked within it.
[Appraisal] disyed-
[Giant Crystal]
Item Type: Consumable Artifact
Description: A rare stone that, when consumed, has the power to alter the physiology of its user, pushing them beyond the limits of their race''s natural abilities.
Abilities: Upon consumption, the stone forces the user into a brutal evolution, granting them immense physical power, heightened aggression, and the potential to be a variant of their species.
It amplifies the natural abilities of the user, making them growrger and more fearsome than their average counterparts. The user''s muscture thickens, their skin hardens, and their strength multiplies exponentially.
Chapter 931- Invitation for the Tea Party
Chapter 931- Invitation for the Tea Party
"A great item" Simon was in awe.
The [Giant Crystal] was one of the key items that his dungeon needed and was something that would make it even stronger.
His mind raced, if he could harvest more of this crystal and incorporate that into the Breeding Pen that Coleus created, he would be able to create giant mutated beasts that were not only able to use elemental powers but were twice the size of normal.
Thus making them more fiercer and stronger.
With the recent invasion, Simon was made aware that no matter how many or what kind of beasts he spawned to guard his floors, they were all tantamount to ants in front of pure might.
They weren''t able to create any waves against the three kings. In the future, there would be more opponents or even stronger knocking on his door, at that time, he would need stronger monsters and guardians to defend his dungeon.
And the [Giant Crystal] was one of the ways. There was one thing though, when he observed the crystal with [Appraisal], he was able to find a big drawback about this item.
The power of bing a giant is so steep that it burns through the user''s life force at an rming rate.
While they gain immense power, their lifespan is drastically shortened, living years or even decades less than they otherwise would. The stronger the individual bes, the more life force the stone consumes, shortening their life with each transformation.
Simon frowned, this was a big negative point. The Giant Crystal was no doubt a powerful item but the cost was high too.
He pondered for a moment, before shrugging it off. There was no gain without risk, the greater the drawback the greater the potential.
Even the mutation crystal had its own drawbacks,pared to it, the giant crystal was nothing.
Simon was sure that if he gave this item to Colues, he would find a way to increase the strength of the spawned monsters.
Storing the stone in his space ring, Simon looked around the pond. He had already discovered several treasures in this ce, but he had a feeling that there was more to be found.
Just as he was about to die in, from the corner of his eyes he saw a blue figure and the beautiful scent that she brought along with her.
"You''ve awoken?" he lifted his head and saw Irene standing nearby.
A pair of azure blue eyes was quietly looking at him. She was wearing a noble blue dress with phoenix embroidery. While it covered her body, the slits and curves of the dress revealed a lovely and well protortioned body that was seemingly perfect.
Her long and lustrous hair was currently scattered and wet. Theynded behind her bottom like a waterfall, giving off endless allure.
At this moment, she seemed to be releasing anguid aura that was very much unlike her, making it seemingly irresistible not to stare. This caused Simon''s heart to pound for various reasons.
"You look different" Simon spoke out his thoughts.
"How so?" Irene simply smiled, folded her dress and nonchntly sat next to him. She was so close that their shoulders were practically touching.
Simon was absentminded by her action for a second before replying "You have be more beautiful".
It was not a lie, usually an ice queen like her refrained froming too close to anyone or initiating skin contact like this. And even if she did, it was during special asions or events.
You would seldom find this icy fairy emitting such anguid and defenceless aura. The contrast was so much that even Simon who knew her well by now, had to take a good look at her to see if it really was her.
Her current change was not simply a matter of external beauty but something that arose from within.
More precisely, it was her aura, her demeanour. If previously she acted like a noble icy fairy who disdained the mundane world, then right now she looked like an earthly fairy who grew to love the world, amiable and so soul stirringly beautiful.
Irene simply smiled in response to his ttery and said "Stop looking, there is still a mountain of work waiting for you"¡
"What do you mean?"¡
"A Letter arrived at the White Pce by tearing through space while you were away" Irene handed him the letter.
"This is¡" Simon put on his serious face, the reason was because the sender as written in a big dark red letter read¡ Lilith.
The Demon Lord of Lust and master of three Great Dungeons that still exist today. Someone he thought he would note in contact with untilter in the future when he grew plenty strong, had sent him a letter.
Even if it was not directly her, the fact that it had her name, meant that it came from the side of the Demon Lord of Lust.
Why would she send him a letter?
Simon hesitated for a moment as he stared down at the letter in his hand. The parchment felt strange. It wasn''t made from any ordinary material and faintly shimmered with an unknown energy.
Even though the letter was stationary, it emanated a faint pulse as though alive. Simon ran his fingers across the dark red wax seal, which bore the intricate crest of Lilith, the Demon Lord of Lust.
With a sharp tug, he broke the seal and opened the letter. As soon as he unfolded the parchment, a faint, exotic scent wafted into the air.
It was bewitching, seductive, just like the Demon Lord herself. Simon''s expression grew even more serious as he began to read.
**
Dear Simon, Demon Marquess of the Ghastly Winding Forest. So, it seems you''ve been making quite the name for yourselftely, hmm? I''ve been hearing your name whispered in ces you might not even know exist. A rising star, they say! Hmmm, you must be quite something.N?v(el)B\\jnn
Chapter 932- Invitation for the Tea Party (2)
Chapter 932- Invitation for the Tea Party (2)
I thought it was about time we met, you and I. It''s not every day a Demon Marquess with your... unique potential pops up. You''ve caught my attention, Simon. Consider yourself invited to one of my little ''get-togethers.'' Don''t worry, it''s not just any gathering. Oh no, this is the Grand Tea¡ªan event I host every¡ well let''s say whenever I feel like it. Think of it as... a who''s who of the Demon world. All the Demon Archdukes and anyone else who''s anyone will be there. You''ll fit right in¡ªwell, that depends on whether you can handle the heat. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Hehehe, three months from now, my darling. Mark your calendar. The Eternal Desire Pce awaits. I''m sure you''ve heard of it. If not, well... I suppose you''ll find out soon enough. It''s a ce full of... temptation. It''s located deep in the Demi-Human continent, far beyond the Dead Tide and the Burning Expanse. Oh yes, I''m well aware that it''s a bit... out of the way for many. But don''t worry, I''m nothing if not amodating. There will be airships ready to carry my esteemed guests. They''ll be departing from a few select locations on the Demon Continent. You''ll need to make your way to one of these stations. Let''s see, the closest to you would probably be Wailing Spire, nestled in the Forgotten Valley. It''s not too far from your lovely forest, just a quick jaunt through the Sphinx Desert. If that''s too much trouble, you could always head toward Abaddon''s Maw, though I hear the locals can be a bit... unfriendly to neers. There''s also Gehenna''s Gate, over in the ck Sun Wastnds, but it''s a bit of a trek from your side of the continent. Whichever you choose, the airship will take you directly to the Eternal Desire Pce. Just be sure not to miss your ride. After all, the Dungeon of Temptation doesn''t host just anyone, you know. Not everyone who attends these... little gatherings leaves unscathed. Or at all. You could say the ce has a way of... changing people. But someone like you should be fine, right? You''re not the type to fall for a bit of temptation, are you? Hehehe, of course, I''ll leave the choice up to you. Oh, and one more thing¡ªare you sure you''ll make it to the airship? I heard you''ve made quite a few enemies at thest Hexennacht. There are rumours that certain parties might not be too pleased to see you alive, let alone prospering. I wonder... will they let you board so easily? Or perhaps... we''ll be seeing each other far sooner than expected if you fail to make it? Hehehe, wouldn''t that be fun? Well then, deary, don''t keep me waiting too long. After all, I''m ever so curious to see what makes you so... special.
See you soon, Lilith, Demon Lord of Lust, Mistress of Temptation... and a few other fun things."**
As he finished reading the content, Simon''s face was mix of amusement and shock. His lips curled into a smirk as he read the final lines, this was no letter but a missive to temptation.
There was no denying Lilith''s skill with words, every sentence dripped with teasing allure and mockery, but also, beneath that, was a challenge¡ªa dare to step into her domain and see if he could survive the temptations of the Eternal Desire Pce. The seductive fragrance still lingered in the air as Simon''s eyes moved back to the wax seal, the signature crest of Lilith, stamped in blood-red wax. It had been made to tease, to provoke curiosity, while her words held a faint sense of bewitchment, as if they sought to lure him closer to her world.
Simon knew well enough that Lilith was not one to be taken lightly, but he had to admire her boldness.
She clearly wasn''t just testing his strength but his ability to keep his mind sharp and will intact. Lilith, the Demon Lord of Lust... Althoguh this would be his first time seeing her in person, he''d heard many things about her¡ªmost notably for her charm.
She wasn''t merely a being of overwhelming power like some of the more brutish Demon Lords, but she was far more dangerous because of her cunning.
Lilith was known not just for her strength but for the subtle and insidious ways she manipted others, bending even the most willful to her desires without lifting a finger. Just a few whispered word or a passing nce, and the strongest of warriors would be at her feet, yearning for her approval.
She was someone who not only uses strength, but also wits to fight her battles. Most importantly, it wasn''t just her seductive prowess that made her a formidable force.
Lilith was said to be one of the oldest beings in existence, a primordial demon, a being who had existed since the beginning of the world.
She was one of the few who held the "Complete Memory of the World," meaning she possessed the knowledge of its deepest secrets¡ªtruths that even other Demon Lords might not know. She held wisdom that went beyond mere power.
Such a being was someone who could not be underestimated or trifled with.
"What a cunning woman," Simon muttered under his breath, folding the letter and keeping it in his space ring.
The fact that Lilith had addressed him by name, a Demon Marquess, sent chills down his spine.
How much does she know about me? He had to wonder. He had been careful, meticulous even, about keeping his profile low while he grew his power and influence, yet it seemed the Demon Lord of Lust had taken notice of him.
For her to know his name... that in itself raised more questions than it answered.
How did she learn of me? And more importantly, how much does she know??
It was no secret that beings as ancient and powerful as Lilith had vast informationworks, reaching into the farthest corners of the world. A being of her caliber could gather information about anyone or anything without breaking a sweat.
Chapter 933- Sphinx Dungeon
Chapter 933- Sphinx Dungeon
If she wished to investigate someone, it would be child''s y. Simon had been working hard to develop his ownwork, trying to use the kingdom to spread his influence through the regions.
But he was painfully aware that his efforts were still in their infancypared to a Demon Lord of her stature.
If she wanted to, she could probably know everything about him. But the real concern wasn''t the fact that Lilith knew of him¡ªmany beings might eventuallye to learn of him as he grew stronger.
Simon''s greatest fear was whether or not she had discovered his most closely guarded secret: the Fragments of Pride. He had made sure that no one, aside from his closest subordinates, knew of its existence.
If Lilith, or anyone else of her calibre, were to find out... the consequences could be catastrophic.
Simon shook his head. No, it''s unlikely. There''s no way she could know about the Fragments. Not yet.
Other than that, there was also the thing she mentioned. Thest Hexennacht had indeed been... eventful, to say the least. He had made powerful allies, but even more powerful enemies.
It wouldn''t be surprising if some of those enemies tried to stop him before he could even set foot on the airship. His mind raced as he considered his options.
Wailing Spire seemed like the most logical choice¡ªcloser to his territory and somewhat less treacherous than the other locations. However, even the Forgotten Valley and Sphinx Desert had their dangers, especially for someone who had made as many enemies as he had.
The idea of ambushes along the way was not out of the question. As for the other names, Abaddon''s Maw and the Gehenna''s Gate in the ck Sun Wastnd were something he had never heard before.
It was only natural since he had yet to fully explore the Demon continent and his Memory of the world was iplete.
"What''s wrong?"
Irene''s soft voice cut through his thoughts. She noticed the sudden change in his expression after he finished reading the letter.
Simon handed her the letter without a word. As her eyes skimmed over the content, her face reflected the same shock and worry he had felt.
"What are you going to do about it?" she asked.
What was he going to do? The answer was obvious. There was no real choice in the matter.
"I have to attend," Simon sighed. The letter hadn''t been sent by just anyone¡ªit came directly from Lilith, one of the Demon Lords who stood at the pinnacle of the demonic hierarchy.
A being as high as her didn''t send casual invitations. It was amand in the guise of a letter, and while the tone of the message was yful and teasing, the power behind it was absolute.
Refusal was not an option.
The hierarchy of demons was rigid, and those ranked lower were expected to obey themands of those ranked higher. As a Demon Marquess, Simon was still several levels beneath a being like Lilith.
Even other Demon Lords or Archdukes had to show deference when standing before a primordial Demon Lord like her. No amount of pride could override that fact.
And while this was just a ''Tea Party'', the mere fact that all invitees were Archdukes and Dukes only made Simon''s inclusion more baffling.
Why me? he wondered, trying to piece together her motives. There had to be a reason, but no matter how hard he thought, the reasoning behind her invitation never came to him.
He couldn''t figure out the intentions of this woman.
"Forget about it," he muttered to himself, rubbing his temples. "Thinking about it without more information will only give me a headache."
He had three months until the party, which was more than enough time to prepare. Whatever Lilith''s intention was, Simon would need to prepare with the best of his ability. He couldn''t afford to go in blind.
Sighing, he decided to push the matter aside for now. There was work to be done. He had been immersing himself in the Pond of Serenity not only to uncover rare treasures but also to advance his training.
Recently, Simon had hit a bottleneck in his growth, one that couldn''t be ovee by brute force alone.
That''s where the mystical pond came in¡ªit had a unique ability to soothe the mind and body, allowing those who entered it to loosen their bottlenecks and gain new enlightenment. But that wasn''t its only gift.
The Pond of Serenity was said to improve thetent talent of those who submerged themselves in its waters, nurturing their potential in ways that were otherwise impossible.
It wasn''t a miracle cure¡ªits effects were subtle and required regr immersion to see any real progress. Simon dived inside the tranquil waters of the pool day after day and only through that was he able to improve his talent.
It was a slow and almost imperceptible process, but he knew that without the pond, his talent as a demon would have long since hit its peak.
The talent of a Demon Baron was inherently limited. Their potential for growth, particrly in the areas of higher-tier magic andplex skills like Amalgamation Magic, was stuntedpared to higher-ranking demons.
Most Barons would struggle to even cast mid-tier spells, let alone the powerful, devastating magics of the higher ranks. But Simon had been different from the very beginning.
He not only learned advanced and high-ranking magic, but his proficiency with them surpassed beings that should have far outssed him in power and rank.
This was the real advantage of the Pond of Serenity. Nurturing and cultivating one''s talent. Every time he submerged in the pool, his mind felt clearer, and his connection to the magic around him grew more attuned. N?v(el)B\\jnn
The pond didn''t work miracles overnight, but its long-term effects were undeniable. His strength, both physically and magically, had grown leaps and bounds beyond what should have been possible for someone of his rank.
And now that he had reached a wall, only the pond of serenity could help him surmount it.
Chapter 934- Sphinx Dungeon (2)
Chapter 934- Sphinx Dungeon (2)
That said, even the pond of Serenity cannot help him fully surpass this wall, he needed to find a different way.
Simon knew that if he didn''t find a way to break through, his growth would stagnate, leaving him vulnerable in this ever-dangerous world.
Three months. That was all the time he had left before the Demon Lord of Lust''s tea party. The moment the invitation arrived, it became clear that his current power would not be enough.
He could not afford to go into the presence of the Demon Lords¡ªespecially someone like Lilith¡ªwithout being at his absolute best.
A way to break past his limits¡ it''s not like there was no way. Simon''s mind immediately went towards the transit stone sitting in his space ring.
Forbidden Grounds, a ce filled with unlimited opportunities and risks, where every path was fraught with danger. N?v(el)B\\jnn
A domain of chaos, filled with ancient, untamed magic and powerful creatures long forgotten by the world. Where the environment itself was hostile to the living.
It was not without reason that the forbidden grounds were said to be a burial ce for those foolish enough to seek it out. However, precisely because it was so dangerous that it was the only ce that could allow him to break past his limits and grow even further.
As the saying¡ª''Opportunities and dangers go hand in hand''¡ª if he wanted to surmount the wall, he had to take the danger.
He had already experienced the treacherousness of the domain and knew how the ce was filled with magical artifacts from eras long past, remnants of battles fought by powerful ancient entities that stilly hidden within its deadly confines.
There were rumours of ancient knowledge, long-lost spells, and even supreme powers locked away in the deepest parts of the Grounds. It was said that those who clear the forbidden grounds would instantly rise to the pinnacle of this world.
He had already cleared the forbidden ground till the sixth trial and got his hands on all kinds of treasures. Since normal training won''t suffice anymore, this was the catalyst he needed.
That said, he could not take the go getter attitude with this one since what happened thest time was still clear in his mind. He had almost died in thest trial.
Godwin who he didn''t expect to meet in the sixth trial, turned out to be a much bigger opponent than he thought and they almost pushed him to his brink.
If it was not because of the fragments of pride and the other him warning him about the dangers of the River of Destiny, he would never have been able toe out of it.
Perhaps, his fate would have been simr to Godwin''s, disintegrating into nothing.
It was not only the sixth trial, the previous trials were also the same where a slight mistake could have cost him his life. The entities inside the forbidden grounds were powerful enough to shatter space and split the sea with a single move.
No matter how many lives he has, it won''t be enough. The reason why he managed to survive this long other than sticking to the historia was because of luck.
If even a single factor was missing, he would have been swallowed whole by the forbidden ground just like the many challengers that came before him.
"Are you thinking of going back to that ce?" Seeing him fall deep in contemtion, Irene instantly realised what he was thinking about.
Her eyebrows lowered and her gaze softened "Do what you need to do. Leave everything here to me. I know what you are nning to do. The dungeon city isn''t the true extent of your ns right?"
Simon looked at Irene, his expression conflicted. She had always been perceptive, often knowing his thoughts before he voiced them.
The dungeon city wasn''t just a ce to increase his ie or a mere seat of power; it was only one part of his grander scheme. And she knew that. She always did.
"You''re right but if I leave the dungeon now¡"
There were many things to do and many changes that needed to be made to the dungeon. It has only been around a month since the dungeon was attacked, he cannot just go away at such a crucial time.
Seeing his conundrum, Irene''s gaze softened further. She had stood by his side long enough to understand theplexities of his ambition. This wasn''t just about ruling, nor was it about gaining strength to reshape the very bnce of the world.
It was about survival and the safety of the ones he considers his family. He pursued power because only through this way would he be able to control his fate. This remained the same ever since he summoned her and even now.
"You won''t stop until you''ve achieved your goal, will you?"
Irene''s voice carried a hint of resignation but also admiration. She knew that his drive, though dangerous, was what set him apart. It was what made him different from others¡ªhe was always pushing, always striving for more.
Simon nodded, he didn''t need to say anymore as the sentiments were conveyed with just his gesture.
"Since that is the case, then go. Have more faith in your subordinates, they are the people you gathered yourself. I''m sure they will be able to execute your ns as per your wish" Irene gestured.
Simon nodded his head and sent a message to each and all of his close subordinates to gather in the main hall.
About an hourter, all of his subordinates stood in front of him in the Main Hall. Simon nced at all of their faces before dering his intentions.
"What Master you will be going away? Can Ie with you?" Alice pleaded, star could be seen shing in her eyes.
This little girl, she wasn''t content even after going on an expedition to the kingdom of Ellesmere and wanted to adventure even more.
Chapter 935- Sphinx Dungeon (3)
Chapter 935- Sphinx Dungeon (3)
Had it been any other ce, Simon wouldn''t mind to take her with him. However, the ce he was going was one of the most dangerous ces in the world and it took everything he had just to protect himself.
If he brought Alice with him, he wasn''t sure he would be able to protect her. And besides, the difficulty of the trials increases based on the challengers.
The more the challengers are on the trial, the more difficult it is to clear.
Take the Abomination in the Sixth Trial for example. Had it not been for the fourth finger''s intervention and the subsequent event, who knew how the events would have transpired?
If he brought Alice with him to the next trial, based on her level the difficulty of the trial would definitely increase to a whole new realm. N?v(el)B\\jnn
SPANK¡ "Ouch!!" Alice screamed as Ate spanked her little butt.
"Little girl, don''t be too impulsive. Master is going away on an important mission and not to y. If you go there, I will be more worried"
After teaching a lesson to her little sister, Ate fixed her sses and stared at Simon "Master, how long will you be away for this time?"
At that question, thetter became silent. Thest time, he was away for more than three months causing others to be worried about him. Although this time there would be no River of Destiny, he couldn''t be sure.
The trial could take him anywhere and it could take any amount of time. That said, he had a solid reason toplete the trial within three months this time.
The Demon of Lust''s Tea Party. When Simon exined the reasoning to them and his growth wall, the Valkyries and the others nodded in understanding.
"Then we will wait for your return. Don''t worry master, you can leave the dungeon and the ns for the dungeon city to us"¡
"Yeah, I leave it to you guys then"
He had already exined to them the n to build the dungeon city down to the finest details as such he did not have to worry about anything. He could leave it in their hands and be ready when the time came to reap the results.
On that note, he had also exined his reasoning to Cynthia who could now be considered one of his subordinates being a [Custodian] of floor zero and all.
Additionally, he left the matters of the dungeon to Irene who would act as a proxy dungeon master in his absence with Ate aiding her. All the other subordinates including Prime and the Forest Spring Sprits are to assist them in every way possible.
\"Now then, I am heading off. I will be back in three months"
Throwing those words as farewell, Simon crushed the transit stone in his hands.
The world in his vision spun and quickly turned dark. Just like thest time, he felt a sense of weightlessness before plunging downwards face first.
.
.
While Simon embarked on his perilous journey to the Forbidden Grounds, in a far-off corner of the world, deep within the Vast Sphinx Desert, stood a grand construct that defied both nature and reason.
Rising from the golden dunes like a colossal monument to power, the structure resembled a titanic Sphinx, lying with its paws extended and its maw wide open as if waiting to devour any intruder foolish enough to approach.
Its features were sharp, regal, and terrifyingly lifelike. Like a living entity just waiting to pounce.
The eyes of the stone beast seemed to gaze into the very souls of those who dared nce upon it. The Sphinx''s presence was somanding that even the enormous pyramids surrounding it¡ªeach of them towering structures on their own¡ªlooked like mere toys inparison, as though they had been ced there as an afterthought.
Around the Grand Sphinx structure, the air crackled with an oppressive energy. The billowing sandstorms that constantly swirled all around the desert and were fierce enough to strip flesh from bone.
Yet, in front of the Sphinx, these violent forces seemed to bend as if obeying some unseen will.
It was not only the sandstorms, Even the ferocious monsters that roamed the desert¡ªcreatures of nightmarish power and aggression¡ªkept their distance from the construct.
Their primal instincts warning them to stay far from this ce after all, they knew, with an unshakable certainty, that whatevery within the Sphinx was far more dangerous than even they were.
And they were right, the Grand Sphinx structure was no ordinary ruin; it was a dungeon¡ªa living entity that twisted and morphed within. It stretched down into the earth for miles, itsbyrinthine depths housing all manner of treasures, traps, and deadly creatures.
The maw of the Sphinx was a massive gatewayrge enough for an entire battalion to march through side by side and served as the entrance to this ancient and forbidding dungeon.
Near the entrance, arge teleportation gate could be seen shimmering with ethereal light. This was the teleportation gate that was ced by the humans.
Teams of adventurers, mercenaries, and dungeon explorers¡ªmany hailing from powerful kingdoms¡ªarrived through the gate, diving into the dungeon''s depths in search of riches, glory, and power.
None of them could deny the allure of the Dungeon of the Sphinx, and many sought to conquer its depths, though few ever made it past the lower floors as it was a high ranking [A] tier dungeon.
Far underneath on thest and final floor of the dungeon, sat its ruler¡ªa man whose mere presence radiated dominance and power.
His skin was the deep, rich brown of the desert sands, and he was d in flowing, loose garments that shimmered like molten gold in the dim light of the chamber.
With his elegant and fine robes that were made with ease of movement and battle in mind, he unmistakably exuded an aura of nobility. Around his neck, heavy golden chains adorned with rubies and sapphires gleamed, and on his head rested a headgear made of the finest silk that glowed with a subtle but potent magical aura.
Chapter 936- Two Dukes
Chapter 936- Two Dukes
From this one could tell that the demon liked gold and adorning himself with extravagant things. He was the lord of the Sphinx dungeon and one of the most feared demons in the world, Gelford¡ªthe Demon Duke of Sphinx.
He had a big frame with explosive muscles brimming with untamed power and although his posture was rxed, his sharp crimson eyes said anything but that. His sun kissed skin and sharp features gave him an almost predatory look.
Had it not been for his aura of nobility and his regal clothes, one might even confuse him for a barbarian. That was how undeniably savage he looked.
Gelford sat on his throne, each of his fingers were adorned with golden rings etched with intricate runes of protection and power and rested calmly on the armrest.
Seated beside him on either side were three figures¡ªtwo male and one female. All of them shared the same ferocious aura as him in their own unique way. The three figures were none other than his sons and daughter.
His eldest son, Vargel, was a towering figure, muscr and broad-shouldered like his father but with a more refined air about him. His skin gleamed in the dim light, and his strikingly sharp features were shadowed by his well-groomed hair.
Beside Vargel sat his younger brother, Kaelor, smaller in frame but no less fearsome.
To Gelford''s right sat his daughter, Delphyne, the most enigmatic of the three. Her presence was subtler but no less powerful.
Unlike her brothers, Delphyne''s skin was a pale golden, and her amber eyes held a keen, almost mystical light. She wore elegant, flowing robes of deep purple, embroidered with runes of magic.
Her sharp, predatory features mirrored her father''s, though softened slightly by her feminine grace.
"So it''s like that huh, I see that is good news"
Gelford spoke. Usually, the air in the room would be much less reserved and more informal with just his sons and daughter in the room.
However, at this moment they were not alone. Gelford was entertaining a guest, a being no less intimidating in stature than him. N?v(el)B\\jnn
Across the chamber, on a throne crafted from bones and stone, sat another Demon Duke, a figure so immense andmanding that even the mighty Gelford had to acknowledge his equal.
His appearance was a mixture of noble demon and primal beast, a fusion of grace and savagery. He was none other than Arctaurus, the Father of Minotaurs.
Arctaurus'' stature was colossal. His body was a blend of a demon noble''s regal bearing and the raw, bestial power of a minotaur. His skin was a dark, deep brown, covered in patches of coarse ck hair that ran down his arms and legs.
His head was crowned with massive, curved horns that spiralled outward like those of a great beast. His powerful body, rippling with muscles, was covered in ceremonial armor adorned with spikes and runes, each piece crafted with the best of materials and polished to a shine.
That said, what drew the most attention was not his armor or his big curved horns but the huge battle axe that was resting beside him.
ck as night and etched with ancient runes that pulsed with dark magic. Whether it be Gelford, his sons or Gelford, if Simon was here he would be able to instantly recognise them as they were there, present in the Hexennacht.
Especially Gelford, he was one of the Demon Duke he had a conflict with. It was in the Ritual of the des where he stole the former''s subordinate as a trophy of the winner.
To this day, that Giga Minotaur was still following Maybell like a littlemb.
Arctaurus turned his gaze toward Gelford, a deep rumblingugh escaped from his throat.
"So, Sargel, it''s that time of the year again"¡
"Indeed it is"¡
"RARARA¡ This time, even I got an invitation from the Dungeon of Temptation. It looks like the world has finally started to realise the potential I have"
There was a sense of satisfaction in Arctaurus'' voice, one that was hard to miss. The invitation from the Dungeon of Temptation was not something given lightly, nor was it something anyone could simply request or earn.
Only those who had garnered recognition from the Demon Lord of Lust, were invited to the Tea Party.
To be summoned meant that you had made an impact, that your existence had shifted the bnce of power in the world of demons.
For a being like Arctaurus, whose power was already immense, this invitation was a validation of his growing influence.
"An invitation from the Dungeon of Temptation is no small thing," Gelford agreed, his tone thoughtful "Especially from the likes of Her Highness Lilith, the Demon Lord of lust. For her to take notice of anyone, let alone a Duke means something significant."
The Tea Party hosted by the Demon Lords wasn''t just a casual gathering of powerful beings. It was an event shrouded in mystery, one that only the most elite among the Demon Nobility were privy to.
Many sought to attend, but few were deemed worthy. Those fortunate enough to receive an invitation were marked as important figures in the ever-changing dynamics of the demon world.
Invitations from the Dungeon of Temptation, in particr, were rare¡ªLilith, the Demon Lord of lust, cared little for the politics and internal dynamics of the demon realm, preferring her own interest and indulgences over engaging in the power struggles of the ones beneath her.
In fact, although he didn''t know it, but Simon was the only person who received the grace of being personally invited by Liltih in all these years.
Arctaurus grunted, his massive hand running over the handle of the immense axe strapped to his back.
"Aye. The Tea Party isn''t just a casual affair. Not anyone can simply attend even if they wanted to. But I wonder, do you think it''s just another one of her indulgences?"
This was the first time he was invited to the tea party organised by one of three great dungeons over all these years. As such, he didn''t know much about it.
Chapter 937- Two Dukes (2)
937 Chapter 937- Two Dukes (2)
"Unlikely. Knowing her, there''s always something more. A woman like her never ys a simple game. I''m sure she is up to something again. In thest Tea Party too she came up with something ridiculous. There is no doubt this time too she is nning something"
Gelfor answered. As one of the oldest Demon Dukes who had lived for more than 2000 years, he knew all too well how cunning the Demon Lords were.
They were not just the epitome of strength but they were the peak of their kind. The demon lord of Lust, in particr, had been there since before the time he could remember.
Having lived such a long long life, she was not only extremely shrewd but an expert maniptor. There was no limit to what a being like that can do.
A master maniptor, someone who could weave her desires into the minds of others without them even realizing it.
Her Tea Parties were known for more than just frivolity¡ªthere were always deeper machinations at y, and those who attended could find themselves caught in a web of plots before they knew it.
He could tell because he had attended her party before.
"In thest Tea Party," Gelford continued, his voice lowering as if recalling a dangerous memory "she came up with something utterly ridiculous. She enjoys toying with the ambitions of others, using the smallest of indulgences to ignite greater mes. I have no doubt she is scheming something again."
Arctaurus furrowed his brows "Then this time too she is scheming something. That said, there is no refusing the invitation. I do not want to incur the wrath of one of the three primordial demon lords".
If Hexenact and Walpurgis were the assembly of the demons to do whatever they wanted, then the Tea Party was the event for ''her'' to weave her desires. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Father, do we need to fear her that much? Isn''t the Demon Lord of Lust situated in the far off distant continent of Demihumans?"
Vargel, Gelford''s eldest son spoke, breaking the tense atmosphere. His voice filled with youthful confidence. He leaned forward in his seat, his arms crossed over his chest, the arrogance of his strength and youth seeping into his tone.
From his point of view, the threat of someone so distant¡ªacross entire seas and continents¡ªseemed like nothing to be concerned about. After all, how could someone like Lilith, who dwelled far beyond theirnds, ever hope to influence the Demon Continent?
"Hmm?"
Arctaurus, the imposing Demon Duke, arched a brow at the young demon''s words but said nothing. It was not his ce to chastise Vargel, though his silence carried a weight that spoke volumes.
He''d seen too many brash, overconfident young demons fall because they underestimated their enemies.
Gelford''s crimson eyes flicked to his son, and the room fell quiet. said, his deep voice filled with a calm authority.
"Distance means little when ites to beings like the Demon Lords. Their reach is far greater than you can imagine. In fact, it''s not about how far they are¡ªit''s about their power. You cannot underestimate these beings who sit at the top of the demon hierarchy. They reign above even the Demon Archdukes, and not without reason."
Unlike his son, he wasn''t going to make the mistake of underestimating the Demon Lords. The beings who have transcended the limits of ordinary demons. The power they hold is tied to the Fragments of Sin¡ªthe ancient force which was still a mystery to the world.
There was no way of knowing what kind of unimaginable powers those fragments give them.
Gelford''s gaze drifted for a moment as he recalled the scenes from not too long ago. In the Walpurgis and the Hexennacht where he met the one chosen by the Fragments of Envy, the Demon lord of Envy, Belial.
His power was beyondprehension. His forces¡ªhis control over the minds of others¡ªis something one cannot even begin to fathom.
Gelford who stood in his presence felt the weight of his aura alone nearly drive him to my knees. The power of a Demon Lord wasn''t simply strength¡ªit was an unshakable, oppressive force.
It wasn''t just the Demon Lord of Envy, Sargel recalled a memory from a long time ago. At one point in time, he was fortunate enough to be present in an event where he was personally able to witness the famous Demon Lord that the world was talking about at one point in time.
"Procell¡" Gelford whispered in a voice that only he could hear.
The name which was spoken in awe and fear throughout the Demon Continent. The Demon Lord of Greed, A demon who rose to power like aet.
Gelford was fortunate enough¡ªor perhaps, unfortunate¡ªto have met him once. To be in his presence was to feel the vast gulf that exists between a Demon Lord and the rest of the demonkind to the point where it would immediately dishearten anyone.
His aura¡ it wasn''t just power, it was consumption. He could feel the hunger in the air, the greed that sought to devour everything.
Procell''s mere presence felt like standing in the shadow of something far beyond¡ªa force of nature, something primal.
Gelford paused, his eyes flickering with the memory of that encounter. Even now, so many yearster, the memory sent a cold shiver down his spine.
The terror and awe he had felt standing before Procell were unlike anything he had ever experienced. It was the moment he realized just how insignificant even a Demon Duke could feel before a true being of power.
"You must remember one thing Vargel, never underestimate a Demon ranking above you. Especially the ones who call themselves the Demon Lords" He spoke in a voice as serious as it could be.
Vargel swallowed, the weight of his father''s words finally sinking in. For all his bravado, he had never experienced such power firsthand.
Other than the time where he saw the newly risen Demon Lord of Envy in which case he was very far back in the hall, he had never stood in the presence of a Demon Lord or felt the crushing weight of their aura.
Chapter 938- The Shadow Lurks
Chapter 938- The Shadow Lurks
Now, Vargel realized, perhaps for the first time, that his father''s caution was well-founded. That said, there was still a hint of skepticism in his gaze.
His father''s caution seemed unnecessary to him. How could someone whose influencey on the far side of the world reach all the way to them? That being said, he knew better than to overstep his bounds.
After Gelford was done with his exnation, the room fell silent for a while. But just when it seemed like this silence would stretch on, the sudden mour of footsteps echoed from the far end of the hall.
A figure rushed into the grand chamber. Sharp-eyed, beak-like nose, and wiry frame, he was one of the most trusted subordinates of Gelford, the demon duke of Sphinx.
Thetter''s presence in such a setting was unexpected and rude, and the tension in the room thickened immediately.
"Gavis¡ it is disrespectful to barge into the hall like this" Gelford''s voice was a low growl, his crimson eyes narrowing dangerously at the interruption.
"Didn''t I tell you that I am entertaining guests and will be upied?"
Gavis visibly trembled under his lord''s re, his face pale as he quickly lowered himself in apology "My lord, please forgive my intrusion, but I thought it necessary for you to hear this urgently".
"What is it?"
At his subordinate''s insistence, Gelford realised that the situation was not simple. And he was right, the next words that came out of the other party''s mouth solidified his suspicions.
"Avrox is here"¡
"Avrox?!! What is he doing here? Has he alreadypleted the mission I gave him?"¡
"My lord... about that," Gavis hesitated, his eyes flicking again toward Arctaurus, knowing that the implications of what he was about to say were not to be shared lightly in front of someone of his stature.
"He has something urgent to report."
"Avrox?! Isn''t that the Demon Earl who serves lord Pasha? What is he doing here?"
Arctaurus questioned, his eyes narrowed. Instantly, the atmosphere in the room changed, the once casual conversation over wine was now reced with a palpable, suffocating tension. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
The subtle shing of auras between Gelford and Arctaurus was undeniable, a silent battle of dominance that only demons of their calibre could engage in.
Just moments ago, they had been rxed and drinking, exchanging barbs and stories. Now, they were poised for conflict, a hairsbreadth from bloodshed.
"What are you hiding from me Gelford?"¡
Vargel, Sargel''s eldest son, exchanged a nce with his father. His expression asked for guidance, silently inquiring if he should prepare for battle.
Though only a Demon Marquess, Vargel was not afraid to face a powerful opponent. Yet, even he knew that a fight here, in the heart of their dungeon, could have disastrous consequences.
Gelford on the other hand weighed his options. Avrox timing couldn''t be said to be absolutely worse¡ at least the being in front of him was someone he understood very well.
"Alright, bring him in. I want to hear what report he has for me" And so he made his decision.
The subordinate bowed and left to carry out his orders. It wasn''t long before he returned bringing along with him a grinning demon.
The figure that entered was unsettling, even to those ustomed to thepany of monsters and demons. His sharp, serpentine smile was the first thing anyone noticed¡ªtoo wide and too menacing.
His aura was equally eerie, radiating malice despite his nonchnt appearance. Though not particrly handsome, his chiselled, demonic features and the constant smirk gave him a dangerous charm.
He was someone who stood out even among other demons.
If Simon were here, he would have instantly recognized this demon¡ªthe very same Demon Earl who had tried to interfere with him during his battles in Walpurgis, Hexennacht, and even the kingdom of Ellesmere.
This was none other than Avrox, a cunning maniptor who had caused more trouble than his rank would suggest.
"Lord Gelford,"
Avrox bowed slighty, his manner as well as his voice was as flimsy as ever and dripping with insincerity. Yet despite all that, Gelford did not mind it too much.
"Talk Avrox, why are you here?"¡
"Hehe, I''m afraid I''m here to deliver a bad news my lord. The n we hatched has failed".
At those words, the audience in the hall reacted in surprise. Their eyes wide and their bodies arching forward as if in disbelief.
"n?" Arctaurus looked at Gelford whose eyes despite burning with intensity, remained calm.
It was instead his children who disyed their surprise. Delphyne was the first to react.
"What do you mean, ''failed''?" she snapped, her voice carrying the sharpness of a de "The Ogre King was sent to crush that demon and his dungeon. How could he fail?"¡
Vargel, too, was incredulous "I have personally assessed that demon''s potential. Even though he holds the rank of a Demon Earl, there was nothing about him that suggested he could take on the Ogre King! It''s impossible."
"Is it as brother says," Delphye added, her toneyered with skepticism.
"We investigated Gelgar''s destroyed dungeon thoroughly. That Demon Earl while resourceful, wasn''t anything to be worried about. He gathered a few powerful subordinates by sheer luck, but none of them should''ve been able to stand against the Ogre King."
Facing their questions, Avrox simply grinned. His attitude seemed to be that of a third party simply observing a farce from the distance.
"You two stop!!"
It was at this moment, that Gelford spoke up. He got up from his seat and addressed Avrox.
"Avrox tell me what exactly happened".
"I understand your doubts, my lords anddy," he said smoothly "But allow me to assure you... this isn''t a matter of underestimating him. The Ogre King, in all his might, attacked that dungeon and fought valiantly. But something... unexpected urred. Something we didn''t ount for. The Ogre King was not just defeated¡ªhis fate is now unknown. He has simply vanished."
"Vanished? You''re telling me that an Ogre King, one of the most fearsome beings in the Ghastly Winding Forest, simply vanished in a fight against a Demon Earl?"
Chapter 939- The Shadow Lurks (2)
Chapter 939- The Shadow Lurks (2)
"Do you expect us to believe that?".
Avros shrugged his shoulders and chuckled softly "Believe it or don''t¡ªit matters not. But the truth remains the same. The Ogre King is gone, and that Demon Earl''s dungeon still stands. Whatever lies within that forest... it is not as simple as we first believed. The demon and his subordinates are stronger than we anticipated. Much stronger".
At this point, Gelford had no choice but to believe the other party. There was no reason for thetter to lie to him.
The silence stretched as the Demon Duke weighed his next move. The n to eliminate that Demon Earl had been a calcted one, with the Ogre King chosen for his sheer destructive power.
The fact that it had failed¡ªworse, that the Ogre King had vanished¡ªspoke of something.
"Could it be that Demon Earl used some tricks?"¡
"He could have, I tried to get him in trouble twice but both the times he defied all logic and got out of it unscathed" Avrox agreed.
"Oi¡ Oi.. Oi¡ Don''t tell me you have already started your ns to capture the Ghastly Winding Forest? You bastard are you ignoring the truce?" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
At this moment, Arctaurus couldn''t help but speak up. The dialogues back and forth allowed him to guess what Gelford was up to.
This made him furious, the reason for that was because the Ghastly Winding Forest was domain coveted by many. The only reason they hadn''t been able toy their hands and im it was because of the truce they made.
If every demon tried to get their hands on this domain, it would spark a cataclysmic war, one that could potentially shake the entire continent to its core.
To avoid this devastating oue, the higher echelons of demon society, including the Archdukes and Demon Lords, had long ago reached an uneasy truce regarding the forest.
During every Hexennacht, when the domains were selected, the Ghastly Winding Forest was either vetoed or marked as a "green belt," a territory that could not be contested or imed, to prevent a dungeon war of catastrophic proportions.
What made the Ghastly Winding Forest so lucrative to the eyes of the demon? If you consider the environment and living conditions of the Demon continent, then it bes crystal clear why it was so.
However, more than that, the main reason why the Ghastly Winding Forest is so sought after is because of the legend that was passed on.
The ancient legend spoke of an unimaginable treasure hidden deep within the Ghastly Winding Forest, a relic from the primordial era, long before the rise of the current Demon Lords.
This treasure, shrouded in myth and secrecy, was said to possess powers so vast that it could elevate those who could wield it to the pinnacle of this world in a single stroke.
Some stories also say that whatever is hidden in the forest, held the key to unlocking forgotten magics, perhaps even the secrets of invincibility, or artifacts crafted by beings that existed in the primordial era itself.
It was a legend that transcended realms¡ªnot just passed on in ancient texts to the human world but also fiercely believed on the demon continent.
That said, in the course of history many came to the forest to im the treasure. However, to this date, none were able to find it and the legend became one of the greatest mysteries in the world.
"Don''t be brain dead, Truce? Anyone with half a brain knows that if all of us tried to im it at once, it would lead to mutual destruction. That''s why the truce exists. However, now that the Demon Earl has imed that territory for himself, does the truce still exist?"
"And more importantly... how long before someone tries to take it from him? Are you telling me to stand back and watch while all that happens? Don''t make meugh. The truce only applies when the opponent is a Demon Duke. Since our enemy is only a Demon Earl, there is no need for us to give him that honour"
Gelford spoke shooting an annoyed nce at Arctaurus.
Thetter was also surprised by the other party''s words "Are you telling me that Demon Earl could be in possession of the treasure?"¡
"It''s not entirely impossible. Rather, if he has the treasure all the abnormalities about him and his subordinates can be exined. Well, even if it''s not the case, the fact remains that he is sitting on one of the most coveted territories"
The one to answer him was Avrox still shing that sheepish grin.
Arctaurus'' face at this moment was a sight to see. Just like all the other Demons, he too coveted the Ghastly Winding Forest and fought for it tooth and nail in every Hexennacht.
However, due to the truce and the other high ranking demons presiding over the event, his ploys had always failed. He thought that no one could im the forest for themselves only to be proved wrong in thest Hexennacht.
Betraying his belief, a demon imed the forest for himself in thest Hexennacht. If it was a very high ranking demon, he wouldn''t have any qualms. However, the one who imed the Ghastly Winding Forest was just a Demon Earl. An ant he wouldn''t even nce at otherwise.
Of course, there was a lot of discontent but more than that, all of them were shocked. The reason being that a demon earl dared to stand up to them and im the coveted forest for himself.
Naturally, theyughed at the fool who didn''t know his ce. In any other event that Demon Earl would have been thrown out or perhaps killed in some corner.
However, it was the Hexennacht, a sacred event for all the Demon Kind. What''s more, presiding over the event this time was the Demon Lord of Envy.
It could be said that he had the most authority there at that time and the one with the final say.
Chapter 940- The Shadow Lurks (3)
Chapter 940- The Shadow Lurks (3)
Everybody including him thought that the Demon Earl was out of his ce to negotiate with the Demon Lord on equal grounds. However, something happened, something that defied all logic and persuaded the Demon lord of Envy to give a verdict that he otherwise wouldn''t.
Arctaurus was there, he saw it happen with his own eyes. The suffocating pressure he had felt when the Demon Earl, had walked into the centre of the grand hall.
The atmosphere had shifted then, not just because of the Demon Earl''s audacity in iming the Ghastly Winding Forest, but because of the strange and overwhelming power he carried with him.
The entire gathering had fallen into a deathly silence as the Demon Earl stood before the assembly. Only he spoke during that time. And it wasn''t just his presence that unsettled everyone¡ªit was the allies that the Demon Earl had unexpectedly rallied to his side.
Oswell, the young Demon Duke, whose meteoric rise had shaken the foundations of demon society. Less than three hundred years old and already with a [S] tier dungeon to his name, Oswell was a prodigy the likes of which the Demon Continent hadn''t seen in a long long years.
The fact that such a figure would align himself with the Demon Earl was shocking enough, but it wasn''t just Oswell.
Marchosias, an ancient and fearsome warrior of the past whose powers could only be described as legendary, had emerged out of nowhere to stand with the Demon Earl.
For someone of her stature to take a side in such a political affair was practically unheard of. Her presence alone had been enough to silence any dissent from the lower-ranked demons. Her siding with the Demon Earl had sealed his bid for the Ghastly Winding Forest.
Another abnormality that no one could have predicted.
Is it because of these reasons that he was furious? Why he feels so much discontent to the point of spouting blood right now after hearing the name Ghastly Winding Foreste out?
No, what truly boiled his blood was what had happened next in the Hexennacht¡ªhis own personal humiliation.
In the heat of the fateful Hexennacht, Avrox came to him with a suggestion. Finding it excellent, he immediately rode on that idea and challenged the Demon Earl. N?v(el)B\\jnn
He had been confident¡ªwhy wouldn''t he be? Avrox had fed him information that made Simon seem like a novice, and despite the allies standing beside the Demon Earl, Arctaurus believed his power and status would be enough to tilt the scales.
He had proposed a Ritual of the des, a sacredbat that allowed for no outside interference. It was a centuries-old tradition, its rules absolute.
In such a duel, two demons would pit their chosen champions against each other, with no aid from allies or they themselves. The winner would im victory not just over their foe, but over the matter at hand¡ªin this case, the ownership of the Ghastly Winding Forest.
Arctaurus at that time believed this to be the perfect solution. In this one-on-one contest, the Demon Earl would have to stand on his own without Oswell, Marchosias, or any other ally.
He had expected to crush the Demon Earl easily, showing the entire assembly his superiority and the power he amassed. After all, how could someone like that ant, a mere Demon Earl, hope to stand against the might of a seasoned Demon Duke?
But what had followed... it was an utter disaster.
He sent out his trump card, his most powerful summon, the [A] rank Giga Minotaurus, Minos. Thetter had served him loyally for years, abatant whose strength was unmatched in his domain.
Confident, he had watched from the sidelines, expecting an easy victory. But Simon''s champion had been unlike anything Ragnarok had expected.
The Demon Earl sent forth a little girl as his champion. Further assured of his victory heughed only to stand rooted in the events that followed next.
The duel had been swift¡ªbrutal, even. In a matter of moments, his champion was overwhelmed, beaten, and then, in an act of sheer humiliation, stolen away from him.
Not only had his warrior been defeated, but he had been imed by the Demon Earl''s side, as per the rules of the sacred duel. To lose a duel was one thing, but to have his own champion taken from him in front of the entire assembly¡ªit was a face-pping insult that cut deep into Arctaurus'' pride.
"That bastard, don''t tell me he used some kind of trick in the Ritual of the des"
He muttered in a low voice. However, it was loud enough for everyone in the hall the hear.
They were all present in thest Hexennacht or had heard it from rumours how the Demon Duke of Wilnds was defeated and his champion stolen by an upstart Demon Earl. If there was anyone who held a massive grudge against thetter, it would be him.
"Gelford you bastard, so you were trying to im the forest behind my back" Arctaurus turned to face Gelford with a grim look in his eyes.
Now that the cat was out of the bag, Gelford felt no need to hide this fact. He nodded his head and openly epted that he was trying to im the territory for himself. On that fact, he made many ns to defeat the many obstacles standing in his way.
"Gelford you bastard, so you were trying to im the forest behind my back" Arctaurus turned to face Gelford with a grim look in his eyes.
Now that the cat was out of the bag, Gelford felt no need to hide this fact. He nodded his head and openly epted that he was trying to im the territory for himself. On that fact, he made many ns to defeat the many obstacles standing in his way.
"So how goes your n?" Arctaurus questioned.
"It is as you heard, it was aplete failure"¡
The room fell into silence as everyone had a pondering look on their face.
"We need to do something about that Demon Earl, don''t tell me that you will take this defeat lying down?"¡
"Do you think manipting the ck ogre n was easy? You don''t know how much length I had to go so that Orge King wouldn''t notice me. I tried and employed all my resources to make the ck ogre n stronger. However, they still failed me in the end"
Gelford clicked his tongue.
Chapter 941- The Shadow Lurks (4)
Chapter 941- The Shadow Lurks (4)
It could be said that he had invested quite a lot of resources into the ck ogre n to win this battle. Their failure had caused him a big loss that would be difficult for even a being like him to recover from.
"And besides, have you forgotten the entity that lives in the forest? As long as that ancient tree stands, it is nigh impossible topletely capture the forest"
In fact, the real reason why the forest hasn''t been upied by any demons from the Demon continent so far other than the delicate truce was the existence of the protector of the forest.
An Ancient Titan Treant who had reached a very high level and had stopped the advances of the demon time and time again. It was for his existence coupled with a few others that the Ghastly Winding Forest was still standing. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"This¡" As someone who fiercelypeted with Gekford for the im over the forest, how could Arctaurus not know it?
He knew very well how ridiculous that old monstrous tree was who had lived for a very long time. The Ancient Titan Treant was the main reason he was so afraid to invade the forest.
That said¡ "If nothing is done, we will be aughing stock to the whole world".
In thest Hexennacht, It wasn''t just his pride that had been wounded¡ªit was his authority, his reputation. For a Demon Duke to lose in such a public fashion, and to a Demon Earl no less, was an unforgivable slight.
He had been made a fool in front of the entire Hexennacht, and the other demons had witnessed his downfall with a mixture of surprise and amusement. The insult lingered, festering like an open wound.
Every time he thought back to that night, the memory burned brighter, the shame deeper. It was not just a loss; it was a disgrace, a mark on his reputation that could not be erased.
Gelford silently agreed, he also felt the same. Though in his case, it was more of a personal Vendetta and revenge than any other.
Initially, Gelford hadn''t given the Demon Earl much thought. From his perspective, thetter was just another ambitious upstart trying to rise through the ranks bytching onto more powerful allies.
When he saw the Demon Earl standing with Oswell, the prodigy, he had written him off as a leech¡ªsomeone with no real strength of his own, simply riding the coattails of more established demons to gain recognition.
To Gelford, the Demon Earl was just another fool trying to make a name for himself in the Demon World pretending to be someone worthy of notice. The Demon Earl''s audacity at Hexennacht had only solidified Sargel''s poor opinion of him.
To challenge the Demon Lord''s authority and try to im the coveted Ghastly Winding Forest was the move of a desperate opportunist, and in Gelford''s mind, the Demon Earl was bound to fail spectacrly.
He had watched, expecting them to be crushed under the pressure of the high-ranking demons present and the sheer difficulty of his bid. However, surprising everyone, thetter managed to im the territory which he had coveted for many centuries.
Although extremely discontent and unresigned by this verdict he had no choice but to ept it. That''s right, although he abhorred the demon who hid behind powerful allies to get his way, his impression of the Demon Earl hadn''t reached the point where it became incorrigible.
No, in the beginning, despite his disdain, Gelford had even harbored the idea of recruiting the Demon Earl into his faction¡ªthe Blood Moon faction. After all, having them under his control would, in essence, would allow him to indirectly im the Ghastly Winding Forest for himself.
The young Demon Earl would be nothing more than a puppet, and Gelford could pull the strings from behind the scenes. It would have been a tactical victory, and the other party could have been a useful pawn.
He didn''t see the Demon Earl as a real threat¡ªmore of a minor nuisance who could be brought to heel.
So what changed his stance from recruiting the demon to directly destroying him?
It was the news that Sargel received after the Hexennacht that solidified his stance not only against the Demon Earl but also against the idea of ever allowing him to live.
Thetter had killed his son.
Gelford seethed with barely contained fury as he remembered the news he got from his daughter Delphyne who went to visit the dungeon of one of his sons recently.
That''s right, other than the two sitting beside him, he has one more son or rather had. Gelgar, his son... a failure of a son, a disgrace to his bloodline, and a constant reminder of weakness in his lineage.
Gelgar had never lived up to his expectations¡ªtoo reckless, too weak, and too brash to consider one of his won.
In truth, Gelford had long considered him unworthy of inheriting the family legacy, and had even stripped him of his titles and resources. He was a shame to be called his own.
That said, despite all of Gelgar''s shorings, despite the embarrassment he brought to the family, Gelgar was still his blood.
In this cutthroat world of demons, power was everything, and to allow his bloodline to be insulted in such a way was a humiliation that he could not ignore.
It wasn''t even that Gelford grieved for Gelgar¡ªno, far from it. Gelgar''s death in many ways was just the natural conclusion to a life filled with blunders. He had long epted that Gelgar was too weak to survive in the harsh world of demonkind after all, thetter was just a Demon Viscount without any potential to ascend higher.
If thetter had just died in some corner quietly Gelford might not have even cared. But this? This was different. This was public. This was an insult.
A Demon Earl, no less¡ªsomeone so far beneath him in status¡ªhad dared to kill his flesh and blood, no matter how weak and insignificant that flesh may have been. It wasn''t just a personal vendetta anymore; it was a matter of reputation.
Chapter 942- The Shadow Lurks (5)
Chapter 942- The Shadow Lurks (5)
Although Gelford managed to keep the news under wraps for now, how long until the news blows out?
A Demon Duke''s informationwork cannot be underestimated. In fact, Gelford believed that some of the few ancient ones were already aware of it.
Since this was the case, he couldn''t afford to let this go, not when his position as a Demon Duke depended on the strength of his image.
The Blood Moon faction, his faction, would be mocked if the murder of Gelgar went unpunished. It would make him look weak and vulnerable¡ªa target for other ambitious demons looking to make a name for themselves.
One of the Great Demon Duke Gelford''s sons got killed by a mere Demon Earl. What kind of news would that make? n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
He can''t have that now, can he? No, Gelford couldn''t allow that narrative to take hold. The Demon Earl needed to be destroyed if only to preserve his own name and reputation.
This was about power, and power was everything in the demon world. He had built his dungeon, his influence and on the perception of strength over a vast period of time.
To let an insignificant ant like that Demon Earl trample all that and walk away after killing one of his own was an unforgivable affront. No, this cannot stand, Gelford thought, his crimson eyes narrowing.
"Hehe, I''m on the two duke''s side on this matter," Avrox said, his voice oozing with twisted delight. Grin widened and his eyes gleamed with malice.
He could sense the hatred and rage simmering within both Arctaurus and Gelford, and that emotion, that fire of vengeance, brought a wicked satisfaction to him. He chose this moment to strike when the iron was hot.
"That Demon Earl cannot be allowed to live. If he really has gotten his hands on the treasure of the Ghastly Winding Forest, then I assure you, he will be a threat far beyond what any of us can handle in the future."
Arctaurus'' fingers twitched slightly, his face stone-cold. He had listened to this Demon Earl in thest Hexehnnacht and look what it brought him.
Gelford on the other hand, remained silent, still processing Avrox''s words. Thetter had spoken the very thing that they were already thinking but had yet to vocalize.
That said, why did Avrox care about that Demon Earl so much to the point of antagonising the other party in every opportunity that presented itself?
Gelford calctied in his mind his eyes narrowed slightly as he observed Avrox. He and that other demon were both of the same rank¡ªboth Demon Earls. What did Avrox stand to gain?
"I know what you''re thinking, Duke Gelford. Why should I, a fellow Demon Earl, be so intent on eliminating him?" Avrox''s eyes gleamed with malice as he spoke.
"It''s because I''ve dealt with him before. Time and time again, I''ve tried to snuff out that me of his before it could grow into an inferno. And each time, I''ve failed."
The demon world was a brutal hierarchy, a ce where survival depended on one''s ability to climb over others, often using their corpses as stepping stones. Rank was everything.
The title of "Demon Earl" meant power, authority, and the recognition of one''s lineage and strength. Just because the other party was also a fellow Demon Earl, it didn''t mean that the both of them had to be allies.
In fact, the very nature of the demon world was defined by treachery and ambition. Self-interest always came first, and Avrox embodied that reality.
And as for Avrox, he seemed to believe that the Demon Earl who was only a low level Demon Viscount when he first met him was a much bigger foe than what everybody thought of him.
From the first time they crossed paths, Simon had been a mere Demon Viscount, barely worthy of mention in the vast tapestry of the demon hierarchy. Yet there was something off about him, something that set him apart from the others.
He still remembered how he got out of the trap heid in the capital of the Ellesmere kingdom. Yet, at thest moment, a powerful entity¡ªone far beyond the Demon Earl''s standing¡ªhad appeared to save him.
That pattern had repeated itself at the Hexennacht. Whenever the Demon Earl found himself on the brink of defeat, someone or something powerful stepped in to shield him.
The intervention of such ancient beings was something that Avrox, despite his many years of experience, found impossible to exin.
Time and time again he seemed to get bailed by these powerful entities who would otherwise never take sides. It was almost as if the demon possessed some kind of strange ability that made others into his ally.
In the demon world, where alliances were fickle and trust was non-existent, the Demon Earl''s ability to forge bonds with such beings made him dangerous.
It was not only that, even the rate at which the demon was growing was absurd. Hardly if there was any precedence of Demon Viscount climbing up to the ranks of Demon Earl.
No, Rising from the rank of Viscount to Earl in such a short span of time was virtually unheard of. In the demon world, power and rank were intrinsically tied to one''s bloodline, a factor that was nearly impossible to ovee.
Bloodline limitations acted as barriers, defining a demon''s ceiling of potential. Only the rarest of demons, those with pure and ancient bloodlines, could hope to ascend through the ranks of power.
Most demons are born with a certain amount of power, dictated by their lineage, and that''s as far as they go. You would never think amon Demon Viscount can just ascend to an Earl.
The very fact that Demon Viscount could ascend to a Demon Earl and in such a short period of time, made him a much bigger threat than what the two Dukes were taking him for.
"Here''s what I suggest," Avrox said, his tone lowering "Weunch an attack against the Demon Earl, but not as individuals. No, that would be too risky and y into his hands. Instead, we orchestrate a Fate Game."
Chapter 943- The Shadow Lurks (6)
Chapter 943- The Shadow Lurks (6)
The moment Avrox spoke thest words, the hall turned silent. Arctaurus and Gelford were one thing but even Vargel and the others wore an expression full of shock.
Why would they not after all, there was not a single demon who did not know about the Fate Game.
"A Fate Game?" Arctaurus arched an eyebrow. "You mean to suggest a joint effort between our factions, to crush him together?"
"Exactly," Avrox nodded "The rules of the Fateful Game are more efficient than fighting individually. With the two of you, the Blood Moon faction and the Iron Crown, we could crush the demon earl with ease".
Gelford furrowed his brow, weighing Avrox''s suggestion carefully. The Fate Game, an ancient tool too catastrophic and devastating to be invoked lightly. There was a reason why it remained dormant, inactive and rarely enacted even in the brutal world of demon nobles.
"The Fate Game¡ Avrox, do you understand the weight of what you''re proposing?" Vargel asked with a voice full of incredulity.
In response, Avrox''s twisted smile remained the same "Of course. I understand it perfectly."
The two Demon Dukes narrowed their eyes. The Fate Game, though devastatingly efficient, was wrapped in a mountain of intricate rules that must be followed before one could initiate it.
Not only must it go through the Council of Archdukes¡ªthe highest authority under the Demon Lords, but it also requires a long time of preparation and nning. Depending on the scale of conflict, the whole process could take months, if not years until the battle is settled.
What''s more, simr to the dungeon war Once the Fate Game was invoked, it could not be stopped until one side was utterly destroyed. No peace agreements. Nopromises.
It was total annihtion, and the ripples from such a war could be felt across the entire demon continent.
As it could adversely affect the very bnce of the demon world and all the Demon Nobles in general, it is considered more of ast resort kind of thing.
There was an unwritten rule in demon society: those who dared to invoke the Fate Game risked invoking the ire of neutral factions, or even worse, the Demon Lords themselves.
The game was designed as ast resort¡ªonly used when all other options had been exhausted.
The Demon continent might be chaotic but it was not without order. High-ranking demons respected a code of conduct, unspoken yet enforced by sheer necessity. To break this bnce by invoking the Fate Game was akin to wielding a double-edged sword.
While it might help crush a rising threat, it could also spell disaster for the invokers.
Gelford tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne, his crimson eyes deep in thought. "Avrox, you know as well as I do how much of a hassle initiating a Fate Game is. Let''s not even talk about the preparation period, just getting the approval from the council would be difficult".
Arctaurus nodded in agreement "And let''s not forget if we invoke the Fate Game recklessly, we could be seen as a threat to the other neutral factions. No one wants to be on the opposite end of that culling de. If the Demon Lords believe this will destabilize the continent, they will crush us before the game even begins"¡
"Right, do we really need to go through such lengths just to crush a Demon Earl?"
To use means like the fate game to crush the growing ambitions of a Demon Earl was like using a sword to butcher a chicken. There was no need to go to such extremes do deal with an opponent who was two ranks lower than them. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Do we need to go to such lengths?" Avrox scoffed, for the first time he broke away from the fa?ade of his smile.
"You''re underestimating him again, lord Gelford. The same way you did at Hexennacht. The same way the Ogre King did."
"Was the Ogre King weak?" the demon pressed "No. He was one of the strongest beings in the Ghastly Winding Forest, a true force of nature. Someone who could even threaten the Deonn Dukes and their rule"
"But how did he fare against the Demon Earl? He couldn''t even conquer the dungeon, let alone return alive. Not using the Fate Game means you''re still looking down on this enemy, treating him like an ordinary upstart. He''s anything but"
"This is no longer about a petty Demon Earl trying to im a sliver ofnd. The Ogre King''s defeat is just the beginning. If you allow him to continue gaining strength, mark my words, Gelford¡ªthis whole thing will spiral into something beyond your control."
At thatment, Gelford''s face darkened. An ominous silence filled the room Then, without warning, his aura exploded with fury.
The sheer force of it sent shockwaves through the hall, making the ground tremble violently beneath their feet. The air became thick with crushing pressure, suffocating those nearby.
Even Demon Marquess like Vargel found it hard to breathe.
"You dare¡ to lecture me¡?" Gelford thundered.
The might of a Demon Duke unleashed for all to witness. CRACK¡ debris fell from the ceiling and the hall seemed like it would cave in any moment.
"Father, please calm yourself!" fearing his wrath, his sons and daughter stepped forward to pacify him.
"Father, This isn''t the time to lose your temper." For a long moment, it seemed like Gelford might strike down Avrox where he stood. His killing intent was that palpable. But then, with a deep breath the demon dukeposed himself and retracted his outstretched hand.
Seeing this, Vargel and the other sighed. The trembling of the hall ceased, and the pressure in the air began to lift, though the tension remained thick.
Avrox stood there, unfazed by the terrifying disy of power, his grin never faltering. His confidence was infuriating, but Gelford knew he couldn''t give in to his impulse.
Despite the other party''s arrogance, despite their disrespect, Avrox wasn''t someone he could afford to kill.
Chapter 944- The Shadow Lurks (7)
Chapter 944- The Shadow Lurks (7)
Avrox wasn''t someone he could afford to kill¡ªnot because of Avrox himself, but because of the one standing behind him. That said, he still had to maintain his dignity.
Huff¡ with an irritated voice, Gelford spat out "The only reason you''re still standing here still in one piece is because of your master. Were it not for that lord, the one you serve, you would''ve been ash long ago. That said, I still warn you to watch your words, you are speaking to a demon Duke, I will not let this slide the next time".
At that threat, a mocking smile appeared on Avrox''s face for a second. He answered, his tone dripping with false humility.
"Of course, my lord. I wouldn''t dream of insulting your authority."
"Anyways, whether or not you choose to act," Avrox continued smoothly, "the Demon Earl won''t stop. You''ve already seen it with your own eyes. This is just the beginning"
"Refuse my suggestion, and mark my words, you''ll be swept up in something far greater than what the Ogre King lost. This is a fire that could consume more than just your faction."
The two dukes furrowed their brows. Even if they were to ignore Avrox''s words, the fact still remained that they had to do something about the Demon Earl in the Ghasthly Winding Forest.
Whether or not he imed the mysterious treasure of the forest, it was true that he was a hindrance in their path and his means were unfathomable to them.
After a long silence, Gelford spoke "We''ll consider your proposal Avrox. However, initiating a Fate Game still remains to be impossible atrge"¡
"Hoh? Why is it so? I see no reason to hesitate to crush this pest once and for all"¡
The Demon Duke paused for a second before answering "Even considering that the council of Archdukes won''t interfere, do you think the ones above them will leave us be after initiating the fate game?"
"The world has forgotten, it has growncent from the absence of Demon Archdukes, believing that we Demon Dukes are the top powerhouses of the Demon Continent when in fact it is those ancient existences surviving since who knows when who are the actual rulers. What would they think if we suddenly initiate such a dangerous tool?"
The mention of those monstrous existences sent a ripple of tension through the room. A tool as dangerous and destabilising as the Fate Game has dire consequences.
The Demon Continent is currently home to two Demon Lords, and neither of them would look favorably upon anyone who initiates such a tool.
Even if one discards Procell, the Demon Lord of Greed who has been unusually quiet and inactive for centuries now, holed up in his dungeon, it still leaves one more.
Demon Lord of Envy, Belial who has newly ascended to his rank. There is no doubt that he would be eager to assert his dominance and use any opportunity to stabilize his influence over the continent topete with Procell.
A Fate Game would be exactly the kind of pretext Belial needs to interfere, especially if it means showing his power on the world stage.
"We cannot afford the attention of a Demon Lord, Avrox. Their forces are unlike anything we could withstand, as we all witnessed during thest Hexennacht. Even the slightest show of power from a Demon Lord could obliterate our factions. The Blood Moon and Iron Crown might be strong, but not strong enough to fight a Demon Lord."
The weight of Gelford''s words hung heavily in the air. It was a fact that none could dispute¡ªthe power of a Demon Lord was something no faction, not even the most powerful on the continent, could oppose directly.
"Hahaha!" A sudden burst ofughter echoed through the grand hall, slicing through the tense atmosphere like a de.
All eyes turned toward the source of theughter¡ªAvrox.
"So this is why¡ Sir Gelford is worried about Lord Belial" There was a faint chuckle in his voice as if the Demon Duke''s concern wasughable.
"It seems you''re both overthinking this. The two dukes do not need to fret about him. In fact, you may find that Lord Belial will turn a blind eye to our actions¡ªor better yet, stay out of it entirely"¡
"Hoh, and what makes you so sure of it?" Arctaurus raised an eyebrow, crossing his massive arms over his chest.
Hehe¡ With a sly grin, Avrox stepped forward, making his way to the centre of the hall. The spotlight of attention shifted fully onto him. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Hehe... Have you all forgotten what happened at thest Hexennacht?". At those words, the room fell quiet. All eyes flickered for a second as memories from an event not too long ago flooded into their minds.
"You mean the... incident?" Gelford''s gaze sharpened quickly getting the hint.
"Yes. That ''incident.'' Where our dear Demon Earl overextended his authority... and interrupted Lord Belial himself".
The mere mention of a demon¡ªan Earl, no less¡ªchallenging a Demon Lord''s authority in such a public arena was almost unthinkable. And yet, it had happened.
"You see, Lord Belial, in all his ancient might, had to reconsider his own ruling, because of that Demon Earl. For a Demon Lord of his stature? Well, let''s just say... that was surely a sore point. Imagine the insult¡ªa Demon Lord, forced to adjust his decisions for someone far below his rank"
He added after a pause "There''s no way, not a chance, that Lord Belial would defend that upstart now"
"Indeed... Lord Belial did seem... displeased by the Demon Earl''s interference" Arctaurus agreed, his expression dark.
The memory of that day was not pleasant. Although he had been focused on the implications of losing the Ghastly Winding Forest and losing his precious subordinate, he had not missed the personal affront that the Demon Earl had caused Lord Belial.
Everybody, from the lowest of demons to humans knows that a Demon Lord''s ego and dignity was legendary, and to have it challenged was unforgivable.
Chapter 945- The Shadow Lurks (8)
Chapter 945- The Shadow Lurks (8)
What''s more, by someone so far beneath him.
"I ask you, Dukes¡ªdo you truly believe Lord Belial wille to defend that Demon Earl?"
There was no need to even answer as it was clear.
"He may even be hoping for someone to remove that thorn from his side. Not only is Belial unlikely to defend the Demon Earl, but if the two of you¡ªstrong, established Demon Dukes¡ªwere to challenge him in a Fate Game, the Demon Lord might wee it"
"What''s more Lord Belial is currently focused on securing his territory. His enemies are closer to home. There is no way he''ll abandon his priorities just to crush a Demon Earl. As for Lord Procell, he won''t act. The Demon Lord of Greed hasn''t lifted a finger in centuries. He won''t interfere. He never does".
Avrox''s words did have some backing, Gelford and Arctaurus were forced to give his suggestion another thought. But what he was asking was for was still dangerous.
Initiating the fate game was itself a risk that they could not bear. Seeing the two dukes still hesitating, Avrox clicked his tongue stealthily.
He added "Of course I am not telling you to initiate the Fate game. the truth is, we don''t have to invoke it directly. We could apply pressure, and create a situation where the Earl is forced to act recklessly"
"We make him the aggressor, make him overreach. Then, it will be him who vites thews of demonkind, and the Fate Game can be called upon as a justified response."
Gelford and Arctaurus leaned forward. A justification¡ that''s right, If the other party is the aggressor, then it will makeplete sense to invoke the fate game and no one would me them.
Better what, they would have a very good excuse, the pretext that they need to paint themselves as the victim. That said, something like this was too good to be true there was no way it could be achieved.
"What makes you so sure the Demon Lords won''t see through this ploy? They''re not fools, Avrox. They will know what we''re trying to do."
Avrox chuckled darkly.
"Ah, you overestimate how much they care, Duke Gelford. The Demon Lords are far too busy with their own schemes and intrigues. They have wars, territories, and rivalries with other Demon Lords that span millennia"
"Do you really think they''d waste their time on the disappearance of a single Earl? In the grander scheme of things, an Earl''s disappearance is nothing but a flicker in the abyss."
Gelford crossed his arms, considering the risks and rewards. True, the Demon Lords rarely involved themselves in the affairs of lower-ranked demons unless something threatened the stability of the entire continent.
The current politicalndscape of the Demon Continent was anything but stable. with the new Demon Lord of Envy looking to consolidate his power and challenge the long-standing authority of Lord Procell, the Demon Lord of Greed.
Both Lords had much bigger concerns than a minor conflict between remote demon nobles. But still, even if the Demon Lords ignored their plot, there was the issue of getting the Demon Earl to act as the aggressor.
How were they going to achieve that?
Arctaurus spoke, "Even if the Demon Lords ignore our actions, we still need to provoke the Demon Earl into attacking us first. We need a solid pretext for war¡ªsomething that will make it seem like he''s the one pulling the trigger."
At that mention, Avrox''s grin widened, bordering sinister "How do we get the Demon Earl to strike first? To create the spark that will ignite the fire...?"
His eyes trailed off towards Gelford as he slowly added "Don''t we already have the perfect excuse?"
For a moment, there was silence as Gelford processed Avrox''s ambiguous words. His brow furrowed, confusion swirling in his mind.
The perfect excuse? His gaze flickered to Arctaurus, but his fellow Duke looked just as uncertain.
At this, Avrox''s smile widened, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Ah, it''s been so long since I''ve seen the next generation of the Blood Moon," he said casually, turning his gaze toward Gelford''s children seated beside him in the hall.
"I trust your children are in good health, Sir Gelford? They''ve grown into fine demons"
Vargel and the others caught off guard by the sudden shift in conversation, exchanged puzzled nces. They didn''t know why Avrox suddenly directed the topic of conversation towards them.
"Hmph, we are well, there is no need for you to be concerned about us" Delphyne answered on behalf of everyone. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Good, good. It''s important to keep track of one''s bloodlines, isn''t it? After all, family is such a precious thing, losing one would be such a shame wouldn''t it" Gelford''s eyes narrowed.
What is he getting at? He studied Avrox, sensing something deeper lurking behind those words. The tone of his voice was far too suggestive, as if Avrox knew something personal.
Slowly, the pieces began to fall into ce. Without missing a beat, thetter added "I wonder though¡ How are you all coping? It must have been difficult after¡ certain losses. Sometimes it can be hard to keep the family together when one member is missing."
Delphyne blinked in confusion "Losses¡?"
"Ah, yes. I seem to recall a certain absence. It''s hard to move forward when a brother doesn''t return, isn''t it? You must miss him dearly."
At those words, The room grew cold. Gelford''s crimson eyes sharpened, and the realization finally dawned on him. He knows... he definitely!!!
Avrox''s gaze flicked back to Gelford "Ah, but of course, I''m sure it''s nothing too troubling. Just something that might¡ spark a fire."
"What are you implying, Avrox?"¡
"Sir Gelford you know as well as I do, the Demon Earl has already crossed a line, hasn''t he? The death of a certain individual¡ a young, ambitious demon who belonged to your bloodline. Gelgar, was it?".
The Demn Duke froze, a pit began to form in his stomach.
Chapter 946- The Shadow Lurks (9)
Chapter 946- The Shadow Lurks (9)
The mention of his son''s name sent a shiver of rage through his veins, but that wasn''t what rmed him the most. It was the fact that Avrox knew about it.
Gelgar''s death had been kept quiet, hidden from most of the Demon Continent to avoid embarrassment. How in the abyss had Avrox learned of it?
Gelford''s mind raced, for a Demon Earl like Avrox to know something so personal, so intimate, it could only mean one thing: the one behind Avrox, the figure pulling the strings, must have investigated the case with their investigationwork. They know all about it.
"I see now¡" he muttered under his breath, a mixture of frustration and resignation washed over him.
The thing he tried to keep under wraps, the thing he feared hade to pass. The other party was already aware of the humiliation he suffered.
Avrox''s master¡ they were not someone to be underestimated. A Demon Earl on his own might be insignificant, but a Demon Archduke? That was an entirely different matter.
An Archduke''s reach extended across continents, with resources and spies embedded in every corner of the Demon world.
"Is your master also interested in the Ghastly Winding Forest?"
"You catch on quickly, Sir Gelford. My master''s reach is vast, and his influence¡ well, let''s just say he has eyes and ears where you might least expect. I know that the Demon Earl didn''t just kill any demon; he killed your son"
"That''s a personal affront. An offence against your bloodline, against your honour. What better excuse do you need to invoke the Fate Game?"¡
"What?!! Is that true?" Arctaurus who didn''t know anything about this matter, reacted with surprise.
His eyes roamed around Gelfor''s children and seeing them make an ugly face, he quickly understood that it was true.
"Ah, so that''s why. It all makes sense now. You''ve been plotting to erase him, not simply because of the forest or treasure, but to hide this stain of yours"
With a sneer he added, "Well, we don''t need to find another reason now, do we? We have the perfect justification for making the Demon Earl the aggressor. Blood demands blood after all".
Avrox nodded "Exactly. Avenging the death of your son and washing away the insult to one reputation is all the pretext you need. The council won''t question your motives once they hear of such an affront"
"Honor among demonkind is everything. A demon, even a Duke, cannot stand idle when their bloodline is challenged. What does Duke Gelford think?"
Despite the seething anger, Gelford maintained hisposure and said nothing. His silence spoke louder than any outburst.
He had gone to great lengths to keep this information hidden, knowing that if word spread in the demon world, it would tarnish not only his reputation but also the prestige of his Blood Moon faction.
A powerful Demon Duke, humiliated by a mere Demon Earl¡ªa shame like that could destroy him. But it seems like it was all for not. Now that it was out, he better take this chance to wash this shame away once and for all. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"The Demon earl must die. If I have to use the death of Gelgar, then so be it" Gelford finally opened his mouth and spoke in a deep growl.
"So he should be. But before we go further, let me make something clear. While I am acting on behalf of my master, the Archduke Boboshka, his interest lies not in the Ghastly Winding Forest itself, but rather in the treasure that is rumoured to be hidden within. He has no desire to im thend¡ªonly the treasure."
At the mention of the treasure, the two dukes flinched ever so slightly. Who in the southern region of the Dempn Continent didn''t know about the legendary treasure that was supposedly hidden in the Ghastly Winding Forest?
Other than the territory, it was the real reason why the demon vyed for this territory so much. To think that Avrox''s master would directly ask them to hand over the treasure once they im the forest, how could they take it?
"That doesn''t sound right, does it? While we do all the work, they get to take the most important thing from the forest"
Arctaurus crossed his arms clearly irritated. Even if the enemy was a Demon Archduke, they had two Dukes here. With thebined might of both their faction, even Demon Archduke would think twice before making a move against them.
"Of course, it''s not without a price. My master is willing to support you with all of his might. He will not only aid you in getting rid of the Demon Earl, but he will ensure the council approves your move against thetter. He will smooth over any barriers, and make sure the Archdukes look the other way".
Gelford shook his head "Even then, asking us to hand over the treasure is still too much"¡
Avroxughed softly, waving his hand "You misunderstand something, two Dukes. In the first ce, isn''t the whole legendary treasure in the forest a myth?"
"In the long history there hasn''t been anyone who was able to find it. There are many powerful beings who tried to get their hands on the treasure only toe back empty handed"
"As such, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the very existence of this treasure being inside the forest is doubtful. Despite that, lord Boboshka is willing to aid you with all of his might to im the Ghastly Winding Forest. I believe the exchange is a fair price given all that he has to do to stop the council from interfering"
Gelford and Arctuarus still seemed a little hesitant after all, this was not just any treasure they were talking about but a legendary treasure that was rumoured to be able to ascend one to the pinnacle of this world.
Something like that¡
"Since the two dukes are still hesitating let me tell you this. Lord Boboshka has no need for petty schemes. If he wanted to, he could easily im the forest"
Chapter 947- The Man Named Itherion
Chapter 947- The Man Named Itherion
"However, he has no interest in a domain so far away from his territory. That said, he also told me not to press the two dukes to agree with his condition. If you think you can do this without me, feel free to go ahead"
Avrox shrugged and stopped persuading the two dukes otherwise. After saying his piece, he gave a slight bow and turned to leave the hall.
Just then the subordinate blocked his path and Gelford''s voice came from behind.
"Wait, we are done yet".
Avrox turned around to ask "Is there still something?".
"Don''t be in a hurry to leave, the discussion is not over yet" Gelford stopped him "You said that Lord Boboshka will help us ease things with the council in the case that we invoke the Fate Game yes?"¡
"That''s right"¡
"Are these the words of Lord Boboshka himself or is it something that you are saying?"¡
Avrox put a hand on his chest and performed the signature salute of the demon he was serving. His action revealed that he was saying the absolute truth without any falsity.
In the world of demons where every words and actions are loaded with hidden schemes and interests, the salute is the only constant whose authenticity cannot be questioned.
Since the other party went as far as to perform the salute of the master he served, Gelford felt no need to judge the authenticity of his words further.
"Hmmm, what do you think?" Turning towards the other Demon Duke, he asked the question.
Arctaurus shut his eyes and silently contemted for a while. It was true that together his Iron Crown and Blood Montion faction were very strong but it was not the point where they could influence the council.
If they wanted to invoke the fate game, they needed Archduke Boboshka''s help.
"How about this? We decide about the matter of the treasure after we get rid of that Demon earl and im the forest. If there is a treasure we can then hand it over to lord Boboshka. If there is more than one treasure, we share them?"
Arctaurus''s suggestion although thinly veiled, was nothing more than a polite way of saying they would keep whatever they could, as long as they could justify itter.
In the world of demons, there were countless ways to go back on a promise without ever technically breaking it. Ways to burn the bridge after crossing it.
Gelford thought that Avrox would not ept such an unconscionable offer. However, to his surprise, Avrox did not hesitate for a second and quickly epted the offer.
"Agreed. If there is more than one treasure, we shall share them. And if none exist, I will withdraw my master''s interest, leaving you both with the Ghastly Winding Forest for yourselves." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
His response was swift, almost too swift that the Demon Duke felt a sense of unease. He was prepared to counter Avrox''s refusal and negotiate further. However, the speed of Avrox''s eptance caught him off guard.
For a moment, suspicion clouded his thoughts.
Why did Avrox ept so quickly? He had no guarantee that the treasure would be handed over after the Demon Earl was dead. Was he so confident in his master''s influence that he believed no one would dare to cross him?
"It''s settled then. I will talk with my master, and we will iron out the finer details. In any case, the Demon Earl doesn''t have long to live."
Avrox spoke, his voice dripped with certainty, as though the end of the Demon Earl was inevitable, a foregone conclusion.
"Too bad we can''t destroy him right now. It would be far more satisfying to crush him before he even knows what''sing".
Arctaurus let out a low chuckle "It can''t be helped. We need time to prepare for the Tea Party".
Gelford added calmly "It''s only a couple more months. Let''s allow that Demon Earl to live just a bit longer."
The mention of the Tea Party¡ªthe great political gathering of all high-ranking demon nobles¡ªimmediately shifted the mood.
For this uing event, every demon who has been invited would try and do his best to prepare and hope to make an impression on one of the Demon lords. It is also where they could meet Boboshka, Avox''s master and cement everything.
The three demons spoke a little more before parting.
A dark undercurrent was swirling and the person who would take the centre stage in the epic stage, was currently unaware of it.
.
.
Central Continent, Srain Empire. In one of the renowned academies located in the capital, a woman in herte thirties could be seen taking a ss.
The room was marginally big with 40-50 students attending the ss. Warm sunlight bathed the room the open window sills and screeching noise from chalk running against ck board came intermittently.
CLAP.. CLAP¡ After finishing her notes on the ckboard, the woman wiped the chalk dust from her hands, then turned to face her students, her voicemanding their attention.
Her dark hair was neatly tied back in a loose bun with a spectacle sitting on her nose giving her a no nonsense aura.
Her attire was simple yet elegant¡ªa long, modest dress of deep green, embroidered with golden threads at the cuffs and cor, symbolizing her stature as a respected teacher at one of the empire''s most prestigious academies.
"Today, we''ll discuss the history of our beloved Srian Empire, a topic of utmost importance for every citizen. This empire, built on the ideals of peace and strength, stands as a beacon to all other nations across the Central Continent"
The room filled with the quiet rustling of papers as the students prepared to take notes. Sunlight streamed through the open windows, bathing the ssroom in a golden glow, almost as if the sun itself hade to listen to the lesson about thend it watched over.
"Who can tell me," she continued, ncing around the room, "who was the founder of our great empire, and what was the key to his sess?"
Chapter 948- The Man Named Itherion (2)
Chapter 948- The Man Named Itherion (2)
Several hands shot up, but the woman gestured toward a young boy who seemed like he wasn''t paying attention.
"You there, tell me".
"Me?" The boy who didn''t expect to be called out pointed at himself before scratching his hair.
"Ummm¡ Srion the first?" he looked towards his teacher unsure.
"Correct, but you should pay more attention in the ss" Syaing that she turned towards the other students and questioned "Now who can borate more?"¡
A young girl raised her hand "Me, Teacher Verdia. Srion the first, he united thend during the chaotic times by defeating the warlords and bringing peace. His strength as a warrior and his wisdom as a ruler are still admired today"¡ n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Very good" the woman named Verdia nodded with approval "Indeed, Srion I, the Lion King, was the heart and soul of this empire. But what set him apart from the countless warlords of his time wasn''t just his might¡ªno. It was his ability to inspire and unite"
"In and divided by chaos and strife, he didn''t just conquer; he created asting peace that allowed our empire to flourish. And that, my dear students, is the true foundation of Sria."
Seeing that her words had ensnared every mind, she continued "His descendants have carried on his legacy. Our empire has grown in both size and wisdom, fostering peace among nations and bing a centre for trade, culture, and learning"
"But the empire''s greatness doesn''t rest on its military prowess or wealth alone. It rests on the values that Srion instilled¡ªcourage, justice, and unity".
Verdia turned back to the ckboard, writing inrge, bold letters: Strength, Wisdom, Peace.
"There," she said, pointing to the words, "These are virtues and pirs of our empire. And as the future leaders, thinkers, and defenders of thisnd, it is your responsibility to uphold these values"
"Let me tell you a story," Verdia began¡
Long long ago when the Maind was yet to stabilise itself, there was chaos everywhere. Warlords fought over scraps ofnd, kingdoms rose and fell in the blink of an eye, and no one knew peace.
It was then from the ashes of these endless wars emerged a single man. Srion I, who was alos poprly known as the Lion King. A warrior unmatched in strength and valor, he not only united thends, but also brought peace to and torn asunder.
The students listened, enraptured by a story they never learned from books. Like a wave cashing on the shore, the expression of the children constantly rose and fell as Verdia told Srion''s legendary journey.
"It is said that, on his quest to unite thend, Srion came face to face with a great Evil. This creature, a terror of the darkest corners and overflowing malevolence had terrorized the Maind for centuries.
Entire armies had fallen before it. Yet, Srion, armed with nothing but a golden sword and the courage burning within him, challenged the great evil to a battle.
"Not much is recorded of the fateful battle but what I can tell you is that the battle was fierce, shaking the heavens and the earth. It went on for days, weeks even¡ Srion fought with all his strength, but even he found himself at his wit''s end facing the never ending evil army and magic of the creature.
Just when it seemed the evil creature''s magic would engulf him and the entirend, a band of noble warriors came to aid him. With their aid, he cleaved the Great Evil in two, banishing its malevolent powers forever"¡.
"Miss Verdia, what kind of people were these noble warriors?" a student raised his hand to ask.
In response, Verdia smiled. Her eyes inadvertently looked up as if gazing at the sky "Have you ever heard about the Seraphims?"¡
"Seraphims?"
A murmur rippled through the ss as they wondered who Miss Verdia was talking about. A couple of children who were rather knowledgeable or perhaps came from renowned noble houses or ns, raised their hands to answer.
"Is Miss Verdia talking about the mighty warriors of god? The most powerful beings in the world who can do anything?"¡
"I heard from my father that they have white wings behind their back and every single one of them are the agent of the gods"¡
"Right" Verdia did not deny the kids "It is said that only the most noble of humans who have achieved great prestige and possess a pure heart, have the chance to be one. That said, even though they are the agent of the gods, the mightiest noble warriors, they are not omnipotent"
"Anyways, getting back to the topic. Seraphims are the beings who stand above even those agents of the gods. These mighty warriors aided Srion I to get rid of the evil creature".
The ss fell into silence as they imagined the epic battle, their minds painting vivid pictures of Srion''s victory.
"And so, with the great evil in, Srion returned to the people not as a conqueror, but as a protector. He united the warringnds under one banner, creating the great Srion Empire¡ªa bastion of peace in a world of chaos. His name became legend, and his empire¡ well, you all know what that became."
Verdia smiled warmly at her students.
"Heroes are born in the Srion Empire every year, just like Srion I. It is why we pride ourselves as the protectors of mankind. Our empire doesn''t just fight wars; we defend the light of peace, of hope. And you, dear students, should aim to be heroes like that one day."
"Now for the values that I wrote on the board¡ªstrength, wisdom, and peace¡ªthose were the founding virtues of the empire, chosen by Srion himself".
Strength to protect, wisdom to guide, peace to unify¡ thus strength, wisdom and peace. The students nodded, some writing the words in their notebooks.
Verdia''s eyes gleamed as she looked at her students burying themselves in books. She moved towards the board before wiring another set of words.
Chapter 949- The Man Named Itherion (3)?
Chapter 949- The Man Named Itherion (3)
"Now you know the history of the Srion Empire and about its founder. Can anyone tell me what are the grandest sights and the most important ces in the Srion Empire? Where do you think heroes are born?"¡
"The capital and the Royal Pce?" A girl spoke tentatively.
"The Knight Headquarters!" a boy followed after, confident in his reply. "And what about the heroes?"¡
"Umm¡ aren''t they chosen by destiny? My father said that all heroes carry great fates with them" another student answered.
"You all are not wrong, the capital of our empire, Sria, is a sight to behold. And at its heart, the grand Royal Pce stands, a symbol of our power and our peace. The Knight Headquarters, the very heart of our military might. It''s where the bravest and strongest knights of the empire train and rise to defend our borders"
"But, there is one ce more iconic, more grand than all. The most revered sight in all of Srion or perhaps the entire maind, where the heroes are born. Do any of you know what that is?"
At teacher Verdia''s question, the students exchanged curious nces until one finally raised their hand.
"Is it the tall tower whose summit cannot be seen?"¡
"Exactly! The Tower of Babel, also known as the Adventurer''s Headquarters. A colossal structure, a beacon that can be seen from miles away. It stands as the true symbol of the Srion Empire''s strength and courage. For it is within those walls that the greatest adventurers are born"
"Heroes, mercenaries, explorers¡ªall are tested and tempered there. It is a ce where dreams of glory be reality. One day, perhaps some of you will stand atop that great tower, gazing out over the empire, knowing that you, too, are a hero of the Srion Empire".
The students gasped in awe, their eyes shining brightly. All of them dreamed about bing a hero, aplishing a feat like the great Srion and having their names written in history.
"Now this is the most important. Let us study about the Tower of Babel and how it came to be"
Verdia was just about to start a new topic for the ss when the bell signalling the end of the ss rang.
HUBUB¡ the ss erupted into the usual chatter.
"We''ll save the story of the Tower of Babel for another day," she said with a smile, watching as her students eagerly packed up their things, their earlier dreams of heroism forgotten in favor of the excitement of free time.
With that, the ss was dismissed. In the hallway, other teachers greeted her as she walked past, discussing their own lessons or thetest academy events.
After a few brief exchanges, she made her way to the grand staircase. Her destination was a ce everyone in the academy knew¡ªthe principal''s chamber. Located at the centre of the fourth floor of the academy.
Knock Knock¡ Verdia knocked on the oak door, the brass namete above it gleamed in the soft light: Headmaster Itherion.
"Enter" A deep voice spoke out from within the room.
"Please excuse me" Saying so, Verdia opened the door and entered.
The principal''s chamber was as grand as one might expect for the leader of the most prestigious academy in the Srion Empire. Large windows bathed the room in golden light, casting a warm glow on the heavy wooden furniture and the towering shelves of ancient tomes that lined the walls.
A faint scent of old parchment and polished leather lingered in the air, giving the room a faint atmosphere of knowledge and wisdom as if one had arrived in front of a library. N?v(el)B\\jnn
There seated Behind the imposing mahogany desk was a man in his forties, his presence asmanding as any seasoned general on the battlefield. His hair, once raven ck, was now streaked with white¡ªa testament to the many years he lived.
He had sharp features, a well trimmed beard and a handsome face. However, if one had to point out the most distinctive feature of this man, it would be no doubt his piercing blue eyes.
Those aquamarine eyes that seemed so sharp and yet was clouded by the vicissitude of time. The contrasting features of the eyes of the man gave him a unique and enigmatic aura.
Dressed in formal yet practical attire, he exuded the aura of a man who could effortlessly transition from leading soldiers on a battlefield tomanding the respect of students and schrs alike.
His broad shoulders and muscr frame still carried the strength of his youth, though the wisdom and experience in his gaze revealed his many years of leadership. This was Principal Itherion¡ª a powerful ranker, a hero of the Srion Empire, now a guiding force in molding its future leaders.
"Ah, Your Holiness," Itherion said, rising slightly from his chair, his tone filled with deep respect. "Please,e in."
He gestured to the chair in front of his desk, his blue eyes softening as he spoke to Verdia.
"You don''t need to address me as such Itherion. In terms of seniority, you are much older than me. And besides, a True Hero like you who has performed great merits for this entire world, need not bow his head so easily"
Verdia spoke smiling helplessly at Itherion''s humble attitude.
"Haha, your holiness praises me too much" From their conversation it was clear that it was not the first time they were having a talk like that.
That said, even though Itherion blew away Verdia''s words lightly, thetter had no intentions of backing out after all, the man in front of her truly deserved her respect.
The current identity of Itherion, was a powerful ranker, a hero of the Srion Empire and the headmaster of the prestigious Srion Academy. However, that was only an alias to deceive the public. The real identity of Itherion that only a few people in this entire world knew was Vincent Srion.
The first emperor of the Srion empire, the very same hero of the legends that the children of Srion Empire grew up dreaming of.
Chapter 950- The Man Named Itherion (4)
Chapter 950- The Man Named Itherion (4)
The very same brave warrior who defeated the evil creature who threatened the world in the ancient times and the master of the Tower of Babel.
Her saying those words to him was by no means an underestimation.
"I don''t want to argue with Her Holiness. But those days are long behind me. Now, I am only the Headmaster of the Srion Academy, Itharion¡ not the hero of the past. I am only the headmaster of the Srion Academy, Itherion" Vincent; no Itherion spoke.
"So be it. But in return, you should also address me as Verdia, a normal teacher of the academy. You should know that right now I am on a mission and must keep my identity hidden. So I would be d if you just considered me a normal staff here".
"That¡" Vincent scratched his ears looking a little hesitant. Verdia''s identity was too special for him to simply call her by her name even if it was just a fake name.
After a moment of indecisiveness, Itherion sighed and finally gave in.
"I can''t win against you but at least let me address you as her holiness while we are alone" That was the only thing he wasn''t willing to relent on.
"Very well, suit yourself"
Seeing Verdia nod her head, Itherion felt as if a heavy boulder was lifted off his shoulder. Carefully serving some tea and snacks for her, he opened with some small talk.
"So how goes the sses? Has her holiness already gotten used to teaching the students?"¡
Verdia''s eyes lit up the moment the conversation shifted to her students. The weariness in her posture seemed to vanish, reced by an unmistakable spark of joy. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Oh, the students¡ they''re wonderful!" she eximed, a smile blooming across her face. "Their potential is incredible! Some of them remind me of the heroes from the stories we tell¡ªpure-hearted, brave, and full of promise. If they are guided well, I truly believe that their light will shine bright enough to secure the future of our kingdom."
Watching her expression, Itherion couldn''t help but chuckle softly "It seems teaching has truly grown on your holiness".
She nodded enthusiastically "In a way, you can say that. Their eyes are still so clear, so untainted by the weight of this world. When I look at them, I see the righteousness we once fought for. I see future knights, schrs, and yes, even heroes"
"There are a few that show exceptional promise¡ªperhaps one day they''ll be even greater than us."
Itherion leaned back in his chair, savoring the warmth in her words.
"That''s reassuring to hear. It''s easy to forget the bright future amidst the darkness we deal with every day."
The children, their hope and their strength, it reminded him what he was trying to protect...
"It might be my wishful thinking, but I want them to smile and be merry like this" Itherion murmured, his voice tinged with quiet mncholy. The once-proud hero who had weathered countless battles now carried the weight of the past like a shadow he couldn''t shake.
Dark circles had formed under his eyes, a reminder of sleepless nights and the burden of memories too heavy to cast aside. He gazed out of the window, watching the studentsugh and chat in the academy''s courtyard, unaware of the darkness that had once consumed their world.
The current era¡ªthe most peaceful time this world had ever known¡ªtrade flourished, borders were secure, and famine and disease were at an all-time low.
Knowledge thrived in the academies, magic and skills were being studied without the constant fear of battle, and people could live long, fulfilling lives without ever hearing the roar of war drums.
Of course, there are still wars and blood being spilled every day. However, the Srion Empire with its proud history and powerful global presence was a bastion of civilization and peace.
Yet, even amidst these golden years, there was a growing feeling of unease. The peace has given them so much¡ªprosperity, unity, a world where children canugh without fear, where they can grow without the weight of a sword in their hand.
But it has also made them... weaker.
"Those who don''t know war," Itherion said softly, "and those who are constantly fighting for their survival... there is noparison. Those who are tempered by fire and blood are always stronger, always sharper than those who live in peace. It''s not their fault, and I don''t me them. But it''s the truth."
He sighed, leaning back in his chair, his eyes filled with a strange mix of sorrow and relief.
"In the ancient times, when I fought those wars... when we had to defend our very existence... we were always prepared for the worst. There was no other choice. You either fought or you died"
"And that... that made us strong. Stronger than any generation that hase after us. People call us heroes now but at that time we were just ordinary warriors desperate to protect those dear to us. Now that times are starting to change and there are very few heroes alive, I cannot help but worry about the future of our world".
Verdia''s expression turned grim, she knew full well the weight of the war and struggles the heroes of the past had to go through. The time of great upheaval. If possible, she didn''t want the history to repeat once again.
However, all the signs and evidence were pointing towards an inevitable doom. What''s more, the people of the world are still oblivious to it.
With no heroes to protect them this time, there was no way to fight it. That said, unlike Vincent, she didn''t lose her hope.
"if I were given the choice, I would never want the children of this era to go through what we had to. No amount of strength is worth the price of those nightmares. No child should be forced to pick up a sword before they''ve even learned to dream."
Chapter 951- The Man Named Itherion (5)
Chapter 951- The Man Named Itherion (5)
Verdia''s beautiful eyes gazed at the distance, "Peace... it softens people, yes. But that softness is not a w; it''s a gift. They don''t need to carry the burden we carried. They shouldn''t. And if that makes them weaker, then so be it. I''ll dly bear the weight of that weakness if it means they never have to experience the horror of war."
A powerful golden light shed in her eyes and the room was bathed in a golden afterglow momentarily.
"Ah" flustered, she quickly realised her mistake and retracted her aura, donning the disguise of Verdia the academy teacher once again.
"Haha, if it''s Her Holiness guaranteeing it, nothing can be more assuring than that. In that case, please allow me to fight alongside you when the timees" Vincent or rather Itherion got up from his seat and got on one knee.
His posture was like that of a knight swearing his loyalty to his lord. If anyone saw Itherion assuming a humbling attitude like that, they would unmistakably rub their eyes in doubt.
The sight was that surreal after all, those who knew Itherion knew how high his position and status was in the Maind. He was one of the most influential and powerful men in the world who even the current king of Srion has to give face.
A person like him bowing to someone else, it made one wonder what sort of background, this beautiful looking woman had.
Verdia nodded her head epting his answer. Normally she would ask him to behave like usual and treat her normally. However, the situation was so that she needed as many ally as she could gather.
It was also for this reason that she came to the Srion empire to find¡
"This reminds me, has any of the students here caught your eye?" Now standing upright, Itherion questioned.
"There are a few... unusual students who stand out among the others. A boy named Matthias¡ªhe''s got a natural sense of leadership, and such a kind heart. And then there''s Elira, who has shown an aptitude for magic I haven''t seen in hundreds of years. Each one of them holds such promise."
"Matthias and Elira¡ I will have to keep an eye on them" Itherion repeated thoughtfully before asking the main question "But have you found the one you are looking for?" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Only a few people in this huge academy knew about the actual identity of Miss Verdia and among them only he and one other person knew about the actual real reason why she was here.
Verdia shook her head and sighed in regret.
"No, but I definitely sensed its powers earlier. It has appeared in the world again, it has to" After saying that, she started muttering to herself.
"The ominous moon has appeared which means that the seven sins are going to show their faces soon. We need all the virtues to fight the Great Evil"
That''s right, the real reason why she was here disguised as a professor was to find the possessor of the great Virtues.
"Fragments of virtues¡ if the remaining ones have appeared as you say, then we need to find the possessors and protect them at all costs. In the uing great upheaval, they are the pirs that will lead humanity" Itherion spoke with a serious face.
Verdia nodded before looking at him "I must say you are a man of great vision Vincent. Did you foresee the world going through crisis once again and establish the Adventurer''s Association and Srion Empire?".
Itherionughed shaking his head, the whites in his hair and creases gave away his age "You think too high of me your holiness. Truthfully, I am justpleting the wishes that my friend failed to aplish. It was his goal and vision, to protect this world at all costs. I am just walking on his road".
There was a faint happy yet sad tone to his voice.
Verdia nodded her head and did not dig any further. "In any case, the presence of the Adventurers guild, the Srion Empire and the Main Land that it is built on would be a great help in the turbulent times".
The Ominous Moon¡ªevery time it appears, the bnce of the world shifts. Dark forces stir, and fragments of great power surface. And this time the movement of the moons was out of the ordinary.
It not only raised many questions but also brought chaos along with it. If the signs given by the celestial bodies are to be believed, then something, something powerful was slowly stirring and gathering strength.
If nothing is done, the world would be in great danger. She needs to find the possessors of the Great Virtues before disaster strikes.
"We still need to find Fragments of Justice and Courage" Especially Justice which is said to be the strongest virtue rivalling that of Pride and Wrath.
Itherion nodded his head "The Strongest Fragment of Virtue is capable of great things. The possessor could be humanity''s greatest savior. I shall aid you in any way possible"¡
"Thank you Itherion, you are a great help as always"¡
"By the way, do you have any leads? Did the Eternal Watcher and the All Knowing say anything about the other Fragments?"
At Itherion''s question, Verdia''s expression turned a little grim. Her eyes which turned golden nced at the western skies before confusion dawned on them.
She replied "The old masters aren''t saying anything yet. They seem to believe that nothing can disrupt the current peace and humanity dominance"¡
"Is that so?" Itherion frowned, he found it weird that the two weren''t making their moves when even he could sense that a great change was about toe.
Being masters who have reached the pinnacle of power and influence, they should be the ones to lead everyone at times like these. However, strangely enough, there are no sins of them making their moves.
"Strange¡ The Eternal Watcher, especially, is not one to turn a blind eye to subtle shifts. And the All-Knowing? It''s unlike him to sit idle when threads of fate begin to tangle. In the past, even a hint of unrest would have brought the two out of their sanctum"
Chapter 952- The Man Named Itherion (6)
Chapter 952- The Man Named Itherion (6)
"And yet now¡ their silence is almost deafening. They spoke as though the winds of change are merely a passing breeze, not a storm."
The two have lived through countless ages. They must sense what he sensed... So why? What are they waiting for?
Are they testing the people of this era? Or perhaps... they know something that others don''t?
"Whatever their reasons, it seems they are reluctant to act until something more concrete happens. For now, it falls to us to stay vignt"
Verdia exhaled, a hint of frustration threading her voice.
A heavy silence hovered in the room for a moment before it was broken by Itherion "At the least his Emminence, the Seraphim of Honor is busy".
The end of his words waed with a sardonic edge indicating that he was being sarcastic. Additionally, there was also an unmistakable flicker of annoyance in his eyes.
Verdia gave him a small, helpless smile, already ustomed to Itherion''s frustrations over her colleague''s antics.
"Please excuse his actions, Although he is a Seraphim, he''s overly concerned with worldly affairs. Sometimes¡ far too much. He has difficulty seeing the big picture¡ªor the ripples that his actions create. I imagine it causes trouble for more people than just you."
She shook her head softly, her expression somewhere between fond exasperation and reluctant eptance.
Itherion exhaled slowly, running a hand through his silver-streaked hair. "Trouble is an understatement. That man has been giving me headaches for centuries now."
"His recent movements certainly have been... ambitious, to say the least," Verdia chuckled.
There was no one in the Central Continent who didn''t know about the Emyrean Empire and the Seraphim of Honor that was leading it. The rate at which it was growing with each passing day, subjugating every neighbouring kingdom with frightening efficiency was astonishing to say no less.
At a rough count, there are tens of thousands of empires and kingdoms on the maind, and out of that, the number of nations that the Empyrean Empire has subjugated till now would cross a thousand, if not hundreds.
It''s only a matter of time before the empire consolidates its power and sets its sights on the Srion Empire.
"Oh, I know," Itherion spoke clocking his tongue. This was the first time he showed such rough behaviour.
"His banners are flying ufortably close to my borders. It''s clear that he''s eyeing the Srion Empire, though he''s taking his time for now. The way he''s moving rankers and angels into position, it''s only a matter of time before he starts poking around here too. Whether I like it or not, the man''s ambition doesn''t seem to have any limits."
"The Empyrean Empire..." Verdia murmured thoughtfully.
"It has be a formidable force¡ªhousing countless rankers, blessed warriors, and even angels willing to align themselves with him"
"His expansion might have been swift, but his focus on conquest leaves much to be desired in other areas. A leader must guide his people, not merely subdue others. He ys politics like a tyrant rather than a guardian. It''s hard to believe someone with the rank of a Seraphim could be so¡ª"
He cut himself off, but Verdia knew the word lingering on the tip of his tongue: immature. She gave him a knowing nce.
"I suppose that''s a fault of his ego," she said softly. "And even one as powerful as he is not immune to it."
Itherion gave a wry smile "Ego. Yes, the man''s pride is the root of most of our problems. He once even..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "Never mind. Let''s just say he''s crossed several lines before¡ªlines even I thought sacred." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Verdia''s expression darkened "I just wish he acted more maturely. He has such potential¡ªif only he could step out of his own shadow and truly embody the virtue he represents."
"Agreed, But I will admit¡ For all his excesses and shortsightedness, his recent actions have been unexpectedly helpful."
"Oh?" She arched a brow.
Itherion exined with a rare smile "The Seraphim of Honor''s aggressive campaigns may have caused plenty of headaches, but they''ve also flushed out a few unwanted pests. The Cerberus Association, for instance¡ªthose wretched worms that have gued us for generations¡ªwere rooted out of several strongholds across the maind thanks to his movements"
"Theirboratories, hiddenworks, and deep-rooted influence were finally unearthed. Thanks to him, we were able to save tens of thousands of lives and finally get a clue to their headquarters".
"The Cerberus huh¡ It''s hard to believe they could stay hidden for so long. The fact that even you have a hard time locating them, must mean that they have¡"
"Yeah, some powerful being or group is supporting them" Itherionpleted the sentence for Verdia.
"Cerberus is an inhumane organization whose existence cannot¡ªmust not¡ªbe tolerated. They need to bepletely destroyed before they can spread their influence any further. I can''t believe I''m saying this, but thanks to the possessor of the Fragment of Honor, we were able to effectively sweep them off the continent"
"A parasite that burrows into the heart of society¡ For years we tried subtlety to remove them, hoping we could tear them out at the roots. But it was brute force¡ªreckless and unforgiving¡ªthat finally gave us the edge we needed."
The Adventurer''s Association has faced its fair share of enemies over the millennia¡ªcriminal syndicates, drug cartels, and rival factions, to name a few.
Most of those groups caused nothing more than a nuisance. Each time they tried to rise, the association crushed them underfoot before they became a real threat. And yet... despite their vignce, Cerberus was different.
Their rise was unlike anything the association encountered. Other organizations crumbled under pressure¡ªeither fromck of resources, infighting, or a misstep in the open. But Cerberus? No matter what they threw at them, they only grew stronger.
What''s more unsettling is that they''ve only been around for a few hundred years. Barely a couple hundred years, and yet their influence runs deeper than many ancient kingdoms and powers.
Chapter 953- Seventh Trial
Chapter 953- Seventh Trial
When they first surfaced, even the association struggled to repel them. The Adventurer''s Association, with thousands of years of experience and countless rankers at its disposal, was shaken to its core.
And it wasn''t just their methods¡ªthough those were extreme and ruthless enough to unnerve even veteran agents. No... What truly made them dangerous were the warriors they fielded.
Their fighters and agents... they weren''t ordinary warriors. The skills they demonstrated weren''t just refined¡ªthey were unnatural. Techniques unlike anything found in the conventional world.
It was as though they were wielding abilities not of this world.
Although an unknown at that time, it waster revealed that the powers of the warriors of Cerberus came from the modification their bodies had gone through. They experimented on their own people twisting them into something more¡ªor less¡ªthan human.
Itherion spoke with a grim frustration "No matter how many operations we ran against them, they never seemed to falter. Cells we thought destroyed would resurface monthster, fully operational and more dangerous than before. It was like fighting an enemy that couldn''t die"
"Their roots were so deeply embedded that they touched nearly every corner of society¡ªnobility, merchant houses, even temples. They spread their influence quietly and efficiently, infecting everything they came into contact with."
Verdia exhaled slowly, she knew what kind of a headache inducing existence Cerberus was. She asked "Is this why Bell and the other top rankers are missing from the Tower of Babel?"
"Your Holiness has seen right. Bell and the others have indeed gone out. We recently acquired a clue from one of our informants about the location of Cerberus''s hideout. If things proceed as nned we might be able to find out where their real headquarters is this time"
"As such, given the severity and danger level of the mission, I can only assign rankera above rank 50. Since the others are busy with other missions, it was up to Bell and the others"
Itherion answered. His expression quickly turned happy and his eyes showed the appreciation he held whenever he talked about Bell and the other Top rankers.
Understanding his emotions very well, Verdia gave a small nod "Bell, Chloe, Glenn Jaegar, Sylphie, Dorne¡" She mused "The tower''s finest. If they''re all deployed on this mission, then the stakes must be higher than I imagined."
"Yes, this time we n to shut one of Cerberus''s outlets down for good. As such, we cannot worry about reserving our strength".
Verdia sighed, her gaze softening as she thought of Bell and the others.
"They are the future of humanity. Each and every one of them possesses something extraordinary¡ªwhether it be their temperament, aptitude, or sheer nature. There is no other like them among all of humanity."
Her voice carried a wistful tone, and she leaned back slightly in her chair "If circumstances were different... I would have taken them into my Pantheon. They would have made fine additions, ones that could shine like stars among heroes. But..."
She trailed off with a trace of regret, "¡due to the special nature of their bodies and the way my Pantheon''s inheritance flows, I cannot take them. It would sh too violently with their nature."
"Your Holiness underestimates them" Itherion chuckled softly at her words, shaking his head. "Blessings or no, Bell and the others will forge their own path. I''ve trained them myself, after all. Their talent is unparalleled, and their will is resolute. Even without divine gifts, they''ll grow beyond anyone''s expectations."
His eyes gleamed with quiet pride as he added, "They''ll find their own way to reach heights no one has ever imagined before. And that is a path that belongs to humanity alone."
At his words, Verdia gave a small warm smile showing that she too agreed with him and believed in their potential.
At the talks of Bell and the others, the atmosphere became quite vibrant. However, just like all things in this world, this lively atmosphere didn''tst long and dimmed when the conversation shifted to another topic.
"By the way, has her Holiness heard? There are rumours going on that one of the three primordial demon lords, the demon Lord of lust is holding a Tea Party?".
Verdia nodded her gaze growing distant. "Yes, I heard that too. That woman is holding another tea party tea era. Considering how disastrous thest one was, I didn''t want to deal with another one if possible". N?v(el)B\\jnn
Itherion added with a bitter smile "We''re still dealing with the aftereffects from herst Tea Party. Half of the central continent was affected by her ''gathering.'' It''s been a nightmare trying to clean up the mess."
The whims of a demon lord might just be time pass for long living beings like them but to humans, it was nothing short of catastrophe, one like a natural disaster but on a global scale.
Unfortunately, their Adventurer''s Association was too short-handed to intervene right now. With Bell and the others deployed, and so many of their forces scattered across missions¡ they don''t have the manpower to keep watch on the event, let alone stop it if something goes wrong.
"That ''Woman'' she really knows how to stir things up" Verdia bit her lips, for the first time since the beginning one could see herposure breaking.
.
.
In the War-Torn Fields of the Crimson Expanse. The ground trembled beneath the thundering of synchronized boots. A row of soldiers stood at rigid attention, their breaths misting in the cold, smoke-scented air.
Shields rested against their thighs, swords and axes glimmering dully in the dim, amber-tinged twilight. Above them, the sky was a bruised canvas of ash and smoke, streaked with blood-red light.
The asional re of distant explosions painted the clouds with eerie bursts of fire and shrapnel. The smell of iron and dirt hung heavy in the air, intermingled with the acrid scent of burnt wood and charred leather.
Clearly, this was in the middle of a warfront where even the sun was hidden by the rising dirt clouds.
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Chapter 954- Seventh Trial (2)
Chapter 954- Seventh Trial (2)
Amidst this chaos stood a figure, towering over the rest, a presence that demanded respect without having to ask. His armor was a patchwork of scars and dents, each one telling stories of battles survived, and wars endured.
Across his shoulder was slung a massive longsword, its de nicked from overuse, but no less menacing for it. This was Knight-Marshall Dravik Kaldor or otherwise also known as ''Ironjaw''.
His voice was like thunder, deep and heavy and vulgar words flowed out of his mouth like water thus giving him his nickname.
"Listen up, you pack of soft-limbed greenhorns! I don''t care if your daddy was some two-bit lord or a bloody pig farmer!"
His voice roared across the training grounds like andslide crashing down a mountain. The soldiers snapped to attention, their spines stiffening under the weight of his gaze.
"Out here, you''re all just one damn thing¡ªmeat that hasn''t been cooked yet! And it''s my job to make sure the enemy don''t turn you into a meal."
He stalked down the line of soldiers, inspecting each one like a butcher selecting cattle for ughter. Whenever he found one unsatisfactory, a barrage of insults would fly towards them.
The man''s eyes gleamed with the kind of intensity that only came from a lifetime spent on the battlefield.
"Look at you lot," Dravik snarled, a sneer curling his lip. "Bunch of rabbits thinking you''re wolves! You think the enemy''s gonna give you a kiss on the cheek and send you home to mama? HAH! Not bloody likely!"
Suddenly when he was passing through a row of soldiers, He stopped abruptly and mmed his gauntleted fist into the side of a shield, making the soldier holding it stumble back a step.
"This? This is your bed. Your lover. Your gods-damned life now! You keep it close, you feed it with your sweat, and maybe, just maybe, it''ll keep you breathing one more day."
Right after that, he spun on his heel and red at the rest of the soldiers.
"Now, here''s what you''re gonna do for me today,dies and gentlemen!" His words dripped with sarcasm and challenge.
"You''re gonna give me one thousand horizontal swings, One thousand vertical swings and one thousand cross swings. Repeat each of the sets three times. That''s right, three times".
Hearing his unreasonablemand, some of the soldiers groaned but Dravik didn''t have any of it.
"Did I hearining? Who the hell said you could whine, huh? You have to ask for my permission to even utter a peep here. In the first ce, do I look like I give a shit?"
"The only thing that matters is that sword in your hand and whether you can use it when the bastardse knocking at your door. Now stop crying and start swinging! SWING, DAMMIT!"
At Dravik''s roar, the already cowered soldiers started swinging their swords. The ng of steel meeting air filled the training grounds as the soldiers began their drills, gritting their teeth with every motion.
Swords sliced through the air with relentless passion, shields braced at their sides. The repetitive sound of a thousand swings began to build into a rhythm¡ªa dull symphony of metal, sweat, and effort.
"ONE!" Dravik bellowed, stomping through the rows, checking form, ring down anyone who faltered.
"TWO! Put your backs into it, you maggots! Do you think this is a tea party? Swing like your life depends on it¡ªbecause one day it will!"
The soldiers grunted with exertion, muscles already burning from the intensity of the drill, but none dared to stop. Meanwhile, Dravik continued to hurl out abuses.
"Swing faster you pipsqueaks!!"¡
"What''s the matter, huh? Forgot to drink your mama''s milk this morning? Or do you want me to fetch a teat for you?"¡ n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"You call that a strike?! My grandmother could hit harder, and she''s been dead for twenty years!"¡
"Put some muscle into it, you sad sacks of pig shit! You''re swinging that sword like it''s a broomstick! If the enemy saw you now, they''dugh their asses off!"¡
"I swear to the gods, I''ve seen drunk tavern brawlers with better form! You lot better shape up or I''ll have you scrubbingtrines until you dream of shit-stained buckets!".
After what felt like an eternity, the soldierspleted their thousand swings. Their limbs trembled, their breath came in desperate gasps, and they flopped onto the dirt like marites with their strings cut.
Somey t on their backs, staring at the bleak sky, while others doubled over, coughing and wiping sweat from their brows.
Dravik watched them copse with a half-satisfied grunt. Then, with a sly smile, he turned on his heel and strode away from the field, his armor clinking softly with every step.
Dravik entered his personal tent. Inside, the air was warmer, with a faint musky scent lingering around.
A brazier glowed softly in the corner lighting the ce. Seated at a wooden table, going over maps and reports, was General Rothgard, another high-ranking official in the military.
When he heard the sound of iing footstpes, Rothgard raised an eyebrow and gave a half-smirk.
"So? How are they? Are these fresh recruits any good?"
Tossing his sword onto a rack, Dravik spoke bluntly "What can you expect from serfs and peasants? Strength they''ve got, but finesse? Discipline? Strategy?"
He shook his head and scoffed "Not a damned bit of it."
He poured himself a cup of stale tea from the kettle and continued "They''re tough¡ªI''ll give them that. A lifetime of tilling fields or hauling carts makes strong backs. But they''re no soldiers. Hell, half of them couldn''t tell you the difference between a longsword and a plough handle."¡
"Hmm," Rothgard pressed his temples, his body leaning forward towards the map on the table, eyes grim.
"The fight ahead won''t be easy".
Dravik closed his eyes briefly, the tea tasted like ash on his tongue and the heat from the brazier suddenly felt suffocating.
Outside, the low rumble of the earth was a grim reminder of whaty ahead¡ªthe ck Army of Vael''Zoth, an unholy tide that blotted out the horizon like a gigantic ck cloud.
Chapter 955- Seventh Trial (3)
Chapter 955- Seventh Trial (3)
Reports described their march as an endless, suffocating swarm¡ªsoldiers in jagged ck armor stained with ichor, twisted beasts dragging along war engines asrge as castles, and demons whose forms defied nature, slithering, crawling, and flying in unnatural movements.
Their advance was like a relentless flood, armor ttering and monstrous roars resonating like thunder. Their footsteps shook thend like a drum beating growing louder and louder, each beat as if heralding their obliteration.
Dravik and Rothgard were both clear of one thing, this was not a fight, but a one sided ughter. Whether it be number or level of their soldier they werepletely outmatched.
This was nothing short of marching towards their death. These serfs and peasants turned into soldiers would not evenst long and will be trampled underneath and eaten alive by even the lowest ranking monsters.
In front of an army that even veteran and elite soldiers would find themselves cold feet and backing down against, how in the hell are they supposed to hold the enemy down until help arrives?
That said, this was a matter of their survival, backing down was not an option. Even if the order was no different than suicide, even if it meant scarping for a single second by piling bodies, they had to keep marching.
Dravik knew his mission very well; however, just that when he nced at the exhausted soldiers, lying down in the middle of the field, he could not help but wonder if this was truly the right choice and if there was no other way.
All of these people had families and loved ones who were waiting for them. Sending them to their deaths was something that even he a battle hardened warrior felt regret for.
Seeing him make that kind of expression, Rothgard spoke with a grim voice.
"If we don''t make a stand here¡ªif we don''t dy them long enough for the realm''s knights and heroes to arrive¡ªthere''s no hope left. The capital will fall within days, and then¡ it''s over. You should know that"¡
Dravik chuckled bitterly sipping down his tea in one gulp.
"I Dravik am loyal to Her Majesty and will follow her orders till myst breath, you should already know that. What I wanted to remind you is that we already lost most of our best men to that cursed horde. You should not expect much from these farmers" He gestured vaguely toward the training ground outside the tent.
"I''ve done my damned best with them, but they''re stillckingcking in skill,cking in levels,cking in numbers. You can''t train a soldier in a week. Once the monsters hit us, they''ll be swallowed whole within minutes."
Rothgard leaned heavily on his chair with an exhausted look on his face.
"There''s nothing to be done. We had no choice. Most of our elite warriors are fighting the Legions of the Demon Lord of Greed on the western front. If we don''t hold him off there, his alliance will push straight into the heart of our kingdom. And if that happens¡ªwell, you might as well start writing your will."
"So in the end there is no other way, it''s all on us to stop this horde, huh?"
Dravik grunted, suddenly he paused for a moment thinking about something before asking "What about the Angel of Principality and Dominion? Can we get any assistance from Valha''s armies?"
"Unlikely" Rothgard shook his head "The angels of Dominions and Principality from Three Star scripture are locked in battle with Greed''s forces and his damned Sea Tribes. That winged lot wouldn''t lift a finger if their feathers are too ruffled, especially not while they''re knee-deep in another war."
"As for the north..." Rothgard''s expression darkened further. "The Three ancient Demon Archdukes¡ªZantheros the gue-Caller, Khaveth the Iron Maw and another mysterious ancient archduke¡ªare leading their own invasion with millions of monsters and numerous Demon Dukes from there. No one''s heard from our northern legions in weeks. If those two beasts get a foothold, we''re finished."
"And the east..." He trailed off, his expression bleak. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Already gone" Dravik finished the thought for him.
"Vael''Zoth''s forces swept through the eastern provinces like wildfire. What''s left of the survivors are either refugees¡ or corpses."¡ The room fell into a heavy silence, the weight of reality pressing down on both men.
Rothgard''s voice was grim when he spoke again. "No matter how we look at it¡ªif we don''t hold the line here, if we let the ck Army push through¡ªit''s game over"¡
"I understand, I will ry the orders. They''ll fight because they have no other choice. But if you''re expecting knight-level precision from a bunch of farmhands, you''re setting yourself up for disappointment. Still¡ they''ve got heart. Sometimes, the heart is all you need to survive."
Rothgard gave a slow nod at Dravik''s reply "Knight level precision huh. That reminds me, how are the mercenaries we hired? Although I didn''t pay much attention, there seems to be one or two who stand out from the crowd. Especially that guy with crimson eyes. What was his name again? Ce¡"¡
"Simon," Dravik didn''t need a moment to think¡ªhe knew exactly who Rothgard meant.
"That guy... he''s in a league of his own. Head and shoulders above the others. His swordsmanship is not just refined¡ªit''s masterful, surpassing even seasoned knights. The first time I watched him fight, I was stunned. His swings... there''s a precision, but also a ferocity, that makes you stare in awe."
Rothgard raised an eyebrow in surprise. For Dravik, who was notoriously famous for being harsh in his judgments, to praise someone was very rare.
"That good, huh?"
"Good doesn''t even describe it. I''ve seen knights train all my life, but that guy¡ his technique is refined, razor-sharp. There''s no wasted movement, no hesitation. Every swing feels like it''s meant to end something. it''s like watching a predator, tearing through his enemies"
"He fights with a bloodlust you only see in someone who''s seen a lifetime of battles... and survived them all. If I had topare, his skill would be well beyond a knight captain, bordering on the strength of a Grand Knight."
Chapter 956- Seventh Trial (4)
Chapter 956- Seventh Trial (4)
Thatst statement made Rothgard''s eyes widen. A holy knight was no smallparison¡ªthose were warriors blessed by destiny and reached a realm that could change the tides of war.
"A holy knight, huh?" he repeated softly, "If he''s that skilled, why have we never heard of him?" this question appeared in his mind.
It wasmon during the war for certain individuals who had performed excellently and who stood out among the rest, to spread like wildfire.
Soldiers discussed these legends during their meals taking them as idols or goals. However, he had never heard of the mercenary named Simon before. If his strength was reallyparable to that of a holy knight, then his name should have been very famous.
"He ims to hail from the demi-human continent" Dravik answered shaking his head.
Just as the two were discussing that, the sounds of footsteps approached near before a voice came knocking in. Both men exchanged nces... "Speak of the devil".
At that moment, the entrance to the tent was swung open and a tall man possibly crossing 2 meters, stepped in. He had crimson eyes that gazed at his surroundings sharply, long ck hair that was neatly tied back, fair skin and features that would make him the prince charming of every woman''s dream.
That said, one should not make the mistake of taking him for another pretty boy as the aura he carried with him, possessed the weight of countless battles.
His presence alone was so strong that the air thickened simply by his arrival. Rothgard''s eyes immediately locked onto the mercenary''s eyes.
There was something unsettling about the way those eyes seemed to glow faintly under the torchlight, a feral intensity that hinted at more than just mere skill¡ªit was the gaze of someone who was not looking at the present moment but peering into something far beyond in the future. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"You summoned me?" The mercenary asked.
"Yes, we were just talking about you" saying that, Dravik inclined his head toward the seat, silently inviting the mercenary to sit.
Thetter epted without a word and sat unhurriedly.
"You''ve had time to observe the soldiers we''re working with. So what''s your take?" once seated, Dravik asked.
"There''s nothing to think about. With this lineup, there''s no way we can stop the enemy army."
The mercenary didn''t hesitate, his words were brutally honest, devoid of tact or embellishment. Dravik gave a slow nod as if the mercenary had only voiced what he himself already knew.
"Pushing these men into battle would be the act of a desperate leader. A smart one would look for another way."
Rothgard''s brow arched slightly "What are you saying, Dravik? I thought we had already settled on a strategy."
"General, hear me out, A few days ago, Simon came to me with a strategy. At first, I dismissed it¡ªthought it was just a madman''s dream. But now, seeing that endless swarm gathering on the horizon... I can''t help but wonder if that dream could be turned into reality."
Rothgard turned his gaze back toward the mercenary, intrigued. What sort of strategy did this guy tell for even Dravik to dismiss it as farfetched? The mercenary named Simon gave a curt nod and began exining.
"The enemy is massing their forces directly in front of us, expecting us to meet them head-on. If we follow their script, it will be a massacre¡ªour soldiers are too few and too scattered to withstand the assault. But... we won''t give them the fight they''re expecting."
He paused for a moment, letting the idea take root in their minds. "We move eastward, toward Mount Gorgor."
Rothgard frowned. "Mount Gorgor? That fortress has been abandoned for decades. It''s crumbling."
"True, but it still sits in a narrow mountain pass, surrounded by cliffs. The terrain there will do what our soldiers cannot¡ªchoke the enemy''s advance. We don''t need to outfight them. We need to outmaneuver them."
The mercenary leaned back slightly, a faint smirk crawled on his lips giving him a very devilish look.
"We''ll split our forces into two groups. One will move east under the cover of night, securing Mount Gorgor and fortifying what remains of it. Meanwhile, the second group will remain here, creating the illusion that we are preparing to meet them head-on."
"A decoy force," Rothgard murmured, his eyes narrowing in thought. "To draw the enemy in."
"Exactly," Simon confirmed. "Once the enemy fullymits to the main assault here, the first group willunch a surprise ambush from the east, blocking the pass behind them. The cliffs will trap the bulk of their forces between two fronts¡ªour soldiers at the fortress and the decoy force pressing from behind. With nowhere to retreat, they''ll be sandwiched between two sides"¡
Rothgard stroked his chin thoughtfully, running through the n in his mind.
"But moving sideways, toward the fortress, leaves us exposed. How do you ensure the enemy won''t detect your manoeuvre?"
"We stagger the movements, breaking into smaller units that travel through lesser-known paths in the forested hills to the east. Each unit moves at a different time, reassembling at Mount Gorgor just before dawn. It''ll take coordination and discipline, but it will keep us off the enemy''s radar."
"Even if you say that, the enemy will still realise what we''re doing?"
"By the time they notice, it will be toote. If they try to pursue us into the mountains, they''ll lose their formation in the narrow paths, making them easy prey for ambushes. The terrain will fight for us."
Rothgard fell silent, it was no wonder that Dravik dismissed the idea as a farfetched dream because it was. The mercenary''s n was too risky and full of ws and factors that need to align for it to work.
"It''s risky," Dravik hummed from the side "but it''s far better than sending these men to their deaths in a direct confrontation."
Simon nodded his head agreeing with the knightmander "War is always a gamble. But this way, the odds are stacked in our favor. At the very least we can stall for time and wait for help to arrive".
Chapter 957- Duke Vordanaz
Chapter 957- Duke Vordanaz
Rothgard sat back in his chair, mulling over the n. It was bold¡ªdangerously so. No sane person would think about adopting such a tactic especially when it ran the risk of getting half of the army obliterated in one go.
But it was also brilliant. A typical general would never dream of abandoning a fortified position to race toward an abandoned ruin. And that, Rothgard realized, was precisely why it could work.
He now understood why Dravik summoned the mercenary in here and wanted him to hear the strategy.
"Very well," Rothgard said slowly, nodding "We''ll discuss your n further. For now, step outside. We''ll call you back shortly."
Without protest, Simon rose from his seat and left the tent. As the heavy p fell behind him, he exhaled a quiet sigh, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly.
He had been posing as a human mercenary using the Trinket of Grimlock. Thankfully no one was able to find out his true identity. However, this wasn''t the reason why he was so conflicted. His crimson eyes flicked upward to the quest board hanging ominously in front of him, as if mocking his efforts.
????????????? ?????? ???????????????. Written across the board were several quests¡ªsome crossed out, others looming over him like unfinished business:
¡ªIncrease your reputation among the Alliance... (Completed)
¡ªJoin the Mercenaries... (Completed) ¡ªScout the Gorgor Mountains... (Completed)
¡ªGain favorable standing with Dravik... (Completed) ¡ªStop the southern alliance from being obliterated... (Ongoing) Only thest quest remained unchecked. Every sub-quest, difficult as they were, had served as steps leading toward the overarching goal.
That said, as easy as they sounded, the one toplete them, Simon understood how daunting of a task each of these was.
Every time he looked at these objectives, he couldn''t help but grit his teeth. Especially at thest of the objectives of this sub quest.
Prevent the obliteration of the southern alliance at the hands of the Demon Lord of Envy.
"How the hell am I supposed to do that?"
Simon clicked his tongue, frustration creeping in as he stared at the questboard. Stopping the Demon Lord''s army with the ragtag force of peasants and mercenaries currently with him felt like trying to fight giants with toothpicks.
The difference in strength was overwhelming¡ªlike standing against a tidal wave armed with nothing but sandbags. No weapons, no armor, no chance. No hope.
His gaze drifted back toward the horizon, where the Demon Lord''s army marched relentlessly toward them, blotting out both thend and sky like an endless ck tide.
Although there was a considerable distance between here and that ce, the sheer scale of the enemy force sent chills crawling down his spine. The columns stretched so far that he couldn''t see where they began or ended.
Thendscape itself seemed swallowed whole by the approaching legion, and the oppressive sense of inevitability hit him like a fist in the gut. This was a stark reminder to everyone how powerful and incredible the Demon Lord of Envy and his army was.
He was no minor threat, but a colossal powerhouse capable of changing the fate of a continent.
Compared to this, the shows of power Simon had witnessed from the current possessor of the Fragments of Envy, the Demon Lord at Hexennacht felt quaint¡ªlike a child unting his toys.
There was noparison between the previous Demon Lord of Envy and the current one. And the worst part? This was only one of many obstacles standing in his way.
His head throbbed as he recalled the final, most impossible quest written at the top of the board:
¡ª?????? ???????? ??????????. ???????? ???????????????? ?????? ?????? ???????????????? ???? ???????????????? ???????? ?????????????? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ???? ????????.
That was the main quest. The real mission. The one that made his stomach churn every time he thought about it.
Seriously, How the hell was he supposed to clear such a quest? It was not like the previous trails were easy, they were dangerously hard, impossibly even and there was even a risk of losing one''s life.
However, it was still somehow manageable and under his power level. But this, the seventh trial, surpassed all of it and was in a league of its own.
This was impossible, this was simply ying with his intentions.
Stopping the southern alliance from getting obliterated was hard enough as it is¡ªbut after that, he also had to prevent two legendary figures of this era, Itherion and the Seraphim of Humility, from ying the Demon Lord of Envy?
Let''s be clear on one thing, the characters mentioned here weren''t just any run of the mill character. They were mythic figures whose deeds were etched into the very fabric of history.
The idea of standing in their way was madness¡ªwhoever designed this trial had to be insane. Simon''s jaw clenched as frustration boiled within him. N?v(el)B\\jnn
What sick game is this? Whoever or whatever had ced him in this cursed scenario had left no room for retreat.
There was no option to back out. He was stuck in a historical event so ancient that even the mostprehensive records barely mentioned it. And yet, somehow, here he was¡ªforced to live it.
Two weeks. It had been two gruelling weeks since he had arrived in this ce and received the quest chain.
In that time, Simon had slowlye to understand the terrible truth of his situation: the events unfolding around him were not just random happenings.
This was history¡ªa forgotten piece at that¡ªan event buried so deep in the past that only a few historical records remained in the present timeline. As he pieced together the clues, and thanks to his [Memories of the World], a chilling realization dawned on him.
This wasn''t just any skirmish or historical event. No, what he had stumbled into was far bigger than anything he had imagined.
The events unfolding before him were a part of the Second Apex War.
Simon leaned against a nearby bark of a tree, his eyes still looking at the hovering questboard, his breath heavy. The realisation of the weight of the event he was caught in weighed heavily on his shoulders like a gigantic mountain.
Chapter 958- Duke Vordanaz (2)
Chapter 958- Duke Vordanaz (2)
The Second Apex War¡ªone of the most cataclysmic events to ever scar the world¡ªwas unfolding right in front of his eyes. A war so devastating that its very existence was nearly erased from history, leaving behind only whispers in ancient texts.
And here he was, expected to navigate through it, survive it, and somehow rewrite the course of fate.
He let out a bitterugh under his breath. Yeah, no pressure. Yet, despite the enormity of the task, he knew he had to go through it. The only path was forward, through blood and fire. The only question that remained was how.
Thankfully, scouting the Gorgor Mountains had yielded one potential solution: the abandoned fortress perched on the mountain pass.
The ruins were ancient, yes, but defensible. If used correctly, they could serve as the foothold needed to slow the Demon Lord''s forces.
It wasn''t much. Hell, it might not even work. But it was the only chance he had. A chance to buy time. And in this trial, time was everything.
"They are taking quite a while" Simon muttered.
In this subquest, the hardest part was convincing Rothgard and Dravik tomit to the n. Moving the entire army eastward¡ªsideways across the battlefield¡ªwas not a decision leaders made lightly.
Soldiers needed rity and structure, and moving in an unexpected direction could easily lead to confusion, desertion, or worse. But if they followed the conventional way and moved the way they did in the historia, they would be doomed.
If Rothgard followed the standard approach that is meeting the Demon Lord''s army in open battle¡ªthey were all as good as dead.
Just as Simon was agonising over the difficulty of the trial, a voice came from inside the tent and he was called in.
.
.
Inside, Rothgard and Dravik sat at the table, their expressions grim but determined. It was clear from their demeanor that the discussion had been long and serious.
Rothgard steepled his fingers as Simon took his seat again, "We''ve considered your strategy, Taking the fortress at Mount Gorgor is our best chance to halt the advance of the Demon Lord''s army."
"But," Dravik added with a heavy tone, "for this to work, we''ll need to move the bulk of the army without the enemy noticing. If they catch wind of the maneuver... it''s over."
"The problem is, moving an army of this size¡ªeven in the dead of night¡ªwon''t go unnoticed. Their scouts are everywhere. A force thisrge leaves tracks, churns the ground, and makes noise even if we split them into smaller units."
Simon nodded. It was not like he didn''t anticipate this obstacle.
Arge army''s movements were like waves across ake¡ªimpossible to conceal. To ovee this, they would need¡
"A decoy" Rothgard continued. "We''ll need a smaller force to stay behind and give the illusion that we intend to fight here¡ªhead-on. A distraction to keep the enemy''s scouts focused in the wrong direction."
As he had thought, things came down to this after all.
After finishing his piece, Rothgard and Dravik both looked at him. Althgouh they didn''t make it obvious, it was clear from their gaze what they intended to say next.
Dravik sighed, feeling a little conflicted he said-
"Not only it is a very important role, but it is the most dangerous. The decoy will have to engage the enemy first. They''ll have to hold their position long enough to convince the enemy that this is our main force. If they fail..."
He didn''t need to finish the sentence¡ªif the decoy broke too soon, the entire operation would fall apart, and the army retreating toward the fortress would be exposed mid-movement.
"Normally, it should have been me taking on that role. However, I cannot leave those greenhorn on their own. As such, it would have to be either¡"
Simon''s crimson eyes flicked for a moment. He could already see where this was heading.
"I''ll do it" he spoke epting his role. Since the moment he came up with this strategy he knew that he would had to be the bait.
As such, it came as no surprise to him that the two of them wanted him to be the decoy.
Rothgard arched his eyebrow, surprised by how quickly the mercenary epted the role. He was prepared to step in if needed but it seemed like it was not needed.
Dravik, on the other hand gave a small, approving nod¡ªhe had some understanding of the mercenary named Simon and knew that the other party would ept the role given the stakes.
"Here is the n we have formted. you''ll form the decoy from the mercenaries and light infantry, a force small enough to move quickly, butrge enough to look convincing.
"You''ll need to stage skirmishes along the way to draw attention¡ªharass the enemy scouts, make them believe the main army is here."
"You are asking a lot given the level of the soldiers here but¡ I''ll do my best"
Rather, he had to do his best if he wanted toplete this ridiculous quest.
"So How long do we need to hold them for?" Simon questioned looking up from the map.
"Until dawn, That''s when the bulk of our forces will reach Mount Gorgor and begin fortifying the fortress. If the enemy realizes we''ve moved before then, we''ll be overrun."
It was a in answer but one that was given after much thought and deliberation. Rothgard''s face looked grave when he said that. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Can you do it? Can youst that long?"
Whether he can do it or not, there was no reason to een judge it. He must simply do it.
"Understood," Simon said. His voice was calm, as though he were discussing the weather. But the truth was, he knew exactly what this mission entailed¡ªsuicide.
But someone had to buy time for therger force to reach the fortress. If Simon didn''t do it, the entire southern alliance would copse under the weight of the Demon Lord''s horde.
"Then it''s settled," Rothgard said. "We move tonight."
Chapter 959- Duke Vordanaz (3)
Chapter 959- Duke Vordanaz (3)
The moon was a thin, pale sliver in the sky as the two forces began to split. The soldiers moved quietly, speaking in hushed whispers and muffling the clinking of armor.
The main force¡ªled by Dravik¡ªbegan their eastward march toward Mount Gorgor under the cover of night. They moved in short groups, each unit slipping through forest paths and shallow valleys to avoid detection.
These people were barely half a soldier, much less a ranger who could traverse these mountains and forests easily. As such, each step they took had to be measured and slow which ate up significant of their time.
Meanwhile, Simon''s decoy force stayed behind, lighting campfires and raising tents to create the illusion that the entire army was preparing to engage the enemy at dawn. As wooden barricades and fake fortifications were being set up, he noticed something.
The mood in the decoy camp was heavy, almost suffocating. The mercenaries left behind¡ªor chosen, more precisely forced¡ªas the decoy looked at Simon with a mixture of fear and resentment.
Some red at him, their eyes filled with bitterness, while others gripped their weapons with white-knuckled hands. A few were already trembling nervously, their spirits shattered before the battle even began.
All of them were ming Simon for their situation after all, they were caught in this mess because their leader chose to volunteer for this absurd role.
When it was first announced that the army would be moving eastward and a decoy force would be left behind to attract the enemy''s attention, everybody realised that the ones who will be behind are the one who have been forsaken and sacrificed for the greater half.
Nobody wanted to be that much less volunteer for it. So when Simon raised his hand for the job, his mercenary team and the soldiers he led were disappointed, horrified even. Morale was at rock bottom.
Simon surveyed them silently. Most of these men knew what wasing¡ªand many believed they would not survive the night. They weren''t entirely wrong.
"We''re already dead... there''s no way we can hold them" One of the mercenaries whispered to the man beside him, his voice cracking.
It was not only him, many had the same thought as this mercenary. Their words spread like poison in the air, choking what little hope or fight they had within them.
Seeing this scene, Simon clicked his tongue in frustration. It''s not like he chose to be the decoy because he wanted to, the trial was forcing his hand. He wanted them to stop ring at him with eyes full of resentment.
"Ahem" he gave a cough before gathering their attention. "What you all are thinking might be right. Yeah, we are going to die tonight."
SILENCE~ as soon as those words left his mouth, The camp fell silent, every face turning toward him. Some looked confused, others angry.
Just as they were about to explode into curses, he continued¡ª
"But not just anyone was chosen to be here. You see, it takes more than ordinary soldiers to be left behind. No, only the strongest of the strongest are given this kind of mission. That''s who you are. Warriors who have been recognized for their strength."
His words hit the men like a ssh of cold water. "Do you think they would leave just anyone behind for a job like this? No. They chose you because they knew you could handle it. Only the most seasoned, the most trustable warriors were left behind for this mission"
"So ask yourself¡ªhow many men out there can say they were chosen to hold the enemy at bay, alone, and live to tell the tale? The ones who fight tonight¡ªright here¡ªare already legends. And legends don''t die easy. So men are you going to fight with me?".
At his roar, the mercenaries and the soldiers began to straighten their bodies, their grips on their weapons firming.
Others exchanged nces, murmuring quietly among themselves. Soon The tension in the air began to shift.
The fear didn''t vanish entirely, but one could definitely feel it losing its grip on these men. Some of them grinned in determination, others chuckled darkly. They roared¡ "Yeah!!!".
With morale steadied, the men got to work. They reinforced the barricades along the camp''s perimeter, piling up wooden stakes and sharpened logs to create obstacles.
Some of the more experienced fighters dug shallow trenches to slow the enemy''s charge. Others made makeshift torches and set them along the path they expected the enemy scouts to take.
The camp started started hustling and bustling. Simon moved among the camp, checking up on the soldiers and offering words of encouragement where they were needed.
Everyone saw him as a dependable leader, wise and strong. However, if they knew what was on his mind, perhaps it wouldn''t take them to change their minds in an instant.
''Thank god these people are idiots. Had they more brains for brawns, I wouldn''t have been able to manipte them so easily. Since I have chosen to act as the decoy, I need them to properly y their part''
Many of them would die or perhaps their entire toon would be annihted. However, there was nothing he could do. He did his best to keep the death toll as low as possible toplete the sub quest.
From this point on, he just had to hope that luck would y out in his favour.
. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
.
The moon hung high above the treetops, casting a pale silver light over the decoy camp. A faint breeze stirred the leaves, and the forest around them remained still and unnervingly quiet.
"It was too quiet" Simon muttered looking at the moons. From its position, he could tell that they were halfway through the night.
In the distance, Rothgard''s main force was likely still marching toward the fortress at Mount Gorgor. Every moment that he and his men bought here was another step closer to securing the alliance''s foothold.
The only thing that mattered now was time. Simon looked up at the moon again, gauging its progress across the sky. Three hours until dawn.
Chapter 960- Duke Vordanaz (4)
Chapter 960- Duke Vordanaz (4)
Just as the camp finished its preparations, Simon felt a subtle shift in the air. His eyes narrowed. A chill slithered down his spine¡ªa feeling that was all too familiar. Something wasing.
''Tch, this is too soon. I can''t let theme too close to the camp''.
"Ring the Bell" Simon hurriedly gave themand.
The men scrambled to obey. They hurriedly got into formation and watched on nervously. The forest remained silent with only the asional breeze rustling the trees.
But Simon could feel it as clearly as the de at his side. There was no mistaking the presence¡ªan enemy was near. Not just any enemy. Something far more dangerous.
"W-what is it? I don''t see anything"¡
"There is no one here?" the mercenaries and soldiers scrambled to grab a hold of themselves. Their inexperience was starting to surface.
Simon didn''t bother exining. They wouldn''t be able to feel it anyway. Some of the experienced fighters might notice something but the majority of the men here were just peasants andmoners who had never held a sword before the war.
With stretched nerves, he looked at his front. The faint breeze that stirred the air suddenly stilled. The torches lining the camp flickered like crazy and for a brief moment, the sky seemed darker¡ªas if the moonlight itself was being swallowed. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
To be able to affect their surrounding with just their presence, it was the appearance of a powerful foe, someone who carried the scent of death like a cloak.
"Keep your weapons ready," Simon ordered sharply, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.
For a moment nothing happened. The forest remained silent, the torches flickering weakly against the oppressive darkness.
The other mercenaries shifted uneasily, ncing around in confusion. It was then, from the shadows, a figure emerged. It was alone¡ªbut the sheer weight of its presence felt like an entire battalion.
Cloaked in dark armor that shimmered faintly under the faint moonlight, the figure moved with slow but heavy steps. A massive sword was stapped on their back, and a dark ck aura like ink in the night sky, radiated from their body suffocating the very air.
The figure had two horns that crowned their head, a pale white body smooth as marble and utterly wless and crimson eyes that stood out even in the darkness of the night.
They radiated an unsettling calm, like a predator that knew it stood at the top of the food chain, untouchable, unchallenged. It wasn''t the gaze of a monster, nor even that of a soldier¡ªit was the gaze of something noble. Something terrifyingly beautiful.
Looking at their appearance, Simon''s heart sank. That outstanding appearance that made one think of a high aristocrat, that inhuman beauty with no warmth and only eerie stillness. It was a kind of elegance that could onlye from immense power, something that they were born with and could not be replicated.
Simon knew, deep in his bones, what this was. That overwhelming aura that seemed to press down on him like a physical weight, that terrifying beauty.
No¡ªit was something far deeper, something that resonated in his very blood. A gulf that cannot be easily crossed, a difference that could not be measured by strength alone.
It was the feeling of being lesser, being outssed on a fundamental level. It wasn''t just power he was facing¡ªit was bloodline.
It was the feeling of being lesser, being outssed on a fundamental level. It wasn''t just power he was facing¡ªit was bloodline.
Simon clenched his teeth, the figure standing against him was no doubt a Demon Noble and no ordinary noble but a Demon Duke at that.
Although the figure made no introductions and carried no banners, Simon had no doubt. A Demon Duke was a being that belonged to the upper echelons of the Demon Lord''s court¡ªa nightmare given flesh, a creature whose mere presence could break the will of armies.
Throughout history, Demon Dukes were whispered of only in terrified reverence. They were beings forged in ages long past, possessing strength that rivalled the most powerful of human kings and holy knights.
Stories said that Demon Dukes couldmand entire legions with a nce, bend reality to their whims, and cleave through armies with a single swing of their des.
They were monuments of despair, each one carrying with them the weight of centuries of conquest and destruction. It was no wonder that the soldiers were frozen in fear the moment theyid their eyes on the figure.
''What do I do?'' Simon''s heart pounded in his chest, but his expression remained cold andposed, masking the storm of thoughts raging beneath.
He didn''t expect a Demon Duke to show out of nowhere. Normally, high-ranking demons like this acted asmanders, seated far behind the enemy lines and the chaos of the battlefield.
They let their armies do the work for them, sending wave after wave of cannon fodder to probe the enemy''s defences. That''s what Simon had in mind when he thought about what kind of a being high ranking demon nobles are and that was what he was counting on.
The horde marching towards them was vast, but manageable as long as it was the low-level foes the high ranking demon sent towards them.
The mission was to buy time but that was now thrown out of the window with the appearance of the Demon Duke. If thetter reached the camp, and realized this was only a decoy force, the entire strategy would copse.
The enemy horde would adjust course immediately, chasing the main army before it could secure the fortress. Everything would fall apart.
''Do I have no choice but to risk it all? No, there is still a chance.
"Listen carefully everyone" Simon roared unleashing his aura.
Thanks to his interference that subverted some of the pressure brought by the Demon Duke, the mercenaries and soldiers who were paralyzed with fear, frozen in ce as they stared at thetter, were snapped out of their stupor.
One by one, they fell to the ground, their faces pale as if death had already imed them.
Chapter 961- Fighting a Demon Duke
Chapter 961- Fighting a Demon Duke
Looking at their pathetic state, Simon didn''t berate them. Besides, this was not the time and ce for that.
STEP¡ he took a step forward nting himself between the mercenaries and the Duke. His crimson eyes narrowed, his voice cutting through the camp like a de and forcing their attention back to him.
"Whatever happens, do not engage him directly. Stay behind the barricades. Shoot from a distance. If thetter gets close¡ªrun. No heroics."
The soldiers looked at him in disbelief, one of them couldn''t help but ask "You''re going to fight it alone?"
Simon gave a grim smile, his eyes never leaving the Duke.
"I''ll handle it. Your job is to survive and keep the illusion of the main camp being here intact. If the enemy figures out we''re stalling them, everyone here¡ªand the entire southern alliance¡ªis finished". N?v(el)B\\jnn
"If you all understand then get up and do your job. We hold the line here. Don''t think¡ªjust follow orders. Every second you stay alive is another second we give Rothgard''s army to reach the fortress."
After saying everything he needed to, he no longer bothered with the soldiers and prepared to face the Demon Duke. With the next step, he was already closing in on the enemy.
Behind him, the mercenaries exchanged uneasy nces, still notpletely out of the grasp of the fear. Neverhtless, they still reluctantly yed their role.
As the Demon Duke moved towards the camp, his steps were slow, deliberate, and entirely unconcerned with the feeble opposition waiting for him. To a being of his station, this was hardly a battle; it was an errand, a task given by his master, the Demon Lord of Envy.
Under any other circumstances, he would have never sullied his hands by marching personally to a human camp. But orders were orders, and he intended to follow them¡ªas effortlessly and as quickly as possible.
Just as he neared the camp, out of nowhere a flicker of movement caught his attention. A figure was rushing toward him from the shadows, sword drawn, eyes zing with a reckless determination that, frankly, amused him.
The Demon Duke stopped, observing the human who dared stand in his path with thinly veiled disdain. This mortal¡ªthis human¡ª whose head had be too big for his britches was in his opinion a moth drawn to a me.
An ignorant being who didn''t know the difference between their strengths.
For a moment, he simply stood there, allowing the man to draw closer, giving him the honor of facing a Demon Duke''s undivided attention.
When the other party was close enough, he put his hands behind his back and spoke in a deep voice that carried an edge ofmand, as if expecting obedience from all who head it.
"You there human, before you proceed any further into an unwinnable fight, allow me to introduce myself. Thought I don''t think someone of your level would be able to recognise my majesty".
"Rejoice, the one you face is the Infernal Duke, Keeper of Ruin, Lord of Shadowed mes, and vanguard of the Demon Lord of Envy''s host, Vordanaz. One of the highest of demonkind and a power far beyond anything you could ever imagine."
The Demon Duke who introduced himself as Vordanaz, spoke in a tone brimming with with mockery and satisfaction.
"Now then, before I kill you, surely you possess a name human? Speak so I might remember the fool who dared cross a path not meant for his kind."
A highly conceited and arrogant foe, since that was the case, Simon believed that he had a chance. He introduced himself.
"Simon, is it? Fitting for a human of no rank, no bloodline, and no hope. A name that will soon be nothing more than dust in the annals of my victories."
A look of condescension appeared on Vordanaz''s face. The next second, he released his aura spreading it like ck smoke on the wind.
The ground cracked, caving in from the pressure and even the air itself grew heavier. The shadows intensified, creeping like ink along the ground and pressing down on the camp with an invisible weight that made it hard to breathe.
Vordanaz watched with satisfaction as Simon''s shoulder tensed. Though the next second he was a little surprised finding that the human refused to bow down even against his pressure.
"Interesting" In truth, the Duke had no intention of engaging with the other party fully, he believed that such effort was beneath his standing. His mere aura alone should be enough to cow lesser beings, to make them falter and reveal their weaknesses.
He thought that would be enough to extract whatever information he desired from this ''Simon''.
"Consider yourself fortunate," Vordanaz continued, his voice sinister. "Normally, I would not waste words on someone like you. But tonight, I''ve been given a task by my master. A small errand, you can say. He sent me here to gauge your numbers, your capabilities, and your weaknesses"
"Usually such a task would be handled by a low ranking demon but the Demon Lord is a cautious one. He sent me here because he believed the humans are up to something. That said, even if this is an order from a Demon Lord, I have no ns of lowering myself to fight a weak human".
"So save us both the trouble, and tell me: what forces do you humans possess? Reveal your numbers, your strength, your hidden ns and the names of your leaders."
His attitude waspletely looking down on the other party.
Simon raised an eyebrow, his expression part surprised part confused "The great Vordanaz, the mighty Infernal Duke, here to count soldiers and scribble down notes? I would have thought a demon of your rank had more... important duties. But perhaps I was wrong."
For a split second there, Vordanaz was taken aback. This human knew of his rank? Intrigued, the Duke lowered his hand, letting his aura withdraw slightly as he regarded Simon with renewed interest.
A mortal who could see through his rank, and still dare mock him to his face.
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continue reading tomorrow, everyone!
Chapter 962- Fighting a Demon Duke (2)
Chapter 962- Fighting a Demon Duke (2)
He hadn''t expected that, a small part of him was amused by the human''s boldness.
"Interesting, Not many humans would recognize a Demon Duke on sight. Much less stand before one and mock him outright. You have spirit, I''ll give you that. A foolish spirit, but one I find... amusing. But did you know that foolish bravery can get you killed".
Vordanaz''s voice was yet to fade when powerful winds engulfed the ce. Winds howled, spiralling with such ferocity that they shredded the earth beneath them, uprooting trees and ripping boulders from the ground.
Within moments, the swirling gusts coalesced into a massive tornado, a towering pir of wind that stretched from the heavens to the earth, casting its shadow over Simon and the trembling mercenaries in the distance.
Vordanaz extended his hand with azy, almost dismissive wave, and the tempest surged toward Simon, tearing through thend in its path like a beast unleashed.
Within seconds, it quickly engulfed its target. Earth was torn asunder, pulverised rocks flew everywhere and dust covered the field. The sheer destructiveness of the spell was breathtaking.
In the distance, as he stood in the air, the Duke watched down with a wicked glint in his eyes.
"Still breathing, are we? Then how about this?"
With a flick of his wrist, he conjured another spell, this time calling upon the earth itself. The ground around him rumbled ominously, fissures snaking out from his feet.
With a simple motion, Vordanaz brought his hands down, and the ground split open. Massive spires of rock burst forth, towering jagged pirs that shot up in erratic formations, hurtling toward Simon with the speed and force of battering rams.
The earth itself seemed to obey the Duke''s will, attacking Simon in waves, each rock exploding on impact and sending debris into the air.
In the distance, the decoy force looked on, their faces pale as they watched the impossible disy of strength. The mercenaries, who had once looked up to Simon as a leader, now felt a chilling helplessness sink into their bones.
This wasn''t a battle¡ªit was a massacre. Someone choked back a sob, while another let out a hollowugh, already resigned to their fate.
"He is¡ dead," a soldier muttered, his voice empty "There''s no way. No one could survive that."
Haha, Theughter grew until a few others joined in, it was theughter of men who had abandoned all hope, theughter of helplessness.
"Huh?"
Just when it started to look like a nightmare, someone noticed something. A shadow, indistinct and vague breaking out of theyers of dust.
Bruised, dirt-streaked, and breathing heavily, the figure looked worse for wear but nevertheless, it was alive.
"Still standing...?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Vordanaz''s face before it was reced with a glint of bemusement. The human was more resilient than he thought.
He could sense thetter''s energy waning and even dodging took a great toll on them, yet they refused to fall.
''This is getting interesting, Most would have fallen after the first blow. But let''s see... how much more you can endure'' A chuckle escaped his lips.
The ground trembled once more, and Vordanaz raised his hand, his gaze alight with twisted pleasure.
He wasn''t even close to exerting himself yet; it was beneath him to take a human seriously. But this one¡ªhe deserved a bit of fun.
With a flick of his fingers, he summoned the winds again, this time in a swirling vortex that surged with both wind and stone, a maelstrom of tempest and destruction.
The storm spun, gathering speed until it became gigantic whirling snakes that rushed towards his opponent with ruthless precision. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
On the other hand, Simon darted and dodged, each movement narrowly evading the iing snakes of destruction. From starting his eyes never left the Duke and they monitored each of his movements to the veryst detail.
For Vordanaz, it was all as effortless as flicking a hand. The destruction was instantaneous and profound, and the magic a beguiling sight to behold. To him, these spells required no focus, no incantation. It was as if what he was throwing were simple and beginner magic.
However, make no mistake each and every magic that the Demon Duke threw his way was all high level advanced magic and even amalgamation magic that would usually require one a lenghty amount of concentration time and incantation.
Even with [Chant Shortening], [Shadow Chant] or other rare skills, it was practically difficult to imitate what the duke in front of him was doing.
BOOM¡ a tremor shook the earth beneath his feet. Cracks split open the ground, and storm snakes erupted from below, all locked in on him.
Vordanaz was relentless, hurling one spell after another as if testing his resilience, each attack more devastating than thest.
As he dodged all of the attacks, he couldn''t help but wonder how the other party was doing that. How was he able to cast so many super high level spells so quickly and without any effort?
Simon had fought his way to the Demon Marquess rank and had even faced three of the Seven Kings. He''d thought he understood what a Demon Duke''s strength would be, assuming their realms were simr in scope.
However, all of his perception was thrown awry now that he was actually locked in a fight against a Demon Duke.
All of his delusion was swept away when he realised the realm the Demon Duke in front of him stood. Whether it be level, skills, experience, or the usage of his abilities it was on a whole different realm than him.
Even if Simon wanted to, he could not imitate the action of the duke even with his skills that was said by Irene to be beyond his rank.
Vordanaz wasn''t just casting spells; he was manipting the very attributes of the world to his will, seamlessly weaving advanced Tempest and Tremor magic without any pause or incantation.
It was as natural to him as breathing.
Chapter 963- Fighting a Demon Duke (3)
Chapter 963- Fighting a Demon Duke (3)
That said, as much as Simon was tempted to throw everything he had into the fight, he held back, carefully hiding his true abilities. Revealing his full power, especially his rare skills and trump cards, would only draw unwanted attention¡ªand could jeopardize his mission.
He wasn''t here to win, after all. He just had to survive and hold the line. But a small part of him had to admit, he wanted to see more of what Vordanaz could do.
The Duke''s skill, his ability¡ªit was a rare opportunity, and Simon intended to observe it closely. Knowledge was power in itself and it''s not every day one gets to see a Demon Duke in action.
"I see, you are quite good at running. Then how about this" Vordanaz snapped his fingers summoning magic of a scale and ferocity leagues beyond anything he''d thrown before.
The ground trembled and air pulsated with a dark energy that wed at one''s senses. This spell wasn''t for mere intimidation. The twisted mass of energy formed above Vordanaz''s outstretched hands and at first nce, looked like an orb of violent, shifting earth and swirling winds.
Its mere presence seemed to warp the space around it, humming with the raw intent to annihte anything in its path.
Simon''s eyes widened feeling the gravity of the spell. One look and he instinctively knew that he needed to intercept that, if he didn''t the entire camp behind him would be leveled in an instant.
The men he was supposed to protect, the entire decoy force¡ªall of them would be wiped out like insects in a storm.
Without another thought, Simon summoned his swords andunched himself forward, making a beeline toward the Duke.
Like an arrow loosed from a bow, he moved with precision and speed. But no matter how fast he was, without going all out, it wouldn''t be enough to stop the Duke from casting his magic.
Before Simon could even close half the distance, Vordanaz smirked, his spell finallyplete.
As he held what looked like a glob of mud and wind, his attitude seemed to be contemting whether he should y with his prey a little more or finish it here.
Though the next second, he came to a decision. With a flick of his fingers, he released the spell,unching it directly at Simon.
The energy shot forward, an amalgamation spell of unknown origin, churning with overflowing destructive wind and violent, shifting earth. Simon tightened the grip on his sword as he prepared to face the attack.
Right at the instant of the impact, a vision shed inside his head¡ªa brief glimpse, an instinct refined through countless battles.
Without a second thought, he shifted his entire stance, pulling his weight low and angling his de to deflect rather than absorb the impact head-on.
BANG!!!¡ The force was iprehensible, as though the weight of an entire mountain range was bearing down on him.
The ground shook beneath his feet, and the sheer pressure made his vision go red as blood spurted from his nose, his ears, his mouth¡ªhis very bones felt like they were splintering.
A sickening crunch echoed in his shoulder as he felt the joint dislocate from the impact, pain searing through him. However, what was frightening was that this was just the initial impact, the true force of the spell still coiled within the swirling vortex of mud and wind.
Simon grit his teeth, he was fully aware that if he doesn''t use his full strength, he won''t be able to survive taking it head on.
Even though every nerve in his body screamed in protest, muscles quaked under the strain, he forced himself to keep steady. With all the precision, mastery and enlightenment he had gained on the sword, Simon angled his de perfectly, redirecting the force.
The spell''s energy shifted and the pressure veered off course. The redirected glob of wind and earth barreled past him, hurtling toward the wastnd behind.
As it made contact with the ground, the spell finally released its true power, exploding with a force that sent a shockwave ripping through thendscape. The ground split open, the earth caving in and copsing in massiveyers.
A canyon carved itself into the barrennd, a jagged wound stretching for hundreds of meters, where the solid ground had been shredded and cast aside like paper.
The decoy force in the distance fell to the ground, colours drained from their faces. Their eyes widened in horror as they saw the devastating scale of Vordanaz''s power. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The terrain which was once a t wastnd, was now a canyon torn asunder by the Duke''s single spell.
Huff¡ Huff¡ Simon gasped, his chest heaving up and down. Blood dripped down from his face, staining his cor.
That attack earlier was too close forfort, if not for that vision, he could have been seriously injured.
Speaking of vision, what was that? It was far different from the intuition or enhanced six Senses that he had honed. The two skills allowed him to predict iing attacks and sense their path and direction.
However, this was different. It was not his intuition or Enaed Six Senses, no, this was like actually seeing the future. Visualising the attack moments before it connected.
Something like that¡ even for Simon who had cultivated a rich battle history, an experience like that was a first time for him.
That aside¡ Simon turned his head to look at the camp. Fortunately, he was able to divert the magic from the Demon Duke just enough for the magic to miss the camp.
It was untouched, feeling relieved He turned to face Vordanaz. A chill crept into his heart, from the earlier exchange he knew that he couldn''t look down on the demon duke in front of him.
Heck, he might die if he didn''t use his full strength. Hiding his true identity? If he lost his life, it wouldn''t matter anymore. The Duke''s abilities far surpassed the seven kings he had faced.
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continue reading tomorrow, everyone!
Chapter 964- Demon Lords Army
Chapter 964- Demon Lord''s Army
Although there might not be much difference in level, the skill, abilities, power, techniuqes possessed by Vordanaz were realms higher than the likes of the seven kings. It was something he felt after personally shing with the Demon Duke.
If this continued, he would have to reveal his true strength just to keep his life intact. While Simon was inwardly deliberating his options, Vordanaz, however, was watching him with newfound interest.
His previous air of mockery had vanished, reced by a calcting curiosity. His crimson eyes roamed the human from head to toe as if appraising his worth.
"You survived eh" The Duke let out a low chuckle "You''re more resilient than I''d thought. Most would have been crushed into dust by now."
Simon remained steadfast, silently observing the enemy.
"It''s a shame truly, that a human of your calibre would waste himself on the losing side. Tell me human named Simon, why try to fight for them ?" he pointed at the camp behind Simon.
"Those humans, they''re weak, fragile. They''ll be nothing but dust beneath the Demon Lord''s advance."
What Vordanaz said was not entirely contemptuous. In fact, it was the truth after all, the history suggests that the south wing army which Simon was a part of right now, waspletely annihted by the Demon Lord''s army.
It was not an understatement at all when he said that they were weak and destined to lose. He kind of expected the demons to look down on their feeble resistance.
That said, what he didn''t expect was for the Demon Duke in front of him to say the next words.
"It''s a shame for you to die here. A person of your calibre should be on the winning side". Saying that, Vordanaz extended his hand towards Simon in a gesture.
"Join me, human. Pledge yourself to my banner, and I will grant you power beyond mortalprehension. Together with the demon lord, we could reshape this pathetic world. Who knows I may even allow you to rule a part of it".
For a second there, Simon couldn''t believe his ears. Was the Demon Duke trying to¡
"Swear loyalty to me, and I will grant you what the humans never could. Power, immortality, status. You don''t belong among these weaklings, join hands with the strong."
An offer out of nowhere; no, should he say it was more like a mandate. Simon''s shock slowly morphed into a faint smirk, digesting the words, the absurdity of this offer.
For Vordanaz, it must have been quite a revtion to see someone, a mere human not only standing up to him, but also enduring his spells, and still remaining unbowed.
Though that said, this proposal was almostughable. Still, the Demon Duke clearly didn''t see it that way.
Vordanaz''s expression was entirely serious, his face a mask of regal pride. It was as if he believed that there was no way a human could reject his offer after all the promise he was making was much too appealing for anyone.
Power, immortality, status, who didn''t seek all these?
Simon arched an eyebrow. For a moment, he almost entertained the idea ofughing outright, but the Duke''s intense stare made him think otherwise.
He realized quickly that this wasn''t some fleeting jest or a whim of the demon duke, no, Vordanaz was genuinely offering him a ce among the demons, a chance to switch sides and serve as his subordinate, perhaps as his closest aide.
"Are you asking me to betray humanity?"
Be it Status, power, or immortality, taking the demon duke''s hand meant only one thing and that was to betray the humanity and join the enemy''s side.
In other case, he wouldn''t even spare a second to mull over this question since he knew who he was and his identiy very well. However, this was not your any other case, Simon was currently inside the forbidden grounds, undergoing a trial.
His feelings on the matter were a bit moreplicated. Foremost, he wasn''t human¡ his true nature was hidden behind the magical trinket he wore¡ªthe Trinket of Grimlock, concealing his true identity and allowing him to pass among mortals without detection.
But even though Simon wasn''t truly one of them, he was still aligned with humanity''s goals. The seventh trial, the quest, the purpose, required him to y this role.
"Yes," Vordanaz seemed unfazed by the question, nodding as if it were the most natural suggestion in the world. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Betray humanity, leave behind this fragile, doomed alliance, and stand with us. I''ll make far better use of your talents and skills."
Although his tone was light as if discussing a trivial matter, there was a powerful trace of temptation to it. Simon''s eyes narrowed slightly, to the duke betraying humanity was just a minor step¡ªa formality, a mere inconvenience but to Simon, it was of utmost importance.
Just as he was getting ready to respond, Vordanaz held up a hand to stop him.
"Don''t be in a haste to answer, Consider my proposal well, Simon. If you stay with the humans, you''re going to die here. Meaninglessly. They''re weak. They''ll be crushed. But you... you piqued my interest. I''m giving you a chance. Think hard on it."
After that, he turned around and left just like that. Hisst words were carried by the winds.
"I''ll be waiting for you at our stronghold, when you''ve made your decision, all you need to do is climb over the mountain range and join the horde. Mention my name, and they''ll let you pass. Remember, Simon¡ªthe strong choose their own path. Don''t waste your strength on those unworthy of it."
As Vordanaz''s figure disappeared in the darkness, the heavy, dark pressure that had been suffocating the air seemed to lift.
The storm clouds dissipated, and moonlight poured down again. For the first time since Vordanaz appeared, he could breathe freely again¡
After he made his way back to the camp, he was prepared to face wary, exhausted soldiers¡ªbut the sight that greeted him was unexpected.
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continue reading tomorrow, everyone!
Chapter 965- Demon Lords Army (2)
Chapter 965- Demon Lord''s Army (2)
The moment he stepped into the clearing, an uproar of cheers erupted, startling him.
"Sir Simon! You''re back!" n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
Soldiers rushed up to him, eyes wide with awe, grins stered across their faces. Mercenaries crowded around him, pping him on the back and flooding him with questions.
"Woah, how powerful are you, really? To stand against that demon¡ªhow many ss changes have you gone through?"
"You must be insanely strong to hold your own against that demon! Did you acquire a rare ss or something?"
"Why did he leave? Did he actually fear your strength?"¡
"What level are you?"¡
Simon who was taken aback by their sudden enthusiasm, was constantly barraged by their questions. To the men surrounding him, that battle was nothing short of legendary.
Most of them were former serfs and peasants who had rarely seen anything beyond skirmishes and minor battles. To see their leader confront a powerful Demon and live to tell the tale was, to them, a feat of impossible heroism.
"Simon! Simon! Simon!" They began to chant his name, as if he were a hero who had descended to save them all.
Simon felt awkward, he was only trying toplete his quest. If not for it, he wouldn''t bother with the life and death of these characters who were just a recreation of history. He was far away from an existence like the hero.
Besides, the disaster hasn''t subsided yet. The Demon Duke hadn''t left out of fear or respect. He''d left because he had a far more dangerous game in mind.
That said, there was no need for him to share that detail with the decoy force. And so, after a while he dispersed the crowd,manding them to get back to position.
"Everyone, we still have a job to do. This battle isn''t over yet."
Having won their hearts and respect, the soldiers and mercenaries willingly obeyed hismand. Gradually, they dispersed and got back to their work.
Thanks to the strength shown by Simon their leader, the morale in the camp had transformed. Where there had been fear, there was now a sense of hope, a belief that they could actually survive this.
Once he''d managed to escape the crowd, Simon made his way to his shelter. His nerves still taut from the previous battle.
The Demon Duke had left¡ªbut the threat was far from gone. They still needed to buy time for the southern alliance, fend off the demons'' scouts, and survive the night. But for now, he had a brief respite¡
.
.
As the night progressed further, Simon''s thoughts returned to Vordanaz''s unexpected proposal.
The Duke''s words echoed in his mind. He had been agonizing for weeks over how to aplish his quest, over how to prevent the Southern alliance''s annihtion at the hands of the Demon Lord of Envy''s army.
Even with the fortress at Mount Gorgor and the n to bottleneck the demon horde, the odds were still stacked overwhelmingly against them.
The Quest was nightmarishly difficult. Stopping the Southern Alliance''s annihtion felt impossible.
He had been racking his brain, agonising every single day to find a way. Who knew the way woulde over to him on its own two feet?
That''s right, the way he found was the offer from Duke Vordanaz. Despite knowing that it would mean betraying humanity, he felt the potential of the offer.
Of course, he wasn''t interested in the power, status or immortality that Vordanaz offered. No, what he was interested in was to sway the Demon Lord''s horde and possibly know all about their ns.
If he joined their side and proved enough worth, he might be able to redirect their main forces away from the alliance. With the influence and rank Vordanaz promised, he could possibly manipte the demons from within, slowing or even halting their attack.
This was a way he couldn''t think of while being on this side of the conflict. He needed to join the other side too, only by being on both sides would he be able to get a proper grasp of the war that was going on.
The trial was not only about saving the southern alliance but to alter the Historia and ultimately preventing the Demon Lord of Envy''s death.
Now that he thought about it, the quest was clearly hinting at him to join both sides. That said, joining the demon lord''s side sounded easier said than done.
The other party were infamous demons after all and being a demon himself he was not an amateur when it came to understanding them.
Vordanaz might be favouring him right now, but it was only for the moment. There was no telling when the Demon Duke''s interest and whim would change.
If they felt like his use was over or their favourability decreased, they would not hesitate to get rid of him. And besides, he was not truly nning on joining one side but rather infiltrate both sides.
If his intentions ever came to surface or his deception was caught, at that time he''d be facing not just Vordanaz but the entire demon horde. Heck, he might even be hounded by the human side for being a traitor.
No matter how you look at it, this was a difficult decision. Then again, this was the chance he needed.
A covert operation from within their ranks. If he yed his cards right, he might just be able toplete all the quests.
His mind raced with possibilities, Simon quickly fell into thoughts¡
.
.
Over the mountain range, far into the horizon, a ck line sprawling endlessly could be seen. a dark mass writhing like a sea of shadows under the pale moonlight.
Thousands upon thousands of demons stretched as far as the eye could see, a legion so vast it seemed to swallow the earth itself. The atmosphere here was thick with a dark, oppressive energy that permeated the very air.
The ce was eerily silent broken only by the distant roars and growls of countless monsters.
Chapter 966- Demon Lords Army (3)
Chapter 966- Demon Lord''s Army (3)
Simon who flew here nonstop over the night, passing over the vast mountain range and enduring the cold biting wind of the night, finally made it to the ce where the army of the demon lord was.
The moment he arrived, he was taken aback by the scene in front of him. And endless horde, a precursor to destruction. As far as the eye could see, hideos looking monsters and demons were sprawling everywhere.
It was like watching a ck carpet nketing the world. The scene was so impactful that it made one dizzy.
Even Simon who had already seen the demon horde from the distance, was shocked and taken aback when he came here. Looking at the demon lord''s army from the distance was one thing but seeing it up close and with one''s own eyes, was another.
It was only after arriving here and witnessing the scene thaty before him, that he realised how much he; no everyone had been underestimating the Demon Lord''s army.
To say that it was a horde was an understatement. No, the strength of just this lineup here had already surpassed thebined strength of the Southern Alliance.
What they saw from over the mountain range, was just the tip of the iceberg. The real forces of the demon lord''s army, the truly dangerous ones were far behind at the centre of the horde.
The ones in front were just meatshields, the lowest ranking demons and monsters.
"This is stupid, does the creator of the forbidden ground really want me to clear this?" Simon mocked inwardly.
He was still some distance away from the area where the horde was but thend had already changed. cracked and scorched, dark veins of energy pulsing inside the ground like corrupted blood beneath the surface.
The air smelled of sulfur and decay, Even the wind felt heavy like it was carrying the weight of something ancient and dangerous.
Simon''s eyes scanned the horde, recognizing various species of monsters and creatures that one would be hard pressed to find other than in a high ranking dungeon.
Ogres, trolls, Cycolps, Gargoyles¡ then there were also Mordregals, siege beasts. Hulking, bear-like beasts with tusks as thick as a man''s arm, and glowing eyes that could see inplete darkness. Even a single one could easily topple a fortress.
Vorivales, sinuous reptilian creatures with scales as hard as Mythril. "Are those Nightmares?!!"
Floating over the ranks of Mordregals, were ethereal spectre like creatures wrapped in ck shrouds, with faces twisted in expressions of permanent agony. They moved with the grace of smoke, and their whispers could drive any being to madness within seconds.
A super rare being that could only be spawned in high and [S] rank dungeons, it was no wonder Simon involuntarily spoke out loud.
Knowing that his dungeon was close to reaching the status of a high ranking dungeon soon, he had previously checked the DP required to spawn more powerful creatures. It was at that time the name of the nightmares came up. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
But it was not only the nightmares, Infernal Wraiths, Cerberus and even Wyverns¡ what the people on the other side of the mountain range saw, was just the tip of the iceberg of the Demon lord of Envy''s real force.
Even if they were given a hundred chances there was no way just the south wing army of the southern alliance could stall this horde. It was a mistake to even think that the fortress in Mount Gorgor would be able to provide the army with some ground to fight the horde back.
It was a good thing he came here, now he could at leaste up with some other n. Thankfully, the conversation between him and Vordanaz happened in the distance and wasn''t overheard by the mercenaries and soldiers in the camp.
Because of it, he was able to make a swift excuse to slip out of the camp.
The excuse that he gave was¡ a duel. Apparently, the demon in respect of his powers issued him a challenge to fight him in a duel. If he won, the camp would be protected from getting destroyed and if he lost or didn''t show up, the horde would trample them down.
To protect the camp and to keep the deception going he chose to ept the challenge.
Of course, it was all bullshit and there were ws here and there but these people were no schrs and only used their heads to headbutt. There was no way they would find out about his lie.
As expected the soldiers and mercenaries undoubtedly epted his lie as the truth. Heck, they even started shedding manly tears.
For him, he was justpleting his quest but to these people who knew nothing, he was their savior. His casual words made them realise that the demon hadn''t retreated in fear, but was deceived into a duel¡ all so as to protect them.
Unbeknownst to him it caused the awe and admiration in their eyes to strengthen further. No, perhaps it worked a little too much, they even started saying stuff like wanting to follow him and fight by his side.
Thankfully, he was able to somehow suppress their excitement and rush over here. Anyway, things went smoothly on the other side. Now he had another challenge lying in front of him.
Simon observed the unending horde thaty before him, These creatures; no these monsters, weapons of destruction, siege engines of war, were quite a sight to see. It was not every day one gets to see a massive horde capable of ending the world.
"The previous Demon Lord of Envy¡ he is nothing like the current Possessor of Envy".
Beyond the legiony the demons'' camp, sprawling and chaotic but highly fortified, an eerie contrast of disorder and structure.
Makeshift barricades constructed from massive, spiked logs and twisted metal surrounded it, while tents made from strange, leathery hide dotted thendscape haphazardly. Massive iron braziers lined the perimeter, the mes an unnatural green gave the camp an unholy luminescence.
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